If Trump is elected for another ‘reign of error,’ it will be because of a lazy media influencing a dumbed-down, ill-informed electorate. The press constantly normalizes him and perpetuates false equivalency to a degree that would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. People do not understand the gravity of the threat posed by Trump and his cult of psychopaths. Some say that we would survive another term, but I argue that the next one will lack any guard rails that existed the first time. We are already on the precipice with global warming, and right-wing fascism percolating around the world despite a couple of positive elections.
In regards to Biden's bullseye comment I think it is also important to consider how many gun related phrases are slang in USA culture. Just a few of many examples that come to mind: Trigger Warning, Straight shooter, flash in the pan, going off half cocked, riding shotgun, shotgun wedding, shooting your mouth off, sure fire and jump the gun. So intertwined is it to our American culture that many of us use such phrases daily without considering them to be violent or calls to violence.
TFG and fan(atical) base are doing everything they can to get a coup do over should he not win the election by continually sowing doubt in our processes and justice system. ( I personally have lost a lot of faith in our justice system as a direct result of Trump's cases and the decisions made by a packed Supreme Court. I've always known that it favors the wealthy and well connected but now that knowledge is physically painful to bear. )
It is still so hard for me to accept that this is going to be a close race between TFG and Biden/Harris and that at the RNC they called Democrats literal evil. I say Dark Brandon should own that accusation of evil and tell everyone often how his evil plan is to feed the children*, mend the sick, relieve the burdens of predatory student loans and medical bill debts and more.
Evil does have a plan, and it includes dental!
*personally of the mind that if someone offers you free money to feed children with and you turn it down because living that spite life is more important to you? yeah, you are the literal evil in the room.
et tu, MSM? In addition to MAGAts and backstabbing Dems, OHJB now has to deal with y’all obeying in advance as though that will spare some of you your phoney-baloney jobs?
Yeah, nothing to get hung about. (that goes double for you, Mike Pence)
This election is going to be a test of America's overall moral instincts. When it comes to actual fax and information, people have been lied to so long and so egregiously that there is going to have to be another guiding principle to how people will vote in November. Because even with all of the lying from the right, and the normalizing water carrying from the supposed liberal media, I think and hope that most people have a kind of moral instinct that can smell the difference between good and evil. Right and wrong
Corporate media has a message to get out for it's billionaire owners. It's all propaganda now all of the time.
Which is why it would be so stupid to drop a presidential candidate at the last minute over a media narrative... hahaha... I mean... could you imagine any political party being THAT stupid? Hahaha... (cries).
It’s Putin’s gift to the USA. As the title of that recommended book about the way Putin smoke-machines reality: Everything is possible, and nothing is true.
It is SO discouraging to read the constant blurring of the lines between fact and opinion in the media. There is indeed a difference, but so often subjective innuendo is reported as objective fact, exactly as Steven has made clear in this excellent piece.
But what are we to do when the fact checking is left to the reader, rather than being scrupulously monitored by the editor before bullshit is allowed to make it into print? All I know to do is to be very careful about who I allow to feed thoughts into my head. Question everything, avoid propaganda and the constant slippage of language into contradictions and logical fallacies. Watch out for sleazy politi-speak. Find good writers who care about honesty and integrity, and above all accuracy.
I watched that stream of bullshit the press is calling Trump’s speech at the RNC last night. David Axelrod is right, it was the only good news for Democrats all week. If only it is accurately reported in the media, Biden’s debate will go from “disastrous” to “a lot more coherent than 90 minutes of Trump.” The whipsaw of this election goes on; if the demolition crew of Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, Schiff, etc. would just shut the fuck up or, better yet, announce “Oh, hey, our mistake, we listened to Trump just now and we’re riding’ with cognitively functional Biden.”
I think the more beatable Trump appears the more likely Dem leaders will believe a better candidate could prevail. There would’ve been no sense in replacing McCain with another Republican in 2008. Obama was a freight train. But Trump is not inevitable. He’s a choice
Just watched AOC explaining that the people within the party pushing the dump Biden mantra don’t want Harris, don’t all agree on any other candidate, and have no plan for an open convention or the legal challenges to the ballot that Republicans have vowed to bring. The only path forward to victory is with Biden, since there is no other candidate. But if someone will explain how we beat Trump without a candidate, I’ll listen.
Wow this chaos is definitely good for the people bigfooting their money in our party! Kinda says it all about what Biden/Harris stand for. I think they are definitely upset about Biden making them pay their fair share and encouraging all that unionization!
It was supposed to be the job of the press to call out lies. Instead they both sides them. Maybe use some different verbs: Biden reminds voters Trump will pardon j6 protesters. Or Trump will pardon J6, Biden reminds voters. Too big for a headline? Journalism school was 40 years ago. I’m not sure we’re still talking font size and style.
They're clearly in the tank for Republicans. I think a lot of people just do not appreciate how deep the rot goes. And this is the fate of *every* Democrat. We have to be the ones that share articles like this and spread them around. This is analysis that is missing from MSM (which incidentally allows itself to be influenced by the segments of the rightwing media human centipede installed within it) as a form of journalistic malpractice.
Remember, minimizing Democratic achievements and maximizing Democratic missteps is the key to success for the Republican owners of these outlets. They want those tax cuts no matter the horrors the rest of us will face.
Trump lies
Bullshit flies
Fans cry
“Our Savior is nigh”
MSM suck
They don’t give a fuck
Vote Blue 💙
To also quote Ricky Roma
To Lester Holt, “Where did you learn your trade, you stupid fucking c…, you idiot. Who ever told you that you could work with men?”
If Trump is elected for another ‘reign of error,’ it will be because of a lazy media influencing a dumbed-down, ill-informed electorate. The press constantly normalizes him and perpetuates false equivalency to a degree that would be laughable if it wasn’t so pathetic. People do not understand the gravity of the threat posed by Trump and his cult of psychopaths. Some say that we would survive another term, but I argue that the next one will lack any guard rails that existed the first time. We are already on the precipice with global warming, and right-wing fascism percolating around the world despite a couple of positive elections.
You said all this very, very well and clearly.
In regards to Biden's bullseye comment I think it is also important to consider how many gun related phrases are slang in USA culture. Just a few of many examples that come to mind: Trigger Warning, Straight shooter, flash in the pan, going off half cocked, riding shotgun, shotgun wedding, shooting your mouth off, sure fire and jump the gun. So intertwined is it to our American culture that many of us use such phrases daily without considering them to be violent or calls to violence.
TFG and fan(atical) base are doing everything they can to get a coup do over should he not win the election by continually sowing doubt in our processes and justice system. ( I personally have lost a lot of faith in our justice system as a direct result of Trump's cases and the decisions made by a packed Supreme Court. I've always known that it favors the wealthy and well connected but now that knowledge is physically painful to bear. )
It is still so hard for me to accept that this is going to be a close race between TFG and Biden/Harris and that at the RNC they called Democrats literal evil. I say Dark Brandon should own that accusation of evil and tell everyone often how his evil plan is to feed the children*, mend the sick, relieve the burdens of predatory student loans and medical bill debts and more.
Evil does have a plan, and it includes dental!
*personally of the mind that if someone offers you free money to feed children with and you turn it down because living that spite life is more important to you? yeah, you are the literal evil in the room.
Nice insights.
Thanks
"Overwhelm Americans with so many lies and contradictory doublethink that no one can say what’s true anymore"
I'll add that Americans seem easily overwhelmed by lies and conspiracies. Critical thinking skills are in short supply in this country.
That, and the need for a superhero leader that looks good on television.
Great analysis Stephen, thank you.
et tu, MSM? In addition to MAGAts and backstabbing Dems, OHJB now has to deal with y’all obeying in advance as though that will spare some of you your phoney-baloney jobs?
Yeah, nothing to get hung about. (that goes double for you, Mike Pence)
This election is going to be a test of America's overall moral instincts. When it comes to actual fax and information, people have been lied to so long and so egregiously that there is going to have to be another guiding principle to how people will vote in November. Because even with all of the lying from the right, and the normalizing water carrying from the supposed liberal media, I think and hope that most people have a kind of moral instinct that can smell the difference between good and evil. Right and wrong
Corporate media has a message to get out for it's billionaire owners. It's all propaganda now all of the time.
Which is why it would be so stupid to drop a presidential candidate at the last minute over a media narrative... hahaha... I mean... could you imagine any political party being THAT stupid? Hahaha... (cries).
It’s Putin’s gift to the USA. As the title of that recommended book about the way Putin smoke-machines reality: Everything is possible, and nothing is true.
Infuriating.
It is SO discouraging to read the constant blurring of the lines between fact and opinion in the media. There is indeed a difference, but so often subjective innuendo is reported as objective fact, exactly as Steven has made clear in this excellent piece.
But what are we to do when the fact checking is left to the reader, rather than being scrupulously monitored by the editor before bullshit is allowed to make it into print? All I know to do is to be very careful about who I allow to feed thoughts into my head. Question everything, avoid propaganda and the constant slippage of language into contradictions and logical fallacies. Watch out for sleazy politi-speak. Find good writers who care about honesty and integrity, and above all accuracy.
I watched that stream of bullshit the press is calling Trump’s speech at the RNC last night. David Axelrod is right, it was the only good news for Democrats all week. If only it is accurately reported in the media, Biden’s debate will go from “disastrous” to “a lot more coherent than 90 minutes of Trump.” The whipsaw of this election goes on; if the demolition crew of Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, Schiff, etc. would just shut the fuck up or, better yet, announce “Oh, hey, our mistake, we listened to Trump just now and we’re riding’ with cognitively functional Biden.”
I think the more beatable Trump appears the more likely Dem leaders will believe a better candidate could prevail. There would’ve been no sense in replacing McCain with another Republican in 2008. Obama was a freight train. But Trump is not inevitable. He’s a choice
Just watched AOC explaining that the people within the party pushing the dump Biden mantra don’t want Harris, don’t all agree on any other candidate, and have no plan for an open convention or the legal challenges to the ballot that Republicans have vowed to bring. The only path forward to victory is with Biden, since there is no other candidate. But if someone will explain how we beat Trump without a candidate, I’ll listen.
Just want to shake them and say FOCUS, people! Your opponent is OVER THERE.
Who is the better candidate? No one has the answer to that question.
Johnny Unbeatable! Johnny Unbeatable never loses!
Wow this chaos is definitely good for the people bigfooting their money in our party! Kinda says it all about what Biden/Harris stand for. I think they are definitely upset about Biden making them pay their fair share and encouraging all that unionization!
It was supposed to be the job of the press to call out lies. Instead they both sides them. Maybe use some different verbs: Biden reminds voters Trump will pardon j6 protesters. Or Trump will pardon J6, Biden reminds voters. Too big for a headline? Journalism school was 40 years ago. I’m not sure we’re still talking font size and style.
They’ve all totally gone from “watchdog” (ha ha, remember that as an alleged function of media? so quaint) to lapdog.
They're clearly in the tank for Republicans. I think a lot of people just do not appreciate how deep the rot goes. And this is the fate of *every* Democrat. We have to be the ones that share articles like this and spread them around. This is analysis that is missing from MSM (which incidentally allows itself to be influenced by the segments of the rightwing media human centipede installed within it) as a form of journalistic malpractice.
Remember, minimizing Democratic achievements and maximizing Democratic missteps is the key to success for the Republican owners of these outlets. They want those tax cuts no matter the horrors the rest of us will face.