In the final days of August before a consequential election, we - the American public who have witnessed the descent of corporate media over the past decade with equal doses of exasperation and rage - have been gifted with the “worst headline of the year”
The NYT used the word “evade” when talking about the question in their newsletter this morning. It wasn’t in the headline but it certainly caught my attention in the body of the article. Evaded? No, she brushed it off.
That's a big call, Waj, considering there's still 4 months of the year left. 😉 I still think the NYT's opinion piece "Trump Can Still Win On Character", is my leading contender. 🤦🏼♀️
The supposed guardrails of a healthy democracy have abandoned us - the fourth estate, SCOTUS etc. In real life, I rarely swear also 😁 ... but I think it's imperative that we tweak the famous line from the movie "Network" - "We're mad as hell and we're not gonna fucking take it anymore!!" 🤬😡
But she had the perfect answer. Basically not worth a response. Can’t people see how nice civility, intelligence and calmness is? Hope these polls are wrong. This race shouldn’t be close. What’s wrong with this country?
That is a stupid, ignorant, ridiculous headline, and this was well-written. Thank you for addressing it. We have a save ourselves and save those idiots 🤡 from themselves 🙄🤦🏻.
Perhaps “Asked and answered” would have gotten through to their BS. But I doubt it. We are going to elect Harris/Waltz despite the press . . . Thank goodness for podcasts, substacks and other news outlets.
I just started following your stack. Time to upgrade! Great piece. One thing that always comes to mind when frustrations come out about the media is that people SEE/READ their derelictions. This dereliction is no different than any other corporate America corporation, or Wall Street greed, playing their power against whom they'd like to price gouge when profits are at record highs, deregulate/less government to avoid fees, education for staff, their own accountability, avoid paying living wages, defending poor policy to keep stockholder wealth somehow differently classified than moral citizenship by CEOs while avoiding taxes. The same schtick. This list is endless. That is why "fiscal" or "moral" in conservative speak just doesn't register. I have never seen ONE journalist until the NABJ conference actually hold Trump to account. Yes, she came across bitey but if you're interviewing to be POTUS, AGAIN, and still can only cry UNFAIR to everything that has ever happened to you, by your own actions, says UNFIT and can't handle the stoic position required of leadership. I'd like a word or ten with Chief Justice Roberts who, in my lowly opinion, is so derelict in overreach that Federalist 70, to anyone not knowing, in its purpose while being used to defend immunity for criminality, is judicial malfeasance. Trump has interfered in 3 elections. 16 by omission to the voters of paying hush money, 20 by inciting an insurrection while refusing the peaceful transfer of power, which the SCOTUS was wrong to wipe, the 14th, Sec 3, off the books for the entire country when states administer their own fed election protocol, in 24 by delaying justice, which 25% of the electorate would swing if they knew he was guilty of one or both of the DOJ's, late to the party, indictments. In 2022 upon Trump stating he'd rip up the constitution the Times found a little spot on page 13 to mention it. Normalizing is one thing, enabling and aiding is another entirely. I hope they all realize they're risking our futures as well as their own.
Welcome to the corporate world. I am more than disgusted. A helpful press overlooked the dangers posed by Hitler. We know how that turned out. I can no longer bear to watch CNN—they may have exposed Biden’s weaknesses, but it was not an honestly brokered debate. They never forced Trump to follow the rules. Biden, being a decent fellow, followed the rules by choice. No simultaneously fact checking or calling out the former President for his outrageous lies in which he took credit for everything Biden did.
The NYT seems to have self-combusted. Politico? Who knows. They will get Trump re-elected, but they may still have their jobs at their laughable media outlets. Remember how we all held Fox in contempt? Now the mainstream has joined that team.
Suggestive or edgy headlines attract readers and money, but at what price? Trump’s band of elves are planning to destroy the country. We should all be taking this very, very seriously. I have studied Russia and WWII al my life. I am scared. I am sure Anne Applebaum, Masha Gessen, Timothy Snyder, Bill Browder and Ruth Ben-Ghiat would all agree. This is not a temporary change of party, it is a change of our government and our laws. And the moronic duo heading up the political charge—Vance and Trump—are devoid of empathy and without any known set of values. I am incensed by everything Vance says, and am disquieted by the manner in which he says it. The lack of appropriate affect is stunning. And Trump did a 180 on abortion overnight. There is no point asking him where he stands on issues, because he doesn’t. He merely reflects what is useful at any moment. It is a reflection of outside pressure, not inner beliefs. What will he actually do if he is elected? There is no way of telling. I doubt he knows. But two recent actions made me want to spit. The visit to Arlington was horrid. It was painful for anyone who cares about our soldiers. Contemptible. And the re-posted sexual reference tweet was simultaneously grotesque and horrifying. No one should ever say things like that. But a candidate for President? It would seriously have given my mother a stroke. She believed in good manners and more importantly, treating people with respect. It is obvious that Trump and Vance don’t just want women back in the home, with no job, no future, just children, they actively hate women. They are afraid or them. Vance would use post-menopausal women as babysitters. And what would he be doing with all this free time? Not raising his children. The all-important family would be left to the women to raise. The two of them are really not right in the head. We need to see this and point it out as often as possible.
Anne Nelson has made a study of the insidious thing that calls itself Christian Nationalism. It is completely devoid of religious beliefs. They raise huge sums of money to carry out their political agenda. This is how we end up with project 2025.
Trump is not the strong man they would like, but he will do in a pinch. Maybe he will hand the country to Russia as a gift. If we emphasize and expose his weaknesses (thank you Lincoln Project), perhaps they too will feel contempt for the orange man.
With so many of us warning for months and months that Trump is mirroring the Nazi path to power, why is he even under consideration for a government post? He could not pass the easiest of civics tests. I am beyond frustrated. And with the press not doing their job, things only get worse.
Excellent comment. To the point, and exactly what the MSM should be emphasizing. The danger to our democracy is real, it's not hyperbole. I can only guess that the owners of MSM now don't care if the fpotus is elected. They will get more tax breaks, and just turn further right wing to be the Heritage Foundation, christian nationalist, faux "news" rivals in propaganda. Sad and horrific. Harris and Walz being elected is only a start to get our country on the democratic republic side again.
Thank you. I always worry I will be being repetitive, or not having done original research when I respond. Perhaps I should lower the bar I set. I appreciate your kind words.
I write whatever I feel like discussing on any given day. I have trained myself to do it regularly on Thursday and Sunday. And I try to reference my sources when necessary. But mostly I enjoy myself, even in these perilous times. I believe together like-minded people can save democracy.
You are right. If we recognize the threat there is a good chance we can neutralize it. Stephen Miller can join the breadlines with Chris LaCivita.
I try to be a good citizen. I worked my heart out on the primaries for Hillary and Pete. It still feels like a bit of a bottomless pit when being gay or a woman may be disqualifying in and of itself. I hope we are over that. Jim Comey has a lot to answer for! Interesting how emails made it into the public domain when it helped the Republicans but not vice versa.
While I stop short of condemning the "entire" corporate media system of corruption based on a few or even more than a few examples I can understand the momentary reaction. She didn't "evade" or even "sidestep" anything. She gave the question the answer it deserved. I've actually seen reports (NBC I think, I've read so many) that actively praised her for this.
What we have here is more a culture of entitlement, where a whole LOT of "journalists" think that they can ask stupid questions and get answers they want. It's a little like the problem with police brutality. Not ALL cops are brutal or steppers on rights, but the culture of many police departments and (sad to say) unions fails to make those who are accountable. In our zero-sum world, that makes people find themselves on either side of a "bright" (or really dark) line that in fact is quantum fuzziness in its complexity. And more and more the corporate OWNERS, like the unregenerate police departments, are pushing this lack of common sense, much less accountability with their apparent insistence on biased headlines even when the stories contradict the headline.
That's what happened here. The actual STORY on Politico was a fairly thoughtful discussion of WHY Harris is refusing to rise to the "identity politics" dog whistle.
to which the proper response is “yep” She could have said “I feel no need to respond to racist comments” but that would have put her back into the fray, perhaps.
yikes. all media demanding she remark / defend herself from blatant lies is demeaning. Madame VP’s history/herstory is widely known. insanity is msm choosing to pass along disinformation.
Looks like a cheap attempt at clickbait. Harris didn't "evade" any question about her identity, and she was clearly trying to imply, correctly, that Bash's question was racist, just as Trump's ugly "has she suddenly become black?" was racist. Bash was disrespectful and trivial to ask such a meaningless question of Harris, who is making history as the first woman and first Asian American to be this close to becoming president.
Harris "evades" questions about her identity??? WTF! How about "Harris refuses to let racist right wing media define her"? You are so right, Waj, every single large MSM is sucking up to extreme, reactionary framing of this entire election. Even after the hideous coup attempt on Jan. 6th. Instead of callng out the obvious drive to throw out our constitution, and allow a fascist regime to take over our nation, the media is leading the charge by normalizing the fpotus and his minions. It is not normal to depict a candidate for president in a vulgar, sexist meme. It is not normal for a candidate to repeat over and over outright racist, sexist, demeaning insults ad nauseum. Harris gets pummeled by the press for not talking about her policies, as if they never hear her speeches. What are the fpotus policies as stated by him? There is serious gaslighting going on. Substack writers are my main news source now. The MSM needs to change or die.
The press is certainly Frustrating! Another F word, but we all can certainly relate to Jeff Tiedrich! 🤣 I’m no longer clicking on their links or reading CNN, Politico, NYT! I’ve been reading AP News, BBC, NPR, WaPo. Where is everyone getting their news?
I use to revere the NYT. As much as I miss the crosswords, I ditched my subscription months ago. I like an eclectic mix of news sources - Meidas Touch Network, NPR, ProPublica. I'm discerning with my time and attention, so pick and choose individuals that resonate with me, from a wide variety of sources - Substack, YouTube, even Twitster 😈😁. I recently went down the rabbit-hole that is the tikety-tok and I hold Mary Lea Trump fully accountable. 😉😁
WaPo is just as bad. My subsription runs out soon, you don't get refunds. So I use the comment section. WaPo headlines and bent is exactly the same as NY Times, Politico, even the Atlantic. It's discouraging but not hopeless. We push back when we can, and don't support the MSM with subscription money any further.
Politico is disgusting. This is vile. Thank you Waj for using the appropriate language to describe this.
The NYT used the word “evade” when talking about the question in their newsletter this morning. It wasn’t in the headline but it certainly caught my attention in the body of the article. Evaded? No, she brushed it off.
That's a big call, Waj, considering there's still 4 months of the year left. 😉 I still think the NYT's opinion piece "Trump Can Still Win On Character", is my leading contender. 🤦🏼♀️
The supposed guardrails of a healthy democracy have abandoned us - the fourth estate, SCOTUS etc. In real life, I rarely swear also 😁 ... but I think it's imperative that we tweak the famous line from the movie "Network" - "We're mad as hell and we're not gonna fucking take it anymore!!" 🤬😡
But she had the perfect answer. Basically not worth a response. Can’t people see how nice civility, intelligence and calmness is? Hope these polls are wrong. This race shouldn’t be close. What’s wrong with this country?
That is a stupid, ignorant, ridiculous headline, and this was well-written. Thank you for addressing it. We have a save ourselves and save those idiots 🤡 from themselves 🙄🤦🏻.
Perhaps “Asked and answered” would have gotten through to their BS. But I doubt it. We are going to elect Harris/Waltz despite the press . . . Thank goodness for podcasts, substacks and other news outlets.
I just started following your stack. Time to upgrade! Great piece. One thing that always comes to mind when frustrations come out about the media is that people SEE/READ their derelictions. This dereliction is no different than any other corporate America corporation, or Wall Street greed, playing their power against whom they'd like to price gouge when profits are at record highs, deregulate/less government to avoid fees, education for staff, their own accountability, avoid paying living wages, defending poor policy to keep stockholder wealth somehow differently classified than moral citizenship by CEOs while avoiding taxes. The same schtick. This list is endless. That is why "fiscal" or "moral" in conservative speak just doesn't register. I have never seen ONE journalist until the NABJ conference actually hold Trump to account. Yes, she came across bitey but if you're interviewing to be POTUS, AGAIN, and still can only cry UNFAIR to everything that has ever happened to you, by your own actions, says UNFIT and can't handle the stoic position required of leadership. I'd like a word or ten with Chief Justice Roberts who, in my lowly opinion, is so derelict in overreach that Federalist 70, to anyone not knowing, in its purpose while being used to defend immunity for criminality, is judicial malfeasance. Trump has interfered in 3 elections. 16 by omission to the voters of paying hush money, 20 by inciting an insurrection while refusing the peaceful transfer of power, which the SCOTUS was wrong to wipe, the 14th, Sec 3, off the books for the entire country when states administer their own fed election protocol, in 24 by delaying justice, which 25% of the electorate would swing if they knew he was guilty of one or both of the DOJ's, late to the party, indictments. In 2022 upon Trump stating he'd rip up the constitution the Times found a little spot on page 13 to mention it. Normalizing is one thing, enabling and aiding is another entirely. I hope they all realize they're risking our futures as well as their own.
Excellent article - very well said. Thank you.
Amen!
Welcome to the corporate world. I am more than disgusted. A helpful press overlooked the dangers posed by Hitler. We know how that turned out. I can no longer bear to watch CNN—they may have exposed Biden’s weaknesses, but it was not an honestly brokered debate. They never forced Trump to follow the rules. Biden, being a decent fellow, followed the rules by choice. No simultaneously fact checking or calling out the former President for his outrageous lies in which he took credit for everything Biden did.
The NYT seems to have self-combusted. Politico? Who knows. They will get Trump re-elected, but they may still have their jobs at their laughable media outlets. Remember how we all held Fox in contempt? Now the mainstream has joined that team.
Suggestive or edgy headlines attract readers and money, but at what price? Trump’s band of elves are planning to destroy the country. We should all be taking this very, very seriously. I have studied Russia and WWII al my life. I am scared. I am sure Anne Applebaum, Masha Gessen, Timothy Snyder, Bill Browder and Ruth Ben-Ghiat would all agree. This is not a temporary change of party, it is a change of our government and our laws. And the moronic duo heading up the political charge—Vance and Trump—are devoid of empathy and without any known set of values. I am incensed by everything Vance says, and am disquieted by the manner in which he says it. The lack of appropriate affect is stunning. And Trump did a 180 on abortion overnight. There is no point asking him where he stands on issues, because he doesn’t. He merely reflects what is useful at any moment. It is a reflection of outside pressure, not inner beliefs. What will he actually do if he is elected? There is no way of telling. I doubt he knows. But two recent actions made me want to spit. The visit to Arlington was horrid. It was painful for anyone who cares about our soldiers. Contemptible. And the re-posted sexual reference tweet was simultaneously grotesque and horrifying. No one should ever say things like that. But a candidate for President? It would seriously have given my mother a stroke. She believed in good manners and more importantly, treating people with respect. It is obvious that Trump and Vance don’t just want women back in the home, with no job, no future, just children, they actively hate women. They are afraid or them. Vance would use post-menopausal women as babysitters. And what would he be doing with all this free time? Not raising his children. The all-important family would be left to the women to raise. The two of them are really not right in the head. We need to see this and point it out as often as possible.
Anne Nelson has made a study of the insidious thing that calls itself Christian Nationalism. It is completely devoid of religious beliefs. They raise huge sums of money to carry out their political agenda. This is how we end up with project 2025.
Trump is not the strong man they would like, but he will do in a pinch. Maybe he will hand the country to Russia as a gift. If we emphasize and expose his weaknesses (thank you Lincoln Project), perhaps they too will feel contempt for the orange man.
With so many of us warning for months and months that Trump is mirroring the Nazi path to power, why is he even under consideration for a government post? He could not pass the easiest of civics tests. I am beyond frustrated. And with the press not doing their job, things only get worse.
Excellent comment. To the point, and exactly what the MSM should be emphasizing. The danger to our democracy is real, it's not hyperbole. I can only guess that the owners of MSM now don't care if the fpotus is elected. They will get more tax breaks, and just turn further right wing to be the Heritage Foundation, christian nationalist, faux "news" rivals in propaganda. Sad and horrific. Harris and Walz being elected is only a start to get our country on the democratic republic side again.
I hope you’ll be posting your own Substack soon, Alexandra. You make very good points here.
Thank you. I always worry I will be being repetitive, or not having done original research when I respond. Perhaps I should lower the bar I set. I appreciate your kind words.
I write whatever I feel like discussing on any given day. I have trained myself to do it regularly on Thursday and Sunday. And I try to reference my sources when necessary. But mostly I enjoy myself, even in these perilous times. I believe together like-minded people can save democracy.
You are right. If we recognize the threat there is a good chance we can neutralize it. Stephen Miller can join the breadlines with Chris LaCivita.
I try to be a good citizen. I worked my heart out on the primaries for Hillary and Pete. It still feels like a bit of a bottomless pit when being gay or a woman may be disqualifying in and of itself. I hope we are over that. Jim Comey has a lot to answer for! Interesting how emails made it into the public domain when it helped the Republicans but not vice versa.
While I stop short of condemning the "entire" corporate media system of corruption based on a few or even more than a few examples I can understand the momentary reaction. She didn't "evade" or even "sidestep" anything. She gave the question the answer it deserved. I've actually seen reports (NBC I think, I've read so many) that actively praised her for this.
What we have here is more a culture of entitlement, where a whole LOT of "journalists" think that they can ask stupid questions and get answers they want. It's a little like the problem with police brutality. Not ALL cops are brutal or steppers on rights, but the culture of many police departments and (sad to say) unions fails to make those who are accountable. In our zero-sum world, that makes people find themselves on either side of a "bright" (or really dark) line that in fact is quantum fuzziness in its complexity. And more and more the corporate OWNERS, like the unregenerate police departments, are pushing this lack of common sense, much less accountability with their apparent insistence on biased headlines even when the stories contradict the headline.
That's what happened here. The actual STORY on Politico was a fairly thoughtful discussion of WHY Harris is refusing to rise to the "identity politics" dog whistle.
.
Just as telling was Dana Bash's immediate response to VP Harris after she said "Next Question, Please". It was "That's it?".
At least the latest Washington Post opinion piece, recognised the appropriate milieu.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/30/harris-not-taking-trump-bait/
to which the proper response is “yep” She could have said “I feel no need to respond to racist comments” but that would have put her back into the fray, perhaps.
yikes. all media demanding she remark / defend herself from blatant lies is demeaning. Madame VP’s history/herstory is widely known. insanity is msm choosing to pass along disinformation.
Looks like a cheap attempt at clickbait. Harris didn't "evade" any question about her identity, and she was clearly trying to imply, correctly, that Bash's question was racist, just as Trump's ugly "has she suddenly become black?" was racist. Bash was disrespectful and trivial to ask such a meaningless question of Harris, who is making history as the first woman and first Asian American to be this close to becoming president.
https://www.politico.com/feedback
Harris "evades" questions about her identity??? WTF! How about "Harris refuses to let racist right wing media define her"? You are so right, Waj, every single large MSM is sucking up to extreme, reactionary framing of this entire election. Even after the hideous coup attempt on Jan. 6th. Instead of callng out the obvious drive to throw out our constitution, and allow a fascist regime to take over our nation, the media is leading the charge by normalizing the fpotus and his minions. It is not normal to depict a candidate for president in a vulgar, sexist meme. It is not normal for a candidate to repeat over and over outright racist, sexist, demeaning insults ad nauseum. Harris gets pummeled by the press for not talking about her policies, as if they never hear her speeches. What are the fpotus policies as stated by him? There is serious gaslighting going on. Substack writers are my main news source now. The MSM needs to change or die.
The press is certainly Frustrating! Another F word, but we all can certainly relate to Jeff Tiedrich! 🤣 I’m no longer clicking on their links or reading CNN, Politico, NYT! I’ve been reading AP News, BBC, NPR, WaPo. Where is everyone getting their news?
I use to revere the NYT. As much as I miss the crosswords, I ditched my subscription months ago. I like an eclectic mix of news sources - Meidas Touch Network, NPR, ProPublica. I'm discerning with my time and attention, so pick and choose individuals that resonate with me, from a wide variety of sources - Substack, YouTube, even Twitster 😈😁. I recently went down the rabbit-hole that is the tikety-tok and I hold Mary Lea Trump fully accountable. 😉😁
WaPo is just as bad. My subsription runs out soon, you don't get refunds. So I use the comment section. WaPo headlines and bent is exactly the same as NY Times, Politico, even the Atlantic. It's discouraging but not hopeless. We push back when we can, and don't support the MSM with subscription money any further.