Fritz Walter
Fritz Walter's JournalNice try, Professor!
It's finally dawning on some members of the Fourth Estate that they're culpable for much of the havoc that the Mangled-Apricot-Hellbeast (AKA Drumpf) has wreaked over the past year. True, there are some who have been consistent in telling us that this short-fingered vulgarian has no clothes -- and I apologize for that mental image -- but they have been and continue to be marginalized.
Eleven days ago, well before the RNC dumpster fire in Cleveland, the Columbia Journalism Review published an article written by David Mindich, a professor of media studies, journalism, and digital arts at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont and former assignment editor for CNN: "For journalists covering Trump, a Murrow moment." He references Edward R. Murrow, the CBS News journalist who exposed Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950:
...
Yeah, professor. A handful of critical journalists have been speaking up. But the Drumpf still scores front-page headlines and top-story newscasts every time his stubby, little fingers tap out a Tweet. I guess old habits are hard to break. Instead of focusing our attention on the blatant racism, sexism, xenophobia and unvarnished hatred contained within the Republican Party's platform, they point us to the shiny objects: Melania's cribbing a few lines from FLOTUS Michelle Obama's speech eight years ago; Raphael Cruz's non-endorsement.
The good professor waxes nostalgic about the good old days:
Yeah. Right!
Today, instead of political parties directly funding newspapers, we have that power concentrated into a handful of massive corporations, who are totally committed to their financial reports' bottom line, and a return-on-investment for their shareholders. Responsible journalism -- with solid commitment to the concepts of accuracy, objectivity and balance -- has been supplanted by infotainment, and an obsession with ratings with their correlated advertising revenue streams. These same corporate entities are major donors to candidates and PACs, thanks to SCOTUS for Citizens United. Not quite full-circle, but pretty close.
Still, it's an interesting read, especially since he mentions Steven Colbert's diagram on The Late Show. I imagine Mr. Murrow must be up to 500 RPM in his grave by now. In classic pedantry, Mindich cites:
We call them "bubbles" in the real world, professor.
Let's see how the coverage of the DNC unfolds next week, shall we?
Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump
Garry Trudeau, creator of the Doonesbury comic strip, has been satirizing the mangled apricot hellbeast for three decades, and his book, "Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on {Drumpf}," hit the shelves in bookstores -- and, of course, on Amazon -- Tuesday.
WaPo ran an opinion piece on the book, featuring an interview with Garry, and one quote nailed this particular cult of personality:
As much as I despise and abhor the aforementioned hellbeast, I might add this book to my collection, or at least check it out from my public library.
Drumpf blasts Will -- suffers major burn in response
Donald Trump blasted Pulitzer Prize winning conservative columnist, Dr. George Will, for leaving the Republican Party. Will's Response Is PERFECT: Will, with biting wit, responded in the best way possible. "He (Trump) has an advantage on me, because he can say everything he knows about any subject in 140 characters and I can't."
OK, this is an apocryphal quote I found on FB, but even if Will didn't say/write it, its entirety true.
Responsible Gun Owner of the Day
Kills his father.
Runs off to Daytona Beach with his wife/girlfriend, carrying a massive arsenal of weapons including assault rifles.
When confronted by law enforcement, commits murder/suicide or "double suicide."
http://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/st-johns-county/st-johns-deputies-seek-adult-son-of-victim
Reddock and a woman, believed to be his wife, Samantha, were found dead in the hotel room, along with an arsenal of weapons, including four assault rifles, four handguns and ammunition, investigators said. She has not yet been positively identified.
"It was basically an armory," Capri said. "By the grace of God, we dodged a bullet today."
Capri said it appears they each took their own life.
But here's the best bit:
2000: Arrested for assaulting his father
2001: Father gets injunction against him that’s in effect for more than a year
2002: Arrested for violating the injunction; Reddock grabbed his father’s wrist after the father called 911 on him for making threats
2004: Arrested for assaulting father
2005: Father gets second temporary injunction
2010: Arrested for assaulting his mother, who told deputies Reddock was bipolar and depressed
2015: Father gets third temporary injunction
2015: Arrested for assaulting Samantha Reddock
NOTE: Most of these charges were dropped
Meanwhile, the right wing express their shock and dismay at a sit-in in the US Capitol.
Beam me up Scotty!
Danish PM toasts Pres. Obama: "You're the best President..."
At the Nordic State Dinner last night, Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen paid our current President a wonderful compliment: "You're the best President that Europe never got."
The comment harvested both laughter and applause from the 300+ attendees, including leaders from Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Norway as well as the USA.
From the Danish coverage of the event (via Google Translate):
But immediately after, there was silence when Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that he supported the "Donald" as President.
"He is clever, the talented leadership skills, and he is a visionary... And I'm talking of course about the EU president, Donald Tusk, who in absence of you is the best president the EU could ask for," and laughter broke out among the guests.
The prime minister also praised a number of Obama's political results that are controversial in American politics: healthcare reform Obamacare, climate agreement in Paris, and the decision to celebrate the authorization of homosexual marriages through the United States by leaving the White House... in rainbow colors."
The loudest applause came from this comment:
http://politiken.dk/udland/internationalt620px/ECE3205903/loekke-i-skaaltale-til-obama-du-er-den-bedste-praesident-europa-aldrig-faar/
From the Washington Post:
“The first time you invited me into the Oval Office, Mr. President, you said that Denmark is punching above our weight. It made me proud,” Rasmussen said. “Now some six years later I understand that not only Denmark, but all the Nordic countries are punching above their weight? Nevertheless, I’m still proud.”
Rasmussen ran though a list of celebrities of Nordic descent, including Scarlett Johansson, Julia Roberts and Uma Thurman. “And the Norweigans? Well, they gave you Karl Rove.”
Jeg elskar Danmark! (I love Denmark)!
Bush-appointed federal judge rules against ACA subsidies
Various news outlets reporting that the judge ruled in favor of the House of Representatives challenge to the Affordable Care Act subsidies for low-income policy holders.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/house-gop-wins-obamacare-lawsuit-223121
Vote the bastards out of office come November!
Tow Truck Driver: God told me not to help disabled Sanders supporter
http://abc11.com/news/tow-truck-driver-refuses-to-tow-bernie-sanders-supporter/1324539/"Something came over me, I think the Lord came to me, and he just said get in the truck and leave," said Ken Shupe of Shupee Max Towing in Traveler's Rest, S.C. "And when I got in my truck, you know, I was so proud, because I felt like I finally drew a line in the sand and stood up for what I believed."
She also says the family mechanic informed Shupe that she was disabled.
After waiting more than an hour and a half, McWade was towed by another company.
How despicable!
Conclusive proof: Rick Scott is an asshole!
Attacking a constituent through a PAC's web video is bad enough.
Now Florida's governor Rick Scott's loading of state commissions with cronies whose conflicts of interest are glaringly obvious. For instance, take a look at what the Orlando Sentinel wrote about John Miklos, chairman of the St Johns Water Management District.
His agency also tells you how often you can water your lawn and levies taxes on your home — about $45 a year if you have a $200,000 home.
Here's something else you should know about Miklos: He makes money — $155 an hour in one case — representing businesses and companies that need things from the district.
Yes, Miklos owns a private business. And part of his business is offering clients the chance to pay him to help them get things from the very government agency he helps run.
That stinks.
It may also sound familiar. This is how it all started with the expressway authority.
Gov. Scott appointed a consultant who did business with the toll-road agency to help run the toll-road agency. It was an obvious conflict.
I said so. Local watchdogs said so.
But that consultant wanted to stay. And the governor vowed to "keep an eye" on him.
Three years later, the consultant was indicted and sentenced to prison. The entire expressway authority was then disbanded.
Past certainly isn't always prologue. For one thing, Miklos says he scrupulously adheres to ethics rules. For another, Florida's ethics laws are weaker than a virgin daiquiri.
Fresh water is going to be the next natural resource over which wars will be fought. And Gov. Voldemort is making sure that his corporate buddies rape, pillage and plunder the environment to their shriveled, blackened heart's content.
If Scott is an asshole, his political appointees are the hemorrhoids that surround that orifice.
Faux Noise's Stossel: "I have lung cancer... Customer service stinks!"
Yeah, John, Karma can be a real bitch sometimes.
From today's WaPo:
Get well soon, John! So that the hospital staff won't have to put up with your sorry ass much longer.
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