Three years ago I sat down with PBS ‘Frontline’ and talked about the Trump era and how it came to be. If you’re interested, here is the link to the hour-long interview. I do my best to explain why the craziest people in Washington, DC, are given the overwhelming amount of attention across America’s broken political media industry. The American media rewards America’s extreme politicians. That is why we are here today. I talk about the moment when Republican Congressman Joe Wilson yelled,
Wouldn’t it just take the votes of all Democrats and six Republicans to kill Rep. Jim Jordan’s “Insurrection Protection” Subcommittee? Rep. Jordan was significantly involved in January 6 and several aspects of Trump’s coup attempt. Jordan is a seditionist and should be removed from Congress under the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3. And the House Republicans and McCarthy are going to let him run a Subcommittee to investigate the investigators when he is very likely one of the subjects of investigation relating to January 6? Will the insanity never end?
Great article Steve, thank you for your informed and astute perspectives. One thing I will add is that long ago, I stopped being shocked at seeing rubbish in the MSM opinion pieces - even the “paper of record”. When I see them, I just flip to the next article. Seeing Ms Conways name just reaffirmed my belief that money rules over truth at The NY Times who obviously feels like they are missing out on revenue if they don’t give dishonesty and depravity a platform. Sadly, this is both a reflection on our society as well as providing a feedback loop to reinforce it. The only antidote I can think of are readers who know how to discern. When I was younger, everyone knew that the National Enquirer printed garbage to make money. So no serious person would ever use them as a source other than satire - all chaff and no wheat. We now need discernment in all media we consume in order to separate the wheat from the chaff because those papers sure are doing their best to eliminate quality journalism.
My hope is that everyone ignores the subpoenas issued by the useless, assault-enabling Jordan. Were he a woman in the Missouri legislature today, they would force him to wear a jacket, instead of making us endure his performance art sands a sport coat (let alone a suit).
Years ago there was the phrase “. … what if they gave a war and nobody came…” Charlotte Keyes 1966. Not that old but remember the slogan from undergrad days.
What if Jim Jordan holds hearings and no one comes to testify but their old tired talking heads. Somewhere the MAGA crowd stay but everyone else will ignore. If there is no audience will this latest version of the UnAmerican Acts Committee dissolve into irrelevance?
I’m right there with you Steve. I’ve said it constantly that media needs to muffle Trump. He only wants to stay relevant so he continues bantering every day. ENOUGH! I change the channel when they talk about him. Until he pays for something I refuse to read or watch anytime he’s spoken about!
Disappointed that you didn't mention Maggie Haberman as one of your top stories
There is no worse example of the rot that passes for "journalism" today than this woman. She brazenly helped elect Trump by writing 50+ columns about "her emails" in '15-'16, and nothing about his well known decades long Manhattan based criminality.
From there, she graduated to "my psychiatrist" per Trump, willing to toss him softballs and sit on important stories of a national security nature, all for the sake of access. The fact that she writes for a once highly respected newspaper, the paper of record for many, and is regularly invited to opine on CNN makes her the worst of the worst.
KellyAnne's torrential dishonestly is vomitous but arguably less dangerous, simply because she's so bad at lying, she makes herself a national punchline. It's overt, public and obnoxious. Haberman by comparison has the veneer of respectability with her NYT and CNN imprimatur, she's an insidious presence in our national dialogue and actually is more dangerous and dishonest than the Conway types. Her mother works for Kushner and she's written puff pieces about that crime family.
Conway is an abject clown and wears a neon clown suit. Haberman wears the proverbial 3 piece suit, and carries a briefcase, talks in a hushed tone, and wears glasses to look scholarly. And lies to us every time she opens her mouth or takes to the keyboard
Jim Jordan is a dangerous, deranged man who would love nothing more than to topple democracy as we know it. He is also a coward who looked the other way when young men for whom he bore responsibility were sexually abused. Assuming we survive this, the darkest and dumbest time in our political history, Jordan will be remembered as the loathsome, seditious, perverted excuse for a member of Congress that he is.
George Clooney's documentary can't come out fast enough.
Do you have a ‘board of directors’ advisory folks as it were, who you use as a sounding board? I ask, as over the last year you’ve been right and you’ve been wrong ( like all humans) and rather than focusing on what exactly the clown show will imminently do next, can you employ your considerable expertise to direct folks on action today?
You had it right with LP. You simply had the wrong people and you weren’t who you have become. I hope you find a trusted group to empower action.
Hi Steve. Thank you as always. Seeing KAC in the NYT today, absolutely quells my spirit, and any hope that we’ve moved on with lessens, found new intent, or barred liars from media exploitation- It’s like the Times decided “oh that was fun” “don’t we just miss a continual flow of gas-lighting, deceit and lying, to make our pages look juicy” ... it’s debilitating to witness a media outlet pick up a weapon to aim and fire at us, that we thought was out of the ring. It even seemed for a minute that we could be out of the ring, almost, not exactly fighting day to day, anymore.
Alas, there she is, on the cover of the much coveted NYT Magazine. And the victims who paid to be so, are subjected to her bile. It is disgusting, every, every sense of the word.
This in a country that some still dare to refer to as the greatest country in the world. It doesn’t even make the shortlist IMO. That devastating duality of greed and ignorance have risen to the surface and like unleashed water will go wherever it wants to go. The awful floods in California are not unlike the tragedy in full bloom in Congress, where greed and ignorance are joined by malevolence for a two-year floor show that would be entertaining if not for its crushing promise. Guarding the bridge like Monty Python’s hero who laughably loses one limb after another, are the Democrats, well-intended but timid creatures led by a worthy president who has just unraveled everything by being caught with his documents down, a boneheaded malfeasance that I think takes him out of the running for 2024 leaving us with whom, what?
I’m a freelance crytpo journalist currently writing for Cointelegraph and I’m gobsmacked that no outlet, crypto or MSM, has done any deep dive reporting about the matter of Sam Bankman-Fried and his campaign donations. I desperately wanted to dive into the issue and to write up a story. My editor at CT promptly dismissed the matter as too political. It get it, sort of. With the exception of CoinDesk and maybe The Block, most crypto news outlets are in the business of helping community members, traders and the industry. Inevitably, they are PR outlets. Unfortunately, they are the best suited to do this work, as many have deep analytical research tools and staff members that mainstream newsrooms don’t have. They understand how to handle the forensic crypto side of the investigative journalism. I also reached out to a few friends, editors and a few colleagues whom I know from my days cutting my teeth in the political space, and, well, radio silence. I even interacted with a remarkable AP finance reporter who told me that, “they were just talking about that”. I agree with Steve that this is a staggering story with implications that we can’t even fully perceive. But, I also now have learned from Steve that the reason for the radio silence on this matter very well could be access journalism. I hope there’s a brighter future for journalism because there are so many great reporters out there. Irrespective, this is a story that I would love to cover. If I can partner with you Steve or if there’s a appetite out there to read it and support it…..whatever that means….I’m in.
Happy Victory Sunday! (49ers). Listened to your interview from 3 years ago. Thought it was excellent, Steve. Thanks for putting it out here for us to listen to.
Steve,
Wouldn’t it just take the votes of all Democrats and six Republicans to kill Rep. Jim Jordan’s “Insurrection Protection” Subcommittee? Rep. Jordan was significantly involved in January 6 and several aspects of Trump’s coup attempt. Jordan is a seditionist and should be removed from Congress under the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3. And the House Republicans and McCarthy are going to let him run a Subcommittee to investigate the investigators when he is very likely one of the subjects of investigation relating to January 6? Will the insanity never end?
Robert Lehrer
Albemarle, NC
Great article Steve, thank you for your informed and astute perspectives. One thing I will add is that long ago, I stopped being shocked at seeing rubbish in the MSM opinion pieces - even the “paper of record”. When I see them, I just flip to the next article. Seeing Ms Conways name just reaffirmed my belief that money rules over truth at The NY Times who obviously feels like they are missing out on revenue if they don’t give dishonesty and depravity a platform. Sadly, this is both a reflection on our society as well as providing a feedback loop to reinforce it. The only antidote I can think of are readers who know how to discern. When I was younger, everyone knew that the National Enquirer printed garbage to make money. So no serious person would ever use them as a source other than satire - all chaff and no wheat. We now need discernment in all media we consume in order to separate the wheat from the chaff because those papers sure are doing their best to eliminate quality journalism.
I love how you bring the macro picture of what is happening into blindingly clear focus and make it so understandable. Keep the ball rolling, Steve!
My hope is that everyone ignores the subpoenas issued by the useless, assault-enabling Jordan. Were he a woman in the Missouri legislature today, they would force him to wear a jacket, instead of making us endure his performance art sands a sport coat (let alone a suit).
( showing my age which isn’t all that old)
Years ago there was the phrase “. … what if they gave a war and nobody came…” Charlotte Keyes 1966. Not that old but remember the slogan from undergrad days.
What if Jim Jordan holds hearings and no one comes to testify but their old tired talking heads. Somewhere the MAGA crowd stay but everyone else will ignore. If there is no audience will this latest version of the UnAmerican Acts Committee dissolve into irrelevance?
I’m right there with you Steve. I’ve said it constantly that media needs to muffle Trump. He only wants to stay relevant so he continues bantering every day. ENOUGH! I change the channel when they talk about him. Until he pays for something I refuse to read or watch anytime he’s spoken about!
Disappointed that you didn't mention Maggie Haberman as one of your top stories
There is no worse example of the rot that passes for "journalism" today than this woman. She brazenly helped elect Trump by writing 50+ columns about "her emails" in '15-'16, and nothing about his well known decades long Manhattan based criminality.
From there, she graduated to "my psychiatrist" per Trump, willing to toss him softballs and sit on important stories of a national security nature, all for the sake of access. The fact that she writes for a once highly respected newspaper, the paper of record for many, and is regularly invited to opine on CNN makes her the worst of the worst.
KellyAnne's torrential dishonestly is vomitous but arguably less dangerous, simply because she's so bad at lying, she makes herself a national punchline. It's overt, public and obnoxious. Haberman by comparison has the veneer of respectability with her NYT and CNN imprimatur, she's an insidious presence in our national dialogue and actually is more dangerous and dishonest than the Conway types. Her mother works for Kushner and she's written puff pieces about that crime family.
Conway is an abject clown and wears a neon clown suit. Haberman wears the proverbial 3 piece suit, and carries a briefcase, talks in a hushed tone, and wears glasses to look scholarly. And lies to us every time she opens her mouth or takes to the keyboard
Jim Jordan is a dangerous, deranged man who would love nothing more than to topple democracy as we know it. He is also a coward who looked the other way when young men for whom he bore responsibility were sexually abused. Assuming we survive this, the darkest and dumbest time in our political history, Jordan will be remembered as the loathsome, seditious, perverted excuse for a member of Congress that he is.
George Clooney's documentary can't come out fast enough.
Do you have a ‘board of directors’ advisory folks as it were, who you use as a sounding board? I ask, as over the last year you’ve been right and you’ve been wrong ( like all humans) and rather than focusing on what exactly the clown show will imminently do next, can you employ your considerable expertise to direct folks on action today?
You had it right with LP. You simply had the wrong people and you weren’t who you have become. I hope you find a trusted group to empower action.
Hi Steve. Thank you as always. Seeing KAC in the NYT today, absolutely quells my spirit, and any hope that we’ve moved on with lessens, found new intent, or barred liars from media exploitation- It’s like the Times decided “oh that was fun” “don’t we just miss a continual flow of gas-lighting, deceit and lying, to make our pages look juicy” ... it’s debilitating to witness a media outlet pick up a weapon to aim and fire at us, that we thought was out of the ring. It even seemed for a minute that we could be out of the ring, almost, not exactly fighting day to day, anymore.
Alas, there she is, on the cover of the much coveted NYT Magazine. And the victims who paid to be so, are subjected to her bile. It is disgusting, every, every sense of the word.
This in a country that some still dare to refer to as the greatest country in the world. It doesn’t even make the shortlist IMO. That devastating duality of greed and ignorance have risen to the surface and like unleashed water will go wherever it wants to go. The awful floods in California are not unlike the tragedy in full bloom in Congress, where greed and ignorance are joined by malevolence for a two-year floor show that would be entertaining if not for its crushing promise. Guarding the bridge like Monty Python’s hero who laughably loses one limb after another, are the Democrats, well-intended but timid creatures led by a worthy president who has just unraveled everything by being caught with his documents down, a boneheaded malfeasance that I think takes him out of the running for 2024 leaving us with whom, what?
Great article, Steve. I’d like to offer a 4th story of equal consequence: that of George Santos. Thank for a daily moment of sanity.
Happy Sunday?
Now I'm depressed again.
I’m a freelance crytpo journalist currently writing for Cointelegraph and I’m gobsmacked that no outlet, crypto or MSM, has done any deep dive reporting about the matter of Sam Bankman-Fried and his campaign donations. I desperately wanted to dive into the issue and to write up a story. My editor at CT promptly dismissed the matter as too political. It get it, sort of. With the exception of CoinDesk and maybe The Block, most crypto news outlets are in the business of helping community members, traders and the industry. Inevitably, they are PR outlets. Unfortunately, they are the best suited to do this work, as many have deep analytical research tools and staff members that mainstream newsrooms don’t have. They understand how to handle the forensic crypto side of the investigative journalism. I also reached out to a few friends, editors and a few colleagues whom I know from my days cutting my teeth in the political space, and, well, radio silence. I even interacted with a remarkable AP finance reporter who told me that, “they were just talking about that”. I agree with Steve that this is a staggering story with implications that we can’t even fully perceive. But, I also now have learned from Steve that the reason for the radio silence on this matter very well could be access journalism. I hope there’s a brighter future for journalism because there are so many great reporters out there. Irrespective, this is a story that I would love to cover. If I can partner with you Steve or if there’s a appetite out there to read it and support it…..whatever that means….I’m in.
Happy Victory Sunday! (49ers). Listened to your interview from 3 years ago. Thought it was excellent, Steve. Thanks for putting it out here for us to listen to.