Appearances can sometimes be deceiving, and anything is possible in America. The New York Times superstar David Brooks, the author of “The Road to Character,” doesn’t appear to have much experience with shovels, and therefore might be unfamiliar with the first rule of holes.
As a subscriber of The NYT my whole adult life and a reader since childhood I am appalled about its silence over David Brooks’ outright fabrication. His ‘apology’ was a flaccid excuse for someone who has an actual journalistic reputation. I guess I’ll be skipping his columns; I don’t need to read anything from a proven liar.
I too am a long time reader/subscriber...except I've been turned off by DB for the past decade and have been skipping his columns and his weekly spot on PBS for just as long. I try to read him occasionally during the terrible times of the terrorist trump but I just could never get past one or two paragraphs. The NYT needs to say something. Their regular readers deserve better.
I don't even look him up 'occasionally'. It's been ages and ages, but I do remember that I found him 'confusing' on some level (maybe it WAS the gaslighting!). Hun - go figure! Anyway, I found better things to do than read him! I may cancel both NYT and WAPO and subscribe to the Atlantic, instead. Thanks for getting me to this great idea!
I love The Atlantic! And they are working with PBS on a new 30 minute news program on PBS Friday evening, Washington Week With The Atlantic, check it out!
I've missed every David Brooks column he's ever written, other than the ones where he gets called out for his bullshit. What do you expect from a third-rate intellect who could write the following "satirical" review of William F. Buckley Jr. and end it as he did: "In the afternoons he is in the habit of going into crowded rooms and making everybody else feel inferior. The evenings are reserved for extended bouts of name-dropping... Some would say I'm envious of Mr. Buckley. But if truth be known, I just want a job and have a peculiar way of asking. So how about it, Billy? Can you spare a dime?" When Buckley arrived to give his talk, he asked whether Brooks was in the lecture audience and offered him a job.
I never read Brooks unless it's to get pissed off at his supposed journey of self discovery and have good material to text my outrage, back and forth, with my fellow culture critics and old friends.
I canceled my subscription during the 2016 election, and I have never regretted that decision. The NYT should have changed its name to "All The News About Hillary's Emails We Can Possibly Print."
There is no difference, except one was a White House Press Secretary and the other a NYT star journalist. They both used the cover of their respective institutions to manipulate the public in a brazen and condescending way. They both work for the Republican Party, Double Scotch as a Republican apologist for the NYT.
I have always thought that Brooks was a slippery character. All his treatise have a whiff manipulation, to my mind he’s the epitome of Christian smugness, the Mike Pence of journalism.
Actually, David Brooks was a practicing Jew who divorced his first wife and then fell in love with a Christian woman. I don’t think that he officially converted. His first wife was a convert who became Orthodox. His Christian smugness is superficial as is his “smarter than you” attitude.
Cynical and bafflingly, self-indulgently stupid. I've at times found him interesting, but this says it all about his character. Buzzed or not, it was mean, snickering, calculated use of his readers' ignorance to use two $30 dollar pours of scotch to gin up (ahem) the outrage of folks dealing with real costs in the real world.
Should have added that apparently some internet sleuths familiar with the airport put together the meal and the drink costs. The restaurant then apparently ran a "D Brooks Special": the price of a "$78" hamburger prominently slashed to its actual price: $17.99.
The New York Times, the nation's finest fishwrap, hiring only the most over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployable members of the Ivy League trust fund babies as members of the Press Corpse.
That’s not quite fair. They have some excellent journalists, columnists, and contributors. But their addiction to winning RW readers and their God awful political coverage and editorial board sully the rest of the outstanding reporting.
He overpaid for Johnny Walker Black Label by a lot. Should have stuck with the Red Label - same buzz at better price point. OTH only a dimwitted low life complains about the cost of an airport meal after ordering off a menu with prices fully disclosed. Give me a break.
Brooks always has been a jerk and not a small bit dishonest. He's been writing for years and now people are noticing this because of a tweet? We are lost. Truly.
See my comment yesterday about this. Yes, yes, yes. What Mark Harris said and what Steve said. This tweet is purposefully and deliberately dishonest and deceitful. Gaslighting in service to what or whom?
It makes me ill. Do not let it go, everyone. He should resign or the Times should fire him. I am serious about this. This hit a nerve with me as you can tell. This kind of garbage is what is wrong with our country right now.
The name “Double Scotch” is most fitting! No wonder David sometimes had a distorted view of reality! But, he’s certainly not alone. My confidence in the media for truth telling has been diminished! Gaslighting is the name of the game, I’m afraid!
Excellent points Steve. I might point out that his apology was a non apology, deflection. He never answered the question.
Brooks talked about being upper middle class, and complaining about the cost of food was foolhardy, when so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
This wasn’t the point. His meal was $12 dollars, his liquor bill the rest. His apology was a non-apology and his answer bull shit. He can complain when prices are high, we all should. Just not the lie about why it’s so high.
Why isn’t he complaining that corporations are price gouging consumers, even after a COVID bailout that was supposed to save jobs, but instead ended up as special dividends to shareholders a trillion dollar waste)?
When he complains about inflation, why doesn’t he reflect the fact that while corporations raised prices for inflation and car manufacturers raised prices due to chip shortages, but the prices haven’t come down? They’re the same or higher.
So while inflation is approximately 3.5%, excluding energy and housing, the prices for consumers are still increasing. Add the 13.9% inflation two years ago, with 3.5% inflation currently, and average prices are still up almost 20% from several years ago, while pay can’t even keep up with today’s inflation of 3.5%.
Additionally, he mentions sticker shock with gas prices. We all know that the Ukraine War (war premium), and OPEC and Russia have colluded to reduce global oil output, and now crude pricing is hovering at around $90 a barrel and gas over $4 a gallon.
All we hear from pundits is that America needs to be energy independent. News flash, we are! We produce enough oil and natural gas to keep America moving along without any help. The issue isn’t energy independence, it’s that American oil companies are not required to sell their oil in the US. The global markets decide the price which gives OPEC and Russia the ability to manipulate global pricing. Plus, Alaskan oil is cheaper to ship to Asia than the continental US, so we export approximately 30-35% of our production. In fact, our largest suppliers of oil and natural gas are Mexico and Canada.
Secondly, we have serious issues with refinery capacity. Most Americans don’t realize that at our peak, in 1982, there were 250 oil refineries in the US, today we’re down to 128. And every one of them was built in the 1970’s or before. Many operate 24/7, yet the technologies and plants haven’t been updated since the 70’s. And many require billions in infrastructure upgrades to make them operate efficiently. Yet, while these same oil companies are reporting record earnings, they haven’t invested a dime in new infrastructure.
Why is this a problem, you ask? Six refineries closed during COVID and will never reopen. They processed 750 thousand barrels a day. What’s left are old plants that if forced to close because of fires and explosions (they happen), it would cause fuel gas prices to rise.
Refineries are a major issue that could keep gas above $5 a gallon should several refineries close because of fires or explosions. A Texas refinery recently shut down because it was operating 24/7 and the record extreme heat threatened to cause an explosion. And let’s face it, global warming and extreme weather isn’t going away any time soon.
This issue is a powder keg, and not even on anyone’s radar.
David Brooks may be a disaster, but don’t forget Trump’s “psychiatrist” Maggie Haberman, and Bret Stephens and other Times contributors too numerous to name. As a lifelong Times reader, I’m left wondering about the judgment of Times editors. It’s always particularly annoying when very wealthy columnists and those local “insiders” keep referring to working people in the NYC area who read their newspaper as the “coastal elite.” Most live in this area and they know better. Sad.
Always CUTE little terms for the peasants? That is what the NYT does to make those other than “themselves” one of them? Not really since they vacuum their houses, cut their grass, and drive their cars? And, deliver the NYT to their address daily!
You are an amazing wordsmith.. fabulous writing..the nickname "skipper" made me laugh..I got it even though I am not American. Priceless..thank you. My original thought was .. before I knew the context..why accept the meal at $78..don't pay..leave..send it back and complain or read the menu before ordering..who has $78 to spend on a burger and fries.. whatever way Mr brooks spins it ..crazy!! I love your articles
I am 82 now but I was an intuitive enough, angry youngster at 20 something, to know Brooks, in his earliest part of his career, was a hypocrite and smug s.o.b. He made me hot and frustratrated, having the chair next to a much better, real human being, Mark Shields. Shields always took that role, known as "the humanist ". He was the soft white knight vs. Brooks being the black, but intellectually gifted (not really), iron grey suited man .Maybe Shierds was full of it too, and he must have been, because you don't get that kind of power without having done some kind of crime.
The gander also rises. Keep on keepin' on Steve. I read all your columns and watch your YouTube uploads. Much appreciated (and supported financially) in this destitute age we're slogging through.
As a subscriber of The NYT my whole adult life and a reader since childhood I am appalled about its silence over David Brooks’ outright fabrication. His ‘apology’ was a flaccid excuse for someone who has an actual journalistic reputation. I guess I’ll be skipping his columns; I don’t need to read anything from a proven liar.
I too am a long time reader/subscriber...except I've been turned off by DB for the past decade and have been skipping his columns and his weekly spot on PBS for just as long. I try to read him occasionally during the terrible times of the terrorist trump but I just could never get past one or two paragraphs. The NYT needs to say something. Their regular readers deserve better.
Remember, he was hired as the replacement for William Safire.
I don't even look him up 'occasionally'. It's been ages and ages, but I do remember that I found him 'confusing' on some level (maybe it WAS the gaslighting!). Hun - go figure! Anyway, I found better things to do than read him! I may cancel both NYT and WAPO and subscribe to the Atlantic, instead. Thanks for getting me to this great idea!
I love The Atlantic! And they are working with PBS on a new 30 minute news program on PBS Friday evening, Washington Week With The Atlantic, check it out!
C'mon, he didn't lie. He just drank a shitload of booze.
And then got on the plane...shit-faced & wrote that.
I've missed every David Brooks column he's ever written, other than the ones where he gets called out for his bullshit. What do you expect from a third-rate intellect who could write the following "satirical" review of William F. Buckley Jr. and end it as he did: "In the afternoons he is in the habit of going into crowded rooms and making everybody else feel inferior. The evenings are reserved for extended bouts of name-dropping... Some would say I'm envious of Mr. Buckley. But if truth be known, I just want a job and have a peculiar way of asking. So how about it, Billy? Can you spare a dime?" When Buckley arrived to give his talk, he asked whether Brooks was in the lecture audience and offered him a job.
I never read Brooks unless it's to get pissed off at his supposed journey of self discovery and have good material to text my outrage, back and forth, with my fellow culture critics and old friends.
I canceled my subscription during the 2016 election, and I have never regretted that decision. The NYT should have changed its name to "All The News About Hillary's Emails We Can Possibly Print."
I haven’t read him in a long time.
There is no difference, except one was a White House Press Secretary and the other a NYT star journalist. They both used the cover of their respective institutions to manipulate the public in a brazen and condescending way. They both work for the Republican Party, Double Scotch as a Republican apologist for the NYT.
I have always thought that Brooks was a slippery character. All his treatise have a whiff manipulation, to my mind he’s the epitome of Christian smugness, the Mike Pence of journalism.
The Mike Pence of journalism! Brilliant!
Brooks should ask “Mother” next time he has the urge to drink and text.
Actually, David Brooks was a practicing Jew who divorced his first wife and then fell in love with a Christian woman. I don’t think that he officially converted. His first wife was a convert who became Orthodox. His Christian smugness is superficial as is his “smarter than you” attitude.
Such perfection in describing David Brooks! Christian smugness! Amen.
Let’s see if NYT kicks him to the curb? Got any standards, huh?
That is exactly where David Brooks belongs! Starring at the curb, holding on to a drink?
They won’t.
Right on! Exactly.
Cynical and bafflingly, self-indulgently stupid. I've at times found him interesting, but this says it all about his character. Buzzed or not, it was mean, snickering, calculated use of his readers' ignorance to use two $30 dollar pours of scotch to gin up (ahem) the outrage of folks dealing with real costs in the real world.
Should have added that apparently some internet sleuths familiar with the airport put together the meal and the drink costs. The restaurant then apparently ran a "D Brooks Special": the price of a "$78" hamburger prominently slashed to its actual price: $17.99.
The New York Times, the nation's finest fishwrap, hiring only the most over-educated, under-intelligent, otherwise-unemployable members of the Ivy League trust fund babies as members of the Press Corpse.
That’s not quite fair. They have some excellent journalists, columnists, and contributors. But their addiction to winning RW readers and their God awful political coverage and editorial board sully the rest of the outstanding reporting.
The items you mention are what I was referring to.
He overpaid for Johnny Walker Black Label by a lot. Should have stuck with the Red Label - same buzz at better price point. OTH only a dimwitted low life complains about the cost of an airport meal after ordering off a menu with prices fully disclosed. Give me a break.
David should have tried the impressive BLUE label?
Brooks always has been a jerk and not a small bit dishonest. He's been writing for years and now people are noticing this because of a tweet? We are lost. Truly.
See my comment yesterday about this. Yes, yes, yes. What Mark Harris said and what Steve said. This tweet is purposefully and deliberately dishonest and deceitful. Gaslighting in service to what or whom?
It makes me ill. Do not let it go, everyone. He should resign or the Times should fire him. I am serious about this. This hit a nerve with me as you can tell. This kind of garbage is what is wrong with our country right now.
Wishing you an easy fast and a sweet New Year, Steve! Good piece today!
Thank you, and to you.
Steve
The name “Double Scotch” is most fitting! No wonder David sometimes had a distorted view of reality! But, he’s certainly not alone. My confidence in the media for truth telling has been diminished! Gaslighting is the name of the game, I’m afraid!
Brooks is just a boozy bullshitter. Shame on the NYT for silently condoning it.
The perfect replacement for William Safire, which is how he got hired there.
YOU are fired, David!
Excellent points Steve. I might point out that his apology was a non apology, deflection. He never answered the question.
Brooks talked about being upper middle class, and complaining about the cost of food was foolhardy, when so many Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
This wasn’t the point. His meal was $12 dollars, his liquor bill the rest. His apology was a non-apology and his answer bull shit. He can complain when prices are high, we all should. Just not the lie about why it’s so high.
Why isn’t he complaining that corporations are price gouging consumers, even after a COVID bailout that was supposed to save jobs, but instead ended up as special dividends to shareholders a trillion dollar waste)?
When he complains about inflation, why doesn’t he reflect the fact that while corporations raised prices for inflation and car manufacturers raised prices due to chip shortages, but the prices haven’t come down? They’re the same or higher.
So while inflation is approximately 3.5%, excluding energy and housing, the prices for consumers are still increasing. Add the 13.9% inflation two years ago, with 3.5% inflation currently, and average prices are still up almost 20% from several years ago, while pay can’t even keep up with today’s inflation of 3.5%.
Additionally, he mentions sticker shock with gas prices. We all know that the Ukraine War (war premium), and OPEC and Russia have colluded to reduce global oil output, and now crude pricing is hovering at around $90 a barrel and gas over $4 a gallon.
All we hear from pundits is that America needs to be energy independent. News flash, we are! We produce enough oil and natural gas to keep America moving along without any help. The issue isn’t energy independence, it’s that American oil companies are not required to sell their oil in the US. The global markets decide the price which gives OPEC and Russia the ability to manipulate global pricing. Plus, Alaskan oil is cheaper to ship to Asia than the continental US, so we export approximately 30-35% of our production. In fact, our largest suppliers of oil and natural gas are Mexico and Canada.
Secondly, we have serious issues with refinery capacity. Most Americans don’t realize that at our peak, in 1982, there were 250 oil refineries in the US, today we’re down to 128. And every one of them was built in the 1970’s or before. Many operate 24/7, yet the technologies and plants haven’t been updated since the 70’s. And many require billions in infrastructure upgrades to make them operate efficiently. Yet, while these same oil companies are reporting record earnings, they haven’t invested a dime in new infrastructure.
Why is this a problem, you ask? Six refineries closed during COVID and will never reopen. They processed 750 thousand barrels a day. What’s left are old plants that if forced to close because of fires and explosions (they happen), it would cause fuel gas prices to rise.
Refineries are a major issue that could keep gas above $5 a gallon should several refineries close because of fires or explosions. A Texas refinery recently shut down because it was operating 24/7 and the record extreme heat threatened to cause an explosion. And let’s face it, global warming and extreme weather isn’t going away any time soon.
This issue is a powder keg, and not even on anyone’s radar.
Just some thoughts...:)
I gave up on the NYT about a year ago. And when Double Scotch pops up on NPR news I mute him. He drags the whole broadcast down.
David Brooks may be a disaster, but don’t forget Trump’s “psychiatrist” Maggie Haberman, and Bret Stephens and other Times contributors too numerous to name. As a lifelong Times reader, I’m left wondering about the judgment of Times editors. It’s always particularly annoying when very wealthy columnists and those local “insiders” keep referring to working people in the NYC area who read their newspaper as the “coastal elite.” Most live in this area and they know better. Sad.
Yeah.... what is the deal with the whole “Maggie” relationship??
Always CUTE little terms for the peasants? That is what the NYT does to make those other than “themselves” one of them? Not really since they vacuum their houses, cut their grass, and drive their cars? And, deliver the NYT to their address daily!
You are an amazing wordsmith.. fabulous writing..the nickname "skipper" made me laugh..I got it even though I am not American. Priceless..thank you. My original thought was .. before I knew the context..why accept the meal at $78..don't pay..leave..send it back and complain or read the menu before ordering..who has $78 to spend on a burger and fries.. whatever way Mr brooks spins it ..crazy!! I love your articles
I am 82 now but I was an intuitive enough, angry youngster at 20 something, to know Brooks, in his earliest part of his career, was a hypocrite and smug s.o.b. He made me hot and frustratrated, having the chair next to a much better, real human being, Mark Shields. Shields always took that role, known as "the humanist ". He was the soft white knight vs. Brooks being the black, but intellectually gifted (not really), iron grey suited man .Maybe Shierds was full of it too, and he must have been, because you don't get that kind of power without having done some kind of crime.
The gander also rises. Keep on keepin' on Steve. I read all your columns and watch your YouTube uploads. Much appreciated (and supported financially) in this destitute age we're slogging through.