@NYTLiz One problem with mainstream journalists is their stubborn unwillingness to admit that Breitbart is not a legitimate news source and therefore undeserving of the privileges of being treated with anything but contempt.
@NYTLiz Elite journalists have a circle-the-wagons mentality when it comes to protecting freedom of the press. When the media is attacked by government, that is appropriate. But it leaves the media vulnerable to corruption from within by faux media that is just propaganda.
@NYTLiz Journalists know perfectly well that rich people often buy media outlets or set up their own for the sole purpose of blocking inquiries into their own misbehavior, personal ambition, propaganda etc. But these fake media still offer jobs that reporters need. So, no criticism.
@NYTLiz Also, if they start down the road of effectively banning bullshit media operations like Breitbart then it leads them directly to Fox, which is simply a bigger and more sophisticated version of it. That's a line no mainstream media reporter will cross. Raises too many questions.
@NYTLiz Questions about the fundamental nature of the media itself, such as whether a profit-making media company can ever be objective, about the wall between advertising and news, between opinion and reporting, about arrangements between reporters and sources, etc.
I think many of our political problems are due to what economists call time-inconsistency--bad stuff is done, but we don't immediately see the bad consequences. When the bad consequences arrive, people don't connect it to the bad actions that caused it.
The obvious example is tariffs. Economists immediately said this would lead to higher prices and unemployment, and no positive effects on manufacturing. Nothing happened for several months and WH lies convinced many short-sighted people that the economists were wrong.
Now the chickens are coming home to roost and the negative effects of tariffs are becoming palpable. Another example is Trump's illegal/unconstitutional actions in so many areas. It takes time for courts to act against them because someone with standing must bring a case.
Feudalism grew directly out of the fall of Rome. We are reliving that event as science, the rule of law, logic, reason and civilization itself slowly die. Tucker knows this and wants his stupid followers to think it's a good thing rather than a tragedy that lasted 1,000 years.
I should add that for many ultra-religious Christians, the Middle Ages, during which feudalism was the dominant economic/social system, was the best system ever because the Catholic Church was at the pinnacle of its earthly power, crushing free thought and inquiry.
They would very much like to reverse the Enlightenment, not to mention the Reformation, which together created the Renaissance. They want Faith in the supernatural (Heaven and Hell) to be dominant over rational thought and empirical facts about the world.
I'm glad that the resistance is making a little bit of headway against Trumpian tyranny. But it is moving so slowly that the drift of policy remains in a fascist direction. Even if Democrats win Congress and the WH in 2026 & 28,...
they will not be able to undo all the damage Trump has done to vital institutions, especially with a fascist court for longer than I have to live. Republicans will be happy to live with half, more likely three quarters, of their ultimate agenda...
at the end of the next Democratic administration. Judging by the Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations, nothing permanent will change. The next Republican administration in 2036 will simply pick up where Trump left off.
I think there is a misunderstanding about Trump's lawlessness that is important and unappreciated. I don't think it is outright fascism so much as an extension of the legal philosophy under which he operated his businesses and used to evade the consequences of his crimes.
It has always been to play for time, let the clock run out, delay delay delay. Trump has infinite patience when it comes to courts, the law, and lawyers. He knows that if he can simply postpone justice long enough, he will either go scot-free or settle on his terms.
He knows that ultimately many of the actions he is taking will be found by the courts to be illegal and reversed. But, partly, it's a crap shoot because some of the judges he appointed will rule according to party loyalty rather than the law.
I've always thought that Trump's constant misstatements were mainly because he is stupid; really, really stupid. But now I think they may result more from his total inability to tell the truth. The "truth" is simply whatever suits his purpose. nytimes.com/2025/02/23/us/…
This is of course classic sociopathic behavior. The curious question then becomes how and why do so many non-sociopaths follow him, repeat his lies, and rationalize Trump's obvious misstatements of truth.
Many see it as being in the best interest of their career or economic well-being. But there are many, many others who don't stand to benefit at all. It can't be because they share Trump's conservative philosophy because many of his actions are not remotely conservative.
Back when I was a Republican and got my first job in the House of Representatives, the party had like 140 seats and zero power. But every single day I tried to think of something we could do that day to fight. I wrote speeches for the Congressional Record,...
wrote studies that we released to the press, commissioned reports by the Congressional Research Service and General Accounting Office, sent out "Dear Colleague" letters. My boss testified before congressional committees, recorded commentaries distributed to radio stations et al.
This was very hard work in the pre-internet era. Many a night was spent stuffing envelopes by hand to send out reprints to our followers. My boss gave speeches in many places outside his district. The staff drafted amendments to bills on the floor, got cosponsors etc.