Morning thoughts on Democratic messaging and the failure of the New York Times, Washington Post, and other legacy media outlets to convey the direness of the threat
Rightwing oligarch billionaires have spent the last few decades building a propaganda juggernaut. Democrats have nothing that rivals such.
Anyone getting most of their info from Fox/Murdoch, Newsmax, News Corp, Sinclair radio, TwitterX, One America News Network, Bott Radio Network (Christian Nationalist radio), and a host of other right wing propaganda sources...are by design woefully uninformed.
fElon has declared war on the American people. At this late date the only thing I can think of that will stop the convict's march toward fascism is the court of public opinion. To date the response has been a guerrilla war against him beginning with firebombing Teslas. In response the convict has weaponized the Justice Dept to go after fElon's enemies. It won't work. I was taught early on that all things are fair in war and things are going to get worse before they get better. We can't count on the legacy media to do their job from this point forward.
The irony of the NYT being this way is that the paper became the paper of record BECAUSE it printed objective truth in an era of journalistic bias. So sad.
I would never advocate for anyone to torch a Tesla dealership, but I would not let that stop me from roasting marshmallows over the flames. The survival of the country hinges on how quickly people turn on Musk.
Thanks for this Greg. I’m pointing people to your writings and interviews to help elevate their awareness, and, hopefully, generate some outrage. Well done.
Thanks, Greg. I agree that there’s a media problem. They’re not reporting on the issue of simple bad management. I don’t believe that they can destroy the America I love in just 4 years. We’re going to take the wheel back soon enough to stay on our best route.
I’ll vote for Washington DC and Puerto Rico to be the 51st and 52nd states. Their populations merit this step as there are more people in these two places than in most of the current 50 states. All American and deserving of a proper voice.
I now get most of my political news (i.e., Trump, Musk, DOGE, The Traitors) from WIRED, of all places. It was a subscription I started almost a year ago to have a place to GET AWAY from all this crap. LOL. I know that everyone in the Trump administration HATES WIRED, so they're doing a lot right. When I want Trump-hate 24/7/365, I go to Raw Story, where I can say "fuck" in the comments. Very necessary. And when I want to have a fight with MAGAts, I go to Mediaite. I go there less now than I used to because MAGAts are seriously tiresome, and dare I say, boring AF. There are NO reasonable conversations there.
I was directed to a story in The Guardian recently, a site I used to support, before I realized that I never really went there. I think I'll start going back there for news and give them my financial support again. As far as I can see, they're still solid.
The truth is though, that I now skim the news because I don't want TOO MUCH of it in my head. It's not necessary to know about every microscopic thing the Nazis are doing. Most of it is serious, but a lot of it is performative too, and I'm just not their audience. It's become, "the more you know, the less you want to know," and that's no place to be. And yes, it would be an incredible luxury to not know any of this, but I'm incapable of that even though I've professed the idea that that is where I was headed. I simply CAN'T do it. There are still a lot of "Don't Look Up" people walking around, and I can't be one of them. Good weekend, everyone!
I have given up on MSM. Substack is the go to source, not that I wish to live in a bubble of think alike.
Elon the Musk is not understandable. His motivation escapes me, I cannot fathom what drives him. Best way to deal with him is a Eddie Murphy line from Trading Places, best way to get even with rich people, make them poor people, something like that anyway. He is capable of self destruction, no one should buy a Tesla, when share price drops further the massive debt secured by his shares should overwhelm him, create a distraction requiring him to devote full time and attention to sort out a financial mess.
I will breathe a sigh of relief when he is gone: a victim of ketamine, angry shareholders, Martians, or just him getting bored and leaving. The others we can handle.
I know, right? I've found myself a few times, thinking, "Leave Trump alone, Musk! He's too swayed by flattery, you know it, and you're USING it!" Yeah, that's right, Musk has made Trump preferable. I don't want to go all xenophobic here, but at least Trump is a real American, born and bred here. Musk is an interloper.
Interesting how the comments rhetoric and posts have heated up in the last few weeks. Revolution is a word appearing more often. Not many non-violent options are there? Project 2025 has covered all (or most) opposition strategy. The Vets are pissed off and are starting to mobilize - finally. The shit is about to hit the fan. Last chance!
You are not alone in this frustration! How do we reach the uninformed is the question and to date the protests should be covered more, the Fox peeps need to realize they are at fault and risk being adamant when questioning the Liar in Chief and his admin sycophants. I’d love to see the chyron be used to say
Trump has lied about this go to xxxxfor the truth. Also it would be great if every day a leading democrat had a tutorial on you tube at a certain time explaining what is really occurring. Had to get this off my chest. Maybe it makes some sense. And lastly thanks, Greg, you keep us sane.
Thanks. I have seen a lot of people taking action. The rallies AOC and—pains me to admit—Bernie are doing are drawing huge crowds. People are angry, scared, and motivated. So there’s that!
Yep I get that I write, call etc as most of us do, but now this
Social security Kakafest is imo the tipping point! Republicans have family, friends, etc on SS so it is hitting them big time. Either they value their careers or their country is the looming question.
Great points. Except, for me, about Kamala's campaign. To me, recruiting Harris screamed that Democrat leadership didn't understand the depth of threat from Putrump. Obviously, I despise this reality, but if the Democrats had fully grasped the threat, and if they'd understood the breadth of U.S. white male chauvinism, they would not have bet our democracy on a woman --especially not a non-white women. There are times to fight sexism and racism but when the risk is that enormous, no, because we still haven't won in lesser matches. Sure, we've made progress among the educated, but among the masses (and voters), BillyBobs still rule. I don't wonder that educated Dem leaders don't know that. Still, I've been waiting to see street-smart, fully aware, take-charge Democrat leadership show up. After Schumer, though, I fear we're alone with Democracy's only hope being Putrumusk stealing enough to incite fury among their red hats. So far, though, I don't personally know one who isn't still brainwashed into believing the master's promise that a recession will be as worthwhile as blowing oneself to bits to earn the promised virgins.
Thanks for this Greg, MSM isn’t a place for cogency! I haven’t read/heard any utterance concerning Trumps promised Kristallnacht, as we’re nearing April… you?
Greg, I listened to your talk about the “legacy” newspapers and their anodyne headlines this morning and then thought about it on and off all day. This absence of human emotion in the news has been bothering a lot of us lately.
The news is supposed to be a cultural landmark, a touchstone to help us understand the world around us. When it fails to reflect the magnitude and urgency of what is happening, its readers are not properly warned; it is lulling us into a stupor.
If I was to look up historical headlines from 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, or even when we changed the calendar from 1999 to 2000, there was urgency in the headlines and the font size was much larger. Why isn’t that the case today in the midst of a violent attack on our democracy?
Something is not right with the people who publish the news. I cannot make sense of it and I feel betrayed.
TGIF🎉🎉🎉Channel your rage and get loud!
Amen!
"We Shall Prevail." Why does that feel like a question now, not a statement of fact. It must be a rallying cry: WE SHALL PREVAIL!
I say it with less inevitability than before but I still have faith. I refuse to believe we shitcan the republic for these people.
Rightwing oligarch billionaires have spent the last few decades building a propaganda juggernaut. Democrats have nothing that rivals such.
Anyone getting most of their info from Fox/Murdoch, Newsmax, News Corp, Sinclair radio, TwitterX, One America News Network, Bott Radio Network (Christian Nationalist radio), and a host of other right wing propaganda sources...are by design woefully uninformed.
fElon has declared war on the American people. At this late date the only thing I can think of that will stop the convict's march toward fascism is the court of public opinion. To date the response has been a guerrilla war against him beginning with firebombing Teslas. In response the convict has weaponized the Justice Dept to go after fElon's enemies. It won't work. I was taught early on that all things are fair in war and things are going to get worse before they get better. We can't count on the legacy media to do their job from this point forward.
The irony of the NYT being this way is that the paper became the paper of record BECAUSE it printed objective truth in an era of journalistic bias. So sad.
I would never advocate for anyone to torch a Tesla dealership, but I would not let that stop me from roasting marshmallows over the flames. The survival of the country hinges on how quickly people turn on Musk.
Thanks for this Greg. I’m pointing people to your writings and interviews to help elevate their awareness, and, hopefully, generate some outrage. Well done.
Thanks, John. I appreciate that!
Thanks Greg. I a
Thanks, Greg. I agree that there’s a media problem. They’re not reporting on the issue of simple bad management. I don’t believe that they can destroy the America I love in just 4 years. We’re going to take the wheel back soon enough to stay on our best route.
I’ll vote for Washington DC and Puerto Rico to be the 51st and 52nd states. Their populations merit this step as there are more people in these two places than in most of the current 50 states. All American and deserving of a proper voice.
Billserle.com
I love your optimism, Bill. Truly. Thank you.
It's the invasion.
In vah si on.
Scene from The Longest Day, the moment when the beach watcher sees the 5,000 allied ships.
I now get most of my political news (i.e., Trump, Musk, DOGE, The Traitors) from WIRED, of all places. It was a subscription I started almost a year ago to have a place to GET AWAY from all this crap. LOL. I know that everyone in the Trump administration HATES WIRED, so they're doing a lot right. When I want Trump-hate 24/7/365, I go to Raw Story, where I can say "fuck" in the comments. Very necessary. And when I want to have a fight with MAGAts, I go to Mediaite. I go there less now than I used to because MAGAts are seriously tiresome, and dare I say, boring AF. There are NO reasonable conversations there.
I was directed to a story in The Guardian recently, a site I used to support, before I realized that I never really went there. I think I'll start going back there for news and give them my financial support again. As far as I can see, they're still solid.
The truth is though, that I now skim the news because I don't want TOO MUCH of it in my head. It's not necessary to know about every microscopic thing the Nazis are doing. Most of it is serious, but a lot of it is performative too, and I'm just not their audience. It's become, "the more you know, the less you want to know," and that's no place to be. And yes, it would be an incredible luxury to not know any of this, but I'm incapable of that even though I've professed the idea that that is where I was headed. I simply CAN'T do it. There are still a lot of "Don't Look Up" people walking around, and I can't be one of them. Good weekend, everyone!
To you as well Steve!!
It’s a delicate balance: we have to know enough to maintain proper outrage but not so much that we curl up into the fetal position.
(I am writing this while curled up in fetal position on my couch, though…)
I have given up on MSM. Substack is the go to source, not that I wish to live in a bubble of think alike.
Elon the Musk is not understandable. His motivation escapes me, I cannot fathom what drives him. Best way to deal with him is a Eddie Murphy line from Trading Places, best way to get even with rich people, make them poor people, something like that anyway. He is capable of self destruction, no one should buy a Tesla, when share price drops further the massive debt secured by his shares should overwhelm him, create a distraction requiring him to devote full time and attention to sort out a financial mess.
I will breathe a sigh of relief when he is gone: a victim of ketamine, angry shareholders, Martians, or just him getting bored and leaving. The others we can handle.
I know, right? I've found myself a few times, thinking, "Leave Trump alone, Musk! He's too swayed by flattery, you know it, and you're USING it!" Yeah, that's right, Musk has made Trump preferable. I don't want to go all xenophobic here, but at least Trump is a real American, born and bred here. Musk is an interloper.
Interesting how the comments rhetoric and posts have heated up in the last few weeks. Revolution is a word appearing more often. Not many non-violent options are there? Project 2025 has covered all (or most) opposition strategy. The Vets are pissed off and are starting to mobilize - finally. The shit is about to hit the fan. Last chance!
There already was a revolution. We lost. Now we need a counterrevolution!
You are not alone in this frustration! How do we reach the uninformed is the question and to date the protests should be covered more, the Fox peeps need to realize they are at fault and risk being adamant when questioning the Liar in Chief and his admin sycophants. I’d love to see the chyron be used to say
Trump has lied about this go to xxxxfor the truth. Also it would be great if every day a leading democrat had a tutorial on you tube at a certain time explaining what is really occurring. Had to get this off my chest. Maybe it makes some sense. And lastly thanks, Greg, you keep us sane.
Thanks. I have seen a lot of people taking action. The rallies AOC and—pains me to admit—Bernie are doing are drawing huge crowds. People are angry, scared, and motivated. So there’s that!
Yep I get that I write, call etc as most of us do, but now this
Social security Kakafest is imo the tipping point! Republicans have family, friends, etc on SS so it is hitting them big time. Either they value their careers or their country is the looming question.
Is Musk's "Island of Genuis" a result of some sort of Savant syndrome?
Now at 53 given his activity schedule and possible pharmaceutical uses has he already left the planet Earth? Does he yearn to be the Mule?
Ask Harry.
It is the greatest mystery.
Great points. Except, for me, about Kamala's campaign. To me, recruiting Harris screamed that Democrat leadership didn't understand the depth of threat from Putrump. Obviously, I despise this reality, but if the Democrats had fully grasped the threat, and if they'd understood the breadth of U.S. white male chauvinism, they would not have bet our democracy on a woman --especially not a non-white women. There are times to fight sexism and racism but when the risk is that enormous, no, because we still haven't won in lesser matches. Sure, we've made progress among the educated, but among the masses (and voters), BillyBobs still rule. I don't wonder that educated Dem leaders don't know that. Still, I've been waiting to see street-smart, fully aware, take-charge Democrat leadership show up. After Schumer, though, I fear we're alone with Democracy's only hope being Putrumusk stealing enough to incite fury among their red hats. So far, though, I don't personally know one who isn't still brainwashed into believing the master's promise that a recession will be as worthwhile as blowing oneself to bits to earn the promised virgins.
Well said, Maureen. I concur.
Yikes, that last line. Did you see Couchfucker joked that she did vodka shots before meetings? These people are horrible.
On the show last night LB was openly wondering what it would take to sate MAGA rage. Probably we all would have to die.
We have run two women who both got a lot of votes but didn’t win. Third time is a charm. Bring on President Ocasio-Cortez!
Thanks for this Greg, MSM isn’t a place for cogency! I haven’t read/heard any utterance concerning Trumps promised Kristallnacht, as we’re nearing April… you?
Jim thinks the magic date is April 20th—Hitler’s birthday and 420, so Musk will find it funny.
And Easter Sunday, goddammit! WTF? They all need to be boiled in oil, out in space.
I found a tiny ray of hope in that you think we’ll be around to watch a season 3 of Severance. “Cold Harbor is the place to go…” 🤍
I’m kind of hoping this IS the third season and we can sever and forget…
Greg, I listened to your talk about the “legacy” newspapers and their anodyne headlines this morning and then thought about it on and off all day. This absence of human emotion in the news has been bothering a lot of us lately.
The news is supposed to be a cultural landmark, a touchstone to help us understand the world around us. When it fails to reflect the magnitude and urgency of what is happening, its readers are not properly warned; it is lulling us into a stupor.
If I was to look up historical headlines from 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, or even when we changed the calendar from 1999 to 2000, there was urgency in the headlines and the font size was much larger. Why isn’t that the case today in the midst of a violent attack on our democracy?
Something is not right with the people who publish the news. I cannot make sense of it and I feel betrayed.