For the months following the election, and again for the weeks right after the inauguration, we saw a brief surge of political involvement and activism on a scale not practiced since we got out of Vietnam. People were angry; they were marching — and it was beautiful.
Even today there are protests, with people out in the icy cold carrying signs and chanting (more…)
A lovely young lady of my acquaintance is going traveling, off on a great adventure. I’ve been very excited for her, and it was with shock that I heard her talk about her fear while walking into a rural gas station. “Surely she can’t mean it,” I thought. “It’s a joke of some sort.”
And then she explained: It’s a trip through the heart of Trump country, and she’s neither male nor white. She fears violence, discrimination, and the Klan.
Again, my reaction was startlement. Shock. Amazed disbelief. After all, if there’s (more…)
“The Fake News doesn’t tell the truth.”
-President Donald Trump, CPAC speech, 24 Feb 2017
Once again, President Trump spoke out against the Fake News, this time at the CPAC conference at National Harbor. To be fair, it sounded a lot more powerful when he was talking. It sounded impressive, deeply meaningful, profound even. And then I read the words.
Trump sounds great in person. When you’re watching him with an open mind, he’s an incredibly powerful speaker — but he doesn’t say much. He’s a skilled orator who uses a third-grade vocabulary to convey simple ideas and make them seem powerful.
The comparison has been made (more…)
(NOTE: This article is being written in advance of the new Executive Order designed to function in place of that order of 27 January which has been partially blocked by the 9th Circuit. It is designed to be predictive in nature. When the new order finally is released, expect to see this updated with comparisons, but I’ll try to leave my predictions intact so you can see how smart I am — or how foolish, just as the case may be. The new order has now been released; comparisons are in a separate section at the end of the article.)
One week after taking office, President Trump released an executive order banning travel to this country on certain passports. I’ve written extensively on the pros and cons of accepting refugees, on the ways the ban went horribly wrong and why, and on the justifications for that ban. Combining that with the decision of the 9th Circuit to block some of its implementation, we should be easily able to predict what’s about to get ordered. (more…)
For me, the trouble with writing about politics these days is that it’s too easy to say bad things.
I don’t mean that it’s easy to insult the President and his people. That’s always easy. It’s always been easy, truth be told, which is exactly why the media always does it: They meet their deadlines and win Pulitzers and can still make Happy Hour, and (more…)
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve got news for you: There is no news.
Last week, President Donald J. Trump held a press conference. Everyone’s watched it, commentated on it, annotated it, and shown clips, but for the benefit of those few people with the good sense to change the channel when they saw it coming, here’s a summary: An hour-long angry rant about fake news and illegal leaks. (more…)
I’ve been resisting it for days, but — Jeez, America! Are you all really this stupid?
Now, I’m going to start off by saying that I’m not a fan of Donald J. Trump, especially as president. But he is, in fact, president, and he got there by having a very clever team drive the media cycle. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when he does it after he’s in office, should it?
But no; you’re all missing it. From the Times to the Post to CNN all the way to Fox News, major media is missing it completely. It’s the same damned slow curve they’ve been pitching for seven straight innings this series, and everyone still swings and reaches… and misses. (more…)
(Editor’s Note: The entire editorial staff is far too wasted from our staff V-Day party right now to do any actual editing. I’m the last man standing and I don’t get paid overtime, so to hell with it. I’m just going to put this out as-is, with the notes from the Legal Department tipped in. They should know what they’re doing; otherwise we’re paying them too damn much. -JW)
Happy Valentine’s Day, Big Oil! You can now pay bribes again!
I want to start off right now by saying that I’m not against bribes at all. In fact, I’m so pro-bribe I’ll make it easy for you: Just send me your money and I’ll accept it with a clean conscience. I don’t care if you’re Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Shampoo, or the Illinois Nazis Peace Through World Conquest Foundation — I’ll take your money, cash your check, and smile the whole time.
Corruption is a time-honored tradition, and it’s as American as apple pie. (more…)
This might look deadly boring at first glance, but hang on; there’s a twist at the end.
Detroit was once one of the great industrial centers of the United States, home to vast automobile factories and all the things that go to making that happen. Its location between two of the Great Lakes and at one of the few land connections between the United States and Canada make it one of the great commercial centers of the world. Or rather, it should be.
Instead, due to a century of mismanagement and pervasive organized crime, Detroit has become an object lesson to other cities as “what not to be”. It’s hardly (more…)
“Objective journalism is one of the main reasons American politics has been allowed to be so corrupt for so long. You can’t be objective about Nixon.”
– Hunter S. Thompson, interview, Atlantic Monthly 09/97
“So much for Objective Journalism. Don’t bother to look for it here — not under any byline of mine; or anyone else I can think of. With the possible exception of things like box scores, race results, and stock market tabulations, there is no such thing as Objective Journalism. The phrase itself is a pompous contradiction in terms.”
(from “On The Campaign Trail”)
Once again, the Press has become the story. (more…)
The Not Fake News 
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