Ms. Sullivan, you presented quite a Monday morning buffet today! I can't eat it all, so I will pick the closing of CBS radio. The metaphor that comes to mind in thinking about Bari Weiss is an engorged deer tick anchored to the defenseless body of American journalism.
Yes, agree with the CBS Radio closing. I sent a tweet that was ignored, but I said that I hope Weiss was visited by the ghosts of Edward R. Murrow, Charles Osgood and William Paley after her decision and that they will haunt her for the rest of her life. The good: the local resistance and organizing that I see in our community against the building of detention centers and even data centers. The silver lining in all this is that the Mad King has emboldened ordinary Americans to speak out and become activists, who would not have otherwise raised their voices to defend democracy.
We are participating in No Kings on 3/28 in Concord, MA! There are too many things giving me angst to list, but I continue to worry about how we recover once he is out of office.
Dr. Richardson (Letters from an American) has said recovery (if at all) depends on how deep and wide this gets. I think we all know what deep and wide means. It could take generations to recover.
That's not surprising, since it took generations to get this bad. We've been headed in this direction at least since Reagan or maybe since Nixon. And the Republican-dominated Supreme Court accelerated the process with the Citizens United decision of 2010.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. We should all strive towards this ideal, myself very much included! I believe we do indeed need to think about what comes after the current regime in 2029, but we also need to contemplate that they have no plans to give up power even if they do lose badly. I believe we need to entertain both scenarios and plan accordingly for normal politics and the extraordinary situation they keep telling us they will seek to impose. I am deeply concerned by so many smart people who simply assume that they will allow free and fair elections and respect the outcome even if it goes against them. Stephen Miller repeatedly says the quiet part out loud: “They must never be allowed to hold power again!”
The name Francis Urquhart is most notably known as the fictional, central MALE character on the popular British drama titled “House of Cards.” This Substack is most likely using it as their Substack avatar. There is nothing insulting in the use of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s quote on the ability to hold two opposed ideas in one’s mind. It is a literary flourish in aid of his point. And a good one and it is not directed at you personally.
I'm setting policies. I've got grandchildren who began raising hell in middle school. One of them led a walkout after the shootings at Parkland, another got a bad principal fired, and I've got photos of them with Obama and Elizabeth Warren. They are my policies and my insurance to have not lived in vain.
As a Canadian what gives me hope is our thrust led by Mark Carney, to find allies that are willing to circumvent Donald Trump and dependence on the US Economy as much as practical.
What causes me angst is the US TV media's apparent need to present news as a panel game show with at least one talking head who claims that Trump and his cronies really do have a strategy that serves the people. More time on facts please ,we can form our own opinions.
I will be attending the No Kings rally in either Bloomington or Indianapolis, Indiana. I am leaning toward the former as it is where I first learned the power, and the required persistence, of protests and civil disobedience during the late 1960s and early 70s. Yes, such activities are, unfortunately, a recurring necessity. Think Sisyphus.
My family is from the Göteborg, Sweden area having emigrated to the US in the late 1800's. I had the pleasure to visit Sweden, Norway & Denmark a couple of years ago and loved it!!!
The US is definitely a 2nd world country in almost every way compared to Scandinavia.
No Kings in Nashua, NH. What gives me hope? Not much. Maybe the fact that, like me, trump supporters are also watching their retirement savings and investments dwindle. I wonder if that will move the needle for some of them.
I’ll be at the rally in Buffalo at Niagara Square. I don’t have much hope, but I am observing some Buffalo folks turn against Trump in surprising ways. My angst is about the end of the world as we know it.
My husband and I will be participating in a No Kings march in Philadelphia. My 88 year old godmother, who lives in New York, emailed that she plans to march too!!
The Nexstar decision is distressing as about a third of Americans primary news source is local TV, according to Pew. Then there is the media's inability to accurately characterize Trump's words, as you note about his Pearl Harbor "joke." Then the FT and Wall Street Journal for some reason inexplicably clipped the word "Good" from Trump's insulting comment about Robert Mueller ("Good, I'm glad he's dead."). But you asked why we are optimistic. It's independent journalism such as yours and others on Substack: Max Boot, Charlotte Clymer, Heather Cox Richardson, and James Fallows.
Thank you for your posts! What worries me most is the ripple effect of Trump’s Epstein distraction in Iran. Emboldened apparently by his takeover of Venezuela, he thought he could bomb Iran to smithereens and walk away a hero - on to the next target. Instead, as predicted and ignored, the ripple effect of this war is catastrophic. It affects not only oil and gas production for the world, but everything from prescription meds, electronics, fertilizer and more. I don’t know how this ends well, nor how Dems can take control and do what they’ve done for decades and patch up the messes made by Republicans.
As for the No Kings March, I’ll be there in Portsmouth, NH!
And the worse the mess, the slower/harder the "patching up" which causes the idiots to blame Democrats for the problem and either stay home from voting - or rush to the embrace of the abusive party who put us all in harm's way.
I’m participating in my third no kings this Saturday.
Mueller’s passing reminded me of the “gullibility” of the NYT in headlining something it hadn’t read. Thank you for headlining it today. I’m not so sure it was gullibility given the many years since of sane washing and lack of scrutiny of Trump and his minions. The return to Washington cocktail party circuit of William Barr, one of the most corrupt Attorney General‘s in history, and the Godfather of today’s justice department, gives me pause. Why are there not deeper examinations of the things that he did, or even a look back at the tenure of Mark Meadows? Those were not normal times.
Trump’s presidency is not sustainable. Nor is the idea that we can wait for the elections to save democracy. Our efforts must be to drive him and his cohorts out of Washington as soon as possible.
There will be no look back. It was startling watching it in real time, but I won't see one single apology. Every single reporter is on Twitter insisting they did the right thing and so did their organizations.
What's giving me hope? Honestly, not much, and yet I still have some. What's giving me angst? I'm gonna need a bigger comments box.
That NYT front page about the Mueller report brings up Rule No. 4 of good journalism: Always Read the Documents. (Rules 1-3 are "Follow the money.") The Day 1 story should have been that Barr lied about the contents of the report.
This doesn't appear to be something the NY Times embraces. The Times piece about Trump's meeting with the PM uses distancing language. It's consistent with many other stories they publish, which tells me it's a choice.
I'm looking for immediate and visceral when that's what I've seen with my own eyes.
I'll be at the No Kings march this Saturday in Cincinnati. I'm increasingly of the mind, though, that once a quarter protests aren't enough, not while we're burning down both our own country and the rest of the world.
I want to see and take part in stronger actions. National strikes, national tax boycotts -- SOMETHING more than seething in place.
Leading with what gives me hope: The Twin Cities response to the ICE invasion and attack on immigrants, whatever their legal status and, let us not forget, American citizens, especially (but not exclusively) those with brown skin. And they added a word, "neighboring," to our lexicon.
That response inspired many in Portland, ME, to do what we could in a much less overt but still threatening "Operation Catch of the Day" (could they be more insulting?) aimed at our neighbors.
And I will be attending No Kings on 3/28 in Portland, ME with neighbors and friends.
"Tragically, the news media — even the most prominent — have never fully figured out how to cover Trump..." MS
Really? Well, if they haven't figured it out after ten years then we'd have to consider them uncommonly stupid. The truth is, the idea of accurately describing Trump's behavior makes them too uncomfortable, so they find ways to cover for themselves by covering for him. And in the above framing, Ms Sullivan, you have inadvertently covered for them. They aren't wrestling with how to honestly cover him; they're contorting themselves in order not to.
I completely agree. They are not "misled", they are not naive. It is a choice. Similar choices were made in regards to the Supreme Court throwing the election in 2000, the Iraq war, Hillary Clinton's emails and Biden's health.
They hammer and hammer on Democrats and slide past or launder Republican viewpoints and actions. It is a choice and one they make over and over, for decades.
Absolutely. All those things you listed plus I would throw in Whitewater, the War on Gore and the swiftboating of John Kerry. When you look at how the skewed coverage all of those things affected us as a nation, you almost have to come to the conclusion that, in the aggregate, legacy/mainstream media has been bad for society, bad for democracy and bad for humanity.
I will be participating in the No Kings march in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The continual neutralizing of the news is one of my biggest fears. The terminology is so bland even when describing horrific situations. I heard on two different news reports the word “extraordinary” to describe Trump’s comments about Robert Muller. His words weren’t extraordinary, they were DISGUSTING. The NYT has mastered the art of neutrality of vocabulary as have almost any broadcast or publication, except those on Substack. Thank you for pointing this fact out and reminding people how easy it is to become sheep instead of the bull horn.
Spot on, Marti. Corporate journalism is neutering the facts. I always call out an article that refers to Epstein as a “financier”. In fact his earned title is convicted sex-offender and international illegal money mule.
Ms. Sullivan, you presented quite a Monday morning buffet today! I can't eat it all, so I will pick the closing of CBS radio. The metaphor that comes to mind in thinking about Bari Weiss is an engorged deer tick anchored to the defenseless body of American journalism.
Yes, agree with the CBS Radio closing. I sent a tweet that was ignored, but I said that I hope Weiss was visited by the ghosts of Edward R. Murrow, Charles Osgood and William Paley after her decision and that they will haunt her for the rest of her life. The good: the local resistance and organizing that I see in our community against the building of detention centers and even data centers. The silver lining in all this is that the Mad King has emboldened ordinary Americans to speak out and become activists, who would not have otherwise raised their voices to defend democracy.
We are participating in No Kings on 3/28 in Concord, MA! There are too many things giving me angst to list, but I continue to worry about how we recover once he is out of office.
Yes, I do, too.
Dr. Richardson (Letters from an American) has said recovery (if at all) depends on how deep and wide this gets. I think we all know what deep and wide means. It could take generations to recover.
That's not surprising, since it took generations to get this bad. We've been headed in this direction at least since Reagan or maybe since Nixon. And the Republican-dominated Supreme Court accelerated the process with the Citizens United decision of 2010.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function” wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. We should all strive towards this ideal, myself very much included! I believe we do indeed need to think about what comes after the current regime in 2029, but we also need to contemplate that they have no plans to give up power even if they do lose badly. I believe we need to entertain both scenarios and plan accordingly for normal politics and the extraordinary situation they keep telling us they will seek to impose. I am deeply concerned by so many smart people who simply assume that they will allow free and fair elections and respect the outcome even if it goes against them. Stephen Miller repeatedly says the quiet part out loud: “They must never be allowed to hold power again!”
"“The test of a first-rate intelligence...I beg your pardon. Unnecessary opening.
It's a comments section Ma'am. We are not setting policies; just tossing stuff around.
The name Francis Urquhart is most notably known as the fictional, central MALE character on the popular British drama titled “House of Cards.” This Substack is most likely using it as their Substack avatar. There is nothing insulting in the use of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s quote on the ability to hold two opposed ideas in one’s mind. It is a literary flourish in aid of his point. And a good one and it is not directed at you personally.
That is up to me to decide isn't it.
You misread it — and why would you continue to believe that in spite of the evidence. It wasn’t directed at you personally.
I'm setting policies. I've got grandchildren who began raising hell in middle school. One of them led a walkout after the shootings at Parkland, another got a bad principal fired, and I've got photos of them with Obama and Elizabeth Warren. They are my policies and my insurance to have not lived in vain.
As a Canadian what gives me hope is our thrust led by Mark Carney, to find allies that are willing to circumvent Donald Trump and dependence on the US Economy as much as practical.
What causes me angst is the US TV media's apparent need to present news as a panel game show with at least one talking head who claims that Trump and his cronies really do have a strategy that serves the people. More time on facts please ,we can form our own opinions.
I will be attending the No Kings rally in either Bloomington or Indianapolis, Indiana. I am leaning toward the former as it is where I first learned the power, and the required persistence, of protests and civil disobedience during the late 1960s and early 70s. Yes, such activities are, unfortunately, a recurring necessity. Think Sisyphus.
Yes, protesting with Democrats Abroad in Göteborg, Sweden!
My family is from the Göteborg, Sweden area having emigrated to the US in the late 1800's. I had the pleasure to visit Sweden, Norway & Denmark a couple of years ago and loved it!!!
The US is definitely a 2nd world country in almost every way compared to Scandinavia.
No Kings in Nashua, NH. What gives me hope? Not much. Maybe the fact that, like me, trump supporters are also watching their retirement savings and investments dwindle. I wonder if that will move the needle for some of them.
I’ll be at the rally in Buffalo at Niagara Square. I don’t have much hope, but I am observing some Buffalo folks turn against Trump in surprising ways. My angst is about the end of the world as we know it.
My hometown!
My husband and I will be participating in a No Kings march in Philadelphia. My 88 year old godmother, who lives in New York, emailed that she plans to march too!!
The Nexstar decision is distressing as about a third of Americans primary news source is local TV, according to Pew. Then there is the media's inability to accurately characterize Trump's words, as you note about his Pearl Harbor "joke." Then the FT and Wall Street Journal for some reason inexplicably clipped the word "Good" from Trump's insulting comment about Robert Mueller ("Good, I'm glad he's dead."). But you asked why we are optimistic. It's independent journalism such as yours and others on Substack: Max Boot, Charlotte Clymer, Heather Cox Richardson, and James Fallows.
Thank you for your posts! What worries me most is the ripple effect of Trump’s Epstein distraction in Iran. Emboldened apparently by his takeover of Venezuela, he thought he could bomb Iran to smithereens and walk away a hero - on to the next target. Instead, as predicted and ignored, the ripple effect of this war is catastrophic. It affects not only oil and gas production for the world, but everything from prescription meds, electronics, fertilizer and more. I don’t know how this ends well, nor how Dems can take control and do what they’ve done for decades and patch up the messes made by Republicans.
As for the No Kings March, I’ll be there in Portsmouth, NH!
And the worse the mess, the slower/harder the "patching up" which causes the idiots to blame Democrats for the problem and either stay home from voting - or rush to the embrace of the abusive party who put us all in harm's way.
I’m participating in my third no kings this Saturday.
Mueller’s passing reminded me of the “gullibility” of the NYT in headlining something it hadn’t read. Thank you for headlining it today. I’m not so sure it was gullibility given the many years since of sane washing and lack of scrutiny of Trump and his minions. The return to Washington cocktail party circuit of William Barr, one of the most corrupt Attorney General‘s in history, and the Godfather of today’s justice department, gives me pause. Why are there not deeper examinations of the things that he did, or even a look back at the tenure of Mark Meadows? Those were not normal times.
Trump’s presidency is not sustainable. Nor is the idea that we can wait for the elections to save democracy. Our efforts must be to drive him and his cohorts out of Washington as soon as possible.
Thanks. It’s startling to revisit the way the Mueller report was distorted, and how the press was manipulated.
There will be no look back. It was startling watching it in real time, but I won't see one single apology. Every single reporter is on Twitter insisting they did the right thing and so did their organizations.
What's giving me hope? Honestly, not much, and yet I still have some. What's giving me angst? I'm gonna need a bigger comments box.
That NYT front page about the Mueller report brings up Rule No. 4 of good journalism: Always Read the Documents. (Rules 1-3 are "Follow the money.") The Day 1 story should have been that Barr lied about the contents of the report.
I am learning to like my news delivered bluntly.
This doesn't appear to be something the NY Times embraces. The Times piece about Trump's meeting with the PM uses distancing language. It's consistent with many other stories they publish, which tells me it's a choice.
I'm looking for immediate and visceral when that's what I've seen with my own eyes.
I'll be at the No Kings march this Saturday in Cincinnati. I'm increasingly of the mind, though, that once a quarter protests aren't enough, not while we're burning down both our own country and the rest of the world.
I want to see and take part in stronger actions. National strikes, national tax boycotts -- SOMETHING more than seething in place.
Leading with what gives me hope: The Twin Cities response to the ICE invasion and attack on immigrants, whatever their legal status and, let us not forget, American citizens, especially (but not exclusively) those with brown skin. And they added a word, "neighboring," to our lexicon.
That response inspired many in Portland, ME, to do what we could in a much less overt but still threatening "Operation Catch of the Day" (could they be more insulting?) aimed at our neighbors.
And I will be attending No Kings on 3/28 in Portland, ME with neighbors and friends.
"Tragically, the news media — even the most prominent — have never fully figured out how to cover Trump..." MS
Really? Well, if they haven't figured it out after ten years then we'd have to consider them uncommonly stupid. The truth is, the idea of accurately describing Trump's behavior makes them too uncomfortable, so they find ways to cover for themselves by covering for him. And in the above framing, Ms Sullivan, you have inadvertently covered for them. They aren't wrestling with how to honestly cover him; they're contorting themselves in order not to.
I completely agree. They are not "misled", they are not naive. It is a choice. Similar choices were made in regards to the Supreme Court throwing the election in 2000, the Iraq war, Hillary Clinton's emails and Biden's health.
They hammer and hammer on Democrats and slide past or launder Republican viewpoints and actions. It is a choice and one they make over and over, for decades.
money protects money.
Absolutely. All those things you listed plus I would throw in Whitewater, the War on Gore and the swiftboating of John Kerry. When you look at how the skewed coverage all of those things affected us as a nation, you almost have to come to the conclusion that, in the aggregate, legacy/mainstream media has been bad for society, bad for democracy and bad for humanity.
Thank you. They figured it out in 2015, and for a few, it has been incredibly profitable.
I will be participating in the No Kings march in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The continual neutralizing of the news is one of my biggest fears. The terminology is so bland even when describing horrific situations. I heard on two different news reports the word “extraordinary” to describe Trump’s comments about Robert Muller. His words weren’t extraordinary, they were DISGUSTING. The NYT has mastered the art of neutrality of vocabulary as have almost any broadcast or publication, except those on Substack. Thank you for pointing this fact out and reminding people how easy it is to become sheep instead of the bull horn.
Spot on, Marti. Corporate journalism is neutering the facts. I always call out an article that refers to Epstein as a “financier”. In fact his earned title is convicted sex-offender and international illegal money mule.