Bloody chum in the water brings sharks. They will bite anything and that is not violence. It is emotionally soothing food for the soul. There is a need for social services to address these emotionally challenged individuals. Instead we castigate them with heteronormativity. This is not politics. This is a systemic failure that is fixable.
Disgusting hypocrisy...the far-right enjoys untrammeled First Amendment rights, while everybody else has only "conditional" freedom of expression — which is to say, get in our way and we're coming for you.
There is now a double standard being applied to commentators on the left, with far harsher penalties than ever visited on conservatives. Re-read “On Bended Knee” about the press caving under Reagan. Plus ca change, plus ca la meme chose, only now with far higher stakes.
There's now three fractions of outlets: right-wing media who are openly partisan and expect their pundits to be vile. You'll even be rewarded for atrocities there. Corporate media publicly claim independence using both-sides-ism as heir fig leaf. They're dependent on the corporations owning them, so you mustn't report anything that hints at the political power they hold and refrain from "vileness" which is unethical. That includes not to mention anything vile like the Kirk stuff without carefully veilling it.
And of course there are now independent journalists who try to survive on platforms like Substack (it's not the only one) who mostly do a good job upholding journalistic standards I grew up with. I wish them luck, they're definitely going to need it.
I’ll be honest and say that I have sometimes felt afraid that I put my family in danger when I post left-leaning (reasonable, equitable) ideas on Facebook! I’m not a journalist. And I need to feed and house my family. I want to be courageous. I also want to turn back the clock and tell Mitch McConnell, “you will be the author of America’s salvation if you impeach Trump now.” Instead, he helped author this nightmare within which we find ourselves.
An authoritarian state where freedom of the press only survives here on Substack. And maybe NPR/PBS. I am ashamed of MSNBC. And the NYTimes. But I don’t think I could stomach the daily fear of being a progressive journalist in America today. God Bless you who keep reporting.
Klein is shameful. And the degree to which hateful rhetoric (real “hate speech”) from the right is normalized as “debate” is the only explanation for his inability to name hate-peddling as such lies in the lack of distinction that Tim Snyder helpfully offers between “me speech” and free speech.
Me speech claims the right to say anything (truthfulness and hatefulness being ignored) but only for “me” and my side, while free speech applies to everyone and uses the same standards to draw any limits (e.g. calling fire in a theatre, libeling some person) and holds people accountable for respecting those limits. When we see Kirk eulogized as a “free speech” advocate we see me speech being celebrated on one side of the aisle. Which is unsurprising, given the me speech norms the right celebrates and attempts to impose.
Dowd however is inexplicable save as a case of “obeying in advance” another phrase of Snyder’s that rings true. We are already much further down the authoritarian rat hole than we recognize.
Draper writes: "In August 2017, a radicalized Mr. Fuentes emerged. That month, the 18-year old soon-to-be Boston University dropout joined the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., chanting, “You will not replace us” and claiming that white Americans were being subjected to a “cultural genocide.”
While "you" was said a few times, "Jews" was said during the big march through the streets.
I can't describe my anger at the Paper of Record for sane-washing everything done by the Republican Party and its base of right-wing-supporters.
Add Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah to the list. Washington Post just fired her. Stating facts is no longer free speech, but suggesting the eradication of the homeless was fine with FOX. It was the social media backlash that forced the 'apology'.
Ezra Klein needs to rectify his comments on Charlie Kirk or he will lose a steady reader of his opinion pieces and viewer of his Show; I have held him in esteem for his courageous opinions and this hagiography of a bigot taints that. Something more than a mere apology but along the lines of a statement saying he made a grave mistake of judgement in the heat of the moment. I await his mea culpa.
I haven’t cared for Klein in years. To me he seems like a know-it-all and is quite fond of both sides arguments and fierce criticism of the Left. His call for Dems to force Biden out was the last straw for me. His martyr-washing of Charlie Kirk doesn’t surprise me at all, but it sure looks like appeasement - a cowardly and dangerous posture.
I thought if ever a single sentence might sink a career, it was Ezra Klein's about Charlie Kirk "doing politics the right way". I guess Father Coughlin did also. Unbelievable. This from a man who was once genuinely progressive.
The mainstream news media has, potentially for them, fatally botched their response to this MAGA-on-MAGA violence.
I say "fatally" because so many on the center & center-left have already been burned & spurned by the sycophantic & servile actions of too many in mainstream news media, from the NYTimes who has rarely met a Democrat or liberal they won't tear down, to the failing Washington Post, to the now nearly worthless #bothsides kings at CNN, to the about to be permanently delegitimatized CBS, to the gutless cowardice of MSNBC & NBC - I could go on but won't.
Suffice it to say independent media, and some individuals who get away with actual news within the corporate BS factories are about the only legit sources any more.
If I had the ability, I would take a metaphorical flamethrower to the entire U.S. mainstream news media industry, and permanently ban countless hacks from every professionally speaking or publishing another word and calling it news. They do not deserve the right to do so, given the poison they've pushed for too long.
The way they've failed at this story is the final straw, for me.
Paul Krugman's newsletter of last week contained a graph based on government sources which demonstrated that killings by the right outnumber killings by the left by an order of magnitude. The failure of the Times and the Ezras of the world to refer to these numbers at any point in the discussion--while Trump & Co. were bloviating about left wing lunatics--is a sign that much of the progressive side of the spectrum has decided to concede this ground to the right. I guess they think Trump will spare them when the roundups begin in earnest.
I just read that the National Institute of Justice deleted that data from their website. It's available via Internet archive sites. Wish I had the link at hand, sorry!
The corporate media’s bias against the left is dangerous. I understand that they are fearful, but I think they are reinforcing the lies and hostility of the right toward the left. This will end up in a bad place.
The opinion pages of big city newspapers lean uniformly left. The respected mediabiasfactcheck.com has the vast majority of the MSM on the left side. Asked this before. What are you seeing that I'm not?
Thanks for that info. My newspaper sources are NY Times and WaPo. TV is mostly CNN and MSNBC. I’m very disappointed with all of their moves to the right. But I understand their fear. It is shared by academe, law firms, many corporations, etc and I predict it will get worse. My 70-year old brain is having trouble getting used to what has happened with our country.
Well Coleen age means nothing, so don't pull that one on me : ) What I meant is, the media already leans left. What's the problem? Not far enough left?
Oh Richard, I am sorry. I took your response the wrong way. That is why I thanked you, and gave you a serious answer. It sounds like you are angry and perhaps you are having some troubles in your life. God bless, and I will say a prayer for you.
I find it offensive that Klein felt it his place to speak out. He has never been under attack from the words of Charlie Kirk. It's women, people of color, trans people who have. He should have stayed quiet.
The Trump administration has corporations, especially media corporations, intimidated by potential threats of, say, cancellation of broadcast rights, denying mergers, and many other actions that, in their minds, might destroy them.
I think this was well said. It seems that day by day we are losing our 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech (except for the elite right). Freedom of the Press has been hobbled for some time now and censorship is running amok (unless you're right leaning). There are only a few on MSNBC that I would listen to anymore, as Corporate seems to have taken them over, their recent firings are a good example. In my opinion, the 2nd Amendment has long overshadowed the 1st Amendment. Charlie Kirk is an example of that as this shooter believed his freedom to use a gun superceded Charlie's right to Life and Liberty. People's priorities seem really messed up.
“I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions … And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in.”
Every bit of this statement is true. This isn’t opinion; it’s an observation. And the inappropriate response to silence Dowd demonstrates how and why the people lose democracy: they surrender it willingly on the altar of virtue signaling.
I always liked Ezra Klein. However, It doesn’t matter how well a voice resonates if what they say is fact free&full of hate.
It’s unreasonable to think what Kirk said had nothing to do with his death.
I’ve been gob smacked twice by the election of Trump, but I can’t believe most Americans think Charlie Kirk is deserving of a national hero mantle.
Oh no, more then half of us do not think Kirk a Martyr or Hero.
I'm with your half.....
Bloody chum in the water brings sharks. They will bite anything and that is not violence. It is emotionally soothing food for the soul. There is a need for social services to address these emotionally challenged individuals. Instead we castigate them with heteronormativity. This is not politics. This is a systemic failure that is fixable.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/bloody-chumimage.png
Mainstream media unfortunately has capitulated and maybe too far gone to ever be respected again.
Disgusting hypocrisy...the far-right enjoys untrammeled First Amendment rights, while everybody else has only "conditional" freedom of expression — which is to say, get in our way and we're coming for you.
And the MSM is happy to oblige.
There is now a double standard being applied to commentators on the left, with far harsher penalties than ever visited on conservatives. Re-read “On Bended Knee” about the press caving under Reagan. Plus ca change, plus ca la meme chose, only now with far higher stakes.
There's now three fractions of outlets: right-wing media who are openly partisan and expect their pundits to be vile. You'll even be rewarded for atrocities there. Corporate media publicly claim independence using both-sides-ism as heir fig leaf. They're dependent on the corporations owning them, so you mustn't report anything that hints at the political power they hold and refrain from "vileness" which is unethical. That includes not to mention anything vile like the Kirk stuff without carefully veilling it.
And of course there are now independent journalists who try to survive on platforms like Substack (it's not the only one) who mostly do a good job upholding journalistic standards I grew up with. I wish them luck, they're definitely going to need it.
I would also suggest reading the late Eric Boehlert’s book “Lapdogs: How the Press Rolled Over for Bush”.
Or read this Salon.com article by Boehlert:
“Hey, Sean Hannity, here’s what a “lapdog” press really looks like
The Fox talker whines about the media's leftist bias. Has he forgotten the Bush years?”
https://www.salon.com/2013/02/24/what_a_lapdog_press_really_looks_like_partner/
Eric’s death was a terrible loss we are still feeling.
I’ll be honest and say that I have sometimes felt afraid that I put my family in danger when I post left-leaning (reasonable, equitable) ideas on Facebook! I’m not a journalist. And I need to feed and house my family. I want to be courageous. I also want to turn back the clock and tell Mitch McConnell, “you will be the author of America’s salvation if you impeach Trump now.” Instead, he helped author this nightmare within which we find ourselves.
An authoritarian state where freedom of the press only survives here on Substack. And maybe NPR/PBS. I am ashamed of MSNBC. And the NYTimes. But I don’t think I could stomach the daily fear of being a progressive journalist in America today. God Bless you who keep reporting.
Klein is shameful. And the degree to which hateful rhetoric (real “hate speech”) from the right is normalized as “debate” is the only explanation for his inability to name hate-peddling as such lies in the lack of distinction that Tim Snyder helpfully offers between “me speech” and free speech.
Me speech claims the right to say anything (truthfulness and hatefulness being ignored) but only for “me” and my side, while free speech applies to everyone and uses the same standards to draw any limits (e.g. calling fire in a theatre, libeling some person) and holds people accountable for respecting those limits. When we see Kirk eulogized as a “free speech” advocate we see me speech being celebrated on one side of the aisle. Which is unsurprising, given the me speech norms the right celebrates and attempts to impose.
Dowd however is inexplicable save as a case of “obeying in advance” another phrase of Snyder’s that rings true. We are already much further down the authoritarian rat hole than we recognize.
Robert Draper's NY Times article on Nick Fuentes https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/us/politics/nick-fuentes-trump.html?searchResultPosition=5
Draper writes: "In August 2017, a radicalized Mr. Fuentes emerged. That month, the 18-year old soon-to-be Boston University dropout joined the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., chanting, “You will not replace us” and claiming that white Americans were being subjected to a “cultural genocide.”
While "you" was said a few times, "Jews" was said during the big march through the streets.
I can't describe my anger at the Paper of Record for sane-washing everything done by the Republican Party and its base of right-wing-supporters.
They have and are betraying us and empowering a cruel autocracy, which will crush them as soon as it gets strong enough. Its awful and so frightening.
Add Global Opinions Editor Karen Attiah to the list. Washington Post just fired her. Stating facts is no longer free speech, but suggesting the eradication of the homeless was fine with FOX. It was the social media backlash that forced the 'apology'.
Ezra Klein needs to rectify his comments on Charlie Kirk or he will lose a steady reader of his opinion pieces and viewer of his Show; I have held him in esteem for his courageous opinions and this hagiography of a bigot taints that. Something more than a mere apology but along the lines of a statement saying he made a grave mistake of judgement in the heat of the moment. I await his mea culpa.
Steven, what realistically are your expectations of Klein? I would not hold my breath, tbh.
You beat me to it Deb. 🙏
I haven’t cared for Klein in years. To me he seems like a know-it-all and is quite fond of both sides arguments and fierce criticism of the Left. His call for Dems to force Biden out was the last straw for me. His martyr-washing of Charlie Kirk doesn’t surprise me at all, but it sure looks like appeasement - a cowardly and dangerous posture.
Unfortunately you're going to be waiting forever. I'm with you.
I thought if ever a single sentence might sink a career, it was Ezra Klein's about Charlie Kirk "doing politics the right way". I guess Father Coughlin did also. Unbelievable. This from a man who was once genuinely progressive.
The mainstream news media has, potentially for them, fatally botched their response to this MAGA-on-MAGA violence.
I say "fatally" because so many on the center & center-left have already been burned & spurned by the sycophantic & servile actions of too many in mainstream news media, from the NYTimes who has rarely met a Democrat or liberal they won't tear down, to the failing Washington Post, to the now nearly worthless #bothsides kings at CNN, to the about to be permanently delegitimatized CBS, to the gutless cowardice of MSNBC & NBC - I could go on but won't.
Suffice it to say independent media, and some individuals who get away with actual news within the corporate BS factories are about the only legit sources any more.
If I had the ability, I would take a metaphorical flamethrower to the entire U.S. mainstream news media industry, and permanently ban countless hacks from every professionally speaking or publishing another word and calling it news. They do not deserve the right to do so, given the poison they've pushed for too long.
The way they've failed at this story is the final straw, for me.
Paul Krugman's newsletter of last week contained a graph based on government sources which demonstrated that killings by the right outnumber killings by the left by an order of magnitude. The failure of the Times and the Ezras of the world to refer to these numbers at any point in the discussion--while Trump & Co. were bloviating about left wing lunatics--is a sign that much of the progressive side of the spectrum has decided to concede this ground to the right. I guess they think Trump will spare them when the roundups begin in earnest.
I just read that the National Institute of Justice deleted that data from their website. It's available via Internet archive sites. Wish I had the link at hand, sorry!
The corporate media’s bias against the left is dangerous. I understand that they are fearful, but I think they are reinforcing the lies and hostility of the right toward the left. This will end up in a bad place.
We are already in that bad place.
The opinion pages of big city newspapers lean uniformly left. The respected mediabiasfactcheck.com has the vast majority of the MSM on the left side. Asked this before. What are you seeing that I'm not?
Thanks for that info. My newspaper sources are NY Times and WaPo. TV is mostly CNN and MSNBC. I’m very disappointed with all of their moves to the right. But I understand their fear. It is shared by academe, law firms, many corporations, etc and I predict it will get worse. My 70-year old brain is having trouble getting used to what has happened with our country.
Well Coleen age means nothing, so don't pull that one on me : ) What I meant is, the media already leans left. What's the problem? Not far enough left?
Oh Richard, I am sorry. I took your response the wrong way. That is why I thanked you, and gave you a serious answer. It sounds like you are angry and perhaps you are having some troubles in your life. God bless, and I will say a prayer for you.
Not angry at all Coleen. I'm neither left nor right. That almost guarantees happiness. Thanks for engaging
Thanks for your quick reply, Richard. G’night…
I find it offensive that Klein felt it his place to speak out. He has never been under attack from the words of Charlie Kirk. It's women, people of color, trans people who have. He should have stayed quiet.
The Trump administration has corporations, especially media corporations, intimidated by potential threats of, say, cancellation of broadcast rights, denying mergers, and many other actions that, in their minds, might destroy them.
I think this was well said. It seems that day by day we are losing our 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech (except for the elite right). Freedom of the Press has been hobbled for some time now and censorship is running amok (unless you're right leaning). There are only a few on MSNBC that I would listen to anymore, as Corporate seems to have taken them over, their recent firings are a good example. In my opinion, the 2nd Amendment has long overshadowed the 1st Amendment. Charlie Kirk is an example of that as this shooter believed his freedom to use a gun superceded Charlie's right to Life and Liberty. People's priorities seem really messed up.
“I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions … And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in.”
Every bit of this statement is true. This isn’t opinion; it’s an observation. And the inappropriate response to silence Dowd demonstrates how and why the people lose democracy: they surrender it willingly on the altar of virtue signaling.
Your Dowd's quote is something I wouldn't find out of place coming from a Sunday school teacher or a counselor. We're not in Kansas anymore.
It's actually pretty much a direct quote from the Buddha (Dhammapadda, Chapter 1). (Which isn't to say that a Sunday school teacher might not agree.)