Thanksgiving 2016

Today, we're gathering with family and friends, enjoying the traditional Thanksgiving meal, and remembering family that has passed before. We're thankful for what we have and prefer to celebrate the spirit (or myth if you wish) of the first Thanksgiving, when strangers to this land were met with food and fellowship.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

BONUS:  Just in case, if you need some facts to fall back on at the Thanksgiving table with angry Uncle Clyde, here you go. Or, alternatively, in the words of Stephen Colbert,

“This year, you have a family duty to treat your political opinion just like grandma’s jello mold. Choke it down and keep it down until the guests leave.”

Today's Contrasting Portrait And Cartoon

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Posthumous portrait of President John F. Kennedy, painted by Aaron Shikler.

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The New York Times Is Whitewashing History And Kissing "Mr. President" Trump's Ass, Too

The tweets don't lie (unlike some "journalists"):

we continue to see widespread, coordinated media attempt to whitewash what actually happened w/ atrocious campaign coverage. it's gross

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) November 23, 2016

documents, yet again, how there was virtually no media coverage of Clinton policy--but it wasn't the media's fault!!

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) November 23, 2016

this piece is almost too stupid for words https://t.co/DDKUcbJqCZ

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) November 23, 2016

Boehlert's referring to this "too stupid for words" analysis (with an emphasis on "anal") in the New York Effing Times:

The 2016 Race: This Election Was Not About the Issues. Blame the Candidates. https://t.co/2lmSbrNXrs

— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) November 23, 2016

Meanwhile, the transcript of the shitgibbon's meeting yesterday with the intrepid news hounds at the New York Effing Times comes out, so let's see what probing questions they asked:

Cool: If you search the NYT transcript for "Foundation" every mention is why he won't go after Clinton's. Not about him using his illegally. pic.twitter.com/aWOvoYbbkk

— Schooley (@Rschooley) November 23, 2016

I mean, think about it, the first question the NYT reporter asks Trump is about the Clinton Foundation and her emails. Then punch yourself.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) November 23, 2016

Given that that NYT "reporter" is Trump enabler and "Hamilton" manners arbiter Maggie Haberman, one's expectations must be lowered considerably... oh, and Haberman, he's not the president yet, you slavering, ingratiating ass- kisser.

What is the magic number of laws broken by our President elect before all of the media treats it as an email server level problem?

— Schooley (@Rschooley) November 23, 2016

We all know the answer to that one (see, "Haberman, Maggie" for starters).

We'll No Longer Be Using "Alt-Right" To Describe White Supremacists And Nazis

From now on, we'll no longer be using the term "alt- right" to characterize the white supremacists/ white nationalists/ neo- Nazis that have come out from their hidey holes following the election of the shitgibbon. This is actually something we were first inspired to do by a Think Progress piece the other day, which said in part:

You can learn everything you need to know about the “alt-right” by looking at the man who popularized its name. Credit goes to Richard Spencer, head of the white supremacist National Policy Institute (NPI), and one of the country’s leading contemporary advocates of ideological racism. [snip] 

So you might wonder what, if anything, distinguishes the alt-right from more hidebound racist movements such as the American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan. The answer is very little, except for a bit of savvy branding and a fondness for ironic Twitter memes. Spencer and his ilk are essentially standard-issue white supremacists who discovered a clever way to make themselves appear more innocuous — even a little hip.

They say that they "won't do racists' public relations work for them." Neither will we.

We're finding a few news and opinion outlets are getting on the same page, too.

As Lindy West at The Guardian puts it,

... [I]f declaring the superiority of the white race, quoting Nazi propaganda, calling for “peaceful ethnic cleansing”, and provoking Nazi salutes from his audience isn’t enough to qualify one as a neo-Nazi, then where on earth is the bar? What is the hesitation? And, given the close ties between the “alt-right” and Trump’s cabinet, how is the top story on every front page not some version of “NEO-NAZIS ATTEMPTING TO SEIZE CONTROL OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT”?

KUOW, a Seattle news and information radio station is choosing to use white nationalism and white supremacism in place of "alt- right":

Alt-right, short for alternative right, is a loose, online community that Stephen K. Bannon, Donald Trump’s chief strategist, has pushed as chief executive of Breitbart News. Breitbart News promotes racist and sexist stories like "Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive And Crazy." For a while the news site designated some stories “black crime.” 

Given that bent, alt-right sounded too soft to us. Would our listeners understand that alt-right is another way of saying white supremacist? [snip] 

Cathy Duchamp, KUOW’s managing editor, wrote in a memo to the staff:

The takeaways:  ‘alt right’ doesn’t mean anything, and normalizes something that is far from normal. So we need to plain-speak it. 

This may change. Alt-right may become better defined and understood by the general public. But until then, we will avoid vague words that neutralize anti-social and abnormal ways of thinking. 

Lindy West concludes in her article, "Be brave, writers, and be honest. If you see a Nazi, say a Nazi." As you might imagine, we don't hold out much hope that the vast majority of the "mainstream media" will summon the courage to call these rat droppings what they are. Corporate media business models that depend on access, advertisers, clicks and not offending the offensive are powerful counterweights to speaking truth to power.

Well, we and others won't wait for writers and the media to be brave and honest. We'll just go ahead and do our small part regardless.

Mid-Week Not Ready To Make Nice Song

The Dixie Chicks are the top-selling all-female band in the last 25 years, with 13 Grammy Awards to their credit. But as you'll recall, in March 2003, the Chicks ran into a wingnut buzzsaw when during a London concert, they said that they were ashamed that Dumbya was from their home state of Texas. Even though this was nine days before the misbegotten Iraq War was launched, costing many thousands of lives, jingoistic right wingers in radio and in the country music world boycotted them for exercising their First Amendment rights. Their career bounced back eventually, and their song about the experience of being threatened and shunned, "Not Ready to Make Nice," won three Grammy Awards and remains their best-selling song to date. It's also a timely song in these days of threats against opponents of a certain shitgibbon and calls to "unite" behind him. Not ready to make nice, indeed. Enjoy.

"And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over."

Tweets And Miracle Of The Day - Normalizing Media Edition

Notice in the tweet below how CBS News characterizes the reception afforded neo- fascist media bully Donald "Rump" Trump today ("... greeted with cheers") and then listen for yourself:

UPDATE: Donald Trump is greeted with cheers as he leaves meeting with the New York Times https://t.co/31saOhI0wR pic.twitter.com/tvAp4HPUyq

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 22, 2016

Like Jesus turned water into wine, CBS News has miraculously turned boos into cheers! Now that's news you can trust!  Welcome to Trump's America!  Booo!  (That's a cheer!)

Hours later the language of the tweet hasn't been changed by CBS News, even though the announcer clearly noted that there were boos. Rump really must have gotten to those network execs at his shakedown meeting yesterday (CBS President and Rump cheerleader Les Moonves: "How long would you like me to bend over and grab my ankles, sir?").

Some responses:

@CBSNews if you’re going to tweet propaganda you should edit the audio first

— laura olin (@lauraolin) November 22, 2016

@Run_IsHere @trcfwtt booing is the new cheering.

— trumpnopres (@redsnoopystock) November 22, 2016

@CBSNews LOL. Now that is some #FAKENEWS!

— InconvenientTruthsTV (@InconvenientTr1) November 22, 2016

@CBSNews are you just going to lie about everything?

— (((Alex))) (@IlladelphAC) November 22, 2016

@CBSNews Cheers? Typical media cowering from the truth. Now wonder you helped elect a dipshit. Now we've got #WhiteNationalistApprentice

— (Elitest)JoeScutella (@JoeScutella) November 22, 2016

It goes on, but you get the idea - it's the same lying, normalizing, bar- lowering media we've come to loathe.

Today's Cartoon Threefer - The Art Of The Steal

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(Matt Wuerker, Politico)


(Jim Morin, Miami Herald)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

BONUS:  Here's a short primer on the emerging Trump Kleptocracy by Paul Waldman.

Neutering Resistance To Trump: Beware The "That's Why Trump Won" Trope

Excellent point, but always keep in mind he didn't "win" the popular vote:

On Hamilton, Pence, and "this is why Trump won" pic.twitter.com/US2wTRvy5c

— Jeremy McLellan (@JeremyMcLellan) November 19, 2016

(h/t Balloon Juice)

"Carpe Crotch-Em" And The Art of Fraud

Tonight! Congratulations to the graduating plaintiffs of Trump University! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/cVaD3IHBet

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 22, 2016

From the master satirist Stephen Colbert, riffing last night on the $25 million Trump "University" fraud case settlement paid to his victims by fraudster and master con man Donald "Rump" Trump, an address to the "graduating plaintiffs":

"...You are uniquely poised to take on that challenge, because real world experience is the best teacher. And you’ve been conned by a master. I hope and pray that you will take the lessons of Trump University with you. The future is what you make of it! And also, never take business advice from a man who can’t sell vodka or steaks....So go out there and be a shining example of Trump University’s timeless motto: ‘Carpe Crotch-em.’”

It's pathetic that the corporate media in this country decided that covering non-scandals of the Clinton Foundation -- which provides many millions to fight disease and poverty -- was far more important than covering Rump's real ones, among them Trump "University" (which drained the savings of thousands of trusting people) and his self-dealing "Foundation." Shame.

Today's Video - Driven To Distraction

Here's Seth Meyers on how the media's obsession with shiny objects distracts them from covering the burgeoning scandals of thin- skinned, bullying jackass Donald "Rump" Trump:



It would also seem that Rump's need for retaliation/ vengeance/ score- settling occupies more of his time and interest than does trying to disavow the neo- Nazi lice that are infesting his "movement." Revealing.

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon - "Thankfulness Not Guaranteed"

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(Tom Tomorrow, via Daily Kos)

Backscratching, Rump and the Media Edition (UPDATED)

If you thought our broken corporate media shamed itself in the last election in its both siderism and failure to investigate neo-fascist demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump's numerous frauds and dangerous foreign entanglements, it shouldn't surprise you that the shitgibbon met with a gaggle of network news executives and anchors today - and it was all "off the record" (OTR):

"There is much for the group to talk about. Trump has long-standing relationships with many in the TV news business -- but he also waged an anti-media crusade during his campaign for president. There are many looming questions about whether Trump will provide the same levels of press access that past presidents have permitted, like a traveling 'press pool' and regular news conferences."

Translation: Rump will give access to the celebrity-obsessed "news" organizations only if those organizations "treat him fairly," i.e., only flattering puff pieces, no more stories about the nature of his connection to Russia and Putin, no more stories about his corrupt dealings during the transition, etc. The better coverage, the better the access, right? Many of these money-grubbing executives will take the bait, especially during the "honeymoon" period of the new administration and since they've already largely ignored his ongoing shocking corruption, as we note in the post below. By organizing this meeting, Rump's media "fixer," piranha / human hybrid Kellyanne Conway, thinks that she and Rump can cajole or scare enough of them to go along with her media strategy and continue to normalize Rump. Sadly for our democracy, she's on to something.

UPDATE:  According to some perhaps some self- serving =cough= Trump =cough= leaking, the meeting may not have gone well.  In addition, a meeting the shitgibbon was to have with the New York Effing Times today, well:

President-elect Donald Trump canceled a meeting with The New York Times Tuesday because it changed the terms “at the last minute,” a claim the paper disputes.  

Trump was scheduled to meet off-the-record with Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and a few other key representatives of the paper before participating in an on-the-record session with the reporters and editorial columnists, a Times spokeswoman told The Huffington Post on Monday. 

This is the giant toddler who will soon be in charge of the nuclear codes, Armed Forces, and intelligence services.

UPDATE II:  Shame on the servile, Groundhog Day media --

What the networks' accession to OTR terms tells us: They learned *nothing* over past 18 months of covering Trump.

— ErikWemple (@ErikWemple) November 21, 2016

Forget Fake News - Here's How "Real" News Isn't Covered

Beyond the miasma that is right- wing "fake news," our elite mainstream, "liberal" media is also enabling the corruption of American democracy by assiduously downplaying the emerging conflicts of interest scandals of neo- fascist con artist Donald "Rump" Trump.  As this tweet points out, the "liberal" New York Effing Times made just such a decision yesterday on what was "important" for its readers to know:

(click on image to enlarge)

Here's the NY Times front page today. That blockbuster about Trump taking business meetings during transition? It ran on page A20. pic.twitter.com/6aFsI1gRKo

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 20, 2016

BONUS:  Notice the lower left column article: Rump son- in- law Jared Kushner is a "steadying hand?"  Do they mean the guy who is "leading the infighting" on the transition, pursuing a vendetta against Gov. Chris "Krispykreme" Christie and his original transition team?  That's one helluva beat- sweetening gambit, intrepid reporters (one whom is Rump- curious and boo- averse Maggie "Miss Manners" Haberman)!  Thus begins the process of members of the elite media selling their souls for access.

Sic transit gloria, America.

UPDATE:  The latest conflict of interest/ shakedown by Trump, Inc., that you won't hear or read about in the "mainstream media."

Meet Your Dudebro Fake News Entrepreneurs

If you want to get an insight on what kind of bottom- dwelling slug produces the fake news that millions of low- information/ high- "economic anxiety" Americans take as The Truth, look no further than this profile of two 20- something dudebros in Long Beach, CA. Moral ciphers Paris Wade and Ben Goldman run a creepy site called LibertyWritersNews.com (please don't give them traffic!) that deals in the most hair afire, made up nonsense about progressives that you're likely to read (but, again, please don't). These two deplorables use social media platforms (notably Facebook) to generate revenue, and they don't much care how they do it because, well, it's so darn easy to fleece the rubes:

At a time of continuing discussion over the role that hyperpartisan websites, fake news and social media play in the divided America of 2016, LibertyWritersNews illustrates how websites can use Facebook to tap into a surging ideology, quickly go from nothing to influencing millions of people and make big profits in the process. Six months ago, Wade and his business partner, Ben Goldman, were unemployed restaurant workers. Now they’re at the helm of a website that gained 300,000 Facebook followers in October alone and say they are making so much money that they feel uncomfortable talking about it because they don’t want people to start asking for loans. (our emphasis)

"... they don't want people to start asking for loans." Or the I.R.S. asking for income taxes perhaps?

What follows in the article are some odious examples of the fake news sewage these two young hucksters like to gin up, but this exchange boils down their business model:

“All successful journalism has shock value,” Goldman says as he and Wade sit at their computers later that day.  

“There was once a lot more competition among newspapers,” Wade says. “It was like a race to see who could write the craziest s---.” 

“And whoever wrote the craziest s--- won,” Goldman says. 

“There used to be a joke that every single day a new world war started,” Wade says. “Because that’s what sold papers.”

In their world of living for clicks and page views, they write their fake news to attract the biggest audience possible, searching for those who are already disposed to accept the Alex Jones/ National Enquirer world view and style of "communication."  Thus, in their own words, they're in competition with the likes of those termites in the foundation of democracy to "see who could write the craziest s---."  And that pretty much sums up the product of their enterprise.

The kicker?

Raised in liberal homes, they both voted for Obama twice, but as they struggled to find better jobs, they began to doubt those votes, their college education and the progressive values with which they were raised.

It's all Obama's fault!

We'd have to say they may have been raised with those "progressive values," but they sure didn't stick very long.

(Image:  Writer for LibertyWritersNews.com)

It Was Much More Than "The Economy, Stupid"

As we suffer through the continual misreading of the election returns by corporate media talking heads and Republican-wired pundits, it's worth noting that the average voter for neo-fascist narcissist Donald "Rump" Trump was doing pretty well economically. Rather, he was hurting socially, longing for a time when whites (or more specifically, white males) were in control of the economy and culture, as Jack Schwartz notes in the Daily Beast:

"Make no mistake, this election was not primarily about the economy. For Trump’s adherents, it was about nothing less than saving the soul of the nation. Their quarrel with government was not that they were doing badly but that 'the others' were making inroads, catching up, and, if unchecked, they would somehow surpass the Real Americans. The impulses of Trump’s legions were not racial, but tribal. What was “elite” about their foes was not their finances but their fluidity, their openness to change, which conservatives saw as a challenge not to their pocketbooks but a threat to their belief system." (emphasis added)

There will be counter-arguments that because Rump won in white, blue-collar communities, his economic "message" (mainly deport immigrants and start trade wars) resonated with them. But within that "message" was a blatant appeal to racial resentment, misogyny, and religious bigotry. "The others" -- minorities, immigrants, women in the workplace -- were to blame for the Rust Belt's flagging economy (disregarding the jobs that had moved not across the border but to Dixie to companies in right-to-work states, among other factors). "The others'" gains needed to be rolled back, the Rump voter was told, in order for white America to "take our country back," or to "make America great again." However, the way Rethuglican policies are shaping up, for example, regarding Medicare, Medicaid, and affordable health care, his voters will have to live with the dire consequences of being conned into voting against their self-interests once again.