How about Lawrence O'Donnell?: Is it news? Is it news when the sitting American president makes the craziest possible factual claim about the day's most important topic?
Is it news when a sitting president is unaware of even the most basic facts concerning so major a topic?
We think that counts as news! Unfortunately, a long line of major journalists may also be unaware of those basic facts. Otherwise, why would they be praising Chris Wallace for his work with Donald J. Trump?
To what extent is Trump unaware of the most basic facts in the world? During Sunday's interview with Wallace, he ended up saying that the United States' mortality rate from covid-19 is the lowest in the world.
Absent some further explanation, it's hard to imagine being more ignorant of the world's most basic facts. Do we have the world's lowest mortality rate? Again, take a look at some numbers:
Total coronavirus deaths through July 20, per million populationDoes it look like we have the lowest mortality rate? More significantly, what does it mean when, in the face of such startling data, the sitting American president continues to say that we do?
United States: 433
Germany: 109
Norway: 47
Japan: 8
South Korea: 6
Australia: 5
Taiwan: 0.3
We've lost 433 people per million to the coronavirus; Australia has lost only 5. Despite those facts, Donald J. Trump ended Sunday's exchange on this point by saying that we do have the world's lowest rate! He knew that because of a document he was handed by Kayleigh McEnany, courtesy of Dr. Birx!
This means that Trump has zero idea of the world's most basic facts. That said, we saw no sign that Wallace was familiar with those basic facts either. And the same can be said for a parade of major journalists who have now heaped praise on Wallace for the brilliant way he handled this topic on Sunday.
Consider Lawrence O'Donnell. Last night, he voiced several sharp criticisms of Wallace. He criticized Wallace for a question he didn't ask Trump, and for a few misstatements by Trump which he didn't challenge.
But O'Donnell fell all over himself praising Wallace for the way he handled the question about the mortality rates. He said that Wallace "did some spectacular fact-checking" on this point—that he handled the topic "masterfully."
Does O'Donnell have any idea what the basic data actually show? Does he realize how crazy Trump's statement actually was? We see no sign that he does.
In fairness, the same can be said about the Washington Post's Eric Wemple and Aaron Blake, each of whom has now praised Wallace for the way he handled this topic.
We've lost 433 people per million. Japan has lost only 8. Despite these extremely basic facts, the commander-in-chief ended his exchange with Wallace by insisting that we actually do have the world's lowest mortality rate.
Wallace said that Johns Hopkins disagrees. Neither Trump himself, nor Wallace's viewers, were exposed to those gobsmacking data.
We sometimes wonder if our biggest journalists are ever aware of any facts about even the most basic topics. That question arises again and again, and we don't really know the answer.
While we're at it: What did it say on the document Kayleigh handed to Trump?
Kayleigh said it came from Birx. What in the world—what on earth—could that document have said?
You'd think our journalists would be asking that question. But if you thought that, you'd be wrong.
"Does it look like we have the lowest mortality rate?"
ReplyDeleteIt very well might, depending on the definition of "mortality rate", dear Bob.
You seemed to understand it yesterday, my dear; what happened? Did you relapse and watch Maddow again? Too many sleeping pills? What is it?
But no, you're right, dear Bob, I take it back. The mortality rate on the Moon will always be lower.
DeleteA GREAT SPELL CASTER (DR. EMU) THAT HELP ME BRING BACK MY EX GIRLFRIEND.
DeleteAm so happy to testify about a great spell caster that helped me when all hope was lost for me to unite with my ex-girlfriend that I love so much. I had a girlfriend that love me so much but something terrible happen to our relationship one afternoon when her friend that was always trying to get to me was trying to force me to make love to her just because she was been jealous of her friend that i was dating and on the scene my girlfriend just walk in and she thought we had something special doing together, i tried to explain things to her that her friend always do this whenever she is not with me and i always refuse her but i never told her because i did not want the both of them to be enemies to each other but she never believed me. She broke up with me and I tried times without numbers to make her believe me but she never believed me until one day i heard about the DR. EMU and I emailed him and he replied to me so kindly and helped me get back my lovely relationship that was already gone for two months.
Email him at: Emutemple@gmail.com
Call or Whats-app him: +2347012841542
2:42
ReplyDeleteYou don’t seem to be familiar with the facts in those more civilized countries.
"Unfortunately, a long line of major journalists may also be unaware of those basic facts. "
ReplyDeleteIt is the President's job to know facts and to communicate them to journalists -- not the other way around.
Only if the President is a Democrat.
Delete"To what extent is Trump unaware of the most basic facts in the world? During Sunday's interview with Wallace, he ended up saying that the United States' mortality rate from covid-19 is the lowest in the world."
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that any facts about covid-19, which is a novel corona virus that is producing different facts in different countries, daily, are "basic" facts. A basic fact is that the earth goes around the sun, or that quadrupeds have four feet. The changing info about covid is by no means a basic fact.
Someone who always has the latest numbers about this virus at his fingertips is not a journalist but a geek. There is no reason to know such numbers. They can be looked up.
If it were Fauci making such errors, then I could see the concern, but neither Trump nor Wallace needs to have memorized the latest figures about covid. They need to understand what we need to do to stop the pandemic. That info is far more important than these numbers that Somerby keeps going on and on and on and on and on about.
More basic facts in the world:
Delete1. It doesn't matter if you wear your socks inside out.
2. Popcorn doesn't taste as good when it is soggy.
3. Cats are better than dogs.
4. Pennies are actually money.
5. Being tan doesn't make you look better.
6. You aren't supposed to cheat at golf.
7. Gorillas are larger than baboons.
8. India shares a border with China.
9. Babies come from mommies.
10. The Apprentice was a terrible show.
1. It doesn't matter if you wear your socks inside out.
DeleteGreat. Now you tell me.
“Donald J. Trump ended Sunday's exchange on this point by saying that we do have the world's lowest rate! He knew that because of a document he was handed by Kayleigh McEnany, courtesy of Dr. Birx!”
ReplyDeleteThe document in question showed case fatality rate, which is also what Chris Wallace was referring to. But here, Somerby is trying to refute that by talking about a different statistic, the overall deaths per million. Again, that isn’t what Trump’s graph showed.
Whether Trump knows what it means is unknown. But here, Somerby is being disingenuous by comparing apples to oranges.
As a matter of fact, CFR in the US is lower than quite a few other countries, but it is not the lowest or almost the lowest, as Trump asserted.
How many dead people care whether Trump was right or Wallace was right about that statistic?
Delete3:16
DeleteNone.
But Somerby complains when journalists say that the US has more deaths than anywhere. He says you ought to use per capita numbers, and they show the US is not number one.
And if somerby cares about the misuse of statistics, then Wallace’s rebuttal about the CFR was correct. It wouldn’t have made sense to refute trump’s CFR numbers with deaths per million.
"We sometimes wonder if our biggest journalists are ever aware of any facts about even the most basic topics. That question arises again and again, and we don't really know the answer."
ReplyDeleteHow can Somerby dare to say something like this?
What has Somerby done with his life that entitles him to call journalists so wrong that he doesn't know if they have ever been right?
This is like saying:
"We sometimes wonder if our biggest standup comics are ever funny, even when making the most basic jokes about sex or airplane trips. That question arises again and again, and we don't really know the answer."
If someone said that about comics, wouldn't you suspect that they had no sense of humor? I find myself wondering if Somerby has so lost it that he wouldn't recognize a basic fact if it were staring him in the face. And that makes him well-suited to watch Fox and become a Republican, since that is the domain of those who cannot recognize what a basic fact is when encountering one (accidentally, while channel surfing).
Personally, I’d sense that a knowledge and understanding of facts is less subjective than what is humorous.
DeleteIf only that were true.
DeleteThey're not journalists. They are bureaucrats working for the Ministry of Truth.
DeleteTake someone like, say, Seymour Hersh. Now, he is a journalist. And he is perfectly aware of all the facts and details of what he writes about.
A GREAT SPELL CASTER (DR. EMU) THAT HELP ME BRING BACK MY EX GIRLFRIEND.
ReplyDeleteAm so happy to testify about a great spell caster that helped me when all hope was lost for me to unite with my ex-girlfriend that I love so much. I had a girlfriend that love me so much but something terrible happen to our relationship one afternoon when her friend that was always trying to get to me was trying to force me to make love to her just because she was been jealous of her friend that i was dating and on the scene my girlfriend just walk in and she thought we had something special doing together, i tried to explain things to her that her friend always do this whenever she is not with me and i always refuse her but i never told her because i did not want the both of them to be enemies to each other but she never believed me. She broke up with me and I tried times without numbers to make her believe me but she never believed me until one day i heard about the DR. EMU and I emailed him and he replied to me so kindly and helped me get back my lovely relationship that was already gone for two months.
Email him at: Emutemple@gmail.com
Call or Whats-app him: +2347012841542
CONTACT THE BEST LOTTERY SPELL CASTER FOR THE RIGHT LOTTERY NUMBERS NOW HIS LOTTERY SPELL IS 100% GUARANTEE WHATSAPP +19492293867
ReplyDeleteHello everyone I want to share my wonderful testimony of how a powerful spell caster called Dr PADMAN helped me to win lottery, i have been playing lottery for a long time now but I had no luck everything changed when I messaged Dr PADMAN about winning the lottery he assured me that I will be the next winner he told me what to do and I did it and 24 hours later he sent me the lottery numbers and I played it I couldn't believe it I won $1,000,000 dollars it's was the best thing that have ever happened to me in my life. If you want to win a lottery WhatsApp DR PADMAN on this number +19492293867 or email him at info@padmanspell.com or padmanlovespell@yahoo.com His Web site http://padmanspell.com/
A GREAT SPELL CASTER (DR. EMU) THAT HELP ME BRING BACK MY EX GIRLFRIEND.
ReplyDeleteAm so happy to testify about a great spell caster that helped me when all hope was lost for me to unite with my ex-girlfriend that I love so much. I had a girlfriend that love me so much but something terrible happen to our relationship one afternoon when her friend that was always trying to get to me was trying to force me to make love to her just because she was been jealous of her friend that i was dating and on the scene my girlfriend just walk in and she thought we had something special doing together, i tried to explain things to her that her friend always do this whenever she is not with me and i always refuse her but i never told her because i did not want the both of them to be enemies to each other but she never believed me. She broke up with me and I tried times without numbers to make her believe me but she never believed me until one day i heard about the DR. EMU and I emailed him and he replied to me so kindly and helped me get back my lovely relationship that was already gone for two months.
Email him at: Emutemple@gmail.com
Call or Whats-app him: +2347012841542
hp fax error 344 happens when there is any correspondence blunder in the telephone line. ... Last Word from Experts for Error Code 344 HP Fax.
ReplyDeleteAm Laura Mildred by name, i was diagnosed with Herpes 4 years ago i lived in pain with the knowledge that i wasn't going to ever be well again i contacted so many herbal doctors on this issue and wasted a large sum of money but my condition never got better i was determined to get my life back so one day i saw Mr. Morrison Hansen post on how Dr. Emu saved him from Herpes with herbal medicine i contacted Dr. Emu on his Email: Emutemple@gmail.com we spoke on the issue i told him all that i went through and he told me not to worry that everything will be fine again so he prepared the medicine and send it to me and told me how to use it, after 14 days of usage I went to see the doctor for test,then the result was negative, am the happiest woman on earth now thanks to Dr. Emu God bless you. Email him at: Emutemple@gmail.com Call or Whats-app him: +2347012841542
ReplyDelete