A nagging problem we haven't yet solved!

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2024

Again, you get two choices: We're glad we watched last night's Gutfeld! program—because it was so horrendous.

The professional wrestler who knows everything was there, as he typically is. He's on tour as a comedian now too. As usual, two of the other four participants panelists were "comedians" last night too.

In this spreading primetime format, Fox is forming a new, more insidious way to advance its preferred propaganda. On the whole, the sheer stupidity of what the channel airs goes unmentioned everywhere else. 

Regarding Greg Gutfeld himself, how does Serra High manage to churn out such people? 

We went to Aragon, roughly one mile up the Alameda de las Pulgas, right there in sun-swept San Mateo. How did Gutfeld end up like this? Here's a few of the things he said:

He said it must be tough for AOC to live with a guy whose balls are smaller than hers. He referred to Gretchen Whitmer as a "ho," then said he was only kidding.

There's a cartoon potato named Professor Potato which is semi-popular in Michigan. Gutfeld said it reminded him of Hunter Biden's penis. (Pretty much everything does.) 

He referred to Whitmer as an airhead. He also made his standard joke about President Biden "pooping in his pants."

This small, small boy has been selected to run a nightly primetime show on a national "cable news" channel. He brings four idiot friends on the air with him and gives it a go every night.

At Fox, this new method of message delivery has been evolving for a while. Regarding the general breakdown of the national discourse, we'd date the start of the total meltdown to the pursuit of the Whitewater pseudo-scandal, which got its start in 1992 on the front page of the New York Times.

Fox News didn't yet exist. As Gene Lyons described in the quickly disappeared Fools for Scandal: How the Media Invented Whitewater, it started at the Times.

Whitewater turned into a 24-year press corps war, directed at Clinton, Gore, Clinton. First it sent George W. Bush to the White House, then it followed with Donald J. Trump. That war was driven by the mainstream press corps—by some of the same people we now love and trust on our blue tribe cable news shows.

Speaking of Fox's silly boys (and girls), we have our silly boys too. The silly boys who comment at Kevin Drum's site don't have the first freaking idea about the history of this era. They just know that they're supposed to get very very upset if someone makes an accurate statement which flies in the face of their childish tribal dreams.

There's no cure for human nature! With that in mind, we remind you of the choice between dueling bumper stickers we think you might want to ponder at this perilous time.

Here's your pair of choices:

We have become a nation which is incapable of solving even the smallest problem. 

The United States is one of the world’s great problem solvers.

A few days back, we affirmed the first bumper sticker / general statement. Kevin countered with the second.

We mean zero disrespect to Kevin, but we think he's playing the Candide, Pangloss and Pollyanna cards a bit too lustily here. We'll sign up for the role of Cassandra at this apparently dangerous time.

In his second post on this general question, Kevin listed Whitewater as one of the problems we haven't yet solved. Does anyone know how much longer we have? The election arrives in November! 

As of 2003, the extension of the Whitewater chase had sent us into Iraq. Fourteen years later, its continuation—through, for example, Emailgate—elected Donald J. Trump. How long will it be before we get around to solving this small nagging problem? Before we're allowed to notice the way this disaster actually worked?

Just this once, we'll be honest! It's hard not to be briefly angry about some of what Kevin wrote. Murder rates, inequality, medical costs? The southern border and its spread into overwhelmed northern cities? 

The young female medical workers we overheard this Tuesday morning talking about the ways their relatives have dealt with various carjackings? When are we going to solve the nagging problem afflicting them and their family and friends?

It can be hard to avoid being briefly angry when Pollyanna arrives on the scene, saying we just haven't managed to solve that one yet. That's especially true when the whole blue world is warning us that our democracy will be taken away if Trump returns to the White House next year, as polling suggests he may do.

We're big fans of Kevin's work, though we think he's become a bit too sure of the idea that Nothing Much Is Actually Wrong and that every question can be settled through the use of statistical measures. (Needless to say, he may be right on both points!) 

We're tired of the attitudes which emerge from the overpaid plutos who pose on TV, and we do believe that disaster could ensue if Trump returns to the White House. (For the record, tens of millions of American voters disagree with our view.)

In the face of that threat, we find it hard not to get a tiny bit angry, but also in the face of the carjacking comments we heard two days ago. By the way, when was the last time our problem-solving nation was able to craft an actual budget? We haven't even solved that yet!

We'll may look at this topic next week. We think a debate between those two bumper stickers could be highly instructive.

That said, everyone has noticed the fact that we can no longer come together to solve, or even to address, our serious national problems. Within our blue tribe, it's standard issue to make such statements, but only as long as you say the whole reason for this meltdown rests with the very, very, very bad people all of whom live Over There.

On the sunnier side of the street, it's lots of fun when you're paid big bucks by the Fox News Channel to go on TV and behave like a gaggle of fools. In this morning's New York Times, Gail Collins is also joking around today. According to Collins, a good decent person, it's going to be verrrrrrry boring this year with Biden-Trump all the way through.

Question:

Do we believe that our world is at risk, or is that just something we peddle?  In fairness, no one's required to think some such thing, and at this juncture there's no perfect way to know who's actually right.

Gretchen Whitmer is a ho! In total fairness, the angriest little boy on TV was just kidding around when he said it.

So too with AOC's big huge balls. That was just primetime "news" too!

This has been tolerated forever. It got its start in the New York Times, and only Gene Lyons complained.

Harper's published and promoted his book. Our blue stars all ignored it.


119 comments:

  1. We were Canadian businessmen and politicians. We are Henry Corby and Henry Corby Jr.

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  2. What is the point of all this? It sounds like you're unhappy about something, Bob. Is it Gutfeld? Gutfeld's equivalents inside your silo? So, don't watch them.

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    1. "How did Gutfeld end up like this"

      Somerby is trying to cope with his jealousy by telling us how bad Gutfeld's jokes are. "Gutfeld may be rich and famous but at least I tell funnier jokes" Somerby hints.

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    2. It's pretty intolerant of this once well-written blog to demand the news talk about more than how the president poops. I mean we deserve a free press.

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  3. Bob, MSNC and CNN won’t even broadcast a Trump speech and the other networks are discussing the same.

    They’re pulling Stewart out of retirement and soon it will be wall-to- wall clips of his Trump takedowns while Gutfeld sits on five cushions in order to see over a desk.

    You’re going to be fine.

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    1. Stewart isn't being "pulled out of retirement". He had a show on Apple+ streaming service that recently ended:

      "The New York Times reported last month that Stewart's show on Apple's streaming service was ending, the result of creative differences. The newspaper said Stewart told members of his staff that potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence were causing concern to Apple executives."

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    2. Stewart will host only on Monday nights but he is helping to produce the show during the election, so it should improve.

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    3. MSNBC will carry a trump speech but only up until he starts lying his ass off. Fortunately, that only takes a few seconds.

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    4. Anonymouse 3:13pm, would there be any truth in the world without our media arbiters? The entire panel of analysts is of one mind. Saves time.

      Just shut it down at the first lie, wipe that one up, and no bothering with having to engage again.

      If it can’t pass the Maddow smell test, it ain’t fit for our little ears.

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    5. Why should there be any lies in a presidential candidate’s speeches?

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    6. Anonymouse 11:31pm, why should the media consider itself to be Diogenes?

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    7. It's really not that hard to figure out when he's lying, Cecelia.

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    8. Anonymouse 5:43am, it’s extremely easy. It’s because they say so.

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    9. You can't trust the media. Remember, they're the ones who tried to sell the public on Republican voters being "economically anxious". As if there is a Republican voter who knows something about economics.
      Shameless.

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  4. Add thief to the list of Trump's crimes.

    "The Smiths have become the latest musical act who are sowing discord with Donald Trump for using their songs without permission on the campaign trail.

    Guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr was apparently taken aback upon seeing a video clip of the former president playing the English band’s song “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” at a 2023 rally in Rapid City, South Dakota.

    “Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass,” the British rocker wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. “Consider this s– shut right down right now.”

    Trump has reportedly used the song multiple times to warm up crowds ahead of his events — even as most recent as his final rally in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday.

    The Smiths join a growing list of music stars — Steven Tyler, Rihanna and Linkin Park, to name a few — who have issued cease-and-desist directives to stop the MAGA leader from using their songs without permission.

    In 2020, the Rolling Stones enlisted their performing arts agency, BMI, to launch legal action against the Trump campaign for playing the group’s 1969 classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the end of his speeches."

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  5. Gutfield attended a nearby high school to Somerby in Palo Alto. Perhaps he feels like Gutfield got the money, girls and fame that were rightfully his, if he hadn't wasted so many years being liberal.

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    1. Yes, he does appear envious of Gutfield's freewheeling style, as he describes it. Like nonchalantly calling some politician-lady a ho.

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    2. I know a woman from Texas who put "Bride Ho" on her nametag to wear at tournaments. But it does depend on who is saying it.

      This is one of those situations where it is better to roll with the joke than to throw a hissy fit, the way conservatives do about such things (applied to them but not when they do it to others).

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    3. Do you think making jokes about Asian names is funny?

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    4. Anonymices feign outrage in the way that con artists feign being sideswiped as they cross the street.

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    5. 12:36,
      You spelled "the Right", wrong.

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  6. "He also made his standard joke about President Biden "pooping in his pants."

    Gutfeld is making this joke because there has been talk about the bad smell Trump has, noticeable to his staff and anyone who gets near him, and described in various ways as garbage combined with produce fragrances. Some have speculated that it is coming from adult diapers that Trump has pooped in, that need changing.

    As with any accusations against conservatives, their standard reaction is to try to turn them back against their enemies. So, of course Biden has pooped his pants. This is so standard with the right that it is almost a confession. But there have been no rumors circulating about Biden smelling funny or bad. Meanwhile, Trump's skin is attracting attention lately and people are wondering why his makeup looks odd and about the cause of abrasions noticed on his face and hands. Could be something simple such as skin cancer preventative treatment given how much time Trump spends playing golf, but the campaign should address it instead of making these stupid attacks on Biden.

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    1. typo: product (hair products, deodorant etc) not produce

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  7. The U.S. has bombed Iraq, Yemen and Somalia in just the last 24 hours.

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    1. I-75 was shutdown in Pasco County FL after a bomb threat, but I couldn't find a Middle East bombing incident in today's news. Are you sure it wasn't Iraq, Yemen or Somalia doing the bombing or firing upon our ships today?

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    2. https://www.africom.mil/pressrelease/35392/federal-government-of-somalia-africom-target-al-shabaab

      https://apnews.com/article/us-british-strikes-houthi-yemen-4ca86a7c0f484fcdf9c386cd752c1878

      https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68077560

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    3. "US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes on three facilities belonging to the Kataib Hezbollah militia and other groups were "in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks" against US and other international forces in Iraq and Syria."

      "That was the first U.S. military response to what has been a persistent campaign of Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October."

      "At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense airstrike with two engagements against the al Shabaab terrorist group on Jan. 21. ...Al Shabaab is the largest and most active al-Qaeda network in the world and has proved both its will and capability to attack U.S. forces and threaten U.S. security interests. U.S. Africa Command, alongside its partners, continues to take action to prevent this malicious terrorist group from planning and conducting attacks on civilians. "

      These quotes all come from the sources you provided (thank you). The US, together with its allies, is retaliating for attacks against US military, shipping and installations. The original strikes came from the targeted groups (Houthis, al Shabaab, Iran-backed groups). The goal is to discourage further attacks.

      The US has the right to defend itself from attacks against itself and its people, and in alliances with other nations similarly attacked. I support President Biden in such actions.

      Note that the attacks on the US did not happen today, but the retaliatory strikes are recent. The sources you cite describe the previous attacks as well as the US actions.

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    4. Why were they attacking us?

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    5. They have very serious objections to what the West is doing in Gaza now.

      And, in general, to what the West has been doing in Palestine since 1947.

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    6. Let's talk in detail about Biden's for a diplomatic resolution there. Anyone want to go first?

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    7. Biden's plan for a diplomatic resolution there. Anyone want to go first?

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    8. That doesn't justify attacking the US. Note that Al Qaeda is the group that attacked the Trade Towers in NYC, killing thousands of innocent people (much like Hamas did on 10/7). Their beef then was that the US maintained an airbase in Saudi Arabia. Muslim extremists have their grievances but we do not tolerate violence against the US, no matter how strongly felt those grievances are.

      I support Biden and the US response to these terrorist attacks.

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    9. Appeasing Hamas is not going to make the Houthis, the Iran-backed groups, or Al Shabaab stop their attacks.

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    10. You must be terribly upset about leaving Afghanistan. The white man's burden was dropped there.

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    11. If these extremists cause a widespread war in the Middle East, it is guaranteed that Iran, Yemen, and the people they fund, are going to lose. It is only a question of how long it will take and how many will die on both sides. A religion that believes in life after death and that martyrdom is noble will not be deterred but there will be suffering among the living too. That is a promise.

      Arab and muslim groups have been attacking Israel from the beginning and have never won a military encounter. After each war the Arab forces have lost territory, to the point that only the most extreme are still willing to attack Israel (others, such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq) have stopped attacking Israel and are now helping the US to keep peace and deliver humanitarian aid. It is time for the remaining enemies of Israel to come to their senses and accept reality. Prolonging this war in the hope that Trump will be reelected is a bad idea and will only result in more suffering. That is on the heads of these militant Muslim/Arab extremists, not Israel.

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    12. The US was looking for a way to leave Afghanistan, where it was accomplishing nothing. Trump provided that way with his irresponsible attempt to pull US troops out of all foreign deployments. Biden was happy to comply and did the best he could given the constraints already put in place by Trump. We in the US regard withdrawal from Afghanistan as a political achievement of the Biden administration.

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    13. "I support Biden and the US response to these terrorist attacks." Spoken like a true DNC ass kisser.

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    14. Ie. "We in the DNC Information Control Center regard the withdrawal from Afghanistan as a political achievement of the Biden administration."

      You recite direct propaganda from the DNC all day long. What's next? Let me guess - you attack my patriotism.

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    15. Lordy, another troll.

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    16. Biden left Afghanistan a bigger hell than it was when it was occupied by America. It has a child labor crisis, financial crisis, and the political culture has ground to a complete halt with this systemic violence. He did not do the best he could, he is using scorched earth tactics so ensure that it is worse than it could be. He basically did the worst that he could.

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    17. Which is more true and can be backed up?:

      1. We in the US regard withdrawal from Afghanistan as a political achievement of the Biden administration.
      2. We in the DNC regard withdrawal from Afghanistan as a political achievement of the Biden administration.

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    18. I think it was the same hell, not bigger, but Biden left because we weren’t helping and it is hard to argue with that. No one thinks the Taliban is doing a good job there. Since Biden left immediately, you cannot blame current conditions on him. Since we are no longer there and haven’t been, your scorched earth comment makes no sense. Trump planned snd initiated the evacuation. You don’t get to blame Biden for Trump’s mistakes.

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    19. What is your hangup over the DNC? You act like it is important when it is not even part of the govt and has no role outside the party that elects Democrats. Are you counting on the public’s ignorance to make the DNC some kind of bogeyman when it does nothing once candidates are elected. You sound misinformed. Maybe Bernie told you they are agents of evil?

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    20. Russia was giving bounties to Afghanistan soldiers for killing US soldiers. Trump knew of this and didn't do a damn thing about it. Instead he called it a "hoax". Instead of protecting Americans he called something the CIA said was a hoax! He is a despicable wanna be dictator.

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    21. DNC is a private corporation. True.

      It's the best way to describe the lock step with which you side on every issue with the most entrenched establishment power structures. Not one thing you have ever said deviates one bit at all from the talking points of these established power structures. Of which the DNC is one. And the DNC, as we know, was caught lying about their involvement in the Steele Dossier which was part of the largest most successful propaganda effort in history of the world. So we know that they are propagandists and will happily lie to people. We know they are unethical. I think it's a good phrase to use.

      If the DNC wanted to disseminate propaganda online, they would ask for exactly what you do and say exactly the things you say.

      So that's why I think that you are a DNC bot, either that or the most unoriginal, ass kissing, ratfucking conformist douchebag the world has ever known.

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    22. "You don’t get to blame Biden for Trump’s mistakes."

      I'll gladly give unto Caesar what is their dirty laundry.

      Trump's behavior is reprehensible in foreign policy.
      Biden's is too.

      The financial crisis of Afghanistan is a direct result of US freezing the entire economy right now. This is creating the labor crisis and freezing their culture in place, systemic violence.

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    23. The US is freezing the entire economy? Don’t be ridiculous.

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    24. 4:25,
      For overturning Roe v. Wade.

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    25. Sources:

      https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/04/03/afghanistans-famine-risk-grows-after-hard-winter-taliban-takeover/7197104001/?gnt-cfr=1

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_frozen_assets

      https://theintercept.com/2022/02/11/afghanistan-frozen-assets-economy/

      https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-food-united-nations-taliban-8161fb51986801084c5e91bcf433f9ac

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    26. The war in Afghanistan never really ended. It just shifted from military war to financial war. But people are still being killed by America in Afghanistan because their Central Bank can't function right now.

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    27. Republicans don't have a perfect view of foreign policy but the one in this comment section is generally correct that Israel has an apartheid society. I don't think Steelgate has much relevance though. Otherwise it's solid commentary.

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  8. Choosing to be Cassandra instead of Pollyanna is more of a personality trait than a factual matter.

    It would be an arduous task to list all of the problems of some past time period and the ones current and then count and compare the two. So this isn't a question easily settled by arguing about which problems got solved when.

    I do think that Somerby is too extreme in his gloom and doom. Anyone would seem like Pollyanna compared to him. And I don't think Somerby should fault Drum for wanting to be upbeat about progress, given that the guy is surviving multiple myeloma and would naturally want to see progress and think positively about all aspects of life. Oncologists tend to encourage optimism because studies show that it aids healing (and striving of other kinds too). Martin Seligman wrote a book called Learned Optimism about how to teach people to think more positively, because there are a lot of psychological and practical benefits to approaching problems that way. So, there is not a lot to recommend Somerby's approach, other than a Cassandra won't be surprised when things to to shit.

    Personally, I hope that Kevin Drum doesn't listen to Somerby. What Somerby is preaching won't be helpful to him in any way. It isn't helpful to Somerby either.

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  9. "it's lots of fun when you're paid big bucks by the Fox News Channel to go on TV and behave like a gaggle of fools."

    When people train to become actors they engage in a variety of exercises where they must go before others and behave foolishly. Doing that in training is called "bravery" applied to performing. You have to be willing to look foolish in order to entertain others, but also in order to make a believable performance of someone or something you are not. Those with some understanding of the arts tend to admire the risks that performers take, especially when they work, but even if they don't quite achieve what they were going for. So blaming Gutfeld and his associates for portraying enjoyment in order to entertain their audience strikes me as very churlish in a man who attempted the same thing in his own career.

    If you want to see how ridiculous people can look when they are having rollicking fun but you are not amused, attend a party sober and watch your drunk friends behave like idiots. And yes, they will, if they have enough to drink.

    Speaking of poop, Somerby seems to be a party pooper himself today. There are a lot of mean and stoopid jokes on the internet about Trump and Republicans. I wouldn't find Gutfeld's jokes funny either, but I wouldn't spend any time watching him. Why does Somerby? It seems maybe he enjoys hate-watching his competition and fantasizing about how much better he could have been on stage if they had only hired him instead. That should be a guilty pleasure, not something announced in public, as Somerby has done today.

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    1. It is supposedly Bob's job to review the political media, and catch their "Howlers". Gutfeld may not actually aspire to anything but being a comedy show (certainly he fails in that department, but whatever...). So you may be right. "The Five" is supposed to be political commentary, so posting on that is correct.

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    2. No, Gutfeld and his associates are explicitly presented as comedy. No one would mistake any of them for political analysts, former campaign managers, attorneys, diplomats, officials, or the kinds of experts who routinely provide actual commentary on news programs.

      If Somerby considers Gutfeld to be a news show, he is being deliberately obtuse.

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    3. Forgot to say that I agree with you and I do not think Biden needed to rein-in his son, so I am definitely one of tens of millions who probably disagree with Somerby about that.

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    4. Oops, meant to post this below, sorry.

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  10. "we do believe that disaster could ensue if Trump returns to the White House. (For the record, tens of millions of American voters disagree with our view.)"

    For the record, Trump got 73 million popular votes in 2020 and it wasn't enough to come close to Biden. For the record, there probably are not enough Republican voters to put Trump into office again with Independents and Undecideds and Republican women, all of whom are drifting further from his clutches.

    Why does Somerby feel the need to state, every day, that some number of wayward Republicans probably disagree with whatever someone with sense has just said?

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  11. "the angriest little boy on TV was just kidding around when he said it."

    Isn't Jesse Watters the new angriest boy on TV?

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  12. "Do we believe that our world is at risk, or is that just something we peddle? "

    Somerby raises an interesting point with this question. It may also explain why he himself has drifted to the right, to the extent that he himself may be frightened by both the risks in our world and in his personal life. We all face death sooner or later but that doesn't make it less scary.

    Republicans explicit use fear and threat to mobilize their base and attract voters. They raise fears, make the left into a bogeyman to be feared too (not a solution), personalize the threat (they are trying to put me in jail but they will come for you next), and tell voters that things are getting worse. Then they say that nothing can stop the danger except electing Trump and sending him lots and lots of money, ASAP, continuously, or else. That is the right's entire appeal to voters. They have no programs. But they do promise lollipops and roses if Trump is put in office. So much winning voters will get tired of winning. A better health care plan, etc. Lots of promises, none of which will be kept.

    In contrast, the left talks about problems too but it offers solutions and tries to sell its programs and policies, talks about its candidates as effective in carrying out the plans. The left talks about achievements and what is left to do, and about being hard working and never quitting. The right talks about fighting to keep voters safe. The left talks about fighting for progress, about equity and justice and prosperity for all. The right presents a strong father to save his people. The left presents a caring advocate who will work to make things better.

    So, when Somerby emphasizes risk and plays his Cassandra game, he is singing a right wing song. He is not being liberal. And when he emphasizes all that is wrong and scolds the voters (to make them feel more anxious), telling us we are doing it all wrong, he is not working to help any liberal candidate, certainly not Biden. He is trying to evoke fear and worry and make liberals into quaking right wingers. Fortunately, most of us are more on the Pollyannish side (which Somerby mocks today) and can resist Somerby's nightmares, preferring to work together to help the world get better. Somerby thinks all is lost and today he denies even the solace of humor, preferring what? Giving up, giving in and letting Trump plunder our society in exchange for riding his coattails to hell? I would have to believe that Trump could save the world, but right now I don't believe he can save himself. And neither will Republicans as the courts show his fear and impotence under the law. That means Trump cannot win, because when his most desperate supports see how frightened Trump is, they will abandon him too. Yes, God made Trump, but he made him puny, terrified and quaking, like any sensible man would be facing 91 felony counts and a demon like Jack Smith. Time to vote for a ho, maybe Nikki Haley, who seems nice and doesn't have stinky diapers.

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  13. reign refers to a king's time on the throne

    rein in refers to pulling back on the reins of a horse to make him go slower to stop running, keep him under control

    rein-in is what you want, not reign

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  14. Forgot to say that I agree with you and I do not think Biden needed to rein-in his son, so I am definitely one of tens of millions who probably disagree with Somerby about that.

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  15. Somerby says he gets angry about the problems afflecting society and then Kevin Drum comes along and says things aren't that bad, that progress is happening.

    The problem with this formulation is that Drum is not saying that problems are completely solved (or that they can be), nor is he saying that graphs solve anything at all. They are simply a way of presenting data graphically (in a picture) so that people can understand it better. Drum isn't saying that everything is wonderful, but that is the strawman that Somerby creates so that he can dismiss Drum's actual point, which is that there has been progress and that we can solve problems and have done so.

    Expecting there to be no crime ever is unrealistic. We have a measles vaccine that works but we still have measles cases (because people will not use the vaccine). When we look at numbers in a graph, they represent individual cases. If the line for carjackings goes down, it means there are fewer carjackings. That may not help Somerby's overheard nurses, but it does help some unknown person somewhere. It may be that many people are not being carjacked now, compared to some point in the past. I personally do not know and have never heard anyone, in my long life, say they were carjacked. I might suggest that those women find a different solution to the their problem than waiting for trend lines for carjackings to decrease, but I do believe problems get solved at the level of specifics, not in generalities.

    Somerby is crazy if he believes that things are not better today than in the past, in many many ways. Blaming Kevin Drum for emphasizing progress instead of intractable problems is unfair, and it does not at all mean that those harder problems will not be solve down the road, if people keep working on them (as we do).

    All Somerby is saying today is that people still have problems in their lives. Who ever said they didn't, or would not, for as long as there are people on this earth? So what does Somerby want? Yes, he wants less Gutfeld, but what does he want Drum to do? Focus on how bad everything is? But does the data really support that? Drum is a scientific-type, so he perhaps would say no. When Republicans have to invent problems such as furries wanting catboxes in public schools, it suggests we may not have enough naturally occurring problems to worry about, given that Republicans don't want to address anything real, such a climate change. So, if someone without proper documentation is cutting your lawn, it may be time to worry about how many illegals are living in NYC, instead of admitting that your lawn looks pretty nice.

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  16. Capitalism doesn't solve problems, it turns them over to corporate lobbyists who scapegoat them. Blue and red tribes take turns deciding who is the best scapegoat.

    What conservatives and neoliberals like Bill Clinton cutting welfare are about is they both stop talking about capitalism at the same time. And they both claim that they can't talk about capitalism because the other one is not letting them.

    What this amounts to is the total erasure of economic justice from the political discourse or just the mutation of it into a culture war form, declawed form.

    So once nobody is talking about capitalism then the culture war wins itself. The war itself takes the place of criticizing capitalism.

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    1. It is necessary for any business enterprise to solve numerous problems in order succeed in its endeavors. Lobbying and scapegoating are part of politics. But scapegoating doesn't solve problems either -- by definition, it blames people for problems. Problem-solving efforts are distinct from that, but defining problems poorly prevents their solution.

      Bill Clinton cutting welfare isn't relevant to today's problems because welfare systems have changed a lot since Clinton's time, as have the causes and need for welfare of various kinds. For example, housing is a bigger problem in some areas now, but finding jobs is not. Child care is a worse problem, health care is easier than in Clinton's time. So why the reference to Clinton at all? It makes more sense to talk about the present conditions.

      Total erasure of "economic justice" from the political discourse is ridiculous given how vocal and active progressives are in today's Democratic party, not to mention other organizations. The left is not attacking progressives and the right is attacking everyone in their Culture War. Talking about Capitalism in a general sense is useless. It is better to focus on specific issues relevant to your goals in increasing economic justice, such as wealth taxes being advanced in several states.

      Your comment in general sounds like a collection of buzzwords and slogans, vague and whiny. If you get behind something specific, explain the details to people, and ask them to vote for it, you will make more progress. You aren't going to get anyone behind you by calling Bill Clinton a neoliberal.

      Of course, you may have no interest in economic justice at all, and may be using this pseudo-progressive talk to knock liberals like Clinton (who was a fine president) and make Democrats seem like a bunch of "commies" in the eyes of Republicans. People solve problems, not capitalism or any other economic system.

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    2. The failure to address healthcare costs is a winning issue that will build out the strongest base against Trump. We can't do that with a capitalist class sitting behind lobbyist spreadsheet presentations destroying the momentum every time we try.

      Corporate power's narcissism didn't start with neoliberalism, you can find it in the manager manuals saying your sick wife isn't the company's responsibility to think about, and now it's not the government's responsibility either. Leave it to a "regulated market." etc. I'm responding to Bob's post about a few things

      The book "American Homicide" by Randolph Roth and recent studies on food stamps show a strong social safety net will prevent things like carjackings, because sustained help to people facing poverty and political adversity lowers felony convictions later in life. Instead the Democratic party is failing to make the connection and the middle class is getting scared again, and could swing red in fear of higher crime in the future.

      Clinton's neoliberal attitude of "Just get rich stupid" is part of why the Republicans have had such an easy time telling people to work through a modern plague, and telling people the ride is over, no more economic assistance, "we're not doing communism" and all that.

      I want to live in a country that doesn't just temporarily hold off fascism with a coin flip, I want to build out a secure culture. And right now, I see a lot of backsliding into cult politics that The Leader Will Save us, the same issue that broke Obama's cult and brought Trump in.

      The limitation you have where I'm a secret Republican mole shows how deeply the culture war script has embedded itself in your mind, where if we were to talk seriously about welfare policy or war, or immigration or any issue people vote on, you first have to decide if I'm in your tribe or not. That's your limitation, don't put that on me.

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    3. You are definitely not in my tribe.

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    4. There's that liberal tolerance you're so famous for

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    5. I’m a tribe of one. I am Corby.

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    6. Facts are facts. We don’t share a world view.

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    7. Bill Clinton also raised taxes on the rich.

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  17. George HW Bush runs basic conservative government, scares off the donor class by being too hard on Israel. Donor class embraces Clinton. Clinton makes fake attempts at peace, and himself bombs Iraq, pushing through weak healthcare reform with the majority on his side but ratfucking from the conservative elites.

    The ratfucking intensifies as blowback from Israel hits US on September 11 and Bush is swept into the white house as a strongman to defeat terror. Millions of people die, mostly Iraqi and Afghani. People decide murder is ugly and vote for the prettiest man they can find, Obama with his soothing voice. But No Child Left Behind starts to re-segregate the country as schools crack down on poorly performing Spanish students, and immigration hysteria rises.

    Obama takes the token role as the fingerwag at black fathers and damn near accuses hip hop music of turning people into criminals. Neoliberalism's assimiliationist agenda starts to get exposed. Forget your culture, I'm white and rich with a funny black name.

    Culture war kicks into high gear again as the upper class screech about more progress on healthcare being a threat to American power and so on. The center-right position of Obamacare is held onto as a working compromise but its shortcomings push Trumpism into the spotlight along with corporate media greed to have a windbag in front of our consumption hungry eyes.

    The buildup of identity politics against Bush comes to a head and people go for Big Santa Claus promises from Trump, that never came, he'll give everyone a beautiful wall and he'll take care of the corruption. Meanwhile he makes millions cheating Americans.

    Trump comes in crying about being a victim and encourages hate crimes at home instead of in Palestine to help cannibalize democracy. This simply isn't done, white supremacy is a gift given to select few nations that go to war with us as a treat for being good allies.

    The economy then nosedives under the virus and capitalists tell us to go back to work and die on our shifts. We do go back to work and the economy picks up.

    Unlike in the 1990s under Bill Clinton, this time the Democrats made a better move, they brought in their center-left resistance into the party and can actually point to increase in union membership, even if Biden thumbs his noses at direct action tactics, the quasi-parliament system of voting Blue down the line effectively helps America.

    Now we have a center business party that thinks they won it all by themselves instead of being actually good liberal negotiators for a change, and they dont know how to talk to middle america yet. They complain about Trump being sexist to Hillary Clinton but not the hordes of sexist men inside the conservative media machine terrorizing them. They complain about .3% debt forgiveness not being seen as generous enough to people under 45, disproportionately black people with economic pressure on them. They see everything through "my dad can beat up your dad" and are risking the fate of the country and the world on this petty version of politics.

    Bob is right to pull his hair out, but the system very much needs a fake left to stand in for a real one, and Democrats have a choice now to stand up for everyone who is weak together, or fall to Trump.

    Viva Palestine.

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    1. There are so many things that I disagree with in your view of these events, which I lived through myself, that I don't know where to start, so I will just say that when you explain your views in more details (as you just did), I think you will have a better chance of convincing others, than just calling today's left fake and blaming Capitalism as if it were an agent instead of a descriptive term for a system. I don't know what center business party you are talking about and I don't know anyone personally who thinks politics is about dads beating up dads. So I don't know where to start, but hopefully someone else can connect with what you said.

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    2. Scroll up and read about how Biden's pooping habits and Trump's skincare routine if you think the culture war script is really settling our major issues we face.

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    3. You discredited everything you said with your Viva Palestine tag line.

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    4. You discredit yourself using a genocide to try to defame the character of a stranger

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    5. Bush II was already president when the 9/11 attack happened.

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    6. Bush 2 won what looked like a series of fixed elections that were mostly forgotten once the war started.

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    7. Before America hated Saddam enough to give him a goodbye kiss, they hated Gadaffi. The war on terror was part of how Bush got elected. And he picked the Iraq war to make himself look tough. America approved of it for a time until we got sick of realizing we were going to be killing millions of people.

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    8. Gadaffi was not killed by the US. You seem to like to oversimplify things a bit. Somerby would call that narrative.

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    9. Of course he was killed by the US even if the person who pulled the trigger wasn't American the context was fully red, white and blue. The US bombed their radio stations.

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    10. Come back when you some actual history.

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    11. "get out of my white people comment section"

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    12. You liberals can't decide if you want the left to stop discussing capitalist imperialism and neoliberalism or if you are the left. You can't be both.

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  18. Quaker in a BasementJanuary 25, 2024 at 5:07 PM

    Today's column offers a concise example of what has become of the once-great Howler. It's perplexing, but I'll try to lay it out as neatly as I can.

    Our Host observes that "our blue tribe" fears that a second Trump administration would be disasterous for our country, and he agrees with this view.

    Trump, in his ongoing campaign of doom porn, paints our country as a dying, dismal failure, one that "can no longer solve even the smallest problems." I haven't seen any reports which provide examples of "small problems" our country is incapable of addressing. Whatever they are, our incapability seems to date from January of 2021.

    Our Host agrees with Candidate Trump--our country can't solve "even the smallest problems." As evidence, Our Host notes that we have not eliminated all criminal behavior in the American population. He further cites his continuing dissatisfaction with the performance of the news industry as another "small problem" that stubbornly bedevils our country.

    Maybe it's just me, but I don't think those are small problems at all. They are complex and wide-ranging. We share these problems with many liberal democracies around the world. They're serious problems and they're not small. They've been with us for a long time, including during the halcyon days when Trump stood astride our govenment. There will be carjackings as long as there are cars to jack.

    What's more, I don't think these are the "small problems" Candidate Trump refers to. (I could be wrong--as I said, I haven't seen any reporting that tells us precisely which "small" problems he's thinking of.) I think former president Trump is painting a gloomy portrait of problems we face so that he may declare that those problems began after he left office and that he alone can make them go away again.

    I disagree with the candidate. I suspect Our Host disagrees as well. Nevertheless, the remainder of today's column is devoted not to examining the candidate's extraordinary claims, but rather to scolding those who fail to disagree with the candidate in precisely the right way.

    The Howler I used to read in the days of Whitewater and "Fools for Scandal" was sharply written and reasoned. It was instructive and entertaining. Above all, it resonated with a hopefulness that facts and details mattered and that minds could be changed.

    Sadly, in the words of Donald Fagan, "those days are gone forever, over a long time ago."

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    1. Quaker in a BasementJanuary 25, 2024 at 5:32 PM

      I stand corrected. Candidate Trump did indeed add some detail to his observation that our country can't solve small problems.

      "We are an institute in a powerful death penalty," the candidate helpfully explained.

      We regret the error.

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    2. America has the largest marketing industry in the world sitting on our chest, not letting us stand up and march for healthcare freedom. Every country has an upper class that tried to block a national healthcare agenda, but America's succeeded because of sheer manpower they assigned to the task. People still think it will be communism.

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    3. Who says you can’t march?

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    4. "Our Host notes that we have not eliminated all criminal behavior in the American population."

      Where does he note that?

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    5. 6:07 is likely to say the DNC prevents him from marching.

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    6. The Senate voted down universal healthcare in July 27th. We should march. Are you ready to organize one?

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    7. https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-health-care-single-payer-vote-daines-amendment-2017-7

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    8. 6:07 "...they assigned to the task." They being who, exactly? I assume that you are referring to executives in the insurance industry, pharmaceuticals, etc., their shareholders and anyone profiting in that sector. Meanwhile you refer to the solid electorate that voted Obama into power as a cult. You throw around a lot of loose trash-talking verbiage that does not appear to be well anchored. Maybe slow down a bit and explain yourself a little better and your disparagements will be taken more seriously.

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    9. You already know what the marketing industry is in America. You just haven't realized not every country has shrill advertising blowing in their face every second.

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    10. 2:03 in the words of the late Ronald Reagan, there you go again. Your off handed condescension is subordinate only to your naive self assurance regarding other people's experiences and mindsets.

      Delete
    11. Quaker didn't give other countries credit for healthcare reform that America is too corrupt to do itself

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    12. I find the threat of being run over by cars makes people less likely to protest

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  19. In other exciting news today, looks like the Confederacy is putting the band back together again. The Supreme Court?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Rain is water that falls from the sky. It can make going out uncomfortable. Maybe the commenter was rained in.

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  21. Tucker Carlson is on record describing the enemies of Fox News as the lower classes clamoring at the castle walls and he and the other bullshit artists are there to make you afraid every second so you can't put a plan together.

    His eyebrows dance like tribal shamans encouraging us to think he's really thinking about middle america and not his wallet.

    This comedy show does the same shit.

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  22. But is it better or worse than Gutfeld?

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  23. I take priggish spelling corrections ( what if I had “there” when I meant “their?” Oh the horrors) as evidence I have presented ironclad arguments that can’t really be challenged on there, I mean their, merits.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wouldn’t you rather use the right word? Only your best friends will tell you…

    ReplyDelete
  25. Would you rather be called a prig or a prick?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Wouldn’t you rather leave a comment when you have something of substance to say? Though one images that doesn’t come up much….

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  27. In addition to wishing for the economy to crash in the next 12 months, Donald J Chcickenshit would like the vermin to continue poisoning our blood until he can get back in office. What a guy. DiC says, "yum yum, give me that guy"

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  28. My inerrancy issue is getting worse (😉 capiche?), but my performance in spamming Somerby's blog is superb.

    Somerby is an ass.

    I am Corby.

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    1. You are a fake Corby. I know how to spell capisci and capisce, and I know the difference between them. I am Corby.

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    2. You are Right-winger Boris funded by Russia via Iran and Qatar. You are an evil Trump voter. You do not dream of Hunter Biden's cock. You lack empathy.

      Somerby is an ass.

      I am Corby.

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    3. Qatar is not involved at all.

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    4. Qatar is intimately involved. Instead of protecting Americans you, Boris, call something the CIA said a hoax!

      There is no Palestine. Kids are calling for genocide.

      Somerby is an ass.

      I am Corby.

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    5. No, Qatar is not involved. You are an ignitive fake Corby. I am cognitive, I am real, and I am Corby.

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  29. The highest inflation rate since Jimmy Carter, plenty of yummy new wars, and now a constitutional crisis! What's not to like? My vote is for the Democrats!

    Somerby is an ass.

    I am Corby.

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    1. Inflation is cooling off even as we speak.

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    2. Inflation raise prices. Cooling off doesn't bring back pre-inflation prices.

      Capiche? The damage has been done.

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    3. In 1860 you could rent four rooms for $4.50 a month.

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    4. Psst.
      Raising taxes reduces spending, which lowers inflation.
      Pass it on.

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