TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2024
Brian Kilmeade had it much better: It doesn't go well for Calchas the seer right at the start of the Iliad.
As we noted yesterday, of all the seers who could read the flight of birds, Calchas was clearest, most knowing, by far.
Within the war poem's first hundred lines, Calchas is asked to tell the Achaean council why Apollo has visited a plague upon their camp. Assured by Achilles that he'll be protected, he rises in council and delivers this (accurate) assessment:
The seer took heart
and this time he spoke out, bravely: "Beware—
he casts no blame for a vow we failed, a sacrifice.
The god's enraged because Agamemnon spurned his priest,
he refused to free his daughter, he refused the ransom.
That's why the Archer sends us pains and he will send us more
and never drive this shameful destruction from the Argives,
not till we give back the girl with sparkling eyes
to her loving father—no price, no ransom paid—
and carry a sacred hundred bulls to Chryse town.
Then we can calm the god, and only then appease him."
For the record, Calchas had divined the cause of the plague correctly.
Agamemnon lord of men had insulted the aged priest to Apollo whose daughter he had enslaved. That was the offense which had occasioned the plague.
As usual, Calchas had spoken correctly. But things did not go well for him. The lord of men was enraged:
So he declared and sat down. But among them rose
the fighting son of Atreus, lord of the far-flung kingdoms,
Agamemnon—furious, his dark heart filled to the brim,
blazing with anger now, his eyes like searing fire.
With a sudden, killing look he wheeled on Calchas first:
"Seer of misery! Never a word that works to my advantage!
Always misery warms your heart, your prophecies—
never a word of profit said or brought to pass."
With no Deep State or mainstream press to blame, the lord of men blamed the seer. As he continued, he offered to give "the young girl" back, but only at a price which triggered Achilles' great rage.
So it went among the Argives in this, the tenth year of their siege of Troy. When Calchas rose and correctly divined the will of Apollo, he was met with "a sudden, killing look" from Agamemnon, lord of men.
Last Saturday night, things went better for Brian Kilmeade on his eponymous, primetime TV show on the Fox News Channel.
In yesterday's report, we transcribed the way he introduced a segment in which he interviewed Florida's infallible governor, Governor Ron DeSantis. The chyron below him said this:
LAWLESSNESS IN LIBERAL CITIES
It's a favorite theme on the Fox News Channel. Handled in a journalistically respectable way, it qualifies as an actual serious topic.
Needless to say, the topic wouldn't be handled that way on this primetime "cable news" program. Just to refresh you, here's what the Fox star said as the segment began:
KILMEADE (2/17/24): Major cities, liberal cities, are overrun with crime. Everywhere you look. Think about it. You've got carjackings, robberies, thefts, smash-and-grabs. Every city! You don't even know where it is, you just recognize the criminals...
You've got places like New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. Thieves walk right out the front door and take whatever they want. And people like California governor Gavin Newsom think that's OK?
Say what? In these liberal cities, thieves "take whatever they want" from big box store—and people like California governor Gavin Newsom actually think that's OK?
The insinuation was clear. As a more general matter, this is a favorite theme on the Fox News Channel, with standard journalistic practice frequently honored in the breach.
So it would go this night. Kilmeade now played a piece of videotape—videotape which was apparently supposed to support what the Fox star had just insinuated or said.
The videotape did no such thing. Here's the background on this piece of videotape:
On some unspecified occasion, Newsom had been in the checkout line at a Target store in Sacramento when a shoplifting incident occurred. The clerk who was running the checkout line hadn't realized who he was.
In late January of this year, Newsom described what happened on that occasion. The stars on Fox have been toying with the videotape ever since.
Kilmeade now played part of that videotape. That produced this fuller transcript of the way this segment started:
KILMEADE (2/17/24): Major cities, liberal cities, are overrun with crime. Everywhere you look. Think about it. You've got carjackings, robberies, thefts, smash-and-grabs. Every city! You don't even know where it is, you just recognize the criminals...
You've got places like New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. Thieves walk right out the front door and take whatever they want. And people like California governor Gavin Newsom think that's OK?
[BEGIN VIDEOTAPE]
NEWSOM: As we're checking out, the woman says, "Oh, he's just walking out. He didn't pay for that."
I said, "Why didn't you stop him?"
She goes, "The governor lowered the threshold. There's no accountability."
I said, "That's just not true." I said, "We have the tenth toughest—$950, the tenth toughest in America. Go look it up."
No one gives a damn about that.
[END VIDEOTAPE]
KILMEADE: See, he slipped that in! He allows you to take $950, the tenth toughest.
Is that OK? Maybe if it's your store it's not OK! But Governor Ron DeSantis will not let that happen in Florida. He's cracking down hard on crime with a brand-new bill...
At this point, up popped the segment's hero, Governor DeSantis. But let's go back and think about what Kilmeade had already said.
(To watch this entire segment, you should start by clicking here.)
According to Kilmeade's insinuation, the videotape shows that Governor Newsom thinks it's OK when shoplifters "take whatever they like." It's ginormously clear that the videotape shows precisely the opposite.
In the fuller videotape, Newsom goes on to ask to speak to the clerk's manager about the policy of letting shoplifters walk. Then too, there was that curious statement, in which Newsom makes this somewhat fizzy claim—a claim Kilmeade didn't flesh out:
"We have the tenth toughest—$950, the tenth toughest in America. Go look it up."
California is the tenth tougher, he says. Kilmeade blows right past the unexplained statement as he delivers his body blow to the feckless Golden State guv.
("No one gives a damn about that," Newsom says. Kilmeade gives enough of a damn about Newsom's statement to leave it unexplained.)
Tomorrow, we're going to show you what Newsom meant by the statement in question. Also, we're going to answer an obvious question:
Who is Brian Kilmeade?
Way back in the Late Bronze Age, Calchas was able to make accurate statements by reading the flight of birds. With all the tools of our own Information Age at his disposal, Kilmeade goes on the air six days of the week and delivers bullsh*t like that.
(Key point: Red tribe viewers are being misled when this bilge is dispensed—and red tribe viewers don't know that.)
Calchas was met by Agamemnon's rage when he made his accurate statement. Kilmeade's keister was kissed by Ron DeSantis as his dissembling continued.
So it goes in this, our so-called Information Age. So it goes thanks to the one great god of our broken journalistic practice, the great god Separation.
Tomorow: The life of Brian
International law enforcement has taken down the Lockbit website.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a media criticism site.
ReplyDeleteRight-wingers lying isn't what I'd call "news", any more than saying Wednesday is the day that follows Tuesday is "news".
"I thought this was a media criticism site."
DeleteLet me ask you this. Is Kilmedia part of the media? Is the blog critical of him?
Tired of mincing words. You are fucking STUPID why do you bother to comment on anything?
I agree with @9:32. It isn't news or analysis to point out that Kilmeade was engaged in typical right wing disinformation.
DeleteIf Somerby were complaining about Kilmeade's ugly suit, would that still be media analysis because Kilmeade is on the media? It would be fashion criticism, not media criticism.
But I think you just like to call other commenters stupid, especially the ones who disagree with Somerby.
Anonymouse 1:58pm, if you don’t want to be called stupid, then don’t have stupid and specious takes.
DeleteDon’t complain for years that Somerby should be going after Fox News rather than other media and then equate a blog about FNC bias and subterfuge as being moot. As being no more pertinent to the media industry than a critique on a reporter’s attire.
Perhaps you should exhibit some sort of attitude that doesn’t make the joke about anonymices being Bob’s wrathful and vengeful ex-girlfriends seem like the wisdom of the gods.
Cecelia, you are mistaken about who was being called stupid. I complained about the commenter calling OTHER PEOPLE stupid. But you have been pretty stupid here yourself. I suspect you aren't really reading anyone's comments very closely and are just venting. I'm sorry you are having a bad day, but your behavior has been noticeably worse than usual.
DeleteBob has no ex-girlfriends. His tastes don't run that direction. That you are clueless about that says a whole bunch about you.
Maybe Cecelia has ex-girlfriends.
DeleteAnonymouse 3:54pm, I know you complained about the commenter calling anonymices stupid. Then you quickly proved him right by stupidly suggesting that critiques on wardrobe are no different than criticism of media bias because both would involve a media member.
DeleteNow you’re showing yourself clueless over another abstract comparison of the passionate intensity of Bob’s critics with that of ex-lovers, by suggesting that this isn’t apt because Bob is gay.
You are what you are, which is a cinder block.
I didn't say Somerby was gay. I said his taste didn't run to ex-girlfriends. There are many other possibilities.
DeleteAlso, I didn't say that criticizing Kilmeade's clothes would be media criticism. I said it wouldn't be. You are not thinking very well today. I don't know if that is because you are sick or drinking or have some problem, or because you have been replaced in your troll job by a less coherent version of yourself.
We don't build much using cinder blocks here in the USA. Can you please translate that into American English?
Anonymouse 4:43pm, if you say that you were NOT suggesting that any sort of criticism is “media criticism” if it involves a media member, I will take that as a fact and a misreading on my part.
DeleteI will take it as a fact that you are not trying to trivialize Bob renewed focus on red tribe media shenanigans as well as those in the broader media.
You got it.
Wait wait wait. I didn't say anything about Somerby's "renewed focus on red tribe media shenanigans" much less that I agree he is doing that. I see him as using pseudo-criticism of Kilmeade to repeat what Kilmeade said and portray Newsom as making odd statements about CA's crime stats. Newsom came off worse than Kilmeade, the way Somerby has framed things today. If Somerby's intent were to "criticize" Kilmeade, that shouldn't be the case.
DeleteOnce again, more space is given to repeating Kilmeade's bullshit than to discussing whether CA is crime-ridden or not. That wouldn't be the case if an actual liberal had reacted to Kilmeade's statements. And what Somerby said today does nothing whatsoever to contradict right wing lies or to boost blue state reputations, much less portray Newsom favorably.
If you cannot read my comments accurately, why should I think you can read Somerby's essay? I think you should ask for reassignment to a different, less confusing blog. Somerby's sophistry is difficult to parse even for well-educated, native speakers. You are clearly in over your head (an American idiom meaning you are incompetent for this task).
5:21 - Somerby called Kilmeade's report "bilge" and "bullsh*t." That's not "pseudo-criticism"; it's "criticism," pure and simple.
DeleteAnd you complain about Somerby's "sophistry." But your complaint is mostly that Somerby doesn't talk about things that you wish he would talk about (rebutting right-wing lies, boosting blue state reputations, portraying Newsom favorably).
That's not sophistry. A well-educated, native speaker should know that.
Calling something bullshit is name-calling, not criticism. Where is Somerby’s analysis?
DeleteYou’re deflecting. Your point in calling it “pseudo-criticism” was to suggest that Somerby was only pretending to criticize Kilmeade as a cover for his real project of actually promoting Kilmeade’s message. And your point is bunk.
DeleteRon DeSantis wants kids to get measles:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/02/desantis-making-measles-great-again
When I was growing up, the Conservative Newspaper (the bad guys) was the Chicago Tribune. Whatever its politics, it was hard to deny it was a serious, first rate newspaper with talent on the beat.
ReplyDeleteI picked it up about ten years ago and was quite amazed. It looked like something designed for third graders, a notch or two below what we used to think of USA Today.
Americans have gotten dumber, and really stupid people are less likely to be good, decent people. The mob of January sixth were crappy, ignorant dolts.
This is not limited to one Party and each generation probably feels this about the next one coming up. Yet it’s silly to say Fox fans “aren’t being told the truth.” Like Bob when he goes crazy because someone put out a mildly challenging movie, they are dumb and damn proud of it.
You're freely conflating ignorance with stupidity and it scuttles whatever point you were trying to make. Plus it's ironic.
DeleteWhen you lower the reading level of a newspaper, it increases circulation by making the paper readable to more people. We should want to have more less-educated people reading the news, not complain about it. People have not gotten stupider -- education has increased. The internet has put all of us into contact with others we may not have encountered when we were younger. Somer of them may be doltish and dumb, but they were always there, just less visible.
DeleteStill conflating the terms. I can't understand what you're trying to say. Lack of education is uneducated. The inability to be educated is stupidity.
DeletePeople who teach tend to differentiate between two conditions: (1) lack of education, which is called ignorance, (2) inability to learn, which is called stupidity. Today, we don't tend to use the term stupidity because failure to learn may be due to something like a specific learning disability rather than an overall developmental delay (what used to be called mental retardation, typically with genetic causes). Other reasons why children might not learn include malnutrition, health issues, emotional and social problems related to disruption in the home, impoverished environment, neglect or child abuse, etc.
DeleteSo today, calling people stupid is just name-calling intended to hurt their feelings, not an informative label. People who CAN learn generally DO learn. What they learn depends on their life experiences and schooling is only part of that. Some people learn to be bigots, white supremacists, sexist, racist, and so on. They may learn that from their families and community, or from the internet, and some are recruited into such beliefs in college. They don't just learn elite things like music and literature in college, but freshmen are targeted and recruited to white supremacist organizations there, or political groups like Young Republicans, or into the CIA or the military (via ROTC). A person's personality dictates what they will seek out at college and how they will respond to the variety of opportunities presented. The same is true for people who do not go to college but are active on the internet. Everything is available to them, but they choose what to read and whether they will join Al Qaeda or Q-Anon or read the NY Times and discover that Hillary was a Crook (who knew?).
Somerby keeps arguing that we should engage with the Others, but I think that by the time someone has become an Other, they are too immersed in their own mythology (not Homer) to respond well to anything I say. Maybe some commenters have had different experiences but I've never converted a single Trump supporter to anything different. I don't think it is a matter of anyone's stupidity. I think it is due to personality combined with life experience, and that doesn't change easily.
personality definition: "Personality is any person's collection of interrelated behavioral, cognitive and emotional patterns that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life. These interrelated patterns are relatively stable, but can change over long time periods."
@12:27 It is helpful if you identify who you are talking to.
DeleteCommercial society turns everyone into what Hunter S Thompson called "a nation of used car salesmen." Corporations refuse to take responsibility so we don't either.
DeleteHunter S. Thompson was frequently drug-addled and often silly. I wouldn't base my philosophy of life on anything he said.
DeleteWow okay nerd
DeleteNewsom, being a shrewd politician, is giving only the part of the story that makes him look good. He mentions the definition of a misdemeanor, but the definition of a misdemeanor is not the source of the problem.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, when I was young, you couldn’t openly shoplift. Stealing small dollar value stuff was always a misdemeanor, but one just didn’t do it. There were consequences.
What changed? It was something other than the definition of a misdemeanor. It’s the Governor’s job to understand the problem and solve it. Based on his comment, he does not intend to do this.
The crime rate is lower now than when you and I were young, David.
DeleteDavid was a perfect youth. Most children go through a phase where they shoplift candy or gum. My daughter tried it when she was little and I made her return the candy bar to the checker, tell them she had forgotten to pay, and then pay for it. This is part of parenting. But the conservatives are making a fuss about organized gangs of shoplifters taking big ticket items. When I read about that happening at Nordstrom's, I searched for info and couldn't find any support for the anecdotal complaint.
DeleteDavid's golden childhood memories are just fantasies. My childhood memory is of going into the corner mom-pop grocery and being watched like a hawk. That doesn't happen unless someone is stealing something. The influx of kids after school let out seemed to drive these proprietors batty.
@11:52 there's lots of info about mass shoplifting on the web. E.g., see
DeleteThe plague of shoplifting gangs
Retailers say they’re under an assault by robbery rings of unprecedented aggression and scale
https://theweek.com/crime/1022861/the-plague-of-shoplifting-gangs
Crime rates vary by location and over time. When I was growing up in the Bronx, the crime rate was low. It started to increase around 1950. That was one reason my family moved to a suburb.
11:52 must not have searched very hard. Try searching youtube. It's all about coming to the conversation unprepared and then thinking one's off the cuff pronouncements have any sort of merit, let alone being definitive. It's embarrassing.
DeleteDavid, I tried to confirm that info about shoplifting gangs and couldn't. I think you are mistaken propaganda for info.
DeleteI think the Bronx was a suburb before the 1950s. It appears your parents may have taught you to fear crime, even while living in places where it was low. Many of the people who live in high crime areas do not fear it as much as you do.
I grew up in Hollywood, CA in that same time period. It had the second highest crime rate of the entire Los Angeles area. South Central Los Angeles (with its poverty) was the highest. There wasn't the kind of fear you keep exhibiting. Of course, that was before the influx of drugs and guns. Those will ruin any neighborhood.
If these retailers hadn't blown money on lattes and avocado toast, they'd have enough to hire security.
DeleteYeah research is hard.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mass+shoplifting
It is easy to find the conservative complaints about shoplifting, the endless repetition of the idea that these are happening. Research means finding the source of those claims, which means tracking down things like that Nordstrom gang robbery. That is where the evidence disappears. Lots of accusations against big cities because that is the right's talking point. NO support for those claims. You would think that the department stores that are robbed would be publicizing such events, but they are not. So, where is the data?
DeleteMore shrinkage comes from employee theft and large-scale robberies during transport, before shelves are stocked, than from shoplifting. Why would Target complain about shoplifting gangs if that were not happening? Perhaps because it creates the perception that they are losing money at a time when prices to consumers are increasing dramatically.
Delete"Target gross profit for the twelve months ending October 31, 2023 was $28.609B, a 3.37% increase year-over-year. Target annual gross profit for 2023 was $26.891B, a 13.37% decline from 2022. Target annual gross profit for 2022 was $31.042B, a 13.36% increase from 2021."
Net profit is what matters, not gross. But it is hard to claim that organized shoplifting gangs are hurting Target (who complained to Newsweek about it), when gross profits are up.
Delete"Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today announced its third quarter 2023 financial results, which reflected stronger-than-expected profit performance on sales consistent with expectations. The Company reported third quarter GAAP and Adjusted earnings per share1 (EPS) of $2.10, up 36.3 percent from $1.54 in 2022."
Kevin drum to the rescue again:
Deletehttps://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-crime-is-way-down-this-year/
He says: “ Both property crime and violent crime are on track to be at their lowest levels in more than 50 years.”
The Bronx is one the five boroughs.
DeleteAnything outside of Manhattan is a suburb.
DeleteWhen corporations take money from us through price gouging and ask us to die in wars that's called America succeeding at its dreams.
DeleteWhen poor kids take some of that money back from a huge monopoly store by stealing a handful of groceries and clothes that's called crime.
Wage theft is several times higher than all other kinds combined
Deletehttps://www.tcworkerscenter.org/2018/09/wage-theft-vs-other-forms-of-theft-in-the-u-s/
@4:25 You are getting perilously close to saying that property is theft. We teach kids (poor and rich alike) not to shoplift in order to protect them from law enforcement. Kids who steal from other kids will have serious social problems in life. If they still from businesses, they will have more serious problems and wind up in jail, unemployable due to a felony record, unable to keep a job when they are blamed for thefts, and unable to climb out of poverty using the traditional route of hard work and education. Excusing such thefts by pointing to larger white collar thefts begs the question of how did those thieves learn to steal. Like Trump, they did it as kids and were allowed to get away with it. Trump saw his father do it and now all his precious gold stuff will be sold to pay his fines. If he weren't such an awful person in all ways, it would be sad, since he is so ill-prepared to cope with getting caught for his crimes. I agree fully that rich people should be punished for their crimes too, not that poor people should be excused from crime because they are poor.
DeleteThis video is a reminder that mass shoplifting doesn't just hurt the store owner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbjVbHIYEn0&ab_channel=AnthonyBrianLogan
DeleteIt hurts all local residents when the shoplifting is bad enough so that the store closes down.
The law in its majestic equality forbids the rich and the poor from sleeping under bridges
Delete@6:03 Are you implying that it should be OK for poor people to shoplift? If so, you have a lot of company. The video I posted above shows a number of local residents saying they're more or less OK with shoplifting, or at least they're not unambiguously disapproving.
DeleteThe President of Oberlin College cost her college over $30 million fighting to punish a bakery that had two black students arrested when they were caught shoplifting. Do you think black people have a special right to shoplift because the country has a history of discrimination?
IMO we are entering a dangerous period where honest words and honest deeds are less respected. Many of us applaud when our guy, Trump or Biden (depending on which side we're on) gets some benefit by means of some lie. And, many of us excuse or deny some criminal behavior, depending on the type of person committing the crime.
David, stores are closing because of Amazon competition. That’s capitalism at work.
DeleteUnlike Somerby, Drum does yeoman’s work. Here he is recently on shoplifting:
Deletehttps://jabberwocking.com/is-shoplifting-up-or-down/
David, that is a whole lot to accuse @6:03 of saying when he merely suggested that forbidding the rich to do things they have no need to do is not exactly equal treatment under the law. Some who shoplift are desperate because they are poor and cannot meet their needs. That is rarely true for rich people. What should those desperate people do, in your opinion?
DeleteWhat sort of needs do you have in mind, @7:55. Few Americans are starving today, thank goodness. Most cities have shelters available. The most common need leading to theft is drug addiction. This is a real need for the addict. He may be desperate. Should he be allowed to shoplift? Should he be allowed to break into parked cars? These are fairly common actions by addicts.
Delete"It’s the Governor’s job to understand the problem and solve it."
DeleteIt's a governor's job to manage societal norms regarding theft?
Wow. I wonder how the governors of other states are handling this job!
Here's a tougher answer to @7:55's question: The government can't take care of everyone. Look at all the problems that exist despite all kinds of government programs:
Delete-- Drug overdoses kill around 100,000 per year.
-- Despite Medicaid and ObamaCare, lots of people don't get the medical care they need.
-- In fact, lots of middle class people who can afford a doctor don't have prompt access to doctors, because there's a doctor shortage in many areas.
-- Even those who get medical care may not get the right diagnosis and treatment.
-- Obesity is growing problem (sorry). Heaven knows how many lives are shortened by obesity.
-- A large number of innocent people are murdered each year.
-- A large number die in auto accidents and other accidents.
So, what should the government do? IMO the government should do what it can for needy people, but it should focus on the well-being of honest, normal people. That is, the government shouldn't bend so far backwards to help the needy that they significantly worsen the lives of ordinary people IMO.
Quaker -- Here's an answer for how FL is dealing with the problem. (or how the Governor claims to be dealing with it)
DeleteIn 2022, retailers across the country lost $112 billion to retail theft, with sharp increases in major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In Florida, shoplifting has decreased by 30% since Governor DeSantis first took office....
In high-crime states like New York, retailers lost more than $4 billion, while shoplifting has increased by 63% in New York City alone. To combat this growing problem and to ensure it does not come to Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is building on previous actions by proposing the following:
Third degree felony if you commit retail theft with five or more individuals.
Second degree felony if criminals use social media to solicit others to participate in retail theft.
First degree felony if an individual commits retail theft with a firearm or has already had two or more prior convictions of retail theft.
Reducing the stolen property value necessary to charge criminals with a felony for stealing delivered packages.
https://www.flgov.com/2024/02/13/governor-ron-desantis-announces-action-to-eliminate-retail-theft/
Putting rich people behind bars, when they break the law, will lead to Prison reform.
DeleteWin-win.
What would you do if you traveled to a distant city for business and a mugger took your wallet and cell phone? You would instantly become a needy person instead of your idea of a “normal” person. You have no transportation, no hotel room, no friends there. Police are suspicious of your story. What happens next?
DeleteThe Federal Reserve can snap its fingers tomorrow and put 10 percent of the workforce out of a job to "fight inflation," your boss can fire you for nearly any reason, rent is going up, groceries are up, college is a minion zillion dollars, but a teenager stealing a bottle of liquor is the problem.
Delete@8:47 the answer to your situation is that I would go to the American Embassy and ask for help. I might have to beg for the money to afford public transportation to the Embassy.
DeleteI certainly would not shoplift or commit some other crime in a country where I was unfamiliar with the laws and penalties.
This is the answer from a prudent, old man. I was not always prudent. At age 21, I foolishly drove illegally through East Germany. This was a year or two after the Berlin Wall was built.
How would you get there? Do you think people give money to well dressed beggars? Public transit may not be nearby. The embassy will tell you it isn’t their job to give distressed American people money in the US (distant doesn’t mean foreign). People in other countries will be nice and help a tourist in trouble. But in the US they will be suspicious. How many distressed foreigners have you ever helped? How many miles can you walk? How long before you must pee? Can you use a business restroom without buying anything? Some fast-food chains and gas stations lock their restrooms. Too many poor people up to no good, they think. Your best bet is to ask a stranger to let you use their cell phone. But then you must wait while someone comes to get you, snd by then you will be hungry, tired, upset, angry, and people will be looking at you strangely. Are you starting to feel any empathy for those who lack resources to cope with unexpected emergencies?
DeleteGov. Newsom…was in a check out lane at Target? The checkout person told Newsom that someone walked out the store (thru her line?) without paying for merchandise? Newsom and the Target employee then have a conversation about how the clerk should have stopped the thief? Newsom tells her that CA has the 10th toughest shoplifting felony criteria in the nation? The guy was walking out of Target with at least $950.00 worth of something?
ReplyDeleteCome on now. This is an SNL skit.
Life imitates art.
DeleteExactly. What is the clerk supposed to do to stop someone? Newsom isn't going to wrestle a shoplifter to the ground. Target has security cameras and staff who do that job. If they miss some guy with the max allowed for a misdemeanor, in a one-time specious anecdote, does that mean the State of CA loves criminals? Obviously not, to anyone except you and your fellow conservatives.
DeleteZero tolerance at Target the Republicans shout. Would you shop at a store that strip-searched you on the eay out? And how are retail stores supposed to find these extra security personnel when they are having trouble hiring enough checkers and sales staff?
But the bigger question (and this is huge) is why Somerby is suddenly spouting Republican talking points about crime in blue states?
Here is my testimony. I lived in CA for most of my very long life, and I have never witnessed anyone shoplift a single thing from a store, while I was shopping there. How frequent can that be then?
Oh yeah when I shoplift I make sure fellow shoppers can totally see it. That makes it more fun.
DeleteStrip search on the way out of Target. Of course that's what they're pushing for...
You are stupid.
I mean why discuss any issue based on legitimate evidence and facts when we can totally just go with one person's poorly gathered anecdotal evidence?!
DeleteSeriously, what should the clerk have done to stop that shoplifter? Should Newsom have tackled the guy?
DeleteHere's what they do with high end goods in women's retail stores. They put a tag on the clothes that must be removed at checkout or an alarm sounds. Why don't they do that at Target? It would take extra time processings sales through the checkout lines and it would be expensive. Target makes money on volume of sales, not markup. They are not prosecuting shoplifters because it would be bad for their business, and that sacrifices justice and crime control for profit. Duh!
Target does put tags on items, like Kroger’s and Wal Mart.
DeleteThen how did the shoplifter get past security?
DeleteThey put tags on expensive items. The thief in the anecdote was stealing something that wasn’t tagged.
DeleteI would gladly strip-search David and Cecelia.
DeleteMy old wife and I were walking out of Walmart with a bag of stuff we bought. We parked at the back of the lot "to get our exercise." When I click the key fob four police cars come rolling in with three officers jumping out screaming at my elderly wife and me to put our hands on top of the car. I am like what the fuck? They say I am a suspected shoplifter. I say I have the receipt for everything in the bag, and reach for my wallet, and one of the fuckers threatens to taze me for taking my hand off the car. We are told we have to wait until the Walmart security dude id's us. It takes forever as the guard weighs about 450 lbs. and can only waddle. He takes a quick look and says different dark jacket and hat. I said next time get on the electric cart you fat fuck. And I told the cops I am white, in a white suburb. What the fuck is wrong with you assholes?
DeleteIs either of you named Calchas?
DeleteI don't know of even one modern person named Calchas.
DeleteIt is just a name that Homer made up (assuming Homer ever existed). None of the Iliad or Odyssey is true. Do you believe there were one-eyed giants or sirens or that Penelope waited 20 years without looking for a new husband? I don't but Somerby appears to think it is all gospel. His gospel.
Delete“Homer” was the poet’s nickname. He was a bronze-age power hitter.
DeleteHomer didn’t live in the time period he wrote about.
DeleteOK, he was an iron-age power hitter.
DeleteToday we see it -- Somerby has become David in Cal.
ReplyDeleteThat’s why I keep trolling. Some day Bob will become an anonymouse.
DeleteOr Somerby has always been David in Cal.
DeleteHur hur. Why have sensible opinions on legitimate issues when you can just go with identity politics, name calling, gas lighting, and slinging accusations. Isn't life grand?
DeleteI keep asking myself why Somerby does not express more sensible opinions on legitimate issues. Do you have an answer to that @12:26?
DeleteIn the last thread’s comment section David in Cal misspelled Newsom twice. How many state residents misspell their governor’s name???
Deletegood catch
DeleteDavid is a libertarian. He doesn't allow the governor to dictate spellings, even of his own name.
DeleteThe Trump/Heritage administration will outlaw birth control.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2024/02/getting-rid-of-birth-control-is-a-key-gop-agenda-item-for-the-second-trump-term
Surely, this bullshit didn’t come from the governor’s office.
ReplyDeleteThe video is sourced to Fox and Kilmeade. In Somerby's description, it sounds like Kilmeade is interviewing Newsom, but it is actually Kilmeade narrating a video that he shows clips from, of Newsom talking. If Fox identified where that video came from, Somerby doesn't pass along that info. He merely says it was something Newsom said in January.
DeleteIt is frustrating that Somerby is sometimes so coy about providing links to things and sourcing where stuff comes from. Cecelia, you have complained when commenters complain that he doesn't link or even name sources, but this illustrates why it is important to do. For all we know from Somerby, Newsom could have been talking 20 years ago or last week. It could be campaign video or it could be from a local CA news show or something entirely different, used out of context.
This sourcing BY SOMERBY is careless. Somerby does point out that Fox is playing games with the video, but he doesn't care enough to find out where it did come from. It only takes 30 sec using Google to find the source:
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4442702-newsom-recalls-target-worker-blaming-him-for-retail-theft-wheres-your-manager/
From this we hear that Newsom discussed this at a press conference. He witnessed the theft and confronted the clerk about it, not vice versa. He made the statement last week, as Governor, which makes his "brag" about being 10th toughest in the nation appropriate information for the reporters at the briefing. Newsom does, after all, represent the state of California.
Why did Somerby fill this in? Your guess is as good as mine, but it is easy to attribute all kinds of motives to Newsom, and even distort what happened, as Kilmeade did, when there is no reference to the original statement by Newsom. Yes, Somerby is complaining about what Kilmeade did, but then he does the same thing himself. Why?
Why did Somerby NOT fill this in? typo correction
DeleteAnonymouse 12:09pm, Bob seems to have taken it all as fact straight from the mouth of the governor to Brian Kilmeade’s show.
DeleteIt’s a very questionable story that may be true, but seems ludicrous on its face. More damning of the governor than exculpating.
That fact should have raised your little furry ears, but you seem to be assuming it as being truth from the governor right along with Bob . That’s more trust than Kilmeade or Newsom merit and your ignoring of that fact puts you right in the very same corner where you’re working very hard to put me.
It is exculpating because Newsom didn't do what Kilmeade said he did. Somerby's point was that Kilmeade cut off the video before Newsom's actual response was shown. It was to summon the manager and complain that people were not being stopped from shoplifting (according to the video). How is that "damning" to the governor?
DeleteWhether the story is true of not, it is not the governor's job to stop shoplifters while in line at Target. But my point is that Somerby didn't quote a source for the video Kilmeade showed. It came from a press conference in January. So there is no "trust" required. Anyone can then go look up what Newsom said (and what he was asked that prompted the remarks, and what was said after them, in other words, the context).
And I have to wonder why you didn't read my comment correctly. I was pretty clear.
Cecelia, there is video of Newsom telling the story and it is not the same as Kilmeade showed. Somerby and I both said that. Somerby did not link to the press conference video so that people could check what Newsom said for themselves. I did. If you want to fact check Newsom's story, I suggest starting with the video of what he said. I don't consider it necessary because the anecdote supports the right wing contention that stores are not prosecuting shoplifters (so why bother?), but Newsom's statement that CA has a lower threshold for defining felony shoplifting is a matter of fact and it is correct.
DeleteIf you want to start fact checking politician's anecdotes, start with Trump's stories. He has a lot of made up shit that he uses to illustrate other people as fawning over him and begging favors. There is one about DeSantis that I am certain is untrue.
You are exceptionally confused today. Is this a new tactic to get Somerby off the hook, just confuse everything until everyone forgets what the criticism was? That would be better than to consider whether you are declining cognitively. It sure seems like it, judging by today's comments from you.
Or is this just more of the "best defense is a strong offense" tactics of righties. It is very annoying if so, because your attacks are made up, foggy, and a waste of everyone's time here, including yours. But perhaps you are being paid for this time. Nyet?
Someone needs to remind Tucker Carlson that Putin is 71 yo.
ReplyDeletehttps://digbysblog.net/2024/02/20/mother-russia-is-a-paradise/
Because Newsom is seen as a promising Democrat for national office, the right wing is starting in early on demonizing him. It’s what they do. Facts do not matter.
ReplyDeleteCalifornia is a gentrifying high rent bucket of crazy that also gave us Ronald Reagan my guy
DeleteBiden is telling Americans in Russia to leave now (Level 4 Travel Advisory), in advance of the imposition of strong sanctions on Russia for killing Navalny (Putin's main political opposition). Does anyone imagine Trump would have done anything except congratulate Putin, had Trump still been president?
ReplyDeleteTrump recently tweeted that Nawalny’s “sudden” death reminded him of how he is being persecuted and America is a failing nation. Class act.
DeleteCalchas the seer did not exist. Seeing the future is not a thing.
ReplyDeleteCalchas may have existed. Of course the Iliad doesn’t give reliable information about him.
DeleteCalchas is a genus of scorpions in Turkey and Greece.
DeleteThat is tragic. They know the future but have no way to warn anyone about it.
DeleteIf Calchas did exist, how would they know anything about him, given that Homer wrote the Iliad hundreds of years after the events described and there was no way of recording what happened, especially details.
DeleteBut beyond that, there is no such thing as someone who can really see the future. Somerby says:
"Way back in the Late Bronze Age, Calchas was able to make accurate statements by reading the flight of birds. With all the tools of our own Information Age at his disposal, Kilmeade goes on the air six days of the week and delivers bullsh*t like that."
Kilmeade is delivering bullshit. We know that because we see him do it. But Calchas definitely was not making accurate statements by reading the flight of birds (unless he was saying something like, "look, the birds are flying"). Bird watching is a thing but bird reading is not.
This is one of the annoying ways in which Somerby declines to take responsibility for saying anything concrete. It is all sophistry and all nihilism, including when he attributes supernatural powers to fictional characters while pretending they were real instead of fictional.
Confusing reality for people who are already confused about it -- as those on the right clearly are, is unhelpful in our current age. We need to be helping people sort the wheat from the chaff, not pretending chaff is wheat.
I’m confused about reality. That’s why I’m an anonymouse troll.
DeleteHere's a riddle for everyone: Which state has the most lenient laws regarding felony shoplifting? Which state allows theives to walk away with the most merchandise without paying--and then face only misdemeanor charges?
ReplyDeleteNewsom claims California is the 10th most stringent, setting the threshold for felony theft at $950. And you know what? He's right! California has tougher laws than all but nine other states.
But that prompts a neglected question: Which state is softest on petty theft? And what is the felony threshold in that state?
Surely it must be some other liberal state sunk deep in the mire of wokeness!
Texas and Wisconsin - $2500.
DeleteTexas?!? Law and order governor Greg Abbott's Texas?
DeleteSurely not! There must be some mistake! A deep red, law abiiding state like Texas wouldn't let shoplifters just walk off with $2,500 worth of merchandise!
Would they?
I've seen this shit since Nixon perfected the art. This is how republicans win elections, trying to scare the bejeebers out of their voters. They have nothing to offer the majority except the promise that their tax cuts for the billionaires will trickle down on us some day.
ReplyDeleteDemocrats do it too. Just here today Dem advocates have tried to scare people to think Trump will give children measles and will outlaw birth control. They try to scare people into thinking Putin is going to invade Europe etc.✌🏽
DeleteDon't forget Democrats today are waaay far to the right of Nixon and Reagan.
You are mistaken @3:21. The difference is that the left says things that are true about the right, whereas the right lies about the left. Measles rates are up and there are right wingers who, if elected, have promised to try to outlaw birth control. Right wing nuts have been trying to do that since it was first legalized. Putin has invaded Ukraine, which is in Eastern Europe. Trump has given Putin "permission" to invade NATO countries in Europe.
DeleteAnd no, Democrats today are not to the right of Nixon and Reagan. The right has moved rightward while the left has stayed in the same place in terms of policies. Today's right is authoritarian and flirting with turning this into a dictatorship under Trump. Today's right is welcoming neo Nazis and advocating secession, Civil War 2.0 and vigilante violence.
“Don't forget Democrats today are waaay far to the right of Nixon and Reagan.”
DeleteAnd completely on board with allowing corporations to ship everything to slave laborers overseas in return for playing God via social engineering projects, control of natural resources, and government stipends.
What was it the other week? Trump would encourage Russia to invade NATO countries - based on a joke he was making. No - sorry both parties try to scare people in the way you describe - and please fuck off with your bullshit denial of that obvious truth.
Delete"Trump has given Putin "permission" to invade NATO countries in Europe." This is 100% false and a bullshit lie intended to scare dumbass people like yourself.
DeleteCecelia is incoherent today.
DeleteTrump said "No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want."
DeleteWho is the "them" in this sentence? It is the enemy that NATO was formed to defend against, the Soviet Union (now Russia). So Trump was speaking about Putin (as head of Russia) being encouraged to do whatever the hell he wants. Because he is currently invading Ukraine, it is fair to assume that includes invading Ukraine and other countries.
When Putin hears Trump make such a statement as a candidate for president of the USA, he is being given permission to invade NATO countries, because he is saying he would do nothing to protect those countries in NATO (who he says have not paid enough dues).
Where is the lie?
It wasn't a joke. Trump has said this while he was president too. There is no joke. There is only Trump's ignorance about how NATO is funded by its members and what their obligations are. Trump is confused about how NATO works. But it seems pretty likely this came from Putin in the first place and Trump's statements are part of the cooperation he has shown the Russian dictator after he helped get Trump elected in 2016.
DeleteIf you feel like Trump gave Putin permission to invade NATO countries, it's your business.
Deletehttps://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-trumps-comments-urging-russia-to-invade-delinquent-nato-members
DeleteNow please go f*** yourself, idiot.
Delete@4:28 No, it is the nation's business because we will be holding an election in November in which people will vote for Biden or Trump. It is the nation's business whether we elect someone who would say such a thing to a Russian dictator, selling out the American people and our European allies by giving Russia Carte Blanche.
DeleteNot everyone in the nation is as fucking stupid as you are to believe it, idiot.
DeleteActually, claiming things like that helps Trump. You are helping him by making that idiotic assertion. You make liberals look like fools.
DeleteTrump said it himself. That makes him the fool, in my opinion. We saw what he did last term. There is no reason to doubt that he means what he said.
DeleteWell hopefully Biden will be elected and will be spared the fate of Russia invading Finland.
DeleteFinland hopes that too.
Delete4:38 is correct. If it's not racist, Trump didn't mean it.
DeleteTrump has the fat white guy vote locked-up. He's one of them.
DeleteI’m a fat white guy, and I’m voting for Biden.
Delete4:18,
DeleteI saw some social media posts about how we should be in fear because of a Nazi march in Nashville this week. I looked into it, and saw the photos. Turns out, it's just standard-issue Reagan Republicans.
Check them out, yourself.
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=d15b179212b804a0&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1007US1014&q=nazi+march+in+nashville&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiyx5KP3ryEAxXOl2oFHfwnCRoQ0pQJegQIChAB&biw=1289&bih=622&dpr=1
It is easy to think that the current right wing hysteria about immigration is worse than in the past, but Heather Cox Richardson reminds us why we need to remember how immigrants have been treated in our country's history. On the Day of Remembrance (Feb 19), she describes the treatment of Japanese Americans, not only during WWII, but before. When you read this, it makes Trump's threat to build camps seem more horrific, more possible, and changes it from an old man's odd rant into a possibility in keeping with the shameful things our nation has done before. I guess that is one reason to read American history. We must not let this happen again.
ReplyDeletehttps://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-19-2024
Discredited witness at Biden's impeachment hearing, Smirnov, has admitted that he got information used to smear Hunter Biden (and indirectly the president) from Russian intelligence.
ReplyDeleteFrom Rawstory:
"While Smirnov has no ties to the community in Las Vegas, what he does have is extensive foreign ties, including, most troublingly and by his own account, contact with foreign intelligence services, including Russian intelligence agencies, and has had such contacts recently. Smirnov could use these contacts to resettle outside the United States," Weiss warned.
The document said Smirnov admitted links to "someone with ties to a particular Russian intelligence service."
"Smirnov's contacts with Russian officials who are affiliated with Russian intelligence services are not benign," the court was advised. "During his custodial interview on February 14, Smirnov admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about Businessperson 1."
"Businessperson 1" lines up with Hunter Biden's description, according to reports."
"Donald Trump spent much of Tuesday sharing articles about a trucker boycott that reportedly aims to shut down New York City in protest of the $355 million fraud trial judgment the former president was hit with Friday.
ReplyDeleteBut there's a problem with his brags of the direct action — it's not happening."
https://www.rawstory.com/truck-protest/
Perhaps he will wish it into existence.
Delete