THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025
A road map for "brilliant writing:" Yesterday afternoon, on The Five, Jessica Tarlov, the designated non-MAGA co-host, was making a decent point.
That, of course, was the problem. This imitation of a discussion show isn't designed for outcomes like that.
Inevitably, Jesse Watters knew what to do. He's one of the four pro-MAGA hosts whose job is to overtalk Tarlov.
Order was quickly restored! Applying the principles of Tarlov Interruptus, Watters broke in on what she was saying, He successfully overtalked the lady as only he and Greg Gutfeld can do.
We wish we could link you to videotape, but the invaluable Internet Archive is a bit behind on its postings today. But with respect to this week's search for those elusive examples of "brilliant writing," any such writing may have to address itself to such points as these:
- How is it possible that a four-on-one pig-pile show of this type could possibly be this flailing nation's most-watched "cable news" program?
- How is it possible that any such imitation of public discourse could seem like a legitimate "news show" to millions of fellow citizens?
That said, also this:
3) How is it possible that the clowning which dominates the programs ruled by Watters and Gutfeld goes unreported and undiscussed within the vast realm of Blue America?
What explains the failure of news orgs like the New York Times to report and discuss the foolishness—and even the apparent misogyny—so widespread on these three (3) primetime "cable news" propaganda programs?
Our nation has been sliding into the sea over the past quite a few years. Over at the New York Times, they've barely said a word.
("Wouldn't be prudent," as George H. W. Bush often said.)
We'll try to provide a link, and a fuller discussion, when the invaluable if little-used Internet Archive gets its postings back on track.
The US Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika as a hate symbol.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/20/coast-guard-swastika-noose/
LOL, King Orange Chickenshit cracks another barrier.
DeleteHow do you like them apples, Dickhead in Cal, good Jew that you claim to be?
I'm sure David in Cal has zero problem with the swastika, now that his political heroes have told him it's no big deal.
DeleteNext stop, Holocaust denial.
I went to see the movie "Nurenberg" last week.
DeleteFrom the movie:
“In my work with the defendants (at the Nuremberg Trials 1945-1949) I was searching for the nature of evil and I now think I have come close to defining it. A lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants, a genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow men.
Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”
-Captain G. M. Gilbert, the Army psychologist assigned to watching the defendants at the Nuremberg trials
If anything defines the maggot movement, it is lack of empathy.
"We wish we could link you to videotape, but the invaluable Internet Archive is a bit behind on its postings today. But with respect to this week's search for those elusive examples of "brilliant writing," any such writing may have to address itself to such points as these: " [he lists irrelevant questions about why anyone watches Tarlov be interrupted by Watters]
ReplyDeleteSomerby asks why anyone watches such a performance, but that has nothing to do with brilliant writing, the topic at hand. Does Somerby really think this abrupt segue onto a different topic makes any sense. It is stream-of-consciousness meandering, just like Trump does in his own senility.
Comparing Watters/Tarlov to pieces of political analysis by competent writers (his focus on brilliance yesterday) pretends that brilliant writing may be the same as brilliant talking on a talk show. These talk shows are not capable of brilliance because they occur in real time or are scripted for performance by a writing staff, not the product of thoughtful analysis by an author. Further, they exist to advance right wing talking points not to seriously explore anything, because this is a propaganda show.
There is no reason Somerby should say the word brilliance in the same breath with anything else about Fox shows. Here Somerby has merely grabbed the word brilliant without thinking about its meaning in order to connect today's essay with yesterday's, but without any sense of how the word is used. He does that all the time with words he fancies, but doesn't actually think about at all. This is some kind of pathology, as when Trump's mind leaps from immigrants to Hannibal Lecter and having dinner.
It is time for Somerby to stop writing. His mind isn't working well and he has nothing to say. It would be better for him to visit his local senior center and have lunch with the others who come to watch TV and play bingo.
you should critique waters and gutfeld as much as you do somerby.
DeleteSomerby should critique Waters and Gutfeld as much as he does "us blues".
Delete"Our nation has been sliding into the sea over the past quite a few years."
ReplyDeleteNo, it has not.
I see the ridiculous remarks of Jesse Watters reported by Rawstory (which aggregates other sources reporting) and Mediaite and various left wing blogs and substacks.
If Somerby wants to wonder why the NY Times and cable news do not report right wing atrocities, it may be because billionaires are gobbling them up and trying to tailor content to please Trump. This is obvious to most sentient beings these days.
https://www.rawstory.com/larry-ellison-2674313436/
Also this from Meyerson, The American Prospect:
"If the Saudi crown prince owns a piece of CNN and CBS News, how will they cover No Kings Days?
The list of CEOs who donned black tie to attend President Trump’s White House dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday night is in no way surprising. The tech company oligarchs were there in flocks (Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang), as were the leaders of Blackstone, Citigroup, GM, and Ford, all of whom have either sought Saudi capital for one reason or another, or want to market their product in Saudi Arabia and its Middle Eastern allies.
Also in attendance, suitably duded up, was new Paramount CEO David Ellison, who now controls not only Hollywood’s oldest studio and CBS, but is contesting with Comcast and Netflix to see which of them will buy Warner Bros., whose many properties include CNN. His attendance came one day after the story broke that Ellison has met with leaders of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund to persuade them to chip in on his offer to buy Warners, as the bidding war grows steadily more costly. Ellison’s people denied such an effort was under way, but TheWrap reported yesterday that not only is his offer to the Saudis under way, but that he’s made similar offers to the sovereign wealth funds of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. TheWrap further reported that these offers were due less to Ellison’s need for more funding—his father is the fourth-richest human on the planet—and more to Ellison’s desire to impress Trump, whose own family financial fortunes are increasingly linked to bin Salman’s and other Middle Eastern oilster oligarchs. (CNN reports that Papa Ellison has discussed with Trump how Paramount will axe CNN hosts whom Trump doesn’t like if the deal goes through.)"
https://prospect.org/2025/11/20/ellisons-tap-saudis-to-fund-news-media-takeover/
This is why no major media are covering Gutfeld's misogyny or Watters' rudeness to Tarlov. They like it because they are right wing media, not Blue American press.
Exactly.
DeleteWhat was the decent point that Tarlov was making? Somerby doesn't tell us. Instead he tells us she was interrupted. This gives priority to the interruption, not the piece of wisdom being shared by Tarlov.
ReplyDeleteHow are women going to be taken seriously when men like Somerby focus on Watters' interruption instead of reporting what she said?
Was what Tarlov said less important than Watters talking? It would seem so, judging by Somerby's reaction.
And Somerby has the nerve to call Gutfeld a misogynist while he commits subtle misogyny of his own while pretending to defend Tarlov. A real defense would repeat her point so that she isn't successfully buried by her right wing overlord. It would also portray her as a competent and accomplished person (like men are routinely considered to be, unless proven otherwise), instead of a weak sister who cannot interrupt back because she doesn't want to lose hre job. I am 100% sure that if Watters interrupted a male speaker on that show, the man would tolerate the interruption too. That begs the question of whether Tarlov's interruptin is misogyny or dominance by the alpha star.
you should be as offended by gutfeld and waters as you are by somerby.
DeleteI don't watch Fox.
DeleteNatalie Greene, a member of a Republican congressman’s staff, said she was violently attacked for being MAGA. It looks like she was lying.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thehandbasket.co/p/rep-jeff-van-drew-natalie-greene-nj-staged-attack
Most political violence comes from the right. By far.
"Most political violence comes from the right. By far."
DeleteWell, since there is no Left in the US to speak of, this is trivially true.
And perhaps that's why MAGA people are attacked: they are associated with the working class. All those hated Trump supporters at Walmart whom Peter Strzok could SMELL.
If MAGA people were being attacked, we could film it, and put the best rated show on television for years.
DeleteWho wouldn't want to watch that?
Anytime I'm worried about the direction of the nation, I watch the video of Charlie Kirk being shot to death to cheer me up.
DeleteWe're going to need a lot more kids raised by Republican families, if we want to defeat the fascists.
DeleteSimon Rosenberg has a video and transcript of a discussion of the complicity of JP Morgan Chase bank in failing to notify banking authorities of suspicious transactions during the 15 years he operated his sex trafficking ring.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/rep-robert-garcia-on-the-epstein
"This morning, in a related move, Senator Ron Wyden released a report calling for an investigation into JP Morgan Chase’s role in enabling Epstein illegal activities. Here’s an excerpt from a new NYT story about Wyden’s report:
The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee issued a report on Thursday calling for an investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase deliberately underreported more than $1 billion in suspicious transactions by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
The report from the senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, said the compliance failures by the nation’s largest bank during its nearly 15-year relationship with Mr. Epstein were “alarming” and impeded law enforcement’s ability to examine the “financial infrastructure that enabled Epstein’s cross-border sex trafficking organization.”
The report, based on recently unsealed court records that shed more light on JPMorgan’s financial dealings with Mr. Epstein, focuses on suspicious activity reports, or SARs, which banks are required to file with the Treasury Department when they suspect a financial transaction may be involved in an illicit activity such as money laundering, terrorism or sex trafficking.
The report said JPMorgan filed suspicious activity reports covering $4.3 million in transactions by Mr. Epstein from 2002 to 2016. But it waited until after Mr. Epstein’s arrest on sex trafficking charges in 2019 and subsequent death to file reports that described some $1.3 billion in transactions as suspicious.
Internal bank emails suggest JPMorgan may have waited to file those reports because it wanted “to continue working with Epstein” as a source of referrals for business even after firing him as a client in 2013, the report found..."
Follow the link for more details. This is how billionaires help each other engage in wrongdoing and grifting, as Epstein was doing (in addition to the sex ring).
Thom Hartmann makes a decent point today about Marjorie Taylor Greene:
ReplyDelete"Marjorie Taylor Greene has been dissed and ridiculed by the Left for years. Progressives mocked her lies, shredded her conspiracies, exposed her QAnon nonsense, and denounced her cruelty. And through it all she never once feared for her life.
She fundraised. She smirked. She gave speeches, traveled the country, and strutted through Congress like she owned the place.
But the second she angered the Republican base, barely forty-eight hours after she resisted Donald Trump’s demands and broke from the MAGA line, she suddenly feared for her life and needed private security.
She told reporters and the world on Twitter that she’d been warned about threats to her safety coming from Trump’s supporters. Death threats. Serious ones. The man she once called her political soulmate — Trump — had turned on her instantly, publicly labeling her a “traitor” and mocking her fear.
For years she thought she was part of the mob. Now she’s discovering Trump and his followers only ever thought of her as their useful idiot.
This is the difference that America and our mainstream media refuses to say out loud:
When you cross Democrats, you get a political argument. When you cross the MAGA right, today’s GOP, you get threats of violence. And not metaphorical threats: real ones. The kind of threats that force a sitting member of Congress to hire armed guards because she dared anger their god-king.
So let’s stop pretending this is random.
What Greene is experiencing now is the inevitable consequence of what’s known as “stochastic terrorism,” the weapon of choice for Trump and the modern GOP."
https://hartmannreport.com/p/marjorie-taylor-greene-thought-the-c75
It may not be brilliant but its true. Is it really necessary to raise the bar to brilliance in order to follow the various people writing from a left wing perspective about current politics? I will settle for clarity and coherence.
DeleteBy the way, Somerby has neither.
Quiet, Piggy.
DeleteIt was boorish when Trump said it too.
DeleteHowever, your insults and pettiness are singularly nasty.
DeleteYou ask for it piggy.
DeleteNo invitation necessary, it’s just what you do.
DeleteYou ask for it and now you won’t stop because you demand the last word. You are a truly awful person.
DeleteCecelia is a cute little piggy, and I love her so.
DeleteObviously, Anonymices never read their own posts or the posts of other anonymices.
DeleteThe Right doesn't understand any of the grievances they voice 24/7.
DeleteAnonymous 9:47pm, the Right? (Or the Left?) I just know anonymices can’t handle a crumb of what they endlessly dish out.
DeleteThe bots and spammers hired by the currency speculator fella don't understand any of the shit they're going ape about 24/7. But then, they aren't supposed to.
Delete"CeceliaNovember 20, 2025 at 8:06 PM
DeleteQuiet, Piggy."
Cecelia starts these exchanges with an insult, then complains because other people don't like what she said. There is no reason to call anyone names here.
In the case of the piggy remark, it is an example of Trump's misogyny. Cecelia may think she was being funny by repeating it against other commenters here, but she is condoning what Trump said, after a great deal of time was spent explaining misogyny to right wingers here (and Somerby).
When Cecelia repeats Trump's ugly remark, she is condoning it, not just insulting another commenter. Then she tries to pretend it was an innocuous remark. This is trolling, not discussion. Trolling is an anti-social act. It is also consistent with the fact that Cecelia generally writes only one or two sentences at a time, none of it makes sense but the intent to disparage others is clear.
Somerby should come along and complain that our public discourse cannot survive with this kind of trolling, because it is true. There is no reason for this to be happening here, no purpose being served except to disrupt threads.
Cecelia, you need to go away now.
DeleteI got so upset, I had to sniff my fingers for 5 minutes to calm down.
Anonymouse 10:31am, what about the ugly anonymouse comment about Bob that prompted my quip?
DeleteThe test of empathy and tolerance is via how you treat the people who disagree with your opinions and ideas. You may foster programs that give assistance to everyone in need (and with government programs you must include people of all ideological stripes), but the real test lies in your ability to disagree with all types of people without turning them into villains. Bob can do that, anonymices can NOT. You just can’t… It’s was interesting to hear you bitterly bemoan that Digby decided to cut off comments at her blog due to insults and harassment. Yet here anonymices are daily launching personal attacks at Somerby in wild and fervent hope that he’ll turn off commenting or retire. Good luck with that and you weasels couldn’t feel empathy if your soul depended upon it.
There is no 10:31
DeleteNor a Republican voter who isn't a bigot.
DeleteSomebody named "Bob" sounds like a jealous, ignored Plain Jane embittered that HE'S not getting the same platform to pontificate on the most popular news cable show on T.V. as Watters, Gutfeld, Tyrus, etc. Of course, the fact that they always have their views sharply honed, complete and ready for presentation, and that they can think and talk in complete paragraphs while showing Jessica as a fool goes over his head. It's not air-guitar "money for nothing", Bob. They're successful because they're among the best at it. It helps that conservative thought almost always has hard realistic truths on their sides. Libs, ultimately, have pipe dreams.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ghislaine.
DeleteYou can’t put “conservative” and “truth” in the same sentence without making a huge joke.
DeleteWhat's always stood out for me about Tyrus is how 'sharply honed' his views are.
DeleteGood observation. Priceless.
I just came across this amazing way to earn $6,000-$8,000 a month online! No selling, no struggle—just a simple system that anyone can follow. Kelly Richards did it, and so can you! Don't miss out on this life-changing opportunity.
ReplyDeleteFollow Here ...... Paycash1.site
"President Donald Trump on Thursday eliminated tariffs on a large swath of Brazilian agricultural goods, including beef and coffee, dropping steep tariffs he imposed this summer"
ReplyDeleteBut I was told by a wise old fellow with an orange face that tariffs are a fantastic benefit for our country since they are paid for by the exporting countries.
What gives? Am I still going to get my $2,000 tariff check? Will that be combined in a single payment with my $5,000 DOGE savings check?
Tariff is a tool. Tariffs are imposed and dropped, as necessary, as is deemed beneficial. If you don't understand it, you're even more retarded than an average Democrat.
DeleteTariffs are non more tools than Republican voting pedophiles are.
Delete"Tariffs are imposed and dropped, as necessary, as is deemed beneficial."
DeleteIs that supposed to be an explanation of some kind? What is it I know about the world after reading it that I didn't know before, other than the fact that the writer is himself a tool?
DeleteHopefully, you now know that tariffs are imposed and dropped as is deemed beneficial, and that your 9:00 comment sounds retarded.
Tariffs alone are of questionable value. But Trump also used the threat o tariffs to secure trade agreements that will do a lot of good for the US.
DeleteFor instance, if one of your favorite dictators in a South American tried to execute a coup and was put on trial, the best thing to do is impose some kind of irrational tariff for daring to hold the dictator to account. Or maybe one of our northern neighbors decided to run a commercial during the World Series and it got your snowflake nose out of joint, just go ahead and scream to the world while you hit them with a major punitive tariff. It's all good when you're a fucking crazy megalomaniac.
Delete"Tariffs alone are of questionable value."
DeleteTreasonous statement. Punishable by death.
DeleteTariffs are not of "questionable value". Tariff-based protectionism is the best way to develop, domestically, industries that are well-developed abroad.
Another way to do it are subsidies to domestic businesses, but that's costly, while tariffs are profitable, while the end-result is the same.
It's also a good way to give tax breaks to the rich while dumping increasing regressive taxes on the working schlepps.
DeleteYes, @10:42 - Tariff-based protectionism is A way to develop, domestically, industries that are well-developed abroad. The downsides are that they can lead to retaliatory tariffs which wind up stifling international trade. Also, tariff powers can be abused, especially when the President has the unlimited power to fiddle with tariffs.
DeleteBut the Constitution says the President doesn't have unlimited power to fiddle with tariffs, you fucking fascist freak Dickhead. Of course we don't operate under a Constitution anymore since you have installed King Orange Chickenshit. Fuck you, Dickhead.
Delete
DeleteAnything can be retaliated against and/or abused; your objections amount to nothing.
You would've done better analyzing history of American tariffs-based protectionism. Just don't use lying Democrat-owned sources. Read something written before the Swamp took over.
@11:19 - Law-making power can be abused. That's why the Constitution made it burdensome to introduce news. Many people must agree to a new law.
DeleteBut, powers like Presidential and Gubernatorial pardons and judicial injunctions are wielded by a single individual, so they're more prone to abuse.
What? You talkin' to me? To 11:19?
DeleteWhat gives? Am I still going to get my $2,000 tariff check? Will that be combined in a single payment with my $5,000 DOGE savings check?
DeleteWe should also be receiving thousands of dollars in dividend from deporting all the "illegals". The savings from that must be enormous.
"Hopefully, you now know that tariffs are imposed and dropped as is deemed beneficial"
DeleteSome people are slower on the uptake than others, so I guess I'll have to spell things out a little more:
Any voluntary human action can be assumed to be necessary and/or beneficial to someone. So to explain an action by saying it is necessary/beneficial is to say exactly nothing.
But keep trying, trumptard.
Oh dear. If you, clearly-retarded Democrat, understand that tariffs are imposed and dropped as is deemed beneficial, then what's the meaning of your original 9:00 comment, with "I was told by a wise old fellow with an orange face that tariffs are a fantastic benefit for our country..."?
DeleteBut trumptard, I was only quoting the wise old fellow with the orange face. You'd have to ask him what he meant.
DeletePoor Mao.
ReplyDeleteHe thinks if he whines and cries about the treatment of the Right, we'll believe his idle threat to stop supporting child rapists.
I'll keep beating on his sorry ass, because we know that's never going to happen.
Donald Trump is a weak little bitch.
ReplyDeleteWatching him lash out at people who don't support child rape is on-brand for a Republican Party leader.
"Donald Trump is a weak little bitch."
DeleteWell said.
New Jersey high court first in US to ban Shaken Baby Syndrome testimony
ReplyDelete(Reuters) -New Jersey’s top court on Thursday became the first in the U.S. to prohibit prosecutors from presenting expert testimony that shaking a baby can on its own cause injuries severe enough to justify bringing child abuse charges.
The diagnosis of "Shaken Baby Syndrome" or Abusive Head Trauma has formed the basis of thousands of criminal child abuse cases since the 1970s. It is a leading cause of child abuse-related deaths in children under five, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the science supporting the diagnosis has come under scrutiny in recent years, with newer research showing that the injuries could have other causes.
"But the science supporting the diagnosis has come under scrutiny in recent years..."
DeleteI guess it was another idiot-Democrat "scientism", as Taleb calls it.
The process of the diagnosis coming under scrutiny is called 'science'.
DeleteCorrupt Democratic Congresswoman
ReplyDeleteRep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said on Nov. 20 that he will file a resolution to expel Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) from Congress. The Department of Justice indicted Cherfilus-McCormick, 46, on Nov. 19 for allegedly stealing $5 million in FEMA funds. She and her brother, Edwin Cherfilus, 51, undertook a COVID-19 vaccination contract through their company in July 2021 when it received an overpayment of $5 million, according to the Justice Department. The two allegedly took the $5 million and put it in multiple accounts to cover up the source of the funds, according to the Justice Department.
Once upon a time, minorities bent over backwards to behave well. MLK and his followers very much did. In my small way, as a Jew in an antisemitic industry, I did. In today's world where the biggest victim wins, that principle seems to no longer apply.
Think about what the word "victim" means, David.
DeleteAnd in this corner we have DiC doing his best impression of Rosa Parks .Towing the line as a Jewish victim in the undeniably antisemitic financial services industry. Vaciliating between calling out the blacks for not behaving themselves ethically and extolling a grifter who started a fake university and stole from a children's charity.
DeleteHere’s what victim means in MAGA land: look up GOP staffer Natalie Greene, for a good laugh.
Delete"
ReplyDeleteHouse Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar released the following statement.
***
The President’s violent and unhinged rhetoric against American patriots is consistent with his well-documented history of attacking prisoners of war, Gold Star families and war heroes. There is no bottom when it comes to Donald Trump.
We have been in contact with the House Sergeant at Arms and the United States Capitol Police to ensure the safety of these Members and their families. Donald Trump must immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.
look: the only reason for Donny to get bent out of shape over the military being told that they have a duty to refuse illegal orders is because he intends to issue illegal orders. it’s that simple.
the military is not Donny’s personal plaything. I know he likes to imagine it is, but our armed forces swore an oath to obey the constitution, not some fuckbrained felon."