THE DANIEL DALE EXPERIENCE: As with Wallace, so too here!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018

Not a word of clarification, challenge, dispute or dissent:
It's as we told you yesterday:

Midway through Monday afternoon, exhausted from the year's longest weekend, we watched a pair of pundit panel discussions.

At 4 PM Eastern, we watched the first segment of Deadline: White House. According to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace, the program featured a pundit panel made up of "some of our favorite reporters and friends."

Wallace presented some "favorite reporters and friends." We couldn't help noting this fact about these favorite people:

Wallace's favorite reporters and friends seemed to agree with every word Wallace herself implied or said! The reporters and friends politely took turns agreeing with Wallace's views concerning various matters she described as racist.

Most strikingly, they seemed to think they were stating a set of facts concerning Donald Trump's racism. None of the panelists seemed to know that they were, in fact, reporting a set of opinions, analyses or assessments—a set of assessments with which other people may not be inclined to agree.

Such exercises in Total Agreement are, of course, extremely common on contemporary corporate cable. In this instance, no one voiced even the slightest word of caution or dissent as the Standard Views of Wallace's favorite friends happily rattled on.

Could we draw an anthropology lesson from this panel's behavior? For ourselves, we were struck by the lack of intellectual sophistication displayed by these reporters and friends.

(Full disclosure: This morning, as we contemplated the narrow losses Democrat took, or seem to have taken, in several of last night's major races, we wondered if a steady diet of this sort of Thoroughly Self-Assured PunditThink had perhaps or possibly handed those races to Trump.)

We were struck by the lack of sophistication among Wallace's "favorite reporters and friends." Earlier, we'd watched the videotape of Sunday's morning's Reliable Sources program.

Alas! When we watched the CNN show, we'd been struck by the same uniformity of thought among Brian Stelter's panel of pundits. We also thought we'd observed that same lack of sophistication on the part of Stelter's guests.

As we told you yesterday, Stelter's program started dully but somewhat well. The first segment ended with Stelter and David Zurawik agreeing on a sensible point—at a time when people like Trump are attacking the mainstream press, mainstream reporters and pundits should be especially careful about their journalistic conduct. They should try to adopt journalistic procedures which would enhance their credibility, Zurawik and Stelter both said.

This struck us as a thoroughly sensible point. Then came the program's second segment, and with it the deluge.

Full disclosure! Brian Stelter seems like the nicest guy in the world. As he finished his first segment, he teased the next segment like this:
STELTER (11/4/18): All right. Quick break. Much more from the panel all hour long.

We're also going to talk about Trump's lying and fear-mongering on the campaign trail in the past few days, and whether it will have any effect at the polls. Hear from a full-time Trump fact-checker right after a quick break.
Had Trump been lying and fear-mongering on the campaign trail? Each charge is a subjective assessment, but we saw no sign that anyone knew this as the next segment unfolded.

Who was the "full-time Trump fact-checker" to whom Stelter referred? He was Daniel Dale, a reporter for the Toronto Star who has been working a full-time Trump beat for which he's received much acclaim.

At the top of Sunday's show, we'd watched as Stelter teased Dale's appearance in a humorous way. As he did, he made his first reference to the lies and the fear-mongering he and his guests would discuss:
STELTER: This hour, we are going to go behind the scenes with top editors and critics. We're going to ask how reliable the polls are this time around and what Tuesday's big surprises could be.

Plus, with President Trump holding rallies all over the country, sinking to new lows with his lies and fear-mongering, one of the busiest reporters in America will join me to break it down. His name is Daniel Dale. He is a full-time Trump fact checker, and at this point, he deserved some hazard pay.
According to Stelter, Donald J. Trump has been lying so much that Dale deserves hazard pay! But as Stelter stated his harshly critical views about Trump, there was little sign that Stelter knew that he was stating a set of opinions rather than objective facts.

There's nothing wrong with stating an opinion or offering an assessment! That said, it seems to us that there is something wrong when major journalists aren't sophisticated enough to know that's what they're doing.

(It seems to us that Donald J. Trump sometimes exploits such lazy behavior. "What became of the pledge to be more careful?" one of the analysts cried.)

When the second segment began, it was time to introduce Daniel Dale. Before doing so, Stelter once again stated his views about Trump's behavior, almost seeming to think that his views were established facts:
STELTER: Hey, we are back on Reliable Sources, of course, talking about midterm time in America.

President Trump continues to hold rallies every day, continues to repeat many of the same falsehoods and lies that we've been hearing, especially regarding the caravan of migrants moving through Mexico. Of course, there has been a lot of reaction to this—his hysteria, and hysteria on the right, about the caravan, and then a counter reaction, a lot of mockery of this on the left.

Here's what I mean from SNL last night:

[TWO VIDEO CLIPS OF JOKES ABOUT TRUMP]

But Trump's words and lies are not a joke. Sorry to be the pot of cold water here, but this is serious. And I wonder how much the press is playing in to some of these lies.
Stelter was stating an aggressive point of view—a point of view which other people may or may not share:

He said that Trump had been continually stating "falsehoods and lies." (This seemed to suggest that there's some sort of difference between the two behaviors.)

He said recent behavior on the right had been a form of hysteria. On the left, this hysteria had produced a lot of mockery, he said.

He said that Trump's "words and lies" are a serious matter. He suggested that the press may have been playing along with some of the president's lies.

Were these statements by Stelter accurate? That is a matter of judgment.

For ourselves, we'd largely agree with Stelter's views—though we'd exercise traditional caution concerning the tricky term "lies."

(Other terms should perhaps be used, including the term "apparent lies." More on this traditional bit of logic tomorrow.)

We'd also be inclined to stay away from the term "hysteria." That's especially true when referring to people who simply believe the things Trump says, rather than to Trump himself.

At any rate, as he opened his second segment, Stelter stated a welter of views about Trump. But uh-oh! As the panel discussion unfolded, a familiar pattern emerged:

Each of Stelter's pundit guests seemed to agree with all his views. As with Wallace's favorite friends, so too here—no one voiced a significant word of clarification or caution, let alone of dissent.

Stelter seemed to be surrounded by his favorite friends too! It seems to us that this general behavior might teach an anthropology lesson—a lesson about the species which came to rule the planet, or so Professor Harari says, through the new, adaptive traits of "gossip" and group "fiction."

We watched this pair of pundit programs on Monday afternoon. The behaviors of the "reporters and friends" let us a bit depressed.

That said, we also thought these pundit performances taught valuable anthropology lessons. Tomorrow, we'll look at what Daniel Dale said concerning Donald Trump's "lies."

Tomorrow: Dale picks an obvious "lie"

29 comments:

  1. "Tomorrow, we'll look at what Daniel Dale said concerning Donald Trump's "lies.""

    What's the point, Bob. The establishment media are goebbelsian lib-zombie media, and that's all there is to it...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MY NAME IS VICKY AND I AM FROM SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA,I WANT TO SHARE A
      TESTIMONY OF A SPELL CASTER WHO REUNITE MY MARRIAGE WENT HIS POWERFUL SPELL
      CASTER.AND I ALSO WANT TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITIES TO WARN THOSE OUT THERE
      READING FAKE TESTIMONY ON SOCIAL NETWORK.BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN SCAMMED BY SO
      MANY FAKE SPELL CASTER. BE CAREFUL HERE BECAUSE NOBODY CAN HELP YOU HERE OR
      EVEN SUGGEST HOW YOU CAN GET YOUR EX OR LOVER BACK, TESTIMONIES OF MOST
      SPELL CASTER HERE MUST BE IGNORE.BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ARE SCAM I MEAN REAL
      SCAM WHICH I WAS A VICTIM OF BEFORE, I GOT RIPPED OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
      BECAUSE I WAS SO ANXIOUS TO GET MY HUSBAND BACK AFTER HE LEFT ME FOR OVER 2
      YEARS WITH MY 7 YEARS OLD SON HARRY,I HAVE APPLIED TO 5 DIFFERENT SPELL
      CASTER HERE AND ALL TO NO AVAIL THEY ALL ASK FOR SAME THING SEND YOUR NAME
      YOUR EX NAME ADDRESS AND PICTURE PHONE NUMBER ETC WHICH I DID OVER AND OVER
      AGAIN AND MOST OF THEM WERE FROM WEST AFRICA UNTIL I SAW A POST ABOUT DR
      ALEXZANDER SPELL AND I DECIDED TO GAVE HIM MY LAST TRAIL.HE ASK ME FOUR
      THINGS MY REAL NAME,MY EX AND MY EX MOTHER NAME AND SAID MY EX WILL COME
      BACK IN 48HOURS, I HAVE SPEND ON SPELL CASTING AND NOTHING HAVE WORK FOR ME
      AFTER 2 DAYS I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW MUCH I HAVE LOST SO FAR SO I SAID LET
      ME GIVE HIM A TRY SO I CALLED HIM AGAIN AND SEND MY REAL NAME,MY EX AND MY
      EX MOTHER NAME. BECAUSE I SWEAR IT WAS MY LAST TRY SO I WAS WAITING AS HE
      TOLD ME TO WAIT TILL NEXT DAY AND I COULD NOT SLEEP THAT NIGHT BECAUSE I
      REALLY LOVE MY HUSBAND AND WANT HIM BACK SO MUCH, THAT DAY I SAW MY HUSBAND
      WAS ONLINE ON FACEBOOK AND HE SAID HI AT FIRST I WAS SHOCK BECAUSE HE
      NEVER TALK WITH ME FOR THE PAST A YEAR AND 11 MONTH NOW I DID NOT REPLY
      AGAIN HE SAID ARE YOU THERE? I QUICKLY REPLY YES AND HE SAID CAN WE SEE
      TOMORROW I SAID YES AND HE WENT OFF-LINE I WAS CONFUSED I TRY TO CHAT WITH
      HIM AGAIN BUT HE WAS NO MORE ON LINE I COULD NOT SLEEP THAT NIGHT AS I WAS
      WONDERING WHAT HE IS GOING TO SAY, BY 9.AM THE NEXT MORNING HE GAVE ME A
      MISS CALL I DECIDED NOT TO CALL BACK AS I WAS STILL ON SHOCK AGAIN HE
      CALLED AND I PICK HE SAID CAN WE SEE AFTER WORK TODAY I SAID YES SO HE END
      THE CALL. IMMEDIATELY I GOT OFF WORK HE CALL ME AND WE MEET AND NOW WE ARE
      BACK AGAIN I CALL DR ALEXZANDER THE NEXT DAY THANKING HIM FOR WHAT HE HAS
      DONE IN FACT I STILL CALL HIM AND THANK HIM AS MY LIFE WAS NOT COMPLETE
      WITHOUT MY HUSBAND PLEASE BE CAREFUL HERE I HAVE BEEN SCAM THOUSANDS OF
      DOLLARS IF YOU WANT A TRUE LOVE SPELL THEN CONTACT..alexzanderhightemple@gmail.com.

      Delete
  2. Of course, that's all there is too it for people without brains.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bob. Caravan. Preexisting Conditions. Look into some of this stuff, then get a good therapist. Your problems are nothing to be ashamed of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would add voter suppression.

      Delete
  4. “(Full disclosure: This morning, as we contemplated the narrow losses Democrat took, or seem to have taken, in several of last night's major races, we wondered if a steady diet of this sort of Thoroughly Self-Assured PunditThink had perhaps or possibly handed those races to Trump.)”

    Sure. Why not? Shows on CNN or MSNBC, like Nicole Wallace’s, which conservative voters don’t watch, led to narrow defeats of Democrats in some races....

    That makes about as much sense as wondering if Fox programs like Hannity and Carlson, which liberals don’t watch, led to narrow defeats of Republicans in some races.

    Or, you know, this could just be....wrong, a sh*tty analysis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The point is the Thoroughly Self-Assured PunditThink is why they don't watch.

      Wishing you a good day.

      Delete
    2. Why *should* they watch? It’s all pointless blather. How would it change anyone’s vote, or how did it change anyone’s vote? Asking for a friend.

      Delete
    3. I mean, did Pundit GroupThink cause the Dems not to win the Senate? But the Dems won the House, so explain that one.

      Delete
    4. "had perhaps or possibly handed those races to Trump"

      What the fuck does it even mean? I didn't know Donald The Spectacular was collecting races. Are you confusing him with The Dark Lord Putin The Eternal, Bob?

      Delete
    5. It was so much fun watching Little Dick Donny Chickenshit melt down at his press conference today into a puddle of flop sweat. Stay tuned, it's only a matter of time before the men in the white coats come for him.

      God bless America!

      Delete
    6. 2:10, 2:15, There is no one cause of why the Dems didn't win the Senate etc and I will leave the issue of the media's influence on voters, and cable news specifically, for you to research further on your own.
      Blessings,

      Delete
    7. mm's comment shows that human beings tend to see what they expect to see. I was impressed with how well Trump handled a very long, very contentious press conference. He had to face 'gotcha' questions, interruptions, and questions shouted out out of turn. Nevertheless, he kept calm, remained in charge, and gave lucid answers, as well as lucid evasions.

      Delete
  5. Since the Democrats won the House, and, according to Somerby, the mainstream media is the determining factor in election outcomes, apparently we have the msm to thank for the results. No?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here's Daniel Barenboim performing Mozart's piano sonata in Bb major, K 333.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTS1fohQNec

    A Youtube commentator, inbokru, says this:

    Баренбойм умеет играть и понимает то, что играет. Он понимает Моцарта, а Моцарт не тот парень. который открыт для всех и готов выложить перед вами всё, что имеет. Он как гном, крепко хранит свой горшок с золотом, но Баренбойм добрался до этого золота.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. Amazing. All in his head, no reading. Mozart was a freak of nature, and so is Barenboim.

      It seems that those of Jewish heritage seem to possess a relatively higher share of native intelligence than the rest of us. How such a cultural distinction came about is open to debate, I suppose, but it’s nonetheless a real phenomenon as far as I can tell. Even after the Holocaust.

      And I have no idea what language that comment is.

      Leroy

      Delete
    2. As a Jew, I do regard you as intellectually inferior; however, I think it is plain to gentiles as well.

      Delete
    3. It's Russian. And googles best guess is

      Barenboim knows how to play and understands what is playing. He understands Mozart, and Mozart is not that guy. which is open to all and ready to lay out before you everything that it has. He is like a dwarf, he keeps his pot of gold tightly, but Barenboim got to this gold.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous @9:00P, Anyone can play a Jew on the internet.

      Delete
    5. Google Translate is useful, but it's not smart. I don't know Russian, but I would guess the meaning is more like:

      "Barenboim knows how to play and understands what he is playing. He understands Mozart, and Mozart is not a guy who is open to all and ready to lay out before you everything that he has. He is like a dwarf, he holds his pot of gold tightly, but Barenboim got to this gold."

      Maybe Russians would be familiar with a specific fairy tale about a dwarf and a pot of gold, or maybe inbokru is relying on general motifs common in folklore.

      I was hoping Mao would understand.

      Delete
  7. deadratNovember 8, 2018 at 3:32 AM

    Yes, why I expanded the range to be all inclusive. The point may have gone over your head, willful ignorance being en vogue as it is, but Leroy got the message.

    Free Your Mind

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Er, Sparky? That whooshing sound you heard in the wee hours of the morning was the point going over your head, which I'm gonna guess is no yiddishe kopf.

      Remember, for these folks, every accusation is a confession.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. No, not really, whatever your message was.

      I was being honest about how I view the Jewish culture. Hate to say it, but a couple of my best friends are Jewish, because it sounds cliché. They’re not practicing, reform at best, and certainly not Orthodox. But they taught me a thing or two about my own intelligence. One man’s experience cannot, and should not, be taken as an indicator of truth about an entire culture, of course. But when you look at the contributions of nominally Jewish people to the sciences, philosophy, the arts and critical thinking, they seem to contribute a relatively greater slice of the pie.

      I’m not dismissing Dubois, Douglass, King, Malcolm, Baldwin (all whom overcame serious oppression to make their mark), nor Russell, Hume, and many, many others. But there seems to be a relative concentration of inspiring work that springs from the Jewish culture.


      I do think a Jewish state is fucking ridiculous, just as the Vatican is a bad joke. Ah well.

      That being said: Talking to my birth brother the other day, I posited that African Americans have proven themselves superior to the White culture in which they found themselves. Nominally, he agreed.

      But that was bullshit too. If the big ‘we’ can’t recognize that we’re all in this boat together, regardless of religion, “race” or creed, and can finally see that all cultures make valuable contributions to the perpetuation of human civilization, then well… I don’t know.

      Which is true.

      Leroy

      Delete
    4. Clearly you got the message, you were working on it while writing your comment, ending with a more thoughtful stance than how you began. Bravo, keep at it, you'll get somewhere eventually. If you want to categorize people based on "intelligence", you have good company - wonderful sorts like Charles Murray and Sam Harris.

      It is odd, Trumpian even, to respond to every challenge with schoolboy bully defensiveness, which some say is masking a noxious mix of insecurity, anxiety, and narcissism. Notorious cut and paste-er deadrat can't recognize when he's being toyed with because he caught Asperger's from one of the hookers he goes to.

      Delete
    5. And you are clearly wrong.

      What was most egregious about my stream-of-consciousness reply was the fact that I left out an entire category. I wrote religion, race or creed, but completely left out a monumentally important factor – sex. I just watched the video you posted, and am glad I can say that if I had watched it initially, I wouldn’t have made such an egregious omission.

      Not sure why that occurred. Maybe it’s because I’ve followed the religious-skeptic crowd, which seems to be predominantly male, for so long that I was blinded to the contributions of the fairer sex.

      Sam Harris impressed me initially, but he can take a flying leap. And Murray? Barely disguised racism. You, as well, keep at it. Because I don’t think you’re anywhere close to where I am.

      Leroy

      Delete
  8. GREETINGS everyone out there.. my name is (Robert Lora) I am from CANADA i will never forget the help Dr Ogudugu render to me in my marital life. I have been married for 8 years now and my husband and i love each other very dearly. After 6 years of our marriage my husband suddenly change he was having an affair with a lady outside our marriage, my husband just came home one day he pick up his things and left me and the kids to his mistress outside at this time i was confuse not knowing what to do again because i have lost my husband and my marriage too. i was searching for help in the internet, i saw many people sharing testimony on how Dr Ogudugu help them out with their marital problems so i contacted the email of Dr Ogudugu i told him my problem and i was told to be calm that i have come to the right place were i can get back my husband within the next 48hours, to my greatest surprise my husband came to my office begging me on his knees that i should find a place in my heart to forgive him, that he will never cheat on me again, i quickly ask him up that i have forgiven him. Friends your case is not too hard why don't you give Dr Ogudugu a chance, because i know they will help you to fix your relationship with your Ex Partner. Dr Ogudugu his the best spell caster around to solve any problem for you.
    {1} HIV/AIDS
    {2CANCER
    {3}HERPES
    {4}DIABETES
    (5}HERPERTITIS B

    Email: GREATOGUDUGU@GMAIL.COM
    Call/WhatsApp:+27663492930

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so happy for making the right choice by contacting Dr. Irosi who helped me in getting my ex back by casting a love spell on him. One of the best decision i ever made was contacting Dr. Irosi to help me get my lover back, I was life filled with happiness after i contacted Dr. Irosi because he didn't just bring my lover back to me he also made our love for each other more unique and superb. If you need to spice your relationship with more love and attention contact Dr. Irosi on his Email Address [drirosisolutioncenter@gmail.com], call or whatsapp him via his contact +2348118829771 and be happy just like i am, thanks Dr. Irosi for your great work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you Thank You Very much Doctor Otonokpo for making my ex boyfriend come back to me. I am Cordelia Sandra from Brazil and i am putting this testimony here too because i want to share my testimony of how i was helped by Doctor Otonokpo within 48 hours of contacting him. Yes, it was last week my ex boyfriend returned to me after i contacted Doctor Otonokpo. My boyfriend was always going back to meet his ex girlfriend because he never really left her. Her name was Sophie. I didn't know how it happened one day after breakfast that i saw him looking at his ex girlfriend's picture on Facebook and I flared at him that he doesn't care about him and he was with me and still thinking about his ex although we have been dating for 6 months. He stormed at me and left the house and never returned. I was heartbroken and wanted him to come back. I was in a nightclub with friend one evening that I saw him with Sophie there, I was humiliated that night and I regretted going there only to see him there. I went online after some days and found Doctor Otonokpo and read about him and I contacted him to help me get him back. I must say that within 48 hours, my boyfriend came back to me and pleaded for leaving me. Is this how spell works so fast? Please, if you want help, contact Doctor Otonokpo too to help you at otonokpotemple@gmail.com
    Call/WhatsApp +2348114129781

    ReplyDelete