TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025
...in describing a problem like this? Every four weeks, on a Tuesday, we lose the bulk of the day to a medical undertaking.
Today is that very Tuesday! We'll be elsewhere for the bulk of the day. That said, we'll leave you with this:
In yesterday morning's report, we began to attempt to summarize some of the monumental amount of strange behavior engaged in by Elon Musk.
Forget about trying to solve that remarkable, sprawling problem. How should we even describe it? What language should our journalists use? Are they taking the right approach?
We'll be asking similar question this week about the behavior of President Trump and about the kinds of behavior seen on the Fox News Channel. With respect to President Trump, we'll leave you with an overview of the possible depth of the challenge.
Yesterday, it was "muskrat love" in the Oval Office, with the role of the pair of muskrats played by a pair of strongmen. Long ago and far away, a group of nuns asked this question:
How do you solve a problem like Maria?
Forget about those nuns! This week, we're asking a different type of question. We're asking how journalists should describe a remarkable problem—a problem which takes a shape like this:
Below, you see some of yesterday's headlines from Mediaite. During the period in question, it was a form of strongman love in the Oval Office.
Concerning Ukraine and Russia—concerning "deportations" to El Salvador—the headlines rolled out as shown below, roughly in chronological order.
How do you describe a phenomenon like this? Once again, it was Ukraine who had started the war with Russia, and the madness went downhill from there
Trump Demands FCC Punish 'CBS Fake News' for 'Out Of Control' 60 Minutes: 'They Should Pay a Big Price'
To peruse the report, click here.
Trump Fumes at ‘Crooked Joe Biden’ and Zelensky for ‘Allowing’ Russian Invasion of Ukraine
You can find all these other reports at the Mediate site. Yesterday afternoon, the headlines continued as shown:
‘They Hate Our Country’: Trump Launches Stunning Attack On CNN After Being Goaded by El Salvador’s President
Trump Hammers Zelensky For Wanting More U.S. Weapons to Fight Off Russia: ‘You Don’t Start a War’ With a Bigger Country
‘Sick People!’ Trump Attacks ‘Low-Rated’ Kaitlan Collins in Oval Office Showdown Over Deported El Salvadoran Man
AP Blocked from Trump’s Oval Office Press Gaggle — Ignoring Recent Court Ruling
CNN Anchor Cuts Into Trump Oval Rant To Refute Trump Claim That CNN ‘Hates Our Country’
‘The Homegrowns Are Next’: Trump Promises to Send American Citizens to El Salvador in Harrowing Comments to Bukele
El Salvador’s President Refuses to Return Maryland Man Trump Accidentally Deported, Baselessly Calls Him ‘Terrorist’
The president of El Salvador has refused to return a Maryland man who the White House admitted was mistakenly sent to a notorious megaprison in his country.
“The question is preposterous,” President Nayib Bukele said Monday when asked if he intended to free and give back Kilmar Abrego Garcia. “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”
Bukele appeared alongside President Donald Trump after the two met at the White House.
So went the start of the last report on that list. These strongmen lack almost all power!
At any rate, so it went in the parade of headlines. Adding a touch of comic relief, two earlier headlines had said this:
Trump’s Doctor Issues a Glowing Report On His Physical—Touts Perfect Score on Cognitive Test and ‘Frequent Victories in Golf Events’
Trump Brags About ‘Perfect’ Score On Cognitive Exam—Asks Reporters ‘Were You Impressed?’
The golf events and the cognitive tests! The president's doctors never seem to tire of all the wins!
Meanwhile, concerning the Oval Office event, the Fox News Channel soon swung into action:
Fox’s Martha MacCallum Gripes About ‘Out of Nowhere’ Question on Imprisoning Americans in El Salvador—But Trump Has Repeatedly Floated the Idea
After that, when we watched The Five, the visit with Bukele wasn't mentioned. The spotless minds of the channel's viewers weren't asked to contemplate the conduct in question.
Why intrude on the channel's minds? Instead, chyrons across the bottom of the screen blared such findings as these:
BIG GRETCH'S BINDER BLUNDER
MAHER PRAISES "GRACIOUS AND MEASURED" TRUMP
And, of course, also this:
TRUMP'S DOCTOR CITES "FREQUENT VICTORIES IN GOLF"
TRUMP'S PERFECT PHYSICAL!
After that, up jumped Jesse Watters Primetime at 8. The attorney general had been subjected to a Fox News Channel grilling:
Bondi Refuses To Answer Whether Trump Proposal To Send U.S. Citizens to Foreign Prisons Is ‘Legal’
How do you describe a problem like the Fox News Channel? For the most part, major news orgs have found the answer. They don't report or discuss what happens on the Fox News Channel at all!
For those of us in our struggling nation, this is the business the fates have chosen. For the record, we've also observed some strange reporting from Blue America's news orgs.
We'll offer details later today or more likely tomorrow. For now, how do you even describe an overall problem like this?
We expect to post again later this afternoon. Later, last evening, the news took yet another turn:
Trump Administration Arrests Palestinian Activist Who Condemned Anti-Semitism on ’60 Minutes’
A Palestinian activist who organized protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and condemned anti-Semitism was arrested in Vermont on Monday.
Mohsen Mahdawi, who has a green card, went to an appointment in Colchester that he had been told was a step toward becoming a U.S. citizen. But that was apparently a ruse. According to a statement from Vermont Sens. Bernie Sanders (I), Peter Welch (D), and Rep. Becca Balint (D), Mahdawi, who was co-president of Columbia University’s Palestinian Students Union, was arrested by immigration officers–some of whom wore masks.
“This is immoral, inhumane, and illegal,” they said in a statement. “Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention.”
Was that meeting really "a ruse?" We have no way of knowing, but he men in masks were active again. To peruse that report, you can just click this.
So it went, on into the night. All in all, what would be the most accurate, instructive, constructive way to describe this situation?
Congratulations to Harvard University for standing up to this monster.
ReplyDeleteThe administration’s prescription goes beyond the power of the federal government. It violates Harvard’s First Amendment rights and exceeds the statutory limits of the government’s authority under Title VI. And it threatens our values as a private institution devoted to the pursuit, production, and dissemination of knowledge. No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.
Our motto—Veritas, or truth—guides us as we navigate the challenging path ahead. Seeking truth is a journey without end. It requires us to be open to new information and different perspectives, to subject our beliefs to ongoing scrutiny, and to be ready to change our minds. It compels us to take up the difficult work of acknowledging our flaws so that we might realize the full promise of the University, especially when that promise is threatened.
Harvard courageously defended their right to allow antisemitism on campus.
DeleteYou're a lying little cunt, Dickhead.
DeleteHere’s a source
Deletehttps://nypost.com/2025/04/14/us-news/harvard-refuses-trump-admin-demands-to-curtail-antisemitism-on-campus-putting-billions-in-federal-aid-in-jeopardy/
Fuck you, Dickhead.
DeleteDid you fucking read the letter Harvard issued?
I encourage you to read the letter to gain a fuller understanding of the unprecedented demands being made by the federal government to control the Harvard community. They include requirements to “audit” the viewpoints of our student body, faculty, staff, and to “reduc[e] the power” of certain students, faculty, and administrators targeted because of their ideological views. We have informed the administration through our legal counsel that we will not accept their proposed agreement. The University will not negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.
We have made it abundantly clear that we do not take lightly our moral duty to fight antisemitism. Over the past fifteen months, we have taken many steps to address antisemitism on our campus. We plan to do much more. As we defend Harvard, we will continue to:
did that tabloid rag you linked to forget that part of the letter?
Anyone who wonders how Hitler achieved power need look no further that lying little cunts like Dickhead in Cal and their delight in welcoming a dictatorship.
Apparently now, King Orange Chickenshit is demanding Harvard University give him control of their hiring and admissions. Are you fucking kidding me? And Dickhead little fascist cunts are all for it.
DeleteDefending the Jews is not behaving “like Hitler”. It’s the opposite.
Delete
DeleteI guess the American taxpayers just owe billions of dollars to Harvard because it's full of Beautiful and Superior People.
Go fuck yourself, David. You're not here for honest discourse.
DeleteCiting the NY Post as an unbiased source about this issue is like citing the Jerusalem Times about the rights of civilians in Gaza.
DeleteHarvard will be here and prospering long after Trump is a relic in the garbage bin of history.
Delete"the rights of civilians in Gaza"? What rights does Hamas, the government of Gaza, grant to civilians in Gaza? Freedom of religion? No. Freedom of speech? No. Freedom of the press? No.
DeleteIt's a challenge to destroy the reputation of what has been the top rated university for many years, but Harvard leadership is making progress.
DeleteHarvard Law, Duke University fall out of top 5 in latest US News law school rankings
https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/harvard-and-duke-law-schools-fall-out-of-top-5-in-latest-us-news-rankings
DeleteHarvard is already a relic in the garbage bin of history.
Harvard just added a "Remedial Math" class to teach algebra to students. Harvard's reputation is hurt by admitting students who can't do middle school level mathematics. https://www.schoolinfosystem.org/2025/03/18/harvard-adds-remedial-math/
DeleteHold on. What if some of these students are like Musk, highly competent in some technical fields, but woefully inadequate in others, live governmental auditing?
DeleteWhat the fuck is wrong with you, Dickhead? You want King Orange Chickenshit running Harvard and all the other universities in this country? Is that where you're going with this?
DeleteCrickets from Somerby about the courage displayed by Harvard. Here is what Obama said about it:
Delete"“Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions — rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.”
Somerby is a Harvard alum but cannot be bothered discussing issues of academic freedom.
Harvard Professor Brendon Kelly:
Delete"He said the Covid-19 pandemic led to gaps in students’ math skills and learning abilities, prompting the need for a new introductory course."
It's not fringe anymore. It's happening again, has been mainstreamed in the Democrat party, and Harvard is leading the way.
DeleteThanks for that quote, @1:00. It's bullshit. Lots of kids did learn junior high school math despite the covid shutdowns. Harvard has plenty of applicants who know how to do algebra.
DeleteKelly's statement is designed to ignore the obvious. That is, because of DEI, Harvard is accepting some weaker students. BTW it's not just one or two. evidently there's enough to fill a class worth.
Every day it is more and more power demands from the executive office. Strongarming major law firms, taking over the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, attacking prosecutors, ordering his DOJ to initiate criminal investigations of persons who did nothing, attacking states like Maine, now demanding major ivy league universities click their heels to his demands. What the fuck is going on in this country?
DeleteIt’s odd, I tell you, odd.
Delete
DeleteThe swamp is being drained, 1:11 PM. Capeesh?
Capeesh is an online store that sells summer apparel. Capisce means "have you got it?".
DeleteThe “swamp” is currently being filled by the Trump “administration.” Bigger stink than ever.
Delete
DeleteSqueal, squeal, Soros-bots.
David is suggesting that only students who already know algebra should be admitted to Harvard. Admission requirements are set by the college, not the public, much less by David. Harvard knows that many majors, legitimate fields of study, do not require algebra for success. These include sports, music, art, English literature, history, political science, psychology and sociology (statistics but not algebra), languages, urban planning, design, and so on. Because so many fields do not need algebra, instituting an arbitrary requirement for it would constitute an unnecessary barrier to access to learning, much the way requiring Pig Latin would do.
DeleteDavid suspects that the kids who didn't learning algebra due to covid may be black, and he wants to make double sure those kids don't get a second chance, regardless of the resources of the schools and whether their parents could afford computers for online learning (which took place in many places less impacted by covid). It would be bad if some black student were accidentally given a second chance to acquire basic math before discovering an interest in architecture (not offered in high school) for example.
This is why people consider you a bigot, David.
DeleteWhat is nearly funny is David does not himself understand algebra, he is a complete phony.
David is an unapologetic racist and sexist, and he is an un American troll. David, sitting in his windowless troll prison, would like to see America destroyed, because he would personally benefit from it.
12:03. I missed the part about how Duke leadership caused that university’s law school to drop out of the top 5. I am sure DiC can fit that into a narrative about DEi and antisemitism.
DeleteSpeaking of remedial math, the Trump administration may need to enroll in that Harvard course. After getting the denomination of their tariff equation wrong by nearly a factor of four and exacting a tariff % of 46 on Viet Nam instead of the correct 12% , they made zero effort to correct their mistake publicly. Trump is now bitching and moaning about the ongoing trade talks between Viet Nam and China and how the motive is to “screw the US”. Viet Nam appears to be in no great rush to negotiate this bogus tariff number with Bessent. What an incompetent crew. Maybe they need to go back to high school math.
DeleteNotice how Dickhead in Cal, diverts, deflects, and distracts.
DeleteHow it started:
David claims Harvard is defending their right to allow antisemitism on their campus.
How it ended:
David gets to the nub of his complaint: too many blahs are being admitted to Harvard because of DEI. It's always DEI.
When Hegseth presides over the worst security breech in memory, not a word about DEI. Fuck you, David, your little act has worn thin.
David in Cal complained about ObamaCare, which means he's anti-American. Which means he can be deported to El Salvador without a trial. Which means we will finally be rid of the loathsome little bigot. Which means the celebrations will last days.
DeleteCorrection 2:59: denomination= denominator (autocorrect error).
DeleteI'm in no position to really know if David in Cal's claim that ethnic cleansing, through the bombing of hospitals and schools, are all long held Jewish beliefs, but based on everything the January 6th insurrectionists were saying about Jewish people, I'm inclined to believe him.
Delete"blah, blah, blah"
ReplyDeleteYes, scummy Democrat deep-state media does publish shitty headlines. And yes, their content is much worse.
And yes, the FCC does need to take up the task and punish the scummy Democrat deep-state media, for violating all the standards.
But we already know all this.
It's your problem, if you can't afford to pay to work for the FCC.
DeleteTake some personal responsibility for a change, and stop blaming minorities for all your failures.
Mao thinks he's special because he can't tell the tell the difference between Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and good people on the Right.
DeleteYou’re part of the problem.
Delete9:18, can you please clarify who or which comment you were addressing?
DeleteNo.
DeleteWe are all part of the problem, some of us are part of the solution, others, such as Republicans, weaponize our problems to gain personal benefit.
DeleteMao is dead. Long live Mao.
DeleteWe wouldn’t be in this position if black people’s votes hadn’t counted in the 2024 election.
DeleteSomerby lists a bunch of headlines but draws no conclusions.
ReplyDeleteHe seems to object to the reporting that some of those arresting migrants were wearing masks, but he doesn’t state his beef.
This is not an essay.
Somerby explicitly raises a question he feels is important—how should media describe the odd behavior that currently obtains? We can ponder how to answer that question, or we can call each other names, our choice.
Delete“Odd”?
Delete
Delete"behavior that currently obtains"?
Anyway. So, he finds populist politics odd. What's there to "ponder"? Some people, usually elderly and "square", hate populist politics. Hate media democratization.
Same shit as when their parents used to hate rock-and-roll and long hair. So what. Such is life. Dogs bark, the caravan moves on.
Fascism isn't populist, fuckface.
DeleteIt is in a 1930’s kind of way.
DeleteYes, odd behavior. Trump blames Zelensky for allowing Russia to invade his country. Odd. How should the media describe this odd behavior, irrational behavior that may reflect a mental disorder?
DeleteHow about describing it as an unAmerican lie. That would be a start.
Delete
DeleteIt's not odd. Keeping the country neutral, and ending discrimination of the Russian-speaking population would prevent the war.
These is a well-known, undeniable fact, Soros-bot. It's you who's being "odd". Or, if you prefer, a flunkey of war-mongering globalist scum.
Another way the war could have been prevented was if Russia didn't invade Ukraine you dumb tool.
DeleteDG, it would be one thing if only Trump were saying things like this. But Trump is parroting Putin, and other Republicans are joining in this. It’s long past the point where it’s some sort of odd behavior or mental illness. If you or Somerby cannot bring yourselves to attach the proper verbiage to what’s going on, then you are both part of the problem. It’s frankly absurd to depict all of this merely as the result of some one person’s so-called mental illness. You need to read Hannah Arendt or Umberto Eco on fascism to understand better what is happening.
Delete
DeleteActually, you're a tool, Soros-bot.
The Soviets (+Castro) prevented the war in the 1960s by backing out from making Cuba their military forepost.
And the demented B-administration (together with their bitch Zelensky) started the war in 2022 by refusing to compromise.
"If you or Somerby cannot bring yourselves to attach the proper verbiage to what’s going on"
DeleteThat's the question, isn't it: What is the "proper verbiage" the media should use? When the NYT or the WaPost reports that Trump demands that the FCC must punish CBS, should they include the judgment that Trump's demand constitutes dictatorial behavior? Is that reporting, or opinion? What, exactly, should they say?
DG, first off, earlier you claimed it was perhaps due to the mental disorder of a single man. That is Somerby’s preferred verbiage, and it is an opinion, a judgment. But it fits more of a pattern of dictatorial behavior, authoritarianism, fascism, engaged in by the entire administration and many parts of the republican party. Opinion writers and commenters should very much be calling it that, rather than Trump’s disorder.
Delete
DeleteWhen scummy Democrat deep-state media report that Donald Trump "demands" something from the FCC, Democrat deep-state scummy media are simply lying.
Totally, trumptard. The country that was invaded started the war.
DeleteAnd also, Trump won the 2020 election.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and between true and false no longer exist.
- Hannah Arendt "The Origins of Totalitarianism.
The proper verbiage for Somerby would be to express concern when obvious violations of the Constitution and human rights are taking place. Today, it was an attack on Harvard which Somerby has completely ignored despite having gone there.
DeleteSomerby seems to have no liberal instincts guiding him to a sense of outrage about the way Trump has broken the law and ignored the Constitution, and is now gloating over the detainment in El Salvador of a legal US greencard holder. The govt should defend its citizens from foreign torture, not send its people to foreign locations without due process. Somerby questions whether the newspaper should be mentioning that the abductors who are taking people off the streets are wearing masks.
And then you come along, George, and try to pretend that Somerby is being unfairly criticized here when he pulls these stunts. It is absolutely right for the press to point out the similarity between Trump and Hitler, and to indicate that the abrogation of American rights in violation of our Constitution is "dictatorial behavior". It is called providing historical perspective, and that is what journalists do all the time.
I get it that you would prefer that Trump's agents be allowed to perform their illegals acts in secret, but the press has long been the institution that shines a light on official wrongdoing of various types (especially corruption), as part of its journalistic tradition. So, they are not breaking any rules when they report truthfully that Trump is behaving like a self-styled dictator. It is revealing that you and Somerby are the ones complaining though. It makes me wonder whose side you are on, and yes, people are choosing sides. You cannot support American democracy while saying nothing when people are disappeared off our streets and not returned when the Supreme Court orders it. The press is right to finger Trump on this. Being objective means you get the facts straight, not that you say nothing when those facts show wrongdoing by someone who is clearly a wannabe despot. If Somerby doesn't know that, there is something majorly wrong with him too. What is wrong, I can't tell, but it stinks wrose than the stench coming off right wingers these days -- you included since you have placed yourself in that category.
1:57 -- If you're writing these long-winded screeds for my benefit, rest assured I don't read them.
Delete
DeleteSure thing, Soros-bot @1:54. So, don't be a totalitarian.
You're right, Soros-bot: the country that was invaded started the war. It happens, Soros-bot. Germany and Italy started a war against the US in 1941, and yet they never invaded. Capeesh?
Or, if you prefer, the Nazis in Kiev started it in 2014, when they overthrew the legitimate government and then invaded the Donetsk and Lugansk republics.
And, yes, the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Are we done now?
"Somerby questions whether the newspaper should be mentioning that the abductors who are taking people off the streets are wearing masks."
DeleteSomerby doesn't anything like this in today's post.
In fact he highlights it by putting it in bold print.
What's wrong with you?
Somerby does little more than amplify Republican talking points (Republicans love that masked avengers are disappearing people, they get off on it); he attempts to mask his personal views with obsequious claims and general coyness.
DeleteSomerby no longer pays any attention to Republican corruption and criminality in any coherent or credible manner, as he once did back when that was the primary impetus for this blog. Now it is just a right wing vanity blog slowing fading away, much like it's author and his disappearing moral compass.
If you fell for Somerby's con, then that is you being a sucker, don't crucify others for your own sin.
Get help.
DeleteHelp is coming:
Deletehttps://youtu.be/eF_yTlKhqy0?si=5TlxEZJRvA0aKqJo
"Germany and Italy started a war against the US in 1941, and yet they never invaded."
DeleteThey started a war against other European countries and invaded them, dumbsh_t.
Do you know anything about anything?
Ah, I get it now. 2:26, using his pea-sized brain, was trying to construct an analogy.
DeleteSee, Germany declared a war against the US in 1941, yet they never invaded us.
Therefore it isn't Russia that started the war in Ukraine even though they invaded because...because...because...because Zelensky hasn't said thank you enough.
There. Fool-proof MAGA logic.
5:00 -- Don't forget that, according to 2:26, it was a Jewish Nazi who started the Ukraine war.
DeleteDogface, go away.
DeleteDogface, stick around.
DeleteThe most constructive way to describe this situation is media bias. They left out all the possible headlines praising Trump and conservatives. E.g.,
ReplyDelete-- Spurred on by President Trump’s tariffs and a focus on returning to U.S.-based manufacturing, NVIDIA has announced that, for the first time, the company’s AI supercomputers will be built entirely in the U.S.
-- President Trump signed three major executive orders to modernize the United States Military defense infrastructure and restore American maritime dominance
-- 'Mississippi Musk' Finds $400 Million
in State Government Waste
so, Dickhead in Cal, all this waste mississippi Musk found? Who has been running that state ever since they freed the slaves, you fucking fascist little cunt?
Delete"The $400 million figure will be broken down in an 800-page report, which the Mississippi auditor will make public later Monday."
Delete800 pages? How long will the final DOGE report be? 80 pages? 8? Oh, there won't be one because that would subject their 'savings' to scrutiny. Got it.
Yes, Hector the amount of DOGE savings is uncertain. But, the important thing is that there's a substantial amount of saving.
DeleteBTW bad estimates are SOP in the government. Take the CA High Speed Line (please). In 1919 it was estimated at $25 billion in 1999 dollars. By 2023 the full system cost was set at up to $128 billion.
“ the amount of DOGE savings is uncertain. But, the important thing is that there's a substantial amount of saving.”
DeleteIt’s hard to believe someone can string these two sentences together without embarrassment.
"Yes, Hector the amount of DOGE savings is uncertain"
DeleteAs usual DiC, you take a moral question and turn it to something anodyne, like 'certainty'.
No DOGE report will be issued because they can't substantiate their findings AND THEY KNOW THAT. That's precisely why they won't issue the report.
11:41 is completely misinforming about Nvidia.
DeleteNvidia has already been producing chips in the US, spurred by Biden's Chips Act, and they are not promising to have all their supercomputers/chips built entirely in the US. Just fake news from a troll.
Furthermore, no company makes a $500 billion move in a few days or a few weeks or a few months, that is utterly laughable. Nvidia has been developing their US plans ever since the Chips Act (Biden).
The recent announcement from Nvidia has two purposes, one to pump up their stock, which is down $40-50 dollars since the beginning of the year, and to appease Trump, getting him to agree to exclude their H20 chip from tariffs (by promising something they already had in the works - this how people have learned to play Trump, recognizing that Trump only cares about how he appears, with no actual concern over working Americans).
In reality, we have seen promises like the one from Nvidia many times before - recall that under Trump's first term, many promises were made, but in the end we LOST manufacturing jobs. The only hope that Nvidia will follow through is if Biden's Chips Act stays intact.
11:41 is a lying dope.
David in Cal's own children hate him. I don't see what the big deal with the media hating him, too, is.
Delete"-- President Trump signed three major executive orders to modernize the United States Military defense infrastructure and restore American maritime dominance"
DeleteYou're aware that a president can't allocate funds with an EO, yeah?
Haw!
Delete"In order to prevent cargo carriers from circumventing the Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF) on imported goods through the practice of making port in Canada or Mexico and sending their cargo into the United States through land borders, "
We're going to charge shippers a "harbor maintenance fee" for NOT using our harbors?
"More than 70 percent of Republicans surveyed for the poll in March said they consider themselves part of the MAGA movement — up from 55 percent just before the November presidential election."
ReplyDeleteIn related stories, measles cases are seeing a sharp increase over prior years and the US bond market has developed a serious case of the yips.
Meanwhile, Bessent is begging for somebody, anybody, to show up at the table to negotiate tariffs without any takers.
ReplyDeleteBessent is...finding out.
DeleteMove over, Garcia and Mangione, Democrats have a new hero. This one bagged a decent young white kid.
ReplyDeleteKarmelo Anthony is out on bail after Democrats, who have sons and daughters they want to sacrifice to the gods of woke, held a bake sale to unleash him on their and your kids.
Anthony is claiming self defense. He will have a trial at which evidence will be presented to determine what happened. That is the American way, not just what Democrats believe in.
DeleteI think nowadays it is just what Democrats believe in.
DeleteDemocrats want it to be what Democrats believe in including murdering innocent white high school kids with impunity and making sure the violent Murderers Of Color do not serve a day in prison.
DeleteWhy are there all these racists in these blog comments?
DeleteOnce Trump pardoned the January 6th insurrectionists, the slaughter of white people was inevitable.
DeleteIn other news, actions have consequences.
That poor innocent white boy, killed by a male (of course), instead of dying from measles next year, like a good citizen.
DeleteA woman made the 3:57 comment. You can tell by the tragic attempt at logic.
DeletePart of the tragedy is that Anthony apparently thought it really was self-defense. He mentioned the phrase right after the homicide. The murder victim grabbed Anthony who was refusing to leave a place where he wasn't supposed to be. And, Anthony believed it was self-defense to stab the guy to death.
DeleteRittenhouse claimed self defense even though no one touched him and got away with shotting and killing. He was 17 too. It is up to a jury to hear the facts and a judge to impose punishment. It helps nothing to call him names and use racial terms to inflame readers when he is innocent until proven guilty. Everyone seems to understand that here except the trolls, who failing to get a rise with racist talk are trying to annoy women.
Delete4:23,
DeleteCecelia wouldn't know logic if it bit her in the ass.
"The murder victim grabbed Anthony who was refusing to leave a place where he wasn't supposed to be."
DeleteGrabbed? Is that the same as "assaulted"?
"Was that meeting really "a ruse?" We have no way of knowing, but he men in masks were active again."
ReplyDeleteSomerby's odd selective skepticism seems to operate mainly when so-called blue writers raise an issue of concern to liberals and Democrats. Of course the meeting was a ruse. Somerby had no way of knowing that the sun rose this morning, since he slept through sunrise. He has no way of knowing that Trump is still the president, since he hasn't gone to the White House to see if he showed up for work today.
What legitimate reason is there for government officials performing their authorized and legitimate work to wear face masks? Why would they hide their identity if their arrests, detainments and questioning of those they have kidnapped is legitimate?
In all cities in the USA, a person being apprehended has the right to ask for the names and badge numbers of the arresting officers. Local police provide such info. Is this mask-wearing intended to keep the agents from being targeted by facial recognition and doxed on the internet, or do they think they will compromise their undercover status if their faces are available? Do we have secret agents who operate in stealth, in gray areas, stalking people and then capturing them as they go about their daily lives? Such people are called "secret police" and they operate in dictatorships, not in a free America.
Actual undercover agents conceal their official identity from criminals whose operations they have infiltrated for purposes of information gathering. Arrests are later made by officers in uniforms with ID and badges. If we now must fear that no one we encounter is harmless but concealed agents may report us or arrest us in the course of our everyday activities, we will truly be a police state, where anyone can be informed upon and arrested at will, by shadow agents in masks, without ID or warning. How then might someone tell the difference between an attack by a tren de aragua gang member and a legitimate peace officer or government agent? And if a person tries to defend themselves, will they be charged with special crimes instead of self defense?
Those masks matter because they signal the clandestine intent of the US government as it attacks its own people. Somerby's failure to believe that such attacks are happening strikes me as disingenuous of Somerby, an attempt to excuse and defend Trump's goons (now govt goons) by casting suspicion on whether or not such things are even happening. But we know that these legal residents of the US are being grabbed and deported without due process. In that context, why does Somerby doubt they are wearing masks? Did he not see the video of the woman grabbed and detained on the street? And if Somerby won't believe his own eyes, why does he take Trump's side on this and not believe the innocent people being called gang members for having "Mom" and "Dad" tattoos, as that Venezuelan gay hairdresser did?
It seems more likely every day that Somerby is a Quisling and not a stand-up resistor of the tyranny growing every day. Will Trump's agents laugh at Somerby when they come for him under his pear tree and he asks to see some ID? But then, when does anyone ask someone in a mask to show ID? Soon, perhaps too soon, we will be hiding in our attics as Anne Frank did. Will Somerby find that experience beautiful and uplifting? We have no way of knowing.
Here is the video of masked federal agents arresting a woman on the street for deportation. This has been widely circulated and was easy to find using Google, so how then can Somerby doubt that such arrests have been occurring, saying "we have no way of knowing" whether this has happened. Here is the way of knowing.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ5AQv5ZuOI
It is possible to alter or fake videos, as occurred when the right created fake videos of Biden looking old and supposedly wandering or "sitting on air". Those were proven fakes. Where was Somerby's skepticism when those were being circulated?
DeleteNo one has claimed that this arrest video was faked. Others saw it occur, so there are witnesses. Why would Somerby cast doubt on this video and similar reports when he accepted those anti-Biden videos without question?
DeleteIf something is easy to find using Google, then it's a fake, Soros-bot. Doncha know that?
You da best, trumptard.
Delete1:15 -- "Somerby's failure to believe that such attacks are happening"
DeleteHere's what Somerby actually said. He highlighted and quoted a letter to the editor, which he described as a "reasonably accurate" description:
"A lone young woman walks down an urban street. Suddenly, she’s set upon by six people, four dressed in black, all but one wearing masks to conceal their faces. One rips the cellphone from her hands as two spin her around, remove her backpack and place her in handcuffs. Unfortunately, this is not fiction; it’s a scene from the latest attack on civil liberties under the Trump administration."
You have absolutely no basis for concluding that Somerby believes the attack was faked, so I'm sincerely curious: Why do you just make shit up about him?
Somerby said:
Delete"Was that meeting really "a ruse?" We have no way of knowing, but the men in masks were active again."
What do you think that means, asshole?
What do you think "reasonably accurate" means when someone says it without questioning any specific details of someone's description? It means there are inaccuracies, but he isn't identifying any. Reasonably means inaccurate, otherwise he would have said "accurate".
DeleteSomerby plays such games through every inch of his essays. It is easy to tell what he disdains and what he supports. You want to wiggle out of his implied, sneering dismissals of the facts printed by the press, but Somerby's words are there for everyone to see. Only excessively literal reading of Somerby lets these weasel words pass for agreement that these atrocities were wrongs against the American people.
I am not making up shit about him. I am interpreting his words less generously than you do. That is called a difference of opinion. You are the asshole who comes here and cannot defend Somerby so you attack commenters instead.
I posted the video so that commenters here could see for themselves what happened. There is no reason for Somerby to question that video yet he snidely implies that reporting that masks were worn is some behavior by the press. But he won't own any direct opinion, so you turds can come along and defend Somerby's meaning. He was just saying masks were being mentioned (too much he implies) in the name of full accuracy, even though masks were being worn (an accurate statement), so why is Somerby trying to imply it was propaganda instead of journalism? Because it is harmful to Trump's image, supports the view that Trump is behaving like a dictator (as if dragging people off the streets didn't do that already). Most of all, Somerby is performing his routine chore of undermining faith in mainstream journalism, again in service to the right wing and Trump's burgeoning dictatorship,. And you are helping him do that. Own it if you're proud of it, but don't try to gaslight people into thinking Somerby is a victim.
First Somerby asks whether the meeting at which Garcia was arrested was really set up for the purpose of apprehending him (clearly agents to take him in were present when he showed up), calling it a ruse. Then he states his doubt "
DeleteIt means, to those of us who can process the English language, that men in masks from ICE may have used a ruse, a meeting re citizenship, to carry out their plan to capture this student.
DeleteCont... comment was cut off before completion
Deletesaying "we have no way of knowing." His "we" is his royal we, the way he always refers to himself, never saying "I". Then he equates the possibly not a ruse meeting with the description of masks, saying "the men in masks were active again." When you juxtapose two things like that, as a write, you imply that there is an equivalence or similarity between the two. The meeting may not have been a ruse, Somerby hints, then he says "but the men in masks were active again" (active means they were being described in a news story). That leads the reader to wonder whether both the ruse meeting and the repeatedly described masks were journalistic propaganda to malign Trump's agents, not something that actually occurred and was being described again because it happened again. And remember that all of this is being said in a larger context that Somerby himself established, supposedly examining how the press is talking about what is going on. That headline itself implies that the press is taking license, without Somerby having to say so more directly.
Headline: "What kind of language should journalists use?"
This too implies that the journalists may have added those masks and that "ruse" meeting, not to describe what actually happened but as a choice of language they made because they dislike Trump. It too questions the truth of press reports.
You, Dogface, don't appear to be sensitive to the nuances of language, or your predispositions are preventing you from noticing Somerby's obvious implications. Try harder to see today's essay from a different perspective.
If you can't say it in one comment of 30+ lines, do you really expect me to read two comments? Especially when all you're going to tell me is that you have the preternatural ability to sniff out implications which can't be found literally in Somerby's writings?
Delete
Delete"...it’s a scene from the latest attack on civil liberties under the Trump administration."
I seem to remember 5am FBI raids on Roger Stone and other Donald Trump supporters.
I remember Roger Stone and others being upset, but none of the pearl-clutching idiot-Democrats squealing now had any problem with "civil liberties" back then.
Hey, what goes around comes around.
Dogface, you aren't a serious commenter. If you won't read what people write in response to your whining, you are not participating in a discussion. You are a troll.
DeleteA 5 am raid is not an attack on civil liberties unless it happens without a warrant. That lack of due process is what the left is upset about.
Delete
DeleteThere's no allegation in that quote that the cops didn't have a warrant. It's all about the horrors of masks and "dressed in black", Soros-bot.
So, you have nothing against "Suddenly, she’s set upon by six people, four dressed in black, all but one wearing masks to conceal their faces. One rips the cellphone from her hands as two spin her around, remove her backpack and place her in handcuffs", as long as there is a warrant?
2:55 -- A general rule for comments: If you can't say it in 10 lines, you can't say it in 30, or 50, or more. And if you have to resort to name-calling, you lose.
DeleteWhat the fuck good is this imaginary warrant, if you skip the due process part and go straight to the sentencing, maggot breath?
DeleteICE is taking a page out of the Saudis book, a la Khashoggi.
DeleteDogface, you don't set any rules around here. Fuck off.
Delete3:50 -- And bless you!
DeleteLike Cecelia, you think you are entitled to the last word. Go away.
DeleteDogface George,
DeleteWhy doesn't Somerby mention the media is Right-wing?
ReplyDeletehttps://doge.gov/savings
$155B!
$5 billion more today! Great job, DOGE!
"I'm headed for a land that's far away
DeleteBeside the crystal fountains
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains"
In reality, Trump spending has increased over Biden's by $150 billion just in the past couple of months.
DeleteIn reality, Republicans LOVE big government, as long as it helps the wealthy, but when it helps the other 90% of Americans, they HATE that.
DeleteYes Sir, Mr. Soros, whatever you say. Thank you for telling us Republicans what Republicans love.
3:35 troll, thanks for letting us know you are an antisemite, although to be fair, we already knew that.
Delete
DeleteYes, Mr. Soros. Enjoy your afternoon enema now, Sir.
Enjoy your pointless brick laying in your troll gulag.
Delete3;53,
DeleteDo you want to fuck your preteen daughter, or are you a liberal?
We should be worrying about the language used by our president:
ReplyDelete"Olivia Troye, former Mike Pence national security advisor, had her ears prick up for you on Monday during Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Trump used a word that her ears caught when he said of jailing more people in El Salvador: “The homegrowns are next.”
She writes:
"I’ve worked in the rooms where these conversations happen. I know how this administration talks behind closed doors. When Trump uses the word “homegrown,” he’s not pulling it out of thin air. That kind of language signals internal planning is already in motion. It’s the next step in a rhetorical evolution we’ve seen before: “domestic terrorists,” “traitors,” “treason.” Words chosen to justify extreme actions. Words that blur the line between political dissent and national security threats.
Trump doesn’t throw around words like “homegrown” lightly. Moments later, in that same press conference, he linked “homegrown criminals” to the very Americans he’s suggesting could be sent to prison in a foreign country. In his worldview, terms like homegrown, criminals, and domestic threats appear to be interchangeable. And once you’ve been labeled this way, the constitutional protections you’re entitled to as an American begin to disappear."
This is a five-alarm fire, Tom Sullivan says.
"This is the pattern: speak out, and you’re labeled disloyal. Get in their way, and you’re cast as a criminal. Dissent is no longer disagreement. It’s being redefined as treason. It’s being recoded as terrorism. You don’t have to connect many dots here. The logic is unfolding in plain sight. Critics become traitors. Dissent becomes terrorism. Americans become enemies of the state. And if you’re a legal permanent resident, or even a citizen with the wrong name, wrong politics, or wrong profile, you may be next in line. This isn’t just a shift in language; it’s a signal of where the machinery is headed.
There is no legal justification for deporting U.S. citizens. Natural-born Americans are protected by the Constitution, including the right to due process, legal counsel, and judicial review. The fact that this administration is floating the idea anyway tells you everything you need to know about how far they’re willing to go.
This isn’t incompetence. This is intention. It’s happening by design, Stephen Miller’s design, a deliberate plan to sidestep the legal system and weaponize immigration law against U.S. citizens. It’s an extremist blueprint masquerading as policy."
https://digbysblog.net/2025/04/15/theyre-here-2/
Trump and his admin are un American.
DeleteObserving this right wing vanity blog wither away, is not unamusing.
ReplyDeleteIt' the language and the placement. It should be on the front page of every newspaper: Trump administration disappears people of US soil. It is an absolute certainty that in the ensuing days or weeks or months, US citizens will be kidnapped off the street and sent off the El Salvador death camp. This is the language. Beyond that, it's hard to fathom what decent people should be doing.
ReplyDeleteSo as long as American citizens are not kidnapped and sent to El Salvador you're good with terrorist illegals being shipped there. Agreed!
DeleteHis act of terrorism was to have brown skin.
DeleteTrump doesn't do enough bad things. So his enemies have to blast him for things he didn't do. E.g., Ilya criticizes Trump for deporting American citizens, even though Trump hasn't deported American citizens.
DeleteWhat is to stop him, you fucking fascist freak?
DeleteI would love to punch you in your very stupid fascist face. That is not even close to what Ilya criticized the asshole for. Hateful prick.
Delete@4:55 - did you miss the phrase, "US citizens will be kidnapped off the street and sent off the El Salvador death camp"?
DeleteTrump's words "home grown" refers to American citizens. He told Bukele he would need 5 more prisons to house the homegrown people he would send next.
DeleteIt's only a matter of time, David, before US citizens are shipped off to El Salvador. More importantly -- much more importantly -- what's the substantive difference between shipping off a non-citizen vs a citizen? We are not talking about deportation here. We are talking about disappearing people to a blackhole prison without charging them with a crime.
DeleteYou're right, David, Trump is doing some horrid things. This, hands down, is the worst.
PS: David, you missed the phrase "in the ensuing days, weeks, or months". It hasn't happened yet, but Trump more than hinted that it would.
DeleteDavid in Cal,
DeleteHow bummed are you that Trump refuses to get rid of DEI?
After all the pretending you cared about inflation.
Don't worry about it, Trump has been playing Republican voters for the losers they are, forever.
Like your parents always told you, you're not special.
DeleteIt's so horrible in America, with disappearings, kidnappings, death camps, and all, you might want to escape it by going back to Russia, Ilya.
I'm sure they'll appreciate your drama queen talent.
After reading David in Cal's "thoughts", I'm not surprised his kids hate him.
ReplyDelete