TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2025
...in the wake of the flood: With apologies, connectivity was gone for a good part of the day. This interrupted our ability to continue contemplating what Tina Brown recently said.
In yesterday afternoon's report, we posted her comment. In an interview with the New York Times' Lulu Garcia-Navarro, her comment went like this:
Garcia-Navarro: I have a theory for why there is so much nostalgia: Even as the internet has democratized the way that people get information and who gives information, people are craving a bit more authority. People want a guide through the muck.
Brown: Of course they do. I mean, the gatekeepers have gone. Everyone goes, Yes! As if the gatekeepers were some kind of terrible inhibition to doing anything good. The gatekeepers were also the tastemakers. Lacking those gatekeepers now, it’s just this big blob of stuff and dross that comes careening at you, and you don’t know where to find the good stuff. I think that’s the biggest problem of our time. There is brilliant writing out there. But finding it is like the needle in the haystack.
We've long regarded Tina Brown as sensible and sharp, but is the highlighted comment accurate? Given the strangeness of the times, is there really any "brilliant writing out there?" And given the strangeness of the times, what sorts of phenomena would any such writing have to identify and try to wrestle with?
We've long regarded Tina Brown as highly sensible and thoroughly sharp. But we're not sure that she was right in what seems like a sensible thought.
That said, we want to take a bit of time to ponder this as a topic for a week-long review. Much as Macbeth once murdered sleep, it seems to us that President Trump has put an end to "brilliant writing," if we're prepared to assume that there was ever some such critter within our American discourse.
Given the damage which has been caused by the flooding of the zone, what sorts of problems would brilliant writing have to address at this point? For ourselves, we can think of no one who is addressing the sweep of the catastrophe into which we've all slid in the past fourteen years.
For that matter, was there ever any such thing as "brilliant writing" within our public discourse? Did any such creature ever exist in the decades before the flood?
Trump can’t read or write. Why mention him?
ReplyDeleteRelease the files.
ReplyDeleteThe Senate passed the bill. Now it goes to Trump for signature.
DeleteIt's tragic that the traditional gatekeepers are failing to fulfill their duty to provide accurate, unbiased reporting. Why should people rely on the BBC, which reports malicious lies about Trump and about Israel and about Jews? Naturally they seek other sources.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Nazis, Dickhead, you should be happy to know "Paul Ingrassia gets new job in Trump administration".
DeleteBy the way, why do you think Trump had Epstein assassinated and then moved Ghislain Maxwell to a summer camp, fuckface
What malicious lie has the BCC put forth about Trump?
DeleteIngrassia is a big friend of the Tate brothers, welcoming them to America.
DeleteWhat did the BBC broadcast? That Trump was born in Kenya. Fuck off.
DeleteTrump was born in Kenya.
DeleteWe don't need the BBC lying about Trump. We have our own domestic media, right here in the USA to whitewash Trump's statements.
DeleteOf course there is brilliant writing.
ReplyDeleteA New Jersey man whose lengthy prison sentence for fraud convictions was commuted by Donald Trump in 2021 is now headed back to federal prison for another fraud conviction.
ReplyDeleteThe US district judge Michael Shipp, sitting in Trenton, handed down a 37-year sentence on Friday to Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 51, of Lakewood, who is also known as Mike Konig. Shipp also ruled that Weinstein must pay $44,294,803 in restitution, which is due immediately, according to court documents.
Weinstein was convicted in March on charges he helped defraud dozens of investors out of $35m. Prosecutors have said Weinstein and others falsely promised investors access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine.
This marked the third time Weinstein had been convicted in a New Jersey federal court for defrauding investors. The first case involved a real estate Ponzi scheme, and the second stemmed from additional fraud he committed while on pretrial release.
For those latter two cases, which resulted in combined losses to investors of approximately $230m, Weinstein was sentenced to 24 years in prison. On 19 January 2021, the day before leaving office during his first term, Trump commuted Weinstein’s term to time served after less than eight years into his sentence.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/18/new-jersey-trump-pardon-fraud-conviction
Time for another Trump pardon.
DeleteFirst Weinstein needs to bribe Trump, but all in due time.
Delete"Given the damage which has been caused by the flooding of the zone, what sorts of problems would brilliant writing have to address at this point?"
ReplyDeleteFirst, don't look for brilliance on Fox. That isn't the right zone. Second, don't look for it on Mediaite -- it isn't the right format for thoughtful analysis. There is a lot of brilliance over at substack, but you have to look for it and know how to identify it when you have found it.
Why would Somerby question the existence of brilliant writing in a world that gives out Booker prizes, Hugo awards, Pulitzer prizes, Nobel prizes in literature, and a MacArthur prize for creativity and productivity? We humans have a way to identify outstanding work and to present it to each other for sharing. Yet Somerby scoffs at the very idea of human brilliance.
I suppose if you have lived a life of minimal effort, draft dodging and intellectual sloth, you might assume that others do the same and denigrate all human effort as shit, assuming that other writers are like yourself. I've been admiring authors since I was a child and could first read. Finding and reading other people's writing is discovery and a great pleasure, stimulating to the mind and one of the joys of life. It puts one in touch with the universal in human experience, even while introducing the reader to new experience vicariously. If Somerby's inner critic dismisses all such effort as worthess (non-brilliant by definition), he cannot enjoy it the way others do, and that is sad.
Imagine his early days at Harvard, when a professor or another student admired something and tried to share it with him. "No, that's just another turd," young Somerby said, with a self-defensive sneer, imagining himself king of the world as the arbiter of all brilliance. The other students most likely gave him an odd look and left him alone in his ignorance.
Somerby went on the discover that the South got cheated in the Civil War and tried to ingratiate himself with Tommy Lee and Al, who wanted nothing to do with him. Somerby imagined that was because he was a northerner from Bawston, and worked hard to hate more black people and women to earn his suite-mate's approval. In reality, Al and Tommy Lee decided Somerby was an ignorant jerk and avoided him, as much as they could in a dormitory suite.
Somerby decided that everyone at Harvard was a snobby elite and hated them back, never losing that chip on his shoulder. After graduating and joining Teach for America (thereby evading the Vietnam War draft), Somerby settled in Baltimore to help the South rise again. He should have moved farther South, where his bigotry would be properly appreciated.
This is why no actual liberal is ever tempted to mistake Somerby for part of Blue America. Only those with Red souls believe that writing is shit and there is no such thing as brilliance.
Nihilism, oorah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
Here is an example of the opposite of brilliance, easily identified:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-is-not-have-all-the-mentals-cognitive-functioning
Jonathan V. Last (an ex-Republican) says:
"The president of the United States gave a speech yesterday before a group of McDonald’s corporate workers and franchise owners. I’m going to quote a few sections of his remarks at great length, because if you have not listened to Trump speaking recently, the decline in his cognitive abilities is a bit shocking.
The point of this exercise is not to clown on Trump, but to give everyone a baseline understanding of where he is, with the mentals, as we try to understand how he will respond to increasing pressures in the coming months.
The video of his remarks is here and I’ll include timestamps for each section, in case you want to see what he looks and sounds like.
Bottom line: This is a man in noticeable mental decline."
See the link for detailed analysis and video of the speech.
This is brilliant:
ReplyDeletehttps://substack.com/@thedangerousones/note/c-176782332
"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told Vanity Fair that she watches every other major news network more than she does Fox News these days."
ReplyDeleteShe told VANITY FAIR?
DeleteWhat a strange new world.
Trump is involved with the Tates too, under investigation in Europe for sex trafficking of women, but free in the USA after Trump's intercession.
ReplyDeleteMore Border Patrol abuse of citizens:
ReplyDeletehttps://digbysblog.net/2025/11/18/a-little-heavy-handed/
"A video from Charlotte shows Border Patrol agents pointing an assault rifle at a woman’s head before breaking her car window and arresting her and a passenger, both American citizens. CBP chased them down and accused them of “honking their horn to alert others that troops were in the area” (WCNC Charlotte):
Dramatic video captured the moment agents took the two women into custody following a chase down Central Avenue. The women were later released with citations after spending several hours at an FBI facility.
Neighbor Shea Watts began recording after hearing a commotion outside his window.
In the video, an agent can be seen breaking a car window while pointing an assault rifle at one of the women.
“He’s breaking the window— He’s got an assault rifle pointed at her,” Watts said in the recording.
Watts described his reaction as “somewhere between disbelief and just being really upset that this is our reality now."
Why we need vigorous ICE enforcement
DeleteDeported Couple Accused Of Running ‘Barbaric’ Sex Ring After Sneaking Back Into US
https://dailycaller.com/2025/11/17/husband-and-wife-illegals-ran-sex-ring/
I don't believe the Tates are husband and wife.
DeleteDavid is confused. These two old ladies in a car are not running any sex ring, plus they didn't sneak into the USA. They are citizens who were being harrassed by ICE for honking their horn. Last I checked that isn't against the law, even when there are armed thugs standing around in the street while you are trying to back your car out of your driveway.
DeleteMost people agree that we need vigorous enforcement of the law whenever anyone is running a barbaric sex ring. Including rich guys like Epstein and Trump and their accomplices.
ReplyDeleteNo one in their right mind is "craving a bit more authority".
Some demented old people, dead-enders, are, but nobody cares about them, about their cravings. That's why they are known as "dead-enders".
Reporter: Is it appropriate for your family to do business with Saudi Arabia while you’re president? The us intelligence concluded you orchestrated the murder of a journalist…
ReplyDeleteTrump: Who are you with?
Reporter: ABC News
Trump: ABC Fake news. I have nothing to do with the family business. You mentioned somebody extremely controversial—a lot of people didn’t like that gentleman. Whether you did or didn’t like him, things happen but he knew nothing about it. You don’t have to embarrass our guest.
*********
This is the corrupt animal inhabiting the White House nowadays. Anyone who believes he has nothing to do with the family business, I have a bridge for sale.
They made Hillary Clinton promise to quit a global charity run by her husband if she won the election in 2016. You can't make this shit up.
If a lot people didn't like someone then it's okay if that person was murdered. So hath the king decreed.
DeleteTrump: "I have nothing to do with the family business."
ReplyDeleteThis is only believable if the family business is making money.
MTG is the first rat of many to jump off the sinking Trump ship.
ReplyDeleteExpect the rest of the rats to figure it out soon.
The Republican Party has a huge piece of shit problem.
ReplyDeleteWho else has difficulty finding brilliance anywhere he looks? Trump. Patton Oswalt says about why Trump doesn't complain about the way he is portrayed in South Park:
ReplyDelete"He can’t look at South Park and see how brilliant it is, and he can’t look at something like John Oliver and see how equally brilliant it is. All he can think of in terms of, look at this guy’s numbers, look at their numbers, and that’s the only way he sees the world," he adds."
Somerby has that same inability to judge the quality of a show, not by how many people watch it, but by its actual content. He complains that Gutfeld is horrible despite his popularity on Fox. He used to complain that Rachel Maddow was horrible too, despite her popularity on MSNBC. In one case, Gutfeld is horrible, but Maddow was frequently brilliant. It was hard for him to see past his own prejudices. With Trump, he is a deeply stupid and uneducated man. It seems that some amount of intelligence is needed to appreciate brilliance. That may be why Somerby struggles to find it too.
A person with some sense of how to find brilliance doesn't need critics or ratings to identify it. Somerby talks way too much about how much people are paid, how popular they are in terms of viewers and ratings, when that has never meant anything about brilliance. Somerby might say this is elitist, but if you do not credit elites with the ability to recognize brilliance in a field or genre, then you are left with no way to identify it except popularity. Pop culture is for the masses. Brilliance is not, to the extent that knowledge is needed to admire it. Somerby hates elites (at least the ones associated with education) so he eschews cultural high achievement in favor of what? Gutfeld isn't going to satisfy anyone's craving for brilliance because he appeals to the bigoted common denominator. If Somerby cannot appreciate the non-bigoted art forms, then he is stuck with no one, claiming that there is no brilliance to be found anywhere. Harvard no doubt tried to teach him about culture but he didn't want to learn. Now he has a problem.
ReplyDelete