WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2026
Much as we've recently said: We don't expect to be posting again until next week, much as we've recently said. Then again, you never quite know.
In the meantime, we're glad to see the new AMC at Mediaite, making such statements as this.
Just when Republicans in November elections are running away from Trump in their campaigns, like he was some dime a dozen pedophile.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteThat is likely what is in those 37 pages the FBI does not want to release.
Oh yes @3:48!! Those 37 pages are going to finally show the world Trump & Epstein were having orgies with kids.
DeleteKept hidden by a FBI all this time whose last two directors, Comey and Wray, hated Trump as much as you morons. LOL
There are a lot of names of famous and wealthy men in the Epstein files. The consistency with which the DOJ has refused to prosecute them cuts across party lines. That doesn't make Trump innocent, just well protected.
DeleteWe already know that those 37 pages likely include testimony from a 14 year old that was sexually assaulted by Trump.
DeleteThe files were not previously released because there were ongoing investigations and cases. A judge then ok'd the release but Trump put a stop to releasing the files, had the FBI start working on scrubbing his name from the files, and put a stop to any further investigations of prosecutions.
The only reason the files are not fully released is because Trump is refusing to release them. He says it will hurt his friends if he releases them, which is surely accurate, but it will hurt Trump the most.
Defending a pedo president and his pedo cronies is not a good look and most people are rejecting that, as Trump continues to be the least popular president in history.
Adam Carolla is part of an ecosystem that caters to young, almost entirely white, male angerpunks. He panders to them -- there isn't something wrong with HIM, per se, but rather, his audience. HE'S making millions. I pay attention to other panderers like Carolla, and they are becoming more extreme -- whinier, angrier, and more frank in their bigotry and resentment. They used to disguise what they do as mere social criticism and so on, but in the past year or so, the disguise has been dropped.
ReplyDeleteI suspect part of it is caused by the utter failure and worse, RIDICULOUSNESS, of Trump, criticism of whom they used to slough off as the product of ridiculous, bitter, purple haired women sporting tattoos and nose rings. But now that Trump is indefensibly ridiculous -- and ridicule is supposed to be THEIR domain -- it's breaking them. Carolla is just pandering to that brokenness.
And it seems to be working, unfortunately.
DeletePandering works. That's why people do it.
DeleteIt works because our society is so far adrift from our innate nature, people are stressed out and warped.
DeleteOur society didn't create itself. People created it.
DeleteYes.
DeleteSociety is not a supernatural feature.
People created our society but most people were not involved, our society is dictated by the powerful.
The ultimate reason why those powerful people shaped our society to be primarily beneficial to them and not the masses is related to how their innate nature was warped, and then typically manifests via various oppressive behavior.
Ana Marie Cox is not new to left wing sources. Only to Somerby, who doesn't read independent media, and presumably not Wonkette (which she founded). She has also written for The New Republic, the New York Times Magazine, appeared on Pod Save America, and contributed political reporting, columns, and criticism to The Guardian, The Daily Beast, GQ, Time, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, and Suck.com.
ReplyDeleteFor a while, Somerby never heard of Mediaite, then all of a sudden he was touting their authors and stories, several times a week. That is what it looks like when an influencer gets a new sponsor.
In her article about Adam Corolla and Jimmy Kimmel, Cox refers to Corolla's misogyny as youthful indiscretion that has morphed into hate speech. She says Kimmel outgrew it but Carolla did not. It seems more likely, Carolla was always a true believer whereas Kimmel was in it for the fame and money on The Man Show, back when Andrew Dice Clay was considered funny and Howard Stern was a thing.
Ana Marie Cox has always been feminist. She didn't change that in order to write for Mediaite. So why refer to her as "new," as if she has reinvented herself? I am glad to see complaints about these man-o-sphere assholes go mainstream enough to catch Somerby's attention, but Cox is more visible than Somerby and she didn't abandon her principles to support Trump in 2015, the way Somerby did.
Didn't Somerby used to tear into Cox for her chumminess with Maddow?
DeleteBob Somerby has always been a sexist.
Just an observation, but when Somerby tears into Cox, it's evidence that he hates her, but when he tears into, say, Gutfeld, it's evidence that he's spreading Gutfeld's message.
Delete"Ana Marie Cox is not new to left wing sources. Only to Somerby, who doesn't read independent media, and presumably not Wonkette (which she founded)"
DeleteThis is an incredibly dumb comment. Our Gracious Host has been writing about Cox all the way back to Wonkette days.
You could look it up.
He calls her new.
DeleteI went back and looked it up. I found references to a Professor Cox, to Edward Cox (Nixon's son in law), to Heather Cox Richardson, but you have to go back before 2020 to find Somerby talking about Paul Cox, who appeared on Howard Stern's show. Somerby used to complain that Ana Marie Cox was smutty and made teabagger jokes that made Rachel Maddow blush in 2012. In 2018, Somerby didn't like her sex talk with Rick Wilson when Gary Hart was run out of the race for president due to his adultery. Somerby has never thought such scandals were a big deal, but it bothers him when women engage in sexy-time talk as Cox did. He hated the jokes Maddow and Cox made about the teabags hanging off the tea party hats, calling them dick jokes.
DeleteSo perhaps Somerby thinks Ana Marie Cox is "new" because she has given up making sex jokes at Republican expense. On the other hand, she will certainly still care about Epstein and women's rights. She has been writing for major publications all along (Somerby quotes her writing for The Guardian in 2012), so we'll have to see whether she has changed in her Mediaite incarnation (which appears to be a step down in my opinion).
Why does Somerby refer to her as new? Quaker?
Somerby seems to think AMC has revised herself in some way.
DeleteAMC is not a leftist. She calls herself a liberal Christian.
AMC is a strong pro feminist female voice, so it is not surprising that Somerby has gone after AMC in the past. Somerby is coy but less so about his sexism, racism, and xenophobia.
Somerby is probably rosier about AMC now because it serves his agenda of supporting right wing notions while criticizing those on the right that are too boorish and are thereby hurting the GOP.
Yes, DG at 2:32, those actions can reasonably coexist: Somerby dislikes the way AMC mocks sexism and he also dislikes the way Gutfeld's boorishness is bad for the GOP. While there is no incompatibility in this case, it would be foolhardy to expect consistency from a bad faith actor like Somerby, who puts his feelings before facts, as well as possibly being paid to generate content.
I think he is being paid to shill for Mediaite, to help them build subscriptions. Influencers often have more than one client.
DeleteDo you mean Carolla? Corolla is a small Toyota.
ReplyDeleteWere you trying to reply to 2:42?
DeleteNo, just making a general observation.
DeleteYou’re as dishonest as you are stupid.
Deletetypo
DeleteAll Toyotas, aside from their mediocre ergonomics and overrated reliability, only come in two versions: extremely bland, or ultra ugly.
DeleteAdam embodies both of those.
I prefer the Honda Civic.
DeleteJust when you think Somerby is done whining about Gutfeld being bad for Republican branding, he goes off and whines that Adam Corolla is bad for Republican branding.
ReplyDeleteSomerby doesn't mention it, but the other new hire at Mediaite, Brad Slager, described as being from the right, wrote a debut column too. He attacks the AP for suggesting that the hanging death of a black woman evokes memories of lynching of black people during Jim Crow. He accuses AP of media malpractice because they didn't mention that (1) the death was considered a suicide, (2) a man suspected in the death was also black, (3) electrical cord not rope was used in the hanging. To be clear, a ruling of suicide or an accusation against an unconvicted and uncharged black man do not preclude the death being a white hate crime. Such lynchings in the past were covered up by poor investigations and wrongful accusations of innocent people. Further, regardless of the facts of this woman's death, such a hanging DOES evoke the memory of Jim Crow lynchings. That is unavoidable. AP did not say this death was such a lynching but that doesn't stop Slager from accusing them of lies they did not tell. It is very odd for a black woman to be left hanging from a tree, given our racial history, and especially so for a black woman or a black man to have done this by their own hand. It takes extra effort and sends a bizarre, potentially very ugly message to black people, just as it did during Jim Crow. Slager explains none of that.
ReplyDeleteApparently, attacking AP and other mainstream press is now a conservative talking point. Mediaite does point out that this is only Slager's opinion, no one else's, but this participation in Trump's war against the media seems wrong, especially when promoted by a media source itself.
Republicans hate being called out for their racism, primarily because it is a highly effective strategy for electoral politics.
DeleteSlager obviously has no compassion for a black woman who was so depressed that she hanged herself from a tree using an extension cord. His anger at the AP is all-consuming leaving him the inability to feel anything about the person who died. A liberal would express sympathy for her family and loved ones and say something about how a life cut short is always a human tragedy (to borrow Somerby's phrase). Slager has a big career ahead of him in the right wing.
DeleteBut still, it had nothing to do with lynching.
DeleteBut still, it had nothing to do with lynching.
Delete3:57 Ah you're a racist too, cool!
DeleteYou are speculating, just as Slager did. Without knowing what happened, the fact of a black woman hanging from a tree does evoke lynching because that is what produced black bodies in trees during the recent past. There have been other black bodies found in trees in the South in the last few years. Given the racial history involved, you do not automatically assume they are all suicides or black murderers disposing of their victims in trees.
Delete"Reports by civil rights and advocacy organizations have identified dozens of hanging deaths of Black individuals in recent years, with at least 22 reported in the U.S. within a single recent period (including at least 10 in 2026 alone), while a broader civil rights report documented more than 70 suspected modern-day lynchings across select Southern states between 2000 and 2025."
Did you know that?
This is why Trump and his appointees have done away with reporting statistics about race in all areas of govt. The FBI used to investigate this stuff, but Trump doesn't want Patel to embarrass any of his whiite supremacist followers as they go about "improving" their neighborhoods and implementing long-planned projects, such as restoring the Confederacy.
DeleteSomerby also thinks we live in a post-racist society.
DeleteClassic racist stance.
Right wingers like Thomas Sowell tend to think that there's too much focus on racism and too little focus on other factors that negatively impact black Americans. That leads to ineffective civil rights policies. He would say that this approach is designed more to make liberals feel good, than to help blacks.
DeleteIn this case, the AP writer can feel a moral boost by deploring lynching, even though the past lynching is not relevant to the problems and opportunities of today's black Americans.
You missed the point that lynchings are still happening.
DeleteBut the case under discussion was not a lynching. Although David is demented, he is not always wrong.
DeleteThe case under discussion was closed as a suicide with a suggestion that a black suspect might have killed her. Such cases have been poorly investigated before, which is why lynching was made a federal crime. Sowell has nothing to do with anything.
Deletelol, as we all have observed, dickhead scrupulously sticks to the topic : Bwahahaha!!!
DeleteDavid is less cognitive than Cecelia, but this was no lynching.
DeleteDavid is Mao with half of Mao's intellectual depth.
DeleteBut there's no such thing as a Republican voter who isn't a bigot.
DiC would like you to know that Black culture is the bane of our existence and the reason why we are falling behind the Chinese. Defunding science by Trump and his knuckle dragging lackeys is quite all right, however. Look at all the money saved by Doge. Hahahahaha.
Delete“David is less cognitive than Cecelia”
Delete“David is Mao with half of Mao's intellectual depth”
This is like trying to argue whether basset hound poop, beagle poop or weiner dog poop smells better. They are all dog shit and they all stink.
Sowell's prescription is less rap music and young Black males should pull up their pants.
DeleteSowell is a clown, a victim of tokenism.
Less focus on racism has resulted in greater negative impacts on Black people.
Denying racism, like Republicans do, like Sowell does, like Somerby does, is a form of racism.
Being in a higher Caste, he can't understand why others don't succeed like he has.
DeleteJesus fucking Christ David, the entire point of giving ICE $200 Billion is for Government troops to fucking lynch brown people you idiot motherfucker! God you people are so fucking evil, and proud of it. Go to hell asshole.
DeleteMediaite annoyingly blocks content to the majority of its articles for non-subscribers. If you select a blocked article and repeatedly select it over and over, it will eventually show a small message saying "continue without supporting us" allowing you to read the article you want.
ReplyDeleteFor some media, it is only about the money. Why else would a source like Mediaite deliberately select two strongly biased new writers, one left and one right, instead of striving for objectivity? That is not exactly what it means for a paper to be "fair and balanced." I like Cox but I don't want to be presented with articles that have a strong bias without knowing what I am consuming. You know that at Wonkette but Mediaite pretends to be a news source, not opinion.
And here we have Slager defending Susan Collins by attacking Pro Publica:
ReplyDelete"Over at ProPublica, its editors worked overtime to deliver an innuendo-filled, scathing hit on the senator from Maine, Susan Collins. That is, “scathing” would only apply so long as you do not read past the headline."
I trust Pro Publica over this guy Slager. But this isn't being presented as an opinion piece by Mediaite, but as news reporting. Hilariously, Slager says that the guy who bribed Collines is not a reliable witness because he is now in jail for his crimes. They tried to use that one as a defense of Trump against Michael Cohen, who was convicted of paying off Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf.
Slager's hit piece is not against Collins (accused of being bribed) or Kao (the perp) but against Pro Publica, for not telling readers that Kao was ultimately convicted. Hilarous!
Somerby really shouldn't be pushing Mediaite now that it has decided to feature this conservative asshole pushing garbage (propaganda at best) on unsuspecting readers.
This is a better use of your time: https://www.propublica.org/
How dare actual journalists report about Collins' bribe scheme and about how Trump dropped the investigation once he was inaugurated, and suddenly afterwards Collins dropped her supposed "independence" and fell in line, voting with Trump on all the key issues.
DeleteSlager defended Collins like she was some common child rapist who happened to be a Republican Senator.
DeleteWhen asked about this, Collins stated that she was concerned.
DeleteCollins is about to lose her Senate seat.
DeleteOf course she is concerned.
Collins is losing her seat. The comment was in reference to her always being concerned, but never voting in opposition to what Trump wants.
DeleteJust get off the political blogs if you don't know anything about corrupt Susan's very concerned brow bro.
DeleteThe FTFNYT's backed ProPublica's story 100%. They do good journalism so bad journalism doesn't happen.
DeleteCollins has been caught in a bribe scheme, it was being investigated until Trump was inaugurated, at which time the investigation was dropped, but it is now being reported on by journalists, making Collins even more concerned that she will lose her Senate seat. Her concerns are valid in this case.
DeleteDoktor Zoom at Wonkette commented on Trump's UN speech:
ReplyDelete"Trump insisted that the official name [of AI] is now “super intelligence,” apparently unaware that AI researchers already use that term for something completely different, a so-far hypothetical version of machine intelligence that “has cutting-edge cognitive functions and highly developed thinking skills more advanced than any human.”
Exactly nobody expects Trump’s term to reshape the field, but it will be mandatory in a lot of government documents that will need to be fixed after he’s gone. Actually, that’s one task that current non-intelligent “AI” could handle pretty easily without blowing us all up or converting all mass in the universe into paperclips. Or uploading everyone’s brain into a My Little Pony simulation.
In another remarkable display of saying a mostly true thing but turning it into a completely backwards lie, Trump went on to crow that artificial intelligence is no more a threat to humanity than climate change is."
He also threatened to annihilate Iran.
DeleteAgain.
The Iranians don’t even care. They know Trump is full of shit.
DeleteIran can afford to ignore Trump, since they defeated the U.S. on Day One of the war.
DeleteDay One is here?!
DeleteAt last. Peace in Ukraine.
Much of the tension in the Middle East can be reasonably boiled down to Sunni vs Shia.
DeleteBroadly, Sunnis tend to be more extremist and violent.
They are the ones that attacked us on 9/11 and formed groups like al Qaeda and ISIS.
Israel, with its imperial ambitions, has decided to try to ally with certain Sunnis, assuming that they will serve their desires more than Shia, and that Israel can take advantage of the Sunni/Shia conflict.
The US historically has sided with Israel, but that has become unpopular, particularly after the genocide in Gaza.
The US has a poor track record in choosing some of its allies.
In reality, Iran has major problems, but they would have been a better choice of ally; Iran is probably the most Western country in the area, with endorsing democracy, an educated middle class, basic rights and freedoms for its citizens, arts and literature, etc.
Obama was working towards this rather obvious goal. Obama made a deal that nominally halted Iran's supposed development of nuclear weapons, but in reality, Iran never had an actual desire for nuclear weapons. US intel says that Iran dropped whatever nuclear weapons ambition it had back in 2003. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty and has had a fatwa against nuclear weapons for decades. When Iran saber-rattles by enriching uranium to a higher extent, it is obviously a performative effort to establish leverage, frankly as a way to avoid violence. (Trump is doing the same thing when he repeatedly bluffs about "annihilation").
But Trump has ties to Israel and Saudi Arabia and the UAE, they give him billions of dollars and they likely also have compromising material on Trump as well.
Epstein, Trump's partner in crime, had deep ties to Israel.
So we are now stuck on the wrong side of history. And morality.
What is the likelihood that the best person this country has to negotiate with Iran is the president's fucking corrupt son-in-law?
DeleteZero.
DeleteWhite House Still Bars CNN, MS NOW and Politico Despite Court Ruling
ReplyDeleteA federal court ordered President Trump to reverse his ban on the three news outlets, but reporters were denied access on Thursday. Their lawyers asked the judge to intervene; he ordered the administration to respond by 12:30 p.m.
Because fuck you, what are you going to do about it.
Idk, the less I see of Trump the better.
Delete"WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—The estate of Adolf Hitler sued Donald J. Trump on Thursday for what it called the “blatant theft” of the late German chancellor’s design for an arch of triumph in Berlin.
ReplyDelete“President Trump’s proposed monument is a brazen appropriation of the arch designed by Mr. Hitler’s Nazi architect, Albert Speer,” the lawsuit charged. “It is our duty as trustees of the Adolf Hitler Estate to ensure that the Fuhrer’s intellectual property rights are vigorously protected.”
Furthermore, the lawyers alleged, “Trump’s entire presidency has crossed the line from homage to outright plagiarism of Mr. Hitler’s Third Reich™.”
The attorneys cited over 900 examples to support that claim, including their assertion that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller “is nothing more nor less than a karaoke version of Heinrich Himmler.”
Sometimes it is hard to tell whether Borowitz is kidding or not.
Ha Borowitz is spot on.
DeleteSearching the archives for "Ana Marie Cox," I happened on a post from 2/6/18 including this summary of Somerby Thought:
ReplyDelete"At ay rate, we've been swimming in fake news for decades now. At present, gigantic amounts of fake news come from Donald J. Trump and the right-wing pseudo-press.
"Here's how Kevin says to deal with this. This advice strikes us as faulty:
'DRUM (2/6/18): At the moment, all I can suggest is the Hannity test: If Sean Hannity is going crazy over something, the rest of us should ignore it. He’s an almost perfect barometer of what’s news and what’s nonsense.'
"We disagree. Liberals have to learn how to talk to the people who get conned by people like Hannity. If Hannity's saying it, Trump is too. Should we just ignore him as well?
"We have to learn how to talk to Those People. We have to tell them two things:
1) You're getting conned by people like Hannity.
2) You have a citizen's duty to stop accepting this.
"It won't be easy to do this. As all Those People Over There know, we liberals have spent our time, for many years, telling them things like this:
1) You're a gang of racists and homophobes.
2) You are very, very dumb, unlike us very bright liberals.
"The definitive example of this approach was the two weeks of dick jokes Rachel Maddow dumped on Tea Party heads in the spring of 2009, courtesy of guest star Ana Marie Cox—with Maddow (falsely) saying, night after night, that she was embarrassed by the off-color things Cox was surprisingly saying.
"A tribe which keeps people like that around is a tribe which isn't real honest. Meanwhile, conservatives understand what terrible people we are.
"For the most part, they don't understand how terrible Sean Hannity is. We aren't able to tell them because of who and what we are.
"We tend to be stupid, unpleasant, dumb. People in the other tribe know this. Only we remain barefoot and clueless with respect to this basic fact.
"Speaking very slowly now: No, you won't be able to convince all The Others that Hannity, and Donald J. Trump, are conning them. (Your lizard will quickly tell you this, urging you not to try.)
"Persuading all of them isn't the goal. Persuading enough of them is."
Yes, Somerby has been insane for quite a while now.
Delete“ conservatives understand what terrible people we are.”
DeleteI guess you agree with this, Dogface. It’s Somerby, showing us what a true liberal he really is, asking us to pity Trump, while telling us we’re all terrible people. It’s offensive.
Exactly. Somerby disliked the teabagger jokes told by Rachel Maddow and guest Ana Marie Cox on her show. Somerby also dislikes being called racist and sexist, when he says racist and sexist things. He thinks Democrats should ignore the bad things Republicans do, so that they will listen when we tell them they are being conned.
DeleteIf those others get upset about being called racist and sexist, how will they listen when they are called dumb enough to be conned by Hannity? Calling someone a rube, mark or target of a con is not any more flattering than calling them stupid about race, sexism and other social beliefs that mark the right as undereducated and stupid.
That is the fly in Somerby's ointment. And note that this is after the period in 2015 when he made his abrupt shift to the right, to support Trump and attack the left. Here he is telling the left to stop calling out Trump's lies because the right won't listen when we tell them they are stupid for believing those lies.
DG, you are showing us that Somerby is still saying the same stuff about how liberals should deal with Trump's lies.
What I don't get is why Somerby considers the left ugly people for recognizing those lies and calling out homophobia (which is a pernicious form of bigotry) and sexism (more bigotry). We are supposed to shut up about the lies so that the right will listen to us talk, but also shut up about the awful things the right says about minorities. After you shut up about all the things you care about, what is there left to say to these bigots? And if right wingers won't listen when you call them stupid, why would they listen when you call Trump stupid? They chose the guy and will defend him, just as they defend themselves from the truth about their own political and life choices.
So basically, Somerby argues that the way to reach the right is to shut up about their flaws, but if you shut up, how does that enable anyone to reach them? And that argument is as stupid as anything the right and Trump say. And Somerby thinks the way to reach the left and get us to be nicer to the right is to insult us daily, ignore our values and the things we care about, and tell us how awful WE are. And if that doesn't work to reach the right, as Somerby says, why would it enable Somerby to reach us on the left?
Our current plan on the left is to ignore the right with its stupidity and just win elections so that we can do a better job running this country ourselves. If the right cannot see the failure of their own approach, words won't convince them, so we will do a better job and they can come along for the ride and watch what happens when smarter people are put in charge.
Oddly, even Somerby should be able to see that not only does Trump lie and say stupid things, but his appointments and decisions have placed our country into great danger. If Somerby had used his platform to point out that Democrats do a better job and Trump is dangerous, perhaps there would be fewer stupid Republicans in the way of reforming our nation today.
Kevin Drum was never a Trump supporter.
I agree that we tend not to see that we can be stupid, unpleasant, and dumb. I think Somerby's comments section amply demonstrates the truth of these insights.
DeleteAnyone can be stupid, unpleasant and dumb. That doesn’t make them a terrible person. Where is Somerby’s vaunted empathy?
DeleteI happen to know a lot of decent, kind liberals, dogface. Somerby shits all over them, every fucking day.
DeleteDG, some of us are self-critical and examine our views and statements and actions regularly for conformance to our own expectations and ideals. Those of us who do this, tend to apologize to those we have wronged.
DeleteYOU come around and call names, attacking those who you disagree with, often on behalf of Somerby when he is criticized by commenters here. Name-callers who use words like stupid, unpleasant and dumb, are not making substantive comments about Somerby or anyone else. Somerby puts these words in the mouths of left wingers, but his idea of insults are the complaints that the behavior of others is bigoted and harmful to minorities. That isn't an insult but a demand for a change in derogatory behavior toward other people. Somerby blithely repeats a Gutfeld joke about Joy Behar, committing his own sexist act, while thinking he has done something wonderful by calling out Gutfeld's sexism. Yes, Gutfeld was sexist for making such a joke, but Somerby is just as sexist for repeating that joke instead of fact-checking, correcting and explaining why such jokes hurt women. When Somerby does something sexist like that, it is appropriate to label his
BEHAVIOR (not him as a person) as sexist.
I disagree with Somerby and DG that lefties are stupid, unpleasant, and dumb. I think it is entirely unhelpful for DG or Somerby to apply such words to left wingers who are quite sincerely trying to improve our society and better the lives of everyone (not just billionaires). None of that is dumb, stupid, or unpleasant (unless you are a billionaire). When billionaires get upset with you, I think that suggests you are doing something right, not bad.
DG, you aren't helping anything here. It would be better for you and for America's blue voters if you just packed up your troll toolkit and went away. I heard someone whisper at a right wing blog that Hannity needs your help, either that or your mother was calling you.
Let' me summarize 1:47:
Delete1) They're a gang of racists and sexists.
2) They are very, very dumb, unlike us very bright liberals.
You didn’t respond to 1:57 and 1:59, dogface. Somerby says “we” are “terrible people.” Even if some liberals are unpleasant, does that that make them terrible people? Trump lies, is corrupt and cruel, but Somerby not only doesn’t ever call him a terrible person, he asks us to pity Donald Trump. Why would he call liberals terrible people? Because he’s a fucking asshole.
Deletemh -- Context: Cox and Maddow were doing teabagging jokes night after night. Somerby thought this conduct was terrible, and he thought that it reflected poorly on the left that our biggest tribunes were engaging in such puerile conduct without even a whimper of protest from the rest of us.
DeleteDogface, Somerby didn’t say Maddow was a terrible person; he said WE are terrible people. He excuses trump’s cruelties and vulgarity. And what do you mean “protest from the rest of us?” What are the millions and millions of liberals supposed to do who weren’t watching Rachel Maddow? Does that make us terrible people because we didn’t say something about her dick jokes those couple of nights? It’s just so fucking stupid. Saying someone is a terrible person is the ultimate moral judgment from which no redemption is possible.
DeleteIs the reverse allowable, DG? “Liberals understand what terrible people conservatives are.” Oh except you would rush here to chastise us for characterizing all conservatives a particular way just because some conservatives were like that. such fucking hypocrites to both of you.
DeleteSo Somerby insults liberals, while telling them the key to winning over ... whatever watches and believes Sean Hannity, is NOT to insult them. It just seems so perfect.
DeleteNo. What he says:
Delete1. We should strive to persuade some of the Others that they are being conned by outlets like Fox.
2. This will be difficult to do because so many of us habitually call them names.
Exactly, Somerby's prescription for Dems is the very thing that will hurt Dems.
DeleteThis is a right wing vanity blog, nothing more.
“ many of us habitually call them names”
DeleteYou keep failing to address the point, DG. He didn’t say any of those things. He called us ALL terrible people, because of something that Maddow did.you are not addressing that accusation. He is saying that conservatives “understand”
that this is true. He doesn’t use his usual weasel words in that sentence. What this means is that HE thinks we are terrible people. You can certainly criticize Maddow or any other liberal for saying unpleasant things or calling people names, but he says that we are ALL terrible people because of the things some liberals are doing. You’re giving him way too much benefit of the doubt DG. It is clear that he thinks liberals are terrible people. And you and he do not accept it when a liberal says “liberals know that conservatives are terrible people”. You would and do have a fucking hissy fit every time we say something like that because you’d say we are vilifying all conservatives based on the statements of a few, or even many.
Face it, DG. You and Somerby are just fucking hypocrites.
DeleteHannity tells them what they want to hear. A lot of what they want to hear is ethnic and ethno-religious scapegoating and scaremongering. If you can't describe that for what it is, how can you convince them they are being "conned"?
DeleteBut beyond that, this is the typical reasoning employed by white people: only white people count. Minorites are motivated by seeing other people fight for them. Minorities are motivated by seeing racists called racists. But in the world of an old white fart like Somerby, only white people count: what matters to minorities is, at best, an afterthought. In reality, winning votes is a delicate balancing act between different interests and sensibilities. Tilt this way and maybe gain some votes, but LOSE votes elsewhere -- UNLESS ... only white people count.
Agree. Right wing hypocrites.
DeleteTo be fair, Republicans are proud of their lack of integrity, they view it as one of their superpowers, and DG and Somerby embody that perfectly.
DeleteI confess: I'm a fucking right-wing hypocrite troll who lacks integrity and - worst of all - I am a name-caller!
DeleteSo, DG, You mean, a name caller like Somerby, who called all of us liberals “terrible people?” Go to hell.
DeleteFair enough Dogface. Good to know.
Delete3:04 -- Only a terrible person would damn another to infinite pain for eternity because they disagree about the interpretation of a blog post, in my view.
DeleteI don’t know how someone could be more explicit in spouting a right wing viewpoint. They call us terrible people all the time. And Somerby says they understand that, because it’s true.. Well, I guess I’m just gonna go ahead and say that all conservatives are terrible people. Because it’s OK to say such things apparently even when referring to tens of millions of people, based upon the actions of one of their “tribunes”, and none of them spoke up against it. Somerby nullifies his own argument and you don’t even realize it, DG.
DeleteAnd where should all the liberals, all of whom are terrible people, go, DG? That commenter was only damning YOU to hell based on your comments here.
DeleteEmily compagno called Talarico a demon in human skin. No conservative objected. They are all terrible people.
DeleteTrump shared a racist image of Barack and Michelle Obama. No conservative objected. They’re all racist.
DeleteSo there is a video of a lady with a dairy farm bitching about high input costs, low market value, and her cheap labor pool is gone. But she would never vote for a Democrat, and she loves her Trump. So she gets pillaged in comments for being so easily duped. And then she replies with the old, you fucking liberals are such fucking assholes to me that I will never ever vote Dem. To that I say, fuck these idiots. There is no fix for their hatred of the others. Can't fix stupid. Etc.
DeleteTo be fair, Emily Compagno lied about her CV, her resume is completely made up.
DeleteSince liberals don't believe in God, what harm is there if they damn you to hell?
Deletemh - I don't share your reading of Somerby. I don't think it's reasonable or charitable to read him as believing all liberals are terrible people. I read him as saying conservatives "understand" that liberals are terrible, and that we liberals "tend to be" unpleasant and dumb.
Delete"Only a terrible person would damn another to infinite pain for eternity"
DeleteJesus/God condemns people that are not persuaded to believe in them to eternal pain and suffering.
You may be surprised to learn, humans can not just choose their beliefs.
That is kind of a harsh penalty for such a circumstance.
Jesus/God, they are not fucking around, they mean business.
DG, he says it enough times and enough different ways that his meaning is perfectly clear. here’s another example: “ We aren't able to tell them because of who and what we are.”
DeleteAnd who or what are we? Why, we’re terrible people.
The idea that if "liberals" were more pleasant, and even adopted some "conservative" notions, that Republicans would then vote for Dems, is not merely wrong, it is one of the dumbest ideas ever expressed.
DeleteDas ist nicht nur nicht richtig, es ist nicht einmal falsch!
But Somerby does not really believe that, he is not that dumb. Instead Somerby tries to hide his right wing views behind that dumb idea.
To date, only one person has fallen for it.
mh -- Do you really in your heart believe that Somerby thinks all liberals, without exception, are terrible people? I just think that's an unreasonable and extremely uncharitable interpretation of his writings.
DeleteAnd the fact of the matter is that actual Democratic candidates are not out there calling all their Republican constituents racist or sexist, or making dick jokes about some group or other. They’re doing outreach to Republicans and saying “I’m gonna work for all my constituents.” They don’t act like DG claims liberals act at all. But the fact that a republican voter in that candidate’s district is gonna say “well that person is a liberal; liberals all insult me, so I’m not voting for them”, completely ignoring the fact that their own candidate isn’t doing that. Liberals are held accountable for everything any liberal anywhere has said or has ever said. Republicans on the other hand never are.
DeleteDG, all I know is what he actually wrote. He is capable of phrasing it in other ways that make it clear that he doesn’t feel that way about liberals. But that’s the way he chose to state it over and over again in that passage that you quoted. It shouldn’t be up to what I think in my heart about a person I don’t know. All I have to go on is what he wrote and what he wrote is perfectly plain English. and he stated it similar ways in other posts that are easy to find. Rather frequently during that period of time. So I’m inclined to believe that he’s saying what he actually means. Can you find a passage where he says “oh I think liberals are actually good people and they have a lot of good ideas.” Has he ever stated such a thing?
Delete"Liberals are held accountable for everything any liberal anywhere has said or has ever said. Republicans on the other hand never are."
DeleteThat's overstating it a tad, but I think that's an important dynamic to understand. The battle tactics are not symmetric. There are more conservatives than liberals, and the shape of the battlefield favors them because of gerrymandering and state size. So we have to fight smarter if we want to prevail. Perhaps:
1. Convince them that they are being conned by propaganda outlets like Fox.
2. Refrain from the promiscuous use of epithets.
DJ DG wants to read Somerby literally when it fits his agenda and then read Somerby's mind when that fits his agenda.
DeleteDJ DG is scratching that record backwards and forwards.
What it boils down to is: DG is a troll, he never argues in good faith, so engaging with DG is futile, DG's mind is made up, it is baked in, he will not be persuaded otherwise. Typical right winger.
What is somewhat amusing is that DG, in his comments, proves what DG is arguing against.
Jesus doesn't believe in hell you hateful idiot.
Delete“ that's an important dynamic to understand. The battle tactics are not symmetric”
DeleteThat’s part of the problem , DG. Conservatives, of course, have pushed this tactic, but the media, including the mainstream media, also accept and operate under this state of affairs. Instead of acquiescing to it, and for Somerby to be saying, “we’re all terrible people blah blah blah,”Somerby should be fighting against these “rules of the game”, which are unfair and stacked against liberals. They didn’t just magically happen. They were adopted as tactics and they need to be fought against. It’s unfair and unreasonable to expect perfection of liberals, and never from conservatives; frankly, it’s impossible, and it’s wrong to let Republicans or the media get away with it. you have to fight against the way it is, since it’s wrong. But Somerby simply repeats this vile stuff.
If you recall when the mainstream media was ganging up on gore, misstating his remarks and going after him, Somerby didn’t say “well we’re all just terrible people and that’s just the rules of the game” He railed against the media for doing that to Gore. And in the passage you quoted, he’s doing exactly what they were doing to gore, except he’s doing it to all liberals.
Current partisan breakdown:
Delete28% Republican
29% Democrat
41% Independent
41% of Independents vote for D
32% of Independents vote for R
Recent CNN polling indicates that the Independent vote is even more slanted towards D.
Data indicates Independents do not "swing" their vote, instead they decide whether they will come out to vote or stay home.
In 2024, as in all recent presidential elections, 95% of Republicans voted R and 95% of Democrats voted D.
Uh, 4:06, are you familiar with the Bible?
DeleteMatthew 10:28: (it’s Jesus speaking) “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Jesus warned people to fear the One who can "destroy both soul and body in hell."
Somerby hasn't a clue how electoral politics work, and neither does DG. They are both right wing tools, yapping nonsense.
Deletemh - Somerby post 4/3/24:
Delete"For the record, we don't believe in terrible people."
How would you harmonize this thought into your reading of Somerby?
Somerby says whatever advances his agenda, whether it is accurate or not or something he truly believes or not.
DeleteSomebody must have hurt Dogface bad to pretend to be so naive.
So now I have a further confession to make: I'm also a damaged, naive, right-wing tool yapping nonsense because of my ignorance of the workings of electoral politics.
DeleteBut I must say: I stand in awe of the profound insights of your analyses!
Well said Dogface, we all agree.
DeleteDG, wasn't it you who said there were more Republicans than Democrats? That is objectively untrue. There are about the same, and a larger number of non-voters and independents (as described above). That shows ignorance of working politics in my opinion. Someone who endorses Somerby's idea of being nice to red voters so they will listen to blue criticisms of Trump is ridiculous, yet you defend it. You think your sarcasm contradicts what others have said here, but it is just juvenile negation without any argument or content.
DeleteFor the record, Somerby likes to have things all ways at once. That way he doesn't have to state an actual opinion. So he often says something like "Liberals are terrible" followed by "We don't believe any people are terrible" which results in his having said nothing, except why say liberals are terrible if you don't want that idea to linger in readers' minds? He thinks he can say indefensible things if he also denies them with remarks such as "anything is possible".
mh - You can't harmonize Somerby's statement, can you? You are left with two options:
Delete1. Somerby is being inconsistent, or
2. You simply misinterpret him.
But I can harmonize the statement readily. Somerby doesn't believe in terrible people. But conservatives "understand" that liberals are terrible because they are told things such as that liberals want to hack off the johnsons of young boys at school. And liberals "tend to be" "unpleasant and dumb" because they promiscuously call conservatives racist and stupid.
And, 3:58, that's interpreting Somerby "literally," reasonably, and charitably.
"DG, wasn't it you who said there were more Republicans than Democrats?"
DeleteNo, I said there were more conservatives than liberals. And the battlefield is skewed in another way, as well. They have a right-wing propaganda machine; we don't.
Oh, and I'm also an ignorant juvenile.
DeleteAnd here is another problem -- they lie:
Delete"Nevada election officials say all 185 voters whom the Department of Homeland Security identified as confirmed “noncitizens” are actually U.S. citizens, according to a Thursday report from The New York Times.
The finding comes after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed in July that as many as 15,903 noncitizens were registered to vote in Nevada — part of President Donald Trump’s broader allegation that more than 270,000 noncitizens were on voter rolls across Nevada, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
But Nevada officials said Tuesday that the federal government has yet to substantiate any of its claims.
[Mediate]
DG, Somerby shouldn't require your interpretations of what he means when he says incomprehensible or contradictory things. You are not a Somerby whisperer because you have no more access to his inner meanings, intentions or beliefs than anyone else here. Your interpretation only works this time if you assume that he believes his second statement but not the first one. If you assume he believes both of them, they are not reconciled by anything you said. Given that you have no more Somerby expertise than anyone else, you do not get to assert that either statement is true. The idea that he is deliberately lying is just as valid.
DeleteYou never see Dogface George act like he believes he's morally better than the 9/11 terrorists.
DeleteIf you've read him, you have to agreel.
I don't know if Dogface George wishes he was a better person than Mohammad Atta, but the rest of us do.
DeleteDo you believe in miracles?
DeleteIf so, hope DG will be more moral than a fascist some time.
How anyone can think Dogface George is morally superior to the average racist, sexist, misogynist Republican voter is beyond me.
DeleteHow could you tell? Yes, I believe the 9/11 terrorists are morally superior!
DeleteAnd 6:03 -- All I'm saying is my interpretation is literal, reasonable, consistent, and charitable, four tests that the opposing interpretation fails.
Dogface Georege?
DeleteMore moral than a Klansman?
It's to laugh.
But I think I'll rest my case with these last few commenters -- If they don't convince you that liberals might "tend to be unpleasant and dumb," I can't think what will.
Delete"Yes, I believe the 9/11 terrorists are morally superior!"
DeleteEven a stopped clock is right twice a day.
6:26,
DeleteDisparage liberals more, that'll sway them to your way of thinking.
Here’s a thought experiment. Bob shows up Monday with his new focus and tone and starts his post with, “Of course, Republican voters are nothing but a bunch of toothless hillbillies…” Now, does Dogface go along for the ride? You’ll be able to find out for sure if he’s an actual self-loathing appeaser or just a run-of -the-mill Somerby fanboy.
DeleteLet's see: I'm an immoral, racist, sexist, misogynist, terrorist, self-loathing, appeaser/fanboy Klansman who is being scolded for (wait for it!) disparaging others.
DeleteBut: At least I'm not dumb and unpleasant!
mh: "we" is not "ALL".
DeleteAnonymous 4:09
Delete"for Somerby to be saying, “we’re all terrible people blah blah blah,”Somerby should be fighting against ..."
He never said we were "all" terrible people.
8:17: He said, and I quote, “Meanwhile, conservatives understand what terrible people we are.” We=liberals. If he had intended to say “ meanwhile, conservatives understand what terrible people some liberals are”, he could have said that. He did not.
DeleteHe could have said that. But he did not. Also, he did not say "conservatives understand what terrible people we "all" are."
DeleteYou introduced the word "all", not anyone else.
" The foreigners understood how fat we Americans are."
DeleteWe Americans are fat. But that doesn't mean that you are fat. Do you understand?
Sure, that’s what conservatives — not Somerby — understand. But we know that Somerby doesn’t believe this because he explicitly and formally told us that he doesn’t believe in terrible people.
DeleteBut I repeat myself.
9:17/9:19 - To back up your point, when Somerby talks about “who and what we are,” he says that we “tend to be” stupid, unpleasant and dumb. This is an explicit denial that all liberals are this way.
Deletemh introduced the word "all" into the discussion and then used it over and over about 10 times pretending like Somerby used the term.
Delete10:00 - That’s because he’s viewing the language through the lens of his preconceived theory (Somerby is a wolf in sheep’s clothing) and he’s struggling to twist the language to conform to his theory.
DeleteNo, you have no idea what he means. It could mean all libs are sometimes stupid etc.
DeleteSomerby is frequently unclear. DG is an idiot to think he knows Somerby’s mind.
DeleteIf Americans are fat, they are all fat. He didn’t say “some”.
Delete"But: At least I'm not dumb and unpleasant!"
Delete... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It does not logically mean: “Every American is overweight, without exception.”
DeleteThe same applies to statements such as “Americans drive big cars,” “teenagers stay up late,” or “lawyers are argumentative.”
"“You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?” The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic—you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.” -- Hillary Clinton
DeleteSome statements can be made with the expectation that everyone will understand what is actually being said. Some can't. Why is that?
MH, I can see why you would want to change the subject.
DeleteIf you were replying to me: first, G and H, while adjacent to each other in the alphabet, are not the same letter; second, if you think what I said was changing the subject, I advise you to sue your parents for dropping you on the head a dozen times too many in your childhood.
Delete“Liberals understand what bigots republicans are.”
DeleteDo you think that statement means that not all republicans are bigots? If not, then DG wouldn’t disapprove of it.
Somerby is a careful writer, insisting on precise meanings of words and statements, while himself often employing qualifying words, called “weasel” words, to make sure he isn’t seen as making blanket statements. He did not do that here. The twisting of the plain meaning of Somerby’s statement by commenters intent upon whitewashing him is ludicrous.
DeleteMG,: What does mh's misquoting of Somerby by adding the word 'ALL' have to do with Hillary Clinton's deplorables comment?
Delete‘Do I Annihilate the Islamic Republic?’ Trump Issues Shocking Threat to Iran in UN Speech
ReplyDeleteNot a fucking whimper of protest from the very smart not racist at all maggoty base.
Welp, it's OK this imbecile is ramping up WWIII, when the nukes kill us all the good Niger hating Christians will go to heaven.
DeleteLiberal Matthew Yglesias a year ago predicted that Trump would make crime worse in DC. Today Yglesias posted, "DC crime has fallen enough that the CVS by my house has stopped locking the locks on the cases they installed during Peak Shoplifting and it’s such a quality of life upgrade."
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that Trump made crime better?
See
https://x.com/mattyglesias/status/2102068801541947440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2103143049895592228%7Ctwgr%5E3db0b2f43bc65f94c38f9c7d9963db34004c1aa2%7Ctwcon%5Es4_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finstapundit.com%2F824955%2F
Nope.
DeleteYglesias is a classic liberal and a neoliberal.
Crime was on a downward trend under Biden, reaching 50 year lows.
Specifically crime in DC was on the decline due to policies implemented by the Dem mayor as well as Biden's broader policies..
Then Trump brought in the National Guard and crime went up, but the mayor has adjusted and is counteracting Trump's crime inducing actions.
Notably, Trump is the most criminal president in history.
He certainly made his bank account better, as in vastly larger, by corruptly profiting off his office.
DeleteYou don't assess a city-wide trend by visiting your local CVS.
Delete"Donald Trump is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life."
DeleteDavid in Cal never met a child rapist, he wouldn't want to emulate.
DeleteCrime decreased because leaded gasoline was phased out in the 1970s.
DeleteAmong other reasons.
Delete"Let's Push Prices Down': Energy Secretary Wright Asks Oil Industry to Curb Exports"
ReplyDeleteMore Communism from Trump.
To say nothing about crude vs gas and refining issues, oil is globally traded, "curbing exports" will generally cause prices to increase.
DeleteHistorically, price controls have a decent track record, but that is not what this admin is going for, they are taking shots in the dark, shooting themselves in the foot.
Thomas Sowell, who was being hyped by some dimwit here, is vehemently against price controls and tariffs, but says BIDEN'S economic policies were destroying America. I am 100% certain he'd support Trump for a third time were Trump able to run, once again claiming Democratic economic policies would destroy America. He is a jello-brained ideologue, trotted out to give cover to the uglier side of the conservative agenda. But he gets paid good money.
DeleteWell said.
DeletePlease, please, please lower your prices! From an administration that would never ever consider a windfall tax from the ill begotten gains accrued as the result of this illegal war. It’s all performative.
DeleteSomerby displays his sexism when he singles out Rachel Maddow and Ana Marie Cox for mocking the Tea Party members who are wearing teabags on their hats, making "dick jokes" that are actually derived from gay humor. The right wingers wearing those teabags are oblivious to the meaning of their hats and statements to the people in the gay community, who find them hilarious. Somerby has always disliked Maddow, perhaps for being gay, although he says it is because he cannot stand her smirking and cheerful banter. He comes across as envious of her but hating her is homophobic. But Maddow has as much right to talk about such things as Joe Rogan and the other manosphere assholes who regularly make crude sexual jokes in celebration of testosterone.
ReplyDeleteSomerby has periodically objected to women telling sex jokes, even though male comedians (inclluding Gutfeld) tell them all the time. It is as if women are not actual participants in sex acts, but madonna/whores who must be innocent sexually and reviled if they are sex positive (like Stormy or E.Jean Carroll) because women shouldn't know such words much less joke about men's sex flops. Maddow and Cox are the anti-Gutfelds, liberal women mocking the weird attitudes and sexual misbehavior on the right, where assault and rape are admired instead of prosecuted. The right doesn't seem to have a clue where crimes begin and sexist entitled knocking women around ends. Somerby commits sexist mistakes frequently in his blog because he has no idea how liberal women feel about his views. His own sexism blinds him to liberal attitudes, whether held by Rachel Maddow and Ana Marie Cox or Gloria Steinem or Hillary Clinton. He cannot be educated because he won't read his comments, but he comes across as not just clueless but terrible in his attitudes toward sex and women.
Agree.
DeleteYou are a sex joke.
DeleteIf you find this funny there is something wrong with you.
Delete"Somerby has periodically objected to women telling sex jokes"
DeleteWhat, praytell, was the basis for Somerby's objection to women telling sex jokes?
This is not humor:
ReplyDelete"WASHINGTON — The Republican candidate to be Alabama’s next governor admitted Thursday he actively avoids reading anything — because only his opinion matters to him.
"No, I read very little," Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) told Raw Story. "I want my own opinion, not somebody else's."
The former Auburn football coach is leading polls in his gubernatorial contest in ruby-red Alabama, but former U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is hoping to ride the nation’s anti-Donald Trump sentiment into the governor’s mansion in November." [Rawstory]
I suspect this is a widely held attitude among right wing voters. Or perhaps Tuberville is trying to encourage his supporters to avoid reading news so that he can run unopposed.
The next Republican voter who isn't a bigot, will be the first.
DeleteThat right there is toothless hillbillyism in action: education leads to reason, reason leads to questioning, questioning leads to doubt, and doubt upsets the established order.
Delete