For me, it's this "sanewashing" and both-sides inclination which most makes me want to detach from American news, not the actual news itself. Of course, the horrors often depicted are bad enough. The disingenuous framing from a top-down editorial perspective is truly alienating, though, and it undermines the reporting it's supposed to enhance. We need uncompromising journalism more than ever, but the old guard of the press fails to meet the moment.
What the hell is he even up to here? It's like with Iran, first we're going to bomb the shit out of 'em because the Iranian government is shooting protesters (can you imagine such a thing?) and then the very next day he says, "Oh, they listened to me and they're not killing anyone any more." Followed by the Iranian leader saying "Oh yes we are." But Trump moves on, confidently claiming he brought those Iranians to heel.
Or how about Venezuela? Maduro's Vice President is now an American friend, and wonderful, even though the same gang is still in power. What's actually happening to the people of Venezuela doesn't matter one bit, it never did.
He constructs these little dramas where he plays the hero and gets to claim victory even though there's no victory to claim. Who is this all for? I suppose his superfans can now walk around feeling great that he notched up another "win" with his supposed "Greenland deal." The only constant is that reality never enters into it, Trump's need to pose as a big man and his superfans need to worship him are all that seem to matter.
And there's a "pushing against an open door" aspect to it all. Wow, we can import oil from Venezuela again, even though we ourselves were the ones who cut off Venezuelan oil imports in the first place to pressure the Chavez and then Maduro regimes. Great, we can open up more bases in Greenland now, even though we ourselves were the ones who closed the bases at the end of the Cold War in the first place. Only idiots see these things as "wins", but idiots are the only people who matter to him.
Great summary, as usual. Sanewashing continues to be a massive problem for the millions of people who do want real coverage of what’s happening (it obviously doesn’t matter for everyone following maga media). But emphasizing Trump’s literally calling it out shows how much further the “liberal” media has fallen.
Thanks for your work. Sensible people stopped taking Trump's words and antics seriously a long time ago ... maybe ever. He's an infection on the body politic, for which our immunity proved inadequate. Not listening helps. The wonder is that anyone attempts to decode him at all -- it's just noise but he's got most of the world locked into his game.
Now this would have been the correct headline. First line of Heather Cox Richardson today:
“At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this morning, a visibly exhausted president of the United States of America rambled in angry free association in a speech before the world’s leaders.”
Thank you Parker. Your coherent analysis is much appreciated. I think the Democratic Party leadership is unfortunately stuck in the same time warp. We’re not at a Connecticut country club in the 60’s; we’re dealing with a NYC mobster.
Roy Cohn, who came to prominence wrecking lives and the first amendment with Sen McCarthy in the 50’s (and persecuting homosexuals not just “Communists”), eventually died of AIDS because he was a homosexual (closeted). SMH
Oh geesh. Pull back down your skirts and take a Neville Chamberlain mistake pill. Protecting EUTards and feminized liberals is a thankless full time job. The only guarantee is that they will cry for being saved after they attempted to thwart the attempts to prevent the threats.
The kind of analysis you do is sorely needed in the current environment. Thank you so much for your work.
Thank you so much for what you do.
For me, it's this "sanewashing" and both-sides inclination which most makes me want to detach from American news, not the actual news itself. Of course, the horrors often depicted are bad enough. The disingenuous framing from a top-down editorial perspective is truly alienating, though, and it undermines the reporting it's supposed to enhance. We need uncompromising journalism more than ever, but the old guard of the press fails to meet the moment.
What the hell is he even up to here? It's like with Iran, first we're going to bomb the shit out of 'em because the Iranian government is shooting protesters (can you imagine such a thing?) and then the very next day he says, "Oh, they listened to me and they're not killing anyone any more." Followed by the Iranian leader saying "Oh yes we are." But Trump moves on, confidently claiming he brought those Iranians to heel.
Or how about Venezuela? Maduro's Vice President is now an American friend, and wonderful, even though the same gang is still in power. What's actually happening to the people of Venezuela doesn't matter one bit, it never did.
He constructs these little dramas where he plays the hero and gets to claim victory even though there's no victory to claim. Who is this all for? I suppose his superfans can now walk around feeling great that he notched up another "win" with his supposed "Greenland deal." The only constant is that reality never enters into it, Trump's need to pose as a big man and his superfans need to worship him are all that seem to matter.
And there's a "pushing against an open door" aspect to it all. Wow, we can import oil from Venezuela again, even though we ourselves were the ones who cut off Venezuelan oil imports in the first place to pressure the Chavez and then Maduro regimes. Great, we can open up more bases in Greenland now, even though we ourselves were the ones who closed the bases at the end of the Cold War in the first place. Only idiots see these things as "wins", but idiots are the only people who matter to him.
Great summary, as usual. Sanewashing continues to be a massive problem for the millions of people who do want real coverage of what’s happening (it obviously doesn’t matter for everyone following maga media). But emphasizing Trump’s literally calling it out shows how much further the “liberal” media has fallen.
Literally the very first email I got after reading your post was from Semaphor Flagship with the headline: “Trump Announces Greenland Deal.”
Two headlines in the Guardian website, one sitting directly on top of the other:
"Trump walks back Greenland tariffs threat, citing vague 'deal' over territory"
"Trump steps up Greenland annexation demand and attacks European leaders at Davos"
Got that? He "steps up" AND "walks back"!
Thanks for your work. Sensible people stopped taking Trump's words and antics seriously a long time ago ... maybe ever. He's an infection on the body politic, for which our immunity proved inadequate. Not listening helps. The wonder is that anyone attempts to decode him at all -- it's just noise but he's got most of the world locked into his game.
Now this would have been the correct headline. First line of Heather Cox Richardson today:
“At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this morning, a visibly exhausted president of the United States of America rambled in angry free association in a speech before the world’s leaders.”
Thank you Parker. Your coherent analysis is much appreciated. I think the Democratic Party leadership is unfortunately stuck in the same time warp. We’re not at a Connecticut country club in the 60’s; we’re dealing with a NYC mobster.
Roy Cohn, who came to prominence wrecking lives and the first amendment with Sen McCarthy in the 50’s (and persecuting homosexuals not just “Communists”), eventually died of AIDS because he was a homosexual (closeted). SMH
Oh geesh. Pull back down your skirts and take a Neville Chamberlain mistake pill. Protecting EUTards and feminized liberals is a thankless full time job. The only guarantee is that they will cry for being saved after they attempted to thwart the attempts to prevent the threats.
Well, you certainly sound like an asshole.
This is always the correct response to Frank. Not one more word needed, thanks.