Déjà Vu All Over Again
Eyes on the prize, American media
Anybody who thought the news cycle would go back to normal—or even within a million light-years of normal after Joe Biden won the 2020 election, was sadly mistaken. But even by post-insurrection standards, the onslaught of news over the last couple of weeks has been head-spinning—and I’m only talking about what’s been going on domestically.
To re-cap—and in no particular order:
After voting against $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine, more than two dozen Senate Republicans have recently demanded that President Biden do more to help Ukraine.
In primary elections held this month in Texas—the first after the state’s latest round of voter suppression laws went into effect—the mail-in ballots of over 18,000 voters in the state’s most populous counties were rejected. As evidence that these laws did exactly what they were intended to do, Black voters were disproportionately likely to be disenfranchised.
The New York Times editorial board revealed in a recent column that it doesn’t understand what the 1st amendment is or how it works.
Republican Senator Mike Braun floated the idea that the right to interracial marriage should be left up to the sates and Sen Marsha Blackburn suggested that access to birth control was unconstitutional.
After it became clear that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was not going to move forward with the case against Donald and the Trump Organization, it was revealed that Mark Pomerantz, one of the senior prosecutors who resigned as a result of Bragg’s decision, wrote in his resignation letter that he believed Donald is “guilty of numerous felony violations” and that failing to hold him accountable was “a grave failure of justice.”
Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, participant in the January 6thinsurrection and active seditionist, claimed that Donald asked him quote “to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency.”
It was reported that in the months between the election and the Inauguration Ginni Thomas, wife of perjurer and illegitimate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, exchanged 29 texts messages with then-chief-of-staff Mark Meadows. In one she claimed “the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that Clarence Thomas was the lone dissent in the Supreme Court’s rejection of Donald's bid to block the release of some presidential records to the January 6thCommittee.
It’s been reported that Ted Cruz, senator and active seditionist, worked directly with Donald between Election Day and Jan. 6. He was deeply involved in helping craft a plan to keep Donald in power—which, of course, would have required overturning the results of a free and fair election which Cruz proved he was completely willing to do
Donald is once again soliciting the help of war criminal Vladimir Putin to get dirt on Joe Biden, the guy who pulverized him in the 2020 election. His goal is to weaken Biden ahead of the 2024 election but also to undermine our commander-in-chief during a time of great danger for our national security.
A federal judge ruled that Donald “vigorously campaigned for Pence to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election” which amounted to “a coup in search of a legal theory. The illegality of the plan,” the judge wrote, “was obvious.”
And, of course, there’s a gap of SEVEN-AND-A-HALF HOURS in Donald’s White House call log on the day of the insurrection that he both planned and incited.
So what have the mainstream media been focusing on? What “news” has risen above these blockbuster, potentially game-changing reports?
Well, towards the end of the speech he gave in Poland, President Biden said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.“ He was, of course, referring to Putin. This statement is something any sane person would find unobjectionable. Yet members of the press referred to it as a “gaffe,” as a “distraction,” and as “undisciplined.” Some reporters claimed that this—more than any of these other events I’ve mentioned—sent “shock-waves” around the world.
And then yesterday, after hearing Ginni Thomas is a private citizen who was merely exercising her 1st amendment rights (just as an aside—why does nobody seem to know what that means?); after being told that regardless of her involvement in helping to orchestrate a coup, her poor husband should be left alone—
there it was on the front-page of The Washington Post—above the fold right next to reporting about the war in Ukraine—two stories about Hunter Biden—one about his godforsaken laptop. This afternoon the story about his deals with a Chinese energy company was below the fold but only two columns over from an article about the almost eight hours missing from Donald’s January 6th call logs.
I don’t know if it’s bias, lack of seriousness, a failure to grasp the problem, or pure greed but if allowed to continue unchecked our corporate media are going to be the end of us.
I had a fascinating conversation tonight with the great John Fugelsang. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
Each of the events you describe are troubling - all together it is horrifying. The media is focusing on ratings - not news! Thank you for the work you are doing Mary
When you live in an area where EVERYONE watches FOX "news," listens to Joe Rogan, Alex Jones, Rush Limbaugh before he croaked, Pat Robertson, and on and on, I don't feel like there is any hope of saving our democracy. These people, and we saw them elect 45 so there are MANY OF THEM, have been brainwashed over the last 3 decades at least. When the Fairness Doctrine ended Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, et al took the ball and everyone's brains and ran.