MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 What happened in the Oval: Are we in the midst of a Weeke That Was—an historically serious moment? Concerning that, time will tell. As to what actually happened last week in the Oval, we think a lengthy report by CNN included an admirable degree of detail. F … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2025 We're now in a Week That Was: "What evil lurks in the heart of man? Only The Shadow knows!" In fairness, that wasn't exactly the slogan. The slogan in question belonged to a long-running radio show, way back in the days before TV came along. The radio show c … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 2025 ...for the way he sat in his chair: Bright and early, at 6:07 a.m., Peter Doocy gave voice to the mandated messaging of his corporate owners. In his normal role, Doocy serves as the Fox News Channel's "senior White House correspondent." This morning, he was … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2025 The Vances were already present: Sometimes, cultural schisms come into being—cultural schisms which cut too deep to be resolved in any short-term way. These schisms may lead to wars. Sometimes the wars are military in nature. Sometimes the wars are politic … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025 Commander shouts and fumes: Is it possible that Vladimir Putin is getting tired of all the winning? We start with the pair of headlines which have just appeared atop the front page of the online New York Times: Trump-Zelensky Meeting Turns Into a Shoutin … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025 Top org (almost) gets it right: As we've noted, Gutfeld! isn't a late night show. It also isn't a comedy show. Technically, Gutfeld! is a (mainly) primetime show. It actually airs before prime time all up and down the west coast. Gutfeld! is also a show … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2025 The demise of American discourse: Late yesterday afternoon, we didn't know who "Lawrence" was. During yesterday's cabinet meeting, the commander had repeated his gloomy tale about the way American kids were now the dumbest kids in the world. As he'd do … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2025 That's part of the current charade: Certs was widely known to be a breath mint. But Certs was also a candy mint. As the leading authority on the subject explains, everyone knew that at one time. That said, it doesn't work that way with the Gutfeld! pro … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025 Storyline All the Way Down: For decades, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has published a large volume of education data from four major testing programs—the Naep, the Timss, the Pisa and the Pirls. For decades, we've been asking th … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2025 Only within a charade: The final score was 217-215—and it wasn't even an NBA all-star game! In the midst of this conflagration, "the most authoritative and trusted source of entertainment business news" decided it was time to profile the Fox News Chan … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 Let's take a look at the record: We almost never watched Joy Reid's MSNBC program, which has now been canceled. There's a bit of a backstory there. When we started this site in 1998, an individual could actually watch every cable news / PBS program of c … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025 Let's take a look at the record: We mentioned this point several times in yesterday morning's report. We want to stress it again. Within the context of "cable news," Greg Gutfeld's eponymous program on the Fox News Channel does boast a very strong viewe … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2025 Or then again, maybe it wasn't: Could something be "wrong" with President Trump? Here's the reason we ask: Late last night, with midnight approaching, the commander was at it again, posting the furious message shown below at his Truth Social site. He was … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2025 At Variety, that's now called "late night:" In fairness, Variety's Tatiana Sigel isn't a political journalist. That isn't what she is! For the record, Variety describes itself as "the most authoritative and trusted source of entertainment business news, … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2025 A passage from Mary Trump's book: Is something wrong with President Trump? Yesterday afternoon, at the White House, there he went again! In the past week, the commander's approval ratings have been in decline in several major polls. When ABC News asked … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 Different parts of the empire strike back: Major parts of the Murdoch empire continue to fight the commander. Good grief! The New York Post continued to school him about Vladimir Putin right on today's front page. You can see the front page by clicking t … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 No one could call her a slouch: Conceptually, physical illness is easy. By way of contrast, so-called mental illness ("mental disorder") is relatively hard. Also this: As we noted a few weeks back, there seem to be hundreds of (clinical) "mental disorder … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 "Dictator" unmentioned at Fox: All in all, the early headlines weren't especially good. The commander had seemed to say that it was actually Ukraine which had actually started the war. That nation's president was a "dictator," he then unmistakably said … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2025 Also, what the president wants to tell Putin: Yesterday, was the madness general over this flailing nation? We'd be inclined to say yes. Let's start with an announcement which is receiving little notice. The announcement was made by Pete Hegseth. Here' … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2025 Except on Fox & Friends: The madness is back with a vengeance! For viewers of Blue America's cable news, it started yesterday afternoon, when the commander made the statement shown below. In his statement, he's referring to President Zelensky's compla … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2025 And we don't mean about Ukraine: We start today with a news report in the New York Times. At issue is the mental / cognitive / intellectual functioning of the whole human race—of "the whole wide universe." In fairness, everybody makes mistakes! Remark … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025 News orgs avert their gaze: Late yesterday afternoon, we linked you to Alex Griffing's report for Mediaite. It concerned the latest crazy remark. Shortened headline include, the report started as shown: Musk Says 60 Minutes Staffers ‘Deserve a Long Pris … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025 The Mayo Clinic speaks: We'll never forget our one-on-one luncheon with MSNBC's Chris Matthews. It was post-election 1996, or it might have been post-election 1998. No one ever explained to us why the event had been arranged, though we came away with a … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2025 We now have the obvious answer: Over the course of the past several weeks, we've been asking the world's most obvious question: Is it possible that something is "wrong" with Elon Musk? We now have the world's most obvious answer. For Alex Griffing's repo … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2025 What Dagen McDowell said: There's a reason why we keep citing the "night assault" which destroyed sacred Troy—the assault described by Professor Knox way back in 1990. We do so because, at times like these, we humans are wired for incomprehension. Our wi … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2025 Also, could Musk be the world's dumbest person? It didn't take long for Masha Gessen to make use of a key term. We're referring to something Gessen says in the new column which appears in this morning's New York Times. Presumably, Gessen was speaking col … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2025 Also, first sign of what looks like a comeback: If there really was such a thing as terrible people, these might be terrible people! We refer to the "bobbleheads" (Thomas Friedman's term) who were spotted reading from script on this morning's Fox & Fri … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2025 We lack a way to discuss it: It's a famous formulation from a Woody Guthrie anthem. The famous song is called Pretty Boy Floyd. The passage goes like this: Pretty Boy Floyd [...] As through this world I've wandered I've seen lots of funny men. Some rob … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 Is something being withheld? "Something we were withholding made us weak?" Below, you see part of Michelle Goldberg's new column for the New York times. She claims that Donald J. Trump, and some of those around him, want to bring the whole of academia cr … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 They tried to rig the election: As of yesterday afternoon, the accusation had spread. A termite on a "cable news" program advanced the claim last Friday night—and others may have believed it. Yesterday afternoon, as Prime Minister Modi looked on, the fol … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Transcribe O'Donnell Now! Now that a new person sits at its helm, MSNBC should start transcribing the programs of one of its talkers. Years back, "The Lock Him Up Network" stopped transcribing its primetime cable news programs. We're still inclined to … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 In the Catturd seat: It's as we told you yesterday: An intellectual giant named "Catturd" said it. And when Catturd said it, the intellectual giant Elon Musk believed it—or at least, so it had seemed. Forbes came along and debunked the claim. But Donal … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 We gave the report a look: Is something "wrong" with Elon Musk? Could something be clinically wrong? We can't offer a clinical assessment. But in the realm of the colloquial, good God! Is there any bullsh*t this disordered man doesn't rush to affirm? … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 ...Citizen Musk affirmed it: Is something "wrong" with Elon Musk? How about with Donald J. Trump? To our eye and to our ear, Musk has the possible feel of a stone-cold nut, with the commander not far behind. Under current arrangements, major American … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2025 Ever so slowly they turn? Is something (clinically) wrong with President Trump? Is it possible that some such state of affairs playing a role in our politics? We think it's a blindingly obvious question, but we can't offer some such assessment. Then aga … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2025 Can that really be what he said? To our ear, Gail Collins is flirting with (conceptual) danger in this week's Conversation with Bret Stephens. To our ear, Collins is skating out onto very thin ice. By the established rules of the game, she's not suppose … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025 Then too, we're embarrassed: San Mateo, California won the Super Bowl—again! We're almost tired of all the winning. Let's count the wins again. We start with the man called Terrific—with quarterback Tom Brady. The pride of San Mateo's Serra High went to … | Continue reading
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025 ...no one said a word: It's hard to capture the madness of what was said last Friday night. It's hard to capture the madness of the (fully predictable) silence with which that madness was met. The first madness belongs to Red America; the second madness … | Continue reading
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025 Inquiring minds ought to ask: Kevin Drum, a rational person, is puzzled by Donald J. Trump. In the current instance, he's puzzled by an executive order from Trump which could or would have the effect of wiping out medical research. He voices his puzzlemen … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2025 ...as described on the Fox News Channel: What does USAID do in Latin America? All in all, we have no idea. The same can be said of most people. Triggered by the ongoing attempt to terminate the federal agency, the Associated Press recently published a n … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025 No, really—is something wrong? Is something "wrong" with Elon Musk? No really—is something wrong? The latest string of bizarre behavior starts with the gang of bro/defectives he's siccing on the republic. One such fellow was 25-year-old Marko Elez. We'll … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025 This is our own "night assault:" As we've noted in the past, the "night assault" which occasioned the death of sacred Troy isn't described in the Iliad. That said, make no mistake—we're currently experiencing our own present-day "night assault." The Iliad … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 We'll suggest that you listen to Reason: “What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?” We apologize for repeating the opening line of the 1970 Erich Segal blockbuster novel, Love Story. That opening line popped into our heads as we pond … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 Did he spot a ball of worms? Is something wrong with Elon Musk? No, really—is something "wrong" with Musk? We've shared some of the gentleman's tweets in recent days. We should have included his additional comment, offered this Monday, about the ball of … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 ...we explain the need for five votes: Jobs in the Senate must be the greatest jobs in the world! We say that after watching the things people will do to avoid ever losing such jobs. Three extremely shaky nominees—Kennedy, Gabbard and Patel—still await … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 Two days later, this: We're going to start today's report with rare words of self-endorsement. We revealed the framework for this week's rumination when we posted Monday morning's report. The one-word framework was this: MADMEN We said the commander is … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025 Our series resumes tomorrow: Over at the Washington Post, Ruth Marcus has given voice to a matter of opinion. Her column appeared on the Post's web site one hour before we walked in the door. On the front page of the site, it was teased in the following … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025 We won't post until later: In the critically-acclaimed film of the same name, Joseph Cotten scoured post-war Vienna is search of "the third man." In recent weeks, Blue America's tribunes have been scouring the countryside, looking for "the fourth vote." … | Continue reading