TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023It's time to revisit this topic: Who the heck is (Dr.) Bandy X. Lee? It's time to revisit this topic. The leading authority on her life starts us off with this impressive thumbnail:Bandy Xenobia Lee is an American psychiatrist whose scholarly work includes th … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 16, 2023Our lives behind high walls: In our view, Howard Kurtz has always been a bit sharper than the average mainstream press bear. It's never easy to ascribe cluelessness to Kurtz.All the way back in 1999, when working for CNN and the Washington Post, Kurtz made th … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 15, 2023Also, Bandy X. Lee's latest essay: We lost a lot of time today. That said, we thought you deserved to see Donald J. Trump's Mother's Day message, as delivered on Truth Social.Mother's Day has always been special to Trump. Yesterday, this is the message he post … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 15, 2023Collins confronts some high walls: At least as judged by conventional norms, it looked like a sensible question. The question was part of last week's "town hall." It went exactly like this:COLLINS (5/10/23): When it comes to big questions about what your immig … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 13, 2023...for the past million years: In Walker Percy's acclaimed first novel, Binx Bolling conducts a search.Today, we continue our current search. This is the question we're asking:Did Donald J. Trump really say it? Did Donald J. Trump really say that, as of toda … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2023And also, concerning our tribe: Yesterday morning, on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough voiced his puzzlement over one part of Wednesday night's town hall.He said he was shocked by the audience:SCARBOROUGH (5/11/23): I've got to say, the most shocking part was an a … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2023How quickly they forget: "Time passes slowly up here in the mountains," the famous songwriter once claimed.Down here, on the plains outside Troy, events now tend to move at lightning speed.Since we started this week's report, a federal jury in New York City fo … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2023Mr. Gorbachev, build up that wall: Finally, it was finished.Donald J. Trump had spent a bit more than an hour making a series of absurd misstatements and talking over Kaitlan Collins.Now, a gaggle of CNN reporters and analysts began to discuss what they'd se … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2023That said, dumbness spreads: "He's just so dumb," the frustrated analyst said. "Either that, or he plays dumb."The analyst to whom we refer is Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough. He made those remarks on this morning's show, at roughly 7:10 Eastern.Scarborough wa … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023Philip Bump says maybe it was: When journalism becomes thoroughly tribal—when it's thoroughly segregated by viewpoint—you can be completely sure of one thing:You can be sure that we'll constantly hear the claims which make us tribally happy. Within our trib … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023Tonight, he's on CNN: As Michelle Cottle notes in today's New York Times, the Trump Show continues tonight.Yesterday, a verdict was reached in a civil trial. Tonight, it's on to a CNN Town Hall!What happens yesterday in that trial? On the front page of toda … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023...that it will be challenged on cable: Friend, do you have a chance to be a cable news guest?If so, understand this:As long as you stick to preferred Storyline, nothing you say will make so little sense that it will ever be questioned or challenged.Below, we' … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023Initially, no one said so: It happened at 5:10 Eastern, last Friday afternoon, on the popular "cable news" TV show, Deadline: White House.Earlier that day, videotaped excerpts from the deposition of Donald J. Trump had become publicly available. At 5:09 Easter … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023Happier days were (briefly) here again: For one brief shining moment this Sunday, happier days were briefly here again.It was a crisp, clear, cool and sunny morning out on the deck once known as a porch. Recalling happier days, we briefly positioned ourselves o … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023Naked and afraid: Last fall, on October 19, Donald J. Trump sat for a deposition as part of the rape / defamation lawsuit brought against him by E. Jean Carroll.Trump was questioned by Roberta Kaplan, an attorney representing Carroll.Last Friday, 48 minutes of … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2023A remarkable twenty-two minutes: For today, we'll restrict ourselves to the comic relief. We'll start at the outset of a remarkable 22 minutes of pseudo-discussion on modern-day "cable news." We refer to a 22-minute segment on yesterday's Deadline: White Hous … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023As cultural norms decay: Our cultural norms, such as they were, have been in a visible state of decay. For one example, consider the recent, videotaped deposition of one Donald J. Trump.Over the course of the past two days, parts of the deposition were played f … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 2023As cultural norms decay: Breaking! We're losing a chunk of time this morning. We expect to be posting in early afternoon as cultural norms decay. | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2023Weird, troubled star undone: Now that Tucker Carlson's gone, everyone's mouthing off. In this morning's New York Times, Charles Blow has a column about the meaning of that (one) text message. But so does A. O. Scott—and he's the Times' film critic!(For unknow … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, MAY 4, 2023A look at the Wallace rules: As we noted yesterday afternoon, Diogenes is widely said to have conducted a search—a search for one honest man (sic).As we further noted, House Democrats may soon be conducting a search for at least five!In Walker Percy's first n … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023House Dems are looking for five: As of last evening's Last Word, happy days were here again, according to Lawrence O'Donnell.Needless to say, it's always possible that Lawrence is right. He was hailing a modern-day Trojan horse designed to forestall our onru … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023Concerning last weekend's search: As of this morning, it seems to us that the New York Times has possibly settled the matter.Of course, it always could be that the paper of record is simply extending its coverup. It's always possible that the Times is doing … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2023One milestone has long since been passed: Geoffrey Hinton is profiled on the front page of today's New York Times.Hinton is identified by the Times as "The Godfather of A.I." At the start of today's report, Cade Metz describes the arc of Hinton's work—and note … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2023...what Joe Tacopina had done: Last Friday morning, early in the 6 o'clock hour, we were surprised (but also, possibly, not surprised) by what Joe Scarborough said.We'd already read the New York Times report about the previous day's testimony in E. Jean Carrol … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023The person who died in jail: Colin Kaepernick did the right thing about ten days ago.You've almost surely heard nothing about what Kaepernick did. Or about the person who died in jail.We can find no sign that the astounding event in question was ever reported i … | Continue reading
MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023He was screaming and yelling, Joe said: It was Friday morning, April 28—the start of the end of the week.Morning Joe went on the air at 6 A.M. sharp. As of 6:02, the eponymous host of the "cable news" program was emphatically saying this:SCARBOROUGH (4/28/23): … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, APRIL 29, 2023The person who died in jail: Jerry Springer died last week. He was one of the most monumental frauds in all of American history.In fairness, as of today, so is (almost) everyone else! For the most part, Jane Coaston avoids discussing the actual sweep of th … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023Did Carolyn Bryant confess?: Carolyn Bryant played a role in one of the most heinous racial murders of the last American century.Yesterday afternoon, online, the New York Times reported her recent death. We were a bit surprised by the way Margalit Fox's repo … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2023The disconsolate experts' tale: Friend, please riddle us this:Suppose you learned something very surprising. In fact, suppose you learned the following things:Suppose you learned that the teacher of your fifth-grade child had been telling your child and her … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023Discussions like that aren't allowed: We want to take at least one more look at the disordered being known as Tucker Carlson, late of the Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson Tonight. For starters, consider the way Ellison and Barr began their front-page repo … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2023Has the state of New York really done that? Charles Blow's column in today's New York Times offers a describes a lengthy broadside by the late Harry Belafonte—a broadside Belafonte delivered tin the summer of 2013.In part, Belafonte's statement that day wa … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023How did he get to be like that? In the famous Orson Welles film, the last word or words of Charles Foster Kane was this now-famous word:Rosebud.In Welles' rendering, that final word offered the key to how the vastly disordered (and fictional) Kane had com … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023Also, the state of New York's misconduct: According to major anthropologists, it's very, very, very hard to "bring us [the people] together."According to those same top experts, we humans are strongly inclined to divide into groups at times like these, th … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023A stereotype on steroids: If it weren't for all the abnormal psychology, would there be any psychology at all? In this passage, Swan and Haberman describe a pair of lost souls:SWAN AND HABERMAN (4/25/23): The casual news observer would be forgiven for think … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023The spectacular dumbness, it burns: Tucker Carlson is out the door today—but Don Lemon is out the door too.In this report in today's New York Times, three reporters attempt to say why. They start with a recent, ridiculous moment which drew a great deal of a … | Continue reading
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023Here are the latest results: At least in theory, we're glad to see that Tucker Carlson is out at Fox News.We'd be happier if there had been some serious effort, within the mainstream press or on blue tribe cable, to report on Carlson's work while he was stil … | Continue reading
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2023The person who died in jail: "Bring us together," a teenaged girl once said.Her statement ended up being famous. First, though, Billy Budd!According to Herman Melville's reporting, Billy Budd was "a seaman impressed into service aboard HMS Bellipotent in the … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023Georgia man dies in jail: During his recent trip to Ireland, Joe Scarborough spoke with Bill Clinton, a former American president.One chunk of the interview was broadcast on Morning Joe this week. At the start of the segment, Clinton made a strange remark— … | Continue reading
FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 2023Initially, she said no: We're so old that we can remember when Charles Blow's column appeared.In fact, the column appeared last Thursday morning in New York Times print editions. Looking ahead to next year's election, the column suggested a possible way Joe … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023A sleepy town's District Attorney: We owe an apology to Imani Perry, a thoroughly good and decent person, with respect to whom we showed bad judgment yesterday afternoon.Professor Perry is a good decent person, plus she's a worried parent. That said, we wa … | Continue reading
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023Alex Wagner's account: We were puzzled by some of the things we heard last evening on Alex Wagner Tonight.At one point, Wagner was talking about the recent shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a good, decent high school kid. She offered this slightly odd re … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023Are we one people or many? Are the gods trying to force us to decide?We ask that question because a third shooting in the current series has now occurred.First, a 16-year-old high school student was shot and severely injured when he knocked on the wrong d … | Continue reading
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023...a star sold Storyline: This country is full of good, decent kids. (It's also true that some young people have lost their way and are in need of assistance.) Yesterday, several hundred of those young people staged a march. These were good and decent kid … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023Also, Hannah Dreier is back: Kevin Drum sems to have made a factual error in this recent post. (Such things happen.)Otherwise, he drew a crucial distinction between 1) the plainly serious financial flimflam in which Clarence Thomas seems to be severely wron … | Continue reading
TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023The role of Storyline: Did Charles Blow's recent column raise a serious point of concern about next year's election?We haven't seen any statistics about the possible point of concern Blow raised in his column. For what will be the fourth time, we'll describ … | Continue reading
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2023Be careful what you're sure of: If only in the political realm, Maryland isn't Florida.In the political realm, Maryland is reliably blue. For example, this is the way Maryland voted in the 2020 election:Maryland, presidential vote, 2020 electionJoe Biden (D) … | Continue reading
MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2023Could Biden lose next year? Sarah Weinman is a widely-acclaimed journalist and author. As a general matter, she writes about "true crime."Weinman is highly accomplished and highly regarded. That said, her column in Sunday's New York Times struck us as a bit … | Continue reading
SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2023The democratization of media: For better or worse, the so-called "democratization of media" always sounded like a good idea.It was never entirely clear what the term actually meant. But who could possibly be opposed to an act of "democratization?" Also, wh … | Continue reading