Big News of the Day to Our Ridiculous Media
[guest post by JVW]
As of 9:05 am Pacific Time, here is what CNN believed was the big story of the day:
And here is what Fox News believed was the big story:
I’ve never cared for the prissy sanctimony and general sleaze of CNN, but in recent years (really ever since the Age of Trump) I’ve grown tired of Fox News as well. But in this case I absolutely think Fox is covering the more important story, and there is no doubt in my mind that had it been Trump or some other Republican in the Biden Family role that this would be their lead story. I note that Fox thinks the George Santos story is important enough that it still appears near the top of the page, but you have to scroll down to near the bottom of the CNN page to find this:
Our elitist, out-of-touch, incurious big media continues to fail us in most every way conceivable.
– JVW
The fate of the Nation is held in the hands of George Santos, CNN seems to believe.
JVW (e434f5) — 5/10/2023 @ 9:23 amOur elitist, out-of-touch, incurious big media continues to fail us in most every way conceivable.
Typing as a retired media professional: outstanding post, JVW. Stellar example. Like so many other national institutions across the land today, our Big Media platforms in this century have betrayed their audiences, their readers and placed profits and politics over striving for truth and objectivity, allowing management agendas to wholly corrupt the mediums– as an infamous film satire predicted and became the reality one legendary print and broadcast journalist feared…
‘And that’s the way it is…’ – Walter Cronkite, CBS News
DCSCA (f71000) — 5/10/2023 @ 9:30 amI guess I find “member of Congress indicted and facing jail for alleged criminal acts” to be more compelling than “family member of President alleged to not have broken any laws.”
Also in context, the predecessor of the president had family members do worse things in the same arena.
Nate (c97b33) — 5/10/2023 @ 10:14 amAlso in context, the predecessor of the president had family members do worse things in the same arena.
Worse than soliciting business in countries in which their father, the Vice-President of the Unites States, was serving as the point man? I would be interested in hearing about this. Or are your allegations some of the ones that Donald Trump was going to be imminently indicted upon for the past seven years?
JVW (078536) — 5/10/2023 @ 10:28 amBut you do raise a point that the Bidens, like the Clintons and Trumps before them, might have walked that tightrope between what is ethically odious but not quite illegal. But hey, you’re more interested in a freshman Congressman who has no committee assignments. I totally get it.
JVW (88a59a) — 5/10/2023 @ 10:30 amAs I mentioned in other thread… I don’t know how you read this as anything other than a money laundering scheme from foreign officials to the Biden family.
Democrat “privilege” is on display, and it’s appalling that it isn’t a Watergate-like outrage.
whembly (d116f3) — 5/10/2023 @ 10:55 amJoe’s brother and kid are private citizens, and I don’t see much difference in them getting money from ChiCom enterprises versus Ivanka selling trademarks to Xi regime entities. Is it sketchy that they’re trading in their family name for a payday? Yes, but I’m not seeing any illegalities, except for Hunter’s tax problems.
Unless Joe was somehow getting enriched while in office by his brother and/or Hunter, I’m not seeing a scandal here.
On the GOP side, George Santos is walking-talking scandal practically time he opens his prissy mouth. I won’t be surprised if he’s nailed for more financial mischief (we still don’t know how or where he got the $700k infusion into his campaign), and McCarthy has such a slim margin that he needs Santos’ vote, whether it’s from a criminal or no.
I actually don’t have an opinion CNN/Fox coverage. I watch ’em both to see where they’re coming from.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 10:59 amThe biggest news is our corrupt government agencies that had Biden’s laptop, knew it was legitimate and that Joe was compromised, but still interfered in our elections by pretending it was Russian meddling.
NJRob (5e1950) — 5/10/2023 @ 11:05 amThe Santos story is news. It’s not every year that a sitting Congressman is indicted.
The Biden story is a partisan nothingburger. If there is any offense, it’s the House GOP snooping into the legitimate business affairs of private citizens who never ran for nothing.
nk (bb1548) — 5/10/2023 @ 11:26 amPaul Montagu, Joe Biden and his team have repeatedly claimed that he is not involved at all in Hunter Biden’s business dealings. Yet now we are finding that on several occasions Hunter managed to have his business partners and clients invited to meetings with Joe Biden’s aides and with the man himself. Given that — let’s all face it — Joe Biden is heavily reliant upon his staff (and apparently this was true during his years as VP too, as even this notorious puff-piece accidentally acknowledges), I think eyebrows should be raised at the idea that Hunter was so successful in steering his business associates to his dad’s minions. And we should all wonder why Team Biden is making such a concerted effort to conceal this access (Fox points out some instances where email correspondence indicates that Hunter’s business friends met with the Vice-President, even though those meetings never appeared on the VP’s daily logs). I think there’s a lot more here than meets CNN’s eye.
JVW (5448f1) — 5/10/2023 @ 11:27 am@9
Sure, the Santos story is news. Let’s hope the prosecution goes better than Senator Menendez’s prosecution.
If it were all kosher, then why did the Biden’s obfuscate the payments with several layers of LLCs?
The Trumps where roundly accused of pay-to-play schemes for much less than this.
whembly (d116f3) — 5/10/2023 @ 11:48 amAnybody suckered by Joey’s Sgt. Schultz act is ignorant of his dirty Delaware dealings and doesn’t know much about plagiarist Biden’s 50 year history in government and the habitual bold faced lies about his professional and personal credentials…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HblPucwN-m0&t=2s
DCSCA (e08b7d) — 5/10/2023 @ 11:58 amThe Santos story is news. It’s not every year that a sitting Congressman is indicted.
Buy a calendar:
George Santos joins list indicted members of Congress
(NewsNation) — Rep. George Santos is in federal custody Wednesday after he was indicted on 13 charges — arraignment is pending.
The indictment includes five counts of wire fraud and three counts of unlawful monetary transaction, which relate to donations for Santos’ campaign which were allegedly used for personal expenses and purchases.
The New York Republican is the latest sitting member of Congress to be indicted. Here are the congressional members indicted since 2005:
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
In 2021, the former congressman was found guilty of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. In March 2022, he was sentenced to two years of probation and began the process of filing an appeal in June 2022.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA)
In 2018, the former congressman and his wife were accused in a 60-count indictment of stealing more than $250,000 in campaign contributions and trying to hide it on financial disclose records. He plead guilty to a single count and was sentenced to 11 months in prison in 2020.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY)
In 2018, the congressman was indicted on insider trading and charges of lying to federal agents. In 2020, he plead guilty to giving his son nonpublic information about a drug company and was sentenced to 26 months in prison.
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL)
In 2022, the former congresswoman pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud in her federal case.
She had been convicted in 2018 of 18 counts in the charity fraud case and served more than two years of her five-year sentence in prison before she was released in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns in prisons.
As part of a plea deal, the other 17 charges were dropped and she was sentenced to 32 months of time served and was ordered to pay restitution of $62,650 to the IRS.
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA)
The congressman was indicted in 2015 on 29 charges of racketeering and taking an illegal $1 million campaign loan that he repaid in part with government money. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)
The senator was indicted on 14 counts, including bribery, in connection to $660,000 in campaign contributions that helped a friend and supporter with his business interest. He was cleared of the charges in 2018 after the Department of Justice asked a federal court to dismiss the 2015 indictment.
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY)
In 2013, the congressman was indicted on 20 counts involving tax fraud in connection with a Manhattan restaurant that he owned with others. He pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion and was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)
In 2008, the senator was indicted on seven charges, including making false statements, in connection to failing to properly report gifts from an oil company executive that Stevens allegedly used to renovate his home. He was found guilty, but his conviction was later overturned.
Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ)
Also in 2008, the congressman was indicted on 35 counts including conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering, and accused of an influence-peddling scandal involving a federal land exchange that included property in Arizona. He was convicted in 2013 on 17 felony counts and served three years in prison.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/george-santos-joins-list-indicted-members-of-congress/
DCSCA (e08b7d) — 5/10/2023 @ 12:03 pmIt’s pretty sad when Santos has a better, more articulate, LIVE, off-the-cuff-presser w/shouting reporters as he exits a courthouse than our POTUS can manage w/a teleprompter leaning on a podium.
DCSCA (26c773) — 5/10/2023 @ 12:32 pm@4. “Worse than soliciting business in countries in which their father, the Vice-President of the Unites States, was serving as the point man?”
Well yeah. The Trumps did plenty of business in countries in which Trump, the President, was point man. The ZTE example comes to mind, where Trump reversed US policy in helping them just as the Trumps received a large amount of cash from the Chinese. He received flak from both sides of the aisle on that one. That’s one example of many.
JRH (f64ab8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:00 pmFrom CNN’s reporting:
Until Comer and the House Republicans can provide a list of names, places, dates, and amounts in financial or other records, it’s just hot air. They need to conduct public hearings if they expect anyone to believe what they are saying. Otherwise it is just innuendo and conspiracy theories.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:01 pmJVW, like I said, my red line is whether Joe Biden got enriched while in office from his family members’ business shenanigans, and I’ve seen no evidence. After all, Ivanka got hers, and I assume her dad didn’t get 10%.
I was always on the skeptical side about Joe’s claims that he never discussed Hunter’s or Jim’s business dealings, or that he never met their business partners, but who’s more exposed if that happened, Joe or Jim/Hunter? To me, it’s the latter because they did so as unregistered agents for a foreign entity or power.
Seems like this all really stemmed from Hunter taking the gig at Burisma which, at best for Joe, created the appearance of a conflict of interest when he called for Shokin’s sacking. Joe should’ve delegated that one.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:02 pmNews coverage focuses on updates about something that the audience already knows something about.
It is interesting that they chose Santos and Biden, but not the Trump story. Is that old news after about 21 hours?
Not getting the biggest headlines:
1. The debt limit alarm.
2. May 11 immigration law change – except in conservative oriented media, where story after story related to that gets churned out.
Biden has no idea how to deal with this — except to try to satisfy everybody, and establish talking points. He doesn’t justify; he doesn’t explain anything, but he lets himself get clobbered by Republicans.
And nobody anywhere is interested in determining what the truth is.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:04 pmThe Truth is Out There-X-Files tagline.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:11 pmPaul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:02 pm
The Republican attack line is that Hunter was always telling the truth to the people he was dealing with, and not claiming false connections.
There’s an accusation out there that Hunter claimed (it is only claimed, although the person telling the story seems to think it was true) to have an informant within the FBI.
Some informant. The Chinese billionaire he was dealing with was living in the United States with his family and was told by Hunter (in this story) that he was going to be arrested, so he took a plane to Shanghai and got arrested there and disappeared completely from sight about three months later. Another person was told he was going to be arrested in China and flew to the United States where he got arrested.
Of course the source for this could be lying.
https://nypost.com/2023/03/22/hunter-biden-used-fbi-mole-to-tip-him-off-to-china-probes-tipster
Sounds fake, because Jimmy Breslin had a fictional Mafia character called “Un Occhio”
https://www.salina.com/story/entertainment/2017/03/19/jimmy-breslin-chronicler-wise-guys/21217994007
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:15 pmIf we want to talk about a president getting cash directly from foreign sources, look no further than Trump getting a cool million for selling his naming rights for Trump Towers Istanbul, or the $70-plus million he got from other foreign sources in his first two years as POTUS.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:17 pmIvanka got hers, Trump got his, so what’s the big deal.
Does anyone think Trump was unaware that his income from those towers could be affected if he crossed Erdogan the wrong way?
The Trump story has been old for decades.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:18 pmIf Republicans want make this a story that dominates the headlines, they should be conducting public hearings and calling witnesses under the glare of TV lights. I’m sure Fox would cover it. It would get even more coverage if Jim Jordan started impeachment hearings.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:23 pmOr Putin and Trump Tower Moscow.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:25 pmMore dead to rights is Joe Biden flatly claiming that “my son did nothing wrong” (as if he could know that if it was true) and suppressing the laptop story, although that has not yet been connected to Joe Biden personally.
But we have this, showing he (or Hunter’s lawyer) knew it was genuine:
https://nypost.com/2022/12/19/fbi-reached-out-to-twitter-before-post-broke-hunter-biden-laptop-story
The New York Post had contacted him for comment before publishing but had not told him where the laptop files came from.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:25 pmAnd an appearance of corruption, not reality, was what Burisma wanted, because it was Ukrainian investigations that Mykola Vladislavovich Zlochevsky wanted to stop, and for this he needed the appearance that the fix was in. He didn’t need to shoot for the reality, which he couldn’t get anyway..
Joe never did much on that.
He later falsely claimed credit for his firing on January 23, 2018, during the Q&A portion of a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations that was (I believe) exploited by Vladimir Putin to fool Giuliani and others.
https://www.cfr.org/event/foreign-affairs-issue-launch-former-vice-president-joe-biden
Joe Biden had told a somewhat different version of this story about his being a vice president with superpowers in an interview (published online) for the August, 2016 Atlantic. That one had no cancelled press conference but it did have a flabbergasted U.S. Ambassador.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/08/joe-biden-interview/497633
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:42 pmAlso there is no real evidence of wrongdoing-a Committee can write anything in a memo.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:42 pmThere’s no evidence Shokin even started investigations into Zlochevsky or Burisma. There is evidence that Shokin shut down a UK investigation into Zlochevsky by not assisting the Brits in an alleged $23 million money-laundering scheme.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:55 pmPaul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 1:55 pm
That’s partof the reason why the Obama Administration was trying to get rid of him. But Putin’s spin to Giuliani, and through him, Trump, was that he was a good prosecutor and that firing him stopped an investigation. Biden, of course, said nothing of the sort, but Trump thought he did:
https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-president-zelensky-ukraine-bilateral-meeting-new-york-ny
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:09 pmJVW, like I said, my red line is whether Joe Biden got enriched while in office from his family members’ business shenanigans, and I’ve seen no evidence.
I am assuming that you don’t mean to say that you would be OK knowing that U.S. policy towards Country X was affected by whether or not James or Hunter Biden had business interests there, even if Joe didn’t receive a dime from it. I think you need to cast a wider ethics or even legal net than just “did Joe Biden himself get is “Big Guy” cut from the deal.
JVW (d938e3) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:09 pmAnd I have no idea why people here would go to the “the Trump family likely did worse” card. None of the bloggers here have given their blessing to the Trump family’s ethics, and it’s not as if we haven’t had the entirety of the mainstream media and the Democrat party (a Venn diagram with significant overlap, naturally) investigating this for the past seven years. Just because nobody has successfully brought charges against Don Jr. or Ivanka Trump or Jared Kushner or anyone else doesn’t suddenly lend legitimacy to Hunter Biden’s questionable practices.
JVW (8f5c1d) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:13 pmhttps://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/george-santos-the-point-with-marcia-kramer-preview
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:15 pmStop anyone in Ukraine from doing it, and also prevent. There was always a threat of investgation.
Hunter Biden was appointed to the Board of Directors of Burisma in 2014.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:19 pmAnd — Lord help me because I detest defending the Trump family — the major difference is that Donal Trump was a businessman with a very famous name long before he became a politician. Imagine a scenario where Howard Schultz had won the Presidency (betcha a lot of you forgot he briefly was an ertsaz-candidate). Would it have been wrong if the Starbucks Corporation had continued to open new locations while President Schultz was in the White House, even if he no longer was in charge of operations?
But Joe Biden is a lifetime politician, so the Biden name has never had any value except for its ability to suggest proximity to power.
JVW (ab9cd3) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:20 pmSantos was released on $500,000 bond. The 13 counts include wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:24 pm@34
Or simply stated – what was the ‘product’ or ‘services’ did the Bidens offered that interested the CCPs?
whembly (d116f3) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:27 pmThe fate of the Nation is held in the hands of George Santos, CNN seems to believe.
I can just see their Internet staff, all giggles and high fives over how they stuck it to the Republicans again.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:40 pm@3: Head-in-sand whaddaboutism.
Influence peddling is a crime, and has been for longer than I’ve been alive.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:42 pmDemocrat “privilege” is on display, and it’s appalling that it isn’t a Watergate-like outrage.
Yet. And the cover-up involved most of the Democrat apparatus, not just some Nixon frat boys. They question is not IF Biden will be removed from office, but WHY. Look for the primaries to be contested.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:45 pmIt’s sad to watch those who lambaste Justice Thomas for non-crimes, but turn a blind eye to the Biden family’s influence peddling and pocket-stuffing.
When it comes out that Biden asked the IRS to lay off his son, I wonder if the same folks will argue it wasn’t really obstruction.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:52 pmMaybe this is too cynical, but if the Biden influence peddling story goes no further, it will probably be because there are too many influential people in Washington who have been the beneficiaries of similar largess from any number of foreign countries. The media bias JVW pointed out is real, but there is probably a bipartisan realization that many people on both sides have a lot to lose if zealous investigations of foreign connections become the norm.
Directly bribing a politician no doubt goes on, but it’s all so crude and really, even slightly sophisticated players are beyond all that. If you want a favor from your city, you don’t send a big check, or a bundle of cash, to the mayor or your councilmember. Instead, you arrange for a no-show job for the mayor’s cousin’s son or you make sure to support some business a councilmember’s relative has an interest in, and all of a sudden the city is granting that rezoning you need for your development project. There a probably a million examples of this sort of thing, but a famous one is how LBJ used the radio station that his wife owned in Austin, back in the 1940s, to get rich: if you wanted something done in Washington that LBJ could help with, you bought a lot of advertising on that station whether you had any business in Austin or not. The businesses who paid up got whatever they needed and LBJ (unofficially) became a millionaire, although he was probably smart enough not to let the payoffs get into any account held in his own name. And he could say that no one had paid him off, after all, he didn’t own the station, his wife did. It’s silly to think that foreign entities that want to influence the US government aren’t at least as smart as those Texas businessmen were in figuring out how to get what they want without directly paying a bribe.
So Joe Biden may not have done anything illegal, and those Trump dealings in Turkey and Russia perhaps did not break the law. But you gotta believe the Chinese and Ukrainians and Russians and Turks sure thought they were getting something for their money, and those somethings weren’t anything that Hunter or Ivanka had the power to grant.
RL formerly in Glendale (7a2d64) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:55 pmI’m saying it’s already happened JVW, given Ivanka’s trademark payday from Chinese enterprises. Why was her windfall okay but Biden family members not?
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:58 pmThe Santos story is news. It’s not every year that a sitting Congressman is indicted.
It happens a lot, actually. Between 1980 and 2009, 22 members of Congress were CONVICTED of federal crimes and removed from office. 17 Democrats and 5 Republicans.
But sure, not every year (22 CONVICTIONS in 30 years). Some have left office before being convicted (e.g. Duncan Hunter)
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:01 pmI can see how one would be suspicious of Trump family dealings (I am, for one, particularly insider trading at the hedge fund). But since Trump is the one who dropped the trade war hammer on the Chinese, I don’t see how that’s a particularly target-rich environment.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:04 pmShould be:
The Democratic primary will be contested, but to no one’s surprise, Biden will win. Does anyone really expect a New Ager devotee to Oprah or a crackpot anti-vax conspiracy theorist will actually dethrone a sitting President? Seriously?
However, since the evidence released so far about Biden’s corruption is so compelling, I expect he will be impeached long before November 2024.
/sarc
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:07 pmThe man who some say lied his way into Congress told Kramer he’s got a bold plan to force Congress to repeal the SALT bill that limited the deductibility of state and local taxes. He’s simply going to trade his vote on the debt limit for SALT.
One could win a LOT of votes by simply changing the $10K limit to $50K or $100K. It would be a rounding error for the billionaires, but a lot of 2-earner professional households pay California $50K even in bad years.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:10 pmAssuming facts not in evidence. Let the whistleblower testify in public, and cross examined, to see if it really holds up.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:11 pm@45: No, why. Will it be because of the 25th Amendment, when he tries to nuke Texas? Or he goes full on George III and hides under his bed because the stars are after him? Or will it be because the Hunter cover-up becomes toxic.
I expect there to be at least 3 well-heeled Democrats running in early primaries, whether or not Biden is in a rest home.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:13 pmAssuming facts not in evidence. Let the whistleblower testify in public, and cross examined, to see if it really holds up.
Have you no opinion on Trump’s payoff to Stormy? Only a convicted perjurer has spoken (and that not under oath).
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:15 pmI believe Cohen has testified under to the grand jury (among other places) regarding the Stormy payoffs. But thanks for you whattaabout.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:18 pmI don’t care about Texas.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:18 pmCNN: Wednesday’s live town hall audience will be made up of Republicans and undeclared voters who plan to vote in the GOP primary.
Prediction: at least half the participants will be partisan Democrats and none of the questions will be about GOP issues. Trump’s sleaze, homeless “immigrants”, the insane GOP in Congress, etc.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:25 pmHow many times do you think Trump will refer to a questioner as “rude, terrible person”?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:29 pmI certainly consider Trump’s “sleaze” to be serious campaign issue for Republicans. Don’t most people here want a different candidate (I do, but I am realistic about the non-chances of that happening) than Trump-it certainly sounds like it from our discussions.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:43 pm#53
steveg (e0fb68) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:00 pmI would expect Trump to refer to a questioner as “rude, terrible person” every time they ask and persist in a hard line of questioning. The only limit I can see being set would naturally be at Trump’s passing
The Biden family grifting will continue until Joe moves out of the WH, and I’m thinking the First Lady might, might, try to get an outsized upfront book deal for Bidens umm, memoirs
steveg (e0fb68) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:09 pmPolitics in America really boils down to Republicans vs Democrats and it is always point, counter point. “I see your attack on Trump family financial dealings and raise you one Hunter Biden” That may be “whaddaboutism” but it is also how the game is played
steveg (e0fb68) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:20 pmCNN gave this “news” more attention than it deserved.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:23 pmWhen we hear Senator’s hedging on “evidence”, I think every Senator of long tenure has multiple crazy aunts hoarding cash in the attic and is trying to stay out of the crosshairs
steveg (e0fb68) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:24 pmDon’t most people here want a different candidate
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 3:43 pm
Everybody but the gadfly
norcal (15fce4) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:28 pmI’m saying it’s already happened JVW, given Ivanka’s trademark payday from Chinese enterprises. Why was her windfall okay but Biden family members not?
Beyond pointing out that the Trump family has long engaged in various business dealings whereas the Biden family is centered around political access, where have I given any indication that I thought the Trump family’s overseas dalliances were acceptable? Don’t try to saddle me with an argument that I never made.
JVW (903558) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:30 pmRip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:03 pm
Maybe Senator Johnson should look at the paper trail left by Rep. George Santos. Paper trails are not hard to find, assuming they exist.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:33 pmThe great thing about voting is that you can use any reason you want to vote for or against somebody.
I don’t care if what Trump and Biden–and their grifting families–did was “technically” legal. It stinks.
norcal (15fce4) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:36 pmAssuming you mean me, let me know when you find a non-Trump or Trump-adjacent candidate that will survive the primary campaign to California (March 5th), and I would be glad to vote for him/her. I just don’t see it happening.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:37 pmWhen I hear that I think they can’t prove their allegations, which get far more coverage than the rollback.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:41 pmRip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:37 pm
Not you, Rip. I know you want a candidate other than Trump.
Don’t be so paranoid. 😛
norcal (15fce4) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:41 pm@58. This ‘maybe, maybe not crap’ is precisely why the castle gets stormed.
The GOP best sh!t, get off the pot or populists will roast them alive in the next cycle.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:54 pmHow many times do you think Trump will refer to a questioner as “rude, terrible person”?
How many times have you tried to cross Fifth and 48th St., at rush hour in Midtown Manhattan and shouted same at a cabbie?
He’s a NYer.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 4:57 pmBig News Of The Day To Our Ridiculous Media
As far as I’m concerned this is the TOP STORY OF THE DAY:
After three years and eight days in probate, dealing with four damn lawyers, two idiot bureaucratic judges and a co-executor who literally did absolutely nothing over that entire time period, the small estate of my late mother, who passed on May 2, 2020, is FINALLY over w/t judge signing the stipulation this afternoon and the paperwork now moving into the bureaucracy for transfer. She left me the house, the car and everything in it. My sociopathic, vindictive lawyer brother, who my mother disinherited for reasons well known to him and I’ve not spoke to for nearly three years, wasted all that time and ends up w/$3,000. This was a test for him. And he failed it. He didn’t bother to show up for the hearing today nor ever ask about her remains in all that time. Pure evil. I am certain there is a God… He just moves at his own pace… Amen.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:17 pmSpeaking of “ridiculous media”, Trump is on CNN right now and he just told me that I’m stupid for not believing that he lost in 2020.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:30 pmEr, not believing that he lost.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:31 pmOne more time,
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:32 pmnotbelieving that he lost.Video at link.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:34 pmTrump Says People Who Accept 2020 Election Results Are ‘Very Stupid’ – Which Is Most Americans
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:34 pm
Can you believe people fall for his claptrap? Talk about stupid.
norcal (15fce4) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:38 pmFrom what I have read (I’m not watching) the whole show is a Trump rally, with Trump being Trump, falsehoods and all. You think he would spend time attacking the Democrats, but he’s attacking the judge in the Carroll case, Mike Pence, and praising the January 6th insurrectionists:
He also continued to slander E. Jean Carroll, possibly inviting another lawsuit.
Donald Trump, the gift that keeps on giving (to the Democrats).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:50 pmI had to turn him off. What an embarrassment those Republicans yucking it up as he lies and distorts reality. What a clown.
AJ_Liberty (2dc485) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:54 pmMs. Collins is trying to counter Trump’s firehose of lies, but he never yields to anything.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 5:58 pmTrumpWorld-Are They Disillusioned?:
Answer: Not really. At least they are keeping it classy.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:08 pmTrump was way too cavalier about defaulting on our debts and obligations.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:09 pm@79. A child teleprompter reader who couldn’t even handle mouthy Don Lemon. It’s like watching a daughter arguing w/her Daddy over permission to get the car keys. She’s no Sam Donaldson. Can you picture Biden trying this? Here’s the deal: no way.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:09 pmCNN is such a waste of electrons.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:11 pm“We don’t have enough time to fact check every lie he told…” – Jake Tapper.
Plenty of time to fact check Joey. 50 years to rake, Jake.
Get to it!
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:14 pmTrump contradicted his lawyers (multiple times) regarding his classified documents.
Based on the crowd’s reaction, no Democrats in the audience.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:14 pmCan you believe people fall for his claptrap? Talk about stupid.
Let’s! Start w/Wilmington Joe in January, 1973. Or is it Scranton this week.
DCSCA (ba5f86) — 5/10/2023 @ 6:18 pmLooks like the CNN town hall event was unscripted
Trump fielded questions he didn’t know in advance
seemed to remember where he was 5 minutes ago
very presidential
JF (0226da) — 5/10/2023 @ 7:37 pm@87. ROFLMAOPIP
DCSCA (48c155) — 5/10/2023 @ 7:43 pmMemo to CNN:
And just WHY is Jake Tapper sitting behind a winged desk full of pundits bloviating w/t Presidential Seal emblazoned on it in front of him?? Tell us, Jake. Biden given you the okay?
“In general, commercial use of the [Presidential] seal is prohibited by 18 USC 713 of the United States Code, and further defined by Executive Orders 11916 and 11649. The United States Secret Service is authorized to use the seal in conjunction with fund raising sales for its charitable benefit fund… Unofficial use of the seal is regulated by the White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office and monitored by the office of the White House Counsel. On September 28, 2005, Grant M. Dixton, associate counsel to George W. Bush, requested that the satirical newspaper The Onion remove the presidential seal from its website.’
DCSCA (48c155) — 5/10/2023 @ 7:50 pm^
DCSCA (48c155) — 5/10/2023 @ 7:51 pmsource, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States
Until the 1950’s yellow journalism was journalism. Remember chicago tribune’s 1948 dewey defeats truman. For two hundred years newspapers had republican and democrat in the papers name. The national security deep state felt it would be easier to fool the public in their war with communism if the media pretended to be unbiased journalism reporting just the facts. LBJ said when he lost walter cronkite he lost the vietnam war. Then came watergate with the non-denial denial and the scam was up with nixon/agnew attacking the media. The movie all the presidents men showed how the inside game was played. Reagan and the republicans followed the nixon/agnew game plan forcing the media to pretend even harder to be unbiased. As republicans went further right the deep state was force to choose the democrat establishment side for self protection.
asset (3f5d04) — 5/11/2023 @ 12:36 amRemember chicago tribune’s 1948 dewey defeats truman.
That was more a ‘going to press’ deadline matter; polling was weaker, too; if memory serves, they’d stopped polling two weeks before the general.
DCSCA (bf3ef9) — 5/11/2023 @ 2:35 amSignal to noise.
AJ_Liberty (2dc485) — 5/11/2023 @ 3:48 amTrump is never at a loss for words. Whether a single one of them is true or sane is a different question.
nk (bb1548) — 5/11/2023 @ 4:24 amThings I wished Trump had said:
1. There’s never an excuse for sexual assault. Men should never force themselves on women.
2. I wish I had acted earlier on Jan 6th and sent a clear message to stop the physical confrontations with law enforcement. I should have made every effort and checked on the well being of everyone in the Capitol, including Mike Pence.
3. The 2020 election was unusual because of Covid and associated accommodations, but after exhaustive review of the process by numerous groups, the election was fair and Joe Biden won
4. I do not want the GOP to act recklessly with the debt limit. We need spending controls, but we don’t need negotiations with economic stability as the hostage
5. Putin is evil. We will support Ukraine in its fight for survival.
6. We must be tough at the border but humane. Border enforcement involves more than a wall and must address the economic incentives that are drawing people to this great country
7. We should have a moratorium on any threatened federal action on abortion for 10 years to allow states the opportunity to find reasonable compromises. It remains an issue of conscience that requires changing hearts, not legislation.
8. We need to listen more on questions of culture and accept different viewpoints. We should act to persuade but also seek compromise. We are one nation and can’t let internal squabbles distract us from all of the common interests that we share.
9. I should not have pressured Georgia election officials to “look for more votes”. That is not proper for any candidate. It was a close election, emotions flared, and I promise no repeat performances
10. I will accept the results of the primaries, support the nominee if it’s not me, and accept the results of the general election.
Of course, we got a roaring narcissist, spewing garbage and lies. This isn’t hard people. Reject this guy.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:33 amThat may be, but they would need to run as insurgents and forgo party support, and would still lose. The only way Biden loses the primary is if Darling Nikki gets her wish sooner rather than later.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:38 amLOL! 😂
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:40 amYou are asking the leopard to change his spots.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:42 amApparently the audience lapped it up.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:43 amWould you call it an in-kind contribution by CNN to Trump’s campaign? Did the FBI pressure CNN to do it? I wonder.
nk (bb1548) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:49 amProbably not, otherwise Fox contributed billions to the Trump campaign in 2016 by covering his rallies. I’m sure that presidential candidate forums are considered news events.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:08 amTrump can keep doing his rally and Townhalls, and the audience are going to be people who’d WANT to go to these things to hear from Trump.
But, he’s not going to convince voters outside of the MAGA crowd, so I wouldn’t take these things as any indication of widespread support.
However, this should remind people that he’s the front-runner and the primary candidate has their work cut out for them.
whembly (d116f3) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:10 amWhy would the FBI pressure CNN to hold a presidential town hall?
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:11 amHa, probably to incriminate himself. I didn’t hear what he had to say about the classified documents obstruction, but his lawyers must have been hitting the fentanyl last night
“However, this should remind people that he’s the front-runner and the primary candidate has their work cut out for them.”
I am less convinced that debates will be at all productive with Trump. The deconstruction will have to be done with competing townhalls, sit-down interviews, and contrasting ads. The challenge is to find the correct tone and poll to find the psychological tack that will work. The unknown is how formerly Trump-supportive organizations and sites will react. Will they double-down with their support or will they reward contrast and honesty. It’s sad that it’s an open question.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:22 amGiven both his personal popularity in the Republican Party and his strong lead over the primary field, Trump still has an iron grip on the party:
Source
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:26 amOutside of TrumpWorld, the only people taking notes were Jack Smith, Fani Willis, and E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:31 amI am less convinced that debates will be at all productive with Trump.
Only challengers want debates, so why should Gulliver debate the Lilliputians? Trump wouldn’t benefit, since everyone else would use the opportunity to attack him. And given the numbers from Morning Consult, Trump can safely ignore them.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:40 amWhy would the FBI pressure CNN to hold a presidential town hall?
I heard it’s something the FBI does.
nk (bb1548) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:23 amI learned a new phrase this AM. Trump’s performance last night was a gish gallop.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:35 amJust trying to imagine the coverage if Clarence Thomas’ family had been found getting millions of $ through shady corporations, funded by America’s enemy.
whembly (d116f3) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:54 amWhen The Don;
Flips a CNN con;
From the Kate;
By not taking the bait;
With a show;
So much better that Joe’s…
That’ En-ter-tain-ment!
DCSCA (9ece2b) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:15 amI believe Cohen has testified under to the grand jury (among other places) regarding the Stormy payoffs. But thanks for you whattaabout.
Again, a convicted perjurer. I’m not saying this is necessarily untrue, but this does not constitute “facts” in evidence. Maybe “stories told” but a perjurer’s oath has no real meaning.
The IRS whistleblower is not a convicted perjurer, so his “story told” is at least as valid.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:34 amDon’t most people here want a different candidate (I do, but I am realistic about the non-chances of that happening) than Trump-it certainly sounds like it from our discussions.
Yet you deride all advocacy for another candidate as “wishcasting.” In that, you might as well be a Trumpist, no matter what your inner Rip is thinking. Pick a side and stop just quoting polls.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:37 amThe Biden family grifting will continue until Joe moves out of the WH, and I’m thinking the First Lady might, might, try to get an outsized upfront book deal for Bidens umm, memoirs
If Biden wrote memoirs after he left office, it would be one chapter, repeated 30 times.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:40 amHa, probably to incriminate himself.
Yeah, I can see this. At some trial, the prosecutor says “Donald Trump said ________ at a CNN Town Hall.” As is a Trumpian statement should be regarded as Truth. There would be giggles from the jury and the judge would be trying very hard to keep a straight face.
One of the benefits from being seen as a congenital liar is that nothing you say can be used against you.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:43 amOnly challengers want debates, so why should Gulliver debate the Lilliputians?
Trump is the Stay-Puft Marshmellow Man, not Gulliver.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:52 amSo, I was watching this Netflix series “The Diplomat” with Keri Russell as the title character. It takes place in what appears to be 2023, with a doddering and aged President and an incompetent VP (both unnamed). The setup is that the VP “will be resigning soon” so that they can replace her with a better choice (Keri Russell) on the ticket (no mention of WHERE on the ticket), and the crisis of the moment is seen as a test of her capabilities (as an Ambassador in the middle of an international clusterfrack).
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 9:02 amSo, I had this thought. Suppose the VP did resign, and there is no majority in the House (or the Senate) for any replacement. In the Senate, it could break 50-50 and nobody to break the tie.
Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 9:05 amWhembly,
You’ll be ignored. That question isn’t answerable by the never-Republican crowd running interference for the left.
NJRob (361c92) — 5/11/2023 @ 9:34 amWe have a full invasion massing at our southern border. The president is allowing an invasion of our nation. It’s a declaration of war on the American people.
NJRob (361c92) — 5/11/2023 @ 9:55 amI point out the facts as I see them, not what I wish there em to be. Right now the available information has Trump dominating the Republican Party.
Rip Murdock (e9d557) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:22 amI have-you’ve just missed it.
Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:27 am@120
I’m okay with folks pointing out the Trump’s alleged bad acts…
But, I’m rather stunned at the lack of interest on the Bidens by the same folks.
whembly (d116f3) — 5/11/2023 @ 11:26 amI’m not.
JVW’s comments at 2:13 and 4:30 are similar to reactions I have had to Paul. It is “Trump Bad” 24/7 for some people.
BuDuh (208cf6) — 5/11/2023 @ 11:37 amlazy and glib of Jake Tapper to say: “Too many lies to facts check” Never stopped him before with a GOP political figure. I will agree with anyone who points out Tapper is being consistent in a sense, but would point out that he rarely fact checks Biden and we then need a ruling on if Tapper is actually consistent intentionally or consistent inadvertently
steveg (feb4c5) — 5/13/2023 @ 6:22 pm