Author Topic: US Politics Thread |OT| SAD TRUMP  (Read 6864979 times)

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Optimus

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Re: U.S. Politics Discussion Thread |OT| Everyone is Bolton for the exits.
« Reply #17820 on: May 04, 2018, 05:52:36 PM »
That's my whole point, that's this clusterfuck is mainly their fault, that the alt-right is a counter-culture against these fucking idiots.

nah


Nintex

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Absolutely thank you very much maybe.
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Mandark

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Nintex

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Kennedy heads to Dallas for a drive and gets shot
Trump heads to conference of gun nuts in Dallas and survives.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/992558888212946949

Teflon don indeed
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agrajag

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they didn't let them bring guns to the conference

FStop7

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https://twitter.com/therealroseanne/status/992301702660304897
https://twitter.com/StormyDaniels/status/992394912388861952

FIGURE 22-5: A distillation of the political zeitgeist of 2018 Trump-era politics. Featuring a pornstar mistress of the US president “Twitter Roasting” the human form of a razor blade scratching a chalk board

Remember when Berlusconi’s bunga bunga parties seemed outlandish?

benjipwns

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Former Secretary of State John Kerry has fielded dozens of private meetings and phone calls in recent months in an effort to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, as President Trump appears poised to withdraw from the pact.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday that Kerry, who helped broker the 2015 nuclear agreement, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations in New York last month to discuss ways to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the formal name for the Iran deal.

He has also met and spoken with a handful of European officials. Last month, he met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, according to the Globe, and spoke by phone with Federica Mogherini, the European Union's top foreign affairs official.

Kerry also reportedly met with French President Emmanuel Macron, both in New York and in Paris.

SPECIAL COUNSEL NOW

100 MILLION SOULS PAT, 100 MILLION

https://twitter.com/DevinNunes/status/992524541862674432

benjipwns

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Nintex

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Former Secretary of State John Kerry has fielded dozens of private meetings and phone calls in recent months in an effort to preserve the Iran nuclear deal, as President Trump appears poised to withdraw from the pact.

The Boston Globe reported on Friday that Kerry, who helped broker the 2015 nuclear agreement, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations in New York last month to discuss ways to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the formal name for the Iran deal.

He has also met and spoken with a handful of European officials. Last month, he met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, according to the Globe, and spoke by phone with Federica Mogherini, the European Union's top foreign affairs official.

Kerry also reportedly met with French President Emmanuel Macron, both in New York and in Paris.

SPECIAL COUNSEL NOW

100 MILLION SOULS PAT, 100 MILLION

https://twitter.com/DevinNunes/status/992524541862674432
Now Trump will want it gone even more.
"I would've kept the deal really I would've kept it. But then they met with Weaky John Kerry who believe me is the worst deal maker. Like I will never ride bicycles when making deals. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT BICYCLES!?"

"Mr. Bolton, Mr Bolton, what's the new Iran policy do you believe the Israeli assessment that the nuclear program is still operational. Should we intervene. Are military options on the table?"

"Well.. I think our policy..."

"I GOT THIS JOHN. NO MORE BICYCLES who even heard of this. Thank you everyone absolutely everything is on the table THANK YOU"


Fuck me that already sort of happened
« Last Edit: May 05, 2018, 06:44:56 AM by Nintex »
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CatsCatsCats

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Sounds like the lizard peeps got to him

Nintex

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https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/992856681490108416
This entire thread is quite something

https://twitter.com/Techno_Fog/status/992802170989756416

The court continues to question the aims of the special council. If they're so convinced of Trump's guilt why do they have to put so much pressure on Cohen, Manafort and others to try and make them flip. It just doesn't add up.
You would think that with Flynn, Manafort, Cohen etc. all on the ropes something or someone would've given in by now.
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agrajag

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Flynn pleaded guilty and is cooperating. The judge's final decision will ultimately be made based on the evidence and on laws, not his opinions of the DOJ's motives.

agrajag

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shut it poindexter

Steve Contra

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The court continues to question the aims of the special council. If they're so convinced of Trump's guilt why do they have to put so much pressure on Cohen, Manafort and others to try and make them flip. It just doesn't add up.
You would think that with Flynn, Manafort, Cohen etc. all on the ropes something or someone would've given in by now.
Can you see a scenario where someone investigating the office of the president colluding with a foreign power would want to be cautious and explore every avenue to determine whether or not to bring a case forward? The investigation into FIFA lasted almost 5 years for god's sake.
vin

Mandark

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That's because every last inch of FIFA was corrupt

Yes, a very different situation from the Trump administration.

Nintex

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https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/992868065015721984

oh god the Neocons are at it again.

Biggest difference this time is that they've all lost their marbles and look to be entering the first stage of dementia.
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benjipwns

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:rofl why the fuck is one of Trump's legal people talking about Iran
because in america we have a little thing called freedom of speech* buster

*offer not valid on Marxist-dominated college campuses, DO NOT DOUBLE, cannot be redeemed for cash equivalent

benjipwns

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 :ohhh

etiolate

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I give you Alex Jones vs Ben Shapiro


seagrams hotsauce

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nah

Nintex

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I give you Alex Jones vs Ben Shapiro


Watched it untli the end.

Noticed 'Horny goat weed' as an ingredient in his snake oil pills.

Burst out laughing.
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Trent Dole

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Hi

Nintex

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Quote
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — With just weeks to go before President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to hold their first-ever summit, Pyongyang on Sunday criticized what it called “misleading” claims that Trump’s policy of maximum political pressure and sanctions are what drove the North to the negotiating table.

The North’s official news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman warning the claims are a “dangerous attempt” to ruin a budding detente on the Korean Peninsula after Kim’s summit late last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
:dead
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curly

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nothing makes me limper than youtube videos with rants in the title

lol and he's ranting about gmos poisoning our food supply. euthanize all comedians.

Joe Molotov

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Optimus

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nothing makes me limper than youtube videos with rants in the title

lol and he's ranting about gmos poisoning our food supply. euthanize all comedians.


Most of his points are spot on. Mainstream media are focusing on pointless, dumb political drama for entertainment and distraction instead of the real problems Americans face. It shows how disconnected from the majority and biased they are. Look at the teacher strikes that are supported by both liberals and republicans and how little they've been covered, afterall they can't allow the plebs to know that they can demand better working conditions. Meanwhile, hours upon hours of useless Trump drama that leads to nowhere.

agrajag

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Mainstream media are focusing on pointless, dumb political drama for entertainment and distraction instead of the real problems Americans face.
Because the news is profit driven, not because they're "biased" or "detached". And futhermore, it's "news", not "stuff you should care about". The issues that affect everyday Americans don't normally consist of new events, just old and systemic problems. I don't even know what it is that you want, a pro labor news station that says every 30 minutes "this just in: federal minimum wage still only $7.20 an hour".

He wants news to be editorial exposes like date line or 60 minuted but about issues he cares about.

I like how everyone blames the people covering "Trump drama" but never the people that actually create said drama. It's also absolutely preposterous to expect news outlets to essentially ignore the US President.

Great Rumbler

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TV news is for old people who live in retirement homes, if you're 30-ish and getting your news exclusively from CNN/MSNBC/FOX you really need to reevaluate your life.
dog

Optimus

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Mainstream media are focusing on pointless, dumb political drama for entertainment and distraction instead of the real problems Americans face.
Because the news is profit driven, not because they're "biased" or "detached". And futhermore, it's "news", not "stuff you should care about". The issues that affect everyday Americans don't normally consist of new events, just old and systemic problems. I don't even know what it is that you want, a pro labor news station that says every 30 minutes "this just in: federal minimum wage still only $7.20 an hour".


This is where I laugh sarcastically. Because the latest detail about the latest Trump drama discussed ad neuseum definitely sells more and it's definitely more news-worthy than thousands of teachers in entire states striking for both better wages and better schools. They have been purposely ignoring strikes for decades, this isn't something new. Corporate media news are definitely "stuff you should care about", stuff the few rich fucks that own the media think you should care about.

agrajag

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If news don't report on strikes, how do we know about them?  :thinking

Great Rumbler

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dog

Optimus

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If news don't report on strikes, how do we know about them?  :thinking


I knew this was coming which is why I was very careful about the wording of my sentence:
Quote
Look at the teacher strikes that are supported by both liberals and republicans and how little they've been covered
I have noticed this relatively new thing liberals are doing nowadays where they take obvious exaggeration or humor seriously or purposely misinterpret what others say so that they can have an easy argument against the pretty discreet strawman they've constructed.


Aaaaanyway to get back into it, no I haven't learned about the teacher strikes from articles buried deep down in some oped section of corporate media websites or from a few minutes of coverage on CNN, I learned about it from the constant coverage of the leftist media I follow and that google has partly censored under their fake news "initiative".

agrajag

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I don't follow "leftist media" outlets, but I assure you I knew about the strikes and they are widely reported in the mainstream. Unfortunately there aren't many developments to update about.

Breaking news, the teachers are STILL on strike. More at 11.

Nintex

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I found this, use it however you wish:

(Image removed from quote.)
https://fair.org/home/west-virginia-strike-highlights-corporate-medias-atrophied-labor-coverage/

Now create a Venn Diagram that intersects with:
"Rudy Giuliani goes on television"
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Optimus

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I don't follow "leftist media" outlets, but I assure you I knew about the strikes and they are widely reported in the mainstream. Unfortunately there aren't many developments to update about.

Breaking news, the teachers are STILL on strike. More at 11.


Yet they can somehow find a million ways to report about Trump tweeting something stupid. Funny how thousands of people striking and protesting state-wide isn't that interesting but a few words can be discussed for hours and hours.

agrajag

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If there are new developments, sure.

There's a constant, steady stream of shit coming out Trump's mouth. And as long as he's the president, it will get reported on. Expecting otherwise is insanity.

Mandark

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The media is biased depending on what corporations own what outlets and the profits they can gain from being biased in whatever direction about whatever issue or item. If you get news from an outlet that is part of a corporation, it will have biased reporting for sure.

Even with an enormous parent company (ie Disney, Amazon), 98% of a news outlet's stories aren't going to directly relate to that company in a way that invites corporate interference. Shosta's right so far as the chase for viewers/clicks/subscribers is a much bigger factor in shaping coverage in most cases. It's a bit different when there's a clear editorial edict like with Sinclair or Fox, but in Fox's case it's also served as a pretty effective branding strategy.

Nintex

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I don't follow "leftist media" outlets, but I assure you I knew about the strikes and they are widely reported in the mainstream. Unfortunately there aren't many developments to update about.

Breaking news, the teachers are STILL on strike. More at 11.


Yet they can somehow find a million ways to report about Trump tweeting something stupid. Funny how thousands of people striking and protesting state-wide isn't that interesting but a few words can be discussed for hours and hours.
:trumps
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Mandark

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One thing I do agree with Optimus about is how weird it is 24/7 national cable outlets cover the constant stream of stupid and nationally embarrassing tweets more than they do local issues with no updates in 2 months.

CNN used to have way more "news" that wasn't explicitly political.

I think it's roughly analogous to ESPN in the late aughts deciding that people would rather see different sets of talking heads argue about the same handful of debates than see highlights of out-of-market hockey.

FStop7

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The way the media hangs on every Trump tweet and rushes to report and analyze them in agonizing detail is annoying as hell.

Nintex

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https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/993562242124865536

So:
- Trump's best Israeli friend (Bibi) told him to ditch the deal
- John Kerry to Trump's anger did some shadow diplomacy to try and keep it afloat
- Trump considers John Kerry the one responsible for the deal
- He hates the deal because it gives Iran free money
- Giuliani likes the prospect of regime change in Iran
- John 'Moustache' Bolton hates Iran
- Trump wants to look 'tough' before he meets with Kim.

I almost feel sorry for that terrorist supporting Islamic shithole. Almost.
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Brehvolution

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ba-ba-ba ba-bomb Iran is back.
©ZH

curly

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Speaking of strikes University of California employees are on strike this week

kingv

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- Trump wants to look like someone who doesn't respect international agreements before he meets with Kim.

fixed :trumps

I said to Abe, “should we do the peace?” And he said that we should try to do the peace, so we tried to do the peace, but I can’t do the peace with the de-militarizing of Korea, so we didn’t do the the peace.

Mandark

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/sessions-parents-children-entering-us-illegally-will-be-separated-n872081

Quote
The Trump administration plans to take a tougher approach to families that enter the U.S. illegally by separating parents from their children, instead of keeping them in detention together.

"If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday at a law enforcement conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. "If you don't like that, then don't smuggle children over our border."

Assimilate

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nothing makes me limper than youtube videos with rants in the title

lol and he's ranting about gmos poisoning our food supply. euthanize all comedians.
Fuck off he's hilarious and he's on point most of the time. He's just confused with gmos vs the crazy amount of salt and sugar content they stick in our foods. He's throwing it in all together.  A lot of people make this mistake actually.

curly

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leave the comedians alone!!! it's not their fault they're fucking morons!!!  :crybaby :crybaby :crybaby

agrajag

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I said to Abe, “should we do the peace?” And he said that we should try to do the peace, so we tried to do the peace, but I can’t do the peace with the de-militarizing of Korea, so we didn’t do the the peace.


Nola

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Bill Burr is one of my favorite comedians but lets just say he’s not the strongest political thinker.

But I’ve said it before, there is some legit great journalism going on today. And more ways then ever to be informed. You have frigging comedy shows doing semi deep dives on Civil Forfeiture and Predatory Lending. Podcasts that are successfully crowd sourcing complex financial investigations into a sitting president, or investigative reports in local papers, for instance, uncovering the way Brigham Young was covering up and punishing victims of sexual assault(probably just needed a Jordan’s Peterson free speech rally to set those victims straight on how the real problem is liberals shutting down Milos appearances).

Certainly plenty of concerning things as well like the erosion of local journalism, the narrative dominance of the three cable news stations, and partisan propaganda basically becoming the default informant for an entire political party. Which is honestly as much of a problem of consumers feeding it as it is on the supplier end. People bitch about CNN and such, but their business model is working, and that is because people gravitate toward it. Hell, even on places around the internet where they claim greater sophistication, like I’m not seeing anyone start conversations about the latest Frontline documentary about the clusterfuck that has been Puerto Rico or the recent riots over the draconian cuts being forced upon them due in part to US neglect.  And the people always focusing in on CNN also love to act all above-it-all to almost a fault when in fact there are very real issues underlying what is going on in the Trump administration and in democracies around the world(even if CNN is monetizing it by turning it into a soap opera, it does at least get people to pay attention in a way that isn't Fox's straight propagandizing). People want to pretend they are far more enlightened then they are(certainly me included) and few want to take responsibility for their own failings in this relationship.

....like a certain poster that at least twice now has re-tweeted actual Russian propaganda while accosting everyone else around him for being failed citizens.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 05:17:16 PM by Nola »

agrajag

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....like a certain poster that at least twice now has re-tweeted actual Russian propaganda while accosting everyone else around him for being failed citizens.

Now I get what leftist media he was talking about

 :ohhh

curly

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Bill Burr is one of my favorite comedians but lets just say he’s not the strongest political thinker.

But I’ve said it before, there is some legit great journalism going on today. And more ways then ever to be informed. You have frigging comedy shows doing semi deep dives on Civil Forfeiture and Predatory Lending. Podcasts that are successfully crowd sourcing complex financial investigations into a sitting president, or investigative reports in local papers, for instance, uncovering the way Brigham Young was covering up and punishing victims of sexual assault(probably just needed a Jordan’s Peterson free speech rally to set those victims straight on how the real problem is liberals shutting down Milos appearances).

Certainly plenty of concerning things as well like the erosion of local journalism, the narrative dominance of the three cable news stations, and partisan propaganda basically becoming the default informant for an entire political party. Which is honestly as much of a problem of consumers feeding it as it is on the supplier end. People bitch about CNN and such, but their business model is working, and that is because people gravitate toward it. Hell, even on places around the internet where they claim greater sophistication, like I’m not seeing anyone start conversations about the latest Frontline documentary about the clusterfuck that has been Puerto Rico or the recent riots over the draconian cuts being forced upon them due in part to US neglect.  And the people always focusing in on CNN also love to act all above-it-all to almost a fault when in fact there are very real issues underlying what is going on in the Trump administration and in democracies around the world(even if CNN is monetizing it by turning it into a soap opera, it does at least get people to pay attention in a way that isn't Fox's straight propagandizing). People want to pretend they are far more enlightened then they are(certainly me included) and few want to take responsibility for their own failings in this relationship.

....like a certain poster that at least twice now has re-tweeted actual Russian propaganda while accosting everyone else around him for being failed citizens.

nah the news media sucks ass

The cable news channels are infotainment, the printed press is quickly dying outside of a few flagship entities and those are getting worse as well, more people than ever get their news in a haphazard and piecemeal fashion that gives no sense of proportion or what issues even matter. It's nice that there's more avenues for quality journalism but if only small numbers of people are accessing it then it isn't worth that much. The trendlines are overwhelmingly bad. Exhorting the average consumer to be smarter about their news consumption habits is pointless, that approach never works.

Nintex

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- Trump wants to look like someone who doesn't respect international agreements before he meets with Kim.

fixed :trumps

I said to Abe, “should we do the peace?” And he said that we should try to do the peace, so we tried to do the peace, but I can’t do the peace with the de-militarizing of Korea, so we didn’t do the the peace.
And then we got there. And it was a huge border and they actually have a fence there, walls and drones and MINES. MINES that will blow your feet off. I told Kim it was good they are all small as it would come in handy to evade all the MINES they have there. I've never seen so many MINES. I said. Who paid for them? Like you have starving people dying on the streets. Babies with no milk, can you imagine? Babies crying? Dying but you have MINES and TANKS all over the place. It's crazy folks.
It was a real border. Nothing like what we have. We have no border. We have a joke!

So I sat down with Kim, and I said to him. Anyway we can learn a lot, you can learn from us, we can learn from you. We all get something out of this deal. But I told him, you have to give up the nukes. You have to.
So then we talked money. And boy do they want our money, they want our money badly. But we're not giving it away for free folks. So I told him. You know the Koreans they are great builders. They have these palaces all over the place and these statues. Like really big statues, like maybe we should have the statues here as well. And Mike, Mike actually visited there. The great Mike Pompeo. He's a bit shy. Where is he? There he is! Mike? Want to say a few words? No he'd rather not. Alright then.

So I said to Kim, you are great builders kinda like me. And he said he had read my book and I told him. How about you build our WALL and we pay you or reimburse you with the money that Mexico will pay us. So the KOREANS will build the WALL and the Mexicans will pay for it. Now that's what I call the ART OF THE DEAL folks. And Jared... where's Jared? JARED talked to the Saudi Prince and we said. You know you have lots of soldiers. You have soldiers all over the place. How about we send Korean soldiers to the Holy land to the PROMISED land. We send Korean soldiers, they keep the peace. They get well fed, It's all paid for.

And Kim said he'd consider it. So who knows what will happen folks. They've put out their demands, we've put out ours and soon we will have another meeting at my place. I told him, I've visited your place but you should really come and visit the Mar-a-lago. Take that sister of yours, oh do we love his sister. She's like the queen of Korea if it had a queen. So this was a great visit. A tremendous success for our country and the world as we move closer to peace. Because that's what we want PEACE. Right JOhn? John's not so sure he wants peace folks. John is more the warry type. We'll get 'em John don't worry. We'll got to Iran or someplace.

*CNN shouts inaudible question as they are ignored*

That was totally misreported and also completely fake news. That's what I told Kim, ignore all the lies in the media. You know you are really something the lying news media. You are really something. You're causing Nuclear war with your fake reporting. No really it's true believe me everybody is saying it.

*BBC asks question*

Who knows right? I mean, Gadaffi gave up everything and still we bombed him. We got him. But that was crooked Hillary. And you know what it cost us? It cost us so much not only in terms of money but also other it was tremendous

*Time asks question*

They said, Trump should get the Nobel. Trump should get the Nobel. I say we need to get it done first and we're getting it done believe me

*MSNBC question*

Those are Rudy's words not mine. He's not really up to speed with all the facts but look he knows it's a Witch Hunt. Now Stormy Daniels that's a real Witch. A real piece of work. Talking about obstructing things that's what's Stormy is doing. She obstructing everything all the time it's unbelievable.

THANK YOU EVERYONE THANK YOU

*thumbs up, fist in air, clap-clap-clap, thumbs up*
🤴

Mandark

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Exhorting the average consumer to be smarter about their news consumption habits is pointless, that approach never works.

This.

The whole point of the inverted pyramid style of newspaper articles is the assumption that most people won't read the whole story, and that's a convention that long predates television, much less cable news or the internet.

Nola

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nah the news media sucks ass

The cable news channels are infotainment, the printed press is quickly dying outside of a few flagship entities and those are getting worse as well, more people than ever get their news in a haphazard and piecemeal fashion that gives no sense of proportion or what issues even matter. It's nice that there's more avenues for quality journalism but if only small numbers of people are accessing it then it isn't worth that much. The trendlines are overwhelmingly bad. Exhorting the average consumer to be smarter about their news consumption habits is pointless, that approach never works.
I mean I don't think there was ever a period in US history where the reality of our news media and it's relationship with the citizenry matched the prism of idealism people seemingly compare the present to.

And I just think it is entirely unhelpful to try and talk about something as large and complex as the US news media by just basing it on generalizations(almost always around the supply side) and simple narratives. Because it's not that simple(not saying you necessarily are, just saying).

There are shit aspects to our news media, like the enormous right-wing propaganda network that exists and informs a far too large segment of our population, the disinformation issues social media has brought on, the loss of local journalism, and to a much lesser extent CNN's soap opera'ing of the news. And that we can't leave the much tougher question of consumption habits feeding these trends out of the judgement equation. Because ultimately solutions have to work around that problem. If there are to be any. I'd love a world where 98% of the population spends two hours a day reading quality journalism of only the highest standards mixed between national and local issues. Where market success was determined entirely by how well an outlet did at relaying facts on the news of the day and properly prioritizing issues(which is a whole debate in and of itself). But thats not how most people operate and ignoring the human element in any of these discussions is ignoring one of the more difficult challenges in moving toward people's preferred idealism from current reality.

My other point was just to also keep in mind there is plenty of good still being done, and lots of interesting ways(like comedy, podcasts, blogs, certain internet communities) that quality journalism is reaching new audiences. That I would add often gets thrown into that unhelpful generalized pile of "bad" that I don't think should be.






« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 06:47:05 PM by Nola »

curly

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There's huge issues with how we consume news as well, though, and it's deeper than not spending enough time. The old model where you get your daily paper or watch a half hour news broadcast gave the average person a discrete package of information to digest. You knew that the stories at the top of the hour were most important, that the first paragraphs gave the basic gist of the story, that local news had its own section, etc. There was a structure and, maybe most importantly, a beginning and an end. You weren't being bukkaked endlessly by information. Obviously the old model has many issues and you can't just turn back the clock, but to me at least the link between the schizophrenic way we consume the news and the brokenness of our political system is pretty clear.

Nola

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Exhorting the average consumer to be smarter about their news consumption habits is pointless, that approach never works.

This.

The whole point of the inverted pyramid style of newspaper articles is the assumption that most people won't read the whole story, and that's a convention that long predates television, much less cable news or the internet.

Right, and that convention is amongst numerous feedback loops that have proliferated in part as a response to consumer behaviors and preferences.

Which is what my point was meant to be about. That the underlying consumer dynamic in this discussion shouldn't be left out..But it feels like it often does.

I actually don't have a good solution to that problem. If exhorting or shaming were the universal antidote to ignorance and poor consumption habits, AA wouldn't have a 10% success rate and hostile social media discussions on race issues would of cured systemic inequality years ago.





Mandark

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There's huge issues with how we consume news as well, though, and it's deeper than not spending enough time. The old model where you get your daily paper or watch a half hour news broadcast gave the average person a discrete package of information to digest. You knew that the stories at the top of the hour were most important, that the first paragraphs gave the basic gist of the story, that local news had its own section, etc. There was a structure and, maybe most importantly, a beginning and an end. You weren't being bukkaked endlessly by information. Obviously the old model has many issues and you can't just turn back the clock, but to me at least the link between the schizophrenic way we consume the news and the brokenness of our political system is pretty clear.

2004 me would be very surprised at how 2018 me feels about the internet undermining traditional media gatekeepers.

Mandark

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Agree with the above, but is our political system any more broken than it's always been?

I'm gonna say yeah. There's a hypothesis that the structure of the US government (primarily Congress) doesn't function well with ideologically opposed parties, instead of the weird amalgams that the parties used to be. I don't know if that's right but it feels plausible.

Nola

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There's huge issues with how we consume news as well, though, and it's deeper than not spending enough time. The old model where you get your daily paper or watch a half hour news broadcast gave the average person a discrete package of information to digest. You knew that the stories at the top of the hour were most important, that the first paragraphs gave the basic gist of the story, that local news had its own section, etc. There was a structure and, maybe most importantly, a beginning and an end. You weren't being bukkaked endlessly by information. Obviously the old model has many issues and you can't just turn back the clock, but to me at least the link between the schizophrenic way we consume the news and the brokenness of our political system is pretty clear.
I agree with the gist of what you are trying to say, definitely, hence my initial raising of the adjacent consumer question along with the structural critiques most were offering. It's how to go from point A(how the system is operating today) to the idealized point B(how it could better function to better inform) that is a bit of a problem in my mind. One I am not sure has actually ever been solved.

Because I still contend this rosy picture of the past seems to be far less true in reality. For instance Father Coughlin, infamous firebrand radio host that eventually espoused the virtues of Nazism, had a much larger audience than Edward R Murrow. Who by most accounts was only moderately successful in his prime-time spot for much of his career. Joseph Pulitzer cut his teeth circulating a yellow journalism rag, a semi Buzzfeed of his day. And the deep south was often mired by pressures to not report on many Civil Rights issues for years, and internally often shied away as to not lose access to sources in places like political office or law enforcement. So you had places like the NY Times with more accurate and greater coverage of Civil Rights issues than the local paper you might pick up in Selma.