"Sure, Carl Paladino--prominent Republican, former gubernatorial candidate, and currently running for United States Congress--praised Hitler and has been openly racist. But as a matter of fairness the Times must point out that a certain college student at Middlebury once opined that Marx was very good in 'Night at the Opera.' Thus, both sides have leaders who are at the extremes, though we must say that praising Marx is so far beyond the pale that Mr. Paladino's remarks are, by comparison, rather pedestrian."
Jun 10, 2022·edited Jun 10, 2022Liked by Roy Edroso
This is great! Pitch perfect.
I'll be honest, I think we're fucked on this one. Big City newspaper jobs have turned into cool cat positions for Trust- funders ( they're the only people who can afford to go through the unpaid internships) so we're never going to get any more literate than Mitt and Buffy's Middle School Instagram account.
Mitt and Buffy are perfectly literate, as one could guess from their old-fashioned names, and are well-educated in the art of not saying shit when they have a mouthful.
Wolfe - what can you say? "Acid Test " and "Right Stuff " were good work. I really liked "Bauhaus" Funny, get got me looking at the Bauhaus oeuvre ( a word I can use around here!) and I came to the conclusion I really liked it. The novels were all dogshit weren't they? They might have gotten better after the first 20 pages or so. I'll be honest - I wouldn't know. He ended up a Bushie so fuck that. And that white suit thing was stupid.
That's why I think norms should not be covering important stories but they should be limited to reporters on the spectrum. Norms just know what editors, publishers, etc., want and deliver without needing direction. People look at these things and are all WTF? Even enlightened, Gilles missed the core of his story.
This tepid bullshit at the NYT & other big media outlets is exactly why the liberal solution to everything will be "Do nothing, but harder this time" and make a lot of excuses for why it didn't get done today or the time before.
The ones we are forced to put all our trust in have no sense of urgency beyond a 2-year or 4-year election cycle. No one can call a fascist a fascist...
Like I keep saying, nothing tastes finer to your mainstream media type than reactionary ass, even the Nazi-loving variety. The NYT is the leading QED for this proposition.
Memo to Palladino: The GOP has in fact provided the kind of leader you want exciting the masses: DC, 6 January 2021, then-POTUS/huge loser Donnie Trump.
He's shown them how to be even more ruthless and shameless, so I think even the ones who don't want him are still happy to get tips from him. I mean, nobody likes Ted Cruz, but they'll use the guy.
Trump has shown us all what's possible when it comes to denying reality. I don't doubt that if he were still President, a third of the country would believe with absolute certainty that inflation is not happening and the price of gas is no different than a year ago.
Which kind of begs the mystery: If current inflation cannot be properly or effectively addressed with interests rate hikes, then what the Fed's doing is per se inflationary?
Donnie and his acolytes are just the salesmen for the base, to keep them electoral engaged. They have approximately nothing to do with what you can call the Republican project. Oh, and the mainstream media love covering their outrageousness.
What the piece of shit said between the election and 1/6 directly led to a mob storming the capitol and attempting to murder the Vice President, Speaker of the House, etc. So what the piece of shit says is always worth some attention, as painful as that can be.
Yeah, a real outsider who can--paradoxically!--run the government like a business. What? He's a 4-time bankrupt? Smart! He takes advantage of the rules!
When Trump voters said "He can run the government like a business" I always assumed they meant "Run the government like HIS business" which means "Run it straight into the ground."
Exactly, what interest would Republicans ever have in making government more efficient and effective? That would just encourage people to look to government to do even more things. Instead, tell people that government can never do anything right, and spend your time in office making your self-fulfilling prophecy come true.
This is so simple, and obviously true, I don't know why Dems don't say it ten times a day. And the obvious falseness of it--gov't. is the problem except for national defense, the enforcement of contracts, disaster assistance, pandemic response, the FDA, etc., etc.--makes me start to think that maybe people on the right aren't very smart!
Borderline only because the Mafia, whatever you think of them and I fucking hate them, can spot a guy who's gonna cheat you if you let him. If he was at least loyal, he'd have done a lot better in a lot of arenas.
On one hand, too many pols are people who couldn't make it in the private sector, OTOH, private sector business management doesn't translate to being a pol.
Hey Hitler had a failed coup, and even spent some time behind bars, lost an election or two before winning big with like 35% of the vote. Except for the time behind bars, DJT likes those odds
NYT this morning: “Analysis - Trump depicted as a would-be autocrat…” The art is in the “depicted” and “would-be.” “COVID depicted as a would-be pandemic.” “AR-15 depicted as would-be means of slaughtering 10 year olds.” “Putin depicted as would-be invader of Ukraine.” EB White would be vomiting over the weaselly words NYT headline writers use to avoid stating the truth.
Hey, let's be fair, failed attempts to overthrow the government don't count, when we have a successful attempt to overthrow the government the Times will cover it with all the seriousness it deserves.
Times deadlines are breath taking in their inanity, pointlessness, effeteness.
OTOH, the Times is primarily a BuzzFeed for the 10% so sure, inanity.
Too, only ~55% of subscribers are there for news as opposed to subbing for games, sports, cooking, etc. So, you know, news is barely a priority. So inane headlines.
I know, right? My response would be, "Well, lacking anything else of value from you, yes, that would be a start...or at least a learning opportunity"...
I like how the lone Democrat quoted chooses to form his "attack" as a rhetorical question:
“How has the Republican Party stooped so low to support a man who has gone on record idolizing a monster that senselessly killed millions?"
That's how you know the Dems have taken the gloves off, when they ask some REALLY pointed questions. No, "This is today's Republican party, etc," wouldn't do, let's not go asserting things when we know that's the Republicans' job.
They've already compared the Jan. 6th hearing to the Benghazi ones. The verdict: Benghazi "hardened negative opinion of (Hillary Clinton) on the right and may have served to turn some more politically disengaged voters against her as well," while these hearings "ultimately promise an anticlimax," so why bother? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/opinion/january-6-hearings.html
Wow, that's a masterpiece of seen-it-all, world-weary cynicism. I suppose the idea that we should have hearings into 1/6 because it's the right thing to do would seem hopelessly silly and naive to Mr. Know-it-All Columnist.
This is how you write satire folks. Wit that creates its own logic as it vivisects a bunch of worthy targets with surgical precision, and a crescendo of humor to a brilliant climax (in the penultimate paragraph as I see it). Roy is so good at this.
Another note-perfect capture of the zeitgeist, Mr. Edroso. These sketches always make me think about the odd place in our culture held by the few newspapers left. They are generally perceived as "important" in some vague way, whether the local rags who can no longer afford to cover state politics or the 2 based in their seats of power (DC and NY, and does anyone pay attention to the LA Times? Why not? Chicago I get being ignored, but LA is still pretty important culturally and financially), while widely reviled by the Left and Right for not catering to their biases, Reality and Resentment, respectively. This must keep them permanently off-balance, trying to guess what will preserve, let alone enhance, the shreds of relevance they have left. Maybe the Times looks at the Post and sees what picking a side gets you, and nopes out on that. There must be a few dinosaurs mixed in with the trust fund kids, since they do (some) honest reporting, but their approach to Opinion is to have all of them, facts and sanity be damned. What value they see in that i have no idea.
I had a $1 LA Times subscription until recently, but gave it up because of info overdose. That said, there was quite a bit of good reporting in it from international to local. The $1 digital format was brutal tho.
"Sure, Carl Paladino--prominent Republican, former gubernatorial candidate, and currently running for United States Congress--praised Hitler and has been openly racist. But as a matter of fairness the Times must point out that a certain college student at Middlebury once opined that Marx was very good in 'Night at the Opera.' Thus, both sides have leaders who are at the extremes, though we must say that praising Marx is so far beyond the pale that Mr. Paladino's remarks are, by comparison, rather pedestrian."
Once again, as a dedicated Marxist-Lennonist, I must endorse this comment
All hail! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/FST_How_Can_You_Be_in_Two_Places_at_Once_album_cover.jpg
I'm more of a Martin Luther Lennonist. The band was led by Cousin Oliver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CPtDlMlCPo&t=6s
The title reminds me a little of this 10cc song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipm2wm5Exik
This is great! Pitch perfect.
I'll be honest, I think we're fucked on this one. Big City newspaper jobs have turned into cool cat positions for Trust- funders ( they're the only people who can afford to go through the unpaid internships) so we're never going to get any more literate than Mitt and Buffy's Middle School Instagram account.
Mitt and Buffy are perfectly literate, as one could guess from their old-fashioned names, and are well-educated in the art of not saying shit when they have a mouthful.
Props on the Wolfe reference!
Wolfe - what can you say? "Acid Test " and "Right Stuff " were good work. I really liked "Bauhaus" Funny, get got me looking at the Bauhaus oeuvre ( a word I can use around here!) and I came to the conclusion I really liked it. The novels were all dogshit weren't they? They might have gotten better after the first 20 pages or so. I'll be honest - I wouldn't know. He ended up a Bushie so fuck that. And that white suit thing was stupid.
Bela Lugosi's dead, he's dead, he's dead, he's dead
Wolfe! The only conservative worth shit albeit much more for prose styling than substance.
Yes and no. See (again?), https://the.ink/p/like-capitalism-itself-business-journalism?s=r
That's why I think norms should not be covering important stories but they should be limited to reporters on the spectrum. Norms just know what editors, publishers, etc., want and deliver without needing direction. People look at these things and are all WTF? Even enlightened, Gilles missed the core of his story.
This tepid bullshit at the NYT & other big media outlets is exactly why the liberal solution to everything will be "Do nothing, but harder this time" and make a lot of excuses for why it didn't get done today or the time before.
The ones we are forced to put all our trust in have no sense of urgency beyond a 2-year or 4-year election cycle. No one can call a fascist a fascist...
Mr. Hitler could not be reached for comment.
https://youtu.be/hWIyVRNAxCg
Possibly there’s part of him longing to be interviewed?
https://youtu.be/EQjlP_JB5jM
Like I keep saying, nothing tastes finer to your mainstream media type than reactionary ass, even the Nazi-loving variety. The NYT is the leading QED for this proposition.
Memo to Palladino: The GOP has in fact provided the kind of leader you want exciting the masses: DC, 6 January 2021, then-POTUS/huge loser Donnie Trump.
Even DJT itself seems to be pushing a new party line that DJT was never in fact President
Who gives a fuck what that piece of shit is saying.
He's shown them how to be even more ruthless and shameless, so I think even the ones who don't want him are still happy to get tips from him. I mean, nobody likes Ted Cruz, but they'll use the guy.
Trump has shown us all what's possible when it comes to denying reality. I don't doubt that if he were still President, a third of the country would believe with absolute certainty that inflation is not happening and the price of gas is no different than a year ago.
--and if the price of gas IS high, it's Obama's fault.
Which kind of begs the mystery: If current inflation cannot be properly or effectively addressed with interests rate hikes, then what the Fed's doing is per se inflationary?
Donnie and his acolytes are just the salesmen for the base, to keep them electoral engaged. They have approximately nothing to do with what you can call the Republican project. Oh, and the mainstream media love covering their outrageousness.
What the piece of shit said between the election and 1/6 directly led to a mob storming the capitol and attempting to murder the Vice President, Speaker of the House, etc. So what the piece of shit says is always worth some attention, as painful as that can be.
40-45% of the electorate
Fuck their feelings.
Republican voter, October 2024: Hey, why don't we give this Trump fellow a try? Time we got a real outsider, some fresh blood in there!
Washington Journal this morning, two different callers report that Trump Is Not A Politician. One says that's why she likes him.
Not: A Politician/A Successful Businessman/A Supportive Parent/A Faithful Husband
Is: An Accomplished Liar/A Racist/A Rapist/A Russian Tool
NY Times, October 2024: "Democrats claim Trump has already been President, but this claim is in dispute."
Yeah, a real outsider who can--paradoxically!--run the government like a business. What? He's a 4-time bankrupt? Smart! He takes advantage of the rules!
When Trump voters said "He can run the government like a business" I always assumed they meant "Run the government like HIS business" which means "Run it straight into the ground."
Which is what they (think they) want, since Reagan told them gov't. is the problem.
Exactly, what interest would Republicans ever have in making government more efficient and effective? That would just encourage people to look to government to do even more things. Instead, tell people that government can never do anything right, and spend your time in office making your self-fulfilling prophecy come true.
This is so simple, and obviously true, I don't know why Dems don't say it ten times a day. And the obvious falseness of it--gov't. is the problem except for national defense, the enforcement of contracts, disaster assistance, pandemic response, the FDA, etc., etc.--makes me start to think that maybe people on the right aren't very smart!
Borderline mobster, actually.
Borderline only because the Mafia, whatever you think of them and I fucking hate them, can spot a guy who's gonna cheat you if you let him. If he was at least loyal, he'd have done a lot better in a lot of arenas.
There’s the allegation Donnie has been a snitch.
Obviously. I'm sure he's a terrible snitch, because he hears what he wants people to say, his memory is faulty at best, and he makes shit up.
On one hand, too many pols are people who couldn't make it in the private sector, OTOH, private sector business management doesn't translate to being a pol.
Hey Hitler had a failed coup, and even spent some time behind bars, lost an election or two before winning big with like 35% of the vote. Except for the time behind bars, DJT likes those odds
So, LOCK HIM UP!?
Of course, Hitler was given power, he didn’t have to steal it (exactly) like Huge User Donnie.
NYT this morning: “Analysis - Trump depicted as a would-be autocrat…” The art is in the “depicted” and “would-be.” “COVID depicted as a would-be pandemic.” “AR-15 depicted as would-be means of slaughtering 10 year olds.” “Putin depicted as would-be invader of Ukraine.” EB White would be vomiting over the weaselly words NYT headline writers use to avoid stating the truth.
The coup failed, so therefore we are obligated by galactic law to forget it and move on.
Hey, let's be fair, failed attempts to overthrow the government don't count, when we have a successful attempt to overthrow the government the Times will cover it with all the seriousness it deserves.
Attempted murder, I ask you. Do they give a Nobel Prize for attempted chemistry?
Times deadlines are breath taking in their inanity, pointlessness, effeteness.
OTOH, the Times is primarily a BuzzFeed for the 10% so sure, inanity.
Too, only ~55% of subscribers are there for news as opposed to subbing for games, sports, cooking, etc. So, you know, news is barely a priority. So inane headlines.
"What would you have our reporters do? Call up Republicans until they find one who is willing to go on record against Mr. Hitler?"
:D :D :D
I know, right? My response would be, "Well, lacking anything else of value from you, yes, that would be a start...or at least a learning opportunity"...
ALL the points for referencing Walter Duranty, especially in these times.
"Hitler is controversial, after all, but at least nobody mentioning his name burned all of America's cities to the ground two years ago."
Cities?
Stupid frigging autocorrect. I blame Biden.
LOL, I'm going to leave this up 'cause it's the funniest thing I've read today. "cuties" instead of "cities."
Those tangerines had it coming!
Long live the winter citrus!
I like how the lone Democrat quoted chooses to form his "attack" as a rhetorical question:
“How has the Republican Party stooped so low to support a man who has gone on record idolizing a monster that senselessly killed millions?"
That's how you know the Dems have taken the gloves off, when they ask some REALLY pointed questions. No, "This is today's Republican party, etc," wouldn't do, let's not go asserting things when we know that's the Republicans' job.
How has the Republican Party stooped so low to support a man who has gone on record idolizing a monster that senselessly killed millions?
They've loved Trump since 2015
To ask the question is to answer it.
"But we can still work with them to get common-sense, bipartisan solutions to our most pressing problems!"
[Landlady looks at map, turns to Mr Bins]
“Oh no, this isn’t Prospect Heights; it’s Stalingrad. You wouldn’t have had much fun in Stalingrad!”
I'm waiting for the day the Times quotes some Republican about how WWII wasn't really that bad compared to Benghazi.
They've already compared the Jan. 6th hearing to the Benghazi ones. The verdict: Benghazi "hardened negative opinion of (Hillary Clinton) on the right and may have served to turn some more politically disengaged voters against her as well," while these hearings "ultimately promise an anticlimax," so why bother? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/opinion/january-6-hearings.html
Wow, that's a masterpiece of seen-it-all, world-weary cynicism. I suppose the idea that we should have hearings into 1/6 because it's the right thing to do would seem hopelessly silly and naive to Mr. Know-it-All Columnist.
This is how you write satire folks. Wit that creates its own logic as it vivisects a bunch of worthy targets with surgical precision, and a crescendo of humor to a brilliant climax (in the penultimate paragraph as I see it). Roy is so good at this.
Another note-perfect capture of the zeitgeist, Mr. Edroso. These sketches always make me think about the odd place in our culture held by the few newspapers left. They are generally perceived as "important" in some vague way, whether the local rags who can no longer afford to cover state politics or the 2 based in their seats of power (DC and NY, and does anyone pay attention to the LA Times? Why not? Chicago I get being ignored, but LA is still pretty important culturally and financially), while widely reviled by the Left and Right for not catering to their biases, Reality and Resentment, respectively. This must keep them permanently off-balance, trying to guess what will preserve, let alone enhance, the shreds of relevance they have left. Maybe the Times looks at the Post and sees what picking a side gets you, and nopes out on that. There must be a few dinosaurs mixed in with the trust fund kids, since they do (some) honest reporting, but their approach to Opinion is to have all of them, facts and sanity be damned. What value they see in that i have no idea.
"What value they see in that i have no idea."
Hate-clicks count the same a regular clicks, that fact alone justifies employing Bret Stephens.
I had a $1 LA Times subscription until recently, but gave it up because of info overdose. That said, there was quite a bit of good reporting in it from international to local. The $1 digital format was brutal tho.
Thanks for making this public, Roy. I'll do what I can to spread the Gospel of Ed Roso across the continents.
In Ed We Trust