November 3, 2016

"So choose your reality. If you like the reality where Trump wins, you can watch it happening live on FOX News."

"He’s crushing it over there. But if you hope for a Clinton win, watch CNN and see your dreams come true. She’s doing great on that network."

Quips Scott Adams.

He's right. The news networks are playing to their audience. But what channel do you watch when you don't want either candidate to win? I find myself watching CNN. To me, the election is a horror show, and it doesn't matter whether I go down into the cellar or jump out the window. A monster will grab me. I can't have the fun of enjoying Trump crushing it on Fox or Clinton basking in presumed victory on CNN. But the faces on CNN are hilarious. Adams observes that the content at CNN is comedic, as they "avoid mentioning Clinton" and go on about "process." I'm seeing that plus the pained expressions on the faces of the commentators, especially Jake Tapper. There's a subtle, ever-changing mix of suppressed panic and depression. Sometimes you get a talking head that flashes through all 5 stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — within a single minute of blah blah blah.

Here, watch the panel on Tapper's show from last night. Meade and I laughed and laughed:

69 comments:

rehajm said...

But what channel do you watch when you don't want either candidate to win?

HGTV, or something.

Unknown said...

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you if Hillary wins.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3899540/Go-away-shouldn-t-Don-t-come-corner-Yorkshire-no-white-residents.html

Nonapod said...

People are tired and there's more comfort in your echo chamber. Feeling hopeful is a lot better than feeling hopeless.

LYNNDH said...

Laughing and maybe whistling past the grave yard. This is no laughing matter. Bet CNN is not really reporting the FBI looking into the Clinton "Foundation".

M Jordan said...

Laughed and laughed? What am I missing?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Laugh about it. Shout about it.

There are two characters in Detectorists who are referred to as Simon and Garfunkel because that's who they look like, from the 1960s.

And I'm, like, that's so weird that a British TV show from 2014 would make that a running joke.

If there was ever a reference to Chad and Jeremy on The Big Bang Theory I did not catch it.

Sydney said...

A year ago, I didn't think I could vote if my choice was going to be Hillary or the Donald. But now, Hillary and the Democrats have been proven even more corrupt than I ever imagined, and their alliance with media more extensive than I ever imagined. I'm voting for Trump without regrets. I can't see any angle that makes Hillary and her political party a good choice for this country. Unfortunately, I think I'm in the minority.

robother said...

I fear Ann and Meade are entering some post-grieving stage of hysterical laughing.

Rick said...

But what channel do you watch when you don't want either candidate to win?

Althouse.

Yancey Ward said...

It is easy to explain the CNN people- it is the realization that even if she wins next week, her corruption can't be hidden any longer. The thing that has really changed in the last month is that no one in a position to investigate her is afraid of her any longer, even if she is the president.

I am starting to believe, again, that she is going to lose- much of what has happened in the polling the last few days (see CO and VA) looks like a tipping point to me where the soft support simply falls away, first into third party support, then to Trump or stays home.

Keep your eyes on Virginia- that state is the key on election night. If Clinton wins it, she will likely win the election, if she loses it, she is definitely toast.

Amadeus 48 said...

Trump, baby. Because they all hate him. Vote for an accountable president.

victoria said...

Seriously, its as big a joke watching the trolls at FOX try to out Trump each other. Im with Rick, what do you watch if you don't want either candidate to win

Vicki from Pasadena

galivantor said...

"To me, the election is a horror show, and it doesn't matter.."
How pompously precious of you, Ms. Althouse....
:-(

MayBee said...

CNN has also taken to playing Obama's entire republicans-are-racist-bashing speeches in favor of Hillary. Has there ever been a bigger difference in one man than 2006 Obama to 2016 Obama?

Caroline said...

There's something so....Charro about Alicia machado. I will probably surf between fox and CNN. I used to be a lifelong NBC nightly news viewer, but they seem to exist in a parallel universe of claptrappy groupthink this cycle.

shiloh said...

Adams keen grasp of the obvious aside ...

Whereas it is/was true watching foxnews election eve 2008/2012 was highly entertaining ie schadenfreude x google. All good things in moderation.

ok, maybe it was just me and doesn't apply to Althouse cons who represent 90% of this echo chamber.

btw, as asked a few times previously, what's the attraction of a con echo chamber to a diehard conservative? ok, who doesn't enjoy being around like minded folk er being totally insulated in a bubble.

>

Imagine 24/7 ad nauseam minutiae cable news during say the Civil War, FDR, JFK, LBJ, Watergate, etc. etc.

Kevin said...

But what channel do you watch when you don't want either candidate to win?

Morning Joe on MSNBC. Joe keeps the cheerleading down to a minimum and tries to talk about the facts of the day.

The regular shilling begins promptly at 9.

Bob Boyd said...

I like the wolves howling in the background when they were talking about Hillary's numbers.

Matt said...

Watched the CNN panel on mute. The woman on the right of Tapper looks like she's explaining how she borrowed your car and it got a dent. The man on the left looks like he's telling someone their stock portfolio lost value this quarter.

Owen said...

Prof. Althouse: "Sometimes you get a talking head that flashes through all 5 stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — within a single minute of blah blah blah."

Micro-expressions are a real thing. And we have evolved to be acutely sensitive to them. At the pre/sub conscious level. A lot of our neurological real estate, inherited from the very old days as we came down from the canopy and roamed the savannah in tribes, is devoted to social signal processing. There is an adaptive advantage in being able to read that flickering of feeling, of which you speak.

So, who knows, it might be real.

shiloh said...

btw, Althouse is a lot like foxnews which is why I enjoy the daily con bubble hilarity.

And again the irony as Althouse basically is a liberal but has to cater/kowtow to her con majority as she knows where her bread is buttered.

Indeed, Althouse and foxnews, peas in a pod er supply and demand.

Unknown said...

When Hillary is thrown in jail later this month, after losing the election, I do hope Shiloh has a breakdown for us all to enjoy. Since she's so into schadenfreude and all.

Because the Hillary camp, having been the most criminal and corrupt presidential cabal in history, decided that it would be a grand idea to royally piss off the nation's biggest and best law enforcement agency.

Why would you do such a thing? Why? Now the FBI is beyond mad, dropping bombs all over Hillary's campaign like they are Curtis LeMay over Tokyo. And it's reaching into Obama's government too.

Hillary and Obama decided that was the best thing they could do? When they are so corrupt? We all know Hillary broke the law, on purpose, and repeatedly. Looks like Obama did as well. The FBI is so pissed off they are recruiting state AG's so that Obama's pardon power cannot stop the forthcoming jailing of the Clintons.

Since every last dark Republican nightmare about Hillary has so far proven correct, I wonder when we'll get the news that Hillary ordered Huma to leak info to her Muslim Brotherhood buddies to attack Benghazi and kill Stevens. If that news breaks, Shiloh: You'll defend her still, no doubt.

--Vance

Brando said...

"The news networks are playing to their audience. But what channel do you watch when you don't want either candidate to win?"

Or how about "what channel do you watch if you want an accurate and sensible analysis of what is going on?" and the answer is none of them. You won't get that with TV news.

n.n said...

Neither. All the news that is fit to print can be found in the penumbra a.k.a. twilight zone. A place occupied by the far left-far right-"moderate" center nexus.

Anonymous said...

I'd have an easier time making sense of what the Trump supporter was saying if I had any idea what a "Ballou state" is.

shiloh said...

Repeating, for the record have never defended Hillary re: anything and have mentioned several times she's a frickin' train wreck. But, but, but ...

Trump admitting sexual assault.
Clinton emails.
Trump charity fraud.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for nuclear proliferation.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for national stop and frisk.
Clinton emails.
Trump violates trade embargo with Cuba.
Clinton emails.
Trump sued over Trump University fraud.
Clinton emails.
Trump accused of bribing DA in IRS case.
Clinton emails.
Trump doesnt pay taxes for 20 years.
Clinton emails.
Trump employs campaign manager accused of being involved in illegal corruption with Russia.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for ban of an entire religion from entering US.
Clinton emails.
Trump lied about support for Iraq War over and over in debate.
Clinton emails.
Trump cased dismissed by accuser to re-file b/c of new witness in child rape case.
Clinton emails.
Trump unaware of Russia's Crimea occupation.
Clinton emails.
Trump unaware of situation in Syria.
Clinton emails.
Trump penalized for racist housing discrimination.
Clinton emails.
Trump files for bankrupcy 6 times.
Clinton emails.
Trump goes 0-3 in debates by showing scant knowledge of world politics.
Clinton emails.
Trump slams people for being POWs. (prisoners of war)
Clinton emails.
Trump calls Mexicans rapists.
Clinton emails.
Trump questions judge's integrity because of parent's heritage.
Clinton emails.
Trump deletes emails involved in casino scandal.
Clinton emails.
Trump has over 10 assault victims and witnesses come forward with allegations of abuse.
Clinton emails.
Trump attacks former Miss Universe for being overweight.
Clinton emails.
Trump tweets about sex tapes at 3am.
Clinton emails.
Trump says he will try US citizens accused of terrorism at Gitmo.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for more extreme forms of torture to be used.
Clinton emails.
Trump asks why we can't use our nukes if we have them.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for offensive bombing attack on sovereign nations because someone gives the middle finger.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls to kill women and children of suspected terrorists.
Clinton emails.
Trump says women should be punished for having abortions.
Clinton emails.
Trump makes fun of disabled people.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls for end of freedom of the press.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls global warming a chinese hoax.
Clinton emails.
Trump praises Putin and Kim Jong Un's strong leadership.
Clinton emails.
Trump openly admits to not paying his contractors during debate.
Clinton emails.
Trump openly admits not apologizing to wife in debate about Access Hollywood tape.
Clinton emails.
Trump calls Obama an illegitimate noncitizen hundreds of times over 7 years.
Clinton emails.
Trump uses campaign donations to enrich his own businesses.
Clinton emails.
Trump says Ted Cruz father involved in JFK assassination.
Clinton emails.
Trump says laziness is an inherent trait in black people.
Clinton emails.
Did we miss anything?
Gee who should I vote for? Trump seems to have negatives, but Clinton gets incessant negative press (which all stems from one thing, that not illegal when she had it, no charges were filed, and it wouldnt even be a blip on the radar for Trump if it was him that did it when you compare it to his other scandals).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Achilles said...

What could have CNN in the dumps?

The source points out that any immunity deal is null and void if any subject lied at any point in the investigation.

They thought they could brazen it out. Now hubris becomes catharsis.

Ann Althouse said...

"Did we miss anything?"

The Foundation.

shiloh said...

""Did we miss anything?"

The Foundation."

Which foundation Clinton's or Trump's?

Too funny, and posted by Althouse. Perfect!

Again, all I ask for is consistency.

JPS said...

shiloh, 10:28:

"Althouse basically is a liberal but has to cater/kowtow to her con majority as she knows where her bread is buttered."

The first part is true. The second is absurd. If our host were to turn staunchly liberal, and consistently post that way, she'd lose some conservative readers - not all of us - and gain some liberals. The idea that someone blogging for fun has to toe a particular line is just damned silly. You keep hammering the supposed 90/10 or 95/5 split here. It's just not as meaningful as you think.

shiloh said...

btw, my 10:45 AM post is from the comment section at HP. Credit where it's due.

JPS said...

shiloh,

"which all stems from one thing, that not illegal when she had it,"

As the late, great Ed Koch said: I can explain this to you. I can't understand it for you.

Kelley said...

Scott Adams said: But if you hope for a Clinton win, watch CNN and see your dreams come true.
Althouse responded: I find myself watching CNN.

No surprise there... And that is why more Althouse readers voted that Ann will vote for Hillary.

Gahrie said...

White House Travel office
Whitewater
Bimbo eruptions
cattle futures
Rose Law firm records
selling access
taking money from foreign sources
Clinton Foundation
Benghazi
lying to parents standing over the dead bodies of their children
private email server
destruction of federal records
selling influence

Just a partial list to jog your memory Shiloh.

MayBee said...

Althouse- if you are seeing Obama's speeches on CNN, how can you still find him so lovable?

Gahrie said...

Shiloh just might be Chuckles...they both insist they aren't defending Hillary...and then they both do exactly that.

Oso Negro said...

Godzilla versus Mothra. Doesn't matter who wins, downtown Tokyo gets destroyed for certain. I am coming to think that I will enjoy the form of destruction in which the media and coastal elites go apeshit. That makes me wish it is Trump. And I loathe the son of a bitch. I wonder how Meadehouse would view Ted Cruz versus Hillary at this point? Remember him? The conservative you thought could never be President of all Americans?

shiloh said...

JPS

Take a look at any Althouse in-house poll to see a party/ideology breakdown. Being generous it's easily over 85% con. Have also noticed there are many more con lurkers who don't post, but recently some have come out of the closet to voice their conservative opinion.

Regardless of the extreme con majority all Althouse really cares about is blog hits as she's quite insulated herself and doesn't really care what anybody else thinks as long as they keep showing up.

Which is fine as it's the same situation at other "major" lib/con sites. I find the whole dynamics of political blogging, how shall I say, interesting.

Gahrie said...

Seriously, its as big a joke watching the trolls at FOX try to out Trump each other

I bet Fox has been more critical of Trump than ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/MSNBC have been of Hillary.

Freeman Hunt said...

Ha ha ha. A great setup to a well chosen clip. I laughed and laughed.

Gahrie said...

I wonder when we'll get the news that Hillary ordered Huma to leak info to her Muslim Brotherhood buddies to attack Benghazi and kill Stevens. If that news breaks, Shiloh: You'll defend her still, no doubt.

I have asked my fellow teachers in the lunch room "what would it take for you to say that you no longer support Hillary and won't vote for her." The more honest ones will actually admit that nothing will change their mind, including Hillary feeding children into a wood chipper on live TV.

Oso Negro said...

Shiloh, how can you not understand why Ann Althouse is generally beloved by her conservative readers? Of course, she is a liberal - but with a calm and thoughtful mind. And better still, she doesn't get hysterical because people disagree with her. She has singularities as does any person - homosexuality (understandable with a gay son) and love of Obama (incomprehensible), but she soldiers on, blogging thoughtfully year in and year out on topics that interest her. I, for one, will be sorry when she stops. And I am worried a bit now that she is retiring from teaching.

victoria said...

Nice Try, Gahrie. Ah, no. They are falling over each other, except for Meghan Kelly, to be trumpier than the last. Hannity, O'Reilly, those bozos on Fox business are so up Trumps derriere that he must be uncomfortable. Critical of Trump more than Hillary? It has been an unending stream of Hillary criticism for more than a year. Even when she is right,in Fox's mind she is wrong. I don't really care for either candidate but the bias on both CNN and FOX is palpable.


Vicki from Pasadena

Snark said...

Surely though CNN's reality is a little more real? I expect an anti-climatic Clinton win, because this is exactly the kind of crossroads that ultimately tips towards the known, comfortable and safe despite flirtations otherwise along the way.

Achilles said...

(which all stems from one thing, that not illegal when she had it, no charges were filed, and it wouldnt even be a blip on the radar for Trump if it was him that did it when you compare it to his other scandals).

Remember Shiloh never defends Clinton.

No charges were filed. This is the worst part of the story. Clinton clearly broke the law but the DOJ refused to indict because she is a democrat and they are democrats.

Just one example:

Hillary took 28 million dollars from the king of morocco. She moved the CGI conference there. The state department changed the status of the territory Morocco is occupying and allowed aid to go to that region. Then a 92 million dollar loan from the US import/export bank was given to the mining company that is milling off all of the locals in the occupied territories.

The cherry on top? This mine produces phosphates. Clinton sent the EPA after the biggest phosphate mine in the US.

This is specific, sourced, and a million times more credible than anything you posted. Added bonus is it is obviously illegal.

MayBee said...

I'm having trouble finding my news outlet this election season. I don't care for Fox's slant because I don't want to put myself in a bubble. But CNN is ridiculous this year, they are so With Her. It's frustrating.

shiloh said...

"I bet Fox has been more critical of Trump than ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/MSNBC have been of Hillary."

In the beginning foxnews was all-in re: Trump. Hey, all the networks were all-in as Trump = viewership. Again, supply and demand. But then Trump attacked Megyn Kelly and all bets were off! As he continued to attack everybody indiscriminately which is part of his appeal.

Full disclosure, I don't watch fox/cnn/msnbc, etc. ***shocking!*** but I see the news clips.

Trump has been a media creation from the very beginning and running for president just escalated the process exponentially.

As always, no charge for my keen grasp of the obvious!

Dr Weevil said...

shiloh can't seem to figure out that the shortage of lefties in this comment section is a result of two facts:
1. Althouse is one of the few sites that is scrupulously fair in not putting a thumb on the scale, so both sides can make their cases without fear of deletion.
2. Today's left has a severe shortage of convincing arguments, because most of their policies simply don't work. Relatively intelligent lefties much prefer to do their 'arguing' in echo chambers where no one can challenge them without being deleted. (Really intelligent lefties have mostly given up leftism as way too dumb for them.) We only get the really dumb ones who can't even tell when they've been refuted. In some case, it appears that they can tell they're making stupid arguments, but they're paid to do so, and have no self-respect, so they keep doing it.
Then again, perhaps shiloh can tell, and is paid to pretend she can't.

Bad Lieutenant said...


shiloh said...
btw, my 10:45 AM post is from the comment section at HP. Credit where it's due.
11/3/16, 10:57 AM

No worries, we all know you don't think for yourself.

JPS said...

Gahrie,

"The more honest ones will actually admit that nothing will change their mind, including Hillary feeding children into a wood chipper on live TV."

Well, it's just a few children, and their agony won't last long. Compare that to all the children she's helped, and how many more will be better off for her being president! It's kind of like Teddy Kennedy being a great champion of women - except that one, who, had she lived, he would have brought comfort to in her old age.

Shiloh, thanks for the civil response. You make out a case. We disagree, and I think you sell our host short, but she can speak for herself if she feels like it.

Dr. Weevil,

"Althouse is one of the few sites that is scrupulously fair in not putting a thumb on the scale" - funny how that'll get you accused of being either a closet conservative or a sell-out these days. I put her in a class with Jonathan Haidt and Judith Curry in this regard.

DanTheMan said...

>> no charge for my keen grasp of the obvious!

I see your pricing model is working correctly.

Peter said...

CNN vs Fox? Just listen to the tone of NPR announcers. There's no need to watch anything, or even decode the words: a dolorous tone will signal more losses to Democrats than expected, jubilant tones will signal Democratic/Progressive victories. And full-funereal tones, if heard, can only mean a likely Trump win.

For reference, I put NPR announcer tones when announcing results of the Walker recall at about halfway between "dolorous" and "funereal."

buwaya said...

Fox has switched, or is in the process of switching.
Looks like the owners have joined the cascade. The WSJ is moving also.

buwaya said...

Churchill was a media creation.
He was a deliberate glory seeker looking for public notoriety. Of course, in those days you actually had to perform feats of derring-do to get that. He turned himself into a celebrity and made a living off it in the press.
The system is different these days and rewards different skills.

mockturtle said...

It depends. If it looks like Trump is winning, I'll watch CNN so I can see the dismay on Anderson Cooper's face. Call it schadenfreude.

Kevin said...

Oh, this is fun! Let's keep going!

Clinton emails.
Trump took legitimate tax deductions.
Clinton emails.
Trump kissed women when he was single.
Clinton emails.
Trump ran for president on a lark.
Clinton emails.
Trump might have had a server which might have connected with another server in Russia.
Clinton emails.
Trump told a woman who got fat she got fat.
Clinton emails.
Trump has strange hair.

viejo loco said...

Shiloh - our own Tokyo Rose (or possibly Lord Haw Haw); for those of you too young, WWII.Victoria - Shiloh's tag team match partner. I demeaning the country.

JPS said...

Peter:

"a dolorous tone will signal more losses to Democrats than expected, jubilant tones will signal Democratic/Progressive victories. And full-funereal tones, if heard, can only mean a likely Trump win."

This puts me in mind of P.J. O'Rourke's description of covering the election that toppled the Sandinistas:

"It wasn't until another journalist told me the Sandinistas were in trouble that I believed it....Around 11:00 PM a network television newsman with (don't be shocked) left-wing connections came by looking agitated. 'P.J., I was just over at Sandy headquarters and something's gone seriously wrong,' he said, meaning the opposite."

(Still can't believe this man views HRC as "wrong within normal parameters." But he was funny, back in the day.)

BN said...

"So choose your reality."

Ah... so Gary Johnson then.

Darrell said...

Let Shiloh's employer know that he is convincing you to vote for Trump.

traditionalguy said...

The big deal is that the FBI now lives in the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. That means anyone who reports that they can see either Clinton lying, stealing and cheating.

Etienne said...

I turned my TV on for the first time in months to watch the overtime of the World Series.

I don't know when it started, but after digital TV, but before CRT screens became obsolete, that I found there was no longer anything of value for me, in that medium. Also, I don't really watch movies.

My wife spends her free time in the family room with her paintings, drawings, and pastels, smoking her café crème cigarillo's.

About the only time I see the election is on the web. It's always highly slanted, such that I don't enjoy reading about it.

I really don't care who is President. It makes no difference to me. I'll be dead in five years, probably, and the poor bastard peasants will have to absorb the old middle class, regardless of who wins.

Ann Althouse said...

"Shiloh, how can you not understand why Ann Althouse is generally beloved by her conservative readers? Of course, she is a liberal - but with a calm and thoughtful mind. And better still, she doesn't get hysterical because people disagree with her. She has singularities as does any person - homosexuality (understandable with a gay son) and love of Obama (incomprehensible), but she soldiers on, blogging thoughtfully year in and year out on topics that interest her. I, for one, will be sorry when she stops. And I am worried a bit now that she is retiring from teaching."

Thanks and don't worry. I am retiring so I can blog more and better. I am freeing up time and looking for more freedom. It means a lot to have readers.

Ann Althouse said...

"I turned my TV on for the first time in months to watch the overtime of the World Series"

Overtime is not a baseball word. But it was awfully late.

mockturtle said...

We cons do appreciate both you and your blog, Ann! Even when you intentionally troll us. We love you! :-)

Jon Ericson said...

Yeah, even me.

shiloh said...

"Shiloh, how can you not understand why Ann Althouse is generally beloved by her conservative readers?"

Respected by a few of her long time addicted cons maybe, loved? not so much. Again, keep showing up on a regular basis and she will "love" you.

>

mockturtle ~ all aboard the Love Train.

narciso said...

well he was a minor noble with the right pedigree, earned his stripes in the northwest frontier and the sudan, the last incurring the wrath of kitchener,

Etienne said...

Ann Althouse said...Overtime is not a baseball word.

maybe: prolongation