February 24, 2017

"Reporters from The Times, CNN and Politico were not allowed to enter the West Wing office of the press secretary, Sean M. Spicer, for the scheduled briefing."

"Aides to Mr. Spicer allowed in reporters from only a handpicked group of news organizations that, the White House said, had been previously confirmed to attend."
Organizations allowed in included Breitbart News, the One America News Network and The Washington Times, all with conservative leanings. Journalists from ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Fox News also attended....

“Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The Times, said in a statement. “We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.”
How bad is this? Pick the closest to your opinion:



pollcode.com free polls

UPDATE: The sentence quoted in the post title later included the names of more news organizations. I'm cutting and pasting this at 7:45 CT on February 25th: "Reporters from The Times, BuzzFeed News, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, Politico, the BBC and The Huffington Post were among those shut out of the briefing." There's no notation at the article that it was updated, but the sentence just quoted is the only sentence in the article with the word "Politico" in it, so clearly the article was updated.

Here are the results on the poll (possibly skewed by my emphasis on the apparently false fact that only 3 organizations were excluded):

309 comments:

1 – 200 of 309   Newer›   Newest»
readering said...

Poll results so far nutty as Spicer

eric said...

This is so awesome. I'm still not tired of all the winning.

There is a brilliance behind this strategy. If the media is seen as the opposition and fake news, then they have a much harder time bringing down or pushing back against this administration.

Mike Sylwester said...

Trump is three times as bad as Obama, who tried to ostracize only Fox.

Sprezzatura said...

It'd be cool if Althouse polls could have an additional variable for time. I wonder how the results change w/ time, for this and all Ahouse polls. IOW, are the early adopters statically different than the average and late folks?

I guess that derivatives aren't a lawprof (or pollster) thing.


Carry on.

traditionalguy said...

Wait, wait they have nothing to complain about.Those are the media who get much better news than Spicer lets slip in briefings. They get inside eye witness reports from up to 9 guys and gals every hour or two, apparently from the inside of several offices at once. Now that is Emmy Award News stuff.

rehajm said...

From The West Wing:

C.J. Cregg gets her CMOA in a third-season episode in which a White House social function is interrupted by news of a terrorist bombing in the Middle East which kills two American students. An entertainment reporter is covering the evening. C.J. changes from evening wear to business wear and stonewalls the press until POTUS can speak with the dead boys' parents. The entertainment reporter's story implies that C.J. (1) didn't know what was going on, and (2) was more concerned with changing her clothes. Later in the Press Room, C.J. completely humiliates the reporter by exposing her ignorance of veto override procedure and the number of Representatives in Congress, advising her to "get the notes from a classmate". The reporter confronts her afterwards:
C.J.: I changed my clothes because I didn't think it was appropriate to talk about the death of two teenagers while wearing a ball gown, and you knew that. Because you're stupid, but you're not stupid, you know what I'm saying? Security's going to take your press credentials. You'll call my office every day and I'll decide if you get into the room. I'm taking your spot on Pebble Beach. You can do your stand-ups from Lafayette Park.
Sherri: Who the hell...
C.J.: One more word out of your mouth and every local station in town but yours gets an exclusive with the President. Hunting season on me is over.
Sherri: *purses her lips and stomps away*


Lefties think it's badass when a leftie administration kicks reporters out for what they write.

rehajm said...

Reporters from Time magazine and The Associated Press, who were set to be allowed in to the briefing, chose not to attend in protest of the White House’s actions.

Bonus!

Lyssa said...

I wanted to say something between the first and second. I don't like this, but I really hate phrases like "completely unacceptable." What am I going to do about it? I'm going to accept it; regardless. As far as I know, he has this right, and even if he doesn't, it's not like I can stop him. It might pass, but it is ugly, and it is part of the reason that I opted not to vote for him (I voted for Johnson in my very non-swing state).

WisRich said...

Except,

1. White House denies. Who's lying? Or just spinning to make someone look bad.

2. Obama had closed sessions with hand picked reports, not for general question/answer sessions, but to forward POTUS general talking points on an issue so they can parrot them out.

So I select none of the above until more information is available.

Original Mike said...

I know you don't like people calling for another choice, Althouse, but you need one:

Unconcerning, because only 3 were kept out and ABC and CBS got in, so... let's see what happens.

Sebastian said...

It's a start.

chickelit said...

This will just force the excluded media to make things up which they've been doing all along. Hell, their stories might get even better.

Matt Sablan said...

I'd like to wait until the truth finally percolates out. For now, I don't like it, but, a meeting in someone's office is, by nature, a closed, invite-only event.

n.n said...

The press hasn't fared well since Deep Plunger and Water Closet. Or was it the Nigerian Phishing Expedition which hooked a live one at the DNC that exposed trans-journalism.

Trump wants diversity (i.e. "content of character"), not [class] diversity (i.e. "color of skin").

Humperdink said...

Music to my eyes to read this.

The excluded are not news organizations, so why bother with the invite.

Look for Chuck to stuff the ballot box for choice A.

Unknown said...

While I admire the Times saying something something about a free and independent press, I fail to see the problem here.

The Times is not free, independent, or press. It's job is as propagandist for the Democrat and Progressive wing of American politics, and they charge a great deal to read their puff pieces.

Reagan kept Pravda out too, because they weren't press. Why should the Times or CNN complain? There's no functional difference between them and Pravda.

--Vance

Sprezzatura said...

I'd like to propose an option in addition to the one O Mike suggested:

Unconcerning, because [fill in w/ whatever there is to grasp at re easing cognitive dissonance re having a 180 degree POV re BHO.]


Carry on.

Paul said...

What goes around... comes around. Turnabout is fair play!

n.n said...

Besides, with the prophecy of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming, shouldn't they be telecommuting?

If not for the unPlanned children, do it for Gaia!

That said, Trump should leave a port open for them, and set the password to "password".

Ken B said...

So *any* news service or paper is entitled to attend? It's improper to exclude any at all? Or just *us*?

Michael said...

You do not have an option for "silly, but no big deal." They'll all get over it (both sides). Just don't encourage them by getting all excited.

Nonapod said...

3rdGradePB_GoodPerson said...

It'd be cool if Althouse polls could have an additional variable for time.


In the Trump era I find that the longer you can hold off rendering an opinion, the better off you'll feel.

Hagar said...

It'll give 'em something to talk about all weekend.

This is fun to watch!

rcocean said...

What about the Washington Post?

And frankly who cares? He let in plenty of liberal news outlets. The Press never cared when Obama froze out "fox news".

Humperdink said...

“It was clear that they let in a lot of news outlets with less reach who are Trump-friendly,” said Noah Bierman, a White House reporter for The Los Angeles Times.

Conversely, it was reported those who did not attend were unable to to do so anyway. Their heads were so far up Obama's's rectal orifice, they could not extricate themselves quick enough to attend.

Unknown said...

If you were born with Fox News, right-wing Talk-Radio and latterly the Alt-Right Briebart et al then this is catnip for the Trumpies.

To the rest it is predictable behavior from bratty children.

Leora said...

I can't help but feel there may be procedural questions left out of the story. For examples: did the Press Office asked who would like to attend the gaggle and these three didn't bother to RSVP? Was there some limitation on how many could attend and the Bigfoots turned up after others who were less important? If it is an informal gathering, then doesn't the press secretary get to say who is invited?

Etienne said...

Reporters from Time magazine and The Associated Press, who were set to be allowed in, chose not to attend the briefing in protest of the White House’s actions.

Principled. I like and respect that.

All the others are whores. Especially CBS.

buwaya said...

"So *any* news service or paper is entitled to attend? It's improper to exclude any at all? Or just *us*?"

Indeed. I think they should invite Althouse, and Vox Day for that matter. The world is changing, let the sunshine in.

Nyamujal said...

"The Press never cared when Obama froze out "fox news".

Did he really?
http://www.mediaite.com/columnists/foxs-white-house-bans-fox-news-story-completely-unravels/

cubanbob said...

“We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.”

Indeed. DNC and CPUSA house organs are not news organizations.

sojerofgod said...

I find this mildly hilarious. I have suspected since the inauguration that Trump has a strategy to bring the press corp to heel. Oh, I don't mean that they will be fawning bootlickers like they were to Mr. Obama, but they will show respect to the office of the president, if not the man and the days of "golden Showers" and russkies under the bed are coming to a close.
Trump is one of the most underestimated men in politics today.

Nyamujal said...

"Indeed. I think they should invite Althouse, and Vox Day for that matter. The world is changing, let the sunshine in."

I bet Alex Jones gets in before Althouse or Vox Day.

David said...

FDR did this all the time. He had groups of favorites for meetings with the press. The White House press conference, as we know it, did not exist. FDR also lied to the press constantly. It was his M.O. He was rarely called on it.

That said, times have changed. If this is true (always a necessary if these days), it's stupid to feed the meme. On the other hand, this is a talk with Spicer, and the entire press corps can't be trooped into his .office. Some have to be excluded. NYT likely thinks it should never be them

Snark said...

Huh. Alan Colmes is scheduled to turn over in his grave.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

I'm surprised the other MSM organizations went along with this. They should all boycott.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

If the new policy is that no news organization that has printed illegal leaks get access, this will be a fun ride.

jaydub said...

Excellent! I used to go to Money.CNN.com for financial info and market statistics, but I quit about 6 months ago when they had on average six major articles, 5 of which were anti Trump. NYT is no different. It is completely obvious that these two organizations are so biased as to be worthless as a news source, so why treat them as one. Not sure about Politico because I seldom visit their site.

Anonymous said...

In Spicer's office (arguably smaller than the already small press room), Pool was there so no one was denied what happened there, some people not in the pool were invited in, so no one was specifically EXCLUDED. Mountains out of molehills. Tons of fake news out there.

Matt Sablan said...

"Organizations allowed in included Breitbart News, the One America News Network and The Washington Times, all with conservative leanings. Journalists from ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Fox News also attended..."

-- What sort of stupid bias is that in the writing? A non-partisan way of writing this would be:

Journalists from other organizations -- including main stream news media and media with partisan leaning, both conservative and liberal -- attended.

David said...

Some NYT articles are behind the paywall. Some are not. Like this one. More like a press release from the press perhaps.

Matt Sablan said...

"Not sure about Politico because I seldom visit their site. "

-- When Politico started, what, 10+ years ago, it was a great place. It has... not aged well.

Mary said...

It was more than three news outlets, and there's this: "One of the news organizations that attended, The Wall Street Journal, said in a statement it would not have done so if it knew the conditions of the meeting in advance. “Had we known at the time, we would not have participated, and we will not participate in such closed briefings in the future,” the statement said. The Journal is part of Dow Jones & Co., which is owned by News Corp., controlled by the Murdoch family."

WisRich said...

David said...

That said, times have changed. If this is true (always a necessary if these days), it's stupid to feed the meme. On the other hand, this is a talk with Spicer, and the entire press corps can't be trooped into his .office. Some have to be excluded. NYT likely thinks it should never be them

2/24/17, 3:05 PM


Here's a scenario that would coincide with your comment.

WH decides to have press gaggle but not everyone can fit in office. Spicer sends out a general invitation, including some new news outlets, saying the first 6 organizations to respond are in. No exceptions. CNN, NYT, and others are late to respond, are excluded, and scream bloody murder that Democracy is being threatened because they weren't allowed in.

David said...

Turns out this was a pool meeting with Spicer called a gaggle. They decided to add some others to the pool people. The beautiful swans were excluded from the add ons and decided to hiss.

Sprezzatura said...

"this is a talk with Spicer, and the entire press corps can't be trooped into his ."

I think that's why they normally have a daily press briefing in the press room.

"I'm surprised the other MSM organizations went along with this. They should all boycott."

WSJ says they would have refused to attend, but they didn't know about the exclusions until afterward. Even so, Rupert may have something to say about that, so maybe they'll end up w/ less autonomy re this decision.

Anonymous said...

Freedom of the Press means that Government can't tell the Press what to report on. It doesn't mean that anyone has to listen to the Press' questions, let alone answer them.

Unknown said...

Well, the excluded apparently already have their own deep sources in the supposed deep state. So what do they really care? Why even bother attending a press conference when the deep state spoon feeds you what you want anyway?

Hagar said...

It is kind of like "The Emperor's New Clothes" in reverse.

Sprezzatura said...

BTW, has the State Department figured out how to have a daily press briefing. W's gang figured it out in one day. DJT's had a month, how's it going?

Matt Sablan said...

Wait -- the Pool report was there, so everyone got everything?

... What's the complaint--exactly?

ccscientist said...

The media seem to forget that they were all-in for Hilary, and openly declared war on Trump after the election (esp. the NYT). That they have been publishing totally unverified news items and filling the air with innuendo. They are acting like an opposition party not a check on government in general.

Humperdink said...

BTW, has the State Department figured out how to have a daily press briefing. W's gang figured it out in one day. DJT's had a month, how's it going?"

Don't need one. Everything leaks in advance.

Henry said...

You need an additional option:

() Idiotic

As Matthew Sablan wrote: "the Pool report was there, so everyone got everything?"

Yes. So why does the White House play demogoguery make-believe?

Bob Loblaw said...

The entitlement just oozes off of these people.

They spent all last year acting as the propaganda arm of the Democratic party. What do they expect?

Clayton Hennesey said...

News organizations have degenerated so far into access (privilege) journalism that they can no longer perceive the difference between that sort of passive, spoon fed activity and the overall right to be journalists.

Trump is doing nothing more than what every other President has done, regulated access on the basis of how the organization covers him, and Trump is no more limiting access than Obama was, letting a bunch of organizations in a room but only calling on those who flatter him, over and over and over, leaving the rest to twiddle their thumbs.

Trump is simply being more forthright about it.

If the new policy is that no news organization that has printed illegal leaks get access, this will be a fun ride.

This seems like an excellent, objective sorting mechanism:

1. From above, access journalism is not the be all and end all; ultimately, it's merely a prestige marker. If you don't get access, suck it up, cupcake.

2. Leaking unauthorized material is usually a crime for the leaker.

3. OTOH, the press should remain free to publish without fear of prosecution

4. Taking away prestige privileges takes away no one's freedom. If you want to traffic in unauthorized leaks, be bold, do so, and stop whining.

Anonymous said...

Of course all of Althouse's polls are interesting but not representative of the greater populace. This blog is at least 90% conservative/ Trumpist. So the poll is not a true reflection of reality.

buwaya said...

"Yes. So why does the White House play demogoguery make-believe?"

To make a scene, and to lower their enemies status. These are status games.

readering said...

Spicer realized he had to vary Melissa McCarthy's material

Ann Althouse said...

I can't believe people say they need another option when the instructions say pick the one closest to what you think.

Pick th city closest to where you live: Miami, Moscow, Melbourne.

Sprezzatura said...

"Don't need one. Everything leaks in advance."

I can see that. Plus for the rest there's tweeting from our tweet-optimized (i.e. small hands) POTUS. So, what's the fuss about?

Sprezzatura said...

Nobody complained about the personality test because "mauve" wasn't an option.


Sheesh.

Anonymous said...

Authoritarian regimes often start by attacking the Press. I'm ashamed of this poor excuse for an American President.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/01/23/trumps-press-attacks-decried-reminiscent-authoritarian-government

""The press freedom predators of the world are watching Trump and taking notes," Halgand continued. "It’s terrifying to think how much more brazen they will be in their attacks on journalists around the world now that the leader of the United States of America is setting a terrible example.”

Already faced with evidence of Trump's disdain for the fourth estate before he took office, an open letter published last week at the Columbia Journalism Review warned the administration of what it should expect from the press corps.

Penned by CJR editor-in-chief and publisher Kyle Pope, it states:

We’re going to work together. You have tried to divide us and use reporters' deep competitive streaks to cause family fights. Those days are ending. We now recognize that the challenge of covering you requires that we cooperate and help one another whenever possible. So, when you shout down or ignore a reporter at a press conference who has said something you don’t like, you're going to face a unified front. We'll work together on stories when it makes sense, and make sure the world hears when our colleagues write stories of importance. We will, of course, still have disagreements, and even important debates, about ethics or taste or fair comment. But those debates will be ours to begin and end."

Matt Sablan said...

"Authoritarian regimes often start by attacking the Press. I'm ashamed of this poor excuse for an American President."

-- Man, if not letting the press come to a press meeting that the press pool is at is authoritarian, I wonder what illegally wiretapping reporters in an attempt to silence unfriendly news sources might be considered.

Matt Sablan said...

Any reporter that is upset over Trump's administration limiting the pool report, but did not outright balk, if not condemn, Obama's abuse of the press -- literally illegally wiretapping reporters to silence them -- isn't worth taking seriously on issues of "freedom of the press."

Renee said...

This is the same administration that created skype seats for the press. These outlets had to be moved out for other press members, they don't have more of a right than a small newspaper or local tv station.


Here is Trump from 02/16 telling PBS Newshour that their question was fair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aLKecRUviA

Original Mike said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said..."I can't believe people say they need another option when the instructions say pick the one closest to what you think."

All are far afield from what I think. You don't see a fundamental differece between:

"Concerning, but only 3 were kept out and ABC and CBS got in, so... let's see what happens."

and

"Unconcerning, because only 3 were kept out and ABC and CBS got in, so... let's see what happens."

?

traditionalguy said...

The Fake Newsies will need to double down and get The President impeached for being a Russian Mole. Either that or use the stuff on Trump's face the North Koreans use.

Trump's No Surrender stuff is really getting to them.

mezzrow said...

A response to egregious mulish behavior. Go sit in the corner and think about how you got here.

Big Mike said...

Could someone clarify for me -- didn't Obama do this to Fox News?

traditionalguy said...

Meanwhile these offending Make News Fake Again organizations are coordinating shunning Kellyanne Conway because she is so effective at Trump's messaging

Quaestor said...

Unknown wrote: This blog is at least 90% conservative/ Trumpist. So the poll is not a true reflection of reality.

Abbie Someone is filtering reality for the rest of us. Yup, been there. Done that.

rehajm said...

Pick th city closest to where you live: Miami, Moscow, Melbourne.

Original Mike: Pick the city closest to where you live: Miami, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale.

Matt Sablan said...

"Could someone clarify for me -- didn't Obama do this to Fox News?"

-- He tried to get them un-included from the Pool, and the rest of the press revolted against that. Some in the Press also made some minor disapproving noises when he illegally wiretapped AP and Fox reporters in an attempt to silence them.

Sprezzatura said...

Pick th city closest to where you live: Miami, Moscow, Melbourne.

Is that Moscow Idaho and Melbourne Florida?

Mary Beth said...

Not inviting some news organizations into a briefing = the downfall of democracy.

Subpoenaing phone records from the AP and naming Fox News reporter, James Rosen, a "criminal co-conspirator" under the Espionage Act of 1917 in order to gain access to his personal emails and phone records = just another Monday

roesch/voltaire said...

Check out the NYT fact-check of of Trump's CPAC speech and you will understand why Trumps is upset and wants to bar these organizations-- so much news is made of his fake news. And my friend Jim still loves visiting Paris.

Original Mike said...

"Pick the city closest to where you live: Miami, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale."

Exactly.

n.n said...

The press has evolved as lobbying organizations, and journalists as lobbyists. While Congress cannot pass laws to restrict the press, they should be regulated in a manner equal to others in the class.

That said, Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming. Telecommute when the wind blows, moderately, or the sun shines, at near normal.

mezzrow said...

Pick th city closest to where you live: Miami, Moscow, Melbourne.

Melbourne. Melbourne Florida, that is...

George M. Spencer said...

Fox has better ratings than CNN. WSJ has a larger circulation than the NY Times

Gee, which would I choose to get my message out to the most people?

Big Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

It's good to see that the Press is ready and willing to push back.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/reporters-blocked-white-house-gaggle-235360

"Reporters from The Associated Press and Time were invited to attend, but out of solidarity chose to sit the meeting out. That move garnered praise online and via the internal White House pool email list.

"Congratulations to Time and AP for not attending today's gaggle in protest,” New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote to the White House press corps email list.

The Wall Street Journal, which did sit in on the gaggle, released a statement afterward criticizing it and pledging to boycott "such closed briefings" if the White House holds one again. "The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House's decision to bar certain media outlets from today's gaggle," the paper said. "Had we known at the time, we would not have participated and we will not participate in such closed briefings in the future.""

Big Mike said...

I can't believe people say they need another option when the instructions say pick the one closest to what you think.

Pick th city closest to where you live: Miami, Moscow, Melbourne.


Wait! Shouldn't we be able to choose Madison?

Matt Sablan said...

Wait -- so, it is considered a closed briefing even if the Pool is present? Words used to mean things.

buwaya said...

The press+the democratic party working together manufacturing news in its own way -

"http://freebeacon.com/politics/union-protestors-target-california-republican-go-to-wrong-house/"

"Union leaders in California continued a protest even after neighbors and police informed them they were at the wrong house because their target, Rep. Steve Knight (R., Calif.), had moved away months ago.

The group of over 50 protestors, who arrived in Service Employees International Union (SEIU) vans, carried a fake coffin to the house to send a message that Knight's votes in Congress were "killing" them, according to a report in the local Antelope Valley Press.

Police arrived at the scene to alert the union protestors that they were in the wrong place, but the activists—who had already been informed of this fact by neighbors—decided to continue the protest anyway. The police removed the protestors from the home's driveway and front lawn, where they were holding a candlelight vigil."

Comment - crowds showing up at someones' private home in the dark, with the TV news along to film it all.

Browndog said...

CNN has really gone off the rails.

I think Spicer should nail it down, instead of being general.

Quote the fake news, and the reporter (if present), then give the facts that counter it--to their faces, in front of the rest of the media.

When everything is fake news, nothing is.

Bob Loblaw said...

Any reporter that is upset over Trump's administration limiting the pool report, but did not outright balk, if not condemn, Obama's abuse of the press -- literally illegally wiretapping reporters to silence them -- isn't worth taking seriously on issues of "freedom of the press."

Reporter or commenter at Althouse.

rhhardin said...

It's a tweak to the moron press. People enjoy it.

Don't underestimate how many people absolutely hate the press they've been stuck with for decades.

I think it starts when you finally know something about something and the news reports on one of those things and you see they're completely clueless, and patronizing as well.

Reason: it's for soap opera women, not you.

Bob Loblaw said...

"Congratulations to Time and AP for not attending today's gaggle in protest,” New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote to the White House press corps email list.

Time? Hahahahaha. What ever will their three remaining subscribers do?

neal said...

Politics is downstream from exorcism. Of course, lack of innocence will internalize the dynamics.
Sorry. I do not make the danged rules. That is for those with cognitive structures that play.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

" I'm surprised the other MSM organizations went along with this. They should all boycott."

Damn, if this was a ploy to get your opposition to self-select exclusion, that is freakin' brilliant!

Plus, you know they'll come crawling back. A journalist's duty, and all that.

hombre said...

I am a member of Judicial Watch, founded in 1994. The President of the organization has said repeatedly that the Obama Administration was easily the least transparent JW ever encountered. They and others had to file hundreds of lawsuits to get what they were legally entitled to under the FOIA. The Administration stalled, destroyed material, ignored court orders and appealed everything. Excluding these three purveyors of calumnies is not remotely comparable in terms of reprehensibility.

Excluding the disgracefully biased NYT, CNN and Politico has nothing to do with transparency. All regularly get material from aggregators. If they are getting material illegally from leakers, that is another reason to exclude them.

Given the plethora of news entities the public will not suffer if we are protected from these liars.

mockturtle said...

So the poll is not a true reflection of reality.

Just like YOU, Unknown! :-D

Anonymous said...

Mockturtle,

Nice smiley from someone who lives in LaLa Tumpland.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Time is a total joke. It continues to exist because apolitical, middle-aged, office managers cluelessly check the box on the subscription list for the waiting room. I once had a Lefty dentist who didn't screw around. Among the chick and outdoor mags was a slew of back numbers of Mother Jones and The Nation. Time was probably too reactionary for him. Great dentist though he once told me I had a high tolerance for pain which, when you think about it, is an odd thing for a dentist to say.

chuck said...

Since when is a briefing needed in to make shit up? Use your imagination, xuys.

Achilles said...

None of the people bitching about this or the people kicked out said a thing when obama kicked Fox News out and attacked them. Fuck all of them. There is no intellectual honesty anywhere on the left.

Humperdink said...

"So the poll is not a true reflection of reality."

Correctimundo, Chuck voted 122 times (so far).

Kevin said...

"It was clear that (insert reporter's conjecture here)."

This is pretty much the formula for fake news.

Achilles said...

Blogger Unknown said...
"It's good to see that the Press is ready and willing to push back."

They didn't push back against obama when he kicked Fox out and they didn't push back when obama was wiretapping them.

Of course each of those institutions had reporters that were caught explicitly colluding with the Hillary campaign also. But no pushback on that either. You people are all empty and soulless.

Ken B said...

Pick the answer that fits best:

1 cruel neutrality is a sham and I live near Miami
2 cruel neutrality is a sham and I live near Moscow
3 cruel neutrality is a sham and I live near Melbourne

rcocean said...

Time is a total joke. It continues to exist because apolitical, middle-aged, office managers cluelessly check the box on the subscription list for the waiting room.

Yes! I mean who the hell needs a printed *weekly* magazine to tell them what's happening, when you can find the news instantaneously on the internet?

Even back in the 1990s the weekly news magazines were jokes. They were read by people who were too lazy to watch a daily newshow or read a newspaper.

rcocean said...

BTW, every time the Press makes the story about them, Trump wins.

rhhardin said...

The excluded orgs can't shriek about it without looking like fake news organizations. They have to show even pretend fairness for a moment to get a word in about it.

It's a Trump tweak.

Michael K said...

" I'm ashamed of this poor excuse for an American President."

We know you are, Inga.

You love the fake news being put out by the MSM, especially CNN.

I don;t think you know much about reality, though. In reality, actions have consequences,

"All the others are whores. Especially CBS."

No, they are all whores. Now, we are discussing the price.

hombre said...

Incidently, we used to say, Life is for people who cant read. Time is for people who cant think. Some things dont change.

More to the point, I cant understand the rationale for claiming that conducting a briefing in a confined space without inviting any three news entities, let alone these three, is grounds for all this squealing. The other leftmediaswine are only oinking because they know the three are irretrievably biased.

Oso Negro said...

The Washington Post published a review of the movie "Bitter Harvest" about the Ukrainian Holodomor. The reviewer wrote it in such a way to say that it may or may not have happened. Imagine substituting a review of a Holocaust movie and say the same thing about the murder of the Jews. See what happens.

rhhardin said...

Today's WaPo email says democracy needs great journalism, but they're not offering 50% off today.

Without 50% off, democracy dies.

Gk1 said...

Trump really enjoys doing this to the msm. The msm is now discovering, much to its horror, how many people loathe their phony asses and side with Trump. What is the downside for trump? More bad press? George Stephanopoulos will purse his lips? What?

Steven said...

There's inherently going to be a limited number of seats, and so someone's going to be excluded. There is no threat here to a free press, democracy, or anything. Indeed, by arranging a broader diversity in perspectives than exist in the traditional "big media" press corps, it actually enhances the public's access to information by allowing a wider parallax view.

That the traditional "big media" press corps finds this threatening goes without saying; they're used to having special privileges, and any class will object to their privileges being diluted.

The only thing that remotely approaches concern is that Trump might be using this to try to convince outlets to change their coverage in order to secure access. But, even if it moves a few outlets marginally in a more friendly-to-Trump direction, that's hardly going to unbalance the media in a pro-Trump direction. (And again, I say this as a Never Trumper who voted against him in primaries and the general.)

So, I guess I'm closer to C than B, as disgusting as that feels.

CWJ said...

Not being invited is not being invited. Absent a statement ahead of time from Spicer singling out these three organizations by name, then claiming that you were excluded does reek of an ugly sense of entitlement. I have always admired the Gladstone Dispatch for handling their identical exclusion with maturity and grace.

M Jordan said...

They deserve nothing. They declared war on Trump and he's returning fire. God bless him.

readering said...

Whatever Spicer was trying was a failure in that all the main outlets made clear they won't put up with this going forward. But hey, it makes the Trumpists drool. And provides material for McCarthy. So there's that.

Dr Weevil said...

It sounds to me like the White House held a briefing in a room too small to hold everyone in the press, so they invited some but not all of the right-wing pro-Trump press, and some but not all of the left-wing anti-Trump press. Is that correct? If so, what the Hell is unfair about that?

If too many news organizations want to attend a briefing, maybe the White House should just assign them randomly to some number (n) of numbered groups, then publicly roll a giant n-sided die to see which ones get to ask questions on any particular day. Sorry, luck of the draw, screw you if you don't like it, better luck next time. Or put up a giant screen and use www.random.org. If 127 organizations are in the room and there's only room for 30 at the briefing, ask www.random.org for a random list of numbers between 1 and 127, and the first 30 to come up get in. Totally and ostentatiously fair. (I've used dice and random.org in the classroom to select students to call on: it works. Your name came up three times today and Suzie's didn't come up at all? Luck of the draw kid, that's why you should never turn your mind off as soon as you finish answering a question: you may have to answer another. That's actually fairer than a policy where no one gets a second question until everyone's had a first one.)

Bob Loblaw said...

Check out the NYT fact-check of of Trump's CPAC speech and you will understand why Trumps is upset and wants to bar these organizations-- so much news is made of his fake news.

Did they lie about something he said again?

pacwest said...

I think what President Trump needs to do is get some cheap plastic red button, bring it to a press confereceived and ask for a reset in press/Whitehouse relations. Hilarity ensues.

pacwest said...

conference

Bob Loblaw said...

I think what President Trump needs to do is get some cheap plastic red button, bring it to a press confereceived and ask for a reset in press/Whitehouse relations. Hilarity ensues.

To be accurate, the button should say "overcharge" instead of "reset".

Seeing Red said...

DEPLORABLE!


Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Seeing Red said...

Maybe next time they should just be locked in a closet.

Seeing Red said...

CNN supports 12 y o males whipping out their penises in girls' locker rooms. They should sit in a corner with the dunce cap on.

Drago said...

Unknown: "It's good to see that the Press is ready and willing to push back."

LOL

The press is even ready to make up news to "assist" in the pushback.

Who will be this years Dan Rather? I'm betting the competition will be fierce!

gadfly said...

@eric said...
This is so awesome. I'm still not tired of all the winning.

There is a brilliance behind this strategy. If the media is seen as the opposition and fake news, then they have a much harder time bringing down or pushing back against this administration.


Winning what? Cupie Dolls? Brilliance from the self-loving mind of Donald Trump stalled in adolescence? Fake News? The Trump propaganda works well on some people. And when we cut to the chase, we get noise - only noise. Tomorrow will bring more of the same disruptions and the sheeple shall be enthralled. Always keep your eyes on the magician's hat and you will continue to be amazed when he pulls out yet another rabbit.

Drago said...

Seeing Red: "CNN supports 12 y o males whipping out their penises in girls' locker rooms."

Incorrecto gringo!

CNN and the entire left and many "lifelong republicans" (who aren't busy attacking 10 yr olds) are now officially on record as supporting adult males whipping out their penises in girls locker rooms.

In fact, the entire left now believes that if 12 year old girls don't want to see adult male penises in their locker rooms than those 12 year old girls have a real problem with "tolerance".

Which is strange since most of the left usually want's to keep these 12 year old girls "pristine" until the lefts beloved islamists can "cultivate" the girls into sex slavery rings.

Drago said...

BTW, did you happen to catch just how polite, nay, REVERENTIAL, the lefties in New York City were as the muslim call to prayer echoed about the boulevards?


These are the very same people who insult Christians every single day. Joyfully. Gleefully.

In fact, the very type of leftists who invade Christian houses of worship to hand out condoms and protest while yelling at the parents and children.

Gee, nothing inconsistent about that. At all, eh?

Skeptical Voter said...

NYT complains that folks failed to kiss Dean Baquets's ring. Boo effin' hoo!

Michael K said...

"all the main outlets made clear they won't put up with this going forward. "

Do you realize how deluded you sound ?

So, they "don't put up with that." They can watch TV to find out what is going on.

Maybe they should think about a pool with all those little guys they have ignored all these years.

Maybe they should refuse to cover Trump. That'll work. HAHAHAHAHAHA

Trump has a hold of their balls, or pussies as the case may be, and he is squeezing.

Drago said...

Lets face it, having all media outlets in the daily communications meetings is irrelevant.

Long before the meetings have been held the Dem talking point inspired stories have all been written.

Chuck said...

Good God. This poll exposes the Althouse readership in a way that ought to horrify the intelligent, principled, proprietress of this blog.

Even the Fox News Channel joined in the formal protest of this move by the White House Correspondents' Association. The Spicer invitation/exclusion wasn't even in keeping with the Trump Administration's own particular complaints. Donald Trump Tweeted that NBC, ABC and CBS were all part of the "fake news" but they were invited to this gaggle. The Washington Post was criticized harshly today by Trump himself but they were invited.

It was the act of a petulant adolescent. Or an adolescent administration.

hombre said...

"... until the lefts beloved islamists can "cultivate" the girls into sex slavery rings."

Or at least until the Somalian immigrants can circumcise them.

Drago said...

BTW, the NYT has a story today about the ongoing discussions in Sweden by government officials about the non-existent muslim immigration problems they have.

The question is: Why?

There are no problems. None at all. Trump made it all up. The burning cars were for Swedish Smores.

John henry said...


Blogger Oso Negro said...

Imagine substituting a review of a Holocaust movie and say the same thing about the murder of the Jews. See what happens.

But they do it all the time, Oso. Ask any American how many Jews were murdered in the National Socialist camps. Once they figure out that National Socialist = Nazi, 9 out of 10 will be able to come up with 6mm.

Now ask them how many people were murdered in the camps. 9 out of 10 will have no idea that there were 12mm, including 3mm non-Jewish Poles. 4 or 5 of them will be deniers and want to argue about it and call you wrong. At least 1, in my online experience will call you anti-semitic for mentioning the other 6mm.

Nothing to get excited about. The people murdered in the Ukraine were murdered for the best of reasons: Creating the new socialist man.

John Henry

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "Good God. This poll exposes the Althouse readership in a way that ought to horrify the intelligent, principled, proprietress of this blog"

"horrifying" is precisely how I would classify someone attacking a 10 year old boy.

But hey, that's just me. I recognize others, often "lifelong republicans", clearly think differently.

n.n said...

Replace the corporate press with bloggers and the less fortunate. Redistributive change. The NYT, and DNC patrons, thought they would rule forever.

Drago said...

John: "Now ask them how many people were murdered in the camps. 9 out of 10 will have no idea that there were 12mm, including 3mm non-Jewish Poles. 4 or 5 of them will be deniers and want to argue about it and call you wrong. At least 1, in my online experience will call you anti-semitic for mentioning the other 6mm"

Make sure you ask them about the many innocents murdered by the lefts beloved Soviets, including the Polish officers murdered in the Katyn forest by Stalins brigades and lied about by the left for 50 years.

Mustn't speak ill of the regime that is the inevitable result of leftist totalitarian policies.

Oh, and since we are on the media, that provides an easy segue to mention again that the NYT has not yet removed it's Duranty Stalin-mass-murderer-supporting Pulitzer.

hombre said...

Chuck: "Donald Trump Tweeted that NBC, ABC and CBS were all part of the "fake news" but they were invited to this gaggle. The Washington Post was criticized harshly today by Trump himself but they were invited."

Therefore, a logical conclusion might be that this was not a punitive exclusion unless, of course, you share NYT's and CNN's exalted opinions of themselves.

Your TDS would have to go on the back burner to see this possibility, but dont worry, only for a moment.

John henry said...

Blogger pacwest said...

cheap plastic red button, bring it to a press confereceived and ask for a reset

First it was not a cheap plastic button. It was an industrial grade, NEMA/UL certified button of the type used in tens of millions of applications across the US and around the world.

Second, no matter what Crooked Hilary may say, it was not a "reset" button. A red button of that type, that stays in when pushed, on a yellow background, is defined in the US Code of Federal Regulations as an "Emergency Stop Button" The CFR defines what must happen when pushed. The CFR makes it illegal to use it for any other purpose.

I agree that President should get one, explain correctly what it is and what it means. Then when a presstitute starts up with their bullshit, press the button, cut the presstitute off in mid-sentence and make them sit down. An emergency stop, in other words.

John Henry

Drago said...

hombre: "Therefore, a logical conclusion might be...."


Bzzzzzzzt!!!

I see the problem right there.

John henry said...

Make sure you ask them about the many innocents murdered by the lefts beloved Soviets, including the Polish officers murdered in the Katyn forest by Stalins brigades and lied about by the left for 50 years.

Yes, of course Drago. Them too but we were talking of the German murders.

we could also talk about the systematic destruction of Polish culture by the Germans. The burning of birth, tax, baptismal, property, parliamentary and other records some going back 6 centuries or more. The destruction of Polish education at even the very lowest level. The attempted destruction of the Polish language.

In some ways this was even more horrible than the murders, if that is possible. The goal was to not only kill or subjugate the Poles, it was to wipe out all memory and record of the Polish nationality and culture. They made a pretty good start on it.

John Henry

HT said...

Less concerned that DJT sees luchenpresse on the horizon (even though he lets fake news in, instead), than I am that I think he's acting out of a wounded ego and personal rage at those organizations.

Wait, what's the question?

Original Mike said...

I don't understand the outrage. There were plenty of msm outlets there. Are they so incapable of reporting the news that we must have CNN and the NYT there too? Of course the answer is no. Their sense of entitlement is not warranted.

Chuck said...

hombre said...
Chuck: "Donald Trump Tweeted that NBC, ABC and CBS were all part of the "fake news" but they were invited to this gaggle. The Washington Post was criticized harshly today by Trump himself but they were invited."

Therefore, a logical conclusion might be that this was not a punitive exclusion unless, of course, you share NYT's and CNN's exalted opinions of themselves.

Your TDS would have to go on the back burner to see this possibility, but dont worry, only for a moment.


No, what I am saying is that for all of Trump's drama about "fake news," and then dramatically speechifying that the First Amendment has never had a better friend and defender than Donald Trump (which is complete bullshit along with some of his other laughable claims), and telling CPAC to today that he was trying to be very specific (via Twitter!?!) about the precise elements of the press whom he objected to... the singling out of news outlets for punishment seems to be completely ad hoc. I don't need to defend the Times or CNN, and I won't. It doesn't take my complaints, to realize that most of this is bullshit because Trump -- or Bannon, or Spicer -- picks on elements of the media depending on his daily mood(s).

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I can't feel any real sympathy for a pack of dishonest media members finally having their privilege revoked. The Trump administration owes transparency to the American public, but nowhere is it decreed that it owes access to any news organization or journalist that wants it. As long as they are at least as transparent as the transparently opaque Obama administration and continue to answer questions, the national news media can go pound sand (or return to their endless supply of unnamed sources to keep putting out the kind of stories that even the National Enquirer wouldn't touch).

Given the quality of journalism we've been treated to during the Obama and Trump presidencies so far, at this point I'd put a bunch of fifth graders in the press room and let them ask questions of Spicer. I half think they'd ask better questions, be better informed, and contribute more to the discussion than the people asking the questions now.

Henry said...

Pick the city closest to where you live: Metropolis, Octopus, Tuesday

Polls are torture.

The Vault Dweller said...

I'll take the trade, where CNN and the NYTimes are no longer excluded from things like this to set the precedent that Breitbart, One American News and the Washington Times must now always be included by American politicians in the in access group of media.

Paddy O said...

It's a Constitutional requirement that all Americans must quarter members of the press upon demand. That's the lesser known subclause of the Third Amendment

Bob Boyd said...

"It's a Constitutional requirement that all Americans must quarter members of the press upon demand."

We have to quarter. Drawing is optional, but recommended.

Original Mike said...

"It's a Constitutional requirement that all Americans must quarter members of the press upon demand."

Well, ya. Freedom of the press.

Anonymous said...

Paddy O: It's a Constitutional requirement that all Americans must quarter members of the press upon demand.

Bob Boyd: We have to quarter. Drawing is optional, but recommended.

[Raises glass] Well done, gentlemen.

Fabi said...

"I don't need to defend the Times or CNN, and I won't."

Sure -- just the MSM in general.

Unexpectedly.

Crimso said...

"We have to quarter. Drawing is optional, but recommended."

To quarter would be cruel. Quartering but not drawing would be both cruel and unusual.

Don’t Buy It said...

"Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties"

I call BS.

Bob Loblaw said...

Good God. This poll exposes the Althouse readership in a way that ought to horrify the intelligent, principled, proprietress of this blog.

What is it with leftists and their penchant for telling other people what to think? Eh, I mean "lifelong Republicans".

Chuck said...

Drago said...
"lifelong republican" Chuck: "Good God. This poll exposes the Althouse readership in a way that ought to horrify the intelligent, principled, proprietress of this blog"

"horrifying" is precisely how I would classify someone attacking a 10 year old boy.

But hey, that's just me. I recognize others, often "lifelong republicans", clearly think differently.


Stop it. Don't do that again. When you try to go after me with the baseless charge that I "attacked a 10 year-old boy," someone who might be new to this blog and who might not know what you are talking about, might think that I really did "attack," in some way that you are not specifying, a child.

When the fact is that I didn't attack anyone. The story you are making your oblique reference to is the story of Barron Trump, son of the President. And how a number of people have speculated that Barron is on the autism spectrum. That is not a theory that I have advanced; there are a number of stories in the media about how a YouTube member (who self identifies as autistic himself) posted a video that he thought evidenced autism-spectrum behaviors by Barron Trump. The individual posted the video to YouTube because he thought that Barron Trump was being wrongly accused of being an otherwise normal but badly-behaved child. But the response from the Trump family was a legal one, in the form of attorney Charles Harder who was the attorney heading up the case of Hulk Hogan versus Gawker. And the YouTube video was immediately pulled. You cannot see the video any longer. The YouTuber who was responsible has said since then that he was "scared" in a published report.

Attorney Harder released a statement that Barron Trump is not autistic, and I have quoted that statement and posted the link to US Weekly, to whom that statement was provided.

I am not a physician, or psychologist, nor am I an autism expert. I make absolutely no claims about Barron Trump apart from the mere observation, from a wide variety of media reports that others have speculated that Barron Trump is somehow autistic.

I have observed previously on these comments pages, that if you Google "Barron Trump" and "autism," that Google will populate the word for you before you finish typing Barron's name.

And finally, let us all recall that this controversy has never, on my account, arisen out of the blue. It has ALWAYS arisen in connection with President Trump's public position, or pronouncements, or statements, or meetings (as with vaccine-conspiracy lunatic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.) about the now-discredited "link" between vaccines and autism. It is, in that extremely important context, a matter of national policy concern.

Now just think about someone who had never before read this blog, and who, without the reply I have just provided, my have otherwise thought, 'Who is this guy Chuck how did he attack a 10 year-old boy?'

Chuck said...

Bob Loblaw said...
Good God. This poll exposes the Althouse readership in a way that ought to horrify the intelligent, principled, proprietress of this blog.

What is it with leftists and their penchant for telling other people what to think? Eh, I mean "lifelong Republicans".


I am not telling anybody what to think. I never suggested how anybody should answer the poll question. You don't even know how I answered! How do you imagine that I told "other people what to think"?

And you have done that thing again. Where, for my simply expressing criticism of the excesses of Trump and Trump supporters, you claim that I am a "leftist." When you don't know the first thing about me.

Just where do you step off, Bob, with that kind of crap?

Browndog said...

I was just watching the Mainstream Media.

They are aghast at the disrespect shown towards the Mainstream media.

Film at 11:00......

readering said...

Funny, folks here want to say Spicer/Trump deliberately snubbed certain outlets but Spicer expressly denied doing so. He goes with the, "I can't fit 3000 in here" line. In other words, he was just being a jerk.

Dan Hossley said...

two problems. First, you relied on the NYT's for a description of what happened. Fake News. Spicer let in the press pool and a few others. Not enough room in his office for the entire herd.

Second, even if you accept the NYT's narrative, don't you remember those meetings Obama had with selected liberal reporters?

Cry me a river.

Michael K said...

No, what I am saying is that for all of Trump's drama about "fake news," and then dramatically speechifying that the First Amendment has never had a better friend and defender than Donald Trump (which is complete bullshit along with some of his other laughable claims),

Thanks, chuck, for reminding me why I don't read your comments.

The HateTrump media got punked.

Awwwww

Michael K said...

" "I can't fit 3000 in here" line. In other words, he was just being a jerk."

No, he does not live in a rubber room like you.

Anonymous said...

Michael k is trolling again, how cute.

BN said...

As far as I'm concerned about the press, nothing they say about Trump is true until I put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side.

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

Blogger Matthew Sablan said...
"Could someone clarify for me -- didn't Obama do this to Fox News?"

-- He tried to get them un-included from the Pool, and the rest of the press revolted against that. Some in the Press also made some minor disapproving noises when he illegally wiretapped AP and Fox reporters in an attempt to silence them.

2/24/17, 3:47 PM


Help me remember... was it Hillary or Obama who locked that reporter in a closet for 3 or 4 hours?

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "Stop it. Don't do that again. When you try to go after me with the baseless charge that I "attacked a 10 year-old boy," someone who might be new to this blog and who might not know what you are talking about, might think that I really did "attack," in some way that you are not specifying, a child."

Very well.

On this blog you, specifically, trafficked in the "autism" attack on Barron Trump.

Period.

Congrats. You're a real peach.

Anonymous said...

"As far as I'm concerned about the press, nothing they say about Trump is true until I put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side."

Don't forget the crown of thorns hiding under his golden hair.

Drago said...

John Henry: "Yes, of course Drago. Them too but we were talking of the German murders.

we could also talk about the systematic destruction of Polish culture by the Germans. The burning of birth, tax, baptismal, property, parliamentary and other records some going back 6 centuries or more. The destruction of Polish education at even the very lowest level. The attempted destruction of the Polish language.

In some ways this was even more horrible than the murders, if that is possible. The goal was to not only kill or subjugate the Poles, it was to wipe out all memory and record of the Polish nationality and culture. They made a pretty good start on it."

Germany from the West, Stalin's left-wing hordes from the East and they met in the middle.

Up until the time Hitler, like all socialist totalitarian leaders, decided to "sic" his national socialists on the international socialists.

Hagar said...

So, why would anyone want to be invited to a meeting referred to as a "gaggle"?

Anonymous said...

Chuck has never attacked Barron Trump, despite the daily lies coming from the pack of hyenas that keep yipping about it daily. Fake news right here in River City. I'd think this constant harassment of an Althouse commenter would be addressed by Althouse eventually. It's getting vulgar and very ugly. These Althouse regulars don't represent the Althouse blog very well to readers who are new to Althouse.

CWJ said...

John Henry,

I have agreed with much of what you have posted over the years, but I have never been more in agreement with you than your comments on this thread.

It is no slight of the Jewish holocaust to point out that the camps were equal opportunity exterminators. Still there are plenty who seem to think it so.

J Severs said...

Trump set a trap and the press into it. Now they will talk about only this for 24 hours. Meanwhile the Administration can advance other items.

JackWayne said...

The Left has no memory. Unfortunately I am old enough to remember way back, about 4 weeks ago when the White House wanted to move the briefings across the street to a place that would hold 400 people. HORRORS! That would not do at all! As I recall, the problem was twofold: 1) More panache being IN the White House, 2) Exclusivity would be violated by inviting all those commoner media in. So, the WH said fine. Which means, logically, that for every briefing, hundreds are being excluded. But, cry America, for the NYT. Where's the civility bullshit tag?

Michael K said...

"It's getting vulgar and very ugly."

I think the left here gets more tolerance.

We are grown up and you and Ritmo can whine and moan all you want but it is ugly a lot of the time.

Anonymous said...

"We are grown up...."

No, you often sound as if you're in a second adolescence.

Seeing Red said...

OH, Lord, here we go with the attempt at shaming again!

Cue the civility bullshit tag.

The Progs destroyed that.

New readers can look thru old posts and make up their own minds.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Chuck has never attacked Barron Trump, despite the daily lies coming from the pack of hyenas that keep yipping about it daily."

In this very thread, in attempting to deflect from his obvious and repeated trafficking of vicious rumors related to Barron Trump, "lifelong republican" Chuck again does the very same thing.

I'm not surprised you are defending your compatriot. Leftists, when they are not busy demanding adult naked males be allowed into girls locker rooms, do not hesitate to align with "lifelong republicans" to continue the attacks on a 10 yr old.

Well played. You're a real rocket scientist.

Seeing Red said...

That's not the way I read the statement Drago.

That being said, We all know where we stand on this issue.


What starts needing to be said to those tolerant media us your (grand)kids first!

Chuck said...

Drago: Ann Althouse blogged that a SNL writer had Tweeted a line about Barron Trump being "the nation's first home schooled shooter." It became a media story; the SNL writer was suspended. Here is the Althouse post:

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/01/snl-writer-katie-rich-is-so-sorry-for.html

And I don't recall you protesting.

Then I post that others had speculated about Barron Trump being autistic. Unlike the "shooter" story, which was devoid of anything redeemable, the "autism" story may touch upon serious national policy if Trump pursues any sort of federal action on the vaccines which have been shown to have no causal link to autism. As Trump himself has mentioned, as recently as the primary debates and the transition.

But even with all of that, you have attacked me in the harshest terms. You say that I have "trafficked" in a rumor that Barron Trump actually has autism. I have posted on this topic dozens of times, nearly all of them in response to attacks on me, for having supposedly having gone after a child. When the text of what I have written goes only to what others have speculated.



Drago said...

J Severs: "Trump set a trap and the press into it. Now they will talk about only this for 24 hours. Meanwhile the Administration can advance other items."

One does have to wonder if this is all calculated strategy intended to obscure the policy advances being made.

Trump spent significant amounts of time this morning speaking about 10 different significant policy objectives yet those get just about zero press play even though those are the key issues that allowed Trump to defeat the "Blue Wall".

It's very difficult for me to ascribe to genius what could also be ascribed to good fortune, but after awhile the consistency in arriving at this just this type of communications scenario indicates some logic behind it.

MeatPopscicle1234 said...

I really wish there was a like/unlike feature for some of these comments...

Seeing Red said...

If one can't stack em in like sardines, why is he being a jerk?

Ooohhhhhh, maybe they have occupancy limits!

Better safe than sorry!

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: "And I don't recall you protesting."

Sorry I don't catch all the attacks deserving of condemnation. I didn't realize it was my job to peruse each and every word of this blog at all times in order to avoid responsibility for failing to condemn something, somewhere, that someone may have written.

It would just be easier all around if you would apologize for your despicable (but clearly lefty approved!) behavior and then just "Move On".

Since that isn't going to happen you should not be allowed to lecture others on behavior without challenge.

JackWayne said...

Seeing Red cannot address the points I raised. So I must be engaging in public shaming. Right out of the manual. The good thing is my attitude to SR is my attitude to this gaggle kerfuffle: I don't give a crap.

Anonymous said...

Drago, Fabi and Birkel are the three who most often engage in this odd daily attack on Chuck, there may be others I can't recall now. It's high time they stopped. It does nothing to enhance the experience of Althouse readers and commenters.

Drago said...

Jack Wayne: "Seeing Red cannot address the points I raised. So I must be engaging in public shaming. Right out of the manual. The good thing is my attitude to SR is my attitude to this gaggle kerfuffle: I don't give a crap."

Neither do any of the voters in the swing states who demonstrated a clear preference for tuning out the complaints of the leftist MSM, the leftists, and most "lifelong republicans".

Dude1394 said...

No company is owed access. They are the enemy and until they quit acting like democrats operatives they should expect pushback.

Chuck said...

Drago said...
Unknown: "Chuck has never attacked Barron Trump, despite the daily lies coming from the pack of hyenas that keep yipping about it daily."

In this very thread, in attempting to deflect from his obvious and repeated trafficking of vicious rumors related to Barron Trump, "lifelong republican" Chuck again does the very same thing.
...


Try harder, to be not quite so stupid.

When someone -- someone like you -- attacks me with a line like, "'horrifying' is precisely how I would classify someone attacking a 10 year old boy," with no context and no other explanation, I am not going to let it go. Not when you start things in that fashion. I am not going to be impugned as someone who would "attack" a boy in some unexplained fashion, and leave it to readers' imagination, to fill in some imaginary detail as to how I made such an attack. I am not going to let you do that to me, and I don't give a flying fuck about who gets caught in the crossfire.

Learn your lesson. Shut the fuck up about this topic and don't mention it again.

Drago said...

"lifelong republican" Chuck: " I am not going to be impugned as someone who would "attack" a boy in some unexplained fashion, and leave it to readers' imagination, to fill in some imaginary detail as to how I made such an attack. I am not going to let you do that to me, and I don't give a flying fuck about who gets caught in the crossfire.

Learn your lesson. Shut the fuck up about this topic and don't mention it again."

I already addressed this concern up thread.

And I'll raise this issue each and every time I deem it appropriate.

You should probably see someone about your repeated personal threats. Perhaps you already are, in which case, good luck.

Kelly said...

If it was for the usual presser I might be concerned. This was a "gaggle"? i need more information on how these are usually handled. My guess is we aren't getting the full story.

Seeing Red said...

You're Unknown?


Because that is who I was responding to.

I may or may not have read your comment. Sometimes I don't pay attn to names, I just comment.


Inga tried the shaming nonsense before.

Its old and doesn't work.


And if that's not Inga, same difference.


The Progs lowered the bar for decades, this is what happens. Your rules.

BN said...

"How bad is this?"

Not as bad as "pussy grabbin'", but biglier than making fun of that spastic dude.

BN said...

IOW, nobody gives a shit.

Drago said...

Kelly: "If it was for the usual presser I might be concerned. This was a "gaggle"? i need more information on how these are usually handled. My guess is we aren't getting the full story."

It's all very "inside baseball" with "gaggle" and "pool" and/or "pool plus" terms being used.

Apparently "gaggle" essentially means all credentialed reporters so, everyone.
"Pool" or "Pool plus" is just what is sounds like, a reference to the subset of credentialed reporters who constitute the "pool" for that day along with any "onesies"/"Twosies" the administration wants to add.

The great "crime" here is that it was "gaggle" but it the meeting was in Spicers office which no doubt cannot handle that mumber so it turned into a "pool plus" but then some reporters thought "gaggle" + "not everyone invited" = "outrage" so they opted out.

As you can see, it's all quite critical to securing the industrial rust belt states in 2020.

Bill said...

Last week, I read Time magazine for the first time in years, and couldn't believe what a lefty rag it had become under the editorial leadership of Nancy Gibbs.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

BN: "Not as bad as "pussy grabbin'", but biglier than making fun of that spastic dude"

"Not as bad as talking about "pussy grabbing" in a non-specific way."

FTFY

In any event, it's all nowhere near as bad as actual rape and sexual assault as in the case of William Jefferson Clinton.

Drago said...

Unknown: "Why is Trump attacking the Press besides being butthurt about the reporting that is unflattering to him?"

Maybe you should direct your question to your earth-bound messiah, Obama: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/us/politics/obama-is-an-avid-reader-and-critic-of-news-media-coverage.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=us&pagewanted=all

Take your time.

Drago said...

Bill: "Last week, I read Time magazine for the first time in years..."

You poor bastard. You didn't deserve that, no one does.

mockturtle said...

Unknown complains: Drago, Fabi and Birkel are the three who most often engage in this odd daily attack on Chuck, there may be others I can't recall now. It's high time they stopped. It does nothing to enhance the experience of Althouse readers and commenters.

Attacking Chuck is one of our favorite pastimes here. And I rather suspect Chuck enjoys it, too, as he seems to deliberately provoke it. At least Chuck is a genuine contributor here and not just a troll. Give him credit that you don't deserve.

Anonymous said...

Why is Trump attacking the Press besides being butthurt about the reporting that is unflattering to him? Could it be that he and his administration are setting up a narrative of a completely untrustworthy "enemy" Press so that when the shit hits the fan regarding the Trump/Russia investigation conclusions, he can claim fake news, or that the Press is smearing him unfairly? Things must be getting very hot for him regarding these investigations, because Trump's attacks on the media have become almost unhinged.

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