September 25, 2017

"Remember a few weeks before the election, when Hillary Clinton said, 'I’m the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse?'"

"I think she was basically right. Part of the job of a columnist, as I see it, is to bear witness to a nearly inconceivable civic disaster, and part of it is to grope toward an understanding of how it happened and how to move forward."

Says Michelle Goldberg, in a dialogue with NYT op-ed writer (and former editorial page editor) Gail Collins. Goldberg is the new NYT columnist.

I'll just highlight one comment:
No mention of the Book Review gaffe? What is the purpose of this column?
The comment links to the Vanity Fair piece from 5 days ago: "'HUMILIATING': INSIDE THE LATEST CONTROVERSY TO ROIL THE NEW YORK TIMES/A deeply inaccurate book review has set off much consternation, and soul-searching, at 620 Eighth Avenue."

54 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

pay walls all over the place. Fitting - Hillary Clinton is a living pay wall.

MikeR said...

Part of the job of a journalist, as I see it, is to bear witness to the fact that half the country badly misunderstood how the other half of the country feels about things, and try to bridge the gap with understanding.
That does not seem to be the job as journalists themselves see it.

traditionalguy said...

Being "Deeply inaccurate " is praise,Not criticism , to a NYT writer. You go girl.

MadisonMan said...

Hiring someone who resides within your same Echo Chamber does not lead to Diversity of Thought.

john said...

Goldberg: "It’s a source of constant astonishment to me that the country has handed over the means to destroy civilization on this planet to an unhinged lunatic who lost the popular vote and was installed with the aid of a hostile foreign power. It’s such an epic institutional failure that it calls everything we thought we knew about this country’s stability into question."

Is this the Jew Valery Plame was warning us about?

J. Farmer said...

I read that after it was linked on Steve Sailer's blog earlier this morning. My favorite line was about how Trump had been "installed with the aid of a hostile foreign power." And also of course the casual anti-white rhetoric that is part of Goldberg's stock and trade: "One issue I imagine I'll keep coming back to is the structural bias in our system that gives white, rural voters so much more political power than diverse, urban ones." If only the country voted in a way to please all the "diverse, urban" people Goldberg loves instead of the "white, rural" ones she despises. Her and Gail's hypothetical trip to Wyoming like it' an anthropological visit to the Kalahari is also unintentionally funny.

Mary Beth said...

What’s your take on Donald Trump? I don’t mean “Are you happy he’s president?” How do you see your role as a columnist — articulating a national cry of pain? Re-evaluating him on the basis of what happens each week?

The only unacceptable answer is “Crawling under the bed and assuming a fetal position.” It won’t fill 850 words — trust me, I know.


That's where I stopped reading.

Anonymous said...

I guess back in the day outlets like Pravda couldn't get intelligent, well-educated (as opposed to well-credentialed) people to write for them, either. Or maybe the low quality of the writers is a feature, not a bug, considering the mission.

Seriously, National Enquirer probably attracts a higher-quality class of journalists these days than does the "prestige" press.

Chris N said...

The Times is still making moves to become The Guardian, I see.

***Driven by ideological purity as much as facts, professionalism and real-world experience. Funded by a few wealthy donors who can afford to be ideologues. A stable of rotating, self-selecting columnists holding up some piece of the ideology while shouting about some injustice or other..

That's pretty much where the logic leads, and all the people who took the American ideals and unity for granted, the ideals which supported the standards of facts, professionalism and real-world experience, well this is the bed they've helped to make.

Enjoy!!

Henry said...

Goldberg confessed that she would “give a kidney and five years of my life” to take back the erroneous assertions.

But not her soapbox. That she's keeping.

Curious George said...

"MadisonMan said...
Hiring someone who resides within your same Echo Chamber does not lead to Diversity of Thought."

To the left diversity of thought means a lot of different people thinking the same thing.

Darrell said...

Part of the job of a columnist, as I see it, is to bear witness to Hillary's record number of felonies.

Henry said...

If Trump's win is a "nearly inconceivable civic disaster" then Ms. Clinton's statement is a truism.

She should have said "Me not being president is the apocalypse."

Comanche Voter said...

Lost the popular vote? My bleeding backside; Trump got thumped by 4 million votes in California---and Hillary's entire national popular vote margin was 3 million. Lord help us all if the land of fruits and nuts controls the destiny of the nation.

Amadeus 48 said...

Poor Michelle.

She continues to be wrong about most things but is rewarded with "some of the most valuable space in journalism." She must wake up every morning and wonder what is wrong with everyone else.

Quayle said...

I wonder why it is that most credentialed among us - the best educated and most connected and wealthy (relatively) - can't even understand at an even basic level the bread-and-butter, average person on the street?

They are supposed to be the best and brightest - the experts and masters of nuance.

Yet they appear to not be able to ascertain even the most basics of their own in-country neighbor's world view and approach.

I don't think the failure is how half the country is thinking and choosing to live. The failure is an "elite" world view that can't even comprehend their neighbors, let alone talk with them.

What are they teaching in those elite universities that is so poorly equipping their graduates to live in the real world of real earnest people?

As was said above, they are like anthropologist who go to a foreign country, and fespite all their supposed training in cultures and civilizations, come back and declare that "They're all savages. There's nothing to explain."

Henry said...

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and the Trump that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to Trump that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and Trump that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Trump, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

traditionalguy said...

The Army Ranger with a bronze star from serving three tours in Afghanistan
Defied his silly Pittsburgh team members who were hiding out in the dressing room and came out to honor the Stars and Stripes. Today his jersey is the best seller in NFL gear. And NASCAR told any NASCAR haters of the USA to take the next Grayhound bus home and not bother to come back.

DJT wins again.

Darrell said...

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would slap Michelle Goldberg silly.

Amadeus 48 said...

Comanche Voter--the only thing that gives me pause is that for most of my life, California has been the land of tomorrow. What they did today, most of the rest of us did five years later. Let's hope that trend is broken.

Chris N said...

And who hasn't longed to be in dialogue with Gail Collins?

***She's way too suburban to be hanging around The Party after hours. The real radicals will make quick work of her.

YoungHegelian said...

Michelle Goldberg? Really, NYT? That's the best you can do?

This hiring reeks of "somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody". I will, for now, bypass more insulting and/or conspiratorial theories as to how this hiring came to pass. But, that quotation about the election of Trump alone should disqualify her. You gonna be able to report on your fellow countrymen with that attitude?

Bay Area Guy said...

Memo to Michele Goldberg: Hillary is still not President and Franco is still dead.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Never cared for her smug, superior attitude combined with her middling intellect in your Bloggingheads things.

JAORE said...

Something tells me I won't be reading her work for the foreseeable future.

And I suspect I can pretty closely guess what she would have written on most subjects anyway.

Honestly, how people can equate an election result with the apocalypse, then say your first thought was crawling under the bed and assuming the fetal position is beyond me. Now 9 months in, if you still feel that way, professional help is highly recommended.

Anonymous said...

Quayle: As was said above, they are like anthropologist who go to a foreign country, and fespite all their supposed training in cultures and civilizations, come back and declare that "They're all savages. There's nothing to explain."

I think "they're all savages, there's nothing to explain" is as good an answer as any to the question you posed in the first paragraph of your comment.

Bill R said...

I've seen Michelle Goldberg several times with Althouse on Bloggingheads. The episodes are mostly Althouse mopping the floor with Goldberg's pixie haircut. I'm sorry, but Michelle Goldberg doesn't have a thought in her head that wasn't a cliche 50 years ago. I can't believe she is a NYT columnist.

Hey NYT. If you're looking for a new columnist who says something surprising and insightful now and then, I know of a recently retired Law Professor that would do very nicely.

chickelit said...

My favorite visual image of Goldberg is when she and Althouse "diss-cussed" Sarah Palin on bloggingheads. Goldberg, flummoxed and obviously outgunned, twirled her pixied hair around her index finger. Or was it her middle finger? I need to find that moment.

Unknown said...

Here's her bio from that article saying where she's been published:

Slate, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, Salon, The Nation.

Yep, there goes the NYT, celebrating diversity by bringing in a range of voice to the Op-Ed pages.

tim in vermont said...

Sorry Hillary, but disaster was inevitable once the nominations were secured. At least this disaster is entertaining.

JAORE said...

Full quote from Hillary Clinton:
"I'm the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse, let me show you the way. Form a line, no shoving. There is room for all.

Clinton Foundation donors please move to the express line. Wine will be served."

cubanbob said...

Hmmm lets see: the political party that controls both houses of Congress and thirty four of the fifty states and whose candidate won the presidency is not representative of the country. You have to be a progressive Democrat or an idiot to believe such a thing. But I repeat myself.

Howard said...

Yeah, I don't understand the concern. Everyone knows Trump is a blowhard spewing empty threats. He's just a paperwork tiger who hides behind lawyers like Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel Roy Cohn. Besides, the USMC has their finger on the button, so there is no worries of a premature trumspasim.

Robert Cook said...

Trump is not a lunatic, just the Asshole's Asshole. Some people think that's what our President should be. Those people are assholes, too.

The Asshole did not win the presidency with the aid of a "hostile, foreign power," at least, insofar as any actual evidence has shown. (And since when is Russian "hostile" to us? I thought we had become friendly with them at the end of the Cold War and had remained so...at least, as "friendly" as two rival superpowers can be.)

Anyone who asserts the above plaint-of-the-losers shows themselves to be knowing propagandists or credulous adherents to a faith-based "knowledge."

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

I chuckled at this line:

" (Times copy editors may be strict fact-checkers but they don’t operate like magazine researchers, who often, and effectively, inspect every word in a given piece.)"

Where were those rigorous magazine researchers at Rolling Stone?

Earnest Prole said...

The Times wanted to be more like Gawker and BuzzFeed, and now they are.

Gahrie said...

One issue I imagine I'll keep coming back to is the structural bias in our system that gives white, rural voters so much more political power than diverse, urban ones." If only the country voted in a way to please all the "diverse, urban" people Goldberg loves instead of the "white, rural" ones she despises.

The biggest problem with this statement is the fact that it is completely wrong. It is actually urban areas that have more political power than rural areas...that is why New York, California and Illinois are so screwed up..they're dominated by dysfunctional urban centers.

Robert Cook said...

Who says New York is screwed up?

Gahrie said...

Who says New York is screwed up?

Me.

tim in vermont said...

Who says New York is screwed up? It's working for Cookie.

Reminds me of all of the rich Democrats who keep saying "America is already great!"

tim in vermont said...

just the Asshole's Asshole.

Actually he's a dick, and we all know that only a dick can deal with both assholes and pussies. Google it for stirring speech from Team America, World Police.

MadisonMan said...

I notice you didn't ask about Illinois being screwed up, Robt Cook.

I suggest evidence of that is in unfunded pensions (unlike here in Wisconsin).

JaimeRoberto said...

Having read some of her columns I'm not convinced that Ms. Goldberg's IQ is above room temperature, but maybe that's a prerequisite for a job at the NYT.

tcrosse said...

It's hard to imagine a situation in which Hillary would be the last one standing, rather than the first to fall over.

RMc said...

Michelle Goldberg doesn't have a thought in her head that wasn't a cliche 50 years ago. I'm not surprised she is a NYT columnist.

Fixed.

Robert Cook said...

"I notice you didn't ask about Illinois being screwed up, Robt Cook."

That's because I don't know anything about what's going on in Illinois.

Robert Cook said...

"'Who says New York is screwed up?'

"Me."


Heh! That pretty much disqualifies the assertion right there. How do you know New York is screwed up? In what way is New York screwed up?

Robert Cook said...

"Actually he's a dick...."

No, he's just an asshole. A HUUUUUUUGGGGEEE asshole, but just an asshole.

Marty Keller said...

Cookie said, Trump is not a lunatic, just the Asshole's Asshole. Some people think that's what our President should be. Those people are assholes, too.

The Asshole did not win the presidency with the aid of a "hostile, foreign power," at least, insofar as any actual evidence has shown. (And since when is Russian "hostile" to us? I thought we had become friendly with them at the end of the Cold War and had remained so...at least, as "friendly" as two rival superpowers can be.)

Anyone who asserts the above plaint-of-the-losers shows themselves to be knowing propagandists or credulous adherents to a faith-based "knowledge."


I'm having a weird day; agreed with Comrade LLR earlier and now I'm agreeing with Cookie (although I'm agnostic about whether the President is actually "the Asshole's Asshole"--although he certainly can play one on TV).

But he perfectly fingers the complete bullshit that Goldberg and other flunkies of the clerisy spew out world without end. They wouldn't know logic if it choked them with their strands of clutched pearls. Hence I think they are both "propagandists" who are certainly at the same time "credulous adherents to a faith-based 'knowledge.'"

tcrosse said...

No, he's just an asshole. A HUUUUUUUGGGGEEE asshole, but just an asshole.

Back in 1961 there was bad blood between JFK and John Diefenbaker, then PM of Canada.
A note was intercepted in which JFK supposedly called Dief an Asshole. JFK denied it, saying that he had instead called Diefenbaker a Prick. I like precision in language.

Michael K said...

Blogger Robert Cook said...
"'Who says New York is screwed up?'

"Me."

Heh! That pretty much disqualifies the assertion right there. How do you know New York is screwed up? In what way is New York screwed up?


Did you read "Bonfire of the Vanities?"

Well, I testified in that courthouse. It is just like the book. The lawyer whose witness I was had his office down the street and had a steel cage around his window air conditioner in his office so his clients wouldn't steal it.

No benches to sit in the courthouse because, as the cop told me, they would be full of bums sleeping.

The jury (It was a civil case) sent a note out to the judge to get the bailiffs to force one juror to bathe. They could not stand to be locked in the jury room with him.

Want more?

Robert Cook said...

Michael K.

First, the comment about places that were screwed referred to the entire states mentioned, California, Illinois, and New York, which the commenter said were screwed up because they were dominated by large urban centers. California is much larger than just Los Angeles (or San Francisco), Illinois is much larger than just Chicago, and New York is much larger than just NYC. Also, the commenter did not bother to mention any of the states which lack large urban centers that are screwed up as a comparison. It's hardly as if there aren't any. Second, you're relating anecdotal information about an unpleasant day in a courthouse with a juror who wouldn't bathe. Hardly evidence of the third ring of Hell. Third, the New York City of BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES is long gone. This is not to say that a city as large and densely packed with people as NYC still doesn't have it's plethora of problems and dysfunctions. However, the city is not the whole state, and the city has changed and improved drastically since the 80s.

Robert Cook said...

"...they are like anthropologist who go to a foreign country, and fespite all their supposed training in cultures and civilizations, come back and declare that 'They're all savages. There's nothing to explain.'"

Any anthropologist who would say that isn't an anthropologist.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Any anthropologist who would say that isn't an anthropologist.


You have fallen into category error. This is my shocked face :-|