September 9, 2019

"I hate the news right now. Everyone seems to think the thing to talk about is Donald Trump, which strikes me as profoundly stupid."

"I watched 5-and-a-half Sunday morning talk shows yesterday, and I heard the same thing over and over. Trump has lost some unregainable portion of the women. He can never get them back, but he could never have won anyway, and really what he is is America's expression of anger. We're an angry, angry America, and this lout is, apparently, an embodiment of our collective id."

I wrote, on August 15, 2015, in "Dawn walk thoughts," which I'm reading this morning because I'm retroactively applying my new tag "sunrise."

I don't watch the Sunday morning talk shows anymore. I don't know exactly when I stopped but that old post expresses the aversion that keeps me away entirely now. I can't take the anger. I can't take the constant obsessing over Trump. And that was 4 years ago. Little did I know how much anger and obsessing would follow. But, as I did then, I can get away from the media-enforced anxiety.

402 comments:

1 – 200 of 402   Newer›   Newest»
rhhardin said...

Don't miss thinking about who the derangement is for, audience-wise.

Bay Area Guy said...

I don't watch the Sunday morning talk shows anymore.

Bummer for us. I made the mistake of watching clicking back and forth between Chuck Todd and Stephanapolous, and, boy, do they both suck. Can we bribe you to watch this crap for us?

I don't know exactly when I stopped but that old post expresses the aversion that keeps me away entirely now. I can't take the anger. I can't take the constant obsessing over Trump. And that was 4 years ago.

The Left is obsessed with hating Trump. He took away their power, which really makes them mad. Oh, and his tweets are mean!

Little did I know how much anger and obsessing would follow. But, as I did then, I can get away from the media-enforced anxiety.

The mainstream media is a shit-hole. Too many lies, too much leftwing partisanship. It's best just to tune it out.

rhhardin said...

Feelings are persuasive to people who short-circuit to feelings, not to multi-level thinkers.

Chuck said...

How does so-called "Trump Derangement Syndrome" figure into this? Is Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, a victim of TDS? Is the Wall Street Journal/Fox News' "Journal Editorial Report" a TDS outlet?

To me, the elective complete, prophylactic (to avoid "anger"?!?) abandonment of all Sunday news shows across the board is more deranged -- by a country mile -- than anything I have ever seen on Fox News Sunday.

hawkeyedjb said...

The Democratic party has many, many outlets for its positions and opinions. The mainstream news is just a dribble in the great torrent. Why anybody watches/listens/reads it - unless you need to have your partisan feelings reinforced - is way beyond my ken.

CWJ said...

I seem to recall you wrote a post about no longer watching the Sunday morning shows. Or at least one saying why you read the transcripts rather than watch.

hawkeyedjb said...

As Chuck notes, there are at least two or three news outlets that are not Democratic party organs. Fair and Balanced!

narciso said...


like this garbage story, just more gunk churned out by dan jones fusion gps adjunct,

https://dailycaller.com/2019/09/09/cia-extracted-russian-spy-2017/

Harry Lime said...

"... embodiment of our collective id." Was that an intentional reference to Forbidden Planet or an accidental one? To the media, Trump must look a lot like the invisible Monster from the Id in the movie.

Ann Althouse said...

"Bummer for us. I made the mistake of watching clicking back and forth between Chuck Todd and Stephanapolous, and, boy, do they both suck. Can we bribe you to watch this crap for us?"

Yes. Make Paypal contributions with a note saying, "Please blog Sunday shows," and if and when the total amounts to $500, I will do one Sunday's worth of shows. I'll offer to do it again if I'm pleased with the feeling of incentive and reward. If the amount never reaches $500, you never get anything other than my appreciation of your support for the blog in general.

Michael K said...

I quit watching all of them after 11/9/2016. The hate and anger was even enough for me to quit this blog for several months before the election. Now, Boris Johnson and BREXIT has driven the Establishment crazy in the UK.

The furor when RBG dies will be spectacular.

narciso said...

oh it will be like the last 15 minutes of kingsman, heads exploding everywhere,


https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/09/migrant-apprehensions-dropped-64k-august/

traditionalguy said...

Little did we know back in August, 2015 that Work-a-haulic, winner Trump would have the Q team on his side in the fight.

Anonymous said...

But, as I did then, I can get away from the media-enforced anxiety.

Good for you. That way lies madness.

You should avoid news shows because they're targeted at an audience that's way less intelligent and a lot more ideological rigid than you are. I'd bet it wasn't the constant drums of doom that caused anxiety, but rather that the anxiety was a result of the boredom and irritation with the stupidity. Being an informed good citizen doesn't require subjecting oneself to any of that dreck.

Ralph L said...

I wasn't paying much attention (zero to the Sunday shows), but it seemed like the MSM was pumping up Trump in 2015. He was their preferred Rep candidate. It shocked me that Rush liked him, too.

Ralph L said...

Althouse used to charge $1,000 for a post. Supply and demand are ruthless masters.

Chuck said...

The Fox News Channel is the leading cable news channel in terms of viewership and revenue, right?

The Wall Street Journal is the nation's most-subscribed newspaper, right?

There are loads of right-wing and alt-right news outlets who are openly supportive of Trump.

And there are of course lots of news outlets vaguely referred to as "the mainstream media" who hold a Trump-skeptic and anti-Trump viewpoint.

That term "mainstream media" as an avatar for bicoastal left-wing politics is so old, it predates the rise of Rupert Murdoch in America, the success of the Fox News Channel and the blossoming of the Wall Street Journal as a political/editorial force.

There's lots of pro-Trump media all over America.

narciso said...

it's least worst, but it's still too susceptible to all this idiot, shep smith gives me hives, well he did when I still had cable,


https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2019/09/09/campaign-2020-tvs-war-against-trump-leaves-little-time-dems

stevew said...

Me too. Not only did I quit the Sunday shows, which I didn't watch all that much, but stopped watching the major network news, quit Facebook and Twitter. Much more peaceful.

Get all the news/info I want on blogs and websites like this one, with none of yelling and carping and angry. Some of that stuff appears here, of course, but I can just scroll on by the annoying stuff.

cubanbob said...

Althouse it isn't Trump versus nobody. It's Trump versus one of the varying degrees of Socialist who are the Democrat candidates. Which one is to be determined but just remember they hate your wallet more than Trump does. Sanders is an out the closet Communist. Warren wants to tax your wealth which includes your 401K, IRA, your defined benefits pension and your investments. Even Chuck will come out and say I'm voting against X by voting for Trump. Therefore its a forgone conclusion that anyone who actually has an income that can be taxed and has two nickels to their name and isn't a public sector grifter is going to vote against the Commie. So why bother with the Sunday Lefty circle jerks?

Bay Area Guy said...

If you wanna understand what is happening to the Democrat Party in America, take a long look at this article on Labor Leader, Jeremy Corbin in the UK. .

The man is not a clown, like Bernie Sanders. The man is a true believer -- an unreconstructed socialist. He is very self-disciplined. The man wants to transform UK into a leftwing socialist island, without any sense of tradition, history or English values.

That's what we're up against here in the US.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Make Paypal contributions with a note saying, "Please blog Sunday shows," and if and when the total amounts to $500, I will do one Sunday's worth of shows.

So one Sunday's worth of shows == 2.5 egg salad sandwiches?

Drago said...

#StrongCNNDefender Chuck: "There are loads of right-wing and alt-right news outlets who are openly supportive of Trump.

And there are of course lots of news outlets vaguely referred to as "the mainstream media" who hold a Trump-skeptic and anti-Trump viewpoint."

LOLOLOLOL

All. Credibility. Gone.

But its been that way for awhile, hasn't it?

If I were the sort of person to recommend topics for Althouse to offer up, I might suggest an open forum where Althouse solicits readers to offer up just when each one of them came to realize LLR Chuck is a Moby and what the specific subject at the time was that convinced them.

For some it might be LLR Chuck's years long record of praising every far left democrat and media personality.

For others it might be LLR Chuck's 24/7/365 record of amplifying every single far left conspiracy theory/talking point/narrative against Trump and conservatives who push back against democrats.

For others it might have been LLR Chuck's vicious racist commentary against any African Americans who would serve in the Administration.

For others it might be LLR Chuck's never ending deflection away from and minimization of democrat scandals.

For others it might be LLR Chuck's non-stop linking to the most far left radical lefty think tanks, media sources, legal "experts", etc. One reader became convinced after LLR Chuck repeatedly linked to the most insane lefty legal thinking at Lawfareblog, something no conservative would ever do under any circumstances.

Perhaps Althouse could even do a poll!

PM said...

The news coverage of Watergate was a leaky faucet compared to this. Now we have the Dem proposal to 'increase' the number of Supremes - the brainchild of furious, door-slammimg nine-year-olds.

narciso said...

consider this the next they make a pronouncement,

https://babalublog.com/2019/09/09/human-rights-violator-venezuela-may-join-human-rights-violator-cuba-on-un-human-rights-council/

Sebastian said...

"We're an angry, angry America"

I sympathize with the post, but --

Who dat we?

Progs project anger onto the deplorables, but they are the ones raging: raging against Trump before he was elected, starting riots and destruction in the streets from the day of the inauguration, ramping up their TDS to 11 24/7, declaring the rest of us racist, and so on and so forth. Has any Trumpist expressed any anger on any of the Sunday shows?

FrankiM said...

Some are tired of the anger, others are tired of the sycophancy and co dependency. If the media no longer paid attention to Trump, he’d do even more outrageous things to put his name in the headlines. If you feel no well deserved anxiety over this presidency, well... you must be...eh nevermind. It’s too late to explain why.

Leland said...

I get it. I forgot when I quit watching the daily news and then later the weekly roundups. What I do know was I didn't like myself when I did watch them, and it was because of the emotion that I can clearly now see is intended by the shows.

For the same reason, I quit listening to political speeches after the Iraq War debate in 2003.

Today, I feel sorry for those who haven't quit the addiction of watching or reading the news. Good for you, Althouse, for giving up the Sunday shows.

Pianoman said...

Remember, this isn't really about Trump. It's about the Credentialed Elite versus The Deplorables. Trump is the symptom, and not the disease.

So when the Sunday morning talking heads go purple with rage because of something Trump said, they're really enraged at Joe Sixpack, who refuses to quietly do what His Betters Tell Him To.

"All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others"

Drago said...

For instance, just yesterday, Bernie Sanders invited the horrific anti-semite and anti-American Linda Sarsour to help his campaign which demonstrates how thoroughly the dem party, like Labour in Britain and throughout the EU, has become openly virulently pro-islamic radical and anti-semitic.

What I enjoy most about these occurrences is attempting to "pre-imagine" how LLR Chuck will attempt to deflect from/defend/counter-attack for his dem pals when these issues come to the fore.

This one is going to be a doozy, though it might not be necessary since I think Bernie has just about topped out on his support, so Chuck can rest easy on that and continue with his deflecting for Biden and Warren.

Bay Area Guy said...

AA: Make Paypal contributions with a note saying, "Please blog Sunday shows," and if and when the total amounts to $500, I will do one Sunday's worth of shows.

Sheeyit, that's a bargain! I'll ante up with 100. I expect some of you patriots within the Commentariat to do the same!

FrankiM said...

"There are loads of right-wing and alt-right news outlets who are openly supportive of Trump.”

I suspect Althouse doesn’t trust these outlets. She rarely links to any of them.

Anonymous said...

AA: Yes. Make Paypal contributions with a note saying, "Please blog Sunday shows," and if and when the total amounts to $500, I will do one Sunday's worth of shows.

You're worth more than that. Plus the hardship allowance.

I recall back in the day some famous supermodel allegedly quipping that "I don't get out of bed for less than $10,000". Apply that to yourself watching and blogging the Sunday shows. (You don't even have to get out of bed.)

Post a pic of yourself with a cardboard sign reading "Will blog Sunday morning news shows for [big ticket item, luxury or practical].

narciso said...


https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2019/09/09/clinton-libya_and_trump-russia_a_tale_of_two_probes_and_the_fbi_120083.html

Leland said...

$500 is a pretty cheap rate considering you have to both watch the score and comment on it. Of course, that's due to an expectation of a quality comment better than, "nope, they still suck".

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Our culture has reached Trump saturation. Everyone who can't stand him and has a Twitter account feels the need to tell the rest of us every day. Every channel has a roster of Trump experts, who universally despise him, but very few have any of the 90% of Republican likely voters, who overwhelmingly support him. It takes effort to avoid Trumpnews and find out what is really going on in the world. It takes even more effort to find out what is going in the USA (other than Trump tweets and shootings and weather). Howie Kutz used to have a show than analyzed Media for good and bad. Now it is entirely focused on analyzing media REACTION to Trump tweets. So obviously Howie is an idiot that doesn't mind losing his audience. The show he left behind on CNN (Reliable Sources, an Orwellian title now) is even worse, having given up completely on pointing out Media malfeasance in favor of slobbering obeisance to their Orange Man Bad mission now.

Horrible TV. Boring content. Diseased social media.

The greatest gift Trump has given the USA and the world, is to reveal how devoid of actual ideas both parties are, all elites are. To be more accurate, he has caused so many idiots to self-identify, so many institutions to commit suicide, so much of "campaigning" to be revealed as the ritual spending of piles of money to no effect. Jeb! burned through over $130 MILLION only to wilt in the first debate! Where did that money go? To what end?

Drago said...

Inga and LLR Chuck are clearly very very very upset that so many African Americans and Hispanics are working and millions of long term unemployed Americans have reentered the workforce and wages are rising significantly across all economic classes for the first time in decades and Trump is unwinding the dependency on China for US manufacturers.....and on and on it goes.

Remember, Chuck and Inga and all the rest told us we'd be experiencing economic armageddon by now.

Drago said...

FrankIngaM: "I suspect Althouse doesn’t trust these outlets. She rarely links to any of them."

This poster believes passionately that Trump colluded with Russia, the hoax dossier is real, Putin stole the election and Kavanaugh is a gang rape leader.

Go ahead, just ask her!

Leland said...

By the way, it is funny to read Chucks off the hook comments in this thread. Dude can't figure out out by a country mile. It doesn't matter that Althouse starts off her comment that she was tired of hearing about Trump. And it is not just Trump. I'm tired of hearing about mass migration, a hurricane that didn't do much damage to the US, the shooting last night in a nearby town, that I need to do something about Trump, Hurricanes, and Shootings. Heck, I just want to go on a nice quiet walk on Sunday morning like all those other happy people I see walking when I do. They are carefree.

narciso said...

Kurtz took a schiv to Judith Miller, while Pat Fitzgerald held her in prison, for info he already knew, then he was a slimy Nazgul to the Huntress, must have been awkward when any two of them, met in the fox green room,

tim maguire said...

I thought this was a current post.

"Everyone seems to think the thing to talk about is Donald Trump."

It easily could have been.

narciso said...

well the migration is considerably down, from one of my earlier links, but we can talk about what a dumpster fire the nfl premiere was yesterday, what a disaster,

JohnAnnArbor said...

"Media-enforced anxiety" is a good way of putting it.

Drago said...

In other news, James Mattis told Andrea Mitchell just yesterday that NATO is stronger today under Trump than it was under obumbler.

Inga and LLR Chuck and irrational people everywhere hardest hit.

Andrea Mitchell looked like she was going to cry.....

Drago said...

JohnAnnArbor: ""Media-enforced anxiety" is a good way of putting it."

All leftists get anxious when they are not in control of everyone's lives.

See Inga and LLR Chuck as a few resident examples.

NEO-FIDO said...

This is a privilege of being female, old, and retired with a grown gay kid.

The future is short and rosy.

Some of us are a bit more concerned about where the nation is going because it isn't going to shut off in the next 15 years. (Well, as a neurotic white male, yeah, I got 15 years too but I might get grandkids so...)

bagoh20 said...

I humbly request that Althouse discuss this story:

"Federal judge reinstates order blocking Trump immigration policy nationwide, despite higher court ruling"

https://www.theblaze.com/news/federal-judge-reinstates-order-blocking-trump-immigration-policy-nationwide-despite-higher-court-ruling

narciso said...

same judge who was spanked by the en banc bloc of the 9th circus, like the judge in Kansas, who ignored an immigration law from 1953, who happens to be the brother of the head of la raza,

Francisco D said...

There's lots of pro-Trump media all over America.

That is clear evidence of a gin-soaked brain.

rcocean said...

Reasons not to watch Sunday Chat Shows:

01) DNC Propaganda outlets
02) Endless talk by News-host and Media types. Little from News-makers.
03) Same old Establishment or "Maverick" guests over and over - like Lindsey Graham.
04) Endless trump bashing
05) Absurd Bias. Every R is debated, every D is thrown softballs.

Regarding Item No. 2. I did a word-count analysis of a Meet the Press episode and it was (excluding commercials and news-clips) 1/3 News Host, 1/3 round-table chat and 1/3 Guests. IOW, 15 minutes of commercials/clips, 15 minutes of Chuck Todd and only 15 minutes for the so-called "Important guest" - Absurd!

narciso said...

even 15 minutes of f chuck, is ten minutes too long,

MadisonMan said...

Media-enforced anxiety is a great phrase.

rcocean said...

CNN is un-watchable. Its just "Orange man bad" 24/7. There's no attempt to hide the bias anymore. MSNBC is the clown show it always was. BTW, we had to suffer through 2 1/2 years of Trump-Russia "The walls are closing in" - now the media are looking for a new grand Anti-Trump story without success. There's reduced to talking about weather maps.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Sunday morning should be for other things. Anything good.
enduring Watching DNC TeeVee on a Sunday morning is... wow. A shit show.

Chuck said...

Ralph L said...
I wasn't paying much attention (zero to the Sunday shows), but it seemed like the MSM was pumping up Trump in 2015. He was their preferred Rep candidate. It shocked me that Rush liked him, too.


There is video, of Bill Kristol appearing on "Morning Joe" and suggesting that the hosts had a hand in the early 2016-primary popularity of Trump. Joe and Mika almost went nuts, denying it.

I don't think Kristol meant to cause such a fight. He was stating it as a matter of fact. But when the hosts went nuts, Kristol refused to back down and the battle was joined. It might have been an even better discussion if it had not been so heated. (I totally agreed with Bill Kristol.)

Bay Area Guy said...

If you ignore the media and mock the media, you don't get media-induced anxiety.

Example: If the NYT is reporting on an earthquake in Guatemala, they usually get the basic details right.

Example: If the NYT is reporting on any US political stories, it's almost always biased to the left and wrong.

A sports-related analogy:

The Cleveland Browns had all this pre-season hype, because they got all these great superstar players, and, this year, they were gonna finally put it all together, and bring back that long-awaited Super Bowl trophy to long-suffering Cleveland fans.

1st game: Lost 43-13 at home to lowly Titans.

Similar dynamic with US elections -- where, Yes, the Dems have the House, but the GOP has the Presidency, the Senate, majority of Governors, majority of State legislatures, and a majority on the Supreme Court.

No, I'm not a huge fan of the GOP. Too many weasels, too many #neverTrumpers. But the Democrat Party is the enemy of the people.

MadTownGuy said...

Ann Althouse said...

"I can get away from the media-enforced anxiety."

Isn't that a good working definition of propaganda?

Jim at said...

So when the Sunday morning talking heads go purple with rage because of something Trump said, they're really enraged at Joe Sixpack, who refuses to quietly do what His Betters Tell Him To.

Exactly. The left doesn't hate Trump. He's simply the most high-profile target.

The left hates anyone and everyone who isn't on the left.

Bob Boyd said...

Trump is a mirror. Lefties hate what they see in it. They hate that mirror. But being narcissists, they can't look away.

Luke Lea said...

When I met my new lady friend last January, who doesn't have a tv, internet, or subscribe to any newspapers, I stopped following the news on a daily basis completely. What a relief!

Chuck said...

Remember, Chuck and Inga and all the rest told us we'd be experiencing economic armageddon by now.

No, I didn't. You liar. Here we go again, veering off into the ditch of one of your baseless and weirdly off-topic personal attacks on me.

You are the embodiment of what Althouse does not want to see on her comments pages. At least, what she says she does not want to see.

You cannot produce a single quote from me reflecting an "economic Armageddon" prediction by me. I know that Paul Krugman did that, and Paul Krugman is a colossal asshole.

walter said...

What we need is a low drama candidate like Mark Sanford.

Drago said...

Jim: "The left hates anyone and everyone who isn't on the left."

The left hates anyone and everyone who isn't on the left almost as much as LLR Chuck.

Almost.

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: "You are the embodiment of what Althouse does not want to see on her comments pages."

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

You are the explicitly stated embodiment of what Althouse does not want to see on her comments pages.

Explicitly.

Ex-pli-cit-ly.

And yet you are still here.

How do you explain that? Can you explain it as passionately as you defended Da Nang Dick Blumenthals Stolen Valor lies?

If so, lets hear it.....

Drago said...

LLR Chuck appears to be less than thrilled with Paul Krugman.

The reason why is obvious. LLR Chuck despises everyone who is to his right on the issues......

Bay Area Guy said...

What we need is a low drama candidate like Mark Sanford.

Heh! Laughed out loud, thanks!

What, David French was not available to run again?

Trump v Sanford = Harlem Globetrotters v Washington Generals.

Drago said...

LLR Chuck clearly believes his faux white knighting for Althouse will perhaps cause everyone to forget he was explicitly told to not post at Althouseblog any longer.

LLR Chuck is very very very concerned that others at Althouseblog might not be following Althouse's wishes.....

.....LOL

Let that one sink in!

MadTownGuy said...

Following up to my previous comment...

I recall that in the months prior to Trump capturong the nomination that the TV reporting (and to a slighted degree, in print media) was more ambiguous; almost neutral, about his candidacy. Words like ' unprecedented,' 'historic' and the like were bandied about. Once his nomination was a lock, out came the oppo research and negative reporting. What the media types didn't seem to realize that the constant drumbeat of "Trump...Trump...Trump..." kept him in the public view and was like giving him free advertising, sort of like the name recognition common with incumbent candidates.

rehajm said...

I quit when Tim Russert died. In my recollection that's when most of the mainstream media abandoned any pretense of political fairness. Shortly thereafter the Obama administration and Journolist weaponized and coordinated leftie propaganda in the mainstream media.

Drago said...

walter: "What we need is a low drama candidate like Mark Sanford."

I wonder if LLR Chuck, who enthusiastically and gleefully endorsed admitted racist and deadbeat dad Joe Walsh, will now reconsider that endorsement as the political dynamo and rugged sexual trekker that is Mark Sanford has leaped into the fray....

LOL

Some guys just need a bit of a payday to make it through the year. Hence, Sanford's and Walsh's joke campaign. Weld jumped in because he was getting uncomfortable at cocktail parties in Boston.

Bilwick said...

"The left doesn't hate Trump. He's simply the most high-profile target.

"The left hates anyone and everyone who isn't on the left."

I suspect they do hate him out of pique because he deprived them of President Cacklepants, and with her the chance for the Hive to turn the US into Venezuela del Norte. But I agree Trump is not the main target. He's merely a roadblock on the Road to Serfdom. The main target for the Hive, as always, is liberty.

Drago said...

Bilwick: "I suspect they do hate him out of pique because he deprived them of President Cacklepants, and with her the chance for the Hive to turn the US into Venezuela del Norte."

That's what did it for democrat fanboys Bill Kristol, David French, George Will, et al.

Tomcc said...

I know two people that became rabid anti-Trumper's. Both of them retired, both nominally conservative. Because they had time on their hands, they watched more TV than they would have if they were working. They both seemed to watch CNN to a significant extent. My casual observation is that they came to trust too much of what was being displayed and preferred it to any objective analysis.
Personally, the more someone insists that "X" is bad, the more I wonder about their own motives. Increasing intensity does not equal greater validity.

rehajm said...

...will perhaps cause everyone to forget he was explicitly told to not post at Althouseblog any longer

What a ridiculous putz to presume he has any credibility left with the Althouse community. I suppose he sticks around just for the jolly of trolling...and the opportunity to play dancing drunk for free booze.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The MSM is filled with partisan D-hacks or actual people who were going to bank serious coin with Hillary at the helm.

Corruption.

Mr. Forward said...

Trump as a candidate has some major weaknesses. He’s old, he’s white, he’s male, and frequently puts his foot in his mouth. The Democrats, bless their hearts, are going to exploit those vulnerabilities with Joe Biden.

Ken B said...

I stopped watching media about 15 years ago. I use exclusively a pull model: I read the web following only links that interest me. I actually do that too much still, and would be better off doing even less.

The media is not in the truth business. They are in the eyeball business and that means they are in the emotional provocation business. N N Taleb is right: after you watch CNN or the like, you know less than you did before. I am looking forward to Taibbi's book, Hate, Inc.

rehajm said...

(Just between us, I think Ann was a bit too slow to catch on...)

bagoh20 said...

"When I met my new lady friend last January, who doesn't have a tv, internet, or subscribe to any newspapers, I stopped following the news on a daily basis completely. What a relief!"

Are you sure she wasn't sent by Trump? I got one too. Very suspicious.

Chuck said...

Drago, maybe you can get Laurence Meade or Althouse herself to itemize what rules that I alone broke, to deserve any sort of banishment.

I expect that Atlhouse:

(a) Simply didn't like my anti-Trump criticism, but could not bring herself to inflict a viewpoint-specific sanction on anyone, and;
(b) REALLY did not like the fact that my opinions attracted so much attention and thereby detracted from the hostess' posts, and;
(c) Even if I was merely a target, I was drawing too much space on her comments pages, and;
(d) I've never been deferential to Meade.

If there were any sensibility to the Blog's rules about avoiding "personal back-and-forth with other commenters," you'd have been gone two years ago. So I am not going to worry about any sensible application of that rule.

But I agree with Althouse's intent with that rule, which is why -- long ago -- I repeatedly emailed her to get her to enforce the rule respecting all of the personal attacks on me. Her response was that that kind of moderation was too much trouble.

Then there was the abortive moderation scheme from earlier this year. What happened to that?

But always, there is you. Piling on dozens and dozens of personal attacks, routinely off-topic, on a majority of the Althouse comments pages.

And now, because having made these observations I have nothing more to say to you and because I would actually like Althouse comments pages to be free of personal off-topic attacks, I am done with you and will no longer respond to anything you say (lie) about me today.

You could do everybody a favor and just shut up, but I know that won't happen. So have at it, sport.

Enjoy, Althouse.

Mark O said...

Democrats are a cult. They remain angry that the rapture did not materialize. Yet, they persist.

bagoh20 said...

I'd like to see the major network talking heads go under hypnosis and told that Trump is a Democrat, but nothing else is different about him. Then let them do one show under that suggestion.

Shouting Thomas said...

I’ve never watched the Sunday morning shows.

I get my news by surfing the web for an hour every morning. Here’s my list:

Althouse
Volokh
Turley
Chicago Tribune
New York Times
Steve Sailer
Instapundit
Real Clear Politics

Sometimes, I even take a look at HuffPo.

It is remarkable how little news besides Trump is covered. Local and state news is not a priority, it seems, for anybody.

PM said...

Trump-hatred is like veganism. Those who are into it can't stop talking about it.

rehajm said...

You could do everybody a favor and just shut up

He's providing a public service, doing a job others just won't do.

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

What's really hurt is the leftie takeover of ESPN. I'm now so out it sports-wise...

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: "Drago, maybe you can get Laurence Meade or Althouse herself to itemize what rules that I alone broke, to deserve any sort of banishment."

LOLOLOLOL

LLR Chuck sets himself above Althouse and Meade!!

As you knew he would. You just knew it, didn't you?

Apparently, Althouse and Meade have failed to meet LLR Chuck's stingent blog oversight responsibilities and clearly Althouse and Meade have failed to meet LLR Chuck's exacting standards for explanations as to their actions and decisions, thus any and all blog directives from Althouse and Meade are henceforth null and void as far as Chuck is concerned!!

One wonders if LLR Chuck, in the future, will even deign to consider Althouse and Meade directives? One suspects not!

In Chuck's mind: l'Althouseblog, c'est moi!!!

Mr. Forward said...

The Sunday morning talk shows are a huge waste of time and so are the football games that follow them. Reclaim your Sunday’s, best day of the week. One word. Nooners.

Drago said...

rehajm: "What's really hurt is the leftie takeover of ESPN. I'm now so out it sports-wise..."

ESPN still employs LLR Chuck fav Olbermann!!

Try Fox Sports/Jason Whitlock. Really interesting cultural takes particularly as regards sports programming and the influence of Big Tech.

rehajm said...

Trump has lost some unregainable portion of the women. He can never get them back, but he could never have won anyway

Can you make a video of this so we can add it to the Trump Won't Win compilations? We'll give it a nice spot between Clooney and Obama...

Drago said...

rehajm: "Can you make a video of this so we can add it to the Trump Won't Win compilations? We'll give it a nice spot between Clooney and Obama..."

Make sure to include LLR Chuck's inputs which include the hilarious take that Trump in 2016 would cost the republicans the House and the Senate as well!!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Chuck said...

The Fox News Channel is the leading cable news channel in terms of viewership and revenue, right?

It is often #1 in cable news ratings. However, millions more eyeballs watch ABC, NBC, and CBS nightly news programs than any of the various cable news stations. So actually - you're kinda wrong.

Michael K said...

Contrary to Chuck's obsessions, there is a serious new documentary coming out, that started the racial war in the country courtesy of Obama and the media.

On Monday. September 16, Joel Gilbert will preview his new documentary, “The Trayvon Hoax,” in the 500-seat Ballroom of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The screening begins at 1 p.m. Admission is free, and Gilbert is encouraging all interested parties to come see for themselves what could be a game-changer in the way the media report racially-charged news. Gilbert’s findings are that significant.

I first got hooked on Conservative Tree House when they did an exhaustive series on the Trayvon hoax. I remember spending one entire Saturday, about 10 hours, reading all the posts on this thing.

Ferguson MO followed but the Trayvon was the first battle in the racism war,

Craig said...

I love that phrase: media-enforced anxiety. So apt.

Drago said...

Bleach: "However, millions more eyeballs watch ABC, NBC, and CBS nightly news programs than any of the various cable news stations. So actually - you're kinda wrong."

LLR Chuck already knew that.

What he was trying to do was attempt to deflect from the point that the lefty MSM, of which LLR Chuck is a huge huge fan and booster, is overwhelmingly dominant, which it clearly and irrefutably is.

LLR Chuck wants to pretend that conservatives are on an even keel with the left in the media. LLR Chuck's cute little phrasing that some in the MSM might be "Trump-skeptic" is another way he attempts to portray the lunatic lefty media as commonsensical and actually mainstream.

He knows its a lie, as is pretty much everything else he writes, including "and" and "the".

mesquito said...

Some time in 2016 I started turning off any program as soon as I heard “Trump,” “Clinton,” or “Climate.”

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Alabama-gate needs investigating!

Shouting Thomas said...

My political anxiety is of a different form.

I’m wondering whether Liz Warren and the other Dems are serious about confiscating and shutting down our fossil fuels industry to finance their great Utopian green dream.

They are threatening, literally, to go the full Venezuela.

Michael said...

I watch zero tv news. None. I read the FT, WSJ, The Times , The NYT and a variety of blogs from Taki to the Huffington Post and Instapundit. I read First Things, New English Review and City Journal. I look at Arts &Letters and the TLS and the NY Review.

With the kind of reading I do I found that, in general, I was usually more informed than most pundits banging away on TV. So I quit.

BTW, Althouse, your watching a Sunday morning talk show and blogging about it should earn you the equivalent of a NY partner’s hourly rate of $2000. $500 is what Chuck would charge if he had a client.

Shouting Thomas said...

I cut cable 7 years ago. I don’t miss it.

Jim at said...

I quit when Tim Russert died.

Same here. I didn't watch every week, but would tune in to that from time to time. Then they replaced him with his kid. Click.

Chuck said...

BleachBit-and-Hammers said...
Chuck said...

The Fox News Channel is the leading cable news channel in terms of viewership and revenue, right?

It is often #1 in cable news ratings. However, millions more eyeballs watch ABC, NBC, and CBS nightly news programs than any of the various cable news stations. So actually - you're kinda wrong.


God damn it. I said clearly, Fox News Channel is the leading cable news channel...

As you seem to acknowledge.

I didn't say anything about diminishing the broad swath of eyeballs that watch the three broadcast networks. I acknowledged them, saying "And there are of course lots of news outlets vaguely referred to as 'the mainstream media' who hold a Trump-skeptic and anti-Trump viewpoint."

I don't know how else to express this to you, so just imagine me standing inches away from you, jabbing my finger into your sternum with every syllable, yelling into your face; "No I was not wrong. Not kinda wrong. Not wrong at all."

Hagar said...

When they are down to suggesting the President of the United States should be prosecuted and fined, or even jailed, for having scribbled on a print of a NOAA chart, it is way past time to stop watching.

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: "I don't know how else to express this to you, so just imagine me standing inches away from you, jabbing my finger into your sternum with every syllable, yelling into your face;"

LOL

LLR Chuck has used this "imagine me standing inches away from you, jabbing my finger into your sternum" blah blah many times in the past...but only with conservative posters.

With lefty posters at Althouseblog, LLR Chuck has almost, dare I say it(?), an intimate and exceedingly friendly and respectful rhetorical relationship. You know, the kind of relationship one would have with a family member or close team member......

Reasonable inferences may be drawn....

Drago said...

LLR Chuck: ""No I was not wrong. Not kinda wrong. Not wrong at all."

Perhaps if you wrote it down...with a sharpie.

I understand packs of 5 Trump Official Sharpies are available now at the Trump Reelection Website.

Bay Area Guy said...

Hey, maybe the US talk shows are not that bad in comparison to UK, where the Speaker resigned, after Boris and the Tories called him a "nauseating Wanker" .

I find Adam Schiff to be a nauseating Wanker, too.

Bilwick said...

"Democrats are a cult. They remain angry that the rapture did not materialize. Yet, they persist."

They are sort of a sub-cult of the ages-old Cult of the State. Which, according to the figures on Democide, is pretty much a murder cult.

Shouting Thomas said...

I’m not anxious about Trump.

He’s doing a great job. I’ll vote for him enthusiastically against in 2020.

DOW headed back to 27,000!

Have you ever considered, Althouse, that your criteria for choosing a president might not be the best?

Identity politics isn’t important.

Brent said...

Left watching, much less recording, the Sunday Talk shows about 2 years ago for the same primary reason. Trump - as you have pointed out here before - out thinks the media daily, and controls them.
He will win 2020. As Rahm Emmanuel admits.

FullMoon said...

Chuck said...

Drago, maybe you can get Laurence Meade or Althouse herself to itemize what rules that I alone broke, to deserve any sort of banishment.


"Ann Althouse said...

Chuck, you're doing clutter. You're causing me (and I presume others) to just have to scroll to get past your long and repetitive stuff. You need to change what you are doing or you will become one of the small group of people I call bad faith commenters, whose posts I delete without reading whenever I see them. I'm quite serious. You need to cut way back and keep it short. Stop repeating yourself. Everyone is bored and you are not cute. And don't argue with me in the comments. Stop doing clutter.
8/3/17, 2:16 PM "

FrankiM said...

Full Moon, you're doing clutter. You're causing me (and I presume others) to just have to scroll to get past your long and repetitive stuff. You need to change what you are doing or you will become one of the small group of people I call bad faith commenters, whose posts I delete without reading whenever I see them. I'm quite serious. You need to cut way back and keep it short. Stop repeating yourself. Everyone is bored and you are not cute. And don't argue with me in the comments. Stop doing clutter.

whitney said...

Remember after the election when Scott Adams predicted Trump would be normalized within six months. Boy was he off! I don't know what Adam's is saying now. I don't enjoy listening to people talk so now that he does videos instead of posts I don't pay attention

Skeptical Voter said...

The Sunday morning "news shows" constitute endless yapping with no apparent useful purpose--other than employing the yappers who appear there--and satisfying the Chucks and Ingas of this world. There are all sorts of more worthwhile things one can do of a Sunday morning--clean out the grease traps at the local fast food place, clean out the shed, mow the lawn, maybe hit the golf course or the tennis courts. You can't get a chicken sandwich at the local Chik Fil A--but if you are missing the progressive stuff on the news shows you can always attend service at one of the old mainline churches. The pastor will do his best to fill in for Chuck Todd and Snuggle Up A Gus.

It doesn't take much time to read the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times--once you filter out the antiTrump screeds appearing in every section, it doesn't take more than 10 minutes to read the paper. And of those ten minutes eight are devoted to the sports page. The writers there did not quite blame Trump for UCLA's loss to San Diego State Saturday afternoon, but you could sense they were chomping at the bit while holding back from doing so. Maybe Trump was responsible for UCLA giving a 5 year $25 million contract to the new football coach Chip Kelly.

Then the local television news stations will give you car chases and the weather. I'm not interested in the car chases, and I can look out the window or get the weather forecast on my smart phone.

So what's left? Lots of books--and a bit of internet. I'm reading Mattis's latest book now--don't have to watch him on the Sunday news shows. The simple unmediaed life is best.

Beasts of England said...

’...the political dynamo and rugged sexual trekker that is Mark Sanford.’

That’s poetry, sir. Mr. Taggart would applaud. :)

FrankiM said...

“Boy was he off!”

Scott Adams lives in his own movies.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Many of us have mentioned in comments that Althouse should be careful as Chuck seems to be going over the top.

That caution seems to still be the prudent path.

FrankiM said...

“So what's left?”

You could always stick your fingers in your ears and hum, no anxiety. Easy does it.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

From my perspective, the Trump presidency could not be progressing more perfectly. In the lead up to the last election both major parties offered up an appalling collection of losers. The only reasonable argument for Trump, at the time, was quite simple. If they were going to insult us in this manner then we would insult them right back by picking the most wretched candidate available. In this role, Trump has exceeded all reasonable expectations, and I am nothing if not a reasonable man.

I must say, however, that in giving my blessing to the ascension of Trump it never occurred to me that there existed anyone so bereft of intellect as to cause them to waste years of their time and energy attempting to defend him once he became President. How wrong I was - how wrong I was (shakes head regretfully).

Picking Trump as President was equivalent to picking the class retard as prom king, just to spite the teachers. To defend Trump, even against the hated liberals, is to not get the joke.

Shouting Thomas said...

The joke seems to be DOW 27,000, GDP +3, zero unemployment and peace.

I’ll take that joke any day.

narciso said...

yes the local fishwrap is brief but in no significant way accurate about the nature or even particular details of the day,

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

What reason is there to watch the Sunday morning news shows? If I want to know the latest DNC talking points, I'll go straight to the DNC web site. I'll no longer waste my time hearing them reinterpreted by Jake, George and the rest of the fake news crew. The only thing dumber than watching these clowns would be to pay Althouse to watch them.

Michael K said...

I see ARM is back to give us a taste of the Democrats' obsessions.

Nice work. One rule, though. Never get into a paranoid schizophrenics' delusions.

narciso said...

just another day in the neighborhood,


https://saraacarter.com/baltimore-bomb-squad-investigating-suspicious-vehicle-four-blocks-blocked-off-near-inner-harbor/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

Drago said...

ARM: "The only reasonable argument for Trump, at the time, was quite simple. If they were going to insult us in this manner then we would insult them right back by picking the most wretched candidate available."

When your premise is fundamentally and irretrievably flawed to this extent, all conclusions that are derived from it are equally and fundamentally flawed.

The good news is that ARM, like every other lefty and LLR-lefty, has shown zero ability to adapt to reality and the root causes of that reality.

This is Trump's greatest advantage in the coming campaign.

Drago said...

Bushman: "If I want to know the latest DNC talking points, I'll go straight to the DNC web site."

Or just read LLR Chuck's latest postings.

FrankiM said...

“Never get into a paranoid schizophrenics' delusions.”

Especially if they have a Sharpie in their hand!

Todd said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

...

Picking Trump as President was equivalent to picking the class retard as prom king, just to spite the teachers. To defend Trump, even against the hated liberals, is to not get the joke.

9/9/19, 2:21 PM


All of that makes a kind of sense if you come at it from a particular perspective. If on the other hand, you want a growing economy, more jobs, less needless regulations, more control of your own life, etc., you might hold a different opinion.

If one cared to pay attention during the last administration in regard to the depth and breath of the illegal activities undertaken by that administration all while most of the press either looked away or gave it cover, one may could appreciate what "scandal free" actually looks like.

Is Trump perfect? Hell no. At the time, he was literally the second worst candidate in the race. The only one worse was the woman he was running against. Had the media performed one of their vital functions back then and actually vetted the candidates neither of them would have been in the race (others as well) but the press did not do that. They pushed Trump because they thought Clinton would beat him handily. They all got lazy, believed their own press, and did not actually campaign. Then despite the might of the media (and others) Trump actually accomplished a number of "good" things with a minimum of "bad" things. Go figure. Now he is well set for another 4 years. Based on what he has done to date, we could do far worse.

Drago said...

FrankIngaM: "Especially if they have a Sharpie in their hand!"

Was the hoax dossier written with a sharpie?

Drago said...

Hey, come to think of it, Inga never did update us on her current set of beliefs!

Quick questions for Inga:

1) Do you still believe Trump colluded with Russia?
2) Do you still believe Hoax dossier has been verified?
3) Do you still believe Putin threw the election to Trump in 2016?
4) Do you still believe Brett Kavanaugh was the leader of a rape gang for over a decade?

and just for good measure,

5) Do you still believe 100 million people killed by commies in the 20th century is just "propaganda"?

buwaya said...

Jokes get better than that.

Consider this, in a way, a reprise of “I, Claudius”
The ruling class gets progressively more depraved, until, in a fluke, the worst possible option becomes Emperor.

That’s just Part I of the joke.

Part II is that this worst possible turns out to be a better Emperor than most of his predecessors.
That makes an even better joke.

Robert Graves could make this work. But he only got to Part II

This situation though is truly Shakespearean. Old Shakes could and would have put in a Part III
And we shall wonder at it.

Bilwick said...

"I see ARM is back to give us a taste of the Democrats' obsessions."

Keep in mind that if he actually were reasonable, he wouldn't be a member of the Cult of the State.

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

Remember, Inga told us that Trump was ushering in a literal Handmaid's Tale in the US!

She literally wrote that. Repeatedly!

LOL

How insane is that?

narciso said...

probably but Suetonius and tacitus, were special pleaders, as they belonged to the senatorial clan, that Claudius vanquished, even if you dismiss some of what we know of Tiberius proclivities, the Augustine line was already running out of steam, by that point, it took till Vespasian, some 25 years later, for new blood to come in, who would be Sejanus, in this scenario,

walter said...

Between ARM and the guy recently talking to Kamala Harris (eliciting her chuckle), "retarded" is ok.
Or maybe it's akin to "only a ginger can call a ginger ginger".

Drago said...

walter: "Between ARM and the guy recently talking to Kamala Harris (eliciting her chuckle), "retarded" is ok.
Or maybe it's akin to "only a ginger can call a ginger ginger"."

No no no!!

Kamala was asked afterwards if she had actually heard the word "retarded" used. Naturally, given this question was asked to her well after 17 minutes had passed since the incident, like Inga and her insane comments, Kamala had no recollection of that.

That's all it takes. 17 Minutes and you get the Inga/lefty "reset".

walter said...

She was laughing because she thought he sounded like Apu and probably runs a 7-11. "I'm not joking!"

FrankiM said...

“Inga told us that Trump was ushering in a literal Handmaid's Tale in the US!”

Um...no. I don’t think Inga did any such thing. Trump is a not the sort of Religious Right (if he’s truly a believer at all) that is interested in such a future. He’s cheated on three wives and would surely be hung on ‘the wall’ in a “Gilead” type scenario. BTW, I moved my comment to the Cafe post.

rehajm said...

At the time, he was literally the second worst candidate in the race. The only one worse was the woman he was running against.

I never really understand this. Why are we supposed to believe Trump was a terrible canditate? He implemented a number of planks in his policy platform and is still fighting for more. IOW he's executing exactly what he campaigned on. Does the title of second worse candidate mean he doesn't understand how to connect with people, to do retail politics? That doesn't sound like him either...

rehajm said...

He was certainly better than Hillary. Both the Clintons were big phonies. Hillary tried to copy what was good for Bill, but she lacks any of his charisma and trying to recycle his tired old political strategies looked silly.

Bob Smith said...

I haven’t watched any of the Sunday shows for a while but I confess to watching a replay of the Chris Wallace/Mark Sanford interview. What a cliche spouting bubblehead Sanford is.

MountainMan said...

Only news and talk show I will watch, on Sunday or any other day, is Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business.

narciso said...

it's not even entertaining fictions, after the dossier foolishness, they could have said the asset was killed, it's not like they are going to name him, although the subsequent name of erovchin, as if a deputy director of rosneft would really speak with a burnt Russian spy,

rehajm said...

In the lead up to the last election both major parties offered up an appalling collection of losers

Yah, this old salt. They were all bad. Press the utterer of this one to disclose who they believe would be superior and you get deflection or the name of someone unfit to be comapred to the losers they just insulted..

it never occurred to me that there existed anyone so bereft of intellect as to cause them to waste years of their time and energy attempting to defend him once he became President. How wrong I was - how wrong I was (shakes head regretfully).

A shame you came out of retirement but couldn't come up with anything better than this (shakes head in pity)

narciso said...

burnt british spy, james grady swallowed the dossier whole hog for his 'Russian roulette' novella, so much so he retconned the timeline to do it,

Drago said...

FrankIngaM: "Um...no. I don’t think Inga did any such thing."

LOL

Inga goes Full LLR Chuck!!

Unexpectedly!

Michael K said...

Only news and talk show I will watch, on Sunday or any other day, is Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business.

I don't watch TV anymore, except football and golf but I have seen her a few times and she is, as far as I am concerned, the only one besides Tucker Carlson, on Fox worth watching.

Jim at said...

Stop doing clutter. FrankiM

You need to shut up and leave. Like you were told to do.

narciso said...


in other news,

www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2019/09/09/palace-closed-true-italy-outside_24dc8578-b4d7-46e6-b904-ed0137570cff.html

I didn't know conte was Italian for francis urquart,

narciso said...

indeed, but it does require that thinking be applied:


https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/09/09/secretary-steven-mnuchin-discusses-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-reform-china-trade-negotiations-and-overall-u-s-economy/

FrankiM said...

‘You need to shut up and leave. Like you were told to do.‘

Make me.

rehajm said...

The joke seems to be DOW 27,000, GDP +3, zero unemployment and peace.

Just today from the macro team at a large commercial bank:

Modest job gains combined with stronger- than – expected wage increases and hours-worked gains to boost aggregate payroll growth by a large gain of 0.7 % signaling a big rise in August personal incomes.

August vehicle sales surprised to the upside holding right in the middle of the multi-year range at a 17m annualized pace as consumers continue to snap up new cars and trucks.


'Surprised to the upside' struck me as funny. Put money in people's pockets and they go buy stuff. Put lots of money in people's pockets and they go buy cars and trucks. Where's the surprise? I suspect they are 'surprised' because this is happening under Trump. He's the worst, they must be thinking...

Michael K said...

rankiM said...
“Never get into a paranoid schizophrenics' delusions.”

Especially if they have a Sharpie in their hand!
?

I couldn't see ARM. Did he have one ? You people are so dull that it is a waste to try to understand what you think. Assuming you do, of course.

I hate to say it but Ricochet has a NeverTrumper even worse than Chuck. Also a lawyer, of course.

Chuck said...

About that quote from above; Althouse lecturing me about commenting.

Here is the link to that entire comments page.

Look at it! It's a Café post! So no complaints about any comment of mine being "off-topic."

Look at my initial comment! It's not aimed at any other commenter. It's not a personal attack on any commenter, or Althouse.

Then look at the string of personal attacks on me, from about a half-dozen of the usual suspects specializing in regularized personal attacks on me.

I have never, ever, been less sorry for a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.

Todd said...

rehajm said...
At the time, he was literally the second worst candidate in the race. The only one worse was the woman he was running against.

I never really understand this. Why are we supposed to believe Trump was a terrible canditate? He implemented a number of planks in his policy platform and is still fighting for more. IOW he's executing exactly what he campaigned on. Does the title of second worse candidate mean he doesn't understand how to connect with people, to do retail politics? That doesn't sound like him either...

9/9/19, 2:56 PM


I believed he was a terrible candidate. He was a "newly minted" Republican, had a long D history, was a "playa", very bombastic, not very "statesman". I had MANY doubts. He was a complete outsider with NO political track record. I wanted Carson or Cruz as my top pics. I also liked Fiorina, and Jindal looked interesting. Trump was technically above Bush on my list but I don't think anyone actually thought Bush was in it to win. I assumed Trump was just trying to make a statement, shake things up, and then go do another TV show or some such. As the field continued to shrink and Trump continued to make sense, I started coming around.

I am very glad he won, no doubt. The country dodged a real bullet with the rest. The press would have screwed over ANY Republican that won and honestly I can not see any of the other Republican contenders actually standing up there and fighting back the way Trump has. He has shown a lot of Rs that they can stand up to the press, push back, and be heard. Good For Him!

Rumpletweezer said...

People stunned by Trump's victory haven't made much progress in figuring it out.

Drago said...

Its funny watching LLR Chuck justify his blatant non-compliance with Althouse's directives due to some failing on the part of Althouse all the while LLR Chuck dons the armband signifying his appointment of himself as Official Althouse Blog Enforcer Of Althouse Blog Rules!!

LOL

The hypocrisy easily reaches that of your standard issue lefty.....almost as if he was one......hmmmmmm......

rehajm said...

He was a "newly minted" Republican, had a long D history, was a "playa", very bombastic, not very "statesman". I had MANY doubts. He was a complete outsider with NO political track record.

That's all fair. I guess I never thought there was much value in 'experienced' politicians- always so phony and completely ignorant of the how's and why's of the policies they are pushing. 'playas' without any substance, if you will.

Drago said...

rehajm: "Surprised to the upside' struck me as funny. Put money in people's pockets and they go buy stuff. Put lots of money in people's pockets and they go buy cars and trucks. Where's the surprise? I suspect they are 'surprised' because this is happening under Trump. He's the worst, they must be thinking..."

Remember, fake conservative LLR Chuck claims this is all due to obama and the "dream-perfect economy" obama gave us.

LLR Chuck spends a great deal of time lauding obama's many many successes (in Chuck's mind) and no one defends obamacare with greater zeal than our resident fake conservative Chuck.

Beasts of England said...

’People stunned by Trump's victory haven't made much progress in figuring it out.’

It’s tough for them to make progress when they haven’t even tried. Not a complaint, of course...

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

We all know that intellect means destroying the nation with socialism.

Drago said...

Next up for lefty Billionaire funded fake conservative The Bulwark:

"Conserving Conservatism by implementing Socialism and Why Socialism is the Right Idea at the Right Time for the Right and All Humans Actually"

narciso said...


https://twitter.com/IsraeliPM/status/1171117043883679744

rehajm said...

Look at my initial comment! It's not aimed at any other commenter. It's not a personal attack on any commenter, or Althouse.

Then look at the string of personal attacks on me, from about a half-dozen of the usual suspects specializing in regularized personal attacks on me.


Apparently Chuck believes his history begins anew in every new cafe post.

Drago said...

rehajm: "Apparently Chuck believes his history begins anew in every new cafe post."

That is consistent with the rest of the leftists.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LA_Bob said...

Michael K said, "Ferguson MO followed but the Trayvon was the first battle in the racism war."

I beg to differ, if but slightly. Less a battle than a dust-up, the first shot was fired when Obama got involved in the Henry Louis Gates arrest. It was, according to our Enlightened President, a "teachable moment". What followed was a "beer summit", after which the arresting officer helped Professor Gates down the White House steps while Obama ran ahead.

It was a clear statement Obama would happily make Federal racial hay out of any local issue.

narciso said...

the last is about a nuclear site the regime tore down, when it was discovered, more of that excellent nuclear deal, farmer raves about,

Beasts of England said...

’...the first shot was fired when Obama got involved in the Henry Louis Gates arrest.’

I remember it starting when, as Attorney General, Eric ‘Wingman’ Holder called us a ‘nation of cowards’ when it comes to race relations. Charming.

LA_Bob said...

The only Sunday show I watched steadily was This Week on ABC. It was easily at its best when David Brinkley was the host. And the best part was the weekly roundtable of Brinkley, Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, George Will, and one of a regular stable of guests. Will was the perfect foil for Ever-Indignant Sam. Brinkley was suitably neutral with a dry wit.

It wasn't the same after Brinkley retired. Jake Tapper for awhile was pretty good, better than Christiane Amanpour and George Stephanopolous, but the gravitas I felt the show possessed gradually slipped away.

Jason said...

Not sure when I gave up on Sunday morning news talk shows. I used to really enjoy them, but that was in the days of the old Crossfire, Tim Russert, and the McLaughlin Group.

My mom watches them regularly, still, and lives with me. So I'm exposed to them every week. And every time I pay attention for more than a minute or two, one of the hosts demonstrates either rank stupidity, hopeless ignorance or complete intellectual dishonesty. But they still keep their shows.

The Russiagate obsession was particularly off-putting. They spent two years hyperventilating about every development they didn't understand, speculating about things with no rational basis whatsoever, and embracing their confirmation bias over a story that was obviously a desperate hoax, which was self-evident to anyone who would spend more than 30 seconds contemplating Russia and its economic motivations: They weren't going to rig the election for the pro-fracking hawk.

Then there was All Avennatti, All The Time, with America's dumbest retard, Brian "Potato Head" Stelter, trying to boost this obvious toxic, lying con man as a Democrat presidential contender. My mom hates Trump, but even she had Avennatti pegged right away.

Then the media falling for falsehood after falsehood, hoax after hoax and lie after lie:

Hands up, don't shoot
Trayvon "stood his ground."
Fine people.
Kids in cages and family separation, complete with photos of kids in cages dated 2016.
The Smirk.
Gorilla channel.
Jussie Smollett.
The MLK Bust.
Collusion.
Trump didn't pay income taxes.
GE didn't pay income taxes (all these stories are always written by some mental midget who doesn't know what a NOL carry back is and why we have them)
Trump admitted to sexual assault
Wiretapping
17 intelligence agencies.
Fish food.
NRA gun bans at their annual meeting.
Trump banned the Red Cross from visiting immigration detention facilities.
Kavanaugh, and the media getting Mark Judge's testimony precisely wrong.
White Hispanics.
The media reporting that Trump praised General Lee when he was actually praising General Grant.
Trump is the 1st U.S. POTUS since the Iraq War to fail to visit U.S. troops at Christmas time (a lie).
The grandmother CNN ambushed and accused of working with the Russians.
Doxxing people for making memes.
Identifying 998,693 out of every five actual racists.
Mission Accomplished.
The U.S. John McCain paint job.
Small crowds at the 4th of July military parade.
Fox refused to show Mueller's testimony.
Loans with Russian co-signers.
Children of U.S. service members born abroad will not have automatic U.S. citizen status.

And now, the NHC never predicted Dorian would affect Alabama.

The list goes on and on and on


Most of these aren't the work of 24-year-old cub reporters in the pool or on local channels. I expect them to make mistakes. No, lots of these are marquee names in journalism that are rewarded with their own shows and huge paychecks.

Fuck these people.


etbass said...

I think we saw Inga admit that she is back under the pseudonym, FrankiM at 2:56.

FrankiM asserted definite knowledge of a negative in denying something Inga was alleged to have said at 2:47. Could only have been done so quickly if they are identical.

Qwinn said...

etbass: I think there's an even better admission in this thread. See 3:12 "Make me.".

LA_Bob said...

Beasts of England said, "I remember it starting when, as Attorney General, Eric ‘Wingman’ Holder called us a ‘nation of cowards’ when it comes to race relations. Charming."

I didn't know about that. But, I'm not surprised. Holder was kind of an agitator. Clearly speaking with his boss's approval.

What a divisive president Holder would be!

According to Politico, Holder's speech took place in February, just a few weeks after Obama's inauguration. The beer summit came a few months later, so it appears you're right.

etbass said...

Why would somebody want to be in a conversation knowing the moderator desires her absence?

Beasts of England said...

I wasn’t sure of the chronology, Bob, but I remember hearing that statement and realizing that the race hustlers had breached the perimeter.

FrankiM said...

“I think we saw Inga admit that she is back under the pseudonym, FrankiM at 2:56.

FrankiM asserted definite knowledge of a negative in denying something Inga was alleged to have said at 2:47. Could only have been done so quickly if they are identical.”

Oh wow, you’re a real Sherlock Holmes!

Jim at said...

Make me.

You've been banned. Everybody here knows it. The fact you still come to this site and spew your shit shows just what an asshole you really are.

You do far more harm to your cause than anybody else could. But, you'll keep running your mouth. Get banned again. And then come back.

You are the very definition of a stupid, arrogant leftist. And the only saving grace is you deserve every bit of the misery that is your life.

Ralph L said...

BO's polls took a big hit after Gatesgate.

Leland said...

I'm reading Mattis's latest book now--don't have to watch him on the Sunday news shows.

I just got Mattis's latest book. To that end, the Sunday News shows served his purpose in promoting the book. I know about it, because of others that read it and found the news coverage precisely wrong it what Mattis says in the book. It seems like a good book and I'm looking forward to it.

narciso said...

yes holder the attorney for oxycontin and gitmo detainees, and interesting combination, waged war on law enforcement and even bystanders like Zimmerman, they had the assistance of Sharpton and the julian public relations firm,

FrankiM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dreams said...

Actually, it's impossible to get away from the liberal spin unless you turn off the TV and stay offline.

FrankiM said...

“The fact you still come to this site and spew your shit shows just what an asshole you really are”.

If Althouse wanted me gone, I’d be gone. Obviously she doesn’t. So it is you who is the the asshole and an obsessive one too. There is only one commenter that gets deleted every time she posts and it is not I. Now wouldn’t it be a breath of fresh air if you actually commented on the subject matter of any given Althouse blogpost rather than consistently obsessing over that Inga person and directing one after another comments at her

Amadeus 48 said...

Thanks, Althouse.

Yancey Ward said...

I read through the comments on that thread from 4 years ago. Not as interesting as I had expected. Pretty much no one that day wrote that Trump could easily win both the nomination and the Presidency- the closest was Chicklit who wrote an analogous comment about Hillary losing too many men to recover. David Begley even wrote that Trump would never win the nomination, but that one might have been in jest- I couldn't be sure.

The most interesting comment in the entire thread though mimiced the thing I remember most about the new organizations in the late Summer and Fall of 2015- that the left leaning ones were building Trump up, and the the WSJ and FoxNews were trying to bring Trump down. That comment was by A Reasonable Man, who doesn't comment here any longer- he wrote that the commentariat here needed to just surrender to Trump and let him be the nominee- of course, ARM didn't think Trump had a prayer of winning.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

FrankiM asserted definite knowledge of a negative in denying something Inga was alleged to have said at 2:47. Could only have been done so quickly if they are identical.

9/9/19, 4:05 PM

The woman is a psychopathic liar.

And she has grandchildren (or so she says). I wonder if they know their grandma is a liar. Maybe she teaches them it's OK to lie.

Be thankful she's no longer a nurse. Probably killed off a few patients back in the day.

narciso said...

Shirley,


https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kyle-drennen/2019/09/09/nbc-cbs-mark-metoo-anniversary-ignore-lauer-and-rose

I'm Full of Soup said...

The big 3, CNN and the major newspapers have made a business decision to ignore potential paying customers on the right. As a result, they don't get my eyeballs nor any of my money anymore. Hell, I wonder if Comcast, which owns far left NBC, realizes their ownership in NBC was a factor in my, and I'm sure others, switching cable/ internet service from Comcast to Verizon?

tim in vermont said...

The thing about conservatives is that we are conservative. In other words, we are unlikely to be unduly influenced by advertising enough to switch brands, and we are not as susceptible to social pressure, cool kids and influencers don’t work on us. In other words, the networks get the most value out of the gullible.

rehajm said...

GE didn't pay income taxes (all these stories are always written by some mental midget who doesn't know what a NOL carry back is and why we have them)

I don't know if candidate for President Liz Warren can write but she believes this one and has repeated it often.

Chuck said...


Apparently Chuck believes his history begins anew in every new cafe post.


No. It means, "there should be no personal attacks. No repetitive back-and-forth with other commenters."

It means, "Stay on the topic of the blog post. Don't go attacking Chuck about Barron Trump, if the topic is Hurricane Dorian. Don't try to lecture people about who Chuck really voted for, when the subject is the New York Times. Don't bore people with calling Chuck 'cuck' or 'LLR' or anything else."

And as for café posts, the explicit rule is "talk about whatever you'd like." But even then, if the subject is Chuck, personally, or if it is about any other commenter, personally, resist the temptation and don't do it.

Anyway, that is how I think about it. Let's see if Althouse agrees!

rehajm said...

A break from Trump news:

John Bercow Quits as Tories Brand Him 'nauseating w***er

Those nauseating wankers can't bring themselves to print wanker. Wankers...

Michael McNeil said...

They [U.S. Democratic presidential candidates] are threatening, literally, to go the full Venezuela.

When have the socialist leaders of Venezuela declared the intent to shut down their country's own petroleum industry? Yes, they've done it in effect by starving the state-owned industry of its monetary maintenance and development life-blood, but when did they ever state that that was their intention?

tim in vermont said...

Trump has become a fetish with so many liberals. A fetish forms when something very psychologically painful happens that is not successfully processed, and the pleasure center of the brain is adjacent to the pain center, and the locus of sensation for the thoughts moves next door from the pain center to the pleasure center. It still feels like pain to the conscious mind, but subconsciously, it is pleasure. This is often described as “wallowing” and it is what liberals are doing now over Trump. Don’t look for it to end, it’s as likely to end as teenage masturbation.

Michael K said...

when did they ever state that that was their intention?

Amazing. Have you ever heard "Watch what I do, not what I say ?"

bagoh20 said...

"Have you ever considered, Althouse, that your criteria for choosing a president might not be the best?"

I must admit that Trump changed my criteria permanently. I was always interested in merit, as in likely performance in office and I based that on things like personal style and past performance. Ideology mattered most. Did they really believe in the right things?

Trump taught me some things:

Actually it all boils down to two things:

1) Believe and understand the right things. 2) Fight for them despite the force or breadth of the opposition.

Every disappointment in my voting life can be attributed to the the guy I voted for failing on those two things. Everything else is bullshit.

Michael K said...


On Blogger since August 2019

Profile views - 5


A new troll?

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