January 22, 2021

"CNN glowed almost as brightly about the event as a state media would have.... Biden’s perfectly fine if pedestrian speech earned instant accolades..."

"... from Wolf Blitzer, who jibbered that Biden had put 'his soul into his first address.'...  MSNBC worked from the same script, going gaga for not just Lady Gaga but the whole schmear. At day’s end, Rachel Maddow confessed to having worked her way through an entire box of Kleenex during the festivities and Joy Reid gushed like a partisan about the event.... The Washington Post got with the program, giving Biden credit for not waiting 'long to begin staffing up his administration, swearing in top White House aides,' as if previous incoming presidents had dilly-dallied about taking the reins. The New York Times swallowed whole the recent myth-making that has transformed Biden from a shifty politician into a statesman, conveying his call for civility and unity and portraying him as a disciplined, restrained character when anybody who has studied his career knows he’s anything but.... [B]y going overboard for Biden, the press was guilty of 1) hyping Joe; 2) inflating expectations to a volume he can’t possibly fulfill and 3) giving viewers and readers a reason to suspect if not distrust the gleaming Biden coverage. In an era when large portions of Americans think mainstream media is a tool of the left, a tad less bootlicking could help build trust among media skeptics.... [M]aybe we could embed a house cynic on each network and newspaper to police or at least tamp down the irrational exuberance that rains down on most inaugurations."


Notice that he's only arguing about how to do propaganda well. If it worked in the stupidly gaga form we saw on Inauguration Day, he'd be okay with it.

146 comments:

Rob said...

Here’s my thought experiment for the day. Imagine that at Trump’s inauguration a scrubbed wholesome white 22-year old sorority girl had written and recited the same poem that Amanda Porter recited, with the very same hand movements. What would the reaction of the media commentators have been?

Temujin said...

He's not incorrect. He's being nice about it.

rehajm said...

Notice that he's only arguing about how to do propaganda well. If it worked in the stupidly gaga form we saw on Inauguration Day, he'd be okay with it.

It no longer matters if it 'works' or doesn't. The era of convincing voters is over and the era of inventing voters has begun.

What matters now is the level of delight in the duping. How much fun is it?

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"[M]aybe we could embed a house cynic on each network and newspaper to police or at least tamp down the irrational exuberance that rains down on most inaugurations."

What? Hire a conservative?

That would "destroy diversity!"

/sarc

rhhardin said...

It's the same narrative that their audience wants, same characters, same roles. If it's over the top, it doesn't matter. The audience comes to watch it and that's all that matters.

That it's news is a fiction, allowing the audience to think soap opera women are serious people, flattery of the audience.

Fernandinande said...

nyt, 1939: "High up on his favorite mountain he finds time for politics, solitude and frequent official parties."

rhhardin said...

The other audience is on the right, reading sources that report what the left is saying now. One narrative reporting on the other.

Every four years there's a vote that settles relative audience sizes.

Nonapod said...

A tiger can't change it's stripes. They are who they are. For 4 years they haven't had the opportunity to gleefully gush and scamper for a president. They had all this pent up energy. It's like a junkie who went cold turkey for a long time then relented, that first hit a smack is just pure biss... pure ecstasy.

Of course normal people find it a revolting display, but they just can't help t.

rhhardin said...

The women's vote ties politics to soap opera. Cut that, and the two things are no longer related. There's just what women do, and what men vote on.

Joe Smith said...

The 20th is the day that context came back to journalism.

There was a story on the hourly news this morning (radio) about how Guard troops were sleeping in parking garages and on the ground in various buildings.

Dems and Rs interviewed all agreed it was terrible.

But the 'reporters' were careful to explain the context; that the troops all had hotel rooms and that they were just catching some Zs on their break time.

On January 19, the story would have ended with everyone agreeing that it was terrible, with the obvious inference that Trump was to blame.

Fuck every single person who works in the 'news' business. I don't care what side they're on. They're all whores with an agenda.

Joe Smith said...

"Here’s my thought experiment for the day. Imagine that at Trump’s inauguration a scrubbed wholesome white 22-year old sorority girl had written and recited the same poem that Amanda Porter recited, with the very same hand movements. What would the reaction of the media commentators have been?"

Call all sides come together and agree that the poem was an embarrassment?

And that the position of 'Poet Laureate' should be killed and buried for all time?

This country is not a progressive girls' prep school.

Dave Begley said...

Steve Bannon noted that the speech was comprised of short sentences and at sounded like it was written by a "C" student from the University of Delaware. Yeow!

It really was horrible. Nothing memorable.

AZ Bob said...

People know who Joe Biden is so we aren't being fooled. The media could pull this happy BS for Obama because he was a relative unknown, first black man, etc. But Biden? Come on man.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

It may be next to impossible to find news or opinion that is NOT propaganda at this point. Lotsa low hanging fruit in this orchard Althouse!

AZ Bob said...

Steve Bannon noted that the speech was comprised of short sentences and at sounded like it was written by a "C" student from the University of Delaware. Yeow!

The short sentences were designed to prevent him from screwing up due to his cognitive limitations.

MayBee said...

I read this yesterday and also thought it was good, if only because it stuck out in the current media environment.

I almost feel like we're getting played by the media with their over the top Biden adoration. It's too much! And such an incredible turn around from the way they treated Trump (or Bush or Bush or Reagan). Such a turn around it feels like we are supposed to notice it-- and what? Get mad? I don't know.

But why would a normal political commentator say the lights are like Biden's arms reaching out to America. Or that Jen Psaki is going to be honest and true and it will be so refreshing.

We know these people! *They* know these people! This is a very average moment in politics, so why the over-the-top hype?

iowan2 said...

This is nothing new to conservatives. It has been evident for decades.
I grew up with 3 daily newspapers. The Des Moines Register (The Big Peach sports section), Quad City Times Republican, and the Wall Street Journel. Those three Celebrated their political biases in the opinion pages, and attempted not to shade the raw news reporting.

But if you are conservative understanding the Media is nothing but propaganda is something that has been evident for 30+ years.

What is happening now with the canceling of all conservative content on the internet, refusing to publish conservative books, and all the rest.

Let's be clear. Liberal policies are terrible. Their agenda cannot survive public debate. There beliefs are fantasy , and their only goal is amassing personal power...at the expense of societies most vulnerable.

Pelosi just said she is sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday. The Senate must take up those articles and can do nothing but impeachment until they arrive at a verdict.
Covid relief? Not as important
Biden cabinet? Not as important.
Nothing is more important than Nancy delivering a big public noogie to President Donald J Trump.
What a shallow individual.

wendybar said...

Puke inducing. 4 years more of THIS?? How do you do it Progressives. It really is sickening to watch. TV off from now on. I can't handle the fakery, and the hate and violence crowd rubbing their hate into our faces when we can't do anything, or they will sic the military on us because we are all white supremacist racists now.

Nonapod said...

We know these people! *They* know these people! This is a very average moment in politics, so why the over-the-top hype?

My theory is that they just can't help it. They can't help if it turns people off. They don't care if it makes them look ridiculous. I mean, at this point anyone still regularly watching CNN and MSNBC is probably pretty much on the same page with them anyway.

wendybar said...

I love, and can't wait to see all the progressive Mommies crying when their daughters get past over to play sports because there are so many good men that need their places instead. Thanks Joe. It's going to be so much fun to watch!!

Fernandinande said...

poem that Amanda Porter recited

Amanda Gorman, "the United States' first-ever youth poet laureate" according to cnn, could teach Biden some amusing new hand gestures to accompany the silly yet boring strings of words which both of them emit.

Breezy said...

I think all these so-called pundits should be required to take 1 year rotations in other parts of the country, both red and blue. They are just soaking in their own dirty swampy water, and they don’t see how imbecilic they are. Maybe they do see it and they love themselves so much it doesn’t matter....

John Cunningham said...

Zhou Bai-den is a lying dogface pony soldier. #Notmypresident.

Readering said...

The 81 million+ deserve some representation in their big day.

Jupiter said...

You really think this is all a big joke, don't you.

Spiros said...

Authoritarian governments use assaults, arrests and prosecution (sometimes extrajudicial killings) to silence journalists. These guys are heroes. Our guys are scummy losers scared of losing their jobs or getting canceled. No profiles in courage at the NY Times or Guardian or CNN...

Chuck said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Joe Smith said...

"Pelosi just said she is sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday."

If the Rs do take the House in 2022, they should impeach Obama (pick a crime).

But they won't, because Republicans have no balls and never fight.

Bob Boyd said...

They don't care what the rubes think. They're writing to impress one another.

MayBee said...

The National Guard troops were left to sleep on floors and hang out in parking garages, and they all agree its a huge outage but can't seem to figure out who to blame for it.

They don't know what to do without Trump anymore.

Joe Smith said...

"I love, and can't wait to see all the progressive Mommies crying when their daughters get past over to play sports because there are so many good men that need their places instead. Thanks Joe. It's going to be so much fun to watch!!"

If I were a young trouble-maker in high school, I would get together a bunch of my buddies and go from team to team, driving every girl off of every roster.

Not to be mean, but to make a point.

The only thing schools could do would be to expand the rosters. Normally 18 on a volleyball team? We'll make it 30 now...just to get one or two girls who might ride the bench. But that would be expensive...all those uniforms and extra coaches to keep the kids in line.

Lesson? Boys are not girls.

M Jordan said...

One thing the last year has taught me: the self-described science-loving elite (in their own minds) caste is retarded. I mean that in it’s true sense. They are exactly the same people who, in the Middle Ages, went to Mass and believed whatever Latin gibberish came out of the priest’s mouth. They crave no idea what science really is, no ability to self-reflect, no understanding of their inherent biases, they’re completely given to conspiracies, fear, projection, cultishness.

Every single “progressive” I know is like this. Arguing with them is both exhilarating and frustrating because 1) I always win and 2) they never realize it. I actually had a public then private debate with a top Pursue climatologist and it was no different. I, a retired high school English teacher, defeated a PhD on the topic of global warming. Am I inherently smarter than him? Probably not. But he is hobbled, as all these “midwits” are hobbled with a Middle Ages darkened mind. It’s amazing, tbh.

And Biden is the most retarded of them of all. A complete and utter retard.

Joe Smith said...

"The 81 million+ deserve some representation in their big day."

By a terrible poet? OK.

Gilbert Pinfold said...

It was my congressman who objected to a guardsman drinking a Dunkin' without a mask, causing them to be moved to the garage. My son, an officer with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) is pissed beyond words. Several of his college friends in the PA National Guard (28th Division) had to lay on garage floors with two portable toilets for 5,000.
Going to be a long two years until I can vote against Keating.

madAsHell said...

It's all they have!!

Now, they have to defend the fraud.

My guess......the civil war will be limited to some low level squabbles, and national newscasters.

Greg The Class Traitor said...

If I were a young trouble-maker in high school, I would get together a bunch of my buddies and go from team to team, driving every girl off of every roster.

If I were a young troublemaker I'd declare myself a "girl", and take any PE class where all the "girls" have to change and shower together.

Then I'd declare myself a "lesbian", and attack, I mean "call out" any girl who wouldn't go out with me as "transphobic" & "homophobic".

mandrewa said...

I didn't watch the inauguration, but I was astonished by some footage of it that I saw yesterday.

It was the view from a car in Biden's motorcade and the road is lined with National Guardsmen, hundreds, if not thousands of them. They was no one else there. Now the reason for that is partly that the Biden administration told everyone to stay away since apparently they are afraid of who might show up (although I think one lone Biden supporter, that was not part of the campaign, did show up).

That alone was bad enough but an additional surreal aspect to the scene was that most of the National Guardsmen had their backs turned to Biden.

I can think of only two plausible explanations for this, either: (a) this was a flagrant protest, indicating the disapproval and disdain of most the National Guardsman for Biden; or (b) the National Guardsman had been instructed to face outward ready at any instant to repel the hordes of Americans that they feared might show up to unseat the illegitimately elected President.

I don't know which explanation is worse.

It seems to me that we have a president (and a vice-president) without a mandate, with virtually no core of popular support, and that these people are afraid of the greater part of the American population that they have supposedly been elected by with the largest vote in American history.

See The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters, five minutes into the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCZnFBhrgYg

Wince said...

"It's been announced that chocolate ration is to be increased to 25 grams per week!"

KJE said...

If the media just tried turning it to 11, that would help everyone.

Iman said...

New signs and wonders each and every day. The facade of so-called “experts” in various fields, well-functioning government, competent media, etc., has been stripped away and all of this and much, much more laid bare for all to see.

May God help our children cope with the insanity of the left. They will need it.

Bilwick said...

Somewhere in Statist Hell, Ellsworth Toohey is smiling.

zipity said...


Looks like the Lamestream Media© have taken out their knee-pads which had been in storage since Obama left office so they can now service Joe Biden.

Prostitutes have higher credibility and honesty than the Lamestream Media©.

MayBee said...

The funny thing about the National Guardsmen lining the roads is in the days before the Inauguration, people were dumping on Trump for supposedly wanting a military parade.

I guess in the end the Democrats liked the idea of a Military Parade.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The Democrat Party Media is the Democrat Party media.

Getting back to *faking it*, will not work. The cat is out of the bag.
We know.

RMc said...

This country is not a progressive girls' prep school.

It is now.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Joe, his brother and his son Hunter Biden - are all big government grifters.

Is anyone surprised chi com Russia Russia Maddow is thrilled out of her mind?

Bob Boyd said...

I said this could explain the zip-ties in previous comment threads a couple times.

Eric Munchel, a pro-Trump rioter who stormed the Capitol building while holding plastic handcuffs, took the restraints from a table inside the Capitol building, prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday.
Munchel, who broke into the building with his mom, was labeled "zip-tie guy" after he was photographed barreling down the Senate chamber holding the restraints. His appearance raised questions about whether the insurrectionists who sought to stop Congress from counting Electoral College votes on January 6 also intended to take lawmakers hostage.
But according to the new filing, Munchel and his mother took the handcuffs from within the Capitol building — apparently to ensure the Capitol Police couldn't use them on the insurrectionists — rather than bring them in when they initially breached the building.


https://www.insider.com/zip-tie-guy-capitol-riot-plastic-handcuffs-police-prosecutors-2021-1

Gusty Winds said...

We've been watching Media and Democrat propaganda for decades.

It just took off its mask with Trump.

This is now just a big "no shit".

robother said...

Sacred Zip-Ties! Now, forever soiled by Deplorable cooties. Oh, the humanity!

Tommy Duncan said...

Ann said: "Notice that he's only arguing about how to do propaganda well."

Propaganda done well means propaganda that is not widely noticed. The slobbering mainstream media fails that test badly.

Lyle said...

Stupidly gaga... that's lovely.

mccullough said...

A statesman is an easy man,
He tells his lies by rote;
A journalist makes up his lies
And takes you by the throat;
So stay at home and drink your beer
And let the neighbours' vote.

MountainMan said...

My wife and I had no intention of watching the inauguration. From what little I have seen of it in clips or read about it I think it was a national embarrassment. I read some about the young woman and her poem and read through some of the stanzas and was not impressed.

I remember the first inauguration i ever watched was Kennedy's in 1961. I was in the 4th grade and we watched it in class as we had been studying the presidential campaign and election since the start of school. I thought it was impressive and vividly remember Robert Frost reading a poem, his white hair blowing on a very cold, snowy, and windy day. That made me wonder - is there anyone in America today writing poetry that is of the stature of Robert Frost? Even just being 4th graders we all knew who Robert Frost was, everyone did. I don't read poetry much and couldn't think of anyone. Seems like our standards have fallen if that young women is the best they could find.

I am wondering now about how bad Biden's State of the Union will be. But I haven't watched one of those since Reagan.

Todd said...

So with the early results in, it is clear that the MSM is planning to blow Joe in ways not seen since they took turns sucking Obama's knob.

If BadTouchBiden were not so out of it, he would likely be walking around with iron hard wood 24/7, even when little girls with nice smelling hair are not around.

mockturtle said...

I can envision Biden posters everywhere. And a little red book containing all of Joe's brilliant remarks.

mockturtle said...

Fuck every single person who works in the 'news' business.

I simply don't have the time, Joe. I'm getting on in years. ;-)

narciso said...

Phrasing as sterling archer would say

Cacimbo said...

Two days ago Politico (a true DC insiders rag) ran a piece on Biden experiencing a mental lapse during the campaign. This sounds like Politico is annoyed other media outlets are stepping on the new message - Biden senile/Harris=President.

TrespassersW said...

Sobriety? From the Lickspittle Media(TM)?

As the cool kids say, RYFKM?

PM said...

"...a tad less bootlicking could help build trust.."
But it won't build eyes.

CNN et al will need to keep resurrecting Trump like Jason to explain the continuing mob violence in Portland, urban crime, illegals' hardships, trans' hurtful experiences etc.

TrespassersW said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inga said...

“It was the view from a car in Biden's motorcade and the road is lined with National Guardsmen, hundreds, if not thousands of them. They was no one else there. Now the reason for that is partly that the Biden administration told everyone to stay away since apparently they are afraid of who might show up (although I think one lone Biden supporter, that was not part of the campaign, did show up).

That alone was bad enough but an additional surreal aspect to the scene was that most of the National Guardsmen had their backs turned to Biden.”

Fact check: National Guard did not ‘turn their backs’ on Biden motorcade, video shows standard protocol

Joe Smith said...

"I simply don't have the time, Joe. I'm getting on in years. ;-)"

Of course I meant only the hot ones, and only if they shut up : )

Narayanan said...

would have been great pranking by Trump if he even thought about Joe

nice timing Joe

is this the opposite of /laches/ ? legal minds want to know

Though the White House doors are typically opened by Marine guards, the chief usher is in charge of greeting the incoming president and his family, in addition to overseeing operations at the residence.
However, Harleth wasn’t there to greet the Bidens when they arrived because he had been fired around five hours earlier.
Harleth, the Trumps’ chief usher and a former rooms manager of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, told the New York Times he was moving furniture on Inauguration Day when he was told at 11:30am that his services were no longer needed.
Biden’s aides had reportedly called the White House on Wednesday, saying the incoming president planned to bring in someone else to take over his role.

dbp said...

"Rachel Maddow confessed to having worked her way through an entire box of Kleenex during the festivities"

I would bet that no man has ever come close to Rachel Maddow's Kleenex usage record from watching her show.

rcocean said...

I heard an example of this on the radio. I was flipping around the dial and heard the Fox News announcer state is a loud approving voice "Two more! Biden issues two executive orders" much like you'd shout "twenty more dollars" as it comes out of your winning slot machine.

narciso said...

https://amgreatness.com/2021/01/21/let-the-senates-show-trial-begin/

rcocean said...

Just as aside, has any "reporter" asked Pelosi and McConnell why we needed 25,000 thousand national guardsman in DC? Or why 25,000 was the magic figure? Or how much all this cost? or why 5,000 wasn't sufficient?

rcocean said...

Of course, that would entail practicing journalism and creating news. So, I guess I have my answer.

Narayanan said...

Gilbert Pinfold said...
It was my congressman who objected to a guardsman drinking a Dunkin' without a mask, causing them to be moved to the garage. My son, an officer with the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) is pissed beyond words. Several of his college friends in the PA National Guard (28th Division) had to lay on garage floors with two portable toilets for 5,000.
Going to be a long two years until I can vote against Keating.
-------------=============
drop off sackfuls of empty Dunkin to his office often for the next two

rcocean said...

BTW, former AG Barr is now popping off and attacking trump. Man, Donald Trump should could pick them. I know Mitch McConnell and the R's tried to cripple him by denying him his cabinet picks, but you'd think he would've tried to get loyal people. Instead, he made great credentials the primary quality. Hence, 3 SCOTUS judges who betrayed him, and a slew of Cabinet officers.

Narayanan said...

@Gilbert Pinfold --

and take pictures for proof of patriotism

Yancey Ward said...

The problem with this essay is that a "tad less bootlicking" in this case would mean spitting after sucking Biden's shit-stained cock.

I saw samples of the coverage in various forums yesterday- the leader of North Korea doesn't get such glowing coverage by his media which he can feed to rabid dogs if they displease him. There is no saving the American media's integrity at this point. They may as well swallow every single spurt, and smile and say, "Thank you, Joe, I'll have another!"

Narayanan said...

@ Inga ...

Their positioning, however, is standard protocol for this sort of duty.
-----------==============
so this duty and protocol will now be SOP?

Aggie said...

The press deserves our scrutiny, but only out of curiosity - not out of a desire for information. For the past 4 years we've watched them practice their outrage, turning purple at each perceived new Trump offense, while smirking smarmily at the treachery from the Left in their unrelenting attack on Trump.

Now we get to see the other end of the hyperbole. Absolute, loyally-supportive and aggrandizing reporting on the brilliant Progressive march, disdain for the smelly heaving masses, the bitter Trump clingers as their rights are further hatcheted away. The coverage will be unswerving, now that the course has been corrected.

Who watches the news anymore? Not me. I can heap scorn with the best of them though, when I think of the media - which is not often.

MayBee said...

So they didn't turn their backs to Biden, but their backs were turned. Thanks for that, Reuters!

wendybar said...

Biden and his administration make National Guard sleep in parking garage on concrete floor with 2 bathrooms for over 5000 troops. President Trump gives permission for them to stay at Trump Hotel in DC, proving once and for all what a President who loves our troops and cares about them other than for a photo op looks like....

wendybar said...

Correction...one bathroom with 2 stalls.

Sam L. said...

As i keep saying, I don't know if the media is/are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dem Party, or it's the other way round, but it's OBVIOUS that they are in CAHOOTS.

MayBee said...

It might have been nice to let the National Guard see the motorcade they had to leave home to watch over. I get that some of them have to watch from each direction, but can't people on each side see across the street to what's coming? It wasn't like this was in Iraq.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

National Guard kicked out of the Capitol, forced to sleep in a parking garage

with a nice photo.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The democrat party elite is corrupt. The democrat party media make mega bucks as the offical state run propaganda arm to the democrat party. The tech oligarchs and hoarding corporatists like Warren Buffet enrich themselves off of both, and vise-versa. The circle of corruption spreads out like a tsunami.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

You can look one foot in front of you all day long to find examples of The Democrat Party Press.

The Washington Post Memory-Holed Kamala Harris' Bad Joke About Inmates Begging for Food and Water
At a time when legacy publications are increasingly seen as playing for one political "team" or the other, this type of editorial decision will not do anything to fix that perception.

Sebastian said...

"CNN glowed almost as brightly about the event as a state media would have"

Right. What would Pravda have done differently?

Now take the next step: that progs need the propaganda, that it is inherent in progressivism. If you want to squash freedom, eliminate wrongthink, and control anything and everything, you need a single message, spread relentlessly by unified media.

narciso said...

https://thefederalist.com/2021/01/21/google-funded-conservative-groups-tell-congress-to-leave-google-and-big-tech-alone/#.YAsL1EbPmE8.twitter

mandrewa said...

mandrewa: “It was the view from a car in Biden's motorcade and the road is lined with National Guardsmen, hundreds, if not thousands of them. They was no one else there. Now the reason for that is partly that the Biden administration told everyone to stay away since apparently they are afraid of who might show up (although I think one lone Biden supporter, that was not part of the campaign, did show up).

That alone was bad enough but an additional surreal aspect to the scene was that most of the National Guardsmen had their backs turned to Biden.”


Inga responds: "Fact check: National Guard did not ‘turn their backs’ on Biden motorcade, video shows standard protocol""

And then from the 'fact check':

"The National Guardsmen were facing away from the road to protect against potential threats."

You know Inga, this is a great example of selective quoting. My comment, was short. Why couldn't you have quoted my guess that this might the situation?

Here's the context that Inga leaves out.

"I didn't watch the inauguration, but I was astonished by some footage of it that I saw yesterday.

It was the view from a car in Biden's motorcade and the road is lined with National Guardsmen, hundreds, if not thousands of them. They was no one else there. Now the reason for that is partly that the Biden administration told everyone to stay away since apparently they are afraid of who might show up (although I think one lone Biden supporter, that was not part of the campaign, did show up).

That alone was bad enough but an additional surreal aspect to the scene was that most of the National Guardsmen had their backs turned to Biden.

I can think of only two plausible explanations for this, either: (a) this was a flagrant protest, indicating the disapproval and disdain of most the National Guardsman for Biden; or (b) the National Guardsman had been instructed to face outward ready at any instant to repel the hordes of Americans that they feared might show up to unseat the illegitimately elected President.

I don't know which explanation is worse.
"

Now after correcting the record, I will note that we still don't really know why those soldiers have there backs turned.

Because all this 'fact check' amounts to is someone in authority saying that it's normal procedure for the soldiers in such a situation to be facing outward. And that person may be telling the truth or they may be lying. The Biden campaign has a huge incentive to lie if the soldiers were actually protesting.

So the official claim means less than it seems. Particularly since it's not difficult to find photos similar to that situation where the soldiers are not facing outward.

Gahrie said...

If I were a young troublemaker I'd declare myself a "girl", and take any PE class where all the "girls" have to change and shower together.

Then I'd declare myself a "lesbian", and attack, I mean "call out" any girl who wouldn't go out with me as "transphobic" & "homophobic".


When I was in high school, I used to tell anybody who would listen that I was a lesbian trapped in a man's body. (I was class clown) If that stupid transgender "law" had been in place back then you can bet your ass I would have been in the principal's office demanding to use the girl's locker/bath rooms and play on the girl's sports teams.

I don't use the trapped lesbian line anymore because today people take me seriously.

MayBee said...

So: The National Guard was called in massive numbers to guard Washington DC, line the parade route (with their backs turned, some of them), sit on the floor of the US Capitol building, sit outside and in parking garages, share 2 toilet stalls, get out of the Capitol during the swearing in, have Joe Biden say to them, "Salute the Marines", and this is for what exactly? All while precisely no riots or fires were going on in Washington DO (or anywhere but Seattle and Portland). Who is in charge of their logistics?

Just some rando on the interwebz said...

This is why I hate mainstream media. I don't mind that they were tough on Trump but the slobbering fawning of these scummy career Democrats is nauseating. Can you try to be the 3rd estate when a Democrat is in office instead of just a shitty propaganda organ for Democrats.

Gahrie said...

Now after correcting the record, I will note that we still don't really know why those soldiers have there backs turned.

If their job was ceremonial, they should be facing towards Biden. If their job was to protect Biden, or provide crowd control, then they should have been facing away from Biden towards the threat.

MayBee said...

Because all this 'fact check' amounts to is someone in authority saying that it's normal procedure for the soldiers in such a situation to be facing outward. And that person may be telling the truth or they may be lying. The Biden campaign has a huge incentive to lie if the soldiers were actually protesting.

There's nothing about how the National Guard is being treated that is standard procedure.
But I get that you might have to face out to see oncoming threats....but if there are guards lining both sides of the road, they would each see the other side. And there is nobody around anyway.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The democrat party press are reveling in their gloat.
They worked in concert with Nancy and Adam Schitt and Hillary and Brennan and Christopher Steele to harass and lie about Trump. Trump stumbled at times, but most of what the left harassed Trump over, was all lies.

The gloat show not only cements our distrust in the Democrat Party Press - it infuses a complete contempt. The Democrat Party Press is Asshole.

MayBee said...

About Biden's sports executive order -- I was interested to see how this might affect the Olympics this summer. But I don't think they are going to happen anyway

Gahrie said...

have Joe Biden say to them, "Salute the Marines"

Has the Left attempted to explain this yet? It looked pretty damning to me.

Bilwick said...

My favorite was the "journalist" who reported that love has returned to the White House. And tere is no greater love than Mommy and Daddy State's love for their subjects. Bend over, subjects, and receive their love.

You first, Inga.

MayBee said...

Gahrie said...
have Joe Biden say to them, "Salute the Marines"

Has the Left attempted to explain this yet? It looked pretty damning to me.


I think they are ignoring it. At first I thought....maybe he's telling Jill? But neither one of them actually does it.
I think that's my favorite thing about that clip. That Jill is obviously so used to Joe telling her what he's hearing in his ear, she's tuning it out.

J2 said...

Maybee

I think the wired in the ear instruction to Biden was "Salute the Marines" as he passed by them, but instead he just mumbled the words.

stevew said...

What, nothing about the crease in his trousers, the orderly arrangement of his hair plugs, the gleam of his false teeth? These press people were infuriating in their relentless attacks on President Trump and are now sickening, in a saccharine way, in their effusing and fluffing praise on the magnificence of Joe. The attacks on Trump had the benefit of attracting viewers, I don't see this treatment of our new president doing the same.

MayBee said...

J2- yeah, I think so too. I just tried to find another explanation for it at first. And I could not.

stevew said...

National Geographic ran a puff piece yesterday about the glorious return of pets to the White House. They even offered to help us understand what it means. I couldn't bear to read it.

MayBee said...

J2- and I find it a little concerning that this is our shiny new president and that's his mental capacity right now. It's not like we can explain It away by saying, "Oh this is all new to him" because it is very much not new to him.

Michael K said...

Donald Trump should could pick them. I know Mitch McConnell and the R's tried to cripple him by denying him his cabinet picks, but you'd think he would've tried to get loyal people. Instead, he made great credentials the primary quality. Hence, 3 SCOTUS judges who betrayed him, and a slew of Cabinet officers.

You are assuming there are people in DC who are not back stabbing cocksuckers. I think that is a shaky assumption.

Big Mike said...

@J2, @Maybee, interesting thought experiment. If someone jammed the frequency for his ear bud, would Joe stand there saying “EEEEPPP! Whoooooo.”?

ga6 said...

Gag me with a spoon

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

MayBee said...

I think they are ignoring it. At first I thought....maybe he's telling Jill? But neither one of them actually does it.
I think that's my favorite thing about that clip. That Jill is obviously so used to Joe telling her what he's hearing in his ear, she's tuning it out.


@MayBee

No reason for him to be telling Jill that. The President is Commander in Chief of the armed forces, not the First Lady. She has no reason to salute the Marines, he does.

Todd said...

Gahrie said...

have Joe Biden say to them, "Salute the Marines"

Has the Left attempted to explain this yet? It looked pretty damning to me.

1/22/21, 11:46 AM


Everyone knows the explanation. Someone was feeding BadTouchBiden lines through his ear piece. He just parroted whatever he heard. Someone forgot to tell him talk time was over so when he was told to salute the Marines, he did as earlier instructed and repeated what he heard. The pervert in chief is just a parrot. The question is, a parrot for whom?

Bob Smith said...

“First you need honest people”

Dad. Who was right about a lot of things.

LYNNDH said...

His State Funeral should be really something.

gahrie said...

Everyone knows the explanation. Someone was feeding BadTouchBiden lines through his ear piece. He just parroted whatever he heard. Someone forgot to tell him talk time was over so when he was told to salute the Marines, he did as earlier instructed and repeated what he heard.

That's the damning part. I'm curious as to how they are trying to spin it to look better, or at least acceptable.

Rick said...

"We're not asking you to be fair since we know that's impossible. Just hide it better.

Big Mike said...

Today we we get a post about how the national news media is so over the top in the tank for Biden that it may even be counterproductive from a Democrat propaganda perspective. And on Monday will there be a post about water being wet?

stlcdr said...

gahrie said...
...

That's the damning part. I'm curious as to how they are trying to spin it to look better, or at least acceptable.

1/22/21, 12:19 PM

Ignore it.

As long as you ignore it, and your only reference to anything happening is the [Government Certified] press reporting it, you can demonstrate that any mention of it is just a conspiracy theory, since there are no reports of this happening.

gilbar said...

it's not just pmsnbc or cnn,
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace on Wednesday praised Biden's "great" inaugural address, going as far as to deem it the best he's ever watched in his life.

"I thought it was a great speech," Wallace said. "I've been listening to these inaugural addresses since 1961 — John F. Kennedy, 'ask not.' I thought this was the best inaugural address I ever heard."

Iman said...

I would bet that no man has ever come close to Rachel Maddow's Kleenex usage record from watching her show.

Change the word “from” to “while” and Howard would be your man. Jergens’ top customer as well.

Inga said...

“Biden and his administration make National Guard sleep in parking garage on concrete floor with 2 bathrooms for over 5000 troops.”

No that’s not what happened. The Capitol police ordered them out during the night and when the BOTH Dems and Repubs found out, they had them brought back to the Capitol Visitor Center.

pacwest said...

I was looking for the best post for what has become clear as a bell in the past couple of days. Joe Biden is not the President of the United States of America. Something, and I'm not exactly sure what yet, has inserted itself into the Oval office. Best guess so far is that it is Obama related, but there are a range of options to choose from. The extreme left, Soros, big tech, ogliarchs, China, other possibilities. Or a wedding of convenience amongst certain factors. Whatever or whoever it is it ain't Joe. And it's not your typical coalition of the past. There will be a lot of jockeying for the ultimate ring of power and it will be interesting to watch.

This comment might be worthy of the Duh! response, but it's clarity has has become undeniable imo only since he took office. Looking forward I see only figureheads occupying that office. Obama was just a harbinger of things to come.

MayBee said...

No that’s not what happened. The Capitol police ordered them out during the night and when the BOTH Dems and Repubs found out, they had them brought back to the Capitol Visitor Center.

The Capitol Police said they did not order them out.

Nonapod said...

According to Axios, trust in the media is at an all time low.

56% of Americans agree with the statement that "Journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations."

58% think that "most news organizations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public."


It's funny that some people seem to imagine that such findings will prompt a change in the behavior of the powers that be in the main stream media, some sort of effort to regain the public's trust. But they'll never change because they can't change. They'll drive themselves out of business before they'll change.

Yancey Ward said...

You see, Inga swallows with pride.

narciso said...

the capitol police is controlled by the speaker,

MayBee said...

Psaki was not asked about the National Guard in the parking garage at her press briefing today.

Joe Smith said...

The streets of DC (like any given day in San Francisco) must have been awash in semen at the inauguration, from the spontaneous orgasms of the media (gals not included...they just swooned).

What poor sucker had to clean all of that up?

Michael K said...


No that’s not what happened. The Capitol police ordered them out during the night and when the BOTH Dems and Repubs found out, they had them brought back to the Capitol Visitor Center.


Hilarious. The bed pan commando shows her sentiments extend to lies.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

narciso said...

the capitol police is controlled by the speaker,

Actually the Chief of the CP reports to the Capitol Police Board which consists of The Architect of the Capitol, Sgt At Arms of the House and Sgt At Arms of the Senate. Doesn't mean that the Speaker has no influence over them, but I don't think she controls them.

narciso said...


cui bono

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/01/15/43-national-guard-troops-dc-inauguration-test-positive-covid-19.html

Daddy Binx said...

Todd said...
Everyone knows the explanation. Someone was feeding BadTouchBiden lines through his ear piece. He just parroted whatever he heard. Someone forgot to tell him talk time was over so when he was told to salute the Marines, he did as earlier instructed and repeated what he heard. The pervert in chief is just a parrot. The question is, a parrot for whom?


Serious question (which may be a first for me): If the President of the United States is so cognitively compromised that he needs someone feeding him mundane instructions like "Salute the Marines", how in the H E double-toothpicks is he supposed to be counted on to respond in a coherent, rational manner in a high stress situation like, oh, I don't know, some nation launching missiles at us?

In fact, He going to do exactly what he is told to do and not be making any decisions on his own. Anyone who thinks otherwise just hasn't been paying attention. I think the nation needs to know exactly who is running the White House.

J2 said...

Likely puppeteers - Susan Rice, Valerie Jarrett, Victoria Nuland, and whoever OK'ed the payments to Iran for the nuclear deal.

Drago said...

Wow. Its like Mueller all over again for our Russian Collusion Dead Ender Truther Inga.

It was the interviews of the National Guardsmen themselves that deliver the hammer blow to Inga's lie-filled narratives.

But today is a new day and Inga is slamming the history reset button with every fiber of her being.

Drago said...

MayBee: "Psaki was not asked about the National Guard in the parking garage at her press briefing today."

The media have received their marching orders for the day.

I Callahan said...

The Capitol police ordered them out during the night and when the BOTH Dems and Repubs found out, they had them brought back to the Capitol Visitor Center.

Actually, no they didn't:

https://wtop.com/inauguration/2021/01/capitol-police-acting-chief-we-didnt-tell-national-guard-to-leave-capitol-facilities/

It started when a Dem congressman, Keating, complained that he saw a National Guardsman drinking a dunkin donuts coffee without a mask on, and he complained to someone about it. But it wasn't the capitol police.

Care to revise your statement?

Matt Sablan said...

I mean, the WaPo disbanded their fact checkers for the Executive Office, insisting they wouldn't keep a repository of the new president's lies/errors/misstatements.

So, CNN's got some competition for state media.

Matt Sablan said...

"If the President of the United States is so cognitively compromised that he needs someone feeding him mundane instructions like "Salute the Marines", how in the H E double-toothpicks is he supposed to be counted on to respond in a coherent, rational manner in a high stress situation like, oh, I don't know, some nation launching missiles at us?"

-- Message: Salute the Marines. I mean, I care.

mockturtle said...

I have several friends who live abroad, some conservative [at least moderately] and some liberal. While I'd really like to find out what they believe about what they're hearing regarding our election and the 'insurrection', it is likely they wouldn't believe me if I told them what's really going on. They know I supported Trump, so...

Has anyone else here been having conversations with those in Europe or Asia regarding our current political scene? Is CNN still their main source of 'American' news?

Joe Smith said...

"Serious question (which may be a first for me): If the President of the United States is so cognitively compromised..."

This is why DOCTOR Jill should be ashamed of herself. She's known all along, but wanted the glory for herself.

Lurker21 said...

[B]y going overboard for Biden, the press was guilty of 1) hyping Joe; 2) inflating expectations to a volume he can’t possibly fulfill and 3) giving viewers and readers a reason to suspect if not distrust the gleaming Biden coverage.

Half the country suspects and distrusts the sycophant media, and has for a long time. Maybe more than half the country if you count the apolitical and alienated.

But Biden hype is only one aspect of the coverage. What will come is talk about the "unprecedented challenges" he is facing that will sufficiently lower expectations to the point where Joe (with the media's help) will be able to claim to have fulfilled them.

Matt Sablan said...

https://news.yahoo.com/biden-admonishes-reporter-questioning-whether-211143831.html

Clearly, Biden is an enemy of the First Amendment under the New Rules of the Trump Presidency.

Matt Sablan said...

(Also, as far as I know, no one with any knowledge of the situation has said Biden's vaccination goals are impossible. They are remarkably conservative and relatively easy to achieve. Compared to, say, Operation Warp Speed, this is more like, Operation 5-Speed.)

William50 said...

For the second day in a row, Jen Psaki violates the Biden mask mandate.

Matt Sablan said...

When the Washington Post warned us that "Democracy Dies in Darkness," I understood that. It was important to keep the Executive Branch honest. The Washington Post, apparently, replied that they do not intend to create a similar project they had on tracking Trump's lies, misstatements and questionable assertions for Biden -- known plagiarist.

It's true that Democracy Dies in Darkness, but I hadn't expected the Washington Post to be the one to turn off the lights and load the pistol.

Take into account in the first couple of days, Biden has broken his own mask mandate, lied about fracking, and lied about Trump not leaving a vaccine plan.

Would be nice if the WaPo cared enough about Democracy to record that, huh?

mandrewa said...

"I have several friends who live abroad, some conservative [at least moderately] and some liberal. While I'd really like to find out what they believe about what they're hearing regarding our election and the 'insurrection', it is likely they wouldn't believe me if I told them what's really going on."

Almost all of the European media echo the The New York Times or the Washington Post, if they report about the United States at all. The only way someone in another country is likely to know about what is going on in the United States, from our perspective, is if they can speak and read English and follow a YouTube channel, or something similar, that talks about it.

Romanian TVee would be a good example. Romanian TVee believes in free speech and he's an honest guy and he has a wonderfully sarcastic way of talking about things. Or Romanian TVee would be a good example, except that YouTube is giving strikes to people for questioning the legitimacy of the election, and so Romanian TVee has made it clear that he's going to try not to talk about this issue, since he depends upon YouTube for income.

Sky News Live Australia, which is a television network in Australia, is another source that will sometimes question the left-wing narrative.

The Duran, which is a collaboration between two Greeks, is a great way to learn about what is going on in Europe, and they also cover the United States, and they are very well informed.

There are a number of British YouTube channels that sort of cover things. They tend to be a bit clueless, but I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of the population in the UK has some understanding of what is happening in the United States. All things considered that's really a lot of people.

And there are surely other people I don't know about. But almost without exception, unless they are right-wing, there's no chance they've heard much of anything. And even if they are right-wing quite often that means something quite different in Europe than it does in the United States.

I'm Not Sure said...

"For the second day in a row, Jen Psaki violates the Biden mask mandate."

The mask mandate is for you, not them. They are obviously smart enough to know when it's acceptable to ignore the rules. You? Not so much.

tommyesq said...

I heard Anderson Cooper worked through an entire box of tissues as well...

The Vault Dweller said...

I don't even think most members of the media even know what they are supposed to do for their job anymore. The badness of the media is so pervasive that there is no model people can look at and see, oh this is how it is supposed to be. The last good or at least decent member of the mainstream media was Tim Russert.

Richard Dolan said...

The City Journal had a nice piece recently about how post-journalism came to dominate the pages of The NY Times. Long story short — TDS destroyed any notion of objectivity in news reporting, essentially for two reasons. First, the Wokidokes already know the Truth and have as their mission conveying it to those less enlightened. It’s critical race theory all the way down, except when it’s critical gender theory, etc. Second, the economics of the business could no longer support old line journalism focused even notionally on objectivity as a goal. Instead the business realities required the NYT to cater to an audience looking for affirmation of their settled beliefs if it was to have any chance of surviving. The Times did so with gusto (and succeeded wildly in growing an online subscription base of acolytes) and quite openly, starting with Rutenberg’s piece about how the threat of Trump required the abandonment of objectivity as a standard— only complete opposition was now acceptable. From there to pure team-cheering propaganda was a very short step.

Sam L. said...

Ah, CNN, the Crap "News" Network, sucking up.

Sam L. said...


"From "How About a Little Sobriety, Please?/At a time when large portions of the country think mainstream media is a tool of the left, perhaps it’s time to tone down the Biden adulation" by Jack Shafer (Politico)."

My take is this: I don't know if the media is/are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dem Party, or if it's the other way round, but it's OBVIOUS that they are in CAHOOTS.