tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post8564048000202713760..comments2024-03-28T08:25:24.514-05:00Comments on Althouse: "The incoming administration dismissed CNN and BuzzFeed News’s report as 'fake news,' a term now used by partisans and cynics to discredit reporting they don’t like. We should have seen that coming."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-84239829916577949002017-01-24T05:39:03.576-06:002017-01-24T05:39:03.576-06:00"An alternative theory for the Trump crowd-si..."An alternative theory for the Trump crowd-size kerfuffle was one that I noted a day ago; that it was not merely to drive the ACA off front pages, but also to drive the Womens March off the front page."<br /><br />Right, though by going on about crowd size it drew such an obvious comparison to the Women's march that if anything it buttressed the Women's March narrative. Trump is a master of distraction, but sometimes he flubs it. Remember during the campaign when we'd get a big Hillary email dump, then Trump would decide that's the perfect time to blast a judge for being Mexican? He finally wised up in the end by not stomping on the James Comey announcement in the campaign's final weeks, allowing the public to focus on Hillary just enough to drive her polls down. It likely made the difference in such a close race.<br /><br />As for crowd size and poll numbers, Trump doesn't need to worry about that right now. The bigger issue is what parts of his agenda and the GOP agenda might clash, or face other internal divisions. Because the best way for those poll numbers to turn around by 2020 is to convince about 20 percent of the population that this gang isn't going to set the country on fire literally. (Can't assume the Dems will automatically nominate someone as unpopular as Hillary again)Brandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219319435229314554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1644130009932714362017-01-23T16:22:37.382-06:002017-01-23T16:22:37.382-06:00Re: Ben Smith
There is the old saying, "If y...Re: Ben Smith<br /><br />There is the old saying, "If you can, do, if you can't, teach." To which I'd add, "if you can't teach, become a journalist."<br /><br />So, when you wonder, "can anyone be that stupid?" The answer is "Yes, and here is Ben Smith."Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87521589919774946422017-01-23T15:48:44.135-06:002017-01-23T15:48:44.135-06:00Henry8 said...
Trump can't credibly claim the ...Henry8 said...<br />Trump can't credibly claim the Press is dishonest, considering all the alternative facts and fake news he's passed along. Over the weekend he once again proved he can't report real occurances honestly. Claiming his feud with the CIA was something that the Press invented, please. His own tweets always give him away. How can he not realize that what he's said in the past are readily available for anyone to fact check? Does he depend on people who aren't his fans to simply believe him? Doesn't that seem odd to anyone?<br /><br />1/23/17, 11:54 AM<br /><br />So, Hen, or whichever sockpuppeteer you really are,<br /><br />is "Two wrongs don't make a right"<br /><br />too hard to spell?<br /><br />Or, au contraire, does leftist violence against Trump supporters legitimize retaliation? And, to follow your apparent example, massive over-retaliation?Bad Lieutenanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18091901464339059169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37538269412602129302017-01-23T15:24:18.924-06:002017-01-23T15:24:18.924-06:00Brando;
So much to agree with in your post just a...Brando;<br /><br />So much to agree with in your post just above. I don't feel the need to quote it again.<br /><br />An alternative theory for the Trump crowd-size kerfuffle was one that I noted a day ago; that it was not merely to drive the ACA off front pages, but also to drive the Womens March off the front page.<br /><br />The Womens March had only one point as far as I could tell; the sheer size. The messaging was garbled, the images were lousy, the speech clips were awful (ie., Madonna's f-bombs.) So the fight over crowd size blunted the one thing they had going. Because those crowds really were impressive. (The marchers, not so much.)<br /><br />Chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07676108366725199186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-32483814962499894892017-01-23T15:07:58.209-06:002017-01-23T15:07:58.209-06:00Peeling off a sizable chunk of blue states is a co...Peeling off a sizable chunk of blue states is a conservative cause. tim in vermonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547980465313241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-9737478439083160322017-01-23T14:04:22.327-06:002017-01-23T14:04:22.327-06:00I'm not sure that anybody but the Wall Street ...<i>I'm not sure that anybody but the Wall Street Journal wants to grill Trump on TPP. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, the UAW, the AFL-CIO; they all HATE the TPP. Obama was bucking his left wing, with TPP. TPP opposition is for damn sure no conservative cause.</i><br /><br />Trump ran on opposition to the TPP. He's the guy that wanted a better deal, remember? Hillary was for it, then against it. The TPP is no conservative cause because it isn't a conservative cause. This is one of those issues that fails to divide evenly along party lines.<br /><br />It may also help explain why Trump won Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, made it interesting in Minnesota....Static Pinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17083787604745437979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55532321625920508782017-01-23T14:02:41.387-06:002017-01-23T14:02:41.387-06:00" it isn't talking about how the GOP is g..." it isn't talking about how the GOP is getting ready to punt on the ACA."<br /><br />I think the media will call anything not burning down the house, "Punting on the ACA."<br /><br />The "ACA" is really expanded eligibility Medicaid. Th exchanges are either broke or insolvent.<br /><br />My suggestion is to just make it voluntary. Remove the mandates, which the Democrats were afraid to impose on employers anyway.<br /><br />A parallel system that is basically the old system would be painless and would allow time to develop several options.<br /><br />Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-8432552503863216482017-01-23T13:59:07.003-06:002017-01-23T13:59:07.003-06:00I can understand the question about city limits co...<i>I can understand the question about city limits coming in from the east on I-10, there is a Tucson City Limits sign way out by Vail, several miles from anything that is obviously Tucson. </i><br /><br />There is a "Welcome to Oro Valley" sign near us but I don't think Oro Valley is a city. We are in the foothills and I'm not sure about city limits. I just know the other house was well within the city and the trash pickup was much better,Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-65652127156553602372017-01-23T13:39:21.139-06:002017-01-23T13:39:21.139-06:00"That's supposed to be Trump's home c..."That's supposed to be Trump's home court; Twitter. But instead, it's the hilarious Trump meme of the year."<br /><br />Chuck, I assume that like me and a minority of commenters here you shake your head at Team Trump's frequent lapses into childishness and idiocy, wondering what the hell the point of all this is, while at the same time hoping they're going to deliver on what we want them to. (and admit it--some part of you does grin at how much they troll the Left--underneath their mockery there's a bit of fear. Not the "I fear he's going to sell us out" that some on the right feel, but more the "I fear he and the GOP are going to scew us" on the left).<br /><br />But instead look at this as an extension of his reality show. He's been directing the media since the '80s nationally (and '70s in NY) and knows how to drive them. He wants attention most of all, and will keep the sideshow going while in the meantime the GOP has the votes it needs on at least some issues (though with ACA and immigration, that's going to be trickier). So while none of this stuff serves a purpose, it's entertainment and maybe if the media is talking about crowd size (a truly dumb issue) it isn't talking about how the GOP is getting ready to punt on the ACA.Brandohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06219319435229314554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23708330236516474732017-01-23T13:27:50.935-06:002017-01-23T13:27:50.935-06:00The thing that drives me crazy about this whole th...The thing that drives me crazy about this whole thing is, is that Trump is obviously a heavy user of hyperbole. At least most of those who voted for him recognize and understand it. Which is the literally wrong, but figuratively right thing. My partner is notorious for this sort of thing - she either grossly overestimates, or underestimates, depending on circumstances. For example, I might ask her how much something costs. She might respond $20. From that I know that it will likely cost $40, but I had better budget $50 or so. And, i joke that she learned it from my mother, who was as bad, except about money. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-38235915650761355232017-01-23T13:18:49.954-06:002017-01-23T13:18:49.954-06:00Talking City of Tucson - DIL officially, I think, ...Talking City of Tucson - DIL officially, I think, now teaches music there (she was in a suburban district up until this year), but mostly, it seems, is involved with the youth orchestras. <br /><br />I can understand the question about city limits coming in from the east on I-10, there is a Tucson City Limits sign way out by Vail, several miles from anything that is obviously Tucson. Pretty common in AZ for cities to annex empty land like crazy - which is why PHX and its suburbs all look like strips running north for 20 miles or so, of mostly empty land. Friends in Carefree were legally within the Scottsdale city limits by a block or two, when there was almost nothing between them and the 101 20 miles south. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27898967839242262772017-01-23T13:13:05.446-06:002017-01-23T13:13:05.446-06:00Media Fact: Trump made fun of a disabled reporter...<b>Media Fact:</b> Trump made fun of a disabled reporter.<br /><br /><b>Alternative Fact:</b> There were numerous videos showing Trump using the same gesture at other rallies suggesting he was not actually mocking the reporter's disability, but that he was changing his story.Gusty Windshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11433588447325247130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-46110253297083143192017-01-23T13:07:59.622-06:002017-01-23T13:07:59.622-06:00Michael Brand said...
Trump is a master at misdire...<i>Michael Brand said...<br />Trump is a master at misdirection. Getting you to focus upon the trivial instead of substance. The media, desperate for clicks and eyeballs, falls for it every time. Kellyanne Conway was on Meet The Press yesterday and the entire discussion was about crowd size. Chuck Todd could have grilled her on any number of substantial issues - TPP, DeVos, Obamacare changes - but instead he used that valuable time on trivia. Chuck just couldn't help himself.<br /><br />This is how Donald Trump controls the narrative.<br /></i><br /><br />But the takeaway from that interview, and the whole weekend, was "#alternativenews."<br /><br />That's supposed to be Trump's home court; Twitter. But instead, it's the hilarious Trump meme of the year.<br /><br />I'm not sure that anybody but the Wall Street Journal wants to grill Trump on TPP. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, the UAW, the AFL-CIO; they all HATE the TPP. Obama was bucking his left wing, with TPP. TPP opposition is for damn sure no conservative cause.<br /><br />Chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07676108366725199186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-76580332223935497042017-01-23T13:06:36.717-06:002017-01-23T13:06:36.717-06:00@Dr K - Tell me how the Craig's List sale goes...@Dr K - Tell me how the Craig's List sale goes. My partner claims that this is our last move, where we finally combine my stuff from CO and her stuff in storage in PHX. She has already planned out the lift for the stairs for when one of us gets to that point (hopefully decades from now). Which means that we are going to have a lot of spare boxes for the first time in decades. Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-84122568014039812982017-01-23T13:05:21.934-06:002017-01-23T13:05:21.934-06:00I previously had a house here that used Tucson cit...I previously had a house here that used Tucson city trash pickup and it was fine. For big stuff I just went to the dump. WM seems to have been taken over by idiots. I was literally on the phone an hour and talking to people with southern accents who were barely understandable. They kept transferring me back and forth and everybody apologized for the wait.<br /><br />Then came the guy with the $600.<br /><br />The house is in a little HOA district which may have a WM contract. I'm not sure we are in the city proper.Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-70599178846505295472017-01-23T13:01:39.455-06:002017-01-23T13:01:39.455-06:00Good comment slarrow.
I am learning to take Trump...Good comment slarrow.<br /><br />I am learning to take Trump more on image than words. He is a master at that.Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53576046206606063762017-01-23T13:01:33.253-06:002017-01-23T13:01:33.253-06:00As for trash, I think that I would greatly prefer ...As for trash, I think that I would greatly prefer a Waste Management over municipally supplied trash service. In MT, trash pickup is by a private company. It is a bit pricey, so I make runs to the dump every other weekend. Much less fuss, esp when dealing with non-standard trash, and it helps justify my pickup (every time she complains, I retort by asking if she wants the stench of household trash in the Tahoe). <br /><br />For our apartments, we recently replaced another company with WMI, and have been quite happy with them. For the same price, we got bigger dumpsters, newly painted, fewer missed pickups, etc. But that comes from buying in bulk in a competitive market (west Denver suburbs). Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-5557832405804484122017-01-23T13:00:14.045-06:002017-01-23T13:00:14.045-06:00Yes, my comments are during rest periods. We are g...Yes, my comments are during rest periods. We are going to have a Craig's list sale of boxes when we finish.<br /><br />The movers helpfully rolled all the packing trash into a huge ball that fills the garage before they left. We have a few missing items that may be lost in the trash plus boxes.Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10331059638771015612017-01-23T12:51:57.209-06:002017-01-23T12:51:57.209-06:00I empathize with Dr K and his trash problems. We c...I empathize with Dr K and his trash problems. We closed on the new place in Dec, and moved into the empty house a couple weeks ago. We now have furniture in the master bedroom and the family room, thanks to a mega American Family Warehouse less than a mile away, but most of the stuff will be coming in starting in maybe a week. Nevertheless, the city has still not provided us with the official city trash container that we have been paying for for almost a month now. Luckily, we have construction across the street, and my partner flirts with the workers every day when she takes out the household trash (normally, that would be my job, but she has unique advantages right now in this department that I do not have. Hopefully, the house across the street won't be completed when the first load of furniture shows up in a week, and we can use their dumpster (for those who question the morality here - we just spent quite a bit of money with the builder buying the house paying for the dumpster)Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-5280126266869201362017-01-23T12:44:02.382-06:002017-01-23T12:44:02.382-06:00Where did we learn to look the other way when our ...Where did we learn to look the other way when our leaders lie? By watching you Democrats, by watching you! <br /><br />You guys are acting as if your side had presented an honest leader as a choice. tim in vermonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547980465313241972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26373780437780795592017-01-23T12:42:44.431-06:002017-01-23T12:42:44.431-06:00Trump is a master at misdirection. Getting you to ...Trump is a master at misdirection. Getting you to focus upon the trivial instead of substance. The media, desperate for clicks and eyeballs, falls for it every time. Kellyanne Conway was on Meet The Press yesterday and the entire discussion was about crowd size. Chuck Todd could have grilled her on any number of substantial issues - TPP, DeVos, Obamacare changes - but instead he used that valuable time on trivia. Chuck just couldn't help himself.<br /><br />This is how Donald Trump controls the narrative.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06452330026472110482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10332324641517579922017-01-23T12:33:33.734-06:002017-01-23T12:33:33.734-06:00Look, you're forgetting your Scott Adams and y...Look, you're forgetting your Scott Adams and your recent history.<br /><br />First, Trump is counterpunching here because news organizations were publishing pictures before everyone got there and trying to make it look like no one likes Trump. He sent his press guy out to hit them in the mouth for that. It sends a message. Maybe some of the brighter ones got it, so they're not talking. <br /><br />Second, Trump understands memory and anchoring. If you're not a political junkie, what you'll hear about this story is the big number (million, million and a half) and that the press really cared a lot about the specifics of something that doesn't mean anything to you. If the right images get passed around, too (like the empty Mall before the show compared with the full one when Trump was being sworn in v. Obama's), the memory will be strengthened because of the strong visual. Plus, if you hear it from the "right" place, you'll just remember the media lied to make Trump look bad. Again.<br /><br />Finally, Ann thinks "alternative facts" was a big mistake. But it's the next "fake news". Go ahead, run with that, commit to it just enough to think you're gaining momentum. Then watch the other side flip it on you so hard you'll think you got hit by a truck. I've already seen several lefties fall for it, and I just smile in anticipation.slarrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05735974243744092022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-62841664533165543382017-01-23T12:25:57.438-06:002017-01-23T12:25:57.438-06:00Althouse writes:
"But what I think Conway me...Althouse writes:<br /><br />"But what I think Conway meant was that there are many different factual issues, and some people choose to forefront one factual issue — such as the size of the crowd at the Inauguration — when there are many other factual issues that could have been selected as the main story. There are "alternatives" in that you don't have to make such a big deal out of that one thing, and you could emphasizes something else. The "alternative facts" were all the other things that Trump did, good things, that would have put him in a good light, and the media is criticized for picking out the fact that diminished Trump."<br /><br />Question 1: You are adopting the role of a judicious neutral, judging the competing narratives. But wouldn't a disinterested neutral want to know what the facts actually were? It seems clear that Spicer's attack on the media, ordered by Trump, was false, and given the ease with which the accurate facts could have been determined, recklessly so. Trumps further comments about the media making up his feud with the CIA were equally dishonest. Why do you avoid that conclusion? Can you remember another President whom you would not have squarely said was acting wrongly by doing this kind of thing? Put another way, why avoid the merits?<br /><br />Question 2: Your effort to defend Conway's statement makes no sense. On your view, Conway is saying that the "alternative facts" are things like the inaugural address and the executive order--good things that aren't being referred to. But what she's defending when talking to Todd is not a complaint about leaving those facts out, and in fact MSM did report those facts. The complaint that Trump and Spicer made was not about emphasis, but about accuracy. They focused directly on the crowd facts, and away from "alternative facts" as you define them, and they directly accused the MSM of falsehoods on that score, though they had no proof and their own complaint was riddled with false statements. In short, it was Spicer and Trump who distracted from the "alternative facts" as you describe them. So on your reading of "alternative facts" Conway wasn't describing the conduct that Todd put in issue and neither are you. <br /><br />I'd like to see you write a piece explaining about why you are you spinning for the President's spin master. Is the President issuing demonstrable falsehoods OK with you so long as Conway can put a spin on it that you can find a defense for? Or is your interest purely aesthetic? This reader since 2004 wants to know, because I'm not finding much that's enlightening here these days.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00347013486956199318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-17058101278073161612017-01-23T12:24:35.435-06:002017-01-23T12:24:35.435-06:00Henry8 said...
Trump can't credibly claim...<i>Henry8 said...<br /><br /> Trump can't credibly claim the Press is dishonest, considering all the alternative facts and fake news he's passed along. Over the weekend he once again proved he can't report real occurances honestly. Claiming his feud with the CIA was something that the Press invented, please. His own tweets always give him away. How can he not realize that what he's said in the past are readily available for anyone to fact check? Does he depend on people who aren't his fans to simply believe him? Doesn't that seem odd to anyone?</i><br /><br />Huh? A liar cannot call another liar dishonest?<br /><br />FullMoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07541560904252155570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55502784425978212212017-01-23T12:09:41.562-06:002017-01-23T12:09:41.562-06:00"Trump can't credibly claim the Press is ..."Trump can't credibly claim the Press is dishonest, considering all the alternative facts and fake news he's passed along. "<br /><br />This blog seems over run with leftist trolls since the election. Another blank profile.<br /><br />I wonder how many are sock puppets ?Michael Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18127450762129879267noreply@blogger.com