I Don’t Dislike the Media. In Fact, I Wish We Had One…

 

In the spirit of bipartisan compromise, Congressional Democrats are holding hearings on the January 6th Capitol protests. In the spirit of bipartisan compromise, they selected noted moderate Dick Durbin to chair this committee. On the first day of hearings, Mr. Durbin played a very carefully edited video of the Jan. 6 protests, and said that the committee must “use this hearing to explicitly condemn the use or threat of violence to advance political goals.”

Way back in his young and foolish days of youth (June 2020), Mr. Durbin was asked what he thought of the Black Lives Matter protests that were burning down cities across America. He said, “The largest motivation comes from the graphic video of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  I think that has inspired people more than anything to come out and speak publicly, as they are guaranteed the right to do so under our Constitution.”

Perhaps Mr. Durbin earned his reputation for bipartisanship by having such strong feelings about both sides of this issue. Or perhaps Mr. Durbin doesn’t care about what the truth is about whatever issue we’re talking about today. Perhaps he’s simply a bottom-feeding tyrannical sociopath who doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he gets power. (Poor people are suffering as their cities are burned? Screw them.) Nah — that can’t be true — he’s a Democrat. Democrats are nice. Anderson Cooper says so. So do Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel. I mean, come on, right?

I searched for a similar picture with Anderson Cooper laughing with his arm around Donald Trump. Couldn’t find one – still searching – I’ll let you know when I find it…

What bothers me the most about this is that Mr. Durbin knows he can say whatever he wants, and nobody in the media will call him on it. What’s even worse, is that he’s right.

What do you get when you try to operate a democratic republic with no functioning media? You get Dick Durbin. You get a lot of other tyrant wannabes. And you eventually get tyranny.

We don’t have a media searching for abuses of government power. Our media works for the government. Our media is simply the propaganda wing of the American leftist movement, which promotes an ever bigger and more powerful government. As long as government becomes more powerful, then the media becomes more powerful, too. So they’re happy to help.

This is not an outlandish statement. The media has been clearly demonstrating what they think of protests that favor the party of bigger government, and what they think of protests that do not favor the party of bigger government. As long as you’re promoting the interests of Democrats, you cannot be a criminal. You’re a freedom fighter, as long as you promote those who seek to limit freedom.

Laughing at the rubes.

If we had a media, they might wonder about the inherent contradictions in that last sentence. But we don’t have a media.

And with no media, there are no brakes.

This bothers me a great deal. But Mr. Durbin is happy about it. After all, it’s easy to be happy in this system. As long as you’re on the proper side. Don’t you want to be happy?

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  1. DaveSchmidt Coolidge
    DaveSchmidt
    @DaveSchmidt

    A caption to a image in the OP states: “I searched for a similar picture with Anderson Cooper laughing with his arm around Donald Trump. Couldn’t find one – still searching – I’ll let you know when I find it…”  

    You are more likely to find a photo of Grampa Joe sniffing Anderson Cooper’s hair.  

    • #1
  2. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    DaveSchmidt (View Comment):

    A caption to a image in the OP states: “I searched for a similar picture with Anderson Cooper laughing with his arm around Donald Trump. Couldn’t find one – still searching – I’ll let you know when I find it…”

    You are more likely to find a photo of Grampa Joe sniffing Anderson Cooper’s hair.

    I wouldn’t bet against that…

    • #2
  3. Trink Coolidge
    Trink
    @Trink

    Dr. Bastiat: What do you get when you try to operate a democratic republic with no functioning media? You get Dick Durbin. You get a lot of other tyrant wannabes. And you eventually get tyranny

    Precisely.  If I were made queen of the USA – the first villains I would toss into prison – would be the journalists who are the traitors who paved the way for the tyranny that looms on the American horizon.

    • #3
  4. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    Much of the media sees itself, I think, as analogous to the medieval Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire…they see themselves as the choosers of who is entitled to be President (or to hold another important office) and who is not.  They do not care about objectivity or fairness, they care about power.

     

     

    • #4
  5. genferei Member
    genferei
    @genferei

    I like the post but I think it is fundamentally wrong. There never has been, and never will be, a “fair and balanced” news media that holds government to account. If such a fairy-tale creature is necessary for democracy to survive then democracy can never survive. Spending energy on trying to “reform” journalism is more than fruitless, it is dangerous, because it keeps alive the idea that journalism has a positive role to play in the functioning of a political system based on freedom, and this just isn’t so.

    At some fundamental level the news media only has the power we bestow on it by taking it seriously. Stop taking it seriously. 

    • #5
  6. J Climacus Member
    J Climacus
    @JClimacus

    The good new is that legacy media is yesterday’s news.  No one is watching anymore.

    • #6
  7. David Foster Member
    David Foster
    @DavidFoster

    J Climacus (View Comment):
    The good new is that legacy media is yesterday’s news.

    There are also the traditional networks.  According to Ad Week, NBC Nightly News averages 7.3 million viewers and CBS Evening Newz has 5.4MM.  ABC is in the lead with 8.7MM for ABC World News Tonight.

    These may not be as barking mad as CNN and MSNBC, but my impression is that the hew pretty closely to the Narrative…any contrary observations on that?

    And don’t forget the print media…NYT has 8.5 million paid (print plus digital) subscriptions.  

    Legacy media is indeed in secular decline, but even wounded animals can be dangerous.

    • #7
  8. GlennAmurgis Coolidge
    GlennAmurgis
    @GlennAmurgis

    This is why CNN’s Manu Raju asks Manchin and Sinema daily about the filibuster and never once asked about it to any senator from 2016-2020. 

    This is how “SUV” kills people in WI and how “A British man”  holds a synagogue hostage.

    It’s narrative not news

    It used to be what bleeds, leads , now it all the news that fits the narrative

    • #8
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