More Headline News

My local newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, having been purchased by the CEO of conservative news outlet Sinclair Media, has been sliding steadily downhill ever since the sale was finalized. The about-face in editorial slant has been obvious and jarring. One of the most frequent signs has been in the headlines. These are important because when people don’t take the time to read a full article, the headline is what leaves the overall impression with the reader. The Sun is aware of this and utilizes it to its fullest. I’ll show you with a couple of stories from recent weeks.

Director’s DVD commentary: I usually post the full main page of each article, but I don’t expect you to read the whole thing. You certainly can, if you want.

This article was published after the Trump administration famously removed economic reports that showed higher-than-expected job losses and generally unfavorable news for the economy.

Has it ever been journalistic practice to put a governmental alibi right there in the headline? This article, from the Sinclair “National Desk,” has one purpose: to call data into question that the president doesn’t like, even though his own administration produced it. The problem with it was that it was an honest look at the data, not whitewashed to cover up bad economic news. So, for cover, they claim that the methodology was flawed, even though the same process has been used to produce favorable outcomes.

The thing is, even if the process had become flawed, those flaws were created from the massive changes the Administration is inflicting on the economic system, from tariffs to the crackdown on the immigrant labor force. And that is mentioned in the article, but at the Sun, the alibi is the headline, designed to leave the impression that the president is merely cutting more inefficient government waste.

This one shouldn’t even be news:

A Democratic senator endorses a Democratic candidate, and a Republican senator doesn’t like it. Seriously? This is everyday stuff. Politicians generally endorse other politicians from the same team. The thing that gets me is that the Sun constantly quotes Andy Harris, Maryland’s only Republican congressman. You’d think there weren’t any other congresspeople around. I haven’t seen my congressman, Kweisi Mfume, mentioned in months. But their guy gets the megaphone to carp about routine business, for the sole purpose of stirring up indignation at Democrats.

Mamdani is very liberal and suggests some big changes to how a big city could be run. Given the way things are in most big cities. I think that trying anything that aims to help the average city dweller is worth a shot. But, of course, the rich power brokers like things just the way they are, with the rich making sure their rich brethren stay that way. That’s Rep. Harris’s and the Baltimore Sun’s prime objective. So they tag everything he wants to do as “Socialism,” and ensure there’s a photo of him with the article, so no one can miss that he looks like a non-white, commie foreigner.

The Kimmel Show boondoggle has been resolved, but I clipped this article after spotting something chilling.

We know that the administration got ABC/Disney to pull the Kimmel show after claiming his comments on the Kirk shooting were offensive. After seeing those comments, which are included in the article above, most people could see that it was a nothing burger. What was really spurring this action was his white-hot comments about the Epstein files that preceded the Kirk quote. So they leaned on ABC, using the threat of killing an upcoming merger as leverage, and the noodle-spined executives caved. Then they caved again, only this time, to public pressure, and reinstated the show.

Well, except for the ABC stations owned by conservative Sinclair and Nexstar Media, which continued the blackout until they felt they’d learned their lesson. And they could demonstrate that by “making a meaningful donation” to the family and Turning Point, Kirk’s propaganda outlet.

This is government via shakedown, and it fits completely with this administration’s MO. “You want something from us? You gotta pay. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out how.” I can see this as the new normal. Anyone who wants a merger approved or a patent awarded will have to pay the government grifter first. Who’s going to stop them? They’re seeding MAGA judges around the country like hair plugs, and even when lower courts try to put a stop to it, there will always be an appeal until it lands with a cooperative judge, even if that’s the Supreme Court. It’s the legal Wild West out there now.

Granted, this only works with “on-air” networks. The federal government controls public “airwaves” as a public asset. This differs from cable, for which we customers elect to pay, or not. That’s why the administration can put the screws to ABC, NBC, and CBS, but a Democrat can’t meddle with Fox “News” or Newsmax. Those entities are subject to market influences and public reaction only. (Republicans can only get to MSNBC by pressuring NBC.)

We’re getting close to the inevitable government shutdown, and the Sun has already been sowing the seeds of blame:

They might more accurately provide a headline like: “Democrats fight to reverse unpopular cuts to health care.” And they mention the reason in the article. But the banner flying overhead lays all the shutdown blame on the Dems. That’s the subliminal persuasion of headline abuse. And not for nothing, the Republicans have used identical tactics, refusing to pass a clean bill so they can jam through something that would otherwise fail miserably. Republicans often create the most dire of circumstances as a result of a shutdown, knowing that Democrats, being the adults at the table, often cave to prevent the suffering of the innocent citizens. In this case, they’re having 100,000 federal workers submit their resignations, rather than furloughing everyone.

I hope the shutdown doesn’t run long, but I support the Democrats in holding out for amendments to that Big Ugly Bill and making Medicare/Medicaid whole again.

Director’s DVD Commentary: Granted, I haven’t filed for Social Security yet, so I don’t have a dog in the fight. So it’s easy for me to say, not so much for others.

And just to put a bow on the Sun’s subpar product, there’s this health report for last Sunday's Ravens/Chiefs game:

I guess they’ve laid off their copy editors as well as the rest of the journalists. Oops.

We're There

 I don’t see how anyone with eyes can miss that we have arrived at a fully Fascist state of federal government. All the pieces keep piling up, and the conditions are getting checked off one by one.

Authoritarian rule. We see this in every aspect of TFG’s actions, from the obligatory adulation required of his cabinet meeting attendees, to the massive banners with his face on them, to placing toadies in leadership positions in the military, Justice Department, and even the Supreme Court, whose only required qualification is loyalty to him, to assuming control of even the entertainment venues like the Kennedy Center so none of his critics have a platform in town, and much more.

Extreme nationalism. We see the blatant “Christian” nationalism all over his immigration policies, namely, conducting large sweeps to round up all the brown people who speak with an accent and send them to foreign black sites for the kind of systematic torture we once used only on known terrorists. And while they SAID they were going after criminals, their actions have shown that breaking the law is a secondary concern compared to getting rid of foreigners. This also includes foreigners from allied countries who are here to spend money training Americans to work in the factory they are building. That project is now like those foreigners: gone. This administration revels in cutting off its nose to spite its face if it means they get to make their projected numbers of deportations.

Suppression of dissent. They just showed their hand in the last two weeks, didn’t they, with the demanded firing of Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. Additionally, there are lawsuits against the New York Times and other outlets that publish content displeasing to the Orange King. Now they’re coming for the comedians. There’s nothing fascists like less than being mocked. The mockers are still out there (for the time being). We’ll see how long it is before they start picking up the individuals rather than merely stealing their microphones. The death of Charlie Kirk thrust into the spotlight the raging double standard between when one of their guys kills someone and they mock the deceased, versus when one of their guys gets killed and they demand blind tribute. It’s truly staggering lack of self-awareness when they celebrate the hateful words of one of their heroes, but then, when an adversary merely quotes what their hero said, they get fired.

Also note that when what appears as “dissension” bubbles up from within, in the form of research studies that conclude something that makes them look bad, they don’t fix their actions; they change or bury the report.

This works with economic news as well as investigations into the world’s largest pedophile ring.

Glorification of violence. TFG has his own loyal army now, each soldier with no identity, no official orders, and no oversight. All they have to do is be loyal, instill fear, and kidnap some people from public streets, schools, churches, courthouses, and Home Depot parking lots, for delivery to dungeonesque holding sites. The private army is how he gets around the Posse Comitatus Act (wherein the US Military is forbidden to be used on American soil against its people). Meanwhile, on-air personnel for the favored State-Run Broadcasting company espouse the random execution of homeless people, which causes zero “official” backlash. The terror and violence are the point. It allows them to make even bolder moves with impunity. Many of us are against such Fascism. Not as many are willing to take a bullet to the head over it.

Scapegoating. This has always been a main part of the Republican Playbook. Whatever happens, they blame someone else. It’s Black people, or Muslims, Latinos, or gang-bangers, liberal professors, gay people, trans people, and most of all, Democrats. It’s never the fault of the white, male, conservative, even when the most damning of evidence is clear to see. A guy in a MAGA hat with a Trump sticker on his AR-15 and a “Fuck their Feelings” bumper sticker on his Ford F-350, with Fox News blasting from external speakers, could shoot up a parking lot filled with nuns, and Republicans would blame a gay classmate he had 15 years ago. That’s the Republican Way. Nothing is their fault; everything is their opponent’s fault. Repeat indefinitely.

There are also some hallmarks we’ve passed that weren’t on the first graphic, like:

Openly grifting. It’s "hands out" for everyone on the team. Just like with the Mob, bring in any scam you can think of, as long as the Boss gets a taste.

And then the hand-picked lackey running Justice has no other priority than to do the president’s bidding, which is prosecuting anyone who ever made him look bad. It doesn’t matter if there’s ever been a crime committed or if there’s any evidence. What matters is getting the case in front of the public, preferably before a Trump-associated judge who will give the prosecution every advantage. Making life tough for one’s enemies makes others think twice before becoming one of them.

But only they get to receive such largesse.

They’re happy to dismiss a resolved suit when military veterans were due to receive compensation from the credit union that screwed them out of millions. Big corporations and their executives are the only ones allowed to receive such a windfall. The rest of us are merely here to be used as natural resources.

Secrecy

It’s ironic that their use of non-secure public chat applications is what keeps their evil machinations secret from the public.

Presidential administrations are required to keep records of all conversations, emails, and texts for the permanent historical record. That’s the last thing they want, so they use “disappearing” text apps so their words only appear temporarily, and there’s no record that can be used later to jam them up in court. And the only reason we even know about it is that they’re too stupid to use it properly. Remember when someone from the DoD (sorry, I mean the DoW) accidentally sent their battle plans to a reporter? That was a firestorm for about ten minutes. I’m sure they’re back to doing the same thing now, only someone probably had their teenage son set up a distribution list for them.

The Department of War has also just instituted a required oath from beat reporters that they swear they won’t report anything that’s not cleared by the brass for release, which means nothing useful whatsoever. Just the company line. That’s not how Freedom of the Press works. But they don’t care about the First Amendment outside of how they wave it overhead to cover their own calls to violence, and disregard it when a comedian gets under their skin.

So, to sum up:

Whatever you wish the Germans did in 1933, it’s time to do that here, now.

 

Completely Unrelated Note

Lastly, to pull out of this dive-bomb of a bummer post, let me wish a Happy 67^th Birthday to my forever Queen of Rock' n Roll, Joan Jett. I got to meet her several times, and she was always a real joy and super kind to her fans, even if she didn’t know what to do with the birthday card I handed her, moments before she took the stage in Cleveland.

Kirk Out

 I first saw the news on Facebook that Charlie Kirk was shot while I was at my first baseball game of the year. My first thought was, "If this were one of ours, there's going to be hell to pay." And that thought was confirmed within minutes as the threats and promises of retaliation against Democrats, Liberals, and Trans people (aka "them/they") came flooding out. It was almost as if they already had this stuff in the chamber, ready for the first provocation. 

Now, for the obligatory disclaimer, I'm neither celebrating nor calling for anyone to be killed. No Democrats are, really, outside of the delusions of the Right Wing bubble. Although I'll admit that many will not be too broken up if a certain orange charlatan takes one too many bites of well-done steak, a chunk of cholesterol breaks off and lodges in a cardiac artery. But no one is actually condoning violence, except the usual suspects, including the recently deceased. 

South Park really had this guy down in their second episode of the season. One of the subplots involved Cartman fighting with another student, whom he accused of "stealing my schtick" of being aggressively anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-trans, pro-gun, etc. They showed Cartman going to campuses and "debating" college students, where he would basically dismiss everything they said, change the subject to one where he could spout off one of his familiar talking points (one for which the student was neither prepared nor interested), and then claim victory over another stupid college student. I understand the network has since pulled the episode from streaming. I'm sure it was the network. Matt and Trey never would have considered it.

I'm not celebrating, I'm just saying that the world is better off without a guy who says stuff like that. Every single point up there is abhorrent. But for the outrage and vitriol spewed forth online, you'd think someone dropped a log on Rush Limbaugh's grave.

I saw a lot of posts hurling accusations at "Them," like, "They killed Charlie Kirk, wait until we start killing them." Remember that at that time, no one knew who the killer was. All the death threats and impending violence were predicated on an assumption, and you know what happens when you make an assumption... "You make an ass out of you, and umption." (Per Samuel L Jackson in The Long Kiss Goodnight.) In fact, every MAGA post from the time of the shooting to the time they identified the suspect was WRONG. Wrong in facts, wrong in tone, and wrong in morality. It was as if they were all just waiting for the right cover to start taking people out, rolling out the military, and declaring martial law.

The Democrats I know and saw were saying things like, "Let's see what happens, let's wait until we have a suspect, let's not jump to conclusions." But things like "waiting" and "facts" aren't really in the MAGA arsenal.

Let's get this straight. This is a brief record of violence coming from the Right. 

Just try to think of a notorious violent act perpetrated by someone on the Left, for political reasons. And I mean real things, not like the usual Fox "News" allegations that the Clintons had people murdered and unsubstantiated garbage like that. I can't think of a single one. Modern political violence is solely the province of the radical Right and the MAGAs.

So, then we had a couple of days of FBI announcements that proved to be untrue, from having a suspect in custody (they didn't) to claims of anti-trans messaging on the shell casings (it wasn't). Law enforcement went from withholding all available information to eventually pleading for help from the locals. It wasn't until a nearby resident and his minister convinced his son to turn himself in that federal and local law enforcement had any degree of success. 

It turned out that this killer was just like so many of his predecessors: Male, white, straight, Christian, Conservative, gun enthusiasts. How very cliche. 

It turned out that this guy was a follower of Nick Fuentes (whose devotees are known as "groypers"), as evidenced by the groyper catch-phrases etched on some of the bullet casings. Groypers apparently had beef with Kirk followers after Kirk called for the Epstein files to be released. One can only conclude that this whole episode is inter-family MAGA on MAGA violence.

Many people thought this would calm the Right Wing fury raging through the nation, as evidenced by these memes:.. 

But that would be wrong... Because the Right never admits when they're wrong, nor do they accept blame for anything, ever, they began looking for angles to keep the blame on the Left. 

One angle was that by alleging that the killer's trans-female roommate, for some reason, radicalized him. The even funnier angle was blaming his one semester at a Utah state university, several years ago, for brainwashing him into a Radical Left activist. That's right... one semester, at a Utah university. Totally a hotbed of liberalism. It was either that or the trade school he's been attending since then. 

This is what it's come to: relying on their own cloistered echo-chamber to drum up believable lies for their followers to latch onto. This is one of the reasons why they spend so much time denigrating higher education: it makes a great instant scapegoat and requires no nuance or detail. Just blame college.

I think this, too, will eventually die down, and we'll go back to watching in horror as the current occupant destroys another sector of the country, the way his ICE-holes just did down in Georgia, costing them a multi-billion dollar factory. You have to hand it to him: he fucks with his own people just as badly as his opponents. 

He set up an apparatus where it only took one "concerned citizen" to report that there were a bunch of foreigners hanging around this building. No one bothered to research what was going on there, or they might have found that a team of South Koreans (our allies) was there to train Americans on battery production for a fabulous new business. But no, they just sent in the Gestapo to round up the ferners and treat them like war criminals. They were bound, bent over, humiliated, deprived of daylight, let alone liberty, all without due (or any) process. And then the asshole wants to be surprised when they refuse to come back.

Jesus H. Christ, these people are idiots. I'm starting to think that the best thing that can happen is that the government does get shut down at the end of the month. At least that might limit the damage they're doing to the country.

While I Was Out

I spent three of my last five posts on the rather selfish subject of my sudden retirement, so there’s been some news released that I’ve neglected to address. As someone who still reads a physical newspaper (the Baltimore Sun), it’s my habit to take a snapshot of any story with which I think I can add something, so it’s waiting for my on Posting Day. Given the delay on some of the stories, I apologize for the untimeliness. I’ll start with the most recent.

This was from Saturday and is so on-brand. It doesn’t have mortal implications, but it’s one more piece of evidence that the current administration doesn’t care a whit about average citizens, like those this original rule was supposed to help. The Administration basically said, “We can’t have airlines actually paying people back when they can’t deliver them to another destination safely and on time! Think of the poor stockholders… haven’t they enough? Let’s kill the refund policy! After all, it’s just another Biden handout. Huzzah!”

And people wonder why Republicans feel the need to rig elections.

I think this is the Big Story of the Week. We have our government blowing an unarmed boat out of the water because they say it was full of drug runners (and drugs, presumably.) This was the announcement from TFG along with a logical response:

First of all, there’s a zero percent chance that TFG wrote that message. He wouldn’t know “kinetic” from Connect Four. Also, it’s free of his usual self-aggrandizement.

Given their history, I have no reason to believe this was a boat full of drug smugglers. There is zero proof or evidence left of any kind, and these guys have a reputation for turning bold-faced lies into an art form. Hell, they probably set this all up on Signal. They say it was a drug thing, knowing most people are like, “Hell yeah, why not blow up some drug dealers?” It sounds good to the MAGAs at the bar. They love that kind of big-dick posturing.

But here’s what bothers me: I think they’re setting the stage for continued “drug-dealer” bombings. Once we’re used to such occurrences, every perceived sea-going adversary of TFG can be a target. Every Democratic donor, journalist, opponent, or rabble-rouser can be erased under the flimsiest of excuses. Sink them in the middle of the ocean or blow them out of the air on a trans-oceanic flight, and there would be no evidence left to the contrary. (OK, there may be evidence for a short time, but it could be scooped up by the Coast Guard or Navy, whose leaders, now having sworn fealty to the Orange Menace rather than the Constitution, can dispose of it right alongside bin Laden.)

So, keep an eye peeled for more of these “drug busts.” If I were Gavin Newsom, I wouldn’t get on a boat again until this guy self-aborts via coronary.

In another 100% on-brand moment, the Administration just killed a local wind-power project. These guys don’t want to hear the first thing about solar or wind energy, because the fossil fuel industries have them bought and paid for to the extent that they won’t even fly a kite without a gas-powered outboard motor on it. They’re still pushing fallacies like not functioning in the dark or when it’s not windy. (News flash: It’s ALWAYS windy over the water. In my 60-some years, I’ve never been to a beach that wasn’t breezy. We need to harness that.) It’s a tremendous opportunity that we’re intentionally squandering, probably right up until Exxon –Mobile and BP acquire enough solar and wind-power equipment to corner the market. Other countries are leaving us in the dust because of our unwillingness to adapt to a new truth: that oil is finite and it’s harming the planet. The only thing standing in the way is the companies that make billions the way things are now. They’ll never give that up until it’s forcibly taken from them, which will be difficult because once energy-conscious Democrats outnumber Republicans, they can just start buying off Democrats. (I’m sure they’ve started already.)

I’ve been saving this since July, so I know it’s old, but I just loved this. The Fed Chair totally called out TFG on his bullshit right in front of the press corps. The Stain on Humanity was complaining about a cost overrun on a new construction site (and trying to place the blame on the Fed, since nothing is ever his own fault.) Embattled Fed Chair Jerome Powell asked to look at the data (which TFG inexplicably had with him) and then pointed out that the cost to which he was referring included a building that was finished five years ago, thus making the original assertions laughably false.

I just can’t believe that his team sent him out there with actual data. I’m sure they learned from that to only give him bold-font bulleted points showing nothing but conclusions. It’s not like he cares about how the proverbial sausage is being made anyway; he just wants the sound bites with which to attack people he doesn’t like. No need for the details. Like always, if he needs data, he’ll just make it up. No paper trail that way. Bullshit politics made easy!

Dipping My Toes Into Retirement

I’ve been retired for a week and a half now. What’s it been like? It’s played out in two different scenarios so far: before our kitchen and bathroom remodel started, and after. The work started last Wednesday, one week after the day I got let go.

For that first week, it was just strange, bumping around at home, alone, without any particular thing to anchor me. Because I’m such a creature of habit and routine, I realized that I’d have to create some new ones; I just don’t know yet what they should be.

For example, weekday routine used to be easy… wake up at 7:00, listen to the radio to get news and weather until 7:30, get up and shower, pour my iced tea, get my peanut butter crackers, and log onto my work website. Then work until 11:30 (unless some dipshit schedules another lunchtime meeting because they’re on Central time), eat lunch, read the newspaper, do my crossword puzzles, and go back to work for the rest of the day.

Upon retirement, I can get up when I like (but have still been close to my usual time, between 7 and 8). But then, do I shower right away? Should I have my tea and crackers first over the newspaper? If I do the crosswords then, what will I do at lunch? (I’ve been doing crossword puzzles at lunch every day since 2005.)

I’ve given myself at least one job to do each day, so I’d have at least some sense of purpose and usefulness. In fact, when Sweetpea left a note asking me to go get her some gas in the gas can, I was like, “A quest! The Fair Maiden needs my help!  I shall go forth and return with a tankard of liquid fire!”

So I’ve had some things to do, I just haven’t worked out the order in which I should do them. I guess the shower time can float; if my Job of the Day involves yard work, it’s better to shower later. But I think it’s best if I start the day clean, lest I start to forget about it and degenerate into an unshaven, slovenly mess.

It’s also been very nice to reacquaint myself with the 3:00 nap! That’s always when the head bobs and mental fuzziness would kick in when I was working, so I’d have to fight off the temptation to sneak one in. And with Sweetpea coming home each day between 4:00 and 4:30, I’m guaranteed not to oversleep.

Once the work started on the renovation, it’s been a different kind of strange. I have to ensure I’m up and ready by the time the workers arrive, usually between 8:00 and 8:30. Then the rest of my day is mostly answering their occasional questions and staying out of their way. It’s always stressful when they want a decision on something, and I can’t collaborate with Sweetpea. As a schoolteacher, she never even looks at her phone at work, other than occasionally at lunch, so I know she’s out of reach. So I’ve had to make some decisions on the fly and then hope I guessed right.

The biggest problem is that with the sink and counters gone, there’s nowhere to prepare food or clean up afterward, other than the bathroom sink, which is woefully inadequate. So we’ve been relying on takeout, grilling, and microwaveable dishes. Eventually, they put the counters in, but without the countertop, which is a separate operation. So the space is blocked in, but still of no practical use.

As long as my brother remains retired, I hope we can start meeting up regularly for lunch. It’s good to be able to pick his brain about financial matters. He’s the CPA and MBA. I’m the one with the Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

My old friend “Sitcom” Kelly asked if I was interested in seeing the Orioles/Pirates game here in town next week, and I’m like, “Hell yeah! Got nothing but time on my hands!” Of course, it’s an evening game so I could have gone anyway. And I may still go to the Thursday game, which is at 1:30. I always like to go to one day game a year, or as I call them, “Ferris Bueller” games. Last time I went to one, I even caught a foul ball. Danke Shoen!

So I have to wait until all the work on the house is done and things settle down before I can feel like a retiree. Oh, and speaking of, if you’re 50+, have you joined AARP? They’ve been chasing me for almost 14 years now, and I’ve never joined. I’m just not sure I see the benefit. Yes, they offer discounts, but many places also offer senior discounts. And they lobby for seniors, but I’ll reap the benefit of that whether I join or not. So for $50 a year, I’ve been putting it off. How about you?

I also won’t be able to rest easy until my severance is in the bank and I have new medical coverage. Sweetpea should be able to put me on her plan, which is through Kaiser Permanente. It’s a good plan, but it means that I’ll have to give up all my current doctors, because they’re a self-contained unit with their own staff and facilities. That means a new PCP, cardiologist, and eye doctor for me. And lots of introductory appointments where they want tests I’ve already done and draw conclusions I already know. And don’t even get me started on Medicare, which I’ll have to engage next year around this time. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

But that’s life, I suppose. No one promised us an easy path. Life is more like a zig-a-zag.*

 

 

*That’s a reference to an old story my mom tells about my dad’s Italian grandfather, who was a tiny little man and already ancient back when I was a child. He was telling Mom about how he can’t go out anymore because all the ladies are after him.

Mom: How do you get away from them, Grandpa?

Grandpa: I run away.

Mom: But you can’t run very fast.

Grandpa: I zig-a-zag.