A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
New CDC data suggests Americans are living longer, with experts pointing to declining overdose deaths, improved cancer survival rates, and continued recovery from the COVID era. Family medicine physician Dr. Jessica Gray explains the latest longevity trends.
President-elect Trump's support for his Defense Secretary nominee may be teetering as Pete Hegseth's colleagues at Fox News say he frequently showed up drunk at work, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is working to gain influence in Trump's incoming administration, and Stephen looks into the wild details of an attempted coup by South Korea's president.
I think that Ron DeSantis becoming Secretary of Defense, like the nominations of Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr., to be a case of failing upwards. To be fair, it would also be like Pam Bondi replacing MattGaetz for Attorney General, an improvement, someone terrible but at least competent replacing someone terrible who also has no qualifications beyond loyalty. I'm sure I'll have more to say about all of them in the future.
In the meantime, I want to riff off of Stephen's final topic, which didn't make either the title or description, airline travel. I know what Delta One is like, as the final flight I took before the pandemic was first class flying Delta to the final in-person board meeting of the Coffee Party. That happened because I waited too long to book a flight, during which time the cost of a coach ticket rose to within $100 of a first-class seat. For $100 more, I flew first class. I have to admit, it spoiled me, although I got a blood clot in my leg, which wasn't diagnosed until I was hospitalized for diabetes, but that's a story for another day. ETA: I got confused yesterday because of having to rush out the door; the blood clot happened two years earlier. Flying first class was part of the solution to that problem.
As the official airline of Middle-earth, Air New Zealand has gone all out to celebrate the third and final film in The Hobbit Trilogy - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Starring Elijah Wood and Sir Peter Jackson; we're thrilled to unveil The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made. #airnzhobbit
Special cameos by Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman and Weta Workshop co-founder Sir Richard Taylor. Directed by Taika Waititi.
Check out the Air New Zealand Facebook page to see behind the scenes pics from ‘The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made’ and see firsthand Hollywood stars on the set of Middle-earth including Elijah Wood, Sylvester McCoy, Dean O’Gorman, John Rhys-Davies (as Gimli) and New Zealand’s own Sir Peter Jackson.
As Sir Peter said, "That's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed it."
All the statistics about how crime in general has declined reminds me that I have three videos on the subject to share. I'll get to them in future posts.
Trump called the RNC host city of Milwaukee a horrible place and is now trying to pass the insult off as a concern about crime. Jon Stewart digs into the Right's fearmongering obsession: crime in big cities. Republicans want you to believe that "lawless" Democrats are to blame, but when it comes to Democrat-run city crime, it turns out the guns are coming from red states.
As I wrote when I reused this image in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 1, "Jailbirds of a feather flock together." Before Joe Biden dropped out, he called Hoover Cleveland a one-man crime wave. It makes me glad that former prosecutor Kamala Harris is running instead. The prosecutor versus the felon!
As an aside, Hoover Cleveland's impression of gunfire reminds me that I still think he sounds like Crazy Frog when he goes "bing, bing."
Finally, the crime stats show violent crime is indeed down after spiking during the pandemic, which happened when Hoover Cleveland was President, but the crime rhetoric from the Right continues. "Fvck the facts," indeed. I have two more videos that examine that phenomenon I'm saving for future posts, so stay tuned.
Stephen recaps the drama that followed the jury's verdict in Donald Trump's election interference trial, the former president claimed he never used the phrase "lock her up" in reference to Hillary Clinton, and former Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch has tied the knot with his fifth wife.
"[J]ail to the chief" is a great line, but it's going to be a while. I expect he'll be sentenced to house arrest in Trump Tower with the Secret Service as his guards, at least for this set of crimes.
I stand by that prediction with the possible addition of $170,000 in fines, $5,000 for each conviction, although Jimmy K's desire for community service to be part of the sentence would work for me, too.
I'll have more on his potential sentence over the jump.
Jon Stewart breaks down the response to Trump's guilty verdict from Joe Biden and the media, as well as the GOP's vow for revenge and hypocritical complaint about Democrats pursuing "political prosecutions." Plus, Jon pleads with the media to act a little more like the court system and examine evidence and reach conclusions, instead of wildly speculating on future realities.
*Snork* I'm a biologist, so I appreciated the Bonobos reference. It was funnier than Banana Republic — more projection!
Follow over the jump for two bonus clips from Stephen's show last night.
Former FOX News host Tucker Carlson is relaunching his show on Twitter, which he announced in a three minute video posted to his account.
I should have figured that Fox News was still paying Carlson as long as he complied with the non-compete clause in his contract. I should have also figured out that Carlson, who is not only the son of a former head of the Voice of America, but also the stepson of Patricia Swanson, an heiress to the Swanson TV dinner company her grandfather Carl Swanson founded, might not be motivated enough by the money to stay "off the air." Technically speaking, neither cable nor the Internet are "on the air" the way broadcast radio and television are, but there isn't a better expression. Instead, he wants to be heard and seen by his audience and affect current events. Some things are more important than money.
Yahoo Finance Live's Julie Hyman and Brad Smith report on NBCUniversal's Linda Yaccarino in talks to be named Twitter's new CEO, Elon Musk transitioning to CTO, and how this will impact Twitter.
CNBC's Julia Boorstin joins 'Squawk on the Street' to report on the latest news.
At least Musk found someone who has the skills to reverse Twitter's weakness among advertisers. Just the same, the jury's out, as it was when I last commented on his ownership in 'SNL' shares scary news for Halloween 2022.
'SNL' shares Easter wishes in its cold open included a Weekend Update clip about Elon Musk buying Twitter, but I haven't said anything about since because I wasn't sure it would happen and I wanted to see how would work out if it did. It has and so far I'm not positively impressed. I'm not surprised about that, either.
My opinion hasn't changed in the six months since.
As for Carlson's announced show on Twitter, I hope it will have the same result as Donald Trump returning to Facebook and Twitter, a reversal of his 2021bans: "I think it will work out as well as reopening JurassicPark, a spectacular and entertaining disaster."
Stephen unlocks clues to the mystery of Tucker Carlson’s firing and the ratings fallout that ensued, and looks at reactions to the Florida governor’s trip overseas.
Colbert's audience cheered nearly as loud for Carlson's firing as when he told them about Trump's indictment. LOL, show the viewers what you really think. Speaking of which, hearing that "Russian state media," specifically Russia Today, publicly offered Carlson a job shouldn't have surprised me, but it did. I didn't think they would be that brazen, but they were. As I wrote more than a decade ago, "Russia Today loves to broadcast dissenting American voices" and Carlson qualifies. The only problem is that Russia Today is blocked in the U.S., so Carlson won't be reaching his target (pun intended) audience. Ah, too bad.
Seth takes a closer look at Fox News reportedly being gripped by paranoia and fear as on-air personalities worry they could be next to go after last week's surprise ouster of Tucker Carlson.
I used to enjoy watching Maria Bartiromo on CNBC during the early 2000s, so it pains me to see what's she's become now. I miss that version of her. On the other hand, I prefer watching comedians do impressions of Jeanine Pirro. If she goes off the air, I won't miss her, just laughing at her.
Meyers is right about the contrast between Biden and the Republicans; he has to re-use a couple of clips while the Republicans create new material all the time. Speaking of which, he had fun with DeSantis's bobblehead and deer-in-the-headlights reaction to falling behind Donald Trump in the polls, although he resisted the obvious Disney reference. Maybe he should have made one for Universal Studios, who is his employer.
Stephen shares some thoughts on what could be ahead for The Late Show and peeks into the future for news stories that might come across his desk in the coming weeks.
We'll see if those predictions come true, but it will be a while before we hear jokes about them from Colbert, Meyers, or any of the rest of the late-night talk-show hosts, because the writers are now on strike. That means no more comedy posts about the news (unless the hosts are guests on news shows) and no more "Saturday Night Live" highlights on Sunday until the strike is resolved. Darn. I'll figure out something else for the Sunday entertainment feature. In the meantime, stay tuned for Star Wars Day, Cinco De Mayo, and Revenge of the Sixth. I love holidays!
Seth takes a closer look at reports of Fox News' dossier of alleged dirt on Tucker Carlson amid its messy separation from the recently ousted host.
The top two comments quoted key lines of the skit: "Whenever something major happens involving Fox News, the last people to find out about it are the people who watch Fox News" and "If you're an employer collecting dirt on an employee but you're not doing anything about it unless you need it for revenge, that speaks badly of them and of you." Exactly.
Seth takes a closer look at Tucker Carlson's messy exit from Fox News as more revelations and speculation about what led to his ouster emerge.
Looks like we still don't really know why Fox News fired Tucker and this won't be the last we'll hear from him. If his non-compete clause allows it, he might go to Newsmax and have a lot of his audience follow him. If so, it might be time for a Newsmax label. Stay tuned.
Seth takes a closer look at Fox News abruptly cutting ties with Tucker Carlson less than a week after a massive settlement over the Dominion Voting Systems defamation suit.
Tucker Carlson’s reign as the top rated primetime host in cable news came to an abrupt and embarrassing end some say when Fox announced that the two had “agreed to part ways” and thanked him for his service to the network on Monday. Tucker Carlson has officially achieved something that some say no one else in the media industry can claim: being let go by all three major cable news networks. Joy Reid and her panel discuss.
On the one hand, Carlson being let go by all three cable news channels deserves a recycled meme.
On the other, the comparison of Carlson to Father Coughlin reminds me that I have never mentioned him here, but I have elsewhere. An entry from my LiveJournal included his church.
National Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak, Michigan
Our last Michigan destination, the National Shrine of the Little Flower, boasts a rich yet complicated history in the metropolitan Detroit area. Located at the northwest corner of Twelve Mile and Woodward Avenue, the instantly recognizable structure and its fascinating history are well worth a look.
This is an absolutely stunning structure and it lies almost halfway between the other two houses of worship in this article. However, its history is inextricably tied up with Father Coughlin, a forerunner of Rush Limbaugh who was a notorious radio demagogue, fascist sympathizer, and anti-Semite. I can never see the building and have a completely appreciative reaction.
I moved down the street from it the next year, which I mentioned in a comment to Down the Memory Hole at Kunstler's blog in 2014.
“The whole story vanished from the news media like the legendary D.B. Cooper — anyone remember him?”
There used to be a bar named after him just a mile away from me. I saw that and smiled that some criminal from the 1970s who got away with a backpack full of money was still remembered. This year, they changed the name of the place. It’s now “The Pour House.” I think they have an idea of what’s coming. We’re all headed to the pour (poor) house.
By the way, a mile in the other direction is Father Coughlin’s old church. If you remember Father Coughlin, he was the spiritual ancestor of Rush Limbaugh. To this day, the friends of mine who claim to be psychic get the chills when they drive by the building.
Impaler, with friends like you, the legacy of Father Coughlin hardly needs enemies.
As for my not being able to tell conservatives apart, I was a Republican for 22 years. I have lots of practice distinguishing the varieties of people on the American Right.
I've since moved away from the National Shrine (now Basilica) of the Little Flower and stopped reading and commenting at Kunstler's blog. I don't miss either, just like I won't miss Carlson. Good riddance!
Happy Flashback Friday! As I quoted "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in Fox and Dominion settle — silly to serious reactions from Colbert, CNN, and MSNBC, "After settling with Dominion for $787.5 million, Fox News will not have to acknowledge its election lies on the air." I found that disappointing, commenting that "This is probably the best outcome both companies could have achieved — Dominion gets the money while Fox doesn't have to publicly retract its statements on air — but not a good result for truth or democracy. Unfortunately, neither truth nor democracy are parties to the suit." However, not all entertainment value has been lost, as Colbert and his writers and editors created An Apology From Fox News.
The settlement in Fox’s defamation lawsuit doesn’t require them to apologize on their network, so Stephen makes them apologize on The Late Show! Elsewhere, the former president’s new NFT collection is out of this world, and the Iowa state senate passed a bill loosening restrictions on child labor.
Fox News didn't have to apologize, so "The Late Show" crew did it for them. It's the next best thing to the real thing, and I'll take it. Also, I hope CBS and the show submits this clip to the Television Academy for an editing nomination at the Emmys. The show deserves it.
Despite 'SNL' snickering at Trump's NFTs last December, he decided that they were enough of a money-maker that he issued some more. I think they're just as silly the second time around and so did Colbert and his audience.
I think relaxing child labor laws is not a good way to deal with a laborshortage. I prefer raising wages and improving working conditions so more adults will return to the workforce. Instead, Iowa has joined Arkansas and several other states in permitting teens to work more. I find that worrisome and a reversal of a century of progress.
I suppose I'll get to the coronation of King Charles III in a future post, but I'd rather have my readers follow me over the jump for a retrospective about all the political posts from the back catalog I haven't already covered.
After settling with Dominion for $787.5 million, Fox News will not have to acknowledge its election lies on the air. Elsewhere, Florida’s governor won’t stop attacking his state’s biggest employer, and New York congressman George Santos launched fundraising efforts for his re-election campaign.
CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota, who previously worked at Fox News for 16 years, weighs in on the settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, explaining why she thinks Fox received the "best outcome" it could have hoped for.
This is probably the best outcome both companies could have achieved — Dominion gets the money while Fox doesn't have to publicly retract its statements on air — but not a good result for truth or democracy. Unfortunately, neither truth nor democracy are parties to the suit.
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon, the parties announced, narrowly heading off a trial shortly after the jury was sworn in. The Morning Joe panel discusses.
I've been in a defamation suit before and found that Cevallos is right the hard way; defamation claims are almost impossible to prove, trials are best avoided, and many potential defendants are essentially judgment-proof. So while I'm a bit disappointed that the case settled, I'm not surprised. Also, this is only the first legal action to reach a resolution; there are more to come, so Fox will likely pay out a lot more money, even if it never ends up making a retraction on air.
Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787.5 million settlement agreement Tuesday afternoon. The Morning Joe panel discusses the outcome.
Like the CNN panel, Scarborough connected the suit to both the Big Lie and to January 6th. Fox News' lies not only harmed democracy and the truth, they led the participants in the failed coup attempt to harm themselves. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for them.
I have a brief retrospective planned for 4/20 on Throwback Thursday tomorrow. Stay tuned.
*I need to follow up on DeSantis's reaction to Disney subverting DeSantis's replacement for the Reedy Creek Improvement District, Disney World's own government; he's making himself look even worse while getting liberals to side with a big corporation. Nice trick, but not the one he's trying to pull. Finally, my prediction that, as long as GeorgeSantos remains in the news, he will be an inspiration for comedy continues to come true.
We made Desi Lydic watch Fox News and chug Logan Paul's energy drink for six days straight so she could explain what's really going on with Trump's indictment.
Thank you, Desi, for watching Fox News so the rest of us don't have to.
The most read entry about January 6th during the blogging year just ended did not feature Colbert. Instead it was Desi Lydic, an Emmy-nominated performer, Foxsplains the January 6th Committee Hearings, written on August 8, 2022. It was the number one post of August 2022, earning ~1,860 default and 2,114 raw page views that month after I shared it at the Coffee Party USA Facebook page. It continued gaining page views, ending calendar year 2022 with ~2,110 default and 2,201 raw page views, and blogging year twelve with the same ~2,110 default but 2,228 raw page views, good enough to rank fifth according to default page views, sixth among entries posted during the previous blogging year and seventh overall accoring to raw page views. It was also one of three pins from the current blogging year saved during September 2022. Look for me to recycle this paragraph when I write about top posts covering awards shows.
It was also the most read entry about awards show nominations. I like posts that do double duty!
Follow over the jump for a retrospective about the rest of last year's most read entries about awards shows.
Seth takes a closer look at the Republican Party going all in on the pathetic claim that Silicon Valley Bank collapsed because it was "woke," while they also desperately try to prop up Ron DeSantis with glowing profiles and easy interviews on Fox News.
[B]laming [economic] problems on liberal social policy looks like changing the rationale for attacking the same targets the GOP is aiming at already. They're more interested in beating up on the recipients of their ire than actually solving the problems.
Seth takes a closer look at the Biden administration trying to stem the fallout from the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which has put a spotlight on efforts by the Trump administration to weaken financial rules that could have prevented the crisis.
"Oh, no, our economic policies couldn't have caused an economic crisis. Our opponents' social policies had to." When all a party has is culture war, then every issue becomes part of the culture war, even when social policy has nothing to do with it. It's enough to drive one to drink, but I usually save that for St. Patrick's Day. Stay tuned.
Tucker Carlson is admired by white nationalists, elected officials, and maybe some of your relatives or coworkers. Given that he has the ear of so many Americans, John Oliver explains where Tucker came from, what his rhetorical tactics are, and what he represents.
I hadn't watched this before today and I'm struck by how well this segment holds up and how consistent Carlson has been about whitewashing the January 6th insurrectionists. I'm also struck by how well Carlson has learned the wrong lessons from other right-wing media figures. MSNBC's Chris Hayes examined one such lesson in The Tucker Carlson villain origin story.
Chris Hayes: “That video right there—Tucker getting booed at CPAC—might as well be his villain origin story.”
I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities. My experience has convinced me that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment." I'm also recycling what I wrote yesterday: "Telling the Fox News audience a truth they didn't want to hear messed with their entertainment, they reacted to get it back, and Fox gave it back to them."
The clip Hayes showed of the 2009 CPAC audience booing Carlson showed that was true even before he was on Fox News. Some things haven't changed other than to become worse.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Tucker Carlson releasing edited footage from the January 6 capitol attack.
Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (Molly Kearney) stops by Weekend Update to address getting caught commenting and liking on gay thirst traps on Instagram.
The Dominion lawsuit against Fox News has revealed that Tucker Carlson publicly supported the former president while privately despising him. Elsewhere, Oklahomans rejected an effort to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
Seth takes a closer look at new bombshell text messages that reveal what Fox News hosts like Tucker Carlson really say about Trump in private.
Both Colbert and Meyers pointed out Carlson's hypocrisy. They also reinforced a point I've been making since 2012, when I posted Projection is the Right's favorite defense mechanism. Fox News is and was doing exactly what it accused its competition of being and doing, a major media company lying to its viewers.
Tucker Carlson used the Jan 6th footage he got from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to cherry-pick innocuous clips in an attempt to rewrite what we all saw happen with our own eyes that day. Elsewhere, federal authorities arrested their 1000th insurrectionist, and failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake may be the former president’s running mate in 2024.
I must not leave out Kevin "Pickled Tongue" McCarthy's role in making Carlson's whitewashing of January 6th possible, which even Mitch McConnell objected to. He's certainly living down to my nickname for him.
BTW, your comment reminds me that I should post John Oliver's video about [Carlson]. Also, did you know that his dad was head of the Voice of America during the closing years of the Cold War? Broadcasting propaganda runs in the family.
That's part one of the Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned for the highlights of last night's "Saturday Night Live" episode, which will serve as part two.
The hosts of Fox & Friends (Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang) discuss the news that Fox News is being sued for lying to viewers about the 2020 election.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the House Ethics Committee opening an investigation into George Santos.
I think The Former Guy attacking Ron DeSantis over Social Security and Medicare is an example of a stuck clock (and is TFG ever a stuck clock!) being right twice a day. Other than that, I'll let the following meme express my opinion of the spat.
Weekend Update had more about Scott Adams and Dilbert, which I'll get to over the jump.
Fox News chairman Rupert Murdoch admitted under oath that election lies were knowingly endorsed by hosts including Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo. Elsewhere, Florida’s governor released an exceptionally stupid book, and the feds finally caught up with a costumed Jan 6 insurrectionist.
I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities. My experience has convinced me that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment." I'm also recycling what I wrote yesterday: "Telling the Fox News audience a truth they didn't want to hear messed with their entertainment, they reacted to get it back, and Fox gave it back to them." That turned out to be "good business" in the short term, but the lawsuit shows that might not have been such a smart decision in the longer term.
Stephen gave Ron DeSantis's book exactly the respect it deserved — none. I think his response to DeSantis calling Florida a "beachhead of sanity" "where woke ideology goes to die" is right on: "Florida is a madhouse of doubtful sanity where everyone goes to die." Well, everyone except those who retire to Arizona. As I wrote last year, "Colbert calling Arizona 'America's backup Florida' isn't far off. There are lots of snowbirds and retirees there, just like Florida."
Seth takes a closer look at Fox News barring its own anchors from covering a billion-dollar lawsuit against the company that revealed their on-air personalities knowingly lied to viewers about the 2020 election.
Watching and listening to this sketch reminds me of two of my favorite and oldest points. First, as I wrote more than a decade ago, projection is the Right's favorite defense mechanism. Fox News is and was doing exactly what it accused its competition of being and doing, a major media company lying to its viewers. As the meme says:
Second, as I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities. My experience has convinced me that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment." Telling the Fox News audience a truth they didn't want to hear messed with their entertainment, they reacted to get it back, and Fox gave it back to them.
Considering I've been making both points for more than a decade, I'm surprised it took this long for me to put both of them together. I guess it was inevitable. It just took the right story, pun intended.
This ends February's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of March.
On this week’s podcast, Jon is joined by writers Jay Jurden and Robby Slowik, who break down the revelations contained in the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News filing. They talk about how Fox is even worse than everyone suspected, the time Jon sat down with Roger Ailes, and what Fox News has in common with “The Last of Us.”
I like the conceit of calling Fox News "news product" — it looks and sounds like news, but it isn't really. Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University, stated what it really is in this tweet.
Though it is styled as one, Fox is not a news organization. And it's not opinion, either. It is something else: Power formation by means of resentment news.
But it doesn't always work. The crowd seethes back when the machine miscalculates, generating its own kind of power. 14/
This adds another layer to Jon's comparison of the Fox News audience to the fungus-infected fast zombies of "The Last of Us." This incident shows that Fox News lost control of the movement they helped create; it has its own agenda. That's not a new insight, as the election of The Former Guy and his continued popularity showed this happened to the Republican Party because a plurality of Republican voters revolted against the party's leadership, which proved to be too weak to fight them and TFG. The politicians couldn't control the movement, either.* Jay Rosen pointed that out in his next tweet.
Both the Republican Party and Murdoch's fear-and-lothing machine know they cannot control the core audience for commercialized resentment and white nationalism, which will turn on anyone who interferes in the free exercise of its many hatreds. 15/
As I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities. My experience has convinced me that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainment." Telling the Fox News audience a truth they didn't want to hear messed with their entertainment and they reacted to get it back.
Thanks to the Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News filing, we now know what we’ve always believed is true: Fox News will do or say anything to retain their power, even if it means lying – over and over and over again – to their viewers. The question is, will they ever be held accountable? We’re joined this week by RonNell Anderson Jones, Professor of Law at the University of Utah, for a lively discussion about defamation law and the possibility that Fox News might actually have to face the music.
After listening to this conversation, I think Fox News will likely go over a cliff, but it won't be the cliff its critics, including Jon Stewart, hope it falls off. Will they lose the case? Most likely, but not certainly for reasons I described two years ago.
Even if the judge or more likely a jury holds Fox News liable, the damage will almost certainly not end Fox News, not even wound it like another legal action did Alex Jones. There is a market for what Fox News and its competitors like Newsmax are selling, and outlets will keep providing it as long as it's still profitable. The challenge is how to make it unprofitable. I don't know how to do that. Do any of you have any ideas?
*A fellow guest at a party I attended in the summer of 2016 asked me how we got TFG and Hillary Clinton as nominees. I told him that the parties got the nominees they deserved. The Republicans got TFG because the party was too weak and the Democrats got Hillary Clinton because the party was too strong. He laughed ruefully and asked if the American people deserved the nominees. I told him that was another matter entirely.
