Flickr/Gage Skidmore If you look at poll results saying that most Republicans think Barack Obama is a Kenyan Muslim enacting a secret plan to destroy America and think, “What the hell is wrong with these people?”, you have to understand that it gets reinforced day after day after day by media sources they believe to […]
Media
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
The Absurdity of Asking Whether Hillary Clinton Can ‘Satisfy Her Critics’
If you watched or read the coverage of Hillary Clinton’s press conference yesterday, there’s a phrase you heard, in one variation or another, over and over. “Clinton’s email explanation won’t placate critics,” said the AP. “Her defense…is unlikely to satisfy her critics or stop the questions,” said The Washington Post. Democrats, said National Journal, “worry […]
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
The Conservative Information Bubble Lives On, Stoked By Juiced Fox News Polls
View image | gettyimages.com After the debacle of 2012, in which conservatives at all levels were gobsmacked that Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney, some of them began to question the information bubble in which they had ensconced themselves. It’s reassuring to think that everything is always going your way, but does it really serve you […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Netanyahu’s Campaign Road Show Comes to Washington
The Israeli prime minister didn’t offer an Iran policy to Congress. He offered dread and overconfidence to Israel voters.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Christie Blusters His Way Through CPAC Appearance
Posted by guest-blogger Rachel M. Cohen. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wasn’t going to let something like record-low approval ratings get him down as he took the stage Thursday afternoon at CPAC’s annual gathering in National Harbor, Maryland. Exuding that Sopranos-style confidence that’s earned him notoriety, Christie, sitting on the CPAC stage for an interview […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Why It’s a Good Thing GOP Debates Will Be Moderated by Conservatives
View image | gettyimages.com In August 2013, the RNC said it was considering having its 2016 presidential primary debates moderated not by some blow-dried, vacuous, allegedly-objective-but-actually-liberal TV news personalities, but by its own blow-dried, vacuous, openly conservative personalities. At the time, many liberals ridiculed the idea as yet another example of the closed right-wing information […]
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Bill O’Reilly Is Not Going Anywhere, You Far-Left Pinheads
View image | gettyimages.com Bill O’Reilly suffers from the same malady as Brian Williams: a tendency to embellish stories of the dangers and horrors he has faced as a journalist (though in O’Reilly’s case, his career as a journalist was brief, before he discovered his true calling). They may have had a slightly different motivation; […]
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Photo of the Day, Flying Kick Edition
View image | gettyimages.com A Shaolin monk demonstrates his flying side kick on a visit to London. What does this have to do with American politics? Think of it as a metaphor. The monk represents one thing, his target off-camera another thing, and the red doors behind him yet another thing. You fill in the […]
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Beyoncé Misses the Point of What Gospel Music Means to Black Americans
The selection of Queen Bey to deliver a song identified with Mahalia Jackson ignored the importance of spiritual conveyance in the music that moved a people to action.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Photo of the Day, Media Edition
View image | gettyimages.com New York Times media columnist David Carr, speaking at an event yesterday. He died later that evening after collapsing in the Times newsroom.