The only thing we have left in terms of reputable news outlets that report the truth are independently funded news, organizations, such as The American Prospect, MotherJones, The Progressive, etc. Even public television isn’t doing its job anymore, aside from some of the excellent Frontline documentaries. It’s an alarming and truly devastating trend that corporate, mainstream media is now abandoning us at one of the most critical times in US history. It disgusts me.
There are still some journalists & commentators with there spines & integrity intact but they seem to get squeezed out one by one, by the narcissists who now own most MSM.
Look at who owns the majority of the formerly reliable publication. NYT employs a few good journalists, and some of the worst toads in media. WaPo was fine when Marty Baron ran it, but once he retired, Bezos hired some terrible people who were a bad fit for the factual paper that continued to publish the "Pentagon Papers". Now he has hired Murdoch tabloid hatchet-men to finish the job (who by the way, are being investigated for covered up their illegal actions in the phone-hacking scandal.)
I am a Canadian who is very worried about your next election. Unfortunately big issues in the US have effects around the world good or bad. If US democracy goes down, I think we will see a domino effect around the world. Then we are all going to suffer. For the love of humanity please vote Blue.
I too watch what is going on around the world … the slow creep of right wing conservatism in both hemispheres. I’m trying to figure out what the grip, the attraction is, since countries all over are in the embrace already - but, I do feel we are the axis on which direction the world will tip. It’s scary since my parents and I immigrated to this country from tyranny to my life perhaps ending in tyranny? It sounds dramatic but it’s reality - and people need to fight it with their votes.
I really don’t understand the grip or attraction to right wing politics either. I don’t deny opinions can be complicated for people depending on your daily influences as you grow up, but sometimes I think it’s just laziness to be so ill informed about what is going on right now. We also have to think past the reality that large corporate owned media news organizations only care about profits, and not about facts. We have put in some work and then vote appropriately in whatever country you reside while we still can.
In Michigan there are only two large urban areas - Detroit, and my home, Grand Rapids. The rest is pretty white and rural. To me it seems like a close balance between progressives and conservatives. But we do have a Democratic governor and legislature, which shows that the balance can be tipped by enough blue spots mixed among the red. It will be close, I think, but I do agree that Biden will win it.
It's infuriating to watch the GOPP (Greed Over People Party) laud that they're the party of working people when they're exactly the opposite. As a former member of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) of 12 years, I don't remember any Republican supporting wage increases for union workers. Ever. In fact, they do everything in their power to bust unions or not allow unions to form at all. How this lie has gotten so out of control is 100% the lame-stream media's doing. Every union member I know, except for police union members, are voting for President Biden. Hopefully, when all is said and done, and the votes are counted, President Biden will win and be able to continue what he started, which is building our economy from the bottom up, not the top down. Trickle down economics has never worked and we all know it. Please vote ALL blue. 🇺🇲👍🇺🇲
My son is close to finishing his apprenticeship with IBEW union out in Portland, OR. He expects to be able to take his test in October to be licensed. Without President Biden in office, I doubt he would have been able to complete the required hours in the past 3 years. He has been steadily employed with so much work in the area due to the money coming in part from the federal government. Many of the bills passed when the Democrats controlled the House are benefiting so many union members. The only path forward for this country to continue recovering from the mess the Republicans alwasy leave behind is to re-elect Joe Biden and the Democrats!
Excellent analysis of that craziness about the Republicans claiming the working class. I really hope if trumpy starts bringing up things like this tomorrow night that President Biden says, “wait - let’s fact-check that statement, shall we?” I truly hope the mods are prepared to do so.
They’ve always been, and always will be. I’m glad to vote 💙 because of the hard working people in my life that depend on maturity and respect to function in any society (especially this one). Thank you for all you do.
On firearms, it is beyond nuts that we limit duck hunting guns to 3 rounds, for the sake of the waterfowl - get caught hunting with more than 3 rounds in the gun, it is confiscated and a fine is levied. But military style assault rifles? 30 rounds. Taping two loaded magazines together to quickly flip gives 60 rounds of semi-automatic firepower.
So, save the ducks and kill the children. Nuts.
The duck hunting gun regulations demonstrate that at least some guns can be controlled.
Why not register each firearm with paperwork that follows the gun, similar to vehicles. Collect fees and taxes at each transaction, even private sales, and the registration must always accompany the gun, like with vehicles. A Safety Education Surcharge of, say, $2,000 per gun should be applied to high capacity firearms, in order to fund military style training prior to ownership.
Thanks for the truth, though it is quite depressing. I am 79 and grew up when it was possible for parents to be middle class and send their kids to college, buy a home, a new car when needed, send their kids to camp in the summer and take vacations. Those days are over for many people now for all the reasons that you state Earl. " Such a life on such a planet." www.urantia.org
I remember when a Republican told me that Dubyah was for the “little guy.” That was your dad’s GOP. Cult45 is radically change the fabric of our American society.
The checks and balance function of the Fourth Estate has waned due, in part, to the demise of local newspapers and the spate of “citizen journalists” who clog the social media sphere with garbage.
It always cracked me up when people said George W Bush was for the working man since his first real job was as governor of Texas! He really did not have a steady job until then. So, he wasn't for the working man. That was just a talking point and along with his sweet southern drawl, he fooled a lot of people. Barf.
Thank you for screaming this from the rooftops, because Republicans claiming to be the party of the working class is like Trump claiming to be a stable genius. They are a bunch of perverted liars, and somehow the media are largely responsible for allowing this lie, and countless other ones, to be ingrained into the American psyche.
"It’s a false and dangerous GOP narrative that our failing national media are mindlessly repeating in an endless loop." Not just the national media. There's a cadre of independent centrist writers, some here on Substack, who have made a kind of cottage industry out of repeating this false narrative, too. I won't name any names here.
Thank you for writing this column. The insanity of the propaganda and its ability to have slowly but surely anesthetize our society is terrifying. We should all be in the streets and the Media should have our backs. This is our country, not an oligarchy.
Wow! This was so good I had to immediately go back to the beginning and read it again. The worst part is, as you say, the poor ignorant idiots who continue to vote for the slimeballs who are keeping them poor and aggrieved.
It is stunning to come to the realization in 2024 that most U.S media is now completely useless.
It's just terrible, Sam.
I don't recognize the business.
So terrible D. Earl!
As primarily a lifelong consumer of hard news, I don't recognize the business either.
The only thing we have left in terms of reputable news outlets that report the truth are independently funded news, organizations, such as The American Prospect, MotherJones, The Progressive, etc. Even public television isn’t doing its job anymore, aside from some of the excellent Frontline documentaries. It’s an alarming and truly devastating trend that corporate, mainstream media is now abandoning us at one of the most critical times in US history. It disgusts me.
There are still some journalists & commentators with there spines & integrity intact but they seem to get squeezed out one by one, by the narcissists who now own most MSM.
🎯Or they quit, disgusted with the way they are told to write.
Propublica and New Republic and the Guardian, sometimes.
Yes, all of those as well. There are several progressive publications, and I am grateful for each one of them.
Look at who owns the majority of the formerly reliable publication. NYT employs a few good journalists, and some of the worst toads in media. WaPo was fine when Marty Baron ran it, but once he retired, Bezos hired some terrible people who were a bad fit for the factual paper that continued to publish the "Pentagon Papers". Now he has hired Murdoch tabloid hatchet-men to finish the job (who by the way, are being investigated for covered up their illegal actions in the phone-hacking scandal.)
I am a Canadian who is very worried about your next election. Unfortunately big issues in the US have effects around the world good or bad. If US democracy goes down, I think we will see a domino effect around the world. Then we are all going to suffer. For the love of humanity please vote Blue.
I too watch what is going on around the world … the slow creep of right wing conservatism in both hemispheres. I’m trying to figure out what the grip, the attraction is, since countries all over are in the embrace already - but, I do feel we are the axis on which direction the world will tip. It’s scary since my parents and I immigrated to this country from tyranny to my life perhaps ending in tyranny? It sounds dramatic but it’s reality - and people need to fight it with their votes.
I really don’t understand the grip or attraction to right wing politics either. I don’t deny opinions can be complicated for people depending on your daily influences as you grow up, but sometimes I think it’s just laziness to be so ill informed about what is going on right now. We also have to think past the reality that large corporate owned media news organizations only care about profits, and not about facts. We have put in some work and then vote appropriately in whatever country you reside while we still can.
It's horrifying to watch the extreme right making such headway around the world. I too am very worried about how this all plays out...
Joe Biden was the first President to walk with the union members on the picket line.
Can’t help but wonder how many will remember that and vote for him.
Or have they swallowed the GOP’s lies?
I know that Shawn Fain, President of the UAW, has endorsed Biden, but how many will follow suit?
And why are the polls even close in Michigan??
Arggg.
Fain's an interesting and compelling guy.
Hard as it is, try not to pay attention to these damn polls, Lynn. I am absolutely positive Biden will win Michigan.
We need a poll that provides the percentage of phone surveyors who can hear Fox News playing in the background through the landlines being called.
In Michigan there are only two large urban areas - Detroit, and my home, Grand Rapids. The rest is pretty white and rural. To me it seems like a close balance between progressives and conservatives. But we do have a Democratic governor and legislature, which shows that the balance can be tipped by enough blue spots mixed among the red. It will be close, I think, but I do agree that Biden will win it.
It's infuriating to watch the GOPP (Greed Over People Party) laud that they're the party of working people when they're exactly the opposite. As a former member of IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) of 12 years, I don't remember any Republican supporting wage increases for union workers. Ever. In fact, they do everything in their power to bust unions or not allow unions to form at all. How this lie has gotten so out of control is 100% the lame-stream media's doing. Every union member I know, except for police union members, are voting for President Biden. Hopefully, when all is said and done, and the votes are counted, President Biden will win and be able to continue what he started, which is building our economy from the bottom up, not the top down. Trickle down economics has never worked and we all know it. Please vote ALL blue. 🇺🇲👍🇺🇲
Exactly the point, Megan. Thanks.
My son is close to finishing his apprenticeship with IBEW union out in Portland, OR. He expects to be able to take his test in October to be licensed. Without President Biden in office, I doubt he would have been able to complete the required hours in the past 3 years. He has been steadily employed with so much work in the area due to the money coming in part from the federal government. Many of the bills passed when the Democrats controlled the House are benefiting so many union members. The only path forward for this country to continue recovering from the mess the Republicans alwasy leave behind is to re-elect Joe Biden and the Democrats!
Hear hear! 👍
Yay for IBEW!
Excellent analysis of that craziness about the Republicans claiming the working class. I really hope if trumpy starts bringing up things like this tomorrow night that President Biden says, “wait - let’s fact-check that statement, shall we?” I truly hope the mods are prepared to do so.
Agree.
I want to like this 10 times!
Thanks for putting my frustrations into words. Let’s spread this message everywhere. So tired of the extreme BS at every turn.
Ditto!!!
They’ve always been, and always will be. I’m glad to vote 💙 because of the hard working people in my life that depend on maturity and respect to function in any society (especially this one). Thank you for all you do.
Brilliant article!
Thank you, Diane. I appreciate that.
Great piece, D. Earl.
On firearms, it is beyond nuts that we limit duck hunting guns to 3 rounds, for the sake of the waterfowl - get caught hunting with more than 3 rounds in the gun, it is confiscated and a fine is levied. But military style assault rifles? 30 rounds. Taping two loaded magazines together to quickly flip gives 60 rounds of semi-automatic firepower.
So, save the ducks and kill the children. Nuts.
The duck hunting gun regulations demonstrate that at least some guns can be controlled.
Why not register each firearm with paperwork that follows the gun, similar to vehicles. Collect fees and taxes at each transaction, even private sales, and the registration must always accompany the gun, like with vehicles. A Safety Education Surcharge of, say, $2,000 per gun should be applied to high capacity firearms, in order to fund military style training prior to ownership.
But no extra charges for ducks.
Thanks for the truth, though it is quite depressing. I am 79 and grew up when it was possible for parents to be middle class and send their kids to college, buy a home, a new car when needed, send their kids to camp in the summer and take vacations. Those days are over for many people now for all the reasons that you state Earl. " Such a life on such a planet." www.urantia.org
I remember when a Republican told me that Dubyah was for the “little guy.” That was your dad’s GOP. Cult45 is radically change the fabric of our American society.
The checks and balance function of the Fourth Estate has waned due, in part, to the demise of local newspapers and the spate of “citizen journalists” who clog the social media sphere with garbage.
The Internet changed everything, and you are 100 percent correct that the fall of our local newspapers has been absolutely devastating.
It always cracked me up when people said George W Bush was for the working man since his first real job was as governor of Texas! He really did not have a steady job until then. So, he wasn't for the working man. That was just a talking point and along with his sweet southern drawl, he fooled a lot of people. Barf.
Your dad was wrong. Republicans have not been “for the little guy” since Eisenhower. That’s not your Dad’s GOP, that’s your great granddad’s GOP.
I should say, Eisenhower or before. They’ve always been the party of moneyed interests.
Thank you for screaming this from the rooftops, because Republicans claiming to be the party of the working class is like Trump claiming to be a stable genius. They are a bunch of perverted liars, and somehow the media are largely responsible for allowing this lie, and countless other ones, to be ingrained into the American psyche.
They say it, so the media repeats it, Janet.
"It’s a false and dangerous GOP narrative that our failing national media are mindlessly repeating in an endless loop." Not just the national media. There's a cadre of independent centrist writers, some here on Substack, who have made a kind of cottage industry out of repeating this false narrative, too. I won't name any names here.
Independent writers, but not Independent thinkers apparently, Stephen.
Sadly, independent thinkers seem to be less common these days.
I reckon it's too much work.
I think you are right, for some it certainly is.
D. Earl Stephens well said. More people need to hear your message.
Thanks a million.
Thank you for writing this column. The insanity of the propaganda and its ability to have slowly but surely anesthetize our society is terrifying. We should all be in the streets and the Media should have our backs. This is our country, not an oligarchy.
Amen, Eileen.
Wow! This was so good I had to immediately go back to the beginning and read it again. The worst part is, as you say, the poor ignorant idiots who continue to vote for the slimeballs who are keeping them poor and aggrieved.
Thanks for (re)reading, Linda!