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Politics 2016 (election edition)

lost highway

By lost highway,
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KevinG

KevinG

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this whole Russian thing (and the whole Trump thing in general) proves to me the GOP is more about staying in power then actually abiding by principals and working for the American people.

 

At times like these I really wish Hixter hadn't run off.  I generally saw him as a true conservative.  I wonder what he thinks of what Trump is doing right now.  Heck I would take a chime in form Doctor B. 

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Winston Legthigh

Winston Legthigh

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A Trump presidency is the final nail in the coffin of journalism.    

That statement seems to be sensationalistic and a crude exaggeration. If only there were a term to encapsulate that notion... Hmm. Yellow Journalism?

 

If good journalism survived the period of yellow journalism in the late 19th century, it will survive the Trump presidency. 

 

Let's not be so quick to announce journalism's demise.

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John Smith

John Smith

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Long before the election I had a conversation with a friend who believes himself to be a serious conservative claiming not to be into any of the conspiracy theories etc... (his FB page and the words that flow out of his mouth betray him though). Anyhow the crux of the conversation was what he wanted in a president. His main concerns were that the president be committed to reducing the deficit and the debt. His next item was that the president be committed to the constitution as it is written, including making congress stay out of the affairs of business (guess he missed class the day they discussed article 1, section 8). Next he wanted a president who he felt didn't act better than the he people who elected him and was less imperial than Obama.

 

He's very happy with Trump, and feels he has got everything he wants in a president. Turns out that he really just wanted someone with R next to his name on the ballot.

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Winston Legthigh

Winston Legthigh

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Next he wanted a president who he felt didn't act better than the he people who elected him.

 

What a strange notion. 

Isn't a leader, by definition, someone who you would want to "act better" (I'm not sure what that means - in a play? on the playground? Is Obama uppity?) than the plebs whom he leads?

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John Smith

John Smith

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What a strange notion.

Isn't a leader, by definition, someone who you would want to "act better" (I'm not sure what that means - in a play? on the playground? Is Obama uppity?) than the plebs whom he leads?

Of course you want someone who is smarter and more experienced than you. This guy just lived through eight years of hell and the worst period in American history (his words) and was tired of the know it all in the White House acting like an emperor.

 

I guess I was too subtle in what I wrote. The point being that he's getting nothing from his essential

Presidential punch list, in fact he's getting the opposite of everything he demanded except fir that all important party affiliation.

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Winston Legthigh

Winston Legthigh

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Of course you want someone who is smarter and more experienced than you. This guy just lived through eight years of hell and the worst period in American history (his words) and was tired of the know it all in the White House acting like an emperor.

 

I guess I was too subtle in what I wrote. The point being that he's getting nothing from his essential

Presidential punch list, in fact he's getting the opposite of everything he demanded except fir that all important party affiliation.

Well, he's definitely getting someone who isn't better than the people who voted for him. CHECK.

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tinnitus photography

tinnitus photography

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That statement seems to be sensationalistic and a crude exaggeration. If only there were a term to encapsulate that notion... Hmm. Yellow Journalism?

 

If good journalism survived the period of yellow journalism in the late 19th century, it will survive the Trump presidency. 

 

Let's not be so quick to announce journalism's demise.

two real concerns of mine....

 

i can't find the attribution, but a sizable chunk of people get their news from Facebook. and we all know how well those stories are vetted. also, the slowly decaying institution that is print media is also the best one to read longform, critical pieces. yeah, you can put them up on the web too, but no one wants to pay for a web subscription and a lot of people (including me) use web ad blockers. not a good situation to pay journalists a decent wage.

 

so the infowars and breitbarts and more odious sites fuel the thoughts and beliefs of the right, and i see that spiral getting tighter. journalism does have an inherent human bias, but at least the outlets that are branded the liberal media hew more tightly to the established norms of fact-checking.

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KevinG

KevinG

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That statement seems to be sensationalistic and a crude exaggeration. If only there were a term to encapsulate that notion... Hmm. Yellow Journalism?

 

If good journalism survived the period of yellow journalism in the late 19th century, it will survive the Trump presidency. 

 

Let's not be so quick to announce journalism's demise.

 

The main difference between the Yellow Journalism of the late 19th / early 20th centuries and today is that the only place people really go their news was from newspapers.  And the publishers themselves made a effort to get better.  But now, with declining sales, people do not get their news from papers any more.  Furthermore most people get their news from the internet, where traffic and revenue is driving by clicks, rather then content.  A long expose on the failings of a Trump administration and its ties to the Russian government, simply are not going to get as many hits as the latest Kim Kardaishian side boob.  There is no desire of our nation, nor the people producing content to get better, to make journalism better.  

 

Furthermore, back in the late 19th century we didn't have William McKinley or TR regularly attacking journalists and media outlets.  We did not have PEOTUS surround himself with people who regularly believed and perpetuated half truths and lies.  And we did not have have PEOTUS who was capable of spreading lies to millions and not be held accountable by the media.  Look at the Trump's "millions of illegal voters" tweet.  A complete lie.  Sure the media pressed his surrogate on it, but it was quickly dropped.  Mainly because people just really don't care.  

 

Sure, there will be some good journalism done in the next 4 years, but the general public will ignore it, and half the people that do read it will see it as false and as an attack on Trump, further emboldening their set beliefs.

 

So, I don't see it as a crude exaggeration, or sensationalistic.  We live in a time where truth does not matter, where media is criticized for doing their job, and the economics of journalism do not foster an environment to actually report and investigate.  The days of Woodward and Bernstein are gone, now we live in an era of Brietbart and O'Keefe.

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lost highway

lost highway

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His main concerns were that the president be committed to reducing the deficit and the debt. 

 

You have to wonder when those folks will realize that cutting taxes and increasing military spending have failed in this respect multiple times. It is a succinct description of the Trump platform "Less taxes!  More tanks!  Balanced budget........?"

 

I also like how oblivious they are to the shrinking deficit under Obama.

And holy shit:

 

Trump Taps Rick Perry as Secretary for the Department He Once Forgot

 

This is not a Swiftian satire people, this is real.  It's actually happening.

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John Smith

John Smith

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And holy shit:

 

Trump Taps Rick Perry as Secretary for the Department He Once Forgot

 

This is not a Swiftian satire people, this is real. It's actually happening.

I honestly don't think Trumps thought process went beyond...he does not offend me, Texas has oil, oil is energy...therefore he would make a great head of the department of energy. I honestly don't think he has any idea or really cares what the DOE actually does.

 

The cynic in me thinks that Trump and the Republicans are installing/going to install all of these eminently unqualified people for the purpose of dismantling as much of the government as they can. Remove regulations. Run each area in a manner that proved government does not work etc... get that government in her bathtub and drown it. that way Trump has time to devote himself to enriching himself via the office of the president.

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jff

jff

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The cynic in me thinks that Trump and the Republicans are installing/going to install all of these eminently unqualified people for the purpose of dismantling as much of the government as they can. Remove regulations. Run each area in a manner that proved government does not work etc... get that government in her bathtub and drown it. that way Trump has time to devote himself to enriching himself via the office of the president.

 

Quiet, you're getting Grover Norquist aroused.

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Doug C

Doug C

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"You know, I'm, like, a smart person".

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lost highway

lost highway

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The cynic in me thinks that Trump and the Republicans are installing/going to install all of these eminently unqualified people for the purpose of dismantling as much of the government as they can. Remove regulations. Run each area in a manner that proved government does not work etc... get that government in her bathtub and drown it. that way Trump has time to devote himself to enriching himself via the office of the president.

A better-read friend of mine referred to Trump as a mercantilist. I looked up mercantilism- seemed about right.

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Doug C

Doug C

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These deserve to be asked of, and answered by, the president-elect:

 http://www.npr.org/2016/12/15/505630205/6-questions-we-would-have-asked-donald-trump-at-his-canceled-press-conference

 

"6 Questions we would have asked Donald Trump at his canceled press conference".

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KevinG

KevinG

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Remember when it was an issue when Clinton was criticized for not having Press Conferences?  Or how about when there was just the hint of Clinton using her position as Sec of State to get money for her charitable organization?  Or what about when she was too close to banks and gave a speech at Goldman Sachs?  Man it seem like everything Trump used to disparage Clinton during the campaign he is now doing as PEOTUS (but to a greater and an actual extent.)

 

I have said it before, but for anyone who voted Trump, you are a sucker.  You have been fooled by the greatest con man in history.  And America will pay the price.  

 

Good job, conservatives! 

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