This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
Here’s how, in its lead story Thursday, the New York Times described the House’s vote to resolve Republicans’ self-imposed debt-ceiling crisis:
Our liberal media
even the most left-oriented Democrats (Ocasio-Cortez, Bush, Casar, Bowman, Raskin, Jayapal) are not extremists. They are different shades of social democrats; they espouse policies that are fairly mainstream across western democracies.
Amen brother! This is exactly right, and the desperate attempts by the MSM to set up its ‘both sides do it’ paradigm were maddening. The much maligned progressives have often shown themselves to be sober, cooperative and pragmatic. Comparing them to the MAGA right is nonsense.
‘Gaetz, clearly still unable to
locate his ass with both hands…’
FIFY
‘Leave Me Alone’: Hannity Booed During Town Hall After Suggesting Trump Could Tone Down Insults (msn.com)
Sean Hannity was booed by the audience during his town hall with former President Donald Trump on Thursday after the Fox News host suggested Trump could tone down his insults in an effort to appeal to moderates.
Why is this such an irresistible urge for journalists? Even as a former journalist, I don’t get it.
If there’s a hostage situation, they don’t equate the “two sides.” But they’ll go to almost any length to do it when the hostage is the U.S. economy.
There was a “town hall” last night? COMPLETELY missed it. But I did discover a new food channel on my tee vee, so there’s that.
The problem with Main Street media is that they give both sides equal validity. I’m sure CNN would say “is the earth flat or round? We present the debate.”
With this look Kim better stay away from certain Red states that don’t take kindly to trans folk.
(or there was only one camera filter available and Palin one the coin toss)
Well, this guy is only about 20 years late to the party.
FOX isn’t the only network involved in creating a ‘Matrix’. But they are the one primarily crafting theirs for things other than money. Power, propaganda, manipulation, firehose of lies, intent on attacking and smearing 60% of the population.
Excerpt:
Conservative New York Times columnist David French on Friday asked his more liberal readers to tune into Fox News so they can see how millions of their fellow Americans remember the Trump presidency.
Despite the fact that former President Donald Trump lost the popular vote by more than 7 million votes in 2020, French writes that Trump and Fox News are concocting an “entirely different world” in which the Trump era was an unquestioned Golden Age.
“According to Trump’s narrative, everything he did was good,” writes French. “His first term was a time of economic prosperity, energy independence, fiscal responsibility, a rejuvenated military, a locked-down border and fear and respect from foreign regimes. The only thing that marred his four years was a stolen election and his unjust persecution by the corrupt Democratic Party and its allies in the F.B.I.”
‘I Don’t Think It Looks Good For You’: Trump Says He Told Sean Hannity to Stop Joking About Biden’s Cognitive State (msn.com)
Former President Donald Trump revealed during his town hall on Fox News, Thursday that he told host Sean Hannity to stop joking about President Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities.
Asked by Hannity why he was so “reluctant” to call out Biden’s “cognitive state,” Trump told the crowd, “Well I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this. I actually called Sean and I asked Sean not to joke about it because he used to joke about it.”
When I hear the ‘far right’ vs the ‘hard left’ I stop to think which side actually has policy positions, and policy legislation. Guess which one consistently checks both boxes?
As long as the media successfully push the false dichotomy, the nation has no chance to unite and get things done without vitriol.
So who’s going to bring this charade to a halt? There’s too much money to be made by perpetuating it.
Absolutely. As an anarchist, I facepalm every time I see some pundit call AOC or Bernie “far left”.
FYI
May jobs report released: Booming 339,000 jobs added as unemployment rises to 3.7% (msn.com)
U.S. hiring accelerated in May as employers added a booming 339,000 jobs and the labor market continued to shrug off high interest rates and persistent inflation.
The unemployment rate, which is calculated from a separate survey of households, rose from a five-decade low of 3.4% to 3.7%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated that 195,000 jobs were added last month.
Also, payroll gains for March and April were revised up by a total 93,000, depicting a stronger labor market in late winter and early spring than believed.
The job market has been remarkably sturdy despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at tamping down hiring and wage growth, and wrestling down inflation.
Doesn’t the unemployment rate usually rise going into summer? My anecdotal evidence is the nursery and the swimming pools near me. Both places that are closed during the winter months, and slowly add people once winter is over.
Yes, and I blame all those lazy high school graduates who sit on stoops and smoke crack and fentanyl all day.
