I cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post when Bezos killed the Harris endorsement. Through my library I have unlimited free all access to the Times, so there won't be any need to maintain that subscription.
The Times columnists are aging and becoming less relevant in many cases. Maureen Dowd is in her 70s now and won her Pulitzer Prize in 1999 -- 26 years ago. Charles Blow left recently, which was a loss. They lost Paul Krugman, who had long been one of their best columnists, especially since economic ignorance is a defining trait of Americans and helped Trump win last November. Krugman left and started his own Substack because of editorial interference at the Times. If one reads the columns of the Times' Editorial Board one can see a reflection of Krugman's complaint. They are devoted to bothsiderism and false equivalencies and have helped normalize Trump and the GOP in part through their constant use of euphemisms that always soften the impact of Trump's criminality and fascism. Hell will freeze over and pigs will fly on the day the Times ever refers to Trump as a liar or having told a lie.
M. Gessen offers a rare and important perspective on transgenderism. Ross Douthat never shuts up about religion and I find his columns to be essentially worthless. David Brooks has been annoying for years, but no one sets me off like Bret Stephens, who I find to be extraordinarily hypocritical and fatuous. He teams up with Gail Collins for what I consider a total waste of words. She hasn't said anything interesting or insightful in so long I don't remember her ever doing so. Nicholas Kristof does good work on various human right issues. Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg are decent columnists, but I get a more important commentary on various Substacks. I'm not going to critique every columnist, but I'll end this part of my comment by saying that, with a couple of exceptions, there is no columnist left at the Times that I feel compelled to read.
I spend much more time reading science, medicine, and the arts than I do reading the Times often egregious political coverage.
Trump is trying to make the White House and this country into his own personal resort and shrine. At times I think Trump would be happy in a world where he is the only person and is surrounded by mirrors. Mirrors that would always answer, "You are, Donald," when he asks them "Who's the greatest of them all? Who is perfect in every way?"
However, the truth is Trump could never be happy without having people to abuse and dominate. That is why the absolute worst imaginable position for him to hold is the presidency, where he is totally immune from any and every form of meaningful criticism and accountability.
He desperately needs to be worshiped. It is no stretch to say that his own sense of worthlessness and inferiority is what is behind his laughable claims to greatest, expertise, and competence. His "cabinet meetings" where his cult members rise to lavish insane praise on him and his unequaled greatness may be the most nauseating and embarrassing displays I've ever seen. It involves adults, many of whom have been highly successful in one way or another, though not necessarily in a positive way, and now have zero self respect and integrity.
Whenever a new appalling demand or suggestion arises concerning Trump -- giving him the Nobel Peace Prize or blasting his likeness into Mt. Rushmore alongside four of America's most recognized presidents -- the utter absurdity of Trump and his toadies takes another giant step into a world of putrid fantasy. And it always seems transparently clear as to why those issues are raised and with whom they originated. It is impossible not to believe that the source is Trump himself. Trump is the laziest of presidents except when it comes to self-glorification. The only other alternative is that these moronic ideas come from someone who is seeking to get something from Trump by playing to his toxic and childish ego.
Trump is a man without a single positive attribute. His followers and supporters adore him for characteristics that are all sickening.
Dean Blundell on Substack took a look at the qualities of Trump supporters. The numbers indicate that the more [facts] you know, the less you like Trump. Surely this highlights the critical importance of reporting factually on Trump's actions and those of his minions. The mainstream media is not doing that well, hewing to their traditional "bothsiderism" when we are no longer in a traditional news environment.
There must be utterly factual reporting on the criminality of this administration. Anything else is complicity.
"The numbers indicate that the more [facts] you know, the less you like Trump."
I had a revealing experience that relates to that. I had a neighbor who was a devoted Trump supporter. He and I were friendly, and one day I decided to see if I could help him understand why it was wrong to support Trump. Donnie, now deceased, was in most respects ordinary, though he did have a serious alcoholism problem. Outwardly, he was not a mean-spirited or unpleasant fellow. He lived in a modest apartment that was situated above a very large garage and wood/metal shop, which was owned by an elderly widow. They had a warm relationship, despite their opposing political positions, but their relationship developed long before Trump appeared on the political scene. I was friends with her and we spoke about our concern for Donnie, his health, and political leanings. Had it not been for Laurel Ann, Donnie might well have been homeless. However, he earned his keep by helping her with many things, not least of which was her love of gardening. It was a strange, but sincere relationship.
One day, I had reason to appear at his door, and when my initial purpose had been fulfilled, I broached the subject of Trump. At first, I just wanted to see what he saw in Trump and it seemed that guns were at the center of his support. For some reason, although we lived in a rural area with a low crime rate and very little violent crime, Donnie insisted on having his semi-automatic pistol on his hip at all times. He was convinced that Democrats were going to take his guns away from him. He had more than just a hand gun, but was neither a collector, nor the owner of a personal arsenal. He was also not a hunter. Thus, in a sense, his support for Trump, which was all-consuming, sat on his hip everyday.
I thought that was a great opening and began to try to explain to him that the Democrats were not going to take his guns from him, but they did want better gun regulations, which wouldn't, at that point, have had any effect on him. After a couple of factual sentences, Donnie interrupted me and said, "You obviously know a lot, so I'm not going to talk with you about this." That was the end of the conversation. That was in the early days of Trump, before it became virtually impossible to have a realistic conversation with any serious Trumpist/MAGAt. It wasn't that I knew so much, but that there was no way he could argue his position rationally. He "knew" what he wanted; "knew" how the Democrats threatened him; and simply was not willing to discuss it.
Janet, I agree that factual reporting is vital, but we all have to understand that MAGAts aren't listening and may never be willing to listen. The grave danger today, as I see it, is that millions of non-MAGAts are not paying attention and their disengagement and political ignorance and naivete will continue to make them susceptible to liars, demagogues, and depraved and corrupt grifters like Trump.
You make an excellent point. My dad always said to me "you cannot have a rational argument or discussion with an irrational viewpoint".
That said, I am astonished at how many folks vote based on single issues, rational or otherwise...or fail to vote based on single issues. I wonder what Donnie would have said if you said "If Democrats will let you keep your gun...will you still vote for Trump?".
And we have to stop the firehose of misinformation. Not just the nutter butter social media shite disturber sites, but the failure of mainstream media and journalists to call out lies in the moment, loudly. I hope Citizens United is reversed once adults are back in the room. That judgement was so damaging.
Media that is sponsored by Corporations is suspect as they answer to Advertisers and rarely tell the story without being Bias to money interests and subject to be sued by political entity's. If you only watch them you are kept in the constant state of what they are selling you as news that is sold as Breaking News. All show and little Information.
This is a really powerful video. You two are providing the reality of the total failure of our media. When Fox became the most watched news channel in the country all other stations wanted to duplicate their success and journalists stopped being journalists and became reality actors. They don't report news; they only want to gain access to actors who will generate the most clicks. Real journalists are now the people I am listening to on Substack.
Since 2016 the legacy media is complicit in helping t get elected. Twice! All the free campaign airtime. Softball interviews. Failing to point out his misogyny, philandering, perversions, fraud, lies, gaslighting, business failures, bankruptcies etc.
Without a doubt the corporate media intentionally supported, promoted and covered for him. They sold out. And threw everyone under the bus. By ignoring the truth they failed to inform the public of the pending danger lurking in this unconstitutional racist monster.
Katie and Waj~ This was a fantastic show. Too many good points to list, but you earned my subscription! I dropped cable news/media and instead decided to support journalist like yourself. Zero regrets!
The MSM will never, ever ask questions of anybody which would alienate those they have on their shows. This would be journalism and the MSM has not performed journalism in the last 20-25. It's all about "bothsidesism". It's all about clicks and profits in lieu of journalism.
The New York Times did not cover the No Kings protest. It was the 3rd largest protest in US history and it wasn’t newsworthy?
Other publications completely missed the message as they called it a “protest for individual freedoms “.
I’m tired of some mainstream media retreating from honest, call-it-as-it-is journalism.
This has caused me to cancel my NYT subscription. Is there still a mainstream paper in the USA that reports the facts?
Corporate-owned old guard media has FAILED America. They are COMPLICIT and NAZI-enablers.
Sign up to Meidas Touch and the many REAL journalists all over Substack to get the TRUTH and REAL news - not lies and propaganda.
www.meidasplus.com
I have done that since before the last election. But I am asking seriously...are there any papers left in America that report the facts?
Pro Publica
I’m thinking of it. I would miss the puzzles and some columnists.
I cancelled my subscription to the Washington Post when Bezos killed the Harris endorsement. Through my library I have unlimited free all access to the Times, so there won't be any need to maintain that subscription.
The Times columnists are aging and becoming less relevant in many cases. Maureen Dowd is in her 70s now and won her Pulitzer Prize in 1999 -- 26 years ago. Charles Blow left recently, which was a loss. They lost Paul Krugman, who had long been one of their best columnists, especially since economic ignorance is a defining trait of Americans and helped Trump win last November. Krugman left and started his own Substack because of editorial interference at the Times. If one reads the columns of the Times' Editorial Board one can see a reflection of Krugman's complaint. They are devoted to bothsiderism and false equivalencies and have helped normalize Trump and the GOP in part through their constant use of euphemisms that always soften the impact of Trump's criminality and fascism. Hell will freeze over and pigs will fly on the day the Times ever refers to Trump as a liar or having told a lie.
M. Gessen offers a rare and important perspective on transgenderism. Ross Douthat never shuts up about religion and I find his columns to be essentially worthless. David Brooks has been annoying for years, but no one sets me off like Bret Stephens, who I find to be extraordinarily hypocritical and fatuous. He teams up with Gail Collins for what I consider a total waste of words. She hasn't said anything interesting or insightful in so long I don't remember her ever doing so. Nicholas Kristof does good work on various human right issues. Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg are decent columnists, but I get a more important commentary on various Substacks. I'm not going to critique every columnist, but I'll end this part of my comment by saying that, with a couple of exceptions, there is no columnist left at the Times that I feel compelled to read.
I spend much more time reading science, medicine, and the arts than I do reading the Times often egregious political coverage.
Good luck. i find a lot more reliable news on Substacks and podcasts.
This is an example of why I dropped my decade long subscription to the NYTimes.
NYT totally deceived me. Two days later there was a guest article
Donald trump, in the process of putting up flag poles, has cemented the rose garden
I read that he wanted that area to be cemented to be more like Mar-a-lago's patio.
Trump is trying to make the White House and this country into his own personal resort and shrine. At times I think Trump would be happy in a world where he is the only person and is surrounded by mirrors. Mirrors that would always answer, "You are, Donald," when he asks them "Who's the greatest of them all? Who is perfect in every way?"
However, the truth is Trump could never be happy without having people to abuse and dominate. That is why the absolute worst imaginable position for him to hold is the presidency, where he is totally immune from any and every form of meaningful criticism and accountability.
He desperately needs to be worshiped. It is no stretch to say that his own sense of worthlessness and inferiority is what is behind his laughable claims to greatest, expertise, and competence. His "cabinet meetings" where his cult members rise to lavish insane praise on him and his unequaled greatness may be the most nauseating and embarrassing displays I've ever seen. It involves adults, many of whom have been highly successful in one way or another, though not necessarily in a positive way, and now have zero self respect and integrity.
Whenever a new appalling demand or suggestion arises concerning Trump -- giving him the Nobel Peace Prize or blasting his likeness into Mt. Rushmore alongside four of America's most recognized presidents -- the utter absurdity of Trump and his toadies takes another giant step into a world of putrid fantasy. And it always seems transparently clear as to why those issues are raised and with whom they originated. It is impossible not to believe that the source is Trump himself. Trump is the laziest of presidents except when it comes to self-glorification. The only other alternative is that these moronic ideas come from someone who is seeking to get something from Trump by playing to his toxic and childish ego.
Trump is a man without a single positive attribute. His followers and supporters adore him for characteristics that are all sickening.
Dean Blundell on Substack took a look at the qualities of Trump supporters. The numbers indicate that the more [facts] you know, the less you like Trump. Surely this highlights the critical importance of reporting factually on Trump's actions and those of his minions. The mainstream media is not doing that well, hewing to their traditional "bothsiderism" when we are no longer in a traditional news environment.
There must be utterly factual reporting on the criminality of this administration. Anything else is complicity.
"The numbers indicate that the more [facts] you know, the less you like Trump."
I had a revealing experience that relates to that. I had a neighbor who was a devoted Trump supporter. He and I were friendly, and one day I decided to see if I could help him understand why it was wrong to support Trump. Donnie, now deceased, was in most respects ordinary, though he did have a serious alcoholism problem. Outwardly, he was not a mean-spirited or unpleasant fellow. He lived in a modest apartment that was situated above a very large garage and wood/metal shop, which was owned by an elderly widow. They had a warm relationship, despite their opposing political positions, but their relationship developed long before Trump appeared on the political scene. I was friends with her and we spoke about our concern for Donnie, his health, and political leanings. Had it not been for Laurel Ann, Donnie might well have been homeless. However, he earned his keep by helping her with many things, not least of which was her love of gardening. It was a strange, but sincere relationship.
One day, I had reason to appear at his door, and when my initial purpose had been fulfilled, I broached the subject of Trump. At first, I just wanted to see what he saw in Trump and it seemed that guns were at the center of his support. For some reason, although we lived in a rural area with a low crime rate and very little violent crime, Donnie insisted on having his semi-automatic pistol on his hip at all times. He was convinced that Democrats were going to take his guns away from him. He had more than just a hand gun, but was neither a collector, nor the owner of a personal arsenal. He was also not a hunter. Thus, in a sense, his support for Trump, which was all-consuming, sat on his hip everyday.
I thought that was a great opening and began to try to explain to him that the Democrats were not going to take his guns from him, but they did want better gun regulations, which wouldn't, at that point, have had any effect on him. After a couple of factual sentences, Donnie interrupted me and said, "You obviously know a lot, so I'm not going to talk with you about this." That was the end of the conversation. That was in the early days of Trump, before it became virtually impossible to have a realistic conversation with any serious Trumpist/MAGAt. It wasn't that I knew so much, but that there was no way he could argue his position rationally. He "knew" what he wanted; "knew" how the Democrats threatened him; and simply was not willing to discuss it.
Janet, I agree that factual reporting is vital, but we all have to understand that MAGAts aren't listening and may never be willing to listen. The grave danger today, as I see it, is that millions of non-MAGAts are not paying attention and their disengagement and political ignorance and naivete will continue to make them susceptible to liars, demagogues, and depraved and corrupt grifters like Trump.
You make an excellent point. My dad always said to me "you cannot have a rational argument or discussion with an irrational viewpoint".
That said, I am astonished at how many folks vote based on single issues, rational or otherwise...or fail to vote based on single issues. I wonder what Donnie would have said if you said "If Democrats will let you keep your gun...will you still vote for Trump?".
And we have to stop the firehose of misinformation. Not just the nutter butter social media shite disturber sites, but the failure of mainstream media and journalists to call out lies in the moment, loudly. I hope Citizens United is reversed once adults are back in the room. That judgement was so damaging.
Schumer is the personification of the void. Clueless, useless, feckless.
Thank you both for your bravery! Let’s continue to protest no kings. I wrote an anthem we can all sing together: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/no-kings-anthem
And then they came for you and there was no one left to help.
Great and concise analysis Waj and Katie. Thank you for your hard work!!
Katie asked why we haven't heard from Chuck?
Because Chuck wants war with Iran.
He has made that crystal clear.
That was one of the BEST history rants I have ever heard, Waj.
Media that is sponsored by Corporations is suspect as they answer to Advertisers and rarely tell the story without being Bias to money interests and subject to be sued by political entity's. If you only watch them you are kept in the constant state of what they are selling you as news that is sold as Breaking News. All show and little Information.
This is a really powerful video. You two are providing the reality of the total failure of our media. When Fox became the most watched news channel in the country all other stations wanted to duplicate their success and journalists stopped being journalists and became reality actors. They don't report news; they only want to gain access to actors who will generate the most clicks. Real journalists are now the people I am listening to on Substack.
Rock and Roll Katie!! Keep on doing what you are doing.
Since 2016 the legacy media is complicit in helping t get elected. Twice! All the free campaign airtime. Softball interviews. Failing to point out his misogyny, philandering, perversions, fraud, lies, gaslighting, business failures, bankruptcies etc.
Without a doubt the corporate media intentionally supported, promoted and covered for him. They sold out. And threw everyone under the bus. By ignoring the truth they failed to inform the public of the pending danger lurking in this unconstitutional racist monster.
Katie, add this: Democrats also stand for “Liberty and Justice for all”
Katie and Waj~ This was a fantastic show. Too many good points to list, but you earned my subscription! I dropped cable news/media and instead decided to support journalist like yourself. Zero regrets!
The MSM will never, ever ask questions of anybody which would alienate those they have on their shows. This would be journalism and the MSM has not performed journalism in the last 20-25. It's all about "bothsidesism". It's all about clicks and profits in lieu of journalism.