Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

No Justins, No Peace

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

I really should read my own blog.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

In my day, never was longer.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Not all heroes wear capes.

You are here: Home / Economics / Grifters Gonna Grift / No-Longer-Useful Idiots Open Thread

No-Longer-Useful Idiots Open Thread

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… By claiming he’s fled Kyiv, Russia hopes to undermine Zelenskyy’s status as a Ukrainian hero while also suggesting legitimate sources of news and information can’t be trusted, according to Sarah Oates, a professor at the University of Maryland who studies Russian propaganda.

To Oates, it’s a move that smacks of desperation by a Russian propaganda machine that can’t compete with viral images of Ukrainian defiance.

“They’re flailing. They’ve been doing this for decades and they have a very well oiled delivery system but right now their content just isn’t working,” Oates said. “The Ukrainians may be completely outgunned by traditional military, but they are winning the propaganda war.”…

Despite the evidence that Zelenskyy remains in Kyiv, Sputnik and Tass have not removed their claims or added corrections. The story has also been republished in Italy, India and China.

The false story began spreading on Twitter on Friday when George Papadopoulous, a former aide to ex-President Donald Trump, posted a link to the claim in an Italian publication. Papadopoulos served prison time for lying to the FBI during its investigation into Russia’s meddling on behalf of Trump in the 2016 election…

Trump’s ‘coffee boy’, still carrying water for Putin.

Lower down on the media hierarchy: Schadenfreude, it’s what’s for brunch!

Both sides! — of the horseshoe. Tankies:

Hampton Institute, “a proletarian think tank“:

Sam Biddle, of the Intercept:

Reader Interactions

98Comments

  1. 1.

    bbleh

    As a sort of corollary, it will be interesting to see which domestic sources of money also tighten or completely shut off the spigots, and of course to speculate why that is happening when it is.

    Quite apart from the direct funding of bots and catspaws, one shouldn’t underestimate the corruptive effect that Russian “investment” has had on wealthy elites in the US, the UK and elsewhere, one former president not least among them.

  3. 3.

    MattF

    Russian propaganda has to deal with the fact that Putin will sometimes say just what he means, although his language can be, um, opaque. Have you ever wondered exactly what ‘denazification’ means?

  6. 6.

    Mike E

    Russia screwing the pooch here right out in the open has set in motion a much needed shift in media perception, but I fear that Capitalism can never fail it can only be failed… sadly. This war, naked and blatant vengeance, has kicked open the door where daylight is exposing the obvious vampires but will it shine long enough to more thoroughly clean our attic of all of the ghouls? That’s the only upside to this tragic mess, as unlikely a result as it would be.

  7. 7.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Chuck Todd to a correspondent reporting live from Lviv, Ukraine, as the country is under assault by Russia and people are fighting for their lives:

    What did the locals think of Biden’s speech?

    Howard Cosell: “Your husband Jackie just died, Mrs. Robinson. Tell us how you feel right now.”

  8. 8.

    p.a.

    As the $$$ dries up, it would be great if tRump disappears like Thanos did when Iron Man snapped his fingers or Voldemort did in the HP movie version.  But I’ll settle for just his influence turning to dust and blowing away in the wind.

  9. 9.

    trollhattan

    Ooh, RT fans. Fox News for…the sophisticated palate? Nah, that can’t be it. Do love the notion that FTFNYT and Fox are DoD propaganda farms. We’re definitely not getting our tax dollars’ worth.

    Hampton Institute sounds like a jolly place. Do they have softball games with Heritage and AEI?

  12. 12.

    Raoul Paste

    So the laid-off RT employee says he will continue to fight imperialism.  Buddy, what Russia is doing right now is literally the definition of imperialism

  13. 13.

    Ken

    RT America staff in DC were told to attend an all-hands company meeting this afternoon. When they arrived, they were told they would be laid off

    In comparison, journalists in Russia  were told they’d be imprisoned or shot for reporting news.

  14. 14.

    Brachiator

    I keep telling myself that, one day, Meet the Press will finally chuck Todd and get an actual journalist to host

    How many todds could a chuck todd chuck if a chuck todd could chuck todd?

  15. 15.

    Kay

    Propublica has a great new analysis of how much the Trump tax cuts benefitted the ultra-wealthy

    The .01% and above

    Raising taxes on the wealthy polls very well- 65/70%-  but I think if people understood the Trump tax cuts better- just how OBSCENELY skewed they are and how they will guarantee rising levels of income inequality and create a fixed, permanent plutocrat class in the US that 70% would go to 95%.

  18. 18.

    Brachiator

    imagine if some dude kicked down your door, destroyed all your shit in your house, and then demanded you let him live in your garage in order to get him to leave

    Pretty much standard operating procedure for organized crime.

  19. 19.

    jonas

    It’s incredible that these pro-Putin numpties still have the brass cojones to describe NATO/US pushback against Russia as “imperialism” while Russia’s brazenly outright imperialist invasion of a sovereign Ukraine is justified with a bunch of incoherent hand-waving. They owe Cecil Rhodes an apology.

  20. 20.

    Steeplejack

    Also Chuck Todd:

    Chuck Todd is the human embodiment of a thrombosed hemorrhoid. He just told the Ukrainian MP to “hang in there” after her impassioned pleas for a no-fly-zone.
    #NoFlyZoneOverUkraine

    — “It’s Gary Cooper, asshole.” (@FortisFortuna11) March 4, 2022

  21. 21.

    jonas

    @Kay: ​
      99.9% of Americans could favor raising taxes on the .01% and Republicans would still give their own lives to block it because that’s who signs their paychecks.

  22. 22.

    Mike in NC

    Of all the right-wing MAGAts who dined on Donald Trump’s shit three meals a day for four long years, the one I despise the most is Victor Davis Hanson, AKA the Fascist from Fresno, who blamed Joe Biden for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Yeah, he actually went there. He’s a stinking rotten white supremacist asshole far worse than the clowns that get published by the New York Times and Washington Post.

  23. 23.

    Sebastian

    I have my issues with AOC but one thing she pointed out is absolutely spot on:

    our elected Dems are absolutely useless when it comes to SM (and infowar). The current Democratic machine is so lopsided towards TV ads (because political consultants get a cut from ads), which makes them slow and sluggish to respond.

    It’s not only the Russians and the GOP, it’s the same cringy and frankly embarrassing responses from our side.

  25. 25.

    Princess

    Meanwhile, Marco Rubio and Steve Daines posted photos of Zelenskyy in a meeting with senators after being asked not to. I dunno about Daines, but I don’t trust Rubio. He has skeletons in his closet and he also posted troop movements on the first day of the war before anything had been released on the news. He works for Putin.

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    If you were wondering about whether the Russians really influence our social media, compare the list of top Facebook posts from a few weeks ago to this week, when Russia couldn’t access its foreign cash reserves. Rather telling.
    pic.twitter.com/tneHdNkOaC

    — Mark Hachman (@markhachman) March 4, 2022

  28. 28.

    TonyG

    @Raoul Paste: Chris Hedges has lost a source of income now.  He’s the real victim here.  He’ll have to cut back on expenditures now, at least until he can find another employer.

  29. 29.

    Mallard Filmore

    imagine if some dude kicked down your door, destroyed all your shit in your house, and then demanded you let him live in your garage in order to get him to leave https://t.co/PbpwMeoATo
    — kilgore trout, death to putiner (@KT_So_It_Goes) March 4, 2022

    Is Putin’s head in a bag part of the deal?

  31. 31.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    Charlie Pierce originally said this about Chris Phucking Cilizza but I’m gonna adapt it for Chuck Phucking Todd:

    When the Smithsonian opens its American Museum of Feckless Journalism, the Todd exhibit is going to be right there in the lobby, across from statues of Maureen Dowd and David Brooks.

    They all have high tumbrel numbers.

  32. 32.

    Brachiator

    @Kay:

    Raising taxes on the wealthy polls very well- 65/70%-  but I think if people understood the Trump tax cuts better- just how OBSCENELY skewed they are and how they will guarantee rising levels of income inequality and create a fixed, permanent plutocrat class in the US that 70% would go to 95%.

    A good chunk of people do not care that tax cuts benefit the wealthy if they are also getting a tax cut, even if it is modest. Trump understood this and was careful to throw most taxpayers a bone while giving his buddies big tax cuts. The sick thing is that some Republicans opposed even the modest tax cuts that lower income levels got.

    Also, a good chunk of people don’t mind tax cuts for the wealthy because they hope one day to be wealthy themselves.

    Similarly, many people do not mind a degree of income inequality so long as they are doing OK and have an opportunity to earn more in the future. Democratic Party leaders do well when they emphasize fair play, a fair deal, a square deal, a new deal, any deal that lets ordinary people prosper or do better.

  33. 33.

    MomSense

    I had to get my headlight fixed today and then I stopped at the store quickly.  All seemed normal until I tried to get gas. WTF it’s like we are readying for a natural disaster.  Pumps closed / out of gas and long lines.  For a minute I thought something happened while I was in the market.

  35. 35.

    Anyway

    @Sebastian:

    There’s a lot of AOC-hate on this blog — but she consistently calls out the GOP on twitter. Rarely misses an opportunity to point out their lies, stupidity, fecklessnes  …

  37. 37.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Josie:

    That happens to me all the time. I’m constantly either questioning or replying to things that have already been addressed! Ask anyone who reads this blog ?

    As for the Cosell line, that’s strictly my own (increasingly unreliable) memory. It might have been Cosell interviewing someone else. It might have been a different sportscaster interviewing Mrs. Robinson. It might never have happened at all. But the persistence of memory is strong and almost undeniable.…

  42. 42.

    laura

    @MomSense: Spouse reported that gas is selling for $5.21 per gallon at two stations he passed this morning here in Sacramento. The Biden blame should be loud and pissy in the immediate future if the past is a predictor.

  43. 43.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    And it’s not just a one-time thing. It has been going on for decades. I’ve posted this before, but it’s worth seeing again—Blake Brown:

    Also, per RAND research, from the mid-’70s through 2018, the top 1% has redistributed [upward] $50 TRILLION in wealth from the bottom 90% of Americans as the American oligarchy has completely captured Congress and literally written their own preferred tax policy.

    And he links to a detailed Time article on the research.

  44. 44.

    different-church-lady

    where the claims can be instantly and credibly rebutted.

    I hate to break it to those analysts, but the whole point of Soviet-style disinformation is to discredit all information.

    I ain’t no expert on Russia, but we’re seeing it right here in the good-old USA. Truthful information freshly presented doesn’t discredit a lie, it merely goes on the scrap heap of “differing truths”  at best or “just another lie” at worse.

    Putin’s manipulation of social media has made great progress with this in the west. One can only hope his fall leads to those fronts being rolled back.

  46. 46.

    James E Powell

    @Anyway:

    There’s a lot of AOC-hate on this blog — but she consistently calls out the GOP on twitter.

    There is a whole wing of the Democratic electorate that worries that we might make the Republicans mad at us.

  47. 47.

    different-church-lady

    Twitter bans over 100 accounts that pushed #IStandWithPutin https://nbcnews.com/tech/internet/twitter-bans-100-accounts-pushed-istandwithputin-rcna18655 via @nbcnews

    TWITTER: “We want all information to flow through our gates, but we don’t want to be gatekeepers”

    WORLD: [DOES SLOW-MOTION BARREL ROLL INTO DITCH, BURSTS INTO FLAMES]

    TWITTER: “OK, maybe we need to reconsider this gatekeeper thing…”

  48. 48.

    Tony Jay

    Moved up from the dead thread downstairs because it interests me and stuff.

     

    Author and occasional Guardian investigative journalist (not so much a dying breed as a species deliberately driven to extinction over here by deliberate habitat shrinkage and heavily armed libel lawyers) Carole Cadwalladr has been doing sterling work over the last few years stripping away the bullshit and laying out in some detail the pernicious collusion between Putin’s Russia and Britain’s rotten right-wing Establishment over Brexit. She’s currently being sued by unsavoury ‘businessman’ and depilated baboon testicle Aaron ‘Friend of Farage’ Banks for pointing out that his open treason in service to Russian interests makes him look like a bit of a Russian asset , which he does, because he is.

    Now, Flobalob Johnson’s recent decision to bestow a knighthood on Gavin Williamson MP, the serial-failure Minister whose stints at Defence and Education both ended with him sacked and about as popular as a tarantula loose in an amputee ward, has drawn considerable scorn and a chorus of voluble questions. I mean, it’s not surprising that Johnson likes throwing honours at completely unqualified people, but Williamson is neither the newspaper owning son of a KGB officer or a blatantly corrupt major donor to Johnson’s defence fund the Tory Party, and if anything his stints as Cameron’s chief toady and May’s vote-wrangler would put him as firmly in the anti-Flobby camp as his 2016 vow to ensure Johnson didn’t succeed the soft-faced pig-molester as Prime Minister. He’s not even in the Cabinet now and doesn’t appear to have any kind of wider popularity or important constituency. Why make him a ‘Sir’?

    Cadwalladr may have shone some light on that. Basically, the Mueller Investigation touched on the British leg of the Putin/Brexit/Trump ‘Tripod of Treason’ and had a lot of concerns about the connections between then Foreign Secretary Johnson, Russian agents like Joseph Mifsud, and the aforementioned Brexit-backer Aaron Banks. Williamson, as Defence Secretary, leaked information about this to the odious Leave campaign head Richard Tice, who in turn leaked it to right-wing journalist and frequent BBC pundit Isabel Oakeshott. Oakeshott went back over e-mails she already had from Banks and was, ahem, ‘astonished to discover’ that they left no doubt that Banks was so deep in Putin’s pocket he was permanently bonded to a half-sucked lozenge.

    Oakeshott wrote up her findings and took them to the sickly green corpse-city of Minas Morgul Murdoch’s Times where they got as far as indemnifying her against any legal action for publishing Banks’ e-mails before… the story went away. May made some noises about Russian interference, Johnson mumbled denials in cod-Latin, the Media went back to destroying the Opposition. Silence reigned.

    Then Russia invaded Ukraine, the topic of the Londongrad Laundromat and its controlling stake in the Conservative Party hit the front pages, and here we are.

    Now, I’m about as far from being an expert in all this as you can get, but the story Cadwalladr details in her tweet makes me wonder if the recently ennobled Sir Gavin Williamson knew a hell of a lot more about Flobalob’s close links to Putin’s pet oligarchs and the wider Association of Extremely Influential Scumbags than he ever leaked out to Tice, and if Flobby is shitting bricks that Williamson (who really seems to like a good leak) might be tempted to slip the knife in by releasing some pertinent Russian names to Johnson’s rivals in the Party.

    I thought this might be of interest here because Cadwalladr mentions that a lot of this explosive evidence was communicated to the House Intelligence Committee and seen by the esteemed Adam Schiff. Anyone tempted to ask his opinion on Russian involvement in the Brexit campaign (and links to the politicians who headlined it) next time you have him over for a chat?

  49. 49.

    James E Powell

    Also, per RAND research, from the mid-’70s through 2018, the top 1% has redistributed [upward] $50 TRILLION in wealth from the bottom 90% of Americans as the American oligarchy has completely captured Congress and literally written their own preferred tax policy.

    But in this Ohio diner, folks are more concerned that  . . . [often changes,  but usually involves something about black people].

  50. 50.

    different-church-lady

    @James E Powell: Clearly we need to give the bottom more money while leaving all the rest of the system in place.

    [often changes, but usually involves something about black people].

    It’s sparrows and curtain rods all the way down.

  52. 52.

    Ruckus

    I always thought his name was Chuck Toad.

     

    It’s Todd? The things one learns……..

  53. 53.

    different-church-lady

    @Sebastian: Here’s the problem: the fuel that powers the engine of social media is made out of lies and outrage. How do you master that machine without becoming masters of lies and outrage?

  54. 54.

    Brachiator

    @Sebastian:

    I have my issues with AOC but one thing she pointed out is absolutely spot on:

    our elected Dems are absolutely useless when it comes to SM (and infowar). The current Democratic machine is so lopsided towards TV ads (because political consultants get a cut from ads), which makes them slow and sluggish to respond.

    Totally agree. TV and radio ads still get big play, but is not where the action is.

  55. 55.

    James E Powell

    I quit twitter last fall because it was doing me no good at all. Last week I went back on so I could easily read all the informative threads about Ukraine.

    In the last week I discovered that Chuck Todd is still an asshole, George Will is still alive, and being on twitter presents many useless rabbit holes.

  57. 57.

    Brachiator

    @Tony Jay:

    Now, Flobalob Johnson’s recent decision to bestow a knighthood on Gavin Williamson MP, the serial-failure Minister whose stints at Defence and Education both ended with him sacked and about as popular as a tarantula loose in an amputee ward, has drawn considerable scorn and a chorus of voluble questions

    This shit is amazing. Boris Johnson surrounded himself with more incompetents than Trump has golf courses, and then has them granted honors. And it hardly raises a stir.

    And who was the guy who was supposed to get some assignment in an African nation, until the government there issued a firm “Fuck You” to the UK?

    It is amazing to watch Boris do his slow dance foot dragging to keep oligarchs happy.

    Had Trump been re-elected, the Trump/Johnson/Putin Axis of Evil would have been incredibly harmful.

  58. 58.

    FlyingToaster

    @MomSense: Really?  I had to fill up yesterday (the light came on for the first time on the 3-week-old hybrid), and it was the same price/gallon as when I filled the old minivan on 2/7.  But I am in a burb of the Hub of the Universe.

    The one thing I’ve noticed is certain “brands” of gas station seem to have some kind of intermittent supply or pump maintenance problem.  The two nearby BP’s seem to have serious problems keeping operational; problems not exhibited by Shell, Speedway, or Mobil.  Or even the little mom-n-pop gas stations/inspection stations/convenience store operations.  My usual suspicion is that the franchise didn’t pay their bills…

  59. 59.

    Ken

    Sigh. Pro tip: Never watch any movies you enjoyed as a child. TCM is showing Around the World in 80 Days, and I keep WTF-ing.  The X-face for all possible values of X may be the worst part (Shirley MacLaine as an Indian? Peter Lorre as a Japanese?!?), but the casual stereotyping of cultures also grates. Mind you, at least they’re even-handed with the latter; the British and Americans are as caricatured  as everyone else.

  60. 60.

    JML

    I don’t have any real problems with AOC; at least she actually knows how to communicate. I just wish more people understood that she’s a backbencher in a safe district. She’s doing what she’s supposed to to try and move the party in the leftward direction she prefers, but she doesn’t speak for the party as a whole and pretending that she does is pathetic performance from the GOP and their media stooges. (I have much bigger problem with the ethically shaky narcissist Ilhan Omar)

    Villa rocked Southampton 4-0 today, so my day is off to good start. Hopefully the threatened ice storm won’t be too nutty.

  63. 63.

    Ruckus

    @Tony Jay:

    The suckage runuth deep. Also wide.

    I wonder if money destroys as much as it can build. It does seem to destroy faster than it builds……

  64. 64.

    different-church-lady

    @FlyingToaster:

    But I am in a burb of the Hub of the Universe.

    Same with me. Gas station at the foot of my street: Thursday $3.49, Friday $3.99, this morning $4.29.

    I try to keep my head about gas prices, but this is gonna hurt some people a lot more than it’s gonna hurt me.

  65. 65.

    Steeplejack

    @Ken:

    I see stuff like this even with my beloved Perry Mason, mostly in how the baseline level of sexism and even sexual harassment is astonishing at a remove of 60 years.

  66. 66.

    Ruckus

    @Cameron:

    Well when you have a diseased segment of an organism, in this case the news media, it needs to be repaired or removed. And to do that properly it has to be seen as diseased and the disease fought against. And to do that the opposition to the disease has to discover the diseased segments of the organism. He is a diseased segment of the organism.

    And saying Chuck Toad or Tuck Choad is easier/faster than typing the above…..

  69. 69.

    Brachiator

    @Steeplejack:

    Also, per RAND research, from the mid-’70s through 2018, the top 1% has redistributed [upward] $50 TRILLION in wealth from the bottom 90% of Americans as the American oligarchy has completely captured Congress and literally written their own preferred tax policy.

    Thanks for the link. I had to do a little work to be able to view the Time article. Here is a separate link to the RAND study, which can be viewed as a PDF file or read online.

  71. 71.

    Tony Jay

    @Brachiator:

    It’s a mirror image of the way US News Media allowed Trump to normalise shockingly corrupt behaviour. They just lower the bar for conduct way, way down to where their favoured sons operate and pretend it was always there.

    After all, ‘everybody always knew’ what they were like, didn’t they? So electoral victory means their rock-bottom standards have already passed the democratic smell test.

    The Guardian’s Politics Live curator (an ex-Telegraph Toryboi) was opining yesterday that Johnson had “had a good Ukraine crisis”. Man, they couldn’t delete responses to that gaffe quickly enough. But it’s what they really think.

  72. 72.

    Tony Jay

    @Ruckus:

    It’s easy enough to find out. Just give all of the money to me.

    There’s no end to my plans for it, and yes, they do include destroying quite a few things that really aren’t benefitting anyone outside a tiny sliver of the population.

  73. 73.

    Geminid

    @Brachiator: I like billboards, especially out West where people get relatively bored on long drives. TV ads reach a lot of people, and social media reaches a lot of different ones, but both media are such a constant stream of information that a particular ad may not be as impactful as a billboard, I think.

    For instance, Democrats could have a Republican Congressman who claims credit for an infrastructure project he voted against. They might do well to put up billboards near the project, pointing out that he is a skinfint and a fake.

  75. 75.

    Sebastian

    @Geminid:

    This. Not to mention it’s dirt cheap.

    We could also pass legislation that every public project must have 20 billboards along the 5 busiest miles within 5 miles of the project (or something like that) stating how the Congress Rep voted.

  76. 76.

    Sebastian

    We need more investigative journalism, especially local. One way to fund it is to divert confiscated dirty money/fines to a dedicated fund.

    The more gets investigated and uncovered, the more investigations happen, until it finds an equilibrium. Or any other workable method as this might be legally tricky.

    We really need to get local investigative journalism liberated from ad revenue and clickbait.

  77. 77.

    Brachiator

    @Geminid:

    I like billboards, especially out West where people get relatively bored on long drives. TV ads reach a lot of people, and social media reaches a lot of different ones, but both media are such a constant stream of information that a particular ad may not be as impactful as a billboard, I think.

    I no longer have a long commute, so I don’t think about billboards much at all, but you have a great point, and one that I had not considered at all. It could be valuable, especially in the West.

    I think in California, especially in the cities, there have been some regulations cutting back the use of billboards.

    But still a potentially useful tool.

  78. 78.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Ruckus: I always thought his name was Chuck Toad.

    Choke Toad. In dire need of becoming Choked Toad. On camera if possible – farm it out to Pay Per View.

    Mofo parlayed a modest capability analyzing voting data into a fullbore Peter-Principled gig as a poundit. And he oughta. Poundit, I mean. Right where Sol does not show its face. Sideways.

  79. 79.

    JustRuss

    Ukraine can end the war if they agree to remain neutral and recognize areas that are already annexed by Russia and separatists. It’s the easiest call of all time.

    Inspired, no doubt, by the immortal words of Doug MacArthur: “Hey, it’s just the Phillipines. The Japanese can have it. Easy call.”

  80. 80.

    Buckeye

    Don’t forget Scahill’s continued insistence on making Milosevic the victim, and Medhi Hasan defending him:

    Because of course NATO’s bombing of Serbia is exactly like Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, and Putin is really justified to be scared of NATO expansion.

  81. 81.

    Eunicecycle

    @Raoul Paste: in a weird coincidence, I’ve known Caleb Maupin since he was a little boy. I should amend that to say, I haven’t seen him in at least 15 years when he was in college. It’s really sad to see how he’s gone down the rabbit hole.

  82. 82.

    bbleh

    @MomSense: @laura: @FlyingToaster:  Why the Biden people aren’t screaming and pointing fingers at the oil companies is beyond me. A lot — I would guess most — of this is simply gouging: raising prices because they have an excuse and the market will bear it. The Biden people surely know the Republicans are gonna blame them; they oughta be getting out in front of it and putting the blame where it lies.

    (I’ll just file this in my “WTF Dems” folder and … whoops, full, need a new external drive.)

  84. 84.

    Kent

    @Sebastian: I have my issues with AOC but one thing she pointed out is absolutely spot on:

    our elected Dems are absolutely useless when it comes to SM (and infowar). The current Democratic machine is so lopsided towards TV ads (because political consultants get a cut from ads), which makes them slow and sluggish to respond.

    It’s not only the Russians and the GOP, it’s the same cringy and frankly embarrassing responses from our side.

    I expect a large part of it is that so many institutional Dems are geriatric and grew up in an era when Walter Cronkite represented the media.

  85. 85.

    Kent

    @Brachiator: No, billboards suck and are visual pollution.  Try driving on I-10 along the southern gulf coast through Louisiana and Mississippi where the giant casino billboards are literally endless.  The newer digital ones are especially annoying.

    Compare that to driving through say Oregon where they are much more regulated

    But in terms of political ads, you probably have a point.  Use what local tools you have.

  87. 87.

    The Pale Scot

    @MattF:

    Have you ever wondered exactly what ‘denazification’ means?

    The only problem Russians have with Nazis is that Nazis invaded Russia. Holocaust, forced labor, they don’t see any thing wrong with that

  91. 91.

    Subsole

    @Geminid:

    Yep. Everywhere you look here, you see Repuke billboards. Just endless, uncontested GOP messaging.

    And since you have to drive to get anywhere, it almost becomes subliminal.

    I think Kay hit it on tge head the other day – it isn’t that our message is weak, it’s just absent. Totally uncontested. I’ve no idea why it is so, but it needs to change.

  92. 92.

    Subsole

    @Brachiator:

    Billboards and AM radio would pay massive dividends. And they’re comparatively cheap, from what I gather. So all those fabulously wealthy liberals could run a couple stations at a loss and still come out okay.

  97. 97.

    Betsy

    I, sort of don’t understand all the tweets and the jargon.  It sounds like the money pipeline behind RU propaganda outlets (web and treeware both?) is getting shut off, so the propagandists are being laid off, and that’s making the Right-Wing Noise Machine operate less efficiently?

    Particularly on certain topics, mainly Russian ones — or are all the RWNM topics, domestic or foreign, actually Russian ones?

    Does anyone feel like elaborating on or correcting my understanding?

  98. 98.

    Anne Laurie

    @Betsy: It sounds like the money pipeline behind RU propaganda outlets (web and treeware both?) is getting shut off, so the propagandists are being laid off, and that’s making the Right-Wing Noise Machine operate less efficiently?

    Your understanding is correct!

    We can’t know, at the moment, that Putin’s government’s decision to stop semi-covertly funding a lot of American propaganda, on both the far right and far left ends of the political spectrum, is why RT shut down so abruptly.  Or why Twitter’s decision to stop turning a blind eye to foreign bots led to a precipitous drop in pro-Putin tweets.  But there’s a pretty strong suspicion these events are correlated!

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