This happened today, and it may be as close as we get to a “mad as hell” moment on the plutocrat-captured networks (which is damn near all of them at this point):
Acosta pointedly says his proudest moment at CNN was not covering the first Trump White House but rather when he got to question Cuban dictator Raúl Castro during an Obama press conference. He notes that, as the son of Cuban refugees, his takeaway was that “it is never a good time to bow down to a tyrant.”
That message was for the ring-kissing CNN brass. Acosta signed off by addressing viewers directly. He implored us not to give in to the lies and fear. He asks us to hold on to the truth — and hope.
I think Acosta’s departure is a pretty disturbing development. Legacy media’s influence is waning, but most of the outfits and individuals who are filling the void don’t do original reporting and instead riff off what’s published by news outlets. (Kinda like we do here.) So legacy media’s capture matters.
By the way, after reading about Acosta’s exit on Bluesky, it some effort for me to find a clip that contained his whole sign-off message. The top search results were from Murdoch outlets and rank-and-file MAGA content creators crowing about Acosta being “fired” for defying Trump.
They conveniently edited out the part where Acosta talks about not bowing down to tyrants and not giving in to lies and fear. That’s because the Trump-aligned outfits are in the business of doing all of that — and brainwashing us into complying too.
So Acosta’s advice is sound. Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear. Hold onto the truth.
Open thread.
Belafon
Legacy media, both tv and print, are removing the people that need to be heard by the masses. What I worry about, when they go start up their blogs, is how to get what they write or record to the people that need to hear them.
Elizabelle
Wow. Good for Jim Acosta, and he laid it down there. Don’t give in to the lies. Don’t give in to the fear.
Look forward to where he ends up next. The Contrarian?
Astonishing sign-off.
Elizabelle
Trump and federal grants today. How can one fascist cause all this disruption? We are getting that answered, daily, are we not?
He cannot be allowed to get away with this.
It’s like they saw Hitler’s 53-day timetable and decided to try to beat that. By days or weeks. Fuck ’em.
rikyrah
Just absolutely ridiculous for him to leave based on CNN nonsense
JPL
Amen!
Belafon
@Elizabelle: It’s not just one fascist. He’s surrounded by them, and he owns the Republican party.
Jeffro
MAGA don’t read, and the only thing they watch is Fox and Newsmax. You’d think the other networks and media outlets would figure it out…
also: maybe Mark Cuban could quit his full-time self-appointed critiquing Democrats down to the last nth degree for a second and pony up some $$$ to start an actual ‘news’ network. Call it the Informed Citizen Network. Why not?
Chris Johnson
@Elizabelle: There’s a reason. If he was going for stable, unfightable power, he’d be acting differently (or his people would be acting differently).
He’s smashing everything ASAP, for his Kremlin masters, because he doesn’t know any better and daren’t do anything else.
And they don’t have his best interests at heart, they just want to crush the United States as rapidly and hastily as possible.
And whether the Democrats know it, I bet you a large number of Republicans are perfectly aware of what’s going on, and that it’s dooming them personally and politically.
Buckle up.
Elizabelle
@Belafon: True.
We saw their yellow bellies when they rolled over for Hegseth.
Elizabelle
@Chris Johnson: I think he is going to trash the economy. How could this not?
Quicksand
Absolutely amazing that in our country now, “fired because he defied Trump” is something that is proudly proclaimed.
There was a time when something like that would be swept under the rug!
The Audacity of Krope
It would still be privately owned. Doesn’t get at the core problem and, despite the best intentions, with time, it would be captured too.
Maybe we could crowdfund a community owned news outlet, though.
tobie
Acosta’s message could not have been more clear. We are facing a dictator. The people must win. (For me to write that is a lot given that I define myself politically as a technocrat, not a populist. But we’re crossed the rubicon into tyranny with an executive branch that accepts no limits on its power.)
@Elizabelle: AG’s from NY, NY, CA, IL, MA and RI as well as non-profits will be submitting suits to halt Trump’s spending freeze. I hope they’re going judge-shopping. They’ve got more courts to explore than Republicans who kept on going to district judges in the 5th Circuit.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Apparently, the WH Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is claiming this “pause” won’t affect assistance going directly to individuals, such as food stamps and welfare benefits.
Should we believe her?
Elizabelle
@tobie: We are indeed. I like that Acosta used his platform to announce that. And CNN allowed him to do so, FWIW. (Dreadful network; would never have heard about this without BC and BJ.)
Good re the lawsuits. One thing The Felon is good at fomenting.
tobie
@Jeffro: Rome’s burning and some personalities seem hellbent on judging who stuck the landing. That’s a 10, a 10, I tell you.
The Audacity of Krope
A visual representation of how much credence I give claims from this White House:
We’ll see soon enough what the truth is.
tobie
@Elizabelle: Please let me know if you hear anything about a legal fund. The ACLU will definitely need contributions, but so will non-profits that take on this maladministration.
jimmiraybob
Trump is pushing to declare Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Presumably as a prelude to invasion. Peace president.
Ir would probably be more effective, and save a lot of American as well as Mexican lives, to ban illegal weapons trafficking from the US into Mexico. Why are we helping terrorist organizations?
CBS 60 Minutes Overtime:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guns-from-us-ending-up-in-mexico-60-minutes/
Jeffro
@The Audacity of Krope: I’m okay with privately owned, as long as the owner doesn’t turn it into a propaganda and/or disinformation machine.
just. report.
try it, media! why not? nothing else is working
Jeffro
@tobie: him and Jon Stewart and so many others: critiquing Dems’ approach or wording or strategy or whatever is always Job 1
that’s how we GOT here, for pete’s sake
HinTN
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
No – SATSQ
The Audacity of Krope
But propaganda and misinformation make more profit, the very reason for private ownership. The problem always creates itself because of capitalism.
Belafon
@Jeffro: Cuban could start something small, but he’s “only” worth $5.7B, which isn’t enough to get into the major media business. If you want to bug someone about that, MacKenzie Scott is in the position to to it.
Scout211
It’s not reporting the facts themselves, but at the very least, some legacy media are finding people who will report the facts and be messengers in opposition.
At the very least.
jimmiraybob
@Belafon:
Maybe he could team up with George Soros (>$7 billion net worth).
I'm not Rappaport
As someone else mentioned, I hope Acosta joins Jen Rubin and others like her on the Contrarian site.
Belafon
@Jeffro:
They are, that’s why they’re eliminating liberal and liberal-ish voices.
prostratedragon
@Elizabelle: All the uncertainty unleashed is already having ripple effects that are not fully reversable. Once something has been seen as a possibility, due dilligence requires accounting for it in later decisions. The added insurance features make it more costly ever after to do things.
Phylllis
@tobie: Politico (I know, but it’s the most I’ve found about it) has obtained two memos, the first a massive spreadsheet that departments are supposed to fill out and return to OMB by the end of next week, and a second, that supposedly provides more clarification and indicates there are limits to the order. The thing is, just eyeballing the Dept of Ed listings, it’s just about every program in their jurisdiction, including Title I, SPED funding, Career and Technology, and Adult Education. So which is it, targeted review of certain programs or every damn thing?
oldgold
I just cannot fathom how disastrous this pause is to our constitutional order and the most vulnerable among us.
Belafon
@Jeffro: The problem is that we’ve reached a point where even choosing what to report on is seen as partisan. By both sides.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Audacity of Krope:
@HinTN:
It’s funny, in a way part of me worries that the worst may not come to pass with this “pause” on federal funding wrt to WIC, EBT, etc, with the admin not being so suicidaly stupid as to cut off ALL funding, at least not for a significant period of time, whether on their own or by court order, and that the Dems could be seen as “crying wolf” if they criticize it
But then I hope the worst doesn’t happen because of the catastrophic consequences
Scout211
The Audacity of Krope
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I think, at this point, Republicans have enough faith in their media fluffers to let them do the worst by covering up or generating confusion about the consequences.
Trollhattan
After Possum Queen acquired the treasured Sean Spicer dais, she took it upon herself to constantly attack and belittle Acosta, essentially calling him stupid and uninformed to his face.
God how I loathe that woman and how sorry I felt for Costa, having to stay there and take it in order to do his damn job. Hope his next chapter is a good one.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Scout211:
Well, turns out they were lying. Surprise surprise. Now we see if they reverse course voluntarily or by court order.
Another question is if this is for all 50 states or just Democratic-controlled ones
He’s making a lot of enemies, very fast
Scout211
Also from NBC, the White House is now claiming that Medicaid sites were “down” today but will be up shortly.
X PressSec link
Pivot? More lies?
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Audacity of Krope:
I think it would be very difficult to cover up the effects of a 90 stop of all federal funding to things millions rely on in their everyday lives. When things go bad, people always blame the President
Jackie
@rikyrah:
CNN had already announced Acosta was losing his time slot to Wolf. He was “offered” a graveyard shift.
He is right to leave/quit on his terms. The FFOTUS hates him and basically told CNN to get rid of him asap.
Belafon
@Scout211: We have to wait for Trump to send in the military.
The Audacity of Krope
While this is one of the few times that blaming the President personally is actually valid, I’ve seen too much spin and propaganda succeed in my life to take heart until it actually happens.
Jackie
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
BAHAHAAAHAAAA!
The Audacity of Krope
Fixt.
Scout211
And the lawsuits begin: NBC again:
Belafon
@Scout211: “A group of 23”
Always remember this number when you hear Republicans talk about amendments.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@The Audacity of Krope:
I think having the economy crash and people going hungry within the first few months of taking office would be very difficult to spin for Trump. People will demand he fix it or wonder why he allowed this to happen in the first place.
It’s one thing when it’s all abstract and happening to other people, it’s quite another when it’s happening to you and people you care about
Kay
I think it’s bad too, FWIW
the censorship worries me. A lot.
Kay
Other than Iraq – a big asterisk – I think Wolf Blitzer is fine. I don’t find him as skewed against Democrats as a lot of the others.
I thought Acosta was fine too.
Trollhattan
Will the Post Office mysteriously “break” soon? It’s only the 28th.
Captain C
@jimmiraybob:
Because American gun manufacturers make a lot of money off of weapons which ‘somehow’ wind up in the hands of the cartels.
Avalune
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): we gotta remember that making a crisis allows one to take over – part of the ole tyranny playbook. Trump already bills himself as the only one who can fix it. He can dump blame on outgoing admin and just orchestrate a full take over.
Lobo
@prostratedragon: There is now a higher level of uncertainty and chaos in the system that has to be accounted for and priced. Trump’s shutdown is the equivalence of climate change on the unpredictability of weather and the accompanying risk associated with it.
Captain C
@Belafon: Perhaps she could buy the WaPo or the FTFNYT and convert them into nonprofit trusts with a mission to report the news and not simp to power. Though I think the Sulzberger family would need some “creative” persuading on that matter, as it’s all they’ve got to separate themselves from being nothing but nepo failbaby asshole incompetents.
Kay
People in Cleveland are saying Mexican restaurants are closing because of ICE
Has anyone actually seen that where they are?
WTFGhost
Holding on to hope is necessary.
Look: some 60-80% of the people will get pretty pissed off at Trump. Once there’s enough, even the cowardly Republicans will start to grow some semblance of a backbone. (NOT a backbone – not even a prosthetic one. But a *semblance* of one.)
When will he do something horrible? I’m not sure – it might be right now, he might be causing a recession.
It might have already happened, his boatload of orders, all giving conflicting information to different departments (come on – you *know* they weren’t edited for *consistency* – they can’t even spell Colombia right!), causing enough problems and headaches for enough people. It might be when there’s hate or mass shootings or who-knows-what. Or, alas, it might be after America goes full Nazi, you know, like “after Germany went full Nazi.”
Meh. They assault with hate and lies. But love is stronger than hate, and the truth is stronger than lies; and the biggest lie ever told is that a single heart’s love can’t make a difference.
It’s true, for all that it’s – I think the word is “cringe”?
sixthdoctor
rikyrah
@jimmiraybob:
Will repeat
Any invasion of Mexico has nothing to do with the cartels.
And, everything to do with the NATIONALIZED LITHIUM DEPOSITS IN MEXICO
700 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH
Harrison Wesley
@Captain C: I think the Philadelphia Inquirer is run by a nonprofit now.
The Audacity of Krope
@rikyrah: New England should join Canada. West coast states should join Mexico. Mid-Atlantic blue states, don’t know. Maybe Canada with us.
The rest can go be Dukes of Hazard with Boss Hogg as the hero on their own.
sab
@Kay: I am in Akron not Cleveland. Our nearest one is open and much busier than usual, especially for a Tuesday. So customers may be showing support.
EarthWindFire
@The Audacity of Krope: Why can’t us mid-Atlantic types go to Canada? After all, they were going to be our 51st state last week. Only problem is what to do with PA really. (I kid. Kinda.)
Kay
@sab:
Thanks. The person who told me is in the University area in Cleveland – gentrified. She says people say there’s closures by the baseball stadium too.
The Audacity of Krope
@EarthWindFire: PA has a decision to make. As far as the other Atlantic blue states, I have no problem with most of them coming. I’m a little suspicious of New York, though. 👀
Old School
@Kay: There was a raid on Cilantro Taqueria in Cleveland Heights on Sunday. The restaurant was closed yesterday. Not sure if that’s typical or not.
Princess
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I mean, people on Medicaid already can’t get care, so no.
Princess
@The Audacity of Krope: Canada doesn’t want any of you. Even your “blue” states are full of MAGA. And guns.
Chris Johnson
@The Audacity of Krope: I would point out this wears the mask of being evils generated by capitalism but in fact is not profitable at all for anybody, because it’s really war by Russia by other means.
Can’t chalk everything up to the evils of capitalism. In this case the fuckers are all going out of business in a giant kamikaze dive into a smoking crater. You CANNOT say they will profit. That’s not what this is for.
The Audacity of Krope
@Princess: If Trump makes good on his threats to invade Canada, blue states and Canada may see this as mutually beneficial.
Also, I’m sure there exist reactionary choads in Canada as well.
Betty
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I suspect the White House doesn’t actually know what the orders do. That’s how bad it is.
jimmiraybob
@rikyrah:
Please repeat often. I have assumed that the whole Canada, Greenland and Mexico bluster is all about pillaging resources. Just as I assume the talk of relocating Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank is all about property development and vacation villas for the rich.
The Audacity of Krope
Management and shareholders always find a way to profit even as the business fails, often using the failure of the business as a profit-seeking mechanism. Think of Romney’s hedge fund buying and shuttering and selling functional businesses.
All things cede to the need to accrue capital. CVS isn’t the biggest pharmacy chain because they’re the best at delivering pharmacy services. They’re the best at financial arrangements.
This repeats across our entire economy.
Princess
@The Audacity of Krope: And pied. My tolerance for Americans with imperialist ambitions is zero right now. Fix your own country; don’t invade mine. (And yes, whether it’s Trump or “nice” “blue”staters, it’s still imperialism.
@The Audacity of Krope:
The Audacity of Krope
@Princess: I’m saying we should not participate in any proposed invasion and support our good neighbors. Is some part of that not clear?
Ksmiami
@The Audacity of Krope: yep fuck this shit. We’ll be better off without Republican red states
LevelB
Don’t want to be a nitpicker, but you spelled ‘ass’ wrong. It is not ‘ring’.
LevelB
artem1s
@jimmiraybob:
good, they are terrorists. Now do the Russian Oligarch mobsters and the Michigan and Ohio Militias.
The Audacity of Krope
@artem1s: The Republican Party is a terrorist organization. They don’t want the competition. Though, they’re pretty strongly allied with Russian Mafia.
WTFGhost
@The Audacity of Krope: That’s simply not true in a healthy national environment. The problem is, we live in a national environment where a former President can be caught not merely *red* handed, but IR handed, with some of our most secret national security documents, where the indictment lays out that *of course* he knew he had them, and *of course* he knew it was illegal, and was afraid of legal consequences if he turned them over…
(deep breath)
AND about 40-50% of the people will scream that it was just because Democrats hated Trump.
In *that* environment, propaganda and misinformation are profitable. In one where such things are stomped on as they deserve to be, it’s not.
Please, never forget how completely FUBAR things are, how *far* they are from anything resembling normal. Normally, a liar like Trump would poll at 5%. But too many people pretend a dull-witted, unimaginative, cunning tinhorn is actually a full brass band playing a *beeee-autiful* melody.
The Audacity of Krope
@WTFGhost: I’m about 40 and I’m not seeing a whole lot different in terms of the media polishing Republican turds than I ever have. If things are FUBAR, maybe, but from where I’m standing they effectively always had been.
RaflW
@oldgold: I called Republican idiot Bryan Steil’s Janesville office today and left a crabby message asking why he’s silent while Meals on Wheels is potentially shut down, and UW Whitewater in his district faces drastic grant cuts.
Maybe just an exercise in vain, but worth the 3 minutes to vent
eta: I know it’s now the GOP party line to not give one single tiny shit about higher education, but I at least want the f’ker (or his embarrassed staffer at least) to know people see what’s happening.
WTFGhost
@The Audacity of Krope: Well… it has been pretty close to that way since 1994. Now, I don’t want to say the 92 elections or 94 midterms were a change in in essential tone, but, that was when the viciousness started – when Republicans would say *anything* about Democrats.
Now, I don’t mean Bob Dole was saying “the lying, thieving Democrat [sic] Party is destroying American culture! They despise you because you believe in God!”
But that’s the point: Bob Dole (elder statesman at the time) would be given a sic on “Democrat” because it wasn’t the Republican spelling of Democratic yet. *HE*, Presidential candidate, would be dignified, and say Republicans REALLY loved God, but Democrats didn’t love God as much as they loved secular humanism.
But while Bob Dole, prominent Republican politician (and not Newt Gingrich) was not willing to say anything and everything nasty about Democrats, the rest of the world was. And the news media was a willing accomplice – this was *cool* stuff, *good* clickbait!
Plus… for whatever reason, all the cool kids decided the Clintons were gross-buckets, or whatever meme-word was popular back then.
Instead of any rolling back of the intensity of the nastiness after a historic ’94 election win, they decided that meant that they had a mandate to destroy the President. And the thing is, when you’re spouting hate, the plain old hate of yesteryear doesn’t work any more, so, now Republicans accuse everyone who doesn’t like their policies of molesting children, because they haven’t quite reached accusations that they rape the Virgin Mary and abort the Baby Jesus.
There was a time when *all* people would have reported the truth of the 2020 election, and only crazies would have reported otherwise, but… well, that’s no longer the case, and Fox News is still considered a respectable news organization, in spite of settling a nearly-billion dollar lawsuit over the most important US news story in the 21st century.
There really have been changes.