Below is my column in The Hill on the recent “disinformation conference” held by leading democrats and media figures. It was a confab of the liberal politicians and journalists over how to deal with problems like Republicans, Fox News, roughly half of the voters and most television viewers. The solution for some seemed to be reeducation led by the media through even greater advocacy journalism and censorship.
This weekend MSNBC analyst John Heilemann and Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa) added their own suggestion for such reeducation. Dean agreed with Heilemann that Democrats “have to scare the crap out of [the Democratic base] and get them to come out. They can’t motivate them on the basis of hope or their pocketbooks or any of these accomplishments. They have to scare the crap out of them.”
Here is the column:
Tennessee Williams once lamented, “If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.” That fear came to mind this week when former President Barack Obama called upon “our better angels” at the ironically named “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy” conference at the University of Chicago.
The conference was a confab of media and political elite, gathered to discuss how to defeat their common demons: Republicans, Fox News, and apparently half of the electorate and most television viewers. In fact, the conference offered a chilling display of not just disinformation but delusion in dealing with current controversies.
It proved fascinating as the media and political elite openly worked through intractable problems like the backlash over burying the Hunter Biden scandal before the election. For that reason, it was particularly ironic that the conference was sponsored by The Atlantic magazine, which has been a source of some of the most criticized coverage.
One of the figures in special counsel John Durham’s ongoing investigation is Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer, who has been identified as “Reporter-2″ in Durham’s investigation of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann. Foer allegedly sent an early draft of the article for review by operatives working with the Clinton campaign, according to Durham, and the campaign later used the article to spread a false story involving Russia’s Alfa Bank and the Trump campaign.
Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, declared this week that “only one party in the American system has currently given itself over so comprehensively to fantasists.” He further denounced “social media-Big Data” for not censoring such views. Apparently, the extensive censorship of conservatives by Big Tech is not sufficient because any access to such forums “makes it easier and easier to inject falsehoods into political discourse.”
The Chicago conference resembled a mainstream-media version of a car show, featuring new political-narrative models for eager buyers. One came from Atlantic writer Anne Applebaum, who joined CNN figures in denouncing conservative media. That’s when University of Chicago student Daniel Schmidt delivered a haymaker question:
“A poll, later after that, found that if voters knew about the content of the [Hunter Biden] laptop, 16 percent of Joe Biden voters would have acted differently. Do you think the media acted inappropriately when they instantly dismissed Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation, and what can we learn from that in ensuring that what we label as disinformation is truly disinformation, and not reality?”
Applebaum responded by saying that she really did not care if the laptop was legitimate because she did not find it “interesting”: “My problem with Hunter Biden’s laptop is I think it’s totally irrelevant. I mean, it’s not whether it’s disinformation … I didn’t think Hunter Biden’s business relationships have anything to do with who should be president of the United States.”
It appears that laptop is no longer Russian disinformation. It is now just uninteresting or irrelevant, even though the president’s son may soon be indicted on this evidence.
Applebaum was one of those pushing the Russian disinformation claims in calling for censorship by Big Tech of conservatives. Back then, the Hunter Biden scandal was “relevant” as Russian disinformation. For example, in a column titled “The Science of Making Americans Hurt Their Own Country,” Applebaum praised the killing of the Hunter Biden “saga” and encouraged even greater efforts to control information for voters. She criticized those who “argue … that these 2020 efforts don’t need to be taken so seriously, because they failed.”
CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter also was confronted by a student, Christopher Phillips, who listed false stories run by CNN, from the Russia collusion stories to the Jesse Smollett case. Phillips then asked: “All the mistakes of the mainstream media and CNN, in particular, seem to magically all go in one direction. Are we expected to believe that this is all just some sort of random coincidence, or is there something else behind it?” Stelter responded dismissively that it was all just “a popular right-wing narrative” before returning to the narrative of the true demons on the right. Stelter has previously embraced censorship as part of a “harm reduction model” for media.
The conference was more about the demons than the angels of the mainstream media. The sense of frustration was palpable.
While pushing for greater private censorship, the conference adopted an almost clinical tenor of conservatives and Fox News-watchers being brainwashed or cognitively challenged. Yet, despite years of such attacks, Fox remains the most popular cable news network; it not only often doubles the viewership of its rivals, but more Democrats watch Fox than CNN. (For the record, I work as a Fox legal analyst. I previously worked for NBC, CBS and the BBC.)
Obama denounced “anger-based journalism” while promoting an advocacy-journalism model in which the media shape the news for citizens who supposedly need help to properly frame ideas. He and many other speakers highlighted a much-touted study by political scientists David Broockman and Joshua Kalla. The study has been featured by the Washington Post and many of these same outlets for its conclusion that Fox News viewers change their views when exposed to “good” news sources like CNN.
Obama declared the study as hopeful since it showed “how easy it is to shift people’s views on issues by changing their media diet.”
But the study itself is a study in bias. The researchers at Berkeley and Yale only subjected Fox viewers to this type of re-educational viewing; they paid Fox viewers to watch CNN but did not do the opposite to see how CNN viewers changed their views after being exposed to Fox. Moreover, the study assumed as fact what would be viewed as a contested viewpoint. For example, they assert that “Fox News largely did not inform viewers of Trump’s failure to protect the U.S. from the COVID-19 outbreak, whereas CNN extensively did so. This is concerning for democratic accountability.”
In the end, the study found the change was often slight, with less than 10 percent shifts on most questions and short-lived results, as viewers returned to their original viewing preferences.
The “hopeful” message — that we just have to change what people watch in order to save democracy — is hardly a new idea. Just last year, some Democratic members of Congress sought to pressure cable companies to take Fox off the air.
There is another possibility: As Obama summons the “better angels” of the left, they might consider promoting free speech. After all, we once believed good ideas can prevail over bad ones in an open marketplace of ideas. Instead, this crusade to rid liberals of their demons would kill the most angelic part of who we are as a people.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. Follow him on Twitter @JonathanTurley.
“when former President Barack Obama called upon “our better angels” at the ironically named “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy” conference at the University of Chicago.”
As if he is in any position for us to call upon “our better angels”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3V7Oqe1q-g
“Sept. 18: Obama is asked about the Benghazi attack on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” The president says, “Here’s what happened,” and begins discussing the impact of the anti-Muslim video. He then says, “Extremists and terrorists used this as an excuse to attack a variety of our embassies, including the consulate in Libya.” He also says, “As offensive as this video was and, obviously, we’ve denounced it and the United States government had nothing to do with it. That’s never an excuse for violence.””
https://www.factcheck.org/2012/10/benghazi-timeline/
“you would have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge”
To those who spew such vitriol:
Any chance of being civil on this blog? If not out of self-respect, then out of respect for your blog host.
CNN: the most trusted name in pedophilia. Ask Silberman how much he adores CNN.
Mere words cannot fathom the magnitude of Obama’s hypocrisy: Obama adds innocent Muslim 16-year-old American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki’s name to Obama’s illegal “Kill List,” then used a drone strike to incinerate Awlaki (in the ME/Yemen IIRC.) After which then-FBI Director Mueller tells Obama, “Go ahead and kill innocent Americans on American soil next time if you feel like, bro!” (If Obama incinerated Silberman by accident at that time, then Silberman would just be “collateral damage,” having been sacrificed on the altar of American security; if only.)
And yet Obama is still a righteous demigod to lawyer Silberman, who would deny a clear Demonkraut crime if it slapped him on the head.
Watch Silberman, non-Enigma and every other Demonkraut sycophant cloud, deny and/or obfuscate Obama’s crystal clear felony 1st degree murder defined above. Don’t believe it? The progressive-run search algorithms scrubbed the video from the net but you can still read John Cusack’s interview of Jonathan Turley on this very subject and more Re. Obama’s felonious crimes: https://truthout.org/articles/john-cusack-and-jonathan-turley-on-obamas-constitution/
CNN: the most trusted name in pedophilia. Ask Silberman how much he adores CNN.
Mere words cannot fathom the magnitude of Obama’s hypocrisy: Obama adds innocent Muslim 16-year-old American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki’s name to Obama’s illegal “Kill List,” then used a drone strike to incinerate Awlaki (in the ME/Yemen IIRC.) After which then-FBI Director Mueller tells Obama, “Go ahead and kill innocent Americans on American soil next time if you feel like, bro!” (If Obama incinerated Silberman by accident at that time, then Silberman would just be “collateral damage,” having been sacrificed on the altar of American security; if only.)
And yet Obama is still a righteous demigod to lawyer Silberman, who would deny a clear Demonkraut crime if it slapped him on the head.
Watch Silberman, non-Enigma and every other Demonkraut sycophant cloud, deny and/or obfuscate Obama’s crystal clear felony 1st degree murder defined above. Don’t believe it? The progressive-run search algorithms scrubbed the video from the net but you can still read John Cusack’s interview of Jonathan Turley on this very subject and more Re. Obama’s felonious crimes: https://truthout.org/articles/john-cusack-and-jonathan-turley-on-obamas-constitution/
And no, I’m not a Trumpist but instead believe he’s unfit for elected office.
I have never been a Trumpist but I am now. Trump would have never allowed our country to collapse like it has since the Dems orchestrated a coup against him in 2016.
Bring back Trump. Shoot traitors to the US of A
“CNN: the most trusted name in pedophilia. Ask Silberman how much he adores CNN.”
Silberman and pedophilia in the same sentence. Interesting.
This is what the left does in China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K0YFQ8Ww5A
Warning, don’t go to American cities controlled by Democrats. They are trending in the same directions as the CCP.
What a disgusting sick Covid joke progressive Dems promulgate: about twice as many Americans died of Covid under Biden than Trump.
Progressives can’t count. They were studying political correct history in math class.
Recall Joe’s campaign promise to cure Covid?
Obviously Joe was misunderstood. When he said he’d cure Covid he meant he’d cure it like meat, to preserve it. This way he can use emergency powers in perpetuity.
Jared Kushner Shows Hunter Biden How To ‘Really’ Stuff Pockets
Six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from a fund led by the Saudi crown prince, a close ally during the Trump administration, despite objections from the fund’s advisers about the merits of the deal.
A panel that screens investments for the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund cited concerns about the proposed deal with Mr. Kushner’s newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, previously undisclosed documents show.
Those objections included: “the inexperience of the Affinity Fund management”; the possibility that the kingdom would be responsible for “the bulk of the investment and risk”; due diligence on the fledgling firm’s operations that found them “unsatisfactory in all aspects”; a proposed asset management fee that “seems excessive”; and “public relations risks” from Mr. Kushner’s prior role as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, former President Donald J. Trump, according to minutes of the panel’s meeting last June 30.
But days later the full board of the $620 billion Public Investment Fund — led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and a beneficiary of Mr. Kushner’s support when he worked as a White House adviser — overruled the panel.
Ethics experts say that such a deal creates the appearance of potential payback for Mr. Kushner’s actions in the White House — or of a bid for future favor if Mr. Trump seeks and wins another presidential term in 2024.
Mr. Kushner played a leading role inside the Trump administration defending Crown Prince Mohammed after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that he had approved the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post and resident of Virginia who had criticized the kingdom’s rulers.
A spokesman for Mr. Kushner’s firm said of its relationship with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, “Affinity, like many other top investment firms, is proud to have PIF and other leading organizations that have careful screening criteria, as investors.”
Edited From:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html
This reporting made me immediately LOL about how Turley repeatedly gets left hanging by the trumpists yet still keeps coming back for more. No doubt this will spur another ‘but Hunter!!!’ backlash in his op eds as well as on this comment board as the glaring evidence of Trump family corruption arises yet again and the conned MAGATS seek to justify what they not so secretly admire about the trumps. It would actually be entertaining if it wasn’t so moronic….
But I’m concerned for Turley. At one point I considered him somewhat of a Greek tragedy, now though he’s just a mouthpiece that gets sent out to try to justify the most intense corruption only to have his efforts at rationalizing get blown up in his face by the very people who hired him in the first place…
One might wonder what they actually have on Turley since cohorts like Barr were allowed to take the off ramp pre 1/6.
E.b represent
Fake News Alert
Of course it’s fake news. They haven’t learned to tie pieces together. All they have is innuendo that falls apart when looked at..
George Costanza: “My dream is to become hopeless. When you’re hopeless, you don’t care, and when you don’t care, that indifference makes you attractive.”
Eb is our George C.
Wonder what the over/under is on whether there’s a bone saw with Jared’s name on it if and when Trump runs and loses again in ’24?
Anonymous: I was just preparing my own comment on this subject. You beat me to the punch. Good review of how Jared Kushner used his position as Trump’s “foreign policy” advisor to cover for the Saudis and reap the financial rewards. Makes Hunter Biden look like a piker. But I suppose Turley will double down and still claim Hunter’s laptop reveals a vast scheme of family corruption–the “scandal” of the century. Hard to rationalize now with the Kushner revelations. From his defense of his buddy Bill Barr, the Thomas’ and his employer Rupert Murdock Turley has given up his claim to be just an “academic” and “constitutional scholar”. He is just another political hack!
You do realize there is a whole story with the only name being Kushner, the Saudi Prince and Khashoggi? Its a whole story about a story by unnamed persons.
It is lacking in any crime, or regulation violations. A big nothing. A businessman that has been doing business for more than a decade, resuming his business after leaving his White House position at the end of the Trump administration.
What exactly do you think should be done about this entirely legal business transaction?
I’ve seen this gathering before with a tad less talk of re-education, youth corps and scaring people into mass obedience. And they used to be better dressers with stiffer posture and have better political banners:
Have you seen the YouTube video of the Disney Re-Education Camp?
MESPO:
Which contemporary American politician holds big rallies on a regular basis? It ain’t Joe Biden, that’s for sure. It’s that other guy; the one with yellow hair and orange make-up. Trump is addicted to large crowds of worshipful supporters. Just like Adolph what’s-his-name. Even the pandemic couldn’t stop Trump from holding big rallies. And ‘no’, Trump doesn’t care if people get covid at his rallies. Former presidential candidate Herman Cain died of Covid after attending a Trump rally. Though out of deference to Trump, Cain tried to play-down the coincidental timing of his eventual death.
The liar is doing what he does best, lying, but we all know that.
My sincere apologies for the duplication of my comments. I did not think that my first post had gone through.
Catherine says:
“We need to teach our youth how to think, not what to think!”
What do you think about Conservatives teaching their youth NOT to think:
https://creationmuseum.org/
Hey Jeff, just like they told you not to think on RussiaGate. Just like they told you not to think about The Hunter laptop. You went to it like a bee to the honey. They’re still telling you what to think. You just suck up the bitter nectar and say thank you sir may I have another. You’ve been so long in their reeducation camp that you can no longer break free.
You won’t acknowledge that I AGREE with Turley’s criticism of the failures of the MSM. Secondly, you refuse to accept that Turley turns a blind eye to such abuses at Fox.
JeffSilberman, you must be considering that Professor Turley didn’t talk about how wrong Fox News was when they said that Russiagate wasn’t true. You must be thinking about how the Professor didn’t call Fox on the carpet when they said that the Hunter laptop wasn’t Russian disinformation but was authentic. Are these the times that you are talking about when the Professor should have informed us that Fox News was just spreading lies. I understand your heartfelt desire for fairness in the news. All of a sudden.
Russiagate = trump accepting foreign help in a domestic election in 2016 before trying it again four years later.
E.b. represent
Man, you are crazy. Biden has been dealing with Russia and China getting his 10%.
What is this E. b. represent. Hiding a bit more?
JeffSilberman, it was the southern Democrat that didn’t want to consider creation. It was the southern Democrats who did everything they could to keep the black man on the plantation. It was a southern Democrat who stood in the school house door to keep black men from the right to be educated. It was a southern Democrat who said they would have the n——— voting for the Democratic party for the next two hundred years. It was a southern Democratic Senator who was an Exalted Cyclops in the Ku Klux Klan. The Creationists with power were all southern Democrats. These southern Democrats told people what to think and not how to think. I understand, these are just a few things that you don’t like to think about.
You are so right! RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE Democrats.
Jeff, you must mean those “RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS” who voted for the largest expansion of the central government in the nations history known as the New Deal. You must be talking about those “RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE DEMOCRATS” who wanted to pack the Supreme Court by raising the number of justices from nine to twelve so that they could have more control by the central government. It would be appreciated if you would just learn a little about the history of the “SOCIALIST DEMOCRATS” who ruled the south. To much to ask I suppose.
Turley not criticizing Ingraham for pushing the false narrative that the election was rigged by Smartmatic and Dominion.
Turley not deploring the paranoid myth voiced by Hannity of a sinister “Deep State.”
Turley not condemning the false flag conspiracy theory of Carlson’s “Patriot Purge” which prompted several long-time Fox employees to flee the network- an unprecedented story about which Turley never commented.
Turley used to see fit to object to conspiracy theories like Birtherism:
“The White House has released President Obama’s long-form birth certificate to put the growing controversy to rest over his birth. Many of us have been critical of the birther conspiracy theories.”
https://jonathanturley.org/2011/04/27/birth-of-a-nation-obama-releases-long-form-birth-certificate/
Not anymore since going into Fox’s employ.
Jeff, you know that Ingram, Hannity and Carlson are all opinion commentators right. CNN, CBS and MSNBC ran the Russiagate story during their news ours. These outlets presented Russiagate as news to be believed and not opinion. Professor Turley is concerned about false stories presented by the news desks of papers such as The New York Times and The Washington post, and the news outlets of CNN and MSNBC. Speaking of the Deep State, we should consider the coordination between CNN, MSNDC, The Times, The Post, The FBI, The CIA and the Democratic Leadership to distribute and pay for the phony RussiaGate story. Seems pretty “Deep State” to me. Maybe I’m mistaken. It was just a bunch of school boys and girls pulling a harmless prank. Thankfully the laughing has come to a shameful end.
TiT,
Ingraham, Hannity and Carlson ARE Fox News. They are the prime time stars. They carry the network. Everyone knows it.
You can’t simply dismiss them as mere opinion makers. They also report the news, and THEN provide their opinions. They create narratives. I’m sure Turley- were he to be asked- would undoubtedly concede that Fox viewers get their “news” largely from these hosts.
You don’t know me well enough to BS me. Don’t try it again.
“They also report the news, and THEN provide their opinions. ”
That is right. They report the news and then render an opinion. Your preferred choice is reporting opinion as the news and then doubling down. Do you see how idiotic that sounds?
Unfortunately, when it comes to news, you can’t discuss it. You discuss an opinion that you think is news. Doesn’t that sound idiotic as well?
The left lying about the lie the left started.
Never understood the issue. No one ever made a claim that Obama’s mother was not a US born citizen.
The debate was always, What did Obama/his family “Claim” Obama’s citizenship. Specifically, What did Obama claim on his College application. Foriegn citizens going to US colleges, often made the colleges eligible for federal monies, that made college very cheap. We know Obama lied about his life.
Even his autobiography was a work of of fiction.
Once a Birther, always a Birther.
Retarded is forever.
You have proof of someone claiming Obama’s mother is not a US Citizen? But you lack the minimal amount of intellect to engage in a fact based discussion. Especial one that prove you’re lying.
JS, you are a fair guy, so let us hear the truth about what was on Obama’s application. Can you do that? Is fairness an idea to be used as a weapon, or do you believe in it?
You talk of equality of opportunity. Why didn’t you send someone without your options to Dartmouth while you got a job at Burger King? You might have gotten a better education based on your inability to provide answers.
Jeff, before the Obama ‘birther’ incident there was the John McCain ‘birther’ incident where some were questioning his right to run for President because he was born in The Canal Zone. Now who does anyone think started that, maybe the Obama Campaign. The more legitimate question regarding Obama would have been ‘Did he ever give up his Indonesia citizenship and passport, if so, when’? When Obama was adopted by his Indonesian step-father, Mr. Lolo Soetoro, he became a citizen of Indonesia. Both may have been legitimate questions to ask but should not have risen to the level of controversy.
Of far more concern is the march toward totalitarianism that is insidious in it’s slow creep. And this is promulgated by those on the left and includes the media figures, politicians, etc some of whom attended this conference. But, they will always say “it is not us that wants total control of society, it’s the other guy, party, leader, whatever”.
From my observation this began in the early 1900s with the Progressives and the eugenics movement to get rid of “undesirables”, indeed the promotion of birth control and then abortion was to this end, led by Sanger and then Planned Parenthood. It is couched in the ‘feel good’ policies of “helping women”. In the 60’s with Johnson’s Great society and the expansion of the Welfare system where one had to be a single parent in order to get state help, encouraged families to basically disintegrate. Where at one time 80% of African American families were two parent households that is now down to about 20% and generational welfare is a norm. This is not only in the African American community, single parent households in white communities has also risen (interestingly, not in the Asian community). This has the effect of keeping a wide majority of people inter-generationally excluded from gaining adequate education and wealth (you gain more when two horses pull a cart than one, to quote my sainted grandmother).
Since the sixties there has been the breakdown of other institutions that used to bind communities together and give moral compass, one of which is churches/synagogues. At one time it was the religious communities that helped people out in times of financial distress, now it is the State. Lately, it is the breakdown of law enforcement.
These are just the basics but it is an inexorable march to having people depend on the State rather than their family, community, etc. It becomes the loss of individual identity where people have wide ranges of viewpoints to where only one is acceptable.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
It’s good enough for me.
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It was good for Paul and Silas,
It’s good enough for me.
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It was good for the Hebrew children,
It’s good enough for me.
It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It was good for our mothers,
It’s good enough for me.
Makes me love ev’rybody,
Makes me love ev’rybody,
Makes me love ev’rybody,
It’s good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
It’s good enough for me.
If you believed what you wrote, you would have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge
You pussy
Darren,
I’m putting you on notice that I am collecting all these despicable urgings for my suicide to present to Turley as evidence that you are not enforcing the civility rule.
““The White House has released President Obama’s long-form birth certificate to put the growing controversy to rest over his birth. Many of us have been critical of the birther conspiracy theories.”
Why did the Hillary Clinton campaign start that controversy? Was she a Republican? Was she religious? Was she a conservative?
Be that as it may, the point is only Trumpists are prone to continue to believe Birtherism. Turley was an anti-Birther then, and he is a NeverTrumper now. Period.
Hillary Clinton started Birtherism. She is a Democrat. She also is involved in the Russia hoax. I can provide a lot more Democrat craziness, but you are so crazy that it is unnecessary.
“You are so right! RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVE Democrats.”
It seems that we are getting to the core of Jeff’s thinking process. Jeff can’t stand people who happen to be religious. The things he hates are people of a conservative nature and religious people. Jeff thinks of himself more of a party animal.
I don’t hate religious people anymore than I hate those believers in Heaven’s Gate who committed suicide to rise to the Mothership or those followers of Jim Jones or David Koresh. I pity all such brainwashed people like Trumpists. I can’t hate those that I pity.
You don’t hate anything according to your words, but the thoughts you convey to others are quite different. I don’t have to prove it as it has been proven repeatedly by a large number of posters that provide good rationals.
Keep thinking yourself to be the center of greatness. We mostly avoid the cesspool you float in.
So Obama has denounced “anger-based” journalism and is promoting an advocacy-journalism model in which the media shape the news for citizens who supposedly need help to properly frame ideas. This is truly an elitist position. It harkens back to the role of the Philosopher Kings in Plato’s Republic – those in the know run the show. A counterpoint would be to re-introduce the development of critical thinking skills in our schools. We need to teach students how to think, not what to think. Armed with the skills to understand various viewpoints, our children will be able to engage in a vigorous debate of the issues. We need academic rigor, not advocacy journalism.
So Obama has denounced “anger-based” journalism while promoting an advocacy-journalism model in which the media shape the news for citizens who supposedly need help to frame ideas. I think that says it all. The Obama position creates an implication that there would be journalists whose viewpoints would qualify them to shape the news, thereby helping frame ideas and issues for the citizenry. This is a dangerous concept which harkens back to the role of the Philosopher Kings in Plato’s Republic – those in the know run the show. Elitists like Barack Obama would supplant education with indoctrination. If we incorporate the development of critical thinking skills into the curriculum, we have a chance of raising children who can frame the issues of the day and engage in a vigorous debate of those issues. Let’s replace the myopic views of these elitists with academic rigor in our schools. We need to teach our youth how to think, not what to think!
OT
“Barr: Durham appears to have ‘dug very deep’, uncovered ‘good information’ on Russia probe”
– DML.com
_________
William “Deep Deep State” Barr is so kindly and grandfatherly, assuring Americans that his hand-picked “Deep Deep State” Special Counsel, John Durham, is preparing an historic whitewash of the Obama Coup D’etat in America.
“Nothing to see here, move along, folks.”
How nice…and they get away with it, right before our very eyes.
What the —- is going on around here; America is exponentially more rancid and corrupt than Putin’s Russia.
Durham has taken three years to make only one co-conspirator, Sussmann, the “scapegoat.”
Durham has only about 75 more targets to charge and convict for the most prodigious political crime in American history.
That ought to take about 150 years at this pace.
“This is not going to be eradicated, and it’s not going to be eliminated,” Fauci told ABC’s “This Week.” “And what’s going to happen is that we’re going to see that each individual is going to have to make their calculation of the amount of risk that they want to take”
Something rational conservatives have been saying for over a year.
COVID ZERO was NEVER a rational expectation. Individual persons are the only ones capable of assessing risks.
“The organization based the outcomes on deaths, economy, and education.
Republican governed states Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana, and South Dakota made up the top five. Florida came in sixth.
The bottom six are Illinois, California, New Mexico, New York, DC, and New Jersey. (I included six so I could mention Illinois, my home state.)
The study vindicates everything the right (especially Leslie!!) said about the pandemic, especially when it came to closing schools:”
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/04/study-red-states-handled-covid-the-best-while-blue-states-failed/
Earlier JeffSilberman posted once again that Professor Turley is a mouthpiece for Fox News. To go onto CNN or MSNBC the Professor would have to be invited. Dear JeffSilberman please grace us with your knowledge concerning any invites that the Professor has received from your much esteemed CNN and MSNBC. The last time that I asked you if Professor Turley had been invited to the fake news channels it grew so quiet that the crickets didn’t make a sound. You complain about the Professor being on Fox but you display no curiosity about whether he has ever been invited on CNN or MSNBC. The truth of the matter is that you don’t want Professor Turley to be heard on any news network at all. We very much appreciate your telling us who you are each and every day.
TiT asks:
“JeffSilberman please grace us with your knowledge concerning any invites that the Professor has received from your much esteemed CNN and MSNBC.”
How would I know. But know this: I have invited him here to answer OUR questions.
Crickets….
BTW, TiT,
I’m still waiting for your reply:
https://jonathanturley.org/2022/04/10/the-university-of-wisconsin-delays-free-speech-survey/comment-page-1/#comment-2173328
Jeff, here is my response. How is the Professor supposed to tell us that Fox got it wrong On Russiagate and the Hunter Laptop when it was Fox who got the story correct and it was Fox that pushed back against the Democrats as they were lying to the nation. How is the Professor supposed to criticize Fox News when they got the story exactly right?. How was Professor Turley supposed to not criticize your friends at CNN and MSNBC when they fanned the flames of a lie on every day of the year? You need to face reality Jeff. Fox got it right and you got it wrong because you have been so long in the reeducation camp that they have taken down the concertina wire because they know you will no longer try to escape.
Jeff cannot answer. He lacks facts, so he relies on deflection and rhetoric that lacks content.
You stated the facts correctly: ” How was Professor Turley supposed to not criticize your friends at CNN and MSNBC when they fanned the flames of a lie on every day of the year?” They deserve a direct response.
“Yes, you are correct mein Fuhrer. First an attempt must be made to change the mind of the refuseniks. If this tactic doesn’t work we must then scare the hell out of them. We must not let them see any information other than that provided by the state. If these tactics don’t work we will have to call on the final solution strategy The Fuhrer replied, “Lets just skip the tactics and go right to the strategy.” The similarities are obvious.