Belief has been banished

George Rebane

Equity is the enemy of liberty.

In the days of yore we had a national institution called the Fourth Estate – professional journalism.  It was staffed by reporters taught by their editors to be ‘curious, hard-bitten skeptics’, always seeking alternative sides to what they were being told.  In a recent piece (here) by national columnist Gerard Baker, “The good reporter doubted whatever he was told, even what time it was. He’d weigh competing accounts and explanations and actively seek out alternative versions. Read the bios of great reporters from the past and they’ll be scattered with adjectives like ornery and insubordinate.”

More than ever, today the country is faced with major crises, manufactured and managed in the media – Covid pandemic, open borders, unbounded debt, preventable man-made climate change, catastrophic crime rates, race relations, CRT school curricula, accelerating dumbth of the electorate, rogue ‘deep state’ departments destroying businesses and lives, retreat of US hegemony, and on and on.  In any sense of the word, facts about these are no longer reported.  “‘Reported’ is a misnomer. They aren’t facts; (instead) they are sacred revealed truths, unchallengeable arguments invested with epistemic certainty and moral clarity.”

“Journalism is no longer about trying to tell us what happened; it’s about telling us what we must believe, on pain of moral peril. On every major topic, … every story blares out at us with censorious didacticism, the journalist’s smug disdain for the unbelievers pouring through (their) prose.”  (Full disclosure - as declared here years ago, I am NOT a journalist.)

With journalism in the bag, it didn’t take long for other national institutions to corrupt everything that they were supposed to inform us about.  Everything coming out of our law enforcement agencies, public health institutes, justice departments, the judiciary, legislatures, environmental bureaus, commerce, elected politicians, …, everything they declared, stated, published, etc had a short half-life as truth.  Many of the lies today are so blatant that they scarcely last through the news making interview.

Leaders in this downfall are what we here label as the lamestream media.  These are broadcast, internet, and hardcopy outlets that overwhelmingly toe the Left’s progressive narrative, and serve as the reliable trumpet of the Democratic National Committee and leadership elites.  They package and embellish only the part of the news that serves to cement leftwing talking points du jour.  This is easy to tell from both these pages and simply comparing news items (no matter how reported) from both rightwing and leftwing outlets.  As the liberals here daily confirm, the lamestream covers only a subset of items that are found on rightwing outlets like Fox, Newsmax, OAN, Epoch Times, and associated websites.

(The latest tactic to assure that the future generations of voters are compliant double dummies, anti-education Democrats, led by Oregon governor Kate Brown, who has now surreptitiously signed a law that makes reading and math proficiency optional for the state’s high school graduates.  One can never have enough uncritical, true-believing constituents.  I expect this initiative to be replicated in other Democrat led states – more here.)

Rightwing outlets, led by Fox, claim to be “fair, balanced, and unafraid” of the censorious Left and their rampant cancel culture.  But unfortunately that also is not true.  There is plenty of evidence that rightwing outlets have a healthy fear of political incorrectness and retribution.  A timely example should suffice to spread the blame.  MyPillow’s Mike Lindell is a longtime staunch Trump supporter, and a leader in the rightwing movement claiming that the 2020 election was stolen.  Lindell is sponsoring a limited attendance 3-day Cyber Symposium in Sioux Falls that started today (more here).  Almost every leftwing outlet of any stature has been dunning and denigrating the conference as another rightwing attempt to once more convince the country of the fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election.  Lindell has been a big advertiser on Fox News and also wanted to advertise his symposium on the network.

FN said no, and not only no, but it didn’t even include mention of this otherwise covered conference in its news broadcasts.  For a change, you had to watch CNN and MSNBC to learn of Lindell’s latest effort to keep the election fraud pot boiling.  Not only did FN’s news programs shun Lindell’s gathering, but so also did that king of conservative commentary on Fox, Tucker Carlson, “the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, smugness and groupthink.”  Carlson has taken on the Left on some pretty controversial and damning issues.  He advertises himself as being Mr Balls-to-the-floor himself when it comes to reporting what others hide.  But Tucker has been too scared to even mention Lindell or simply report the massive vituperation thrown at him on the lamestream.  This reflects poorly on Carlson and doubly so on his colleague Bret Baier, FN’s lead news anchor on their flagship news program.  I am saddened by all this duck-and-cover fear in a network I used to hold in high esteem.  (We’ll see what Tucker says tonight.)

Gerard Baker concludes his piece with – “The modern journalist is different. His primary ambition is to be part of the expert class, to identify as a member of the cultural elite, happily swaddled in all their shared nostrums. He’s most content when he’s wagging a finger at the selfish fools who continue to doubt climate extremism, express skepticism about vaccines, or deny their innate white sinfulness. … His virtue thus signaled, he luxuriates in the knowledge that he’s on the side of the chosen ones. It’s just a pity it’s no longer journalism.”

So, who are we supposed to believe today?

[Later]  Neither Bret Baier nor Tucker Carlson on Fox News made mention of Mike Lindell's Cyber Symposium which continues for two more days.

Comments

[Don Bessee]

Where is the ponytail of ignorance formerly known as the po' ol' fakenewsman supporting his ilk?

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

Not on the topic of the dreadful state of journalism 101, but it might fit here.

‘Infiltrating the far left’
What I learned from years of sneaking onto Momentum calls

“But power, and the pursuit of it, also changes you — whichever angle you come at it from. I think of it as rather like a black hole. Black holes pull in everything around them — inevitably, and inexorably, you will get further and further towards the centre of it, once you get close enough to begin with. They also distort the image of everything around them, just like what an observer would see as they saw a friend or a colleague falling into the event horizon that surrounds those centres of power.

The closer and closer they get, the less and less they look like the person you knew.

Spending too much time around those who seek it — especially when their own politics are so hateful — can change you too, though. I think that might be what’s happening to me. You see, I was never a hateful person myself before I started doing this — but now, I despise these people and everything they do. I suppose hate rubs off — and at the end of the day, even if all they teach you to hate is themselves, hate is still hate.“

[Bill Tozer]

https://thecritic.co.uk/infiltrating-the-far-left/

[Bill Tozer]

Essay starts of like this:

Jonathan Rauch’s Truth Crisis
A spokesman for the ‘reality-based community’ acquits his own class and condemns its critics

“America is in a truth crisis. Its citizens have divided into tribes that believe radically different realities. Institutions devoted to finding the truth and creating knowledge have been corrupted by censors and bullies. The digital platforms that host our national discourse are designed to keep us outraged.

This is the assessment of Jonathan Rauch in his provocative book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Our political culture suffers from a lack of epistemic humility, or the appreciation that we understand what is true by allowing truths to be tested. It also suffers from a kind of epistemic helplessness, in that too many people have given up altogether on trying to ascertain objective truth.

There are many villains in this story. There are the ideologues that believe words are a form of violence and encourage the shaming and chilling of speech that dissents from new theories of race and gender. There are social media companies that have created an attention-based economy that rewards shock and indignation. And of course there is Donald Trump and his enablers who engage in what Rauch calls “troll epistemology,” which produces a firehose of falsehood. All of these forces threaten the “constitution of knowledge,” the “epistemic operating system” for liberal societies, or the “social rules for turning disagreement into knowledge.”

Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the constitution of knowledge is not written down. It is rather a culture that has evolved over time to determine how we know something is true, such as whether the claim is falsifiable and whether it can withstand reasonable scrutiny. In practice this creates a code of conduct for knowledge elites. Mainstream newspapers are supposed to promptly correct their errors. Scholarly journals require articles to be peer reviewed. Lawyers should be disbarred for lying in court. All of this comprises the “filtering and pumping stations” that form the basis of our shared reality.

The people who adhere to the constitution of knowledge are what Rauch calls the “reality-based community.” Rauch has borrowed this term from the pre-Twitter progressive blogs of the 2000s that used it as tribal branding. Back then it was a jibe popularized by the George W. Bush administration, which allegedly didn’t care for facts and expertise. Rauch uses it to distinguish between the credentialed knowledge class, of which he approves, and the trolls, cranks, and propagandists who seek to discredit objective truth itself. While not all members of the reality-based community agree on all facts, they do agree on “the method of establishing facts.” The enemies of this community do not.”

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/rauch-eli-lake

[Bill Tozer]

WASHINGTON POST ATTACKS FACEBOOK FOR INSUFFICIENT CENSURING OF CONSERVATIVES ENOUGH
The Washington Post is upset that Facebook isn’t censoring a perfectly legitimate point of view presented by some Republican politicians — that Joe Biden’s immigration policies are contributing to the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. The Post accuses Facebook of allowing elected Republicans to indulge in “hate speech,” spread “coronavirus misinformation,” and raise funds in the process.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/08/washington-post-attacks-facebook-for-insufficient-censuring-of-conservatives-enough.php

[George Boardman]

Would that be the same Gerard Baker who prevented his reporters from using the word "liar" in their coverage of Donald Trump when he was editor of The Wall Street Journal? I detect a whiff of hypocrisy.

[George Rebane]

GeorgeB 1048am - Do you know who the NYT, WaPo, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, ... editors are who prevent/ed their correspondents and reporters from using the word 'liar' in their coverage of Obama and now Biden??

[fishniglio]

Posted by: George Boardman | 12 August 2021 at 10:48 AM

I detect a whiff of hypocrisy.....

I imagine the overwhelming stench of hypocrisy permeates the newsroom.

[Bill Tozer]

EXC: Slate Magazine’s Editorial Board Took CCP-Sponsored Trips To China.

https://thenationalpulse.com/exclusive/slate-mag-took-cusef-trips-to-china-for-favorable-coverage/

[Scott O]

Oh, Boardman 10:48 - really.
One day you, Paul, and maybe some other TDS sufferers will learn a little about the English language.
This just might help:
“Why the reluctance?" he wrote. "For my part, it’s not because I don’t believe that Mr. Trump has said things that are untrue. Nor is it because I believe that when he says things that are untrue we should refrain from pointing it out … “If we are to use the term “lie” in our reporting, then we have to be confident about the subject’s state of knowledge and his moral intent. I can see circumstances where we might. I’m reluctant to use the term, not implacably against it.”
https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/01/wsj-editor-gerard-baker-defends-meet-the-press-appearance-233196

[Bill Tozer]

When they all wore matching pussy hats to work......and fabricated another make believe hero and villian.

‘Finally, An Admission From The Media That They Are Responsible For Andrew Cuomo’

The Washington Post’s Megan McArdle doesn’t get any points for a too-late

That perception exists purely because the media claimed it did, even though it wasn’t the reality. The difference between Cuomo and DeSantis isn’t that either of them was more or less “casual.” It was that Cuomo issued blanket lockdowns and mandates for every single person in his state, while DeSantis was more targeted as to who should be protected — mostly the elderly — in his.

If anything, DeSantis was more meticulous and Florida has a lower death rate than New York.

Maybe six months from now, McCardle will let us know how “looking back” it’s “obvious.”

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/12/finally-an-admission-from-the-media-that-they-are-responsible-for-andrew-cuomo/

[Bill Tozer]

This one left me speechless and a bit horrified.

‘Column: Cable News 'Death Cult' Craziness Goes Unpunished’

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/tim-graham/2021/08/13/column-cable-news-death-cult-craziness-goes-unpunished

[Paul Emery]

George

Are you being critical of the media for not giving attention to Lindell's self coined "reinstatement day" which by the way was supposed to be today? This was the Day Biden was to be banished and Trump would take over. That date has been used for months. The fact i was a big failure should have been in the news.

Direct quote :

"The morning of August 13 it'll be the talk of the world, going, 'Hurry up! Let's get this election pulled down, let's right the right, let's get these Communists out, you know, that have taken over,'" Lindell told Brannon Howse in early July.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/08/13/qanon-marked-friday-as-trump-reinstatement-day-here-are-other-flop-predictions-of-trumps-return/?sh=46fd74f82a77

[Barry Pruett]

George. It was quite common for most, if not all of the media, to be forbidden from using the word liar when referring to politicians. And politicians are known for telling whoppers. Trump so disrupted the media that those guardrails that had traditionally been there were erased. In fact during trumps presidency, I was shocked at the rhetoric by the MSM

[George Rebane]

PaulE 519pm - I'm criticizing Fox for not reporting on a prominent national figure still going through some pyrotechnics on the 2020 election. The lamestream had no trouble making fun of Lindell. IMHO Fox could at least have reported on this last joust against the windmills. Their silence on this three-day event was bad journalism.

[Bill Tozer]

That ain't a correction, thats a full blown retraction. Stupid, ignorant, or just the usual friggin liars? I report, you decide. Nobody is that stupid, right?

'One Heck Of A Correction’: Texas Tribune Publishes False COVID Numbers For Children'

https://www.dailywire.com/news/one-heck-of-a-correction-texas-tribune-publishes-false-covid-numbers-for-children

The Left is truly the Death Cult Party.

[Bill Tozer]

re "Journalism is no longer about trying to tell us what happened; it’s about telling us what we must believe, on pain of moral peril. On every major topic, … every story blares out at us with censorious didacticism, the journalist’s smug disdain for the unbelievers pouring through (their) prose.”
--
Joy Reid: ‘Homicidal’ Republicans Don’t Believe in ‘Staying Alive,’ Don’t Want Citizens to Live

"They later closed out the segment by dismissing the border crisis and mocking the concerns about Covid spread among illegal immigrants as – yes – racist"

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/curtis-houck/2021/08/13/joy-reid-homicidal-republicans-dont-believe-staying-alive-dont

[Paul Emery]

George

Lindell is a delusional nut case. Why should any media give him any more attention than a barroom babbler.

[Barry Pruett]

Exactly Bill. The news anymore is not journalism. It is rhetoric. The main stream media is no different in the Sierra Foothills Report has been in the past. It’s not only how they report the news in a slanted manner, but it is the news that they choose to print that advances their narrative. The times have changed. We must be more savvy in order to ascertain what the news really is and whether we are being fed rhetoric by someone with an ax to grind. Newsmax, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, OANN, the New York Times, the Washington Post… All of these news outlets are targeting a certain demographic. What they choose to print in the manner in which they choose to print it, are designed to attract a certain reader. Personally yesterday when I read that they are going to revisit the New York Times v. Sullivan standard for first amendment lawsuits, I was excited.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/christian-ministrys-case-supreme-court-revisit-nyt-v-sullivan-lawyer

[Walt]

Believing the FBI and DOJ don't play favorites has been banished as well.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/08/13/internal-doj-emails-show-career-left-wing-officials-fighting-doj-and-fbi-efforts-to-review-allegations-of-election-fraud-in-georgia/
"At 4:30am yesterday Politico released an article highlighting their spin on leaked internal documents [pdf here] from inside the bowels of the U.S. Department of Justice and the entrenched administrative state. The emails follow the events inside the DOJ in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

The Public Integrity Section of the DOJ, also known as PIN, specifically a multi-decade left-wing (lawfare aligned) bureaucrat named Corey Amundson, was telling the DOJ they FBI should not investigate claims of election fraud in Georgia. As chief of the Public Integrity Section, Admundson was saying the official position of the DOJ-PIN group was to say regardless of evidence of election fraud the DOJ and FBI should stay out of it." (unless a DEM is the loser)

[Bill Tozer]

Quite on topic

https://i2.wp.com/www.powerlineblog.com/ed-assets/2021/08/808.jpeg?

[Bill Tozer]

Politifact Swings and Misses at DeSantis on Student Masks

“One of the most disturbing aspects of our pandemic response is how quickly a scientific claim with a weak evidence base can morph into an Official Truth. It’s even more disturbing that journalists — supposedly people charged with questioning authority — have been aggressive enforcers of the party line. They have elevated “but the CDC says . . .” into a mic-dropping argument.

Take the media’s reaction to Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s executive order that allows students to opt out of wearing masks. Part of the order declares, “Forcing students to wear masks lacks a well-grounded scientific justification.” That statement is true. There have been no formal trials comparing student health outcomes with and without mask mandates, and the best non-experimental study (led by Emily Oster at Brown) finds no significant difference in viral spread. Meanwhile, there seems to be little scientific interest at all in whether masks have downsides related to children’s learning and socialization. So of course there is not a “well-grounded scientific justification” for student masking. DeSantis is correct.

Nevertheless, the imperative of school mask mandates has become one of those Official Truths that the media feel obligated to support. So Politifact, working with Kaiser Health News, has declared DeSantis’s statement “false.” The justification for this rating is not the least bit convincing, but in that sense it’s instructive — some reporters will do anything to defend the edicts of the CDC.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/politifact-swings-and-misses-at-desantis-on-student-masks/?

[Bill Tozer]

Biden’s Border Crisis Worse than Ever; TV Coverage Drops 96 Percent

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/rich-noyes/2021/08/16/bidens-border-crisis-worse-ever-tv-coverage-drops-96-percent