Civilized Rational Responses to the Standard “Hack reflexes” of the “Legacy Media”
Americans with different perspectives are not talking to each other, but here we do.
Abby Phillip’s standard opening for CNN News Night
I love this game where you talk for 2 minutes. I talk 3 seconds and you freak out [and talk over me].
Republican Scott Jennings reply to Catherine Rampell’s regular angry interrupting and accusing him, 1/27/25
The Deepest Problem of All. Democrats think they are God.
Former Democrat Party rising star, woman of colour and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (Rep. HI, 2nd district) 4/29/24
Distinctions are, inevitably, with us: for if we did not draw distinctions, we would not be able to think at all [boldface added]. Yet, it seems deeply ingrained … to undermine a distinction wherever it arises … [by invoking] one arbitrary social construct among many … This lecture is [an attempt at] a corrective to that hack reflex.
Professor John Divers, Chair in Moral Philosophy Trinity College Dublin, 6/29/22
After their thrashing in the 2024 election, and learning that their hoaxes don’t work anymore, some in the “Mainstream Media” (aka the Democrat Party Propaganda Collective or DPPC) have, in order to recover some of their viewership, begun to promote the idea that they are interested in listening to some token Republicans. Unfortunately, when DPCC “liberals” 1.) already know everything, 2.) have never successfully negotiated their way through a first-year community college critical reasoning textbook, and 3.) have absolute contempt for anyone who disagrees with them, the results are not propitious. This was illustrated on Abby’s CNN News Night (1/27/25) in which two Republicans, Scott Jennings and Tim Pawlenty, had to contend with “liberals” Ashley Allison, Ashley Akers, Maria Cardona, Selena Gomez, Catherine Rampell and Abby herself (pretty much the usual odds: 6 to 2). The “liberals” made numerous demonstrably false statements and Tim Pawlenty, despite some good points, distorted Musk’s remarks about the Holocaust. Musk did not say that its time to “move beyond [i.e., forget]” the Holocaust. He said its time for today’s youth to move beyond the guilt of the Holocaust. Got the distinction, Tim?
Although the assembled “liberals” made too many false or misleading statements to list here, here are a few examples. Cardona stated falsely that Trump has made no effort to bring down prices. After all, its been a whole week and he has not reversed the Biden-Harris economic disasters! In fact, he has already moved to bring down energy prices which would erverberate through the economy as a whole.
Abby stated falsey that Trump has “pardoned everybody basically.” In fact, Trump commuted the sentences of Stewart Rhodes and several others involved on Jan. 6th, the distinction between pardons and commutations being quite significant legally to those who know something.
Allison falsely refers to “the police officers who gave their lives” on Jan. 6th when no police officers died on Jan. 6th. She is confused by the false DPCC reports, including by the New York Times and CNN, that Police Officer Brian Sicknick died after being hit in the head with a fire extinguisher by rioters. The coroner’s report states that he died days later of natural causes. The only person who died that day was a female Trump supporter, Ashley Babbitt, shot in the neck by a Capitol Police officer that had a bad safety record, but that’s ok because she was a Trump supporter.
Cardona states falsely that “no one opposes the deportation of violent criminals and Akers says falsely that “no one is saying” that it’s wrong to go after rapists and criminals. On the contrary, to take two of many examples, Illinois Governor Pritzker, working with the Biden administration, “knew where the criminal aliens were” and “kept them free” and the clueless Pittsburgh Mayor has stated he will not co-operate with ICE.
In response to several claims by the liberals that the illegal alien numbers were just as good under Biden as under Trump, Pawlenty points out that this is “patently false” because even “the New York Times concluded that the number of illegal immigrants Biden let into the country was the largest in the history of the country” while all the liberals sat stone faced. The DPCC, having arrogantly and stupidly blown the last 4 years of Biden-Harris disasters, is now trying desperately to rewrite the record, but the American people are now wise to them.
The discussion moves to Musk’s recent statements that its ok for Germans to “move beyond the guilt of the past” because children are not guilty of their parent’s sins. Abby falsely reformulates Musk’s position to be that one can “forget” about the Holocaust now and Rampell states that Musk “makes light of” the Holocaust. Assuming, however, that one can make the 9th grade-level distinctions necessary for basic reasoning, one easily verifies that this is not what Musk said. He only said that contemporary Germans need not be burdened with guilt for something they did not themselves do. Unfortunately, today’s “liberals” seem determined to continue the hate and divisiveness for eternity, this being, until Nov. 5th 2024, considered useful for their election prospects (which means they are not really “liberals”).
Rampell, describing herself as “the only Jew at the table” (a Fallacy of Irrelevant Authority), states that Musk should “lose the benefit of the doubt” after his “second ‘Sieg Heil!’”. In fact, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League (ADL), saying unequivocally that this is “a delicate moment” that requires giving one another “a bit of grace,” states that Musk made “an awkward gesture, not a Nazi salute.” There is, however, no grace from Rampell. When Jennings repeats ADL’s claim, Rampell, determined to throw gasoline on CNN’s divisive fire, dared Jennings to repeat Musk’s arm motion (as if that would prove anything except create more division). Astonishingly, Abby, saying, falsely, that Jennings called it a “Seig Heil”, stops Jennings from making his point and states that Jennings “is the one” who “for whatever reason” finds “it easier … to defend the ‘Seig Heil’.” No, it was Rampell, not Jennings, who called it a “Seig Heil!” Comprehende Abby? Abby then falsely accuses Jennings of wanting to talk about the “Seig Heil” when, as Jennings correctly replies, it was Rampell who brought it up. The strategy, which comes as no surprise to conservatives, is that liberals can accuse conservatives of anything and when conservatives try to defend themselves, liberals, after filibustering and shouting, accuse them of “wanting to talk about it,” ensuring that conservatives are not allowed to defend themselves from “liberal” slurs.
Abby’s show accomplishes precisely the opposite of her standard opening claim that she allows Americans with different perspectives to talk to each other. Anyone watching this episode can see that the “liberals” constantly filibuster, shout, talk over and smear people who dare to disagree with their hateful often demonstrably false propaganda. Although this episode was even worse than usual, the pattern is common. In a recent episode, Abby falsely refers to the Jan. 6th “insurrection”, when there was no insurrection on Jan. 6th. Among other things, there is an audiotape of Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 6th taking responsibility for the unpreparedness. And see Turley and Turley! Please inform us, Abby, who was convicted of “insurrection” on Jan. 6th or, failing that, who has even been charged with “insurrection”. The answer is, “Nobody!”
Abby, Rampell and CNN owe an apology to Musk and Jennings.
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The anti-Trump keep repeating the same anti-Trump talking points, and continuously misrepresent the statements being made by those who disagree with them. This continues year after year, so I do not think this can be reduced to a lack of logic on their part or a lack of discriminating insight into the patterns of their interaction. They are being paid, I believe, to insist and insist in unending repetition by their media masters. They are essentially scripted, and if they deviate from the script they will not remain on air. If they are rude, no one tells them to show more courtesy or discernment. So, while their “mistakes” can be seen as logical errors, or in some cases as lies, the main reason we have the same b.s. for years is because their verbal behavior is essentially scripted.
I agree with Jeff. I really don’t think most of them, even the ones with Ivy League degrees, know how to formulate a thesis properly or put together a rational argument. However, Jeff is right that apart from their weak intellectual capacities the deeper problem may well be that they are scripted by their media paymasters to push certain leftist lines. A few months ago O’Reilly, who has worked at some of these places, has said he KNOWS that to be true.