Not long after last night’s “debate” ended, PolitiFact posted its “Fact Checking the First 2020 Debate” article.
What a waste of space.
[Read more…]Fact checking is dead
Trump, the press, and the problem of accidental truth
Even when Trump tells the truth — miracles can happen! — the press doesn’t know what to do.
[Read more…]Post-truth pragmatism: When “what works” stops working
For the most part, a loosely defined pragmatism has helped me make sense of the world fairly well. But in this “post-truth” era — including, but not limited to, Trump and his enablers — I’ve been feeling the need to think more rigorously.
[Read more…]Anthropomorphizing Trump
I posted a comment on Facebook and the Twitters: “The news anthropomorphizes Trump.”
Where the hell did that come from?
[Read more…]hypocracy
hypocracy (hi-pok-ruh-see), n. a system of government in which power is vested in officials who feign virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, integrity, etc.; rule by hypocrites. Ex.: “Sen. Mitch McConnell: Will Dems work with us, or simply put partisan politics ahead of the country?”
press griefing
press griefing (pres gree-fing), n. a meeting called by an organization, government, etc. to confuse, harass, provoke, frustrate, or aggravate journalists and, by extension, the public at large. Ex.: “Sarah Sanders presents the official White House policy: The media is the enemy of the people.”
ruppository
ruppository (ruh–poz-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee), n. A small, solid mass of fabricated evidence, facts, statistics, information, etc., inserted into the rectum, enabling one quickly to pull arguments out of one’s ass. Ex.:
disingenious
disingenious (dis-in-jeen-yuh s), adj. 1. of a person. having or showing an unusual aptitude for dishonesty or insincerity; skilled at inventing new ways to deceive or mislead. 2. of things or ideas. characterized by original or inventive deception or insincerity. Ex.: Russian troll farms developed disingenious tactics to sow discord among American voters.
“The Paranoid Style,” part 3:
Both sides now
POTUS interruptus
POTUS interruptus (poh-tuh s in-tuh–ruhp-tuh s), n. Withdrawal method, used or threatened by the President of the United States, presumably to garner economic or rhetorical advantage, as with NAFTA, TPP, the Paris Agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the UN Global Compact on Migration, NATO, etc. Generally a dick move.