#listen msnbc

[barrowsteeth]

*

[corvidcaeneus]

my parents are literally so inundated with propaganda it HURTS. i am begging you to turn off CNN and open a book. please. please.

[locustonabench]

it’s kinda silly though seeing my very left wing parents reacting to the trump situation with “how can they support a criminal” even though trump supporters see him as a victim here. if anything, this trial is prolly just polarizing people more.

[reasonsforhope]

Kamala Harris just announced that her vice president will be Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Based on the coverage so far I'm really reassured by this decision.

The Washington Post did an obviously great job of making a prepared article for each option, considering how long an article they had up 7 minutes after the announcement.

((Okay technically it's not an official announcement yet it's "according to three people familiar with the pick, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that is not yet public." But listen. I am 99% sure this is a weather balloon. (Meaning: a deliberate leak to gauge reaction.) Because the sheer weakness or incompetence on the part of the Harris campaign that it would take for three people to all confirm that within a few hours hours of each other and the planned announcement it is massive.))

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

Honestly this decision, from everything I've read and can tell, looks like it's brilliant politics.

Important Context: The vice president(ial candidates)'s job in an election is not to be similar to the president. The vice president's job on the ballot is very, very much specifically to be different from the president. Why? So they can cover each others' weaknesses. Especially regionally.

(Sidenote: I feel a bit ridiculous saying this. But genuinely if you want to get a stronger understanding of how US elections really work. Go watch seasons 6 and 7 of The West Wing. Genuinely, a lot of politicians have said - especially back in its day - that that was the most accurate depiction of an election they'd ever seen. Also specifically features an entire arc about a contested Democratic primary convention, so also very good if you're interested in understanding weird nominating convention shenanigans.)

From the article:

"Harris’s choice for a running mate was among the most closely watched decisions of her fledgling campaign, as she sought to bolster the ticket’s prospects for victory in November and rapidly find someone who could be a governing partner. In picking Walz, she has selected a seasoned politician with executive governing experience and signaled the importance of Midwestern battleground states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.

Walz’s foray into politics came later in life: He spent more than two decades as a public school teacher and football coach, and as a member of the Army National Guard, before running for Congress in his 40s. In 2006, he defeated a Republican to win Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District--a rural, conservative area--and won reelection five times before leaving Congress to run for governor.

Walz was first elected governor in 2018 and handily won reelection in 2022. Though little-known outside his state, Walz emerged publicly as one of the earliest names mentioned as a possible running mate for Harris, and in the ensuing days he made the rounds on television as an outspoken surrogate for the vice president...

“These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away, they want to be in your exam room. … They are bad on foreign policy, they are bad on the environment, they certainly have no health care plan, and they keep talking about the middle-class,” Walz told MSNBC in July. “As I said, a robber baron real estate guy and a venture capitalist trying to tell us they understand who we are? They don’t know who we are.”

Walz also has faced criticism from Republicans that his policies as governor were too liberal, including legalizing recreational marijuana for adults, protecting abortion rights, expanding LGBTQ protections, implementing tuition-free college for low-income Minnesotans and providing free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren in the state.

But many of those initiatives are broadly popular. Walz also signed an executive order removing the college-degree requirement for 75 percent of Minnesota’s state jobs, a move that garnered bipartisan support and that several other states have also adopted.

“What a monster. Kids are eating and having full bellies, so they can go learn, and women are making their own health-care decisions,” Walz said sarcastically in a July 28 interview with CNN when questioned whether such policies would be fodder for conservative attacks, later adding: “If that’s where they want to label me, I’m more than happy to take the [liberal] label.”

Walz also spoke at a kickoff event in St. Paul for a Democratic canvassing effort, casting Trump as a “bully.”

“Don’t lift these guys up like they’re some kind of heroes. Everybody in this room knows--I know it as a teacher--a bully has no self-confidence. A bully has no strength. They have nothing,” Walz said at the event, sporting a camouflage hunting hat and T-shirt.

Walz has explained that he felt some Democrats’ practice of calling Trump an existential threat to democracy was giving him too much credit, which prompted his decision to denounce the GOP nominee instead as being “weird.”

“I do believe all those things are a real possibility, but it gives him way too much power," Walz said on CNN’s “State of the Union” regarding the Democrats’ rhetoric. “Listen to the guy. He’s talking about Hannibal Lecter, shocking sharks, and just whatever crazy thing pops into his mind.”

If Walz is elected vice president, under state law, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) would assume the governorship for the rest of his term. Minnesota Senate president Bobby Joe Champion, a Democrat, would become lieutenant governor."

-via The Washington Post, August 6, 2024

--

This guy. Sounds like. fucking Moderate swing-state/rural/Midwestern/southern/"heartland"/working class white voter catnip. He sounds like he's also a very smart politician and strong campaigner. And he's apparently genuinely a good guy with a good record, too.

He sounds like he's going to do a really good job of appealing to voters in several of the big deal swing states without being from any of them specifically. Which means it doesn't feel like pandering to one of the states involved (and thereby spurning the others), which is also great.

(Also he was the one who started "weird" @ conservatives and I think we should take that seriously as a very good political instinct/move. Judging in large part by how it has so clearly hit an actual nerve with conservatives like so little else. Also hugely relevant: that post going around about how part of why conservatives are so upset about "weird" is because in the Midwest, "weird" specifically also implies anti-social or harmful behavior.)

Officially feeling more optimistic about Trump not winning in November

[calilili]

If you don’t get MSNBC on tv

you can still Listen to quality journalism

It’s CRUCIAL that we can find trustworthy sources for news as we save democracy in the current challenging environment…

Pass it on …

[mabelsguidetolife]

not my neolib mom buying into the spy balloon thing…..!!!

[vamptastic]

man i wish I could just fuck my way through a hurricane some people got it figured out

[drdemonprince]

i was on NPR talking about Autism shit two weeks ago, and i have the book sales figures from that week and that national media appearance had.... absolutely zero relationship to sales. on the typical week these days, 1,400 to 1,500 copies of Unmasking Autism will sell. The week that I was on NPR there was a slight dip; only about 1,300 books were sold.

i have done a lot of press for my books. For Laziness Does Not Exist I did easily a 100 damn podcasts and radio shows and newspapers and excerpts in magazines. none of it corresponded to a noticeable bump in sales. the biggest "get" my publicist found for my latest book was the Glennon Doyle show, a booking she and her team celebrated and then spent months clamboring excitedly for... it, too, had no obvious relationship to sales.

Unmasking Autism became a bestseller because some other guy made a tiktok about it, and then a bunch of tiktokkers made videos about it too. all on their own. without any prodding from me, or any relationship to me. it was completely organic, passionate, and sincere, and rooted in the book's true merits and usefulness to other people, and that's why it inspired lots of sales. and continues to more than a year and a half later. all the press I did for Unmasking Autism prior to the release of that tiktok did relatively far less. NPR, Goop, the LA Times, Lit Hub, Jacobin, Huffpo, the New York Times, the Financial Times, MSNBC, Business Insider. Didn't matter. at least not much. so why do i bother?

publishers really ride your ass trying to make you give lots of interviews and show up for lots of events but it's all based on the worship of traditional media and magical thinking that it will somehow convert listeners into buyers. and that's just not how it works. the truth is 95% of books never sell more than 5,000 copies, and most people don't buy books or read them. i love reading but i dont think this is itself some terrible loss, as most books are padded-out commodities made for sale more than a work of true artistic passion or scholarly merit, and sometimes listening to a 90 minute interview with an author tells you the bulk of what you need to know.

it's freeing to know that the effort i put into getting my books out into the world have almost zero relationship to the books' success. marketing just does not work. it's a relief. unmasking autism did fabulously because it's actually both good and useful. laziness has had a long life span because it speaks to real problems in people's lives and gives them a message they are desperate to hear. but no amount of thirsty ass online shilling will make somebody realize that and it's maddening to try. you just gotta focus on doing good work, work that you enjoy making or need to make and that you feel good about, let things flop if theyre gonna flop, and keep on living your life.

which is all good news because i really do hate a lot of these fucking interviews. how can i stomach being on npr or in the atlantic or whatever these days given how complicit nearly all major media outlets are in justifying this genocide. like who fuckin cares about them, who wants their approval. who needs it. it's of no value

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ed Mazza at HuffPost:

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday slammed Donald Trump as a man suffering from “pretty obvious mental decline.” And he wants to know why the same voices that pressured President Joe Biden to drop out of the race over his mental skills are largely silent on Trump.

“We are not seeing nearly as much discussion about Trump’s diminished mental acuity,” Hayes said. “Seems like everyone’s grading Trump on a curve: ‘He has always been rambling and incoherent’ ― true ― ‘so he gets a pass.’”

But Hayes isn’t giving the former president a pass. “I gotta say you spend any amount of time listening to him these days ― and for our sins, we do here at all end ― he does not sound like a person who should be anywhere near the nuclear codes,” he said. Hayes then shared a series of clips of Trump’s most nonsensical comments ― including his attempt earlier in the day to answer a question about the cost of child care that went very badly off-track and turned into a bizarre word-salad ramble.

On the Thursday edition of MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes, host Chris Hayes raised major alarms about DonOld Trump’s cognitive decline.

From the 09.05.2024 edition of MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes:

[ms-cellanies]

THIS SUCKS. Mehdi is one of the very best journalists on MSNBC & every other network political program

. He repeatedly SPOKE TRUTH TO POWER. He is COURAGEOUS, ALWAYS WELL INFORMED & HONEST. This really PISSES ME OFF - I AM GOING TO MISS HIM & HOPE HE WILL START HIS OWN SITE ONLINE. Everyone in America needs to listen to Mehdi so you WILL DEFINITELY BE WELL INFORMED.

WE MUST LET MSNBC KNOW WE SUPPORT MEHDI HASAN, AYMAN MOHYELDIN & ALI VELSHI. Check this link:

[sgiandubh]

Labor of love

I was very interested to see what S told Mark Gillespie on the last episode of the latter's WhiskyCast podcast, @bat-cat-reader immediately shared with us.

It was a most instructive 35 minutes. I listened to all of it, because I wanted to also hear Gillespie's tasting notes forThe Sassenach. And I regret nothing: once you get past the traditional (and a bit obnoxious) 'why The Sassenach?' question, you're in for some interesting news.

You can listen to it here, by the way:

Before anything, who is Mark Gillespie?

One of the most respected professionals in the very small world of alcohol specialized podcasters, with a 37 years work experience in media and broadcasting, spanning household names such as CNN, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Gallup and MSNBC. But also, and this I found very interesting, given the current context, the owner of CaskMedia, a firm specialized not only in media production, but also marketing and PR.

The podcast was recorded at The Metropolitan Club's library, moments before the Keepers of the Quaich dinner, where S was a keynote speaker. So not 'just there for the Haggis Ceremony ' - a 'guest of honor' is never invited just for the show, people should have known better, eh?

S's 7 minutes interview starts at the 09:32 mark. Comments in brackets are mine.

Gillespie surely doesn't like to beat around the bush and after the customary niceties, asks a million-dollar question:

MG: 'I have to ask: did you have the troubles (problems?) in Germany straightened up?'

SH: ' Ha, ha, ha [not an organic giggle, but hey - gotta do what you gotta do, eh?]. Well, I am not entirely sure I should talk about it [speaks very quickly and through his teeth - visibly annoyed/nervous; not entirely sure I got it all correctly, so feel free to amend in comments], ah... ummm... not as yet... not as yet...ummm...we did fall into an issue with the name Sassenach, which was similar to a big brand in the US... ah!... in Germany, sorry... of a beer brand... I...I personally don't see the similarity [neither do I, S...neither do I], but I am sure once people taste our whisky, they'll know what it is, whatever the name is on it.'

Yes, this interview was probably rehearsed. Yes, Gillespie might have sent the questions to S/his people in advance for reviewing. No, he could not speak about a legally complicated situation before the final settlement with that Schoppingen beer brewer (penalties are probably still to be fixed and paid, but I will check that, so don't take my word for Gospel truth, yet). I will write separately about this whole thing, because I still think that was a very questionable decision of the EUIPO. Not because it royally pisses me off (so fucking unfair!), but because I really fail to see the proper legal reasoning and basis for it. His answer was perfect, under the circumstances. Absolutely perfect.

Anyways, FWIW, it would seem some sort of solution has already been found ('whatever the name is on it') and that most probably would be to rebrand it. And sell it on the German/EU market under a new name.

Lallybroch (https://trademarks.justia.com/981/67/lallybroch-98167525.html), perhaps? Time will tell, but that could explain this recent trademark application I didn't have time to properly look into, yet:

Further ahead (and fast forward through the cask version release, these things bore me to death), we land on another (as yet) unexploded ordnance:

MG: 'I have to mention your show MIK that you do with Graham McTavish, you visited a bunch of distilleries during that one... any visit in particular stands out?'

Now I am not very sure if that question was the best possible one, since that SAG-AFTRA strike is still an ongoing situation. And his answer was quite clever, changing the focus on their visit to Laphroaig's distillery on Islay and waxing lyrical about the casks, the peat, the landscape, etc. But other than a perfunctory and logical 'we', I heard absolutely nothing about McTavish, and it could have been so damn easy to further change the subject and mention his bourbon, with a few kind words. Therefore, I think things are pretty obviously not exactly on the sunny side, between the two. And I guess we all know why.

To end this long post on a cheerful note, I almost forgot to mention something very important. Answering a listener's question about Sassenach not being available in Rhode Island/part of New Jersey, S said something very interesting: 'obviously you can get it online, (...) we've just signed a deal with Southern Glazer's, so we're rolling it out. It is a limited batch, so you know, every year we do do a release and it is very limited, so it does tend to sell out pretty quick. But yes, it is available (...), but obviously you're not gonna see it in every bar, restaurant or retailer, because we just don't have enough of it. But online you can get it and great delivery service, it's very quick.'

I am taking two things home from this last answer: demand exceeds supply, which is both a blessing (solid yield, room for expansion) and a curse (lackadaisical market presence). On short to mid term, distribution will concentrate on the online market, with the help of Southern Glazer's superb infrastructure.

Remember the older guy he had lunch with in MIA, in May? You should, if you didn't focus on Mordor's inept babble about shirts, ballerinas and the like. That guy was instrumental into arranging the deal with Southern Glazer's. Just the biggest wine and spirits distributor on the US market, mind you.

Don't believe me? Check this out:

That company was founded in Florida. Its HQ is still in MIA. He didn't go there because he was looking for ballerinas at his birthday dinner. He went there because when these people are available to meet you, well: you leave everything aside and you damn GO.

Now who the hell is writing fanfiction, eh? You really should be ashamed, madam.

I rest my case.

[cartermagazine]

Today In History

Long after the Mississippi justice system gave up on the murder prosecution of Medgar Evers, Myrlie Evers kept the case alive.

When Myrlie Evers was told in 1989 that new information in her late husband’s decades-old murder case was unlikely to move the gears of justice, she did not react in anger.

Instead, she listened carefully as Mississippi prosecutor Bobby DeLaughter explained that the state couldn’t find any of the evidence from a past prosecution. Then, Myrlie calmly asked that his team “Just try.“

Faced with the overwhelming odds of a case with few surviving jurors, and a public that had long since seemed to move on from the tragedy, others might have backed down. Instead, Myrlie Evers fought to have the murder case reopened—a battle she had waged for 30 years.

On February 5, 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith faced a more racially diverse jury, in the third trial for the murder of Medgar Evers. When the guilty verdict was read, Myrlie Evers-Williams wept.

Afterwards, reported the Los Angeles Times, she jumped for joy, then looked up to the sky, saying “Medgar, I’ve gone the last mile of the way.”

Joy Ann-Reid @joyannreid MSNBC national correspondent and best-selling author, chronicles the lives of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers in her new book: “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.”

CARTER™️ Magazine

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Extremely fair points about Biden's verbal disability & coherence nonetheless, and thanks for some crucial context about Harris. The way CNN arranged & choreographed that debate has basically sunk any remaining respect I had for the network, and MSNBC's post-debate comment panel spent far too little airtime rebutting 45's horseshit firehose. Pundits losing the godddamn plot in favor of 'puffed-up fascist reality mogul=ratings'.

Yeah. The only news I listen to, these days, is NPR (National Public Radio), and sometimes, the TV side -- PBS.

NPR's show "Morning Edition" has decided to label their series of American Election coverage: "The Left, Right, and the Disillusioned." And I respect their decision to not pretend that there's such a thing as an "objective" Center.

Also, ever since 7 January, 2021, they follow every quote from Trump with: "That's a lie."

[mugiwara-lucy]

If you all aren't aware Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed Trump's case where he stole CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS from the White House:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/15/trump-classified-trial-dismisssed-cannon/

Even though Jack Smith wants to try to appeal this since this is bullshit, for the time being it looks like he may get his Orange Pedophile Rapist ass off.

While this is somewhat of a dark day for us (Although let's be honest, I think we all knew this would happen when it was announced the day of his sentencing was gonna be delayed), I'm glad I haven't seen any more pussyfooted liberals jumping ship because they think the fight is "lost". NEWSFLASH MOTHERFUCKERS, there is less than FOUR MONTHS until the election and the Media like Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and OTHERS are going to be on Joe Biden like Cheese on Macaroni and if YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT THAN GET THE FUCK OUT WE DON'T NEED YOU!!

And to the people staying strong (Thankfully there's WAY MORE strong people than weaklings and we're going by the day, do NOT listen to MAGA folks when they say they outnumber us. Case in point, remember when Trump got convicted? They said the country would fall apart but nope. It's still here). Remember; VOTE BLUE PLEASE.

Because as we all know, WE ARE ALL WE HAVE. The Supreme Courts and the Media are OUT FOR US and LITERALLY want us DEAD AND GONE.

We've had a rough couple of weeks but we've all held through, become stronger and gained more people.

Let's continue this until the election and be RID of Trump ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!!!!

[crossdreamers]

Pink News reports:

//Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Friday (28 July) with host Joe Scarborough, [actor Jamie Lee] Curtis slammed the “demonisation” of trans people as “awful and terrifying”.

“This life is about love. Being a parent is about love, and I love Ruby. Love her.” Curtis said.

Ruby Guest came out as a trans woman in 2020, and she and Curtis gave an interview about their journey in October 2021.

Curtis told Morning Joe: “People have said, ‘You’re so great to accept her!’ [I say] what are you talking about?

“This is my daughter. This human being has come to me and said, ‘This is who I am.’ And my job is to say, ‘Welcome home.’ I will fight and defend her right to exist to anyone who claims that she doesn’t.”//

You can listen to what she said about her and Ruby in this video:

Photo: Instagram: @jamieleecurtis

[faranae]

So the mainstream media is basically bullying Biden for ratings and indirectly helping Trump's campaign. (Rant.)

It's cooling down a little now, but it's been genuinely distressing how even the more left-leaning mainstream media won't shut the fuck up about Biden doing bad at the debate.

We get it: Biden is old. But why so little coverage on all of Trump's lies through and since the debate? Because the American people already know Trump lies, and they're desensitized to it. Talking about Trump's lies doesn't get clicks. Making people angry about Biden, however, does bring in the views. Lemme say that one more time:

Reporting on Trump's lies doesn't make them as much money; Exaggerating Biden's flaws, however, does.

Americans are literally fighting to keep their democracy and these outlets only care about bringing up the same drama over and over again for ratings. They can hardly mention a single good thing Biden has done without shoehorning in at least one or two comments about how "everyone is saying he should step down." If Biden steps down, Trump will most likely win. Full stop.

The other day I was listening to 4 different mainstream news outlets talking about how "so many" Democrats in the house and senate had publicly called for Biden to step down. The total at that time? Nine people. That's 9 out of over 250 Democrats. A few more have popped up since, but that was "so many"?

It has never been so obvious that CNN was essentially taken over in the shadows a couple years ago by billionaire John Malone (who claims he's a Libertarian, but is a Trump donor who hangs with far-righters.) Watching otherwise competent newscasters and panelists resort to soap opera-levels of bad acting to push the narrative their bosses wanted was some painful secondhand embarrassment.

Another example: MSNBC, which is pretty damn left, posted the following the other day:

That sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Here's the thing though: SEN. BLUMENTHAL LITERALLY DID NOT SAY THAT. The actual quote is as follows:

"I am deeply concerned about Joe Biden winning this November, because it is an existential threat to the country if Donald Trump wins. So I think that we have to reach a conclusion as soon as possible. And I think, Joe Biden, as the Democratic nominee, has my support."

What kind of context-shredding garbage was that, MSNBC? It's straight-up misleading; A lie through omission. But unless you were to look up the video or a full article, you'd never know that.

We get it. Biden is old. Here's the thing though: It's not only a vote for Biden, it's a vote for the Democratic administration he brings with him. Biden may be the nominee, but he is surrounded by highly educated folks who have the American people in mind rather than blind MAGA loyalty. You may not agree with some of their policy, but you cannot deny that a MAGA administration would be far, far worse.

If you haven't yet, please look up "Project 2025".

As much as it sucks being in what is essentially a 2-party system, it's what the Americans are stuck with for now. So I leave you with this:

Not voting is a free vote for Trump.

Voting third-party is a free vote for Trump.

Voting for a write-in is a free vote for Trump.

For the love of democracy, vote blue; No matter who.

/endrant