According to reports, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) is close to indicting former President Donald Trump for falsifying business records and violating campaign finance laws in relation to a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels, a former adult film star who says that she had an affair with Trump. On Saturday, Trump
A Republican lies about a topic, then the main stream media reports the lie as if it were true, and if reported enough times the uniformed public thinks it must be true. This tactic is a parasite that needs to be eliminated. Your newsletter works as a dewormer of the mind and we all should share your reporting with as many people as we can. Thank you for your diligence.
I made the same point. The right knows corporate media are basically stenographers. They settle on a lie or distortion, reporters and newscasters repeat it over and over, and it gets amplified for free. Corporate media have become dupes and mouthpieces for the radical regressive Right
I live in Chicago and we have the same problem. Crime is flattish from 2018 levels, though the numbers fluctuated year to year during the pandemic. On longer time horizons -- say decades -- crime is WAY down. It's all in the CPD data. But, the narrative is too enticing for the right and most media outlets are too lazy to dig into the numbers, preferring to highlight misleading quotes instead.
Thank you for pointing out that "violent crime" is not necessarily worse than "white collar" crime. The blindness to collectivized injury is part of the GOP strategy and alas...it works.
Thank you Tesnim and Rebecca for such an excellent, informative article that puts meat on the bones of the sad fare offered on menu by the pathetic MSM. Thankfully we have Judd and crew to thank for providing the clarity, depth and nuance needed by intelligent persons who wish to truly be informed.
To be fully informed is to be fully armed!
PS: Mike Pence is neither man nor hero. His head is a place for flies to rest, clean & refresh themselves.
As someone who lives in Manhattan- thank you. I despise the NYPD but am constantly pointing people to their website where the truth is plain to see in their own regularly published statistics. I’m out late all the time, on the street, in the subways. I rarely, if ever, feel unsafe.
REALLY? It's NOT misrepresentation. It's RACISM. And its sole purpose is to discredit DA Bragg, and if it gets you riled up about NYC crime. That's just a bonus. Because they don't care. -- We need to STOP pretending that illegals, trangenders, Blacks,, are not being persecuted, killed, and demonized in the name of POWER. And, if you can make some middle-aged white guy think that Blacks are the real racists, because, of course, Trump is white (who knows what's under that orange spray paint), so much the better. For the sake of argument, I will just say that logical fallacies aside, and forgetting that you couldn't make any moral argument that Rorty, Kant, and a reasonably educated 3rd grader could shoot a canon through, the fact that I am supposed to protest in support of hush-money payments to mistresses is frankly, just insulting...
While assumptions and stereotypes about white people do exist, this is considered racial prejudice, not racism. Racial prejudice refers to a set of discriminatory or derogatory attitudes based on assumptions derived from perceptions about race and/or skin colour. Thus, racial prejudice can indeed be directed at white people (e.g., “White people can’t dance”) but is not considered racism because of the systemic relationship to power. When backed with power, prejudice results in acts of discrimination and oppression against groups or individuals. In Canada, white people hold this cultural power due to Eurocentric modes of thinking, rooted in colonialism, that continue to reproduce and privilege whiteness. It is whiteness that has the power to define the terms of racialized others’ existence. Tim Wise explains how, for white individuals,
“When a group of people [such as racialized individuals] has little or no power over you institutionally, they don’t get to define the terms of your existence, they can’t limit your opportunities, and you needn’t worry much about the use of a slur to describe you and yours, since, in all likelihood, the slur is as far as it’s going to go. What are they going to do next: deny you a bank loan? Yeah, right. … White perceptions are what end up counting in a white-dominated society. If whites say [Indigenous people] are savages (be they of the “noble” or vicious type), then by God, they’ll be seen as savages. If [Indigenous people] say whites are mayonnaise-eating Amway salespeople, who the hell is going to care? If anything, whites will simply turn it into a marketing opportunity. When you have the power, you can afford to be self-deprecating, after all” (2002).
So, I'm white. Not just generic white - right off the WASP-white-war-wagon from the 1700's. The we hate-but-tolerate Catholics element that didn't imbibe or take a Sunday off from their religiosity. The "we hid slaves in the basement that travelled on the Underground Railroad."
And, my BFF's were SDS, Weathermen, Black Panther's, and other miscellaneous "damn" radicals in the 60's.
And, even though I harbor not a racist bone in my body - I'm a racist. Because, I benefit from a system of institutional racism which still punishes women, asylum seekers, transgenders, the homeless, anyone who doesn't own land, and isn't Rupert Murdoch, or Donald Trump. These guys HATE democracy, they're misogynists and malignant narcissists of the ugliest variety. And, I benefit from their system that rewards me for being "just enough not racist" to keep them in power but NOT remove them from the systems and institutions they control - often behind closed doors.
So, we can fact check crime statistics in NYC - which is beautiful reporting and valid to the argument.
It's just not the argument we need to have.
RACISM, in any form, IS WRONG. Institutionalized racism is the ugliest form of slavery. We are dismissed to our respective private lives and allowed to benefit from their benevolence, as long as we don't prosecute Trump, or WORSE - the RACISTS that worship him.
Slavery is being in a state in which you no longer have free will (or opportunity) to benefit from the institutions which are meant to promote financial wealth and social standing based on your individual efforts.
There is no reverse racism - only the ugly white version we all benefit from.
And, until us good-hearted white folk put our foot down and throw these bastards out of power - we will be forced to watch reruns of the same repulsive, racist, (think Groundhog Day with Trump being the affable Bill Murray) movie until we have a change of heart or conscience.
If not - we'll be defending ourselves from our neighbors who reported us for giving our Daughters birth control pills. It's all the same ugly, hate filled space created by money, greed, and collective narcissism.
He built his home in NY AND another tower in Chicago. Wonder why he chose the most dangerous places in the world…according to him! (Sarc)There has been demand here to tear off his name from the building. He incited a deadly coup and that reminder is not wanted. I believe Chicago has legal recourse as well to have it removed.
The GOP makes a lot of money off the divide between the rural voters and the metropolitan voters. As for the Democrats, they continue to lecture much as a parent does to their child to the rural voters as if they are stupid. Stupid or smart they all get to vote. Now there is a raft of data that contradicts this myth making but so far the Democrats have failed to make their case. The GOP fundamentally has a demographically failing strategy but they continue to gain ground by driving higher vote turn out.
No one is above the law, that is what this is about. One either respects all the laws or none of the laws or as I am fond of saying there are Ten Commandments not five, not seven, ten.
Thank you for your essential work. The New York Times, the "paper of record," is now repeating lies from a Russian asset or something close working to undermine our nation, and the lies they're repeating are about their own city. Some of their journalists are shameful, especially Maggie Haberman. Others are good. But the paper can not be considered a reliable, dependable source anymore. That's why excellent independent journalists like you are essential now in this disinformation war, emanating primarily from Russia then China.
But Mike Pence and the others are very devout religious men. Of course they would never lie. Oh, wait. What is more pathetic is the roster of “mainstream media stenographers who regurgitate their drivel.
GOP given the choice between right and wrong always chooses wrong. Good reporting, Judd and Co.
I'd take my chances in NYC rather than Chicago. BTW.
But my nearby small southern city has ranked no. 1 in murder rate per capita in the state, and you don't hear our GOP reps talk about it.
Interesting sidebar about Trump's attorney conflict of interest with Stormy Daniels. He apparently saw her as a potential client when she was lawyer shopping in the early phase of this debacle.
Even better, who woulda thunk, The Palmer Report on Twitter has a few years ago CNN clip of him talking about Trump being guilty of payoff with none other than Stormy Daniels. Why hasn't CNN pointed this out???
You can't make this crap up. America has become a "Bananas" Republic. No doubt this will cause a ruckus in charging him and give Trump ammo to sue or miss/delay being indicted. Who wants to bet there's an off shore account brimming with bucks for the lawyer from a third party LLC.
I honestly wonder if the major media outlets don't actually want Trump to get back into the White House. It's great for ratings, which is apparently all that matters to them.
A Republican lies about a topic, then the main stream media reports the lie as if it were true, and if reported enough times the uniformed public thinks it must be true. This tactic is a parasite that needs to be eliminated. Your newsletter works as a dewormer of the mind and we all should share your reporting with as many people as we can. Thank you for your diligence.
I made the same point. The right knows corporate media are basically stenographers. They settle on a lie or distortion, reporters and newscasters repeat it over and over, and it gets amplified for free. Corporate media have become dupes and mouthpieces for the radical regressive Right
No one has time to fact check in corporate news media. Instead they just preface the lies with "X said" and print it.
But quoting a lie is still lying!
I live in Chicago and we have the same problem. Crime is flattish from 2018 levels, though the numbers fluctuated year to year during the pandemic. On longer time horizons -- say decades -- crime is WAY down. It's all in the CPD data. But, the narrative is too enticing for the right and most media outlets are too lazy to dig into the numbers, preferring to highlight misleading quotes instead.
See Paul Vallas.
💯
You know what time it is and so do I.
Thank you for pointing out that "violent crime" is not necessarily worse than "white collar" crime. The blindness to collectivized injury is part of the GOP strategy and alas...it works.
Keep up the good work
Thank you Tesnim and Rebecca for such an excellent, informative article that puts meat on the bones of the sad fare offered on menu by the pathetic MSM. Thankfully we have Judd and crew to thank for providing the clarity, depth and nuance needed by intelligent persons who wish to truly be informed.
To be fully informed is to be fully armed!
PS: Mike Pence is neither man nor hero. His head is a place for flies to rest, clean & refresh themselves.
As someone who lives in Manhattan- thank you. I despise the NYPD but am constantly pointing people to their website where the truth is plain to see in their own regularly published statistics. I’m out late all the time, on the street, in the subways. I rarely, if ever, feel unsafe.
REALLY? It's NOT misrepresentation. It's RACISM. And its sole purpose is to discredit DA Bragg, and if it gets you riled up about NYC crime. That's just a bonus. Because they don't care. -- We need to STOP pretending that illegals, trangenders, Blacks,, are not being persecuted, killed, and demonized in the name of POWER. And, if you can make some middle-aged white guy think that Blacks are the real racists, because, of course, Trump is white (who knows what's under that orange spray paint), so much the better. For the sake of argument, I will just say that logical fallacies aside, and forgetting that you couldn't make any moral argument that Rorty, Kant, and a reasonably educated 3rd grader could shoot a canon through, the fact that I am supposed to protest in support of hush-money payments to mistresses is frankly, just insulting...
And then there's this:
https://www.aclrc.com/myth-of-reverse-racism
While assumptions and stereotypes about white people do exist, this is considered racial prejudice, not racism. Racial prejudice refers to a set of discriminatory or derogatory attitudes based on assumptions derived from perceptions about race and/or skin colour. Thus, racial prejudice can indeed be directed at white people (e.g., “White people can’t dance”) but is not considered racism because of the systemic relationship to power. When backed with power, prejudice results in acts of discrimination and oppression against groups or individuals. In Canada, white people hold this cultural power due to Eurocentric modes of thinking, rooted in colonialism, that continue to reproduce and privilege whiteness. It is whiteness that has the power to define the terms of racialized others’ existence. Tim Wise explains how, for white individuals,
“When a group of people [such as racialized individuals] has little or no power over you institutionally, they don’t get to define the terms of your existence, they can’t limit your opportunities, and you needn’t worry much about the use of a slur to describe you and yours, since, in all likelihood, the slur is as far as it’s going to go. What are they going to do next: deny you a bank loan? Yeah, right. … White perceptions are what end up counting in a white-dominated society. If whites say [Indigenous people] are savages (be they of the “noble” or vicious type), then by God, they’ll be seen as savages. If [Indigenous people] say whites are mayonnaise-eating Amway salespeople, who the hell is going to care? If anything, whites will simply turn it into a marketing opportunity. When you have the power, you can afford to be self-deprecating, after all” (2002).
Thank you Julia. I have explained this to people over and over yet the concept gets almost no traction among those who need to understand it most!
Hi There,
So, I'm white. Not just generic white - right off the WASP-white-war-wagon from the 1700's. The we hate-but-tolerate Catholics element that didn't imbibe or take a Sunday off from their religiosity. The "we hid slaves in the basement that travelled on the Underground Railroad."
And, my BFF's were SDS, Weathermen, Black Panther's, and other miscellaneous "damn" radicals in the 60's.
And, even though I harbor not a racist bone in my body - I'm a racist. Because, I benefit from a system of institutional racism which still punishes women, asylum seekers, transgenders, the homeless, anyone who doesn't own land, and isn't Rupert Murdoch, or Donald Trump. These guys HATE democracy, they're misogynists and malignant narcissists of the ugliest variety. And, I benefit from their system that rewards me for being "just enough not racist" to keep them in power but NOT remove them from the systems and institutions they control - often behind closed doors.
So, we can fact check crime statistics in NYC - which is beautiful reporting and valid to the argument.
It's just not the argument we need to have.
RACISM, in any form, IS WRONG. Institutionalized racism is the ugliest form of slavery. We are dismissed to our respective private lives and allowed to benefit from their benevolence, as long as we don't prosecute Trump, or WORSE - the RACISTS that worship him.
Slavery is being in a state in which you no longer have free will (or opportunity) to benefit from the institutions which are meant to promote financial wealth and social standing based on your individual efforts.
There is no reverse racism - only the ugly white version we all benefit from.
And, until us good-hearted white folk put our foot down and throw these bastards out of power - we will be forced to watch reruns of the same repulsive, racist, (think Groundhog Day with Trump being the affable Bill Murray) movie until we have a change of heart or conscience.
If not - we'll be defending ourselves from our neighbors who reported us for giving our Daughters birth control pills. It's all the same ugly, hate filled space created by money, greed, and collective narcissism.
What a dire and dread abyss of a future staring right back at us.
And I thought the 60's sucked. Augh!
Which Tim Wise book are you quoting? I'd like to read it.
You have a famous name, unless you are the individual who wrote "The Sheep Look Up."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Look_Up
This is a great article and must be read by all sane voters and read three times by all the other voters!
Ah, yes, ultra-violent New York City, where Trump has only resided for decades. What a brave soul, enduring these perils. *insert eye-roll emoji*
He built his home in NY AND another tower in Chicago. Wonder why he chose the most dangerous places in the world…according to him! (Sarc)There has been demand here to tear off his name from the building. He incited a deadly coup and that reminder is not wanted. I believe Chicago has legal recourse as well to have it removed.
After the "eye-roll emoji," add the gif showing that trumpster getting his MAGA a** roundly and soundly KICKED!!!
Bring a smile to a WHOLE lot of faces. Yep.
Yes, and to be safe he moved to a fortress in the “free state of Flori-duh.”
This article is truly informative. Can you imagine the harassment Bragg is getting beyond the political sphere?! I have so much respect for this man!
The GOP makes a lot of money off the divide between the rural voters and the metropolitan voters. As for the Democrats, they continue to lecture much as a parent does to their child to the rural voters as if they are stupid. Stupid or smart they all get to vote. Now there is a raft of data that contradicts this myth making but so far the Democrats have failed to make their case. The GOP fundamentally has a demographically failing strategy but they continue to gain ground by driving higher vote turn out.
No one is above the law, that is what this is about. One either respects all the laws or none of the laws or as I am fond of saying there are Ten Commandments not five, not seven, ten.
You are right in your political analysis. I see it in my area. Improving messaging is essential for Democratic Party.
Thank you for your essential work. The New York Times, the "paper of record," is now repeating lies from a Russian asset or something close working to undermine our nation, and the lies they're repeating are about their own city. Some of their journalists are shameful, especially Maggie Haberman. Others are good. But the paper can not be considered a reliable, dependable source anymore. That's why excellent independent journalists like you are essential now in this disinformation war, emanating primarily from Russia then China.
But Mike Pence and the others are very devout religious men. Of course they would never lie. Oh, wait. What is more pathetic is the roster of “mainstream media stenographers who regurgitate their drivel.
GOP given the choice between right and wrong always chooses wrong. Good reporting, Judd and Co.
I'd take my chances in NYC rather than Chicago. BTW.
But my nearby small southern city has ranked no. 1 in murder rate per capita in the state, and you don't hear our GOP reps talk about it.
Interesting sidebar about Trump's attorney conflict of interest with Stormy Daniels. He apparently saw her as a potential client when she was lawyer shopping in the early phase of this debacle.
Even better, who woulda thunk, The Palmer Report on Twitter has a few years ago CNN clip of him talking about Trump being guilty of payoff with none other than Stormy Daniels. Why hasn't CNN pointed this out???
You can't make this crap up. America has become a "Bananas" Republic. No doubt this will cause a ruckus in charging him and give Trump ammo to sue or miss/delay being indicted. Who wants to bet there's an off shore account brimming with bucks for the lawyer from a third party LLC.
SMDH
I live in Chicago and will take MY chances here thank you. Lol.
Why do media companies amplify the voices of known liars without verification? At some point they need to be held accountable. Possible future story
To answer your rhetorical question: because the MSM is owned by the oligarchs.
Remember when tRump accused the media of reporting “fake news?” Lo and behold, here we are!
I honestly wonder if the major media outlets don't actually want Trump to get back into the White House. It's great for ratings, which is apparently all that matters to them.
The Dems want him too- great for fundraising!
And bad for the country as a whole, but other than us readers of this newsletter (and a few others), who seems to care about that?
If trump were running in the Garden of Eden he'd claim that it is a cesspool of crime because the lion and the lamb had a tiff and aren't speaking.
It boggles the mind that so many people think it is patriotic to believe in "american carnage."