FBI responds to false election security videos
As shared on the FBI X account for posterity. Just the beginning of these sort of things.
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Dan Conover discussing WaPo an NYT on this election
Dan Conover, a "recovering newsman" wrote the following about "the failure of the NY Times and Washington Post to adequately defend democracy" (according to Dave Winer.) Dan posted it to his Facebook page.
After the whole "1. Bezos hell-boxed the WaPo Harris endorsement; 2. No he didn't, it was a decision by the publisher; 3. I'm Jeff Bezos, and I'm writing to tell you why I killed it" fiasco, people I admire and respect posted arguments for why people should cancel their Amazon accounts, rather than "punishing" the journalists at the Post by abandoning one of the last quality news staffs in the United States.
It's really not a bad argument. I just disagree with it. Here's one example of why.
Yesterday, Joe Biden responded to the comedian at Trump's MSG rally calling Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. It went pretty much as you'd expect until the President said the only garbage was Trump's supporter's.
Or was it "Trump's supporters?"
Little Marco Rubio was so excited that Biden (who, you'll recall, isn't running for President) might have been referring to ALL Trump supporters, rather than the very SPECIFIC supporter who made the "joke" (which, btw, had been vetted by the campaign), that he ran onto the stage during Trump's speech at another rally to read the alleged insult aloud.
Set aside the fact that Trump insults Harris' supporters every fucking day. He's actually upped the ante this time: We've been promoted from "very bad people" to "The Enemy Within," which sounds so much better in the original German.
Forget that the White House issued a statement clarifying that Biden was, in fact, referring to Trump's comedian, not Trump voters in general. And try, if you can, to ignore the fact that Trump put on a high-visibility safety vest and took a ride in an actual garbage truck on which his campaign painted "TRUMP" so as to milk every ounce of insult and phony media umbrage out of the latest Biden gaffe nothingburger.
Instead, pretend you're the Executive Editor of the Washington Post, and ask yourself: Considering all those factors, and the proximity of Election Day, where would you run that "Did Biden Call Trump supporters 'Garbage'?" story on your print newspaper and website?
Here's what I learned from Talking Points Memo's David Kurz this morning: Not only did The Post give the "garbage" story top-billing, so did the fucking New York Times.
There was a time in my life, long ago, when I got paid decent money to stand around a desk in the middle of a newsroom on a deadline and shout at other editors (and sometimes reporters) about headlines and placement. And lemme tell you: When the people who would put that phony garbage story above the fold win those ethical headline-and-placement arguments, you've got a big, big problem.
We're not talking about HuffPo or Salon here. We're talking about the last two "unique nationals" standing in American print journalism. Instiututions with long and storied histories. Both took the same test at the same time, and both failed it.
Do I have beefs with Amazon? Of course. But when it comes to monopolistic practices, the problem isn't Amazon -- it's a legal systems that either can't or won't prosecute those practices. And, while I'm at it, if it weren't for Amazon, my ficition [sic] career would have ended with the last literary agent who deleted one of my query emails without a second thought because "that's too different from what sold last quarter, and he's not related to anyone famous."
Amazon Publishing isn't a perfect publishing platform. But it's a chance for indies like me to find an audience, and that's all I ever asked for. So thank you for that, Jeff Bezos, you Lex-Luther-looking motherfucker.
I didn't quit The Post because I hate Bezos personally or because I demand that the paper endorse Harris. I quit The Post because journalism may be a business, but it's supposed to be MORE than a business. It's protected by the First Amendment because an informed electorate is essential to the health of a democratic society. And if you look back at the history of American journalism, you will probably not be surprised to learn that it's ALWAYS been a mixed bag, at best.
But I can't, and won't, forgive The Post for backsliding at this crucial moment.
The Post has a talented roster, and does some great reporting on matters of significance. But its editorial policies -- not to mention its retrograde executive hiring practices -- are sending a message to news organizations across the country: If The Washington Post and The New York Times -- the two papers most responsible for holding Richard Nixon accountable for his crimes -- are going to blatantly suck-up to the rich, powerful and unethical, why aren't we?
Trust me: No matter what they might say in public, there's nobody at The Post who misunderstands this message. Two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand subscribers didn't quit this week because they hate Dana Milbank or Aaron Blake. They quit because Post management rolled over for Donald Trump, and then fucking lied about it.
I don't want The Post to go away. I want The Post to change. And if that means they should fear their readers more than they fear Donald Trump, so be it.
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I Voted!
Wife and I sat down and filled out our ballots tonight. I'll drop them off on the way to work tomorrow morning.
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2024 is going to be the year of elections
Obviously the US election will be a major item, but India as well as Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and more than 40 others means there's going to be a lot of politics going on this year, and the transitions all taking place at once is going to be chaotic as hell.
2024 is the year of a rare planetary alignment. The world’s biggest democracy, which has parliamentary elections every five years, will go to the polls within months of the world’s second-biggest democracy, which has a presidential vote every four years. India and the United States join three other of the world’s six biggest democracies—Indonesia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh—in what will be the year that the greatest number of people in history vote.
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Turkish election this year will be very important
Among the many general elections of international consequence to watch this year, Nigeria’s, scheduled for February will be by far the largest; Pakistan’s, due by October, will probably be the loudest. But the most important will unquestionably take place on June 18, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to stretch his rule over Turkey into a third decade.
I have to question of Erdogan will step down or allow a free election. We'll see.
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