Susan Hennessey, “Lawfare Executive Editor, Brookings Senior Fellow, CNN National Security and Legal Analyst, Former IC attorney”, yesterday:
As a general matter there is too much focus on optics and too little on substance. But to the extent the Democrats needed to make the case to the public in this hearing, today was an extremely strong showing. And the Republicans offer zero substantive defense of Trump.
“Jonathan Allen, the poor man’s Chris Cillizza“, for NBCNews:
Analysis: The first two witnesses called Wednesday testified to President Trump’s scheme, but lacked the pizzazz necessary to capture public attention.
I AM AN AMERICAN! I LIKE PIZZAZZ! IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS SHOULD HAVE SWORD FIGHTS, TALKING ANIMALS, NINJA STRIPPERS, AND A POST CREDITS SCENE THAT FORESHADOWS THE PLOT OF THE NEXT HEARING!
Margaret Sullivan, at the Washington Post — “Media Beware: Impeachment Hearings Will Be the Trickiest Test of Covering Trump”:
The national media’s shortcomings have been all too obvious in recent years as Donald Trump has gleefully thrown the norms of traditional journalism into a tizzy…
But on Wednesday — as televised impeachment hearings begin in the House of Representatives — journalists need to be on their game. The stakes don’t get much higher when it comes to fulfilling their core mission: informing citizens of what they really need to know.
Here’s a refresher course in what needs to go right.
Stress substance, not speculation. Journalists and pundits love to ponder about how the public is reacting to news, though they aren’t much good at it.
Avoiding that would be a public service…
Don’t let stunts hijack the coverage. If we know anything about Trump’s reaction when things get tough, it’s that he and his allies will haul out some attention-grabbing performance art and its distractions…
Avoid Barr-Letter Syndrome. It was a little over six months ago that Attorney General William P. Barr took it upon himself to summarize the Mueller report in a misleading letter that the news media — pretty much en masse — represented as an accurate summation of the 448-page report about Russian interference in the 2016 election and its aftermath.
You might remember some headlines and news reports that said, essentially, “no collusion, no obstruction.”
Of course, that’s not what the report said, as Mueller himself later tried to set straight…
Beware mealy-mouthed and misleading language. Punditry will be running even more amok than usual once the hearings begin. And we’ll be hearing a lot about what a divided nation we have and how ugly politics has become. We’ll be hearing the term “quid pro quo” endlessly.
As for “polarization,” it’s a kind of false equivalence expressed in a single term, suggested Rosen: “We hear, ‘Oh things are so polarized now,’ when this is really about what’s happened to the Republican Party.”
In a potent Twitter thread last week, Ezra Klein of Vox pointed out that Trump’s abuses are so blatant that he “is the easiest possible test case for ‘Can our system hold a president accountable?’ And we are failing, because Republicans are failing.”
It’s weird how exciting a server story was for journalists even though statistically no one can really really define a server. Meanwhile bribery and extortion which literally everyone can define is boring. Maybe just report on the bribery story the way you did the email story.
Avalune
I’m so conflicted here. 1. Who the hell really uses the word pizazz anymore? 2. It’s a serious impeachment hearing not a high school musical. 3. Makes American public sound like idiots. 4. American public are idiots.
O. Felix Culpa
@Avalune: American journalist who made that comment is also idiot.
ETA: Idiot journalists making idiot statements help ensure idiot public.
Barbara
@Avalune: Perry Mason? Most legal proceedings lack pizzazz. Whoever wrote that should be too embarrassed to write anything else. Whatever happened to the idea of journalists writing in a way that conveyed the significance of what they were reporting on?
Major Major Major Major
LanceThruster
I disagree. That one guy’s bowtie was pretty snazzy. Practically oozed PIZZAZZ.
Cheryl Rofer
@Major Major Major Major: HOW DID YOU DO THAT
Leto
Trump hikes price tag for US forces in Korea almost 500% as Seoul questions alliance
“Nothing says I love you like a shakedown,” said Vipin Narang, an associate professor at MIT who follows the Korean peninsula, summarizing South Korean uncertainty about the US.
He’s going to destroy every single alliance that we’ve built over the past 70 years, and the “party of strong national defense” is simply going along with it. It would be one thing if we were asking for a slight increase in spending from a defense partner to cover new expenditures (the Japanese footing additional spending to help relocate the Marines off Okinawa comes to mind), but this is just whole sale extortion. “Pay up or we go somewhere else.” /eternalfuckinghate
Martin
There’s a general expectation that high crimes are not done out in the open. That the people in positions of power are smart enough to try and cover their tracks, obfuscate, and so on. So a believable crime is an obtuse one, that requires cleverness to figure out. If it’s just sitting there, it can’t be a crime – it must be okay – or else they would have tried harder to cover it up.
Plus, a crime in the open isn’t a very good story. It doesn’t express how clever your journalists were. Reporting outfits are attracted to better stories than this crime expresses.
O. Felix Culpa
@Major Major Major Major: Ask me! I know! I know!
O. Felix Culpa
Would that ’twere so, but assumes facts not in evidence.
Wapiti
@Leto: All roads lead to Putin…
mrmoshpotato
WTF is this? Journalism fell on its fucking face in 2015/2016. More interested in sandbagging Hillary, yelling about emails and giving hours upon hours of empty Dump podium in the name of ratings and “balance” when a laundry list of Dump’s crimes was available if they wanted to commit some actual acts of journalism.
How many of Hillary’s casinos did she drive into bankruptcy? How many of her businesses? When did she ask for Russia’s interference on live TV? When did she say women should be punished for having abortions or talk about the destruction caused by nuclear weapons being very important to her?
Major Major Major Major
@Cheryl
I embedded it in the text tab and removed the script element at the end. After that, I believe the other embedded tweets on the page (which load the same script) picked it up.
ETA: Had to edit this and add the @ up top, be happy when that’s fixed too.
Anne Laurie
@O. Felix Culpa:
Heck, *I’m* not even allowed to embed tweets in my posts, at the moment.
(Yes, I’m bitter. And so will you guys be, if I have to keep using these clumsy work-arounds much longer. But I’m assured it’s on the developers’ punch list!)
Cheryl Rofer
Alexandra Petri brings the pizazz
Amir Khalid
@Major Major Major Major:
I remember! His name was Avocado, or something like that.
Cheryl Rofer
test
ETA: Whoo-hoo! Many thanks to Major Major Major Major
Avalune
Forget pizazz what it really needs is razzmatazz. And moxie! Then it would be a real ring-a-ding-ding!
Adam L Silverman
Kelly
Kevin Kruze :Pizzazzgate, if you will.
twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1194995515093442560
Yutsano
@Leto Can you say nuclear Japan? I knew you could.
Please no one mention Taiwan.
mrmoshpotato
@Amir Khalid: Manuel Arrivederci!
Eolirin
@O. Felix Culpa:
I think it’s because everyone already knows he’s a crook and the media (and republicans) have decided they don’t care. There’s no story here because there’s nothing new. This is expected and normalized behavior for him.
We’ll get more breathless media coverage on things like using a sharpie on a weather map than we’ll get on the scandal with Ukraine. It lets the village point and laugh rather than have to do uncomfortable self reflection on how we’ve gotten here and how they’ve enabled it.
p.a.
Ninja strippers!!??
p.a.
Ninja strippers?!
p.a.
Hmmm 1st time at new/improved I’ve had to refresh to see comment.
Jay
Avalune
@p.a.: I thought you were just really jazzed about strippers.
Jay
@p.a.:
yes, Ninja strippers
Adam L Silverman
@p.a.: Could be dangerous. No place to properly holster sai, shaken, shuriken, ninjutso, and various explosive and/or noxious powders.
Major Major Major Major
@Cheryl Rofer: there has to be another tweet on the page already, mind (possible the twitter widget takes care of that 🤷🏻♂️)
Another Scott
(Testing an embedded Tweet as a mere mortal…)
Does that magic work here? (I don’t expect the graphic, but the box with links would be nice.)
[eta.] Success!
Cheers,
Scott.
Jay
@Adam L Silverman:
do not google Ninja Strippers,……
sadly, I did,….
O. Felix Culpa
@Eolirin: You might be right. It grieves and worries me, though, that they find holding those who are subverting and perverting our democracy accountable boooring.
mrmoshpotato
@p.a.: Ya. Not good enough for you? What do you want – teenage(18/19) mutant ninja strippers?
West of the Rockies
Yeah, Dems need to emplot the ol’ razzle-dazzle!*
*See Richard Gere, “Chicago”
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: I was texting with TaMara a couple of weeks ago and she texted me a gif of Samantha from Bewitched doing her nose twitch, I decided to see that and raise with a Jeannie from I dream of Jeannie doing her crossed arms head nod. So I googled Jeannie from I dream of Jeannie and used the image search. I had been unaware just how many I Dream of Jeannie porn parodies there were before that day.
Jay
somebody watched Faux News so that you don’t have to,…
wonkette.com/the-876-601-stupidest-things-fox-news-said-about-bill-taylor-and-george-kent
Another Scott
Good, good.
More please.
(via Cheryl’s twitter feed.)
Cheers,
Scott.
Mainmata
Pretty sure, anyone under 70 years old probably thinks pizzaz is a kid of pizza, hence the confusion. But, yes, the vast majority of the public, whether they like Trump or despise him are just not paying a lot of attention to the hearings, if only because they’re working mostly.
O. Felix Culpa
@Jay:
@Adam L Silverman: Two sets of fun facts I definitely did not need to know.
Adam L Silverman
Ruh Roh!
Major Major Major Major
@Adam L Silverman: oh, dear.
West of the Rockies
I’m intruding on the posted subject, but anyone have any experience with the Nissan Rogue? I’m probably getting one for my daughter tomorrow. Looking at a 2018 from a Hertz sale lot.
Adam L Silverman
@Major Major Major Major: It is what it is.
debbie
@Avalune:
I’m picturing jazz hands.
And by the way, what is with this “It doesn’t matter because it didn’t happen” defense? 🤡
trollhattan
Apparently I can’t stop watching this. Unlikely that anybody else will feel similarly.
mrmoshpotato
@Jay: Evan’s great and all, but that number looks low.
Mainmata
The GOP has to know, by now, that Trump (and Bannon) are Russian assets, if not active agents. MoscowMitch knows because he is in on it.
To be honest, the Democrats should really be charging Trump not only with Bribery but also Treason (seriously).
Jay
Given the misogynist subtext of I dream of Genie, of course it’s going to have no shortage of porn ripoffs.
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: Good! I welcome more protests of the blackout-drunk alleged college rapist whose $200K worth of credit card debt mysteriously disappeared.
P.S. Who funds The Federalist?
Avalune
@debbie: It means if I get caught trying to rob a bank before I rob the bank I get off scot free right?
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
Oh, SO close! I think you meant “Abogado.”
Another Scott
Wondermark understands Pizzaz
It was a Perfect Trick!
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@O. Felix Culpa: You definitely don’t need to know there’s at least one Jaws porn parody that has a review on YouTube. 😁
Jay
Scott Stedman @ScottMStedman · 3h NEW: I got leaked documents from inside Wikistrat and talked with 7 former analysts. There remains zero evidence that Khashoggi worked for the private intelligence firm connected to Saudi officials like the firm claims. Employees are blowing the whistle.
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: I wish it had sound. And possibly was real.
Jay
Scott Stedman @ScottMStedman · 3h Giuliani is officially being investigated for bribery of foreign officials.
mrmoshpotato
@Avalune: Silly rabbit. There’s also no such thing as attempted murder.
Avalune
Or their other defense – people rob banks all the time! That’s how bank robbers do business!
Another Scott
@mrmoshpotato:
OpenSecrets: Secretive group supported Kavanaugh’s nomination with $17M
OpenSecrets: Tagged – Kavanaugh
As one might expect, there are lots of interconnected groups many of which are not really independent of each other…
Cheers,
Scott.
Jay
Max Burns @themaxburns · 11h It’s a perverse state of affairs in the Democratic Party when a public servant with the policy chops of @JulianCastro misses the debate threshold, but billionaire vanity candidate Tom Steyer can effectively buy his way onto the stage.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott: The Judicial Crisis Network is simply one of the fronts that Leonard Leo, who runs the Federalist Society from his perch as Executive VP, funds through his dark money network. It’s a catspaw for him.
Another Scott
Before I hit the sack, I’d like to say that the site seems to be working very well at the moment. Kudos to WaterGirl, the coders, JC, the testers, and everyone else involved making it happen.
Thank you.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mainmata
@Cheryl Rofer: This is definitely the best piece I have ever read from “Petri Dish”. I always knew she had the great comedy in her but she always seemed to hold back in her weekly columns.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
You probably forgot Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Devin Nunes, and Lindsey Graham to name a few. The penetration at the top of the Republican party is so complete that to truly root out the rot would remove them as a coherent party for at least an electoral cycle, so the rest of the party falls in line.
debbie
@Avalune:
No, I think it means if you run into the bank waving a gun around and scaring people, and you then change your mind and walk away, you’re a patriot!
SFAW
@trollhattan:
Damn you! Now I’m
a dickheadaddicted.“When I say ‘Jump!’ you say ‘How high?’ Got it?”
SFAW
@debbie:
But only if you’re white
HumboldtBlue
I think we should dance.
Leto
@debbie: If nothing else, you’re elected to Congress.
Leto
@Avalune: @debbie:
Rachel Barkow @RachelBarkow Nov 13 Rachel Barkow Retweeted Josh Marshall
This impeachment proceeding is a great review for my 1L criminal law students. Remember when we learned that 1) an attempted crime is a crime and 2) it is not a defense if the only reason you stopped your criminal behavior was that you were about to get caught
Major Major Major Major
Man, am I happy to see left and right arrow buttons on the mobile site.
NotMax
@Avalune
Those too highfalutin to use floy floy?
;)
patrick II
I happened to catch the end of the Steelers-Browns game tonight. The game ended with Myles Garret, defensive lineman for the Browns, removing the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and clubbing him over the head with it. He was lucky he didn’t kill him. I don’t think I will be watching much football for awhile.
Chetan Murthy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Foot_Floogie_(with_a_Floy_Floy)
Felanius Kootea
@Major Major Major Major:
Michel L’Avocat. Once wanted to run for president on the D ticket.
Should have joined the Republican Party. They’d move a fraud like him to the top right quick.
Omnes Omnibus
@trollhattan: You bastard! I was going to go to bed, now this….
West of the Rockies
That should end his season. Could have killed him.
grammypat
I have not laughed out loud for months. This caused a sustained LOL. Thx
MobiusKlein
Are the links in this post borked for all of you all too?
The first one is just http :// susan_hennessey/
without the extra spaces. Goes nowhere.
Mandalay
@Jay: From an unrelated link on the page you linked to…
Had Cole not published the new code of conduct I would be calling for beheadings for everyone involved, except the waiter. But he has, so I won’t.
It’s the same the whole world over,
Ain’t it a shame, a bleeding shame?
It’s the rich what gets the pleasure
And the poor what gets the blame.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mandalay: If you can’t afford to have it damaged in the ordinary course of events, then you can’t really afford it.
FelonyGovt
We have a Nissan Rogue and love it. Been a great car.
CarolDuhart2
Yes, football is rough. But there’s no place for stuff like this in any sport.
CarolDuhart2
About the handbag: is there such a thing as too expensive and precious to take out of the house? It doesn’t look like the waiter deliberately spilled wine on her and her husband, is there? I can easily see a waiter, tired beyond belief being yelled at by her, not really paying attention, then feeling sorry about the accident. Now the waiter is given a judgement they probably can’t ever pay.
Villago Delenda Est
The reasons for my nym continue to grow, and jackoffs like Jonathan Allen just reinforce my solution to the problem:
Wipe them out. All of them.
sukabi
@trollhatten wasn’t aware dogs could trigger anti-gravity bubbles. Learn something new every day. 😂😂😂
Anne Laurie
@Kelly: <blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Yeah you know what’s exciting? Baseless conspiracy theories! Shouting! Innuendo! Throwing wine in people’s faces. <br><br>Looking forward to Real House Members of Capitol Hill.</p>— ana marie cox (@anamariecox) <a href=”https://twitter.com/anamariecox/status/1195000753418575872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>November 14, 2019</a></blockquote>
ETA: Dammit!
billcoop4
@West of the Rockies:
I had a 2012 Rogue from 2014 to 2016. Put 65k on it. Great car, handled well. Decent mileage. Transmissions will tend to make it until 125k. Got rid of it before then. Strong rec.
Another Scott
@Anne Laurie:
You have to be in the Text mode of the posting window, and you have to strip out the [script]…[/script] line at the end. Then “embedding” Tweets works. At least it did earlier!!
Cheers,
Scott.
pluky
@West of the Rockies
Jerry Orbach, or go home!
youtube.com/watch?v=sasH9TV7lsw