So here is something worth a thought or two: Through its personnel Fox repeatedly lied about the election. It lied in order to retain its audience. It wished to retain its audience in order to maximize profits. But the Fox audience is not the source of Fox profits. Profits come from advertisers. So who are we talking about? And what was going on there? Advertisers, if they are corporations, have executives, boards of directors. What were they saying? Thinking? Doing? There's probably more there to analyze, and certainly more to discover, than the attitude and behavior of Rupert Murdoch.
Let's hope that the damages Fox has to pay to Dominion will exceed the billions of lost revenue Fox avoided through lies about the lost election. It would be a shame if Fox could shrug off the damages as no more than a cost of doing business.
Feb 28, 2023·edited Feb 28, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
While I agree with Robert that seating Judge Janet Protasiewicz on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is critically important for the people in Wisconsin and for all of us in this country, I also believe we can’t afford to tolerate MSM interviewers who allow guests to spout nonsense and who, then, simply move to the next topic instead of asking the follow-up questions. Admittedly, anchors and reporters must pick their battles. While they can’t subject all the nonsense to critical scrutiny, they, at least, can call out some of it.
I understand that what in Madison’s day was known as “the press” and today has become “the media” was considered at least as critical a factor as the three branches of government, for it alone could provide the necessary information and nurture the fundamental discourse that would maintain the democratic republic. Accordingly, even as laypersons, I contend we must use every resource in our arsenal to demand that the inaccuracies and distortions that repeatedly are served up are not left unchallenged.
As for me, I intend regularly to contact so-called journalists with the follow-up questions they neglect to ask and discuss the ensuing consequences of said omissions. I hope others will join me in this fight.
Here's my elephant in the room: Writing postcards to elect Judge Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Someone once told me that if you get nothing else right, be sure to spell their name correctly. To that end, don't be afraid to proofread...even after writing your 70th postcard!
And this 16-second video will help you pronounce her name: "Pro-Tuh-Say-Witz." Got it!
Beyond the possible financial cost in payments to Dominion, are there no legal consequences for Fox's deliberate promotion of the big lie or punitive action that can be taken by the FCC?
I should have posted this yesterday, as it pertains to a parent who'd fought in WWII. But, as they say, better late than whatever...
I wrote this on Feb. 6th, the 2nd anniversary of my father's death. It was in response to Robert's beautiful piece, "My Kippah," honoring his beloved friend.
I read your moving piece about your friend, and wanted to write a comment but it was too difficult, as your writing expressed what needed to be said in such a loving and beautiful way that nothing more was wanted. Today is the 2nd anniversary of my father's death. Because you shared with me (as part of your community), I'd like to share a very small bit with you.
My father, Charles James Leven, was a great man. He lived to be 93. When he was 14, he ran away from home and in pretty short order enlisted in the Canadian Army during WWII. There's a video of him talking about his experience online with an interviewer, if you type in his name. Did you know, he had such integrity that even as a teenager in the midst of a world conflagration - where the enemy was literally intent on killing every Jewish person in the world - my father, a Jewish teen, refused to countenance any abuse of German prisoners? When he saw it, he stopped it. He participated in the second wave of D-Day and was wounded by shrapnel. Happily for me, he recovered, came back to the U.S. and went to college on the G.I. Bill. When he was a young man, the prejudice against Jewish people in this country was such that he got a job in retail, as most other occupations were closed to him. He rose through the ranks to become a Senior Vice President at Saks 5th Avenue, and in retirement, Chair of AARP.
The real news about him, though, is that, despite not having a father (his father died of meningitis when he was only two), he committed his life to the care of his wife, my mother, and of his children (my brothers and I) with steadfast faithfulness and commitment. He had cancer twice (the first time in the 1960's, can you imagine) and recovered twice, plus open-heart surgery. Looking back, I think a Higher Power must have been involved somehow through his many vicissitudes. He was always modest. When he laughed, no sound came out of his mouth but everyone in the room had to laugh with him. As a boy, he'd watched the elderly Civil War vets march in the local (Massachusetts) parades - something that just astounded me. He had so many stories that even in his 90's, he rarely repeated one unless specifically asked. He was a living bridge to history. He became a scholar of WWII. I wish he had written a book, himself. He read everything ever written about that conflict, or nearly so.
I loved (and admired) him so very much. He was an old-fashioned person, in a certain sense. He embodied, in my mind, a real American.
Regarding the DOE study conclusions regarding the Covid source, the most obvious question is what business is the Covid source to the Department of ENERGY?
Last night, after Rachel Maddow interviewed her, my wife and I contributed to Nebraska state senator Machaela Cavanaugh. Sen. Cavanaugh is in the midst of a filibuster that is intended to stop all business in the Nebraska state legislature until that body stops trying to pass anti-trans legislation. A heroic stand by a lone legislator in a bright red state!
What if all the outlets and advertisers who are abandoning Scott Adams and "Dilbert" took it up several notches, and abandoned Rupert Murdoch and Fox, Inc.?
Has anyone else noticed that MY PILLOW advertises on Fox. And Amazon? Yesterday, I ordered something from Amazon, mistakenly thinking it was the only on-line source. What an amazingly efficient system!!!!!!! I canceled when I found another source. AMAZON is a top advertiser on Fox!
I'm 96, old enough to remember there have always been cheats. And old enough to remember when we didn't admire them. A 'Shanda' for the neighbors.
Do we still have an "FCC"? Is it staffed? Are there no rules that can be enforced? Is there anyone here who can explain why the FCC has no power over a situation like this? Isn't an abuse of this enormity a violation of some FCC rule or code? Can anyone here help us to understand if the FCC has any reason to exist if they can't act on such abuses?
Thank you for the info you provided several days ago about the Cochrane mask metdata analysis. I used it as follows for the following rebut in the Minneapolis Star Tribune: https://www.startribune.com/readers-write-benefits-of-masking-school-meals-abortion/600254619/ and the newspaper followed up 2 days later with not only several more such letters but also its major opinion https://www.startribune.com/its-still-ok-to-think-masks-were-a-good-idea/600254868/
So here is something worth a thought or two: Through its personnel Fox repeatedly lied about the election. It lied in order to retain its audience. It wished to retain its audience in order to maximize profits. But the Fox audience is not the source of Fox profits. Profits come from advertisers. So who are we talking about? And what was going on there? Advertisers, if they are corporations, have executives, boards of directors. What were they saying? Thinking? Doing? There's probably more there to analyze, and certainly more to discover, than the attitude and behavior of Rupert Murdoch.
Let's hope that the damages Fox has to pay to Dominion will exceed the billions of lost revenue Fox avoided through lies about the lost election. It would be a shame if Fox could shrug off the damages as no more than a cost of doing business.
While I agree with Robert that seating Judge Janet Protasiewicz on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is critically important for the people in Wisconsin and for all of us in this country, I also believe we can’t afford to tolerate MSM interviewers who allow guests to spout nonsense and who, then, simply move to the next topic instead of asking the follow-up questions. Admittedly, anchors and reporters must pick their battles. While they can’t subject all the nonsense to critical scrutiny, they, at least, can call out some of it.
I understand that what in Madison’s day was known as “the press” and today has become “the media” was considered at least as critical a factor as the three branches of government, for it alone could provide the necessary information and nurture the fundamental discourse that would maintain the democratic republic. Accordingly, even as laypersons, I contend we must use every resource in our arsenal to demand that the inaccuracies and distortions that repeatedly are served up are not left unchallenged.
As for me, I intend regularly to contact so-called journalists with the follow-up questions they neglect to ask and discuss the ensuing consequences of said omissions. I hope others will join me in this fight.
Here's my elephant in the room: Writing postcards to elect Judge Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Someone once told me that if you get nothing else right, be sure to spell their name correctly. To that end, don't be afraid to proofread...even after writing your 70th postcard!
And this 16-second video will help you pronounce her name: "Pro-Tuh-Say-Witz." Got it!
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/extra-extra-226
Excellent explanation of right wing media hypocrisy as well as the other items discussed.
Once again, thank you for this capsule of all the chaos and chicanery battering our weary, but stalwart hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits.
Beyond the possible financial cost in payments to Dominion, are there no legal consequences for Fox's deliberate promotion of the big lie or punitive action that can be taken by the FCC?
I think giving Trump's team an early look at advertising from his opponent is one of the more disgusting acts that I've read about
I should have posted this yesterday, as it pertains to a parent who'd fought in WWII. But, as they say, better late than whatever...
I wrote this on Feb. 6th, the 2nd anniversary of my father's death. It was in response to Robert's beautiful piece, "My Kippah," honoring his beloved friend.
I read your moving piece about your friend, and wanted to write a comment but it was too difficult, as your writing expressed what needed to be said in such a loving and beautiful way that nothing more was wanted. Today is the 2nd anniversary of my father's death. Because you shared with me (as part of your community), I'd like to share a very small bit with you.
My father, Charles James Leven, was a great man. He lived to be 93. When he was 14, he ran away from home and in pretty short order enlisted in the Canadian Army during WWII. There's a video of him talking about his experience online with an interviewer, if you type in his name. Did you know, he had such integrity that even as a teenager in the midst of a world conflagration - where the enemy was literally intent on killing every Jewish person in the world - my father, a Jewish teen, refused to countenance any abuse of German prisoners? When he saw it, he stopped it. He participated in the second wave of D-Day and was wounded by shrapnel. Happily for me, he recovered, came back to the U.S. and went to college on the G.I. Bill. When he was a young man, the prejudice against Jewish people in this country was such that he got a job in retail, as most other occupations were closed to him. He rose through the ranks to become a Senior Vice President at Saks 5th Avenue, and in retirement, Chair of AARP.
The real news about him, though, is that, despite not having a father (his father died of meningitis when he was only two), he committed his life to the care of his wife, my mother, and of his children (my brothers and I) with steadfast faithfulness and commitment. He had cancer twice (the first time in the 1960's, can you imagine) and recovered twice, plus open-heart surgery. Looking back, I think a Higher Power must have been involved somehow through his many vicissitudes. He was always modest. When he laughed, no sound came out of his mouth but everyone in the room had to laugh with him. As a boy, he'd watched the elderly Civil War vets march in the local (Massachusetts) parades - something that just astounded me. He had so many stories that even in his 90's, he rarely repeated one unless specifically asked. He was a living bridge to history. He became a scholar of WWII. I wish he had written a book, himself. He read everything ever written about that conflict, or nearly so.
I loved (and admired) him so very much. He was an old-fashioned person, in a certain sense. He embodied, in my mind, a real American.
Regarding the DOE study conclusions regarding the Covid source, the most obvious question is what business is the Covid source to the Department of ENERGY?
Since the early days of Fox I’ve referred to it as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican National Committee.
Last night, after Rachel Maddow interviewed her, my wife and I contributed to Nebraska state senator Machaela Cavanaugh. Sen. Cavanaugh is in the midst of a filibuster that is intended to stop all business in the Nebraska state legislature until that body stops trying to pass anti-trans legislation. A heroic stand by a lone legislator in a bright red state!
What if all the outlets and advertisers who are abandoning Scott Adams and "Dilbert" took it up several notches, and abandoned Rupert Murdoch and Fox, Inc.?
Has anyone else noticed that MY PILLOW advertises on Fox. And Amazon? Yesterday, I ordered something from Amazon, mistakenly thinking it was the only on-line source. What an amazingly efficient system!!!!!!! I canceled when I found another source. AMAZON is a top advertiser on Fox!
I'm 96, old enough to remember there have always been cheats. And old enough to remember when we didn't admire them. A 'Shanda' for the neighbors.
L&B&L
RE: Fox lies.
Do we still have an "FCC"? Is it staffed? Are there no rules that can be enforced? Is there anyone here who can explain why the FCC has no power over a situation like this? Isn't an abuse of this enormity a violation of some FCC rule or code? Can anyone here help us to understand if the FCC has any reason to exist if they can't act on such abuses?