On Tuesday, I was driving home from the Twin Cities and kept flipping between network news channels trying to learn the latest about Trump. You are right - all I heard was endless drivel to fill the newsless time.
I am a new reader of yours. Thanks for sharing your informative insights. Ditto to the bullhorn! Tennessee has made me more concerned about what Iowa Republican legislators are willing to do.
Ellen, welcome and thank you for subscribing. As for what Iowa legislators might do, it seems like they keep track somewhere of who’s ahead in the race to be most outrageous.
One of the Tennessee representatives who was expelled is a 2017 graduate of Bowdoin College, my alma mater. The Bowdoin President sent out an email to all alums this week, citing Justin Pearson's impressive academic record and condemning his expulsion. A very powerful statement from the president of an academic institution.
Amy, I didn’t know you went to Bowdoin. What an excellent school. I toured it with my youngest, along with Bates and Colby. She got into all three but opted to stay in the Midwest. I was quite impressed with Bowdoin’s history and academic standards. Glad you ran into Reister down in Dallas. That had to be a lot of fun to see those games. Well, maybe not the final.
Thank you, Dave, for saying it like it is! I especially liked this weeks commentary. Keep up the good work. I LOVE reading what is in your heart and mind!
Thanks for helping me connect the indictment of Trump and the indictment of J. Thomas's ethics. Arguably, the Trump indictment is the least serious of the 3 active investigations (Mar a Lago, Georgia and NY). If either one of the other investigations return an indictment, Trump defenders will have more difficult territory to defend. The J. Thomas investigation may not be as serious ethical violations as all of his wife's political involvements--especially with cases involving the Court. Any investigation of whether gifts influenced his decision making will lead back to a necessary re-examination of the conflicts presented by Ginny Thomas's involvement in groups that have interests before the Supreme Court.
Spot On! For a rich, privileged crook, it's about time, and the best is yet to come. If the R's wanted to end his reign, they would have voted to confirm his twice impeachments. Now we all suffer Trump's image on TV, and headlines for a horrible man.
Thanks for your insightful analysis. I am very eager for your thought (yes, a prediction) on Fox' strategy vis a vis the lawsuit. I'm thinking a negotiated settlement for less money, but an admittance of guilt, is worse for Fox than paying $1.6B. Would Dominion accept any settlement that didn't include an acknowledgement of wrong-doing? At least if they lose in court they can claim "we got screwed by a liberal judge" and drag out appeals. If they admit guilt - would their audience be gone forever?
I'll be keeping a close eye on it. I'll refrain from making a prediction. Normally, I'd be arguing in favor of a media defendant in a defamation case, but not this time. Fox has gotten away with lots of unethical practices over the years, and an old-school reporter like me would be happy to see them face consequences. I tend to agree that I doubt Dominion would go for a settlement unless it included a clear denunciation by Fox of what they had done. I noticed in the NYT this morning that Fox settled a lawsuit from a Venezuelan businessman who sued for defamation when Fox named him as an owner of Dominion, which he is not. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/business/fox-news-venezuela-dominion.html?searchResultPosition=2
But that's a far different case with a virtually unknown guy as opposed to Dominion, which wants its reputation back. And after the Dominion lawsuit, Fox faces another from SmartMatic. Stay tuned!
Excellent commentary. The Tennessee thing is beyond the pale - this group of Republicans doesn't even care if their blatant racism is displayed.
Thanks, David. You’re right. They don’t even try hiding it these days.
Loved your final sentence about the bullhorn.
On Tuesday, I was driving home from the Twin Cities and kept flipping between network news channels trying to learn the latest about Trump. You are right - all I heard was endless drivel to fill the newsless time.
Thank you for your perceptive article.
I imagine audio only was even more frustrating! Trust me, you didn’t miss much by not having the visuals.
I am a new reader of yours. Thanks for sharing your informative insights. Ditto to the bullhorn! Tennessee has made me more concerned about what Iowa Republican legislators are willing to do.
Ellen, welcome and thank you for subscribing. As for what Iowa legislators might do, it seems like they keep track somewhere of who’s ahead in the race to be most outrageous.
One of the Tennessee representatives who was expelled is a 2017 graduate of Bowdoin College, my alma mater. The Bowdoin President sent out an email to all alums this week, citing Justin Pearson's impressive academic record and condemning his expulsion. A very powerful statement from the president of an academic institution.
Amy, I didn’t know you went to Bowdoin. What an excellent school. I toured it with my youngest, along with Bates and Colby. She got into all three but opted to stay in the Midwest. I was quite impressed with Bowdoin’s history and academic standards. Glad you ran into Reister down in Dallas. That had to be a lot of fun to see those games. Well, maybe not the final.
Thank you, Dave, for saying it like it is! I especially liked this weeks commentary. Keep up the good work. I LOVE reading what is in your heart and mind!
Thanks for helping me connect the indictment of Trump and the indictment of J. Thomas's ethics. Arguably, the Trump indictment is the least serious of the 3 active investigations (Mar a Lago, Georgia and NY). If either one of the other investigations return an indictment, Trump defenders will have more difficult territory to defend. The J. Thomas investigation may not be as serious ethical violations as all of his wife's political involvements--especially with cases involving the Court. Any investigation of whether gifts influenced his decision making will lead back to a necessary re-examination of the conflicts presented by Ginny Thomas's involvement in groups that have interests before the Supreme Court.
Spot On! For a rich, privileged crook, it's about time, and the best is yet to come. If the R's wanted to end his reign, they would have voted to confirm his twice impeachments. Now we all suffer Trump's image on TV, and headlines for a horrible man.
I love your column Dave! Please keep writing.
Nice work!
Great point about Santos—-the same thought came to me when I heard the news! (Well, not the bull horn—love it!)
Thanks for your insightful analysis. I am very eager for your thought (yes, a prediction) on Fox' strategy vis a vis the lawsuit. I'm thinking a negotiated settlement for less money, but an admittance of guilt, is worse for Fox than paying $1.6B. Would Dominion accept any settlement that didn't include an acknowledgement of wrong-doing? At least if they lose in court they can claim "we got screwed by a liberal judge" and drag out appeals. If they admit guilt - would their audience be gone forever?
Bob, I'm EXTREMELY interested in the Dominion lawsuit against Fox. I wrote about it a month or so ago, and you can read that column here: https://davebusiek.substack.com/p/fox-knew-and-now-its-viewers-do-too
I'll be keeping a close eye on it. I'll refrain from making a prediction. Normally, I'd be arguing in favor of a media defendant in a defamation case, but not this time. Fox has gotten away with lots of unethical practices over the years, and an old-school reporter like me would be happy to see them face consequences. I tend to agree that I doubt Dominion would go for a settlement unless it included a clear denunciation by Fox of what they had done. I noticed in the NYT this morning that Fox settled a lawsuit from a Venezuelan businessman who sued for defamation when Fox named him as an owner of Dominion, which he is not. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/09/business/fox-news-venezuela-dominion.html?searchResultPosition=2
But that's a far different case with a virtually unknown guy as opposed to Dominion, which wants its reputation back. And after the Dominion lawsuit, Fox faces another from SmartMatic. Stay tuned!