505,000 Americans have died from Covid under Biden's watch
15 comments:
The Real Coldheartedtruth
said...
Though considered milder than other coronavirus variants, omicron has infected so many people that it has driven the number of daily deaths beyond where it was last spring, before vaccines were widely available, according to Washington Post data.
Omicron has been particularly lethal to people over 75, the unvaccinated and the medically vulnerable, according to doctors and public health officials. The soaring death toll also illustrates why experts pleaded with the public to beware of the highly contagious variant even though it is less virulent than others.
“That feels quite jarring to people who may have assumed omicron is generally on a per-case level less severe and given the fact we have vaccinated at least some portion of the country,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Even if on a per-case basis fewer people develop severe illness and die, when you apply a small percentage to a very large number, you get a substantial number.” [What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus] Yet the seven-day average of deaths during the omicron surge has reached 2,600 in recent days, climbing past the late September peak of about 2,000 average daily fatalities during the surge of the more dangerous delta variant, according to Post tracking. The ranks of hospitalized patients with covid-19 reached record highs in January. Coronavirus deaths lag hospitalizations. More than 900,000 Americans have died of covid-19.
The latest victims tend to be older, according to a Post review of federal data. Nearly half of the deaths in January 2022 were among those 75 and older, compared to about a third in September.
The soaring death toll also illustrates why experts pleaded with the public to beware of the highly contagious variant even though it is less virulent than others.
People like you told people that it is a Democratic hoax and make Doctor Fauci rich because he deep staters hate Trump.
There’s a big group of patients who are politically motivated and don’t want to be told what to do. They are willing to die from this disease because they don’t want to be told what to do, and it’s basically crazy.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times that the United States is heading out of the “full blown” pandemic phase of Covid-19, as he predicted a combination of vaccinations, treatments and prior infection would soon make the virus more manageable.
Fauci added that there would be an end to all pandemic-related restrictions in the coming months including mandatory wearing of masks.
Said Fauci: “As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus.”
The US is heading out of the “full blown” pandemic phase of Covid-19, the president’s chief medical adviser said, as he predicted a combination of vaccinations, treatments and prior infection would soon make the virus more manageable.
Dr Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times he hoped there would be an end to all pandemic-related restrictions in the coming months, including mandatory wearing of masks.
In his most optimistic comments about the trajectory of the pandemic since the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, he outlined a scenario where local health departments would lead the response to the virus rather than the Biden administration.
Fauci said: “As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus.”
Asked when restrictions might end, he said he hoped it would be “soon”, and agreed with the suggestion it was likely to happen this year. But he warned local health departments could reintroduce measures temporarily if outbreaks are detected in the community.
Fauci’s comments add to a growing sense of optimism among health officials across the developing world that the Omicron variant may herald the end of the most damaging phase of the pandemic.
Were masks a waste of time?Experts advocated an intervention they once thought useless
Geoff Shullenberger is a writer and academic.
February 9, 2022
Last summer, as the Delta wave was upending hopes that widespread vaccination would end the pandemic, several Democratic-run cities and states in America reintroduced the mask mandates they had ditched earlier in the year. A few other blue states and cities, notably New York, as well as many Republican-led states and municipalities, opted not to require masking again at that point.
This policy divergence created an opportunity to examine the impact of mask mandates. Those areas that rescinded their mandates could function as control groups for evaluating the effect of the policy on cases and mortality. But neither public health experts nor any of the major media outlets took up this opportunity. The reason, most of them would likely have said if pressed on the subject, was there was nothing to learn: “the science” was settled.
The minority leader in the Senate said. Remember when he publicly told us that he would block everything to prevent Obama would win reelection. He's not a RINO.
WASHINGTON—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) criticized the Republican National Committee’s censure of two Republican lawmakers who sit on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying the RNC shouldn’t single them out for holding differing views from the majority of the party.
“That’s not the job of the RNC,” Mr. McConnell said.
“Traditionally the view of the national party committee is that we support all members of our party regardless of their positions on some issues,” he said.
A resolution calling for the censure of Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois passed Friday in a voice vote during a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Salt Lake City. The RNC, which is closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, is made up of party officials representing U.S. states and territories. Mr. Trump congratulated the RNC for the vote, calling Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger “two horrible RINOs who put themselves ahead of our country,” referring to Republicans in name only.
The text of the RNC resolution accused Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger of disloyalty to the party for serving on the Jan. 6 panel and said they “are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
After the wording drew criticism for potentially defending people engaged in violence on Jan. 6, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement that the RNC was referring to people who were engaged in “legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol.”
On Jan. 6, supporters of Mr. Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory. Mr. Trump, who gave a speech encouraging supporters to march to the Capitol earlier that day, was impeached by the House for inciting an insurrection. The Senate acquitted him.
Mr. McConnell, who has accused Mr. Trump of provoking the mob that attacked the Capitol, said Tuesday that he has confidence in Ms. McDaniel. But he reiterated his position that what happened on Jan. 6 was “a violent insurrection” that was intended to “prevent the peaceful transfer of power after legitimately certified elections, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) tweeted on Saturday after the censure had passed that describing January 6 as "legitimate political discourse" was "just wrong."
Murkowski told CNN on Sunday that she represented the people of Alaska and was "not here to be a representative of the Republican Party."
"When there is a conflict, when the party is taking an approach or saying things that I think are just absolutely wrong, I think it's my responsibility as an Alaskan Senator, speaking out for Alaskans, to just speak the truth," Murkowski said.
"The easier thing to do is just go along to get along, or just keep your mouth shut. But you know what, that's not why we're here," she said.
Mitt Romney
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said he had "exchanged some texts" on the issue with his niece, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Romney said the censure "could not have been a more inappropriate message."
"One, to sanction two people of character as they did," the senator said. "But number two, to suggest that a violent attack on the seat of democracy is legitimate political discourse is so far from accurate as to shock and make people wonder what we're thinking."
Romney also suggested the move could affect Republicans' chances in the midterms, saying: "Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us."
John Cornyn
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) noted that the RNC's resolution mentioned a desire for Republicans to be unified, but "that was not a unifying action."
Cornyn also said the RNC "did say in their resolution that the job was to win elections. I agree with that. But then they go on to engage in actions that make that more challenging."
"I don't think you can kick out of the party everybody you disagree with. Or it's going to be a minority party," he said.
Shelley Moore Capito
Senator Shelley Moore Capito said: "We've got a lot of issues that we should be focusing on besides censuring two members of Congress because they have a different opinion."
"I thought: Free speech for everybody," said Capito, who serves on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's leadership team.
McConnell is expected to address the issue during his press conference on Tuesday.
Joni Ernst
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), who is also part of the GOP leadership, appeared to criticize the RNC's decision to censure Cheney and Kinzinger.
"I wish they wouldn't. I would leave it up to the states," Ernst said.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he had spoken to McDaniel about the matter and said the party's focus should be on the midterm elections.
"I think all of us up here want to talk about forward and not backward," Graham said. "We want to talk about why we should be in charge of the House and the Senate, and when you're not talking about that, that takes you in the wrong direction."
Susan Collins
Senator Susan Collins (R-MN) issued a statement on Monday saying those "who assaulted police officers, broke windows and breached the Capitol were not engaged in legitimate political discourse, and to say otherwise is absurd."
Collins said the Republican party had started the year with an advantage in the upcoming elections.
"But every moment that is spent re-litigating a lost election or defending those who have been convicted of criminal behavior moves us further away from the goal of victory this fall," Collins said.
Kevin Cramer
Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a former member of the House, described the RNC as "out of their league, quite honestly."
"I mean the beauty of the people's House is it is the people's House. Every one of them have two-year terms and roughly the same number of constituents, and any discipline for the most part belongs with the people who elect them," he said.
Roy Blunt
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) simply told CNN on Monday: "I think the RNC should be focused on electing Republicans."
The media and especially The New York Times is coming to get you and start a Communist government.
Lest anyone think that the New York Times has only recently been biased and paid to spout anti-American propaganda, it is time to reconsider. Ashley Rindberg’s The Gray Lady Winked: How The New York Times’s Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History exposes the New York Times and its longstanding ideological roots. Rindberg offers an illuminating historical study of how the Times repeatedly has engaged in spreading lies about National Socialism, Communism, and other authoritarian regimes and various political situations around the world. This has been a clear pattern for decades, claims Rindsberg, and it’s not difficult to see what he means.
During World War II, for example, the Times refused to acknowledge the gravity of Hitler’s regime, and the correspondents would often, quite literally and openly, use Nazi propaganda points in their articles.
Report
Was it denial of the reality that Hitler’s regime brought about or actual antisemitic support for the regime? In 1935, Frederick Birchall, one of the Times’ journalists, wrote an article about the Olympics that were then taking place in Berlin. The anti-Jewish riots were happening during the athletic event yet Birchall decided to minimize them and focus on the glory of the Olympics. Rindsberg writes that Birchall chose to see the Nazis in a positive light: “. . . Birchall was so confident that the Nazis and their tyrant were more good than bad that he felt it appropriate to rationalize the anti-Jewish riots . . .”
We might find ourselves asking whether it really matters, all these years later, that the New York Times lavishly celebrated Hitler’s Olympics, but we should be assured that it does. A newspaper of that magnitude can influence actions like whether one country engages in war or not. So its impact on history is undeniable. Then, there is also the ethical question of what ought to have been the paper’s response to the destruction of one entire group of people.
As Rindsberg writes, “The high praise [of the Berlin Olympics] sung by the New York Times rang in the ears of Americans deepening their ambivalence, allowing the Nazi monster to lurch another inch forward toward its attempt at world conquest and genocide.” (Consider that, as I write, the Olympic Games are now happening in China, where Uyghur Muslims are subject to dehumanization and elimination, yet the mainstream media, in like manner, is ignoring this fact, and in some instances even denying it).
Just as the New York Times was once sympathetic to Nazis, their love of totaliarianism was even more revealed in the paper’s sympathetic treatment of communism, which continues to this day. (Recall the recent celebration by the New York Times of socialism, which among other things featured an article about women having better sex under socialism than their counterparts under capitalism.) In the early days of Marxist ideology, in fact, the paper’s journalists were fully committed to it. Rindsberg singles out Walter Duranty, a correspondent in Russia, who blatantly lied about the living conditions under Soviet Communism. In particular, he played down the Soviet-created great famine in Ukraine, which claimed the lives of millions of people.
Like so many media figures today, Duranty was a journalistic fraud, an opportunist who loved to wax eloquent without saying anything of substance, and thrived in the company of dictators. Duranty even interviewed Stalin with a strange glee, and was immensely flattered by Stalin’s compliments. As Rindsberg writes, “For most, but especially for a news organization, flattery from a political monster would not make for a proud moment. For the New York Times, Duranty’s interview with Stalin was a triumph.”
Republicans Can’t Decide Whether to Celebrate Trump’s Coup Plot or Ignore It By Jonathan Chait
The Republican Party is embroiled in a minor internal tiff over three words: “legitimate political discourse.” The awkward coinage appeared in a Republican National Committee resolution censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to negate the election results. RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is furious with the news media for highlighting those words out of what she regards as proper context. Many Republican officials are furious at McDaniel for passing the resolution in the first place.
The dispute offers a revealing window into the state of the party’s internal deliberations over Trump’s coup plot.
Begin with McDaniel. The resolution condemned Cheney and Kinzinger for participating in “Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse,” a reference to the January 6 committee. The New York Times highlighted the anodyne description, which appeared to describe the violent assault on the Capitol.
15 comments:
Though considered milder than other coronavirus variants, omicron has infected so many people that it has driven the number of daily deaths beyond where it was last spring, before vaccines were widely available, according to Washington Post data.
Omicron has been particularly lethal to people over 75, the unvaccinated and the medically vulnerable, according to doctors and public health officials. The soaring death toll also illustrates why experts pleaded with the public to beware of the highly contagious variant even though it is less virulent than others.
“That feels quite jarring to people who may have assumed omicron is generally on a per-case level less severe and given the fact we have vaccinated at least some portion of the country,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Even if on a per-case basis fewer people develop severe illness and die, when you apply a small percentage to a very large number, you get a substantial number.”
[What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus]
Yet the seven-day average of deaths during the omicron surge has reached 2,600 in recent days, climbing past the late September peak of about 2,000 average daily fatalities during the surge of the more dangerous delta variant, according to Post tracking. The ranks of hospitalized patients with covid-19 reached record highs in January. Coronavirus deaths lag hospitalizations.
More than 900,000 Americans have died of covid-19.
The latest victims tend to be older, according to a Post review of federal data. Nearly half of the deaths in January 2022 were among those 75 and older, compared to about a third in September.
It's not his fault.
The soaring death toll also illustrates why experts pleaded with the public to beware of the highly contagious variant even though it is less virulent than others.
People like you told people that it is a Democratic hoax and make Doctor Fauci rich because he deep staters hate Trump.
There’s a big group of patients who are politically motivated and don’t want to be told what to do. They are willing to die from this disease because they don’t want to be told what to do, and it’s basically crazy.
Covid deaths highest in a year as omicron targets the unvaccinated and elderly
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/02/08/omicron-deaths-covid/
Your own words got shot down today.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times that the United States is heading out of the “full blown” pandemic phase of Covid-19, as he predicted a combination of vaccinations, treatments and prior infection would soon make the virus more manageable.
Fauci added that there would be an end to all pandemic-related restrictions in the coming months including mandatory wearing of masks.
Said Fauci: “As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus.”
He used the words that the state governments and people making up their own minds. He is an expert on government, that's why Reagan appointed him.
The US is heading out of the “full blown” pandemic phase of Covid-19, the president’s chief medical adviser said, as he predicted a combination of vaccinations, treatments and prior infection would soon make the virus more manageable.
Dr Anthony Fauci told the Financial Times he hoped there would be an end to all pandemic-related restrictions in the coming months, including mandatory wearing of masks.
In his most optimistic comments about the trajectory of the pandemic since the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant, he outlined a scenario where local health departments would lead the response to the virus rather than the Biden administration.
Fauci said: “As we get out of the full-blown pandemic phase of Covid-19, which we are certainly heading out of, these decisions will increasingly be made on a local level rather than centrally decided or mandated. There will also be more people making their own decisions on how they want to deal with the virus.”
Asked when restrictions might end, he said he hoped it would be “soon”, and agreed with the suggestion it was likely to happen this year. But he warned local health departments could reintroduce measures temporarily if outbreaks are detected in the community.
Fauci’s comments add to a growing sense of optimism among health officials across the developing world that the Omicron variant may herald the end of the most damaging phase of the pandemic.
Were masks a waste of time?Experts advocated an intervention they once thought useless
Geoff Shullenberger is a writer and academic.
February 9, 2022
Last summer, as the Delta wave was upending hopes that widespread vaccination would end the pandemic, several Democratic-run cities and states in America reintroduced the mask mandates they had ditched earlier in the year. A few other blue states and cities, notably New York, as well as many Republican-led states and municipalities, opted not to require masking again at that point.
This policy divergence created an opportunity to examine the impact of mask mandates. Those areas that rescinded their mandates could function as control groups for evaluating the effect of the policy on cases and mortality. But neither public health experts nor any of the major media outlets took up this opportunity. The reason, most of them would likely have said if pressed on the subject, was there was nothing to learn: “the science” was settled.
The minority leader in the Senate said. Remember when he publicly told us that he would block everything to prevent Obama would win reelection. He's not a RINO.
WASHINGTON—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) criticized the Republican National Committee’s censure of two Republican lawmakers who sit on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying the RNC shouldn’t single them out for holding differing views from the majority of the party.
“That’s not the job of the RNC,” Mr. McConnell said.
“Traditionally the view of the national party committee is that we support all members of our party regardless of their positions on some issues,” he said.
A resolution calling for the censure of Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois passed Friday in a voice vote during a meeting of the Republican National Committee in Salt Lake City. The RNC, which is closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, is made up of party officials representing U.S. states and territories. Mr. Trump congratulated the RNC for the vote, calling Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger “two horrible RINOs who put themselves ahead of our country,” referring to Republicans in name only.
The text of the RNC resolution accused Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger of disloyalty to the party for serving on the Jan. 6 panel and said they “are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
After the wording drew criticism for potentially defending people engaged in violence on Jan. 6, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement that the RNC was referring to people who were engaged in “legitimate political discourse that had nothing to do with violence at the Capitol.”
On Jan. 6, supporters of Mr. Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to halt the certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory. Mr. Trump, who gave a speech encouraging supporters to march to the Capitol earlier that day, was impeached by the House for inciting an insurrection. The Senate acquitted him.
Mr. McConnell, who has accused Mr. Trump of provoking the mob that attacked the Capitol, said Tuesday that he has confidence in Ms. McDaniel. But he reiterated his position that what happened on Jan. 6 was “a violent insurrection” that was intended to “prevent the peaceful transfer of power after legitimately certified elections, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”
That’s what it was.”
That’s what it was.”
That’s what it was.”
That’s what it was.”
That’s what it was.”
Lordie, 4 monikers of rants all are Roger Amadick.
PM Truddy is getting his ads kicked in a very Public Stage.
"Ottawa City Official: Contracted Tow Trucks Refuse to Remove ‘Freedom Convoy’
Roger add "Tow Truck Drivers" to your "brainwashed radicals".
RINO list for Scott Johnson schizophrenia
Lisa Murkowski
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) tweeted on Saturday after the censure had passed that describing January 6 as "legitimate political discourse" was "just wrong."
Murkowski told CNN on Sunday that she represented the people of Alaska and was "not here to be a representative of the Republican Party."
"When there is a conflict, when the party is taking an approach or saying things that I think are just absolutely wrong, I think it's my responsibility as an Alaskan Senator, speaking out for Alaskans, to just speak the truth," Murkowski said.
"The easier thing to do is just go along to get along, or just keep your mouth shut. But you know what, that's not why we're here," she said.
Mitt Romney
Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said he had "exchanged some texts" on the issue with his niece, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Romney said the censure "could not have been a more inappropriate message."
"One, to sanction two people of character as they did," the senator said. "But number two, to suggest that a violent attack on the seat of democracy is legitimate political discourse is so far from accurate as to shock and make people wonder what we're thinking."
Romney also suggested the move could affect Republicans' chances in the midterms, saying: "Anything that my party does that comes across as being stupid is not going to help us."
John Cornyn
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) noted that the RNC's resolution mentioned a desire for Republicans to be unified, but "that was not a unifying action."
Cornyn also said the RNC "did say in their resolution that the job was to win elections. I agree with that. But then they go on to engage in actions that make that more challenging."
"I don't think you can kick out of the party everybody you disagree with. Or it's going to be a minority party," he said.
Shelley Moore Capito
Senator Shelley Moore Capito said: "We've got a lot of issues that we should be focusing on besides censuring two members of Congress because they have a different opinion."
"I thought: Free speech for everybody," said Capito, who serves on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's leadership team.
McConnell is expected to address the issue during his press conference on Tuesday.
Joni Ernst
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), who is also part of the GOP leadership, appeared to criticize the RNC's decision to censure Cheney and Kinzinger.
"I wish they wouldn't. I would leave it up to the states," Ernst said.
Lindsey Graham
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he had spoken to McDaniel about the matter and said the party's focus should be on the midterm elections.
"I think all of us up here want to talk about forward and not backward," Graham said. "We want to talk about why we should be in charge of the House and the Senate, and when you're not talking about that, that takes you in the wrong direction."
Susan Collins
Senator Susan Collins (R-MN) issued a statement on Monday saying those "who assaulted police officers, broke windows and breached the Capitol were not engaged in legitimate political discourse, and to say otherwise is absurd."
Collins said the Republican party had started the year with an advantage in the upcoming elections.
"But every moment that is spent re-litigating a lost election or defending those who have been convicted of criminal behavior moves us further away from the goal of victory this fall," Collins said.
Kevin Cramer
Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a former member of the House, described the RNC as "out of their league, quite honestly."
"I mean the beauty of the people's House is it is the people's House. Every one of them have two-year terms and roughly the same number of constituents, and any discipline for the most part belongs with the people who elect them," he said.
Roy Blunt
Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) simply told CNN on Monday: "I think the RNC should be focused on electing Republicans."
The media and especially The New York Times is coming to get you and start a Communist government.
Lest anyone think that the New York Times has only recently been biased and paid to spout anti-American propaganda, it is time to reconsider. Ashley Rindberg’s The Gray Lady Winked: How The New York Times’s Misreporting, Distortions and Fabrications Radically Alter History exposes the New York Times and its longstanding ideological roots. Rindberg offers an illuminating historical study of how the Times repeatedly has engaged in spreading lies about National Socialism, Communism, and other authoritarian regimes and various political situations around the world. This has been a clear pattern for decades, claims Rindsberg, and it’s not difficult to see what he means.
During World War II, for example, the Times refused to acknowledge the gravity of Hitler’s regime, and the correspondents would often, quite literally and openly, use Nazi propaganda points in their articles.
Report
Was it denial of the reality that Hitler’s regime brought about or actual antisemitic support for the regime? In 1935, Frederick Birchall, one of the Times’ journalists, wrote an article about the Olympics that were then taking place in Berlin. The anti-Jewish riots were happening during the athletic event yet Birchall decided to minimize them and focus on the glory of the Olympics. Rindsberg writes that Birchall chose to see the Nazis in a positive light: “. . . Birchall was so confident that the Nazis and their tyrant were more good than bad that he felt it appropriate to rationalize the anti-Jewish riots . . .”
We might find ourselves asking whether it really matters, all these years later, that the New York Times lavishly celebrated Hitler’s Olympics, but we should be assured that it does. A newspaper of that magnitude can influence actions like whether one country engages in war or not. So its impact on history is undeniable. Then, there is also the ethical question of what ought to have been the paper’s response to the destruction of one entire group of people.
As Rindsberg writes, “The high praise [of the Berlin Olympics] sung by the New York Times rang in the ears of Americans deepening their ambivalence, allowing the Nazi monster to lurch another inch forward toward its attempt at world conquest and genocide.” (Consider that, as I write, the Olympic Games are now happening in China, where Uyghur Muslims are subject to dehumanization and elimination, yet the mainstream media, in like manner, is ignoring this fact, and in some instances even denying it).
Just as the New York Times was once sympathetic to Nazis, their love of totaliarianism was even more revealed in the paper’s sympathetic treatment of communism, which continues to this day. (Recall the recent celebration by the New York Times of socialism, which among other things featured an article about women having better sex under socialism than their counterparts under capitalism.) In the early days of Marxist ideology, in fact, the paper’s journalists were fully committed to it. Rindsberg singles out Walter Duranty, a correspondent in Russia, who blatantly lied about the living conditions under Soviet Communism. In particular, he played down the Soviet-created great famine in Ukraine, which claimed the lives of millions of people.
Like so many media figures today, Duranty was a journalistic fraud, an opportunist who loved to wax eloquent without saying anything of substance, and thrived in the company of dictators. Duranty even interviewed Stalin with a strange glee, and was immensely flattered by Stalin’s compliments. As Rindsberg writes, “For most, but especially for a news organization, flattery from a political monster would not make for a proud moment. For the New York Times, Duranty’s interview with Stalin was a triumph.”
Republicans Can’t Decide Whether to Celebrate Trump’s Coup Plot or Ignore It
By Jonathan Chait
The Republican Party is embroiled in a minor internal tiff over three words: “legitimate political discourse.” The awkward coinage appeared in a Republican National Committee resolution censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to negate the election results. RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is furious with the news media for highlighting those words out of what she regards as proper context. Many Republican officials are furious at McDaniel for passing the resolution in the first place.
The dispute offers a revealing window into the state of the party’s internal deliberations over Trump’s coup plot.
Begin with McDaniel. The resolution condemned Cheney and Kinzinger for participating in “Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse,” a reference to the January 6 committee. The New York Times highlighted the anodyne description, which appeared to describe the violent assault on the Capitol.
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