Like several, I watched a good bit of the Blinken "roast" yesterday.

[jaxexpat]

It was unremarkable for it's format, the usual. Democrats ask the secretary questions and listen to answers for 5 minutes the Republicans then rave and throw lie-turds for 5 minutes.

I know this because I saw it live. But what about others? Like those discerning folks who are looking for a solid report but were unable to peruse the live format? I'm betting many of those discerning folks went to NPR's "All Things Considered" for an accurate look at the facts. If they did, they were needlessly misinformed and may not even realize they were misinformed.

NPR spent about 5 minutes focusing in on the hearing. Then a most peculiar thing happened. They only had one person interviewed for content and perspective. Unbelievably, it was a Republican who had been one of the turd tossers who gave his wholly incredible take on the proceedings. With never so much as a question to test credibility he got his air time. Time to irrevocably pervert the public intake of knowledge on this matter.

It will be no wonder come November 2022 that our prospects of returning sanity to DC are challenged more severely than we anticipate if unbiased media is not known to be available anywhere. It is the self-defeating aspect of total tribalism.

If there is none but "our own" whom we can trust to tell us the lies we want to believe, then any rumor of doubtful loyalty will result in a predictable chaos of exclusive ranks closed ever tighter. The threshold for secure membership will have grown more narrow and arcane.

That's what the GOP is going through now due to Trumpism's dubious and unhinged foundations. Without a basis of common truths, it could soon be our fate as well. And the only possible escape is more tribalism. Vote like a village!

[JohnSJ]

1. I remember when McConnell silenced Warren for her legitimate questions during Sessions confirmation

That is what should have happened yesterday toward some of the vile name calling the republicans did toward the Secretary of State

[jaxexpat]

3. Democrats seem uncomfortable wearing a mantle of authority, but not our Mitch.

[pwb]

2. I don't know why they don't answer back, your not such a great senator?

Fuck being nice to these liars.

[Hortensis]

4. I've noticed that a number of times. PBS news also.

When we stopped watching entirely, PBS was beginning and ending segments by featuring clips of Republican representatives giving their viewpoints. And a common device when they wanted to deceive on particular points was to show a clip of a RWer lying -- without commenting on it. There are others, of course, like leaving out a critical piece of information that contradicts their disinformation narrative.

I still love NPR for a lot of good discussion, but I don't trust it and that's bitter.

And I remember when PBS was our news show each evening. Don't know just when it happened, but after Gwen Ifil died we became aware of that the evening news with Judy Woodruff had become appalling corrupt and Republican serving. Koch money increased but was involved long before.

America NEEDS public broadcasting, though. We partially fund it, and I've been waiting to hear we're cleaning it up. I don't know what that'll involve, and our to-do list is longer than Princess Diana's train was, but I'm sure the will is not lacking.

[jaxexpat]

5. The first time I remember an NPR "ATC" feature not adding up was in 1993.

Something about the narrative leaning toward an unlikely explanation when a more credible path lead straight to Newt Gingrich's need for attention. Don't remember the issue(Newt had/has so many)but I was a bit put out with Ann Taylor's perspective.

To be fair, though, a lot of NPR's programming in those bygone days went too far toward the left I thought. They spoke sometimes about agriculture's problems and pushed "sustainable" farming as if it were a mere turning of a switch. I knew better and I'm not a multinational conglomerate out to profit off the 3rd world.