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it's genuinely, authentically wild to me that there are professional reporters getting defensive about the blowback of Lipton's dumb post giving a christofascist regime propagandist a pat on the back for being nice in private like they genuinely don't understand the words coming out of my mouth

she is a bad faith authoritarian who lies endlessly. You are not encouraging more civil dialogue with government by praising her. You're lending her more credibility as a good faith actor before her inevitable promotion to state television, where she'll spread more propaganda.

This is all 100% correct. What I want to ask them, from Haberman on down, is what do they think their job IS. Do they believe journalists have a responsibility to find and tell the truth to readers? Do they think journalism has a role to play in holding governments to account? Or just, nah?

The political reporters see their job as producing quotable content and have no interest in trying to find the truth; that's not what they were hired for. They're in the media entertainment business, not journalism.

Colbert: "...But, listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through ../1

a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know – fiction!"

I feel insane watching journalists from far more "serious" publications than me espouse this high-minded principle of Serving The Truth and then insist their only responsibility is to a bunch of rules of decorum that simulate the appearance of it.

They are all into being savvy.

Even more of an indictment when you're praising someone who you say is courteous and helpful when no one else is watching but belligerent, insulting, and lies to your face when the cameras are rolling.

the assumption is the private kindness is genuine, which I think is kind of naive anybody that can carry water for this brutal, racist, deadly regime is nasty

*Extremely* naive. It is a successful sociopath’s manipulation tactic to engender trust targets of manipulation by pretending to “private closeness”. The gaping ignorance of antisocial personality disorders amongst those tasked with reporting on society is stunning and existentially terrifying.