Two headlines in the last 24 hours: New York Times: "The New Worst-Case Scenario for Election Officials: Federal Interference" Me: "Republicans have cheated in elections for a long time"
Mark Jacob
Mark Jacob
@markjacob.bsky.social
Former metro editor at Chicago Tribune and Sunday editor at Chicago Sun-Times. Co-author of 11 books, mostly on history. Writer of the Stop the Presses newsletter at www.stopthepresses.news. Subscribe!
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Gratified to see widely respected journalist Margaret Sullivan endorse my view that major media must depict Trump’s abuse of power as a “five-alarm fire” – because it is.
Some folks are probably sick of me posting this video in which I go toe-to-toe with NY Times assistant managing editor Patrick Healy about the Times coverage of the rise of MAGA fascism. But since Margaret Sullivan cited it prominently in her new piece, here it is.
And while I'm in promo mode, please consider subscribing to my Stop the Presses newsletter on media and politics. My main weekly piece is free, and there's a paid tier if you want to support the work and get bonus features. Either way, subscribe! Here's the latest installment.
Mark Jacob reposted
“When the press critic Mark Jacob was invited recently to air his complaints about the Times in an interview with assistant managing editor Patrick Healy, he masterfully explained the problem.” @sulliview.bsky.social writes. @markjacob.bsky.social margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/countdown-...
Mark Jacob reposted
This week’s installment of my Stop the Presses newsletter recalls the Republicans’ history of cheating in elections. They’ve often gotten away with it. Let’s make sure cheaters don’t prosper this time.
The Trump regime has made the U.S. into a sad joke to the rest of the world. Slamming other cultures doesn’t change that.
RFK: "There's five hundred million Arabs in the world. And yet they don't produce science. They don't win the Nobel Prize. They don't win the Fields Prize. They don't win the Wolf Prize. They don't produce literature."
Trump’s bid to steal a DC public park and turn it into an elitist golf course has been blocked. When many institutions kowtow to the dictator, federal district courts are holding the line.
VICTORY: A federal court just put the chainsaws down at East Potomac Park The plan was to turn a public park into a private tournament course for Trump & wealthy golfers. The trees stay while we fight it out in court @democracydefendersfund.org & partners are on the case 👇- TN
For the last month, I've been posting examples of Trump's authoritarianism that I call "Dictator Move of the Day." If you search that phrase, you'll see that the fascist president is constantly trying to undermine our democracy. I'm going to keep doing these posts. We've got to stop him.
Dictator Move of the Day.
Mark Jacob reposted
Republicans are trying to rig the midterms. It’s nothing new. In this week’s Stop the Presses, @markjacob.bsky.social looks back at 60 years of GOP election schemes, from Nixon’s Vietnam sabotage to the Brooks Brothers Riot to Jan. 6. bit.ly/3W9qYuT
This week’s installment of my Stop the Presses newsletter recalls the Republicans’ history of cheating in elections. They’ve often gotten away with it. Let’s make sure cheaters don’t prosper this time.
Mark Jacob reposted
Ken Paxton is a shameless crook. Only someone with incredibly low standards would vote for him.
Encouraging sign that Democrats will play hardball if they win the midterms.
NEWS --> Dems are planning novel ways to wield power of the purse against Trump's corrupt prosecutions of critics like Ilhan Omar if they win House. Reps Pramila Jayapal and Jamie Raskin tell me a range of aggressive tactics will be deployed. Details in my new piece: newrepublic.com/article/2171...
Mark Jacob reposted
Mark Jacob reposted
Smart move by Mike Rogers' staff to set up his earpiece so it mutes any reference to Trump.
WELKER: Is a vote for you a vote for the Trump agenda? MIKE ROGERS: Um, I'm apologizing. I'm having some difficultly in my earpiece. But is a vote for you? I'm not sure. I'll tell you what a vote for me is. It's a great day for the state of Michigan
Trump detests the free enterprise system. He believes in a Soviet-style command economy with total government control. He favors foreign trade based on bribery. He opposes competition. That's why, when a foreign country like Taiwan manufactures a product, Trump says they're "stealing" our business.
Trump: "Look, if we had smart presidents, the Taiwan problem with China wouldn't exist. Nobody would care. They stole our chip business. All of it. 100 percent."
More than a decade ago, Trump promised to fix a broken health care system. But he never came up with a plan. Now he's saying it's the best in the world. He simply skipped the "fix it" part.
Trump: "We have the best healthcare plans in the world. Now it doesn't cover everybody, but it covers a lot of people."
Todd Blanche wants us to shove the Jan. 6 insurrection into a vault as ancient history alongside the Tilden-Hayes Compromise of 1877. But it was only 5 years ago that Trump tried to steal an election!
BASH: The worry is that we end up in a situation where President Trump tries to overturn the election and the result of that could be like what we saw after January 6-- BLANCHE: Stop it! You gotta stop it with that! That's crazy BASH: This is a president who has a history
Blanche is not the people's attorney general. He's Trump's fascist enforcer.
BASH: What's the crime? AG TODD BLANCHE: What's the crime? Well it depends. There *could* be a crime. But the real wrong here is that Alaskans are gonna be confused. BASH: The Alaskan Supreme Court ruled 4 months ago on this matter
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You’d think Audi, owned by Volkswagen, might know better than allying with a fascist dictator. www.volkswagen-group.com/en/the-histo...
If you’re thinking of buying an Audi, don’t forget that an Audi executive appeared at a Trump rally this weekend to try to boost an American dictatorship. Make your car-buying decision accordingly.
If you’re thinking of buying an Audi, don’t forget that an Audi executive appeared at a Trump rally this weekend to try to boost an American dictatorship. Make your car-buying decision accordingly.
Mark Jacob reposted
🧵🧵🧵 10 ways the planet’s richest person, Elon Musk, has been busy making the world worse. A thread. 1. Buying crooked politicians like Ken Paxton.
Here’s the story. Pretty good. Would have more impact with sharper but still accurate language.
The NY Times says “lie” in the lead of this story, but not in the headline.
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Do yourself a favor and watch a bunch of these Obama clips from his rally today in Ohio. He is on fire, just the energy we need.
“How much time do you think this defense secretary spends looking in the mirror in the morning? These are not serious people” — Obama’s audience in Ohio is hanging on every word as he skewers Trump and Hegseth
Mark Jacob reposted
There's something very big missing in the media coverage of the Trump-Putin story. I reveal what that is in the new issue of my OUR LAND newsletter: link.motherjones.com/public/48076... Get a free trial subscription at davidcorn.com. And check out HowRussiaWon.com
Mark Jacob reposted
SCOOP: Spokesperson for Sen. Ron Wyden told me he is investigating 2 for-profit companies running new ICE facility for unaccompanied children set to open in Louisiana. LaSalle Corrections and 'humanitarian response' firm Anovaeon LLC are facing Wyden's scrutiny. www.thequeenzone.com/scoop-top-se...
A major problem with political journalism is the perceived obligation to treat Republicans and Democrats equally, to be "nonpartisan." The NY Times editor in this video thinks this way. But as I explain, Dems vs. GOP is a simplistic focus. It should be decency vs. indecency, democracy vs. fascism.