2/2 Crowd at the Musk / Telsa fest structurally similar to CNN crowd for Trump.
(Many whoops of glee / cheers at all his lines / no actually critical questions)
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James Fallows
@JamesFallows
Former blue-check person. On Substack: 'Breaking the News' fallows.substack.com Also ourtownsfoundation.org
fallows.substack.comJoined March 2009
James Fallows’s Tweets
Musk is telling people at Tesla shareholders meeting: "Ideas are easy. Execution is hard."
Gee, if anyone had applied that to a social-media company: "Being in favor of free speech is easy. Execution is hard."
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2/2 No one who is listening to this is going to feel better about any of his companies.
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Watching Musk at the Tesla stockholder meeting makes you think:
WHY THE HELL did he not stay concentrated on this, and not on the schoolboy-howler errors of his social media jaunt.
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My view: AI-generated "summary answers" to searches that we're getting on Google Bing Neeva etc are—FOR NOW—significant step backward in usability
They give me some digested summary. What I *want* is links to the original info sources
Maybe this is a growing pain. Maybe a flaw.
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A funny review of what appears to be a not-intentionally-amusing book.
Don't miss the links to "running man" clips by EG here twitter.com/The_Mal_Galler
theintercept.com/2023/05/14/jos
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Josh Hawley running away to a variety of soundtracks.
Pt. 1: Chariots of Fire #January6thCommitteeHearing
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For those wondering, this was yesterday's word, as it unfolded before my bleary and startled eyes.
[Not a spoiler — the Wordle world has moved on.]
As mentioned, I think this is a good time for me to move on too...
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You really MUST read this essay! And then multiply this story more than a million times. #LongCOVID. From #RequiredReading fallows.substack.com/p/guest-post-m #COVID
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I've ended up on mailing lists for various "Job Openings for You!" operations.
You could write a novel based on any day's offerings. For instance, look at what arrived this am. Really, look at it
(Other ones have included: freight pilot; corporate speechwriter; IT guy; etc.)
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Republicans have convinced the media that their extortion plot is no different than the ordinary horse-trading Congress often does around the debt ceiling. It's total nonsense.
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This is not correct.
To put it mildly.
RFK Jr might even be aware of some counter-examples within his own extended family.
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RFK Jr: “Pres Trump has shown himself to be most devastating debater since Abraham Lincoln.”
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Had not played Wordle in months.
Now I think I'll never play it again.
Wordle 695 1/6
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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The incredible part:
This kind of balance—access, vs acquiescence—is the Day One lesson, the 'Free Press for Dummies' starting point, for anyone in any media org anywhere. Gee, maybe people working in China have dealt with this??
To present it as a 'gotcha' is a reverse gotcha
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The ideal writer for a wonderful story:
Cullen Murphy, my friend and colleague of many years, with a long after-hours prowl through the Vatican Museum.
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There’s a special place in hell for guys like & who use vulnerable families for political stunts. Normal, decent people don’t do this. There’s something deeply broken in these little men desperate for attention. I feel sorry for their own families.
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JUST IN: A busload of illegal immigrants have been dropped off on VP Kamala Harris’ front lawn in Washington D.C., courtesy of TX governor Greg Abbott.
Many of the migrants seen were from Venezuela.
The move comes as the Biden administration continues to ignore the ongoing… Show more
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Excellent piece replying to defenses by Licht + on CNN "Town Hall" debacle
washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/
I am waiting to see if Licht et al continue to pretend this was good. (While almost everyone outside CNN condemns it.) Or recognize it as cautionary lesson.
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Media notes:
-Last night I talked w of CBC's superb As It Happens show, about how to cover Trump — and how not to.
Link to full episode here: cbc.ca/listen/live-ra
-Also on w + on same theme.
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To close the loop here, NYT has Trump's new "vision" story at top of front page.
WSJ has its story at the bottom of page A4.
And, another NYT story that is not on front page but on A18.
Write your own essay-question answer about framing decisions.
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1) Top of today's NYT front page:
Trump "lays out vision" with "bold remarks"
2) Me last night: Not so much.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-we-lear
Check 'em both out, see what you think.
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I ended this piece saying I hoped CNN would reflect on town hall disaster, as guide on how not to handle Trump.
fallows.substack.com/p/what-we-lear
On CNN tonight, they're congratulating themselves.
Meanwhile BE SURE to catch opening segment tonight. He really comes down hard
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In case I was unclear on this point in real time last night:
Not a fan of the CNN 'Town Hall'
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Note to journalists: If you run a headline or article parroting McCarthy saying "Biden wants default" or "Biden will lead us to default" you are assisting him with his reckless extortion gambit. McCarthy is the one linking budget talks to the debt ceiling.
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So employment is at record levels, so is job satisfaction, and concerns about inflation have greatly receded. And people believe that the economy is in terrible shape
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Important NYT piece on sustainable gardens in the desert. nytimes.com/2023/05/08/din
In 2016 we enjoyed reporting on early days of this movement, experimenting w indigenous crops in Ajo AZ. ourtownsfoundation.org/farming-in-the
I hope the white pomegranate trees are thriving.
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What CNN was saying this morning.
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2/2 Sorry, I left off Dana Bash from the list above.
All were tough on Trump.
None said anything about CNN's decision to let this happen.
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Every person on this CNN panel — Tapper, Cornish, King, Coates, Gangel, Phillip — knows full well what their network just did.
They *all* know.
One of them can say it.
Please.
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CNN panelist: ""He was provided a platform with a sympathetic audience..."
He "was provided"????
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In terms of sheer control of the stage and WWE-style platform dynamics, the horrible truth is that this outcome was preordained.
From story back in 2016:
theatlantic.com/magazine/archi
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This is CNN's lowest moment as an organization.
(And I remember the glory days of their "balanced" panels back in 2015-2016.)
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Somebody was going to be in *charge* of this (disastrous) shitshow.
Trump made clear 10 seconds in that it was going to be him.
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This is a disaster.
Trump was allowed to deliver a standup routine about his sexual abuse trial
He defamed his victim E Jean Carroll *again*
He slandered the judge, who was pretty fair at trial
And he stood by his idea that stars can "fortunately" get away with pussy grabbing
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I can’t believe this is being allowed on . This is promulgating the cult leadership of Trump — and people are laughing at sexual assault. God save us. And now trump says it’s because women LET YOU grab ‘em by the pussy. #TrumpTownHall
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Sure.
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If you're a CNN exec, this must make you very proud.
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President Trump: "I'll be doing CNN tonight LIVE from the great state of New Hampshire because CNN is rightfully desperate to get those fantastic Trump ratings back!"
Tune in TONIGHT at 8PM ET!
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Indeed.
I highly recc Prof Garrett Epps to all the mainstream outlets that have been busily pushing a "both-sides" "standoff" version of the GOP's debt-ceiling nihilism.
Quote Tweet
If reporters are looking for an expert on the 14th amendment and the debt ceiling, you should reach out to Professor Garrett Epps of @monthly. He’s been making the case for this for 12 years. twitter.com/thehill/status…
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Different topic:
Something I generally love about the aviation life is the 3-D-ism of everything, especially coming in for landing.
But a place I will never dare land, in 3 short and interesting videos:
youtube.com/watch?v=KXlKLe
youtube.com/watch?v=df4zoP
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