DL Open Thread Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Joe Biden gave what even Politico conceded was a forceful speech to open the NATO conference.

The president didn’t fumble over words as he often does during remarks. He was clear and forceful, appearing energized by the transatlanticism that he has embraced throughout his political career.

For most of the political press, this was Not News, and was buried beneath several stories toting up who’s for Biden and against him, a head count that allows reporters to do what they do best: Ask for comment, then commit stenography.

Maybe the media has been too busy trying to drum Biden from the race to notice that the release of grand jury testimony in the 2006 Jeffrey Epstein case includes lots of mentions of Trump, including some explosive allegations about him engaging in sex with underage girls. The mainstream media has given it no coverage at all, which Rep. Ted Lieu finds curious. But look at it from an editor’s standpoint: Sure, the prurient interest quotient is high, but the ick factor is higher. The mental images are disgusting enough when it’s Stormy Daniels; this goes off the charts.

The media for the most part also has failed to inform the public about Project 25, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a fascist takeover of the country. That might change if, whenever any Democratic officeholder was asked about Biden, they responded with scary yet accurate warnings about what it explicitly states. The proof that it needs airing: Trump is pretending to know nothing about it, though it’s full of the same extremist crap he’s always spouting.

Everyone knows the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the president king-like immunity was an abomination, but few have explained why as clearly and succinctly as Radley Balko does in this essay, which exposes all the history John Roberts got wrong in his sophistry. If you’re a Republican, why stop at creating a fantasy present-day when you can also make up a fantasy past and a fantasy future?

The floor’s yours.