DL Open Thread: Saturday, September 7, 2024

Real Headline Of The Day:

Scientists use food dye found in Doritos to make see-through mice

My unassailable theory:  Scientists eat way too many Doritos.

Tenet Is No More.  You know, the Tennessee-based RWNJ disseminator of Russian propaganda.   Isn’t treason defined as ‘giving aid and comfort to the enemy’.  Try these assholes for treason:

A contributor for Tenet Media announced on Twitter Thursday night that the company has abruptly shuttered, one day after the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that accused it of being covertly funded by employees of a Russian state-controlled media outlet. Tayler Hansen, a self-described “field reporter” for the outlet, wrote that Tenet “has ended after the DOJ indictment.”

Tenet Media’s founders, Canadian conservative YouTuber Lauren Chen and her husband Liam Donovan, have not publicly commented on the allegations against Tenet. Nor has Canadian far-right activist Lauren Southern, a Tenet contributor who appeared in many of their videos. Other prominent contributors to the site, including far-right commentator Tim Pool, described themselves as “victims” in the Tenet scandal, who were unaware that employees of RT, the Russian state media entity, were secretly funding the company. Pool announced on Thursday that he has been contacted by federal investigators, writing, “The FBI believes I have information relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation and have requested a voluntary interview. I will be offering my assistance in this matter.”

No cause for rejoicing.  Like Hydra, many more sources of misinformation will rise to take its place.

Another Double Standard Of Justice For Trump:

The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial ruled on Friday that he won’t sentence the former president until November 26. Juan Merchan, who Trump has relentlessly accused of bias against him, wrote in his decision that the delay was “to avoid any appearance—however unwarranted—that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching Presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate.”

Merchan went on to add that he hopes the decision ends any concern about the impartiality of the court—Trump has repeatedly insisted that the entire prosecution, judge, and jury were rigged by the Biden administration, despite the case being heard in a New York court, not under federal jurisdiction.

“The Court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution,” Merchan wrote.

Uh, no.  The judge folded.  End of story.

‘Sanewashing’.  Media’s doing it again:

Four years ago, in an article for Media Matters for America, I warned that journalists were sanitizing Donald Trump’s incoherent ramblings to make them more palatable for the average voter. The general practice went like this: The press would take something Trump said or did—for instance, using a visit to the Centers for Disease Control to ask about Fox News’s ratings, insult then–Washington Governor Jay Inslee, rant about his attempt to extort Ukraine into digging up dirt on Joe Biden, and downplay the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the U.S.—and write them up as The New York Times did: “Trump Says ‘People Have to Remain Calm’ Amid Coronavirus Outbreak.” This had the effect of making it seem like Trump’s words and actions seemed cogent and sensible for the vast majority of Americans who didn’t happen to watch his rant live.

Flash-forward to today, and it’s clear this problem has only worsened. As Trump’s statements grow increasingly unhinged in his old age, major news outlets continue to reframe his words, presenting a dangerously misleading picture to the public.

For instance, last week, Trump posted the following to his Truth Social account:

CNN described that rambling, insult-laden, conspiracy-riddled wall of text—itself a pretty good example of what he spends his time off the campaign trail doing—by writing, “Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced he has ‘reached an agreement’ to participate in a September 10 debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, noting that ‘the rules will be the same as the last CNN debate, which seemed to work out well for everyone.’”

This “sanewashing” of Trump’s statements isn’t just poor journalism; it’s a form of misinformation that poses a threat to democracy. By continually reframing Trump’s incoherent and often dangerous rhetoric as conventional political discourse, major news outlets are failing in their duty to inform the public and are instead providing cover for increasingly erratic behavior from a former—and potentially future—president.

Delaware Judge Sides With Shareholders As Trump Tries To Renege On Truth Social Deal.

A federal judge in Delaware has ruled in favor of a firm seeking assurance that it will be able to sell its minority stake in the parent company of former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform.

The judge on Friday granted summary judgment to Florida-based United Atlantic Ventures LLC in a lawsuit filed against Minnesota-based Odyssey Transfer and Trust Co., a business that handles securities transfers among registered shareholders.

UAV is owned by Andrew Litinsky and Wesley Moss, former contestants on Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice” who also helped facilitate a merger that took Trump Media public in March.

Since then, UAV and Trump Media have been battling in courts in both Delaware and Florida over UAV’s stake in the company.

Randall Chase once again uncovers a story that everybody else misses.

WL Gore Sued–Again:

The company Gore, best known for Gore-Tex fabric, continues to face legal troubles for allegedly polluting the environment with the toxic class of chemicals called PFAS, which made its way into drinking water.

Attorneys representing residents in Elkton, Maryland, sent a notice of their intent to sue on Wednesday, alleging the company, headquartered in Newark, Delaware, violated federal environmental laws.

The notice of intent to sue accuses Gore of disposing contaminated wastewater into the sewer system, while aware of the potential threat it posed to drinking water supplies. Attorneys also say chemicals escaped the plant into the air, which made its way into streams and groundwater.

Now, kids, without Gore, we wouldn’t have Chris Coons.  In other words, be on the lookout for seemingly-innocuous  amendments being slipped into seemingly-unrelated bills.

What do you want to talk about?