A Naive Question

Many of the reports on Clinton wikileaked emails come with repeated disclosures that the media organization reporting it has not confirmed their authenticity.

OK, so why are they being reported?

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Author: craigcrawford

Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.

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Oregon Democrat
Oregon Democrat
8 years ago

Good question…It seems that the desire to report first has often become more important than reporting accurately…

oldseahag
8 years ago

I often wonder how different this election would look if the great true journalists were still with us…

Jamie44
8 years ago

In addition to the few that have been obviously doctored, the emails are frequently out of order or with missing surrounding context.  Given the same analysis of say every single comment ever written on this site, anyone here could probably be made look like some anti-social monster.  So not only is confirmation of accuracy missing, but analysis simply can’t be done on the fly.  Just one more example of simplistic Headline News adding to the dumbing down of political life.

 

Pogo
8 years ago

Gotta sell soap.

Bink
8 years ago

“Gotta sell soap”

/endthread

patd
8 years ago

pogo & bink, isn’t that short for “it’s the economy, stupid”?

patd
8 years ago

and, bink, I was not trying to be funny.*  economic philosophy nowadays does not, when calculating profits, consider benefits to the common good… iow, the media business puts aside journalism standards and goes to the bottom in favor of the bottom line.

*and I beg your eminence’s pardon when I do attempt humor and it falls short of your standards. 🙂

tony
8 years ago
patd
8 years ago

tony, thanks for that link.  here’s more at cnn of what the prez said which I hope motivates big vote turnout:

Obama framed the Republican Party as being in lock step with the GOP nominee, saying, “It is absolutely vital we do everything we can to maximize turnout, maximize enthusiasm, reject Trump but also reject the climate that results in Donald Trump getting the nomination.”

“That starts in House of Representatives. The things you’re hearing Trump say, they’re said on floor of the House all the time. The Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives are repeatedly promoting crazy conspiracy theories and demonizing opponents,” Obama said.

Repeating a thought from his stump speech earlier, Obama said Trump is only claiming credit for a longstanding Republican mindset.
“Donald Trump didn’t build that,” he said. “He just slapped his name on it and took credit for it.”

RebelliousRenee
8 years ago

Yup…  it’s selling soap…  especially to the unwashed masses…  😉

patd
8 years ago

things are getting curious-er and curious-er

from raw story:

A conservative website so closely aligned with Donald Trump that its CEO also performs similar duties for the GOP nominee’s campaign has launched a full-scale attack on House Speaker Paul Ryan, laughably attacking him as “pro-Islamic,” and hoping to undercut the former GOP vice presidential nominee.

Saturday morning, Breitbart.com published a story under the headline: “He’s with her: Inside Paul Ryan’s months-long campaign to elect Hillary Clinton president.”

With Trump fading badly in the polls, it appears that Breitbart CEO Steven Bannon wants to take Ryan down too, in line with earlier reports that Bannon told staffers “Paul Ryan is the enemy,” and “Long game is him gone by spring.”

Pogo
8 years ago

Without breathless reporting of unverified information released under Wikileak’s contingency plan (and it appears no media outlet is doing anything to verify the authenticity of the Wikileaks documents – maybe the rw outlets are, but I’m betting Podesta ain’t talking with them) what woudl the media be reporting?  That Hillary’s lead over drumpf appears to be increasing?  That drumpf’s threats to sue his accusers (while publicly calling them liars – which absent a basis in truth is defamation) is something less than presidential and would expose him to depositions while trying to enact a BS 100 day agenda? Regarding his Gettysburg Address, note the shift on funding for the Wall – now we’ll pay for it and he’ll get Mexico to reimburse us (when pigs fly).  And he’s going to renegotiate NAFTA (we’ll see how that works out – well, actually we won’t, but…).  He’ll get a term limits constitutional amendment passed (really?  think entrenched critters will go along with that?).  He’s threatening to trample on what the RW sees a free speech rights in campaign finance. OK, RCP has Clinton at +6.1%.  538.com has her  chances of winning at 84-87%.  Huffpo Pollster puts it at 96%.  RCP has moved Georgia, Texas and Maine to tossups from leans trump, has moved Michigan to Likely Clinton from leans Clinton, and the ray of light for tumpf, has moved Indiana from toss up to leans drumpf. RCP’s current EC spread is Clinton +136; on their no tossup map it’s with Clinton+128 at… Read more »

patd
8 years ago

the only conspiracy theory I can fabricate on breitbart attacking ryan is drumpf is afraid should he win (god forbid) that ryan being 3rd in line would be tempted to do him and his vp in.   doesn’t make any sense.

patd
8 years ago

whaaaa? are they nuts? oh, yeah… stupid question. stupid me.

forbes: Paul Ryan Could Be Ousted In 4 Weeks, Lame Duck Would Be In Chaos

….It now looks like Ryan could be deposed or forced to resign this Congress in the lame duck session that begins a week after Election Day.

In other words, Ryan may no longer be speaker about four weeks from now.

I say this after hearing from several highly reliable sources that the House Freedom Caucus is seriously considering doing to Ryan what it did to former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) by threatening him with a privileged motion to vacate the chair. If a majority of the House supported the motion, Ryan would be removed immediately as speaker.

 

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Long before Trump…Bannon has been trying to get Ryan

Yikes Tom Hayden died he was ONLY 76

Jamie44
8 years ago

1.  One of the better things that could happen to CA would be ISSA disappearing forever

2.  Isn’t it time for the few remaining sane members of the House to give the Freedom Caucus a major slap on the wrist

3.  I know “NO ONE IS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT HILLARY” as screamed from the hilltops on every political broadcast.  So who are all those principally Democratic voters standing in long early voting lines?  I suppose they all could be protesting Mr Trump being a total ass, but you would think reporters could find at least one person in the crowd who actually likes the woman.

 

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Jaime

more inaccurate reporting  the enthusiasm gap is now in her favor

 

solarcrete
8 years ago

If Trump could guarantee me that there would be term limits…and campaign finance reform….i would vote for him in a heart beat…so would the rest of the country…..

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

term limits don’t work  it just makes lobbyists and some staff more powerful

solarcrete
8 years ago

out for some more bike riding…..

Flatus
8 years ago

Pat,

I don’t recall any point in time when the financial science of economics was merged with the social science of economics. It is up to people to make the changes in society/businesses that result in tolerable economic trends.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

the news media offers the same disclaimer when talking about the

trump accusers

Jamie44
8 years ago

Solarcrete

Absolute NO on term limits for a variety of reasons.

First because without an historical memory the House and Senate become the wholly owned subsidiary of lobbyists and civil service workers.  One would sell the taxpayer to the highest bidder and the other would bog down government in red tape even more than it is now.

Second the easiest way to eliminate the problem and clean up the swamp is to make gerrymandering illegal.  The states that have computer drawn, squared off Congressional districts following a census not only get redrawing done more rapidly, but create a natural turnover as population mobility alters the area.

Third and most important, properly drawn districts actually represent and more easily serve the people that live in in each given area.  That way people with the most in common are able to elect the representation they desire.

 

 

 

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

the news media offers the same disclaimer when talking about the

trump accusers

patd
8 years ago

“…you would think reporters could find at least one person in the crowd who actually likes the woman”

Jamie, reporters find them everyday but turn a deaf ear or look for someone else to quote. even if someone tells a reporter they like her, they trust her, they are enthusiastic about voting for her it gets buried under disparagement and doubt in the recap.  remember this quote at the beginning (may 2015) and how many times did it get coverage?  buried and forgotten.

bernie Sanders said. “…I believe in serious debates on serious issues. I’ve known Hillary Clinton for 25 years. Maybe I shouldn’t say this: I like Hillary Clinton. I respect Hillary Clinton.

“Will the media, among others, allow us to have a civil debate on civil issues? Or is the only way you get media attention by ripping apart somebody else?”

patd
8 years ago

solar, the best way to limit terms is to vote the rascals out in very next election.  better yet, don’t put them in there in the 1st place. why even suffer one term?
and why get rid of those who are good for the country?

Pogo
8 years ago

solar,  he can’t.  Hell, as we sit here on the likely verge of the first female president of the US, the Equal Rights Amendment has never passed.

I don’t think Ryan will be ousted unless he’s pissed off too many dems.  If you’re a pugn congressman are you going to hitch your giddyup to drumpf and his crazy campaign consultant or to the Speaker who’s told you to feel free to vote your conscience?  For me the choice would be easy. Freedom caucus my ass. Note that nothing in the Forbes article suggests that the Jefferson Rule is in the rules of the House.

To support KC’s statement that the enthusiasm momentum is Clinton’s look at the chart in Greg Sargent’s WaPo article about drumpf’s favorite lies failing him. 15% more of her supporters are voting FOR her than drump’s supporters are voting FOR him.

(I really love the Click to Edit button)

Flatus
8 years ago

Daughter, her husband and I spent yesterday baking three marvelous 10-inch apple pies full-to-overflowing with apples that she and her husband brought down from NC last weekend.

She has one, another went to the kind lady who watches over me, and the third is on the kitchen counter. I should have weighed them. My guess is that each pie nets out at about five pounds. The crust is spectacular–lard rules. Having the mechanical apple peeler/slicer/corer is a tremendous help, and hand grinding the nutmeg added to the atmosphere of the entire experience.

Dinner last night was apple pie accompanied by brandy and vanilla ice cream.

Julia Child would have been so proud of us.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

I think the Trump campaign has had access to the wikileaks emails before they were released.  Trump has made “off the cuff” comments suggesting he did have prior knowledge

Julian Assange threw away his credibility

xrepublican
8 years ago

It seems that the desire to report first has often become more important than reporting accurately…
Oregon Democrat
I’ll tweek that that to, it seems that the desire to report first has often become more important than reporting honestly….

Pogo
8 years ago

And I ran across a website that is fun reading – nitwitia.com. REALLY fun reading debunking RW memes.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Besides term limits, Solar also mentioned campaign finance reform. That is an imperative if we are to rescue democracy. Also, the only way that Solar’s dream of a successful 3d party can happen is if the $$$ are taken out of political campaigns. Only one candidate still standing has promised to push for campaign finance reform, and she is on the cusp of becoming the next president.

Pogo
8 years ago

Craig, I’ll agree with you about staff.  House members particularly with the soil of their district still on their feet may or may not know shit about government and rely upon staff to tell them where the congressional washroom is and which key opens it.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Re campaign finance reform, and in apocalyptic language that members of the Xtian Wrong can understand, the woman has promised to crush the serpent’s head beneath her heel.

patd
8 years ago

csmonitor: Julian Assange tests ‘total transparency’ thesis on Clinton campaign

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange first outlined the hypothesis nearly a decade ago: Can total transparency defeat an entrenched group of insiders?

“Consider what would happen,” Assange wrote in 2006, if one of America’s two major parties had their emails, faxes, campaign briefings, internal polls and donor data all exposed to public scrutiny.

“They would immediately fall into an organizational stupor,” he predicted, “and lose to the other.”

Pogo
8 years ago

Patd, looks to me Assage is disproving his thesis so far. The chaos is in the other party.

solarcrete
8 years ago

Diane Fienstien is  great example of why we should have term limits……used to like her very much for her first few terms……now she is just an insider for her military contractor husband……she should not be allowed to have so much power…..for so long….it only corrupts…..and then they are no better than the ones that you wanted out in the first place……term limit everyone……even the thanksgiving turkey……….chop their heads off……..

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

It’s hard for me to accept that Tom Hayden has died.  What an amazing person who contributed a lot to my life especially in the late 1960’s.

I guess at 76 he is not particularly young.  I guess it is hard for me to accept I am old and the touchstones of my life are also old.

solarcrete
8 years ago

Almost out the door….other politicians that i came to like very much…almost admire i would say…..Tom Dashel, Barny Frank, Charlie Rangel……there are more…but you get the pic…….they all went bad and ruined the rest of the barrel…….makes them no difference that they went in as demorcrats…….they left as Republicans……….term limits, campaign finance reform……and let it all explode it it has to……….what is the difference….it already explodes every few years now anyway………What u think Purple?

solarcrete
8 years ago

XR, from your lips to el diablos ears, or tail or……..hope she does what she promised…

GrannyMumantoog
8 years ago

Craig: Not naive, simply legitimate. People should have been holding the media accountable during this past, crazy year and a half by asking that very question. Every time they brought one of those wikileaks stories to the forefront someone should have been screaming “how do you know this is true” “in what context was this said/done”. Most media talking heads are not journalists. They are not looking for truths or confirmations. They go for whatever will be the most sensational and create the biggest buzz. Buzz for the sake of buzz is just noise, but it appeals to the lowest common denominator of viewers. Where’s the next Cronkite when you need one?

Pat & Tony re Obama speech: This may be the best line… “Donald Trump didn’t build that,” he said. “He just slapped his name on it and took credit for it.” That’s pretty much his modus operandi except for his wrong doings…he will never take credit for those.

Jamie: Absolutely agree about gerrymandering. Some of those district maps are just a joke to look at. That system must be changed!

solarcrete
8 years ago

Oh, and Pilar…..bien venido to the trail……..i have a story about garbage along the lines that you posted….a funny one sorta…..but a little later on…..later, out the door now…….

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Madeline Albright just called Mrs. Greenspan a useful  idiot

Sturgeone
8 years ago

Except not useful.

RebelliousRenee
8 years ago

Flatus…  I wanna come to your house for dinner…   apple pie…  YUM!

Solar…  yeah…  maybe you as a man would vote for Donald given the right conditions.  But most of us women will not vote for him even if he promised equal pay for equal work.  We don’t like him…   we don’t trust him…  we don’t believe him…   and we sure as hell ain’t voting for him.

Pogo
8 years ago

Renee, well I as a man would never vote for Donald given the right conditions – there are no such right conditions that I can imagine that would ever arise. Like you, I don’t like him…   I don’t trust him…  I don’t believe him…   and I sure as hell ain’t voting for him.

Flatus
8 years ago

Renee,
Fly into Charlotte and pick up a car there. Call me when you guys are on 77-South and I’ll get you here in time for dinner. Bon Appétit!

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Mrs. Greenspan – Trump’s numbers started to fall after the first debate the sex tape just finished him off

is there a fact you can get straight

and Mark Halperin –doing everything he can to make a big deal out of the wiki-leaks  so far nothing  —

the bigg threat to Tim Kaine and all the other crap

 

Why don’t we take a look at Trump’s campaign manager’s emails  oh right the hackers are on Trump’s side

Flatus
8 years ago

If there were anything in this World that would have made me vote for Donald or any of his supporters, my ballot would not have already been cast. He will be eliminated in the next cut of Natural Selection.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

The main stream media are stupid — Trump puts out a bunch of bullshit so instead of looking at Trump’s charges they spend time trying to make the emails into something

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

User Actions
 Follow

European Union Times‏@EUTimesNET

Turkey Endorses Donald Trump for US President http://www.eutimes.net/2016/10/turkey-endorses-donald-trump-for-us-president/ … via @EUTimesNET

Tyrants supporting other tyrants

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

What is the American Independent Party and how come Trump is listed as their candidate

 

patd
8 years ago

hey, is that a real person or one of those faux Meredith mciveys on drumpf’s staff or part of what

nationalreview calls his “Potemkin twitter army”

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Hey stupid
the enthusiasm gap is not on the Trump side

xrepublican
8 years ago

Welcome, Tessa ! Nearly any friend of Ping’s is a friend of ours.

Btw, Trail Mix needs money. Please give until you feel important.
Make The Trail Great Again !

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

x-r
I posted that -I didn’t know what the American Independent Party was — I see it is still the same George Wallace vehicle

whskyjack
8 years ago

Pogo
8 years ago

I see that Bobby Vee also died – he was 3 years younger than Tom Hadyn.

xrepublican
8 years ago

I see it is still the same George Wallace vehicle – Ms Cracker

Party of the Apes

oops, sorry. I meant, aips.

Blue Bronc
8 years ago

KGC – here is Hayden’s old website.  He stopped writing on it a while ago. Flatus – lard is good.  Pie crusts without Lard are flat. Without lard much of the colonial world would have starved and the wheels would not have turned. Bobby Vee died.  Sigh.  All those singers going. The email display is interesting.  For the most part the emails maybe correct.  But, by not acknowledging any of them the Clinton campaign is letting them rot off the edge.  By not making an issue of the things and pivoting to message there is little the media can do with them.  Also, with a daily drizzle it takes the edge off any one of them and makes it all a hodge-podge, much like my email inbox.  And, with thousands of emails, which would be fewer than what she would receive today as SoS, there are too many to deal with. Watching the bloated thing with the orange rat on his head do his act in Florida is sadly funny.  It is like the fat man in the side show who is too old to be doing the fat man gig.  The makeup is trowled on to smooth the creases.  The color is too deep on one side, the base not getting covered with enough on the other.  There is always one hand on the podium to keep stabilized.  The eyes are closed, not looking out at he world anymore.  The real world is soaking in, and the alternate reality… Read more »

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

BB
Thanks for the link to Tom Hayen’s website

Jamie44
8 years ago

Sorry to hear of the death of Robert Velline.  My cousin was the sound engineer on his wonderful album light years removed from the teen idol days. Nothing Like A Sunny Day.  You Tube doesn’t have my favorite song from the album:  Halfway Down the Road, but this one is nice.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Bouncey, bouncey,

Bouncey,bouncey,

Woo-oo-hoo.

patd
8 years ago

Tessa, my apologies if you are really real.  hard to know these days the robots from the sheep or the wolves in sheep duds or the just plain trolls.. welcome to the trail. upon clicking your name, the link says this about you with tweets from some rather interesting folk:

Mommy of 3 & wife ~ dog lover~ #BasketOfDeplorables ~Unapologetic American Political Junkie ~ No matter who is President, Jesus is King

 

 

 

patd
8 years ago

patd
8 years ago

ny times: Senator Elizabeth Warren Tells Trump: ‘Nasty Women Vote’
In a blistering rebuke of Mr. Trump, with Mrs. Clinton seated and smiling onstage beside her, Ms. Warren took furious aim at the Republican nominee’s personal and political record, ticking off his history of disparaging remarks during the election and reminding the crowd of the many accusations of sexual assault against him.
“He thinks that because he has a mouthful of Tic Tacs that he can force himself on any woman within groping distance,” Ms. Warren said, alluding to Mr. Trump’s invocation of the breath freshener in a 2005 clip that found him boasting about forcing himself on women.
Ms. Warren said, “Women have had it with guys like you.” Then she added the adjective: “Nasty women have really had it with guys like you.”
[….]
“Nasty women are tough. Nasty women are smart. And nasty women vote,” Ms. Warren said, her voice building. “We nasty women are going to march our nasty feet to cast our nasty votes to get you out of our lives forever.”

Blue Bronc
8 years ago

I have adopted “Nasty Woman” as my name to a few of the places I write as a commentariate.

 

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

patd
i reposted tessa’s tweet

patd
8 years ago

kgc, thanks for pointing that out… it looked like a separate comment and I jumped the gun before looking close enough. so disregard my welcome patter.

Bink
8 years ago

“the media business puts aside journalism standards and goes to the bottom in favor of the bottom line.”

-the market provides what consumers demand.  It’s easy to complain, and even easier to click on bullshit non-journalism.  I do it, too- not proud.

“*and I beg your eminence’s pardon when I do attempt humor and it falls short of your standards.”

You do you.

P.S.  The motivation for my post that continues to be an impetus for responses such as yours, quoted above, was a frustration resulting from the observation of attempted humorous manipulations of terms of marginalization, especially considering the initial theme of that discussion was the transcendence of a member of a marginalized class beyond the traditional societal constraints that a person of such a class would, historically, be forced to endure.  Or something.

Bink
8 years ago

We’re not an evolved society if we continue to allow the least-evolved among us to influence our behavior.

Katherine Graham Cracker
8 years ago

Bink says:
October 24, 2016 at 5:57 pm
We’re not an evolved society if we continue to allow the least-evolved among us to influence our behavior.

boy howdy ain’t that the truth

GrannyMumantoog
8 years ago

Bink: “We’re not an evolved society if we continue to allow the least-evolved among us to influence our behavior.” I think we’re fast becoming a DEvolved society…have you seen how many “reality” shows are on TV these days passing as entertainment? Oy!!

Nasty women of the world unite!!! Flying my nasty freak flag high and proud tonight!

jace
8 years ago

Nice to see Obama out on the campaign trail. When the gloves come off he is really good. The only person better is his wife.

jace
8 years ago

Barack Obama , Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Warren. Done firing for range, now firing for effect, and they are zeroed in!

Blonde Wino
8 years ago

The media should put that yellow police tape around the hacked emails.  Largest crime scene in the county…in fact, the world.  The info from the hacks?  Less damaging than anything the pornographic candidate, trump has said or intimated.

Pogo, Livvy looks like a comfortable dog.

 

(craig, no trouble loading the trail, finally!)

xrepublican
8 years ago

Mr Bink,

I am sorry to say that the meaning of the thought you articulated at 5:53 PM eluded me, although the heat of your passion frizzed my eyebrows. Perhaps my brain is fuddled by red wine poisoning, but I just couldn’t make it out. Or, maybe I’m getting senile and the wine has nothing to do with it. It seemed as if there were one or more ambiguous or missing antecedents. I feel as if I came in at the end of a great story, and missed the point.

Even when you make jokes they possess significance. So, when you post a comment that burns with an unrequited desire, I feel this is really important, and I am truly sorry that I don’t get it. Mea maxima culpa.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Sleep tight, Ping

oldseahag
8 years ago

“If Trump could guarantee me that there would be term limits…and campaign finance reform….i would vote for him in a heart beat…so would the rest of the country…..”  This comment is so, so wrong.  NO, NEVER, expect us nasty women in nov!

Renee- thank you. and any chance of going to dc?

oldseahag
8 years ago

craig, what can we expect at the inauguration in terms of view, hearing?  will there be large screens?

xrepublican
8 years ago

I watched Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. That was enough of this ‘ordination’ sort of thing. I’ll content myself with listening to the speech – if there is one.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Ms Hag,

Relax and take a deep sweet breath of sea air. Next, vote early and often yourself, and promote voting among those around you. Have faith, for if we all vote, we shall overcome. We shall.

Sweet dreams to you, too.

xrepublican
8 years ago

Good night, David.

oldseahag
8 years ago

been lots of tongue biting around here- just couldn’t let that one go. other than that -doing my part…sweet dreams to you x!