The Friday Link for 1/31/25

Hi all!

I'm going to start you off with a great short film, Echo Torch! This showed up in my feed, and I thought it was very good.  A man invents a light that allows him to see otherworldly dimensions.  Yes, there are a few jump scares and a bit of a horror feel to it, but it also has a really nice ending (no spoilers!). Worth a watch! 

Then two videos for you that talk about the modern conflicts we have.  The first is a heartbreaking video from a guy I featured on the Link before, John Green.  He and his brother came up with the Crash Course series on YouTube, which are very good school-like lessons.  They have many channels and I highly encourage them for people who like to learn things.  

I also featured John talking about tuberculosis.  He has done a lot to educate people on how deadly it still is today, but it is preventable.  By the way, there's currently a TB outbreak in the state of Kansas which has the potential of becoming an absolute mess. 

Today, he talks about how the vast majority of what we would call modern humans never lived beyond 20 years old, and it's only in the last 50 years that we've been able to make child mortality rates plummet. Why?  Government-funded programs have undoubtedly saved millions of lives and made it to where most humans are almost guaranteed to live past 20.  That is all being threatened by the Trump administration cutting funding for the programs that have kept us safe.  This is not politics.  This is a real threat to undo the advances humans have made in the last 50 years. 

The last thing is another Dan McClellan video.  He is REALLY good.  The modern MAGA "Christians" are trying to argue that Jesus would have LOVED ICE roundups of immigrants and anyone thinking differently is only "weaponizing empathy." They say that like it's a bad thing.

If you are doing something where basic human empathy is a threat to your agenda, you are CLEARLY doing something even you know is horrible.  Shame on these clueless content creators for trying to validate their bigotry by twisting Jesus to fit THEIR needs. 

Have a great weekend.  Get your vaccinations while you can, as I guarantee Trump will make that harder.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/30/25

In what will end up being a presidential moment that will live in infamy, Trump, less than 24 hours after a tragic midair crash between a commercial plane and a military helicopter, which killed everyone involved, BEFORE any major investigation into the cause of the crash had been conducted, started desperately trying to blame his standard list of villains (Presidents Obama and Biden, DEI[???], Pete Buttigieg, the recently deceased pilot of the helicopter less than 24 hours since his death), before making the insane argument that the real culprit was the hiring of DISABLED WORKERS(!?!).  He blamed them with no evidence, LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER THE CRASH!!!

He was doing so because in the first week of his Administration, he fired the head of the FAA (because Elon Musk didn't like him) and many of its leaders and laid off thousands of its workers. I'm not saying those things caused the crash (it has been reported that there indeed was a staffing shortage at the airport's tower), but they are a FAR MORE likely culprit than wildly blaming disabled workers.  Trump realizing he might have screwed up, tried to get out in front of his mistake by blaming others and then acting as if his unfounded accusations were proven fact. 

He did all this as they were still pulling the bodies from the river. He is truly a disgrace to humanity. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/29/25

Another "A Lot to Choose From' day, but I think that Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a horrifically unqualified stooge, deciding to end the extended deportation protections for 600,00 Venezuelans in the US is the worst.

This program allowed people who were fleeing armed conflict to stay here, preventing them from having to return to a country where there's a decent chance they'll be killed. Noem, a woman who constantly claims she's a Christian but is one of the least Christian people I've ever seen, not only likely signed the order to send many of these people to their deaths, but implied all 600,000 Venezuelans here were all breaking the law, making her orders just plain old fashion racism. 

By the way, this is the same woman who, on the same day, canceled grants to specific non-government groups who are aiding immigrants by implying the groups weren't doing enough to promote Jesus in their operations. 

Kristi, you SUCK at being Christian. Jesus would not like you. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/28/25

I do not want to marginalize or ignore the bigoted anti-transgender ban Trump just put on the military, using insanely inflammatory language straight from a fascist dictator's manifesto.  On most days, that would hands down be the worst thing, but...

Trump tried to initiate a federal government spending freeze, a hastily and poorly written order that seemed to catch the Administration off guard when they realized all the programs they initially stopped, and it ignored a basic reality; a move like this is pretty much impossible without Congressional approval.

This is the clearest evidence the Trump Administration knows its massive government overhaul bill, which they've been teasing for a few weeks, can't get through the House and Senate, so they're trying an end-around by claiming this spending is a "temporary freeze."  If it's only temporary, they need to explain why multiple government websites and databases that are designed for the states to access this money were shut down even before the deadline was nearing.

Spoiler alert, a judge halted this before it's 5 PM Eastern Time start. 

This was chaos.  While initially, the Administration stated only Medicare and Social Security would be omitted from this freeze, they quickly had to add that Pell Grants, food stamps, and welfare payments were not included in this freeze, and more programs were being given a reprieve before the judge stopped the carnage, with the Administration seeming to react to media questions about individual programs with a "We didn't cut that did we?  WE DID!  Well, that's not good" ignorance!

But what's stunning is the number of programs they were bragging about cutting, including Medicaid, which helps deliver 40% of the babies in the country, school food service for kids (with Republicans calling feeding kids promoting laziness), medical research, police and firefighter funding, spending on major construction projects that are well underway, and even programs like Meals on Wheels! This truly was an insanely heartless and anti-Christian act the Republicans.  It was degisgned to hurt people just to hurt them.

Christopher Titus said it best: "We are at a place where billionaires are deciding that poor, starving people have too much." 

Considering most jackass-ian MAGA idiots suddenly got REALLY QUIET yesterday, I think it's starting to dawn on them the billionaires might NOT be on their side.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/27/25

One of the few good things George W Bush did during his term (at the encouragement of Bono from U2) was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PRPFAR) a program that distributed HIV medications to low-income countries, primarily in Africa where AIDS had ravaged communities. The program is credited with saving 25 million people!!! That's a pretty freaking awesome rate of return!

Not anymore. Trump ordered the decades-old program to be stopped immediately, even stopping the distribution of medication that is sitting in local medical facilities ready to be used. The Trump Administration has said it is only a temporary three-month halt.  Still, they have already turned off the databases needed for the program to work, and there is apparently no plan to restart the database (an official policy position). 

A lot of people will die because of this pettiness from Trump.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/26/25

The country of Colombia, as they were awaiting planeloads of migrants returning from the US, vocalized they wanted Colombians to be treated fairly by Trump and would deny the planes the ability to land in their country until they had such guarantees.  One would think treating other human beings humanely wouldn't be a major ask, but it is for Trump and his administration.  Trump planted tariffs on Colombia, and Colombia retaliated with tariffs on US goods.

Incensed, there were reports that Trump was considering a full trade blockade of Colombia. The Colombians conceded and everything de-escalated very quickly. This all happened on Sunday!

Aside from the fact you just ANNIHILATED relations with one of our few South American allies, you could've paid another country a million dollars to divert the flights to another location.  Instead, Trump threatened a retaliatory strike, which would've potentially cost the country billions, and considering Trump's desire to be perceived as tough, I could have seen this escalate with the US military getting involved, at massive cost.

On top of that, when they released a WHITE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE about the conflict, there was a typo naming Colombia, "Columbia."

That means we almost went to war with a University, a city in South Carolina, or a sportswear company.

 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/25/24

It came to light yesterday morning that Trump fired multiple federal inspector generals.  Inspector generals are tasked with finding fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct at their federal agencies.  They are a simple way to prevent the Executive Branch from abusing the departments themselves.  Inspector generals are independent of the government, not political, and provide basic oversight for the American people.

There are three reasons Trump wants them all gone.  

1) To abuse the departments themselves, leaving no record of what they've done.  This abuse would primarily be of the department's employees and the agency's mission.

2) Weaponize the agencies to go after their enemies.

3) Steal blindly from the American people.

When you look at how bad Trump managed COVID, whereas when Biden took over, there was NO GAME PLAN in place to get vaccines into people's arms even though the vaccines had been available for a few months, that will seem quaint compared to what will happen over the next four years.  I'm fully expecting Trump to back a truck up to the Treasury and fill it full of cash once a month, stashing it overseas, and when we finally figure out he stole 20 trillion dollars, at least 3 of the Supreme Court Justices would say "Did you specifically tell him you couldn't steal trillions?  Not Guilty!"

Without independent oversight, it will take years after he's gone to finally find out all the evil, corrupt, and illegal things he did, requiring an extensive forensic audit.  When we do find out all the illegal things he did, the Republicans who ARE COMPLICIT AND KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, will insist what has happened has happened, and we should just move on.

This is all by design and they're all in on it.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/24/25

If this was the worst thing Republicans did, Lauren Boebert called security because she thought there was a transgender Representative in the bathroom, only to be told that no, it was another woman, being forced to apologize to security, the woman, and to the people she lied to about the experience...

Or the Senate confirming Hegseth.  Unforgivable! Prepare for US troops firing on US citizens...

But as far as Trump, his new demand for specific political concessions by Democratically controlled states before he will send them needed federal natural disaster relief aid is as evil as it gets.  Not only is he forcing victims of a natural disaster to suffer more than they already have, but this idea that helping fellow Americans in need is a bargaining chip is textbook MAGA Christian.  

By the way, someone must have informed him that not delivering disaster relief aid through FEMA to a state paying their Federal taxes is quite literally 'taxation without representation.'  That's why suddenly he's talking about killing FEMA itself, removing the promise of federal emergency disaster relief, which would allow him to use disaster survivors as a way to force his dictator agenda on the American people. 

The Friday Link for 1/24/25

Hi all! 

This week we start with the triumphant return of the Collegiate Dance Competition.  Last year, the University of Minnesota went viral with their routine to Aerosmith's 'Dream On.' The University of Minnesota was back to defend its title, and this year, it won the Team Pom category and came in second in the Team Jazz competition.  

Watch the routines yourselves, starting with the Poms.

Also this week, we go to Anti-Chef, the cook who dares to take on some of the more difficult recipes from the most popular cookbooks.  This time, he goes with 4 soup recipes from Fannie Farmer and actually an older copy of the cookbook from before 1900 (jumping a little into Tasting History's realm).  

The thing I like about this guy is he does not candy-coat the cooking.  Cooking used to be much more laborious and complicated. For example, these soups all require chicken stock, and so he makes homemade stock, like you used to have to make. 

Prepare yourself for hygienic soup, duchess soup, imperial soup, and St. Germain soup! 

Finally tonight is another video from Dark Brandon talking about how the Republican Party became the party of the stupid. Considering the number of Trump voters who are shocked at what he is doing this week, unaware that they all applauded and cheered for this to happen all last year, this no-kid glove analysis is spot on.

Plus it explains people like Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

PLEASE get vaccinated while you can before Trump limits access to them. Plus, buy yourself N-95 masks.  I have a feeling avian flu will become a HUGE problem, and if we wait for the crisis to get things done, it'll be too late. 

Take care.

 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/23/25

In the Trump Admistration's war against the LGBTQIA+ community, particullarly transgender people, his State Department ordered all passport applications with an 'X' in the Gender column to immediatley stop processing.  

Also, they announced that the passports would no longer feature "gender," but will now refer to "sex" and that if an applicant is trying to change their sex status, the passport application would be flagged and halted.

This is a douchey for them to do just for the headache and hassle it causes for people trying to get a passport, but this attempt to erase transgender people from existence is truely evil.  I fully expect to see Trump aligned militia, probably rebranded as 'Riley's Crusaders,' start carrying out more violent activities agains the transgender communtity, under the smiling approval of Trump. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/22/25

Two things to preface this.

1) Rumors were floating around the incoming Trump Administration that they wanted to fire all employees hired during the Biden Administration and only hire Straight White Christian Men to replace them, under the argument that it was the only way they could guarantee that Straight White Christian Men weren't discriminated against.  I know.  It comes from the White supremacist mentality that no minority or marginalized group could ever do a job better than a Straight White Christian Man. For the record, the laziest and most incompetent people I've ever worked with were all Straight White (sometimes Christian) Men.

2) When dictators take over, they want to create a massive network to spy on their own people. They can't expand the government to do so, so instead, they encourage people to squeal on "suspected bad activity."  This emboldens 20-time losers, who happen to be Straight White Christian Men, to blame everyone else for their failures, as opposed to acknowledging they suck.  It also effectively creates Trump's Rat Brigade.

The worst thing from yesterday was Trump's order to lay off and fire all non-Straight White Christian Men hired in the last four years.  He also encouraged the remaining Straight White Christian Men employees to start ratting out suspicious behavior.

How Stasi of him.  Squealing Straight White Christian Male pigs are going to squeal... 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/21/25

The worst thing the Trump administration did yesterday was the 'happy' announcement that his Gestapo-like ICE will no longer recognize churches as sacred areas.  The order has been given that ICE will eagerly raid houses of worship, treating them more like a crack house.

Imagine what the "Christian Right" would be like if Democrats merely suggested churches follow non-discriminatory hiring practices.  They would be going INSANE.  But Trump saying they can toss a church like it's a Hells Angel bar searching for terrified Christians looking for sanctuary?  They can't applaud and cheer loud enough.

Some churches in America are going to become like churches in war zones, with hidden rooms and secret passages to whisk their parishioners to safety. #TrumpsAmerica.

Time to bring back Facepalm Jesus...

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/20/2025

With the jackass back in the office, I'm going to revisit my cataloging of Trump atrocities.

I will start a daily post of the Worst Thing Trump Did for that day.

Yesterday was a freaking Mount Everest of incompetency. Still, in my opinion, his pardoning of the January 6th terrorists, including the masterminds and the ones who proudly beat the cops, is a permanent dark stain on this country. 

It was a betrayal of Democracy, the military, and the citizens of this country.  Plus for the party who insists they are tough on crime, they undeniably let police abusers walk away scott-free.  According to Trump, beating cops is okay, as long as he's the one ordering the cops to be beaten.

The Call Came From Inside the House!

I've taken the last two-plus months to think about the results of the election and how we got here.  Not only because I had to process how such a bad outcome could've happened but also to make sure I didn't just start throwing out accusations in a knee-jerk fashion.  Having taken the time to observe, evaluate, read up on, and analyze the outcome, there are three culprits that the Democratic Party needs to address:

1) You are BADLY getting destroyed on the messaging front, all but buried under Conservative-owned and Conservative-obedient media.

2) Billionaires realize the Republicans are trying to give them all the money and they like it.  Billionaires are not the Democrat's friends.

3) Moderate Democrats are the most effective anti-Democratic Party campaign the Republicans could ever imagine.

I will address the first two items in future posts, but I want to spend time on the easiest problem for the Democrats to get back under control, stopping the moderate Democrats from killing our chances.

Right after the election, a handful of moderate Democrats who won started screaming "If you Far left Progressives would've sat down and shut up, and the party would've taken our lead, becoming more moderate, the Democrats would've won!"

This is not only a delusional lie, but moderate Democrats know this is a lie and are frantically yelling this to cover up their part in Trump part 2.  Not only did Harris/Walz and most of the state Democratic parties run moderate campaigns, but they also ran some of the most moderate campaigns in Democratic election history...AND THEY GOT BEAT!

Harris/Walz came off of the Convention on a FREAKING ROLL! They resonated with the masses, pushing forward an effective Democratic message, and Tim Walz's popularity pushed the country toward a Democratic win.  Then, the moderates got involved.  

The moderates toned down the campaign's biggest weapon (Walz) because they didn't want the party of new populism, but rather a Democratic Party that was Republican Lite. They forced Harris to abandon any party platform messaging that seemed liberal or progressive, and they had her focus almost solely on campaigning with Republicans.  They did so because they are convinced of a strategy that has already been proven wrong in multiple elections:  If you act like a Republican, maybe enough moderate Republicans will abandon their party and we'll win.

This is a LAUGHABLE, MULTIPLE TIMES DISPROVEN theory.  It ignores traditional Democrats and progressive elements of the party who get turned off by the Republican Lite stance, deciding to sit the election out. It also ignores a simple fact of politics; why would I vote for a 'Lite' version of something when I can just vote for the original version.

In 2010, 2016, and now in 2024, moderate Republicans GLEEFULLY ran away from the Democratic Party, attacking their own party with a fierceness and ferocity Republicans only dream of, and screwed over the country in a pathetic attempt to win over 20 voters who were never going to vote for them in the first place. 

The moderate Democrats, who are stunningly eager to attack their own party, have become easy to manipulate. It starts with a wealthy donor walking through the door and saying "I have a few thousand dollars to help you out, but we need to have a discussion about those liberals!"

You see, the far-right news media of America (mostly owned by the SAME billionaires) searches out the most liberal of causes and then finds the most extremist person in the crowd (a person who is usually not even a Democrat!!!), and they paint the entire Democratic Party as that one far-left extremist.  It's a laughable smear campaign, but because Moderate Democrats are ALWAYS looking to throw their own Party under the bus, especially the progressive side of the party (who they despise), they validate the lie and make attacking their own party the focal point of their campaign. 

Compare that to Republicans.  They actually have Nazis in their party, proud card-carrying members! People ask the non-Nazi GOP about the Nazi issue, and Republicans say, "There isn't an issue.  That's not real," and the questions end! Even though their Nazi problem is an actual real problem, they knock down the dissent before it can fester.  Moderate Democrats fan the flames, proudly looking to paint themselves individually as an outsider.  

In Minnesota, our top state race was Senator Amy Klobuchar's seat, but because the Republican candidate was a freaking nightmare, her race was never in question. The race that became the focus of statewide media attention was the MN-02 race, where moderate Angie Craig was trying to hold onto her seat. Her entire campaign was FAR MORE Republican than it was ever Democrat.  She bashed Biden (REPEATEDLY AND EAGERLY!).  She adopted Republican platform talking points. She ran ads that basically boiled down to "I hate the Democratic Party FAR more than Republicans. Vote for the me, the anti-Democrat Democrat!"

She won her race, but it cost the DFL across the rest of the state.  She made the Democratic Party toxic and helped cost the Minnesota DFL control of the Minnesota House with her rhetoric. And most egregiously, she pushed her anti-Democrat Democrat campaign as she took Democratic money and used Democratic volunteers. 

Craig aside, many Moderate Democrats don't even see how badly they're getting manipulated.  They get a paltry check from a billionaire, ignoring that the same billionaire is spending 200 million trying to get Republicans elected. 

How do you solve this? Democratic Parties first need to have a come-to-Jesus moment with the moderates.  Are they in the party because they are like Walz, a moderate who supports the party platform, or are they in the party because they're former moderate Republicans and they know they wouldn't survive a primary in the GOP? If a Democratic candidate, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, can't PROUDLY support 80% of the Democratic platform, then they shouldn't be allowed to run as a Democrat.  Political parties can demand some basic loyalty, something the Democrats desperately need to remember.

And if a Democratic candidate starts focusing their campaign around an anti-Democrat narrative, the party needs to step in and remove money and volunteers.  Democrats can no longer embrace the serial killer calling from within their own house! 

The years the Democratic Party has done best is when they have embraced a true middle-of-the-party political platform.  Sure there might be one or two moderate platform points and one or two progressive platform points, but the platform always works best when we embrace the main issues that make Democrats Democrats.  

Moderate Democrats, stop.  You're actively hurting this country with your selfishness. If you want to be a Republican, then GO, be a Republican! We'll respond accordingly. At least you'll stop torpedoing the party from within.

The real power to stop this lies with the Democratic Party.  They need to embrace a basic standard: Democrat means Democratic priorities first!

The Friday Link for 1/17/25

Hey all.

The next week will be rough.  A grossly unqualified man compromised to dictators, entangled with billionaires with an agenda, a man who tried to overthrow the government, a convict, an ultra-narcissist who shouldn't be in charge of a spoon, who is a low IQ moron will become President again because people who are racists, or people who think racists are okay, love how he 'owns the libs,' causing them to vote for a guy who will dramatically make all of their lives worse.

Not a banner day in American history.

This week's link is all about prepping you for what will be ahead, starting with Paleopedia, a page which talks about dinosaurs being forced to debunk a complete moron who thinks they know more than anyone else...because they need to feel superior in their sad pathetic lives.  Watching this guy dismantle this idiot's ramblings is entertaining.

I watch that crazy woman and I think about this cartoon.

If you want to know where some of this comes from, it's from the religious extremists of yore, who have now been given a platform to push their craziness further, and with the blurring of politics and religion, we get to where everything is made up, everything is a conspiracy theory, and being an expert means you can grunt loudest.

I know I featured Dan McClellan last week, but this video of him disputing a religious guy attacking an atheist is spot on. I love it when Dan just starts laughing at this guy! 

Enough with the fools who enabled Trump.  Let's look at his nominee for Defense Secretary with the hilarious Sarah Cooper.

Next up is a sobering look at dictators throughout history with Joe Scott.  The thing that worries me most about Trump is the way he learned from his first term. He's made sure the number one thing of all the people he has put around him is unwavering loyalty to himself.  Look at his Cabinet picks.  They are all clearly extremist zealots like Bondi, or pathetic idiots like Hegseth.  They will all blindly take orders from Trump without questioning. And they all will gladly fall on a sword if things go bad.  Trump never wants the eyes of the public on him, so he is surrounding himself with as many Ollie Norths as he can find. 

But what is really scary is there are at least ten people in the Trump Administration who seem ready to start marching people to soccer stadiums. I'm dead serious.  Multiple people surrounding Trump have called for purges, arrests, prosecutions, and even the death penalty for his opponents. We were fortunate to survive the first Trump administration.  I am far more concerned about where this country will be in two years this time around. 

Finally, tonight is the band OK Go. They are spectacular with the music videos, and this is fantastic. But it's the message of the song which is outstanding.  I wish I could tell you it would all be alright. I wish I could tell you it will all be fine. 

Batten down the hatches.  The next four years will be really hard on everyone. 

Stay safe America.

The Friday Link for 1/10/25

Howdy, all.

This week we go to church.  I'm a Christian. I'm not here to convert anyone.  My mantra on my show is a simple one:  "You do, or don't do, whatever it is you do or don't want to do. I have a personal relationship with my faith and I'm very comfortable with my interpretation of it.

That being said, one of the worst things that has happened to the Christian faith in America is the amount of far-right zealots who have taken a religion CLEARLY centered on peace, love, welcoming, compassion, inclusion, tolerance, and empathy, and molded it into a weapon to persecute all of their political villains.  By making Christianity only about hating the LGBTQIA+ community, railing against abortion, and worshiping Trump as an equal to Jesus, the far right is destroying my faith.  It makes me sad.

They never talk about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, taking care of the sick, or welcoming in the stranger.  Nope, for them, it's all HATE HATE HATE!!!

After hearing the great John Fugelsang talk about religion 10 years ago, I became inspired.  If I don't try to save my religion, who will?  This began a lot of religious talk on my radio show and on this blog.  I try to take my time to counterpoint the misinformed and evil opportunists who seem content driving Christianity into the ground.

Where do I get a lot of my defense?  Many different places, but Dan McClellan has become a rich source of facts to defend my points.  I really enjoy his videos. 

Three from him tonight, starting with addressing the Paul issue. Paul's teachings are often placed above the teachings of Jesus himself because they imply a harshness, a harshness opportunists have used to create obedience. But who was Paul, and how much of what is attributed to him actually came from him?

Next up is a brilliant video from Dan where he goes after a content creator who attacks a woman who is a Lesbian and a Christian.  The hate is nothing more than right-wing identity politics, and the people who expound on them ignore they're doing the exact thing they're accusing others of doing.

Last one from Dan is him talking on Mel Gibson for implying the Shroud of Turin is something more than it is, which is a fake. 

By the way, Mel Gibson came back to California after his appearance on the Joe Rogan show and immediately started blaming Democrats for the wildfires.  Not very Christian Mel. 

Finally tonight is a reminder from Bob Odenkirk and David Cross why they are one of the greatest comedy teams of all time. The Good Cop Bad Cop routine gets put on its ear here. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Make sure you get your flu shot and stay up to date on your COVID vaccinations! 

The Friday Link for 1/3/25

Happy New Year everyone! 

SPORTS! 

This week's link focuses mainly on sports as this town (Minneapolis/St. Paul) is a little on edge about the final game of the regular season, a winner-take-all battle for the number one seed and the first round playoff bye between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. This morning I heard the ESPN guys and the NFL Radio guys both spend 20 minutes on this game, talking about it being the game of the year.  I don't think I can watch it.

Good for me (and those like me) that there are plenty of other sports things to focus on! None of it connected in any way shape or form.

First up is the all-time classic bit from SCTV, Battle of the PBS Network Stars. This is almost perfect sketch comedy.  It's not dumbed down at all, leading to some very high-brow references and impressions (all of which are spot freaking on!!!) but at the same time, it presents you with the best kind of low-brow humor (Mr. Rodger's beating Julia Child with Good King Friday while an on-point Howard Cosell impression laments the outcome). Everything about this is freaking perfect!

Next up is a great video from the soccer/football channel StuntPegg.  I got lost in her channel this week.  She's fantastic! 

She decided to visit the northernmost professional football club in the world, in Tromsø, Norway. For us, imagine a major city NORTH of Yellowknife in Canada, about twice the size of Yellowknife, and they have a professional sports team! It's a quirky place that has an avid fan base for their team.  Considering the circumstances, it's easy to see how the fans can rally around something so unique to their community.  

And our final sports video is the Vikings themselves! Here are the highlights of them beating Green Bay for the second time this year last weekend. And of course, with the NFL rules, you have to watch that video on YouTube itself.  

Our final video this week is Brennan Lee Mulligan from the Dropout channel taking over the role of head of Oreo Cookies, confronting the problem that is clearly haunting the halls of the cookie maker. 

That's it for this week.  Remember to stay safe.  Get vaccinated.

Have a great weekend! 

The Friday Link for 12/27/24

 Hi all, and welcome to the final Friday Link for 2024! 

To begin with, we have two Christmas carryovers.  On an earlier Link, I posted the now classic Nate Bargatze SNL bit of George Washington trying to explain the future of America to his troops.  Well, Nate outdid himself with a new version of it, this time as an angel trying to explain what Christmas will become to Joseph and Mary as they have baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  

Shout out to Mikey Day for carrying over his participation from SNL, and Darrius Rucker shows up!

Speaking of Saturday Night Live, it's time for the annual Weekend Update joke swap with Colin Jost and Michael Che. Word of warning: this is VERY adult!  Jost's fairly famous wife, Scarlett, shows up for the...I can't believe she knew what she signed up for. 

And finally tonight, two of my favorite YouTube channels.  First up is True Facts: Rays! 

And Tasting History with Max Miller has a Depression-era Christmas dessert that actually looks REALLY awesome! 

Stay alert.  2025 will be a really rough year, but we'll get through it together. 

Please make sure you stay up to date on your vaccinations! 

Happy New Year everyone.

The Friday Link for 12/20/24

Howdy, all. I hope everyone has a nice holiday week, no matter what you do or don't celebrate! If you are traveling, travel safe.

Short and sweet tonight. With it being the Friday before Christmas, here is The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's latest holiday special, "It's a Worm-deful Life."  It does warm the heart to see them get after Elon and Trump. 

Also tonight, a modern Christmas song I love.  I am stunned this hasn't become a bigger hit during the holidays.  Rosie Thomas with a fun upbeat Christmas banger! 

Like I said, short and sweet.

I hope everyone has a nice holiday week. All my best.

Please stay up to date on all your vaccinations. 

The Firday Link for 12/13/24

Howdy all!

Let's start this week with a movie from the 1990s I LOVED but was a massive flop at the box office.  The Phantom is an old comic book that was turned into an early popular radio series.  In the 1990s, after the popularity of Michael Keaton's Batman, Hollywood ran back to old comic books and tried to find gold.  

I remember when this movie flopped, but it should've done a lot better.  I think it popped up on a cable channel, so I watched it. It was sensational! Billy Zane was so good as the title character, but it was Treat Williams who played the villain perfectly. 

The Shadow with Alec Baldwin was another of the comic book revival movies in the 1990s, and I also thought it was good, but The Phantom deserves some love. The YouTube poster Giant Freaking Robot agrees. 

How about some holiday videos!  Let's start with Deadpool! 

You read that right.  Ryan Renolds is helping out the Sick Kids Foundation with help from KidPool and Lynda Carter (!?!).  This is pretty funny and quick!

Next up, what the heck are Sugar Plums??? Tasting History explains what they are and why they were only something you did during the holidays of yore! They are a pain in the tuckus to make! 

And finally this week, a realization.  Potter won in 2024.  George Bailey was the far better, far more humane, far more sane, far less pro-billionaire agenda candidate, but he lost because Potter convinced idiots he was on their side.

Well if the Democrats start campaigning like George Bailey, maybe they can save America in 2026. 

Have a great weekend!

Make sure you stay up to date on all of your vaccinations and shots!  I want you healthy!

 

The Friday Link for 12/6/24

Howdy all!

We are going to have an all science-y edition of the Friday Link this week.  The YouTube algorithms have been giving me some great things to watch, that have nothing to do with politics. For that I am grateful.

Let's start with a fascinating video from the British Museum, their Curator's Corner.  Irving Finkle looks like an extra in an Indiana Jones movie.  He's a curator in the museum from the Middle East department. 

The feature of this curator's segment focuses on a clay tablet which happens to be the oldest map of the world to exist. On top of that, there is a fascinating part of this video that talks about how the map was unable to be deciphered until a volunteer found a very small but important piece of the tablet in the museum's files. I found this video an absolute gem. 

Next up this week is a fun video from ZeFrank, but instead of talking about a perverse animal species, he talks about being asked to join an advisory board of the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfort, where they are working to identify and name multiple species. This is actually a cool look at how science approaches new animals. 

Next up is a great video from PBS Eons, where they talk about how weird the Amazon used to be. Not only did the Amazon used to flow backward, but then eventually, as the Andes Mountains began to form, it just pooled up and made a South American version of Minnesota (minus the tropical theme).

We talked about ancient maps, naming new species, and the earth of long ago, but our final science destination is space and Proxima Centauri.  What would life be like if humans eventually made it to that star system?  This video does a good job hypothesizing the young community there, and (although it uses some crud AI images) puts together a positive picture of what life would actually look like, populating another planet, far away from any help. 

That does it this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Please make sure to stay up to date on your vaccinations! 

The Friday Link for 11/29/24

Howdy everyone! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! We did at Chateau McNeil, and not only did I gorge on the Turkey Day fixings, but I just finished a vat of turkey soup big enough to feed a battleship.

This week, I'm going to feature a few videos from the YouTube account Dark Brandon. These videos are powerful. The page collects people's rants about Trump and what is going on in society and animates them. The animation draws people in, but it's what these people are saying that is stunning.

It's clear many of the people who voted for Trump only did so because they felt it would upset the Democrats, and now that they "won," they're not only terrified of what they just unleashed on themselves, but they also are desperately trying to reframe their votes as something other than the petty, misguided, brainwashed stupidity it was. 

Let's start off with one of @ParkrosePermaculture talking about MAGA voters begging everyone else to not abandon them and stay their friends.  As she says, you voted to take away people's rights and hurt all of us.  Hard pass! 

Next up is a talk with @BrittanyWisonAuthor sharing what is now a common experience; MAGA people who are coming to the realization that they were so blinded by 'owning the libs' they didn't realize they voted to get rid of something they really need! In this case, education spending through the Department of Education for a MAGA voter in Oklahoma.

Finally is a video featuring @Tressa talking about something I've heard AT LEAST 5 other people share with me.  A lot of MAGA voters did not realize Obamacare and The Affordable Care Act are the same thing, and now they are surprised to find out they are about to lose their healthcare. 

I'm going to say this without any regret.  I hope this vote hurts MAGA.  They voted to do this to everyone else but themselves, wanting to punish the Democratic villains they've been told to hate.  I'm only hoping they suffer as much as the people they wanted to suffer, maybe even a little bit worse. 

Maybe then they'll realize which political party was fighting for them, and which political party was fighting against them. 

Finally tonight is Dune.  With the new spin-off series on HBO, it's worth taking some time to revisit the expansive timeline of the Dune universe, from the time of us now to 10s of thousands of years into the future.  They really created something amazing with this expanded lore. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Remember everything you are thankful for, as a lot of it will be gone soon.

Please get updated vaccinations while you can! 

The Friday Link for 11/22/24

Hi all! Travel safe if you are heading out in the next week and have a nice Thanksgiving.

Right now, we are all watching as Trump appoints unqualified cabinet nominee after unqualified cabinet nominee. It's downright embarrassing; some of the people he is putting forward. An anti-vax kook to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a Russian agent to run out Intelligence agencies, and TV host after TV host with no government experience to run various government programs.

A friend who I suspect of being a Trump voter asked me "What's the big deal?  It's not like they could screw up too much."

You have no idea.

I'm not sure if I shared this video before, but I'm bringing it back regardless.  Meet Trofim Lysenko, a grossly unqualified zealot who believed in fantasy over reality. Stalin put him into power over genetics and agriculture.  Everything he theorized was wrong, but he was convinced he was right, even though decades of evidence showed he wasn't.

The end result:  Up to 70 Million dead. Seriously 70 MILLION PEOPLE DIED using this fool's theories.

Yes, the people Trump is putting into power can cause a great deal of damage, although I pray it's not as bad as what happened in the former Soviet Union and China. The suffering we're all about to go through will teach us why MAGA voters are fools, and everyone else needs to vote EVERY election. 

 

Well, THAT was depressing.

To cheer you up let me post what could be the greatest Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode for Minnesotans.  Enjoy the Finland masterpiece The Day The Earth Froze, with so many Minnesota references it will put you in flannel! 

Keep a stiff upper lip, stay together, and we'll get through all of this together! 

And please stay up to date on your vaccinations. 

The Friday Link for 11/15/24

This week, I'm going to start off with a nice distraction.  Marvel Movies might be coming back to form!

In a previous Friday Link, I posted how excited I was about The Thunderbolts movie, but we can't overlook the next major Marvel Movie coming out, Captain America: Brave New World.

The Captain America franchise works best when they treat it like a spy film.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not only one of the best Marvel films, but it's also a tight spy adventure (which also has the best fight scenes in all of Marvel movies [Cap v. Bucky]).

Since they retired Chris Evan's Cap, Anthony Mackie has taken over the role.  This happened in the comic book, and I'm glad they are also following that line with Brave New World. 

Plus they further explore the great Isaiah Bradley storyline from the comics and TV series Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it looks like they are trying to clean up a major open-ended problem with The Eternals, and Red Hulk makes his first appearance.  I'm looking forward to this on Valentine's Day. 

Back to the Thunderbolts.  At D23, which is kind of a Brazilian Comic Con, they released an extended scene and new footage. Even more geeked now! 

Finally tonight is what is considered a top ten all-time NFL playoff upset, 1987's Minnesota Vikings upsetting the San Francisco 49ers in a divisional playoff game.  

Not sure why this showed up in my YouTube Algorithm but this was a pretty big upset.  They stymied Joe Montana, and a young off-the-bench Steve Young, and dramatically limited Jerry Rice. Anthony Carter had a career game and the Vikings made history.

I think one of the reasons we don't talk about this game more is the reality of the NFL at that time.  It was not a good product.  There were two good NFC teams, and the eventual winner usually destroyed the AFC.  The modern version of the game is a lot more entertaining, but watching these highlights reminds me of how HUGE that win was.  This city was abuzz after that win.

With it being the NFL, you have to watch that one on YouTube!

Have a good weekend everyone! 

Make sure to stay up to date on your vaccines, before you know who creates chaos! 

The Pile of Ideas

There's been a lot of discussion this last week about what's wrong with the Democrats, why did they lose 10 million voters in 2024 from their totals in 2020?

There's a lot of finger-pointing going on. "They've alienated the working class voter!" "They should have been more pro-Palestinian!" "They needed to turn on Biden!"

All these bellowings are an attempt by bitter fools to make themselves look smart; "If they'd only done WHAT I SAID THEY SHOULD DO...!"  The truth about what happened is a misunderstanding of what has been the failing of the Democratic Party for 16 years.  The Democrats are not really a 'party' anymore, more of a wide-ranging, non-cohesive pile of ideas. 

The first thing I want to approach is the reality of the 2024 election.  Did any group of people leave the Democrats and end up supporting Trump?  Maybe a few but not really.  The same 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020, voted for Trump in 2024. His numbers are pretty consistent.  Maybe there were a few Democrats who defected, and surely a few Republicans defected to the Democrats, but nothing substantial would allow someone to point to that group and say "They're the reason the Democrats lost."  

The reality is Democrats just didn't show up with everything on the line, like in 2016, in 2010, in 2004, in 2000, and so on and so on.  So why did 10 million fewer Democrats vote in 2024 than in 2020?

There were two things that happened Sunday that answered this question for me.  The first was a series of stories from conservative America where reality is settling in.  There are a lot of Republicans who are now, AFTER the election, publically asking, "I love Trump and all, but he's not really getting rid of that government program, IS HE?  My family needs that program?" There are many Republicans who are starting to freak out as they come to grips with the consequences of their actions. Their blind obedience to Republicans never made them once question if they should vote for a person who has vowed to hurt them with the repealing of a government program their family needs. 

The other thing that happened was an attempt to shame Democrats from the social media account Democratic Wins, which posted a video from Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, one of the handful of Democrats who won in a red district.  Their argument is her common sense approach to a specific issue related to the voters.  The issue? Daycares can't peel and serve fresh fruit to kids because the act of peeling falls under the category of food prep and requires a kitchen setup, something most daycares do not have.  I agree with the idea that a bag of chips and cookies is a far worse snack option than a banana, but this is not the issue that the Democrats should champion nationwide, nor does their argument look at her election specifically, where the Republican candidate was pretty bad.  Her issue worked for her, but a lot of Democrats had common sense issues like that, and they didn't win. 

Republicans vote for their party über alles.  They could care less about Trump's behavior or the radical and painful policy decisions they are endorsing.  For 30+ years, the Right has effectively brainwashed their followers to never care about the candidate or the issues, only the 'R.' This is why I've said most Republicans would vote for a turnip if there was an 'R' next to it on the ballot. For the record, I am NOT endorsing this, as the end result of such loyalty can look more akin to a cult than a political party (sound familiar?).  But this is why the Hilter-loving, Epstein BFF won; no one cared until AFTER the election.

The Democrats have a FAR bigger problem.  They are no longer a functioning party, but rather a pile of ideas. Tell me three things every Democrat in the Party agrees on.  Tell me what the Democratic Party's established policy on Gaza was?  The wild attempt to blame this loss on....something is a great example of how the much larger problem is being ignored.

Democrats and Republicans like the two-party system.  Between the two parties, they have pretty much all of the political power in the country. But there has been a problem.  The Republicans have continued to shrink ideals from a wide-ranging party, which included moderates and fiscal conservatives, to only a group that signs off on the MAGA power threshold.  As they have basically told the Republican party members it's our way or the highway, many moderate and fiscally conservative Republicans have left.

Enter the Democrats who started to adopt the 'wide umbrella' position.  Their mentality is if they were not Republican, then the Democrats would make room in their party for them.  The Democrats rolled out the welcome mat to the disenfranchised Republicans and told them as long as they didn't bad mouth the party, they didn't really need to endorse and support the party platform.  They could bring their ideas into the Democratic fold and present them as policy.  

At the same time, Democrats, concerned about losing their base to further left-leaning parties, started to welcome those voters and politicians under the same wide umbrella.  The idea was that we were one big happy family, but what really happened was the unraveling of the Democratic platform.

It's politically impossible to have a single political party that appeals to both a 'far further left than most Democrats are comfortable with' Bernie Sanders and an outright Republican in Joe Manchin.  Your umbrella is TOO WIDE, and because so, you have forsaken a cohesive Democratic Party platform, replacing it with 3000 people screaming ideas that may or may not appeal to even 50% of the Democratic Party. With no consistent message about what exactly the Democrats stand for, voters tune them out when their million-ideas platform fails to connect.

Why did so many people turn out in 2020?  Because that year, the pile ideas at least had some consistency.  Trump was screwing up the COVID response horrifically.  The fear of illness and death allowed the Democrats to capture the majority of voters, even ones who generally did not turn up at election time. The pandemic presented a clear choice, and 2020 became hard for the Democrats to screw up. 

Let's look further at 2024.  I'm for the fair treatment of the Palestinians, but the lack of a cohesive Democratic plan muddied the message overall.  I have no doubt the Democrats had an official stance, but their "everyone's ideas are valid" approach welcomed extremists on the left who insisted Isreal withdraw from Gaza, apologizing to every Palestinian as they left, Israeli reparations to all Palestinians, immediate Palestinian statehood and the USA ending diplomatic relations with Israel. I'm pro-Palestine, but I am nowhere near close to that policy.  From the other side OF THE SAME PARTY, the approach was Israel could do no wrong and should never be questioned. In the end, a few far-left "Democrats" might not have voted out of idealism, but the FAR BIGGER problem was the Democratic Party policy on this issue looked confused, disjointed, and contradictory.  You are not giving people a reason to vote for you when you're a hot mess. 

This is another reason the pile of ideas approach fails.  Because there is no consistent standard, extremes from both sides can enter into the party and push an agenda that is way out of line with mainstream Democratic policy.  It's hard to start a third party.  It takes a lot of work and decades to succeed, but fringe issues don't need to do that work as long as the Democrats put out the welcome mat.  

The Republican-lite side of the party can bite Democrats in another way. In Minnesota, we did better than most of the country, but the party lost footing in the Minnesota State House. Why?  I think a lot of it had to do with the main race the Minnesota Democrats (the DFL) were focused on, the MN02 Congressional seat, where Angie Craig easily won.  The state party poured a ton of money into her race, as her message basically boiled down to [paraphrasing], "I proudly disagree with Biden and am proud to work against the Democratic Party."  What political party thought this approach in a bellwether race wouldn't hurt other Democrats' campaigns?  The pile of the idea says that as long as someone has a "D" next to their name, they can do anything, regardless of ripple effects.  An anti-Democrat Democratic campaign caused more damage for lower ballot statewide races.  You sacrificed 100 races for one.  That's stupid.

So how do we fix this?  The solution is actually simple, but intimidating enough that most Democratic leaders will refuse.

1. If you want to be a Democrat, you have to be a proud Democrat.  No more campaigning against your own party.  
2.  The Democrat Pary needs to (re) establish a list of 10 to 15 MUST COMMIT TO policy standards, stuff like women's rights, healthcare for all, raising the minimum wage, and TAXING BILLIONAIRES AT A HIGHER RATE THAN THE MIDDLE CLASS(!!!). This list should be easy to compile, and by demanding anyone who wants to run as a Democrat commit to those issues, you'll likely trim the extremes away.
3.  Appreciate some ideas, but if the ideas are extreme or contradict the core principles of the Party, then the Party should be the loudest and most vocal corrections/condemnations. The days of a free-for-all are over.  Your own party should not undermine your own message.
4.  Do a much better job at presenting the party platform to the media.  The Democrats are HORRIFIC at messaging. 

The pile of ideas is the problem, but my guess is the Democratic party will not solve it.  They are a political party whose approach is "Why say something in three words that we can instead say with a 900-page thesis, with a full bibliography, that's been run through 29 different focus groups?"  

We shouldn't have to get to the point of a global pandemic for your political party platform and messaging to make sense for the average voter.

The Friday Link for 11/8/24

Hi everyone.

Blah...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

It's not been the best week. 

I am so disappointed Trump won again.  This country is about to go through some things. There are a lot of things I talked about on the radio show this week, so feel free to go listen to any of the shows (https://soundcloud.com/user-587903571).

Here is a clip about one of the things I feel the Democrats are doing wrong.  Thanks to Cliff Schecter for putting it up on his channel Cliff's Edge. 

I have four more videos for you this week, starting with a very funny political ad parody with SNL and John Mulaney.

Also tonight my YouTube algorithm pulled up two deleted scenes from Marvel movies I had not seen.  These are actually REALLY good, and I would make an argument they were better than the scenes they were replaced with.  One is from Avenger's Endgame and one is from Thor: Ragnarok.

And finally tonight, I love Men At Work, the Australian band from the early 80's, which had a slew of hits.  Someone sent me an HD version of Down Under, and it looked great. I remember watching this at friend's houses when MTV was new.  This is 80's art! 

Take some time for yourself this weekend. Prepare yourself for what is coming and the fight ahead! 

Be safe.

This is the End of Twitter

Okay, I know I have said this before, but this is it.  This is my last direct post on Twitter.

I've been talking about officially leaving Twitter since Elon took over because it was clear he was here with an agenda. We all now see what that agenda is; to promote Trump through lies, misinformation, and aggressive posters while at the same time limiting anything the site deems too damaging to Trump.  It's the second part of that which is the most egregious offense. As Musk insisted he was all about freedom of speech, he's actually the opposite.  He wants the speech he likes trumpeted, and he has limited access to/blocked information he doesn't want you to see.

Plus the majority of accounts here are bot accounts or 'alpha bros' whose default mode is massive douche. Twitter is MISERABLE to be on.  I've dreaded every time I've come here.

Bluntly, Twitter has been a depressing pit of despair, which has darkened my days for the last 6 months.

And Elon's latest strategy, to allow blocked people to be able to see your posts but not interact with you, is an absolute travesty.  I do not want the trolls I have deemed to not be worthy of my time to see what I'm up to, but that's nothing compared to women who have active stalkers in their lives being told they have to take their account private or risk their stalkers having access to their lives.  What kind of sicko thinks that's a good policy?

So why did I stay so long?  I was encouraged to do so by a handful of people who felt staying until the election was important.  I felt there was some legitimacy to their argument, so I hunkered down and stayed here far longer than I wanted.  Now that the election is over, I'm gone.

I won't shut down the account. There are still people I want to follow who are pretty much only here.  I've pleaded with them to go to another social media site, but they are determined to be here.  More power to them.  I will occasionally check in on them. 

I also might repost someone else's post, or comment on one of the aforementioned friend's posts, but that's it.  The daily show recaps/news posts are not going to happen here anymore. If you comment to me, and you are not someone I care about, I will block you and be done.

My main social media stop will be Threads.  That has the best interactions so far. That's @matthewmcneil1, and is also my Instagram page (although I do not post that much there).

Facebook is BY FAR my most popular page with over 9,000 followers: 'Progressive Citizen X Matthew McNeil Show.'

BlueSky is pretty good: @mattmcneilshow.bsky.social

And also Mastodon too: @MattMcNeilShow@mstdn.party 

And that's that.

I do hope you follow me elsewhere, and I really do suggest getting the hell away from Twitter.  It's rare to ever feel good after spending time in that God-forsaken hell hole.  PEACE!

The Fourth Estate is Not Our Friend

Democrats, it's time to accept a hard truth:  The National News Media, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is actively working against us.

This morning, I had to blow off some steam, still full of energy, even though I didn't sleep a wink last night.  While at the gym, I saw a friend, and we talked bout the election.  Paraphrasing her comments, she said, "I think the parties are at the extremes.  Most of us are in the middle, but the parties are on the far extremes.  Take immigration.  One side is about building a wall, and the other side is about letting everyone in."

I stopped her.  "Who said the Democrats were about letting everyone in?  They actually worked with one of the most conservative Senators to write a bipartisan border bill endorsed by many conservatives.  THAT'S THE MIDDLE! Working together with the other side is technically the middle ground. Trump was the one who ordered it killed so he could campaign against it."  

I then pressed her further. "Do you think the economy is good or bad right now?"

She responded by saying "It costs me more for food so..."

"But it always costs more for food.  That's inflation.  Do you know the country's economy today is one of the strongest we've ever had?"

She seemed to have no idea.

These are two separate issues, which were primary talking points this election cycle, and yet a woman who I don't believe is an avid right winger didn't seem to have any idea of the truth.  As a matter of fact, she seemed a bit stunned when I informed her of the truth.

She's not alone.  The national news media has been stunningly inept this year, constantly pandering the the Republican base while holding the Democrats to an impossible standard.  I'm not talking about Fox News, OAN, RT, or Newsmaxx.  We know those entities exist only to push Republicans' talking points.  I'm talking about CNN, MSNBC, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the LA Times, Huffington Post, AP News, and others, news media who advertise themselves as beacons of truth when all they really are is echo chambers for Republicans talking points and platforms for biased reporting.

The consummate example of this was Joe Biden.  In the aftermath of his debate performance, the national news media ran with Trump campaign talking points and fluffed up editorials, demanding (as they described it) the 'clearly incompetent candidate' step down. Yet the last three weeks of the Presidential campaign featured a clearly mentally compromised Trump who stumbled and slurred his way through incohesive sentence after incohesive sentence.  I still have yet to see ANY of the national news media talk about whether Trump was fit for office.  On the contrary, they always seemed to take the attitude of "Oh Donald, you scamp!"

Is this overt bias intentional or not?  I think a little bit of both.  Most national news media is owned by far-right owners who want to push a Republican narrative, and their daily content is deeply intertwined with the sales team and their desire to not upset Republican advertisers, advertisers who use their buying power to control the narrative.  The days of editors standing up to the sales team for the integrity of the "news" are long gone. At first, it was giving a little more favorable coverage of a Republican-leaning story, insisting "we're just covering the news" (think the Hillary fake email scandal of 2016).  Today it's almost as if the Republicans themselves are writing the stories and handing the copy to the media to print. IF there is any clarity or counterpoint at all, it's usually buried ten to twenty paragraphs deep, well away from the pro-Republican/anti-Democratic headline.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have covered Biden's bad debate performance, but they did so with such eagerness, determination, and gusto.  The bigger crime is that as they covered Biden, screaming, "It's newsworthy," THEY made the decision that Trump's antics and disqualifying behavior weren't newsworthy.

This is the point where national news media will feign outrage! "How DARE you, sir!  We have indeed addressed Trump's antics!" If you put out 20 news articles and in the 20th, at paragraph 12, you finally shine a slight bit of light on Trump, THAT'S NOT EQUAL! That's only you creating, at the bare minimum, a pathetic false equivalency to justify your other 20 articles running with the Right's talking points.

This is all by design. Republicans are masters at controlling the national narrative and have created a machine that actively puts the collective national news media on the Republican side of the media scale, pushing down with brazen intensity, making it virtually impossible for the average reader/listener/viewer to get an unbiased perspective.  

There are some good news outlets still out there.  NPR does an okay job, as does the bellwether, the BBC and most states/cities have one or two independent journalism options (think Heartland Signal, Sahan Journal, or Minnesota Reformer in the upper midwest), but the pickings are slim.

Part of this situation is the Democrats' own fault.  Multiple times, a progressive/left-leaning media network has tried to gain traction. On the radio airwaves, the Air America Radio Network launched in the mid-2000s, and Current TV tried to launch in the 2010s.  Instead of nurturing and funding these fledgling networks like the Republicans do, the Democratic Party belligerently went out of its way to not support them, then acted stunned when both of those ventures crumbled.  

The Democrats are outmatched by the Right AND themselves.

What can we do about this?  My suggestion is to reject the national news media.  Find the one or two outlets that seem to still have a level of journalistic integrity and delete the rest of them from your life. If enough people turn away from them, then maybe (although unlikely) they might change their ways. 

Also, support the media outlets that are trying to give you a more fair perspective.

A major reason Donald Trump is back in the White House is the intentional/unintentional coordination with the national news media.  I don't believe they can be trusted anymore.