… On March 3, as Russian military forces bombed Ukrainian cities as part of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of his neighbor, the Kremlin sent out talking points to state-friendly media outlets with a request: Use more Tucker Carlson.
“It is essential to use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sharply criticizes the actions of the United States [and] NATO, their negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine, [and] the defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally,” advises the 12-page document written in Russian. It sums up Carlson’s position: “Russia is only protecting its interests and security.” The memo includes a quote from Carlson: “And how would the US behave if such a situation developed in neighboring Mexico or Canada?”
The document—titled “For Media and Commentators (recommendations for coverage of events as of 03.03)”—was produced, according to its metadata, at a Russian government agency called the Department of Information and Telecommunications Support, which is part of the Russian security apparatus. It was provided to Mother Jones by a contributor to a national Russian media outlet who asked not to be identified …
Ben Collins, senior reporter for NBC News, traces the path that connects the Covid anti-vaccine crowd online with right-wing proponents of a conspiracy theory about Ukrainian biological research facilities that is now serving as Russia’s explanation for starting a war against Ukraine.
The Kremlin sees Tucker Carlson’s commentary as “essential” in its Ukraine war messaging strategy according to a 12-page memo leaked from a Russian government agency to the Russian media, as reported in Mother Jones. DC bureau chief of Mother Jones David Corn joins Joy Reid on his reporting on this story. MSNBC analyst Malcolm Nance also joins The ReidOut to discuss.
Exactly what I don’t want. If I was a Jedi, I would wave my hand and tell him to go home and think about the decisions he has made in life, but I live in this galaxy, in this time.
Tucker Carlson is an intellectual rapist, a seditionist, a traitor to the United States of America, vandalizing American civil society, a man ruthlessly and openly dedicated to destroying our government - One simply needs to review the trajectory and content that he’s been broadcasting for way way too long, for supporting evidence.
That shouldn’t be normalized ! Though it certainly has been.
It’s no wonder 2020s will be the Age of Destruction, rather than the age when human ingenuity was busy working on a sustainable, holistic, society that nurtures our planet along with our needs - that is fuk’n taking care of Earth and her inhabitants, since we should have learned by now, how Earth’s biosphere and global heat and moisture distribution engine creates our very life support system. Destroying it will only guarantee destroying ourselves.
No, Tucker Carlson is not okay and should not be tolerated, in any way shape or form.
You remind me of why the half measure Democrats and the intellectual “enlightened” have been such losers these past decades when it really mattered like never before.
I finish writing (and deleting) all this with one of my cartoon images that spontaneously projects themself upon a screen in my mind. This time it’s a guy in kilt, no undies, being lead into a prison.
All the while the limbaughs and carlsons were laughing all the way to their banks.
Now we start really paying the price for our willful neglect and their willful, nay, malicious belligerent ignorance, their self interested avarice and willfully destructive tendencies.
Have you forgotten that our generation brought down the government of Nixon, Thurmond, and Johnson? The government that is the only one in the world to have dropped nuclear weapons on civilian targets? What laws could you pass that would prevent Tucker Carlson but not also prevent Thich Nhat Hhan, James Baldwin, and Angela Davis?
But left the Lee Atwaters, Roger Stones and Newt Gingrichs, etc. all to reach new heights of American political depravity.
I don’t think we need any new laws. We need to recognize what they are doing and hold them to account.
Where those quaint bromides we grew up with fail, is there’s no sense of proportion anymore. It’s like following your logic, why shouldn’t one exercise one’s “guaranteed” personal freedom “to be me”, by screaming FIRE!!! at the next over crowded event I attend?
That man and his malicious and calculated disinformation is way over the line of fraud and even sedition - but no one has the balls to call him on it!
But then guess if even trumps crimes are apparently not crimes, simply because he’s got the brass balls not to adhere to any moral or legal standards and thinks everyone else owes him,
why not forget that Free Speech carries with it a degree of responsibility and expectation to abide by certain public/moral norms.
Hell, lying has become an accepted if not prideful way of political discourse these days. I mean we couldn’t even hold on to the appreciation that honesty mattered, so I’m done with the old bromides.
We lefties couldn’t go there, had this halo of moral superiority to protect us, and now, look around, this is what we get for a half century of intellectual laziness and moral cowardice.
And a year later we’re still arguing over the election.
Two impeachment trials that pulled in an amazing amount of political cash contributions, with all their talking points still standing tall in the eyes of his significant slice of Americana.
I don’t see him being held to any accountability. Lotta talk, big promises, but apparent there’s not enough evidence yet, or something like that. New York D.A., yippy that was impressive (Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz).
As the golden t continues to rake in the contributions from his faithful, by ridiculing our government, waving around lies as though they were truths and leading its legal system around by the nose, probably on account of four years of being in charge allowing him to gum up the mechanisms.
That election was an anemic failure on the part of Democrats, even if we barely won. Squeaking by should be a terrifying lesson that caused some serious soul-searching and an effort to reengage with Democratic grassroots, but instead the complacency of the half-measure DNC continues.
So please excuse me for not being impressed with the Democrats performance, they should have done much, much, better - and it certainly wasn’t enough.
I know I’m speaking with a touch of hyperbole, there are a lot of good people, fighting a good fight.
And we shouldn’t stop, hope is a survival strategy in hopeless times, and people seem to have a hell of way of adjusting to The Morning After and getting on with their day to days, despite all that was lost.
But, then there are the apathetic masses, all of us up against that huge block of scared and insecurity driven, yet thoroughly brainwashed, extremist supremacists dreaming of returning to some perfect yesterday that never was.
It requires a Critical Mass to create real change, and that’s where my black hole of despair resides.
I wouldn’t call it arguing. People who were at the “Stop the Steal” rally are in jail.
I think the percentages of people who want authoritarians has remained pretty consistent throughout history. You seem to think the world should already be arranged so brains win out over brawn.
Instead, even when it is a brains vs brains fight, they can win by not losing, that is, by delaying, filing motions, who knows what they are doing.
Let’s not forget all the non-voters. Nader showed us they were there. Obama managed to rally quite a few. When people use the “voting is a recognition of a system that is not working” argument, I find it difficult to argue.
I’m not just unimpressed, I consider this country still a one-party system. It looked more like it back in the 80s when the candidates agreed on many points. It looks like every time we vote to increase military spending. Thatt doesn’t make the news because they don’t argue about it. Not to mention insider trading and campaign contributions.
Well that was the reality that was made clear to humanity back in the 60s, 70s - the choice was stark and the consequences of not acting were terrifyingly - stone cold sober science.
So we weren’t able to shift our passion for greed, in fact America became the proud beacon of ME FIRST and fuk the rest of 'em.
Russians are known to act as aggressive pigs, but so too are we. Past half century has been an appalling mass disappointment, even if we managed to be more polite about it.
We collectively made many bad choices, and very few wise choices, we are watching the consequences play out. It is what it is.
Back to the main story, it’s not so much that Tucker Carlson belongs in jail, since words do matter!!! But the real problem is that so many have bowed out of the struggle, Why aren’t his lies confronted head on - why doesn’t any one manage to dog him with facts, instead he just gets more radical and radical, and we just tisk tisk and move on.
I’m stuck listening to Christian radio now and then and it’s turned into ranting vicious hatefulness towards non-christians that’s become absolutely unbelievable - they have literally talked themselves into thinking they need to destroy any non god-fearing human. Seems no one know how to confront that - “confront” doesn’t mean bashing over the head, more like crashing into the mind of these self-serving sillies intent on demolishing our government - for their corporate theocracy.
So hideously sick and frankly changing minds is going to take some real tough love and concise talk, info. - and I still don’t know of any no real grassroots opposition forming that’s focused on the fact that unless we are changing minds we are losing.
Christ the Democrats can’t even figure out how to engage with their own grassroots beyond begging for more money to spend on more donation pitches and commercials that people don’t listen to anyways. How are they going to get through to Republicans.
I only see the guy when I see someone confronting him. I’ve watched his actual show maybe twice, but I know his stuff because so many respond to him.
But lying is not illegal. We can’t shut down a news media company.
and I still don’t know of any no real grassroots opposition forming that’s focused on the fact that unless we are changing minds we are losing.
The fact is, you don’t change minds with facts. There are groups formed around this idea, but they will take time. Opinions are formed by a lifetime of experiences and influences, leading to values, then those are ranked for the difficult issues we deal with.
