Fox News Channel host Brian Kilmeade apologized for advocating for the execution of mentally ill homeless people in a discussion on the network last week, saying his remark was “extremely callous.” (Still has his job)
MSNBC fired its senior political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested on air that the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s own radical rhetoric may have contributed to the shooting that killed him.
When stupid people get together, they tend to elect stupid candidates. Those candidates, once in office, appoint other stupid people to help them mismanage the government. Naturally, stupid politicians make stupid decisions. And stupid decisions, like a biblical plague rain chaos and destruction on everything they touch.
That, in a nutshell, is a brisk and brutal diagnosis of our current political condition.
But what about the so-called smart people? Are they truly intelligent if they keep letting the proudly ignorant run the country—and ruin their lives in the process? A genius who surrenders the steering wheel to a blindfolded clown isn’t a genius at all; he’s just a polite passenger on the road to nowhere.
There was once a time when a stupid person had the humility to recognize he needed the expertise of smarter minds. That time has passed. Today, asking for advice is seen as weakness, and expertise is treated with the same suspicion once reserved for door-to-door preachers. Guardrails? Who needs ’em when you’ve got overconfidence and a social media following?
The rise of stupidity in America isn’t a fluke—it’s a feature. For at least a quarter century, our culture has glorified the simple-minded and vilified the competent. Stupidity has become endearing, even charming. Meanwhile, intellect and nuance are treated as elitist sins. Smart people are mocked, threatened, canceled (by both the woke and the anti-woke), and exiled from conversations (and decisions) they might actually improve.
So what happens? Smart people stop running for office. They quit their jobs. They retreat from the public square. Why volunteer for a high-stakes pie-throwing contest where the prize is harassment and the consolation is a subpoena? When idiocy becomes fashionable, intelligence becomes a liability.
If democracy dies in darkness, it may also perish in stupidity—with a laugh track.
I’m waiting patiently to see this generation’s Edward R. Murrow in media and the press.
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I have already seen this Administration’s Joe McCarthys.
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However there are a few “profiles in courage”…For example, Hagan Scotten told Justice Department officials that he would not be party to a political prosecution (below)….
But any assistant U.S. attorney would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way. If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.
Hagan Scotten, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York
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When Trump offered the severance package to federal employees, I did not realize that just about all of Congress decided to cash in and abandon their responsibilities too.
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When Associated Press was denied access to the White House press room I was disappointed other media members did not walk out to show their support.
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Just a thought, but a long moratorium on reporting news about this Administration and members would be mentally healthy for this country.
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Appropriate Aphorisms for Our Times
“A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.”
— Bertrand de Jouvenel
“Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian.”
— Robert Orben
“A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
— George Bernard Shaw
I looked back on my 2024 predictions and though I did nail that Joe Biden would withdraw from running for President. I did not guess correctly that Donald Trump would also withdraw and with a pardon. Despite my predictions, Twitter did not go dark and the Russia-Ukraine war did not end. I did not fare well in my sports predictions.
However, I am back with my 2025 predictions. My crystal ball looks a bit gloomy and stormy…
Every local newscast starts off with stories of violence, shootings, stabbings, murder…I wait till the second half of the telecast to catch Sports and Weather.
No matter how wrong or warped your vision of the world is, there is some venue or fool that will feed you misinformation and further your delusions.
We are verbally and visually assaulted by lies, exaggerations, and rampant stupidity that we have become inured to them. You can’t shock me anymore by a news host or politician saying something incredibly stupid.
A President of the United States has the right to assassinate his or her rivals?? This craziness was actually discussed as a serious matter in the Supreme Court!
2020 may have been the last Presidential election that was legitimate. And despite its proven legitimacy, maybe a 1/3 or more of this country’s voters still feel that it was rigged., based on nothing but an old man’s rants as he faces prison.
On CNN: Kaitlan Collins interviewing Bill Barr about his support for Donald Trump.
KAITLAN COLLINS: “So just to be clear, you’re voting for someone who you believe tried to subvert the peaceful transfer of power that can’t even achieve his own policies, that lied about the election, even after his attorney general told him that the election wasn’t stolen. And as the former chief law enforcement in this country, you’re going to vote for someone who is facing 88 criminal counts.”
Reports suggest that the five major broadcast and cable news networks are advocating for televised debates between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump ahead of Election Day. However, it’s time to reconsider the value of such debates, particularly involving Trump.
Let’s be frank: a debate featuring Donald Trump tends to resemble a WWE event promo more than a substantive political discussion. His approach lacks preparation and substance, often devolving into insults and misinformation. The 2016 debates between Trump and Hillary Clinton showcased this stark contrast in demeanor and knowledge. While Clinton demonstrated a grasp of issues, Trump stumbled through with little coherence.
The 2020 debate between Trump and Biden was a debacle, failing to offer meaningful insights into policy or voter concerns. In fact, it only served to highlight the degradation of presidential debates into spectacles of theatrics rather than platforms for informed discourse.
One might argue that the last truly substantive presidential debate occurred between JFK and Richard Nixon in 1960. Since then, debates have become increasingly staged, manipulated, and divorced from genuine discussion.
In today’s political landscape, debates are marred by handlers, opportunities for misinformation, and outright falsehoods. It’s understandable why networks may view them as entertainment, but for voters seeking genuine insights, they offer little substance.
(Idea and initial content drafted by Eric Burleigh, edits suggested by AI)
https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time/
I listed the Top 20 by Variety. My choices for my Top 20 would only include Seinfeld, Cheers and All in The Family. Mad Men may make my Top 25. I watched I Love Lucy when I was a kid but more because my mother watched it and we only had one TV back then.
MASH was #24 on Variety’s list but it is on my top 5. West Wing was ranked #25 by Variety but I would probably have it 10 or more spots higher on my mine.
The Sopranos richly deserves its high ranking. The Tonight Show was ranked #52 but I feel it is undervalued given the cultural influence it had on the country when Johnny Carson was host.
My list is decidedly different. I chose people whose contributions, judgement and commentary I respect.
| Mediaite’s Most Influential in News | Eric Burleigh’s List of Thought Leaders in Media |
| 1. Suzanne Scott Fox News | 1. Kara Swisher |
| 2. Elon Musk | 2. Andrew Ross Sorkin CNBC |
| 3. Chris Licht and David Zaslav | 3. Maggie Haberman NYT |
| 4. Tucker Carlson Fox News | 4. Maureen Dowd NYT |
| 5. Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinsski MSNBC | 5. Jim Acosta CNN |
| 6. Sean Hannity Fox | 6. Chris Wallace CNN |
| 7. Matt Drudge | 7. Bill Maher HBO |
| 8. Lester Holt, Norah O’Donnell and David Muir | 8. Jonathan Karl ABC |
| 9. Maggie Haberman | 9. Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Sec |
| 10. Greg Gutfeld | 10. Sam Harris |
| 11. Ben Shapiro | 11. Charles Barkley TNT |
| 12. Jake Tapper CNN | 12. Nicole Wallace MSNBC |
Here are five brief observations swirling in my head waiting to get out:
Esot-eric 