4th Estate drowns itself in its own BS

Warning: rant ahead!

Will mainstream news ever catch a clue? I have not heard more vapid, concerted, hyperventilating nonsense than much of what gets passed off as "news". It's transparently obvious to even the most casual observer. I suppose that they aren't trying to fool anyone (because they aren't) but rather virtue signal with an eternal torrent of bullshit. We all know Trump is a bullshitter. Classic definition. He may actually be telling the truth, but he doesn't give a shit. That is quite possibly an actual qualification for POTUS, but it should be highly disqualifying for the so-called 4th Estate.

It used to be I'd have to roll on over to Slate or Alternet to get some good and maddening eyerolling headlines, but now the Google News roll call of WaPo and NYT can generate all sorts of are you shitting me drivel about impending Constitutional crises, creeping Fascism, and the End Times of America.

It's… all… bullshit!

All of the whining about getting tagged with "Fake News" is pretty rich, especially when they sling knowing false, misleading, spin, aka news that is actually fake aka fake news. Any "journalist" talking regularly with, say, Michael Avenatti is probably better described as a click ho. Taking on a client who claimed that as a college student went to multiple high school gang rape parties? Really? Fuck yeah! Run it above the fold! How hell could that woman hold a clearance or be read into any program?

Oh, sure, there is a bunch of spin on the right, but it lacks the screaming hysterics and the astonishing lack of any sort of effort to even dress it up as serious. It tends to be of the connected-to-policy variety of "Socialism will turn us into Venezuela" and "Medicare is broke" and "The Democrats are coming for your guns", not "Trump conspires with Putin to turn America into Fascist Russian vassal state" or whatever jacknozzle delusion is coursing through the staff of Vox at the moment.

South and North Korea are talking and apparently removing mines from around the DMZ. Yes, it was covered and yes that's not fake news. It's good news! But does POTUS get any credit? If anything, his eccentric approach to NK, not to mention his interest in not just wanting to bomb the shit out of them gets no mention. But, blame mail bombs and mass murder get laid at his feet, which is total bullshit. Brexit? Blame Trump. Brazilian Trump? Blame Trump. Khashoggi? Blame Trump. Running out of toilet paper and forgetting to buy more when you were at the store? Blame fucking Donald Trump, because, obviously, it's all his fucking fault. People see through irrational bloviation.

I think the overuse of words like "authoritarian" and "fascist" would be whimsical if it weren't so goddamn irritating. With the exception of NK and cracking down on immigration, and his loopy tariff trade warfare, Trump's policies would be Mitt Romney's or Jeb Bush's or Marco Rubio's policies. Again, with the exception of NK and Iran, his foreign policy would probably be if anything less aggressive than HRC's would have been. Trump, in a fit nostalgic confusion perhaps, has been working as the Executive and not the extra-Congressional Legislator a la "pen and phone" BHO.

I'm going to be interested in seeing how the Blue Wave crashes down on Congress. If it turns out to be the same old Red Tide we have today, that's just more nails in the coffin of journalistic credibility in the mainstream press, and they will have no one to blame but themselves.