The Onion's editor on Trump and the press

Mac1958

Diamond Member
Dec 8, 2011
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Opposing Authoritarian Ideological Fundamentalism.
The editor of The Onion (the greatest site in the history of historical histories) sat for an interview and had some interesting things to say. Great stuff.

On Trump:

He talks about how it can be difficult to satirize someone who is so absurd to begin with: "The other challenge about this administration is that so many of their policies and things, like for the EPA, they almost feel like satire. You’re just cutting everything that would protect the environment or making it easier for people to pollute. That’s the kind of thing that you would in the past make jokes about. I think we had an article years ago that said something like: “EPA: Rivers Aren’t Supposed to Smell like Shit.” And you can’t really do that kind of joke now because that’s not really where their focus is. It goes throughout the Department of Interior. We used to do lots of jokes about various things — laying off animals and stuff like that. It’s not quite as relevant now because they’re not functioning at a normal level.

"But I think Trump’s surrogates are a little bit easier. We had an article that they were just going to have ongoing going-away parties. There was another one about how the nation didn’t think it could re-assimilate all the former Trump employees.

On the Media:
"I think sometimes it’s just so self-serious. It has been in different stages. The first few months of the Trump administration, it just felt like people took every single thing he said so seriously. And it’s like, really? Even if they’re not funny, they’re tongue-in-cheek arguments where he’s deliberately trying to troll people. I think the press goes running off in the wrong direction: “Look what he’s doing! Look what he’s doing!” And you make a huge deal out of what he says and it’s missing the point of everything. In a way, they’re doing exactly what he wants: freaking out about nothing. And that’s what’s been happening a lot in this country.

"And it kind of lends credence to saying it’s a witch hunt. I’ve seen people literally do a witch hunt on powerless people and attack them. It’s kind of crazy that people are doing that or that they want to immediately take away someone’s First Amendment rights and say you can’t speak, like conservatives who want to speak on college campuses. It makes no sense to me. Let people speak. Don’t make them into martyrs who aren’t allowed to speak and then their message is amplified. They’re going to draw more people if they become proponents of the First Amendment, versus whatever message you disagreed with. It’s a very dangerous situation.

How Trump changed everything for The Onion
.
 
True, the 'Media' shot all of it's somewhat sell -able credibility to death. I was even surprised at many of the PBS and NPR people being so blatantly corrupt and openly lying, like Brooks, Gwen Ifill, etc., being so silly over Trump. Some I used to have a little respect for, but no longer, not even a shred. I refuse to support them any more, whereas I used to buy a lot of their fund-raiser stuff several times a year, the music specials actually, not the blathering BoBo new age huckster psycho-babble and medicine show crap. No more.
 
True, the 'Media' shot all of it's somewhat sell -able credibility to death. I was even surprised at many of the PBS and NPR people being so blatantly corrupt and openly lying, like Brooks, Gwen Ifill, etc., being so silly over Trump. Some I used to have a little respect for, but no longer, not even a shred. I refuse to support them any more, whereas I used to buy a lot of their fund-raiser stuff several times a year, the music specials actually, not the blathering BoBo new age huckster psycho-babble and medicine show crap. No more.
An interesting point he makes throughout the interview is that the press has fallen into the "click bait" trap, being so aggressive with the juiciest and most explosive stuff without having the substance to back it up.

Obviously an example of the dark side of the hyper-competitive nature of the media now. How do you stand out from a zillion competitors? Go flashy. It has essentially become a business model. It's not good, but it makes sense.
.
 
The editor of The Onion (the greatest site in the history of historical histories) sat for an interview and had some interesting things to say. Great stuff.


"And it kind of lends credence to saying it’s a witch hunt. I’ve seen people literally do a witch hunt on powerless people and attack them. It’s kind of crazy that people are doing that or that they want to immediately take away someone’s First Amendment rights and say you can’t speak, like conservatives who want to speak on college campuses. It makes no sense to me. Let people speak. Don’t make them into martyrs who aren’t allowed to speak and then their message is amplified. They’re going to draw more people if they become proponents of the First Amendment, versus whatever message you disagreed with. It’s a very dangerous situation.

How Trump changed everything for The Onion
.

Stormy Mac thinks that we should have Nazis on campus...

Um... No.

The Germans throw these people in Jail. But they know what it's like when these people get power.
 
The editor of The Onion (the greatest site in the history of historical histories) sat for an interview and had some interesting things to say. Great stuff.

On Trump:

He talks about how it can be difficult to satirize someone who is so absurd to begin with: "The other challenge about this administration is that so many of their policies and things, like for the EPA, they almost feel like satire. You’re just cutting everything that would protect the environment or making it easier for people to pollute. That’s the kind of thing that you would in the past make jokes about. I think we had an article years ago that said something like: “EPA: Rivers Aren’t Supposed to Smell like Shit.” And you can’t really do that kind of joke now because that’s not really where their focus is. It goes throughout the Department of Interior. We used to do lots of jokes about various things — laying off animals and stuff like that. It’s not quite as relevant now because they’re not functioning at a normal level.

"But I think Trump’s surrogates are a little bit easier. We had an article that they were just going to have ongoing going-away parties. There was another one about how the nation didn’t think it could re-assimilate all the former Trump employees.

On the Media:
"I think sometimes it’s just so self-serious. It has been in different stages. The first few months of the Trump administration, it just felt like people took every single thing he said so seriously. And it’s like, really? Even if they’re not funny, they’re tongue-in-cheek arguments where he’s deliberately trying to troll people. I think the press goes running off in the wrong direction: “Look what he’s doing! Look what he’s doing!” And you make a huge deal out of what he says and it’s missing the point of everything. In a way, they’re doing exactly what he wants: freaking out about nothing. And that’s what’s been happening a lot in this country.

"And it kind of lends credence to saying it’s a witch hunt. I’ve seen people literally do a witch hunt on powerless people and attack them. It’s kind of crazy that people are doing that or that they want to immediately take away someone’s First Amendment rights and say you can’t speak, like conservatives who want to speak on college campuses. It makes no sense to me. Let people speak. Don’t make them into martyrs who aren’t allowed to speak and then their message is amplified. They’re going to draw more people if they become proponents of the First Amendment, versus whatever message you disagreed with. It’s a very dangerous situation.

How Trump changed everything for The Onion
.


Thanks for the link. This is hilarious! "Vice President Mike Pence is often depicted as a repressed religious fanatic who, in one memorable article, refused to be alone with a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth maple syrup until his wife arrived." LMAO!
 
Dare to mention Freedom of Speech and the Regressives jump in with claws out.

Mac's little pack of Pavlov's Dogs.

:laugh:
.

Tio Tomas Mac thinks this guy needs a hug.

images
 
Dare to mention Freedom of Speech and the Regressives jump in with claws out.

Mac's little pack of Pavlov's Dogs.

:laugh:
.

Tio Tomas Mac thinks this guy needs a hug.

images
Thanks again!

And I like the little nickname thing - you're just like your hero Trump!

Joe is what he hates. That's why he's so nasty & miserable.
.
 
Thanks for the link. This is hilarious! "Vice President Mike Pence is often depicted as a repressed religious fanatic who, in one memorable article, refused to be alone with a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth maple syrup until his wife arrived." LMAO!

A lot of what they do on the Onion is cute, but the problem is, Trump and Pence are beyond parody. People like Stormy Mac seem to think that Nazis on campus are the new normal... and they shouldn't be.
 
The editor of The Onion (the greatest site in the history of historical histories) sat for an interview and had some interesting things to say. Great stuff.

On Trump:

He talks about how it can be difficult to satirize someone who is so absurd to begin with: "The other challenge about this administration is that so many of their policies and things, like for the EPA, they almost feel like satire. You’re just cutting everything that would protect the environment or making it easier for people to pollute. That’s the kind of thing that you would in the past make jokes about. I think we had an article years ago that said something like: “EPA: Rivers Aren’t Supposed to Smell like Shit.” And you can’t really do that kind of joke now because that’s not really where their focus is. It goes throughout the Department of Interior. We used to do lots of jokes about various things — laying off animals and stuff like that. It’s not quite as relevant now because they’re not functioning at a normal level.

"But I think Trump’s surrogates are a little bit easier. We had an article that they were just going to have ongoing going-away parties. There was another one about how the nation didn’t think it could re-assimilate all the former Trump employees.

On the Media:
"I think sometimes it’s just so self-serious. It has been in different stages. The first few months of the Trump administration, it just felt like people took every single thing he said so seriously. And it’s like, really? Even if they’re not funny, they’re tongue-in-cheek arguments where he’s deliberately trying to troll people. I think the press goes running off in the wrong direction: “Look what he’s doing! Look what he’s doing!” And you make a huge deal out of what he says and it’s missing the point of everything. In a way, they’re doing exactly what he wants: freaking out about nothing. And that’s what’s been happening a lot in this country.

"And it kind of lends credence to saying it’s a witch hunt. I’ve seen people literally do a witch hunt on powerless people and attack them. It’s kind of crazy that people are doing that or that they want to immediately take away someone’s First Amendment rights and say you can’t speak, like conservatives who want to speak on college campuses. It makes no sense to me. Let people speak. Don’t make them into martyrs who aren’t allowed to speak and then their message is amplified. They’re going to draw more people if they become proponents of the First Amendment, versus whatever message you disagreed with. It’s a very dangerous situation.

How Trump changed everything for The Onion
.


Thanks for the link. This is hilarious! "Vice President Mike Pence is often depicted as a repressed religious fanatic who, in one memorable article, refused to be alone with a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth maple syrup until his wife arrived." LMAO!
Yeah, too funny. Par for the course for The Onion, they're a freakin' treasure.
.
 
Dare to mention Freedom of Speech and the Regressives jump in with claws out.

Mac's little pack of Pavlov's Dogs.

:laugh:
.

Tio Tomas Mac thinks this guy needs a hug.

images

Dont know if you caught it but This American Life described the apparatus the right wing victimization machine has in place for when folks like the one in your picture are not allowed to speak on campus. The rest of the broadcast is about a specific incident on the U of Nebraska campus but it shows what happens.

You really have to wonder...if this was 1938 and Hitler was coming to the UN to speak and some group wanted to invite him to speak at Penn State or West Point...there apparently would be people here who think that would be a great idea. SMH
 
The editor of The Onion (the greatest site in the history of historical histories) sat for an interview and had some interesting things to say. Great stuff.

On Trump:

He talks about how it can be difficult to satirize someone who is so absurd to begin with: "The other challenge about this administration is that so many of their policies and things, like for the EPA, they almost feel like satire. You’re just cutting everything that would protect the environment or making it easier for people to pollute. That’s the kind of thing that you would in the past make jokes about. I think we had an article years ago that said something like: “EPA: Rivers Aren’t Supposed to Smell like Shit.” And you can’t really do that kind of joke now because that’s not really where their focus is. It goes throughout the Department of Interior. We used to do lots of jokes about various things — laying off animals and stuff like that. It’s not quite as relevant now because they’re not functioning at a normal level.

"But I think Trump’s surrogates are a little bit easier. We had an article that they were just going to have ongoing going-away parties. There was another one about how the nation didn’t think it could re-assimilate all the former Trump employees.

On the Media:
"I think sometimes it’s just so self-serious. It has been in different stages. The first few months of the Trump administration, it just felt like people took every single thing he said so seriously. And it’s like, really? Even if they’re not funny, they’re tongue-in-cheek arguments where he’s deliberately trying to troll people. I think the press goes running off in the wrong direction: “Look what he’s doing! Look what he’s doing!” And you make a huge deal out of what he says and it’s missing the point of everything. In a way, they’re doing exactly what he wants: freaking out about nothing. And that’s what’s been happening a lot in this country.

"And it kind of lends credence to saying it’s a witch hunt. I’ve seen people literally do a witch hunt on powerless people and attack them. It’s kind of crazy that people are doing that or that they want to immediately take away someone’s First Amendment rights and say you can’t speak, like conservatives who want to speak on college campuses. It makes no sense to me. Let people speak. Don’t make them into martyrs who aren’t allowed to speak and then their message is amplified. They’re going to draw more people if they become proponents of the First Amendment, versus whatever message you disagreed with. It’s a very dangerous situation.

How Trump changed everything for The Onion
.

I agree 99% with the highlighted comments.

Fortunately, the instances of people being denied their first amendment rights on college campuses and elsewhere are basically outliers.

It has happened a few times. I don't like it. But it has not reached the level of "dangerous".
 
Dont know if you caught it but This American Life described the apparatus the right wing victimization machine has in place for when folks like the one in your picture are not allowed to speak on campus. The rest of the broadcast is about a specific incident on the U of Nebraska campus but it shows what happens.

You really have to wonder...if this was 1938 and Hitler was coming to the UN to speak and some group wanted to invite him to speak at Penn State or West Point...there apparently would be people here who think that would be a great idea. SMH

i work 80 hours a week, I'm lucky if I catch anything.

The thing is, the people who often get "banned" from campus are folks like Milo or Coulter, who even the Right Wing treats like the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. When was the last time you saw Coulter on Fox News?

But according to Stormy Mac, the very foundations of free speech are at stake when she can't speak at a Campus that doesn't really want her spewing her hatred there.
 
Dont know if you caught it but This American Life described the apparatus the right wing victimization machine has in place for when folks like the one in your picture are not allowed to speak on campus. The rest of the broadcast is about a specific incident on the U of Nebraska campus but it shows what happens.

You really have to wonder...if this was 1938 and Hitler was coming to the UN to speak and some group wanted to invite him to speak at Penn State or West Point...there apparently would be people here who think that would be a great idea. SMH

i work 80 hours a week, I'm lucky if I catch anything.

The thing is, the people who often get "banned" from campus are folks like Milo or Coulter, who even the Right Wing treats like the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. When was the last time you saw Coulter on Fox News?

But according to Stormy Mac, the very foundations of free speech are at stake when she can't speak at a Campus that doesn't really want her spewing her hatred there.

Here's the link if you're interested:

My Effing First Amendment - This American Life
 
Dont know if you caught it but This American Life described the apparatus the right wing victimization machine has in place for when folks like the one in your picture are not allowed to speak on campus. The rest of the broadcast is about a specific incident on the U of Nebraska campus but it shows what happens.

You really have to wonder...if this was 1938 and Hitler was coming to the UN to speak and some group wanted to invite him to speak at Penn State or West Point...there apparently would be people here who think that would be a great idea. SMH

i work 80 hours a week, I'm lucky if I catch anything.

The thing is, the people who often get "banned" from campus are folks like Milo or Coulter, who even the Right Wing treats like the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. When was the last time you saw Coulter on Fox News?

But according to Stormy Mac, the very foundations of free speech are at stake when she can't speak at a Campus that doesn't really want her spewing her hatred there.

As with all things there is a line that isn't drawn by censorship, bigotry or hatred but drawn by prudence. I mean, would you want to give a self-confessed white supremacists 90 minutes to convince your 11th grade son or daughter that they have the correct view on the world? Probably not. Not sure why you'd be okay with it in their freshman year of college or their senior year for that matter.
 
As with all things there is a line that isn't drawn by censorship, bigotry or hatred but drawn by prudence. I mean, would you want to give a self-confessed white supremacists 90 minutes to convince your 11th grade son or daughter that they have the correct view on the world? Probably not. Not sure why you'd be okay with it in their freshman year of college or their senior year for that matter.

Point well made.

The thing Stormy Mac doesn't seem to get is that when you let a Richard Spencer on campus to preach his hate and bile, you've elevated his hate and bile to a level of intellectualism it doesn't deserve.
 
It's weird that some people can't see that our young people are simply trying to bring public discourse back to a place that is not rife with hatred and disrespect for others.

It's especially weird when thosesame people are forever whining about how childish and rude others are.
 

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