I love the Trumpian trolling. The MSM gets its daily playbook and like good foot soldiers of the Left, the MSM all comes out with surprisingly similar daily talking points/scripts. Now that the copy/paste operation and the lack of real investigative reporting have been fully exposed, Americans have largely turned off the traditional sources of media, instead joining a more free-wheeling whirlwind that is Substack, or X, or OAN and Newsmax. The free market is a marvelous thing, and, while there is always the chance of inaccuracy, at least that market helps sentient beings to fully exercise their brains. On a personal note, I love the X platform for all its free-wheeling.
"Undocumented immigrant" is not accurate; it's deliberately misleading, another example of obfuscating bureau-speak, in aid of a political agenda.
Before I became a citizen, I was legally an "alien" -- that is precisely what the word means. "ET" is an example of a later Hollywood application of the word. Furthermore, as many of the people who came across the borders illegally resist assimilation and still feel culturally and politically affiliated with their countries of origin, they fulfill the other definition of "alien" as well: "owing allegiance to another country".
Immigration is a process; merely stepping across a border is trespassing. We could use the term "trespassers" for individuals, or "invaders" for groups, if you prefer.
Another subtle or not so subtle style book addition is "right wing". All conservative politicians no matter the country are called "right wing". From President Trump to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Meloni and Orban. Left wing politicians are not so designated.
Well, right wingers call them "communists, Marxists, fascists, radical left thugs & vermin" as Trump did on Memorial day 2023, saying, “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like VERMIN within the confines of our country.” The left wing is often called "liberal."
At almost 81, I am long retired but still in touch with many of my past students. I was very lucky. As a very young little girl, I knew what my purpose was in life—to teach. It became my passion and purpose. And I worked hard to be able to reach my goal. You are a great teacher—a superior journalist who schools us about things we all need to know.
I’m 82. I was lucky to grow up in a small town with real English teachers who taught grammar. I loved diagramming sentences (I was always considered strange) and as a result I can write clearly and simply.
I really appreciate your work at Substack, Roger! I have been reading you for a long, long time; since your founding of Pajama Media years ago! Thanks for the memories! (reference to Bob Hope’s theme song intended)… unfortunately, I am on a very small fixed income, so I can’t afford a paid subscription …
At this point, this Substack is free for all. I may add a very small fee eventually but you would still be able to read all. I might restrict comments to paid subscribers but haven’t decided yet. Thanks for the kind words!
Thank you for letting me comment. The $5 a month for all my subscibrtions is starting to get my wife to question the credit card bill. If I win the lotto I'll be sharing my winnings and comments. Thank you Rodger and Sheryl !!
Thanks for this article. Informative and raises points I'm sure many had not considered.
Also really appreciate your altruism in allowing the public to read and comment.
One question, on this sentence:
"Nevertheless, the Biden Administration made similar executive order changes galore, many of them considerably more fraught, to which the AP evinced not one objection and adhered to like well-trained circus animals."
Can you provide examples of things the Biden Administration renamed? I remember the McKinley to Danali change, though i believe that took place under Obama. Renamings by Biden would be good to know.
I’ve read a variety of AP stories where the point-of-view, loaded words, and avoidance of context and known counter fact brands it as editorial, not factual reporting. AP: All Propaganda. Got my J-degree in the 70s so it jumps right out at me. Wikipedia and daughter’s HS textbook same way.
The conduct of the AP and other "legacy" news organizations is based on the very conscious value notion that "getting the story" is more important than telling the truth, that access trumps accuracy. For years, the AP shared office space with Hamas in the same building in Gaza. Then during one of the conflicts, the Israeli Air Force notified the AP to immediately abandon the building, as they were about to bomb it. The AP was none too happy about it but had no choice.
I will begin by saying, “Apparently, you do know!” As a long time English (communications) teacher, I often pointed out errors in the news media and asked students to identify the word use problem. The writing style book I used in my classroom was Strunk & White, of course. I wanted my students to be aware that words do matter, and it was my intention to make sure they understood how words can be manipulated to sway our opinions and known facts about an important issue. There are so many examples of this in news sources today that we must be ever vigilant about what is written or said. One of the more blatant examples is that there is no distinction between “legal” and “Illegal” when speaking of immigrants. If I were being placed in a class of people who break laws, I would loudly denounce this difference. And my students would have to explain, as a legal immigrant, why I didn’t want to be identified in this way. As for hamas and other groups such as this, they are terrorists. And the brainwashed generations of Arabs who support jihad and whose purpose in life is to kill all Jews and anyone else they consider an enemy are the chief supporters of this terrorism.
To talk to a Jew is a waste of time. They do not recognize universal morality. Why would you show pictures of dead Jewish babies and not reflect on the unecessary killing of tens of thousands of Palestian children? But creatures like Mr. Simon do not believe we goyim have a soul. We are barn animals only worthy of serving them. Israel is a terrorist state. Founded by terrorists and led by terrorists. But in tribal world they are the chosen people of God. To explain this to Mr. Simon is like explaining a microwave to a cat.
The AP reserves the word "terrorist" only for people who commit the most heinous of crimes, such as for people who use the wrong pronoun, for a person, or who disagree with leftists on political policy, and such.
Don't forget AP's use of "rebels" to describe patriots around the world defending their countries against takeovers by Communist dictators and the AP's use of "peace" to mean the absence of opposition to Communism. Prior to the internet, all of America's national news was filtered through AP and UPI, which were founded by news syndicate magnates E.W. Scripps and William Randolph Hearst ("Mr. Yellow Journalism").
By controlling the language, the Marxists control the narrative.
Authoritarians everywhere manipulate language.
Q: What's the difference between the AP's use of "militant" and the common definition of "terrorist"?
A: The spelling
I love the Trumpian trolling. The MSM gets its daily playbook and like good foot soldiers of the Left, the MSM all comes out with surprisingly similar daily talking points/scripts. Now that the copy/paste operation and the lack of real investigative reporting have been fully exposed, Americans have largely turned off the traditional sources of media, instead joining a more free-wheeling whirlwind that is Substack, or X, or OAN and Newsmax. The free market is a marvelous thing, and, while there is always the chance of inaccuracy, at least that market helps sentient beings to fully exercise their brains. On a personal note, I love the X platform for all its free-wheeling.
Don’t forget The Epoch Times.
Scratching my head over how ET puts a byline at the top — with no other attribution—then quietly acknowledges it is an AP story at the bottom.
Really? OMG I had no idea. If that's true then I will be canceling any support of them immediately and letting them know why.
Then there is the pretense of calling illegal aliens "immigrants", while eschewing the use of the accurate term.
Undocumented immigrants is accurate. Do they look like ET to you?
"Undocumented immigrant" is not accurate; it's deliberately misleading, another example of obfuscating bureau-speak, in aid of a political agenda.
Before I became a citizen, I was legally an "alien" -- that is precisely what the word means. "ET" is an example of a later Hollywood application of the word. Furthermore, as many of the people who came across the borders illegally resist assimilation and still feel culturally and politically affiliated with their countries of origin, they fulfill the other definition of "alien" as well: "owing allegiance to another country".
Immigration is a process; merely stepping across a border is trespassing. We could use the term "trespassers" for individuals, or "invaders" for groups, if you prefer.
Another subtle or not so subtle style book addition is "right wing". All conservative politicians no matter the country are called "right wing". From President Trump to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Meloni and Orban. Left wing politicians are not so designated.
The lockstep media's term of art is actually "far right", as "right wing" isn't anywhere near pejorative enough.
Well, right wingers call them "communists, Marxists, fascists, radical left thugs & vermin" as Trump did on Memorial day 2023, saying, “We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like VERMIN within the confines of our country.” The left wing is often called "liberal."
Far right-wing
YES! Yes! But NEVER ‘left wing radical’ or left extremist. Would they even refer to squad members as controversial? Noooo.
At almost 81, I am long retired but still in touch with many of my past students. I was very lucky. As a very young little girl, I knew what my purpose was in life—to teach. It became my passion and purpose. And I worked hard to be able to reach my goal. You are a great teacher—a superior journalist who schools us about things we all need to know.
I’m 82. I was lucky to grow up in a small town with real English teachers who taught grammar. I loved diagramming sentences (I was always considered strange) and as a result I can write clearly and simply.
Your skill is of no use to the left. They rely of obfuscation and outright deception.
Though they are still losing.
I really appreciate your work at Substack, Roger! I have been reading you for a long, long time; since your founding of Pajama Media years ago! Thanks for the memories! (reference to Bob Hope’s theme song intended)… unfortunately, I am on a very small fixed income, so I can’t afford a paid subscription …
At this point, this Substack is free for all. I may add a very small fee eventually but you would still be able to read all. I might restrict comments to paid subscribers but haven’t decided yet. Thanks for the kind words!
Thank you for letting me comment. The $5 a month for all my subscibrtions is starting to get my wife to question the credit card bill. If I win the lotto I'll be sharing my winnings and comments. Thank you Rodger and Sheryl !!
Thanks for this article. Informative and raises points I'm sure many had not considered.
Also really appreciate your altruism in allowing the public to read and comment.
One question, on this sentence:
"Nevertheless, the Biden Administration made similar executive order changes galore, many of them considerably more fraught, to which the AP evinced not one objection and adhered to like well-trained circus animals."
Can you provide examples of things the Biden Administration renamed? I remember the McKinley to Danali change, though i believe that took place under Obama. Renamings by Biden would be good to know.
Thanks you!
I’ve read a variety of AP stories where the point-of-view, loaded words, and avoidance of context and known counter fact brands it as editorial, not factual reporting. AP: All Propaganda. Got my J-degree in the 70s so it jumps right out at me. Wikipedia and daughter’s HS textbook same way.
The conduct of the AP and other "legacy" news organizations is based on the very conscious value notion that "getting the story" is more important than telling the truth, that access trumps accuracy. For years, the AP shared office space with Hamas in the same building in Gaza. Then during one of the conflicts, the Israeli Air Force notified the AP to immediately abandon the building, as they were about to bomb it. The AP was none too happy about it but had no choice.
All true, but unfortunately the AP is motivated by more than just "getting the story." Easy to see by how they report the story they "just got."
I will begin by saying, “Apparently, you do know!” As a long time English (communications) teacher, I often pointed out errors in the news media and asked students to identify the word use problem. The writing style book I used in my classroom was Strunk & White, of course. I wanted my students to be aware that words do matter, and it was my intention to make sure they understood how words can be manipulated to sway our opinions and known facts about an important issue. There are so many examples of this in news sources today that we must be ever vigilant about what is written or said. One of the more blatant examples is that there is no distinction between “legal” and “Illegal” when speaking of immigrants. If I were being placed in a class of people who break laws, I would loudly denounce this difference. And my students would have to explain, as a legal immigrant, why I didn’t want to be identified in this way. As for hamas and other groups such as this, they are terrorists. And the brainwashed generations of Arabs who support jihad and whose purpose in life is to kill all Jews and anyone else they consider an enemy are the chief supporters of this terrorism.
Sounds like you were or are an excellent teacher.
Great points! This is what they should be teaching at universities.
To talk to a Jew is a waste of time. They do not recognize universal morality. Why would you show pictures of dead Jewish babies and not reflect on the unecessary killing of tens of thousands of Palestian children? But creatures like Mr. Simon do not believe we goyim have a soul. We are barn animals only worthy of serving them. Israel is a terrorist state. Founded by terrorists and led by terrorists. But in tribal world they are the chosen people of God. To explain this to Mr. Simon is like explaining a microwave to a cat.
The AP reserves the word "terrorist" only for people who commit the most heinous of crimes, such as for people who use the wrong pronoun, for a person, or who disagree with leftists on political policy, and such.
Militants, right up there with mostly peaceful protests.
Why do you think that network is called See-BS?
Don't forget AP's use of "rebels" to describe patriots around the world defending their countries against takeovers by Communist dictators and the AP's use of "peace" to mean the absence of opposition to Communism. Prior to the internet, all of America's national news was filtered through AP and UPI, which were founded by news syndicate magnates E.W. Scripps and William Randolph Hearst ("Mr. Yellow Journalism").
And "far right" to describe anyone who opposes a Muslim takeover of their country