It's a magician's trick. A huge spectacle of a challenge to what's normal and decent and expected to get people focused in uproar and protest, to mask the change or move in defiance of law and custom going on underhand.

"Look! Look here!" *Shiny object=madly waving colorful silk kerchief* of an appalling objectionable action in one hand, and *dastardly mean and unlawful horribleness* close to the vest while people are distracted by objecting and protesting the shiny object.

I don't think the mainstream media is super trustworthy, but I think the bias is towards sensationalism rather than partisanship.

Well yeah, but the fringe media is worse on both counts, so...

Mainstream media, to varying degrees, is beholden to their corporate masters.

Corporate masters with the ability to pay you whether or not your story goes viral, very little time or interest in interfering in the day-to-day operations of reporters, teams of people officially tasked with maintaining the journalistic standards of the brand, and professional fact checkers verifying that your story isn't bullshit before you publish it.

Vs your average anti-MSM blogger whose main concern is either (a) getting enough clicks to keep him/her from needing a day job or (b) promoting a deeply held personal ideology which may or may not ever align with actual reality.

So if you could only fix two things that are going on at the federal level right now, what would they be?

Steve Bannon and Betsy DeVos. And Jeff Sessions and the Supreme Court.

Ok, so I guess my main two things are actually Trump and Putin and lack of a time machine back to Nov 7th?

I had a colleague say that she didn't know who Steve Bannon was. I let another colleague gently (and accurately) explain who he is, and did not leap a cubicle wall frothing at the mouth. I get a gold star, right?

Gold star!

What I would give for a time machine with a 6 month range. But how exactly to wield it? Hm.

What I would give for a time machine with a 6 month range. But how exactly to wield it? Hm.

With a bit more range you could go back to Hillary starting at the State Department and tell her that carrying two phones will be worth the bother.

No. If it wasn't the emails, it would have been something else. Because it was never about the emails. It was always about rampant, virulent misogyny.

No. If it wasn't the emails, it would have been something else. Because it was never about the emails. It was always about rampant, virulent misogyny.

I want this shouted from rooftops. It would always have been something. And the hypocrisy we see now over private servers, private accounts, unsecured android to post to twitter ALL point to this.

If I could time travel and stop time, I'd take figure out how to neutralize and discredit Bannon in some horrible public humiliation (ball gag, sexually explicit, something extremely public where he looks like a cuck).

Taking a wide stance in an airport bathroom?

Ok, so I guess my main two things are actually Trump and Putin and lack of a time machine back to Nov 7th?

This is me.

I want this shouted from rooftops. It would always have been something. And the hypocrisy we see now over private servers, private accounts, unsecured android to post to twitter ALL point to this.

It's heartbreaking to me that I believed -- deeply, without doubt -- that this was not the case pre-election.