Sunday, June 30, 2019
A Man Who Moves Across A Space Then Disappears
Biden — speaking at fundraiser hosted by Seattle gay-rights leader — suggests that mocking “a gay waiter” was seen as OK just five years ago, leading to crowd objections, per pool report. pic.twitter.com/eu02HpAlq4
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Friday, June 28, 2019
Friday, Friday
Afternoon Thread
Gropey Joe
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Battle Cry
Pelosi tells her caucus they’re going to vote on the Senate border appropriations bill she’d objected to, but with a “Battle Cry as to how we go forward to protect children in a way that truly honors their dignity and worth.”
— Tanya Snyder (@TSnyderDC) June 27, 2019
Nerds
EXCLUSIVE: “I’m really so delighted, and I can’t believe I get a chance to be part of this,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon told Deadline last fall about joining the writers room of CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Picard series as an executive producer. The lifelong Star Trek fan has now been named showrunner of the Star Trek revival that is bringing Trek icon Patrick Stewart back into Federation space.
Better Things Are Not Possible
3. I’ve been through multiple health care fights, incl. the original Medicare for All with Ted Kennedy and of course ACA. I know what it takes to get reform passed- eliminating private insurance in favor of a government system is not politically possible. At least right now.
— Stephanie Cutter (@stefcutter) June 27, 2019
Everybody's gotta eat.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Fact Chucking
“Millions of Americans are forced to work two or three jobs just to survive.”
— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that nearly 8 million people hold more than one job. But most of those extra jobs are part time, not full time. And the “millions” of people amount to just 5 percent of Americans with jobs. So that means 95 percent of workers are not working two or three jobs “just to survive,” making this a misleading statement.
EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS in prize money to anyone who can actually explain how "this is a misleading statement."
Let's Get Drunk And Fight
Of course alcohol is part of that story, but when is the last time you saw an actual bar fight? I actually did see them frequently as a young person. Sure that was college, booze, etc., but still.
Test the entire National Security Community for lead poisoning. Pretty sure I know what you'll find.
The F-35 Gotta Eat
And if you want to help poor people, the place to start is making the policies which do more directly benefit them less onerous. Fewer bureaucratic hurdles. Make them more...universal... even.
The Courts
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Your Moment Of Zen
...I had no idea David Gregory is only 49*. wtf
*48 his blessed birthday this year has not yet arrived!
The Best People
BREAKING: Trump's chief of protocol, Ambassador Sean Lawler, pulled off the job just ahead of G20 summit amid allegations of discrimination and harassment, officials tell @NBCNews. Full story coming from NBC
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) June 25, 2019
"Duncans are bad" Is A Good Rule Of Thumb
Federal prosecutors have accused Rep. Duncan Hunter of improperly using campaign funds to pursue numerous romantic affairs with congressional aides and lobbyists, according to a new court filing late Monday night..
The Justice Department alleged that Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife Margaret Hunter illegally diverted $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use, including to fund lavish vacations and their children’s school tuition. Monday’s court filings also spell out allegations that Hunter routinely used campaign funds to pay for Ubers, bar tabs, hotel rooms and other expenses to fund at least five extramarital relationships
Steve Dunleavy Is Dead
I'm not normally one to speak ill of the dead right away, but waking up to a couple of more generous than etiquette requires tributes to the great man pissed me off.
It isn't only the bad act he should be remembered for, but he was the primary "national journalist" behind the successful release of Wayne DuMond, a rapist and child molester who, after release, went on to rape another woman and murder her.
And then he raped and murdered a woman and, well, bygones.
But What If The Voters Approve Of Putting Children In Cages
Monday, June 24, 2019
Hair Metal
The great Drag Freakout of 2019 has been interesting to watch. Wait until they hear about the Christmas family favorite in England - Panto.
Stupid Shithead Of The Day
The abortion rate in Delaware fell by A THIRD (32%) with NO change in access to abortion services. How? Better access to contraception. Surely something Left and Right could agree on? https://t.co/Q8N1d7ivPB #FamilyPlanning
— Richard V. Reeves (@RichardvReeves) June 24, 2019
Yes the left and the right would agree if only the right would agree. I am a highly paid Brookings Man who pretends not to know anything about the conservative movement.
What Is Journalism
Morning Thread
Sunday, June 23, 2019
What's It Going To Take
Summer Fundraising Funstravaganza Day...um... 3?
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We've A Sight To Make You Drool
Must be nice for it all to just not matter.
...adding, often when talking politics and journalism "journalist" becomes shorthand for "political journalist." Look, the people doing deep investigative stuff, even about politicians, are not "political journalists." People whose anonymous sources are genuine whistleblowers and not just shittalkers or people laundering the official line through "anonymity" are not "political journalists."
Of course there are many good journalists. They just mostly aren't the types you see talking politics on the teevee inbetween writing up their text messages from someone whose name rhymes with "Hope Hicks."
The ones who think that what really matters is the Royal Court Drama. Those are the "political journalists."
"We" Did Our Part
They don't have infinite power, but they have a lot more power than "we" do.
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Nothing Really Matters
There's something a bit Gen X about our political-industrial complex. They aren't all Gen X, of course, but the basic ethos that it's uncool to actually care, and that anyone who supposedly does is just pretending is pervasive.
And yes of course there are many genuine dogooders and people who get into all aspects of "the business" for do-gooding. But the culture does not reward that.
How About The Crimes Against Humanity Then?
Dems don't have infinite power, but they have to use the power that they have, and have to stop looking for the hall monitors - Mueller, Morning Joseph, some judge somewhere, some magical force of public opinion - to solve their problems.
Fine give Trump a Mulligan on the past crimes, or let him give himself one as he tends to do. How about the current ones?
Friday, June 21, 2019
Happy Hour Thread
I miss the calm days of the Bush administration.
Do Evil
All Blown Up
A series of explosions ripped through a refinery in South Philadelphia early Friday, lighting up the night sky and triggering a massive fire.
...more
Summer Fundraising Funstravangza!
What this blog does, or at least what it is for, has changed over time. Probably much more about keeping a community together than any particular smart thing I have to say. A lot more competition in the "liberal asshole" space on the internet, which is a good thing! Smarter people than me. Still we have a bit of fun here.
Consider a donation/contribution/subscription/screw you zuckerberg whatever you want to call it. If not, another exciting post will appear shortly.
Support this site!
The Threat Of Iran
The right response from Dems in power and presidential wannabees is "this is fucking stupid do not do this." Not "oh the president needs to go to Congress." Or "oh President Trump is not the *right man* to run a war" which he isn't but if a war can just wait until he's out of office than maybe we don't need war?
What's Another War
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Free Speech Grifters
It’s not just the IDW itself: Some of its key popularizers also get Koch funding. Bari Weiss and The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf—who has been one of the most visible defenders of Peterson in the mainstream media—have both received cash prizes from the Koch-funded Reason Foundation, where David Koch himself sits on the board of trustees. And remember “The Coddling of the American Mind”? Well, one of its co-authors, Greg Lukianoff, is the head of that campus free-speech watchdog, FIRE. That organization is funded, of course, by the Koch brothers (for good measure, the Charles Koch Institute also did a laudatory write-up of the piece).
The Atlantic is perhaps the worst offender. Last year it launched “The Speech Wars,” a reporting project that seeks “to understand where free speech is in danger and where it has been abused.” Even though the magazine had just been bought by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs and was seeing all-time high circulation and web traffic, The Atlantic solicited funding for the project from none other than the Charles Koch Foundation (the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Fetzer Institute are also underwriters).
When I asked The Atlantic for comment, a spokesperson replied that “editorial control for this series—as with every piece of journalism we create—rests solely with The Atlantic.” But the magazine refused to deny that reporters and editors with “The Speech Wars” are ever in contact with the Koch Foundation. Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg did not respond to my request for comment, and The Atlantic has not disclosed how much money it has received from the Koch Foundation.
...sorry, link fixed.
Chang chang changitty chang sha-bop
But such mediagenic theatrics concealed a far more momentous question: Had Trump and the Democratic leadership really been at war? Democrats first outsourced their attempts to fight Donald Trump to the office of Robert Mueller. Then, given a House majority with which to investigate the administration, they found themselves totally stymied by Trump’s stonewalling. How should they deal with an administration that refuses to answer subpoenas, whose White House counsel argues Congress has no constitutional right at all to investigate a president or his administration? Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been answering that question pretty consistently: Wait for the Trump administration to go away on its own.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
But Houston!
So they have same land use laws as everywhere else - large lot zoning, setback requirements, minimum parking etc. And they even have many of the same zoning features in that while the guvmint doesn't tell you that you can't operate most businesses out of your home, your HOA does. Potato, Potahto.
Suburbs Of Nowhere
And the inner ring suburbs are generally even worse (Obviously this is a big country and not all cities are the same so generalizations are necessary. "Inner ring suburbs" are more of an older city thing, as those cities stopped annexing their streetcar suburbs.) They tend to be a bit denser, too, but with as much or more of a tendency towards downzoning. Not a lot of new housing of any type being built. Then you get the actual suburbs which tend to be locked in amber, at least residentially, once they are somewhat built out.
That leaves building on the fringes, which happened during the glorious aughts, but the fringes (exurbs) are suburbs of suburbs, and detached from things like cultural institutions, employment centers, and civilization generally. They can be close to nature, which is an amenity, but they're not exactly rural or small towny, just big box stores and strip malls and a very long way from the baseball stadium.
So where do we put the people? Often people want to say "declining rust belt cities" or similar. And, ok, sure, but declining places have declining housing stocks and no jobs. That's why they're declining. And the same policies (or worse) than the more booming places.
America's Worst Democratic Presidential Candidates
Aside from being part of the regular "but the Democrats were the real racists!" taunt (yes, guys, we know), there's rarely a reckoning with just how amazingly racist these people were. I don't care what party they were of (at the national level many of them eventually became Republicans, some became somewhat repentant and improved Democrats, and local and state politics is always a bit more complicated), but we spent years just yelling "but states' rights" instead of acknowledging their words (let alone deeds).
They were *really really really racist*. Racism was central to the whole political project. It wasn't hidden behind bullshit legal philosophy or minor policy differences, it was right out there in the front. I imagine some of it would shock even our new alt-right friends.
It's one thing to say a few kind words about Strom Thurmond at his funeral. I get that sort of thing. But there's no reason to exhume these monsters to highlight what a getalong guy you are. Or maybe there is?
Don't Kill Me Bro
And, yes, as it says in the link, a big problem is that SUVs kill people because of the way they are designed.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Who Put This Thing Together
Federal authorities Tuesday seized more than 16 tons of cocaine from a cargo ship docked at the Port of Philadelphia — a massive haul they estimated was worth more than $1 billion and described as one of the largest busts in the nation’s history.
Boris
How will Britain’s political system cope with a leader whose words bear so little relation, not just to his actions, but to the words he will say tomorrow? We don’t have to imagine. Donald Trump is in the White House.
In some ways, this weaponisation of bad behaviour has proved an excellent political strategy. In his presidency, as in his campaign, Trump has been graded on a very flattering curve. Silvio Berlusconi was Italy’s most durable prime minister in decades. And Johnson himself has repeatedly survived things that would have destroyed anyone else in British public life.
Vetting
In the months that he has served as President Trump’s acting secretary of defense, Patrick Shanahan has worked to keep domestic violence incidents within his family private. His wife was arrested after punching him in the face, and his son was arrested after a separate incident in which he hit his mother with a baseball bat. Public disclosure of the nearly decade-old episodes would re-traumatize his young adult children, Shanahan said.
Also Nobody Watches Your Speeches On CSPAN
In recent weeks, Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has briefed fellow House leaders in private meetings about focus groups the committee commissioned in three key political battlegrounds. The upshot, according to four Democrats familiar with the findings, is that the public’s impression of the new House majority is bound up in its battles with Trump, not in its policy agenda.You don't have to pass bills to tell voters what you'd like to do. There's only one way to grab the mic and that's doing serious oversight hearings.
Nomnomnom
The good news, we're rebuilding it here. We're building America. Everything's made in the U.S.A., and it's great. But I-- you know, it's one of those things. I have to rebuild the military. Otherwise, I mean, what's more important-- than our military? Especially in these days where you have such problems. And I think the stronger we are, the less likely it is that we use the military. We're close to being very, very strong. We're close to being stronger by far than ever before. But I took over a totally depleted military. And you know that. The planes were old. They talk about the grandchildren of pilots were flying the same plane as they were flying many years ago. We have beautiful new F-35s and F-18s and new-- rifles, new uniforms. In the case of the Army, we have the new uniforms that everybody's wanted for years. They're an expensive-- job. You know, you-- it doesn't sound it, but it is. And-- we have-- we have spent a tremendous amount of money on our military. And we did the right thing because we had to rebuild our military.
Monday, June 17, 2019
Near Boston
There are a lot of issues here, and not just the one I raised, but "what happens at Harvard" is the dumbest thing we talk about usually and I apologize for contributing.
Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet
It wasn't so different.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Sunday Night
One free subscription to whoever figures out why!
Freedum
Elder Care
It's Ok If Vegetarians Aren't Perfect
Many vegetarians eat a piece of chicken occasionally. Let it go. Eating is a fundamental human need and whatever choices people make they don't want to be asked about them constantly.
I am not a vegetarian.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Brexited
Summer In The City
Morning Thread
Friday, June 14, 2019
Solidarity
The flip side is that it was and is a thing to say that WE CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT DEMOCRATS. Yelling at them is always the role of activists. You know who really complains about Democrats? The rich people they talk to every day.
Wow They Are Bad
I still maintain that the Bush years were worse (so far) for many reasons, but they did at least fake running a real administration. Criticizing that required a bit of nuance. Sometimes at least. But now it's just LOL DONALD TRUMP IS PRESIDENT DID YOU SEE HIM ON TEEVEE.
Democracy. Whisky. Sexy.
Trump is the symptom of the Republican Party’s turn toward illiberalism, not its cause; even before Trump ran for president, some Republican elites were plotting to diminish the political power of minorities and enhance those of white voters. Whatever their disagreements, the leaders of both the populist and establishment wings of the Republican Party have concluded that they cannot be allowed to lose power simply because a majority of American voters do not wish them to wield it. The president speaks of imprisoning his political rivals and his voters cheer. He valorizes political violence and his followers take note. His attorneys argue both that Congress cannot investigate criminality in the executive branch, and that the president has the authority to end criminal investigations into himself or his allies, while ordering them against his opponents. Trump’s supporters exult in the head of state attacking private citizens who demand equal rights, then wave the banner of free speech exclusively in defense of expressions of bigotry. In the end, Trump will dictate the course of his party on these matters, and his base will do whatever he gives them license to do. Writers like French and Ahmari cannot shape this course, they can only argue about it after the fact.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Congratulations Sarah Sanders
Pay Me
Infrastructure Week
House Democrats are poised to launch an investigation into the Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao over allegations that she used her position to advance the interests of her family and her husband’s political career.There wasn't even ever an infrastructure week.
But even as some members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee say such a probe is inevitable, other Democratic lawmakers have expressed doubts about whether the current evidence is sufficient to warrant it, according to three lawmakers with direct knowledge of the conversations that have taken place over the last several days. And some lawmakers who spoke to The Daily Beast expressed unease—at this time—to call out the secretary for fear that doing so would impact their ability to advance infrastructure projects in their home districts.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Joe the Biden
Joe Biden meets a voter’s granddaughter in an Iowa coffee shop and asks her age. She says she’s 13. He addresses her brothers. “You’ve got one job here, keep the guys away from your sister.”
— Liz Goodwin (@lizcgoodwin) June 12, 2019
Maybe Jailed Toddlers..Something Else?
I don't buy the idea that Democrats are just bad at "the game." I mean, I do, but it doesn't excuse the press who will get very mad if you tell them they are just pawns in that game. And then, very savvily, explain the game to you. But they are bad at it.
Stolen Valor
Searching Twitter for the words “licence fee” and “veterans” is asking for trouble, obviously – but it nonetheless brings up a set of depressingly common, and depressingly predictable, sentiments. “D-Day veterans will now have to pay a licence fee to fund shite such as local BBC radio,” says “full-time binge-drinker” Rob. “The BBC propaganda machine,” writes James, whose love of Chelsea F.C. is matched only by his love of his wife and daughter, “has hit the wall today by trying to charge veterans the licence fee.”
Except – that’s not what’s actually happening at all, is it? The numbers don’t add up.
Today’s 75-year-olds were born in 1943-4. Even at a time of total war, toddlers were not being conscripted, kitted up and sent to help out at D-day. To have seen combat during the war you’d need to have been born in 1927 or earlier, making you at least 91 today. And while there were a few younger boys who lied about their age in the hope of seeing action, that a) was unusual, and b) shifts the age bar to about 88 at the lowest.
#ofcoursenotallboomers
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Curiosity Killed The Pundit
No Joe
Biden at a fundraiser tonight, on his desire to work with the Republican Party post Trump.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) June 11, 2019
“With Trump gone you’re going to begin to see things change. Because these folks know better. They know this isn’t what they’re supposed to be doing."
Pro-Choice Squishes
Monday, June 10, 2019
Sorry This Blog Sucks So Much
The Best Of Us
Gerontocracy
This is our problem.
What A Story
Sunday, June 09, 2019
Love To Give Directions
Saturday, June 08, 2019
Public Accommodation
And the problem isn't that someone might not rent to you. It's not knowing if they will. Not knowing that when you walk into a store if you will be served. It is a concern and holy crap what a concern.
Maggie Haberman once told us that Donald Trump was a friend to LGTB. This is why I tell you to cancel your New York Times subscriptions. Donald Trump has turned trans people into unpersons. I am not as dumb as I used to be. I have friends who are trans. I know "I have trans friends" is a joke like "I have black friends" but I have more trans friends than black friends.
If You Lift Your Eyes I Am Your Brother
Friday, June 07, 2019
Do You Even Have Friends
Learn to generalize.
Freedom
And Philly, outside of a narrow bit, is not "Manhattan." It's mostly 2 and 3 story row houses. You don't need skyscrapers to have enough density for walkability.
LOL Nothing Matters
Thursday, June 06, 2019
D-Day
Wednesday, June 05, 2019
It's A Competition
It just is not the case that if you mention that bad things TRUMP WILL WIN. It doesn't work that way.
Because of the internet and how they are covered more people are in tune with the minutiae of politics than they used to be. But, really, while now we have people yelling at strangers on the internet, the actual candidates seem to be much nicer to each other than they used to be. 1992? Nasty primary. 2000? Nasty primary. 2004? Nasty primary. 2008? Not actually that nasty. 2016? Not nasty at all.
Starlink
Dealing with the effects of modern technology is nothing new for those who collect light for a living. But Starlink’s end goal is the real problem. Currently, some 200 to 400 satellites orbit about 373 miles above our heads, the same altitude for the Starlink constellation. That’s bad enough for astronomical data. And Musk would like to turn that 400 into about 12,000.
In true Silicon Valley fashion, Musk and his team didn’t consult with any scientists, astronomers or ethicists about what launching 12,000 satellites into space might mean. “The fact that these new objects in the sky were so bright, and brighter than many of the stars, was just quite terrifying, actually,” says Jessie Christianson, a scientist at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology. “Basically, what it means is that some fraction of ground-based astronomy images, especially wide field surveys, will be not as useful for science.”
Other Countries Are Foreign
But foreigners are just people and many Americans tend to think of them as Martians, instead of just people who grew up with somewhat different cultural backgrounds, traditions, customs, and expectations.
Better Things Are Not Possible
One consistent message of this dumb blog which I think has held up pretty well is that even if your policy agenda is fairly moderate, "not quite as evil as the other guys" is not really a winning message. But in addition, after 40 years of "the best we can do, mostly, is try to slow the backslide into Reagan hell" as the moderate policy agenda, that isn't good enough either, especially as we see how quickly most of the few genuine gains can just be erased.
Conservatives don't really hide who they are and what they want, even if David Brooks tries to do that for them. What they want is bad and it isn't enough to say "whoa, slow down there.'
Tuesday, June 04, 2019
The Kids Today
It's a useful "idiot" tell, as in, if this is your interest, you are an idiot. Or paid, of course.
Catching the Car
Monday, June 03, 2019
Look Like You're Doing Something
One might argue, in response, that a sensible executive branch would understand that lowering drug prices would be politically advantageous. And this insight, in turn, might lead some hypothetical Republican secretary of Health and Human Services to vigorously negotiate the prices of considerably more than the 25 drugs mandated by law. Alas, we must again remind any readers given to policy transports driven by logic and sound political calculation that the current, non-hypothetical HHS secretary is a former pharmaceutical industry executive. We must also gingerly remind said readers that all available evidence from the last 40 or so years of hard-right governance in Washington shows that Republicans will always place industry profits above their constituents’ needs. In short, the Republicans who currently have power in the White House and the U.S. Senate have not actually done any of the obvious things they could do to reduce drug prices, and can reliably be expected to stay the course, as they like to say.
Yet the Democratic speaker of the House is blithely proceeding as though none of these obvious and crushing truths have any purchase in the debate over health care policy. The Pelosi proposal doesn’t even seem to have any safeguards in place to prevent HHS from “negotiating” pharma-friendly high prices (which, again, is easy to imagine any Republican administration, and especially this Republican administration, doing). And in the event of a stalemate over prices, the negotiations only get sent to OMB (which has no experience regulating markets of any kind) if the pharma company in question and government regulators can’t come to an accord over a modified price. The government is thus free to continue doing nothing in the far more likely scenario of both parties showing that they can agree on an exorbitant one.
Foxy
And even in the Obama years, when its ridiculousness became increasingly apparent, it was possible to see it as at least being in opposition to the guy in charge, Obama, which whatever its faults at least had a punching up aspect to it.
Now it's 100% clear that it isn't just conservative, or Republican supporting, but an entirely manufactured alternative universe that rage junkie seniors spend their days hooked on, impervious to any outside information. Also there are a lot of them and they vote and despite what you hear tend to hate their kids and grandkids.
Nothing Really Matters, Anyone Can See
Of course this doesn't apply to all journalists. Some are doing that noble investigative reporting about politics which they all supposedly, but mostly don't, aspire to. The court intrigue journalists and the politics as theater criticism journalists and Chris Cillizza and oh God Chris Cillizza-wannabes.
But of course they just want to be on TMZ-for-politics. If you grow up thinking "I want to be a political journalist!" your model isn't "All The President's Men" or whatever, it's CNN gabfests. That could be me!
America's Worst Editorial Page Editor
I think we’ve been proved right. But that is precisely the point: We thought his unfitness was evident before he was elected, and Americans chose him anyway. (No, he didn’t win the popular vote. But he won.) He is endangering the future of the planet — but we knew he was a climate denier. He ripped children from their parents at the border — but his racism and anti-immigrant animus, like his contempt for the Constitution, were no secrets.
To impeach him now for what the electorate welcomed or was willing to overlook isn’t the democratic response. The right response is to defeat him in 2020.
"We knew he would grab'em by the pussy when we voted for him, so the multiple on camera rapes are just not grounds for impeachment" - Fred Hiatt, basically.
Vanity in the UK
Why is he going there? Weird.
Sunday, June 02, 2019
The Confidence Of A Successful Mediocre White Man
Better Things To Do
Only a tiny fraction of survey respondents said that their town had a “clear plan” for autonomous vehicles, and just 36 percent of the largest cities have general plans that mention AVs. Even fewer, 24 percent, have issued separate strategies for maximizing the possible safety and congestion-easing benefits of self-driving cars.
Ban cars. There's your answer.
Cloudy John
Like most professions, journalism is not good about policing its own. Unlike many professions, journalists often pretend they are. Something about truthtelling blahblahblah.