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Welcome to  Stop the Presses , a weekly newsletter about how right-wing extremism has exploited the weaknesses in American journalism and what we can do about it. Media must cover — not cover up — Trump’s unfitness The president benefits from the failure to focus on his broken brain Mark Jacob Oct 27 People in the media are journalists, not psychologists. They’re used to covering facts, not fantasies. So they don’t know how to react when Donald Trump says or does something that’s mentally deranged. Too often, they try to fit it into a rational frame of reference even though it’s irrational. This sanewashing has been going on for a long time, and   I’ve written about it before . But it keeps getting worse, and the mainstream media keep making the same mistakes in their coverage of the King of Crazytown. Trump’s bonkers behavior is so unrelenting that each new incident seems to push an old one out of our memory. But let’s remember that just over a week ago, Trump posted an AI vi...

  Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together.   Watch now   Lies, Incompetence & National Security A recording from Steven Beschloss's live video Steven Beschloss  and  Mark Jacob Mar 26   Thank you to everyone  who joined my live video conversation with  Mark Jacob  today. Here’s the recording of our talk which focused on the good work of Jeffrey Goldberg at  The Atlantic  to expose the egregious breach of national security by using Signal, an insecure communications channel, to discuss an imminent bombing attack in Yemen. That was the starting point for Mark and I to address the regime’s lies that this was not classified information and to attack Goldberg’s credibility. Both are part of the typical Trump approach to attack the journalist, lie about what really happened, never apologize and never take a...

  Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together.   Watch now   The Trump Regime Retreats on Promised Agent Orange Cleanup Reckless funding cut in Vietnam risks environmental catastrophe and signals America's waning global influence Steven Beschloss Mar 18   The Trump regime’s reckless   mishandling  of a promised Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam is the topic of  a well-reported ProPublica story  that Mark Jacob and I highlight in a new  On-Target  video . This deadly contamination dates back to the spraying of 10 million gallons of the toxic chemical during the Vietnam War, leading to the deaths of over 300,000 U.S. veterans and over 400,000 Vietnamese people. The cleanup of still highly poisoned soil has been a critical component to building a positive relationship with Vietnam and securing annual commerce of $160 ...

  Hey, it's Mark Jacob with COURIER.  Last week,  The New York Times  ran a story treating Elon Musk like a reformer, claiming his goal is to fight “waste, fraud, and abuse.” But let’s be real—Musk is consolidating power, dodging accountability, and using his influence to secure massive government contracts, and the media is letting him get away with it. This week, I’m breaking down how mainstream outlets like  The New York Times  and  Politico  keep falling for right-wing spin—repeating past mistakes and letting Trump and his allies off the hook. Take a moment to read my piece below—and if you support journalism that calls out the media’s failures, chip in $25 or whatever you can to help COURIER keep publishing these critical stories. When the media take MAGA liars at their word Whether it’s cluelessness or complicity, it’s toxic to democracy. There was a remarkable statement in a recent New York Times story about tensions between Elon ...

  Dispatches of alarm and hope, on politics and society, democracy and justice. Because silence is not an option. We may read and write alone, but we drive change together.   Watch now   Trump’s Retribution Targets Law Firms This is the regime's latest act of aggression intended to suppress free speech and undermine our justice system. The response requires courage. Steven Beschloss Mar 12 In our “On-Target” video series today , Mark Jacob and I discuss a strong Reuters story about  the Trump regime abusing its power  to punish law firms that have represented Hillary Clinton (Perkins Coie) and former special counsel Jack Smith (Covington & Burling). Security clearances have been yanked. Access to federal buildings has been restricted. They are also trying to end these firms’ federal contracts. One likely outcome: A growing number of law firms, fearing retribution, will refuse to take on clients whose political viewpoints oppose Donald Trump. A legal system ...