G ood grief! Gordon Gecko’s stark 1987 credo,*
R everberating through Murdoch’s venal
E mpire, has successfully, seriously
E ndangered our democracy via grifter
D Trump, backed by merry Fox Malevolents.
I t’s hard to fathom the destruction wrought by
S uch simple evil: deliberate lies delivered as “news”—
G enerated by fear of falling stock prices and/
O r viewers who can’t handle the truth.
O kay: As evidence reveals the cold mendacity,
D oes Dominion’s powerful, persuasive suit
R estore our election integrity’s sovereignty?
E ven as the story spreads, laws to suppress
V oting burble up from legislators unwilling to
I nvite public scrutiny of their positions.
S unlight may disinfect some of the damage
I nflicted on hapless voters less die-hard
T han those with baked-in red-hatted belief.
E ventually, Voters—not greed—must have
D ominion as democracy’s decision-makers.
*NOTE: “Greed is good” was the byword of the reptilian stock broker–depicted by actor Michael Douglas in an Oscar-winning performance in the 1987 film “Wall Street.” The director, Oliver Stone, made a sequel–“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”–which appeared in 2010.
We’ve long known that despite the Fox network’s pretense to be a “news channel,” it is not burdened by the facts. Even so, the disclosures from the lawsuit filed by Dominion, the voting machine company that Fox publicly maligned as part of its campaign to persuade Americans that Donald Trump won the 2020 election, are stunning.
A handful of people at Fox privately acknowledged that such assertions were “ludicrous” and “mind blowingly nuts,” but continually reinforced the demonic claims and false narrative of Donald Trump to their large audience. They did so, texts and emails confirm, because they were afraid of losing that audience–and their company stock price was dropping fast.
I believe the duplicity of this small group has so torn our national fabric that they are all deserving of far worse punishment than the $1.6 billion settlement Dominion is demanding.
Yet the leading Putin-echoing liar, Tucker Carlson–having received thousands of hours of the January 6th Committee’s tapes from the most feckless (now traitorous) Speaker the House of Representatives has probably ever known–is currently engaged in an attempt to reverse America’s perception of the Insurrection.
Greed may be endemic in humankind everywhere, but “greed is good” is incompatible with American democracy. The Foxers clearly know that’s the truth-–and they just as clearly don’t care.
Is there nothing that can be done to stop them?
Annie
annieasksyou... 
I think the problem is less the duplicity of a small group than the credulity of its large audience. When foolish people elect irresponsible representatives, one can’t expect a good outcome. The latter problem is likely the more difficult.
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Sure, William. But nobody elected this cadre at Fox, who have an inordinate amount of control over the way a substantial proportion of Americans view reality. Perhaps we need some type of fairness doctrine. I realize this problem is broader than Fox, includes social media, etc, but Fox has just been caught with its duplicity in plain sight, and the damage is so great that I’m searching for feasible approaches.
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I think many Americans’ view of reality is colored by fear of government, which far predates social media or Fox. This fear is easily enflamed. One might hope that Democrat’s efforts to spread prosperity more widely will diminish fear government, if this program succeeds and endures.
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I agree, William. Unfortunately, the fear of government probably dates back to quarrels among our nation’s founders—and Ronald Reagan’s saying how scary are the words “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help” resonated because of that fear. I recall that famous outburst from an anti-government guy: “Keep the government’s hands off my Medicare.” Biden’s determination to truly use government to improve people’s lives is bearing fruit, and we must hope that a substantial number of people recognize that’s happening despite all the noise to the contrary.
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These people are demonic.
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Right, Neil. I wonder if the Dominion lawsuit—which has been called one of those rare First Amendment cases that may succeed in court—will shake loose the demons at all.
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It may shake them if they lose,
But they will still be Fox News,
Headed by Rupert Murdoch, a man who
Can well afford to lose a billion or two.
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I think you’re half right, mistermuse:
They may be Fox, without the “News.”
And if the court makes Murdoch pucker,
Perhaps with wrath he’ll displace Tucker!
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Wonderful post Annie
Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you, Susie. Much appreciated!
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Is FOX owned by Trump? I always wondered, since the two appear to be bosom buddies.
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It’s an interesting question. Obviously, there’s been a lot of mutually beneficial cashing in. Lately, however, it seems that Fox is following the big donor Republicans to DeSantis, a very scary man whose poor political skills I hope will prevent him from gaining the Republican nomination. A Fox “reporter” just covered the Trump administration’s deregulation policies vis-a-vis the Ohio train derailment crisis.
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Annie, nicely done. One thing we can do is spread the word and encourage people not to watch pseudo-news networks like this or get news from social media, unless you know the source has veracity. People are so ill-informed in our country, they do not pay attention to what is going on unless it is sensational, sports or entertainment related. So, my wager is many Fox News viewers do not know much about the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit nor the fact many at Fox, including the talking heads knew Trump made up the election fraud stuff.
If they ask you why they should not watch, share with them these court information documents and use the word “gaslighting.” Greed is a key reason as people threatened to leave, in part because Trump said they were not being fair to him. Fair to Trump is doing what he wants.
I recall the movie with Russell Crowe playing Roger Ailes written by a key person on Ailes’ team. Per the movie, he set up Fox News to tell people what they wanted to hear. He wanted a sugar coated conservative outlet that beat up on the opposition. He hired Hannity not because he was informed, but because he went after opposition guests. If Hannity beat up the guest, then the guest must be wrong and Hannity must be right.
I recall an expert guest who wrote a book about the life of Jesus which did not follow everything in the bible. The hostess followed Hannity’s lead and never let this guy talk. He was there only to be pounced upon. It was so bad he commented in the interview that she was not letting him speak.
So, as you note, this station has never been about accuracy. It has been about ratings and greed.
Keith
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Thank you, Keith. I’m sure you’re right that many Fox viewers don’t know about the Dominion suit and the lies they were fed by people who know better. ( I don’t refer to Fox as “Fox News” because for the most part, they aren’t delivering news.) I truly don’t know any people who talk about what they’ve learned from Fox, but if I did, I’m not sure I’d use the term “gaslighting.” Many Fox viewers like their approach of “owning the libs,” so telling them that Fox is playing with their minds might, I think, be a turnoff. But I’d love to be proven wrong, so if you have such conversations that help anyone see the light, please let me know.
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I think I told you my old crone story. She truly showed me a way to happiness. Her secret to happiness was to know what enough is. When I discovered enough I felt a huge burden lift. It allowed me to become more generous when dealing with others, to share my new abundance. It helped when diagnosed with ESKD to accept it and alter my lifestyle to better manage the disease. I believe somehow it has blunted the despair when I suffer a loss. A year ago my motorcycle was stolen, last Sunday they broke in again and stole the car. Thursday I swept the open space and secured the door with gratitude rather then remorse. I do not know this new person. Greed is a shackle binding us to the physical, limiting our vision to the present fearing to lose that which we cannot keep. Humanity is on the cusp I can feel it. Like MLK I can see the promised land and whether I make it or not I want my children to live there.
Kris wrote it but Janis sang it best “Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ hon’ if it ain’t free, no-no”
Word of the day since I can’t make a close anymore: Hyponatremia when you get to much of what you can’t do without.
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Your personal journey is impressive, Richard. I, too, feel that though there are plenty of dark clouds, we are moving in the right direction. I’m sorry to hear about your car. Have you gotten it back? And I hope you’re speaking metaphorically about hyponatremia!
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LOL I didn’t even report it missing, afraid they will bring it back. 🙂
Water the base for all life on earth will poison if too abundant.
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I understood the term and realized you were using it metaphorically, Richard. But based on what you’ve written about your health, it could also have been a factor in your past.
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“The warning message we sent the Russians was a calculated ambiguity that would be clearly understood.” Alexander Haig
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“Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has smelt “to much” stink in the judiciary. “If Judge Kacsmaryk can violate his oath, if the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court bless such a ruling as legitimate, we are going to see an affront to the Constitution. As Lincoln told his fellow Americans, the Supreme Court is not the Constitution. Neither is Judge Kacsmaryk. The Constitution and the rights it affords American women are what this country must defend. I’m here to say enough—and defend it.”
Enough might solve the “is it good or is it bad” question.
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If Kacsmaryk’s ruling results in a nationwide ban on abortion pills that have been approved by the FDA, we may well see some citizen activism in which people of all political preferences coalesce.
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What a terrific way to organize your appropriate sense of outrage about the latest proof of Fox’s hypocrisy and greed! I do not know what will stem the tide of billionaires who are using their money and power to influence our political discourse (and lack thereof), buy/control politicians and lobbyists, etc. etc. etc. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.
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Thanks so much, Will. Deep breath in; deep breath out, for sure!
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Excellent wordplay Annie. Sadly, I fear that growing numbers of Americans simply don’t care if people lie as long as those people hold the same opinions they do. You do what you have to get your way. I hope that I’m wrong.
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Of course, I, too, hope you’re wrong, Carol. Ever the worrying optimist, I like to think Dominion has set off a chain reaction against Fox—plus the House Ethic’s Committee’s unusually fast decision to investigate George Santos, the Democrats’ quick exposure of Jim Jordan’s “Weaponization” subcommittee’s shenanigans, and the imminent (!?) charges against the former guy combine to show some approaching sunlight now.
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