The Original Sin of Media Omission

And derelict of duty.

Conservative media will feast on this book and compliant dems will demur or defend. Meanwhile, there is not enough room to cite all the books that trump has banned.

#DSOT loves books.  In our Zoomchats, we’ve chatted with Kent Oliver, a Senior Fellow with the American Library Association, about the deleterious effects of book banning, Listen to our Convo with Kent Oliver Here, and (shop locally) a young entrepreneur who is making certain that books get read and stay off the landfills. Listen to our Zoomchat with Carter of Local Book Pick-Up. 

Which is not to say that one needs to read indiscriminately.  One of the great features about libraries, intertwined and juxtaposed with heartbreaking death threats against their staff and possible loss of funding, is that no one is forced to read or borrow specific books.  A cornucopia of choices is available. Until, that is, books get taken off the shelves.   

#DSOT doesn't do product placement but we can promote not buying something- all week and not just on a Tuesday. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson have a new book titled Original Sin.  It is about former President Biden's mental decline during his presidency.

Note: I don't know exactly what is presented since I refuse to read it.  But much of the contents have oozed out. 

Once upon a time, reporters and the media set forth news as it was actually happening. I think that is the very definition of journalism.   Anyway Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson have written  about the penultimate and end of the Biden presidency.  In a book.  Costing more than 30 dollars but will be discounted and remaindered shortly- IMHO..

Wow, too bad these two had no way of conveying this information earlier.  Wait, one is an anchor on CNN and the other writes for Axios.  Hmm, not muzzled like a handmaiden.  (By the way, that was a reference to an excellent book by Margaret Atwood. Or just watch what is happening in places like Texas, Florida and Trump America.)

In no particular order.  Biden is no longer president.  And the current one clearly has several mental issues and is manifesting massive decline. Not to mention  a horrific, cruel and illegal policy agenda.  It would be far more useful if the media would focus on that. Much more relevant and beneficial to our country.

The book and its dated contents are a distraction.  Biden is fighting aggressive cancer.  Meanwhile Trump is lecturing us and the Saudis about groceries.  His campaign speeches fluttered like a butterfly that he won't protect and enlightened us all about the size of a former golfer's genitalia. To just cite two examples.  Listen to anything he says. And make it make sense. 

Please do not confuse greed, ignorance, and incompetence for dementia.  Because those problems are threaded throughout the actions of this current administration. To wit, all the illegal and unconstitutional actions taken every day.

To be fair when Trump says he doesn't know if he has to uphold the constitution, that could be supreme stupidity and not dangerous cognitive issues.  

That is why, perhaps, Biden's decline was more stark than Trump's.  The latter has said crazy, cruel, untrue and hate-filled statements for a decade now. Or more.  We are just inured to it. Or the media ignores it.

Slight but related digression.  It is clear that this administration doesn't know nor care about laws/courts/the constitution but to be clear the president has no power over the Library of Congress.  The clue is in the name of the institution.  Trump fired Carla Hayden, an alumni leader of the great Enoch Pratt Library System in Baltimore City.  I guess her crimes were being a woman of color/competent in her job and mission as well as respecting all people, books and learning.

Back to this book.  The title does some heavy lifting.  Original Sin?  Really? Staff protecting their boss is somehow worse than Trump illegally sending people en masse to tortuous prisons. Or branding entire populations as violent or in gangs. I can't list all his sins since January 20- but just look online.  Tapper probably won't be telling us, he is too busy hawking his book.

And check the growing number of lawsuits against the administration in addition to the court rulings being ignored.

Question, can a scenario in which a president with issues is being protected be called original? Or does this happens all the time? From illnesses to mistresses and uncontrolled drinking. Um secret bombings, treason and other cases of dementia.  All hidden from the country at the time.

Could Harris have won the presidency?  Hard to know.  That is a question for another time.  Unlike so many other countries, we have never elected a woman leader.  Added to the fact that she is a woman of color.  But what is clear is that most of the blame falls on the media.  Folks like Tapper and Thompson.  Since a free press, loved by Thomas Jefferson, is now a business, Trump has been good for clicks.  In 2016 he received billions of dollars worth of free exposure by outlets hungry for a bigger audience or readership.  Too little has been set forth about Trump's history of failure, crimes and cruelty.

And in the last campaign, virtually no mentioning of his convictions, crimes, failures, lies, past administration and trials.  Too much of the latter was prevented by a weak DOJ and a disgraceful majority on the Supreme Court. The media, which now extends to influencers and actually anyone with a microphone together with the Internet, gave Trump basically a free ride last time. They let him and his campaign set the story and spent very little attention on Project 2025 which is unfurling in real time.  That is a sin, if unfortunately not a very original one.

Don't wait until Tuesday to not buy this book. Find a new author that has an interesting voice.  Available at a local bookstore.  Perhaps instead donate the money to a group or organization that is doing work now, in the present.  Do not be distracted  by yesterday when today is a crisis.  Find sources to keep you informed.  Never stop fighting and demanding change.  Or read whatever you like/ but maintain hope and focus on what is important.

No, do not ever ban books.  But that doesn't mean we can't pick and choose which ones to buy, borrow and read.

#DSOT