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Scott Jennings and other regular CNN Trump supporters make it almost impossible to watch their “panels.” It’s not that I can’t sit through arguments between conservatives and liberals on TV. There’s nothing new about that. But the Trump henchmen are such liars and rarely get any fact checking in real time and it distorts the truth in ways that are very destructive. George Conway called Jennings out in real time and it was glorious: Conway discussed this on Greg Sargent’s podcast and it’s excellent: The other day on CNN, prominent Never Trump lawyer George Conway did something you rarely see in Washington. He dressed down a GOP commentator for lying his ass off about Donald Trump—and then, right on the air, he asked why CNN was paying this Republican to spread lies on Trump’s behalf. We think this episode illustrates a deep problem with the media’s handling of pro-Trump propaganda. So we chatted with Conway about why he unloaded—and in the process, he revealed some interesting things about the network. Listen to this episode here. It’s well worth your time.

We’ve all seen the threats and the pardon dangling Trump has done from the moment he became president. He even asked the director of the FBI to go easy on his buddy Michael Flynn and then fired him when he refused to do it. The corruption is boundless. And now we find out he’s literally paying people off as well. Pro Publica has a big expose today showing that some of the witnesses in the criminal cases against him have been given fancy jobs, cash bonuses, board seats, shares in his companies and plum jobs for family members often at very important times in the legal process. And the dollar amounts are impressive. Recall the recent story of Brian Butler, the Mar-a-Lago employee who witnessed the handling of those bankers boxes full of classified document and came forward to say that he was offered a new job with a big raise. Cassidy Hutchinson was offered a job and they sent her a lawyer paid by the campaign. This is how they operate. According to the experts they interviewed, cases like this are very difficult to prove. But prosecutors will certainly use the information to question these witnesses credibility if Trump is ever brought to trial on these charges.

I’m excited to say that I turned in my manuscript for the ActivityPub book for O’Reilly Media today. I started working on it in September of 2023, with a lot of interim checkpoints and deadlines since. In April 2024, I finished the first draft of the manuscript. Over the month of May, I’ve been working … Continue reading I turned in my manuscript! →

I’m sure they would say that they are only speaking of election day. But they actually mean so much more and we know it. It is a direct threat to Biden. Trump is ginning up his rabid cult to take up violence if he loses, there’s no doubt about that. And if he wins, he will exact retribution by using the Department of Justice. In fact, he will do exactly what he falsely claims Joe Biden is doing.

A shire pub trivia player has admitted to secretly changing the answer to a question before handing over her team’s answer sheet for marking at the end of the round. “Carol has brought this new guy along who insists that... Read More ›

In my latest article in Journal of Agrarian Change, I argue that through the categories of world-ecology, the history of Australian capitalism is rendered legible. The article emerges from my 2023 doctoral thesis, which placed sugar alongside histories of invasion, pastoralism, and fossil capital to develop an eco-Marxist account of the origins of capitalism in Australia.

The post Race, Mortality and Value: Sugar in colonial Queensland appeared first on Progress in Political Economy (PPE).

Hey kids… By the way, Nate Cohn, DC’s polling god, put this little tid bit out this morning: While Mr. Trump has survived many controversies, he has also suffered a political penalty for his conduct. He did lose re-election, after all. And this cycle, there is one reason to wonder whether Mr. Trump might now be more vulnerable: He depends on the support of many young and nonwhite voters who haven’t voted for him in the past, and who might not prove as loyal as those who have stood by his side from the start. Huh. You’d think this odd fact would be more salient in the coverage but I see little evidence that many in the mainstream media have noticed. But maybe that’s a good thing. Anyway: Mr. Trump doesn’t just count on the support of Republicans and MAGA loyalists in the conservative information ecosystem. His strength in the polls increasingly depends on surprising strength among voters from traditionally Democratic constituencies, like young, nonwhite and irregular voters. Many of these voters are registered as Democrats, back Democrats in races for U.S. Senate and may have even backed Mr. Biden in the last election. This is not Mr.

Politics have come to this in America. Several former US presidents committed extremely serious war crimes that killed, maimed and displaced huge numbers of people without any suggestion that they be charged with these crimes. However, a former president Donald Trump has been found guilty of the crime of trying to cover up a brief Continue reading »

The Prime Ministers of China, Japan and South Korea met in Seoul on 27 May to resume regular annual meetings which began in 2008 and were held annually until 2019, when they were interrupted by COVID and “aspects of the international situation”. The PMs issued a joint statement after their meeting which was strong on Continue reading »

On 28 May, a Defending Australia Summit was held in Sydney by “The Australian Newspaper” which showcased three former Australian defence officials who seemed confused by their old age and indulged in ignorant and historically romantic group think. Kim Beazley is a former Australian Minister of Defence and Ambassador to the US, Denis Richardson is Continue reading »

If this scenario had been written into a novel at the turn of 19th century it would have been too unthinkable to believe it could actually take place – assisting in the bombing of innocent civilians, then charging in to feed them, appearing like the saviour of your victims. It is a strange situation when Continue reading »

Labor’s $4 billion for Indigenous housing in the Northern Territory is set for failure unless it incorporates Aboriginal expertise. Bob Hawke famously was told the jig was up when Gareth Evans told him to “pull out, digger. The dogs are pissing on your swag.” I got the message when I was told by a Department Continue reading »

Next time you hear a news story on violence against women, please do not say we pray for victims of domestic violence. If you want change, here’s what to pray for instead. Planning to get some useful advice, and assuming it existed, I went to the office for the Marriage Tribunal, as I think it Continue reading »

Try to imagine for a moment a time not long past when Scott Morrison was Australian Prime Minister and Joe Hockey was the Australian Ambassador to the United States. A former Labor Party leader – say Paul Keating, Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd or Bill Shorten – has written a book for an American audience and Continue reading »

John Menadue recently asked Pearls and Irritations (P&I) readers to suggest how to go about raising the bar in relation to content and relevance. My response would be to suggest that P&I facilitate a means to achieve a true democracy here in Australia; by harnessing all of the intelligence, observation, nous, wit and political awareness Continue reading »

The almost total lack of any positive coverage of China in the British media further closes off the scope even for making arguments that policy should reflect opportunities from dealing with China. Foreword by Gemma Cheng’er Deng, PhD student, Lau China Institute: By the end of 2022, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the end Continue reading »

A Regency Era "Rogue" has taken over our spoiler-free review of Doctor Who for this week, which happily tackles Bridgerton - with aliens.

Trump and the Republicans must be shocked that he didn’t attack the judge (Trump appointed) and the prosecutor (Republican) Doesn’t he understand how this is done? By the way, Jill and Hallie Biden are in court today. Weird.