Contemptor (Politics/Media Criticism/Sports)

It May Not Be Trending, But Rahm Emanuel Is Still Ruining Chicago

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Rahm

“Why has the #FireRahm inferno cooled, fully ablaze as it was just months ago? Self-serving media/political laziness is one factor. Why fight a stubbornly intransigent and still powerful City Hall when an election-year Trump is the headline-grabbing gift of a generation? I appreciate The New York Times keeping this story nationally alive. Summer is coming and there’s no reason to believe the soaring 2016 murder rate will decline in a hot city torn apart by cynical, dehumanizing leadership. I said it in December 2015 and nothing has changed. Rahm has got to go.”

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The Media Doesn’t Care About Terrorism Unless It Happens In The West…And It’s Our Fault

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france-belgium

“It’s easy and tempting to blame the media for heartlessly misplaced priorities. Wolf Blitzer routinely renders himself a convenient target. As our own Justin Baragona recently observed, Blitzer is among “the goddamned worst” in lazy, misinformed reporting. But if we’re being totally honest about our ignorance regarding Syria and other ravaged nations, we have to start by indicting ourselves. Let’s be real, America. Just as we didn’t end up with all-Trump-all-the-time by accident, it follows that the media’s terrorism engagement strategy is an echo of our will.”

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One Of Us? Prince, Sports And The Enduring Underdog

Becky Sarwate1 Comment

Prince_at_Coachella

“In other words, Prince was really no different from my dad, utterly incapable of paying full attention to an activity when his team was in the mix. Except that Prince was leading a band, doing the splits and rocking a stadium while sneaking peeks at the score, whereas my father struggled to balance headphones with eating pizza. But somehow this notion of the fantastic, magical Prince as one of us only adds to his allure – and our collective grief at his loss. As GQ’s Jack Moore recently observed, ‘in typical Prince fashion, the very idea that a genius, other-dimensional being, Rock God could be obsessed with something as normal as basketball seems super weird. And cool.'”

Read the full post at Contemptor.

The Saddest State In The Union: How Bruce Rauner Is Destroying Illinois

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Rauner

‘Earlier this month, Democratic lawmakers in the state approved a gap funding measure to help address the dire circumstances faced by education and social services. But naturally Governor Rauner is expected to veto it. And in a move almost universally applauded by state residents, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger announced last week that Illinois Officeholders Will Go Without Pay until State Passes Budget. But Rauner didn’t run for the paycheck. The billionaire is holding out for “’structural reforms’ such as changes in collective bargaining.” In other words, he’ll bring every one of us to our knees as a union-busting exercise. He is Scott Walker on a more dangerous iteration of public sector-savaging steroids.”

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Mainstream Media, Voters And Money Unite In Presidential Election Fatigue

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tired-hillary

“Almost needless to say, the 2016 election cycle is an unusual exercise in taxing the limits of our collective attention span and patience with crazy behavior. It’s no surprise that certain members of the media are ready to move on with the general public. But when the money gets disenchanted? Well that’s newsworthy.”

Read the full post at Contemptor.