Like me, you probably have family, friends, and colleagues who try to impress by regurgitating a point they heard some talking head make on TV. I never fail to give them an attentive ear. I even humor them with a question or two. Because they never seem interested in debating the point; and, at the risk of causing offense, they always seem even less qualified to do so.
On a few occasions, however, I have followed-up a short time later by sharing the link to a commentary on my blog, showing not only that I was familiar with the point at issue, but that I had actually written about it long before they heard it on TV.
As you can imagine, this has become something of an abiding, eye-rolling joke in my circle. Never mind the discomfort some express over what appears to be my passive-aggressive tactic of calling them out – either for never bothering to read the commentary at issue, or for not remembering that they had.
Incidentally, over my 16 years of blogging, I have acquired some of the most loyal and engaging readers any writer could hope for. And, for that, I am exceedingly grateful.
But I suspect some of you can relate to the consciousness of guilt my follow-ups have invariably invoked. Therefore, it might interest you to know that I have siblings who, to this day, have never read any of my commentaries or listened to any of my podcast episodes. Yet this willful lack of interest (or support) has had no impact on our relationship whatsoever.
So to anyone who might be wondering, trust me, I have never been bothered by who does and does not read or listen to my stuff. Exhibit A in this respect is that I have never monetized my blog or podcast with ads (e.g., with Google Adsense), which motivate so many others to publish little more than click-bait to catch readers.
The curious thing, though, is that I often see the talking head making the point at issue, and think to myself, tell me something I don’t already know or, indeed, that I have not already written about. But when it happened three times in 24 hours this week, well, I thought that was worthy of comment.
First, New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas Friedman raised eyebrows with the following on Wednesday evening’s edition of CNN’s Anderson Cooper:
You know, these Republicans. You have people like Ted Cruz. You have people like, you know, Josh Hawley. These are people who are ready to burn down the country, as long as they could be president of the ashes.
Sure enough, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was paraphrasing what I wrote in “Democratic Dysfunction Vindicating Republican Dystopia,” October 4, 2021:
Republicans do not care that obstructing Biden’s agenda risks turning America into a banana republic. They only care that doing so gives them a chance of becoming the monkeys ruling it after the next election cycle.
Second, the BBC sounded alarms in the wee hours of Thursday morning with this breaking news about India leading countries in a conspiracy to undermine the COP26 climate summit:
A huge leak of documents seen by BBC News shows how countries are trying to change a crucial scientific report on how to tackle climate change. …
The leak shows a number of countries and organisations arguing that the world does not need to reduce the use of fossil fuels as quickly as the current draft of the report recommends. …
A senior scientist from India’s Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, which has strong links to the Indian government, warns coal is likely to remain the mainstay of energy production for decades because of what they describe as the “tremendous challenges” of providing affordable electricity. India is already the world’s second biggest consumer of coal.
Sure enough, here is how I scooped this BBC leak in “Greta Previews COP26 Climate Summit with ‘Blah Blah Blah,” September 29, 2021:
Nothing Biden does will work if China and India execute their declared intent to pollute until their economies emit as much CO2 to match emissions that made the US an economic superpower. That’s why, like the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Accord, and this ‘Leaders Summit on Climate’, all efforts just end up being hot air, making climate change worse by emitting more CO2.
Third, Trump biographer Michael D’Antonio performed the last rites for Trump’s crumbling empire on Thursday morning’s edition of New Day with Brianna Keilar:
You might remember that Michael Cohen said Trump originally ran for president as a publicity stunt, that he thought this would benefit his companies, but he never imagined winning. … During that period of time from 2016 to 2020, his fortunes decline precipitously … from claiming $10-12 billion net worth to Forbes estimating his net worth now at $2.5 billion. … So the presidency has been very bad for Donald Trump’s businesses.
Sure enough, here is how I presaged D’Antonio’s funereal assessment in “Trump Brand So Toxic, It Appeals Only to Sleazy Car Salesmen,” June 7, 2021:
It seems fitting and ironic that, by the time he finishes tarnishing his name, and the legal system finishes meting out the justice he deserves, the only people who will be frequenting Trump hotels and living in Trump condos will be red necks and used car salesmen.
Trump made himself permanently toxic for short-term gain. Now his businesses are floundering and his Teflon is rusting – just like his ‘gold-plated’ 757 has been at a New York airfield for over a year now because he can no longer afford the maintenance fees.
All of which is why Trump will be the first man in history to rue the day he was ever elected president of the United States.
Enough said?
Related commentaries:
Democratic dysfunction… Trump brand so toxic… Greta previews COP26…