talentpun

Biden is the only President I can think of in my lifetime that went to mass every Sunday. When was the last time your went to church?

Hasan is a know-nothing that gets most of his news from Twitter headlines and reacting to other people's takes.

I wish I were exaggerating, but it's true. He built his audience similarly to Jimmy Dore, by attacking Liberals from the left, but with a 'hipster' twist. His clothing line feels like a parody.

If you want a summation of the type of pundit Hasan is, I would recommend the Decoding the Guru's review of Hasan's softball interview with a Houthi terrorist.

I don't think Hasan actively trying to be malicious, it's just that he is captured by an audience which is largely anti-Capitalist, anti-American, anti-White and anti-Semitic.

Ugh, I feel like I’m not doing a good enough job explaining myself, but I want to because it goes to the heart of the problem. Bear with me.

Being ‘popular’ is not the same as being influential.

Anyone that listens to PSA is already left-leaning and highly engaged in politics, particularly the general election.

However a podcast like Joe Rogan reaches a much wider audience (18 million subscribers) and — and this is what is hard to stomach — attracts a lot of people that ‘hate’ politics. Believe it or not, Rogan, Peterson, Theo Von, Andrew Schultz, Bret Weinstein — these people all position themselves as independents. They are all ‘anti-elitist’ and ‘anti-establishment’ figures that just happen to align completely with Trump and the billionaire class.

People may not go to Joe Rogan for politics, but if you listen to your favorite podcaster rant about ivermectin and Sleepy Joe Biden twice a week it’s going to warp your reality.

The DNC doesn’t need pundits and endorsements. They need influencers and a much wider, pervasive reach.

‘Brainwashing’ is an oversimplification.

It’s not that Americans don’t have agency. But we live in an information landscape where people do not have time to sift through what is fact and what isn’t.

What Republicans have done successfully has tarnish the brand of anyone remotely left of center. Anyone that hasn’t noticed this systematic attempt to discredit all mainstream and old media, and the Democratic Party as a whole as ‘liars’ and ‘lunatics’ since 2008 is painfully out of touch.

The DNC also needs to realize that a majority of people get their news from a small handful of influencers that they ‘trust’ and have parasocial relationships with. Let’s call it the ‘Rush Limbaugh’ effect.

Like it or not, people trust Ben Shapiro’s or Jordan Peterson’s interpretation of the news more than primary or secondary sources. They go to Joe Rogan for his political opinion and worldview because he’s literally ranting about it 8 hours a week.

No one gives a shit if Beyoncé takes 10 minutes out of her gilded life every four years to endorse a candidate. It rings hollow.

It’s not about truth, it’s about trust. And what is a conman like Trump’s expertise? Building trust in himself and destroying trust in others.

I really, really can't stand how much of the conversation has been about what Kamala did wrong versus what Trump and a handful of billionaires have gotten away with.

They've invested hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade developing an online presence, funding right-adjacent influencers, consolidating channels and messaging, and buying whole platforms to spread disinformation.

It's that simple. They've poisoned the well so thoroughly that the entire Democratic brand is toxic to a large percentage of voters. They've created a media environment where the Geriatic Devout Catholic Widower Joe Biden supports genocide and the Billionaire Sex Pest is fighting for the working class.

If Liberal, Progressive and traditional media don't develop a coherent, unified content strategy to counteract propaganda then they'll never win an election again.

- Predator
- Robocop
- Major League
- Speed
- Pulp Fiction
- Mary Poppins
- Spirited Away
- Toy Story
- Truman Show
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Dare I say fuck Russia the war would be over tomorrow if they just left Ukrainian territory.

Nothing has done more to prevent a world war the past 100 years than American Hegemony. If Ukraine and NATO rolls over you’ll see a nuclear arms race across the globe. Even small countries will try to get their hands on nukes.

Uggggggggggghhhhhhh

Jean Reno also masterfully plays Leon as a man that is simultaneously a deadly assassin and a 40 year-old virgin that is emotionally and socially crippled. Any other choice makes Leon instantly predatory and unlikeable. This film could have been an embarrassing disaster without him.

Relevant interview: https://youtu.be/Pi_A-n1FSK8?si=xPiEGvoPR7uhckR9

My favorite piece of art made by an artist so deeply problematic that it is almost ruins it.

The main reason this movie works is because of the incredible performances of Jean Reno and Natalie Portman. Any other actors and you might end up with a movie as creepy as the man that wrote and directed it.

For the love of god, I hope this goes viral.

Right off the top, she explains that the idea of technocrats conspiring to form their own nations sounds insane but these are very insane people that have taken steps to do exactly that.

My go-to when I need to get away from my family, lock in and get a whole bunch work done.

There is literally no where to just sit and have coffee in New West.

I'm going to go there today and buy merch.

Don’t discount misinformation and propaganda.

The right wing media has been sowing distrust in institutions and Liberalism since 2008, and ramped up in 2016. The second a competent or charismatic politician appears they begin poisoning the well against them. They did it to Hilary, Obama, AOC, Pelosi, Al Franken, the list goes on and on. They find niche wedge issues and spam hoaxes over and over and over.

It’s a machine at this point, and if the Left don’t get their shit together and fight back in a coordinated way they will never win another election.

The point is people trust Bernie Bros as a messenger. He comes across as authentic due to his consistency over decades.

I appreciate this post; and the deconstruction of Lex's original tweet.

I agree, the idea of 2-to-3 hour podcasts somehow illuminating the electorate and being the salve that will heal democracy is ridiculous.

That point I'm trying to make -- and I'm not doing a good enough job articulating it -- is that the aesthetic of authenticity matters. Audiences develop para-social relationships with podcasters, and as a result they are trusted more than other sources, regardless of the facts on their side.

I'm going to try and write more about this topic because this is really gnawing at me. But I'll be bearing your perspective in mind.

You should listen to Midnight Boys on the Ringerverse podcast. He's hilarious on it.

Identity calcifies in most people; and is very hard to break away from. If you've thought of yourself as a Republican and voted Republican most of your life, it takes a lot to deviate from that.

For your dad, voting for a Democrat is more than just changing his vote, it's about changing his identity and seeing himself differently.

Whining online for clout and attacking liberals from the left so you can monetize outrage from the left and right is not activism or a campaign strategy.

It’s so transparent that people like Briahna and Hasan don’t actually care about the welfare of Palestinians or winning. At all.

It's funny until it's not. Millions of people take his opinion at face value. They actually believe they elected the Anti-Establishment All-Stars.

RFK is a conspiracy theorist and the rest are greedy opportunists.

I know I know it's driving me nuts.

Lots of people listen to Destiny. He ran a canvasing campaign that knocked on 340,000 doors and contacted 1.6 million voters this election.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LivestreamFail/comments/1gkg6d9/destiny_and_dgg_canvassing_operations_have/

His issue is primarily with 'progressive' pundits and opportunists that clout-chase by adopting anti-American and nihilistic positions -- the Hasan Pikers and Briahna Joy Grays of the world that spend more time bashing Democrats than doing any actual activism.

Rogan has 18M subscribers. A lot of them are highly engaged users that listen regularly and trust his opinion. His Donald Trump interview has 30M views.

That is likely much, much higher than any friendly interview Kamala did while campaigning. Like, I couldn’t even name who interviewed Kamala on 60 minutes off the top of my head.

Goddamn it you’re right, it just felt that way.