Legacy media is very concerned with the ‘Gen Z Stare’
In the past week, there’s been robust discourse in legacy media about the so-called ‘Gen Z Stare’ and the bursts of generational conflict it reportedly captures.
It’s gotten write-ups by The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, NBC News, ABC News, CNBC, Newsweek, Indy100, Axios, Fortune, Vox, Vice, Business Insider, The Independent, Forbes, Buzzfeed, Slate, HuffPost, Glamour, People, and Marie Claire, among others.
As a millennial, I am apparently urged to be concerned about this phenomenon of Gen Z folks supposedly failing to appropriately interact with me through sufficiently pleasant facial expressions, so I thought it might be helpful to offer my thoughts:
The sitting president of the United States is currently covering up a massive sex trafficking operation that targeted children and likely implicates a number of powerful people who are currently out in the world and free to continue preying on children.
The sitting president of the United States just successfully pressured Paramount and CBS to cancel the #1 late-night talk show on broadcast television as part of what appears to be a blatant bribery deal because the host has been critical of him.
The sitting president of the United States just got the extremist Republican majority in Congress to strip 11 million Americans of health care coverage by the end of 2026 and upwards of 17 million Americans when you account for new federal work requirements. (snip-MORE; it’s succinct and quick, and it’s all good facts for grocery/other places lines, for discussion.)
July 21, 1878 Publication of “Eight Hours,” written by Reverend Jesse H. Jones (music) and I.G. Blanchard (lyrics), the most popular labor song until “Solidarity Forever” was published by the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) in 1915. “Eight hours for work, Eight hours for rest; Eight hours for what we will.” All the lyrics (The eight-hour was an established concept before the song.)
July 21, 1925 The so-called “Monkey Trial” ended in Dayton, Tennessee, with high school teacher John T. Scopes convicted of violating a state law against teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. It was considered illegal to contradict the Bible’s description of God’s seven-day creation of the world in Genesis. The trial pitted two of America’s leading advocates as the opposing lawyers: William Jennings Bryan, thrice the Democratic presidential candidate (1896, 1900, 1908) and the state’s prosecutor; Clarence Darrow, a lawyer famous for representing the underdog, at the defense table. Referred to as “the trial of the century” even before it began, it was the first trial ever broadcast (on radio). Bryan became ill and died shortly after the trial’s end; the conviction was later overturned by Tennessee’s Supreme Court. The Defendant John T. Scopes The Attorneys: Darrow & Bryan/ The Verdict: Thou Shall Not Think Interest in the trial by the populace and the media (and the heat in the courtroom) prompted Judge John T. Raulston to move the trial outdoors to the courthouse lawn. Bryan himself was called as a witness on the literal interpretation of scripture. Attorney General Thomas Stewart, in response to Darrow’s questioning, asked, “What is the meaning of this harangue?” “To show up fundamentalism,” shouted Mr. Darrow, “to prevent bigots and ignoramuses from controlling the educational system of the United States.” Mr. Bryan sprang to his feet, his face purple, and shook his fist in Darrow’s face: “To protect the word of God from the greatest atheist and agnostic in the United States.” ACLU History: The Scopes ‘Monkey Trial’ More about the Monkey Trial
July 21, 1954 Major world powers, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, reached agreement on the terms of a ceasefire for Indochina, ending nearly eight years of war. The war began in 1946 between nationalist forces of the Communist Viet Minh, under leader Ho Chi Minh, and France, the occupying colonial power after the Japanese lost control during World War II. The Geneva conference included France, the United Kingdom, the U.S., the U.S.S.R., People’s Republic of China, Cambodia, Laos, and both Vietnamese governments (North and South). The peace treaty called for independence for Vietnam and a 1956 election to unify the country. However, only France and Ho Chi Minh’s DRV (Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North)) signed the document. The United States did not approve of the agreement. Instead, they backed Emperor Boa Dai and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam and refused to allow the elections, knowing, in President Eisenhower’s words, that “Ho Chi Minh will win.” The result was the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the Vietnam War. The treaty is signed
July 21, 1976 Plaza de Mayo mother A military junta under General Jorge Rafael Videla took power in Argentina on March 24, disbanding parliament and taking over all labor unions. The military kidnapped hundreds of people from two villages of Jujuy province in northern Argentina, thirty of whom never returned from a clandestine detention center. Most of those disappeared worked for the Ledesma sugar refinery. Since 1983, on the Thursday closest to July 21, Madres de Plaza de Mayo (an organization of mothers and wives of the missing) are joined by others, and walk the 7 km (4.3 miles) from Calilegua to San Martin, demanding answers about their loved ones. Madres de Plaza de Mayo is supported by Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Read more
Meiselas: Here's audio of Maria Farmer, one of Epstein's victims, who came forward early on…She speaks about an incident where she was going to Epstein's office building. Trump was in the office building, she says, and Epstein tells Trump, “That one's not for you. Yours is in the other room.”
🚨 #BoycottParamount 🚨Paramount just canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—a move that reeks of political obedience, not business. This isn’t just entertainment—it’s the silencing of satire.📢 As Timothy Snyder warned: “Do not obey in advance.”Refuse the script. Turn off Paramount.
Remember Stephen Colbert, who looked at corruption and called it what it was, right up until they took his microphone away.The show must go on, they say. But sometimes, the show just ends.newrepublic.com/article/1981…
The timing of CBS’s announcement has sparked immediate suspicion among critics and media watchers. Many see the decision as yet another example of corporate media preemptively silencing voices critical of Donald Trump.open.substack.com/pub/beinglib…
Trump’s EPA just fired hundreds of scientists – the ones who make sure our water is safe to drink and our air is safe to breathe, and who study the impacts of wildfire smoke and PFAS on our health.eu.usatoday.com/story/news/p…
“We got a beating for breakfast. We got a beating for lunch. We got a beating for dinner.”The horror stories are already emerging from the Venezuelan deportees' time in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/202…
It doesn't seem like "prisoner swap" is the correct term for returning people, some of whom seem to be US citizens, who were kidnapped off American streets.
Dramatic changes to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program could drive drugmakers from the market, threatening access to shots, experts say.“If (Kennedy’s) unstated goal is to basically destroy the vaccine industry, that could do it.”By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
Good morning! I'm in Uganda to visit family and friends. But depending on your perspective, don't worry or I'm sorry: I'll be back by the end of the month. See you soon, NYC.
Epstein’s "little black book" totals 97 pages, containing 1,571 names and roughly 5,000 phone numbers. At least 38 names are mysteriously circled, including Donald Trump's.“I got my hands on a copy,” writes Leland Nally. “I made close to 2,000 phone calls.” http://www.motherjones.com/politics/202…
I would like people to compare the “tough guy” speech given by the ICE person about removing child molesters and kidnappers, rescuing children from forced labor, the worst criminals, murders, making mom and pop safe with the four crimes they mentioned that of the dozens and dozens arrested were accused of. One guy was charged with fentanyl distribution, one was charged with trespass, a third was charged with driving without a license and refusing to show identification. Wow mom and pop are so much safer now that the worst of the worst are in detention with no due process. Let’s be clear, they are going after legal immigrants, they are going after those following the rules, they are showing up at places where these people are working and looking for work because the goal is to remove all the brown people. It is that simple, it is a white supremacy thing driven by racist like Stephen Miller who hates Spanish speaking people and those with brown skin. They held a US citizen veteran for three days with no due process and no explanation. Take a guess of his skin color? Brown? Great guess and correct. These gang thugs are not trying to make the US safer for anyone, they are determined to make it whiter. At the 5:21 mark ICE thugs abruptly stop their car in the middle of the street and with guns and tasers ready while masked and in no uniform they rush a woman who is a well known activist who has been openly filming them for weeks. This is an attempt to cause fear and stop people from viewing and reporting their actions. This is such a 1930s Hitler’s Germany moment in the US. And Vaush talks about how the nation if flooded with guns and these masked people with no uniforms rushing at people could be shot by people in reasonable fear for their lives as Roger also has been saying. Hugs
July 20, 1967 The first Black Power conference was held in Newark, New Jersey, calling on black people in the U.S. “to unite, to recognize their heritage and to build a sense of community.” Read more
July 20, 1971 The first labor contract in the history of the federal government was signed by postal worker unions and the newly re-organized U.S. Postal Service. This contract was made possible by the postal strike of March 1970, in which 200,000 postal workers walked off the job, defying federal law. Prior to that, postal worker salaries started at $6,200 a year, and many postal workers were eligible for food stamps. The strike was not organized by a national union; it started when rank-and-file workers walked off the job in New York City and it spread to other parts of the country. The strike led to federal legislation that allowed postal unions to negotiate a contract with postal management (previously, postal salaries were set by Congress), with provisions for arbitration if no agreement were reached.Since that time, postal unions have successfully negotiated or arbitrated wages and benefits that provide a secure standard of living for their members. Read about the history of the APWU (American Postal Workers Union)
Donald Trump’s birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein Read on Substack
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Donald Trump wrote a “racy” birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein way back in 2003. I’m shocked too. Who knew he could write?
This letter is part of the Epstein Files from the investigation by the Department of Justice. One of the MAGA talking points is that if there were anything in those files with Trump’s name on it, then the Biden administration would have released it to help the Democrats with the 2024 election. Take note that the Biden administration did NOT release it.
The question, “Why didn’t Biden release it?” is based on the presumption that Joe Biden is as corrupt as Donald Trump and would politicize the DOJ. Despite the MAGA narrative, Biden never politicized or weaponized the DOJ.
And there is something to this, because Trump is upset, and threatening to sue the WSJ, its owner, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch. WSJ reported that the letter was part of a book of messages organized by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday. Maxwell was convicted 16 years later in 2019 for aiding Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors.
The letter, signed by Trump, wishes Epstein a happy birthday and tells him, “may every day be another wonderful secret.” The letter featured lines of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s name signed below the woman’s waist.
Hmmmm. Whatever could that secret be, and has anyone checked the age of the woman in the naked drawing?
Trump issued a denial, saying, “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” It’s true, you don’t write a picture. Unfortunately for Trump, the letter was written in crayon. (snip-MORE. Also, the card was written in 2003, when POTUS had a few more words in his vocab.)
Killing satire by Ann Telnaes
CBS cancels The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, claiming it was “purely a financial decision” Read on Substack
The timing of the cancellation is suspect since Colbert publicly criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, just a few days ago for settling a $16 million lawsuit with Trump while also looking to get approval from the FCC for a merger worth $8.4 billion. As Colbert described during his monologue, a “big, fat bribe”.
Paramount is just another media company looking to keep on Trump’s good side in order to benefit their bottom line. As any other autocrat, Trump has a very thin skin and doesn’t like getting ridiculed so expect more of this. Not a good sign for satirists or editorial cartoonists…or free speech in general.
A few months ago I was interviewed by Jeffrey Brown of the PBS Newshour and talked about how important it is for a democracy to protect the rights of editorial cartoonists and satirists (at end of the segment). (snip)
Ya’ll already knew I was a stinker. This cartoon is from December 2023, on the death of Norman Lear. I’m repurposing it with a few changes for Margolis & Cox, the racist cartooning duo I had a little spat with a couple of days ago, which I wrote about.
I sent this to my clients, but it’s not a regular syndication cartoon. They will get another cartoon today.
Nothing new with those racists, I just want to ask them a question. Cox is the artist and Margolis is the writer, right? So why does Cox need Margolis if he’s only going to write tropes that have already been done a million times? Look at this cartoon and remember, they said I can’t draw. Again, it doesn’t matter how well you draw (and they don’t draw well) if your ideas are shit.
Creative note: I had a few qualms about doing this, not about pissing off Margolis, Cox, or Cagle. I couldn’t care less about what mood this puts them in. I was concerned about repurposing an old cartoon. I’m no Dave Granlund. I don’t care about his mood either. But I decided this is special, and what better way to call them out than with a cartoon?
I have discovered over the years that many people who criticize others for a living can’t take criticism, especially if they’re MAGAts.
Scottie's Playtime 