BY RAUL HERNANDEZ
The Headlines Last Week: “Bernie Supporters Practice Getting Arrested at the Democratic Convention.” It seems that Bernie and company want to go out of the Big Democratic Dance in Philadelphia kicking and screaming.
The Wide World of Sports had a catchphrase: “The Thrill of Victory, and the Agony of Defeat.”
For Bernie Sanders and many of his supporters, their catchphrase should be: “The Thrill of Winning Primaries and the Agony of Coming up Short.”
Bernie Sanders is becoming the Mick Jagger of politics. Like Mick, Sanders isn’t ready yet to get off the stage, retire the vocal chords and ride off into oblivion.
The rock ‘n roll visionary still belts out music about insurrection like “Street Fighting Man” and “Gimme Shelter” written during an epoch of rage when Vietnam was going hot and heavy, America’s streets were on fire. Sanders is adamant about igniting a revolution to rectify economic injustice in a capitalist system where the cliche “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” is now the mantra.
Sanders and Jagger have a lot in common. Both are passionate about their calling that is fueled by the roar, applause and adoration of the crowd. It jump starts the adrenaline, and it’s addictive. Ask any NFL player.
It’s time, however, for Sanders to bow out gracefully and leave the stage with his chest puffed from his tremendous accomplishments. Get out before the accolades and the remnant of his supporters begin fade, and Sanders becomes a bitter memory.
But Mick, well, that’s another story. He could fill a stadium if he was rolled in on a wheelchair wearing Depends.
I love The Stones.
Republican Write-In Candidate
I thought about who might be the next logical choice for the Republicans to consider to run against Trump as a write-in candidate. Okay, throw out logic because in this case, specifically this party, it doesn’t apply.
Alright, first of all, think like a desperate Republican standing on the edge of a canyon watching a train about to derail into a raging river and mouthing “Holy Shit,” you might want to give serious consideration and rally around the gentleman below: (I did a little cut and paste.)
TRUMP’S MEDIA BAN
Trump recently banned the Washington Post from covering his political rallies.
The reporter joins the New York Times, National Review and the Daily Beast and other media in being banned by Trump because he got his feelings hurt after they did hard-hitting stories about him.
Those who will never come close to making Trump’s list of undesirables are CNN, MSNBC and certainly, not Fox — GOP Central.
Still, the political sophists and hosts of these networks continue to try and find the Rosetta Stone which will unravel the Trumpoglyphics while treating this rambling Orangutan like some Egyptian enigma.
This TV pundit posturing, which is based on insightful speculation, is really more about j0urnalistic titillation along with the networks making a buck and milking ratings off of Trump, rather than calling him on the 24/7 BS he constantly slinging in front of them.
But it’s really not that complicated.
Listen to what former Washington D.C reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Bernstein had to say about Trump, and why he believes that most of the media is out to lunch.
The Media Numbers
Last week, this story got little media coverage but it is alarming.
It is an eyeopening article about the dismal circulation and viewer numbers being posted by newspapers, cable, local and network TV.
This is a jaw dropper about the worst year for newspapers.
“In 2015, the newspaper sector had perhaps the worst year since the recession and its immediate aftermath. Average weekday newspaper circulation, print and digital combined, fell another 7% in 2015, the greatest decline since 2010. While digital circulation crept up slightly (2% for weekday), it accounts for only 22% of total circulation,” according to the Pew Research Center.
Print newspapers, to be sure, have a core audience and subscriber base that the industry hopes will buy enough time to help ease the digital transition. But recent data suggests the hourglass may be nearing empty, the report stated.
A January 2016 Pew Research Center survey found “that just 5% of U.S. adults who had learned about the presidential election in the past week named print newspapers as their “most helpful” source – trailing nearly every other category by wide margins, including cable, local and national TV, radio, social media and news websites. (About one-third got at least some election news from a print paper, which again trailed nearly every other category.)”
Also “despite current financial strength, though, TV-based news can’t ignore the public’s pull toward digital. The contentious presidential primary helped spur cable prime time viewership 8% above 2014 levels, but those audience gains followed a year of declines across the board in 2014,” according to Pew Research.
“And, while network TV newscasts had a mixed year – morning news audience declined while evening remained about steady – local TV news lost audience in every major time slot.”
But when many young people are self-absorbed, have the attention span of Rhesus monkeys and couldn’t find Washington D.C. on their GPSs if their lives depended on it, newspapers and TV face a bleak future.
Can’t Read Your High School Diploma?
I read this and couldn’t believe it. It explains a lot of things, including Trump supporters: About one out of five high school graduates can’t read. Why have I paid so much property taxes over the years? The illiteracy might be because teachers, parents and the community have lowered the educational standards and accountability for youngsters and adults as well.
| Percent of U.S. adults who can’t read (below a basic level) | 14 % |
| Number of U.S. adults who can’t read | 32,000,000 |
| Percent of prison inmates who can’t read | 70 % |
| Percent of high school graduates who can’t read | 19 % |
Source: Statistic Brain
I remember sitting in court when college students showed up to watch trials or hearings, and out of curiosity, I’d ask if they were covering the trial. Yes, it’s a school project, they’d reply. They’d write for about 15 or 20 minutes and leave, never to return. I asked some if I could see what they were writing, and I was surprised. It was horrible, fifth grade level writing skills.
When they’d find out I was a newspaper reporter, they’d ask questions about what was going on, and I’d give them some background about a case. But some asked if I planned to write a story about the court proceedings. Yes, I replied. When they found out I was posting the story on the newspaper’s website later in the day, they’d leave after five or 10 minutes.
PSYCHOPATHS IN NEWSROOM AND ELSEWHERE
I worked in four newsroom throughout my 30 years in journalism.
So this didn’t come as a surprise: Author Kevin Dutton writes in his book, “Seven The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What saints, spies and serial killers can teach us about success” that journalism is one of the professions that attracts a lot of psychopaths.
Number one on the list is CEO, and second, you guessed it, lawyers. Media (TV and Radio) is third on the list. But I always knew that newsrooms in general attract a lot of basket cases.
The newsrooms where I worked at also attracted narcissists, pompous asses, the know-it-alls, the power hungry, the clueless, the lame, lazy and incompetent. Newsrooms are also minefields full of mood swings and windbags who love to inflate their self importance.
But on the flip side, some of the most talented, compassionate, hardworking, honest, humorous and bright people on the planet worked in newspaper newsrooms, and I was privileged to have learned so much from these people. I especially appreciate the sense of humor which lifted me up after I wrote those dark stories about victims, disasters and tragedies that often lingered in my mind for days.
I wasn’t surprised to find those who “protect and serve” are on the psychopath list.
Cops are seventh on the list. My mother must have known this about cops years ago. She once said never argue with people with guns. I guess she had cops in mind along with gangsters and bank robbers.
Arguably, however, the gold standard for psychopath behavior and traits is Robert Hare’s book, “Without Conscience,” which I read and reread many years ago. The book shed light into criminal behavior which gave me a better understanding of the criminal justice system. It also helped develop a character for my book, “Stepping on the Devil’s Tail.”
Most people believe that psychopaths are killers like Ted Bundy.
But Dutton says some psychopathic traits can pave the way to success and help people deal with the stresses of living. Hare and Dutton agree that many are co-workers, friends, family members and others we come into contact with on a daily basis.
So the guy next door or in the next cubicle could be a full-blown psychopath.
Dutton developed his list of the top psychopathic professions through an online survey last year, he told Smithsonian.com in an interview.
“Any situation where you’ve a got a power structure, a hierarchy, the ability to manipulate or wield control over people, you get psychopaths doing very well,” Dutton said.
May I add: In some cases, they are thriving and many are running for political offices.