For those concerned about the “weedsiness” of Russiagate: I’m obviously aware of it. During these periods when stuff is flying out every other day it’s very difficult to document the specific material and stay broad at the same time. I’d love to be writing about other things. But the way these situations work is that when something on your beat hits the news, you have to work your sources and get it all out bit by bit, then hopefully come up for air at some point and tell the wider story. There’s also an impact factor with journalism that depends on using moments of trained attention to try to reach more people. I know it isn’t the cup of tea of all Racket subscribers… but I did so many stories to lead to this moment (from Hamilton 68 to last year’s ICA tale to the smearing and surveillance of Gabbard herself) that I have to keep up at least during this period of releases. Obviously I need to try to avoid letting frustration kick in - I’m sorry about that, really, but I can’t let this go after all the years of effort.
I think I speak for a good number of Racket readers that not only do you not need to apologize or qualify your ongoing Herculean efforts to document this, correct the relentless, ongoing propaganda and revisionist history now, and make plain sense out of this convoluted conspiracy, but IDK what we would do without you. Please keep it up—don’t stop or apologize for doing your job with a professional integrity & superb wit! As another Racket reader puts it here, take it all the way to the end zone!! You are a rare, tenacious, truth warrior & fiercely talented journalist whom we all need, admire terrifically, and depend on in this otherwise Orwellian era!! And despite the Nimwits like Maher and other so-called journalists, you are not alone! Tulsi, Kash, Pam Bondi, the intelligence agencies whistleblowers and millions of truth-seeking taxpayer citizens are *counting* on you, Greenwald, Mate, Shellenberger *et al* to keep standing your ground and to continuing to take more ground! The way Maher treated Walter is repulsive. Both of you and ATW are national treasures.
Please know how much we appreciate your work on this, weeds or no weeds, no explanations necessary. If not for you and a few others, this would never have come to the surface. When the flak comes harder and heavier, you know you are close to the bulls eye. Maher and others behave this way because they are about to be exposed for their roles in perpetuating these corrupt fictions. To be wrong about the whole thing will feel to them like their minds breaking. All the ammo they have at this point is to resort to ugliness. Last gasps....
Well said and history will treat Matt well. This Democratic strategy seems to never come clean about anything. It’s so bad you don’t know where they stand on a variety of issues. But as long as the NYT, the media, etc continue to hide the ball from the public they will lose. And it will be a curiosity in history.
You have nothing to apologize for, Matt! This is the biggest story since WMDs. But don’t let the nimrods like Maher get under your skin. You are on offense and they’re on defense. Keep pushing toward the endzone and let them know where they stand: next time tell them to their faces they are low-information propagandists.
You have a gift for distilling all the twists and turns into digestible morsels for us to savor. After all these years, I will not tire of hearing you take the bullies and imbeciles apart, right down to their naughty bits. Keep it up!
I think Matt gets so aggravated by antics like Maher’s against Walter because, using your word, it’s like watching a playground bully pick on your best friend. But here’s the rub: these guys aren’t the bullies anymore (as of November 2024). Yet they’re still trying to talk tough and puff themselves up—commanding playground respect—when in reality they are backed into a corner and are flailing desperately. They MUST be treated as such, so that they lose their power over people like Matt and Walter. Same with the NYT, MSNBC, etc.
Recall that Maher is an opportunist, and he knows the wind is shifting. He's just taking cheap shots to appeal to his old base and because he is proud and insecure.
He takes cheap shots because he is somewhat audience captured. He'll spit some truths but he'll always go back to his TDS and other old Trump tropes because his audience expects and demands it.
I don't want to see him canceled. I enjoy listening to his braying donkey audience. I also enjoy the silence when he tells a joke that's a little too close to the truth and it renders his normally loyal listeners to silence.
Maher spits nothing but bullshit, full stop. He never says ANYTHING until he knows its 'safe', and will blow, figuratively in a coupla ways, whichever way the wind is blowing
Your passionate interest in getting to the truth in all the complexities of Russiagate make your writing on it -- and your updates on it-- so compelling. It's why I subscribed. You are the rare journalist actually passionate about a situation in which he has the journalistic, linguistic and cultural experience to do deep analysis. I also love this demonstrated profound respect for your colleague, Walter Kirn.
I'm following it just fine. I think a lot of people are. Maher is hoping we find it weedy. It's really not hard. The breadth and scope are breathtaking. I was a kid when Kennedy was shot. Was at Berkeley during Vietnam. I've been waiting for this sort of awesome spillage my entire life.
I was a 3rd grader when Kennedy was offed. Our Catholic school put the "then" media feed on our classroom TVs. I was at home and watched Lee Harvey Oswald offed on live TV. I watched the evacuation of Saigon on live TV. Black and white TVs for those of you who want perspective. Old folks like me rely on journalists like Matt to try to insure that our grandchildren will inherit a nation better than what we've lived through,. A tall order but worth fighting for. I love your word, "breathtaking".
Me too. And the Vietnam war. Every night. While my friends were getting drafted. Something other than gaslighting has been a long time coming. Thank you!
Circa 1966-67 when I was 12 years old I used to watch young adults walk around from our corner "candy store" to casually puke into the weeds. It wasn't the violent retching of viral illness that we kids knew well. At the time I didn't understand it. Later on I knew it to be heroin. We lost a number of kids from my neighborhood in the years that followed. We also had guys that returned from 'Nam a shell of their former selves. Now, only a few of us are alive to tell the stories of those days and to plead with guys like Matt to bring his children and our grandchildren into a better place,
The story isn't close to the end because it is still unfolding. You have to stick with it, especially because you've been on it for so long. You, along with (maybe) one or two others, are the only reporters who can continue putting the new pieces of the story into the proper places. We'll drown in the drip of details, seemingly crazy connections, and parallel timelines...thus losing any frame of reference for how it will all fit together in the end.
I agree, the story is still unfolding. However... when collecting data in real time and trying to assess where it will lead, it often happens one reaches critical mass where more data doesn't change the trend. We are well beyond that point.
I'm not at all saying turn our brains off and stop paying attention as new information emerges. I am saying, I expect new information will reinforce what we already believe, and is is extremely unlikely to turn the picture around.
After the total destruction of the fabric of society in America due to Russiagate and framing Trump for it, the destruction of our standing on the world stage, the destruction of friendships, of families, I want you to see this thing through to the F'in end -- I hope you're standing under the gallows with a pen and paper describing the looks on their faces when they're getting ready to kick their horses.
I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I do believe that this is what most of us are here for, Matt. Yours is old-school journalism, which has largely disappeared from the media landscape, with actual sources, checkable facts, and a dog-with-a-bone focus on finding and elucidating the truth. Not "my truth", or "his truth", but *the* truth (there is only one, as it turns out). Most of us are so sick of the shades of gray, subjective style of reporting that has come to pass as journalism until just recently - no matter how wonky or "weedsy" this story may get, it is a steadily growing breath of fresh air in an, until now, stench-laden room.
I was at a non-drinkers residence once, and they said, "Well, we do have some creme de menthe we use sometimes on desserts." I answered, "That'll work."
No, thank you. To put your mind at ease, perhaps, martini at 5 PM, one wine at dinner. Unless my best friend comes visiting earlier, then it's the Bushmills.
The Devil is in the “weedsiness”! It's both a refuge for those who value truth and an inconvenient obstacle for those who wish to twist the truth into Narrative. We have your back, Matt, and you have our undying thanks!
Even with WMD level deceits, they can instantly fill the headlines and the mouths of puppets like Mahr and Colbert with the next "Fabrication of the Week" to distract.
It's called "cooling the mark" in spy-craft parlance.
They told Obama not to look back on Wall Street corruption and Obama repeated that in a speech as if it was the perfectly moral thing to do.
Bookmark that.
"Your wife and family were murdered last night while you were overseas and no suspects have been found. But that was yesterday, and you just need to move on and forget about it because we are canceling the investigation."
That's what the Brennans, Clappers and Comeys are counting on. A story so convoluted normal people with real lives can't keep up. But it's too important, and Matt's reporting along with others is crucial. It's the only way for most of us to see the danger and treason in the actions of our own government.
I'm thinking the convoluted nature is deliberate. They know the short attention spans and news cycles will make most people have no interest in paying attention to hear the truth. They will just want to move on (to "save democracy").
A similar sentiment allowed half the country (who incessantly protest all the time for almost anything) to be okay with being given their candidate in Kamala with no primary.
I fear it will be well played and become the normal process... float allegations that everyone is saying and they become the truth....
I want to add that the “weedsiness” of Russiagate is part of what makes it unique. I can’t think of another political scandal that had such a huge cast of characters. Nearly a decade in we still don’t know for sure what the triggering incident was - it’s the opposite of Watergate, which started with a break-in and fanned out. There are dozens of sub-scandals: the FBI’s illegal surveillance and human spying, the White House’s illegal unmasking, the manipulated ICA, the coordination between FBI and the Clinton camp, years of classified leaks from Congress, state money spent on media scams a la Hamilton 68… it’s endless. Some of it is opportunistic, some coordinated, some parts are unclear - it’s so many different institutions and people involved that it’s become a huge challenge to track. This also makes it very hard for audiences, especially since we still have gaps in public knowledge, especially in the area of motive. All I can say is, please hang in there with us, as this is every bit a generational scandal that history will remember, no matter how much the legacy press and maybe even your friends might say otherwise.
If history is to remember the truth about Russiagate, and the winners write the history books, ergo it is imperative to make sure that in addition every bit of truth you reveal, that you also use the power of your platform to show the world how the legacy press are the LOSERS. But do this from the position of strength that you’re in now: treat them like the Russians treated state media circa 1990. With mockery and derision.
As Walter said in an earlier ATW, re: the way Greek revelers would "satirize" kings and other stuffed shirts of the day during parades or other public celebrations: dressed as satyrs, with outsized private parts, they would wave these exaggerated costume parts at the dishonored royals as a means of socially acceptable opprobrium. Likewise, the best way to treat those worthy of public derision for past behavior today is to "wangle our giant dongs at them" (Walter's words, not mine - but exactly right, metaphorically speaking) 😂😂😂
In that frame of mind, I've always seen Maher as a bit of an arrogant Schmuck. Not furthering the conversation, but wanting the last word on a subject.
Beyond generational, I'd say. At its core, this is _the_ story of postwar America. I think some people resist seeing this lie because to do so necessarily entails seeing so many others. To see not just that they lied, but they did so easily, boldly, and with no reservations whatsoever. That there has been an entire sprawling apparatus for spreading lies, likely for my lifetime and more.
And for some, their own place in the lies, if only the willing suspension of disbelief. Some of this was so blatantly absurd the only way to believe was to want to.
As for Maher, I've long considered him a windsock with 90% more weasel. At best.
It was the opposite of what we thought was our birthright as American citizens. While a rogue security state has been gestating below the surface since the end of WWII, it took the former Messiah to publicly identify, weaponize, and bring above-ground: his Fundamental Transformation.
It's important to keep in mind that all the shenanigans were for democracy and politicians known to be protectors of democracy. Yes they broke the rules but they were heroes, in their own minds.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. First she had to run against this dirtbag. Then to lose? Impossible. Who could she pin it on? Who was even more repugnant than Trump?
Duh.
What's really interesting about Russiagate, though, is how it's all is turning out. Hillary's grand conspiracy forged a friendship based on trust. Now these two ruthless and depraved dictators are hellbent on peace.
"America First" Trump and "Russia First" Putin have doomed not only the uniparty but unipolarity too. By rejecting U.S. global dominance in favor of BRICS, they may wind up saving us all from extinction.
For me the big aha moment was learning that by Brennan/Clapper/Comey/Obama/ etc. including false information (Clinton campaign's fake Steele Dossier) in the FISA application, the FBI/CIA had permission to wiretap not only Trump, but anyone that Trump communicated with and anyone that those people communicated with. A wide net was cast, and many lives were ruined by way of false allegations and legals bills. (I don't understand why the Republicans reapproved the renewal of FISA.)
I see the complainers on X all the time, and I flat out don't get it - this is EXACTLY what I want from my Racket subscription, and is EXACTLY what the country needs if its going to move forward. Isn't it obvious? We can't get to the truth without untangling the lies!
Matt is almost always great. But his weak points are when he gets overemotional like on this one (I mean, Maher's difference of opinion with bad justification is not exactly in John-Brennan-evil territory). Threatening a potential violent response is not a good look for anyone.
He also looks bad when he gets things flat wrong. He still hasn't corrected his godawful takes on Bridges v Wilson as relates to current immigration cases and whether or not the gov't is violating First Amendment rights, where he:
Created a false impression that Bridges was deported for being a communist but that was disallowed. Saying Bridges was "a closely analogous 1945 case about an Australian labor organizer accused of communist affiliation. Not unlike someone like Mahmoud Khalil, Harry Bridges was a foreigner thought to be here on a specious premise, advancing unpopular beliefs and causing trouble." That is a highly misleading picture.
What was wrong in Bridges is that the government had no proof that Bridges was a Communist and relied on hearsay and thus he should not be deported because you can't make legal judgments on hearsay - they didn't say that one couldn't deport a Communist overall.
He then fails to cite Harisiades v. Shaughnessy 1952, a case later than Bridges where Communists were deported *specifically for that exact reason, being Communists* and the court found that fully constitutional.
Further, he quoted SC Justice Francis Murphy's concurrence, writing that informs but has no force of law, as if it were the opinion of the Court. It was not.
The most casual review of the WP page on Bridges v. Wilson shows me right here.
Difference of opinion with bad justification?He cut the clip to make it prove the exact opposite of what was actually said. That's definitely Brennan territory. It's just as bad as the "Good people on both sides" hoax. It's the resort of people who know the truth is not on their side, but they still want to win.
When you find yourself fabricating evidence on a story about fabricating evidence, you have to realize you're not one of the good guys, however, you got here.
Brennan spied on the staff of a US Senator including by accessing their computers, while the Senator was actively engaged in oversight of his CIA.
Then he lied about it to Congress.
As one item that's maybe middle of the pack in his top ten worst things.
That's gonna bit a bit worse on anyone's ledger than a TV host using a clip to spin a point their way when they disagree, which probably 939 people in the US did this week.
Further, from the evidence I laid out above, what Taibbi did is worse, so are you condemning him to Brennan territory too?
You specifically mentioned Maher's treatment of Walt as not sufficient to put him in Brennan territory. I thought his mendacious cut of the Presser put him there. Now you state other differences between the men, which of course are true. Fine, I'm not trying to map out Brennan territory. It's not exactly an exact science. :)
My main concern was to disagree with your disagreement with how Matt responded to Maher. You're right about threatening violence not being a good look, and Matt apologized elsewhere for having such a strong reaction. But I stand by my statement on how bad what Maher did was, whether a Brennan comparison sticks or not.
I guess words are violent?! I like Matt because he is willing to spend whatever numbers of words are needed to clarify the crap that was hidden. I am tired of cut up videos showing nothing but a narrative and not the truth. I stopped watching the news on TV and late night years ago for any semblance of truth. At this point, I’m not even sure if the weather is reported factually.
Yes. i just figured he aimed to give him a good talkin' to. Excellent use of 'ferrous' by the way. I was kind of scratching my head thinking "what's magnetism got to do with it?" and then I was like......ah..."steely". This is why I love Matt's readers :)
Loyalty and friendship is one of the last of the dying virtues and Matt has it. If he wasn’t angry at how his friend was treated well, what kind of friend would hebe?
Matt is so even keeled 90% of the time I can give him a pass and then some.
The big thing I took away from Ben Shreckinger's book on the Bidens was how incredibly loyal to each other they were. It led to great things, for them.
Dad had taught them to never turn each other in, even as hall monitor in school. One of them resigned as a hall monitor when faced with the ethical dilemma of otherwise having to rat someone out. Because of this great virtue of always covering for each other, they faced very little accountability - and thus they begat the glory that is Hunter.
I love Matt too much to bullshit him when he's in the wrong, trust me, and we can trust him to take criticism well. We need him remaining self-aware. For one thing to avoid the Mehdi Hasan encounters, or be more prepared for them.
Death by a thousand cuts...or by one cut deliberately meant to reinforce a point of view one knows to be false, and worse, to ridicule a guest. Either Maher doesn't understand what's at stake here, or doesn't care. Either way, he's a lighweight...and a liar.
As a general rule, ending a column with a veiled threat of violence is not a good look. In this case though, there is a greater public good that would be served by determining whether or not Bill would ball gargle to avoid a beating.
You’re a common lout! You are rude and severely lacking in intelligence and communication skills I am not surprised, however, you’re a liberal leftist, or perhaps a Marxist Islamist America hater. All of you have very common characteristic. You cannot make a rational and reason argument to support your position because your position is idiotic. Therefore, you invariably make at how many attacks on those individuals who possess common sense the ability to communicate, rationalconcepts, supported by facts and reason circumstantial conclusions.
You’re a name caller. If you can’t do anything, but call people names shut up, go away and read the comics.
Satire and sarcasm are tricky these days. There are plenty of people out there who genuinely believe what Ray wrote. Is he one of them? If you don't know his thoughts through reading his writing, you can't tell.
I've been guilty on both the doing and recognizing ends of sarcasm. I don't do it anymore unless I can figure out a way to make myself clear.
Hahahahaha!! SO many better rational, logical, reasoned, hilarious, intelligent comments initiated by just the opposite. Thanks for the relief that laughing at idiocy can bring. Matt is Gold Bitcoin - true reserve $.
Matt was completely impotent on his last Maher appearance in refuting Maher and his Russia idiocy. Maher’s arm is in no figurative or literal danger. Not from matt
You’re making my point: Bill Maher is a smart ass that uses ad hominem attacks on everyone as a comedian, but more pointedly to his political opponents. Name-calling deflection and refusal to accept or examine real facts just like you motherfuckers.
Chuck, according to a list on Wikipedia, Matt’s last appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher was on August 5, 2022. Matt had trouble getting a word in edgewise between Maher and the dumbly incoherent Lis Smith, but Russiagate never came up. Can you clarify precisely which Maher episode you are referring to?
Chuck, thanks, the actual episode is S19E29 on October 01,2021. I agree that Matt’s public appearance persona is more affable and passive than his written voice, and I prefer the latter. The thing is, to reach readers you have to get them to read you. In a public appearance on hostile territory, this is not easy. Maher continually interrupted and pivoted as Matt calmly rejected each point. It is easy to imagine Matt responding more aggressively and taking control of the flow. Matt, unlike Maher, is trying to win people over against a clearly stacked deck. I see your point, but I think you’re being unkind.
You’re not wrong. I am being unkind. And I probably should work on that. But when matt blusters about what he would have done if he were there, it’s triggering. I have tuned in practically giddy waiting for the guy who relentlessly talks shit about gaslighting media to slay the Dragon. And he comes off like it was a pop quiz of some sort. One he didn’t study for. I really do like his writing but he needs to work on his combat skills. Or avoid combat.
In the (undeceptively edited) words of Jellyfish Maher: “I don’t need the Mueller report to know that he’s a traitor,” I assure you. “I don't have a TV.”
At the end of the day, the biggest piece of evidence Trump is not a "traitor" is that he is so manifestly, blindingly obviously, a patriot.
Can we get Dana White on the line? I think it's time for a good 'ol fashioned live action Celebrity Death Match. I'm not a celebrity, but I'd really like to sign on to the card. I'd love a shot at Leonardo the ultimate Epstein list model.
Steve Smith's advice: "Learn how to cut and paste." Yes, I typed it right there. Cut and paste is a gateway drug to bad manuscripts. Yes, I hit return to start the next line when I want a new line.
I see many text UIs put that immediately out as a new paragraph, not to mention messing up my spaces after a period.
Agreed a great line. But even Matt seemed to have overlooked Maher’s moral decrepitude. On the genocide where ‘ buggering babies’ has been surpassed by murdering them Maher responded to a guest:” OF COURSE ITS A WAR!… “Yet he has seen the photos and videos of skeletal, burned or blown up children. He has seen the crimes of the IDF as they post it online themselves. He has read about the “humanitarian aid distribution centres” and the thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered by Israeli snipers and drones seeking food. He has seen the footage of an almost completely flattened Gaza. He just doesn’t care. His racist hatred of Palestinians has become a cash cow.”
Sorry I failed to attribute that last quote . It was NYTKen Orphan who I admittedly do not know much about but you can find out more here: https://kennorphan.com/about-me/
Matt, Walter, et al.: why fall into the trap of these disingenuous hosts again and again? All they do is set you up to be the Washington Generals to their Harlem Globetrotters. They don’t deserve to be dignified with responses.
Walter or you or any serious journalist could get some viral attention and maybe let the world see the emperor has no clothes if you were to simply respond to an opening question (and all further questions, on repeat) with: “you are a partisan and propagandist, whereas I have done serious investigative journalism on this topic. I won’t answer your questions until you engage me in good faith.” Of course you wouldn’t get invited back, but who cares? These guys need to have it shoved back in their faces.
08/16/25: "Walter, who also lost friends and dealt with blowback during the McCarthyite mania that Bill helped inflame."
Now is as good a time as any to repeat something that cannot be overstressed:
Walter Kirn, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and hundreds of others did not lose any friends as a result of America's Second McCarthyism Era (@ 2015-2024; the first @ 1948-@ 1958).
I liked your comment. Then didn't like it. But I like it, so did it again. lol now I'm responding. IMO Matt (and Walter, and others) are a cadre of good people in a fight that matters. Not just earning a living they see their work as actually doing good. And it's a type of fight that I have no skill or really idea of how to navigate, so I give them money and praise to do it.
That fight is to get the truth into the eyes and ears of citizens AND persuade them that it is the truth. That by necessity demands they directly engage people who lie. To simply stand and speak truth, while another lies, is ineffective in the long run; the liar must be confronted directly. Even if they persist in lying. The audience must see the confrontation. It's the difference between shit talking before the fight and getting into the ring. The results are what matter (to the audience, indeed to reality), the results are what are ultimately persuasive.
So yeah I totally get where you're coming from, indeed agree with it! The liars aren't worth dignifying with a response. But unfortunately we live in a nasty world where that stand is ineffective in winning the fight.
I think we are saying the same thing. The truth seekers like Matt and Walter and their ilk need to stay on the battlefield but they need to change tactics when confronted with these partisan hosts who are entrenched on the fortified hill that is their own TV show. Don’t fix bayonets and charge up the slope to meet them head on. Stand back and call in the artillery. That’s what I’m arguing for.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Bill invited Walter on, and not Matt *BECAUSE* Matt has done the research, and can bring the receipts. Bill had Walter on because he thought he could steamroll right over Walter in a way he couldn't with Matt.
I agree, Walter is brilliant, and I enjoy his work (and his comments/participation with Matt) tremendously. I do, however, think that Bill Maher thought that way, even though we all know better..
Yep!! The real message--(my view)--is the in your face hubris and malignant narcissism--that says I can lie and distort reality at will and there is nothing you can do about it.--It is a kind of vampirism that in distorting the truth sucks the power away from honest human discourse and replaces it with the diseased reality We the People--clearly see--now operating on a national level. The healthy indignation and honest rage of this RACKET report is as legitimate as the day is long. But the lie is far deeper and far more deadly than Russiagate and everyone present knows it. And disease is the operative word. It's time to get well.
Continuing to existing inside the moral vacuum (LIE) of the managerial/surveillance totalitarianism of the D.C./Brussels/CCP Davos thugdom will--if allowed to do so--as it is doing in Europe--destroy the American Republic. Maher isn't "clown" world he--like Colbert-- is "evil" clown world". The only engine of survival is the Republic--the Constitution--and the free citizen. Everything else is psyop. Support your local truth speaker. Depart the psyop and live.
Yes yes yes. Speaking truth to these hosts as if one is in some kind of authentic Habermasian discourse is pointless. Shouting into the vacuum. They need to be called out on their games first, to create a space in which truth and discourse can be reestablished.
I think we’ve won the bet already. It’s time to start publicly putting the nails in the establishment media coffin. To their faces, as I keep suggesting here.
i DON'T REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES WE DROVE THROUGH Montana, THE Dakotas Wisconsin Illinois , Michigan , Kansas Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa AND Dixie. MY WIFE AND our great grandchild's GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN IN Nashville AND WE WERE MARRIED IN THE Land OF THE Midnight Sun. I WATCHED Cab Calloway AND THE Harlem Globetrotters AT THE Montreal Forum A SHORT WALK FROM Kamala Harris' high school.
At Westmount High School it is the 21st century not the late 18th century of your Constitutional apologists. At Westmount High Thomas Paine's Common Sense is the law.
Race is homo sapiens sapiens, gender is analog and religion is only virtual reality.
Healthcare, education and welfare are HUMAN RIGHTS not privileges of the privileged . America is not United and the sooner we accept that California isn't Texass and New York isn't Iowa the sooner we can return this world to some sanity. I live in Quebec . We decided to keep Canada together by ballots not bullets but we can always vote again and Newsome must say no Taxation without Representation. The Boston Tea Party was about the power of the parliament of Westminster imposing tarriffs on the tea of everybody but the East India Company the corporation that raN THE COLONIES FOR THE SHAREHOLDERS WHO RAN THE English Parliament CALLED THE House OF Landlords. William And Mary gave up the right to tax tariff and spend in 1689 under the Toleration Acts that ended The English Civil War.
In 1689 there were no Jews, Moslems, Deists, Agnostics, conforming Protestants or even Roman Catholics permitted in the House of Landlords. Scalia was a lying scumbag and a disgrace to conservative American philosophy like the founders of Nation Review, Russell Kirk and the vile bastard William F Buckley "God and Man at Yale Buckley Jr.\
Edmund Burke was a LIBERAL PHILOSOPHER and a Whig Member of Parliament and your Americans made him a goddamn Tory. I know what a liberal was in 1789 and in 2025 from Johnson's dictionary.
It is time to decide the future iof America by ballot not bombs and bullets This is the age of the World Wide Web not the Pony Express, Mississippi is still burning and the world is up in smoke.
I used to read several print newspapers in the morning before I went to work Then I would go to work and not consume news until I came home and would watch the network summaries (usually CBS and PBS News Hour). Maybe I'd read a few magazines (paper ones) like the NYer and the Atlantic and Rolling Stone. Otherwise I focused on my work. With the Internet everything changed as bits and pieces of news fly in and out all day. But after this new mode began I tried to step back and consume the news the way I used to do. This means selecting a few trusted sources on Substack to read closely. I thought once that big shows like Maher might point people to a better sources, but there is such a current on that show of staying on the A list that it's no longer worth it. If a guest like WK could be undercut then there isn't much use in watching BM at all.
Maher's a "comedian." Funny, I never noticed. What he always struck me as, however, was a smug, sanctimonious asshole, who was able only to milk laughs from equally smug leftist assholes who think open borders is a mark of their compassion; rather than showing they're just shills and cucks for globalist vampires.
“ Ball gargling” for the win! Maher was and is completely intimidated by Walter’s obvious superior intelligence and intellect. If you zoom in I think you can detect some “ ball shrinkage” …..
Agreed but I do think Maher is wrestling with the increasing revelations that he and so many other “ Hollywood” folks were played…. He seems a bit anxious…..
I suspected Walter’s appearance would be futile, because Maher is lazy, self-impressed, and always way behind the revealed truth.
I can’t forget Maher was still waggling an accusatory finger at Nick Sandman a week after the full tape had been released that showed Sandman had been the one aggressed upon by the Native American man at the Capitol. I quit watching then.
It’s unfortunate, because the MSM is obfuscating, at best massaging, the avalanche of newly declassified Russiagate revelations, and alternate means of getting the truth out to the MSM-slurping normies have got to be explored.
He can master nothing bc he is high all the time. He can never be great because of that. Half his brain is in a bowl. It’s smoke and mirrors. Literally.
Its not just Hollywood. Its cognitive dissonance. The saying, "Its easier to fool people than convince them they have been fooled." is apt here. People are invested in their narrative and will reject outright even rock solid evidence they were snookered. Knowing that, I gave up a long time ago trying to convince anyone that they've been had. Its not worth the headache.
Some people change their minds when presented with facts and evidence, the rest are cultists.
Relevant: “The backfire effect is the tendency of some people to resist accepting evidence that conflicts with their beliefs. The effect is demonstrated when people presented with that conflicting information become even more convinced of their original beliefs rather than questioning them.”
Thank you Matt for writing this article and your numerous articles on Russia gate. I appreciate that you give your readers the information to come to our own conclusions. You don’t give us edited, out of context clips.
I dislike Trump. I think he’s a dishonest, self aggrandizing, conman. I wanted to believe Russia gate but based on your reporting I had to change my mind.
I’m so disappointed in Bill Maher. It’s disheartening as he is one of my favorite comedian and I watch his show every week.
I can’t even talk about this with my circle of friends. They get defensive and accuse me of being manipulated by Trump and his cronies. I thought as Tulsi Gabbard started releasing the evidence that even my intelligent, moderate, heterodox friends would at least be interested in looking at the evidence that is being released but none of them with even read any of it. Instead just accuse me of being a conspiracy theorist that listens to too many right wing podcasts. Right wing? Since when did Matt Taibbi become a right wing conspiracy theorist. They were all big fans with the reporting Matt did on WMD and the financial crisis. They have never defended the CIA and FBI before. It’s so confusing. I guess Trump derangement syndrome is a real disorder.
It’s a lonely, frustrating world with this juicy burger. I needed to get all of this off my chest. Thank you for letting having a comments section so I can feel a little lighter today.
Bill Maher has been a shill for the establishment ever since he lost his prime time show for having the temerity to suggest that the 9/11 hijackers weren’t a bunch of cowards.
That’s when Mr. Maher learned about the Overton Window, something people who live in the land of the Free and the Brave don’t know exists until they cross the line.
Maher has never forgotten that lesson and he’ll never cross that line again.
I was fully expecting him to silence Walter Kirn after watching the way he silenced Nick Gillespie (2106) when he stated that the USA had illegally, along with the Uk and France, overthrown Qaddafi.
Nick pressed his point and Maher cut him off by saying, “But Qaddafi was a bad guy.”
He sounded like a petulant little boy saying that, and it was especially funny because Maher would frequently say, “You don’t get to choose your own facts.”
No, but if you have your own show you can cut someone off when he dares to state facts that you don’t like.
I came away from the Gillespie episode impressed with his gracious and “classy” behavior when a more uninhibited person might have been inspired to cut Maher a new one.
And I felt the same way watching Walter last night - he was gracious, warm, funny and most importantly, he wasn’t at all intimidated by Maher.
My husband and I thought Maher felt threatened by Walter’s superior intelligence, but maybe that’s just our bias.
I did get the impression that the whole discussion part of the show had a weird fear vibe. Jong-Fast appeared to be more muted than I expected and even crouching a bit. Bill Maher seemed very antsy, sharp, and rudely dismissive of Kirn. Not much fun to watch. A weird dynamic with fake sounding laughter.
Can you imagine taking Steven Colbert or Bill Maher seriously? What kind of upbringing could you have had? I like to think I’m as imaginative as the next person, but I’m not up to imagining that.
"Can you imagine taking Steven Colbert or Bill Maher seriously?"
I can't. But I'm somewhat charitable about the portion of what passes today as "the Left": (Although an atheist) I agree wholeheartedly with the point, "There but for the grace of God go I". There are far too many who are less than conscious but through little to no fault of their own -- insulated upbringings from birth, career/social sets, competing pressures on attention, the psychology of denial -- that tell me this goes far beyond simply cases of fully-aware CYA. To get through to them is not only non-trivial, but can take decades.
Thanks. I agree re Maher. He's one of the disingenuous "leadership", feigning not to understand the big picture here, and just groping his way through life like the rest of us schlubs. It's his followers that make me sad.
You are correct P.L. The manipulated surveillance merger of pop culture personality entertainment-- politics and finance-- and the creation of an "everything means everything so nothing means anything" electronic psyop-- with a Katherine Maher "what difference does the truth make" reality throw in --pretty much defines the open air asylum psychology of control distorting the American landscape. If you live in virtual electronic bubble land you can go with the comforting "it isn't happening to me so it isn't happening" philosophy of the screen. If you live in actual "real time" witnessing and experiencing the social/economic collapse and the onsequences of rigged game avarice it is another thing altogether. The attached assault on civil liberties and the ascent of totalitarianism is simply the perps desire to cover up/justify the crime and escape prosecution. Hence the lie. It is a painful lie. And it is meant to be painful and destructive. ---Suffer by choice or depart the psyop and begin to regain your mental health and spiritual well being.
copy/paste of my comment from the initial version of this post:
Omg. Your readers understand that Russiagate was a hoax. The establishment was wrong on the story and wrong on your approach to the story and they went out of their way to make your work and life difficult. Got it. We fully support you on this and we greatly appreciate your work, courage and moral compass. But we should also concede that not everyone is on that same page and, at this point in time, that's ok. I'll ask; what is your definition of victory in this crusade that you're on? If the current DOJ investigation doesn't send people to jail, and I think we'd all be shocked if it did, has this entire Russiagate episode not found its conclusion? As far as Bill Mahr goes, he is no different than every other pundit/media personality/talking head in that his agenda is packed with mistakes and blind spots. Name any single one like him that can claim otherwise. The difference with Mahr, as you alluded to, is that he's at least good for a laugh on a fairly consistent basis. Personally, I don't really care about Bill Mahr's reputation, I was more upset that this column isn't really moving the needle and, more importantly, that I don't think we'll ever see you as a guest on his show again and that, to me, is sad.
Since a bunch of us started on this kick we’ve seen whole agencies in (GEC) and out (Stanford Internet Observatory) of government defunded, mass layoffs of key press offenders, and appointment to key cabinet positions of previously denounced/censored figures like Tulsi, Jay Bhattacharya, and Kash Patel. The latter meanwhile have accelerated disclosures that may lead to charges. I’ve been in journalism for 35 years and excepting a brief period in 2010 or so when financial reports helped spur hearings, I’ve never had the experience of being part of a group reporting effort that’s led to so many concrete consequences. Everything we’re taught says to keep going. Part of the deception is propaganda saying this isn’t a huge scandal; it absolutely is, and part of my job is to ignore the “Why are you covering this?” questions.
The part that pisses me off the most is the people who know you’re onto legit corruption and crime that should be exposed but because they are dyed in the wool Democrats and hate Donald Trump with every fiber in their bodies, you should stop covering it. “Where’s your loyalty?” they lament. As a former moderate Democrat, their argument is unacceptable. Actually, gross.
It’s so funny that it’s sad that they are completely willing to destroy the basis of “their democracy” to save it, and they aren’t even smart enough to see that’s what their actions amount to.
TDS will be a clinical term in the future, it will be studied and quantified.
The righteous indignation I read in these posts from a journalist’s point of view is what I feel when I read the total bulls*** being produced in the court system. The various lawfare prosecutions of Trump. The total crap being produced in the federal district courts on “emergency” basis. The absolute drooling of Supreme Court Justice KBJ. At some point it is not just lazy, lame, or incompetent. Not even, just corrupt.
Damn right Matt. Keep reporting. “What is the point of all this?” should be aimed at the person still reading it thinking it’s pointless, not the journalist on the front lines that believes it is not. You’re doing excellent work and it’s extremely valuable to the subset of American society still interested in the truth, waning as that demographic might be.
Good point. Disregard most of my comment except the part where I'd like to see you on Bill's show again. That and Breaking Points are the only shows I watch that you've been on, although I watch all your other appearance after the fact on the line. And, yes, I understand that this point serves only my selfish needs.
That said, do you think any of those agencies you mentioned would be shuttered today if Kamala was POTUS? Probably just as good a chance that some of them would be funded to the gills (I believe that phrase means they'd have a lot of funding).
If you read this Matt… be sure to watch Bill’s interview with David Mamet before doing it… simply for a good frame of reference regarding Maher’s weakness….its sure to make u chuckle if nothing else.
"part of my job is to ignore the “Why are you covering this?” questions. "
I don't think you should ignore them, but do have a good answer to the question. Which I think your initial response at the top of the comments covers with the whole "For those concerned about the “weedsiness” of Russiagate: I’m obviously aware of it."
As long as you maintain that self awareness you'll probably be fine. On the other hand, taking a break to cover something else (say the off year gubernatorial elections in NJ & Virginia) might be good mentally. In Virginia particularly, it's probably going to swing back to the Democrats which will be an interesting contrast to the reporting you did 4 years ago predicting the swing to Youngkin.
Matt shouldn't take a break from his Russiagate reporting. The past 10 years of complicity of the federal government, news media, and Dem administration's are worth constant reporting. Matt is about the only real journalist actually reporting on this.
It seems your complaint is that you wish for an "ah hah" moment of deliverance. Kinda like a Nixon resigns moment. A societal catharsis by confession or conviction. The powerful forces that rely on persisting in the Russiagate hoax as though it were true are not going gently in that night, good or evil. Taibbi's point below, and examples of consequences is pretty damn good consequence and the effect that follows the cause.
Speaking of oral debate prowess, Maybe JD needs to get more vocal on Russiagate? I was disappointed with Mike Johnson’s performance on Meet the Press recently. Which coincided with major declassifications that whole week. He failed to pivot from Epstein accusations to the DNI releases. Unless he was expressly told not to speak of that news, it was a wasted opportunity to call out MSM.
Why are you so sure nothing will legally come of it? Considering the information siloing of red and blue these days, why would the DOJ bother with any of this if it was just to sway public opinion? Do you imagine the NYT or WaPo will take any of this seriously until forced to by an ongoing trial with real consequences?
I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't know what's going to come of all the reporting on Russiagate. But one thing I'll assert with high confidence: things are so fundamentally different now on multiple axes, there is no basis whatsoever for saying what will or won't happen based on what we've seen in the past.
For those concerned about the “weedsiness” of Russiagate: I’m obviously aware of it. During these periods when stuff is flying out every other day it’s very difficult to document the specific material and stay broad at the same time. I’d love to be writing about other things. But the way these situations work is that when something on your beat hits the news, you have to work your sources and get it all out bit by bit, then hopefully come up for air at some point and tell the wider story. There’s also an impact factor with journalism that depends on using moments of trained attention to try to reach more people. I know it isn’t the cup of tea of all Racket subscribers… but I did so many stories to lead to this moment (from Hamilton 68 to last year’s ICA tale to the smearing and surveillance of Gabbard herself) that I have to keep up at least during this period of releases. Obviously I need to try to avoid letting frustration kick in - I’m sorry about that, really, but I can’t let this go after all the years of effort.
I think I speak for a good number of Racket readers that not only do you not need to apologize or qualify your ongoing Herculean efforts to document this, correct the relentless, ongoing propaganda and revisionist history now, and make plain sense out of this convoluted conspiracy, but IDK what we would do without you. Please keep it up—don’t stop or apologize for doing your job with a professional integrity & superb wit! As another Racket reader puts it here, take it all the way to the end zone!! You are a rare, tenacious, truth warrior & fiercely talented journalist whom we all need, admire terrifically, and depend on in this otherwise Orwellian era!! And despite the Nimwits like Maher and other so-called journalists, you are not alone! Tulsi, Kash, Pam Bondi, the intelligence agencies whistleblowers and millions of truth-seeking taxpayer citizens are *counting* on you, Greenwald, Mate, Shellenberger *et al* to keep standing your ground and to continuing to take more ground! The way Maher treated Walter is repulsive. Both of you and ATW are national treasures.
Well said.
Seconded
Thirded
AMEN!
Please know how much we appreciate your work on this, weeds or no weeds, no explanations necessary. If not for you and a few others, this would never have come to the surface. When the flak comes harder and heavier, you know you are close to the bulls eye. Maher and others behave this way because they are about to be exposed for their roles in perpetuating these corrupt fictions. To be wrong about the whole thing will feel to them like their minds breaking. All the ammo they have at this point is to resort to ugliness. Last gasps....
Perfectly said!
Bill has no excuse, dense reading or not. Use AI to summarize it down into succinct bullet points.
Matt, Michael Shellenberger, and Miranda Devine are the Woodward and Bernsteins of the 21st century for American journalism. Thanks to all 3 of you.
Well said and history will treat Matt well. This Democratic strategy seems to never come clean about anything. It’s so bad you don’t know where they stand on a variety of issues. But as long as the NYT, the media, etc continue to hide the ball from the public they will lose. And it will be a curiosity in history.
100%
What MJG said
Excellent comment. Nothing to add except a thumbs up.
Amen bro, preach it!
I'm a woman, but thank you. (-;
You have nothing to apologize for, Matt! This is the biggest story since WMDs. But don’t let the nimrods like Maher get under your skin. You are on offense and they’re on defense. Keep pushing toward the endzone and let them know where they stand: next time tell them to their faces they are low-information propagandists.
Low-info propagandists is literally the perfect way to describe them.
Keep it up, Matt!!!!! You are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You have a gift for distilling all the twists and turns into digestible morsels for us to savor. After all these years, I will not tire of hearing you take the bullies and imbeciles apart, right down to their naughty bits. Keep it up!
I think Matt gets so aggravated by antics like Maher’s against Walter because, using your word, it’s like watching a playground bully pick on your best friend. But here’s the rub: these guys aren’t the bullies anymore (as of November 2024). Yet they’re still trying to talk tough and puff themselves up—commanding playground respect—when in reality they are backed into a corner and are flailing desperately. They MUST be treated as such, so that they lose their power over people like Matt and Walter. Same with the NYT, MSNBC, etc.
Recall that Maher is an opportunist, and he knows the wind is shifting. He's just taking cheap shots to appeal to his old base and because he is proud and insecure.
He takes cheap shots because he is somewhat audience captured. He'll spit some truths but he'll always go back to his TDS and other old Trump tropes because his audience expects and demands it.
Which leaves him squarely in Colbert territory. His show needs to be discontinued… Again.
I don't want to see him canceled. I enjoy listening to his braying donkey audience. I also enjoy the silence when he tells a joke that's a little too close to the truth and it renders his normally loyal listeners to silence.
Maher spits nothing but bullshit, full stop. He never says ANYTHING until he knows its 'safe', and will blow, figuratively in a coupla ways, whichever way the wind is blowing
Your passionate interest in getting to the truth in all the complexities of Russiagate make your writing on it -- and your updates on it-- so compelling. It's why I subscribed. You are the rare journalist actually passionate about a situation in which he has the journalistic, linguistic and cultural experience to do deep analysis. I also love this demonstrated profound respect for your colleague, Walter Kirn.
You said exactly what I wanted to, Diane, and so well too.
Just keep doing what you're doing. We aren't going anywhere.
We are behind you 100%. We need honest journalism.
I'm following it just fine. I think a lot of people are. Maher is hoping we find it weedy. It's really not hard. The breadth and scope are breathtaking. I was a kid when Kennedy was shot. Was at Berkeley during Vietnam. I've been waiting for this sort of awesome spillage my entire life.
Do not let it go. Keep on keeping on.
Yes, I don’t get the “weedy” comment.
It all looks pretty clear.
Clinton supported by Obama cooked it all up just to distract from Clinton’s server, an actual felony. The Steele dossier is another felony.
They didn’t imagine Trump would win, when he did they already had the bones in place, they accelerated it to delegitimize Trump.
All we are doing now is teasing out details and timelines.
Yes. Agree
Perfect summary!
I was a 3rd grader when Kennedy was offed. Our Catholic school put the "then" media feed on our classroom TVs. I was at home and watched Lee Harvey Oswald offed on live TV. I watched the evacuation of Saigon on live TV. Black and white TVs for those of you who want perspective. Old folks like me rely on journalists like Matt to try to insure that our grandchildren will inherit a nation better than what we've lived through,. A tall order but worth fighting for. I love your word, "breathtaking".
Me too. And the Vietnam war. Every night. While my friends were getting drafted. Something other than gaslighting has been a long time coming. Thank you!
Circa 1966-67 when I was 12 years old I used to watch young adults walk around from our corner "candy store" to casually puke into the weeds. It wasn't the violent retching of viral illness that we kids knew well. At the time I didn't understand it. Later on I knew it to be heroin. We lost a number of kids from my neighborhood in the years that followed. We also had guys that returned from 'Nam a shell of their former selves. Now, only a few of us are alive to tell the stories of those days and to plead with guys like Matt to bring his children and our grandchildren into a better place,
100%
Amen.
Let's not forget the WMD era as well, while I was raising my kids we were lied to again and again.
This is not about Republicans vs Democrats. Again, note the coalition Trump has pulled together. Like us, they're sick of this crap.
The story isn't close to the end because it is still unfolding. You have to stick with it, especially because you've been on it for so long. You, along with (maybe) one or two others, are the only reporters who can continue putting the new pieces of the story into the proper places. We'll drown in the drip of details, seemingly crazy connections, and parallel timelines...thus losing any frame of reference for how it will all fit together in the end.
I agree, the story is still unfolding. However... when collecting data in real time and trying to assess where it will lead, it often happens one reaches critical mass where more data doesn't change the trend. We are well beyond that point.
I'm not at all saying turn our brains off and stop paying attention as new information emerges. I am saying, I expect new information will reinforce what we already believe, and is is extremely unlikely to turn the picture around.
After the total destruction of the fabric of society in America due to Russiagate and framing Trump for it, the destruction of our standing on the world stage, the destruction of friendships, of families, I want you to see this thing through to the F'in end -- I hope you're standing under the gallows with a pen and paper describing the looks on their faces when they're getting ready to kick their horses.
Good one.
Amen
I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but I do believe that this is what most of us are here for, Matt. Yours is old-school journalism, which has largely disappeared from the media landscape, with actual sources, checkable facts, and a dog-with-a-bone focus on finding and elucidating the truth. Not "my truth", or "his truth", but *the* truth (there is only one, as it turns out). Most of us are so sick of the shades of gray, subjective style of reporting that has come to pass as journalism until just recently - no matter how wonky or "weedsy" this story may get, it is a steadily growing breath of fresh air in an, until now, stench-laden room.
Smash open the window! We're here for it!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6xa5x1d/
Not only is it my "cup of tea," it's also my martini, later.
Great comment! I'll add tequila or bourbon as well. :)
I was at a non-drinkers residence once, and they said, "Well, we do have some creme de menthe we use sometimes on desserts." I answered, "That'll work."
No breakfast bourbon ?
No, thank you. To put your mind at ease, perhaps, martini at 5 PM, one wine at dinner. Unless my best friend comes visiting earlier, then it's the Bushmills.
The Devil is in the “weedsiness”! It's both a refuge for those who value truth and an inconvenient obstacle for those who wish to twist the truth into Narrative. We have your back, Matt, and you have our undying thanks!
The Secret Police State thrives on "moving on".
Even with WMD level deceits, they can instantly fill the headlines and the mouths of puppets like Mahr and Colbert with the next "Fabrication of the Week" to distract.
It's called "cooling the mark" in spy-craft parlance.
They told Obama not to look back on Wall Street corruption and Obama repeated that in a speech as if it was the perfectly moral thing to do.
Bookmark that.
"Your wife and family were murdered last night while you were overseas and no suspects have been found. But that was yesterday, and you just need to move on and forget about it because we are canceling the investigation."
That's your Secret Police State.
Hope that helps.
This story is so convoluted that I have difficulty following it, and I've been paying close attention to it from the beginning.
That's what the Brennans, Clappers and Comeys are counting on. A story so convoluted normal people with real lives can't keep up. But it's too important, and Matt's reporting along with others is crucial. It's the only way for most of us to see the danger and treason in the actions of our own government.
I'm thinking the convoluted nature is deliberate. They know the short attention spans and news cycles will make most people have no interest in paying attention to hear the truth. They will just want to move on (to "save democracy").
A similar sentiment allowed half the country (who incessantly protest all the time for almost anything) to be okay with being given their candidate in Kamala with no primary.
I fear it will be well played and become the normal process... float allegations that everyone is saying and they become the truth....
It certainly can be! Maybe Matt will construct another of his concise Timelines highlighting the documents supporting the conclusions.
I want to add that the “weedsiness” of Russiagate is part of what makes it unique. I can’t think of another political scandal that had such a huge cast of characters. Nearly a decade in we still don’t know for sure what the triggering incident was - it’s the opposite of Watergate, which started with a break-in and fanned out. There are dozens of sub-scandals: the FBI’s illegal surveillance and human spying, the White House’s illegal unmasking, the manipulated ICA, the coordination between FBI and the Clinton camp, years of classified leaks from Congress, state money spent on media scams a la Hamilton 68… it’s endless. Some of it is opportunistic, some coordinated, some parts are unclear - it’s so many different institutions and people involved that it’s become a huge challenge to track. This also makes it very hard for audiences, especially since we still have gaps in public knowledge, especially in the area of motive. All I can say is, please hang in there with us, as this is every bit a generational scandal that history will remember, no matter how much the legacy press and maybe even your friends might say otherwise.
If history is to remember the truth about Russiagate, and the winners write the history books, ergo it is imperative to make sure that in addition every bit of truth you reveal, that you also use the power of your platform to show the world how the legacy press are the LOSERS. But do this from the position of strength that you’re in now: treat them like the Russians treated state media circa 1990. With mockery and derision.
As Walter said in an earlier ATW, re: the way Greek revelers would "satirize" kings and other stuffed shirts of the day during parades or other public celebrations: dressed as satyrs, with outsized private parts, they would wave these exaggerated costume parts at the dishonored royals as a means of socially acceptable opprobrium. Likewise, the best way to treat those worthy of public derision for past behavior today is to "wangle our giant dongs at them" (Walter's words, not mine - but exactly right, metaphorically speaking) 😂😂😂
In that frame of mind, I've always seen Maher as a bit of an arrogant Schmuck. Not furthering the conversation, but wanting the last word on a subject.
You have our support and patience. We are interested in the truth. Keep going.
Beyond generational, I'd say. At its core, this is _the_ story of postwar America. I think some people resist seeing this lie because to do so necessarily entails seeing so many others. To see not just that they lied, but they did so easily, boldly, and with no reservations whatsoever. That there has been an entire sprawling apparatus for spreading lies, likely for my lifetime and more.
And for some, their own place in the lies, if only the willing suspension of disbelief. Some of this was so blatantly absurd the only way to believe was to want to.
As for Maher, I've long considered him a windsock with 90% more weasel. At best.
Underrated comment, cheers.
Ditto to all the support you have received in this reply thread.
It was the opposite of what we thought was our birthright as American citizens. While a rogue security state has been gestating below the surface since the end of WWII, it took the former Messiah to publicly identify, weaponize, and bring above-ground: his Fundamental Transformation.
That's what's *so* damaging to the union. Rather than "this was an act of corruption" it goes to "the entirety of government is demonstrably corrupt"
It's important to keep in mind that all the shenanigans were for democracy and politicians known to be protectors of democracy. Yes they broke the rules but they were heroes, in their own minds.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. First she had to run against this dirtbag. Then to lose? Impossible. Who could she pin it on? Who was even more repugnant than Trump?
Duh.
What's really interesting about Russiagate, though, is how it's all is turning out. Hillary's grand conspiracy forged a friendship based on trust. Now these two ruthless and depraved dictators are hellbent on peace.
"America First" Trump and "Russia First" Putin have doomed not only the uniparty but unipolarity too. By rejecting U.S. global dominance in favor of BRICS, they may wind up saving us all from extinction.
It only has a huge cast of characters because the entire swamp was involved.
Helped greatly by the Dept. of Homeland Security "R&Rs."
We are working on that. Coming soon.
For me the big aha moment was learning that by Brennan/Clapper/Comey/Obama/ etc. including false information (Clinton campaign's fake Steele Dossier) in the FISA application, the FBI/CIA had permission to wiretap not only Trump, but anyone that Trump communicated with and anyone that those people communicated with. A wide net was cast, and many lives were ruined by way of false allegations and legals bills. (I don't understand why the Republicans reapproved the renewal of FISA.)
Right? That is a secret Star Chamber that needs to go the way of the Dodo 🦤
I see the complainers on X all the time, and I flat out don't get it - this is EXACTLY what I want from my Racket subscription, and is EXACTLY what the country needs if its going to move forward. Isn't it obvious? We can't get to the truth without untangling the lies!
Taibbi last line:
𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.
"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲"
LOL!! Love it!
Matt is almost always great. But his weak points are when he gets overemotional like on this one (I mean, Maher's difference of opinion with bad justification is not exactly in John-Brennan-evil territory). Threatening a potential violent response is not a good look for anyone.
He also looks bad when he gets things flat wrong. He still hasn't corrected his godawful takes on Bridges v Wilson as relates to current immigration cases and whether or not the gov't is violating First Amendment rights, where he:
Created a false impression that Bridges was deported for being a communist but that was disallowed. Saying Bridges was "a closely analogous 1945 case about an Australian labor organizer accused of communist affiliation. Not unlike someone like Mahmoud Khalil, Harry Bridges was a foreigner thought to be here on a specious premise, advancing unpopular beliefs and causing trouble." That is a highly misleading picture.
What was wrong in Bridges is that the government had no proof that Bridges was a Communist and relied on hearsay and thus he should not be deported because you can't make legal judgments on hearsay - they didn't say that one couldn't deport a Communist overall.
He then fails to cite Harisiades v. Shaughnessy 1952, a case later than Bridges where Communists were deported *specifically for that exact reason, being Communists* and the court found that fully constitutional.
Further, he quoted SC Justice Francis Murphy's concurrence, writing that informs but has no force of law, as if it were the opinion of the Court. It was not.
The most casual review of the WP page on Bridges v. Wilson shows me right here.
Difference of opinion with bad justification?He cut the clip to make it prove the exact opposite of what was actually said. That's definitely Brennan territory. It's just as bad as the "Good people on both sides" hoax. It's the resort of people who know the truth is not on their side, but they still want to win.
When you find yourself fabricating evidence on a story about fabricating evidence, you have to realize you're not one of the good guys, however, you got here.
Brennan spied on the staff of a US Senator including by accessing their computers, while the Senator was actively engaged in oversight of his CIA.
Then he lied about it to Congress.
As one item that's maybe middle of the pack in his top ten worst things.
That's gonna bit a bit worse on anyone's ledger than a TV host using a clip to spin a point their way when they disagree, which probably 939 people in the US did this week.
Further, from the evidence I laid out above, what Taibbi did is worse, so are you condemning him to Brennan territory too?
You specifically mentioned Maher's treatment of Walt as not sufficient to put him in Brennan territory. I thought his mendacious cut of the Presser put him there. Now you state other differences between the men, which of course are true. Fine, I'm not trying to map out Brennan territory. It's not exactly an exact science. :)
My main concern was to disagree with your disagreement with how Matt responded to Maher. You're right about threatening violence not being a good look, and Matt apologized elsewhere for having such a strong reaction. But I stand by my statement on how bad what Maher did was, whether a Brennan comparison sticks or not.
OK, fine with me. To me Brennan is in the Satanic category with Cheney and Rumsfeld.
No talking head could compare without being like Alex Jones.
Violent response? Where does that come from? A ferrous response maybe (and welcomed by most) but violence wasn’t what I took from it.
I guess words are violent?! I like Matt because he is willing to spend whatever numbers of words are needed to clarify the crap that was hidden. I am tired of cut up videos showing nothing but a narrative and not the truth. I stopped watching the news on TV and late night years ago for any semblance of truth. At this point, I’m not even sure if the weather is reported factually.
It's not....it's uncertain......a probability game, like life.....perhaps improving, slightly.
Yes. i just figured he aimed to give him a good talkin' to. Excellent use of 'ferrous' by the way. I was kind of scratching my head thinking "what's magnetism got to do with it?" and then I was like......ah..."steely". This is why I love Matt's readers :)
It's 2025, "a good talkin' to" was this substack post. Matt meant he will iron out their differences by flattening him.
The next day he'll feel so sick he'll play hooky with his friend Ferric Bueller, who is a little more positive than the guy from the movie.
Cathy, seriously?
"A Violent Response, where does that come from?"?
First I didn't say that, I said "Threatening a potential violent response".
Matt said "Make sure I'm not within driving distance"
That's not ferrous, it's sulphuric.
....because I'm going to come debate you live right at that moment?
....because I'm going to come down there and shout at you from a distance?
....because I will post a rebuttal on X despite being so close?
C'mon folks.
Loyalty and friendship is one of the last of the dying virtues and Matt has it. If he wasn’t angry at how his friend was treated well, what kind of friend would hebe?
Matt is so even keeled 90% of the time I can give him a pass and then some.
The big thing I took away from Ben Shreckinger's book on the Bidens was how incredibly loyal to each other they were. It led to great things, for them.
Dad had taught them to never turn each other in, even as hall monitor in school. One of them resigned as a hall monitor when faced with the ethical dilemma of otherwise having to rat someone out. Because of this great virtue of always covering for each other, they faced very little accountability - and thus they begat the glory that is Hunter.
I love Matt too much to bullshit him when he's in the wrong, trust me, and we can trust him to take criticism well. We need him remaining self-aware. For one thing to avoid the Mehdi Hasan encounters, or be more prepared for them.
IMHO, you’re making too big of a deal over this.
IMHO you haven't yet used a pronoun without its antecedant being spectacularly ambiguous.
Death by a thousand cuts...or by one cut deliberately meant to reinforce a point of view one knows to be false, and worse, to ridicule a guest. Either Maher doesn't understand what's at stake here, or doesn't care. Either way, he's a lighweight...and a liar.
He’s a GUY! That’s what they do!
Not all guys create false impressions. Or did you mean get overemotional?
OFCOL, it’s just a natural response many men have to stand up for a friend. It’s not like Matt’s going to call Maher out for a fisticuffs…
As a general rule, ending a column with a veiled threat of violence is not a good look. In this case though, there is a greater public good that would be served by determining whether or not Bill would ball gargle to avoid a beating.
Maher gets his hair grease from the same place as Gavin. And it’s just a vibe, but he sure seems like just the type to bugger babies.
You’re a common lout! You are rude and severely lacking in intelligence and communication skills I am not surprised, however, you’re a liberal leftist, or perhaps a Marxist Islamist America hater. All of you have very common characteristic. You cannot make a rational and reason argument to support your position because your position is idiotic. Therefore, you invariably make at how many attacks on those individuals who possess common sense the ability to communicate, rationalconcepts, supported by facts and reason circumstantial conclusions.
You’re a name caller. If you can’t do anything, but call people names shut up, go away and read the comics.
"You’re a common lout"
"severely lacking in intelligence and communication skills"
"your position is idiotic"
"You’re a name caller" Ha!!! What's that they say about the pot and the kettle?
pretty sure Ray was employing satire ...
If so, I missed it.
Satire needs to be mostly accurate, but not completely. This had no space between what he was satirizing and the satire itself.
Yes, completely agree. And I could be wrong about the guy ...
Satire and sarcasm are tricky these days. There are plenty of people out there who genuinely believe what Ray wrote. Is he one of them? If you don't know his thoughts through reading his writing, you can't tell.
I've been guilty on both the doing and recognizing ends of sarcasm. I don't do it anymore unless I can figure out a way to make myself clear.
Check his profile.
I'd recommend everyone stop and think before reacting/commenting
In the words of the great political leader, Gavin Newsom, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.
How do you type with Gavin balls deep down your throat?
You're going to bat for Newsom?
Try not being a demonic faggot.
Hahahahaha!! SO many better rational, logical, reasoned, hilarious, intelligent comments initiated by just the opposite. Thanks for the relief that laughing at idiocy can bring. Matt is Gold Bitcoin - true reserve $.
Geesh dude, but down the vape pen for a few minutes.
As if you aren't exactly the same ilk, you judgemental, name-calling idiot.
Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Isn’t that what Gavin Newsom said?
Newsom lets fire do whatever it wants. He only fights ice.
Wow, did you just have a stroke?
That’s the thing- so much laziness now and in all professions.
I think lazy brains atrophy. Too much glib coasting at some point is bound to turn smart into stupid. The audience is just as stupid as the host.
It beats me why a serious person would ever lay himself open to a whore - I mean what did he expect?
Smart turned stupid a while ago.
Yes, it.s been some time now and the schools aren't helping.
Matt was completely impotent on his last Maher appearance in refuting Maher and his Russia idiocy. Maher’s arm is in no figurative or literal danger. Not from matt
You’re making my point: Bill Maher is a smart ass that uses ad hominem attacks on everyone as a comedian, but more pointedly to his political opponents. Name-calling deflection and refusal to accept or examine real facts just like you motherfuckers.
Chuck, according to a list on Wikipedia, Matt’s last appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher was on August 5, 2022. Matt had trouble getting a word in edgewise between Maher and the dumbly incoherent Lis Smith, but Russiagate never came up. Can you clarify precisely which Maher episode you are referring to?
https://youtu.be/HKDRxSQMa-M?si=adj_jY22IZGMwm4T
Matt in print or in a friendly conversation, top shelf. Matt in conflict, cringy.
Chuck, thanks, the actual episode is S19E29 on October 01,2021. I agree that Matt’s public appearance persona is more affable and passive than his written voice, and I prefer the latter. The thing is, to reach readers you have to get them to read you. In a public appearance on hostile territory, this is not easy. Maher continually interrupted and pivoted as Matt calmly rejected each point. It is easy to imagine Matt responding more aggressively and taking control of the flow. Matt, unlike Maher, is trying to win people over against a clearly stacked deck. I see your point, but I think you’re being unkind.
You’re not wrong. I am being unkind. And I probably should work on that. But when matt blusters about what he would have done if he were there, it’s triggering. I have tuned in practically giddy waiting for the guy who relentlessly talks shit about gaslighting media to slay the Dragon. And he comes off like it was a pop quiz of some sort. One he didn’t study for. I really do like his writing but he needs to work on his combat skills. Or avoid combat.
His arm? Huh?
"...If it’d been me in that chair, I might have pulled his arms off:..."
Ah.. yes. Doh! 🤦🏻♂️😆
In the (undeceptively edited) words of Jellyfish Maher: “I don’t need the Mueller report to know that he’s a traitor,” I assure you. “I don't have a TV.”
At the end of the day, the biggest piece of evidence Trump is not a "traitor" is that he is so manifestly, blindingly obviously, a patriot.
Can we get Dana White on the line? I think it's time for a good 'ol fashioned live action Celebrity Death Match. I'm not a celebrity, but I'd really like to sign on to the card. I'd love a shot at Leonardo the ultimate Epstein list model.
Hi, Kathleen. I'm trying to understand why you typed the last 2 lines of the article, when we just read it.
emphasis.
Sure, that is your prerogative. For me, it did not emphasize Matt's chef's-kiss mic drop. Thank you.
Because it is magnificent
Learn how to cut and paste. Do you still hit return when typing to start the next line?
Sometimes
Steve Smith's advice: "Learn how to cut and paste." Yes, I typed it right there. Cut and paste is a gateway drug to bad manuscripts. Yes, I hit return to start the next line when I want a new line.
I see many text UIs put that immediately out as a new paragraph, not to mention messing up my spaces after a period.
Agreed a great line. But even Matt seemed to have overlooked Maher’s moral decrepitude. On the genocide where ‘ buggering babies’ has been surpassed by murdering them Maher responded to a guest:” OF COURSE ITS A WAR!… “Yet he has seen the photos and videos of skeletal, burned or blown up children. He has seen the crimes of the IDF as they post it online themselves. He has read about the “humanitarian aid distribution centres” and the thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered by Israeli snipers and drones seeking food. He has seen the footage of an almost completely flattened Gaza. He just doesn’t care. His racist hatred of Palestinians has become a cash cow.”
Sorry I failed to attribute that last quote . It was NYTKen Orphan who I admittedly do not know much about but you can find out more here: https://kennorphan.com/about-me/
Good stuff! Agreed
Matt, Walter, et al.: why fall into the trap of these disingenuous hosts again and again? All they do is set you up to be the Washington Generals to their Harlem Globetrotters. They don’t deserve to be dignified with responses.
Walter or you or any serious journalist could get some viral attention and maybe let the world see the emperor has no clothes if you were to simply respond to an opening question (and all further questions, on repeat) with: “you are a partisan and propagandist, whereas I have done serious investigative journalism on this topic. I won’t answer your questions until you engage me in good faith.” Of course you wouldn’t get invited back, but who cares? These guys need to have it shoved back in their faces.
08/16/25: "Walter, who also lost friends and dealt with blowback during the McCarthyite mania that Bill helped inflame."
Now is as good a time as any to repeat something that cannot be overstressed:
Walter Kirn, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and hundreds of others did not lose any friends as a result of America's Second McCarthyism Era (@ 2015-2024; the first @ 1948-@ 1958).
They weren't his friends to begin with.
They weren't ANYBODY'S friends.
Maggots. Parasites. Snakes.
Not friends. Never.
I liked your comment. Then didn't like it. But I like it, so did it again. lol now I'm responding. IMO Matt (and Walter, and others) are a cadre of good people in a fight that matters. Not just earning a living they see their work as actually doing good. And it's a type of fight that I have no skill or really idea of how to navigate, so I give them money and praise to do it.
That fight is to get the truth into the eyes and ears of citizens AND persuade them that it is the truth. That by necessity demands they directly engage people who lie. To simply stand and speak truth, while another lies, is ineffective in the long run; the liar must be confronted directly. Even if they persist in lying. The audience must see the confrontation. It's the difference between shit talking before the fight and getting into the ring. The results are what matter (to the audience, indeed to reality), the results are what are ultimately persuasive.
So yeah I totally get where you're coming from, indeed agree with it! The liars aren't worth dignifying with a response. But unfortunately we live in a nasty world where that stand is ineffective in winning the fight.
I think we are saying the same thing. The truth seekers like Matt and Walter and their ilk need to stay on the battlefield but they need to change tactics when confronted with these partisan hosts who are entrenched on the fortified hill that is their own TV show. Don’t fix bayonets and charge up the slope to meet them head on. Stand back and call in the artillery. That’s what I’m arguing for.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Bill invited Walter on, and not Matt *BECAUSE* Matt has done the research, and can bring the receipts. Bill had Walter on because he thought he could steamroll right over Walter in a way he couldn't with Matt.
Walter is brilliant and could have held his own if he had been given the chance to speak at length.
I agree, Walter is brilliant, and I enjoy his work (and his comments/participation with Matt) tremendously. I do, however, think that Bill Maher thought that way, even though we all know better..
Yep!! The real message--(my view)--is the in your face hubris and malignant narcissism--that says I can lie and distort reality at will and there is nothing you can do about it.--It is a kind of vampirism that in distorting the truth sucks the power away from honest human discourse and replaces it with the diseased reality We the People--clearly see--now operating on a national level. The healthy indignation and honest rage of this RACKET report is as legitimate as the day is long. But the lie is far deeper and far more deadly than Russiagate and everyone present knows it. And disease is the operative word. It's time to get well.
Continuing to existing inside the moral vacuum (LIE) of the managerial/surveillance totalitarianism of the D.C./Brussels/CCP Davos thugdom will--if allowed to do so--as it is doing in Europe--destroy the American Republic. Maher isn't "clown" world he--like Colbert-- is "evil" clown world". The only engine of survival is the Republic--the Constitution--and the free citizen. Everything else is psyop. Support your local truth speaker. Depart the psyop and live.
Yes yes yes. Speaking truth to these hosts as if one is in some kind of authentic Habermasian discourse is pointless. Shouting into the vacuum. They need to be called out on their games first, to create a space in which truth and discourse can be reestablished.
We're all betting that subscription journalism can create that space.
I think we’ve won the bet already. It’s time to start publicly putting the nails in the establishment media coffin. To their faces, as I keep suggesting here.
Well, for one thing, they need to earn a living!
Thank you Flyoverdriver,
i DON'T REMEMBER HOW MANY TIMES WE DROVE THROUGH Montana, THE Dakotas Wisconsin Illinois , Michigan , Kansas Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa AND Dixie. MY WIFE AND our great grandchild's GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN IN Nashville AND WE WERE MARRIED IN THE Land OF THE Midnight Sun. I WATCHED Cab Calloway AND THE Harlem Globetrotters AT THE Montreal Forum A SHORT WALK FROM Kamala Harris' high school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-kJqM7he9o&list=RDy-kJqM7he9o&start_radio=1
https://westmount.emsb.qc.ca/whs
At Westmount High School it is the 21st century not the late 18th century of your Constitutional apologists. At Westmount High Thomas Paine's Common Sense is the law.
Race is homo sapiens sapiens, gender is analog and religion is only virtual reality.
Healthcare, education and welfare are HUMAN RIGHTS not privileges of the privileged . America is not United and the sooner we accept that California isn't Texass and New York isn't Iowa the sooner we can return this world to some sanity. I live in Quebec . We decided to keep Canada together by ballots not bullets but we can always vote again and Newsome must say no Taxation without Representation. The Boston Tea Party was about the power of the parliament of Westminster imposing tarriffs on the tea of everybody but the East India Company the corporation that raN THE COLONIES FOR THE SHAREHOLDERS WHO RAN THE English Parliament CALLED THE House OF Landlords. William And Mary gave up the right to tax tariff and spend in 1689 under the Toleration Acts that ended The English Civil War.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Boston-Tea-Party
https://www.britannica.com/event/Toleration-Act-Great-Britain-1689
In 1689 there were no Jews, Moslems, Deists, Agnostics, conforming Protestants or even Roman Catholics permitted in the House of Landlords. Scalia was a lying scumbag and a disgrace to conservative American philosophy like the founders of Nation Review, Russell Kirk and the vile bastard William F Buckley "God and Man at Yale Buckley Jr.\
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Russell_Kirk
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-F-Buckley-Jr
Edmund Burke was a LIBERAL PHILOSOPHER and a Whig Member of Parliament and your Americans made him a goddamn Tory. I know what a liberal was in 1789 and in 2025 from Johnson's dictionary.
https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=liberal
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Burke-British-philosopher-and-statesman
https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=whig
https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=tory
It is time to decide the future iof America by ballot not bombs and bullets This is the age of the World Wide Web not the Pony Express, Mississippi is still burning and the world is up in smoke.
Totally agree.
The "Putin agreed" hoax is exactly the same as the "fine people" hoax: incomplete quote, taken out of context.
Yet crystal meth to those who truly want to believe the narrative. "Bill Maher said it, it must be true."
The crystal meth analogy is perfect.
I used to read several print newspapers in the morning before I went to work Then I would go to work and not consume news until I came home and would watch the network summaries (usually CBS and PBS News Hour). Maybe I'd read a few magazines (paper ones) like the NYer and the Atlantic and Rolling Stone. Otherwise I focused on my work. With the Internet everything changed as bits and pieces of news fly in and out all day. But after this new mode began I tried to step back and consume the news the way I used to do. This means selecting a few trusted sources on Substack to read closely. I thought once that big shows like Maher might point people to a better sources, but there is such a current on that show of staying on the A list that it's no longer worth it. If a guest like WK could be undercut then there isn't much use in watching BM at all.
Maher's a "comedian." Funny, I never noticed. What he always struck me as, however, was a smug, sanctimonious asshole, who was able only to milk laughs from equally smug leftist assholes who think open borders is a mark of their compassion; rather than showing they're just shills and cucks for globalist vampires.
08/16/25: Perfectly stated. if Maher's a comedian, I'm Barack Obama.
All the funniest comedians I am aware of think Bill Maher is a humorless faux-intellectual.
“ Ball gargling” for the win! Maher was and is completely intimidated by Walter’s obvious superior intelligence and intellect. If you zoom in I think you can detect some “ ball shrinkage” …..
The Problem with Bill Maher is he's not as smart as he thinks he is. He confuses being witty with being Smart.
Agreed but I do think Maher is wrestling with the increasing revelations that he and so many other “ Hollywood” folks were played…. He seems a bit anxious…..
Dave Rubin keeps working on him.
Rubin doesn't need any material for next week after Matt's article and these comments.
Wating for Sept. 1
I suspected Walter’s appearance would be futile, because Maher is lazy, self-impressed, and always way behind the revealed truth.
I can’t forget Maher was still waggling an accusatory finger at Nick Sandman a week after the full tape had been released that showed Sandman had been the one aggressed upon by the Native American man at the Capitol. I quit watching then.
It’s unfortunate, because the MSM is obfuscating, at best massaging, the avalanche of newly declassified Russiagate revelations, and alternate means of getting the truth out to the MSM-slurping normies have got to be explored.
Sandman won a multimillion dollar settlement with the Washington Post for printing that lie.
Maher is a master gaslighter.
But never a Master Debater.
If he's a softballer, he's a masterbatter
Panderer, wind sock, mercenary. I believe he is well aware of of the house of cards that is coming down.
He can master nothing bc he is high all the time. He can never be great because of that. Half his brain is in a bowl. It’s smoke and mirrors. Literally.
and we know what's on the mirror...
Princeton > Cornell. Almost always.
Perhaps some time ago, but today, Princeton is in a race to the Progressive bottom with Cornell. I'd predict Princeton wins that race.
However, Walter is clearly smarter that Maher. It ain't close.
And I write this as a Cornell engineering grad.
That was my favorite too!
Its not just Hollywood. Its cognitive dissonance. The saying, "Its easier to fool people than convince them they have been fooled." is apt here. People are invested in their narrative and will reject outright even rock solid evidence they were snookered. Knowing that, I gave up a long time ago trying to convince anyone that they've been had. Its not worth the headache.
Some people change their minds when presented with facts and evidence, the rest are cultists.
Relevant: “The backfire effect is the tendency of some people to resist accepting evidence that conflicts with their beliefs. The effect is demonstrated when people presented with that conflicting information become even more convinced of their original beliefs rather than questioning them.”
“I don’t need to know [x] because i have a TV” is the rube’s mantra.
TV 😂😂😂 -- the fount of veracity & sentience that it is!!!
They couldn't say it on TV if it wasn't true, dontcha know!
Sounds like he’s… doing his own research?! I thought that was a mortal sin in the lib catechism.
Congrats, Matt. The first was great, this is better! The sneer was the whole point. Such a prick.
Oily prick, at that!!! Does it get any lower ... oh, Newsom!
Ass kissing prick.
Why is it so hard to believe that after Obama passed a law authorizing the use of propaganda on Americans citizens, they started doing it?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/07/14/u-s-repeals-propaganda-ban-spreads-government-made-news-to-americans/
THIS
Walter was right. He does look really good in those lights.
he also held his own and looked to have a good time. overblown reaction imho
Thank you Matt for writing this article and your numerous articles on Russia gate. I appreciate that you give your readers the information to come to our own conclusions. You don’t give us edited, out of context clips.
I dislike Trump. I think he’s a dishonest, self aggrandizing, conman. I wanted to believe Russia gate but based on your reporting I had to change my mind.
I’m so disappointed in Bill Maher. It’s disheartening as he is one of my favorite comedian and I watch his show every week.
I can’t even talk about this with my circle of friends. They get defensive and accuse me of being manipulated by Trump and his cronies. I thought as Tulsi Gabbard started releasing the evidence that even my intelligent, moderate, heterodox friends would at least be interested in looking at the evidence that is being released but none of them with even read any of it. Instead just accuse me of being a conspiracy theorist that listens to too many right wing podcasts. Right wing? Since when did Matt Taibbi become a right wing conspiracy theorist. They were all big fans with the reporting Matt did on WMD and the financial crisis. They have never defended the CIA and FBI before. It’s so confusing. I guess Trump derangement syndrome is a real disorder.
It’s a lonely, frustrating world with this juicy burger. I needed to get all of this off my chest. Thank you for letting having a comments section so I can feel a little lighter today.
My hope for you is to find friends and associates who share first principles with you. The world can be a lonely place without that.
Bill Maher has been a shill for the establishment ever since he lost his prime time show for having the temerity to suggest that the 9/11 hijackers weren’t a bunch of cowards.
That’s when Mr. Maher learned about the Overton Window, something people who live in the land of the Free and the Brave don’t know exists until they cross the line.
Maher has never forgotten that lesson and he’ll never cross that line again.
I was fully expecting him to silence Walter Kirn after watching the way he silenced Nick Gillespie (2106) when he stated that the USA had illegally, along with the Uk and France, overthrown Qaddafi.
Nick pressed his point and Maher cut him off by saying, “But Qaddafi was a bad guy.”
He sounded like a petulant little boy saying that, and it was especially funny because Maher would frequently say, “You don’t get to choose your own facts.”
No, but if you have your own show you can cut someone off when he dares to state facts that you don’t like.
I came away from the Gillespie episode impressed with his gracious and “classy” behavior when a more uninhibited person might have been inspired to cut Maher a new one.
And I felt the same way watching Walter last night - he was gracious, warm, funny and most importantly, he wasn’t at all intimidated by Maher.
My husband and I thought Maher felt threatened by Walter’s superior intelligence, but maybe that’s just our bias.
I did get the impression that the whole discussion part of the show had a weird fear vibe. Jong-Fast appeared to be more muted than I expected and even crouching a bit. Bill Maher seemed very antsy, sharp, and rudely dismissive of Kirn. Not much fun to watch. A weird dynamic with fake sounding laughter.
Exactly my take on the show!
Can you imagine taking Steven Colbert or Bill Maher seriously? What kind of upbringing could you have had? I like to think I’m as imaginative as the next person, but I’m not up to imagining that.
"Can you imagine taking Steven Colbert or Bill Maher seriously?"
I can't. But I'm somewhat charitable about the portion of what passes today as "the Left": (Although an atheist) I agree wholeheartedly with the point, "There but for the grace of God go I". There are far too many who are less than conscious but through little to no fault of their own -- insulated upbringings from birth, career/social sets, competing pressures on attention, the psychology of denial -- that tell me this goes far beyond simply cases of fully-aware CYA. To get through to them is not only non-trivial, but can take decades.
Wonderful comment...although I happen to believe Maher is fully aware.
Thanks. I agree re Maher. He's one of the disingenuous "leadership", feigning not to understand the big picture here, and just groping his way through life like the rest of us schlubs. It's his followers that make me sad.
You are correct P.L. The manipulated surveillance merger of pop culture personality entertainment-- politics and finance-- and the creation of an "everything means everything so nothing means anything" electronic psyop-- with a Katherine Maher "what difference does the truth make" reality throw in --pretty much defines the open air asylum psychology of control distorting the American landscape. If you live in virtual electronic bubble land you can go with the comforting "it isn't happening to me so it isn't happening" philosophy of the screen. If you live in actual "real time" witnessing and experiencing the social/economic collapse and the onsequences of rigged game avarice it is another thing altogether. The attached assault on civil liberties and the ascent of totalitarianism is simply the perps desire to cover up/justify the crime and escape prosecution. Hence the lie. It is a painful lie. And it is meant to be painful and destructive. ---Suffer by choice or depart the psyop and begin to regain your mental health and spiritual well being.
“Manufacturing Consent”.
Buy it. Read it.
copy/paste of my comment from the initial version of this post:
Omg. Your readers understand that Russiagate was a hoax. The establishment was wrong on the story and wrong on your approach to the story and they went out of their way to make your work and life difficult. Got it. We fully support you on this and we greatly appreciate your work, courage and moral compass. But we should also concede that not everyone is on that same page and, at this point in time, that's ok. I'll ask; what is your definition of victory in this crusade that you're on? If the current DOJ investigation doesn't send people to jail, and I think we'd all be shocked if it did, has this entire Russiagate episode not found its conclusion? As far as Bill Mahr goes, he is no different than every other pundit/media personality/talking head in that his agenda is packed with mistakes and blind spots. Name any single one like him that can claim otherwise. The difference with Mahr, as you alluded to, is that he's at least good for a laugh on a fairly consistent basis. Personally, I don't really care about Bill Mahr's reputation, I was more upset that this column isn't really moving the needle and, more importantly, that I don't think we'll ever see you as a guest on his show again and that, to me, is sad.
Since a bunch of us started on this kick we’ve seen whole agencies in (GEC) and out (Stanford Internet Observatory) of government defunded, mass layoffs of key press offenders, and appointment to key cabinet positions of previously denounced/censored figures like Tulsi, Jay Bhattacharya, and Kash Patel. The latter meanwhile have accelerated disclosures that may lead to charges. I’ve been in journalism for 35 years and excepting a brief period in 2010 or so when financial reports helped spur hearings, I’ve never had the experience of being part of a group reporting effort that’s led to so many concrete consequences. Everything we’re taught says to keep going. Part of the deception is propaganda saying this isn’t a huge scandal; it absolutely is, and part of my job is to ignore the “Why are you covering this?” questions.
The part that pisses me off the most is the people who know you’re onto legit corruption and crime that should be exposed but because they are dyed in the wool Democrats and hate Donald Trump with every fiber in their bodies, you should stop covering it. “Where’s your loyalty?” they lament. As a former moderate Democrat, their argument is unacceptable. Actually, gross.
It’s so funny that it’s sad that they are completely willing to destroy the basis of “their democracy” to save it, and they aren’t even smart enough to see that’s what their actions amount to.
TDS will be a clinical term in the future, it will be studied and quantified.
Their “democracy” only meant that the dems must win to rule. If they lost, then “their democracy” was gone.
From what I hear, TDS IS a recognized malady - at least at the ground level amongst practitioners who don’t have it themselves!
There’s a disconnect somewhere ….
The righteous indignation I read in these posts from a journalist’s point of view is what I feel when I read the total bulls*** being produced in the court system. The various lawfare prosecutions of Trump. The total crap being produced in the federal district courts on “emergency” basis. The absolute drooling of Supreme Court Justice KBJ. At some point it is not just lazy, lame, or incompetent. Not even, just corrupt.
Damn right Matt. Keep reporting. “What is the point of all this?” should be aimed at the person still reading it thinking it’s pointless, not the journalist on the front lines that believes it is not. You’re doing excellent work and it’s extremely valuable to the subset of American society still interested in the truth, waning as that demographic might be.
I really hope someone goes to prison for this. If there are no consequences they will just do it again. Why wouldn’t they?
Absolutely….
Good point. Disregard most of my comment except the part where I'd like to see you on Bill's show again. That and Breaking Points are the only shows I watch that you've been on, although I watch all your other appearance after the fact on the line. And, yes, I understand that this point serves only my selfish needs.
That said, do you think any of those agencies you mentioned would be shuttered today if Kamala was POTUS? Probably just as good a chance that some of them would be funded to the gills (I believe that phrase means they'd have a lot of funding).
If you read this Matt… be sure to watch Bill’s interview with David Mamet before doing it… simply for a good frame of reference regarding Maher’s weakness….its sure to make u chuckle if nothing else.
I am totally glad that Matt is continuing to cover Russiagate. The truth was ignored for too long. Finally, people like Matt are getting it out there.
As usual ….spot on… be sure to listen in on Maher interview with David Mamet!!
"part of my job is to ignore the “Why are you covering this?” questions. "
I don't think you should ignore them, but do have a good answer to the question. Which I think your initial response at the top of the comments covers with the whole "For those concerned about the “weedsiness” of Russiagate: I’m obviously aware of it."
As long as you maintain that self awareness you'll probably be fine. On the other hand, taking a break to cover something else (say the off year gubernatorial elections in NJ & Virginia) might be good mentally. In Virginia particularly, it's probably going to swing back to the Democrats which will be an interesting contrast to the reporting you did 4 years ago predicting the swing to Youngkin.
Matt shouldn't take a break from his Russiagate reporting. The past 10 years of complicity of the federal government, news media, and Dem administration's are worth constant reporting. Matt is about the only real journalist actually reporting on this.
Guess you haven’t read Walter Curt reporting on Spangelberg…. I wouldn’t be so sure about Va.
An even better reason for some on the ground interviews and reporting.
you only take flak when you're over the target. bombs away!
It seems your complaint is that you wish for an "ah hah" moment of deliverance. Kinda like a Nixon resigns moment. A societal catharsis by confession or conviction. The powerful forces that rely on persisting in the Russiagate hoax as though it were true are not going gently in that night, good or evil. Taibbi's point below, and examples of consequences is pretty damn good consequence and the effect that follows the cause.
I really just want to see Matt as a guest on Bill Mahr again.
Hear you, but Taibbi's strength is writing, not oral debate. He has not won many oral debates.
Matt was brilliant in the Munk debates
Douglass Murray was brilliant. Taibbi was good, not great.
Speaking of oral debate prowess, Maybe JD needs to get more vocal on Russiagate? I was disappointed with Mike Johnson’s performance on Meet the Press recently. Which coincided with major declassifications that whole week. He failed to pivot from Epstein accusations to the DNI releases. Unless he was expressly told not to speak of that news, it was a wasted opportunity to call out MSM.
Why are you so sure nothing will legally come of it? Considering the information siloing of red and blue these days, why would the DOJ bother with any of this if it was just to sway public opinion? Do you imagine the NYT or WaPo will take any of this seriously until forced to by an ongoing trial with real consequences?
I don't have a crystal ball, so I don't know what's going to come of all the reporting on Russiagate. But one thing I'll assert with high confidence: things are so fundamentally different now on multiple axes, there is no basis whatsoever for saying what will or won't happen based on what we've seen in the past.