Jimmy Dore did a great segment today on the Anderson - Cornel West interview. As you write -it was a bloody disgrace. But not only because Anderson himself is as you say, a disgusting piece of crap CIA goon - as is Carville - some kind of Clintonian zombie vampire that keeps coming back from the dead -to suck whatever blood is left - on the left in American politics. But Dore also eviscerated West for being totally unprepared for the interview, and allowing Anderson to talk over him like some kind of high school principal. And Dore opened the segment by stating he was planning to vote for Cornel West, which actually came as a bit of a surprise to me - since after all the segments he's already done on JFK Jr. - one would think JFK was his guy. But no - Dore, at least before he began, said he was going to vote for Cornel.
But man - I had to agree with Dore after listening to how Cornel West handled the entire interview. It was at an amateur level of clarity and it was like watching a boxing match where Cornel just stood there while Anderson repeatedly punched him in the face - and at the end of the fight, Cornel then says "I love you brother." It was really a lost opportunity. Even though Cornel had all the facts on his side, by the end of the interview - it sounded more like he was the kooky leftie Anderson and the blood-sucking Carville did all they could to make him out to be. West has to step up his game - I suggest he watch Dore's excruciating examination of the interview. It was a doozy.
Well, I am totally out of touch with the main theme in todays article, not having access to the interviews mentioned or the participants in the TV programs to which Caitlin refers, living as I am on the other side of the Pacific, a land which is the current contender for the title of the US 51st State, US grovelling being the stock in trade.
Yes, Australia.
However, an additional comment on the Iraqi deaths seems justified while also remembering Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, Iraq being by far the worst. Perhaps we can also add Libya, the support given to Saudi in Yemen adding to the starving people in that country by blockading ports bringing food, together with the supply of weapons made the US, the undisputed master race of military killers but always managed through the control of both US houses of government by the self-styled "chosen people" from the Middle East ( as owners and major investors). Such a country as Israel still profiting from wars everywhere, who with the help of a feeble UN and weaponry support from the US, successfully kill Palestinians every day to achieve their goal of "Eretz Israel”, the ownership and control of all land from the Euphrates to the Nile.
A bit of a mouthful, but what a disgraceful history. Peaceful endeavours?….NIL. Diplomacy?…. What the hell is that? Hegemonic pursuits? The name of the game at any cost.
But Iraq. Children alone must have passed 500,000, mainly as a result of sanctions, the US #1 weapon of death. Add Falujah and the use of prohibited weapons by the Americans during these battles,” , (on the schedule in Ukraine by the UK as well) cluster bombs, another favourite together with the Abu Ghraib disgrace from a so-called civilised country, one political party a mirror image of the other.
Certainly a country with a convenient short memory when needed on TV programs and also when viewed daily in the world’s whoring media.
Jimmy was exceptionally worked up over it. Visibly upset. But I found myself agreeing with Dore's assessment and was as frustrated as he that Cornel was so ludicrously unprepared , and allowed himself to be a punching bag for that CNN sack-of-shit Anderson. It was painful to watch.
Nothing new here. Norman Finkelstein (see his substack and youtube channel) already went over that topic in Substack a few weeks ago of wanting to like Cornell West, being ready to jump in campaigning for him, and breaking down his frustration with how West handles questions from softball to adversarial.
I trust your version of what Dore argued, and he clearly has a platform that holds phonies and liars to account, but I have to say I think West is probably wise to not get sucked into arguing with a second-rate interviewer that won’t give him time to respond to his hideous comments.
And, as far as losing an opportunity, I don’t think a Clintonesque retort would have given him much of a bump in his polling. The media is a known and consistent enemy of honest discourse, and I doubt that Cooper could put a dent in West’s humane character. I’m reminded of West’s announcement on Chris Hedges’ show, where he stated he was proud to kick off his campaign with a dear friend who, critically holds a high standard of integrity. If West has to make a splash in the MSM and stay true to himself, I think that’s a meaningless contortion that would not pay dividends.
If he stays honest and transparent, he can stand apart without trying to best paid baiters at their game. I recall the trussed candidate Clinton whose proud war room was regaled for its devastating counterpunching. His naive followers were wooed by his act, and many of them concluded that his verbal yeah-buts were evidence of his capacity for surviving and winning. There was no consideration for how such talent could translate to real leadership, and the country embraced a shapeshifter who had no interest in being earnest or forthright. He was on a stage for 8 years and never broke character... or exhibited any.
I don't recall Clinton ever being considered a nice person. Always a sleazebag, from the get-go. Whitney Webb's "One Nation Under Blackmail" describes some of his "niceties".
Quite literally champing at the bit; pained amygdala restraint not exactly what we'd hoped for? He had to play to an audience of our WORST enemies (boss, landlord & creditors doubtless cherry-picking each squirm, every uppity, fleck-enunciated consonant). Constrain his handlers (who'd let Bernie refrain from mentioning the "open" hypercardioid mic, exactly where Warren tried to set him up, after CNN's "debate?" Once Dr West finally comes out swinging like a Johnny Garfield flick; or dancing around like Ali, at DNC's stale-ass senile, racist & reactionary BS tropes. As young Blacks, Latinos, gig-serfs & REAL life-long loyal Democrats sign on; Dr West's unique skill-set will likely become altogether TOO apparent, for WBD, Disney & Comcast to DARE have him on? He's the candidate now (with capabilities WAY beyond Ralph or Bernie; if you step back & consider who hasn't voted & are now unable to handle 3 1099 gigs re-re-reinfected, while loved ones DIE of undiagnosed/ treated PASC damage each week?
I don't think it was wise at all to be so unprepared. It was embarrassing and made those of us who hold the same values and anti-war position as Cornel West look pretty bad. Leadership does have a responsibility - to actually lead. Why leadership is not something everyone is capable of.
What is your main reason for charging unpreparedness? He’s pretty much an open book, and I don’t see how he can defend his perspective if his hosts are not interested in a real discussion. How do you think West could have exhibited more preparedness?
"What is your main reason for charging unpreparedness?" - are you asking this after having watched the interview? Meaning, you couldn't spot anything? Or are you just trolling?
I'll provide a link (right here) to Jimmy Dore's segment as soon as he publishes it on youtube. I could repeat everything Jimmy Dore said but why should I have to go to all that trouble to convince someone who hasn't even seen the video yet (in all due respect)?
But I agree with Dore - West needs to prepare himself more for these types of interviews - if he wants to be an effective, vocal leader for the values many of us hold.
I would have to say then what's the point in even agreeing to such interviews especially since people who watch that shit show would/did/and do view him just as Cooper was allowed to make him out to be. Those people are way down the rabbit hole and there is no redeeming them from the shit pile.
I think Dr. West cannot lose on any platform because he is comfortable in his own skin, and believes in his mission. Anderson Cooper didn’t get the best of his guest, but he did show himself to be a network hack. If his viewers thought that Cooper verbally undressed Dr. West, I think that is an example of selective perception.
I don't blame Jimmy at all. It helps he's in a position where he doesn't have to hold back. It looks like if he weren't he'd get himself out of any restraints to be really free. Unlike most so called "professional journalists".
Any such figure is a potential traitor and with West's character - as many here seem to suggest being a nice "I love you brother" type - there's a big chance he'll be exploited.
A person must be able to perform himself. If not, drop out and find a better calling.
Generally one chooses a surrogate who is yet more pugilistic. e.g. Sanders had Nina Turner, who was pretty loyal as far as I could tell, and continued with essentially the same message after the campaign. Not that it matters; Shontel Brown was the darling of those who buy ink by the barrel. Those who vote decide nothing; those who decide who votes decide everything.
Yes, a person must have helpers but he must be able to perform himself first and foremost. The surrogates are needed to help spread out, but they must be fearful and respectful of their master as he's on the same, if not above, level.
Agreed, I saw the Dore take as well and agree. West is a solid guy to vote for, but he needs to sack up. He should have handled Cooper like the empty suit propagandist Cooper is, instead West stumbled badly.
If West goes into any MSM interview expecting a fair discussion and not an attempt to discredit him by any means fair or foul, then he is exceptionally naïve.
If the petit-bourgoise liberals who appropriate Black concepts like WOKE, have any curiosity, at all to it's original intent (why it's so SCARY & had to be co-opted, flipped & eviscerated? There's a big, scary difference, between: wiley, sardonic, wise-cracking social critic & exceedingly AWARE & empirically prepared 3rd party presidential candidate, selflessly going-up against DNC LLC's kleptocrats, their international oilgarchs, K, C & J Street, WEF, G20, CFR, CAP, United Democracy Project, all media & social network criminals; to EXPOSE those of us, who'd simply given up having ANY vote, SAY or choice, 4 decades back?
I think the prevailing opinion here is that West is TOO nice. So, he'll need a legit attack dog, unleashed, to take this propaganda on from ghouls like Cooper and Carville.
Who, that would be any more capable, astute or succinct & to the point would EVER be permitted on WBD, Comcast or Disney? If Cornel is LEFT alone, free to attract that 43% ex duopoly vote, PLUS all the youth, 1099 labor, immigrants, LBGT, minoritized women, who actually SHARE his heart-felt GREAT convictions (who've not LOTE'd in senile zombie racist kleptocrat war criminals) I'm guessing a lot of leftys, here will feel their ears burning?
Excellent. West is a likeable and bright man, but too "nice" in dealing with many of the psychopaths who have essentially used him for years as a "concerned black voice" to prop up their "diversity" virtue signalling. I just don't think he has the combative temperament that is needed to stand up to media bullies. Sad.
Vandy Cooper's shallow moralizing did get somewhat exposed in the Cornel West exchange. Not ideal, but Cooper backed himself into a contorted corner when he started defending the illegal US invasion/occupation of Iraq as some kind of moral Crusade when compared to Russia's attack on Grozny, which he pulled out of a would-be "Gotcha!" hat. Apologizing for US atrocities is never a good look, even if you are a paid CNN propagandist...
Yeah but it wasn't focused. And as Dore mentions in his segment, Cornel didn't provide enough clear background to be able to forcefully make his points - which is what you need to do if you decide to step up to the plate and succeed as a potential leader on the Left. Especially the multiple times Cornel allowed Cooper to talk right over him - or divert the subject. Cornel should take up Jimmy's offer to provide advice. After all, Jimmy has been in the business of speaking to an audience for decades - and he's damn good at it.
That's not the way I saw it at all. I thought Cornel made great points and he kept talking a couple times when Anderson was talking over him. I don't think there was one time Anderson talked over him to make Cornel lose the thread of his argument. Cornel needs to work on his optics - the rocking back and forth does not look good. But his arguments were sound, he presented them in a personal down to earth way which is where most people are on those facts, and his messages of love are so needed in the world.
As despotism deepens it becomes more transparent, and every premise Cooper put forward was a lie. He is an "ambush" interviewer there to destroy the interviewee not gather the views of candidate. West was unwise to go on CNN as it is a totally discredited, pro-establishment propagandist. Cooper's assignment wasn't to interview him, it was to destroy him. Cooper destroys himself as a credible journalist. Fringe candidates should choose their interviews carefully as there are lots of hacks out there just like Cooper.
It’s getting to be like Oprah at his point: You’re a Russian agent and you’re a Russian agent and you’re a Russian agent. They never get tired of their tropes.
It works well enough, since pretty much every mainstream candidate other than Trump is all aboard for more war, and Trump has proven himself to be weak, stupid and easily manipulated.
Is it working? When everything in the MSM sounds like everything else, and doesn't correspond with any reality the audience actually experiences, and is constantly being undercut by alternatives, its effects might be pretty limited.
Clinton had basically gavaged them Yeltsin, who'd delivered any number of war crimes, as Putin chewed his way up? We'd been dumping our freedom & DEMOCRACY all over Eurasian, Muslim & basically working our way up to 9/11 & forever war. But Rice had yet to threaten big Russian CNG pipelines? Didn't we give Putin, some of Iraq's oil & wet gas fields? Dr West has to ignore his handlers & come out swinging. On WBD, Disney, Comcast it's academic: they're simply going to CRUSH him to install Newsom, Chelsea, Kim Kardashian, Smaug or some CGI hologram of David Koch?
Their tropes serve a disciplinary function. Insular groups of all kinds tend to create fictional narratives as a form of collective symbolic capital, to identify themselves to one another and to reject outsiders who might endanger the system.
Everything Cooper said is gross but somehow the most insidious thing he said to West was "you know I love you", just disgusting emotional manipulation 🐍
Nothing Anderson Cooper said was remotely surprising.
It’s nothing more that plain old “American exceptionalism” aka the form of white nationalist capitalism that’s standard in privileged circles in other words the entire insider class on both sides of the political aisle in Washington DC, including Biden, Clinton, Trump, Bush, DeSantis, and all the rest.
Interesting . Your belittlement of West suggests to me - having lived many decades - that unless one becomes reactive - name calling, giving someone the third finger, swearing and yelling - they’re considered a chump. Actually, once upon a time some public figures possessed a quality that’s on the endangered species list. Namely. Dignity.
What I got from your comment was you made it sound like Russian Bot was suggesting that West use that kind of attack, yet I got he meant use his knowledge of facts against Cooper, and because he didn't, I'd agree, he was a chump. Shoulda' stood up to him. Certainly lost an opportunity.
He can be a nicest person in the world and could stay that in his personal life. But he's running for a position that requires all kinds of dirty tricks to be employed to get his nice ideas implemented. He has to deal with all kinds of scumbags and conmen and be able to handle them. "I love you brother" is not going to impress anybody.
Dignity. It's in short supply these days--particularly in the political realms. I think this is where more than a few commenters have missed the mark. Many Americans don't want a sly, snarky interviewee as their leader anymore. They want a transparent, kind, considerate and dignified person like Cornel West. That's his appeal if you want to call it that, but the fact that Dr. West is a real person and not an actor like the rest, is what makes him attractive as a presidential candidate. Wait and watch. You'll see.
Cornell West is worse than that. He's a racist. I haven't had TV in a long time so I've been fortunate not to have seen or heard from him in quite some time. I kept hoping they meant Colonel West. This one's a lunatic and Cooper is equally nauseating.
Oh my Let’s Rock - Odd. I have heard Cornell West speak more times than I have fingers and toes . And West has consistently brought up MLK’s statement Re the three evils that the USA has been damaging itself with - militarism, poverty and guess what? racism. Now Please give a video, book, or other citation that demonstrates your opinion? Charge? That West is a racist. I’d think that you’d be happy to do that. And without that, what worth is your charge?
This is the kind of empty, contentless reply someone give when they got nuthin, no facts to back their assertions. If challenged they resort to name-calling.
One last time. It was many YEARS ago and he was on Fox News rather often then. Don't remember what he said I only remember that my impression was he was racist. He was also looney. Wasn't he a professor in NJ or something? Very pseudo intellectual. My impressions.
I have had to learn this all over again the last few months here in Johnstones comment's section - since many of them have ventured out from under their bridges - doing their best to make a mess here.
I try to avoid responding to them -- hoping in vain that others do the same -- until they've already thoroughly disrupted the thread, at which point I hope my holding a mirror up to them will cool their jets (which never works, of course). The only solution is for EVERYONE to ignore the trolls (not likely), or for Caitlin to be more proactive in monitoring her comment threads.
I’ve never had a good feeling about Anderson Cooper as a journalist, which has always had a lot to do with the relentlessly neoliberal centrist slant of CNN’s reporting, at which he more or less stands at the helm. His longstanding profession of his CIA internship, and the murky question begged of whether his connections, and to what extent they may, continue to this very day, given what we know about the relationships the big news organizations have to those agencies on a routine basis anyway, is also unsurprising on its face.
In this current interview, where — on the basis of a completely specious piece of exceptionalist nonsense masquerading as a response to utilitarian calculation — he baits and sets up a perfectly decent guy — yeah, I do think it’s fair to say that West didn’t handle Cooper’s challenges as rigorously as he might have — he reveals himself, as Caitlin notes, to clearly be, in his social role, what I’ve always thought he really was underneath that smooth surface— an unprincipled, sleazy propagandist with motives completely wedded to the privileged purposes of the imperial elite from which he crawled at birth. In other words, like a lot of liberal Democrats, he has become, or perhaps always was, exactly the kind of person that he now pretends to detest.
I don't understand why anyone would offer their neck to the lion.
The people who watch Cooper are NEVER going to vote for West, so what is the attraction? Why put yourself in that position? There is nothing to be gained by walking into the lion's den.
Reminds me of Matt Taibbi going on Medhi Assan on CNN.
And then to softball at the end with "I love you, brother"...
He is NOT your brother, he is not your friend. You can be accepting of someone's expression, but you don't have to pretend that you like that expression, or lower yourself to it by participating.
And the whole thing just made me decide that I won't vote for someone like that who has so little self-respect that they would allow someone to walk on them like that. I find it particularly disappointing.
To me, it's not a matter of self-respect but basic self-preservation. Going into an interview with someone who is never going ask honest questions and who has no interest in honest discussion means that you need to be prepared for this and have answers and facts at the ready, as well as zingers, one-liners and the like.
Perhaps West is a witting patsy — to put oneself under Secret Service protection while opposing some of the very principles they protect is a bold move. Or, his media team has been infiltrated with due haste by the donut brigade.
Don't know if you saw RFK Jr. testify today, but he didn't act grateful to be there like they were doing him a favor. He called out their lies and didn't let them shout him down. It was a proud moment for him and a disgusting display by House Democrats.
Will all due respect, I couldn't watch Dr. West bow down to Cooper.
I watched that part too. These fucking democrats are so disgusting during a Censorship Committee that piece of shit Debbie Wasserman Schultz attempts to censor RFK! This is the same piece of filth that attacked Matt Taibbi and they never ever acknowledged the truth just instantly attack whoever is saying it.
"The clever manipulation of the mass media is creating a concentration camp of the mind that promises to be far more effective in keeping the populace in line."
Great post today. Anderson Vanderbilt is a rich spoiled arrogant liar and disgusting piece of you know what. Like Bernie I like much of what Cornell says even though I disagree with them on many levels I respect their opinions. I have no respect for AV.
It is often said that Operation Mockingbird never really ended.
I suspect that there is no further need for an Operation Mockingbird, as the MSM is already inundated with former CIA/NSA/DIA/HSA functionaries, and those who are not know that they must tow the party line.
If you watch some of these people's careers they actually go in and out of all the gambit of "Propaganda Agencies" from CIA to political office to MSM back to political office rinse and repeat. They have become the truth sayers perhaps even heroes to the populace because of this very situation. We really have to question if they are still part of the CIA. The court order demanding they stop concluding the Social Media platforms has not stopped them from doing it. The very seemingly "Ex-CIA" employee in the media is something that needs to be either stopped or at the very least investigated fully.
As far as I know, nobody ever suggested that Andrew Marr was ex MI5 or whatever. He didn't need to be to play his role perfectly.
Chomsky: “Well, I know some of the best, and best known investigative reporters in the United States, I won’t mention names, {inaudible}, whose attitude towards the media is much more cynical than mine. In fact, they regard the media as a sham. And they know, and they consciously talk about how they try to play it like a violin. If they see a little opening, they’ll try to squeeze something in that ordinarily wouldn’t make it through. And it’s perfectly true that the majority - I’m sure you’re speaking for the majority of journalists who are trained, have it driven into their heads, that this is a crusading profession, adversarial, we stand up against power. A very self-serving view. On the other hand, in my opinion, I hate to make a value judgement but, the better journalists and in fact the ones who are often regarded as the best journalists have quite a different picture. And I think a very realistic one.”
Marr: “How can you know that I’m self-censoring? How can you know that journalists are..”
Chomsky: “I’m not saying your self censoring. I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.”
I used to watch him and all the rest of the MSM until the lies about the current war, the nonstop partisan talking points, the selling of war, the descent into dreck became intolerable last March.
At this point I don't have time to look at MSM. There's way too much good alternative media to read and watch videos of now that I never look at CNN but once maybe for five minutes every two or three weeks.
I don't know if he's a goon but he certainly is either ignorant (from too much unquestioning acceptance of establishment talking points) or a liar -- one or the other. It's as though the MSM has gotten so used to lying daily about the current war that they're now brazenly rewriting the histories of past wars too.
I think it's always worth pointing out because it leaves a record reminding them that some (maybe many) know and that they will be on the wrong side of history if they don't change. Propaganda only controls history a brief time. Eventually the truth comes out. It may take a while with these shills rewriting Wikipedia and leaving a false record in the main stream media. It sure isn't going to help to be silent.
The MSM isn't a fair market, but an institution of social control. "If you believed something different, you wouldn't be sitting where you're sitting" -Noam Chomsky
Sounds like Christian "manners" are getting in the way of Cornel West's ability to take down the imperialists. Turning the other cheek will not humanize racist propagandized Americans in time for the election and accepting powerful fascists as "brothers" is a complete turn off for those who would vote for him (like me). Gandhi took down the British Empire through passive resistance but it took years and massive loss of life. Unless someone more effective comes along, I will vote for Mr. West, but without much faith in his ability to make real changes. I really can't stand religious bullshit.
It's interesting you mention Gandhi, because he was in close contact with Tolstoy as a sort of spiritual confidant, who wrote eloquently about Christian Anarchism and the notion of non-resistance to evil, and has influenced West deeply as well. I personally believe that returning violence or aggression with more of the same can never break the vicious cycle of trauma and conflict, and I do not believe in any supernatural entities or dogmas.
Love is real, however, and it does transform hatred in a lasting way, so it seems as good a basis to run a campaign on as any. West's love for his enemies is an asset, not a weakness, even if it will look weak to people who don't understand the power in it.
Jimmy Dore did a great segment today on the Anderson - Cornel West interview. As you write -it was a bloody disgrace. But not only because Anderson himself is as you say, a disgusting piece of crap CIA goon - as is Carville - some kind of Clintonian zombie vampire that keeps coming back from the dead -to suck whatever blood is left - on the left in American politics. But Dore also eviscerated West for being totally unprepared for the interview, and allowing Anderson to talk over him like some kind of high school principal. And Dore opened the segment by stating he was planning to vote for Cornel West, which actually came as a bit of a surprise to me - since after all the segments he's already done on JFK Jr. - one would think JFK was his guy. But no - Dore, at least before he began, said he was going to vote for Cornel.
But man - I had to agree with Dore after listening to how Cornel West handled the entire interview. It was at an amateur level of clarity and it was like watching a boxing match where Cornel just stood there while Anderson repeatedly punched him in the face - and at the end of the fight, Cornel then says "I love you brother." It was really a lost opportunity. Even though Cornel had all the facts on his side, by the end of the interview - it sounded more like he was the kooky leftie Anderson and the blood-sucking Carville did all they could to make him out to be. West has to step up his game - I suggest he watch Dore's excruciating examination of the interview. It was a doozy.
Update: Link to Dore's video segment I refered to yesterday in my comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETmA3624PE
Well, I am totally out of touch with the main theme in todays article, not having access to the interviews mentioned or the participants in the TV programs to which Caitlin refers, living as I am on the other side of the Pacific, a land which is the current contender for the title of the US 51st State, US grovelling being the stock in trade.
Yes, Australia.
However, an additional comment on the Iraqi deaths seems justified while also remembering Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, Iraq being by far the worst. Perhaps we can also add Libya, the support given to Saudi in Yemen adding to the starving people in that country by blockading ports bringing food, together with the supply of weapons made the US, the undisputed master race of military killers but always managed through the control of both US houses of government by the self-styled "chosen people" from the Middle East ( as owners and major investors). Such a country as Israel still profiting from wars everywhere, who with the help of a feeble UN and weaponry support from the US, successfully kill Palestinians every day to achieve their goal of "Eretz Israel”, the ownership and control of all land from the Euphrates to the Nile.
A bit of a mouthful, but what a disgraceful history. Peaceful endeavours?….NIL. Diplomacy?…. What the hell is that? Hegemonic pursuits? The name of the game at any cost.
But Iraq. Children alone must have passed 500,000, mainly as a result of sanctions, the US #1 weapon of death. Add Falujah and the use of prohibited weapons by the Americans during these battles,” , (on the schedule in Ukraine by the UK as well) cluster bombs, another favourite together with the Abu Ghraib disgrace from a so-called civilised country, one political party a mirror image of the other.
Certainly a country with a convenient short memory when needed on TV programs and also when viewed daily in the world’s whoring media.
Jimmy's exasperation at West's inadequacy is worth watching today's show.
Jimmy was exceptionally worked up over it. Visibly upset. But I found myself agreeing with Dore's assessment and was as frustrated as he that Cornel was so ludicrously unprepared , and allowed himself to be a punching bag for that CNN sack-of-shit Anderson. It was painful to watch.
Nothing new here. Norman Finkelstein (see his substack and youtube channel) already went over that topic in Substack a few weeks ago of wanting to like Cornell West, being ready to jump in campaigning for him, and breaking down his frustration with how West handles questions from softball to adversarial.
I trust your version of what Dore argued, and he clearly has a platform that holds phonies and liars to account, but I have to say I think West is probably wise to not get sucked into arguing with a second-rate interviewer that won’t give him time to respond to his hideous comments.
And, as far as losing an opportunity, I don’t think a Clintonesque retort would have given him much of a bump in his polling. The media is a known and consistent enemy of honest discourse, and I doubt that Cooper could put a dent in West’s humane character. I’m reminded of West’s announcement on Chris Hedges’ show, where he stated he was proud to kick off his campaign with a dear friend who, critically holds a high standard of integrity. If West has to make a splash in the MSM and stay true to himself, I think that’s a meaningless contortion that would not pay dividends.
If West does not learn to conduct himself in dishonest interviews, he will be easy meat.
If he stays honest and transparent, he can stand apart without trying to best paid baiters at their game. I recall the trussed candidate Clinton whose proud war room was regaled for its devastating counterpunching. His naive followers were wooed by his act, and many of them concluded that his verbal yeah-buts were evidence of his capacity for surviving and winning. There was no consideration for how such talent could translate to real leadership, and the country embraced a shapeshifter who had no interest in being earnest or forthright. He was on a stage for 8 years and never broke character... or exhibited any.
I don't recall Clinton ever being considered a nice person. Always a sleazebag, from the get-go. Whitney Webb's "One Nation Under Blackmail" describes some of his "niceties".
The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. One can exhibit leadership and principle without acting like a deer in the headlights.
Quite literally champing at the bit; pained amygdala restraint not exactly what we'd hoped for? He had to play to an audience of our WORST enemies (boss, landlord & creditors doubtless cherry-picking each squirm, every uppity, fleck-enunciated consonant). Constrain his handlers (who'd let Bernie refrain from mentioning the "open" hypercardioid mic, exactly where Warren tried to set him up, after CNN's "debate?" Once Dr West finally comes out swinging like a Johnny Garfield flick; or dancing around like Ali, at DNC's stale-ass senile, racist & reactionary BS tropes. As young Blacks, Latinos, gig-serfs & REAL life-long loyal Democrats sign on; Dr West's unique skill-set will likely become altogether TOO apparent, for WBD, Disney & Comcast to DARE have him on? He's the candidate now (with capabilities WAY beyond Ralph or Bernie; if you step back & consider who hasn't voted & are now unable to handle 3 1099 gigs re-re-reinfected, while loved ones DIE of undiagnosed/ treated PASC damage each week?
Virtue signaling never fixed anything other than capital's problems.
I don't think it was wise at all to be so unprepared. It was embarrassing and made those of us who hold the same values and anti-war position as Cornel West look pretty bad. Leadership does have a responsibility - to actually lead. Why leadership is not something everyone is capable of.
What is your main reason for charging unpreparedness? He’s pretty much an open book, and I don’t see how he can defend his perspective if his hosts are not interested in a real discussion. How do you think West could have exhibited more preparedness?
"What is your main reason for charging unpreparedness?" - are you asking this after having watched the interview? Meaning, you couldn't spot anything? Or are you just trolling?
I'll provide a link (right here) to Jimmy Dore's segment as soon as he publishes it on youtube. I could repeat everything Jimmy Dore said but why should I have to go to all that trouble to convince someone who hasn't even seen the video yet (in all due respect)?
But I agree with Dore - West needs to prepare himself more for these types of interviews - if he wants to be an effective, vocal leader for the values many of us hold.
What Cornel West SHOULD’VE Said To Anderson Cooper About Ukraine! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETmA3624PE
I would have to say then what's the point in even agreeing to such interviews especially since people who watch that shit show would/did/and do view him just as Cooper was allowed to make him out to be. Those people are way down the rabbit hole and there is no redeeming them from the shit pile.
I think Dr. West cannot lose on any platform because he is comfortable in his own skin, and believes in his mission. Anderson Cooper didn’t get the best of his guest, but he did show himself to be a network hack. If his viewers thought that Cooper verbally undressed Dr. West, I think that is an example of selective perception.
I don't blame Jimmy at all. It helps he's in a position where he doesn't have to hold back. It looks like if he weren't he'd get himself out of any restraints to be really free. Unlike most so called "professional journalists".
Those aren't restraints, those are "guardrails." Good Professionals wear their PPE.
To him and 1% minus they would be. To others - 99% plus - they're buoys.
Love that one!
If West cannot perform at these types of bear-baiting exhibitions, then he needs to get a spokesman or surrogate who can.
Any such figure is a potential traitor and with West's character - as many here seem to suggest being a nice "I love you brother" type - there's a big chance he'll be exploited.
A person must be able to perform himself. If not, drop out and find a better calling.
Generally one chooses a surrogate who is yet more pugilistic. e.g. Sanders had Nina Turner, who was pretty loyal as far as I could tell, and continued with essentially the same message after the campaign. Not that it matters; Shontel Brown was the darling of those who buy ink by the barrel. Those who vote decide nothing; those who decide who votes decide everything.
Imagine someone like Margaret Kimberley, though.
And how did it help Sanders?
Yes, a person must have helpers but he must be able to perform himself first and foremost. The surrogates are needed to help spread out, but they must be fearful and respectful of their master as he's on the same, if not above, level.
Agreed, I saw the Dore take as well and agree. West is a solid guy to vote for, but he needs to sack up. He should have handled Cooper like the empty suit propagandist Cooper is, instead West stumbled badly.
If West goes into any MSM interview expecting a fair discussion and not an attempt to discredit him by any means fair or foul, then he is exceptionally naïve.
That's exactly it!
As IF?
If the petit-bourgoise liberals who appropriate Black concepts like WOKE, have any curiosity, at all to it's original intent (why it's so SCARY & had to be co-opted, flipped & eviscerated? There's a big, scary difference, between: wiley, sardonic, wise-cracking social critic & exceedingly AWARE & empirically prepared 3rd party presidential candidate, selflessly going-up against DNC LLC's kleptocrats, their international oilgarchs, K, C & J Street, WEF, G20, CFR, CAP, United Democracy Project, all media & social network criminals; to EXPOSE those of us, who'd simply given up having ANY vote, SAY or choice, 4 decades back?
Meow?
I think the prevailing opinion here is that West is TOO nice. So, he'll need a legit attack dog, unleashed, to take this propaganda on from ghouls like Cooper and Carville.
Who, that would be any more capable, astute or succinct & to the point would EVER be permitted on WBD, Comcast or Disney? If Cornel is LEFT alone, free to attract that 43% ex duopoly vote, PLUS all the youth, 1099 labor, immigrants, LBGT, minoritized women, who actually SHARE his heart-felt GREAT convictions (who've not LOTE'd in senile zombie racist kleptocrat war criminals) I'm guessing a lot of leftys, here will feel their ears burning?
Excellent. West is a likeable and bright man, but too "nice" in dealing with many of the psychopaths who have essentially used him for years as a "concerned black voice" to prop up their "diversity" virtue signalling. I just don't think he has the combative temperament that is needed to stand up to media bullies. Sad.
Vandy Cooper's shallow moralizing did get somewhat exposed in the Cornel West exchange. Not ideal, but Cooper backed himself into a contorted corner when he started defending the illegal US invasion/occupation of Iraq as some kind of moral Crusade when compared to Russia's attack on Grozny, which he pulled out of a would-be "Gotcha!" hat. Apologizing for US atrocities is never a good look, even if you are a paid CNN propagandist...
Yeah but it wasn't focused. And as Dore mentions in his segment, Cornel didn't provide enough clear background to be able to forcefully make his points - which is what you need to do if you decide to step up to the plate and succeed as a potential leader on the Left. Especially the multiple times Cornel allowed Cooper to talk right over him - or divert the subject. Cornel should take up Jimmy's offer to provide advice. After all, Jimmy has been in the business of speaking to an audience for decades - and he's damn good at it.
That's not the way I saw it at all. I thought Cornel made great points and he kept talking a couple times when Anderson was talking over him. I don't think there was one time Anderson talked over him to make Cornel lose the thread of his argument. Cornel needs to work on his optics - the rocking back and forth does not look good. But his arguments were sound, he presented them in a personal down to earth way which is where most people are on those facts, and his messages of love are so needed in the world.
For those interested, here is a youtube link to the Jimmy Dore segment I refer to in my original comment. The segment was just published.
What Cornel West SHOULD’VE Said To Anderson Cooper About Ukraine! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETmA3624PE
I missed JD's show yesterday (SoundChaser), but I'll catch it when the segments come out. Thanks for the update.
the Jimmy Dore video I posted was regarding the excess deaths in Australia after the COVID clot shot roll outs...a subject Caty NEVER addresses...
Oh
Jimmy Dore segment on COVID clot shot deaths in Australia...Caty NEVER mentions this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-sknniq4Ls
She didn't mention Jimmy Dore in this article about Anderson a disgusting CIA goon. I mentioned Jimmy Dore in the comments section. But good try.
As despotism deepens it becomes more transparent, and every premise Cooper put forward was a lie. He is an "ambush" interviewer there to destroy the interviewee not gather the views of candidate. West was unwise to go on CNN as it is a totally discredited, pro-establishment propagandist. Cooper's assignment wasn't to interview him, it was to destroy him. Cooper destroys himself as a credible journalist. Fringe candidates should choose their interviews carefully as there are lots of hacks out there just like Cooper.
Well said!
That's what I say too. I did see that shit Cooper get tongue tied over Iraq though I doubt any of his viewers see it any different then he does.
Jimmy Dore - the man ever without a loss for words.
It’s getting to be like Oprah at his point: You’re a Russian agent and you’re a Russian agent and you’re a Russian agent. They never get tired of their tropes.
As long as it's working they'll keep workin' it.
It works well enough, since pretty much every mainstream candidate other than Trump is all aboard for more war, and Trump has proven himself to be weak, stupid and easily manipulated.
Is it working? When everything in the MSM sounds like everything else, and doesn't correspond with any reality the audience actually experiences, and is constantly being undercut by alternatives, its effects might be pretty limited.
I thought this was America? Damned if there aren't more Russians here then in Russia!
Clinton had basically gavaged them Yeltsin, who'd delivered any number of war crimes, as Putin chewed his way up? We'd been dumping our freedom & DEMOCRACY all over Eurasian, Muslim & basically working our way up to 9/11 & forever war. But Rice had yet to threaten big Russian CNG pipelines? Didn't we give Putin, some of Iraq's oil & wet gas fields? Dr West has to ignore his handlers & come out swinging. On WBD, Disney, Comcast it's academic: they're simply going to CRUSH him to install Newsom, Chelsea, Kim Kardashian, Smaug or some CGI hologram of David Koch?
Their tropes serve a disciplinary function. Insular groups of all kinds tend to create fictional narratives as a form of collective symbolic capital, to identify themselves to one another and to reject outsiders who might endanger the system.
Everything Cooper said is gross but somehow the most insidious thing he said to West was "you know I love you", just disgusting emotional manipulation 🐍
Nothing Anderson Cooper said was remotely surprising.
It’s nothing more that plain old “American exceptionalism” aka the form of white nationalist capitalism that’s standard in privileged circles in other words the entire insider class on both sides of the political aisle in Washington DC, including Biden, Clinton, Trump, Bush, DeSantis, and all the rest.
"Anderson Cooper Is A Disgusting CIA Goon" - and Cornell West turned out a chump.
Interesting . Your belittlement of West suggests to me - having lived many decades - that unless one becomes reactive - name calling, giving someone the third finger, swearing and yelling - they’re considered a chump. Actually, once upon a time some public figures possessed a quality that’s on the endangered species list. Namely. Dignity.
Where did I suggest that? Being knowledgable, assertive, and not a pushover does not involve the things you mentioned.
You called him a chump
What I got from your comment was you made it sound like Russian Bot was suggesting that West use that kind of attack, yet I got he meant use his knowledge of facts against Cooper, and because he didn't, I'd agree, he was a chump. Shoulda' stood up to him. Certainly lost an opportunity.
He was using "chump" as a verb, not a noun.
And?
CW is evidently not a verbal pugilist. If you want the latter, get someone else.
Why is he running for president then?
He can be a nicest person in the world and could stay that in his personal life. But he's running for a position that requires all kinds of dirty tricks to be employed to get his nice ideas implemented. He has to deal with all kinds of scumbags and conmen and be able to handle them. "I love you brother" is not going to impress anybody.
We really should have a religious test for President: if they profess a religion, automatic DQ.
They might conceal it.
Too late.
Dignity. It's in short supply these days--particularly in the political realms. I think this is where more than a few commenters have missed the mark. Many Americans don't want a sly, snarky interviewee as their leader anymore. They want a transparent, kind, considerate and dignified person like Cornel West. That's his appeal if you want to call it that, but the fact that Dr. West is a real person and not an actor like the rest, is what makes him attractive as a presidential candidate. Wait and watch. You'll see.
Yep. It was sad to watch and a lost opportunity.
Cornell West is worse than that. He's a racist. I haven't had TV in a long time so I've been fortunate not to have seen or heard from him in quite some time. I kept hoping they meant Colonel West. This one's a lunatic and Cooper is equally nauseating.
Oh my Let’s Rock - Odd. I have heard Cornell West speak more times than I have fingers and toes . And West has consistently brought up MLK’s statement Re the three evils that the USA has been damaging itself with - militarism, poverty and guess what? racism. Now Please give a video, book, or other citation that demonstrates your opinion? Charge? That West is a racist. I’d think that you’d be happy to do that. And without that, what worth is your charge?
GROW UP. PRESUMPTUOUS AND SANCTIMONIOUS MUCH?
This is the kind of empty, contentless reply someone give when they got nuthin, no facts to back their assertions. If challenged they resort to name-calling.
Nope - he is an anti racist. Firmly so.
Stop these disgusting smear tactics.
Like I said, last time I saw him was a long time ago and HE WAS VERY RACIST THEN. Maybe he's learned how to hide it.
Don't tell me what I saw.
No one seems to have told you what you saw. But you can share with us details of your encounter(s).
One last time. It was many YEARS ago and he was on Fox News rather often then. Don't remember what he said I only remember that my impression was he was racist. He was also looney. Wasn't he a professor in NJ or something? Very pseudo intellectual. My impressions.
You haven't even given any idea what you mean by him being racist. Someone criticizing racism does not make one racist.
Stop your disgusting lies and smearing.
Ummmm ^ Don't Feed The Trolls ^
I have had to learn this all over again the last few months here in Johnstones comment's section - since many of them have ventured out from under their bridges - doing their best to make a mess here.
I try to avoid responding to them -- hoping in vain that others do the same -- until they've already thoroughly disrupted the thread, at which point I hope my holding a mirror up to them will cool their jets (which never works, of course). The only solution is for EVERYONE to ignore the trolls (not likely), or for Caitlin to be more proactive in monitoring her comment threads.
Exactly. Don't feed the trolls (unless they're especially witty or have other redeeming qualities, which aint often.)
Yes - I've been allowing myself to take the troll bait to often here. It's a pain in the ass, but got to be more careful who and what to respond to.
You are full of shit.
And you're a jerkoff. Do you even know what an opinion is??? 🖕
Yes I do, sweetheart. And my point still stands. Stay mad.
He's a Socialist too so shove it.
Proof of what exactly? My opinion?
I’ve never had a good feeling about Anderson Cooper as a journalist, which has always had a lot to do with the relentlessly neoliberal centrist slant of CNN’s reporting, at which he more or less stands at the helm. His longstanding profession of his CIA internship, and the murky question begged of whether his connections, and to what extent they may, continue to this very day, given what we know about the relationships the big news organizations have to those agencies on a routine basis anyway, is also unsurprising on its face.
In this current interview, where — on the basis of a completely specious piece of exceptionalist nonsense masquerading as a response to utilitarian calculation — he baits and sets up a perfectly decent guy — yeah, I do think it’s fair to say that West didn’t handle Cooper’s challenges as rigorously as he might have — he reveals himself, as Caitlin notes, to clearly be, in his social role, what I’ve always thought he really was underneath that smooth surface— an unprincipled, sleazy propagandist with motives completely wedded to the privileged purposes of the imperial elite from which he crawled at birth. In other words, like a lot of liberal Democrats, he has become, or perhaps always was, exactly the kind of person that he now pretends to detest.
Cooper is a professional disinformation agent and if there is a hell may he burn in it. He knows full well that he's lying.
I don't understand why anyone would offer their neck to the lion.
The people who watch Cooper are NEVER going to vote for West, so what is the attraction? Why put yourself in that position? There is nothing to be gained by walking into the lion's den.
Reminds me of Matt Taibbi going on Medhi Assan on CNN.
And then to softball at the end with "I love you, brother"...
He is NOT your brother, he is not your friend. You can be accepting of someone's expression, but you don't have to pretend that you like that expression, or lower yourself to it by participating.
And the whole thing just made me decide that I won't vote for someone like that who has so little self-respect that they would allow someone to walk on them like that. I find it particularly disappointing.
To me, it's not a matter of self-respect but basic self-preservation. Going into an interview with someone who is never going ask honest questions and who has no interest in honest discussion means that you need to be prepared for this and have answers and facts at the ready, as well as zingers, one-liners and the like.
Anything else and you are easy prey.
I mean, it's a sporting contest, not a talking shop.
Interesting analogy, although "sporting" implies fair play.
Unless you mean "sporting" as in "wild beasts in the Colosseum".
I suppose the fox hunt was never very sporting or fair for the fox...
Perhaps West is a witting patsy — to put oneself under Secret Service protection while opposing some of the very principles they protect is a bold move. Or, his media team has been infiltrated with due haste by the donut brigade.
Don't know if you saw RFK Jr. testify today, but he didn't act grateful to be there like they were doing him a favor. He called out their lies and didn't let them shout him down. It was a proud moment for him and a disgusting display by House Democrats.
Will all due respect, I couldn't watch Dr. West bow down to Cooper.
I watched that part too. These fucking democrats are so disgusting during a Censorship Committee that piece of shit Debbie Wasserman Schultz attempts to censor RFK! This is the same piece of filth that attacked Matt Taibbi and they never ever acknowledged the truth just instantly attack whoever is saying it.
I didn't even know that Max Headroom had become a CNN correspondent.
Ha!
https://science1arts2and3politics.substack.com/p/max-headroom-becomes-cnn-host
"The clever manipulation of the mass media is creating a concentration camp of the mind that promises to be far more effective in keeping the populace in line."
Jim Garrison 1967
Also Putin wasn't in power until 1999! The Chechnian's actually respect Putin for negotiating peace.
Great post today. Anderson Vanderbilt is a rich spoiled arrogant liar and disgusting piece of you know what. Like Bernie I like much of what Cornell says even though I disagree with them on many levels I respect their opinions. I have no respect for AV.
It is often said that Operation Mockingbird never really ended.
I suspect that there is no further need for an Operation Mockingbird, as the MSM is already inundated with former CIA/NSA/DIA/HSA functionaries, and those who are not know that they must tow the party line.
And they no longer hide it. The CIA are good guys as Hollywood taught us.
If you watch some of these people's careers they actually go in and out of all the gambit of "Propaganda Agencies" from CIA to political office to MSM back to political office rinse and repeat. They have become the truth sayers perhaps even heroes to the populace because of this very situation. We really have to question if they are still part of the CIA. The court order demanding they stop concluding the Social Media platforms has not stopped them from doing it. The very seemingly "Ex-CIA" employee in the media is something that needs to be either stopped or at the very least investigated fully.
As far as I know, nobody ever suggested that Andrew Marr was ex MI5 or whatever. He didn't need to be to play his role perfectly.
Chomsky: “Well, I know some of the best, and best known investigative reporters in the United States, I won’t mention names, {inaudible}, whose attitude towards the media is much more cynical than mine. In fact, they regard the media as a sham. And they know, and they consciously talk about how they try to play it like a violin. If they see a little opening, they’ll try to squeeze something in that ordinarily wouldn’t make it through. And it’s perfectly true that the majority - I’m sure you’re speaking for the majority of journalists who are trained, have it driven into their heads, that this is a crusading profession, adversarial, we stand up against power. A very self-serving view. On the other hand, in my opinion, I hate to make a value judgement but, the better journalists and in fact the ones who are often regarded as the best journalists have quite a different picture. And I think a very realistic one.”
Marr: “How can you know that I’m self-censoring? How can you know that journalists are..”
Chomsky: “I’m not saying your self censoring. I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.”
Would you buy "continued by other means"?
In the old days, I was a regular AC360 viewer. Would not waste my time now. Did I change, or did he?
Yes, now I think he's a CIA goon ... how many in media are?
I used to watch him and all the rest of the MSM until the lies about the current war, the nonstop partisan talking points, the selling of war, the descent into dreck became intolerable last March.
At this point I don't have time to look at MSM. There's way too much good alternative media to read and watch videos of now that I never look at CNN but once maybe for five minutes every two or three weeks.
I don't know if he's a goon but he certainly is either ignorant (from too much unquestioning acceptance of establishment talking points) or a liar -- one or the other. It's as though the MSM has gotten so used to lying daily about the current war that they're now brazenly rewriting the histories of past wars too.
Most people of influence and authority exhibit behavior indistinguishable from that of sociopaths.
Exposing their hypocrisy is pointless. They know that they are hypocrites, and they don't care, as long as they can keep their sinecures.
Pointing out their support of crimes is a waste of time, like quoting Bible verses will do nothing to deter an armed robber.
And like an armed robber, reward and punishment are the only language that the sociopath understands.
Property protection necessarily implicates sociopathy, to a first approximation.
I think it's always worth pointing out because it leaves a record reminding them that some (maybe many) know and that they will be on the wrong side of history if they don't change. Propaganda only controls history a brief time. Eventually the truth comes out. It may take a while with these shills rewriting Wikipedia and leaving a false record in the main stream media. It sure isn't going to help to be silent.
I would say that Rule By Sociopath is the norm, not the exception.
The MSM isn't a fair market, but an institution of social control. "If you believed something different, you wouldn't be sitting where you're sitting" -Noam Chomsky
Sounds like Christian "manners" are getting in the way of Cornel West's ability to take down the imperialists. Turning the other cheek will not humanize racist propagandized Americans in time for the election and accepting powerful fascists as "brothers" is a complete turn off for those who would vote for him (like me). Gandhi took down the British Empire through passive resistance but it took years and massive loss of life. Unless someone more effective comes along, I will vote for Mr. West, but without much faith in his ability to make real changes. I really can't stand religious bullshit.
Bullshit is everywhere, not just in religion.
Most bullshit is generated by values suborning facts.
It's interesting you mention Gandhi, because he was in close contact with Tolstoy as a sort of spiritual confidant, who wrote eloquently about Christian Anarchism and the notion of non-resistance to evil, and has influenced West deeply as well. I personally believe that returning violence or aggression with more of the same can never break the vicious cycle of trauma and conflict, and I do not believe in any supernatural entities or dogmas.
Love is real, however, and it does transform hatred in a lasting way, so it seems as good a basis to run a campaign on as any. West's love for his enemies is an asset, not a weakness, even if it will look weak to people who don't understand the power in it.