While I was on vacation, The Atlantic ran an article full of confirmation bias, myths, and general falsehoods. Mostly about Elkhart, IN and the US economy in general. However, my name came up in the article. I wrote a response here debunking a lot of the nonsense in The Atlantic.
What was blatantly transparent was that The Atlantic’s Alana Semuels was misrepresenting what one of my listeners said about President Obama. Here’s the pertinent paragraph:
I’ve been in media long enough to know when someone is lying by omission to present people they disagree with as utterly feeble-minded. There’s no way a listener of my show, who is asked why they don’t like Obama, says his Army/Navy game attendance record first. Nor do they linger on the lapel pin. Both are extremely minor issues that aren’t in the forefront of the minds of Obama critics.
When I returned from vacation I brought this article up, and that I had suspicions The Atlantic cherry picked quotes from my listener. Eventually Andi Ermis (spelled correctly) reached out, and I interviewed her this week. As it turns out, Andi not only gave other answers as to why she wasn’t an Obama fan (Obamacare was the first thing she said), but the quotes about the football game and lapel pin weren’t even her quotes. They were quotes from another person being interviewed at the same time. She was quoted accurately about the Carrier deal.
This blatant dishonesty by The Atlantic’s Alana Semuels is the reason most Americans don’t trust the media. They manufacture false narratives to demonize those they disagree with instead of simply reporting the truth.
If the media is ever to regain its credibility, and live up to the foundational principles of journalism, people like Alana Semuels need to be swept aside, and run out of the industry altogether.
A listener pointed out that a recent article on The Atlantic mentioned me by name. It’s an article full of tribalism and confirmation bias that laments the tribalism and confirmation bias of those who disagree with Obama.
I just can’t seem to escape the job while I’m on vacation.
A listener pointed out that a recent article on The Atlantic mentioned me by name. It’s an article full of tribalism and confirmation bias that laments the tribalism and confirmation bias of those who disagree with Obama.
Yes, that’s St Joseph County Councilman Mark Telloyan.
Why not, it’s Friday, I’ll respond.
So much straw man fallacy in this piece mixed with ignorance of the current economy, and what happened in Elkhart. It’s an article about confirmation bias without acknowledging both sides are infected by it. I won’t bother you with all of the facts, but stick to the general paragraph where my name came up and Elkhart, IN.
1) The economy isn’t good. There aren’t many financial and economic experts that think it is. Is it better than 8 years ago? Yes. It got to this point slower than at any other point in history, and is currently anemic at best. The main reason for such a slow recovery is that the government didn’t get out of our way.
2) American’s ignorance of economics, taxes and finances continues to be staggering. Fundamentally ignorant media writing inaccurate articles about it is perpetuating the problem. It’s one of the reasons I help produce Wise Money Radio.
3) You can’t ignore the vast changes in local governments swinging to business and tax friendly officials that has happened in the past 8 years. Those changes are far more responsible for positive economic improvements than the federal government. The Democrats have lost 1030 seats since Obama became president. That doesn’t happen if the President’s policies are successful. The American people like Obama personally, but hate his policies.
4) As for Elkhart, lots of people who have never heard of Elkhart, want to credit Obama for what happened here. Big problem with that assertion … it’s nonsense. Nearly every local leader, and the RV industry (which is essentially solely responsible for the positive turnaround) say Obama’s policies had nothing to do with it.
Obama’s legacy in Elkhart is giving tens of millions of dollars in government grants for green jobs, and electric car manufacturing that never materialized. None of those projects benefitted Elkhart, and they cost the taxpayer millions.
Ball State economist Michael Hicks has also pointed out that Obama was trying to force Elkhart’s economy away from manufacturing even as it was becoming more dependent upon it, and manufacturing is exactly why Elkhart is doing well now. The pro-manufacturing candidate just won the presidency.
The RV industry also sells a ton of product in Canada. Obama doesn’t get credit for Canadians buying RVs.
I should also point out Republican led Elkhart County is where most of this progress is happening, not in Democrat controlled Elkhart city. The recent defeat of the former Democratic mayor illustrates this point.
Darth Moore in his Pri Fighter
Furthermore, Elkhart is well aware they are in another RV bubble, and that it will burst. They are trying to diversify economically because the progress made these past few years is too volatile.
5) The left and the right keep fighting over vacation time. Did my listener say they approved of Bush’s ‘vacation’ or was that just straw man? You do realize a lot of people who don’t like Obama weren’t thrilled with Bush either right? If not, it’s because you are a tribalist, and assume everyone else is a tribalist also. This notion that if you don’t like Obama, you must have loved Bush is nonsense. Tribalism is killing this country.
Considering Trump has said he won’t live at the White House full-time, I can’t wait to see the ‘vacation’ trackers the liberal media will incessantly report on.
It’s more about dollars than time off. Fact is, Obama has spent over $90 million on vacations alone. It’s an unprecedented amount. Many taxpayers see this as a waste of money. Especially considering funding and budgetary issues. They aren’t wrong, but $90 million is a small drop in the bucket. It just illustrates a cavalier attitude, and lack of good stewardship of our money.
Bush spent over 500 days at his homes mostly working, not galavanting around exclusive resorts, and shopping at great taxpayer expense. If you are away from DC, and not on an official diplomatic trip, people log it as a vacation when if frequently isn’t. It’s media spin, pure and simple.
No president gets to unplug from the job on any trip. Criticism of Bush’s time at home as ‘vacation’ was utterly ridiculous and intellectually dishonest. Criticism of Obama time away from DC tends to be as well. It’s the fashion in which he does it, and the refusal to interrupt his vacations that irks people.
6) Every president should attend the annual Army/Navy game. It should be tradition in my opinion. Bringing up H. W. Bush to take a dig at someone is pretty petty confirmation bias itself. Did my listener say that they liked Bush Sr.’s decision to not attend the game, or did the author of this article just decide they wanted another man made of straw?
7) Yes Obama started wearing the flag pin after taking considerable public shaming as a result of him not wearing one. Let’s not pretend this was anything other than it was … a calculated political move because Obama was taking a likability hit for not wearing one. Criticism of Obama refusing to wear the pin doesn’t evaporate because he was pressured by the public into wearing one.
I also don’t think it should be an issue. Certainly not the issue many have made it out to be. It’s just a pin, and many believe it violates the Flag Code. As I’ve said before, if I were running for office I’d likely wear a Gadsden Flag pin instead.
8) The sheer amount of winning Trump is doing right now on economic issues is unprecedented. Trump has had a hand in Carrier, Boeing, Lockheed, Ford, GM, Sprint, OneWeb, and SoftBank just to name a few. And yes, Trump’s meeting with SoftBank directly affected the Sprint and OneWeb deals according to those two companies. Liberals are spinning that story to claim Trump is lying.
I can not remember the last time a president-elect has put in this much effort, been this involved, and had this much impact. The fact is that Trump is showing his supporters that he’s here to work. Not throw celebrity parties every Thursday at the White House.
Last week a listener invited me to the community townhall in Elkhart to address violence in some neighborhoods there. I was unable to attend, but promised I’d get an elected official on the show to discuss the meeting. Elkhart City Councilman At-Large Brian Dickerson was willing to come on to discuss the meeting.
