TT: The long goodbye (complete)
For those who asked, you can now read all three parts of “The Long Goodbye” in a single file by clicking on the link.
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Sooner or later, the approach of death imposes an iron economy of illusion. The euphemisms that once sustained you start to cloy, and at length a time comes when you can no longer bear to speak or hear them. I saw it happen to a friend of mine who was dying by inches of a degenerative disease. One day he told me that he could no longer stand the company of optimists who urged him to “think positive.” He knew he was dying and that the end would be terrible, and his only comfort, such as it was, came from being able to talk about it honestly with those of his friends who were willing to hear him do so. Not many were
Viral tweet, fake President (Gizmodo).
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As ESPN cuts deep, new show touts its commitment to journalism
The media’s Comey mania won’t stop
READ: James Comey’s farewell letter to friends and agents CNN (martha r)
Republicans Close Ranks Behind Trump Bloomberg
Republicans rebuff call for new Trump-Russia probe Financial Times
Comey’s Firing Came as Investigators Stepped Up Russia Probe Wall Street Journal
Comey’s firing: Trump frustration finally boiled into action Associated Press (furzy). As we discussed yesterday, notice the role played by Sessions and Rosenstein.
Inside Trump’s anger and impatience — and his sudden decision to fire Comey Washington Post (furzy)
By firing Comey, Trump may have fanned the flames he hoped to control Los Angeles Times. While this is true, the problem is that you can’t prove a negative. Even if an investigation were to pronounce Trump clean (likely by virtue of having at most inconsequential relationships with Russians, and none with Putin or his inner circle), the Dems would be unsatisfied and would insist the probe was not thorough enough and/or interfered with.
FBI firing leaves Russia probe in uncertainty The Hill (furzy)
Democrats’ nuclear option over Comey’s firing: shut down the Senate Vox. Darius: “I’d follow Tom Perez nowhere.”
Lavrov trolls NBC before Trump meeting as US media, Democrats lose it over Russia RT (Lt. Columbo)
Comey Sought More Funding for FBI’s Russia Probe Before Being Fired Wall Street Journal
Mona Chalabi of The Guardian offers step-by-step instructions on how to fact-check an issue raised by a potential Trump administration appointee, who questioned the success rate of birth control. ... For the Southern Poverty Law Center, history teacher Jonathan Gold has developed a curriculum called "Learning How to Know."
Writing in The Spectator, Fraser Nelson has harsh words for newspapers that use advertising "wraps" that are "designed to deceive the reader and look like genuine front pages." Take a look at some examples.
This comic-style explanation about why some people are fact-resistant has gone viral. But it doesn't address recent studies that say the "backfire effect" may be nearly non-existent.
A new study by economists at Sciences Po and the Paris School of Economics concluded that exposing respondents to facts about migration improved their accuracy but didn't reduce the likelihood of voting for the lying politician. ... Nieman Lab writes about lessons we can draw from the Crosscheck collaborative fact-checking effort. ... And Jack Posobiec tweeted a photo of fake Paris.
The story of fake news, dishonest media and the "failing piling of garbage" has been compiled into one rap-ish song. We're looking forward to the Broadway musical.