*** [UPDATE: I mistakenly identified the reporter in the embedded clip as Jake Tapper. The reporter in question is Jim Acosta. I apologize for the error]
It’s the single greatest asset you possess when going into battle, and the longer and tougher the battle is, the more important morale becomes. So why is it that so many news outlets are determined to destroy it?
13 replies on “The CoronaSphere Lounge Episode 13: Morale”
Bill, Excellent analysis! Frankly, Tapper and Acosta are theologically one in essence. However, you did not separate the illegitimate fear planted in people’s minds by Acosta from the legitimate fear of the Wu-flu. Your fictional Eisenhower press conference was an excellent analogy. It reminded me of Walter Cronkite’s morale-destroying report that Vietnam was a lost cause. One man, the most trusted news anchor on television, had enough influence to turn an entire country against itself.
Fear is not a bad thing when it comes to survival. FDR famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” It makes for a good soundbite, but I think it’s wrong. Fear is not a cause; it is an effect. Fear is not a function of the human psyche, it is the response to an external stimulus, a causal agent that threatens people’s wellbeing. You’ve spoken many times about the function of the amygdala and always in the context of an effect from an external cause.
Just like Scott Ott on Bill Whittle Now, Jim Acosta’s job is to be the devil’s advocate; Sympathy for the Devil, as Mick Jagger put it. Yes, The MSM has made fixation on “what ifs” into an art form, but if more American’s had been raised with more than jelly for spines, they would see through the ruse and dismissed the tricks of the devil.
Hey Bill, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of the extra work you’re putting into these Coronasphere Lounge episodes. I have found them very valuable as a reliable source of information on the virus. Don’t feel bad about missing a Stratosphere Lounge.
Regarding your mixing up Tapeworm with “im Acosta Look at Me I’m Jim Acosta” (TM Klavan) reminds me of an old Andrew Dice Clay punchline – “That’s what I say, Teach. What’s the f***in’ difference?”
Hillary says “At this point, what does it matter, anyway? when she knew (at least) weeks in advance that trouble was brewing.
Media Pass: ISSUED
Response team “We acted when we knew.”
Media Pass: ETERNALLY REVOKED
Then how come I knew as just an average citizen what was coming back in January, when I thought we should have closed all borders and flights immediately, just from seeing videos and statistics of what was actually happening in China? How come I was smarter than the entire government and even the press back then? When for months the MSM called it just the flu, Trump said it wasn’t a big deal, and you were mocking people for creating a “panic”? How come I was able to understand the very simple concept that due to the nature of international air travel, it was only a matter of time before what was happening in China would be happening here, but you, the press, and Trump weren’t? Why can’t you just admit that all of you were wrong? Your argument is “oh, how could any of us have known?” Well then how come I knew? I knew exactly what was coming back in January. All the information was there and crystal clear. Statistics, videos of people collapsing, doctors saying how bad the crisis was, China enacting unprecedented quarantines and emergency hospital constructions, and all of this way back in January. It’s just that you, the mainstream media, and the government didn’t do their job to research it enough and see that it was obvious it would become a global pandemic with tons of deaths. Your video on the potential cure with only a $20 medicinal regimen was very good, but to have you mock people for “panicking” early on and then say “how could anyone have known” later on when you realize you were wrong is just ridiculous.
Luke, in light of the financial difficulties thrust upon me by COVID19…and not getting a law degree…I wonder if you could give me next weeks lucky lotto numbers?
How about your functional IQ is way above room temperature. How about your first concern is what actually is true rather than what you wish were true. How about you actually think for yourself rather than just feel what the next person in your collective feels. Most politicians and most of the members of the MSM fail on all of these things. I suspect that all of them fail on some of these things or they wouldn’t be politicians nor members of the MSM.
You don’t have to be a genius to know these things. You just have to pay attention to what actually happened in the past and what is actually happening now. Then see a pattern and make your judgement based upon the consequences of that pattern. It is really simple. It is called common sense which is in painfully short supply today.
Bill, the volume is still too low. At max on my phone I can just hear it myself at 3 feet. Can’t share with others in a room.
I think misidentifying “Jim Acosta Look at Me I’m Jim Acosta” (TM Klavan) as somebody else is hilarious. He has great contempt for the “deplorable” American people, and there could be no greater retaliation to such a narcissist as to unintentionally get his name wrong.
I have a question. What is the societal remedy for a person like Jim Acosta?
Stop buying whatever product he produces (tv, newspaper, etc). We have the power.
I understand what your point is, however, in actuality we do not have the power. Else why do we have the congress we have?
The last day of April 2020 will be my last day of shelter in place.