How Low Can You Go?

​It borders on the impossible not to express how clueless, crass, repulsive, sickening and whatever synonym you want to add Trump was yesterday in his public statement about the tragedy plane crash.  Blaming Obama, Biden, DEI programs and even the soldier flying, and trying to tell experts how helicopters work, despite never having flown a helicopter, ridiculed visiting the site of the tragedy in the same city where he lives, and making so much of it all about (of course) himself – that’s repugnant enough, but to do so all before there’s even been an investigation takes it to another level.  One long ago gave up thinking Trump can’t sink to a new low.
 
And right after he fired 100 senior members of the FAA advisory committee.  (And no, to be fair – a concept that has never seemed to touch Trump, or most of his enablers – this committee does not directly impact the issues that appear to have cause the crash, not would the firings have changed a thing.  But they can’t help but have affected morale in the department.  And far more to the point, imagine the fury and outrage from Fox, most of the extreme right in Congress, the MAGOP base and most of all, Trump, if this mass firing had taken place by President Biden right before a tragic crash.  Never mind, by the way, that there isn't even an FAA Director!  That's because Elon Musk pushed to get the then-Director fired, despite having years to go in his term, so he resigned -- and Trump had never gotten around to nominating a new one, because, why bother?  And again, yes, this didn't cause the crash.  But just imagine how the MAGOP world and Trump would have responded.  No word from Elon Musk, I should note...)
 
On the positive side, Trump was trashed as dumb, demented, depraved and nauseatingly unqualified by a great many Democrats in Congress on social media – I’m not online “friends” with all and therefore only get a handful of social media posts from members of Congress, and also I didn’t have the news all day – more on that in a moment -- so I don’t know how many are denouncing him, but it’s a great many (if not most or almost all…or even all), and it’s scathing, and happily he is not sliding under the radar for it.  As for every MAGOPs daring to criticize Trump for his reprehensible, cruel, irresponsible words  -- the concept is almost unimaginable. 
 
Which brings us to watching the news.
 
I was shaking my head with clenched teeth most of the day at MSNBC and CNN.  This crash is tragic, and should be heartbreakingly covered.  But it’s a crash, and while 67 deaths is horrific on so many levels, we’ve seen crashes of 400-passenger planes and full military transports, and coverage rarely came close to what the TV news medias has been doing. 
 
They’ve been covering the crash since 6 PM (Los Angeles time) Wednesday night until now with almost-literally nothing to add ever since reporting there was a crash.  The only updates I’ve seen in 24 hours of ongoing coverage is that all the passengers were lost, there was a contingent up next-generation figure skaters, and the two black boxes were found.  In 24 hours of coverage.  There has been a great deal of expert supposition, though, when I’ve checked in.  But even far more reptition. 
 
And it’s sad and tragic – and should be covered substantively.  But at the same time this non-informative coverage has been going on relentlessly, the Senate confirmation hearings with Robert Kennedy Jr,, Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel to head three major national security and national health cabinet posts that critically impact the lives and safety of every single American have been taking place. 
 
On Wednesday night, after RKjr had a deeply confrontational hearing, MSNBC stopped their analysis of it about 20 minutes into Rachel Maddow’s show and for the rest of the entire evening -- so he got off being bluntly and importantly critiqued all night.  And both networks were still covering the crash non-stop the next morning – missing opening statements of the cabinet hearing, and cutting back and forth between the hearings and reporters at the crash site adding next to nothing about it.  Even when the hearings had a recess, the news should still be covering it, analyzing it – because it’s important and actually news, rather than going to the crash 18 hours later and repeatedly saying, essentially, “We have nothing new to add.”

And this morning, a full 37 hours after the crash, the morning after RKjr, Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel all testified, the first 55 minutes of both MNBC and CNN's 7 AM news program was not about any of those cabinet nominees -- each of whose confirmation puts the entire country at risk -- but was still about...the crash.  (MSNBC finally did a brief report on something else.  Though, no, not the hearings.)  And it was the lead story once again on the 8 AM newscast.  And for all the coverage this morning, the only new items are 1) that the staffing in the air control booth was not normal.  (Not that it caused the crash, just that it wasn't normal.)   And 2) a Trump tweet -- before any investigation is complete, of course -- slamming how the soldier was flying.  A couple of things you wouldn't think, after 37 hours, would still be not only the lead story, but the only story.
 
Cover the tragedy, absolutely.
 
But raise your standards at least just a little on what is news, on what is important and adjust your focus to the actually critical story that impacts the security and health of every American.  Literally.  For the potential future of democracy and a wannabe fascist dictator.  Yes, I get it, the viewing public loves a good crash.  Loves a 12-car pile-up.  It's quite a razzle-dazzle distraction.  But you really don't have to sink to that level.  For 37 hours.  So far.
 
Perspective is always a good thing.