{"id":18336,"date":"2022-02-02T16:05:36","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T00:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=18336"},"modified":"2022-02-02T16:05:36","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T00:05:36","slug":"mailbag-rogan-popovich-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2022\/02\/02\/mailbag-rogan-popovich-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Mailbag-Rogan\/Popovich\/More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>Your responses to your Spotify\/ Neil Young\/ Rogan coverage has been quite an eye opener for me.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sad to see these idiots defend misinformation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some sad facts that make me so want to move out of this country<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries&#8221; :https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/02\/01\/science\/covid-deaths-united-states.html<\/p>\n<p>Vince Bannon<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>I think the most depressing thing in this entire feed is all these detractors hitting you with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fake news\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on Russia. First, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got fuck all to do with the discussion, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to matter. Second, Trump Campaign connections with Russian Intelligence are matters of public record, signed off on by a GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee, but *that* doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to matter either. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the depressing part: the echo-chamber hearing impairment for the Party of 2+2=5 is apparently irreversible. \u00c2\u00a0So climate change isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a problem even though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an enormous problem, Biden didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t win even though there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a shitload of real-world evidence he did, Trump wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t thick as thieves with the Russians, even though he was thick as thieves with the Russians, the vaccines don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work even though the vaccines do work\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009dYou can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me believe anything I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to believe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a helluva thing to base the future of our country on.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, by the way: the guy who linked an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153actual medical doctor\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who Rogan quotes? I opened the link. The guy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fucking osteopath. Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to break it to his newest fan?<\/p>\n<p>All the best,<\/p>\n<p>Berton Averre<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Kenneth Williams<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Meat\/Pop\/Covid<\/p>\n<p>Without out going into too much detail. To date I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost 5 close family members to Covid. A husband and wife actually died within hours of each other. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d refused to get vaccinated. Florida living, Trump supporting, conspiracy believing black people who have left their adult children with their mouths open and too much grief to bear. Those were my wife\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aunt and uncle. My children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Grandmother died in nursing home. A former girlfriend of mine died last week in hospital. Today a friend of mine Dad died today. Covid is no joke. Play stupid games, get stupid prizes.<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>Free Speech?<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court ruled yelling &#8220;Fire&#8221; in a crowded move theater is not protected speech. You can&#8217;t go out spewing lies that harm people and the public good.<\/p>\n<p>Vincent &#8220;Rocky&#8221; Rockland<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>Well Bob, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of replies here from the walking potato crowd that will inevitably age poorly. These people who commented with such vitriol to your piece can&#8217;t discern the difference between baby shit and buttermilk pancakes. The people here who linked YouTube videos as the empirical truth of quack cures couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be more on brand.<\/p>\n<p>Emotional maturity has been in jeopardy in this country for years, maybe it plateaued, maybe we never had much to begin with\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6but the freedumb crowd displays the same maturity of a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tantrum in a store when denied candy. They&#8217;re ripe pickings for the grifter model&#8230;A Face In the Crowd bunch if ever there was.<\/p>\n<p>The quack docs have a degree and their misleading statements have been debunked repeatedly. The efficacy of vaccines have been vetted through double blind peer reviews, the science gold standard. Every one of these people who attended public school since the late 50&#8217;s have had multiple vaccines, and the shots now total into the billions with a B&#8230;the probabilities of a vaccine induced fatality falls somewhere between getting killed by an asteroid or discovering a unicorn.<\/p>\n<p>AFA Rogan\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lampshader. He qualifies all his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153just a regular guy and I don&#8217;t know nothing&#8221; bullshit to preface his disinformation, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the equivalent of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was just kidding\u00e2\u20ac\u009d while encouraging people to self immolate. If fragile white men weren&#8217;t so terrified of their self imposed irrelevance, Rogan would be back hocking boxing gloves and we wouldn&#8217;t be having this sorry excuse for discourse.<\/p>\n<p>Trent Keeling<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: John Brodey<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>Wow, you weren&#8217;t kidding.\u00c2\u00a0 I suppose you didn&#8217;t even bother with some of the more vitriolic emails.<\/p>\n<p>The ones that just name call and make no sense are not worth bothering with.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a fact that really smart people can be stupid at times and make serious mistakes.\u00c2\u00a0 History is filled with examples.<\/p>\n<p>What happens with those who are not so smart is that their inability to think critically makes them more susceptible to making errors in judgement.\u00c2\u00a0 They&#8217;re intellectually lazy.\u00c2\u00a0 I&#8217;m not being dismissive just stating the obvious.\u00c2\u00a0 How do you support a semi fake rich blowhard who has done nothing for the man on the street and yet you criticize the liberal leaders who created most of the legislation benefiting the average Joe over the last 100 years.\u00c2\u00a0 In case nobody realized it, anybody with real power and position is very wealthy, on both sides.\u00c2\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I wonder how many of your critics are white and entitled.\u00c2\u00a0 They want our generation to die off (funny, they&#8217;re next) but that won&#8217;t assuage their anger when they find out that it reduces them an ever shrinking ethnic minority.<\/p>\n<p>As for mistrust of government?\u00c2\u00a0 Conspiracies? How is a government that can screw up retreating from a military defeat suddenly capable of masterminding a cabal of dark forces to enslave the populace?<\/p>\n<p>Science?\u00c2\u00a0 People fear what they don&#8217;t understand and fear leads to doubt.\u00c2\u00a0 Another plot?\u00c2\u00a0 Virology is a real thing and scientists are continually working on the evolution of variants.\u00c2\u00a0 In the end a lot more people have survived the pandemic thanks to the vaccine than were &#8216;cured&#8217; by Ivermectin.\u00c2\u00a0 You hear someone say it worked and bingo, you shoot past the part where facts show that it is an anti-parasitic and viruses aren&#8217;t parasites.\u00c2\u00a0 What&#8217;s next, using crazy glue to treat hemorrhoids?<\/p>\n<p>Check out the Power of the Placebo. https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/mental-health\/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect<\/p>\n<p>Despite the battle lines being drawn, one thing we can all agree on is that this house is going to burn to the ground and nothing can stop it. \u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Dan Navarro<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Neil Young\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>I am jumping on the Neil Young bandwagon, I admit it, I&#8217;m following here. The saturation on your mailbag brought it home for me. Will Spotify care? Of course not.<\/p>\n<p>I mean, like Spotify, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy, great interface. but I hate how they pay, hate that they fought the rate increase a couple of years ago, while Apple Music agreed to it. Hate that Daniel Eck is a multi billionaire and my community is being called crybabies for to get paid. I hate Apple&#8217;s interface, and just found out Amazon Unlimited is way cheaper for Prime members. So Imma give it a shot.<\/p>\n<p>An old friend, a great working studio guitar player, is at death&#8217;s door from Covid, and is anti-vax, anti-mask, &#8220;you&#8217;re all sheep&#8221;, that shit. And he&#8217;s dying. Me? I&#8217;ve vaxxed and been exposed twice in the past month, have had eleven negative tests since Jan 5 and no symptoms. And I&#8217;m on the road around strangers almost every day. Go figure.<\/p>\n<p>So, yeah, I&#8217;m the sheep, following Neil into the meaningless protest. But I&#8217;ll wave to those other fuckers from the finish line. Oh, wait, maybe I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be dead.<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Censorship<\/p>\n<p>Bob,<\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m in Paris right now. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say 90% of people are wearing masks outside, regardless of social distancing, and you have to show your proof of vaccination, and booster if you have it, to do anything, masks indoors and on all public transport are obligitaire.<\/p>\n<p>No one is rioting and protesting their freedom here (as far as my limited French tells me). Sure, am sure there are people who are opposed, but what the general sentiment seems to be is that the sooner we get vaxxed the sooner a version of real life can return. Seems sensible, non?<\/p>\n<p>I still cannot get my head around how basic this all is and yet the conservative right holds firm due to bad facts (and the left rolls their eyes at them). Everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an expert on Covid now because they read an article on Facebook from the Daily Sceptic.<\/p>\n<p>The mind simply boggles.<\/p>\n<p>Lindsay Faller<\/p>\n<p>Amsterdam, NL<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify<\/p>\n<p>40 years ago, while a senior in high school, I got a great job driving a taxi in Rochester Minn. \u00c2\u00a0Drove many late shifts and ferried 100s of medical professionals and\/or families visiting loved ones at Mayo and its sister hospital, St Mary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. \u00c2\u00a0About 10% of this segment of my fares wore cloth masks, after work or after patient visits, on their way home or to their hotel. \u00c2\u00a0At some point in time, curiosity got the best of me so I got into a conversation with one of these mask wearers and was informed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m trying to protect others I encounter because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m around infectious patients\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>There was no mandate, no policy, no orders, and no consequences to not wearing a mask.<\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve always viewed that time in life and those interactions as the height of societal respect demonstrated by caring people who went out of their way to exercise caution.<\/p>\n<p>That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I wear a mask during these times and while my described experience may have been rather unique, the societal respect part is timeless.<\/p>\n<p>All the political posturing over masks is intriguing &#8211; in the end, wearing a mask around others is neither hard to do nor is it a sign we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re giving up our rights.<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a matter of common respect for others.<\/p>\n<p>Dennis Pelowski<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Gary Lang<\/p>\n<p>Subject: RE: More Spotify\/Young\/Rogan<\/p>\n<p>I was a VP at Amazon. Amazon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entire existence is based on customer obsession first, then the businesses we got into after. We would never pay Joe Rogan to disseminate misinformation to our customers. Never.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Spotify is a business, but is Ek obsessed by his customers if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to put out information that results in the death of them?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, but saying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a business is not a pass for bad behavior that harms customers and destroys the commonwealth. You won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see Amazon or Apple host an idiot going on and on about Ivermectin.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And you jumped the gun saying no one will follow. Give it more than a day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m into HD anyway, so good riddance.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: david ferris<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Meat\/Pop\/Covid<\/p>\n<p>Hey, sir. A note on the legendary Pop. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m D.X. Ferris, a writer from Pittsburgh, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in Ohio a couple decades now. You gave me a quote about Donnie Iris once.<\/p>\n<p>Circa 2005, I wrote a music news column for the Cleveland weekly paper. I had a chance to call Mr. Popovich for something. I left a nervous voice mail, because he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a legend. He returned my call almost immediately \u00e2\u20ac\u201d he quickly explained he did so because he recognized my Southwest Pennsylvania accent. We were from the same neck of the woods.<\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure he had better stuff to do than take my calls, but he was always generous with his time. And not just with big, accomplished people and cool industry types. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the kind of guy he was.<\/p>\n<p>Love the show and newsletter. Thank you!<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d df<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Johnny Palazzotto<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Meat\/Pop\/Covid<\/p>\n<p>Bob, Don&#8217;t know why i missed your Steve Popovich story. \u00c2\u00a0He was<\/p>\n<p>instrumental in dozens of success stories involving CBS artists.<\/p>\n<p>My stories with Steve are from the first and second Loggins and Messina LP&#8217;s and tours. Every city on our first tours were covered by a CBS promotion person. Sal Ingeme in Boston was a favorite. Martin Mooney in Cleveland. My best story was day before Carnegie Hall. Steve invited me up to his office in Black Bart. \u00c2\u00a0Also there that evening Al Gallico, the music publisher out of Nasville. Steve knew my involvement in pitching songs and asked if I had any suggestions for Al who was looking for songs with Steve for Lynn Anderson. I suggested &#8220;Listen to a Country Song by Jimmy Messina and Al Garth. I think it was a big hit for Lynn and \u00c2\u00a0another prime example of the impotance of Steve Popovich to the music industry. I MISS STEVE POPOVICH. \u00c2\u00a0Johnny Palazzotto<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: John Brodey<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: Re-Meat\/Pop\/Covid<\/p>\n<p>There was nobody quite like Pop.\u00c2\u00a0 He had the air of a man possessed while being impossible to dislike.\u00c2\u00a0 He was relentless.\u00c2\u00a0 When I was MD at BCN, we (I) had held off adding the album to our library.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t mind theatrical aspect but it just didn&#8217;t have the right vibe for the station.\u00c2\u00a0 Pop would call every week and ask; how about now?\u00c2\u00a0 In the end, we were the only reporting FM station left who had not added the record.\u00c2\u00a0 It got a bit awkward.<\/p>\n<p>Finally Meatloaf was coming to town and Pop called and said he was coming to town and planned to kidnap me and take me to the show at the Paradise.\u00c2\u00a0 I relented and said okay.\u00c2\u00a0 The show was tour de force and totally different.\u00c2\u00a0 Karla D. was fantastic.\u00c2\u00a0 He knew what he had and sprang the trap.\u00c2\u00a0 He got his add which closed out the record.\u00c2\u00a0 I actually apologized to him and like his usual self he said; it&#8217;s all good.<\/p>\n<p>Soon thereafter I was shocked to get a platinum plaque, so I called and said Steve I don&#8217;t even deserve a thank you on the Meatloaf success.\u00c2\u00a0 He said; no man you made it special.\u00c2\u00a0 Who is that forgiving and passionate?\u00c2\u00a0 One of the best of that era.<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Wendy Waldman<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Spotify<\/p>\n<p>Complicated issue. My music partner and co manager whom you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve published before, Mark Nubar, made this very clear observation:<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My biggest issue with all of it is window space. Independent artists finally have a place with Spotify where people are shopping at the mall. Now Neil Young wants to blow the mall up. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually infuriating. Indie artists live on islands. With our own records and our own artists and our own record labels. Bridges and boats and planes connect people to our islands. Spotify is a much needed bridge, boat, and plane. It is very difficult to attract audiences without at least some kind of an infrastructure that a place like Spotify provides. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<\/p>\n<p>Bob, this is my dilemma too, and the dilemma of all the artists I work with as I \u00c2\u00a0am an independent record producer. I have some name recognition but nowhere near the platform Neil has- I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily have the luxury to pick and choose-as the labels no longer service my kind of music nor that of my artists, yet the audience continues to want it. So without Spotify, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no platform and we are once again set back by years.<\/p>\n<p>I like Neil and Joni very much but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a long time since they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been down here in the street with the indie artists\u00e2\u20ac\u201d some quite famous in fact but nonetheless none of them breathing that rarefied air that becoming a millionaire rock star in the 70s afforded them. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a lifelong musician as you know, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been at the majors, have had some hits etc but there is no doubt whatsoever that I am an independent artist and producer and have been ever since I left Nashville. So, I agree with Mark- we need these bridges. Even the prominent indies need them as none are a match for the millions a few dudes have from the classic era.<\/p>\n<p>Dilemma indeed.<\/p>\n<p>Wendy Waldman<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Steve Popovich<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Meat<\/p>\n<p>Bob,<\/p>\n<p>I hope this email finds you well. Thank you as always for the kind words in regards to my father as you have always been a supporter of his. I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Meat. He moved here to Nashville a couple years ago. It was right after I reactivated Cleveland Int\u00e2\u20ac\u2122l he reached out and wanted to meet in person. He came over my house and we sat down and talked about what I was doing with the label and he mentioned he had one album left in him and he wanted to put it out on Cleveland international. You can imagine how excited I was to have that opportunity as for me it was like everything was coming back around full circle. Unfortunately shortly after our meeting Meat was in Dallas, had a horrible accident where he fell off a stage, went through months of recovery, then COVID hit etc. and sadly we never did get it done. \u00c2\u00a0All it is now is a great story that I have. \u00c2\u00a0Since his passing, I have seen and read from people claiming to take credit for his early success. \u00c2\u00a0Barry Gordy once said, if the lion don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take credit for the hunt the hunter will, and thank God my father saved everything pertaining to his legacy. \u00c2\u00a0The making of Bat has been documented over the years some good, some not the case where my father was totally left out. \u00c2\u00a0I am happy to inform you that we have begun work on my father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s documentary and I have some incredible interviews not to mention the story directly taken from my father and am pleased his story will finally be told once and for all. \u00c2\u00a0His legacy is far more incredible as to how he championed Meat Loaf but also the incredible signings he had while vice president of A&amp;R while at Epic records not to mention his earlier career while he was the first ever Vice President of promotion under Clive Davis. \u00c2\u00a0As Clive said in Pops documentary, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Steve knew how to take Columbia Records from #3 to #1!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0He was a man of honesty and integrity and who championed the creative community. He was not a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153suit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and that is a huge part as to why people loved him so much. \u00c2\u00a0To anyone contesting his belief and being the one responsible for Meat Loaf in the beginning can kiss my ass. Long live Meat may he forever RIP and God bless his family and fans.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Be stubbornly passionate about your beliefs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>-Steve Popovich Sr.<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>From: Stan Goman<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: The New Music Dilemma<\/p>\n<p>Bob<\/p>\n<p>I agree with your letter except I would point out that Tower Records paid all vendors big and small on time. All stores took records on consignment from local acts and always paid within 30 days.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I am very proud of this and the support we gave to the indies.<\/p>\n<p>Stan Goman<\/p>\n<p>_____________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Subject: Re: The Joe Rogan Video<\/p>\n<p>Hi from Sydney, Bob<\/p>\n<p>Our airports are open again &#8211; time for another tour?<\/p>\n<p>There is something darkly appropriate about Rogan not even being able to fact-check Joni Mitchell v Rickie Lee Jones.<\/p>\n<p>I guess all white chicks with berets look the same?<\/p>\n<p>We live in a post-empirical era.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, there are cultural warriors on the left who push undergrad post- modernism\u00c2\u00a0to the point where you are now expected to describe women as &#8220;people who menstruate&#8221; (and JK Rowling gets a bus- load of strife for calling B\/S on that), but its Rupert Murdoch who has elevated the culture wars to the point where every public health issue gets reduced to some purile\u00c2\u00a0argument about &#8220;freedom&#8221; . Its as though Americans are still running around in Tricorn hats, waiting for the next attack from the British,\u00c2\u00a0 thinking that small-pox\u00c2\u00a0is simply God&#8217;s will.<\/p>\n<p>The difference between the left and right- wing war on facts is one of scale and impact.<\/p>\n<p>Citizen Murdoch has made billions of dollars monetising social disadvantage, resentment and downwards envy. He pushes a particularly Australian form of anti- intellectualism, described best by the Australian historian Donald Horne in his 1964 book &#8220;The Lucky Country&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He now pushes that anti-intellectualism through Fox News and even his high brow outlets like the WSJ &#8211; with skepticism about climate science and doubt about medical expertise. Even to the point where it now threatens democratic institutions.<\/p>\n<p>You can blame Facebook\u00c2\u00a0for sure, but new media relies on old media to generate the content -hence the morbid spectacle of Tucker Carlson acting like he knows more about epidemiology than Tony Fauci, or Sean Hannity thinking he knows more about climate science than NASA.<\/p>\n<p>But be warned &#8211; we Australians have had a good 30 years of prior exposure to Murdoch, and another 40 years of his mean old Dad, before Rupert handed in his Australian passport to advance his US business interests.<\/p>\n<p>Murdoch&#8217;s business model, since the\u00c2\u00a0late 70s, has been to pit middle- class voters against workers\/unions, workers against the unemployed, and all of the above against migrants.<\/p>\n<p>He converts downwards envy and resentment against academic or scientific &#8220;elites&#8221; into advertising revenue.\u00c2\u00a0 Murdoch himself describes\u00c2\u00a0his TV personalities as &#8220;entertainers&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0not journalists because that&#8217;s what they are &#8211; a 21st -century version of George Orwell&#8217;s &#8220;two minutes of hate&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a delicious irony that the Republicans losing their shit in your email box, wishing you would just stick to class rock, seem happy to be lectured on patriotism by an Australian Billionaire who sold his passport to make a few more bucks.<\/p>\n<p>Bryce Wilson<\/p>\n<p>Sydney<\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subject: Re: Re-Rogan\/Spotify Your responses to your Spotify\/ Neil Young\/ Rogan coverage has been quite an eye opener for me. &nbsp; Sad to see these idiots defend misinformation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s some sad facts that make me so want to move out of this country &#8220;U.S. Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,2,17,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-music-business","category-politics","category-the-media"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-4LK","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18337,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336\/revisions\/18337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}