Saturday, September 21, 2019

Idiot of the week: Robin Pogrebin

In a busy week, full of stupidity, one person still managed to stand out.  Let's hear it for Robin Pogrebin because she is the Idiot of the Week.

She's the co-author of a new book and a NEW YORK TIMES 'reporter.'  She and her co-writer wrote a column that was in last Sunday's NYT.  It was about Brett Kavanaugh.  To 'promote' the article, she wrote a ridiculous Tweet that she won't even answer for when interviewed on TV. 


  1. Wow According to Politico's , this tweet was actually written by Robin Pogrebin, one of the co-authors of the Kavanaugh book. She also had her byline on the Kavanaugh piece.


THE TIMES pulled the ridiculous and offensive Tweet.

So that's how she started.

Then there was the article itself.

She 'forgot' to include (she claims editing error) that a woman she claims was assaulted in the article -- that woman says she wasn't assaulted.  Kind of an important detail.


Tonight, Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly blamed their New York Times editors for omitting the most important detail in their Kavanaugh story. But they also went out of their way to omit the detail in their NPR story today. Deception begins at 29:55



So it was an 'editing error' for Robin when she was on NPR as well?

“As soon as we realized this, we corrected it.” -- Robin Pogrebin, now attempting to spread messaging that it's false to say it's a correction. Of note, you voluntarily went out of your way to make the same error on an NPR interview that aired Monday.


 She also somehow characterized a Clintonite as 'non-partisan.'  Editing error again?

She's now promoting the article and, again, refusing to talk about the Tweet.  She's doing interviews and she's a journalist but she's picking and choosing what she'll respond to.

Robin Porgrebin supports a press -- just not a free press.


The week just got worse for Robin Porgrebin -- and I think we can all agree it had already started off badly.


But somehow, it managed to just get worse.


Mollie Hemingway (of the right-wing FEDERALIST) reports:

Year-old texts contained in a Senate Judiciary Committee report show that New York Times reporter Robin Pogrebin engaged in questionable journalistic tactics to shape a false narrative against Kavanaugh by telling a source what to say and by asking sources to confirm information she herself had given them. And despite including a highly opinionated discussion of the text exchange in their book, the authors never admitted that Pogrebin was a key player in the exchanges.
Pogrebin made a bizarre and unsupported claim this week that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had told her to lie. It turned out Pogrebin had mischaracterized discussions with the Supreme Court’s public information officer, not Kavanaugh, who had merely explained the terms of an off-the-record interview that was being sought and never obtained. Despite the many errors and false claims Pogrebin and her co-author Kate Kelly made, corporate media picked up on this false statement as if it were true.
Year-old texts contained in a Senate Judiciary Committee report show that New York Times reporter Robin Pogrebin engaged in questionable journalistic tactics to shape a false narrative against Kavanaugh by telling a source what to say and by asking sources to confirm information she herself had given them. And despite including a highly opinionated discussion of the text exchange in their book, the authors never admitted that Pogrebin was a key player in the exchanges.
Pogrebin made a bizarre and unsupported claim this week that Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh had told her to lie. It turned out Pogrebin had mischaracterized discussions with the Supreme Court’s public information officer, not Kavanaugh, who had merely explained the terms of an off-the-record interview that was being sought and never obtained. Despite the many errors and false claims Pogrebin and her co-author Kate Kelly made, corporate media picked up on this false statement as if it were true.
A 2018 text exchange between Karen Yarasavage and Kerry Berchem shows them discussing Deborah Ramirez’s claim against Kavanaugh. Yarasavage was extremely close to Ramirez — having asked Ramirez to be a godmother to one of her children — and knew Kavanaugh well, too. Berchem was younger and not at Yale when the alleged incident was said to have taken place. While in reality, the text exchanges show Berchem trying to get Yarasavage to say something supportive of Ramirez’s claim, even though Yarasavage said she’d never even heard of any such incident and felt confident she would have if it had happened, the media characterized the discussions as evidence of Kavanaugh’s guilt.
In their book, Pogrebin and Kelly continue the media narrative that the exchanges were the opposite of what they were. They write that discussions of media inquiries to find anti-Kavanaugh dirt in the summer instead “raised questions as to whether Kavanaugh and his friends or representatives had been trying to influence events as far back as July.” The exchanges “had started with seemingly innocent social contacts, but — in the context of the Ford and Ramirez allegations — they had taken on importance as potentially relevant material to show the FBI.”
Berchem’s repeated efforts to get Yarasavage not to defend Kavanaugh, sprinkled with Berchem’s political opposition to all things Trump-related, were instead portrayed as Yarasavage and other Kavanaugh friends trying to shape the narrative. The truth of the exchange is explained in “Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court,” co-authored by this writer.
Pogrebin and Kelly quote many snippets of the texts without revealing what the women said about Pogrebin herself. Pogrebin briefly discloses that she went to Yale University with Kavanaugh and Ramirez. She used those connections to call up old classmates and sell a book, although she and her co-author now are trying to present themselves as objective reporters.
What Yarasavage, in particular, said was quite relevant. Yarasavage noted that Pogrebin had called her up as an old Yale friend, failing to note that the culture reporter at the New York Times was actually trying to write a hit piece on Kavanaugh.
Then, she writes, Pogrebin tried to get her to say a specific quote that would suggest the fiercely independent Yarasavage was politically motivated to defend Kavanaugh.
Robin wanted me to go on record saying “she became a different person, a lot more liberal” I said no, I have no idea if that is true, truly speculation. I told her I don’t want to be included at all in any way. Mind you, this “quote” came from her asking me why we aren’t in touch. I explained my last conversation with her was political and I’m not a very political person. I don’t want to read any of the articles because everything is taken apart and put together to sensationalize and may not even read true in the end. I actually can’t believe the New Yorker story ran. It really doesn’t read well
Pogrebin didn’t mention her own role in these text exchanges. Neither did she mention that she’d spread gossip about Ramirez and then asked Pogrebin and Berchem if they’d heard about it. At least in Yarasavage’s case, she’d heard it — from Pogrebin herself.
“She just asked me if Debbi transferred to Pierson? Do u know?” Berchem asked. “Ha, she asked me too!” Yarasavage responded. “She’s the one who told ME that Debbie transferred from Stiles to Pierson”
Ezra Stiles is the college at Yale University that Kavanaugh was in. Pogrebin was extremely close to one of the central anti-Kavanaugh activists, Kathy Charlton, during the confirmation fight. Charlton was one of the major players in the anti-Kavanaugh effort — Monica McLean being another — whose role Pogrebin and Kelly strategically downplayed.


Here are some Tweets:

It’s been awhile, but I once was a daily newspaper editor. If reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly had worked for me and submitted the trash on Justice Kavanaugh that was published today, I would not only have spiked the story, but fired them.

Replying to   and 
Why does Robin Pogrebin still have a job with the



  1. Replying to  
    Robin Pogrebin is the new Jayson Blair.





She is as trashy as her mother.  And Robin is the idiot of the week.


Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, September 20, 2019.

In the United States, the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues.


Younger Black Voters to Their Parents: Break Up With Joe Biden, I’m Bored. An organic effort by black millennials and Gen Z-ers to influence older family members against Mr. Biden may be important in the Democratic primary.
 
 


He's referring to Astead W. Herndon's report for THE NEW YORK TIMES.  The report fails to note that similar efforts took place in previous elections, including in 2008.  There was, for instance, "the great schlep" where voters were encouraged to get their Jewish grandparents in Florida to vote for Barack Obama.  THE NEW YORK TIMES' own reporting of that effort ran October 5, 2008 and was entitled "Sarah Silverman's Message to Your Grandma: Vote Obama."

From Herndon's article:

For Mr. Biden, though, students carried mixed feelings. They respected his tenure as Barack Obama’s vice president, but implicitly rejected his campaign’s central premise, that the primary goal of Democrats in the 2020 election should be defeating President Trump.
They pointed to systemic problems they said the country must address, such as inequality, climate change and gun violence. The Democratic nominee, they said, should embrace progressive proposals like canceling student loan debt, the Green New Deal and gun buyback programs. 


Most News Now: Younger Black Voters to Their Parents: Break Up With Joe Biden, I’m Bored
 
 



As a voter, you are much more likely to be influenced by someone you know and face-to-face contact is always stronger than any other.  The efforts these activists are undertaking will have some success.  It could be a huge success depending upon how much effort is put into the action.

Joe Biden wants to lead.  But when has his leadership ever been a good thing?  In last week's debate, Bernie Sanders noted the reality of Joe's 'wisdom.'


Sen. Bernie Sanders to Joe Biden: "The big mistake, the huge mistake, and one of the big differences between you and me: I never believed what Cheney and Bush said about Iraq." "I voted against the war in Iraq, and helped lead the opposition."  
1:39
 
 


. "One of the big differences between you (Joe Biden) and me. I never believed Bush and Cheney on Iraq."
 
 
"Iraq is the biggest foreign policy disaster of at least the past 45 years. Bernie Sanders was completely right about it. Joe Biden was completely wrong. That is something to hammer him over and over again."
 
 
The YUGE difference between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden: Bernie led the fight against the Iraq War. Biden followed Bush and Cheney.
 
 
WATCH THIS: In just one minute defines the difference between his vision & Joe Biden’s on: the Iraq war, disastrous trade deals, Wall St. bailout, the bankruptcy bill, & healthcare as a right. It’s clear, concise, & brilliant. Thank you
 
 
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders went back and forth on Biden's support for the war in Iraq.
 
 
: I never believed Cheney and Bush. Unlike Joe Biden, not only did I vote against the Iraq War, I led the fight to prevent it.
 
 


Joe's never shown real leadership.  But now, at 76, Joe swears, if you give him a chance, he's finally ready to show leadership.


Biden is Clinton 2.0. Elite uber wealthy politicians who voted for the Iraq war & sat for . If truly cared about Americans, he’d drop out. You had your time. Pass the torch to someone who can lead us out of this darkness.
 
 

Yesterday on KPFA's FLASHPOINTS, host Dennis Bernstein and guest Norman Solomon discussed Joe's corporate ties.

On Iraq, Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Zeina Karam (AP) report:

It is wedged between Saudi Arabia to the south and Iran to the east and hosts thousands of U.S. troops on its soil. At the same time, powerful Shiite paramilitary forces linked to Iran pose a growing challenge to the authority of the central government.
As the pressure mounts, divisions within Iraq’s pro-Iranian factions have burst into the open, threatening to collapse a fragile government coalition and end a rare reprieve from the violence that has plagued the country for years.
“Regional challenges facing Iraq will make it even more difficult for Adel Abdel-Mahdi to bring the (militias) under control,” said Randa Slim, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, referring to Iraq’s prime minister.
The divisions among Iran’s Shiite allies in Iraq have been spurred by a spate of airstrikes blamed on Israel that have hit weapons depots and bases belonging to the Iran-backed militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF.

Why isn't Joe asked every day about how to address Iraq?  He voted for the war that destroyed the country.  That alone should make him responsible for coming up with solutions.  He can't stop bragging that Barack Obama tasked him, as vice president, to deal with Iraq.  If he wants to brag about that, he needs to be asked about that.

He claims today that Bully Boy Bush tricked him into supporting the Iraq War.  Is Bush still tricking him?  Is he tricking Joe into silence?

Joe needs to stop his folklore stories and start addressing reality.  If the press isn't up to demanding that from him, they just need to admit that they're worthless.


The following sites updated: