Lies, Damn Lies, and the Church of Bitching about Jimmy Dore
I've never seen a group of haters so bad at their side hustles.. But hey, don't quit your day job, right?
With all the hate he gets, you’d think Jimmy Dore was Susan Sarandon, or the second coming of Ralph Nader
[Photo from “Jimmy Dore’s ‘Very Pro-Employer Work Contracts’”, another unfounded hatchet job from years past, via importantcontext.news, the worst named outlet in the world / / / Used w/ full attribution, in critique and mockery]
Now, I need to be up front. This piece is a bit of a 50,000 foot overview of a mass formation that seems to be throwing a small tantrum in the devastating wake of Tropical Storm Jimmy Dore, a Pacific cyclone and likely Depression from Chicago, that has been tearing up the DC Establishment Narrative landscape since at least 2014 with his critiques of the (then novel) US invasion and occupation of Syria by then-President Barack H. Obama, ‘Russiagate’, COVID, the Ukraine war, and other topics. Dore can also be found on old Comedy Central stand-up specials, and on various other podcasts - or catch his stand-up live (if you live somewhere he’s going).
If you’ve never heard of Jimmy Dore, or you just like internet drama - strap in, because this is sure to be a fascinating read. If you don’t, or you drive alone in your car wearing a mask and you’re already scheduled for your next COVID booster, give this one a miss. I tried to pepper in photos for you ADHD types (no hate, just love and accommodation). I hope they are satisfactory. Lots of words, walls of text, pretty pictures too.
FOREWORD and Conflicts of Interest:
Oh boy. I actually have something to say here for once. In the interest of full disclosure, my partner and I went to a Jimmy Dore live comedy show in 2021 when he came to Portland Oregon (with our double vaccinations in tow, for all the good that did) at the cost of $28 per ticket (plus food/drink which I attribute to the club, per minimums - not Dore); and a $10 one-time one month subscription to his premium service in order to watch his “COVID Lies are Funny” stand-up routine earlier in the year.
Lukewarm take: I find his comedy work to be 6/10 stuff, not terrible, not exactly groundbreaking, he’s no Carlin pushing the outer limits of comedy, but he may be the closest thing this generation has to an anti-hero - among the hall of Hated Obvious Statement Givers such as Theo Von or Joe Rogan, both of which I also don’t particularly care for but feel like mentioning up front. His delivery is kind of.. ehh, whatever. He’s old. He uses the same jokes too often. I still like the show. He’s no Lenny Bruce or Richard Pryor but he makes me laugh sometimes, and more importantly, he makes me think most times, sometimes he’s covering a story I already covered a week or two back. We share a similar beat as skeptics.
If you don’t like those three mentioned comedians (or thinking, or thinking critically), you probably won’t like this piece. Why are you still here? Here's a video about Roblox. Off you go! (I picked a video at random, I am not affiliated with Roblox or that YouTuber. Your Robux will vary. Offer not valid in Nepal.)
Anyways - I’m NOT affiliated with Jimmy Dore, this wasn’t prompted by Dore asking me, or anyone affiliated/associated with Dore - I’m also not here to suck his cock to get free merch or a spot in his campaign (I’ve been told any day, he’s going to be running - this is a joke by the way, don’t get your hopes up.)
I will likely get $0 for writing this, and in the end the biggest gain is a very confused audience. This isn’t my wheelhouse, I don’t comment on commentators or eDrama typically (aside from corporate media). Pardon me if this is article a rambling mess, it’s been years since I’ve written anything like this. In reality, I’m just a passive observer and someone vaguely aware of Dore from his TYT days, back when I too was a sucker for Bernie Sanders in thinking we had a chance - or that maybe, somewhere in government, someone to the left of Reagan existed. Time makes fools of us all.
I still watch his content fairly regularly, and though I sometimes disagree with his framing of an argument or find his guests annoying and not for me, I overall welcome his voice in the political commentary and “thought-leader” space. He’s a net positive, frankly. We’re better off with him around.
In my view, The Jimmy Dore Show offers a regularly scheduled, down to earth and refreshingly honest broadcast on current events, both domestic and foreign, social and political. No holds barred, no politician sacred, no political party above reproach, no social ideology left un-mocked, free to watch live on multiple services with paid rebroadcasting, paid for largely through small contributions and stand-up comedy tours.
I don’t think he’s a bad actor or a “sell-out”/”grifter” as I’ve seen so many describe him (we’ll get to that in a moment). I have my critiques of Jimmy, I just don’t find him to be the Third Coming of Baby Hitler, after Vladimir Putin and Donald J. Trump. I can however say I get tired of air purifier ads. Gotta pay bills, I get it, but also man, cmon. Read the script with some heart.. For now, just be aware that I’m as critical of Dore as I am any of my other sources or anyone else I interact with in life, in that I interrogate all information I get and I try to make the most sense of it as I go, compared against other sources, while questioning intent and financial incentive, that sort of thing.
We’re all human, we all err, we all get it wrong, we can all make it right with the right apologies. I get it. Some of us are corrupt kiss-asses. Some people don’t need to, though - through the 2014-2023 period, Jimmy Dore has been a clarion bell of “reading the writing on the wall” while many turned their noses up in moral indignity at him, because of things other people told them about him. Many people find this idea to be a laugh and know in their heart of hearts he’s just a tool of (insert their bogeyman here). Allow these people their cognitive dissonance.
For some others, these critiques seem to stem from a personal political rift, hurt feelings. Ex-friends jilted. Jealousy. And, as it might, bitterness. Oh no. On YouTube? And Twitter? Between Americans? Involving politics? I can’t believe it. Anyways, enough foreword, and verbal foreplay - let’s jump right in.
——
A read + analyze of Jenn Dize’s accusations of ‘pay-for-play’ (or "selling out”, as she writes)
[Jenn Dize, the subject of this segment - photo via Detroit Free Press used w/full attribution]
Firstly, I wish to be a GOOD FAITH ACTOR by starting with the good shit, and allow you all to read in full what I’m about to pick apart in this section, before moving on to moving pieces and other players of this ‘mass-formation-of-what-the-fuck’, as I’m thinking of it. I don’t want to muddy anything, poison any wells, salt any fields or imply any implications before everyone has a chance to see Jenn’s words in full, on her own “‘Stack”. Ugh. I still hate that word. Please, Substack, do better.
Go ahead and read Jenn’s work in its entirety, and when you’re done, scroll on to the next section. I’ll be using block quotes rather than screenshots from her work, though I have saved a copy of the page and the embeds, in case it disappears someday. Done reading? Okay. Let’s-a-gooooo!
[EDITORS’S NOTE: I added some grammatical breaks and punctuation to Jenn’s Substack quotes below. Anything in brackets [] or marked with SIC/sic is Counterspin editor. Editor notes will look like (ED: Hi!) this. Thanks for understanding.]
What the fuck did I just read? No, seriously, what? What in the horseshoe holy hell?
I bet you’re as confused as I was at first - don’t worry, I had to re-read it (and the photos attached) several times before I could make heads or tails of it. It also took me reading the some of the author’s prior work. Then it all became clear. I suddenly remembered why I had followed Jenn some time ago here on Substack - she had split off from Jordan Chariton and “Status Coup”, a so-called indie outlet that spent much of 2021 running cover for The Democrats and “The Squad”, and still exists largely to do so under the direction of Chariton alone.
Remember the sleepover hosted by Rep. Cori Bush on the Capitol steps? Yeah, both Jenn and Jordan (among myriad others - I love that term) ran cover for that failed PR stunt and pretended it was the biggest gift from Gods in millennia. I personally went after Jordan in the Twitter DMs over it, and both of them on public - me, a homeless gay man. Double vaccinated but still living it rough. The “eviction moratorium”. How’s that been working out? With hindsight and basic statistics, one can tell that the stunt did nothing and may have in fact increased homelessness overall since, for as ineffectual as it was. Jordan and Jenn were wrong. Debate over. Class dismissed.
Oh, right. Sorry, tangents. Me in my old age…
Now, before I analyze any written statements and opine, I just want to be up front and say that on the surface (to me) it all smacks of bitterness, jealousy, and personal bias through political preferences (eg: candidates and parties, plus some other COVID-related animosity). To the quotes. Let’s keep a keen reader’s eye for what’s being said, and the tone it imparts on the reader.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of dirty laundry that needs airing out.
The other day, Graham Ellwood, who I respect and appreciate, came forward talking about money Jimmy Dore had accepted from a COVID-conspiracy theorist – an extremely wealthy Canadian man.”
-Jenn Dize, via Substack
Right out of the gate, the article begins by imparting in the reader that this is a sad moment, and that this is “dirty laundry” that deserves to be aired publicly. That’s fairly uncouth, frankly, but let’s go on and give this piece of shit screed the glory it deserves.
She goes on to state that Graham Ellwood (another YouTube commentator, DNC booster, and former friend of Dore - who had a falling-out with him over the 2021 COVID vaccine rollout / Biden Administration choices / subsequent public debate between them on Dore’s channel) has information that Jimmy Dore took money from a - get ready - Canadian man. Oh.. Oh NO!
[Canada - what a shithole. Photo via timeout.com with full attribution]
Oh heavens NO, in America they’d shoot ya for that. Jokes aside, the accusations only get more bleak(ly dumb) and bewilderingly unfounded from here. Again, her source is Graham Ellwood, a man who had a public falling out with the man he is accusing of taking money for play. Oh, and herself. Let’s get into that..
“It’s all true. [sic
And] his name was Peter Allard. He was my friend for a time. Jimmy Dore fans can balk all they want [ , ] but it is 100% true.I answer all your questions here in this livestream:”
(Link to the video can be found in the article, linked above)-Jenn Dize, via Substack
I’m not going to comment on the video. I’m just not. I don’t have time today. There should be sufficient physical evidence without an hour+ long video full of rambling invective, baseless accusations, and sour grapes. As Jenn describes with photos later in the piece, she was once herself in the orbit of Dore and his commentariat, going as far as to take selfies with him and his wife - something even I did not do when I paid to see his comedy show. So far, I have two ex-Dore friends joining forces in a whirlwind of what the fuck to call him a dirty anti-vaxxer right winguhhHHHHHH. Very original guys, I’m sure this hasn’t been tried before? This time it’s sure to stick. FOR SURE.
“In April of 2017, Truth Against the Machine, (Jordan Chariton's non-profit). [SIC] I came on board to help run in 2017, received $50,000 of money upfront after being recommended to Peter Allard by Jimmy Dore.
We received $5,000 per month until Jordan was accused by TYT (falsely) of mishandling funds. Allard cut us off financially and we made a few appeals for funding following that and for Status Coup when we folded TATM but those attempts were unsuccessful.
There were times when we WERE still receiving money that Allard and his right-hand man Donald Best attempted some control.
Allard liked me particularly for whatever reason and so we had several long phone calls talking politics through the years (about 3/4 years) and remained friendly … though the things he started saying (Tulsi, Anti-vax, COVID conspiracies, climate change denial, etc.) started to bother me and our conversations tapered off.
I went on two reporting trips sponsored by Allard, one for the Allard Prize in 2017. Glenn Greenwald was also in attendance. Interestingly, one of the finalists was Lava Jato which GG later went on to report against.
Other journalists DECLINED to spew anti-vax lies and so were cut off from funding. It will be up to them if they want to come forward. This is multiple.”
-Jenn Dize, via Substack
Wow, that’s a juicy bombshell. Let’s clear the air, no, I’m not going to accuse Jenn of hypocrisy (in this paragraph anyways) for accusing Jimmy Dore of something she herself admits to, openly. I commend her for the conflict of interest disclosure and I thank her for making my job that much easier as a commentator. I’ll skip the part about Jordan Chariton, who I would like to make the focus of an article someday, but I have no time for such frivolousness now. The quote goes on: “after being recommended to Peter Allard by Jimmy Dore”, which stands out though as especially legally actionable. Bordering on libelous if not already. If I were Jenn, I would hope to have a good lawyer ready and on retainer, such unequivocal statements can often come back to haunt people. Recommended? I sure hope she kept those receipts.
That all aside, let’s get into the meat of her claim, which seems to rest in one paragraph. She has nothing but heresy as far as I can tell. Let’s read together:
“Allard liked me particularly for whatever reason (ED: emphasis ours) and so we had several long phone calls talking politics through the years (about 3 [sic: to] 4 years).”
(ED: Needs moar information - what politics? What did his influence have on your work during this time? Can you elaborate on what he was attempting to peddle through you? Can you explain his politics beyond “anti-vaxxer conspiracy theory Right Wing Trump Good”? This would be helpful to know, prior to me digging through unhelpful screenshots of old emails - TIA)
Now, I’m sure she can prove those phone calls took place, perhaps even has some recordings of some of them, but she can’t prove the contents legally, unless she disclosed recording at the time or lives in a single-party consent state. Anything she says about this at this point is her word vs a “Canadian rich guy”, whom she spoke to repeatedly for 3-4 years (her assertion, not mine). This is the very definition of heresy, and it is invalid and inadmissible - except in the court of public opinion, where it seems to matter 100x more than physical evidence.
I do question, however, her sudden change of heart - his money was good, until it wasn’t? The sudden change of heart smacks a certain way.. I, much like Jimmy Dore, examine people’s intent, and I question the intent of Jenn in this circumstance - it also makes me wonder if other work written/produced by Jenn is currently/was being influenced unduly by other sources of dark (undisclosed) money, that are yet to be disclosed - perhaps never to be disclosed.
Next part of the quote: “though the things he started saying (Tulsi, Anti-vax, COVID conspiracies, climate change denial, etc.) started to bother me and our conversations tapered off.”
She doesn’t explain what these “anti vax/COVID conspiracy/climate change denial” statements are (or what former Democrat Representative Tulsi Gabbard has to do with anything), and so they are nebulous at best and heresy full stop - not something I would ever consider as a valid argument, not even from a 5 year old. It would be helpful to the reader if she could more clearly define what those objectionable statements were (eg: “He said COVID vaccines give you herpes”, “he said climate change isn’t real and birds aren’t either”, “he said Tulsi Gabbard was really going to save Superman”), and how/if they had any meaningful impact beyond pissing into the wind, so to speak.
Perhaps this Peter fellow would be willing to defend his positions and explain why Jenn holds the incorrect view. We will never know, since Jenn cannot/failed to elucidate them, and I can’t imagine he’s interested in giving a comment to a nobody on Substack like me. In the interest of due diligence, I will reach out to Peter (and Jimmy) after this is published, seek a comment, provide the link to this publication, and I will update this segment if they have any comments or additional insights to offer. I don’t expect responses from either.
She ends on “etc”, as if to gesture to the world that “you know what I mean”. This implies her audience is sympathetic to people who fell hook, line, sinker, rod, reel, wrist, hand, forearm, wristwatch, bicep, rotator cuff etc for the biggest coordinated coverup of willful manslaughter in human history.
Moving on. “I went on two reporting trips sponsored by Allard, one for the Allard Prize in 2017. Glenn Greenwald was also in attendance. Interestingly, one of the finalists was Lava Jato which GG later went on to report against. Other journalists DECLINED to spew anti-vax lies and so were cut off from funding. It will be up to them if they want to come forward. This is multiple.”
This is multiple? That’s not even a sentence fragment. I’m not a grammar Nazi (or much for Nazis at all), but this part is unintelligible gibberish, please revise. Perhaps she meant to say “there are multiple people who can confirm this”, but I am not her editor nor am I a Clairvoyant able to convene with the ghosts of brain-farts past, I’ve just gotten sort of good at reading between the lines of dumb texts.
Starting instead at the top of the quote this time, she states she traveled on two ‘reporting trips’ underwritten by this Peter character, one of which she spent covering an event giving away a prize in his name, in 2017. This is, uh, strange, coming from a person who claims to have such concerns about this man - but again, perhaps the deeper issue did not appear until later in time. Time does make fools of us all.
Back to the quote, Jenn invokes the existence of Glenn Greenwald, ostensibly to use him as a cudgel, which she immediately uses to bash … a nominee for an award she was paid to cover. Why? This is a total non-sequitur……………??????? While I agree that Lava Jato is a corrupt politician, what does ANY of this have to do with Jimmy Dore again?
”Other journalists DECLINED to spew anti-vax lies [,] and so were cut off from funding” I wish Jenn would stop playing coy and elucidate these “lies” that were “anti-vaccine”, that this Canadian man demanded they all say. None of her screenshots (see the next segment) show anything of the nature. Though, I’m sure many a good medical doctor would enjoy laughing at why she, and many others still, are wrong and have been wrong a lot in the past 3 years; able find some nugget of truth in her presumed “anti-vaxx conspiracy theories”.
Also, “other journalists” are weasel words. How many? Which journalists? Can they come forward and show evidence? Does the evidence prove conclusively that Jimmy Dore received money in order for specific pay-to-play coverage of specific ideas? Is there any evidence that Jimmy Dore’s content changed in such a manner as to point to such a moment in time to be influenced by the money? 0, NOBODY, PROBABLY NOT, DOESN’T SEEM TO BE THE CASE. To all counts.
Onwards. At this point in the *shudders* ‘stack, Jenn begins a long dump of context-free screenshots: photos of people like Glenn Greenwald, emails from Peter Allard to herself, that sort of thing.
I need to make clear to you now: NONE OF THIS shows Jimmy Dore taking any amount of money for any type of play. In no uncertain terms: the evidence presented does not meet the smell test or even a cursory glance. Go check for yourself. If I’m wrong, please bring it to my attention at once and I will modify this post to reflect and change my own position.
I’m sorry to Jenn, I’m not taking any sides, I’m merely someone who was trained to work juries and witnesses. Your story, while certainly something, isn’t what you need it to be. It doesn’t match the title of the article and seems entirely unrelated. It failed to sell me, and if anything it made me question you more. Better luck in your Sophomore year, as Biden says.
Moving past the (seemingly unrelated) screenshot gallery, we find the following:
You get the picture. It’s a sad, horrible shame that people would rather lie for cash than stand strong for the people when it doesn’t serve their own interests.
Couldn’t be me!
Happy to answer your questions in the comments.
“You get the picture”. Wow. Animosity, accusations and saccharin fake sweetness at the end, just a total whinge from the top all the way down. “People would rather lie for cash” Jenn, my dearest darling sweetest Splenda pie, didn’t you just admit a moment ago to taking “$50,000” (alongside Jordan Chariton) from this very man? Doesn’t that very acknowledgement belie this entire point? YOU TOOK MONEY. You don’t get to take dirty money and then complain about other people taking dirty money, accusing them bereft of evidence. Doesn’t work like that. It’s like being President and having a crackhead son who leaves his crack in the White House to be found, but also be known for being Tough On Crime. Go figure.
“stand strong for the people” when have you done that in the last 5 years? No, seriously, when? I recall you stepping over people and telling them to shut up just two years ago - why? Because you wanted Democrats to have a fucking hollow PR win. You told me that to my face on Twitter. “I should be thankful for an eviction moratorium that never came and didn’t help people who were already fucked at that point and on the streets thanks to COVID lockdowns”, something you still don’t acknowledge. I don’t think so ma’am - I don’t enable people’s delusions. So far the only thing I’ve seen out of you is…
Bunch of fuckin over-monetized crap
The ‘stack ends abruptly with additional monetization links, and self-promotion. Jenn failed to point to anything or show us anything at all that indicates or otherwise implicates Jimmy Dore in taking any amount of money in any sort of pay for play scheme. She made a hollow accusation based on him introducing this questionable Canuck to her, and tried to back it up with screenshots that are not relevant. We didn’t even get a shitty photoshop of Jimmy taking a burlap sack of cash, and I for one feel cheated. Where’s my shitty photoshop?
What remains clear: In return for this unclear amount of (maybe American Pesos, maybe Canadian Rubles, we don’t know) money, Jimmy Dore said… “anti-vax lies” that others would not. I presume. Maybe. Perhaps.
Jenn didn’t really form an accusation anywhere, she leaves it open to the reader to presume things - the biggest sin of a writer trying to make an accusation or hold someone to account. He just ‘took the money’ and then nebulous things happened, to dupe us all forever and ingratiate Jimmy Dore into the loving embrace of the Ultra Hard Core Right Wing.
Again, I wish Jenn would do her due diligence as the accuser and form a fucking accusation. Nebulous bullshit isn’t an accusation, and lack of evidence isn’t evidence. This isn’t Bizarro World. Character assassinations based on Little Boy (in this case, middle aged woman) Crying Wolf stopped mattering in 2022. Sorry everyone. Bad luck. Try again?
My final thoughts on the accusations leveled by Jenn Dize against Jimmy Dore
So what do I think of all of this, really? I think Jenn didn’t like the interview Jimmy Dore gave to Cornel West, didn’t like the critiques on offer, and decided post-facto to publish this thin / really weak hatchet job - and yes, it is a fucking hatchet job, and a poor one at that. It didn’t even have Jimmy taking a sack of money with a dollar sign on it - not even in MSPAINT! I’ve seen more compelling nothing spun from The Daily Beast with a scary photo, but I guess at least this didn’t take seven by-lines to write. Credit to Jenn for writing a lousy hatchet job on her own, sans a photo of Jimmy Dore eating a sweet innocent Pfizer test baby amongst a backdrop of untold sums of poor people’s vaccine money. However..
DEAR JENN: YOU ARE NOT A FUCKING SOURCE. You can’t be a source in your own damn article. That’s the most basic due diligence of a journalist, you absolute plod. If you think you are involved in a story with evidence of wrongdoing by a public figure, go to someone else with a real job and a media badge, and let them break it for you, preferably someone you don’t know or have friendly ties with. Jimmy lives in Studio City fucking Cali-fuck-fornia, I’m sure someone at TMZ cares. Right? He was on Comedy Central after all. And - I’m sure you have that smocking (ED: ha) gun that proves once and for all, the money changed hands and the show changed script - right? If you don’t, your entire article is libelous and legally actionable from Jimmy’s perspective. Be thankful he isn’t the type to litigate, I bet you’d hate to experience discovery in a real courtroom. I bet you have any number of things you’d rather not be held against you.
Since Graham Ellwood was cited a source, the reader has every right to call into question his own personal animosity for losing a debate to a guy who lives out of his garage most days, and smokes untold amounts of pot every day. Graham is likely still bitter about Jimmy, himself having fallen for the neoliberal globalist Great Reset agenda and being proud of it (multi-COVID-boosted, Tesla owning, Kale eating Democrat voting Californian with the t-shirt and sport jacket to prove it.)
Jimmy, for what it’s worth, still refers to Graham (and other distant friends) as his ‘friends of the show’ and expresses confusion specifically at Graham’s lack of skepticism. Not much of a bombshell, hardly new - more relevant in 2021/22 maybe. Not exactly sure why Jenn thinks this will play, in an era of “Missouri Vs. Biden” going to the Supreme Court.
So far, we’re 0 for 2. I welcome Jenn back in response on her own Substack or in the comments here - no judgement, though I would prefer actual proof that Jimmy Dore took money from this man, and actual proof that the money influenced Jimmy Dore’s content or opinion in any way - I will even take circumstantial evidence over screenshots of ancient emails that don’t involve Jimmy Dore. I for one think any change in tone in his content has more to do with the two Moderna shots that he took that left him permanently disabled, but I digress.
A sub-optimal orbit of cut-rate DNC Services-approved clowns
I wanted to include a special mention to some other faces who have reared their ugly heads yet again post-2020 election, largely in light of the Cornel West/Jimmy Dore interview - seemingly boosting themselves on the coattails of a total fucking disaster of an interview for Cornel, patting themselves on the back for a job well defended, and indulging in unwarranted moral superiority along the way, failing to take responsibility for Joe Biden (the man they just got done pushing on us last cycle) or anything he’s done in the time since - or how their new hero, Cornel West, sees Biden as the lesser of two evils and a good, if flawed man.
These faces include the likes of Tim Black, another internet political commentator and politically confused man, who did not like the interview and thought it was “racist”, and thought Jimmy had “sold out” to the right wing, whatever that means - I took this to mean “Tim has no class analysis and only thinks through a specific identity framing”. I’m a gay man but I’m homeless first. Class before identity. I can’t take either off, they are as much a part of me as my eye color or my hair.
You can find Tim’s commentary on his YouTube channel, I don’t want to dignify such nonsense by linking to it - Jenn was bad enough already. Tim had plenty to say about Jimmy and why he was wrong and that Black issues were a hot-button topic to a broad array of people, which was a net positive to the Cornel West campaign.
As it turns happens, according to Pew polling, though the broad idea of civil rights remains at the top of everyone’s list, Black issues specifically (such as reparations) remain a minority showing. You cannot build a broad coalition primarily on the backs of identity-based issues.
It cannot be, or, rather, becomes extremely hard to do so and unlikely to succeed. It also becomes hard to win many friends to coalition with, or to become a bloc with, when you see them constantly as your oppressor based on skin color, rather than your class ally. This is why in 2016, Bernie Sanders spoke to class issues rather than race issues, whereas Hillary Clinton preferred speaking about racial inequality, as race issues tend to be quite divisive in America and don’t rock the financial boat. The rising tide of class consciousness could lift all boats, and would be inclusive - but unfortunately it will continue to take a backseat to identity.
Political commentari-twits The Vanguard also had a strange moment, where they attempted to allay the fears of those who did not see Peter Daou as a reputable choice as a campaign manager for Cornel West, and instead chose to downplay those concerns. Not exactly stellar work. They also featured Ron Placone, another former friend of Jimmy Dore and regular contributor to the show through 2020, to explain how his interview was “painful” to watch. I’m not going to bother commenting on this, either. It should already be obvious why this is a conflict of interest. To say Ron over-acting on a YouTube stream of suck-ups is “painful to watch”, but I digress yet again.
If it isn’t clear by now, bitter ex-friends aren’t a source, and even when they’re just giving an opinion, they can be deeply biased and personally bitter. People are people. Friendships that end badly over politics almost never resolve without open communication, and it seems Ron would rather make public commentary on his ex-friend’s interview, instead of doing what most normal people would do: puff out his chest, show some maturity, and speak to his ex-friend to explain why he feels the way he does, and perhaps do some introspection himself along the way. He refuses, or rather has yet, to do that. He is young. He has plenty of time. Jimmy is aging out faster and faster each day, however.
Another figure I expect to appear like an unwelcome lesion on one’s ass as Erection (ED: Sorry) Election 2024 heats up and Joe Biden finally gets put back on the “wake him up” meds: Nina Turner, someone who went from fierce outside agitator to establishment tool with her Ohio senate run as a Democrat and subsequent Biden endorsement, rumored to be Cornel West’s VP (though this is unconfirmed and merely rumored.)
I don’t hold any ill-will against Nina, frankly she’s as politically craven as any Clinton who came before her, unfortunately she’s just not smart enough to understand that kowtowing to AIPAC was never going to help her. Ever. She isn’t white enough. I hope at least Cornel can take that hint, given his decades of advocacy for Palestinians, a genuinely noble feat.
There will be others, no doubt. Boosters of various politicians, YouTube simps, the naïve, people who are only allowed to sign checks with crayons, so on. In the interest of keeping this brief, I’m going to stop myself here, and not give any more bad faith and clearly bitter “friends of the show” the limelight on my publication. We’ve heard the accusations outright, we’ve heard the commentari-twits give their preordained responses in order to get Democratic National Committee head-pats and Convention access. We heard from Jess in her own words, rambling and incoherent and unclear as they sometimes were. As always, please take the words of such ‘access journalists’ with a Pennsylvanian salt mine.
Nobody laughed, not even the Clown
Now, on the other hand, this isn’t to say Jimmy Dore is “being beaten from all sides, down and out, unable to recover, canceled forever”. This recent (seemingly coordinated) wave of critical commentary pales in comparison to prior accusations from years past - and he seems to have numerous small allies in his corner on this one. For example, this Black youtuber who is not in the “2016 Berniecrat ‘DNC Kiss-ass’ Media Clique” orbit, with just under 35 subscribers total has THIS to say, giving a far more coherent and rational rebuttal to the whole situation; including the tactical nature of skepticism and why you SHOULD examine someone’s intentions very clearly. (Including and especially politicians.)
I don’t know if Jimmy Dore took money in exchange to promote nebulous terms/ideas disliked by the Permanently On Twitter (Democrat/Left wing) crew. I don’t have any reason to suspect he did, he seems to have comfortable living prior to it, and YouTube ad revenue must be pretty sweet with his view counts - I wouldn’t know, I don’t really use YouTube. I do know that Jimmy never had to come around or change his tune and frankly was ahead of not just pundits but government agencies - because he listened to scientists, doctors, and medical professionals who themselves were skeptical. If anything, he was personally a booster of the vaccine program until he had his shots. One cannot be that and be “anti-vax”, otherwise the term becomes so nebulous as to be absolutely meaningless.
The “change of tune” in his show’s content follows TAKING 2 DOSES OF MODERNA HIMSELF, and it likely did more than anything to change his tune. I would know. I’m a man. I also took two doses of Lot 021C21A Moderna and was generally neurotic, and I have the stupid fucking card and chest pains to prove it. Thankfully the *21A lots were a lot less deadly than *20A lots, something I wrote about at the time (something I can still prove statistically to this day, but I have no doubt Jenn would consider an “anti-vaxx conspiracy theory”).
I have seen people online engage in some sort of sick cognitive dissonance recently where they demand a world of disabled accessible genderqueerX, diverse, and tolerant people, but themselves pretend vaccine-induced syndromes don’t exist, and the human immune system is as simple as plugging in a Brand New iPhone 15 Pro Max (Now With USB C, Starting at $1199).
Oops, I did it again, didn’t I? I swear it’s prion disease.. Anyways, putting on my mask now - off to get my umpteenth booster and not question the Biden administration for anything ever, and only thank it, and in return I will support ineffectual third-party campaigns that will inevitably support him in the General Election. Seriously, if Cornel West or any of these fools think I’m “holding my nose” and voting for Biden because Trump, they will be sorely disappointed yet again. FUUUUCK YOU.
I’m so glad Jenn, Cornel, The Vanguard, and Tim Black plus others could be here to spin me right and set the story straight, and get me back on the path to salvation towards AOJesus and The Loving Embrace of Hating Jimmy Dore. Weren’t you? Here’s a Ukraine flag, I see you don’t have one and you do want one, right..? You’re not a Russian troll, are you..???
Until next time, as always, wear a drugs, and don’t do seatbelts.
I respect Jimmy Dore the way I have come to respect a lot of the old lefties who stuck with who they were. I don't always agree with his takes. Side note, if you find yourself agreeing with everything someone says, doublecheck to make sure you are not suffering from NPC Syndrome. Dore and other old lefties like Taibbi and Greenwald have several traits that separate them from the "resistance" liberals. First, they have real principles they believe in. Shocking, but it provides a consistency required to respect someone's opinion. Second, they are skeptical of the things they hear. Who knew doing your own research and not towing the official line might make you more trustworthy than the Robert Reich's of the world? Finally, they do not give a crap about any "peer pressure". They are pretty much the same people they have always been.
"I will likely get $0 for writing this, and in the end the biggest gain is a very confused audience."
Preach it, brother. Let's fail at capitalism together.