We make NO APOLOGIES for being the first media outlet to report that local Texas officials were pointing fingers at the National Weather Service for a faulty forecast and noting that dozens of experts and scientists have been warning for months that Trump’s draconian cuts to NOAA and the NWS were going to lead to serious problems and greater loss of life during the summer storm season.
As readers of my daily Bulletins know well, I have included quotes from these experts from multiple media outlets in the column many, many times over the past several months. Was NWS at fault in some way in Texas? Was it just the Texas officials trying to pass the buck? Maybe one, maybe the other, maybe both. But we were not going to allow yet another natural disaster on Trump’s watch with huge loss of life to get swept under the rug again, while he dismantles FEMA and the agencies tasked with warning and informing the public are decimated, without serious questions being asked.
We also were not going to let Trump and the MAGA propaganda machine to set the narrative on this as they have done so many times in the past over many years with little to no response by Democrats.
This also comes after we endured 4 years of Trump and Republicans blaming Biden using lies and disinformation after every single natural disaster, train derailment, war overseas between other countries, on an on. They blamed Biden for everything despite zero evidence and used a firehose of lies, fake videos, and coordinated disinformation. We did our best to fight it, but honestly we didn’t have much help from the Biden admin pushing back because too often their strategy was to just ignore it. But you can’t ignore it because it is like a cancer that just spreads and gets worse if you do.
We got criticism even from some Democrats along with the typical vicious personal attacks and threats from MAGA. I started to see my DMs fill up with the usual blue-checked right-wing chuds after the story was published with threats and venom. I’ve gotten so many over the years opposing not just Trump but the entire MAGA movement that I don’t even hardly notice or care anymore. They can’t scare or intimidate us. But we also got some comments from a few Dems scolding us for “politicizing a tragedy.”
Well, we are not interested in being polite or giving the benefit of the doubt to Trump and his minions like Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Russ Vought, Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, Karoline Leavitt, et al. We question everything because they lie to us about everything and try to cover up what they are doing across government. If that means we sometimes get accused of “politicizing” tragedies by some on our own side, so be it. If we can endure daily threats from MAGA, we can handle criticism from some squeamish old guard Dems and legacy media about our aggressive and relentless methods.
Now the NYT and other media organizations have joined in with stories documenting how cuts in NWS and other federal agencies may have made this tragedy much, much worse. We were alone out there for most of the day yesterday with our story and got a lot of criticism, but we stood by it because this is a new day and we are determined to make the Democratic Party tougher, more fearless, with thicker skin, and to go on offense against the Trump admin rather than constantly playing defense.
Would those other stories have been written if we didn’t have a viral story out on it first by sticking our necks out? Maybe. Maybe not. But we will continue to force the issue on these kinds of things to get people to wake up and question everything these gangsters are up to. We have seen legacy media outlets many times devote investigative journalism teams to dig into stories that we initiated by pointing out one or two things that didn’t add up. That is a good thing and we appreciate their work when they do it and do it well.
We will continue to document every tragedy that leads to loss of life or other terrible consequences as a result of Trump and policy director Stephen Miller’s callous disregard for human life and dignity as they implement right-wing initiatives that hurt people and tear apart the fabric of our institutions, ideals, culture and society. MAGA can scream and yell about us, and legacy media can condescend and sneer about independent media, but we will never stop doing what we think is right.
The reason for that is simple - we have dedicated our lives to this for years now. We don’t do it for fame, money, recognition, or to get invited to DC cocktail parties. We are relentlessly devoted to bringing people the truth - sometimes truths they don’t really want to hear. That is because we believe that MAGA is a toxic political movement that is setting the progress this country has made in so many areas back decades. We are dedicated to fighting back, stopping it, and defeating it no matter how long it takes, how many setbacks we endure, or how difficult it gets.
If we had corporate overlords, donors or sponsors who could tell us what to do, we certainly would not be able to do half of what we have done. They would kill stories, make us tone down our language, make us both-sides everything. But we work for you, and that empowers us to do what we think is right every single time without ever worrying if it is going to upset some billionaire, corporate overlord, donor or politician.
That is what makes independent media powerful - it is both the present and the future. Thank you for making it possible.
MTN tells it like it is and backs it up with receipts.
I’m so grateful you sounded the alarm when you did. Please continue to bring us the news we need to hear. MT is on the front lines. You take the flack. Thank you.