By Drew Hayes | John Kass News
Editors Note: This commentary was written by my old boss at WLS AM radio Drew Hayes for his new website: onlaca.com It is posted here with his permission. He understood the media was collapsing and with its collapse would come lost creditability that is needed by a civil society. JK
John Kass, the legendary Chicago columnist, has a website where he publishes commentary–that often, sadly–are on the sorry state of Illinois. Recently, guest columnist Paul Vallas–who was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and ran for Mayor in 2023–wrote about Illinois’ horrendous financial problems and the virtue-signaling, DSA-mandated pursuit of ‘equity’.
Vallas brought the receipts, claiming that the Land of Lincoln is the least equitable state in the country. With their failed Governor, J.B. Pritzker, likely to face off with our failed Governor in the 2028 Democrat presidential race, the piece seems to merit a head-to-head comparison between the two states. For the sake of ‘equity,’ we asked ChatGPT to do a side-by-side comparison:
As you can see, both Pritzker and Newsom’s ‘progressive’ policies are deeply inequitable, crushing their states’ economies and making residents’ lives miserable. California, however, is in way worse shape on almost every count. Congratulations, Gavin: You have made California way more inequitable than Illinois. This is something you can actually hang your hat on in the socialist-dominated 2028 Democrat presidential primary.
You can read Paul Vallas’ analysis on the excellent website JohnKass.com here.
“Believe none of what you read or hear and only half of what you see” goes the old adage. The “read” part was added over time, with the evolution of the news media, to a quote from Edgar Allan Poe. Suffice it say, it is no surprise that people increasingly don’t trust the information they receive. And the media bears the blame.
As political discourse becomes ever more fractured and media choices become more diverse, the ability to uncover the truth becomes more challenging. JFK must have seen the explosion of media as an issue when he noted, “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.” Having access to news 24/7 from whatever perspective you choose has rendered the truth a fungible concept.
It is so easy to say the media lies, which it does. That it is hardly worth the debate. But the public—which is not required to do research or even to employ the lost art of critical thinking—judges the truth as they make their media choices.
Commentary continues here.
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