I think it's more nuanced than that. Obviously countries have differences on how aligned the people and the press are, but there's also the aspect of how highly educated the people are.

FWIW, I feel like the press in Finland doesn't try to "win" points by pointing out the humiliation and the utter failure of the current state of affairs in the US, because that point is plainly obvious, but the reporting more closely reflects the forces and agenda going on under the surface.

The embarrassment stuff is more for the coffee-table chitchat and having a collective sigh of relief with your co-workers that we're not so intimately close to the whole mess there.

true. we the people mock him more than the press does.

You think we are not constantly mocking trump, his entire administration, and everything his group of jack booted fascists are doing?

Boy do you need to visit some other bars!

Just want to say, I appreciate your pragmatic perspective on this. Nate Silver had one job: Predict who would win. And he failed at that. With lots of hand waving he can excuse himself but at the end of the day his visitors wanted an answer and he gave them the wrong answer.

Here's a novel idea: Let the citizens vote on whether they want red-light cameras or not.

I suspect the result would be dependant on the specifics. How much is the fine, and how much of a delay after the red triggers a ticket. Sounds like they are set at $158?

If you're on desktop, download the Chrome Extension called "Unhook". It lets you hide stuff like Youtube Shorts and makes Youtube less impulsive. Very helpful for focus.