Open Thread (Plus: The Press Has Always Been Rotten Cowards)

Here's a fun story about the bravery of the press.

Napoleon was exiled to Elba as a treaty provision after having lost the war to pretty much every other country in Europe.

A lot of French still revered him, but many were glad to see him go. He had, after all, declared himself Emperor, which was a complete repudiation of the ideas of the Revolution.

The Bourbon dynasty, which was installed to replace him, of course enforced the official state line that he was a monster.

So back to the press: Here are the Paris press' headlines, from the moment they hear that Napoleon has violated his treaty terms and escaped from Elba, to when he lands on French soil, to when he begins gathering his old loyalists (grognards), to when he is within a few days' march of Paris, to when he actually arrives.

Napoleon's march on Paris as reported via newspaper headlines (1831)

As published in The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art, Volume XVIII

The French newspapers which, in 1815, were subject to the censor, announced the departure of Bonaparte from Elba, his progress through France, and his entry into Paris in the following ingenious manner:

-- 9th March, the Anthropophagus [literally "Man-eater"] has quitted his den

-- 10th, the Corsican Ogre has landed at Cape Juan

-- 11th, the Tiger has arrived at Gap

-- 12th, the Monster slept at Grenoble

-- 13th, the Tyrant has passed through Lyons

-- 14th, the Usurper is directing his steps towards Dijon, but the brave and loyal Burgundians have risen en masse and surrounded him on all sides

-- 18th, Bonaparte is only sixty leagues from the capital; he has been fortunate enough to escape the hands of his pursuers

-- 19th, Bonaparte is advancing with rapid steps, but he will never enter Paris

-- 20th, Napoleon will, tomorrow, be under our ramparts

— 21st, the Emperor is at Fontainbleau

-- 22nd, His Imperial and Royal Majesty, yesterday evening, arrived at the Tuileries, amidst the joyful acclamations of his devoted and faithful subjects.

I don't know if this is the same thing, really, but here's some changing-of-a-tune from a CNN "analyst:"

On Special Report, liberal Mara Liason bemoaned claims by Republicans that the Arizona and Florida races were being stolen via fraud, claiming that such claims undermine public confidence in elections.

Mollie Hemingway rejoined with Ekdahl's point: "If only the media had been concerned about that for the past two years of blathering about Russian Conspiracies and undermining public confidence in the 2016 election."

Mara Liason had plainly never considered the breathtaking hypocrisy in her claim -- people who immunize themselves from outside questioning never bother to think too much about their own thinking -- and had to concede that this was a point.

posted by Ace of Spades at 07:50 PM

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