Fox News Spanks Guests for Citing ‘Doctored’ Pelosi Video, Fails to Mention Trump Tweeted It

Posted by on May 24, 2019 at 12:09 pm. 2 Comments :

The massive disinformation factory that we know as Fox News manufactures countless lies and propaganda messages on behalf of their benefactor in the White house, Donald Trump. It is a daily (hourly) chronicle of fake news and fluff pieces devoted to exalting Dear Leader and maligning his critics. But every now and then even they go too far and require a stern finger-wagging.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Fake

For some utterly unexplainable reason Fox News regards the minstrel show duo, Diamond and Silk, as legitimate political analysts. Fox regularly features these allegedly comic dunces in segments that pretend that their opinions and laughable presentations aren’t really as humiliating as they appear. And on Friday morning they outdid themselves with their holy-roller style rhetoric that proved nothing but what shallow losers they are (video below).

As part of their spiel, Demean and Sulk lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the process they referenced a badly edited video that made Pelosi appear to be intoxicated. The video has been repudiated by every legitimate news enterprise, and even some illegitimate ones like Fox News. In fact, after the D&S segment, Steve Doocy, co-host of Fox and Friends, read a denunciation of the video:

“During the Diamond and Silk segment they mentioned Nancy Pelosi. I think they … I was unfamiliar with what they were talking about. I’m looking at foxnews.com, there’s a story:

“‘Manipulated videos of Nancy Pelosi edited to falsely depict her as drunk spread on social media. And according to a report from the Washington Post, experts believe the original video was slowed down to 75% from the original and that her pitch was also manipulated in order to present her under the influence.’

“Not a real video. It’s doctored.”

It stretches the bounds of probability that Doocy was actually unfamiliar with the video since it has been a viral story for two days now. But at least he took the time to acknowledge that the comments by D&S were untrue. Even though he tainted the “correction” in the eyes of Fox viewers by attributing it to the Washington Post, which they all regard as “fake news.”

What Doocy left out entirely is that Donald Trump also featured the phony video in a tweet that he captioned in all caps, “PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE” So Trump not only helped to spread these repulsive lies, he elaborated on them in his own words. But for some reason this didn’t warrant a mention on Fox and Friends during a segment that explicitly chastised the use of it.

The actual Diamond and Silk segment could have been a Saturday Night Live routine without any rewriting. The main spokesperson (I think it was Silk, but does anyone really know?) slandered Pelosi saying that “She can’t even form a complete sentence without looking perplexed and confused.” And that “We’re all questioning her mental capacity. She always look like she’s a non-functioning alcoholic. She slur her words.” And that “She is deteriorating like a snowflake.”

Among other thing, D&S asserted that Pelosi had “lost control of the House.” Never mind that she has presided over a remarkably productive session with over 150 bills passed. They went on to whine about the investigations of Trump’s unsavory associations with Russia and obstruction of justice. They insisted, parroting Trump, that it’s Democrats who should be investigated.

It’s political discourse like this that has earned Fox News (aka State TV) its reputation as a low brow disseminator of pseudo-news for the cognitively impaired. And what’s really sad is that Fox’s own anchors and hosts aren’t any more respectable as journalists than these two frightwig models.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

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Trump Whines (Falsely) that Democrats ‘Do Nothing’ then He Literally Pledges to Do Nothing

Posted by on May 23, 2019 at 12:03 pm. 3 Comments :

On Thursday morning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the mental infirmity of Donald Trump by pointedly saying “I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country.” She was responding to Wednesday’s Trumpian tantrum when he stormed out of a meeting with Democrats at the White House. And his behavior since then has only gotten worse.

Donald Trump

On Thursday Trump took to his Twitter machine and blasted out a barrage of barely coherent messages that appeared to be some sort of cathartic release by a man tortured by fear and the consciousness of guilt. They were overtly hostile and entirely devoid of substantive facts. One of the recurring themes was his deliberately dishonest allegation that Democrats in the House of Representatives have been doing nothing but persecuting him. The extended harangue went something like this:

Trump’s phony fear of the Democrats becoming “irrelevant” was more wishful thinking than anything approaching reality. He knows that they control his fate with the power of subpoena and ultimately impeachment. And he knows what he’s done and how damaging it will be for him when Democrats reveal it to the nation. He feels the hot breath of the law on his neck.

However, it’s his attempt to paint Democrats as the “Do Nothing Party” that truly defines the dementia in Trump’s gripe-feasting. After all, he just literally pledged to the American people in a nationally televised press avail that he would refuse to work with Democrats on any legislation unless and until they abandoned their constitutional right – and duty – to engage in oversight and to hold the President accountable for his many crimes.

So while Trump has publicly promised to do nothing – a breach of his oath of office – he is also ignoring the highly productive work of the Democratic controlled House. Take for instance this partial list of Democratic accomplishments this year:

  • H.R. 1, The For the People Act
  • H.R. 2, Infrastructure
  • Lowering Prescription Drug Costs
  • H.R. 4, Voting Rights Advancement Act
  • H.R. 5, Equality Act
  • H.R. 6, Dream and Promise Act
  • H.R. 7, Paycheck Fairness Act
  • H.R. 8, Bipartisan Background Checks Act
  • H.R. 9, The Climate Action Now Act
  • H.R. 582, Raise the Wage Act
  • H.R. 1585, Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
  • H.R. 1884, Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019
  • H.R. 676, NATO Support Act
  • S.J.Res.54, Yemen War Powers Resolution
  • H.J.Res.46 – Resolution to End National Emergency Declaration
  • S. 47, John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act
  • H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement
  • H. Res. 271, Condemning the Trump Administration’s Legal Campaign to Take Away Americans’ Health Care
  • H.R. 1644, Save the Internet Act of 2019
  • H.Res. 124, Expressing opposition to banning service in the Armed Forces by openly transgender individuals
  • H.Con. Res. 24, Resolution on the Mueller Report

Here’s an even more comprehensive list of bills passed by Democrats in Congress.

This puts the lie to Trump’s ludicrous assertion that “It is not possible for them to investigate and legislate at the same time.” It may not be possible for a world-class idiot like Trump who hasn’t the foggiest notion of how to govern, or any experience in legislating, but it isn’t really that hard for those with intelligence and a desire to advance the interests of the American people. Many presidents have had to balance these burdens.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

The only interest that Trump has is to evade responsibility for his unlawful activities and obstruction of justice. That’s why he’s willing to put his personal issues before the welfare of the nation by turning into a cranky baby and refusing to play with those meanie Democrats. He doesn’t need an intervention. He needs a time-out.


A Paranoid Portrait of an ‘Innocent’ Man, Tweetstorm in 10 Panicked Parts By Donald Trump

Posted by on May 22, 2019 at 10:26 am. 4 Comments :

Sometimes it is only possible to convey the insanity of a man by presenting his own words verbatim. That’s the case with Donald Trump’s latest tirade on Twitter where he lashed out at what he repeatedly, and falsely, calls a “Witch Hunt.” The tone of this extended harangue is one that only makes Trump appear more guilty, and demented, than ever.

Donald Trump Zombie

Innocent people don’t behave this way. They don’t exhibit such a deranged mentality that is gushing with the consciousness of guilt. Trump is quite obviously scared, paranoid, and desperate to persuade his Deplorables that he hasn’t committed all the crimes that evidence shows he committed. And that psychotic condition led to this frighteningly deranged outburst (footnotes below):

Everything the Democrats are asking me for is based on an illegally started investigation that failed for them, especially when the Mueller Report came back with a NO COLLUSION finding (1). Now they say Impeach President Trump, even though he did nothin wrong, while they “fish!”

After two years of an expensive and comprehensive Witch Hunt, the Democrats don’t like the result and they want a DO OVER (2). In other words, the Witch Hunt continues!

The Democrats are getting ZERO work done in Congress (3). All they are focused on is trying to prove the Mueller Report wrong, the Witch Hunt!

PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT! (4)

Without the ILLEGAL Witch Hunt, my poll numbers, especially because of our historically “great” economy, would be at 65%. (5) Too bad! The greatest Hoax in American History.

Everybody, including me, thought that when the 40 Million Dollar Mueller Report was released with No Collusion and No Obstruction (of a crime caused by others), that was the end. (6) But no, the Democrats want to keep it going in an effort to help them in 2020. Bad for the Country!

“The Democrats are in danger of becoming irrelevant (7) because of their decision to keep taking the country on wild goose chases. They ought to start governing. You know, for a change.” Michael Goodwin @newyorkpost

“He (Jerry Nadler) wants a show. He wants to use Mr. McGahn as a prop to spend three hours claiming that Mr. Trump tried to obstruct the Mueller investigation. YET MR. MUELLER WASN’T OBSTRUCTED IN ANY WAY, HIS COPIOUS REPORT WAS RELEASED FOR ALL TO SEE (8), & THERE WAS NO COLLUSION..

..BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN. Mr. McGahn can be forgiven for declining the honor (9) of appearing in Mr. Nadler’s pseudo-impeachment drama.” Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, Today – May 21, 2019

As I have long been saying, and has now been proven out, this is a Witch Hunt against the Republican Party and myself, and it was the other side that caused the problem, not us! (10)

Following this bizarre spectacle, Trump took the wholly unprecedented step of blackmailing Congress to force them to stop doing their constitutionally mandated job of oversight. He told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer that he would not consider the pending infrastructure bill, or any legislation, until they ended their investigations of him.

That’s not going to happen. So Trump is putting himself and his personal issues above the welfare of the nation. AGAIN! This abdication of his responsibilities is just another reason that he must not be permitted to continue to occupy the White House. It adds to his recent refusals to obey the laws regarding the provision of public documents and his attempts to prohibit public servants from giving testimony. And it is why more and more members of Congress – and American citizens – believe it it imperative that we impeach Trump.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

FOOTNOTES (with links to tweet):
1) The Mueller report did NOT find no collusion. But it did find ten instances of obstruction od justice.
2) Democrats do NOT want a do-over. They want all of the facts to be disclosed.
3) Democrats in the House have passed dozens of bills that are being held up by Republicans in the Senate.
4) PRESIDENTIAL WHINING!
5) Trump’s approval rating has NEVER exceeded the forties.
6) Mueller left the conclusions up to Congress. His report was a beginning, not an end.
7) If Trump really believed that Democrats are becoming irrelevant, he wouldn’t be throwing these tantrums.
8) Trump is unlawfully prohibiting McGahn from testifying. And the Mueller report has NOT been released for all to see.
9) A subpoena is NOT an optional invitation to appear. It is lawful and mandatory, and declining is a crime.
10) There has never been any evidence of crimes by “the other side.”


Here’s a Solution for Trump’s Whining that ‘Something Strange is Going on at Fox News’

Posted by on May 21, 2019 at 1:27 pm. 1 Comments :

The single most predictable expression emanating from Donald Trump at any given moment is his relentless, childish whining. If he isn’t whining about the Mueller investigation, he’s whining about something a Democrat said, or the “fake news,” or Hillary Clinton’s emails, or invading caravans of refugees at the border, or China, or Iran, or worst of all, Obama. And that’s the short list.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Strange

A new entry into Trump’s parade of targets for his whine-feasting is one that many might not have expected. Although no one and nothing is safe from his wrath because all it takes is one slip up and you’re on his shitlist. But his recent attack on Fox News certainly raised some eyebrows.

During his latest cult rally in Pennsylvania, Trump ricocheted from one random nuisance to another with his typical flair for incoherence. He threatened to have his Attorney General, William Barr, investigate Democrats and the FBI for treason. He “joked” about serving five terms as president. And he accused Joe Biden of “deserting” Pennsylvania by moving to Delaware with his parents – when he was ten years old. This is a new wrinkle on his abhorrent policy of separating families. And then he unleashed this brilliant bit of paranoid mush (video below):

“What’s going on with Fox, by the way? They’re putting more Democrats on than Republicans. Something strange is going on at Fox, folks! Something very strange. […] Somebody’s gonna have to explain the whole Fox deal to me?”

Somebody’s gonna have to explain nearly everything to Trump. But more to the point, that was Trump’s response to the town hall Fox News aired on Monday with Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. But more importantly, it was Trump’s admission that he regards Fox News as his personal publicity shop where only his views – and those of his GOP allies – are authorized to be broadcast. And if Fox should dare to stray from Trumpian orthodoxy, they are officially guilty of betraying the cause of white-wing nationalism, and him personally. He did exactly the same thing after the Bernie Sanders town hall on Fox.

Trump is actually right in an odd way. Research by Media Matters found that Democrats do appear on Fox News with some frequency. In fact, that occurs far more often than the cowardly Republicans appear on CNN or MSNBC. Trump himself is the King of the Cowards. He has not done an interview with either of those networks since becoming President.

Part of the reason that Fox News is hosting more Democrats than usual is that the Democratic primary field currently consists of twenty-four candidates. However, there is solution to this foreboding problem. Since Trump believes that there are too many Democrats taking up airtime on Fox News, all they need to do is schedule some more Republicans to even out the alleged imbalance. At the moment there is only one other Republican challenging Trump for the GOP nomination. That’s former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld.

As the chief executive of a large state that generally skews blue, Weld should be considered at least as viable a candidate as Buttigieg, the mayor of a small town in rural Indiana. Although Weld is taking on an incumbent president, that shouldn’t be a consideration for a legitimate, independent news network. If Fox News isn’t a Trump-fluffing propaganda operation, they should have no problem inviting Weld to do a town hall.

On the other hand, if Fox fails to offer an invitation to Weld, they are conceding that they are in the tank for Trump and will abide no opposition. To date there is no indication that any such invitation has been proffered. This seems like a perfect opportunity for Weld to approach Fox and insist that he be given the same consideration as Buttigieg, Sanders, and Trump. He is a serious contender with a platform that resonates with millions of Americans. And he would satisfy Trump’s call for Fox News to book more Republicans. So it’s time for Fox to step up and try to prove that they have at least a sliver of journalistic integrity. That, of course, may be too much to ask.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


Fox News Riles Big Baby Trump By Hosting Buttigieg Town Hall Rather than More Trump-Fluffing

Posted by on May 20, 2019 at 12:21 pm. 3 Comments :

For anyone who isn’t yet convinced that Fox News is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trump Cult Enterprises (or maybe vice versa), Donald Trump has helped to affirm this fact himself. In a pair of tweets that reveal just how tightly integrated they are, the reality TV president made it clear that there should be no wavering on Fox’s mission to prop up all things Trump. And that also means shunning non-Trump news.

Fox News Friends

When Pete Buttigieg agreed to appear on Fox News for a town hall, he articulated his justifications for doing so. They were essentially the same as those by other Democrats who mistakenly believe that there is some merit to lending their credibility to a propaganda outfit that hasn’t earned it and doesn’t deserve it. In short, they argue that they need to reach out to Fox’s viewers. But there are other venues to communicate with any Fox viewer who isn’t devoutly pro-Trump. And those who are need not be bothered with. In the meantime, it’s counterproductive to help Fox earn more respect and revenue with which they will trash Democrats.

Nevertheless, Buttigieg showed up for the town hall ready to address what was expected to be an unfriendly encounter. Surprisingly, the audience was fairly receptive to his remarks. In particular they applauded vigorously when he said of Trump’s vile and infantile antics that “It is the nature of grotesque things that you can’t look away.” He also enjoyed a standing ovation at the end that caught anchor Chris Wallace off guard.

But Trump’s reaction to this program was somewhat different. He angrily tweeted that it’s:

Trump is giving away the propaganda game here. He is complaining that Fox News had the audacity to cover someone running for president other than the officially designated candidate of the Fox Nationalist Party. He did exactly the same thing following the Bernie Sanders town hall on Fox. According to Trump, just giving a Democrat one hour out of twenty-four is evidence that the network is “moving to the wrong side.” Even that phrasing indicates Trump’s impression is that Fox News is on his side and against his enemies.

Trump segues from that nonsense to taking a swipe at Wallace who he says “never speaks well of me.” Setting aside the fact that that’s patently false, a more interesting fact is that Trump is so scared of Wallace that he’s never granted him an interview as President. Which is ironic since the rightists in Fox World are always accusing Democrats of fearing Fox. The truth is just the opposite. Media Matters has done the research and found that Democrats appear on Fox News far more often than Republicans appear on CNN or MSNBC.

So what did Buttigieg gain by submitting to Fox? He earned a rebuke from Fox for having done so. The following morning the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends tore into Buttigieg for speaking candidly about what happens “when you see what goes on with some opinion hosts on this network.” He elaborated saying…

“I mean when you’ve got Tucker Carlson saying that immigrants make America dirty, when you’ve got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centers and children in cages to summer camps, then there is a reason why anybody has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem.”

That drew the ire of Fox’s Brian Kilmeade who went on an extended rant where in warned prospective Fox guests that they shouldn’t show up if they intend to speak their minds and tell the truth:

“Don’t hop on our channel and continue to put down the other hosts on the channel. If you feel that negative about it, don’t come.”

Perhaps Fox News should publish a guidebook outlining what is and isn’t allowed to be said on their network. Because if you say anything the least bit critical you’re scolded and maligned for having “absolutely no courage” despite your presence in their studio. Then, for good measure, Kilmeade went on to lie about Trump’s tax cuts which Buttigieg correctly said benefited the wealthy. Kilmeade disputed that saying that the cuts were aimed at corporations (Is that better, or even different?) and that “the smallest tax cut was for those who pay the most.”

All of these lies and insults took place the morning after the Buttigieg town hall. They were done without giving Buttigieg an opportunity to respond. There was no Democratic voice on to set the Foxies straight. And the Buttigieg bashing continued on Fox News throughout the rest of the morning broadcasts and surely continued for the remainder of the day.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

So how exactly did the hour that Buttigieg got justify the countless hours of attacks and lies? The lesson from both Sanders and Buttigieg is that doing these Fox town halls only sets you up for attacks without providing any benefit whatsoever. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris have stated publicly that they will not be submitting to Fox. The rest of the Democratic field should take heed and do the same.


Big Baby Trump Resorts to Whining and Lying When Fellow Republican Says He’s Impeachable

Posted by on May 19, 2019 at 11:50 am. 2 Comments :

Nothing is more predictable than the response from Donald Trump whenever anyone has the audacity to challenge or criticize him. He lashes out uncontrollably like a petulant child who doesn’t get his way. And his assaults are always slathered in impotent insults and seasoned with the hate of a wounded narcissist.

Donald Trump

So naturally when Republican congressman Justin Amash of Michigan made the courageous decision to put his country before his party. Trump went ballistic. Amash is one of the few Republican members of Congress who read the report by special counsel Robert Mueller with an independent eye. Consequently he came away with the objective realization that Trump “has engaged in impeachable conduct.” The report is rife with evidence of the unsavory connections to Russia by Trump and his campaign, as well as multiple documented incidents of obstruction of justice.

Trump typically chose Twitter as his preferred presidential communications platform to strike back at Amash. Lately Trump has been spectacularly deranged, even for him. But Trump’s pitiful retort to Amash is just further evidence of his mental infirmity and unfitness for office. He tweeted that he was…

The pattern of Trump’s attack is typified by first maligning his foe as an inferior with ulterior motives. Thus, Amash is a “lightweight” who is just looking for attention. But then Trump made the laughable charge that Amash had not read the Mueller report, which Trump absolutely didn’t read. At best he had one of his nannies summarize it with a few charts and pictures that made him look like a superhero.

In what might ordinarily be considered a hysterical satire, Trump dismissed the Mueller report as the “biased” product of “18 Angry Dems who hated Trump.” (For the record, there are more like 65 million angry Democrats who hate Trump). However, he also said that it found “NO COLLUSION and, ultimately, NO OBSTRUCTION.” But if the report that allegedly exonerated him was biased, doesn’t that mean that it DID find collusion and obstruction? And typical of any Trump tirade, it was overflowing with lies:

  • It’s absurd to suggest that Amash, a conservative Republican, was looking to advance himself by defying his own party and its leader.
  • Amash’s detailed commentary proves that he did read the Mueller report, despite Trump’s implying that he didn’t.
  • The report was produced by a lifelong Republican who was chosen by a Republican acting Attorney General who Trump appointed.
  • It was neither “strong on no collusion” nor “ultimately no obstruction.”
  • You can charge obstruction of justice even if there is no underlying crime. Obstruction is a crime in itself.
  • There no discernible crimes by “the other side” despite repeated attempts by the GOP to find something.

You have to hand to Trump. Not many people could squeeze that many falsehoods into two measly tweets. But he had inspiration. He was driven by the fact that someone chose to be disobedient by criticizing Dear Leader. That is the deadly sin of the Trump Era. And such impudence must be met head on with whining and crying and lying and the throwing of tantrums. Thankfully, those are the only skills that Trump has been shown to have in abundance.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

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It’s BULL****! Trump’s Profane Attack on the Press Ignores His Own Lies and ‘Anonymous’ Sources

Posted by on May 18, 2019 at 11:48 am. 5 Comments :

Among the myriad embarrassments America suffers as result of having “elected” Donald Trump president is his relentlessly infantile behavior. His emotional maturity was stunted at somewhere between cholicky toddler and insolent preteen. He has all the personality traits of a narcissistic bully whose chief communications tools are whining, blame, and insults.

Donald Trump

Trump once again demonstrated his loathsome and vile hostility on Friday during an address to the National Association of Realtors. It’s notable that all of Trump’s speeches of late take on exactly the same tenor as the political cult rallies he stages for his congregation of Deplorables. There was no reason to expect that a speech before real estate agents would devolve into the typical rage-ranting that is the hallmark of Trump’s public appearances, but that’s what they got.

Along with his extremist partisanship and wild detours from the world of facts, Trump littered his speech with attacks on his favorite foes. Naturally, that included the media. Interrupting his own chain of alleged thought, Trump unleashed a paranoid and profane assault against the press for having the audacity to report what he actually does and says. It was so bad that Reuters had to post a “GRAPHIC LANGUAGE WARNING” because now America has a president whose rhetoric is offensive to decent folks and children (video below):

“The press doesn’t give me credit for anything, no matter what I do. No, it’s true. Doesn’t matter. Who cares? […] They say ‘confidential sources.’ You ever notice they never write the names of people anymore? Everything is ‘A source says…’ There is no source. The person doesn’t exist. The person’s not alive. It’s bullshit, okay? It’s bullshit.”

First of all, the press gives Trump plenty of credit. The problem is that most of what he does is either harmful, stupid, or self-serving, so he thinks that getting “credit” for that reflects a negative bias. But it’s just the facts. Secondly, he seems to dismiss this coverage by saying “Who cares?” Of course the answer is: He does. That’s why he never stops whining about it.

However, the worst part of this tirade was Trump’s foul-mouthed complaints about the press using confidential sources. Never mind that unidentified sources are an integral part of professional and responsible journalism. Trump making this complaint is hysterical. After all, he is notorious for having impersonated his own PR flack using fake names like “John Barron” and “John Miller.” In his litigation with Stormy Daniels he identified himself as “David Dennison.” He routinely orders his White House communications staff to speak to reporters off the record, which results in those “a source says…” quotes.

Trump also told the realtors that the press “make up” their sources, that they are “bad people” and “that’s why I came up with the term ‘fake news.” Let’s just set aside the nonsense that he came up with that term. Although he did pervert it to mean only news that he doesn’t like. But he’s the guy who has been documented to have told more than 10,000 lies just since his inauguration. There is no bigger source for fake and intentionally dishonest news than Trump. And it’s pitiful that this country is burdened with such a cretinous liar occupying it’s highest public office. In fact, it’s bullshit!

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


Senile or Stupid? Trump is Ecstatic About His Total Misreading of a Devastating Fox News Poll

Posted by on May 17, 2019 at 10:54 am. 3 Comments :

The age old question has arisen again in this historically warped Era of Trump. Is the President suffering from a severe mental collapse, or is he just the biggest dumbass to ever reside in the White House? It’s a question that has perplexed seasoned politicos and concerned citizens alike. And of course, one answer doesn’t negate the other.

Donald Trump

The latest episode of Donald Trump’s cognitive infirmity arose – as it often does – in his Twitter feed that violently shifts from the hysterical to the frightening. It is a unique compendium of his rampant lies, consuming paranoia, and vile hostility. It is also an outlet for his narcissistic exaltations of himself. The latter was evident on Friday morning when he tweeted that…

The first thing that reveals the irrelevance of this post is that Trump is citing the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends as his source. So naturally the substance can be presumed to be bullshit. In fact, the Fox News poll to which he is referring actually shows a very different result than Trump’s skewed anlaysis. A majority (51 percent), when asked how likely it was that intelligence agencies like the FBI broke the law while investigating Trump’s collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice, said “Not At All” or only “Somewhat.” What’s more, a more detailed breakdown showed that only 24 percent said it was “Extremely” likely, while 31 percent said “Not At All.” That, however, was not the only bad news for Trump in this poll. It also showed that:

  • 46% of voters approve of the way Mueller handled the Russia investigation, while only 32% disapprove.
  • A plurality said that they trust Mueller (45%) more than Trump (27%).
  • Voters also trust Mueller over Attorney General Barr (40% to 22%), and Democrats over the Trump administration (44% to 33%).
  • They said that AG Barr is covering up for Trump (45% to 33%).
  • 42% said they favor impeaching Trump.
  • They say that Democrats in Congress are seeking the truth rather than attacking Trump (49% to 41%).
  • On whether they would vote for Trump in 2020, 54% say No, 38% say Yes. (Definitely No: 46% to definitely Yes only 28%).

Yet somehow Trump managed to spin this poll (did I mention that it’s by Fox News?) as positive for him. He went on to tweet more nonsense that is only true in his diseased brain. Such as his ludicrous assertion that his “Campaign for President was conclusively spied on.” Even his own, hand-picked FBI director, Christopher Wray, disputes that. But Trump tweeted that this delusion was “TREASON.” He also tweeted more lies about Hillary Clinton’s emails (when will it end?).

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

You really have to wonder how Trump manages to maintain his utterly deranged fallacies about himself and the world. His perspective is so far removed from reality that it’s hard to imagine how he gets through the day. But what’s worse is that he has a small base of supporters who hang on his every lie as if it were gospel. And his Republican Nationalist Party backs up his dementia all the way. This isn’t the behavior of a political movement. It’s the behavior of a cult. And like all such cults, it’s going to end badly for the deceived believers.


Hypocritical GOP Rep Says Insults are ‘Intellectually Void’ – But Ignores Trump and Fox News

Posted by on May 16, 2019 at 3:39 pm. 2 Comments :

The competition for rank hypocrisy in American politics has rarely been as one-sided as it has been since the advent of Donald Trump. He and his Republican Nationalist Party have dominated the field with brazenly dishonest rhetoric that stretches the outward boundaries of Olympic-grade duplicity and deceit.

Fox News Trump

Trump is the most shameless purveyor of pretense this country has ever seen. He says that he supports access to health care for every American while he’s cutting services and sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. He says that he’s for the environment while slashing regulations and dismantling the EPA. He ways that no one is a stronger advocate for women while he nominates judges who have sworn to decimate their civil and human rights. There are many more examples of Trump’s perfidy and that of the party that has devolved into little more than his blindly devoted pep squad.

One of the worst offenders is Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas. He recently sought to criticize Sen. Elizabeth Warren for her honorable decision to shun a Fox News invitation to do a town hall. She correctly called the network a “hate-for-profit racket,” which is an apt description for an alleged “news” enterprise that exists only to malign Democrats and liberals. Crenshaw was obviously upset with Warren’s brave and well -articulated position, so he tweeted smugly:

First of all, someone needs to help Crenshaw with his math. On its best night Fox News gets only about three million viewers. That’s less than one percent of America. So Crenshaw was only off by forty-nine percent. What’s more, Warren wasn’t showing any contempt for those viewers at all. She was showing well-deserved contempt for Fox News itself, where “racism and hate” are projected on a 24/7 basis.

Where Crenshaw’s hypocrisy tips the scale though is with his complaint about “labeling and insults.” Has he been in a coma for the past two years? The leader of his party has spent most of his term in office insulting his opponents and critics in the most childish manner imaginable. His infantile nicknames and vulgar put-downs have become the hallmark of his character (or rather, lack thereof). Hasn’t Crenshaw heard Trump’s cholicky whining about “Crooked” Hillary or “Crazy” Bernie or “Low IQ” Maxine Waters? Not to mention the profane slurs directed at Sen. “The Dick” Blumenthal or House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam “Schitt.”

Of course Trump’s State TV operation (aka Fox News) is just as bad. They routinely lash out at Democrats with similarly disparaging comments. If you watch Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham or Tucker Carlson, you’ll have noticed that they rarely mention any Democrat’s name without appending an insulting preface to it. They usually resort to various versions of “liar, creepy, disgusting, traitorous,” or “idiot.”

So if Crenshaw had any shred of integrity he would renounce both Trump and Fox News for their boorish behavior that he correctly believes is “a cheap attempt to undermine ideas.” But don’t hold your breath. Crenshaw isn’t the least bit interested in decency or fairness. If he were he wouldn’t have gotten literally everything wrong in that impudent tweet. But he can rest assured that he has a bright future with either the Republican Party or Fox News. He could even be the next Jeanine Pirro:

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


Wannabe Dictator Trump Thinks He Decides Which Congressional Investigations are ‘Authorized’

Posted by on May 15, 2019 at 3:06 pm. 4 Comments :

Considering Donald Trump’s embarrassing ignorance of the Constitution, it’s not surprising that he is now advancing a position that flagrantly breaches one of the foundational principles in the document. Trump’s White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, sent a letter to Jerry Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, that totally obliterates the notion of co-equal branches of government.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

Rep. Nadler had previously sent requests to eighty-one individuals and entities for documents pertaining to his committee’s investigation “into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration.” These are serious matters that factor into the President’s ability and legitimacy to govern. And they are squarely within the jurisdiction of Congress to investigate. Which makes the response by Cipollone all the more peculiar. He wrote that:

“The White House will not participate in the Committee’s ‘investigation’ that brushes aside the conclusions of the Department of Justice. […] Congressional investigations are intended to obtain information to aid in evaluating potential legislation, not to harass political opponents or to pursue an unauthorized ‘do-over’ of exhaustive law enforcement investigations conducted by the Department of Justice.”

First of all, the Committee did not “brush aside the conclusions of the Department of Justice.” Rather, it sought to complete a process that had not come to any conclusions. In fact, the report by special counsel Robert Mueller for the Justice Department, explicitly left it up to Congress to pursue any further investigation. And the White House is not empowered to declare that investigations by Congress that they don’t like are “unauthorized.”

But Cipollone went even further than that. In his refusal to cooperate with the Committee, he asserted that:

“…it is not the Committee’s legislative function to conduct a detailed inquiry into a particular event or series of events in order to construct a precise picture of the facts.”

Really? That’s a twisted interpretation of what are permissible congressional investigations. Congress has always had the responsibility of conducting oversight of the executive branch in order to maintain the lawful exercise of governing authority. If Cipollone’s argument were operative there could have been no investigations into Watergate or 9/11. The Republican chaired hearings on Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s emails would have been improper. Even the new hearings called for by GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham into the origins of the Trump/Russia probe would be beyond the jurisdiction of Congress.

But what’s really troubling about this is the White House position that they have the power to dictate the authorities of Congress. Trump thinks that he can simply declare that Congress isn’t allowed to investigate him, and then decline to cooperate in the investigation. That’s not how the Constitution defines the roles of these bodies and the separation of powers. But it is how tyrants seek to impose their will in countries that reject freedom and democratic rule of, by, and for the people.

So naturally Trump is trying to assume the mantle of the tyrant and force Congress – and the nation – to submit to his will. Hopefully Congress and the courts will not allow him to get away with subverting American democracy with his aspirations for a monarchal reign of terror.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.