Censorship

Trump is Busy Doing the People’s Work: Pushing for Plastic Straws and Firing Journalists?

Posted by on February 7, 2025 at 1:04 pm. 4 Comments :

It’s good to know that Donald Trump isn’t just playing golf, proposing hostile takeovers of U.S. allies (Canada, Mexico, Greenland, etc.), nominating unqualified and anti-American Cabinet secretaries, terminating career prosecutors and FBI agents, and masterminding fascist coups of government agencies in order to sabotage their work.

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Donald Trump, Constitution

Trump is also steadfastly applying himself to his obligations as president to achieve the goals of the American people that he has pledged to serve. The citizens of this nation should be comforted knowing that they have a leader who is spending his time on critical initiatives like policing who uses which bathrooms, flooding California farmlands, and pitching cheesy merchandise and self-exalting books…

SEE THIS: Trump Wants to Run America Like his Businesses – Trump Media and Crypto – That are Crashing

On Friday morning Trump added to his list of priorities a couple of long-festering problems that have been in dire need of solutions. He posted his intentions on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, to let everyone know just how focused he is on America’s most urgent issues.

Trump’s first message made plain his determination to resolve a matter that surely takes precedence over immigration, school shootings, drug trafficking, homelessness, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, climate change, and the high price of eggs and gas. Trump wrote that…

“I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws, which don’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!”

Thank God! We absatively have to drop everything else and ban those horrible paper straws and return to the plastic variety that are known for “releasing chemicals into the soil, air, and water that are harmful to animals, plants, people, and the environment.” Why hasn’t anyone sought to do this before?

Trump’s next message sought to further his long battle against the free press that he refers to in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” He wrote that…

“Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post is INCOMPETENT! So sad to see him trying to justify the waste, fraud, and corruption at USAID with his pathetic Radical Left SPIN. He should be fired immediately!!!”

It’s about time that the U.S. government clamp down on wayward reporters who have the audacity to exercise their rights under the Constitution’s First Amendment. Especially Pulitzer Prize-winning columnists like Robinson. And leave it Trump, who regularly castigates the press and calls for censorship by the government, to lash out at a journalist and demand that he be fired.

It’s unclear what Trump was specifically referring to in his harangue. However, it is likely that he watched Robinson on MSNBC offering well-deserved criticism of Trump’s assault on the USAID program that “is the principal U.S. agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms.” How dare they?

What probably triggered Trump was Robinson speculating that Trump and Musk were using USAID “as kind of a demonstration project, just to see how we can destroy an agency and demoralize the rest of the federal workforce.” Which would perfectly align with the behavior of the MAGA boys and their orchestrated coup.

UPDATE: Trump added another comment announcing that he is appointing himself as the chair of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, and terminating the current chair and “multiple individuals” from the Board. Why? Because he has nothing better to do (Elon’s running everything), and what the Center has been missing is a clod who has no relationship with modern culture? So look for future inductees like Kid Rock, Scott Baio, Roseanne Barr, and even Ivanka.

Sadly, there will be more of this sort of bullshittery to come, until they can be stopped by an uprising of protest among the masses, the Democrats in Congress, and the courts.

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Trump Kicks Reporters Out of Pentagon Offices, Replaces Them with MAGA Media Mouthpieces

Posted by on February 1, 2025 at 11:49 am. NO Comments :

One thing you can say about Donald Trump is that he is working furiously to assure his place in American history as the nation’s first tyrannical despot. No American leader has ever been more hostile to the U.S. Constitution and its democratic principles, or more determined to destroy it.

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Donald Trump

Trump spends most of his time disparaging American institutions and the patriots who serve them. He despises the justice system, the military, free enterprise, academia, science, and even unbiased practices of faith. But perhaps the liberties that he is most averse to are those specifically cited in the First Amendment that protect freedom of the press. He is laser focused on turning the whole of government into a propaganda factory to attack his foes and exalt himself.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Press Secretary Pledges to Plant Pro-Trump Crackpots in the White House Press Room

On Friday Trump issued a new decree to banish several media organizations from offices that they have occupied in the Pentagon for decades. The Department of Defense provided the office space to facilitate access for journalists to the stewards of the nation’s military. However, the message sent by Trump’s DoD is an unmistakable threat to press freedom, and an embrace of shameless propaganda. NBC News, one of the news outlets ousted reports that…

“NBC News, The New York Times, NPR and Politico must vacate their office spaces in two weeks for other news organizations — including at least one that did not request to be added.”

[And that…]

“The new outlets rotating in are One America News Network — which will take NBC News’s spot — the New York Post, Breitbart News Network and HuffPost.”

Needless to say, the Trump-fluffing One America News, Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post, and MAGA’s own Breitbart News, are not exactly paragons of journalistic integrity. But that’s who is moving into the office space previously reserved for more mainstream media sources that, even with their own imperfect records, are at least not brazenly sycophantic toadies who exist only to kiss Trump’s…let’s say ring. The NBC report added that the Pentagon…

“…did not include further details about the process of the new ‘rotation program,’ including how officials chose which outlets needed to vacate office space first, how the new outlets were chosen and which are next.”

Based on the disreputable outlets that are moving in, we hardly need much elaboration as to how they were chosen. And this is one of the first command decisions of Trump’s new Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, whose confirmation squeaked by in the Senate, despite his history of abusing women and alcohol, and his woeful lack of relevant experience.

This assault on freedom of the press is consistent with Trump’s long held belief that the media is “the enemy of people.” However, it is not the only assault he has made targeting a variety of American liberties. In the short time since he has reoccupied the White House, Trump has…

And this is only the beginning. He is dead set on transforming America into the sort of totalitarian dystopia that his heroes – Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, etc. – are lording over. But he isn’t going to have a clear path to his dictatorial dreams. The American people are not going to sit still while he dismantles democracy. And they already have a decidedly negative opinion him…

MORE HERE: Trump 2.0 Begins with Approval Ratings that Rank Below Every Other President Dating Back to 1953

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Tyrant Trump Decrees that it is Verboten for Government to Call Out Mis- and Disinformation

Posted by on January 23, 2025 at 1:30 pm. 1 Comments :

For as long as Donald Trump has been a political figure, he has expressed his animosity toward the free press, regularly referring to it in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” Despite his dependence on the media to disseminate his lies and propaganda, he can’t seem to refrain from lambasting journalists and news organizations in the most vile manner.

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Donald Trump, Constitution

Among the most disconcerting prospects of the new Trump administration is his intention to clamp down on the media and impose the sort censorship that is explicitly prohibited by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It’s a core principle of his authoritarian aspirations. During his campaign he made his intentions known in a commentary calling for the revocation of broadcast licenses for all TV news networks. No, really…

SEE THIS: Tyrant Trump Demands ALL TV News Licenses Be Revoked

On Thursday Trump spoke to the global elites gathered at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. And nestled into a long and rambling speech filled with his hallmark lies, threats, and self-exaltations, was a hidden gem of despotic dreamers everywhere. He bragged about his executive order banning misinformation and disinformation as subjects that could not be discussed by government. In other words, he could now spew all the blatantly false propaganda he wants and no person in any official capacity would be permitted to criticize it for being mis- or disinformation, even though that’s exactly what it is.

“I’m pleased to report that America is also a free nation once again. On day one, I signed an executive order to stop all government censorship. No longer will our government label the speech of our own citizens as misinformation or disinformation, which are the favorite words of censors and those who wish to stop the free exchange of ideas.”

Apparently Trump’s idea of a “free nation” is one that allows him to lie with impunity, while prohibiting any speech that he doesn’t like. Furthermore, in Trump’s Orwellian speak, accurately identifying something as disinformation is itself censorship and must be…well…censored. And you’ll never guess who Trump thinks is one of the main the offenders of his censorial edict. Just one day prior to his diatribe at Davos, Trump whined on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, that CNN and MSNBC should be barred from the air…

WHAT 1st AMENDMENT?Wannabe dictator Trump posts comment whining that CNN and MSNBC "shouldn't even have a right to broadcast."

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-01-23T09:54:37.215Z

And that wasn’t the only time. Nearly a year ago he wailed that…

SEE ALSO: THEY’RE EVIL! Wannabe Dictator Trump Says MSNBC ‘Shouldn’t Even Be Allowed’ to Be On the Air

In addition to Trump’s remarks at Davos, he also announced that he will be appointing L. Brent Bozell III to run the United States Agency for Global Media. Among other things, the USAGM oversees Voice of America, for which Trump has named failed MAGA governor and senator candidate, Kari Lake, as its new director. Bozell is the far-right extremist who ran the pure propaganda purveyor, Media Research Center. His son is a convicted felon who was sentenced to nearly four years for his role in the January 6th insurrection, for which he was just pardoned by Trump.

All of this is consistent with Trump’s mission to kneecap the press and turn its hobbled remains into an outlet for MAGA lies and propaganda. And in the early days of Trump 2.0 the media has not demonstrated much courage in resisting Trump’s bullying tactics.

So it will up to patriotic citizens to make their views known and to influence the cowardly elements in the media to do their damn jobs and report honestly about the nefarious acts being proposed and carried out by the felonious occupant of the White House.

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REALLY? Trump Proposes Allowing the US Government (and China?) to ‘Police’ Americans on TikTok

Posted by on January 21, 2025 at 2:11 pm. NO Comments :

On Monday, January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th president of the United States of America. It was a day that will live in infamy because he’s also the first convicted felon and adjudicated rapist to occupy the White House.

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Fox News, Maria Bartiromo, Donald Trump

Trump lived up to his criminal inclinations by issuing a tsunami of execrable executive orders, including one that granted pardons to the more than 1,500 January 6th insurrections who stormed the Capitol, assaulted police officers, and threatened members of Congress, in order to help Trump undermine democracy. His inauguration address, and subsequent speech to his cult followers, were testimony to his tyrannical aspirations, and were riddled with lies.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Inauguration Day Rants Affirm that He is a Wannabe Dictator and a Pathological Liar

Further evidence of Trump’s anti-American leanings were revealed during his executive disorder signing ceremony in the Oval Office. There were innumerable comments that exposed his malice and ignorance. But when he was presented with the order to delay the banning of TikTok – as required by law – he volunteered a statement that confirms his aversion to the Constitution…

Passed in Congress, it gives the president the right to make a deal or to close it. And we have 90 days to make that decision. But I could see making a deal where the U.S. gets 50% of TikTok. Polices it a little bit, or a lot. Depends on them.

There’s a lot of derp to unravel in that drivel. Let’s start with the fact that the law does not “give the president the right to make a deal or to close it.” The law requires that TikTok be sold or blocked from U.S. users. There is a 90 period within which a challenge may be filed, but that’s a legal challenge, not the prerogative of the president.

Furthermore, there is nothing in the law that allows the U.S. government to own 50% of the social media app. That would be blatantly improper and illegal. This was previously spelled out when Trump first floated his proposal for “saving” TikTok from the evil American “communists” who seek to prohibit the app run by “friendly” Chinese communists….

Trump seems to think that the U.S. government can be a business partner with a Chinese social media company that is suspected of improperly utilizing data collected from American users. That is wrong on many levels. First of all, it puts the U.S. in the position of collaborating with China to “spy” on American citizens. Secondly, it makes the U.S. government a profit partner in an otherwise private business. And thirdly, it violates the First Amendment by putting the U.S. government in a position to moderate (i.e. approve and/or censor) the speech of U.S. citizens.

The last item in that analysis has now been affirmed by Trump who says that it would be okay if his unlawful joint venture with China “Polices it a little bit, or a lot.” That could not be a more flagrant breach of the First Amendment. It puts the U.S. government in the position of censoring free speech. Even worse, it could also give China the same power over the speech of Americans. But Trump wasn’t through parading his recklessness and ignorance. He also said that…

“I may not do the deal or I may do the deal. TikTok is worthless. Worthless, if I don’t approve it. […] If I do the deal it’s worth maybe a trillion dollars. […] If I do the deal for the United States, then I think we should get half.”

True to form, Trump is making up preposterous numbers to validate his delusional thinking. For one thing, TikTok has value that transcends its U.S. user base. In fact, TikTok has about a billion users worldwide. About 170 million of them (17%) are in the U.S. So while the loss of that audience would be significant, TikTok would still have 83% of its current users.

Also, what the heck does Trump mean by “we should get half.” Who is “we”? What part of the U.S. government would the ownership of TikTok fall into? Would it be run by the White House? The Treasury Department? The Agency for Global Media that oversees the Voice of America? Who knows? And Trump doesn’t say. Also, where does the money go?

These are just some of the questions raised by Trump’s nonsensical meanderings. And finally, it’s notable that Trump’s current support for TikTok is a flagrant flip-flop from his prior position…

As Trump tries to take credit for "saving" TikTok, remember he was the instigator of the ban & bragged about it 2 years ago. The bill he advocated was introduced by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX). Democrats opposed it."Right about everything"? More like right-wing about everything.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-01-19T21:06:04.990Z

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Trump’s Free Press? His FBI Flunky Kash Patel Threatens to ‘Come After the People in the Media’

Posted by on December 1, 2024 at 12:54 pm. 1 Comments :

It is becoming more apparent every day that Donald Trump has abandoned any pretense of presidential leadership or responsible governing, He is now fully committed to a juvenile campaign of trolling his perceived enemies, “owning the libs,” and exacting retribution for wrongs he believes he has suffered.

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Donald Trump, Constitution

What else could explain the collection of crackpots that Trump has nominated to positions of considerable power in his emerging administration? It is no wonder that Trump is refusing to allow his nominees to undergo FBI background checks. So far the weirdo roster includes a brain-wormed, anti-vax, conspiracy theorist, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, to run the Department of Health and Human Services, a blatantly unqualified, sexual deviant, Pete Hegseth, as Defense Secretary, and an alleged pedophile with no legal experience, Matt Gaetz, (who has already been dropped for being even too ridiculous for the MAGA-philes) for Attorney General? The only apparent prerequisite for a job in Trump’s White House is unflinching adoration for Trump and an apprenticeship at Fox News.

SEE THIS: Trump is Stacking His Cabinet with Fox News Trump-Fluffers

However, Trump may have outdone himself with his latest proposed nominee. He is putting the name of Kash Patel up to be the Director of the FBI. As usual, Patel has little to no experience for the job he is being tasked to preform. What he has is an extraordinarily brown nose and a record of performing any evil or illegal stunt that Trump asks of him. That includes being a relentless election denier, covering up Trump’s theft of classified documents, and being an accomplice in Trump’s attempts to stage a violent coup on January 6, 2021.

There are a multitude of examples of Patel’s manifest unsuitability to serve in the upper echelon of federal legal affairs. But one particular example stands out. During an appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room, Patel spoke about what he would do if put in a position of power. And it had nothing to do with fighting crime or making the nation safer. He ranted that…

“We’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out. But, yeah, we’re putting you all on notice. And this is why they hate us. This is why we’re tyrannical. This is why we’re dictators.”

Yes, indeed. That IS why they are tyrannical dictators. Patel’s first priority is to persecute the free press that accurately reported on Trump’s serial criminal activities. This would be an implementation of Trump’s visceral hatred of the free press that he calls “the enemy of the people.” He has already sought to suppress the media by filing innumerable, meritless lawsuits against a variety of news organizations. He has even threatened to revoke the licenses of the networks. Licenses that, by the way, do not exist, so therefore, cannot be revoked. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t do damage in other petulant ways.

In addition to his assaults on the media, Trump intends to retaliate against honorable officers and prosecutors who brought January 6th insurrectionists to justice. He is focused intently on inventing crimes related to Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was “rigged.” And he will seek to legally terrorize upstanding FBI operatives who recovered the stolen classified materials that Trump lied about hoarding at his Mar-a-Lago home/hotel.

Trump posted his announcement about Patel on his failing Twitter ripoff, Truth Social, saying that…

“I am proud to announce that Kashyap ‘Kash’ Patel will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. […] He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax.”

First of all, Trump cannot unilaterally announce that Patel “will serve as the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” Only that he is being nominated. The Senate must confirm the nomination before Patel can assume the post. And due to the highly controversial nature of this nomination, there is some doubt as to whether the narrowly divided Senate will provide their consent.

Secondly, Trump’s announcement explicitly cites one of the best reasons to block Patel’s confirmation. The role he played in trying to hide Trump’s unsavory and well documented associations with Russian officials and operatives was arguably as treasonous as Trump’s own actions. There was no “hoax” with regard to Trump and Russia. And Patel didn’t uncover any wrongdoing. He participated in it.

The opposition to Patel’s nomination isn’t coming solely from Democrats. Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said that “The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0.” And Trump’s Attorney General Bill Barr wrote in his book that he “categorically opposed making Patel deputy FBI director,” telling Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows that it would happen “over my dead body. Someone with no background as an agent would never be able to command the respect necessary to run the day-to-day operations of the bureau.”

It is also notable that for Patel to assume the directorship of the FBI, the current Director, Christopher Wray, would have to resign or be fired by Trump. Wray, by the way, was appointed by Trump in 2017, after he fired James Comey for not sufficiently sucking up. A shortcoming that Wray may soon be punished for by Trump.

The unmistakable path toward tyranny that Trump is traveling should alarm every American who cherishes the principles this nation was founded on. His flagrant efforts to silence the media is his way of insuring that he gets away with his authoritarian takeover. But with the Patel nomination, he may be overreaching. And that could give a couple of Republicans in the Senate the courage to stand up to him and for democracy. And that’s all it would take to sink the nomination of Patel.

Ironically, Trump’s overreach may actually stiffen the spines of Republican senators after they get a taste of independence by rejecting Gaetz and possibly Patel. They may just have the integrity to also ditch Kennedy, Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, and some of the other more reprehensible nominees. That may be a lot to hope for, but if we the people make our voices loud enough, they might actually hear us and do the right thing.

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UH-OH! News Corpse Has Been Suspended on Daily Kos

Posted by on October 11, 2024 at 11:47 am. 27 Comments :

I would like to apologize in advance for this totally self-serving note, but I thought some of my readers might like to know.

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Twitter Bird Censorship

Daily Kos has suspended my account because they said my headline was “hyperbolic” and inaccurate. For that they have suspended me for 2 weeks during the most important final days of the presidential election.

This is so frustrating, because they don’t provide any way to appeal or explain their action. So I’m just immediately muzzled, despite my many years as a good faith contributor to the site. The headline on the article in question, and the change made by the site admin, is…

Mine: TYRANT TRUMP Demands that ALL Network TV Licenses Be Revoked and that He Be Declared President
Admin: Trump calls for network broadcast licenses to be revoked and for Democrats to concede election

I suppose the part that they object to is that I said Trump would be declared president. But it’s not much of a distinction from demanding that Harris concede. What would then be the result, other than Trump being de facto declared the winner?

I don’t know why they couldn’t just ask for the change and allow me to continue posting. Also, I am now under a threat of being permanently banned. And I can’t even post any article on the site to inform others there that this occurred. Maybe someone else will.

In the meantime, I hope you all continue to enjoy and benefit from my work to advance progressive causes and candidates, and revealing the dishonesty of right-wing media. And now, on to elect Kamala Harris and every other Democrat running this year.

UPDATE: A Daily Kos member named Shockwave has posted an article about my suspension. It is getting some great comments that are supportive and for which I am grateful. And there’s also a poll with over 5,700 votes where 85% oppose the suspension. Thanks to all.

FOR THE RECORD: This is the third time that Daily Kos has suspended my account. Each of the other times seemed unwarranted to me and were disputed, but no re-consideration was given. They were…

FIRST: An article titled “Trump Posts Video Confirming that He Illegally Bought a Gun that His Campaign Denies He Bought”
Daily Kos asserted that the headline was inaccurate because Trump didn’t actually buy the gun. However, Trump actually did post a video on his Truth Social site that said that he bought the gun. I didn’t say he bought it. The video he posted said that. And that’s what my headline said. So it was totally accurate. But even if they still had a problem with the headline, they could have just asked for it to be changed. Instead. they just suspended my account without consultation or opportunity to appeal.

SECOND: An article titled “Trump’s Truth Social Reports Massive Losses and Warns that it Could Go Out of Business”
Daily Kos pointed out that part of the information in the article was incorrect. That’s because my source, the Hollywood Reporter, modified its article several hours after it was originally published. My reference to it was correct at the time that I read it. So Daily Kos was punishing me for quoting verbatim from a reputable news source that I corroborated from additional sources (NBC News, Forbes), who all reported the same thing. And the change didn’t even affect the substance of the story, just the amount of the loss, which was still huge. They could have alerted me to the update and asked for an edit. but once again, they just suspended my account without consultation or opportunity to appeal.

This latest matter, along with those from the past, are unfortunate incidents that I believe stem from overly sensitive moderators who refuse to consider rational appeals. Consequently, there is nothing that authors on their website can do about it. So now I’m facing a potential permanent ban based on three incidents that should not have been considered violations in the first place. Which raises the question of whether to bother continuing to post there. In the end, it’s the community that makes Daily Kos worthwhile, and if I stay, that will be why.

Trump Threatens CBS Over Kamala Harris Interview on 60 Minutes He Says Was ‘Possibly Illegal’

Posted by on October 9, 2024 at 1:19 pm. 4 Comments :

Donald Trump has spent the past nine years castigating the media in the most vile terms. He regularly insults journalists as “stupid,” “lying,” “corrupt,” and biased against him, simply because they report the things he actually does and says. He maligns them with the same language that Stalin used, calling them “the enemy of the people.”

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Donald Trump, Constitution

Trump’s fear and fury at the press is a core feature of his perverse persona. He labels any reporting that isn’t sufficiently worshipful “fake news.” Even his official Ministry of Propaganda (aka Fox News) isn’t safe from his seething animosity. And his anger extends far beyond mere insults and tantrums. He often issues impotent threats if a news network has the audacity to engage in responsible journalism. For example…

SEE THIS: Wannabe Dictator Trump Threatens to Revoke ABC News Broadcast License in Fox News Interview

On Wednesday morning Trump was so bothered by a recent media event that he unleashed a rambling and rancid rant on his failing social media scam, Truth Social. The object of his outrage was the 60 Minutes interview of Vice-President Kamala Harris on Monday. Trump had agreed to participate at first, but later chickened out because he objected to their insistence on {gasp} fact-checking. And now, after the fact, Trump is lashing out with another lame and utterly preposterous threat. He raged that…

“I’ve never seen this before, but the producers of 60 Minutes sliced and diced (‘cut and pasted’) Lyin’ Kamala’s answers to questions, which were virtually incoherent, over and over again, some by as many as four times in a single sentence or thought, all in an effort, possibly illegal as part of the ‘News Division,’ which must be licensed, to make her look ‘more Presidential,’ or a least, better. It may also be a major Campaign Finance Violation.”

What Trump is whining about is that 60 Minutes edited the Harris interview, something that is done routinely in television journalism for legitimate reasons, including time constraints, clarity, and relevance. Trump’s assertion that some answers were edited “four times in a single sentence” is downright bonkers. And there is no indication whatsoever that Harris’ answers were altered to effect some political advantage. Trump’s complaint doesn’t even make sense, because he’s accusing CBS of edits that resulted in the answers being “virtually incoherent.” How would that help Harris?

Most troubling is Trump’s charge that the 60 Minutes interview was in some way “illegal.” As usual, Trump doesn’t provide any evidence of a crime, nor any statute that has been violated. He simply believes that if it bothers him it must be against the law. So he latches onto the fact that TV stations (not network “news divisions”) must be licensed to use the public airwaves. Which is his way of threatening CBS with the revocation of its license if they do not comply with his tyrannical demands.

This threat is consistent with Trump’s abhorrence of the free press. And it’s also consistent with his flaming hypocrisy. He has never complained that Fox News regularly (albeit futilely) edits his interviews to make him look better. He has never accused Newsmax of campaign finance violations for their slobbering sycophancy. And he doesn’t seem to object to the constant “sane-washing“ of his demented speeches by the rest of the so-called “mainstream” media. Which leads us to the rest of his Truth(less) (anti)Social comment…

“This is a stain on the reputation of 60 Minutes that is not recoverable – It will always remain with this once storied brand. I have never heard of such a thing being done in ‘News.’ It is the very definition of FAKE NEWS! The public is owed a MAJOR AND IMMEDIATE APOLOGY! This is an open and shut case, and must be investigated, starting today!”

The public is indeed owed an apology – from Trump. His hostility toward the press is another example of his imminent threat to democracy. And his attempts to intimidate the media are antithetical to the Constitution that he has said he would “terminate.”

If this is “an open and shut case,” why is Trump yammering about it on his website that no one but his glassy-eyed cult followers read, rather than filing a complaint with the FCC or the Justice Department? Maybe because even he knows that he’s full of **it.

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Herr Trump Threatens to Prosecute Google for Showing Stories that Hurt His Tender Feelings

Posted by on September 28, 2024 at 1:16 pm. NO Comments :

Nothing sets an aspiring authoritarian’s heart aflutter more than the prospect of silencing the voices of malcontents who dare to criticize them. It’s the reason that tyrants take such pleasure in seeing their foes fall out of windows and in muzzling the free press.

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Donald Trump Pacifier Fox

America’s most prominent wannabe dictator, Donald Trump, is no exception to this. For years he has embraced the Stalinist slogan lambasting the media as “the enemy of the people.” And he hasn’t been shy about hurling vicious insults at journalists and news organizations. Even Fox News isn’t safe from Trump’s wrath…

SEE THIS: Crybaby Trump Unleashes a Flaming Freak Out Vilifying Fox News for Not Censoring his Foes

Trump’s relentless assault on media includes digital media as well. On Friday he lashed out on his own floundering social media scam, Truth Social, to unburden himself of the overheated hostility that he harbors for the press. This time his rage was directed at Google, who he alleges is steeped in bias against him. Trump ranted that…

“It has been determined that Google has illegally used a system of only revealing and displaying bad stories about Donald J. Trump, some made up for this purpose while, at the same time, only revealing good stories about Comrade Kamala Harris. This is an ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, and hopefully the Justice Department will criminally prosecute them for this blatant Interference of Elections. If not, and subject to the Laws of our Country, I will request their prosecution, at the maximum levels, when I win the Election, and become President of the United States!”

There is so much wrong with that outburst that it requires a little further exploration. To begin with, Trump says that some undefined illegality “has been determined” in Google’s practices. The obvious question is: determined by whom? Sean Hannity? Rudy Giuliani? Melania’s hairdresser? The ghost of Rush Limbaugh? Or some other disembodied voices in his head?

Secondly, what law does Trump imagine has been violated? Was it Section 666 of the U.S Penal Code prohibiting felonious meanness aimed at hypersensitive narcissists?

Third, Trump’s allegation that Google is “only revealing and displaying bad stories” about him is unsupported by any factual data. It isn’t even supported by any fabricated data. It’s just Trump whining about it to his cult followers on his own website that only reveals and displays slobbering adorations of him. Most of which are “made up for this purpose.”

Meanwhile, Trump is outraged by what he claims are good stories about Kamala Harris. So in effect, he’s complaining that Harris is doing too many things that generate positive press. What a devious plot by her. However, if Trump really wants to see fewer bad stories about himself, he might want to consider doing fewer bad things. For starters, he could cut back on his lying, and racism, and infantile insults, and intentional divisiveness, and sucking up to foreign dictators, and impugning America as a failed, third world country.

Finally, Trump expresses his hope that “the Justice Department will criminally prosecute” Google. And he issues a direct threat that, if elected, he will “request their prosecution, at the maximum levels.” Which would violate the ethical principles that separate the presidency from the Justice Department. And still Trump doesn’t say on what grounds he would prosecute. Not that it matters to him.

The only thing that Trump is interested in is securing unwaveringly worshipful celebrations of his messianic perfection. And if the media doesn’t comply, then he will see to it that they are harshly punished. And somehow that manifestation of totalitarian oppression remains appealing to some glassy-eyed segment of the American public, and pretty much all of the MAGA-tized Republican Party.

Which makes it all the more imperative that Democrats prevail at the polls in November at every level, from the presidency to the sanitation department. Which, ironically, would be an appropriate career path for Trump to traverse.

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Trump Incites an Attack on the Press at His Cult Rally, Then Celebrates that ‘He’s On Our Side’

Posted by on August 31, 2024 at 12:33 pm. 1 Comments :

There is a unique atmosphere that pervades the campaign rallies staged by Donald Trump. They reek more of conventions of brainwashed cult crackpots than anything resembling a political event. Trump mesmerizes his glassy-eyed audience of indoctrinated disciples with endlessly repetitive tirades filled with flagrant lies and messianic self-exaltations.

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Trump Charlotsville

Among the standard features on Trump’s playlist are hostile harangues aimed at the media that he assails in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” His seething animosity toward the press is purposefully included in every speech in order to keep his devotees in a constant state of outrage at what he tells them are “fake” and/or “corrupt” reporters who mean to do him harm. Although he does have his exceptions…

SEE THIS: Trump Thanks White Nationalist as a ‘Great Journalist’ for His Sexist Attack on Kamala Harris

On Friday Trump spoke at another one of his traveling salvation shows. It was typical in most respects with warmed over talking points and pre-chewed propaganda. But there was an episode that erupted that deserves special attention. Not because it was unusual or unpredictable, but because, in fact, it was neither. As reported by the Associated Press…

“A man at Donald Trump’s rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, stormed into the press area as the former president spoke and was surrounded by police and sheriff’s deputies before eventually being subdued with a Taser. The incident Friday came moments after Trump had criticized major media outlets for what he said was unfavorable coverage and dismissed CNN as fawning for its interview Thursday with his Democratic rival Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.”

[NOTE: The AP article was edited after this post was published. It added that “It was not immediately clear what motivated the man or whether he was a Trump supporter or critic.” And it included a reply from the Trump campaign saying that the campaign “tried to distance the former president from the man and his actions, suggesting he was a Trump opponent.” This article has been edited to reflect this new info.]

There is still more to learn about what happened at the rally. But what is known is that Trump has a deep hatred for the press and that he spreads that to his followers. Trump’s deliberately provocative rhetoric has incited violence on other occasions. Most notably the deadly insurrection and attempted coup at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

While the actual motive is still unclear, it is interesting that the alleged attack took place as Trump was lambasting the media for what he believes is biased coverage. Which by his definition is any coverage that isn’t unflinchingly adoring of him and grossly derisive of his foes. Trump believes that the press should model their reporting after his own analyses of political news. Such as his coverage of the Kamala Harris interview on CNN, that Trump deemed “BORING!!!”…

Also notable was what was going on as the alleged attack on the media was in progress. Trump interrupted his speech to draw attention to the alleged assault. But he wasn’t disturbed by the apparent violence or concerned about the possible victims. Nope. He literally celebrated the disturbance saying “Is there anywhere that’s more fun to be than a Trump rally?” And he appeared to stand up for the perpetrator by informing the bloodthirsty crowd that “That’s Okay. No, he’s on our side.” Why he thought that is unexplained.

So there you have it. Even if this cretin wasn’t a Trump supporter, Trump seems to be cool with thugs threatening the press, as long as they are his thugs. He is fine with intimidating the media as a means of physically enforced censorship. And his flock of feebles will fall in line, as good cult members do.

Regardless of what motivated the alleged attacker, Trump’s apparent support could embolden others to commit similar crimes. And it is likely to be repeated in November after Trump loses the election. Hopefully law enforcement will be prepared to respond appropriately should that occur. And if it does, the leader must held responsible along with his goon squads.

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Herr Trump Decrees: If Media Doesn’t Air My Speeches They Should Have Their Licenses Revoked

Posted by on January 17, 2024 at 1:39 pm. 6 Comments :

It has long been established that Donald Trump has unwavering and unabashed aspirations of authoritarianism. He frequently expresses those ambitions himself in remarks that are reminiscent of his heroes such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, and other notorious tyrants and dictators. It’s a club that Trump very much yearns to be a member of.

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Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

On Monday night, Trump delivered a speech in Iowa congratulating himself on his victory in the Republican presidential primary caucus there. The speech was mostly a rehashing of the same tedious talking points that he disgorges at his cult rallies and posts on his failing social media scam, Truth Social. And true to form, Trump used the opportunity of the post-caucus address to whine about what a sorry and pathetic victim he is.

When he isn’t lying about the 2020 election being “rigged and stolen” from him, he is raging about the multitude of civil and criminal charges that he is facing. He barely had time to brag about the weakness of his predictable triumph over Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.

SEE THIS: Trump’s Pyrrhic Victory in Iowa Forecasts His Next Defeat When He Faces Joe Biden in November

What Trump did have time to do was to reiterate his contempt for democracy and the Constitution. In his remarks he made a point of expressing his disdain for the First Amendment’s protection of the freedom of the press…

“Last night, it was amazing. NBC and CNN refused to air my victory speech – think of it – because they are crooked, they’re dishonest and, frankly, they should have their licenses or whatever they have taken away.”

Of course, Trump would have no legal authority to shut down any news organization. Not that he cares about or respects the law. And for the record, NBC and CNN both aired a portion of Trump’s speech before cutting away when it was clear that he was just spewing nonsense and devolving into incoherent babbling. But there was a better reason to cut him off, which was explained by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who said that “His remarks will not air here live,” and then elaborated saying that…

“There is a reason that we, and other news platforms, have generally stopped giving an unfiltered live platform to former president Trump. It is not out of spite. It is not a decision that we relish. It is a decision that we regularly revisit. And honestly, earnestly, it is not an easy decision. But there is a cost to us as a news organization of knowingly broadcasting untrue things.

Exactly! The press has an obligation to insure that the truth is paramount in their reporting. When someone is known to lie profusely whenever they speak, that person’s remarks can be recorded and played later with the proper context and fact-checking. It’s what responsible journalists do.

However, in Trump’s twisted mind, any editing of his divinely inspired insights is tantamount to treason. He has actually said so in those precise terms. And if given the opportunity, he will make the traitors pay. Never mind the Constitution. Trump has repeatedly vowed to punish any and all media that is critical of him. For instance…

Trump Threatens to ‘Come Down Hard on’ MSNBC and ‘Make Them Pay’ for Daring to Criticize Him
Nov 28, 2023: “MSNBC (MSDNC) uses FREE government approved airwaves, and yet it is nothing but a 24 hour hit job on Donald J. Trump and the Republican Party for purposes of ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Brian Roberts, its Chairman and CEO, is a slimeball who has been able to get away with these constant attacks for years. It is the world’s biggest political contribution to the Radical Left Democrats who, by the way, are destroying our Country. Our so-called ‘government’ should come down hard on them and make them pay for their illegal political activity. Much more to come, watch!”

First of all, MSNBC does not use “FREE government approved airwaves.” Cable programming is delivered on private distribution networks. And their editorial positions are protected by the First Amendment. If he’s upset by MSNBC’s honest, left-leaning reporting, he should be equally upset by fox News’ flagrantly false, right-wing propaganda. But in neither case does the government have the authority to “come down hard on them and make them pay” for their views. That’s how dictators operate.

And then there was this…

Wannabe Dictator Trump Promises to Prosecute the ‘Country Threatening Treason’ of the Media
Sep 24, 2023: “MSNBC…should be investigated for its ‘Country Threatening Treason.’ […] I say up front, openly, and proudly, that when I WIN the Presidency of the United States, they and others of the LameStream Media will be thoroughly scrutinized for their knowingly dishonest and corrupt coverage […] They are a true threat to Democracy and are, in fact, THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! The Fake News Media should pay a big price for what they have done!”

Trump is accusing MSNBC and other news enterprises of treason for exercising their constitutional rights. And he brags “up front, openly, and proudly,” that he will abuse the power of the government to suppress his critics in the press.

Trump’s brazen hostility toward the media and the Constitution is more proof of just how dangerous it would be to allow him to have any position of power. It doesn’t matter that he would have no legal authority to conduct the sort of oppressive operations that he is promising. He doesn’t care about the law. He would impose his own unethical standards on the media – and the nation – to get whatever results he craves.

Hopefully, this November, voters will grasp the imperative to prevent him from seizing that power and destroying America’s constitutional republic. And while they are at it, voters need to oust Trump’s flunkies in the House and Senate, and all state and local offices, and elect patriotic Democrats who will honor and preserve our nation’s principles.

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