Censorship

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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Thoughts and Prayers: MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell Announces that He’s Been Cancelled By Fox News

Posted by on January 12, 2024 at 1:32 pm. 1 Comments :

The new year isn’t starting off very well for Donald Trump and his “lesions” of followers and media sycophants. He remains in legal peril with 91 felony charges pending. Plus, he has a couple of civil cases that are close to conclusions that will likely cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Donald Trump, Mike Lindell, MyPillow

As the trial dates approach, Trump’s mental state is becoming ever more desperate and detached from reality. He is frantically lashing out at everyone from President Biden, to Democrats in Congress, to Republicans in Congress, to judges and prosecutors and reporters. Meanwhile, Biden is continuing to focus on policies that are actually advancing the interests of the American people.

SEE THIS: On Fox News Jessica Tarlov Summarizes the Success of Bidenomics that the Media Refuses to Cover

One of Trump’s most devoted cult disciples is Mike Lindell, the MyPillow huckster who has pretty much destroyed his business and reputation by spreading Trump’s “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was “rigged and stolen” from him. And on Friday morning Lindell posted a video with a sob story about his latest misfortune/conspiracy. He whined that he had “disturbing news” that “Fox News just cancelled MyPillow.” He said that he didn’t know why, but then ventured to make some guesses…

“Maybe it was because Lou Dobbs was added over here on Lindell TV to this all new lineup we have. That was just a few days ago. We showed his first interview with our great real president, Donald Trump. Or maybe it was because they don’t want my face even on their network leading up to the 2024 election in support of our great real president, Donald Trump. I don’t know, I don’t have the details yet. All I know is the commercials have been cancelled. Anything with MyPillow or Mike Lindell cancelled on Fox News.

America is surely in mourning today upon hearing about this tragedy. What will they do without Lindell’s uplifting ads peddling his atrocious bag of rocks?

As for Lindell’s speculation as to reasons for this alleged cancellation, the notion that Fox News cares about what Lou Dobbs is doing since they fired him for lying repeatedly on the air, is preposterous. Especially if all he is doing is fluffing Trump on a TV “network” that nobody knows exists, much less watches.

What’s more, Fox News couldn’t possibly regard Lindell’s adoration of Trump as motivation to reject his advertising. After all, Fox News is also in the Trump adoration business. If anything, they would welcome Lindell’s advocacy of Trump.

Virtually everyone on the network is already promoting Trump’s 2024 candidacy. They just aired a Trump town hall that was nothing more than a televised campaign rally. And they even complied with Trump’s demand to air it on the same date and time as CNN’s GOP debate, in order to depress CNN’s ratings (which didn’t work).

SEE ALSO: Fox News Affirms its Role as Ministry of Propaganda for Donald Trump and the MAGA Cult

The one plausible reason that Lindell proposed for Fox cancelling him was that “they don’t want my face even on their network.” And who could blame Fox if that were the case? Lindell closed by begging his viewers to “support us during this time of cancelation.” So, like his Dear Leader Trump, Lindell is turning this into an opportunity to fleece the flock.

It must be noted that there isn’t any actual evidence that what Lindell is alleging is true. Fox News has not made any comments about refusing Lindell’s ads. And if they did, it might be due to Lindell inserting political content into them. Who knows? The one thing we know for certain is that we can’t trust anything Lindell says, any more than we can trust anything Trump says. They are both confirmed liars and con artists.

UPDATE: As expected, there is a good reason for Fox News rejecting MyPillow ads. According to Mediaite, “Lindell still hasn’t paid for any MyPillow ads aired on the network since August 2023. […] A Fox News spokesperson told Mediaite: ‘As soon as their account is paid, we would be happy to accept their advertising.'”

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After Tucker Carlson Fiasco, McCarthy Will Give January 6th Video to More MAGA Propagandists

Posted by on June 2, 2023 at 1:09 pm. 5 Comments :

From the very start of his tenure, Republican House Squeaker, Kevin McCarthy, demonstrated just how brazenly partisan and dishonest his speakership would be. After a historic 15 attempts to secure enough votes to become Speaker, McCarthy was indebted to ultra-rightist underlings like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene to hold onto the post.

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GOP Insurrection

Among the first actions by the new Speaker were the removal of Democrats Adam Schiff, Ilhan Omar, and Eric Swalwell, from their respective committees. Then he formed a bogus committee on “Responsiveness and Accountability Oversight,” whose stated purpose was to “make life Hell” for Democrats. And of course, he oversaw the creation of the House’s first “Anti-Woke” Caucus.

However, nothing was more representative of McCarthy’s radical political prejudices than when he handed over 41,000 hours of video from the January 6th insurrection, that was incited by Donald Trump, to the pro-insurrection, Putin loving poseur, Tucker Carlson. McCarthy claimed that he was making these videos public, but Carlson was the only person who was given access to them. After which, Carlson predictably produced a preposterous program that portrayed the violent MAGA rioters as peaceful tourists visiting the Capitol.

SEE THIS: Tucker Carlson Spins January 6th Insurrection Videos to Spread Blatant Lies, Trump Praises Him

Carlson’s ludicrous narrative was widely mocked and condemned. In fact, he ended up airing only a few carefully edited, and particularly boring, minutes of the 41,000 hours of video over two nights that revealed nothing of significance. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has seen Carlson’s other “reporting” on January 6th, wherein he glorifies the rioters and accuses the FBI of orchestrating the whole thing.

McCarthy had promised to eventually release the videos to the public at large, including other media outlets. But three months later, McCarthy is apparently making the videos available to some more well known conspiracy crackpots. According to his boss, Marjorie Taylor Greene (admittedly not the most reliable source)…

“I’m excited to share the good news that just as I promised the J6 tapes are being released!

“@SpeakerMcCarthy has given @jsolomonReports, @Julie_kelly2, and a third outlet unfettered access to the J6 tapes, and their reporting on it starts tomorrow.

“This is the transparency the American people deserve and I look forward to their reporting!”

First of all, doling out the videos to selected conservative hacks is not “releasing” them. Nor is it “transparency” by any rational definition of the word. And what they will produce can hardly be called “reporting.” It is conspiring with confederates to manufacture more malicious propaganda.

What’s more, the people named by Greene are notorious fabricators of political fiction. John Solomon is a disgraced former Fox News contributor whose work is relentlessly slanted toward the ultra-right. Julie Kelly writes for the Trump-fluffing “American Greatness,” website, and is a prominent purveyor of conspiracy theories and slobbering Trump commentaries. The third party to whom McCarthy is giving the videos was apparently too embarrassing to even identify. Perhaps it is Rudy Giuliani or Don Trump Jr.

McCarthy’s refusal to grant access to these videos is a blatantly unethical, and possibly illegal, suppression of public materials and a breach of the First Amendment’s protection of a free press. He has already been sued by a coalition of media enterprises seeking access to the videos. They include CNN, Advance Publications, The Associated Press, CBS News, E.W. Scripps, Gannett, Politico, ProPublica and The New York Times.

Finally, there is a disturbing irony and hypocrisy in McCarthy’s aversion to sharing information. He recently threatened the FBI Director with contempt of Congress for not turning over a document that he wants in order to smear President Biden.

SEE THIS: McCarthy Threatens FBI Director with Contempt for Not Aiding His Petty Persecution of Biden

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Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee Threatens the First Amendment Rights of American Businesses

Posted by on May 25, 2023 at 1:21 pm. 6 Comments :

The Republican Party has long sought to be the torch carriers for corporations, spearheading their interests by slashing taxes and regulations to the detriment of the American people who are forced to take up the slack. But then, it was the GOP justices on on the Supreme Court who decided that corporations are, in their warped view, people.

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Donald Trump, Boycott

Somehow, that pro-corp bias on the part of the right has been flipped as Republicans are now feverishly engaged in battle with the businesses and lobbyists that they previously catered to. It isn’t a coincidence that this transformation took place during the era of Donald Trump, who has turned “retribution” for any ideological divergence from his doctrine into a political mandate. It’s framed as a “War on Woke,” whatever the heck that means.

RELATED: GOP Creates an ‘Anti-Woke’ Caucus to Take on the ‘Greatest Domestic Threat to America Today’

This diseased philosophy is bad enough when it is espoused by individual politicians and pundits. But it is significantly worse, and more dangerous, when the official gears of governmet are grinding it out. Which is precisely what happened on late Wednesday night when Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, tweeted this: “Bud Light. Disney. Target. Go WOKE. Go BROKE.”

First of all, if anything is “broke” it’s Jordan’s brain. The companies he is singling out are not remotely at risk for going broke. They are, in fact, among the most profitable businesses in the country/world.

More to the point, what Jordan is doing here is overtly threatening American companies with bankruptcy, or other financial vengeance dealt out by the government, for daring to exercise their constitutional rights under the First Amendment. In this case, the companies offended Republicans by expressing their support for their LGBTQ+ customers. Which is, of course, entirely legal, not that Jordan or the GOP care.

This is not merely an attack on American companies conducting business as they see fit. It is an attack on American workers who would be harmed if these companies suffered financially due to Jordan’s unlawful, autocratic bullying. It is also an attack on local economies that could suffer when businesses are forced to alter their growth plans. Just ask Ron DeSantis, whose feud with Disney resulted in the company canceling plans for an office – and 2,000 jobs – in Florida after he began retaliating against them for rejecting his bigotry.

These neo-fascist tactics by the Trumpian GOP are not new. Jordan recently threatened the anti-trust status of Major League Baseball. Not because that status may not be warranted as a matter of economic policy, but because the League scheduled a “Pride” night to honor their LGBTQ+ fans. And Trump himself has advocated for boycotts of dozens of American companies, including Apple, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Citigroup, Oreos, etc.

FOR INSTANCE: Trump is “The King of Cancel Culture” who “Hypocritically Calls for Boycotts.”

Jordan is not alone in his mission to tear down American companies. He is joined by the GOP’s misnamed “Freedom Caucus” and by, of course, Fox News. Yet all of these fatuous phonies persist in pretending to be pro-business and free speech. But their lies are on display where everyone can see them. They hate American business. They hate American workers. They hate America.

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Fox News ‘Demands’ that Media Matters Stop Publishing Leaked Videos of Tucker Carlson

Posted by on May 5, 2023 at 12:30 pm. 4 Comments :

The fallout from Fox News firing their Senior White Nationalist, Tucker Carlson, continues to cast dark shadows on the network that tolerated and embraced his hate speech and lies for so many years. Apparently terminating Carlson after agreeing to settle the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for 3/4 of a billion dollars was only the beginning of their problems.

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Fox News, Fake News

This week Media Matters acquired some videos of Carlson that further exposed his racism, as well as the animosity he had for his own colleagues at Fox News who he thought weren’t sufficiently repellent. These videos revealed Carlson maligning his former employer, saying “I don’t want to be a slave to Fox Nation. [and that] Nobody watches Fox Nation because the site sucks.” Additionally, there were text messages wherein he complained about having been deposed by Dominion’s lawyers and criticized violent Trump supporters because “It’s not how white men fight.”

SEE THIS: Leaked Video of Tucker Carlson Bashing Fox Nation as a Site that ‘Sucks’ and ‘Nobody Watches’

On Friday Fox News sent Media Matters a “cease and desist” letter demanding that they stop publishing these videos. The letter said…

“We write on behalf of Fox Corporation to clarify any misunderstandings Media Matters may have had regarding previously unaired footage that Media Matters has published in a series of articles headlined ‘Foxleaks.’ That unaired footage is Fox’s confidential intellectual property; Fox did not consent to its distribution or publication; and Fox does not consent to its further distribution or publication. This proprietary material was given to you without Fox’s authorization. Fox demands that Media Matters cease and desist from distribution, publication, and misuse of Fox’s misappropriated proprietary footage, which you are now on notice was unlawfully obtained. We reserve all rights and remedies.”

Seriously? First of all, Media Matters is well within their rights as a journalistic enterprise to publish these videos. Fox’s threat is empty and unsupported by the law, and particularly the Constitution.

What’s more, Fox News is a frequent exploiter of what they have insisted is their First Amendment rights to publish similarly obtained materials. They have had no problem with publishing private emails from Hillary Clinton, or text messages of FBI agent Peter Strzok, or the sort of videos that Project Veritas produced by secretly recording people that they purposefully deceived. Consequently, it is more likely that the source of these videos is actually Fox News. They have to incentive to dirty up Carlson before he lands at some other media outfit and starts smearing Fox.

Nevertheless, Fox News thinks they can intimidate Media Matters to prevent them from providing information that is relevant and important to the public regarding the state of affairs at Fox News. But Media Matters wasn’t intimidated. They released a response that brilliantly rejected Fox’s feeble threat.

“Reporting on newsworthy leaked material is a cornerstone of journalism. For Fox to argue otherwise is absurd and further dispels any pretense that they’re a news operation. Perhaps if I tell them that the footage came from a combination of WikiLeaks and Hunter Biden’s laptop, it will alleviate their concerns.”

OUCH! It’s unlikely that even proving that Fox News is brazenly hypocritical will “alleviate their concerns.” That’s because Fox’s concerns are rooted in their deeply held, ultra-rightist biases, and not in any logic, reason or facts. Which is one of the reasons why Fox is currently suffering the worst downtrend in their ratings in more than ten years. And ridiculous measures like this to try to censor their critics isn’t going to make anything better for them. Just imagine what would come out in any trial if Fox followed through with this threat.

RELATED: With Lawsuits, Lost Hosts, and Lying Pundits, the Future of Fox News Has Never Been Weaker

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Fox News Blacks Out Story of Clarence Thomas Secretly Taking Luxury Gifts From GOP Billionaire

Posted by on April 6, 2023 at 1:29 pm. 2 Comments :

It takes a story of profound significance to bump the indictment of Donald Trump from the headlines. After all, when was the last time a twice-impeached, pathologically lying, former TV game show host, and aspiring dictator, was charged with 34 felonies for crimes ranging from election interference to tax fraud?

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Fox News, Censorship

The arraignment of Trump in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday afternoon was a historic event that saw Trump sitting feebly in the embrace of his lawyers at the defendant’s table like any other alleged criminal. It signaled the resilience of the American idiom that “no one is above the law.” It also triggered a typically psychotic “death and destruction” response from Trump, whose mental state in court was noticeably tempered, but wildly loosed online.

SEE THIS: Read Trump’s Raving Arraignment Response as Foretold By His Unhinged Truth Social Rants

On Thursday morning such a story was published by the investigative journalists at ProPublica. The story detailed how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from a right-wing billionaire without disclosing them as the law requires. According to ProPublica…

“For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them.” […]

“[Thomas] has vacationed on Crow’s superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow’s sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks.” […]

“These trips appeared nowhere on Thomas’ financial disclosures. His failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts.”

For the record, Harlan Crow is a notorious conservative and Republican donor who often has cases before the court that would impact his business interests. What’s more, the “vacations” that Thomas enjoyed at Crow’s expense regularly included other conservative businessmen and politicos who would have reasons to want to rub elbows with a Supreme Court Justice.

This is a blatant breach of judicial ethics and federal law. Although it is not surprising that Thomas would stoop to violate the standards of behavior for a Justice, considering his long history of such ethical lapses. For instance, Thomas refused to recuse himself from matters that directly involved his wife, Ginni Thomas, and her efforts to undermine democracy in support of the January 6th insurrection and coup plotters. A story that Fox News didn’t bother to cover.

SEE THIS: Fox News Totally Ignores Story About Ginni Thomas Texting QAnon Nuttery to Mark Meadows

Similarly unsurprising is the fact that Fox News is ignoring this new Clarence Thomas story. In the past several hours most of the credible media has picked up the ProPublica report. But it has yet to appear on Fox News or their website.

This is their modus operandi for any news event that reflects poorly on Republicans and Trump. The revelations from the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against Fox News (which Fox News initially refused to cover) exposed them as deliberate liars who placed their politics and greed above truthfulness and patriotism.

Even after the humiliation from the Dominion disclosures of the private communications of Fox executives and hosts, this censorship by omission is further proof that Fox couldn’t care less about honest journalism or holding the powerful accountable. They only care about disseminating right-wing propaganda and goosing their ratings.

RELATED: IT’S A CULT: Most Fox News Viewers Are Still Loyal After Dominion Lawsuit Discloses Their Lies

UPDATE I: Clarence Thomas pathetically and dishonestly responds to the charges that he secretly took numerous luxury gifts from a right-wing billionaire.

UPDATE II: ProPublica published a follow-up story that reveals that Clarence Thomas sold real estate properties to Harlan Crow (at inflated prices), that Thomas never disclosed. Which is a federal crime.

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