Day: 12/13/2016

Alarming New Law Could Allow ‘Voice Of America’ To Turn Into Trump’s Pravda

Posted by on December 13, 2016 at 6:01 pm. 7 Comments :

The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is a federal agency with seventy-four years of history. It was created to produce pro-western news stories for distribution around the world. It was intended to advance democracy and counter propaganda in countries suffering from stiff censorship and suppression of free speech.

Donald Trump

The BBG manages outlets like the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, among others. However, its mission of late has been muted by bureaucracy and mismanagement. In an effort to address these problems Congress passed a reform bill that would phase out the bipartisan board and replace it with a CEO to be appointed by the president.

These reforms were not considered especially controversial when they were proposed. They even received some bipartisan support in Congress. However, with the election of Donald Trump, some of the initiative’s backers are having second thoughts. As Politico reported:

“President-elect Donald Trump is about to inherit a newly empowered Voice of America that some officials fear could serve as an unfettered propaganda arm for the former reality TV star who has flirted for years with launching his own network.

“Buried on page 1,404 of the National Defense Authorization Act that passed last week is a provision that would disband the bipartisan board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the independent U.S. agency that includes Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcast Networks.”

Trump and his cohorts have demonstrated that they are not above lying to manufacture narratives that support their interests. Consequently, the new BBG could wind up being a version of Trump TV that is “financed by taxpayers to the tune of $800 million per year.” And with other recent legislation, there’s nothing to stop this agency from airing its broadcasts in the United States. This is troubling because the reformed board could produce propaganda aimed at American citizens and distribute it through conventional media and news programming.

Now some people might be thinking “So what? Isn’t that what Fox News already does?” And they would be right. Fox News is the de facto PR division of the Republican Party. And with the elevation of Trump to the White House, Fox becomes the President’s official mouthpiece. However, another production entity with a nearly billion dollar budget should not be dismissed. It’s programming could be distributed to hundreds of small TV stations throughout the country who could air it for free. This would expand the reach of the right’s propaganda to millions of new households.

The congressional managers of the bill insist that their reforms preserve a “firewall” that prohibits political influence from the White House or the new CEO. They maintain that journalists would still have a free hand to produce their own stories. But if the new CEO was inclined to throw his weight around, he could still bully his subordinates into submission. Plus he could hire journalists that were pre-screened for right-wing, ideological purity. Imagine someone like Stephen Bannon (Trump’s Strategic Advisor and former chairman of Breitbart News) in that role. And Roger Ailes, former CEO of Fox News, is looking for work after having been fired for sexual harassment. He and Trump are best buddies.

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

Both Democratic and Republican members of the current board have expressed concerns about the reforms. They recognize the potential for abuse without strict oversight. The Washington Post notes that, “If Congress’s intention was for US broadcasting to rival the Kremlin’s, it may well get its wish.” And what would make Trump happier than to emulate his hero in Russia with his very own version of Pravda?

Donald Trump Cancels Press Conference To Address His Sleazy Conflicts Of Interest

Posted by on December 13, 2016 at 10:31 am. 8 Comments :

The specter of Donald Trump’s business relations continues to hang heavily over his pending administration. For months there has been concern over the far flung enterprises that could have a profound impact on how he might govern. The opportunity for personal enrichment is more than speculation

Donald Trump

Foreign government officials are already trying to curry favor with Trump by booking rooms at his hotels. What’s worse, Trump has projects in countries whose leaders could use their presence to blackmail Trump. That can take the shape of denying permits or other regulatory requirements that would kill the projects. But it could also involve harassment, and even imprisonment, of Trump’s local associates.

There is no way to adequately prevent such activities without Trump completely divesting himself of his businesses. Simply handing them off to his kids would not suffice. Everyone, including Trump, would still know how to influence the leader of the free world. So two weeks ago, in an attempt to address these problems, Trump announced that he would hold a press conference. In a series of tweets (of course) he said that:

“I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses..Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!”

Once again, Trump still thinks that his kids would provide the necessary distance to avoid potential corruption. But all it does is appoints his kids as the executors of his worldwide graft and bribery operations. It could not be characterized as a “blind trust” and would still be a tempting target for favors or threats. However, even his promise to hold a press conference on these dubious terms is not being kept. On Monday he disgorged another set of tweets saying:

These remarks leave numerous questions unanswered. There is still no clarification of how he would address his glaring conflicts of interest. And he still offers his family as phony managers of his financial empire. No legal ruling has been made as to whether he might be in violation of the law. Although many experts believe the Constitution would prohibit his continued ownership status. The definition of “new deals” could mean anything. And despite the “busy times” he’s still not too busy to watch Saturday Night Live and meet with Kanye West.

Finally, by canceling the press conference that was scheduled for this Thursday, Trump has relieved himself of the responsibility to provide answers for these questions. He now says that he will hold a press conference sometime in January. That could mean so close to, or even after, the inauguration that it would be impossible to research and respond. Plus, he is combining that proposed press conference with several other unrelated subjects.

Trump has not held a press conference in the five weeks since Election Day. That’s the longest period a president-elect has gone without a post-election press conference in forty years. But it’s even worse than that because he hasn’t had a formal press conference at all since July. In fact, with only a few exceptions, he hasn’t been interviewed on a non-Fox News outlet in nearly six months. This was so egregious that Fox News even reported it.

This deliberate snubbing of the press has enabled Trump to avoid some serious issues. For instance, persistent allegations of voter suppression and his loss of the popular vote. Charges by at least a dozen women who claim he sexual assaulted them. Payment of $25 million to settle a lawsuit to compensate the fraud victims of his phony Trump University. His white supremacist (aka alt-right) cabinet and administration appointees. His unsavory connections to Russia and its efforts to interfere with the election. And, of course, his chronic and ethically compromising conflicts of interest. The lengthening list of political atrocities makes it impossible to cover in a single event.

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

No one knows whether Trump is going to hold a press conference to address any of these issues. He broke his promise to do so on Thursday and could do the same next month. Or he could hold another press conference that turns into an infomercial for his hotels and cheesy products. He’s done that before as well. The bottom line is that he cannot be trusted to keep his word or to abstain from personally enriching himself and his family. This charlatan needs to be watched like the vulture he is lest he consume what remains of our country, it’s democracy, and freedom.