Month: January 2017

WTF? Alternative Facts: The Women’s March On Washington Was Actually Pro-Trump?

Posted by on January 24, 2017 at 9:22 am. 4 Comments :

In the the post-truth era ushered in by the Trump administration, respect for facts is taking a much smaller role in political discourse. These are, after all, the folks who brought us “alternative facts,” otherwise known as fiction. And the chief dispenser of the official White House falsehoods is press secretary Sean Spicer.

Donald Trump

On Monday Spicer held the very first press briefing of the Trump presidency. It was a peculiar affair that included fierce denials of what he said just two days before. However, Spicer was consistent on the subject of Trump’s much larger inauguration crowd – which wasn’t true. He also continued waging what Trump called his “running war with the media.” Spicer was dismayed by the “negativity” of the press and how it was demoralizing to the President and his team. Poor babies. Everyone knows the role of the press is to bolster the President’s morale.

Perhaps Spicer’s most preposterous assertion came in a response to a question about the Women’s March on Washington. This event drew unprecedented crowds to the nation’s capital as well cities across the country and around the world. It was a massive repudiation of Trump and his alt-populist agenda. Yet Spicer’s representation of his boss’ reaction to the protest was overtly delusional:

“I think he has a healthy respect for the First Amendment and this is what makes our country so beautiful, is that on one day you can inaugurate a President, on the next day people can occupy the same space to protest something. But he’s also cognizant to the fact that a lot of these people were there to protest an issue of concern to them and not against anything.”

Yeah, that’s the ticket. These millions of protesters weren’t actually protesting at all. In fact, in Trump World, they were only there for the shopping and sightseeing. Or as Spicer suggested, “there were people that came to the mall as they do all the time, sometimes in smaller numbers.”

At this rate it won’t be long before Spicer declares that the march was actually in support of Trump. Never mind all the “pussyhats” and signs expressing decidedly anti-Trump views. The Trump team’s “alternative fact” emerging from Saturday’s historic public demonstration is that it was a non-partisan gathering of typical Washington residents and tourists. The factual fact (a newly required redundancy) is that millions of Americans poured into the streets to renounce Donald Trump. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that he is honest enough to accept it. Sad!

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

Trump Has Already Violated Most Of His So-Called ‘Day One’ Campaign Promises

Posted by on January 23, 2017 at 1:27 pm. 11 Comments :

Donald Trump became President of the United States at noon on January 20, 2017. However, our new billionaire POTUS doesn’t work weekends and declared that his first day in the office would be Monday. Now that he’s officially on the job, this would be good time to review what he said he would do.

Donald Trump

Candidate Trump made dozens of promises that he explicitly said would be done on “Day One” of his presidency. [That would be day three in Trump Time]. Some, he assured his supporters, would be fulfilled in the first hour. To be sure, his proclamations were so outrageous that a rational person wouldn’t have believed he could possibly come through. That says nothing, though, of what his voters were thinking. What follows are some of the more notable first day vows Trump has already failed to keep.

  • Start construction on a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico.
  • Tell Congress to pass a bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
  • Immediately suspend the Syrian refugee program.
  • Suspend all immigration from countries where vetting is “difficult.”
  • Stop funding for climate change programs at the U.N.
  • Order his generals to submit a plan within 30 days to defeat ISIS.
  • Halt all federal funding to “sanctuary cities.”
  • Call on Congress to pass “Kate’s Law.”
  • Revoke Obama’s “illegal executive amnesties,” i.e. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
  • Immediately deport what he says are 2 million criminal illegal immigrants.
  • Direct his treasury secretary to label China a currency manipulator.
  • Approve the Keystone XL pipeline and lift restrictions on coal and oil development.
  • Get rid of gun-free zones in schools.
  • Propose a Constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.
  • Ban former congressional officials from lobbying for five years.
  • Ban former White House officials from lobbying for life.
  • Undo “every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.” Whatever that means.

Trump’s ambitions as a candidate were ludicrously overblown and unachievable. However, his credibility, like all politicians, rests on setting reasonable goals and following through. He could not have possibly been telling the truth when making all of these promises.

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

Therefore, his supporters were misled and have every right to be disappointed, if not incensed. But given the cult-like devotion they have to their Dear Leader, don’t expect them to be. A political movement that redefines white supremacy as “alt-right” and advances the concept of “alternative facts” isn’t likely to care that promises are broken so freely. However, America’s democracy could be severely harmed if citizens become complacent about lying and deliberate misrepresentation. And Donald Trump’s “Day One” failures show that he excels bigly at both.

ALTERNATIVE FACTS? The Trump Team’s War On The Media – And Reality

Posted by on January 22, 2017 at 2:45 pm. 10 Comments :

It didn’t take long for Donald Trump and his press team to fulfill the most dire predictions made regarding his hostility toward the media. During his campaign, alarmed press advocates called him out as “an unprecedented threat to the rights of journalists.” His treatment of reporters covering him was brazenly antagonistic and insulting. And now that he has been sworn in as president, he hasn’t moderated his animosity in the least.

Kellyanne Conway

At a hastily assembled appearance at CIA offices, Trump spoke mainly about his “running war with the media.” He made a point of disparaging them as “the most dishonest human beings on earth.” Why he thought that was an appropriate subject for this audience is a mystery. But it was also the theme of the day for his staff.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer called the White House press corps together to deliver a statement. What transpired was shocking and unprecedented. For his first showing in the White House briefing room, Spicer unleashed a torrent of invective and lies which he read awkwardly from prepared notes. He lied about things for which there is video proof. He elevated a tangential issue above far more important matters in the news. His ranting reflected Trump’s thin-skinned narcissism and ego-drive obsession with approval. His angry and partisan insults were disrespectful and somewhat fascistic as he instructed reporters on what they should cover. He clearly doesn’t understand his role as a conduit for informing the public. And he concluded by stomping out without taking a single question.

Worst of all, Spicer’s complaints were a collection of verifiable lies. Among the falsehoods he sought to disseminate are these, which were all proven to be untrue by PolitiFact:

  • “This is the first time in our nation’s history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall.”
    FALSE: They were used in 2012 for Obama’s second inauguration.
  • “This was also the first time that fencing and magnetometers went as far back on the Mall, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from being able to access the Mall as quickly as they had in inaugurations past.”
    FALSE: The Secret Service, who are responsible for these matters, refutes this.
  • “No one had numbers, because the National Parks Service does not put any out.”
    FALSE: While the Parks Service doesn’t put out numbers, other parties do.
  • “We know that 420,000 people used the D.C, Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 for president Obama’s last inaugural.”
    FALSE: The D.C. Metro actually provided different numbers that show Obama’s attendance were substantially higher.
  • “This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period. Both in person and around the globe.”
    FALSE: Obama’s first inauguration drew 1.8 million people (seven times more), and the television audience was 38 million (seven million more).

Spicer spoke about his intention to “to hold the press accountable.” However, it remains unclear what he means by that. Sunday morning, Trump’s senior advisor, Kellyanne Conway, told NBC’s Chuck Todd that “our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts.” As Todd pointed out, another term for “alternative facts” is falsehoods.

Trump’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus, also commented on this subject. He said that “The point is not the crowd size. The point is the attacks and the attempt to delegitimize this president.” Priebus is asserting that an honest presentation of the facts “deligitimizes” his boss. He may have a point.

All of this is reminiscent of remarks made by another Trump surrogate during a radio interview in December. Scottie Nell Hughes declared that “There’s no such thing unfortunately, anymore, as facts.” That viewpoint is an admission that they can’t possibly persuade anyone to support them if they have to rely on reality. Consequently, they resort to creating their own reality and sucking the weak into it.

Finally, on a peculiar side note, the video below is from CNN. That’s because the video on the all-new White House website is something of a digital monstrosity. It’s about an hour and forty-seven minutes long. However, the first hour and thirteen minutes is just silence with a blue card saying the statement is “Beginning Shortly.” That’s followed by about twenty minutes of an empty podium in the briefing room. Then we get to the actual six minute statement by Spicer. And finally, the video closes with another eight minutes of a blue card saying “Just Concluded.” Either they don’t have anyone who can edit a video, or they meant to bury the six minute statement in nearly two hours of nothing. Given what he had to say, that might be a pretty reasonable strategy. Unfortunately, we may be in for another four years of this obfuscation and incompetence.

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

FLASHBACK: Jon Stewart Hysterically Mocked How Fox News Covered Obama’s First 100 Days

Posted by on January 21, 2017 at 12:41 pm. 4 Comments :

It’s the second full day of Donald Trump’s presidency. So how about we take a walk down memory lane to the second full day of Barack Obama’s presidency. Unlike Trump’s historically low approval ratings, Obama entered the office with enormous support. And he’s leaving on a seven year high. Jon Stewart had some observations on how Fox News covered what they saw as the end of western civilization.

Jon Stewart Daily Show

In this clip from the Daily Show, Stewart compiles some of the observations of Fox’s personalities, as well as other right-wing pundits. He assembles a montage of horror that includes Gretchen Carlson asking “Is he really president?” And then there’s Bill O’Reilly objecting Obama’s assertion that we don’t have to “compromise our values” to protect ourselves. Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and others chime in as well, with wishes for Obama’s (and by extension America’s) failure. Stewart leads off saying…

“It is the second full day of the Obama presidency. Day number two. It’s obviously gonna take some time until we get a real clear sense of the direction that this administration is gonna go in. Typically the first 100 days is the significant figure. But Fox News, also only two days into the new administration, has a different question. ‘100 days – Will we make it that long?'”

Nothing much changed on Fox News for Obama’s second inauguration in 2012. The Folks at Fox were clearly depressed and labeled it “the saddest day of the year.” Let’s all remember that as Fox News leads the chorus of Donald Trump sycophants who denigrate the protesters who remain committed to the progressive, inclusive values that really do make America great.

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

The American Carnage: Donald Trump’s Bleak Vision Of The Disunited States

Posted by on January 21, 2017 at 9:36 am. 8 Comments :

Anyone listening to Donald Trump’s inauguration speech must have thought he was talking about a different country. His description of the United States was dripping with the horror of a nightmarish, dystopian society. He actually used the phrase “American Carnage” to illustrate his vision of the state of the nation he’s inheriting from President Obama.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

In order to have such a depressing perspective, Trump needs to severely distort reality. By any objective measure the country is currently in remarkably healthy condition. It recovered from a near depression in 2008, and is now experiencing broad-based prosperity. The economy is firing on all cylinders with a stock market that has tripled in the past eight years. The unemployment rate dropped from a high of 10.1 percent to a historically sound 4.9 percent. Bankruptcies and foreclosures have declined precipitously. More people are covered by health insurance than ever before.

That’s not to say that there aren’t still some stubborn problems that need to be resolved. There will always be room for improvement. But Trump’s speech portrayed the country as a hell hole that was barely livable. Some of the rhetoric he disgorged can only come from an aberrant imagination:

  • “…national effort to rebuild our country…”
  • “…the jobs left, and the factories closed…”
  • “…there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.”
  • “…the very sad depletion of our military …”
  • “Mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities…”
  • “…rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation…”
  • “…the crime and gangs and drugs…”
  • “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.”
  • “…the wealth, strength, and confidence of our country has disappeared over the horizon.”
  • “We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth.”

Where did Trump get this view of America? Is it something he sees from his 5th Avenue penthouse atop Trump Tower? Did he watch Batman: The Dark Knight Rises and think it was a documentary? Is he just incapable of muting his divisive campaign bluster even after being inaugurated?

And it isn’t just disappointed Democrats who noticed Trump’s downcast oratory. Immediately following the speech, the Fox News panel anchoring their coverage was taken aback. For the most part they wallowed in praise for the POTUS they helped to create, but it wasn’t easy. Brit Hume said that Trump “painted this dark landscape of circumstances in this country.” Chris Wallace observed that “This wasn’t just a transfer of power, but Donald Trump seizing power.” And Tucker Carlson noted, with some satisfaction, that “His election itself is a repudiation of the Obama presidency.” Nevertheless, Trump tweeted a thank you to Fox.

Perhaps the nation expected Trump’s celebration to be something of a downer. They stayed away in droves. The attendance in Washington was estimated to be about 250,000. By comparison, Obama drew 1.8 million in January of 2009 (seven times more). And as obsessed with performance and ratings as Trump is, he surely will not like seeing scenes like this on the Parade route from the Capital to the White House:

As NBC’s Katy Tur noted, entire stands were empty and the crowd noticeably thin. Somehow Trump will declare that the photos and videos were all rigged and that “some said” more millions showed up than ever before. That’s the way he maintains his fictionalized outlook on the world. Everything he does is extraordinary, and anything he criticizes is dreadful.

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

Thus we have Trump lauding his inauguration as spectacular, and denigrating America as carnage. There is surely a psychological diagnosis for such delusions. But for now we leave him and Melania at the first Inaugural Ball dancing to what may be theme of the Trump Era. Frank Sinatra’s narcissistic ballad “My Way” exalts a dying man’s belief in himself. So everybody sing along: “And now, the end is near…”

One Rep’s Ominous Warning About Trump: ‘If The Public Knew What Congress Knows…’

Posted by on January 20, 2017 at 8:10 am. 3 Comments :

The day that few thought would ever come is upon us. Donald Trump takes the oath of office today and becomes President of the United States. The day is historic for many reasons. Among them the unprecedented level of division and rancor. Trump will enter the White House with the lowest approval ratings on record. And before he takes a single official act he will be the subject of investigations and suspicions related to his businesses and unsavory connections to Russia.

Donald Trump

As a result of these controversies, many Democratic members of Congress have chosen to skip the inaugural proceedings. At last count there were more than sixty representatives planning not to represent. The decision to snub The Donald has been met with both praise and scorn. But the words of one congressman are particularly disturbing.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland will be attending the inauguration. However, in an interview on CNN, he defended those who have decided to stay away. What Cummings told Chris Cuomo should give every American pause:

“You’ve got to understand that we members of Congress have a lot of information that the public does not have. And I can tell you over the last week or two, the classified briefings that I have been to, and if the public knew what members of Congress know…”

With that he trailed off leaving a dramatic gap to be filled with our imaginations. Cummings can’t reveal the details to which he is alluding because they are classified. But it’s clear that he believes those details, if known, would justify boycotting Trump’s inauguration. This makes it imperative that Congress conduct fair and thorough investigations and disclose the results to the public. The legitimacy of Trump’s presidency, and our democracy, are at stake. Cummings said as much later in the CNN interview:

“This, to me, is bigger than President-elect Trump. I’m concerned that we are moving slowly but surely towards a crisis of a legitimacy with regard to our core institutions.”

Already we have learned that seventeen intelligence agencies agree that Russia has interfered with our election. That interference came in the form of cyber espionage and propaganda disseminated via fake news. Theses agencies also concluded that Russia’s intent was to benefit Trump and harm Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, they have evidence that these activities were approved at the highest level – i.e. Vladimir Putin. And that’s just what we already know.

Cummings is concerned that Republicans are giving Trump a pass by refusing to impanel a committee of inquiry. But if the briefings received by Congress contain information as serious as implied by Cummings, then boycotting the inauguration should be just the start. And Democrats need to step up their efforts to investigate and fully inform the American people.

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

New Poll Shows Trump Voters Devoutly Committed To The Cult Of Fox News

Posted by on January 19, 2017 at 1:06 pm. 8 Comments :

A new survey by the Pew Center confirms something that has been known for quite some time. Fox News continues to be the dominant provider of “news” to America’s right wing. This year that means it cast its spell on Donald Trump’s voters in HUGE way. And why not? Fox and Trump share much in common. Particularly a compulsion for lying. See the Trump Bullshitopedia, and this:

Fox News Lies

From the Pew study:

“According to a new Pew Research Center survey, Americans who say they voted for Trump in the general election relied heavily on Fox News as their main source of election news leading up to the 2016 election, whereas Clinton voters named an array of different sources, with no one source named by more than one-in-five of her supporters.”

The survey revealed that 40% of Trump voters said that Fox News was their main source for election news. That’s more than the next seven news sources – combined! The Trumpster’s devotion to Fox was five times greater than the second place CNN.

For contrast, CNN came out on top as the main source of election news for Clinton voters. However, CNN attained that spot with only 18% of Clinton supporters. What’s more, there was far more diversity of news sources among the Clinton demo. There were even 3% who admitted to watching Fox.

What this tells us is that Fox News is still operating less as a news outlet than as a cult leader. Its glassy-eyed disciples remain transfixed by every blond presenter’s smile and wink. Fox viewers are seemingly incapable of changing the channel for fear of exposure to reality, which would rattle the foundations of their ultra-conservative world.

So this may be a good time to recommend my ebook “Fox Nation vs. Reality, The Fox News Cult Of Ignorance.” It contains numerous examples of documented fiction produced by the nation’s premiere fake news enterprise.

Fox Nation vs. Reality

SRSLY? 34,000+ Tweets Later, Donald Trump Says ‘I Don’t Like Tweeting’

Posted by on January 18, 2017 at 2:26 pm. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump gave Fox News an interview Wednesday and it went pretty much like you might expect. Ainsley Earhardt tossed a few softballs at him, and he dodged them anyway. However, there were a couple of responses where he made news despite himself (video below).

Trump Twit

First of all, Trump was asked about his obsession with Twitter. He responded in a way that contradicts everything he’s done for the past couple of years:

“Look, I don’t like tweeting. I have other things I could be doing. But I get very dishonest media, very dishonest press. And it’s my only way that I can counteract.”

For someone who doesn’t like tweeting, he sure devotes an awful lot of time to it. And his tweets often address significant issues, including trade, and foreign relations. Of course, just as often he’s merely bragging about himself or insulting others. But if he has other things to do, then why isn’t he doing them?

Trump’s excuse for tweeting so frequently is that it’s the only way to counteract all the dishonest press he gets. That’s got to come as a surprise to anyone who owns a television. Trump has been the recipient of more uninterrupted airtime than any other candidate – or human. The media broadcast his campaign stump speeches in full and took his phone calls on the air. When he wants press time he only has to ask for it and the networks oblige. If there is any lack of Trump on TV it’s his own doing. Until last week he didn’t hold a press conference for seven months.

Clearly, there are many ways for Trump to counter what he regards as dishonest press. That includes friendly venues like Fox News, talk radio, and wingnut blogs like Breitbart. He obviously prefers Twitter because it doesn’t require much critical thought. There isn’t much of substance you can say with 140 characters. What’s more, it doesn’t open him up to questions he can’t answer or hold him accountable for his lies.

The other notable remarks from the Fox News interview concerned the controversy over the White House briefing room. Last week Trump’s incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer, floated the notion that the briefings might be moved to another location outside of the White House. That didn’t sit well with the journalists who would be evicted. Jeff Mason, president of the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) later met with Spicer and issued this statement shortly thereafter:

“The White House Correspondents’ Association has always advocated for increasing access and transparency for the benefit of all news outlets and the public. I emphasized the importance of the White House press briefing room and noted that it is open to all journalists who seek access now. I made clear that the WHCA would view it as unacceptable if the incoming administration sought to move White House reporters out of the press work space behind the press briefing room. Access in the West Wing to senior administration officials, including the press secretary, is critical to transparency and to journalists’ ability to do their jobs.’

Trump told Fox’s Earhardt that, due to the negative reaction, he didn’t think the briefing room would be moved for now. However, he also announced a new and unprecedented control over access to the briefings:

“Some people in the press will not be able to get in because there’s just too many people … we have so many people who wanna go in so we’ll have to just pick the people who go into the room. I’m sure other people will be thrilled about that.”

Currently the non-partisan WHCA is responsible for assigning credentials to reporters who seek admittance to the briefings. The politicians in the White House have no say. That insures that the room isn’t stacked with sycophants and propagandists as is done in dictatorial regimes. Apparently Trump favors the dictator’s methods. That may also be why his Washington, D.C. hotel just announced that it is banning all media during the inauguration. So much for a free press.

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

ObamaCare More Popular Than Ever – Just As Trump And GOP Rush To Kill It

Posted by on January 17, 2017 at 1:48 pm. 3 Comments :

Since 2010, Republicans have been staunchly opposed to virtually any health insurance reform that actually helped those who needed it. They voted more than fifty times to repeal the Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) during Obama’s presidency. Now that the GOP has one of their own moving into the White House, they are giddy with anticipation of achieving their goal.

ObamaCare

There’s just one problem. The Wall Street Journal and NBC News just released a survey that has bad news for the GOP:

“As Republicans get closer to repealing it, President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law — or Obamacare — has never been more popular, according to results from a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.” […]

“50 percent of Americans say the law is working well (6 percent) or needs minor modifications to improve it (44 percent).”

The poll also notes that thirty-three percent of respondents think that ObamaCare could be improved with a major overhaul. However, only sixteen percent of the American people think that it should be eliminated entirely. What’s more, the public has very little faith in the Republican majority in Congress to produce anything to adequately replace ObamaCare:

“Just 26 percent of Americans have either a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a bit of confidence’ that congressional Republicans will replace the law with something better, while a combined 50 percent say they have either ‘very little’ or no confidence with the GOP here.”

In light of that, Trump’s slumping appeal to the nation registers even more prominently. He is by far the least popular president-elect in modern history with a mere forty percent favorability. Compare that with the last three presidents just prior to inauguration: Obama (84%), Bush (61%), Clinton (67%). And this is at a time when a newly elected leader enjoys a “honeymoon” period. It appears the American people are more in the mood for a quickie divorce. And true to form, Trump blames that on “rigged” polls.

For the record, the polls were actually remarkably accurate. They predicated that Hillary Clinton was favored by two to three percent in the days before the election. And that is precisely her margin of victory in the popular vote.

The people’s opposition to a repeal of ObamaCare has a factual foundation that Republicans strive to suppress. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of repeal found that up to 32 million people would lose their health coverage. They also found that premiums would skyrocket by up to fifty percent more than current rates. Also troubling is their finding that insurance providers would bail out of the market in droves. In Fact, they project that half of the nation would live in areas with no individual insurers at all. And that would rise to three-quarters by 2026.

Perhaps that’s why Republicans passed a bill to prohibit the CBO from scoring their ObamaCare repeal efforts. It’s a tactic designed to insure that people remain in the dark when their representatives are screwing them over. If they truly believed in the benefits of a repeal, they wouldn’t be afraid to let people know how it will affect them.

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

So Republicans are attempting to undo a popular healthcare bill, whose repeal will raise costs for both citizens and government. And they’re doing it behind a veil of self-imposed secrecy, at the behest of a historically reviled new president. Sounds like business as usual for the contemporary Tea Party infused, Ayn Rand inspired, Trump led Republican Party.

Trump’s National Security Nominee Quits Before She Starts Amid Plagiarism Scandal

Posted by on January 16, 2017 at 2:23 pm. 4 Comments :

Donald Trump has been populating his cabinet with decidedly unsavory figures bent on destroying the agencies they will lead. And while appointing arsonists to run the Fire Departments, he has failed to properly vet his nominees. Case in point is Monica Crowley, tapped as strategic communications director of the National Security Council.

Monica Crowley

Crowley, formerly of Fox News, was discovered to have plagiarized portions of her 2012 book, “What The (Bleep) Just Happened.” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski documented more than fifty instances of text that was taken from other sources without attribution. In addition, Politico reported that Crowley also allegedly plagiarized portions of her doctoral dissertation from Columbia University.

The Trump transition team initially dismissed these reports as politically motivated attacks. However, the budding scandal heated up when her publisher, HarperCollins, pulled the book off the market. It would be difficult for the Trump camp to accuse HarperCollins of partisanship given that it’s owned by the same corporate parent as Fox News.

Monday morning Crowley spoke with the Washington Times and revealed she would not be joining the Trump administration after all. As reported by TVNewser, she said that:

“After much reflection I have decided to remain in New York to pursue other opportunities and will not be taking a position in the incoming administration,” Crowley said in a statement, to the Washington Times. “I greatly appreciate being asked to be part of President-elect Trump’s team and I will continue to enthusiastically support him and his agenda for American renewal.”

Trump’s nominee for National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, expressed regrets that Crowley had bowed out. He wished her well saying “The NSC will miss the opportunity to have Monica Crowley as part of our team.” No mention of the plagiarism charges was made by either Crowley or Trump’s people. However, this embarrassing episode could have been avoided with competent vetting. Crowley’s sticky fingers have been part of the public record since at least 1999. At that time the Wall Street Journal caught her plagiarizing an article from Commentary Magazine for a Journal feature.

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

Perhaps this is why Congress is so anxious to barrel through the confirmation hearings before the ethics reviews have been completed. Their unprecedented rush violates the standards that Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had demanded for President Obama’s nominees. Unfortunately, their haste and incompetence could have grave consequences for the country. The Crowley affair is just the tip of the iceberg. We can expect further scandals and untold harm as a result of staffing the government with crooks and amateurs.