Day: 10/18/2017

POLL: Ignorant Trump-loving Republicans are cool with government shutting down media it doesn’t like

Posted by on October 18, 2017 at 8:31 pm. 4 Comments :

For nine months Donald Trump has been steering the country into something that more closely resembles a fascist dictatorship. His tendency toward a strict authoritarianism is evident in almost everything he does and says. And the fact that he has issued more executive orders at this point in his presidency than any president in fifty years affirms his inherent imperialism. Particularly since he was a fierce critic of executive orders when President Obama was issuing them.

Donald Trump Voter

A new poll shows that Trump’s view of government supremacy has caught on with the Republican Party. The numbers are disturbing for a supposedly free democracy that cherishes a free press. Overall forty-six percent of respondents said that “the news media fabricate news stories about President Donald Trump.” Even Trump was so moved by this poll that he tweeted about it Wednesday night (FYI: Trump’s tagging of Fox News is curious. They had nothing to do with this poll):

Indeed, it is much worse. But not in any way that Trump understands. Those numbers are heavily weighted by the views of Republicans. For GOP respondents alone it’s seventy-six percent who believe that bad Trump press is made up. It isn’t difficult to figure out where they got this idea from. Trump has been smearing the media for at least two years. His criticisms are not rational observations of press reporting. They are vicious insults and unsupported condemnations of journalists he says are evil. Just last week he told a radio talk show host that:

“I thought after I won, the media would become much more stable and much more honest. They’ve gone crazy. CNN is a joke. NBC is a total joke.”

In other words, he thought the media would bend to the demands of those in power. Why else would journalists behave differently toward a candidate than a president. What’s more, he isn’t complaining about a particular story. He’s trashing whole networks as “jokes.” His undisguised purpose is to destroy the people’s faith in journalism as a whole. He wants people to believe no one but himself and his official proclamations on Twitter.

The consequences of his relentless propaganda have taken a toll. That’s how you end up with three-quarters of the GOP essentially opposing the First Amendment. And it gets worse. The poll also asked whether “the government should have the power to revoke broadcast licenses of major news organizations that it says are fabricating news stories about a president or the administration.” On this question as well there was a sharp partisan divide. Forty-six percent of Republicans said the government should have such power. Another twenty-one percent were undecided. So two-thirds of Republicans are comfortable with the government being able to shut down media based on content.

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

These are the views of a segment of the electorate that has been brainwashed to accept policies that are wholly un-American. Imagine what these same people would have thought if President Obama ever suggested taking such action. But they are perfectly fine with handing Trump the power to strip away the nation’s constitutionally protected press freedoms. That isn’t political partisanship. It’s cult worship. And it’s a dangerous trend that threatens the future of the American experiment in democracy.

Despite the foregoing, Americans still trust the media more than they trust the pathological liar in the White House. Funny, Trump has never tweeted about that.

Trump threatens congresswoman and fallen soldier’s family. And may have broken the law.

Posted by on October 18, 2017 at 12:25 pm. 4 Comments :

It is absolutely impossible to call the bottom of Donald Trump’s abhorrent character, or lack thereof. Just when you think he’s in the deepest sewer, he confounds everyone by finding a gutter that’s dug even lower. Case in point, the controversy over his insensitive remarks to Myeshia Johnson, the widow of slain Sgt. La David Johnson.

Myeshia Johnson

This affair began after Trump was harshly criticized for ignoring the deaths of four American Green Berets for two weeks. He had plenty of time to play golf and tweet about his media foes, but performing this traditional presidential duty was too much for him. When a reporter finally asked him to explain, he made some pathetic and plainly dishonest excuses. And true to form, he attempted to shift the blame and redirect the subject to others, notably President Obama.

Stung by the criticism, Trump condescended to do his job and finally called the families of the fallen. But even in performing this task he failed miserably. According to Rep. Frederika Wilson, Trump upset Ms. Johnson by telling her that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” Not surprisingly, Trump denied that he ever said any such thing. But to make matters worse, he made an implicit threat that he had “proof” that he would make public if needed.

There’s two problems with that:

ONE: It is horribly insensitive to make such threats to grieving families. Trump is challenging the veracity of Rep. Wilson, as well as Ms. Johnson and her mother, who all affirm his callous remarks. Rep. Wilson reiterated her account after Trump issued his threat.

TWO: It may have violated Florida law. The state has a statute that expressly forbids the kind of recordings that Trump is suggesting:

“Florida’s wiretapping law is a ‘two-party consent’ law. Florida makes it a crime to intercept or record a ‘wire, oral, or electronic communication” in Florida, unless all parties to the communication consent.'”

A few months ago Trump made a similar threat directed at former FBI Director, James Comey. He warned Comey that he “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations.” Six months later no tapes have emerged.

Trump’s belligerent yowling turned out to be more of the phony blathering that bullies resort to. But this time it was aimed at a grieving widow. And in the unlikely case that any tapes exists, they are evidence his criminality. Plus, with all of the witnesses supporting Rep. Wilson’s account, any tapes are only likely to prove that he’s a repulsive liar.

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

UPDATE: At today’s press briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to refute that Trump made the statement about “knowing what he signed up for.” In other words, he did say it. Also, she said that there were no tape recordings of the conversation. Trump’s alleged proof was witnesses to his phone call. In other words, no proof.