What Wannabe Dictator Trump Just called Freedom of the Press is ‘Disgusting’

Posted by on October 11, 2017 at 3:42 pm. 2 Comments :

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was first for a reason. It incorporates some of the most cherished and essential principles to maintaining America’s experiment in democracy. Among them is the explicit protection of freedom of the press. The Constitution doesn’t say anything about liking it or approving of its contents. But the unfettered freedom to investigate and report the news is sacrosanct.

Donald Trump

That’s why Donald Trump’s repeated assaults on this freedom are so appalling. He’s spent much of the past two years maligning the very notion of a free press. He calls anything that isn’t sufficiently adoring “fake news,” and personally insults honest journalists. His hostile rhetoric has even led to physical attacks and death threats to reporters who are just doing their jobs.

At a press avail Wednesday morning Trump lashed out again. This time he took aim directly at the First Amendment’s freedom of the press (video below). The attack came during a state visit by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Reporters asked Trump about recent reports that he had inquired about increasing the American nuclear arsenal. Trump denied that he ever discussed the matter and called the reports “fake news” by NBC. And then he added this:

It’s frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write. And people should look into it. […] And then they have their sources that don’t exist. In my opinion they don’t exist. They make up the sources. There are no sources.

Oh yeah. It’s so disgusting that the press gets to write whatever they want. Who’s responsible for that? Somebody has to do something about it. Before you know it they will expect to get away with criticizing the President and not land in jail. Trump must wonder how Vladimir Putin manages to lock up – or kill – critical journalists without any opposition to speak of.

Clearly that’s a goal for this president. He has taken this same position before. Last year he unleashed a particularly abhorrent rant wherein he called the press “the enemy of the American people.” And he fretted over the fact that “Our press is allowed to say whatever they want and get away with it.”

When someone articulates such a plainly authoritarian stance once, it might be considered a gaffe. When it’s repeated multiple times, it’s a mission. Donald Trump has no understanding of, or respect for, the Constitution. And he will abuse it at will if given the opportunity. That opportunity must be withheld from him at all costs. And if his handlers or the Congress won’t do it, than it’s up to the American people. RESIST! IMPEACH!

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

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Trump Threatens NBC’s Broadcast License in a Straight-Up Tyrannical Move

Posted by on October 11, 2017 at 11:15 am. 3 Comments :

Determined to emulate his hero, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has issued a threat that brazenly violates the Constitutional guarantee of a free press. In a couple of utterly idiotic tweets, Trump threatened to challenge NBC’s broadcast license.

Donald Trump

Make no mistake, this is what dictators do. They begin by criticizing the media and ridiculing honest journalists. But they eventually resort to outright censorship and government control. Trump has already been lashing out at the press for years. But his repetitive and tedious cries of “fake news” are actually just whining about stories that he doesn’t like. These are his tweets Wednesday morning:


And This Just In: Another tweet:

First of all, Trump offers no support for his contention that NBC’s story is untrue. NBC is standing by the story which had numerous sources affirming the information. This is typical of Trump’s infantile reaction to anything remotely critical. His fragile ego is constantly on the brink of crumbling.

Secondly, Trump’s threat is another example of his Olympic-grade stupidity. If anyone still doubts that Defense Secretary Rex Tillerson called him a moron, you can set those doubts aside. The problem with Trump’s threat to challenge NBC’s license is that the government does not license television networks. There is no license to revoke. The FCC does license individual TV stations and requires them to serve in the public interest. There’s is no way that Trump could have the licenses pulled from every NBC affiliate throughout the country.

Even if Trump were dumb enough to pursue this, he would have to show that each affiliate deliberately broadcast false information that they knew was untrue. Of course, the network most guilty of doing that is Fox News. If that’s the standard being applied then let’s get Fox off the air ASAP. [NOTE: That isn’t possible either because the FCC rules apply only to broadcast television, not to cable].

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

So once again Trump has demonstrated that he is painfully stupid. And in the process he reaffirmed his devotion to authoritarian control of the media and government. He is clearly unfit to be president and is a danger to the country for this and many other reasons. That’s why an anxious nation is impatiently waiting for special counsel Robert Mueller to complete his investigation and for Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings. It can’t happen too soon.


Moron Trump Turns Out to Be a Chicken, Backs Out of IQ Challenge With Sec. Tillerson

Posted by on October 10, 2017 at 2:33 pm. NO Comments :

Late last week NBC News revealed that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had openly disparaged Donald Trump as a “f*cking moron.” The surprisingly accurate analysis came during a meeting at the Pentagon in July according to three sources. Tillerson later held an unprecedented press conference to refute the charge that his boss is frighteningly dumb. However, he forgot the actual refutation and never denied that he made the statement.

Donald Trump Chicken

It’s notable that there was almost no one defending Trump’s alleged intelligence following Tillerson’s honest appraisal. However, Trump himself finally addressed it in an interview with Forbes Magazine, saying:

“I think it’s fake news, but if he did that, I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win.”

This would not exactly be an epic contest of wits. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he is woefully deprived in the smarts department. He has the vocabulary of a third grader and cannot seem to retain or comprehend simple facts. An IQ test would resolve this controversy in the “reality show” manner that Trump is accustomed to. And it would give Tillerson an opportunity to prove that Trump’s insult to his intelligence was fake news. Never mind that Trump has previously demeaned Tillerson by stating that his diplomatic efforts were a “waste of time.”

Unfortunately, the big competition has already been called off. Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was asked about the event at the White House press briefing. She advised that the President just “made a joke, nothing more than that.” He never intended to take on Tillerson. Which is a shame because the Mensa Institute had offered to sponsor the event.

Had this match gone on it would have been another fiasco for Trump. He has recently been squabbling with the Republican chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker. Corker expressed concern that Trump’s White House was on the verge of chaos. Trump replied with a flurry of furious tweets. But Corker had the last word when he tweeted back saying:

Corker elaborated in a statement to the New York Times. He said that Trump’s behavior “concerned” him and that he feared the President was putting the nation “on the path to World War III.” He also made note of Trump’s tendency to lie, saying “I don’t know why the president tweets out things that are not true.” And he implied that he was not alone in harboring these concerns. “I know for a fact,” Corker said, “that every single day at the White House, it’s a situation of trying to contain him.”

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

These comments should worry every American. If a conservative Republican is this nervous about a president from his own party, there is likely a fire raging under that smoke. It’s time for Corker and his GOP colleagues to stop complaining about the imminent danger Trump represents and do something about it. They don’t have to wait for special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to begin impeachment hearings.


GOP Chair Lies to CNN Saying ‘Women Never Came Forward’ to Report Trump’s Sexual Abuse

Posted by on October 9, 2017 at 2:48 pm. 5 Comments :

Let’s get one thing straight at the start. Harvey Weinstein’s actions were inexcusable. They were gross and demeaning and exploitative. He was right to apologize and seek professional help. But that wasn’t enough. It was also right for the board of directors of the company he founded to fire him.

Donald Trump

In light of that, it is downright nauseating that the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna Romney McDaniel, would turn up on CNN and dismiss the grotesque behavior of Donald Trump by comparing him favorably to Weinstein. Trump is actually much worse. In an interview with Wolf Blitzer (video below), McDaniel had the gall to assert that:

“It’s not even comparable. Harvey Weinstein brought women into his hotel room. I mean to even make that comparison is disrespectful to the President. He didn’t have eight settlements. He didn’t have women coming forward. Harvey Weinstein admits that he did that.”

It’s not even comparable? Everything that McDaniel specified regarding Weinstein is directly comparable to Trump. Her statement that “He didn’t have women coming forward” was a blatant lie. At least a dozen women have come forward with accusations about Trump’s abusiveness. McDaniel also lied about there being no settlements. Numerous women have filed complaints against Trump that resulted in settlements that Trump legally suppressed with binding non-disclosure clauses. He used the same tactic to hide complaints that never made it to a courtroom. Despite these obvious similarities, McDaniel went on to explain the alleged differences anyway. But she directly responded only to the infamous “pussy grabbing” videotape:

“Here’s the difference, Wolf. The President apologized for that and many Republicans came out and said those comments were not appropriate. The difference is that Harvey Weinstein is a major bundler for the DNC. They have embraced him him. He has admitted to these instances when he put women in a completely inappropriate situations. That he was a sexual predator.”

Once again, in each specific reference made by McDaniel the differences she asserts are only visible to someone who is purposefully dishonest. In his belligerent “apology” Trump mainly said he was sorry for having been caught. He never apologized to his victims. And he quickly changed the subject to attack Bill and Hillary Clinton. While some Republicans did repudiate his comments, many actually defended him. And Trump is unarguably the most prolific bundler of campaign financing for the GOP. They embrace him even though he admitted to being a sexual predator.

The only real difference is that Weinstein is now unemployed and Trump continues to reside in the White House (when he isn’t at one of his golf resorts, that is). Republicans are perfectly agreeable to allowing Republican perverts to retain the powerful positions they hold if they make an insincere apology. But if you’re a Democrat you must be impeached and all other Democrats must renounce everything you ever did or said.

The hypocrisy is on an atomic scale. If McDaniel and her party had any sliver of integrity they would abandon their support for Trump and demand that he resign. And they have plenty of other reasons for doing so. Trump is not only a monstrous sexual deviant. He is a traitor for his collusion with Russia to subvert our democracy. He is also corrupt financially as he unconstitutionally enriches himself through his government position. And his reckless incompetence is an imminent danger to the nation and the world by inciting nuclear conflicts with both North Korea and Iran. Have there ever been more reasons to impeach a president than Trump has provided in less than a year in office?

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


Donald Trump, Jr. Remains Conspicuously Silent on America’s Most Notorious Sexual Abuser

Posted by on October 8, 2017 at 11:01 am. 3 Comments :

America is currently facing a cornucopia of calamities. They include everything from mass murders to healthcare to income inequality to voter suppression to potential nuclear war. And there is virtually no government in place to address these dilemmas as Donald Trump and his administration is ripping apart at the seams.

Donald Trump

So naturally Trump’s son Don, Jr. is taking the lead on the matter that is most pressing in the country today: What to do about sexual abusers in positions of power. Except his attention is narrowly focused on a single case, that of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Little Donnie has been following in his father’s footsteps by tweeting furiously about whether liberals and Democrats have sufficiently condemned Weinstein’s gross misconduct. For instance:


[Retweeting right-wing radio talker @marklevinshow]


[Retweeting alleged rapist @JulianAssange]


[Replying to @jimmykimmel]

That’s great. A conservative who is uncharacteristically speaking out against the abuse and harassment of women in the workplace. There’s just one problem. The Trumpette has left some glaring omissions from his crusade for women’s rights and safety. First and foremost, his own father. Donald Trump has been accused by at least a dozen women of sexual harassment or abuse. And he has even confessed to criminal abuse in the infamous Access Hollywood videotape.

The Little Don is very upset that, in his warped view, liberals and Hollywood “elites” haven’t spoken out about Weintstein. But his father is also among those who have declined to condemn him. When asked on Saturday, Trump said only that “I’m not surprised.” That hardly qualifies as a denunciation. And for the record, many on the left have come forward to rebuke Weinstein. In fact, all of the women who courageously came forward with their testimony are denizens of Hollywood. And it was the supposedly leftist New York Times that broke the story in the first place.

The Weinstein affair is, unfortunately, not unique. There are many similar atrocities being committed every day. But there are some distinct differences between Weinstein and the behavior of the President. For one thing, Weinstein is not a national leader. He has no role in the legal or administrative process of government. He makes entertainment for television and cinema. Secondly, he was not nominated for the presidency by the Republican Party, or voted into office by sanctimonious, family-values, right-wingers. And finally, Weinstein voluntarily took a leave of absence from his own company, and its board of directors has ordered an investigation. [Late Breaking: The board has fired Weinstein].

Needless to say, Donald Trump still resides in the White House. He has not acknowledged his inappropriate behavior. Nor have most of his supporters spoken out against it. What’s more, Don, Jr. is a frequent guest on Fox News which has had its own problems with sexually abusive personnel. Their late CEO, Roger Ailes, was ousted earlier this year. Likewise their biggest star, Bill O’Reilly, and several other prominent Fox news staffers. Neither Trump the elder, nor his son have denounced any of them. It’s a case of such blatant hypocrisy that it seems profoundly ludicrous for them to even bother talking about Weinstein.

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

When Trump or his Trumplet can publicly condemn people like Ailes and O’Reilly (and Trump himself), then they will have some moral grounds for tackling Weinstein. In the meantime they should stop criticizing liberals and Democrats who have been forthrightly fighting for women’s rights all along, and without regard to political partisanship.


Donald Trump Wants ‘Equal Time’ on TV – And the Unintended Reason That’s a Fantastic Idea

Posted by on October 7, 2017 at 2:23 pm. 3 Comments :

It wouldn’t be Saturday morning without Donald Trump posting a flurry of frantic Tweets. True to form, his latest Twitter tantrum unleashed a stream of nonsense with more tedious swipes at the media. As usual he’s upset that there are reports that he considers negative. He’s right. But it isn’t the fault of the media that he screws up so much.

Donald Trump

This week the news about Trump included his troubles with White House staff, and particularly Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. NBC had multiple inside sources that heard Tillerson call Trump a “moron.” Trump further embarrassed himself by insulting victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. And he recklessly implied hostile intentions to both North Korea and Iran. If there was positive news about him last week it would have been reported. Followed by inane suggestions that he was finally pivoting to become presidential. So absent any of the good news Trump craves, he tweeted this:

Poor Donald. He simply cannot abide the sort of mockery that every president has endured since the founding of the nation. While he virulently insults his foes as “crooked, crazy, sick,” etc., he whines about being the butt of jokes.

As for the substance of his tweets, is Trump asking for an equal amount of “unfunny and repetitive” material? Because that can certainly be arranged by his comedy surrogates, if not by himself. Secondly, are there really “more and more people” who want to see more of Trump on TV? And are they currently under a doctor’s supervision? Finally, did he end his second tweet with a question mark because even he isn’t sure WTF he means?

More to the point, it’s his remedy for this perceived offense that is most worrisome. He actually believes that the media give him less time than his liberal and Democratic opponents. Hence his proposal to invoke the Equal Time rules to restore balance. However, the evidence shows that Trump has received far more airtime than any other public figure. This was true during the election when he received nearly three times the coverage of any of his opponents. After his inauguration he continued to dominate the press, as reported in a study by the Shorenstein Center of Harvard University:

“President Trump dominated media coverage in the outlets and programs analyzed, with Trump being the topic of 41 percent of all news stories—three times the amount of coverage received by previous presidents. He was also the featured speaker in nearly two-thirds of his coverage.”

The real world data clearly contradicts Trump’s self-serving bitchfest. But it’s also notable that he is, once again, demonstrating that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The Equal Time Rule was intended prevent television stations from influencing the outcome of elections by favoring one candidate over another. It has nothing to do with airtime distribution when an election is not in progress. He may be thinking of the Fairness Doctrine, but the sainted Republican Ronald Reagan did away with that thirty years ago.

As is often the case, the motivation for these tweets by Trump was likely a segment on Fox News shortly before he tweeted. And speaking of Fox News, they would have an interesting dilemma if Trump got his way with regard to Equal Time. Fox News has distinguished itself as the PR division of the Trump administration. They are the closest thing to state-run television that America has ever known. If they were required to provide Equal Time to Democrats it would mean that half of their schedule would be taken over by the party they are devoted to destroying.

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

So let’s let Trump have his way. Let’s actually have an accounting of the network airtime distribution and require networks to balance their coverage. In all likelihood, that would result in Democrats getting significantly more coverage on Fox News, and even some marginally more coverage on every other network. It would be a welcome change in the broadcast environment that either favors Trump or the ratings-friendly melodrama he generates. So bring it on, Donnie.

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Twitter Scorches Fox News and Trump for Taking Credit for Obama’s Economy

Posted by on October 6, 2017 at 3:01 pm. 1 Comments :

The big economic news on Friday was that 33,000 jobs were lost in September. It was the first time in seven years that the jobs numbers went negative. Most reports were quick to cite the rash of hurricanes that plagued the nation in recent weeks. However, the job growth statistics throughout 2017 have lagged behind the same time period in 2016.

Donald Trump economy

It’s no coincidence that Donald Trump and Fox News have been bragging about the performance of the stock market. It’s an easy, albeit deceitful, distraction from the other bad news of the day. Never mind that stocks are currently in the second longest bull market in history and that it started in 2009 under President Obama. Trump has done literally nothing that would change the momentum of Obama’s economy. Not a single economic bill has reached his desk for signature. But that hasn’t stopped him and his propaganda division at Fox News from trying to steal the credit, as demonstrated in these tweets:

The wealth increase that Fox News is touting is based solely on the rise of equities. Not only is it false to describe that as “the nation’s wealth,” it is a fluid indicator that could reverse course tomorrow. Indeed, many stock analysts regard the market’s current position as overvalued. These analysts are predicting a “correction” that could send the markets down ten or twenty percent. What’s more, the soaring stock market does not reflect the economic realities of most Americans. Other economic indicators (i.e. wages) are showing only small advances. The beneficiaries of stock gains are predominantly the usual suspects of the GOP (Greedy One Percent).

Some of these discrepancies were observed by the Twitter community, who proceeded to bludgeon Fox for their bullshit. A few of the notable comments follow:

It’s always dangerous to rely on stock market performance to validate the economy. There are too many factors that can shift investor sentiment. And with Trump’s saber-rattling over nukes with both North Korea and Iran he’s playing with fire, literally. And if that doesn’t sink the markets, then his proposed tax plan, which will benefit only the rich and blow up the deficit, will do the job.

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


Wannabe Dictator Trump Proposes Unconstitutional Senate Investigation of the Media

Posted by on October 5, 2017 at 2:03 pm. 3 Comments :

One of the first things that aspiring tyrants do after assuming power is to suppress and/or control the media. That’s a difficult task in a country that has explicitly protected a free press in its Constitution. But that isn’t stopping Donald Trump from trying anyway.

Donald Trump Tyrant Dictator

In his latest Twitter tantrum, Trump has taken another step toward the monarchy that he so fervently desires to lead. He has escalated his relentless (and unsuccessful) smear campaign against what he refers to as “fake” news, but is actually any news that isn’t fawning adulation. On Thursday morning he tweeted this disturbingly fascist proposition:

There are several easy answers to Trump’s frightful question. To begin with, “so much of our news” is not fake. Trump doesn’t bother to offer any proof of his allegation because he doesn’t have any. The media may get things wrong from time to time, but “made up” news is rare and dealt with harshly. Unlike what happens when Trump himself makes things up. He refuses to issue corrections or apologies and, more often than not, repeats the lies after he already knows they are lies. The Washington Post has documented more than 1,100 false or misleading claims since his inauguration. That’s almost five lies per day.

More importantly, what Trump is suggesting is blatantly unconstitutional. He is directing another independent government body to investigate the independent media. The Constitution prohibits Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” A White House sponsored Senate investigation based on news content is an unambiguous breach of the First Amendment.

Another reason the Senate Intelligence Committee isn’t looking into fake news is that it’s the Intelligence Committee. It has no jurisdiction in that area. Trump’s proposal is a clear effort to deflect the Committee, and the nation, from an entirely different investigation. Already under way is the probe into Trump’s electoral collusion with Russia and related financial corruption. Trump’s obviously afraid of what they’ll discover and is anxious to divert attention away from it.

Another reason Senate Intel isn’t looking into fake news is that it would likely turn up more evidence of fakery by Fox News than by any other media organization. The Republicans in charge of the Committee are aware of this and thus reluctant to pursue it. Fox News has been found to have lied far more often than any of their peers. PolitiFact scored their coverage as “Mostly False, False” or “Pants on Fire” sixty percent of the time. That compares to forty-one percent for MSNBC, and only twenty-seven percent for CNN. So Trump’s favorite network would suffer the most damage from such an investigation were it constitutionally permitted.

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

Trump’s obsession with portraying the media as fake is driven by fear. He’s afraid of reports that correctly describe his ignorance and incompetence. He’s afraid of being caught in bed with the Russians (literally and figuratively). He desperately wants to change the subject and poison the minds of news consumers. And he’s willing to subvert the Constitution in order to assuage his fears and achieve his goals. That’s what dictators do. And Trump has been behaving like a manic tyrant throughout his brief residence in the White House. And for most of his adult life for that matter.


New Poll Has Bad News For Donald Trump and His Smear Campaign Against the Media

Posted by on October 4, 2017 at 11:08 am. 4 Comments :

Every president has had differences with the media. Some have had overtly hostile relationships with members of the press they considered unfair. For the most part these quarrels were below the surface, but some emerged into the public. However, there has never been a White House so openly antagonistic toward the media than Donald Trump’s.

Donald Trump

Trump has not merely been dissatisfied with the coverage he’s received. He has resorted to personal insults and juvenile ridicule. His vilification has resulted in some reporters requiring additional security protection from his followers. Even worse, he deliberately strives to undermine the public trust in the only profession directly protected by the Constitution. Trump famously maligned our free press, calling it “the enemy of the American people.”

These dangerous and unpatriotic tantrums began even before election day. But they intensified after he was inaugurated. And they continue to this day with his tedious and unwarranted whining about so-called “fake” news. So with more than a year of disparaging commentaries and unbridled contempt, what does Trump have to show for it? The latest polling from Reuters/Ipsos summarizes it like this:

“The poll of more than 14,300 people found that the percentage of adults who said they had a ‘great deal’ or ‘some’ confidence in the press rose to 48 percent in September from 39 percent last November.”

In the past year, amid relentless rhetorical abuse, the public trust in the media increased by nine points. Which means that the American people pointedly ignored Trump’s ravings and embraced the press more strongly than ever. For this to happen despite the bellicosity of Trump and his surrogates is a hard slap in the face for the President. Clearly his self-serving, anti-media opinions were of no interest to most people. And this poll affirms the result of previous polls that came to the same conclusions. Even when put up against the specific news organizations he most detests (CNN, the New York Times, etc.) he wound up the loser.

In addition to these findings, the Reuters poll also revealed that the public trust in Trump declined significantly. That decline occurred simultaneously to the rise for trust in the press. Trump’s high of fifty-two percent was marked at his inauguration in January. It subsequently sunk to forty-eight percent in this poll. That includes a six point drop among Republicans. Reuters didn’t poll an approval rating for Trump in this survey, but Gallup has Trump near his all-time low (34%) at thirty-seven percent.

The abject failure of Trump’s anti-media campaign has not deterred him from persisting with nasty, unsupported assaults on Twitter. Wednesday morning he lashed out at the press calling it dishonest and hilariously asking for an apology. And then he unleashed this tweet that contains a bit of unintentional truth:

Indeed. The American people do have a persistent problem with whatever he does or says. Except contrary to his yammering about fake news, what they object to is him and his unabating stream of bullshit. His complaint can be condensed into throwing fits over any criticism directed at him and his failed administration. And unfortunately for him, there seems to be a never-ending supply of ignorance and incompetence to criticize. You might say he’s out of control.

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


Trump-Fluffing Psychiatrist Tells Fox News That CNN ‘Contributes to Mass Shooting’

Posted by on October 3, 2017 at 2:51 pm. NO Comments :

In the world of conservative politics and punditry, the right time to talk about common sense gun safety is never. And they are especially adamant that such discussions be avoided following any gun-related tragedies. Which effectively nixes any dialog ever since these tragic events occur almost every day.

Fox News

However, talking about how Democrats and the liberal media are responsible for firearms massacres is fair game at any time. For example, Tuesday morning Fox News aired an interview with forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner (video below). Welner is a devoted supporter of Donald Trump. His appearance with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes of Fox and Friends was in keeping with the network’s obsessive partisanship. They acted together to brazenly politicize the horror of the Las Vegas calamity.

Welner began with a wholly invented proclamation that “people who are gun enthusiasts, and who are populists or nationalists in this country, are dehumanized. They’re demonized.” It’s impossible to know where he got that from. While there are protests aimed at the National Rifle Association (NRA) and politicians who kowtow to them, citizen gun owners have never a target of scorn. In fact most NRA members actually support measures like background checks and banning assault weapons. However, Welner’s inclusion of “nationalists” in his diatribe was peculiar. Whether or not they own guns, they are associated with the white supremacy movement. Welner apparently considers them victims in the same mold as he does gun owners.

Welner’s analysis of the shooter’s mindset was equally as bizarre. He led off by saying that “This is a sixty-four year old with no dramatic mental illness. No major decline. Someone who’s intact.” On the basis of what examination did he draw those conclusions? There have been no reports as to the shooter’s psychological profile from either the press or the police. Following that, Welner spouted off a stream of incoherent psychobabble that makes one wonder if he got his degree from Trump University. He asserted that all mass murderers are either seeking notoriety or advancing a cause. He left out many other possible motivations including racial or other prejudice, retribution or redress of perceived wrongs, and just plain insanity.

Welner’s primary theory involved looking at the victims and working backwards to establish a motive. So when Fox’s Brian Kilmeade asked what the country music fans at the concert represented, Welner replied, “Americana.” Between the two of them, the only notable characteristic of the victims was the entertainment venue they patronized. That led to this disturbing exchange between the two:

Kilmeade: Jeff Zelany [of CNN] says that country music fans are for the most part Republicans, and the President, by showing this type of sympathy is doing something for his base. Are country music fans symbolic of Republicans?

Welner: Well, I think that CNN is gonna have to answer for how they demonize gun enthusiasts and how CNN actually contributes to mass shooting. And I believe that they do.

First of all, Welner didn’t bother to answer Kilmeade’s embarrassingly biased and asinine question. And the answer he gave was embarrassing enough in it’s own right. That was the professional diagnosis of an allegedly trained psychiatrist? Actually, it’s the opinion of a quack who closed this segment with another absurd allegation. He complained that “We don’t demonize mass killing enough, and that’s why people feel they can do it for a cause.” Really?

Statements like these are not unfamiliar at Fox News. They frequently trade in slander and defamation that is unsupportable and way out of bounds. In this case, Welner may have even exceeded whatever flimsy standards Fox News maintains. Because later in the program, Kilmeade issued a disclaimer to note that the views Welner expressed were his own did not represent Fox. When Fox News is ashamed to be associated with you, that should be a wake up call that the doctor might need professional help himself.

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