Whistleblower’s Rights Supersede Trump’s Gag Orders – Says U.S Office Of Special Counsel

Posted by on January 26, 2017 at 5:34 pm. 3 Comments :

The past week has seen Donald Trump attempt to suppress the free speech of scientists and analysts within the government. The departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency were ordered by the White House to clam up. The prohibition on communications applied to website posts, press releases, and social media such as Twitter.

Donald Trump

These gag orders were mainly directed at agencies providing information related to healthcare and climate change. Trump has made it a priority of his administration to halt any progress on those issues. Even worse, he aims to roll back whatever was done during the Obama administration. But his path may not be all that clear.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is charged with protecting government employees who report malfeasance within federal offices. Whistleblowers often come forward to reveal official corruption or misrepresentation at significant personal risk. However, they are protected by statute from retaliation. It is the responsibility of the OSC to enforce those laws.

Consequently, the OSC responded to the news reports about Trump’s efforts to silence federal employees working on the affected issues. They released a memorandum reminding the administration, and the employees, that certain rights exist that cannot be denied. It’s title is “OSC’s Enforcement of the Anti-Gag Order Provision in Whistleblower Law” and says in part:

“The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is releasing information on its enforcement of the anti-gag order provision in the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA). The WPEA, passed unanimously in both the House and Senate in 2012, strengthened anti-retaliation protections for federal workers. Under the anti-gag provision, agencies cannot impose nondisclosure agreements and policies that fail to include required language that informs employees that their statutory right to blow the whistle supersedes the terms and conditions of the nondisclosure agreement or policy.”

This is a direct swipe at Trump’s attempts to muzzle those working on climate science and healthcare projects. It also anticipates his penchant for shackling his employees with burdensome non-disclosure agreements. The memo reminds everyone concerned that the WPEA:

“…explicitly shields employees for blowing the whistle on any effort to ‘distort, misrepresent, suppress’ or otherwise censor any government ‘research, analysis, or technical information’ that the employee reasonably believes could, among other things, pose a substantial and significant threat to public health or safety or constitute a violation of law, rule, or regulation.”

And that:

“Nondisclosure agreements and policies can chill would-be whistleblowers from coming forward. These orders must clearly state that federal employees have a right to make disclosures of wrongdoing.”

So going forward, the Trump team has been put on notice that any further attempts to suppress communications from protected parties is expressly prohibited. Furthermore, any orders that address such communications must also contain language that informs the employees of their rights.

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

It seems unthinkable that a reminder like this is necessary. But in the Era of Trump there is much that would have previously been considered unthinkable. It’s good to know that there are still some dedicated public servants protecting the interests of the federal workforce and, by extension, the American people and the democracy upon which free expression relies.

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WOW! Watch A Fox News Anchor Call Out Donald Trump For Lying About Voter Fraud

Posted by on January 26, 2017 at 8:58 am. 6 Comments :

It hasn’t even been a full week since Donald Trump became President of the United States. Yet he’s already managed to alienate a nation in which he didn’t even receive a majority of the votes cast. On the second day of his presidency a national protest broke all records for attendance. Meanwhile, his administration immortalized the phrase “alternative facts” (aka lies).

Shepard Smith Fox News

Joining the rush to condemn Trump’s embrace of the post-truth era was a surprising member of the fourth estate. Shepard Smith of Fox News interviewed A.B. Stoddard of RealClear Politics in a segment covering Trump’s intention to launch a “major investigation” into voter fraud. Trump revealed his intention in a two-tweet message:

[One] I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and…. [Two] even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time). Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!

Never mind that there’s no evidence of any fraud that might justify an investigation or the cost to conduct it. Or that his examples of potential fraud are nothing but ordinary instances of people moving, becoming citizens, or dying. Trump is determined to get to the bottom of a big fat nothing. And Fox’s Smith isn’t having it. He introduced the segment with a question for Stoddard:

“Continuing coverage now of President Trump’s call to launch an investigation in his unsupported claims of widespread voter fraud. […] It is the reporting of Fox News that widespread voter fraud did not happen. There’s no evidence that widespread voter fraud happened. There never has been. What is this really about?”

Stoddard responded saying that the debunked claim is something that Trump “believes.” And as Trump’s press secretary poignantly said, “he believes what he believes.” Stoddard also noted that Trump cited a Pew poll, whose pollsters deny that their work supports the voter fraud claim. In fact, they reiterated that the only thing their survey found was inaccuracies in registration records, but no fraud whatsoever. Whereupon, Smith continued his presentation of the facts and their consequences with confirmation from an unlikely source:

“John Busby from the Wall Street Journal suggests that the big picture here is start an investigation; find some instances here, there, and yon of voter fraud; get people whipped up; and then put in rules to suppress the vote across the country. A pattern that we’ve seen in state after state over the past four or five years.”

Perhaps the most startling comment from Smith was an overt acknowledgement of Trump’s casual disregard for the truth. Turning to Stoddard he said “The list of falsehoods from the President is growing. Does this have a cumulative effect?”

Stoddard replied that it was unfortunate that Trump was fixated on “crowd assessments that were demonstrably false.” Or that he sent “his press secretary out to lie on Saturday night.” And now, she said, he resumes the voter fraud nonsense. She further noted that his rambling “hinders his credibility around the world and the credibility of our democracy.”

This segment was both accurate and informative. which makes it all the more surprising that it aired on Fox News. It’s a bad sign for Trump because, if Fox News is starting to report honestly about him, his popularity is likely to descend to depths below its already record lows.

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

https://youtu.be/1mRSqooPp4E


SPLIT: Trump’s Personalities Have A Love/Hate Relationship With Fox News (w/Hysterical Kimmel Video)

Posted by on January 25, 2017 at 1:20 pm. NO Comments :

Donald Trump recently told a gathering at CIA headquarters that he has a “running war with the media.” That may be the first true statement he’s made as president. Throughout his campaign he has attacked the press in the most virulent terms. Advocates for journalists published a statement declaring him to be “an unprecedented threat to press freedom.” His animosity toward the First Amendment is often chaotic and downright dangerous. For instance, on Wednesday he tweeted this:

The spectacle of a sitting president complimenting a news enterprise for its ratings success is both unprecedented and unethical. In a nation that honors a free press, the government is not supposed to be taking sides in these matters. Nor is it appropriate for a president to insult the millions of viewers of CNN by implying that they are stupid.

What’s more, Trump went further with his unprincipled remarks to lambaste CNN as “fake news.” That term is already beginning to lose any meaning as conservatives apply it to any news with which they disagree. However, Trump’s use of it is blatantly vengeful. He reserves his animus for those who have the audacity to criticize him. His purpose is to delegitimize the media in general so that he can disseminate his “alternative facts” (aka lies) with impunity. As a result, he is frequently at odds with himself.

Trump Split 2

Trump has not always been so fond of Fox News. During the campaign he frequently lashed out them when they were not sufficiently complimentary. For instance:

Further more, Trump said of Megyn Kelly that she “is the worst” and has a “terrible show.” He called Karl Rove a “total fool” and “a biased dope.” Chris Stirewalt was deemed “one of the dumbest political pundits on television.” He said that George Will is a “broken down political pundit” and “boring.” And Trump laughed off Charles Krauthammer as “a totally overrated clown,” “a loser,” and “a dummy.”

That, however, is all behind us now. At least until the next time Fox News manages to muster up a worthy criticism. In the meantime, Trump will surely persist in castigating CNN and others for doing their job. His administration is proving to be the most hostile toward reporters in modern times. It is a troubling trend that threatens not only the press, but democracy.

On the other hand, Donald Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to the world of comedy. His ignorant rants and obsessions with ego-driven trivialities are the basis for an endless stream of jokes. He has spent most of his first week as president whining about the turnout at his inauguration. It is eating him alive that it was so much lower than President Obama’s. That preoccupation with his hurt pride led to the infamous introduction of the absurd term “alternative facts.” And when he was fixating on that he was revisiting his embarrassing loss of the popular vote.

Jimmy Kimmel is not one to let a good satire of Trump get away. Consequently, Tuesday night he put together a mock trailer for a sequel to M. Night Shyamalan’s hit movie “Split.” The story revolves around a character with multiple personalities and a decidedly hostile attitude toward women. Sound familiar?

In Kimmel’s sequel the star is Donald Trump. The clip contains several instances of Trump saying one thing, then contradicting himself. It also borrows from the real film with a psychologist confronting Trump to ask “Twenty-three identities live in Donald Trump. To whom am I speaking with now?” The answers in voice-over suggest Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Rosie O’Donnell. Later the female victims plot to escape their tormentor with one proposing that “The only chance we have is if all three of us go crazy on this guy.” Then it cuts to Trump saying “I have no idea who these women are.”

The parallels to real life are a little scary. However, the hilarity falls apart when a voice is heard worrying “What will happen when he unlocks the potential of his brain?” We know that Trump himself thinks that he has “a very good brain [because] I’ve said a lot of things.” That’s also his excuse for refusing to attend national security briefings. He told Chris Wallace of Fox News that such meetings were unnecessary because “I’m, like, a smart person.”

Unfortunately, while comedians are going to be celebrating a renaissance of humor, the rest of the nation is going to be get more and more depressed. Which, ironically, will create a greater need for comedians. So in light of that, enjoy Kimmel’s version of Trump in Split and try to carry on.

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


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.

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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.

https://youtu.be/U0Tqbi1wAog


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