FINALLY: Donald Trump Got Something Right: Republicans ‘Look Like Fools’

Posted by on July 29, 2017 at 4:04 pm. 1 Comments :

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump thrilled his rally-goers with a typically boastful exclamation. “We’re going to win so much,” he warned, “you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning.” He nailed the “sick and tired” part, but after six months there has been almost nothing that he can claim as a victory.

Donald Trump

Most recently, his mission to repeal ObamaCare failed to pass in a Senate controlled by Republicans. Never mind that the GOP voted dozens of times to kill the popular healthcare plan when Barack Obama was president. They just couldn’t manage to do it with a fellow Republican in the White House with pen in hand.

Trump’s latest failure produced a predictable tantrum on Twitter that did nothing but affirm his affinity for whining. In a five-tweet opus, the crybaby President complained about the Senate’s voting rules and impotently demanded reform.

First of all, last week Republicans brought three separate repeal bills to the floor. They all lost with forty-nine or fewer votes. They only needed fifty-one votes to pass. So Trump’s tirade about the 60-vote rule was utterly irrelevant. There was no such rule in effect. More likely, he was just creating a distraction to take the sting off of yet another embarrassing defeat. So far he has blamed the Democrats, his press secretary, his chief of staff, and now the Republicans. Nothing is ever his fault. But wasn’t he supposed to be the brilliant dealmaker who would get everything he wanted on the strength of his magnetic personality? And . . . so much winning!

The one thing that Trump got right was his assertion that Republicans “look like fools.” And he, of course, is the titular leader of the Republican Party. The GOP’s obsession with killing a bill that polls show is favored by majorities of the public is indeed foolish. It is foolish to try so hard to replace that bill with one that has public approval in the teens. And pushing a proposal that will take insurance away from as many as 32 million people is foolhardy in the extreme.

So why is Trump suddenly ranting about arcane Senate rules that have nothing to do with last week’s vote? The answer is the same as to why Trump does almost anything: He saw it on Fox News. Saturday morning on Fox and Friends, GOP Rep. Sean Duffy was interviewed about the Senate bill’s failure. He dodged the substance of the matter to complain about his feeble senate counterparts. “We’ve passed 200 bills,” he said, “that right now sit in the Senate waiting for them to pass.” And while Duffy blamed the 60-vote rule for that logjam, the responsibility actually lies with Mitch McConnell. As Senate Majority Leader, he controls the calendar and decides what will come up for a vote and when.

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

Clearly, Trump was watching and, as he often does, tweeted what he just saw on TV. And it wasn’t just any news program. It was his favorite show, hosted by the biggest bunch of imbeciles on television. The “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Fox and Friends frequently discharge easily debunked falsehoods in the service of right-wing propaganda. And our incurious president retweets them without the slightest effort to confirm. It’s a cycle that repeats on a nearly daily basis. And it’s the best explanation for why Trump and his Republican colleagues – as Trump himself agrees – look like fools.

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Fox News Calls for Trump Dictatorship and More Suffering After ObamaCare Repeal Fails

Posted by on July 28, 2017 at 3:53 pm. 1 Comments :

Late Thursday night the Republican effort to kill ObamaCare met its demise – for the time being. Despite having the majority, the GOP-run Senate couldn’t pass their last ditch scheme to repeal the Affordable Care Act. It’s a dream they’ve salivated over for seven years without doing anything about it. Now their incompetence and callous disregard for people’s well-being has been dealt a well-deserved loss. The vote was 49-51, with Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and John McCain joining all the Democrats.

Fox News Donald Trump

True to form, Fox News went into a total meltdown following the vote. They appeared on the verge of a severe depressive episode. Immediately after the vote Fox News aired the crestfallen remarks of a gloomy Sen. Mitch McConnell in full. Next to speak on the Senate floor was Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. But Fox didn’t air any of his speech. Instead they cut to a phone-in analysis from daytime anchor Bret Baier. The woman anchoring last night interjected that “It’s a sad day for America.” Fair and balanced.

Perhaps the most repulsive reaction to the GOP’s aborted repeal came from Jesse Watters, co-host of The Five. In a post-vote rant Watters had the audacity to advocate for a Trump tyranny:

“A lot of people wish President Trump was a dictator, maybe we could repeal Obamacare. It would be a lot easier that way.”

He’s right. A lot of people do wish that Trump was a dictator. Starting with Donald Trump. Then add most of the people on Fox News, Trump’s most stalwart fans among the white supremacist community, and the dimwits who still support him after his treasonous betrayal of the country to Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin. Fascist minds think alike.

Watters’ reckless comments are emblematic of the dangers that an authoritarian, megalomaniac like Trump represent. The fact that he can get crackpots on Fox News to openly advocate for his elevation to dictator is frightening. But Watters wasn’t alone in making appallingly stupid comments in the hours of grief for Fox. His colleagues at Fox and Friends chimed in with idiotic outbursts of their own. Steve Doocy, always the cock-eyed optimist, found something positive to console the loser President. Doocy said the repeal failure was “good news” for Trump because “It’s gonna continue to be ObamaCare and people who have been suffering will continue.”

Well, isn’t that good news? Republicans like nothing better than seeing people suffer. Trump obviously agrees because he tweeted again his intention to “let ObamaCare implode.” That, of course, would produce unconscionable and unnecessary suffering for millions of Americans. And Trump is doing it on purpose. In fact, he is deliberately sabotaging healthcare for millions. Doocy even admitted that Trump “wants [Obamacare] to fail.” He’s rooting for pain and sickness rather than for the people he’s sworn to protect and defend.

Finally, Brian Kilmeade demonstrated the ignorance that is rampant on Fox News. While complaining about the loss in the Senate, Kilmeade sarcastically congratulated the Democrats who prevailed. In a boneheaded snark he said “Congratulations. The healthy people are paying for the sick people.” You don’t say? What Kilemeade has just done is define in very literal terms exactly what health insurance is. In fact, it’s exactly what all insurance is. But he’s casting it in a negative light as if it should be repudiated.

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

And with that Kilmeade has also demonstrated the pitiful stupidity of Fox News that infects and warps the brains of their glassy-eyed viewers. That’s why it’s so hard to have a rational debate with any of them. They are damaged beyond repair, and they cling to the defects and the lies they are fed by Fox. Fox News has led America into an era that cheers a President who says that he “loves the poorly educated.” Of course he does. No one else would believe his bull. That’s why he is destroying the Department of Education from within. And he’s lucky to have Fox News to make sure there are as many poorly educated Americans as possible.


Fox and Friends Lies About New York Times Calling Them ‘The Most Powerful TV Show in America’

Posted by on July 27, 2017 at 3:12 pm. 4 Comments :

Another morning, another flurry of dishonest reporting by Fox News and their “Curvy Couch” potatoes at Fox and Friends. While pretending to read the newspapers spread out on the coffee table, co-host Steve Doocy made a fake discovery. He held the paper so that the cameras got a good look at an advertisement on the back page. What viewers saw was a full page ad touting Fox and Friends.

Fox News Steve Doocy

The ad was obviously paid for by Fox News to promote the network and the program. It featured a quote attributed to the New York Times saying that Fox and Friends is “the most powerful TV show in America.” Doocy’s faux surprise was echoed by his co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade. They were pretending to be excited by the praise from an unexpected source:

Doocy: This program, the program you’re watching, according to the New York Times, is the most powerful TV show in America.
Earhardt: You know why Steve? Because we have the best viewers.

Earhardt would have been more correct if she had said “because we have the best viewer.” Because the only person in their audience that they play to is Donald Trump. That point was confirmed when that viewer proudly tweeted the same message Doocy was boasting about:

There’s just one problem. The Fox News crew horribly mangled what the New York Times was saying in their article. Calling the relationship between Fox and Friends and Trump a “Two Way Mirror,” the Times analyzed the perverse relationship between the TV program and the President. The full quote from the Times said:

“Suddenly, for no other reason than its No. 1 fan, it is the most powerful TV show in America,”

In context, the Times was criticizing both Trump and Fox for clinging to one another in a mockery of journalism. They went on to portray Fox’s posture toward Trump as a “Romper Room-style” broadcast intended to flatter our ego-obsessed, narcissistic president:

“President Trump is the show’s subject, its programmer, its publicist and its virtual fourth host. The stars offer him flattery, encouragement and advice. When he tweets, his words and image appear on a giant video wall. It’s the illusion of children’s TV — that your favorite show is as aware of you as you are of it — except that for Mr. Trump, it’s real.”

That’s an entirely different characterization than the one of pride that Doocy and company presented. And let’s not forget that Fox News paid for these ads. It’s an advertising campaign that deliberately distorts the quote they featured in the ad. And it’s further evidence of their aversion to ethics and truth. The author of the Times’ article, James Poniewozik, tweeted his own somewhat snarky thoughts about this saying that he was, “Excited to see @realDonaldTrump endorse my thesis that F&F’s weird childlike sway over him makes it hugely powerful! Thanks, POTUS!”

What’s more, why does Trump and Fox and Friends care what the New York Times has to say about them? Don’t they consider it fake news? In which case, Fox and Friends is not the most powerful TV show in America. And there is something peculiar about Fox News buying ad space in the Times. Trump has appended the word “failing” to every mention he makes of the paper. Fox News has adopted the same juvenile (and false) habit. But with this campaign they are helping the Times to be even more financially successful.

The Times’ article closed by noting that Fox and Friends has a unique mission with regard to Trump. They describe him as “the superfan in the White House who sees it as ‘Fox & Friend’ — singular.” That has been borne out by the numerous times that Trump has watched the show and, shortly after, tweeted what he saw. He has also promoted the program in dozens of tweets that amount to free publicity from the White House. The value of those tweet-vertisements has been put as high $5 million. So there is clearly a parasitical relationship between Fox News and Trump that benefits both. And we can expect that, and the lies, to continue for the foreseeable, lamentable future.

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


Trolling Trump Pays Off HUGE for Stephen Colbert: Ratings Leader and 5 Emmy Nominations

Posted by on July 26, 2017 at 11:44 am. NO Comments :

When Stephen Colbert took over for David Letterman on CBS’ “The Late Show” he got off to a surprisingly slow start. Audiences may have had trouble distinguishing the “real” Colbert from the character who hosted Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.” Stephen may have had some trouble with that as well.

Stephen Colbert

However, a few months ago, Colbert hit his stride as he took more direct aim at politics generally, and Donald Trump in particular. The writing got sharper and funnier. Colbert was more confident and seemed to be more comfortable in his own skin. And as a reward for taking a bigger bite out of the ludicrous state of the nation, the show quickly rose to the top of the ratings hill. For the first time in years the “Tonight Show,” now starring Jimmy Fallon, was knocked from its perch.

Last week Colbert aired a special series of programs with segments taped during his recent trip to Russia. Among his adventures were an interview of a Russian oligarch and a night in the infamous “pee pee” room. He also guested on a Russian talk show where he announced that he’s considering a run for president in 2020. The obvious dig at the ongoing scandals involving the unsavory connections to Russia by Trump and his associates paid off bigly for Colbert. He scored his highest rated week since the program’s debut in 2015. According to the Hollywood Reporter:

“Stephen Colbert got a lot of love for his ‘Russia Week.’ The CBS late-night host, who documented his trip to St. Petersburg and Moscow, rolled out the segments for another big ratings win.

“For the week of July 17-21, Colbert’s The Late Show averaged nearly 2.9 million viewers before any DVR lifts. Not only is that a 14 percent jump from the same week during the prior year, but it also marks his widest margin of victory over NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since Colbert’s CBS premiere week nearly two years ago. The Late Show outperformed Tonight by nearly half a million viewers.”

And there’s more good news for Colbert in addition to the Nielsen victory. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences released the list of Emmy nominees for 2017 on Tuesday. The Late Show was nominated for “Best Variety Talk Series.” The program also received nominations for directing and writing, for a total of five Emmy nods for the show. And if that weren’t enough, Colbert will be hosting the Emmy Awards broadcast on Sunday, Sept. 17, on CBS.

There is an important lesson to be learned from Colbert’s success. America is bitterly disappointed with the ignorant, lying, bully occupying the White House. They are embarrassed by his infantile antics and blatant crimes. All the polls bear out this view of Trump as the most unpopular president in modern times. And his policies are as out of favor as he is.

Last May Trump made the mistake of taking a couple of swings at Colbert. He called Colbert a “no-talent guy” and said there was “nothing funny” about him. But Trump never never mentioned him again after Colbert’s devastating on-air response. That’s just one of the ways that Colbert is the beneficiary of Trump’s arrogance and fragile ego.

Colbert’s success proves that Americans are hungry for relief from the constant shame that Trump imposes on the country. And until such time as that relief comes in the form of his leaving office, they are clinging to some comic relief to get them through the day. Every rating point and award for Colbert is a vote against Trump, and you can bet it’s gnawing at him. Hopefully he will tweet about it and give Colbert some more material that’s ripe for hilarious mockery.

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


Hannity Orders His Trump-Cult Audience to Attack Journalists – Gets Slapped Back HARD!

Posted by on July 25, 2017 at 1:08 pm. 2 Comments :

Donald Trump’s First Amendment foes are assembling the troops in what they think is a massive show of force. They have a new general in the White House, Anthony Scaramucci, who unseated feeble Fibby Spice (Sean Spicer). The Mooch is already parroting the worst of Trump’s anti-media rhetoric. He is an avid supporter of the President’s Twitter tantrums and infantile assaults on free speech. And now he’s got some help from the Trump TV Network (aka Fox News).

Sean Hannity Fox News

Leading the way is Fox News Trump fluffer, Sean Hannity. Always a reliable soldier in the fight against honest journalism, Hannity has ordered a significant escalation. He’s taking the unusual step of enlisting his glassy-eyed audience into battle. On Monday night’s program he issued a call to the recruits to prepare to deploy for an all out offensive. And knowing his audience, they can be pretty damn offensive (video below):

Hannity began by praising the Trump administration for “ramping up one of the most effective tactics for combating all the fake news.” He was referring to the Propaganda Squad that has been fanning out to pick fights with their favorite media foils. They include Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, and Sebastian Gorka. Hannity lauded them for “standing up to pundits who treat the White House with hatred and disdain.” In reality they were just being jerks and insisting that the press accept Trump’s lies as truth. Then Hannity issued his orders to the troops:

“Members of the Trump administration, they’re beginning to shine a bright light on these dark corners of this fake news industry. And now thanks to social media, you can too. […] You can call out fake news right at the source. For example, you can tell fake news Jake Tapper exactly what you think of his interview with Anthony Scaramucci. You can do it on twitter.”

Tapper was only the beginning. Hannity also made juvenile insults aimed at CNN’s Brian Stelter and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. His diatribe was filled with childish taunts and ludicrous, debunked accusations against Hillary Clinton. And then he addressed those who might “want to take it to the next level.”

“Write a message to their bosses. Send a tweet over to [Jeff] Zucker over at fake news CNN or Andy Lack from NBC fake news. Right now the media is living in their little bubble. It is our job to remind them that there is an America way outside of New York, D.C., Los Angeles and San Francisco. Tonight, technology is now making it possible for you to take your point of view directly to the source and show America’s elites that the forgotten men and forgotten women of this country voted for this agenda and they want it completed and for them to stop lying to you. Take to the social media, and I think you’re going to have a positive impact.”

First of all, if Hannity is really concerned about the people’s position on Trump’s agenda, he should take notice that Trump is the most unpopular president in modern history. And that goes for his policies as well.

More to the point, Hannity is apparently aware that his viewers don’t already know about Twitter. He has the oldest skewing audience in cable news. Recent demographic studies show that “The median age of the average primetime Fox News viewer is 68 — five years older than MSNBC, and nine years older than CNN.” And the consequences of that disparity can be devastating when reaching out to a more youthful, social media capable, audience. So Hannity’s Twitter blitz produced predictably contrary results, as documented by the Huffington Post:


https://twitter.com/BrendaNorton69/status/889684704621985792
https://twitter.com/_DonaldLee_/status/889684688541036546
https://twitter.com/sreyno19/status/889684452942774272


https://twitter.com/Mik3Ferguson/status/889684518361219073
https://twitter.com/BrianneJohnson3/status/889684089686691840

And as Tapper noted in his reply thanking those tweeters: “I don’t think that turned out the way he intended.”

Hannity will always lose on this battleground. He is too much of an ideologue who spins so furiously that reality is unrecognizable. And his followers are handicapped by being dumb enough to watch him in the first place. There are plenty of problems with corporate media outlets like CNN, but they pale in comparison to the rancid hostility and blatant dishonesty of Hannity and Fox News. And online communities on Twitter and Facebook will continue to let him know how irrelevant he is.

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


Fox News ‘Update’ of a False Story Smearing the New York Times, Just an Excuse to Re-Air It

Posted by on July 24, 2017 at 4:23 pm. 3 Comments :

The frequency of mistakes, gaffes, and outright lies that are broadcast daily on Fox News would be challenging to correct. If, that is, they ever cared to. On the rare occasions when they issue a correction, it is often halfhearted and buried in justifications. Their corrections seem to function more as vindications than apologies.

Fox News Steve Doocy

A perfect example of this occurred Monday morning on Fox and Friends. Co-host Steve Doocy looked sheepishly into the camera to address a segment from Saturday’s program. The segment featured Gen. Tony Thomas making a startling accusation that the New York Times was responsible for allowing a terrorist leader to escape. He said that the Army had a good lead on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. “Unfortunately,” Thomas said, “it was leaked in a prominent national newspaper about a week later and that lead went dead.” Fox weekend host Pete Hegseth elaborated to charge that Baghdadi would’ve been captured if not for the Times. Of course, there’s no way he could know that.

More to the point, the claim by Thomas was not accurate. The Times responded in detail, pointing out that their original story contained only information that had been previously published elsewhere. What’s more, the Times had cleared their story with the Pentagon who had no objections to publishing it. Nor were there any objections made after it was published, which was two years ago. So the day after Fox’s erroneous report, the Times sent a letter to Fox News requesting an on-air retraction and apology. It said in part:

“Neither the staff at Fox & Friends, nor the writers of a related story on Foxnews.com, appeared to make any attempt to confirm the relevant facts, nor did they reach out to the New York Times for comment. We understand that the segment and story are based on a misleading assertion by Gen. Thomas speaking at a conference in Aspen. However, that does not alleviate Fox News of the obligation to seek information from all the stakeholders in a story. With this segment, Fox & Friends has demonstrated what little regard it has for reporting facts.”

The statement made by Doocy, however, hardly satisfied the request by the Times. He neither apologized, nor conceded that a correction was in order. Doocy described his remarks as “an update,” and then replayed the false comments by Gen. Thomas in full. Finally, Doocy told viewers they could read the Times’ full response on the Fox website, but didn’t provide a URL.

So Fox News exploited the opportunity to correct the record by further distorting it. Their audience got to see the General’s false comments again, but were not told they were false. Fox News never gave a full accounting of the story’s factual flaws, or provided the evidence supplied by the Times. In effect they said “Here’s what we said before, and if you want to know what the Times said, go look it up yourself.”

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

Naturally, Fox’s biggest fan, Donald Trump, was watching when the story was first broadcast. Within half an hour he had tweeted the fake news to his Twitter followers. Two days later his tweet is still online with no comment or correction. That’s typical of Trump, who has even less regard for the truth than his primary source, Fox News.

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REPORT: Trump Considering Replacing ‘Beleaguered’ Attorney General Sessions With Rudy Giuliani

Posted by on July 24, 2017 at 1:28 pm. 1 Comments :

The past couple of weeks has seen Donald Trump becoming ever more buried in scandal and controversy. Much of it is related to the ongoing questions about his unsavory connections to Russia. However, lately there have been new concerns emanating from a floundering White House that increasingly sees itself as under siege. The anxiety is getting so intense that Trump tweeted a plea for Republicans in Congress to protect him.

Rudy Giuliani

Setting aside the fact that it is not the job of Congress to protect the President (they are a co-equal check and balance on the executive branch), Trump’s worries extend to his his cabinet, with which is he decidedly unsatisfied.

That is especially true of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Recently Trump castigated his former favorite shill in what appears to be an attempt to force his resignation. He told the New York Times that Sessions’ recusal from the Russia probe caused him to regret the appointment. That was followed by a leaked report revealing Sessions meetings with Russians. There is speculation that the White House was the source of that leak. And on Monday morning Trump referred to Sessions as his “beleaguered” attorney general. Ironically, it is Trump who is “beleaguering” him.

A report just published by Axios is stirring the waters even more. They are hearing talk of Sessions being replaced by Rudy Giuliani. That would be an astonishing development. Giuliani is one of Trump’s most strident supporters. It would be suspicious if he should be put in that position as Trump’s legal woes expand. His fierce loyalty to Trump make it impossible to imagine that he’d run the Justice Department with the necessary independence.

But there are other reasons to be concerned about Giuliani running the Justice Department. His background is rife with controversy in both his political and personal lives. And he has much in common with the darkest side of Donald Trump. For instance:

  • Giuliani is a confirmed Birther.
  • Giuliani is a serial adulterer.
  • Giuliani asserts that he would prosecute Hillary Clinton.
  • Giuliani is frequently on Fox News and officiated at the wedding of Roger Ailes.
  • Giuliani implemented the racist stop-and-frisk policy for New York policing.
  • Giuliani eliminated New York’s control and command center for emergency response. This hampered rescue efforts after 9/11.
  • Giuliani business clients include the Canadian company that is building the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
  • Giuliani gave a speech to the Iranian organization Mujahedeen Khalq, which was on a State Department list designating it a terrorist organization.
  • Giuliani has a personal reverence for Vladimir Putin, who he said, “makes a decision and he executes it quickly. And then everybody reacts. That’s what you call a leader.”

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

Should Sessions be forced out as many insiders expect, Trump may lean on his pal Giuliani to do his dirty work at the Justice Department. The degree of sycophancy that Giuliani has displayed would make it likely he would willingly fire special counselor Robert Mueller. And stifling the investigations into his Russian affairs and finances is a top priority of Trump’s since he fired former FBI director James Comey. However, if any of this transpires there’s still a question as to whether Giuliani could be confirmed by the Senate. Even some Republicans might be wary of installing Trump’s consigliere as Attorney General.

LATE BREAKING: The Washington Post is reporting that Ted Cruz is also being considered as a replacement for Sessions. That would be a remarkable political turnaround for Lyin’ Ted whose father collaborated with JFK’s assassins. However, known as the most hated man in the Senate, he may find it even harder to get confirmation from his Senate colleagues.


Kellyanne Conway is TOTALLY Oblivious to the Crisis in Trump White House

Posted by on July 23, 2017 at 3:38 pm. 7 Comments :

The Sunday Morning news fest was particularly exciting this week. Much of it was consumed by Donald Trump’s new communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. He made the rounds to demonstrate that he’s a sufficiently sizable asshole to represent this president. What America learned, for the most part part, was that he “loves” Donald Trump, which he said repeatedly. Plus, he gushed about Trump’s near divine perfection as a communicator and a leader. Good work, Mooch.

Kellyanne Conway

However, no Sunday is complete without the screwball antics of White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway. She was interviewed by Brian Stelter on CNN’s Reliable Sources. And she lived up to her low standards for honesty and rational discourse. The conversation focused on the many scandals that have dogged the White House. Conway was surprised at the very notion and refuted it fiercely. And in a shockingly candid appraisal of the President’s proclivity for bald-face lies, Conway served up a unique justification:

Stelter: The scandals are the President’s lies. About voter fraud. About wiretapping. His repeated lies about those issues. That’s the scandal.
Conway: He doesn’t think he’s lying about those issues, and you know it.

Stelter went easy on Conway. There are literally hundreds of other demonstrable falsehoods that Trump has shamelessly uttered. But Conway is adopting the “Costanza Principle,” famously introduced in an episode of Seinfeld. Jerry’s friend George was advising him on how to beat a lie detector test. “If you believe it,” said George, “then it’s not a lie.” And now that principle has been put to the test in the “real” world of Kellyanne’s “alternative facts.” Stelter pointed out that just because the President says something, even if he believes it, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still untrue. But that was a concept that would be over the head of any Trump advisor.

In the same interview, Stelter’s reference to the many scandals plaguing the Trump administration seemed to come as a surprise to Conway. That led to this exchange:

Stelter: This is a White House in crisis whether you recognize it or not.
Conway: Why? I work there. Where do you get that?

Conway’s oblivious response ignores the fact that Trump is under investigation by the FBI, the GOP-controlled Senate and House, and an independent counsel. She also appears not to have noticed that Trump’s attempts to kill ObamaCare have failed. Or that his border wall is still a wingnut fantasy. Or that his immigration policies are stalled. And nothing has been on done taxes or infrastructure, or terrorism. This is likely the least productive administration in decades, despite Trump’s ludicrous claims to the contrary.

What’s more, Trump has the worst approval ratings of any president in modern history. Conway had an explanation for that which made no sense whatsoever:

“Part of the disapproval are the independents who voted for him and want him to ignore all the nonsense, and all the noise, and all the Russia nonsense. That’s part of it. Part of it are people upset with Congress. The President’s approval rating is far higher than the approval rating of the media or the Congress, and there’s a reason for that.”

So Trump’s abysmal ratings are due to his own supporters giving him poor marks because they don’t like Congress? Yeah, that’s the ticket. As for Trump vs. the media, numerous polls have shown that, given a choice, majorities of voters trust the media more. That includes the “failing” New York Times and “fake” news CNN.

Conway was insistent that CNN and others were pushing the “phony” stories about Russia. She suggested that they should cover real stories instead. Then she gave as an example that “millions of Americans don’t have healthcare.” Which is an interesting choice since her boss is advocating a bill that would would take healthcare away from 32 million more Americans. And of course, that story has been covered extensively across the spectrum of media.

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

It’s morbidly entertaining to watch Trump’s staff and surrogates struggle to put his disastrous administration in a positive light. There are no plausible arguments that can make any of this sound less than catastrophic. Consequently, their efforts seem more and more absurd and desperate. You have to wonder what they think of themselves at the end of a day of this futile spinning. But then, since they work for Donald Trump, what could they think of themselves anyway.


Will Donald Trump Renounce Pal Alex Jones’ Threat to ‘Kill a Bunch of Liberals’?

Posted by on July 22, 2017 at 4:15 pm. 6 Comments :

After six months the administration of Donald Trump has virtually nothing to herald as a success. His most prominent campaign promises (repeal ObamaCare, defeat ISIS, build a border wall) remain unfulfilled. But there is one area of accomplishment about which he can brag. The escalation of hatred directed by his followers to their fellow Americans is reaching new highs.

Alex Jones Infowars

The vitriol from the right has increased exponentially since the election of Trump. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s annual survey of hate groups shows an unprecedented rise fueled by Trump’s hostile rhetoric. And those groups are enjoying an association with mainstream politics they have never known. They are showing up on national television and at presidential press briefings. And they even have their own representatives in the White House. Trump’s alt-right hero and chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, has an office next to the oval one.

High on the list of radical alt-right wackos is conspiracy freak Alex Jones. On his radio broadcasts Jones unleashes a non-stop flurry of malicious rants and dark fantasies. He famously asserts that the Sandy Hook murders were a hoax complete with actors portraying children’s corpses. More recently he has been fixated on what he believes are the nascent ramblings of a new Civil War. Newsweek reports that:

“On June 23, he accused ‘the left’ of starting civil war and offered to personally execute convicted traitors because, he said, ‘I’m not going to sit here and just call for stuff without actually being part of it.’ In the same broadcast he said, ‘I don’t need some coming-of-age deal to kill a bunch of liberals,’ but ‘we have to start getting ready for insurrection and civil war because they’re really pushing it.'”

And . . .

“On June 15, he warned ‘you kick off Civil War 2, baby, you’ll think Lexington and Concord was a cakewalk.’ The day before, he implicated himself and his listeners: ‘You’re trying to start a civil war with people. You’re taking our kindness for weakness. Do you understand the American people will kill all of you? You understand? We are killing machines, you fools.… But I can shoot bull’s-eye at 400 yards, dumbass. I mean, they have no idea who they’re messing with.'”

In addition, Jones has called on the President to take action against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey for unspecified crimes. “I would support the president making a military move on them right now,” Jones said. And the profane tirade he unloaded on Rep. Adam Schiff has to be seen to be believed.

Jones has crossed a line that may put him in legal jeopardy. It is against the law to threaten government officials. And his advocacy of violence toward anyone with whom he disagrees should earn immediate condemnation and social exile. However, Jones remains a confidant and ally of Donald Trump. He professes his undying loyalty on every show. Jones has claimed to be in frequent contact with the President. As for Trump, he has appeared on Jones’ Infowars program praising his “amazing” reputation. And an Infowars “correspondent” was actually granted a White House press pass.

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

Given the overt advocacy of violence by Jones, it is high time for Trump to renounce his association with him. No president can be allowed to get away with embracing such rhetoric without paying a price. The press needs to push Trump to take a public position condemning Jones and his sick promotion of terrorism. Absent such a statement, Trump should be labeled as a domestic terrorist for supporting civil war. Because under those circumstance, that’s exactly what he is.


Dumping on Trump: Spicer’s Replacement Caught on Video Slamming the President

Posted by on July 21, 2017 at 2:09 pm. 1 Comments :

Friday morning a bombshell announcement rattled the White House as another shake up hit the wires. Donald Trump’s acting communications director and press secretary, Sean Spicer unexpectedly resigned. The reason for his swift exit was that Trump brought in Anthony Scaramucci to fill the communications director position. Spicer was said to be unwilling to report to the totally inexperienced former hedge fund manager.

Fox News Scaramucci

The resignation of a key communications staffer only six months into the administration is emblematic of the disarray in the Trump White House. Spicer is only one of the top aides that didn’t last very long under Trump’s erratic and authoritarian control.

Another communications director, Mike Dubke, resigned in May. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn left under a cloud of lies about meetings with Russians. Monica Crowley barely moved in to the NSC when she turned and left due to revelations of rampant plagiarism. And two members of Trump’s legal team, Mark Corallo, and Marc Kasowitz, just quit. That doesn’t even count the hundreds of resignations/terminations from the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the State Department, the Pentagon, and more. Most of those positions remain unfilled.

Scaramucci has no experience in media relations whatsoever. He previously ran the Skybridge Capital hedge fund. He was also a Fox News contributor who appeared frequently on the Fox Business Network. It was in that role that he made some disparaging comments about his new boss a couple of years ago. On a panel discussing speculation of Trump’s presidential aspirations, Scaramucci candidly expressed his opinion (video below).

Among other things, Scaramucci accused Trump of being a “Democratic plant” for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Another current Fox News Trump shill, Charlie Gasparino, agreed saying “I’ve been saying that for a long time.” Scaramucci called Trump “divisive” and said that the only thing he would president of was the “Queens County Bullies Association.” He offered his prediction that Trump “is probably gonna make Elizabeth Warren his vice-presidential nominee.”

Then Dagen McDowell, another Fox News hack who breathlessly praises Trump these days, chimed in. “I like how you say that now,” she scolded him, “but I’ve had a problem with how he talks about women for years.” Scaramucci concurred, and went further to issue Trump a direct challenge.

“I don’t like the way he talks about women, I don’t like the way he talks about our friend Megyn Kelly. And you know what, the politicians don’t want to go at Trump because he’s got a big mouth and because [they’re] afraid he’s going to light them up on Fox News and all these other places. But I’m not a politician. Bring it. You’re an inherited money dude from Queens County. Bring it, Donald.”

Indeed. Trump is the beneficiary of having wealthy parents. He grew up spoiled and self-centered and developed a reputation for being a loud-mouthed bully. Scaramucci called it right at the time. And his assessment was aired on a Fox News network with concurrence from his right-wing colleagues. Now he will join the administration that already has several former Foxies on board. Among them K.T. McFarland, Ben Carson, Heather Nauert and Jonathan Wachtel.

The Trump administration is awash in chaos. Hundreds of critical jobs remain vacant. And many of those on staff are at odds with the president and/or each other. During the campaign Trump bragged that he would hire “all the best people.” But that appears to be just another phony promise that he can’t fulfill.

There appears to be a dearth of prospects who would even consider working for Trump. Particularly when he is under investigation for potentially impeachable crimes. Being connected to this administration is regarded as a resume killer. Consequently, that leaves only political bottom feeders as candidates. And with inquiries ongoing by the FBI, Congress, and special counsel Robert Mueller, it will only get worse.

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