Wild Outbursts on the Internet: Trump Takes a Swing at John Brennan, Lands the Blow on Himself

Posted by on August 15, 2018 at 2:58 pm. 3 Comments :

At Wednesday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a statement from the President announcing that he is revoking the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan. This action was obviously taken today because yesterday Brennan tweeted a harsh, and well deserved, criticism of Donald Trump for his childish and racist attack on Omarosa Manigault-Newman. He chastised Trump for “fail[ing] to live up to minimum standards of decency.” Or, in other words, for being Trump.

Donald Trump Zombie

To some degree, Trump is lashing out here as a distraction from the Mueller probe and Omarosa’s book tour. But it could not be more apparent that Trump is also exacting vengeance on Brennan for having the audacity to challenge his omnipotent authority to behave like a cholicky infant. If Trump wants to call his former diversity outreach czar a dog, he should be able to so without mature adults pointing out that he’s an embarrassment to the presidency. However, the statement read by Sanders (and quite obviously not written by Dotard Trump) contained some hysterical hypocrisies and serves as evidence of how blinded Trump is by his conceit and narcissism. It began by alleging, without basis, that Brennan’s “erratic conduct” posed some unspecified risks. It continued:

“Mr. Brennan has recently leveraged his status as a former high-ranking official with access to highly sensitive information to make a series of unfounded and outrageous allegations – wild outbursts on the internet and television – about this Administration. Mr. Brennan’s lying and recent conduct, characterized by increasingly frenzied commentary, is wholly inconsistent with access to the Nation’s most closely held secrets and facilitates the very aim of our adversaries, which is to sow division and chaos.”

If these remarks weren’t specifically addressed to Mr. Brennan, they could easily be mistaken for Trump’s resignation letter. Everything enumerated above describes Trump to a tee:

  • Unfounded and outrageous allegations.
  • Wild outbursts on the internet and television.
  • Lying.
  • Frenzied commentary.
  • Sow division and chaos.

Trump is finally conceding that such behavior is “wholly inconsistent” with government service. By his own standards he should immediately resign and apologize to the nation. Not only do these characteristics fit Trump perfectly, they do not in any way describe Brennan or any of his recent comments. Neither do they describe the others that Trump’s statement listed as being at risk for having their security clearances removed as well: James Clapper, James Comey, Michael Hayden, Sally Yates, Susan Rice, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Bruce Ohr.

What all of these people have in common is that they have been life-long public servants, and they have honestly spoken out about the perils presented by Trump’s ignorance, ego, and aspirations to tyranny. What Trump’s action today does is to send a threatening message to all current and former government officials that they had better not criticise this president or they will be punished, silenced, and subjected to character assassination. That’s the behavior of a third world dictator who demands unquestioning loyalty. Brennan himself summarized the danger of Trump’s heavy-handedness in a tweet Wednesday afternoon:

Well said. And hopefully Trump will be held to the standards he set in this statement by removing all those in his administration who violate them. Beginning with himself.

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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LOL: Fox News Claims to Have Found a ‘Shocking’ Anti-Trump Twitter Account (They Didn’t)

Posted by on August 14, 2018 at 2:48 pm. 2 Comments :

In an act of obvious desperation and fear, Donald Trump unleashed yet another Twitter tirade Tuesday morning. His primary target was what he still calls a “witch hunt” despite all the evidence, indictments, and guilty pleas. This tweetstorm consisted of eight posts, with five of them specifically referencing the former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok, and six of them citing Fox News as his source.

Fox News Lies

Needless to say, his protestations were more of the same tired complaints that he’s the victim of an evil “Deep State” cabal determined to cast him off the throne that he believes he was anointed to by God. He’s obsessed with the false notion that Strzok created the whole Russia collusion scandal in a conspiracy with Hillary Clinton, Christopher Steele (of the dossier fame), and their ringleader, life-long Republican and war hero, Robert Mueller.

Naturally, Fox News has concocted yet another defensive shield with which to protect the Trump creature they created. This time the Trump-fluffers at Fox News introduced a segment (video below) wherein they reveal that they have uncovered a “shocking” anti-Trump Twitter account in the name of Peter Strzok. Fox & Friends First hosts Heather Childers and Rob Schmitt are nearly giddy with excitement as they prattle on about their diligent reporting:

Schmitt: It might not surprise you, but there’s an anti-Trump Twitter account from fired FBI agent Peter Strzok.
Childers: That is shocking. And on it a GofundMe page looking to raise $150,000 to cover his legal costs and lost income. Many are now wondering, is this for real?

For the sake of the many who are now wondering if this is for real, the answer is – of course not. It’s Fox News.

Let’s begin with what Fox is calling Peter Strzok’s anti-Trump Twitter account. This account currently has all of two posts on it. And neither one even mentions Trump’s name in any capacity. So how the Foxies came to conclude that these tweets were anti-Trump – and even shockingly so – is a mystery.

In addition to that, Childers under-represented the success of Strzok’s GoFundMe page. It originally had a goal of $150,000, but that amount was exceeded so quickly that it was raised to $350,000. And as of this writing, it has already received donations of more than $316,000.

It looks like firing Strzok was just another blockhead move by Team Trump. They could have accepted the recommendation of the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility and suspended him for fifty days with a demotion. In which case he would be earning less, be forced into a menial position in a back office, and be prohibited from speaking out about his ordeal. But now he can cash in, be able to pursue better job opportunities, and be free to write and speak about how Trump betrayed the country. Nice work, melonheads.

No matter how Fox News might have spun this affair, they could not have made Trump and company look like anything but rank amateurs and petty seekers of vengeance. But they ended up choosing the worst of all the bad options available to them by making up a fictional story that was easier to debunk than the Wizard of Oz. They didn’t even need a little dog to pull the curtain aside. Apparently Fox just leaned on what they know best: Flagrant lying.

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


Today Trump Fired FBI Hero Peter Strzok, Then Disrespected Military Heroes by Exalting Himself

Posted by on August 13, 2018 at 3:39 pm. 4 Comments :

There is little doubt that Donald Trump has disgraced this nation for most his adult life. Beginning with his evasion of the draft during the Vietnam War (with five deferments for such nonsense as bone spurs), to his conspiring with Russia to interfere with a presidential election. And in between he sought only to increase his own wealth, although he failed badly at that as well (at least six bankruptcies).

Donald Trump. Defense Act

So it isn’t out of character for Trump to spend this Monday padding his resume of shame with actions that exacerbate the humiliation most Americans feel when he comes to mind. To start off, the FBI made a purely political decision today to fire special agent Peter Strzok, a man with a long record of exemplary service to his country. Whatever one thinks of his recent emails expressing his personal (and well founded) disgust with Trump, that is a small matter when juxtaposed with his two decades in the Bureau.

An internal investigation by the FBI’s Inspector General found that at no time did Strzok allow his personal opinions to affect his official duties. Nevertheless, Trump and his human shields at Fox News smeared him and demanded his head. Trump even posted some celebratory tweets following the news that Strzok was fired. For his part, Strzok behaved with restraint and honor by simply tweeting a response by his lawyer to this unfair termination, which overruled the more lenient and reasonable recommendation of the head of the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

In the meantime, Trump himself visited Fort Drum in Jefferson County, New York, to have a signing ceremony for the John S. McCain Defense Authorization Act. In a speech that dragged on for more than half an hour, Trump never mentioned McCain’s name once, and conspicuously referred to the bill as simply the Defense Authorization Act. It was a petty and deliberate insult to the veteran McCain, who Congress honored by attaching his name to the bill, and who is at home in Arizona fighting brain cancer.

Additionally, Trump took much of the credit for the bill by explicitly citing himself as having been “a big, big, part” of making it happen. He wasn’t. But he did manage to insult the troops in the audience. Referring to a recent pay hike, Trump said they didn’t really care about it and asked “Does anyone not want it?” When few raised their hands he was visibly disturbed by the rejection of his premise and asked “Are these real patriots here? What’s going on?” What’s going on is that our soldiers are already underpaid and they need more funds to support their families. They aren’t wealthy jerkwads like Trump.

What’s more, Trump turned this event into a political affair by rattling off the same old tired list of things he claims, falsely, to have accomplished. This list had nothing whatsoever to do with the defense bill or the troops at hand. Even worse, he promoted congressional Republicans who are presently embroiled in tough midterm campaigns. Obviously the only audience he was speaking to was the national one that this speech was being broadcast to in the media.

Speaking of the media, Trump found a way to work in his usual anti-free press attacks on the media in a sickly, passive-aggressive way:

“I’m so proud of myself I didn’t call them the “fake news” media. I said to myself, ‘I will not today, in front of our great Armed Forces, call them the fake news.’ We know the real truth, but we won’t say it today”

So you’ll notice that he just called the press “fake news” – TWICE – in that bit of foolishness that didn’t actually fool anyone. And what he implied would be disrespectful to the troops were he to do it, he openly did anyway. He clearly doesn’t have the self-restraint or maturity to serve as president, and hopefully there will soon be a legal correction to that unfortunate error.

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


Trump’s Omarosa Tweetstorm Reveals His Staffing Decisions Are Un-Presidential and Dangerous

Posted by on August 13, 2018 at 10:05 am. 1 Comments :

Well, it’s Monday morning and “president” Donald Trump is hard at work posting petty condemnations of former White House aide Omarosa Manigault-Newman. Her new book, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House, goes on sale today and his self-serving insults will likely boost sales and her bank account.

Donald Trump, Omarosa Manigault-Newman

Worse than Trump’s childish lashing out at someone he once considered a friend and close advisor, is what his attacks say about him and his management capabilities (or lack thereof). Here is what Trump posted to Twitter in the early morning hours when he was avoiding doing president stuff:

Note that Trump begins with another infantile nickname that has become the hallmark of his personal relationships. It’s not even an original nickname since he’s used it many times before on Tom Steyer, Rep. Frederica Wilson, Maureen Dowd, and Glenn Beck (I’ll give him credit for that last one).

But more to the point, by Trump’s own account he hired Omarosa after he previously fired her three times from his goofy TV game show. The question is why? And that’s a question he answered himself in the same tweet: because she cried. That’s a great resume item, isn’t it? Then he gave her, not a pity job, but a senior post in the White House with the top salary permitted. And it gets worse. Trump then ignored all the allegedly terrible things he heard about her and allowed her to remain on the job. Even after his Chief of Staff, John Kelly, advocated her dismissal. And his reason for clinging to her was as illogical as his reason for hiring her: she flattered him.

Then Trump tweets his acknowledgement that he’s behaving like the man-baby he is, but continues behaving that way anyhow because – well, because he’s Trump, the man-baby. It is literally impossible for him to adopt the demeanor of a mature leader because he simply doesn’t have it in him.

And finally (so far), Trump tweets about the non-disclosure agreement he makes his associates sign. So now he’s bragging about being the least transparent president in history. He’s actually proud that he’s purposefully concealing information from the American people he’s supposed to be serving. Much like his unprecedented refusal to release his tax returns despite the accumulated evidence of his financial corruption and collusion with Russia. What’s more, these NDAs are unenforceable and possibly illegal.

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

All of this points to a man who is utterly unfit to be president. He has made staffing decisions like this throughout his administration. People like Mike Flynn, Steve Bannon, Scott Pruitt, Betsy Devos, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, Anthony Scaramucci, Paul Manafort, etc., are examples of the total lack of thoughtful consideration required by someone in this position. And now the Senate is supposed to take his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court seriously? Trump has always been the “king” of his (failing) business enterprises, and he thinks the White House works the same way. It doesn’t. And he’s going to find out soon enough: #MuellerTime


Worse Than Omarosa: Trump Quotes Fox News Host Jeanine Pirro’s Insane Rant on Russia and Mueller

Posted by on August 12, 2018 at 10:57 am. NO Comments :

This Sunday will likely be remembered as the Omarosa Media Blitzkrieg, with its flurry of newsmaking interviews of the disgraced former Assistant to the President. While Donald Trump has already labeled her a “low life,” he has yet to explain why he gave her such a senior post in his Administration of Dunces in the first place, given how well he knew her.

Donald Trump, Jeanine Pirro

Among Omarosa’s criticisms of Trump are her assertions that he is flagrantly racist and misogynistic, and is suffering from a severe mental decline. Both of those are hardly breaking stories considering Trump’s history as a serial sexual predator and his very public display of dementia. And while the press is eating up Omarosa’s allegations, they are simultaneously casting doubt on her credibility.

However, there are many more players in the Era of Trump with far less credibility than Omarosa, starting with The Donald himself, a well-documented and unrepentant liar. And many of those credibility-challenged losers have their own shows on Fox News. Prominent among them is “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, who recently said that special counsel Robert Mueller is a greater threat to America than Vladimir Putin. And on the latest episode of her program she goes even further into the realm of deranged conspiracy crackpot. Her nine minute opening tirade sets the tone with this goofy introduction (video below):

“I’ve had a change of heart. Unlike everyone on the right, I don’t want the Mueller investigation to end so soon. I want it to keep going on and one and on. Because everyday it gets closer to proving Russian collusion. The collusion, however, with Russia and team Obama. Not Trump.”

Remember that claim that Pirro is supporting the ongoing Mueller probe. It will come into play in her closing. In between she hits on a bevy of previously debunked nonsense that even her colleagues at Fox News have renounced. Notably, the Uranium One story that was so expertly unraveled by Shepard Smith. She also railed against the entirety of the investigation of Trump’s collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. She falsely claimed that the basis for the probe was the Christopher Steele dossier. She repeatedly called the dossier “discredited” despite the fact that much of it has been affirmed and none of it has been proven untrue. Smith laid these facts out as well.

However, revisiting lies that have already been exposed wasn’t enough for Pirro. She had to create a brand new scandalous allegation to smear the otherwise golden reputation of Bob Mueller. So Pirro goes off on some peculiar and wholly unsubstantiated allegations about a preposterous charge that Mueller took money from a Russian oligarch to finance FBI operations. She never bothered to cite a source for that charge of criminal behavior. But she did have a question for Mueller:

“Bob, my question to you is ‘How could you possibly be investigating Donald Trump when there is no credible basis for your investigation?’ And ‘What the hell have you and your Trump-hating, conflicted team of prosecutors come up with in the last nineteen months other than a tax evasion case that doesn’t involve Trump, Russia or collusion of any sort.'”

Seriously? Of all the question’s that Pirro could ask Mueller she chose one that is patently absurd and answerable by public records? She doesn’t know that Mueller has already indicted dozens of people for election related offenses, and that five have pleaded guilty? And she isn’t aware that Mueller has much more information about Trump and company than he’s disclosed to date? Yet Omarosa is being pilloried (deservedly so) for her credibility, but Pirro has a show on Fox News.

Pirro’s credibility isn’t all that needs to be questioned. We also have to wonder about her cognitive faculties. Because she closed this televised tantrum with a particularly pointed accusation aimed at Mueller:

“Bob, I really thinks it’s time for you to give up your phony investigation and get yourself your own criminal defense attorney.”

Let’s just set aside the reckless and unsupported charges that Mueller is guilty of some unspecified crimes. We know those exist only in the imaginations of wingnuts like Pirro. But recall how she began her monologue saying that she wants the Mueller probe to go on and on and on. And by the end of her rhetorical seizure she’s calling for him to “give up your phony investigation.” Make up your mind Judge. You sound as demented as the president whose – let’s say boots – you’re licking. But at least it got you a mention from the Commander-in-Tweets:

Pirro must be so proud that Trump picked the most easily recognized bullcrap from her interminably boring assault on Mueller and the truth. They really are a cute couple – of liars and traitors.

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


Here are 8 Other Lucky People, Besides Omarosa, that Donald Trump has Called a ‘Low Life’

Posted by on August 11, 2018 at 5:42 pm. 4 Comments :

One of the most embarrassing things about having an emotionally stunted, narcissistic bully serving as president is having to endure his infantile outbursts whenever he feels he has been slighted. Donald Trump has absolutely no tolerance criticism, and his reaction will always be the one that most fully displays the pettiness of his alleged character.

Donald Trump

At his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort on Saturday, Trump hung out with some of his biker pals instead of doing any of the work that might be expected of a president. Also at the event were some reporters who had the audacity to ask him questions. One of those reporters was Maggie Haberman of the “failing” New York Times (which just reported $24 million in profits). Referencing the new tell-all book by former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman, she asked Trump “Do you feel betrayed by Omarosa?” He responded “Lowlife. She’s a lowlife.”

That’s a typical response from the childish Trump, who has made it a hallmark of his presidency to throw around dumb insults that lack any originality or creativity. In fact, this particular insult he had just used the same morning to attack Christopher Steele of the Steele Dossier fame:

Setting aside the numerous falsehoods and conspiracy theories embedded in that tweet, his pathetic attempt at trash talking was, sadly, the best he was capable of. As evidence of that there are his frequent other uses of the same language. He is simply too stupid to come up with any new thoughts.

For example, in the recent past Trump has called FBI officials James Comey and Andrew McCabe low lifes:

And Sen. Elizabeth Warren:

And Sen. Ted Cruz:

And Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter:

And conservative pundit Erick Erickson:

And New York Magazine editor and Daily Show head writer Dan Amira:

And comedian Bill Maher:

Let’s give him credit for at least one being right about Ted Cruz. But in general Trump is just lashing out like a toddler throwing a tantrum. It’s a display of puerile bluster that brings nothing but shame to the American people. But there’s nothing that he can do about it. After all, he said himself that:

It’s his nature. Let that sink in. And them remember that he’s our president. And when you’re finished retching, be sure to recommit yourself to doing everything that you possibly can to end this humiliating episode in the low life of America.

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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Fox News Has a New Mantra in Defense of Trump: Mueller is A Greater Threat Than Putin

Posted by on August 11, 2018 at 10:47 am. 1 Comments :

The top priority of State TV (aka Fox News) for the past year – and the one unfolding – is to make sure that Donald Trump is safely sheltered from any and all criticism and the devastating effects of unsanitized truth. The more that the American people learn about what Trump is doing, and has done, the more political peril he and his accomplices are in.

Donald Trump Fox News

Fox News has, so far, been diligent in carrying out their mission to protect the President. They are his rapid response team when negative news is reported, and that’s almost all of it. They are the attack squad to neutralize critics and truth tellers. And they are even the “brain” trust that incubates Trump’s agenda and public pronouncements.

In the service of that calling, Fox News is now test marketing a new tactic aimed at undermining the rule of law and denigrating the people charged with enforcing it. It is a strategy familiar to totalitarian dictators who strive to hoard control over every institution of an otherwise free society. It surfaced recently when Fox’s Jeanine Pirro asked an eagerly agreeable guest whether special counsel Robert Mueller is “a greater threat than [Vladimir] Putin to this country.”

It’s an odd question for the obvious reasons. Putin is a ruthless dictator who has invaded neighboring countries, murdered his political adversaries, and waged a cyber war against the United States. While on the other hand, Mueller is a war hero, a lifelong public servant, and a man who has earned unqualified respect from across the political spectrum (at least until he took his current job). But the question is also a curious one coming from people who have lately been praising Putin as a strong leader who, according to Trump, would be a dandy friend to the U.S. and no threat whatsoever.

Nevertheless, the allegation has been making the rounds at Fox News. The latest eruption of this slander came from Fox News host Mark Levin during an interview on Sean Hannity’s program. And he wasn’t shy about making a pointedly defamatory charge with no basis to support it:

“Robert Mueller is a greater threat to this republic and the Constitution than anything Vladimir Putin did during the campaign. And I’m no fan of Vladimir Putin. He’s threatening to take down a President of the United States.”

So Levin’s theory is that Mueller is worse than Putin because he’s trying to remove a president that Putin installed. But he wasn’t through. As he continued he enumerated the reasons he thought Mueller’s investigation was improper. But he actually supplied a pretty good opening to explain all the reasons that mueller’s probe is proper and necessary. He launches into it saying “Now let’s walk through this quickly:”

“The President is not a witness to any crime. How do we know that? Because we don’t know what crime they’re even talking about. So he doesn’t need to be questioned as a witness.”

In fact, the President is both a witness and a participant in several potential crimes including conspiracy with a foreign government to interfere with an election, campaign finance law violations, and obstruction of justice. Just because Levin can’t identify Trump’s criminal exposure, doesn’t mean there isn’t any. And the need to question him about is apparent to any first-year law student.

“The President did not commit a crime. What crime did he commit? So he’s not a target, he doesn’t need to be questioned about that.”

Once again, the assertion that Trump did not commit a crime comes from Levin’s imagination. Currently Trump is considered to be a “subject” of the investigation, and that status can be changed to “target” at any time. So he does need to be questioned about that.

“According to the Department of Justice, a president can’t be indicted. A president cannot be questioned by a subordinate, like Mr. Mueller, about his prerogatives as president, that is, about the firing of a subordinate like Mr. Comey. So what questions, exactly, does Mr. Mueller have?”

Actually, the Justice Department’s guidance as to whether a president can be indicted is an administrative rule, not a law. It can be changed with the stroke of a pen. And there is no prohibition of a special counsel questioning a president. Levin is just making that one up. While Comey, as FBI Directer, can be terminated by the President, if it is proven to have been done in order to obstruct justice it is actionable as a crime.

These points by Levin all seem to be aimed at making excuses for why Trump should decline to be interviewed by Mueller. Of course the more salient reasons would be because he can’t help himself from lying (which even his own attorneys and some members of his administration have insinuated), and he is at heart a coward. Levin goes on to rant incoherently about Trump being a “white hat” hero and Mueller being an evil usurper of some undefined and unauthorized power. And Hannity agrees, describing the legally mandated operations of the Justice Department (which is being run by Trump appointees) as akin to the former Soviet Union.

It’s a rather peculiar spectacle to watch Fox News and the Republican leadership rail on Mueller, a man most of them praised as the perfect choice for special counsel when it was announced. But it’s nauseating to see a man with real integrity, principle, and courage, being trashed as a traitor to the country he served faithfully for his entire adult life. Especially when held up in comparison to the greedy, racist, sexual predator who is currently exploiting his occupancy of the White House to sell out the nation to its enemies. For the record, this is who Levin, Hannity, Fox News, and the GOP are castigating as a corrupt defiler of democracy:

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


Goebbels Would Be Proud: Trump’s Legal Team to Guest Host Sean Hannity’s Radio Show

Posted by on August 10, 2018 at 11:28 am. 1 Comments :

For Donald Trump’s congregation of cult disciples, seeing his chief defenders on television everyday may not be enough to pacify them. They need to have a near constant flow of Trump-splaining to ease their diseased consciences and strengthen their confidence that their Dear Leader is actually innocent of the crimes he is so obviously guilty of.

Fox News Sean Hannity

Stepping up to provide the Deplorables with their dose of “Trump is a victim of the Deep State” propaganda is, not surprisingly, Sean Hannity of Fox News. Although he already hosts Trump’s lawyers, Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, on his Fox program so frequently you might have assumed they were members of the cast, he is now going a step further:

That’s right, Donald Trump’s actual attorneys will be taking over the Sean Hannity Trump-Fluffing Radio Extravaganza for the day, presumably while Hannity off at Mar-a-Lago polishing Trump’s – let’s say ring. This is an unheard of capitulation to a political leader who is under investigation by his own Justice Department for alleged conspiracy with Russia to interfere with an election, obstruction of justice, and other assorted financial corruption charges.

For the legal team of an embattled president to appear on a program like this nearly every day is bad enough. In fact, just a few days ago Hannity interviewed Giuliani in one of the most ludicrous displays of sycophancy ever broadcast on TV. But to be handed the entire program to spew their lie-riddled defense of a treasonous president blows up any facade of legal propriety or ethics.

By making Giuliani and Sekulow the guest hosts of his program, Hannity is demonstrating, once again, that he is utterly unfit to host a program on any TV network with the word “news” in its name. If Fox News were a legitimate news enterprise they would cancel Hannity immediately. Lucky for them, they have never been able to claim believably that they are legitimate by any stretch of the imagination.

The radio stations that broadcast this flagrant attempt to poison the jury pool need to know that they are complicit in an act of pure state-sponsored propaganda. It’s the sort of thing that Goebbels would have taken great pride in producing. It requires the audacity of a totalitarian dictator who has no fear that anyone will challenge his omnipotent authority. And, sadly, it is not an unexpected occurrence by one of this administration’s most loyal bootlickers.

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


The Fox News Audience is 1% African-American, So No Wonder It’s Openly Racist

Posted by on August 9, 2018 at 8:42 pm. 1 Comments :

This week the flagrant white nationalist sentiments of Fox News were on full display. “The America we know and love doesn’t exist anymore,” primetime host Laura Ingraham said Wednesday night. “Massive demographic changes have been foisted on the American people, and they are changes that none of us ever voted for, and most of us don’t like.” Who she means by “us” is the minority of rancid bigots who think they own the country and can demand that its residents all look like them.

Fox News Black Viewer

The America the rest of us (the majority) know and love is one that values diversity and welcomes people of all nations, ethnicities, faiths and race. Every poll shows that most people regard immigration as a positive contribution to a stronger and greater nation.

On Fox News, however, there is a decidedly different approach to the composition of the American populace. In addition to Ingraham, they have Tucker Carlson, with his own primetime slot, delivering a blatant message of white nationalism every night of the week. A large percentage of his program is consumed with stories about how white people are the real victims of prejudice. According to Carlson, white Americans suffer an unbearable burden due to the curse of their lightly pigmented skin. Poor babies. And it’s no coincidence that Donald Trump has adopted this same white nationalist theme as a primary component of his presidency.

Tom Kludt and Brian Stelter of CNN addressed the hateful programming of Fox News in an article that sought to explore the network’s record on race. Early on they hit on the explanation for how Fox can get away with producing and airing such programming:

“The Fox News audience is almost 100% white, according to Nielsen. And on the channel’s highest-rated shows, the politics of white anxiety play out practically every day, as hosts and guests warn about the impacts of immigration and minimize or mock the perspectives of people of color.”

That’s right. With an audience that is so blindingly white, Fox literally has no incentive to care about the welfare of people of color. They won’t suffer in the ratings for having offended anyone with their constant flow of bigotry. So why should they bother to temper their commentaries for an audience that is tuned in elsewhere (mostly MSNBC). Stelter elaborated on Fox’s audience composition in a tweet:

But it’s even worse than that. Fox doesn’t just have to appeal to overwhelmingly white viewers. They have to appeal to white viewers who aren’t offended by racism. Many Anglo-Americans are decent folks who embrace the whole of humanity. They wouldn’t stand for a network that insults and demeans anyone. So Fox’s viewers have to appreciate the naked prejudice that is so integral to Fox News. In other words, the Fox News audience is affirmatively pro-hate.

Appealing to that demographic is the only way the network can survive. And the absence of African-Americans, Latinos, and other people of color, as well as white folks who value tolerance and inclusion, explains how Fox gets away with it. That presents a problem for fighting back against this racist network. We can hardly pledge to boycott a channel that we already don’t watch. But we can refuse to patronize their advertisers and to let them know that. And we can make sure that the world knows that any business that advertises on Fox News is supporting hatred and intolerance.

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

UPDATE: On Thursday night’s episode of The Ingraham Angle, Laura Ingraham gave a weak walkback of her open embrace of white nationalism on Wednesday. She even tried to brush off the praise she received from former KKK Grand Dragon, David Duke. However, when you draw praise from someone like that, you have to admit that you said something wrong. She wouldn’t admit it or apologize, and therein lies the disingenuousness of her response.


Trump-Fluffing Fox News Shill Sean Hannity Weaves Bizarre Anti-Mueller Tales with Rudy Giuliani

Posted by on August 9, 2018 at 9:12 am. 4 Comments :

On Wednesday Donald Trump accomplished a previously unheard of achievement. He tweeted twelve times without once mentioning anything about the “hoax” probe by special counsel Robert Mueller. Instead he was focused on how many election he won on Tuesday (yes, he thinks he was the winner), despite it being a night of primaries. That’s okay though, because he still has Sean Hannity to man the “witch hunt” front.

Rudy Giuliani

On Wednesday’s episode of the Mighty Trump Ninja Defenders Hour (video below), Hannity slow-danced with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani to the haunting refrains of the score to The Desperate Hours. The two jumped right into the segment with wild-eyed exclamations of corruption on the part of the Justice Department and condemnations of international super-villain, Hillary Clinton. The first words out of Giuliani’s mouth were:

“What do we need to know that this is a totally illegitimate investigation based on a dossier that was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats? Probably the biggest illegality so far. The biggest collusion so far. Completely made up. That led to nothing except several fraudulent FISA wires. And now we have Mueller who doesn’t seem to care that he’s sitting on top of a totally illegitimate investigation.”

Literally everything in that fantastical assessment was untrue with the possible exception of “and now we have Mueller.” If anything, these flagrant lies will end likely blow up in Trump’s face. The dossier was not the foundation of the investigation. Clinton didn’t pay for it. It wasn’t illegal or collusive. It surely wasn’t made up. Many parts of it have been confirmed, and nothing in it has been proved false. The FISA “wires” (presumably he meant warrants) were all issued by separate judges appointed by Ronald Reagan. And the allegedly illegitimate investigation has already produced dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas.

Hannity, naturally, concurred with Giuliani, saying that the dossier was “designed to misinform the American people…to influence the election” Which is curious considering that it was never meant to be seen by the American people. It was only after Buzzfeed got ahold of a copy and published it in January of 2017, after the election, that its contents were known to the public. Hannity, earlier in the program, gave his own assessment of the Mueller probe in a deranged diatribe that packed every wingnut cliche into one frantic run-on sentence:

“Like there’s truth in that phony, unverified, uncorroborated, debunked dossier that the Clinton campaign used to smear then-candidate Donald Trump, the same Russian lies that were used before the election as the foundation for the Mueller witch hunt and the op-research used to mislead the FISA court on four – not one – but four seperate occasions so the government literally can spy on an opposition party candidate and a Trump campaign associate.”

And … breathe. Once again, a loco-spiel that’s entirely devoid of facts. Then they spoke for a while about how Trump ought not to sit for an interview with Mueller because he can’t be trusted not to lie or accidently confess. What they continue to forget is that a perjury trap can be defeated by simply telling the truth. Giuliani mocked the notion of Trump being interviewed by saying “What? Do you think we’re fools?” Let’s just leave that one alone, and move on to the best part of the segment where Hannity makes a startling revelation:

Hannity: My sources are telling me that when the American people get to the bottom of all of this, it will shock the heart, the soul, and the mind of any fair-minded American.
Giuliani: I think it’s gonna lead to some very strict, very big reforms, just like Watergate.

So Hannity has a source with inside knowledge of the private thoughts of – all of the America people? Wow, that’s a pretty good source. And thanks to Hannity we now know just how we will all feel when we get to the bottom of all of this. Feel better now? And Giuliani’s response was equally as mind-boggling. By predicting that there will be Watergate-like reforms, he’s essentially conceding that the President committed Watergate-like crimes. No wonder he doesn’t want Trump to be interviewed by Mueller.

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