Sanders Surrogate Tells Fox News that ‘You Guys Have to Stop Lying on the Air’

Posted by on February 26, 2020 at 1:16 pm. 1 Comments :

Democrats should not be wasting their time by appearing on Fox News. There is no upside to subjecting oneself to the abuse and dishonesty that is the core of Fox’s editorial mission. Fox News has demonstrated repeatedly that they have no interest in presenting fair coverage of Democrats or liberal policies. And now more than ever, they exist to promote Donald Trump and to malign his critics.

Bernie Sanders, Fox News

If anyone needs further proof that Fox News is anathema to progressive politics, or any expressions of truth, they only need to look at the interview of Amer Zahr, a Bernie Sanders surrogate, that was conducted on Fox Wednesday morning (video below). Host Ed Henry seemed determined to misrepresent the positions of Sanders in the most deceitful terms imaginable. He framed his questions with overt bias asking Zahr to address “not just the plans that are socialist in nature, but the fact that Bernie Sanders on that stage continues to defend the regime of Fidel Castro.” Which Sanders has not done.

It’s fair to say that Sanders displayed some rather impolitic instincts by allowing that Castro’s Cuba did advance certain social policies that included access to education and healthcare. But that’s a long ways from defending his regime. It’s just bad form to appear to be complimenting a dictator, even if the comment is true. But then, after a long and slanted lead in, Henry enumerated some of Castro’s atrocities (murder, rape, imprisonment) and asked the preposterous question, “How do you defend that?” Well, of course, no one defends that. And the very phrasing of the question to imply that Zahr or Sanders does defend it is just plain repulsive. Zahr offered a more elaborate reply:

“It is almost as if maybe you guys weren’t listening to Bernie Sanders last night and what he said repeatedly which is that — and the same thing President Obama said — which is, there were some good things that came out of what he did but authoritarianism which he practiced and Bernie Sanders was very clear that Fidel Castro was an authoritarian, that that should be denounced at every turn, that dissent should be allowed and shouldn’t be imprisoned. He said that over and over again.”

But Henry wasn’t going to be deterred from his mission of noxious slander. He followed up by outright lying that Sanders said that “he’s OK with socialism and communism.” Which, of course, Sanders never said. So Zahr replied with surprise and disgust that…

“You guys have to stop lying on the air. He didn’t say he’s OK with socialism and communism. That’s just not true. He said he is not OK with authoritarianism wherever it happens. And you guys want to throw around these terms, that’s fine, the truth is our ideas are popular with the American people, these are progressive ideas.”

Stung by reality, Henry tried to dismiss the garbage he had been spewing by pretending that “I’m asking a question.” But as Zahr noted, “It’s a ridiculous question.” Henry was, in fact, building a false narrative to undermine Sanders and the Democrats. He could not have been more obvious and offensive.

This however, is an object lesson on why Democrats need to shun Fox News. They will be subjected to this treatment every time. What possible benefit is there to suffering through such abuse? You are not going to change the minds of any Fox News cult viewers. You are only letting Fox exploit you to affect some measure of credibility. And while some of the responses by Zahr were satisfying and admirable, they do not justify having lowered oneself into the Fox abyss of lies.

The Sanders campaign has an odd relationship with Fox News that is somewhat self-destructive. On the one hand they recognize that Fox is profoundly biased and dishonest. They know that Fox produces stories like the one just two days ago that claimed that Sanders was to blame for the stock market crash. (no, really). On the other hand, Sanders’ campaign manager recently made the bizarre comment that Fox News is more fair to Sanders than MSNBC. But this interview is the best evidence that that is not only untrue, it’s downright delusional.

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

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Trump Refuses to Pledge Not to Accept Foreign Assistance in His Campaign

Posted by on February 25, 2020 at 2:31 pm. 2 Comments :

For the second presidential election in a row, Donald Trump is thumbing his nose at the law and political morality. He is openly announcing his willingness to accept the help of hostile foreign nations in his quest to retain power at all costs. Never mind the Constitution or the welfare of american democracy. To Trump the only thing that matters is what Trump wants.

Donald Trump

In 2016 the Russians orchestrated an exhaustive scheme to benefit Trump’s candidacy for president. Trump even abetted that plan by inviting the Russians to hack the emails of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee. After the election Trump conceded in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that he would do the same thing again. Recent reports indicate that the Russians are also anxious for another go round. And Trump is effectively greenlighting their renewed intentions.

The repeat of this partnership between Trump and Russia should worry every patriotic American. Unfortunately, Trump’s glassy-eyed cult followers, and his bootlicking sycophants in the Republican Party, are all to happy to embrace this evil cabal. Consequently, Trump is becoming evermore daring with regard to accepting such tainted assistance. And he proved that in an exchange on Tuesday with CNN reporter Jim Acosta (video below):

Acosta: Can you pledge to the American people that you will not accept any foreign assistance in the upcoming election?
Trump: First of all, I want no help from any country, and I haven’t been given help from any country. And if you see what CNN, your wonderful network, said, I guess they apologized in a way for – didn’t they apologize for the fact that they said certain things that weren’t true?

Notice that Trump’s response said only that he doesn’t “want” help and isn’t getting any. We know the second half of that comment is a lie because his own Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently briefed Congress on Russia’s ongoing election tampering on Trump’s behalf. Therefore, the first half of Trump’s comment can also be presumed to be a lie (which is the case with pretty much everything Trump says).

But it’s also notable that Trump did not directly answer the question by affirmatively pledging not to accept any such assistance, whether he wants it or not. By not making that pledge, Trump is effectively admitting that he will accept assistance from Russia, which he has done before. In addition to dodging the pledge, Trump also sought to attack the reporter and the question:

Trump: Tell me, what was their apology yesterday? What did they say?
Acosta: Mr. President, I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes, if you don’t mind me saying.
Trump: Let me tell you about your record. Your record is so bad you ought to be ashamed of yourself. You have the worst record in the history of broadcasting.
Acosta: I’m not ashamed of anything, and our organization is not ashamed.

Of course, the apology Trump is referring to exists only in his warped imagination. CNN’s reporting was accurate and corroborated by other news outlets. Trump is fond of inventing phony apologies to himself that never actually occurred. It’s how he satiates his narcissistic appetite for fawning worshipers. But Acosta’s response rattled Trump. It forced Trump to confront the reality that he is a pathological liar. So naturally Trump affirmed that observation by lying about CNN’s record with factual reporting. And if anyone should be ashamed, it’s Trump. That is, if Trump had the human capacity to feel shame.

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


HOLY CRIPE: Fox News Blames Stock Market Plunge On – Bernie Sanders?

Posted by on February 24, 2020 at 12:15 pm. 3 Comments :

American investors woke up Monday morning to see a devastating sell off on Wall Street and other markets around the world. The uncontested view of economic experts is that the sharp decline resulted from growing concerns about the coronavirus (Covid-19) as it continues to spread. Factories in China are shut down. Trade is being curtailed. International festivals and conferences have been canceled. The global financial impact is undeniable.

Donald Trump, Stock Market

Well, undeniable everywhere but on Fox News, where good news is always due to the heavenly inspired works of Donald Trump, and bad news can only be the work of Satan’s minions in the Democratic Party. Fox News host Charles Payne, in what may be the most idiotic economic analysis of the year to date, sought to carry out that doctrine during an in interview as the markets were in the process of imploding (video below). He was asked by the allegedly “straight news” anchor, Ed Henry, this brazenly leading question:

“Is the sell off all coronavirus, or is this the first time the markets are open since Bernie Sanders took control of the Democratic battle?”

The audacity that it takes to allow that question to slither through one’s lips is impressive. It certainly is the first time the markets have been open since the Nevada primary caucus, but that has nothing to do with the sell off on Wall Street. How would that explain the sell off in markets around the world where Sanders is not running for anything? What’s more, Sanders’ win in Nevada is hardly “taking control” (a loaded term in itself) of the Democratic battle. It is just the third contest out of fifty (plus territories), and represents a small percentage of votes cast and delegates acquired.

Payne’s response to Henry’s stridently biased question was that “The Bernie factor is finally rearing its head in the stock market.” He then rattled off a list of companies in the health sector that are suffering big losses. Of course health-related companies would naturally be hurt by news of an impending global pandemic. And that harm would be throughout the world, just as it is currently playing out. But that obvious fact was incomprehensible to Payne and his Fox colleagues. Their deliberately dishonest banter continued with the following exchange:

Sandra Smith: Can you directly attribute that loss to Bernie Sanders?
Payne: Absolutely…there’s absolutely no doubt. [later adding] This is the first time, I think, that Wall Street has taken Bernie Sanders very seriously.

“Absolutely no doubt”? Neither Wall Street, nor anyone else, should take Fox News seriously. Payne is not just speculating on a possible contributing factor. He is insisting that Wall Street’s alleged fear of Bernie Sanders is undeniably the only cause of the worst drop in the Dow since December of 2018. That’s not just glaringly false, it’s painfully stupid and grossly irresponsible. Ironically, throughout this segment the chyron on Fox News read: “STOCK MARKET SELLOFF ON CORONAVIRUS CONCERNS”

Payne is supposed to be one of Fox’s financial experts (his own program is on the Fox Business Network), although like everyone else at State TV, he weaves his right-wing opinions into all of his comments. He recently made the bizarre assertion that “Wall Street Loves Donald Trump,” as if that was a positive endorsement for his reelection. And like many of the men on Fox, Payne has been charged with sexual assault. Fox settled a lawsuit with Scottie Nell Hughes, a former contributor, who had accused Payne of rape.

The political biases of Fox News are not news to anyone. And with the advent of Donald Trump, they have become even more conspicuously partisan. But this ludicrous attack on Sanders is grotesquely out of bounds, even for Fox. They are fully indoctrinated into the Trump Cult. And nothing better demonstrates that then this asinine attempt to blame Sanders for a pandemic-driven market decline that he clearly had nothing to do with. There is apparently a virus spreading through the Fox News studios that is turning all their brains into oatmeal.

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


Trump Chokes When Asked ‘What’s Your Message to Putin’ on Election Interference

Posted by on February 23, 2020 at 1:25 pm. 5 Comments :

Democrats are currently engaged in heated primary season with multiple candidates still jockeying for position. And the media attention on this is having a severe effect on Donald Trump. Narcissists don’t like it when they are not the center of attention. Consequently, Trump is ratcheting up his psychotic outbursts in order to seduce the press to stay focused on him.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin

Trump’s latest plea for attention is a desperate and bizarre appeal for what he portrays as fairness for Bernie Sanders in the primaries. Of course, Trump couldn’t care less about how the Democratic primaries are conducted, other than to slather them with mud and lies. His phony concern for Sanders is actually a play straight from the Russian playbook and intended to sow discord and chaos. And running his defense is Fox News who are making ludicrous assertions that the media and Democrats are the “Agents of Russia.”

Recent reports revealed that American intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia is, once again, interfering with the presidential election. The reports detailed Russia’s efforts to tip the scales in favor of Trump and Sanders. Trump’s own Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led by Joe Maguire, sent a deputy to brief Congress about this a couple of weeks ago. This news made Trump irate. Not the news that Russia was attacking our democracy, but the news that Congress was told about it. So Trump fired Maguire and replaced him with Rick Grennel, a Trump toady who has no experience whatsoever in intelligence.

So with an impending national crisis involving a hostile foreign enemy attempting to subvert our election, Trump was confronted by a reporter who asked a simple, but significant question:

“Have you been briefed that Russia is trying to help Bernie Sanders and, if so, what’s your message to Putin?”

Pay close attention to that question, and then consider Trump’s reply (video below):

“Nobody said it. I read where Russia’s helping Bernie Sanders. Nobody said it to me at all. Nobody briefed me about that at all […] They leaked it. Adam Schiff and his group, they leaked it to the papers. And, as usual, they ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information. He should not be leaking information out of intelligence. They ought to investigate Adam Schiff.”

So Trump’s response to a question on what message he has for his pal Vladimir Putin, who is trying to foul our election is “They ought to investigate Adam Schiff.” Really? Trump had absolutely nothing to say to Putin. His only interest is in persecuting an elected member of Congress who is complying with his oath to protect and defend the Constitution. Putin, on the hand, is held harmless as he continues to attack this country. As long as Putin’s anti-American plots are designed to benefit Trump, Trump is content to allow them to proceed.

What’s more, Trump’s remarks are wholly unfounded and reckless. He has no evidence that Schiff leaked anything. It’s more likely that it was a Republican congressman (Devin Nunes?) who spilled to the press. And Trump doesn’t specify who he thinks should be investigating Schiff. Russia? Attorney Genuflect Bill Barr? Rudy Giuliani? Fox News? And if that’s not enough, Trump is also admitting his ignorance of Russian activity that everyone else already knows. Either his national security team is serving him poorly, or he’s lying (or both).

Trump followed up those remarks with a tweet that made things even worse:

Once again, Trump is baselessly accusing Schiff of leaking classified information. However, Trump also suggests that the “information” that Schiff allegedly leaked was made up. In which case, it wouldn’t be classified. But worst of all, Trump overtly threatens Schiff with being “caught” and suffering “a very unpleasant experience!” All without a hint of evidence that Schiff did anything wrong.

This is part and parcel of Trump’s psychopathy that drives him to seek vengeance and to persecute his perceived enemies. It’s a frightening descent into fascistic totalitarianism. And with each passing day Trump is less and less worried about exposing those tendencies and acting on them. This is precisely the behavior that many warned Trump would engage in if Senate Republicans didn’t have the guts to expel him from office. And as it worsens, the blame needs to be evenly spread around from Trump to the GOP to Fox News and the rest of the Reich-wing media.

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


PROOF: The Russian Plot to ‘Help’ Bernie Sanders is Being Led By Donald Trump

Posted by on February 22, 2020 at 1:43 pm. 1 Comments :

This week there were a couple of bombshell reports that revealed how alarmed the intelligence community is about Russia’s intentions to undermine this year’s presidential election. One report disclosed that the Acting Director of National Intelligence, Joe Maguire, a Donald Trump appointee, had briefed Congress on Russia’s campaign to repeat it’s 2016 mission to elect Trump. The other report disclosed that Russia has expanded their efforts in 2020 to include the promotion of Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary.

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

These are perilous times for American democracy. Particularly since Trump has done nothing to protect the nation from Russia’s assault. To the contrary, he continues to deny that there was even any attack by Russia, and he supports the efforts of Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell, to block bipartisan legislation to fortify our defenses. Nothing could be received with more gratitude by Vladimir Putin than Trump’s combination of calculated self-interest and willful negligence. And the differences between the responses to these news events by Trump and Sanders tell the whole story.

RELATED: Trump-Fluffers at Fox News Say the Media and Democrats are the ‘Agents of Russia’

Trump was very upset. Not because Russia was caught interfering in our election again, but because this information was given to the people’s representatives in Congress. He tweeted that “Another misinformation campaign is being launched by Democrats in Congress saying that Russia prefers me … Hoax number 7!” Never mind that this wasn’t launched by Democrats, but by his own intelligence chief. And it is neither misinformation nor a hoax, but the fully considered research of intelligence professionals.

Sanders, on the other hand, more appropriately directed his anger at our enemies saying that “I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president. My message to Putin is clear: Stay out of American elections, and as president I will make sure that you do.” Trump has never made a such a declarative statement admonishing his pal Vlad to stop interfering.

To be clear, Russia doesn’t really care who the Democratic nominee is. They only care about manufacturing chaos and discord. They are exploiting divisions among Democrats by pretending to support Sanders. Perhaps they believe that he would be easier to beat, or they just think he’s a better source for stirring up division. But none of that really matters. Russia will adjust their cyber-attack campaign to focus on whoever the eventual nominee happens to be.

In the meantime, Trump is executing the Russian playbook without much of an effort to disguise it. Sanders told reporters that he was briefed on the Russian plans to favor him about a month ago. And it was right around that time (January 17) that Trump began tweeting his “support” for Sanders. For instance:


LATE ADDITIONS:

Does anyone believe that it’s just a coincidence that Trump began this Twitter campaign seeking “fairness” from the Democratic Party at precisely the same time that U.S. intelligence reached out to the candidate? Trump had not posted any tweets about the Democrats “rigging” the primary against Sanders for two years prior.

The very idea that Trump would care about the Democratic primary’s fairness is ludicrous. Since when has Trump been an advocate of election integrity? That certainly hasn’t been an issue in his own party. He and the GOP have been canceling Republican primaries across the country, despite (or because of) the fact that he has a credible challenger in former two-term Massachusetts governor, William Weld. Let that sink in. They haven’t been rigging their primaries. They have outright refused to conduct them.

Nevertheless, Trump has found the time and inclination to try to clean up the Democratic Party. But his efforts to do so have a distinct flavor that doesn’t really taste like concern for Democrats. In fact, his tweets look exactly like what you would expect from Russian agents tasked with creating a false promotion campaign for Sanders. If you didn’t know better (and even if you did), it would appear that Trump is the chief operative in Russia’s election corruption plot. Again!

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


Trump-Fluffers at Fox News Say the Media and Democrats are the ‘Agents of Russia’

Posted by on February 21, 2020 at 1:58 pm. 4 Comments :

A new report has revealed that Russia is, as expected, interfering in U.S. elections on behalf of Donald Trump. The report discloses that congressional intelligence committees were briefed on this threat within the past couple of weeks.

Fox News Friends

Upon learning about this, Trump became irate. Not because Russia was trying to subvert America’s democracy again, but because Democrats in congress were among those who were told about it. Obviously Trump is very concerned that Russia’s efforts on his behalf be concealed from the people and their representatives. And as a consequence of this “betrayal” of unflinching loyalty to Dear Leader, Trump fired Joe Maguire, the Director of National Intelligence, and installed a sycophantic bootlicker with zero experience, Rick Grenell, in his place as acting director. Then, of course, Trump took to Twitter to lie about the whole thing:

First of all, this wasn’t launched by Democrats. It was Trump’s own DNI chief who compiled the intelligence and informed Congress, as he was required to do by law. But more troubling is the fact that Trump is, once again, absolving Russia of any responsibility for their blatant acts of cyber-espionage. Just as he did after the 2016 election, Trump is taking Vladimir Putin’s side and declaring that the charges of election interference are a hoax. And on top of that, he falsely accuses Democrats of manufacturing the charges for political gain.

Naturally, Fox News was right there to prop up Trump’s anti-American babbling. On Friday morning’s episode of Fox and Friends, the “Curvy Couch” potatoes went even further than Trump to malign Democrats and the press as “Agents of Russia” (video below). “Alright let’s be clear about what this really all is,” co-host Pete Hegseth began. “This is all an attempt to discredit President Trump. That’s it. Delegitimize him all the way.” Then he elaborated saying that…

“Every single Democrat that parrots what they’re saying, they’re working together, they are the agents of Russia. This is what Russia wants! They want to sow discord and misinformation and delegitimize our republic, destabilize it because they’re not our friends and they know that when we’re strong they’re in a worse position – which they’ve done for years before President Trump. This is what they do.

“The Democrats, the media, fell for it. And the keep falling for it because they hate Trump so much they’re willing to parrot what the Kremlin is saying. They are the agents of Russia. Not Donald Trump, not this White House. It is the people that are spinning this.and continuing to drive this narrative.”

There’s a lot of derp to unpack in those two paragraphs. To begin with, Hegseth is asserting that talking about the Russian campaign to help Trump win reelection is “what Russia wants.” That’s clearly the opposite of reality. Russia’s intentions were to covertly disrupt the election, while benefiting Trump’s candidacy. What Russia wants is for people to talk about Russia’s innocence and how corrupt and dishonest American intelligence agencies are. Which is exactly what Trump and Fox News are so helpfully doing.

Hegseth also contends that Democrats and the media “fell for” Russia’s plot to get them to uncover the Russian plot. How insidious! And idiotic. It goes without saying that Russia did not intend to get caught and have their spying be broadcast around the world. That notion is almost as stupid as Hegseth’s next comment that Trump haters – Democrats and the media – are parroting “what the Kremlin is saying.” That could only be true if the Kremlin were saying that Russia is meddling in U.S. elections and that their actions are illegal and intolerable. That’s what Democrats are saying, but it is plainly not what the Kremlin is saying.

If anything, it is Trump and Fox News who are parroting the Kremlin. They are all saying that Russia isn’t doing anything wrong and any claim to the contrary is misinformation. Trump and his Reich-Wing confederates are unified in disputing what even his own intelligence agencies have proven to be true.

The purpose of this deceit is to pacify Trump’s ego. He thinks any validation of Russia’s attempts to steal the election, no matter how accurate, are personal attacks on him. Consequently, Trump will insult America’s intelligence professionals and he will take Putin’s side in denying the reality that Russia is aggressively trying to undermine U.S. democracy. And Fox News, as always, will obediently march along in lock-step with Trump’s reckless and treasonous lies.

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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The REAL Criminal: Roger Stone Was Prosecuted for Covering Up for Trump

Posted by on February 20, 2020 at 12:48 pm. 1 Comments :

On Thursday morning the media was glued to a federal courthouse in Washington, D.C. That’s where Judge Amy Berman Jackson would be handing down the sentence for Donald Trump’s longtime political fixer, Roger Stone, who was convicted on all seven counts of lying to Congress and witness intimidation.

Donald Trump, Prison

Stone’s sentencing was thrown into a whirlwind of controversy after Trump and his Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, interfered with the ordinary procedures for prosecutors to recommend the sentence. Barr overruled the prosecutors’ recommendation for seven to nine years as being “too harsh,” despite the fact that they were within the established guidelines. And Trump unleashed a frantic flurry of tweets condemning the courts, the Justice Department, and congratulating Barr for “taking charge of a case that was totally out of control.”

Trump considered the prosecution of Stone a “miscarriage of justice.” But the twelve Americans on the jury unanimously disagreed. Now Judge Jackson has sentenced Stone to forty months in prison. He’ll be joining several other Trump associates who ran afoul of the law, such as his personal attorney Michael Cohen and his campaign chairman Paul Manafort. It really doesn’t pay to do business with Trump.

While Stone’s sentence caps the latest chapter in his melodrama, it does not accurately reflect what should be the main story line. Stone is a supporting cast member. Trump is the star. And what people should be paying attention to was noted in Judge Jackson’s remarks:

“[Stone] was not prosecuted, as some have claimed, for standing up for the president. He was prosecuted for covering up for the president.”

Exactly! The real crimes here were committed by Trump. His lackeys merely helped him to carry out his nefarious schemes. If, as the Judge said, Stone was covering up for Trump, then there was, by definition, a criminal conspiracy that required Stone’s efforts to keep it secret.

Now that Stone has been convicted and sentenced, there needs to be a full investigation of what Stone was covering up on Trump’s behalf. And if Trump is found to have broken the law, he needs to be indicted and tried. Contrary to some Republican legal hacks, it is permissible to indict a sitting president. The only alleged obstacle is a memo from the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department that has no force of law.

Stone’s case isn’t the only one that implicates Trump in the commission of broader crimes. Michael Cohen is currently serving three years for his role in Trump’s hush money payoff to Stormy Daniels. In that affair Trump was identified in court documents as “Individual-1,” an unindicted co-conspirator.

The fact that Donald Trump is so often on the periphery of criminal activity, but only his minions are swept up in the legal snare, is something that needs to be examined and corrected. It’s clear that he has criminal intentions, but continues to get off scot free. And many of his cohorts will as well via presidential pardons. That would represent an even deeper level of corruption and abuse of power. And for someone who has already been impeached for those very things, it is imperative that Trump be held accountable and forced to pay his own price for his criminal behavior.

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


Aspiring Dictator Trump is Still Tweeting Orders to AG Barr to Prosecute Political Rivals

Posted by on February 19, 2020 at 2:47 pm. 0 Comments :

In the weeks since Donald Trump was let off the impeachment hook by the bootlicking Senate Republicans, Trump has demonstrated that he has learned an important lesson: He can commit any crime he likes and get away with it. He has tested this lesson by implementing an authoritarian style purge of perceived enemies in his administration and handing out pardons and other executive favors to elite criminals and corrupt colleagues.

Donald Trump, Toilet, Bathrobe

In addition to granting clemency to well-connected crooks, Trump has also put pressure on his Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, on matters involving his political associates. Most notably, Trump made it clear that he believes his longtime political guru, Roger Stone, was treated too harshly after having been convicted of multiple felonies. Shortly thereafter, Barr announced that he was contradicting the sentencing recommendations by the frontline prosecutors and seeking leniency for Stone.

The subsequent controversy resulted in Barr pretending to be troubled by Trump’s interference. He even opined that Trump should refrain from tweeting about legal matters before the Department of Justice. And there was talk that Barr could resign if further interference by Trump occurred. Of course, he didn’t mean it. That was an obviously staged performance to mitigate the criticism that was Barr was getting from within and without the DOJ.

The proof that Barr’s concerns were phony came on Wednesday morning when he failed to resign after Trump threw some more blatant interferences in his face. Trump posted a couple of tweets asserting wholly unsubstantiated criminal behavior by Democratic opponents. While Trump is fond of whining about his misunderstanding of “due process,” he has no problem charging others with crimes, despite a total absence of evidence. On this occasion he led off with wild accusations against former Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. Chris Murphy that he saw in a segment on Fox News:

Notice that Trump didn’t suggest that a violation might have occurred and should be investigated. He stated as fact that there was a breach of the law and that the perpetrators “Must be dealt with strongly!” He’s apparently designated himself the judge and jury. That’s a reckless state of affairs coming from a reckless president who has also “convicted” Hillary Clinton for some unspecified crimes and led his cult followers in chants to “Lock her up.”

If Trump had any idea what the Logan Act was, he wouldn’t make a fool of himself by raising it in this context. And if Trump thinks that Murphy’s meeting is why Iran isn’t negotiating with him, he is more mentally disturbed than previously thought. Trump is simply trying to blame his own bungling of affairs with Iran on this otherwise routine encounter. After all, it was Trump who unilaterally, and without reason, withdrew from a nuclear agreement that was made between Iran, the U.S., and six other nations. Following that, Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran, who by all accounts were abiding by the agreement. Maybe that had something to do with Iran’s unwillingness to negotiate with him.

Trump’s other tweet went after Mike Bloomberg, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, and someone who Trump despises and fears:

Once again, Trump is asserting a criminal act as fact without evidence or even a specific charge of what Bloomberg did that was allegedly illegal. The “sinister” payoffs that Trump is babbling about have not been shown to have occurred or, if they did, were in any way improper. They surely were nothing like paying $130,000 to a porn star, lying to cover it up, and seeing your personal attorney go to prison for acting on your behalf. And they were nothing like asking Russia to hack your opponent’s emails or extorting Ukraine’s president to get dirt on a political rival.

The fact is that Trump is continuing to tweet orders to his puppet Attorney General. Trump still wants to see his political foes persecuted by a corrupt Justice Department. And Barr has shown that is all too willing to obey whatever commands he is given by Dear Leader. Barr believes in a monarchical theory of government that gives the president nearly unlimited powers. And Trump’s narcissistic delusions of grandeur make him fully capable of assuming the role of a tyrant. So unless the American people rise up to preserve the republic that the Founders provided, it will surely be lost. Don’t let this moment pass you by, America.

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


REALLY? Trump Quotes Pro-Impeachment Fox News Judge to Defend Roger Stone

Posted by on February 18, 2020 at 1:39 pm. 0 Comments :

Last week Donald Trump fired off a flurry of tweets in defense of his longtime political guru, and now convicted felon, Roger Stone. Trump’s Attorney Genuflect Bill Barr heard and obeyed the commands to seek leniency for Stone. Although Barr also made an obviously staged attempt to reclaim some of the independence that the Department of Justice is supposed to maintain.

Donald Trump, Roger Stone

Barr whined that Trump’s tweets made his job harder. By which he meant that it’s harder to conspire to cover up crimes if Trump keeps confessing to them in public. And it’s harder to pretend to be impartial when Trump is exposing your sleazy collaboration. But Barr’s entreaties to get Trump to clam up were apparently a huge failure. On Tuesday morning Trump, once again, lashed out at the rule of law on behalf of Stone:

Trump’s pigheadedness shouldn’t surprise anyone. He is infamous for blazing his own path no matter how ignorant or destructive. What’s peculiar about these tweets is that they are quoting someone who Trump has viciously maligned in the past.

Judge Andrew Napolitano is the Senior Legal Analyst of Fox News. And in that position he has provided commentary regarding Trump’s legal tribulations with impeachment. In Napolitano’s opinion, the evidence of Trump’s guilt was “overwhelming.” He also stated that there is “undisputed evidence that he abused his power,” and he elaborated saying that…

“Everyone who believes in the rule of law should be terrified of a president who thinks and behaves as if it does not apply to him. As the DOJ has stated repeatedly, impeachment is the proper constitutional remedy for that.”

Napolitano was unceremoniously benched by Fox News throughout the Senate impeachment hearings, likely due to his legal assessments that conflict with the rest of the Trump-fluffers on the State TV Network. But now Trump is embracing the views of Napolitano that were expressed during an appearance on Fox and Friends (video below).

In this case Napolitano argues in favor of Stone getting a new trial. However, a new trial would not be warranted simply because a juror had an opinion about elements of the case. Every juror is likely to have opinions if they are conscious human beings. Jurors are routinely asked if their opinions would prevent them from being impartial. If not, they can serve. A juror would have to allow their opinions to bias their deliberations in order to declare a mistrial. So far there is no evidence of that.

It remains to be seen what the judge will decide with regard to the verdicts in this case. It’s hard to believe that a new trial would produce a different result considering all the available evidence against Stone. Remember, all eleven of the other jurors agreed that Stone is guilty on all counts.

But if Trump is adamant that Napolitano’s advice be adhered to with regard to Stone, then let’s be consistent. Trump should immediately resign due to the ample evidence of his own guilt that Napolitano so painstakingly laid out. I would have no problem with accepting both of Napolitano’s assessments. So how about we grant Stone a new trial, and escort Trump out of the White House? That seems fair.

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


Scandal Starved Fox News Devours Moldy Story on Clinton and AG Lynch

Posted by on February 17, 2020 at 3:01 pm. 15 Comments :

Ever since Donald Trump delivered his Dystopian State of the Union address a couple of weeks ago, he has demonstrated his failure to grasp the consequences of having been impeached. He has embarked on a campaign of paranoid expulsions of perceived enemies from his own administration. And he has exposed a diseased and frightened mindset that makes it plain that he hasn’t learned a thing, as some terminally naive Republican senators presumed he would.

Donald Trump, Fox News, Fake

Among the Trumpian atrocities that have occurred in recent weeks is the brazenly biased interference of Trump’s Attorney Genuflect, Bill Barr, in the case of convicted felon, and longtime Trump political guru, Roger Stone. This was an ethical breach so egregious that more than 2,000 former Justice Department officials from both parties have called for Barr’s resignation.

The Trump playbook on responding to charges against him is as predictable as it is shallow. He merely seeks to manufacture similar charges against his opponents. However, there isn’t anything that could be plausibly be asserted with regard to the administration of justice by Democrats that is remotely comparable. So Trump World is stretching completely out of shape to fight back on this one.

What they have apparently settled on is a revisitation of a meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch at an Arizona airport four years ago. There was never any evidence of anything improper in that meeting, although Republicans latched unto it like a pack of rabid hounds hoping to uncover some wrongdoing. Despite their best efforts, they failed utterly. Clinton, after all, was not the President, and Hillary was no longer in government, so neither had any influence to wield. Therefore, any comparison of that event to Trump putting pressure on Barr is ludicrous.

But that didn’t stop Fox News from interviewing an author whose new book promises “explosive new information” about the “Secret on the Tarmac.” Christopher Sign joined the “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Fox and Friends to discuss what was introduced as “the tarmac meeting that rocked 2016.” Co-host Steve Doocy began by asking Sign a flagrantly leading question (video below):

Doocy: From the get go, this just didn’t add up, did it?
Sigh: Not at all. When I broke this story we knew something had occurred here that was a bit unusual. It was a planned meeting. It was not a coincidence. It was planned. And this details everything that they don’t want you to know and everything they think you forgot. But Bill Clinton was on that plane for 20 minutes and it wasn’t just about golf, grandkids, Brexit.

And that’s the entirety of this “explosive new information.” Sign did not reveal anything else about what took place or what was said. When asked how he knew that something was going on, he replied that “I have a source that walks me through it from point A to point b to point Z. And my source saw it all unfold.” Once again, Sign provides no details about what his alleged source told him. Only that Clinton arrived at the airport and waited briefly until he could board Lynch’s plane, where they spoke for about twenty minutes.

Shocking, isn’t it? There is no evidence of any plot or any even any potential benefit from this allegedly clandestine rendezvous. There is no indication that Sign’s source was on the plane or witnessed any of the discussions. The confirmation that the meeting lasted only twenty minutes suggests that there couldn’t have been anything of importance taking place, and certainly nothing that couldn’t have been discussed on the telephone.

So how does their scenario explain why Clinton and Lynch would have needed to meet at an airport in Arizona? Neither Sign, nor anyone at Fox News, can explain what might have been so controversial about this. And the reliance on an unidentified source should make the whole thing invalid according to Trump, who has frequently insisted that such sources don’t actually exist.

Trump himself weighed in on this pathetic excuse for a scandal at the time, tweeting…

Notice that Trump, as he is wont to do, nearly doubled the time Clinton supposedly spent on Lynch’s plane. And it’s surely no surprise that Trump thinks it would be impossible to talk about one’s grandchildren for half an hour, because he probably can’t even name his. Most grandparents can go on for hours about their grandkids. That’s how desperately wretched this attempt at concocting a scandal is. Fox News is really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days.

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