Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio Bans Visas for Officials Who Censor Americans – Such as Marco Rubio and Trump?

Posted by on May 28, 2025 at 1:23 pm. 0 Comments :

After nearly two and half centuries, the American Constitution remains one of the most revered documents of independence and liberty ever written and adopted as the legal foundation of a democratic republic. It defines the basic governing principles for a free society that is truly made of, by, and for the people.

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Donald Trump, Censorship

That said, if there is one thing for which Donald Trump has distinguished himself throughout his occupation of the White House, it is his fervent aversion to the Constitution and especially its prohibitions on abridging freedom of the press and free speech. He has literally taken control over the once independently managed White House Press briefings in order to transform it into a pro-Trump puppet show of pure propaganda.

SEE THIS: Trump Declares Himself King of the White House Press Corps, Will Now Decide Who Can Question Him

On Wednesday Trump’s Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, accelerated the autocratic aspirations of the Trump regime by issuing a new decree aimed at foreign government officials and other diplomats seeking to visit the United States. Rubio tweeted that…

“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights.

“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

Paging Mr Orwell, Mr George Orwell. Please come to the White courtesy phone.

— digby (@digby56.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T18:15:01.190Z

Rubio’s policy specifically references foreign nations and/or persons engaging in the moderation of social media in order to mitigate hate speech, disinformation, and efforts to incite violence. It’s the sort of responsible moderation that was practiced in the U.S. until Trump coerced American tech platforms to discontinue it so that Trump and his cult followers could rabble-rouse uninterrupted.

However, the flaming hypocrisy of Rubio’s decree is impossible to ignore. The Trump administration is the most censorious regime to assume power in America since the 1950’s blacklisting and McCarthyism. Trump has been persecuting Harvard University and other academic institutions who refused to kiss his… let’s say ring. He has been pressuring law firms (not always successfully) to kneel down before him, and even pledge the support of hundreds of millions of dollars in free representation for his MAGA agenda.

Perhaps worst of all, Trump has been threatening the media with billion dollar lawsuits and revocation of broadcast licenses unless they kowtow to him and his fixation on getting the press to lavish him with unflinching adoration.

What’s more, Trump has installed himself as the chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; he has banned the Associated Press from presidential media avails; he appointed Kari Lake to head the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which manages Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio Television Martí, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), and the Voice of America (VOA). And Lake has already made some preposterous decisions…

FOR INSTANCE: Trump Flunky Kari Lake Taps MAGA Propaganda Network, OAN, to Be the Voice of Voice of America

On the same day that Rubio issued his decree, Trump’s Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, told CNBC that universities must be “in sync” with the Trump administration in order to receive government grants. That will prohibit funding for life-saving research on cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other devastating illnesses.

Trump's Re-education Secretary, Linda McMahon, says that universities must be "in sync with the administration."In other words, they must abandon academic freedom and submit to their government overlords. Because that's what cult leader Trump demands.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-05-28T15:41:30.011Z

If Rubio’s decree were to be fairly enforced, Trump and most of his Cabinet would be unable to get visas to enter the U.S. Their blatant and shameless acts of censorship would fail to meet Rubio’s criteria. So while Rubio and Trump are whining about what they imagine to be censorship by foreigners, they are the worst practitioners of it. Now, if we could only get them to self-deport.

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Trump Gathers His Cabinet Members to Conduct Another Festival of Feckless Trump-Fluffing

Posted by on April 30, 2025 at 2:56 pm. 1 Comments :

Having reached the arbitrary media milestone of 100 days in office, Donald Trump has assembled his White House toadies to perform what he regards as their most critical duties as members of his Cabinet: Puckering up to kiss his…let’s say ring.

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Donald Trump TV Set

This reprisal of Trump’s occupation of the White House is, much like his prior occupancy, an engagement that resembles his reality TV hosting chores more than anything like governing or leadership. He behaves as if he is the master of the plantation and everyone that he has bought and paid for are obliged to serve with obedience and adoration. Never mind how much he is despised by the American people.

SEE THIS: Trump Marks His First 100 Days By Glorifying Why Most Americans See Him as ‘A Dangerous Dictator’

During Trump 2.0 he has already called a couple of Cabinet meetings. And unique among presidents, these meetings have nothing to do with advancing the nation’s business. There is no discussion of projects or policy. How could there be when, along with his Cabinet, he invites the press to witness what is an elaborate tribute to Trump himself. Some examples of the discourse that takes place include the following fits of flattery from his fawning flunkies…

Scott Bessent: Sir, it’s been a momentous 100 days with you at the helm.
Doug Burgum: Everybody I’ve met, whether it’s at a coal mine or the border, law enforcement, the one thing they say is please thank President Trump from all of us.
Pete Hegseth: What we have seen since your election, your inauguration, there’s been nothing short of a recruiting renaissance.
Elon Musk: It’s an honor to work with your incredible cabinet.
Howard Lutnick: The attention on the Trump gold card — I mean, it makes me very popular.
Kristi Noem: One thing I want to point out is fake news has been saying that Biden deported more people than you.
Linda McMahon: I’d like for you to be known as the education president.
Lee Zeldin: The biggest reason why we’re here is that this is the 100th day of the most consequential, historic first 100 days in the history of this country.
Pam Bondi: Your first 100 days has far exceeded that of any other presidency in this country. Ever. Ever. Never seen anything like it. Thank you.
Susie Wiles: Congratulations to everyone on 100 days.. it’s unparalleled in my memory and best I can tell, ever.
JD Vance: You sit in the Oval Office and see these portraits of presidents past. And let’s be honest — most of them have been placeholders.

Isn’t it comforting to know that all of these public servants are seated around the conference table in the White House, with red hats in front of each of them, gushing over Dear Leader rather than wasting their time doing the work that past Cabinet secretaries have done?

No, really! If they were actually working, these incompetent Trump cultists would only be making things worse. That is painfully evident in what they said at this meeting. For example, Attorney Genuflect Bondi praised Trump for saving 258 million lives via his fentanyl seizures, as if he was there apprehending the drug traffickers himself. So according to her, 76% of the country would be dead now if not for Trump.

Trump's Attorney Genuflect, Pam Bondi, says that Trump has saved 258 million lives via his fentanyl seizures."Are you ready for this, media?" According to Bondi, 76% of the country would be dead now if not for Trump.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2025-04-30T17:47:42.089Z

Another example was how Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, replied to a question about whether he had spoken to the president of El Salvador about returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. as the Supreme Court ordered. Rubio’s response was to tell the reporter essentially that the Trump regime is a lawless cabal that can ignore the courts and the Constitution, and answers to nobody.

Q: “Have you been in touch with El Salvador about returning Abrego Garcia? Has a formal request from this administration been made?”Rubio: “I would never tell you that. And you know who else I'd never tell? A judge.”

— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) 2025-04-30T17:51:34.090Z

Consequently, the more often that Trump huddles with his sycophants, the better for the country. To be sure, they are still cable of doing significant harm, and are doing so. But it’s not like they know what they’re doing, or that their services would be missed. And there’s even a chance that we might get to see Trump play his oldy-moldy and tell one of them that “You’re fired!”

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Pathological Liar Trump Denies Pentagon Reports of Chinese Balloons Over U.S. During His Term

Posted by on February 5, 2023 at 11:24 am. 2 Comments :

In the wake of the 21st century’s most dreadful and diabolical act of international espionage – the Chinese Spy Balloon Affair – Donald Trump is displaying his famously fatuous and defiant demeanor. Always the measured stateman, Trump’s response to China’s brief and inconsequential incursion into American air space is typically distant from any rational version of reality.

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Donald Trump

Trump’s first public comment on this pressing matter was a posting on his pitifully failing social media site, Truth Social, that said nothing but “SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!” Which was particularly asinine advice considering that he and his mouthpieces on Fox News believed that it might contain bioweapons that would spread for miles were the balloon to be shot down over the U.S.

RELATED: UH-OH: GOP Oversight Committee Chair on Fox News Fears a Weather Balloon is a Chinese Bioweapon

On Sunday Trump elaborated on his thoughts regarding the giant Chinese party favor. He posted a comment that refuted the documented reports by the Pentagon about the state of the military Spy Balloon gap. Trump babbled that…

“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration. They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!”

First of all, wouldn’t “FAKE DISINFORMATION” be real information? Setting that aside, Trump’s tedious tantrums about President Biden and the Democrats are always describing one “disgrace” or another. In this case, Trump is adamant that nothing like this ever occurred during his tumultuous term in the White House. Unfortunately for Trump, the Pentagon disagrees. They issued a statement on Thursday that revealed that…

“It is not the first time that you had a balloon of this nature cross over the continental United States. It has happened a handful of other times over the past few years, to include before this administration.”

Not only that, Fox News reported the same thing with additional details, saying that…

“U.S. officials tell Fox it’s not the first time Chinese spy balloons have flown over the United States. About four months ago a Chinese spy balloon crashed in the Pacific near Hawaii. Others were spotted over Texas and Florida, dating back to the Trump administration, but never previously acknowledged publicly.”

Sane observers know that Biden did the right thing by taking the advice of the military professionals and waiting to shoot down the balloon until it was over the Atlantic. They had already disabled the balloon’s surveillance capabilities. And having seen the seven mile long debris field validates the decision not to shoot it down over land, where the two-bus sized payload might have caused harm to people or property.

Trump is clearly unconcerned about these facts. And he isn’t bothered that the Pentagon refuted his factless and simple-minded denial. Neither is Fox News. Despite their own reporting, they have disseminated flagrantly false propaganda about the popping of the balloon. Fox host Maria Bartiromo asked an array of questions intended to invoke irrational fears…

“Did it drop and disburse surveillance products powered by solar energy to allow unlimited surveillance? And why did it take U.S. officials so long to shoot it down? Was it a test for the CCP to see if can send something into America’s airspace undetected? And how much surveillance is China performing on America right now?”

Note that Bartiromo was worried about the downing of the balloon because of the potential that it would “drop and disburse surveillance products,” but that she thought it should have been shot down sooner. She’s saying, in effect, that she wants China to have been able to collect more information.

Fox News also hosted Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, who claimed to have been totally unaware of any of the Chinese spy balloon incidents during the Trump years. That’s comforting, isn’t it?

Additionally, Fox interviewed GOP senator Marco Rubio, who made a bizarrely contorted argument that China benefited by Biden not shooting down the balloon, and that China benefited by Biden shooting down the balloon. So according to Rubio, China wins either way.

How would this have been different during Trump’s term? He had the same options to either shoot down the balloon or not. And presumably the same win-win benefits for China. Of course, Trump took a third path wherein he did nothing at all and concealed the whole matter from the public. That was surely a win for Trump’s pals in China.

This is the sort of nonsense that passes for expert analysis on Fox News. And then they expect their audience to accept their dishonesty and foolishness. Lucky for them, their viewers have been primed to buy bullshit like this for many years. And that same cultist indoctrination paved the road for Trump to be able to lie so brazenly and profusely and still appeal to his glassy-eyed devotees.

It’s just a matter of time before the Kool-Aid is distributed. Or worse, he gives his StormTrumpers the orders to attack the rest of us. Which, actually, he has already done.

RELATED: Trump Post Urges His Cult Followers to Take Up Arms and ‘Physically Fight’ for the Presidency

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Marco Rubio Agrees that Trump Hoarded Classified Documents, But Only Cares that He Got Caught

Posted by on September 7, 2022 at 12:02 pm. 2 Comments :

With new and increasingly ghastly stories about how Donald Trump has betrayed America coming out every day, his servile toadies in the Republican Party and the rightist press are finding it more difficult to manufacture excuses for his rampant criminality and deceit. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still trying.

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Marco Rubio, Donald Trump

On Wednesday morning GOP Sen. Marco Rubio visited Trump’s Ministry of Disinformation – aka Fox News – to unfurl more of the unabashed BS that he is so infamous for. However, he encountered some unexpected questioning that caused his robo-apologia to malfunction. It’s a condition that has afflicted other Trump-fluffers attempting to absolve Dear Leader of any and all wrongdoing.

RELATED: Fox News Frantically Struggles to Exonerate Trump After Release of the Redacted FBI Affidavit

During his interview on Fox and Friends, Rubio was asked by co-host Steve Doocy to explain why Trump would ever have sensitive national security materials stored insecurely at his Palm Beach resort hotel/home. Rubio’s response was typical of the cringeworthy alibis emanating from the League of Devoted Trump Defenders:

Doocy: “Highly classified documents at Mar-a-Lago that only a cabinet-level officer or higher could even look at… That doesn’t seem like something you should have in your post-presidential drawer.”
Rubio: “Well, let’s break this down. First of all, we really don’t know. Let’s go back and understand that all this information is coming from one side and one place. and that is sources with knowledge of the investigation. Well, who are the sources with knowledge of the investigation? The FBI and Justice Department. And they are leaking to the media.”

Doocy was putting it mildly to suggest that such documents ought not to be kept in a desk drawer at a hotel that welcomes unvetted guests from all over the world. But Rubio couldn’t even address that relative softball. He dodged the question about the legal and ethical failures by Trump entirely, instead devoting the next two minutes to complaining about alleged leaks.

In other words, Rubio was more worried that Trump had been caught, than by the crimes he committed that put America at risk. Although Rubio did affirm the existence of classified materials at Trump’s resort. By asserting that the info came from “sources with knowledge of the investigation,” he is conceding the legitimacy of the charges against Trump that he’s whining were leaked.

What’s more, the substance of Rubio’s complaints had no basis in reality. He asserted as fact that information had been leaked by the FBI or the Justice Department for political purposes. But he has no evidence of that. There could be other sources for that information, including people who Trump might have shown the documents to, or who participated in moving them to Mar-a-Lago, or had helped him review and catalog what he stole from the White House.

This isn’t the first pitifully lame effort by Rubio to exonerate Trump. On Monday he told an NBC reporter that the whole scandalous controversy was “just a storage issue, [and] I don’t think a fight over storage of documents is worthy of what they [the FBI] have done.” Of course. Because why should anyone be concerned that Trump had illegally taken national security materials from the White House, lied about having them when asked, and even subpoenaed, and stored them where unsavory characters could access them?

RELATED: SEMI-FASCIST? Trump Wants the FBI to ‘Raid’ the House of Joe Biden – AKA the White House

Trump has been making many of the same arguments. He is outraged that the FBI took some personal items from his office at Mar-a-Lago. But he makes no attempt to explain why had more than 11,000 documents that are the property of the United States government. But in his defense, the only reason he doesn’t try to explain it is because he’s guilty, and he knows it. Other than that…

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Trump Mocked for Partnering with Putin on Cyber Security as ‘Dumbest Idea’ Ever

Posted by on July 9, 2017 at 3:12 pm. 3 Comments :

Donald Trump just returned from his latest Embarrassing America World Tour. And even before deplaning in D.C., he has managed to aggravate his own party for some typically Trumpian idiocy.

Donald Trump Vladimir Putin

During the highly anticipated meeting with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, Trump reportedly raised the issue of election tampering. However, his approach completely failed to hold Putin to account. Trump tiptoed into the subject by phrasing it as something that concerns the American people. He never asserted that it was of concern to him. And, of course, it wasn’t, judging by his public comments on it. Once at home, Trump felt comfortable to post his latest feelings on Twitter:

Well, then. Since he pressed it twice. I’m pretty sure that’s how professionals in law enforcement handle these things. They ask the suspect twice if he committed the murder, and if he denies it, they let him go. As for Trump’s assertion that he has already given his own opinion, that’s true. He did so again a few days ago when he said:

“I think it was Russia, but I think it was probably other people and/or countries. And I see nothing wrong with that statement. Nobody really knows for sure.”

That certainly clears things up, doesn’t it? And now that the whole election hacking scandal is wrapped up, we can move on to other pressing matters. For instance, Trump announced that he and Putin have agreed to set up a cyber security operation to prevent future electronic intrusions. Trump tweeted that: “Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded.”

What a grand idea. Let’s collaborate with the guy who ordered the election hacking in the first place on scheme to keep others from doing it. In other words, let’s give the burglar the keys to the front door and the times we will be out walking the dog. Makes perfect sense. In fact, it’s so brilliant that even Trump’s colleagues in the Republican Party had something to say about it.

Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that “Partnering with Putin on a “Cyber Security Unit” is akin to partnering with Assad on a ‘Chemical Weapons Unit.'” Sen. Lindsey Graham said that working with Putin to combat cyber crimes is “pretty close” to “the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.” And Sen. John McCain snarked that “I’m sure that Vladimir Putin could be of enormous assistance in that effort, since he is doing the hacking.” If that’s how Republicans are responding, needless to say the rest of the nation is at least equally dismayed. For instance, Twitter is afire with sarcastic analogies:


https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/884054653515771904

None of this matters to Trump. He’s still obsessed with why Obama allegedly “did nothing” about the Russian hacking that he still thinks is fake news. Trump’s PR offensive is fanning out to the Sunday news programs to spread illogical talking points. His Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, insists that “The President absolutely did not believe the denial of President Putin.” Of course not. Trump asserted the same denial before ever talking to Putin. Then his U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said that “Everybody knows that Russia meddled in our elections” Well, everybody but Trump, who still claims that “Nobody really knows for sure.” Why is his top diplomat contradicting him?

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

This would all be great material for Saturday Night Live if it weren’t so dangerous for America’s future. Trump is now going beyond merely letting Putin off the hook. He’s inviting our enemy into the situation room so he can get a better look at our defenses. It would be generous to say that this only borders on treason. And Trump’s Republican Party appears to be in complete accord with this betrayal. The question is, what will it take for the GOP to stand up for America’s sovereignty? And will they do it before even more serious damage is done?

UPDATE: Trump posted another tweet on this subject:

So Trump spoke with the man who orchestrated the election tampering without making him pay any price for subverting democracy. And now we learn that he wasted much of that time on an idiotic plan to partner with Putin on cyber security that he didn’t even think was possible. This just keeps getting worse.

Fact Checkers Scorch Donald Trump’s Lie-Riddled Debate Performance

Posted by on February 26, 2016 at 3:01 pm. 3 Comments :

Last night’s debate on CNN showcased once again that the field of Republicans is jam-packed with whimpering, infantile candidates who are wholly unprepared to lead a bunny hop, much less lead a nation. It’s hard to imagine that, after watching that spectacle, anyone can picture any of these colicky brats with America’s nuclear missile launch codes.

Bawl-Apalooza

As usual, Donald Trump dominated the brawl with his trademark insults and incessantly repetitive branding (“Make America build a wall of guns for Jesus, losers”). At this point it would probably be easier to list examples of Trump saying something truthful than to enumerate the many outright falsehoods he spews. But it wouldn’t be as much fun. Here are some of the blatant lies, as documented by Factcheck.org, that are contributing to the ever-growing Trump Bullshitopedia:

  1. Ted Cruz nailed Trump in an exchange where Trump denied that he had ever said he favored a health care plan that would be paid for by the government. In fact, that’s exactly what he told 60 Minutes just last year when he said that “Everybody’s gonna be taken care” and that “the government’s gonna pay for it.”
  2. Marco Rubio got his shots in by revealing that Trump had lost a million dollar lawsuit over his hiring of foreign workers. Trump whined that Rubio was “totally wrong,” except that he wasn’t.
  3. Trump claimed that he could not release his tax returns because they are being audited. This lie has several layers. First of all, he has been saying for months that he would release his tax returns “soon” without ever mentioning any audits. It seems like a convenient fabrication someone just thought of to try to get people to stop asking the question. Secondly, there is nothing preventing him from releasing his returns even if there is an audit in progress. And finally, he claims that he has been audited continuously for the past twelve years, so this lame excuse could actually mean that he will never release his tax returns because the audits could go on for years to come. – – – As an addendum to the tax return/audit lies, Trump told CNN that he believes the IRS may be auditing him because he is a “strong Christian.” Really? He thinks the IRS has it in for Christians? And how did they know he was one twelve years before he ever said anything about his alleged faith?
  4. Another feather in Cruz’s tri-corner hat was earned when he challenged Trump’s assertion that he had “never discussed” Libya or advocated removing Gadhafi from power. He apparently forgot that time he discussed it on his own website saying that “I can’t believe what our country is doing. Gadhafi, in Libya, is killing thousands of people…We should stop this guy…Immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out.”
  5. Here’s an oldie that has been debunked many times. Trump is fond of lying that Americans and American businesses pay the highest taxes in the world. That just isn’t true. It’s not even close.

As an added bonus, here is an item that isn’t technically a lie, but is frighteningly repugnant. At a post-debate rally Trump reminded his cultish followers about how bitterly he hates the media. And then he disclosed what he would do to his enemies in the press given the opportunity:

“One of the things I’m gonna do if I win… I’m going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money…With me they’re not protected because I’m not like other people…So we’re going to open up those libel laws, folks, and we’re gonna have people sue you like you’ve never been sued before.”

In other words, Trump intends to repeal the First Amendment and, through his power as president, threaten and attack the press. Thin-skinned crybabies like Trump may not like any negative attention they get, but it is a Constitutional right for the media to have the freedom to express themselves. And like most rightist Republicans, they only revere the Constitution (or the bible) when they can interpret it to coincide with their preconceptions. It is the way cultists operate. See Fox News…

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

The Death Of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Is Instantly Politicized By Callous Republicans

Posted by on February 13, 2016 at 4:56 pm. 6 Comments :

The sudden and unexpected death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has produced a flurry of reactions from across the political spectrum. Everyone offering a comment has begun with praise for his public service and intellect, and expressions of condolences for his family.

Antonin Scalia

Unfortunately, Republicans have wasted no time in turning this personal tragedy into a political opportunity. GOP presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (also members of the Senate) added to their sympathies a demand that President Obama refrain from nominating a replacement and leave that to whoever is president in January of 2017. Others, including Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who holds the power to vote or not, have made similar demands. After offering her condolences, Hillary Clinton responded to the GOP by saying that their intention to leave the seat vacant dishonors our Constitution.

There are several problems with the Republican’s overt obstructionism, starting with the fact that it is the constitutional duty of the President to nominate a replacement when there is a vacancy. It would be wholly inappropriate for him to simply ignore that obligation for political purposes. The Senate could refuse to confirm the nominee, or even allow it to come up for a vote. Of course, that would be an abdication of their constitutional duty, but they could do it. The President, however, should not be complicit with that negligence. The Founders intended the Supreme Court to reflect the mood of the nation as represented by the chief executive — not the mood of the nation as represented by the chief executive unless he’s in the last year of his administration.

Another reason that the President should nominate a replacement as soon as possible, and the Senate should confirm, is that this year the Supreme Court has a particularly heavy calendar. There are many cases waiting to be heard, and some are critical issues that will have far reaching effect. The litigants ought not to be penalized by self-serving politicians. And there has never been a vacancy on the Supreme Court for a year, which is what the GOP obstructionists are proposing. Some of the decisions to be made by the court this term could…

  • Limit the ability of unions to collectively bargain (Friedrichs).
  • Further restrict the use of race in college admissions (Fisher).
  • Drastically limit the ability of people to band together in class actions to stop corporate wrongdoing (Spokeo, Campbell-Ewald, Tyson Foods).
  • Dismantle environmental regulations (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission).
  • Expand the scope of forced arbitration (DIRECTV and Zaborowski).
  • Further undermine the voting rights of communities of color in urban areas (Evenwel).
  • Sanction far-right efforts to radically restrict women’s abortion rights and ability to obtain contraceptive medical coverage (Whole Woman’s Health and Zubik).

If a new justice is not confirmed, the pending cases would be heard by a short-handed court. And since this court has been divided ideologically with a five to four conservative advantage, there is a great possibility of frequent ties should this vacancy remain. In the event of a 4/4 tie, the ruling of the lower court would stand. From the Republican perspective, this might not be to their advantage. After eight years of the Obama presidency the district courts currently have a majority of Democratic nominated judges. Consequently, those lower court rulings may be more to the liking of liberals. So any effort by the GOP to obstruct the confirmation of a new nominee by Obama may have the opposite effect of what they intend. Senate Republicans also risk the possibility that they will not be in the majority next year and the next president, if Democratic, would have far more leeway in who they nominate.

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

The bottom line is that our government is supposed to work on behalf of the people, not at the whim of the politicians. By obstructing Obama’s constitutional mandate, Republicans would only further cement the impression of them as fomenting division and gridlock. In an election year where the public is fed up with political game-playing, that will likely hurt Republicans at the polls. On the plus side, it might finally elevate the appointment of Supreme Court justices as an election issue. That would be a good thing that should have happened long ago.

Update: President Obama offered his condolences. He also responded to the GOP’s irresponsible and callous politicization of Scalia’s passing, saying in part that…

“Today is a time to remember Justice Scalia’s legacy. I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. And there will be plenty of time for me to so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility and to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They are bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy.”

Rupert Murdoch’s Downright Delusional Twit-Tastic Debate Analysis

Posted by on February 7, 2016 at 9:09 pm. 1 Comments :

Rupert Murdoch is the corporate overlord of one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. That empire provides him with a vast array of platforms from which to express his extreme rightist ideology. And yet the man who created Donald Trump (and is now his slave) cannot seem to stop himself from posting the sort of stunted half-thoughts that flourish on Twitter.

Donald Trump Rupert Murdoch

The morning after the ABC broadcast of the Republican primary debate in New Hampshire Murdoch was especially chatty. He unleashed a series of tweets that left an impossibly positive impression of his experience of the debate. You really have to wonder what debate he was watching, because his comments seemed astonishingly removed from reality. Let’s have a look.

The first Murdoch tweet was both a general compliment to all of the Republican candidates and a slap at the Democrats. He said “All candidates lifted game last night. Everyone seemed better than alternative Dems.”

This is the first indication that Murdoch has totally lost it. He’s talking about a debate that began with the most hilariously screwed-up introduction ever, wherein Ben Carson and Donald Trump appeared to have been cast into a trance that froze them in their tracks. And it just got worse from there. He didn’t bother to elaborate on why he thought the Dems were so unappealing, but since he is the chief honcho of Fox News we can just assume he’s on auto-hate of everything liberalish.

The next tweet was a bit more specific. He said “Trump better, somewhat contained and more presidential. Rubio inspirational speaker, a winner. But does he have real depth of knowledge?”

If this was Murdoch’s idea of Trump being “more presidential” than I would be curious to see what he regards as appropriate presidential demeanor. Trump was booed repeatedly for boorish behavior including shushing Jeb Bush and insulting the audience. Apparently Murdoch admires a leader who would shush visiting dignitaries and insult voters. As for Rubio’s “inspirational” speaking, that must have been when he masterfully repeated the same memorized catch phrase at least four times as if stuck in tape loop.

The next tweet covered another couple of candidates. Murdoch said “Cruz a great debater performed well, but why do all long-term acquaintances distrust him? Jeb Bush best yet. Easily visualise him in WH.”

Presumably Murdoch was praising Cruz’s debating skills such as when brazenly lied about how he sabotaged Ben Carson in Iowa by inventing a rumor that Carson had dropped out of the race. Or maybe it was when he couldn’t decide whether he loved waterboarding enough to actually use it. And if Murdoch doesn’t know yet why Cruz is so universally disliked, he really needs to come out from under that rock every now and then. As for Murdoch’s tribute to Bush, it was such empty praise that he couldn’t manage to provide an example of why Bush was so much better than ever before.

The next tweet was just more of the same substanceless blather. He said “Christie the tough bullying prosecutor. Not much on big issues. Kasich the safe moderate, everyone’s Vice President. Carson also best yet.”

It’s interesting to see Murdoch actually criticize someone. Especially Christie considering that he was personally lobbied to run for president in 2012 by Murdoch’s lieutenant Roger Ailes. Not surprisingly, Murdoch was soft on Kasich for the very reason he stated: Kasich is (allegedly) a moderate. And once again, He couldn’t explain what Carson did that was such a big improvement despite his obvious blunders. I guess he had already set the bar pretty low.

Finally, Murdoch went off an a tangential tweet to condemn all of the candidates for a shared failing. He said “All really failed to understand immensity of global Muslim problem. No easy answers, but Middle East just a forerunner to sub-Sahara Africa.”

This tells us where Fox News gets its rampant hatred of Muslims (i.e. from the top). Murdoch just hauls off at something he calls a “global Muslim problem” as if it were an outbreak of Ebola, and not a racist assault on 1.2 billion people, most of whom are peace-loving folks who have the very same hopes and dreams for themselves and their families as anyone else.

This Twitter rant exposes Murdoch’s obvious biases, both politically and personally. The fact that he can run a “news” network that is laughably described as “fair and balanced” without being ostracized from the ranks of honest journalists is testimony to how distorted the media has become. Of course, anyone who has paid much attention to Fox News already realizes that it is nothing but a propaganda outlet that seeks to disinform the already intellectually weak and frighten them into a state where they can be manipulated – just like any other cult.

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

A Cloud Behind Every Silver Lining: GOP Candidates And Fox News Slam Iranian Prisoner Release

Posted by on January 16, 2016 at 1:02 pm. 6 Comments :

The news this morning that up to six Americans incarcerated in Iran have been released ought to be met with gladness and relief. These people have suffered for more than a year as prisoners convicted of dubious crimes. Today their families got the news they have been hoping for and are gathering to celebrate freedom.

Fox News Alert

Sadly, that celebration is not being shared by Fox News or the Republican candidates for president. Their lock-step determination to find fault with President Obama no matter the circumstances takes precedence over actual events or the national interest of the country. These “patriots” will never miss an opportunity to run down America or make it look bad in the eyes of the world.

So despite the fact that Fox News has been using the Iranian prisoners for months to accuse President Obama of weakness, they are now framing the release as a hostage swap that benefits the Iranians. Fox reporter Catherine Herridge described it as “short-term elation, but long-term pain.” Fox contributor John Bolton called it “a diplomatic debacle for the United States.” In reality, it’s just another example of the Fox News lose/lose approach to reporting on the President. If he were to cure cancer they would complain that it was a socialist attack on pharmaceutical companies that cost hard-working oncologists their jobs.

And the circus of GOP aspiring presidential clowns could not rush to a microphone quickly enough to criticize the freedom arranged by the Obama administration. From their reactions you might have thought that the news was reporting that Americans were captured rather than freed.

Ted Cruz: We don’t know the details of the deal that is bringing them home. And then it may well be that there are some very problematic aspects to this deal.

Marco Rubio: We should not be involved in swaps. These things should never happen is my point. […] I think this has created incentives for more governments to do this around the world.

Donald Trump: I will tell you, it’s a disgrace that they’ve been there for so long. It’s a disgrace. Remember that. A total disgrace.

Mike Huckabee: They should’ve been released before we ever sat down at the negotiating table.

Chris Christie: We shouldn’t have to swap prisoners, these folks were taken illegally in violation of international law and they should have been released without condition.

Jeb Bush: I would say … if you do not release them, that there’s going to be military action, that that’s an act of provocation, an act of war.

Clearly these folks would have preferred a full-on war with Iran rather than diplomacy. They would have opted to send more Americans to fight and die in a Middle East quagmire. And the fact that the Obama administration successfully negotiated the freedom of our Americans in Iran is greeted with rancor instead of praise. It was the same reaction they had to the sailors who were held briefly after drifting into Iranian waters. The right-wingers considered it an act of war and were rattling their swords in hysterics. Obama resolved the matter with a phone call and the sailors went on their way in few hours. Just imagine if one of those cretins were actually president during these incidents.

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

At the very least the Fox News/GOP knee-jerks could have joined the families this weekend to appreciate their long-awaited reunion with loved ones, and returned to their partisan vitriol on Monday. But that’s not how Republicans, or Fox News work.

Republicans Hate Obama/Clinton So Much It Makes Them Stupid

Posted by on January 15, 2016 at 7:33 pm. 3 Comments :

Last night’s Republican debate was so tightly managed and rehearsed that it revealed almost nothing about any of the candidates. That is, unless you weren’t already aware that they hate President Obama, Hillary Clinton, immigrants, taxes, healthcare, Muslims, and generally believe that America is weak and in danger of being destroy forever by some desert rats. Other than that…

Clinton Beats GOP

The severity of the GOP contempt for all things Democratic and progressive was in abundant display. So much so that it was causing the debaters to articulate a cacophony of utterly asinine rhetoric aimed at the absent objects of their disaffection. And as a public service, News Corpse has compiled a few of the worst mind farts of the evening.

Chris Christie starts us off with a chilling threat for the President saying that “We are going to kick your butt out of the White House come this fall.”

I’m sure Obama is shaking in his boots. Even though he knows that he will be living in the presidential abode until next winter. And when he leaves it will be because his second term has expired and not because of anything that Christie or his GOP goons might do. What’s more, there is a better than even shot that the next resident of the White House will be another Democrat, but a decidely long shot that it would be Christie.

Donald Trump is next and, as usual, gives us a rich buffet of stupid from which to choose. For now I’ll go with his answer to the question “Are there any circumstances that you think we should be limiting gun sales of any kind in America?” Trump said abruptly “NO!”

So The Donald is cool with the the unlimited sales of assault weapons, semi-automatics, automatics, grenade launchers, howitzers, etc. Additionally, his answer stipulates no limits on either guns or sales. So purchasers can be felons, or domestic abusers, or mentally ill, or terrorists. This is the sort of answer that can only come from someone who hasn’t bothered to think through the question. And wouldn’t that be a great attribute for a president?

Jeb Bush exhibited a unique form of delusion saying that “The idea that somehow we’re better off today than the day that Barack Obama was inaugurated president of the United States is totally an alternative universe.”

Does Jeb have the ability to recall that day seven years ago? The economy had just suffered its worst decline since the Great Depression. The stock market lost almost half its value. Unemployment soared to 10%. And some of the nations biggest financial and manufacturing concerns had to be bailed out by the government or disappear. Since then the stock market has more than doubled (even with the declines that occurred this week). Unemployment is down to 5%. America’s auto industry had its best year ever in 2015. Osama Bin Laden is quite dead, along with hundreds of other Al Qaeda and ISIS leaders. And yet, Bush seems to wish that we could return to the precarious position that his brother put the nation in due to his shoddy economic policies, tax cuts for rich, and embarking on two wars.

Marco Rubio is among the right-wingers who believe that there is nothing to fear but let’s all be afraid anyway. He fretted that “There is a war against ISIS, not just against ISIS but against radical jihadists terrorists, and it is a war that they win or we win.”

This is the same nonsense propounded by the rest of the GOP field. They actually think that under some bizarre circumstance ISIS could defeat the United States and compel our surrender. That is just ludicrous. Sure, they can do serious harm to individuals with terrorist tactics, but that’s a long way from a military defeat. The combined forces of Germany, Italy, and Japan could not beat the U.S. Only a an idiot would think that ISIS can.

Ben Carson didn’t add much to this debate. But he did preface his first answer by saying that “I’m very happy to get a question this early on. I was going to ask you to wake me up when that time came.”

The good doctor should know better than to open with a joke about falling asleep when the single most ridiculed part od his persona is that he seems to be on the verge of slumber at all times.

Ted Cruz seemed to think it would be a good idea to insult everyone in New York saying derisively that “I think most people know exactly what New York values are.”

Not only does that demean some twenty million Americans, it gave Trump an opening to play the 9/11 card. But this attitude isn’t new. Republicans have been openly hostile to much of America just because of political differences. They also hate Hollywood, San Francisco, Seattle, New Orleans, Austin, Chicago, Boston, and more. It’s a peculiar brand of selective patriotism.

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

These are the candidates that Republicans have to choose from. For the time being being they seem to be leaning toward the goofiest one in the bunch. And they don’t seem to care that Trump has based his entire campaign on self-exaltation, insults and lies (see the Trump Bullshitopedia). Maybe Republican voters are simply settling for Trump because the rest of the roster is equally ridiculous. They have resigned themselves to the fate that, if we’re gonna be stuck a preposterous candidate, why not go for the gold?