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

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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Revolving Bore: Former Trump Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Joins Fox News

The relationship between Fox News and the Republican Party is an incestuous mess that repeatedly violates all standards of journalistic ethics. And now the revolving door between Fox and the defunct Donald Trump administration is spinning faster than a Hunter Biden laptop lie.

Donald Trump, Fox News, White House

Fox News has just announced Trump’s former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has been hired as a contributor. According to the Hollywood Reporter

“Pompeo, who will make his first appearance in his new role on the channel on Friday’s Fox & Friends, will appear across Fox News and Fox Business programming.

“In a statement Thursday, Pompeo said he intends ‘to give viewers a candid, no-nonsense look at geopolitics, international relations and the America First policies that helped chart the course for unprecedented American prosperity and security.'”

It is entirely fitting that Pompeo will debut as a talking head with the “Curvy Couch” potatoes on Trump’s favorite morning show, Fox and Friends. And his statement that Trump’s policies charted “a course for unprecedented American prosperity and security,” strikes just right tone of flagrant dishonesty to launch a budding career in nakedly biased media and propaganda. If Trump’s policies were so successful he wouldn’t have been evicted form the White House by an unprecedented majority of the American people.

However, nowhere in the announcement was it acknowledged that Pompeo is actively exploring a run for president in 2024. He has already made the requisite appearances in in the first primary state of Iowa. This hire is just another example of Fox News boosting Republican politicians. At the very least, Fox is proving to be the GOP’s jobs program for failed pols with nowhere else to go. He is joining Trump castoffs…

  • Kayleigh McEnany, the former press secretary who is now a co-host of Fox’s Outnumbered.
  • Larry Kudlow, the former economic advisor who has replaced Fox’s Lou Dobbs, who was fired in connection with the billion dollar lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.
  • Lara Trump, who, for the moment, is the wife of Eric Trump – her only qualification for the job.

Pompeo shares the distinction of being a prospective candidate with Lara Trump. She has been talking about running for the Senate in North Carolina for weeks. And another former Trump press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has already gone from Trump’s White House to Fox News to a candidacy for governor of Arkansas.

There is no bottom to the ethical breaches by Fox News and the Republican shills they support. It is a brazenly biased confederacy of shameless dishonesty operating as a mutual benefit society for personal and political gain. Look for it to continue with other Trump/GOP fortune seekers who have been unable to find jobs anywhere else.

NOTE: Twitter recently suspended the News Corpse account after 11 years without giving a reason. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from my website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Also, Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse on Instagram. Thanks for your support.

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

Pathetic ‘Both Siderisms’ Used By Fox News to Dismiss Biden’s Victory Over Trump

It has been more than a week since election day, and four days since every news network (including Fox News) called the race for Joe Biden. Of course the whiny baby in the White House still refuses to concede or to accept reality. There is so much that the American people won’t miss when Donald Trump is gone. Unfortunately, he has been feverishly tweeting delusional assertions that he is actually the winner. And he’s flooding the courts with frivolous lawsuits that keep getting thrown out for lack of even a sliver of evidence.

Donald Trump, Two Faced

Meanwhile, the Trump-fluffers at Fox News are contradicting the reporting by their own network. Bootlicking sycophants like Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson are devoting their programs to Trump’s crackpot conspiracy theorizing that Democrats somehow rigged the election to produce hundreds of thousands of phony votes in at least six states. None of them have offered any proof of the truth for their claims, but then when has Fox News (or Trump) ever relied on truth? That’s one of the reasons that the public regards both Trump and Fox News as losers.

In addition to Fox’s primetime Ministers of Propaganda, the network’s chief media correspondent, Howard Kurtz, is joining the parade of disinformers. He published an op-ed on the Fox News website that lays out an argument that electoral denial is being disseminated by both the Trump and Biden camps equally. It’s a classic case of “both siderism.” However, the absurdity of that position is evident in how pitifully Kurtz backs it up.

Kurtz leads off by asserting that the election isn’t over and that “the world is acting like Joe Biden is the 46th president.” Where on Earth is Kurtz getting the idea that the world is “acting” like Biden won? The world is, in fact, recognizing the legitimacy of the democratic process and the utter absence of any hint of irregularities. But where Kurtz really goes off the rails is in a series of comparisons of comments made about the election’s conclusion. For instance…

“On one side, we have Whoopi Goldberg scolding Trump voters for questioning the election, telling them to ‘suck it up.’ On the other, we have Mike Pompeo dismissing as ‘ridiculous’ a question about the transition, saying: ‘There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.’

Notice that Kurtz is contrasting the opinion of Whoopie Goldberg, a TV talk show host, with an official statement by Pompeo, Trump’s Secretary of State. Because those are basically the same thing, right? Similarly bizarre comparisons were littered throughout his article. He truly seems to regard random pundits as being equal in influence to current White House staffers.

In a couple of particularly egregious examples of misplaced equivalency, Kurtz compared actual actions taken by high level administration officials as comparable to mere commentaries by TV hosts. First he noted that…

“You have the head of the General Services Administration refusing to sign a routine transition order that would allow Biden teams access to federal departments and agencies to start the customary talks with outgoing officials.”

This directive manifestly harms national security by preventing President-Elect Biden from receiving classified briefings, as well denying him access to resources necessary for the transition to proceed. And then there’s this…

“Bill Barr generated headlines when he authorized federal prosecutors to pursue election fraud allegations, breaking with the Justice Department tradition of not getting involved until the results are certified.”

Barr is not just “breaking with the Justice Department tradition.” He’s flagrantly abusing the power of his office for a fishing expedition to find imaginary cases of election fraud. And failing that, he’ll use the attempt to imply fraud where none exists. That will weaponize the Justice Department’s efforts in order for Trump’s media confederates to make empty insinuations.

Both of these extremist, unprecedented assaults on democracy were cited by Kurtz as being essentially identical to the musings of former political aides and television commentators. Apparently Kurtz couldn’t find a single example of someone with similar influence on the Democratic side of these debates to compare with the Trump flunkies. So he settled for these wholly unfair and unbalanced comparisons because he was so intent on a making a point that he really couldn’t justify.

In closing, Kurtz offered a ludicrous summation saying that “I’m surprised that some on the left are also lashing out, despite the fact that their guy won.” Really? If Kurtz can’t understand why people on the left would respond to the preposterous ranting of the reality-challenged loser in the White House who seems to be orchestrating a coup, he needs to retire to a nice Trump-branded senior community with a fully staffed nursing facility. He certainly shouldn’t be in the news business.

And if Kurtz is actually interested in observing both sides, he might want to look at both sides of the Fox News view of accepting the results of an election:

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

Trump is Right About Changing Election Day – Make It Sooner

On the day that civil rights hero John Lewis is being laid to rest, Donald Trump is ranting incoherently on Twitter. But then why should today be any different for him? He didn’t even send a representative to pay respects at the service. The depths to which Trump’s desperation is sinking is profoundly disturbing and predictive of his dangerously devolving psychoses. And the worst is yet to come.

Donald Trump Circling the Drain

The reference to John Lewis is not tangential. He was an iconic fighter for voting rights for all Americans. But on Thursday morning Trump posted another round of tweets attacking the legitimacy of mail-in voting. Never mind that it has been done safely and securely for decades. Or that it is used by Trump and many in his family and administration, and the military. Or that his own commission on the matter found no evidence of fraud. Or that Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr, just testified this week that he has no evidence supporting assertions that voting by mail is susceptible to foreign interference.

Despite all of that, Trump still sought to sow doubt about the election. It’s a position he’s taking due to his well-founded fear that he is going to lose bigly. And he’s working hard at it. Trump has tweeted his opposition to mail-in voting at least 22 times so far this year. And he is simultaneously trying to sabotage the Post Office in order to disrupt the election. So he tweeted that…

First of all, there is absolutely no difference between “mail-in voting” and “absentee voting.” That’s just a pitifully illogical dodge that Trump invokes in order to excuse the fact that he frequently votes by mail.

More importantly, Trump’s suggestion that the election be delayed is another brazen example of his tyrannical aspirations. The president has no authority to delay an election. However, Trump’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, a graduate of West Point and Harvard Law, was asked by Sen. Tim Kaine about Trump’s tweet. Pompeo refused to acknowledge that Article II, Section I of the Constitution states explicitly that only “The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.” Pompeo’s pathetic evasion perfectly exemplifies the Trump regime’s aversion to constitutional law.

It is unarguable that the power to set election dates resides exclusively with the Congress. What’s more, the date that the president’s term ends is set by the Constitution as January 20, and is immovable. In fact, if a new president is not sworn in by January 20, then the Speaker of the House (currently Nancy Pelosi) becomes president. Even Chris Stirewalt, politics editor at Fox News, refuted Trump’s ludicrous proposal as “a flagrant expression of his current weakness.”

However, if we were to humor Trump in his dictatorial ignorance, there is a case to be made for changing the election day. Not to delay it, but to advance it. The harm that Trump is doing to America is escalating with each passing day. His negligence and incompetence with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is producing more illness and death that would otherwise be preventable. He continues to suck-up to Vladimir Putin, and refuses to hold him accountable for putting bounties on the heads of American soldiers. He is cozying up to our enemies and alienating our allies. Domestically, he is deploying his StormTrumpers in cities around the country to assault people exercising their rights to protest. He is issuing executive orders that cut regulations intended to protect America’s air, water, and workplaces.

Every day that Trump remains in office is another day that he makes the nation weaker. And the prospect of removing him sooner by scheduling an earlier election would be an enormous benefit to all citizens, and to the world. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until November 3rd to vote Trump out, and then another two and half months to inaugurate his successor, Joe Biden. Until then, we must remain vigilant and determined to suppress Trump’s worst tendencies. That isn’t going to be easy, but it is necessary and an obligation for all patriots.

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

Trump’s Inner Mob Boss Emerges with Alarming New Threats to Politicians and the Press

One of the most prominent and disturbing elements of Donald Trump’s character (or lack thereof) is his tendency to embrace the language and behavior of mafia dons. He regards himself as an infallible and unchallengeable force who demands total obedience and blind loyalty. This weekend Trump displayed that mob boss fixation on several occasions.

Donald Trump

The recording of him telling Lev Parnas to “take out” U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovich was chilling to hear. Trump gave orders to Parnas, a shady figure with ties to Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian politicos, to “Get rid of her! Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it.”

Trump’s apologists in Congress and on Fox News dismiss this as being within the President’s power to fire an ambassador. That’s true, but then either he fires her or he instructs his Secretary of State to do so. Parnas has no government role or authority to terminate the employment of an American diplomat. So what did Trump mean and why would he assign this mission to such a fringe player who is currently under felony indictment?

Similarly, Trump threatened the whistleblower who reported Trump’s extortion of Ukrainian President Zelensky, as well as the whistleblower’s White House source[s]. Trump alleged that they could be considered spies and warned “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” That’s an overt death threat aimed at someone who legally protected from such retaliation.

On Sunday morning Trump also aimed a threat at House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Adam Schiff, saying that he “is a CORRUPT POLITICIAN, and probably a very sick man. He has not paid the price, yet…” Here Trump is baselessly alleging that Schiff is both “corrupt” and “sick,” two traits that are more recognizable in Trump himself. And what “price” does Trump have in mind that he’s implying Schiff will soon be paying?

This is typical behavior from Trump. And it manifested again in another Sunday tweet wherein he implied his interest in sabotaging National Public Radio (NPR) by eliminating their federal funding. This attack was triggered by an NPR reporter’s interview with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mary Louise Kelly asked Pompeo a couple of perfectly fair questions about Ukraine that he wanted to avoid. He became angry and erupted in a profanity laced outburst which she reported.

This led to Fox News host Mark Levin tweeting his disapproval of Kelly and asking “Why does NPR still exist,” and “Why are we paying for this big-government, Democrat Party propaganda operation?” Trump replied that it was “A very good question,” setting the stage for potential budget cuts to the public radio broadcaster.

First of all, NPR is not a “big-government, Democrat Party propaganda operation.” In fact, it receives very little federal funding. According to its latest financial report, just one percent of its annual operating budget consists of public monies. By far, most of its funding comes from corporate sponsorships, dues paid by member stations, and listener donations. The greater harm would come to radio stations that air NPR programming, most of which serve rural communities in what Trump would call his base.

What’s more, it’s simply ignorant to accuse NPR of being politically slanted to the left. If anything the opposite is true. After all, the board of its governing agency, the U.S. Global Media Agency (USGMA), is headed by Kenneth Weinstein, a Trump appointee. Also on the board … Mike Pompeo. That’s right. The Secretary of State is an ex officio member of the board of directors of the USGMA. And this is what Trump and Levin believe is a “Democrat Party propaganda operation.” It must be another department within the “Deep State” that is staffed by Trump loyalists.

Trump’s foul and menacing behavior is notable not only for its similarity to that of a mob boss. It represents an imminent danger to innocent people in politics and the press. Past episodes of this rhetoric has resulted in actual bomb threats and other attempted violence. And the scary part is that that is precisely what Trump wants. He is a bully who believes that he can get his way through threats and intimidation. It actually fits the legal definition of terrorism.

If he isn’t stopped he will only get worse. That’s why his impeachment is so urgent. Even if he were to be defeated at the ballot box in November, that would give him 77 days to exact revenge on those he deemed to have betrayed him. That’s a risk that American can’t afford.

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

Survey Finds Trump is Not Trusted By the Vast Majority of the World

There couldn’t be a worse time for the United States to be embroiled in an international conflict. These dire circumstances require a steady hand and the confidence of international allies. Instead, the U.S. has Donald Trump in the White House behaving with the typically frenetic, reckless impulsiveness that has tainted his presidency.

Donald Trump

Wednesday morning we saw Trump deliver a speech wherein he once again took credit for “solving” a problem of his own making. He also reminded America and the world how poorly equipped he is to be relied on in a crisis. He spent much of his oratory ranting about how evil our enemies are and chest-thumping about how big our missiles are. That’s when he wasn’t maligning our country’s previous president, Barack Obama, someone for whom Trump still can’t control his crippling jealousy.

Trump also displayed his pitiful ignorance by proposing nonsense like his intention to “ask NATO to become much more involved in the Middle East process.” If he had any knowledgeable and experienced staffers left, he might ask them what NATO is an acronym for and why it would be inappropriate to involve it in the Middle East. Unfortunately, Trump’s managerial ineptitude has decimated his administration. Consequently, the U.S. currently is governed by “acting” department heads, including Homeland Security, Director of National Intelligence, and White House Chief of Staff.

Trump’s reputation for being a pathological liar has resulted in a serious crisis of confidence at home. A majority of voters still say Trump committed impeachable offenses. It is impossible for most Americans to believe anything he says, much less assertions with the life and death importance of justifications for war. It has already been reported that Trump’s initial claims about the need to assassinate Iran’s military commander, Qasem Soleimani, were unsupported by any credible intelligence. Even his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, walked back the claim that there was an “imminent threat” of attacks by Iran, which Trump used to validate his aggression. Now, a new survey by Pew Research confirms that that sentiment is also a worldwide phenomenon:

“As has been the case throughout his presidency, U.S. President Donald Trump receives largely negative reviews from publics around the world. Across 32 countries surveyed by Pew Research Center, a median of 64% say they do not have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, while just 29% express confidence in the American leader.”

Notably, at the end of Obama’s term as president, confidence in him was at 64% in the same poll done in 2017. Trump’s low ratings are likely driven by his bellicose persona and ignorance of world affairs. But they are also tied to the unfavorable opinion that the world has of his policies. According to the Pew survey he is underwater on everything from tariffs, to climate change, to his border vanity wall, to immigration generally and, particularly relevant with regard to current affairs, his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear weapons agreement. And in the poll’s comparison of Trump to other world leaders…

“The survey asked all respondents about four international leaders in addition to President Trump: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump receives the highest negative ratings among the five leaders.”

Let that sink in. The world has more confidence in Putin and Xi, than in Trump. It’s also interesting to note that the animosity toward Trump does not stem from any general disdain for America. In fact, in the thirty-three countries surveyed, most (54%) have a favorable opinion of the United States. Although that number has declined since Trump’s election, it remains positive. However, as with most things, Trump has a drastically different view of reality, especially with regard to his reception in the world, as he repeatedly – and falsely – tells us on Twitter that…

So it’s important to remember that Trump’s problems are only America’s problems for so long as he is representing us. Therefore, the sooner we can remedy that problem, the better it will be for this nation and for the world.

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

Fox News Host and Trump-Fluffer Wants the U.S. to Be More Like the Terrorists

The White House narrative on Iran is falling apart. Donald Trump claims that he ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani due to intelligence that indicated he represented an “imminent threat” to the U.S. But reports from the Pentagon do not confirm the charge and officials say that any evidence is “razor thin.”

Donald Trump

Meanwhile, when asked to substantiate the allegation, Trump’s press Secretary, Stephanie Grisham, said that she couldn’t. She merely repeated the baseless speculation that American lives were saved. She also complained that people wouldn’t simply trust Trump and take his word about the whole affair. That, of course, is the wholly warranted result of his having lied non-stop throughout his presidency. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also failed when asked to provide confirmation that Iran was plotting attacks on the U.S. In fact, he resorted to a completely different “justification” that relied solely on past events.

Now the propagandists of Trump World are trying to spin his threat to destroy cultural sites as appropriate and lawful military targeting. Never mind that it is an explicit violation of both U.S. and international law. On Fox News Tuesday morning, Pete Hegseth of Fox and Friends sought to demonize rational Trump critics as treasonous saying that “I think with friends like these Democrats, who needs the Iranians” (video below). He went on to complain that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is “out of her mind” for tweeting correctly that Trump had proposed committing war crimes. And then he unleashed this grotesque commentary:

“I don’t care about Iranian cultural sites, and I’ll tell you why. If they could, if Iran could, if you understand the Islamic Republic of Iran, of Islamists, if the could, if they had the power, they would destroy every single one of our cultural sites and build a mosque on top of it.”

This is a bizarre argument even if you ignore his stuttering introduction. Hegseth is saying that it’s acceptable to behave like terrorists because terrorists behave that way. He is, in effect, advocating that the U.S. adopt the tactics of terrorists. What’s next? Would Hegseth approve of Americans beheading prisoners of war? Would he favor sending suicide bombers into the lobbies of hotels where Muslims were guests? Would he support flying planes into skyscrapers in Tehran? After all, the terrorists do that, so why shouldn’t we?

The question is, did that disgusting illogic come from Trump, or did Hegseth plant it in Trump’s befuddled head? Because the President said pretty much the same thing on Monday:

“They’re allowed to kill our people. They’re allowed to torture and maim our people. They’re allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we’re not allowed to touch their cultural site? It doesn’t work that way.”

This is representative of Trump’s total absence of morality. He and his cult followers believe that they can commit any crime they like with impunity. And they will also tell any lie to support their atrocities. For instance, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Monday that Democrats were “mourning the loss” of Soleimani. She was challenged repeatedly to provide a single example of that reckless and hateful assertion, but went into hiding rather than respond.

This tendency to endorse such repugnant acts shows how far Trump and his regime have diverged from any semblance of civil society. It marks them as aspiring terrorists themselves because, if they approve of these tactics, what separates them from the heathens they pretend to oppose? They believe that any act, no matter how heinous, is justified if your enemy would do it. But the American people, whose principles are in tact, would surely disagree and admonish Trump that “It doesn’t work that way.”

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 Begin War Mongering Before Soleimani’s Body is Cold

On the second day of the new year Donald Trump launched a new conflict in the Middle East, this time with the region’s largest military, Iran. Contrary to his frequent promises to withdraw the United States from the Middle East, Trump’s assault is likely to result in another prolonged war that will be costly in both lives and dollars.

Donald Trump

No American will mourn the demise of General Qasem Soleimani. He was the leading purveyor of Iran’s international terrorism and was responsible for hundreds fatalities among both Americans and civilians in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. But the mission to assassinate Iran’s second highest military leader in Iraq was nevertheless a provocative act that could lead to further unnecessary tragedies for the U.S. and the region.

This is particularly apparent since Trump has no coherent strategy, policy, or end game. He failed to consult members of Congress as the law requires and, therefore, had no legal authorization for the attack. And in a flurry of syrupy, worshipful retweets, Trump included one by disgraced pundit Dinesh D’Souza that shamefully implied that had Trump told Congress they would have told Iran. To date, the only one who has disclosed state secrets to hostile foreign nations is Trump when he speaks to Putin.

In fact, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that he discussed this attack with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in advance. So Trump informed Russia, but not Congress. It’s also notable that, by targeting an individual, as opposed to military assets, Trump possibly violated international laws against assassination.

Trump’s initial justification for the attack is that it was executed in order to prevent imminent future attacks on Americans. However, he provided no evidence of any such threat. It sounds very much like the false assertions of the Bush administration alleging nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Also familiar is the statement by Pompeo, who baselessly claimed that “We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq, but in Iran, will view the American action last night as giving them freedom.” That recalls Dick Cheney’s preposterous assertion that “My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators [in Iraq].”

Immediately following Trump’s attack, Fox News predictably leaped to his defense with a vigor that can only be described as gleeful. Although he was on vacation, Sean Hannity called into his own program to insist that Iran had “put American lives in jeopardy and the president very quickly acted,” and that it was “a huge victory and total leadership by the president.” But Brian Kilmeade of Fox and Friends was representative of the Fox position when he rebutted Geraldo Rivera’s criticism of the attack by gloating that “I will cheer this on. I am elated.”

Make no mistake. This is the host of a popular Fox News program expressing his elation about a potential war that would result in untold casualties of Americans for a purpose that no one in the Trump administration has been able to define.

If you’re looking for a plausible reason for why Trump would take this action at this time, look no further than the news that broke earlier the same day. The release of newly unredacted emails from Trump’s national security personnel that state unequivocally that Trump knew his withholding of military aid to Ukraine was illegal. The discovery of this provides additional urgency for the Senate to agree to call witnesses and to introduce documents when it takes up Trump’s impeachment.

Trump knows this, and it escalates his fear that impeachment could result in his removal from office. So in order to deflect from the growing political peril he is enduring, Trump appears to have taken the course of action that he once falsely accused President Obama of considering: Start a war with Iran:

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

Wagging the Dog? Trump and Fox News are Prepping America for a Contrived War with Iran

A quick glance at Donald Trump’s Twitter feed Friday morning reveals that the current level of his psychotic anxiety is exceeding any that he has suffered since his inauguration. He posted twenty-five tweets or retweets in a span of two hours. And nine of those were related to just one subject: the disastrous tariffs that he imposed on China.

Donald Trump Revolt

Trump is still deliberately lying about how tariffs work. He insists that they produce revenue that goes straight from China into the U.S. treasury. The truth – which he has been told repeatedly – is that tariffs are charged to the importer (the U.S. company) and then passed on to American citizens. But he is frantically trying to make excuses for the harm he’s doing to American businesses and consumers, as well as to the stock market that lost more than 500 points since his renewed tariff threats.

The Trump administration appears to be manufacturing international controversy at a time when his approval ratings are sinking and his legal jeopardy is exploding. These negative trends were triggered by the release of the redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Trump’s unsavory connections to Russia and his obstruction of justice. Subsequent to that release, Democrats in Congress have escalated their investigations into Trump’s criminality. Their issuance of lawful subpoenas has resulted in a presidential tantrum wherein he has declared that he will refuse to cooperate in defiance of the law. That is setting up what many are calling a constitutional crisis.

However, Trump is also engaging in a foreign policy adventure that is ultimately far more troubling and dangerous. On Friday his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, made some comments that are unambiguously hostile toward Iran. Fox News reported these comments (video below) complete with the overtones of doom that they imply:

“Secretary of State Pompeo says that any attack on U.S, interests by Iran, or U.S. citizens, will be met with a swift and decisive US response. The Secretary says in a statement that ‘We do not seek war. But Iran’s 40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves.'” […]

“Citing an unspecified threat, the administration set up a deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group for the Persian Gulf. Four B-52 bombers have also landed in the region.”

It hardly seems necessary to say that “any attack on U.S, interests” would not be tolerated. That goes for Canada as much as it does for Iran. So why did Pompeo feel it was necessary to make such a pointless and obvious comment at this time?

The Fox News reporter spoke of “an unspecified threat” as provoking this action. But any prelude to war should be predicated on something more substantial than “an unspecified threat.” At least George Bush’s Secretary of State, Colin Powell, pretended to have a vial of Iraqi anthrax as evidence to declare a phony war. What’s more, Congress has to pass an Authorization for Use of Military Force before the President can march American soldiers off to war.

What makes these circumstance even more disturbing today than they were in 2003 is that Trump has demonstrated that he doesn’t give a fig about the Constitution or any other democratic principle. He denigrates the First Amendment by constantly referring to the media in Stalinist terms as “the enemy of the people.” He’s trying to burn down the wall between church and state, while erecting a wall on the southern border to deny asylum seekers refuge. He orchestrated the horrendous policy of separating families and imprisoning children in cages. He sought to ban immigrants based on their religion. And his claims of executive privilege to prevent investigators from getting his tax returns or talking to his associates are brazenly illegal.

Trump’s mental health has long been the subject of speculation as fitting the description of a malignant narcissist. Everything is about him and his perceived awesomeness. No lie is too over the top. And his frothing paranoia stirs incessant fears of “witch hunts” and conspiracies and harassment. And all of that leads to a twisted temperament that is likely to become unhinged as the law catches up with him. That’s when psychologists say that a patient like Trump can be most dangerous.

Consequently, it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine that Trump might contrive crises if he believes it will help him escape accountability for his crimes. They might involve trade disputes with China. Or caravans of murderers, rapists, and drug dealers, invading America from the south. Or nuclear standoffs with North Korea. Or even a fabricated war with Iran that arises out of nowhere, for no reason, but demands an immediate and deadly response.

This is a time that Americans need to be vigilant and steadfast to deny Trump any possibility of entangling the country in yet another pointless war that only serves the interests of a self-serving, authoritarian regime. Trump has laid to rest the old comforting platitude that “it can’t happen here.” It can. But only if the American people allow it.

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

Trump Breaks His Own Record for Lies-Per-Minute in Desperate ‘WITCH HUNT’ Frenzy

The constant pressure to perform must be excruciating for Donald Trump. As the most prolific liar in presidential history he needs to continuously up his game or risk falling behind rival liars like Sean Hannity and his own son, Don, Jr. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the current (for now) Liar-in-Chief.

Donald Trump

In a spurt of surprising activity for the usually lethargic septuagenarian, Trump raised the ante for America’s liars by putting out an impressive number of unambiguous falsehoods Wednesday morning. He began with his forte, Twitter, to post some flagrantly egregious lies. Leading off was a tweet that implored his Deplorables to “Look how things have turned around on the Criminal Deep State.” Of course, there is no “Deep State” and the only things turning are his former friends and associates. For instance, the business partner of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who just copped a plea and will be cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller.

That didn’t stop Trump from declaring that “Phony Collusion with Russia [is] a made up Scam.” Albeit one that has already produced dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas. He then deftly segued to an attack on the former Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper. Trump quoted Clapper as saying “Trump should be happy that the FBI was SPYING on his campaign.” But Clapper never said that. He actually said that Trump should be happy that the FBI investigated Russians infiltrating his campaign. Clapper made these comments on The View, but Trump didn’t learn about them until they were part of a segment on Fox and Friends. And that’s where Trump got his bastardized quote.

Finally, Trump went after one of his favorite enemies, former FBI Director James Comey. He repeatedly called Comey a liar who is in big trouble. But then he delivered one of his famous untruths that “a lot of [imaginary] people have said.” According to Trump:

“You go into the FBI, and a lot of those great people working at the FBI, they will tell you. I did a great service to this country by firing James Comey.”

The only problem with that statement is that it conflicts sharply with reality. In an annual survey of FBI agents and employees, Comey was given overwhelmingly positive reviews. The survey was taken just two months before Trump fired Comey and revealed that:

“Former FBI Director James Comey was widely admired by agents who worked for him, winning high scores in anonymous surveys for his values and trustworthiness, even as he became embroiled in controversies over investigations related to the 2016 election.”

Knowing this, would Trump still think that “those great people working at the FBI” are still great? And in addition to these brazenly false outbursts by Trump there was an epically succinct expression of his hostility to the truth in another tweet that said simply, but loudly (in all caps):

Never mind that Trump’s hand-picked FBI Director, Chris Wray explicitly denied in congressional testimony that there was any such thing as a witch hunt being conducted by the Bureau. And that Trump’s former CIA Director, and current Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, told Congress that there was no “Deep State” in the CIA, FBI, NSA, Justice Department, or the State Department. So the most senior members of Trump’s administration are joining in calling out the President as a liar. Which makes you wonder how long it will be before he’s calling them liars. Also, whether they will be part of the administration for very long. We’ll see.

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