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Trump Threatens News Media And First Amendment: Alarming Development!

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Donald Trump has been critical of news media for years, due to their reporting of his antics and illegalities and immoralities.

But recently, he has indicated his intention to shut down critical news media if he is returned to the Oval Office.

This threat to the First Amendment and freedom of the press is highly alarming, and no decent person should think that it is acceptable that he could go ahead and try to shut down the press, both print and cable!

Trump has issued threats against such reputable sources as the NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR and PBS among others.

In his world, only right wing media, such as FOX NEWS CHANNEL would exist, and yet even that network has come under attack from him during his Presidential campaign.

If Donald Trump is returned to the White House, the nation will be in the grips of an authoritarian Fascist regime, so it cannot be allowed to occur!

Renowned Journalist Dan Rather Reaches Age 90!

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Renowned journalist Dan Rather, who became one of the “Big Three” Evening News anchors at CBS News, alongside Peter Jennings at ABC News and Tom Brokaw at NBC News from the 1980s to 2005, today reached the age of 90.

Still active, and often interviewed on CNN and MSNBC, Rather first came to notice in covering the aftermath of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, where he was a CBS correspondent at the time.

He would cover the White House for CBS News in the later 1960s and 1970s, and was most noticed for his challenges to President Richard Nixon.

Rather was elevated to the anchor position upon the retirement of Walter Cronkite in 1981, and became the center of right wing attacks, which continue even in 2021.

Rather was forced out of his CBS News anchor position in 2005 in a controversy over George W. Bush’s National Guard service, but in his so called “retirement” years, he has remained noticed in hosting radio shows, and commenting regularly on Twitter.

Rather also has won Emmy and Peabody Awards, and is the author of numerous books.

Happy 25th Anniversary For MSNBC: A True Treasure!

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Today marks a quarter century of an exceptional news source, MSNBC, which began on July 15, 1996.

It started as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC (National Broadcasting Corporation).

It is one of the two major cable channels, alongside CNN (Cable News Network) to be committed to promote facts and truth, and the battle for facts and truth is a constantly evolving battle, due to the rivalry of Fox News Channel, which has spent its entire history since October 1996 to promote distortion, lies, and evade the truth.

It is hard to imagine news coverage in 2021 without appreciating the people and the coverage of news that MSNBC offers. It has enriched all viewers and readers, and is an indispensable source alongside CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, the NY Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and many other online sources listed on this website, all on the right side of the page!

So congratulations to MSNBC in its constant battle against the forces of evil that are out there in the media world!

Dan Rather Reaches Age 89, Still Fully Productive After First Recognition At Time Of JFK Assassination In 1963

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Today marks the 89th birthday of a true journalistic treasure, Dan Rather, who has spent 70 years in the field of journalism, and is best remembered and recalled as the anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1981-2005.

Rather first became noticed when he was reporting in Dallas, Texas, at the time of the John F. Kennedy Assassination on November 22, 1963, and he also served in Vietnam as a war correspondent in the mid to late 1960s.

He had brushes of conflict with President Richard Nixon, when Rather was CBS White House Correspondent in the 1970s, and also with Vice President George H. W. Bush when he was running for President in 1988.

He never backed off from any confrontation, and when he reported on President George W. Bush’s absence from the National Guard when he was supposed to be on duty, during the Presidential campaign of 2004, it led to CBS firing him, but Rather being totally correct in the exposure of the lies of Bush.

Rather continues to be outspoken on Twitter, and on YouTube and he looks hale and hearty and still very young in appearance as he nears 90 next year.

This author and blogger has always admired Rather greatly, and is glad to see he is in the fray on Donald Trump and the Presidential Election of 2020, so let us all hope for many more years of contributions and good health from a great anchor over 24 years, but still active at a ripe old age!

Good Fortune That Many Watergate Scandal Journalists And Investigators Are Still Alive And Able To Assist With Insight Into Trump Scandals

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It has been 45 years since the Watergate Scandal started to erupt, leading to the resignation of Richard Nixon 43 years ago.

Now that we are in the most dangerous constitutional crisis since Watergate, and actually more dangerous than that one was, it is good that many Watergate Scandal journalists and investigators are still alive, and able to assist with their insights and expertise into the Donald Trump scandals.

It is encouraging that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who exposed the facts about the Watergate break in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, are still actively engaged in pursuing the truth.

Also, Dan Rather, formerly the CBS News anchor from 1981-2005, and Ted Koppel of ABC News and “Nightline”, are both still pursuing the facts, and providing their brilliant analysis on what they see as more concerning than even the Nixon scandals.

Several individuals who helped in the prosecution case. led by Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworksi, 35 years ago, also are still alive and well, and able to give their expertise on comparing Watergate to the Trump scandals, with the general conclusion that this present scandal is more dangerous, constitutionally, than what Nixon represented.

Most observers believe that were Nixon alive today, he would be shocked at what Donald Trump has said and done, wondering how he has been able to accomplish so much in his corruption, and how he must be held accountable for his transgressions.

Journalist Dan Rather A True Profile In Courage: From Richard Nixon To The Bushes To Donald Trump!

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Dan Rather, the long time anchor of CBS News from 1981 to 2005, is now 85 years old, but still in the battle for the truth and freedom of the press.

Rather fought against President Richard Nixon during the Watergate Crisis in 1973-1974, confronting him openly at a press conference, and was on Nixon’s enemy’s list.

Rather confronted George H W Bush in 1988 about Ronald Reagan’s Iran Contra Scandal, leading to the two men shouting at each other.

Rather exposed the fact in 2004 that George W. Bush had been reading magazines and avoiding National Guard duty during the Vietnam War, and for that, he was forced out as anchor in 2005.

Now, Rather is already exposing and condemning Donald Trump in his lies and deceit, and pointing out what any intelligent, sane person sees, that Donald Trump is an extremely dangerous man to America’s civil liberties, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.

Dan Rather has devoted his life to journalism, and is a true hero, who should be applauded and supported in the struggle to preserve American democracy!

CBS’s Bob Schieffer Retires After 46 Years Of Journalism: One Of The Greats Who Will Be Missed!

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A legendary journalist, CBS’s Bob Schieffer, who has hosted Face The Nation for many years, is about to retire at age 78.

Schieffer has been in journalism for 46 years, and has been a major figure in the success of CBS over the past four decades.

A total professional, and nice guy, who still had the toughness to ask the right questions in interviews, Schieffer never became the center of controversy as, sadly, other TV and Cable journalists have become in recent years.

Schieffer was the kind of journalist that gave his watchers, listeners, and readers of his several books, a sense of confidence that they were being told the “straight story”, with no holds barred.

He will be missed, and it will not be easy to replace him!

A Massive Loss Of Quality Journalism In Just Two Days: Brian Williams, Jon Stewart, Bob Simon!

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American journalism has suffered a tremendous loss in just two days—the six month suspension of Brian Williams from NBC News; the announcement that Jon Stewart, the brilliant anchor of the Daily Show on Comedy Channel is leaving later this year; and the tragic death of Bob Simon of CBS News and Sixty Minutes in an automobile accident.

In a time when quality journalism is hard to find, and we have so many ignorant, stupid, biased so called “journalists” on Fox News Channel who lie on a regular basis, it is tragic that Brian Williams, a good guy, well liked by many, has been dealt a six month suspension without pay, and yet based on so far only one confirmed blunder.

It is also sad that Jon Stewart, the best comedian in the business, is leaving his path breaking show that was the major way most young people received their news of the day, and Stewart was brilliant in exposing the hypocrisy of politicians on an everyday basis for 16 plus years.

And worst of all is the tragic death of Bob Simon, a true professional, who worked for CBS for nearly 50 years, and was always highly admired for his vast experiences in news gathering. He survived captivity in the Gulf War, the fall of Saigon, and Middle East conflict, to end up dying in an accident on the West Side Highway in New York City.

All three will, of course, be trashed by the right wing, because all three were liberals, who really cared about people and would not be afraid to expose the truth about what was going on in the nation and overseas.

But no attacks by anyone at Fox News Channel in particular, and conservative talk radio as well, will take away from the reality that these are a few of the very small number of quality journalists still working, at a time when propaganda, hate, and deception are the norm much too often!

The “Old Confederacy”, Republicans, Health Care, And HIV AIDS Infections

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The “Old Confederacy”, the states that broke away from the Union during the Civil War, remain the poorest part of the nation even in 2012, in all social and economic statistics.

Once held back by the Democratic Party before the era of civil rights, now it is the Republicans who dominate in these states, and are holding back progress through their propaganda on race and religion, and resentment of the federal government.

So it is the governors of these states that refuse to move ahead on health care coverage for their poorer citizens, of all races, rejecting Medicaid expansion and forming health care exchanges to enforce ObamaCare in 2014 and beyond. They have no concern about the welfare of their less fortunate men, women, and children, while always professing their ‘Christian values”!

In the midst of this hypocrisy, Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor and journalist, has revealed new evidence that HIV AIDs infections are spreading most rapidly in these states, much more than in New York City and San Francisco, the typical stereotype that it is only gays that have this disease, when it is actually spreading among uneducated white and minorities and in the heterosexual community at a far greater rate.

Does one think that these state governments and their representatives in Congress have any concern or interest in combating this epidemic?

The clear answer is NO, as long as race and religion can be manipulated for political power by the GOP!

Dan Rather Memoir Worthy Reading For Anyone Who Is Journalism “Addict”!

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Dan Rather, the former long term CBS News journalist, and anchor, who has spent nearly 50 years in the news business, has just published RATHER OUTSPOKEN, a revealing and stimulating book on his long news career.

Rather was a man of courage and conviction in the news business, and was one of the author’s most admired television journalists of the past, including also Walter Cronkite and Ted Koppel.

Rather made a lot of enemies over the years, and had particular challenges with the two Bush Presidencies, but the man never held back on his search for the truth, and he is still seen often on MSNBC as a guest, and has his own show on HDNet.

It is always good to see Dan Rather on television, and his book will reveal a great deal about the controversies he dealt with, and help us to understand this man who has had a great impact on television journalism!