New York Times

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!

CNN Major Blunder: Giving Donald Trump Legitimacy By Hosting Town Hall!

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CNN was begun in 1980 by Ted Turner, and became the leading Cable News Channel, in competition with the print media, particularly the NY Times and Washington Post.

It gained a reputation of being a reliable news source in the eyes of many observers and viewers.

But now, with new leadership, it has declined rapidly in image and judgment.

Tonight, CNN is giving Donald Trump, twice impeached, indicted in New York, and now convicted in a civil trial of sexual abuse and defamation, and facing more legal issues in Georgia, and on improper possession of government documents at Mar a Lago, and inciting the January 6 Insurrection, the opportunity to be at a Town Hall gathering in New Hampshire to be televised nationally!

What is the purpose of this CNN decision? To give Trump legitimacy and ignore his call for destroying the Constitution and rule of law? To have his sedition and treason that incited January 6, 2021 rewarded by promoting him to be elected President again?

This is pure insanity, and blood will be on the hands of CNN and its lunatic leadership for what develops out of this outrageous decision that no reasonable news source would be engaged in, with the false concept of “equal time” to all those seeking the Presidency!

In Age Of News Media Decline, Two Reputable Newspapers Remain The Saviors Of American Democracy!

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In an age of decline of News Media sources, on the local level, and on the national level, in a competitive market for news sources that are reliable and steady, two long established and reliable “national” newspapers remain the rock of the business of journalism!

I am referring to the New York Times (published since 1851) and the Washington Post (published since 1877), which have been over the long run the most reliable and reputable news sources, despite the harsh attacks and criticisms of authoritarian critics.

The more these two great newspapers are attacked, the stronger they become.

Of course, there are other news sources of shorter history of duration that are wonderful and contribute to the promotion of facts and truth. But without the New York Times and Washington Post for the past century and a half, and particularly in the modern era since the abuses of Richard Nixon in the 1970s until the present, American democracy, under great stress and duress more than ever in the age of Donald Trump since 2015, would be in ever greater crisis than it is!

Kevin McCarthy Handing Over January 6 Videos To Tucker Carlson Should Be Prosecutable!

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In a time of shocking developments on so many levels, it is beyond comprehension why Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has released about 44,000 hours of videos taken at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to Fox News Channel, and seditionist and massive liar Tucker Carlson!

What good could McCarthy have conjured up to do this, since Carlson has been lying and deceiving ever since January 6, 2021, claiming it was not the Capitol Insurrection that we know occurred?

Fox News Channel is now involved in a massive lawsuit that one could wish would lead to their bankruptcy and prosecution of the various propagandists at that station who KNOW what happened on January 6 and yet covered up, and continue to do so!

By all rights, Speaker McCarthy should be forced to resign, and should be prosecuted for undermining US Capitol security for the future!

If these videos end up being spread far and wide to right wing, anti government terrorists, they would have the information needed to cause a future US Capitol Insurrection, which would endanger all members of Congress, all law enforcement authorities, all US Capitol staff members, and all American citizens who might be on Capitol Hill at any point of time!

There can be NO justification for what McCarthy has done, and ALL news media sources, including reputable agencies, including CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and many others, should have the same right to such material, but all of them with careful control of how it is shared and spread to the American public!

A Salute To The Free Press And Committed Journalists!

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As the year 2022 goes into the history books, and 2023 brings its new challenges, it is time to applaud and salute the free press and committed journalists for pursuing truth and facts, and continuing the never ending battle for freedom and democracy in the United States and worldwide.

Those who attack the free press in America and elsewhere are enemies that must be challenged and confronted in every way possible, as it is the free press that promotes progress and shows us reality.

Evil is a force that is always present, but we must thank committed journalists, newspapers, periodicals, and cable and internet websites that continue to pursue the goal of expanding basic civil rights and humane outcomes in the midst of the constant barrage of mistruths, propaganda, and discrimination.

So whenever someone attacks the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Politico, Huffington Post, and a multitude of other news media, they are attacking all decent people who simply want to live their lives wishing for the promotion of peace, tranquility, and the protection and betterman of human rights worldwide.

43 States Would Vote For Abortion Rights If Given The Opportunity!

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A study by the NY TIMES indicates that if the voting population of the 50 states were able to vote on whether abortion rights should be insured, that 43 states would vote in the affirmative, following the example of Kansas, a solidly Republican state, which last Tuesday by a vote of 59 percent, chose to keep abortion rights in the state Constitution!

Only seven states would vote to end abortion rights, including:

Alabama
Arkansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Oklahoma
Utah
Wyoming

But even in four of those states, the support for abortion rights would be in the high 40s–49 percent in Arkansas and Utah and 48 percent in Oklahoma and Wyoming.

Support for abortion rights would be in the 70s in the Northeast and Pacific Coast states and much of the Mountain West; in the 60s in Pennsylvania, Virginia and most of the Midwest; and in the high 50s in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota; and in the lower 50s in much of the South and Idaho and North Dakota.

What the Supreme Court did in late June, and what the so called “Pro Life” Movement has brought about after a half century of efforts, is anti Democracy, trying to impose its will on American women, despite overwhelming support for a woman’s right to choose to be pregnant, and control her body!

Concept Of Political Coalition Against Donald Trump: Does History Tell Us It Could Work In America?

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Thomas Friedman, esteemed columnist for the NEW YORK TIMES, suggested in a recent column that the concept of a political coalition against Donald Trump might be the way to prevent him from coming back to power in the Presidential Election of 2024.

So Friedman suggests the following possible coalition tickets of a Democrat and an anti Trump Republican:

Joe Biden–Liz Cheney

Joe Biden–Lisa Murkowski

Kamala Harris–Mitt Romney

Stacy Abrams–Liz Cheney

Any Klobuchar–Liz Cheney

Friedman makes the comparison to the present coalition government in Israel, but Israel has a Prime Minister and a parliamentary system, which is totally different than our Presidential-Congress system of separation of powers.

And if one looks at past past attempts to have a Vice President who is not part of the majority party at the time, just look at John Tyler, not a Whig, under William Henry Harrison, who then had horrible time and constant turmoil after Harrison died after one month in office in 1841.

Or even better, Andrew Johnson, NOT a Republican, running with Abraham Linoln in 1864, and succeeding him after six weeks, and the horrible relationship and disaster of Johnson as President, facing impeachment and constant vitriol, much of it incited by his own prickly personality.

There was talk in 1968, of Hubert Humphrey selecting Nelson Rockefeller; of 2004, of John Kerry selecting John McCain; of 2008, of John McCain selecting Joe Lieberman. None of those would ever have been able to work out, and elect Humphrey, Kerry, or McCain.

Also, in the run up to 2020, some thought of a John Kasich-John Hickenlooper unity ticket, as an alternative to Donald Trump, and it never got off the ground!

And really, Liz Cheney, with strong right wing views on every topic except the danger of Donald Trump, paring with Biden? That is NOT serious, and Stacy Abrams or Amy Klobuchar paring with Cheney, so two women on the ticket, really?

And Mitt Romney running with Harris, really, with his strong criticism of Biden policies, and unwillingness to even back voting rights legislation?

The only one of these pairings that sounds at all logical, but really is not so, is Biden with Lisa Murkowski, the most acceptable Republican in national office, but how would Biden convince Harris why he has to “dump” her as Vice President?

Former Republicans Who Are Conservatives Will Support Democrats As Only Way To Stop Fascism

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Christine Todd Whitman—Miles Taylor—Max Boot.

Former New Jersey Governor–Security expert in the George W. Bush and Donald Trump Administrations–Conservative Writer and Historian.

The first two in the NY Times, and the last one in the Washington Post, made clear their intentions for the future.

These are three Republicans who would define themselves as conservatives, along with many others, who have come to the smart conclusion that the Donald Trump dominated Republican Party in Congress and the states MUST be defeated soundly in 2022 as part of a plan to expunge the Fascist, authoritarian nature of a major political party.

So they and others have dedicated themselves to voting Democratic in the upcoming elections, not because they necessarily agree on all matters with Democrats, but simply because it is the only alternative to excise the cancer of Donald Trump and his minions.

This is not a laughing matter, as American democracy and the rule of law is at stake, and only a sound defeat of the evil and dangerous Trump control of the GOP can save the day.

As this author and blogger has stated in the past five years, the Republican Party may need to be put in the dustbin of history, and a new, responsible, and reasonable conservative alternative to the Democrats needs to be created from scratch, a little like the birth of the Republican party in the death throes of the Whig Party in the 1850s.

Facebook And Social Media In General A Deleterious Force: A Need For Regulation!

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This author and blogger can recall the “good old days”, when there was no Facebook and other social media companies, obsessed by profit, and unconcerned about dividing America into opposing forces that see those who disagree with them as dire enemies.

The expose by a whistle blower of what many have sensed was reality has led this author and blogger to decide not to spend time on social media, and instead to back off and focus more on the major news sources to keep up with the constant flow of events.

Despite the criticism of reputable journalism sources–including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times–the record of their reliability over the long haul makes them the best source of information. They are more reliable than even electronic media on cable networks.

Clearly, there needs to be some kind of government regulation to overcome the reality that social media helped to inspire the January 6 Insurrection, and is a danger to the future of American democracy. Also, it is clear that the COVID-19 Pandemic and resistance to vaccination and masking is due to the influence of Facebook in particular, and that Instagram, owned by Facebook, has had a horrific event on self image, particularly of teenage girls.

Social Media has gone out of control, of any sense of responsibility to America, only centered on profits!

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!