“Sixty Minutes”

Barack Obama And Joe Biden Reach Their Rhetorical Best, As Presidential Campaign Winds Down

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Former President Barack Obama has kept his rhetoric down for much of the four years of his successor, but now, with only a week to go to the Presidential Election of 2020, he has utilized his great rhetorical gifts with a blistering, incisive, and at times, ridiculing, attack on Donald Trump, well deserved.

It is a pleasure to see Obama come out in full support and defense of his Vice President, Joe Biden, in such a dramatic and brilliant manner. Obama mocked Trump for saying that the leaders of Russia, China, and North Korea wanted him to win, and Trump’s complaint about Sixty Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, stating that if Trump cannot handle Sixty Minutes, how can he handle real crises such as the COVID 19 Pandemic, which Trump refuses to take responsibility for, and now has said cannot be dealt with, other than by a future vaccine.

At the same time, Joe Biden is fired up, and is at his best rhetorically, as well, as he campaigns vigorously in the battleground states. And his visit to Warm Springs, Georgia, the vacation home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, reminds us of a time nine decades ago when we faced a situation thought to be the greatest since the Civil War, but now surpassed by the challenge of not just a Second Great Depression, but also the worst health crisis since the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1920.

Donald Trump continues to sink in the polls, and soon, the American people will make a clear cut decision to remove this tyrant from office and hold him accountable for his multiple crimes!

Andrew McCabe And Stormy Daniels: The Disgrace Of The Donald Trump Presidency Becomes More So With Seemingly No Bottom!

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It is hard to conceive of the total evil of Donald Trump!

With everything he has said and done, he has reached a new low, with the issues of Andrew McCabe and Stormy Daniels.

Through crooked Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Andrew McCabe, who served honorably in the FBI for twenty years, has been fired two days before his 50th birthday, which was to be hie retirement day, and he is in danger of losing much of his well earned pension, unless he can win rights to it through a lawsuit.

This is because of politicizing the FBI, and accusing McCabe of unethical actions, as if Sessions and Trump have any concept of what ethics is all about.

But McCabe knows what James Comey, who was fired in May, 2017, knows, of the obstruction of justice of Donald Trump on the Russian Collusion investigation, and now McCabe is free to become the person who helps bring Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions and other crooked people around Trump to justice, through cooperation and testimony before Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Remember that McCabe is close to James Comey and to Robert Mueller from their years together in the FBI.

So Trump will be “hoist by his own petard”, so to speak, and will regret the firing of both Comey and McCabe.

But also, the Stormy Daniels porn star scandal, which everyone knows that Trump is covering up, now has become one of direct physical threats to Daniels, and one has to imagine Trump is at least indirectly connected to it, and if anything happens to Daniels, who is due to “spill the goods” on Trump on SIXTY MINUTES on Sunday, March 25, it will be Trump who will face criminal charges, as at least an accessory to the crime.

More than ever, Trump is like a Mafia figure, and clearly too close to the Russian Mafia headed by Vladimir Putin.

It is long overdue for Trump to be forced out of office by massive demonstrations, and to overcome lack of action by a complicit Republican Party in Congress, which has allowed this nightmare to have, seemingly, no end!

Being Black, Latino, Muslim, Jewish, Gay, Or Female In Trump America

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Since the election, there has been many reports of attacks and hate inspired reactions against African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, Jews, Gays and Lesbians, and women, all in the name of representing Donald Trump’s America.

All of these groups of Americans are now living in a state of fear, a situation which is tragic and should not exist.

White Supremacists and Misogynists are encouraged by the appointment of Stephen Bannon as a key adviser to President Elect Trump, despite his past statements and actions, and his connection to the extreme Right wing Breitbart Network, and the Alt Right, which promotes antisemism, white supremacy, racism. nativism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and conspiracy theories.

Imagine the harassment and bullying going on in schools and colleges.

Imagine the danger of people of these groups being approached on public streets in an intimidating way.

Imagine the sense of insecurity for Latinos, particularly those who are undocumented, that they could be arrested and deported without any recourse, disrupting lives of people who just want to have a chance to improve their lives.

Donald Trump has made one statement on the reaction against these groups going on in America, a statement on Sixty Minutes on CBS, but it is not enough to make such a statement, and then pick a hateful extremist such as Bannon, and to be considering other hate mongers and nasty, mean spirited people, who are bullies much like Trump.

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 Desperate Need For Infrastructure Spending: The Collapse Of America’s Public Works

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SIXTY MINUTES on CBS last night drew attention to the desperate need for infrastructure spending, as we are on the brink of the collapse of America’s public works, most of it done in the 1930s to 1960s, but horribly ignored for the past 20 years in particular.

Bridges, tunnels, highways, seaports, airports are in such disrepair that we cannot compete economically with much of the Western world.

We seem unable to realize that not only are lives at danger, but the whole economic system is at risk if a major highway or bridge collapses, making it impossible for millions of people to reach work by automobile, and to have the ability to do the normal every day activities that fuel our economic growth.

We committed to public works projects in the time of the New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt; to interstate highway development under Dwight D. Eisenhower; and to all kinds of other projects during the booming economy of the 1960s under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

But in the past 20 years, mostly under GOP Congressional control, we have lost the vision and the recognition of the dire need for investment, and for commitment to rebuilt our infrastructure.

This is ironic, since the two single greatest public works projects in American history were the Transcontinental Railroad under Republican Abraham Lincoln; and the interstate highway system’s inception under Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower.

But then, the Republican Party of the last two decades, and even more right now, is a skeleton of its old self, and the nation is the ultimate loser!

Mike Wallace: The Death Of A Journalistic Icon

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This coming Sunday, CBS’s Sixty Minutes, the longest news “magazine” in television history (since 1968), will pay tribute to its longest lasting correspondent, and a true journalistic icon, Mike Wallace.

Wallace died last weekend at the age of 93, after having served with CBS News for more than half a century, and being one of the originators of Sixty Minutes, which set a standard for journalism that has not been matched anywhere for hard hitting, investigative, and controversial news coverage.

Mike Wallace was famous, or infamous depending on who was giving an opinion, for aggressive, challenging and persistent questioning of famous, and not so famous, people, including Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, and every American President since Gerald Ford.

Wallace was not shy or reserved in any form, and that was what was most admirable about him. He made a lot of enemies, and wore their hatred as a badge of honor.

He represented the best in American journalism, believing that his job was to expose evil, wrong doing, and scandal, no matter where or who it fell on. He never apologized for his hard hitting style, and became a model for future journalism.

Journalists are not what they are to glorify or cover up for those who govern in any nation. They are not there to support wrong doing, or be concerned about attacks by politicians or foreign leaders. They are not there to do the whim of an employer, and are not to play politics themselves. Wallace was always true to his principles and beliefs.

Journalists are there to promote truth, and inform the public of that truth!

Mike Wallace set a standard for others that will not easily be matched in the future, but we are far better for his commitment to his profession! He will not be forgotten!

The Largest Percentage Of Homeless Children Since The Great Depression And The Republican Response Nationwide: Cut Programs Which Benefit Children!

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As Sixty Minutes on CBS reports, the growing number of homeless children who are living in weekly motels or in cars is reaching an alarming level, soon to be an estimated 25 percent of children of all races and ethnicities, the greatest since the Great Depression, and in actual number an all time high!

And what is the response of Republican Governors and the Republicans in control of the House of Representatives? Cut spending on education, health care, housing, nutrition, and all other programs, while making major concessions to corporations and rich people by cutting taxes and regulations!

We are seeing the true nature of the GOP! They DO NOT CARE about the effect on children of their policies, and they DO NOT CARE about anything but gaining the financial backing of the elite upper class!

If anyone with a rational mind had doubts, the GOP takeover in many states and the House of Representatives is proving just how nasty and vicious they really are! They do not care what happens to the poor or middle class, and are presiding over the greatest increase in poverty ever, and nonchalantly go about their business of being heartless and insensitive!

Speaker of the House John Boehner may cry when interviewed, but he fails to cry for what is most important: damage to the future generation that will grow up to hate their government for doing nothing to make their childhood a positive experience!

Children cannot be blamed for the misfortunes of their parents, and should NEVER be victims of a political party which only cares they be born, and then says in basic terms, to hell with you as you are now on your own, and don’t expect government to intervene in your behalf!

John Boehner, The “Strange Duck” Who Is Second In Line To The Presidency! :(

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As of January 5, 2011, Congressman John Boehner of Cincinnati, Ohio, will be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

We are learning a great deal about John Boehner, and it is a strange portrait!

In newspaper interviews, and now on a “Sixty Minutes” discussion with Lesley Stahl of CBS, Boehner comes across as, to say the least, a “strange duck”!

This is a man who is known to have gone to tanning salons, and has an almost orange tinge to his skin, but now he denies that he has ever gone to a tanning salon.

This is a man who smokes like a fiend, two to three packs a day, and it is rumored, will allow smoking to be restored to the House of Representatives chamber, after it was banned as unseemly by present Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This is a man who used to tend bar for his father, and is said to go the bars every night around dinner time.

This is a man whose wife chooses to live in Cincinnati, while her husband lives in Washington, DC.

This is a man with a frown often displayed, who can yell with the best, but also is a “weeper” to the point of appearing ridiculous.

Boehner talks about the “American dream”, and how hard he had to struggle, and told Lesley Stahl that he cannot go to any schools anymore and see young children, because it makes him cry to think how difficult it is for them to pursue the “American dream”. His experiences should, if anything, make him wish to do more to promote the “American dream”, but instead he wishes to cut spending for education and other social programs, making success even more difficult for future generations of children, if they are born poor. This just makes absolutely no sense, especially when one considers how Boehner associates with lobbyists who represent wealthy interests, and he has no problem promoting massive tax cuts for the wealthy!

Also, John Boehner rejects the idea of “compromise”, preferring to call it “common ground”, another very weird thing, as politics is the art of compromise. But to believe that Boehner and his party will promote “common ground” is to believe in the tooth fairy, as it is clear that the GOP has no intention of cooperating with President Obama, as after all, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said, the purpose of the Republican Party is to defeat Obama in 2012.