Trump continued his unprecedented, full-force assault on freedom of the press by barring CNN, Politico, and the New York Times from Sean Spicer’s press briefing.
This is the behavior of a fascist.
The media should respond by boycotting his briefings until all credentialed media are welcome.
They should stop covering the clown until he respects the Constitution.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Barring SOME of the press is a far cry from an attack on the freedom of the press. The press has been barred by other presidents. No one cried foul then.
From the Daily Beast,,,,shows the reporters Bannon is allowing in the door are only those from the EXTREME RIGHT…Breitbart, Washington Times, only the shills for Bannon/Trump…see the article.
(The comment made above is sheer conniving misinformation by a foreign national Right Winger, a Geert Wilder/Marine Le Pen follower.)
Daily Beast reports…..
FIRST AMENDMENT
CNN, NYT, Others Denied from WH Briefing
CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and other mainstream news organizations were blocked from participating in a White House media briefing on Friday afternoon. Journalists expressed outrage at the unusual move, and the Associated Press and Time magazine boycotted the briefing as a result. Spicer reportedly allowed sympathetic outlets into the gaggle—an informal question-and-answer session between a press secretary and journalists—including the Washington Times, Breitbart, and One America News Network. Jeff Mason, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said in a statement that the consortium of reporters will “strongly protest” the move and further discuss it with White House press staffers. “This is an unacceptable development by the Trump White House,” CNN said in a statement. “Apparently this is how they retaliate when you report facts they don’t like. We’ll keep reporting regardless.” Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, issued a similar statement: “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.”
Several years ago, the Obama administration attempted to bar Fox. All the other media refused to go along with that. They all supported Fox. Do you think Breitbart, Fox, etc., have that kind of integrity?
Citations please. What other presidents of US barred press from press events.
Citations please. What other presidents of US barred press from press events.
Sent that earlier. Obama 2008.
Rudy, wrong.
2009: James Rosen reported on the incident during FNC’s Special Report last night, saying the White House pool, which is a five-network rotation “that for decades has shared the cost and duties of daily coverage of the presidency, to which Fox News has belonged since 1997,” was told the pay czar would be available for round-robin interviews, but FNC would not be included. “The Washington bureau chiefs of the five TV news networks [ABC, CBS, CNN, FNC and NBC] consulted and decided that none of them would interview Feinberg unless Fox was included, and the administration relented,” said Rosen.
2008: candidate Obama denied seats on campaign plane to 3 newspapers, not the same thing
Numbers are not the issue. The event and the wrong conclusion: “trump killed (note: not tried, not started to) the first Amendment. ”
What he really did was no such thing. He dealt with critics in the same petty way Obama did.
Repeating again: the media are all writing and complaining about it. Evidence that the first amendment is alive and well.
Yes, it is. Barring particular news reports based on your preference is fundamentally different from barring them based on unlawful misconduct that is criminally chargeable. Your state makes absolutely no sense.
How many news orgs must be barred from a press briefing for it to be an attack on the press?
There have been attacks on the press for as long as there has been a press – including by presidents. That’s no news.
What matters is how this event is reported. And blowing it out of proportion does not help anything, but hurts a lot.
You have trouble answering direct questions, I notice. You wrote that barring “SOME” members of the press is not an attack on the press. I asked you how many members of the press would have to be barred for you to consider it an attack on the press. You ignored that question, and instead said that attacks on the press are common and aren’t news. So it seems that it doesn’t matter to you whether this was an attack on the press. If it was, then it wouldn’t matter to you anyway, because attacks in the press aren’t news.
“I asked you how many members of the press would have to be barred for you to consider it an attack on the press. ”
If something hurts the constitution, it hurts the constitution. There is no need to hurt the constitution multiply to declare hurt.
The Orange agent has proved that he is unsuitable to be president, hence he needs to go; there is no time for fair and balanced evaluation of the situation, or he’ll causes more damages.
Here is a typical convo involving Rudy and similar “fair evaluators of Trump”.
I say
“An sob broke into my home last night, and I threw him out the door.”
Rudy:
“I know the guy, he is not an sob, he has three kids, and he is nice to them. Just because he broke into your home ONCE, you don’t have to call him names, let alone throw him out when he probably just wanted some food and toys for his family.”
“The Orange agent has proved that he is unsuitable to be president”
Have you seen the list of diseases contributed to Agent Orange? The Orange Agent’s list is probably going to be longer before he is done.
Phenomenal new idea, Lloyd: let’s combine names and call the perp Orangefinger. We could then presumably hire James Bond to deal with him, and all we’d have to do is watch the movie.
No, Rudy. The Trumpist attack on the media cannot be compared to past complaints about how a story was reported. The constant drumbeat of inflamatory catchphrases about the media spewing from DT’s mouth is entirely different than “run of the mill” irritation with reporters.
Obama was unhappy with Fox. Said they distorted his words.
His right to say such, whether true or not. Either him or trump making a statement like that does not make it true/false.
Statements like that show their usage of their first amendment rights. trump saying the press lies does not make it so.
Telling people that trump Killed the first amendment is Ravitch’s right. But that does not make it so.
Her HOPE that the travel ban will be declared unconstitutional and or illegal by SCOTUS does not make it so.
More and more people repeating same does not make it so, either.
But I will make a prediction: the more unsupported and untrue statements are made, will cost in credibility. And when you have lost that, you have lost the battle AND the war.
Obama didn’t like FOX but FOX was never barred from press briefings. Or do you have private information, Rudy?
Well stated.
This notice from The Hill moments ago shows that we are now have and openly acknowledged, full scale totalitarian government that has eliminated the First Amendment.
The WH today has just banned the ‘free media’ who they have been calling the “enemy of America”. Included in this ban is the LA Times, the NY Times, and CNN…plus many others.
This will lead us into a Civil War. It must be stopped RIGHT NOW.
Contact all your legislators, and all the Republicans you know including all Republican legislators.
DO NOT WAIT until Bannon/Trump put troops in the streets, take over all our bank accounts, take down the grids to stop emailing and cell phones, stop anyone from exiting or entering the US…and accomplish a complete FASCIST coup.
They promised this at CPAC this week and today it has begun. Never in American history has an administration banned the media…this is exactly how Hitler and Goebbels took over Germany.
We cannot wait for anything else. RESIST TODAY.
From the Hill…..
View in your browser
http://click1.email.thehill.com/rrgwyhjflccpshscpkgllpwwljpbcjcqqvlfhtbcvcltk_uynwpyqw.html
http://click1.email.thehill.com/jrmfczshnbbwpzpbwtvnnwffnswkbsbddmnhzqkbmbnqv_uynwpyqw.html http://click1.email.thehill.com/mqbsmzwgpccljzjcltnpplsspwlvcwckkdpgzbvcdcpbd_uynwpyqw.html http://click1.email.thehill.com/dpsszlgkjttfblbtfrcjjfssjgfwtgtnnmjkldwtmtjdd_uynwpyqw.html http://www.email.thehill.com/Forward.do?m=epthyzh&r=uynwpyqw&s=bjzbvsdkzppnsnpjgzzbbzdmpdpttqzkscm&a=main
White House hand-picks select media for briefing
The White House blocked a number of news outlets from covering spokesman Sean Spicer’s question-and-answer session on Friday afternoon.
Spicer decided to hold an off-camera “gaggle” with reporters inside his West Wing office instead of the traditional on-camera briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Among the outlets not permitted to cover the gaggle were news organizations that President Trump has singled out for criticism, including CNN.
The New York Times, The Hill, Politico, BuzzFeed, the Daily Mail, BBC, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Daily News were among the other news organizations not permitted to attend.
Read the full story here
I just called my two Senators, and my Congresswoman. Senators had message machines, but spoke to Congressional office…and they are has furious as I am…and she is working on this. CALL ALL your legislators NOW. We cannot have the FREE PRESS and media banned from the WH.
Omg!!! I guess next he will revoke the Emancipation Proclamation.!!!!
You eliminated on KEY piece of information to your ending. Spicer held the gaggle because Trump spoke at the CPAC this morning … why repeat the same things? That may be what DC is used to, but repetition, other than on a production line, is useless, costly and time consuming.
Linda,
Your hero is a liar and a fascist.
When was it says that he was her hero?? Just the fact that she questions certain statements??
He ain’t my hero. But you invent things about him. Not needed! There are plenty of real issues to deal with.
Selective memories … Obama attacked certain media outlets.because he did not what they said about him. Trump attacks those that are dishonest. It is the made up lies and manufactured hysteria that offends him and millions of citizens. But when you have fools like the guy on Morning Joe saying the media is supposed to tell people what to think, try and understand why mainstream media was loosing ground even before Trump came around.
Linda,
I was there. Kennedy canceled his subscription to a newspaper he didn’t like. He didn’t exclude their reporter from press conference. When did this happen before?
Trump is a liar and a puppet of Putin.
Diane…I still suspect that Linda Griffin and her Netherlands cohort may be paid Bannon/Trump trolls, but whether paid or not, they are definitely trolls who come here to spread misinformation.
Misinformation??? Really?
SOME of the press was locked out. Saying that he has killed the First Ammendment – THAT is misinformation.
Misinformation is adking The question about where we are: the very fact that you can even use the language as seen on this site about a head of state makes it obvious that the first is alive and well!!
Just because I have a clearer head than you does not make me a troll – paid or otherwise.
These are minor issues. We knew that he had issues with the press from the very beginning. But then, it took a long time for Clinton to allow the press to travel with her.
As a republican, I KNOW that this was a major mistake. The RNC should have put a stop to him a long time ago. This major mistake will cost us, and when the next elections come up, republicans will be held accountable, and have a loss that will take a long time – if even possible – to make up.
But that does not mean I have to invent bad stuff about him, or make minor stuff into majors.
By doing that, when major things DO happen, you have no room left to go…
Gosh, Rudy, if you are right, I wonder why the media is making such a big deal of being locked out of a routine briefing. The executive editor of The NY Times tweeted a statement that this lock out was unprecedented. More fake news, right? We know you think Trump is always right, always justified although you didn’t vote for him.
Once again, Diane, you miss the point. I did not deny that SOME media was locked out. However, that is not an attack of the freedom of the press, nor a shutdown of the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Both of those statements are misinformation.
Rudy, you are wrong. Why is every media outlet in the nation upset? No one agrees with you but the Trump administration.
Can’t wait until this pawn of Putin is impeached for treason.
Rudy, is it a good thing in your view for the president to bar some of the press from press conferences?
Good bad or indifferent does not matter. It happens now and again.
Blowing it out of proportion DOES matter.
You didn’t answer the question, so I’ll have to infer your view, which appears to be that it does not matter whether the presidents bars some of the press from press conferences. About what I expected.
Linda… your words only strengthen people’s resolve to do what we can to strengthen DEMOCRACY. Banning freedom of the press (your “repetition” comment is flimsy reasoning at best) IS NOT WHAT DEMOCRACY looks like. What was done to NYT, CNN etc today was to deny the media rightful access. Surely you would not be happy if Diane did not allow your commentary on this blog. But you are here because you are not attacking her personally or using offensive language (although I must say that everyone who reads your words and believes in our Constitution including Free Speech reads your words as if they were a personal attack).
NOBODY BANNED FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The press is still just as free as it was yesterday. Just because some are not welcomed by trump, does not mean they can’t write about this.
There is a difference between ACCESS and FREEDOM.
Were those denied access not free to write and complain about it, THAT would be banning if freedom.
Sorry Rudy but your comments are non-sensical.
What us it that you do not understand? The claim is that he killed the first amendment by banning SOME news outlets.
Did he tell them to close?
Did he tell them to shut down the presses or else?
Did he threaten arrest for journalists?
Did he say he had to approve things before they could be published!
As long as the answers to all if the above is no, the first amendment alive and well.
Rudy, the denial of “access” can indeed be a violation of the freedom of the press under the First Amendment. There is too much law on this topic to summarize here. Don’t assume you know what is and isn’t a First Amendment violation. A lot of very smart and well-educated people do that for a living, and even they disagree.
Banning outlets that a leader doesn’t like and favoring ones the leader does like IS suppressing the press, Rudy. It’s nearly a state-run media if that happens.
When certain press is favored, then the press loses readership in favor of the one that is favored and gets more information. Or, the less favored media begins to alter its coverage in order to become more favored with access.
Access is power. Denying that access denies the ability to report stories, and gives the public the idea that the non-favored media is “bad,” which makes the non-favored media even less believed. It’s a “democratic” way of favoring media outlets until one has a state-supported, if not state-sponsored, media.
You will probably have some “witty” comeback about how I’m wrong, but I don’t care. You are wrong.
“Is like…”. Comparisons only go so far. Not all comparisons work.
And there is a big difference between “is like” and “he killed the first amendment.”
Rudy, the courts won’t let him kill the First Amendment. They killed his Muslim ban. They will curb his megalomania.
Is it so difficult for you to admit your evaluation if the order was wrong???
You stated repeatedly that is was both unconstitutional AND illegal. It was not.
There is a big difference between the verdict of the 9th judicial and your repeated claims. Your repeated claims were wrong and sensationalism.
It WAS many things, but it was constitutional, and it was legal.
Stupid and nonsensical – yes. Wrong reasons and motives – without a doubt.
That is however, a completely different argument. And more real AND accurate than unconstitutional and illegal.
As educated as you are, do you really not grasp how costly it is to exaggerate now for true issues in the future??
Why would anyone believe you when something is real after calling wrongs too often??
Went through this with RTL organization. Blowing stories out of proportion causes credibility to become next to none existent.
If the order had reached the US Supreme Court, it would have been found unconstitutional on religious grounds.
Rudy, rude-e,
I believe Trump’s Muslim ban would have been held unconstitutional because it violates the Constitution to create religious tests and discriminate on the basis of religion.
Trump announced during the campaign that “I, Donald J. Trump, will ban all Muslims from entering the country until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
Right before Trump issued his travel ban for seven mostly-Muslim countries, Rudy Giuliani said on TV that he had advised Trump on how to write a Muslim ban that appeared to be neutral.
Trump absurdly left off the nations that were the origins of people who had committed terrorist acts in the US, perhaps because they happen to have Trump hotels. The seven he listed were not the country of origin for any terrorist act in the US.
I predicted that if that religious test had reached the US Supreme Court, it would have been ruled unconstitutional. Perhaps unanimously.
My prediction will never be tested because Trump withdrew the Muslim ban and will have it rewritten by lawyers instead of Steve Bannon.
One more thing, Rudy, if you say one more time that I don’t know how to read or some other snide insult, you will be permanently barred. So act civil towards me and others, or to quote the president, get the hell out.
Unbelievable. The things I have been called on this list and not a word about from you.
Rudy, you have insulted me again and again. I bite my tongue to avoid calling you names, and I haven’t. You have said I don’t know how to read and that I have no credibility. I should have banned you by now for your insults. And you ask me to defend you when you offend others?
You’ve called me dumb, ignorant, compared me to trump, deplorable even though I did not vote for the man, and the list is not finished.
You have put words into “my mouth” to distort what I write. Hence my remarks about reading.
Rudy, you are not dumb. You are stubborn. You are a Trump defender, whether you voted for him or not.
You take up far too much space on this blog.
And Madov was a good guy to entrust your investments.
If the most liberal of the courts did not declare it unconstitutional and illegal, I don’t think SCOTUS will do that.
Rudy,
Since the Muslim ban never reached SCOTUS, we will never know.
Let’s just leave it that two courts, which included two Democrat-appointed judges and two Republican-appointed judges, blocked Trump’s Muslim ban.
No one approved it. Not one federal judge. And I didn’t even count the federal judges in other jurisdictions who stayed the order, like the judge in New York.
Why do you keep defending what you claim you oppose?
Your wife must be a saint.
I have stated from the very beginning that the order was both constitutional and legal. I based that on the fact that a) the constitution gives a president a lot of leeway re security of the nation and b) the first judge who saw anything against the constitution would throw it out in a heartbeat. The ninth judicial supported the judgment with a 29 page opinion. I read that.
And nowhere in that opinion did the court conclude that it was either unconstitutional or illegal.
I disagree with the order for many reasons. But unfortunately I cannot disagree on constitutional/legal grounds.
It was a dumb Order. Childish. Totally expected.
You should read Mein Kampf. And than ask yourself “how could people be surprised at what Hitler did? He promised what he would do.”
Same with trump. He promised what he would do.
People voted for him. Including democrats and independents. Why they are surprised I don’t understand.
Not one federal judge in the US approved Trump’s order. I won’t continue this idiotic exchange anymore, Rudy.
How can your wife stand you? You are impossible.
Rudy,
I am not posting your latest insult. You are finished here. Go away. You are a nasty, arrogant, closed-minded man. You do not add to the discussion. You are no longer welcome on my blog. You are a hater.
Diane, I just hope you didn’t injure your spine bending over backwards before you finally had enough! You are incredibly patient!
“How can your wife stand you?”
The other day, a guy broke into Rudy’s house, and Rudy’s wife chased the burglar out with the big rusty kitchen knife. Rudy caught up with them at the entrance door: “Honey, what are you doing?”, he said, “Is this a way to treat somebody just because he breaks into our house ONCE?! Has he murdered anyone? Then what’s the big deal? Let’s just all sit down and evaluate the situation as adults. Could you make us all a pot of tea please?”
Rudy,
The courts decide what is Constitutional, not you, the President or the Congress, and so far several judges have been unanimous against that specific executive order by the malignant narcissist living in the White House.
The 9th Circuit that ruled against Littlefingers Donald Trump is one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.
This link will take you to the case that was one step from the Supreme Court
Click to access 17-35105.pdf
Courts of Appeals. There are 13 appellate courts that sit below the U.S. Supreme Court, and they are called the U.S. Courts of Appeals. The 94 federal judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits, each of which has a court of appeals.
The Role of the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has a special role to play in the United States system of government. The Constitution gives it the power to check, if necessary, the actions of the President and Congress.
It can tell a President that his actions are not allowed by the Constitution. It can tell Congress that a law it passed violated the U.S. Constitution and is, therefore, no longer a law. It can also tell the government of a state that one of its laws breaks a rule in the Constitution.
The Supreme Court is the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress, and the highest law of all — the Constitution.
The Supreme Court, however, is far from all-powerful. Its power is limited by the other two branches of government. The President nominates justices to the court. The Senate must vote its approval of the nominations. The whole Congress also has great power over the lower courts in the federal system. District and appeals courts are created by acts of Congress. These courts may be abolished if Congress wishes it.
The Supreme Court is like a referee on a football field. The Congress, the President, the state police, and other government officials are the players. Some can pass laws, and others can enforce laws. But all exercise power within certain boundaries. These boundaries are set by the Constitution. As the “referee” in the U.S. system of government, it is the Supreme Court’s job to say when government officials step out-of-bounds.
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/role-supreme-court/
Nowhere did I see Rudy’s name giving him the power to rule on Constitutional issues. The only thing you have Rudy is the 1st Amendments protection to state your opinion but that doesn’t mean you are right.
When space is limited WHY not give others a shot at the power … or are you afraid they may not get the “party line” right?
I’d just like to jump in here and say that Trump is not treating the media the right way at all, and it’s to his peril and to democracy’s peril as well. Not that I give a hoot about him (“give a hoot” is a recent American idiom I have just learned!) because I can’t stand Trump.
But PLEASE let’s be honest here and say that the mainstream media is a bias, bought piece of machinery in terms of what gets reported out to mainstream/Main Street America. There are countless labor and union stories, citizen protests, demonstrations, and boycotts, and other cviil rights pieces that have been suppressed, under-reported, misrepresented, heavily editorialized, or just left to tiny independent media outlets that are almost always on the internet.
The mainstream media in America is NO pack of angels, and they – although now butting heads with Trump – are just as bad as Trump. They are supposed to report things objectively, save for their editorial pages. They have all become propaganda instruments of corporate America.
Trump is enemies with the the media? The media is enemies with Trump?
Nonsense, because it’s all pot calling the kettle black.
Norwegian Filmmaker,
I don’t agree with your negative view of the American press. Without them, we would be in deep trouble.
With them actually doing their job over the last 16 months we would not have this discussion, would we?
“The media are all bought and paid for. The media are corrupt, are not objective, and cannot be trusted.”
This is the new, mainstream ethos that made President Trump possible. Unfortunately it’s a worldview that’s probably shared by as many on the left as on the right. It’s a complete breakdown of critical thought, masquerading as critical thought.
Diane,
The American Press has aspects to it that are vital and critical and need nothing but militant support from all of us, 24/7. It still is better to have a free press than a suppressed press at all times. Trump is suppressing the media and he is the devil to do so!
But to think that the press has not been bought and sold to too large an extent by corporate America is something to be reserved for LaLa Land.
I very respectfully disagree with you. But still, it is better to have a flawed free press than to have a suppressed free press, no?
We deserve better than what both have to offer; it’s part of our civil and birth rights, I think.
Norwegian Filmmaker
I’m with the with you on this one . The Press has never been free of the ideology of their owners. It was only a few days ago that I had a debate here on the coverage of Labor Issues . You could obviously apply the same metric to their coverage of education issues. Certainly make that argument on the coverage of Trade and manufacturing issues.
But there is an important distinction between what gets reported on due to the editorial position of owners and the ability of the press to hold truth to power once they are on the case.
Once the press is on an issue, they are an invaluable source ,the only source of information to the American people. . And with this fascist in the White House, they are on the case early. This is not because of ideology . It is because his actions and behavior and those that surround him act like a fire alarm.
What gets reported is often based on what witnesses and/or sources tell the reporter who writes the news. Studies of bias in the media did not fact check pieces but counted sources to determine bias. For instance, if a reporter only quoted 2 conservative sources to 5 liberal/progressive sources mentioned in the same piece, then that was considered a liberal bias even if other conservative sources contacted refused to talk to the reporter who was working on a tight deadline and probably didn’t have the time to flush out three other conservative sources on the specific piece they were assigned to write.
And it is common for corporations and other conservative sources to refuse to comment when a reporter calls with questions. Reporters have to go with the sources that are willing to talk to or share information with them.
Kellyanne Conway’s handling of interviews is not rare, it is often the norm.
Deadline pressure can be intense except in long-term investigations by a team of reporters like the one on the child molesting priests that was published by the Boston Globe after a long investigation (see the film). This type of story is the exception, not the norm.
With deep staff cuts in the reporter pool to most if not all newspapers and magazines and no change in deadlines, reporters often turn to conservative think tanks for the quotes they use from that end of the political spectrum and most if not all of those alternative think tanks rely on alternative facts, not actual facts.
Likewise, when reporters call the office of an elected representative, they often reach only the staff member tasked with answering media questions and they usually have a script written to support the agenda of the representative even if what’s there is often misleading based on alternative facts.
I earned a BA in journalism in 1973. I’ve written to deadlines, and even after a reporter makes a deadline, what they wrote might not be what the newspaper/magazine prints because editors often revise, add or cut.
Linda G., I do not understand clearly what you are saying. Who repeats and what? Is it CNN about Trump?
Lloyd Lofthouse
I certainly agree with you about the lack of investigative journalism due to staff cuts at most news rooms. I further agree that far too often those that report the news and conduct interviews are frequently passing on press releases and are not familiar enough with the subject matter to ask the critical questions.
However when you have been to frequent labor demonstrations with 5-10,000 people
in the heart of Mid Town Manhattan where permits were obtained and press releases given and there is no mention, except for the traffic helicopter. You get the idea after a while.
However Five girls in bikinis on Malibu beach holding up a Tea Party sign was nation wide news . That movement was certainly manufactured and nurtured along Which is not to say that it didn’t catch on eventually.
Decisions are made as to what to send reporters to cover. Just like the decision was made to cover Trump non stop and Sanders was blacked out until the rallies were too large to ignore .
90-percent of the traditional media is owned by 6-huge corporations that are all led by older white men paid 8-figure incomes on the left of the decimal point and these CEO’s went to ivy league universities.
Who hires the publisher and editors and do they make sure who they hire thinks like them? Most stories are assigned by middle and upper management and reporters that want to keep their jobs write only what they are assigned. And if those reporters are aware of the bias of the upper management, do they sell out and write their assigned stories for the guy who signs the paycheck and not the readers?
Most reporters have little freedom to write what they want. Most columnists have more freedom to do that.
That doesn’t mean the stories are based on alternative facts, but it can mean they weren’t balanced and they do show some bias. Bias doesn’t mean the story is a deliberate lie. It just slants the news to one point of view.
Beat reporters at the major newspapers have a lot of freedom about what they write. They’re the prime generator of story ideas, and they’re expected to stay of their beat and pitch stories to their editors. Editors can reject ideas, or modify them. But in my experience, they let reporters run with ideas more often than not. News cycles are too fast for editors to do otherwise.
expected to stay “on top of” their beats
Lloyd Lofthouse
Took us a lot of writing to agree that we agree almost entirely.
Our Indivisible Group is outraged and you should be too. Taken from Putin’s playbook.
View at Medium.com
The year was 2008. The candidate had a big lead in the polls going into election day. And in a preview of how petulant he would be act as Commander-in-Chief as it pertains to his treatment of the press, Barack Obama decided he didn’t like what three newspapers were writing about him, so he kicked its reporters off his campaign plane.
Sound familiar?
But instead of simply owning up to not agreeing with the way the Dallas Morning News, New York Post and Washington Times were doing their respective jobs, the president’s team played dumb in insulting everyone’s intelligence in claiming it was simply a matter of suddenly having a limited number of seats on said plane.
“Unfortunately, demand for seats on the plane during this final weekend has far exceeded supply, and because of logistical issues we made the decision not to add a second plane,” said Obama campaign senior adviser Anita Dunn.
I’m sure you protested against that too??
Obama did not tell his supporters that the mainstream press were all liars and that only he should be believed, so stop with the false equivalencies.
Did Obama refuse access by some media or not?
Simple question. The argument is not what he thought of the press, but denial of access.
Dude, you don’t seem to understand that a guy who is a candidate and is not even President denying seats on a crowded campaign plane plane to two reporters is in no way equivalent to the Press Secretary of the President of the United Sates announcing he will exclude certain media from Presidential press conferences. If that is the case then there is no reasoning with you. The corollary is your argument may be convincing to you, but is is unconvincing to anyone with a modicum of sense, so maybe just stop.
The issue is blown out of proportion – because of irritation by everything this man does. I understand that.
But again, he does “real” things that are far worse.
It’s like crying wolf. By the time he does something real bad, the people will just shrug their shoulders and ignore it because it will be “just another one of those things…”
Obama did what Trump is doing, Rudy. You know I can’t stand your guts, but you’re right about this. But the difference is that Obama did not articulate how he felt about the press. He was quiet and refined and polite about how disgusting he was.
Trump is not.
But bad politics is bad politics, no matter what the style is because the end result effects turn out to be bad for people.
Why can’t you just admit that Trump should not be doing what he is doing? Criticize Obama all you want; I’ll join you, but criticize Trump and the GOP as well, because they AIN’T interested too much in the likes of little middle class you . . .
As George Carlin used to say, “The ruling class is one big f**** exlcusive club, and YOU ain’t in it!”
Ray is right. Obama was a candidate and under no obligation to include news outlets other than those he chose. I’m not sure what benefit it would be for him to carry around far right news outlets. They certainly were no t going to portray his candidacy in a favorable light, and it was a campaign, for Pete’s sake. The president, however, does not have that luxury.
Rudy Schellekens
You are an idiot his campaign plain he pays for . The White House belongs to the American people . Do us a favor and pick some autocratic dictatorship to live in. You obviously do not appreciate the traditions of freedom in your adopted country.
plane
I guess you do not read when I say that he does enough wrong things that we dont need to invent things.
And that sensationalism does not help.
Rudy, it is not an ‘invention’ that there is a huge difference between a political candidate making strategic choices over his campaign, and a president answering to the people who have elected him.
I find it hard to believe that you don’t see the difference either.
By the way, I read about your dislike of Republican nominee Trump halfway 2008 (see below), so no one on this board should consider you a sheer Trump apologist.
(Rudy: “As an immigrant to the US (from Holland), and as a Republican, I am deeply ashamed of this choice. It is sad that this seems to be the best the Republican party has to offer both the country and the world. He has no idea about politics, both national and international, no knowledge of politics…”).
I hope you still have the open mind, frankness, stubbornness & guts the Dutch are rightly famous for, and will continue to see Trump for what he really is – and what he really does.
Refuse to be a boiling Republican frog, in water slowly heated by a Republican president who is likely to stir up the fire in his desire to ‘purge’ society – like a pyromaniac.
I am. Which is why i believe that the hype needs to be toned down, facts need to be used and overstating things will hurt opponents in the end.
When issues like the press stuff right now gets blown way out of proportion and one states that trump “killed the first amendment,” there is no room left when it really does happen.
He made a stupid, petty decision. As long as the press and everyone who wants to can still write and complain?
Stupid petty people make stupid petty decisions.
He might start a nuclear war impulsively, stupidly, for petty reasons.
I’ve been saying that since he started running. The man had no filter.
Am I wrong that you once commented that people should recognize when you are using hyperbole to make a point?
SOMETIMES, yes. Making EVERY action of trump out to be more than what it is creates doubt.
Rudy Schellekens
“I guess you do not read when I say that he does enough wrong things that we dont need to invent things.”
Problem is Rudy I can’ seem to recall anything he has done that you have not defended.
I don’t have to invent a thing . I want a special prosecutor and an independent congressional investigation with subpoena power .
I want his taxes released. And this time I want Jail time . No longer will I settle for amnesty from prosecution.
I had 5 to 6 years of Benghazi bull shit. 5 years of semen on a dress .
Nixon got away with a felony break in and an assault on democracy .
After he committed treason in 68 costing possibly 5 years more of the Vietnam war
Reagan got away with treason Iran hostage/ weapons/ Contra Sabotaged the the release of hostages in exchange for weapons shipments to Iraq . The proceeds of which were used to fund an illegal war in Nicaragua.
Bush and Chaney the war criminals , cherry picked the intelligence to blow up the Middle East but that is a policy quirk. Outing a CIA undercover agent Valarie Plame Willson in order to get even with her husband Former Ambassador Joe Wilson for reporting that there was no Yellow Cake Uranium and thus no WMD program .
That impeachable offense cost the lives of over 4500 American boys.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Scooter Libby pardoned before a trail.
Enough is Enough,is Enough , bring on the firing squad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me use big letters. I DID NOT DEFEND WHAT HE DID. I AM CALLING FIR TRUTH IN DESCRIPTION IF WHAT HE DOES. HE DID NOT KILL THE FIRST AMENDMENT. HE ACTED LIKE A KINDERGARTNER.
I AM SAYING: the more you blow this out of proportion, the less credibility you have when he really does kill the… whatever.
In the end, you have lost ALL credibility.
Rudy, please indicate somehow when you are echoing word for word from an article.
In any case, your quote about Obama was not during his presidency but during his campaign, and it was not about a press conference but seats on a plane and it was not about how the papers covered Obama, since Fox and WSJ were on the plane.
So we have a case of false equivalence.
Good For You!
You may want to check the story in its context. He was unhappy with some coverage and there was no room in the plane for just the critics.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Context, context, context…
Biography of Helen Thomas makes for an interesting read.
Specially, “On February 9, 2009, Thomas was present in the front row for newly elected President Obama’s first news conference. President Obama called on her with the statement, “Helen. I’m excited, this is my inaugural moment,”[42] seemingly a reference to her long-term presence in the White House Press Corps.[43] Thomas asked if any Middle Eastern country possessed nuclear weapons. Obama replied that he did not want to “speculate” on the matter.
On July 1, 2009, Thomas commented on the Obama administration’s handling of the press, “we have had some control but not this control. I mean I’m amazed, I’m amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and you have controlled…”She also said that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press as much as President Obama.”
Rudy,
Helen Thomas was complaining that Obama officials planted friendly questions. Compare that to Trump who openly says, “I am calling only on people who ask friendly questions.” Helen Thomas was NEVER excluded from a press briefing by any president.
But was refused the option to even ask questions. What’s the difference???
Rudy, just so you understand, keeping major news sources from a press conference by the president is a “killing” of the freedom of the press. We can argue all day about this, but as a native of the U.S. and raised in a conservative state, county, township, and town, in the U. S. this is an abomination. There are largely unspoken, but gut level definitions re government in this country and this is one of them.
There is no correlation between a campaign plane and the president’s press conference… none, nada, zero.
What is happening now is not particularly surprising or shocking to me. People I was raised among supported Hitler until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and they had to become patriotic. Fascism is more their choice than democracy and socialism. (Of course they can rationalize medicare and social security but they are always fearful someone who doesn’t deserve these will get them,) The two are benefits when they receive them but socialism when someone they are critical of gets them too.
Where in the Constitution does it say that the press has access to the President or press briefings? How many other news organizations are present? Three out of how many?
Say that the Trump administration adopts a new policy that its press briefings will no longer be held in public or televised, and that it will hold all briefings in private in the White House, and that only one news organization, of the President’s choosing, will be allowed to attend those briefings. Would you have any problem with that?
Tina, where in the Constitution does it say that you have a right to travel or to marry? Oh boy, let’s play the “Where in the Constitution does it say?” game.
Tina “Where in the Constitution does it say that the press has access to the President or press briefings? ”
“It’s unconstitutional when President Trump has said he doesn’t like CNN and the New York Times and then excludes them from a press conference. It’s a content-based ban and the government generally cannot enact laws or restrictions that punish speech based or restrict public access based on content. Courts have held that a government press conference is a public forum generally open to the media, and any restrictions must be based on reasons other than content,” First Amendment attorney and LawNewz columnist Susan Seager said.
When does an adult from the GOP leadership (oxymoron) stand up and say that this is a coup and it will cease?
Because as an adult Republican, who did not vote for him, I recognize the anti trump mania that is going around. No matter what the man does, people are quick to hang him.
He was accused of acting unconstitutional and illegal with the executive order re immigration.
Lots of judges have dealt with it. NONE of them declared it either unconstitutional nor illegal.
I disagree with what it did – but not on those two grounds. No one had admitted so far they were wrong in their accusations btw.
As said before, the man does plenty of dumb and strange things. There is no need to start inventing.
Since when is it anti-Trump mania to be concerned about his recklessness, his anti-press mania, his ignorance, his massive lying which makes Nixon look like an amateur. Rudy, slap yourself in the face and wake up!
Probably won’t be sharing a Grolsch with you Geert.
Rudy,
Theres something very concerning about a U.S leader who lies as easily as he does. Maybe you believe, as he claims, that he had record breaking crowds at his inauguration, that the CIA intelligence (regarding Russian meddling in our election) has no credibility, that voter fraud caused him to loose the popular vote, that the main stream media is just like fake news, that the murder rate is at an all time high, that god stopped the rain for him and etc.
How do I explain this behavior to my child, or my students?
Why are you not alarmed by this behavior? It’s alarming.
I have been alarmed by this man the first time he opened his mouth! But I am confined that blaming him for things that are NOT facts will cause a lack of concern when things really go bad.
Again, he did not kill the freedom of the press. He told SOME of the media they were not welcome. As said before, the media does need to learn to do its homework. The media had all the freedom to complain about this. THE media is not shut down in any way shape or form!
He did not sign an executive order that was either unconstitutional or illegal. By making this kind of accusation – which both are probably false, how do you expect to maintain credibility???
He is a danger for thus country, and MAYBEtobtjis world. But lets make sure that ANY allegation is true before spending too much time in them. Both of these are so easily proven to be false. Why should I believe “you” (generically) when it is so easy to show how incorrect the current accusations are??
Remember peter…
He is an ignorant fool
Did I ever deny that???
Well spoken, Diane. I am SO TIRED of Trump. I get up each morning and wonder what the liar-in-chief has in store for us today.
Diane . . . . Who is an ignorant fool?
Trump or Rudy?
I think both.
Norwegian Filmmaker, I think your contempt for Rudy, calling him an ‘ignorant fool’ is totally undeserved. You (and I) may not agree with him, but he has taken the time to present arguments that show he is a thinking man, and willing to communicate on a civilized level.
I think the American people, and certainly Democrats, cannot afford to easily brand Republicans, or Trump voters whom they disagree with, as ‘ignorant fools’. Certainly not Republicans who did not vote for, and show a dislike of Trump.
Yes, Trump & his comrades in power deserve every bit of contempt and ridicule that their actions give way to. But I think that on a personal level, Democrats and their Republican fellow (wo)men should keep in touch & try to find common ground about what is happening to US society.
Appreciate this very much!!
And that is all I’m striving for. Disagree – but be civil about it.
We just might need each other too much in two years!!’
If it were up to Rudy, SS, Medicare, pensions of civil servants, and all public services would be privatized and based on the corporate sector, individualist notion of “merit”.
Rudy buys into individualism as though it’s oxygen, until his Republican friends and elected officials band together collectively and get bailed out on Wall Street, asking big government for a big chunk of welfare.
I wonder if Rudy enjoys SS now? Too young to collect it still, or collecting it now? If you collect it, Rudy, realize that a bunch of socialist Democrats headed by FDR created it for the sake of everyone, and they did not means test it.
Rudy has blatantly stated before that criminals are responsible for their own crimes and individual responsibility is at the core of one’s behavior, But he refuses to connect the dots between criminality, crimes, and poverty.
Rudy, the Dutch would find you to be a character from fiction.
Science fiction . . .
I had a far-right, evangelical, conservative-libertarian former friend who voted for the malignant narcissist, and he also condemns Social Security, VA medical, anything that hints at socialism, but half of his income comes from Social Security and his medical comes through the VA. While I worked for 45-years and never collected unemployment, he manipulated the system and collected unemployed for about 20 of those years. While he was off playing tennis or skiing downhill each year depending on the season while collecting that unemployment, I was in the classroom working and/or at home correcting my students’ work 60-to-100 hours a week. He also condemned and still condemns the public schools as failures and as a monopoly. His favorite talk show is Denis Prager. He worships this guy.
When my former friend did work, he often earned an average of $5,000 a week. He gambled most of what he saved in the stock market and lost several hundred thousand. He never made any profit off of the stock market. He even lost the last house he owned from those losses, but he still thinks he can get rich only through the stock market.
When I asked my former friend last year how he could collect Social Security when he condemned it as an evil socialist program, he replied because he had earned it. I never asked him if he thought the rest of the Americans that collected SS didn’t earn it and were deadbeats. I wonder if he thought he was the only one in the country that earned his SS.
We became friends when we were both 10 years old. That friendship ended last year when I finally got tired of his endless preaching and blocked his e-mails.
Lloyd,
Your assessments of people could not be more accurate. There are millions of people just like your friends, and some on this blog. Thank you for pointing out the sheer stupidity and lack of critical thinking of those who are on the righteous right.
Everyone is a conservative and hater of progressives and liberals until it comes time to touch their SS or Medicare, and then it’s “I earned it, but I don’t really care if future generations will have access to it. Every generation has its own cross to bear!”
You were right to unfriend your friend . . . . Birds of a feather . . . .
Wake up, everyone. We are in full descent into 1984 and having our own Ministry of Truth. I can really envision a near future scenario where we have a government run media. If YOU don’t think that’s scary, we’ve basically lost our country and our democracy.
So Obama was a fascist when he denied certain channels from his presence???
Believe what you want.
I’m not the one who claims trumps action was fascist.
I claim Trump’s actions are fascist.
And you were wrong about the immigration order. You are wrong about the current topic.
But that’s okay.
Rudy,
I was not wrong about the Muslim ban. The courts agreed that it would not stand.
Keep supporting your fascist.
No, you are now creating fake news. You stated that the ban was both unconstitutional and illegal.
That was plain wrong.
The issues are its vagueness and its lack of clarity on expected actions.
NONE of the at least six judges who have spoken in this have called it unconstitutional or illegal.
That would have necessitated ONE SINGLE PAGE – rather than a 29 page document front the 9nth judicial.
The ban was rejected by both courts that reviewed it. If Drumpf had dared to take it to the Supreme Court, I predicted that he would have lost 8-0. He didn’t dare.
If you can’t see the difference between Obama’s treatment of the press & Trump’s there is no point in arguing about it. All presidents denied press access at times. But none with the intensity or ferocity as Trump.
The problem is not his denying press access.
His problem is his relationship with the press. And some if the time, he is right. The press does not do the best in checking facts.
Rudy,
Ok, but every other president suffered the imperfections of the press. As a tax paying citizen I want the press to have continued access despite their lack of perfection, because the alternative is worse.
Amen and of course. Access for the press, however, is a totally different concept than freedom of the press.
I wish the press had done their job starting Fall of 2015. But they have not. And now we have someone in the White House who had no business being there. But he is.
That gives a different route to get back to where it goes: The problem is with Trump because he handles the situation so bad that he painted himself into corner, leaving no other choice to bar media he doesn’t like. Typical behavior of fascist.
Was it fun? How much did you pay for Route B cruising?
A fascist would kill the journalists he dies not like.
And yes, it was a STUPID thing to do, at his own expense.
But if being stupid is equal to killing the first amendment, a lot if previous presidents have also killed the first amendment.
Too bad, your secret cheerleader is one step away to get there.
All you need to do is to prove it is NOT HIS FAULT. Or just let your ship get flooded with muddy water until it gets sunk into the drump lake.
There was NO USUAL PRESS BRIEFING TODAY SINCE TRUMP SPOKE AT CPAC. In Spicer’s words … he decided to let Trump speak for himself. Instead, Spicer invited about 20 journalists from the normal 75-100+ that attend regularly for a get together in his much smaller OFFICE!
I’m hoping people get sick of Donald Trump’s constant complaining and incessant need for attention.
It’s like being held hostage by a group of poorly-raised toddlers. They should grow up.
The Trump Administration pitches a tantrum every day. By June no one will listen to a word any of these people say and they’ll be begging CNN to cover them.
The need for attention is excessive. It doesn’t”t seem to matter that it is mostly negative.
Chiara,
Do you really think it’ll take till June?
What an admission of weakness!! They are afraid of bad press. Trump is afraid of the very thing he deplored, appearing weak. He needs to be artifficially prompted up by synchphants. He’s a paper tiger.
Sadly he’s bannon’s sock puppet!
What did the Trump Administration accomplish this week?
rolled back civil rights protections for certain, targeted school children
spent an entire work day delivering vitriolic and nasty speeches at a political convention in DC
pitched another fit about how CNN is mean to them
I didn’t vote for him but is this what all those people voted for? Does he ever work?
Did he ever work?
Another item to check off Masha Gessen’s list:
— he’s going to start banning one newspaper after the other from the White House
It appears he’s banning news sites that are reporting on his Russian business dealings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pro-trump-megadonor-is-part-owner-of-breitbart-news-empire-ceo-reveals/2017/02/24/9f16eea4-fad8-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html?tid=hybrid_collaborative_1_na&utm_term=.ae7c63a47a91
The Huffington Post was also denied entry. Both the Associated Press and Time magazine, which were allowed to enter, boycotted out of solidarity with those news organizations kept out.
……………..
Trump wants to be a dictator and can’t take criticism when it’s the truth. He doesn’t work. He spends his time talking to wealthy people, tweeting and watching TV news.
I can understand why 80% of the population is stressed out.
I just sent a message to CBS, NBC and ABC telling them that unless they boycott any live coverage of Trump or any of his surrogates and stand up for journalistic freedom .
I will boycott their network in entirety and urge others to do so.
So, how will this work? The mainstream media will boycott and the only media in the room will be those that are deferential to Trump? I think it was Maria Hinojosa who suggested that the mainstream networks should send their interns to news conferences. I’m not sure that the mainstream media removing themselves completely will be in our best interest.
The mainstream media has access to the feeds from the other news services. What it doesn’t have to do is give unfiltered live coverage .
To Trump or his surrogates.
Just announced that several other media outlets refused to cover and boycotted . The Wall Street Journal said they were not aware but would boycott in the future.
Don’t know how old you are but the endless round table panels that we see to fill a 24 hours news network, is not how news used to be covered. Full coverage of speeches were rare edited highlights from a pool camera did the trick . With this lying SCUMBAG (Maxine gave me permission or I would be taking LLoyd’s advice. ) it gives the fact checkers a chance to keep up.
Exactly Mamie…quite to the contrary of what my friend Joel just suggested, it imperative for the mainstream media to stay on top of everything Bannon/Trump says and does….and then keep reporting it all to the public. How else can we know what odious behaviors they will impose as law behind our backs, without a truly FREE press/media?
These two devils said what they would do at CPAC yesterday, and today they did it…they banned major media from the WH. LISTEN to them and BELIEVE them for they are doing all the things they have told us and the greater world they would do since this election cycle began.
Joel, if you want to protest then stop buying Koch Bros products, or revolt against the Palestinian/KKK/ BDS movement, and go to a campus near you and protect the students from their bigotry. But please do NOT urge the media to stop functioning.
In addition, I think it is actually better when Trump throws the mainstream media reporters out. It shows the dictator he aspires to be (or is already). I feel like if they leave on their own, he has already won. Plus, they should be there as much as they can to question him. In a White House that believes that the president should have unquestioned power, as Steven Miller said, they need all the questioning they can get!
I disagree. I think the entire WH press corps should refuse to attend press conferences until he stops banning those who don’t bow at his feet. Shame on those who show!
Which still does not kill the first amendment. Your claim, remember??
The First Amendment is not dead. It is certainly under attack. The Liar-in-chief is trying to destroy it. The courts won’t let him get away with it. Trump is either a fascist or a fool. Maybe both.
STILL not your claim, Diane. And it’s not even under attack! ALL media can show, say and write whatever it wants. EVERY journalist can rise against the president.
Had they started that in fall of ’15, your friend MAY have been in the White House.
Too bad the media didn’t reveal his ties to Putin earlier in the campaign
We would have a sane president instead of a nut and an international embarrassment
Ellen Lubic
I am not saying not to cover them I am saying not cover them live .
And certainly not to give air time to their surrogates . CNN elected him with endless free coverage and countless panel discussions,where credibility to the absurd was given just by giving a platform .
Scarborough rightfully decided as well as several other outfits, to not give Kelly Ann-con-job a platform to spew alternative facts. Same goes for the rest of the crew cut them off edit the clips to fact check their alternate reality . There are group NEWS FEEDS.
Your not going to get a gotcha moment from this crew. They spew lies in their sleep.
As for BDS the bigotry is not acceptable . Neither is the apartheid state that Netanyahu is turning Israel into.
Role the tapes back to when an anchor sat behind a desk and reported based on investigative journalism and get these clown shows off the air.
“Well, let’s look on the bright side. Now maybe those outlets will actually have to investigate to get their news, rather than just publish stenography straight from the horse’s mouth. Imagine that!”
Dienne got this one 100% .
Diane,
The media is there to get a scoop. They are not going to work together and band together on this. Trump will never stop banning those who don’t bow to him. Also, imagine if every media outlet DID band together and boycott his press conferences. Wouldn’t that make it EASIER for him to put in place a government run media that he could totally control? 🙂
You said it, Diane!
Is this Nazi Germany? North Korea?
Well, let’s look on the bright side. Now maybe those outlets will actually have to investigate to get their news, rather than just publish stenography straight from the horse’s mouth. Imagine that!
If the traditional media that still has access to the White House press conferences boycott’s them, I don’t think that will bother the malignant narcissist in the White House one bit and specially Bannon. This is exactly what Bannon wants.
They will just replace the censored media with Alt-Right alleged news outlets that report alternative news using alternate facts that the Trump White House wants his followers/voters to hear.
It’s obvious that Littlefingers includes the free press, the traditional media, in the swamp he wants to drain.
Good point! All Tweedlefingers needs is his account
Who on the Democratic side will yell “You lie” when Trump opens his mouth before the joint session of Congress? I hope more than a few Dems are ready to take a stand for democracy and to call out this emperor without clothes. By the way, when Joe Wilson opened his stupid mouth and rudely interrupted a real President, most Republicans said nothing and donations to Joe Wilson came flooding in, so I say this idea is a win-win for any Dems ready to publicly denounce this dangerous fool we have in the White House. When they go low I’m afraid we have to go low too.
Looking at the statistics means that approximately half of the country believes this treacherous clown or that they don’t have an opinion. How much destruction will occur before people wake up?
…………
You’ll Never Believe What Happened at CPAC: Trump Attacked the Media and Lied a Bunch
By Osita Nwanevu
NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—On Friday morning, the attendees of CPAC were finally treated to the oratorical gifts of the man White House chief strategist Steve Bannon called straight-facedly the greatest rally speaker “since William Jennings Bryan.”* President Donald Trump began inauspiciously, as he often does, with an attack on the media….
According to a Public Policy Polling survey released on Friday, 53 percent of voters disagree with Trump that the critical mainstream press are enemies; 48 percent of voters see Trump as a greater threat than the media.
The mendacities of Trump’s speech, like his sentences themselves, ran on and into each other. He claimed Friday that Obamacare covers “very few people.” It expanded coverage by an estimated 20 million people. He said he had been endorsed by the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the campaign. He was not. He said that the Keystone XL pipeline would likely create around 42,000 jobs. A month ago, while signing an executive order greenlighting Keystone, he claimed it would create 28,000. Keystone will create 50 permanent jobs by the end of its construction; no more than 16,000 people will be employed in building it, many of them only for a few months.
Ludicrously and predictably, Trump additionally claimed that supporters had lined up for six blocks outside the Gaylord Convention Center to try to get into the speech…
I know this might sound a bit wrong…but does it really matter, if they ban the press, it’s not like Spicer was going to tell anyone the truth, anyway.
We need to know the lies that this President and his staff are telling. How can we fight something that isn’t known? At least now a weary stressed public is informed and hopefully, the Republicans will get tired of this nonsense. Will they ever get a backbone and stand up to him?
The press is getting what they created. They have given this Horrible man coverage since the primaries. They did it to sell their networks and papers. What did they get back from him. A kick in the butt. He is a terrible person.
Everyone should boycott him. The cry should be freedom of the press.
The press gave Trump coverage at least in part at the behest of the Hillary campaign as part of their “Pied Piper Strategy” in order to force the Republicans further into far right lala land. How’d that work for them?
http://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/the-hillary-clinton-campaign-intentionally-created-donald-trump-with-its-pied-piper-strategy/
Dienne,
I have the sense that you would plunge a knife into Hillary’s heart if you could.
They were a heck more successful than they aimed for!
Maybe its just me
Does anybody remember when news looked like this. It still should .
When you read the NY Times or the Washington post how did they ever cover news without a 15 minute segment with the mister of alternate facts Baghdad Sean or Tokyo Kelly Conjob and the rest of the ministry of disinformation.
Minister of wouldn’t be me with out the edit.
This is more serious than it appears when looking at the big pic in all Trump has been doing and understanding this concept of combatting specific stories, like the Russian connections, by banning CNN and the NY Times and calling them all fake news and the enemy of the people. This is utterly unprecedented in the US and insanely dangerous.
And Breitbart? Breitbart??? Are you kidding? We may have had our issues with the NY Times and MSMM, but having the guy from Breitbart orchestrating all of this??? Breitbart is practically actual fake news (not sure how many oxymorons I got in there), it’s a crap tabloid.
I agree. Sorry if this is a conspiracy theory, but….I think it’s part of a bigger plan to convince everyone by constant repetition that the media is dishonest, the enemy, etc. so that eventually people will look to a government rum media to get their news. Those media outlets that cater to him will continue to do so but there will be one central media run by the government. It’s the only thing that can happen if ALL media is not to be trusted. If every media outlet gives fake news, only a government run media can give the truth.
All of Trump’s baloney about fake news is meant to distract the public attention from the investigation–or non-investigation–of collusion between Trump’s campaign (Paul Manafort, carter Page, Roger Stone, Mike Flynn) and Russian agents.
Mike Lofgren puts it all together He is usually spot on .
http://www.mikelofgren.net/mobbed-up/
Joel, Diane, and Company, I missed much of this discussion until I got home from school last night. Then I was just too tired to type a single letter. It was a grueling week despite the fact that we had “Presidents Day” off on Monday. (I remember when I was a kid we had Lincoln’s birthday off from school then a whole separate day for Washington, soon after. They were two leaders who deserved to be honored. It’s sort of funny we have this generic holiday now. I guess at least theoretically we “celebrate” all 45, including Buchanan, Harding, and now Trump. Anyone for a discount mattress? How about a government that’s for sale?) All week long the rancid stench of Donald Trump’s odious presidency hung over and around me like a litter box mess that I just couldn’t clean up. It’s like having a puke inducing stomach virus that wears you down at every step. Meanwhile, you pass by people who are oh-so-happy about President Trump. Or, maybe even worse, those fellow citizens who have just given up and resigned themselves to this ongoing debacle being “business as usual”. The Stepford Citizens? Our very own Invasion of the Body Snatchers?
I’m not usually a believer in conspiracy theories, Joel. That would take too much work and people would actually have to cooperate with one another. Yeah, sometimes there is a plan. It is organized. But I think random, individual, human stupidity coupled with the usual greed, pettiness and self-delusion along with prejudice and just plain evil go a long, long way to explaining much of the man-made disasters and whole scale human misery recorded in history books. (Some like to call that “the invisible hand”.) But Mike Lofgren’s writing is an eye-opener here on a Saturday morning. It does make me think. And, it’s scary. Thanks for the recommendation. And, to all of you on this blog who are working to oppose this madness, thanks for carrying on the good fight.
Now I’m going to go grade quizzes about democracy and dictatorship.
John Ogozalek
Mike Lofgren called this election in 2011 . When he retired from 25 years as a Senate Republican staffer . His description of where the Republican Party was heading and his critique of the Democrats in “Goodbye To All That ” was like having a crystal ball . He is usually
spot on in his analyses.
I am with you, Roosevelt knew an attack was possible but not coming till too late . Oswald shot Kennedy alone (I think) . We landed on the moon , and 9/11 nor Sandy Hook were false flag operations.
In this case all Lofgren does is connect all the dots and add a dose of logic (his strong suit) . Criminal intent is not necessary to convict someone of a criminal action . Those surrounding Trump do not have to believe their actions were criminal nor treasonous for that to be the case. In this case personal profit may loom large, giving ample evidence of criminal intent whether he expected to win or not.
Thanks again , Joel, and for responding. I will try to read more from Mike Lofgren -but no right before going to bed. I have enough nightmares as it is. These past few months have been a living nightmare.
This is good. Keep it up Dump, the world is looking at you .. just what you want. Continue your charade of madness. May KARMA sit at your feet. You are not redeemable.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Journal editors said the paper was unaware that other outlets were being excluded from the session.
“’The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House’s decision to bar certain media outlets from today’s gaggle. Had we known at the time, we would not have participated and we will not participate in such restricted briefings in the future,’ said a statement from Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal.”
Particularly impressive because the WSJ isn’t exactly known for liberal/progressive leanings. They’re standing for the higher ethical principle; hopefully other news organizations will follow suit in the interest of the common good. It would make a real statement if the next briefing was attended by only Fox & Breitbart.
To Rudy Schellekens:
This is exactly what you express:
[start your quote]
February 24, 2017 at 9:50 pm
Amen and of course. Access for the press, however, is a totally different concept than freedom of the press.
I wish the press had done their job starting Fall of 2015. But they have not. And now we have someone in the White House who had no business being there. But he is.
[end your quote]
I hope that you agree with Dr. Ravitch’s viewpoint regarding Trump’s character, because your above expression/wish indicates so.
OTOH, you should know that Sean Spicer and Donald Trump will reveal their mistakes whenever they speak the same topic on different day or even at the same time. Trump is famous for his repeating certain idea which maybe bad or conflicting to his chief strategist’s “alternative” idea/fact.
Most of all, you should know that all other news outlets cannot write whatever they did not truly hear from Sean in order to compare and contrast whatever from Trump on the same topic at different White House Press conference.
Trump and his cabinet (Fascists or Communists) do not need to kill journalists physically, BUT they simply label journalists as makers of “faked” news. This is enough to kill the living and the career of all journalists in the public eyes. Back2basic
How many more times do I need to state what I have been stating the first time he spoke as a candidate?
How many more times do I need to state that the man has no business being president?
How many more times do I need to state that I am ashamed of being a republican?
My issue is: don’t make up facts! Call things what they are. Banning SOME media outlets does not equate killing the first amendment.
overstating things like this makes for a major loss of credibility.
“Banning SOME media outlets does not equate killing the first amendment.”
“Killing” doesn’t have to refer to a full frontal assault. Another method of killing is slow poisoning.
The more I watch this slow motion train wreck, the more I am concluding that the ultimate endgame of this tsunami of disorder is the imposition of a “new order” that benefits the rich and squelches protest from “the elites”. https://waynegersen.com/2017/02/25/trumplandia-when-facts-are-immaterial-easy-answers-to-complicated-problems-are-unchallenged/
Objectivity is in the eyes of the beholder!! A reporter on the scene of a riot reports what he or she sees or hears, which is not necessarily what actually happens. Science researchers who are trained to be objective still have to interpret their findings. Opinion polls are not 100% accurate even though we look at the results as if they are. BUT-I would rather read the NY Times or Washington Post over most of these internet blogs, masquerading as news outlets (including Breitbart and Fox). When I read these established and well-regarded newspapers, I see the names of a real reporters above the story and real news organizations that will be held accountable if an error is made. Dictators don’t usually become dictators over night (although some do when military coups take place). They often become dictators incrementally, which is what we are seeing with Trump/Bannon. They are slowly attempting to erode the power of the one vitally important institution that lets citizens know what the elected officials are doing. First, disliked news organizations are barred from briefings. How long will it take before Trump tries to incarcerate reporters if they dare to publish leaked documents (the leakers maybe should be punished but that is a tricky question)? The UK is currently considering just such legislation. How long after would he want to shut down news organizations that are critical of him. We are living in very troubling political times. We have an ignorant and dangerous president. We must support freedom of the press. All news outlets should boycott these briefings until all are allowed to attend.
I love this creative protest at the conservative CPAC conference.
……………..
CPAC Had to Scramble to Control Damage After Attendees Waved Russian Flags During Trump Speech
In addition to the attendees waving Russian flags, journalist Sarah Posner reports at least one attendee was spotted wearing a “Make Russia Great Again” t-shirt.
By Brad Reed
February 24, 2017
Staffers at CPAC quickly scrambled to confiscate Russian flags with the word “TRUMP” written on the front that were being waved by attendees during President Donald Trump’s speech on Friday.
The trouble began when some attendees took out pro-Trump flags to wave during the president’s speech that also happened to have the same white-blue-and-red striped pattern as Russia’s official flag.
Reporter Peter Hamby notes that CPAC staffers quickly realized that its attendees were waving Russian flags, and moved to confiscate them….
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/cpac-had-scramble-control-damage-after-attendees-waved-russian-flags-during-trump#.WLGXqBEyuiY.gmail
ABC News story from October 3, 2008:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6156794&page=1
It was nearing the end of Obama’s 2008 campaign. I expect, although the story doesn’t say this, that more organizations wanted to cover him in the remaining days before the election. This was Obama’s campaign plane, paid for my his organization at that time.
“Eliminated from the plane’s traveling press were the Washington Times, the New York Post and the Dallas Morning News.”
“Mong [editor of the Dallas Morning News] said he had no evidence that his reporter had been ejected given the paper’s editorial decision. A Morning News reporter, he said, was ejected from the campaign plane of John McCain, Obama’s Republican rival, earlier in the week, but had recently gotten it back.”
“The Obama campaign said the decision was not based on the way Obama had been covered and pointed out that both the Wall Street Journal and Fox News, which have been critical of Obama, had retained their seats.”
“The campaign said it needed to make room for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, but reportedly Jet and Ebony magazines have seats as well.”
“Journalists have complained in the past that campaigns kicked them off the planes as retribution for their coverage.
“In 2004, The New York Times said it was not given a seat on Air Force 2 when Vice President Dick Cheney was stumping with President Bush, because the vice president was displeased with the paper’s coverage of him.”
So, to summarize, reporters from three papers were kicked off Obama’s plane and reporters from at least two other papers were added, two of whom happened to be from Obama’s home town. Reporters from other news organization have been kicked off planes of both Democratic and Republican campaigners. News organizations are free to send their reporters on other planes to wherever the candidate is going. Reporters from one news organization have been kicked off a Republican President’s plane.
To compare what Obama did on a plane he was paying for himself, to what the current sitting President is doing is a false equivalence.
Getting a press seat on the airplane of the President or the VP or a presidential candidate is not the same as getting admitted to a press briefing in the White House.
An airplane has a limited number of seats. Choices must and will be made.
The WH press room where Spicer held his briefing had more empty seats than occupied ones.
Right, it’s not the same thing at all, in spite of what Rudy claims above.
How about if both Presidential candidates and Presidents stopped carrying members of the press on their planes. In fact, why are we taxpayers paying to fly journalists on Air Force One?
Why can’t the news organizations pay to fly their reporters on regular flights if they wish to cover candidates and Presidents? Then there’s no appearance of favoritism.
I hadn’t heard about Trump’s refusal to give disaster aid because the state had voted against him. How horrible can this man get? Every day brings a new disaster.
…………………
It’s Happening—News Groups Are Being Barred From White House Press Briefings
KEVIN DRUMFEB. 24, 2017 2:54 PM Mother Jones
…A few days ago, there was some talk about whether Trump would slow-walk federal disaster relief for the Oroville Dam area. As it turned out, he didn’t, but the possibility was taken seriously for a while.
This is what makes the Trump presidency so unpredictable. No modern president would even think of taking revenge on a state that voted against him by refusing disaster aid. No modern president would dream of evicting news outlets from a press briefing because they had criticized him. No modern president would lie about easily checkable facts on a routine basis. No modern president would loudly cite every positive bit of economic news as a personal triumph. No modern president since Nixon would casually ask the FBI to take its side in an ongoing investigation.
It’s not that modern presidents couldn’t do these things. They just didn’t. And we all came to assume that none of them would….
If the malignant narcissist in the White House goes by voting results based on each county, instead of each state, then Butte County, where the dam is located, voted for him 46.54-percent to 41.85-percent for Hillary Clinton.
Oroville, California is in Butte County
There were a few rural areas in California where the majority voted for Trump/Pence.
We will have to wait and see what happens when a disaster hits a county that voted against the malignant narcissist and his running mate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oroville,_California
https://clerk-recorder.buttecounty.net/elections/archives/eln35/35_official_results.html
Here’s a list of the election results in California by county. If you look at the red and blue map of California, you will see that Trump did take some parts of the state’s most rural areas.
http://www.politico.com/2016-election/results/map/president/california/