Fucking Worthless, Gaslighting Media...my fucking God NO!

[maxrandb]

It's not "one side claims the use of the White House as a political prop is illegal"

IT FUCKING IS ILLEGAL!!

Do you fucking look at armed fucking robbery and say; "some say this is illegal".

This isn't fucking hard! The fucking statutes are right fucking there...in black and white.

Look, I was a collateral duty Legal Officer for a time in the Navy. I went to just a 3 week course on the UCMJ and Military Justice.

I could easily find and prove the elements required to bring fucking charges in this clear violation of law

And that's exactly what it is.

It's not "critics say it's a violation of law"

It's not "been suggested by some that it's a violation of law"

It's not "what could be a violation of law"

It's not "open to interpretation".

IT'S - A - CLEAR - VIOLATION - OF - LAW!!!

If we are really in a fucking place where our media can't read the United States Code, or where the law is simply what someone says it is, we're fucked beyond recognition.

[dalton99a]

1. Indeed.

[NCjack]

30. We are witnessing galloping fascism.

[DENVERPOPS]

63. They aren't even waiting

for the election!!!!!!!!!!

Corporate Fascist Tyranny.........

[MineralMan]

2. Exactly!

[CanonRay]

3. As I said to a friend, once you've committed treason and gotten away with it

all else pales...

[Rebl2]

12. You are so right!!!

[SheltieLover]

32. Yup

[Cha]

4. KICK for your Righteous Rant, max.. I hate the US lazy ass

incompetent "media".. & I haven't watched them since Nov 2002.

I just know they're exponentially worse now from reading what they're doing on DU.

[wiggs]

5. Yes. When we talk about how this disaster happened in the first place, can't forget

the role of the media. Also...not an accident, oversight, mistake. The result of media consolidation, news for profit, news that benefits parent organization agendas, commodification of information, marketing science, greed, think tank grand schemes.

[overleft]

17. I have said this before, and I say it again. The msm is owned by people who support tRump.

[RVN VET71]

26. Possibly, but they think they own Trump

That is how pathetically stupid are the media moguls. They think Trump is beholden to them when, should he prevail in November, they will be squeezed harder and harder until there's nothing left of real journalism in any of them, only Trump-cult propaganda.

Here's the scenario, should Trump manage to stay in office in November (notice I didn't say "should Trump win the election): The Q-Anon conspiracy people will be disappeared, the bearded militia whackos will be imprisoned and their leaders executed, all traces of opposition to corporate rule will be erased, and Trump, of course, will be the C.E.O. of everything.

You mistakenly supported the Democrats? Here's a form for you to sign declaring your errors and promising loyalty thenceforth to the man in the White House. You'll still be subject to imprisonment without warning or charge, but if you refuse to sign, well, the Corporate State has ways of dealing with you terminally. The military, you say, would prevent this? Well, perhaps, but most of the upper leadership will be "handled" early on, and fascist officers and enlisted personnel promoted to positions of power, and there goes that avenue of salvation. Since the left doesn't own nearly enough guns, the hard-core militias will take to the streets heaping carnage on the urban centers while the "law enforcement services" stand aside -- or join in. After the smoke clears and the blood stops flowing, the militias will no longer be of use and it is then that the militias -- including the Hawaiian shirted butthole boogaloos -- will be destroyed by the now blindly loyal military because they will no longer be useful to the corporate chief. Etc., etc., etc.

The above, until recently, would have been the scenario for a cheap "it can happen here" TV movie. Now it's just the news on the horizon.

[DENVERPOPS]

34. RVN, most people in the U.S. that are

reading your commentary are probably thinking BS, crazy talk, fanatic ranting, blah blah blah......

For forty years, the American citizens have buried their heads in the sand while all this shit was coming down...slowly at first with Reagan then reaching light speed under the RepubliCON village idiot Trump. The voters don't even bother to think anymore, especially critically.

If there is any consolation it would be that Trump and the RepubliCONs are going to fuck their followers every bit as much as us....

As James Carville laughingly said on TV the night of the 2016 election........"These people are gonna learn that their voting has consequences"

The RepubliCONs are one millimeter away from installing their Corporate Fascist Tyranny.

They will stop at nothing, and I mean nothing, to install Trump again. Period. If people think it is getting crazy now, just wait, we have two months to go and the RepubliCons will be pulling all stops. They are already steam-rolling the constitution and the Rule of Law, what will they do next????????

Katie Bar The Door !!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of great movie titles, how about: WHILE THE NATION SLEPT

[RVN VET71]

64. I pray that these same people turn out to be right.

I'd love to be able to enjoy my final years beginning in November with hope for my grown kids and my 2.5 year old grandson. I'd love to be able to say "Whew, that was close but I underestimated the power of the American people to set right the ship of state." Really, I'm praying for it. But I'm very concerned. I sense wheels spinning that the MSM is either blind to or is just ignoring.

Possibly a super-massive voter turn out will drive the traitors, the greedy, dishonorable, cowardly bastards out of government. But it's so f*cking clear the Trump and associates have already given up hope of winning the vote and are planning other means to stay in power. And that's the slant: about all previous presidents I would have used the phrase "stay in office," but Trump is not interested in the piddly trappings of the presidency. He wants the power of the presidency, but he has grander, gaudier visions of what those "trappings" should be.

Trevor Noah likened Trump -- early on in the administration, as an African dictator. That is exactly the picture in Trump's mind and all he needs to achieve it -- the unlimited power, the women for his sons, succession for Donald jr. or Ivanka, trillions of dollars with which to lord it over the measly billionaires who snub him, military parades, public executions.

[Kaiserguy]

41. The German Industrialists

thought they owned Hitler and we all know how that worked out!!

[Mike 03]

6. Disgraceful!

There's this fantasy notion that "Trump sells" and maybe four more years of this f*&^ing disaster might not be so bad for
Cable news and print journalism, but it's just that--a fantasy. It's NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

[Moostache]

7. You are 100% correct...

We ARE fucked beyond all recognition.

There is no more "rule of law" - that has been obvious since Impeachment sham was concluded.
There are no checks and balances between the branches of government any longer either. The Senate has abdicated the legislative branch AND the judiciary to Trump, courtesy of one turtle from Kentucky.

The current state of the government of the United States is worthless. Without a complete wipeout of the GOP at the polls AND very bold, very urgent action by a united Democratic tsunami immediately, this country is a cautionary tale to future experiments in self-rule.

To future generations, I have a few suggestions for the next effort (if or when that comes) at self-rule:

1) ALL people means ALL people and no one is either a fractional human or illegal.
2) Voting is a civic DUTY and sacred RIGHT - participation should be mandated via an enforced Nation-wide shut down for election day and expanded access to the ballot via technology built by Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon - FOR FREE - as a corporate responsibility to the nation that they have used to generate fortunes that shame the Pharaohs of Egypt, Tsars of Russia or Emperors of China COMBIMED.
3) ANYONE representing the people or advocating for causes before the Congress of the people (lobbyists and donors especially) must be subject to mandatory financial audits and transparency before standing for election (before being eligible to be on a ballot), during their terms (absolutely no exceptions, no documentation? no seat in government, period!) and after they leave office (a period of 20 years or life - which ever occurs first, under the same financial disclosure requirements). Violation of these sacred trusts is subject to mandatory imprisonment and may be added to the definition of treason in extreme cases and result in the death penalty being sought for anyone selling out the country's interest in favor of their own.

Term limits, universal child care and health care, infectious disease control and research for all mankind's benefit, energy research and development to utilize resources responsibly and to develop climate-neutral or beneficial impacts, tuition-free access to education as far as one's abilities and drive can take them are also much needed roles for government too, but lets start with cleaning up the front door before we get to the rest of the house...

[rwsanders]

19. Might I add...

Corporations are NOT people
Money is NOT speech

[Moostache]

21. Great points! (n/t)

[Cozmo]

24. What I want to know is when MSM going to ask trump where his promised healthcare plan is

[DENVERPOPS]

35. Good luck with that Coz

80+% of all media in the United States is owned by RepubliCONs.

[Newest Reality]

8. What is the most important thing for corporate media, et al?

[BSdetect]

9. Its fascist tactics to distract and inflict a feeling of weakness with brazen overriding of laws

multiple times

[Solomon]

10. K&R

[Arkansas Granny]

11. K & R

[procon]

13. The media mavens are afraid of alienating some

VIP and being denied access to future interviews so they settle for that wishy-washy verbiage that says nothing useful to the viewers.

They should stick to the provable facts and hard truths to inform and educate the public. If they feel the need to soothe some ruffled feathers then add some weasel words that this party, group or person objects to the truth.

[calimary]

37. All these complaints are legitimate - but THIS one in particular might be first.

I used to fume about the whoring for "access" during bush/cheney. MAN-OH-MAN did the cheney people muscle that one in, deep. You did not get "access" with the administration folks who counted, unless you gave them the constant benefit of the doubt. dubya even yowled about it once, as I recall. "Well, just gimme the benefit of the doubt!"

I used to tear my hair about the "anything for access" mentality - to do what? Hear more of the same lies, distortions, and manipulative bullshit you heard last time one of 'em went on TV?

I kept fuming - "okay, so you piss off the White House because you tell the truth? That's a bad thing? Telling the truth is a bad thing now?" Or maybe "not expedient" or "we HAVE TO compete! If we take a stand, nobody will talk to us and they'll just go on our competition all the time!"

To which I'd growl - "so you're too lazy to develop interesting/relevant/provocative sources? You know nobody in poly-sci circles? International policy/diplomacy circles? Nobody who's experienced or a recognized constitutional expert, historian, respected authors or academics? How 'bout FORMER government officials who still remember how it was done right/ethically/legally? You can't start NOW, to cultivate new people as talking heads? Rachel Maddow's done that multiple times. She brought Joyce Vance in. Chuck Rosenberg. Barbara McQuade. They and others have become familiar names on-camera, showcased in marquee-name editorials and commentaries in the NYTimes and Washington Post. And thus they become noteworthy (or more noteworthy) by this exposure. Heck, I went through a Google search, and saw a four-way split-screen shot of Vance AND McQuade both testifying in Congress before the House Judiciary Committee looking into "presidential obstruction." One of the other four in the blocks was famed Watergate penitent and now media gadfly John Dean. These folks have stature of their own. And credibility. Name-recognition. Audience familiarity. They're now quite well-established as experts in their field, and most of 'em have highly-respectable resumes. I wouldn't even be surprised if one of them eventually got a show of his/her own maybe on Saturday mornings or something. They're already semi-regulars on other MSNBC shows by now.

Shit, THAT'S how you do it. Counter-programming! Grow, cultivate, develop YOUR OWN experts and VIPs and reliable sources! Showcase them! Make THEM into household names! Who needs those other assholes who won't talk to you and are trying to boycott you and thereby decrease your relevance. Fuck 'em! They're blocking the road? Find another road! Or get a catapult. Or a boat. Or one of those personal flying machines. Or a BIG megaphone and a stage with a lot of glitter and lights and metallic streamers and other eye/camera catching elements and fireworks in the background, right at the edge of their boycott. Or SOMETHING!

DON'T CEDE THE STAGE!!! If you can't use the one they're hogging, FOR PETE'S SAKE, build one of your own that competes and make sure it generates lots of stuff that's splashy and attention-getting - audio AND visual! ESPECIALLY visual.

[LiberalLovinLug]

49. +1000

[meadowlander]

62. They're afraid of being sued if they're wrong or even if it's just slightly ambiguous.

It's likely the lawyers telling them to water down or qualify every statement of fact until it become meaningless.

Then it just becomes habitual.

I think it's a combination of laziness and risk-averseness.

[The_Counsel]

14. BLIZZAM!

And, thank you for the clarity that we all should already have on this issue.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

15. I'm sure they have been threatened with being denied access if

They don’t “be fair” in their reporting.

[gademocrat7]

16. You are absolutely correct.

[ananda]

18. There is no rule of law in this country.

The only "rule" is power, and the Reeps have it
right now.

[Dios Mio]

20. They must be in a CYA mode.

Maybe too lazy to do research.

[Wednesdays]

22. Please name names!

Who said that, and on what networks?

We can collectively do something about it, if we know where to direct our efforts. Otherwise, we're screaming into the wind.

[gratuitous]

23. This reminds me of playing one-on-one as a kid

Playing against my older, bigger brother, every now and then he would pick up his dribble, and I'd have him well defended so he couldn't get off a decent shot. He'd call "time out," and if I got fooled and relaxed, he'd make his move while shouting "time back in" and get his shot off. This is what I think of when I hear the media giving outright criminality the "la dee dah" treatment, because they've allowed so many elephantine crimes to go by that straining at some Hatch Act violation gnats is just not going to happen. Oh, Mr. First-in-his-class Secretary of State Mike Pompeo isn't supposed to use his office for political acts? Time out! He's talking as a private citizen who just happens to be the Secretary of State. Once the blatant partisan talk is over, time back in!

[IronLionZion]

25. As if they don't have legal experts on retainer to check this

the media is complicit in propping up Trump for ratings

[pwb]

27. Everything is a question now.

?

[Takket]

28. Just wait until Joe Biden jaywalkes. They won't have any problem saying he broke the law

[zaj]

29. They need to say "prosecutable after Trump leaves office"...

... if the want to be cautious..

[Thekaspervote]

31. DO NOT watch!! If you want to change the the narrative we have to tank their viewer numbers

[Galraedia]

33. This is exactly what I have been saying

It is 100% ILLEGAL to use taxpayer funded government property for a political event. PERIOD. It doesn't matter if it's by a Democrat or Republican, it's still illegal.

[Vinca]

36. Nothing will happen to them. Mob lawyer Barr will see to that.

[live love laugh]

38. The Republican-owned media is just protecting their interests.

Who can blame them?

[panader0]

39. Great post Max. You should send this to a few good reporters.

Send it to Rachel, send it to Lawrence.
It is definitely a clear violation of law.
It's beyond my understanding why some people fear trump so much.
What's he going to do, make a mean tweet? He is an ass and not a tough guy.

[malaise]

40. I had the identical thought

Rec

[Blue Owl]

42. Thanks for allowing it to go unchallenged, M$M

[pandr32]

43. Agreed 100%

[MFGsunny]

44. This! an effing 1,000,000 times THIS. Not enough to have repukes do it? n/t n/t

[dreamland]

45. But who's going to hold them to it?

They claim to be the "Law and Order" party. They set the laws and give our the orders. No wonder they aren't being charged with crimes. We need a strong man to set them straight and lock them up

[Texin]

46. I feel this only ends with his suicide in a bunker or Armageddon. And maybe both.

[chowder66]

48. Who was saying this? We should email whatever network this was on.

[maxrandb]

56. We'd have to contact just about everyone in the media

What I've posted has been said all over MSNBC and CNN and in News Stories across the country

"Critics contend this is a violation of law"

"Some on the left say this could violate federal law"

"In what some believe is a violation of law, the White House..."

It would be nice if the media would actually read the US Code, tick off the elements required to establish a violation of the law... and report that

Yes, this is/was a violation of the law

NOT - Might have been

NOT - Some say

NOT - Could be

[chowder66]

57. Ok.Thanks!

[Oscarthegreat]

50. They created DT

Donald Trump is a creation of the main stream corporate media. They created the monster. He entered the 2016 race mostly as a joke, craving publicity, hoping it would land him another lucrative reality show gig. His carnival act brought so much viewership and advertisement revenue to the MSM that their corporate masters, despite not believing he could win, were determind make it a real battle and extend the public's attention span in order to capitalize on the public's fascination with Trump, a 'let's watch this freak show' type fascination.

An important part of that corporate strategy was to encourage MSM scrutiny of any real or imagined Clinton misstep. We all remember the MSM latching on to Hillary's email server nonsense and "Benghazi" ad naueseam, while ignoring Trump's multiple business failures, his sleazy business practices, his many scams and cons, his multiple sexual abuses allegations, his messy divorces and numerous NDAs.

The outcome is an American tragedy, but the MSM is now repeating their immoral conduct from four years ago because of greed. You don't hear a word now about the GOP controlled senate report on how Trump actually collaborated with the Russians to corrupt the 2016 elections while lying about it to the Mueller investigation. This is not sexy enough and will not bring in huge revenues.

[marieo1]

51. violating our laws

I wish this could be spread far and wide over all the media, world wide, TV, newspapers, internet. It is disgusting and dangerous!

[titanicdave]

52. ......Spot On....

.....It is totally Illegal, no doubt about it.....

[Ferrets are Cool]

53. I agree with you 100%, however, even if EVERY media outlet screamed that this is illegal

and screamed it for the next 30 days 24 hours a day, it would not stop this criminal organization.

It seems that nothing can stop them but an honest election on November 3rd.

[tazmaniac]

54. I need more than one rec for this!!! Perhaps 1,000,000 recs!!

[seta1950]

55. Perfectly said

It irritates me so royally when the media all the media keeps making excuses for this man😤

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

58. Thank you!

One fucking hundred percent fucking true!

[augyboston]

59. No shades of gray here!

It's black and white, no shades of gray here.

tRump, his administration (cronies) and the RNC are all clearly breaking the law and this should be stated over and over and over again until the majority of the populace know that these people are criminals.

The freaking main stream media has two sets of rules: One for the tRump crime family and the crooks of the Republican Party and the other for everyone else! ENOUGH!!!

[SayItLoud]

60. The media showing a crime in progress is really REALLY fucking bad! NT

[AllaN01Bear]

61. pox on most comerical media (liberal media , my tush.)

[Scruffy1]

65. Thsi is why I don't watch MSM. n/t.

[electric_blue68]

66. My local Public Radio WNYC does an excellent job!

[ffr]

67. The RW media must have Karl Rove's dictionary playbook.

I cannot help notice all of the weirdly skewed wording in political stories. I won't even repeat the printed drivel. It's so pro-rePutican it's unmistakable.

The horse race stage of media coverage must be going into full swing.

I miss the days when news was news and wasn't considered entertainment.