18 thoughts on “Trump, JFK, and America’s free press”
Putting words from JFK in the same place as a photo of the orange murderer, flanked by his truly evil cohorts, is underscoring what America has become.
If only we could have another president like JFK–smart, passionate about democracy and not afraid of criticism. What a startling difference from the current one.
Yes, he’s like an evil magician. Each outrage distracts from the previous one. I believe that what keeps his MAGA crowd loyal is his ability to project self-assurance, no matter how outrageous the assertion or the act. Magicians all do this to fool the credulous.
He’s trying desperately to distract from the original outrage, the Epstein files. His supporters all have their reasons. Some covet powerful positions. Others, the money and or favor from being close to the president. And the unwashed MAGA masses … who’s to say.
Thank you so much for posting this, an excellent reminder of what responsible leadership looks like. Tonight the news continues to cover the ongoing efforts to ban the press, and the newly released propaganda commercials (paid by my taxes!!) that are illegal, outrageous and divisive. It is like this man has no low.
I turned off the sound as soon as I saw his face, and then I saw that my taxes paid for it! Later some BS about it being a public service announcement or something. I read the Kennedy speech and was reassured that yes, there are and have been good people, good leaders, in this country. Principled, intelligent, thoughtful people who can run our government the way you and I and the rest of the world expect … if we survive the current administration.
Yesterday he suggested that the loss of San Diego, my hometown, would be a small price to pay… for what? Has he ever clearly articulated the reason for the war with Iran? Have there been any clear objectives or definitive victory declarations? I think that the whole war is about an attempt to grab Iran’s oil (for personal profit) and it didn’t go the way he expected. I am appalled with the way he keeps suggesting nuclear war as he insists that he is saving the world from an Iran with nuclear weapons. As each day I think that our chances of surviving go down…
I’m inclined to believe he started the war at the suggestion of Netanyahu, because he so desperately wants to be considered a strong man like Putin. But he was stupid enough to get played by Netanyahu. He’s done nothing to keep Iran from having nukes because the Iranians moved everything to a safe place under Pickaxe Mountain. As a “bonus,” the Iranians realized they could create chaos simply by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile American soldiers have died, Iranian civilians have died, and the US committed a war crime by bombing a school and killing ~150 children. (I don’t know if it being a mistake changes that.)
I think Trump is an increasingly senile, corrupt, malevolent narcissist. I think his “weave” is the result of dementia. He has no real understanding of nukes (remember when he suggested we break up hurricanes using nukes?).
I’ll stop now, before I ruin what’s left of my day.
I agree that he was probably heavily influenced by Netanyahy, but I also think that he is motivated by naked greed. He thought that he could grab the oil, and when Iran insisted on reparations, and said that they were going to charge ships moving through the Strait, he immediately said that we were going to take over the Strait and charge.
He is pretty much out of control. I agree with your assessment about his casual attitude towards nuclear weapons, threatening to wipe out a civilization repeatedly in posts. I can’t believe that people just roll with this now; it is completely unacceptable.
I’m praying urgently not for a Blue Wave but a Blue Tsunami
johnthecook…President Trump is NOT the first President to ban certain named Whitehouse Press Pool reporters and the News Agencies they represent from the White House Press Room. I do believe that President Obama and President Bush did it first, much to the outrage of the Republican Party. Now President Trump has done the same thing, much to the outrage of the Democratic Party, and rightly so! Why it took a Court order to overturn that ban, is an excellent example of what is wrong with our government. Both of the Political Parties search and search our Constitution and laws to find loopholes and use them to exploit their political agenda. All of them are scoundrels, some just more than others!
Obama banned one specific Fox News reporter from the White House for a short time. The Bushes maintained tight controls but did not ban entire news organizations from the White House. (They did ban press coverage from the return of flag-draped caskets from war.) None of those three presidents banned an entire news organization from the White House, much less three as Trump did. It took a court order to overturn Trump’s bans because only the courts have the constitutional power to overrule the president. That’s the way the balance of powers is supposed to work.
Putting words from JFK in the same place as a photo of the orange murderer, flanked by his truly evil cohorts, is underscoring what America has become.
The hope was to contrast the Trump administration with what we were and can be again.
If only we could have another president like JFK–smart, passionate about democracy and not afraid of criticism. What a startling difference from the current one.
I can’t think of a president in my lifetime who was more unlike Trump. Trump is, I hope, an aberration we never ever repeat.
i really miss him
Me too. Now more than ever.
Throughout our history the First Amendment has always been as JFK said, sacrosanct. What a slippery slope we are on now! These are Orwellian times.
Indeed they are. Nothing is sacrosanct to this president. I wake each day expecting to see some new outrage. I am rarely disappointed.
Yes, he’s like an evil magician. Each outrage distracts from the previous one. I believe that what keeps his MAGA crowd loyal is his ability to project self-assurance, no matter how outrageous the assertion or the act. Magicians all do this to fool the credulous.
He’s trying desperately to distract from the original outrage, the Epstein files. His supporters all have their reasons. Some covet powerful positions. Others, the money and or favor from being close to the president. And the unwashed MAGA masses … who’s to say.
Thank you so much for posting this, an excellent reminder of what responsible leadership looks like. Tonight the news continues to cover the ongoing efforts to ban the press, and the newly released propaganda commercials (paid by my taxes!!) that are illegal, outrageous and divisive. It is like this man has no low.
I turned off the sound as soon as I saw his face, and then I saw that my taxes paid for it! Later some BS about it being a public service announcement or something. I read the Kennedy speech and was reassured that yes, there are and have been good people, good leaders, in this country. Principled, intelligent, thoughtful people who can run our government the way you and I and the rest of the world expect … if we survive the current administration.
Yesterday he suggested that the loss of San Diego, my hometown, would be a small price to pay… for what? Has he ever clearly articulated the reason for the war with Iran? Have there been any clear objectives or definitive victory declarations? I think that the whole war is about an attempt to grab Iran’s oil (for personal profit) and it didn’t go the way he expected. I am appalled with the way he keeps suggesting nuclear war as he insists that he is saving the world from an Iran with nuclear weapons. As each day I think that our chances of surviving go down…
I’m inclined to believe he started the war at the suggestion of Netanyahu, because he so desperately wants to be considered a strong man like Putin. But he was stupid enough to get played by Netanyahu. He’s done nothing to keep Iran from having nukes because the Iranians moved everything to a safe place under Pickaxe Mountain. As a “bonus,” the Iranians realized they could create chaos simply by blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile American soldiers have died, Iranian civilians have died, and the US committed a war crime by bombing a school and killing ~150 children. (I don’t know if it being a mistake changes that.)
I think Trump is an increasingly senile, corrupt, malevolent narcissist. I think his “weave” is the result of dementia. He has no real understanding of nukes (remember when he suggested we break up hurricanes using nukes?).
I’ll stop now, before I ruin what’s left of my day.
I agree that he was probably heavily influenced by Netanyahy, but I also think that he is motivated by naked greed. He thought that he could grab the oil, and when Iran insisted on reparations, and said that they were going to charge ships moving through the Strait, he immediately said that we were going to take over the Strait and charge.
He is pretty much out of control. I agree with your assessment about his casual attitude towards nuclear weapons, threatening to wipe out a civilization repeatedly in posts. I can’t believe that people just roll with this now; it is completely unacceptable.
I’m praying urgently not for a Blue Wave but a Blue Tsunami
johnthecook…President Trump is NOT the first President to ban certain named Whitehouse Press Pool reporters and the News Agencies they represent from the White House Press Room. I do believe that President Obama and President Bush did it first, much to the outrage of the Republican Party. Now President Trump has done the same thing, much to the outrage of the Democratic Party, and rightly so! Why it took a Court order to overturn that ban, is an excellent example of what is wrong with our government. Both of the Political Parties search and search our Constitution and laws to find loopholes and use them to exploit their political agenda. All of them are scoundrels, some just more than others!
Obama banned one specific Fox News reporter from the White House for a short time. The Bushes maintained tight controls but did not ban entire news organizations from the White House. (They did ban press coverage from the return of flag-draped caskets from war.) None of those three presidents banned an entire news organization from the White House, much less three as Trump did. It took a court order to overturn Trump’s bans because only the courts have the constitutional power to overrule the president. That’s the way the balance of powers is supposed to work.