Last Wednesday, the new CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, Michael Pack, purged four top officials from the media organizations the U.S. government funds to provide factual, unbiased news to world populations that do not have access to a free and independent press.
Due to a family tragedy, my father and his two sisters were separated. One sister was taken by Italian immigrants back to their home in Italy. Dad was 11 months old when the separation occurred. The sister in Italy used the Voice of America to assist her at the end of WWII. The VOA helped her reunite with her sister in Chicago and with my father in West Virginia. That is but one example of the importance of the VOA. Dad was 32 years old when the reunion took place.
Felt a great sadness when I learned that the Teddy Roosevelt statue in front of the Natural History Museum in NYC was being removed - UNTIL the events of the day made me take a hard look at it, not in terms of art, but in terms of its historic representation. Which was a real wake up call and made me think about what other symbols of white supremacy are scattered throughout our lives. Perhaps worse, was the virtual excision of blacks and women and native Americans and God-knows-who-else from history education. This all makes me disgusted to think about how terrible my history education was at a very young age - a virtual breeding ground for white supremacy. Although very, very interested in history now a more balanced, educated, approach at an early age would have made worlds of difference to me and our country as a whole.
The goal is to control information as evidenced by the changes at Global Media or removing reporters from the White House. Same tactic used by all dictators. What really disgusts me is the lack of response from any Republicans in the House and Senate. The silence is deafening. It is amazing how they have forgotten their oath of office. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; ..."
Two questions that come to mind concerning the symbols of the Confederacy and a subject that is close to all our interests "how is the history of the last half of the19th century treated in history lessons in US schools?".and "How has such ignorance of what really happened been inculcated and perpetuated?"
It seems to me that we are entering into a period where "passive" resistance needs to be organized, coordinated and massively increased within all federal agencies to slow any changes imposed by McConnell/Trump so that their implementation grinds to a halt. Bureaucratic obfuscation needs to accompany political action, public protest and investigative reporting in a drive to render the autocratic little elephants even crazier with frustration and limit the damage from now till January. The journalists at VOA must have everyone's active support.
I saw a video online of Trump walking from his helicopter to the White House late at night, on his return from the Saturday night fiasco in Tulsa. The defeated, stunned, disheveled man who walked alone from the helicopter to the building was visible in stark detail. Trump will lash back because of the humiliation of the size of the Tulsa crowd, the report of the Covid-19 diagnoses in his advance team, and especially, the video of him in disarray and exhaustion.
While reading the part about turning VOA into Faux Noise, the word NewSpeak popped into my mind. I Googled it and this is the first blurb that popped up:
"In the world of 1984, Newspeak was created by the totalitarian overlords of Oceania, with its fictional leader known as Big Brother, in order to actually limit free thought and free speech. In totalitarian governments, those in charge try to control every aspect of citizens' lives, even down to personal habits."
Trump's "acquisition" of VOA is a desperate, but futile, move. He's desperate to have media outlets he can control. But then there's reality; he's shown his incompetence and lack of judgement on so many levels does he really think by broadcasting his garbage on VOA platforms he can change the hearts and minds of people around the globe? People worldwide who use VOA as a trusted source of information aren't going to sit still very long for Trump's self aggrandizing nonsense.
Sigh..... tRump is increasingly desperate, and so is the Republican Party. That all this goes unchallenged speaks to that desperation. And, if one uses the analogy of how animals react when cornered, then we can expect more and more chaos. Sigh....
I can tell you what the request that reporters leave the WH grounds was about. Protestors this afternoon camped out in the middle of H Street and refused to leave, in an apparent attempt to create a Seattle style autonomous zone. Later in the evening, some protestors attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square. (While I have no special love for Andrew Jackson, and would not be terribly unhappy if that statue were to be removed by official action, I think that to allow small groups of protestors to decide on their own which monuments are allowed to remain and which come down is undemocratic and dangerous.). Unfortunately, in preventing the destruction of the statue and clearing the street for traffic, pepper spray was used.
I get so depressed because the checks on the destruction of the government simply don’t exist! I have to watch two men destroy both our democratic offices and the DOJ, and nothing can be done! Have I been wrong all this time in believing in our systems and am just now finding out!
He is actively seeking to undermine the Constitution with his constant assaults on fair, factual, unbiased reporting of the news and the freedom of the press.
I watched 60 minutes on CBS's broadcast on Sunday. Immediately following the broadcast was a commercial from the DT campaign full of such lies and bullshit that I stopped mid stride from leaving the room to watch it. He's desperate in his attempts to change the narrative. We just can't let that happen, and forums like this are key.
Due to a family tragedy, my father and his two sisters were separated. One sister was taken by Italian immigrants back to their home in Italy. Dad was 11 months old when the separation occurred. The sister in Italy used the Voice of America to assist her at the end of WWII. The VOA helped her reunite with her sister in Chicago and with my father in West Virginia. That is but one example of the importance of the VOA. Dad was 32 years old when the reunion took place.
Felt a great sadness when I learned that the Teddy Roosevelt statue in front of the Natural History Museum in NYC was being removed - UNTIL the events of the day made me take a hard look at it, not in terms of art, but in terms of its historic representation. Which was a real wake up call and made me think about what other symbols of white supremacy are scattered throughout our lives. Perhaps worse, was the virtual excision of blacks and women and native Americans and God-knows-who-else from history education. This all makes me disgusted to think about how terrible my history education was at a very young age - a virtual breeding ground for white supremacy. Although very, very interested in history now a more balanced, educated, approach at an early age would have made worlds of difference to me and our country as a whole.
The goal is to control information as evidenced by the changes at Global Media or removing reporters from the White House. Same tactic used by all dictators. What really disgusts me is the lack of response from any Republicans in the House and Senate. The silence is deafening. It is amazing how they have forgotten their oath of office. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; ..."
Two questions that come to mind concerning the symbols of the Confederacy and a subject that is close to all our interests "how is the history of the last half of the19th century treated in history lessons in US schools?".and "How has such ignorance of what really happened been inculcated and perpetuated?"
It seems to me that we are entering into a period where "passive" resistance needs to be organized, coordinated and massively increased within all federal agencies to slow any changes imposed by McConnell/Trump so that their implementation grinds to a halt. Bureaucratic obfuscation needs to accompany political action, public protest and investigative reporting in a drive to render the autocratic little elephants even crazier with frustration and limit the damage from now till January. The journalists at VOA must have everyone's active support.
I saw a video online of Trump walking from his helicopter to the White House late at night, on his return from the Saturday night fiasco in Tulsa. The defeated, stunned, disheveled man who walked alone from the helicopter to the building was visible in stark detail. Trump will lash back because of the humiliation of the size of the Tulsa crowd, the report of the Covid-19 diagnoses in his advance team, and especially, the video of him in disarray and exhaustion.
Sigh.... How many more days until election day?
Is it possible Biden can fire the entire government the second he takes office and restaff with non-Trump people?
While reading the part about turning VOA into Faux Noise, the word NewSpeak popped into my mind. I Googled it and this is the first blurb that popped up:
"In the world of 1984, Newspeak was created by the totalitarian overlords of Oceania, with its fictional leader known as Big Brother, in order to actually limit free thought and free speech. In totalitarian governments, those in charge try to control every aspect of citizens' lives, even down to personal habits."
"Fictional leader?" Looks like the new reality.
Trump's "acquisition" of VOA is a desperate, but futile, move. He's desperate to have media outlets he can control. But then there's reality; he's shown his incompetence and lack of judgement on so many levels does he really think by broadcasting his garbage on VOA platforms he can change the hearts and minds of people around the globe? People worldwide who use VOA as a trusted source of information aren't going to sit still very long for Trump's self aggrandizing nonsense.
Sigh..... tRump is increasingly desperate, and so is the Republican Party. That all this goes unchallenged speaks to that desperation. And, if one uses the analogy of how animals react when cornered, then we can expect more and more chaos. Sigh....
I can tell you what the request that reporters leave the WH grounds was about. Protestors this afternoon camped out in the middle of H Street and refused to leave, in an apparent attempt to create a Seattle style autonomous zone. Later in the evening, some protestors attempted to pull down the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square. (While I have no special love for Andrew Jackson, and would not be terribly unhappy if that statue were to be removed by official action, I think that to allow small groups of protestors to decide on their own which monuments are allowed to remain and which come down is undemocratic and dangerous.). Unfortunately, in preventing the destruction of the statue and clearing the street for traffic, pepper spray was used.
I'd love your thoughts on this article:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/supreme-court-bill-barr-unstoppable.html
I get so depressed because the checks on the destruction of the government simply don’t exist! I have to watch two men destroy both our democratic offices and the DOJ, and nothing can be done! Have I been wrong all this time in believing in our systems and am just now finding out!
Trump = Treason
He is actively seeking to undermine the Constitution with his constant assaults on fair, factual, unbiased reporting of the news and the freedom of the press.
I watched 60 minutes on CBS's broadcast on Sunday. Immediately following the broadcast was a commercial from the DT campaign full of such lies and bullshit that I stopped mid stride from leaving the room to watch it. He's desperate in his attempts to change the narrative. We just can't let that happen, and forums like this are key.
Trump's government style has always reminded me of a dimly-remembered maybe-quote from an English pre-Magna Carta king, "The law is in my mouth."