Media

Given the Trump-administration's ban on CNN, MSNOW, and Politico - on White House grounds, in response CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox have stated their press corps will refuse to attend White House press briefing events.

This is the correct move, considering this is a direct attack on the 1st Amendment: freedom of speech and freedom of press. Just because Trump doesn't like the truth, can't handle the truth, or doesn't like transparency and unfavorable coverage - doesn't mean that we abandon the constitution.

Right now, all that is preserving the last bastions of democracy, include: the constitution, lower courts upholding of the constitution, SCOTUS's upholding of the consitution (which thus far, appears to uphold it - at least for state's rights and voting), states' autonomy, elections officials in each state recognizing the rights enshrined in the constitution, and of course "we the People" - holding strong behind the constitution and calling out any flagrant violations by this administration (or when our rights enshrined in the constitution are violated).

The sheer corruption we've witnessed, both last year - but, especially this year - demonstrates that it's not hyperbolic to state that this administration has been running roughshod over the constitutional rights, and upholding the rule of law. Just because a very evident two-tiered justice system pervades and permeates our current zeitgeist, doesn't equate to a full abandonment of it.

As a matter of fact, three independent statements (from Trump and his sycophants), actually point to the counter-reality provided by truth - even if absent additional clarification, the underlying reasoning of overt corruption, can be deeply felt and sensed:

• MAGA Mike Johnson's comments on if Democrats win the House, in the upcoming midterms:

  
  "They will turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, and they’ll go after the president’s family, the Cabinet, his donors, and friends. Half of you in this room will be targeted. I run the protection program, I'll take care of you, OK? We're going to win, we're going to win the midterm."
  (source: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/4627106/mike-johnson-trump-allies-target-democrats-win-november/)
  

• Steve Bannon's comments on future jail time, and for jail time for a majority of attendees of his speech:

  
  "And I will tell you right now, as God is my witness, if we lose the midterms, if we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison – myself included."
  (source: https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/bannon-warns-conservatives-of-jail-time-if-republicans-lose-key-elections-steve-bannon-democrats)
  

• Trump's own words, when it comes to getting into heaven:

  
  "I mean, you know, I'm being a little cute. I don't think there's anything going to get me in heaven. Okay, I really. I think I'm not maybe heaven-bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to make heaven [...] I made life a lot better for a lot of people"
  (source: https://www.foxla.com/news/trump-admits-hes-not-heaven-bound)
  

First off... if Trump is truly performing "God's work", then why are everyday Americans suffering, and instead met with insufferable gaslighting; and perhaps more importantly: why does Trump make it a point (in a rare instance of self-reflection) that he doubts he'll make it into heaven. Does it have anything to do with the fact that he's acted in a self-serving manner, has not met the needs of everyday Americans, or recognizes himself - that he is not a symbol for good in this world. Whatever the case may be, one thing's for certain: "The One Big Beautiful Bill" stripped healthcare away from millions of Americans, has slated additional Medicaid cuts following the midterms, and even MAGA Mike Johnson has gleefully said, that they will further target Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security - come next year.

Amid all of this, we're living in one of the most challenging economic times, between the ballooning costs, lack of healthcare, lack of jobs, tariffs, and worsening geopolitical fights and Trump's attempts to isolate America - from the rest of the world.

Then, as far as Steve Bannon and MAGA Mike Johnson's comments on investigatory bodies, jail time, and inferred "weaponization of government": they themselves, fail to clarify. That's because, they themselves, know what acts this regime has engaged in, and how their acts would be considered illegal, by any modicum of applicability of the constitution and law. As a matter of fact, they have even ignored SCOTUS's demands to return Kilmar Armando Ábrego García to the US, following a late-night, shadow-deportation, and directly into the custody of Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) - in El Salvador; and likewise - more recently - deported migrants (and those holding Green Cards, in some instances - even US Citzens) to Africa - even though they weren't originally from Africa).

Every American, should find these actions and illegal acts, deeply troubling. Fascism doesn't announce itself, all at once, and besides - Trump's railing on the media (and their eventual capitulation and capture, into becoming "the fake news" he decried about), after nearly a decade - he's becoming ever-increasingly close to rendering the legacy media "the fake news" media he seeks.

Of course, adding insult to injury, has been the flagrant disregard for the law, mass-layoffs of federal workers, the hollowing out of our entitlement and social safety nets and programs, and fortunately - while the media could have simply capitulated - it looks like they refuse to do so. More over, if Trump wants the kind of media attention he seeks, it's best that he backs down from his authoritarian leanings. Right now, this administration is testing the limits of the public, SCOTUS, and even our very infrastructure and pocket-books, to see what we as as a public and society, are willing to endure and put up with.

And while the battle for reclaiming the autonomy of the USPS - at the current moment - appears all, but won: I do expect a Jan 3rd, 2027 gambit... with the ultimate test that follows in early Jan of 2029 - with a vice president that is more than happy to capitulate; whereas before, in early 2021, some guard-rails still existed.

All of this is to say, has created a dangerous precedent and will take years to address and fix. But, hopefully truth and justice will prevail. One thing's for certain, as much leverage as AI can buy them - as far as undermining of truth and destruction - the American public remembers. There is no amount of distraction and gaslighting, that prevents the public from recalling the abuses, when they transpired and occurred. That said, all of the efforts to dominate the headlines and hijack the narrative, to a variable degree - have been successful. We must remain steadfast and call out the clear unilateral reaches of power and efforts to distract/detract - when we see them: if we ever hope for a return to normal semblance, under the law, in the United States. Of course, it will be helpful, if Democrats take a super-majority and end this debacle and fiasco much faster - even in light of all the efforts to subvert, cheat, steal, and overtly announce the corruption - which came especially into vogue, earlier this year,

In a first of its kind, this regime has banned the WH from access to their WH news briefing room and WH grounds, on the basis of "unfair questions" being asked of this administration.

To me, it sounds like a violation of the 1st amendment. And a desire to filter out only "favorable" questions to an administration that has repeatedly demonstrated itself to be one of the most opaque in our nations history. While this administration can disagree, otherwise - this administration has been rife with near-continual controversy, cover-ups, and failure to fulfill its campaign promises... while gaslighting the media and American public.

Prior to this: Trump was handing out exclusive premium access to his "Truth Social" API for $200K per year, and $10-30K+ seats, to sit before the president and obtain special access (pay-to-play advantages).

One must ask themselves - when is this insanity going to end? The constitution, freedom of speech, freedom of press, rights and freedoms to vote, and overall - general lack of representation - has resulted in an insufferable age of many Americans, who are hurting financially and unable to make ends meet. In contrast, we have an administration that keeps stating that things in America have never been better.

If the latter is true, then why are Trump and his administration's approval ratings so low? Why hasn't there been a second release of the Epstein files and why with releases are Trump's photos being removed, Epstein co-conspirator's names been redacted, and yet the victims of Epstein's various abuses and exploits - have their names laid bare to the public? And if we're not amid a financial crisis, then why dangle "a carrot reward" of $5000 in front of Americans (likewise, we've seen Trump's position continually oscillate on this topic, claiming: "It's the Democrats fault", "the affordability crisis is a hoax", and onto "America has never been doing better... and 'The Great Big Beautiful Bill' provided tax relief for all Americans"). To be literally this divorced from reality, is proving to be a problem for Trump and his allies, this time around... because while they've been successful at lying and gaslighting (on a multitude of topics), when it comes to pricing, consumers take note of just how much more expensive everything is - and it continues to get - while you have an administration that simultaneously ignores American's financial relief needs, whilst simultaneously gutting the programs all Americans have paid into, such as: ACA Tax Credits, Social Security, and Medicaid (to name a few). Likewise, this administration has hap-hazardously mass-purging of governmental workers and justifying it as being fiscal-hawks that were targeting "waste, fraud, and abuse." Conversely, from my experience/perspective, I see it as merely a means to reduce the government's obligations - as a means to lower taxes for the ultra-wealthy. This has added insult to injury for many Americans, and Americans have been responding in kind - during these run-up and run-off elections, as indicated by a strong preference/sentiment for/towards Democrats.

The overarching concern, of course, is if we want to live in a free and fair democracy and not subsequently lose our democracy - or a complete and total breakdown of the world economy or social order - let alone the breakdown within - this insanity has got to stop. Since leadership has thus far proven itself incapable upholding the constitution and the last bastions reside with the lower courts, individual states, and the voice and actions of American citizens - what is it going to take to bring sanity back to public, social, societal, and political discourse?!

Truly, my main concern here is... we know from personal experience and public sentiment and discourse, that this is quite possibly the most unpopular administration in our country's history. However, given this trend, will the American public reject, call sus, or call into mass-rejection, if we witness Republicans maintain their super-majority? Clearly the results of the 2024 election, don't add up (not to contribute towards their lies of mass fraud in our elections; but more precisely to say: when they do anything/everything to cling onto power, obtain the financial help from the richest man in the world - and that man has gone on to triple his net worth -- that after Trump incensed his mob on Jan 6 2021, sewed mistrust in our elections - not because they are insecure, but because he has a long and sordid history of winning at all costs (up and including cheating) -- could better explain the results of the 2024 presidential elections, given he purportedly won all seven swing states, after literally engaging in a coup and instructing his mob to descend upon Mike Pence? It's a similar phenomenon with how Trump and his allies intentionally conflated/projected Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS): to not mean Trump's Derangement Syndrome, but those that unhealthfully obsess over Trump - forming their own derangement syndrome, with him as the focus.

While those nuances are important to outline, the debacle and shenanigans are always leveraged to their benefit, even though every accusation from them is a form of self-admission and every consequence was self-inflicted - as much as Trump and his allies attempt to convince the public, otherwise. The best analogy I have for this, is when the perpetrator of a crime - let's say an arsonist - lights a building on fire; proceeds to then dial 9/11 and report the incident... then obtains credit for putting out a fire, they themselves, started. This is basically the Trump playbook to a T. And with that, I'll end by saying: there's a reason why Trump doesn't want this Iran war to end, beyond his ego's unwillingness to bend (and admit fault). While I have no direct evidence to back this up, I feel it's because tariffs and this oil crisis is something he's benefiting from. That is why, it's all the more critical, that the first-amendment (freedom of speech, freedom of press), is all the more paramount - at the moment. Because - cutting off access to "the people's house" (Trump almost, in a freudian slip of tongue - referring to it as "my... the people's house": by denying access and violating the constitution and the rules of law - the aim+goal+outcome is near identical - which undermines our laws and state of self-governance; and second, by filtering and only permitting in voices that align with him - forces capitulation - by denying access. It's strange to say this, but this level of capitulation we've witnessed, in real-time, over this past decade. Trump would assail and rail against the media as being "fake news" (only because they challenged him by asking questions he didn't want to answer). However, back then... the media held strong and didn't capitulate. Now, a decade later, so many arms of the legacy media are openly capitulating to his demands, which places us one step closer to the end of democracy as we know it, and attempts to usher-in and promote, the rise of authoritarian fascism. Likewise, that is why Trump rules by fear: he doesn't want the public taking the time to connect, to begin movement, voice, and resistance - and demand he follow the law. Likewise, it's unfortunate that SCOTUS' decision and timing on the ruling of absolute immunity - came at the absolute wrong time for Americans, but the perfect timing for Trump, and the flagrant and open corruption and out of control administration we've witnessed, over the course of these past ~20 or so, odd months. The truth still matters, the voice of the public still matters. I truly hope that media figures will band together and expose this act of gatekeeping, exactly for what it is, a unilateral over-reach from the executive branch, a self-serving abuse of power (one of silencing/intimidation/capitulation), and lastly - clearly violates the constitution (not that it's been the first time this administration has completely disregarded our rules of governance).

devolving all future