YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

“Be where you are, otherwise you will miss your life.” — Buddha

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

 

Appropriate for what our country has experienced over this past week (and the past 11 months) because of the convicted felon in the White House:

"WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IS NOT NORMAL POLITICS."

Conservative David Brooks wrote this in an Op-Ed in the NY Times in April of this year:

"Trumpism… is primarily about the acquisition of power — power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice. …

What is happening now is not normal politics. We’re seeing an assault on the fundamental institutions of our civic life, things we should all swear loyalty to — Democrat, independent or Republican.

It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power. …

I’m really not a movement guy. I don’t naturally march in demonstrations or attend rallies that I’m not covering as a journalist. But this is what America needs right now."

 DAVID BROOKS WRITING FOR THE ATLANTIC: 

"There’s a question that’s been bugging me for nearly a decade. How is it that half of America looks at Donald Trump and doesn’t find him morally repellent? He lies, cheats, steals, betrays, and behaves cruelly and corruptly, and more than 70 million Americans find him, at the very least, morally acceptable. Some even see him as heroic, admirable, and wonderful. What has brought us to this state of moral numbness?"

AMERICAN CITIZENS KIDNAPPED, ABUSED, AND BRUTALIZED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

 

How much longer will we Americans allow this brutal administration to continue their reign of terror?

The US is lost. As lost as it was when it decided to intern Japanese Americans. All the people in this administration and those enabling this will spend the rest of their lives denying they played a role in this horror.

They will be the shame of their children and grandchildren, and the ones who fought it will be the heroes.

 

Another innocent American citizen kidnapped and brutalized by his own government!

Testimony of an American citizen, George Retes, who was kidnapped and brutalized by the Trump administration. Full testimony below.

 

GUEST POST BY DAVE MILLER

 

Freedom of the Press 2.0… the post Constitutional Era

 

Let’s go back to November 2024 and pretend that Kamala Harris won the election.

 

Then let’s fast forward to February 2025, the first full month of her presidency.

 

Let’s suppose President Harris started publicly complaining about FOX News coverage of her, calling it unfair, biased and full of lies. She sues the network and cites the upcoming license renewal which her administration must approve, all in order to get more favorable coverage and personally receive millions of dollars.

 

Now fast forward a few more months into her presidency. In the late fall we see two major entertainment companies desiring to merge, a process that needs government approval. Again, not pleased with the news coverage she is getting, President Harris demands a say in the future news coverage of her administration in order for her administration to approve the merger.

 

Questions…

 

Is there anything inherently wrong with either of these two scenarios?

 

Should a POTUS be able to intervene in the editorial decisions of independent news agencies?

 

Would the involvement of a POTUS in the hiring and editorial decisions of an independent news agency impact the Constitutional right to a free press?

 

Clearly these examples are based on how President Trump dealt with CBS News and 60 Minutes and the proposed merger of Warner & Netflix or Warner & Paramount.

 

Paramount, the parent of CBS. Larry Ellison and his son David, both Paramount leaders have a strong relationship with President Trump and approved the payments made by CBS directly to Trump. Additionally, President Trump has publicly said he will be involved in the Paramount deal to acquire Warner, the parent company of CNN. Trump’s son in-law Jared Kushner is also a major player in the prospective deal.

THE SHAME OF AMERICA:

 

The Scots (bless them) have a name for Trump:

 Blatherskite