Rosenblum writes: "Now it is clear: we are seeing a coup d'etat. And its
perpetrators, aided by citizens' apathy and wishful thinking, don't even
need to gas up tanks or muzzle the media. This is exactly how democracies
die."
Donald Trump. (photo: Bill Clark/RollCall)
This Is a Coup d'Etat, Plain and Simple
By Mort Rosenblum, Reader Supported News
14 January 17
Now it is clear: we are seeing a coup d'etat. And its perpetrators, aided
by citizens' apathy and wishful thinking, don't even need to gas up tanks or
muzzle the media. This is exactly how democracies die.
We can stop this and emerge stronger -- but only if enough of us grasp what
is at stake and take action. Put aside political leanings and polemics to
spend a moment assessing for yourself what you see unfolding.
Here, for what it's worth, is the view of a reporter who has covered coups
in sizeable republics, evil empires and banana backwaters for a very long
time.
Donald Trump is our chief executive, a term-limit civil servant bound by
laws and common values to serve us all. Congressmen represent entire
constituencies, not just partisans within them. Justices swear to be
fair-minded and impartial.
One day after a departing president showed us our best side, outlining
historic growth after crippling decline and pleading for unity in
magnanimous terms that moved many to tears, his successor showed us our
worst.
Though trounced by popular vote, Trump acts as if we handed him a crown.
That storybook emperor skulked off when a kid pointed out he was naked.
Trump simply flips us the finger and commits one indecent act after another.
Even if, against all economic odds, he could cut deals that made Americans
richer at the expense of others, is that all matters? Consider the
consequences in a volatile world bristling with arms and facing climatic
endgame.
Trump's siding with Vladimir Putin rather than our incumbent leader falls
between treachery and treason. It defines a man who puts his own ego above
all else. With dazzling hypocrisy, his party criticizes him yet takes little
action.
Republicans' disregard for propriety - trying to abolish ethics oversight as
they steamroll approval of top officials tainted by vested interests,
nepotism and crackpot extremism - reveals contempt for a citizenry they
presume is stupid.
Already, a mad scramble is on to strip protection from natural splendor that
took eons to evolve, sacred Indian sites, endangered aquifers and virgin
wilderness for immediate plunder by a rapacious few with no regard for
generations to come.
Our failsafe, beyond the three branches, is a permanent Fourth Estate: the
press, now the "news media." For all the failings of its worst components,
it is vital to us. Its best components set a global standard.
Trump's "press conference" swept away any lingering doubt of demagogic
intention. He was an imperious insulting bully who dismissed substance with
inane generality, focusing not on domestic or world crises but on his own
self-image.
When a reporter asked about his tax returns, he said the American people
weren't interested. "I don't think they care at all," he sneered, thrusting
a finger at his questioner. "I think you care."
Here is Trump in, well, a nutshell. A free society and its press are
inseparable. Point one in our Bill of Rights. A dictator's first move is to
discredit news media and replace them big-lie propaganda, which is why
Breitbart "News" had a front seat.
Presidential news conferences began as simple briefings: an executive
answering to the people who hired him via the press. Now live TV allows
leaders to play to the public, bypassing reporters who might pin them down
with hard facts.
News executives let George W. Bush choreograph with pre-chosen questioners.
Barack Obama imposed draconian means to plug leaks but answered questions
when asked. Trump dismisses non-cheerleaders as unruly children.
CNN revealed an open secret, an unsubstantiated but solidly based report
that Russians had taped Trump in a honey trap. Big whoop: a businessman who
boasts of sexual prowess hired a prostitute. A simple denial would suffice.
But Trump went nuclear. "Fake news!" he thundered at a CNN reporter seeking
clarity, cutting him off. Then a question came from Ian Pannell of BBC, a
seasoned pro with the most credible, comprehensive global news purveyor I
know.
"BBC," Trump said. "That's another beauty."
As for substance, Trump asserted: "(There are) 96 million really wanting a
job and they can't get. You know that story - the real number. That's the
real number. So that's the way it is."
No, NPR noted in a running fact-check, the real number is 7.5 million. We
are at full employment: 4.7 percent. More jobs would spike inflation. Trump
included people not in the work force, including students, retirees and
stay-at-home parents.
The man is a total fool - or he thinks that the rest of us are.
Meryl Streep brought this down to basic humanity at the Golden Globe Awards.
More than a chief executive, she said, a president defines who we are. To
illustrate, she chose an image many of us still can't get out of our heads.
Displeased by New York Times' reporter Serge Kovaleski, he mocked a
condition that makes the man's bent right arm and hands move uncontrollably.
Trump denies it, telling us to believe him rather than our own eyes.
Among so many outrages, some scare me to my core.
Trump approached truth, unintended, in one of his absurd tweets: "Is this
Nazi Germany?" He was complaining that the CIA hovered over him. But his
Big-Lie demagoguery evokes far too much of a Führer elected by a fearful,
hurting nation.
He is an equal-opportunity bigot, not specifically anti-Semitic. His
free-form ill-informed extremism, mercurial with no clear worldview, risks
eventual conflict with China and Russia. For now, there is the unholy land.
The man named as our ambassador to Israel has said that people like me are
no better than Nazi guards who herded Jews to their death. That is, we Jews
who believe that a separate Palestine is essential to Israel's survival and
global stability.
My name and nose mark me as Jewish, but my religion is honest journalism, a
belief that whoever or whatever created this world needs the help of
reporters to keep it spinning as planned.
Since 1967, I've seen Holy Land hatreds grow in response to perceived
injustice. We can't bomb those away. The terrorism Trump blames on Obama is
rooted in our conduct of needless unwinnable war in Iraq.
But reporting loses all meaning if a society disregards fact and documented
history. Without a grip on reality, we are lost. We need schools that
prepare kids to see the world as it is. Yet Trump gives us Beverly DeVos.
An elitist billionaire, DeVos pushes private charter schools that earn
profits while educating a chosen few and condemning others to blackboard
jungles that turn out barely literate masses to work cheap and believe what
they're told.
Finland, in contrast, has the world's best schools because all of them are
public. If rich people want their kids properly educated, they have to raise
the level for everyone.
There is so much more; a cabinet of wolves to watch over us sheep; the sham
of keeping Trump family business separate from ours; the ignominious rush to
disrupt Obamacare for no reason but scorn for the man whose name it bears.
That last is the kicker. Affordable Health Care is flawed because Congress
rejected a single-payer approach so big business could profit. Republicans
are repealing it before they know what might eventually take its place.
Politicians who insist that the life of unformed fetuses is sacred are
prepared to let people die before their time before they can't afford our
absurdly high medical costs.
So what to do?
First, think of cockroaches infesting a dark room. When you flip on the
light, they scurry for the baseboards. If not, a can of Raid does the trick.
That's Congress. Each voter only has to focus on two senators and a
representative.
Even in gerrymandered states, voter turnout is low; committed opposition can
defeat anyone. Call, write, sign petitions, attend town halls, organize
protests and get to know aides who listen to reason. Be polite, persuasive -
and persistent.
For a useful plan, go to www.indivisibleguide.com, a report from former
congressional staff workers about how Tea Party amateurs inveigled their way
onto Capitol Hill.
For a sense of how the cockroach kings put their narrow interests over ours,
take a close look at Mitch McConnell, whose latest outrage was to stonewall
a moderate Supreme Court nominee for nearly a year. If Trump proposes a
partisan justice, compel Congress to stonewall another four years.
Our would-be emperor needs constant watching. More than anything else, he
craves adulation. Boycott his brand. Remind his enthusiasts of every broken
promise. If he senses the nation's mood harden against him, he will likely
respond.
Coup leaders habitually entrench themselves with firepower and mass arrests.
They tear up existing laws to write their own. Ours depend only on our
apathy and ignorance. If we can't stop them cold, we deserve whatever
befalls us.
________________________________________
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Donald Trump. (photo: Bill Clark/RollCall)
http://readersupportednews.org/http://readersupportednews.org/
This Is a Coup d'Etat, Plain and Simple
By Mort Rosenblum, Reader Supported News
14 January 17
ow it is clear: we are seeing a coup d'etat. And its perpetrators, aided by
citizens' apathy and wishful thinking, don't even need to gas up tanks or
muzzle the media. This is exactly how democracies die.
We can stop this and emerge stronger -- but only if enough of us grasp what
is at stake and take action. Put aside political leanings and polemics to
spend a moment assessing for yourself what you see unfolding.
Here, for what it's worth, is the view of a reporter who has covered coups
in sizeable republics, evil empires and banana backwaters for a very long
time.
Donald Trump is our chief executive, a term-limit civil servant bound by
laws and common values to serve us all. Congressmen represent entire
constituencies, not just partisans within them. Justices swear to be
fair-minded and impartial.
One day after a departing president showed us our best side, outlining
historic growth after crippling decline and pleading for unity in
magnanimous terms that moved many to tears, his successor showed us our
worst.
Though trounced by popular vote, Trump acts as if we handed him a crown.
That storybook emperor skulked off when a kid pointed out he was naked.
Trump simply flips us the finger and commits one indecent act after another.
Even if, against all economic odds, he could cut deals that made Americans
richer at the expense of others, is that all matters? Consider the
consequences in a volatile world bristling with arms and facing climatic
endgame.
Trump's siding with Vladimir Putin rather than our incumbent leader falls
between treachery and treason. It defines a man who puts his own ego above
all else. With dazzling hypocrisy, his party criticizes him yet takes little
action.
Republicans' disregard for propriety - trying to abolish ethics oversight as
they steamroll approval of top officials tainted by vested interests,
nepotism and crackpot extremism - reveals contempt for a citizenry they
presume is stupid.
Already, a mad scramble is on to strip protection from natural splendor that
took eons to evolve, sacred Indian sites, endangered aquifers and virgin
wilderness for immediate plunder by a rapacious few with no regard for
generations to come.
Our failsafe, beyond the three branches, is a permanent Fourth Estate: the
press, now the "news media." For all the failings of its worst components,
it is vital to us. Its best components set a global standard.
Trump's "press conference" swept away any lingering doubt of demagogic
intention. He was an imperious insulting bully who dismissed substance with
inane generality, focusing not on domestic or world crises but on his own
self-image.
When a reporter asked about his tax returns, he said the American people
weren't interested. "I don't think they care at all," he sneered, thrusting
a finger at his questioner. "I think you care."
Here is Trump in, well, a nutshell. A free society and its press are
inseparable. Point one in our Bill of Rights. A dictator's first move is to
discredit news media and replace them big-lie propaganda, which is why
Breitbart "News" had a front seat.
Presidential news conferences began as simple briefings: an executive
answering to the people who hired him via the press. Now live TV allows
leaders to play to the public, bypassing reporters who might pin them down
with hard facts.
News executives let George W. Bush choreograph with pre-chosen questioners.
Barack Obama imposed draconian means to plug leaks but answered questions
when asked. Trump dismisses non-cheerleaders as unruly children.
CNN revealed an open secret, an unsubstantiated but solidly based report
that Russians had taped Trump in a honey trap. Big whoop: a businessman who
boasts of sexual prowess hired a prostitute. A simple denial would suffice.
But Trump went nuclear. "Fake news!" he thundered at a CNN reporter seeking
clarity, cutting him off. Then a question came from Ian Pannell of BBC, a
seasoned pro with the most credible, comprehensive global news purveyor I
know.
"BBC," Trump said. "That's another beauty."
As for substance, Trump asserted: "(There are) 96 million really wanting a
job and they can't get. You know that story - the real number. That's the
real number. So that's the way it is."
No, NPR noted in a running fact-check, the real number is 7.5 million. We
are at full employment: 4.7 percent. More jobs would spike inflation. Trump
included people not in the work force, including students, retirees and
stay-at-home parents.
The man is a total fool - or he thinks that the rest of us are.
Meryl Streep brought this down to basic humanity at the Golden Globe Awards.
More than a chief executive, she said, a president defines who we are. To
illustrate, she chose an image many of us still can't get out of our heads.
Displeased by New York Times' reporter Serge Kovaleski, he mocked a
condition that makes the man's bent right arm and hands move uncontrollably.
Trump denies it, telling us to believe him rather than our own eyes.
Among so many outrages, some scare me to my core.
Trump approached truth, unintended, in one of his absurd tweets: "Is this
Nazi Germany?" He was complaining that the CIA hovered over him. But his
Big-Lie demagoguery evokes far too much of a Führer elected by a fearful,
hurting nation.
He is an equal-opportunity bigot, not specifically anti-Semitic. His
free-form ill-informed extremism, mercurial with no clear worldview, risks
eventual conflict with China and Russia. For now, there is the unholy land.
The man named as our ambassador to Israel has said that people like me are
no better than Nazi guards who herded Jews to their death. That is, we Jews
who believe that a separate Palestine is essential to Israel's survival and
global stability.
My name and nose mark me as Jewish, but my religion is honest journalism, a
belief that whoever or whatever created this world needs the help of
reporters to keep it spinning as planned.
Since 1967, I've seen Holy Land hatreds grow in response to perceived
injustice. We can't bomb those away. The terrorism Trump blames on Obama is
rooted in our conduct of needless unwinnable war in Iraq.
But reporting loses all meaning if a society disregards fact and documented
history. Without a grip on reality, we are lost. We need schools that
prepare kids to see the world as it is. Yet Trump gives us Beverly DeVos.
An elitist billionaire, DeVos pushes private charter schools that earn
profits while educating a chosen few and condemning others to blackboard
jungles that turn out barely literate masses to work cheap and believe what
they're told.
Finland, in contrast, has the world's best schools because all of them are
public. If rich people want their kids properly educated, they have to raise
the level for everyone.
There is so much more; a cabinet of wolves to watch over us sheep; the sham
of keeping Trump family business separate from ours; the ignominious rush to
disrupt Obamacare for no reason but scorn for the man whose name it bears.
That last is the kicker. Affordable Health Care is flawed because Congress
rejected a single-payer approach so big business could profit. Republicans
are repealing it before they know what might eventually take its place.
Politicians who insist that the life of unformed fetuses is sacred are
prepared to let people die before their time before they can't afford our
absurdly high medical costs.
So what to do?
First, think of cockroaches infesting a dark room. When you flip on the
light, they scurry for the baseboards. If not, a can of Raid does the trick.
That's Congress. Each voter only has to focus on two senators and a
representative.
Even in gerrymandered states, voter turnout is low; committed opposition can
defeat anyone. Call, write, sign petitions, attend town halls, organize
protests and get to know aides who listen to reason. Be polite, persuasive -
and persistent.
For a useful plan, go to www.indivisibleguide.com, a report from former
congressional staff workers about how Tea Party amateurs inveigled their way
onto Capitol Hill.
For a sense of how the cockroach kings put their narrow interests over ours,
take a close look at Mitch McConnell, whose latest outrage was to stonewall
a moderate Supreme Court nominee for nearly a year. If Trump proposes a
partisan justice, compel Congress to stonewall another four years.
Our would-be emperor needs constant watching. More than anything else, he
craves adulation. Boycott his brand. Remind his enthusiasts of every broken
promise. If he senses the nation's mood harden against him, he will likely
respond.
Coup leaders habitually entrench themselves with firepower and mass arrests.
They tear up existing laws to write their own. Ours depend only on our
apathy and ignorance. If we can't stop them cold, we deserve whatever
befalls us.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
http://e-max.it/posizionamento-siti-web/socialize
