So This is How Liberty Dies

If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.

Adolf Hitler


The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!

Donald John Trump



Now we know Mr. Trump has told that whopper frequently enough, although we can be sure he'll keep hammering it home. After all, when it comes to The Big Orange Guy, too much is never enough.

John Stein, writing for the Daily Beast, yesterday noted that a recent IPSOS poll found 48% of self proclaimed republican voters literally believe the statement, "The news media is the enemy of the American people." In addition the poll shows 12% of democrats believe it and 26% of independents do too.

It doesn't stop there. The poll also shows, 43% of republicans support the notion, "The president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in 'bad' behavior." 12% of democrats and 21% of independents agree with them. A mere 36% of republicans disagreed with the statement.

And, it gets worse. 23% of republicans polled say Donald Trump, should, shut down CNN, the Washington Post, and New York Times while less than half, 49%, were against the idea.

So much for the first amendment. Indeed, if it wasn't before, it is now painfully obvious some parts of The Bill of Rights are much more sacrosanct than others in the eyes of the Trump cult. Just imagine how they'd react if asked something along the lines of, "Do you think the president should have the authority to shut down gun manufacturers engaged in, 'bad' behavior?"

No, we've reached the point in this nation where you can fuck with a free press, but never the people who make and sell faux penises that kill.

Of course not everyone has decided to bail out on a basic tenet of America's republic. 74% of democrats and 50% of indies don't believe the press is the enemy of the people. That's along with 74% and 55% respectively who don't think a president should have the authority to shut down a media outlet which he, and presumably, he alone decides is behaving badly.

Meanwhile the poll showed 72% of everyone says it should be easier to sue a reporter who, "knowingly," publishes false information and 85% of everyone thinks, "Freedom of the press is essential for American democracy."

Obviously the problem here is one man's free press is another's media acting badly. Which explains why 79% of the GOP believe the main stream news treats El Don, "unfairly," and again, less than half of them think Trump shouldn't order CNN, the Post, and the Times closed.

Yes, the slide toward totalitarianism in America appears to be gaining steam thanks in large part to Donald J. Trump's savage attacks on any media outlet, reporter, or commentator who calls him on his bullshit. There is no doubt he believes running this country, just like his corporation, is a one man job--and one of the benefits of that job is it comes without any questions asked, or criticism offered.

So do his adoring, raucous, mobs. Think not? Just watch how they react to members of any press organization not named FOX and then during Trump's blusterous screeds condemning the media at his rallies.

All of which brings us to a final quote. This one by the fictional Padme' Amidala who could well have been speaking about one of those Trump rallies when she said in a movie, "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause."



sic vita est


8-8-18