By Donald A. Collins | 6 September 2022
Church and State
Watching Trump haranguing his adoring base in his Pennsylvania stump speech over the weekend reminded me of those 1930’s pictures of the Fuhrer in Germany.
Trump, as he warmed to his attacks on the FBI for recovering the stolen secret documents he took to Mar-a-Lago, had that wild eyed look of a cornered animal fiercely willing to say anything to keep favor with his audience.
His Wilkes Barre speech was almost manic in his indiscriminate castigation of any person or institution he deems his enemy.
Read the 9/3/22 page one Washington Post story here.
Trump plots aggressive midterm strategy seen in GOP as double-edged sword https://t.co/QyJagdn2nD
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 4, 2022
Trump’s words sound Hitler like as manic in tone to most listeners. Read here:
“Our country is going to hell,” Trump said to a packed crowd of thousands at the Mohegan Sun Arena. “Above all, this election is a referendum on the corruption and extremism of Joe Biden and the radical Democratic Party.”
The former president attacked Biden for describing Trump and his political movement as a threat to the nation in a Philadelphia speech on Thursday. “You are all enemies of the state,” Trump said sarcastically to the crowd.
“How did you like the red lighting behind him?” Trump said of the staging of Biden’s speech. “Like the devil.”
Bet Biden won’t take secret documents home “for his library” when he leaves office!
Now delay in the Justice Department investigation fits neatly into the standard Trump playbook of delay, delay, delay and lie. This 9/5/22 NY Times story explains:
A federal judge intervened on Monday in the investigation of former President Donald J. Trump’s handling of sensitive government records, ordering the appointment of an independent arbiter to review a trove of materials seized last month from Mr. Trump’s private club and residence in Florida.
In a 24-page ruling, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon of the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also enjoined the Justice Department from using the seized materials for any “investigative purpose” connected to its ongoing inquiry of Mr. Trump until the work of the arbiter, known as a special master, was completed.
The order would effectively bar federal prosecutors from using a key piece of evidence as they continue to investigate whether the former president illegally retained national defense documents at his estate, Mar-a-Lago, or obstructed the government’s efforts to get them back.
This is scandalous reporting from the New York Times today. In its major article on a federal judge ruling for Trump and barring prosecutors from using the documents they seized, the NYT doesn't tell readers that the federal judge was *appointed by Trump.* https://t.co/koEaGAQKty
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) September 5, 2022
There is another disturbing story coming in what is likely to be a substantial change from realistic reporting on Trump to achieve an attempted “balance” at CNN with the departure of several top commentators.
Did the leaving CNN most recently of top reporters John Harwood, Brian Stelter and Jeffery Toobin occur at the instigation of the ownership of CNN by big money Republicans to lop off truth telling about Trump ahead of the midterms?
The arguments by the current CNN leadership about more balanced reporting ring very hollow in this towering time of threats to our unique and fragile democracy.
You will want to read carefully the 9/5/22 Washington Post article here.
NEW: CNN’s new CEO Chris Licht is reportedly “starting his tenure by casting out voices that had often been critical of former president Trump and his allies, in an effort to present a new, more ‘ideologically neutral’ CNN.”https://t.co/fO1bcgbOH3
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) September 3, 2022
One wonders how news about Trump’s record and his continued lying program to take authoritarianism control of our democracy can be ignored in reporting by CNN.
Yes, editorial obeisance to Trump and his minions prevails in its editorial at the Wall Street Journal but if we are losing CNN’s potent coverage about Trump’s threats it is particularly troubling as we approach the midterms.
As for governing, Biden’s record compared to the disastrous Trump years gets favorable reviews daily, most recently with FEMA’s role in Jackson with its broken water system. We know the long-term neglect nationally of vital infrastructure is a bipartisan failing, which will take time repair. But FEMA’s CEO made clear in an interview with Donna Bash on CNN that the Biden administration understands and will implement the rehabilitation required across the US.
Biden got that huge infrastructure bill enacted and now has more funding to carry out these future solutions were initiated and legislatively advanced by Biden’s Administration.
Comparing the absurdity of what the MAGA Man promised and didn’t deliver to the present administration continues to reveal Trump’s awesome faults and the too little regarded Biden record.
The key mantra for all citizens who care about keeping democracy must be Vote, Vote, Vote!
Former US Navy officer, banker and venture capitalist, Donald A. Collins, a free lance writer living in Washington, DC, has spent over 50 years working for women’s reproductive health as a board member and/or officer of numerous family planning organizations including Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Family Health International and Ipas. Yale under graduate, NYU MBA. He is the author of “From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”, “Trump Becoming Macbeth: Will our democracy survive?”, “We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”, “What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”, “Vote” and “Can Homo Sapiens Survive?”.“What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”: https://t.co/fHuh0CG6JD
“We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”: https://t.co/TA4j7cp1tE
“From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”: https://t.co/lkC2t3E1A9 pic.twitter.com/bQsL2mLBcO— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 1, 2021
Donald Trump calls Joe Biden ‘enemy of the state’ after Mar-a-Lago raid
Judge grants Trump a special master to review seized Mar-a-Lago docs
Biden’s Approval Now At The Highest Point In A Year
Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook
