Media and Matters Political plus a Poem

Media Matters … But Don’t Kid Yourself

The First Amendment guarantees a free press.  That’s why many who disagree with the Republican regime in Washington watch CNN and MSNBC to get a more truthful perspective on what is going on in our country.   That’s why many read the Washington Post and the New York Times and some of the articles and columnists of these newspapers carried by other papers throughout the nation.   Such honest journalism leaves some liberals, Democrats and others who have little confidence in the Republican Administration satisfied in believing that their anxieties and fears are being adequately voiced and hopefully addressed in the media.  BUT THEY ARE WRONG! 

Remember that the Administration, fearful of too many being exposed to the truth, has declared the media to be its enemy, and in fact, an “enemy of the people.” Many believe this to be so!  They should not be discounted!  Fighting this misconception keeps the media off balance and detracts from its mission of seeking out and reporting truth.

Actually, the place to go to for those who are concerned with the Republican regime in Washington is Fox News.  It is another world, a world where criticism of the Administration, when even voiced, it is done gently.  A world where as much time is still spent criticizing both Clintons and Barack Obama than is pointing up the alleged “accomplishments” of the current Administration. A world where knuckles are bared in challenging the media, which is to them the real problem, and not the issues the media addresses.  Where cutting taxes on businesses and the wealthy is the bottom-line solution for all of the country’s ills.  Try Sean Hannity some evening. 

Sean Hannity

And if Fox News, which has more viewers than either CNN or MSNBC, isn’t enough to awaken liberal eyes, visit www.breitbart.com to get the latest take on things from the “alt-right,” which has replaced the traditional conservative establishment as the conscience of the G.O.P. 

Some newspapers include opinion columns by writers from the right and from the left.  These pages have become confusing lately because many of the columnists “from the right” seem to be agreeing with some of the columnists “from the left” in some, but not all, of what they are writing.  This may be part of the basis of the Administration’s sweeping condemnation of the press as its enemy.  Everyone seems to be turning against the White House, at least in their eyes. It is time to watch for subtle attacks on the First Amendment rights on which our media’s freedom is based.  It happened in Germany.  It happened in Argentina.  It exists in Russia and elsewhere today.

Don’t be naïve. Remove yourself, at least temporarily, from the choir to which the honest, truthful, objective media is preaching.   Get some of your news and opinion from Fox News and www.breitbart.com.  Read the New York Post if you have the chance. There are millions of Americans who believe that the truth comes from only these sources, and all else is “fake news.”  And when you’re driving in your car, tune in to Rush Limbaugh.  He’s all over the dial.  Same stuff, and millions of listeners all day long!  And others like him!  Don’t kid yourself.   Listen to those with whom you disagree!  Be aware of what they believe.  If it makes you feel uncomfortable, that should motivate you to do something about it, to find a way to RESIST!

Jack Lippman

Steve Bannon – A Threat to the Republic

And speaking of www.breitbart.com, its former head, the brilliant Steve Bannon, who clearly has the President’s ear from his position as Senior Advisor, has unequivocally declared that he wants to “deconstruct the administrative state.”

Stop and think what these words mean.  The “administrative state” is the system whereby the Federal Government involves itself in taxation, regulation and trade.  It manages Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and provides an economic “safety net” for those who need one.  It also regulates many aspects of our economy for the overall good of the citizenry and the benefit of the nation.

Bannon wants to take apart (“deconstruct”) the Federal Government’s mechanisms for doing all of this.  He wants some left to the States, some turned over to the private sector and some just eliminated.  His platform is one of “economic nationalism,” whereby global concerns are always secondary to what is good for our country, regardless of the world-wide implications.  He chooses to downplay the fact that the United States shares the planet with over seven billion other people.  (This is not unlike the ideas of the Russian philosophical guru, Alexandre Dugin, who similarly has Vladimir Putin’s ear.)

Republicans, always eager to swallow the bait of “reduced taxes and less regulation,” will blindly follow him, but only up to a point.  Sooner or later, Bannon will overstep his limits of authority, and it will be the Republicans who will force his departure.  Until then, there is no limit to the amount of harm this man can do to the Republic, the Constitution and the entire world.  He presents a far greater threat to the United States than ISIS or even Russia. 

JL

I Write Letters

A letter of mine was published in the Palm Beach Post (which is a pretty fine newspaper for one with a daily circulation under 100,000 and a Sunday circulation under 150,000) last week, inspired by a column by Mona Charen.  Here’s the letter:

"Charen finally got one I agree with"

Although I disagree with much of what Mona Charen writes in her From the Right columns, her recent piece, “Nationalism, nor patriotism, is Trump’s dangerous style” (Monday), distinguishing between patriotism and nationalism, was right on the mark.

It’s too bad that too many shameless legislators who are from the right are so hungry to accept the votes that the president’s supporters bring to them that they ignore the truths Charen addresses, as well as many other truths

Jack Lippman

And if you want to read Ms. Charen’s column, the one which led to the letter, just click right here.

JL

Love Your Daily Newspaper or it will Disappear

And while talking about newspapers, it is important that they remain as a source of information to the public.  Most are struggling financially today.  Without them, there would be far less information for TV news outlets to pass on, and even less for internet news sources to publish.  It all starts with newspaper reporting. Their continued existence is crucial.  I personally subscribe to the Palm Beach Post.  Wherever you are, I urge you to subscribe to your local daily paper, or even the New York Times or the Washington Post.   Or at least, pick one up each day at a newsstand.  It is important to the continuance of democracy in our country.

Two interesting columns appeared in the Palm Beach Post last week.  One was written by Star Parker, who opposes Roe vs. Wade, and abortion in general.  Read it by clicking here.  

It would make far more sense to me, however, if Ms. Parker went on to explain how individuals or society would care for the unwanted children which would result from her position, many born into already economically distressed homes.   The “love, respect, responsibility and awe for the mystery of life” which she mentions is just not enough to get the job done.  

Another worthwhile column was Thomas Friedman’s division of the current administration into five separate presidencies. Click here to read it.   It’s a gem.

Read a newspaper every day!!  TV, magazines, the internet and radio are not enough!!

JL

The Three Issues that Matter

After all is said and done, and the tumult at “town halls” held by Members of Congress quiets down, there are just three issues on which Congressional candidates must take a stand.  These are the areas where the American people really have great concern:

1.    Affordable Health Care  

2.    Creating Jobs Paying Enough to Support a Family

3.    Not Getting our Boys and Girls in the Armed Forces Killed  

Nothing else really matters.  Not the environment, the infrastructure, trade, taxes, monetary policy, etc.  They all are secondary to these three issues.

Can the first two be dealt with by the private sector or is government involvement necessary?   Can the third be dealt with while still protecting our nation’s interests overseas, particularly in the Middle East?

JL

Poetry Corner

And here’s a poem of mine I recently came across.  It was included in a March, 2011 posting of this blog.  I think it’s worth posting again. 

The Tree Lover

It is enough to walk through a forest

And to see the trees, some ancient, some young,

Some just shoots emerging forth from between

Moist leaves on the forest floor and some dead,

Crashed to the ground and now nourishing bugs,

And this all has a smell, virile and sweet,

Sometimes sinister, more so at night when

Naught can be seen and the only sounds are 
Made by those who call the forest their home.

But most times the forest is joyful as

It regenerates and grows and proves that

There is a Creator, indeed there is.

One need not go to a house of worship

One or more days a week to praise the Lord,

Once, twice, three times a day or even five,

Following whatever protocol is

Prescribed for offering praise to the Lord:

Shema Yisroel, Adonai Elohanu,  

Hail Mary, Full of Grace and Jesus, Fruit of Thy Womb,

Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar.

For some it is enough to see the trees

And to walk among them in the forest.

Others who take comfort in belonging

Will choose a faith to profess and follow

And be more than just a lover of trees.

JL

                 

                                 

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