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Trump’s Possible Tool to Offset PollsThe lower President Trump sinks in the polls, the greater the chances are that he will turn to a war with Iran with the supposed aim of uniting our country behind him. If that happens, there will be many killed, and the likelihood of impeachment if he is still in office will grow. Sooner or later Trump must face the burden of accountability for his actions.
JL
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A History of Media and Where it Leaves Us
When human men and women first came out of the caves in which they had dwelled, they cared little about what other beings were doing, their full attention being required for mere survival.
But eventually, the immediate world around them became important as some acquired leadership roles, making rules, and bartering among people developed as some grew more food than they needed and others did not, but who might possess other tradable skills or resources.
The only media then available to them was what amounted to a ‘town crier’ who periodically announced what was going on with a loud voice to an attentive public, things he may have heard, what he observed, or was told to say by those who had taken leadership roles. Some town criers may even have been the earliest who had learned how to read. But, in an illiterate world, this was a step forward from ignorance of things beyond their immediate families.
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| Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses on the church door |
The invention of printing enabled such announcements and news to be spread more widely as literacy increased. Eventually, although initially limited to religious matters in an age when church and state were mostly inseparable, over the years they grew into what became newspapers, reporting on almost anything and everything.
For centuries, newspapers remained the prime medium for enabling people to keep up with things. They were sold weekly or even daily for a pittance, contained paid-for advertisements, and served to give people some idea of what was going on around them. (Afterwards, they could be used to wrap fish brought home from the market, and even as pillow stuffing.)
Over time, newspapers were supplemented by other kinds of printed matter and even the human voice, harkening back to the days of the ‘town crier’ by the time radio was invented. Television and the internet rapidly followed; there seems to be no limit to how media sources proliferated, at the expense of newspapers which are rapidly failing financially, especially over the past century or so. Facebook, YouTube, and innumerable podcasts are examples of what is replacing them.
But governments were not unaware of this. When our nation was founded, the writers of the Constitution saw fit to include the following language in its First Amendment:
‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press …‘ They were very conscious of the role media played and wanted to guarantee its honesty and freedom from government control. Today, ‘the press’ mentioned in the First Amendment encompasses all of what we refer to as ‘media.’
But by not ‘abridging the freedom of speech or of the press,’ protecting media became a double edged sword. Besides guaranteeing a voice for honest opinion of all kinds, it also protected the circulation of the less than honest words of charlatans, snake oil salesmen, and political liars of all stripes.
Whether something in our media is a lie is or is not a lie has become is a highly subjective matter, often even puzzling judges and juries.
These days, ordinary people aren’t quite sure what to believe about the supposed evils of immigration, domestic terrorism, those involved in the Epstein scandal, climate change, what’s good to eat, what pills to take, regulating nuclear weapons, various and sundry government regulations, and of course foreign relations with Iran, Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle East. As the King in the 1950’s musical, ‘The King and I’ said, ‘Is a puzzlement!’ (The theatre might also be considered to be a kind of media.)
But there is something you can do!
There are some wise people in this country who write books and articles, post on the internet and have looked deeply into these problems. Few are in politics, but they can be found among journalists and in our colleges and universities. It is up to you to survey their ideas and select one with whom you mostly agree.
Different people will favor the contradictory ideas of such so called savants, but you should try choose one whose words and hopefully, solutions, seem sensible or logical to you. But it is unacceptable for you to just sit on the sidelines, without taking a stand of some sort. You have a brain; use it.
You should identify with such a person and follow them closely to begin to learn what media to believe and what media to ignore. That is better than groping through the morass of ideas, good and bad, that the First Amendment allows to be voiced.
At least you will have a beacon to choose to follow … and light your way. Perhaps you already have one.
JL
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62nd Annual Munich Security Conference Raises Questions
There’s sufficient reason in Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s daily free ‘Letters from an American’ posting dated February 15 to convince the reader that voting for Republicans is very dangerous, risking the survival of democracy not only in the United States, but in Europe and elsewhere as well.
This reared its head at the recent Munich Security Conference, an annual conclave since the middle of the Cold War in the 1960’s, Traditionally, other nations have looked to the United State as an example and for leadership. But that is changing, causing longtime allies to question our commitment to democracy, based on the words and actions of our Republican administration, including the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State.
I urge you to check out the changes that took place at that Munich meeting by clicking here or copying and pasting https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ on your devices browser line. It’s free.
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And while you’re clicked onto that site, please note that while other media voices may rant and rave, Boston College history Professor Richardson’s daily ‘Letters from and American’ includes links to solid sources substantiating and documenting her words.
Take a look at her comments dated February 16 in which there is a detailed accounting of how the present President debases the office of the Presidency.
To him, it is just another activity in which he is taking part, like the Apprentice TV show, his ‘university,’ his golf courses and resorts, and taking payoffs in exchange for favoring financial supporters.
And putting his name on non-political entities such as the Kennedy Center, now closed for alleged renovations, is just getting free advertising on his part. He also has naming airports, a useful bargaining chip, on his list. He has no shame.
Our country is supposed to be ruled by Congress, with the Executive Branch carrying out the laws they pass. Trump sees this reversed, with Congress passing laws the president wants.
Never in our history has a president and his family personally profited the way Trump and his children have. It is shameful. Perhaps future presidents should be required to take a vow of poverty during their term of office and exist entirely on their presidential salary, as Harry Truman, never a wealhy man, did and even sign onto a specific pledge acknowledging the Emolument clauses in Articles 1 and 2 of the Constitution.
JL
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Echoes of “1984”
The New York Times reported the other day that ‘a federal judge … ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore displays about George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people at a monument on the site of his former house in Philadelphia. The judge said the government’s claim to have the power to erase and alter historical accounts at the country’s monuments echoed George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
But since when does the Administration heed all of the orders of judges?
Ultimately, when enough voters have had enough of Trump and the false reality he tries to construct, he will be swept under the rug and the Democrats along with the remnants of the political party Trump destroyed with his MAGA fantasy will restore a government of, by, and for the people as envisioned by Abraham Lincoln rather than the one darkly seen by George Orwell.
It cannot come soon enough; it is never too late for that to happen.
JL
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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri
Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com.
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More on the Sources of Information in Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered local daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email; that includes the views of many contributors, including the New York Times and other respected journals.
Be aware that when I open that email, I first quickly glance at and screen out those sent to my very old former email address and those considered ‘promotional’ by Gmail’s system as no more than advertisements or requests for donations. Besides these sources, I also utilize the Google search engine where I can look up any subject I want.
Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri.
Following such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than any AI summary. I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect.
Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence.
JL
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