Category Archives: media news

media news, national news

Narcissist in chief is at it again

Donald John Trump Sr.’s narcissism knows no boundaries. No limits. It is beyond belief.

The narcissist in chief has tweeted out a patently ridiculous message, alleging that Time magazine offered to considering him as its 2017 Person of the Year, but that Trump declined.

He didn’t want to sit down for an interview, he said. “No thanks,” he concluded. Time declined to comment specifically on this idiocy, except to say that it doesn’t reveal its selection until it’s announced.

The then president-elect won the honor in 2016, calling it a “tremendous honor” at the time. This year, according to the World’s Most Notable Narcissist, he doesn’t have time for it.

I almost let this matter go without making any comment. Indeed, there’s really little I feel compelled to say about it, except that the president of the United States has yet again embarked on another idiotic — and quite possibly fabricated — journey of self-aggrandizement.

I believe this is what one might call “fake news.”

media news

Malia gets unlikely support

Who would have thought that Ivanka Trump and Chelsea Clinton would be singing off the same hymnbook page?

And to think the object of their shared melody would be Malia Obama.

Ivanka has scolded reporters for essentially stalking Malia while the elder Obama daughter attends Harvard University.

Ivanka tweeted this message: “Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school aged peers. She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits.” 

There you go. That comes from the daughter — and senior adviser — of the president of the United States.

Then came this from Chelsea Clinton, daughter of another former president and a would-be president who lost the 2016 election to Ivanka’s father: “Malia Obama’s private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait. Be better.” 

Some paparazzi had snapped some pictures of Malia Obama smooching with a Harvard student and — gasp! — smoking a cigarette. The photos went viral, prompting the two presidents’ daughters to come to Malia’s defense.

Indeed, they both understand how the media can pry into people’s private lives, given their own parents’ high profile. Chelsea Clinton even weighed in when some in the media criticized 11-year-old Barron Trump’s wardrobe choices at a public event. Chelsea wrote at the time: “It’s high time the media & everyone leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves.” 

I’m with Ivanka and Chelsea. Leave Malia alone!

media news

Media getting the lashing they deserve

It hurts a bit to say this, but the so-called “mainstream media” are getting trashed — for the right reasons.

The media have been criticized for the slant of their coverage of news events, of politicians. Conservatives have labeled the MSM as tools of the liberal political establishment. I haven’t bought into that argument.

What’s happening now to the media, though, is an examination of a culture that seems to pervade it. We are witnessing the toppling of media heavyweights because of the way they behave toward women … allegedly.

Bill O’Reilly at Fox News: gone; Charlie Rose of CBS and PBS; he’s toast; Mark Halperin of MSNBC: he’s outta there; Glenn Thrush of the New York Times and MSNBC: he, too, is gone; Michael Oreskes of National Public Radio: see ya later.

What do these men have in common? They all were accused by women of making sexual advances on them, of committing acts of sexual harassment, of sexual abuse. The allegations include groping, prancing around in the nude, making inappropriate remarks … and some things I probably shouldn’t mention here because they’re in poor taste.

The word now is that media outlets are soul-searching. They are schooling their employees — the males at least — on how to behave, how to treat their female colleagues.

What gives this story its extra legs quite arguably is that the media have been covering the sexual misdeeds of others, namely politicians and entertainment tycoons. That coverage has exposed media companies — and the men who report and comment on others’ conduct — to the very revelations we have learned about their own behavior.

As Politico has reported: “We have robust policies in place and have become more focused on communicating those policies across the organization,” said New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha in an email. “In recent weeks, we’ve reminded employees of our Anti-Harassment, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Non-Discrimination policies and we’ve highlighted the many ways an employee can raise an issue or file a complaint, including through an anonymous hotline.”

That’s fine. Now it’s time for the Times and other media outlets to root out the bad actors within their ranks immediately.

media news

GOP lawmaker is sorry … for this?

Anthony “Carlos Danger” Weiner apparently had a soul mate in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Weiner, a Democrat, is now serving prison time for “sexting” underage girls. But lo and behold! Check out this item regarding Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Barton from right here in Texas.

According to The Hill:

Barton’s acknowledgement that he appears in the photo emphasizes that the women he was involved with in the past, one of whom may have shared the photo, were above the age of consent and willing participants.

“Each was consensual. Those relationships have ended. I am sorry I did not use better judgment during those days. I am sorry that I let my constituents down,” he continued.

The photo in question is of Barton’s, um, penis. It has been distributed on the Internet.

Oh, Joe, Joe, Joe …

You know about Weiner. He used the nickname “Carlos Danger” while sharing pictures of himself via Twitter during an earlier scandal.

The most hilarious part of Barton’s mea culpa, though, is this: He references having affairs with “other mature adult women.”

Do you get why I think it’s funny? He said in a statement that he fooled around with “adult” women and not — as it has been alleged about GOP U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama — with underage girls, children.

Man, oh man. This social media stuff seems to get ’em all.

media news, national news

Another media giant takes a header

I’m not going to venture too far out on the proverbial limb by making this declaration: Charlie Rose’s broadcast journalism career likely is over; he’s toast; he’s done, finished, a goner.

Sexual harassment and sexual abuse charges have brought down the former “CBS This Morning” co-host. CBS fired him today after allegations arose from eight women who said Rose pranced naked in front of them and made improper sexual advances. PBS also terminated its relationship with Rose, who had a late-night interview show on the public TV network.

The wave of reform continues to purge the media and the entertainment industry of men who behave badly. Yes, the political world also has been affected by this scourge. Women have accused Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of coming on to them when they were underage girls; U.S. Sen. Al Franken is facing pressure from political progressives to quit his office after two women have accused him of groping and unwanted kissing; U.S. Rep. John Conyers has acknowledged “settling” with women who accused him of harassment — but, in a weird statement, denies doing anything wrong.

I’m going to give Fox News credit for the way it handled the Bill O’Reilly matter. Women accused O’Reilly of bad behavior. The network where he worked as a talk-show host paid out big money to settle the complaints. It then suspended O’Reilly … and then it fired him.

The O’Reilly story, in my view, is what made Rose’s departure from CBS a done deal after the allegations came forth.

Where this all goes remains anyone’s guess. It well might end only when the last news media outlet gets rid of its last sexual predator; or when the last entertainment tycoon with similar proclivities is revealed.

As for the political world that is beginning to roil in this climate, it’s fair to wonder how many sudden “retirement” announcements we’re going to hear from pols who are overtaken by guilty consciences.

Something tells me many more men are going to be culled from the public stage.

media news

One troll disappears, more to emerge

I have become “acquainted” with trolls.

They aren’t my favorite audience members. They seem to lurk out there, waiting for my posts to appear. Then they pounce with negative responses.

I don’t mind the negativity if it is based on principled arguments to substantiate their point. I do mind the pointed barbs that contribute nothing to current discourse.

I’ve been reluctant to comment on them because, well, because I don’t want to encourage other trolls.

Recently, I took the rare step of blocking one of them. He and I aren’t connected on any social medium. He just kept chirping about issues on which I would comment. Then he got into name-calling, challenging my intelligence while remarking about how my posts were a “waste” of his time, which I presume is of great value to him.

So I cut him off.

Recently, another frequent critic of High Plains Blogger apparently has decided to block me. Imagine that, will ya? This individual is a fervent supporter of Donald John Trump Sr. She took supreme offense at my constant carping against the president.

This individual — and I reluctantly use the term “troll” here — is an actual acquaintance of mine. But I guess I have to describe this person as a classic “troll” as it has been used to define certain Internet users.

I found this description via Wikipedia: In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll’s amusement.

Yep. That describes the individual who blocked me. This person would engage in some heated back-and-forth with other readers of this blog, arguing just for the sake of arguing.

I won’t lose a wink of sleep over getting blocked by this person, because I am acutely aware that there will be others who’ll step up to take the place of any such “troll” who drops off this blog’s grid.

Oh, just so you know, I still love writing this blog.

media news

Twitter expands its format? Oh, boy … maybe

This just in: Twitter has expanded its social media format, doubling the number of characters one can use to communicate this and/or that musing.

I have no idea what it means for me. I use the medium in a fairly limited fashion. I use it to distribute posts on High Plains Blogger. I retweet others’ messages that I find interesting, provocative or entertaining. I also send out my own commentary on topics of the moment.

Since I signed up on Twitter about six years ago, I found the 140-character limit to be restrictive. I got used to it over time.

Now we get 280 characters to fire off whatever message we choose to send out.

It appears that the tweeter in chief — the guy who also serves as president of the United States — might really bask in this format. Knock yourself out, Mr. President.

I learned during my years in print journalism to “write tight.” Don’t take too much newsprint space to tell whatever story you are asked to tell. I’ve heard many editors scream at reporters for writing too much to fill an eight- or 10-inch hole on a given page.

To that end, Twitter has turned “tight writing” into an art form. I thought I was pretty good at expressing myself in just 140 characters. Now we’re going to double that amount.

I don’t know how to act.

media news, national news

How does Trump justify his media hatred?

The hate/hate relationship Donald John Trump has with the media has baffled me from the beginning of his presidency.

You see, the man ought to be thanking the media for the role they played in advancing his presidential candidacy. It hasn’t worked out that way. He has become the media’s Enemy No. 1. And how? Because he fired the first shot in the war.

The media’s making of a presidential candidacy became evident from the candidate’s first day on the campaign trail. He rode down that elevator at Trump Tower in June 2015 and a “love affair” was born.

Trump made outlandish statements from Day One. The media didn’t challenge him. The media seemed reluctant to call the candidate what he was: a liar.

When he announced his plan to ban Muslims from entering the country, he said he witnessed “thousands of Muslims cheering” the collapse of the Twin Towers; he didn’t witness any such thing. He said he lost “many friends” in the Twin Towers; he didn’t lose any friends.

Did the media challenge him in real time for the lies he told? No. They generally let them ride.

Prior to his running for the first public office he ever sought — the presidency — Trump loved the media exposure as long as it promoted his business ventures. He loved the media as well. He chummed around with media moguls.

Eventually, and it took a while, the media began to wise up to how the candidate was playing them. They started, um, doing their job.

It’s been said that the media should “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” That’s what they do. It’s part of their charge as professionals. Trump is among the more, uh, comfortable people in public life; he kept telling us how fabulously wealthy he is. And smart, too.

It’s gone downhill ever since. His election as president has turned the one-time media lover into a media hater. He labels the media as the “enemy of the American people.” His standard retort to anything he deems negative is to call it “fake news.” Trump commits the unconscionable act of singling out individual reporters and the news organizations they represent. He lies continually and the media keep calling him out.

It truly is an amazing turn of events. The president of the United States has declared war on the very institution he needs to inform the public of whatever message he wants to deliver.

Every single one of the president’s predecessors has experienced difficulty with the media during their time in the office Trump now occupies. They all understood something that Trump ignores: The media kept them accountable for their actions.

The media are doing now what they should have been doing from the very beginning of this guy’s campaign for the presidency.

media news

Trump Twitter account goes down … but not for good

Donald J. Trump was off the Twitter trail for 11 whole minutes.

Damn, anyway! Why couldn’t he have been taken off for keeps? Alas, it was not to be.

But the unplugging of Trump’s Twitter feed has raised serious questions that need some equally serious answers.

How did an individual get hold of Trump’s account to disable it if only for a few minutes?

What are the ramifications, particularly when the president tweets out actually federal government policy using that particular social medium?

Does this call into question the wisdom of the Leader of the Free World using this medium in such cavalier fashion?

Oh, the dangers of conducting policy by tweet.

The debate has turned ideological. Conservatives blame the takedown on a rogue Twitter employee who did it on his or her last day on the job. They also complain that Twitter is more tolerant of liberals than conservatives and believe the president’s Twitter account was targeted only because he espouses conservative policies.

I prefer to focus on the very notion of the president of the United States using this medium in the manner that he does. He ought simply to just back off and not get so intimately involved with Twitter. He says he uses it to speak directly to Americans. Hogwash!

If that is his goal, then he ought to issue daily policy statements through the White House communications office.

POTUS exposes himself to trouble

Donald Trump’s use of Twitter, to my mind, only illustrates how vulnerable he is to the kind of chicanery that someone conducted. It also illustrates the extreme danger of these social media messages getting into the wrong hands.

media news

Is the man recanting his oath?

You go, U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse!

The young Nebraska Republican —  a freshman member of the “world’s greatest deliberative body” — has asked a pertinent question of the president of the United States.

Is Donald J. Trump “recanting” the oath of office he took in January?

Trump, you see, is ratcheting up his battle with the news media. He is suggesting that television networks are “disgusting” him by reporting negative news. He calls it “fake news,” of course. Trump is suggesting also that networks could have their licenses revoked because of their reporting.

But wait! He took an oath to protect the Constitution, which allows the media to do their job without government interference or pressure.

Sasse writes: “Mr. President: Words spoken by the President of the United States matter,” the Republican senator wrote in a statement. “Are you tonight recanting of the oath you took on Jan. 20 to preserve, protect, and defend the 1st Amendment?”

Fascinating, yes? Sasse is a Republican, just like the president. Oh, but the president keeps yapping that all this negative stuff is being fueled by Democrats.

Now he is seeming to imply that the Constitution’s guarantees of press freedom in the First Amendment don’t matter.

I’ll give the president “credit,” though, for this. He has “united” partisans on both sides of the aisle in condemning his ridiculous notion of censoring news outlets.