Big Red Car here after the bad weather in the ATX. All is well with your Big Red Car, not to fret, dear reader. All is not well between President Donald J Trump and the press.
So, the Big Red Car is listening to a guy ranting on the big screen about how President Donald J Trump is violating his role under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
“Whoa, President Trump, we can’t have any of that, now, can we?” sayeth the Big Red Car.
So, the Big Red Car does what he always does, he does a bit of research and reads the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (which is real easy as he keeps a pocket version of it right next to the keyboard for moments just like this, y’all).
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; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Turns out the admonition as to making of ” … no law respecting … abridging the freedom … of the press…” is an admonition to the United States Congress and doesn’t even mention the President or the Internet.
Which brings us to several interesting observations:
1. The press in the United States is overwhelmingly Democrat, meaning they support the Democrat party in thought, word, deed, and voting. When persons observe they are the “opposition party,” is there something missing that indicts that obvious statement of fact?
The press is an arm of the Democrat party. They are not objective; they play favorites. They even play favorites within the Democrat party such as giving one or another candidate debate questions before debates. Unsporting of them, also.
2. To keep this interesting, the Big Red Car suggests a wager of sorts:
For every registered Republican you can identify and verify amongst the press, the Big Red Car shall give you $5; if for every registered Democrat the Big Red Car can identify, you will give the Big Red Car $2.
Seems fair, no? Simple enough notion and sort of fun if you take it as the sporting jest the Big Red Car advances, no? React quickly, as the Big Red Car has his eyes on a new paint job and wants to fund it thusly.
2. The terms “press” and “journalism” are hopelessly severed. The press does not even pretend to practice the arcane and honorable art of journalism — all that tiresome verification of “facts” and multiple sourcing of bits to be printed. So tedious, time consuming, and, often, a hurdle to what the press wants to do — support their obvious and apparent biases.
My favorite recent tactic is saying,
“Over on CNN, they’re reporting that the Trump family has regular Tuesday night Satan worship services. We, over here at ABC, don’t know whether that is true or not, but, Hell, they’re reporting it over at CNN and we have a bad sense of FOMO (fear of missing out, sort of like athazagoraphobia). So, there you have it.”
3. The press believes it can insult and hurl unpleasantness at its targets while expecting a curtain of protection under some bastardized notion of the First Amendment. Nay, no so, dear reader. If the press hurls insults at a person (ahhh, we’re talking about President Donald J Trump, y’all, just felt the need to clarify), then that person may exercise his right to “freedom of speech” to return the favor.
The First Amendment does not provide the press an unfettered right to insult folks and the ability to hide behind it when those folks return fire.
4. Let’s face it — FAKE NEWS is a real thing and when the press prints something, now moreso than ever, there is a decent chance it is fabricated of the whole cloth, anonymously sourced (some guy who I can’t tell you his name told me something particularly shitty about some guy I don’t like — that kind of anonymous source, y’all), or a half-truth.
My favorite recent one was the Russian government hacking invasion of the Vermont based utility (intending to seize control of the American electrical grid and turn out the lights in Georgia) which turned out to be a employee who got a ransom virus on his personal laptop. Ouch!
5. The President of the United States may determine who he invites to his White House (actually, it’s OUR White House, Big Red Car, felt the need to qualify your faulty utterance before it became a trigger of some sort) to chat with his press secretary and that same press secretary is able to decide with whom he chats from time to time.
This has been going on since the Eisenhower administration and is not a deviation from the norm. (Do we still adhere to norms anymore?)
It’s like if you come to a person’s house for a party and misbehave — get drunk and tell folks the host’s wife is ugly — you may not be invited a second time.
The press has no right of attendance at anything. Re-read the First Amendment to the US Constitution above. It’s all about what Congress cannot do and doesn’t even mention the White House or the press secretary.
Let’s end this little discussion with the assertion by the Big Red Car that BRC is a huge supporter of a free, competent, skillful, hard hitting (in a speaking truth to power sort of way), and skeptical press. The Big Red Car looks forward to the day when the United States plays host to such an institution.
Until then, will the press stop whining and try not to be so damn obvious in their support of the Democrat party? Play fair, press persons, and who knows maybe y’all will get an invite to the Tuesday night Satan worship. It could happen.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Be good to yourselves and start thinking about the NCAA basketball tournament.
