Tuesday Bullet Points
(questions listed in top section; answers listed in bottom section)
- Why are so many retiring or declining re-election bids in Congress? (see #1 below) As of June 5, 2018, 55 representatives will not seek re-election to their U.S. House districts. Party breakdown:
18 Democratic members of the U.S. House
and
37 Republican members of the U.S. House
Incumbents retiring from public office
- 10 Democrats
- 25 Republicans
- Why does it seem that the media as a whole stopped reporting the news opting to instead be “in” the news? (see #2 below)
- What reasons could the Department of Justice have to slow-play document production under subpoena by Congress? (see #3 below)
- What is Attorney General Jeff Sessions doing on his job? (see #4 below)
- Why does President Trump tweet so much? (see #5 below)
Tuesday Bullet Points Answers
- It is very uncommon for so many elected Congressional members to retire or simply refuse to run for re-election. 55 at one time means 10% of Congress is “voluntarily” turning over in the mid-term elections in November. Certainly, several are simply retiring for normal reasons. Some are running for other federal, state, or local offices. But questions abound as to why most of those 55 are vacating office with no re-election efforts. Conspiracy theorists assume those 40,000+ sealed federal indictments that no one seems to have answers for “might” include the names of some of these 55 and they are making plans for what that might mean to them. Others feel that the vitriolic political climate in D.C. has just worn their tolerance for such too thin. (That answer is hard to reject!) Others feel that attractive opportunities in the private sector are drawing some away. The conventional wisdom is that all of these answers are realistic as possibilities. Usually, when in doubt — especially about political matters — “follow the money.” I will not speculate as to which of these answers is/are the reason(s). I will, however, assume that the truth almost certainly lies in one or several of these examples of possibilities. No doubt whatever the real reason(s) is/are we will know in the next few months. “IF” the answer lies among those 40,000+ indictments, there will be a political bloodbath BEFORE the midterms.
- This is a really tough one to answer. As a journalist, I struggle to understand the basis for which we see such extreme “reporting” from today’s media, which is not really “reporting,” rather “editorializing.” Just today we have an extreme example of this “reporting.” Here is story headline from the front page of CNN.com: “Is Trump a danger or just ‘incompetent’ or a ‘Buffoon?’ CNN and other media outlets have made such headlines and stories the “new” normal. Simply asking such a question is as ridiculous as my asking a friend, “When did you stop beating your wife, or are you still doing it?” This practice is bad enough on its own. But what is really terrifying is that a major news organization’s editors would allow such a headline on a “news” front-page yet alone as a story headline that appears anywhere. Their possible reasons? Extreme news competition might be an explanation. Twenty years ago there were few national news outlets other than the ” Big Three” — ABC, NBC, CBS — plus upstart CNN and local newspapers. With the advent of the internet and the ease in which “news” can be given instantly to millions, competition for readership and viewership is so voracious that major news organizations through desperation for ad revenue will write or say anything to capture an audience. The fundamental for that parallels the fixation by many on soap operas, shock radio and television, and even the propensity for plain daily gossip by many. Another thought is that news organizations now feel news neutrality is NOT as important as it has been for decades. Taking sides is fair game. A case can be made for the likes of CNN, MSNBC, the “Big 3” national broadcast television networks and large city newspapers to take the liberal news perspective against more conservative news outlets. There is no secret that conservative news outlets like FOX News, Breitbart News, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, The Drudge Report, stay more down the middle politically than others and possibly skew conservative in their reporting. In any case, there is no doubt that news reporting has devolved into political partisanship in most cases. The “politically correct” double-standards in the media are unexplainable and leave most shaking their heads. Case-in-point: The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah who is now embroiled in several racist comments he made — one in a video from several years ago in which he denigrated Aboriginal Australian women. The other comes from a recent story in which he refers to the World Cup winning team from France as “an African team,” because many of that team’s players are black. If Noah was a conservative show host, he would have already been banished from his television show. So far from Noah, not even an apology demand by any in the media to apologize for either remark. Just imagine if someone like Rush Limbaugh made either of those statements!
- In Congressional hearing after Congressional hearing, Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein has downplayed his personal stone-walling in producing Congressional committee subpoenas of the D.O.J. for supporting documents from the Clinton email investigation and that of President Trump’s campaign for Russian election collusion. For more than a year Congressional requests have been non-stop. Yet Rosenstein does very little in the way of complying with those requests, using the excuse multiple times that those “documents contain classified information that would jeopardize intelligence undercover individuals.” Only after threat of contempt have any of those documents been released. When released — though heavily redacted — what IS revealed in the documents are many details that are embarrassing to the FBI and D.O.J. but have not evidenced any jeopardy to any intelligence personnel. It has become abundantly clearer and clearer that (at least in the case of Rosenstein) there is a concerted effort to slow-play document production to comply with Congressional requests. Based on those already released, it is a fair assessment that national security is NOT the reason for stalling on the production of that evidence — that hiding information contained in that evidence from Congress is the probable cause.
- The virtual disappearance of Attorney General Jeff Sessions is obvious. There is no doubt the Department of Justice has many investigatory matters it is dealing with. But with the most visibility-heightened legal matters in American history playing out daily, many are concerned at the apparent lack of direct involvement in these by the A.G. Certainly the mild-mannered former Alabama Senator could be uninvolved directly in these cases, relying on his management underlings to carry the load. But that would not be normal for A.G. Sessions. And many think the exact opposite is more realistic: that the Attorney General is busy behind the scenes on some of these legal issues that are playing out in a visible fashion, opting to “hold his cards” to his chest. That could explain those 40,000+ sealed federal indictments all handed down by judges from every U.S. Federal District Court since October of 2017. Certainly, the Attorney General would have detailed knowledge of those even if he was NOT directly involved in those cases. Federal prosecutors are obviously responsible for each of those and the investigations that resulted in each indictment. 40,000+ would certainly demand his attention.
- Two weeks after President Trump’s inauguration we put forth a plan in writing suggesting that the President take steps to totally bypass the Mainstream Media in information dissemination to Americans. Our suggestion was a White House YouTube channel, immediately terminate the daily White House Press Briefings, and once a week release a YouTube press briefing in which the President or his staff members would answer multiple questions given to the Press Office in advance of the YouTube release, and would announce pending presidential policy matters and reports of meetings upcoming and details of past meetings. The President opted to expand his Twitter conversations that have accomplished several things. Most importantly, it has given Mr. Trump the ability to message Americans WITHOUT any editorial media filters that had become so common before the 2016 election. Yes, the Mainstream Media continue to daily provide “interpretations” of all White House matters in their newscasts and talk shows and daily newspapers. But they no longer control the narrative. On this one thing, President Trump has certainly hit a home run.
Summary
One thing in D.C. in the Trump Administration is a certainty: news happens 24/7 without fail. We certainly do not know everything for certain. But Americans now have the benefit of hearing from the President daily, all day, and in his own words. Gone are the media filters that painted whatever narrative they chose for what the President had to say about anything and everything. It’s humorous to watch as Mr. Trump daily carries around a sharp stick, poking media members.
His words and messaging is calculated, planned, and objective. Those who may feel that any or emotional outbursts and nothing more need to look more closely: each has a cause and effect. He plans EVERYTHING.
Will we get specific and accurate answers to these questions? When will we get the answers if at all? Who are the real players in D.C. today? These and more questions perpetually hang in the air. At www.truthnewsnet.org we watch and listen perpetually for evidence and answers to these and other questions. Stay close — as we get answers, they immediately come to you!
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