Was it an accidental moment of truth that Fox News online pictured Trump as most corrupt

 

By Hal Brown

My friend watched Fox News last night while we were watching MSNBC. I don't know why she subjects herself to this blood pressure raising torture. She said they were spinning the story as Biden prosecuting Trump to try to steal the election and that they had Steven Miller on (article and video).

While I never tune into Fox News, for the hell of it I thought I'd look at the Fox News website and above at the top of the blog is what I saw.

It struck me as a weird that Trump was pictured with the words "most corrupt" in caps and quotes under his photo. Could Fox News be editorializing that they had a sudden eureka moment of truth, justice, and the American way and were telling us that Trump was the most corrupt?

The clarification wasn't on the front page. It was in the first paragraph of the story that image was linked to:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump says indictment is 'election interference at the highest level'

 It, as shown above in my illustration, is:

Former President Trump said his federal indictment is "election interference at the highest level," telling Fox News Digital that the Biden administration is "the most corrupt" in history.

For a second I took the illustration literally at face value, i.e., the face that is pictured is of the most corrupt president in American history. Then I thought that it being on the main page of the Fox News website would be unprecedented. I had to check this out.

I discovered that what Fox News was trying to convey would be more accurately illustrated with a picture of Trump ranting that the Biden administration is the most corrupt in history.

They also could have found an unflattering photo of Biden to convey their meaning and used a photo like this:

This is what Trump and his MAGA mouthpieces want everyone to believe.

The article goes on at considerable length to attempt to paint President Biden as a bribery accepting criminal without evidence because supposedly Hunter Biden accepted $5 million from Burisma to get then Vice President Biden to make sure Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Slotkin, who was investigating the company, was fired.

According to the article:

The confidential source said the Burisma executive told him he "paid" the Bidens in such a manner "through so many different bank accounts" that investigators would not be able to "unravel this for at least 10 years."

The document then makes reference to "the Big Guy," which, has been said to be a reference to Joe Biden. 

It is believable that the troubled Hunter Biden was a grifter and took the money, but only someone willing to believe without evidence that Joe Biden was totally lacking in ethics, basically a illegitimately elected president, and a money-hungry criminal who would readily accept a bribe.

Of course, there are millions of Americans convinced that Joe Biden is an illegitimately elected president, a card carrying communist, and the Devil dressed in drag dragooning toddlers into changing their genders. 

About the blog:

Here's a mystery. For unknown reasons all week the blog has had the largest percentage of readers logging on from Singapore. All I can think of is that this had something to do with this:

World's spy chiefs connect in secret conclave at Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore

There are expats from all over the world living in Singapore. Perhaps thorough word of mouth some of them have been following the blog. I'd appreciate anyone logging on from their comment and let me know who they are and how they discovered the blog, and what they think of it.

If you don't see the Disquis comment section below it is here.

Homelessness: Daytime nightmare about to unfold in Portland

 

Public domain, Creative Commons..

By Hal Brown, MSW, Retired psychotherapist

This is a classic case of municipal decision makers putting the cart before the horse, only in this case the cart is a shopping cart. A ban of daytime camping just enacted in Portland, Oregon may make daytime scenes like this (above) more common.

Homelessness is multifaceted problem but not a particularly complex one to remedy. My intention isn't to elaborate on how to solve the problem. It should be a no-brainer. It certainly isn't the harsh measure of forcing people currently living in tents to wander the streets during the day in the hopes that this will force them to live in approved housing. 

Aside from the fact that there are not enough places for them to live, there are reasons that have to be addressed as to why those who don't avail themselves of such housing make the choice to live on the streets.

Here's the disturbing news for everyone who calls a tent their home in Portland, OR, and anyone with a modicum of empathy for them:

Click above to read article

I have a Portland (Oregon) street address although I really live a few hundred feet from the line between the city a suburban town that is on the terminus of one of the light rail lines from downtown. Low income passes are free or cost as little as $3. This is only relevant because Portland is banning daytime camping. More people will be able to head outside of city limits to find places to live on the street.

This may result in more homeless people deciding to set up camps in the town closest to me where we don't have resources to serve their needs.  Here's another article:

‘Inevitable’: Portland City Council passes daytime camping ban

The ban requires people living in tents to pack up and vacate between 8 AM and 8PM. It will go into effect on July 7th. Talk about a very unhappy Independence Day for the numerous people who live in tents within the city limits of Portland.

I appreciate Portland, the western part of Oregon, and our state government for being very progressive in numerous ways. Unfortunately, I am ashamed for the city because they are taking this inhumane and draconian measure before there are enough solutions in place so nobody has to be ejected from their tents to pay a fine they can't afford, and possibly end up in jail. Lest anyone forget, these tents are their homes and when in clusters they are their neighborhoods.

Update: 

People living on the streets, business owners have mixed reactions to Portland daytime camping ban

If you watch all 10 mins. of Tucker Carlson's first Twitter show and are like me it will be 10x longer than you've ever watched him

 

By Hal Brown

This morning I went there and watched Tucker Carlson's Twitter debut show so I could write this blog. Until now the most I'd seen of Tucker Carlson were brief segments aired on MSNBC. 

I did this after finding out about his new "show" from HUFFPOST and clicking on the link to Twitter in their article 

Tucker Carlson’s New Twitter Show, Seen By Millions, Starts With Conspiracy Theories

Click above to enlarge image

I doubt you'll do it, but you can watch the Tucker's Twitter debut by clicking here.

I am too lazy to offer a complete summary of what he said though I want to share a few impressions.

I was surprised that some of his references went so far beyond sarcasm that I wondered if they would fly like the alien UFO's he said he were in possession of the US government (along with the bodies of alien pilots) over the heads of many of his viewers. Really, he spent about two  minutes on how the "fact" that alien UFOs exist and we have been studying them and their the bodies of their pilots is the covered up story of the century.

He also explained what using tautology as a  persuasion technique was, and he accused the mainstream media of using this technique of argument incessantly when I doubt most of his viewers know what the term means. In fact, Carlson's stock in trade is tautology. Having graduated from Trinity College (ranked 39 among US liberal arts colleges) and being one of their best known alumni he certainly is familiar with the concept. Of the hundreds of notable alumni listed on Wikipedia, alas (for him) he's only number four of the 10 who are pictured as select alumni in the sidebar. He is after Christine C. Quinn, David Cage, and Dov Zakheim who aren't household names. If he ever looks at this I assume he can beat his chest over being above George Will and the creator of MyTunes.

Click above to enlarge

He managed to get in references to trans women calling them skinny dudes in dresses. 

Unanswered questions apparently trouble Carlson. For example, who organized the BLM riots, what  really happened on 911, and who killed JFK?

Although Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham got knocks, there were two primary villains in his 10 minute Twitter debut. One was the media and the other was Zelenski who he described with a string of insults saying that he was ratlike and a shifty dead-eyed man in a tracksuit.

Perhaps time limitations kept him from gushing or crushing over Putin, the dictator who likes to be photographed barechested. He didn't even mention his name.  He supports Russia in the Ukraine war. In fact, one of his segments was replayed on Russian TV:

He began his debut "show" explaining why he is sure they weren't responsible for blowing up the Kakhovka dam blaming it on Ukraine.

Describing the media toward the end of his show (I'll take the word out of quotes) he says they have stories like "here's a story about racism now go eat each other." I have no idea what he meant by now go eat each other.

How many of his regular viewers will follow him to Twitter and watch him on their Internet devices rather than on television remains to be seen. Unless Elon Musk decides to pay him I don't know how he can make much money off of this although his net worth has been estimated to be $30 million.

Of course with an ego like Tucker's maybe money isn't all that important to him.

...........................................................

Related blog from June 2nd: The unemployed TV personality who could beat Trump.

Here's a mystery. For unknown reasons all week the blog has had the largest percentage of readers logging on from Singapore. All I can think of is that this had something to do with this:

World's spy chiefs connect in secret conclave at Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore

Click above to enlarge

IF SO:

If you don't see the Disquis comment section below it is on the bottom of the page here.