This is truly painful since I am neither a fan of Donald Trump or beauty pageants, but here it is: Is it possible that the actions taken against not just Donald Trump but his business associations are excessive? NBC has issued a statement that it will no longer air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants and that Trump will no longer participate in “The Celebrity Apprentice.” (Univision previously banned the pageant as did Televise. Mexico swore not to send its contestant to the pageant). Now many people have long advocated a Dump the Trump position because they view him as an obnoxious self-caricature. However, NBC is now dropping its association with Trump because he said highly negative things about border illegal aliens at a political event. [Now Macy’s has joined the corporate Dump Trump movement]
One could understand dropping a personality from a show like “The Celebrity Apprentice” over public comments, but the network is shooting shows that are connected Trump’s business interests. It seems odd to pull the plug on the Miss USA and Miss Universe contestants solely because the events is connected financially to someone who has controversial political views. The Miss USA contestants expected to appear on NBC on July 12 from Baton Rouge. The network has aired the program for the last 11 years.
Trump created a firestorm in announcing his candidacy on June 16th for President in discussing illegal immigration. He said:
“The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. … When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” said Trump. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
I can certainly see the basis for the outcry in labeling the population of illegal immigrants as rapists and criminals (except for “some” who may be “good people”). The question is whether businesses should be punished for the political views of their CEOs or leadership. We have been discussing the increasing private sanctions for unpopular speech — the so-called “Little Brother” problem. It bears some resemblance to the Chick-Fil-A controversy after Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy made anti-gay comments. The question is why it is appropriate to punish an entire business — and its employees and customers — because you disagree with the political or religious views of an owner or executive. Where should be draw the line? I can see the basis for severing Trump as an on-air personality over public comments deemed offensive but is it appropriate to bar shows that happen to be financially supported by Trump?
It seems to me that, if NBC is going to bar shows due to the views of business executives, it should do so uniformly. Many CEOs hold views that can be criticized as offensive by one group or another. Is NBC going to impose a uniform speech code for businesses funding programs? The alternative is to separate the political views of business people from their products or programs, particularly when those products or programs do not in any way reflect the views.
What do you think?
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Or this, on the exportation of pesticides:
http://www1.american.edu/ted/mexpest.htm
According to the EPA, “Pesticides that are not approved – or registered – for use in the U.S. may be manufactured in the U.S. and exported.”
Trump has about zero chance of becoming President. He knows this too.
It is a chance for him to say whatever he wants. Say things that the weasley politicians would never say because it would not be “politically correct”. So they repeat composted canned talking points. Let the Donald throw the bombs.
He does it because.
1. He can. He can afford it and likes the exposure.
2. He is putting into the national dialogue issues, like the criminal illegals invading the country, that otherwise would be kept out of the dialogue by the weak sisters we have running for President now. Unpopular but true.
3. The media loves a circus and The Donald is just the clown they love to hate….he gets coverage. Better that the clown Biden is. Donald is worse than your drunken uncle at the family reunion speaking all the uncomfortable secrets.
4. If he brings these issues to light, it might galvanize some of the braindead voters out there to consider their own best interests.
5. Anything that improves the economy and creates a better business environment is good for The Donald. And he IS all about the money. At least he is honest about that unlike the rest of the money grubbing political hacks.
6. If he gets the country to be more focus on the economy and other issues….he wins by losing.
Bonus. We get to be amazed and amused.
Ken – the globalization of work forces has had a devastating impact. It was supposed to improve the economies of other countries, but it ended up driving all manufacturing and a lot of customer service and other jobs out of our country.
Large companies outsource overseas so they can lower the price of their products. Competitors must do the same or go out of business. Because although we all talk a good talk about wanting to buy American, and how superior our regulations are, in the end most of us choose the best price. Children’s toys and a few other tiny niche markets support American made, but not much else. We all are responsible for GE’s excesses.
Oh, and because I can turn any argument into a non sequitur about organic, American big ag grows some of its products overseas using pesticides that are banned here, and just imports the produce.
So although we have these laws:
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/international/trade/
We get pesticides with these residues:
http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1183&context=wmelpr
Nobody could shut Trump up, lol. No one is censoring him. He still has Fox and right wing talk radio. NBC has every right to dump him, their viewers reject Trump, bye bye Trump. Good for NBC.
If anybody deserves to be black-listed it is the Trumps of the world.
Typical “progressive liberal” repressive puritanical attitude. “I don’t like what you have to say so I will censor you, shut you up, make you lose your job, and do anything to prevent free speech because you are saying icky things that I don’t like and no one else should be allowed to hear your speech.”
Free speech is the right to say even things that others might find disagreeable. People are free to say things that offend and do not have to toe your line.
I find Trump amusing and like that he says outrageous things. I don’t necessarily agree with him but I certainly don’t like the idea of “black listing” or banning people for having ideas that are different.
I think we tried this several times. The McCarthy era blacklisting is one example.
Geez you people are insufferable fascists. My opinion. Go cry me a river or black list me or ban me or something. Better yet. Don’t pay attention to me 😀
Good riddance. It’s about time. As long greed to runs the media they will run the government as well. Trump has used up way more than his 15 minutes of fame. If he needs an audience he can hire one to hang out in one of his many hotel lounges. Trump is not funny or sad, and he has no political platform other than whatever comes out of his mouth at any given time. I would not insult conservatives or liberals by suggesting he is either. If anybody deserves to be black-listed it is the Trumps of the world.
Karen,
Great posts! And considering SCOTUS essentially upheld the 10th circuit’s decision in the “Kobach, et al. v. Election Assistance Commission” case we can expect ‘illegal’ voters to be coming out of the closet as well.
We have been fundamentally transformed from a constitutional republic into a pure democratic republic. Sounds good on paper until you realize the only thing standing between whatever is left of your rights and an angry mob is the will of the administrative state.
What could possibly go wrong?
Nicely done!
@ Joseph D. Bussone, Esq.
“However, NBC has sponsors to consider too, and Mexico threatened not to send its contestant to one of the beauty pageants, and I heard Telemundo and Univision weren’t too happy with Mr. Trump either. The way I figure it, NBC just decided to cut its potential losses. It was an economic decision,…”
NBC is owned and operated by the multi-national corporation General Electric, whose paramount reason for being is to accumulate money and to use that money to increase its global reach and power.
“There is probably no more ‘American’ corporation than General Electric — and no company with more of an a-national world outlook than GE. And no company’s record better illustrates the glories of corporate globalization for the well-off, and the misery for the many.
“Founded by the American icon Thomas Edison, GE is now headed by Jack Welch, [current CEO Jeff Immelt has closely followed Welch’s policies] who has said, ‘Ideally you’d have every plant you own on a barge’– ready to move if any national government tried to impose restraints on the factories’ operations, or if workers demanded better wages and working conditions. [emphasis added]
“While Welch’s 20-year reign has been a golden era for shareholders — the company’s stock value has risen three time more than the Dow average, leading Forbes magazine to name Welch the ‘Most Admired CEO of the Century’ — it has been a disaster for employees.
“GE has slashed its U.S. workforce by almost half since 1986. The numbers are down ‘because of speed up, downsizing, outsourcing, plant closings, you name it,’ says Chris Townsend, political director of the United Electrical (UE) workers.
“GE has globalized its operations by shifting production to low-wage countries. (And even in these countries, the jobs remain precarious: GE recently shuttered a factory in Turkey to move it to lower-wage Hungary — and it has threatened to close a factory in Hungary and move it to India. Union officials in Malaysia say they fear GE ‘putting our plant on a barge and moving to Vietnam,’ according to InterPress Service.) [emphasis added]
“Now GE appears no longer satisfied to close its own plants — it wants to shut down those of suppliers, too. In a startling memo obtained by Business Week, GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) — a hugely profitable division — told suppliers that they would have to move to Mexico if they hoped to continue their relationship with GE.
“GEAE has held what it calls ‘supplier migration’ conferences in Cincinnati, near its headquarters, and in Monterrey, where an aerospace industrial park is being built. An internal report on a GEAE meeting with its suppliers says, ‘GE set the tone early and succinctly: “Migrate or be out of business; not a matter of if, just when. This is not a seminar to provide you information. We expect you to move and move quickly.”
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=7844
Consistent with their being fundamentally profit-seeking enterprises, the other mainstream corporate media conglomerates decide for the American public what is newsworthy, and, even more importantly, what is better kept out of public consciousness. They are, in other words, systematically engaged in mind control. They embody the advice of the father of public relations and highly influential advocate of mind-controlling propaganda, Edward Bernays:
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.
“This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” [emphasis added]
― Edward L. Bernays, Propaganda
And Bernay’s “relatively small number of persons” has become increasingly smaller:
“In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. At the time, Ben Bagdikian was called ‘alarmist’ for pointing this out in his book, The Media Monopoly. In his 4th edition, published in 1992, he wrote ‘in the U.S., fewer than two dozen of these extraordinary creatures own and operate 90% of the mass media’ — controlling almost all of America’s newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, books, records, movies, videos, wire services and photo agencies. [my emphasis]
“He predicted then that eventually this number would fall to about half a dozen companies. This was greeted with skepticism at the time. When the 6th edition of The Media Monopoly was published in 2000, the number had fallen to six. Since then, there have been more mergers and the scope has expanded to include new media like the Internet market.
“In 2004, Bagdikian’s revised and expanded book, The New Media Monopoly, shows that only 5 huge corporations — Time Warner, Disney, Murdoch’s News Corporation, Bertelsmann of Germany, and Viacom (formerly CBS) — now control most of the media industry in the U.S. General Electric’s NBC is a close sixth.
http://www.corporations.org/media/
To categorize the MSM networks as being “liberal” or “conservative” is, I suggest, to betray the superficiality of one’s thinking and understanding of the power dynamics informing the behavior of corporate media conglomerates.
What makes CA an undisputed leader in hostility to businesses?
1. Those who operate legally, follow all the rules, and pay a fair wage have to compete with those who pay illegal aliens under the table.
2. We have the highest tax rate in the nation, and yet anyone successful is viewed as the enemy. “You didn’t build that.”
3. Excessive regulations. (One campground operator complained that in order to temporarily park a concessions truck he had to take a soil sample from underneath his parking lot.
4. Litigious environment (we are also among the leaders in lawsuits in the nation)
5. High gas prices (we pay the 2nd highest gas tax in the nation so Jerry Brown can raid the funds to pay for his vacation train gift to unions)
6. Traffic. We have some of the worst traffic in the nation, made worse by the surge of illegal aliens. I recall there was a strike where illegal aliens stayed home from work. It was wonderful. The freeways were wide open.
Exactly what Karen said. True True True!!!!
So, we can also lose our livelihoods if we complain bitterly about illegal immigration now? I need to start a list so I can remember all the forbidden Free Speech.
I would not vote for Trump, and think his comment was wrong in that he indicated that only a small minority of illegal aliens are “good people.”
But I live in a border state. I live with the very real problems of illegal immigration every single day. We have sex trafficking, Mexican gangs, drug cartels, the violence along our own border is so intense that there are actually US government signs warning Americans to stay away on our own sovereign land , and yes, we do have illegal aliens who are rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals. We have have antibiotic resistant TB, scabies, and other diseases. This was highlighted in the surge of illegal alien unaccompanied children caused directly by the Dream Act. Border Patrol started bringing home diseases to their own kids that they picked up from the illegal aliens.
One of the points of legal immigration is that prospective applicants have to undergo a thorough background check and a health exam. Illegal aliens just skip the whole thing. Why should they be expected to follow the rules like everyone else? They live close by, so they get a waiver, right? We have no idea who is coming over because they do not go through a background check, and we have no way of knowing what percentage of illegal aliens ever committed a crime in their homeland before coming. Many international criminals feel to and from Mexico. Our open border is also an easy entrance possibility for terrorists. I knew a rabidly anti-Semitic, Holocaust and 9/11 denier Persian who immigrated here illegally through Mexico. And since identity theft is so rampant, we have no idea if they’ve committed crimes here, either. So neither Trump, nor I, nor anyone else has any idea what percentage of illegal immigrants never committed a crime either before or after arriving here, besides of course breaking our immigration laws. The Liberals have successfully created policy where the police department may not contact ICE to deport anyone they arrest who turns out to be an illegal alien, so breaking our laws is not even a reason to make them leave.
What are some of the non-violent consequences of illegal immigration by good people?
1. Legal immigration sets the amount of immigration to a level that our supportive services can afford. Illegal aliens crush that system with unsupportable waves of people, which is unfair to the legal immigrants who respected our laws, as well to the taxpayers that support our newcomers. Emergency rooms close because they cannot afford to stay in business with no one paying. Wait times are huge which can be deadly for a life threatening emergency that sends you to the ER in the first place. When drivers licenses came out for illegal aliens (as another attractant), it took months to get an appointment at the DMV, and wait times when you arrived for your appointment was hours. This made the news, and I experienced it myself. Other services like schools, Obamacare, and Welfare get stretched to the breaking point. Our schools are some of the worst performing in that nation. As predicted (and hotly denied by the Administration), CA has added illegal aliens to Obamacare. We also offer other social services, and identity theft takes care of any other services that are supposed to be denied to illegals. The result is that our supportive services are stretched too thin, even though we have literally the highest tax rate in the nation. (NY sometimes trades with us for that doubtful honor.)
2. Illegal aliens work for cash and do not pay taxes. There are street corners where day laborers gather in droves.
3. Illegal alien crews compete with businesses in the construction and remodel and landscaping industries. They do not pay their workers a fair wage, or work comp, insurance, license, bonded . . . anything. They just show up with a really low bid. The front man will be a citizen or at least speak excellent English. Naive homeowners (the same ones who vote for increasing the minimum wage, and all those other expensive things like requiring bonds and insurance) then comparison shop by price and end up with an illegal alien crew working for them. The work is sub-par and often completely unsafe, but since they are not licensed or bonded or insured they are out of luck. Since the crews often do not speak English, they cannot understand instructions, and there are sometimes workplace accidents due to the language barrier. The crews are usually paid in cash, so no tax revenue. So they decimate the legal businesses in the industries.
4. Hit and runs by illegal aliens are rampant in border states because they don’t have insurance. It’s so bad that having uninsured driver insurance is now required for the rest of us suckers to buy.
5. Legal immigrants go through a lengthy process, all the background checks, and they are required to go home to their country periodically to renew their work visa. This is a hardship and expensive. I actually want to remove the requirement for them to leave to renew the visa. I’ve worked with people who’ve had to do this, and it’s very disruptive. Illegal aliens who feel the rules do not apply to them cause intense bad feeling with the legal aliens, who had to follow our rules for no other reason, apparently, than because they lived in Kathmandu instead of Guadalajara.
6. We have an affordable housing crisis made exponentially worse by immigration at too high a rate to absorb.
7. Overcrowding. Our resources and land are finite. Eventually, if our population grows too great by a combination of natural increase, legal, and illegal immigration, any environmentalist can tell you that eventually it will become unsustainable. CA just enacted mandatory water reduction, in some places up to 40%. That is regardless of whether you’ve already conserved water to the maximum. How in the world are we supposed to save such a huge amount of water when we keep increasing our population?
8. The most likely people to leave the state are young, middle class professionals and business owners. The most productive people. The most likely people to enter the state are poor migrants who need the most help. You do the math. This is wonderful for Liberals, since immigrants vote Democratic, but not so good for the economics of the state since the most productive people leave due to traffic and high taxes.
9. Illegal aliens vote in elections. There are multiple videos where journalists go door to door, people admit they were illegal aliens and that they voted, and had no idea they weren’t supposed to. There are intense Democratic voter registration drives that encourage illegal aliens to vote. This literally steals the vote from legal citizens.
People who live in the interior have absolutely no idea the costs of illegal immigration, and how it affects the rest of us.
Evidently, the FCC decided not to enforce the equal time rule….. I checked to see how rigidly networks were held to the Zapple Doctrine(1972), which was evidentially the source of the equal time rule.
I’d be interested in any comments about any past application of this rule, or why it is no longer enforced by the FCC.
To G de LA Paz….I didn’t say that I thought NBC was legitimate….I said that the equal time rule was a legitimate reason for dropping Trump.
My understanding is that any network can’t give a declared candidate that kind of venue/exposure without giving the same to the other candidates.
I actually think Obama”s statement that he would “fundamentally transform America” was an honest statement. The problem is no one from the MSM bothered to press him on that and ask him “into what?” This is where the they completely abandoned the idea of journalistic integrity because that sort of statement demands a “vision” question.
Now that we are safely free of that whole constitution thingy the media doesn’t need to pretend to be the Fourth Pillar of Democracy any longer. We have only one pillar and the MSM is its mouthpiece.
It’s clearly NBC’s right to get rid of this windbag, but could you imagine the howling from the left if MSNBC got rid of Al Sharpton for his hateful comments (not that they would…it’s why they hired him)? I’m not sure they’d be singing the same song. Consistency is not their thing.
Personally, I think he is one of the most noxious and pathological narcissists that our country has ever produced. Other people are certainly allowed to like, admire and even vote for him and I have no problem with that at all.
However, he will terminate business with anyone who interferes with his bottom line. That’s his right as the business owner. NBC did the same thing. It’s silly to pretend this is about what he said. It’s that what he said might affect their business negatively.
If you want to be truly honest and express your bigotry,
Yes. IF only Obama had spoken truly from the heart and exposed his biases and his true motivations, think how different the world would look today.
Actually, I want to know what the candidates think and not have them just shovel composted platitudes at us. At least we won’t be surprised when they suddenly reveal their ‘true colors’ later, when it is too late.
I agree with Annie. NBC dumps Trump for his supposed bigotry, yet keep bigots, liars, racists and tax cheats on their payrolls ie Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris Perry, Brian Williams and Rachel Madow. I hypocrisy isn’t something NBC or MSNBC can accuse Trump of.
I think they should all speak “from ther heart”. They most certainly should! How else are we going to see what exactly is in their heart? I encourage all candidates to speak from their hearts, the consequences of expressing their true selves is exactly what should happen. If you want to be truly honest and express your bigotry, then other people will be equally honest and reject you. That seems fair.
God forbid any candidate, whether they be from the Left or the Right actually have the huevos to speak honestly and from the heart. We have come to expect a the prudent, electable approach where candidates express more “populist” viewpoints (lie through their teeth) and then once elected completely abandon that rhetoric for the ideology that truly defines them.