Below is my column on the move to end the funding of National Public Radio (NPR). I will be speaking tomorrow on the history and future of American journalism at the Library of Congress. The funding of NPR has long been controversial on various levels, including those of us who oppose state-supported media in any form. This should be a moment of true self-reflection for the media in these changing and precarious times for the free press.
Here is the column:
This week, President Trump signed an executive order that seeks to restrict public funds to NPR and PBS. Since appropriations are made two years in advance, the immediate impact of the order is debatable. However, it is a moment the media should use for long-overdue self-reflection.
I have been critical of some of the administration’s attacks on the media, from barring the Associated Press from some White House events to lifting protections of the media from subpoenas regarding their sources. However, if these objections are going to have any legitimacy, the media must take a serious look at what it has become.
This coming week, I have the honor of giving the keynote address for the Center for Integrity in News Reporting at the Library of Congress. For many of us who have been part of the media for decades, these are precarious times for the American press. The damage done to the press in the last decade would have been unimaginable when I started. The most chilling fact is that it is almost entirely self-inflicted.
The state of American media was captured recently when the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (and MSNBC correspondent) Eugene Daniels declared, “We are not the opposition.” Given the controversy that had occurred over the association originally booking a vehemently anti-Trump comedian for the dinner, it seemed more like a punchline than a plausible claim.
As if to bring that comedic point home the next day, the New York Times published its collection of essays titled, “A Road Map of Trump’s Lawless Presidency.” A recent study showed that media coverage of the Trump Administration has been 92 percent negative.
The undoing of American journalism began in “J-schools,” where young reporters were taught that the touchstones of neutrality and objectivity were no longer viable. At schools like the University of Texas, students are told that it is time to “leave neutrality behind.” Stanford journalism professor, Ted Glasser, has insisted that “journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.”
Editors soon picked up on the change and declared that “Objectivity has got to go” in hiring reporters committed to what I have called “advocacy journalism.”
The result has been a transformation of American journalism into a type of echo chamber that amplifies liberal and often partisan Democratic talking points. That includes framing the news in overtly biased ways — for example, describing rioting as “fiery but mostly peaceful.”
The public were treated as clay to be shaped by an enlightened media in what they would see and hear. It was insulting and alienating.
Recently, Trump noticed a wounded veteran with a Let’s Go Brandon! sticker and the president jokingly asked “who is that?” That was a far more profound question than he may have intended.
“Let’s Go Brandon!” became a familiar political battle cry not just against former President Joe Biden but also against the mainstream media. It was first heard during an Oct. 2021 interview with race-car driver Brandon Brown after winning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. When NBC reporter Kelli Stavast’s questions were drowned out by loud and clear chants of “F— Joe Biden,” the reporter quickly and inexplicably declared, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’”
“Let’s Go Brandon!” instantly became a type of “Yankee Doodling” of the political and media establishment.
The response of the public itself has been deafening. Readers and viewers have left mainstream media in a mass exodus. Despite falling revenues and ratings, most of the media outlets seem entirely clueless or, at least, unyielding. Even as media outlets plummet in revenue, editors and reporters continue to saw at the branch upon which they are sitting.
When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos brought in Robert Lewis, a British media executive, to try to restore profitability and readership to the paper, he was met with a virtual mutiny. Lewis nevertheless dropped this truth bomb in the middle of the newsroom: “We are going to turn this thing around, but let’s not sugarcoat it. It needs turning around. We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff. Right. I can’t sugarcoat it anymore.”
It did not matter. The Post has been writing primarily for itself and a minority of the population for years. The staff seemed shocked that Bezos actually wanted for the paper to sustain itself rather than treat it as a liberal billionaire’s vanity project.
That brings us back to NPR. Some of us have objected for years to the government subsidizing one radio outlet. It only made it worse that NPR was overwhelmingly Democratic in both its staff and its coverage. For years, NPR ignored complaints over its bias. It had a lock on federal funding to subsidize operations, even though its audience was shrinking.
One editor finally had enough. Uri Berliner went public, pointing out that NPR’s Washington headquarters has 87 registered Democrats among its editors and zero Republicans. NPR and its CEO, Katherine Maher, were dismissive and frankly arrogant. They attacked Berliner, who ultimately resigned in disgust.
Maher recently had a disastrous appearance before Congress in which she attempted to walk back her own biased public statements against Republicans and Trump.
Some of us oppose NPR’s funding as a form of state-sponsored media — a fundamental contradiction with principles of freedom of speech and the press. However, this is a moment the rest of the media should not let pass.
NPR was ultimately undermined by its own arrogance. Editors and journalists did not have to worry about the fact that its shrinking audience was overwhelmingly white, liberal and affluent. Due to its support in Congress, it could make the vast majority of the country, which does not listen to its programming, help pay for its programming.
It will now have to choose between sustaining its bias or expanding its audience. It certainly has every right to be a left-leaning outlet (as do right-leaning outlets), but it has to sustain itself in the marketplace. It is the same question that other media outlets must face as more Americans turn to new media. With polls showing the press at record lows in trust, media companies are increasingly writing for each other rather than most of the public.
The choice now rests with the media and, more importantly, the public. American journalism will either re-embrace greater neutrality or continue toward insolvency and irrelevancy.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
As citizens, we enjoy an immunity from taxation by Congress for the benefit of PBS and NPR, per Article 1, Section 8.
The Supreme Court must ensure that we enjoy our immunity.
Irrelevancy for NPR cannot come quickly enough.
It’s a game of ping pong. The left is utterly bereft of ethics and morals of any kind. I gettin’ mine is the motto.
Go in search of a cultural behavior genetics in what’s left of the world. This is what we got and it’ll get really boring.
When we review Article 1, Section 8, we discover that Congress has no power to tax for PBS and NPR, they being neither Debt, Defense, nor “general welfare”—or basic infrastructure that facilitates ALL WELL PROCEED.
___________________________________
Article 1, Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To…collect Taxes…to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;….
Joseph AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left:
“Oh, it’s actually almost nothing, never mind. Per Wikipedia:
‘While NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounted to less than 0.1% of revenues, according to its 2020 public filings.’ ”
Andrew AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left
“Interesting, thanks for the context!”
https://www.allsides.com/blog/inside-allsides-npr-state-affiliated-media
Remove the charity standard from CPB and donors. Put the 1% of x dollars in a trust for the disabled and give out cruises to them once per year.
Censored. Said nothing censorable…
With all the radio stations that exist in this country, why do we need to use tax payers dollars to fund public radio. Total waste of money.
I have generally supported NPR and PBS. They have been in areas that would not have had any coverage in large tracks of the land. Even though they tended to be left and a bit snooty, I thought the idea of broadcasting to the public that did not have other options was a good idea.
However, time and circumstances change. The public has other options and far more are connected than in the past. The debate for the publicly funded channels is a worthwhile debate to have now. However, when your life is on the line, one should not antagonize and double down. NPR and PBS should be balanced because they represent the ENTIRE public and not just a portion of the public. To me they are no longer recognizable and have lost their way. Maybe it is time to turn off the tax spigot and let the public choose to support or not as they see fit.
To me it would be a shame because they did good programming and great shows. It would be a real shame to lose an asset because of arrogance of a group that think they are a cut above and chose to look down their noses at the hoi palloi. The attitude of those that ignore half the country and yet want that half to foot the bill is blindingly stupid. So be it.
The Monitor Radio Network, still in existence in the 1960s, also had good programming, including comedy shows like Bob & Ray. They went out of business, perhaps because the competition from NPR.
To clarify and corrrect, Monitor was not a network but rather the name for week-end programming on the NBC radio network, devised by Pat Weaver, who also devised the Tonight Show and Today in the morning. The scope,,variety and quality of its programming far exceeded anything on NPR. It ran from about 1955 to 1975. http://monitorbeacon.net/nbc-monitor/the-sounds-of-nbc-monitor/m
😂 the charity part is –> without advertisements OBVIOUSLY making them unbiased.
One big problem shared by almost all of them is that the Mainstream Media is no longer mainstream.
I think you are on target in pointing to J-Schools as a big source of the problem in corporate news.
The same might be said of Colleges of Education in public schools and, as scholar Ilya Shapiro has been saying, law schools shaped by critical legal theory.
As Shapiro rightly warns, the potential for destruction of society is much greater when law schools spew radicals into America to plead cases and sit in judgment. One only needs to glance at the lawfare against President Trump to see that Shapiro is frighteningly correct.
Well I must say I’m a little late getting this article from Mr. Turley, however, the radio station I listen to uses NPR news they actually reported on this themselves, it was pretty funny, they insisted that losing the funding from the government was no big deal because it was really only one percent of their budget anyway. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but it was interesting to say the least – they have not had one positive story about Trump, nor will they play any clips of any of his speeches which destroys their narrative completely. They wanna spin it the way they wanna spin it and it’s not gonna get spun any other way.!
@J
If it’s only 1% of their budget, then they should be just fine. No longer being a mouthpiece for near total media propaganda is not OK with them. This is a temper tantrum on the part of very privileged (white) people, and I no longer possess the patience for their nonsense.
Seems to me if they are speaking truly, they will be just fine, they are simply distressed they no longer get the government’s kudos, or seal of approval, or internal missives. Whatever. They are not the only people that exist in this country or on this earth, and they can bite me. Cry to your mom. If you are unfortunate enough to under 35, mom may not care, because she is sick to death of you, just like the rest of us are.
J. Debra Grube: What is there “positive” to say about Trump? Name something. Why would NPR play his speeches, which are full of lies, attacks against Biden, Democrats and his perceived enemies, and self-aggrandizement? Name something he said in a speech that is worth broadcasting on non-MAGA media.
@Gigi
There is plenty positive to say about Trump, who is essentially a dem from 30 years ago; I can’t say the same for Gigi. You are a very bored or paid idiot, and those amount to the same. Nobody cares. By all means, spew your nonsense, that is your right; it is ours to point and laugh at you. And we do.
James,
HAHAHAHA!! Good one!!!
James & Upstate: I’m still waiting for you to say something positive about Trump that would be worth PBS and NPR broadcasting, instead of your childish attacks against me. The fact that you apparently cannot, says it all.
Gullible Girl (GG)
I’m still waiting for someone to say something positive about you and your silly childish posts.
Gigenius, we are all still waiting for you to say one thing that amounts to more than a steaming turd.
Gigenius, quick question…how much authority does any judge have outside of their courtroom?
Well, cut the 501 3c status. Why pay charity twice. Taxes already go to welfare assistance for the poor, ill, handicapped, public schools, medicaid etc. The rich can adopt an elderly person or homeless person out of the goodness of their hearts. No one needs charity news.
Congress has no power to tax for charity per Article 1, Section 8.
I just tell them that I send my contribution directly to the DNC because don’t trust middlemen.
Meet the legendary News Anchorman Ron Burgundy
NPR is used when you’re on a long Interstate Highway trip and tired of listening to the Music of your liking.
So you scan the radio dial to a clear reception NPR channel and listen to the the parlance of propaganda or catch
Kai Ryssdal’s Marketplace report to ‘break-the-ice’ of the Highway rolling under your wheels.
Mainly it’s fodder, going in one ear and out the other, that you forget about by the time you get home and; hug the Wife, Kids & Dog.
You won’t loose any sleep over it, it’s just ambient noise, while life goes on….
PBS or PMS?
PBS serves mainly an audience of Rachel Maddow’s army of wanna bees having a sever case of PMS.
MSNBC star Rachel Maddow loses her right-hand man as bloodbath at liberal network escalates
Rachel Maddow’s trusted right-hand man, Andrew Dallos, has announced his departure after nearly 25 years at MSNBC, underscoring growing instability within the embattled network.
Dallos, 59, who was instrumental in launching The Rachel Maddow Show in 2008, confirmed his exit on Wednesday with an emotional Instagram post.
‘After nearly 25 years, my time at MSNBC has come to an end. I’ve made the difficult decision to leave the company I’ve called home for nearly a quarter of a century,’ he wrote.
By: Samantha Rutt – Dailymail.com ~ May 1st 2025
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/media/article-14670011/msnbc-rachel-maddow-producer-exits-network.html
FYI: SpinCo
“… SpinCo will be an industry-leading news, sports and entertainment cable television business with a focused strategic direction. SpinCo’s stable of marquee brands will provide a diverse and differentiated content offering that will reach approximately 70 million U.S. households. …”
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) Press release: 03/19/25
https://www.cmcsa.com/news-releases/news-release-details/david-novak-chair-comcasts-spinco
[Link] cmcsa.com/node/43581/pdf
[EN] Midtown Manhattan is so upside-down and under water – Where is Letitia James and Arthur Engoron now with her Commercial Liar Loan indictments? The Buildings that house the propaganda machines that went to task of subverting the Nation and influencing the Presidential Election are far more deeper in debt than the Trump Organization which was convicted of paying up on time and being solvent.
Letitia James and Arthur Engoron are politically corrupt and have proven their Treason against the Presidential Branch.
Jail James and Engoron, Indict & Convict the Midtown Manhattan CRE Landlords that House the Networks.
Bring Justice to the People of the United States.
“PMSNBC”
– Rush Limbaugh
This funding was specifically appropriated by Congress. On what basis can Trump stop it through an EO? I agree that it is reasonable to stop it as a policy matter, but the legal question is whether the president has the authority to do so on his own, rather than through Congress, either by legislation or through rescission.
This is likely to be challenged in court.
Ultimately I am not sure it matters. It is not likely to be part of Congresses budget.
“. . . through rescission.”
Which is in progress.
I image the funding will simply be cut from the budget in the Reconciliation Bill.
Yet another Turley latrine piece, echoing the MAGA media theme that actual journalism is biased against Trump–that’s the only way the American oligarchs who started and fund MAGA media can put across Project 2025–to convince enough gullibles not to watch anything other than pro-MAGA media that spins the endless failures of Trump and his squad of unqualified and conflicted losers. Turley cites NOTHING to support his claim that ALL schools of journalism teach students to chuck objectivity–it’s all part of the MAGA playbook.
Here’s an overarching question I have–how do you “objectively” cover someone as manifestly unfit to be POTUS as Trump? Is it “biased” to point out that he LIED to get into office in 2024, baselessly promising to immediately bring a sharp drop in the price of groceries? How about his lying about Project 2025 being his true agenda–which is now being implemented by the very authors thereof whom Trump put in charge? How about selling to his largest campaign donor access to our most-sensitive personal and financial data, and the endless lying about the “success” of DOGE, and Pammie Jo Blondie’s going after perceived enemies–like Chris Krebs, whose “crime” was telling Trump that the 2020 election was the most-secure in US history? Then, there’s trying to intimidate colleges and universities, law firms who represented people he didn’t like, pardoning of the J6 insurrectionists and planning on paying them “reparations”, gifting $30 million of our tax dollars to the family of Ashli Babbitt, who got shot trying to break into the Speaker’s Lobby to prevent Biden’s victory from being certified–the most-baseless lawsuit I’ve ever seen. What about the absolute lack of qualification of Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, when he had limited military leadership experience, when he ran into the ground the 2 veterans organizations he was in charge of, when his own mother says he is abusive to women, when he is a known alcoholic who has behaved inappropriately? How is the Signalgate scandal supposed to be “objectively” covered? Everyone involved was told not to use this platform for sensitive material, but did so anyway-some on their own personal cell phones that are easily hacked. These are just a few examples of just ONE of Trump’s cabinet members–almost all of whom are outrageously unqualified for the job they are doing. How about what he has done to our economy, how about insulting Canada by insisting they become a state, trying to purchase Greenland, insisting we will “take over”, by force if necessary, the Panama Canal, and re-naming the Gulf of Mexico? Then, there’s banning the AP when they refused to go along with King Donald’s mandate to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America? What about lying about Ukraine “starting” the war with Russia, trying to publicly shame Zelenskyy in front of the cameras, demanding that Ukraine give concessions, but not Russia, how about the fund-raising–promising a private dinner at taxpayer expense and a private tour of the White House–for purchasers of his latest crypto whatever–to line his own pockets?
Then, there’s Trump’s open flaunting of the SCOTUS order to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia–he said he’s not going to do it. Did Americans vote for any of this sh(t? How do media “objectively” cover the undoing of American democracy and destruction of our economy based on the whims of a sociopathic narcissist? Another sub-theme of today’s piece is to downplay the seriousness of just how bad Trump is.
Scroll Over Country
Nice rant against Trump, evidently that’s what you had to get off your chest instead of the topic at hand- whether or not a state funded radio station that supports one party is in all taxpayers interest and represents objective journalism. Clearly you can’t answer that question
Jeffery: you don’t listen to or watch PBS or NPR, so how would you know? You believe whatever slop is served up by MAGA media. And, the topic of today’s piece is journalistic bias–Turley, on the payroll of a MAGA media outlet, accuses non-MAGA media of being biased, so I asked several rhetorical questions–how do you cover the outrageous things Trump has said and done? Turley writes this garbage because that’s one of the MAGA media themes–mainstream media is biased against Trump. My point is that it’s not biased to point out all of the failues of leadership, insults to Canada, Greenland, Panama and Ukraine, lying to get into office, trying to re-name the Gulf of Mexico, and the damage he’s done to our economy. MAGA media makes up talking points to defend Trump, and that is not just spin–but mostly lies.
Gigi -= most of us have read or head the schlock that passes for journalism on NPR or PBS.
But even if they were stellar, Government should not be paying for them.
This was a mistake decades ago.
It is still a mistake.
They are free to rfeport as they please.
They shoudl not get public tax funds.
No tax exempt…compete
Gigi, did you make even 1 comment on NPR or PBS? After all, that’s what Professor Turleys coulumn was about?
Tom: can you read? Turley mentioned that Trump, by EO, is trying to de-fund NPR and PBS, but the main thrust of this piece is an attack on mainstream media and journalism schools, that Turley is trying to make the case are biased: “The undoing of American journalism began in “J-schools,” where young reporters were taught that the touchstones of neutrality and objectivity were no longer viable. At schools like the University of Texas, students are told that it is time to “leave neutrality behind.” Stanford journalism professor, Ted Glasser, has insisted that “journalists need to be overt and candid advocates for social justice, and it’s hard to do that under the constraints of objectivity.”
Editors soon picked up on the change and declared that “Objectivity has got to go” in hiring reporters committed to what I have called “advocacy journalism.””
My point is that Trump is toxic–that’s not biased.
“My point is that Trump is toxic–that’s not biased.”
Of course it is. Are you actually dying of an overdose of Trump ?
Not Tom, idiot.
Your name per Tom is Gigenius.
Stop addressing me when i am not speaking, you nitwit.
“Yet another Turley latrine piece, echoing the MAGA media theme that actual journalism is biased against Trump”
No Actual journalism today is conducted by the “new Media” which is eating the MSM for breakfast.
The MSM is biased – not just against Trump – but against anything that does not fit their idiotic woke disasterous ideology.
Nor should any of this surprise journalism schools are teaching advocacy not journalism.
Why would it then surprise you that the media is biased ?
There’s always a new word for these people. Now it’s advocacy and not persuasive journalism. It’s a giant political advertisement.
This issue is not bias against Trump. It is bias against ordinary americans.
Trump is just the pinyata that left wing loons pummel when they wish to disenfranchise ordinary people.
“that’s the only way the American oligarchs who started and fund MAGA media can put across Project 2025–to convince enough gullibles not to watch anything other than pro-MAGA media that spins the endless failures of Trump and his squad of unqualified and conflicted losers. ”
Trump is enacting his platform – Agenda 47. Everyting Trump has done is from that platoform, that he agressively campaigned on and promised that he would impliment – as he has done as president.
Trying to relabel what he is doing with “project 2025” scare tactics will not work. People do not know what Project 2025 is. YOU do not know what project 2025 is.
But people do know what Trump promised to do, and that is what he is doing.
It is no more or less scary than it was in 2024 when people voted for it.
“Turley cites NOTHING to support his claim that ALL schools of journalism teach students to chuck objectivity”
He cited the schools of journalism themselves.
Those of you on the left have made no secret of what you are doing.
You do not get to anounce it in Neon in Times square and then deny it when people who do not like it notice.
“how do you “objectively” cover someone as manifestly unfit to be POTUS as Trump?”
The question answers itself.
Read your own words – they are as far from objective as possible.
How do you objectively cover ANY president ?
You REPORT without judgement their actions, in neutral language without phrases like manefestly unfit.
You trust ordinary people to make their own judgement of the facts you report.
That is real journalism.
If you want to write editorials – send them to letters to the editor and hope the editor prints them – that is not journalism.
” Is it “biased” to point out that he LIED to get into office in 2024″
Yes, You are free as a journalist to present the facts and allow people to draw their own conclusions.
It is not journalism to draw conclusions for them.
YOUR example is precisely why.
“When Trump was speaking about the unemployment rate among Black youths in America — a claim that drove fact-checkers crazy — Zito positioned it this way: “When he makes claims like this, the press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.”
Unlike most of the Acela Media — sitting in newsrooms in New York City and Washington, occasionally helicoptering into a small town, talking to a few people in a diner, and heading back to their East Coast home — Zito spent 2016 crisscrossing the country. And not racking up air miles either — she drove. Along the way, she was able to see something most couldn’t: that Trump had a real shot to upset Hillary Clinton and shock the world (and of course, the media itself).”
Voters Trusted Trump and voted for him BEFORE he had a track record. Today they do so even more.
Rassmussen has noted that today barring a nuclear war or some gigantic disaster Trump likely has a floor of about 45% to his support. That almost nothing will drive Trump’s support below that.
At the same time he has a ceiling of about 56% – because 44% of the country has TDS and hates Trump no matter what.
Regardless, Trump did not win either the 2016 election by lying.
He won by making promises that YOU take literally but not seriously,
But voters take seriously but not literally.
It is not Trump lying – it is YOU.
“How about his lying about Project 2025 being his true agenda”
Again Trump’s agenda is agenda 47 – he spoke about it endlessly. It is no secret.
Can you point to a single thing Trump has done that was NOT part of agenda 47 ?
You do not even know what project 2025 is. Nor does it matter.
If project 2025 is identical to agenda 47 – people still voted FOR it.
People are getting what Trump promised.
“How about selling to his largest campaign donor access to our most-sensitive personal and financial data”
DOGE has the same access as other government employees to your personal data.
But as it turns out – it was the Biden State department keeping dossiers on people they did not like.
” the endless lying about the “success” of DOGE”
What have they lied about ?
Regardless, are you actually opposed to finding and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government ?
President Obama formed a DOGE, and appointed VP Biden to head it.
Obama said he thought they could find 1.5T in waste fraud and abuse.
But it was all just a photo op.
You hate Musk’s DOGE – because Musk succeeds at anything he does.
You actually want all that wasteful spending of other peoples money – on YOU and your pet causes.
You WANT to steal from the american people.
You had no problem with Biden’s money grubbing corruption.
Excerpted from “Forbes”–datelline 2/19/25:
“As billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency scours federal agencies for cost savings, Musk and his team have repeatedly made baseless or false claims about government spending—or exaggerated the level of fraud and waste uncovered at some agencies.
KEY FACTS
Many false and misleading claims about government spending practices by various agencies—including USAID and the Federal Emergency Management Agency—have spread quickly on X, propped up by billionaires including Musk and Bill Ackman.
Musk has even acknowledged “some of the things that I say will be incorrect” while speaking at the White House with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, stating “nobody’s going to bat 1.000” in response to a reporter who questioned his claim, made without evidence, that USAID spent $50 million on condoms in Gaza.
DID DOGE SAVE $8 BILLION BY CUTTING ONE ICE CONTRACT?
No. DOGE published a list of cost savings on its website earlier this week, and one of the largest was a purported $8 billion canceled technical support contract for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Diversity and Civil Rights dating back to 2022, according to the New York Times. However, while the contract was initially valued at $8 billion, the price tag was later updated to a much more modest $8 million on Jan. 22, 2025. Just $2.5 million was spent on the contract, suggesting DOGE saved only $5.5 million. DOGE’s site now lists the contract’s savings at just $8 million.
DID DOGE CLOSE JIMMY CARTER’S OFFICE IN ATLANTA?
Not exactly. DOGE lists $128,233 in savings on “allowance to former presidents” after the agency said it closed a nearly 7,700-square-foot office in Atlanta. Data from the General Services Administration shows a property of the same size leased from President Jimmy Carter’s charity, the Carter Center, at $128,233. The GSA provides funds for each former president annually, though Carter’s allowance would have ended anyways on Dec. 30, 2024, the day after he died.
IS THERE WIDESPREAD SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD?
Musk has claimed the Social Security Administration is riddled with mass fraud, including scores of payments made to dead people—and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “tens of millions” are receiving fraudulent payments. However, while Social Security fraud certainly exists, there’s no evidence it takes place at anywhere near the scale Musk and Leavitt have claimed. The Inspector’s General office that oversees the agency found erroneous payments accounted for less than 1% of total payments between 2015 and 2023. The office has found improper payments to dead people, though on a far smaller scale, and while tens of millions of people over the age of 100 who might be deceased remain in the SSA database, it’s not clear how many actually receive payments. The SSA has previously said payments are automatically canceled for anyone over age 115.”
So DOGE is not batting 1000. Beyond that you have proven NOTHING.
ENOUGH of GIGI today- PLEASE!
Gigenius
Forbes is not a source.
Trump promised to go after the deep state. Unelected people who presumed the authority to use public power for personal agenda’s.
Trump made no secret during the campaign that he was going after those people. That they would be fired, and where approriate prosecuted.
YOU had no problems with Targeting Trump – you went after hikm for made up crimes you can not explain.
Turn about is fair play.
Regardless, the unelected people who beleive they own government are being targeted and will face the appropriate consequences.
BTW whatever else you may beleive about the 2020 election – claiming it was the most secure in history is a lie only true left wing nuts beleive.
If you hold govenrment power and make a stupid claim like that – there should be consequences.
There is no “deep state”–Trump made up that phrase to apply to career civil servants he couldn’t bully to break the law on the basis of his whims. There is NO evidence that refusing Trump’s stupid whims was based on any “personal agenda”. Take Chris Krebs–Trump’s choice for Head of Cybersecurity that Pammie Jo Blondie has been ordered to criminally investigate (which, BTW, is groundless, and she knows it, but it’s being done to intimidate anyone else working under the Trump regime who has any ideas about bucking the sociopathic narcissist). He was fired for telling the truth–that there’s no evidence of any widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. You say this is a lie–where is the proof? And, just HOW did Krebs “use public power”? He didn’t. WHAT “power” did he hold? STOP REPEATING MAGA MEDIA LIES!
And, talk about “abusing public power”–what about Blondie firing a prosecutor who honestly answered a judge’s question about what crimes Abrego Garcia had been convicted of that led to his incarceration and deportation to El Salvador? How about Blondie refusing to comply with the SCOTUS order to facilitate his return because Trump has said Garcia will never be brought back?
“There is no “deep state”–Trump made up that phrase to apply to career civil servants he couldn’t bully to break the law on the basis of his whims.”
ROFL.
The deep state is a bipartisan noe-conish aglomerate of carreer public officials who excercise unelected federal power and have repeatedly targeted elected officials to get them to cow tow to their will.
They have bullied republicans and democrats alike.
Candidate Bush II ran against Clinton/Gore nation building and became one of the most nationbuilding US presidents.
Candidate Obama promised to close Guantanamo, to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, to end the endless wars.
President Obama did NONE of those things – WHY ?
Presidents right and left learned “do not F#$K with the deep state” – Trump instead took them on.
And is winning – slowly.
The delay to withdrawing from afghanistan is because the deep state opposed it.
The botched withdraw is atleast partly because the deep state opposed it.
The war in Ukraine is because the deep state wanted it.
The deep state represents a set of political values – particularly in the areas of foreign policy and the military.
If they were elected on that, they would have the power to impliment those policies.
But the deep state is NOT elected policy makers. Though they seek a voice in both parties, they get what they want within govenrment through intimidation. Through damaging leaks, through passive agressive behavior, through myraids of other ways of excercising power that was never constitutionally given to them.
And they are GOING to be removed from power.
But do not worry – unless we are vigilant – they will return.
What if DJT actually works for Barry?
“There is NO evidence that refusing Trump’s stupid whims was based on any “personal agenda”.”
If you work in the executive, your choices are obey the “whim of the president” or resign.
” And, just HOW did Krebs “use public power”? ”
Seriously ? He was an officer of the executive branch. When he speaks he speaks for the president.
When he speaks at odds with the president he abuses public power.
I would further note that Krebs remarks are OBVIOUSLY untrue. That alone is a reason he should not have spoke.
he did NOT say that the election was not hacked by russians or DVS.
He said it was the most secure ever and that is a LIE.
A willful knowing lie.
The prosecutor OBVIOUSLY did NOT honestly answer the judges questions.
This prosecutor you are defending – told the court there was NO evidence against Garcia.
Unless you live under a rock you KNOW there is LOTS of evidence.
You can chose NOT to beleive that evidence.
This prosecutor told the judge that no evidence existed.
Either he LIED or he was incompetent.
Regardless he was legitimately fired for cause.
There are multiple police department findings that Garcia was a member of MS13.
None of these were by the federal government. TN found that he was engaged in human traficing, that he was driving a car owned by an MS13 member.
3 separate immigration courts found that Garcia was an MS13 member.
This is just SOME of the evidence that was NOT presented to Judge Xinis.
The prosecutor either lied or was incompetent.
You are also severely confused about the facts.
Garcia had already been deported at the time this case showed up on Xinis’s docket.
No one claims Garcia was convicted of anything.
Garcia was deported because he admitted to being in the US illegally, He eventually had a deportation hearing and was ordered to be deported.
While the evidence that he as a gang banger was icing on the cake – he would have been ordered deported anyway.
“How about Blondie refusing to comply with the SCOTUS order to facilitate his return because Trump has said Garcia will never be brought back?”
There is no such order.
Please QUOTE the Supreme court order.
” Then, there’s trying to intimidate colleges and universities”
He is going after colle3ges and universities that violate Title 9 or the civil rights act.
“law firms who represented people he didn’t like”
He is denying security clearances to those who knowingly spread false national security information.
There is no right to a security clearance.
There is an obligation on those who have one NOT to make claims that are false, and a threat to our national security and use the prestige of the clearance you hold to bolster those stupid claims.
Just HOW have colleges and universities violated Title 9? From “The Harvard Gazette”, dateline 4/14/25:
““The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” Harvard President Alan Garber wrote in a message to the community. He added: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Garber’s message was a response to a letter sent late Friday by the Trump administration outlining demands that Harvard would have to satisfy to maintain its funding relationship with the federal government. These demands include “audits” of academic programs and departments, along with the viewpoints of students, faculty, and staff, and changes to the University’s governance structure and hiring practices.
The $9 billion under review by the government includes $256 million in research support for Harvard plus $8.7 billion in future commitments to the University and several renowned hospitals, among them Mass General, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Boston Children’s. Late Monday, the Trump administration announced that it was moving to freeze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard.
The Trump administration has been critical of Harvard’s handling of student protests related to the Gaza war. It has accused the University of failing to adequately protect Jewish students on campus from antisemitic discrimination and harassment, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Garber emphasized that Harvard remains committed to fighting antisemitism, including through a series of campus measures implemented over the past 15 months. In addition, he said, the University has complied with the Supreme Court decision that ended race-conscious admissions and has worked to broaden intellectual and viewpoint diversity at Harvard.
The University’s objectives in fighting antisemitism will “not be achieved by assertions of power, unmoored from the law, to control teaching and learning at Harvard and to dictate how we operate,” Garber said. “The work of addressing our shortcomings, fulfilling our commitments, and embodying our values is ours to define and undertake as a community.”
Harvard is just one of dozens of schools targeted by the Trump administration in recent weeks. Last month, the Department of Education sent letters to 60 universities, including Columbia, Northwestern, the University of Michigan, and Tufts, threatening enforcement actions for noncompliance with anti-discrimination provisions in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The administration has taken the additional step of freezing research funding at several institutions.
Robust research and innovation partnerships among universities, the federal government, and private industry date to World War II. Government-backed research conducted at schools across the nation has led to countless discoveries, devices, treatments, and other advances that have helped shape the modern world. Computers, robotics, artificial intelligence, vaccines, and treatments for devastating diseases have all stemmed from government-financed research that crosses from labs and libraries into industry, creating new products, companies, and jobs.
In March, a report from the nonprofit United for Medical Research showed that every dollar of research funded by the National Institutes of Health — the nation’s largest funder of biomedical research — generates $2.56 in economic activity. In 2024 alone, the NIH awarded $36.9 billion in research grants, generating $94.5 billion in economic activity and supporting 408,000 jobs, according to the report.”
NONE of the law firms Trump has targeted ever lied–he is targeting them for reasons of personal vengeance and to intimidate other law firms from going after him for breaking the law. STOP REPEATING MAGA MEDIA LIES!
How does a message from Harvard that essentially says they will continue to fight to violate title 9 and the civil rights act mean anything ?
Why do I care what Garber says ?
Title 9 and the CRA apply to all businesses in the US.
You can not discriminate on the basis of Race – Harvard LOST that issue at the supreme court and continues to discriminate on the basis of race.
Gigenius
The Harvard Gazette is not a source.
Excerpted from “Raw Story”, May 5, 2025:
“A federal judge used President Donald Trump’s own boastful words against him to halt an executive order that took aim at a major Washington, D.C., law firm, reported MSNBC.
U.S. Judge Beryl Howell issued a permanent injunction to blockTrump from retaliating against Perkins Coie due to the president’s political grievances. Trump’s order had limited Perkins Coie lawyers’ “access to government buildings, revoked their security clearances and ordered federal agencies to terminate contracts with the firm.”
But Judge Howell found that the Trump administration had “singled out Perkins Coie based on the content of its speech and actions,” which infringed up on the firm and its attorneys’ First Amendment rights.
Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story.
To make her ruling, Howell did something “unusual,” according to MSNBC. She “used Trump’s subsequent agreements with other firms — and his boasts about them — as evidence against his administration.”
Perkins Coie was one of six law firms Trump targeted for representing his “political opponents or whose lawyers were involved in investigations into the president during his first term,” MSNBC reported.
Howell cited a Trump quote from an April event, when he claimed “Have you noticed that lots of law firms have been signing up with Trump? $100 million, another $100 million, for damages that they’ve done. But they give you $100 million and then they announce, ‘We have done nothing wrong.’ And I agree, they’ve done nothing wrong. But what the hell, they’ve given me a lot of money considering they’ve done nothing wrong.””
“I AGREE THEY’VE DONE NOTHING WRONG”. STOP REPEATING MAGA MEDIA LIES!
Gigi, there is no first amendment right to a security clearance.
Regardless, no one cares about idiotic decisions by Judge Howell.
Her decision is complete nonsense and she will lose on appeal.
Neither Trump nor any sane person expects otherwise.
In the specific case of Perkins Coi, they participated in feeding to the FBI a fraudulent claim regarding Russia.
That alone is an excellent reason to deny PC a security clearance.
Beryl Howell is a frothing at the mouth loon with severe TDS.
You should expect to be disappointed when she is overruled.
She is a near perfect example of a lawless judge that makes things up as she goes.
There is no first amendment issue within 1000 miles of this case.
Gigenius
Raw Story is not a source
“pardoning of the J6 insurrectionists ”
Had you actually given them the due process you suddenly think illegal aliens are entitled to – maybe the rest of us would have some sympathy.
But you engaged in a political witch hunt.
People come to an insurrection heavily armed.
There was no insurrection.
Repeated lying further erodes your horrible credibility
“planning on paying them “reparations””
People who are wrongly imprisoned, wrongly prosecuted should get compensation.
“gifting $30 million of our tax dollars to the family of Ashli Babbitt”
How much is your daughters life worth ? I am sue that the Babbits would rather have their daughter.
“who got shot trying to break into the Speaker’s Lobby”
Not a justification for the use of deadly force.
Excerpted from “ABC News”, dateline 1/5/24:
“In the three years since the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,265 defendants across nearly all 50 states and D.C. and secured sentences of incarceration for more than 460 people, according to newly released numbers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C.
In remarks Friday, Attorney General Merrick Garland described the Justice Department’s sprawling probe of the Capitol attack as “one of the largest and most complex and resource-intensive investigations in our history.”
Of the more than 1,265 individuals charged since Jan. 6, 2021, department prosecutors have secured more than 718 guilty pleas — including 213 who pleaded to felonies that include assaults on federal officers, obstructing law enforcement and seditious conspiracy.
Also, 171 others have been found guilty at trial or otherwise convicted, the D.C. U.S. Attorney Office said.
While 467 individuals have been sentenced to periods of incarceration, hundreds of others have been sentenced for lesser offenses to periods of home detention or probation.
The harshest sentence yet handed down as part of DOJ’s investigation was for Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison last September after being found guilty on charges of seditious conspiracy and other felonies. The founder of the anti-government extremist group the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in May of last year for his role in leading the militia group in the Jan. 6 attacks.”
Just HOW were these people denied due processs? They were charged and either pleaded or went to trial and then sentenced.
Excerpted from “Law & Crime”, dateline 6/13/2024:
“A little over three years later, a new report this week notes that just 15% of the roughly $3 million in damages to the U.S. Capitol done on Jan. 6, 2021, has been repaid by defendants under court orders.
The CBS News report on the status of restitution for the damages — which also encompasses injury to police officers who defended the Capitol, not just broken windows, doors or other destruction — was published Thursday. It also cites an anonymous congressional source who said that just $437,000 thus far has been repaid to the Architect of the Capitol.”
HOW is it a “political witch hunt” to prosecute people who did over $3 million in damages to the Capitol building and who assaulted police officers?
HOW was the officer who shot Babbitt supposed to know she didn’t have a gun? What is a police officer supposed to do when he orders someone trying to break into the Speaker’s Lobby to “halt”, and she ignores the order, even with a gun pointed at her? WHAT was the officer supposed to assume she intending to do if she was allowed to proceed through the last barrier to the floor of the House? They had a noose and were shouting “Hang Mike Pence”. All of this nonsense is Trump’s effort to justify the Big Lie.
STOP REPEATING MAGA MEDIA LIES!
So your evidence is the very proof of persecution ?
AGAIN there was no insurrection.
These people did not show up with the typical weaponry fo left wing nuts – lasers, baseball bats molatov cocktails, frozen water bottles much less the firearms particularly assault weapons that someone intending on insurrection would bring.
Further these people were incarcerated for years with far less due process than Garcia.
Citing the very lawless DOJ that was engaged in violating their rights is not evidence.
WE NOW know that Garland lied under oath to congress on multiple occasions.
Garland claimed that the WH had no involvement in the Trump prosecutions – we NOW know that those prosecutions originated in the Biden WH and were directed by the Biden WH.
You do not ask the Mafia whether organized crime exists if you want the truth
Fentanyl is a designated weapon among others of terrorists. The tidal wave became tsunami in the 70s ongoing. Add up the deaths.
Aren’t most people in prison for drug charges? DJT is militarizing the border. That should do for war on drugs if Mexico and US join forces to eradicate.
Gigenius
ABC News is not a source
“ who got shot trying to break into the Speaker’s Lobby”
Not a justification for the use of deadly force”
People have gotten shot for far les serious infractions. Like not obeying commands.
She made a poor choice and law enforcement acted appropriately. She got herself killed.
It’s pretty funny to see you call out Prof. Turley’s bias in writing this piece when in your first paragraph you begin with this line: “how do you “objectively” cover someone as manifestly unfit to be POTUS as Trump?” Biased much there yourself?
Self-reflection is the ability to look at yourself the way others may; you should try it sometime. Perhaps you wouldn’t come across as a typical, Liberal buffoon so enamored with your own Elite-ness and superior intelligence that no one could possibly know more than you.
” What about the absolute lack of qualification of Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, when he had limited military leadership experience”
He was A Colonel, and served two combat tours and approximately 20yrs in the military.
“How is the Signalgate scandal supposed to be “objectively” covered? Everyone involved was told not to use this platform for sensitive material,”
Actually BIden’s CIA said EXACTLY the opposite.
The ONLY issue with “signalgate” is who stupidly added Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat.
That is the ONLY issue.
So far the military is doing fine. DoD is striking a careful line between keeping us OUT of endless and unnecescary wars and excercising US military power for legitimate US objectives.
Personally I think it is incipient on Israel and Europe to reign in the Houthis – But DoD is reigning H311 on one of the last remaining Iranian proxies.
A wing of B2’s is stationed at Diego Garcia to make clear to Iran that one way or the other Iran will not get nuclear weapons – while negotiations take place. Trump and Hegseth resisted efforts to get us into a War with Iran opting for threats and diplomacy FIRST.
The US is very active in the south china sea making clear to China and OUR allies in the region that we are wathcing and ready if necescary to counter any violence from Xi.
I could change my mind in the future, but so far Heseth’s DOD is doing pretty much what I and much of he country want.
Unlike YOU, I’m not paid to post here–but I’ll respond to just ONE MAGA media lie regarding the Biden administration and use of Signal. Excerpted from “Snopes”:
“Claims that former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration initially authorized the use of Signal by government officials spread in late March 2025 after The Atlantic reported national security officials in President Donald Trump’s administration accidentally added the magazine’s editor-in-chief to a Signal group chat about military strikes in Yemen.
While the Biden administration may have allowed some use of Signal — based on public guidance from the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — it explicitly did not allow use of Signal to communicate “non-public” Department of Defense information, which would have included the conversations Trump administration officials had in their group chat. ”
STOP REPEATING MAGA MEDIA LIES!
I would be very happy to have someone pay to post here or anywhere.
But so far no one is paying me.
BTW – when you cite Snope – you lose the argument.
The claim that the CIA authorized the Use of signal has been publicly confirmed. The Biden administration directives have been made public.
I would note that this is actually irrelevant.
Unlike you I actually had a TS/SCI and more specifically I worked on software for signals intelligence.
Signal is MORE secure than MOST real time battlefield communications systems.
The big deal about battlefield communications systems is how much time it takes to crack the security.
Battlefield systems need to be secure for hours, rarely days.
The text that Goldberg released makes clear why this is so.
Exactly what use would the Houthis be able to make of the texts that were sent 45minutes after they were sent ?
Absolutely NONE. After the bomb has been dropped – the strike information is useless to the target.
I would also sugest you read the messages that Golberg released.
Except that they make it clear that a strike about to occur exactly what is classified about these messages ?
Hegseth gives the times of departure for a variety of aircraft. That tells an enemy almost nothing.
Hegseth makes it clear that SOME have a specific person as a target – but do not name the person.
The ONLY reference to a specific weapon is to the timing of the launch of tomahawks, that is the only reference at all to specific munitions.
So what in these messages would have been useful to an enemey at the time or the messages if they could read them in real time which even NSA can not do in real time ?
What would be damaging if they could be read a day later ? Signal can not be cracked in a Day but many military communications systems can.
YOU do not know what you are talking about.
And Snopes is full of schiff.
John Say
Yet more evidence of John Say simply making stuff up.
He states:
” Signal is MORE secure than MOST real time battlefield communications systems”
Complete and utter hogwash !!!!!
Signal, like Linux is open source, and anyone is free to adapt the code to their own specifications.
In fact, the version being used by Waltz and Hegseth was not the original version. They were using a version called Telemessage, developed by an Israeli company of the same name, and recently sold to Smarsh.
How do we know this ??
Because a photographer captured Waltz logging in to this app at one of Trump’s “cabinet meetings”. The photo clearly shows the login page for TM SGNL, which is the abbreviation for Telemessage.
Telemessage was recently hacked and the hacker has revealed that Telemessage relays messages through its own servers and creates an archive before forwarding the message to the recipient. Unfortunately, the coding of Telemessage is very poor, and the hacker demonstrated that when they created the archive, they also destroyed the encryption.
Thus, the messages exchanged were never encrypted.
The hacker was also able to access archived chats with Marco Rubio, Tulsi Gabbard, and JD Vance.
He was also able to access data containing the contents of messages; contact information of government officials; back-end login credentials for TeleMessage; and more that he has not revealed due to the sensitive content. Data pertaining to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, crypto exchange Coinbase, and financial service providers like Scotiabank were extracted by the hacker.
It is extremely likely that foreign state actors have already gained deep access into secret government information through this vulnerability.
Just today Telemessage announced they have suspended their service.
As usual John Say is completely full of it with his utterly nonsensical and unfounded posts.
Gigenius
Snopes is not a source.
John Say
As usual, John Say simply makes stuff, or gets his information from the voices in his head.
Hegseth was not a colonel, and never served in combat.
2003: Hegseth was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant through ROTC.
2004: Basic training at Fort Benning.
Then commissioned as a lieutenant in the Minnesota National Guard.
Sent to Guantanamo Bay where he commanded a platoon of guards at the prison.
2005: Sent to Iraq where he served as a civil affairs officer for less than a year.
2011: Promoted to Captain and sent to Afghanistan, where he taught classes in counter insurgency for 8 months.
2014 promoted to Major and served in the DC National Guard as a drill officer.
He was never in combat.
His command experience consists of 11 months as a lieutenant commanding a platoon of guards at Guantanamo.
He was awarded 2 Bronze Stars for his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The citation for the Iraq medal cites his service as an Assistant Battalion Civil Affairs Officer.
The citation for the Afghanistan medal cites his service as a Counterinsurgency Instructor.
He was never in combat.
He was simply a bureaucrat working with local civilian councils in Iraq.
He was simply a training officer in Afghanistan.
He has no combat experience, and is not fit to lead the DOD.
“How about what he has done to our economy”
How about it ?
“how about insulting Canada by insisting they become a state”
So ?
Alberta and Saskatchuawn appear to be preparing to go it on their own or to improve their ties to the US independent of Ottawa.
“trying to purchase Greenland”
Jefferson bought the lousiana purchase.
Johnson bought alaska.
Should we give them back ?
“insisting we will “take over”, by force if necessary, the Panama Canal”
Without any doubt in the world – any US president will instantly take over the panama canal at even the hint of a coming conflict with China.
Bush invaded Panama over drugs and corruption.
“re-naming the Gulf of Mexico?”
Presidents rename things – Obama renamed military bases and mountains.
Trump restored their names.
“Then, there’s banning the AP”
Only from limited WH events.
This has been done routinely for decades.
” What about lying about Ukraine “starting” the war with Russia”
Ukraine did not start the war with Russia – Biden and the nincompoops in the Biden state department did.
“trying to publicly shame Zelenskyy in front of the cameras, demanding that Ukraine give concessions”
Do you want peace or more war ?
Zelensky is free to continue the war – and the US is free to decline to provide support.
Regardless, you are politically naive.
No one is getting a peace deal without concessions.
That said no peace deal will occur if the public perception is that Putin and Russia are the losers.
Any peace deal that occurs – regardless of the reality of the deal is going to PUBLICLY appear to favor Russia.
It will be that way because Russia does NOT need a deal. Ukraine does.
Ukraine will eventually lose a war of attrition.
So get a grip on reality.
There will be no “victory” for Ukraine. There will no justice.
That is reality – GET OVER IT.
There are myriads of ways for Ukraine to get victory of justice.
Every single one of those requires another nation of consequences to send its sons and daughters to fight and die for Ukraine.
The US is NOT prepared to do that. The EU is not prepared to do that.
Absent that Ukraine can have a bad deal now, or defeat in a few years.
“how about the fund-raising–promising a private dinner at taxpayer expense and a private tour of the White House–for purchasers of his latest crypto whatever–to line his own pockets?”
Presidents pay for their own food at the WH.
The political party of the president pays for all political fundraisers at the WH.
Any personal or business socializing the president does in the WH is paid for he president personally.
This is why most president socialize in their own homes. Not the WH.
“Then, there’s Trump’s open flaunting of the SCOTUS order to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia”
There is no such order. SCOTUS is not stupid. They do not order the impossible.
They allowed Xinis to “order” trump to Fascilitate Garcias RELEASE.
“he said he’s not going to do it.”
Correct – without pissing off Bukelle and disrupting US foreign policy in central american Trump can’t.
So he is not going to.
Get over it. Garcia is a gang banger, you have picked the wrong poster child. He is where he bleongs – in prison in El Salvador.
He was BTW RELEASED from CECOT, he is now in an El Salvadoran prison because El Salvador wants him in Jail.
El Salvador – the country that is actually his HOME, that is he a citizen of.
“Did Americans vote for any of this sh(t?”
Yes. Absolutely. You didnt – but you did not vote for Trump.
The people who did vote for Trump voted for “this sh(t”. Pretty much exactly this “sh(t”.
They want government spending cut.
They want illegal immigrants deported – especially gang bangers.
They want the US to reindustrialize – and if Tariffs are the way to accomplish that and those cause a small amount of short term pain – they are OK with that.
The people who voted for Trump are getting what they want.
#. Did Bukele transfer him? For what reason? Length of his incarceration? Has the US relinquished custody of him?
Wondering…
“How do media “objectively” cover …”
By reporting the facts neutrally without spin and allowing people to form their own opinions.
People are not nearly as stupid as you think.
“the undoing of American democracy”
This country is not a democracy it is a republic.
And the only thing being “undone” is decades of bad policy mostly from the left.
“destruction of our economy”
Has the economy been destroyed ? Not that I have seen.
“based on the whims of a sociopathic narcissist?”
All sociopaths are narcisists, and probably every successful politician is a sociopath.
Judges, Teachers, Ministers, police are other professions with large numbers of sociopaths.
“Another sub-theme of today’s piece is to downplay the seriousness of just how bad Trump is.”
You provided a long list of grevances – but absent spin – most are what people voted for – what they want.
They are YOUR grevances, not those of the american people.
Dear Prof Turley,
‘The cost of arrogance’ is the loss of humility. .. among other things.
It was Karl Rove (aka The Turd Blossom), who first declared ‘we’re an empire now’. And when ‘we act, we create our own reality’.
(note. and while you’re studying that reality, judiciously as you will, we’ll act again creating other new realities that you can study. .. and that’s how things will sort out.)
The idea of pre-eminent U.S. exceptualism has taken root in the American psychopathy (a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with disinhibited, and egocentric traits.) This invites the mind to leap forward .. . although at great risk to its present hegemony.
Forget NPR – they don’t amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things. The NYT is still the paper of record.
*There is nothing humble about Trump’s bully pulpit .. . and that’s a pity.
Goodby, Big Bird…
After PBS Defunded, All Sesame Street Characters Forced To Move In With Oscar
https://babylonbee.com/news/after-pbs-defunded-all-sesame-street-characters-forced-to-move-in-with-oscar
Why don’t we resolve and conclude the argument over funding for PBS and NPR?
Why don’t we cite the Constitution for the relevant passage?
If we review Article 1, Section 8, we discover that Congress has no power to tax for PBS and NPR, they being neither Debt, Defense, nor “general welfare”—or basic infrastructure that facilitates ALL WELL PROCEED.
___________________________________
Article 1, Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To…collect Taxes…to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States;….
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Next question?
The Supreme Court must have immediately struck down the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
Again, the Supreme Court was partial, biased, derelict, negligent, and in full agreement with this act, which supported the principles, not of the Constitution, but of communism.
Yes, media isn’t necessary for the maintenance of life. True
True, charity news isn’t part of food, shelter and clothing, education and medical care for citizens and dependents who are ill, disabled, poor, elderly. The US has institutionalized charity.
It would be reasonable in NPRs charitable status if news were restricted to the homeless, the poor, ill, disabled and elderly and dependents of such citizens but it isn’t.
Congress has the power to tax for Debt, Defense, and “general Welfare,” which is basic infrastructure that facilitates “ALL WELL PROCEED,” per Article 1, Section 8.
Congress has no power to tax for charity or your “food, shelter and clothing, education, and medical care for citizens and dependents who are ill, disabled, poor, elderly.”
When you claim that something is licit, please cite a legal basis for it in the Constitution.
Some here say that funding can only be approved by congress but it seems that they had no problem with Biden using government funding for buses that picked up illegal immigrants at the border and dropped them off in many sanctuary cities across the nation. Biden used federal funds to provide them with smart phones and debit cards. Where oh where was the outrage?