The News Roundup!

The news lately seems to spin by at warp speed.

Last week, the monumental news was that Fox News company settled the lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for 850 + million dollars. Although it was far less than what had been requested, they still settled for a significant sum. This week, the Network fired the most popular host on its evening opinion/news programs, Tucker Carlson. News reports note that not only is he being sued by a former program associate for sexist and misogynist speech and actions, but he also made some crude and inappropriate remarks about company officials in emails. The company emails, which were publicized by Dominion, with some portions redacted, played an important role in the lawsuit. The NY Times reported the board got to see the unredacted portions after the settlement and felt that continuing to have a host with this history was untenable. He received notice of his firing last weekend, between shows, so he did not have airway access to give his view.

I never watched Tucker, but I have read about him. He is a multimillionaire and will not be impoverished by losing his job. His family inheritance from the Swanson Frozen food business ensured that he would have a lifelong, steady source of income. He ran his show from a studio in far-off Maine where he could be safe from all the threatening entities he railed against nightly. During the former administration, he often served as a trumpet for DJT and his policies, giving the former president an unquestioned presence on his shows. He produced a fake documentary about January 6^th, where he claimed the insurrectionists were just tourists visiting the nation's Capitol. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave him the raw Capitol Police footage from that day (without approval from the police) so that Carlson could continue to select footage and promote his propaganda.

Over time, his show supported Russians in Ukraine, oligarchs, and authoritarians and claimed that immigrants, Antifa, and Black militants were coming for his viewers in their neighborhoods, maybe even their beds. He often spoke about the great replacement theory, which he claimed meant that Democrats supported the illegal immigration of black and brown people to promote the displacement of the majority white population. By continuing to speak these lies, he promoted racial disunity, and disillusionment with the American Dream and advocated for autocracy.

Some pundits suggested Carlson has enough money to start a news outlet of his own, run for office or join an established outfit such as News Max. He may just bide his time and see how the Republican race is going and decide if to weigh in. He could wait to see what happens with all the legal actions in the future for DJT. To my knowledge, he has not made public comments about his firing or the suit by his former assistant.

There are many, including me, who will not miss him and his contempt for democracy and who hope that he just fades away, although we are not holding our breath waiting for that to happen. His TV slot might well be filled by someone equally bad, but one who does not yet have a following. Rupert Murdoch may be 92, but he is still a Conservative who has meddled in the politics and news of three different nations (his native Australia, the UK, and now America) for most of his life, much to their collective dismay.

In other news, President Biden, to little surprise, announced the beginning of the 2024 Biden-Harris campaign this week. His theme combined the continued fight for Democracy and the Soul of America with finishing up the job his team has started. He can tout his infrastructure bill, the chips legislation, and the prescription drug plan changes, for Insulin and other prescription drugs and other legislation and executive orders. He can point out the administration's support for abortion services and Mifepristone access. He cannot say that he has solved the immigration issue. His leadership in Ukraine has been outstanding. Currently, he is working with a recalcitrant House that produced a draconian budget, with severe cuts to domestic and foreign spending. The Center for American Progress, a progressive think-tank, described the cuts here: Biden stated the debt ceiling is not an issue for bargaining; the budget can be.

This proposal is the Republican plan to hold raising the debt ceiling hostage to budget agreements. However, Senate Leader, Chuck Schumer, called this plan dead on arrival in the Senate, so a stalemate seems looming. Sadly, there appear to be few statesmen on the Republican side who could step up and bring order to this posturing and chaos. Politicians, administration officials, from this and other eras, Treasury officials, and others cannot seem to convince the poorly informed members that the budget and the deficit are separate. One deals with past spending and paying bills already incurred, while the other looks at proposed future spending. The latter is a negotiated matter; the former should be a routine approval and not tied to politics. Minority Leader McConnell has returned from rehab following his injury but states he is staying out of the discussions this time. Under the former president, Congress raised the debt ceiling three times without all of this nonsense.

Meanwhile, the Treasury is moving money around and buying time for the eventual decisions on this issue. Our Allies, including Ukraine, do not know what to expect about financial agreements already made. Will we keep them? The Stock Market also is concerned about a 'never happening', a default by the United States on its financial obligations. Someone has to blink here.

Although a recent poll shows Americans think Biden, at age 80, is too old for the office, his potential opponent at 76 is not so young, either, and seems to be less fit. People have increasingly viewed DeSantis as thin-skinned and lacking people skills, making him not a viable candidate in the eyes of many, even though he is much younger. The President has used Vice-President Kamala Harris to advocate for the administration on the issues of women and minority rights and sent her to foreign capitals and international meetings as a spokesperson, so she is gaining credence on both domestic and international matters.

The investigations into the criminal and civil violations by the former president continue. The DOJ January 6^th investigation heard testimony for several hours from former VP Mike Pence, even though his former boss tried to halt it. Pence, himself, tried to make questioning about his duties in certifying the election off-limits, and partially succeeded in that matter. Some think that special prosecutor Jack Smith is getting ever closer to indictments. Meanwhile, Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis notified local law enforcement that she expects to release indictments that might cause unrest in the upcoming July to September Grand Jury session. There have been concerns about her previous announcement that an indictment was imminent in January. However, an attorney for the illegal special electors in Georgia may have had some issues with communication with her clients and potential conflicts. These concerns may have delayed court proceedings.

Congressman Jim Jordan got a little mileage with his hearing on Staten Island, so he has returned to Washington, where he is trying to compel a former prosecutor in Alvin Bragg's office to testify to his committee. He is also attempting to determine just what information the office has that could make DJT's actions felonies. The attorneys should get most of that information under discovery, but maybe Jordan doesn't understand that.

The civil trial from a claim by writer E. Jean Carroll that the former president raped her back in the 90s is ongoing this week without him in attendance so far. When, after the "Me too" movement, she wrote a book about her experience; he called her a liar. But because he was still in office, Attorney General (and private fixer) Bill Barr ruled he was immune from being sued for his remarks. But after he left office, both he and one of his sons repeatedly called her statements false. When I listened to reports of the incident from the court hearing, it again struck me how it is the woman who comes forth with such claims that is put on trial instead of the perpetrator. She was 52 when this happened and is now 79 years old. I find she is quite courageous to come forward.

Also, in the news this week was the report that entertainer and activist Harry Belafonte died at 96. He was active during the era of the marches with Dr. King and others for voting rights and got many Hollywood stars involved. He paid bail money for jailed marchers and donated much of his wealth to the issues of civil rights. He was passionate and tried to make America a better country for all. I was lucky enough to have seen him twice in performance as a singer and still applaud his talent and leadership.

‘Til next week-Peace!