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Sunday, February 19, 2017

An Even Tempered and Calm Response

I wrote yesterday about how the media is trying to use the First Amendment to shield themselves from criticism being leveled against them by President Trump and others.  For many in the media, the idea that the President can call out reporters and media outlets for printing Fake News is un-American.  They sputter that it's a violation of the Constitution.  You know, the Constitution has that famous line where it says "the media is always right, and even when it is not, no one, and that means absolutely no one, can point out their errors."  That's what the First Amendment says, right?

The idea that the media is above criticism is actually what is un-American.  No one in this country is above criticism.  That's what free speech means.  I'm free to point out what the media gets wrong.  So too, is President Trump.  Indeed, presidents have been criticizing the media almost since the day the Constitution was ratified. 

The media counterattack against Trump, however, consists of more than just hiding behind a phony interpretation of the Constitution.  They are now going all out in attacking.  Here's a good example:  in the failing New York Daily News, there is an article by Linda Stasi with the headline that reads, "Trump's Spiteful Crusade Against Media is Traitorous."  Stasi then goes on to call Trump "unhinged", a "pathological liar", "dangerous", "crazy", and more.  When Trump points out that the media is printing false and dishonest stories, Stasi calls that an attack on the First Amendment.  You see, Stasi and her fellow travelers in the media are allowed to say these inflammatory things, but a response from President Trump which is much less strident makes him not only wrong, but also crazy and a traitor.

Speaking for myself and, I suspect, a huge swath of the America people, I just want to tell Linda Stasi
and her media buddies that their days in control of the news are over.  Not only does the truth get out to millions of people each day despite the best efforts of Stasi and her friend, but she and the others have managed with their conduct to destroy their own credibility.  If she told the truth, it would still be hard to take her at face value.

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