Tag: Brendan Carr

Just another week in Trump World

For those of you who are sick and tired of my political rants in my blog posts, I regret that Donald Trump and his ilk have put you in that state of mind. I do not apologize for the tone or the content of my political postings. As an American citizen, I feel it is my duty and obligation to use my First Amendment freedom of speech right to voice my opinions.

As I have stated before, it was never my plan when I started blogging more than a decade ago to take my blog in a political direction. I feel strongly about the direction Donald Trump is taking my country, and I cannot keep silent. I am obligated to speak out as I see him governing from a Fascist playbook.

The FCC and Stephen Colbert

Trump’s FCC Chair, Brendan Carr, is the Pam Bondi of the Federal Communications Commission. He is only in that position to do Trump’s bidding.

Photo by israel palacio on Unsplash

On Monday, Stephen Colbert of CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was scheduled to interview James Talarico, a member of the Texas State House of Representatives. But there was a problem: Talarico is a Democrat.

Under the law, late night talk shows are not required to give equal time to Republican and Democrat politicians, but Trump and Carr are never bothered by laws they disagree with.

Colbert was told CBS would not air the interview. He said he was told he could not mention on his show on Monday night that the interview had been pulled. As only Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel can do, he talked about it and paid his respects Carr and the FCC.

This isn’t the first talk show to get in trouble for hosting Talarico. He appeared on “The View” on the ABC TV network a few weeks ago, and now “The View” is under investigation by the FCC.

I never have and never will watch Fox News, but from the little bit I’ve seen and heard of it I don’t think they abide by any equal-time rule. Perhaps Carr should turn his attention to Fox News even though it is Trump’s mouthpiece.

The appalling deportation case of Godfrey Wade

We have witnessed 13 months of abuses perpetrated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and many of those abuses victimized American citizens. Many of them were inflicted on immigrants who were going through all the proper channels to stay in the U.S. and/or seek citizenship.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Godfrey Wade legally immigrated to the United States as a teenager more than 50 years ago. He went on to serve overseas in the United States Army. He was pulled over in Conyers, Georgia last fall for failing to use a turn signal. It was discovered that he had failed to appear for an ICE hearing in 2014 because ICE sent the hearing notices to the wrong address and Mr. Wade was not aware of the hearing date.

After being held in a detention center for more than five months and filing an appeal for his deportation order, Mr. Wade was deported to Jamaica. His family is appealing his deportation.

Who knew failing to use a turn signal could get you stopped by the police? That’s certainly not a law I see enforced in North Carolina. I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Wade was pulled over since he was black. It irritates me when other drivers do not use their turn signals, but I didn’t know anyone was ever stopped by police for the infraction.

Thank you for your military service, Mr. Wade, and Happy Black History Month.

Congressional Medal of Honor

Speaking of military service… yesterday in Rome, Georgia, Trump said he will “test the law” to award himself the Congressional Medal of Honor. It’s beside the point, I guess, that this is the nation’s award for military valor in action and Trump repeatedly dodged the draft during the Vietnam War, claiming bone spurs. He thinks he deserves it “for bravery” because he flew to Iraq once.

What a small, pitiful man. He tarnishes everything he touches.

According to https://www.cmohs.org/medal/design, “The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy have always had separate designs for their personnel. Until the U.S. Air Force introduced its design in 1965, all airmen received the Army design. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard receive the U.S. Navy design.”

I wonder which design Trump will demand to hang around his own neck. It will be another in a long line of beautiful and honorable things he will tarnish.

Black History Month

At a Black History Month event, Trump went off topic and ranted about “illegal aliens” committing the vast majority of crimes in the U.S. Of course, that’s not true. The truth never has interfered with anything Trump wanted to say.

Most crimes in our country are committed by U.S.-born people, mainly men.

The Board of Peace

Trump appeared to fall asleep (again) at the inaugural Board of Peace, which he invented after he changed the name of the Institute of Peace to the Trump Institute of Peace.

I’ve never seen anyone so rabid to put their name on everything. There’s no end to it. I look forward to the day his name is removed from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Trump’s Arch of Triumph

I was encouraged yesterday to learn that Public Citizen, a watchdog organization has sued to try to stop construction of the 250-foot-tall Trump Arch of Triumph in Washington, DC because it will ruin the views of the Lincoln Memorial and other monuments as seen from Arlington National Cemetery.

Trump wants his arch to be the tallest in the world, of course. He operates under the illusion that bigger is always better, gold is never gaudy, and might is right.

Iran

Trump is itching to bomb Iran. I guess that’s what the Nobel Peace Prize Committee gets for not giving him that coveted prize. He’ll show them! He must take out his revenge on someone, and it’s not necessarily the person or people who slighted him.

The Epstein Files

As other countries, like Great Britain, show us that there is still such a thing as consequences for actions, here in the United States the U.S. Department of Justice seems incapable and uninterested in bringing charges against any of the men who abused little girls and teens. Trump feels sorry for former Prince Andrew for being arrested, but he cannot bring himself to express sorrow for the abused girls.

The U.S. Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche says the lurid and disgusting photographs in the Epstein files are not enough proof to file charges against anyone. The U.S. Department of Justice has managed to “investigate” the case without taking testimony from any of the victims.

This is akin to recently reassigned U.S. Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino stating that the victims in the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were the ICE officers who pulled the triggers.

The Trump Administration is following the fascist playbook in thinking if they just tell us enough lies enough times, we will doubt our lying eyes and ears.

Yesterday when asked about former Prince Andrew’s arrest, Trump replied, “I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated.” The definition of “exonerated” is “to clear from accusation or blame.” Did he just admit wrongdoing? I didn’t realize he had been exonerated.

I’m sure there were a dozen other things I could have included in today’s blog post, but I’ve been distracted by the Winter Olympics and failed to take notes on the things Trump was doing.

I hope to have something uplifting to blog about next week. I just never know. The daffodils in my yard are blooming. Spring must be coming!

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.

A Few Matters of Concern

For those of you who cannot watch the news any more “because it’s too sad,” I apologize. You might not want to read this blog post.

There is just something deep down inside me that compels me to comment on the continuing dismantling of our democracy.

Some doctors in the United States are now telling their patients not to keep up with current events because it’s not good for their health. Mine hasn’t told me that yet, so I’m steamrolling forward.

(I am making a point to listen to relaxing music every day now though, so that’s a positive result of Donald Trump’s reelection. I highly recommend the hammered dulcimer and guitar instrumentals of Steve and Ruth Smith.)

What’s in store for CBS?

Last Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the merger/takeover of CBS’s parent company, Paramount Global, by Skydance. The new company will apparently be called New Paramount.

It seems to me a more accurate name would be 19th Century Paramount, for that’s what the FCC chair and the folks at Skydance plan to do.

I’m going to quote FCC chair Brendan Carr, because I want those of you who missed it to see just what kind of person we have in charge of the FCC, which issues all TV and radio broadcast licenses. Aa thinking person, I find Mr. Carr’s attitude to be beneath the level of trust and integrity his office holds (or used to). Here’s what Mr. Carr said in a statement issued along with the FCC’s decision:

“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change. That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”

Carr also stated, “In particular, Skydance has made written commitments to ensure that the new company’s programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum. Skydance will also adopt measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media.”

From what I gathered online and on news broadcasts, among other things, Skydance promised not to have any diversity, equity, and inclusion policies at New Paramount. And Paramount promised to donate $16 million to the Trump Presidential Library. (That’s the greatest oxymoron I’ve ever heard!)

Will all the people of color and all the women at CBS and all the other media Skydance will now own need to find employment elsewhere? Will there be no more people of color or women in the movies made by Paramount Studios?

One can’t help but wonder what the future of broadcasting will be in the United States with Trump and his ilk in charge.

If you voted for Trump last November, is that what you wanted? If it is, please don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know that about my blog readers.

National Science Foundation

Photo of a row of microscopes
Photo by Ousa Chea on Unsplash

We know from many things the Trump Administration has done that he is anti-science. I mean, you can’t fire medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health and be pro-science. Simple as that.

The National Science Foundation is speaking out about politically motivated actions that have been taken to derail the traditional peer-review process related to grants. Instead of outside peers reviewing grant applications, Trump has directed grant proposals to be screened for political compliance first. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff will now decide which scientific research proposals are approved for federal grants.

We can safely assume there will be no grants approved for scientific research related to race, climate, or LGBTQ+ health.

More than 1,600 National Science Foundation grants were suddenly cancelled by DOGE on July 3, 2025.

The long-range ramifications of three-and-a-half more years of Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of both houses of Congress cannot even be imagined in the area of scientific research in the United States. I hope other countries will fill in the gap.

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule came about in 2001 because there was a backlog in repairs to roads in our national forests. Repairs and maintenance of park roads were too expensive, so this rule was adopted under which no new roads were to be developed in national forests to save money and to protect the environment.

Guess what the Trump Administration wants to do.

Contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative, even if you know it will do no good. Be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you tried to save the national forests.

Federal lands in New Mexico to be drilled

Photo of four oil drilling rigs
Photo by Documerica on Unsplash

The U.S. Department of the Interior announced last Thursday the federal government’s profit of $58,260,929 from the gas and oil leasing of 7,502.76 acres of “our” land in New Mexico.

The press release from the Bureau of Land Management did not use the word “profit.” The statement referred to the 58 million dollars as “revenue.” That sounds so much better than calling it “profit” or “blood money.”

New Acting President of U.S. Institute of Peace

The new Acting President of the U.S. Institute of Peace – a taxpayer-funded agency – is white supremacist Darren Beattie. So now the person overseeing the U.S. State Department’s efforts to fight extremist rhetoric is a man who actively traffics in it.

His website publishes January 6 conspiracy theories. He lost his job with the first Trump Administration because he attended a white supremacist conference, so why is he back?

Confirmation of Emil Bove

The Senate confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove in a 50-49 vote for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge yesterday, ignoring complaints about his conduct from Justice Department employees.

Bove was one of Trump’s personal lawyers. The message this sends to his other attorneys is that if they remain loyal to him, they can look forward to a lifetime appointment as a federal judge, too.

Someone, please stop the madness.

Until my next blog post

Keep reading whatever you can.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Remember the people of Ukraine, the people of western North Carolina, and the starving children of Gaza.

Janet