Focus: Russia | Tom Camfield

Tom Camfield
Blogger
Posted 3/27/22

MEANWHILE, A RECENT HEADLINE (also on the Internet) read: “Russia proposes 15-year sentences and threatens 'treason charges' for telling the truth about its war crimes in Ukraine.” The …

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Focus: Russia | Tom Camfield

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MEANWHILE, A RECENT HEADLINE (also on the Internet) read: “Russia proposes 15-year sentences and threatens 'treason charges' for telling the truth about its war crimes in Ukraine.” The story (in February) began: “The head of the Russian Duma’s ‘committee on security,’ Vasily Piskarev, has proposed changes to legislation, including up to 15 years’ imprisonment for what are termed ‘fakes’ about the Russian armed forces currently bombing cities and killing civilians in Ukraine.  It is clear from the regime’s ban on words like ‘invasion’; ‘war’ and ‘aggression’ that this is one of several weapons being deployed to prevent people in Russia from learning about the crimes the regime is committing . . .”

If you live in Moscow, good luck in knowing what’s going on . . . and what Trump’s friend Vladimir is up to.

Donald Trump (as reported in The Hill April 5, 2021, soon after taking office as president): “The press is doing everything within their power to fight the magnificence of the phrase, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump tweeted . . . “They are truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!” The Hill article continued: “The president has previously described specific outlets and ‘fake news’ as the ’enemy of the people,’ but so far had not used the characterization to describe the full press corps . . .” Trump issued the tweet hours after he said he would not attend the year’s White House correspondents' dinner, telling reporters that it was “too negative.”

The Associated Press is world-wide and has not changed in being thorough on all fronts. Same for the Free Press, which continues its refusal to become a tool of autocrats addicted to power. But the going is tough in places such as Russia and North Korea . . . and China.

Meanwhile . . .

"Speak softly and carry a big stick — you will go far.” A saying possibly attributed to Theodore Roosevelt (politician, statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian and writer), a Republican who served as 26th President of the United states from 1901 to 1909 . . . a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies. (Also the youngest president in U.S. history, although this distinction often is mistakenly given to John F, Kennedy. Clinton was the third youngest.)

How times, and Republicans, changed in a little over a century! We got recently as a one-term president 2017-2021 a self-absorbed individual named Donald Trump — who looks upon natural resources as something to be exploited, the presidency as a means to individual power and wealth. Who twice lost the U.S. popular vote. Who speaks loudly but whose “big stick” probably is a 3-wood on the golf course. Though the end of 2020, Since taking office on Jan. 20, 2017, Trump reportedly was on the grounds of his golf courses or played golf elsewhere 308 times since becoming president, as of Dec. 30, 2020.

As of late 2020, Donald Trump, through his Trump Organization owned or operated 17 golf properties around the world, including 12 in the United States, two in Dubai (one open, another opening in 2020), one in Ireland and two in Scotland, as well planned courses in Indonesia.'

All of which sort of puts into perspective the recent ridiculous rant of Trump’s son Eric, who accused Democratic President Joe Biden of riding a bicycle the other day.

Comments

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  • Justin Hale

    For a minute there I thought we were going to get Tom's perspective on the mess in Ukraine, but alas more of the Trump hate.....

    The biased press DID do everything in their power to undermine Trump the candidate and the President, just look at what the famed NYT and other biased media did regarding the Hunter Biden tapes, they called it fake news, or misinformation when the story first broke back in 2019. "Last year, NPR corrected an online article that falsely asserted do***ents from first son Hunter Biden’s laptop had been “discredited by U.S. intelligence.” The correction came after the (2020)election. It took the Times and others until this year to fess up."(https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/mar/21/new-york-times-failure-on-hunter-bidens-laptop-is-/).....

    "Same for the Free Press, which continues its refusal to become a tool of autocrats addicted to power. " You have to be kidding, I just cited a case of what you like to call the "free press" working against Trump to help the Democrats win the 2020 election. There's a very good reason why the media has such a terrible approval rating by the public. Speculative opinion is not news Tom.

    Sunday, March 27, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    "But the history of the Trump administration has shown that the loudest cries of “fake news” accompany the most damning journalism. Coming from him, the phrase now dependably has another meaning: “all-too-accurate reporting that damages my reputation.” Margaret Sullivan, columnist, Washington Post, April 3, 2020.

    Monday, March 28, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    The Hunter Biden case illustrates how the biased MSM falsely claimed that the story was "fake news" and they kept repeating that story right through the elections, the retraction was not released for at least a year after the elections. What the NYT and other biased media did is anything but "accurate reporting". Who knows how many voters were swayed by those stories in the biased media, obviously it was a false story designed to harm Trump.....

    Did the NYT and other media promulgate a fake story? Yes.

    Was that a good example of "accurate reporting"?, No

    Did that story hurt Trump in the election? yes, that's what the purpose was.

    Does M. Sullivan have a glue? No

    Monday, March 28, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    "When The Washington Post Fact Checker team first started cataloguing President Donald Trump’s false or misleading claims, we recorded 492 suspect claims in the first 100 days of his presidency. On Nov. 2 alone, the day before the 2020 vote, Trump made 503 false or misleading claims as he barnstormed across the country in a desperate effort to win reelection.

    This astonishing jump in falsehoods is the story of Trump’s tumultuous reign. By the end of his term, Trump had ac***ulated 30,573 untruths during his presidency — averaging about 21 erroneous claims a day." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/

    In his first 100 days, President Trump had 29 statements assessed by PolitiFact (17 false) compared to 12 statements from President Obama (1 false) and 4 statements from President Biden (2 false). As a raw count, Trump told more falsehoods than Biden and Obama combined. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidmarkowitz/2021/04/30/who-lied-more-during-their-first-100-days-biden-trump-or-obama/?sh=132591101a89

    Some voters understood where Trump was coming from, that's why Joe Biden won in 2020. Get over it, the man's a compulsive liar. Check out the stories Just In Hale. You can't blame this on the media.

    Monday, March 28, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    The point I was making was the biased media's treatment of Trump.

    Did Trump say a lot of stupid things? no doubt he did.

    Did the biased media misrepresent and take out of context some of his words in an effort to damage him? Yes, they did.

    Did the NYT and other media like the WaPo promulgate a false story for over a year in an effort to harm Trump? they did.

    The other day Biden said "(Putin) cannot remain in power" and the biased media falls all over itself excusing it as a "gaffe" and telling US what he really meant to say. Imagine if Trump would have said the very same words, the biased media would be accusing him of all manner of evil intentions and calling for another impeachment trial.

    Out of curiosity I looked at that WaPo "database" of so-called Trump "lies". Here is what the WP listed as a lie in Aug.2017 regarding the Charolettville riot.

    "In mid-August, Trump ignites fury and outrage after he says there were “very fine people, on both sides” when white supremacists clashed in Charlottesville with church groups, civil rights leaders and anti-fascist activists known as “antifa.”.....

    What Trump actually said on Aug.12 2017 about the riot began with these words

    "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides, on many sides.

    Where's the lie in that?

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    The fact remains that Trump's hurried make-up comment came after his "good people on both sides" description of the viciousness and murder at Charlottesville.

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    Incidentally, Marge tried to use the synonym for something such as "gathered up a total of" in the foregoing blog comment. You can trigger that by using CU followed by M in the middle of any word. I'm testing the word "lesbian" to see if we're OK or are forcibly in tune with the governor of Florida.

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado was among those who argued that Trump needed to be more clear about who he was condemning.

    "This is not a time for ***aries. This isn't a time for innuendo or to allow room to be read between the lines. This is a time to lay blame ... on white supremacists, on white nationalism and on hatred," Gardner said on CNN the day after Trump's initial statement.

    A year later, Trump tried to walk it back, a little to little and a little to late. There is no both sides, hate is hate.

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    By the way Tom it seems weird that the Washington Post accepts the word Ac U ulated but the Leader filters toss it out. Maybe they should be looking at the whole word, not just searching for specific words.

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    The comment that I mentioned above was from (https://www.vox.com/2017/8/12/16138906/president-trump-remarks-condemning-violence-on-many-sides-charlottesville-rally) that was the day of the riot, the very first words he used were a condemnation of the viciousness, hatred, and bigotry.

    Here's this from Wikipedia, "In his initial statement following the rally, Trump "condemned hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides". While Trump condemned both neo-Nazis and white nationalists,[31] his first statement and subsequent defenses of it, in which he also referred to "very fine people on both sides", were seen by critics as implying moral equivalence between the white supremacist marchers and those who protested against them. Critics interpreted his remarks as sympathetic to white supremacists,[8] while supporters characterized this interpretation as a hoax,[32] because Trump's "fine people" statement explicitly denounced white nationalists.". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite_the_Right_rally)

    The fact remains that the Trump haters cherry-picked the words that furthered their agenda, just as they did with his words about the illegals coming from Mexico and other Central American countries.

    Either way you see it, how can Trump's opinion of the type of people there at the Charolettville riot be considered a "lie" which is what the WaPo called it.

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    Aqmulated, see how easy that is.

    One thing we can all agree on is that the Leaders censor program sux.

    And why would the governor of Florida care if you use the word lesbian?

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    Marge, who cares what Cory Gardner said?. Did he claim that what Trump said about the Charoletteville riot was a lie? No he didn't. He talked about "vaagaries", whereas you and the WaPo consider Trump's words a lie. I ask again where is the lie?

    Tuesday, March 29, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    Syndicated columnist Charles **** of the New York Times refers to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as "Trump 2.0." And Trump, meanwhile, he describes as "not the brightest bulb. He's tremendously talented as a room reader and as a reflector of emotion, but he is no brilliant tactician, no wise sage, no erudite intellectual."

    "And why would the governor of Florida care if you use the word lesbian?" challenges troll Justin Hale. Well . . . for one thing. "On Monday he [DeSantis] signed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill that does far more damage than just tamping down classroom discussion . . . It also has far-reaching implications for how mental-health are delivered to children, even those who may not be LGBTQ."

    This law, for instance, reads: "Classroom instruction . . . on ***ual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 . . ."

    This entire editorial in The Seattle Times, under the title "DeSantis is Trump 2.0," undoubtedly is found on the Internet, along more on DeSantis and his efforts to both take over education and write a new constitution for the

    State of Florida.

    Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    There goes our new censor again! 'the New York Times columnist's name is

    Charles Blo- with a W there on the end,

    Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    Tom, there is no such thing as a "Don't say Gay" bill in Florida, there is a "Parental Rights in Education Bill (HB-1557)" that the Legislature and Governor of Florida passed into law, mostly by Republican votes. Do you really believe that 5 to 8-year-olds should be exposed to topics of sxual ( see how that works) orientation, or gender identity without their parent's knowledge or approval? And how exactly does HB-1557 damage anything or anyone?

    Relax Tom, DeSantis is not taking over the dept. of Education or writing a new Constitution, where do you get these weird ideas?

    Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    Hate to break this to you Just In Hale but there are children across this country that have parents that are gay. So you think it's o.k. for DeSantis to pass a law that says parent who are gay have no right to be parents? You should be more worried that De Santis is pictured with a group of children who will forever be influenced by such a ****phobic governor.

    Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    Oh, for crying out loud, ****phobic is on the list of words not to be used. The Leader need a new filter.

    Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    Of course it's OK for the Legislature in Florida to pas (see how you do that) that law, and right for the Governor to sign it. If I had young children 5-8 years old I sure as hel don't want the public schools that I pay for to be talking to them about deviant lifestyles. And show me where in HB-1557 it says that houmo***uals can't be parents.

    Totally agree that the Leader word checker is asinine.

    Thursday, March 31, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    A few of my schoolmates were gay and a couple of them were among my good friends in the class of '47. I think we realized it along about junior high age, but didn't really care a lot one way or another. Never even thought or knew much knew about the girls. Must have been tough on some of them when they reached puberty, as alternative life styles were somewhat hushed up in those days. In any case, the guys disappeared along about high school. One family remained here, but the father was about as mean as they come. The kid involved here must be the one who wrote me after he retired as a school official in the San 'Francisco area. A kid next door also was gay and a good friend of the family before his death.

    Education should deal with life's realities at an early age and it makes no sense to stigmatize minorities. There's more to our constitution than the right to bear arms.

    Thursday, March 31, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    Most normal children don't even begin to seriously think about *** until they go into puberty which is usually 10-14 for girls and 12-16 for boys. I remember that we had sx-education in High School. I cannot understand why anyone would believe that 5-8-year-old children should be exposed to such matters.

    I do understand that a lot of the outrage about DeSantis is mainly because he is well known and possibly a Republican Presidential candidate in 24.

    Thursday, March 31, 2022 Report this

  • MargeS

    "Most normal children" so Mr. Republican lover what do you consider an abnormal child? You have some personal knowledge the rest of us don't or is this just your usual "you hate Trump, and that's why your picking on De Santis" He grabbed Trumps coattails and wants to ride them to the presidency, and if that doesn't wake people up I feel sorry for them. Now lets see how many times I have been "filtered."

    Thursday, March 31, 2022 Report this

  • Justin Hale

    A normal child is not concerned with sx or sxual identity at the ages 5-8. Any 5-8 year old who is is being raised by crazy people. And any adult who thinks it's a good idea to expose 5-8-year-olds to such matters is a nut-job.

    Do you really believe that Florida's Parental Rights in Education Bill is bad legislation or are you just opposed to anything DeSantis, just as you are anti-Trump.

    Friday, April 1, 2022 Report this

  • Thomas Camfield

    It's like burning books so that all admirable characters remaining available resemble a certain portion of the population. Doesn't seem a realistic or sensible way to conduct early-age education. For that matter, individuals such as DeSantis are pulling the same sort of stuff with regard to eligible voters and access to the polls.

    Friday, April 1, 2022 Report this