The Power of the Press

Blog#225- 12/7/24

THE POWER OF THE PRESS
By
Richard Davis

After the presidential inauguration the entire press machine of the United States will probably come under attack. This is a battle we all need to fight and, no matter what our point of view, we have to make sure that the media can operate unencumbered by threats from an aspiring dictator.

Some newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times have already succumbed to possible threats by taking the cowardly position of not endorsing a candidate in the November election, fearing later retribution. This is clearly a sign of what is to come and it is especially troubling because the press has decided to self-censor in advance of any real threat.

The first amendment to the constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” It does not say that the President cannot try to muzzle the press with intimidation and threats and that is what is so scary.

There is a glimmer of hope. During the current round of nominations for government positions the press is mostly doing its job and providing the American people with information about the candidates and doing its homework by checking into the sordid history of many of these people.

If not for the press it is unlikely that scumbag#1, Matt Gaetz, would have been stopped so early in the process. If the American people did not hear so many stories about how bad this man is I suspect that Republicans in Congress might have let him get much closer to the nomination process. It did seem that there were even a few Republicans who would have blocked his nomination, but one has to wonder if they would have succumbed to public pressure if the press was not doing its job.

When it comes to Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the press needs to do a better job of pointing out why he should not hold that position. The media have talked about his history of conspiracy theories about vaccines and the causes of diseases. If he makes it through the nomination process a lot of people could die. This is a life and death matter and the press need to be relentless. So far, they are not doing enough and that scares me.

Right now the press is concentrating on Pete Hegseth, nominee for the Secretary of Defense. This guy has more baggage than a Samsonite warehouse. He is the epitome of a bad human being. What he says about being a new man really does not matter because someone with his history should not even be near the front entrance of any government building.

Then there is Kash Patel, nominee for FBI director. He is a man who has stated many times that he thinks the FBI should not exist.

He wants to destroy the agency and if he makes it through the nomination process J. Edgar Hoover may just rise from his grave and go after this man.

I could go on and on. The press has the responsibility to out all of these people and stay vigilant during the entire nomination process by putting out as many stories as possible about the background of nominees and the effect they could have on the country.