Mostly Monday Reads: Suppression and Lies

“Whoop, there it is! That explains everything!” John Buss, @repeat1968

Good Day, Sky Dancers!

Freedom of the Press, and the exercise of it, has been an essential part of modern American History. Now, with the invention of technologies that have evolved far beyond the days of the printing press when it was conceived, we have access to more. The generations born since the invention of radio and TV, and those who have followed forward to today’s internet technologies, have relied on the press for truth on wars, governance, social justice, foreign relations, science, medicine, and every other possible human endeavor.

My parents heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor almost immediately on the radio.  I watched a man walk on the moon. My children have instant access to everything on their phones. Information is a vital part of the American Dream. Now, it has become part of the American Nightmare. Freedom of information has always relied on the availability of trusted sources. Our modern history is full of examples of state propaganda that we Americans have always pooh-poohed, the Tokyo Roses, the Baghdad Bobs, but we’ve always taken seriously the propaganda and acts of  Paul Joseph Goebbels, who committed suicide to avoid being held to account. Free Speech is a pillar of democracy.

America, we have a huge problem.

This first read is from Today’s New York Times. It concerns the ongoing suppression of News at CBS. “‘60 Minutes’ Pulled a Segment. A Correspondent Calls It ‘Political.’ Sharyn Alfonsi, a “60 Minutes” correspondent, criticized the network’s decision to remove her reporting from Sunday’s edition of the show.”  Michael M. Grynbaum has the byline.

In a move that drew harsh criticism from its own correspondent, CBS News abruptly removed a segment from Sunday’s episode of “60 Minutes” that was to feature the stories of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to what the program called a “brutal” prison in El Salvador.

CBS announced the change three hours before the broadcast, a highly unusual last-minute switch. The decision was made after Bari Weiss, the new editor in chief of CBS News, requested numerous changes to the segment. CBS News said in a statement that the segment would air at a later date and “needed additional reporting.”

But Sharyn Alfonsi, the veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent who reported the segment, rejected that criticism in a private note to CBS colleagues on Sunday, in which she accused CBS News of pulling the segment for “political” reasons.

“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” Ms. Alfonsi wrote in the note, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

The inability of the rotter in the White House to deal with criticism means the rest of us must not read or see anything that might be off-putting to his serious ego problems. NPR has this take on the story. “CBS News chief Bari Weiss pulls ’60 Minutes’ story, sparking outcry.” David Folkenflik has the story.

Just a day and a half before it was set to be broadcast, new CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulled a planned 60 Minutes investigative segment centering on allegations of abuses at an El Salvador detention center where the Trump administration sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants last March.

Weiss told colleagues this weekend the piece — planned for Sunday night’s show — could not run without an on-the-record comment from an administration official. She pushed for 60 Minutes to interview Stephen Miller, senior advisor to President Trump, or someone of his stature. That’s according to two people with knowledge of events at the network who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing job security.

The correspondent on the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, condemned the decision in an email to 60 Minutes colleagues on Sunday evening, saying she believed it was “not an editorial decision, it is a political one.” (The email was obtained by NPR and other news organizations.)

A press release sent out Friday morning from CBS News’ publicity team had promoted the story, promising a look inside CECOT, “one of El Salvador’s harshest prisons.” The network ran a video promotion which has since been taken down on the air and on social media. The announcement cited “the brutal and tortuous conditions” some recently released deportees said they endured there. The release has since been revised.

The story had undergone repeated formal reviews by senior producers and news executives, as well as people from the legal and standards division, according to the two people at CBS, echoing Alfonsi’s account.

Alfonsi wrote that she and her colleagues on the story had sought comments and interviews from the Department of Homeland Security, the White House and the State Department.

“Government silence is a statement, not a VETO,” Alfonsi wrote in the email. “If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch” for any reporting they find inconvenient.” (Alfonsi did not respond to an emailed request for comment.)

This is the take of the Washington Post and its reporters, Liam Scott and Scott Nover. “‘60 Minutes’ correspondent says CBS’s Bari Weiss abruptly pulled segment on Trump deportations. The segment on the deportation of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison was postponed after the Trump administration refused to grant the network an interview.”

CBS News abruptly pulled an investigative “60 Minutes” segment on the Trump administration’s deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison after the Trump administration refused to grant an interview, according to a correspondent who shared her concerns in an email obtained by The Washington Post.

The decision came directly from the network’s editor in chief, Bari Weiss, according to an internal email sent to producers from the segment’s correspondent, Sharyn Alfonsi, who called the decision tantamount to handing the White House a “kill switch.”

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” Alfonsi wrote.

“If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a ‘kill switch’ for any reporting they find inconvenient,” Alfonsi wrote.

Weiss defended the decision in a Monday morning editorial meeting.

“As of course you all have seen, I held a ‘60 Minutes’ story, and I held that story because it wasn’t ready,” Weiss told staffers, according to a person who attended the meeting and spoke on the condition of anonymity to share nonpublic comments. “The story presented very powerful testimony of abuse at CECOT, but that testimony has already been reported on by places like the Times. The public knows that Venezuelans have been subjected to horrific treatment in this prison. So to run a story on this subject, two months later, we simply need to do more.”

She continued: “And this is ‘60 Minutes.’ We need to be able to make every effort to get the principals on the record and on camera. To me, our viewers come first, not a listing schedule or anything else, and that is my North Star, and I hope it’s the North Star of every person in this newsroom.”

I’m not convinced. Are you?

Here’s a ridiculous story featuring the Louisiana Governor who truly is the state’s village idiot. It’s a continuation of Donald Trump’s quest to basically take over independent nations. It’s caused quite a stir because it appears to be illegal for the governor to accept this. We continue to see a Regime that thinks itself above the law or doesn’t care. This is from the AP. “Trump’s appointment of envoy to Greenland sparks new tension with Denmark.”

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland insisted Monday that the United States won’t take over Greenland and demanded respect for their territorial integrity after President Donald Trump ‍announced the appointment of a ‌special envoy to the semi-autonomous territory.

Trump’s announcement on Sunday that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry would be the envoy prompted a new flare-up of tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast territory of Denmark, a NATO ally. Denmark’s foreign minister told Danish broadcasters that he would summon the U.S. ambassador to his ministry.

”We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a joint statement. “They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”

Here’s the take from the Louisiana Illuminator. “Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry selected by Trump to be special envoy to Greenland. This is reported by Julie O’Donoghue. “Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry selected by Trump to be special envoy to Greenland.”

President Donald Trump announced Sunday night that Gov. Jeff Landry would serve as his special envoy to Greenland.

“I am pleased to announce that I am appointing the GREAT Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, as the United States Special Envoy to Greenland,” Trump said through a post to his social media network Truth Social.

“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World,” the president wrote.

Landry will remain Louisiana governor while serving in his new role for Trump.

“This in no way affects my role as governor of Louisiana!” he posted on the social media platform X.

Greenland has significant oil and gas reserves and has been a focal point for Trump on-and-off since he entered politics a decade ago.

On several occasions earlier this year, the president publicly mused about an American takeover of the island, which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. The threats have upset not only the Danes but also the European Union and Russia.

One of the more embarrassing quotes from Landry makes the purpose of the position even more off-putting. This is also from the AP source.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said on X it was ‘an honor to serve … in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US’

Greenland and Denmark are less than enthused. This is from The Independent. “Greenland outraged after Trump appoints envoy to make country ‘part of the US’. Trump stated Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry understands ‘how essential Greenland to our National Security’.”

The leaders of Denmark and Greenland have insisted the US will not take over the latter, and are demanding respect for the island’s territorial integrity following President Trump’s appointment of a special envoy.

On Sunday Mr Trump named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as the US special envoy to Greenland, reigniting tensions over Washington’s interest in the vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, which is a Nato ally.

The Danish foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, announced he would summon the US ambassador to Copenhagen, expressing particular dismay at Mr Landry’s endorsement of Trump’s stated aim.

In a joint statement, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, declared: “We have said it before. Now, we say it again: national borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law. They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, and the US shall not take over Greenland. We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity.”

The Trump administration put further pressure on Copenhagen on Monday, when it suspended leases for five large offshore wind projects being built off the East Coast of the U.S., including two being developed by Denmark’s state-controlled Orsted.

Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire for Greenland, which is largely self-governing, to become part of the United States, citing security concerns and its valuable mineral resources. He stated on Truth Social: “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World.”

This item shows a significant issue with the position. Discussion among those of us who have been part of Louisiana’s higher education institutions will hopefully raise a few flags to the local politicos and media.

Screenshot

I’m seriously getting tired of my state and my country continually exhibiting behaviors and speech that give us pariah status. It’s embarrassing, and the actions are unjustifiable in any civilized, democratic nation.  On the good side, if he goes there at all, we could find a good iceberg and let some hungry polar bears at him.

What’s on your reading and blogging list today?