By Guy Somerset
On July 11, 2015, the most popular candidate in the Republican Party among those running for President spoke in Phoenix, Arizona. His address was of particular import due to increasing numbers of ordinary Americans victimized at the hands of Illegal Invaders, most notably from Mexico. Furthermore, of nearly two dozen Republican contenders only Trump had seized upon the issue. As a consequence his plans and policies in regard to the developing calamity were of interest to hundreds of millions of citizens.
Yet for those dear misguided souls who have heard the oft-repeated myth of a fabled "American Free Press" the deafening silence surrounding Trump's speech spoke volumes of the crisis in that country.
None of the three major network channels (ABC, CBS, NBC) carried the speech nationally. Granted this was to be expected given those broadcasters earn some of their highest advertising dollars on Saturday afternoons. And, admittedly, although each has a nightly newscast (of varying reliability) none of the three hold themselves out to be strictly news providers. Therefore while it might have been sensible for one to cover the speech live that failure does not rise to an ethical violation in the journalistic sense.
Complaints should instead be directed toward those channels (mainly on cable television) which usually pretentiously, sometimes condescendingly and ever unfailingly attempt to convince the citizenry they are legitimate news providers. No one is ever more ready to inform you how indispensable he is to liberty than a corrupted newsman. Let us consider the stellar work of these indefatigable beacons of light who, each and every one, carry forth the torch of freedom before them as a hard gemlike flame...
CNN hosted the program Smerconish which sounds much more akin a fattening paste put on a bagel than a reliable narrator of facts. The presenter did mention Trump during the first fifteen minutes or so of his program. He later brought on guests to discuss Trump. His panel then debated the merits and intentions of Trump. About the only thing Smerconish didn't do was show the actual speech Trump was making at the very moment he thought Trump the most fascinating figure on the national stage.
Over at CNN's sister network HLN, formerly "Headline News" and now the "Forensic Files Network," was aired...yet another decades-old episode of the crime drama Forensic Files. HLN currently has as much to do with news as TLC has to do with learning. One expects Honey Boo-Boo to be anchoring any morning.
MSNBC broke away from their normal showcase of Lock-Up: Life in 'Name Your Prison' to present another pseudo-documentary for the pork-rind set called Caught on Camera. It was hosted by error-prone train-wreck Contessa Brewer. Perusing it briefly, this entry seemed to have been filmed sometime around 2012 and showed literal train-wrecks and various Youtube shenanigans which are apparently more vital stories than contemporary national news for reasons one cannot begin to fathom.
MSNBC's associated business network CNBC was on top of matters with an infomercial labeled Johnny Cash, Hank Williams & George Jones which was an apt metaphor as ever existed - three deceased musicians shilling ballads to a dying country. After all, it is not as if tens of millions of fanatically violent, defiantly ignorant invaders might have some deleterious economic impact upon a state.
Remaining with business, on Bloomberg was an hour-long special entitled American Medicine Today. Alas, it wasn't even a documentary but another infomercial designed to keep the body politic thinking about their personal aches and pains rather than those which vex their disjointed union.
On Al-Jazeera a program termed Talk To seemed promising. However returning from station break the chat was instead with Misty Copeland; first Prima Ballerina of color for the American Ballet Theater. Apparently this was considered an accomplishment, though being the first diverse personage to do anything in America 2015 is no longer an achievement but an inevitability (ability often be damned).
BBC News offered its World News regular focusing content largely on Greece, which one cannot particularly criticize. Although the ratings would have been improved by carrying Trump's speech (especially for the BBC America broadcast) that sort of thing isn't technically their mandate.
Not so CSPAN, which never fails to disappoint with its atrocious editorial blunders. This day was no different as it played the weekly Presidential address and rebuttal, which essentially no one watches and might have been shown at any time day or night to virtually the same audience. Especially so when an oration of consequence (whatever one thinks of Trump) was ensuing simultaneously.
CSPAN2 was more pathetic with some nonsensical choice to show a Booknotes episode from 1/18/04 (as in, 2004). The topic? John Seigenthaler was discussing James K. Polk; the one man who actually declared war when Mexico first invaded America in 1846. Again, there is either a deviously clever subversive intelligence at work at CSPAN2 or (more probably) a bemused higher power with a righteously indignant sense of humor for the folly of human stupidities.
CSPAN3? A lecture on The Civil War: Before and After...which one wishes were a sick joke rather than a preview of coming attractions.
PBS was plowing through the morose routine of their News Hour and all atwitter over typhoon Chan-hon which was occurring in China. (The one located on the other side of the globe, incidentally.)
Over at FBN, or "Fox Business Network," rather than carrying a germane live broadcast of the most populist rally in recent memory, by a candidate whose two main planks are business and immigration, they had a group dialogue led by none other than all-around non-threatening Hispanic Jerry Rivers (aka Geraldo Rivera). He was droning on about a Grexit when the entire hour ought to have been devoted to a Mexit of interlopers and its net benefit on the United States economy tallying into the multi-billions (for anyone not already a private billionaire).
Last and absolutely, indubitably, deplorably and deservedly least was faux Fox News; erstwhile cheerleaders for Jeb Bush. They never even heard of Donald Trump on FOX. Still they had heard of a steroid-addled tennis player and were sure to tell the audience how "inspiring" she was to the "youth." Additionally, evidently a small single-engine plane made an emergency landing on a highway in Podunk, Nowheresville. There were likewise feel-good stories about children and animals as well.
Yet no Donald Trump speech. No mention of the 38% recidivism of Mexican Invaders in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio related to the audience. Absolutely no comment on the moving comments by Jamiel Shaw who had his son murdered by an Illegal Invader already released from jail numerous times by cowards who thought dead children were less burdensome than being slurred as a "racist" by Mexican anti-American agitators. (A genuine inconvenient truth - Mr. Shaw happens to be black!) None of these reports were deemed worthy to the newly bleached-blonde head of reporter Molly Line and her cohorts. They had enthralling yarns about small planes on rural highways to tell us about.
Thus is the state of the Fourth Estate where the old maxim is true, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." And all of those media outlets in the United States whose medium is television are owned by absentee nobles who hate we serfs and want to see us slave until death; one condition being just as good to them as the other.
In total candor, Donald Trump is scarcely my ideal candidate and I certainly do not agree with all of his positions. However the blatant and hysterical censorship which was practiced against him the afternoon of his speech was the most un-American spectacle seen in quite some time. Support him or oppose him, the man has earned his place on the podium by virtue of currently being the most popular candidate in the country and its citizens have a right to know what he would do if granted such tremendous power.
More importantly The Press has an obligation by virtue of its license granted by The People to inform us. It is high time they be reminded of their gross and despicable dereliction of this sacred trust.
Guy Somerset