monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

But Trump’s attacks this week on Amazon and its C.E.O., Jeff Bezos, are a reminder that the President’s seemingly boundless corporate favoritism is actually favoritism of a much more narrow and fickle kind.

She may even have fallen into the trap of believing her own bs, but it's still bs.

The log in your eye prevents you from seeing similar behavior in the Ds.

...both parties are corrupt so let's criticize the Democrats! It doesn't make sense given the reality of a two party system.

Since the GOP is in full control of the government

You must’ve missed my posts about WalMart.

Quote:

Since the GOP is in full control of the government

The GOP does not have 60 senators, and the ones they have do not all vote in unison. In short, they do not have the control, only a slim majority.

On Monday mornings, fresh recruits line up for an orientation intended to catapult them into Amazon’s singular way of working.

There is, of course, one situation in which this does "make sense".

On anniversary of King’s death, some white evangelicals are reexamining their role during the civil rights movement

by Eugene Scott
April 3 at 3:35 PM



As America remembers the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his assassination Wednesday, segments of one influential American demographic are reflecting on their role in perpetuating the white supremacy that the civil rights leader rallied against.

Many of the issues King fought against continue to dominate today's headlines, which has led some white Christian evangelicals to examine their actions — or lack thereof — in responding to King’s message, and how that position impacts the country’s current politics.

In his famous “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King wrote about how white Christians did not fight racism but aided it. The Presbyterian Church in America — one of the country's largest Presbyterian denominations — barred black people from being members and supported segregation. Some white evangelical leaders partnered with white supremacist groups such as the White Citizens' Council in criticizing those advocating the civil rights of black people by calling them disruptive and questioning their Christian faith altogether.

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, recently wrote about how poorly many conservative Christians responded to King's call to dismantle racism, often using their faith and the Bible to reject support for integration. Moore wrote in the Memphis Commercial-Appeal last week:

“Conservative Christians must be careful to remember the ways in which our cultural anthropology perverted our soteriology and ecclesiology. It is to our shame that we ignored our own doctrines to advance something as clearly demonic as racial pride.

So, regardless of our backgrounds, it is appropriate that we pause and consider not only Dr. King’s life and legacy, but also our own past and future. As we do so, we are reminding ourselves of how far we have to go as Americans to see the promise of racial justice realized.”

Moore's group is partnering this week with the Gospel Coalition, a network of conservative evangelicals, to host MLK50 in Memphis to take an “opportunity for Christians to reflect on the state of racial unity in the church and the culture.”

Race has consistently been an issue in national politics, most recently with police shootings of unarmed black men, immigration, NFL protests and a violent rally over the removal of a Confederate memorial in Charlottesville.

But these debates aren't new; King criticized white Christians 50 years ago for their relative silence toward the suppression of rights for black Americans.

Years before his death, King wrote in 1956 what he believed the Apostle Paul would have said to predominantly white churches in America:

“I understand that there are Christians among you who try to justify segregation on the basis of the Bible. … Oh my friends, this is blasphemy. This is against everything that the Christian religion stands for,” he wrote. “I must say to you as I have said to so many Christians before, that in Christ ‘there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.’ ”

This unity was not always one that white evangelical leaders embraced, something Matthew J. Hall, dean of Boyce College, a Christian school, wrote about in the Gospel Coalition:

“In all of my research on the long history of racial justice and the black freedom movement, I find that my fellow churchmen who supported the cause of justice were more often the exception, not the rule. Instead, my research — and that of historians far more accomplished than me — makes quite clear that white evangelicals throughout the South were overwhelmingly opposed to the civil rights movement. … White evangelicals — particularly those in the South — were deeply invested in efforts to either uphold Jim Crow or to try to slow down its dismantling.”

Some white evangelical leaders did embrace King and his message, to a point. The Rev. Billy Graham integrated his “crusades” and shared his stage with King — moves that were relatively progressive for a white evangelical in the 1960s. But he has also been criticized for not going far enough.

“His opposition to the civil rights movement’s tactics of transformative disruption, his alignment with the political Religious Right and his failure to preach against the horrors of church-based homophobia and sexism demonstrate the limitations of relegating the gospel of Jesus Christ to little more than eternal fire insurance,” Broderick Greer, an activist and a priest, wrote after Graham's death in February.



Jemar Tisby, a history doctoral student at the University of Mississippi, wrote for The Washington Post this year that even when white evangelicals sympathized with King's message, there were limits.

“Many white evangelicals agreed with King’s affirmation of racial equality. They may have believed all people should be treated fairly. They objected to the notion that the government should play a role in bringing about equality and that Christians should concern themselves with material issues rather than simply focusing on conversion.”

These issues are center stage again as white evangelicals prove to be one of the most influential voting blocs in a political climate where race is at the forefront — and there's no sign they are losing influence. But some within the group are asking themselves: When it comes to race in America, what side of history will they be on?

Weeks after CNN reported that Sinclair was requiring its local anchors to film promotional segments attacking the “irresponsible, one-sided stories plaguing our country,” the widely lambasted segments have begun to air on stations around the country.

Earlier in March, CNN obtained internal documents sent to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s local TV news stations requiring them to film and air short segments decrying “biased and false news” and accusing mainstream media figures of bias. In the script obtained by CNN, Sinclair reporters focused on mainstream press, attacking unnamed "national media outlets" for publishing "fake stories." At points, the script appears to echo President Donald Trump's attacks on press with cries of "fake news." (Though the final version of the script, as NPR noted in an interview with a Sinclair executive about the promotional spots, no longer included "the word national ... coupled to the word media.") Reporters at some of the Sinclair-owned or -operated stations shared concerns with CNN’s Brian Stelter, calling the corporate-dictated segment requirements “inappropriate” and “manipulative.”

Apart from disparaging statements about non-Sinclair news outlets, the ads mostly contain trite and inoffensive statements supporting responsible, “balanced” journalism -- and that’s part of the problem. As Stelter noted, “On its face, some of the language is not controversial. But that's precisely why some staffers were so troubled by it. The promo script, they say, belies Sinclair management's actual agenda to tilt reporting to the right.” One staffer told CNN they “felt like a POW recording a message.”

A Media Matters search of the iQ media database found that between March 23 and March 27, at least 62 Sinclair stations reaching 29 states and D.C. have now run their own versions of the scripted segment. In the clips, local news anchors say things like, “I’m concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country.” The Sinclair employees also largely seemed to follow the other reported instructions delivered from the Sinclair corporate offices, such as wearing politically neutral colors (e.g. not red or blue).

Here are just three examples, from stations in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Nevada:

[videos at the link below]

Quote:

Here is a full transcript from one of the segments (there are slight variations among the videos).

Hi, I’m [name] with [station]. Our greatest responsibility is to serve our communities. I am extremely proud of the quality, balanced journalism that [station] produces, but I’m concerned about the troubling trend of irresponsible, one-sided news stories plaguing our country.

The sharing of biased and false news has become all too common on social media. More alarming, some media outlets publish these same fake stories without checking facts first. Unfortunately, some members of the media use their platforms to push their own personal bias and agenda to control exactly what people think. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.

At [station], it is our responsibility to report and pursue the truth. We understand the truth is neither politically left nor right. Our commitment to factual reporting is the foundation of our credibility now more than ever.

But we are human, and sometimes our reporting might fall short. If you believe our coverage is unfair, please reach out through our [station] website by clicking on “Content Concerns.” We value your comments and we will respond back to you.

We work very hard to seek the truth and strive to be fair, balanced, and factual. We consider it our honor and privilege to responsibly deliver the news every day. Thank you for watching, and we appreciate your feedback.

These segments are Sinclair’s latest attempt to sneak pro-Trump messaging into local media outlets. The media company’s chief political analyst, former Trump aide Boris Epshteyn, routinely echoes his former boss in attacking mainstream media outlets he believes are too critical of the president. And in a segment that aired across Sinclair news stations last March, Sinclair’s vice president for news, Scott Livingston, read from a virtually identical promotional script.

Sinclair is now well-known for its history of abusing public trust to air right-wing spin and promote xenophobia on local news shows, and the company is currently awaiting federal approval to finalize a massive acquisition that will help it spread its conservative propaganda further across the country.

The corporate promotional segments have aired (very often, more than once) on at least the following local TV news stations:

WABM (ABC 33/40) in Birmingham, AL
KBAK in Bakersfield, CA
KBFX (Fox 58) in Bakersfield, CA
KMPH (Fox 26) in Fresno, CA
WJLA (ABC 7) in Washington, DC
WEAR (ABC 3) in Pensacola, FL
WPEC (CBS 12) in West Palm Beach, FL
WGXA (Fox 24/ABC 13) in Macon, GA
WTGS (Fox 28) in Savannah, GA
KGAN (CBS 2) in Cedar Rapids, IA
KFXA (Fox 28) in Cedar Rapids, IA
KPTH (Fox 44) in Sioux City, IA
KBOI (2 News) in Boise, ID
KHQA in Quincy, IL
WSBT 22 in South Bend, IN
WBFF (Fox 45) in Baltimore, MD
WGME (CBS 13) in Portland, ME
WPFO (Fox 23) in Portland, ME
WSMH (Fox 66) in Flint, MI
WWMT (Newschannel 3) in Kalamazoo, MI
WPBN (7&4 News) in Traverse City, MI
KTVO (ABC 3) in Kirksville, MO
KRCG 13 in New Bloomfield, MO
WLOS (ABC 13) in Asheville, NC
KFXL (Fox Nebraska) in Lincoln, NE
KRXI (Fox 11) in Reno, NV
WRGB (CBS 6) in Albany, NY
WUHF (13 WHAM, Fox) in Rochester, NY
WTVH (CBS 5) in Syracuse, NY
WSTM (NBC 3) in Syracuse, NY
WSTR (Star64) in Cincinnati, OH
WKRC (Local 12) in Cincinnati, OH
WSYX (ABC 6) in Columbus, OH
WTTE (Fox 28) in Columbus, OH
WTOV (News 9) in Steubenville, OH
WNWO (NBC 24) in Toledo, OH
KOKH (Fox 25) in Oklahoma City, OK
KTUL (ABC 8) in Tulsa, OK
KVAL (CBS 13) in Eugene, OR
KMTR (NBC 16) in Eugene, OR
KTVL (News 10) in Medford, OR
KATU (ABC 2) in Portland, OR
WHP (CBS 21) in Harrisburg, PA
WJAC (NBC 6) in Johnstown, PA
WOLF (Fox 56) in Wilkes-Barre, PA
WACH (Fox 57) in Columbia, SC
WPDE (ABC 15) in Myrtle Beach, SC
WTVC (ABC 9) in Chattanooga, TN
KVII (ABC 7) in Amarillo, TX
KEYE (CBS Austin) in Austin, TX
KBTV (Fox 4) in Beaumont, TX
KDBC (CBS 4) in El Paso, TX
KFOX (Fox 14) in El Paso, TX
KGBT (CBS 4) in Harlingen, TX
WOAI (News 4) in San Antonio, TX
KABB (Fox 29) in San Antonio, TX
KUTV (2 News) in Salt Lake City, UT
WSET (News 13) in Lynchburg, VA
KOMO in Seattle, WA
KIMA (Action News) in Yakima, WA
WLUK (Fox 11) in Green Bay, WI
WCHS (ABC 8) in Charleston, WV

Sinclair is now well-known for its history of abusing public trust to air right-wing spin and promote xenophobia on local news shows, and the company is currently awaiting federal approval to finalize a massive acquisition that will help it spread its conservative propaganda further across the country.