My ancestors had a saying: Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat—whom the gods wish to destroy, they first deprive of reason.
The American news media has been putting on a demonstration of that principle.
I was never a fan of George W. Bush. But during his presidency, the American media lost any sense of objectivity. The last time I watched a network news broadcast was a NBC Nightly News where they had 30 minutes of deranged Bush trashing.
Bush actually benefited from the appalling coverage. If, instead of crazed attacks, the media had focused in on the actual flaws and blunders of the Bush administration, they would have been more effect. Instead, they undermined their own credibility with their rabid, nonsensical attacks.
The media has learned little. With Donald J. Trump they have lost any sense of balance.
Reading the news today, thought I had a serious case of déjà vu. Then I realized I was reading the same thing over and over:
• "The seven nations targeted for new visitation restrictions by President Trump on Friday all have something in common: They are places he does not appear to have any business interests." Washington Post
• "The executive action, 'Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States,' targets seven nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump has no business interests in those countries." NPR
• "Conspicuously, Trump doesn't hold any business interests in any of the countries on the list, but holds major stakes in several of those excluded from it, records show." New York Daily News
• "His proposed list doesn’t include Muslim-majority countries where his Trump Organization has done business or pursued potential deals." Bloomberg
There's plenty more.
Holy coincidence, Batman!
How would news outlets around the world pick up on the same points on the exact same day?
Obviously, like the synoptic Gospels, they all have a common origin. Someone sent out a set of talking points and like lemmings many "journalists" parroted it. This is not news; this is politics.
The American public is supposed to believe that Donald Trump included Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen on his temporary ban list because he does not have hotels there.
Any rational person is going to know the reason Donald Trump does not have hotels in these countries for the same reason that he has select those countries for the temporary ban – they are jihad war zones or state-sponsors of terror.
One can debate the wisdom of Trump’s decision here. However, by focusing the debate on the absurd, no serious debate on real issues is possible.
The mainstream media continues its descent into irrelevancy.