#TruthMatters
Only 1,420 days to go...
At one stage in my career, I went to work with the Managing Partner/CEO of my company. It’s a long story how I got there. I was basically a very junior partner in the firm, so all of a sudden I was in the executive suite of my own company. It was an illuminating three year experience — one of the highlights of my career.
It’s definitely true that it’s lonely at the top. I felt it as well. You’re privy to so much information, that other people don’t know or can’t see. Your information has also often been filtered, so you don’t know exactly what’s happening on the ground. People’s livelihoods are in your hands. It’s incredibly tough to be in charge.
I learned a couple of really important lessons during those three years. Probably the most significant was the sheer importance of honest communication. I came to believe that about 90% of the CEO’s job was effective communications: to fellow partners, to direct reports, to employees, to clients, to the press, to industry analysts, to technology leaders, etc. Of course there were day-to-day decisions that needed to be made, but they paled in comparison to the importance of effective communication.
At the time I came to work with him, I think my partner was doing the best job he knew how, but his communication to the partnership was not as fluid as it could have been. He was implementing some big changes and getting a lot of pushback. I stepped into the role with a lot of opinions and thoughts based on my lowly perspective. I think one of the reasons I was asked to do the job, was my managing partner wanted to hear what the rank and file partners were thinking and discussing: the things he didn’t get to hear through the layers of management. I had a reputation with some members of the Executive Committee, of being a person who was direct and honest, so my name was passed on to the CEO.
One of the more difficult aspects of being in charge is the constant criticism you get from others, who are second guessing your decisions - primarily because they don’t see the whole picture. That’s why telling the facts (as you can) and the truth are so important. It’s only through honest and direct communications that you get grace from those around you.
My partner hired a communication specialist, who was fabulous and helped him (and me) tremendously in learning how to communicate more effectively and from a place of true authenticity. She really made a difference in his communications, through her coaching. In the three years I worked with the CEO, his support and respect from the rank and file partners grew exponentially and was impressive. They trusted him to make some pretty fundamental decisions that changed the trajectory of the firm.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ~ George Orwell
We have a president, who was an incompetent businessman but a good reality TV star. He is a grifter and showman, who supposedly “tells it like it is” but is inauthentic and a pathological liar. He pretends to be in charge and working, when in actuality, he’s quite lazy and spends his time playing golf, posting lies and insults on his social media platform and watching FauxNews. He pretends to be a populist, but instead hangs out at Mar-a-Lago with people currying his favor. He seems to see his job as entertainment, and with little seriousness; case in point, his most recent cabinet meeting, that he televised for its optics — what a show.
The emperor has no clothes and he definitely doesn’t want anyone pointing out his subservience to Putin, his corruption and his incompetency to the American public. Who can forget his absurd performative briefings during Covid? It’s no wonder his advisors at the time halted the show. He came across as the idiot that he is.
With his lack of capability, seriousness and trustworthiness, it’s no wonder that PINO wants to squash the free press.
I’ve seen a number of presidents through the years of my life. With the possible exception of John Kennedy, I think all of them disliked having to deal with the press. Some more than others.
Clinton, Obama, Bushes, etc. all complained about their press coverage. Presidential Feuds With the Media Are Nothing New
Richard Nixon hated the press. As president-elect, Nixon warned his Cabinet:
“Always remember, the men and women of the news media approach this as an adversary relationship. The time will come when they will run lies about you.”
He later wrote to aides:
“If we treat the press with a little more contempt we’ll probably get better treatment… It is very important in terms of the final campaign that the media be effectively discredited.”
Donald Trump said essentially the same thing to Lesley Stahl. When she asked him why he continuously attacked the media, she reported that he said he did it to “discredit” journalists.
That said, the tone of presidential press conferences generally remained civil, even in contentious times such as Watergate. When there were few viewing options on television, presidential press conferences drew significant audiences. A prime-time press conference in March 1969 had all three major networks carrying it live and 59% television households tuned in. Trump changed the tone so that now they are a rude, crude and nauseating experience to watch. With 24 hour cable news, few people will watch his conferences — they wait for the highlights.
As contentious as the press and presidency have been through the years, we’ve never seen anything quite like the censorship of what is happening today.
The Associated Press was founded in 1846. It’s considered one of the most trusted sources of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats. It is an essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. Four billion people see AP journalism every day. They have journalists in nearly 100 countries and in all 50 U.S. states who are there to provide accurate, fact-based, nonpartisan reporting.
Because the AP covers the globe, they have chosen to use the globally recognized, 400-year-old name: Gulf of Mexico in their reporting instead of Trump’s capricious moniker, Gulf of America. For their accuracy in reporting, they are being banished from the Presidential Press Corps briefings. Orwellian to say the least.
“A president may try to control who can enter ‘the People’s House,’ but that does not mean he can control what’s covered.” ~James Hamilton
This week I went to a local event where two investigative reporters spoke. They talked about how the economic model for print media is broken; how the internet is becoming the primary source of news for many with all its conspiracy theories and unchecked information; and how investigative journalism is time consuming and requires professionals. One of the fellows said that his son was getting his news from outlets like youtube or tiktok. He advised his son, that he needed to look for factual sources and read/view the works that come from professional journalists.
A free and unfettered press is essential in a democratic society. Honest and authentic communication is clearly not forthcoming from this administration. Trust is being eroded daily.
Truth matters.
Thought for the day in honor of his birthday…
“It is our duty, to ourselves and to our children, to see the new world as it is now.”
~ Yitzhak Rabin
Must Read Article:
In the distorted view of the Trump administration, protecting free speech requires controlling free speech — banning words, phrases and ideas that challenge or complicate a government-favored speech. Officials in Washington have spent the past month stripping federal websites of any hint of undesirable words and thoughts, disciplining news organizations that refuse to parrot the president’s language, and threatening to punish those who have voiced criticism of investigations and prosecutions.
The Orwellian nature of this approach is deliberate and dangerous. This posture is not about protecting free speech. It is about prioritizing far-right ideology — and at times celebrating lies and hate speech under the guise of preventing the criminalization of language — while simultaneously trying to silence independent thought, inconvenient truths and voices of dissent…
Trump wants to redefine free speech with bans, bullying and fear. It’s never been more necessary to speak up.
Quote of the day:
“This was the president of the United States turning his back on 250 years of our history and openly aligning himself with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This was the president of the United States undermining the independence of Ukraine. And let us not forget who Putin is. He is the man who crushed Russia’s movement towards democracy after the end of the cold war. He steals elections, murders political dissidents and crushes freedom of the press.”
~ Bernie Sanders, America must not surrender its democratic values
What I’m reading today…
The AP provides a model of effective press resistance
The dispute over the name of the Gulf of Mexico seems trivial, especially compared to a range of other horrors Trump is currently perpetrating. But tyrants are tyrants in part because they insist on asserting control over even trivial matters. Trump wants to make the AP fall in line to show his dominance, and to show other outlets he’s willing to vindictively target them over any show of independence at all. The AP, for its part, is providing a rallying point for press freedom organizations and drawing a line in the sand for its colleagues and competitors.
Washington Post Columnist Dana Milbank Uses Bezos’ MAGA Marching Orders to Troll Trump
“But this much is clear. If we as a newspaper, and we as a country, are to defend his twin pillars, then we must redouble our fight against the single greatest threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’ in the United States today: President Donald Trump…Claiming monarchical powers, attacking the free press, starting trade wars, cutting off legal immigration, siding with despots over free countries, politicizing law enforcement and the military, assaulting the judicial system and injecting crony capitalism at the highest levels of government. These are all the very antithesis of ‘personal liberties and free markets.”
Trump's mobster media shakedowns
It’s tempting to call this a bribe disguised as a lawsuit settlement, but it’s more as if Trump has demanded protection money. Pay him, and you won’t be subject to the president using the weight of the federal government to wreck your company. Pay him, and you won’t be subject to ceaseless frivolous litigation filed in Trump-friendly courts.
Where are federal jobs affected by DOGE cuts? A look at congressional districts across the US
It’s also affecting workers and communities outside the Washington, D.C. area, where about 80% of that workforce is based. Those cuts mean that members of Congress are now facing potential angst among the out-of-work federal employees in their districts across the country.
The number of people visiting areas managed by the National Park Service — which includes national parks, monuments, and other sites — is way up. In 2023, the most recent year for national data, parks had more than 325 million visits. That’s about a 16 percent bump relative to 2010. Meanwhile, staffing at the National Park Service is down, having dropped about 13 percent over that same period. That means there are fewer employees to oversee more visitors and mitigate their impact on our public lands and ecosystems.
Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts
Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason. This is unconscionable. These are dedicated, hardworking Americans whose efforts help save lives and property from the devastating impacts of natural disasters across the country. This action will only endanger American lives going forward. Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska. The government estimates that NOAA’s projects and services support more than one-third of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet, this is one of the agencies that the Trump administration has targeted, with discussions of trying to privatize NOAA’s forecasting operations and disband its crucial climate change research.
House Republicans hit the brakes on town halls after blowback over Trump's cuts
House Republicans are becoming weary and wary of in-person town hall meetings after a number of lawmakers have faced hometown crowds angry about the Trump administration’s push to slash government programs and staffing. Party leaders suggest that if lawmakers feel the need to hold such events, they do tele-town halls or at least vet attendees to avoid scenes that become viral clips, according to GOP sources. A GOP aide said House Republican leaders are urging lawmakers to stop engaging in them altogether.
Donald Trump Named in Jeffrey Epstein Flight Logs Released by His Own Attorney General
President Donald Trump's name appears in Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs released by his own attorney general on Thursday, Feb. 27. The release of the files related to the financier accused of sex trafficking came a day after Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News that the Justice Department was set to release flight logs and names of people associated with Epstein. "What you’re going to see ... is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information," Bondi told Jesse Watters. "But, it’s pretty sick what that man did, along with his co-defendant."
What I am listening to…
“They’re laughing their asses off in Russia and China right now… It’s all so reckless and dumb.”
