THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR JULY 10, 2025

 

                                                                     CASH MICHAELS

         LOOK, UP IN THE SKY…IT’S A BIRD…IT’S A PLANE…

IT’S ANOTHER BIRD

by Cash Michaels

On Friday, July 11th, the latest in a long series of Superman adventures will grace our movie theaters, reintroducing the most famous undocumented alien ever known (don’t forget, the dude was from another planet and never applied for American citizenship) to inspire and entertain a new generation.

You remember old Superman. Heroic homeboy was “…faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.”

And even though this 87-year-old ultimate outsider in the blue tights with red cape and shorts and a big red “S”on his chest, who apparently has successfully slipped past Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents all this time (he would be quite difficult to capture, beat up and ship off to another planet, quite frankly) symbolically stands for “truth, justice and the American way,” generations of comic book lovers, moviegoers and television watchers still embrace him as an all-around good guy we can love, trust, and be glad is on our side.

        James Gunn, the director of the new Superman movie told The Times of London, "Superman is the story of America [that] follows an immigrant [who] came from other places and populated the country."

        Gunn added that the new film was also a story that says "...basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost."

Hey, no MAGA kryptonite here, folks. I like the cut of your jib, Mr. Gunn.

        One important thing we always forget about Superman, though, is he was sent here from his native planet to escape tyranny and destruction. And when he arrived, like most other immigrants to our country, he worked hard to belong, and make a contribution.

        We've appreciated him, and have honored him ever since.

So why am I endlessly opining about the so-called "Man of Steel" now beyond the fact that he has this new film for you to spend your hard earned inflation-bitten dollar to see?

Because just like in the comics, on TV, and in the movies, we may need Superman now more than ever!

Given the earthquake of evil our country is going through, we desperately need someone, or something, we can believe in again.

In the old days the answer was simple - if we had a Republican in office who was clearly in way over his skis when it came to governing honestly, we had our pick of noble Democrats we could count on, who had the fire in his belly to make us believe that all we had to do was elect him, and everything could be alright.

And please pardon me for saying “he" and “him," without adding “she” and “her.”    

        Shamefully, when Democrats had the chance in my lifetime to elect a great, competent and capable woman to the highest office in the land, after much hot air and ballyhoo, we got a case of the pink panties and chickened out. That's our cross to bear.

Indeed, if we Dems had our act together, we would have buried that bone a long time ago and voted for Hillary or Kamala. Instead, I’m almost convinced that I’ll never see a female president of the United States, let alone a Democratic one, before I meet my maker.

As I said, sadly, it’s a damn shame that especially after last year, we just aren’t going to see a female elected to saddle-up to lead our nation anytime soon. So until that age of enlightenment not only dawns, but energizes the masses to dance the light electric, we have to stay on the lookout primarily for a super-man, unfortunately.

You know…someone with impeccable decency and character as portrayed by actor George Reeves (1950’s TV Superman); the undeniable, all-American charisma of actor Christopher Reeves (the 1978 movie Superman); the strength of character and bulging muscles of actor Henry Cavill (the 2021 movie “Justice League” Superman); and finally, the common, sensitive touch of the new 2025 movie Superman, actor David Corenswet.

Let’s face it, we NEED a modern day Superman with all of these attributes and qualities to give us the kind of choice America’s deserves, given the pure cow crap we now have in King TACO and his clown show administration of cowardly criminals.

And we need our Superman sooner than later, before people just throw their hands out and give up their hope for a truly greater America where the rule of law still means something.

Where a cowardly Congress no longer trips all over itself to serve a crooked president and passes a “big, beautiful” legislative monstrosity that sets fire to Medicaid coverage for 17 million citizens, or denies food stamps for millions of needy SNAP families and elderly, all to ensure that rich people get a big free tax ride on our dime.

Where billions in grants for vital biomedical research, years in the making from the National Institutes of Health, aren’t cancelled just because the recipients believe in diversity, equity and inclusion.

Where the civil and human rights of immigrants, naturalized citizens, and even Americans seeking a better life in this land aren’t violated by throwing them into cages in an atrocious “Alligator Alcatraz” swamp, or where they're not beaten and shipped out to foreign countries without ever seeing their entitled day in a U.S. court.

Where the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court stops doing everything it can to indemnify the criminal enterprise that is the Trump Administration by granting it heretofore unheard of executive powers, and protections from accountability.

        Where the First Amendment rights of citizens and the press aren't threatened when the truth is told or reported.

Yes, we NEED a political Superman who can withstand all of the filth and lies that King TACO will throw at him in order to diminish who otherwise is a honest, devoted and law-abiding man, the kind of man we could all point to and say, “There goes someone who should be our next president of the United States.

Someone who doesn’t lie as easily as he breathes!

Someone who is NOT a convicted felon and sexual abuser!

Someone who is NOT a documented cheat and crook!

Someone who has a real love, respect and reverence for Almighty GOD!

Someone who is NOT a stone-cold racist!

And to be clear, when I list what’s awful about the current supervillain we have in high office, I’m not just talking about King TACO himself, but those certifiable henchmen and women who enthusiastically and dutifully jostle for top position on Trump’s totem pole of hate. I wish I could call them tyrants-in-training, but based on their nefarious actions in the name of their boss, I really don’t think there’s much else for them to learn.

But let’s remember why we as a society, as a culture, revere Superman in the first place.

This one-of-a-kind patriotic icon, and perhaps the most popular superhero of all time, was the creation of two young men - Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - in 1938. At the time, they were similarly living in a world on fire. A world where a virtually bankrupt America was trying to climb out of a debilitating Great Depression at home, amid growing international tensions abroad with Germany and Japan that would eventually lead to World War II. 

        Keep in mind that during this period, folks who looked like me didn't exactly enjoy equal citizenship status, but that wasn't Superman's fault. He'd just gotten here!

In the midst of all of this, Americans needed someone, something, that gave them hope, that reinforced their common values of “truth, justice and the American way.”

Then along came this visitor from another planet whose extraordinary powers were so miraculous, we could care less that he never bothered to check-in at Ellis Island in New York to become a properly registered immigrant.

We just gave the guy a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, pretended we couldn't recognize him with his glasses on, and hoped he would be at our beck and call when supervillains (including the Nazis and Japanese) began rattling their swords.

Apparently folks back then preferred comic books to their Bibles, but hey, who am I to judge?

So yes, it would be super-sweet indeed, to be able to have a political super-man on call to fight the forces and sources of today’s evil. Right now, it seems like the good guys can’t catch a break for trying, and what good guys (and gals) we do have in our federal court system are being checkmated at every turn by King TACO’s legal beagles, feckless GOP Congress and MAGA Supreme Court.

If ever there was a time for Superman, it would be right now, when we need him the most.

But you know what, let’s stop dreaming here! Just like back in the day in 1938 when Siegel and Shuster gave this country a sense of hope and pride in its bedrock values with their superhero - albeit wrapped up in the fantasy world of comic books - we’ve got more than enough to keep us inspired and engaged now if we choose.

And on top of all of that, we have each other! Americans who, despite their differences, know in their heart of hearts that their country could, and should, be better than it currently is, and are willing to do something about it.

        We... ARE the supermen and superwomen we're looking for!

It’s going to take ALL of us, working together, and we can start with the 2026 midterm elections to do the seemingly impossible - start to take our power back!

        But we can, and we MUST!

        So forget this, “Look up in the sky…it’s a bird…it’s a plane…” nonsense. Look up all you want, folks, Superman ain’t comin’ in the next sentence, next paragraph, or even in the next year.

No, instead I prefer, “Look up in the sky…it’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s another bird, and another, and another….”

        Eagles, if you will!

Why? Because as the old saying goes, tough, devoted  “birds of a feather, flock together!”

That’s the only way we’re going to fly out of this mess we’re in, folks  - together!

-30-

THE CASH STUFF FOR JULY 10TH, 2025

EXPECT TOUGHER TIMES 

FOR BLACKS AFTER PASSAGE 

OF TRUMP’S “BIG BEAUTIFUL 

BILL”

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Now that President Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” has been passed by Congress and signed into law, political observers, even here in North Carolina, say those living on the margins, especially in the black community, will suffer most because of the largest spending cuts ever, approximately $1 trillion, to the nation’s social safety net.

“With the passing of this destructive and rotten bill, Trump and GOP lawmakers have launched a direct attack on Black communities and the basic rights we fight for every day,” Kristin Powell, executive director of Black to the Future Action Fund, told The Grio. “This is not just evil and corrupt policy – it’s a deliberate dismantling of progress. But we have a choice: we can grieve, or we can fight back.”

And because the federal government has now cut back on the Medicaid (health insurance for the poor) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ), that will place a greater strain on North Carolina’s resources.

Right before the final U.S. House vote last week, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein warned in a letter to North Carolina’s congressional delegation that the legislation was coming at a time when “…many North Carolinians…[sic] are worried about feeding their families, being able to continue seeing their doctor, or keeping their jobs,” adding that the law would, “…undo decades of bipartisan progress and harm the health, well-being, and economic security of people, families, and communities in our state.”

The governor further warned that Medicaid health insurance coverage would now “be stripped” from many of those receiving it in North Carolina, including the 670,000 recipients included in the 2023 Medicaid expansion. Work requirements will become more stringent for those considered to be “able-bodied.”

“Medicaid now provides critical health insurance to more than one in four North Carolinians,” Gov. Stein added. “…with North Carolina set to lose $39.9 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade.” 

The state would have to raise taxes to cover that loss or reduce services, Stein cautioned.

The governor also warned that rural hospitals were now placed at risk of closing, something Republican Senator Thom Tillis echoed when he refused to vote for the bill last week, and would not run for reelection.

As for SNAP, Stein noted that 1.4 million low-income North Carolinians, or 1 in 10,  depended on food stamps from the federal food assistance program, and they are now at risk if the state has to assume primary responsibility for them. It also means rural and urban grocery stores will lose income, affecting jobs in those communities.

Finally Gov. Stein predicted as many as 45,000 jobs were now threatened across the state, along with $67 billion worth of economic activity because of cuts to the green energy industry.

With the exception of Sen. Tillis, all Republican members of the North Carolina delegation voted to ratify Trump’s bill, despite the dire ramifications it would have on their poor constituents back home. 

The GOP point to features in the legislation that they say would help struggling North Carolinians, like the “no tax on tips or overtime pay” provision.

The problem with that, many political experts note, is that “no tax on tips or overtime” only applies to the first $25,000 an employee earns annually, and is only available until 2028. Meanwhile, because of drastic cuts to health care and other federal assistance services, their actual overall cost-of-living still goes up.

Still, North Carolina Republican congresspeople, like Tim Moore, said they were “proud” to vote for “…the largest tax cut in history for working Americans, strengthening Medicaid, securing the border [and] …cutting waste and holding Washington accountable.”

North Carolina’s Democratic congresspeople, however, were all thumbs down on Trump’s legislation.

Congresswoman Alma Adams called it “one big ugly bill,” that was “reckless” and “places tax breaks for billionaires over the basic needs of our families, gutting lifesaving programs like SNAP and Medicaid for millions of North Carolinians.” 

Congressman Don Davis, who usually votes with Republicans, opined that “…the average hardworking family in eastern North Carolina will bear the brunt of [the bill’s] out-of-touch spending, as the wealthiest individuals …stand to benefit the most.”

Congresswoman Valerie Foushee called it an “…unconscionable and immoral bill that sacrifices health care, food security, and environmental protections for millions of Americans and abandons hardworking families to deliver tax breaks to the ultra-wealthy.”

North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton further blasted Trump’s bill, stating, “As children go hungry, seniors are kicked out of their nursing homes, rural hospitals are closed, and taxes and energy costs skyrocket—we can’t forget that all of this cruelty was caused to cut taxes for the richest of the rich and the largest corporations.”

Pres. Trump signed the ratified bill into law on July fourth, saying that “America is winning, winning, winning like never before.”

-30-

BLACK DUKE SICKLE CELL

RESEARCHER CALLS NIH

GRANT TERMINATION “RACIST”

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A black sickle cell researcher at Duke University charges that the termination of her five-year, $750,000 grant from the federal National Institutes of Health (NIH) was “racist.”

According to NIH estimates, at least 90% of the 100,000 patients across the nation suffering from sickle cell anemia are black. It is an extremely painful blood disorder where red blood cells become sickle shaped, preventing proper flow through the bloodstream.

The disease causes lifelong health problems like strokes, infections and lung problems.

Dr. Charity Oyedeji, a Duke University School of Medicine hematology researcher, told WRAL-TV and other media media outlets across the nation that she received a letter from the NIH on June 16th, informing her that her grant was being slashed. That was bad enough, but the language used in the missive as to why, citing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gave Dr. Oyedeji pause.

“The words that were used were very non-scientific, very racist,” she said. “Really negative language.”

According to published reports, the NIH letter stated in part, “Research programs based primarily on artificial and non-scientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives, are antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low return on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness.”

"I was very sick to my stomach when I first saw it," Dr. Oyedeji told NBC4-TV in Los Angeles. "... I just could not believe it."

The NIH letter then added, “DEI studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and other protected characteristics ICO’s, which harms the health of Americans. Therefore, it is the policy of the NIH not to prioritize such research programs.”

When WRAL-TV asked the Trump White House why the sickle cell grant was being cut, the station reports, “Health and Human Services Communications Director Andrew Nixon responded… stating, “The study itself has value, however unfortunately it was funded under an ideologically driven DEI program under the Biden Administration. In the future these types of programs that NIH has committed to fund to help people with sickle cell and other important diseases will be reviewed based on their scientific merit rather than on DEI criteria.”

Dr. Oyedeji isn’t the only one convinced that racial bias played a role in the termination of not only her’s, and others’ government-funded biomedical research grants. According to the website, Medical Express, “A tracking database shows that more than 2,600 NIH grants totaling close to $9 billion have been canceled since President Donald Trump took office in January…”

On the same day that she received her NIH letter, a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that it was “illegal’ for the Trump Administration “…to cancel several hundred research grants adding that the cuts raise serious questions about racial discrimination.”

That judge, William Young, said that termination of those grants was “arbitrary and capricious” and did not follow long established rules for doing so.

During his hearing, Judge Young called it “palpably clear” that what was behind the government actions was “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.” 

After 40 years on the bench, “I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this,” Young added. He ended [that] hearing saying, “Have we no shame,” reported CNN.

Judge Young’s decision only addressed the termination of some of the NIH grants, meaning that Dr. Oyedeji’s was not included because it was not part of two lawsuits brought before the judge. Young’s decision is expected to be appealed by the Trump Administration.

However, after the judge’s ruling, The New York Times also reported that, “…a senior NIH official “has directed agency staff members not to cancel any additional research projects” in the wake of “two court rulings taking issue with the axing of medical research grants” by the Trump Administration. The internal memo marks a “retreat by the agency,” which has “slashed funding for medical research by ending hundreds of awards.” The memo, sent by Michelle Bulls, who helps oversee the agency’s external funding arm, reads, “Effective immediately, please do not terminate any additional grant projects.” It also instructs staff members to pause the cancellation of grants that were in the queue to be “terminated.” It is unclear “how long the directive” will “hold.”

It’s not clear how that June 26th directive affects Dr. Oyedeji, who has gone public with her story nationally and on social media in hopes of raising the money needed to continue her research.

But she’s also appealing the NIH decision.

"Even small disruptions in research can have really major negative impacts," Oyedeji told NBC4. “Evidence clearly shows that this type of research prolongs life, improves function – these grants were originally awarded because of their merit.”

Meanwhile, according to the University of Washington news service, “…NIH officials said they were continuing to categorize medical research grants based on whether they included topics disfavored by the Trump administration, even if they were not terminating those grants.

-30-

THE NEW CASH COMMENTARY FOR JULY 3RD, 2025

 

                                                               CASH MICHAELS

           SORRY Y’ALL, BUT TSK, TSK, AND TSK!

                                                 by Cash Michaels

Well, what do you know?

Another angry president of the United States is royally p.o.’ed at the mainstream media for reporting a damaging leak from within his own administration, disproving a baldfaced lie he told the American people in order to make himself look good.

Now, that ticked off commander-in-chief wants to lock reporters up for reporting the leaked truth to the American people, and even threatens to throw Democratic members of Congress behind bars for allegedly being the source of said leak.

Of course I’m talking about our good buddy, his royal highness, the notoriously self-omnipotent and father of the "big hideous bill" King TACO. The proven ruler of all rubbish is looking to punish somebody, ANYBODY, for spilling the beans about his highly touted June 21st B-2 bomber attack on three Iranian underground nuclear facilities that he unabashedly bragged, and I quote, were “completely and totally obliterated” in order to stop the enrichment of uranium for the alleged production of a nuclear weapon.

So imagine how red Trump’s blonde scalp got when both CNN and The NY Times reported a preliminary intelligence assessment from his own Defense Dept. suggesting that without eyes on the ground, there’s no way to really know for sure now whether or not the B-2s actually “obliterated” anything except a couple of feet of deep rock, probably delaying Iran’s nuclear program by only months, not years.

Indeed, there’s strong speculation that the Iranians smelled an attack coming (we can thank the Israelis for that), and moved their enriched uranium off-site long before our bunker busters ever got there. There’s also reporting that our government has secretly listened in on a phone conversation between high-level Iranian officials, wondering out loud why the American B-2 raid failed to do the job.

Apparently we weren’t supposed to know about THAT either!

But for now, King TACO is once again stomping mad at the press for doing its job, namely to look for the truth wherever it can find it, and report that truth unvarnished to the world.

In this case, the truth is that we really don’t know the true status of our Iranian bombing campaign, and it will be a while before we actually do, despite Trump’s bunker-busting lies to the contrary.

If you think I’m overstating Trump’s MAGA-mind meltdown over this, consider the latest report from Rolling Stone magazine:

“One of the ways Trump has discussed cracking down on leakers and the press is by wielding the Espionage Act, a 1917 law criminalizing the dissemination of sensitive information that could harm U.S. national security or aid a foreign nation. In the months leading up to his second presidency, Trump and several of his advisers and close allies talked about novel ways the Espionage Act could be unleashed not just against government leakers and whistleblowers, but against media outlets that received classified or highly sensitive information, according to two sources involved with such conversations with Trump.”

The Rolling Stone article goes on to report that the only reason why Trump hasn’t aimed the Espionage Act at anyone yet is because he’s waiting for the “perfect” case to do it with, and grandly intimidate the rest of the news media, who just want to make sure we all know the truth!

That dedication to reporting the truth is what got us through previous earthshaking national scandals like Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra and other greatest headline-making hits. Of course no president of the United States enjoys having the press looking over his shoulders every day, or questioning everything that comes down the pike during his time in office.

        Thomas Jefferson didn't. Neither did Woodrow Wilson. And Richard "Tricky Dick' Nixon certainly did not. 

In fact, the Associated Press reminds us that no less than Democratic nice guy Pres. Barack Obama and his Justice Dept. implemented the Espionage Act “with unprecedented vigor” to indict more leakers than all previous presidents combined. His Justice Dept actually seized reporters' home and cellphone phone records, without apology, to stem sensitive leaks about anti-terrorist operations.

Joe Biden’s Justice Dept decided to do away with targeting journalists, but word is Trump’s Justice Dept. is gleefully bringing that mess back.

And that’s the real tension for most presidents, legitimately protecting the nation’s security in real time, versus protecting information the American people have a right to know about something that happened.

However, being secretive is an absolute necessity to King TACO because, as we have so astutely determined during his now over six months in office, like Nixon, Trump is ALWAYS up to something. And that “something” usually is in his own self-interests, never mind properly and honestly serving ALL of the people of this nation.

So his strategy is crystal clear - having corrupted most of government to the point of almost total control, Trump is determined to intensify his war against the news media in hopes of making us back off a bit. Publicly calling us “evil,”  “fake news,” “enemy of the people,” “scum” and all sorts of other demonizing slurs, so you won't believe a word we report. 

        Watch his Oval Office press conferences. Notice how vulgar and downright rude he's become with reporters who dare to ask him tough questions?

His media hatred is so deep, he's even steamrolled the bland, nonpartisan government-owned Voice of America out of business. And now Trump wants to defund Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio  because they’re “leftist.”

        Hey, so's that other foot that keeps your right one company. Don't see you threatening to defund THAT!

Apparently pressuring major newspapers like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times not to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign, and have them stay off his case editorially after he won, was yet another arrow in his power quiver.

Suing major news corporations like CBS and ABC, is another page from the “Make the Media Bow Down to Me”playbook. 

In the case of ABC News, it had to pay $16 million for defamation to him just because anchor George Stephanopoulos said on air that Trump was convicted of “raping” author E. Jean Carroll in 1987, instead of legally stating Trump “sexually assaulted” her, as a NY jury decided in a 2023 civil trial. What was weird about this was the judge in the case ruled that the original accusation of rape was “substantially true,” but ABC wrote the big check anyway.

And to prove how jittery King TACO makes ABC, the network also fired one of its best political journalists, senior national correspondent and anchor Terry Moran, who had been with them for 28 years, for writing on social media that Trump deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, and his boss, were “world-class haters.”

I understand why ABC gave Trump Terry Moran’s scalp - the network’s lofty reputation as an objective gatherer of news reporting was on the line - but I’m sorry it did. Moran wasn’t wrong in what he said, but in a moment of misplaced passion, just forgot that such utter truths cannot leave the safe sanctuary of his professional lips as long as he was a well-known network anchor.

In short, giving his opinion wasn’t Moran's job. Thus, Moran now joins the ranks of CNN’s Don Lemon, former White House correspondent Jim Acosta, and MSNBC’s Joy Reid - all staunch anti-King TACO critics who were given their walking papers once it was clear reporting what they knew, or giving their opinions made things too hot for their respective news organizations.

But it doesn’t stop there. Scott Pelley of CBS’ 60 Minutes has actually spoken out, and even given a fiery college commencement address at Wake Forest University, blasting the Trump Administration for it’s threat to democracy, even though Trump had warned he’d sue Black Rock (CBS’s industry nickname) for billions over an edited Kamala Harris interview from the 2024 campaign.

        Just this week, The NY Times reported that Paramount, CBS' parent company, has now also agreed to pay Trump $16 million, in what the HuffPost called "an outrageous settlement" to make Trump's lawsuit go away, and designed to ensure that the company will get favorable government approval of a long sought after merger.

Apparently CBS execs also got weak in the knees, and began pressuring their gold standard news magazine with stronger editorial controls, something that made 60 Minutes executive producer, Bill Owens, quit, warning that freedom of the press was at risk. 

        A former reality show star, Trump knows that big media is big business, so he knows how to squeeze big media and where. Even if it forces them to rollover and whimper, instead of standing their ground, calling his bluff and fighting for their principles. Just because Trump says something is "fake" doesn't make it fake.

Hey, let’s level up here. In a thriving democracy, you need both straight, fact-based news reporting, and strong, fact-based opinion writing, for proper context and perspective. The two go hand-in-hand.

Objectivity? An important standard when responsibly reporting both sides of the story. And that’s what Trump is opposed to. He wants only his version of facts to be told, so he has to attack the media to attempt to keep the truth from the public.

He’s always been this way. Going back to his first term in 2017, Trump once visited CIA headquarters, bragging that he has in “…a running war with the media” and called reporters “ …among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” He added that the media would one day “pay a big price.”

        Lord knows THAT has come true!

Today he wants his FCC to take CBS’ and NBC’s “broadcast licenses” away just because Stephen Colbert and Saturday Night Live continue to make fun of him.

But check out how King TACO has aggressively moved against the press since coming back into office.

In February, his administration  “seized control of the White House press pool,” deciding which news organizations got the closest access to him. Prior to that, it was the White House Correspondents Association, an independent, nongovernmental organization, that managed the professional press covering the president, not the White House.

King TACO’s administration also limited the Associated Press wire service’s access to presidential events just because it refused to refer to a body of water known for decades as the “Gulf of Mexico,” as the “Gulf of America.”

The AP sued, claiming a violation of its First and Fifth Amendment rights. A federal judge agreed, but Trump’s White House turned around and just eliminated the AP’s designated slot.

And let’s not forget, Trump’s White House has also rolled out the red carpet for more friendly right-wing media, including Trump-backing social media influencers and podcasters. to fill prominent seats at daily press briefings.

        And now that the big hideous bill is just a Trump scribble away from being law, expect more lies from King TACO to coverup just how hideous it really is. He doesn't want the press to blow his cover!

But guess what folks? The Fourth of July holiday this weekend reminds us that, for better or for worse, we are a nation of free people. And when it comes to our right to know, we have freedom of the press and freedom of speech constitutionally enshrined.

Our press is supposed to keep our government in line, and hold our elected officials accountable …TO US! That’s why we have a First Amendment in the first place. Because even if you’re not a member of the working press, as an American citizen, you have the right to challenge corrupt authority with your words and thoughts. You have the right to demonstrate, to protest. Write letters to the editor. Write scathing editorials, even. 

And as long as you don’t libel or slander anybody, that freedom is yours to use as you please.

And that’s why I say, as a proud member of the news media, I will NOT bow to King TACO or anybody else who I see is trying to destroy this country for selfish gain. Just not in my blood.

So for those who CAN handle the truth, I’ll always be here with you, and for you, writing my heart out until justice rolls down like a mighty river.

But for those who can’t handle the truth about the madness we’re all caught up in and suffering under, like those nutty people in the red hats who think they own the country right now…sorry y’all, but tsk, tsk and tsk!

              -30-