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A Presidential Address                                                                  #397

By Hank Silverberg 


Commentary 

Did you watch the President's "address to the nation" the other night? There has been some controversy because some of the broadcast and cable networks refused to carry the speech. 

First, let's make one thing clear. The TV networks, both broadcast and cable, have no obligation to give any president air time just because he requests it. 

Usually, such addresses are of national importance. 

Examples include John F. Kennedy's speech in October of 1962 about the Cuban Missile Crisis, which almost lead to World War Three.  

Primetime air spots have also been given to presidents for times of tragic events that affect the entire country, like the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in January of 1986. Ronald Reagan's address to the nation that night was masterful and helped us all deal with the sudden deaths of seven astronauts and a major failure in the space program. 

Some other examples: Barack Obama's speech the night Osama Bin Laden was captured and killed in May of 2011. Or LBJ's decision not to run for re-election in 1968 as the war in Vietnam raged. 

The networks gave the Presidents time because the events were newsworthy and important for the nation. 

But presidents have also been turned down for certain requests for national air time before.  Notably, Obama did not get the air time he requested in 2014 for a speech on immigration, and multiple networks refused to give air time in primetime for Joe Biden's 2022  speech addressing threats to democracy. 

This is NOT censorship.  Broadcasters, traditional or cable, make decisions what to carry based on its newsworthiness or importance, not for partisan politics. Mr. Trump's speech this past week was promoted as a presentation on "election integrity" and voter fraud, but it was really more lies and misinformation, similar to what he has been spouting for years. 

But here's the other issue: today, unlike the Kennedy or Johnson days, there are many news outlets, streaming, and internet sources for such a speech and anyone who wanted to watch had plenty of opportunities to do so. 

CBS, now under the watchful eye of conservative- leaning Skydance, ran the speech as a special report. Conservative cable outlets Fox News, OAN, Newsmax and News Nation carried it live. So did PBS and C-Span.   

NBC, ABC and CNN chose not to air it, though it was on the streams of  both NBC and ABC. 

The cries of censorship are unfounded. The speech was blatantly partisan, full of lies about voter fraud and foreign intervention, and unworthy of the attention of American voters. 

I didn't watch. I chose something from Netflix. 


News You May Have Missed!

 Confirming history before time was recorded can be difficult. Earth is believed to be about 4.5 billion years old. A meteorite impact crater discovered in Western Australia was originally dated at 3.5 billion was considered the oldest crater ever found. But now a  new study published in Science Advances says the crater is much younger, with the impact closer to 2.7 billion years ago, or possibly as young as 400 million years ago. All this was calculated by shattered rock inside the crater. That means it probably did not have influence on the formation of the continent or early life. It's not something that's going to shake up the origins of life theories or even the extinction of the dinosaurs, but it does indicate how complicated prehistory can be. 

 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu5379


Oh Deer!

(Courtesy of Virginia DW)  
Sorry Bambi, but you have to go. Some folks in Roanoke, Virginia area asking the city to do something about the city's intrusive deer population.  The critters are invading people's backyards and destroying plants and bushes. Even an eight-foot fence has not stopped them from invading a local nursery, where they have caused $1,000 worth of damage.  The deer have been spotted in groups as big as 10 or 12, and that has also created worries about deer ticks and the lyme disease they may carry. The city council now has a petition signed by at least 400 people asking for some action. The city has already raised its deer control budget from $40,000 to $65,000, and some residents are asking that the city allow for bow hunting of deer within city limits during hunting season. There's a ban on deer hunting within city limits right now, though it's allowed elsewhere in Roanoke County. 


Dumbest Quote of The Week!

This week's dumbest quote (and a disgusting one at that) comes from Fox News host Jesse Watters.

Frankly, he is either an anti-Semitic fascist or just plain stupid.  During a panel discussion on the wars in Gaza and Iran, he kept referring to Israel's position with the phrase "the Jewish Question", and continued to refer to Israel as "the Jews", clearly not understanding the difference between the state of Israel and Jews elsewhere in the world. He apparently has no clue how referring to "the Jewish question" and a "final solution" as he did brings back Holocaust terminology. Judging by these comments and his past rhetoric denigrating women, it's clear this guy is an ignorant person who should not be given a forum on television.  




(You suggestions and comments  are welcome)

My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:  HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)                       

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796


My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes. 


                                               
                   You will find the book here:                                                                      https://a.co/d/09fiY9sq

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