Day of ReckonIng

 

photo: Edward R. Murrow (wiki commons)

Today, our focus is on journalist Ti-Hua Chang's article  

<https://billmoyers.com/story/sometimes-to-tell-the-truth-you-have-to-take-a-stand/> 

entitled "Sometimes to Tell the Truth, You Have to Take a Stand."

This was brought to my attention by my old friend Bruce Koon; we go back to the earliest days of the web, when we were two of the small group of traditional media execs who had made the jump to what at the time was called "new media." 

Chang, who has had his own storied career, compares the present moment for journalists with  Edward R. Murrow's takedown of the demagogic Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. 

Following Murrow's lead, he says now is the time for journalists to speak out against the authoritarian threat represented by Trumpism and the white extremism that has brought our democracy to its greatest crisis in modern times. 

That this places journalists is the difficult position of abandoning neutrality and objectivity is what makes this such a terrible conundrum. As I've argued in recent days, by abandoning news standards and turning to advocacy, the cable news networks have opened themselves to government regulation, which is true.

But a companion truth is that if the journalists working there remained silent, they would find themselves complicit in an attempt to destroy our democratic system of government.

Nobody ever said this would be easy, or that the consequences might not be painful for those who do take a stand. They are caught between the ethics of our profession and being on the right side of history.

And remaining silent will take a toll too. It all comes home on the day of reckoning.

***

The impeachment drama playing out in slow motion in Washington D.C. will be fascinating test of whether bipartisan politics can accomplish what is in the best interests of both parties. Privately, most Republicans in Congress know that Trump as a viable leader is dead, though his base of support in their party remains strong for now.

There if the trial that begins in the Senate were held today, he would be acquitted, as the requisite 67 votes to convict simply are not yet there. There are 50 Democratic votes and perhaps a handful of GOP Senators would vote with them today.

But over the next two weeks, many more details about Trump's actions to try and overturn the results of the election and incite the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6th are going to come into view.

As this happens, it is conceivable that Republican support for Trump may erode, making a vote to convict him more palatable to those who are on the fence over what to do. Reports are surfacing daily that his most rapid conspiracy theorist followers are confused and in disarray.

Plus Trump himself has been stripped of his Twitter account, so he is relatively silent and therefore powerless to further incite his base. 

Again, if the vote was today he would be acquitted.  But by somewhere around mid-February, after a highly publicized trial?

***

The headlines:

* Biden Signs Orders to Expand Food Stamps and Raise Wages, but Says Economy Needs More Help -- The president called it an “economic imperative” to provide more aid for millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet as the virus exacts a bruising toll. (NYT)

* Senate reaches deal to start Trump’s trial Feb. 9 (WashPo)

* IOC plans to vaccinate every Olympic athlete to save Tokyo games (Telegraph)

* Restoring Environmental Rules Rolled Back by Trump Could Take Years -- President Biden has promised to reinstate more than 100 rules and regulations aimed at environmental protection that his predecessor rolled back. It won’t happen overnight. (NYT)

* Democrats are mulling whether they can use the 14th Amendment to prevent former Trump from ever holding office again. The discussions are in the early stages — and top members of the Senate caucus aren’t yet convinced it’s a viable remedy — but senators are exploring their options as they plot a strategy after Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol. (The Hill)

* Biden administration weighs turning over Trump tax returns to House Democrats (WashPo)

* More than 150 National Guard in Washington for inauguration test positive for coronavirus (Reuters)

* The heads of three federally funded international broadcasters were abruptly fired late Friday as the Biden administration completed a house-cleaning of Donald Trump-appointees at the U.S. Agency for Global Media. (AP)

* More than 2,700 arrested at widespread Russian protests in support of opposition leader Navalny  (WashPo)

* The Justice Department revealed new charges against a Texas man who allegedly participated in the Capitol attack and posted online death threats against Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a US Capitol Police officer. (CNN)

* Chinese aircraft enter Taiwan’s air defence zone (The Guardian)

* Harvard’s top astronomer says our solar system may be teeming with alien technology -- Avi Loeb spent his career searching for evidence of alien life. When he found it, the scientific community refused to believe him. (NewStatesman)

***

Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today
Is a day of reckoning.
Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay
It's Independence Day.

-- songwriter: Gretchen Peters/ singer: Martina McBride

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