#Meet The Press

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Julianne McShane at Mother Jones, via LGBTQ Nation:

Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges is an integral part of U.S. history lessons in classrooms nationwide, given her status as the first Black child to integrate an elementary school in the South. But to the right-wing culture warriors behind efforts to ban books about American history—including systemic racism and discrimination against LGBTQ people—Bridges has become something else: a threat. 

Books recounting Bridges’ story—several of which are authored by Bridges herself, including one published in January—have been banned or challenged by schools in Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa, and Tennessee. And last year, a school in Florida stopped showing a Disney film about Bridges’ life after a parent complained it might make kids think white people hate Black people. On Sunday, Bridges, 69, told Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, that she sees such efforts as “ridiculous.”  “The excuse that I’ve heard them give is that my story actually makes, especially White kids, feel bad about themselves,” Bridges told Welker, adding that children from all around the world regularly reach out to her to tell her what her story means to them. “I found through my 25 years of travel that they resonate with the loneliness, probably the pain that I felt, not having a friend,” she told Welker of readers. “There’s all sorts of reasons that they’re drawn to my story. So I would have to disagree…I believe that it’s just an excuse not to share the truth—to cover up history. I believe that history is sacred—that none of us should have the right to change or alter history in any way.”

Speaking to host Kristen Welker on the April 28th edition of NBC’s Meet The Press, civil rights icon Ruby Bridges criticizes book bans that serve to censor the teaching of true American history.

From the 04.28.2024 edition of NBC's Meet The Press:

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, said Sunday that Israel does not deserve another nickel of American aid for its war in Gaza.

"Israel has broken international law. It has broken American law. And in my view, Israel should not be receiving another nickel in U.S. military aid," Sanders said in an interview with NBC's "Meet The Press."

Sanders called the Hamas, which rules Gaza under Israeli occupation, a "disgusting terrorist organization" as he asserted that Palestinian militia started the war.

Hamas has previously said its October 7 attack was a response to the hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in Palestine in 2023, as well as the raiding of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli Police earlier last year and the mass detention of Palestinians in Israel.

"Look, the facts are quite clear. Hamas is a terrible, disgusting terrorist organization that began this war. But what Israel has done over the last seven months is not just gone to war against Hamas, it has gone to war against the entire Palestinian people," Sanders said.

"We're talking about not just 35,000 Palestinians dead and 77,000 wounded -- two-thirds of whom are women and children. That is not the way you conduct a war in a civilized society, to the degree that war is civilized."

Sanders blasted Israel for destroying 60% of the housing in Gaza and decimating civilian infrastructure, including water and sewage and the destruction of hospitals.

"Every university in Gaza has been bombed. And right now, most frighteningly, according to the humanitarian organizations, we are looking at the likelihood of hundreds of thousands of children facing starvation," Sanders said.

"The Foreign Assistance Act is very, very clear - 6201, the provision - any entity, any state, any country that blocks U.S. humanitarian aid is in violation of law and should not continue to receive military aid from the United States."

Sanders suggested that Republican politicians and some Democrats want Israel to invade Rafah despite the urging of world governments not to do so because of the humanitarian disaster it would exacerbate.

"We are increasingly isolated in terms of our support for Israel, who is becoming a pariah nation," Sanders said.

And responding to loaded questions from Kristen Welker asking if there is a non-military way to get rid of Hamas given that "their very goal is the destroy Israel's existence," Sanders said: "The goal is to defeat Hamas, but not to destroy or cause the enormous amount of destruction that we're now seeing in Gaza."

[dick-nixon]

"That's one of the first times I've ever seen myself on television, as I was telling you before the show began- I simply have a phobia about that."

facing his fear on meet the press, 1988

[simply-ivanka]

Trump handled himself well. Welker made it clear that she is a Democrat, supports the Democrats and tried to put words in Trump's mouth. Did not work!

[jonostroveart]

Zippy: On NBC’s Meet the Press this morning, Kristen Welker asked TIm Scott this basic question something like 6 or 7 times. This so-called “United States Senator” would not answer the question and instead spewed deflecting, Trump ass-licking bullshit. Walker was very persistent, but the SOB still refused to answer. Unbelievable! Trumpism is a menace.

[lefemmerougewriter]

My newest fic is out, bringing together characters from DC Super Hero Girls, Futurama, Bravest Warriors, Sym-Bionic Titan, Samurai Jack, and Kim Possible to debate Israel's brutal and genocidal assault in Gaza, complete with Nristen Snelker of Meet the Mess (an original character, but based on a real person). As I say in the fic's summary, Snelker is "faced one of the toughest discussions of her career about Israel's brutal and genocidal assault in Gaza, complete with angry Zionists, international popstars, and legal analysts. Can she hold it together or will it all fall apart?"

[virtchandmoir]

Photos: Courtesy of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

[sher-ee]

Quote by one of the Producers of The Apprentice.

[mateushonrado]

Longest-running show of each of the Big Four US TV networks

Status Post #11022: As of this year.

Row 1: NBC - Meet the Press (1947-present) and CBS - CBS Evening News (1941-present)

Row 2: ABC - ABC World News Tonight (1953-present) and Fox - The Simpsons (1989-present)

[republicanidiots]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Parker Molloy at The Present Age:

It’s not every day that a political figure openly admits to fabricating stories to get media attention. But that’s precisely what Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance did during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union. Vance acknowledged that he “create[d] stories” about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, supposedly stealing and eating people’s pets. “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said. This isn’t just reckless political theater. It’s a dangerous tactic that bears the hallmarks of fascist propaganda. Vance isn’t simply stretching the truth or engaging in hyperbole to score points with voters. He’s admitting, proudly, that he’s willing to lie in ways that actively harm immigrant communities and incite fear and violence. And we’ve seen the effects already. Since Vance’s story began circulating, Springfield has become ground zero for a wave of hate-fueled chaos. Bomb threats have been called into local schools, city hall, and hospitals, and the Ku Klux Klan is reportedly distributing flyers demanding that immigrants leave town. [...]

But here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter that Vance’s claims were quickly debunked. Springfield’s police department confirmed that there have been zero reports of pets being stolen or eaten. It doesn’t matter. The lie is already out there, and it’s doing its intended damage. This is a textbook example of how misinformation spreads and leads to real-world harm. Vance’s fabrication is part of a broader pattern of right-wing politicians using misinformation as a political weapon. Just two years ago, Republicans were circulating the bizarre, completely false claim that schools were installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identified as cats. That lie, too, spread like wildfire, despite being thoroughly debunked. These kinds of stories aren’t just silly or outlandish — they’re dangerous. They target specific communities, stoke fear and hatred, and lead to real-world violence. As we saw with the false claims about trans youth being subjected to surgeries without parental consent, these lies serve a political purpose, even after they’ve been debunked. They plant seeds of doubt, stir up fear, and shift the conversation away from real issues.

Appearing on CNN’s State Of The Union and NBC’s Meet The Press today, Trump VP pick and Ohio Senator JD Vance admitted that he created fake stories such as the Springfield Cat-Eating Hoax just “to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people.”

This clown is unfit to be the nation’s No. #2 in charge (aka 101st Senator).

See Also:

HuffPost: JD Vance Justifies Spreading Debunked Conspiracy Against Haitians In Ohio

The Guardian: JD Vance admits he is willing to ‘create stories’ to get media attention

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) defended his endorsement of President Biden's 2024 re-election campaign Sunday after being criticized by third-party presidential candidate Cornel West.

Driving The News: Sanders was asked on NBC News' "Meet the Press" whether he thinks there should be "a robust discussion on this on the left if there were a competitive primary."

• Sanders responded that there "has to be a unification of progressive people," given that former President Trump could potentially be the Republican presidential candidate — whom he described as "an authoritarian, and a very, very dangerous person."

• He told NBC's Chuck Todd that progressives needed to be united to "make sure that women control their own body, that we deal with climate change, that we represent the needs of the working class of this country, and take on the billionaire class."

Meanwhile, Sanders responded on CNN Sunday to West's remarks that the Vermont Senator was backing Biden because he's "fearful of neo-fascism of Trump."

• "Where I disagree with my good friend Cornel West is, I think in these really, very difficult times where there is a real question whether democracy is going to remain in the United States of America," Sanders said on CNN's "State of the Union."

• "I think we've got to bring the entire progressive community to defeat Trump or whoever the Republican nominee will be [and] support Biden."

Go Deeper: Biden to run against MAGA in 2024, not just Trump

[dick-nixon]

on meet the press, 1988

[simply-ivanka]

Trump handled himself well. Welker made it clear that she is a Democrats, supports the Democrats and tried to put words in Trump's mouth. Did not work!

[oldshowbiz]

Meet the Press hosted by Lawrence Spivak