Andy Martin: Contrarian Commentary

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Location: Manchester, New Hampshire, United States

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The leftist/Democratic Party War Against Fox News: constitutional expert and media critic Andy Martin explains why free speech is endangered

NEWS FROM:
                                                                                          
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin,  J. D.
adjunct professor of law
executive editor
one of America’s most respected
independent authors/investigators

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

you can call Andy:
National (866) 706-2639
Cell (917) 664-9329

you can email Andy:
AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

you can write Andy by
faxing (866) 214-3210

Blogs/web sites  (partial):
ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com
ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email, with proper attribution

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin defends Fox News against attacks from Democrats and leftist extremists

Andy says he had a bad experience with Fox, where they abused him and stabbed him in the back but, as a matter of constitutional principle, he still defends the network

Andy says we cannot return to the social mores and practices of the 1950’s and 60’s; society has moved on

Andy also says Bill O’Reilly got a raw deal from Rupert Murdoch’s sons, who are in the process of dismembering Fox News; allegations of “sexual harassment” are only the visible aspects of a clandestine agenda to neuter the conservative network

Andy says Sean Hannity is only the latest victim of what is going to be a protracted “War Against Fox News”

(New York, NY) (April 25 2017)

Dear American:

Sixty-five years ago U. S. Senator Joe McCarthy terrorized the media and liberals in general by accusing them of being infiltrated by “communists.” McCarthy’s supporters tried to remove individuals and reporters from appearing on TV and radio, and threatened media that refused to bend to their demands. They also used pressure tactics against advertisers, many of whom quickly caved.

When CBS refused to be intimidated, the network became a liberal icon for staring down and standing up to McCarthy’s accusations.

Today the tables are reversed.

Liberals are trying to intimidate the media and seeking to force the removal of conservative voices by threatening boycotts against sponsors. A demonization campaign again Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, based on stale accusations of sexual harassment, caused the sons of Rupert Murdoch to panic and remove O’Reilly.

As I made clear in my earlier column on O’Reilly, I strongly oppose sexual harassment and condemn abusive behavior by men or women seeking to extort sexual favors based on their positions of corporate or media authority. Almost fifty years ago I stood up at the Federal Communications Commission for the equal employment rights of women.

But I believe Murdoch’s sons are hell bent on destroying the legacy of their father. Rupert Murdoch was a swashbuckling and often abrasive corporate operator who built a worldwide media empire. I have followed him since the 1970’s. Rupert was “good” and “bad” and “in between.” His own moral behavior was immoral.

But in 1996 he gave conservatives a voice in the United States, the Fox News Network, conceived by Roger Ailes. Murdoch’s sons have not built anything; they are destroying their father’s legacy and trying to dismember Fox News as a conservative voice. O’Reilly was only the first casualty.

O’Reilly became a victim of McCarthyism of the left, liberals using the same sorts of malignant tactics they had condemned when they were employed by Senator McCarthy in the 1950’s. Instead of “doing a CBS” and standing up for O’Reilly, the Murdoch boys panicked at the first sign of sponsor resistance. I don’t know what O’Reilly did or didn’t do with the various women who accused him. They said he had engaged in boorish behavior; no one ever said O’Reilly attacked them or physically manhandled them. If the allegations were proven, they were still stale, long out of date and stretching back a decade in some instances, during an era when standards of corporate behavior were steadily strengthened to condemn aggressive behavior.

Some form of discipline against O’Reilly may have been appropriate; dismissal was not. But I knew the attacks on O’Reilly were only the first stage in a liberal/leftist plan to destroy Fox News. I said to myself, “How long before Sean Hannity is next?” I didn’t have long to wait. Over the weekend a woman surfaced and denounced Hannity.

I have to be honest and state that while I have no hesitation to defend Fox News, I was treated badly by the network. They took advantage of my research, used me as a guest, and then smeared me when I became the target of leftist attacks (sound familiar?). Rupert Murdoch and his minions have no loyalty to anyone but themselves. Hannity stood by silently and failed to defend me, so his defense of free speech ends where his paycheck begins. But despite my own personal experience with Fox, I see an important constitutional principle in the way the network has been targeted for destruction by leftist activists and agitators.

Democrats are in a bind. They lost an election for the White House to someone they considered a clown. Congress is in the hands of Republicans, especially conservatives. In the days ahead, Democratic cities are going to lose massive amounts of federal funding as they persist in the nonsense that they are “sanctuary cities” free to defy federal law. And so Democrats have chosen to try to win with the media some sense of power that they have not been able to obtain from voters.

“The media” are only too happy to accommodate Democrats/leftists, because the media are marbled with liberals and extreme leftists. And so we have the War Against Fox News, breathlessly covered by also-ran competitors CNN and MSNBC.

Hannity has denounced his accuser and says he has assembled a powerful legal team to fight back against false accusations. Hannity’s accuser has already walked back her claims and says they do not amount to sexual harassment (please see links [1] and [2] below). Where does all of this end?

When I went to college in the 1960’s, men and women could only meet on the first floor of dorms, with three feet on the floor. Later, doors had to be open when a male visitor was on the floor a women’s dorm. Within a few years, everything was topsy turvy and social morals had radically changed. Are we about to return to the moral standards and practices of the 1950’s? I hope not.

Women have made unbelievable strides in the workplace in the past decades. Will businessmen and businesswomen only be able to meet in glass rooms?

I don’t think sexual harassment is a joke. I take it seriously. Ironically I went to Capitol Hill, initially as an intern, soon after “sex” had been added --as a joke-- to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over a lifetime I have seen the progress women have made. I also grew up in a single-parent home where we depended on mom’s paycheck from “The Aircraft” every two weeks.

But we need to distinguish between genuine workplace harassment and the types of accusations that were hurled against O’Reilly and are now being asserted against Hannity. How can anyone distinguish fact from fiction years later, when two adults met alone? And, when sexual accusations are proffered as part of a coordinated campaign against a news organization to destroy that entity, are we are straight back in the 1950’s, with leftists now using the same tactics they condemned when Joe McCarthy was terrorizing America and abusing public figures?

Fox News is not a sympathetic organization, as I know from personal experience and the manner in which they abused me. But I have no hesitation to defend Fox from a campaign to destroy conservative speech and free speech in America. The left lost the 2016 election. Democrats are trying to win back on TV what they lost on the political battlefield. We can’t let them do that. Attention must be paid.

Andy

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

[1]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sean-hannity-calls-sexual-harassment-accusation-100percent-false/2017/04/24/f2432c90-28e7-11e7-9081-f5405f56d3e4_story.html?

[2]

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sean-hannity-denies-right-wing-blogger-s-sex-harassment-claim-n750211

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-nine years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2017 – All Rights Reserved

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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

New York News Conferences: Andy Martin defends Bill O’Reilly, calls for boycott of Fox News because of O’Reilly’s dismissal

NEWS FROM:
                                                                                          
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin,  J. D.
adjunct professor of law
executive editor
one of America’s most respected
independent authors/investigators

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

you can call Andy:
National (866) 706-2639
Cell (917) 664-9329

you can email Andy:
AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

you can write Andy by
faxing (866) 214-3210

Blogs/web sites  (partial):
ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com
ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email, with proper attribution

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

Announcement of New York, NY news conference today, Wednesday, April 19th

Columnist/broadcaster Andy Martin will hold two news conferences to call for a boycott of Fox News because of the “ugly manner” in which Fox News dismissed Bill O’Reilly

April 19 New York news conference details:

Who:                                                      

Andy Martin, the independent Internet columnist and blogger who began in broadcasting forty-nine years ago

What:

Andy Martin says viewers should boycott Fox News; Rupert Murdoch’s children are destroying what their father created

Where:

Sidewalk in front of Forest Hills, NY Post Office, 10628 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills, NY 11375 (Andy is also available at 9:00 P.M. at JFK Airport, Terminal 8)

When:

Wednesday, April 19, 2017; 5:30 P.M. (Forest Hills); 9:00 P.M. JFK Terminal 8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin comes to the defense of Bill O’Reilly

Andy says Rupert Murdoch may be functionally senile and unable to fend off the liberal deconstructionist policies of his two sons who are dismantling Fox News

(New York, NY) (April 19, 2017) Andy Martin, who began in broadcasting forty-nine years ago and is committed to media diversity as well as conservative principles, says viewers should boycott Fox News because of the “ugly manner” in which Bill O’Reilly was dismissed by the Murdoch Family.

Andy assisted Fox News from Palm Beach, Florida during the early days of the network and once appeared on the O’Reilly Factor.

“Bill O’Reilly has never been formally accused of any misconduct in a court of law, or before any administrative agency. Instead, the Murdoch Family has taken to lynching a man who helped build the Fox News franchise. A pox on the Murdoch Family which is in the process of deconstructing Fox News to serve the liberal attitudes of Murdoch’s sons.

“I watched the competing media Tuesday night and what I saw was a disgrace to American law and American media. The daughter of Gloria Allred, who is one of the most obnoxious media hounds in the legal profession, was attacking Bill O’Reilly without making a legal claim and without filing an administrative claim and without affording Bill O’Reilly any due process whatsoever.

“I condemn the Murdoch Family’s malignant behavior on two grounds.

“First, as a broadcaster with forty-nine years of television experience, I feel the network is engaging in self-destruction. I bear no host/employee any ill will. But the ‘revised lineup’ promulgated by Fox management is a blueprint for audience capitulation. I have no hesitation to call for a boycott of Fox News (see http://www.boycottabc.com/)

“Second, the way O’Reilly was treated by the Murdoch Family was despicable. The Murdochs run Fox as though it is their family fiefdom. But there are public shareholders and there are many stakeholders. Yet O’Reilly was assassinated by a cabal of one old man, Rupert, who appears to be functionally senile and his two craven sons that are desperate for social acceptance in liberal New York society and are willing to jettison the proud history of Fox News. What a disgrace.

“When Fox was just beginning I was asked to help out, at least once and maybe more, by a producer that needed a correspondent in West Palm Beach. I was a guest on many occasions on the original Hannity and Colmes show. I was a pioneer in ‘talk television’ as it evolved in the early 1990’s. My roots in television go back to 1968 when the FCC approved my ownership of a TV station.

“A couple of points need to be made. In a career spanning over half a century, I have always fought for the right of women to be treated with equality and respect. The Federal Communications Commission designated me as a party in the great AT&T case that established workplace equality (Docket No. 19801). I have never engaged in and never condoned sexual harassment or aggressive behavior, quite the opposite.

“I do not know what Bill O’Reilly actually did. But I saw clear evidence of the sexual extortion racket Gloria Allred and her daughter Lisa Bloom have been running for years. Why Fox management would allow these hucksters to attack O’Reilly is beyond me.

“If O’Reilly acted inappropriately, he could and should have been disciplined in some manner. He paid large sums of money for whatever reasons prompted him to settle claims. Part of what made O’Reilly O’Reilly was his extreme energy and volatile temperament in his early years. Keith Olbermann used to delight in playing and replaying an old videotape of O’Reilly exploding on set. But no one is perfect and no one should be crucified for isolated misdeeds in a career spanning decades.

“It is easy to advocate for a viewer boycott because Fox News has removed its strongest presence on TV and substituted a weak lineup. I have never found ‘The Five’ watchable, and while I like Tucker Carlson in the abstract he does not have the gravitas to replace O’Reilly. Fox will be hemorrhaging viewers even without my boycott. But as a matter of honor and integrity I call for viewers to engage in an ‘extreme boycott’ because the Murdoch Family has mistreated one of its loyal employees and expressed contempt for its audience and the American people. The Murdochs will pay a heavy price in lost business and viewership for their malicious behavior.”

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):


ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-nine years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

----------


© Copyright by Andy Martin 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Defending United Airlines: Law professor Andy Martin defends United Airlines from recent social media criticism

NEWS FROM:
                                                                                          
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin,  J. D.
adjunct professor of law
executive editor
one of America’s most respected
independent authors/investigators

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

you can call Andy:
National (866) 706-2639
Cell (917) 664-9329

you can email Andy:
AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

you can write Andy by
faxing (866) 214-3210

Blogs/web sites  (partial):
ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com
ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email, with proper attribution

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Andy Martin defends United Airlines and says the obstreperous doctor who caused a flight disturbance in Chicago should have been removed from a United flight

Andy says social media are corrupting common sense and public discourse to the point of anarchy

Andy says the offending Kentucky doctor should be arrested and charged for resisting a law enforcement officer

Andy also says the Chicago Police Department or airport security acted lawfully and properly

Andy says the United Airlines “leggings controversy” was also more social media-inspired nonsense

(Near the Winter White House, Palm Beach, Florida) (April 11 2017)

Dear American:

I may be the only person in the entire United States defending United Airlines and the Chicago police or O’Hare Airport security, but I believe the airline acted lawfully and properly in removing an obstreperous passenger from a Chicago-Louisville flight on Sunday. As someone who is both familiar with United and its policies I think the firestorm of criticism on social media is just so much blather. Social media and the morons who pop and toot without any information, let alone informed information, are creating social anarchy in our public square.

We’ve had arguments at my own home over the removal incident which has received widespread publicity on cable TV and other mainstream media. But when the New York Times started printing the opinions of morons who should know better, I felt and feel it was time for some sanity to be injected into the debate.

I am an active member of several frequent flyer programs, including United’s, and fly regularly, particularly now that President Trump is on a regular Washington/Florida schedule. I also used United’s “buddy passes” for many years and am familiar with the corporate programs affording friends of employees reduced fares.

Let’s start with the crazy doctor who thinks he is the most important person in the world.

There have been many cell-phone videos posted on the Internet, shown in an endless loop on cable TV, with whackos in the background screaming “Oh God” even though they were not threatened. But one of the passengers, perhaps the individual closest to the unruly passenger, confirmed on, I believe, CNN that airline staff acted courteously, and Chicago police or airport security staff also acted with extreme restraint and courtesy before removing the passenger. When the passenger started acting belligerently, police or security staff had every right to remove the individual from the plane.

First, some background for those who do not fly regularly or ignore the messages given at the beginning of every flight. Federal law requires all passengers to obey crew instructions. A commercial airliner is not a democracy and it is not a public forum where people have “rights” to make fools of themselves or conduct protests. One moron who should know better, Andrew D Gilman of CommCore Consulting Group, was quoted in the New York Times as saying “it was my seat.” Uhh, no. It is the airlines’ seat.

Second, overbooking used to be a major problem. But airlines today have refined and sophisticated their reservations programs to the point where overbooking is a rare issue. I seldom hear airline employees asking for “volunteers” because flights almost always have sufficient seats for those who actually show up. But when the aviation system is disrupted, as it was last week because of strange weather patterns, problems arise (Delta Airlines, not United, had the worst). Nevertheless, it is critical to keep in mind we are dealing not with a widespread problem but rather an extremely unusual one.

Third, federal law gives airline employees virtually dictatorial powers because of the inherent dangers and closeness of air travel. A plane’s “captain” is called a captain for a reason. Aviation law derives from maritime law.

Fourth, when a crew member seeks assistance from local law enforcement (I am not sure whether the guards were Chicago Police Officers or airport security officers) law enforcement has a duty respond. In every state of the United States, refusal to obey a law enforcement officer is grounds for the officer to physically remove someone from a premises. Usually people go willingly. But when they do not, such as by going “limp” to obstruct an officer during a protest, force may be employed.

The doctor in question acted as though he was the law and everyone was answerable to him, not vice versa. That is simply not the case. There is no question that air crew and the police initially acted courteously and with restraint. But once he refused to move after a request to do so, he could be removed forcibly and he was. His display of crazy behavior marks him as someone who should not be allowed on an airplane ever again.

Fifth, what do I think should happen? The doctor should be criminally charged and prosecuted for his outrageous behavior and disruption. If he is senile that should be taken into consideration, but then why is someone with such an emotional response pattern allowed to practice medicine in Kentucky?

The Chicago police and the airline staff should be commended for their initial restraint.

The airline has a right to randomly chose passengers for removal when flight conditions mandate urgent action. Perhaps United Airlines should review whether staff should have been allowed to keep “upping the ante” until some passenger grabbed at the opportunity for free travel (I’d support that approach. Whenever an airline announces my own fight is looking for “volunteers,” I always volunteer, though I set a high dollar point for reimbursement.)

I would urge the public to stop responding like idiots to every video posted on social media. The videos of the crazy passenger did not carry with them any disclosure that the crew and security staff had initially acted with restraint and with extreme courtesy to all passengers. It was only when the crazy doctor provoked the police that direct action was taken as a last resort.

Finally, this is not the only social mediagasm United has experienced in recent weeks. When two guests of the airline traveling on a “buddy pass” were removed from the flight there was another firestorm of stupidity and misleading commentary. Because I flew for many years on discounted United passes I know all about the matter.

Every airline gives free travel to family members of its employees, as well as offering a limited numbers of “passes” to employees so friends can join them. One of my pilot buddies flew for United and while he was a pilot every year he offered me use of some of the discounted passes. I don’t remember the exact amount but the airline offered either an 85% or 90% discount from regular fares as well as other very liberal benefits (e.g. free upgrades). But, United Airlines has a dress code. When you travel on an employee pass, you are subject to the airlines dress code for discounted travel. Seems like a “fare” deal to me.

From the firestorm of moronic social media criticism of United you would have thought the airline was imposing a draconian dress code on all of its passengers. Since when did it become bad form for a business to impose reasonable conditions on a discounted employee benefit?

Social media are creating a situation where every minor matter gets escalated into a national hysteria without any factual basis or application of common sense.

I am not against all social media. Phone cameras and social media have pioneered in exposing police brutality and other forms of abuse. But if social media are allowed to create a bogus conflagration every time some public or airline employee acts properly in response to a recalcitrant passenger, the use of social media will be degraded and ultimately curtailed.

United Airlines, its employees and the Chicago Police (or airport security) are entitled to an apology from the millions of know-nothings and media jerks who have sensationalized boorish and unlawful behavior by the Kentucky crazy doctor and others who were taking advantage of airline “buddy pass” benefits.

There are two sides to every story. Sadly, social media and mainstream media following in the wake of social eruptions, often provide only one perspective, a mistaken and misleading one.

Andy

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

[1]

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/lifestyles/society/navy-seals-tribute-event-mar-lago-draws-600-plus/nsaIhoyBKx61oCLaRpTsBN/

ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-nine years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

UPDATES:

www.twitter.com/AndyMartinUSA
www.Facebook.com/AndyMartin

Andy’s columns are also posted at ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com

[NOTE: We try to correct any typographical errors in our stories; find the latest version on our blogs.]

----------


© Copyright by Andy Martin 2017 – All Rights Reserved

Labels: , , , , ,

Friday, April 07, 2017

President Donald Trump Takes Command; War Changes Everything - Middle East expert Andy Martin’s latest analysis

NEWS FROM:
                                                                           
ContrarianCommentary.com
“The Internet Powerhouse”
Andy Martin,  J. D.
adjunct professor of law
executive editor
one of America’s most respected
independent authors/investigators

“Factually Correct, Not Politically Correct”

you can call Andy:
National (866) 706-2639
Cell (917) 664-9329

you can email Andy:
AndyNewHampshire@aol.com

you can write Andy by
faxing (866) 214-3210

Blogs/web sites  (partial):
ContrarianCommentary.wordpress.com
ContrarianCommentary.blogspot.com
ContrarianCommentary.typepad.com

To become a regular subscriber to our emails please send an email to andynewhampshire@aol.com and place “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this email, with proper attribution

Please sign up for our enhanced Twitter feed with enhanced, original coverage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Trump Takes Command: War Changes Everything

Andy Martin arrived in Florida to cover the U. S. /China Summit, which is suddenly irrelevant

Andy says the CBS Television Network was quick to realize Trump’s status had changed

Andy says Trump must now show wisdom and cunning to retain his broad based public support

(Near the Winter White House, Palm Beach, Florida) (April 7, 2017)

Dear American:

One of my favorite Broadway tunes is “Love Changes Everything.” War also changes everything.

When my team landed in Palm Beach, Florida Tuesday morning we were here to observe the U.S./China summit later in the week. I was working on an analytical piece which would juxtapose the conflict between the “globalist” and “nationalist” advocates in our American conversation. Wednesday, the local society newspaper, the Palm Beach Daily News, featured a story on SEAL supporters meeting at Mar-A-Lago for a SEAL demonstration and fundraising benefit (please see link #1 below). Thursday night I shared a leisurely dinner with family and friends. An MSNBC crew interviewing Republican/Trump operative Roger Stone walked by on the sidewalk. There was a gentle sea breeze.

Later, when Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly program was interrupted by a bulletin, I said, “This feels eerie. I think we are going to war.” Before the thought had left my mouth, the Syria attack was announced. Later Thursday night I sampled (watched) the late night shows. The Late Show had its usual searing portrayal of President Trump; but now the program carried a disclaimer: “Tonight’s show was recorded before the Syria attack.”

War changes everything.

Everything I planned to write would have to wait, maybe for the weekend.

Donald Trump has taken command.

Where to begin?

Trump has assembled one of the most powerful and experienced national security teams in recent history, marbled with retired generals and global leaders. America, and the world, are in good hands. Trump is not an experienced national and international leader, and certainly no wartime president. But he will have to become one. He has the team to succeed.

1. The Chinese are angry and paranoid. Planning a major summit takes time. Some Chinese will believe that Trump orchestrated the bombing of Syria to send a message to China and North Korea, in effect to humiliate China. They would be mistaken, although the Chinese leader will take notice that Donald Trump (surprise!) is no Barack Obama. But the U. S. /China summit has been reduced to a nothingburger. Maybe next time.

2. Trump has energized the anti-ISIS coalition “bigly.” I do not want to start an argument about what Barack Obama did but in practical terms, he started ISIS. Obama’s premature withdrawal from Iraq, based on George Bush’s incompetent agreement to withdraw on a prearranged schedule, allowed Iran to take effective control of Iraq. The result: Sunnis fled to the “safety” of ISIS and a new round of war began before the old one had ended.

3. Beneath the surface, Trump did “inherit a mess” in the Middle East. Obama had staved off dealing with Middle East problems and planned to dump the situation in the hands of his successor, Hillary Clinton. Surprise, again. Trump succeeded Obama.

4. Last week Trump’s representatives added to the mess in Syria by essentially surrendering that nation to the Assad regime. I do not believe the command-and-control apparatus in Damascus is so sophisticated that this week’s poison gas attack was triggered by the Trump Administration’s casual remarks about leaving Assad in place. But Assad has been committing mayhem on his own people for years. His number finally came up when he least expected. Surprise again.

5. Although Trump has spent much of his life as a bully, and not a very pleasant one, he also has a soft and decent side that is not often exposed to public view. I believe he was sincerely moved by the slaughter of small children being murdered in their sleep by Assad’s poison gas. Trump’s critics like to insult him for watching their own cable TV programs! But the Syrian slaughter could not be avoided this week. A moment in history arose spontaneously out of the ether. Yes, there have/had been earlier poison gas attacks. But this one clicked. Trump was meeting in the White House with Middle East leaders. How would he respond? Trump immediately grasped the significance of the challenge he faced.

6. We know the missile attacks on Syria were not planned Thursday. The background work of targeting and analysis began yesterday.

7.  Trump’s attack has received support from every political viewpoint. He has Nick Kristof of the New York Times backing air strikes against Assad’s air force. CBS makes a fortune broadcasting caustic comedy every night as Steven Colbert ridicules Trump. Thursday night CBS added a disclaimer to the Colbert show that the program had been taped before the attack on Syria. War changes everything. Trump is a new man. And Friday will find us in a new world.

8. My regular readers know that I first met Trump in the late 1970’s and our paths have crossed in every subsequent decade. I know Trump inside and outside. Trump is not a deep thinker, but he has a deep sense of history and the flow of history. In conjunction with his national security team Trump grasped that decisive action was necessary, and Trump took command.

9. Sadly, my life has been defined by war and warfare. I can quickly count to four generations of my family that have fought in the Middle East in the last 100 years. As a college student and later a private security operator I was trained to be a Cold Warrior (http://www.andymartin.com/cert.htm). I saw the horrors of Viet-Nam, Cambodia and Laos. In 2003 I lived in Baghdad after the U. S. invasion. Last summer I was in the Eastern Panhandle of Jordan, variously surrounded by Jordanian Special Forces and regular army troops, CIA operatives, British SAS, U. S. Special Forces, Russians, Syrians, rebels, refugees, ISIS and anyone else that operates in that intersection of Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders.

10. But I am confident we are not at risk of a broader war right now. Military men are the most anti-war people you will ever meet. They have seen the horrors, the mangled bodies, the victimized civilians. There will be men and women on the ground, again, as there are already U. S. troops in Syria and Iraq. But there will be no mass mobilization and no massive land army in the desert. Donald Trump will not repeat the mistakes of George w. Bush. Trump has a far superior team of advisers than Bush. Bush was advised by ideologues. Trump has chosen a “team of technocrats,” technocrats of war.

11. Trump has been excoriated for his response to the Syrian refugee crisis. But that crisis was created by Assad, not Trump. Trump will not budge on admitting Syrian refugees to the United States. But because the refugee crisis is destabilizing both the United States and Europe, Trump will take decisive action to end the source of the problem, Assad’s regime for the Shiites and ISIS’ redoubt for the Sunnis. Men, and women, here and abroad, follow power. Trump’s team will deliver power to the battlefield. Even reluctant nations will follow.

12. On the other side of the world, if you have a tendency to paranoia you can almost believe Trump orchestrated the Syria attack to intimidate and humiliate the president of China while the Chinese leader was visiting Mar-A-Lago. His entourage was and will continue to be intimidated. Korea was the “forgotten war.” For almost seventy years a mess has existed as Korea remained separated. As long as the North Korean dictators were a nuisance they could be tolerated; the risk of dealing with a nuisance was far less than the risk of restarting a war. But with Korea developing nuclear weapons and ICBMs the regime can no longer be ignored or tolerated. Trump and Tillotson have said the time for negotiations is “over.” Trump also said if China won’t restrain North Korea, he will.

13. The U. S. /China summit, which was to have been a subdued meeting, has both been eclipsed by the attack in Syria and also become the last opportunity China has to tame the North Korean tiger. Trump does not have to threaten China; the cruise missiles flying of the decks of our navy’s destroyers send an unmistakable message.

I will still write later about the “war” between the “globalist” and “nationalist” factions in the Trump Administration.

But today we are all globalists. Or, if you prefer, nationalist globalists. The accidental president has become the reluctant leader of an unstable world. History is beckoning. Where history will lead us we will have to wait and see.

Best wishes from the Palm Beach summit,

Andy

LINKS TO THIS STORY (cut and paste the entire link below and not just the underlined portion):

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ANDY MARTIN - A BRIEF BIO:

Andy Martin is a legendary New Hampshire, New York and Chicago muckraker, author, Internet columnist, talk television pioneer, radio talk show host, broadcaster and media critic. With forty-nine years of background in radio and television and with five decades of investigative and analytical experience in Washington, the USA and around the world, Andy provides insight on politics, foreign policy, intelligence and military matters. For a full bio, go to: www.AndyMartin.com; also see www.BoycottABC.com/executive_director.htm

Andy has also been a leading corruption fighter in American politics and courts for over fifty years and is executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Policy Institute. See also www.FirstRespondersOnline.us; www.AmericaisReadyforReform.com.

He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and is a former adjunct professor of law at the City University of New York (LaGuardia CC, Bronx CC).

He is the author of “Obama: The Man Behind The Mask” [www.OrangeStatePress.com] and produced the Internet film “Obama: The Hawaii’ Years” [www.BoycottHawaii.com]. Andy is the Executive Editor and publisher of the “Internet Powerhouse,” blogging at www.contrariancommentary.wordpress.com and www.ContrarianCommentary.com.

Andy’s family immigrated to Manchester, New Hampshire 100 years ago; today his home overlooks the Merrimack River and he lives around the corner from where he played as a small boy. He is New Hampshire’s leading corruption fighter and Republican Party reformer.

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