PRESS FREEDOM IN THE U.S. IS UNDER ATTACK, HAVING FUN WITH COFFEE, WILLIAM’S TELL, AND A VISIT TO YORKVILLE
Vol. 1, No. 45
In this edition, your faithful correspondent assesses the dangers to press freedom in the Great RepublicTM to the south, relates some obscure facts about coffee, and reveals William Tell’s prowess at bowling.
This week: A 6-minute read
A WHIMPER, NOT A BANG
Maybe you’ve been wondering of late what kind of progress the United States is making in transforming its 249-year-old republic into a dictatorship with one man calling the shots and a host of privileged oligarchs reaping the spoils.
The answer is pretty well, actually. The wannabe dictator, one Donald Trump, has so far cowed a bunch of the nation’s most prestigious law firms to represent only the government in court cases that defy or redefine the constitution, and turn away clients who want to oppose his administration. If they don’t, they will lose all their government business. He has done the same with universities, expecting them to toe the line and admit the students only he believes they should admit, and teach the courses only he believes in. Otherwise, they lose their government funding. Only one university, Harvard, has openly defied him, and is suffering the consequences.
The most disturbing development, at least to my mind, is Trump’s attack on the media: print, broadcast and social. He sued the Des Moines Register because it commissioned and published a poll he didn’t like. He sued Meta for kicking him off its platforms after his failed coup in 2021. He sued ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for a story in which the ABC anchor said a jury found the wannabe dictator “liable for rape,” even though the judge later clarified that he was. Most recently, he sued CBS News because of an interview with Kamala Harris aired on 60 Minutes during last year’s election campaign that he claims favoured Harris’s candidacy.
There was a time when American television newscasts were practically sacrosanct, and its anchors like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, and Peter Jennings were among the most respected people in the U.S. That’s why attempting to discredit the media is Tactic No. 1 in the dictator’s playbook. As long as Cronkite, Jennings and others are able to exercise press freedom, the dictator is handcuffed in all efforts to suppress news, opinion and ultimately opposition.
More unsettling, however, has been the inclination by some media to settle their cases. Meta paid Trump $25 million. ABC settled for $16 million. The Des Moines lawsuit is still being litigated. However, CBS News has indicated that it, too, will pay Trump off, a development that led CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon and Bill Owens, the executive producer of 60 Minutes, to resign their posts.
The fact both McMahon and Owens felt the need to resign is reflective of the greater problem. Large news organizations these days, particularly in the broadcast media, have corporate owners that are not inclined to support their newsrooms or defend press freedom. Paramount Global, which owns CBS, is also seeking administration approval of a possible merger with another company. That has to be an influencing factor. The Stephanopoulos lawsuit was settled by Disney, ABC’s corporate owner, despite the fact their case could have been won. Meta was looking to protect its near-monopoly in social media. All of them are so risk-averse, they’d rather limit the financial damage than defend press freedom.
Equally disturbing is the realization these news organizations, and others, will now be continually looking over their shoulders before deciding what stories they cover, not just because of what Trump might do, but how their own corporate bosses might respond. That is exactly what the President wants.
Meanwhile, the Trump war against the media continues. Recently, the Associated Press was banned from the White House because it refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its Trump-approved name, the Gulf of America. Also funding has been cut from National Public Radio and from PBS, and the administration is attempting to shut down the Voice of America because of its independent reporting.
God save the U.S.A.
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OOPS!
Alert reader Nicola Stainlay from Boonah, Queensland, Australia, drew to our attention a boo-boo we made in last Sunday’s newsletter (‘Service Before Self, June 1). We made a typo in writing about the duration of Elizabeth II’s reign as Queen of Canada. She was in fact our Queen from 1952 to 2022. Sorry, Canada.
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MASTER OF THE SWISS ARTS
This from vigilant reader Michael Anderson of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, via Messenger:
“It has been discovered that William Tell and his son belonged to a bowling league. Swiss historians have not yet been able to determine the name of the league’s sponsors, so we’ll never get to know for whom the Tells bowled.”
If you want to drop me a note (and risk me publishing it here), just reply to this email or, if you prefer send it to mysundayreader@gmail.com.
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DAD JOKE
“When I first heard the name Ariana Grande, I thought it was a coffee order at Starbucks.”
Another post of mine on Facebook from our California days, though I confess I find Venti more baffling
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COFFEE FUN
It’s been more than 30 years since I decided to seriously restrict my own coffee intake. I have difficulty doing anything in moderation so it took all the self-discipline I could muster to cut back on the caffeine. So, these days, I steer clear of all caffeinated drinks—except for two cups of coffee in the morning. I cannot imagine life without them, and I do not wish to find out.
So, courtesy of Nescafé, here are some other things about coffee you probably did not already know.
- Coffee is thought to date back to 800 A.D., where legend suggests it was discovered by goat herders. Their goats were eating the plant and afterwards it appeared like they were “dancing”. Tee hee.
- Despite it being called a bean, coffee is actually a fruit.
- Beethoven loved coffee, using precisely 60 beans per cup to produce what for him was the perfect brew.
- Brazil is responsible for around a third of all the coffee in the world, more than any other country. Finland consumes the most coffee, roughly 1,680 cups per person each a year. That’s about 4.6 cups a day, still less than what I was downing at my peak.
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THIS WEEK IN THE BOOK CLUB
In this week’s Episode 9 of Lethbridge, titled ‘We Know We’re the Best,’ preparations begin for “The Blow,” in other words, the assault on Vimy Ridge. Stanley’s previous rank of corporal is reinstated with the understanding that he may be called upon to assume command within his platoon if the officers in charge are killed in battle. He is also involved in the capture of a German soldier for interrogation. Harry is knee-deep in battle preparations as well and does a little spying to assess the Germans’ strength in armaments.
Please remember, a subscription to our Book Club is just $5 a month. You can sign up anytime and catch up on what you've missed. Any proceeds will help finance my future projects: audiobooks extra press runs, as well as assist us in doing the hard research for new projects like the ones we’ve written about before.
Again, many thanks. Ta till next week. Oh, and go Oilers! / T.
Please note: Artificial intelligence was not used in the preparation or writing of any part of this newsletter.