Never give into a bully, they will always demand more and them more on top of that. My childhood taught me that. Hugs
Check out this article from USA TODAY:
Trump says he expects $20 million worth of ads, programs from ’60 Minutes’ settlement
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/23/trump-20-million-side-pot-60-minutes-paramount-settlement/85345680007/
Best Wishes and Hugs,
Scottie
Published by Scotties Playtime
I am an older gay guy in a long-term wonderful relationship. My spouse and I are in our 36th year together. I love politics and news. I enjoy civil discussions and have no taboo subjects. My pronouns are he / him / his and my email is Scottiestoybox@gmail.com
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He is literally behaving like a mob boss.
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Hi Bruce. Yes and CBS claims none of that was in the deal, but he wants it for the republicans at midterm elections. Pro everything tRump pro every republican he supports, massive negatives on the democrats. The fact is tRump has been in with the mob forever, his dad ran with them. But he always wanted to be a mob boss, he loves their complete control. Now he finally got the power to be what he always wanted, someone who gets his way on everything every time and no one dares speak back to or against. Hugs
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Huh.
I’ve been wondering how CBS is going to replace the revenue they’ll lose from cancelling Colbert. I guess if they’re paying for Trump’s ads, that’s a double loss? Or will Trump pay them for the ads? Too many dollar signs, zeroes, and questions for me.
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Hi Ali. Think of it this way. It is all about the midterm election. The republicans are very worried they will lose the house and maybe even the senate. CBS claims none of what tRump was saying is in the deal. But he will push hard to make the media give the republicans all the free / discounted ad time while making it expensive for democrats. tRump will force the media to flood the people with positive things about programs and republicans he supports while spreading negative things about the democrats. This is why you never give in to a bully like tRump, he will always take more than the first demand. Remember Darth Vader’s famous saying “I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it further”. Hugs
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Well, I don’t know why the company bothered, then; they always give free time to Republicans, never to Dems. If Republicans are the majority, the companies say they get the time because they’re the majority. If Dems have a majority, the companies say Republicans get the time because they’re the minority and in the name of fairness. Dems have been screwed with US media since Nixon and Buchanan.
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Hi Ali. I posted a lot of memes and news about censorship and authoritarianism, but this like makes it clear what tRump is demanding. Plus Skydance is run by a maga true believer maga. He will make it another fox. Hugs.
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I suspect there will be a trend for what was mainstream to start seeking alternative lower profile outlets or even going ‘underground’. In which case the readership or viewers will follow.
In these days you have to start from a decades old ingrained authoritarian base (ie Russia, China, North Korea, Iran for name a few) to keep a very tight hold and even then it’s not perfect.
In a land with a heritage like the USA those independent outlets are likely to multiply.
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Hi Roger. Great point. Most mainstream media has already either refused to report too completely on tRump and the republicans. They are afraid to anger tRump or Stephen Miller. Of course the right wing media is all lies and misinformation. So independent media has become the most informative and where I get most of my news. Also there is a company called ground news that shows you the bias of a site so you can figure out what is fact or misinformation. Plus there is Media Bias/Fact Check https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ . I get most of my news from podcasts. Hugs
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Hi Scottie.
It is realpolitik fact that a government must have some sort of compliance from its population. This relies on some massaging of the facts to suit the narrative. This is never a perfect process and relies on the population being generally satisfied or willing to accept what they know is an imperfect government but currently is ‘Not so bad’.
In places where authoritarian systems are ingrained an element of fear and coercion is traditionally used, although this is never guaranteed to fully work.
In the USA where Trump’s court is trying to impose an authoritarian intolerant style one third of the population are openly hostile to the government, thus it is difficult for them to have satisfactory control of the narrative. This lead to a dissatisfaction and a frustration within the ruling group trying set on trying to impose their will on a democratic population. They may have one third, but that is not enough.
Alternative news will indeed flourish.
Take care guys.
Roger & Sheila
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Hi Roger. I posted a lot of memes and news articles on tRump’s attempt to take over of corporate media. All of mainstream broadcast or cable news is corporate owned to make a profit. The CBS merger with Skydance which is owned by a wealthy true believer maga billionaire who wants to make it like Fox is all about 8 billion in profit that the shareholders of CBS get to split. But what is even more scary is that in order to get the merger approved tRump gets to install a bias monitor to make sure they are being positive to him / republicans and very negative to democrats and DEI / LGBTQ+ minorities. Hugs
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Very troubling Scottie.
In the eyes of a substantial portion of the US public the US mainstream media will be in danger of losing its ‘Fourth Estate’ status.
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Hi Roger. Yes very true and if I may I think that is already true. I know I don’t trust what I watch / read on mainstream media figuring it has been edited or made to conform to the administration’s narrative. I use independent media and normally find I am correct. That said I am not talking going to conspiracy therapy websites. I go to places like BBC and until now NPR. I find that other countries media tends into include information that my own media lacks. But as far as tRump is concerned only state propaganda media is true media worth the protections in law, and the rest is to be sued or destroyed as enemies of the state. We have seen in the last 6 months something most of us in the US thought couldn’t happen, the complete dismantling of our democracy, or rights as a public, the dismissal of congress to make laws so tRump can make law based on his simply saying something is so using executive orders. Media, high income legal firms, corporate creators, the largest and most progressive educational facilities …. all because they chase the money rather than the good they are doing.tRump and Stephen Miller has caused a rollback of rights earned over 60 years and the removal of inclusion the LGBTQ+ people in media hard fought to get. All with in 6th months due to strong-arm bullying tactics I never thought I would ever see in the US. tRump is not acting as a president but he and his henchmen are acting like a mob boss and his LTs to get what he wants to be done. The entire rid the country of brown people and make whites supreme is a goal of Stephen Miller who has driven all of it and who some claim is the “acting president”. Right now we have a year and 6 months to get enough political power to stop any of this …. if the elections are not tampered with which tRump is openly trying to do. He has floated no seating the Democratic Party members voted into office. Interestedly enough it has come out that the highest ranks of the military want and have signed a petition to the president to get the SOD Pete “Kegseth” removed. The problem is tRump picked him because he has compromising information on him, or Russia does, so any officers signing that petition is basically giving tRump their name for removal. Welcome to the nightmare that is the United States of American right now. Hugs
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