Today, hundreds, maybe thousands of editorials across the country are standing in solidarity against Donald Trump’s attacks on our free press. We stand in solidarity with them today and every day. Although we do not consider ourselves reporters, we do provide news and commentary on the news and we have been affected by Trump’s hostility to the First Amendment.
I was blocked by Trump on Twitter several years ago. I'm one of so many that there's a #BlockedByTrump hashtag:
I can’t be completely sure why but I would bet that it was because I repeatedly asked him to produce the results of the Hawaii birther investigation he bragged about on TV.
A judge has ruled that Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking people on Twitter. However, she did not order him to unblock them. The Washington Post explains:
Under the ruling, [Judge Naomi] Buchwald did not order Trump to unblock his followers, saying that clarification of the law is sufficient to resolve the dispute. Should Trump ignore the ruling, analysts say, future litigation could force Twitter to unblock Trump's followers unilaterally.
Furthermore, Trump all but admitted he blocked people for their political views. From WaPo:
The government does not dispute that Trump blocked the Twitter users for political reasons. But the Justice Department had argued Trump was largely acting in a personal capacity, much like "giving a toast at a wedding or giving a speech at a fundraiser."
After the ruling, Trump unblocked the seven plaintiffs but also decided to spend taxpayer money appealing the ruling. As ou can see, I remain blocked. Essentially, the Justice Department has argued that the First Amendment should not stand in the way of the highest public official in the land preventing individuals from engaging with him in public.
"It would send the First Amendment deep into uncharted waters to hold that a president’s choices about whom to follow, and whom to block, on Twitter—a privately run website that, as a central feature of its social-media platform, enables all users to block particular individuals from viewing posts—violate the Constitution," Justice Department attorney Michael Baer wrote. "More broadly, such a novel holding would cast doubt on the ability of government officials to direct their communications to particular audiences."
As has been noted elsewhere, freedom of the press was considered so important by our Founding Fathers, they enshrined it in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Trump’s attacks on the media should stain him forever as a threat to our Constitution.
But Trump's attacks on the media also make him look like a man with something to hide.
What is Trump so afraid of us knowing? Whatever it may be, here’s to a media that will not be intimidated or prevented from finding out.
Powerful and Continuing Nationalism — Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Here is the link to all of the characteristics of NAZISM:
http://http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/14_Characteristics_Fascism.html