Trump to Release JFK Papers, Sore Winner

JFK: To the delight of conspiracy theorists, President Trump said yesterday he will not block the scheduled release of the government files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that have been held secret since 1963. By law, the National Archives are supposed to release the files on Oct. 26, unless the president blocks it.

Trump tweeted, “Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.”

About 10,000 pages of documents have yet to be made public. The Washington Post quoted some officials saying the documents could expose relatively recent intelligence and law enforcement operations.

Sore Winner: President Trump is still angry about winning the election, nearly a year later. He tweeted yesterday, “Keep hearing about ‘tiny’ amount of money spent on Facebook ads. What about the billions of dollars of Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC & CBS?”

Trump, for some reason only he knows, is riled up over the subject of ads placed on social media by Russian bots. “Crooked Hillary Clinton spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on Presidential Election than I did. Facebook was on her side, not mine!”

There could be no reason for him to be thinking about this unless he’s feeling the heat of the Russia election-influencing investigations.

The Weinstein Effect: Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly settled a sexual harassment lawsuit for $32 million last January, then was signed to a new $25 million a year contract for four more years with the network, the NY Times reports.

It was at least the sixth such settlement on behalf of O’Reilly. The paper says the complaints of the $32 million woman “included allegations of repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship and the sending of gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her, according to the people briefed on the matter.”

O’Reilly was Fox’s most bankable star after the departure of Megyn Kelly, but after other complaints went public, Fox fired O’Reilly in April. His spokesman, Mark Fabiani, issued a statement saying, “Once again, The New York Times has maliciously smeared Bill O’Reilly.” He said the article is “false, defamatory,” and designed to keep O’Reilly from getting a new job.

In the law, it’s pretty hard to defame someone when you accuse them of behavior for which they are famous.

Speaking of fame, after the accusations of rape and harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, bodies are dropping all over the entertainment business. Executives at Amazon, Nickelodeon, and Vox have resigned or been fired.

Farewell to Catalonia: Facing threats of Catalonia declaring independence, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed Saturday to remove the region’s leaders, take control of the secessionist government and call new elections within months.

Catalonia is an autonomous region, but the Spanish constitution allows for this severe measure. The government could take control of regional ministries, the police, and public broadcasters.

In the 1930s Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, was a hotbed of resistance to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War.

Baseball: The Yankees struck out in the effort to pull off a miracle, losing 4-0 to the Houston Astros in the 7th game of the American League series. The Astros meet the Los Angeles dodgers Tuesday in Los Angeles for the opening of the World Series.

All Tatted Up: Singer Justin Bieber, who has already covered his arms with tattoo “sleeves,” has had his torso covered with a giant tattoo from below the navel to his shoulder blades. The images include creepy winged creatures, a skeleton, and mysterious gothic arches.

It’s enough to make you feel sorry for the ink.

-30-

Friday, April 19, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

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