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All the news that fits the narrative — that has long been the ABC’s guiding editorial principle, and few items made that more clear than the selective eye the national broadcaster brought to bear on certain US military leaders and their low opinions of Donald Trump.
If a braid-encrusted admiral or general had a bad word about the former president, the ABC played it big. Retired US Navy admiral William McRaven defended exposed liar and Russiagate hoax promoter John Brennan and the ABC gave him banner treatment. Likewise, lots of ABC sympathy for former national security agency director Michael Hayden, who was stripped of his security clearance for siding with James Clapper, another much-quoted ABC favourite, about the alleged danger Trump represented to America’s security. Retired four-star general Stanley McChrystal and sacked defence secretary Jim ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis also had their gripes about Trump given prime placement. Then there was Colin Powell and John Kelly, former generals, Trump critics and both presented by the ABC as voices of decency and good sense, unlike the then-occupant of the White House.
When a senior military man assails the sitting president, it must be big news. Right? Well that would seem to depend on which party controls the White House and who is doing the criticising. Scour the ABC’s recent archives for reports of not one or two Pentagon veterans but 124 of them criticising the current US President and your ABC search will come up empty.
For the record, and without the benefit of the ABC’s billion-dollar-plus annual budget, Quadrant Online below reprints an open letter detailing the signatories’ grave concerns about Joe Biden, his presidency, ability to govern and, perhaps most worrying, his deteriorating mental faculties.
The opinions of one or two former brass is big news if Republican Trump is the target of their spleen. Ten dozen-plus doing the same about Democrat Biden and … crickets.
— roger franklin
Open Letter from Retired Generals and Admirals
Our Nation is in deep peril. We are in a fight for our survival as a Constitutional Republic like no other time since our founding in 1776. The conflict is between supporters of Socialism and Marxism vs. supporters of Constitutional freedom and liberty.
During the 2020 election an “Open Letter from Senior Military Leaders” was signed by 317 retired Generals and Admirals and, it said the 2020 election could be the most important election since our country was founded. “With the Democrat Party welcoming Socialists and Marxists, our historic way of life is at stake.” Unfortunately, that statement’s truth was quickly revealed, beginning with the election process itself.
Without fair and honest elections that accurately reflect the “will of the people” our Constitutional Republic is lost. Election integrity demands insuring there is one legal vote cast and counted per citizen. Legal votes are identified by State Legislatures’ approved controls using government IDs, verified signatures, etc. Today, many are calling such commonsense controls “racist” in an attempt to avoid having fair and honest elections. Using racial terms to suppress proof of eligibility is itself a tyrannical intimidation tactic. Additionally, the “Rule of Law” must be enforced in our election processes to ensure integrity. The FBI and Supreme Court must act swiftly when election irregularities are surfaced and not ignore them as was done in 2020. Finally, H.R.1 & S.1, (if passed), would destroy election fairness and allow Democrats to forever remain in power violating our Constitution and ending our Representative Republic.
Aside from the election, the Current Administration has launched a full-blown assault on our Constitutional rights in a dictatorial manner, bypassing the Congress, with more than 50 Executive Orders quickly signed, many reversing the previous Administration’s effective policies and regulations.Moreover, population control actions such as excessive lockdowns, school and business closures, and most alarming, censorship of written and verbal expression are all direct assaults on our fundamental Rights.
We must support and hold accountable politicians who will act to counter Socialism, Marxism and Progressivism, support our Constitutional Republic, and insist on fiscally responsible governing while focusing on all Americans, especially the middle class, not special interest or extremist groups which are used to divide us into warring factions.
Additional National Security Issues and Actions
# Open borders jeopardize national security by increasing human trafficking, drug cartels, terrorists entry, health/CV19 dangers, and humanitarian crises. Illegals are flooding our Country bringing high economic costs, crime, lowering wages, and illegal voting in some states. We must reestablish border controls and continue building the wall while supporting our dedicated border control personnel.Sovereign nations must have controlled borders.
# China is the greatest external threat to America. Establishing cooperative relations with the Chinese Communist Party emboldens them to continue progress toward world domination, militarily, economically, politically and technologically. We must impose more sanctions and restrictions to impede their world domination goal and protect America’s interests.
# The free flow of information is critical to the security of our Republic, as illustrated by freedom of speech and the press being in the 1st Amendment of our Constitution. Censoring speech and expression, distorting speech, spreading disinformation by government officials, private entities, and the media is a method to suppress the free flow of information, a tyrannical technique used in closed societies. We must counter this on all fronts beginning with removing Section 230 protection from Big Tech.
# Re-engaging in the flawed Iran Nuclear Deal would result in Iran acquiring nuclear weapons along with the means to deliver them, thereby upsetting Mideast peace initiatives and aiding a terrorist nation whose slogans and goals include “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. We must resist the new China/Iran agreement and not support the Iran Nuclear Deal. In addition, continue with the Mideast peace initiatives, the “Abraham Accords,” and support for Israel.
# Stopping the Keystone Pipeline eliminates our recently established energy independence and causes us to be energy dependent on nations not friendly to us, while eliminating valuable US jobs. We must open the Keystone Pipeline and regain our energy independence for national security and economic reasons.
# Using the U.S. military as political pawns with thousands of troops deployed around the U.S. Capitol Building, patrolling fences guarding against a non-existent threat, along with forcing Politically Correct policies like the divisive critical race theory into the military at the expense of the War Fighting Mission, seriously degrades readiness to fight and win our Nation’s wars, creating a major national security issue. We must support our Military and Vets; focus on war fighting, eliminate the corrosive infusion of Political Correctness into our military which damages morale and war fighting cohesion.
# The “Rule of Law” is fundamental to our Republic and security. Anarchy as seen in certain cities cannot be tolerated. We must support our law enforcement personnel and insist that DAs, our courts, and the DOJ enforce the law equally, fairly, and consistently toward all.
# The mental and physical condition of the Commander in Chief cannot be ignored. He must be able to quickly make accurate national security decisions involving life and limb anywhere, day or night.Recent Democrat leadership’s inquiries about nuclear code procedures sends a dangerous national security signal to nuclear armed adversaries, raising the question about who is in charge. We must always have an unquestionable chain of command.
Under a Democrat Congress and the Current Administration, our Country has taken a hard left turn toward Socialism and a Marxist form of tyrannical government which must be countered now by electing congressional and presidential candidates who will always act to defend our Constitutional Republic. The survival of our Nation and its cherished freedoms, liberty, and historic values are at stake.
We urge all citizens to get involved now at the local, state and/or national level to elect political representatives who will act to Save America, our Constitutional Republic, and hold those currently in office accountable. The “will of the people” must be heard and followed.
The full list of the letter’s signatories can be inspected here.
And here in Australia, even the retired military are too conformist to challenge the direction of the media and society.
Have these retired generals been banned from Twitter and Facebook yet?
How about Paypal and Visa? Will they even be able to buy bread or petrol?
While I agree with most of the sentiments expressed in the letter, and am not the least surprised at the disgusting double standards and hypocrisy of the ABC, I must confess to being utterly unimpressed by these sorts of displays by military officers, retired or otherwise. As a retired military officer myself, and one with a penchant for bothering the Letters Editors of numerous publications with my opinions on whatever grabs my attention on any given day, I also have very strong views about military officers publicly voicing their dissent against the policies of their political masters. By all means, as citizens they have the right to express their views, but not as military officers claiming some supposed authority by virtue of their rank and occupation.
It is particularly inappropriate for American generals to take this sort action, because they are sworn to obey their President as their Commander-in-Chief.
Thomas, D, yes. ‘Interesting’ to see this happen a week after the French had a similar joint letter by retired military leaders.
On the whole, it points up the non-military leadership of the culture having no pushback against its capture by trends which appear to have spent 20 to 40 years laying groundwork to find out just how MUCH ruin there is in a nation.
Points:
1. Used to be that all military officers were trained to spot actual problems and opportunities and encouraged to use and grow their natural abilities to deal with real problems and exploit real opportunities.
Emphasis on the reality, esp when the main elements of democratic society is fast being destroyed by anit-Westernists, both home-grown and imported.
2. There are too many persons -ex-miltiary and otherwise- who are ignorant of norms regarding public display of opinions and rectifying actions in other countries, and their own.
3. After both world wars, Australian military ex-officers alerted the politicians to infiltration of our institutions being made by marxist forces. These ex-military persons were demonised by the Left, naturally. And today, the marxist forces dominate all of our institutions -the ABC, SBS, the legal and education systems, everything.
DT
“… the disgusting double standards and hypocrisy of the ABC …”
Yes, this is well in evidence – but the ABC staff don’t mind it at all. Not at all. It has absolutely no relevance to them, which is why they cannot be shamed over it. They simply don’t care. The only responses that do stir them are funding threats (better is actual cuts to funds), including defamation actions.
Split the ABC’s budget and assets in halves. Leave half where it is -in the hands of the Marxists.
Use other half to set up an anti-marxist multi-media platform.
Similar for the state school systems, the universities and the legal system.
Nett tax-payers can chose which system they wish to engage with.
Nett consumers of funds from the public purse can stay in the marxist systems, and see how they like it-
-while the marxist commissars stuff themselves silly with goodies and give nothing to the nett consumers.
For all of this century and more, the ABC has been the propaganda arm of the Green-Left. There is no justification for this function to be funded by the taxpayers at large. Defund the ABC.
Ian, It started before that! Since Alan Ashbolt joined, and probably before, the ABC has been sliding on the black ice of Marxism.
Their ALPBC is socialist; socialiists know “the Truth” and will not let their idealised version of the world and life be polluted by other ideas, unless they are denigrating them. That the Australian taxpayer is constantly funding this abomination is the real crime, but the Libs/Nats are too scared to do anything about it.
Their ALPBC is socialist; socialist’s know “the Truth” and will not let their idealised version of the world and life be polluted by other ideas, unless they are denigrating them. That the Australian taxpayer is constantly funding this abomination is the real crime, but the Libs/Nats are too scared to do anything about it.
In this day and age does anybody actually need a state broadcaster? Even my late farmer in-laws eventually gave up on Their ALPBC and went commercial. Let the Friends of the ABC and their ilk make us on offer for Their ALPBC and see how long they last with subscriptions and without advertising and forced taxpayer contributions. It is classic socialist thinking: we want something and you have to pay for it.
I would love to see a gutless Liberal/National government call the socialists bluff and move the office blocks and studios to where the alleged socialist audience lives, eg Macquarie Fields or Craigieburn. But they are too gutless to do a Thatcher. It would sort out the “talent”. If a Minster of the Crown can be sworn in by video link there is no need for Their ALPBC to be near any airport ever again.
Defamation is not a threat to MSM as it’s just another liability that media insured against. Defamation insurers conduct MSM’s defence to a defamation suit and pay out any award as well. So defamation verdicts aren’t coming off the top of the ABC’s budget. The only solution to curbing “our ABC’s” enthusiasm for a culture that regards breaching the ABC Charter as de rigueur is to shut it down and start again from scratch or (better still) not have any ‘national broadcaster’ at all. It is a little known fact that after taking office in 1975, Fraser’s Coalition Government shut down the Commonwealth “Dept of Information” which was the ALP’s taxpayer funded propaganda department, established by arguably Australia’s worst PM, Gough Whitlam (who was so terrible and so dishonest he was dismissed!). So, all those ideologues and boffins in the ALP’s propaganda arm had to go somewhere. Guess where? You got it: the ABC. It’s been downhill ever since! Time to defund the ABC & consign it along with its alleged “journalists”, who wouldn’t know the art of reportage if they fell over it, to the dustbin of bad jokes.
Defamation is not a threat to MSM as it’s just another liability that media insure against. Defamation insurers conduct MSM’s defence to a defamation suit and pay out any award as well. So defamation verdicts aren’t coming off the top of the ABC’s budget. The only solution to curbing “our ABC’s” enthusiasm for a culture that regards breaching the ABC Charter as de rigueur is to shut it down and start again from scratch or (better still) not have any ‘national broadcaster’ at all. It is a little known fact that after taking office in 1975, Fraser’s Coalition Government shut down the Commonwealth “Dept of Information” which was the ALP’s taxpayer funded propaganda department, established by arguably Australia’s worst PM, Gough Whitlam (who was so terrible and so dishonest he was dismissed!). So, all those ideologues and boffins in the ALP’s propaganda arm had to go somewhere. Guess where? You got it: the ABC. It’s been downhill ever since! Time to defund the ABC & consign it along with its alleged “journalists”, who wouldn’t know the art of reportage if they fell over it, to the dustbin of bad jokes.