“He couldn’t be more wrong, and we are sure you know it... We are,
at the Sun-Times, the enemy of unchecked authority and undeserved privilege. We
are the enemy of self-entitlement. We are the enemy of the notion that the only
way up is to hold somebody else down.
“We are the enemy of nothing but ‘thoughts and prayers’ when children are slaughtered. We are the enemy of faked-up outrage.
We are the enemy of deadly streets and violent gangs. We are the enemy of thugs
who shoot into crowds.
“We are the enemy of the societal failings of our city and country
that have shaped the thugs and given them space. We are the enemy, that is to
say, of dead-end jobs and no jobs, bad schools, racism, bad parenting and
people who look away.
“We are the friend, though, of so much more. That’s why [on August
15th] we join[ed] some 350 newspapers across the country, led by The Boston Globe, in promoting freedom of the press in
light of Trump’s attacks on reporters.
“We are the friend of righteous anger and real tears. We are the
friend of real solutions, like tougher gun laws and better schools.
“We are the friend of the teacher who never gives up, of the small
business owner who hires ex-offenders, of the bus driver who makes every last
stop, of the architect who designs a beautiful building, and of the
bricklayer and ironworker who build it. We are the enemy of bad policing. But we are the friend of every good cop, which is most cops.
“We are the friend of an open lakefront, a clean Chicago River, excellent middle linebackers and deep-dish pizza. Above all, we are the enemy of bad
journalism, and we commit ourselves each day to practicing the best journalism.
We do our best to tell our city’s story, the sum total of every Chicagoan’s
story, straight and fair, come what may. So it has been, and so it always will
be.
“The Chicago Sun, precursor to the Sun-Times, was founded 77 years
ago for the explicit purpose of standing up for working men and women — ‘the
people.’
“…It felt the pain of the men and woman standing in soup lines. It
championed pretty much everything Col. Robert McCormick’s Tribune despised: the
rights of unions, Social Security, a minimum wage, the dignity of immigrants
and a progressive income tax…
“Trump calls journalists the ‘enemy of the people,’ but there’s
hardly any news in that. Politicians in a jam always beat up on the media. The
difference is one of degree. Trump has all but incited violence against
reporters at his rallies…
“We firmly believe most Americans know that Trump is talking
nonsense, whatever they might tell the pollsters. We firmly believe they
understand that a free society is impossible without a free press. For their
sake — for the sake of ‘the people’ — we will do our job” (Chicago Sun-Times).
Send letters to: letters@suntimes.com.
“A 68-year-old Encino man was arrested and charged Thursday with threatening to shoot employees at the Boston Globe after the newspaper’s editorial board pushed back against President Trump’s frequent attacks on the press.
ReplyDelete“About two dozen federal agents in tactical gear and an armored vehicle arrived at the stucco single-story home of Robert D. Chain just before 6 a.m. Neighbors said they heard small explosions, like the bursting of flash-bang grenades, before Chain was led from his house dressed only in a pair of shorts.
“Chain was charged with one count of making threatening communications and appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts. He was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Sept. 24.
“Chain began making phone calls threatening to travel to the Globe’s offices and shoot employees shortly after the paper announced Aug. 10 that it was launching a coordinated campaign with other newspapers to publish editorials calling on Trump to end his rhetoric about the news media, prosecutors said.
“Chain made 14 threatening calls, both from his home phone and his wife’s cellphone, to the newspaper between Aug. 10 and Aug. 22, according to prosecutors. He called the Globe ‘the enemy of the people’ — repeating one of Trump’s most-used phrases for attacking the media— and threatened to kill newspaper employees, prosecutors said…
“Law enforcement sources not authorized to discuss specifics of the case said the investigation has not tied Chain to any other specific threats against media organizations. The two sources said the investigation has thoroughly examined Chain’s activities.
“Federal agents removed several long rifle cases, boxes of ammunition and unmarked boxes and loaded them into an SUV after conducting a search of Chain’s home.
“Trump has made attacking journalists and the media a cornerstone of his political persona. He has mocked reporters, derided media outlets as ‘fake news’ and called the media ‘the opposition party.’”
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!
6:11 AM - Aug 30, 2018
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-encino-boston-globe-threats-20180830-story.html