Another name most of us were sick of hearing and happy to forget about is back in the news. I suspect Kari Lake would prefer to have remained mostly forgotten. The onetime rising star with Trump found herself relegated to being giving control of the Voice of America with instructions to gut it. With the help of DOH-ge (better known as DOGE but Musk is a real life Homer Simpson at times) she did just that. However a federal judge has issued a ‘No, you had no authority to do that’ ruling so we have to deal with Kari Lake news again.
Established during the Cold War the Voice of America became an iconic news outlet, providing some of the best and most accurate news in the world. What made it so important was those radio broadcasts went into so many countries where being caught listening was a crime. The kind of crime that got people sent to gulags or even executed. Yes, it promoted the U.S. and free country’s doings to rid the world of Soviet rule but it didn’t pull punches. If it’s reporters had stories about what could be being done and wasn’t, or efforts that failed they reported them. That’s why VOA was such an important force. It had genuine credibility.
Well, telling the truth including the fact America and the free world makes a serious effort but isn’t perfect and sometimes even screws the pooch is something Trump simply couldn’t abide. As far as the Mango Messiah is concerned the United States has always been bigly-awesome-PERFECT. And he, being the most perfect divine person who’s ever lived has made it “perfecter.” So the VOA simply had to be dismantled. Most Americans don’t realize how vital it was in projecting what’s called soft-power to places that need hope. Like other federal programs it created goodwill in a measure you can’t put a price tag on. Now it’s a hollow shell and just as it took a couple of generations to build its credibility, it will take at least another couple of generations to RE-BUILD it.
Rebuilding VOA is at the bottom of Trump’s To Do list. He’d probably forgotten about it but as this article from The Associated Press he’s going to remember VOA and Kari Lake (so will Melania who is said to have gotten Lake banished from Mar a Lago) now. Yesterday’s federal court ruling gutted Lake (and Trump) the same way she gutted VOA and other services like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In effect judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled Lake had zero authority to do what she did. Noting that Lake hadn’t received the required Senate confirmation she lacked capacity to take the actions she did due to laws that guard against unqualified government appointments:
“Only the Appointments Clause or the Vacancies Act’s exclusive structure may authorize service as a principal officer, and Lake satisfies the requirements of neither the statute nor the Constitution,” Lamberth wrote.
Well, in the second Trump administration UN-qualified is clearly the main requirement. Trumpty’s problem is that pesky Constitution and the part about certain actions like appointing key people must be done with the “Advice and consent‘ of the Senate. Laws including the Vacancies Act spell out how things actually are legal and Constitutional. Trump has made a habit of ignoring the Vacancies Act and eventually has been slapped down in court every time he’s been challenged. Including on appointing Lake to hollow out VOA which is down to a skeleton crew. So where do things now stand? It’s hard to say:
Lamberth was ruling on a lawsuit filed by Patsy Widakuswara, Voice of America’s White House bureau chief, and colleagues Kate Neeper and Jessica Jerreat. They were among the employees laid off by Lake and have been fighting the actions.
“We feel vindicated and deeply grateful,” the journalists said in a statement. They said the ruling against Lake “is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love.” They said they are still trying to determine what the action effectively means for colleagues whose careers have been in limbo.
Proponents of Voice of America call it an example of the nation’s “soft power” that offers unbiased news coverage to countries where governments control the flow of information. Lake has contended the government-run news outlets are wasteful and their outputs should promote the administration’s views.
Clearly this administration is going to fight tooth and nail to fix what it broke. It’s also appalling that it took so long to get this ruling, especially since Lamberth damn well knew the administration will appeal. Appellate judges can and usually are even worse than District judges when it comes to acting swiftly which is much needed. Every month that goes by without VOA being rebuilt AND with the kind of staff and journalists it had before Lake’s purge adds years to the time it will take to rebuild it. And then as I’ve already said it will take a couple of generations to rebuild its credibility. Given the damage Trump is doing we need VOA more than ever to try and convince the world we deserve another chance. I don’t see us ever again being the undisputed leader of the free world but it we work hard enough and keep our promises we can have a seat at the head table.
Kari Lake has been quietly collecting a fat government paycheck and awesome benefits for doing virtually nothing. After doing what she did to VOA all she had to do was keep a low profile and let the money roll in. Like the rest of us Trump forgot about her. Now she’s back on his and everyone else’s radar and Trump might just decide to give Noem some company under the bus. To Trump she’s just some chick, and one that got Melania jacked up. Lake is probably stressing out today because unlike Noem it’s unlikely Trump will feel a need for some ‘insurance’ (a cushy, made up job) to keep her quiet. Her gravy-train ride is I predict almost over.
If it weren’t for the damage she’s done I’d be entertained by her downfall. I’ll have to settle for a grim satisfaction of seeing her get tossed into the Trump wood chipper as yet another example of ETTD.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
“Lake has contended the government-run news outlets are wasteful and their outputs should promote the administration’s views.”
Irony really should visit Lake and hit the b**** upside the head with a two-by-four for failing to recognize the sheer stupidity she spewed. She *wants* government-run news outlets to promote the “administration’s views” (aka “propaganda”) while, simultaneously, contending they’re “wasteful” which presumably means they should be shut down. But how do you get a government-run network to promote propaganda when you shut it down as “wasteful?”