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Murica! Freedumb of speech only counts for us!

FCC’s Carr urges broadcasters to air ‘patriotic, pro-America’ content

The agency chair’s call is tied to administration efforts to foster celebrations of American exceptionalism ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr wants broadcasters to air “patriotic, pro-America content” to support the White House’s plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“As America’s 250th anniversary approaches, it is important to reflect on the ideals and events that have defined our past while keeping an eye towards our country’s bright future,” Carr said in a statement Friday. “I am calling on broadcasters to pledge to provide programming that promotes civic education, national pride, and our shared history.”

But Carr’s message to broadcasters comes as his critics are already uncomfortable with the agency’s incursion into policing media content, which they say is an attempt to please President Donald Trump while infringing on the First Amendment.

Several broadcasters also have pending mergers and regulatory requests before the FCC, which could influence their response to Carr’s request. In the latest flare-up this week, CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert accused corporate lawyers at his network of unduly capitulating to new equal time guidance from Carr and sidelining his interview with Democratic Senate contender James Talarico — claims that CBS later denied and Carr dismissed, saying Colbert had other options to air that interview.

Carr’s new initiative takes the form of a voluntary “Pledge America Campaign” that broadcasters can join.

The agency said the initiative is part of a broader White House effort to encourage festivities celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary during this Fourth of July holiday. Trump has taken a personal interest in celebrating the anniversary, and his administration has reviewed Smithsonian exhibits to ensure they align with the White House’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism.

Broadcasters could participate in the pledge, Carr suggested, by running public service announcements or specials devoted to civic education and U.S. history, peppering such historical content into news programming or including daily broadcasts reciting the Pledge of Allegiance or playing the national anthem. The FCC said participation could also entail playing music from U.S. composers such as John Philip Sousa, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin.

In his statement, Carr said civic education is in decline, noting that “classic programming such as Schoolhouse Rock! is now only found in online archives.”

Carr has also used his gavel to integrate certain patriotic activities into government proceedings, such as beginning each monthly open meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, took to X to criticize Carr’s announcement: “Nothing is more American than defending our constitutional rights against those who would erode our civil liberties. If broadcasters choose to participate in this FCC campaign, they can do so by defending their First Amendment rights and refusing government interference.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/...r-patriotic-pro-america-content-00791260

The US women's hockey gwg in OT was an EPIC moment that will be etched in our memories. The wife and I were on the edge of our seats the entire game. You can click on the pic below to see the vid.

Oh - and Trump's petulant response to the Supreme Court ....

What a [censored].

Analysis: These two new economic numbers blew a hole in Trump’s rosy narrative
By
Daniel Dale

A vessel passes a container ship loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles on February 20, 2026. Mario Tama/Getty Images
Two new pieces of economic data, one released Thursday and one released Friday, blew another hole in President Donald Trump’s triumphant narrative about the effects of his tariffs.

The figures released early Thursday showed Trump had wildly overstated the impact of the tariffs on the trade deficit. The figures released early Friday showed he also had wildly exaggerated economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The Supreme Court struck down many of Trump’s tariffs later on Friday. But other tariffs remain in place, and Trump quickly said he plans to replace the ones the court declared illegal with new tariffs under a different law.

The trade deficit was down 0.2% in 2025, not down ‘78%’
Trump has for years highlighted the trade deficit – the difference between the value of US imports and exports – as a supposed example of how the US is being “ripped off” by other countries. (Many economists disagree with his characterization.) On Wednesday evening, he posted a celebratory message on social media.


“THE UNITED STATES TRADE DEFICIT HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 78% BECAUSE OF THE TARIFFS BEING CHARGED TO OTHER COMPANIES AND COUNTRIES,” the all-caps post began.

The next morning, though, the Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed the actual 2025 trade deficit in goods and services. It was nearly identical to the 2024 deficit, down just 0.2% — nowhere close to Trump’s professed “78%” decline. And the trade deficit in goods, the items subject to Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, was up 2.1% compared to 2024.

Trump didn’t make up the “78%” figure out of thin air, but it was still deceptive. He was citing an out-of-date and short-term number from October 2025, when the trade deficit was 78% lower than it was in January 2025. Experts cautioned at the time that the sharp October drop would be fleeting, the result of temporary fluctuations in gold and pharmaceuticals trade, and it was.

Trump’s Wednesday post was also inaccurate in suggesting his tariffs are paid by foreign countries. Tariff payments are made by US importers, not foreign exporters, and those importers often pass on some of their costs to consumers. While foreign exporters may sometimes drop their prices to try to keep their products competitive, various  analyses have found that the overwhelming majority of the costs of the tariffs Trump has imposed this term are being covered by a combination of US businesses and US consumers.

Economic growth in fourth-quarter 2025 was 1.4%, not ‘5.6%’
The Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday released another key set of figures — estimates on real gross domestic product (GDP) growth. These figures, too, were far from the number Trump had been touting.


Trump told the World Economic Forum in late January that “fourth-quarter growth is projected to be 5.4%, far greater than anybody other than myself and a few others had predicted.” He specified in a Cabinet meeting and a Wall Street Journal op-ed later in January that he was referring to a projection for the fourth quarter of 2025 from a model run by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Then, in an early-February interview with NBC, he made it sound like 5.6% growth had already been achieved, saying, “I’m very proud of it: 5.6%. You know, we have a GDP of 5.6 despite a shutdown.”

By the time of the op-ed, the Cabinet meeting and the interview, though, the Atlanta Fed’s model was down to a projection of 4.2% fourth-quarter 2025 growth. Various other forecasts were even lower than that. And contrary to Trump’s comment to NBC, forecasts aren’t reality.

The figures released Friday show just how far from reality his “5.6%” claim was. The economy actually grew at an annualized rate of just 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, much slower than the 4.4% growth in the third quarter of 2025.

The fall government shutdown was a significant factor in the weak figure. Still, Trump claimed growth was 5.6% despite the shutdown, which wasn’t close to correct.

And what of Trump’s vague claim from a speech on the economy Thursday in Georgia, that “our country was dead” a year ago under former President Joe Biden, but “now we have the hottest country”? The US economy grew at just 2.2% in 2025, new full-year figures showed — lower than in every year of the Biden administration and every year of the first Trump administration other than 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/politics/economy-gdp-trade-deficit-trump-tariffs

My guess is that many things 2025 with this Browns offense will be taken with a skid-load of salt by the new coaches...nothing is to be guaranteed OR discounted. Was "it" the QB? OL? WR? Scheme? Playcalling? All of the above? They will make their own determinations.

I'm guessing they try and trade for J Winston...the other pickings are either too slim...too iffy...or too expensive. If that is so, I think they trade Gabriel.

Berry needs to get real good at what has been his glaring weakness for (6) years and counting.

Harden is a great passer.

Super impressed by what Ellis and Schroeder bring.

The Cavs are deep and have many options for matchups.

This is going to be a fun ride watching them.

I am glad we all have choices.

I don’t believe JOK will play another down in the NFL. He had a compressed spine, and continuing to play in the NFL with that sword hanging over your head is not worth the risk.

BTW, have you printed any carbon fiber blends or nylon with your Bambu X1C?

Marriage (in the sense we're discussing here) is the legal process of getting married. Not the religious. We have separation of church and state, so the Bible has no legal standing in deciding who can and can't be legally married.

While I didn't put a ton of time into it, this is what I was searching for the other day and kept running into the numbers of our specialists (kicker/punter/LS). So thank you for finding and posting that up.

Also, your post about penalties was illuminating. I did not realize we were on the one end of the ST penalty rankings. Thank you for posting that.


I can definitely see how those two things point to roster vs coaching regarding our ST woes. Now I'm wondering if that $400k difference in average pay was us not having that "ST ace" on the roster (ex. Cribbs, who was as good a gunner as he was a returner).

I don't know who cares. Maybe a lot of people who have daughters? People who don't want a sexual predator wearing a Browns uniform? You know, people like that.

I guess you don't consider watson's sexual assault law suits news anymore. I mean who did it hurt? Am I right?

Huh ?

The defense is going to take a step backwards , because the Browns have struggled to get their talented groups to perform consistently year to year is what you just said.


Well if that is what happened under Stephanski and Schwarts then glad they are gone.

Who in the heck wants coaches who make the team struggle ?

I love the shake up


I hope there is a new energy in the building

Will it pan out, No one knows

There is also new reporting today that indicates that the DOB hid Trumps involvement on a Rape..... Stay tuned....I'm betting it will ether be debunked or will end up as Front Page News

What did they think was going to happen after they elected Mamdani?

Agreed.

So just to be sure of what we all already knew - Trump's racist remarks about Obama were his and his alone.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/she-said-karoline-leavitt-just-050951878.html

And just so we're clear - if you say and post racist things ... it makes you a racist. I mean, as if not allowing black employees in certain positions in your businesses wasn't enough, or ordering them off the casino floor and for them to be non-visible when you visit.

Might have already been posted.

Genesis....Squonk

Since his passing many in the movie business have come forward and given tributes.

I have seen him interviewed many times. The one role that was hard on him was The Great Santini.

He came from a strict military father and the role haunted him. He was so good as the character Bull Meechum.

He loved "Tango" the dance and married a gal who is a terrific tango dancer. He wrote and directed the movie Assassination Tango and it was during the filming he met his future wife.

He said it took him ten days to read Lonesome Dove and 16 weeks to film it. And that was the best time in his life and his favorite role.

He will always remain in my eyes as the character Augustus McCrae.

Yeah, that's exactly what I posted directly above your post.

I think that would heavily depend on what your definition of "stole" is. It certainly wouldn't fit the definition of the word.

RIP Jesse Jackson. I wanted to post about him yesterday but this thread is in the Everything Else forum. It's virtually impossible to talk about his life and legacy without it being centered around religion, civil rights and politics. None of which topics are to be discussed in this forum. Other than his family, those three things were the centerpieces oh his life.