Watching the recent White House press conference, where Donald Trump’s physician was trying to explain the results of the President’s recent physical exam to the reporters, I was struck by their asinine questions--- number of scoops of ice cream Trump eats or his belt size. Not only were their questions stupid; most of the Press Corps failed to demonstrate genuine concern for any health problems he might have, other than why he might be unfit to govern.

These journalists remind me of catfish--- the bottom feeding fish that live off the sludge that litters the swamp of Washington, D.C. Stopping just long enough to stuff their hungry mouths in order to propel their career, then moving on.  

I’m not sure what type of person chooses journalism as a career these days, but it must rank near the bottom of the list. Many appear so brainwashed by their liberal professors that ‘their’ truth only seems to cut one way. No longer are these reporters trying to get to the truth, as did Woodward and Bernstein, back in the Watergate days. They are groping for ‘their’ truth--- the so-called truth that supports the agenda they or their bosses at the ‘home office’ want them to get. They have already decided on the answer. Now, the next step is to ask the right question that might fit the answer they are searching.

This all goes much deeper than their disdain for any news that is not to their liking. At one time, reporters were conduits--- gathering the facts, organizing them in such as way so as they were more understandable, and then, releasing the information. Except for obituaries and ‘fluff’ stories, that’s no more. Initially it was called putting a slant--- to bend the story just a little to give it a perspective. The new term is spin and sometimes it is 180 degrees from the real truth. In other cases, many stories may get little coverage or never go reported if it doesn’t fit an outlet’s agenda.

There was a time when news outlets abided by their ‘duty to inform’ their readers or listeners. With many, if not most of the major outlets, those days are gone. Liberal outlets put a liberal spin to their news; conservatives spin in the other direction.

To make matters worse, the public has become complacent, only relying on the media that supports their predetermined suppositions. The election of Donald Trump is a perfect example. The major news outlets--- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, The New York Times and the Washington Post are biased against him. The statistics often reported are that Trump gets on average 90-95% negative coverage.

Maybe, a more important question is what happens when Trump is no longer in the White House? When the occupant in the Oval Office is less combative. Just look at the criticism George W. Bush endured without much retort on his behalf.

Without some standards of ‘duty to inform’, the media will continue to increasingly dominate the dialogue, acting as the fourth branch of government. The gullible public, huddled together like baby birds in the safety of their ‘nests’, waiting for the ‘bottom-feeding’ journalists to stuff sludge from the swamp down their ‘gullets’.

Sadly, once their meal is over, the only sound coming from these hatchlings is “Alexa, who should I vote for?”