{"id":27981,"date":"2026-06-02T17:25:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T00:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=27981"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:04:10","slug":"more-tear-downs-and-cancellations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/06\/02\/more-tear-downs-and-cancellations\/","title":{"rendered":"More Tear-Downs and Cancellations"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Several items on the murdering of &#8220;60 Minutes,&#8221; and how loyalty to Trump is more important that expertise or experience;<\/li>\n<li>Another Trump appointee with no experience, only loyalty;<\/li>\n<li>The dismantling of an ocean monitoring system;<\/li>\n<li>The motivation behind the cancellations of Pride Month by red states;<\/li>\n<li>White supremacy, and Christian deference to a higher world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"center\">&#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/div>\n<p>Progressives build and expand, in the name of increasing knowledge and understanding and improving the human condition; conservatives tear down and reduce, in the name of preserving pre-Enlightenment traditions and obsolete cosmologies. The latter is much easier.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nyt1jun26.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nyt1jun26.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>NY Times, yesterday<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/01\/business\/media\/cbs-60-minutes-scott-pelley-nick-bilton.html\">Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of \u2018Murdering\u2019 \u201860 Minutes\u2019<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;In an explosive staff meeting, Mr. Pelley, a correspondent for the long-running Sunday news show, blasted Bari Weiss, the CBS editor in chief, and Nick Bilton, the show\u2019s new executive producer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>CBS News faced a fresh wave of turmoil on Monday after Scott Pelley, the \u201c60 Minutes\u201d correspondent, laced into the show\u2019s newly hired executive producer during a staff meeting and accused Bari Weiss, the network\u2019s editor in chief, of \u201cmurdering\u201d the longstanding Sunday news program.<\/p>\n<p>In an extraordinary exchange, Mr. Pelley, his newscaster\u2019s baritone sometimes shaking in anger, told Nick Bilton, the new executive producer, that he had \u201cslender\u201d qualifications for his new job and questioned the network\u2019s commitment to the future of the program, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p>The 10 a.m. gathering, held at the program\u2019s Midtown Manhattan headquarters, was intended as a formal introduction to Mr. Bilton, a tech journalist and filmmaker who was appointed last week as part of a major shake-up at \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d CBS fired Tanya Simon, the previous executive producer, and her deputy, along with Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, two of the show\u2019s correspondents \u2014 an event that Mr. Pelley referred to as \u201cBlack Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The meeting quickly turned tense \u2014 not a surprise after months of strain between veteran journalists at \u201c60 Minutes\u201d and Ms. Weiss, an opinion journalist who was a longtime critic of legacy media institutions before she became the head of one last year. She was appointed by David Ellison, a tech scion who took control of CBS\u2019s parent company, Paramount, in a multibillion-dollar merger.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>[Mr. Bilton] also warned that the broadcast television industry that incubated \u201c60 Minutes\u201d would soon be obsolete. \u201cBroadcast is an ice cube that is melting, OK?\u201d Mr. Bilton said, saying the show had to adapt. \u201cBari loves this institution,\u201d he added. \u201cShe loves \u201960 Minutes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At that, Mr. Pelley interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is murdering \u201860 Minutes,\u2019\u201d the correspondent said. \u201cShe does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it, and she\u2019s been doing exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Pelley added: \u201cShe has no qualifications for her job; you have slender qualifications for this job. The changes that she\u2019s made at the \u2018Evening News\u2019 have been catastrophic, so why should we expect that any of this is going to be any better?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Recurring theme: replace experience and expertise with loyalty to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Bari-Weiss-2275206920.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Salon, Sophia Tesfaye, yesterday<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2026\/06\/01\/bari-weiss-brings-trumpism-to-60-minutes\/\">Bari Weiss brings Trumpism to \u201c60 Minutes\u201d<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;CBS News is pushing out dissenters, replacing them with inexperienced hires&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Bari Weiss is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2026\/01\/10\/tony-dokoupils-viral-first-week-should-worry-bari-weiss\/\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\">running the Trump playbook<\/a> at \u201c60 Minutes.\u201d It goes like this: Take an institution that still commands public trust, install loyalists with no relevant experience in positions of authority, fire the people who push back, dress the whole operation in the language of reform \u2014 fairness, innovation, a new direction \u2014 and you dare anyone to prove that what you\u2019re really doing is building a protection racket.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For years before she landed at CBS News in October, Weiss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/10\/06\/from-dan-rather-to-bari-weiss-how-far-cbs-news-has-fallen\/\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\">built a career<\/a> criticizing ideological conformity and supposed institutional intolerance. Yet in her brief tenure atop the network\u2019s news division, she has presided over exactly the kind of purge-and-replace operation that has become synonymous with Trumpism.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/topic\/donald-trump\" data-google-interstitial=\"false\">Donald Trump<\/a> does not govern by expertise; he governs by loyalty and the elimination of dissent, filling critical posts with people whose chief qualification is that they will not tell him no. Weiss has imported this model into the most-watched program in American television.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Again: &#8220;Donald Trump does not govern by expertise; he governs by loyalty and the elimination of dissent, filling critical posts with people whose chief qualification is that they will not tell him no.&#8221; Authoritarianism.<\/p>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p>Two more.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>HuffPost, 29 May 2026<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/60-minutes-correspondent-trump-impact_n_6a18bb4fe4b062ca52db374d\">Longtime \u201860 Minutes\u2019 Correspondent Says Trump Has \u2018Executed\u2019 Program<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Steve Kroft, who worked at &#8217;60 Minutes&#8217; for 30 seasons, believes the president &#8216;finally got his wish&#8217; amid a growing list of staff departures.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSince I retired, I often wondered what would happen to \u201860 Minutes,\u2019\u201d said Kroft, who concluded his run at the program in 2019 after 30 seasons. \u201cBut I never expected it would be executed by the president of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no smoking gun,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut [Trump\u2019s] fingerprints and DNA are all over this. He\u2019s been making threats against \u201860 Minutes\u2019 and how he wanted it gone. And he finally got his wish.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!gIWG!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0bded990-8171-4b69-9817-ed2d4639b788_3000x2000.jpeg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Robert Reich, today<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/robertreich.substack.com\/p\/the-murder-of-60-minutes\">Who Murdered &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221;?<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;Hint: It wasn&#8217;t its renowned correspondents or former executive producer. And it certainly wasn&#8217;t the viewing public.&#8221;<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>CBS News\u2019s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, recently announced in an email to staff a major shakeup of the revered broadcast, starting with the removal of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d executive producer, Tanya Simon, for Nick Bilton, who has no experience producing a television news show.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Bilton said he was excited \u201cto take what I believe is largely an unutilized news brand and take it into the modern age.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unutilized? Modern age?<\/p>\n<p>\u201c60 Minutes\u201d is the most successful television news broadcast in U.S. history. It has remained the #1 news program for 50 straight years and consistently ranks among the top 10 of all Nielsen-rated television programs.<\/p>\n<p>And it pulls in a fortune for CBS. \u201c60 Minutes\u201d is one of the most profitable programs in all of television, generating tens of millions in annual profit for CBS. In one recent year, its advertising revenues were $67.5 million. The network wholly owns the franchise, which makes it a gold mine. It\u2019s the most lucrative and prestigious journalism operation on the network.<\/p>\n<p>This goes beyond \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke \u2026.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So what then?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This much is clear. CBS is being \u201cmurdered,\u201d as correspondent Scott Pelley calls what\u2019s happening, not because of economics but because of politics. Economically, \u201c60 Minutes\u201d is a gold mine. Politically, Trump thinks it\u2019s dangerous as hell because it tells the truth about him and his regime, and wants it killed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>One day we will look back on the murder of \u201c60 Minutes\u201d as one of the travesties of Trump\u2019s despicable reign.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, boycott CBS.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\\\\\\<\/p>\n<p>Short items. First one related to the above.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/JoeRogan2026-660x330.jpg\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>JMG, today<\/strong>, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaweek.com.au\/joe-rogan-rumoured-to-join-cbs-after-anderson-cooper-loss\/\">MediaWeek<\/a>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/06\/report-cbs-may-hire-joe-rogan-for-60-minutes\/\">REPORT: CBS May Hire Joe Rogan For \u201c60 Minutes\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Once again, Trump values loyalty over experience or expertise. The worst get to the top.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Atlantic, David Frum, today<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/2026\/06\/bill-pulte-hayek\/687399\/\">Trump\u2019s Strange Choice for Director of National Intelligence<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The president\u2019s selection of Bill Pulte is both baffling and predictable.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Pulte has no intelligence background; no national-security expertise. He\u2019s an ultra-partisan with a highly quarrelsome personality and great inherited wealth. Beyond that, there\u2019s not much to say about his record of public or personal achievement.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CNN, today<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/06\/02\/politics\/bill-pulte-intelligence-director-trump\">Trump names controversial top housing official to be acting director of national intelligence<\/a><\/li>\n<li>&#8221; Pulte \u2014 a wealthy businessman turned Federal Housing Finance Agency director \u2014 appears to be an unusual choice given his lack of demonstrated experience in national intelligence. But he has served as an unlikely political attack dog against the Federal Reserve and many of Trump\u2019s perceived political enemies.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/06\/01\/climate\/01CLI-OCEAN-SCIENCE\/01CLI-OCEAN-SCIENCE-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>NY Times, yesterday<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/01\/climate\/ocean-observatories-initiative.html\">Trump Administration to Dismantle Ocean Monitoring System<\/a>, subtitled &#8220;The $368 million network of instruments collecting data in both the Atlantic and Pacific has been critical to climate and ocean research. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/06\/wh-to-dismantle-deep-ocean-observation-system\/\">Via<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re not only cutting off funding to research programs, they&#8217;re spending money to dismantle them. Why again is the Trump administration not an enemy infiltrating the US to bring it down? Can MAGA explain this? Is it all about reverting to cave-man priorities?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternet.org\/media-library\/arkansas-gov-sarah-huckabee-sanders-in-las-vegas-in-october-2023-gage-skidmore.jpg?id=52268552&amp;width=1245&amp;height=700&amp;quality=50&amp;coordinates=0%2C66%2C0%2C67\" width=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>AlterNet, today<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alternet.org\/the-right-wing\/sarah-huckabee-sanders-2676986852\/\">How these red state governors are trying to replace Pride Month<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Utah. They invoke God, without understanding that these are evolutionary motivations about expanding the tribe. And so individual choice and freedom must be suppressed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/PeteHegseth2026grimace-1-660x330.jpg\" width=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He&#8217;s still doing this. Pure white supremacy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>JMG (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/06\/01\/us\/politics\/hegseth-navy-promotion-list.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m1A.oIS7.bSSazosHkvcf&amp;smid=url-share\">NYT<\/a> [unlocked], today<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joemygod.com\/2026\/06\/hegseth-axes-black-female-officers-from-promotions\/\">Hegseth Axes Black, Female Officers From Promotions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\\<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Perhaps moot by now.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Right Wing Watch, Kyle Mantyla, yesterday<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplefor.org\/rightwingwatch\/only-way-lance-wallnau-can-defend-trumps-slush-fund-lie-about-it\">The Only Way Lance Wallnau Can Defend Trump&#8217;s Slush Fund Is To Lie About It<\/a><\/li>\n<li>A common pattern. Christians live for a higher world, and so feel entitled to lie in this one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several items on the murdering of &#8220;60 Minutes,&#8221; and how loyalty to Trump is more important that expertise or experience; Another Trump appointee with no experience, only loyalty; The dismantling of an ocean monitoring system; The motivation behind the cancellations &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2026\/06\/02\/more-tear-downs-and-cancellations\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,50,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservative-resistance","category-human-progress","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27981"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27985,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27981\/revisions\/27985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}