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Headlined Show, Here We Stand January 21, 2018
This Sunday January 21 on Here We Stand
at 3 pm pacific, 6 pm eastern, 11 pm GMT on https://bbsradio.com/herewestand
 
On our Show: From Words to Action
 
- What is Operation Atonement? Stopping Child Killers at the source
 
- Farewell to Medical Age of Consent: The Vaccination Assault on Children Intensifies
 
- Updates on The RCMP cover up of their crimes against native women, and The ongoing academic censorship of our Homegrown Genocide
 
- Announcements of New books, New Action Groups, and a New Year to bring down and raise up!
 
​With your regular host Kevin "Don't Tread on Me" Annett​
 
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Our new special offer for listeners!
 
Become an Associate Member of Here We Stand and the Common Law Republic for which it stands:
 
 Contribute a pledge (either one time or sustaining) of at least $50 and you will receive:
 
1. a complimentary copy of two of the books listed below,
2. regular insider updates and copies of all our news, publications and material
3. links to organizers and actions in your area
 
Make Here We Stand happen! We need to raise $3000 every year to pay for our program.
 
Send donations to Here We Stand c/o the paypal account at itccs.org or by sending a cheque (made out to William Annett) to:
 
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Who are We?
 
A movement to reclaim personal, spiritual and political self-governance; a Republic of Free men and women under no authority but their conscience and Natural Law; a practical alternative and response to global, tyrannical Corporatocracy: We are creating the new society within the shell of the old.
 
We learn so we can act. We live to bring down the old and corrupt and build up all that frees humanity and restores our dignity and liberty. We are affiliated with the International Tribunal of Crimes of Church and State (ITCCS) and The Covenanters.
 
See our archived programs at https://bbsradio.com/herewestand
 
And find our websites at itccs.org , murderbydecree.com , KevinAnnett.com
 
Headlined Show, Relationship Help Show January 16, 2018

This week I talk with Dr. Gary Salyer about Attachment...

What Happens When It Goes Sideways and Why That Matters

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Headlined Show, Spouting Off January 15, 2018

Dog Whistles, LInguini, & TRUMPING up hatred for Trump:

Is he a colluding misogynist? A mentally ill racist? or whatever you're willing to believe so they can get rid of him? The fact that the economy is booming and jobs are streaming back is immaterial to their mission. Karen examines the current state of linguini on the wall.  Speaking of walls, that'll be part of the discussion too, along with the fight over DACA and whether there will be a government shutdown because of it. Does that scare you or would you breathe a sigh of relief? Tune in Tuesday at 2PM MST, 4PM EST!

Headlined Show, Magic Monday January 15, 2018

This week's Magic Monday is all about meditation. I'll be exploring different types, the benefits, and how I use them in my spiritual practice. 

Kathryn Lorraine, a women's spiritual empowerment coach, yoga and meditation professional, women's retreat facilitator, and Higher Self expert has practiced meditation and yoga since she was a young child. And she will be joining us to share her wisdom on the topic. Be sure to tune in.

5pm PST on Station 2. 

Headlined Show, The War Report on Public Education January 14, 2018

Please join Internet radio host Dr. James Avington Miller Jr. as he asks the question - What if we had a shared vision and mission for public education - K to PhD? This is an invitation to come together and imagine just how good our schools could be for our children, our teachers, and our communities if we, and not the outsiders, created a shared vision and mission. What would it look like? What should it look like? What if the vision would be determined by schools, administrators, teachers, students, parents, communities, and states/governments who would all participate, create, and share a true democratic engagement for the PUBLIC GOOD? What would teacher prep, teaching, curriculum, pedagogy, school culture, and students be like? What would the teaching and learning experience be? Could our vision for public education create an environment that promotes positive development for all children, youth, teens, and young adults that insists on their well-being, democratic citizenship and life-long engagement in our society? To our audience - what is your vision? Do you have a vision? Is there someone else who is imposing their vision on you?  Please call in Sunday and join this very important and inspiring conversation.

Happiness Hangout Guest, Susan McCord March 22, 2017
Dating/Relationship/Lifestyle Talk Show Host, Published Author, Interviewer, Certified Life Coach, Blogger & Advice Columnist.

Susan McCord (aka Dear Sybersue) is a Dating/Relationship/Lifestyle Talk Show Host, Published Author, Interviewer, Certified Life Coach, Blogger & Advice Columnist. She is an mature woman with young sassy attitude! She’s been there done that and has so many T-shirts she can open a store! She’s like the fun aunt you always wanted in the family! 

Susan has devoted her career to helping others find happiness. Over the past decade she has established a stellar reputation as a sought-after dating & relationship expert. Susan has 18,700 Followers on her Blog but is best known for hosting a Relationship talk show for an International audience on YouTube. Her talk show, “Dear Sybersue,” has garnered 1.5 million views which consists of dating/relationship/lifestyle advice, interviews & colorful comical skits. She has a great sense of humor which she contributes to her weekly shows.

Susan is an Expert Writer for SWEXPERTS, Niume, Dear Sybersue Advice Column, regularly contributes to various online magazines and appears as a guest speaker at dating venues in the Vancouver area. She has appeared on CBC news, The Vinney White Show TorontoNewsTalk1010, Trying to Be Good Roundhouse Radio Show, North of 49TV, Sexat11 RogersTV Toronto, The Love Channel, The Lynda Steele Show CKNW, The Vancouver Sun, The Metro, 24 Hours Newspaper and is a guest blogger on many websites. Susan left her long term job as a International flight attendant to pursue her Talk Show & Blogging career full time.

Dare To Dream Guest, JOHN PERKINS March 22, 2017
As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm

As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and leaders of countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He is a founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, non-profit organizations devoted to establishing a world that future generations will want to inherit and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Confessions Of An Economic Hitman. John has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, CNBC, NPR, A&E, the History Channel, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, as well as in numerous documentaries including The End Of Poverty, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology Of An Economic Hit Man. He was awarded the Lennon Ono Grant for Peace in 2012, and the Rainforest Action Network Challenging Business as Usual Award:

As Chief Economist at a major international consulting firm, John Perkins advised the World Bank, United Nations, IMF, U.S. Treasury Department, Fortune 500 corporations, and countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. He worked directly with heads of state and CEOs of major companies. His books on economics and geo-politics have sold more than 1 million copies, spent many months on the New York Times and other bestseller lists, and are published in over 30 languages.

John’s Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (70 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list) is a startling exposé of international corruption. His The Secret History of the American Empire, also a New York Times bestseller, details the clandestine operations that created the world’s first truly global empire. His Hoodwinked is a blueprint for a new form of global economics. The solutions are not “return to normal” ones. Instead, John challenges us to soar to new heights, away from predatory capitalism and into an era more transformative than the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. His writings detail specific steps each of us can take to create a sustainable, just, and peaceful world.

John is a founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, nonprofit organizations devoted to establishing a world our children will want to inherit, has lectured at more than 50 universities around the world, and is the author of  books on indigenous cultures and transformation, including Shapeshifting, The World Is As You Dream It, Psychonavigation, Spirit of the Shuar, and The Stress-Free Habit. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CNN, NPR, A&E, the History Channel, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Der Spiegel, and many other publications, as well as in numerous documentaries including The End of Poverty?, Zeitgeist Addendum, and Apology of an Economic Hit Man.

ABOUT The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man...

Featuring fifteen explosive new chapters, this expanded edition of the classic New York Times million-copy bestseller brings the story of economic hit men up to date and, chillingly, home to the United States. It also gives us hope and the tools each of us can use to change the system.

In this astonishing tell-all book, former Economic Hit Man John Perkins shares new details about the ways he and others cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. From the U.S. military in Iraq and infrastructure development in Indonesia, to Peace Corps volunteers in Africa and jackals in Venezuela, Perkins exposes the corruption and failed policies that have fueled instability and anti-Americanism around the globe, with consequences reflected in our daily headlines and lives.

He then reveals how the deadly Economic Hit Man cancer he helped create has spread far more widely and deeply than ever in the United States and everywhere else—to become the dominant system of business, government, and society today. Finally, he gives an insider’s view of what we each can do to change it.

The People Speak Guest, Dan Christensen March 21, 2017
Editor Florida Bulldog

Dan founded Florida Bulldog in 2009 using the name Broward Bulldog. He is an award-winning former investigative reporter for The Miami Herald and Daily Business Review, and one of South Florida’s most experienced reporters. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science from the University of Miami.


Dan’s stories about Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne’s private business dealings sparked a federal corruption investigation that landed Jenne in prison in 2007. His stories about hidden and falsified court records in Broward, Miami-Dade and elsewhere in Florida for The Miami Herald in 2006 led to a pair of unanimous Florida Supreme Court decisions in 2007 and 2010 outlawing those practices.


Similar stories for the Daily Business Review in 2003-2004 exposed excessive secrecy in the federal courts. The executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press later called Dan “the nation’s leading journalist on an issue of tremendous First Amendment importance: the increasing trend toward secrecy in our nation’s courts.”


In 2000-2001, Dan’s reporting about a deadly gun-planting conspiracy and cover-up by Miami police resulted in the indictment of more than a dozen officers and significant governmental reform, including the establishment of Miami’s long sought civilian review panel.
Galactic Connection Guest, Tim Freke March 21, 2017
Author, Gnostic Scholar, Philosopher

Tim is the standup philosopher – a concept he developed from the ancient idea of a philosopher as a travelling ‘spiritual entertainer’ who transformed people’s consciousness. He is pioneering an accessible new way to experience a profound spiritual awakening, which fully embraces our tender, vulnerable, flawed humanity. He has spent his life exploring the awakened state he often simply calls the ‘mystery experience’ and is able to guide others directly to it.



In his latest book, The Mystery Experience, Tim presents a revolutionary approach to spirituality. He creates a new language of awakening, which makes profound ideas simpler to understand, so it’s easier to experience a real transformation of consciousness. During his Mystery Experience Retreats he personally guides participants directly to the deep awake state.



Tim is a passionate and playful communicator, whose enthusiasm for life is contagious. He is often featured in documentaries and chat shows broadcast by the global media, such as the BBC and the History Channel. Tim blogs for The Huffington Post and care2.com amongst others. He is the founder of The Alliance for Lucid Living, (The ALL), an organization dedicated to our collective awakening. He lives with his wife Debbie and their two children in Glastonbury, England.

I experienced the deep awake state for the first time when I was 12 years old and it was WOW! I was sitting on a hill overlooking my small hometown in the southwest of England contemplating how strange and mysterious life is … when it just happened.

I can vividly recall the feeling of being immersed in overwhelming, exquisite, ecstatic love; as if the whole universe was pulsating with love. I felt I’d been given the most amazing surprise … and yet also as if I’d remembered something I’d always secretly known.  

Ever since, I've been exploring how to transform my state of consciousness. I’ve also felt passionate about sharing the WOW of awakening with others, because I soon discovered that when I am deep awake others start waking up around me.

I'm now in my 50s and over the years I've had the privilege of touching the lives of hundreds of thousands of people through my books, broadcasts and events. I feel extremely grateful to have the opportunity to explore the deep awake life with others. Awakening is above all an experience of love and love gets bigger when shared. 

I experienced the deep awake state for the first time when I was 12 years old and it was WOW! I was sitting on a hill overlooking my small hometown in the southwest of England contemplating how strange and mysterious life is … when it just happened.

I can vividly recall the feeling of being immersed in overwhelming, exquisite, ecstatic love; as if the whole universe was pulsating with love. I felt I’d been given the most amazing surprise … and yet also as if I’d remembered something I’d always secretly known.  

Ever since, I've been exploring how to transform my state of consciousness. I’ve also felt passionate about sharing the WOW of awakening with others, because I soon discovered that when I am deep awake others start waking up around me.

I'm now in my 50s and over the years I've had the privilege of touching the lives of hundreds of thousands of people through my books, broadcasts and events. I feel extremely grateful to have the opportunity to explore the deep awake life with others. Awakening is above all an experience of love and love gets bigger when shared. 

Life Changes Show Guest, Marina Manukian March 20, 2017
Music Director, Concertmaster, Violinist, Musician

MARINA MANUKIAN

Marina Manukian – violin joined the Radio and Television Violin Ensemble of Armenia at the age of 11, thus becoming the youngest professional musician in the former Soviet Union. She received her musical training from Georgi Ajemian, Alice Schoenfeld, Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh and Sidney Weiss. Marina has studied at the prestigious Mozarteum School of Music in Salzburg, Austria and is also a University of Southern California graduate with Highest Honors.  Since childhood Marina has performed for radio and television broadcasts and recordings. 

She has been featured as a soloist with numerous orchestras, chamber music concerts and recitals. Her passionate artistry has been heard and embraced worldwide, including throughout Europe, former U.S.S.R. and the United States.
She is the winner of numerous music awards and prizes including the 1st prize for National Young Artist Competition, in former U.S.S.R., Aspen International Music Festival and Herb Alpert Music Award from A & M Records.

The Los Angeles Times identifies Marina Manukian as “a violinist extraordinaire…whose virtuosity is exceeded only by her calmness and confidence, working through the intricacies with masterful grace and strength”.

Since 2006 Marina has been the Artistic Director and Concertmaster of The Enlightenment Chamber Music Series which presents concerts performed by the selection of expert chamber musicians, soloists and recording artists from around the world. In addition to her solo and chamber music performances Marina has recorded for over 700 television and motion picture scores.

Marina Manukian’s recordings together with pianist Bryan Pezzone of “Brahms Violin Sonatas” and “Inspiration” have received critical acclaim and were chosen as the top classical CDs by several major radio stations worldwide. 
Life Changes Show Guest, David Raiklen March 20, 2017
Composer, Producer and Show Host

DAVID RAIKLEN

David Raiklen: composer-producer-host. David was mentored by Oscar winner John Williams and Pulitzer Prize winner Mel Powel. Dr. Raiklen studied at USC and CalArts and later taught at those universities. He has worked for the major studios including Sony, Fox, Disney, Sprint, Mattel, Warner Bros and PBS, plus many independent productions. His projects have starred Elliott Gould, Doug Jones, Blythe Danner, and Martin Sheen. David made the New York Film Critics Top Ten with the documentary Heist, the short list for an Academy Award® for Worth, and Mia, A Dancer’s Journey won the Emmy.

David Raiklen compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Hall. He is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club, where guests include Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams; and is host and leader of The Academy of Scoring Arts seminars. David is currently producing and composing for Space Command, a series of epic adventures set in a hopeful future, and producing Virtual Reality concerts.

Life Changes Show Guest, Bryan Pezzone March 20, 2017
Consummate crossover pianist of his generation

BRYAN PEZZONE

Bryan Pezzone is the consummate crossover pianist of his generation.  He has excelled in classical, contemporary, jazz, and experimental genres and is known for both his versatility and virtuosity as a performing artist, improviser and composer. Bryan performs with composers and musicians as diverse as Pierre Boulez, John Williams, and John Adams, and records on countless film and television soundtracks. He is the pianist in the group Free Flight; a crossover classical/jazz quartet.

These concerts feature many of his own compositions. In addition, Bryan has initiated a performing series that he calls “FREEDOM SERIES” which involves improvisations and verbal musings on life.

Bryan has performed with many major symphony orchestra associations, and is known in the Los Angeles area as one of the primary freelance pianists for film and television soundtrack recording, contemporary music premieres, and chamber music accompany. As a soloist, Bryan has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Santa Monica Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute Orchestra, United States International University Orchestra, U.C. Irvine Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony.

Bryan has produced CDs of his own music which blends jazz and classical styles– including “Flying on Water” produced by Steve Wight, featuring M.B. Gordy on drums and Bart Samolis on bass, as well as solo piano CD’s featuring his more introspective music, including Piano Prayers, Visits with Gershwin, Hymns for Holliston, and Music Candles and Mountaintops.

In addition, Bryan has been principal pianist in the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra from its inception in 1991-1999 as well as the former chair and founder of the Multi-focused keyboard department at the California Institute of the Arts from 1987-2000. He abandoned both those positions in order to discover new paths and is passionate about continuously redefining himself and his role as an artist, musician, and person in today’s complex and eclectic culture.

John Barbours World Guest, John Dean March 20, 2017
political author, columnist, commentator

John Dean served as Counsel to the President of the United States from July 1970 to April 1973.  Before becoming White House counsel at age thirty-one, he was the chief minority counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives, an associate director of a law reform commission, and an associate deputy attorney general at the US Department of Justice.



His undergraduate studies were at Colgate University and the College of Wooster, with majors in English Literature and Political Science; then a graduate fellowship at American University to study government and the presidency before he entered Georgetown University Law Center, where he received his JD with honors in 1965.



John recounted his days at the Nixon White House and Watergate in two books: Blind Ambition (1976, with new extended afterword in 2010) and Lost Honor (1982).  After retiring from a business career as a private investment banker, he returned to writing best-selling books and lecturing, not to mention being a columnist for FindLaw's Writ (from 2000 to 2010). His most recent New York Times bestseller: The Nixon Defense: What He Knew and When He Knew It (2014).



Other books include: The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court (2001), Warren G. Harding (2003), Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush (2004), Conservatives Without Conscience (2006), Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches (2008), and Pure Goldwater (2009).



Currently, John holds the Barry Goldwater Chair of American Institutions at Arizona State University, where he lectures and teaches, while working on his next book. He is also a visiting scholar and lecturer at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communications and an occasional television commentator. Whenever possible, John hopes to schedule further events in his extended continuing legal education (CLE) series that examines impact of the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct on select historic events of Watergate with surprising results – The Watergate CLE.

 

Two Predictions (Maybe Rants) About Donald Trump’s Presidency

23 Dec 2016

Predictions about the mercurial Donald Trump are risky. Nonetheless, I cannot hesitate from making two, which some may view as rants but both are fact based. First: Trump will somehow stiff the White House press corps. Second: Trump will violate his oath of office as president.

First Prediction: Trump and the White House Press Corps

This week Trump announced his core White House communications team: Sean Spicer, who has long been a spokesperson at the Republican National Committee (RNC), will become White House press secretary. Hope Hicks and Jason Miller, who have served as spokespersons for the campaign and transition, will become strategic communications director and communications director respectively at the White House—nondescript positions having something to do with communications. Dan Scavino will be social media director—a post I’ve never heard of at the White House, but Twitter is important to Trump. Finally, Kellyanne Conway, who served as Trump’s last campaign manager and as a senior adviser to the president-elect, will serve in the White House as a counselor. Presidential counselors typically have no line authority in the White House rather float about doing what the president wants them to do in their area of expertise.

This media-relations team has been with Trump since the final days of his campaign and during the transition. No real staffing surprises, although rumor had Kellyanne—the mother of four—not wanting to take on full-time work in Washington rather work for the non-profit PAC being set up to push Trump policies outside of the government structure. Kellyanne could have undoubtedly earned more money and had greater flexibility not being on the White House staff. Her post at the White House appears a win for Rebecka Mercer, the daughter of the billionaire hedge fund operator, who brought Kellyanne and Stephen Bannon into the final days of the Trump campaign—pushing their candidate across the winning finish line.

Before turning to my first prediction, allow me to note that notwithstanding Trump’s complaints about his negative press-coverage (“the lyin’ press”), in fact, given the circumstances, Trump has received undeservedly favorable press coverage. With a few exceptions, the news media has given him a pass on his failure to produce his tax returns and disclose the nature of his many businesses; he was given a pass on his self-confessed sexual assault of countless women; the press largely ignored his longstanding connections with well-known New York area drug dealers and organized crime figures, and on and on and on. In breaking with norm after norm that have sunk other presidential candidates, the news media has allowed Donald Trump to get away with criminally outrageous behavior, setting a new low for national leadership.

But my biggest complaint about the news coverage of Donald Trump, the politician, the presidential candidate, now the president-elect, and soon to be the President of the United States, is his conspicuous and remarkable incompetence for the job. The news media—less a few outspoken commentators and columnists—is pretending like anyone can be the President of the United States, no prior experience necessary. News people seem to love his bellicose counter punching, hurling attacks at anyone who pinches his thin skin. They excuse his ignorance, and when he doubles down to hide it, they are confident he is developing a new and carefully considered policy. By any standard, the news media’s failure to address his utter lack of skills and knowledge to serve as president, the refusal to warn Americans and foreign nations that we are about to install a man who is totally unprepared for the job is breathtaking.

It was Leslie Moonves, executive chairman and CEO of CBS Television, who said of a potential Trump presidential campaign, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” But after he was elected the mantra of the news business has not changed. It appears Trump’s outrageous and democracy threatening behavior is all about what is good for news organizations—and the end of democracy as we cherish it will be televised.

I really did believe that after he won the election the news business would get serious with Trump if he did not get serious about the business of governing this country, yet the news coverage of the transition of the most unqualified man ever elected to the White House is as weak and wishy-washy as it was at the outset of his campaign. Given the license afforded the news business under the First Amendment, their collective conduct is approaching criminal negligence, standing by while Trump destroys the country so they can report the fall of America.

Of course, Trump’s election is not the first time Americans have chosen a president who knows little to nothing about the ways and means of Washington, not to mention the nation’s highest executive office: the presidency. To the contrary, it is something of a regular practice. For example, in varying degrees Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all required on-the-job training, initially relying heavily on their Washington-seasoned vice presidents to assist them in getting their presidencies up and running.

While Donald Trump cannot hold a candle to any of these men as far as their interest in government, their prior experience at governing, and their interest in performing well as President of the United States (a president-elect who is too smart to take the president daily intelligence briefing is not only too dumb to be president, but is not interested in the job), yet the news media examined the past presidents-elect far more intently than they are examining Trump.

While they are reporting on Trump, it is fluff stuff. It is information he wants reported. In the past, however, reporters were digging into who was doing what to get ready. I scanned dozens upon dozens of transition stories all the way back to Jimmy Carter. For example, by August 9, 1976—some three months before the election—Laurence Stern had an in-depth story for The Washington Post, “Transition Unit at Work for Carter: Low-Profile Carter Group Working on Transition Plan.” It was one of many such accounts, and the same occurred with Carter’s successor. Reporters Lee Lescaze and T.R. Reid began tracking Ronald Reagan right after his election, reporting the details of his plans for The Washington Post and never letting up. James Perry, writing for The Wall Street Journal on November 18, 1992, explained that “Early Symbolic Acts of Administrations Have Lasting Effect” as he probed the transition of president-elect Bill Clinton, comparing it to predecessors. Robert Pear reported “Behind the Scenes, Teams for Both Candidates Plan for a Presidential Transition” in the September 21, 2008, New York Times, about the work of both candidate John McCain and Barack Obama. To mention only a few.

News accounts, television reports, and when they arrived blogs dug far deeper into past transition than is now occurring with Trump. My perusal of this material along with historical accounts after the fact reveal that pundits, historians, and political reporters largely agreed that rookie presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama relied on their vice presidents (Walter Mondale, Al Gore and Joe Biden) most heavily at the outset, but after they devoted countless hours of study to learning about their new jobs, they relatively quickly came to understand the workings of the high office they held and became adept presidents. Trump has made it clear he does not like briefing books, nor does he read history. This puts him alongside Reagan and Bush II, both of whom enjoyed the pomp of being heads of government, but they never stopped relying heavily on their vice presidents (George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney) for the daily grind of being head of the executive branch of government.

Watching the formation of Donald Trump’s presidency, the press coverage is disappointingly weak and thin. As president, he is clearly going to govern much like Reagan and Bush II, where someone else does the heavy lifting. But this conspicuous fact is being totally ignored in the transition news coverage. Who is doing that lifting now: Vice President-elect Mike Pence? Chief-of-staff-designate Stephen Bannon? Son-in-law Jared Kushner? Daughter Ivanka? Outsider Rebekah Mercer? And why are reporters unable to learn what is really going on in the Trump Tower transition operation?

The answer to these questions is clear. Transition coverage has been much like Trump campaign coverage, and it does not bode well for coverage of the Trump White House. The news media is so fixated with Trump himself, along with his endless need to consume all the oxygen in any room where they are all together, that they are totally ignoring how he is preparing for his presidency. This is what sells.

In addition, much of the mainstream press is afraid of Trump, fearful he will cut them off from all access. In fact, I predict he will do just that. Nixon did it. He occasionally banned reporters from the White House. He went around the White House press corps to state and local news organizations. It has been almost 150 days since Trump held a press conference. Nixon used to go as long as he could, and unlike Trump, he was good at press conferences because he studied for days for them. Trump is not good at press conferences because he does not have good answers for the questions he will likely be asked, not to mention he is not inclined to study and prepare, so he knows he will likely embarrass himself. Just as during the campaign, Trump is conspicuously unprepared to answer questions.

Trump is going to be much harder on the press than Nixon. He has seen their weakness, and knows his core followers are with him. If the press was not collectively gutless, they would be yelling that we are watching a train wreck, but the news media is pretending this is not happening. Rather they are pretending that this is a normal presidential transition. Which brings me to my second prediction.

Second Prediction: Trump Will Breach His Oath of Office

It appears that at noon on January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump will take the oath of office: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” This will, of course, make him the President of the United States. I doubt, however, that Trump will honor his oath. My reason is rather simple, Donald Trump is far worse than Richard Nixon—a fact about which I will have more to say about in the future.