Rhetoric 3
720 primary on covid clone of denier, 2nd civil war (primary 9/20)
see hype fear
merri ok
see god devil terms, metaphors
see war warrior metaphor
see deny deflect ctr-attack accusation / RUBBER GLUE INVERSE PROJECTION WHATABOUTISM
SEE VIOLENT RHET VERMIN ELIMINATIONALIST
see insurrection jnz trump
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wa mo 10 26
here’s a grim reality that few would have predicted in the 1990s: Neo-Nazi rhetoric and ideology have found a place in American political discourse. You don’t have to believe America is fascist to become alarmed that crackpot rhetoric has found its way into the national dialogue. Review the ravings of Timothy McVeigh, watch footage of a neo-Nazi rally, or even sit down with a 1998 movie like American History X, the story of a skinhead played by Edward Norton, and you will discern a disturbing pattern.
Beyond epithets, the vocabulary of lunacy and hatred is now part of our vernacular.
“The Great Replacement” theory is boilerplate Republican lingo and dogma. Although it originated with a French nationalist, it was David Lane, cofounder of the white supremacist organization The Order, who was responsible for its American coinage. He included it in his 1995 textual vomit, the White Genocide Manifesto. Today’s leading proponent of the Great Replacement Theory is Vice President JD Vance, who recently told Angie Nixon, a Black woman running for the U.S. Senate in Florida and a natural-born citizen, “You don’t belong in America,” excoriating her alignment with democratic socialism. He told her to “get the hell out of the country.” Meanwhile, Vance has also developed a habit of whining about “institutionalized anti-white discrimination,” a longtime staple of neo-Nazi recruitment campaigns.
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It is common for Vance, his supporters, and his dotard superior, Donald Trump, to denigrate their critics and adversaries as “globalists.” The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee explain that “globalist” originated in white supremacist circles as a pejorative to identify those who were directly involved in the “great replacement” and “new world order.” The most frequent targets of the thinly veiled conspiracy theory were Jews. In the contemporary right-wing media ecosystem, a “globalist” is anyone who opposes the “real America,” “Christianity,” and even “God.” George Soros, the Jewish financier and philanthropist, even at 96 and rarely seen, remains the most influential and dangerous “globalist.”
“Cultural Marxism” is another popular expression of derangement in mainline right-wing politics. Pundits, ranging from Fox News’s Sean Hannity to internet staples Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens, use the term to castigate everything from gender studies programs at major universities to Disney films with gay characters. Owens has claimed that “satanic pedophiles who work for Israel” rule over the common people. While few reach her levels of psychosis, “cultural Marxism,” according to one scholar of political extremism, has become the “conspiracy theory of our time.” It is strikingly similar to Nazi propaganda that warned Europeans of “Cultural Bolshevism” deriving from Jewish intellectuals.
Decades after the fall of the Third Reich, the term, which first became popular within the White Power Movement, has been broadened to condemn multiculturalism and social liberalism.
A cacophony of neo-Nazi rhetoric is broadcast globally with the amplification of Elon Musk, who not only uses the terminology himself, but shifts the algorithm on X to promote brazen racism and antisemitism. The trillionaire is also one of the most effective manipulators of widespread white anxiety, stoking delusions of persecution and censorship. Far-right bloviators, with audiences numbering from the hundreds of thousands to millions, pounce on those who argue for pluralism, multiculturalism, even decency, denouncing them as “woke.” The result: Legions of young white men now believe that support for “free speech” equates to approval of demeaning insults of racial minorities, gay and transgender people, and women.
The left once functioned as a bulwark against recrudescence of hatred, but in recent years has demonstrated a tendency to parrot neo-Nazi nomenclature. In their zealotry to denounce all things Israeli, progressive podcast hosts, such as Emma Vigeland, Jennifer Welch, and Hasan Piker, along with their large numbers of devoted listeners, have taken to deploying the terms “Zionist” and “Zio” as slurs. The origin of “Zio” as a pejorative traces back to none other than David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, who, between plastic surgery recovery periods, still makes time to slander Blacks, Jews, and immigrants of color.
The accusation that “Zionists,” whether through AIPAC or alleged Israeli influence, control the US government, subverting democracy in service of themselves, is found on the left and right. The remix of the “Jewish cabal” conspiracy, now prevalent in online discourse, was once the hallmark of the White Power Movement. During the 1980s, David Lane’s organization, The Order, committed a series of terrorist acts to fight “ZOG,” the “Zionist Occupied Government.”
Christian Picciolini, a former neo-Nazi who, in the 1990s, was the leader of Chicago-Area Skinheads (CASH), the largest neo-Nazi street gang in the U.S., and would later become an inspiring anti-racist advocate and deradicalization specialist, has discussed how he and other hate movement leaders advised young supporters to “trade their boots for suits.” Instead of turning themselves into societal pariahs, they should insinuate themselves in American institutions, from law enforcement to local government, spreading their beliefs through more socially palatable means than swastika tattoos and vandalism.
It doesn’t require much paranoia to speculate that the “boots for suits” strategy has succeeded beyond its proponents’ wildest dreams. The neo-Nazis have seen their terminology enter the national vocabulary. Their language and influence are visible everywhere, poisoning debate and turning generations of young men into vessels of cruelty, paranoia, and prejudice. Far more destructive than hate speech, the racial profiling and violence of ICE demonstrate that, under the authority of President Trump, it functions as a white nationalist paramilitary.
This is not a fascist nation, and there are no Brownshirts in the streets, brawling in the lead-up to an important legislative election, as was so common in Weimar Germany. But the lexicon of hate is in our broadcast world and political discourse in ways that Ernst Rohm or Joseph Goebbels might recognize even if today’s technology would have been inconceivable to them.
As pundits focus on the midterms, remember that a long-term struggle transcends the immediate stakes of congressional control: Pushing neo-Nazi politics toward a foul corner, where it belongs, out of the public square. This demands sustained focus and vigilance. Election results, even if they are awful for MAGA this year, are far from conclusive about the prospects of hate in America.
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Tagged:Angie Nixon, Anti-Defamation League, Christian Picciolini, David Lane, Donald Trump, Edward Norton, Elon Musk, Ernst Rohm, great replacement theory, JD Vance, Jennifer Welch, Joseph Goebbels, MAGA, neo-Nazis, Third Reich, Timothy McVeigh
David Masciotra, a contributing writer to the Washington Monthly, is the author of several books, including Exurbia Now: The Battleground of American Democracy and I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters. His Substack is Absurdia Now. More by David Masciotra
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AN 8 26
Trump has created a White House where "the buck never stops with the people who actually hold power," "a new piece from MS NOW argued, and it is a "master class" in endless blame that his Cabinet is taking to heart.
In a piece published Tuesday morning, reporter Hayes Brown detailed how Trump has made "deflecting blame for mistakes, lapses and failures ... completely normal," despite the long tradition of presidents accepting blame for their administration's shortcomings. Instead, his growing list of failed policies and ideas has been pinned on a predictable cast of scapegoats, including "underlings; Democrats (in general or specific); strawmen of any political stripe; or, in a pinch, other key members of the administration."
No mounting failure has proven more ripe for dismissal than his abysmal popularity and the effect it is set to have on the GOP in the midterms.
"Trump put on a master class of the technique during an interview with Punchbowl News last week," Brown wrote. "His abysmal polling numbers and string of unforced errors have threatened the GOP’s chances of holding control of Congress after the midterm elections. Trump insisted, though, that he isn’t the source of the problem: 'The question is, will they vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you. … They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.'”
In response, Trump's Cabinet has proven they are "willing to take his lessons to heart," even if none of them have quite mastered the art of deflection as the president has. Under the president's model, officials have learned that "blame can be spread laterally among equals, down toward subordinates or even backward against the flow of time, but never up to the top," often leaving "Federal staffers down the chain" unable to fight back against accusations.
"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been a skilled student in his time in office," Brown continued.
"In the early days of the war against Iran, the Pentagon chief was full of bravado and happy to take credit for what he claimed was a swift, decisive victory. As the conflict stretched out and munitions stockpiles have reportedly been massively depleted, he’s sought to duck any criticism. While begging Congress for a cash infusion to restore the military’s weapons supply, Hegseth both denied that there is even a shortage and also blamed the Biden administration for 'four years of underinvestment and mismanagement.'”
He concluded later: "Trump’s abdication of this tenet has fostered this fecundity of finger pointing. Beyond the unnecessary drama it engenders, it is simply no way to run a government. Without accountability, failures are left to fester instead of getting fixed. Trump has crafted an administration that follows his example in shirking responsibility, placing self-interest above the interests of the nation. The buck stops nowhere in Trump’s White House."
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NOTE RUBIO MILLER7 26 INT;L LEFT WING TERROR CONF, CUBA COMMIE
NSPM 7 ANTI-TRAD FAM? ANTI-CAPITALISM?
kinda globalist throwbACK?
rww
07/29/2026
by
Ali Alexander wants to "bring back book burning."
Finally, Chad Connelly claims that those promoting socialism "are really angry, wealthy elites" who seek to divide society: "It's godless. It's secular. It's anti-American. It's anti-freedom. It's anti-God."
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AN 4 26
President Donald Trump is known for his singular way of speaking. It tends to be, to quote Shakespeare, “full of sound and fury.” But according to a language expert writing for the New York Times, the Bard’s next line applies too, for when Trump speaks, much of what he says is “signifying nothing.”
Having spent two terms analyzing Trump’s speech patterns, linguist Sarah L. Kaufman identified a number of patterns.On one hand, Trump tends to speak in a manner that evades responsibility or obscures reality. As an example of this, Kaufman points to when he declared “We’ve won” at a rally in mid-March, even though everyone was well aware that the war was slogging on and delivering terrible consequences. “Let me tell you,” Trump insisted, “we’ve won.”
“Trump’s use of the past participle of ‘win’ expresses a completed action,” writes Kaufman. “’Win’ can’t mean victory when ongoing fighting continues to throw the world economy into chaos. This instance is one of many in which Mr. Trump uses crisp, straightforward verbs to obfuscate.”
Or take his recent statement, “I do believe I will be having the honor of taking Cuba.”
Again, says Kaufman, we see that lack of clarity: “He repeats ‘take’ — an aggressive word — while keeping its meaning hidden. Is he considering capturing the island’s president, as he did with Venezuela; attacking the infrastructure, as in Iran, or simply dragging out the economic torture to a brutal end?”
At the same time, Kaufman explains, he uses language to “proclaim a new form of leadership.”
“Forceful action verbs and verb phrases” like “tell, hit, crush, destroy, knock out, kill, obliterate” and others lend “drama and emotion” to Trump’s speeches, especially when he’s suggesting violence. According to Kaufman, there is a point to such language beyond that violence. While it could be dismissed as “mad ravings,” “reveling publicly over killing, and claiming that verb to describe one’s personal activity, undermines norms of democratic leadership.”
Trump also likes repetition, “restating simple verbs without further explanation … he uses these words to create maximal stakes and paint a vivid, if misleading, picture.”
As an example of this, she pointed to Trump’s State of the Union in January, where he attempted to pin blame for the affordability crisis on the Democrats, claiming, “You caused that problem. You caused that problem. They knew their statements were a lie. They knew it. They knew their statements were a dirty, rotten lie. Their policies created the high prices.”
Writes Kaufman, “He persisted with ‘cause,’ ‘know’ and ‘create,’ repeating the verbs in a chant.” He was leveraging “bullying aggression and hyperbole” to make “his message of blame stick in the minds of listeners… Yet the president did not elaborate on how his targets caused the problem; he offered no details to back up his accusations. The verbs were a dead end.”
She says that while Trump is effective at conjuring emotions with his speech, when it comes to communicating policy, he “reverts to a limited roster of reliable, often coarse verbs that he wields with bravado and uses to say very little.”
Or to once again borrow from Shakespeare, “It is a tale told by an idiot.”
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aha up good god freedom vs down dark devil tyranny
city on a hill is up and light [and freedom]; a beacon projects light, guides those that are lost, attracts to the side of good/god beacon inst koch BS shop
rww 3 24
john Eastman, a right-wing attorney who is in serious legal trouble for his intensive efforts to help former President Donald Trump stay in power after losing the 2020 election, continues to raise funds for his legal defense fund from Trump’s religious-right supporters. Eastman was the featured speaker at an online event hosted Monday night by the Salt and Light Council, a group that promotes “biblical citizenship.”
Eastman portrayed himself as making a heroic stand for truth and against tyranny, as he did last fall while fighting efforts by the California Bar Association to have him disbarred. Eastman used that trial to make the case that his 2020 claims about election fraud and illegality were legitimate but had never been fully considered by the courts. The judge’s decision in the disbarment trial was expected by March 1.
During his Salt and Light presentation, Eastman promoted his page on the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo, where people have contributed more than $630,000 to his legal defense fund so far. He said he’s “about a million in the hole beyond that right now,” adding that he thinks his total legal costs will run between $3 million and $3.5 million.
Eastman’s appearance made it clear that he remains as unrepentant about his work for Trump as he was last August, when he promoted debunked claims about the 2020 election and asserted that “the very existential threat that the country is under” justified his and Trump’s actions. On Monday’s Zoom call with Salt and Light activists, Eastman made similar claims. Citing the Founding Fathers and Abraham Lincoln, Eastman said, “And now, in this century, this is the fight comparable to those—the defense of freedom.” He went on:
And will this great shining city on a hill that has been a beacon to the rest of the world continue to be that beacon of light? Or will we go into an age of darkness? I can’t imagine anything more important than that fight. And so here we are on the front lines, and let’s just make sure we’re as well armed for it as we can.
Eastman portrayed himself as a defiant warrior for freedom and the future of the country:
Our country is on a precipice of losing our freedoms. And for whatever reason, I’ve been cast in the forefront of this battle. I’m on the battle lines, I’m on the ramparts. And I consider it one of the greatest honors of my life to be in the front of this fight for freedom, and fighting against tyranny. And I will do, I will engage in that fight with every fiber of my being as long as I’m able.
And he seems to have no doubt that he is up to the task:
I’ve been fighting for principled positions for my whole career. I’ve got one of the best law degrees and academic careers you can have. I clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States. I was a dean. I’ve got the skill set, God has given me the skill set to be in a position to fight this probably, at least as well as anybody else in the country. And so that’s what I do. And I’ll do it, you know, I’ll do it with a law degree as long as I have it. And I’ll do it without the law degree if they try and take that away from me, because this is an important fight to have.
Eastman had harsh words for his opponents, whether he was talking about the people trying to impose “a one world order,” public school teachers who undermine parents’ authority, members of the congressional Jan. 6 committee, or officials seeking to silence people who question the official line on vaccines, critical race theory, or transgender youth:
The folks we’re dealing with are evil. They don’t consider destroying our country as collateral damage for their overall mission, they consider that icing on the cake for their overall mission. I mean, we have to understand that we are dealing with pure evil, and the way you gotta, just you got to arm yourselves in truth and light, salt and light.
He urged the Salt and Light activists to get their churches politically engaged:
Your congregations, that’s a massive force, get them engaged, sign them up to vote, get the voter guides out in their hands and let them know who the decent people are, and who the folks that are mouthing platitudes are, whether in the primary elections or the general election. Get them engaged. Get them educated. This is an army that cannot be stopped if we would just launch it.
Salt and Light Council founder and President Dran Reese portrayed the ongoing legal prosecutions over the 2020 election in spiritual terms, praying that God would “overcome the devil in this case around John Eastman and President Trump.”
Video excerpts (full video linked above):
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an ah 7 25
With the Jeffrey Epstein controversy continuing to dominate headlines, President Donald Trump is using much of the rhetoric he used during Russiagate back in 2016 and 2017 as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Trump is accusing the mainstream media of pushing "fake news," railing against "the deep state," and repeatedly using the word "hoax." The president is also describing himself as the victim of a "witch hunt," a phrase he used during his two impeachments as well as when he was facing four criminal indictments.
Never Trump conservative David French, in his July 31 column for the New York Times, emphasizes that Trump and his allies are responding to the "ongoing Epstein saga by playing one of MAGA's greatest hits: the claim that Trump was the victim of a witch hunt, that the establishment attempted to destroy him even before he began his first term."
READ MORE:The one man who has the strength to finish off Donald Trump
"The (Trump) Administration's claims about the Russia investigation are designed to alter our understanding of history, to foster MAGA’s fake narrative of Trump and MAGA as perpetual victims of a maliciously corrupt 'deep state,'" French explains. "In fact, the response to the Russia story provided the template for how MAGA has responded to nearly every Trump scandal. And once you recognize the pattern, you can see it play out time and time again. It comes in four distinct steps."
Those "steps," according to French, are: (1) "redefine the scandal on the terms most favorable to Trump," (2) "lie relentlessly," (3) "ignore genuine concerns," and (4) "reverse the villains."
"Trump has run this same playbook for more than eight years," French argues. "Whether he was facing impeachment in 2019 over charges of threatening to hold back aid to Ukraine unless Ukraine investigated the Biden family or facing impeachment again over his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, the pattern is the same. It has worked on Republicans every single time. It works because he's telling them what they want to hear: Trump is not corrupt; his critics are."
French continues, "But for the first time since he announced his first campaign in June 2015, Trump's team has told his base something many definitely did not want to hear — and very much did not expect: that the Epstein scandal is less expansive than they thought, that there was nothing to see here. He has been flailing ever since. So it's no surprise that he turned back to the 'Russia hoax.' It was the first significant scandal of his administration, and the fight over the (Robert) Mueller investigation helped bond Trump to his base. But the real Russia hoax is the idea that there was nothing to investigate."
READ MORE:'We have it on video!' Ex-RNC chair rips Trump on 'doing the backstroke away from' Epstein
*David French's full New York Times column is available at this link (subscription required).
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NOTE DECRIES DEM RHET WHILE USING ELIMINATIONALIST
an 7 25
U.S. Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL) is calling Democrats who oppose the often warrantless raids and tactics used by President Donald Trump’s frequently masked ICE agents, “pawns” of an “anarchist agenda.”
Senator Moody on Thursday (video below) denounced “lawmakers using this really incendiary rhetoric and showing up at ICE facilities and saying it’s ‘inspiring’ that people are going after and targeting ICE, using words like the ‘Gestapo.'”
Telling Newsmax that she is the wife of a law enforcement officer, Moody noted that “we watch them day in, day out, put their lives on the line for us.”
“All they are doing,” she said of those opposing ICE, “by demonstrating these thoughtless, careless words that are inciting violence against officers — they are just showing that they are ignorant pawns of a subversive anarchist agenda, and that has to stop.”
READ MORE: ‘Absolute Cringe’: DHS Ridiculed After Attacking CNN Report—by Confirming It
On Wednesday, she also denounced Democrats opposing ICE.
“Yeah, to my colleagues and other lawmakers around this nation that are using words like ‘inspiring’ and encouraging these acts, I would just say, you have gone well beyond advancing and arguing for political parties.”
“You are now becoming more like agents of our foreign adversaries that want to destabilize our nation and attack our institutions and government.”
Commenting on the Trump Department of Justice now investigating former Obama CIA Director John Brennan and former Biden and Trump FBI Director Jim Comey, Senator Moody referred to them as “radicals” and praised President Donald Trump for “fumigating” those institutions.
“I’m gonna go back to the hypocrisy of the Democrats,” she told Fox News. “They keep talking about that Trump is bringing ‘retribution’ and that he’s using these institutions for political reasons. This is not retribution. This is fumigation.”
READ MORE: Trump Dodges, Denies and Deflects Questions as Ukraine Weapons Scandal Grows
“You’ve had radicals roaming in these institutions like termites, destabilizing them, weakening them, the Democrats talk about these institutions being weakened by Trump. He is fumigating these,” Moody continued.
“He is bringing back integrity and accountability, and I believe that these things should be looked at so that the American people can be restored and their belief in these institutions and know that they are, in fact, a government of the people, not a government of a political party seeking to deliver a political agenda.”
Watch the videos below or at this link.
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an 8 24
back in 1994, anthropologist Eugenie Scott (founder of the National Center for Science Education) coined a term for a debating technique favored by creationists: the "Gish gallop." That technique, named for creationist Duane Gish, has been used a lot by Christian fundamentalists since then, including those who are prominent figures in the Republican Party.
Writer Madhusudan Katti examines the use of the "Gish gallop" in an article published by Scientific American on August 20, arguing that it has had an extremely negative effect on U.S. politics.
"(Duane Gish's) tactic consisted of talking fast and with confidence, bombarding opponents with falsehoods, non-sequiturs and enough cherry-picked factoids to confuse the audience," Katti explains. "Scientists debating him faced the challenge of sifting half-truths from outright lies and finding the right evidence to refute them systematically, all within the few minutes allowed in response — which effectively meant that when the bell went off, the Gish gallop left the scientist 'stumped' and Gish declaring victory for creationism."
READ MORE:[Meet the prominent Republicans who are backing Harris at DNC
Katti cites Donald Trump's performance during his debate with President Joe Biden in late June as a prime example of the "Gish gallop" being used on an opponent.
"The migration of the Gish gallop from creationist's patter onto the presidential debate stage, and increasingly onto news opinion pages nationwide, exemplifies a dangerous debasement of honest dialogue in American life," Katti warns. "That both the public and its leaders pass over, or applaud, this kind of dishonesty on the highest political stage shows how integrity has taken a back seat to 'winning' power in politics, business and the so-called 'culture wars,' and now, (is) shrouding us in a fog of disinformation."
Trump, according to Katti, has used the "Gish gallop" repeatedly.
"In politics, the Gish gallop is precisely what Trump deployed in the June debate, putting Joe Biden at a significant disadvantage in attempting to refute even some of the falsehoods in the torrent of lies," Katti observes. "Trump, as anyone even half paying attention to his speeches knows, is an expert at the Gish gallop. He projects the utmost confidence while bombastically repeating lie after lie until it overwhelms his audience into either accepting every word he says as the truth, or walking off in disgust because there is no way to get him to acknowledge any truth."
READ MORE:['Mind blowing': Experts stunned by Harris' half a billion cash haul in 'just under a month'
Katti argues that when Vice President Kamala Harris debates Trump in September, she will need to "counter Trump's Gish gallop more forcefully" than Biden did in June.
Katti warns, "She will face a well-practiced con artist and loud dissembler who will flood the zone with enough falsehoods to outshout the former prosecutor and senator…. When it's her turn to respond, Harris should turn the tables on Trump by calling him out as a liar without bothering to refute each lie and refocus the audience on her own message."
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PREVIOUSLY REFERRED TO DARK DIRTY MIGRANTS? NAZIS AT CPAC 2 24
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weaponization 1 24 triggered by rubber reverse eric trump, but also jordan comer comm vs gubmint
AHA RUBBER REVERSE: originally used for trump norm busting early autocratic fascist lie power any means, hijack rubbered by benghazi 2 BS (impeach Biden, retaliation, muddy waters make term meaningless like fake news? war on eg xian is about victimization/ white grievance, but that means we GOP need a warrior to get our white priviledge back
// SARAH HUCKABEE REPLY TO SOTU BUT NOT SO CODED/ JARGONY // DAD STUMP RALLY RAMBLE?
an 1 24
eric Trump broadcast a barrage of fabrications and falsehoods about America, Democrats, and President Joe Biden, while promoting blatant propaganda supporting his father, Donald Trump, as voters went to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the New Hampshire presidential primary.
“You know there’s an all out war on family in this country,” Eric Trump declared while speaking to Newsmax. “There’s an all out war on God and religious freedom in this country. There’s certainly an all out war on freedom of speech and [the] First Amendment, you know, in this nation you guys have seen that, you’ve covered it probably every single day for the last three years.”
“People are sick and tired of nonsense,” Trump continued, offering up no examples to support his claims. “People want our economy back. They want low gas prices again, they don’t want World War Three to break out all over the world. They want to be able to, you know, worship God and speak freely and not be censored and not be de-platformed, and not have war waged against them and their their quality of life every single day. People are sick and tired of the games, and you know, they want to be able to live the American dream and that’s what my father did.”
Speaking to Ben Bergquam on the far right wing website Real America’s Voice, Eric Trump claimed, “they have weaponized the system so viciously, so nasty, that they thought he would actually drop out,” referring to Donald Trump’s presidential race.
Donald Trump is facing 91 criminal charges across four cases in three jurisdictions. He is also facing civil cases involving business fraud and defamation, and is now an adjudicated rapist, according to a judge.
READ MORE: Nikki Haley Dodges and Deflects When Asked if Kamala Harris Is ‘More Dangerous’ than Trump
“That was always their intent, you know, make it so painful for him that he didn’t want to stay in the race that he wanted to drop out that, you know, he realizes that his life and Mar-a-Lago would be exponentially nicer and more comfortable and everything else and give it back to the political elites in DC and, frankly, he did the exact opposite.”
He also claimed, “they weaponized every AG [attorney general] and DA [district attorney] in the country to go after him similarly, civilly and criminally.”
“It’ one sham after another,” Trump said, referring to efforts in multiple states to implement the 14th Amendment’s automatic, self-executing requirement that insurrectionists cannot hold office.
“And frankly, I think he’s made a lot of Americans really question their government, which is necessary, certainly in the world that we live in now, it’s so apparent what they’re doing. It’s also very sad because you would expect that America would be a lot better than that.”
“Democrats spent 20 years weaponizing every single system of government that we had, they weaponized the military, they weaponized DOJ, they weaponized the FBI, they’ve, they’ve weaponized all of it,” Eric Trump claimed.
Eric Trump also spoke with right-wing British politician turned broadcaster, Nigel Farage, in a Great Britain News interview, saying, “being president is the last thing that Donald Trump needs,” and claiming his father “can be living a much better life than getting indicted for nonsense because they want to weaponize the entire system.”
READ MORE: ‘No Labels Is a Lethal Scam’ Warns Top Constitutional Law Attorney
“Every single one of us. We get subpoenaed every day. We get this,” Trump declared. “Donald Trump’s better life is not in politics, and he does it every single day because he loves it. He loves his country, he loves the Western world.”
Also on Real America’s Voice, Eric Trump declared, “Joe Biden is the worst president that we’ve ever seen.”
Speaking to NBC News’ Kristen Welker, Eric Trump claimed the enthusiasm in New Hampshire is the best he’s ever seen. Some journalists have said the enthusiasm is not there.
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small rando interesting eg?
Exclusive: Circuit Court Ruling on Biden DOE's Appliance Regulation 'a Win' for Americans
PJ Media
Climate Depot's Marc Morano called the DOE's revoked regulations “a complete bypassing of democracy through the unelected regulatory state” and ...
Exclusive: Circuit Court Ruling on Biden DOE’s Appliance Regulation ‘a Win’ for Americans
CATHERINE SALGADO | 6:52 PM ON JANUARY 09, 2024
The Biden Department of Energy (DOE) just lost a case on its heavy and damaging regulation of laundry and dishwashing machines, and a consumer advocate is celebrating the move as “a win” for Americans’ “consumer choice.”
Fifth Circuit Court judges Clement, Wilson, and Oldham ruled on Jan. 8: “In 2022, the Department of Energy tightened the regulatory regime surrounding America’s dishwashers and laundry machines. Petitioners sued. The Department’s actions were arbitrary and capricious. So we grant the petition and remand to the Department.”
The Biden administration has been attempting to wage a war on appliances on multiple occasions and fronts, partly due to its radical and unscientific climate alarmist agenda.
Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild is one expert who sees the court ruling as a victory. Consumers’ Research is a consumer advocacy organization that says it is “focused on educating consumers on the policies, products, and services of concern to them and to promote the freedom to act on that knowledge and understanding.”
This new ruling against the DOE appears to be pro-freedom and pro-consumer. “This is a fantastic ruling for American consumers,” Hild said in exclusive comments to PJ Media.
Hild explained that the DOE appliance regulations came out of the Biden administration’s Environmental, Social, and Governance goals (ESG, or woke standards poisoning our government and businesses). “These regulations were part of Biden’s ESG agenda, that was more about pushing a radical environmentalist agenda than protecting and serving consumers, and today is a win for consumer choice and our standard of living,” Hild said.
*For Our VIPs:I’m So Glad I Have a Gas Stove Right Now
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/this-is-an-evil-country-christian-fascist-nick-fuentes-fumes-over-biden-speech/
rww 9 22
Joe Biden delivered a speech last week from Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in which he warned that former President Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters “represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
Nick Fuentes, the racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, America-hating, Christian fascist leader of the white nationalist America First movement, is precisely the sort of MAGA activist that Biden was warning about. So naturally, Fuentes reacted to Biden’s speech Thursday night by unleashing an extended rant in which declared that “the United States of America is controlled by Satan” and has been taken over by “the Jews.”
“[Biden] is saying ‘Look, I’m the big gay American empire, :{and I’m gonna kill all the enemies of liberalism,” Fuentes }
:{. “That’s what he’s saying. Biden is there saying, ‘This is global homoand I’m the puppet face of it. I’m the puppet face of world Jewry and global homo and we’re gonna crush all these fascists.'”}:
“The whole thing is just a lie,” Fuentes continued. “The whole thing is a sham. Biden is a puppet. The elections are fake. The social media companies are rigged. The elections are rigged. The news couldn’t be more Jewed-up; Jewed-up, moneyed-up, corporate,under the thumb of the Illuminati, whatever. It’s all real man.”
“The devil is in charge of the world,” Fuentes griped. “Satan is in charge of America. If you don’t realize that, you’re not paying attention. And that’s not even an exaggeration. Satan runs America. I’m a patriot, but the United States of America is controlled by Satan right now. The United States is the great Satan in the world. The United States is controlled by Satan. The regime that runs America is controlled by Satan. And the regime that controls America is the empire that casts a shadow over the world. Satan runs the Western world. When you talk about the West, when you talk about democracy, you’re talking about the devil.”
“If you don’t see the hand of the demonic and all of this, you’re not paying attention,” he said. “It’s the porn empire. It’s thegay porno, abortion, feminist, diabolic empire. That’s what America stands for and it’s wrong.”
“Wake up and smell the coffee, this is an evil country,” Fuentes went on. “Until this country stands for God and the godly, this is an evil country. So, that’s just the way it is. And look at who runs it: a lot of Jews. The Jews hate me. The Jews hate me. And do you know else the Jews hate? Jesus Christ. I hate to say it. Nobody wants to say that part. People want to talk about the [Chinese communists] and everything else. I’m sick of it. You know what? It’s Jews.”
“Fuck democracy,” Fuentes proclaimed. “I stand with Jesus Christ. You can have Philadelphia, and you can have democracy. Democracy is the soul of our nation? You can have it. Christ is the soul of this nation. You can have the United States. Christ is the soul of America. We’re going to have a new country; it’s not going to be called the United States, it’s going to be called America [and] it’s going to be a Christian nation.”...[vid]
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eg see deny deflect ctr-attack accusation
WASHINGTON TIMES: DAVID BOSSIE:THE OPTICS OF THE STALE JAN. 6 HEARINGSAND PRO-ABORTION PROTESTS
by David Bossie | May 18, 2022
What a bizarre spectacle it’s going to be the week of June 9 when the illegitimate Jan. 6 select committeefinally kicks off itsultra-partisanpublic hearings at the U.S. Capitol as left-wing civic unrest is occurring simultaneously across the street at the...
FOX NEWS: DAVID BOSSIE: Elections in Georgia, elsewhere show Republican voters love ‘America First’ candidates
FOX NEWS: DAVID BOSSIE: ON HUNTER BIDEN, WHITE HOUSE CAN RUN BUT IT CANNOT HIDE MUCH LONGER
by David Bossie | Apr 27, 2022
As the old saying goes, the chickens are finally coming home to roost. The revelation that a close business associate of Hunter Biden’s [NO NAME GIVEN? FOX PPL KNOW?] was granted access to the Obama-Biden White House on nearly 20 occasions is the just latest shoe to drop in a Pulitzer...
As the old saying goes, the chickens are finally coming home to roost. The revelation that a close business associate of Hunter Biden’s was granted access to the Obama-Biden White House on nearly 20 occasions is the just latest shoe to drop in a Pulitzer Prize-worthy story of power and corruption that’s becoming known simply as “Biden, Inc.”
This new disclosure is part of the shady operation that the mainstream media ignored for years to cover for Joe Biden — is now picking up steam at the worst possible time for the president.
It’s a textbook case of the Washington swamp at its worst and how the politically connected cash in on family members who are elected to high office year after year. And it’s high time for the Biden White House to finally start answering questions.
Richard Nixon answered questions about Watergate. Ronald Reagan answered questions about Iran-Contra. Bill and Hillary Clinton answered questions about Whitewater. Donald Trump answered more questions than any president ever about every topic imaginable. So, why does Joe Biden continue to get the kid gloves treatment?
The White House press corps must make life difficult for this White House on the issue of alleged Biden family corruption because it’s their job to do so, period.
The days ofarrogant Press Secretary Jen Psakibeing let off the hook by her pals in the liberal mediamust come to an end. This is a serious matter that must be dealt with in an up front and transparent manner.
Attorney General Merrick Garland should start by getting his department’s investigation of Hunter Biden out of the hands of President Biden and his political cronies in the West Wing.
It’s a nice talking point, but it doesn’t matter that the U.S. attorney in Delaware who’s conducting the investigation is a Trump appointee; what matters is that the Biden Justice Department cannot be trusted to oversee an investigation into a member of the president’s family — or potentially the president himself. It’s a crystal clear conflict of interest and is the very reason that the special counsel statute exists in the first place.
Appointing an independent special counsel in this case is simply the right thing to do. Refusing to do so is part of the reason why a whopping 56 percent of the American people “don’t trust the government much or at all” to do what is right according to recent survey data.
Furthermore, House Republicans should be putting pressure on the Democrat-controlled Congress tostart asking questions aboutHunter Biden now — or it’s going to make the tsunami that’s coming their way in November that much worse.
Never before has a party in control of Congress been allowed to ignore a story of this magnitude. Hunter’s international business ties to China, Russia and Ukraine alone are enough for even a casual observer to wonder if President Biden is compromised.
Many believe that the Biden family’s financial connections to our adversaries are a threat to U.S. national security and that it’s long past time for Congress to fulfil its constitutional oversight duty — regardless of who’s in the majority.
Surely the Pelosi-controlled House of Representatives can handle more than just the January 6 Committee’s nonstop harassment of former President Trump.
If only thebiased media had done its job on the Biden family corruptionstory from the get-go.
If only Big Tech hadn’t censoredthe story aboutHunter’s laptopfor so long. If only theTrump-hating Washington establishment hadn’t falsely labeled it Russia disinformation.
If this story had been investigated then, what’s been revealed this week and what’s in store in the weeks to come would have come out a long time ago; and it wouldn’t be putting Biden’s presidency in jeopardy. The cover-up is almost always worse than the crime — and much more politically costly. [FOR? AND HE CARES WHY?]
In August 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency because [GOLDWATER AN OTHER GOP STOOD UP FOR RULE OF LAW AND TOLD HIM THEY WD VOTE FOR.] he realized he was going to be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.
Now fast-forward to 2022. Biden family corruption makes Watergate look like a parking citation. And let’s face reality; it’s only going to get worse when Republicans take back the majority in Congress and start exercising their subpoena and deposition authority.
Joe Biden should consider following in the footsteps of Tricky Dick — it might also save the Democratic Party in the process.
David N. Bossie is president of Citizens United,a Fox News contributor,the 2016 deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump for President, and the former chief investigator [WAS HE? FIRED?] for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight during the Clinton administration. He is the co-author with Corey Lewandowski of “Trump: America First: The President Succeeds Against All Odds,” along with “Let Trump Be Trump” and “Trump’s Enemies.”
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5 22
Liberals still take right-wing propaganda too literally. This is partly because we are liberal. We are often annoying pedants. If there’s an error in one’s thinking, liberals can be trusted to rush in and correct it.
That’s usually as far as it goes, alas.
Consider the reaction among liberals to the latest bit of incoherence by the Republican National Committee. It tweeted: “11,007 pounds of methamphetamine was seized at the southern border in April alone!”
It’s a variation on a familiar theme. “Joe Biden has created the WORST border crisis on record,” the account said last month. Also: “234,088 illegal immigrants were encountered crossing the border in April.”
The RNC says these facts are evidence of a “border crisis” that the president – as well as the vice president – are ignoring. We are not told, but expected to understand, that this “border crisis” is part of a leftwing “open border policy” that’s bent on “replacing Americans.”
What was the reaction among liberals?
Pretty typical.
Rightwing word-power
If immigrants are being apprehended and detained at the border, that means they didn’t get away with breaking federal immigration law.
The law is working as it’s supposed to.
Ergo, there is no border crisis.
If the border patrol is seizing drugs and contraband at the border, then law enforcement officers are doing what they should. So … what crisis?
Among liberals, the question appears to be: Why do Republican propagandists keep saying there’s a crisis at the border when the evidence they present to prove a border crisis proves the opposite?
I don’t think anyone is satisfied, because virtually no one has gone beyond the fact that claims of a border crisis are self-evidently bunk.
Worse is when liberals are content with pointing out the flaws in logic. Liberals, as is their wont, confuse liberal virtue for liberal politics.
And liberals lose.
To the rightwingers, language is about power. It’s not about meaning or coherence or sense-making or freedom of speech or thought.
Why would they use language everyone understands when such a social, democratic and equitable approach to language undermines their goal of protecting and defending the natural order of things?
Instead, they use words that everyone else thinks they understand fully but that only the natural and chosen in-group fully understands.
Liberals should presume their word-power is a fetish.
Fetish? Yes, fetish
I do not mean an obsession.
That’s a common understanding of the meaning of the word “fetish.” To be sure, a fetish can be an obsession, but it’s not only that.By “fetish,” I mean a thing that’s really a stand-in for another thing. It’s a blank line that Republican propagandists know rightwingers will gladly fill in.
I mean there’s no there there.
The principle there is the one that isn’t there.
A man with a foot fetish isn’t not aroused sexually by feet or the visual representation of feet. Feet are a stand-in for something else. Feet are a vessel into which fetishists pour associations with sexual pleasure.
Once liberals see the there that isn’t there, they can react effectively. Instead of meeting righting politics with liberal virtue, as they usually do, they can meet it with equal and opposite liberal politics.
Abortion isn’t about abortion. Immigration isn’t about immigration. Gun rights are not about guns. I have explained all this before.
What I haven’t explained is that laws at the center of these “hot button issues” is not the right-winger’s principal concern. It can’t be.
The closer you look, the clearer it is that “the law,” “lawlessness,” “law-abiding” and “the rule of law” are not what they seem to be.
The law is supposed to apply equally to a people created equally. When right-wingers say “the law,” they can’t mean equal treatment under law.
Equal treatment undermines their goal.
“The law” is, therefore, a fetish, a blank line, an empty vessel.
“The law” is a stand-in for “white power.”
Rightwing politics, liberal virtue
A Senate subcommittee held a hearing last week about a proposed federal law similar to a Connecticut statute permitting police to seize guns owned by perpetrators of domestic abuse and violence before they have a chance to murder women fleeing their abuse and violence.
US Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, is on the panel. He said:
If the objective is to stop violent crime, what is effective is targeting actual violent criminals. The approach of today’s Senate Democrats is to try to go after the firearms of law-abiding citizens instead of targeting the violent criminals that are the real threat. Firearms, yes, are used by violent criminals but they are also used over and over and over again by victims of violent crimes to defend themselves.
In response, US Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said:
Congress … should have eliminated the loopholes that leave women in the crosshairs of violent spouses and partners with guns a long time ago. What we’re talking about, I say to my colleague from Texas, is not going to take away gun rights for law-abiding citizens.
Wyden is correct. No law-abiding citizen would be affected by a federal version of Connecticut’s “Lori’s Law.” It would instead affect citizens who have committed criminal acts of domestic violence.
But Wyden did what most liberals do when confronted by statements that are not intended to make sense. He took them literally. Cruz’s words are mistaken, he said, before “correcting” Cruz’s word-power.
Wyden met rightwing politics with liberal virtue.
He failed to see the there that isn’t there.
White is the law is a gun
When Cruz talks about “law-abiding citizens,” he’s not talking about law-abiding citizens. That’s a fetish, a blank line, an empty vessel.
It’s a stand-in for white men, for white power.
White men are “the law” by dint of being white men. No one else can be the law. If nonwhite people try to enforce the law equally, white men are under no obligation to respect their effects, because the law, when it’s prosecuted by nonwhite people, isn’t legitimate. It’s lawless.
Cruz accused President Barack Obama of being “the most lawless president in the history of the United States.” He said it was because the former president refused to enforce federal immigration law.
What he really meant was that “the law” and “a Black man” are incompatible terms in America. A Black man is subject to “the law” – to white power, yes. He is not, however, enforcer of “the law” – of white power. That can’t be. That would be a perversion of the natural order.
Indeed, “the rule of law” was seen as “rule by a Black man.”
After the reelection of the first Black president, and after 20 school children were shot to pieces at Sandy Hook, the GOP made sure to right the wrong of “rule by a Black man.” They passed laws allowing white men to take “the law” into their own hands – with a gun.
Legal is white, illegal is not white
The Senate subcommittee hearing occurred the week after a law-abiding citizen legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle, drove 200 miles to the East side of Buffalo and shot to pieces 10 Black people.
The Democrats wasted a chance to see the there that’s not there – that “law-abiding” is a stand-in for white power, that it’s an empty vessel into which a white-power terrorist by the name of Payton Gendron poured meaning in order to take “the law” into his own hands.
Liberals should pay less attention to what right-wingers say and more attention to what they mean. Liberals should presume the principle there is the one that isn’t there. And they should spell it out for normal people in order to ask if this is the kind of country they want to live in.
You can’t beat right-wing politics with liberal virtue.
You can with liberal politics.
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note bad faith; note violence is always defensive and he is careful never to explicitly call for it.
180 pp gt replace manifesto, dad bought him one of the guns?
https://www.alternet.org/2022/05/matt-gaetz/
amanda
in the 16 months since Jan. 6, 2021, Donald Trump and the hosts Fox News hosts — especially its top-rated personality, Tucker Carlson — haven't exactly been subtle in approving of what happened and longing to see more right-wing violence. Trump has publicly mused about issuing pardons to the Capitol insurrectionists if he wins back — or rather steals back — the White House in 2024. Like many of the far-right Republicans in Congress, Trump has also made a martyr out of Ashli Babbitt, the QAnon believer who was shotduring the Capitol riot when she tried to break into a secure area and quite likely attack members of Congress. Carlson, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of popularizing various often contradictory conspiracy theories, mostly intended to portray the Jan. 6 insurrectionists as noble patriots and lambaste any Republican who dares say otherwise. While these GOP leaders and media personalities are generally careful to avoid direct calls for violence, their overall message of sympathy and support for right-wing terrorism is undeniable.
So Saturday's mass shooting in Buffalo, while horrifying, is really no surprise.
The alleged shooter who killed 10 people and injured three others in a Buffalo supermarket is 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who appears to have target a busy location in a predominantly Black neighborhood. As has become far too common with these kinds of mass murders, Gendron reportedly live-streamed the massacre on video, and apparently also published a manifesto that echoes many of the paranoid right-wing talking points one can hear every day streaming from the mouths of Fox News hosts and Republican politicians: a series of scurrilous lies about "critical race theory," George Soros and the "great replacement."
Now a familiar refrain will commence. No doubt we will be hear a great deal of umbrage in the coming days from Republican leaders and right-wing pundits. "How dare you blame us?" they will proclaim, in almost hysterical terms, acting shocked, shocked, that anyone would suggest that their words have had horrible consequences. The point of this fake outrage will be to make it too emotionally exhausting to hold them accountable, and to reinforce the ridiculous victim complex that fuels the American right as it increasingly slides into fascism. But let's not mince words: These folks share the blame. They have been encouraging violence, and violence is what they got.
The "great replacement" theory has been a favorite of Carlson's for some time now. This particular paranoid hypothesis is deeply rooted in neo-Nazi and other white nationalist circles. A cabal of rich Jewish people, the theory holds, has conspired to "replace" white Christian Americans with other races and ethnic groups in order to gain political and social control. Carlson doesn't actually say "Jews," and generally blames the sinister plan on Democrats, socialists or unspecified "elites," but otherwise has kept the conspiracy theory intact. (Antisemitism remains the mix by singling out individual Jewish people especially Soros, as the alleged ringleaders.)
It's not like Carlson only invokes this narrative on occasion. As Media Matters researcher Nikki McCann Ramirez has documented, Carlson is obsessed with this idea that the people he calls "legacy Americans" — a not-so-veiled euphemismfor white Christians of European ancestry — are under siege from shadowy forces flying the banner of diversity. He uses anodyne terms like "demographic change" to make the point, but has gotten bolder more recently, using the word "replacement" to make it even clearer that he's borrowing his ideas from the white-supremacist fringe.
Carlson has also explicitly linked this conspiracy theory to the threat of violence, repeatedly "warning" that America faces a new civil war unless these fictional conspirators stop trying to "replace" his cherished "legacy Americans." The GOP base has been getting the message. A poll conducted in December showed that nearly half of Republican respondents buy into the idea that there's a conspiracy to "replace" white Christians with different racial and ethnic groups. That proportion has probably risen since then, as Carlson's deluge has further mainstreamed this delusional and dangerous notion. Unsurprisingly, there has been a concurrent rise in hate crimes, of which this Buffalo shooting is merely the most dramatic recent example.
When called out for stoking a conspiracy theory that is likely to inspire violence, Carlson inevitably plays the victim, accusing liberals of being "hysterical" and characterizing these criticisms as "cancel culture." This only encourage his viewers to embrace the conspiracy theory even more, telling themselves that they (and he) are bold truth-tellers fighting against the forces of liberal oppression. That's why the how-dare-they posturing we will almost certainly see from Carlson and other right-wing pundits in coming days so predictable. This article, for instance, will quite likely be characterized as hysterical name-calling or an attempt to censor bold political speech. But let's understand this feigned outrage for what it is: an attempt to leverage an act of terrorism in a way that leads people to accept it or even condone it.
The "great replacement" theory fits in with the larger pattern of right-wing Republicans (especially our former president and his allies) and Fox News pundits encouraging not just right-wing paranoia, but the inevitable acts of violence that flow from it. The most straightforward example of this, of course, is the relentless rewriting of the history of Jan. 6, which began in the immediate aftermath and continues to this day. Republican leaders in Congress voted down Trump's impeachment only weeks after the riot and have tried to block congressional efforts to uncover exactly how the attempted coup went down.
Over this past winter, Fox News, Trump and other GOP leaders made another big push towards political violence, hyping outrageous conspiracy theories about COVID vaccines and encouraging their audiences toward aggressive acts of so-called resistance. As with Carlson, these threats are often packaged as "warnings," as when Trump declared on Fox News in February, "You can push people so far and our country is a tinderbox too, don't kid yourself." Around the same time, Carlson, Sean Hannity, Carlson and Glenn Beck all started pushed the idea that anti-vaccination fanatics were potentially justified in using violence as "self-defense."
Indeed, as the shooting was unfolding in Buffalo, there was an overt call for right-wing violence at Trump's rally in Austin, Texas, where oock geezer turned gun advocate Ted Nugent told the crowd of 8,000 that he'd "love" it if they all "went out and just went berserk on the skulls of the Democrats and the Marxists and the communists." In his speech afterward, Trump praised Republican politicians in Texas, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who have slavishly proven their loyalty to him.
Many of the people arrested for their actions on Jan. 6 , 2021, have stopped being apologetic about what they did, and are now portraying themselves as martyrs and heroes. Last week, one of the most prominent ringleaders on the insurrection,Tim "Baked Alaska" Gionet, a troll to the very end, dramatically declared at a hearing that he was changing his plea. He had agreed to plead guilty to a lesser offense, but now wants to plead not guilty, even though he filming himself inside the Capitol during the riot and put the evidence online. Other Jan. 6 defendants have also become more confrontational, including pulling a gun on probation officers, acquiring new guns in defiance of a court order, or claiming that their actions on that dayamounted to "self-defense." In fairness, why shouldn't they feel emboldened? Most Republican voters, along with the party's leadership, are more interested in making excuses for Trump's coup than holding anyone accountable for it.
And all of the above doesn't even touch on the way Republican politicians and right-wing media have mainstreamed the QAnon conspiracy theory by regularly slurring Democrats, LGBTQ folks and their allies as "groomers." Demonizing political opponents with false allegations of pedophilia is unbelievably slimy, even by Republican standards. It also serves to inspire or encourage potential acts of violence, by dehumanizing their targets and creating a delusional narrative that makes such attacks seem justified.
Perhaps the horror unleashed in Buffalo on Saturday will cause Carlson and his allies to rethink their paranoid, racist and inflammatory rhetoric. That is doubtful, however. After all, this is just the latest in a series of mass shootings inspired by the "great replacement" theory, including the
Just this week, the conspiracy theory got another round of hype as Republican pundits and politicians pretended to believe that President Biden was stealing baby formula from Americans to feed "illegals," their slur for refugees applying for asylum. Those who would support deliberately starving babies for racist and xenophobic reasons aren't likely to feel any real empathy for the victims and their families in Buffalo. We cannot legitimately hope that they will be chastened by this latest round of violence, but we can make clear that their hateful rhetoric helped to unleash it.
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https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/groomer-speech/
edit bd
Something I’ve been meaning to tell you. My dad is a pedophile. I’m not the victim. As always, though, there’s never just one. The ties that bound my family have largely come undone. Pain is now a feature, not a bug, of our lives. It’s a story without ending, nevermind a happy one.
So you can imagine what it felt like to see Republicans in the United States Senate using the word “pedophile” (as well as “child-predator”) during the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Their use of it was loose, irrelevant, warped and worse. The purpose was advancing conspiracy theories already spreading. The goal was smearing the new Supreme Court justice with the smell of evil.
Worst of all, by overusing it, they watered down the word. They hollowed out its primary moral essence. They created conditions in which my dad and other pedophiles can now plausible say their crimes aren’t as bad as they say. Just look at what the Democrats are doing.
Child abuse, predation, child molestation and rape – these are real problems responsible citizens much find humane ways of addressing while serving the often conflicting needs for rehabilitaton and justice.
These are real social, political and criminal problems.
By belittling them, the Republicans insult us.
They piss into the wounds of real victims, too.
That’s what you’d expect from a political party operating on the edge of political violence. Justice Jackson’s confirmation hearings were a case in point, according to Gabriel Rosenberg, a professor of gender, sexuality and feminist studies at Duke. During our interview, Professor Rosenberg walked me through the four stages of “groomer speech.”
“You're seeing a way in which partisan interests are pursued through the figure of the pedophile, not because any of these people give a damn about the sexual well-being of children, but because it's an incredibly charged and politically potent thing they can hurl.”
On Twitter, you offered an analysis of the rhetoric surrounding Florida’s new Don’t Say Gay legislation. That rhetoric seems to weaponize words like “pedophile” and “child predator” and other things beyond the pale. You outlined four items. Can you explain?
The basic thesis of what I'm calling the “groomer panic,” which I think is coherently understood as a moral panic, or sex panic, is that has the capacity to be significantly more dangerous than comparable sex panics in the past in which similar sorts of rhetorical weaponization of the terms “pedophile” or “child predator” had been deployed.
It has the possibility of spilling into actual political violence.
I made four points.
First, “groomer speech” is using the metaphor of child sexual abuse to describe educational content that rightwing forces disapprove of.
This metaphor of violent physical harm is being used to describe a disagreement over educational content and the underlying speech acts constituting that content. There is a confusion about different kinds of harm and a confusion about the difference between speech and act.
Second, this confusion means concrete evidence of child sex abuse is no longer necessary. Instead, the evidence is the speech act itself.
It becomes the case then that anyone can be credibly accused of being a “groomer,” not because there's evidence of grooming, but because such person has dissented from a preferred framework among conservatives for the understanding of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law.
“Groomer” describes dissent from conservatism writ large.
There is specificity to the claim about “pedophile” that is itself unique and dramatic. I describe it as having an eliminationist intention.
Third, “groomer speech” is distinguishable from “subjugating speech.”
“Subjugating speech” might incite violence. It's possible. It has before. But broadly, it’s intended to justify social and political inequalities.
“Pedophile” is a specific term, however. It carries, at least in rightwing communities, a claim that the individual in question is pathologically invested in harming the most vulnerable members of society.
There's no interest in governing such individuals.
It's not about establishing them as second-class citizens.
It's about putting them to death.
That separates it from a general class of what I’m calling “subjugating speech” intended to degrade or lessen a person but isn't necessarily a suggestion that they and all people like them ought to be eliminated.
Fourth, “groomer speech” is not being directed at minorities.
At various points in American history, conservatives have accused gay people and other sexual (and sometimes racial) minorities of intending to prey on kids – they behave in a predatory fashion toward children.
What's interesting about “groomer speech” and what's most alarming about its use by the right is the charge being directed at powerful people who cannot by any measure be identified with a minority.
When Marjorie Taylor Greene said Mitt Romney is “pro-pedophile,” she's talking about the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee.
When James Lindsay called Nate Hochman, a writer for National Review, a “groomer,” he's talking about a conservative in good standing, or was. He's saying this individual also wants to abuse children.
This is radically different.
It's now about disciplining ingroup versus outgroup identity within conservatism writ large. It’s about reformatting and hardening the line between people who are conservative and people who are not.
In the end, conservatives are the good ones. They're anti-pedophile. Anyone who dissents from the conservative framework is therefore pro-pedophile. They constitute individuals who must be eliminated.
Ted Cruz used to talk about “San Francisco values.” Others talked about “the gay agenda.” Those are more abstract than “pedophile.” You’re saying we’ve arrived at a new and more explicit point in the evolution of conservative rhetoric. Is that accurate?
That's generally correct.
I would add that on the right, they're open to the idea of people who prey on children deserving the most extreme forms of violence.
I don't think anybody on the far right is trying to hide that.
That’s fundamentally important.
“Groomer speech” is deployed to advance virtually anything that fits within the broader political program of the conservative movement.
Right now, it's about targeting people who dissent from a particular kind of orthodoxy around interpretation of educational content.
But then we saw it coming into play in specious arguments about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's sentencing record – that she was “pro-pedophile.” Therefore Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski [“moderate” Republican senators who voted for her confirmation to the Supreme Court] were also “pro-pedophile.”
It's spilling into confirmations of Supreme Court nominees.
That's a break from the past.
That speaks to the flexibility and centrality of the charge eventually becoming the basis of things like criminal policy, militarization, policing, tax policy and labor policy. It can become a basic rhetorical strategy the far right uses to justify whatever they want to justify.
You're with us and the children.
Or you're on the other side with the pedophiles.
I’m thinking of eugenics. The antipathy toward LGBTQ people comes from the idea that LGBTQ-ness infects white people. As a result, they don't have enough babies. With too few white babies, white people risk becoming a minority. How would you understand that?
During the early human eugenics movement, there was a great deal of enthusiasm in the United States for coercive sterilization of anyone who exhibited homosexual tendencies or who desired sex with men.
There was this idea that homosexuality constituted a dangerous social contagion that needed to be eliminated from society regardless of whether it could be passed on as a congenital defect. It was that grave.
Immediately after World War II, there was something the Lavender Scare period in which heightened concern about male homosexuality resulted in the creation of a lot of criminal psychopathology laws.
These law created legal justification for jailing and sterilizing gay people under the auspices of gay people preying on innocent children.
So the far right isn’t punching down. It's punching sideways – or even up in the case of senators. Is there a link historically between that and a leap into political violence? Do they go hand in hand?
I think Judge Jackson's confirmation hearings clearly illustrate how this works. The Republican Party did not want to see anyone vote for her. Various Republican senators fixated on a specious charge that she'd been light on sentencing people who possessed child pornography.
It was so specious that Andrew McCarthy, who is a notable and extremely right wing figure with National Review, basically labeled it “demagoguery.” He said there were better reasons to oppose her.
The right mobilized after labeling her “pro-pedophile.” From there, they disciplined GOP apostates by labeling them “pro-pedophile,” too. They wanted to show as much opposition as they could.
Actual sexual harm to children had nothing to do with it.
But once it got invoked, it became a disciplinary tool.
You're seeing a way in which partisan interests are pursued through the figure of the pedophile, not because any of these people give a damn about the sexual well-being of children, but because it's an incredibly charged and politically potent thing they can hurl.
That kind of irresponsibility, with no bottom, carries with it its own momentum. It can become more and more difficult to control.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/05/climate-change-attorneys-general/
no lnx
POLITICS & POLICY
The Climate-Change Gang
By SCOTT PRUITT
& LUTHER STRANGE
May 17, 2016
The Obama administration lawlessly rewards its supporters and punishes its enemies.
The United States was born out of a revolution against, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, an “arbitrary government” that put men on trial “for pretended offences”and “abolish[ed] the Free System of English laws.” Brave men and women stood up to that oppressive government, and this, the greatest democracy of them all, one that is governed by the rule of law and not by men, is the product.
Some of our states have forgotten this founding principle and are acting less like Jefferson and Adams and more like George III. A group of Democratic attorneys general has announced it intends to criminally investigate oil and gas companies that have disputed the science behind man-made global warming. Backed bygreen-energy interests and environmentalist lobbying groups, the coalition has promised to use intrusive investigations, costly litigation, and criminal prosecutions to silence critics of its climate-change agenda. Pretended offenses, indeed.
We won’t be joining this coalition, and we hope that those attorneys general who have joined will disavow it. Healthy debate is the lifeblood of American democracy, and global warming has inspired one of the major policy debates of our time. That debate is far from settled. Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. That debate should be encouraged — in classrooms, public forums, and the halls of Congress. It should not be silenced with threats of prosecution. Dissent is not a crime.
RELATED: Obama’s Latest Executive Action: Spend Hundreds of Billions to Not Help the Environment]
Sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this tactic of advancing the climate-change agenda by any means necessary. President Obama’s Clean Power Plan is a particularly noteworthy example. This EPA regulation, one of the most ambitious ever proposed, will shutter coal-fired power plants, significantly increase the price of electricity for American consumers, and enact by executive fiat the very same cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions that Congress has rejected.
The Clean Power Plan was promulgated without any consultation with Congress.No bills were debated, no votes were taken, and the representatives of the American people had no opportunity to object or offer their own suggestions. Thechecks and balancesbuilt into our system of government were simply ignored as inconvenient impediments to the president’s agenda.
The Clean Power Plan was promulgated without any consultation with Congress. No bills were debated, no votes were taken.
But in our states, we believe in and govern with respect for the rule of law, rather than by ambition to use the power of our governments to stifle political opponents. That is why we are part of a very different kind of coalition, a coalition of 29 states seeking to vindicate the rule of law by challenging the legality of the Clean Power Plan in our courts. The 29 states and state attorneys general who are part of this effort respect our proper role, which is neither to pick winners and losers in the energy sectornor to silence those with whom we disagree. Rather, our job is to hold the EPA accountableto the laws that created it and to fulfill our statutory duties to ensure that consumers in our states have access to reliable, affordable energy. We will continue to pursue those goals and to present our arguments in the courts and in the public square, treating our opponents with the respect they deserve.
RELATED: Obama’s ‘Clean Power Plan’ Punishes Workers, Consumers, and States That Voted for Romney]
It’s unfortunate that this respect is not always returned. In their press conference, the group of state attorneys general called themselves an “unprecedented coalition.” On this point, they are correct. Rarely in our nation’s history has the police power of the state been so eagerly used to intimidate citizens [corporations?] into silence.
But even more troubling are internal e-mails and other documents that indicate that this coercion was orchestrated not by the attorneys general themselves, but by green-energy advocacy groups using these officials as puppets to further their extreme agendas. This should frighten us all. Outside groups should not be able to use the power of the government as a sword to go after their political opponents.
We do not doubt the sincerity of the beliefs of our fellow attorneys general about climate change and the role human activity plays in it. [why/how could you? thy can and shd doubt yours?] But we call upon them to press those beliefs through debate [like in a courtroom?], not through governmental intimidation of those who disagree with them. Few things could be more un-American.
— Scott Pruitt is the attorney general of Oklahoma. Luther Strange is the attorney general of Alabama.
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pension plan?
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-trump-energy-secretary-rick-perry-says-criticizing-oil-and-gas-industry-unpatriotic
DANA PERINO (CO-ANCHOR): Let's show everybody this graph here of what it has been like over the past year.You are paying at the pump, you kind of know, you can go back to March of 2021 and look at the steady increase in gas prices all the way up to then you see the big spike and that is when Russia invaded Ukraine. Just practically, sir, if you look in Texas, the number of oil and gas wells there that are not perhaps producing right now.Just practically, how long would it take to start getting more domestic energy production into the system?
RICK PERRY (FORMER SECRETARY OF ENERGY): I think it would probably take a year to get more production in but I think, Dana, the more important thing is what I said earlier about if they sent the messages that we're going to stop the war on fossil fuels, then the market would correct,I think, in a very short period of time and we would see -- I want to bring up one other thing that's offensive to the people out here putting a lot of Americans to work in the oil and gas industries, certainly in my home state and across the country. And that is this not even lightly veiled attack on the oil and gas producers in this country when the day before yesterday, President Biden basically said that they were the cause of the problem, that they weren't out there doing their part.
And nothing could be more offensive to me. That's a pretty unpatriotic thing to say, Mr. President, about the oil and gas producers which are basically our national defense. If you want to talk about a defense policy, have an energy industry that is vibrant, that is delivering oil and gas not just to the American military but to our allies as well. So, you know,take the foot off of the neck of the oil and gas industry. Quit using them as your scapegoat to dog whistle to the left and get America back on track by sending the message that we are going to open up our oil and gas industry. We're sitting on a hundred-plus years of energy in this country and using the climate as your existential threat,I happen to think, is pretty poor not only public policy but it's also pretty bad politics.
BILL HEMMER (CO-ANCHOR): Looking for oil anywhere but here at home. Talking to Venezuela, et al. Sir, thank you for your time. Rick Perry down there in Round Top, Texas.
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mashey 2012 heartland:
p 82
W. Environment and Climate News analysis
W.1 Overview
Introduction
Heartland’s 86 PDF issues of E&CN from June 2001 through January
2012400 were skimmed and excerpted, sometimes with annotations.. All 86
issues (1723) pages were combined as one large PDF for simple statistics
gathering, §W.3. §Z contains about 110 pages of material, including most
articles or advertisements on climate or tobacco, and sometimes energy,
pollution and occasional other topics These are shown to give readers a
feel for E&CN,
401 especially with regard to charity education rules, IRS-0E.
Every issue is linked, and the reader is encouraged to sample a few
originals. One good example is Z.2008.07.
Entries here are uniquely labeled for ease of cross-reference and search:
Z.yyyy.mm-nn Year, month, page number (plus “a,b,..” if needed)
yyyy.mm-nn no entry here, but can be found in E&CN issue
Heartland’s E&CN displays the actions of Heartland, Singer and others
who write for it.
Analysis Summary of 11 years of E&CN
Heartland is a tax-free Bast-family media and lobbying business.
E&CN has consistently implemented a “treetops-grassroots” political
advocacy strategy attractive to its funders: conservative family foundations
who provide most of Heartland’s money, plus industrials that tend to
privatize the profits and socialize the losses or risks, including tobacco and
fossil-interests and some others. Roy Marden of Philip Morris has been on
Heartland’s Board 1996-2008. Smoking-supportive articles and
advertisements appeared as late as 2008, plus Singer’s Z.2011.02-17.
As shown in §W.2, E&CN’s primary audience is state and local elected
officials, whose coverage Bast has touted as competitive advantage over
Washington, DC think tanks. All this is sold to advertisers, and more
importantly, donors, as influence with elected officials:
W.3 Words and viewpoints
Following are rough-estimate counts done by Adobe Acrobat Full Reader
Search403 on 1,723 pages to get a general idea of E&CN’s views.
404 Some
require combinations of searches to remove irrelevancies. These are rough
assessments of the views in E&CN, but are quite consistent.
Heartland usually negative or very negative
2,160 EPA (except OK during Bush administration when fending off CA)
1,476 activis (-t or –m, as in environmental, anti-smoking; some are OK)
1,474 California
880 alarm: 556 alarmist, 94 alarmisn, 51 alarming405 IRS-3E 10
761 renewable
719 environmentalist (except “free-market” or “common-sense” ones)
599 ethanol406
470 IPCC
352 Gore (Al) also appears in cartoons, such as Z.2006.07-14.
333 wind farm407
277 wind power
216 myth (as in global warming real, or radiation bad, or solar/wind useful)
209 CAFÉ (standards, or generally, anything that improves fuel economy)
209 solar power
201 lobby (anti-smoker, anti-technology, anti-market, environmentalist.)
If fossil or tobacco lobbies exist, E&CN does not mention those.
199 Obama (Barack)
188 wind turbine
174 Greenpeace
135 junk science (conflation of poor science with mainstream), IRS-3E
124 extremis (-ists, m, as in environmental)408
117 McCain (John, as in McCain-Lieberman bill)
104 Schwarzenegger (usually)
103 Hansen (James, of NASA GISS)
101 fraud (and –ulent, as in scientific, solar, fraudulent data) IRS-3E
100 World Wildlife Fund, WWF
99 so-called (as in greenhouse gases, renewable sources, etc)
94 propaganda (as in alarmist, green, anti-pollution)
94 solar energy
63 eco-imperialism
59 sustainability
57 eco-terror: 31 ecoterrorist (conflated with environmentalism)
70 inconvenient (as in An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore)
69 hockey (as in hockey stick temperature graph)
59 mongers (as in scaremongers, fear-mongers) IRS-3E
47 solar panel
44 corrupt (and –ion, as of science in thinking AGW real) IRS-3E
42 GISS (NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies)
35 Waxman (Henry, D-CA)
35 Markey (Edward, D-MA)
25 indoctrinate, indoctrination (as in An Inconvenient Truth)
22 Rachel Carson409
22 nonsmoker or non-smoker
19 NCAR (flawed, institutionally committed to alarmism)
18 CFL (bad, since deemed major source of mercury)
11 carbon cartel
10 Michael Mann
7 crony, cronyism (as in IPCC or crony capitalism for renewables)
5 anti-smoker lobby
4 warmist (not so common, apparently Heartland message is “alarmist”)
there's also a positive term list]
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an 2 22 bill blum
...The political scientist Robert Paxton, one of the world’s leading authorities on fascism, has identified five stages of fascism:
The initial creation of movements;
The rooting of the movements in a political system;
The acquisition of power;
The exercise of power; and
Radicalization or entropy, the stage at which movements reach their most extreme heights, or exhaust themselves and fizzle.
We are well beyond the first two phases. We flirted with the third and fourth during Trump’s first term, but our democratic institutions—weak and tattered as they are—were able to resist.
The election of Joe Biden offered only a temporary reprieve. Now, with Biden’s coalition fraying, the GOP and Trump have another opportunity to impose their will and vision, and deal a death blow to what remains of our diminished democracy.
As I have written before, fascism is a loaded term, but if used correctly, it aptly applies to Trumpism.
In his seminal study, “The Anatomy of Fascism” (Harvard University Press, 2004), Paxton offers an instructive definition:
“Fascism may be defined as a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy, and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.”
Trump and Trumpism similarly embody the 14 common factors of fascism identified by the great Italian writer Umberto Eco in his 1995 essay, Ur Fascism:
A cult of traditionalism.
A rejection of modernism (cultural, rather than technological).
Acult of action for its own sake and a distrust of intellectualism.
A framing of disagreement or opposition as treasonous.
A fear of difference.… Fascism is racist by definition.
An appeal to a frustrated middle class—either due to economic or political pressures from both above and below.
Anobsession with the plots and machinations of the movement’s identified enemies.
A requirement that said enemies be simultaneously seen as omnipotent and weak, conniving and cowardly.
A rejection of pacifism. Life is permanent warfare.
Contempt for weakness.
A cult of heroism.
Hypermasculinity.
A selective populism,relying on chauvinist definitions of “the people” that it claims to speak for.
A heavy usage of Newspeak—impoverished vocabulary, elementary syntax and a resistance to complex and critical reasoning.
As the current situation demonstrates, fascism is by no means a foreign phenomenon restricted to South American banana republics or failed European states. As University of London professor Sarah Churchwell explained in a June 22, 2020 essay published in the New York Review of Books, fascism has deep roots in the United States, spanning the decades from the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s to the rise of the German-American Bund in the 1930s,the ascendance of Depression-era demagogues like Huey Long, and the election of Trump in 2016.
Churchwell’s article is aptly titled, “American Fascism: It Has Happened Here.” In it, she offers another working definition of fascism, noting that while fascist movements differ from nation to nation, they are united by “conspicuous features [that] are recognizably shared.” These include:
...
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rww
Early in 2021, Christian nationalist home-schooling advocate, author, and podcaster Heidi St. John launched a bid for U.S. Congress in Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District. Outraged by incumbent Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s vote to impeach former President Donald Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, St. John decided to try and unseat her in the GOP primary by
MAGA voters, denouncing public libraries as “evil organizations,” and pledging to “be a mom for America.”
Earlier this month, St. John appeared on the “Stand Up For The Truth” podcast, where she soundedSeven Mountains and Christian nationalist themesthat have been central to her campaign, describing politics as “a spiritual battle” and vowing to “bring back the name of God into the political sphere.”
“[Politics is] in my blood,” St. John
. “And I think it should be in the blood of every Christ follower. Politics determined policy, and it is policy that has murdered 63 million of our unborn in this country. It is policy that has gotten us into the mess that we are in as a nation, and we need wise people and godly people to ascend to positions of authority in the nation.”
“What we’ve observed over years and years and years is a church deciding to pull itself out of arguably one of the most important aspects of the culture, which is determining our laws and determining the policy that governs the people here,” she continued. “Christians belong in every sphere of influence. We have a command to be strong and courageous. [God] did not say, ‘Be strong and courageous except for in the political sphere, stay out of that one.’ No, we belong in every sphere of influence. We belong in medicine. We belong in entertainment. We belong in education. And we belong in politics.”
“[Christians] should be canvassing, they should be helping clean up the voter rolls, they should be running for positions of authority in every sphere of influence,” St. John added. “We bring back the name of Jesus, we bring back the name of God into the political sphere and we say out loud, ‘What is the biggest problem in our country? We have turned away from God.'”
“This is a spiritual battle,” St. John declared. “We know that we serve the Lord of Heaven’s armies. We serve the creator of the universe, the one who spoke the world into being. He can do anything. And I think he’s calling his people back out of hiding and out of the shadows and into the battle and onto the battlefield.”[pix vid: medieval crusades? armour up xian soldiers it's game on!]
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gosar AOC murder anime, see macho action hero alt rt meme
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see fallback/phases
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“We’ve gone through thousands of pieces of testimony on climate and clean energy bills at the state level, and all of the industry arguments against this sort of legislation included these messages,” saysJ Timmons Roberts, professor of environment and sociology at Brown University, and a co-author on the “discourses of delay” paper.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342596080_Discourses_of_climate_delay
pm dl 1/22
Discourses of climate delay
July 2020Global Sustainability 3
DOI:10.1017/sus.2020.13
Discourses of climate delay
William F. Lamb1,2 , Giulio Mattioli3, Sebastian Levi1,4,5, J. Timmons Roberts6,Stuart Capstick7, Felix Creutzig1,8 , Jan C. Minx1,2, Finn Müller-Hansen1,9,Trevor Culhane6and Julia K. Steinberger21Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Torgauer Straße 12–15, EUREF Campus#19, 10829 Berlin, Germany;2School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK;3Department of Transport Planning, Faculty of Planning, TU Dortmund University, August-Schmidt-Straße 10,44227 Dortmund, Germany;4Freie Universität Berlin, Kaiserswerther Str. 16–18, 14195 Berlin, Germany;5HertieSchool of Governance, Friedrichstraße 180, 10117 Berlin, Germany;6Institute at Brown for Environment andSociety, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA;7Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations andTyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK;8TechnicalUniversity Berlin, Straße des 17. Junis 135, 10623 Berlin, Germany and9Potsdam Institute for Climate ImpactResearch (PIK), Member of the Leibniz Association, PO Box 60 12 03, D-14412 Potsdam, GermanyNon-technical summary‘
Discourses of climate delay’pervade current debates on climate action. These discourses accept the existence of climate change, but justify inaction or inadequate efforts. In contem-porary discussions on what actions should be taken, by whom and how fast, proponents of climate delay would argue for minimal action or action taken by others. They focus attention on the negative social effects of climate policies and raise doubt that mitigation is possible. Here, we outline the common features of climate delay discourses and provide a guide to iden-tifying them.
Technical summary:
Through our collective observations as social scientists studying climate change, we describe 12 climate delay discourses and develop a typology based on their underlying logic. Delay dis-courses can be grouped into those that: (1) redirect responsibility; (2) push non-transformative solutions; (3) emphasize the downsides of climate policies; or (4) surrender to climate change.
These discourses are distinct from climate denialism, climate-impact skepticism and ad hominem attacks, but are often used in combination to erode public and political support for climate policies. A deeper investigation of climate delay discourses is necessary in order to understand their prevalence and to develop inoculation strategies that protect the public from their intended effects. Our typology enables scientists, climate advocates and policymakers to recognize and counter these arguments when they are used. We urge all proponents of climate action to address these common misrepresentations of the climate crisis and to better communicate the dramatic pace of global warming, the gravity of its impacts and the possibility of effective and just mitigation policies.
Social media summary: Discourses of climate delay: redirect responsibility, push non-transformative solutions, emphasize downsides, surrender.
12 part classification (nice graphic]
...
. Conclusion:
The discourses we identify here can be compelling. They build on legitimate concerns and fears as societies move closer to addressing climate change. We argue that they become delay arguments whenthey misrepresent rather than clarify, raise adversity rather thanconsensus or imply that taking action is an impossible challenge.Our typology draws out the abstract logic and discursive struc-ture of delay discourses, but in practice, they often build on com-binations of arguments.
An important illustration is whenpopulation is put forth as an overriding driver of climate change.This draws from the notion that CO2 emissions trajectories areessentially fixed in the developed and developing world (changeis impossible), while focusing attention on rapidly growing popu-lations, usually in the latter (whataboutism). Delay is introduced because practical and desirable steps to reduce emissions immedi-ately (e.g., driving smaller cars over shorter distances) are over-looked in favour of an implied programme of global populationreduction, while simultaneously obscuring the highly unequal dis-tribution of climate responsibility worldwide. The sophisticationof discourses of delay should therefore not be understated, andnew strategies are developing all the time. As prior researchshows, they are also consistent with –and are repeated alongside–climate denial and ad hominem frames (Jacques & Knox, 2016).This article identifies, describes and categorizes discourses of delay
The discourses we identify here can be compelling. They build on
legitimate concerns and fears as societies move closer to addressing
climate change. We argue that they become delay arguments when
they misrepresent rather than clarify, raise adversity rather than
consensus or imply that taking action is an impossible challenge.
Our typology draws out the abstract logic and discursive struc-
ture of delay discourses, but in practice, they often build on com-
binations of arguments. An important illustration is when
population is put forth as an overriding driver of climate change.
This draws from the notion that CO
2
emissions trajectories are
essentially fixed in the developed and developing world (change
is impossible), while focusing attention on rapidly growing popu-
lations, usually in the latter (whataboutism). Delay is introduced
because practical and desirable steps to reduce emissions immedi-
ately (e.g., driving smaller cars over shorter distances) are over-
looked in favour of an implied programme of global population
reduction, while simultaneously obscuring the highly unequal dis-
tribution of climate responsibility worldwide. The sophistication
of discourses of delay should therefore not be understated, and
new strategies are developing all the time. As prior research
shows, they are also consistent with –and are repeated alongside
–climate denial and ad hominem frames (Jacques & Knox, 2016).
This article identifies, describes and categorizes discourses of
delay
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bannon/putin disinfo to destabilize, erode civil society to the pt --> authoritarian fascism // orban
no lnx
'To defy Trump's wishes is to defy God's plan': The scary truth about modern right-wing misinformation
https://www.alternet.org/2022/01/right-wing-misinformation/
John Stoehr January 13, 2022
Death threats will change a person. During previous testimony before a Senate panel, the nation’s top infectious disease expert was calm and deferential. This week marked a break from the past. Enough is enough, apparently. Dr. Anthony Fauci was no longer in the mood.
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas kept pressing the question of financial disclosures, implying that Fauci was benefiting from the effort to vaccinate the country against the covid pandemic.
Fauci, as head of the White House pandemic response, is a public servant. By law, he must disclose financial information. So of course he didn’t understand Marshall’s question, because his “financial disclosure is public knowledge” and has been for more than three decades.
Two things. Marshall knew this and was pretending not to or he didn’t know this, which should be embarrassing for a sitting senator. Either way, Marshall said his staff could not find the document. Well, it’s here. Ultimately, he was pandering to believers of rightwing misinformation.
READ: One sentence from the Supreme Court's ruling against an OSHA vaccine rule reveals its upside-down logic]
After a heated exchange in which Marshall kept insisting Fauci was hiding something and Fauci kept insisting he’s not – “all you have to do is ask” for the disclosure – Fauci said, “What a moron! Jesus Christ!” (He said this to himself, obviously, not realizing his mic was still on.)
Is Fauci showing us how to handle rightwingers? That’s what I asked Sara Aniano on Wednesday. She’s a Monmouth University graduate student studying rightwing rhetoric and conspiracy theories on social media. She co-authored a new report for the Global Network on Extremism and Technology analyzing QAnon trends a year after J6.
:{:{}:
}:
She said Fauci’s pushback felt good, but in the end, it probably doesn’t help. “The reality is pretty dire,” she said. Propaganda, conspiracy theory and misinformation have “already infected the population.” It’s too late even for the Washington press corps to do much about it.
The way Anthony Fauci talked to the Republicans is how everyone should talk to rightwing extremists. Am I on to something?
READ: A right-wing talking point about Jan. 6 just completely collapsed after indictment of the Oath Keepers]
Absolutely. For a lot of people on the left, Fauci's pushback was refreshing.People are tired of the pandering, and of watching misinformation be lumped into the category of “free speech.”[ = wht priv?]
While Fauci’s “moron” comment was indeed a great moment of transparency, we should also consider his ability to humanize the situation with the anecdote about his own harassment.
The left is often considered "soft” in contrast with the alleged "hard truth" attitude of the GOP. While Fauci's position is not about partisanship, anti-vaxx movements have unfortunately aligned with the right and the far-right. So it feels like Fauci is speaking for us, even though he's really speaking on behalf of everyone.
It seems to me speaking for everyone is often interpreted as soft. In other words, acting for the benefit of the common good immediately marks you as an enemy by rightwingers.
READ: DOJ unveils explosive sedition charges against the Oath Keepers for the Jan. 6 attack]
:{:{}:
}:
For a party that increasingly demonizes collectivism, it's in their best interest to continue promoting "individual responsibility,” as it works for their messaging politically. But for the extreme far-right, it's more sinister. In their minds, there is a war going on between good and evil. And if you're not on their side, their black-and-white thinking places you into the "enemy" category.
The irony is that they are actually collectivists, too, no?
I hear that a lot. In comparison to other countries, America is not a collectivist culture. In my opinion, anyone who pushes extreme nationalism here is also pushing extreme individualism.
As a leftist researcher of far-right misinformation, I admit to a certain level of bias. But January 6 marked a clear turning point in how we view partisanship, I think, and we can't discard that.
READ: Michigan Republicans who circulated fake 'Electoral College' documents are being investigated by the Jan. 6 committee: report]
Why is it a turning point? We turned from what to what?
For a lot of us studying far-right extremism and misinformation, we couldn't help but feel this collective "we told you so" when January 6 happened. For the first time, we had a visual manifestation of far-right conspiracism that wasn't limited to social media or fringe news programs. In other words, everyone saw people act on the ideologies that misinformation researchers sift through every day.
Of course, how people interpret what they saw is what's shaping their opinion now.
Which is where misinformation comes back, right?
Here's something I tweeted on the anniversary of the insurrection: “By the end of January 6, 2021, Americans were left with the most damaging relic of all: Yet another unfathomable event, born of hate and delusion, for far-right conspiracy theorists to contort into a self-serving narrative that unfairly demonizes the innocent.”
I want to cry.
A lot of us can relate to that.
To what extent is anti-vaccination about purity of blood? To what extent is anti-vaccination cover for plain old white supremacy?
It's interesting, because even if anti-vaxxers don't realize it, the "pure blood" characterization of the unvaccinated has roots to eugenics, which of course has roots to white supremacy.
But to go back to the idea of "infiltration," I think vaccine skepticism ties into that too.
Please go on.
I've been thinking about what types of infiltration the far-right finds most threatening. So far I've come up with three categories: 1) member infiltration, 2) spiritual infiltration and 3) bodily infiltration.
Member infiltration seems to stem from a fear of the "other" hiding in plain sight, trying to live among them but with heinous intentions. We see that a lot with paranoia about Antifa, the feds, Jews or journalists "posing" as patriots.
Spiritual infiltration has a lot to do with "demonic forces" among us. Satanic panic stuff. With QAnon, we see allegations of Satanic rituals in Hollywood or even reptilians wearing skinsuits to pass as humans.
Physical infiltration is a lot about co-opting "my body my choice" messaging to push back against the vaccine, which many think is the mark of the beast or a 5G transmitter or radioactive or a microchip. A lot of crossover with pseudo-science.
There is so much overlap that it's hard to make exclusive categories, but you get the idea.
We haven't talked about religion. What does your research say?
Yes, religion or spirituality is inextricable from far-right narratives overall. My thesis, currently in progress, focuses on QAnon Instagram comments in the week leading up to J6.
Rhetoric that pushes a higher power is always mixed in with far-right narratives, and overwhelmingly, that's Christianity. A lot of people who believe election fraud theories in QAnon circles genuinely think that Donald Trump was anointed by God – he is the chosen leader to usher in "the storm" and defeat the evil Democrats, once and for all.
In their minds, to defy Trump's wishes is to defy God's plan. I wouldn't say that this is ubiquitous across the right, to be clear. That's a pretty extreme version. But religion presents itself across far-right rhetoric in general, even when it doesn't involve Donald Trump.
Trump abruptly hung up on Steve Inskeep after the host of NPR’s “Morning Edition” challenged him repeatedly on the big lie? Are such challenges what a democratic republic needs?
I think Inskeep did a great job, although many were upset with NPR for bringing Trump on in the first place. Your question is a hard one. People asked the same thing during and after the 2020 election when Trump alleged fraud on TV before the ballot counting was even complete. Some networks cut his speech off, while others aired it.
Any time we platform misinformation, especially when we can see it coming, we must provide context and a good reason for showcasing it. If we can shut it down in the meantime, then yes, we should.
But if I'm being honest, I think that ship has sailed.
I don't know if it matters anymore if we cut off conspiratorial rhetoric from Trump and others when it's already infected the population.
Are you suggesting the press can’t really mitigate the spread?
Once Trump normalized discourse that was hateful, xenophobic, conspiratorial and sexist, he made it more mainstream. People who previously self-censored those thoughts felt free to not only think them, but say them – particularly on social media, where anonymity removes accountability. That hasn't really changed.
I guess my point is – the press should do what it can to mitigate misinformation, of course, but the reality is pretty dire.
There's a serious epistemological crisis going on, and that's gonna require systemic change.[// heated pod occupy sunrise guy too late to stop authoritorian, congress paralyze so only prez can at,crisis will give opening]
Again, I want to cry.
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https://gizmodo.com/republicans-slobbered-all-over-themselves-to-apologize-1847959116
ref 3 gizmodo bAD CODE NO LNX
gop have a, shall we say,...relationship. But that relationship went from snuggly to downright NSFW on Thursday at a hearing ostensibly about...The House Oversight Committee welcomed executives from four fossil companies and two trade groups as well as a pipeline welder to probe decades of campaigns to confuse the public. There’s plenty of fodder. The past few years have seen...$59,956 in oil and gas money in the 2020 election cycle) said, thanking the company for increasing production. “I want to thank those companies that are actually increasing production,” Jordan later added.
“These companies being villainized,” said Rep. Jody Hice (recipient of $5,000 from the oil and gas industry in 2020, which talk about getting your money’s worth). Hice did not ask a question.
“It’s just people who don’t have anything better to do than type on their keyboards,” Rep. Byron Donalds ($18,110 from oil and gas interests so far this cycle) said of climate activists before turning to the oil CEOs. “Let’s be very clear, you need anapology. What I witnessed today isrank intimidation by the chair of this committee. ... It is disgusting, it is absolutely disgusting. Somebody better call Merrick Garland, tell him to get in here, and watch the intimidation that came from this very panel today. It’s not about defending Big Oil. ... I’m sorry for you. And I’m sorry for the people in our country who have to witness shenanigans like this.”
“While this committee may not like you because you’re executives, because your companies have been successful, I just want to apologize for the decorum. Because thank you for what you’ve done,” said Rep. Yvette Herrell ($115,126 from the industry she was overseeing, making her the second-biggest oil and gas recipient in the House so far this cycle). “There are people here who believe in you. Thank you. ... In fact, I would just submit to saving anybody who has gotten a vaccination or who is going to get tone, thank you to the oil and gas industry because I would bet that almost every single one of the syringes has been touched by a petroleum product. ... I just want to thank all of you for being here today.”
“You guys all have a good story to tell. Don’t be afraid to tell people how much cleaner things are than in the past. It doesn’t do any good for you any good to get allwokeon us,” Rep. Glenn Grothman ($30,576 from oil and gas in 2020 and $3,570 so far this year.)
“It’s been very shameful how the other side wants to demonize our oil and gas industry. I’m very proud of our oil and gas industry, the innovators that adopt new tech, provide a higher standard of living, and jobs throughout our country,” saidRep. Bob Gibbs, the $28,558 oil and gas man in 2020. He later added, “I’m disappointed the chair failed to recognize that and demonize them on that.”
“I apologize to our witnesses that were called and asked to take part in this today,” said Rep. Pete Sessions, who has so far received $11,400 from oil and gas interests and raked in $237,375 in 2018. (2020 data was unavailable.)
“There is a moral case to be made for the fossil fuel industry and fossil fuels as a whole,” Rep. Pat Fallon, who has taken in $5,600 in oil and gas money. “If we want more abundant and inexpensive and cleaner energy—which we all should do—these witnesses here should be the ones that we are supporting and applauding and not demonizing.”
“These very important energy companies and the [American] Petroleum Institute understand you’ve got yourself here, you’ve seen the attitude of the folks on the left of this committee. When you get asked this morning that, aren’t you embarrassed, that’s really an irrational question to ask CEOs about their company,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, the receiver of $27,253 in oil and gas money in 2020.
“My, my, my. Good lord help us to be protected from this threat from within. American patriots are so done with career politicians and Democratic socialist insanity... We are nauseated by thecontinuous attacks on working Americans and American industry. This entire debacle of a hearing today of why my colleagues across the aisle will lose their majority status very soon,” Rep. Clay Higgins predicted. (Higgins has received $10,426 in fossil fuel cash so far this cycle and $40,773 in 2020.)
“Did President Biden or anyone from the White House apologize to you?” Rep. James Comer, who received $18,500 in fossil fuel cash in 2020, asked the welder Republicans invited. (For the record, he did not....
a United Nations report out this week warns the world as a whole is facing a “production gap,” with more fossil fuels on tap to be produced than is compatible with a safe climate. Other reports have warned that new fossil fuel exploration must stop next year, emissions must fall at unprecedented rates over the next decade, and that cutting fossil fuel production and use is the most surefire way to do that. The reason we’re at this precipice is because the fossil fuel industry pursued a misinformation campaign while further entrenching their product with the global economy, fully aware that it would cause major climate damage.
It is also because Republicans (and a handful of Democrats) have blocked climate action, and have maintained a grip on power in no small part thanks to millions of dollars from the fossil fuel industry. The industry has directed roughly 85% of its donations in 2020 to Republicans, and is on track to do the same this year (and has done the same in past years, too). Those same Republicans who apologized to the industry and thanked it on Thursday.
Anyways, this is all very cool and very legal.
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rubber glue reverse
fav of trump?
hillary, you're corrupt!
triggered [heh] by shapiro kyle BS
related to mirror and crypto, possibly evil
CRT is racism disguised as free speech? anti-racism? whole lotta quoting of MLK by right wingers lately? "color-blind"
in some way probably just taking standard and correct critiques of right and trying to claim the left does it too (thus ok for right to defend themselves) or everyone does it so ok if we do and you're hypocrits if you call us right out on it in the future.
or most extreme we don't do it only YOU left do.
recall gang of 5 new right we are the true radicals/revolutionies, but that was trying to steal/co-opt a postive (tho somewhat badass) term.
we're not the racist/oppressors/censors, you the left are: AA is reverse discrimination, you are trying to cancel/ silence us, white ppl xians are the true victims.
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omfg
see kyle aha bizzomg for comment/analyis
https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/rittenhouse-2655770737/
no lnx pix req
Rittenhouse verdict championed on right-wing social media as green light for killing protesters
[Charlottesville "Unite the Right" Rally. Far-right Oath Keepers patrol Emancipation Park. Credit: Anthony Crider]
David Neiwertand Daily Kos November 21, 2021
The exultation on right-wing social media following Kyle Rittenhouse's acquittal has been sickeningly predictable: Mainstream conservatives loudly valorize Rittenhouse as a "hero," while more extremist voices, applying the same logic, demand that more Americans follow his footsteps—urging the likeminded to take to the street now to begin using guns to "be like Kyle." They have even appropriated his name for their future plans, voiced in numerous celebratory threads: Any leftist protester shot by a right-wing "patriot" henceforth will have been "Rittenhoused."
As we forecasted, the acquittal is now a beacon-like green light granting permission to violent right-wing extremists to openly wage the kind of "civil war" against "the left"—which ranges from liberal Democrats like Joe Biden to the "antifa" bogeyman they have concocted—that they have been fantasizing about for the past decade. In the words of Charlie Kirk's interlocutor, it's the signal that now they "get to use the guns."
The bloodlust has been palpable. Online trolls celebrated that "it's Open Season on pedo-commies" and boasted that the verdict means "there's nothing you can do about it." A neo-Nazi channel on Twitter urged readers to "let this win fuel your rage." A fan of pseudo-journalist Andy Ngo commented in a retweet: "Every one of these anarchist criminal thugs should be shot in the street like the worthless dogs they are."
Far-right maven Ann Coulter posted a meme showing a gantlet of [marvel nazi nerd wet dr] comic-book superheroes bowing to Rittenhouse. On Facebook, Ben Shapiro framed any future violence as being left-wing: "The Left accepting the verdict in a peaceable manner remains the sizable elephant in the room."
The white-nationalist site VDare also extolled Rittenhouse's heroism:
This much is true: Kyle Rittenhouse is the hero we've been waiting for throughout the turbulent summer of 2020, where a Black Lives Matter/Antifa/Bolshevik revolution has our country on the brink of total chaos.
[Coulter-RittenhouseMeme.jpeg]
Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire blamed the media for there even having been a trial:
The verdict is right and just but Kyle Rittenhouse never should have been on trial at all. Now themedia will go to work, like the demonsthey are, to ensure that Kenosha burns because they did not get their blood sacrifice.
Walsh then added:
I hope Rittenhouse bankrupts all of you dirtbags in media who smeared him as a white supremacist. [sue for libel based on verdict? // charlottesville ~ KKK case finished ] I hope he ruins your life. I want you to suffer. It's what you deserve. It's justice.
Idaho legislator Tammy Nichols, a Republican, posted a meme featuring the Gadsden-flag "Don't Tread On Me" design, but with a graphic of Rittenhouse firing from a seated position as he did in Kenosha.
The Gun Owners of America (GOA)—a gun-rights extremist group headed by far-right militia figure Larry Pratt—joined in the celebration by announcing it was giving Rittenhouse a new gun.
Alert: GOA will be awarding Kyle Rittenhouse with an AR-15 for his defense of gun rights in America. Join us in saying THANK YOU to Kyle Rittenhouse for being awarrior for gun rights and self defense rights across the country!
Other "Patriot" Movement extremists saw the verdict as vindication for vigilantism and militia organizing. The "Washougal Moms," a militia-friendly group from eastern Washington state, opined:
Today the jury and legal system has reaffirmed our rights as citizens. The second amendmentin all aspects, to form a well regulated militia, the right to bear arms in self defense, and against enemiesboth foreign and domestic!
Kurt Schlichter, the right-wing troll with over 380,000 followers, taunted MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan, who had expressed concern about the double racial standard that the verdict reflects, on Twitter.
Your pain delights me. Kyle Rittenhouse killed two leftistcatspawsand bisected the bicep of another and there's nothing you can do about it.
A white-nationalist Twitter account called "Based Teutonic" celebrated the verdict by posting a fantasy that Rittenhouse would now embark on an action-hero-like mission—with the help of Judge Bruce Schroeder, who oversaw the trial in markedly biased fashion.
About to exit court room
Judge yells from behind:
Rittenhouse turns around
You forgot this
Tosses him his AR15
Credits roll, Eye of the Tiger plays
"Based Teutonic" wasn't alone in celebrating Schroeder's role in the verdict. On Telegram, a commenter in a Proud Boys channel observed:
Kyle's case shows how important is to have your guys in power on a local level. One vaguely conservative boomer judge made all of the difference in a monumental trial.
Other Proud Boys were more focused on their long-anticipated civil war. "There's still a chance for this country," wrote one. Another wrote: "The left wont stop until their bodies get stacked up like cord wood."
The Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights monitored a number of far-right chat forums (particularly Telegram) following the verdict, and found an outpouring of extremist bile, much of it anticipating the ability to inflict lethal violence on "leftists," as well as Black "parasites" and, of course, Jewish people. A user called The Western Chauvinist commented: "The parasites are planning multiple 'protests' across the United States."
One user calling himself "Proud Boy To Fascist Pipeline" replied to one of these comments mocking Black leaders protesting the verdict as "parasites": "Your 17 year olds are already armed and terrorizing our neighborhoods, n----er."
Fittingly, Charlie Kirk fans—following the example of his Idaho audience member—were focused on the violence: "Arm up and tell them f**cking bring it!" one replied to predictions of leftist protests after the verdict. "Shoot these phukers," commented another.
Nick Fuentes' "Groypers" were also unbridled in their anticipation of gunning down their opponents. "The most American thing you can do is Killing Commies," opined one on the white-nationalist forum Gab.
Another Gab user exulted with a meme showing Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker, dancing: "When you find out it's officially Open Season on pedo-commies." Mocking "wannabe street thugs upset with the verdict," another Gab user replied, "you're gonna get Rittenhouse'd. Bitch."
Gab-OpenSeason.png
"Getting Rittenhoused" became a popular way of threatening leftists. After Ngo posted a handful of tweets from leftists angry about the verdict, hundreds of his fans piled on, making threats of violence against them. "Someone will Rittenhouse them too," one responded. Another replied: "I came here to say that!"
Antisemitism also was a common theme. Right-wing troll Keith Woods, who has 23,500 followers on Twitter, declared after the verdict: "Huge L for the Jews." His followers piled on; one responded with a GIF meme of Gollum and the text, "Curse you goyim." Another replied, "hopefully they take an L in Charlottsville trial too. WHITE BOY WINTER!"
White nationalist Eric Striker was more explicitly antisemitic, as well as strategic, in his commentary:
Beating the Jews to the narrative as incidents unfold is more important than anything that happens in court.
Once you frame a story with the facts (and the facts have to be 100% accurate) and disseminate it with an effective propaganda network, Jews will struggle to challenge it once it's cemented.
Notorious white nationalist and antisemite Mike "Enoch" Peinovich put out a statement through his National Justice Party: "This victory for Kyle Rittenhouse over the cosmopolitan elite forces that plague the nation isn't only a victory for the young man himself, it's a victory for justice and for all White people who take a stand," Peinovich said.
On Telegram, a white nationalist commented: "The victory of Kyle Rittenhouse over thejewish forces that plague the nation isn't just a victory for the man himself, it's a victory for justice, and for the masses of disenfranchised White people which populate the globe.
The neo-Nazi group White Lives Matter had this advice for its white-supremacist followers:
Don't let this one victory lull you back to sleep. That's what they want. They know small "victories" can placate the angry masses more than anything else. Instead let this win fuel your rage.Never forget the simple fact that this clear-cut self-defense should never have gone to trial in the first place. Muslim, Hispanic, and African invaders have raped millions of our women, WHITE women.Their time ofterrorizing our People with 0 consequences is coming to an end. The Rittenhouse verdict is a single tick in the scoreboard on our side. Our enemy doesn't have a scoreboard big enough for their victories. Fight harder, stronger, fiercer, and with the same remorse they have shown us. None. Get going, White man.
"This might be interpreted across the far right as a type of permission slip to do this kind of thing or to seek out altercations in this way, believing that there is a potential that they won't face serious consequences for it," Jared Holt of the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council told NPR. "I worry that that might end up being interpreted by some people as a proof of concept of this idea that you can actually go out and seek a 'self-defense situation,' and you'll be cheered as a hero for it."
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pedophile was stick to beat gays with since forever, but realization seeping in (aside from cath ch boy scout] it's often strict? dad male relative? can't get/deal with/control a goown-ass woman, so use kids for gratification/pwr? // pink pill tucker and vaxxers call masks child abuse?!
gotta go hard right for trumpistas? primary flanker? i thot it was pre-emptive [self-] mockery RCS? 2.0 blog AI solves Jew Q, space laser cmd or somesuch or just mirror/cryptic reversal: we are the true VICTIMS and you are the true racists/bully/oppressor/tyrant but now i think they just pick up random devil terms and see if they can be made to stick like spaghetti; see -phobes basket of deplorables aha
https://www.alternet.org/2021/11/matt-gaetz/
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., suggested on Wednesday that his office is open to hiring Kyle Rittenhouse as a congressional intern if the accused gunman is acquitted, arguing that the 18-year-old is "not guilty" for the killing of two men during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.
"You know what, Kyle Rittenhouse would probably make a good congressional intern," Gaetz said Wednesday during an appearance on Newsmax. "We may reach out to him and see if he'd be interested in helping the country in additional ways."
The Florida lawmaker continued: "He is not guilty. He deserves a not guilty verdict and I sure hope he gets it."
Thursday marks the third day of jury deliberations for Rittenhouse's trial, which began on November 1. In August of 2020, Rittenhouse drove from his home of Antioch, Illinois to Kenosha, where he apparently sought to defend a car dealership from the threat of looting in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. During an armed confrontation – the details of which were litigated at trial – Rittenhouse fatally shot two men and injured another with an AR-15-stylerifle.[barrrell short thus got off one slam dunk charge, ok to carry if hunting? POC?]
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty, claiming that he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors argue that the then-17-year-old acted like a vigilante. "I defended myself,"[[proudly, manly?] Rittenhouse said during the trial last week. The teen faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Over the last several weeks, the televised trial has been closely followed by politicians, pundits, and activists, who have weighed in the proceedings as they relate to racial justice, white privilege, Black Lives Matter, and gun violence.
In a Fox News interview this week, conservative author J.D. Vance, currently vying to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy for Ohio, called Rittenhouse's trial a "farce," adding that "it's child abuse masquerading as justice in this country."
"The kind of people who thought O.J Simpson was innocent are the same people who believe that Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty," echoed right-wing commentator Candace Owenslast week. "Facts don't matter to emotionally-indoctrinated zombies. Only feelings do."
But those on the left have sung a markedly different tune.
Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at the Georgetown University Law Center, said that Rittenhouse's trial reflects "white privilege on steroids."
"It is literally impossible to imagine a 17-year-old Black kid traveling to a different state … who shoots three people, kills two – who, right now, isn't in prison," Butler told POLITICO.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., spoke about the case with marked candidness for a federal lawmaker, tweeting on Wednesday: "Lock up Kyle Rittenhouse and throw away the key."
Rittenhouse's defense team has already filed a motion for a mistrial with prejudice, according to CNN, meaning that Rittenhouse would be protected from any state bid to retry the case going forward.
For his part,Gaetz also railed against the recent sentencing of 34-year-old Jacob Chansley, the "QAnon Shaman" notorious for breaching the U.S. Senate floor on January 6 while donning a horned fur headdress. On Wednesday, Chansley was sentenced to three years in prison on a single count of felony obstruction of an official proceeding.
"This QAnon Shaman is a relatively harmless,nonviolent veganand the notion that he has to be in prison for three and a half years to settle some sort of political score defies justice,"[eternal victims, shocked shocked playing politics, we never do that] Gaetz continued.
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no lnx
How the right wing uses language as a weapon
Magdi Semrau May 04, 2021
Right-wing operatives have recently mounted a campaign against the idea and practice of "wokeness." The word has the pretense of a neutral reference, but is increasingly used to debase and belittle the underlying meaning of anti-racism and anti-bigotry. Similar rhetorical tactics have a long history in conservatism, as they allow the GOP to obscure policy objectives, while simultaneously evoking negative and positive emotions. Overall, the GOP benefits from imprecise language soaked with connotation. Unfortunately, journalists and some liberals keep falling for it.
In the case of "woke" and "wokeness," conservatives are undermining a positive idea with derisive figurative language. Consider a converse example, in which the Republicans advanced an ugly principle through positive framing: waterboarding. It was described as "enhanced interrogation" by conservatives, and that was repeated by the press corps. However, if you actually describe what's involved in waterboarding—making a person temporarily experience drowning—Americans respond with repulsion. Conservatives knew this, so they chose to be evasive. "Enhanced interrogation" is more palatable than both "torture" and "simulated drowning."
Language can be exploited to great political effect. Words convey meaning two ways. By denotations, the actual real-world reference of a given word or phrase. And by connotations, the feelings they evoke. The GOP systematically uses language that obscures denotation and advances connotation. The case of "wokeness" is not so different from "enhanced interrogation," but, in this case, the underlying denotation—awareness of social injustice—is good whereas the connotations are unfortunately negative. As they did with "enhanced interrogation," conservatives are using figurative language to obscure deeper principles and create a fog of feeling, rather than reason.
The GOP's use of such language—figurative, imprecise, but laden with connotation—gained prominence in their backlash to the civil rights movement. After a certain point, it was of little benefit to conservatives to explicitly state they were opposed to equal rights for Black Americans, so they adopted fuzzy terms. This strategy was famously outlined by the late Lee Atwater, a chief architect of modern GOP rhetoric:
You start out in 1954 by saying, '[n-word], [n-word], [n-word].' By 1968 you can't say '[n-word]'—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states' rights, and all that stuff, and you're getting so abstract. Now, you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites. … 'We want to cut this' is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "[n-word], [n-word]."
Here, Atwater specifically argued that, to advance racism, conservatives should embrace abstractions, given that racial slurs no longer confer electoral success. This tradition of linguistic manipulation continues to pervade our discourse. From "illegal alien" to "states' rights" to "politically correct" to now "woke," the Republicans have perfected the art of language devoid of concrete specifics, but charged with big feels.
That language has this power presents a challenge for journalists. Reporting should be informative and neutral. Yet with increasing frequency, the press corps uncritically adopts whatever linguistic frame has currency. The result, predictably, is neither informative nor neutral. What do Republicans actually mean when they criticize "wokeness?" It's unclear. Yet journalists repeat their rants without clarification.
Consider what "woke" actually denotes. The origin of the expression is unknown, but references to "staying woke" in African-American English can be traced back to Lead Belly's recording of "Scottsboro Boys," a song about young Black men who were falsely accused of rape. Recently, "woke" gained prominence during the 2014 Ferguson protests when it was used to signal awareness of anti-Black racism. "Woke" then proliferated online where its meaning broadened to describe anyone who was aware of systemic racism. Finally, the meaning shifted to encompass an awareness of bigotry in general. Now, lexicographers define "woke" as "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)."
While the current use of "woke" arose from African-American English, "awake" as a metaphor for awareness has deep cross-cultural roots. Wakefulness as revelation is referenced throughout both Buddhism and Christianity as well as in the work of poets and playwrights. It is, in fact, the same metaphor underlying the "Age of Reason"—or the Enlightenment—such that Kant wrote, "Enlightenment is the release of man from a state of bondage. … Have the courage to use your own understanding!" "Wokeness" was present in American political movements long before BLM. Republicans—proud descendants of Abraham Lincoln—might be interested to learn that an early anti-slavery faction within their own party called themselves "The Wide Awakes."
So, what "wokeness" denotes is overwhelmingly positive: awareness of bigotry and concomitant opposition. Yet, recently, as conservatives have co-opted it, the term has become derisive. "Woke" people are unserious. You're allowed to roll your eyes at them, because they are sensitive and sanctimonious. In this sense, "woke" has unfortunately become a dysphemism. Whereas euphemisms soften underlying meaning (the dead "passed away," for instance, or the woman is "with child"), dysphemisms do the opposite (the dead "croaked', for instance, or the woman got "knocked up").
What's denoted by "woke" has been eclipsed by connotations. When we hear "woke" now, we do not think of its history as a metaphor for awareness. We certainly do not think of the Enlightenment. We think of pious scolds. And then, perhaps unwittingly, we transfer this pejorative connotation to the underlying principles of social justice.
We can't expect rhetorical honesty from the GOP, but we can ask more of the press corps that reports on conservatives' use of "woke." When reporters repeat the GOP's derision of "wokeness" without explaining the underlying denotation of the word, they are serving as a conduit of conservative propaganda. Such reporting is neither informative nor neutral. The meaning of what's said is, at best, obscure and imprecise. Failure to report the underlying meaning allows the negative connotations to prevail.
So, if an elected official claims "wokeness" is bad, journalists should ask them what they mean! Journalists could ask, for example: "Is anti-racism bad? What about anti-bigotry in general?" If they refuse to define what they intend when they deride "wokeness," journalists should do it for them by citing the dictionary definition.
We are in an existential battle. The forces of bigotry are strong, and, in many ways, our electoral system allows them to flourish. However, the evidence is clear: the actual principle of "wokeness"—the broad "awareness of social injustice"—is increasingly popular. We cannot let conservative rhetorical manipulations muddy this fact.
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wow ticks all boxes succinctly:
10 21 no lnx twt
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) recently shed light on the damaging effects of Fox News host Tucker Carlson's rhetoric. On Thursday, October 21, the Democratic lawmaker took to Twitter with an audio clip of a Trump supporter attacking him for his remarks praising the U.S. Capitol Police officer who killed Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt.
With the disturbing audio clip, Swalwell discussed what he describes as "the Tucker Carlson effect. "Listen to this. It's the Tucker Carlson effect," Swalwell explained. "Tucker attacks me. His fans respond with threats to kill my family. And Tucker knows exactly what he's doing."
The unnamed man leveled a disturbing verbal attack toward the California lawmaker in a lethal, racist rant. "Here's some intelligence motherfucker. They just showed you on Fox News on Tucker Carlson saying Babbitt,that unarmed veteran, that white woman that was shot by a cop... You said he was a brave officer shooting a serious threat. He was a coward bitch who shot an unarmed white woman. If she would have been some black nigger crackhead, you guys have had that cop's head on a stick."
:{:{}:
}:
"You people are a disgrace to God, our country, and our people. You are the enemies of the United States people, motherfucker. You atheist, Communist faggots are the threat to our democracy, our Constitution, and our way of life," he said.
:{:{}:
}:
The irate man went on and seemed to level a threat toward Swalwell and his family as he concluded with praises to former President Donald Trump. He added, "As for these foreign invaders you're lettin' into this country, I hope they chop you, your family up and feed them to their dogs. You did you fucking bitch. There's your free speech for today, asshole, from Trump Nation!"
Almost immediately after Swalwell shared the audio clip, Twitter users quickly sounded off. With a link to a similar case, former federal prosecutor Chris Alberto quickly noted that these types of verbal threats are considered a violation of federal law.
"These threats against Mr. Swalwell & his family violates federal law," Alberto wrote. "The [FBI] should visit this guy ASAP. While expressing disagreement and nonviolent dissent are protected speech, threats of violence fall into the scope of federal criminal statutes."
Others also weighed in with their concerns....
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bully // tyrant oppressor
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10-21 an ME
Florida county is facing a multi-million dollar fine for requiring its government employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. According to The Daily Beast, the Florida Department of Health issued a fine of $3.57 million to Leon County, Fla.
The county, which houses Florida's state capital Tallahassee, is accused of "'blatant violation' of Florida's controversial 'vaccine passport' law that prohibits governments and businesses from requiring residents to show proof they were vaccinated against the coronavirus."
According to the health agency, the county has violated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) order prohibiting vaccine mandates a total of 714 times by requiring employees to provide proof of vaccination. So far, 14 government employees have been terminated for failure to meet vaccination requirements.
Now, the Republican governor has released a statement criticizing the county for its mandate.
"It is unacceptable that Leon County violated Florida law, infringed on current and former employees' medical privacy, and fired loyal public servants because of their personal health decisions," DeSantis said in a statement announcing the fines. "We will continue fighting for Floridians' rights and the Florida Department of Health will continue to enforce the law. We're going to stand up for Floridians' jobs, stand up for Floridians' livelihoods, and stand up for freedom."
In the wake of DeSantis' announcement of the fine, some Florida officials have released statements expressing concern and outrage.
"Unbelievable!" Sen. Loranne Ausley (D-Tallahassee, Fla.) said in a statement. "We don't need the State bullying our communities or private businesses who are simply trying to serve the people and get on the other side of this pandemic. It's going to take all of us standing together to make this happen."
However, officials are not the only people angered by the fine. Describing DeSantis' action as "political posturing," Christopher Link, of Tallahassee, Fla., explained how the imposed fine will impact residents.
"It's all just political posturing," Christopher Link, a Tallahassee resident, told the publication on Tuesday. " t makes no sense and only hurts the taxpayer. The fact that the better good for the health of the state is so wrongly politicized is insane. The crazies have taken over, really."
He added, "This pandemic has been going on for over a year, and I've never really felt like the priority in Florida was about saving lives. Just careers."
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rww 921
several Republican members of Congress, North Carolina state legislators, various candidates for office, and radical religious-right activists gathered at Temple Baptist Church in Mount Airy, North Carolina, last weekend for the North Carolina Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Salt & Light Conference.”
Among the politicians in attendance was Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who used his time in front of his home state crowd to declare that he is waging a “spiritual battle” in the supposedly “evil and vile” Washington, D.C., against people like Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her “cold, evil eyes.”
“I believe that the power of prayer will save this country in the coming decades,” Cawthorn
. “When I’m in Washington, D.C., I know a lot of you consider the place to be evil and vile, and I am here to tell you with first-hand knowledge, it is evil and vile. But I will tell you when I’m there, I don’t feel an overwhelming sense ofdarkness as if the devilhas complete dominion of that area because I feel a spiritual battle going on on Capitol Hill. And patriots like all of you in this room, on your knees, praying that we have the cover within the spiritual fight is what it will take to save this country.”
“I have to look Nancy Pelosi in her cold, evil eyes every single day,” he continued. “She just passed a bill yesterday trying to say that we can abort babies on demand all the way up until right before the day of birth. When we hear this, when we hear the fact that if a baby comes through a botched abortion alive, sitting there on the table, they then still have the right to murder that child, we realize that when I quip and say, ‘I look her in her cold, evil eyes,’ it’s not a joke. These people hate us.”
“I will tell you, the only way that we take our country back is when strong, God-fearing patriots decide it is time for us to stand up and say, ‘No’ to your tyranny,”Cawthorn declared. “It is time for the American Christian church to come out of the shadows, to say no longer are we going to allow our culture to be determined by people who hate the things that we believe in. We are going to stand valiantly for God’s incredible, inerrant truths that predate any version of government. Because my friends, if we lose this country today, if we bend the knee to the Democrats today, our country will be lost forever, and our children will never know what freedom is. It’s our duty to stand up. I encourage you—let us stand united as men and women of faith to fight for our country!”
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an 621
In 2017 in the town of Tübingen, Germany, three university professors came up with Project Cassandra — an initiative that proposed using fiction novels to study political situations. The idea seemed unusual, to say the least, but Project Cassandra went ahead as planned. And journalist Philip Oltermann, writing about Project Cassandra in an article published by The Guardian GUK on June 26, notes that in fact, some fiction novels have predicted the types of things that actually happened in real life.
"The idea that novelists are modern-day Cassandras — 'speaking always truths, never grasped as true' — may sound positively esoteric," Oltermann explains. "There are tons of listicles on the internet hailing books that predicted events before their time, but most of these are accidental acts of clairvoyance by sci-fi writers describing futuristic technological equipment."
Oltermann goes on to cite examples of fiction novels that predicted actual events.
The journalist notes, "In 1914's 'The World Set Free,'HG Wells wrote about atomic bombs whose radioactive elements contaminate battlefields — three decades before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. British author John Brunner's 'Stand On Zanzibar' from 1968 imagined Europe's states forming a collective union, China's rise as a global power, the economic decline of Detroit and the inauguration of a 'President Obomi.' And, naturally, there is George Orwell's '1984,' in which a one-party state uses 'telescreens' to identify people from their expressions and heart rate — written more than half a century before the NSA's Prism surveillance program and China using facial recognition software to track its citizens."
Similarly, the 1973 science fiction film "Soylent Green" (starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson) predicted that in the year 2022, abusing the world with pollution and fossil fuels would have dire environmental, economic and political consequences — and with 2022 only a year away, climate change is showing that "Soylent Green" wasn't so far-fetched. Spoiler alert: Soylent Green is made of people.
Jürgen Wertheimer, one of the German literary scholars involved in Project Cassandra, told The Guardian, "Writers represent reality in such a way that their readers can instantly visualize a world and recognize themselves inside it. They operate on a plane that is both objective and subjective, creating inventories of the emotional interiors of individual lives throughout history."
According to Oltermann, the Cassandra Project's "dry run was to demonstrate how the war in Kosovo and the rise of Boko Haram could have been predicted through the study of literary texts."
And as "esoteric" as the Cassandra Project seemed when it started, Oltermann observes, the German Defense Ministry has provided funding for it.
"The German Defense Ministry decided to extend Project Cassandra's funding by two years," Oltermann notes. "It wanted Wertheimer's team to develop a method for converting literary insights into hard facts that could be used by military strategists or operatives: 'emotional maps' of crisis regions, especially in Africa and the Middle East, that measured'the rise of violent language in chronological order.'"
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aha: // mlk on switch out modifier: good trouble, gang of 5 we are the new/true radicals; appropriation/inversion/perversion of lefty god term [at the same time attacking woke, new PC]
msnbc moral panic: you raise kids w/ right values/american and univ makes them into liberals[and/or gay?]
https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/ron-desantis-2653505905/
Florida goes full fascist': Ron DeSantis sparks furious backlash with ‘authoritarian’ campus political surveys
Raw Story June 23, 2021
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation requiring Florida students, faculty, and staff to register their political views in surveys in an effort to promote "intellectual diversity" at colleges and universities, and the measure set off backlash across social media.
Critics decried the law, which DeSantis claims will promote freedom of speech, as a "thoroughly Orwellian" attempt to gain control over academic debate at institutions of higher learning.
Well, this is thoroughly Orwellian. ?? Faculty and students of Florida, you know what to do! Freep Mini-Trump's stup… https://t.co/N2nEE5UzuM
— Betty Cracker ?? (@Betty Cracker ??)1624454881.0
Well that's got to be unconstitutional: Florida students required to register political views with the state to pro… https://t.co/b1Bh8p98uN
— David Rothkopf (@David Rothkopf)1624455537.0
DeSantis wants to survey university students and staff, with the threat of budget cuts if he doesn't get his way???… https://t.co/IWfcM8nGhI
— Witty Librarian In a Mask (@Witty Librarian In a Mask)1624455089.0
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aha: patriot and traitor inverse contested devil/god terms, based on polarized world view/echo chamber.
https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/michael-flynn/
traitor mem day, reverse mirror or just fact?
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an 621 mirroring? justifies violnce by ppl in the name of/lieu of gov't? 1/6 called cops traitors and attacked/killed them.
Believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory are enthusiastically circulating a video of a contributor at the Trump-loving One America News calling for the mass execution of the former president's enemies.
Via The Daily Beast's Will Sommer, an OAN contributor this week went off on a rant in which he falsely claimed that "voter fraud" cost former President Donald Trump the 2020 election, and said it was time to think about how to deal with the purported perpetrators.
"Exactly how many people were involved in these efforts to undermine the election?" he asked. "Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? How many people does it take to carry out a coup against the presidency?"
He then pivoted to the consequences that the purported coup plotters will face once their treachery is exposed.
"In the past, America had a very good solution for dealing with such traitors: Execution," he said.
According to Sommer, the clip has gone viral in QAnon chat rooms.
"I came across the clip because QAnon people are see it as proof that the mass executions are right around the corner," Sommer explains. "Lots of glee in the Q chat rooms, demands for how exactly their imagined executions will be carried out and complaints they had to wait too long."
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critics denounce Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick's 'invasion' rhetoric on immigration
https://www.alternet.org/2021/06/dan-patrick/
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https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/right-wing-language/
m semrau
Right-wing operatives have recently mounted a campaign against the idea and practice of "wokeness." The word has the pretense of a neutral reference, but is increasingly used to debase and belittle the underlying meaning of anti-racism and anti-bigotry. Similar rhetorical tactics have a long history in conservatism, as they allow the GOP to obscure policy objectives, while simultaneously evoking negative and positive emotions. Overall, the GOP benefits from imprecise language soaked with connotation. Unfortunately, journalists and some liberals keep falling for it.
In the case of "woke" and "wokeness," conservatives are undermining a positive idea with derisive figurative language. Consider a converse example, in which the Republicans advanced an ugly principle through positive framing: waterboarding. It was described as "enhanced interrogation" by conservatives, and that was repeated by the press corps. However, if you actually describe what's involved in waterboarding—making a person temporarily experience drowning—Americans respond with repulsion. Conservatives knew this, so they chose to be evasive. "Enhanced interrogation" is more palatable than both "torture" and "simulated drowning."
Language can be exploited to great political effect. Words convey meaning two ways. By denotations, the actual real-world reference of a given word or phrase. And by connotations, the feelings they evoke. The GOP systematically uses language that obscures denotation and advances connotation. The case of "wokeness" is not so different from "enhanced interrogation," but, in this case, the underlying denotation—awareness of social injustice—is good whereas the connotations are unfortunately negative. As they did with "enhanced interrogation," conservatives are using figurative language to obscure deeper principles and create a fog of feeling, rather than reason.
The GOP's use of such language—figurative, imprecise, but laden with connotation—gained prominence in their backlash to the civil rights movement. After a certain point, it was of little benefit to conservatives to explicitly state they were opposed to equal rights for Black Americans, so they adopted fuzzy terms. This strategy was famously outlined by the late Lee Atwater, a chief architect of modern GOP rhetoric:
You start out in 1954 by saying, '[n-word], [n-word], [n-word].' By 1968 you can't say '[n-word]'—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states' rights, and all that stuff, and you're getting so abstract. Now, you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites. … 'We want to cut this' is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than "[n-word], [n-word]."
Here, Atwater specifically argued that, to advance racism, conservatives should embrace abstractions, given that racial slurs no longer confer electoral success. This tradition of linguistic manipulation continues to pervade our discourse. From "illegal alien" to "states' rights" to "politically correct" to now "woke," the Republicans have perfected the art of language devoid of concrete specifics, but charged with big feels.
That language has this power presents a challenge for journalists. Reporting should be informative and neutral. Yet with increasing frequency, the press corps uncritically adopts whatever linguistic frame has currency. The result, predictably, is neither informative nor neutral. What do Republicans actually mean when they criticize "wokeness?" It's unclear. Yet journalists repeat their rants without clarification.
Consider what "woke" actually denotes. The origin of the expression is unknown, but references to "staying woke" in African-American English can be traced back to Lead Belly's recording of "Scottsboro Boys," a song about young Black men who were falsely accused of rape. Recently, "woke" gained prominence during the 2014 Ferguson protests when it was used to signal awareness of anti-Black racism. "Woke" then proliferated online where its meaning broadened to describe anyone who was aware of systemic racism. Finally, the meaning shifted to encompass an awareness of bigotry in general. Now, lexicographers define "woke" as "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)."
While the current use of "woke" arose from African-American English, "awake" as a metaphor for awareness has deep cross-cultural roots. Wakefulness as revelation is referenced throughout both Buddhism and Christianity as well as in the work of poets and playwrights. It is, in fact, the same metaphor underlying the "Age of Reason"—or the Enlightenment—such that Kant wrote, "Enlightenment is the release of man from a state of bondage. … Have the courage to use your own understanding!" "Wokeness" was present in American political movements long before BLM. Republicans—proud descendants of Abraham Lincoln—might be interested to learn that an early anti-slavery faction within their own party called themselves "The Wide Awakes."
So, what "wokeness" denotes is overwhelmingly positive: awareness of bigotry and concomitant opposition. Yet, recently, as conservatives have co-opted it, the term has become derisive. "Woke" people are unserious. You're allowed to roll your eyes at them, because they are sensitive and sanctimonious. In this sense, "woke" has unfortunately become a dysphemism. Whereas euphemismssoften underlying meaning (the dead "passed away," for instance, or the woman is "with child"), dysphemisms do the opposite (the dead "croaked', for instance, or the woman got "knocked up"). DEVIL DEMON TERM
What's denoted by "woke" has been eclipsed by connotations. When we hear "woke" now, we do not think of its history as a metaphor for awareness. We certainly do not think of the Enlightenment. We think of pious scolds. And then, perhaps unwittingly, we transfer this pejorative connotation to the underlying principles of social justice.
We can't expect rhetorical honesty from the GOP, but we can ask more of the press corps that reports on conservatives' use of "woke." When reporters repeat the GOP's derision of "wokeness" without explaining the underlying denotation of the word, they are serving as a conduit of conservative propaganda. Such reporting is neither informative nor neutral. The meaning of what's said is, at best, obscure and imprecise. Failure to report the underlying meaning allows the negative connotations to prevail.
So, if an elected official claims "wokeness" is bad, journalists should ask them what they mean! Journalists could ask, for example: "Is anti-racism bad? What about anti-bigotry in general?" If they refuse to define what they intend when they deride "wokeness," journalists should do it for them by citing the dictionary definition.
We are in an existential battle. The forces of bigotry are strong, and, in many ways, our electoral system allows them to flourish. However, the evidence is clear: the actual principle of "wokeness"—the broad "awareness of social injustice"—is increasingly popular. We cannot let conservative rhetorical manipulations muddy this fact.
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mirror whabboutism
antifa salem or trued to block trump trucks called capitol takeover
rw talking heads seem to go to over it/boring well when they have no ctr to legit issue? RHET
suggests it's not a real issue, false outrage PC cancel cult being milked
321 just wondering watn pension plan (rich husb)
no lnx twt
Ex-Trump attorney furious DOJ investigating Matt Gaetz but not Hunter Biden
Screengrab.
David Badash and The New Civil Rights Movement March 31, 2021
Former Trump campaign and personal attorney Jenna Ellis is furious about the Dept. of Justice's investigation into Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for possible sex trafficking of an underaged girl, demanding to know why Hunter Biden has not been charged with wrongdoing – while just hours later lamenting the death of the "presumption of innocence."
"Okay so wait," Ellis, who professes to be a "Constitutional Law Attorney," said on Twitter, "the DOJ has time to investigate Matt Gaetz, but the whole Hunter Biden situation is just fine now?? And where's Durham??? This is why the American people are so over all of it."
"Durham" is now-former U.S. Attorney John Durham, who former Attorney General Bill Barr set up as a special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI's Russia probe. So far, after two years, he reportedly has found no problems with the FBI's decision to investigate Trump and the Trump campaign for possible Russia ties.
It's unclear who Ellis is referring to when lamenting that "the American people are so over all of it," given that it appears Hunter Biden's actions do not warrant prosecution, but she also went on to lament, ironically, the death of the "presumption of innocence," just seven hours later:
[some crack about twitter annd PC]
Ellis, a devout Christian who has suggested the left is trying to "cancel Christianity," has compared same-sex marriage to pedophilia and bestiality and supports criminalizing homosexuality.
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aha fundamental to 2 stories? RR medicare road to serfdom; note generic use of fed overreach concept;
compensatory cpac rant ie pound the table? FREEEE_DUMB! wow combines star wars and nazi ref, also mel gibson
https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/ted-cruz-speech/
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), fresh from near-universal condemnation over his Cancun vacation during the Lone Star State's ice and snow storms, power outages, and water shortage, spoke at CPAC Friday morning in anapparent effort to win back some of his lost approval rating.
He screamed for nearly a minute.
"These are dark days and the media tells us this is the new Galactic Empire forever and 1000 years, but already Joe Biden and the radicals in his administration they are already overshooting, they are already going too far, their policies don't work, they are disasters, they are bad, they are destroying jobs, they are stripping our freedom," Cruz said, screaming out unsubstantiated falsehoods.
"There is a natural pendulum to politics and the country will come back to sanity and mark my words, 2022 is going to be a fantastic election year, and so is 2024, as we stand together and defend liberty, defend the Constitution, defend the Bill of Rights of every American. In the immortal words of William Wallace, 'Freedom!'" he screamed.
Watch:
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https://www.alternet.org/2021/02/stop-the-steal/
no lnx twt
Ali Alexander, the lead organizer of the so-called Stop the Steal campaign, has resurfaced after going into hiding following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Streaming on Trovo Wednesday night, Alexander claimed that while he has been licking his wounds, he has been plotting to restart rallies in March, abolish the media, and build a separate society for Trump supporters.
As former President Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial this week for inciting an insurrection with his speech at the Stop the Steal rally the morning of Jan. 6, it appears Alexander has yet to face charges for his role. Alexander rebooted the so-called Stop the Steal campaign the day after Election Day, when Trump's lead began to slip as mail-in ballots began to be counted. He pushed voter fraud conspiracy theories, embraced QAnon conspiracy theorists and far-right activists in his campaign, claimed to be doing God's work, and organized three massive rallies in Washington, D.C., that featured the Proud Boys hate group, paramilitary groups like the Oath Keepers, and other extremists.
Following Jan. 6, Alexander was booted off most major social media platforms and, as a result, is now streaming on Trovo, a gaming platform that appears to be growing in popularity among far-right actors kicked off other platforms. On Wednesday night, Alexander lamented the “racist, bigoted, anti-Christian, anti-Southern, anti-Republican, anti-conservative, anti-human smear machine" that he says targeted him, and he promised to create chaos. “We've got to get back in the driver's seat," he added.
“They've done a great number on my life, they've cost me tens of thousands of dollars, they've really destroyed parts of my life, but in a lot of ways, I have no other choice but to announce that I'm building the future, so I'm making strategic investments in tools that fight deplatforming and tocreate chaos on existing platforms," Alexander claimed.
“America is going to have a choice, and I promise you that, between going onto this dystopian future or fighting in what I'm calling the American sovereignty movement," he said. “And I'm gonna get back, and I'm going to do rallies again starting in March, I'm gonna have indoor gatherings in March, in Michigan, in Arizona, in Georgia, in Texas. I'm going to do a media tour."
Alexander said he had been plotting how to do away with the free press and other “systems that control us": “So I want you guys to know that I've been licking my wounds, but I've been plotting, I've been planning, I've been scheming because we have to do away with this whole system. The free press is not free, and they're not the press, they need to be abolished. The systems that control us have to be abolished."
“I'm going to create a society, and a community, and a culture, and a language for [Trump supporters], and there are tens of millions of us. … Winning can just be 10 million people creating a new megacity," he mused. “Let's build our own city, let's seriously build our own city, let's build a back-up city in South America."
Alexander also didn't miss the opportunity to push the claim that the insurrection was a “premeditated psyop."
“Like everyone is saying the impeachment trial is proving that there was a premeditated psyop against both Trump and Stop the Steal, so how could we incite an insurrection that was premeditated by people we don't know?" he said. “And yet, are there big platforms welcoming me back saying we treated a Black man wrong because we wanted to pretend he was leading a white supremacy movement? No. These people are evil. And we will make lists of them, and they will not be welcome in this new society, they won't be welcomed on new platforms, those people who have tried toforce Marxism and thought control on us."
Alexander said that if the “deep state" charges him with a fake crime, he'd be prepared to fight: “If they want to charge me with a fake crime, if they want to martyr me, then I will meet them on that battlefield. I'm not somebody, I'm not somebody that talks a talk or tweets a tweet."
“I've licked my wounds, I'm pissed off. I'm more pissed off than I was the night of the election I created Stop the Steal. We win. They lose. To God be the glory," he said in closing.
Ahead of the Capitol insurrection, Alexander embraced increasingly violent rhetoric, calling for revolution and rebellion. A short distance away from the White House the day before the insurrection, Alexander started a “Victory or death!" chant at a Stop the Steal rally. “Our government is only our government if it is legitimate," he declared at that rally. “1776 is always an option."
After the violence at the Capitol, Alexander posted a since-deleted video of himself saying “I don't disavow this. I do not denounce this." He encouraged viewers to tune into his Stop the Steal website, which he called “the home of the rebellion against an illegitimate government."
This article was originally published at Right Wing Watch and is republished here by permission.
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https://www.alternet.org/2021/01/trump-linguists/
teleprompter
==
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https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-jones/infowars-alex-jones-funded-and-fomented-mob
no vid
great banner pix saved jnzmegaphone
Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones says he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and coordinated with the White House in the organizing of a January 6 event that culminated in a failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In comments made on Infowars broadcasts and during speeches delivered in Washington, D.C., in the days before January 6, Jones and his fellow Infowars host Owen Shroyer frequently used violent and revolutionary rhetoric in calling for the overturning of legitimate election results.
Five people lost their lives during the violent incursion in the Capitol that immediately followed an inciting speech given by the president on January 6. Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt was fatally shot by a U.S. Capitol Police officer as she attempted to breach the Speaker’s Lobby, which is close to the U.S. House of Representatives floor. U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher by Trump supporters. Three other Trump supporters died after experiencing medical emergencies, including one who was trampled to death by the mob.
Some Trump supporters made it clear their purpose in the Capitol was to hunt down and kill lawmakers. The quick thinking of [AA] Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman, who faced down the mob alone, diverted rioters away from the Senate floor, as captured in a stunning video taken by HuffPo reporter Igor Bobic.
Jones’ Infowars outlet was promoting a January 6 event as early as December 31. In a video posted to Infowars’ streaming platform Banned.video, a man ranted about the false claim that Trump won the 2020 election, saying, “These liberals think they can just do whatever the fuck they want. You know why that is? It’s because we sit there and we say we want to talk it out.” The video transitioned to promotional material for Infowars’ January 6 event and included a voiceover of Jones saying “It’s 1776 time,” a reference to the Revolutionary War. vid]
on January 2, Jones said during a broadcast that “it takes money to put my crew and security in D.C., and it takes money to organize this, and we put a lot of money -- myself -- into paying for the event Trump is going to be at and the other event.” He then encouraged viewers tobuy nutritional supplements from the Infowars Store and told them they “are funding the second American Revolution.” AHA ITS TEA PARTY DERIVATIVE]
The next day, Jones again discussed his involvement in planning and paying for the event. During his broadcast, he excoriated Trump supporters who were hesitant to travel to Washington, D.C., claiming, “I’ve seen people making a lot of excuses. ‘Oh, antifa is dangerous.’ It’s a lot more dangerous walking across the street.There’s hardly no antifa. They are a bunch of cowards.” (After mayhem unfolded at the Capitol, Jones and his outlet falsely blamed antifa supporters for the violence that took place.) He added, “It’s not about Infowars getting the credit for this, it’s about the fact that no one would step up and put the money in. ... I stepped up and put the money in for the 5th and for the 6th and then a donor came along, a great patriot, and paid $400,000-plus for the rest of it. I’m in over $130,000, and I'm not complaining about that. I had to do it when no one else was two weeks ago.”
Jones, Infowars host Owen Shroyer, and other Infowars employees then traveled to Washington, D.C. During a January 5 speech in downtown Washington, Shroyer said, “Americans are ready to fight. We’re not exactly sure what that is going to look like, perhaps, in a couple of weeks if we can’t stop this certification of the fraudulent election of Joe Biden.” He went on to “salute” Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) for their efforts to overturn the election and said of the people gathered there, “We are the new revolution.”
Meanwhile, Jones was at an event outside the Supreme Court, where he told a crowd, “We are facing Satan, and the answer to Satan’s 1984 is George Washington’s 1776.”
That evening, Jones and Shroyer regrouped to give more speeches in downtown Washington. Shroyer told a crowd, “Thomas Jefferson once said when the government fears the people, there is freedom. But for too long now the people have feared the government. … I can tell you that thecrooked politicians that occupy our Capitol are in fear right now. Do you know how I know this? Because they are scurrying around in secret tunnels to avoid ‘we the people.’ Right now as we speak they’re scurrying around like the little rats that they are to try to avoid you.”
When Jones took over the lectern, he told a cheering crowd that“we have only begun to resist the globalists” and that “they have tried to steal this election in front of everyone.” Jones also said,“I don’t know how all this is going to end, but if they want a fight, they better believe they’ve got one.”
He went on to say, “This will be their Waterloo. This will be their destruction.” (Waterloo refers to the pivotal battlefield defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte that ended the Seventh Coalition.) Jones also said that Winston Churchill “gave a famous speech where he said all I can promise you is blood, and pain, and war, and suffering. But the alternative is even worse:total slavery.” He then led the crowd in a “1776” chant.
The violent rhetoric continued the next day at Infowars’ event, which immediately preceded the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. During a January 6 speech in downtown Washington, Jones again told a crowd, “We declare 1776 against the New World Order.” Shroyer spoke from his own bullhorn while standing beside Jones, saying, “They said you lost this election in a landslide to [Joe] Biden. We said, ‘No, we don’t buy your bullshit.’ But, guess what? You want to feed us bullshit? We’re going to bring it right to your front door and you can eat it yourselves.” (Some Trump insurrectionists at the Capitol did in fact smear their own feces throughout the building’s hallways during the attack.)
At one point, Jones told the crowd to head to the Capitol “peacefully,” in contradiction to much of what he had said about what should happen on January 6. He also attempted to rile up the crowd by falsely telling them that Biden’s win in Arizona had been reversed and that “we have only begun to fight. This is 1776.” As people began to make their way to the Capitol, Shroyer yelled from a bullhorn that Democrats are “tyrants” and led the crowd in a “death to tyrants” chant. Jones then can be then heard attempting to privately confer with his crew, saying, “Let’s take it to the Capitol.”
While Jones and Shroyer did not enter the Capitol building and instead retreated to a “secure location” during the insurrection, an Infowars cameraperson, who identified himself only as “your boy Sam with Infowars.com,” did go inside as both a mob participant and a recorder of the events. Shortly before entering the building, he said, “We have had enough,” and “I got to be honest, this is not a peaceful protest.” Once he crossed the threshold, he yelled, “Guess what? We are in the Capitol, baby!” From a video uploaded to Banned.video with the title “Patriots Storm Congress Raw Footage Includes Execution of Ashli Babbitt,” it is apparent that “Sam” was just feet away from Babbitt when she was fatally shot near the Speaker’s Lobby. Although recent Infowars videos identify him only as “Sam,” older videos posted to Banned.video reveal that he appears to go by the name Sam Montoya.
As the attempted insurrection unfolded, Infowars’ Harrison Smith, who was guest-hosting The Alex Jones Show because Jones and Shroyer were in Washington, praised the “patriots” who were storming the Capitol, at least one of whom participated in beating officer Sicknick to death. The following day, Jones again claimed to have spent “close to a half a million dollars” organizing the gathering in Washington and also said that he organized the event in coordination with the White House.
Following the 2020 presidential election, Jones called on his supporters to “surround” the Georgia governor’s mansion and “rise up” because officials in that state refused to overturn Biden’s legitimate victory. In December, Shroyer praised the efforts of Trump supporters to violently disrupt the Oregon state legislature’s consideration of a COVID-19 relief bill.
Throughout the Trump presidency, Jones has often hyped the prospect of a second American Civil War that would pit conservatives against liberals, including saying that he would personally participate in violence and help execute supposed traitors. In recent months, Jones has hosted Oath Keepers militia founder Stewart Rhodes, who said during his Infowars appearances that his followers were on alert for a command from Trump to start carrying out mass violence against Democrats in Washington, D.C., and at other locations.
For his part, Shroyer said during a November 18 broadcast that prominent Democrats and members of the mainstream media “deserve” to be the victims of mass violence if Trump is not allowed to continue to be president, despite his defeat. He added, “I know I won’t have to be the one to get my hands dirty. I can sit right here in studio and just broadcast the whole thing.”
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wow ticks all boxes?
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes-repeats-demand-that-trump-declare-martial-law-to-avoid-militia-led-civil-war/
[pix we the ppl big on forearm he hold mic w/ oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes at a pro-Trump "prayer rally" Dec. 12, 2020.]
Stewart Rhodes, pro-Trump leader of the anti-government extremist group Oath Keepers, posted an open letter to President Donald Trump Monday urging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act against “domestictraitors,”order “trusted military units” to “seize all databases of the CIA, FBI, NSA, DNI, etc and the records held by all state electoral systems and administrators,” and declassify evidence of treason by “corrupt and compromised elites” who he claimed had worked with the Chinese government to subvert the election.
The letter echoes comments Rhodes made at a Dec. 12 “prayer rally” on the National Mall, where he warned Trump that if he doesn’t take action, right-wing militias will have to do so in a “much more bloody war.”
This language is nothing new for Rhodes. During last year’s impeachment investigation, Rhodes warned, “We ARE on the verge of a HOT civil war. Like in 1859.” In a 2017 Fourth of July message he said that if Hillary Clinton had defeated Trump with the help of “election fraud” and “illegal alien votes,” the country would have been involved in civil war “combat.” As Right Wing Watch’s Kristen Doerer noted in October, the Oath Keepers’ violent language is part of a broader use of rhetoric about civil war from across the right-wing movement.
In his new open letter, Rhodes writes:
It’s time tohonor that oath by defending the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
This is your moment of destiny. Will you take your place in history as the savior of our Republic, right up there with President Washington and Lincoln? Or will you fail to act, while you still can, and leave office on January 20, 2021, leaving We the People to fight a desperate revolution/civil war against an illegitimate usurper and his Chicom puppet regime?
Rhodes claims that the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the recent case brought by the attorney general of Texas “shows that the cancer of cowardice, compromised officials, and treason has spread even to the Supreme Court.” He urges Trump not to concede the election:
Through well-orchestrated mass vote fraud, the Communist Chinese and their domestic enemy allies are about to install their illegitimate puppet, Joe Biden, and his equally illegitimate puppet running mate, Kamala Harris, into the White House, with their treasonous fingers on the nuclear launch codes.
You must act NOW as a wartime President, pursuant to your oath to defend the Constitution, which is very similar to the oath all of us veterans swore. We are already in a fight. It’s better to wage it with you as Commander-in-Chief than to have you comply with a fraudulent election, leave office, and leave the White House in the hands of illegitimate usurpers and Chinese puppets. Please don’t do it. Do NOT concede, and do NOT wait until January 20, 2021. Strike now.
If you fail to act while you are still in office, we the people will have to fight a bloody civil war and revolution against these two illegitimate Communist China puppets, and their illegitimate regime, with all of the powers of the deep state behind them, with nominal command of all the might of our armed forces (though we fully expect many units or entire branches to refuse their orders and to fight against them) and with their foreign allies also joining in to assist in the suppression of American patriots.
Rhodes urges Trump to federalize all National Guard units, call up military veterans under the age of 65, and order “all able-bodied Americans between the ages of 17-45 who are still loyal to the Constitution to likewise report for duty, bearing their own arms” to keep the peace and “suppress the expected riots, terrorism, and armed insurrection by the radical left in the United States (who have been armed and equipped for months now by our foreign and domestic enemies).”
Rhodes concludes the letter to Trump with a repeat of the demand and threat he posed at Saturday’s rally:
WE ARE IN FOR A FIGHT, NO MATTER WHAT. LET’S GET IT DONE WITH YOU AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF
There is no way out but through. And we will NOT submit to a Chicom puppet regime. You must stand tall and use your constitutional powers to fight this war against enemies foreign and domestic while you are still President and Commander-in-Chief. If you fail to do so, we the people will have to fight a bloody revolution/civil war to throw off an illegitimate deep state/Chinese puppet regime.
Oath Keepers, launched by Rhodes in 2009 after the election of President Barack Obama, claims to be a nonpartisan group of current and former law enforcement and military service members committed to protecting Americans’ constitutional rights by refusing to abide by unconstitutional orders. In reality, Oath Keepers under Rhodes is a hard-right anti-government group. Rhodes has repeatedly called for violence and declared that the U.S. is at the point of civil war.
In an article in the November 2020 issue of The Atlantic, Mike Giglio reported that Oath Keepers “has recruited thousands of police, soldiers, and veterans.” His reporting drew in part on adatabase of 25,000 Oath Keepers members and supporters obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Rhodes told Giglio that it would be better to wage civil war than to “slide into a nightmare” of a dictatorship. Giglio reported that at a recruiting meeting outside Nashville, Tennessee, in July, Rhodes called anti-fascist activists and protesters “insurrectionists” and declared, “Us old vets and younger ones are going to end up having to kill these young kids,” adding, “And they’re going to die believing they were fighting Nazis.” At an event in Virginia, a former marine declared, “We should have been shooting a long time ago instead of standing off to the side.”
Politico’s Ciara O’Rourke reported earlier this month that “Oath Keepers are quietly infiltrating local government.”
In 2016, Trump gave a speaking slot at the Republican National Convention toSheriff David Clarke,who had previously received an award from the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group that shares some of Oath Keepers’ ideology. Clarke had also spoken at a fundraising event for Oath Keepers’ New York chapter....
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note rhet, note always defensive, it's kraken that is coup
https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/prepare-for-war-gop-official-pushes-dangerous-conspiracy-theories-over-election-outcome/
ME
It has been three days since the Electoral College confirmed President-elect Joe Biden's victory, but an overwhelming number of Republicans are still refusing to accept the outcome of the election. Propaganda articles and infotainment videos on conspiracy theories are still circulating as Trump supporters continue their fight to "stop the steal."
Now, an article published by the Seattle Times highlights another problem with the spread of misinformation. The writer notes that it is one thing when dangerous falsehoods come from unknown websites that lack credibility, but some of the latest threats are coming from members of the Republican Party.
According to the publication, on Monday, Rep. Robert J. Sutherland, a representative of the 39th legislative district of Eastern Snohomish County along with Skagit County, took to Facebook with a number of dangerous claims about the election.
In multiple posts, he referenced reports and claims from right-wing influencers and propaganda sites as he said,"prepare for war. Joe Biden is not now, nor will ever be my President. Am I a sore loser?No. I'm pro-America and anti-communist.Joe Biden is a bought and paid for Communist China puppet. Stay tuned, big things happening soon at the Federal level."
In a series of other Facebook posts and discussions, Sutherland also insisted that he supported the idea of going to war over the so-called "coup against the sitting president."
"Is the 'coup' against the sitting President the start of a second 'Civil War' here in the USA?" Sutherland asked as he noted his support of Trump possibly using the military to maintain his presidential power.
"What good and decent person [xian crusade? deus vult?] would not conduct a war to defend Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of happiness, their families, their neighbors?" Sutherland asked.
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building on gubmint base?
https://www.alternet.org/2020/12/trump-cult/
kos
while the arrival of vaccine doses is finally bringing some hopeful news about the pandemic, the state of U.S. democracy continues to be at an historic low point fueled by the complicity of the Republican Party.
The past week has included a rash of threats against public servants trying to fulfill their duties and uphold their oaths of office. Nowhere was that more evident on Monday than in Michigan where the Capitol building was shut down to everyone but the 16 electors and others essential to certifying the state's Electoral College vote after credible threats of violence emerged. Each elector was provided with a police escort, but the atmosphere was so toxic, one elector ultimately decided to wear a bullet-proof vest to faithfully cast her vote for the state's rightful winner, Joe Biden.
The situation in Michigan followed on a week in which a so-called "enemies" list of state and federal officials who weren't sufficiently loyal to Donald Trumpsurfaced on the internet, according to the Washington Post. The list included the officials' home addresses along with photos of them covered by red targets and hashtags such as #remembertheirfaces and #NoQuarterForTraitors.
That sentiment bled into a weekend of protests turned violent from Washington State to Washington D.C., with four people stabbed and another shot in Olympia while a series of altercations broke out in D.C.
And it's not just public officials who are being targeted. The Georgia GOP election official who warned earlier this month that someone would wind up getting killed if Republicans didn't speak up outlined instances in which random citizens are getting caught in the crossfire.
"We have people stalking outside of our elections offices in Cobb County," said Gabriel Sterling last Thursday. "We've had a warehouse manager, he was simply taking trash out to the dumpster, and he had somebody follow him with a camera telling him he's going to prison."
Hate crimes spiked across the country following Trump's 2017 defense of white supremacists in Charlottesville as "very fine people." But Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino, told the Post threats targeting government officials increased last year and were then exacerbated by the onset of coronavirus restrictions.
"The direction of the threats and intimidation against state and local officials took an eerie turn in the last couple of years and accelerated during the pandemic because aggrieved people are interacting with their government at the local level — in public health and elections," Levin said. "And those officials are the very ones labeled as legitimate targets for aggressions on cable news, social media and particularly by the president."
Following the spate of violent threats, the question becomes who will even want to serve in these positions anymore?
"There is an ugliness and cruelty in our national rhetoric that is reaching a fevered pitch here at home, and that should worry us all," said Diana Lachiondo, a local Idaho health official who was forced to flee a meeting last week about pandemic restrictions when menacing protesters showed up at her home [12 yo kid?] . Lachiondo, who recently lost reelection, added, "I'm out. ... I've got a light at the end of the tunnel here. But who is going to want to run in the future? Do you need to live in a gated community to feel like you're safe? That is my concern going forward . . . what does this mean for our democracy?"
One of her colleagues, physician Ted Epperly, agreed the problem isn't going away anytime soon. "I think it'll take a lot of healing, quite frankly, to get us back to working together as a society," he told the Post. "I'm sure people will write about this for years to come," he added. "What happened? What happened here in this country? Who are we as people?"
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aha 1120: rooted in hofstedter paranoid style? trump trial balllonong lots of anti-socialist, extreme-ist BS in campaign, trying to make us afraid of green new deal AOV The Squad antifa arsonists who are coming to your burbs; (not so much socialized medicine?) commie sorta replaced by globalist global elite // coastal elite but sorta evokes Illuminati trilateral bilderbeg anti-sem BS [note SOROS in stop the steal clown car legal BS, also Hugo Chavez; Agenda 21 was anti-green TP reincarnation. TP is core of trumpistas?
sparked by
stop the steal clown car elite strike team:
...After Giuliani's segment ended, Powell took the lectern and alleged without evidence that an international Communist plot had been engineered by Venezuela, Cuba, China, Hugo Chávez (who died in 2013), George Soros, and the Clinton Foundation, to rig the 2020 election.[9][43] She also alleged that Dominion Voting Systems "can set and run an algorithm that probably ran all over the country to take a certain percentage of votes from President Trump and flip them to President Biden."[44]^
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aha conspiracy theories just this stew of memes that get recycled and combined? related to pseudo-populism? the system is rigged, just not in the way you think.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump-voters-2649007931/
roger s salon
Plaintiffs in a number of the Trump campaign's lawsuits challenging the president's electoral defeat have peddled conspiracy theories and made racist comments. One of them, a plaintiff represented by Rudy Giuliani in federal court this week, was even implicated in an election fraud scheme of his own.
The new revelations, first reported by Salon, add another dimension of doubt to President Donald Trump's widely discredited, last-ditch legal challenges to President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory.
"We are through the looking glass when Rudy Giuliani is appearing in court to allege voter fraud in the presidential race on behalf of a plaintiff who has previously been implicated in election fraud schemes himself," Kyle Herrig, president of government watchdog Accountable.US, told Salon in a statement. "The plaintiffs in these cases have long histories peddling conspiracy theories online. It is time for this legal freak-show to exit the courtroom and go back to the chat room where it belongs."
Among the more recent of the campaign's lawsuits is a complaint filed in Pennsylvania, which seeks a court order to block the certification of votes in the state. Giuliani took over that case on Tuesday, when he made his first arguments before a federal bench since 1992.
The amended complaint to that case includes allegations from a Uniontown resident named Larry Roberts, who claims the state did not notify him after his ballot was canceled.
"We are through the looking glass when Rudy Giuliani is appearing in court to allege voter fraud in the presidential race on behalf of a plaintiff who has previously been implicated in election fraud schemes himself," Kyle Herrig, president of government watchdog Accountable.US, told Salon in a statement. "The plaintiffs in these cases have long histories peddling conspiracy theories online. It is time for this legal freak-show to exit the courtroom and go back to the chat room where it belongs."
Among the more recent of the campaign's lawsuits is a complaint filed in Pennsylvania, which seeks a court order to block the certification of votes in the state. Giuliani took over that case on Tuesday, when he made his first arguments before a federal bench since 1992.
The amended complaint to that case includes allegations from a Uniontown resident named Larry Roberts, who claims the state did not notify him after his ballot was canceled.
Roberts is a former Pennsylvania Democratic state representative, who served from 1993-2006. During that time, he was accused of violating campaign laws multiple times, including election fraud.
In 2004, Roberts was accused of bribing a stalking-horse candidate to siphon primary votes from a Democratic challenger. That spoiler candidate, Michael Ciampanelli, at the time 20 years old, told the local board of elections that Roberts had paid him $200 to put his name on the ballot. A state grand jury investigated the claims, as did the attorney general, but what became of the probe is unclear.
That same year, the rival also accused Roberts of forging 33 signatures on his own nominating petition. The allegation was backed up by a woman who worked in one of Roberts' offices. The woman said Roberts staff told her to lie about the matter, warning her she could face jail time "if the real story came out," according to the Associated Press.
In 2007, the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission slapped Roberts with a $600 fine for violations in 2001 and 2004, including unlawfully using legislative staff to organize campaign events and co-opting his legislative office as a drop-off point for campaign materials.
A separate Pennsylvania lawsuit dropped on Thursday by the campaign featured Ted Dannerth as a plaintiff, a man who has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories online.
For instance, Dannerth has tweeted multipletimes this year about "Project Blue Beam," an apparent reference to a fringe conspiracy theory falsely claiming that a NASA-Illuminati joint effort is engineering earthquakes in order to establish a new-age religion led by the antichrist. Dannerth has also called women a "weapon" against what he considers to be the "imminent threat" of sterility that would accompany a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Trump campaign plaintiff stitched a number of baseless fringe, QAnon-adjacent theories together in a lengthy Facebook post this April. Among other things, he claimed that Oprah Winfrey's house had been raided in a sex-trafficking sting and the media had brainwashed Americans against the president, who "is working from the bottom up, to remove the Democrat/Communist/Socialist Epstein/Deep State/CCP scourge from the planet."
Dannerth was also involved in a previous 2020 election lawsuit challenging public use of a private grant to fund election initiatives over his opposition to "the election of progressive candidates in local, state and federal elections." That suit was dismissed by District Judge Matthew Brann, who is presiding over the Trump campaign's current lawsuit.
Several plaintiffs in the campaign's challenge to block Michigan canvassers from certifying Detroit-area ballots present similar personal histories.
Eric Ostergen, a Republican poll challenger named in the suit, has repeatedly pushed misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. This April, he shared a Washington Times op-ed calling coronavirus "the biggest hoax in political history," on Facebook. In a separate post, he endorsed the since-discredited treatment hydroxychloroquine.
Ostergen posted two times on Facebook about lawsuits he filed against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., over coronavirus measures, saying that "the tyrants will now be reeled in." He has also denied climate change science on Facebook, a platform where he has also posted baseless claims about Hunter Biden's laptop and voter fraud in Detroit's 2016 election.
The Trump campaign's Michigan case also features another coronavirus truther, Marian Sheridan, head of the Michigan Conservative Coalition (MCC), who in October led a "guard the vote" project after Trump's calls to recruit an "army" of poll-watchers.
In April, Sheridan's group staged "Operation Gridlock," where thousands of protesters jammed the streets of Lansing with their vehicles to express displeasure with Whitmer's stay-home orders. MCC also launched "Operation Haircut" in defense of a barber who opened his shop for illegal haircuts amid the state's lockdowns. And Sheridan hosted a Tea Party event to educate the public about "the common roots of COVID-19 hysteria and climate change."
A third plaintiff in the Michigan lawsuit, Grosse Pointe City Councilman Matt Seely, has mocked allegations of sexual assault in social media posts, including against Trump and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
"I'M SORRY THAT BAD MAN TOUCHED YOU INAPPROPRIATELY," read one meme, featuring a crying woman, which Seely shared during the Kavanaugh hearings. "LET'S WAIT 30 OR 40 YEARS … UNTIL HE RUNS FOR OFFICE … AGAINST A DEMOCRAT."
Seely also drew criticism for a social media post in which he connected four Democratic Congresswomen of color, known collectively as "the Squad," to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the post — which was published on the 2019 anniversary of the attacks — Seely said the elevation of those women to Congress was "proof we have forgotten" about 9/11. The words accompanied a picture of the Twin Towers on fire.
Seely pushed back against criticism over the post, saying he could express political views on his private Facebook page. In doing so, he was backed by the mayor of Grosse Pointe Shores and other city council members.
In Nevada, former Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle — who already had a mail-in ballot case tossed in October — filed a lawsuit parallel to other GOP election challenges in the state, asking the court to stop the state from certifying its votes.
Angle is known for repeatedly pushing right-wing conspiracy theories, such as warning that American towns would fall to Sharia law and claiming fluoride in drinking water is a "communist plot to undermine Western democracy."
In a radio interview ahead of the 2010 midterms, Angle, who at the time was running against Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, alluded to armed insurrection as a remedy for a liberal Congress, saying — citing Thomas Jefferson — that "it's good for a country to have a revolution every 20 years."
"I hope that's not where we're going, but, you know, if this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying, 'My goodness, what can we do to turn this country around?" Angle said. "I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out."
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11/17/20
aha: authoritarian/ coup needs either massice econ failure or mult failures/crises? (death spiral?); massive and growing inequality amplifed (accel) by covid; note below two stories: economic factors were probably a "wash" in terms of the 2020 election, with some American voters likely blaming Trump for the current bad economy (and correctly so) while others may have blamed the COVID-19 lockdowns and supported Trump's opposition to them.
"He's taken advantage of being president to further his white nationalism, but I don't think that's his main goal," Wilderquist told Salon. "I think Trump's main goal for his entire life is to convince as many people as possible that he's a winner that he wins and wins and wins, and that he's the world's biggest winner.And like a lot of us, he doesn't want to be a loser. The way to step down without feeling like a loser is to convince his echo chamber that he didn't lose. He won and that it was stolen from him. He doesn't need a coup to do that. He just needs to complain a lot."
aha K: story 1 capitaLISM is awesome and so is USAUSA, so if we are not winning it is b/c limp lefties betrayed us in trade talks so our natural inevitable winners hobbled. Story 2: we used to be the colinial imperal power sole superpower but [corp dems]either antiipinko BS kept us from having a nat'l econ strategy like Japan and now china, or corps so corrupted politics that rules favoered max profit = outsourcing, so now (rural?) am abandoned or colonized (no unions in So).
https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/experts-explain-the-economic-situations-that-beget-successful-coups/
matt r
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aha dr video especially potent b/c selective POV pick of content helps with alt fact post truth BS, PLUS seeing is belieiving, looks like raw unfakeable reality verite right there on the screen, PLUS images bypass rational brain; PLUS designed to go viral, and even if debunked [and we have ppl dying of covid who think it's bs, stop cursing tyhe nurses for wearing ppe only when intubated], plus it's made to support existing BS narrative (or combo, some cultivated for decades like myth of liberal press [death spiral?]; and even if debunked it still has emotional effect [ampl by alogithms] even after rational mind accepts it was not true/never happnened?!
https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/ivanka-trump
roger salon
As right-wing groups clashed with counter-protesters at pro-Trump demonstrations over the weekend, Ivanka Trump, the senior White House adviser and daughter of outgoing President Donald Trump, condemned the media on Twitter for "near total silence" over alleged assaults on conservatives. The tweet came as selectively edited video wrongly portraying Trump supporters as victims of violence circulated online in right-wing circles.NOTE THIS SETS UP RATIONALE FOR MORE RW VIOLENCE]
"The media's near total silence about the physical violence being perpetrated against conservatives is shameful & dangerous. Just image the outrage and indignation if this went the other way," Ivanka tweeted. "Violence is never the answer and instigators must be condemned and prosecuted." ATLAS, BANNON BOOGALOO...]
Donald Trump Jr. one-upped his sister's allegation an hour later by claiming, without evidence, that the media was "complicit." He also suggested that "they might as well" put Trump supporters on a non-existent Gulag list controlled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. [THE NEW PELOSI?]
"The media's silence on the violence against Trump supporters is deafening. After four years of calling them Nazis, at this point they might as well just dox them all or add the[m] to AOC's lists for the Gulags," Don Jr. baselessly tweeted. "They are complicit in the violence. They are the worst of the worst."
Trump supporters and right-wing groups marched in several cities on Saturday in protest of the president's recent electoral loss to President-elect Joe Biden. The demonstrators echoed the president's evidence-free allegations of a stolen election.
Many of these groups were met by counter-protests, and violence broke out in some instances. The most serious of these incidents took place in Washington, where Proud Boys and other right-wing groups and militia members clashed with counter-protesters, according to multiple reports. Contrary to the Trump family's assertions, conservatives were filmed launching attacks. 2 STABBINGS ONE PROUD?]
It was not the first time Ivanka had misleadingly tweeted about political violence. In a tweet referencing "inner city communities," the first daughter cited the wrong number of people killed and wounded in the wrong location ("near a playground") over the course of a weekend in Chicago in August 2019.
In his first debate with Biden, President Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back, and stand by." Unlike his offspring, the president outwardly applauded Saturday's violence in the streets.
"ANTIFA SCUM ran for the hills today when they tried attacking the people at the Trump Rally, because those people aggressively fought back," he tweeted.
The president also shared a selectively edited video posted by Andy Ngo, a right-wing sympathizer with a history of wrongly framing left-wing groups. The clip showed a man getting knocked out by a counter-protester after being attacked from behind.
"A close-up angle of BLM rioters knocking a man unconscious who was leaving the #MillionMAGAMarch in DC earlier today," Ngo wrote. "They also steal his phone when he's on the ground."
"Human Radical Left garbage did this," the president added, quoting Ngo's original tweet. "Being arrested now!"
But an extended clip appears to shows the man was with a group of Trump supporters who earlier attacked a counter-protester holding a bullhorn by pushing him down to the street and stepping on his head.
D.C. police on Sunday said they hadarrested nearly two dozen people, many of them on gun charges, according to The Washington Post. One person was stabbed,and four officers were injured.
Police Chief Peter Newsham told The Post that groups on both sides had descended on the city "intent on clashing," and "the police department was put directly in the middle of it."
In Sacramento, Calif., a group of Proud Boys met counter-protesters with bear spray, according to the Bay Area's ABC7 News. Police broke up the incident.
President Trump urged police to use force on counter-protesters, tweeting: "Antifa waited until tonight, when 99% were gone, to attack innocent #MAGA People. DC Police, get going — do your job and don't hold back!!!"
There is no evidence to support the protesters' accusations of widespread electoral fraud in the presidential election. Courts have summarily dismissed the vast majority of the Trump campaign's lawsuits.
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aha: herd immunity latest fallback , magical thinking? does not req admit fail, how admit dumb lack vision do not undersatand # sci killed 100x 911?
250k KIA azar praise
Trump plan for mass death is unfolding before our eyes
On Friday, the COVID Tracking Project reported that the number of positive coronavirus infections in the last day had reached 170,000, the highest record ever and a number tha...
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aha yikes herd idiocy is all we have left when freeDUMB rules, plus // w/ darwin libtard reductionist BS
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aha: scotus attack on unions is 2x whammy ~ moderation; McConn ct packing :he's amplifying polarization, whih will cripple self-correction of sys, increase instability --> crises/sys fail; moderation = DEMOC?! maybe not 2x whammy so much as cascade fail?
an 1120
The core of the Republican Party strength is concentrated in the 27 Right to Work states.As discussed in a previous article, Right to Work laws are designed to weaken unions by cutting their revenue and membership. Unions represent just 7.5% of the workforce in right to work states but almost 16% in "fair share" states. The 27 "right to work" states account for 83% of the currently seated Republican Senators and 70% of their Representatives. In 2016, Trump carried 25 of the 27 these states.
JUDICIAL BRANCH – Anti-Union/Pro Business Judges Dominate the Supreme Court and Appellate Courts
The Republican Party has worked for a long time to ensure that the federal court system is dominated by conservative, pro-business/anti-union judges over the long term. Indeed, Republicans basically packed the court system when Senate Majority Leader McConnell refused to allow the Senate to vote on 105 judicial vacancies during the Obama administration which were later filled by Trump appointees.
Supreme Court. The Supreme Court now has 6 Republican appointed justices and 3 Democratic Justices. Each of the three Trump appointees had a proven anti-union/pro-corporate bias before being nominated.
Amy Coney Barrett. During her term on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Barrett ruled in favor of corporate interest more than 75% of the time. She ruled that corporations are entitled to set job requirements that exclude older workers and that they may segregate workers at different locations by race. She has also expressed support for striking the entire Affordable Care Act which would deprive health insurance for 20 million people and end protections for 100 million people with pre-existing conditions.
Neil Gorsuch. During his term on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Gorsuch repeatedly ruled against workers and in favor of corporations. For example, Gorsuch dissented from a majority ruling upholding a National Labor Relations Board decision that an employer must give full back pay to workers it illegally fired for union activity. Gorsuch dissented in cases in which the circuit court majority supported pro-worker NLRB decisions stating that the NLRB exceeded the scope of its authority. However, Gorsuch made no such dissent when the court ruled in favor of NLRB decisions that supported management.
Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh served on the extremely important US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This court is second only to the Supreme Court in terms of prestige and power because it has jurisdiction over Congress and most federal regulations and agencies. The People for the American Way compiled a list of rulings showing that Kavanaugh consistently ruled against workers and for corporations during his 12½ years on the DC Circuit Court. Examples include Kavanaugh's opinions that would "entirely eviscerate collective bargaining;" his support for corporations seeking criminal citations for lawful union protests; and support for corporations that failed to protect workers health and safety.
Other Federal Courts. In almost 4 years Trump and the Republican Senate have appointed 24% of all active federal judges (194 of 792). There are 35 more nominations currently pending. Trump has appointed 30% of all active federal appeals court judges (54 of 179). This is more than any other president over the last 40 years. Overall, Republican appointees now account for 54% of all federal circuit court judges. The circuit courts are especially powerful because they function as final arbiter for the vast majority of cases since the Supreme Court accepts fewer than 2% of the 7-8,000 cases filed with it annually. These courts ultimately determine what the federal government can and cannot regulate – this is especially important to unions in relation to the right to organize and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions as well as the relative power of unions and corporations....
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aha: i got that this was transactional before, but now i see also extraction/extortion; capitalism, he is ultimate / apotheosis of me vs we.
grifter libtards decry gubmint but 1st to line up to suck off taxpyer resouces/ buffer/commons
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/donald-trump-hunger-games-meme/
truscott 4
Remember this number: $3.
That's how much Trump charged the federal government for a glass of water in April of 2018 when he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. According to the Washington Post, Trump's company also charged the government "$13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements," over the two days he held meetings with Abe at the resort. But one day, Trump was scheduled to meet with Abe without aides and advisers, with no meal service or cocktails or any other celebratory nonsense. Just the two leaders, alone in a room, talking. According to the Post, the bill for that day contained a line item reading, "Bilateral meeting. Water. $3.00 each."
Donald Trump has been paid "at least $2.5 million by the U.S. government," since taking office, according to official documents obtained by the Post. Trump has made more than 280 visits to his own hotels and golf clubs over the last four years, and the payments covered costs for "hotel rooms, ballrooms, cottages, rental houses, golf carts, votive candles, floating candles, candelabras, furniture moving, resort fees, decorative palm trees, strip steak, chocolate cake, breakfast buffets, $88 bottles of wine and $1,000 worth of liquor for White House aides." according to the Post.
And water. A total of six bucks for water, no charge being too small to make it onto a bill to the government for a payment going straight into the pocket of the man who owns the Trump Organization and everything it comprises, including his resort in Palm Beach.
It's apparently a good part of what the Trump base likes about him — his appetites, his pure, unadulterated, money-grubbing-right-down-to-$3-for-water greed. Trump has wanted more his entire life. He wants more money, of course. He has spent a lifetime in pursuit of more money, and then some more, and more and more. He borrowed so much money in pursuit of even more money that it drove him into bankruptcy, several bankruptcies in fact. Today, as president, he is said to be in debt for nearly $1 billion to banks and other lenders, a debt that will come due within the next few years, according to the New York Times and other reports.
Trump wants more fame, a drive that started off with mentions in gossip columns like the New York Post's "Page Six," during the years he was coming into his own as a builder in New York City. He used to call gossip columnists and plant items about himself, posing as a PR person, and then he would call the columnists the next day and comment on their mention of him in order to gain yet another column inch or two in the tabloids. Some said he ran for president back in 2016 to "burnish his brand," to achieve even more fame and use it to make even more money. Since he became president, he has been relentless in his pursuit of attention, tweeting at all hours, criticizing cable networks who don't give him enough coverage, calling in to shows like "Fox & Friends" and "Hannity" both to reward them for the coverage they've already given him, and to get more coverage.
He wants more women, from wife No. 1, Ivana, when he was just starting out, to wife No. 2, Marla Maples, after he jettisoned Ivana, and now wife No. 3, Melania, who replaced No. 2 when he determined she had a few too many miles on her. And then there were all the women in between, in and among his marriages, the women he groped on airplanes and at bars and during parties, the women he (allegedly) raped in places like a Bergdorf's dressing room or a hotel room or a bathroom during a party, the women whose mouths he forced his tongue down, the women he pushed up against walls and pressed himself against, the women whose bodies he commented on in offices or across rooms, the women whose skirts he put his hand up at restaurant tables, the women whose breasts he grabbed at tennis tournaments and beauty pageants, the women whose rear ends he grabbed in green rooms before television show tapings, the women he dragged behind curtains at New Year's Eve parties and forcibly kissed and groped. All of those women. Trump wanted their bodies and their mouths and he took them without asking permission because he was Donald Trump, and he took what he wanted.
He wanted more golf, so he played more golf more frequently than any president before him. He wanted so much golf that he went around the world buying and building his own golf courses, and then he played them, because he owned them, and because he owned the golf carts, as president he could charge the government for his own Secret Service agents. He could even charge the government for the hotel rooms the agents stayed in while they protected him. He charged the government $17,000 a month for a cottage at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, which the Secret Service had to rent month after month just in case he had a mind to play a round of golf.
Trump wants more adulation, more love from the "base," and when he feels he isn't getting enough, he tweets. There aren't enough hours in the day for Donald Trump. He was up at 3 a.m. this week, tweeting about the Supreme Court, the court to which he has appointed three arch-conservative justices, yelling at them for their recent decisions allowing mail-in votes to be counted after Election Day, because of course, he wants more votes. He's been up at 3 a.m. tweeting before, taunting a Miss Universe contestant for a "sex tape," taunting CNN as "low rated," bragging about his debate performance, yelling at polls that show him losing.
And now Trump is making his final campaign swing through the "battleground states," feeding the insatiable need of his base for more of himself. "Four more years" has become "12 more years." Somehow Trump is owed more years of the presidency because "they" took two or three years away from him during the Russia investigation, because "they" spied on his 2016 campaign, because "they" don't deserve to win. The red-hat-wearing mobs of un-masked fans at his rallies want more of the America they think Trump is bringing back to them. It's an America that is more white, has more guns, has more churches, more of "us," less of "them."
That's what they like about him. They want it all, the same way he does. That's what opposition to affirmative action has always been. They don't want some of the college admissions, they want them all. That's what Shelby County v. Holder was about, that's what voter IDs and all the restrictive rules about voting by mail are about. They want all the votes.
For the Trump base, making America great again means making America ours again, but he's going to make sure he puts it on their tab, right there with $3 for water and $546 for rooms and $50 for decorative palm trees for table decorations and $1,005.60 for 26 servings of Patron and Don Julio tequila, 22 Chopin vodkas, and six glasses of Woodford Reserve bourbon consumed by White House staffers at the Mar-a-Lago bar. It's going to cost us more than votes to get our country back. We're going to be paying for Trump's insatiable greed long after he's gone. More than 228,000 of us have already paid with our lives. If the Friday totals keep up — 98,500 new cases and more than 900 dead — a half million of us may perish by the time Trump walks out of the White House for the last time.
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aha, no accident this is most pronounced on youtube? post-literate, video enflames emotiions more than print, bypass brain, plus algo amplification:
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/are-fox-news-viewers-racist/
It's no secret that U.S. politics has become highly polarized.
Even so, there are probably few living Americans who ever witnessed anything that quite compares with this fall's first presidential debate.
Was it really the case that the nation could do no better than a verbal food fight, with two candidates hurling fourth-grade insults and talking past each other?
To us, the discordant debate was just one more symptom of the nation's fraying civic discourse, which, in a recent study, we were able to show extends to the words we use to talk about politics.
Earlier this year, we started constructing a data set that consists of all of the viewer comments on YouTube videos posted by four television networks — MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and One America News Network — that target slices of the political spectrum. Together, the data set contains over 85 million comments on over 200,000 videos from 6.5 million viewers since 2014.
We studied whether there are distinct variants of English written in the comments sections, akin to the distinction between British English and American English.
Using machine learning methods, we found these permutations do exist. Moreover, we can rank them in terms of the "left-ness" and the "right-ness." To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical demonstration of quantifiable linguistic differences in news audiences.
Our second finding, however, was even more unexpected.
Our machine learning translation system found that words with vastly different meanings, like "KKK" and "BLM," were used in the exact same contexts depending on the YouTube channel being analyzed.
The company a word keeps
When translating two different languages — say, Spanish and English — automated translation systems like Google Translate begin with a large training set of texts in both languages. The system then applies machine learning methods to become better at translating.
Over the years, this technology has become increasingly accurate, thanks to two key insights.
The first dates back to the 1950s, when linguist John Rupert Firth came up with the aphorism "You shall know a word by the company it keeps."
To modern machine translation systems, the "company" a word keeps is its "context," or the words surrounding it. For example, the English word "grape" occurs in contexts such as "grape juice" and "grape vine," while the equivalent word in Spanish, uva, occurs in the same contexts — jugo de uva, vid de uva — in Spanish sentences.
The second important discovery came rather recently. A 2013 study found a way to identify — and thereby link — a word's context in one language to its context in another. Modern machine translation depends heavily on this process.
What we have done is to use this type of translation in an entirely new way: to translate English to English.
When "Trumptards" become "snowflakes"
That may sound bizarre. Why translate English to English?
Well, consider American English and British English. Many words are the same in both languages. Yet there can be subtle differences. For instance, "apartment" in American English may translate into "flat" in British English.
For the purposes of our study, we labeled the language used in each network's comment section "MSNBC-English," "CNN-English," "Fox-English" and "OneAmerica-English." After analyzing the comments, our translation algorithms uncovered two different patterns of "misaligned words" — terms that aren't identical across the comment sections but are used in the same contexts.
One type was similar to "flat" and "apartment," in the sense that both are describing ostensibly the same thing. However, the word pairs we uncovered have different intonations. For example, we found that what one community calls "Pelosi," the other one calls "Pelousy"; and "Trump" in one news-language translates into "Drumpf" in another.
A second — and deeper — kind of misalignment occurred when the two words refer to two fundamentally different things.
For example, we found that in CNN-English, "KKK" — the abbreviation for the Ku Klux Klan — is translated by our algorithm to "BLM" — shorthand for Black Lives Matter — in Fox-English. The algorithm is basically finding that the comments made by one community about KKK are very much like the comments made by the other about BLM. While the belief systems of the KKK and BLM are about as different as can be, depending on the comment section, they seem to each represent something similarly ominous and threatening.
CNN-English and Fox-English are not the only two languages displaying these types of misalignments. The conservative end of the spectrum itself breaks into two languages.For example, "mask" in Fox-English translates to "muzzle" in OneAmerica-English, reflecting the differing attitudes across these subcommunities.
There seems to be a mirrorlike duality at play. "Conservatism" becomes "liberalism," "red" is translated to "blue," while "Cooper" is converted into "Hannity."
There's also no lack of what can only be called childish name-calling.
"Trumptards" in CNN-English translates to "snowflakes" in Fox-English; "Trumpty" in CNN-English translates to "Obummer" in Fox-English; and "republicunts" in CNN-English translates to "democraps" in Fox-English.
Uncharted territory
Linguists have long emphasized how effective communication among people with different beliefs requires common ground. Our findings show that the way we talk about political issues is becoming more divergent; depending on who's writing, a common word can be imbued with an entirely different meaning.
We wonder: How far are we from the point of no return when these linguistic differences begin to erode the common ground needed for productive communication?
Have echo chambers on social media exacerbated political polarization to the point where these linguistic misalignments have become ingrained in political discourse?
When will "democracy" in one language variant stop translating into "democracy" in the other?
Mark Kamlet, University Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University; Ashique KhudaBukhsh, Project Scientist at the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, and Tom Mitchell, Founders University Professor of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University
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aha: both putin meddling and trump is trying to undermine confidence in system // tobacco FF corps denial to sow doubt?!
who broke America: RR, grover, gingrich koch libtards, beck limbaugh, jbs larouche, everyone who has been systematically attacking govt so now we have gubmint wackos xian ammon bundy but also wolverines saying tax = theft, traitors FEMA camps jade helm bill gates microchips in the vax.
an 1020 cdv
tim snyder yale:
...I think your word "fear," though, is very well taken. But I'd push that out in a different direction.
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Fear is also an important concept here. Trump is running for reelection based on fear – much more so than in 2016. In 2016, it was a mix. Trump and his campaign were talking about infrastructure. They were trying to go to the left of the Democrats on some issues. Whereas in 2020, it's now just pure fear. A fear that Black people are going to rape white women in the suburbs, and they are going to burn down the cities. The pandemic is either Black people's fault or it is a conspiracy, or it is not really happening. Fear is being consciously created and then manipulated. The Democrats are really running against a Reichstag Fire. The Democrats are not really running against a political party and Donald Trump's campaign.
...
What do we know about the connections between a humane society and authoritarianism?
There is a strong connection. In my new book "Our Malady" I explore this.
For example, on an individual level, when you can't talk, you do not have freedom of speech. When you can't move, you do not have freedom of assembly. When you do not think that you are going to have a future, then freedom is no longer a meaningful concept.
If you cannot afford health care, you're afraid. If you're ashamed to talk about health care, you're less free. If you're aware of that the access to health care is going to be competitive and somebody who's less sick than you might come ahead of you because they have better insurance and better connections or whatever it might be, then you are less free. Pandemic or not, it all creates a situation where there is not an unnecessary reservoir of anxiety and fear. And that totally unnecessary reservoir of anxiety and fear can be directed to other places.
The talent that Donald Trump has is to either generate that anxiety or to take the anxiety and fear that already exists in America and to direct it in the ways that he wants to. Authoritarianism works through taking abuse and trauma and pushing it in other directions.
Donald Trump understands that he cannot win a free and fair election.Trump knows that the pandemic and the economic downturn can give him the sources of energy that he just might be able to use to stay in power some other way than an election. Donald Trump is in "the worse, the better" territory now, because he understands abuse, pain, trauma, fear and related things. Evil understands evil. Trump understands that the more anxiety and fear is out there, the larger the chances he must somehow turn the election in his direction and then pick up the pieces.
Election Day is imminent. How do you respond to those critics who would say that, "You were talking about a Reichstag Fire! It didn't happen! You are an alarmist. Hysterical! None of that happened!" What would you tell such people?
Obviously, we are in a slow-motion Reichstag Fire right now. That is what is happening. Donald Trump is not as skilled as Hitler. He doesn't work as hard as Hitler. He doesn't have the same level of confidence as Hitler, but he's clearly looking for that Reichstag Fire emergency. Trump tried to make Black Lives Matter into that emergency. "Antifascists" and "thugs" and "law and order" and so on is part of that effort. Donald Trump keeps trying to make the Reichstag Fire work.
If Trump is not successful, then that is a credit to the people who are resisting. Donald Trump is not involved in a political campaign; it is emergency politics in the constant search of an emergency. Whether Trump and his allies can line up the emergency politics with the emergency, I do not know. But that is all that Trump and his allies have got on their side — and it all they are going to have through to Election Day.
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aha: who broke America: RR, gramms, gingrich---> REPAIR THE COMMONS
RR: fairness doctrine kill --> Rush, Fox anti-trust --> FANG 1 plus 2 --> Qanon
gubmint useless/wasteful if not evil --> aGENDA 21, 2 santas , militias boogaloo
student debt
libtard financialization, militarization, criminalization War on Drugs
death squads MS13
CU, cheney
graham OIRA tozzi DQA, DEREG PVT
xian
gang of 5 manafort, atwater
wise use
risk assess
vigurie direct mail
yaf/leadership inst?
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RW has PR advantage b/c of four simpleinterlocking isms: xian, free mkt, anti-commie, pro-milita
trump pays lip service to xian (uses them, but pvtly despises as suckers, // to KIA/vets USSR putin bounty; pretends to be capitalist but repeated fails, subsidies avoids taxes (also for suckers); massive corp socialism in CARES? kush covid grifter?
VP buys god loves capitalism?
OMG INTERLOCK STORY DOVETAIL, property and wealth are sacred? thus kyle mom standing O
sparked by
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/mike-pence-is-a-reminder-that-destructive-leaders-are-symptoms-of-an-anti-democratic-status-quo/
norm s
If President Trump dies from the coronavirus that has killed more than 200,000 Americans largely due to his deliberate negligence, the man replacing him will be no less dangerous. While Mike Pence has eluded tough media scrutiny -- in part because he exhibits such a low-key style in contrast to Trump -- the pair has been a good fit for an administration that exemplifies the partnership of religious fundamentalism and corporate power.
The vice president, a former Indiana talk-show host who went on to become a six-term congressman and then governor, has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order." But he remains at cross-purposes with the biblical admonition (Matthew 6:24) that "you cannot serve both God and money." Whether Pence has truly served God is a subjective matter, but his massive service to money—big money—is incontrovertible.
Pence ranks high as a Christian soldier marching in lockstep with Trump on all major policy issues, a process that routinely puts business interests ahead of human lives. Whatever his personal piety might be, the results of Pence's fidelity to right-wing agendas have further consolidated a de facto coalition of those seeking ever-lower taxes on wealth and corporations; denial of LGBTQ rights; a ban on abortion and severe restrictions on other reproductive rights; voter suppression and barriers to voting by people of color; obstruction of healthcare for low-income people; and on and on.
Pence embodies the political alliance of very conservative evangelical forces with anti-regulatory forces of corporatism. In the arenas of elections and governance, that coalition is the present-day Republican Party, dedicated to imposing the edicts of religious dogma, rolling back democratic reforms and serving the rich at the expense of everyone else.
"As vice president, Mike Pence is doing everything in his power to control people's bodies," the Planned Parenthood Action Fund declares. Meanwhile, those who are inclined toward racism or outright believers in white supremacy are bolstered. And Wall Street has never had a better friend in Washington.
Pence's most consequential role during 44 months as vice president has been as chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Since late February, he has functioned—in effect—as Trump's willing executioner, standing by and blowing smoke while Trump obfuscated and lied as the death toll kept mounting.
"The truth is that we've made great progress over the past four months," Pence proclaimed in a mid-June statement, "and it's a testament to the leadership of President Trump." Pence charged that "the media has taken to sounding the alarm bells over a 'second wave' of coronavirus infections"—but "such panic is overblown."
To underscore his full devotion to Lord Trump's downplaying of the virus, the vice president concluded with a blame-the-messenger flourish: "The truth is, whatever the media says, our whole-of-America approach has been a success. We've slowed the spread, we've cared for the most vulnerable, we've saved lives, and we've created a solid foundation for whatever challenges we may face in the future. That's a cause for celebration, not the media's fear mongering."
Pence's June 16 statement made its way into the Wall Street Journal as a prominent op-ed piece whistling past Covid graveyards. "It was so clearly wrong back then and has turned out to be so clearly wrong since that I hope there's some part of him that's embarrassed," Ashish Jha, the head of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said in late summer. "I had already been seeing data for a good week that things were really heading in the wrong direction." The Washington Post editorial board immediately responded with a denunciation under the headline "Mike Pence Is a Case Study in Irresponsibility."
No one with any discernment would associate Trump with religiosity because he held up a Bible at a photo op. But the other half of the ticket is a very different matter. Days after the November 2016 election, Jeremy Scahill wrote that Trump is "a Trojan horse for a cabal of vicious zealots who have long craved an extremist Christian theocracy, and Pence is one of its most prized warriors."
Scahill quoted an author of books on far-right fundamentalism, Jeff Sharlet, who said that "when they speak of business, they're speaking not of something separate from God, but they're speaking of what, in Mike Pence's circles, would be called biblical capitalism, the idea that this economic system is God-ordained."
What does all this mean for progressives? The case of Mike Pence should be an ongoing urgent reminder that—as toxic and truly evil as Donald Trump is—the current president is a product and poisonous symptom of an inherently unjust and anti-democratic status quo.
Instead of focusing our rage on the persona of one destructive leader, we should remember that corporate domination provides an endless supply of destructive leaders.While they come and go, the system of corporate power remains—and we must replace that system with genuine democracy.
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boz omg /aha yikes: two robots meld: LLC corp and algorithm / AI: // danny h
https://mainebeacon.com/anonymous-maine-news-site-tied-to-conservative-pac-funded-network/
at first glance, Maine Business Daily seems like some kind of local corporate newsletter, combining niche industry reports, localized data summaries, and press releases from regional Maine Chambers of Commerce. The earliest articles on the site date back to spring 2018 and the vast majority of the articles are attributed to anonymous bylines “Maine Business Daily reports” or “Local Labs News Service.”
However, nestled amid the banal business reporting are two recent stories on the allegations that Democratic Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, who is mounting a challenge to U.S. Senator Susan Collins, violated campaign finance rules. Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine GOP, is quoted heavily in the posts, which are attributed to West Virginia-based freelance journalist Kyla Asbury (and are the only stories on Maine Business Daily that have an actual name as a byline).
The publication and promotion of these pieces raised some flags for Maine readers, with one Reddit user writing “I’ve never heard of Maine Business Daily, but two of the top three articles in their ‘public policy’ section right now are political articles about Sara Gideon that have nothing to do with policy.”
Screenshot of a portion of the Maine Business Daily website featuring stories on House Speaker Sara Gideon.
Maine Business Daily’s “About” section also provides scant information about who is operating the site, though it does note that part of its mission is to “inspire productive discussion among policy makers, business leaders and the public.”
The Maine State Chamber of Commerce told Beacon that, despite the reposting of local chamber releases, it is not affiliated with the website.
The homepage of Maine Business Daily includes a link to theMetro Business Network, which lists 30 other state-based sites as part of its organization. According to its website, the Metro Business Network “provides a fresh take on business news. Launching in all 50 states plus DC, we aim to cover news from Fortune 500’s to SMB’s on Main Steet [sic].”
Matt Gertz, a senior fellow with Media Matters for America who specializes in conservative media infrastructure, says that these kinds of networks have flourished amid the decline of local news.
“As local newspapers get wiped out or bought out by big chains and reporters get laid off and chains try to seek efficiencies, you see a void around local news and these news networks try to fill that void,” Gertz said. “A lot of sites are providing information about local events that previously you would get from local newspaper, so you come for information about a local event and if you end up with some sort of ideological screed about the terrors of government, it’s a win for them.”
The Metro Business web
The Metro Business Network sites are uniform in appearance and content. The same stories appear across the entire network, with each “Education” page filled with versions of this story: “Graduates earn 91 degrees, certificates from the University of Maine at Machias” and each “Public Policy” section has a regional version of this one: “Maine ranks 3rd for rental car tax rates, study finds.”
Gertz said the content is likely being generated by an algorithm, which provides “a way to mass produce seemingly local content almost with no overhead, because you are paying no reporters to write stories but you can pump out a huge amount of stuff.”
Buried amid the posts, however, are partisan landmines such as this op-ed that appeared on numerous publications in the network, “Next Step in Dismantling Obamacare: Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB),” that concludes: “This is America. Rationing is for commies. Repeal IPAB now!” The column is written by notorious fake pollster and right wing conspiracy theorist Dean Chambers.
Other articles are more subtle, such as this Illinois news story arguing against the local minimum wage increase.
Anonymous news with a worldview
The website’s privacy policy states that Maine Business Daily and these other business news sites are operated by theDelaware-based Locality Labs, LLC, which, according to an April 2018 investigation by the Chicago Tribune, is owned by the conservative Chicago-based media entrepreneur Brian Timpone.
“A firm of Timpone’s called Journatic once used database mining and low-cost freelance writers to create hyperlocal news stories for the Tribune until complaints emergedof plagiarism and faked bylines,” the Tribune reported. That firm is “now known as Locality Labs.”
An earlier piece published in the Columbia Journalism Review in 2016 revealed that Locality Labs, or Local Labs as it is often called, is part of a web of content creators, online and print publications run by Timpone and his cohorts that were accused of electioneering due to their coverage of and connection to candidates and political action committees. Some of Timpone’s news ventures received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from theLiberty Principles PAC, whose objective is to “support candidates for state and local offices who are committed to the economic liberty policy agenda.”
Ashbury, who authored the two stories on Gideon, has bylines published on other Locality Labs-owned sites, including the Cook County Record, West Virginia Record, and Legal Newsline — the website of which explains that its coverage is focused on how state court rulings impact the “legal landscape for corporate executives.”
Asbury’s LinkedIn profile says that for the past year she has worked as a freelance writer for a company called Interactive Content Services. The 2018 Tribune article said that another Trimpone-owned firm Newsinator “has a history of doing paid political work and offers marketing services to companies under the name Interactive Content Services.”...
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9/20 "weaponize": ok i have used the term myself for rw taking something good/true/benign and pervert/evil it for political gain, going on offense in an unfair way
but now they are mirroring/co-opting our term, just like Fake News, an applying it to any (scientifc evidence, in this case wildfires, maybe the most in your face of AGW, eg Australia, amazon rainforest
this may be extension of thoughts and prayers now is not the time in our grief over mass shootings we cannot be rational in our decision (to increase gun control regulations)
how sleazy is the left that they would use the lives of children and grief of parents to score political points
not so much a myth as a tactic; note it also gets to play on some sort of xian piety, mass shooting is mindless act of crazy gunman, part of god's plan? we are calm strong contemplative ppl of faith, must no yeild to irrational lefties
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aha 3 forks marg mead
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aha/yikes: the ppl's tools PROPS ~ corps hijacked by them; jiu jitsu? asset/buffer flips to liability/vulnerability?
note gun to head soda tax, juul fail on local prop b/c of bad PR at inopportune moment? prop 37 beat by last minute TV ads?
relentless ads on roku "free" tv:
an 1020 also lyft and doordash
Expert: Uber-funded ballot measure in California would create 'permanent underclass of workers'
Those who took high school civics may recall that our democracies lives on fractions. A majority vote — one-half plus one — is what it takes to pass a bill in most legislative bodies.
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aha/DOH: trump is VERBAL in insult nickname demonization diminish the weak [fashy] in tweets and i guess speak to press; but visual (escalator ride [down? should have known ; god deigns to descend and be among the little ppl?), trump tower gold; Kremlin eagles crest and soldier door reveal; RNC convention = TV, fireworks (patriotic, war?) craves North Korea parade
XO
9/20 aha, fash-y, strong man acting alone: trump loves signing things foto op with fawning followers (he leaches gravitas, assent/ applause from them) maybe experts who look like they know what they're doing, but congress deadlocked/polarysys (in pocket of corps that want to continue extract $ HMO] and does not want to ACT, just make it look like he HAS many eg neglected but typical: gop beat up bad 2018 blue wave on pre-existing conds, to trump pretends to defend AT THE SAME TIME still trying to kill ACA that actually provides; also visual, reality TV apprentice-like
trump mocked for finally releasing ‘health care plan’ — which is really a ‘toothless’ executive order
David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement September 25, 2020
For at least four years President Donald Trump has been promising the American people a health care plan. He famously sat for the “60 Minutes” cameras just days after the…
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https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-breaks-out-all-tools-denier-playbook-downplay-climate-changes-role-western-wildfires
fox breaks out all the tools in the denier playbook to downplay climate change's role in western wildfires
09/17/20 12:15 PM EDT
Climate denial, conspiracy theories, and misleading information -- Fox recycles old arguments year after year in wildfire coverage
Special PROGRAMS
CLIMATE & ENERGY
WRITTEN BY TED MACDONALD
PUBLISHED 09/17/20 12:15 PM EDT
Ignoring the clear scientific links between the climate crisis and this year’s apocalyptic wildfires on the West Coast, coverage on Fox News and Fox Business has downplayed and denied the role of climate change in these devastating fires, deflecting from climate science while pushing President Donald Trump’s perennial claim that forest mismanagement is to blame. At least two Fox programs have even falsely suggested that an organized campaign of arson is responsible for igniting the fires in the Pacific Northwest -- a harmful conspiracy theory that has also quickly spread across social media platforms.
Fox shows are following a playbook that they have used with other major fire disasters linked to climate change, including last year’s catastrophic bushfires in Australia and previous catastrophic fires in California.
The goal of Fox’s coverage is always the same: deflect from the scientific reality of climate change and paint Democratic policies as the true culprits in worsening the wildfires.
Deny and downplay the climate crisis
Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leading the network on denying the indisputable connection between climate change and the catastrophic fires burning on the West Coast. On three recent episodes of Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host and his guests spread dangerous disinformation about the fires.
On September 10, Carlson claimed that “there’s no evidence” climate change contributed to the western wildfires, instead arguing that state regulations and energy grid mismanagement were the real problems responsible for the blazes. Carlson took this a step further on September 11, when he called climate change “systemic racism in the sky” and stated with a straight face that “there is not a single scientist on Earth who knows whether or by how much these fires may have been, quote, ‘exacerbated’ by warmer temperatures caused by climate change.”
To top it off, Carlson invited Marc Morano-- perhaps the most notorious climate denier in the U.S. -- on the September 15 edition of his show to falsely claim that these fires are “not unprecedented” and that it’s really just “climate ambulance-chasing at its core” and “weaponizing weather events” to link them to climate change.
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The exact same line of “weaponizing weather” was used on an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight last year to dismiss climate connections during the Amazon fires. During a segment discussing those fires in August 2019, climate-denying meteorologist Joe Bastardi claimed that “if humans are causing climate change, it's very, very slight,” and said that any attempts to pin the Amazon fires on climate change was “weaponization of the weather.”
Carlson’s climate-denying rants fly in the face of well-established scientific evidence that climate change is both prolonging the fire season and intensifying the size and scale of the fires. Climate scientists have also called these wildfires “unprecedented” and linked a climate-fueled drought to conditions worsening the fires.
Additionally, Carlson’s claim that “not a single scientist” can link the fires to climate change is also demonstrably false -- and taken laughably out of context. Climate scientist Daniel Swain addressed this point on Twitter, noting that his featured quote from Carlson’s show was “fundamentally misrepresenting climate scientists' public statements on wildfires and climate change”:
Carlson is no stranger to peddling dangerous climate misinformation. Just last year, he invited Moranoto hype a silly, debunked document that claims clouds are responsible for global warming. In March 2019, he stated without evidence that if climate change is affecting natural disasters, “it might be making them in some ways better too.” (Earlier that same month, the Fox host also baselessly accused undocumented immigrants of killing more people in the U.S. than climate change.)
In addition to outright denial, the network has regularly downplayed the connection between climate and the catastrophic fires. A Media Matters study from 2018 found that Fox ran only two segments on California’s wildfires in November of that year that mentioned climate; both of those segments downplayed the role of climate change.
In recent days, Fox shows have attempted to downplay climate’s role by politicizing the climate argument and purposely shifting blame for the fires to other issues. Neil Cavuto did just this on the September 10 edition of Fox Business’ Cavuto: Coast to Coast:
On the September 14 edition of Special Report with Bret Baier, correspondent John Roberts provided cover for Trump’s outright denial of climate change by calling it a “glaring difference of opinion” with California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Later on in the show, Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt attempted to pass off Trump’s clear climate denial as a problem for both sides of the political aisle, calling his response an example of “why people hate our system, because when bad things happen, the two parties want to pick and choose what’s to blame. … Instead, what they hear is politicians picking and choosing the things they like from the menu.”
This strategy of partisan obfuscation also has precedent on Fox: During California’s 2019 fire season, Fox & Friends responded to Newsom criticizing Trump’s assault on climate action by bringing a talk show host with no background in science, Mike Slater, to explain why “liberal policies are really to blame” for that year’s massive wildfires in California.
Jumping to blame “forest management” practices for the fires, while generally ignoring the role of climate change
On the September 14 edition of Your World with Neil Cavuto, Cal Fire Assistant Deputy Director Daniel Berlant dropped a rare example of climate truth on Fox:
DANIEL BERLANT (CAL FIRE): In California, there really is no debate that our fire seasons are getting longer. We are seeing larger fires and more explosive fires. In fact, on average right now, our fire season is on average 75 days longer than they were just four decades ago. And so, you know, we can debate all we want, but I can tell you here on the ground, we are seeing fires that are incredibly destructive and incredibly fast moving.
But right after this segment, guest host Sandra Smith interviewed Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) to downplay climate’s role in the fires and instead promote “sound scientific management” of forests and his Trillion Trees Act, which climate scientists say is absolutely not a way of solving climate change, as the best solutions to worsening wildfires.
Poor forest management has played a role in California wildfires along with climate change and the expansion of people moving into the wildlife-urban interface, which “has increased the likelihood that wildfires will threaten structures and people.” But from watching coverage of the fires in numerous Fox segments, one would probably come away with the idea that it’s been only California’s forest management policies driving the worsening fires.
The jump by Fox to assign blame to the state for poor forest management as a tactic to downplay climate change goes back to at least 2018, when Trump first blamed California’s forestry policies while touring the aftermath of the deadly Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. At the time, Trump’s response was parroted by Fox News host Sean Hannity, who stated that he was “right” to blame California wildfires on poor forest management, and Fox’s Laura Ingraham, who on her radio show cherry-picked a BBC article to claim that “Trump was right” about wildfires and forest management.
Neither of these segments mentioned climate change. Even worse, Ingraham glossed over the major mentions of climate in the BBC article, which specifically stated that “many experts point out that climate change has made things worse” in relation to those fires.
This framing of the fires by zeroing-in entirely on forest management doesn’t hold up to what climate science is saying -- especially this year. Fire scientists have said that “climate change, not forest management, is a driving factor behind the state’s fires becoming worse and more deadly.” Wildfire expert Stefan Doerr has also stated, “The bottom line remains that the extreme meteorological conditions are the main drivers for these extreme fires,” and he specifically noted hotter, drier, and windier conditions with climate change “has now created a tinderbox of vegetation.” Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe also pointed out on Twitter that it’s a myth to suggest that “the only reason wildfires are burning more area is because of poor forest management.”
Fox’s attempts to cast blame solely on the state’s leadership for poor forest management also fall flat when you consider that the federal government owns the majority of land out west -- in California, 57% is owned by the federal government, while the state government only owns 3%.
The network’s discussion of forest management hit a high point during midday of September 14, when Trump visited California and once again blamed forest management for the wildfires, ignoring climate change. In one example on the September 14 edition of Outnumbered Overtime, Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz called Trump “absolutely right” and blamed the wildfires primarily on a lack of clearing brush, saying “Democrats have been the biggest impediment to doing so.” Later on The Five, co-host Greg Gutfeld stated that forest management is “the problem in California. It's not climate change. It’s forest management.”
Other examples abound. On two separate occasions in the past week, Fox Business’ Varney & Co. hosted conservative talk radio host Larry Elder to talk up poor forest management. On the September 8 edition, he agreed with Trump’s comments and said, “You can’t do a whole lot about the weather but you can do something about the fuel that these fires feed upon that makes these fires so intense and so serious.” Again on the September 14 edition, he repeated that forest management is the biggest issue in fighting the fires and said that “Donald Trump does not believe in climate change alarmism.”
On Fox News, Environmental Progress president and climate contrarian Michael Shellenberger appeared on the September 10 edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk up the role of poor forest management at the expense of climate change, claiming that the media’s climate coverage of the fires “has been really irresponsible.” He largely dismissed climate change again on the September 14 edition of Fox News @ Night, when he falsely stated that saturated wood fuel “is driving the intensity of these fires. It's not climate change.”
Later that night on Hannity, host Sean Hannity again made forest management the focal point of blame for the fires, calling it “an important piece of the puzzle.”
Advancing the dangerous arson conspiracy theory
While the conspiracy theory that arson is behind the wildfires has not yet been as pervasive on Fox News as it was in January, when the network’s prime-time hosts pushed the debunked idea that arson was driving the Australian wildfires, it has already been pushed by at least two of Fox News’ shows covering the West Coast fires.
As Media Matters reported on September 14:
During the month of September, record wildfires made worse by climate change have raged across California, Oregon, and Washington. As the fires have spread and officials have tried to contain them, a conspiracy theory claiming that “antifa” has been behind the wildfires has spread across major social media platforms. In reality, as NBC News noted, incidents like “lightning, faulty or knocked-down power lines and accidents” have been reported as the cause of many of the fires. Authorities, including the FBI, have been forced to rebut the false “antifa“ claim as people have refused to evacuate and militia groups are getting active.
The use of focus on arson as a counter-narrative to climate change follows the exact same playbook used during Australia's deadly wildfires from late 2019 into early 2020, when Murdoch-owned media and other right wing outlets peddled false claims that arsonists were to blame for the historic blazes, and not climate change. However, this talking point was debunked; as one study found, only a handful of blazes out of 11,000 were deliberately set. Notably, the arson conspiracy theory now not only distracts from the climate crisis, but is also an attempt to vilify activists protesting police brutality. For right-wing media, this false narrative is the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone.
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aha: values /freedom/liberty trinity (taught/enforced by strict fr vs godless commies and hippies
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Aha: this is an extension of pinko prof brainwashing and campus conserv student silencing b/c of PC cancel culture; gin up hype in front of election (TP kirk bloody revenge coming for your kids?! also reaction to BLM for end of systemic racism.
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/loving-your-country-is-not-the-same-as-loving-trump-how-the-right-makes-a-mockery-of-us-patriotism
on September 17, in a speech delivered at the National Archives Museum, President Trump announced he was signing an executive order establishing the 1776 Commission, aimed at promoting what he called a “patriotic” and “pro-America” education. The announcement was a direct attack on the 1619 Project, a New York Times initiative that explores the legacy of slavery in the United States. For Trump, teaching critical race studies is akin to committing child abuse “in the truest sense of those words.”
“Our youth will be taught to love America with all of their heart and souls,” Trump announced. He accused the left of destroying children’s love of their country by teaching the facts of its history — facts, he claimed, wrongly “rewrite” American history as founded on oppression rather than freedom. He’s demanded that schools “teach American exceptionalism” and said that schools are teaching students to “hate their own country.”
This was just the latest show of Trump’s blatant conflation of racism with patriotismand it served as yet another example of how Trump has turned patriotism into a self-serving performance free of any connection to facts. From the start, Trump has attempted to define patriotism not as loving the country, but rather as loving Trump. All we need to do is remember that the same man who dodged military service spent over $2.5 million on a Fourth of July military parade designed to be primarily a celebration of himself.
Before analyzing the damage Trump has done to U.S. patriotism, let me be blunt: “loving” your country is stupid. Patriotism, when it is nothing more than blind adoration of a country, is idiotic at best and fascist at worst. Countries don’t need to be loved; they need to be built, critiqued, developed and improved. They need to be held to the highest ideals and they need to face their shortcomings so that they can strive to be better. The relationship citizens have to their nations may always include some affect, but real support for a nation thrives when citizens emote less and reflect and engage more. So, when patriotism is synonymous with loving your country, it is always, already a bad idea. but setting aside the question of whether it even makes sense to debate who does or doesn’t love their country, there seems little doubt that the time has come to push back on the way that the right has conflated loving the United States with loving Trump....
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aha: reduction = retaliation = transaction
terministic screen/tunnel vision limits to small number of visible things right here and now vs larger complex system/ long term; also zero sum
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/americas-enemies-perceive-weakness-in-donald-trump-foreign-policy-expert-explains-how-the-president-squandered-us-exceptionalism/
no lnx audio
c de v
bot line chaotic makes him weak/played
president of the United States takes the following oath at his or her inauguration: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Donald Trump has repeatedly betrayed this promise, and should long since have been removed from office for doing so.
The Constitution deems that the president is commander in chief of the military. As revealed in famed journalist Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage”, Donald Trump believes that members of the U.S. military who have been wounded or killed in battle are “suckers” and “losers” for not being as selfish and cowardly as he is. Trump also believes that disabled veterans should not be seen in public because they somehow shame or embarrass the country.
Trump also has no respect for the United States military’s role as defender of the country’s democracy from threats both foreign and domestic. To that end, he attempted to order military commanders to attack Americans who were (and are) exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed civil rights by protesting against his regime in response to the police killing of George Floyd, as well as in support of social justice more generally.
Fortunately, military commanders put the institutional legitimacy of the armed forces ahead of the president’s whims by deflecting his orders. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has also apologized for appearing alongside Trump on the streets of Washington.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that he is likely ignore the results of the 2020 election, and may seek to use the military to quell protests or other acts of resistance, perhaps by invoking the Insurrection Act.
Trump has also pardoned accused or convicted war criminals because he idolizes cruelty and lawlessness. Trump and his regime, in fact, views war criminals as useful tools in his authoritarian campaign against American democracy.
Many of the United States’ most senior retired military personnel, members of the intelligence community and diplomats, as well as other elites in the national defense community, have publicly condemned Donald Trump as an extreme threat to the country’s safety, security and democracy.
Overall, Donald Trump has made the United States less safe, less respected, less powerful, less influential, and less respected as a world power. In the Age of Trump and the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. has become a pariah nation, shamed before the world.
Is there any strategic logic to Trump’s decision-making about the United States and its role in the world? How do Trump’s ignorance, selfishness and authoritarian beliefs, combined with his conviction that his own personal interests are identical to the nation’s, imperil our safety and security? Does the Trump regime’s contempt for the truth and empirical reality endanger the long-term future of our nation?
In an effort to answer these questions, I recently spoke with Jim Sciutto, CNN’s chief national security correspondent and co-anchor of “CNN Newsroom.” Sciutto previously served as ABC News’ senior foreign correspondent and during his extensive career has reported from more than 50 countries, including Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. His new book is “The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World.”
At the end of this conversation Sciutto warns that the consensus among many of the country’s senior defense and intelligence professionals is that Donald Trump idolizes Vladimir Putin, and is somehow personally bound to him. If this is true, Trump’s fealty to a foreign leader has fatally compromised his ability to make decisions in the best interests of the United States and the American people.
You can also listen to my conversation with Jim Sciutto on my podcast “The Truth Report” or through the player embedded below.
How are you feeling, given all that is happening and has happened with Donald Trump and his administration?
I’m feeling stress for my country. That is not a political sentiment. I love my country. I’ve spent a lot of time outside of it for professional reasons. As a foreign correspondent, you end up loving America more because you live in places where they do not have our freedoms or institutions, many of which we take for granted. When I see those institutions being undermined here in the United States and people losing confidence in their own country, I am very concerned. I am still an optimist, but there is much to be concerned about here in the United States because of Donald Trump and all that has happened.
How does America look from abroad?
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There is not a lot of respect right now for the United States. I do not want to overstate that because, frankly, there are many countries in the world with much bigger problems than this country right now.
For example, the COVID outbreak. The U.S. has certainly been one of the worst in terms of responding to it. That is not a political statement. It is based on the data. Europe is doing much better for example than the United States with the pandemic and its deadly consequences and other problems.
The state of the country’s political discourse is also not good. Is the United States able to solve problems in the way it did not too long ago? Pew polling shows that the world’s opinion of the United States has greatly diminished. The world is viewed much worse than it was during another low point, which was during George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq.
How are career diplomats and other public servants reacting to the Trump regime and its assaults on norms and values? These are government professionals who have served in multiple administrations. How are they making sense of this tumult?
Here is what is different. There have always been disagreements about policy and how best to accomplish those goals. What is different now is that there is an assault on the truth. There is not an agreed-upon set of facts. At first, I thought that maybe having to confront a pandemic would do that. Another example would be Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. There was a bipartisan judgment that Russia interfered, and that the Russians did so to help Trump win.
It came out of committees, as well as the intelligence agencies. Trump attacked those findings and took them personally. That was a consensus not just of a bipartisan committee but the country’s intelligence community as well. Intelligence findings can be attacked more easily because it is still a matter of interpretation.
But in the middle of a pandemic, there are hard facts. People are dying. You can count the number of people dying. You can count and document the positive infection rates.
You can count the number of infections. One can easily disprove Donald Trump’s claims that cases are only rising because there is more testing, because the percentage of people testing positive is also going up. But not in this environment where even the facts are disputed. Conspiracy theories existed well before Donald Trump, but he has super-turbocharged them to the point where they are leaking more and more into mainstream conversation. Democracy cannot operate without an agreed-upon set of facts and the country is miles down that rabbit hole right now.
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Does Donald Trump have an ideology? Is his administration guided by some overriding principle that orients its approach to the world?
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He has an approach and a view of the world. It is an open question as to whether he has a strategy — and that is a question raised by people who worked for him. For my new book, I spoke only to people who worked for Trump and were appointed by him at the highest levels.
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When I asked those officials to describe Trump’s view of the world it was described as transactional: “What can you do for me? I scratch your back. You scratch mine.” Trump has done that equally with adversaries and allies. Trump has no worldview beyond that. There is no understanding of the ancillary benefit of friendships and alliances.
[Former national security adviser] H.R. McMaster told me how much trouble he had convincing Trump that there was more to alliances than just some sort of quid pro quo bottom line. These include shared history, shared values, a shared interest in the rule of law, sharing of intelligence to fight terrorism and other understandings. Trump does not see the world and alliances in that way. As such, Donald Trump will just as easily upend a friendship as he will antagonize a competitor. The United States is on a path of confrontation with China. But the United States also has highly antagonistic relationships now with our closest allies in Europe. With South Korea, the president is demanding they quintuple their contribution to the deployment of U.S. forces there and is threatening to take those forces away in the midst of the worsening standoff with North Korea.
Or even consider Canada, arguably one of our closest allies. Trump has used national security powers to impose economic sanctions on them including tariffs. In essence, Donald Trump has labeled Canada a national security threat.
Donald Trump does not read. He is proudly ignorant. He is a malignant narcissist. How is it even possible to have a coherent foreign policy with such a president?
Trump’s national security advisers knew and realized that he was not reading any of the briefing notes. So early on, McMaster’s team came up with the idea of boiling the briefings down to note cards with just three bullet points, thinking that would get through to Trump....
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AHA: schiff impeach oversight is MODERATION checks and balance = diversity
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/experts-who-warned-trumpism-could-destroy-us-democracy-in-2018-are-even-more-worried-now-we-werent-alarmist-enough/
alex h
When Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s book, “How Democracies Die,” was released in January 2018, critics of the Harvard University political science professors described them as alarmists. The book had a dire warning: the United States’ liberal democracy was in danger because of Trumpism. But two years later, Levitsky and Ziblatt have not backed down from that message — in fact, they are now saying that they should have been more worried in 2018.
Levitsky told HuffPost, “Joe Scarborough ridiculed it on TV, saying, ‘These guys are alarmists.’ It turns out we weren’t alarmist enough.”
Scarborough, the Never Trump conservative who hosts MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” is no fan of President Donald Trump — who he bashes consistently. But when “How Democracies Die” came out, Scarborough argued that the United States’ democracy was robust enough to withstand Trump’s train wreck of a presidency. Scarborough, in a March 15, 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post, argued that American democracy was much stronger than Trump’s chaotic administration.
Journalist Travis Waldron, in HuffPost, notes that Levitsky and Ziblatt aren’t the only “political scholars” or “political leaders” who are “warning that 2020 is a referendum not just on Trump, but on the nation’s democratic experiment as a whole.” But Levitsky fears that too many Americans aren’t as worried as they need to be.
"People are getting killed over politics,” Levitsky told HuffPost. “There’s questions about whether the election will be free. Law enforcement bodies are being manipulated to protect allies of the president and go after rivals of the president. Things are happening on various fronts, and we’re not putting it all together and realizing that our democracy is on the line.”
Liberal democracies don’t necessarily come to power because of an armed coup d’etat or golpe de estado: in some cases, authoritarians are voted into office and gradually undermine a country’s checks and balances. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an obvious example. And Waldron cites Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as an example of a far-right authoritarian who was elected in a liberal democracy, warning that democracy in the U.S. is also in danger.
“Republicans in Congress have done whatever they can to protect Trump,” Waldron explains. “They blocked his removal from office after House Democrats impeached him and have kept administration officials from facing consequences for shirking their oversight duties.Without those checks, Trump has proceeded to do whatever he wants: fire inspectors general, attack the judiciary, violate laws and profit off his own office.”
Levitsky told HuffPost, “U.S. democracy has proven weaker and more vulnerable than I thought.”
Amy Erica Smith, a political science professor at Iowa State University, warns that some countries pretend to be democratic and have elections but are actually authoritarian states — or as she calls them, “hybrid regimes.”
“The number one defining feature of a hybrid regime is that the incumbent is using ― and I’ll say ‘his’ because almost always ‘his’ ― all of the benefits that come from office to get himself reelected in an unfair way,” Smith told HuffPost.
Waldron points to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán as examples of authoritarians who pretend to hold fair elections and argues that Trump is trying to do the same type of thing in the U.S. “through his efforts to undermine the U.S. Postal Service and discredit the election as fraudulent before it even takes place — an admittedly odd tactic for a leader already in power…. Trump’s attacks on democracy are in effect thefinal shattering of the idea of American exceptionalism.”
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aha: fox is a corp, and like all psychopathic robots, its function is maximize profit which means max ratings [instant quant fdbk] which means max activation of trumpistas via red meat; this is in conflict w/ mission/function of jrnlism, straight news provides cover/fig leaf; successful red meat hypes fear and anger, and includes energizes the RW trump story/schemas of victimization. murdoch war crimes on AGW amd covid?
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/media-critic-fox-news-is-bigger-than-trump-if-he-fights-the-network-hell-lose
do executives at Fox News secretly hope that Donald Trump loses this November because that would be good for the network’s ratings? Before you dismiss that as crazy talk, given the record ratings Fox News has seen during Trump’s presidency, realize that Fox could see even higher ratings when it no longer has to defend Trump’s unpredictable words and deeds and can solely focus on what Brian Stelter calls its “secret sauce”: attacking Democrats and liberals.
Stelter, the host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” and author of the new book, “Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth,” raised that very scenario during our “Salon Talks” conversation. As he explains it, Fox News has always been more comfortable attacking Democratic administrations, which traditionally has yielded a ratings boon for the network. “The network in a Biden presidency is almost a situation where tails you win and heads you win,” he said. Fox News might face other problems with Trump as a former president, however. Stelter describes Trump as the Frankenstein monster that Fox News helped create, and as in the tale of Frankenstein, he could end up turning against his creator and starting a competing right-wing network.
In our recent conversation, Stelter also addressed Trump’s nonstop attacks on the media, which Stelter says have taken a toll on the credibility of the Fourth Estate: “He has said ‘fake news’ and ‘hoax’ so many times that it has poisoned the public discourse. It’s like a slow-acting poison that kind of gradually moves to the veins of the American body. And we can’t fully know what the impacts are of that yet.”
Watch my “Salon Talks” interview with Brian Stelter below or read the following transcript of our conversation — lightly edited for length and clarity — to learn more about “Hoax,” his harsh words on the Fox News obsession with ratings and his blunt advice for how larger media outlets can rehabilitate their credibility in a post-Trump America.
Your book “Hoax” is like a feedback loop. Does Trump drive Fox News, does Fox News drive Trump, or does it move back and forth all the time?
It is hard to tell where Fox ends and Trump begins. But if I had to choose one side of this, I would say Fox drives Trump more than Trump drives Fox. Fox has more of an agenda setting role than the President does,which is an astonishing thing to say. But when you look at the power of “Fox & Friends,” when you look at the power of Sean Hannity and recently Tucker Carlson, who is achieving policy goals based on segments he produces on his show. I think it’s clear that Trump is usually in a reactive mode, reacting to what he sees and hears on Fox.
Just this morning Trump was tweeting again about what was going on on “Fox & Friends.” It really is his morning briefing. You mention in the book that Fox News does not have a traditional standards-and-practices department like other news organizations do. Even I have encountered this as a columnist for CNN Opinion. Just this past weekend, the standards department made me rework an op-ed. I was like, “But it’s an opinion piece!” They still had issues because they had our common best interests in mind. Could you share with people what standards and practices do traditionally? And by contrast what is going on at Fox News?
Fox is described as a news operation, a news network, but it’s also a political operation. And right now the propaganda is winning and the news is losing. I had staffers at the network say to me that it’s like working at a place that’s anti-journalism. So you’re trying to produce journalism at a place that’s anti-journalism. I’m wearing my CNN hoodie right now. It says “The World Needs Journalists.” The sense that the world needs journalists, that should be a pretty basic concept. It’s hard to disagree with that idea. However, at Fox, there is disagreement. So Sean Hannity says journalism is dead. You’ve got all these folks on Fox denigrating the media every single day and saying the world doesn’t need these journalists.
That creates a real hostile environment for the actual reporters who do still work at Fox. I point out in “Hoax” that many have left. And I have a lot of stories about people that have left for various reasons, including Shep Smith, but a lot of other names you might not know. For the journalists who remain there, it’s this really awkward, tough, sometimes hostile environment. I think the lack of standards and practices speaks to this problem. There is not a unit, a desk or a division that’s charged with vetting news before it gets onto the air. There are some informal processes, but there’s not that official checks and balances system that CNN has. And every other outlet has — forget about CNN — at the New York Times or Washington Post, there are reasons why there are editors and vetters and researchers. That structure just doesn’t exist at Fox.
You make the point that at Fox, ratings are everything. Everyone is profoundly afraid of losing the audience. Does that then mean that the people bringing in a lot of money, Hannity or Tucker Carlson or Laura Ingraham, can literally say anything they want on air, as long as it feeds the audience? Is there no one at Fox News who will say, hey, that’s beyond the pale of what’s acceptable?
There are some exceptions, but what you just said is broadly correct, broadly true and really problematic. There is not this kind of follow-through or accountability that I know happens at other networks and should happen everywhere. This is really most clear in primetime with Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. When something really bad happens, when something really outrageous or racist happens on the air, there’s finger-pointing that goes on inside Fox. Some people will point the finger at the head of the network, Suzanne Scott. Others will point at a woman named Meade Cooper, who’s the executive vice president of primetime. Others will point at the executive producers for those specific shows, right? So they’ll shift the blame, no one agrees on who’s responsible or who’s at fault. And then there’s an attempt to move on and pretend that these embarrassing episodes didn’t happen.
That’s when they go on vacation, right. All of a sudden Tucker Carlson is on a pre-planned vacation?
Sometimes. Although I promise some of these vacations are actually scheduled, they’re just at bad times. Bill O’Reilly truly was always going to go to Italy when the scandal erupted about his secret settlements with women that accused him of harassment. So he decided to go on the vacation that he already scheduled, and then of course, he never came back. He was forced out when he was in Italy. But there are other times, yes, where Fox uses this vacation illusion where they’ll say someone’s going on vacation to let the noise subside around their program and try to preserve their advertisers.
One of the really interesting things in the book are the little details. You mention Bill O’Reilly going to Italy and meeting with the pope. It seemed like, at least the way you were shaping it, that perhaps the pope could save his job. Even that didn’t work out.
I think there’s so many stories about the last five years, these big stars at Fox, who thought they were kings of the world, who thought they were bigger than the network. And it turns out no, Fox is the star, not these individuals. No matter who’s on at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., Fox’s ratings are going to remain really high. It speaks to the fact that Fox has a monopoly position in this area of the media.
You write about how Fox got sued because of what some people viewed as misinformation regarding COVID-19 by some of the hosts. When it comes to Fox News and the misinformation that it has shared about COVID, do you feel that the network has responsibility for misleading Americans?
I think there’s a lot of blame and a lot of responsibility to go around about the pandemic, but Fox had the biggest platform on cable and President Trump had the biggest platform in the country. He has the loudest megaphone and he knows how to use it. So the failures of Trump and his media allies to warn the country and prepare the country for what was coming were absolutely shameful. That’s why we called the book “Hoax.” We were originally going to call it “Wingman.” But when Trump came out and said, “These Democrats, they tried to impeach me, now they’re hyping coronavirus, they’re politicizing the virus. It’s their new hoax.” And Sean Hannity said something very similar a week and a half later. They were viewing this as politics, not as a medical emergency. That was the fundamental problem.
And they were always two or three weeks too late, meaning that when Trump finally took action involving flights from Europe, the virus had already gotten in and it was spreading silently across New York City and several other states. And of course, when he announced the European restrictions, there were these long lines of people all shoved together at airports. Fox, to its credit, had a reporter who called that out and criticized the government for it. There were these moments on Fox where there was great reporting, excellent medical advice, excellent segments with doctors. But I think those segments were drowned out by the downplaying of the disease, by the attempts to politicize this and downplay it.
I’ve never seen a president make life and death a partisan issue. And it’s not over. In North Carolina, he and his supporters were not wearing masks. Donald Trump Jr. has been out there attacking the media saying that it’s a lie, that people were wearing masks. Last week, Trump made fun of Joe Biden for wearing a mask. If you take a step back and look at this is, does it feel surreal that you have a president dealing with a life-and-death pandemic in this way, where it’s all about him? Everyone’s doing things to hurt him as opposed to wanting to simply save lives.
It’s embarrassing. And sometimes you need a little bit of perspective, you need to zoom out a little bit. You need to think back six months — it’s been about exactly six months since all our lives changed and these lockdowns began. Now we’re slowly coming out of it and looking around and seeing what the world is like. And the words from the president six months ago sound even worse now, right? We had a sense when he was contradicting his science experts and health experts that he was doing damage. We had a sense when he was downplaying the disease that it was dangerous. We know now, much more clearly, how dangerous and damaging it was.
This is true for his media allies as well. His pro-Trump propagandists. Trump was calling up Hannity at the end of March and saying, “How are my ratings? How do we rate? I called into your show, Sean, how did I rate?” A good friend would have said to him, “Donald, don’t ever ask about that again, we’re in the middle of a crisis. We’ve got hospitals overwhelmed by the surge, we’re trying to order body bags. Don’t ask about your ratings. Please don’t tweet about your ratings again. Please don’t do it, it’s bad for you.” But instead, his so-called friends feed his ego rather than trying to actually help him. I would argue that they actually hurt him when they claim to help him by telling him about his ratings.
The book could have been called “Ratings, Ratings, Ratings” because that’s what Fox News is moved by. It’s a profit machine. When your only touchstone as a news outlet is ratings, what compromises do you end up seeing on screen?
Let me be clear, I’m in television, I’m on CNN. I care about ratings. I care about my show doing well. I look at the ratings every day. But there’s much more of a fixation at Fox on winning because this network’s been No. 1 for 18 years. Everybody knows what’s at stake and what’s on the line, and there’s this intense desire to feed the audience what it wants and keep the audience at all costs. I had producers at Fox describe this as a really unhealthy relationship, where sometimes they fear the audience. Sometimes they don’t respect the audience, but they’re desperate to keep the audience’s attention. What that leads to is Trumpier and Trumpier segments. Segments that are unhinged from reality, that are based in conspiracy theory, that are feeding the audience’s wants and desires and not what they need. And again, this is the problem across television. It is much more severe at Fox.
As you mentioned, at CNN, MSNBC and all the big media outlets, ratings are important. They are connected to profits. But when your only goal is ratings, it’s going to cause massive compromises. Shep Smith and others behind the scenes at Fox News understood that they were putting their careers on the line given that ratings are everything.
Well, also, the ratings also tell you what the audience wants, what the audience expects. Shep Smith’s show at 3 p.m. was the lowest-rated show in daytime, the lowest-rated hour of the day on Fox. It meant that viewers were turning the channel actively when he came on. They did not want to hear him with his corrections to what was aired earlier in the day and his fact checks of the president’s lies.
In the ratings for notable Democratic events, like Joe Biden’s speech or the funeral of John Lewis, you see dramatic declines in Fox’s ratings. Viewers turn it off when the Democrats are speaking and they turn it back on when the rebuttal from the Republicans is starting. So you end up thinking that the audience has been radicalized. What else can you say?
They’ve been served a diet of red meat. Fox News should come with a warning: It serves so much red meat that it’s not healthy. I mean, look, Chris Wallace, Bret Baier, they’re more news journalists. On some level, though, they’re part of the Fox News machine. Is it fair to say they’re also complicit in what is going on?
Well, that’s certainly what some of their friends say, or their former friends. The Trump era has done damage to those kind of gentlemanly, old-fashioned, courteous relationships that you see between television anchors and rivals and all that. And certainly throughout my reporting, talking to dozens of people that were complicit that came up a lot, this sense that the news anchors there are like fig leaves of respectability. One person once said to Chris Wallace at a Columbia event, “Do you think you are there to truth-wash primetime?” That was an interesting term, “truth-wash.” Wallace is on one hour a week, Sean Hannity’s on one hour, five nights a week, in a much, much higher-rated program. You’ve got to look at Fox and say that the identity of Fox is Hannity and “Fox & Friends,” these bigger shows.
But I still think the journalists there do serve important purposes. I understand why they stay. They want to be there for big events. They want to provide a reality check, a fact check to the rest of the programming. But let’s say Bret Baier’s show, for example, is on at 6 p.m. “The Five” is much higher rated at 5 p.m., and then the ratings drop at 6. Not everybody wants to see a newscast, but even his newscast is tilted to the right toward Trump. His panels, for example, in the back half of the show, are tilted to the right. Sometimes the lefty will be a journalist and then he’ll have a pro-Trump person and another right-wing figure.
He tells people that he does this because he wants to have left, right and Trump. And I get it that sometimes “right” and “Trump” are not the same thing, but those panels are not balanced. Those panels are not representative of where the country is, right? If you want to have a panel that represented the country, that’s not how it would look. My point is, even on the newscasts, these programs are tilted in Trump’s favor.
Clearly, Trump has had an impact on Fox News. You’ve mentioned that Trump is their Frankenstein monster, but I want to get a sense from you on how the rest of the media is doing. Do you think the media is better at covering Trump this time, in terms of using the right language? For a long time, people didn’t want to call him a liar, you probably remember that. Now we’re beyond that. We’re two months out from 2020, using terms like “white supremacist” about Donald Trump, using the term “fascist” in an academic sense, not a hyperbolic sense. Are we at the point where the media can speak bluntly about it? ...[much more]
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aha/sum/analysis 9/5/20
anarchism is a real actual historical thing, but often mischaracterized; latest incarnation blends with Antifa, which basically says we cannot afford to give the streets/public space to brownshirts, alt rt/ militias, and we must be prepared to meet the force/violence they explicitly want and have come equipped for [note f/u portland guy killed, he said defend AA friends/allies, ~ // kyle self-defense]; we cannot depend on the police to stop their violence, because they are allies, and the police also use force/violence against AA POC peaceful protesters; Black Bloc says power never gives up power voluntarily; people and their rights do not matter, but OUR property must be protected at all costs (AA lives have no value/importance); BB says we will impose [a transaction?] cost, if you ignore the will of the ppl, it will COST you in terms of property damage [if you lock us in ghetto/poverty/ lower working service gig economy class, we will destroy your stuff/ability to do biz/make more $
ARSON metaphorical: anger /rage physical manifestation, // trump 2016 hand grenade the system is rigged against us, so let's blow it up/burn it down (if we cannot benefit, neither can you]; most good sized/ rowdy protests will have garbage set on fire, this inevitably portrayed by rw fox news as VIOLENCE; next level is smash windows, next level is loot; kyle R responded to militia facebook post to protect property (gas station/ car dealer/repiar?) he was initially reported to be a property/biz [small biz entre hero backbone meritocrisy] defending his property / stand your ground mcCloskey suburb heroes rnc for gun brandish; --> thugs on a plane foment riots as coup to get rid of trump [add to long list of failled attempts, impeach, fake covid ...]
all get conflated into enemy mob who hate america/western civ: anarchist = socialist = communist = violent left-wing extremist = thug = AA= paid protester = soros/jew
is this product of being baffled/ ~ to intersectionality?
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WHEELER BS FIX EJ: BUT FREE MKT FUNDAMENTALISM IS THE CAUSE NOT THE CURE
one upon a time, LBJ was able to harness the pressure of CRM, and maybe 60's ctr-culture, and perhaps the martyrdom of JFK, MLK and RFK to jam thru civil rights and voter rights acts, as well the the Great Society, oft wrongly seen as a failure; it did affirmative/ active programs that gave poor ppl money, education, job training...[RR cut housing 80? rick p WITH pod 920)
Later affirm action lost in ct? Bakke? UC? 187? RR attack mythical welfare queen, so direct assistance became taboo [BC did welfare reform, 3 strikes superpredators?]
But must at least be seen to do something for inner city POC, so we get opportunity/empowerment zone, tax breaks for real estate dev in crappy parts of town;
so not giving cash to poor ppl, but only a tax/break incentive to competent rich white guys, then the benefits will tricke down on poor ppl. // urban renewal? gentrification? sports stadiums?
NOW 920 Wheeler needs cover because the massive EPA rollback on regs clearly hurt POC, especially kids, so extends paul driessen Green blk death energy poverty BS or maybe more generally and slightly less cynically, cut red tape will allow economy to thrive, blk ppl will get some of that $, and can then afford to move away from toxins?
...“Communities that deal with the worst pollution in this country—and tend to be low-income and minority—face multiple environmental problems that need solving,” Wheeler said. He suggested President Donald Trump’s “opportunity zones” plan—recognized by experts as a giveaway to the rich—as a remedy to environmental injustice....
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[[[cascade update:
404
an 920
the coronavirus pandemic has only made the opioid epidemic worse
The Conversation September 3, 2020
by Elizabeth Chiarello, Saint Louis University COVID-19 has overshadowed the U.S. opioid crisis, but that doesn’t mean opioid addiction has gone away. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis has…
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cascade / compound/ interacting factors
Hurricane Laura worsens already inhumane ICE conditions
Detained people already suffer dangerous conditions while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, including inhumane living arrangements, medical mistreatment or no treatment at all, and systemic patterns of abuse. The novel coronavirus pandemic has only piled…
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cascade interactions: AGW --> drought --> bark beetle = fuel --> fire --> move infected ppl into confined large shelter and pollutes air /aggravates lungs --> infections
820 ew ]]]
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STORY (btw left/commie infidels who do not believe this story of Am exceptionalism hate america/freedom and want destroy/supplant it}:
see strict fr
see god/devil terms
cf 4 horse dovetail ism pattern match experiment vs phobias; --> coherent story?
aha 820 entrepreneur as CONCEPT/GOD TERM: sparked by rnc convention: entre is also a GOD term, ties into Yankee ingenuity/ am exceptionalism sil valley garage mystique: affirms meritocrisy [sic] that racism will fix itself when AA POC start small biz that expand (cain godfather pizza 999 RIP?] overlooking the fact that redlining by gov't and banks deprived of capital for decades; but of course you have to get rid of burdensome regulation/red tape that stiffle [when in fact corps/amazon will use data to steal your idea/product and crush you or buy you out. small biz and gig economy means own boss thus in control thus = freedom --> fix for INEQUALITY THUS RACISM
but of course to be an entre you must have skills/a good education but socialist dems want to trap poor kids in failing public/gov't schools to serve big corrupt union bosses, so devos waNts FREEDOM TO CHOOSE/SHOP voucher/charter b/c free mkt will create better schools [vs suck/extract from big part of public budget/ schools are the COMMONS THAT MADE DEMOC AND PROSPERITY POSSIBLE; --> scam online virtual classes [jail the blk girl who refuses pointless jumpthruhoop fill in the blanck
aha: concept of control = freedom, loss of control = slavery
commies want to control your mind, your actions, your energy use (as a way of controlling your behavior)
control is also law and order, which the strict father must impose/ punish transgression because children / POC do not have discipline (or intelligence) to control their own actions/base impulses
order is enforcement of hierarchy; the job of the strict father is to instill discipline in sons who can handle it and marry off daughter, outsource/delegate the job of control/disc of women
eg
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/rnc-review-speakers-described-an-alternate-reality-in-which-chaos-and-violence-of-the-trump-era-is-joe-bidens-fault/
no lnx twt
RNC review: Speakers described an alternate reality in which chaos and violence of the Trump era is Joe Biden’s fault
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Once Upon a Time the pilgrims were being discriminated against [by a Prot?] King geo III, so like good entrpreneur/pioneer/explorers they sailed to New World discovered by Columbus to bring God to America; friends w/ Nat Am first thxgiving, Boston Tea Party no Tax w/o rep, Lexington Minutemen militia w/ musket beat dumb/dainty Redcoats, Dec Indep, Sacred Const by Founding fathers all men created equal, gave th gift of democ/freedom/light to world,
undergd railroad, civil war for states rights (freedom from gubmint tyranny; rebs underdogs fought well but beat (by industrial/banker?) north, emanc proc freed slaves, reconciliation, all americans.
Railroads, robber barons fixed by trustbuster Teddy; we stayed out of endless pointless Eur wars, till WWI (WW promised to keep out in ca,pign) now war to make world sagfe for democ? war to end all wars [jail/deport reds who said war for capital/bosses via espionage act]. Yanks won war, no L of N but after Gt Depression we won WWII [UN? boo] became superpower vs USSR; Reagan thatcher won the cold war, socialism forever discredited, some tyrants manage to hold on Cuba and even export to S Am Chavez and Central Am [guate coup 1954, Iran year before]; MLK > Malcolm/panthers fixes racism; Contras beat by Ollie and Reagan; End of History, Free Mkt fundamentalism Ayn Rand Greenspan. tax and spend liberal dems cripple our economy with regulations to solve non-existent problems like asbestos, carcinogens, AGW [Heartland says hoax, reverse engineer, Agenda 21 comie one world plot to take our freedom]
unions are corrupt and hinder economy; teachers unions control dems and trap our/POC kids in failing schools; a few bad cops shot AA men, but look they shoot each other all the time selling drugs; Blue Lives matter, Biden and KH want to get rid of cops, so no protection so you need a GUN.[also to fight off gov't tyrannt like woam dem gov of Mich who takes away your Const freedom by forcing you to wear a mask, worst kind of nanny state;
Biden son corrupt, sol us out to ChiCom who sent covid virus, which djt quickly took action by shutting border // caravan/muslim; he created prosperity by rolling back regulations and gave massive tax cut to the job creators; the lazy/dumb/sinful deserve to be poor; [opportunity zone actually real estate scam for rich?]
but now the godless commies have come back for your guns, and the gov't will destroy your white quality of life suburbs by rezoning low quality apts (which bring low quality POC criminals/gangster] who will make you unsafe and drive down the value of your house/property/equit/ retirement nest egg.
trump the strong man/strict fr will protect us from godless irrational muslim extremeist jihadi terrorists, the brown horde at southern border WALL and from antifa extrmeisty terrorists who want to loot and burn even small biz of POC entre.
dems will let crims out of jail. invite MS13 into suburbs, coddle anarchists/antifa; trump will send in the tough guys to restore law and order/control, put those ppl back in their place [and deploy at polls to ensure not rigged/cheating]
BLM is identity politics, put me at head of line give me a handout i do not deserve b/c i'm lazy; worst form is reparations for sin of slavery [nikki h at UN tyrants defy us and then demand $, a lot of it that we could use to build our country MAGA]
trump master negotiator will make better deal (nafta the worst deal in the history of the world don jr rnc], NATO pay fair share we will not be chumps to freeloaders.
this story has to explain how we lost power/prestige/leadership/prospeirty and how we will get it back
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aha 820 entrepreneur as CONCEPT/GOD TERM: sparked by rnc convention: entre is also a GOD term, ties into Yankee ingenuity/ am exceptionalism sil valley garage mystique: affirms meritocrisy [sic] that racism will fix itself when AA POC start small biz that expand (cain godfather pizza 999 RIP?] overlooking the fact that redlining by gov't and banks deprived of capital for decades; but of course you have to get rid of burdensome regulation/red tape that stiffle [when in fact corps/amazon will use data to steal your idea/product and crush you or buy you out. small biz and gig economy means own boss thus in control thus = freedom --> fix for INEQUALITY THUS RACISM
but of course to be an entre you must have skills/a good education but socialist dems want to trap poor kids in failing public/gov't schools to serve big corrupt union bosses, so devos waNts FREEDOM TO CHOOSE/SHOP voucher/charter b/c free mkt will create better schools [vs suck/extract from big part of public budget/ schools are the COMMONS THAT MADE DEMOC AND PROSPERITY POSSIBLE; --> scam online virtual classes [jail the blk girl who refuses pointless jumpthruhoop fill in the blanck
aha: concept of control = freedom, loss of control = slavery
commies want to control your mind, your actions, your energy use (as a way of controlling your behavior)
control is also law and order, which the strict father must impose/ punish transgression because children / POC do not have discipline (or intelligence) to control their own actions/base impulses
order is enforcement of hierarchy; the job of the strict father is to instill discipline in sons who can handle it and marry off daughter, outsource/delegate the job of control/disc of women
eg
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/rnc-review-speakers-described-an-alternate-reality-in-which-chaos-and-violence-of-the-trump-era-is-joe-bidens-fault/
no lnx twt
RNC review: Speakers described an alternate reality in which chaos and violence of the Trump era is Joe Biden’s fault
Written by Igor Derysh / Salon August 25, 2020 Commentary
The first night of the Republican National Convention featured a diverse lineup that defended President Donald Trump from charges of racism, even as other speakers sought to stoke racial fears and push conspiracy theories.
The convention, largely consisting of a mix of live and pre-taped speeches before an empty auditorium, appeared to take place in an alternate reality where Trump had successfully beaten back the coronavirus pandemic, and where the protests, violence and racial division seen during Trump’s presidency would only get worse Democratic nominee Joe Biden is elected. It was a wildly dishonest night, with the New York Times fact-checking team counting at least 30 false and misleading claims.
“This one half-night of Republican programming so far has been exponentially more dishonest than the entire four nights of the Democratic convention,” wrote CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale.
While Republicans insisted that their convention would be optimistic, and headliners like former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina delivered speeches on the promise of America that could have taken place under any other Republican president, the tone of the night was dark and the theme was racial fear-mongering.
The night kicked off with a speech by Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point USA, who described Trump as a “bodyguard of Western civilization” — a common white nationalist dog whistle — who is defending America against a “vengeful mob that seeks to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, churches and values.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio gave a speech riddled with falsehoods accusing Democrats of stoking “crime, violence, and mob rule.” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most loyal followers in Congress, bizarrely warned that Democrats will “disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door.”
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who threatened Black Lives Matter supporters with guns, delivered a gloomy, downbeat chat accusing “radical Democrats” of trying to destroy the suburbs.
“They are not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning,” Patricia McCloskey said. “This forced rezoning would bring crime, lawlessness and low-quality apartments into thriving suburban neighborhoods.
“These are the policies that are coming to a neighborhood near you,” she added. “So make no mistake: No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats’ America.”
These divisive speeches were interspersed between people of color who insisted that neither Trump, the Republican Party nor the nation had a problem with racism.
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Former NFL player Herschel Walker — who once played for the New Jersey Generals, a long-gone USFL team owned by Trump — said it “hurt my soul” to hear people call Trump “racist,” noting their long friendship. Haley, speaking of her own experience as the daughter of Indian immigrants, said that “America is not a racist country” but a “work in progress.”
Scott, the night’s keynote speaker, [heh appt by nikki] delivered a powerful speech on the promise of America and his own experiences with racism. Scott urged viewers to “not look simply at what the candidates say” before listing a number of remarks made by Biden to suggest that he, and not Trump, would ignore minority communities. Scott repeatedly insisted that Biden wants to turn the U.S. into a “socialist utopia,” which would be news to Biden and the progressive primary challenges who repeatedly criticized him for being too conservative.
But while the headliners tried to ignore the division stoked by Trump since long before he launched his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, stole the show with stunningly dark and loud diatribes that prompted viewers to question whether cocaine was involved.
Guilfoyle, who earns $180,000 per year from the Trump campaign, shouted an amped-up speech into the empty auditorium comparing Democrats to socialistsin Cuba and Venezuela. Guilfoyle, who was formerly married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, claimed that Democrats (including her ex-husband, apparently) had turned California into a “land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes.”
“They want to control what you see and think and believe so that they can control how you live,” she warned. “They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent liberal victim ideology to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.”
“Biden, Harris and the rest of the socialists will fundamentally change this nation,” she continued. “They want open borders, closed schools, dangerous amnesty, and will selfishly send your jobs back to China while they get rich. They will defund, dismantle and destroy America’s law enforcement. When you are in trouble and need police, don’t count on the Democrats.”
Donald Trump Jr. gave a speech touting his father’s response to the pandemic, albeit one that was entirely detached from reality.
He claimed that the president had “acted quickly,” even though Trump spent the crucial early weeks downplaying the threat, and that the administration had delivered supplies to “hospitals that needed them most,” even though the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general found rampant shortages of vital supplies. Six months into the pandemic, such equipment remains in short supply.
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The night also featured segments in which Trump hyped hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has repeatedly been found ineffective in treating the coronavirus, and a video that touted Trump’s “rapid policy changes” in the face of the pandemic.
MSNBC broke away from the broadcast to fact-check the claims.
“To say that 170,000 souls lost in our country up to now is a success by any measure is fantasy,” Dr. Vin Gupta, a disease expert at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said during the segment. “It’s disrespectful to the families who lost loved ones, to frontline clinicians who put their lives at risk. It’s just fantasy. It’s propaganda.”
During another segment, Trump spoke with a group of Americans who had been freed from overseas prisons, including pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested by Turkey during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s purge following an unsuccessful coup attempt.
“To me, President Erdogan was very good,” Trump told the pastor, who was detained for two years.
Though all of the major news networks break away during portions of the convention for analysis and ads, Fox News host Sean Hannity warned his viewers that “the media won’t cover large parts of the RNC that we’ll be showing.”
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Twitter users couldn’t help but notice that Fox News actually aired fewer segments from the convention than CNN and MSNBC. Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, tweeted his complaints at Fox News.
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“Can’t believe I have to watch the convention on @CNN,” he wrote. “Unbelievable.”
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tentative nodes: asymmetry and projection:
aha: I try to stay away from pop psych, but trump seems to obviously be doing projection i know i am but what are you? so biden and hunter are corrupt etc etcv, massive voter fraud by dems poc...but triggering the libs means pushing their PC buttons, perhaps saying shit you don't mean/beleive; but here's the projection part: conservative are hard-wired to be afraid, and fox stock in trade is to stoke fear and hatred of dems, but triggering wants to portray the DEMS as FEARFUL (or just naive?)
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520 aha; strange how much grift around god, guns, patriotism, televangelist, NRA, hype/ fear good for fundraising cf direct mail funding fr vigurie
aha: fraud often targets older ppl who might be less web savvy, but it's also easier to scare them; conservatives in general are easier to trigger re threat; if in an info silo/bubble easier to scare and harder for them to get better/ info
aha wall grift: fear involved b/c we ned protective barrier to keep THEM POC mex rapists out; but wife in Hamptons said about WINNING which means have money and pref fame; LOSERS deserve their fate, not smart hardworking thus moral, thus do anything /crime to not be in lower cat;
stock market supposed to be ultra smart # guys making rational decisions, but often said driven by two base emotions: fear and greed.
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[[ aha: anez bolivia evang // bolsonaro re-assert rightful place above uppity indigenous?
has doing god's will earned him "magical authority? see below
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/trump-and-white-evangelical-christians-are-bonded-by-sadism/
john s eb
there’s still too much confusion over the president’s bond with white evangelical Protestants (WEPs). I suppose there will always be as long as outsiders presume that Donald Trump’s strongest supporters believe in loving thy neighbor as thyself. Once you see that WEPs do not apply the Golden Rule universally and unconditionally, things become clearer. Once this Christian concept is removed from the discussion, “paradoxes” melt into the air. What’s left is a natural alignment of political interests.
How do I know WEPs don’t truly believe in the Golden Rule? From life experience. I know what I’m talking about. All you have to do is listen carefully, however, and know what to listen for. Elizabeth Dias wrote a big piece in the Times last week trying to clear up the “contradiction” of WEPs standing by Trump “when he shut out Muslim refugees. When he separated children from their parents at the border. When he issued brash insults over social media. When he uttered falsehoods as if they were true. When he was impeached.” A source explains helpfully that there’s no contradiction at all.
“The years of the Obama presidency were confusing to her,” Dias wrote of her source. “She said she heard talk of giving freedoms to gay people and members of minority groups. But to her it felt like her freedoms were being taken away. And that she was turning into the minority.” The source: “I do not love Trump. I think Trump is good for America as a country. I think Trump is going to restore our freedoms, where we spent eight years, if not more, with our freedoms slowly being taken away under the guise of giving freedoms to all. Caucasian-Americans are becoming a minority. Rapidly.”
This makes no sense to outsiders. Freedom for “gay people and members of minority groups” is not taking anything away from anybody. This makes no sense, because outsiders do not generally accept a worldview in which power is ordered. First God, then man, then woman, then child. White over nonwhite. Heterosexual over LGBTQ. Christian over non-Christian. When you believe with your whole being that power is ordered according to God’s will, “giving freedoms to gay people and members of minority groups” is not political equality, as outsiders would often see it. It’s knocking you out of the order of power. It’s taking something away. Equality is literally theft
when political equality is theft, you cannot apply the Golden Rule universally and unconditionally. If you did, you’d be complicit in a crime. The Golden Rule demands white people share power with nonwhite people. It demands husbands share power with their wives. Neither can ever be done.A wife, according to the same source in Dias’ reporting, must “submit” to her husband in accordance with God’s law. If she does not, she’s trying “to rule over him.” Same for whites and nonwhites. If white people are not at the top of the order, they are being ruled over. This is why Dias’ source says that, “Caucasian-Americans are becoming a minority. Rapidly.” The more for “them,” the less for “us.” They believe Trump prevents that from happening.
They believe Trump is “restoring their freedom.” Utter nonsense. What they are really saying is that the president will prevent people lower down the order of power from achieving more freedom and equality, “violating” their “freedom.” He must do that by any means, even if he confiscates kids from their mothers, bans a world religion, orcommits treason. None of that matters as much as maintaining the supremacy of a religious identity built on sand.And make no mistake: this is a religious identity. These are very real anti-democratic Christians hostile to critical thinking, modernity, pluralism, and all forms of equality. “It’s almost like it is a reverse intolerance,” a WEP source told Dias. “If you have somebody that’s maybe on the liberal side, they say that we are intolerant of them. But it is inverse intolerant if we can’t live out our faith.”[ // reverse discrimination]
If WEPs believed in the Golden Rule, they’d never tolerate other people’s pain. They do tolerate it, however. Indeed, they like it. It feels good to see the president “restoring their freedom.” When WEPs say they want to “live out our faith,” what they mean is sadism is and should be a natural consequence of the natural order of things in which God’s people are chosen to rule in God’s name. “Evangelicals did not support Mr. Trump in spite of who he is,” Dias wrote. “They supported him because of who he is, and because of who they are.” That’s correct, but take that to its logical conclusion. His enemies are their enemies. His pleasures, their pleasures. Their bond is far from a contradiction. It’s an alignment of political interests in which sadism is the point.
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has doing god's will earned him "magical authority? ends justify the means? see above
mis-spoke? made up extreme exec priv or somesuch? invokes article II? or somesuch?that chosen onewas a goof/joke? tho rw in bolivia ~ evo m claims she is restoring xian thus doing god's will? reasserts hier over indig prez
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/former-dhs-staff-trump-claimed-magical-authorities-to-break-the-law/
no lnx
no lnx twt text
Former DHS staff: Trump claimed ‘magical authorities’ to break the law...]]
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LOIO
8/20 orphan, sparked by? // amplify? accelerate?proliferates geometrically/ [kids say, exponentially [ incorrectly for increase = rate on increase increases?
aha 820 spark 2 is "streisand effect" hydra-head whackamole on de-platform; it's a network resilience effect
eg Qanon:
https://www.axios.com/qanons-2020-resurgence-41759d2b-7d08-4d6e-bad0-d2a63b6285ad.html
aug 4
strange realities of 2020 have perfectly played to the kind of fear QAnon thrives on, driving record online interest in the conspiracy theory.
Why it matters: QAnon is not just one fringe conspiracy theory — it's a sprawling network of falsehoods that's seeping into the mainstream. Its growing influence is sowing fear and confusion around some of today's most important issues, such as election integrity and the coronavirus pandemic.
Catch up quick: QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that alleges the "deep state" is engaged in a global fight to take down President Trump.
QAnon rose out of the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory and has grown into a decentralized network that analyzes cryptic prophecies dropped in remote online forums by "Q," who claims, without ever offering evidence, to be a Trump administration official with high-level clearance.
Q maintains President Trump is secretly fighting a child-selling cabal in the U.S., though the conspiracy has spiraled to cover a vast array of claims, from JFK Jr. having faked his death to help Trump behind the scenes to the coronavirus being a hoax or a biological weapon engineered in either case by sinister elites.
By the numbers: Conspiracy theories tied to QAnon are growing more popular.
There was more than 10 times as much Google search interest in QAnon in mid-July than in mid-January, according to Google Trends data.
QAnon pages and groups on Facebook had nearly 10 times more likes at the end of last month than they did last July, according to data tracked by the Atlantic Council and shared with Axios.
There has been a 190% increase in the daily average number of tweets with popular QAnon hashtags since March as compared to the seven months prior,according to data from GroupSense provided to Axios.
Parts of the mainstream Republican party have latched on, helping drive its conspiracy theories mainstream.
11 QAnon supporters are now 2020 Republican Congressional nominees.
President Trump himself has retweeted QAnon followers at least 90 times since the pandemic began, and others in Trump's inner circle have also shared Q content.
Between the lines: For all its twisty logic and branching details, Qanon is premised on a simple narrative of the good working to vanquish the evil, who are responsible for all the world's ills. There are very real concerns that may be driving more people to that narrative.
2020's battered economy has spurred wide-ranging anxiety and uncertainty.
Child trafficking, central to QAnon, has seen greater visibility, with the Jeffrey Epstein saga working as "gasoline poured onto QAnon embers, springing the theory back to life at a moment when some believers were suffering doubts," said Ethan Zuckerman, director of MIT's Center for Civic Media.
Coronavirus has funneled what might otherwise be disparate conspiracy theories about cover-ups and global vaccine schemes into the grand unified theory offered by QAnon.
QAnon could pose real-world danger as it grows, scholars and analysts worry.
Experts are particularly concerned it could undermine faith in democracy, with recent Q posts questioning vote-by-mail and election integrity.
The web of misinformation expanding from within QAnon "definitely has real teeth," said Bryce Webster-Jacobsen of cyber intelligence firm GroupSense.
What to watch: Tech giants are starting to crack down on QAnon, but policies around it are inconsistent and may in some cases be easily dodged.
Twitter recently shut down 7,000 Q-related accounts. It expects broader policy changes to limit the reach of another 150,000 accounts, per NBC News.
Facebook removed five pages, 20 accounts, and six groups associated with QAnon for violating its content manipulation policies in May.
TikTok blocked several hashtags related to QAnon last month from its search results, although some of the videos that originally had the hashtags may still be available on the platform.
Yes, but: Studies have shown that users are more likely to seek out bad information when a Big Tech platform flags it as false.
"There's sort of this censorship backfire that happens, and people start becoming outraged that [a video is] being taken down and then sharing it more and more and more," said Zarine Kharazian, assistant editor at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab.[// STREISAND EFFECT?!
Meanwhile: New platforms such as Parler and TheDonald.win are giving the conspiracy theory places to spread unchecked.
On Parler, which has attracted conservatives, Webster-Jacobsen said there are 10,000 to 15,000 new posts every day with the hashtags #QAnon or #WWG1WGA — which stands for the Q catchphrase "where we go one, we go all."
The bottom line: Trust in U.S. institutions is dangerously low, which creates a ripe environment for big-tent conspiracies such as QAnon.
"In some senses, the QAnon conspiracy is a deeply comfortable one: the idea that pedophile alien lizard people led by Hillary Clinton are running everything is more comfortable than the truth that no one has their hand firmly on the tiller,” Zuckerman say
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[[ child molesters:
doh pizzagate/qanon
oddly // voter fraud, the gop decry it but only ones doing it.
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aha: anti-semitism is root of conspiracy (right behind masons and the Bavarian Illuinati see idiot Am bk), blood libel xian babies drink blood; 60 min ripoff To Catch a Predator basically sting, proto Reality TV? also Internet new scary thing; child molesters routinely killed in prison by murderers and rapists? Maybe since the list of RW and televangelists crimes and sins so long, they have to prove THEY enemy Dems/infidels are worse. lack of proof is proof [meadows on voter fraud]
Roman catholic fail; oddly both a reaL THING and a delusion? // urban legend, a new thing we fear; helicopter parents?
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"gym" jordan
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west wing: ~ pension plan only way to end career in in DC is a live boy or a dead woman; [don't lick the pages]
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Epstein showed off 14-year-old victim to Trump at Mar-a-Lago: lawsuit
Brad Reed / Raw StoryAugust 17, 2020
A new lawsuit claims that late alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein brought one of his victims to see President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort when she was just 14 years…[el moz pref 12 yo]
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7/20? trump wishes female enabler well
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https://www.alternet.org/2019/02/rachel-maddow-details-the-disturbing-new-ruling-against-trumps-labor-secretary-in-the-case-of-an-alleged-billionaire-child-molester/
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https://www.newsweek.com/jim-jordan-dennis-hastert-ohio-state-alleged-sexual-abuse-bill-maher-1472204
no lnx pix
U.S.
Bill Maher Compares GOP Congressman Jim Jordan to Dennis Hastert Amid Sex Abuse allegations...]]
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aha/doh see novels! = STORY
BLM 1619 Project invite a questioning of am exceptionalism/chosen by God to spread freedom vs colonial/racist/PIC
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/white-evangelicalism-is-in-decline-and-qanon-could-take-its-place/
Remember the “Left Behind” series [story], about how the Rapture would whisk away all devout right-wing Christians before Jesus Christ unleashed the apocalypse on the unbelievers? Purity rings? Jesus Camp? Breathless stories about “girls gone mild,” giving up sex and tank tops for the Lord? A federal health official who believed that women who had premarital sex couldn’t feel love? Jerry Falwell Sr. and Pat Robertson blaming 9/11 on the “pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way”?
There can be no doubt that the heyday of Christian fundamentalism in America was the George W. Bush administration. Conservatives craved reassurance that they were defenders of “morality”, despite supporting an indefensible invasion of Iraq that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. These claims to moral superiority over liberals mainly came in the form of policing hymen status, harassing women at abortion clinics and claiming a right to Christian forgiveness (for yourself) whencaught with prostitutes or soliciting gay sex in public bathrooms.
White evangelicals still hold considerable political power, which is why Donald Trump occasionally tries to get photographed fondling a Bible in ways he vainly hopes are convincing. Abortion and LGBTQ rights are still under serious threat, as the Christian right has made major inroads into the federal judiciary.
Perversely, however, the cultural power of white evangelicals is clearly fading, both in terms of numbers and relevance, and that process started long before Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr.’s namewas ever associated with a “pool boy.” Bibles have been largely replaced with Pepe the Frog memes. Public prayer has given way, among right-wingers, to chants of “Lock her up.” You hardly hear anyone on Fox News these days talking up premarital abstinence anymore. They’re too busy arguing that it’s no big deal that Trump has routinely cheated on his wives, or that it’s “pearl-clutching” to be angry that he has bragged about committing sexual assault.
white evangelicalism is in decline, but another movement is rising to take its place, a movement that scratches that same right-wing itch towards false piety and elaborate tribalist mythologies that are incomprehensible to outsiders: QAnon.
Yes, QAnon, the bizarre paranoid conspiracy theory that holds (more or less) that behind the scenes of observable reality lies a shadowy worldwide pedophile ring run by Democrats and prominent celebrities, and that Trump’s bizarre and self-serving authoritarian behavior is actually an elaborate ruse to hide his secret fight to destroy this elite child-abuse conspiracy.
QAnon has grown rapidly since it first emerged in 2017, morphing from an online conspiracy theory to anexplosive political and cultural phenomenon, one that can probably be considered a cult — although it lacks leaders in any conventional sense. While there hasn’t been systematic research into how many Americans are QAnoners, an NBC News study earlier this month discovered that QAnon accounts on Facebook have more than 3 million followers.
An estimated 20 QAnon adherents are running for congressional office this year. One of them, Marjorie Taylor Greene, just won a primary race for the Republican nomination in a Georgia district that is nearly certain to go red in November, in a landslide that suggests, at the very least, that her wacky beliefs didn’t scare off Republican voters. While some Republicans have publicly expressed reservations about Greene — who has apparently made racist comments and used sexist slurs — Donald Trump just called her a “future Republican Star”.
It’s a measure of our bizarre political climate that the Trump campaign sees QAnon as the future, but it’s hardly a surprise. Trump hasn’t been shy about courting QAnon followers, frequently retweeting its adherents (while later suggesting he doesn’t know much about it). But this public endorsement of a QAnon candidate brings the public embrace of the movement to the next level. Now Trump’s campaign is publicly attacking at least one Republican congressman who committed the sin of criticizing QAnon, with Trump’s deputy communications director arguing that the “real” conspiracy theory is the Russian collusion story. (That’s actually true, even if Team Trump has the story upside down.)
As ridiculous as all of this is — in the real world, Trump has wished accused child-sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell “well,” and has shown no particular interest in the issue — the rise of QAnon as a more secular replacement for evangelical Christianity makes a lot of sense.
By claiming to pursue a crusade against the sexual abuse of children, QAnon gives its adherents a feeling of self-righteousness, one that allows them to ignore the reality that they support a deeply immoral and sociopathic president who is bragging about his efforts to steal the November election, and whose malicious mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed our economy and led to 166,000 deaths and millions of damaged lives. It lets them construct a story where they’re the good guys who oppose sexual exploitation, when in fact they are fiercely loyal to a man who has been credibly accused of sexual assault by two dozen women.
Evangelical Christianity played the same role for conservatives in the pre-Trump years, letting them feel holy and moral despite openly backing politicians who promoted immoral policies. But it came with a bunch of downsides, like being made to feel guilty for premarital sex, divorce or even (as Falwell Jr. found out) drinking and partying. With QAnon, you get to sleep in on Sunday and have all the sex you like, without giving up that pious assertion of moral superiority or the presumption of secret knowledge.
QAnon even swipes a central tactic from the Christian right: Focusing its concern on imaginary threats to children, while ignoring the very real threat to children (and everyone else) posed by their beliefs and actions.
With the Christian right, it’s all about melodramatic appeals that abortion supposedly “kills babies,” rhetoric that allows them to feel righteous while they undermine the services — social welfare, health care, housing and education — that allow parents to raise actual living children in safe, healthy environments.
QAnon claims to be fighting for children, but the child sex-trafficking victims they speak for are exclusively in their heads. In fact, QAnoners not only ignore the real cases of sex trafficking that exist, which have nothing to do with their conspiracy theory, but get in the way of activists who fight the real problemby clogging up phone lines, confusing their fundraising efforts, and interfering with social media campaigns.And they certainly don’t give a damn about the real-life children that Donald Trump separated from their parents and stuffed in cages along the border.
Embracing ridiculous beliefs, whether in the Rapture or in Pizzagate, seems to be a part of American right-wing DNA, perhaps because wild fantasies are the only way they can distract themselves from the real evil they do in the world.In light of that, the rise of QAnon makes sense. It’s the perfect mechanism, in Trump’s America, for conservatives to tell themselves a story about how they’renoble warriors for truth and justice in the face of overwhelming evidence that they’re not.Hardly anyone likes to face the genuinely bad things they’ve done, and QAnon provides Trump-loving conservatives a fable to justify all their dreadful choices.
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aha? turner dis a compensatory fable for powerlessness (ppl will not buy racism/ anti-semite) but a fantasy about triggering a cascade effect, notion that popularity of their ideas/power is latent and must be catalyzed [cataclysm? = orgasmic climax? an orgy of violence when others/they will be put in their lower place or obliterated but also a blueprint. who is the hero? takes action/command in the name of? by right of?]
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aha /yikes
does a factual basis for a bigger lie disable fact check capability eg this on twitter? rhet: note slippage : the flag and bible are sacred (and conflated, see dovetails) but they are objects/property, but their destruction is violence, destruction/desecration; thus the enemy is evil, irrational, cannot be reasoned with so force is essential; plus kirk sez war on US/XIAN by new bogeyman (who are btw the old one, commies extremist/radicals)
escalator, activ meas WT/WE as crossover
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/how-trump-is-once-again-colluding-with-russia/
no lnx twt
how Trump is once again colluding with Russia
Written by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly August 14, 2020
Almost two weeks ago, a story circulated that Portland protesters were burning Bibles and American flags. It spread via social media and was picked up by conservative outlets, such as the Washington Examiner. Of course, several Republican leaders joined the bandwagon.
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DOUBT CORROLLORY: DELAY IS A WIN SEE FALLBACKS:
1) it's not real
2) it's real but just natural variation (sunspots, medieval ice age...)
3) it's real and human caused, but too expensive to fix (wreck economy)
3a) Lomborg: more efficient to do Y (or do evil in the guise/name of green: frack, nuke)
3b: wheeler many decades out, 3rd world clean water (ignores that coal poisons am water/kids, coal ash, arsenic...)
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see lomborg shuffle (clintel covid fight covid not carbon) ALSO SHILLENBERGER
820 aha: this is variant last stage of fallback strategy: 1) not real 2) real but not anthro 3) agw but too expensive to fix (wreck gnp) 4: we can afford to fix it, but we must be smart/targeted w/ $ 4a we cvan't really afford to fix big global warming, but we can do smaller green humanitarian stuff [WHEELER CLEAN WATER IN 3RD WORLD] that will make some ppl's lives better and might let us move incrementally to fix climate [and BTW the worst effect/chaos in in far future if ever]
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evil crypto because to promotes denial IN THE NAME OF humanitarianism/ EJ when in fact poor POC in 3rd world will bhe hit 1st and worst, and have least ability to cope and made least contribution to the problem
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aha-ish: Bannon promoted djt as disruptor, the system is sick/rigged so he will blow it up and give us something better; he will fight your enemies (the chinese, the godless commies/boomers, drain the swamp, restore American prode/dominance [coal mfg]; relatd to throw the bums out they are all crooks? What do trumpistas think the swamp is? they atre fine with crony capitalism b/c bizmen are tough minded, numbers-based tough realists who will bwe efficient and stop wasting our tax money on losers/POC lazy welfare queens. so we should not be surprised when system crashes, because trump ppl know nothing, and are grifter rent-seekers. all they know about gov't is how to leech off it and dump their messes on it. short term / self-ish thinking: how do I/the books look good for next qtr (or for trump the next news cycle, which is 12 hours?!)
as someone else recently observed (burn dwn hs gingrich?) gop has built in political/rhet advantage b/c willing to crash the system to maintain power. (gives them leverage in negot? BUT lost votes in gov't shutdowns?]
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/trump-derangement-syndrome-those-of-us-who-warned-america-that-fascism-was-coming-were-called-hysterical-alarmists-we-were-right-all-along/
Do you remember “Trump Derangement Syndrome?”
It was a cute phrase that likely first appeared in 2015, deployed by prominent voices across the political spectrum to demean, mock, reject, dismiss and deflect the warnings that Donald Trump was a fascist, an authoritarian and a white supremacist, not to mention a vile and dangerous human being with apparent mental pathologies who posed a massive threat to American democracy....
no lnx
Do you remember “Trump Derangement Syndrome?”
It was a cute phrase that likely first appeared in 2015, deployed by prominent voices across the political spectrum to demean, mock, reject, dismiss and deflect the warnings that Donald Trump was a fascist, an authoritarian and a white supremacist, not to mention a vile and dangerous human being with apparent mental pathologies who posed a massive threat to American democracy.
Such truth-telling patriots were called “hysterical” and “alarmist,” or told they were “out of touch” and overly “bitter” about Hillary Clinton’s defeat thanks to the antiquated mechanism of the Electoral College and Russian interference. Those who first raised the alarm about Trumpism as a new version of fascism were also assured that ” the institutions were strong” and fascism could never take hold in America — and most certainly not in the form of a proudly ignorant wrestling-heel wannabe and reality-TV huckster.
When Trump won the presidential election in 2016, there were some on the left eager to dance on Hillary Clinton’s grave. A few even gave Trump the totally unearned benefit of the doubt: He claimed to oppose globalization, neoliberalism and “endless war,” and to speak for the “white working class”.
Centrist Democrats and the so-called mainstream American news media also rejected the existential threat to democracy that Trump represented. They convinced themselves, over and over, that the supposed power and gravity of the office would normalize and mature him. He was a “businessman” and a “pragmatist” eager to make deals, not an ideologue — so why worry? Trump was “brash” and “unconventional,” but America’s political institutions were strong.
The stenographers of current events and the other hope-peddlers, with their horse-race journalism, false equivalence “both-sides-ism” and obsession with meaningless controversies would not let themselves see the truth of Trump’s danger or that of his neo-fascist movement. To admit the truth about Trump would mean that the old habits of writing and thinking about American politics are obsolete. Moreover, such an admission would demand speaking truth to power in a way that many members of the mainstream news media, specifically, are too afraid to, for both professional and personal reasons.
Republicans and other members of the Trump movement used “Trump Derangement Syndrome” to bully their critics into silence. The American right celebrated drinking “liberal tears” and loved the way Trump’s victory had made Democrats and so-called progressives go “crazy.”[// to the fed art'l that mollie h etc do not defend djt cos can't but own the libs/ hit bogey[wo]men]
Trump Derangement Syndrome is weaponized language in the same vein as the myth of the “liberal media.” Both lies put Democrats and the mainstream news media on the defense. While the American right and the Republican Party (and now Trump’s neo-fascist movement) drag the issue-space further and further to the right — and have done so for decades — the “liberal media” tries to find an imaginary balance by presenting right-wing extremism as somehow a “reasonable” alternative point of view.
Trump Derangement Syndrome was also a smokescreen for Donald Trump’s wild success in advancing the agenda of the plutocrats, gangster capitalists, Christian nationalists and “Dominionists” — as well as overt white supremacists — in destroying the very idea of government itself as well as American multiracial democracy.
Of course, it was not Donald Trump’s most vocal critics who were “deranged” but his followers, enablers and allies. As I explained in January 2017, shortly before his inauguration:
It is not those who oppose Trump who are deranged, but rather those voters who convinced themselves that a plutocrat authoritarian reality TV star con man and professional wrestler wannabe with no experience in government at any level was qualified to be president of the United States.
This is America’s great national derangement. Those who stand against and oppose Donald Trump are patriots who are trying to return the country to sanity.
Now, some three months away from another Election Day, Donald Trump has finally arrived at the moment which those of us who were slurred as “hysterical” and “alarmist” have warned about for more than five years.
Last Thursday, Trump issued this now-infamous tweet:
With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote??? [// muslim ban "whAT'S GOIng on" = agenda/ deep state]
That same afternoon, when questioned about Trump’s threats to interfere with the 2020 election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the U.S. Senate: “In the end, the Department of Justice and others will make that legal determination.” This is not true. The Department of Justice and the president possess no legitimate authority to delay or cancel a federal election.
Later in the day, Trump continued to work from the authoritarian’s playbook, attempting to pivot away from his earlier statements. During a White House press event, Trump said:
Do I want to see a date change? No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election. What will happen in November – it’s a mess. I want a result much more than you… I don’t want to be waiting around for weeks and months.
This is a familiar strategy in which the authoritarian challenges norms and boundaries by floating trial balloons and then pretends to change his mind as a way to make the heretofore-unthinkable into something acceptable.
Trump’s most recent threats are but another crescendo in he and his servants’ efforts to subvert and eventually overturn secular multiracial democracy and the rule of law in America.
Only weeks ago Trump began deploying his own personal secret police force, hoping to enforce his will by suppressing dissent and free speech in Democratic-led cities all over the United States. The events in Portland, Oregon, are but a prelude to Trump’s national terrordome.
Trump’s own personal secret police force along with his civilian “watchdogs,” may well be used to intimidate Democratic voters on Election Day and beyond. Trump has repeatedly asked hostile foreign countries to interfere in the 2020 presidential election on his behalf. He was impeached for doing just that with his attempt to blackmail the government of Ukraine to launch a phony investigation of Joe Biden.
Trump continues to threaten senior Democratic leaders, including Biden, Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and others withtreasoncharges, potential imprisonment and perhaps even execution. Former national security adviser John Bolton’s recent book includes details of Trump’s lurid fantasies about having journalists killed. According to Bolton, Trump supports imprisoning his “enemies” in concentration camps — something he is already doing with brown and Black migrants and refugees from Latin America, the Caribbean and other parts of the nonwhite world.
Donald Trump, has repeated his threats, ever since the 2016 campaign, that he will not respect the will of the American people if he loses a presidential election.
In sum, Donald Trump is not pretending. None of this is a game. He is a neo-fascist. Such observations and warnings are not hysterical. They are plain observations based on a consensus of the available facts. [also he can be prosecuted, just today info DA new charges?]
As historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat explained in a 2017 essay at The Washington Post:
The strongman knows that it starts with words. He uses them early on to test out his plans to expand and personalize executive power on political elites, the press and the public, watching their reactions as they arrange into the timeless categories of allies, enemies and those who help him by remaining silent. Some say the strongman is all bluster, but he takes words seriously, including the issue of which ones should be banned.
Now what to do?
In a perfect and just world, the hope peddlers, professional centrists, stenographers of current events and others who maintain the boundaries of approved public discourse in America would go to the public square, prostrate themselves before the world and then beg forgiveness for how they, for years and by various means, empowered Donald Trump.
That will not happen. Instead, such voices will proclaim that they were sounding the alarm about Donald Trump years ago and are the real vanguard defenders of American democracy. In reality, such voices were enablers, far behind the truth if not actively running away it. They are now trying to position themselves on the correct side of history because their shame and failure to protect America from Donald Trump and his neo-fascist movement are so great.
In the weeks remaining before Election Day — which will certainly not be “free and fair” and when Trump’s machinations will be at their most extreme — the mainstream news media and theAmerican people must internalize the fact that the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution mean little for Trump and his regime.
Hopeful claims — or delusions — that the Constitution and state laws dictate the rules of Election Day must be viewed with extreme cynicism. Trump and his enforcers are not restrained by such arcane conventions.
If there is indeed an election on Nov. 3, Americans mUst vote against Trump in overwhelming numbers in order to force him to step down. Unless Donald Trump is convincingly vanquished at the polls, he will find some way to stay in office.
If Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr try to cancel the presidential election or interfere with it in any other way, Americans must take to the streets and engage in corporeal politics — including a national strike and other plans to disrupt day-to-day life and “business as usual” — on a scale so large that they make the George Floyd people’s uprising look like a PTA meeting.
Ultimately, those of us who warned the American people for years, sometimes on a daily basis, about this Mad King and would-be tyrant take no joy from saying, We told you so. There is no satisfaction in being correct about such a horrible thing.
On this point,Jared Yates Sexton, author of “American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World But Failed Its People,” wrote last Thursday on Twitter:
Those of us warning that Trump is an authoritarian capable of destroying democracy haven’t been doing it for profit or attention or out of unwarranted alarmism. None of this is hard to predict. They don’t hide it at all. Stop expecting everything to be fine because “America.”
To watch American democracy, fall so ill so fast, and now to be on the verge of collapse — when such a thing could have been so easily prevented — is a world historical tragedy. SYSTEM CRASH economy, health care sys?!
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aha rw pundits have an almost perfect record of being wrong [cleese Tetlock 284?], yet somehow paul Ehrlich gets to be poster boy punching bag for inaccurate prediction (did not help he lost long bet). Club of Rome? greens get tarred with that brush.
common ploy / complaint is that left is rooting for catastrophe (motive? if capitalist system crashes we get to build a better one? We hate America and thus want it to fail for pure spite?
related to alarmist Alare Scare chemophobia, manly stoic clear-eyes scientists and engineers are not scared b/c they see reality and are masters of the physical universe. eg nuclear power
Relates to to American Exceptionalism: we are not bound by rules/history, if we run out of X we'll just use Y (or as in peak oil, frack our way out).
---
example
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former scientist at the NOAA has exposed a shoddy report on global warming. Judicial Watch is suing to learn more.
:{:{}:
following allegations of impropriety over the handling of a controversial climate change report, a government watchdog group now wants to know whether there was any collaboration between the report’s lead author and a key Obama adviser. On March 27, Judicial Watchfiled a lawsuit seeking “all records of communications between a pair of federal scientists who heavily influenced the Obama administration’s climate change policy and its backing of the Paris Agreement.”}:
The FOIA specifically requests correspondence between Tom Karl, the former head of the climate-data program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and John Holdren, the director of Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. Holdren is from that species of Baby Boomer global catastrophists who make changing predictions each decade about how we will all die. He also happens to be the science guy who had the president’s ear for eight years.
==
aha: is Q an interdisc hub? // anti-mask? [vax, militia?] alt rt boogaloo? already had it as amplify/accelerate
aha: gop/rt busted so many times for dark $/corruption that it needs whatabout so soros = kochs and actblue = dark $/scam
plus they need to neutralize blm demand for justice, and it's a scam than racism not real
note chan origin then moves up escalator to dobbs
=---
6/20
https://www.mediamatters.org/fake-news/debunked-conspiracy-theory-about-black-lives-matter-actblue-and-democrats-can-be-traced
no lnx many pix
A false money laundering conspiracy theory regarding the Black Lives Matter movement's use of a payment processing company for donations has gained traction online among right-wing figures and can be traced back to far-right message boards.
The conspiracy theory alleges that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement is some kind of a front to launder money to Democrats because the BLM website uses ActBlue to process its online fundraising payments. ActBlue is a payment processor used widely by progressive groups and organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party has an equivalent processing company called WinRed. As the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has noted, “many candidates use [ActBlue] to process donations but that money isn't pooled to be shared across candidates or groups,” and “a donation to BLM through ActBlue goes just to BLM, not any other group.” But the conspiracy theory still has earned well over a million shares and views on social media and has been amplified by a Fox Nation host.
A review by Media Matters found that before it gained traction, the conspiracy theory had been circulating for days on far-right message boards. The earliest mention our review found was at the beginning of June on Twitter, when an account that has pushed the slogan for the QAnon conspiracy theory repeatedly tweeted the claim on June 1 and June 2. The account claimed it had sent the conspiracy theory to the FBI and President Donald Trump, and it urged the Ohio Police Department to investigate the claim.
@OneVoiceUS
The conspiracy theory popped up days later on June 5 on TheDonald.win, a new forum for the subreddit “r/TheDonald,” which was known for violent rhetoric and was ultimately quarantined by Reddit. On TheDonald.win, a user wrote that “when you go to donate on the blacklivesmatter.com website,” you are redirected to ActBlue, which means entities “donating to Black Lives Matter are actually donating to ActBlue.” That means, the user wrote, that the donations may be “just going straight to fund the Democratic presidential campaign.”
The next day, another user on the forum wrote in a post that “BLM is a bait and switch fundraising scam” for the Democratic National Committee “by laundering money through Act Blue.” The user urged others to “tell everyone you know.” This post gained more traction on the forum than the first one, which it directly referenced in the comments. Similar language made its way to Facebook minutes later.
The Donald subreddit forum ActBlue1
Over the next few days, the conspiracy theory also began circulating on 4chan’s “/pol/” message board, a known hotspot for white nationalists, where users pointed to ActBlue to claim Black Lives Matter was “a fundraising apparatus” and a “slush fund” for Democrats. One 4chan user pushing the claim on June 8 used nearly the exact same language as the June 5 post from TheDonald.win.
4chan ActBlue claim
The conspiracy theory also continued to circulate on TheDonald.win on June 8 and reached the subreddit “r/conservative,” where a user called Black Lives Matter a “money laundering scheme” for Democrats via ActBlue. That post was later shared in a YouTube video.
The following day, on June 9, The Gateway Pundit, a far-right blog that has a history of publishing misinformation, posted that the BLM site “appears to be aninternational money laundering scheme used by the Democrats to raise money from an international audience,” claiming ActBlue appears to be “a funding arm of the DNC.” (The site’s owner Jim Hoft shared the post on Twitter, calling it an “exclusive.”) The post gave a “hat tip” to TheDonald.win for the claim. The post was picked up by multiple far-right figures, including by a QAnon-supporting former congressional candidate on Twitter, another QAnon Twitter account with a major following who keeps evading his Twitter ban, and by trollMilo Yiannopoulos on Telegram.
Gateway Pundit ActBlue claim
On June 10, right-wing pundit Candace Owens quote-tweeted an Instagram video pushing the conspiracy theory and accused Black Lives Matters of being a “shell company” for Democrats via ActBlue(Owens also posted the video on Instagram, where it received well over a million views). Minutes later, “Q,” the central entity of the QAnon conspiracy theory, posted a link to Owens’ tweet on 8kun’s “/qresearch/” message board. Owens’ post has been retweeted more than 64,000 times so far.
Candace Owens ActBlue claim
Following Owens’ post, the conspiracy theory began spreading to other conservative figures, such as Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch; a Florida Republican congressional candidate who has given credence toQAnon; Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier (who, like Owens, incorrectly called ActBlue a “Democrat super PAC”); Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; and former editor-in-chief of Breitbart’s London bureau Raheem Kassam.
Additionally, two major conservative TikTok accounts, @therepublicanhypehouse and @conservativehypehouse, both posted videos pushing the conspiracy theory, getting more than 370,000 views combined (even though TikTok has an anti-misinformation policy).
The conspiracy theory also apparently reached Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren, who has a history of pushing claims from message boards. She tweeted, “When you donate to BLM you’re donating to the Dems.”
Tomi Lahren ActBlue claim
These tweets and videos combined have gotten hundreds of thousands of shares and views and have amplified the conspiracy theory far beyond fringe message boards.
==
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720
aha: trump utter fail on covid. numbers scary and undeniable (tho they try to suppress by route to DHS, swat secret police];
BLM not really subsiding, and they need it a bogeyman so trump can do Nixonian Law and Order scam; cruel irony/paradox is trump/libtards unable or unwilling to govern, so crash/crisis then gives cover for I alone am strong man who can deal with these commie degenerates who hate aMerica. [tho so far just kick blame to states [tho kemp under the bus on covid mask lawsuit?]
yes i am a vulgar bigot, but look at the stock mkt! and corp tax cut, dereg] but he can't depend on corp dark money to buy election [esp if zuck cuts ads] thus he needs the economy to re-open, which means he needs schools open (for child care?) so willing to kill kids?! no rallies (basis of ego boost, proof of popularity/thus legit // inaug crowd BS, pix of trumpistas will be on TV and soc med]
one of 4 horses, related to all but esp militarization, esp on climate refugee; note sublethal used on nat aM dapl remote ppl of color now pepperball explodes to head of activist, press lost eye? state of exception/margin periphery comes to Portland
yikes primary 7/20 portland secret police
combo of militarization and criminalization (of undoc immigrant, periphery, then sanctuary city, BLM ACTIVIST AND PRESS SUB-LETHAL WEAPONS)
why did portland get hit 1st by secret police vs seattle autonomous zone?
Washington enacted a measure in June 2019 in favor of sanctuary cities, similar to California and Oregon laws which are among the strongest statewide mandates in the nation.[186]^
Seattle[187]^
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aha: the original and most durable conspiracy theory? anything not white, male and xian is suspect/inferior? i forgot anti-sem in phobia ~ PC intersectional
https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/how-donald-trump-will-try-to-scapegoat-george-soros-to-win-re-election/
no lnx twt
How Donald Trump will try to scapegoat George Soros to win re-election
Written by The Conversation July 16, 2020
by Neil McLaughlin, McMaster University and Iga Mergler, McMaster University
When future scholars write the history of the administration of Donald Trump, he may end up being called — among many other things — the conspiracy theorist president. Trump famously began his ascent to power with the false and racist “birther” claim that Barack Obama was not really an American.
Trump and his followers have also legitimized bizarre conspiracy theories against Hungarian American financier and philanthropist George Soros. It now appears continued attacks toward Soros will be a part of the president’s re-election campaign.
Soros has been a punching bag for authoritarians, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists around the world since 1992, when he became famous as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England” by making more than US$1 billion by “shorting” the British pound.
Born in Budapest in 1930, Soros barely survived the destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis. Living in New York City since 1956, he has combined a long career as a successful capitalist while doing philanthropy under the banner of his Open Society Foundations.
Anti-Semitic attacks
Attacks on Soros have circulated on the margins of mainstream politics for years, tinged with anti-Semitism and fuelled by half-truths and outright lies. Russia has always been at the heart of anti-Soros propaganda, and it’s now joined by China in promoting attacks, distortions and lies. Over the last few years, these conspiracies have entered mainstream debate in Hungary, Poland, Brazil and the United States.
The Trump movement attempted to scapegoat Soros as part of its Make America Great Again rhetoric. Trump supporters accused Soros, among other things, of supporting the caravan of migrants attempting to enter the United States from Central America, being behind the attacks on Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court nomination (a falsehood Trump himself tweeted about) and promoting an elitist globalist agenda that undermined American jobs and culture.
Most incredibly, in recent weeks Soros has been accused of paying Black Lives Matter protesters who demonstrated across the United States after the police killing of George Floyd.
Trump has major liabilities in his quest for re-election: his incompetent handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his polarizing opposition to protesters after the Floyd killing and the decline of the U.S. economy since the outbreak of COVID-19. Loss of support among suburban white women, members of the military elite and moderate Republicans are now a threat to his electoral prospects.
Attacking Soros part of the plan
Attacking China, stoking nationalist resentments, uncritically defending the police, claiming economic competence and bashing Joe Biden will be Trump’s major electoral strategy. But Republican attacks on Soros are also likely to circulate widely until the election.
Soros is a perfect foil to try to convince people that Trump stands for the average American. What better scapegoat than a wealthy, uber-liberal currency speculator who helped fund Obama and Hillary Clinton, supports abortion, gay and trans rights and gives generously to the electoral campaigns of liberal public defenders and prosecutors? In Trumpist rhetoric, Soros is soft on crime and promotes the values of cultural liberalism and global elites over the average American. [HE'S ALSO THE WHATABOUTISM CORP OLIGARCH FOR KOCH BOROS; I'M NOT CORRUPT YOU'RE CORRUPT KNEE-JERK REFLEXIVE ST'D MOVE
Soros’s history of supporting Palestinian rights and calling for a negotiated peace settlement created an opportunity for the White House to exploit. Rhetoric about big finance linked to a “globalist” Jewish philanthropist understandably concerns Jewish voters and others opposed to anti-Semitism, but anti-Soros rhetoric can unify evangelical Christian Zionists, pro-Israel Republicans, interventionist neo-conservatives and far-right extremists.
Attacking Soros is also part of a Trumpist appeal to conservative Black voters, now being led Candace Owens, a young media figure and Republican activist.
Owens spreads paranoia
Prone to gaffes that expose her ignorance about history and politics, Owens has gained a massive online presence among far right-wing Trump supporters by directly challenging the mainstream Democratic Party narrative on racism, police violence and poverty in America. She’s also attacked George Floyd’s character. What’s more, Owens has spread anti-Soros paranoia online, giving it a cooler, hipper and younger flavour.
The core of the Trumpist scapegoating of Soros is an attempt to blame Soros for the Black Lives Matter protests and calls for defunding the police. The lie that Soros is paying for the protests that have swept through the United States and is promoting riots is deeply corrosive to American democracy.
Conspiracy theories work best when lies, exaggerations and paranoia are linked to real things in the world that can be distorted by spin. Soros’s recent pledge of US$220 million to support civil rights and racial equality groups like Black Voters Matter will add fuel to extremist fire.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson will play a major role in all this. During a recent segment on his show, former Missouri governor Eric Greitens attempted to link Soros to anti-police violence and made reference to a “George Soros-funded prosecutor” involved in the case of the couple in St. Louis who stood in front of their house with guns while anti-racism protesters marched on their street.
None of this is likely to save Trump from going down to an electoral defeat in November. While there are legitimate criticisms to be made of the role of billionaires like Soros in politics and economic life, the divisiveness of anti-Soros paranoia will take years to repair.
The Conversation
Neil McLaughlin, Professor of Sociology, McMaster University and Iga Mergler, PhD Candidate in Sociology,, McMaster University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
==
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aha pseudo-populism trashes expertise (of science and gubmint), free mkt says all gov't inept, the only real expert is pvt biz/accounting consultant, which lead to more hollowing out: mck wants to keep all data propietary so can sell to mult gov't agy, HENCE EXTRACTION
death spiral, pro pub 720:
Given that McKinsey consultants operate as advisers, with government officials charged with making final decisions, it can be hard to identify the firm’s responsibility for any given decision. But the firm’s government work has been steadily rising in the wake of a multidecade hollowing out of government (a trend McKinsey has promoted and ridden). Today, that increasingly means that if you examine the government’s response to the pandemic, you’re likely to find McKinsey’s fingerprints.
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aha recall that someone desmog? said plastic is the next big revenue stream for frack/fossil fuels, so must be defended and blk ppl get cancer collateral damage?
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https://theintercept.com/2020/06/25/environmental-activists-charged-terrorizing-louisiana-formosa/
TWO LEADERS OF the long-running fight for environmental justice in Louisiana turned themselves in to police in Baton Rouge Thursday morning. The activists, who work in a part of the state known as “Cancer Alley,” faced charges of “terrorizing” related to a nonviolent protest action. Civil liberties attorneys are calling the charges a dramatic escalation of a yearslong effort by the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries to criminalize efforts to halt the expansion of polluting facilities in the state — part of a nationwide trend of cracking down on dissent around climate change issues.
:{:{}:
}:
The accusations against the activists, Anne Rolfes and Kate McIntosh, stem from a seemingly innocuous activist stunt carried out in December, the day after a festival designed to draw attention to the environmental misdeeds of Formosa Plastics. The Taiwanese petrochemical company plans to build a massive plastics manufacturing complex in a largely Black Louisiana community that has already suffered health problems linked to local industry. In October, Formosa agreed to a $50 million settlement for dumping pollutants, including the small pellets that form the building blocks for plastic products known as nurdles, into Texas’s Lavaca Bay — the largest settlement of a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by private citizens.
with a key environmental permit still pending for Formosa in Louisiana, the action — dubbed “Nurdlefest” — was meant to pressure the state’s Department of Environmental Quality to scrutinize the company’s record. Boxes of the plastic pellets, used as evidence in the Texas case, were carted to the front of the agency, where around 75 people gathered in the rain.
What apparently terrorized community members, however, was a container of the pellets that appeared on the porch of an oil and gas lobbyist, with a detailed note attached, explaining what they were and their Texas origin. “We have delivered this package of nurdles as a reminder – Louisiana does not need anymore pollution, plastics or otherwise,” the letter said. “We demand that LDEQ DENY Formosa’s air emissions permit application.”
s
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convention commie apocalypse
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/kimberly-guilfoyles-rnc-speech-was-6-minutes-of-sheer-hell-ill-never-get-back-gop-strategist/
==
https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/kimberly-guilfoyle-2020-rnc-speech-transcript
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (00:05)
Good evening, America. I’m Kimberly Guilfoyle. I speak to you tonight as amother, a former prosecutor, a Latina, and a proud American, and yes, a proud supporter of President Donald J. Trump. Why? He is the President who delivers for America. He built the greatest economy the world has ever known, for the strivers, the working class, and middle class. As Commander in Chief, he always puts America first. President Trump is the law and order President.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (00:41)
Now, Presidential leadership is not guaranteed. It is a choice. Biden, Harris, and the rest of the Socialistswill fundamentally change this nation. They wantopen borders, closed schools, dangerous amnesty, and will selfishly send your jobs back to China while they get rich. They will defund, dismantle, and destroy America’s law enforcement. When you are in trouble and need police, don’t count on the Democrats.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (01:14)
As a first-generation American, I know how dangerous their Socialist agenda is. My mother, Mercedes, was a special education teacher from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. My father, also an immigrant, came to this nation in pursuit of the American Dream. Now, I consider it my duty to fight to protect that dream. Rioters must not be allowed to destroy our cities. Human sex drug traffickers should not be allowed to cross our border. The same Socialist policies which destroyedplaces likeCuba and Venezuela must not take root in our cities and our schools.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (01:58)
If you want to see the Socialist Biden/Harris future for our country, just take a look at California. It is a place of immense wealth, immeasurable innovation, and immaculate environment, and the Democrats turned it into a land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets, and blackouts in homes. In President Trump’s America, we light things up. We don’t dim them down. We build things up, we don’t burn them down. We kneel in prayer and we stand for our flag.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (02:42)
This election is a battle for the soul of America. Your choice is clear. Do you support the cancel culture? Thecosmopolitan elites of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden, who blame America first? Do you think America is to blame? Or, do you believe in American greatness? Believe in yourself? In President Trump? In individual and personal responsibility? They want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear. They want tosteal your liberty, your freedom. They want to controlwhat you see and think and believe so that they can control how you live. They want toenslave youto the weak, dependent, liberal victim ideology to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (03:44)
From the beginning, when President Trump spoke about making American Great Again, he was speaking about thatshining city on a hill and restoring thebeacon of light that once shined so bright. His promise was to put America first and he has. When President Trump cut middle class taxes, putting tens of thousands of dollars back in the pockets of working class Americans, that beacon began to flicker once again. When President Trump commanded the defeat of ISIS,took out al-Baghdadi and Soleimani and paved the way for peace in the Middle East, that beacon started to glow. When he negotiated historic trade deals with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and China, bringing back thousands of manufacturing jobs to America, that beacon shined bright once again for the world to see.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (04:45)
America, it’s all on the line. President Trump believes in you. He emancipates and lifts you up to live your American Dream. You are capable. You are qualified. You are powerful and you have the ability to choose your life and determine your destiny. Don’t let the Democrats take you for granted. Don’t let them step on you.Don’t let them destroy your families, your lives, and your future. Don’t let them kill future generations because they told you and brainwashed you and fed you lies that you weren’t good enough.
Kimberly Guilfoyle: (05:25)
Like my parents, you can achieve your American Dream. You can be that shining example to the world. Manifest and be the change in this country that you dream, that you hope, that you believe in. Stand foran American President who is fearless, who believes in you, and who loves this country and will fight for her.President Trump is the leader who will rebuild the promise of America and ensure that every citizen can realize their American Dream. Ladies and gentlemen,leaders and fighters for freedom and liberty and the American Dream, thebest is yet to come!
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aha, no accident this is most pronounced on youtube? post-literate, video enflames emotiions more than print, bypass brain, plus algo amplification:
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/are-fox-news-viewers-racist/
It's no secret that U.S. politics has become highly polarized.
Even so, there are probably few living Americans who ever witnessed anything that quite compares with this fall's first presidential debate.
Was it really the case that the nation could do no better than a verbal food fight, with two candidates hurling fourth-grade insults and talking past each other?
To us, the discordant debate was just one more symptom of the nation's fraying civic discourse, which, in a recent study, we were able to show extends to the words we use to talk about politics.
Earlier this year, we started constructing a data set that consists of all of the viewer comments on YouTube videos posted by four television networks — MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and One America News Network — that target slices of the political spectrum. Together, the data set contains over 85 million comments on over 200,000 videos from 6.5 million viewers since 2014.
We studied whether there are distinct variants of English written in the comments sections, akin to the distinction between British English and American English.
Using machine learning methods, we found these permutations do exist. Moreover, we can rank them in terms of the "left-ness" and the "right-ness." To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical demonstration of quantifiable linguistic differences in news audiences.
Our second finding, however, was even more unexpected.
Our machine learning translation system found that words with vastly different meanings, like "KKK" and "BLM," were used in the exact same contexts depending on the YouTube channel being analyzed.
The company a word keeps
When translating two different languages — say, Spanish and English — automated translation systems like Google Translate begin with a large training set of texts in both languages. The system then applies machine learning methods to become better at translating.
Over the years, this technology has become increasingly accurate, thanks to two key insights.
The first dates back to the 1950s, when linguist John Rupert Firth came up with the aphorism "You shall know a word by the company it keeps."
To modern machine translation systems, the "company" a word keeps is its "context," or the words surrounding it. For example, the English word "grape" occurs in contexts such as "grape juice" and "grape vine," while the equivalent word in Spanish, uva, occurs in the same contexts — jugo de uva, vid de uva — in Spanish sentences.
The second important discovery came rather recently. A 2013 study found a way to identify — and thereby link — a word's context in one language to its context in another. Modern machine translation depends heavily on this process.
What we have done is to use this type of translation in an entirely new way: to translate English to English.
When "Trumptards" become "snowflakes"
That may sound bizarre. Why translate English to English?
Well, consider American English and British English. Many words are the same in both languages. Yet there can be subtle differences. For instance, "apartment" in American English may translate into "flat" in British English.
For the purposes of our study, we labeled the language used in each network's comment section "MSNBC-English," "CNN-English," "Fox-English" and "OneAmerica-English." After analyzing the comments, our translation algorithms uncovered two different patterns of "misaligned words" — terms that aren't identical across the comment sections but are used in the same contexts.
One type was similar to "flat" and "apartment," in the sense that both are describing ostensibly the same thing. However, the word pairs we uncovered have different intonations. For example, we found that what one community calls "Pelosi," the other one calls "Pelousy"; and "Trump" in one news-language translates into "Drumpf" in another.
A second — and deeper — kind of misalignment occurred when the two words refer to two fundamentally different things.
For example, we found that in CNN-English, "KKK" — the abbreviation for the Ku Klux Klan — is translated by our algorithm to "BLM" — shorthand for Black Lives Matter — in Fox-English. The algorithm is basically finding that the comments made by one community about KKK are very much like the comments made by the other about BLM. While the belief systems of the KKK and BLM are about as different as can be, depending on the comment section, they seem to each represent something similarly ominous and threatening.
CNN-English and Fox-English are not the only two languages displaying these types of misalignments. The conservative end of the spectrum itself breaks into two languages.For example, "mask" in Fox-English translates to "muzzle" in OneAmerica-English, reflecting the differing attitudes across these subcommunities.
There seems to be a mirrorlike duality at play. "Conservatism" becomes "liberalism," "red" is translated to "blue," while "Cooper" is converted into "Hannity."
There's also no lack of what can only be called childish name-calling.
"Trumptards" in CNN-English translates to "snowflakes" in Fox-English; "Trumpty" in CNN-English translates to "Obummer" in Fox-English; and "republicunts" in CNN-English translates to "democraps" in Fox-English.
Uncharted territory
Linguists have long emphasized how effective communication among people with different beliefs requires common ground. Our findings show that the way we talk about political issues is becoming more divergent; depending on who's writing, a common word can be imbued with an entirely different meaning.
We wonder: How far are we from the point of no return when these linguistic differences begin to erode the common ground needed for productive communication?
Have echo chambers on social media exacerbated political polarization to the point where these linguistic misalignments have become ingrained in political discourse?
When will "democracy" in one language variant stop translating into "democracy" in the other?
Mark Kamlet, University Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University; Ashique KhudaBukhsh, Project Scientist at the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, and Tom Mitchell, Founders University Professor of Machine Learning, Carnegie Mellon University
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the tweets have interesting language; rob= tax = enslavement? or some other loss of freedumb? rw grifters keep hyping take your guns?
cap is videogame thug talk?
https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/michigan-kidnapping-whitmer/
no twt vid lnk
Watch: Feds release disturbing footage of Whitmer kidnapping suspects' training drills with assault rifles
Screenshot/MLive
Meaghan Ellis October 17, 2020
Federal prosecutors released disturbing footage created by the suspects involved in the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).
On Friday, U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge publicly unveiled a trove of evidence, including text messages and recorded footage that was used presented in a hearing for the suspects identified as—Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris, and Brandon Caserta—who now face charges for their involvement in the alarming plot.
The clip below captures several men participating in military-style drills while firing assault weapons. The video then shifts to Caserta who expressed disapproval of the U.S. government.
"If this s**t goes down... okay... if this whole thing starts to happen, I'm tellin' you what dude, I'm takin' out as many of those motherf**kers as I can. Every single one dude. Every single one. And if you guys are gonna give any of these motherf**kers a chance, any of these gang f**king criminal a** government thugs that rob people everyday, if you're even gonna give them a second to try to speak or tell their story, don't even f**k with me dude.
:{:{}:
}:
"I have zero patience for immoral coward criminals," Caserta said, adding, "I'm sick of being robbed and enslaved by the state. Period... And these are the guys who are actually doing it."
Videos show training for alleged governor kidnapping plot
youtu.be
Additional disturbing details about the plot were also shared via Twitter by Fox 17 reporter Doug Reardon of Detroit, Mich. The evidence also included text message conversations with one message, in particular, appearing to suggest that Whitmer be killed.
That message read, "Have one person go to her house. Knock on the door and when she answers it just cap her… "
[twt]
The latest developments come as President Donald Trump continues to attack Whitmer. In fact, he even attempted to blame her for the plot orchestrated against her due to the strict coronavirus shutdown orders she enforced. The president took to Twitter on last Thursday to verbally attack Whitmer as he falsely claimed she called him a "White Supremacist," according to CNN.
"Governor Whitmer of Michigan has done a terrible job. She locked down her state for everyone, except her husband's boating activities," he wrote, urging her in another tweet to "open up your state, open up your schools, and open up your churches!"
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/how-the-plot-to-kidnap-whitmer-fits-into-right-wing-extremists-violent-rhetoric-around-the-2020-election/
analysis
Adam Fox was worried about a rat. In thedark and cluttered basement, Fox gathered the men’s phones in a bin and took them upstairs to the main floor of the nondescript vacuum store in Grand Rapids, Michigan—a measure meant to avoid surveillance. After he returned through the trap door normally hidden by a rug, the group of men began discussing how they would storm the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, counter law enforcement who arrived on the scene, and throw Molotov cocktails at their vehicles. It was June 20. Six days earlier, Fox had explained in a call that they’d need “200 men” to storm the capitol and take hostages, including the governor. They would try her for “treason,” he said—and they would carry out their plan before the November presidential election.
The FBI arrested six men on Oct. 8—including Fox—for conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overtake the state government. Through FBI informants and FBI agents, we know how those meetings went, spelled out in detail in anFBI affidavit. The men, in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, belonged to Wolverine Watchmen, an anti-government, anti-law enforcement militia group. Prior to the arrests, the group had surveilled Whitmer’s summer home, discussed bombing a bridge to block law enforcement response, and at another point, considered simply shooting Whitmer. On Tuesday, the FBI revealed the group had also considered kidnapping Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia.
Whitmer has been thetarget of extremistssince she implemented a series of public health measures, including a stay-at-home order, in March, acting swiftly to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Michigan. In May, protesters and anti-government groups, some heavily armed, protested the restrictions at the state capitol, where they demanded to be let in and compared Whitmer to Hitler. Among the protesters were members of the Wolverine Watchmen.
In addressing the conspiracy to kidnap her, Whitmer was quick topoint out President Donald Trump’s recent rhetoric at the first presidential debate: how he tried to skirt condemning white supremacists and then told the Proud Boys hate group to “stand back and stand by.”
“Hate groups heard the president’s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight,” Whitmer said.
Right Wing Watch has seen an increase of violent rhetoric across different right-wing subgroups—from conspiracy theorists and religious-right activists to white nationalists and anti-government groups. In some instances, extremists call for civil war, the use of force against Black Lives Matter protesters, and for government leaders to be tried for treason and executed.
Trump has no doubt ushered in more radical proclamations from extremists—this is the man, after all, whowon’t commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election. But the right-wing media ecosystem is a two-way street, where fringe figures influence the president, and the president influences the boldness of fringe figures and their prominence in the conservative mainstream.
Conspiracy Theorists and Radical Right-Wing Commentators: Fear-Mongering, Violent Language, and Anti-Government Sentiment
[pix Radical right-wing conspiracy theorist Rick Wiles blamed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the plot to kidnap and potentially murder her.]
On the day the arrests of the Wolverine Watchmen members were announced, Rick Wiles, a conspiracy theorist whose TruNews conspiracy outlet claims to offer news and analysis from a conservative, Christian worldview,took to his program to put the blame on Whitmer for the plot to kidnap and potentially murder her.
“Did you at all stop and think, what are you doing that drives middle class, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens to think about kidnapping you?” Wiles said. “What are you doing? Are your policies so extreme, so radical that you’re pushing people over the line to say we have to get that woman out of the governor’s office?”
While the claim is shocking, especially for an outlet that has been granted White House press credentials as recently asJanuary, it’s in keeping with Wilesfear-mongering about government overreach—much of it anti-Semitic—which includes claiming that liberalsintend touse the power of government toround upconservative Christians, place them inconcentration camps, andkill them.
And it’s not surprising for the ranks of conspiracy theorists and radical right-wing commentators who distrust news reports and the government—save for Trump—and imagine a “deep state” or globalist “New World Order” that wants to take away constitutional rights, get Trump out of office, and impose their will on the people.
Wiles’ penchant for violent rhetoric is well documented by Right Wing Watch: In the past year alone, Wiles hasrejoiced in Trump’s use of the military to forcefully clear protesters from a church to take a photo op with a Bible, vocalized his hope that Trump will round up liberal activists andtorture them, and gleefully claimed that special op forces were going tohunt down and shoot commies—which to Wiles apparently includes Black Lives Matter, antifa, and Right Wing Watch. During the impeachment of Trump in December 2019, he claimed to have been stockpiling ammunition to prepare for a “violent civil war” between the “pagan left” and “religious right.”
While the enemies in the minds of right-wing conspiracy theorists are many, the hate directed at government officials who oppose Trump, particularly those who are women or people of color, in right-wing networks is particularly noteworthy.
Josh Bernstein, a radical right-wing commentator with a penchant for calling for people to be executed, took to his YouTube channel earlier this month to call for Rep. Ilhan Omar to be charged with treason and executed. Omar has faced racist, xenophobic attacks from right-wing activists and the president himself as recently asSeptember. Bernstein, who hassaid that Omar has earned every death threat she’s received, followed up on Trump’s attacks just days later.
“I believe that the FBI and the Department of Justice should charge Ilhan [Omar] with sedition, treason, marriage fraud, voter fraud, illegal campaign contributions, immigration fraud, and aiding and abetting our enemies,” Bernstein said,adding, “this bitch should be executed.”
Last year, Bernsteinurged Trump to become a “dictator for patriotism” andclaimed that members of the Trump administration watch his broadcasts.
He’s not the only one talking about killing opponents to his extreme right-wing world view or calling for civil war. Claiming his warnings about a globalist “New World Order” takeover were coming true, radical conspiracy theorist Alex Jones told his listeners of his “Infowars” conspiracy show in August to wage war against academics and “the establishment perverts and pedophiles that run it,” adding that “the best thing to do in a defensive way is kill as many of them as quickly as possible.” In February, radical right-wing conspiracy theorist Chris McDonalddeclared that government officials who testified in the impeachment hearing against President Donald Trump are traitors and are “lucky they’re not hanging from nooses,” and in June during the protests against racism, McDonald andfellow QAnon conspiracy theorist Mark TaylorclaimedBlack men were hanging themselves to start a civil war. “They’re trying to start a civil war in this country, a race war,” Taylor said.
Among those fear-mongering and calling for violence against Black Lives Matter and antifa—shorthand for anti-fascist activists—is John Guandolo, adisgraced former FBI agent turned right-wingconspiracy theorist. In June, Guandolo, who has made a new career out ofpeddling anti-Muslim law enforcement trainings,said, “we should round up the leaders and execute them for trying to revolt and overthrow the government. And if this doesn’t happen soon, we will lose this.”
Religious Right Calls for Civil War
[ pix Robert Jeffress speaking at Values Voters Summit in 2017. In 2019, he claimed on Fox News that “removing the president” would “cause a Civil War-like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal.”]
Like right-wing conspiracy theorists, some religious-right activists and pastorssee the 2020 election as a civil war coming to America and warn that Christians need to wake up. They paint the current political climate as a spiritual battle, and Trump’s opponents are frequently depicted as “demonic.” Such messages have been promoted through “The Jim Bakker Show,” influential pro-Trump Pentecostal-oriented media outfit Charisma, andnetworks of prominentdominionist “apostles” and “prophets.”
Rick Joyner has beenwarningfor years that civil war is coming to theUnited States and that the country is headed towardmartial law. In September, the right-wing pastor spoke to televangelist Jim Bakker on “The Jim Bakker Show,” where hetold viewers that God had seeded the country with military veterans experienced in urban warfare, citing a “prophetic” dream.
“We’re in time for war. We need to recognize that. We need to mobilize. We need to get ready. I’m talking to law enforcement, talking to people. One of the things I saw in a dream I had related to our civil war was that militias would pop up like mushrooms. And it was God. These were good militias.” Joyner, who heads up Morningstar Ministries, said. “If God’s people don’t become a part of the militia movements, the good militias, the bad people will take them over.”
Who are “the bad people”? In September, Joyner pointed to Black Lives Matter,declaring that Christians must take a stand against the organization because it’s “the KKK of this time.” And during the impeachment inquiry, Bakker and Joyneragreed that efforts to impeach Trump were satanic and treasonous.
Bakker, himself,warned in August that if Trump is not reelected, “we’re gonna have a revolution” with right-wing Christians taking to the streets.
At the 2019 American Priority Festival and Conference, an annual pro-Trump conference held at Trump National Doral Miami resort held in October,calls for civil warwere loud and clear. “I need you to know that 2020 is a civil war that will change the face of America forever,”Joshua Feuerstein, a former pastor turned evangelical internet personality, said on the same stage Don Trump Jr. would later speak on. “And it’s God, ladies and gentlemen, it’s God that calls the qualified, that qualifies those that are called, that are willing to step up in the moment that matters, that has greatness thrust upon them. And tonight, together here in this place to say that we are willing to fight, we may think ourselves insignificant, but that we will stand together in 2020, and we will win the war that will change the face of America.”
Earlier in the evening at the conference (known colloquially as AMPfest), televangelistMark Burns called for war. “We’ve come to declare war!” he yelled, with attendees in the back of the ballroom echoing his call, shouting “War! War!” in response.
This summer,Frank Pavone, a Catholic priestwho runs an advocacy group committed to abolishing access to abortion in the U.S.,declared that the 2020 election “is a spiritual battle and no less than a civil war.” Pavone held advisory positions in Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign, only resigning in July at thedirection of Roman Catholic Church authorities.
These messages from Trump’s religious-right boosters have reached the president. Days after Congress launched its formal impeachment inquiry last September, megachurch pastor and ardent Trump supporter Robert Jeffress claimed on Fox News that “removing the president” would “cause a Civil War-like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal.” Apparently viewing the segment was Trump, whotweeted Jeffress’ quote.
Far-Right Militant Groups: ‘Awaiting the Green Light’
[pix]
when the militant group the Oath Keepers saw Trump’s tweet of Jeffress’ comments on Fox, they responded in turn. “This is the truth,” read apost from the group’s Twitter account. “We ARE on the verge of a HOT civil war. Like in 1859.”
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The Oath Keepers, conceived as a group of “patriots,” law enforcement officers, and former military members who would defy orders they didn’t like in opposition to a deep state members saw as conspiring to declare martial law, have now sided with Trump and see their role as ensuring law and order.
Other militia groups have done the same. Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this sentiment; by forgoing a federal response, Trump has continued to receive the support of anti-government groups, while state and local governments have been left to issue piecemeal restrictions and face the ire of such groups.
It’s amid this violent rhetoric, fear-mongering about government overreach, and calls for civil war that militia groups and white supremacist organizations are feeling emboldened—and Trump’s language has given these groups tacit, if not explicit, approval.
In April, Trump sent off a series of tweets calling for states led by three Democratic governors, including Whitmer and Northam, to be liberated from supposedly draconian public health measures. “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” hetweeted, followed by “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”
Michael German, a former FBI agent who infiltrated neo-Nazis in the 1990s, is not surprised the Michigan governor was targeted by these groups following Trump’s message.
“These are groups that are used to listening for dog whistle affirmation among the powerful, and so when they get that affirmation spoken out loud, indirectly, it takes on a completely different meaning,” said German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program. “You know, something like ‘liberate Virginia‘ and ‘liberate Michigan‘ would be taken as ‘OK, this is a green light from the highest levels of our government. We should start planning.’”
In August, German published areport with the Brennan Center detailing the militia groups that have law enforcement and former military members, though “only a tiny percentage of law enforcement officials are likely to be active members of white supremacist groups.” An investigation inThe Atlantic details these connections in the Oath Keepers, which recruited thousands of police, soldiers, and veterans.
As protests erupted in the days following George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, members of extreme right-wing movements followed Trump’s lead in identifying common enemies among police and far-right militants, demonizing Black Lives Matter, anarchists, and antifa.
“We’ve been through a lot of these protests, and [police] seem to have a less antagonistic and violent response when it’s far-right militants who are engaging in protest violence,” German said. “And I think that’s because the messaging that they’re receiving about who is the enemy of state, as the president is identifying these groups as the enemy of state and suggesting that there are friendlies among the far-right, white supremacist groups. That sends a pretty clear message both to the groups and to the police about who should be the target of their violence.”
“So when these groups feel like they have the authority granted by the state to engage in this kind of behavior, they’re more likely to do it,” German said. “These groups operate on margin where their violence is reinforcing state action and state violence often, right—that the groups that the far-right militant and white supremacist groups target are the same groups that law enforcement targets disproportionately.”
In August, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who considers himself a militia member, fatally shot two demonstrators and injured a third at a protest against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Much has been said about how, minutes prior to the shooting,police thanked the group for their presence and offered Rittenhouse water.
Creating the Justification for Right-Wing Violence
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After Trump’s Proud Boy comments at the presidential debate, the hate group took to the social media platform Telegram where they took the president’s wordsas a command. “Standing by sir,” Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio wrote.
Two days later, Tarriotold conspiracy theorist and failed congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine—who in June had urged conservatives to form militiaswhile awaiting the “green light” to take back the streets—that his group had gained 2,000 to 3,000 new followers.
Violent rhetoric and civil war chatter among extremists is nothing new. But as we’ve approached the 2020 elections, the confluence of violent rhetoric among the extremists Right Wing Watch covers seems to have taken a frenzied pace, with different subgroups of the right-wing acting as an echo chamber, radicalizing each other and the president and vice versa. Trump, himself, has cultivated that echo chamber, creating a megaphone for his messaging.
Trump has refused to say whether he will step down peacefully should he lose the election. And since 2016, Trump and his team has pushed the narrative that Democrats and the deep state worked tirelessly to prevent him from becoming president in 2016 and, when they failed, conspired against him to prevent his reelection. By fear-mongering about voter fraud through mail-in voting and engaging with far-right conspiracy theories, Trump has insisted that any election he loses will have been fraudulent—creating justification for right-wing violence should he lose.
Tags: Chris McDonald Donald Trump Frank Pavone Jim Bakker John Guandolo Josh Bernstein Joshua Feuerstein Mark Burns Mark Taylor Rick Joyner Rick Wiles Robert Jeffress Antifa Civil War conspiracy theories Oath Keepers Trunews Wolverine Watchmen
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/experts-warn-of-danger-posed-by-armed-pro-trump-poll-watchers/
no lnx
Experts warn of danger posed by armed pro-Trump poll watchers
Kenny Stancil October 11, 2020
Following President Donald Trump's refusal last month to denounce white supremacists along with his longstanding pattern of undermining democratic norms—and in the wake of the FBI's interception of a plot by right-wing domestic terrorists to kidnap Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state government—fears are mounting about the danger posed by far-right paramilitary groups heeding Trump's call to "go into the polls and watch very carefully."
Two weeks after Donald Trump Jr. took to social media in an attempt to recruit an "army for Trump's election security," and with early voting already underway, Republicans this week have begun dispatching thousands of volunteers to in-person voting locations and mail-in ballot drop boxes, part of a desperate "effort to find evidence to back up Trump's unsubstantiated complaints about widespread voter fraud," Reuters reported Thursday.
According to more than 20 officials involved in the effort, "the mission... is to capture photos and videos Republicans can use to support so-far unfounded claims that mail voting is riddled with chicanery, and to help their case if legal disputes erupt over the results of... the contest between Republican incumbent Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden."
But critics of the Trump campaign's operation—which revolves around baseless presumptions of fraudulent electoral activity committed by supporters of Democratic candidates—argued that the president's "call for his supporters to serve as self-appointed" poll-watchers "sounded more like an incitement to voter intimidation and violence than an endorsement of the role election observers play in protecting democratic norms."
Given the White House's alarming normalization of violence against political foes, voting rights experts, civic officials, and citizens are increasingly concerned about the negative consequences that could ensue if tensions escalate and the president's most militant supporters—white nationalist gangs, so-called "patriots" donning Confederate and Nazi regalia, and other heavily armed pro-Trump factions—follow his authoritarian cues.
Steven Gardiner, a scholar at the progressive think tankPolitical Research Associates, told The Guardian on Friday that "the militias will absolutely seize on" Trump's comments.
"The possibility of armed factions with military-style rifles showing up at polling places is very troubling," Gardiner added.
When Devin Burghart—director of the anti-hate organization theInstitute for Research and Education on Human Rights—heard Trump endorse voter intimidation at last month's debate, his "first thought was, 'Here we go.'"
"This is the stuff of our worst nightmares," Burghart said.
As Common Dreams reported on Thursday amid the revelation that 13 suspects had been arrested on kidnapping and terrorism charges after law enforcement officials foiled a right-wing plot to attack the Michigan State Capitol and hold Gov. Whitmer hostage, many observers have made connections between Trump's demagogic rhetoric and his followers' violent actions.
"I wonder where they got their motivation from," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) noted sarcastically on social media, referring to an incendiary message Trump shared in April—during the height of anti-lockdown protests in the state—to "Liberate Michigan!"
"This is a pattern: Trump paints a target. An attack or plot follows," tweeted Washington Post national security correspondent Greg Miller.
Gardiner told The Guardian that "the relationship between the militias and the current administration is call and response."
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"It's not always clear who's leading the chant," he added. "Sometimes it's coming from the militias, sometimes it's coming from the president."
Another worrisome development is that gun sales nearly doubled between summer 2019 and 2020, meaning that the U.S. is further arming itself with "deadly weaponry [that] is increasingly finding its way onto the streets, borne by self-styled private militias, and culminating in violent clashes that have caused bloodshed in several U.S. cities," as The Guardian explained.
The New York Times estimated last month that the number of active militia members hovers around 20,000 people in 300 groups, with military veterans constituting one-fourth of those. But a new investigation by The Atlantic magazine into the Oath Keepers, one of the most prominent far-right paramilitary groups, revealed a list of nearly 25,000 current or former members, two-thirds of whom had military or law enforcement backgrounds, suggesting that the number of Americans with ties to extremist factions is larger.
As Common Dreams reported last month, armed white supremacists pose the greatest domestic terrorism threat in the U.S., according to the FBI, despite efforts by the Trump administration to downplay the risks associated with right-wing militias.
According to Gardiner's research, many of the violent incidents committed by far-right vigilantes against anti-racism and anti-police violence protesters this summer were carried out by uncoordinated groups of individuals, with no known involvement of established militias.
"There have been almost 240 incidents [this summer] where small and entirely leaderless bands of extremists coalesced online and then proceeded to take their armed fantasies on to the streets of America," The Guardian reported.
Burghart's team "has been tracking the escalation of militia activity," particularly in key swing states including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where "groups have been detected discussing what they call 'voter integrity' efforts" on Election Day.
"We're paying close attention," Burghart said. As a result of Trump's "call to arms" at the first presidential debate, he anticipates that "we'll see a lot more activity from here."
Rachel Carroll Rivas, co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network, told The Guardian that online monitoring conducted by her organization has been "picking up intensifying conversation among militia groups about the legitimacy of the November 3 ballot and of the integrity of mail-in voting."
Rivas explained that "militia groups such as the Montana branch of the United States Freedom Protectors were positioning themselves to be vigilante outriders of law enforcement on Election Day," and that "the possibility of interventions by armed members of the group had to be taken seriously."
"They present themselves as protectors of property and law and order, and are now starting to talk about the election," Rivas said. "They may show up at polling places claiming to want to protect voting rights, but their impact will clearly be intimidatory."
Instilling fear and harassing voters is Trump's goal, according to voting rights advocates. Nina Jankowicz, a political scholar at the Wilson Center, wrote in The Atlantic that "confrontations between unorganized, self-appointed poll watchers and individual voters are a recipe for trouble—and a threat to a fair election."
Jankowicz stated that "if voters encounter any group discouraging or preventing others from casting a ballot, they should immediately inform a poll worker and call a nonpartisan election-protection hotline (866-OUR-VOTE is one example)."
"Election officials across the country should know they have the right to eject poll watchers for disruptions and intimidation, and can call the police if unrest develops outside the station," Jankowicz said. "And police themselves should be reminded that their job is to protect people's ability to vote, no matter their personal political preferences."
Rivas stressed that the threat of voter intimidation "really is top down." Far-right paramilitary groups "are repeating word for word what they hear from President Trump," she said.
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1020 AN, put on trial before execution? for treason? tyranny? wolverine watchmen, some at anti-mask ~ stay@ home, barbie in noose
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Thursday blasted Attorney General Bill Barr. Cuomo played a video of Rep. Pramila Jayapal questioning the attorney general, which has new importance after theplot to kidnap or murder Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI). In the clip, Rep. Jayapal grilled Barr about widely reported press accounts of the armed takeover of the Michigan state capitol. At least two of the men arrested appeared at the rally. https://twitter.com/ChadLivengood/status/1314332374759542784 "He's damned by his own words," Cuomo declared. "These people were investigating it at the same time. A sitting governor, over a dozen bad guys, months of planning, murderous intent, derivative of the main domestic terror threat we face," he explained. "And he's clueless? How? How is that okay?" Watch:
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/an-expert-in-rhetoric-explains-how-trump-uses-his-words-to-manipulate/
no linx twt vid
As America chaotically careens toward election day with President Donald Trump fighting a COVID-19 infection, we should stop and ask:Just why and how do Trump's words work? And how does the recent confusion sown by his doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center amplify that work?
Perhaps more importantly: What can we do about it?
These questions strike at the core of a deep and persistent misunderstanding about communication. Too often people assume that communication is a matter of transmitting information from one place to another and that words simply carry meaning.
From this perspective, the president's words function as a conduit from his head to everyone listening. With this president, we have all become accustomed to the concept of “misinformation," whereby we recognize that intentionally false or misleading information is transmitted to the listener, and how it's had a devastating impact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We've also been awed by his use of Twitter to communicate that misinformation.
Trump rhetoric
The transmission model of communications describes the technical movement of a signal over a channel and across a distance. But this is a poor description of presidential rhetoric.
Too often we think that the complex, human task of communication is the same as the technical process of transmission. We worry whether someone “gets" our suggestions. When the president's doctors update us on his health status, we assume that they're just “giving" us information. “Giving" and “getting" are verbs of transmission.
Parsing the information transmitted by a president, determining whether it's true or false or what's really going on, is an ineffective way to understand what Trump's words actually achieve. It doesn't matter whether the information he transmits is accurate or inaccurate, and we make a mistake when we focus too much on accuracy and inaccuracy.
Then what to focus on?
What I and many others call the “rhetorical model of communication" suggests that words have impact, and that meaning is an outcome of the effects words produce. About 2,400 years ago, Gorgias, the famous sophist and democratic theorist, argued that words had a similar effect as drugs on the body. Ancient Athenian soothsayers would speak to the wounds of soldiers in battle in hopes that their words would heal.
So instead of asking whether a president's rhetoric is true or false, instead of trying to interpret the information presented in order to receive an accurate sense of what Trump is really saying, we ought to start asking: What effect do the president's words have on us? For example, what is the impact of his anti-mask mockery on his followers and on public health efforts to keep citizens safe?
Trump mocks a reporter for wearing a mask during a news conference, courtesy of The Independent.]
Evoke strong reactions
Trump's words are aimed at producing strong reactions. When he mocks mask-wearing, he knows that he'll evoke a strong reaction from both the media and his followers, and he doesn't seem to care about the accuracy of the information he's transmitting. He knows that elections are not won or lost on policy ideas or rational voters making informed choices. They are won or lost on the basis of the effects produced by the candidate's words.
Those effects drive us to the polls and motivate us to act and reason in specific ways.
I've taught rhetoric and communication classes for 20 years, and in almost every class, I begin by telling my students to pay more attention to the effects their words have on others and not the information they wish to convey. This president has surely mastered that lesson. He speaks with the intent of producing the strongest possible impact and cares not at all about the information transmitted.
There is no mistaking the intended effects of this president's rhetoric. He aims to create feelings of resentment, distrust and suspicion. Mapping the world in terms of “us" and “them" creates conflict (and is perhaps the cornerstone of fascist rhetoric).
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Conflict with those we resent and distrust drives attention — this is the ethos of the entertainment industry, reality television and thousands of years of theatre. Making us feel uncertain, anxious, fearful — this is what Trump's words do, regardless of the information they transmit. The uncertainty created by his doctors at Walter Reed served this same function — they attracted attention via uncertainty.
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The feelings Trump targets draw us in, make us pay attention to all of his transgressions and affect our relations with others who share our space. Attention is persuasion, because meaning is in the way we react to his words, not in the information he transmits.
Amplifying Trump's rhetoric
Every time CNN or Fox News broadcasts the president's news conferences, they amplify the effects by spreading them to larger audiences. Trump knows this, and yet our news outlets continue to let it happen.
Why?
Because dramatic tension fuels attention, and Trump's words work to generate tension, anxiety, conflict and therefore attention. We could parse the rhetorical tactics that typically generate the strongest reactions and easily see them in Trump's words (hyperbole, reification, ad hominem attacks, ambiguity). But we ought to focus more on how we react in order to limit his ability to persuade.
The president's words right now are affecting all of us; they are driving us from one another and creating battle lines like the plot of a good drama.
Where are our soothsayers? Who will speak to our wounds in hopes of having the same affects as drugs on our bodies, like Gorgias believed?
Resistance to Trump requires changes in the way we react to his words. Like a parent who does not react to their children's tantrums (which are designed to generate attention), we must react with neutrality and objectivity, not more insults or hyperbole.
To put it more succinctly: Saving democracy requires defying Trump's words by reacting differently from what they typically prescribe or intend. We need to react with civility, care and calm to undo the cycle of attention and persuasion
Robert Danisch, Associate Professor, Communications & Chair of Department of Communication Arts, University of Waterloo
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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note demon term irrational, polariz us vs enemy/traitor
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/is-fox-news-obsessed-with-hate-study-finds-network-uses-this-word-5-times-more-than-its-rivals/
no grafs
Tucker Carlson is a big fan of the phrase 'they hate.' Usually, he's talking about Democrats.
Curd Knüpfer, Freie Universität Berlin and Robert Mathew Entman, George Washington University
Fox News is up to five times more likely to use the word “hate" in its programming than its main competitors, according to our new study of how cable news channels use language.
Fox particularly uses the term when explaining opposition to Donald Trump. His opponents are said to “hate" Trump, his values and his followers.
Our research, which ran from Jan. 1 to May 8, 2020, initially explored news of Trump's impeachment. Then came the coronavirus. As we sifted through hundreds of cable news transcripts over five months, we noticed consistent differences between thevocabulary used on Fox News and that of MSNBC.
While their news agendas were largely similar, the words they used to describe these newsworthy events diverged greatly.
Fox and hate
For our study, we analyzed 1,088 program transcripts from the two ideologically branded channels – right-wing Fox and left-wing MSNBC – between 6 p.m. and 10:59 p.m.
Because polarized media diets contribute to partisan conflict, our quantitative analysis identified terms indicating antipathy or resentment, such as “dislike," “despise," “can't stand" and “hate."
We expected to find that both of the strongly ideological networks made use of such words, perhaps in different ways. Instead, we found that Fox used antipathy words five times more often than MSNBC. “Hate" really stood out: It appeared 647 times on Fox, compared to 118 on MSNBC.
Fox usually pairs certain words alongside “hate." The most notable was “they" – as in, “they hate." Fox used this phrase 101 times between January and May. MSNBC used it just five times.
To put these findings in historic context, we then used the GDELT Television database to search for occurrences of the phrase “they hate" on both networks going back to 2009. We included CNN for an additional comparison.
We found Fox's usage of “they hate" has increased over time, with a clear spike around the polarizing 2016 Trump-Clinton election.But Fox's use of “hate" really took off when Trump's presidency began. Beginning in January 2017, the mean usage of “they hate" on the network doubled.
'Us' versus 'them'
So who is doing all this hating – and why – according to Fox News?
Mainly, it's Democrats, liberals, political elites and the media.Though these groups do not actually have the same interests, ideology or job description, our analysis finds Fox lumps them together as the “they" in “they hate."
As for the object of all this hatred, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and other Fox hosts most often name Trump. Anchors also identify their audience – “you," “Christians" and “us" – as the target of animosity.Only 13 instances of “they hate" also cited a reason. Examples included “they can't accept the fact that he won" or “because we voted for [Trump]."
Citing liberal hate as a fact that needs no explanation serves to dismiss criticism of specific policies or events. It paints criticism or moral outrage directed at Trump as inherently irrational.
For loyal Fox viewers, these language patterns construct a coherent but potentially dangerous narrative about the world.
Our data show intensely partisan hosts like Hannity and Carlson are more likely than other Fox anchors to use “they hate" in this way.Nevertheless, the phrase permeates Fox's evening programming, uttered by hosts, interviewees and Republican sources, all painting Trump critics not as legitimate opponents but hateful enemies working in bad faith.
By repeatedly telling its viewers they are bound together as objects of the contempt of a powerful and hateful left-leaning “elite," Fox has constructed two imagined communities. On the one side: Trump along with good folks under siege. On the other: nefarious Democrats, liberals, the left and mainstream media.
Research confirms that repeated exposure to polarized media messages can lead news consumers to form firm opinions and can foster what's called an “in-group" identity. The us-versus-them mentality, in turn, deepens feelings of antipathy toward the perceived “out-group."
The Pew Research Center reports an increasing tendency, especially among Republicans, to view members of the other party as immoral and unpatriotic. Pew also finds Republicans trust Fox News more than any other media outlet.
Americans' divergent media sources – and specifically Fox's “hate"-filled rhetoric – aren't solely to blame here. Cable news is part of a larger picture of heightened **polarization, intense partisanship and paralysis in Congress. [vid "hate & hysteria]
Hannity portrays criticism of Donald Trump as hate-based.
Good business
Leaning into intense partisanship has been good for Fox News, though. In summer 2020 it was the country's most watched network. But using hate to explain the news is a dangerous business plan when shared crises demand Americans' empathy, negotiation and compromise.
Fox's talk of hate undermines democratic values like tolerance and reduces Americans' trust of their fellow citizens.
This fraying of social ties helps explain America's failures in managing the pandemic – and bodes badly for its handling of what seems likely to be a chaotic, divisive presidential election. In pitting its viewers against the rest of the country, Fox News works against potential solutions to the the very crises it covers.
Curd Knüpfer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin and Robert Mathew Entman, J.B. and M.C. Shapiro Professor Emeritus of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
This article is republished from The Conversation
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/when-politicians-use-hate-speech-political-violence-increase/
politicians deepen existing divides when they use inflammatory language, such as hate speech, and this makes their societies more likely to experience political violence and terrorism. That's the conclusion from a study I recently did on the connection between political rhetoric and actual violence.
President Donald Trump is not the only world leader who is accused of publicly denigrating people based on their racial, ethnic or religious backgrounds.
In the 2019 parliamentary campaign in India, politicians from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party targeted Muslims as part of a widespread electoral strategy to galvanize Hindu nationalism. Similarly, in the 2019 Polish election, incumbent president Andrzej Duda made demonization of the LGBT community as well as foreigners the centerpiece of his successful reelection campaign.
Hate speech has also figured prominently in the recent rhetoric of political leaders in a variety of countries including Russia, Colombia, Israel, Egypt, Ukraine, the Philippines, Italy, Greece, Sri Lanka and Iraq.
These remarks are not just empty rhetoric or political theater. My research shows that when politicians use hate speech, domestic terrorism increases – in the U.S. and in other countries.
Indeed, since the beginning of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, domestic terrorism has more than doubled in the United States. During the Obama administration's two terms, the U.S. averaged 26.6 incidents of domestic terrorism per year, according to the Global Terrorism Database. The most active year, by far, was 2016, which saw 67 attacks, more than double Obama's overall average. During the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency, 2017 and 2018 – the latest year for which data are available – domestic terror activity stayed that high, with 66 and 67 attacks, respectively
[graf]
polarizing politics paves the way
Hateful rhetoric targeting minority groups is an established technique to unify and mobilize political supporters and to delegitimize and dehumanize political opponents. Hate speech by politicians also serves to deepen political polarization.
More polarized societies are especially susceptible to bouts of political violence and terrorism when politicians use hate speech. Examples include Weimar Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, which featured assassinations of leftist politicians and street brawling by Nazi partisans; Argentina in the 1970s during the so-called “Dirty War" in which government-backed right-wing death squads fought with left-wing political movements who themselves engaged in terrorism; and Turkey in the late 1970s early 1980s, when ultranationalist right-wing organizations and leftist opposition movements attacked each other.
When taken to an extreme, hateful rhetoric by political leaders can precipitate civil wars and genocides, as was the case in the 1990s in Rwanda, where Hutu extremists used anti-Tutsi radio broadcasts to foment widespread violence.
Examining the data
For my analysis, I used statistical data on domestic terrorist incidents from the Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland, and major party figures' use of hate speech in about 150 countries between 2000 and 2017 from the Varieties of Democracy project at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
I tried to determine the relationship between politicians using hate speech and the number of domestic terror attacks the country experienced the following year. Other elements can affect domestic terrorism, so I factored into my analysis each country's political system, its gross domestic product per capita, its population size, its degree of ethnic and linguistic diversity and its level of media freedom.
To further distinguish political violence that was specifically produced by hate speech, I also factored in how much domestic terrorism the country had experienced in previous years and whether or not the country was experiencing a civil war.
[graf]
violence climbs when politicians speak with hate
What I found is that countries where politicians frequently weave hate speech into their political rhetoric subsequently experience more domestic terrorism. A lot more.
Countries such as Costa Rica or Finland, where the data show politicians “never" or “rarely" employed hate speech, experienced an average of 12.5 incidents of domestic terrorism between 2000 and 2017. Countries where politicians were found to “sometimes" use hate speech in their rhetoric, such as Belgium or Cyprus, experienced 28.9 attacks on average.
However, domestic terrorism was quite frequent in countries whether politicians used hate speech “often" or “extremely often." Such countries, including Iraq, Russia, Turkey and Sudan, experienced an average of 107.9 domestic terrorist attacks during that period.
What public figures say can bring people together, or divide them. How politicians talk affects how people behave – and the amount of violence their nations experience.
James Piazza, Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science, Pennsylvania State University
This article is republished from The Conversation
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/trumps-top-10-tricks-heres-a-useful-guide-to-have-on-hand-as-the-presidential-debates-get-underway
commn dr nader &
Ready for even more Trumpian disinformation?
Cornered by a continuing pandemic, teetering economy and racial strife, President Houdini has been resorting to rhetorical tricks honed over a lifetime to escape political calamity. One way to prepare for this Tuesday's first debate and his Fall barrage is to reveal Trump's "magic" beforehand so that viewers and voters can be their own BS Detector when he next tries to sliver away from lying about Covid-19 or his fascistic plans to overthrow the election.
1. Cherry-picking -- Black Swans.
This trick is based on seeing a black swan and then pretending all swans are black.
So when millions of Black Lives Matter protesters peacefully march against police brutality, Trump will cite one who years ago allegedly called cops "pigs in a blanket, fry 'em like bacon" to imply that all are looters and anarchists. And when a Republican US Attorney in Pennsylvania this week told AG Barr that his office had found nine discarded Trump ballots (later changed to seven), the White House immediately played it up to imply that this was organized mail-in ballot fraud (though it was quickly shown to be an isolated, local administrative error, not a Democratic conspiracy).
The idea is to make the aberrational appear typical. Would anyone judge Michael Jordan's career based on a reel of three missed clutch shots rather than his career stats?
2. Adjectives and Assertions.
Since it's hard to enact legislation, why not instead just predict great or awful events since hard to prove the contrary. Or to paraphrase Nike, "Just Say It."
Hence "next year [the economy] will be the best ever." This summer Trump began declaring that Democrats would "destroy the suburbs." How? Presumably by prohibiting segregated public housing, stating that this time the 2018 "caravan" from Latin America might directly settle in White Plains, New York.
The 'tell' here his frequent refrain, "believe me!"
3. The Bully's Pulpit.
Humorist Larry Wilmore joked that Trump was indeed our Roosevelt since "the only thing Trump has is fear itself."
Politico reported that a third of his first 2000 president tweets disparaged people, totaling a hard-to-believe 598 people by the end of 2018. Here he's channeling the Italian philosopher and politician who said five centuries ago, "it's better to be feared than loved."
Like Machiavelli's princes, Trump loves being feared. And since a president's bullying can do real reputational damage, this thuggish tactic often produces the desired effect of anticipatory obedience by those fearing massive retaliation. That helps explain why 52 of 53 Senate Republicans during his Impeachment trial, faced with his open-and-shut political extortion of Ukraine, concluded that what happened didn't happen.
4. Rhetorical Questions.
This is a low-grade but popular sleight-of-hand -- burying a disrupted premise in the form of a question in order to mislead listeners to a false conclusion."What do you have to lose?", he would repeatedly ask Black audiences in the 2016 campaign (now they know). And "why would" Putin interfere in that election? (Duh.)
Upside-downism.[PROJECTION, WHAT ABOUT?]
Trump repeatedly accuses others of his own misconduct in order to confuse "low education voters"(his phrase). Recall how he indignantly declared that Democrats are the real "liars" who are trying to "rig the election" while Biden's the one fomenting violence and Harris undermining science. When Nancy Pelosi said that Trump was trying to "Make America White Again," he accused her of racism because in Trumpland even talking about race is racism.
6. Figures Don't Lie but Liars Figure.
Trump reverses the scientific method: facts don't lead to conclusions but rather conclusions lead to "facts", which is otherwise known as confirmation bias. This trick has a long history, from the 1920 Scopes Monkey trial and Lysenko-ism in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Today's version of Creationism is his river of obvious lies about Covid-19, Climate, Crime and Race, as when a whistle-blower just charged that DHS ordered staff to underplay violence by white nationalists and Russian campaign interference.
In his acceptance screech this past August, for example, he bragged how his administration "had created" nine million new jobs, which sounds good until you realize that it followed three months where the economy lost 20 million jobs.
7. Rooster-Taking-Credit-for-the-Dawn.
With vanishingly few positive accomplishments, Trump will keep claiming credit for the good work of others while shunning any responsibility for his own wrongdoing.
He's said or tweeted over 350 times a version of -- 'we have the greatest economy in our history.' Which a) isn't true since his six immediate predecessors all had better jobs and GDP numbers and b) it was Obama who turned Bush's Great Recession into seven years of steady growth, which Trump has merely coasted on, albeit at a slower pace.
This trick veered into parody when he claimed that there were no passenger airline fatalities in his first year as president. True... although there had also been none for the prior seven years. He abandoned this particular boast after Boeing's 737 Max planes twice crashed because of failures by Boeing and the FAA.
8. Both-sidesism.
Whenever criticized, he and his team search for some arguably equivalent offence in history to exonerate him. Recall how he would cite Monica Lewinsky to wave off the few dozen women accusing him of sexual abuse and famously declare there were "fine people" on both sides of that Neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville.
This maneuver can backfire. After flailing Hunter Biden's business work during the Obama-Biden administration, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was asked by CNN's Jake Tapper about Trump's sons traveling the world making deals at taxpayer expense. Replied Mnuchin, "I don't want to get into those details."
9. The Hyperbolic.
The man exaggerates exaggerations. Trump tries to explain away this repeated trick as "bravado...truthful hyperbole." Actually -- see "beautiful coal" -- it's untruthful hyperbole. So he announced that there would have been a nuclear war with North Korea if he hadn't been elected in 2016 and he is the world's leading expert on "drones, nuclear weapons, technology, banks…[plus another 30 specialized categories]."
Speaking of Kim, listen carefully and you'll hear Trump sound like the North Korean dictator who claimed to have shot five holes-in-one playing his first round of golf.
10. The Lyin' King. The problem is not merely that Trump, like all presidents, has at times lied, fibbed and cut-corners but that he nearly always does. His go-to response to any public criticism is "fake news," even as he deploys what he deplores.
It's hard to arrive at any other conclusion after Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler has documented (so far) 20,000+ lies or falsehoods from his mouth -- or 22 a day for the past year, including when he pretends that prosecuted aides were invariably minor figures to him (Manafort? Cohen? Stone? Bannon? Flynn?). His lava of lies and disinformation reflects a comment attributed to Katherine the Great, "the first lie wins."
Off camera, Trump knows exactly what he's doing. After grossly puffing up his TV ratings, he then explained to Billy Bush, of Access Hollywood fame, "Billy, look, you just tell them and they believe it. That's it. They just do."
A different approach was taken by our 32d president. FDR speech writer Robert Sherwood, in his book Roosevelt and Hopkins, wrote that "the New York Times can make mistakes but the President of the United States must not make mistakes. After 1940, Isador Lubkin, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, was constantly available and incalculably invaluable to Roosevelt in checking every decimal point."
Now we're about to find out whether, contrary to everything our parents told us, dishonesty is the best policy. Or whether truth still matters. For without truth there can't be trust and without trust civilization can fracture and collapse.
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see all fascism auth 4
david n
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/how-fascism-ascends-2020-election-may-be-the-crisis-of-democracy-that-opens-the-door-to-a-coup/
...trump] refused to say that he would make a peaceful transition, and threatened to “get rid of the ballots”—loses the popular vote on Nov. 3 to Joe Biden, as polls currently indicate, he appears poised to dismiss millions of mail-in votes. He would likely do this through the courts that he has assiduously packed over the past three years, particularly via the Supreme Court seat he and his fellow Republicans are intent on seizing just prior to the vote. The legitimacy of both our system of elections and the foundational courts that embody the rule of law will have been not just undermined, but potentially destroyed.
Fascism, historians tell us, has only ever arisen in mature democratic states, and the main condition that permits it to seize power is a crisis of legitimacy for its major democratic institutions. The election of 2020 may well bring the crisis that does the trick for America.
Many observers—notably including authors Jason Stanley and Jared Yates Sexton—have remarked that the nation’s path under a Trump presidency has much more than a passing resemblance to the descent into fascism that has befallen other societies, the best-known examples being prewar Germany and Italy. The correlations are powerful:
Eliminationist rhetoric is the backbone of Trump’s appeal, and has been from the start. His opening salvo in the campaign—the one that first skyrocketed him to the forefront in the race poll-wise and proved wildly popular with Republican voters—was his vow (and subsequent proposed program) to deport all 12 million of the United States’ undocumented immigrants (using, of course, the deprecatory term “illegal alien”) and to erect a gigantic wall on the nation’s southern border.Significantly, the language he used to justify such plans—labeling those immigrants “criminals,” “killers,” and “rapists,” contending that they bring crime and disease—was classic rhetoric designed to demonize an entire class of people by reducing them to objects fit only for elimination. This became more refined and pronounced over the course of his presidency, as when he attacked four women Democratic congressmembers of color: “If somebody has a problem with our country, if somebody doesn’t want to be in our country, they should leave!”
Trump’s palingenetic ultranationalism is his central theme. After the race-baiting and the ethnic fearmongering, this is the most obviously fascistic component of Trump’s presidency and its neverending campaign, embodied in those trucker hats proclaiming: “Make America Great Again.” (Trump himself puts it this way: “The silent majority is back, and we’re going to take the country back. We’re going to make America great again.”) That’s almost the letter-perfect embodiment of palingenesis—that is, the myth of the phoenix-like rebirth from the ashes of an entire society in its “golden age.” In the meantime, Trump’s nationalism is evident not just in these statement but in the entire context of his rants against Latino immigrants and Syrian refugees.
Trump’s deep contempt not just for liberalism (which provides most of the fuel for his xenophobic rants, particularly against the media) but also for establishment conservatism. Trump’s biggest fan, Rush Limbaugh, boasts: “In parlaying this outsider status of his, he’s better at playing the insiders’ game than they are, and they are insiders. He’s running rings around all of these seasoned, lifelong, highly acclaimed professionals in both the consultant class, the adviser class, the strategist class, and the candidate class. And he’s doing it simply by being himself.”
Trump constantly proclaimed America to be in a state of crisis that has made it “the laughingstock” of the rest of the world during the 2016 campaign, and insists that this occurred because of the failures of (primarily liberal) politicians.During his presidency, the crises varied according to Trump’s political needs—an immigrant caravan’s arrival on the border with Mexico was portrayed hysterically by Trump during the 2018 midterm elections as an existential threat, while this year, America is in grave danger (according to Trump and his fellow Republicans) from a largely imaginary “antifa threat.” The coronavirus pandemic that the world knows his incompetence allowed to kill 200,000 Americans—not so much.
He himself embodies the fascist insistence upon male leadership by a man of destiny, and his refusal to acknowledge factual evidence of the falsity of many of his proclamations and comments embodies the fascistic notion that the leader’s instincts trump logic and reason in any event.
Trump’s contempt for weakness (another classic fascist trait) is manifested practically every day on the campaign trail, ranging from his dissing of former GOP presidential candidate John McCain (a former prisoner of war) as “not a hero” because “I like people who weren’t captured,” to his mockery of a New York Times reporter with a disability, and more recently to his decision not to attend a ceremony at a World War II gravesite near Paris because the American soldiers there who had died in the war were “losers” and “suckers.”
Some of have argued—myself included—that Trump is not a fascist ideologue in the classic mold, but rather a living model of a right-wing-populist demagogue. But fascism, properly understood, is itself a species of right-wing populism: one that has simply turned metastatic, a cancer raging out of control in the body politic. If, as it seems, he is nonetheless leading America into fascism, it would be a distinction without a significant difference.
But, as one Twitter wag adroitly observed recently: “The road to fascism is lined with people telling you to stop overreacting.” Conservatives (see, for example, claims byFox News’ Tucker Carlson and right-wing pundit
that the threat of white nationalism is a hoax concocted by Democrats) and centrists have unsurprisingly dismissed such observations as undue alarmism and hyperbolic exaggeration. But then, movement conservatism, as I explored in some depth more than 15 years ago, is in many regards the source of the problem, as it has been the all-too-hospitable host for the fascist cancer. Centrists and some liberals, meanwhile, seem so emotionally wedded to a belief that underneath our ongoing chaos all these things are still normalthat they’re incapable of comprehending that there is nothing remotely normal at all about them.
...
The primary impetus has been the change under which conservatism became a discrete movement intent on seizing the reins of power. In the process, the means—that is, the obtaining of power—became the end. And once the movement became centered around obtaining power, by any means necessary, then ideology became fungible according to the needs of its drive to acquire power, just as it was with fascism. This virtually guaranteed it would become a travesty of its original purpose. The nature of today’s “conservative movement” is no more apparent than in how distinctly un-conservative its actual conduct has been: busting budgets, falling asleep at the wheel of national security, engaging wars recklessly and without adequate planning.
Two things occurred to the conservative movement in this drive for power:
It increasingly viewed liberals not merely as competitors but as unacceptable partners in the liberal-conservative power-sharing agreement that has been in place since at least the New Deal and the rise of modern consumer society. Ultimately, this view metastacizes into seeing liberals as objects to be eliminated.
It became increasingly willing to countenance ideological and practical bridges with certain factions of the extremist right. This ranged from anti-abortion and religious-right extremists to the neo-Confederates who dominate Republican politics in the South to factions of the Patriot/militia movement.
The combination of these two forces exerted a powerful rightward pull on the movement, to the point where extremist ideas and agendas have increasingly been adopted by the mainstream right, flowing into an eliminationist hatred of liberalism. In the process, their own rhetoric has come to sound like that on the far right. A lot of the dabbling in far-right memes has been gratuitous, intended to “push the envelope” for talk-radioaudiences in constant need of fresh outrageousness. [AMPL]...
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9/20 weaponize: ok i have used the term myself for rw taking something good/true/benign and pervert/evil it for political gain, going on offense in an unfair way
but now they are mirroring/co-opting our term, just like Fake News, an applying it to any (scientifc evidence, in this case wildfires, maybe the most in your face of AGW, eg Australia, amazon rainforest
this may be extension of thoughts and prayers now is not the time in our grief over mass shootings we cannot be rational in our decision (to increase gun control regulations)
how sleazy is the left that they would use the lives of children and grief of parents to score political points
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https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-breaks-out-all-tools-denier-playbook-downplay-climate-changes-role-western-wildfires
fox breaks out all the tools in the denier playbook to downplay climate change's role in western wildfires
09/17/20 12:15 PM EDT
Climate denial, conspiracy theories, and misleading information -- Fox recycles old arguments year after year in wildfire coverage
Special PROGRAMS
CLIMATE & ENERGY
WRITTEN BY TED MACDONALD
PUBLISHED 09/17/20 12:15 PM EDT
Ignoring the clear scientific links between the climate crisis and this year’s apocalyptic wildfires on the West Coast, coverage on Fox News and Fox Business has downplayed and denied the role of climate change in these devastating fires, deflecting from climate science while pushing President Donald Trump’s perennial claim that forest mismanagement is to blame. At least two Fox programs have even falsely suggested that an organized campaign of arson is responsible for igniting the fires in the Pacific Northwest -- a harmful conspiracy theory that has also quickly spread across social media platforms.
Fox shows are following a playbook that they have used with other major fire disasters linked to climate change, including last year’s catastrophic bushfires in Australia and previous catastrophic fires in California.
The goal of Fox’s coverage is always the same: deflect from the scientific reality of climate change and paint Democratic policies as the true culprits in worsening the wildfires.
Deny and downplay the climate crisis
Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leading the network on denying the indisputable connection between climate change and the catastrophic fires burning on the West Coast. On three recent episodes of Tucker Carlson Tonight, the host and his guests spread dangerous disinformation about the fires.
On September 10, Carlson claimed that “there’s no evidence” climate change contributed to the western wildfires, instead arguing that state regulations and energy grid mismanagement were the real problems responsible for the blazes. Carlson took this a step further on September 11, when he called climate change “systemic racism in the sky” and stated with a straight face that “there is not a single scientist on Earth who knows whether or by how much these fires may have been, quote, ‘exacerbated’ by warmer temperatures caused by climate change.”
To top it off, Carlson invited Marc Morano-- perhaps the most notorious climate denier in the U.S. -- on the September 15 edition of his show to falsely claim that these fires are “not unprecedented” and that it’s really just “climate ambulance-chasing at its core” and “weaponizing weather events” to link them to climate change.
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The exact same line of “weaponizing weather” was used on an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight last year to dismiss climate connections during the Amazon fires. During a segment discussing those fires in August 2019, climate-denying meteorologist Joe Bastardi claimed that “if humans are causing climate change, it's very, very slight,” and said that any attempts to pin the Amazon fires on climate change was “weaponization of the weather.”
Carlson’s climate-denying rants fly in the face of well-established scientific evidence that climate change is both prolonging the fire season and intensifying the size and scale of the fires. Climate scientists have also called these wildfires “unprecedented” and linked a climate-fueled drought to conditions worsening the fires.
Additionally, Carlson’s claim that “not a single scientist” can link the fires to climate change is also demonstrably false -- and taken laughably out of context. Climate scientist Daniel Swain addressed this point on Twitter, noting that his featured quote from Carlson’s show was “fundamentally misrepresenting climate scientists' public statements on wildfires and climate change”:
Carlson is no stranger to peddling dangerous climate misinformation. Just last year, he invited Moranoto hype a silly, debunked document that claims clouds are responsible for global warming. In March 2019, he stated without evidence that if climate change is affecting natural disasters, “it might be making them in some ways better too.” (Earlier that same month, the Fox host also baselessly accused undocumented immigrants of killing more people in the U.S. than climate change.)
In addition to outright denial, the network has regularly downplayed the connection between climate and the catastrophic fires. A Media Matters study from 2018 found that Fox ran only two segments on California’s wildfires in November of that year that mentioned climate; both of those segments downplayed the role of climate change.
In recent days, Fox shows have attempted to downplay climate’s role by politicizing the climate argument and purposely shifting blame for the fires to other issues. Neil Cavuto did just this on the September 10 edition of Fox Business’ Cavuto: Coast to Coast:
On the September 14 edition of Special Report with Bret Baier, correspondent John Roberts provided cover for Trump’s outright denial of climate change by calling it a “glaring difference of opinion” with California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Later on in the show, Fox News politics editor Chris Stirewalt attempted to pass off Trump’s clear climate denial as a problem for both sides of the political aisle, calling his response an example of “why people hate our system, because when bad things happen, the two parties want to pick and choose what’s to blame. … Instead, what they hear is politicians picking and choosing the things they like from the menu.”
This strategy of partisan obfuscation also has precedent on Fox: During California’s 2019 fire season, Fox & Friends responded to Newsom criticizing Trump’s assault on climate action by bringing a talk show host with no background in science, Mike Slater, to explain why “liberal policies are really to blame” for that year’s massive wildfires in California.
Jumping to blame “forest management” practices for the fires, while generally ignoring the role of climate change
On the September 14 edition of Your World with Neil Cavuto, Cal Fire Assistant Deputy Director Daniel Berlant dropped a rare example of climate truth on Fox:
DANIEL BERLANT (CAL FIRE): In California, there really is no debate that our fire seasons are getting longer. We are seeing larger fires and more explosive fires. In fact, on average right now, our fire season is on average 75 days longer than they were just four decades ago. And so, you know, we can debate all we want, but I can tell you here on the ground, we are seeing fires that are incredibly destructive and incredibly fast moving.
But right after this segment, guest host Sandra Smith interviewed Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) to downplay climate’s role in the fires and instead promote “sound scientific management” of forests and his Trillion Trees Act, which climate scientists say is absolutely not a way of solving climate change, as the best solutions to worsening wildfires.
Poor forest management has played a role in California wildfires along with climate change and the expansion of people moving into the wildlife-urban interface, which “has increased the likelihood that wildfires will threaten structures and people.” But from watching coverage of the fires in numerous Fox segments, one would probably come away with the idea that it’s been only California’s forest management policies driving the worsening fires.
The jump by Fox to assign blame to the state for poor forest management as a tactic to downplay climate change goes back to at least 2018, when Trump first blamed California’s forestry policies while touring the aftermath of the deadly Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise. At the time, Trump’s response was parroted by Fox News host Sean Hannity, who stated that he was “right” to blame California wildfires on poor forest management, and Fox’s Laura Ingraham, who on her radio show cherry-picked a BBC article to claim that “Trump was right” about wildfires and forest management.
Neither of these segments mentioned climate change. Even worse, Ingraham glossed over the major mentions of climate in the BBC article, which specifically stated that “many experts point out that climate change has made things worse” in relation to those fires.
This framing of the fires by zeroing-in entirely on forest management doesn’t hold up to what climate science is saying -- especially this year. Fire scientists have said that “climate change, not forest management, is a driving factor behind the state’s fires becoming worse and more deadly.” Wildfire expert Stefan Doerr has also stated, “The bottom line remains that the extreme meteorological conditions are the main drivers for these extreme fires,” and he specifically noted hotter, drier, and windier conditions with climate change “has now created a tinderbox of vegetation.” Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe also pointed out on Twitter that it’s a myth to suggest that “the only reason wildfires are burning more area is because of poor forest management.”
Fox’s attempts to cast blame solely on the state’s leadership for poor forest management also fall flat when you consider that the federal government owns the majority of land out west -- in California, 57% is owned by the federal government, while the state government only owns 3%.
The network’s discussion of forest management hit a high point during midday of September 14, when Trump visited California and once again blamed forest management for the wildfires, ignoring climate change. In one example on the September 14 edition of Outnumbered Overtime, Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz called Trump “absolutely right” and blamed the wildfires primarily on a lack of clearing brush, saying “Democrats have been the biggest impediment to doing so.” Later on The Five, co-host Greg Gutfeld stated that forest management is “the problem in California. It's not climate change. It’s forest management.”
Other examples abound. On two separate occasions in the past week, Fox Business’ Varney & Co. hosted conservative talk radio host Larry Elder to talk up poor forest management. On the September 8 edition, he agreed with Trump’s comments and said, “You can’t do a whole lot about the weather but you can do something about the fuel that these fires feed upon that makes these fires so intense and so serious.” Again on the September 14 edition, he repeated that forest management is the biggest issue in fighting the fires and said that “Donald Trump does not believe in climate change alarmism.”
On Fox News, Environmental Progress president and climate contrarian Michael Shellenberger appeared on the September 10 edition of Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk up the role of poor forest management at the expense of climate change, claiming that the media’s climate coverage of the fires “has been really irresponsible.” He largely dismissed climate change again on the September 14 edition of Fox News @ Night, when he falsely stated that saturated wood fuel “is driving the intensity of these fires. It's not climate change.”
Later that night on Hannity, host Sean Hannity again made forest management the focal point of blame for the fires, calling it “an important piece of the puzzle.”
Advancing the dangerous arson conspiracy theory
While the conspiracy theory that arson is behind the wildfires has not yet been as pervasive on Fox News as it was in January, when the network’s prime-time hosts pushed the debunked idea that arson was driving the Australian wildfires, it has already been pushed by at least two of Fox News’ shows covering the West Coast fires.
As Media Matters reported on September 14:
During the month of September, record wildfires made worse by climate change have raged across California, Oregon, and Washington. As the fires have spread and officials have tried to contain them, a conspiracy theory claiming that “antifa” has been behind the wildfires has spread across major social media platforms. In reality, as NBC News noted, incidents like “lightning, faulty or knocked-down power lines and accidents” have been reported as the cause of many of the fires. Authorities, including the FBI, have been forced to rebut the false “antifa“ claim as people have refused to evacuate and militia groups are getting active.
The use of focus on arson as a counter-narrative to climate change follows the exact same playbook used during Australia's deadly wildfires from late 2019 into early 2020, when Murdoch-owned media and other right wing outlets peddled false claims that arsonists were to blame for the historic blazes, and not climate change. However, this talking point was debunked; as one study found, only a handful of blazes out of 11,000 were deliberately set. Notably, the arson conspiracy theory now not only distracts from the climate crisis, but is also an attempt to vilify activists protesting police brutality. For right-wing media, this false narrative is the proverbial killing of two birds with one stone.
On the September 13 edition of Fox & Friends Weekend, co-host Jedediah Bila briefly discussed a story accusing a supposed left-wing activist of deliberately setting fires:
JEDEDIAH BILA (CO-HOST): Another man is accused of setting a fire near a Washington highway. A report says he is a regular attendee of defund police rallies in Seattle. That last detail unfolding [is] pretty amazing. It is really incredible to see.
…
WILL CAIN (CO-HOST): These arsonists, as of yet we do not know exactly their ties to any extremist organizations or what their motivations might be, but I think one thing is clear: We now know many of these fires in the West were set intentionally. What does that reveal, Pete? What it reveals is the brazen political monopolization of a tragedy by people like Gov. Gavin Newsom who quickly jumped out and blamed these fires on climate change. There’s no tragedy, there’s no moment too soon to jump and advance your political agenda and pin awful events on your political opponents.
While discussing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s recent climate speech on the September 14 edition of The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham brought up arson unprompted, asking, “Did Biden anywhere in that speech lay out his solution to prevent any wildfires in the future or the people who are actually intentionally setting them in California, including antifa?”
Her guest, Victor David Hanson, glossed over this comment and directed his ire at Biden for even considering to blame climate change for the fires.
The mentions by Fox hosts are particularly irresponsible and egregious given that several days earlier both The Intercept and The New York Times reported that these claims were unfounded and that local law enforcement were “pleading with the public to stop calling 911 to pass on unfounded rumors that antifascist political activists have intentionally set the blazes.” On social media, the arson rumors have been pushed by a number of far-right accounts and groups including QAnon, which the FBI identifies as a domestic terrorism threat. It is alarming that Fox is undermining law enforcement and continuing to align itself with dangerous factions in spreading such conspiracy theories.
Fox has, and continues to be, the main purveyor of climate denial in the United States. It’s no surprise that their minimization of climate change’s role in this year’s western wildfires is lazy, cheap, and similar to Murdoch-owned Australian media’s role in downplaying climate change from earlier this year; we can expect to see more of it in the future.
==
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https://www.mediamatters.org/roger-stone/roger-stone-antifa-and-black-lives-matter-thugs-are-going-be-clubbing-people-suburbs
Roger Stone: Antifa and Black Lives Matter “thugs” are going to be “clubbing” people in the suburbs to suppress voting
09/18/20 4:25 PM EDT
roger Stone continues to lay the groundwork for Trump to declare martial law
09/18/20 1:26 PM EDT
https://www.mediamatters.org/roger-stone/roger-stone-continues-lay-groundwork-trump-declare-martial-law
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https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/warning-left-wing-coup-trumpist-media-prep-their-audience-election-unrest
no lnx many
Warning of a left-wing coup, Trumpist media prep their audience for election unrest
WRITTEN BY MATT GERTZ
PUBLISHED 09/18/20 10:25 AM EDT
Trump
Molly Butler / Media Matters
Nearly 5 million people were watching on Tuesday night as a Fox News host who claims that white supremacy is a hoax and a former speechwriter for President Donald Trump who was fired for speaking at a white nationalist conference spun out a wild-eyed conspiracy theory portraying mail-in voting as a sinister Democratic cabal’s coup attempt.
Tucker Carlson opened the segment by telling his viewers that Democrats were promoting mail-in voting not as a way to boost safe turnout during a pandemic, but because “they want the uncertainty over the outcome of the election, so they can manipulate the results.” His guest, Revolver News’ Darren Beattie, then explained that “a very specific type of coup called the color revolution” is “unfolding before our eyes.”
A color revolution, Beattie explained, is “a regime change model favored by many in our national security apparatus, particularly against Eastern European countries to overthrow target regimes that they don't like.” (They were actually peaceful protests that toppled despots in places previously dominated by the Soviet Union.) And now, he claimed, that model is being applied to the United States, with “color revolution professionals” deliberately generating election fraud in order “to use lawfare in order to overturn the 2020 election.”
Right-wing media figures generally push a baseline level of apocalyptic rhetoric about the purported predations of progressives. But Trumpist media have reached a dangerous fever pitch over the last week or so, even by that standard. With polls showing Trump trailing former Vice President Joe Biden following the party conventions and the election only weeks away, commentators like Carlson are preparing their audiences to treat a Trump defeat as a left-wing coup -- and encouraging the president toward an authoritarian response.
Their deranged statements are fed by -- and fuel -- the president’s own unhinged remarks. Trump has portrayed himself as “saving the world from a radical left philosophy that will destroy this country.” He describes his political opposition as supporters of “angry mobs,” “far-left fascism,” and “left-wing cultural revolution” so dangerous that he has even endorsed extrajudicial executions.And all the while, he’s been openly claiming that he could not possibly lose a fairly held election, and that any defeat would be the result of a Democratic election fraud conspiracy.
Carlson’s show is the most prominent vehicle fearmongering about a Democratic coup, but it is not the only one. A new special from The Blaze TV’s Glenn Beck is titled “CIVIL WAR: The Way America Could End in 2020,” and it details how “the Left is grooming us for an Eastern European-style color revolution this election.” His complex plot sprawls over three chalkboards and features mail-in voting as a vector for “something dangerous happening in November if we don’t act now.” (Beck praised Carlson during the program for the way he has been “putting the puzzle pieces together.”) The Trumpist publication The Federalist has offered up a similar “coup” theory.
The right-wing “coup” talk is the natural result of their demagoguery and dehumanization of the political opposition. Months ago, Trumpist media figures began warning that civilization itself was on the ballot in the fall, with Trump standing as the only thing preventing the left from making America “unrecognizable.” That type of rhetoric has only escalated, producing ever-more-inflammatory claims about what Trump’s defeat might mean to the safety and security of his supporters.
Over the last week or so alone:
Carlson described Black Lives Matter as “poison” that “we have to fight” because “if we’re going to survive as a country, we must defeat this.”
Wall Street Journal columnist Bill McGurn explained that he bought a gun in case “100 or 200 people bent on violence” show up in his suburb.
Fox’s Laura Ingraham and the pro-Trump podcaster Joe Rogan baselessly attributed the massive western wildfires to left-wing arsonists, blasting false rumors circulating on social media to millions of viewers and listeners.
Fox contributor Dan Bongino claimed that “we're watching the greatest nation in the history of sentient beings collapse in front of our face.”
Fox host Sean Hannity said that U.S. cities have become “war zones” and that there is a “war on police now.”
And Charlie Kirk, a frequent Fox guest and head of the Trumpist youth group Turning Point USA, warned on his podcast that if Trump loses, leftists seeking “bloodthirsty revenge” will “come for us all. They will come for your children.”
Some are taking their hatred of the left to lawless, authoritarian conclusions.
Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of the president, said during an appearance earlier this month on far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars network that if Trump were to lose (illegitimately as a result of voter fraud, of course), he should try to retain power by having federal agents seize purportedly tainted ballots, using martial law or the Insurrection Act to carry out widespread arrests, and nationalizing state police forces.
Fox’s Mark Levin,meanwhile, has also urged Trump to consider invoking the Insurrection Act -- but he argued that it would be needed if he wins. “He will have to use it to put down the enemy,” Levin explained on his radio show last week.
“The enemy is antifa, the enemy is Black Lives Matter, and the enemy is anybody that is going to use rioting, arson, looting, violence against our country to try to overthrow our country,” he added. “Those are traitors. That's treasonous.”
Extremist violent rhetoric is nothing new for right-wing media. Glenn Beck made it a staple of Fox News during President Barack Obama’s first term. Before the midterm elections, Fox warned its audience members that they needed to vote for Republicans to protect themselves from being killed by Democratic mobs.
But this sort of demagoguery can come with a heavy price. Beck’s rhetoric inspired an attempted domestic terror attack against one of his regular targets that ended with a firefight with law enforcement. And in the days before the 2018 midterm elections, a Trump superfan sent bombs to leftist leaders whom Fox commentators had attacked.
There’s still six weeks to go before the election. How will this spate of violent rhetoric end?
IN THIS ARTICLE
Voter Fraud and Suppression
Voter Suppression
Related
Fox News fuels Trump’s dangerous Portland “law and order” strategy
07/21/20 3:52 PM EDT
Desperate Trumpists say civilization is on the ballot as Biden lead grows
06/24/20 11:06 AM EDT
How Tucker Carlson became the Fox host Trump listens to the most
07/08/20
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what fresh hell?
https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/trump-epa-chiefs-vision-would-create-an-apocalyptic-devastated-planet-critics-warn/
environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler is under fire for a Thursday speech laying out a vision for the agency that critics warn would unleash untold environmental devastation should it come to pass.
Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, delivered the remarks at the Nixon Library in southern California to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the EPA. The agency was established under the Nixon administration.
Wheeler also framed as positive steps the administration’s environmental protection rollbacks and attacks on science. The EPA chief said that “members of former administrations and progressives in Congress have elevated single issue advocacy—in many cases focused just on climate change—to virtue-signal to foreign capitals, over the interests of communities within their own country.”
“Communities that deal with the worst pollution in this country—and tend to be low-income and minority—face multiple environmental problems that need solving,” Wheeler said. He suggested President Donald Trump’s “opportunity zones” plan—recognized by expertsas a giveaway to the rich—as a remedy to environmental injustice.
wheeler declared it “very disappointing to see governors on the East Coast, such as [New York] Governor Cuomo, unilaterally block pipelines that would take natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New England.”
“We helped President Trump successfully implement the new NEPA regulations with the goal of reviewing federal permits within two years,” Wheeler said of the administration’s attack on the bedrock environmental law.
He also touted “a proposed rule that would remove onerous and expensive regulation of gene-edited plant protectants” and the administration’s “science transparency rules,” referring to what its critics call a “secret science rule” to limit scientific evidence the EPA will consider in its work.
Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former EPA official who helped found the agency’s environmental justice office, took issue with Wheeler’s plans for environmental justice.
“Every one of the actions the Trump administration has taken, either by weakening or rolling back basic air and water protections, has put #environmentaljustice communities in greater harm,” he tweeted Thursday. “No one believes a Trump second term would value Black and Brown lives!” he added.
Brett Hartl, government affairs director at conservation group Center for Biological Diversity, rebuffed Wheeler’s claimthat the Trump administration has been a champion of EPA’s mission.
“Wheeler and the Trump administration have done grave and lasting damage to the EPA by elevating polluters and their profits above all else, and no slick speech can change that fact,” said Hartl. He further accused Wheeler of being “ignorant of the immense environmental progress made over the last 50 years because Congress and President Nixon recognized when they established the EPA that no one has a right to pollute our air, water, or land.”
“If Wheeler’s vision becomes real in the decades ahead,” warned Hartl, “our children and grandchildren would inherit nothing less than an apocalyptic, devastated planet.”
Hartl continued: “Instead of following the proud bipartisan traditions of the EPA, Wheeler has decimated protections for our nations wetlands and rivers, rolled back protections for toxic pollutants spewed into the air, rubberstamped pesticides that cause brain damage in children, and utterly ignored the climate crisis. He is a horror-show, through and through.”
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/09/this-ex-trump-official-is-exposing-the-presidents-complicity-in-far-right-terrorism
Alex Henderson September 2, 2020
no lnx
Many of President Donald Trump’s allies have downplayed the threat that far-right white nationalist and white supremacist groups pose from a domestic terrorism standpoint. But conservative Republican Elizabeth Neumann, who served as assistant secretary of counterterrorism and threat prevention at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is warning that such groups do, in fact, pose a major threat in the United States — and Trump, according to Neumann, is inciting such groups.
Neumann, who voted for Trump in 2016 and served in DHS under his administration, recently came out in support of former Vice President Joe Biden in an ad by Republican Voters Against Trump. And during an interview with National Public Radio’s Steve Inskeep, she stressed that Trump is encouraging extremist groups when he should be condemning them.
Neumann told NPR:
If you had a very clear voice at the top, from the president, from other senior leaders in the Republican Party, denouncing this and warning conservatives — warning Republicans — that these groups are trying to recruit you based on things that might sound like a typical conservative belief, but behind it is this insidious, ugly, evil thing, if we had more clear voices talking about it — it would somewhatinoculate people from that recruitment and that radicalization. But instead, we have the opposite effect. We have the president not only pretty much refusing to condemn, but throwing fuel on the fire, creating opportunities for more recruitment through his rhetoric.
…
He uses rhetoric to scare people. This is a known psychological tactic that if you get people to fear, they tend to follow you to the solution of ‘How are we going to save ourselves?’ And his answer is, ‘It’s me. If you vote for me, I will save you,’ … Well, for some people, the way that they think that they need to protect themselves, it’s more than just a vote for a president. It’s ‘let me go kill people.’
One of the worst terrorist attacks of the Trump era occurred on August 3, 2019, when a white nationalist gunman killed more than 20 people in El Paso, Texas, targeting his victims simply because most of them were Latino. Neumann, during the NPR interview, argued that the attacker was influenced by Trump’s rhetoric.
“When you see the El Paso attacker, his manifesto was citing language and rhetoric that comes from the president’s campaign rallies about an invasion from Mexico and how we’ve got to protect our country,” Neumann told NPR.
She compared the growth of the dangerous far-right movement to the development of ISIS:
“They borrowed from ISIS’s playbook and they learned how to radicalize people online,” she says. In the post-Sept. 11 United States, domestic extremists also adopted an emphasis on smaller attacks that could be carried out quickly with limited planning. What Neumann saw was “the pivot to bring your own weapon to the fight, use whatever you have: a knife, a gun, a vehicle, vehicle ramming,” she says. “We’ve seen a number of vehicle rammings this summer, in fact.”
But the White House was reluctant to name the threat directly.
“[If] we use the term ‘domestic terrorism’ or we talk about the white supremacist language, that seems to derail things at the White House,” she said.
Trump and his allies have been making the baseless claim that the Antifa movement is a source of domestic terrorism. But Antifa, for all their militant rhetoric, do not engage in or encourage the type of attacks favored by either white nationalist and white supremacist groups or radical Islamist groups like al-Qaeda, Boko Haram or ISIS (Islamic State, Iraq and Syria).
Neumann told NPR: “If you look at the people that have been arrested for” acts of violence recently, “by and large…. it’s the Boogaloo movement, or it’s an association with QAnon. It’s the right side of the spectrum. It is not Antifa….. The threat of domestic terrorism is not from Antifa. It is from these right-wing movements.”
==
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlm3uMcrcPI
The Darkness – Trump's America in 75 seconds from RNC night #1
A dark and disturbing assessment of America. From The Lincoln Project
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/rnc-review-speakers-described-an-alternate-reality-in-which-chaos-and-violence-of-the-trump-era-is-joe-bidens-fault/
no lnx twt
RNC review: Speakers described an alternate reality in which chaos and violence of the Trump era is Joe Biden’s fault
Written by Igor Derysh / Salon August 25, 2020 Commentary
The first night of the Republican National Convention featured a diverse lineup that defended President Donald Trump from charges of racism, even as other speakers sought to stoke racial fears and push conspiracy theories.
The convention, largely consisting of a mix of live and pre-taped speeches before an empty auditorium, appeared to take place in an alternate reality where Trump had successfully beaten back the coronavirus pandemic, and where the protests, violence and racial division seen during Trump’s presidency would only get worse Democratic nominee Joe Biden is elected. It was a wildly dishonest night, with the New York Times fact-checking team counting at least 30 false and misleading claims.
“This one half-night of Republican programming so far has been exponentially more dishonest than the entire four nights of the Democratic convention,” wrote CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale.
While Republicans insisted that their convention would be optimistic, and headliners like former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina delivered speeches on the promise of America that could have taken place under any other Republican president, the tone of the night was dark and the theme was racial fear-mongering.
The night kicked off with a speech by Charlie Kirk, founder of the right-wing student group Turning Point USA, who described Trump as a “bodyguard of Western civilization” — a common white nationalist dog whistle — who is defending America against a “vengeful mob that seeks to destroy our way of life, our neighborhoods, schools, churches and values.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio gave a speech riddled with falsehoods accusing Democrats of stoking “crime, violence, and mob rule.” Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, one of Trump’s most loyal followers in Congress, bizarrely warned that Democrats will “disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home, and invite MS-13 to live next door.”
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who threatened Black Lives Matter supporters with guns, delivered a gloomy, downbeat chat accusing “radical Democrats” of trying to destroy the suburbs.
“They are not satisfied with spreading the chaos and violence into our communities. They want to abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning,” Patricia McCloskey said. “This forced rezoning would bring crime, lawlessness and low-quality apartments into thriving suburban neighborhoods.
“These are the policies that are coming to a neighborhood near you,” she added. “So make no mistake: No matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical Democrats’ America.”
These divisive speeches were interspersed between people of color who insisted that neither Trump, the Republican Party nor the nation had a problem with racism.
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Former NFL player Herschel Walker — who once played for the New Jersey Generals, a long-gone USFL team owned by Trump — said it “hurt my soul” to hear people call Trump “racist,” noting their long friendship. Haley, speaking of her own experience as the daughter of Indian immigrants, said that “America is not a racist country” but a “work in progress.”
Scott, the night’s keynote speaker, [heh appt by nikki] delivered a powerful speech on the promise of America and his own experiences with racism. Scott urged viewers to “not look simply at what the candidates say” before listing a number of remarks made by Biden to suggest that he, and not Trump, would ignore minority communities. Scott repeatedly insisted that Biden wants to turn the U.S. into a “socialist utopia,” which would be news to Biden and the progressive primary challenges who repeatedly criticized him for being too conservative.
But while the headliners tried to ignore the division stoked by Trump since long before he launched his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump Jr. and his girlfriend, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle, stole the show with stunningly dark and loud diatribes that prompted viewers to question whether cocaine was involved.
Guilfoyle, who earns $180,000 per year from the Trump campaign, shouted an amped-up speech into the empty auditorium comparing Democrats to socialistsin Cuba and Venezuela. Guilfoyle, who was formerly married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, claimed that Democrats (including her ex-husband, apparently) had turned California into a “land of discarded heroin needles in parks, riots in streets and blackouts in homes.”
“They want to control what you see and think and believe so that they can control how you live,” she warned. “They want to enslave you to the weak, dependent liberal victim ideology to the point that you will not recognize this country or yourself.”
“Biden, Harris and the rest of the socialists will fundamentally change this nation,” she continued. “They want open borders, closed schools, dangerous amnesty, and will selfishly send your jobs back to China while they get rich. They will defund, dismantle and destroy America’s law enforcement. When you are in trouble and need police, don’t count on the Democrats.”
Donald Trump Jr. gave a speech touting his father’s response to the pandemic, albeit one that was entirely detached from reality.
He claimed that the president had “acted quickly,” even though Trump spent the crucial early weeks downplaying the threat, and that the administration had delivered supplies to “hospitals that needed them most,” even though the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general found rampant shortages of vital supplies. Six months into the pandemic, such equipment remains in short supply.
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The night also featured segments in which Trump hyped hydroxychloroquine, a drug that has repeatedly been found ineffective in treating the coronavirus, and a video that touted Trump’s “rapid policy changes” in the face of the pandemic.
MSNBC broke away from the broadcast to fact-check the claims.
“To say that 170,000 souls lost in our country up to now is a success by any measure is fantasy,” Dr. Vin Gupta, a disease expert at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said during the segment. “It’s disrespectful to the families who lost loved ones, to frontline clinicians who put their lives at risk. It’s just fantasy. It’s propaganda.”
During another segment, Trump spoke with a group of Americans who had been freed from overseas prisons, including pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested by Turkey during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s purge following an unsuccessful coup attempt.
“To me, President Erdogan was very good,” Trump told the pastor, who was detained for two years.
Though all of the major news networks break away during portions of the convention for analysis and ads, Fox News host Sean Hannity warned his viewers that “the media won’t cover large parts of the RNC that we’ll be showing.”
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Twitter users couldn’t help but notice that Fox News actually aired fewer segments from the convention than CNN and MSNBC. Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, tweeted his complaints at Fox News.
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“Can’t believe I have to watch the convention on @CNN,” he wrote. “Unbelievable.”
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aha-ish: a la roy cohn: ctr-punch lie is knee jerk move, has limited # of smears eg fake news, deep state, hate america, // nicknames twitter algo? these degrade opposition, red meat trumpistas love, but deflect crits, plus activates various schemas that plug into overall narrative? cf xian have all -phobes. In Qanon there are apprently inconsistent strands but actually fit together if you are in the club/know and/or watch Fox news?
this was fallback on hydroxychlor, stall for time on vaccine?
trump called FDA deep state on announcement, relative vs absolute
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/trump-and-his-fda-commissioner-grossly-misrepresented-data-on-blood-plasmas-benefits-in-treating-19-patients-scientists/
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aha /yikes
does a factual basis for a bigger lie disable fact check capability eg this on twitter? rhet: note slippage : the flag and bible are sacred (and conflated, see dovetails) but they are objects/property, but their desctruction is violence, destruction/deseration; thus the enemy is evil, irrational, cannot be reasoned with so force is essential; plus kirk sez war on US/XIAN by new bogeyman (who are btw the old one, commies extremist/radicals)
escalator, activ meas
https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/how-trump-is-once-again-colluding-with-russia/
no lnx twt
how Trump is once again colluding with Russia
Written by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly August 14, 2020
Almost two weeks ago, a story circulated that Portland protesters were burning Bibles and American flags. It spread via social media and was picked up by conservative outlets, such as the Washington Examiner. Of course, several Republican leaders joined the bandwagon.
tp kirk --> djt jr?]
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ted cruzretweet: This is who they are.
Ian Miles Cheong
@stillgray
Left-wing activists bring a stack of Bibles to burn in front of the federal courthouse in Portland. https://twitter.com/Shelldrayk/status/1289481822414413827/video/1
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don jr
Now we move to the book burning phase. I’m pretty sure ANTIFA doesn’t actually stand for what they say it stands for. Maybe just remove the anti part of them name and it’s perfect.
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tpkirk
BLM inc arsonists just burned a stack of Bibles in Portland
The activist media won’t report on this because it’s likely they support it
Our faith is under attack.
If you vote for Biden—you vote for Bible burnings
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Two reporters at the New York Times, Matthew Rosenberg and Julian Barnes, decided to look into the story and found Vladimir Putin’s fingerprints all over it. As is often the case with effective propaganda, this story contains a kernel of truth. Apparently, some group was handing out Bibles to protesters that night and one of them was used to start a fire. An American flag was also burned. But a local paper covering the protests that night devoted just one sentence to that story in a lengthy piece about what happened.
The video news agency connected to Russia Today (RT) was regularly streaming a live feed of the Portland protests. They edited the clip of the fire and made it the focal point of their protest coverage that night. Then, RT did an entire story about it. Social media took it from there and the next thing you know, outlets like the Washington Examiner were picking it up. Here is how Rosenberg and Barnes summarized the process:
The Russian technique is a kind of information laundering, akin to money laundering.Stories originate with Russian-backed news sites, some of them directly connected to Moscow’s spy agencies, officials and experts said. They are then picked up by Americans on social media or in domestic news outlets, and their origins quickly become obscured. Often, by the time a story reaches most of its American audience, there is little to indicate that it was created to fuel grievances and deepen political divisions.
Following Trump’s press briefing on Wednesday, Hunter Walker tracked down another example of Russia’s attempt to get their propaganda in the news. He wrote about the question OAN reporter Chanel Rion asked the president.
Rion: In the last hour or so, if you googled antifa.com. it would take you straight to Joe Biden’s website, his official campaign website. Odd situation. We don’t know who’s behind that. But it raises an interesting leadership question. Should Joe Biden, the Democrat party, Kamala Harris– should they publicly denounce the Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization?
Trump: They should. I think they’re afraid to. It’s– in my book it’s virtually a part of their campaign, Antifa. The Democrats act like, gee, I don’t know exactly what that is.
Take a look at Portland. Take a look at any place you want to take a look at, and they’re all over the place. They were here. [DC?]
Basically Rion gave Trump the opportunity to claim that Antifa is part of the Biden campaign—which is, of course, a blatant lie.
Walker looked into what actually happened with the antifa.com website. Once again, as Pelosi said, “all roads lead to Putin.”
:{:{}:
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Records for “antifa.com” in the domain name database Whoisology.com show the site was registered in the Russian Federation from 2013 through last July.Starting last November, the site’s registration was moved to Panama, The website has always been anonymously registered and its owners could not be reached for comment.
Russia set up the antifa.com website and eventually redirected it to Biden’s campaign page, allowing the president to claim that the group was involved politically with Democrats. Of course, this raises the old question of whether this was all coordinated with the president or if Trump is simply taking advantage of Putin’s efforts. The same questions are raised about the role of OAN in these kinds of Russian propaganda efforts.
So there you have two examples of how Russia is currently interfering in the 2020 election to support the reelection of Donald Trump. One thing worth noting is that if these examples are reflective of their efforts, Vladimir Putin has calculated that his best bet is to inflame the so-called “culture wars,” something that has been the bedrock of the Republican strategy for decades. The Bible burning story was especially useful for the Christian nationalists who want to scare their followers into thinking that, as Trump has suggested, Joe Biden is against God and the Bible.
It is important to keep in mind that the only reason we know about these Russian efforts is because some reporters put in the time to track down the story. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who has seen what our intelligence services know about Russian interference, said that the 2020 efforts “make Moscow’s past interference and nefarious actions look like child’s play.” But the Trump administration is keeping that information from the public, while the attorney general hypes the antifa story and puts all of his energy into accusing the Obama administration of “spying” into the Trump campaign. That strikes me as the definition of collusion.
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AHA: map phobias to horsemen to dovetails:
how does fracking = guns = god? 4 inter lock dovetail: anti-commie,
horsemen: privatization, financialization, militarization, and criminalization, which together are producing a steadily creeping authoritarianism
RW has PR advantage b/c of four simple interlocking isms: xian, free mkt, anti-commie, pro-military
:{:{}:
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do these form a coherent scheme STORY?
8/20 i added "radical" to "extreme- ist", since interchangeable (shades into "activist"? also socialist, communist, marxist?)
as in islamic extremist = terrorist?
irony as in overton hard shift to rt/ TP evangelicals
https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/gop-purges-right-wing-members-from-congress-to-replace-them-with-even-more-radical-candidates
an 820
...That is particularly true as the president seems to have simultaneously launched an initiative to suggest that Biden is against the Bible and God. For example, during a “telerally” with Pennsylvania voters on Sunday, Trump said, “Joe Biden, the radical Democrats are against fracking, they’re against guns, and they’re against the Bible, essentially, they’re against God.”Here is what he said in Ohio on Thursday
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note density of god terms, polarization and high stakes:
https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/rush-limbaugh-covid-19-lockdowns-are-attempt-establish-global-world-government
LIMBAUGH (HOST): I just ran across something, and it breaks my -- it breaks heart. It really does, even though it doesn’t surprise me. USA Today is running an op-ed piece today by somebody I’ve never heard of. It’s some guy named David Rothkopf, R-o-t-h-k-o-p-f. Never heard of him, doesn’t matter.[note // dismiss by trump: when a crony gets busted for corruption, never heard of him; // if he's not famous/a celebrity he is a non-person of no importance // failing NYT = poll # are down = LOSER] It’s an op-ed piece. It’s not a news story, but it will probably be a news story before long.
And here is the headline: “America’s National Greatness Myths Are Shattering. Can They Survive? Should They Survive?” National greatness myths. So, you see, here’s another column, another op-ed piece from the left which has no respect whatsoever for this country, no understanding of the greatness, of theexceptionalism, of the uniqueness, of the blessed nature of this country. And it’s not hard to understand those things if they’re ever explained to you.
If people who understand how this country came to be can explain it to people, they will be in awe of it. It is a magical, wonderful story about how this country became something no other country ever has, about how this country was the first in human history to embody, acknowledge, and promote the concept of humanliberty as that which comes first in any society. It comes before a government. It comes before government power.This country embodied the idea that a Constitutionshould limit [govt power]what government can do to people, not limit the people.[by burdensome regulations like wear a mask in a PANDEMIC]
The fact that this country established and acknowledged that by virtue of our holy creation [note slippage between immac conception of 1776, well actually baptism by fire, rugged indiv Minitemen picked up rifle and bear Redcoat, tho not referred to as empire b/c we are, and proud of our ability to project power anywere, to beat the god less commies or protect our commercial interests; but tyrant king george] that we have certain unalienable rights, which means they can’t be taken away by anybody[tyrant gubmint bureaucret] . That’s what inalienable means. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, those three things were acknowledged to be the natural state of the human being in the United States and everywhere.[thus our duty to export/evangelize/dominate, shining city on a hill] Never before in history had that been done.
Most people in this world from the beginning of time have lived under tyranny,have lived under bondage, have lived underdictatorship, [NOTE EFFORTLESS/INVISIBLE SHIFT FROM POLITICS TO ECONOMICS ] have lived in poverty, have never known the standard of living this country made possible. The greatness of this country’s not a myth. The greatness of this country is very specific. There's [[are]] specific reasons, specific explanations for it. It’s just heartbreaking that they haven’t been taught in almost 50 years.[those dirty hippie commies in 60's?]
We’ve lost two generations to the public education system [gubmint schools], which then enables some dummkopf like this guy to write a piece saying America’s national greatness myths are shattering.Should they survive, can they survive? Here’s the subhead. “Rather than restore some idealized, jingoistic version of who we are, let’s use this painful moment of self-doubt to remake the reality of America.”
Speak for yourself, buddy. We who love this country have zero self-doubt about it. None.[APOLOGIZE IS WEAKNESS, OUR LOYAL THUS FAITH MUST BE ABSOLUTE/PURE] “Let’s use this painful moment of self-doubt to remake the reality -” how about we use this painful moment of self-doubt to vanquish the American left, tovanquish communism and socialism, which has never worked anywhere? How about we use this painful moment to teach more and more Americans the truth about their great and wonderful and God-blessed country?
“Live long enough and you can see the rise and fall of myths in real time. It does not take statues being pulled from their pedestals to reveal the fragility of the conjured history upon which so much of society depends. … The world is not, we are reminded, as we believed it was. Not only is that unsettling, it forces us to ask, what else about our bedrock beliefs about life may someday turn to quicksand? National myths can crash in an instant.”
[THIS IS JUST ACKOWLEDGING THREE INTER-CONNECTED CRISES: PANDEMIC, DEPRESSION AND BLM (CHARLOTTESVILLE HEATHER HEYER ANTI-MASK TAKEOVERS OF STATE CAPITOLS LIBERATE MICHIGAN] NOTE SCHIOZOPHRENIC NATURE ON CHAOS: THEY VOTED FOR TRUMP TO BLOW UP A CORRUPT/ RIGGED SYSTEM THAT IS NOT WORKING FOR THEM, BANNON PRESENTED HIM AS DISRUPTOR/PIRATE GINGRICH. AS A BILLIOAIRE AND MASTER NEGOTIATOR BIZMAN , THUS RATIONAL AND COMPETENT #-DRIVEN GUY, HE SAW BRIBERY GAME SO HE KNOW HOW TO FIX IT/DRAIN THE SWAMP. THIS IS TEMPORARY CHAOS/PURGE/ARMAGEDDON-LIGHT THAT WILL PUNISH THOSE LOSERS/INFIDELS
OTOH WE NEED ONE STRONG MAN STANDING ALONE TO RESTORE LAW AND ORDER, PUNISH ANTIFA ANARCHIST COMMIES WHO HATE AMERICA; HATE IT BECAUSE AM EXCEPTIONALISM PROVES THE FALSITY OF THEIR FALSE RELIGION/ISMS EG SOCIALISM [ACA, TARP MORTGAGE], ENVORONMENTALISM (AGW HOAX, WAR ON COAL)
BTW: the left science based rational ppl see the 3 crises as evidence of longstanding SYSTEMIC structural problems(racism, capitalism) while trumpista are either in denial (media flu, climate change hoax); interesting that 911 b/c god was mad about sodomy, but he did not send covid? the GODLESS COMMIE chicom did; BLM is an erruption of PC ID politics, those uppity ppl forgetting their place, burning a police station [riot, loot, thugs, when the looting starts, the shooting starts, Blue Lives Matter; dumb lazy loser welfare queens, angry, militant, shrill The Squad Ilhan Omar Muslim. Jayapal, AOC so rush sees not a breakdown in systems but a loss of faith in USA myth; he does not say our problems are god's punishment for lack of faith, rather if enough young ppl brainswashed by commie/hipie/pc teachers Ed for Red women don't believe in US myth/rules/norms/how to prosper, then our economic system=prosperity=way of life =standard of living will fail [not b/c the economy is shut down b/c trump refused to take action, instead going with magical think it does not exist 15 cases to 0, or will just magically vanish.
[[National myths can crash in an instant.]] National myths are not crashing. National myths are not collapsing of their own weight of immorality and falsehood. National myths don’t exist. What’s happening is that America’s greatness is being disassembled right in front of our eyes.[BY THE ENEMY/TRAITORS/INFIDELS IN OUR MIDST]America’s history is being erased right in front of our eyes. Everything about America is being substantially destroyed, from oureconomy to our liberty and freedom, to our Constitution. And it is done at the urging, at the bequest of, with the support of the Democrat Party of the United States of America.
This -- none of this could be happening of its own. It couldn't -- this is not happening because a majorityof the American people want this. That’s what makes this so outrageous. We are being ruled and governed here by a really small minority who are using the power of fear and intimidation and economic destruction — that is key.
[end caps: minority as in Pelosi? the Squad? Pelosi became a devil term (San Francisco values = gay commie, not REAL americans); she's obviously smart, string competent and does not fall for trump bs ploys; but for a manly man to be dominated by a woman is shameful [her btw is where horsemen=phobia=dovetail clicked]
"power of fear and intimidation"is standard freedumb libery gubmint rhet; check date but i think this// secret police in Portland, but of course that'sThe Solo Strong Man punishing the antifa anarchist unbelievers who are violent and irrational and are literally trying to tear down am =gov't building (a courthouse no less) so law and order must be retored.
Once you take people’s money away from them, you own them. Once you take people’s ability to earn a living and you become the provider, you own them. That’s the first thing they[dem GOVERNORS? PELOSI] did, was shut down this nation’s economy. Now they’re trying to get it shut down again under bogus COVID-19 numbers.
[Recall their litany story: dems/those who hate Am/DJT tried to impeach on 1st day (true, but for emoluments, which is very clearly spelled out in the otherwise holy Constitution; i don't recall how much we knew for sure about collusion eg trump twr mtg]. I forget he list, but tried to get him Mueller on colusion fail, then Y fail, now trying to blame covid fail, but it;s not real, it's the commie chinese fault [or bill gates], or it's the job of governors. trump was making Am great again = strong ecomomy, record low AA unemployment, record high stock mkt [tend to happen when you give 1.5 trillion tax break no strings attach and will dismantle regulations, write bills to order and will give massive subsidies to oil, coal and military contractors]
“America’s National Greatness Myths Are Shattering. Can They Survive?” They damn well better survive or the world is not gonna be the place — you know in Italy right now, do you know how much money Italy is losing a day? Italy is losing $115 million a day in the hotel business alone. Do you know why? Because nobody from the United States is traveling or anywhere else. COVID-19 has [[it]] shut down[[.]] -- now, in the past it’s been, shall we say, fashionable to rip America as the biggest and the baddest, theUnited Nations rips America, other people rip America.
[am the exceptional thus INDISPENSIBLE: the engine of the world economy, we bestow our economic blessings of prosperity on italy; read: those dumb/wimpy Italians gave in to fear and shut down economy, foolishly cutting themselves off from fount of $; foreigner/commie/ex- brexit/globalist elite are jealous of badass Manly Muricans entrepreneurs [no word in French]
But at the end of the day, everybody needed America. Every nation on Earth’s economy needs America. But our economy has been shut down. We got 44 million people out of work. We’ve got in Chicago alone 4,400 businesses which have been shut down and are said never to reopen again. And that’s one city. In Rome and throughout Italy, they’re losing $115 million a day via tourism. There isn’t any. They miss the United States. [recall at some pt ppl w/ Am passport not allowed or quar 14 days]
The world depends on it. This is another thing that is by design in all of this. You take out [destroy? how/ by/ why?] the United States of America and you take out the United States economy, and you have set up your precious globalism and world governmentbecause you are creating worldwide poverty and thus worldwide need. And when you, theglobal government or whoever you are, become the provider to those in need, guess who you own?
[1st explicit mention of commie? UN alluded to above so dittoheads would have automatically conjured Agenda 21 blk helos, blue hulled navy, gun control, Soros; is this recycled watered down Road to Serfdom medicare [ACA] will lead to the gulag? [death panels; 8/7/20 did trump tell us to hug granny?!]
But none of this could be happening if it weren’t for the fact that the United States is under assault and being taken down on the basis of a pack of lies. That our great history is nothing but a bunch of lies, that our history is nothing but a bunch ofmyths. How in the world can anyone with any kind of intellect at all look at the United States, see its role that it played in the establishment of human liberty and freedom, and want no part of it?
[read; look at the long track record/empirical evidence/everything you have believed and been taught then pick a side: smart/good/loyal/patriot/freedom/truth/certainty[safety?] vs ~
Well, obviously people to whom human liberty and freedom are a problem. To communists and [=] socialists, human liberty and freedom, free choice, that’s a problem. The state becomes the repository [it will ration if not eliminate, reward the obediant/faithful/toadies] of all freedom. The state determines who can do what, when, where, why. The state determines who has what. The state determines who gets what.
[vs the infallible and fair invisible hand of the free mkt: ignore kleptocracy/kakistan: the free mkt will not have surplus hospital capacity, and states bidding aginst each other and the feds for PPE; who will get vaccine? millions lose health care w/ jobs while gop tried STILL to kill ACA [today lame pre-exist ploy]
But how in the world can this -- I ask myself how in the world can otherwise intellectually qualified people not value the concept of individual liberty and freedom? And yet people who are leading this anti-American movement are of exactly that frame of mind, that somehow individual liberty and freedom pose the threat,pose the problem to the ongoing future.
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[Global gREEN dEAL will take your cheeseburgers and airplanes? laissez-faire free mkt fundamentalism or slavery are they only two options. No specific path to armageddon here?]
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language ALWAYS PRECEDES/ LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR HATE/VIOLENCE
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https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-tech-companies-enabling-far-right-talk-show-host-josh-bernsteins-extreme-rhetoric/
Far-right talk show host Josh Bernstein depends on major tech companies to support his broadcasts, which frequently contain violent rhetoric and conspiracy theories that may violate some of those tech platforms’ own stated policies.
“The Josh Bernstein Show” is currently supported financially by a handful of business advertisers and paying fans on Patreon, a membership platform for online content creators, and reaches viewers via YouTube and the streaming platformRoku.
At the end of a
uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 2, Bernstein made clear his reliance on Patreon. He told viewers that YouTube had at some point in time demonetized his channel, which if true, means that Bernstein’s content has been determined to be inappropriate for advertising on the platform and that Bernstein is unable to generate revenue from the number of views on his videos. Bernstein has 130,000 YouTube subscribers at the time of publication.
“Put $5, $10 a month on my Patreon. It’s not an expenditure, it’s an investment,” Bernstein said. “It’s an investment in future freedoms. It’s an investment in prosperity. Because I eat, sleep, and breathe protecting this nation.”
Bernstein also explained his intention to expand his efforts with Roku to get around the supposed “constant censorship” he faces on YouTube.
“Due to YouTube’s constant censorship of ’The Josh Bernstein Show,’ ‘The Josh Bernstein Show’ is expanding to Roku television where I will not be censored and you will be able to watch ’The Josh Bernstein Show’ for free,” Bernstein said. “I will also be continuing every single day to upload videos right here on YouTube on ’The Josh Bernstein Show’ channel that you are currently watching right now, and I will also be on [Patreon].”
Right Wing Watch has cataloged Bernstein’s violent rhetoric, hate speech, and conspiracy theories for years. On YouTube broadcasts and radio shows, Bernstein has argued or claimed that:
Liberal Jews deserve to be called anti-Semitic slurs.
He understands “why people are anti-Semitic, truly.”
He hates anti-Semitism, but if it keeps Sen. Bernie Sanders out of the White House, he’ll “take some anti-Semitism.”
Billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros “should be **taking a long dirt napimmediately” and is a “kike.”
A man who committed a mass shooting in Texas in 2019 had “kind of a Jewish name,” which meant that “he’s likely a Democrat.”
People should disobey stay-at-home orders meant to lessen the spread of the coronavirus and should “not be afraid to use our Second Amendment” to do so.
Washington state gun owners should “defy” gun reform measures by shooting police officers if necessary.
White people should “get armed immediately” because some Black Lives Matter activists “want to spill white blood.”
He wants to see Joe Biden and “these bastards hang by the neck until it cracks” or else the American people will take matters into their own hands.
Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib “have earned every single one” of the death threats they have received.
Senior citizens should go to polling places to vote for President Donald Trump despite the health risks present during the COVID-19 pandemic, and if they catch the disease and die, “So be it.”
Some of these remarks appear to violate stated content guidelines for the platforms that Bernstein uses to reach viewers and to turn a profit...
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Stephen miller lou dobbs
https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6171909446001/#sp=show-clips
Op Vulcan
sr pol advisor
good strong begin to see good strong pos results on that focus, continue? congrats
congrats on ms 13 op, one of the largest jul 15 largest soulless barbarians hacked to death 2 girls in NY, now facing death penalty, 1st time ever int'l terrorism, a contrast taking out criminal gangs and terrorists w/ rec speed force and focus record focus liberal mayor, crazy mayor lawless mayhem un radical left, unleash violence and mayhem, public safety that's the choice;
Dobbs: it is a stark choice no more emblematic than portland wheeler pristine city being savaged antifa, BLM and other activists and street criminals 6 straight weeks nowhere else cits do not want to ruffle feather and get that major out of town, nowhere else, at least take night off
i suspect strong and growing silent majority in this cty ready to clear house of leftist mayors
silent tortuous violence electoral wave crash over of defund police, abolish law enforcement, force sanctuary cities down the throats, appoint social just prosecutors who won't even enforce the law; choice never more clear, even tho lib mayors refuse request, refuse our generous hands, we will make major announcement next week prez use authority of fed gov't to come to rescue of long-suffering cits ; to rescue,
lou: if citizens do not req, accept violence at the level they are you and i know how it will be painted, fed, crush city despite disavowal
mom and dad and cits of all walks of life manhattan, chicago, atlanta ...they support police, they feds to fullest extent ,want gang members behind bars, killers, murderer, support for robust federal support, keep city, family community safe; right to walk w/o stray bullet, put kids to sleep at night w/o worry homes broken into or windows smashed; social justice prosecutors will make much more diff, but this prez will never waver in his duty to protect the am ppl;
dobbs: isn't role for DOJ NYc mayor De Blasio cognitive diss/ [sm: "very unwell" ] , trash city every day, strips police of billion $, throw citizens to wolves; anti-crime unit disbanded by socialist mayor,
SM: I assure you DOJ ...safety, peace and order in our city. Every day thousands ICE ...every day go to work, put dangerous criminals behind bars reduced crime for the 1st time for lowest level decades, did by fed law, [guns offenders, felons carrying weapons behind bars] put X in jail
Sanct cities releasing violent criminals get them off street and we will get them back home = jail
Let’s never forget Obama /Biden for 8 straight years unimpeded, let MS 13 in,unleashed on our communities, never apologized to families..schools, senseless violence , not Pol/part issue, ___normal good ppl], ppl have to live in fear of violence
Dobbs: why not DOJ investigate o BLM not nonprofit 501c4 get $ directly from Dems party gets tax deductible $ ]= tax $, drivers it back to BLM} he dodges question no time to make speech
we will not allow radical marxist orgs deprive Ams bl white, liberal be they POC of rights to be safe
Dobbs: Marxist lives matter , you’d think they’d motto
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https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/theres-a-simple-reason-why-america-was-so-vulnerable-to-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories/
The worldwide conspiracy is vast — so vast that most of the world’s scientists, journalists and political leaders are in on it. Somehow, in all this time, not a single one of the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of conspirators has grown a conscience and decided to blow the whistle on the conspiracy. Their goal? To ruin everything that right-wing America holds dear: the nuclear family, NFL football, needlessly enormous vehicles, the specials menu at Hooters.
To accomplish this dastardly goal, the conspiracy will fabricate a worldwide threat. They will falsify the data and use the power of institutions like governments and universities and scientific journals to perpetuate this hoax, tricking billions of people into believing this threat is real and needs a drastic response. The only people in the world who see through the hoax are right-wing Americans, of course, who know what lengths the “socialist left” will go to in order to destroy Mom and apple pie.
Coronavirus denialism has, in the period of a few short months, become one of the most serious political problems in our nation. It’s a major obstacle to both containing the virus and reviving the economy, which can’t happen until the virus is contained.
Coronavirus denialism isn’t just flourishing on social media, but emanating from both right-wing media and from Republican leaders, most notably Donald Trump. Over the weekend, the president declared that “99 percent” of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless,” a claim that isn’t just false but part of a larger pattern of Trump’s statements suggesting that the threat of the virus is being faked in order to harm him politically.
in other words, it’s a conspiracy theory, one that dates at least back to February, when Trump claimed that fears of the coronavirus were a “new hoax” designed by Democrats to ruin him.
The rapid spread of this conspiracy theory is puzzling, especially as it requires many leaps of faith, including the belief that literally millions of professionals who don’t know each other — scientists, journalists, government employees, health care providers and so on — are working to perpetuate this hoax.
There’s a simple reason why right-wing America was so quick to rally around a conspiracy theory that’s so utterly preposterous. They spent years training themselves by indulging in climate-change denialism.
It’s not a stretch to say that climate-change denialism and coronavirus denialism are basically the same conspiracy theory. In fact, it often seems like coronavirus denialists have simply copied and pasted their talking points about climate change and adjusted the wording a bit to be about virus spread instead of carbon emissions.
But the basic parameters are the same: a worldwide conspiracy, threats that are invented or exaggerated for supposed political gain, a sinister hidden agenda — whether that’s bringing down capitalism or ending Trump’s presidency.
The content of coronavirus denialism can be somewhat diverse. This article from the New York Times chronicling the struggles of nurses to convince family and friends that the coronavirus is a real threat gives a good overview of the range of different flavors. Some folks insist the virus isn’t real at all. Some accept that it’s real but believe the danger of death or serious injury is being wildly exaggerated. Some deny that it’s as communicable as public health officials believe. Some claim that deaths from other causes are being falsely attributed to the virus.
We see the same kind of diversity in the world of climate-change denialism. At first, conservatives flat-out denied that climate change or “global warming” was even happening. But as evidence for changing temperatures grew, the flavors of denialism did too, with some denialists claiming it was just a natural fluctuation not attributable to humans, others saying that the effects wouldn’t be so bad, and still others saying it was too late to do anything about it so we should just give up.
What holds all these flavors of denialism together is the conspiracy theory undergirding them: The people raising the alarm about this problem are in cahoots with each other, and have ulterior motives.
Climate-change denialists have long held that progressives, and the scientists and world leaders who supposedly share their radical agenda, aren’t really concerned about species loss or rising sea levels or the devastating effects on poor people or any of that. Instead, they argue, these concerns are being faked to create a justification for an all-out assault on capitalism and “freedom.”
Similarly, coronavirus denialists argue that health care workers and scientists warning about the coronavirus are insincere, but instead are part of a larger — again, worldwide! — movement to take down Trump by making him look bad.
The rhetoric between the two forms of denialism is almost comically similar.
In September, Fox News host Laura Ingraham declaredthat teenage climate-change activists were part of a sinister plot to seize control of “our economy, our way of life, our way of transport, how many children you want to have.”
In May, she made the same arguments about recommendations to wear face masks to slow the coronavirus spread, claiming it was about “control over large populations” that is “achieved through fear and intimidation and suppression of free thought.”
In case the link wasn’t obvious, Ingraham made it herself, saying, “They’ll say this whole mask thing is settled science, just like they do with climate change.”
It’s not possible that both things are just settled science, of course. It’s all just a massive conspiracy!
It’s the same story with Fox News superstar **Tucker Carlson, who arguedlast September that climate strikes are “not about the environment” but are a left-wing scam meant to create “an emergency big enough to justify grabbing more power.”
Carlson copy-pasted those same arguments to deny the dangers of the coronavirus months later, claiming that the scientific evidence that it’s dangerous and communicable is overblown, and being exaggerated by people who are hungry for “power” and want to see Americans following “orders.”
Both climate change and coronavirus denialism are given a boost by the tribalist politics of right-wing America. For decades now, one of the ways for conservatives to indicate their skepticism of climate change and fealty to the right was to buy giant, gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks, making quite clear to anyone looking that they don’t care one fig about your fears of carbon emission.
The same logic is driving the anti-mask phenomenon, where some of the most fiercely loyal Trump supporters make a big show out of refusing wear a mask, because they don’t care one fig about your fear of catching a potentially deadly virus.
It was clever of Trump and his media followers to encourage his supporters not to wear masks. That kind of showy public defiance has helped normalize coronavirus denialism, and exerted pressure on other conservatives to follow suit to show their tribal loyalties.It serves the same function as mocking people for driving fuel-efficient vehicles did, using peer pressure to get people on board with a right-wing conspiracy theory.
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with climate-change conspiracy theories, once they take hold, it’s very hard to pry people free from their delusional beliefs. If you confront them with the evidence that the threat is real, they simply move to claiming it’s overblown. George Soros will probably be blamed. Or they’ll come up with excuses for why they personally won’t be affected and so shouldn’t care. Or they’ll just shift to casting aspersions on the motives of people who do care, whether that’s Greta Thunberg or Dr. Anthony Fauci, accusing them of being tools or power-hungry schemers. They’ll embrace any view, really, except admitting that the problem we’re all facing is real and that yes, we have to do something about it.
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