Fake News

We're just starting to see some lip service paid to the cornucopia of fake news, libel and fraud that we call social media. The first I encountered this morning was a picture of a table in the shape of a swastika in a article that made it look like it came from The Daily Mail. It tells us it's something new from Ikea. Of course it's not and it apparently has appeared in other countries made to look like other legitimate newspapers printed it.  The picture is of a work of art done by a Berlin artist in 2011 and intended to be a cynical look at the false promises of Fascism, but someone doesn't like Ikea and goodness knows, in our lawless cyber world, anything goes.

There's a real observation called Gresham's law which says the good currencey is driven off the market by bad currency.  Likewise, real news, is driven off the market by fake news. There are no longer constraints on or impediments to the libel and slander of fake information. 

There is no bottom and even the notorious National Enquirer seems encouraged by the anarchy as you can see in the current issue smearing Malia Obama:

I'm sure Ikea is outraged and hot to punish whomever
did this and the Obama family should also be, but they really have no recourse because the legacy of the Web is chaos, lawlessness and loss of civilization.  Efforts to control it, as Facebook has claimed will be made are likely to be useless given the volume and the viciousness and the appetite for hate now warming up faster than the Arctic latitudes.

As you probably know, I'm an atheist. gods, spirits and a universe that has purpose and sentience are completely absurd to me, but that doesn't mean I don't wish there were an Enlil to drown mankind once again. If only he could do it and leave the innocent animals alone.

LIVID BEYOND RAGE

Apparently, Michael Flynn Junior (the son of National Security designate General Michael Flynn) circulated a fake online conspiracy theory about an alleged child trafficking ring involving Hillary Clinton.

Money laundering!  Child exploitation!  Sex crimes!  Perjury!  Clinton Foundation complicity!  Obstruction of justice!  'Unspecified’ felonies!  A veritable kitchen sink minus Flying Spaghetti Monsters; get the picture!

These fake news accounts culminated in violence when a man fired an assault rifle inside a pizza restaurant as he attempted to investigate a fake news story.  Here is the final insult. The Lessor Flynn tweeted:

“Until #Pizzagate proven to be false, it'll remain a story. The left seems to forget #PodestaEmails and the many ‘coincidences’ tied to it.”

What are #PodestaEmails, you ask? Another conspiracy theory tying John Podesta to a Satanic cult.

Baseless claim after baseless claim, the hits keep coming.  A preponderance of bullshit so thick and furious, you can’t keep pace fast enough let to debunk this junk.  Condemnations in a kangaroo court of rumor and innuendo.  Incendiary rhetoric without a shred of evidence.  No due process, nor proper vetting in the press.  Not even a nanogram of common decency!  Wait!  Here’s more …

A letter to the editor in a local newspaper:

“I can't in my heart vote for someone who has lied so repeatedly: about the embassy attack on Libya, about all those sensitive top secret emails, and about the scandal going on in the Clinton Foundation. My Christian views tell me …” (Dana Sanderfer, Stuart FL).

Four Benghazi investigations later (one by the FBI and three by Congressional Republicans) found no evidence of wrongdoing.  Clinton emails?  Nothing!  Clinton Foundation?  Nothing! Benghazi was a partisan hatchet job … swallowed hook, line, and stinker by Dana Sanderfer of Stuart, Florid-duhh!  Neither a solid citizen nor a good Christian, this is the mentality of 'devout' Christians who once upon a time burned witches at the stake.

How do you disprove defamations, innuendos, vicious rumors, and baseless claims?  Here is the same mob behavior that incubated the Third Reich.  Now these unrelenting shitheads are six weeks away from inauguration.  We are well on a road to fascism ... or a culture war verging on civil war.

AGORAPHOBIA

My feelings vacillate from deep depression to unspeakable rage.  My world collapsed on Election Day, another date in infamy.  How can I face people on street?

Hatred has won.  Xenophobia has won.  Black, brown, Mexican, Muslim, LGBT: Defamations and deportations.  Swastikas in college dorms.  Words of smear and jeer.  Humanity lost.  Insanity won. 

Anonymous people at the checkout counter, I regard them now with suspicion.  Who among them voted for the madman?  Who unleashed the madness?

Are their faces real?  Emotionless and expressionless, are they pod people?  A visage from Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Parked cars with a Trump/Pence bumper stickers.  I want to lash out in anger; rage against the machine.  To implode or explode?

Our national tantrum, sing along with me:

O bountiful for specious lies,
Bombastic knaves of gain,

From puerile fountain mendacities

Down the putrid drain!

Amerika! Amerika!
Don’t spread your hate on me,

As you drown us all in victimhood

From tree to hanging tree!

And Into the Dark

I have passed with a nod of the head 
Or polite meaningless words,  
Or have lingered awhile and said 
Polite meaningless words, 
And thought before I had done 
Of a mocking tale or a gibe 
To please a companion 
Around the fire at the club, 
Being certain that they and I 
But lived where motley is worn: 
All changed, changed utterly: 
A terrible beauty is born.

-W.B. Yeats-  1916

And here, a hundred years later, around a table at the Club and no uprising, no shots fired, looking at the fools in mufti thinking nothing has changed while everything has: changed utterly.
Fools mocking, me saying little, if not to please, to avoid argument, some meaningless words that don't answer the lies, don't ask the question.

Do we buy Raytheon?
Do we buy Caterpillar?
We could make a killing.

Who will die without medicine?
Who will thrive without education?
Who will work for nothing?
Who will rot in private jails that pay dividends?

When the water runs black
And the air full of dust
And the crops whither
And the birds die
Will we miss Yellowstone?
Trump in gold letters on El Capitain.
Will we still call it beautiful?
Will we throw off the yoke?

All changed
All changed utterly.

The Electoral College and the Plantation South.

New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

-James Russell Lowell-

When a presidential candidate wins an election despite his opponent having 2 million more votes, it's time to stop pretending the electoral college is there to level some sort of playing field; as a necessary protection of the unique interests of Idaho or Montana against the populous states.   The institution exists because Founding Fathers from slave states knew they wouldn't have a chance of winning an election in a direct vote without diluting the power of more populous, more educated and wealthier free states.

The Electoral College was a means to allow slave states to inflate their voting population by including slaves ( at 3/5 of the value of a white man)  in the total population without letting them vote.

Of course the objective of keeping the African American voters from casting ballots, while their numbers are still used to justify electoral votes, persists at some level. Does this process also increase the political power of  racists and Nativists?  I'll leave that argument for people with more patience than I have at the moment, but this is the second time in recent memory that the voters' chosen candidate lost to a system designed to boost the power of slave states and perpetuate slavery. 2 million votes cast in vain? This should not be ignored any longer.

Is it time to set aside the anachronistic concept of the USA as a loose confederation of independent states, particularly when it comes to selecting a president?  Again, I have no patience after so many years of  listening to self styled "conservatives" howling like demented and self-contradictory demons. I'll leave it to others, but arguments for the legitimacy of the Civil War are more common than front teeth in some parts of the South and defending a system that persists even after the confederacy died and slavery with it, is still stinking up the place. The South still fears the domination of the North, even though the Mason Dixon line no longer divides us and the battle between slavers and abolitionists has mutated its appearance. We have other names, like "Coastal Liberal" for those who oppose such antique attitudes about race. The Electoral College is a relic of bad old days and should be relegated to oblivion.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, 

In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side; 

Some great cause, God’s new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight, 

Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right, 

And the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.

AN OPEN LETTER

Junk journalism is partly to blame for the sham outcome of Election 2016.  Citing examples of incompetence, I have taken it upon myself to compose a letter which I am putting in the public domain. If you wish to join in protest, please feel free to use the letter below and send to any network of your choosing:

TO THE EXECUTIVES OF CNN, FOX, AND NBC:

A presidential candidate defames minorities, mocks disabled persons, and demeans women.  In a normal world, such misconduct would sink any candidate.  I blame your news network for normalizing the abnormal.

Bombastic and malicious rhetoric earned the candidate an estimated $5.2 billion in free airtime (source: MediaQuant).  Complicit in opportunism, your network reaped a massive ratings windfall.  Suckered by a con artist, you sacrificed objectivity and integrity on the alter of craven self-interest.

A notorious bigot addresses a Trump victory dinner in Washington.  Journalists depart early and miss the Nazi salutes.  Over 700 hate crimes in two weeks go unreported (source: SPLC.  Imbalanced coverage is ethically indefensible and reprehensible.

“It’s not my job to be a truth squad,” disclaims Chris Wallace of Fox News. Nor is it the job of NBC News Correspondent Chuck Todd. Their refusal to discern fact from fiction contradicts the Society of Professional Journalists whose mission statement reads: “Seek the truth and report it.”

I blame you for the shoddy state of broadcast journalism today:

— For outright falsehoods reported as newsworthy events,

— For petty Twitter feeds that distract from meaningful news,

— For panelists comprised of shills and crosstalk without substance,

— For moderators who fail to fact-check competing claims,

— For deceptions and defamations legitimized on a national stage.

When the Fourth Estate abdicates responsibility and surrenders to demagoguery, the politics of malice wins over common decency.  News content should never be calibrated to accommodate sensationalism or political whims de jour.  You failed in your mission to inform the public.  Millions of concerned citizens are outraged.  You have betrayed our trust, and I am determined to hold you accountable.

A free press, a watch dog press, a check against unbridled power will be more vital than ever before. Hold their feet to the fire. Here is a suggested list of addressees (or chose your own):

Jeff Zucker, President

CNN News Worldwide

10 Columbus Circle

New York, New York 10019

Tony Maddox

Executive VP and Managing Director

CNN News Worldwide

One CNN Center

Atlanta, GA, 30303.

Bill Shine, Co-President

Fox News Channel (FNC)

1211 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

Jay Wallace, VP - News Editorial

Fox News Channel (FNC)

1211 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

John Moody, VP and Executive Editor

Fox News Channel (FNC)

1211 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

Steve Burke, President and CEO

NBC Universal News Group

30 Rockefeller Center
New York, New York 10112

Andrew Lack, Chairman

NBC Universal News Group

30 Rockefeller Center
New York, New York 10112

l'etat c'est moi

Memory is a funny thing when it applies to the world of politics. I wonder how many remember Dick Cheney's statement that the actions of a president are ipso facto legal.  That would sound very strange coming from the Republican machine that has been trumpeting the opposite for 8 years: that everything Obama does is illegal, scandalous and unconstitutional.

Truth, legality and morality apparently are time dependent, are time specific and situational. but don't look for anyone to confirm the obvious, because the core value is, that it's not illegal (fascist, racist, unconstitutional or deplorable) when we do it.

Donald Trump told us, his soon to be subjects, in an interview in the New York Times yesterday that profiting in business using your presidency is legal because there is no such thing as a conflict of interest when one is president, or should we say El Presidente.

“The law's totally on my side, meaning, the president can't have a conflict of interest.”

Is that true?  I'm not a lawyer, but Title 18 Section 208 of the U.S. code seems to exempt presidents from the requirement to, for instance, not steer the country for his own profit.  Maybe it's a new era coming. Maybe all that shall be changed, or maybe not. Congress has yet to challenge Trump's declaration that l'etat c'est moi as Louis IV the Sun King once told the world.  We shall see. We shall see how congruent the rule of law and the will of Trump shall be in our boisterous, sheet wearing, cross burning, minority deporting, religiously conformist, all white and all great America.  We shall see what we have done.

A CALL TO ACTION — Vive La Résistance!

No doubt, president-elect Trump represents an existential threat to our democratic values and traditions. His first cabinet announcements are terrifying: An anti-Semite, a racist and white nationalist, and an unhinged war hawk.

Newt Gingrich wants to bring back the House of UnAmerican Activities — thus signaling a return to McCarthy era witch hunts and persecutions. Trumpism has unleashed a troubling populism reminiscent of fascism.

What can we do? Use social media to network, share information and ideas, organize and and strategize. Call leaders in Congress. Write letters. Join peaceful protests. Support advocacy groups such as the ACLU and ADL. Vote with your pocketbook and boycott. Hold our news media accountable!

Demand honesty and transparency. Condemn the culture of demagoguery that panders to bigotry, hatred, and violence. Condemn nepotism, kleptocracy, and conflicts of interest. Demand citizenship, not partisanship.

For my part, I will write precisely focused letters of protest and post these online. I will publish boycott lists of corrupt corporations and their CEOs. I will support La Résistance in every way possible ... with anger and determination.

I welcome your comments, suggestions, and feedback.

STORMFRONT — Making America Hate Again

Reserve judgement. Keep an open mind. Close ranks behind our new leader. Rationalizations? Or willful self-deceptions! Frankly, I am alarmed by dismissive attitudes following Donald Trump’s Electoral College win last week. All are variations on a self-serving theme: “I’ve got mine, screw you.” Here is what our country has become:

Ku Klux Klan rally in Anaheim erupts in violence; 3 are stabbed and 13 arrested:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-klan-rally-in-anaheim-erupts-in-violence-one-man-stabbed-20160227-story.html

Trump supporters brutally attack gay man in California: 

http://usuncut.com/news/trump-supporters-brutally-attack-gay-man-california/

Muslim Women Wearing Hijabs Assaulted Just Hours After Trump Win:
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/muslim-women-wearing-hijabs-assaulted-just-hours-after-trump-win-n681936

Sieg Heil — swastikas and racist Trump graffiti appear in South Philly:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/clout/400560361.html

Post-election hate crimes worse than post-9/11:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/12/post-election-spate-hate-crimes-worse-than-post-911-experts-say/93681294/

Over 200 Incidents of Hateful Harassment and Intimidation Since Election Day:

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/11/11/over-200-incidents-hateful-harassment-and-intimidation-election-day

Meanwhile, fascist-elect Donald Trump remains silent. No denouncement of the violence, no moral message, and no responsibility for the climate of hatred his campaign has unleashed.

Newt Gin Stench says he wants to resurrect HUAC, the former House of Un-American Activities. Scarcely a month before inauguration, already the trappings of an oppressive surveillance and police state are taking shape. Joseph McCarthy Redux (on steroids), to be more precise.

None of these news accounts leave me in a Kumbaya frame of mind. I have feared this dark turn of events for months, and now my worst fears have been realized.

LET'S MAKE AMERIKA WHITE AGAIN

Welcome to the new normal.

Desperate people threw away their moral integrity, if they ever had any, and their sense of decency to vote for a PT Barnumesque shyster filled with empty promises and plenty of hateful rhetoric. He managed to degrade women (and still 57% of women voters voted for him), threaten Muslims (many of whom are peaceful and legitimate citizens of the once United States), persons of color (also many who are full citizens of this country), persons with disabilities and the marginalized group known collectively as the LBGT community (and also most of all who are citizens of the once United States).

Many women of the Muslim faith are afraid to wear their hijabs in public even though their religious beliefs compel them to do so (that's the scarf they wear around their head). Muslim women are afraid.

And their fears are not without validation. Muslim woman attacked on campus.

Many folks will tell you that they are not racist and don't agree with the bigotry and hate yet chose to ignore all that hate spewing forth at every rally or just never listened past the part they wanted to hear but unlike them, I listened to most everything Donald Trump had to say. I did want to vote for change, I would have loved to a found a fresh new candidate that could work on both sides of the aisle and see progress in our economic and social status, but Trump is not the one. Like any good carnival huckster, he played to the crowd. One night I listened to him address one group promising a wall and mass deportations, another night I heard him telling hispanics he would make room for them in Trump's America  -- and make no mistake, this IS now Trump's Amerika. This land is NOT your land and is it NOT my land, it is Trump land and the GOP land and they are going to do with it as they please.

Steel mills will not reopen in Pittsburgh, the furniture factories will not be spewing toxic fumes in High Point and the fabric mills of the South will remain silent and unused. Why? Because Trump cannot deliver on his campaign promise to bring back jobs, which, by the way, did not all go overseas. It is more complicated than that.  Why Trump will fail to bring back jobs.

Those tax cuts? Yeah, the middle class will see about $1,000 extra a year while the rich will hang on to another million a year. And he has no plan for offseting these cuts which will ADD 7 TRILLION TO THE NATIONAL DEBT. The cost of Trump's tax plan.

But the one thing we can count on? An ever deeper divide and ever increasing violence and hate.

KKK emerges from under their rocks.

Increased hate crimes after election.

For those who are distressed as I am to what is happening to the social and moral fabric of this country there is a new movement happening now. Pin a safety pin to your clothing where anyone can see it. It is a symbol that attests to you being someone who is safe to talk to and ask for help for any person regardless of color, religion, gender or sexual orientation. It is a small thing but a sea of safety pins on a crowded street may just give our fellow human beings a little hope and let them know they are not alone.

ROCKY IS BACK ON THE BEACH!