If you’ve been paying attention to government and politics for any length of time, and if you’re a “liberal” (ie “progressive – the politically correct term) and you know people who watch Fox “news” and listen to right wing talkers on the radio – people like Limbaugh, Hannity, and a plethora of others – you know already you can’t reason with them. They have been convinced, without real evidence, that they’ve been “educated” and that’s it. The other day, I thought Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump’s “senior advisor” – the front person in their war on truth – said something I’m sure at this point she regrets. While talking (arguing – which is her specialty) with Chuck Todd on MSNBC, (and, I have to add, I’m no fan of Todd – he’s proven over and over again he’s no match for the right wing spin machine) Conway – while referring to the discrepancies regarding claims about the number of people attending Trump’s inauguration – where Trump’s press secretary had made PROVABLE lies – said that the Trump administration has “alternative facts.”
This is nothing new if you’ve been paying attention – but it is the “engine” showing why Trump’s presidency is so dangerous. I’m already reading postings on web sites of the Trump supporters who’ve been sucked in “hook, line, and sinker” and you can’t reason with them. They have their “alternative facts” and that’s all they need. I’ve been pointing out for years on this site that Fox “news” (along with the right wing talkers) adopted Joseph Goebbel’s “Big Lie Theory” from their inception. They make it up as they go – in whatever way gets them to their desired “end.” (ie “the end justifies the means”) Those at the top are pathological liars – their victims, the people who watch and/or listen to their propaganda are simply Americans who don’t understand that anyone on TV as a “news commentator” would be spewing pure propaganda via provable lies. Of course, it’s up to each listener to verify what’s being said and I know very few who do that.
And, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that those on the “other side of the isle” (Democrats) are saints. The reality is that we all have our own perspectives and we “spin” what we see based on that. But, the difference is when what you’re saying is provably FALSE and you do (or should) know it. If this wasn’t so serious, for example, the display of Mr. Spicer – Trump’s press secretary – would have been pure folly. It would be a great lesson for a journalism professor to teach his/her students how NOT to give a press briefing. You would have to be totally oblivious to reality to believe what he was saying – yet, the next day here was Conway backing him up by claiming “we have our alternative facts.” (in an ideal world, the BEST journalism lesson from this situation would have been Spicer saying “I resign” when ordered to stand in front of MILLIONS and repeat a LIE.)
In my view, Trump and Conway fall into the category of pathological liars. By definition, a pathological liar is someone who compulsively tells lies or fabricates information. It is my belief that pathological liars are so “accustomed” to lying that they believe their own words as the words leave their mouths. If you’ve watched Donald Trump at all – and, if you’re like me and have relied on MSNBC for some of your “information,” you couldn’t help but watch Trump a lot – because they crammed Trump down our throats during the campaign – and, continue to do so to this day – the other day I saw him sign several executive orders – I honestly don’t remember a single instance of MSNBC or any other media outlet showing live a series of executive orders being signed. Back to my point – Trump’s LYING is nothing new. And, Kellyanne Conway is a master liar as well. She can look the camera right in the “eye” and give a total “falsehood” (in the words of Todd) with seemingly no visceral reaction. She is the BEST I’ve ever seen at what I call deflecting (not sure if it’s a real “term”). That is, she’ll be asked a question about, for example Trump’s admitting he’s a sexual predator, and her response will be that Hillary Clinton had a personal email server. When people who master these traits – lying, deflecting, and there are others I’m not mentioning here – like projection – get to the highest levels of government and they have fascist tendencies – LOOK OUT!
It’s not hard to realize that our president is a narcissist. But, here’s the definition in case you’ve missed it: “a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves. So, we’ve all got to live with this for the next four years (unless some republicans in Congress get some courage – or, maybe two years if the people protesting this last weekend actually turn their anger into purging republicans (and recalcitrant democrats) from congress. Conway was suggesting that Trump’s inauguration was attended by more people than those who showed up for Barack Obama’s inauguration (in both instances is wasn’t even close – especially Obama’s first inauguration) and she was trying to blow off the significance of the FACT millions of people ALL AROUND THE WORLD were in the streets as she was speaking; voicing their OPPOSITION to Trump’s agenda – and, presumably to Trump himself. I’m guessing there’s a lot of women who don’t want him grabbing their p@#$%^s no matter how famous he gets. Both Spicer and Conway were suggesting that if the “mainstream media” continues to report the TRUTH (of course, they didn’t characterize it that way) the Trump administration will bypass the press. When I’ve suggested, in the past, this is a WAR for the heart and soul of America – I hope you’re starting to realize why. Trump is a fascist and there’s way too many in America who either don’t understand this or who are OK with it.
The part of all this that is the most depressing to me is that “we the people” are pretty much relying on the democrats and the press to combat Trump’s agenda. In just four days Trump has played enough of his “hand” for us to realize that his intentions are far less than “honorable.” (at least from the perspective I see as “American”) He’s instituted “gag orders,” for example, in virtually every department of government – no one is to talk to the press. He’s freezing funds that have been appropriated for issues that relate to the environment, he’s signed orders to “restart” the two pipeline projects halted during the Obama administration (Keystone XL and Dakota Access) – one of which Trump has a financial interest in seeing completed (do you think republicans will “call” him on this?) Trump is ordering that information and data related to “climate change” be purged from the various agencies collecting and studying the data – information that could be lost FOREVER (unless courageous civil servants manage to copy the data prior to the purge – let’s hope). This is just the first few days – as I’ve said before, the DAMAGE Trump can do to our nation is almost unimaginable!
I was so encouraged by the “Women’s march” the day after the inauguration – but, we all need to realize that won’t stop him one bit. As he’s proclaiming that as many as 5 MILLION “illegals” voted in the last election – presumably ALL for Mrs. Clinton – Trump is saying he would have otherwise won the “popular vote” and therefore, he has a “mandate.” Here’s the reality: more than 65 MILLION Americans voted AGAINST Trump and of the 62 Million voting for him, a significant number were actually voting AGAINST Mrs. Clinton – in my view, largely due to the 25 years of republican made, and unsubstantiated in every instance, “scandals” that they were able to push into our “liberal media.” Which gets me to my concern regarding the media and the reality “we the people” are depending on them to expose EVERY illegal action of Trump’s administration – in fact, every ACTION – because some of the “legal” actions will be extremely damaging to the gains “we the people” have made since the 1930’s – most of which Trump wants to purge.
I’m of the age that I graduated from high school around the time of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution which propelled America headlong into the Viet Nam fiasco. I’ve watched the press closely most of the time between then and now. Like most Americans I want to believe our press is “neutral” and is reporting the “news” in an unbiased manner. Of course, it’s pretty much impossible for any human to be unbiased – but, I’ve always longed for any journalist who “tells it like it is.” Most journalists who fall in that category have been labeled “liberal” – by the so-called “mainstream media.” For example, Greg Palast, in my view, is a courageous reporter who “tells it like it is.” There’s many “corporatists” in America who don’t like that and, from what I can tell, Palast is “persona non grata” in the “liberal media.” I support the “Nation,” which is a liberal publication that “tells it like it is.” (The last part of that sentence is evidently what makes them liberal) When I read the “Nation” I feel as if I’m reading actual information. I’ve read some of Seymore Hersh’s work and, to me, he’s an investigative reporter who “tells it like it is.” These people are few and far between.
That all said, if you look at the history of our “liberal media” just in my adult lifetime – 1965 to the present – there are so many examples of the media in collusion with the government that it makes me REALLY nervous feeling as if I have to trust them to counter the actions of Donald Trump. How are they going to react when he decides to bypass them? What kind of “deals” will he make with the 9 CONSERVATIVE corporations which control almost ALL of the “liberal media?” (Thanks to Bill Clinton and the Telecommunications Act of 1996) Just take Viet Nam, for example. Our media – which would, in this instance, include the Movie Industry – is, to this day, glamorizing our troops involvement in Viet Nam and acting as if the MILLIONS of Vietnamese who were the VICTIMS of our nation’s overreach were not real. Our media condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons but was silent as America did the same thing. (I had friends who DIED due to their exposure to chemical weapons while fighting in Viet Nam). And, just as the media did when GW Bush/Dick Cheney invaded Iraq, during Viet Nam our troops were portrayed as protecting the people of South Viet Nam – at the same time they were FIGHTING the people of South Viet Nam. The almost EXACT same thing happened in Iraq.
So, is the press going to push back at Trump? Does the press in America believe in the foundations of the constitution and the advances so many have given so much allowing the rest of us to gain so much? And, if the press is unwilling to do their job – and, probably even if they are, are “we the people” willing to FIGHT for the rights many of us have been taking for granted over the years? Few Americans have had to fight for anything in the last 40 years (when I got out of high school there was a draft, and MILLIONS of unsuspecting young (mostly) men were sent to Viet Nam to fight an ill advised and illegal war – we were brainwashed into thinking we were saving the world from communism) Which gets me to my final point. Over the years, our media has essentially been part of a propaganda scheme that could end up being our undoing with the election of Trump.
Propaganda? America? I’m sure you’re saying that I’ve gone over the deep end. But, if you start reading as much about the “real” American history as I’ve been reading, the reality is more than sobering. I believe, we in America have been brainwashed. We’ve been convinced that we’re the greatest nation on the planet. (Yes, we are the wealthiest and most powerful, but the greatest? By who’s definition?) Our history is FULL of realities that the history books attempt to hide. Let’s start with Slavery. I believe America is still trying to push that reality “under the rug.” Abraham Lincoln absolved us of that issue, right? If that was really the case, Donald Trump, the head of the “birther” movement would have never gotten near the White House. What about our history with Native Americans. It’s not just that we killed many of them and pushed the rest onto reservations on land no one wanted – but, now over 100 years later that land has become more valuable and we’re going to put pipelines and who knows what else on that land. Treaties? What Treaties?
How about Chile, Panama, Ecuador, and all the other places in the southern hemisphere (and around the globe) where our corporate interests have superseded the will of the people in those countries – causing our CIA to instigate coups that overthrew democratically elected (albeit) socialist governments that were committed to protecting their natural resources – because those natural resources were necessary for the profitability of said corporate interests. How much of that was reported in the “liberal media?” How many stories have you read about people like Sukarno in Indonesia – slaughtering MILLIONS – but, opening the oil spigots to American corporations so he’s OK? I just finished a book about the Exon-Mobil corporation – who’s CEO is likely to be our next Secretary of State – how many stories have our “liberal media” reported about the regimes we support in return for access to their oil? Most people know about Saudi Arabia – but, how much do they know? We need the oil, we’re all driving cars everywhere, it’s no our problem, right? In the southern hemisphere MILLIONS of dissidents have “disappeared” over the years as we supported one dictator after another – where has our “liberal media” been on all of this?
And, now we have a president who’s coming right out front and claiming we “should have taken the oil” in reference to the invasion of Iraq! That’s right, during the campaign he said the invasion of Iraq was wrong and illegal (and, he dishonestly said he opposed it from the start) – but, evidently, as long as we were there – well, we might as well “grab the oil.” That, in and of itself, was one of the most absurd statements I’ve ever heard coming from the mouth of a US President – but, we’ll see how it evolves. The only person I’ve heard, to date, mention this as a significant issue is Rachel Maddow of MSNBC. It should be headline news and people should be beyond outraged. (I can guarantee you, it’s “headline news” in Iraq) As soon as our troops in Iraq again become the targets of the Iraqi’s they’re – at least they were at the end of Obama’s terms in office – fighting along side, – to remove ISIL – I guarantee you the reason will be Trump’s STUPID and DANGEROUS words he thoughtlessly spewed out at the CIA (all the while as he was dishonoring their “wall of honor”). Where is the media outrage – is it going to take Americans to lose their lives over this to get people’s attention? (and, God forbid, if that happens, I’m guessing Fox will find a way to blame it on Obama)
During the Iraq “war” the media reported it as if it was actually a war. In reality it was a non-provoked invasion of a sovereign nation. The media was diligent in reporting all the deaths of American troops as if they were the only real humans in the area. Roughly half of Iraq’s population of 26 MILLION was either uprooted or killed. Estimates that I remember (I read numerous books about the reality of the Iraq “war”) put the number of Iraq’s killed in the two to three MILLION range and the number injured and/or forced to flee their homes along the lines of another 10 MILLION. This “war” was represented in our “liberal media” as an invasion that would protect us from a “mushroom cloud” and, after the weapons of mass destruction excuse was debunked, we were there to create a democracy – and, free the people from the savage dictator Saddam Hussein. The reality was that our troops got sucked into an attack on the people of a sovereign nation with no purpose (or, were they actually thinking about the oil and just miscalculated?) – except, once the lies were exposed, the same end game that happened in Viet Nam kept us there. Figure out a way to “leave with honor.” Of course, there’s no way to do that and many of my friends, to this day, understand little to NONE of the reality of Iraq – in my view because our “liberal media” doesn’t tell the truth and, unfortunately, they’re too lazy to read about it from “reliable sources.”
And, now we’re relying on them (the media) to expose Trump – someone of whom you can safely say, “If his lips are moving, he’s lying.” I believe this is why so many Americans are upset and they don’t know what to do about it. The republicans in Congress are obstinate and they OBSTRUCTED virtually EVERY initiative proposed by President Obama and have fallen all over themselves to support Trump, the democrats don’t have the courage of their own convictions – the idea that all 48 members of the democratic caucus in the senate, for example, will band together to halt as much of trump’s agenda as possible is like a pipe dream, and, as I’ve tried to show, the media has been in collusion with the government for many years. Now, it’s true that everyone seems to see Trump as “different,” but, if he’s allowed to go unchallenged for even a short period of time – the damage could take a generation or more to correct. And, unfortunately, in the short term, the only challenge that I can see could derail his agenda would have to come from republicans – don’t hold your breath!
The damage coming from the rest of the world could be more significant and more enduring. For example, I can see the dollar losing its status as the world’s currency if other nations get upset enough with Trump’s bullying tactics. The reality is that there’s many around the world who don’t see America through the “rose colored lens” of our “liberal media” and they would be happy to see us become less relevant – if not irrelevant. Take the Russians for example. People like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were not fooled by the recent Russian adventurism while Trump was referring to their president as a great leader. Clearly, the Russians were doing everything they could to get Trump elected. Why? I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. However, I’ll end this by saying that, while “we the people” are upset with Donald Trump, (and I’ve tried to list “all the ways”) Vladimir Putin is all smiles.
Final thoughts: Will the investigations into Trump’s association with the Russians continue? Will the investigations into the Russian influence on the election continue? Will Trump be able to bully all of his adversaries into oblivion? Will the FBI’s intervention into the election be fully investigated? Will democrats “grow a pair?” Time will tell – but, I can assure you that if the democrats don’t lock arms and FIGHT, and, if the “liberal media” cows to Trump’s bullying tactics, this will not end well. Because, as anyone could see during the “Women’s March” – the numbers who oppose our new president are ENORMOUS! And, they’re willing to “hit the streets!”