This is from early sci-fi author H. G. Wells, written just over a century ago.
If it was true then, we can only imagine its value today, a time in which conspiracy theories abound, and tens of millions of American voters believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Donald Trump, and that climate change is a hoax, perpetrated so as to cripple the U.S. economy.
Which of Trump’s characteristics is most appealing to his support base? It’s certainly not that he behaves like an actual billionaire in terms of philanthropy.
It’s more the opposite, i.e., that his behavior is overtly disgusting. He aspires to be another Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, or Kim Jong Un; he couldn’t care less about the well-being of his country’s citizens, and almost half of these citizens are utterly charmed by his complete indifference and tough-guy demeanor.
Mike Lindell’s company MyPillow faces eviction from a Minnesota warehouse, as it apparently owes $217,000 in back rent. The CEO says his company is “fine” financially, but does that seem plausible?
Here’s a suggestion: Insofar as Lindell claims to have iron-clad evidence that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in favor of Biden, why not simply reveal the proof?
Think of all the wealthy beneficiaries of such an event, among them the 19 co-defendants in the Fulton County GA RICO case, three of whom have already flipped in favor of reduced sentences. Then add the 16 dangling on the hook, facing imminent criminal trials and lengthy prison terms. Is there a single one of these criminal idiots who wouldn’t happily pony up $217K as a gift to help out a friend who helped them beat the rap?
An article in National Public Radio begins:
A California judge has formally recommended that attorney John Eastman lose his law license for his role in Donald Trump’s legal effort to remain in power after losing the 2020 presidential election.
Eastman, a prominent figure in conservative legal circles and a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, played a key role in developing and backing a plan for states to send pro-Trump slates of electors to Congress and have then-Vice President Mike Pence unilaterally block or delay the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
“Eastman’s wrongdoing constitutes exceptionally serious ethical violations warranting severe professional discipline,” wrote California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland in her decision. “Eastman made multiple patently false and misleading statements in court filings, in public remarks heard by countless Americans and to others regarding the conduct of the 2020 presidential election and Vice President Pence’s authority to refuse to count or delay counting properly certified slates of electoral votes on January 6, 2021.”
Eastman is one of 19 co-defendants in the Fulton Country, GA RICO case that alleges a massive conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 president election in that jurisdiction. Apparently, the judge who wrote the decision above sees no reason to delay the disbarment measure until after the results of that case.
Sounds fine. Removing this criminal from public life asap seems like an excellent idea.
The meme here might cause Trump’s base to question their support.
On the other hand, they don’t seem too concerned about the former president’s honesty, sanity, and overall fitness to serve as U.S. president–regardless of the viewpoints of those who looked on in horror as he attempted to overthrow the U.S. government.
It wasn’t that long ago that America’s leaders were responsible and honest people, acting according to an understanding of what it means to make this nation great.
As shown at left, that meant, among other things, a tax schedule that encouraged investment on the part of the uber-rich and the corporations they controlled, rather than handing them trillions of dollars for them to hoard.
The problem, of course, is that almost half of the U.S. electorate believes the Big Lie, i.e., that the national security apparatus is a threat to Trump, the rightful president of the United States.
It’s interesting to watch the ultra-right-wing Heritage Foundation, through its media arm The Daily Signal, use PR to forward its messages. They start off with the same framework that we all use:
Find a piece of breaking news that has some conceivable relation to the story you’d like to deliver to your audience, and then write something that connects the two. The challenge: make sure the relationship between the news and your message isn’t so far-fetched that you look like a fool, which is precisely what has happened in the case below.
Here’s the connection that the Daily Signal makes in this piece:
News: Cargo ship crashes into bridge in Baltimore
Message: If U.S. maritime regulators weren’t distracted by the radical left’s concern for climate change mitigation, this wouldn’t have happened.
Now, does this sound like utter crap to you? Probably, but that’s because you’re not a regular consumer of this garbage, and you don’t have an appetite for “information” that is written only because it supports your political points of view.
I told my son the other day that, if Trump is re-elected, a significant number of Americans will be leaving the country, simply because they can’t stand to be led by a criminal sociopath, and all the degrading baggage than accompanies that.
Selling “God Bless the USA” bibles is just the latest example of the fact that no loss of dignity is too extreme for Trump and his supporters.
I remember attending a trade show at which a variety of new-age food items were being introduced. I ran across the vendor of a new orange soda that he marketed as “all-natural.”
“How much actual orange is in that can of soda?” I asked innocently.
“Zero,” came the response.
“Then are you saying that 100% of the orange flavor comes from one or more chemicals that simulate the taste of an orange?”
“Exactly.”
“Then in what sense can anyone possibly claim that this is a natural product? I’m not saying that it’s a bad product, but it’s certainly not natural.”
Greenwashing is all around us, and it’s not going away. There are organizations whose purpose is identifying and calling out cheaters in this space, though it seems unlikely that they can keep up with the liars.
