Columnist
NY Times
So again I must ask, where is your outrage? How is this happening? How is it being allowed to happen? Real people, Americans, are being allowed to get sick and die while Trump plays a political game. How long can this continue?
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Read the complete op-ed at the link.
No wonder the rest of the world is aghast at the massive failure of American democracy and our public institutions that were supposed to protect us from an evil, “maliciously incompetent,” totally unqualified “leader!”
PWS
07-20-20
I wholeheartedly agree, why isn’t the blatant wholesale destruction of American democracy by the Trump administration the dominant topic of every news program, talk show, and newspaper?
Could it be that there is no national discussion or debate about national issues because media, like other industries, is free of antitrust laws and thus free to consolidate and placate the public while pursuing a policy of “greed is good”?
One small example, take Bill Barr’s appearance before the House Judiciary Committee. He claims mail-in ballots open the door to voter fraud. Mail-in ballots enables signature/handwriting and the possibility of fingerprint verification as well as the inclusion of a copy of photo ID (if that’s not already a requirement of mail-in ballots) verification. What chance of corruption does computerized voting present? Even young people know computer is hacking is relatively easy and wide spread. By the way, one answer to combating computer hacking is to include paper ballots!
Yet Bill Barr, as well as Trump and the majority of Republicans, offer no evidence. They can’t, they can only provide anecdotes and hope that will be construed as representing the whole situation. We’re being played and the few who are calling them out on their lies are being buried in an avalanche of daily atrocities, brush fires we rush to address to hopefully extinguish.
First and foremost this is an information war, better known as propaganda. An open, intelligent discussion must be our first priority, otherwise we’ll end up under the thumb of a Kim Jong-un wannabe.
Thanks!
Part of the problem is that in a misguided attempt to be “fair,” on issues where truth is solely on the side Trump’s opponents, the “mainstream media” continuously provide Trump and his cult (that includes folks like Cotton, Barr, Peter Navarro, Jim Jordan, et al) with a forum to spew forth their lies, distortions, and false narratives. So, it’s not a legitimate debate. Indeed, it elevates fabricated, and most often bigotry, race, or nationalistic driven propaganda to the dignity of an “opposing view.” No, if I say 1 + 1 = 2, and someone else says 1 + 1 = 420, that’s not an “opposing view” — it’s total misleading BS. The 1st Amendment generally protects “BS’ers;” but it doesn’t guarantee them a particular forum or space in the NY Times, the Washington Post, or airtime on “Meet the Press” to present their false narratives. There is no shortage of right-wing media happy to present as gospel anything Trump and his sycophants send them and lots of folks out there who have suspended there belief in facts or human decency. But, I doubt that the rest of us owe them additional forums or “equal time.”
Trump is not a “normal President” in any way shape or form, not is today’s GOP a “normal political party.” To keep presenting them as anything other than the dangerous would-be authoritarian zealots and threats to our welfare and security that they are, is a dis-service. But, the media don’t seem to be able to help themselves.