Breaking Fake News Update (v27)

 Fake News Broke on 11/22/25!

Yep - you read that right: the way to make airline travel is to have people dress up before being crammed into their seats. At least, that's the word from former reality TV star Sean Duffy, our always impeccably-dressed-in-suits-worth-several-months-of-SNAP-benefits Transportation Secretary.

In a video released earlier this week, we see what travel was like in the olden days, compared to what it's like now. And don't get me wrong, the video shows some really heinous behavior by some real jerks. Everyone knows there's more of that kind of behavior now than there was in the distant past Duffy's pining for, and significantly more today than there was before COVID, even if the numbers have dropped. Social media definitely contributes to this - because someone's *always* filming, right? - as does the rude and bullying behavior of others, including politicians like Duffy's boss. After all, if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for the average Joe, right?

Duffy suggests that we're entering a new Golden Age of Travel, which, according to social media responses to his video from folks who fly regularly, is something only a person who rarely flies commercial could say. Is the age of expensive and often cancelled or delayed flights, cramped seats with zero legroom, extra charges for pretty much everything, and yes, airlines defending their practice of up-selling 'window seats' that don't have windows truly 'golden'? 

Duffy apparently thinks it could be, if only people started dressing better and acting better. 

Manners don’t stop at the gate... Let’s bring civility and manners back.

And do that, he suggests, by asking yourself five questions:

1. Are you helping a pregnant woman placing her bags in the overhead bin?
2. Are you dressing with respect?
3. Are you keeping control of your children?
4. Are you saying thank you to your flight attendants?
5. Are you saying please and thank you in general?

And after you do those things and get settled into your flight, don't pay attention to your paralyzed legs, cramped buttocks, sore back, expensive peanuts and beverages, and all the rest. 

Instead, manifest "the things that make travel fun," according to the DOT, which one of our anonymous sources mentions at the end of the BNFU shared above - "the excitement, the relaxation, the cordial conversation..."  

And when you find yourself waiting for your bags, or for your connecting flight, or waiting to rebook your cancelled flight, remember this, also from the DOT: 

Americans already feel divided and stressed. We can all do our part to bring back civility, manners, and common sense. When we can unite around shared values, we can feel more connected as a country. 

That's true, even if that shared value is "I hate airlines!"  Happy traveling!

And as always, when fake news breaks, we'll be here for it!

Sidebar: Sunday School 9/4/22

Martha Raddatz led the discussion in ABC's 'This Week' Sunday School classroom. During her interview with Keisha Lance Bottoms, a senior advisor to President Biden, she mentioned an organization I'd never heard of - the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. 

Regular readers know I can't help myself when this happens - I have to do some research. According to the About page on the organization's website, 

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to safeguarding human rights and reversing the tide of polarization, extremism and disinformation worldwide. 

And, it's been around for a decade-and-a-half, with headquarters in London and folks in DC, Germany, Jordan, Kenya, and France. 

Since 2006, ISD has been at the forefront of analysing and responding to extremism in all its forms. Our global team of researchers, digital analysts, policy experts, frontline practitioners, technologists and activists have kept ISD’s work systematically ahead of the curve on this fast-evolving set of threats. We have innovated and scaled sector-leading policy and operational programmes – on- and offline – to push back the forces threatening democracy and cohesion around the world today.

Aa a result of its efforts, the website says

Thousands of white supremacist, Islamist and covert disinformation Twitter accounts, Telegram channels and Facebook pages, groups and accounts have been removed as a result of ISD’s digital analysis and advocacy.

Here's how the ISD was brought up in the classroom on Sunday. When asked how Biden's speech was "unifying," Bottoms said, in part, 

So, the president spoke optimistically about who we are as Americans. We are the greatest nation in the world. But also, a reminder that we have to be intentional about being the greatest nation in the world and that we have to call out hatred. We have to call out this balance and that if we don’t, our democracy is in danger.

And Raddatz responded

Whatever you said, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which tracks hate speech, said after the Biden speech, there was a surge online in conversations that said Biden’s remarks singling out MAGA Republicans were interpreted as a declaration of war against conservatives and all the Trump voters.

Now, given the organization's focus on hate speech, disinformation and the like, I'm not at all surprised they'd see an uptick, are you?

I was surprised, though, when I checked the ISD website for the info Raddatz mentioned; there was a blurb about Raddatz saying ISD said there was a surge, but I didn't find anything else about it.

I did, however, find a great deal of information using 'Donald Trump' and 'MAGA' as search keywords. Here's some of what the ISD folks have posted. 

• Gunman who tried entering FBI's Cincinnati office is a suspected 'extremist'
• Why did the January 6 rioters plot in plain sight?
• Conspiracies build communities as Trump supporters claim false flag
• Trump leans on Dutch farmers protest against climate measures to rally US base: "You're Next"
• Trump's post-Jan 6 Speech Fails to Convince MAGA nation to concede
• All I know is What's on The Internet: Trump Conspiracy and Extremism
• How the Big Lie conspiracy continues to threaten US democracy
• Narratives of Violence around the 2020 Presidential Election
• The Dominion Voting Systems Election Narrative: Beginnings
• The Dominion Voting Systems Election Narrative: Going Viral
• Dark MAGA: The Latest Cycle in the Far-Right Aesthetics Laundromat
• Trumpists coming together behind 'Dark MAGA' in preparation for 2024
• The Long Road to the Capitol: A Constellation of Actors
• The Boom Before the Ban: QAnon and Facebook
• Online Reactions of the Far-Right to the Far-Left
• Why Voter Fraud Narratives Remain Persistent

Even an article on Canadian right-wing extremism mentions, more than once, Donald Trump and US right-wing extremism.

It's fine if Raddatz wants to quote outside organizations - she also mentioned a Quinnipiac poll, which I'll look at later this week. I just wish she had been more thoughtful about it.

• Either she knew that ISD's data and analysis supported Biden's point about Donald Trump and his right-wing extremist followers and chose to ignore that, or she didn't bother to check.
• Either she knew that Biden's speech specifically didn't attack all conservatives and all Republican voters and chose to ignore that, or she didn't bother to check.

Unless, of course, she was looking for the soundbite that would get trending on social media? 

And blaming Biden for inspiring right-wingers to go nuts online is pretty silly, isn't it? I mean, it's not like they need the current president to inspire them; they've got the former president doing that all day long on his Truth Social platform. 

I'm pretty sure they don't need any extra help from Martha Raddatz.

Wondering on Wednesday 5/25/22

Right off the bat, I remind everyone that thoughtful discussion is always welcomed here at veritable pastiche, and I warmly encourage your constructive and respectful comments, if you're so inclined. 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Another day, another school, another group of slaughtered children, another round of thoughts and prayers. And, another round of wondering.

• I wonder how it is that we so readily pass legislation requiring preparation for large-scale threats, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly pass rules requiring us to remove our shoes, have our body physically patted down or x-rayed, and regulating the size of personal products to board airplanes, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass legislation banning social media companies from silencing so-called "conservative thinkers", but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass retribution language against companies who use their corporations are people too' freedom to actually speak out on issues that matter to their customers, employers and investors, but we there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws protecting people from sign-waving, chalk-wielding protestors but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws confining women inside their state borders, to prevent them from seeking medical care in another state, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws preventing parents from providing loving care to their children, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws allowing unlicensed, untrained people to carry guns, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily gerrymander the crap out of our state and federal district maps but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws turning neighbor against neighbor, with cash incentives, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws forcing women to give birth, but there's nothing we can do about the mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily authorize sending tens of billions of dollars to a foreign country, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new legislation "freeing" us from public health mandates, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new legislation cutting health care programs, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass bills encouraging book banning, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new legislation taking tax dollars out of public education, and shifting those dollars to private schools, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass laws allowing just about any professional to refuse to provide services to people they don't like, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily rise to defend statutes and historical monuments, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass new laws freeing people from consequences when they drive through protests, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

• I wonder how it is that we can so quickly and easily pass legislation banning trans athletes from participating in athletics, but there's nothing we can do about mass murder...

I wonder how, in the land of the free and the home of the brave, there's nothing we can do about mass murder... 

I wonder how, in a world where "All Lives Matter," there's nothing we can do about mass murder. 

I wonder why the very best that the very best of us can do is offer thoughts and prayers.

I wonder why we are so complacent. 

I wonder how we are sleeping at night, knowing that children are not coming home from school, and people are not coming home from the grocery store, not coming home from religious services, not coming home from the movies. People are not coming home. Again.

They. Are. Not. Coming. Home.

What are you wondering about?

Sunday School 5/15/22: Extra Credit

For your Extra Credit, I'm continuing the discussions from the Sunday School classrooms on the shooting in Buffalo, NY which left 10 dead and three wounded.

I decided to see what the Meet the Press panel had to say about things. What's-his-name had Rev. Al Sharpton; Susan Page (USA Today); Matt Bai (WaPo); Al Cardenas, a GOP strategist, and Ashley Parker (WaPo) in for the chat.

Reverend Al started things off, describing where we start t0 address the "toxic stew" of white supremacy, guns, and a "permissive Internet culture" for sharing the toxicity and hate. He said we need to change the tone nationally, and relayed his first thoughts when he started hearing the news out of Buffalo.

President Biden needs to call a summit meeting of Black, Jewish, Asian leaders and sit down and talk about the growing problem of hate crimes, and that this government will not stand by and allow this to happen. 

The tone needs to be such that folks like the perpetrator know that the federal government is watching them, will not tolerate the hate that's being spread, and "will come down on them." And it's not just against Blacks, but Jews, Asians, LGBTQ, Latinos - "it's hate everywhere." 

Cardenas was tasked with talking about how there aren't "enough leaders on the right" to call out the hatemongers.

Listen, there used to be political parties...there used to be serious politicians who would step up and speak out against these kinds of things. When David Duke ran for office, hey, I spoke out as party chairman. Others did. It was well known that he was an individual on his own, not part of a family. Now, it's to the contrary. People keep silent, and that silence is interpreted in ways that are not healthy. I'll tell you this. I'm frustrated in America that we're so incapable of doing things.

He thought, after George Floyd was killed and we had all the demonstrations, things would change. He thought the same after Parkland, and the Pulse nightclub shootings. 

But when you look at this, the frustration in America has to do with the fact that horrific things are happening, government's not doing anything, and political leaders are not doing anything. And that's what the calamity is. 

Parker said "the other component of this, of course, is guns." Tone matters, as Sharpton said; it matters "incredibly."

But then you look at how all of these hate crimes are committed, and they are all committed with guns. And this is an area where Congress has been able to do absolutely nothing. There will be – you saw people you were interviewing talking about sensible gun reform. But you look at Sandy Hook. You look at kindergarteners massacred. You look at Mother Emanuel, a shooting in a church. You look at what happened in Las Vegas at the country music concert. Guns have now touched every aspect of society, and Congress has been able to do absolutely nothing.

Page spoke of the feeling of helplessness we have, after each of these incidents, and said "there are, in fact, things that we could do."

Law enforcement could do more to surveil these toxic sites. Social media companies could do more to bring them down. The news media could do more to cover them. Lawmakers could do more to find some kind of common ground on guns. And Americans could stand up and say, "These shootings, these hate shootings do not reflect America. This is a radical fringe." Americans need to stand up and say, "We won't stand for this anymore."

Bai, who covered Columbine back in 1999, said these mass shootings are "now a part of the culture. It's a recurring thing." And while he agrees with Parker that "Congress has done absolutely nothing," he might disagree with Reverend Al.

...I don't think – and we may disagree about this. I'm certain, you know, I can have a disagreement with a lot of people – I don't think this is a more hateful, more racist country than it was 25 years ago, certainly not 50 years ago. I do think we have a segment of our political leadership that has emboldened and legitimized a very extreme and dangerous segment of our political dialogue. And they have to take responsibility for that. There's a culpability for that. And it is tied to the violence. 

That's the problem, then: that no one takes responsibility for legitimizing the hate; or, the problem is, it's "an organizing tool", said What's-his-name; or, the problem is that it's been "normalized." That last one's what Reverend Al thinks.

You have to remember, this is an 18-year-old that is accused in Buffalo. When he was 15, Charlottesville happened. The president of the United States at that time said, "There are good people, or fine people, on both sides." So, this gives them comfort... a tone was set while this guy was a kid, being impressionable, that this is all right to be marching, saying, "Jews will not replace me." That's what he saw at 15 years old. And he saw it from the White House.

Parker reminded everyone that Joe Biden ran for president because of what happened in Charlottesville. "And now, you look at what's happening, and it feels like nothing has changed. The culture is the exact same." 

Another thing that's the same is that "...a whole bunch of Republicans in Congress" scream about free speech whenever anyone tries to deal with this kind of domestic terrorism, according to What's-his-name.

Page said that free speech is important - but, she said, it's "not a license to endorse things like replacement theory, this terrible, terrible theory that there's an elite, many of them Jews, trying to replace America with a Black and Brown nation to dilute the power of white people. That is un-American."

Bai, who said he's "as close to a free speech absolutist as you're probably going to find," believes that "free speech is threatened in a lot of corners of society," but that speech "demands leadership."

When you have a society that is free, you also have to have a society with leaders who stand up for morality and for the right instincts in the culture so that you don't take things that are on the margins of the society, as you say, and bring them into the mainstream and legitimize them. We have failed on that count. And we continue to fail. And these are the consequences. 

It's "now a part of the culture." "We're incapable of doing things." "The government isn't doing anything." "Political leaders aren't doing anything." "Nothing has changed."  "We have failed. And we continue to fail." "Americans need to stand up and say, we won't stand for this anymore." "And these are the consequences."

It's hard to disagree with them, isn't it?

See you around campus.

TGIF 4/15/22

I'm doing only good-week reports today. There'll be plenty of time for the bad-week folks another day. 

Let's start with talking mushrooms. Yep - that's what at least some scientists are saying. It seems that electrical signals sent fungi to fungi via underground filaments are similar to language. Here's a bit from the article.

The split gill fungus formed the most complex “sentence structures,” and Professor Adamatzky suggested that the most likely purpose for this electrical dialogue is to keep integrity between the parts of the mycelium. Mycelia makes up more than 90% of the total biomass of fungi, and the filaments can stretch for hundreds of feet, connecting trees, other plants, and other fungi, so keeping the mycelia integrated, Adamatzky said, could be similar to the way wolves howl to keep all members of the pack integrated.

Other scientists are not so sure; it could be a case of 'seek, and ye shall find' exactly what you're seeking. 

Here's something that's never happened before: On Tuesday, Alyssa Nakken became the first female 0n-field coach in the history of major league baseball. She got her chance when the 1st base coach for the San Francisco Giants, Antoan Richardson, was ejected in the third. Here's how she looked at the historic moment.

Everybody can just see that there are a lot of opportunities in baseball. Sometimes I think we always limit ourselves to thinking what we could do. At least that’s my experience. I never thought that I could do something like this because I never saw it. So, I think, sure, it’s certainly important for people to be able to see that this is an opportunity and they can see somebody that kind of looks like them going out there and coaching in the big leagues.

Seek, and ye shall find opportunities you never thought existed.

Sticking with baseball for just a moment longer, today is Jackie Robinson Day in the majors, where every player on every team wears Robinson's number 42 in honor of his breaking the league's color barrier 75 years ago today.

This year’s celebration marks not just the 75th anniversary of Jackie’s debut but also the 25th anniversary of then-Commissioner Bud Selig’s announcement that Robinson’s No. 42 would be retired across MLB. Ten years after that landmark 1997 decision, Griffey requested and received permission to wear No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day, and a few other players took part. And in 2009, the practice of every player, coach and manager wearing No. 42 on April 15 became a new tradition.

Seek, and ye shall find a way to change the game.

Moving on, we've got a nine-year-old fashion designer. Kaia Aragon, a third-grader, designs and sews her own clothes, after being taught to sew by her mom when she was five. You can see her designs via a link in the article; she shares them on her mom's TikTok page. 

Now, as a person who had to finish her junior high sewing project during the summer break, in order to avoid taking an incomplete, I can't even comprehend how Kaia does what she does. My project? A denim skirt, in case you were wondering. Which I'm pretty sure I never wore, but at least I finished the darn thing. In August. Ugh.

And speaking of better late than never, 101-year-old Merrill Pittman Cooper of West Virginia was given an honorary diploma recently.

As a high school student, Cooper attended Storer Normal School, taking several college prep courses. While he planned on attending college, life got in the way and he moved to Philadelphia and never graduated. Four years ago, he visited the campus and spoke of regretting not getting a degree. Family members worked with officials to make magic, and Cooper received his degree in March. 

Good for him, and for all involved in making this happen. 

Sticking with making good things happen, there's a new social media platform - and no, I'm not talking about Truth Social, I'm taking about Supernova. 

It is billed as an ethical alternative to Facebook and Instagram, which have been jointly dogged by accusations of ramping up misinformation and damaging mental health. O’Meara wants to test his belief that a growing slice of the population is craving a life- affirming, glass-half-full outlook instead.

What's different about this site? The company puts 60% of its ad revenue in an 'action fund,' and users get to determine how the money is divvied up among several different "causal areas." The target audience for Supernova? Millennials and Gen Z.

And in the end, the likes you give and get mean money for causes you like. Many things could be worse than that.

Speaking of giving and getting likes, I hope you like this one - a doggy tale, with a very happy ending. Duke, a homeless dog, made friends with US Army troops stations in Kosovo. The dog and the troops bonded, with the dog making them feel less homesick, and them making the dog feel loved. 

A sergeant at the base wanted to get Duke off the streets, and worked with Paws of War, charity that helps soldiers bring dogs home. And then, Duke stopped coming by. The soldiers eventually found him, and it was heartbreaking - he had been shot. After emergency surgery and six months of recovery, he's expected to get here this month.

This was a familiar story to me; a coworker went to Florida to pick up a dog that was shipped here from Afghanistan at the request of her future son-in-law, and a friend of mine adopted the mama dog, who also came over. The bonds these kids we send overseas make with these dogs is really something, and so is the love that brings them back together here. 

I'm not a religious person, but today is Good Friday, after all, and so I'll close with the story of the youngest Catholic bishop in the US: Bishop Joseph Espaillat, the 45-year-old 'rapping bishop' from New York City. And why does he rap? 

There was a talent show at this parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, and a couple of the young boys wanted to rap, but you know these secular songs and they had a lot of bad words in them," he told Al. "And I said, 'I bet you money, I could come up with a rap song' ... and they were like, 'Oh no, Father, you can’t rap,' and I was like, 'Watch.' I was like, challenge is on, so I took the challenge."

He says he just uses his talents to speak to his community, the same way Jesus did. Which is probably good advice for many 'religious' people these days, and on  this day.

TGIF, everyone. 

The Update Desk: No True Supporter of Mine

One of last week's posts was about the president's well-known penchant for encouraging his supporters to be violent, and applauding them when they are.  I did the post to show that he doth protest too much when he says there's no room in MAGAville for violence, and that no true supporter of his would ever do anything like what his true supporters did on January 6th. 

The post cited a number of examples, including the one below, which were collected by folks at Vox.

December 2016: After Trump bullied then-Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly for months, Kelly said that Trump’s social media director was responsible for inciting the many death threats she was receiving. “The vast majority of Donald Trump supporters are not at all this way,” Kelly said, according to the Guardian. “It’s that far corner of the internet that really enjoys nastiness and threats and unfortunately there is a man who works for Donald Trump whose job it is to stir these people up and that man needs to stop doing that. His name is Dan Scavino.”

According to this article in the NY Times, announcing his promotion to Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications last April,

Mr. Scavino, a constant presence whether the president is in the White House or traveling, flags content from the internet for his boss and is said to be the only aide with access to Mr. Trump’s personal Twitter account. He is one of the aides Mr. Trump trusts without reservation.

Scavino was such a crucial component of the president's social media activities that he was named in the lawsuit in 2017 when Trump was sued for blocking people from Twitter.  The NY Times tried to dig into what Scavino did, and found truth in what Megyn Kelly had said. Scavino was the "secretary of offense," the guy "whose job is to help @RealDonaldTrump stay unpresidential." And he was good at it. 

Now and again, Trump would enlist Scavino... to act as a proxy, attacking the campaign’s enemies from his own account. At other times, Scavino took the initiative himself... In March 2016, Scavino retweeted a conspiracy video purporting to demonstrate that Cruz was having an affair with a former aide, Amanda Carpenter. Carpenter, who is married with children, went on the air and heatedly denied any impropriety. She also condemned Scavino by name, calling his attack a “smear job.”

“It was a campaign, and they fight dirty, and they didn’t mind if I was collateral damage in the process,” Carpenter told me. “And they won. And no consequences. What Scavino did to me and what he still does to others would get any other professional fired. In Trump’s universe, it’s a qualification. A willingness to engage in lies and smears on behalf of Donald Trump is a sign of loyalty that Trump treasures.”

Now, why the focus on Scavino, you ask? Well, Scavino was honored by the Department of Defense last week. From his own Facebook page, we see that he was awarded the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service. 

The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the Secretary of Defense, to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole, or a DoD Component or function, where recognition at the component level would not be sufficient for the service rendered.

Now, like all of these honorary awards, lots of people get them for things that we regular folk don't recognize as being exceptional in any way - and that's true across multiple administrations, it's not just a Trump thing. 

In light of Scavino's role as Secretary of Offense for the president, and of keeping Trump's social media accounts unpresidential, and of attacking any and all comers, for any number of made-up reasons, it's kind of hard to swallow this line from Scavino's citation:

As a result of his tireless efforts, the United States is safer, stronger and freer. 

Safer? Ask any of the Capitol Police officers who were injured during the insurrection. Ask the Vice President, Mother, and their daughter if they felt safe at the Capitol. Ask any of the members of Congress who were trapped, or ask their staffers, barricaded in rooms with Trump supporters banging on the doors trying to get in.

Stronger? I guess you could say we're stronger, in that we did not break, but there are rifts that may never heal and will never be forgotten.

Freer? With state and federal elected officials under constant threat, with election volunteers under threat, with DC in complete lockdown so we can inaugurate the next leader of the free world?

I'm sorry, awarding the attack dog for making us "safer, stronger and freer" is not "creating unity," as the Rs like to say. It's not "creating accountability," as the Rs like to say. It's the opposite of that, in fact.  

Not only that, but the citation says he was Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications from January 2017 to January 2021. That, folks, is untrue. 

Oopsie. 

The Irony Board: The 'Silenced' on FNC

I can't help laughing at all of the folks on the right who are up in arms about social media companies restricting their 'free speech' and complaining that they are being 'silenced' by Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and others. 

Why laugh, you ask? I only know they're complaining about being silenced because they're going on Fox News and telling everyone about it. 

For example, here's California farmer and Medal of Freedom recipient Rep. Devin Nunes, speaking on Sunday Morning Futures, hosted by Maria Bartiromo on Fox News (emphasis added).

But it's more than the just the financial aspect of that. Republicans have no way to communicate. It doesn't even matter if you're Republican or conservative, if you don't want to be regulated by left-wingers that are at Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, where you get shadow-banned and nobody gets to see you and they get to decide what's violent or not violent, it's preposterous.

Yep - this is Devin 'frivolous lawsuit-filer' Nunes, the guy who sued Twitter because a parody account said mean things about him. But censorship is bad... and he gets to decide what's mean or not... Got it. 

And, the part about having no way to communicate? Saying that on a Fox News Channel (FNC) show, on not just the most-watched conservative network, but on the network that "crushed records and delivered the largest total day and primetime audience among total viewers in cable news history" in 2020, according to the Nielsen folks? Some irony there, right? 

And now, we've got this guy, Rep. Tom Kading, a state legislator from North Dakota, who is following in Nunes' footsteps. Speaking on Fox and Friends earlier today, Kading said he had drafted a bill back in December stating that

social media sites would be liable in a civil lawsuit for damages to a North Dakota resident "whose speech is restricted, censored, or suppressed," as long as it is not "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable."

And, since he introduced the bill, "things have only gotten worse," he said.

I'm frankly shocked at what's happening to our country and censoring does not create unity, it does not help the situation of division in our country, and it does not de-escalate the situation. All it really does is make those who have been silenced dig in deeper and be more suspicious of what's going on.

He's right: censoring doesn't create unity, or de-escalate the situation. Neither does tweeting relentlessly and untruthfully about a stolen election, or that the media are the enemy of the people and everything they report that is not to your liking is fake news, or that everything is beautiful and perfect when the entire universe knows it's not, or that the pandemic is under control, or that those who disagree with you is not a real American, or that people who don't do your bidding deserve to be driven out of office, and so on.  

I'd suggest that suing social media companies also doesn't create unity, or de-escalate things -and, Kading notably doesn't offer anything that does do those things. Not only that, but are social media companies or traditional media companies, including FNC in the unity-creating business anyway

Kading also talked about some other risks.

If a website comes out and selectively publishes information or manipulates true information in order to create a certain desired narrative, this restrictive action can essentially amount to defamation.

And, there's the real irony - the selective publishing, the manipulation of the truth, the defamation he mentions. 

Kading, remember, was talking on Sunday Morning Futures, just one of the FNC shows that had to run a tasty disclaimer - excuse me, a 'fact checking story,' correcting each show's lies.

In a three-minute segment aired on three shows that previously played host to some of the more zany election fraud claims coming from Trump’s advocates—Fox Business’ “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” and Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo’s “Sunday Morning Futures” and Jeanine Pirro’s “Justice with Judge Jeanine”—Fox News appeared to retract allegations made against Smartmatic.

Dominion Voting Systems is not done yet, either; the company also warned Fox and others back in December that legal action is coming. 

Dominion Voting Systems, one of the targets of President Donald Trump’s baseless conspiracy theories about the election that he lost, has warned Fox News, major Fox personalities, other conservative media outlets, radio host Rush Limbaugh and conservative lawyers that defamation litigation against them is “imminent.”

The voting machine company this week has sent 21 letters to the White House, Fox News, its hosts Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, the news outlets Newsmax, One America News Network, Epoch Times and others demanding they stop making defamatory claims about Dominion and that they preserve any documents they have relating to the firm.

Want even more irony? How about a settlement with the family of someone who was disparaged on the network ?

The Fox News Channel has reached a private settlement with the parents of the slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. The network had baselessly reported in May 2017 that Rich leaked thousands of Democratic party emails to Wikileaks during the height of the 2016 presidential campaign. 

The story, reported by Fox News' Malia Zimmerman and retracted seven days later, also suggested without any evidence that Democrats might have been linked to the killing of the 27-year-old Rich, a crime that has not been solved to this day. In response to NPR's questions, a Fox News spokesperson tells NPR that Zimmerman is no longer with the network. 

"The settlement with Fox News closes another chapter in our efforts to mourn the murder of our beloved Seth, whom we miss every single day," Joel and Mary Rich wrote in their statement. "We are pleased with the settlement of this and sincerely hope that the media will take genuine caution in the future."

I don't know about you, but if I was worried about censorship and divisiveness and a lack of unity, I'd probably find a different network to help share my story than the original - and still the best - home of division and loose facts.  

In Case You Missed It (v57)

Let's stroll down short-term memory lane, shall we? Here's your recap of last week's posts.

For your Sunday School, I literally drew names to see what classrooms I'd visit, and I ended up with George Stephanopoulos and Jake Tapper, which is better than ending up with Chuck Todd, wouldn't you agree?  

George talked with Jason Miller, a campaign guy from the Trump team. 

Miller was happy to talk happily about how happy everyone is that Trump is happily getting over his case of COVID-19 and how happy his doctors are not telling us the truth and stuff, and when George pointed out that 72% of respondents in a recent poll said Trump didn't take the risk of getting COVID-19 seriously enough and had not even protected himself, Miller recited all the things that Trump did that were completely unresponsive to the question. 

George tried to help him out by giving some concrete examples: 

... the president had to take it head-on, but he didn't have to have -- hold rallies where people did not social distance, where did not wear masks. He didn't have to mock former Vice President Joe Biden for wearing a mask and reporters who wore masks. He didn't have to continue to go to event after event without wearing a mask.

Again, we have an epic fail from Miller: the president is one of the most tested people in the country...  anyone spending time with him is tested before hand, they keep their distance - 

 -- the closest I ever get to the president is about eight feet, maybe six feet, usually a pretty solid distance back. A lot of times it's more like ten feet. 

Eight feet, six feet, ten feet - don't ever go fishing with this guy, he'll turn a guppy into a shark... 

In the CNN State of the Union classroom, Tapper continued his 'take no prisoners, I'm going to say what people all across the country are saying, and I don't care' attitude. Some people find it annoying; I find it refreshing. Check the post for his conversation with Ohio's Gov. Mike DeWine, one of many who won't say a bad thing about the president if you stood them in the middle of 5th Avenue... 

Your Extra Credit post had another Trump campaign guy, Steve Cortes, in the Fox News Sunday classroom. His rose-colored-glasses are even rosier than Jason Miller's.  Wallace pointed out what everyone knows -- someone, or maybe everyone - wasn't telling the truth about the president's health. 

As to the doctor lying, or Mark Meadows lying, Cortes didn't want to talk about that but when Wallace asked if the American people don't deserve the truth, Cortes said yes, and he was the one giving it to us. And, of course,

... we talk directly to the patient, in this case the President of the United States, who tells us things are going great. The whole world heard directly from the doctor who said things are going great. I mean to me, if the patient and the doctor say things are great and you hear from both of them and see both of them, to me, that is sort of case closed, really.

Yes - when the man who has told over 20,000 lies in his short time in office says he's healthy, we should believe him.

Mid-week, I was Wondering on Wednesday about all kinds of stuff, including the head-spinning announcement that Trump was pulling his negotiators and that we wouldn't see any stimulus until after he wins the election. Take a look.

Will there be a stimulus payment for Americans who are struggling and those who are not? Will there be a bailout for the 'too big to fail' airline industry?  Do we have to wait until after the election, when Donald Trump says he will be elected, before we'll see a rescue plan - for anyone? Or, maybe, those hearty, wholesome, crime-free red states will get some stimmy, and us blue-staters will have to wait until... when, I wonder? But the big wondering is, what happens if we hold off on handing out any relief until after the election and (drum roll please) Donny gets sent packing?  Who gets the bump then? Blue states? Blue states and maybe purple swing states that voted for Papa Joe and Mom-ala? I mean, has Trump thought this through, I wonder?

We now know, of course, that Trump hadn't thought it through, and then he came out with a couple of different 'roid-influenced statements and now, honestly, I don't even remember for sure whether anyone's talking or not.  

Thursday was a two-fer; the first post brought my recap of the vice-presidential debate. I focused not the talkin points that Sen. Kamala Harris and VP Mike Pence gave, and not on zingers they were trying to inject into the Interwebs, but rather on their answers to specific questions they were asked. Here's a look at a couple of those.  First, a question to Pence (PQ), the leader of the White House Coronavirus Task force:

PQ. Why is the US death toll, as a percentage of our population, higher than that of almost every other wealthy country?

A.

That's right - no answer. And here's a pretty important question for Sen. Harris (HQ):

HQ.  have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with Vice President Biden about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of presidential disability? And if not, and if you win the election next month, do you think you should? 

A.

Yeah, no answer to that one either.  Neither of them answered direct questions on the economy, or on abortion... We really need to change the way we do these darn things. (I've talked about this before.)

The second post was a Quick Take on the domestic terrorism plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and law enforcement officers. Whitmer, you may remember, has been a thorn in the president's side on all things related to the pandemic, and he famously tweeted that her state should be liberated, around the time that armed protesters were gathering, confronting legislators and police, and what not.  Here are a couple of thoughts on that kind of thing, from Whitmer at the time of the tweet, and from LEOs announcing the arrests of the terrorist militia members.

When she was asked then whether the president's tweet might encourage more protests, Whitmer hoped it wouldn't, and "she also noted that people are feeling anxious about the pandemic and its economic fallout. And, she said.

The most important thing that anyone with a platform can do is to try and use that platform to tell people, 'We're going to get through this."

The collected federal and state law enforcement officers spoke of "elaborate plans" to kidnap Whitmer and overthrow the government, and referred to the "rather unprecedented" nature of the case - and, I'd suggest, the rather unprecedented state of affairs in the country today. 

...it does send a very vivid reminder that while we may be in a period of discourse, possibly even divisiveness and fighting across the nation, law enforcement stands united.

And finally, blissfully, it was time for your TGIF. I'd been reading lots of comments on lots of subjects, and used the post to recount some of them. Here's a couple for you.

Some people who think it's offensive to talk about the fly on Mike Pence's head think it's perfectly OK to call people names, including libtard. Apparently insECTS are must worse than insULTS. (I love that one!)

Some people think that white supremacists and BLM are literally the same people.(Not just Joe Biden literally, but actually - literally - the same people.)

Chew on that last one for a bit... I did, for sure. 

So that's it -- your veritable pastiche from last week.  See you later for Sunday School. 

Quick Takes (v52): Everybody's Talking

Quick Takes

We know, of course, that not all comments on social media are sincere; some are, certainly, but others are simply meant to anger, or to rile people up, or just to allow someone to be obnoxious.

Here in my neck of the woods, there's been a plan floated by a local businessman to paint Black Lives Matter, similar to how this has been done in DC and other cities, on a two-block section of one of the streets downtown. Currently, the plan is to paint the 'symbol of unity' on Friday, as part of the recognition of Juneteenth.  Local media pages are pushing the news, and the comments are about as one might expect.

Here's a sampling from a couple of different Facebook posts.

I love they are putting Blue Lives Matter all over everything glad (the) city is working with the police  Thank You!!!!!!

Amid COVID-19, they're still holding Juneteenth, but they take away Taste of Syracuse and other festivals because of this? Um okay.... Unfair, can anyone say that?  

 It's all about pressure, if you don't give in the the BLM they trash the place...again. 

Unfair

I don't endorse terrorist groups. 

 Will it be permanent or just part of the celebration? Many people use and prefer the term ALL LIVES MATTER so this isn't really a symbol of unity.

Only racist people use and prefer all lives matter.

Not even close to true.  A very racist and divisive statement. Please join us in the 21st century.

So, what you're saying is that ALL LIVES which includes black lives don't matter. Maybe you're racist.

I'm not 100% white and I believe all lives matter...matter of fact I come from a multicultural family... For people to continuously use the term 'white privilege' when one states their opinion and feelings that they believe every cultural background's lives are important, itself is a racist statement.

Well, until black lives matter, then all lives do not matter, unless you don't count black people as people.

Great choice, Syracuse! Absolutely the symbol of unity should be painted instead of BLM.

How equal is that pray tell as I see it it's one sided.

The media is taking all of this for a ride!!! 

How is this painting 'unity.' If it was unity it would be ALL lives matter. We all matter. One race. The human race! 

I would like to lay a couple strips of rubber across that saying.

 Proud to see this happening!

So glad to hear they will be painting the American flag.

Who's paying for this, the City?

Maybe the rest of us need to get together and pain on the roads and highways with all lives matter.

Who's symbol of unity is that? It symbolizes a further divide. 

 All lives matter regardless of color or occupation.

That's not unity. That is graffiti at best and endorsement of a terrorist group at worst.

BLM is a movement not a group.

It's nice to see this.

That needs to be paved over. 

Yup acid needs to be spilled on the street right there

Because painting the road solves all of life's problems. Ignorant!!!

Only paint what the woke want.

Sure let's bring segregation back. 

Give them paint to paint their houses!! Now there's something ambitious!

Why?

Because black lives matter just as much as white lives and cop lives.

And who is paying for this to be done? Taxpayers??

So, defacing the road is not criminal activity. I guess I'm going to paint on City Hall too. A big penis because they are allowing dick moves haha

They should use black paint.

This needs to end ASAP!!! Get the guards! 

How about a mural or painting for missing children next to it?

Does no one see this entire black lives matter  poor me movement hypocritical and racist? I guess it's do as I say and not as I do. 

But the road is already black. Blacktop matters.

Put it in front of Planned Parenthood .... that's where lots of black lives are taken

Every life matters so sick of all about black people. FYI 90% of black people. It's insane. It should be ALL Lives matter.

So ridiculous, everyone is too afraid to say this is wrong.

We better get this country back quick or it's gone. Stop pandering to the liberal Democrats. 

So, what do you think? Are these comments:

• Sincere
• Meant to rile people up
• Meant to make people angry
• Meant to be obnoxious

I'm curious; are others seeing these kinds of comments on similar posts? I'd love to know what it looks like where you are.

Wondering on Wednesday (v208)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I don't even know where to start tonight's wondering. Or maybe, it's that I don't know where to stop wondering, so that I can put thoughts on paper. I'll give it a try.

Earlier today, I did some quiet, seething, emotionally draining Ranting and Raving about my particular white privilege, and how that compares to the inhumanity and lack of privilege experienced by blacks and other people of color in America. 

I honestly wonder if anyone will read that, and see themselves or their friends or their children and the sketchy or borderline things they got away with, and wonder why others don't get away with the same things? 

And I wonder whether people will think twice about the victim-blaming (because people who die worse than dogs under the knee or in a chokehold or by the bullet in the back or the front from a police officer's gun are victims, not criminals guilty of capital crimes) and maybe try and picture themselves in that person's shoes, and try and tell themselves it's OK? 

And I wonder what it must be like, for example, to be these guys, entrepreneurs working out in the gym in their key-access-only building, only to be challenged whether they belong there by a white guy?  Or to be a black man who likes to jog?  Here's what James Ravenell II, the founder of Black Runners Connection, had to say about his preferred "meditation" in this day and in this time. 

I know, unfortunately, that my blackness represents a threat to many people... we don't have the benefit of people thinking that we're just doing a normal thing... I can't really remember a time where I was not thinking about myself as a potential threat in the minds of other people.... We are all exhausted. We just want to live. We're not thinking about doing anything to anyone. Our blackness, it's not a threat to anyone but here we are, again and again and again. 

Think about that... Wonder about having that be your life, and tell me you'd be OK with that. Wait - no, don't tell me you'd be OK with that, tell me how that makes you feel about yourself, and how you feel about people who make you feel like that - because I have no intuitive understanding of what that feels like. I've never had to have any understanding, intuitive or otherwise, of what that feels like.

And challenge yourself about how you might be contributing to that, by your actions or your inaction, and wonder how you might do things differently...

I can't help wondering about this incident, either.  Steven Aucoin, a (now former) police officer in Kaplan, LA posted comments on a Facebook live feed lamenting the fact that the coronavirus didn't kill enough black people. According to the article linked above,

Aucoin’s comments, which were shown in a screenshot of the live stream, were in response to another user who described the coronavirus as the “virus that was created to kill all the BLACKS is death.” The officer clearly responded with two statements, “Well it didn’t work.” And directly under that comment he then said, “How unfortunate.”

He was fired, Aucoin was, for making comments that were "not suitable for a police officer to put up on Facebook," said Chief Joshua Hardy. And, "the department is moving forward and making sure this will never happen again" and the social media policy has been updated and officers have been notified about that.

But here's something else Chief Hardy said.

We're held to a higher standard than normal civilians, so you got to watch what you do, you got to watch what you say. You can't just go and post anything you want on social media.

What?  Huh?

What about "Officer Aucoin's comments are unacceptable for someone who is paid to protect and serve the residents of Kaplan, and we cannot and will not have someone on our police force who espouses those views." Where's that statement? Nowhere to be found, it seems - just don't post the online. What on earth is the 'higher standard" they're being held to, I wonder?

More than anything, I wonder if this will ever stop, or if we'll just continue to be this America?

Email of the Week (v17), With a Twist

THE LITTLE GARDEN IN THE VALLEY

SYRACUSE

NOTICE DATE: April 30, 2020

NOTICE NUMBER: URA0,45 (EN)

Donald J Trump

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington DC 20500

Your Self-serving Letter Has Arrived

My Fellow American:

As you noted in your email, “our great country is experiencing an unprecedented public health and economic challenge as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.” I must say, I’m surprised you didn’t call it the ‘Chinese’ coronavirus pandemic, or the ‘Wuhan’ coronavirus pandemic; maybe someone convinced you, finally, that your rhetoric was dangerous, and perhaps ‘inspiring’ attacks on Asian Americans across our country?

What a chuckle I had reading you say “our top priority” is my health and safety. I mean, my top priority is my health and safety, but we all know your top priority is you. After all, 

• Isn’t that why your name is being put on the Economic Impact Payment checks?  
• And isn’t that why this letter is coming from you, not from the IRS, as was done in the past? 
• And isn’t that why your recent press conference/campaign rallies have been so egocentric, filled with your nearly 600 self-congratulatory comments (and over 100 comments blaming others), not to mention the multiple obligatory “Mr. President” callouts from every speaker?

In the midst of this unprecedented public health challenge, it was hard to miss you, the vice president, your daughter and her family, and other members of your administration repeatedly ignoring the guidance issued by your own experts. Good thing you didn’t have to spend a lot of time greeting “presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens,” over the past several weeks. And it was a good thing that most people ignored the example you set, and instead followed the guidelines to help slow the spread and flatten the curve.

We received our stimulus payment two weeks ago, making the letter telling us what we’d be getting, and how, even less meaningful than it would have been had it come from the IRS (as it should have) in advance. 

Given how much attention you pay to the news, particularly news about you and your administration, you should have known that it was widely reported in the “lamestream media” and of course on the Trump News Network how the payments would go out, how to find out the status of the payment, and who to contact in case of questions. In addition to the traditional media coverage, there have been ample notifications about this payment across multiple social media platforms, financial institution notifications, on the IRS website, and other outlets as well.

In keeping with your efforts “to protect hard-working Americans…from the consequences of the economic shutdown,” I believe it would be appropriate for your campaign committee to absorb the costs of this self-serving and wasteful letter.

In these challenging economic times, it’s disrespectful for you to spend our money tooting your horn.