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Have you seen the coronavirus numbers today from the CDC? Over 800,000 infections (that we know about) and 46,000 deaths. Not to mention the myriad and oft overlooked other afflictions that sufferers endure including everything from ‘covid-toes’ to strokes.

Those numbers are huge and getting huger (is that a word?). Especially compared to 0 where were last year at this time, and every other year before that. So when I hear about a gradual easing of restrictions and politicians speaking about “opening things up”, I wonder to myself, “in what universe?”. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. In order to open back up we need to have the following things at a minimum:

  1. Universally available testing for both antibodies and the virus itself so we know who’s got and has had what.
  2. Universally available personal protective equipment so we can feel safe out in public.
  3. A vaccine, or at the very least, an effective drug therapy to fight the infection.
  4. A solid understanding of the virus’ true penetration numbers in our society.
  5. An executive branch that works better with, and with less acrimony towards our state and local governments.
  6. A sustained negative trend in known infections – we’re not even flat at this point.

Right now, we don’t have any of that stuff. And it’s unlikely, given the flat-footed nature of our national response, that we’ll have it any time soon. Plus, some of these things on our wish list take time. Vaccines need to be developed, tested, augmented, tested again, etc. Many versions fail, and some make things worse. We also have no idea if there’s any immunity for those with antibodies, and if there is, we don’t know how long that will last. We don’t know if the virus will mutate next flu season. We don’t know lots of important things at this point.

When I hear politicians talking about “opening things up” it reminds me of the person who buys low and sells high. We’re not better off than we were 6 weeks ago. About the only thing we’ve managed to do is educate the public, who routinely wear masks and form socially distant lines at the grocery store – at least near where I live. But elements of the public are still lax in their observance. Right now, many states have conservative groups protesting and blatantly ignoring distancing guidelines. Others are fighting for the right to congregate at churches and other venues, public health be damned.

Can anyone here say “second wave” or “latest hot-spot” or “this might last a while”? Because I don’t see anything that would prevent it, do you?

While conservatives are only too happy to tell us there was no war in the Middle East with Iran, and a terrible person was eliminated (to use an antiseptic term for assassinated), they seem oblivious to the recklessness of the entire, surreal episode. Let’s be clear: Killing Soleimani could have sparked a war, and anyone who thinks the violent fallout has passed is sadly naive.

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By now you might have seen today’s headlines about the incoming NRA president and former Iran/Contra scandal villain Oliver North. He claimed that school shootings were in part made worse by an epidemic of drugged kids who have been prescribed Ritalin.

His claim, without mentioning any kind of supporting evidence, isn’t just more unfounded fearmongering from a group who uniformly throws science to the dustbin when it’s counter to their objectives. It’s also copying a tried and true method of distraction used whenever things go wrong. Why? Because it’s exactly like the silly links that are pushed by the (generally anti-science) vaccine fearing crowd who are convinced that such things lead to autism.

Meanwhile, people who study this stuff say Ritalin leads to mostly calmer behavior in children. But North doesn’t seem to care. He has a new bogey man that will be argued about for years to come as a surrogate for gun control. Just like vaccines leading to Autism.

Does it matter at all that there’s no such link? That North grabbed this idea out of thin air? Nope, not a whisker. That’s the beauty of the Republican voter these days. They are usually too uninformed and disinterested to look this stuff up – or they do – on partisan and non academic sources, so now Ritalin is responsible for the violence and if we can just solve that problem there won’t be any more school shootings.

President Trump asked Bill Gates about forming a commission to investigate the link between vaccines and autism. Gates told him there is no link and that’s a “dead end”.

So one of the richest men in the world, and one who’s committed to donating the lion’s share of his vast wealth to charity, is forced to counsel the president that the people whispering conspiracy theories in his ear are full of crapola. Proof that disinformation reaches the highest levels, even if in this case, that happens to be our own Mr. Bean, President Trump.

I’m not an authority on autism or vaccines, but let’s face it: I’m going to trust the opinion of Bill Gates, the worlds most respected philanthropist, over that of the politicians who scorn academia like our hapless leader – who also had to ask the Gates to explain the difference between HIV and HPV – twice.

Once again, conservatives have willfully chosen to believe their politicians over academics and believe fake news and fake information. So now a whole army of innocently, stupid people are afraid to vaccinate because, you know, autism.

Oh, and we should hurry to fix the REAL problem we have in this country causing all the violence – Ritalin – before school shootings become horrific and commonplace!

Under Donald Trump and more generally over the last several years the right wing media is driving us off a cliff, and we may be witnessing the end of our republic as we know it. I know that sounds dire, but I’m certainly not the first person to echo this sentiment and ignoring it isn’t an option.

Fuelled by angry right wing conservatives hell bent on arresting social progress, conspiracy theories have not only gained ground in the right’s main stream consciousness, they are threatening to become the mainstream itself. Last week, Rep. Devin Nunes, a serial abuser of his office’s power, released a partisan memo written by his staff over objections by both the DOJ and the FBI due to misleading content. The purpose of the memo was obvious to everyone: discredit the FBI as a left wing bastion of corruption, and delegitimize the Russia investigation and the man running it.

As people are beginning to understand that the United States is increasingly becoming an alt reality state, the power of such partisan antics begins to come into focus. Watching Fox News and then MSNBC, one could not help but notice the different way these two stations covered the same story. Fox’s master propagandist and president of the Donald Trump Sycophant Fan Club, Sean Hannity, artfully painted a picture of a situation so much worse than Watergate that Nixon’s crimes seemed trivial by comparison. Meanwhile, MSNBC and the rest of us looked at the memo and shrugged. Trump’s own FBI and DOJ said it was misleading. The contents were partisan nonsense so the memo was not worth reading.

The point in all of this is that we live in different universes, where people who get their information from what can only be called pure propaganda outlets have no idea there’s a counter narrative that in many cases is far closer to reality. Reading right wing message boards, it’s clear that the commenters seem to indicate that there really is a huge problem in both the FBI and the DOJ, that various people are going to jail, and that it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing comes to light.

Meanwhile, the cumulative effect of the out-of-control right wing spin machine is that we’re becoming dangerously divided in numerous and insidious ways that threaten all of us, and our most trusted institutions are under assault.

  • The conservatives, furious over social change in the country’s perception of gay marriage and abortion have turned on our judiciary. They coined the term ‘activist judge’ and the phrase ‘legislating from the bench’ to describe unpopular decisions. At first, it seemed overly dramatic yet mostly harmless. But years later, this dangerous spin has taken hold and now judges in certain parts of the country or certain courts are supposedly suspect. Trump took this concept to an extreme during his election campaign where he openly questioned the loyalties of an American born judge because of his parent’s country of origin.
  • Conservatives have declared war on the media, the cornerstone of our democracy by calling them collectively the ‘opposition party’ and ‘ the enemy’. Let’s not underestimate the power of the media. The media is best used in a democracy to shine a light on corruption and without it, state issued propaganda can control dissent. One only needs to look at the pure fabrications coming from Fox News to understand the power here, and conservatives are manipulating that power daily with their disparaging attacks on what they have derisively termed the “MSM”, an acronym we all know today as a result of their long-term efforts to sew doubt about reporting by what previously were simply our nation’s respected news institutions. CNN, NBC, CBS and others are all under attack by the conservatives in this country as purveyors of the newly minted “fake news” label purveyed most frequently by the president himself.
  • As mentioned above, conservatives have now taken aim at law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Justice Department. In an effort to shield Donald Trump from the consequences of having likely worked with a foreign government to win the election, they are willing to sew doubt in the minds of voters about our two most important law enforcement agencies we have in the country.
  • Conservatives have routinely complained about the primary and general election voting systems, calling them rigged, among other things even when they win elections. When they lose, there’s no doubt that their voices will be raised to fever pitch, much like the supporters of Roy Moore who recently refused to concede defeat in his campaign for Senator in Alabama.
  • Conservatives has used Fox News and other news outlets to drum up conspiracy theories about political opponents. Evil Arizona sheriff Joe Apriao is pushing the fake birther theory, and calls for Hillary Clinton and others to be jailed over an above board uranium deal are just the latest nonsense to permeate right wing airspace. Meanwhile, Fox and others would have you believe the “Deep State” is a real thing, and out to sabotage Trump.

What was once a curious sideshow is become a dangerous and destabilizing force in the country. Propaganda this sinister works to give conservatives the right to claim any investigation by the FBI is biased against them. Any unpopular judicial ruling is biased against them. The media is hopelessly biased against them, and of course the voting system and the very government itself is an infested den of bias by left wing agitators who are biased against them.

This kind of talk lays the groundwork for people to claim just about anything with a degree of impunity, much as the environment Trump has created for himself. Trump recently claimed it was treasonous not to applaud his state of the union speech. This is where we’ve arrived. Meanwhile his outrageous utterances often carry no real consequence other than to incite, but loom dangerously over us as his vitriol spreads dissention among his angry band of gun toting right-wing followers.

It’s time to take action. Right wing news like Fox New, Breitbart and others are taking this beyond a line where things could get out of their control. They are irresponsible and dangerous. Hannity is a purveyor of dangerous propaganda that eventually could lead some to commit acts of violence in this country on an scale few imagine today. One cannot incite millions of people night after night with cries of “1000 time worse than Watergate” without someone (or maybe lots of someones) beginning to take action against their perceived enemies like this shot-up pizzeria. It’s one thing to report the news and it’s another thing to make it up and twist it to manipulate sheepish viewers. It’s also incredibly short sighted. We don’t need the kinds of problems that come with a country where public perception of our institutions is so eroded that no one trusts the police, the judges, the media, the vote, or the government. That’s a recipe for the end in both of our mutually exclusive universes, but that’s where conservatives seem to be leading us.

Interestingly, instead of blaming each other for the shutdown, congress is blaming Trump. Everyone is basically blaming Trump. Which makes sense. He’s not a deal maker (that’s just puffery from Trump himself and his campaign). As a politician, he’s a despot. And you can’t dictate terms to either side of a US budget negotiation as a despot, even if you are president. You can lead, if you know how. But Trump doesn’t ever lead. He tweets. So there’s an impasse but voters know who the real villain is: The tweeter in chief.

By November, this shutdown will be forgotten. The news cycle churns swiftly and between now and November, there’s likely to be about 100 things Trump says or does that infuriate, insult and appall. Let’s face it, we won’t even remember if the Shutdown occurred this year by voting time. But people will remember Trump, and his foul mouth, disgusting ideas and mostly vile agenda.

Over the weekend was the second woman’s march. It drew crowds so large, Facebook memes sprung up with various views from cities around the country and world. Trump mocked them in tweet, and while the shutdown is likely to be forgotten by the time the election draws near, again, Trump will not be. And while he takes glee at poking the giant the eye with his stick, his day will come. If the size of the woman’s march in any indication, it will be soon.

President Trump once again proved he’s not the right guy for the job, this time by humiliating himself with his blatantly racist comments. We want more people from Norway? Presumably so he can date their daughters after Melania wilts. But aside from that, the racism is pretty clear. No good people can possibly come from Haiti or Africa or anywhere there are brown people, so why let any of them in?

I’ll be honest. Trump has been around public life for years and has dealt with people of all stripes during his long career. As much as I detest him, his demagoguery and race baiting, I always saw it more as politically opportunistic with a racist base than how he personally feels about various classes of people. I guess I was wrong, which doesn’t really break my heart to discover. I see it for what it is. He really doesn’t like dark people all that much.

Shocker.

Conservatives, while wrapped in the flag, never seem miss an opportunity to bash the ‘mainstream media’ or MSM as it’s referred to by some. They call it biased, and lately just claim it’s ‘fake news’, a term that is used to describe pretty much anything said by the Trump administration and their merry band of propagandists, but is nevertheless used by the aforementioned to discredit legitimate journalism.

But I love the mainstream media because I understand what the country would be like without them. Like them or not, they are the closest thing we have to a ‘check and balance’ on government power at all levels, and without them we might as well just give up on the country altogether because we’ll never again poses the tools necessary to vet our information.

You can hate the MSM, but whether you like them or not, we can all agree that the mainstream media is accountable. Large media organizations like ABC, NBC, CBS are accountable to voters and viewers alike. They are accountable to politicians who claim foul when misinformation is sometimes accidentally disseminated. And they are accountable to advertisers who sometimes pull ads over objectionable content and would certainly pull ads if the content was deemed to be willfully dishonest.

Consider the alternative to MSM. No mainstream media means a complete lack of any kind of third party accountability. It means hollow and unaccountable standards for (and I use the term loosely) ‘journalists’ like Project Veritas hack and convict James O’Keefe who thinks lying to advance his belief system is fair game. We already have this problem with right wing rags pushing conspiracy theories to gullible conservatives who love the red meat subject matter but lack the critical thinking skills to correctly filter the noise from the actual news. No, former president Obama is not a Kenyan Muslim who hates America.

Without the MSM, how would people be able to determine what news to believe? Accountability is critical for our democracy and we should honor and protect it as such. Once the mainstream media is gone, what does that leave you with? Hyper partisan hack news organizations like Breitbart and Fox that act as de facto state media for the administration, and a virtual Wild West of so-called and deceptively named (and again, I use the term loosely) ‘news’ outlets with a wide spectrum of dubious journalistic standards that includes everything from innuendo to outright lies.

Attacks on the mainstream media weaken the only verifiable sources of independent news that exist on earth. Without them, the only official news we would get to hear would be from our government and subject to their willful deception and propaganda. Who wants that? During Obama we could trust most of what the government said. Under Trump, we can’t trust anything. So it’s no surprise they consider the media the enemy. They actually ARE the enemy of the Trump administration, and for good reason. They are the only bulwark between Trump’s constant blather or twitter lies and the actual truth of what happens in the world.

So when you hear someone disrespecting the MSM, correct them. Remind them that without the mainstream news, they would be at the mercy of the government to disseminate any news they saw fit without any checks or independent verification. We should protect the MSM with our very lives, even before we protect our own government. For a government without this kind of check is on it’s way to becoming a dictatorship sooner or later. The MSM is the ultimate check on power and without them every bit of information becomes suspect.

With Harvey Weinstein’s career, social, and private life in shambles as a result of accusations coming from nearly 60 women (at the time of this writing), many people are wondering if recent events aren’t some kind of watershed moment for… well to tell you the truth, I’m not really sure what. A reckoning? Surely. The overall treatment of women in the work place and social life? Probably not, if we’re being honest. Once all the bad news dies down, some men will inevitably go back to being predatory and new ones will take their place from year to year.

But the reckoning – that moment where suddenly women feel empowered to speak out about their experiences – that may be coming for more people, and for those who have transgressed it’s going to be brutal. The question is, how long will the reckoning go on, and who’s fates will be sealed?

So far, names like Bush, Afleck, and Halerpin are making headlines along with a slew of others, but for some reason the damn has yet to break on Donald Trump. Trump, for his part, who’s name is back in the news this week along side the other accused has issued another declaration of innocence as he continues to weather the storm.

In today’s world, it takes a special set of circumstances for a celebrity to fall. Bill Cosby’s ignominious pursuits spanned decades according to accusers in spite of his outrageous conduct. It wasn’t until one special day where something about the conditions in the cosmos were just right that the public started paying attention to the news. And the same has been true for many other famous people, Weinstein among them where bad behavior in epic proportion goes unpunished over and again.

Well, ladies, if you’re reading this, let me give you some advice. The conditions to bring Trump’s conduct to light have never been better. The rich and powerful are currently vulnerable in a way heretofore unseen and any new accusers are going to get their moment. But if Donald is allowed to ride out this current wave of misconduct allegations, then you might as well just give up because there will never be another time this ripe for these stories to have an impact. And if Trump survives, he’ll be that much harder to touch in the future as any new allegations will begin to sound like the boy who cried wolf to his supporters.

This is why anyone who’s ever been the victim of Trump sexual misconduct should step up, and do so quickly. It’s going to take a lot of weight to move the mountain and there won’t be another chance like this again, ever.

Now that Weinstein’s career has officially fallen into the abyss, the stories have been coming out of the woodwork from those who were previously afraid to speak. And with every new allegation comes louder and louder criticism from the right aimed at anyone who’s been cozy with the movie mogul. But let’s not forget that during the campaign there were quite a few women who accused Donald Trump of such things as well, and it could be very difficult to ignore if a similar avalanche begins once again against the president.

It would be very difficult to continue to assault Democrats over the Weinstein affair while ignoring similar and multiple allegations against a man who bragged about grabbing women by the genitals, even if that man is Donald Trump. Already, women are suing the campaign for information about how it handled and tracked allegations of sexual impropriety and the women who made them. Eventually, the chorus may become to loud to ignore.

The worse this situation gets for Harvey, the worse it will get for Trump. Even in today’s bizarre political climate where Trump can break every taboo without repercussion, every pot has a boiling point, and Weinstein is turning up the heat on Trump substantially as more and more people make comparisons between the two.

Meanwhile, it appears that the Right doesn’t understand their peril by calling out Weinstein backers. They dismissed allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump a year ago before the election and forgot all about it. But today they are accusing the Left of hypocrisy by ignoring the Weinstein story in the news and elsewhere, and that same accusation could well come back to haunt them sooner rather than later if more women come forward with their own Trump stories and more attention is spent comparing the behavior of the two.

Recently Samantha Bee joked about impeaching Harvey Weinstein in one such well aimed attempt to compare the two men. I would expect more to come as it becomes clear that this avenue would be an effective way to both diffuse the Weinstein story and attack the behavior of the President. The Right can’t have it both ways and they will soon find out why. Weinstein should go, sure, but so too should Trump.