(Borrowing from a nice NYT article by Charles J. Sykes.)
The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.
— Garry Kasparov
The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.
— George Orwell
It’s noticeable calmer when Trump is on vacation, so there’s less news today. Almost relaxing. Still, there were a few bits.
Trump, having lost just the littlest bit, feels compelled to disparage the very idea of an independent judiciary:
The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
Judge James Robart was a 2004 George W. Bush appointee, approved by 99 to nothing. Pretty sure he’s a real judge. Trump wasn’t finished, of course:
After being forced to apologize for its bad and inaccurate coverage of me after winning the election, the FAKE NEWS @nytimes is still lost!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
Sorry; no real idea.
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
Because the ban was lifted by a judge, many very bad and dangerous people may be pouring into our country. A terrible decision.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
Why aren’t the lawyers looking at and using the Federal Court decision in Boston, which is at conflict with ridiculous lift ban decision?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
The judge opens up our country to potential terrorists and others that do not have our best interests at heart. Bad people are very happy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 4, 2017
It’s like watching someone with untreated Tourette’s. MAGA.
In northern Michigan yesterday, Marquette County Republican Party secretary and former Chair Dan Adamini tweeted:
The violent protests at our universities certainly indicate Portage acacian at the lower level. I’m thinking another Kent State might be the only solution protest stopped after only one death. They do it because there are no consequences yet.
— Dan Adamini (@DanAdamini)
(According to Adamini, “Portage acacian” means ‘poor education’.)
He’s not much on history. In 1970, Ohio National Guard shot at a crowd of Kent State students protesting against the war in Cambodia. They killed four people and wounded nine more. Or maybe he thought that killing “only one” protester now would silence everyone else.
Unsurprisingly, Adamini insisted the press was misinterpreting his tweet, and this was really a lament, all evidence to the contrary. A women identified as “a member of the Marquette County Republican Party” disavowed the tweet, but the Marquette County Republican Party Chair, Brendon Biolo, said he wasn’t aware of the post. “I’m not on Facebook,” he said. “I never look at it … I think it should be outlawed.”
Adamini’s Twitter account has been disabled.
Old Trump lies remain untouched: still no tax returns, no replacement for Obamacare, no divestment nor plan for conflicts, no retraction about inauguration crowd counts, no proof or even testimony “millions of people voting illegally”. He’s not even pretending; he’s bragging.
Sanctions against Iran being implemented; still no word about terrorist attack against Muslims in Quebec City.
On the plus side, the administration seems to be backing off their draft plan to resume torturing our captives. The draft order still expands Guantanamo. Interestingly, Press Secretary Sean Spicer lied about the draft not coming from the White House.
Lockheed Martin announced that the newest F-35’s would be cheaper. Trump claimed this was his doing, and the press generally left that unchallenged, even though all he did was post two tweets suggesting the price was too high.
