I admit it. I am an old fart.
Old enough to have participated in the battle to change the laws that afforded (almost still) civil rights and equality for Blacks. Old enough to have participated in the campaign to stop the war in Vietnam. Old enough to have shamed the Soviet Union to release its Jewish citizens that were being persecuted.
Old enough to recall the bull…t “facts” that LBJ (President Lyndon Baines Johnson) spewed to confuse Americans that the war in Vietnam was being won. (I seem to recall that we killed thrice the population of the country over this war.)
Old enough to recall the Soviet Union’s declarations that they weren’t persecuting the Jews. That they had jobs and were happy. (Probably the same way the South swore that their slaves were thrilled by their experiences.)
Old enough to recall Richard Nixon’s averrals that he never taped anyone. That he had no hatred for the Jews. That he never spied on the Democratic Party or authorized a team of spies to steal their documents.
I know. I know. I am not supposed to bring up the processes that Hitler and Goebbels employed. Their big lies. But, when I was growing up and heard our government- and other governments- declare their bulls…t didn’t stink- I was fully aroused.
It’s why I still get enraged when friends pass around bulls…t from the WrongWing that invent facts. And, then others spread that same crap around. To confuse folks. So they don’t know what is really going on.
But, it’s worse. Now, we have Russia and China developing fake news to feed the world. Russia Today (OK, now it’s called RT) is a full-blown propaganda machine. China has it’s own versions. Telling Europe that local women are being raped by refugees. That Zika is a CIA creation. And, do you know that China has a network of “news radio’ stations in the US?
I would lament these facts greatly. But, now it seems that President Obama and his “mind meld” twin (here’s one of the places you can see this fact) Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Director, are inventing facts to confuse Americans. Taking advantage of the abysmal quality of US news organizations (no foreign bureaus, tons of stringers, young kids with no experience), they lied to us about how the Iran nuclear deal came about.
Nope. Those stories that it was the new elections in Iran that led to the breakthrough were pure fiction. (You should note that Ben Rhodes is an aspiring fiction writer.) Instead, the US was working on this arrangement for months before any regime change. And, he provided “news” about the deal to select (clueless) journalists (sic). Rhodes et al sought out gullible journalists who validated and repeated what Rhodes wanted them to think. Oh, he swears that wasn’t spin. (Hmm. Closer to outright lies in my book. So, at least that one statement may be true.)
Oh, and Rhodes tried to delay the information about our Navy sailors capture by Iran (the actual situation still astonishes me) until after the State of the Union address. Thankfully, somebody called bulls…t
Because we are not a third world country. And, we deserve the truth- especially from our government.
Always been a problem, we are getting it over here in the UK with the EU Referendum.
I guess the difference is that today we have the internet to allow us to communicate info outside the grid (not so much in China of course, but even so)! 😉
The Great Gordino recently posted..Some Of Us Are More Fragile On The Inside, And That’s Ok!
Gordon:
I am not sure I would rely on the “internet” as a modality to find truth. Too much of what we find there is placed by corporations masquerading as public interest, party lines masquerading as news organizations, or clearly biased “think tanks” who are often paid lobbyists propounding the cause of their backers.
Oh blimey no, I wouldn’t ‘rely’ on the internet!
No, my point is that it’s such a powerful communication tool which levels the playing field somewhat. I guess the best examples would be when the ‘big noises’ try to use it, and get it spectacularly wrong, to be duly lambasted by those who are more familiar with it.
The internet allows great opportunity for different channels of info – still to be treated with as much caution as any other source, but thinking back to when it was heralded as ‘the information highway’, I think it serves a good purpose in that regard 😉
The Great Gordino recently posted..Some Of Us Are More Fragile On The Inside, And That’s Ok!
Thanks for the clarification, Bryan!
That makes it much clearer. And, must more useful for you and others.
I’m also old enough to have listened to shortwave and long distance AM night radio. Remembered listening to a long rant (in Spanish) by Fidel Castro – not that I understood it, but it was mesmerizing. I even requested QSL cards from the Soviet radio – I’m sure I’m on an FBI list somewhere. I listened to Radio Free Europe, too, its own brand of propaganda. What angers me is when this stuff makes my elderly in laws so terrified – and it is done on purpose, to keep them terrified and keep them sending money to certain groups.
You said it well, there, Alana.
Kind of like how the GOP sent “membership lapse warnings” to senior citizens. Hoping to scare the bejesus out of them to provide funds for the party- or their credit ratings would be ruined!
Propaganda https://t.co/0Nx1U6TcT1 via @RAAckerman <-Enrages me, too!
This story is getting so much worse. It seems that Ben Rhodes liked the movie Money Monster so much, he thought he could claim a “glitch” of his own. And, that Glitch erased the video portion where he got caught in his web of lies.
Here’s the Washington Post add on from today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/it-wasnt-a-glitch-state-department-deliberately-cut-embarrassing-questions-from-press-briefing-video/2016/06/01/68ab3664-2837-11e6-b989-4e5479715b54_story.html