Quote: ". . .it takes particular sociopathic cruelty to spread these lies at a time when people are genuinely suffering, seeking to recover and need help and hope." End quote.
Cruelty is at the core of the Trump/Vance/Musk triad. Since Sun Tzu (one of my all-time favorites) already has been quoted, here is another one to gnaw on:
Line from the series “Vikings”: "I Would Sup With The Devil If He Would Show Me How To Achieve My Earthly Goals." The Devil has a prized seat at the Trumpian dining.
The toxicity being employed by Trump & Co. is particularly corrosive and evil, because they are playing and preying on the misfortunes of people who have been beaten down by natural disaster. Obviously the saying "Never kick a man when he is down" does not play in the heartless minds of Republican elites.
Our country has never before faced the excruciating dilemma of a pathologically lying presidential candidate who is revered by an apparent near majority of voters. His influence points to the naïveté of millions upon millions of citizens who do not grasp that the pathological liar’s every intention is malevolent.
Thank you for letting us know we can share this potent, important essay everywhere. FYI Musk locked my Twitter Alex account so my followers have to be recreated.. Apparently he did not like my list of Twitter news media addresses I collected across the US and used often to share these and other excellent articles!!🥹——
The blasts of Republican lies are dangerous and formidable and repeated hypnotically! I would post resources countering the lies to multiple Conservative media and I think get reported because I repeatedly had to go through Bot tests.——
I see the horrible success of their lies on my cousins on the East coast. I am apparently am making no headway with them but I’ll keep trying.——-
Every day I ask myself, where is the tipping point that will convince Republicans that it's time to dump Donald Trump as the leader of their party? You are so right that his sociopathic depravity has been on full display this week as he exploits the suffering of thousands of Americans affected by Hurricane Helene with lies about the federal response. The rally in Butler was a new level of dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric. For Trump, JD Vance and others to stand up there accusing Democrats of this kind of rhetoric, while also lying to thousands of people that Democrats are trying to assassinate him is a new level of hypocrisy I didn't think was possible. So again I ask...where is the tipping point? What does he have to do for Republicans and Americans to turn their backs on him? I fear by then it will be too late.
As always, every accusation is a confession with these MAGA folks and TFG. I don't know how I will survive the next month of this spewing of vile hate and BS. God help us all if he wins.
If only the media would do their jobs and show the outlandish lies of the GQP, we would not be teetering on the brink of losing our democracy. Is that too much to ask?
Why? Because all these big media corporation have the legal obligation to maximize the profits for shareholders. So doing the right thing would make them neglecting their duty. Remember back in 2015/2016 the CEO of CNN saying "I know Trump is bad for America, but he is good for CNN".
IMHO the only solution is to break this "quasi monopoly" of these big corporation is to support the many small independent content creators like MeidasTouch, Brian Tayler Cohen, Steve Schmidt, Steven Beschloss, Jessica Valenti, Thom Hartmann, Democracy Now, TYT, David Pakman, Luke Beasley, Secular Talk, Adam Mockler and many others.
Yes, I know some of them are on the rather left side. However, each of them gives you food for thoughts!
After 9 years, the NYT FINALLY, FINALLY wrote a headline story criticizing the orange sadist. Not sure why, but it can't hurt. (I only know this from Scott Dworkin's substack. The NYT is a thing of the past in my life.)
"it takes particular sociopathic cruelty" And yet half the voters are looking at this and saying yeah that's the guy I want in charge of the free world. WTA and I cannot stress this enough F?
Trump and cronies always on offense with lies leaving his targets on defense trying to disprove negatives.Governors like Casey & Kemp spoke of being contacted by Biden in advance of Helene to prevent delays by discussing what would be needed.
The lying liars lie to control the narrative & take the spotlight off what they are doing - or more accurately, are not doing. While Donnie and his cronies lie about FEMA assistance being delayed or diverted there is little mention of :
• Efforts (supported by Ted Cruz) in 2021 to defund FEMA.
• Speaker Johnson refusing to call the House into session to fund “Helene supplemental” — until after the election. Instead he seems set on making the TV rounds with his lies. Allowing Helene assistance to deplete FEMA funding as hurricane season ramps up & Milton heads for FL.
Once again, where are the mainstream media in all of this? Why are they letting Trump and his surrogates get away with telling one dangerous lie after the other - lies that threaten the lives of people - with barely a murmur of reproach in response?
We can only seek freedom - in its larger sense - through the pursuit of truth. Lies are the tools and province of totalitarianism. Ask Hitler. Ask Putin. It may be superfluous to add that what Trump is seeking to do is to destroy the soul of this nation in a fundamental way. But dear Mainstream Media, it cannot be said loudly enough. Are you even listening?
We are indeed living in a post truth world where up is down and down is up. This is the sociopath’s plan where nothing can be trusted except what Trump tells them.
-You're preaching to the choir. You have to speak to the opposition... Biden should address this in public address but he won't and can't and drifts off into irrelevancies... Harris talks 'joy' and handouts, not misinformation...Msnbc is preaching to the chorus...Maybe hire Jessica Tarlow on Fox and ask her for advice. She does speak truth to those viewers...Hire Pence to speak to right wing states.
Democratic dies in darkness, true. But it also dies when the airways are flooded with lies going to vulnerable listeners. Fear facilitates belief in false information. They go hand in hand. Demagogues know that. How do you overcome those forces!
And how many of your readers have access to the intractable right? Listen to Donna Brazile try to correct Reince Pribus on ABC on Sunday. You can't diffuse a cult by simply telling them they are wrong. Listen to C Span viewers refusing to accept the truth they hear on air. Demagogues succeed because they control people's minds. No crack to let the light in.
• Who is going to believe Biden who falls for Donald John Trump lies? Biden has said they are false. FEMA is well embedded in the search engines countering the false info.
• If you do a search for ‘Helene fema’ in news you will see tons of media headlines re: factchecking and misinformation about the aid. The truth is out there everywhere.
• Yes, Harris is addressing it. In an interview yesterday she call out the “lies” re: Helene aid and FEMA. Saying in part she must be frank and repeating that they are “lies.” No, she doesn’t only talk “joy”. She has a less combative manner than you may prefer but it opens other ears.
• Republican governors have said the accusations are false as have other GOP leaders. In GOP states people are much more likely to believe people they know, their local officials, nonprofits and their Governors. Not Biden or Harris because they expect denials from them.
If a campaign spends too much time swatting at the swarm of lies, it can’t hold the mini-attention spans people have long enough to talk about what is being done or the Harris agenda. That is an objective of lying liars. The fantastical firehose of lies cannot be rebutted in advance. Its purpose is to keep the opponent on defense dancing to their tune.
All good points and wrll said. BUT there is a fire-hose of lies. There's a mentality which blots out the truth. As such frequent reputation, by multople reputable sources including Rs like Cheney and many others, which will be heard by those who need to know, are important. And, I'm guessing that a lot of readers of Prof B's brilliant essays, don't communicate regularly with the political enemy. Demagoguery is insidious.
I don’t deny getting the truth out is important. The nature of the firehose is that it operates faster than the truth. It gets ahead of truth and is unpredictable so it can’t be prevented. I think the administration, including VP Harris, and its surrogates are responding. For instance Buttigieg had an interaction on X and asked him to call over the “misunderstanding” after Musk put out false info on flight restrictions. https://x.com/elon_alerts/status/1842350319155470630
Repetition falls under the theory of familiarity. We see it in advertising and branding.
Our brains accept what is familiar as safe. Things that are unfamiliar are potentially unsafe. We see it in how people trust neighbors who they saw occasionally, but don’t really know. When said neighbors are arrested for crimes the response is usually “They were so nice”. Translation: There were no negative interactions and the neighbors waved once in a while.
We see it in how grifters and con artist operate. First they gain trust and then they suck bank accounts dry. And we see it from demagogues. All of them dangle something people want or fear to get their attention. People who have latched onto them are not persuadable. Contrary info is rejected and so is the source. They are not persuadable until something touches them. That could be Congress dragging its feet on FEMA aid until after the election.
Meanwhile evacuations are underway as hurricane Milton became a Category 5 about lunch time. Winds are at 160 mph. Debris has not been cleared from Helene.
Also, noting lies is good. And yes she has done that. But it's a tsunami of dangerous lies. She should mention it whenever she can. And note why they are dangerous. And note Republicans who have chastised him for the lies. The lying has been ongoing for years. At this stage, the quantity and substance of the lies is felononeous. She has yo fight the felon with bright lights and repeated responses. Demagogues win when their opponents don't fight fire with nuclear weapons, so to speak. She has to penetrative the cults psyche, hard as that may be.
This Sun Tzu quote keeps playing like a loop in my brain. It is so apt. "An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes."
One of my favorites! I have used Sun Tzu a lot recently.
Shining a light on the darkness, the repeated flat out lies…pushing back aggressively…we have to continue this effort. No slacking off.
Quote: ". . .it takes particular sociopathic cruelty to spread these lies at a time when people are genuinely suffering, seeking to recover and need help and hope." End quote.
Cruelty is at the core of the Trump/Vance/Musk triad. Since Sun Tzu (one of my all-time favorites) already has been quoted, here is another one to gnaw on:
Line from the series “Vikings”: "I Would Sup With The Devil If He Would Show Me How To Achieve My Earthly Goals." The Devil has a prized seat at the Trumpian dining.
The toxicity being employed by Trump & Co. is particularly corrosive and evil, because they are playing and preying on the misfortunes of people who have been beaten down by natural disaster. Obviously the saying "Never kick a man when he is down" does not play in the heartless minds of Republican elites.
Our country has never before faced the excruciating dilemma of a pathologically lying presidential candidate who is revered by an apparent near majority of voters. His influence points to the naïveté of millions upon millions of citizens who do not grasp that the pathological liar’s every intention is malevolent.
Thankfully Joe McCarthy couldn’t grow his base with social media.
Naivete' for some. For the fervent MAGAs, anger and resentment, misogyny, racism, bullying tendencies, Christian nationalism.
VERY well stated! TY
Steven——
Thank you for letting us know we can share this potent, important essay everywhere. FYI Musk locked my Twitter Alex account so my followers have to be recreated.. Apparently he did not like my list of Twitter news media addresses I collected across the US and used often to share these and other excellent articles!!🥹——
The blasts of Republican lies are dangerous and formidable and repeated hypnotically! I would post resources countering the lies to multiple Conservative media and I think get reported because I repeatedly had to go through Bot tests.——
I see the horrible success of their lies on my cousins on the East coast. I am apparently am making no headway with them but I’ll keep trying.——-
Thank you. Keep trying!
Thanks for the encouragement
Every day I ask myself, where is the tipping point that will convince Republicans that it's time to dump Donald Trump as the leader of their party? You are so right that his sociopathic depravity has been on full display this week as he exploits the suffering of thousands of Americans affected by Hurricane Helene with lies about the federal response. The rally in Butler was a new level of dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric. For Trump, JD Vance and others to stand up there accusing Democrats of this kind of rhetoric, while also lying to thousands of people that Democrats are trying to assassinate him is a new level of hypocrisy I didn't think was possible. So again I ask...where is the tipping point? What does he have to do for Republicans and Americans to turn their backs on him? I fear by then it will be too late.
There isn't one.
As always, every accusation is a confession with these MAGA folks and TFG. I don't know how I will survive the next month of this spewing of vile hate and BS. God help us all if he wins.
If only the media would do their jobs and show the outlandish lies of the GQP, we would not be teetering on the brink of losing our democracy. Is that too much to ask?
>>>Is that too much to ask? <<<
Yes, unfortunately.
Why? Because all these big media corporation have the legal obligation to maximize the profits for shareholders. So doing the right thing would make them neglecting their duty. Remember back in 2015/2016 the CEO of CNN saying "I know Trump is bad for America, but he is good for CNN".
IMHO the only solution is to break this "quasi monopoly" of these big corporation is to support the many small independent content creators like MeidasTouch, Brian Tayler Cohen, Steve Schmidt, Steven Beschloss, Jessica Valenti, Thom Hartmann, Democracy Now, TYT, David Pakman, Luke Beasley, Secular Talk, Adam Mockler and many others.
Yes, I know some of them are on the rather left side. However, each of them gives you food for thoughts!
Have a nice and peaceful day.
After 9 years, the NYT FINALLY, FINALLY wrote a headline story criticizing the orange sadist. Not sure why, but it can't hurt. (I only know this from Scott Dworkin's substack. The NYT is a thing of the past in my life.)
NYT is dead to me
"it takes particular sociopathic cruelty" And yet half the voters are looking at this and saying yeah that's the guy I want in charge of the free world. WTA and I cannot stress this enough F?
Some straight "Ministry of Propaganda" type stuff, right there. Herr Doctor Göebbels would be proud
Thank you, Steve, for this. I share and restock.
Trump and cronies always on offense with lies leaving his targets on defense trying to disprove negatives.Governors like Casey & Kemp spoke of being contacted by Biden in advance of Helene to prevent delays by discussing what would be needed.
The lying liars lie to control the narrative & take the spotlight off what they are doing - or more accurately, are not doing. While Donnie and his cronies lie about FEMA assistance being delayed or diverted there is little mention of :
• Republicans who voted against FEMA funding as hurricane season arrived, not long before Helene hit. https://www.latintimes.com/hurricane-helene-florida-fema-relief-republicans-voted-matt-gaetz-marjorie-taylor-greene-nancy-mace-560943
• Efforts (supported by Ted Cruz) in 2021 to defund FEMA.
• Speaker Johnson refusing to call the House into session to fund “Helene supplemental” — until after the election. Instead he seems set on making the TV rounds with his lies. Allowing Helene assistance to deplete FEMA funding as hurricane season ramps up & Milton heads for FL.
Once again, where are the mainstream media in all of this? Why are they letting Trump and his surrogates get away with telling one dangerous lie after the other - lies that threaten the lives of people - with barely a murmur of reproach in response?
We can only seek freedom - in its larger sense - through the pursuit of truth. Lies are the tools and province of totalitarianism. Ask Hitler. Ask Putin. It may be superfluous to add that what Trump is seeking to do is to destroy the soul of this nation in a fundamental way. But dear Mainstream Media, it cannot be said loudly enough. Are you even listening?
We are indeed living in a post truth world where up is down and down is up. This is the sociopath’s plan where nothing can be trusted except what Trump tells them.
Also
You may have to break this list in half and send 2 Tweets depending on your account
Here is one of my lists to use to share this article on Twitter:
——————-
@MiamiHerald
@dallasnews
@TheTNHoller
@HoustonChron
@denverpost
@denverwestword
@NewslineCO
@wisconsin_now
@GANewsNetwork
@MilitaryTimes
@newsmax
@seanhannity
@Foxnews
@heraldleader
@KyTodayEditor
@Ohio_Politics
@ohio247now
@onewisconsinnow
@iowanewsnow
@ALReporter
@tuckercarlson
@FoxNewsPolitics
@houseGOP
@senateGop
@Pennlive
Of course there is a whole plethora of FOX in each state you can find if you search on “Fox” in Twitter
-You're preaching to the choir. You have to speak to the opposition... Biden should address this in public address but he won't and can't and drifts off into irrelevancies... Harris talks 'joy' and handouts, not misinformation...Msnbc is preaching to the chorus...Maybe hire Jessica Tarlow on Fox and ask her for advice. She does speak truth to those viewers...Hire Pence to speak to right wing states.
The choir needs to sing well. Please do share with all the opposition you know.
Democratic dies in darkness, true. But it also dies when the airways are flooded with lies going to vulnerable listeners. Fear facilitates belief in false information. They go hand in hand. Demagogues know that. How do you overcome those forces!
And how many of your readers have access to the intractable right? Listen to Donna Brazile try to correct Reince Pribus on ABC on Sunday. You can't diffuse a cult by simply telling them they are wrong. Listen to C Span viewers refusing to accept the truth they hear on air. Demagogues succeed because they control people's minds. No crack to let the light in.
Right. But your readers don't have the platform you have. The average New Yorker or Bostonian can't reach the heartland
How do you expect your readers to reach those who believe the falsehood.
• Who is going to believe Biden who falls for Donald John Trump lies? Biden has said they are false. FEMA is well embedded in the search engines countering the false info.
• If you do a search for ‘Helene fema’ in news you will see tons of media headlines re: factchecking and misinformation about the aid. The truth is out there everywhere.
• Yes, Harris is addressing it. In an interview yesterday she call out the “lies” re: Helene aid and FEMA. Saying in part she must be frank and repeating that they are “lies.” No, she doesn’t only talk “joy”. She has a less combative manner than you may prefer but it opens other ears.
• Republican governors have said the accusations are false as have other GOP leaders. In GOP states people are much more likely to believe people they know, their local officials, nonprofits and their Governors. Not Biden or Harris because they expect denials from them.
If a campaign spends too much time swatting at the swarm of lies, it can’t hold the mini-attention spans people have long enough to talk about what is being done or the Harris agenda. That is an objective of lying liars. The fantastical firehose of lies cannot be rebutted in advance. Its purpose is to keep the opponent on defense dancing to their tune.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/06/kamala-harris-howard-stern-stephen-colbert-trump-election.html
All good points and wrll said. BUT there is a fire-hose of lies. There's a mentality which blots out the truth. As such frequent reputation, by multople reputable sources including Rs like Cheney and many others, which will be heard by those who need to know, are important. And, I'm guessing that a lot of readers of Prof B's brilliant essays, don't communicate regularly with the political enemy. Demagoguery is insidious.
I don’t deny getting the truth out is important. The nature of the firehose is that it operates faster than the truth. It gets ahead of truth and is unpredictable so it can’t be prevented. I think the administration, including VP Harris, and its surrogates are responding. For instance Buttigieg had an interaction on X and asked him to call over the “misunderstanding” after Musk put out false info on flight restrictions. https://x.com/elon_alerts/status/1842350319155470630
Repetition falls under the theory of familiarity. We see it in advertising and branding.
Our brains accept what is familiar as safe. Things that are unfamiliar are potentially unsafe. We see it in how people trust neighbors who they saw occasionally, but don’t really know. When said neighbors are arrested for crimes the response is usually “They were so nice”. Translation: There were no negative interactions and the neighbors waved once in a while.
We see it in how grifters and con artist operate. First they gain trust and then they suck bank accounts dry. And we see it from demagogues. All of them dangle something people want or fear to get their attention. People who have latched onto them are not persuadable. Contrary info is rejected and so is the source. They are not persuadable until something touches them. That could be Congress dragging its feet on FEMA aid until after the election.
Meanwhile evacuations are underway as hurricane Milton became a Category 5 about lunch time. Winds are at 160 mph. Debris has not been cleared from Helene.
Stronger winds are moving the storm in sooner. By the time I said (sustained) winds were 160 they’d gone to 175 mph.
About that idea to defund the National Weather Bureau … Looking at you DJT
https://www.masslive.com/news/2024/07/what-project-2025-means-for-your-free-weather-forecasts-if-trump-wins.html
and your pals at the Heritage Foundation who added it to Project 2025.
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4907338-heritage-foundation-plan-weather-service/
Well said. Sorry.
And repetition not reputation. Good grief.
Also, noting lies is good. And yes she has done that. But it's a tsunami of dangerous lies. She should mention it whenever she can. And note why they are dangerous. And note Republicans who have chastised him for the lies. The lying has been ongoing for years. At this stage, the quantity and substance of the lies is felononeous. She has yo fight the felon with bright lights and repeated responses. Demagogues win when their opponents don't fight fire with nuclear weapons, so to speak. She has to penetrative the cults psyche, hard as that may be.
Ok. Repetitive but very important point.