(RNS) — The attack exposed the comfortable juxtaposition of Christianity and white supremacy.
Some of the participants, organized as part of a “Jericho March,” blew shofars — Jewish ritual horns — as they circled the Capitol, reenacting the siege of the city of Jericho by the Israelites described in the Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible. And one video showed the Christian flag — white, with a blue canton containing a red cross, used by many white evangelical churches — being paraded into an empty congressional chamber after the doors had been breached and members of Congress evacuated.
[The January 6th insurrection] was rooted in lies. That a fair election was stolen. That a significant defeat was actually a landslide victory. That the world’s oldest democracy, ingeniously insulated via autonomous state voting regimens, is a rigged system. Such lies-upon-lies, repeated frequently and fervently, provided the kindling, the spark, the gasoline.
That Donald Trump devolved from commander-in-chief to liar-in-chief didn’t surprise Forbes: As we’ve chronicled early and often, for all his billions and Barnum-like abilities, he’s been shamelessly exaggerating and prevaricating to our faces for almost four decades. More astonishing: the number of people willing to lend credence to that obvious mendacity on his behalf.
In this time of transition – and pain – reinvigorating democracy requires a reckoning. A truth reckoning. Starting with the people paid by the People to inform the People.
As someone in the business of facts, it’s been especially painful to watch President Trump’s press secretaries debase themselves. Yes, as with their political bosses, spins and omissions and exaggerations are part of the game. But ultimately in PR, core credibility is the coin of the realm.
From Day One at the Trump White House, up has been down, yes has been no, failure has been success. Sean Spicer set the tone with the inauguration crowd size – the worst kind of whopper, as it demanded that people disbelieve their own eyes. The next day, Kellyanne Conway defended Spicer’s lie with a new term, “alternative facts.” Spicer’s successor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied at scale, from smearing those who accused Trump of sexual harassment to conjuring jobs statistics. Her successor, Stephanie Grisham, over the course of a year, never even held a press conference, though the BS continued unabated across friendly outlets. And finally, Kayleigh McEnany, Harvard Law graduate, a propaganda prodigy at 32 who makes smiling falsehood an art form. All of this magnified by journalists too often following an old playbook ill-prepared for an Orwellian communication era.
As American democracy rebounds, we need to return to a standard of truth when it comes to how the government communicates with the governed. The easiest way to do that, from where I sit, is to create repercussions for those who don’t follow the civic norms. Trump’s lawyers lie gleefully to the press and public, but those lies, magically, almost never made it into briefs and arguments – contempt, perjury and disbarment keep the professional standards high.
So what’s the parallel in the dark arts of communication? Simple: Don’t let the chronic liars cash in on their dishonesty. Press secretaries like Joe Lockhart, Ari Fleischer and Jay Carney, who left the White House with their reputations in various stages of intact, made millions taking their skills — and credibility — to corporate America. Trump’s liars don’t merit that same golden parachute. Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trump’s fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie. We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world’s biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away.
This isn’t cancel culture, which is a societal blight. (There’s surely a nice living for each of these press secretaries on the true-believer circuit.) Nor is this politically motivated, as Forbes’ pro-entrepreneur, pro-growth worldview has generally placed it in the right-of-center camp over the past century — this standard needs to apply to liars from either party. It’s just a realization that, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, in a thriving democracy, everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts. Our national reset starts there.
Just in case anyone thinks that milk is necessary for strong bones, I’m reblogging this. There are other ways to get calcium, such as in non-dairy milk products. They taste good, too.
Also, milk is higher in fat compared to the calcium content. Plenty of vegetables have good amounts of calcium.
Plus i think a good portion of people are lactose intolerant.
I’ve been telling this to my family for years. They believe the milk industry despite the evidence to the contrary. The educators are also lobbied, and have been since the turn of the century
I am Autistic, and Autism Speaks does not speak for me
I am not a burden.
I am not a mistake.
I am not missing a piece.
I am not a disease.
I am not something that needs to be cured.
I am not something that needs to be fixed.
I am not something that needs to be prevented.
I am autistic, and Autism Speaks does not speak for me.
Autism Speaks has SUPPORTED families of autistic people that have abused, and even murdered, their autistic child because they are “too much of a burden”.
Autism Speaks is a board made ENTIRELY of neurotypicals - Autism “Speaks” does not speak for autistic people, they speak for themselves.
Autism Speaks is a hate group.
Autism Speaks tries to instill fear into the minds of others to try and target us as dangerous.
I am Autistic, and Autism Speaks does not speak for me
I am not a burden.
I am not a mistake.
I am not missing a piece.
I am not a disease.
I am not something that needs to be cured.
I am not something that needs to be fixed.
I am not something that needs to be prevented.
I am autistic, and Autism Speaks does not speak for me.
Autism Speaks has SUPPORTED families of autistic people that have abused, and even murdered, their autistic child because they are “too much of a burden”.
Autism Speaks is a board made ENTIRELY of neurotypicals - Autism “Speaks” does not speak for autistic people, they speak for themselves.
Autism Speaks is a hate group.
Autism Speaks tries to instill fear into the minds of others to try and target us as dangerous.
The 2018 Presidential Rankings are out via NY Times
Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin S. Vaughn at NYT:
Where does Donald Trump rank on the list of American presidents?
We surveyed presidential politics experts to sketch out a first draft of Trump’s place in presidential history.
Since our previous survey in 2014, some presidential legacies have soared (Barack Obama’s stock has climbed into the Top 10), while others have fallen (Andrew Jackson toppled to 15, out of the Top 10).
And President Trump? Let’s say that, according to the 170 members of the American Political Science Association’s Presidents and Executive Politics section who filled out our survey, he has at least three years to improve on an ignominious debut.
Presidential Greatness Rankings
James Buchanan, who was at the helm as the United States careened into civil war, was dislodged from his position as our nation’s worst president by our current president, Trump.
His Oval Office predecessor, Barack Obama, shot into the Top 10, up from 18th in the previous survey. Ulysses S. Grant also got a bump, up seven places from 2014, perhaps owing to a strong assist from Ron Chernow’s recent masterpiece.
The biggest declines were for Bill Clinton, arguably the result of contemporary scorn for his treatment of women, and Andrew Jackson, for evolving attitudes on his treatment of Native Americans.
Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Teddy, and Jefferson are Top 5.
Obama enters Top 10, below Eisenhower [#7] and above Reagan [#9] and Clinton [#13].
Reagan also enters Top 10, below Obama [#8] and above LBJ [#10].
LBJ also enters Top 10, below Reagan [#9] and above Wilson [#11].
Jackson is out of the Top 10, falls -6 to #15.
Trump is worst-ranked at #44, with Buchanan at #43.
Clinton falls out of the Top 10, down -5 to #13.
Grant climbs to #21, up +7 from #28.
Bush 43 climbs up +5 to #30, placing him below Carter [#26] and above Nixon [#33].
Trump Is Dividing The Country, U.S. Voters Say 2-1, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Most Trust Media More Than President
While #DonaldTrump’s abysmal 35% approval and 59% disapproval ratings aren’t quite as bad as his all-time worst of 33% approval and 61% disapproval, there’s plenty more terrible news for him in this latest poll.
62% feel that Trump is doing more to divide the country as President; only 31% feel he is doing more to unite the country
62% disapprove of the way Trump talks about the media; only 35% approve
54% trust the news media more than Trump to tell the truth about important issues; only 36% trust Trump more
53% believe Trump is abusing the powers of his office; only 44% believe he is not
52% feel less safe having Trump as President; only 28% feel more safe
50% believe Trump is less honest than most previous presidents; only 24% believe he is more honest
49% believe that the nation would be better off today if Hillary Clinton had become President instead of Donald Trump in the Presidential election of 2016; only 40% believe the country would be worse off
45% believe that Trump is mostly bringing the wrong kind of change to the country; only 30% believe that he is mostly bringing the right kind of change
Just in case anyone thinks that milk is necessary for strong bones, I’m reblogging this. There are other ways to get calcium, such as in non-dairy milk products. They taste good, too.
Also, milk is higher in fat compared to the calcium content. Plenty of vegetables have good amounts of calcium.
Plus i think a good portion of people are lactose intolerant.
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