Monday, January 23, 2017

The problem with alternate facts ... by gimleteye

The Trump administration got off on a limp foot over the weekend. Trump's two main proxies with the outside world -- Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway -- went on camera (Spicer, first WH press conference and Conway, Sunday talk shows) to defend Trump's lying about the size of his inauguration crowd.

President Trump has already decided that a permanent war with the press is exactly the way to distract the public from the disorganization of a spotless mind. Next come bread and circuses. Military marches and other calls to patriotism and rebuke to those who would question his authority.

Trump is soothed by the addition of the gold touches to the White House. The gold reinforces a sense of grandeur. America starts being great again with gold leaf. Lots of it. No amount of redecorating can eliminate a sense of foreboding that his own simple, self-centeredness has just been overwhelmed by reality.

Trump will tackle complexity for a while, but nothing in his history or his campaign suggests he has the bandwidth or discipline for the long haul. So management of the public interest in the federal government will soon be turned over to members the Trump Cabinet. If the confirmation hearings are any indication, in key respects the changes ahead will be the most radical in 100 years.

Put simply, Trump -- like Florida Governor Rick Scott -- has a vastly over-inflated sense of what is right for the economy. Instead of caution for consequences, his administration will take a chain saw to protections government has been charged to maintain: public health, food safety, public education, drug safety, regulations protecting the quality of our air and water. They call it states' rights.

The changes will be carried out by an army of right wing conservatives, organized by think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute -- funded by the nation's top Republican donors like the Koch Brothers. It will be up to the free press to uncover for the public, as it began to do over the weekend, each and every point where the Trump administration is lying. Fasten your seat belts, world.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So, we all got "Spicer'd"

This may be the time to recall another Spicer, Yes, the famous, drum roll please, Muhammad al Sahaf from another time of dear leader!
To refresh your memories:

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mohammed_saeed_alsahaf.html

Anonymous said...

Yes these are crazy times and though I don't buy into that news coming from MSM is fake, I do think its biased and sometimes distorted... has been for some time.
I think MSM shares a great responsibility for Trump Winning (I didn't vote for him or Hilary) and the current political climate.

One example is the little coverage given to Madonna's "White House Comment" be honest had Willy Nelson or someone comparable made that statement 8 years ago it would be front and center for at least a month, all hell would have broken loose.

We should all more specifically those that voted for Trump or Hilary stop pointing fingers and deal with the fact that Trump is President and seriously analyze how we got here and best way to avoid making things worse over next 4 years (not whining about Hilary).