Yesterday, we got some additional election results and we did not get others. Some of the results were good. Others not so much. And some of the undecided races are IMO nervewracking (Boebert’s district is still too close to call.) One thing that we do know is that the Georgia Senate race is headed to a runoff, which is the second-best news we could have from Georgia. We do know that Georgia Democrats are very good at getting turnout for runoffs – that is how Rev. Warnock got into the Senate in the first place. I’m sorry that it means more work (and more anxiety) for Georgia Democrats, but it is better than a simple loss, and it gives me hope. I did find a good news story (at least I think and hope so – one never knows what a fascist is going to spring on one), along with one which makes me want to scream. I do have a couple of new nicknames to share (for people I SO wish would just go away so the nicknames would not be needed) – “Pumpkin Spice Lardass” and “DeSanctimonious.” The latter is being credited to the former, but I seriously doubt whether he knows any five-syllable words. Oh, and I got the Name Drop right again – but only because I’m not only so old, but because I was raised by my Mom who was born in 1906 and her Mom who was obviously even older (I called a refrigerator an “icebox” until I was in my 20’s. I had some other paleologisms too.)
Cartoon (Pat B is in her local parade today) –
Short Takes –
Axios – Russia announces retreat from key Ukrainian city of Kherson
Quote – Kherson was the only provincial capital captured by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February. Its liberation would represent a remarkable victory for Ukrainian forces. It marks another major setback for Moscow in the nine-month war, coming after Ukraine recaptured a major portion of Kharkiv Oblast and made significant gains in Kherson Oblast in earlier this fall Russian forces will also cede all of the territory captured on the western bank of the River Dnipro and will organize defensive lines on the opposite bank of the river. Click through for article. I cannot guarantee that this is good news, but it certainly seems promising..
Crooks and Liars – Man Allegedly Shoots Neighbor Dead Because He Thought He Was A Democrat
Quote – An Ohio man died of multiple gunshot wounds, and according to the 911 call, the victim’s wife said that the armed neighbor murdered her husband because he thought he was a Democrat. The chilling 911 call reveals that Austin Combs had confronted Anthony Lee King, 43, over his perceived party affiliation on multiple occasions. Click through for the (literally) gory details. I have heard many times people in AA saying, when someone started a sentence with “I thought…” “Did your sponsor tell you you could think?” Seems appropriate to me for MAGAts – except, who is going to tell them? Who would they listen to?
Glenn Kirschner – Oath Keeper Elmer Stewart Rhodes testifies in his own defense at trial and goes full Trump
The Lincoln Project – The Red Mirage
CNN – I don’t like to use videos this long, but this is information (including emotional information) you likely wan’t get elsewhere, and Anderson IMO did a remarkable job of drawing it out. You may need a hanky.
MSNBC – Sean Patrick Maloney flattens Chuck Todd for blaming Biden: ‘The president gets a bum rap’ (Sadly, e lost re-election.)
Watch This Stray Cat Do A ‘Crab Dance’
Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, special counsels, advice, and delays….
Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s lawyers believed Clarence Thomas was their best shot at overturning the election results
The Lincoln Project – Country Over Party
Ring of Fire – Popular MAGA ‘Hot Babe’ Influencer Turns Out To Be Chinese Spy (It’s not just because they are easy to fool. It’s because MAGA weakens our democracy. And the more our democracy is weakened, the more of a superior position they are in with regard to us.)
Robert Reich – Debunking the Big Lies Coming From Republicans
Yesterday, I managed to get in a grocery order. I authorized one substitution, and was glad I had, because my preferred article was out of stock. Two items were missing – both things I just wanted to try, not anything staple. I also looked over all the news and opinion articles on the internet I found interesting, and decided both to try to ignore the election as it’s being run and counted (I have found that a recipe for anxiety) and also to do my best to make one of the short takes a feel-good story I don’t know whether I can keep that up past Wednesday, but I am going to try. If anyone would like a more broad overlook of the week, I recommend Joyce Vance, who has done a stunning job of putting it all together. (Heather Cox Richardson decided to post a soothing photo. I certainly respect both decisions.)
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
Reuters – ‘Kill them’: Arizona election workers face midterm threats
Quote – The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment on specific ongoing investigations but said it has opened dozens of cases nationwide involving threats to election workers. Eight people face federal charges for threats, including two who targeted Maricopa County officials. DOJ spokesperson Joshua Stueve said that while the “overwhelming majority” of complaints the agency receives “do not include a threat of unlawful violence,” he said the messages are “often hostile, harassing, and abusive” towards election officials and their staff. “They deserve better,” Stueve said. Click through for details. Reuters appears to have no problem with people who read it very occasionally. If you was to read it a bit more grequently, you can register for free access, I hav done so, but sldom need to use it, and did not need it for this.
PolitiZoom – Ha-Ha – The People Behind “2000 Mules” Are In Jail
Quote – Now here’s a story sure to warm the hearts of any Democratic voters (who turned out in 2020 in record numbers to ensure the Orangeutan would be denied a second term and another chance to wreck our Democracy, only to be falsely accused of stuffing ballot return boxes and other electoral malfeasance) and who want to see the record set straight and malefactors like Dinesh D’Souza and anyone else responsible for the slanders propagated against them by his BS schlockumentary 2000 Mules held to account:[.] Click through for article. This is only for contempt of court, but it is very real, and there appears to be a Catch-22 of their own making. The evidence they have failed to torn over may not in fact exist. If so, in order to clear it up they would have to trade contempt for perjury. Not what I would call an attractive option.
Yesterday, I got to see Virgil, which is always positive. I had spent so much time getting a bit ahead here that I hadn’t read all the comments to see who said to say hello, so I assumed you all would have (I knew, for instance, Pat was with family, and I’m sure she would have [since she always does], along with everyone else who does), and just told him hello from y’all. We weren’t able to get the lone deck of cards this time, but for some reason the TV was on – to football – nnd we caught the end of the Bills vs Jets and the beginning of the Buccaneers vs Rams. We got a few laughs. At one point he noticed the clock on the Bills/Jets said 2 minutes to go, and I said, “That should be about a half hour,” which turned out to be not too far off. I do think I will start going an hour earlier and leaving an hour early. I was fine today – mostly – but my drivers license turns into a pumpkin at sunset, which is now getting earlier every day.
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Warning – The hypocrisy of business and media elites
Quote – On Thursday, Axios reported a stunning act of political corruption. The corruption was a direct threat against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce made by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy. His threat is blatant thuggery. It constitutes a grotesque abuse of power. Leader McCarthy demanded that Chamber president and CEO Suzanne Clark be fired. He promised retaliation if the Chamber of Commerce did not submit to his threat. The Washington, DC, access media ignored the threat, while the business leaders who comprise the Chamber executive board have assumed a posture of flaccid opposition and tepid defiance. Click through for article. I guess you can indeed say the silence is deafening – I had no idea about this. I’m no fan of the Chamber – but this is ridiculous.
Gizmodo – Homeland Security Admits It Tried to Manufacture Fake Terrorists for Trump
Quote – The report describes attempts by top officials to link protesters to an imaginary terrorist plot in an apparent effort to boost Trump’s reelection odds, raising concerns now about the ability of a sitting president to co-opt billions of dollars’ worth of domestic intelligence assets for their own political gain. DHS analysts recounted orders to generate evidence of financial ties between protesters in custody; an effort that, had they not failed, would have seemingly served to legitimize President Trump’s false claims about “Antifa,” an “organization” that even his most loyal intelligence officers failed to drum up proof ever existed. Click through for details. Ron Wyden, Oregon’s other Senator, released the report to the public. I’m inclined to say I’m shocked but not suroprised – which has gotten to be a more or less chronic emotional state around here.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
As important as this topic is, I almost bypassed the article because of the rampant bothsiderism in the introduction and first section. But eventually, the author has to admit that all the actual violence and threats of violence today are indeed coming from the right. And that this violence and threats of violence can be traced to the deliberate manufacture of political delusion. Conservative thinkers appeas to have replaces Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”) with “I think, therefore it is so.”
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Political violence in America isn’t going away anytime soon
A warning about the threat of political violence heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 28, 2022.
The bulletin was released the same day that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hospitalized after a home invasion by a lone right-wing extremist seeking to harm her.
This incident is the latest in an increasing stream of extremist confrontations taking place across the United States in recent years. These incidents have primarily targeted Democrats, including a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. But threats from both sides of the political spectrum are up significantly.
And, of course, there was the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where supporters of a defeated Republican president, acting on a widespread lie he perpetuated, violently attempted to prevent the certification of electoral votes. According to well-documented public evidence, some rioters planned to find and execute both Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence.
Such incidents reflect a disturbing trend that targets the very fabric, foundation and future of U.S. democracy. But what led to this point?
As a researcher taking a critical and apolitical eye toward security issues, I believe the rise in contemporary right-wing political extremism – and violence – began with an outdated focus in national communications policy.
Police take measurements around House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home after her husband, Paul Pelosi, was assaulted inside the home on Oct. 28, 2022. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Media-induced slow burn
Until the late 1980s, the Federal Communications Commission’s Fairness Doctrine required traditional licensed broadcasters to offer competing viewpoints on controversial public issues. But these rules did not apply to cable or satellite providers. As a result, the rise of cable news channels in the 1990s led to highly partisan programming that helped divide American society in the ensuing decades.
This programming fueled increasing polarization in the public and political arenas. Bipartisanship was abandoned in the 1990s, when the Republican Congress under Speaker Newt Gingrich embraced a “scorched-earth” policy of governing. That meant treating the minority party not as the loyal opposition and respected elected colleagues who had differences over policy, but as enemies.
Internet platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and 4Chan allowed anyone, anywhere, to create, produce and distribute political commentary and extremist rhetoric that could be amplified by other users and drive the day’s news cycle.
Political pundits and influencers across the spectrum became less concerned about correctly informing the public. Instead, they stoked outrage in the search for money-generating clicks and advertising dollars. And political parties exploited this outrage to satisfy and energize their voting base or funders.
Philadelphia city commissioners display a voting machine in Philadelphia City Hall on Oct. 24, 2022. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
Moderation or censorship?
To combat online extremism, social media companies reluctantly began moderating user posts and sometimes banned prominent users who violated their community standards or terms of service.
In response to what it dubbed “censorship” from Big Tech, the right wing splintered into numerous niche platforms catering to their conspiracy theories and extremist or violent views such as Truth Social – run by former President Trump – Gab, Parler, Rumble and others.
Compared with Democrats, Republicans have mastered this form of gutter politics. One example: Right-wing political figures have mocked Paul Pelosi for being attacked, spread baseless conspiracy theories about his personal life and used the incident for applause lines at campaign rallies.
Accordingly, today’s voters and politicians end up confronting one another in the public sphere not on matters and substance affecting the future of the country, but on fundamental facts and conspiracy theories, or to address distractions often generated by their respective media ecosystems. This is only exacerbated by a prolonged nationwide decline in media literacy and civics education.
Against this backdrop, federal law enforcement has become more vocal in warning about the dangers of domestic political extremism, including a bulletin issued in February 2022. The Oct. 28 DHS bulletin further underscores this concern.
But it’s hard for law enforcement to effectively address political extremism, because speech protected under the First Amendment is a major consideration. Phrases like “I’m fighting for you!” or “Saving our country!” might seem like typical political bluster to one person. But they could be seen by others as an implied call for intimidation or violent action against political opponents, election officials, volunteer poll workers and even ordinary voters.
How does speech turn into violent action? Security specialists and scholars use the term “stochastic terrorism” to capture how a single, hard-to-locate person might be inspired or influenced toward violence by broader extremist rhetoric, as appears to have been the case with the man who allegedly tried to kill Paul Pelosi with a hammer.
Law enforcement’s problem is made worse by right-wing lawmakers who normalize or actively praise the actions of violent extremists, calling them “patriots” and demanding their prison sentences be overturned or pardoned. This helps obscure the actual reasons for such incidents, often by deflecting them into broader conspiracy theories involving their opponents.
Certainly there are controversial left-leaning politicians, pundits, activists and talking points too.
But few – if any – openly disregard the fabric of American government, scheme to overturn democratic elections by force or plot to assassinate politicians.
By contrast, there are over 300 Republican election deniers running for office this year, including many incumbents – the vast majority of whom endorse political violence such as the Jan. 6 attack either by their actions or their silence.
Hope for the best; prepare for the worst
Tensions are high heading into the 2022 midterms. Politicians are making final arguments, and the online messaging machines are spreading campaign information, fundraising requests – and plenty of disinformation as well.
Americans expect a peaceful transfer of political power after elections, but recent history shows we must prepare for the worst. It’s clear that the modern Republican Party is openly and successfully embracing and exploiting misinformation, outrage and attacks on democracy and the rule of law.
Until Republicans actively disavow their extremist rhetoric and the misinformation contributing to it, I believe the likelihood for political violence in America increases with each passing day.
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AMT, the fact is, yes, we need the fairness doctrine or something like it. But we need even more to demand truth in journalism – and in education. Truth – facts – speak for themselves. And what they say is often counter-intuitive. Applying a fairness doctrine to interpretations of fact should take a back seat to actual evidence. And the differences between pure fact, interpretations of fact, and pure opinion need to be recognized and clearly delineated. Just how feasible it is to get to that point from where we are today remains to be seen.
