By spocko, on April 20th, 2020% Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan on April 15, 2020. Composite by Spocko Original Photo: Jeff Kowalsky /Getty Images
It’s time to start tracking the people who are gathering to protest stay at home orders. Tracking & contact tracing is one of the ways other countries control the spread. We can start with these people, the #MichiganMorons. They’re in public, so they have no expectation of privacy. They aren’t wearing masks, so the facial recognition software will work. They chose to risk their health when they traveled and meet in groups, but when they went home they risked the health of others who are unaware of their protest. All of those people might be exposed without their consent.
If these protesters don’t want their face being seen they can wear a mask! (I really would like it if that would be their response to facial recognition being used on them, because that would be a win for public health!)
The general public should be able to find out who these people are for multiple reasons. First so we can keep OURSELVES away from THEM if they live in our state. Second, so people in other states can . . . → Read More: Let’s Track The COVIDIOT Protesters
By spocko, on April 11th, 2020% Trump wants to measure how he’s doing on this pandemic based on the numbers he chooses. To counter this we must actively promote legitimate metrics of success and failure that come from trusted entities. Then we frame his numbers with numbers that matter. Like how many died who didn’t have to because of his actions.
Trump has always picked the numbers he wants to measure his success. First he wanted it to be inauguration attendees. When the media pushed back Sean Spicer had to go on Dancing With The Stars for not being a good liar. Next Trump used numbers the media couldn’t deny like the electoral college vote. When the stock market was up it was tweet, tweet, tweet! When unemployment was down? He bragged about it in every rally, especially in a category that he was weak in–African American employment.
Thursday he picked a number he believes shows he is winning the fight against the coronavirus. TV ratings. I’m not going to let him, so I’ve physically–and linguistically–framed the metric he chose with one the people care about.
Picking a number you are a leader in is a classic technique used by marketing and PR people for . . . → Read More: Don’t let Trump pick how to measure his pandemic response
By spocko, on March 26th, 2020% Soon we will have data on states that did NOT keep people apart and did NOT issue stay at home orders. I will share that data with a plea for people to act appropriately. When it comes: .
Credit Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
I WILL NOT gloat when Fox News watchers die. The network they followed featured Trump’s “hunches” instead of pandemic experts.
I WILL NOT cheer when people in Red States get sick. Even those who voted for Trump and kept supporting him.
What will I do? Keep pleading for them to listen to healthcare experts.
I want them to change their actions in order to save their lives. If they don’t, they might get sick and die. Part of that change is for them to understand that what Trump is saying and doing has made the situation worse. Will they stop supporting him and change? Yes. Some will. I will welcome them to a community who believes in science. But some won’t.
If I’m wrong and they are right how will they respond? By mocking me. “See? I told you it wasn’t that big of a deal. I didn’t social distance . . . → Read More: There’s no joy in saying, “I told you so!” to a corpse
By spocko, on March 19th, 2020% Trump is calling #COVID19 the Chinese Virus. Read Kurt Eichenwald’s great Twitter thread and Amanda Marcotte’s excellent article on why he’s doing it and how to react. My thoughts on what we can do about it. Make Trump’s Racist Comments Unprofitable For Him.
Trump’s behavior changes when he knows it will impact him positively or negatively financially. Instead of hoping he will suddenly care about that Americans are endangered by his comments let’s use our understanding of his psyche and focus on what he cares about–money–then come up with multiple legal methods to take it away from him. The goal:
Make Trump’s businesses lose millions in revenue whenever he makes statements that reasonable people consider racist.
Close up of Trump’s notes where he crossed out “Corona” and replaced it with “Chinese” Virus as he speaks with his coronavirus task force 3/19/20 at the White House. Image from: Jabin Botsford, Washington PostAs Eichenwald points out, we know how Trump and the right plays the game of “trolling the Libs” then following it up with bad faith arguments and definitions.
2…the purpose was SPECIFICALLY (according to the political consultant’s strategy”) to lead non-scumbags to react “That’s racist!” Then they . . . → Read More: 5 Ways to Financially Hurt Trump & Help Americans During #Coronavirus Pandemic
By spocko, on March 13th, 2020%
All 4 retail executives shook hands with Trump. None of the health care or lab executives did.
By spocko, on March 5th, 2020% When Warren dropped out it became the cue for the Biden vs. Sanders fight to begin.
The media LOVE a two person fight. The main stream media can do horse races and “Dems in Disarray!” stories.
The cable news can dig into the numbers of voters and delegates by percentage points and demographic and go back to 2016 numbers. (I watched Rachel Maddow question Bernie on specific numbers of voter percentages by demographics on Super Tuesday vs. 2016 for an hour last night.)
The right-wing media love to see democratic candidates fight each other and will hype old fights and emphasize new ones. They use the classic. “Let’s you and him fight.” When I see this happening my first impulse is to ask three questions,
1) Who wants ALL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES FAIL?
Trump, the GOP establishment, Russia’s propaganda social media machine and Right Wing media.
2) What can we do to weaken THOSE people and groups?
Demand reinvigorated investigations into Trump’s crimes.
We have seen the democratic establishment slow down on investigating Trump’s crimes. They are giving a number of reasons like, “The conviction didn’t work.” or “The public has investigation fatigue.” Some are giving the reason that the . . . → Read More: Who are you arguing with today? Fight the real enemy.
By spocko, on February 28th, 2020% During Trump’s press conference he said a vaccine would be developed “fairly rapidly” Then Dr. Anthony Fauci went to the podium and said we are moving fast, but it will still take a year to a year and a half for a working vaccine.
I watched Trump’s eyes narrow as he figured out that Dr. Fauci had just contradicted him. It doesn’t matter that Dr. Fauci is one of the country’s leading experts on viruses and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. What mattered to Trump was it looked like he wasn’t in control.
With this White House it’s not about trying to figure out best how to stop the spread of the virus. It’s about how to stop the spread of “disloyalty” among people who work for Trump.
The next day in the New York Times we see how Trump punishes disloyalty, he told Pence to control the scientists and the message about the virus.
Pence Will Control All Coronavirus Messaging From Health Officials.
“Dr. Fauci has told associates that the White House had instructed him not to say anything else without clearance.”
Watch this video where Trump says the vaccine is . . . → Read More: Pence muzzles Dr. Fauci for contradicting Trump on the speed of making vaccine
By spocko, on February 23rd, 2020% “This is not a warning. The dark days aren’t coming. The dark days are here.” Rachel Maddow. Feb 20, 2020
https://www.spockosbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/dark-days-no-rules.mp4
Rachel Maddow believed that the heroic thing was to sound the alarm and warn people of the direction the country is heading. But last week she realized we are past that. She tells journalists to stop describing what is happening with timid phrases like “appearances of impropriety”
The media must acknowledge what is happening, “The rules are gone. They will do what they want. The government will be turned against you if you stand against this President.” Trump has set democracy on fire. Now it’s a 4 alarm fire and we need to act. Watch the whole video here. (link)
Trump Set Democracy On Fire. McConnell Spread It
https://www.spockosbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/DZ7lNn7.mp4
Shown here is Mitch McConnell driving our burning Democracy though town to spread it. The media recorded the fire but they didn’t stop it.
Democracy is burning. Maddow has ideas on what to do but she’s not an activist or politician. She identifies first as a journalist. Their job is to report on the news, not make it. In the middle of the fire it’s hard for a reporter to . . . → Read More: Trump Set Fire To Our Democracy. Maddow Tells Us To Act Now
By spocko, on February 10th, 2020% Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was removed from his position at the White House on Friday. Today Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked that every agency inspector general investigate retaliation against whistleblowers who report presidential misconduct. (Politico) This is a good move by Schumer, but there needs to be a much bigger understanding of all forms of intimidation Trump and the GOP use constantly. Trump’s retaliation against his political enemies has hidden, delayed benefits to all the GOP.
When Dems win they are pushed to “look forward not backward” so legitimate investigations & prosecution of lawbreaking Republicans are stopped. We saw this from Obama following the George W. Bush years. I fear the same will happen after Trump is out of office. “We don’t want people to think we are like the Republicans and are retaliating.”
It will be essential to make it clear that investigating, arresting and convicting people for actual crimes is about justice–not retaliation.
Besides themselves, who helps the GOP escape justice for their crimes? 1) Moderate Democratic politicians 2) The mainstream media 3) The violent right: both real ones and the ones who bluster online 4) Concern trolls: both fake ones on the right and real ones . . . → Read More: 5 groups that help the GOP avoid justice for their crimes
By spocko, on February 7th, 2020% These last several weeks I’ve felt depressed, numb and angry. Only one thing inspired me during this time. Reading the Catch and Kill book and listening to the Catch and Kill podcast. It’s the story about the team that finally got Harvey Weinstein arrested for his multiple alleged rapes and sexual assaults.
There are a lot of lessons to learn from that book. What I needed to read and hear about were the historic failures and what the latest journalist to take on bullies, Ronan Farrow, learned from what happened in the previous attempts to expose Weinstein. One lesson is especially relevant now.
Bullies will continue to manipulated the system, media, public and victims to block a story and kill charges but the crimes at the core of the charges do not disappear.
There are also lessons to be learned from the take down of Roger Ailes. In both cases powerful men offered riches or fame to get what they wanted. If the victims fought back they used their money and power to silence them. When challenged they used threats to victims and the journalists who were trying to tell the story.
I know a bit about fighting powerful . . . → Read More: Defeating Bullies: Lessons from fighting Weinstein & Ailes
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