Showing posts with label Trump Reality Checks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trump Reality Checks. Show all posts

Saturday, December 3, 2016

“Objective Truth trumps Personal Faith,” some thoughts

Since I keep going on about how “Objective Truth trumps Personal Faith” my gal pointed me to Trevor Noah’s recent commentary on Trump’s disregard for the truth.  “Adapting to Donald Trump's Lies” does a nice job of considering our Truth-Challenged president-elect.

It’s worth listening to, much sharper than the ‘white bread news’ that seems to be doing their best to lull Democrats back into their usual complacency, “give him a chance,” “lets wait to see what he actually does.”  Yeah right!  While the Alt-Right and Tea-partiers are busy lining up their targets and sharpening their knifes.  Since when should one willingly idle about waiting to get mauled?  Every day matters.  Yes, it is that serious.  Wake up.

Trump has been very clear about what he and the people around him want to do to USA’s government and the protections we’ve fought long and hard to achieve.  Trust Trump's promises, fear for the worst because without massive and effective opposition, you can be certain that the worst will happen!  This isn’t an idle game for them.  There are all too many good reasons to be scared right now.

Actually, much better than just scared is to be scared into action and involvement and learning how to communicate the rationalist's perspective in millions of discussions and communications with each other and our representatives and leaders across the country.  Time to get engaged in the government operations that dictate how we shall live. 

You know, here is where we must reaffirm the need for honesty and the need for observational fact-based decision making rather that self-certain Personal Faith turning the political landscape into a country of enemies, rather then members of the same team USA.
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Trevor Noah - Adapting to Donald Trump's Lies

Published on Nov 30, 2016 - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Even after Donald Trump's mendacious 2016 presidential campaign, 
the media is still grappling with how to report on the now-president-elect's blatant falsehoods.
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Then after my introduction there’s an 18 minute talk by James Hoggan, founder of the information blog DeSmogBlog.com who offers reflections on what he’s learned from studying the right-wing PR machine driven Climate Science Contrarian movement.  Which is followed by Richard Milne PhD, college level one hour twenty minute lecture for those who want to get into more depth: "Critical Thinking on Climate Change: Separating Skepticism from Denial." It's sad that it has taken Hoggan's YouTube nearly four years to break 500 views.  

Four years of general apathy while the Alt-Right was diligently generating and broadcasting the most outlandish slander and fabricating stories meant to shamelessly and maliciously sow fear and hatred in gullible, scared people’s hearts. 

Friday, November 25, 2016

Reality Check - George Monbiot - Drums of War

I'm a tradesman, a carpenter, evolved into a handyman during these "semi" retired years, which turn out to be way more crowded with commitments and distractions than expected.  My plan had been becoming a semi-recluse devoted to reading, ruminating on my experiences, on the world and trying to write about it.  But as John said: Life is what happens while you're busy making plans.  No complaints, there's a beauty to being needed (and loved) and being able to make a difference, even if writing potential and output suffers.  Still, there are things I feel a need to enunciate that I simply can't get the time required to do them any justice.  Then I read something like this piece from Monbiot and it's bingo - finally something real and potentially useful understanding.

All this is by way of explaining to George Monbiot and Guardian editors, why I've taken the liberty of bootlegging and Reposting yet another full text of an article of his.  Monbiot studies these issues full time and does an excellent job of describing his objective understanding.  He's sharing information that's no longer optional.  It's become required background understanding.  Many more people need to wake up and get up to speed on what has just happened; why it happened; what it means for us, the USA and the world and what you can do to help minimize the coming destruction of decades, heck a century's, worth of progress and awareness.  

These are now extraordinary times !
  
Every single wasted day and 
every unaroused US citizen 
will cost our nation and the world dearly !  

A STITCH IN TIME ~ SAVES NINE !  

Wake up America, this is not a drill ! 
We are under attack by the oligarchs !

Keep in mind the most fundamental observation of this past election is that "The Lie" has become accepted political currency.  Normalized as part of modern living. United States of America is no longer a government with a President, it is now a business with a CEO in charge of marketing and PR.  And people seem okay with that.  Are you? 

For the record, jettisoning honesty is an utterly insane strategy for left, right, rational and faith-based and most of all, for future generations!  Yet, this fundamental far-reaching lack of honesty is largely ignored, an example of destructive seepage if there ever was one.  

The following article by George Monbiot offers a basic, yet detailed overview of the reality that our politicians and our media and our business leaders are doing their utmost to ignore.  If you are concerned, this will offer you valuable background.  Information can be power.  

Thank you Mr. Monbiot for being such an astute observer.
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The Drums of War
By George Monbiot, published in the Guardian 23rd November 2016
The combination of automation, complexity and climate change is dangerous in ways we haven’t even begun to grasp.

Wave the magic wand and the problem goes away. Those pesky pollution laws, carbon caps and clean power plans: swish them away and the golden age of blue-collar employment will return. 

This is Donald Trump’s promise, in his video message on Monday, in which he claimed that unleashing coal and fracking will create “many millions of high-paid jobs”. He will tear down everything to make it come true.

But it won’t come true. Even if we ripped the world to pieces in the search for full employment, leaving no mountain unturned, we would not find it. Instead, we would merely jeopardise the prosperity – and the lives – of people everywhere. However slavishly governments grovel to corporate Luddism, they will not bring the smog economy back.

No one can deny the problem Trump claims to be addressing. The old mining and industrial areas are in crisis throughout the rich world. And we have seen nothing yet.

I have just re-read the study published by the Oxford Martin School in 2013 on the impacts of computerisation. What jumps out today,