By Scott Maxwell
It’s almost Halloween. (click here) So you can find scary movies galore on TV. But just as scary are the political ads in between.
Marco Rubio, for instance, is warning us over and over that Val Demings is basically a witch who wants to magically “turn boys into girls” as part of her overall plan to “destroy America.”...
...I used to think people weren’t dumb enough to believe such ridiculous (and in this case LGBTQ-phobic) claims. Now, I’m not so sure....
...For one, truth just doesn’t seem to matter as much anymore. Politicians lie with impunity and still get elected.
For another, many news outlets simply don’t call out lies anymore. Fact checks and ad-watches that used to be staples of local journalism are rarer today.
Plus, the entire concept of fact-checking has been demonized by politicians who don’t like seeing lies exposed. The Pulitzer Prize-winning site Politifact recently penned a piece about how some of their journalists have been personally harassed. The piece specifically cited Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bellicose spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, for bashing journalists, saying she liked to “attack them on Twitter, urging online mobs to vilify things that are legitimate practices of journalism.”...
...So how can you tell whether claims are true?
For starters, don’t take any ad at face value. Question everything. That’s what George does — even when it’s a claim coming from a campaign he supports. Boy, I respect that.
Do your own research. Sure, use Google. But only rely upon information you get from sites you recognize and trust. Politifact.com is a good one. So is OrlandoSentinel.com where you can find our Voters Guide and watch interviews of the candidates to hear from them directly.
Another great resource is the League of Women Voters’ site, Vote411.org. There, you can type in your address and get a list of every race that will appear on your personal ballot, along with the candidates’ own answers to policy questions. (Be skeptical of those who didn’t answer — the politicians who want your vote but won’t tell you where they stand.)
There are other good sites. Just please don’t trust the ads. Because, while some people may have valid reasons to vote for Amendment 3 or for Marco Rubio, it shouldn’t be because you’ve been duped into believing the amendment will help veterans or that Rubio’s opponent wants to turn every little Joey she sees into a Jolene.
People who buy into that bunk just encourage more of it.
It’s almost Halloween. (click here) So you can find scary movies galore on TV. But just as scary are the political ads in between.
Marco Rubio, for instance, is warning us over and over that Val Demings is basically a witch who wants to magically “turn boys into girls” as part of her overall plan to “destroy America.”...
...I used to think people weren’t dumb enough to believe such ridiculous (and in this case LGBTQ-phobic) claims. Now, I’m not so sure....
...For one, truth just doesn’t seem to matter as much anymore. Politicians lie with impunity and still get elected.
For another, many news outlets simply don’t call out lies anymore. Fact checks and ad-watches that used to be staples of local journalism are rarer today.
Plus, the entire concept of fact-checking has been demonized by politicians who don’t like seeing lies exposed. The Pulitzer Prize-winning site Politifact recently penned a piece about how some of their journalists have been personally harassed. The piece specifically cited Gov. Ron DeSantis’ bellicose spokeswoman, Christina Pushaw, for bashing journalists, saying she liked to “attack them on Twitter, urging online mobs to vilify things that are legitimate practices of journalism.”...
...So how can you tell whether claims are true?
For starters, don’t take any ad at face value. Question everything. That’s what George does — even when it’s a claim coming from a campaign he supports. Boy, I respect that.
Do your own research. Sure, use Google. But only rely upon information you get from sites you recognize and trust. Politifact.com is a good one. So is OrlandoSentinel.com where you can find our Voters Guide and watch interviews of the candidates to hear from them directly.
Another great resource is the League of Women Voters’ site, Vote411.org. There, you can type in your address and get a list of every race that will appear on your personal ballot, along with the candidates’ own answers to policy questions. (Be skeptical of those who didn’t answer — the politicians who want your vote but won’t tell you where they stand.)
There are other good sites. Just please don’t trust the ads. Because, while some people may have valid reasons to vote for Amendment 3 or for Marco Rubio, it shouldn’t be because you’ve been duped into believing the amendment will help veterans or that Rubio’s opponent wants to turn every little Joey she sees into a Jolene.
People who buy into that bunk just encourage more of it.
Why trust a man that will sell his soul to the latest Trumpian fear mongering campaign?
This is the Republican base.
These are the people Rubio is chasing with his lies and deceit.
There are no ethics here.
This is all drama for the sake of votes. Americans are being validated as idiots willing to do anything for power and popularity. The woman holding the item that looks like an oversized candy corn wants something from her demonstrating. If what she wants is a fantasy and Rubio is willing to entertain making it come true, there are no stops within our democracy to quackery and gas lighting.
Rubio's pandering is dangerous, highly unethical and REPLACES our democracy with the concept of POWER OWNING. It is wrong and it is extremely dangerous as witnessed with Trump and January 6th.
The Texans that backed Trump's media ideology are prime examples of people who want to practice POWER OWNING and not democracy. I don't care what they say, they do not believe in the USA Constitution and are willing to provide a platform for destroying it.
Poll: 15-20% of Americans believe in core QAnon conspiracy theories
Poll: 15-20% of Americans believe in core QAnon conspiracy theories
Poll: (click here) 15%-20% of Americans believe in core QAnon conspiracy theories.
...The compound (click here) has become an object of fascination, however, among COVID-19-truthers and adherents of QAnon, the fringe, baseless theory that a well-sourced government agent called “Q” leaks top-secret intel about a global cabal of Democratic and Hollywood pedophiles through cryptic and grandiose messages known as “Q-drops.” The quasi-cult’s sway has grown considerably in recent years, thanks in part to the tacit encouragement of Donald Trump. On Tuesday, a QAnon promoter named Marjorie Taylor Greene won 57 percent of the vote in a Republican primary for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, all but ensuring her victory in November. “There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take this global cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles out, and I think we have the president to do it,” Greene once said in a video from 2017. Trump applauded Greene’s primary victory....
Just for the record adrenochrome is a naturally occurring substance in the body related to adrenaline oxidation (metabolism) that is not approved by the FDA. It was examined at one point as a potential cause of schizophrenia. I don't think the substance was made illegal, but, there is no legitimate use for it.
July 21, 2020
By Brian Friedberg
THE DARK AGES (click here) were rife with plague, fanaticism, and accusations that Jews secretly fed off the blood of children. In 2020, we too are beset with plague, rampant medical misinformation, and a persistent rumor that “global elites” torture children to harvest the chemical adrenochrome from their blood, which they then inject in order to stay healthy and young.
A favorite topic of interconnected QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy communities, so-called “adrenochrome harvesting” long predates these groups. It has, however, resurrected during the Covid-19 pandemic. Google Trends shows significant spikes in searches for adrenochrome in March and June of 2020. It’s prevalent on TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram. Reddit removed a dedicated adrenochrome subreddit on July 30. On Friday, July 31, conspiracy theorists plan to hold the first “Child Lives Matter” protest in Hollywood to “expose” child trafficking, advertising the event with references to #adrenochrome....
July 21, 2020
By Brian Friedberg
THE DARK AGES (click here) were rife with plague, fanaticism, and accusations that Jews secretly fed off the blood of children. In 2020, we too are beset with plague, rampant medical misinformation, and a persistent rumor that “global elites” torture children to harvest the chemical adrenochrome from their blood, which they then inject in order to stay healthy and young.
A favorite topic of interconnected QAnon and Pizzagate conspiracy communities, so-called “adrenochrome harvesting” long predates these groups. It has, however, resurrected during the Covid-19 pandemic. Google Trends shows significant spikes in searches for adrenochrome in March and June of 2020. It’s prevalent on TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram. Reddit removed a dedicated adrenochrome subreddit on July 30. On Friday, July 31, conspiracy theorists plan to hold the first “Child Lives Matter” protest in Hollywood to “expose” child trafficking, advertising the event with references to #adrenochrome....
The Late John McCain knew when the right wing extremists were out of control and knew when to push back. There is no push back anymore.
