Thursday, October 27, 2022
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
The Truth About Trump... and the Trumpublican Party...
In a 24-hour period this week, former President Donald J. Trump posted to his social media platform, Truth Social, 88 times, amplifying one conspiracy theory after another.
Among his unsupported claims: A retiring F.B.I. agent was behind both the search of his Mar-a-Lago property on Aug. 8 and the investigation into his campaign’s possible ties to Russia; a forthcoming report will prove widespread corruption against his 2016 campaign; and he should be reinstalled as president because the 2020 election was fraudulent.
“Declare the rightful winner or, and this would be the minimal solution, declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election, immediately!” he wrote.
Mr. Trump has spent more than a decade on social media attacking enemies, cozying up to far-right ideas and sharing false information. He used Twitter to perpetuate the lie that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States and later deemed one investigation after another partisan witch hunts.
But, as his legal exposure intensifies over his handling of government documents, the former president this week crossed over to a more direct embrace of claims batted around the dark corners on the internet. His winks and nods to the far right became enthusiastic endorsements, and his flirtations with convoluted conspiratorial ideas became more overt.
He shared a flurry of 61 posts written by Truth Social users, many of whom had ties to QAnon, an online conspiracy movement aligned with the former president. One post included “the storm,” which QAnon followers use to describe the day when the movement’s enemies will be violently punished.
The strategy partly mirrors Mr. Trump’s chaotic approach during moments of crisis, searching for a message to ignite supporters while shifting attention away from his controversies. But the posts this week appeared especially haphazard, opening a door to the former president’s thought process even as his legal team tries to craft a cogent defense against the Justice Department’s investigation.
Soon after the F.B.I. search, Mr. Trump claimed that he had declassified all the documents in his possession — suggesting that he had known of their existence at Mar-a-Lago. The classification status may ultimately prove irrelevant, since some of the charges focus on whether he dodged attempts to recover the documents, regardless of how they had been classified.
The shift also reflected Mr. Trump’s embrace of the more conspiracy-theory-driven posts commonly found on Truth Social, which he started using only in late April. Mr. Trump was barred from Facebook and Twitter in January 2021 for violating rules around inciting violence, losing hundreds of millions of social media followers. Now, unshackled from mainstream rules and decorum, Mr. Trump speaks to a much smaller base of supporters — fewer than four million followers — using fiery rhetoric and echoing the conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, that remain popular on the platform.
The Spread of Misinformation and Falsehoods
- Election Fraud Claims: A new report says that major social media companies continue to fuel false conspiracies about election fraud despite promises to combat misinformation ahead of the midterm elections.
- Russian Falsehoods: Kremlin conspiracy theories blaming the West for disrupting the global food supply have bled into right-wing chat rooms and mainstream conservative news media in the United States.
- Media Literacy Efforts: As young people spend more time online, educators are increasingly trying to offer students tools and strategies to protect themselves from false narratives.
- Global Threat: New research shows that nearly three-quarters of respondents across 19 countries with advanced economies are very concerned about false information online.
The posts have alarmed disinformation experts, who fear that Mr. Trump’s incendiary remarks could further inflame political tensions. After the Mar-a-Lago search, an armed man tried to enter an F.B.I. office and was killed by the police.
Tens of millions of Americans believe that the use of force would be justified to restore Mr. Trump to the White House, said Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, citing a poll conducted last year.
“You can see how easy it’s going to be for Trump to trigger a lot of these incendiary responses with incendiary posts himself,” Mr. Pape said.
A spokesman for Mr. Trump, Taylor Budowich, did not respond to a request for comment about Mr. Trump’s posts.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Vajrayana Buddhism in the West:...
Buddhism
is a tradition focused on spiritual liberation; it is not a theistic religion.
The Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist
philosophers have even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a
distraction for humans seeking enlightenment.
Talk begins at the 4 min 30 second mark.
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Prevent Fascism and Authoritarianism In America... Vote in November... Vote Democratic... Across the Slate
Definition of fascism
The Message Today Is... Vote In Large Numbers - Or You Let the Extremes Determine Political Reality For You...
Political polarization is the defining feature of early 21st century American politics, both among the public and elected officials. As part of a year-long study of polarization, the Pew Research Center has conducted the largest political survey in its history – a poll of more than 10,000 adults between January and March of this year. It finds that Republicans and Democrats are further apart ideologically than at any point in recent history. Growing numbers of Republicans and Democrats express highly negative views of the opposing party. And to a considerable degree, polarization is reflected in the personal lives and lifestyles of those on both the right and left.
Here are 7 key findings on polarization in America today:
Much more BELOW the FOLD
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Monday, October 17, 2022
Dhammapada 235-240, 244-248, 251-253...
235. Like a withered leaf are you now; death's messengers await you. You stand on the eve of your departure, yet you have made no provision for your journey!
236. Make an island for yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall enter the celestial abode of the Noble Ones.
237. Your life has come to an end now; You are setting forth into the presence of Yama, the king of death. No resting place is there for you on the way, yet you have made no provision for the journey!
238. Make an island unto yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall not come again to birth and decay.
239. One by one, little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should remove his own impurities, as a smith removes his dross from silver.
240. Just as rust arising from iron eats away the base from which it arises, even so, their own deeds lead transgressors to states of woe.
244. Easy is life for the shameless one who is impudent as a crow, is backbiting and forward, arrogant and corrupt.
245. Difficult is life for the modest one who always seeks purity, is detached and unassuming, clean in life, and discerning.
246-247. One who destroys life, utters lies, takes what is not given, goes to another man's wife, and is addicted to intoxicating drinks — such a man digs up his own root even in this world.
248. Know this, O good man: evil things are difficult to control. Let not greed and wickedness drag you to protracted misery.
251. There is no fire like lust; there is no grip like hatred; there is no net like delusion; there is no river like craving.
252. Easily seen is the fault of others, but one's own fault is difficult to see. Like chaff one winnows another's faults, but hides one's own, even as a crafty fowler hides behind sham branches.
253. He who seeks another's faults, who is ever censorious — his cankers grow. He is far from destruction of the cankers.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Time For Democrats and Independents To Stand Up and Be Counted! Bury the Trumpublicans in November 2022!
15 Differences Between Democrats and Republicans
https://soapboxie.com/ has it exactly right!
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Monday, October 10, 2022
Wang Wei, Buddhist Poet...
Drifting
Clearer still so far from humankind.
A heron by the pool, a mountain cloud,
Either of them makes the mind content.
The faintest ripples still and evening’s here.
The moon turns silver, and I dream,
Tonight, leaning on a single oar,
Drifting without thought of going home.
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Dhammapada #129 - #134, #136 & 137, #141
129. All tremble at violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.
130. All tremble at violence; life is dear to all. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill.
131. One who, while himself seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will not attain happiness hereafter.
132. One who, while himself seeking happiness, does not oppress with violence other beings who also desire happiness, will find happiness hereafter.
133. Speak not harshly to anyone, for those thus spoken to might retort. Indeed, angry speech hurts, and retaliation may overtake you.
134. If, like a broken gong, you silence yourself, you have approached Nibbana, for vindictiveness is no longer in you.
136. When the fool commits evil deeds, he does not realize (their evil nature). The witless man is tormented by his own deeds, like one burnt by fire.
137. He who inflicts violence on those who are unarmed, and offends those who are inoffensive, will soon come upon one of these ten states:
141. Neither going about naked, nor matted locks, nor filth, nor fasting, nor lying on the ground, nor smearing oneself with ashes and dust, nor sitting on the heels (in penance) can purify a mortal who has not overcome doubt.
Saturday, October 8, 2022
Info to Help Fight Capitalist Corporate Greed...
Research and keeping an open mind can save you hundreds of dollars and stick it to corporations who relish overcharging you to grow their own wealth at your expense.