Two key things Wilson's article does not address or confess..

1.) The outright lies and massive deception that's been pervasive in Republican and right-wing media for decades. He implies it but soft-pedals it. There must have been a hidden Reagan 12th Commandment that says: "never use the word lie or admit to lying".

2.) The massive layoff of journalists and editors across the country in the last twenty years or so, particularly in the print media industry.

One might also ask Mr. Wilson why a number of highly respected news outlets in Europe did indeed regularly call out Trump's lies and bullshit in no uncertain terms, while it was crickets in America.

............ ...........

Yes, that's the stranglehold capitalism has on us.

I'm 70 now and my parents went through the Great Depression and WW2 the hard way - very poor (farming and timber). Much of our days of better economic times with high happiness in life were pre-merger/acquisition days when companies gave a damn about both employees and the communities where they were located.

Almost every small town where I was raised in a TN farm belt had a garment factory (or two), a milk plant, one or two feed stores and three or four family-owned grocery stores. Also (typically) a radio/TV shop, at least one five-and-dime store, one or two jewelry shops, a hardware store, two or three clothing shops, three or four gas station/garages, usually two funeral parlors, a florist shop, at least one community bank, a couple of barber shops and a couple of small restaurants and a dairy dip. Plus, a grammar and high school, a fire house, city hall and police station and numerous small churches. Whew!! (my brain walking through town in around 1960, LOL). And guess what - they all thrived and made a good living!

Something's very wrong with this picture of today's America...... .......

Just think of all the scams tRump can run in prison...

Perfect place to keep his flim-flam skills well honed...

* laundry scam,
* snacks and condiments concessions,
* Trump In-Prison University.....................
* TV and radio rentals with free Faux Prison News,
* in-prison reality shows,
* gambling and bookie services,
* medical services (only the best quacks),
* mail and email services,
* cell phone provisions,
* sexual services (lots of experience there).....
* financial and legal consultations (LOTS of experience there).....

..........

We've all known for a long time...

trump is but a symptom of a deep-seated rot characteristic of the Repug party - in my memory since Nixon.

Sort of like taking the bandage off a severely infected wound. But, no surprise here because the patient has been running a bad fever for a long time.

We Democrats are the only antibiotic for this infection.......

A good review of what the Parkland kids are doing...

A bit more on this story....

From the AJC in Atlanta...

Link: https://www.ajc.com/news/rep-john-lewis-resting-very-comfortably-hospital-sunday/n18sdXLEQkuLDe1KrX6xDJ/

Snip)

If you want to lose your breakfast.....

just click on that Crystal Smith twitter link. You'll get at least 10 years worth of Bible quotes, James Woods posts and sickening accolades for tRump. Demonstrates exactly how so many are trapped in the anti-American right-wing bubble.

It appears that many responders posting the most outrageous lies are bots. These people are totally brainwashed and insane......

Good response, Shred!......

Our biggest battle is obscene amounts of money.....

corporations and the ultra-wealthy pour into the GOP - both from national and international sources. What pisses me off most is that they are using our money from profits from our purchases of goods and services to finance right-wing causes because of their greed.

It seems even more immoral that big money people have to lie, cheat and steal elections when they're already at a huge advantage financially. Their hunger for power is ravenous and they just cannot seem to buy enough.

Without a constant infusion of dark money and the parallel financing of right-wing media, today's GOP would be nothing. So long as the equation money = power holds true, this will be a never-ending human crisis.

Out of control capitalism and a huge boatload of very selfish, greedy people is what's destroying our Democracy....

Yes, you have them pegged.

Resentment of our progressive taxation system was always at the root of GOP policy as long as I can remember, back into the early 60s.

However, I believe there's a more sinister element at play: when most people become very wealthy, after a period of time the fear of losing it sets in. But the worst effect is that these people start to believe they are entitled to political power because of their wealth, and thereafter use part of their wealth to gain that control.

And, tied to that belief is the thinking that the teaming masses of everyday folks must be controlled by whatever means necessary - including lying, deceiving, and starving us to death if necessary.

I think recorded history has shown those propositions to be correct many times over......

Kurt, I'm not an anthropologist but..

I like to philosophy on our heritage as an amateur. I do that - mainly referring to our primitive roots - to try and understand and perhaps accept human behavior that seems disturbing to me.

I do think we have inherited a degree of tribalism genetically from our ancient ancestors, probably from when we were early hunter/gatherers and became social creatures. I would guess those groups were highly suspicious of any outsiders, particularly if they looked or behaved differently - as groups competed for food and security. And, I'm thinking back to times when there was no language, things were very brutal and humans struggled to survive.

If I'm right, then as our children instinctively socialize and identify with a group (as they do in most societies), then that would be when that tribal nature would become a part of their psychology and they may feel suspicion or even fear toward anyone "different".

After that point, then youth may become infused with specific racist tendencies that are learned from parents and peers in their environment. However, as logical and rational adults, we should see the dangers in this and reject that behavior - as most progressives do. Unfortunately, those raised in fearful conservative authoritarian groups usually bypass that phase and become life-long racists.

Just some thoughts to throw your way!......