Political Theatre category archive
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Cameron Smith thinks we are missing the point. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for the rest.
When we confuse governing and entertainment, the boring, tedious art of statecraft takes a back seat to the perpetual campaign.
Accountability 0
The writer of a letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times has a disturbing thought.
The Disinformation Superhighway, Facebook Frolics Dept. 0
A new study indicates that Facebook is the high speed lane on the Disinformation Turmpike, particularly for right-wing rot. Here’s a bit from the news the NPR report.
But it wasn’t just one day of high engagement. A new study from Cybersecurity For Democracy found that far-right accounts known for spreading misinformation are not only thriving on Facebook, they’re actually more successful than other kinds of accounts at getting likes, shares and other forms of user engagement.
It wasn’t a small edge, either.
Follow the link for more about the study and its findings.
The Fakers 0
John Fluharty, once the executive director of the Delaware Republican Party and now a registered independent, is not happy with the current state of his ex-party. Here’s a bit of his article:
As most recently evidenced by failed U.S. Senate candidate Lauren Witzke’s revealing spat with openly gay Trump advisor Ric Grenell, there is an ascendant faction of fake conservatives who believe that bigotry, intolerance and exclusion represent the party’s path back to political prominence. These fake conservatives are energized, emboldened, and believe — mistakenly — that they are the rightful inheritors of the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan.
Follow the link for the rest.
Aside:
I have some quibbles with the first part of the quotation, but none at all with the last part.
From Dystopian Fiction to Dystopia 0
Gene Collier, writing at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, makes a strong case that we are descending (have descended?) into Idiocracy.
Methinks he makes a pretty good case.
“But It’s the Only Possible Explanation” 0
At the Hartford Courant, Edna Friedberg explores the attraction and power of conspiracy theories, pointing out that they can seduce persons desiring easy answers to hard questions. Here’s how she opens it:
The entire article is worth the four or five minutes of your time reading it will take.
“That Party’s Over” 0
Gordon Weil suggests that we no long have a two-party system, at least not in the traditional way of two principled parties with different policies, platforms, and goals. Rather, he submits that we have one party that’s for things and another that’s against.
Methinks he’s onto something.
