Hate Sells category archive
Freedom of Screech 0
Rob Miraldi takes a thoughtful at the issues surrounding efforts to hold Donald Trump responsible for coarsening dis coarse discourse. A nugget:
In theory, the answer is no. Threatening national security is not protected; publishing sexually explicit and obscene material is not protected; and lighting the flames of violence with inciteful language is also prohibited.
But the incitement exception has always been tricky, more now than ever. “Every idea is an incitement,” U.S. Supreme Court Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes said in 1925. Maybe only the person who commits violence should be prosecuted, not the person who causes it?
Follow the link for his complete article.
A Reckless Driver on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
Musk multiplies the misinformation and disseminates the disinformation. From The New York Times:
This time, there were no fact checks. And the X algorithm — under Mr. Musk’s direct control — helped the posts reach large audiences, in some cases drawing many millions of views.
Since taking control of the site, Mr. Musk has dismantled the platform’s system for flagging false election content, arguing it amounted to election interference.
Precedented 0
Robert Reich sees a disturbing precedent to the rhetoric and tactics of Donald Trump and his followers.
Just go read it.
Republican Family Values 0
(Warning: Poor sound quality, but still worth a listen.)
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Michael in Norfolk minces no words.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Yet more mean for the sake of mean.
Twits Own Twitter X Offenders
0
At The Philadelphia Inquirer, Will Bunch calls out Elon Musk’s racist misdirection play, in which Musk somehow manages to blame DEI for doors blowing off Boeing planes. Here’s a little bit, but you really need to read the whole thing for context.
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(snip)
Musk gleefully joined in an X/Twitter discussion railing against stepped-up corporate initiatives for racial and gender diversity, equity, and inclusion, commonly known as DEI. The electric car guru responded favorably to a fact-free post — suggesting that pilots hired by United Airlines out of historically Black colleges have lower IQs than Air Force-trained pilots — that sounded like a eugenics rant from the 1920s, then added: “It will take an airplane crashing and killing hundreds of people for them to change this crazy policy of DIE.”
It’s not clear whether Musk misspelled DEI on purpose . . . .
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
No surprises here:
In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of immigrants from India, as “Nimbra.” Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, as Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has always gone by her middle name, “Nikki.” She took the surname “Haley” upon her marriage in 1996.
Trump, himself the son, grandson and twice the husband of immigrants, called Haley “Nimbra” three times in the post and said she “doesn’t have what it takes.”
Much more at the link.
Afterthought:
Ii seems relevant to note that, when Donald Trump’s ancestors arrived in the U. S., the family’s name was “Drumpf.”
Establishmentarians 0
At the Kansas City Star, professors Victoria Johnson and Karen Piper take a look at the unholy alliance between right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christians and today’s Republican Party. Here’s a brief bit of their piece:
Fundamentalists within many religions believe their interpretations are the absolute truth, and that those who oppose their claims to speak for God are characterized as evil and must be converted or destroyed. Such religious beliefs are used to maintain authoritarian political control today in theocracies such as Iran and Afghanistan, and supported the legitimacy of past monarchies in France and Great Britain through the “divine right of kings” — which is one reason America’s Founding Fathers were adamant about the separation of church and state.
Still Rising Again after All These Years, Reprise 0
Thom dissects a racist fund raising email he received from Donald Trump’s campaign and the troubling implications of news media’s failure to call out racism, whether it be subtle or blatant.
Suffer the Children 0
As Micheal in Norfolk reminds us, that is not scripture. That’s Republican policy.
Fright-Wing Politics 0
Thom discusses Donald Trump’s resort to stochastic terrorism so as to protect his assets.
None Dare Call It (Domestic) Terrorism . . . 0
. . . but, according to the Arizona Republic’s E. J. Montini, it most certainly is.
Russian Impulses 0
Thom talks with Heidi Siegmund Cuda about the mechanics of Russian interference in the 2016 election via the Disinformation Superhighway.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
The True Believer 0
What became of “old enough to know better”?
The Hollow Man 0
As you may have heard, Donald Trump, a second-generation American, recently said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of America. (One descendant of immigrants certainly is, but I digress.)
In the midst of a longer article discussing this remark, Ned Seaton notes, methinks quite accurately:
Follow the link for context,
