I hate to do stuff that we already know. We have smart people here that know a lot more than I do about a variety of subjects. However, a simple perusing of social media makes clear that there are two Americas. We always knew that much, but it is becoming increasingly obvious where these dividing lines are.

What I’ve seen makes one thing clear: it’s not about facts versus fiction or science versus science fiction. It’s not even about Republicans versus Democrats. The simple dividing line comes down to who or what we choose to trust and believe in.

The calls to “do your own research” are really just a farce. At the end of the day everyone ends up trusting someone who they deem to have the answers. I didn’t read any scholarly journals before my eye doctor injected my eyes this morning. I trusted that as a specialist he knew what he is doing.

So, all the folks saying they don’t trust the FDA or CDC are trusting someone when they give themselves a medication meant to cure river blindness or head lice. Someone told them that works. They don’t know what’s in it, so the protests about not putting a foreign substance in their body is pure bullshit.

These are similar to the calls of tyranny for mandating that you need the shot or frequent tests to keep your job. It’s as if these mandates have never been done before. Our kids never had to have vaccinations to go to school. I never had to submit to a fingerprint scan and background check to teach or volunteer at my church. Except I’ve had to do all of those things and our kids had to have those shots.

So, to cry about overreach now is just selective outrage. It’s similar to cries about excessive spending, running deficits, and any other government overreach. We are all okay with the government getting involved in some things or spending on some things. The question has never been if, but what exactly you get involved in and spend money on.

Similarly, some love to romanticize on how they are independent thinkers that don’t blindly trust authority. Sure. If it makes any of us feel better we can go on saying that. The truth is not whether we trust authority, but the people we choose to trust and give credence to. I’d love to say my people are better than your people, but that kind of discussion gets us nowhere.

My wife asked me if it was too hot to run. I’d said no. Am I a weather or exercise expert? No. I’m simply someone that cares about her and wouldn’t intentionally steer her wrong. Somehow, that’s where most of these anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers are at. Deep down most of them care for the friends and family and wouldn’t want to hurt them. They’d just rather trust another friend or family member over an expert they don’t know personally. It’s really as simple as that.

Right-wingers and Trump’s media loudmouths are howling after the Biden administration ousted 18 Trump appointees from service academy boards, calling the ouster a “power grab” and “politicizing the service academies”.  Well, it’s just the opposite.  What most media is not reporting is that Biden’s move is part of his effort to clean up the open sewer Trump left behind when he finally vacated office on January 20th.

The rest of this story is this – after Trump lost the election, his acting secretary of defense, Christopher Miller (you know, the guy who refused to send the national guard to the Capitol on January 6th), ousted dozens of academy and other board members and replaced them with Trump loyalists.  He packed the boards of at least 3 service academies as well as the Defense Business Board and added HUNDREDS of Trump appointees to boards within the DOD on 42 boards in all.  To contain the damage, new defense secretary Lloyd Austin suspended all board activities to do a “zero based review” of all the boards that Trump polluted with partisan, cronies, and loyalists. Biden’s move to oust 18 Trump appointees is just a part of the massive cleanup underway at DOD and other departments Trump infested.

Now you know the rest of the story.

Former NE Tarrant County Tea Party president Konni Burton succeeded Wendy Davis as a state senator for one term before beaten by Beverly Powell, a Democrat.  Her short time in the state senate was notable in two ways; first, Rice’s Baker Institute rated her as the most conservative in the senate, and second, she pissed off Trump over her confiscation reform bill (you know, where police take assets away from someone suspected of criminal behavior even if they were acquitted).  Trump threatened to “destroy” her career for disagreeing with him.  Apparently he succeeded, since she lost to a Dem.

Burton started looking for a new gig, and in 2019 started The Texan, an online “news” source she touts as:

“Dedicated to providing readers with fact-based news regarding issues, policies, elected officials, and campaigns, The Texan is the alternative to the narratives and spin that is so pervasive in news media today.  Seven out of ten Americans, when polled, believe the media knowingly spreads misinformation at least some of the time. The Texan is here to counter that misinformation and provide you with news you can trust.”

Before you burst out laughing at that statement, here’s their stated plan for the “news” service:

“The Texan provides straight news reporting so you can be an informed citizen.

• We do not publish political opinion
• We do not endorse candidates in any political elections
• We do not have an editorial board to publish editorial opinion”

Of course, she’s staffed her “news” service with Republican operatives for editing and reporting, and makes no secret of the “spin” she doesn’t like.  Not on the list of her targets for derision are Fox Noise, OAN, or Newsmax.  Her reporting is 100% rightwing, masquerading as serious objective reporting, just like her competitors.

This is just a Mini-Me of Fox Noise that also used to claim “fair and balanced” which is most certainly is not.  It doesn’t take long to unmask this thinly veiled attempt to camouflage a radically partisan effort to spin the news – all you have to do is peruse Burton’s open sewer of a Twitter feed. Where she tweets and retweets all the normal MAGA talking points.  The only good thing about The Texan is that they don’t take advertising, so it’s not cluttered up with ads for gold coins and prepper supplies.

Just what we need…more toxic bile and partisanship as if we don’t already have enough of that in Texas.

Okay, I stumbled on this one on the news today. For those that don’t want to go beyond the paywall can see the same story here and in other locations I’m sure. It was featured on the news here locally and thankfully for you and I, some intrepid journalists snuck into the legal proceedings and made a recording. Following is the transcript from the original court battle.

Plaintiff: Your honor, that them doctor over there is refusing to give my gramps the dewormer medication for his Covid.

Judge: Is this true (gestures to defendant)?

Defendant: Yes, your honor. That treatment has not been vetted by experts and we decided after consulting with our experts that another treatment…(interrupted by plaintiff).

Plaintiff: Your honor, my cousin Rufus works at the “Stop N Shop” over there in Cleveland. He sent me a video on the YouTubes how that “I” stuff cures the Covids. The video proves it and everything.

Judge: Do you have this video handy?

Plaintiff: Let me look on my Facebook……yup, I got it.

Defendant: You cannot be serious.

Judge: (after watching video) As serious as a heart attack. I’m convinced. Give him the dewormer.

Defendant: And you got your medical degree from (trails off)? 

——————————

We protect the identity of our sources, so they will remain anonymous for now. Of course, some might question the exact verbiage above and that’s fine, but the judge did order the hospital to give him the medication he requested. Of course, given that the state doesn’t want to allow women and doctors to make decisions for their own health, I guess the jurisprudence works out. Still, I think someone should check the judge for brain activity. Whoever that is, it better not be a doctor. Apparently they aren’t qualified to make medical decisions now.

For time and immemorial, the standard playbook for dealing with a disgraced former leader has been the same. You let them ride off into the sunset and everyone forgets about him or her. This even includes the criminals. I have always been taught and always believed that criminalizing political behavior would lead to bad ends. The last guy has taught those of us in that camp that we shouldn’t politicize criminal behavior.

Polling data indicate that he’s gaining for 2024. No, he would not win an election if it were held today, but it’s certainly close enough to make people nervous. What seems more outrageous historically is that he is in front of the entire GOP pool. What’s more, when someone loses by eight million votes the normal course is for all of the next candidates to fall over themselves convincing us that they aren’t that guy. Except, every blasted one of them is doing the exact opposite.

I’d say things will change once the indictments start rolling in, but I think it will take him actually wearing an orange jumpsuit for there to be a dent. Even then, it would just be a dent. I don’t know how many times I can say the word “normally” before we all realize that normal will just be one of those quaint words we don’t use anymore. They will convince themselves that it’s all a sham like my mother in law who convinced herself that Joe Biden was resigning. This one is going to take a few election cycles to clear.