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Category: Politics

What ever happened to AOC?

What ever happened to AOC?

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What ever happened to AOC? From her election in 2018 throughout 2019, she received massive media attention – even across the country here in the Pacific Northwest. But now in 2020, she has largely vanished from the area news cycle? Why is that? My guess is she was used as a propaganda tool, especially to engage with younger voters. Like all politicians she said some silly (dumb) things, especially on Twitter, and by 2020, an election year, perhaps she was viewed as more of a liability than asset and no longer the optimal propaganda messenger. Do you have an alternative explanation as to why she has mostly disappeared?

Wild fires: Is everything a single variable problem?

Wild fires: Is everything a single variable problem?

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Western state Governors are increasingly blaming climate change for western wild fires, as if the wild fires are a single variable. If only we could control the climate, we would no longer have wild land fires. Realistically, there is no magic control knob on climate that we can control and which will reduce fire danger for decades to come.

There are concrete steps that can be taken immediately to reduce the threats of future wild fires – but politicians would rather blame climate change – which they do not control – because to acknowledge there are factors which they can control is to acknowledge that their leadership has failed.

A common mistake people make is to focus on a single variable in a multiple variable problem. In this case, the focus is on one variable that cannot be controlled in the near term, while ignoring other variables that can be controlled.

Twitter hack is threat to all humanity

Twitter hack is threat to all humanity

Twitter’s hack into its administrative tools reveals the potential power of social media to destroy life on earth. Imagine if they hacked Trump’s account and posted things even more insane than Trump would post.

False: Full-time low income wage earners cannot afford a 2 bedroom rental anywhere in the U.S.

False: Full-time low income wage earners cannot afford a 2 bedroom rental anywhere in the U.S.

This claim comes out every year, from the same activist lobbying organization. They use misleading language and obfuscated definitions to imply a conclusion that is not true – a conclusion that the media laps up like good little puppies and uses to make false conclusions. This blog has covered this item twice previously. Nothing has changed.

Journalism: “Election Too Close To Call”

Journalism: “Election Too Close To Call”

As has become routine, the media’s pre-election coverage was a bit disconnected from the reality on the ground.

The day before the election, British media said the “election too close to call” but the day after, we see that the election was not even close, but decisive.

Journalism: Newsweek reporter admits making up story, but keeps her job

Journalism: Newsweek reporter admits making up story, but keeps her job

Newsweek reporter caught having manufactured a fictional news report, then calls it an “honest mistake” and keeps her job. Newsweek has a history of publishing fiction stories masquerading as actual news. This is not how to inspire confidence in the news media. (Update: Newsweek confirmed the report about what Trump did on Thanksgiving was written during the week prior to Thanksgiving. The reporter has been fired and the editor has been demoted.)

Journalism: Activist launching propaganda news service to deliver fake local news, share-able on social media

Journalism: Activist launching propaganda news service to deliver fake local news, share-able on social media

A Democratic party activist is launching a well funded fake local news operation, modeled to a degree, on the Russian Internet Research Agency, to deliver biased or news stories to targeted individuals on Facebook and other social media. The operation will collect data directly from Facebook on who is reading their fake news, and will data mine that to target more people. Do you feel like you are being manipulated yet?

Journalism: How to turn Thanksgiving into an opportunity for political discussions

Journalism: How to turn Thanksgiving into an opportunity for political discussions

I never knew – according to journalists we are expected to argue about inequality and victimization at the Thanksgiving holiday. Journalists have even prepared a handy guide detailing how to support the journalists’ own agenda! Who knew (besides journalists) that we are supposed to turn Thanksgiving into an opportunity for propaganda messaging?

Updated: Apparently this entire genre is a coordinated pseudo-news event intended to be shared on social media and get around Facebook’s algorithms that try to limit some news article distribution. It’s based on the pseudo-news event approach of creating a fake “us versus them” narrative. It is, in fact, 21st century click-bait and nothing more.