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Putin Paranoia
Things about America we’ve learned since November.
Our nation, the republic, democracy, our very system of government is more fragile than at any other time in American history. So fragile that everything has, or is in near-immediate danger of, collapsing, after only a two month jog from near-perfect to the edge of dystopia.The cause of this is Vladimir Putin, who is an evil genius, spymaster, mastermind, brilliant, super criminal, chessmaster, but also a thug and dictator.
Only a few months ago, stuff like this lurked in the dank corners of the Internet, usually web sites that were designed in the 1990s, or on late night talk radio, or on six hour YouTube video rants. These were the same sources who found the Illuminati, Mossad, childhood vaccines, and chemtrails responsible for the impending end of our nation. We called this stuff conspiracy theories and if rational people mentioned them at all, it was as a punchline, with a shake of the head and a muttered “How can people believe this crap?”Good times. But they are over.
We now live in a media world where what used to be crazy is now mainstream. Today’s example is from Salon, with a piece subtitled “The Soviet Union never attacked America as blatantly as Putin has — and we’re in danger of losing democracy.”
The article gets right to it, announcing this is
…the first time in modern history in which Russia has directly attacked the United States — on American soil no less, and precision-aimed at what matters most: the very integrity of our democratic process.”
How was this done? By hacking our election, hacking being a word that no longer means anything but something something computers I don’t really understand but it’s bad. Like when your mom calls you up and says her laptop was hacked because it lost the wifi link to the printer (just restart it, mom…)
Anyway, how was this hacking done? Social media. Russia ‘bots. Fake news. RT.com which no one watches. The upshot according to Salon? Millions of Americans
…were manipulated into acting as unwitting foot soldiers for Vladimir Putin’s invasion… Americans were suckered by and acted in accordance with Putin’s plot… [because] Americans are deeply vulnerable to digital manipulation and weaponized social media hoaxes.
More about how stupid our nation is in the face of Putin’s brilliance? Here you go, same article:
The blind acceptance of Russian propaganda, because it happened to include “facts” that some of us were starved to read, is what turned otherwise decent though gullible Americans into Putin’s infantry, virally blitzing the Kremlin’s message through the trenches of the political internet, attacking and converting more voters with zombie lies. Trench by trench, Facebook group by Facebook group, Americans executed Putin’s attacks for him.
And then oh-my-God things really start to fall into place to somehow explain Hillary Clinton’s inexplicable loss:
The hacking of the DNC and Podesta aside, the effort to trick Americans into being recruited as Russian cyber-soldiers began by turning Democrats who supported Bernie Sanders against the predicted front-runner, Hillary Clinton. Using “bots” and human resources, Putin lobbed fake news and ridiculous conspiracy theories into social media. Voters who were predisposed to distrust Clinton willingly shared these stories, poisoning everyone who inexplicably wanted to be poisoned.
Knowing what we know now, it’s no longer a stretch to report that Trump was placed in office by Putin. But it only happened because millions of Americans unknowingly volunteered to serve as enemy combatants, undermining and betraying their own country.
So there it is, laid out in black and white: Americans were duped by Putin into destroying our own democracy by exercising our right to vote in a way Salon doesn’t like. Basically, our precious bodily fluids are at grave risk. Brilliant, evil, but brilliant.
BONUS: So in summary, some substantial number of Americans clearly and truly believe Putin engineered the results of our last election, not by manipulating actual ballot counts, but via influencing social media in a way that influenced some 50% of Americans to vote a certain way. And that the entire universe of factors that went into the election (advertising, endorsements, emails, you choose) did not have as significant an effect as Facebook and RT. And that as a result, the President of the United States is under the direct and immediate control of Putin and has and will continue to purposefully act against the interests of the U.S.
Seriously, that is some whack paranoid sh*t right there.
Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
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chuck said...
1Hope Snowden is safe. Why is he where he is? Remember, wherever you go there you are! Truth is good.
03/31/17 9:08 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
2Pay no attention to the man behind the iron curtain.
When you are given immunity, that means you probably committed a crime,” Flynn, then a top campaign aide to Donald Trump, said on “Meet the Press.”
03/31/17 9:09 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
3Under the control of rasPUTIN? Trump’s interests are only to make himself rich. That is why he will act purposefully against the interests of the US. He would fuck Putin just like he has fucked everyone else.
03/31/17 9:23 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
4Anyone ever see Dana Bash and John King on CNN? Another “Security Expert” is on MSNBC named Bash (Dana’s ex I believe), anyway, Dana and John are married (never seen that mentioned on CNN. Faux News…). Do they sleep in two single beds? Have a nice day! I love Killery in black leather. Wage Peace…
03/31/17 10:47 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
5Trump seems to have no awareness whatsoever of what he does and does not know,” Steven Nadler, a professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote me. “He is ignorant of his own ignorance.
03/31/17 11:22 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
6Rich, are you registered with a party? Party on…
03/31/17 11:31 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
7I do not support Mr. T
03/31/17 11:32 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
8Putin’s true brilliance was to convince 47% of potential voters to stay home on election day and binge watch MY MOTHER THE CAR or PETTICOAT JUNCTION. That is outstanding global clout. Putin- you are the man!
03/31/17 11:32 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
9I watched Bourne, V !
03/31/17 11:44 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
10Be careful of the matrix! Back to Mr. Ed. Free Snowden!
03/31/17 11:57 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
11What President made Snowden bail the U.S.?
03/31/17 11:59 AM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
12Donald Trump aka Damn Turd Pol will be end up in deep shit with his stinky business with the Russian fertilizer king.
03/31/17 12:13 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
13First thought…
Rinse and repeat…. Same as the 1950’s with the “Rd
03/31/17 1:42 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
14That was weird.
Same as the 1950’s with the “Reds” scare tactics. …. Paranoia….
And…. It gets Hillary away from being a total failure with her loss…. Someone to blame other than herself.
Anyone else notice the timing in all of this????
Second thought…
At least Putin is subtle….. Not like US and NATO “regime changes”… 16 years of wars that has caused…
M
03/31/17 1:47 PM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
15Bauer: You should have learned something with reference to Hillary. High officials rarely get taken down. Trump will not be an easy guy to remove from office. He sort of knows all the tricks. Hillary will not see jail time for her criminal email account. Her IT guy will fall on his sword. Look at Christie. Bridget Kelly should have squealed but she didn’t. What is it with these pilot fish? They stay loyal for some perverse pathological reason.
03/31/17 7:19 PM | Comment Link
Bruce said...
16Ironically mirrorspeaking Dubya in paraphrase, ‘That’s some BushWhacking Weird $HIT’; InDeed ! AND, moar Poppy (CIA) Company tiny turlitzer domestic PNAC Attacks fer shur !!
03/31/17 10:08 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
17John, We need a women in the Whitehouse ………..Nuland/2020……………..
04/1/17 10:10 AM | Comment Link
John Poole said...
18Chuck- Nuland won’t be available. She is already committed to run for Empress of Ukraine in 2020.
04/1/17 1:33 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
19The pussygrabber pussies send out guidance to State Department employees, but don’t do as we do:
Department reminds all employees of three key values that the Secretary articulated on his first day in office: accountability, honesty, and respect. It will be useful to everyone as we go about our daily work in terms of how we interact with each other and in terms of how we interact externally as well.
04/1/17 3:20 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
20Great ideas to save money by State are always welcome, so we give it to defense contractors to waste.
Embassy Minsk saves money by drying and reusing paper towels: With great spills come great opportunity! Post has divided its used paper towels into two categories: paper towels to toss and paper towels to dry. At the commendation ceremony attended by a very senior State Department official, post’s management officer said matter of factly, “No one said that paper towels have to be used just once.”
Really. I am not making this shit up. Do shitty paper towels fit in either category? If the shit is dry, I MEAN.
04/1/17 3:26 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
21Here is another shitty idea for State…seriously
Embassy Addis Ababa commits to flushing less: The UNICEF says that an estimated 8 million of Ethiopia’s 60 million people are at immediate risk due to drought. With that in mind, post has been committed to water conservation for the last few years. Post bidders should be aware that mission has a standing policy on flushing less or as the mission motto goes, “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.” At the commendation ceremony, post’s management officer announced that they are currently testing the “weekly flush”
No shit, Trumpies are full of shit.
04/1/17 3:28 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
22Other great cost saving ideas
Russian military will be contracted to guard US military bases in Europe and Asia. Cost savings will transferred to the Donald Trump Golden Shower Fund to rehabilitate deviant rich fuckers like Donald. You know how difficult it is to get that orange color off?
Seriously, April Fool and all, but this guy really needs your money.
04/1/17 3:34 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
23Trump paranoia trumps Putin Paranoia
Wow, @FoxNews just reporting big news. Source: “Official behind unmasking is high up. Known Intel official is responsible.
Who is that masked unmasked man?
04/1/17 3:40 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
24PS: State got real upset with the FAKE NEWS cable. See, April Fools day is EVERYDAY in this State Dept. Besides,
If anyone is going to spout fake shit, that is the job for Spice Man.
04/1/17 9:34 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
25Dear Mark Stroh of the State Dept, someone has apparently hacked your system and impersonated you as if you were some flaming idiot. You may wish to change your system email password.
04/1/17 9:38 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
26Mean ol judge in Kentucky – probably a damn Mexican liberal- has a problem with free speech when our glorious leader kindly asked some rude people to leave his speech.
04/2/17 11:30 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
27Rich.
All that hate is just going to burn you up inside.
All those jumps of abstract ‘logic’, and blame is going to just make you no fun at dinner parties.
M
04/2/17 1:29 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
28Mitch,
Welcome back. Did you get new talking points from your Russian handlers?
04/2/17 2:42 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
29Rich.
There is a very nice place you should visit. Nice gardens, good food… Wonderful medications.
PS.
Sorry… Russian is not one of my languages.
M
04/2/17 2:49 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
30So you say…..
04/2/17 2:53 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
31Bullies R US. Have a nice day. The Russians, OMG!!!! Influence on elections?!!!!!! $ick Power and money. Has the u.s. ever done that? Tweet me.
04/2/17 3:11 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
32But Chuck, we’re the good guys.
04/2/17 3:20 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
33Rich.
Are you sure you would recognize the good guy
M
04/2/17 4:16 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
34Is your first initial B?
04/2/17 4:20 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
35Hope, Change, Believe,… Bradley, Chelsie, MANNING is Free soon. If Mr.T stops this, Houston, “We have a problem”. Have a nice day! Truth! Collateral damage is phucked up. Smile. You are…
04/2/17 4:36 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
36Rich.
Sure you don’t want a refill on the Happy Pills?… They are covered by Obamacare (bankrupt, and inadequate, read the NYT’s )
They come with the free phone(no warrant necessary), dis-funtional candidates (Hillary )… And a cooked bag of twisted, paid-off, mis-aligned media…. That causes the rise of hate, and completely biased “reporting”, in a half-baked attempt to cause a civil war.
Oh, Damn !!!!! You already took them….
Clearly, as you are playing straight into their hands.
M
04/2/17 5:13 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
37Perez and friends will save us!
04/2/17 5:30 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
38One month, or so after Bernie nominated, or suggested Ellison, Obomber nominated or suggested Perez saying he was like Bernie! That’s special. ( Disclaimer, Paid For By……………….D’s Corps.
04/2/17 5:39 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
39Do Corps. own R’s?
04/2/17 5:39 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
40Trump, he be strong…like Putin
Trump: There may be somebody with tomatoes in the audience. So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell— I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise. It won’t be so much ’cause the courts agree with us too.
04/2/17 6:10 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
41Trump, him fear same as Putin. Both fear Pussy Riot.
04/2/17 10:47 PM | Comment Link
RICH BAUER said...
42Only in it for the money, Trump trumps Nazis.
Trump is a good deal-maker, at least when it comes to making deals to enrich himself and his family. At the time of his unexpected Chinese court victory last month, the Associated Press reported that Trump also had 49 other trademark applications pending in China. In early March, however, Chinese officials issued a wholesale preliminary approval for 38 of these Trump requests, covering potential businesses from security services to hotels and golf resorts. The Guardian cites a Hong Kong-based intellectual property consultant, Dan Plane, who remarked that he never saw so many applications approved so expeditiously in China, saying, “It’s weird.” Plane speculated that officials from the ruling Communist Party were monitoring these dealings, surmising that the decisions were “just way over your average trademark examiner’s pay grade.”
As with the court ruling in favor of Trump over Dong, these quick and favorable decisions appear to be part of the same quid pro quo deal where Trump risked our national security to negotiate a personal business deal to enrich himself and his family. This is exactly what the emoluments clause of the US Constitution was designed to prohibit.
Just kidding.
04/3/17 11:38 AM | Comment Link