Attkisson's book documents political smear campaigns, behind-the-scenes coordination between the press and political campaigns and other special interests, and efforts by our own government to manipulate the news, influence public opinion, and punish whistleblowers. Although some events in the book go back to the 1990's, most of the information pertains to events of the last ten years, with the emphasis on the 2016 presidential campaign and its aftermath.
Those who follow politics closely will not be surprised by Attkisson's narrative, but some will be surprised by the extent of the shenanigans she describes - the vast scope of media manipulation, the huge sums of money, and the number of people involved. Worst of all, our own government seems to be an active player in much of this.
Although smears and media manipulation come from both sides of the political spectrum, more than 80% of what Attkisson describes comes from the left.
Among her most serious allegations:
1. Many op-eds that you read on the editorial page are not written by the person whose byline appears beneath them, but by activists working for political campaigns, corporations, and special-interest groups.
2. The Odumbo Department of Justice and other Odumbo agencies targeted reporters, stonewalled investigations, and maintained behind-the-scenes relationships with special interests.
3. The federal government creates fake Internet identities to flood social media with propaganda in support of, or against, various policies, media outlets, or individuals. Fake Internet identities are also created by hired consultants and political operatives. "AstroTurf" controversies rather than real "Grass Root" issues are foisted onto the public by a manipulated lame-stream media and these fake issues dominate the news cycle drowning out real news.
4. In the 2016 presidential campaign, there was back-and-forth collusion between the hildebeest campaign, the DNC, and major media outlets.
5. Left-wing consultants and operatives conspire to dig up dirt on conservative media personalities, e.g., Don Imus, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, with the intent of forcing them off the air. Fox News in its entirety has even been targeted. Don Imus said what he said, but the hyperbolic *reaction* was manufactured: not genuine. Attkisson notes left-wing hypocrisy in that Joe Biden was repeatedly given a pass by the lame-stream media regarding his disparaging remarks about Indians.
6. When you see numerous media outlets use almost the identical language and phrasing to describe a story, it is no accident; they are responding to cues given them by paid political operatives.
This book should alert the naïve, confirm the suspicions of the wary, and shame professional journalists. It will NOT shame the spinmeisters and scandal-mongers who earn big money by corrupting politics, journalism, government, corporations, special interests, and the entire fabric of our social media. David Brock of Media Matters has been paid millions to run his *non-profit* smear machines.
(Amazon)
Keln has a great perspective:
[…] The Deep State, Political Establishment, whatever-you-want-to-call-them, have since the moment President Trump started getting his staff and cabinet picks into place, been systematically attacking each and every one of them. From Flynn to Sessions to Bannon to even his own sons and daughter.
They leak from “anonymous sources” to the media complex, who then print it. A narrative is setup…not necessarily that said member of Trump’s team is bad or anything, but that said person is really “a swamp rat”. Various “pro-Trump” denizens of social media and regular media, from bloggers to Fox News to radio hosts to YouTube personalities to prolific Tweeters push this narrative endlessly, inviting Trump supporters to get on board with the latest member of Trump’s team to get outraged about.
All without any actual proof of course. Proof, evidence, is one thing. But rumors are better. Conjecture is more appealing. OMG Trump is surrounded by enemies in his midst and if we don’t cry out about it, he’ll never know!
This is the Establishment’s game. They want us to not trust in Trump. They want us to be suspicious of anyone in his circle. They want us to eat our own because they cannot defeat us directly. We’re too strong for that, so they want us to defeat ourselves.
It reminds me of the Twilight Zone episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street”. Look it up, it’s a good episode. A happy neighborhood is suddenly tossed into a situation of suspicion and utter chaos as a result of a power outage and some rumors from a comic book. They turn on each other, neighbor on neighbor, believing each other are an enemy. That each other are aliens in fact.
During all of this, the real aliens are watching in their spaceship in awe of how easily these people can be turned against each other using a simple thing like messing with their electricity.
Science fiction to be sure, but the psychology of it is very real indeed. And Trump’s enemies are using it against us.
Every time I see someone railing against Sessions, I hear the Deep State talking. Every time I see someone talking about McMaster being some swamp dweller, that’s the Deep State talking. That’s CNN and the WaPo, and yes, even Fox News talking.
They want to isolate Trump. They want to put him on an island. They want to tear down any kind of team he can put together, so that he is powerless to do anything. And they can’t force that themselves. No, they need us to do it for them. They need us to demand his people are fired. They want us to believe anything his people do are against us and him.
Is Sessions ineffective? I don’t know. I don’t work at the DOJ, so I don’t know what all he is doing there. The wheels of justice are very slow, something I do know, and I can at least accept that is why I haven’t seen widespread arrests yet. But I don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes.
Is McMaster a swamp creature? I really don’t know. I’m not on the security council. I don’t know the man personally. I have not been involved in discussions between him and the president. I have no way of knowing if he is trustworthy other than that the President chose him.
Are his staff or his cabinet untrustworthy? Again, I don’t know. I have no reason to believe one way or the other. Because I am not in the meetings. I am not privy to the President’s thinking or plans. I have no access to any of the departments, nor know what they are working on or planning. I don’t know what goes on in any of their heads.
I, like many of you, cannot discern exactly what is truth and what is mere conjecture, and what is flat out lies. Because like most of you, my source of most information comes from a media complex that has been proved time and again to be deceptive. And like most of you, I am not a part of any inner circle that actually knows what is going on.
But I trust Trump. I trust our President. I trust that he is capable and intelligent enough to know who around him he can trust. To know when he should fire someone. To know how to use people that might actually be opposed to him in a way that benefits him, whether they realize it or not. I trust that Trump knows far more than any of us does. And I trust that he has the instincts to navigate the Swamp without our help or “concerns”. That all he needs is our unwavering support.
I trust President Trump. Do you?
Amazon is selling the CD version for less than $30. You can listen to it in your vehicle as you drive to and from work. Just make sure you keep it out of the sun and heat. Originally Posted by I B HankeringGOT IT! I am going to pick it up after work today. I have it on hold at the front desk of the Woodlands Barnes & Noble. I got the last one in stock. I will have some good listening while I cut the 5 acres.
"[V]oters are being manipulated by political propagandists such as leftist David Brock and leftist billionaire George Soros. It explains how the left is using the tactics of Marxist Saul Alinsky in targeting popular conservative TV and radio personalities such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity. Every mature American should read Attkisson's book to learn how they are being manipulated by the political leftists in America today."
(Amazon)
GOT IT! I am going to pick it up after work today. I have it on hold at the front desk of the Woodlands Barnes & Noble. I got the last one in stock. I will have some good listening while I cut the 5 acres. Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDBExcellent!
I'm half way thru disc one and already recognize a few "smear artists" in the media, on both sides... 9 1/2 more to go! Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB
NO Silly that's a Oldsmobile Ninety Eight, FUCKED your SISTER in the back seat a few times! What's she up to? Have her give me a call... Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB