BC GOVERNMENT
Saved by @WebbDarrrel

A thread on... where we are as Americans.

Since I was a kid, I've been a 'news junkie'. Read both local newspapers every day, all the newsmagazines, and watched every local & national newscast. I even wrote & voiced a national financial news broadcast for several years.

1/

 Even after I left broadcasting, I continued to consume all the news within reach. Religiously watching all the Sunday shows, writing letters to the editor, and plowing into Social Media- when it first started! I even watched all the late-nite comics for their witty snark.

2/
Now, for the first time in my life, I don't. I keep up with events, and still read voraciously, but I just can't watch or read the majority of the corporate news. Because most of it ISN'T news anymore, but a sad self-parody akin to the 1976 Movie 'Network'.

3/
Paddy Chayefsky wrote a scathing satire of a news network so consumed with ratings that it eschewed journalistic ethics in favor of sensationalism and pushing narrow corporate and political interests. That sadly, is no longer parody.

4/
The line between 'hard news' and opinion was erased at most outlets long ago. We no longer talk of 'objectivity' or hearing both sides'. People refer to most (formerly) 'hard news' outlets by their ideological slant, and the agenda they push.

5/
'Investigative Journalism' has become a lost art, only practiced by those outside the #CorruptNews corporate MSM. Those owning & operating major news outlets only want 'investigated' those topics & people whom they target as 'ideological enemies'.

6/
The politicians & public figures whom #JournOlists consider 'on their team', they act as PR flaks for. They actively attack & attempt to destroy careers & personal lives of those w/ valid questions about 'their guy (or gal)', or those they perceive as ideological 'enemies'.

7/
Even late-nite comics have become unwatchable. They USED to parody and satirize the entire political spectrum, equally doling out snarky insults to all sides, and roasting hypocrites & corruptocrats on both the left and right.

8/
Today's 'comics' deem to see themselves as extensions of ONE political party and ONE ideology. Instead of trying to be funny, they substitute mean and insulting character assassination- but only for those they oppose.

9/
These self-righteous, pompous millionaires ignore a target-rich environment on 'their team', out of bias toward their ideology, or fear of retribution from activists on 'their side'. They pander to the base instincts of those sharing their ideology- denigrating all others.

10/
This mentality has been insinuated into not just all aspects of news reporting, but into TV entertainment and movies, which seem to compete with each other in the 'Wokeness Olympics'.

11/
I never thought alienating at least half the country was a smart business model for a news or entertainment network or movie studio. Seems to violate the corporate fiduciary duty to shareholders by deliberately sacrificing profits & market share to 'send a message'.

12/
Far too many of the CEOs & Boards running these corporations either put a political agenda ahead of the best interests of the company. Many see it as 'their duty' to advocate a hard political ideology- even if it loses them customers or profits.

13/
At this point, Twitter is (ironically) refusing to let me add another post to this threat. #14 Kicked backed to my drafts folder 5+ times.
6 times.
7 times.
Even more insidious are weak-kneed Execs who bow to threats & intimidation by the Leftist online militia who DEMAND they 'cancel' someone or remove people or products from their lineup for some real or imagined slight. Or simply because of their VALID political beliefs.

14/
8th time's the charm?
The politicization of everything, and the one-sided, crass political hucksterism that has replaced objective journalism has killed the industry. #JournOlism is now a Zombie shambling through the national zeitgeist- desperately seeking power, relevance and... "BRAINS!"

15/
The most egregious sin of all these corporations is their willingness to alienate & demonize tens of millions of Americans as either through their OWN innate hatred and elitism, or in fear of retribution.

16/
Disagree politically, or- God forbid point out their errors, lies and/or corruption- you're stupid, ignorant, a fascist, or a puppet mindlessly parroting others. They consider themselves superior to 'the great unwashed'. (Their professors in college TOLD them they were!).

17/
The contempt for 'Average Americans' (and anyone not in 'their club' or believing EXACTLY as they do) is not only palpable, but has become overt, systemic and aggressively expressed.

18/
You can't simply disagree with them, or you're smeared, jeered, attacked & silenced. They ruin you financially, socially and attempt to blacklist you in your chosen profession. The send mobs to your home to harass your family, and call your bosses with heinous allegations.

19/
Of course, nothing is new under the sun. The names, faces, terminology and technology change, but the elitists who see themselves as 'your betters' never do. Their methods and tactics of fear-mongering, divisiveness & intimidation are time-tested and effective- on many.

20/
Historically these proto-totalitarians are NEVER a majority, and often not even a plurality of the populace. But with the megaphone of a corrupt, cowed & complicit press, and by intimidating those wielding the levers of power...

21/
...their greatest trick has always been to convince the populace that THEY are a 'majority' through threats, intimidation and sophisticated propaganda spewed by mass Media and enforced through a rigidly ideological and comprehensive censorship regime, both corporate & govt.

22/
Despite an unrelenting drumbeat of propaganda, these dictatorial wannabees are NOT a majority. However, by alienating so many and silencing their voices they can put on the facade of being in the majority...

23/
...using the twin hammers of the corporate world and government to reinforce and spread this false narrative- and crush ANY who say otherwise. Corporate MSM & Big Tech now view themselves as 'gatekeepers' of information for the 'gullible, ignorant masses'- i.e. you and me.

24/
It's time to reject the preening, arrogant politicians, the nascent Oligarchs running BigTech, BigMedia, BigPharma and Big Government. Stand up and demand accountability. Point out and ROOT out corrupt individuals and organizations. Speak out & rise above the censorship.

25/
Expose the anti-American system for what it is; a corrupt corporatist Oligarchy supplanting the foundations of our American Republic w/a collectivist, elitist & wholly corrupt globalist system seeking to propagandize, anesthetize & control American society.

Reject it.

26/fin
@threadreaderapp, please unroll...

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@amuse
@amuse
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1/ PROFILE THREAD: So just who were the people who entered the Capitol on the afternoon of January 6th? If you believe the media they were wealthy, well-armed, white nationalists seeking to overthrow the government - a riotous insurgency. Here are the stories of a few of them:
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David Bier
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Long thread: Because I couldn’t find anything comprehensive, I’m just going to post everything I’ve seen in the news/Twitter about Trump’s activities related to the Jan 6th insurrection. I think the timing & context of his actions/inactions will matter a lot for a senate trial.

12/12: The earlier DC protest over the electoral college vote during clearly inspired Jan 6th. On Dec 12th, he tweeted: “Wow! Thousands of people forming in Washington (D.C.) for Stop the Steal. Didn’t know about this, but I’ll be seeing them! #MAGA.”


12/19: Trump announces the Jan. 6th event by tweeting, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” Immediately, insurrectionists begin to discuss the “Wild Protest.” Just 2 days later, this UK political analyst predicts the violence


12/26-27: Trump announces his participation on Twitter. On Dec. 29, the FBI sends out a nationwide bulletin warning legislatures about attacks https://t.co/Lgl4yk5aO1


1/1: Trump tweets the time of his protest. Then he retweets “The calvary is coming” on Jan. 6!” Sounds like a war? About this time, the FBI begins visiting right wing extremists to tell them not to go--does the FBI tell the president? https://t.co/3OxnB2AHdr
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1 of 52

As our national civics lesson continues to unfold on its march toward our 59th Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2021 and Donald Trump’s second term, 45’s unmasking exercise (that’s a large part of what his first term had to be) continues toward its big climax.

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In his 2017 Inaugural Address, President Trump proclaimed on behalf of his administration, “we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.”

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From my very biased vantage point, here’s how I like to think of that sentence.

It likely was the announcement of his two-pronged military campaign.

The first prong is obvious; it’s against foreign interference.

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As we now clearly see, nothing short of a military campaign would suffice when global influencers have totally co-opted elements of our two major political parties.

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The other prong has an internal focus: Washington, D.C.
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Lewis Goodall
Lewis Goodall
@lewis_goodall
Keir Starmer giving his most important speech yet-laying out his vision for the future.

“The Conservatives say they want to build back. But I don’t want to go back. You can’t return to business as usual. And certainly not back to an economy rooted in insecurity and inequality.”


"The foundations of our society have been weakened over a decade...even before the pandemic life expectancy had stalled for the first time in a century. Child poverty had shot up to over 4 million. A child growing up in a deprived areas of the North East can expect to live for.."

"...five fewer years than a deprived child brought up in a deprived area of London. What sort of legacy is that for a party which has been in govt for a decade? That life itself got cheaper. And shorter."

"During the last year my thoughts have returned time and time again to the wartime generation. Those who suffered the horrors of WW2, who rebuilt Britain from the rubble of the Blitz, created the NHS and built millions of homes fit for heroes. And I contrast that...

"...to those exposed to Covid in underfunded care homes, unable to say goodbye to families and to loved ones. How can the PM look those families in the eye and say 'we did everything we could'? When the truth is the Tories failed to fix social care for a decade?"
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Parker Molloy
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If you're curious what Trump's defense will look like, all you have to do is turn on Fox News. My latest at @mmfa

The tl;dr is that for years right-wing media have been excusing Trump's violent rhetoric by going, "Yes, but THE DEMOCRATS..." and then bending themselves into knots to pretend that Dems were calling for violence when they very, very clearly weren't.

And in fact, this predates Trump.

In 2008, Obama was talking about not backing down in the face of an ugly campaign. He said "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."

https://t.co/i5YaQJsKop


That quote was from the movie The Untouchables. And there's no way anybody reading that quote in good faith could conclude that he was talking about actual guns and knives. But it became a big talking point on the

In 2018, Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder was speaking to a group of Georgia Democrats about GOP voter suppression. He riffed on Michelle Obama's "When they go low, we go high" line from the 2016 DNC.
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Important paper from Google on large batch optimization. They do impressively careful experiments measuring # iterations needed to achieve target validation error at various batch sizes. The main "surprise" is the lack of surprises. [thread]

https://t.co/7QIx5CFdfJ


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READ AND RETWEET AS THOUGH THE LIFE OF YOUR NATION DEPENDS ON IT. WHICH IT DOES. Citizens, I am going to add to the picture with more information. I am not going to let this pass while keeping information to myself. I am going to walk you through 2 narratives.

A printing shop in Michigan prints ballots for Delaware County, Pennsylvania and as Lancashire County, Pennsylvania (this is normal). But along with the ballots it prints on contract and delivers to those counties, it prints some ballots that get diverted to Bethpage, New York.

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We have all of that documented. Texts, statements, affidavits, everything.

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I was standing outside, waiting for a lyft to get home, when two cis men came out of the bar to smoke cigarettes. They're discussing the masks that folks are wearing in California at the moment because of the very dangerous air pollution from the fires happening.

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