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[H2O Man]

I found the news of twelve mass shootings in America last weekend difficult to watch, so I tuned out the news for a few days. Instead, I focused my attention on the garden during the day, and a series of Robert Sapolski's lectures at night. If you've never listened to Sapolski, you should do yourself a favor, and find him on youtube.

Last night, I turned on the news, and watched reports about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene. I couldn't have a higher opinion of Alexandria, or a lower opinion of Greene. But then it hit me: Greene had harassed David Hogg in the same manner that she did Alexandria. And Hogg, of course, was among those who had endured a school shooting, and has worked to prevent other youngsters from suffering the same fate.

Greene is a "rising star" within the republican party, as a direct result of her being a toxic, ill-mannered, shallow-thinking, loud mouth. There is, of course, stiff competition for being the most unhinged republican in DC. There is the spastic sphincter Matt Gaetz, though it seems possible he will not survive past June. There is Louie Gohmert, reported to be the stone baby removed from actor Pat Buttram's character, Mr. Haney. Gohmert is as dangerous as he is foolish -- the nerve of him to recently praise Dr. King, then compare the violent criminals from January 6 to King's non-violent followers.

Several people have asked me for my opinion of how seemingly intelligent people would be as invested in the Trump cult as many of their family and (former) friends are? My opinion is of no more or less than any other person's, but my answer is rooted in what is remembered as "Nayirah's testimony." As part of a larger perception management operation, in 1990, a 15-year old girl, known at the time only as "Nayirah," told a news conference about invading Iraqi soldiers tossing babies out of incubators. This staged lie got Bush the Elder the support he needed to invade Iraq.

A decade later, George W. Bush used a similar perception management program that usedmushroom clouds and yellow cake to scare enough of the American people to believe there was justification for the US to invade Iraq. And there are still people who are utterly convinced that Iraq played a role in 9/11. Consider, if you will, the political nature of those who still believe: is it coincidence that they are exclusively republicans?

Think back to when VP Cheney would send a lie to Judith Miller, who would publish the lie on the front page of the New York Times the next day, without attributing the claim to its source. Since "the next day" was always, by design a Sunday, Cheney & Co. would appear on the talk shows, and bring up the Millier story. Many people believed Miller then, some still do.

So we see that "perception management" is generally geared towards two strong emotions -- outrage and fear. Rubin used to tell me that in prison, a rumor twice repeated has become accepted fact. We are there as a nation, when the majority of the republican party are loyal members of the Trump cult. And lies are repeated hundreds of times on Fox and related "fake media."

The word "hate" is used on Fox five times more often per day than its closest rivals. I do not have the statistics on the word "fear." Fox has outrage for its tongue. Fox plants the seeds of deceit in fertile ground. These are people who are in no way limited to fearing they might "lose" their country in the future. They aren't worried about white Europeans flooding their towns and cities. They will insist they aren't prejudice, but they just aren't comfortable with non-white people immigrating from Central America.

In fact, they are more comfortable watching the Barbies and Kens on Fox, than the more diverse hosts on MSNBC or CNN, though they are most likely unaware that this is a factor in their choice of news sources. Because Fox parrots the lies of republicans, it reinforces it in those who are at risk for non-rational thinking and foolish beliefs. And this generates the level of outrage and fear we currently witness behaving in outrageous and fearful manners.

It is often said that there are is no free lunch. I think it is more accurate to say the right-wing republicans, acting like they are out to lunch, have very little free will when it comes to conscious thought.

Back out to my garden. An old friend of over half a century asked why I hadn't posted here lately, so blame this essay on Beth, a free spirit.

Peace,
H2O Man