Burn that witch

Communications is a two way street. Both ends of the street have to be committed to the integrity of the message in order to have useful transfer of meaning and knowledge. That commitment is suffering on many important fronts in today’s social discourse.  Catherine Salgado: Trump Clarifies Statement Misrepresented as Call to End to U.S. Constitution. You’d think that someone who has no history of disregard for the law or the U.S. Constitution and who keeps being right in substance would matter to those who hear him. But no, many jump right on the most negative perception they can muster. They have no question about how anomalous their perception may be and no interest in make certain their end of the communications has integrity. As an occasional slip-up, this would be no big deal but when it comes to TDS it has lead to much expense and misery and there is no indication of any interest in correction. That is the tragedy. Those with awareness would not need a clarification such as Trump offers that “that he was not calling for an end to the Constitution. In fact, the post seems to be an awkward argument that a stolen election — and thus an illegitimate government — means that the Constitution would no longer be in force, and thus laws that exist for a republican form of government would not provide solutions.” — “The truly controversial and bombshell thing Trump claimed was that we are no longer living in a Republic. That’s what the media — and the American people — should be debating.”

Mark J. Fitzgibbons is another look. Did Trump really call to terminate the Constitution? — “what followed may have been another Charlottesville moment among the media, other Trump haters, and more.” … “Those who believe Trump is evil and ignorant will of course read what they want into his post regardless of his intent and the actual meaning.” … “Anti-Trumpers are more than happy to use this new Charlottesville hoax moment to distract from Elon Musk’s release of the Twitter censorship files.”  — Elle Purnell says TIME Admits ‘Election Denier’ Is Nonsense Invented To Vilify GOP which is one tactic used to distort effective communications. — “Aguilera continued her attempt to differentiate Republican “election denial” from Democrats’ totally-above-board-and-not-at-all-the-same behavior” … “The phrase is just a nonsense smear invented to chill speech, silence challenges to the regime, and paint Republicans as unelectable.”

Democrat voter fraud has a history that should flavor perceptions. J.R. Dunn provides Democrat Voter Fraud: A Brief History.  — “The Dinkins Magic Voting Machines … An Inconvenient Decision … Votes from the 8th Dimension … Goshdarnit, People Liked Him … Trump Agonistes … 2022” … “we need to call on Goldfinger’s dictum: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. We are way past “three times” at this point.” … “This is the second election in a row marked by impossible results. Not “extraordinary,” not “unusual,” but impossible.”

Tristan Justice points out that Trump Isn’t The Greatest Threat To Democracy. His Exile Is. — “From the Russia collusion hoax to impeachment, Democrats have normalized the radical weaponization of government institutions to thwart their opponents no matter the cost, setting the precedent for decades of political warfare to come with dangerous potential to escalate.” … “Contrary to these hyperventilated claims that are now routine among Democrats and the Beltway press, however, it’s the establishment’s reaction that threatens to undermine American democracy, with witch hunt after witch hunt designed to burn the orange-haired witch.”

If Americans don’t vote because they don’t trust that their votes will count, then America doesn’t have a democracy to begin with. If Americans can’t engage in the marketplace of ideas in the digital public square, then America doesn’t have a democracy to begin with. If Americans are barred from even voting for their chosen candidate, then America doesn’t have a democracy to begin with.

Where does this lead? Nancy Flory reviews Shame of a Nation: A Must-Watch Documentary That Examines the Events of January 6, 2021 — What Really Happened. — “The macing, spraying and beatings were just the beginning. Many of the January 6 defendants, locked away in a D.C. jail, have not seen their families since their arrest. What’s more, they have yet to have a trial for their alleged crimes. Now people want to know why.”  — This is the truth Trump was trying to communicate. It is sad and tragic that many of those who should know better chose instead to add to the misperceptions and diminish the weight of the message.