A shot of police turning firehoses on demonstrators in 1963

Life in a Firehose of Lies

#DemCast, Political Action

Vladimir Putin calls his propaganda campaigns a Firehose of Falsehood.

A shot of police turning firehoses on demonstrators in Birmingham Alabama in 1963
Children’s Crusade, Birmingham, Alabama 1963 – Found on Pinterest

I assume the term ‘firehose’ refers to the use of the firehose as a means
of crowd control.

Animated Gif of police using fire hoses on Standing Rock protesters
Police use fire hoses on Standing Rock protesters – Found on Google Images

What does it mean to live under a firehose of lies?

The RAND Corporation: “Russian propaganda is produced in incredibly large volumes and is broadcast or otherwise distributed via a large number of channels.”

The Russian propaganda model is high-volume and multichannel, and it disseminates messages without regard for the truth. It is also rapid, continuous, and repetitive, and it lacks commitment to consistency. Although these techniques would seem to run counter to the received wisdom for successful information campaigns, research in psychology supports many of the most successful aspects of the model. Furthermore, the very factors that make the firehose of falsehood effective also make it difficult to counter.

I mean, who goes to the local Safeway expecting to see a banner headline smear of Special Council Robert Mueller?

A photograph of the front page of the National Enquirer, December 20, 2017 that reads Clintons Rigged Trump Investigation
Who expects to see Russian Propaganda in the checkout lane at the local Safeway.

Putin’s lies are everywhere all the time; and the lies are constant and meant to be psychologically stressful and abusive.

On December 18, former CIA Director, James Clapper said on CNN that the President of the United States is a Russian asset.

In other words, Americans are living under the rule of Vladimir Putin. 

That’s jaw dropping news.

This is the most serious breach of National Security in our nation’s
history.

Yet, two days later CNN covers Donald Trump as if he is a normal
President conducting politics as usual.

Not just CNN:

President Trump ended a chaotic first year by achieving his most convincing legislative triumph on Wednesday, making good on his promise to deliver what he called a “big, beautiful” tax cut before Christmas and finally demonstrating the political power of unified Republican control in Washington.

The New York Times

It’s this need to deny the core issue that I find baffling.

Most commentators say the tax cut is amoral; the most savage criticism from Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC who describes the GOP as pigs at a trough.

Yes, the GOP tax bill cruel and deceptive.

So is Vladimir Putin and his Oligarchy.

We are almost a year into the Trump administration and Trump is never
going to see the light of liberty; he is a small man with a small mind
and his only job is our destruction.

Donald Trump is not an American President.

“Putin is committed to undermining our system, our democracy, and our whole process. And to try to paint it in any other — any other way is, I think, astounding and, in fact, poses a peril to this country.”

James Clapper

The only way to break through the fog of lies is to discuss the real story.

The real story is this:

Our President is a Russian puppet who takes his orders from Vladimir Putin.

Americans are in denial about what this President is and what he represents.   

This denial is killing us.

Rob Goldstein (c) 2017

Header image: Civil Rights Protestors under a Water Cannon- Getty Images

Children’s Crusade, Birmingham, Alabama 1963 – Found on Pinterest

Animated Gif of Standing Rock protesters – Found on Google Images

I do not own these images, I use them here to illustrate the point
of the post and believe this is fair use.

12 thoughts on “Life in a Firehose of Lies”

  1. Pingback: Stay Frosty – Art by Rob Goldstein

    1. And knowing that its happening. How do I know this headline is propaganda? Because this not kind of headline is no I’d normally see in the checkout line at Safeway? What I’d normally see is celebrity fluff which is what the rest of the magazines were.

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  3. Rob, we should think what is easier to believe. A man who has a history of lying so says six authors who wrote his biographies or best selling book, who has been confirmed to have lied without question 103 times in his first ten months versus 18 times for Obama in 8 years per The Washington Post, who Politifacts confirmed he lied 70% of the time during the campaign and 69% as President and a man who “lies every day even about things of no consequence” says an attorney that worked with him for years. Or, the US intelligence apparatus who says with high confidence Putin influenced our election and is still sowing seeds of discord in the US today.

    The first man does not want to acknowledge or hear about this attack on the US and is acting quite guilty with his story changing. So, who is easier to believe – the US President or his intelligence people. With Mueller looking at the money flow, I am hard pressed to believe the US President is not guilty of something related to the Russians. I agree with Clapper’s assessment.

    Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    1. As long as we remain aware of the fact that we are literally beset by a constant barrage of
      threats, lies and intimidation.

      How do we know Fox is inciting violence based on lies?

      Because inciting violence is NOT what we expect from American news media.

      Like

  5. Pingback: Life in a Firehose of Lies – The Militant Negro™

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