This second iteration of the Republican authoritarian regime that has taken over our White House has been a terrible assault to the senses. The one-after-another attacks on our economy, civil liberties, environment, government and benefits have been a helluva lot to deal with.
In related news, it turns out that this term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) that the cultists who follow America’s No. 1 traitor have slobbered on us, is actually a miraculous life-saving, democracy-saving condition inherent among good and decent people who want their environment, rights, benefits, children, and country protected from billionaires and felons who are drooling to line their pockets with our hard-earned cash.
Because people who have the audacity to care are prone to this condition, its side effects are pain, nausea and sleeplessness.
That said, I am guessing by now most of you agree the pace of this Republican carnage has been expedited completely by design. By blasting us with a nuclear-powered firehose, these fascists hope to knock us off our moorings and unsteady us. While we are reacting to this, they are doing that … While we are reacting to that, they are doing this …
“We’re going to invade Greenland!!” “We are inside the government accessing your personal information.” “Canada will be the 51st state!!!” “Gaza will be our beach resort!!!”
Only one of these things is actually underway, and that is truly terrifying. The rest of their nonstop bulls--- distracts us from the vitally important. It irritates us, stirs us up. Scares us …
It also works particularly well in upsetting people who are susceptible to TDS. In fact, no surprise, it is an often-used Russian propaganda technique. This excellent piece, from Rand presciently written in 2016, gets into all this at length. Here is but a sampling:
We characterize the contemporary Russian model for propaganda as “the firehose of falsehood” because of two of its distinctive features: high numbers of channels and messages and a shameless willingness to disseminate partial truths or outright fictions. In the words of one observer, “[N]ew Russian propaganda entertains, confuses and overwhelms the audience.”
Mostly this technique is cruel, and anti-American, which is precisely why it is being used on the American public by a psychopath who cares little about anything else but himself.
Before turning to another issue associated with this “firehose of falsehood” I just want to remind you again to nevernormalize what is happening in America right now, because THAT will end us faster than anything. We have TDS because we have chosen to care for ALL the people in our country, who aren’t billionaires.
We are not in a cult.
I want to talk little bit today about the fascist Trump regime’s attack on the Associated Press, which is a part of Republicans’ broader aasault on the truth.
During my newsroom days, AP was an invaluable news service which employed reporters and news bureaus where most newspapers couldn’t to bring home the news of events happening around the country and the world to millions of people. Long way of saying: We couldn’t have provided our readers a well-rounded newspaper each day without them.
At a time we’ve never needed well-researched, straight-down-the-middle news more, AP is predictably under attack by an administration that deals in lies. When AP scoffed at Trump’s war on the Gulf of Mexico, he barred them from attending any further White House circus events.
Because they didn't submit to senseless stupidity, they were showed the door.
AP gave a well-reasoned retort for their refusal to dumb themselves and their readers down to no avail.
Some of you will know that the AP Stylebook is the go-to guide for journalists and provides instruction for proper usages of things like grammar, spelling, abbreviations, and even libel law, with sound reasoning for their instruction.
I use it to this day, but now access it online. Here’s an old copy from my newspaper days, before the Internet swallowed us whole:
It is ever-evolving to reflect current events and parlance.
For what it’s worth, here is AP’s reasoning for not surrendering the truth to King Cruel — as if they ended one:
"The Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years," the updated Stylebook entry states. "Refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen."
Outside the U.S., "Gulf of Mexico" is still used.
The Stylebook also notes, "Trump's order only carries authority within the United States. Mexico, as well as other countries and international bodies, do not have to recognize the name change.”
In other words, they are trying to be accurate, as always. But this won’t do, because this Trump/Musk regime’s job, like the any authoritarian group, is to bury us in propaganda and lies with their “firehose of falsehoods.”
Here is their pathetic reasoning for removing one of the foremost news organizations in the world from their lie-filled press briefings:
"It is a privilege to cover this White House," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters explaining their Joseph Goebbels-like decision to bar AP. "Nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions. That's an invitation that is given."
So here is who they they are now giving this privilege to, among other right-wing bilge (with thanks to NPR’s David Folkenflik, who as always, does tremendous job covering these issues): Breitbart radio, One America News Network, Newsmax and the New York Post.
These are not news organizations, they are straight-up, rightwing propaganda outlets. They have no interest in the truth, because they are immune to TDS.
Straight-down-the-middle news operations like AP are being shown the door, because it is impossible to spread Russian propaganda when you have reputable folks like them hanging around.
This is only going to get worse, as the America-attackers, anti-vaxxers, drunks, and billionaire in the Trump regime, who are trying to steal our money, and pollute our air, water and the truth go about their filthy work.
Recently, I was told by a member of Trump’s cult that I had TDS. It’s hardly the first time this has happened. When I produced an AP story to buttress an argument we were having at the time, I was told that AP is “fake news.” That was the first time I’d heard this from a cult member.
I hate with everything in my being what this traitor has done to our country, but I hate the morally lost who prop him up even more.
If only everybody had a case of TDS.
D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here, and follow him on Bluesky here.