First Amendment is taking huge hits
Like an airplane into a building
The First Amendment (link) in case anyone would like to refresh their memory.
Fast and dramatic is how it’s happening and why this article. The levels at which we observe the world are fascinating, the many layered onion analogy seems fitting. What bubbles up to the surface is pretty bad but the the heat causing the bubbles is far uglier and it’s difficult to cope with. In describing what is at the core of the political, climactic troubles of the world sounds like the madness that it is. More like idiocy and insanity but rather than reject, please inspect.
The attack analogy is accurate as the false information is deeply disseminated, widely read and continuously administered. When truth is inspected by us all with squinty eyes because of the fingers that point and jeer at the truth saying it’s fake and untrue, treating it like scum or scat, it is a simple push to slide us irrevocably into ultimately chaos. It’s a mind game. Nothing has changed but our perception. Chaos and confusion is clear when driving or not? Stop at a sign? No one seems to stop anymore in my town, but feel they should take turns or simply ignore the sign altogether. Chaos at who is the police, who makes the laws, what about that election. Chaos that can be quelled with a strong fist and shields and bullets. Manage the chaos, be the hero. Be the authoritarian, be the dictator of peace and tranquility again because we told you so because what you think is truth, is fake, “ersatz.”
The problems are everywhere in the media. The New York Times seems to have Trump on the front page everyday. A variety of type of sentiments accompany, but mostly getting ready for his big announce to the 2024 presidency. We are on the edge of our seats, terminally. CNN has been punched in its corporate face with accusations that seem true they are “both siding” seemingly everything. This obscures the typical opinions that truth is better than lies and that Russia is not our friend which it isn’t and clearly hasn’t been. Casting a doubt used to be good enough. We are in a fast changing landscape that appears to honor Meghan Kelly and terminally puckered Tucker, as the arbiters of, something. But not truth or fairness or the first amendment.
Watching or not, what happened was the firing of Tiffany Cross at MSNBC, for doing her job. It’s one awful moment in a bigger package but worth looking at. Recommended is Keith Olberman’s podcast which details it and if you don’t listen generally, it’s epic and great good fun too. More information on this also below.
From The Grio
“These facts explain why Tiffany Cross used her platform to feature a diverse array of voices that are usually absent from cable news coverage, including trans women, native Americans and an African American elf who disparaged Caucasian Santa Claus (no disrespect to Megyn Kelly). When Tiffany Cross called out Clarence Thomas, she was echoing the sentiments of her audience. When she suggested that whites should “sit out” the debate over Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, she was just saying what many of her viewers thought (By the way, this is not my interpretation; I was actually part of that panel discussion). She was doing exactly what she told MSNBC she’d do when they hired her.”
Tiffany Cross was fired for doing her job as a journalist. She and others are being pushed into a corner of losing their platforms if they don’t say what their bosses want them to say. If they say it they will get fired and now all the talking heads, Maddow included have the opportunity to come to her defense or keep their jobs which give them millions. Corporations know what levers to pull in their employees as they have installed them. I won’t defend any of them. In a climate of shredding the first amendment, there needs to be new and more courageous blood in the game, but oh, a voice is only as strong as its megaphone.
Twitter. If you’re not in or on it, it’s tough to explain or defend, however it was the place that journalists and government heads, corporate heads, can potentially, all interact directly with any individual with an account on the platform, for no charge. A verification to ones account for some is more than one thinks initially, it is Twitter Truth. You are who you say you are. This is the very mechanism by which 45 ran the US government. Tweeting policy. Now, Elon Musk, (Elmo to his Twitter detractors) is spraying his chaos branding. Below a particularly troubling tweet by the owner of the platform.
There seems to be no particular scenario anyone can quite map for his purchase and retention of the company. More Captain Cosplay? Most troubling is what any one person with few to answer to will do when money equals enormous power and little downside to bad behavior. So he loses 44 billion. He can loose twice that and still have more money to buy cowards with than you or I can fathom. He’s a chaos agent and spoiler, he’s not working for democracy. Twitter is being gutted of users as they find new platforms and losing advertisers by several mechanisms. People have been fired and now are being rehired, none of that matters as what does matter is that we vote. Voting will not save Twitter, Twitter will take care of itself, or not. It’s the home to find independent journalism but it won’t be the only one. Vote blue and give democracy more time.