I can not stress strongly enough, to my fellow progressives, how valuable...

this conversation is to help understand the insidious, and tremendously dangerous, nature of Trumpery.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2074610/...thin-how-disinformation-is-sabotaging-america

These two experts in the field of disinformation give insightful historical perspective to what Trump is doing. They expose his methodology in a comprehensive way everyone should hear.

I have often wondered how such a clownish figure could achieve what he has achieved. Duping millions in to giving him undeserved adoration. This conversation helps explain it very well.

 

I think the biggest threat to this country, in its history and entire existence, is progressive liberalism imposing collectivist ideologies. Bar none, hands down.

We are all entitled to our opinions.

 

Is that a no on listening to the tape?

 

Who do you actually think is going to listen to something that is 57 minutes long? Maybe you should summarize the key points.

 

Barbara McQuade: Yeah, I will. Thank you, Ruth. And thank you to Ryan for hosting us here at NYU Law School. It's really great to be here. Just a word about your compliment of my outlining skills. Anybody here who’s ever been to law school? I know some of you have. Finally a use for outlining skills, right? I couldn’t nail that outline in law school. Finally.

Yeah, this idea of sabotage. Well, the reason I wrote the book is, I have been involved in national security law for most of my career. I worked as a prosecutor, as a national security prosecutor, at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit before I was U.S. attorney. And now I teach national security law at the University of Michigan Law School. And during the time I have worked in this space, I've seen this evolution of threats to national security. You know, at one time, it was Al Qaeda, and then it was ISIS, and then it was cyber intrusions, and then it was Russia. And now, it seems to me that this greatest threat to our national security is coming from within, right? It's attack from within. My editor, Greg Ruggiero, is here and he wouldn't let me call the book, The Calls Coming from Inside the House, which is what I wanted to call it!

But it is this idea that there are people who are willing to tear down our institutions, you know, trust in the rule of law, and our courts, and our law enforcement system, calling them a disgrace, claiming that indictments against Donald Trump are simply election interference. I mean, all of that is really eroding the institutions that protect our democracy. And I think it is actors who are inside who are abusing their power through disinformation, and some people are duped along the way, and other people know better and are willing to go along with the con because they care more about power and more about winning than they do about preserving our institutions of democracy.

Ruth: Yeah, I'm glad you are mentioning both of those categories, and in a way the latter — they're both upsetting, because I have to say, so I study strong men and propaganda, and nobody — I can't think of anybody who's pulled off a mass deception, massive disinformation, mass indoctrination on the scale of Donald Trump, working in an open society. This is the thing that is astounding. He convinced tens of millions of people of a very easily verifiable thing about, like, a national election, but he didn't have, you know, what Mussolini or Hitler had — a closed society with dominant — or even, Viktor Orbán in Hungary. 85 to 90% of the media is domesticated now.

So, Trump did this in a completely open society with a highly pluralistic media environment. I don't know anybody who has been able to do that. So, when we think about people who say, “Oh, Trump's lazy, he's a clown.” No. He works very hard at the things he cares about, and one of those things is disinformation. So that's where you've got the two — you have these enablers who know better, who are willingly jeopardizing our national security. It's just, it's tragic. I'm so glad you wrote about that. That's why I honed in on the sabotage, because I feel very angry as an American that this is happening.

 

I believe it was P.T. Barnum who said
"There's a sucker born every minute"
and it was Donald Trump who answered something like
"Yeah, an 90% of them are Republicans. Hold my putter!"

 

People like Alvin Bragg, Leticia James, Jack Smith and Fani Willis are the ones destroying trust in the system.

 

TLDR: The Neocons(Barbara served in the Bush Administration) are upset that they will never come to power in the US ever again, I frankly am happy that the warmongers and self-serving bastards among us don't get near the West Wing.

 

Ruth: Yeah, and unfortunately, one of the scariest things about authoritarianism is that it's the institutionalization of lawlessness. And indeed, one of the patterns — and it's just, it's been terrible to study this stuff, you know, first Italian fascism, then global — and now see all the patterns, practically, coming to home, and happening here, such as, when a party is becoming autocratic, you need to recruit, you have to look at what it's remaking itself. Who is kicked out, or who leaves, and who's coming in? And it's lawless people coming in.

 

It's impressive, and a bit scary, just how far the left will go to demonize and destroy all things Trump.
They tell us he is a threat to our very existence and freedoms.
They tell us he is a Russian spy.
They tell us he loves dictators and wants to be one.

Meanwhile, they used "Opposition research" paid for by Clinton and the DNC to not only skewer Trump but to later spy on his campaign and in the White House.
They used COVID to silence speech they did not agree with.
They berated and harassed anyone who dared not step up to be vaccinated.
With this logic;


They formed a Nancy Antoinette star chamber to investigate January 6 with the conclusion dictated before they swore in the committee. And created a professionally edited and produced prime time show to convince America that Trump wanted to overthrow the government.
And when their work was done they buried all of the evidence they didn't use, including anything that didn't support their conclusion (especially what didn't support their conclusion) and buried it in the archives with a "do not open for 50 years" label.
They have used every tactic available to prevent Trump from being on the ballot claiming he is too dangerous and MUST BE STOPPED.
Even if they have to destroy democracy to keep him out of office, they are justified in their actions.

Read your book.
Listen to your book sale show.
Convince yourself your mission is pure, your tactics justified.
And remain confused about why Trump remains more popular than your man(woman)

 

I noticed you didn't take issue with anything in the transcript. I know why.

 

Here's an example of disinformation. The accusation that Trump's prosecution is election interference.

 

Anyone who calls himself an expert in disinformation is the one shoveling it. Those who one ban free speech for others rather than counter it with their own is either a totalitarian or a liar who can't defend the lies he tells.

 

Actually that would be disinformation.

 

As an ironic sidenote, the term 'trumpery' is an actual word, not a coined one, which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is defined as, 'looking expensive but having actual little value', which, ironically, describes Trump to the 'T' (more irony ) LMAO!

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

 

I hope you get something out of it. I did.

 

Politics is first and foremost a popularity contest, imo.

That's a ridiculous image you've posted here.

It is not only Ds and "leftists" that have issues with the dickhead so many of our otherwise possibly mostly normal and not necessarily incredibly stupid voters incomprehensibly to me continue to support.

Some of the reasons he's popular imo are:

There are enough grains of truth scattered amongst his bs to convince folks he sees things as they see things.

The so called American Dream of a privately owned home is becoming out-of-reach for folks.

There is no stable system available to reasonably save money in the US anymore and there are lots of folks that couldn't do it anyway even if savings accounts were paying Volcker era interest rates.

Conversely, and coincidentally, credit cards are given away now and carry a nominal interest rate of apparently about 24%


https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/average-credit-card-interest-rate-in-america/

The US justice system is demonstrably unjust in many fairly high profile cases.


Do you know who this is?

 

Give us an example of "progressive liberalism imposing collectivist ideologies", oh, BAR NONE, HANDS DOWN? I get "bar none", so show how EVERY PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL has IMPOSED COLLECTIVIST IDEOLOGIES.

You're going to have to explain the "hands down" part.

 

The prosecutions are all politically motivated. Their purpose is to prevent Trump from being re-elected. Election interference is a nicer term for it that it deserves.

 

Well, when, as President, you engage in fraud and insurrection against your own country; it’s probably a good idea that your reelection is interfered with.

TRaitor tRump is the architect of his own troubles.

 

Of course we are, but facts are facts, and the fact is post 2 in this thread is devoid of them.

 

Not to those who actually know how the system is supposed to work.

 

He should be demonized

I don't know about existence but definitely our freedoms.

Spies stay in the shadows. He is openly a Russian agent.

That is correct

Given the evidence of his coziness with Russians, it was probably necessary.

You mean like saying it wasn't a deadly virus. That's what the right liked to say.

Sure, why get a shot against a deadly virus.

The logic is the vaccine works

Really? All that work for tourists? Seems odd.

That is a fact

Just using the rule of law.

No, he's not.
Lot of disinformation I have to debunk here.

 

Maybe Trump pulled off this "astounding feat" because his ideas are confirmed by every day experience

 

Which the right wing media hammers at every day.