Month: December 2016

Info Wars

by MyBaconPress

It strikes me that the wealthy, privileged elite have used their control over the corporate media to pit left against right.  They do it by delivering different “information” – it’s actually Disinformation – to the two groups.  It only works because they managed to manipulate one of the two groups into isolating themselves into an information bubble.

They did it using the exact same technique some fundamentalist church groups use to isolate their congregation: “Disregard those ‘of the world’.”  “Trust us but not them.” “Protect yourself from the deceptions of the serpent.”  Sure, they replaced “serpent” with “main stream media” but the technique – and effect – were the same.  After that, it was a small matter to send disinformation to that one, self-insulated group and other “news” to the rest of the viewing public.

Over time, most people in the mainstream got used to the idea that the insular group was misinformed.  It created just the break between Americans it was intended to as the overall effect was name-calling and other insults, leading to bitterness and anger.  In turn, the anger caused the group to self-isolate even MORE.  Now people from outside the bubble just pretty much write off whatever comes from inside the bubble because it’s been provably false for so long it just becomes a time saver to ignore it.

But now I’m seeing a new trend.  Now, the corporate media is feeding false information to those outside the bubble.  Right now, it’s all about how the DNC didn’t cheat and damn those interfering Russians, anyway.  Every time you hear some talking head tell you about the Russian hacks, you’re being fed false information.  The corporate media is trying to wrap Hillary’s scandals into a single package – the “email hack” – and blame the Russians for the existence of the package.  The entire narrative falls apart with only a little examination – so they hope you don’t look too closely.  Let’s look anyway…

First, there was Hillary’s email servers.  Did you see the ‘s’ at the end of ‘server’?  That’s because she used several email servers.  None were properly secured.  Secret and even Top Secret information passed through them.  This is not speculation.  The FBI did an investigation, remember?  The FBI said they found Secret and Top Secret information on the servers.  NONE of this had anything to do with the Russians except for the possibility that her unsecured servers might have been hacked by the Russians.  But none of the information on the servers was made public by the Russians or anyone else…

Second, there was the DNC email scandal.  It had nothing to do with Hillary’s servers.  The only commonality is the word “email” but – according to Wikileaks, who provided the information – the DNC emails weren’t “hacked”.  They were leaked.  That means an insider.  Someone INSIDE the DNC gained access to the emails by working at the DNC, printed them out, and provided them to Wikileaks.  Again, no Russians involved.

So, that’s two out of three email scandals that didn’t involve the Russians.  That leaves the Podesta hack.  You know how you get an email from time to time warning you that some page has been violated and you need to go to such and such a site and re-enter your user name, password, and credit card information?  Those emails are scams and they have a name.  They’re called phishing emails.  Well, John Podesta fell for one of those.  It’s technically true those are “hacks” in the sense that someone now has access to things they shouldn’t but it’s not like some computer whiz had to sneak in and breach security protocols.  They just asked Podesta for his password and he gave it to them.  After that it was just a simple matter of printing email.

But there is a cadre of writers and broadcasters out there consistently pounding the message that the Russians hacked the election to create “the email scandal” and they’re feeding this non-stop stream of bullpucky to those of us OUTSIDE the self-imposed media bubble in order to deflect attention from their own missteps and misdeeds.  I see it as a new development.

I’m used to seeing fraudulent information coming from “the other team”.  It’s so common, it’s boring.  I’m NOT used to seeing fraudulent information coming from “my team”.  The corporate media has had time to iron out the wrinkles working within the insular group.  They’re very skilled at disinformation and can easily slip propaganda in unnoticed if one isn’t paying VERY close attention.  So pay attention.  Disregard broadcast media that originates inside the US borders.  Read, but check what you read.

I’ll tell you this: Lincoln warned that a house divided against itself cannot stand and the privileged elite have succeeded in dividing the house that is America to their own benefit for long enough…

A Thought On Voting…

by MyBaconPress

Okay, let’s say we all agree that Russian hacking played a part in the outcome of the most recent “election”.  The corporate media seems focused on the idea that the hacking began and ended with releasing damning information about Hillary (without, I’ve noticed, any mention of why there was so much damning information about Hillary to be had) but I’ve heard little to no talk on the question of hacking into the voting machines and flipping votes.

We KNOW that it can be done easily.  We saw how insecure the machines are after Bush 43 was installed by vote flipping in the voting machines.  It’s possible to find videos on the web to this day that demonstrate how easily these machines can be manipulated.  Although much of the focus tends to be on some random person getting their hands on a device that lets one person vote many – perhaps hundreds of – times, they usually include an acknowledgement that the actual network the machines are connected to can be hacked – meaning one person could affect the outcomes on hundreds of machines in a relatively short time.

Our government tends to downplay the notion that the machines are so vulnerable.  It seems they’re hesitant to – get this – undermine the public faith in American “elections”.  But government confidence-building notwithstanding, the machines can be manipulated so easily it’s almost child’s play.  Each county gets to pick it’s own voting equipment and there are a wide variety of machines being used but they all share the same vulnerability.

As a result, I suggest we, the people, develop our own, new way of voting.  It’s actually quite simple.  First, apply for an absentee ballot.  Fill it out at your leisure, in your own home.  In fact, you can have voting parties.  See, the concept of a private vote is to ensure your privacy but it’s not an obligation.  You can sit around with family and friends and discuss each issue and candidate and mark your ballots accordingly.

Then, on election day, take your ballot to your polling place.  TRY to participate in an exit poll.  This process will do two things; one, it will create a paper trail “election” officials seem unwilling to create these days.  Two, it will show, via the exit poll, how accurately the vote totals are being counted.

I know our corporate dis-infotainment machine says exit polling may not be accurate.  Do yourself a favor, don’t ever let anyone convince you that’s true.  I mean, logically, could it be true that exit polling is only inaccurate in America and only during Presidential “elections”?  Exit polling is the gold standard of polling.  It’s how poll watchers the world over ensure the integrity of votes anywhere there might be a question regarding the legitimate outcome of an election – like, sadly, the United States of America.

If our “election” officials won’t create a paper trail, we create our own via absentee ballots.  If the exit poll numbers conflict with the results we can easily do a recount using the paper ballots we created.  Yes, it will most likely slow down the counting and delay the announcement of winners and losers.

I’ll tell you this: I’d MUCH rather get accurate information slowly than get inaccurate information quickly…

A Proposed Name Change…

by MyBaconPress

I’m a little bothered by the notion that the economic system that actually made America great in the first place has such a stupid name: Democratic Socialism.  It bothers me for two reasons: One, it’s too easy for weak thinkers to think “Communism”.  Two, it’s just wrong.  It SHOULD have been called ‘Social Capitalism’.

During the 2016 primary, every time Bernie Sanders or one of his supporters mentioned Democratic Socialism, some whiz would post a photo of Stalin, Marx, or Lenin.  Sometimes they’d post a picture of all three.  See, it has the word ‘socialism’ in it and that word scares the bejeezus out of a certain segment of our society.  But it’s not Communism – in which the government owns…pretty much everything.

More importantly, though, is that it’s wrong.  The ‘Democratic’ part makes it sound like it’s about a government system, not an economic system.  But Democratic Socialism is not a government system, it’s Capitalism – it’s just controlled Capitalism or more properly, true Capitalism.

To my mind, the most important single element of Capitalism is that every party to a transaction MUST enjoy a legitimate opportunity to say “no”.  If you can’t say no, it’s not genuine Capitalism.  It’s extortion.  When some business predator manages to corner the market on, say, fresh water – as Nestle intends to do – people no longer have the ability to say no.  We HAVE to have water so we would be forced to pay whatever Nestle demands.  That’s not a Capitalist transaction.  My favorite example says that it’s not Capitalism to hold life saving medication up in front of a dying man and ask, “NOW how much would you pay?”

Social Capitalism (Democratic Socialism) only moves those not-Capitalist transactions to what is known as the Commons – that which “belongs” to all of us.  It doesn’t seek to own and build your cars or service your washing machines.  It leaves Capitalism in place for Capitalist transactions and protects people from pseudo-Capitalist transactions.

I’ll tell you this: Democratic Socialism actually IS the best option for the largest number of people, whatever you call it.  But it SHOULD be called Social Capitalism…