February 16, 2023

"The corporate media's ability to — overnight — turn anyone who dissents in anyway into some sort of fascist or even Hitler-like figure, and then have millions of their followers go around mindlessly repeating it...."

58 comments:

n.n said...

A handmade tale, a twilight faith, an ethical religion, a baby hunt, a fetal trial. Let us bray.

gilbar said...

Elon(adolph) Musk.. Donald (Hitler) Trump..
These things WOULD NOT Happen to these people; If they would Just TOE The LINE.
These people were the love of the left.. And THEN, They Decided; to leave the reservation..
No one Made them do that; they did it on their own. They have no one to blame but themselves..
Their FASCIST HITLER SELVES

Sebastian said...

"The corporate media's ability to -- overnight -- turn anyone who dissents in anyway into some sort of fascist or even Hitler-like figure, and then have millions of their followers go around mindlessly repeating it, is both impressive and chilling."

Sorta-lefties discovering prog hegemony. Yes, the ability is impressive, and of course some fellow-travelers are mindless, but in general they operate mindfully--always keeping their eye on the prize of power and the squashing of deplorable deviance.

Some might call the media-deep-state-industrial complex itself a form of fascism--all arrows bundled together, all aiming in the same direction.

Interestingly, no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.

Enigma said...

"Twitter" is aptly named. If you've been to a zoo that houses flocks of birds, it's amazing and unsettling how they respond to minor sounds. A person might say "Hello birds" and 1,000 little voices answer back in time "whee-hee-hoo." This can continue for long periods as humans hold conversations nearby. They clearly mimic the timing and syllables of speech. Parrots indeed "parrot" human speech. Mockingbirds "mock" other sounds -- and make for an amazing alarm clock if they live near your house!

Many humans do not differ from birds -- they follow their leader because their brains no not what else to do. The problem is when their leaders are clueless and keep their noses in smartphones all day long. Smart people invented smartphones and then became dumb people with phones smarter than themselves. It was an alien mind trap!

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Parasitic_being


Two million twits twittering on Twitter together.

Quaestor said...

Maybe I don't know shit from Shinola, but the corporate media behave like genuine shut-up-and-take-the-shower fascists.

Quaestor said...

Sebastian writes, "Interestingly, no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like."

Those compliments are reserved for themselves.

chickelit said...

“Interestingly, no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.“

Indeed. And not even Putin is tagged as Stalin-like, nor is Chairman Xi ever tagged as Mao-like. Go figure.

Howard (not that Howard) said...

"I'd like to cancel my membership in the Hitler-of-the-Month club, please. The quality has gone downhill."

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Yeah some around here joined in. Somehow the same people always overlook the real fascism behind the US Government ordering Twitter to suppress speech. Sunlight now makes journalists squirm and leftists cry "Hitler!" Yeah Dracula had a similar fear.

Achilles said...

The power of this machine is broken.

There are too many people like Rogan and Musk and Trump fighting back.

There are not enough WEF fanboys to sustain it.

Most of the Regime supporters are too embarrassed to fight back and participate in conversations now.

Nobody wants to admit they voted for Joe Biden. Nobody wants to support Klaus.

re Pete said...

"An’ though the rules of the road have been lodged

It’s only people’s games that you got to dodge"

Bob Boyd said...

Some people love it.

Dave Begley said...

That's the truth.

America is now divided into two tribes and one of the main functions of the Left is to villainize and destroy any opponent. It started with Clarence Thomas.

The Left are the experts in the politics of personal destruction. IMO, the reason why the Left hates Trump so much is, in part, because he attacked them (e.g. Fake News) and the Left's attacks didn't work. (But I remain convinced that Trump will be indicted and convicted in DC federal court.)

rhhardin said...

The right does the same thing as their average IQ goes down owing to converts from the left joining the right. The right used be composted of bemused people, not outraged people.

I blame click-bait pressure.

Michael K said...

Interestingly, no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.

Yes, interesting, no ?

Greenwald has had an epiphany, along with Taibbi. Snowden was probably right. Certainly Assange was right. Seth Rich did not kill himself.

ndspinelli said...

Intellectually honest people are becoming super stars. It's heartening to see folks like Rogan, Taibbi, Greenwald, etc. get the notoriety they deserve.

n.n said...

These things WOULD NOT Happen to these people; If they would Just TOE The LINE.

Take a knee, beg, "donate".

no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.

Stalin, Mao, Hitler, in the visible world. Then there's the hidden world, notably in Africa, where social progress and democratic/dictatorship meld in equitable and inclusive disharmony.

rehajm said...

Based on what they’ve been doing I think they believe their power to manipulate is waning. Certainly the polls on their credibility are bad, not that we should believe polls. There’s still plenty of people who think the election fraud is a conspiracy but if they lose that sham their work is for naught…

MOfarmer said...

Of course Greenwald is correct. But it is much worse than that. I took a class called "American political extremism" at university in the early 70's. The text taught that fascism and communism were on the same side of the continuum. The left side was more government control. North Korea was known end point. On the right the end point was anarchism-no government control. The main difference between fascism and communism was nationalism verses globalism. The progressives have been successful in moving Hitler and fascism to the right side where the conservatives hang out. So now conservatives equal Hitler. And just as fascinating is that today's anarchists seem to be communists that love violence and rioting to achieve totalitarian goals.

wendybar said...

Progressivism in a nutshell. They are doing EVERYTHING they can to divide and conquer. This is what fundamentally changing America is all about.

gahrie said...

Interestingly, no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.

I actually talk about this with my high school students. The Communists were actually much more evil and much more murderous than the Fascists, including Hitler. (I am in no way excusing Hitler's evil)

There are teachers at my school with Che Guevera posters on their walls and who openly admit to being Marxists.

Robert Cook said...

"Elon(adolph) Musk.. Donald (Hitler) Trump...These people were the love of the left...."

I don't recall Donald Trump ever being "the love of the left." But then, I guess it depends on how one defines "the left." Many here use "the left" as a synonym for "Democrat." Ha! This automatically invalidates whatever else the person has to say on the matter at hand.

gilbar said...

Sebastian said...
no prog ever tars an opponent as Stalin- or Mao-like.

They would consider those to be compliments.. Right Igna? Right Mark?

Mea Sententia said...

I walked through a room today where the View was on, and I watched for all of a minute. Joy Behar said the word ‘fascist’ a half dozen times. The hatred was stunning.

ngtrains said...

I thought it began with Robert Bork

Narr said...

Nowadays, everyone gets to be Hitler for 15 minutes.

narciso said...

Mispelled stupidity

gahrie said...

America is now divided into two tribes and one of the main functions of the Left is to villainize and destroy any opponent. It started with Clarence Thomas.

There's always been an element of this in politics. Go back and look at the fight between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.

In modern terms, I'd say it started with Goldwater and the Daisy ad.

mikeski said...

"I'd like to cancel my membership in the Hitler-of-the-Month club, please. The quality has gone downhill."

They suck you in because the first 8 Hitlers are only a penny. Then they jack up the price and force you to buy Hitlers you'll never listen to.

mikeski said...

I walked through a room today where the View was on [...]. The hatred was stunning.

But not surprising, right?

Quaestor said...

"I'd like to cancel my membership in the Hitler-of-the-Month club, please. The quality has gone downhill."

But you fell for the scam, Not That Howard. The good stuff is always up front.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

True, but not news at this point. They didn't call Truman out when he called Dewey a fascist, why would they start now.

madAsHell said...

I walked through a room today where the View was on.

"The View" manages to capture all the worst behavior in women, amplify it, and send it back out as programming.

It's mix between a poorly written SNL skit, and Beckett's Godot. This should be a funny skit, but the punch line never arrives.

gilbar said...

Robert Cook, once again showed his intelligence, when he said...
But then, I guess it depends on how one defines "the left."

Robert, i'm going to type slow; because you're Mentally Stupid. "the left" does NOT mean 'left of Robert Cook', it mean's the left half of the population. Now, i realize, that you Are in fact; So Mentally Stupid that you think that "the left" consists of the 0.0000000001% that are as (or more than) left as you. But, that is Because You are mentally stupid. IF 99% of the country are on the right side of a bell curve.. You are talking about a stupid bell curve. Please TRY to face reality. There is a midpoint in this country, and HALF are to the left of that. But, never mind; i feel like i'm typing to turnip

Rit said...

Dave Begley said...

America is now divided into two tribes and one of the main functions of the Left is to villainize and destroy any opponent. It started with Clarence Thomas.


Robert Bork. And it was so successful that his name is now officially recognized as a verb.

Krumhorn said...

A perfect example of the lefties reading strictly from the leftie liturgy is our own Cook who spews all kinds of toxic sludge about DeSantis being a Fascist. when the lefties discern a political threat, the talking points require comparisons to Hitler. It's part of the canon.

Of course, it's only fair to point out that when talking about the lefties, it's inevitable that some reference to Marx or the Cultural Revolution must find words.

I don't think that Cook is a Maoist or a Marxist. He is sometimes reasonable, but maybe a little dopey in his reflexive leftie-ness.

- Krumhorn

Rit said...

Dave Begley said...

America is now divided into two tribes and one of the main functions of the Left is to villainize and destroy any opponent. It started with Clarence Thomas.


Robert Bork. And it was so successful that his name is now officially recognized as a verb.

effinayright said...

rhhardin said...
The right does the same thing as their average IQ goes down owing to converts from the left joining the right.

>>>>> You've got the stastics to back up that claim.....Oh, you don't. IOW you're just bullshitting again.. We're used to it. It's you modus operandi.

The right used be composted of bemused people, not outraged people.

>>>>>Maybe we have a lot to be outraged about. Why do you assume the woke attack on America is something NOT get enraged abotu?

I blame click-bait pressure.

>>>>>I blame YOU, for being such a FLAKE.

Saint Croix said...

He says "corporate" like capitalism is to blame for this.

Only in an abstract way.

The mainstream media is a (leftist) one-party monopoly that attempts to control narratives and not allow other voices to be heard.

I talk about it a bit here...

Joseph McCarthy vs. Joseph Stalin

Mea Sententia said...

I walked through a room today where the View was on [...]. The hatred was stunning.

But not surprising, right?

_____

I almost never watch talk shows, daytime or nighttime. I've heard what they've become, but it's jarring to see it first hand. I figure they're opting for hatred rather than harmony because hatred is more lucrative for them.

Richard Aubrey said...

I see Greg Gutfeld is lamenting that CNN is so bad that he, Gutfeld, has little material for his show.

TPTB, that they would promote accusations of Nazi or Fascist is not surprising. What is dismaying is the huge number of trained seals barking on command and thinking themselves very find folk for doing so.

rcocean said...

Yes, that's what i always find amazing. How the Liberal/left. not just the MSM, but Democrat Pols and average people, can flip on a dime. Once the Party line gets published, they respond IMMEDIATELY.


They really are NPC robots. And they are getting dangerous.

Nancy Reyes said...

So everyone to the right of Bernie Sanders is Hitler.
Notice no one calls anyone Stalin or Mao, who killed more people than Hitler. Because communism good?
And of course, the money used to fund the media to destablize regimes is never mentioned. They just gave a Nobel prize to a journalist for opposing Duterte here in the Philippines, but never mention that the webpage was funded by Omidyar', a CIA asset. The murders here didn't increase much statistically with Duterte's war on drugs, and crime decreased. But never mind. My neighbors killed by druggies robbing them are never mourned by the press who mourns a drug dealer.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I've been saying that for years.

The collective left take their marching orders very seriously.
Look how Inga ate up and regurgitated every "Trump is a Russian spy" bullshit pellet given to her by our corrupt liar hack press.

Robert Cook said...

"The progressives have been successful in moving Hitler and fascism to the right side where the conservatives hang out."

Hahaha! Hitler and fascism were always considered to be on the right end of the political spectrum, (and still are). It is only in recent years, probably due to Jonah Goldberg's book LIBERAL FASCISM, that anyone (i.e., rightwingers) has tried to argue to the contrary. Mussolini started out as a socialist journalist before developing and naming his fascist party. Hitler was definitely no socialist or communist or left in any way, and neither were the Nazis, notwithstanding dishonest claims to the contrary by right wing propagandists (and morons).

ken in tx said...

Trump WAS a darling of the left at one time. He was seen as a typical NYC Democrat. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson gave him awards, the Clintons went to his weddings. He donated to Democrat politicians. He only became an evil Republican when he wanted to run for office. He saw that the Democrats do not allow outsiders to do that. He was expected to stay in the 'donor' lane. Apostates are always hated.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Cook says - "Hitler and fascism were always considered to be on the right."

Ah, no. Hitler was a National Socialist. State control of everything (see Mussolini) is a leftist-fascist ideal.

You know that, Cook - it just offends your sensibilities as a loyal progressive.... so you lie to yourself.

Dr Weevil said...

Hahahaha: "Hitler was definitely no socialist or communist or left in any way, and neither were the Nazis"? In "any" way? How about nominally? Surely calling yourself "Socialists" is one way to be some kind of socialist or at least pseudo-socialist.

Bunkypotatohead said...

It's the apostasy they can't bear.
Trump was a NY Democrat for 40 years. He didn't become Hitler until he ran as a republican.
Musk was gonna be the green savior of the world with his electric cars. But then he said he might vote republican next time and quickly became Hitler jr.

There's no principles in politics beyond whose ox is being gored. None.

Saint Croix said...

wow, amazing clip

s'opihjerdt said...

Warhol was wrong. In the future, everyone will be Emmanuel Goldstein for fifteen minutes.

Howard (not that Howard) said...

Here you go, Cook. Maybe learn something.

The Role of Anti-Capitalism in Hitler's World

"For Hitler the formal maintenance of private ownership was not important. When the state
has the unrestricted right to determine the decisions of the owners of the means of production, then the formal legal institution of private ownership no longer means very much."

Democrat, or Republican?

Howard (not that Howard) said...

Here you go, Cook. Maybe learn something.

The Role of Anti-Capitalism in Hitler's World

"For Hitler the formal maintenance of private ownership was not important. When the state
has the unrestricted right to determine the decisions of the owners of the means of production, then the formal legal institution of private ownership no longer means very much."

Democrat, or Republican?

Gahrie said...

Hahaha! Hitler and fascism were always considered to be on the right end of the political spectrum, (and still are)

Up until Germany invaded the USSR in WW II, everyone, including the Communists, Progressives, Democrats and the Fascists themselves, considered Fascism to be a Leftwing movement. It is about collectivism over individualism.

It was only after that invasion that the USSR and their tools on the Left began calling the Fascists Rightwing.

Chris N said...

As to Red Robert’s claim about Hitler:

The revolutionary theology of (M)an found in Marxism requires that the locus of evil live in the world. But never in oneself, nor in the human heart. Rather, evil is externalized, living only in the heart and mind of the oppressor, or ‘bad’ power, or whatever is preventing liberation.

As we see, this is pretty much always religious believers and conservatives, and could be liberals, or defenders of speech, or useful idiots and fellow Communists eventually.

Imagine a kid punished and sent to his room from dinner (maybe 6 or 7). All the passing thoughts and tides of anger, resentment, helplessness, humiliation and maybe some fantasies/ideation of violence.

Now get there and stay there and play it out over 170 years plus.

The doctrine provides truth and knowledge claims for action in the world, and is focused on harnessing those emotions towards a utopia that simply doesn’t exist; towards perfecting a Man that can’t exist.

A good claim can be made that it becomes a resting point and deeper belief within and beneath liberal ideals and the secular humanist/atheist modern mind. Or at least, that all the other ‘-Ists’ and liberals share a lot of overlap with the radicals,

As you can see in Cook, the Hitler true belief is an article of faith, connected to the revolutionary theology (articles of philosophy and faith endlessly revisited).

His truth and knowledge claims lead to a better Man, and a better world. Why not just pursue the ideal? Why not act in the world?

Jamie said...

Hahaha! Hitler and fascism were always considered to be on the right end of the political spectrum, (and still are).

I was a high school junior in 1983. My (excellent) government and social studies teacher, Mr. Grover, took pains to point out that the left-right spectrum was circular - at the supposed endpoints, they were functionally identical. He also took pains to point out that people who styled themselves one or the other always used their supposed opposite as a pejorative.

It is only in recent years, probably due to Jonah Goldberg's book LIBERAL FASCISM, that anyone (i.e., rightwingers) has tried to argue to the contrary.

Published in 2008, 25 years after my political education began. Anecdote, not data, but despite the aphorism that the plural of the one is not the other, in fact it is - that's how data works, by aggregating individual experiences.

Mussolini started out as a socialist journalist before developing and naming his fascist party.

Quite a shift, wasn't it? Eased, perhaps, by the similarities between government control of the means of production and corporate control of the means of production under government auspices and subject to government controls?

Hitler was definitely no socialist or communist or left in any way, and neither were the Nazis, notwithstanding dishonest claims to the contrary by right wing propagandists (and morons).

Ultimately this whole argument comes down to what Robert Cook said above. What do we mean by "left"? He objected to equating "left" and "Democrat" on the basis that "left" is being used as a pejorative to shut down debate. Fair enough, perhaps - or is it? One American political party wants increasing government control of the means of production and/or a requirement for prior government approval of corporate production; that party wants - by its actions - more corporate control of production and less individual and small-business control; it wants speech codes, no-go zones (again based on its actions in eliminating prosecution for "minor" offenses like stealing $999.99 from a small business owner), ever-increasing intrusion of government into the private sphere of the family, supremacy of the national government over all and any smaller civic units in spite of the Constitution, wealth taxes that will strongly curtail the ability of successful entrepreneurs to enjoy and pass on the benefits of their success - and will drive some of them out of its jurisdiction and cause others to stop producing things that benefit all of society (why do some people believe incentives only work when applied to their pet projects?), "reparations" payments from the innocent to the nominal descendants of a vanished regime, yet another form of "wealth" redistribution though it will not just affect the wealthy and will not benefit the supposed beneficiaries if history is any guide...

That party is the Democrats, and they say they are on the left. What are we supposed to do with that?

Robert Cook said...

"Ah, no. Hitler was a National Socialist. State control of everything (see Mussolini) is a leftist-fascist ideal."

The National Socialists gave themselves that name before Hitler joined the party, which he saw as an opportunity to take over an extant organization and turn it to his purposes. Once he had control, socialists and communists were among those (including Jews, homosexuals, etc.) who were rounded up and placed in concentration camps. Neither Hitler nor his party were socialists or leftists. (I do not make any such denials for Mao or Stalin, as they were avowedly enacting their visions of communism.)

"I was a high school junior in 1983. My (excellent) government and social studies teacher, Mr. Grover, took pains to point out that the left-right spectrum was circular - at the supposed endpoints, they were functionally identical."

I was a high school sophomore in 1969/70, and my Civics teacher taught us the same thing. But it's not that both poles become "leftist," it's that "left" and "right" both become tyrannical at their extremes. (Look at DiSantis in Florida, unilaterally cancelling an AP class because of its allegedly subversive ideas, and emptying schools of books "to be reviewed for the contents." Look at those opposed to abortion, claiming their concern for the "sanctity of life," going beyond making abortion of fetuses illegal, but criminalizing the use of so-called "day after" pills, which act to create spontaneous miscarriages of fertilized eggs that in no way can be considered as sentient life. One can hold different opinions on any topic, but these anti-abortion extremists refuse to allow other views to be considered. Look at those creeps who would forbid abortions even for adolescent girls pregnant by rape. This is not an expression of "sanctity of life," but punitive and tyrannical fanaticism.)

Tyranny is not a feature only of left wing parties, (contrary to the first quoted comment above), but is a feature of human beings imposing systems of control on the many, for manifold reasons. The motive I see in right-wingers insisting that Hitler and Nazis were leftists is because they want to believe that the right, by definition, can never become tyrannical in nature. There is no political party or political belief system, no body of belief of any kind, that cannot become tyrannical; all it takes is for true believers to insist on others believing as they do, to the point of compelling them by force to submit. Christianity can be (and has been) tyrannical--e.g., the Inquisition, witch burning--as is true of all religions and belief systems. This is a facet of human nature, of tribalism, of hierarchical herd animals (which we are), its expression as overt tyranny is latent in any body of people.

Robert Cook said...

"Ultimately this whole argument comes down to what Robert Cook said above. What do we mean by 'left?' He objected to equating 'left' and 'Democrat' on the basis that 'left' is being used as a pejorative to shut down debate."

I don't think "leftist" is innately pejorative. I object to the wholesale use of "leftist" as applied to the Democrats because it's not true, and it distorts and obfuscates the nature of the Democratic party. The Dems are closer to the Republicans in their actual policy proposals and actions in office than any true "left" party would be. Given the failure of the Democrats to actually create and pass legislation that would truly help the citizens of the United States, leading to well-founded disillusion with the Dems among the public, to label them "leftist" creates the false notions in the public that "the left" is a dead (or pernicious) end and that only "the right" cares about or can help the people. The term is used to invalidate the Democrats a priori. (I'd say it's untrue that the right actually cares about the people at all, but are actually servants of the wealthy elites who are raping the people. Too many, but not all, of the Democrats are essentially no different.)