At a Crossroads: Saturday Political Soap Box 250

 

Well, here I am.  At my 250th Saturday Political Soap Box.  My aim was to discuss issues in a forum where people knew that it was going to get political right from the title, so if that wasn't their bag, man, they could skip it.

The goal wasn't to post scholarly articles, heavy with extensive research.  I simply don't have that kind of time, and I don't know what value it would bring.  Most believe what they're going to believe, regardless of the evidence put forward to them.

I don't put in a lot of links to different articles.  Again, not that kind of blog.  And links don't necessarily build your case.  Hell, I'm sure Qanon people use links...to God knows what, but I bet they use them.

This does not mean that I try to post falsehoods.  Most of what I post are opinions, but I do everything I can to make them fact-based.

Case in point:  Some people are sniping at the edges of the corroborated story that Trump disparaged World War I soldiers at the time of his scheduled visit to an important memorial ceremony, where he called them "losers' and "suckers."

Why the snipe?

Some noted that the story stated the reason he did not wind up attending was that he didn't want to mess up his hair in the rain and that it wasn't important to him to honor the American military dead in that way. Other sources indicated that the weather was such that a helicopter couldn't take off, and that's why he didn't go.

Big deal.  Both could be true.  He could have been mouthing off that he didn't want to go, and there may have been some kind of helicopter advisory.  They didn't try to drive, and he made no extraordinary efforts, efforts every other leader who showed up made, efforts that I fully believe every other President would have tried to make.

Every story has differences based on personal perspective.  Don't believe me?  Check the Gospels.  They have contradictions between the Gospel storytellers, and no Christian is stomping about saying they, therefore, are not true.

Some question the story because the multiple sources verifying what Trump said are anonymous.  Well, good golly, welcome to Journalism 101.  It's hard to find stories that don't have some anonymous sources.  Any ever hear of Watergate and Deep Throat?  It's the journalist's job to verify and confirm his sources.  So, here's a shocker - MOST JOURNALISTS ARE ETHICAL AND TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THIMG.  Most are still trying to follow the laws and ethics of journalism.

This story has been confirmed by multiple journalists and sources.  The Atlantic reporter who did this story, Jefferey Goldberg, is a qualified, dedicated journalist, who has a record of competence and caution.  And he is not an outlier.  The record of Trump's disdain for the military is long and clearly established, both in his public utterances and in journalist's stories that use both public and anonymous sources.

Some just don't like whatever news source a story comes from.  The Atlantic?  Liberal rag!  The Washington Post and the New York Times?  Anti-Trump hysterics! MSNBC and TYT?  Socialist mouthpieces!

Ok, how about Fox News?

Yes, Fox News.  They have also corroborated that Trump says disparaging things about our military vets, including things he said to disparage Vietnam Vets and what a waste it was to look for MIA soldiers.

It doesn't stop.  

I post again and again about the foul things Trump does, and it means nothing to his cadre of Trumpeteers.

If you look at the history of my Saturday Political Soap Box posts, you will see they have become sharper and more strident over time, less about issues, and more about character.  I have used the tag Trumpocalypse more times than I can count. My anti-Trump warnings go back to at least 2015.

No matter what happens, I know of very few people that have shifted in position.  People I know and care about refuse to get woke.

I'm depressed, and I'm sick of it, but I cannot stop trying.

Too much is at stake,

I must keep tilting at windmills.

Maybe soon, with the prayed for election of Biden/Harris, I can set aside the anger and vitriol, and concentrate on the issues important to us all - global warming, the income gap, public schools, systematic racism, universal health care - just to name a few.

I long for that day.  I really do.