Sunday, June 16, 2019

Opuscula

HYPOCRISY;
Good for goose
But not for gander

THE DAY’S “SCANDAL DU JOUR” is President Trump’s remarks to a former Clinton aide and tv “personality” that if he was offered “dirt” on a political opponent, he would listen and not necessarily report this contact to the FBI.

Trump later recanted and said he would “listen” to the dirt and then report the contact to the FBI or Attorney General’s office.

ARE AMERICANS SO NAIVE that they think their politicians don’t listen to “dirt” about their opponents? From ANY source. Does anyone think that politicians ANY party would tell a scandalmonger ”to “go away; we don’t want to hear it even if it’s true?”

I have a bridge in Brooklyn for sale to anyone that gullible or just plain foolish.

AMERICA DOES IT

The U.S. has a long history of interfering in other country’s political workings.

The U.S. has gone so far as to remove a “democratically elected” president. The president may have been a scoundrel and be totally unworthy of the office, but it is not American’s job to change a foreign government.

Under one recent president the U.S. did everything it could manage behind the scenes to get the foreign nation to elect a left-wing candidate to replace a right-wing candidate. (The effort failed.)

The U.S. is not alone.

Every nation wants people in office who will support their agenda.

The former president who tried, and failed, to get a left-wing government installed in an independent nation later “punished” that nation for not voting his way by (a) reducing financial support to that nation and (b) on his last day in office, appropriating $221 million for the country’s enemy.1, 2, 3

The Democrats, proving they are — at best — sore losers, have been trying to pillory Trump since the day Clinton finally, grudgingly, conceded.

Trump staffers had meetings with Russians about a new hotel he planned to build in Russia. ILLEGAL! I don’t know what is illegal about a business meeting and, unless I am mistaken, Trump’s interest in his company already was out of his hands at the time.

The Russians allegedly gave the Trump campaign information that reflected badly on Clinton. Given her record as Secretary of State — remember Benghazi and her blatantly illegal email server? — should have sufficiently tarnished her image so that Trump and his campaigners didn’t need Russian “dirt.” Never mind the “Clinton Foundation” and her husband’s questionable activities.

HOW MUCH MONEY IN PACS

Political Action Committees (PACs) are not supposed to accept money from foreign donors.

However, anyone can give any amount to one or more U.S. citizens who can then give the money — now converted to U.S. currency — to a PAC. If the foreign “investment” is spread out sufficiently, there is little chance that the foreign “interest” will be detected.

It is not just “dirt” on political opponents that is used to sway an election.

“Social media” is married to voter gullibility — if something is on Facebook, Twitter, of other site, it must be true.

That bridge, ibid., still is available.

Most posters don’t cite their sources, a major clue that the post is just the poster’s opinion that likely has no basis in reality. (Note that this scrivener cites sources.)

Hypocrisy

It is the height of hypocrisy to complain about foreign involvement in U.S. elections — especially whispers into a candidate’s ear — when American politicians use U.S. money and power to determine another country’s government.

If it’s good enough for the goose, it ought to be good enough for the gander.


Sources

1. Newsweek: http://tinyurl.com/yxkuovez

2. Business Insider: http://tinyurl.com/y6patsof

3. Associated Press (AP): http://tinyurl.com/y68x96xc

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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