George Rebane
That progressivism is an evil ideology, evil in the sense that it stifles wholesale liberty, individual freedoms, entrepreneurship, grass roots altruism (charity), … . ‘Stifles’ is too weak of a notion by far if we are to hear the prescriptions for creating their new America (i.e. Obama’s “fundamental transformation”). Longtime RR discussant Gregory Goodknight (see his 357pm comment in the 5nov17 Sandbox) has pointed us to a USA Today op-ed (here) that itemizes some prominent progressives’ views which will guarantee that the transformation they call for will be Orwellian. What makes this doubly evil is that they, like terrorists driven by religious zeal, are also true believers who seek ends that justify any and all means to achieve them.
In 'Lifting the Steele Curtain', WJS columnist Kim Strassel lays out the case that ‘the Fusion GPS dossier was one of the dirtiest political tricks in U.S. history.” The claim that it was not used prior to the 2016 election in the blatant attempt to affect the outcome is on its face a Democrat lie, the echoes of which are now the raison d’etre of the Mueller investigations. The publicly released data is itself a damning indictment of the extents to which Team Hillary and the DNC went to ensure continuation of Obama’s legacy and the fundamental transformation that his policies grounded for our nation. Now we watch whether any of this makes it into our badly mangled justice system.
A graphic presentation of information, like that for the developments in the Steele dossier affair above, would make the entire story clear and allow readers to visualize the important time-related events that form the basis for its claims. Sadly, as most recently recounted here, that is not attempted by many reporters for a number of significant reasons starting with the paucity of readers who can interpret such graphs, and going all the way to the other side of similar deficits in the modern crop of journalists who lack not only the skills of graphic presentation of information, but the required critical thinking to formulate the proper content for such a product. In the Steele dossier report, a simple timeline would have been very useful (Strassel has the skills to do this). More useful and revelatory would be to present the sordid affair in terms of an inter-agent/process information exchange diagram (here is a bunch of examples), that makes explicit the communicating parties and when (in what order) who said what to whom. Another graphic on how intelligence is gathered about Americans that includes the machinations described by Strassel can be found here. But alas, all of that would really flummox today’s readers, hence we continue to present complex time and space related information in text paragraphs which most people, according to the Dept of Education, already have difficulty comprehending.
[11nov17 update] Sexual harassment is the new national leitmotif now playing 24/7 on all media. Most recently I hear that the breadth of people involved have added OprahW as victim (of relatives no less) and the Marysville police chief Aaron Easton as alleged sexual assaulter – no one is left out of this equal opportunity tsunami sweeping through America’s workplace. Today harassment consultants are roaming corporation hallways ferreting out surreptitious means and methods that may make women feel unsafe (more here). It seems to me that people need to know in their daily round who all has been naughty and nice. I suggest that a national symbol be adopted which can be worn in plain sight by all of the ‘yet to be accused’, one that will give at least a smidgen of comfort when coming in contact with a newly met whose potentially sordid background is unknown. My own preference is the familiar lapel ribbon loop, maybe a pure white one. Then again, maybe not, since that has racial overtones to some. OK, how about mauve, a color yet to identified with any worthy cause? Yes, let's make it mauve ribbon loops – people have a right to know.
Something for Veterans' Day – a high school chorus singing our Star Spangled Banner, give it a listen.
rebanesruminations.com 
Leave a comment