All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Op-Ed: The truth behind Trump’s need to lie – Los Angeles Times

In Trump’s case, it is as if he wakes up each morning nearly oblivious to what happened the day before. What he said and did yesterday, in order to win yesterday, no longer matters to him. And what he will do today, in order to win today, will not matter for tomorrow.

What is truth for the episodic man? Truth is whatever works to win the moment. The boxer faces an imminent threat to his survival. If he takes his eyes off the immediate aim of winning, he may get knocked out. Boxing his way through life, moment by discrete moment, Trump does not have the psychological luxury to consider whether his tactics comport with the conventional criteria for truth — such as consistency over time or concordance with the objective reality of the outside world. Every day is a war. All is fair.

Nearly 40 years ago, Donald Trump conveyed his philosophy of life to an interviewer: “Man is the most vicious of all animals, and life is a series of battles ending in victory or defeat.” Before he was sworn into office, Trump told his advisors to think about each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals.

Source: Op-Ed: The truth behind Trump’s need to lie – Los Angeles Times

Oswego County Sheriff Don Hilton was on sheriff’s boat with Trump flag; he defends flying it – syracuse.com

The county’s top legislator, Republican James Weatherup, said Monday that the Trump flag violated county policy by flying a political flag using taxpayer resources on taxpayer time.

“I have spoken to the Sheriff, and expressed our position about our flag policy, and our desire to not see this type of display in the future from his office (or any other) on taxpayer time or taxpayer equipment,” Weatherup said Monday. “I am confident that we will not see this type of action in the future.”

Weatherup did not respond Tuesday to inquiries about the sheriff’s presence on the boat.

The county’s top Democratic legislator, Tom Drumm, who represents parts of the city of Oswego, said that county officials have been mum on Hilton’s presence aboard the boat.

“It certainly looks like the sheriff,” Drumm said, adding that the sheriff needed to acknowledge that he’d crossed a line by flying the campaign flag. “To me, it’s a slap in the face to the taxpayers.”

 

Source: Oswego County Sheriff Don Hilton was on sheriff’s boat with Trump flag; he defends flying it – syracuse.com

A “Bug” In Instagram’s Hashtags Has Been Favoring Donald Trump – (“Bug” a lie – Zuck licks boots?)

The Instagram bug, which was first noticed by the Tech Transparency Project, a nonpartisan tech watchdog group, suggests that hashtags associated with the two main presidential candidates have been treated differently since at least June. In most cases, algorithmically derived related hashtags are displayed to people who search for or click on a given hashtag, pointing them to more content that Instagram believes they might be interested in.

“What we’ve seen with the related hashtags with Biden is that there is so much vitriol, that it appears to be benefitting President Trump,” said Katie Paul, a director with the Tech Transparency Project. The fact that related hashtags didn’t surface for many Trump-related phrases also “removes any possibility that negative hashtags could be associated with his name or campaign slogans,” she added.

 

Source: A “Bug” In Instagram’s Hashtags Has Been Favoring Donald Trump

The Lincoln Project After The Fall

In Saner Thought

Closing Thought–05Aug20

Many of us have been exposed the the ads of the Lincoln Project. It is true Repubs and conservs that are not down with the silliness of the RNC and its defense of the toad Trump.

Their anti-Trump ads have become the stuff of legends.

The Lincoln Project?

President Abraham Lincoln led the United States through its bloodiest, most divisive and most decisive period of our history. He fought not because he wanted to, but because he knew the dual goals of preserving the Union and the end of slavery would be achieved only through armed conflict. Lincoln always kept the enormous human cost of the struggle in the front of his mind. At Gettysburg, he implored us not to forget those that had given “their last full measure of devotion” to preserving the American experiment. As it became clear that the Union would be victorious, Lincoln’s thoughts…

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Beirut explosion: Port officials under house arrest as rescue efforts continue – BBC News

Putting port officials under house arrest is an attempt by the government to show the Lebanese people that it is serious about enforcing accountability, the BBC’s Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher says.

But many will dismiss it, as they effectively accuse the entire political elite of culpability through their alleged negligence, incompetence and corruption, our correspondent adds.

 

Source: Beirut explosion: Port officials under house arrest as rescue efforts continue – BBC News

Some retirees’ Social Security benefits could dip unless Congress acts

  • The Covid-19 pandemic will prompt an unprecedented drop in one measurement, the Average Wage Index, which is used to determine Social Security benefits.
  • Specifically, people born in 1960 could have lower retirement benefit calculations unless a fix is made.
  • Congressional lawmakers have proposed a couple of bills aimed at resolving the issue. Meanwhile, Social Security experts say it’s more important than ever to plan your claiming strategy carefully.

Source: Some retirees’ Social Security benefits could dip unless Congress acts