It’s lies all the way down
The Trump administration says that Huawei is a threat to US national security. Maybe it is. But how would we know that? Statements from the Trump administration are sort of like performance art, or rap music where words are chosen because they sound good. There is no longer any correspondence with reality.
1. Trump promised to release his taxes before the 2016 election. That was a lie.
2. When asked why he didn’t release his taxes before the 2016 election, Trump said that it was because they were under audit. That was a lie; audits don’t prevent releases of tax forms.
3. When his taxes were subpoenaed, Trump said he could refuse to turn them over because presidents are above the law. That was a lie, they are not above the law.
4. When Trump’s press secretary was asked why Trump doesn’t release his taxes before the 2020 election, she said that it was because they were under audit. According to Rudi Giuliani that was also a lie; they are not under audit:
“All these tax returns have been by and large — maybe not the last one — but all of them have been audited, all of them have either been passed on or settled,” Giuliani told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News.
“There should be some finality in tax returns,” Giuliani added. “We get audited, we make a deal, we pay the government, you don’t come after me forever for that.”
Just days earlier, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted that ongoing audits were the reason Trump was not releasing any of his tax returns.
It’s like digging through layers of history at ancient Troy, just one set of ruins on top of another. Lies all the way down.
All politicians lie to some extent. But usually it is reluctantly, only when absolutely necessary to achieve some objective. Eisenhower had his aides lie about Gary Powers, as in the 1950s it was considered unthinkable that a President would be caught red-handed lying to the American public. They at least tried to appear truthful. Trump doesn’t even care.
Trump also demands that his aides lie on his behalf. If they refuse, he fires them. If they tell the truth to law enforcement, he calls them rats. If they lie to cover up Trump’s crimes then he commutes their sentence—something even Nixon was afraid to do, fearing impeachment.
We know that the US was led into the Spanish American War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War on the back of government lies. And those were all administrations that were far more trustworthy than Trump (although not very trustworthy in an absolute sense.)
If Trump is re-elected, all constraints will come off his behavior. The lies will get steadily bolder, more damaging to US national interest. I’m not able to predict where this will all go, but the long history of this sort of government in other countries is not a happy tale.
Will we witness another Gulf of Tonkin incident, but this time with a country much bigger than Vietnam? If we do, I for one won’t believe a thing I hear from the US government (or the Chinese government.)
In a world on nonstop lies, pacifism becomes the safest ideology.
PS. Today is a big win for Trump, a big loss for Trumpism. Sessions lost. He was by far the most Trumpian US senator back in 2016. A true believer, not a fake like Lindsey Graham. The fact that Alabama voters decisively rejected him shows that they care nothing for Trump’s ideas, only loyalty to “The Donald”. Trumpism will not survive Trump.
Tags:
15. July 2020 at 02:25
Simple and important things have been presented here.
So, how do we know things ? Why would we think that Huawei is a threat or not?
There is methodology for everything. In such case, we can rely for example upon life experience.
What is life experience?
We know statistically, that even human phenomenons, have certain degree of certainty:
Suppose that one person, implicates himself, and admits that he has committed an offense. Typically, life experience, suggests, that one person wouldn’t admit and implicate himself. If indeed, he is speaking the truth. Unless:
He has been coerced to admit it, or, had another good reason, self interest of some sort, to admit something, never done by him.
So, life experience teaches us, that, the rule is, that admission implicates the person telling it, and there are exceptions to that rule.
So, while you write on Huawei and potential threat, and, on the other hand:
On that clemency granted to Roger Stone by Trump, we must then observe the underlying story of Roger Stone:
Russians, trying to break the E.mail account of Clinton ( hackers) and implicate her ( through leaking it to Trump, and, through Roger Stone himself).
That’s it. It does happen. Endless plots of such have been revealed and even proven in courts. Persons have been convicted.
So, that is life experience. You should take it to account. And control it, or, eliminate it.
Thanks
15. July 2020 at 02:30
Here quoting Wikipedia:
The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States.
The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in Saint Petersburg and described as a troll farm, created thousands of social media accounts that purported to be Americans supporting radical political groups, and planned or promoted events in support of Trump and against Clinton; they reached millions of social media users between 2013 and 2017. Fabricated articles and disinformation were spread from Russian government-controlled media, and promoted on social media. Additionally, computer hackers affiliated with the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) infiltrated information systems of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Clinton campaign officials, notably chairman John Podesta, and publicly released stolen files and emails through DCLeaks, Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks during the election campaign. Finally, several individuals connected to Russia contacted various Trump campaign associates, offering business opportunities to the Trump Organization and damaging information on Clinton. Russian government officials have denied involvement in any of the hacks or leaks.
Here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections
15. July 2020 at 02:35
It seems there are problems with the link to Wikipedia, I have left there(at least visually). So here, shorten one:
https://bit.ly/3h2jFeM
15. July 2020 at 07:41
More about lies…
“In fact, at my old job I used to spread a lot of misinformation about the Canadian health care system”.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/506188-former-healthcare-executive-medicare-for-all-could-have-helped-the-coronavirus
15. July 2020 at 09:52
El roam, ?????????
15. July 2020 at 10:13
What Ssumenr ? What part? The scotch, the rocks? Maybe the Russian one? Or maybe Trump that you “love” so much?
Or maybe you try to become offending? So far, you have put to me reasonable(somehow) questions.
Then, you would better do to explain it. If not, I shall change my attitude. Then, well, you don’t want to be there. Trust your Christ.I have tried hard to be polite with you. Not to offend you, although, I could do it countless times. Don’t screw it up. Get a grip. Words are like money, don’t spend, don’t repent.
So, in sum, are you suggesting, that you couldn’t understand nothing here? Suppose:
That life experience, can guide us here, whether Huawei are posing national threat or not. Or, that Russian interference in 2016 election, is a good precedent?
Now, it is all your responsibility. I have explained more than moreover…..Think twice.
15. July 2020 at 10:26
And by the way Ssumer. If for any reason, you don’t want me suddenly to comment here, then, you could ask me (politely ) to do it, and stop commenting here. If you think ( if …) that in such dirty manner, you would cause me to stop commenting here, or otherwise, it would pass away and that’s it, well, you don’t know nothing.
So again, if ( again, only if …) you want me to stop to comment here (and I can understand it, many feel humiliated by my comments) kindly, send me an e.mail, and ask me politely, I shall consider it with good faith.
Otherwise, don’t think even to screw here things. Not with me. You have been warned here.
16. July 2020 at 04:26
I think when commenters are issuing “warnings” we might have a problem with those commenters. So, I am (politely) asking El Roam to stop commenting.
16. July 2020 at 15:35
Scott,
The first sentences are very misleading. This makes the whole entry questionable. It is true that the Trump administration is no authority whether something is true or not, but you are giving the wrong example. I suppose again for ideological reasons.
Everbody knows (or can easily look up) that the Huwaei story is much older than the Trump administration. It’s more like a deep state issue.
Or in other words: It is the consensus of all major Western security authorities that Huwaei is alleged to be a relevant security threat, long before Trump.
Western politics is rather uncomfortable with this issue, even Trump, who has pushed this issue much less than he could have over the years, considering his aversion to China. He hardly talks about it, considering how much the intelligence agencies are pushing the issue.
As I said, by misrepresenting this issue, the whole entry becomes untrustworthy itself.