Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues The Trump Administration Two and a half minutes away

Been away, but now am back for some commiseration.

No kidding... @ age 80, and watching too much news, am developing anxiety about the future. The bomb probably won't hit Central Illinois, but I sure don't like what I see...

My solution? Don't watch the news

Yeah, Phil... I wish it were that easy. Innate curiosity and a sense of responsibility (plus too much cabin fever free time) makes that impossible.

Between the Chicago Trib, NPR, MSNBC, CNN and FOX... it's 24/7 continuously new subjects, each one of which requires some in-depth searching to find the source of the "news".

Just as CHB members delve into the details to try and find truth, so it becomes a fixation. Am wearing out Google to look at Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Charles Hugh Smith, Zero Hedge, the NYT, and another dozen sites.

Just to try and put it into some perspective, I tried making a list of subjects... most of which are brand new, and more every day. Bad idea... kind of like diving into a deep pool of oil.

The latest... with Angela and Germany being the new leader of the free world, is really too much to take. Even the local wacko on the corner never got that far.

The two and a half minutes is starting to become real. The attack on the top two levels of our government has me crawling into the fetal position. What bothers me even more, is that the people who live in my CCRC complex are mostly farmers who are blindly Republican, so I can't even discuss this with them. Extending that thought, 50% of our nation's people agree.

As we go to the edge of the most dangerous enemy, and threaten pre-emptive strikes on a child dictator, I wonder if there is enough sanity to avoid a meltdown.

As if I should care. At our age, every day is a gift, but this may say it well.

You hit the nail on the head. At my age I am all too aware of the limited impact I can have to change much.

So I figure why, then, use my time on the minutiae and detail of everything those "news" people want me to pay attention to. I refuse.

I keep up in my little city, and as for larger venues, I am pretty sure I have a good sense of what is going on, sufficient possibly to equip me to vote, write a letter or two, etc.

Plus, my broad sense of politics has not changed much since the 1960's, so I prefer to enjoy life, I still work, am married and find there is plenty to fill my mind all the time. I am able to use techniques I have learned to quiet my mind and get a grip on reality. For that I am thankful.

Flashback to the Mifflin Block Party

Hi Phil,
I am pretty sure you and I are in some of these images of U of Wisconsin activism in the Madison Mifflin Block Party, May 1969. I looked around a bit, but as so many resemble your Avatar image, I could not make a clear identification. The images certainly bring back memories of what it was like when the draft was active. The draft really focused the mind on government activities. As bad as the draft was, it did stimulate young "adults" to follow, at least, the big picture of current events. The profound, yet proud, ignorance demonstrated by the recent election, shows the danger of low-information voters.

I fear it has gone too far now for our activism to change things, that will have to rely on the pain and suffering induced activism of the younger generation. Sometimes it takes a good dose of teargas, or something else noxious, like agent orange, AKA POOTUS, to get their attention. It worked for us, as I recall our UW Slogan: May is a gas!

Tat

Hey!... Like you couldn't make this up...
5 minutes ago, this "piece" came up. It goes directly to the part of your comments about young people being involved and how activist groups may be defused.

Dissuading Dissent
True or not, I don't know, but it brings up another matter that really deserves some discussion.

Being a little bit old, you may recall the book by Vance Packard... "Hidden Persuaders" which has to do with subliminal advertising, but which also dealt with "opinion control".

We hear talk about the deep state, but not a lot about the subtleties of opinion control as more than propaganda, but into the depths of the unconscious mind. To put it very simply, designing propaganda by using much more than a group of speechmakers who parse every word. More of a technical process that is deeply analytical... measuring every nuance, every possible interpretation, every reference to associated subjects, current news, opposition party use of similar words and more and more.

In a world that is increasingly connected to technology, not a stretch to consider that mind control might be more than science fiction.

Hey Cousin Its, I have been away far longer than you, but it sure is nice to have a furry old times reunion.

I have been reading about the collection and usage of data collected by facebook and other application that collect, collate, and analyze users information. Obviously these sources of data can be hacked and used, by a sophisticated operation, like the Russians, to target voters that "liked" on "disliked" a white nationalist site, or a bleeding heart librul site. Then the data analysis is used to target fake new etc to selected targets. There is considerable data showing that this has been systematically used in European elections, and likely here as well. Where do you think Trump gets his whackjob ideas?
Facebook manipulation

We have all seen this in action, as after googling something, specific advertisements immediately start popping up, ostensibly to help provide you the service you need.

I read a humorists comment on this phenomenon, something like this:
Dear Valued Amazon Prime patron,
I hope your secretary enjoyed that exquisite emerald bracelet, what a thoughtful boss you are! I am sure your wife, whose birthday is coming up on April 26, would also appreciate a similar though somewhat more expensive emerald necklace. Your 3 previous birthday "gifts" for her from the lawn equipment, and kitchen supply category, have been rather unromantic and should be remediated by better gifts to forestall marriage counseling, also available to Prime customers. The Amazon staff thank you, and know where you live, and most everything else you do. Please do not disappoint us and HER!

Sincerely,
Amazon staff

Tat