Trump and Smokers

by with 2 Comments FeaturedPolitics

Witnessing Jenna Ellis on Bill Maher a few weeks ago speculate that she will have to defend her right to practice Christianity under a Biden administration is reminiscent of other bad faith arguments (fear-mongering propaganda) made throughout history.

I performed at piano bars in Michigan when smoking publicly indoors was legal. It was horrible. My voice was constantly hoarse, my eyes agitated, my clothes always reeking, and my health in fluctuation. My exposure to second-hand smoke for 10 years will probably affect me later in life as if I was a smoker myself (I never was).

In the early 2000s, there were no gig opportunities that prevented smokers from blowing their poison into my lungs each night. Owners would never make a stand against this “bloc” of patrons. Many other performers and staff partook in the ritual so sadly, yet successfully peddled to consumers for centuries; only in the last 40 years proven to be a fatal and highly addictive (not to mention expensive) vice.

Luckily, good and healthy people fought like hell to outlaw smoking in public places in Michigan for the benefit of all, especially people like me.

It wasn’t easy. There was an army of propagandists and liars lead by the tobacco industry and legions of smokers, that tried to prevent their fortunes and way of life, respectively, from being changed.

“The bars will all close! You’ll lose all your business! You’ll drive away your best customers and thousands of bar owners, staff, and musicians will become unemployed!”

You would think the entire bar industry would close overnight if smoking was outlawed. The opposition to banning smoking was violent.

Of course, they were all not only wrong about these false narratives, but the complete opposite of their ignorant (and/or dishonest) predictions was true.

Smoking was outlawed. Bar business flourished. The lies were exposed.

It turns out that smokers still want to go out and socially drink regardless of their ability to smoke indoors. More importantly, an enormous chunk of the population who had stayed away from smoky bars now felt comfortable frequenting their local establishment.

“I can finally breathe when I go to a bar or restaurant. My clothes don’t reek anymore when I come gone from a long night. My allergies don’t flare up. I’m sick less often.”

*SMOKERS* were saying those things, not to mention the scores of non-smokers.

This phenomenon of lying, fear-mongering, and spreading propaganda to get what *you* want at *my* expense is par for the course for human history.

Now, they WERE right about a smoking ban diminishing smoking sales. That’s the only truth they could credibly argue. Cigarette sales declined and stocks went down.

Tobacco industry: lost money.
Smokers: slightly inconvenienced.
Everyone else: the quality of life, health, and opportunities skyrocketed.

So when I hear dishonest propaganda that communism will take root with a Biden administration (Biden is, was, and will always be a capitalist), or that religious practice will be oppressed (Biden is a devout Catholic), or that the military will be diminished (Biden’s son served), I just think of the smokers clinging to their way of life.

The stock market has already gone up. Biden attends church and prays the rosary, encouraging people of all faiths to worship freely as they wish. Biden has no plans to diminish or disrespect our military in any way.

However,

Trump: will lose power (and money).
Rich: will be slightly inconvenienced (when they pay more in taxes).
Everyone else:  the quality of life, health, and opportunities will skyrocket.

Similar read: The 37th Best Place to Live in America

MUSLIM “RE-EDUCATION” CAMPS?

by with One Comment Diversity & InclusionFeaturedGlobalRace Relations

Think about a group of people who were persecuted, tortured, and put into internment camps for no other reason besides their religion. The first thing that probably comes to mind is the Jews during the Holocaust – something that happened in history and will never occur again. However, there are people in 2018 who are being subjected to some of the same horrors that those people faced during World War II.

The Uyghur Muslims are a group of Muslims who live in a territory occupied by China. They have their own flag, culture, and language that separates them from the rest of China. Over the past several years, they have been persecuted by China’s government for their religion (China’s Muslim population is approximately 1.7%). Most recently, the Chinese government has detained hundreds of thousands of Uyghur Muslims and held them in internment camps, or as they call to them, “re-education” camps. They justify their actions by claiming that it is an effort to prevent terrorism fueled by religious extremism. Muslims in these camps are being brainwashed and forced to watch propaganda. They’re also being forced to participate in activities and renounce their faith and culture and pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party. They’re children are often separated from their parents and put into state-run orphanages. These camps have also been referred to as “hospitals” since China views religious beliefs as a form of mental illness that must be cured. 

We have seen this happen before. When the colonizers came to North America, they forced the native people into camps in an attempt to “re-educated” them by stripping away their language, culture, and customs in an effort to control them. The Nazis forced Jews into concentration camps where they tortured an entire group for no reason other than their religion. Today, we see it happening again, and it is clear that the world’s promise of “never again” has once again been broken. 

One can only imagine the outcry if this was happening again similar to the atrocities during World War II. It seems that the same heinous behavior taking place towards Muslims in an age of readily accessible information cannot even get basic media coverage. This isn’t the first time a massacre towards Muslims has been largely ignored. The 1995 genocide in Srebrenica is still unbeknownst to most people, where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered for their religion and the rest of the world stood by in silence (the UN declared the city a safe haven for Muslims before the massacre occurred). 

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” 

Sinclair Will Carry Trump’s Torch

by with One Comment Media

If you didn’t know who Sinclair Broadcasting was prior to this week, chances are they silently crept up on you last week through one of their 193 locally owned TV stations. 193 might not sound like a lot, except it is… Sinclair’s 193 stations makes them the largest broadcaster in the US, which allows them to reach 40% of American homes. Sinclair, which is known for their conservative slant, is a publicly traded company; yet, it’s still owned and run by the founding Smith family who holds a majority interest. Last week their employed news reporters read the exact same script bashing supposed “fake news” that echoed throughout the rest of the country. When messaging is the same, the exact same, it’s no longer news, it’s propaganda… and that’s dangerous to say the least.

Take a look back to World War I. Woodrow Wilson and the American Government’s powerful use of propaganda, which was built on a lack of transparency, was in large part successful in the states and throughout the rest of the world in ultimately convincing people they were on the right side of history.

After major networks like CNN and MSNBC criticized Sinclair for said propaganda, President Trump quickly tweeted his praise for Sinclair calling them “far superior.”

To make things worse, Sinclair has a $4 billion proposed merger with Tribune Media on the table. If the merger is approved, Sinclair would be able to reach three out of four homes in America. Does anyone think our government or this administration is going to suppress this merger?

“He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.” — Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, 1900

When telecommunication companies like Sinclair succeed and continue to expand through mergers & acquisitions, democracy, different and honest perspectives, challenging yet compromising dialogue, loses, and nears a painful and regrettable demise.

If you’re a news reporter for a Sinclair owned station, you might find yourself in a career conundrum you never imagined. What should they do? Quit? Protest? Carry on? Make subtle facial expressions in an attempt to let you know their reading another bias politically slanted script? If you’re in one of their local markets chances are you depend of them for your local and national news. Should you not watch? Find another source of media and news?

These tough decisions will shape our nation? Media is a powerful tool, conservative or progressive ideology, it’s not a good idea for anyone, or any one group, to own the majority of our news outlets.

This is what propaganda in 2018 looks like: Sinclair News Clip

If we’re not careful, Sinclair will carry Trump’s torch long after his 4 (or 8) years in the White House. It might be too late.

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Progressive Woman Responds to SOTU

by with One Comment FeaturedPolitics

Last night, I went through a wide range of emotions watching the State of the Union address. I typically enjoy listening to this address, as it provides a high level report card on what the President and Congress have accomplished the previous year. I knew to expect some Republican propaganda, as all State of the Union addresses are heavily influenced by the party of the sitting President. However, something about last night was different causing the up and down of emotions I experienced.

President Trump touched on a wide variety of topics, from taxes to nuclear weapons and immigration to the opioid crisis. Unfortunately the common theme used when talking about the majority of the topics was fear. In his speech, Pres. Trump continuously pitted immigrants against Americans; environmentalists versus the coal industry; and the rich versus those who are less fortunate. Comments such as “Americans are Dreamers too;” “clean coal;” and everything he said about MS-13, though reports show White male Nationalists have killed the most Americans than any other political, ethnic or religious group in recent years, shed light on the fear he is striking in America, but packaging under the “Make America Great Again” theme.

Lastly, the showcasing of the many anomalies with all the guests in the audience he told stories about felt more like reality TV than true appreciation and/or sympathy. The Pres. and his team purposely sought out the most extreme examples and shamelessly used the grief of these families to drive his point home. Why did these families subject themselves to such a spectacle, I will probably never understand.