Strange Love

    "Politicians ... have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought." -- Gen. Jack D. Ripper, played by Sterling Hayden in the movie "Dr. Strangelove."

   "Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" -- Groucho Marx.

   The January 6 gathering in Washington was peaceful and filled with loving demonstrations of the federal government, according to an announcement by Donald Trump.
   Say what?
   If that's what peaceful love looks like, one wonders about the appearance of anger, hatred, threats and violence. That comment would also mean the hours of video taken by the demonstrators themselves and spread by them on the internet, as well as shown live on TV networks -- including the Trump-sympathetic Fox network -- were all manufactured in advance by hateful foes of the man who insists he is a two-term president.
   But you can't believe what you see on TV, they maintain, unless it's one of their own operations. All others are fake, including NPR, the BBC, France24 and DW (the German international network), both of which broadcast in English; as well as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, CNBC and all the local channels nationwide, plus print media such as the Associated Press, the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Miami Herald. Also, there are the many independent magazines as well as all the news operations distributing information via the internet.
   According to this position, they all lie. The only ones worth reading or listening to are affiliated with the Trump organization, or Trump himself. Who, by the ways was banned from the major internet comment carriers for consistently mouthing stuff that is not only untrue, but also sparks violence.
   Trump sued the tech firms Twitter, Facebook and Google, accusing them of "illegal, unconstitutional censorship" because they blocked him from using their sites to spread lies and encourage violence.
   Observers note that forcing a media operator to publish anything would violate the First Amendment guarantee of a free and independent press. Unless that's what the ex-president wants -- full control of all information channels.
   It has worked in other countries. Why not here?