Word Warriors

   Watch for the Republican Party to accelerate its campaign to persuade the world that the events of Jan. 6 were a peaceful demonstration by Trump supporters, and whatever incidents of unruly behavior did occur were perpetrated by minority civil rights protestors and Democratic supporters of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
   TV programs now show a split screen of a Republican defender of the Trumpistas on one side and video of the riotous attack on the Capitol on the other side.
   None of this, however, stops Trump supporters from pointing to problems involving civil rights demonstrators, no matter now minor. As if protesting, "They did it first," excuses the behavior of the rioters.

Word Play

    "Biomedical security state." That's the phrase used by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to attack the federal plan encouraging an anti-virus injection mandate.
   As if preventive medicine is a bad thing.
   One primary function of government is to secure the safety of the people. So why would the governor attack the idea as representing something to be avoided because it endangers American liberty and the freedom of choice?
   The term "security state" has encountered negative connotations, implying that government oversteps its legitimate responsibilities. But there is a long history of governments around the world mandating health measures to bring health and safety to its citizens.
   Even the ex-president, for all his ranting about the foolishness of virus warnings during the covid pandemic, was inoculated early on, but said nothing about it, instead continuing his attack.
   Now, his supporters on the Faux News network praise him for allegedly bringing the covid vaccine to the public.
   Contrast that with state officials in some parts of the country who insist that mandating the vaccine is a civil rights violation.
   People have a responsibility to care for their own health, but they also have an obligation not to spread sickness to others.

Denial Pandemic

 Your civil rights end where my nose begins. -- Pug Mahoney

   It's no surprise that the death toll from virus infections has tripled as people deny the existence of covid and its recent variant.
   However, the good news is that Americans are now rushing to get vaccinated.
   The bad news is that for many of them, it's too late.
   Even so, governors in several states refuse to mandate mask wearing to help reduce infections. Others assail requirements that inoculations are necessary to help protect others.
   "It's an assault on civil liberties," they say.
   But for many decades, there have been government requirements that people be inoculated against diseases. These included measles, mumps, polio and many others. In addition, government has passed many laws to regulate people's actions as a way to prevent disease and death, not least of which is a ban on driving while intoxicated.
   The idea of civil liberties is crucial in maintaining American democracy. But there are limits to dangerous behavior, and government is right to enforce these limits.

Trial by Gossip

   A lie can go around the world before truth can cross the street. -- Pug Mahoney

   No, Mark Twain did not say that. Nor did he say the other version widely attributed to him. But it doesn't matter. What does matter is that politicians often lie, and it's up to the news media to expose them.
   Time was, people spread gossip over back fences or in taverns, where they met and talked only with those who agreed with them. That's still true, but now gossip has gone electronic, so it spreads even faster than early radio commentators could only dream about.
   These days, the spread of gossip and rumor, often false and malicious, is a basic format for some TV network commentators. Moreover, unlike comedians, they won't say that the stories they tell are just that -- stories, intended to prompt laughter. Instead, they insist the stories are true, and they attack anyone who exposes the lie.
   The difference between a lie and a tall story told by a comedian is intent. A comedian wants to provoke laughter. Sadly, the intent of some TV and internet writers is to provoke an overthrow of the federal government, even if it takes violence to do it.
   And by definition, urging the violent overthrow of government is treason.

Ignorance is Bliss

    Republican members of Congress are ignoring the House committee hearings on the Jan. 6 incidents, claiming they are too busy. The Fox "news" network is devoting much of its time to covering other stories, and its commentators are assailing Joe Biden's efforts to deal with current problems in America.
   Granted, some of the other cable channels are more sympathetic to the Biden administration, and find as much fault as they can with GOP claims that insist the Jan. 6 incidents were peaceful, while other protest demonstrations by civil rights people last year were not.
   But this is not last year. This is now, and civil rights protestors did not smash their way into the Capitol, threatening the lives of the vice president and the speaker of the House. Refusing to watch video of the Jan. 6 attacks does not make it go away, and spreading lies about what happened that day is more than counter-productive, it is dangerous to the American way of life.

Great Plague Returns

    Historians know about a disease that struck the known world in ancient times, and only those who stayed home and avoided contact with deniers survived.
   At the time, it was called divine intervention, but realists suggest that while quarantine may have been a result of divine guidance, people would not have otherwise survived. Those who continued full contact with others quickly spread the disease.
   Whether the current worldwide plague is punishment for human behavior is an argument for theologians to debate. Others, including medical personnel, are more concerned with healing and prevention than with arguing over divine punishment as the cause. Many scholars say this is why people were given intelligence.
   Others, however, insist the disease does not exist. They can be described as having what can be called the pharaoh syndrome -- king of denial.

Ignoring Truth

    Evening news commentators on the cable channels spent most of their time yesterday covering the testimony of Capitol police officers describing their experiences of Jan. 6. The Fox channel, however, spoke about the failure of the Biden administration to do anything about the corona virus infections, and said little or nothing about the testimony and the attitudes of the demonstrators.
   Ignoring truth doesn't make it go away.