REPUBLICAN POLITICAL SCHIZOPHRENIA DESTROYING DEMOCRACY
Fox News Political Theater
Lincoln’s Review from Ford’s Theater
When Your Life is on The Line, Would You Rather Be Informed or Entertained?
President Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service on April 14, 1865, to combat counterfeiters as part of the Treasury Department. Later that night, along with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, Mr. Lincoln attended Laura Keene’s production of Tom Taylor’s three-act play.
The long-thought-forgotten records containing Lincoln’s review of Our American Cousin from Ford’s Theater were found in the family’s Springfield home, in a Nike Box beneath his son‘s bed.
Our American Cousin, by Tom Taylor An honest review by Abraham Lincoln
Lord Dundreary, played by Brad Pitt, was a bit dry at first, but his ad-libbing and on-air chemistry with Florence Trenchard, played by J-Lo, gave the show some much-needed comedic relief.
Like its protagonist, Our American Cousin is fatally flawed — but compelling to watch and impossible to forget. The mix of dark humor and pointless drama effectively distracted and amused the crowd.
An atmosphere of hope and promise filled the packed 1,700-seat theater for a night on the town, just five days after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox in Virginia, setting the stage for a blessed Good Friday.
About mid-way through act three, an actor not associated with Ms. Keene’s production, John Wiles Booth, attempted to revive the Confederacy with his show-stealing improv and his derringer.
For me, the play’s ending lacked a suitable conclusion.
After the events of the evening came to a brutal close, I realized the Confederacy — an organization born from power and control — would prevail in the hearts of men with money to control those without — no matter what title you give or what country supports it — hate always destroys life.
Despite losing the war, the Confederacy will one day again call for a national “divorce” from the blue states which support them.
Plantation owners who become corporations will invest heavily in propaganda to distract the poor and undereducated. At the same time, they destroy Social Security, Medicaid, worker protections, Civil Rights, and Women’s Rights. Don’t be fooled by their charade — it’s a rouse to pick your pockets!
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.” — @ Abe Lincoln
Watching Fox News is like reading Lincoln’s review of Our American Cousin; everyone knows the review is not real — or do they?
What details are fact, and what is blatant fiction?
Peppering “fake news” with facts offers a story an air of authenticity; when said with authority by a “news corporation” from a position of public trust and is invited into over half the homes across our country as a source of news — it has the power to decide the story and even to break a democracy.
Internal communications released in February 2023 showed several prominent network hosts and senior executives — including chairman Murdoch and CEO Scott — discussing their knowledge that 2020 presidential election fraud allegations they were reporting were false; the communications showed the network was concerned that not reporting the falsehoods would alienate viewers and cause them to switch to rival conservative networks, impacting corporate profitability.[27]
According to Pew Research Center, in 2019, 65 percent of Republicans and people who lean Republican trusted Fox News.[28] v
Yep! You read it correctly! 65% of Republicans and people who lean Republican trusts Fox News —
to lie to them?
The Pick-Pocket Power of Fox News Propaganda
The lie that the election was stolen caused my father-in-law, a Korean War and Vietnam veteran, to spend and donate vast portions of his pension and life savings to the Republican Party via Fox News.
To Pop, and millions of Americans, the brand of Fox News includes the Republican party —
Pop spent thousands on the “not-real” Gold coins of Trump, dog-won’t-touch-them-My Pillows, disgusting Black Rifle Coffee, and thousands of dollars worth of other dark-marketed items from non-stop commercials on FoxNews; Pop’s savings have been significantly diminished.
Pop believed his purchases supported the country he and his friends fought to keep free. He died carrying a heavy heart, thinking he had nothing more to give to help the Republican Party.
Like many older Americans, his wall-mounted, big-screen TV never changed from Fox News Channel; my Pop thought he was highly informed; instead, his entertainment was nothing but lies to distract him while they picked his pockets.
Would You Rather Be Informed or Entertaining If Your Democracy is at Stake?
Is Fox News entertaining or informing millions of Americans (and others) on military bases around the world?
Despite Fox News staff telling a different story on air, do you think the over one million Americans who died believing Covid-19 was a hoax understood that 90% of Fox News staff were vaccinated?
Does the typical Fox News Channel viewer know the difference between Fox News, the local Fox Channel, and Fox Sports?
Deception is Fox’s brand — therefore, we should assume everything from Fox is suspect since Rupert Murdoch admitted and endorsed lying about something as critical as an American election.
Can we trust Fox News for its coverage of local events, such as the Ohio train derailment? Can we trust the sports coverage we spend so much money and time on?
The propaganda experts at Fox News continue to disrespect their viewers and divide our nation through their coverage of useful idiots.
It’s not an accident — it’s planned.
Many people believed professional wrestling was fake, but it wasn’t until a wrestler said it out loud before the industry was forced to own it — “to avoid sanctions.” After that, Corporate changed the brand packaging and marketed it as an “athletic theater” to Americans.
“Wrestling isn’t ‘fake’ — it’s scripted.” Source
Professional wrestling is scripted and not real, but how many viewers know this?
While each wrestling match is ostensibly a competition of athletics and strategy, the goal from a business standpoint is to excite and entertain the audience. Although the competition is staged, dramatic emphasis draws out the most intense reaction. Heightened interest results in higher attendance, increased ticket sales, higher ratings on television broadcasts (greater ad revenue), higher pay-per-view buyrates, and sales of branded merchandise and recorded video footage. All of these contribute to the profit of the promotion company. Wiki source
By tweaking a few keywords, this description could just as easily describe “Fox News Political Theater.”
While each programming slot match is ostensibly a competition of disinformation, politics, and strategy, the goal from a business standpoint is to excite and entertain the audience. Although the competition is staged, dramatic emphasis draws out the most intense reaction. Heightened interest results in higher attendance, increased product sales, higher ratings on television broadcasts (greater ad revenue), higher My Pillow sales rates, and sales of branded merchandise and recorded video footage — the Fox brand profits from all of these activities.
Fox News and the Republican Party play performance theater with America, and Democracy sits next to Mrs. Lincoln.
The same person responsible for Fox News Corporation, the most enormous propaganda megaphone in the world, also owns the Bible and Harper Collins, a HUGE Christian publisher known for printing everything from church brochures to the pamphlets and tracks distributed at white nationalist events.
Fox News’ programming continually praises Putin’s policies, anti-democracy, and the dumbing down of America, while marketing to them in an abusive and coercive manner.
This is blatant abuse from Fox News for investing millions into bullshitting Americans, admit the truth only by force and under oath — while blaming Americans for not realizing the truth!
What Fox News says on-air is very different than what they say under oath! That’s not news — that’s manipulation.
My 94-year-old Pop was incapable of fact-checking Fox News. Due to his trust in Fox News, he didn’t realize what they said on the air was very different than what they said under oath. He had unwavering faith in the Republican “news source, Fox News.” He never questioned their motives or intentions.
According to the filing, Bill Sammon, Fox News senior vice president and managing editor of the Washington bureau, told a colleague in December that “it’s remarkable how weak ratings make good journalists do bad things.”
Weak ratings are not an excuse for their criminal behavior.
Fox News Hits 23rd Consecutive Month As Most-Watched In Cable News, Forbes
Read that again! Even their excuses are lies.
There are no “weak ratings.” Fox News dominates the competition — they aren’t even news — it’s entertaining lies sold as “news” that is not worth dying for!
Fox News isn’t “fake” — it’s scripted
Russia is Writing the Script
This report from Rand.org, from 2016, “Russia’s “Firehose of Falsehood” Propaganda Model,” warns about Russia's methodology to destroy democracy. It reads like a crystal ball of what Fox News has become and what it pumps into over half the homes of America.
“New Russian propaganda machine entertains, confuses, and overwhelms the audience.” 2
Russia planned and executed a targeted attack on American Democracy, which continues today via Fox News.
Knowing the difference between information and entertainment can save your life and our democracy!
History would have been very different if President Lincoln had changed his plans for the night of April 14, 1865, if he had been given a choice to be informed that his impending assassination wasn’t just a night out at the theater.
When your brand is to lie to America — your intent is not patriotic; it’s to destroy.
We don’t have to sit by idly while they destroy our Democracy. We are the solution, and we stop them by uniting and going on the offensive.
We, The People, are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln
We Are the Guardrails can stop them by unifying and becoming the superpower they didn’t expect!
I hope you’ll join us — we have the power to change the world!
#WeAretheGuardrails
Kimberlee Jakobe publishes We Are The Guardrails on Medium; follow her here and get each post in your email–and if you’re not a Medium member, you can join here.
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