The Next Lost Cause

From article: The Lost Cause offered former Confederates and their descendants a salve for the past. According to this mythology about the Civil War, the South was the victim, even in defeat. Confederate armies were not vanquished on the battlefield but overwhelmed by insurmountable Union resources; Confederate soldiers were heroic martyrs, none more so than Robert E. Lee; defense of states’ rights, not slavery, caused the war; and African Americans were “faithful slaves,” loyal to their masters and the Confederate cause. Through distortions and omissions, White Southerners constructed a version of history that absolved them of blame. Although they were a defeated minority, they organized to spread their message through monuments, literature, film and textbooks across the country — where it dominated for more than a century, shaping partisan politics, American culture and, of course, race relations. Even as Confederate monuments tumble this summer, we may be witnessing an attempt to form a new lost cause. Today, President Trump describes his opponents as “unfair,” the pandemic sapping his popularity as a “hoax,” the polls that show him losing to Joe Biden as “fake,” and the election in which he’ll face ultimate judgment in November as “rigged” or potentially “stolen.” His defenders are already laboring to cast him as a righteous, noble warrior martyred by traitors and insurmountable forces. They rely on the same tools that were used to promulgate Confederate myths: manipulating facts, claiming persecution, demonizing enemies and rewriting history. In other words, Trump is laying the groundwork to claim moral victory in political defeat — and to deny the legitimacy of the Democratic administration that would displace him. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/07/31/lost-cause-donald-trump/?arc404=true

Poem/ Boxes & Labels

Boxes & Labels
Independent, I am



Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task

To believe is lesson learned, to think anew is lesson earned
Christian, Atheist, Protestant, Agnostic, Catholic & Baptist


Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task


To believe is lesson learned, to think anew is lesson earned
Democrat, Conservative, Republican, Liberal, Moderate & Activist


Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task


Think anew is the Struggle
Think anew is the Shock
Think anew is the Loss
Think anew is the Gain
Think anew is the Freedom

Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task

The Struggle I behold
The Shock I behold
The Loss I behold
The Gain I behold
The Freedom I behold



Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task


Independence, Individualism, Self-Rule, Liberty & Freedom is my Reward
Do not box or label me
Think anew is the task I deem merit


To believe is lesson learned, to think anew is lesson earned
Christian, Atheist, Protestant, Agnostic, Catholic & Baptist
To believe is lesson learned, to think anew is lesson earned
Democrat, Conservative, Republican, Liberal, Moderate & Activist


Do not box or label me
Independent, I am
Think anew is the task


~Susanthur

What is Custer Battles / Info Search / SourceWatch/Iraq

Custer Battles, LLC is a security company based in McLean, Virginia, that promotes its services as including "security services", "litigation support", "global risk consulting", "training" and "business intelligence".
The company's founders are Scott Custer, a former US Army officer and defense consultant, and former CIA officer Michael Battles, who ran for Congress in Rhode Island in 2002 and was defeated in the Republican primary. Battles is a Fox News Channel commentator. Both Custer and Battles are often described in the media as "former US Army Rangers." In fact, they are both mere graduates of the US Army Ranger course, a nine week US Army leadership school, and not former members of the US Army Ranger Regiment. Custer Battles was a newly formed company with no experience in the security industry

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Custer_Battles

Obama, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News: A Look at Media in 2009

Excerpt: Ask just about any public interest advocate concerned about the dismal state of media and journalism, and they will tell you that Obama's media policy platform is excellent: the beginning of what could be the most public interest friendly administration in presidential history. Part of this optimism stems from Obama's understanding that Internet and technology are the cornerstone of a 21st century economy and society. Another part comes from the competence and integrity of the media and telecom advisors working on his transition team. And another comes from his direct experience.
Obama-the-candidate commented several times that voters' false views of him -- that he's a Muslim, a socialist and unpatriotic -- were fed and spread by Fox News and their cohorts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham in the far-right media. Obama understands that they are the special sauce in Karl Rove's toxic recipe to discredit progressive policies and politicians, and divide Americans with wedge issues.And Obama understands that pushing back against guys like Limbaugh - who this week blamed the president-elect for the financial crisis, calling it "Obama's recession" - requires a bold policy agenda that uses the Internet to pry media distribution monopolies away from the largest media companies. Though often underreported, Obama spoke frequently about his commitment to blocking further media consolidation, fostering more independent and diverse media, ensuring universal high-speed Internet access, and "taking a back seat to no one" in passing "Net Neutrality" laws to prevent Internet providers like Comcast and AT&T from creating fast and slow lanes on the Internet.
http://www.freepress.net/node/46085