Pack of Lies

Let’s say you get an email from a total stranger who claims, among other things, that her soul once left her body, the wind talks to her (telling her that she is a ghost), and that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered while being hunted for sport.

You would likely hit delete and check your spam-filter settings.

But you are not a seasoned journalist like the brilliant minds at Fox News. 

You see, back in 2020, a deranged Minnesota woman sent an email to Fox that was full of the above gibberish and made-up “facts” that “proved” Biden had stolen the election.

This revelation comes from the Dominion lawsuit, which previously revealed that Fox anchors knowingly lied to their audience to maintain their ratings, which is a concept that I never learned in journalism school.

Also, Fox anchors hate Trump and think their viewers are morons, so I guess we have something in common.

In any case, Dominion has stated that “the alleged source of the voter-fraud claims that sparked the lawsuit is a single email from a previously unknown woman” who admits that “she conjures her theories out of nothing.”

Again, it might strike you as odd that Fox would broadcast incendiary commentary based on one email from an anonymous person who freely admits that her “now nationally prominent ideas about election fraud” are based on “hidden messages she detects in films, song lyrics she hears on the radio, and overheard conversations she hears while in line at the supermarket checkout.”

But again, you are not a Fox journalist.

They listened to this woman, who had zero qualifications and offered “a jumble of ideas that centered on ties between telepaths, the Bank of the Vatican, the NXIVM sex cult, and the 1970 film Beneath the Planet of the Apes.”

And they thought, “Seems credible.”

Of course, it is improbable that many people at Fox believed this lunatic’s email (although it would probably be disturbing to know how many did). More likely, they saw these rantings from a representative of their core audience and used it as a springboard or brainstorming tool for their coverage. After all, there was no actual evidence of voter fraud, so why not make up some bizarre shit and hope it sticks? And why not start with the psychotic assertions of a swing-state nutjob?

Hey, at least she’s not an East Coast elitist, right?

Fox has shown that it is terrified of offending its audience, so it will go to appalling lengths to keep the right-wing outrage percolating. This is the power of the Republican base.

Hey, even the few conservative leaders “who do not embrace the racism, sexism, religiosity, nihilism, and authoritarianism of the hard-core MAGA Republicans appear to believe they cannot win an election without the votes of those people, [and] so the extremists now own the party.”

Conservatives are no longer even offering the dog-whistle ideal of making the country great (again). Instead, they are clamoring for leaders who will eradicate the libs and engage in unbridled retribution.

They openly admit that their lies — so obvious to anyone who is not delusional, partisan, or idiotic — are just to appease the base.

But the base doesn’t care. 

They want to believe that we can bomb Mexico, and that will end our drug problem.

They want the GOP to take “a wartime posture — even calling for a “national divorce” — to cover up “their party’s misalignment with large swaths of the United States.”

They want to see heavily edited video that implies January 6 was a pleasant stroll rather than a riot, a ploy so childish and ludicrous that one assumes even the people spouting this nonsense are incredulous.

Brief aside: there should be a word that describes a pathetic effort to convince people of obvious lies that are so absurd that even the perpetrators don’t believe it. There probably is a word in German that covers this idea, and I imagine it’s something like werheschfeltzanthursse.

Regardless, the lies don’t matter, and neither does the public admission of the lies.

Right-wingers are ready to believe anything. 

Just ask that woman in Minnesota.

Better yet, don’t ask. The last thing you want is an email correspondence with her.

Coming Soon

Have you seen the blockbuster sci-fi movie that is destined to win 47 Oscars? I’m talking about Chrono-Z: Galactic Crusade. Here’s the synopsis:

“A ragtag team of space adventurers discovers a horrifying truth: an ancient demon race has secretly infected planets with a zombie virus, causing apocalyptic outbreaks throughout the galaxy. With no other choice but to travel through time to prevent the demons' plan, the team embarks on a perilous mission to gather powerful artifacts and allies from different eras. But when they accidentally alter the timeline, they must race against the clock to correct their mistakes and stop the demons' final assault on Earth. Will they be able to save the world from total destruction or will the apocalypse reign supreme?”

OK, that sounds like a pretty-kick ass movie.

Now, there is just one problem with this epic sci-fi action-adventure film. It doesn’t actually exist and never will. In fact, the premise, the title, and the poster were all created by artificial intelligence (AI).

I’ve written before about the promise and peril of AI.

Well, after playing around with ChatGPT and OpenAI, I have created about 100 artistic masterworks and devised plots for a couple of hit movies. It’s a fairly addictive activity — somewhere between a hobby and a time suck.

For example, I asked AI to outline a story that combines the following elements: ominous prophecy, gunslingers, lost love, dinosaurs, and baseball.

Here is the result:

“In a post-apocalyptic world where dinosaurs have been resurrected through advanced cloning technology, a gunslinger named Jack is haunted by an ominous prophecy that foretells the end of humanity. As he navigates a dangerous landscape filled with prehistoric creatures, Jack is reunited with his lost love, a talented baseball player named Sara. Together, they must use their unique skills to face off against a band of ruthless outlaws and unravel the mystery of the prophecy before it's too late. But as they get closer to the truth, they discover that the key to saving humanity may lie in the one place they least expect: on the baseball diamond.”

I have to be honest. I would see that movie.

So what does the rise of AI mean for writers, painters, and other creative types?

Well, some predict that AI will take over artistic endeavors. After all, if AI can crank out a masterpiece like Chrono-Z: Galactic Crusadein minutes, what hope does a struggling screenwriter have? 

But I’m more optimistic. No matter what AI can produce — and its output will only get more sophisticated with each passing day —there will always be creative voices, human voices at that, who will rise above the din of computer-generated art to offer a unique point of view.

Also, these same doomsayers insisted that Photoshop would be the end for photographers and CGI programs would make people forget how to draw. Going back further, they said word processors would destroy novelists and synthesizers would mean that no one would ever learn how to play a musical instrument again.

Yes, AI is different, but forgive me for being skeptical about the end of creativity.

Technology often enhances, rather than short-circuits, imagination. Perhaps we can use AI to inspire us and to make the creative process smoother. 

At the very least, you can get kooky with your prompts and generate some crazy shit that would never have existed otherwise.

How cool is that?

An Unwanted Resurgence

If the woke mob is indeed coming for you, they are taking their damn time.

You see, everyone from smug governors to elitist talk-show hosts to beleaguered cartoonists insist that rich white men are being canceled, with hordes of liberal aggressors poised to crush conservatives beneath an avalanche of stomping Birkenstocks.

But in truth, you are far less likely to encounter a woke mob than you are, say, a pack of snarling fascists with bullhorns screaming threats. Yes, recently a crowd of “neo-Nazis in Florida yelled, ‘Heil Hitler’ and harassed Jewish residents during staged protests.” The white supremacists felt perfectly comfortable parading around in public, shouting insults and brandishing swastikas, in a state where that aforementioned smug governor has refused to condemn Nazis.

This was also around the time that some rando Gestapo lovers proclaimed a “National Day of Hate” that put law enforcement “across the nation on high alert.”

OK, so Nazis are happily prancing down the streets and issuing death threats without fear of repercussion. But that’s as far as it goes, right?

Um… no.

There is the even more ominous fact that a homeschooling network in Ohio is creating and distributing lesson plans based on Nazi ideology, which are then presented to children as educational materials. The network has over 2,400 members.

The founders of the Dissident Homeschool network include a Dutch immigrant who says she is “deeply invested into making sure that our child becomes a wonderful Nazi.”

I’m absolutely certain that there is no such thing as a wonderful Nazi. 

But while we’re discussing these homeschooling parents who shriek about the “dangers of diversity and how Indiana Jones movies are nothing more than Jewish revenge porn,” let me ask the following:

Whatever happened to the argument that immigrants have to assimilate to American values? 

I suppose that rule is waived for Dutch immigrants, by virtue of their blond hair and blue eyes. Or maybe Nazism has become enough of an American value, beloved as it is by so many citizens, that this immigrant is indeed assimilating.

Just ask the “neo-Nazi leader [who] planned to attack electrical substations encircling Baltimore and ‘completely destroy’ the entire city.” He likely considers himself a patriot. He is one of the many “domestic extremists who have openly advocated targeting a vulnerable power system.” This tactic is a central pillar of a “white-power philosophy called ‘accelerationism,’ which wants to destroy society and replace it with one based on their racist ideologies.”

Keep in mind that a new study shows that “domestic extremist mass killings have increased greatly in the past 12 years,” but that this increase is almost exclusively a conservative phenomenon. For example, “all the extremist killings in 2022 were committed by right-wing adherents, with 21 of 25 murders linked to white supremacists.”

Furthermore, the “number of U.S. mass killings linked to extremism over the past decade was at least three times higher than the total from any other 10-year period since the 1970s.” And you guessed it, “the main threat in the near future will likely be white supremacistshooters.”

Of course, there is an international element to this madness as well. It involves climate change, which is not just the main threat to humanity’s existence, but a prime recruiting tool for Nazism.

Damn, how does that work?

Well, as global warming heats up the planet, more climate refugees will be forced to leave their countries. And those nations accepting refugees will have plenty of “right-wing politicians who see both a threat and an opportunity.” These politicians, who “feel emboldened to portray migrants as a threat to national identity,” will ramp up the xenophobia, garnering more votes from easily scared white citizens. It will also lead to more young white men becoming Nazis, but hey, that’s not the problem of conservative demagogues hustling for votes, is it?

In any case, we face a future where white supremacists are trying to destroy America from within, and Nazis are making a comeback in every industrialized nation on Earth. 

Suddenly, the woke mob doesn’t seem so bad.

No Sleep

As I may have mentioned, I don’t just blog with abandon. 

I also dabble in fiction (three novels so far, with the fourth coming soon).

And I pen the occasional short story. 

Well, the good people at the No Sleep podcast have seen fit to adapt one my stories for their show.

No Sleep is a sci-fi / horror podcast. So there’s all sorts of scary shit going down there.

You can find the adaptation of my story, “The Site,” by clicking here.

So if you’re in the mood for something creepy, check it out.

And thanks

Evidence

It’s bizarre how often Americans are forced to prove themselves.

You must have a full-time job to prove that you are worthy of health care.

You must take on crippling debt to prove that you deserve a college education.

If you’re a woman, you must prove that you understand your own body.

If you’re an immigrant, you must prove that you love this country better than people who are born here.

If you’re homeless, you must prove that you are drug-free to get housing (even if the exact opposite approach works better).

It goes on and on. But you’ll be glad to know that there are exceptions to all this proving. 

For example, if you’re a lunatic millionaire racist who led the country into unprecedented disaster, you deserve another chance.

Also, if you’re a toddler in Missouri, you can openly carry a gun in the street. We trust you.

Yes, Americans seem like a skeptical bunch, always demanding proof. But they are actually quite discerning about what requires evidence.

For example, most Americans emphatically believe there is a man in the sky who controls the universe, despite the fact that he has never revealed himself.

They are mixed, however, on the whole concept of climate change, despite vast amounts of solid data obtained over decades 

They may or may not believe that vaccines cause autism, or that covid exists, or that JFK is actually alive and working to overthrow a vast conspiracy run by lizard people. Really, millions of Americans believe that last one.

And still the contradictions mount.

Consider that many people think Biden stole the election (despite the absence of evidence), but these same individuals refuse to believe that giving people money or free food helps alleviate poverty (despite an abundance of evidence).

Of course, it doesn’t help that we are deeply suspicious of how poor people spend their cash, even while bursting with admiration for wealthy jerks who blow obscene amounts of money on egotistic endeavors and grotesque trivialities. There is quick judgment for what a poor person puts in her grocery cart, but foot-kissing praise for billionaires who spend the equivalent of Denmark’s GDP on themselves.

Other beliefs similarly defy reason.

For example, a high percentage of Americans believe that racism is dead, except if it’s directed at white people. But they also believe in blatant racist stereotypes so strongly that it affects public policy.

Yes, American life is a strange combination of superstition, illogical thinking, and skewed beliefs that are mixed with vociferous demands for objective proof that is usually ignored.

For many of us, there will never be enough evidence to change our minds. 

And that’s a fact.