America, you are being played

The weirdest thing is how many Americans know it & don't seem to care.  They are like Puss chasing the laser light - there's something they find irresistible.  

Once upon a time, Americans hated to be treated like yokels.  Now, they seem quite comfortable in the role of political rube.  Got to thinking about this as I read about Andrew Breitbart's widow coming to a financial settlement with Shirley Sherrod over his intentionally misleading editing of an interview with the Department of Agriculture employee.

         

Turned out that what was skewed to look racially inflammatory was, in its proper context, an illustration of racial reconciliation.  Based on the released video, Ms. Sherrod was fired from her position, a hasty action that drew apologies from not only the Department of Agriculture, but from President Obama & his administration, too.  She turned down an offer to return her to to department.

FYI -  Breitbart's lawyers argued that the blog post was simply opinion, and therefore did not meet the bar of defamation.  

Remember ACORN?  The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) was the bane of the Republican party.  The community-based organization advocated for low- & moderate-income families.  It served a broad range of uses, from working on neighborhood safety, health care, affordable housing, other social issues - and voter registration.  

 

ACORN ceased operations after two conservative activists released videos claiming to show ACORN personnel encouraging criminal behavior.  They were posted over the internet & some television progams without basic vetting, let alone investigation.  As happened later with Ms. Sherrod, government agencies & Congress were swift in stripping funding.  As happened with Ms. Sherrod, it turned out the videos had been willfully falsified, selectively edited to drive a false claim.  Yes, a slew of state & city investigations and the GAO found no evidence of wrong doing, found its employees had not engaged in the alleged criminal activities, and ACORN had appropriately managed its federal funding. It didn't matter that ACORN was cleared - by the time the dust settled, they were gone for good.  

Now, it is Carly Fiorina's claims of seeing a video that no one recalls seeing, no one is able to produce.  And the lady is not backing down.  She's sticking to her story, aided & abetted (OF COURSE without her direct knowledge) by an ad released by the superpac that sounds mighty like her campaign (C.A.R.L.Y. for America).  

 

Am I distressed by the rise of Carly Fiorina?  Nah!  Okay, part of me recoils in horror, but I am mostly morbidly fascinated.  What's unfolding is more Entertainment Tonight than the 2016 election envisioned by Reince Priebus.  First, Donald Trump, someone no one takes seriously will last into Spring 2016.  But his discomfort at Carly's soaring popularity has to be giving him some sleepless nights.  She is NOT an establishment candidate.  But she is superb at branding & marketing herself.  

Most of all, am blown away by America once again letting itself be played as a bunch of mindless schmucks.  The only think I can do is sit back, watch it unfold & marvel.