"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." ~ H.L. Mencken
A Clinton Fan Manufactured Fake News That MSNBC Personalities Spread to Discredit WikiLeaks Docs
Submitted by Melinda L. Secor on Mon, 2016-12-12 02:00
"The phrase 'fake news' has exploded in usage since the election, but the term is similar to other malleable political labels such as 'terrorism' and 'hate speech'; because the phrase lacks any clear definition, it is essentially useless except as an instrument of propaganda and censorship. The most important fact to realize about this new term: Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it."
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Comments
Anybody interested in this should also read the most recent blog at Daily Bell:
http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/rothbard-vs-propornot-feud-exp...
I've never been an avid fan of Glenn Greenwald. Not that I dislike or disagree with him to any extent or for any specific reason. I suppose I've generally seen Greenwald as what I would call "faux-libertarian". This could fit many (most) individuals who end up gaining much in the way of celebrity in the field of libertarian writing. I can feel the red flags now, excusing Rothbard, Mises, et al. from this blanket style of labeling -- which could aptly send some flak up against me, so I'd better watch out.
This "fake news" thing is steaming up to be quite a hubbub. And Bell, in the above referenced article, I think, outlines on a global scale what our little ruckus over "rights", et al., here at STR, have amounted to locally.
In thinking about that, I was struck with Greenwald's term, "...malleable political labels...", which lack clear definition and are essentially useless except as instruments of propaganda and censorship (his words, but in our case attempted censorship against each other).
I'll repeat something pertaining to one of our good STR friends who seems to have disappeared in the last year or so. But he used to chime in almost every STR discussion, and was heavy into "definitions". You old-timers will know to whom I refer.
Anyhow, on one discussion I was ratcheting away on my thesis of treating policemen like I treat rattlesnakes -- with watchfulness and caution. I said something like, "...and I don't have a right to wander in the woods without high boots..." To which he countered, "...yes, Sam, you DO have a right to wander in the woods without high boots..."
Which is probably what set me to thinking back that several years ago along the lines of what Greenwald is describing with his "...malleable political labels..." We can, if not careful, get ourselves into big fights over trifles -- even here, amongst friends. Sam