Propaganda Guard: August 2016

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

A US-Fueled Syrian Sectarian Bloodbath

The Obama administration helped fuel a conflict in Syria that inevitably was going to degenerate into a sectarian bloodbath, a reckless strategy pushed by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Gareth Porter explains. By Gareth Porter The main criticism…

When Putin Bailed Out Obama

Exclusive: As pressure again builds on President Obama to attack Syria and press a new Cold War with Russia, the extraordinary events of three years ago after a sarin attack near Damascus are worth revisiting, says ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By…

Trading Politics for Medical Profits

Pay-to-play, the merger of politics and business, has many features including how to exploit political influence to maximize business profits even when children’s lives are at risk, says Michael Winship. By Michael Winship Cash and carry has become nothing more…

Dear Colin Kaepernick: You’re Not Oppressed. You’re Spoiled.

Colin Kaepernick is a mediocre NFL quarterback who makes millions of dollars a year playing a game. He is among the many black or biracial Americans who’ve risen from unfortunate circumstances to enjoy the kind of wealth, luxury, fame, and success that most people in the world can hardly imagine. There is no country on Earth that so enables its citizens — particularly its ethnic minorities — to do the kinds of thing Kaepernick has done.

But that has not made him grateful, apparently. He still refused to stand for the National Anthem before a 49ers preseason game this past weekend. After the game, he explained that America is a racist country that “oppresses” black people. To justify his claims, he cited all of the fictional instances of white racist cops murdering black people. He said that he will not stand for the Anthem until the country stops persecuting minorities, even though he can’t explain the persecution or prove that it’s happening.

It’s funny that the loudest voices telling us about our “oppressive” and “racist” country always seem to be the black athletes, musicians, pop stars, presidents, politicians, etc. If there is a system in place designed to keep minorities down, these people prove that the system is, at the very least, extremely ineffectual. But more likely, it just doesn’t exist.

That doesn’t mean America is perfect. We have problems, for sure. But guys like Kaepernick are not concerned about those problems. They’re just selfish, spoiled, and unwilling to show even the most basic gratitude or respect for the country that gave them opportunity, or the people who sacrificed everything to make them free:
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The post Dear Colin Kaepernick: You’re Not Oppressed. You’re Spoiled. appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

Obama’s Imperial Mideast Policy Unravels

Exclusive: President Obama’s Mideast policy is such a confusing mess that he is now supporting Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria although it’s primary target is not ISIS but another U.S. ally, the Kurds, explains Daniel Lazare. By Daniel Lazare In…

Abu Zubaydah: Torture’s ‘Poster Child’

Exclusive: The ugly legacy of George W. Bush’s torture program continues to haunt U.S. foreign policy as the “poster child” for waterboarding, Abu Zubaydah, makes an appeal for his release from Guantanamo, writes Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn Last week,…

The Dumbed-Down New York Times

Exclusive: A New York Times columnist writes Americans are so “dumbed-down” that they don’t know that Russia “invaded” Ukraine two years ago, but that “invasion” was mostly in the minds of Times editors and other propagandists, says Robert Parry. By…

California May Abolish the Death Penalty

California voters will get a chance to abolish the state’s expensive and flawed death-penalty system, a step that could reduce America’s death-row population by almost a quarter, writes Marjorie Cohn. By Marjorie Cohn On Election Day, California voters will make…

The High Cost of American Hubris

Americans have paid a very high price for the Establishment’s imperial ambitions, a price passing a breaking point in blood and money, a problem that must be addressed with realism and humility, explains Natylie Baldwin. By Natylie Baldwin Although renowned…

Russia’s Misplayed Hand with Iran

Iran’s annoyance that Russia over-played its hand in going public about its use of an Iranian airbase shows the risk of offending potential allies, a lesson that U.S. officials also need to learn, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By…

The Battle Over the Burkini

Across the globe, cultural norms often clash with individual expression, from topless beaches in secular societies to gender-segregation in some religious places, with today’s clash over Muslim burkinis, observes ex-CIA official Graham E. Fuller. By Graham E. Fuller Symbolism matters.…

What Israel’s Actions Have Wrought

Israel’s repression of the Palestinians is often rationalized by the historical abuse of the Jews, but Israel’s misconduct is having the disturbing effect of stirring up new anti-Semitism, observes Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson It has been 71 years since…

When Boats Brought Hope to Gaza

Israel continues to cut off the 1.8 million people of Gaza from receiving relief supplies from sea, an illegal blockade that will be challenged again this year by the Women’s Boat to Gaza, writes retired Col. Ann Wright. By Ann…

Sanders’s ‘Our Revolution’: Promise and Gaps

The New York Times greeted Bernie Sanders’s launch of Our Revolution with a report on staffing problems while other outlets ignored it, but – despite the group’s promise – a real problem was the senator’s silence on perpetual war, says…

Target: Yugoslavia (A Look into the Future)

From the Archive: NATO’s 1999 war on Serbia showcased some of America’s then-cutting-edge strategies for waging electronic sabotage against an “enemy,” including hacking computers and controlling information, wrote Robert Parry in real time. By Robert Parry (Originally published on May…

Television Wars (Crossing a Line in Serbia)

From the Archive: President Bill Clinton’s bombardment of Serbia in 1999 marked a grim turn in the practice of “information warfare,” with a lethal NATO attack targeting a Serb TV station which criticized the war, observed war correspondent Don North.…

The Bogus ‘Humanitarian’ War on Serbia

NATO’s war on Serbia in 1999 was the template for other “humanitarian” wars – in Iraq, Libya and now Syria – but it wasn’t “news” when the Serbian leader was cleared, notes John Pilger. By John Pilger The exoneration of…

A Clinton Family Value: ‘Humanitarian’ War

Exclusive: The transformation of the Democratic Party from the relative “peace party” to a belligerent “war party” occurred during Bill Clinton’s presidency and is likely to resume if Hillary Clinton is elected, writes James W Carden. By James W Carden The…

Propaganda for Syrian ‘Regime Change’

Neocons and liberal hawks have poured millions of dollars into propaganda to justify “regime change” in Syria and are now desperate to keep the war going until President Hillary Clinton gets a chance to escalate, as Rick Sterling describes. By Rick…

Trump’s White Supremacist Factor

The darkest part of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is its white nationalist element with some white male supremacists seeing Trump as the way to protect their historical dominance of America, says Nicholas C. Arguimbau. By Nicholas C. Arguimbau America has been a…

Hillary Clinton’s ‘Pivot’ or ‘Spin’?

To stave off Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton became a born-again progressive, critical of trade deals and tough on fracking, but her preparations for a presidential transition presage a pro-corporate and hawkish administration, says Norman Solomon. By Norman Solomon Like other…

US Hawks Advance a War Agenda in Syria

Exclusive: The U.S. government, having illegally sent American troops into Syria, is now threatening to attack the Syrian military if it endangers those troops, an Orwellian twist that marks a dangerous escalation, explains Daniel Lazare. By Daniel Lazare War, like…

Trump Hypes a New ‘War on Terror’

Donald Trump has urged a new “war on terror” that brings back torture and seeks revenge on terrorists’ families, but another problem with the Republican nominee’s approach is his exaggeration of the danger, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By…

A Lawless Plan to Target Russians in Syria

Exclusive: Official Washington’s disdain for international law – when its doing the lawbreaking – was underscored by ex-CIA acting director Morell reiterating plans for murdering Russians and Iranians in Syria, ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern says. By Ray McGovern On Aug. 17,…

A Cheap Shot at Bernie Sanders’ Summer Home

Exclusive: Charles Lane and other Washington Post editorialists defend neocon and neoliberal orthodoxies by demonizing foreign leaders who step out of line and now by making fun of Bernie Sanders for buying a summer home, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry…

Trump and the Long History of Media Bias

Exclusive: The mainstream U.S. news media insists that its bias against Donald Trump is an aberration justified by his extraordinary recklessness, but the truth is U.S. media bias has a long history, says longtime journalist Robert Parry. By Robert Parry…

More False Outrage on the Syrian War

Washington’s neocon hypocrisy surfaced again with the furor over Russia using an Iranian base to launch airstrikes against terror groups in Syria, while the U.S. uses other Mideast bases for the same purpose, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar notes.…

Washington Hawks Prey on Syrian Killing Fields

Official Washington loves to show heartbreaking images of wounded Syrian children with the implicit message that it’s time to invade Syria and impose “regime change” (rather than commit to peace talks), a dilemma addressed by Michael Brenner. By Michael Brenner The…

How a Question’s Phrasing Hobbles Third Parties

By asking Americans who they expect to vote for rather than who they want to be President, pollsters skew the numbers in favor of major-party candidates and help exclude third-party challengers from crucial debates, notes Sam Husseini. By Sam Husseini This week,…

Turkey’s Sensible Détente with Russia

Official Washington is so set on making Russia the new boogeyman that Turkish President Erdogan’s visit there is setting off alarms, but the easing of Moscow-Ankara tensions is really a positive sign, says ex-CIA official Graham E. Fuller. By Graham E.…

How ‘Think Tanks’ Generate Endless War

U.S. “think tanks” rile up the American public against an ever-shifting roster of foreign “enemies” to justify wars which line the pockets of military contractors who kick back some profits to the “think tanks,” explains retired JAG Major Todd E. Pierce. By Todd…

America’s Journalistic Hypocrites

Exclusive: The U.S. news media flip-flops on whether international law is inviolate or can be brushed aside at America’s whim – and similarly whether killing civilians is justified or not depending on who’s doing the killing, says Robert Parry. By Robert Parry…

Why Not Expand the Presidential Debates?

Amid unprecedented dissatisfaction with the two major party candidates, public interest in opening the presidential debates to the Libertarian and Green party nominees should be honored, says Jeff Cohen. By Jeff Cohen If ten major TV networks got together and…

Washington’s Outrage and Excuses

Sometimes it seems that if not for double standards, Official Washington would have no standards at all – especially when it comes to outrage against some “strongmen” and excuses for others, as Lawrence Davidson describes. By Lawrence Davidson The United…

Simplistic Second-Guessing on ISIS

Official Washington’s neocons, the mainstream U.S. media and Donald Trump are on the same page at least in blaming President Obama for ISIS, a case of all three parties being wrong, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. By Paul…

US War Crimes or ‘Normalized Deviance’

The U.S. foreign policy establishment and its mainstream media operate with a pervasive set of hypocritical standards that justify war crimes — or what might be called a “normalization of deviance,” writes Nicolas J S Davies. By Nicolas J S…

If Planned Parenthood Had Its Way, Simone Biles Would Be Dead

Simone Biles is now a world famous American Olympian and, according to people who know a lot more about the subject than I do, perhaps the greatest gymnast of all time. Her story is incredible and inspiring. All the more inspiring when you consider how fortunate she was to even be born at all.

Simone’s mother was a poor, black drug addict. She was not prepared to be a mother. She was exactly the kind of woman Planned Parenthood preys upon. Exactly the kind of mother the abortion industry makes its millions by manipulating and exploiting. And Simone Biles was exactly the kind of baby Planned Parenthood specifically dedicates itself to exterminating. The fact is this: Planned Parenthood has centered its entire business around murdering children like Simone Biles. Her mother rejected the lies of the abortion industry and chose life instead, thank God, and now look at what her daughter has done with that gift. Look at what a person can do if they escape the bloody grasp of Planned Parenthood.

How many of the millions of other poor black children executed by Planned Parenthood could have gone on to conquer the world like Simone? All human beings have incredible potential. Planned Parenthood snuffs out that potential and tosses its victims in a dumpster. But when that potential is protected and preserved, just look at what happens:

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The post If Planned Parenthood Had Its Way, Simone Biles Would Be Dead appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

In Case You Missed…

Some of our special stories in July focused on new developments in the Ukrainian MH-17 mystery, heightened tensions with Russia, problems with Hillary Clinton’s candidacy and Donald Trump’s weird behavior. “When Free Speech Signifies Nothing” by Michael Brenner, Jul. 1,…

Rigging the Coverage of Syria

The major U.S. news media has consistently slanted its coverage of the Syrian conflict to back neocon desires for more U.S. military intervention in support of “regime change,” Gareth Porter wrote for FAIR. By Gareth Porter Coverage of the breakdown…

Risks from Trump’s Reckless Invective

Donald Trump’s invective – suggesting a “Second Amendment” remedy to Hillary Clinton’s gun control or calling President Obama the ISIS “founder” – may be how he intends to win but his words carry real danger, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.…

There’s No Way I’ll Send My Kids To Public School To Be Brainwashed By The LGBT Lobby

It’s been announced that schools in Charlotte will no longer be using the terms “boy” and “girl.” They’ve adopted a new gender fluid policy that allows students to be whatever gender they prefer. Boys will even be allowed to attend all-girl overnight trips, so long as they identify as girls for the duration.

To alleviate any confusion, the school system has also introduced something called a “gender unicorn,” which is a mascot invented by the LGBT lobby to explain gender and sexuality to kids. No, I’m not making this up. A gender unicorn. Seriously.

This, of course, is just the latest bit of LGBT insanity to come out of our nation’s public schools. And it’s too much, I think. If there is ever going to be a last straw, this “transgender” lunacy must be it. How can we send our children into an environment where radical left wing gender theory has been adopted as a standard and mandatory program? How can we expect our kids to endure 12 years of this madness and emerge normal and healthy at the end of it all?

I am among a whole crop of new parents with very young kids, and we are all quickly trying to decide where our children will begin their educational journeys. At this point, I don’t see how we can choose public school. At least I know that I certainly cannot:

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The post There’s No Way I’ll Send My Kids To Public School To Be Brainwashed By The LGBT Lobby appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

Mike Morell’s Kill-Russians Advice

Exclusive: Washington’s foreign policy hot shots are flexing their rhetorical, warmongering muscles to impress Hillary Clinton, including ex-CIA acting director Morell who calls for killing Russians and Iranians, notes ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern. By Ray McGovern Perhaps former CIA acting director Michael…

Magical Thinking in US Foreign Policy

Exclusive: The U.S. foreign policy establishment cloaks its desire for global dominance in the language of humanitarianism and “democracy promotion” even when the policies lead to death and chaos, as James W Carden describes. By James W Carden Despite America’s…

A Rush to Judgment on Russian Doping

The West’s anti-Russian bias is so strong that normal standards of fairness are cast aside whenever a propaganda edge can be gained, a factor swirling around the treatment of Russian athletes at the Rio Olympics, Rick Sterling says. By Rick Sterling There is an…

‘Sage’ Advice That’s Nuttier Than Trump

Mike Morell was twice “acting” CIA director but never got the job outright, which may be a blessing now that this Hillary Clinton supporter is publicly urging acts of war against Russia and Iran, notes ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson. By Larry Johnson There was a…

If Love is Love, This Incestuous Couple Should Be Celebrated

This is a disgusting story, but there’s a reason I’m bringing it to your attention. An incestuous mother and son couple in New Mexico are fighting for their right to be with each other. So far, their pleas for support have not been answered. They say they have a right to love each other, and somehow the “love is love” folks have not yet rallied to their defense.

This is very simple. If you support gay “marriage,” then you cannot logically and consistently deny these two lovebirds. As I explain in my piece today, literally every single argument — every single on, without exception — that was used to justify gay “marriage,” would also apply to Momma Incest and her son/lover. I go through each pro-gay marriage argument in this column to prove it.

It’s also true that all of those arguments also provide cover for pedophiles, polygamists, bestiality enthusiasts, and every other brand of perversity that you can imagine. No, it’s not a slipper slope. It’s a straight plunge. Once we abandoned traditional marriage — otherwise known as real marriage — we opened the door to every degrading thing under the sun.

Soon enough, liberals will openly advocate for all of these things. In some cases they already are. And so it behooves conservatives and Christians to stand firm and stick to our arguments, applying them consistently to everything, no matter how unpopular it makes us. Because the other side of this story is that a lot of us abandoned the marriage fight, ceded the ground to the left, and now, having forfeited the argument, we can only watch helplessly as our cultural descent into depravity and madness continues:

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The post If Love is Love, This Incestuous Couple Should Be Celebrated appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Donald Trump’s Incendiary Language

Exclusive: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is taking a P.R. pounding for a sloppy Second Amendment reference interpreted as calling for Hillary Clinton’s assassination, but what was his intent, asks Robert Parry. By Robert Parry Donald Trump’s strange comment about “Second Amendment…

The Fragility of American Democracy

A top neocon excuse for invading other countries is to spread American-style “democracy,” but – amid all that carnage – there has been a steady erosion of U.S. democratic values, observes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar…

Hillary Clinton’s Turn to McCarthyism

Exclusive: Hillary Clinton’s campaign is engaging in over-the-top Russia-bashing and guilt-by-association tying Donald Trump to the Kremlin, a McCarthyism that previously has been used on Democrats, including Bill Clinton, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry The irony of Hillary Clinton’s campaign impugning the patriotism of…

Christianity and the Nagasaki Bomb

Though Christianity began as a religion of peace, it soon became a cloak for genocidal violence, such as the incineration of defenseless civilians in Nagasaki, including many Japanese Christians, 71 years ago, writes Gary G. Kohls. By Gary G. Kohls Seventy-one years…

More Neocon Excuses to Bomb Syria

Official Washington’s influential neocons continue to dream up new excuses for expanding U.S. military intervention in Syria, including why to bomb Syrian government forces and confront Russia, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar The complicated, multidimensional…

Why Neocons Can’t Stomach Trump

Neocons are jumping off the Republican ship for Hillary Clinton even though Donald Trump has shifted their way on Israel and military spending. The big reason seems to be his resistance to a new Cold War with Russia, writes JP…

The NYT’s Out-of-Control Bias

The New York Times has shown a blatant bias against Russia and Vladimir Putin for years but it is now merging that animus with its contempt for Donald Trump, a stunningly unprofessional performance, notes John V. Walsh. By John V.…

How US Spies Secured the Hiroshima Uranium

A dark secret behind the Hiroshima bomb is where the uranium came from, a spy-vs.-spy race to secure naturally enriched uranium from Congo to fuel the Manhattan Project and keep the rare mineral out of Nazi hands, reports Joe Lauria.…

Stalling Obama’s Overtures to Russia

Washington’s foreign policy mavens are thwarting President Obama’s moves to work with Russia to resolve the Syrian war and reduce other tensions, so the new Cold War can proceed under Hillary Clinton, says ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke. By Alastair Crooke…

Al Qaeda’s Name Game in Syria

Washington’s neocon-dominated foreign policy establishment has long seen Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front as a strategic ally in Syria – and now hopes a name change will protect it through President Obama’s last months, reports Gareth Porter. By Gareth Porter The Nusra Front’s…

Letting Saudi Arabia Off the 9/11 Hook

The 9/11 attacks opened a bloody chapter of American history, “justifying” U.S. attacks on multiple countries but not on the one most connected to the terrorism, U.S. “ally,” Saudi Arabia. Why is that, asks Lawrence Davidson. By Lawrence Davidson On…

Needing an Exit from Afghan Quagmire

The failure of U.S. policy in Afghanistan has been obvious for years, but neither President Bush nor President Obama wanted the defeat hung on their legacies, so the bloody folly goes on, a test for the next president, says Alon…

Joel Osteen’s Fake, Heretical ‘Christianity’ Isn’t Any Better Than Atheism

A couple of days ago I noted on Twitter how Joel Osteen rarely mentions the word “Christ” in his tweets or in his sermons. He responded to that observation by blocking me. I found out later that this is standard procedure. People who ask Joel Osteen to talk about Jesus are automatically blocked. That makes a lot of sense for a “pastor,” doesn’t it?

Since that incident, I’ve had several conversations with Osteen defenders, many of whom demonstrate almost no understanding of even the most fundamental aspects of their faith. I’ve also talked to others who don’t follow Osteen but believe that his brand of “Christianity” is at least mildly useful. Although Osteen and his fellow Prosperity Gospel charlatans don’t preach the full faith or the full truth, they at least provide people with something close to the it, supposedly.

These apologists claim that, without heretics like Osteen, the millions they serve would just be complete non-believers. Isn’t it better to believe in an Osteenized Christianity than to not believe in Christianity at all, they ask? You hear this a lot when it comes to Christian heresies. Even the non-heretics tend to shrug their shoulders and say, “Hey, it’s better than nothing.”

But it’s not better than nothing. Believing in a heretical version of the faith is not preferable to outright atheism and secularism. In fact, it’s probably worse, and here’s why:

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The post Joel Osteen’s Fake, Heretical ‘Christianity’ Isn’t Any Better Than Atheism appeared first on The Matt Walsh Blog.

The Danger of Excessive Trump Bashing

Exclusive: The prospect of Donald Trump in the White House alarms many people but bashing him over his contrarian views on NATO and U.S.-Russian relations could set the stage for disasters under President Hillary Clinton, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry The…

Promises of Peace, Realities of War

Some anti-war Americans see hope in Donald Trump’s aversion to neocon interventionism but the peace mantras of campaigns often turn into war policies in office, observes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. By Paul R. Pillar A common observation about the…

Where Donald Trump Makes Sense

Donald Trump’s narcissistic ravings have drawn widespread ridicule and contempt, but his rejection of Washington’s neocon foreign policy orthodoxy is a valuable contribution to the public debate, says Ivan Eland. By Ivan Eland Now that Donald Trump has won the…

Terrorism as a Word and Epithet

The word “terrorism” – classically defined as violence against civilians for political effect – has become an epithet hurled at despised groups while not against favored ones, a challenge of hypocrisy and propaganda, explains Michael Brenner. By Michael Brenner Most Americans…

The Mystery of Turkey’s Failed Coup

The failed Turkish coup and President Erdogan’s harsh reprisals have left more questions than answers, including who was really behind the botched putsch and why, reports Joe Lauria. By Joe Lauria More than two weeks after Turkey’s dramatic failed coup,…

Is Hillary Double-Talking on Trade Deals?

Hillary Clinton is promising to take a tougher stand on U.S. trade deals, but is that just campaign talk to appease supporters of Bernie Sanders and steal some backing away from Donald Trump, asks JP Sottile. By JP Sottile Did…

New Cold War at the Olympics

The Western media’s Russia-bashing has become epidemic, creating a dangerous dynamic as the world plunges into a new Cold War, with even sports becoming a propaganda arena, as Rick Sterling explains. By Rick Sterling With the Rio Summer Olympics starting…

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

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