Misinformation, Lies, Political Reporting…COVID

Press Watch mission statement: Political journalism needs a reset

by Dan Froomkin.

Let’s start with the overarching problem: Misinformation, disinformation and gaslighting have become rampant in our political discourse, turning citizens against each other, choking the legislative process, eroding confidence in elections, and, in the age of Covid, literally getting people killed. A striking number of voters are laboring under a series of delusions that make them incapable of rational decision-making. The country is still reeling from a violent attempted coup in the name of a Big Lie – a lie that has essentially become doctrine for one of our two major political parties.

Despite all this, our elite political media recognizes no need for a course change.

Journalists should treat a lie like a virus, for which they are the vaccine, not the spreader. The goal is to quickly fill the news space with the truth so that conspiracy theories have less place to grow.

There should be some, or else what’s the point of fact-based journalism? That means denying serial liars the opportunity to use the media – particularly live media — to spread their lies. That means whenever it’s crucial to quote a liar, warning readers and viewers of their track record. That means interrupting liars when they are repeating a lie. That means demanding retractions, publicly, prominently, and repeatedly. That means openly distinguishing between people who — totally independent of their political views — can be counted on to be acting in good faith and those who can be counted on to be acting in bad faith. Established liars should not be quoted as credible sources. (And they should certainly never be granted anonymity.)

Our very democracy is in danger. You can’t really cover politics and ignore that. It underlies everything.

https://presswatchers.org/2021/09/press-watch-mission-statement-political-journalism-needs-a-reset/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Idaho Statesman

Idaho legislator urges people to get vaccinated after his mother dies from COVID-19

BY SALLY KRUTZIG

“I think there are people in our political realm who are essentially killing people with misinformation […] at what point was somebody convinced of a lie? Was it the fifth time it was repeated? Was it the 50th time? Was it the 500th time?” ⁦

https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/community/boise/article254599937.htm

#Idaho

One anthem.

Couple this commentary with Shankar Vedantam’s Hidden Brain recent episode on Group Think.

How do the groups you identify with shape your sense of self? Do they influence the beer you buy? The way you vote? Psychologist Jay Van Bavel says our group loyalties affect us more than we realize, and can even shape our basic senses of sight, taste and smell.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?i=1000536058522

Jay Van Bavel is an Associate Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business in Management and Organizations, and Director of the Social Identity & Morality Lab.

A guided inquiry for this moment in time.

“I am haunted not by the shock of the images; I am haunted by their familiarity.”

Valerie Kaur

 #revolutionarylove

‘…her letter to us about the Haitian refugee crisis.

DONATE + SIGN + CALL 

My letter to you: Haitian Refugees & Seeing No Stranger

#1 DONATE: Haitian Bridge Alliance is on the ground helping Haitian refugees in Del Rio seeking asylum. Click here to donate now to support their efforts.

#2 SIGN: Families Belong Together has organized a petition to demand that the Biden Administration halt all deportations to Haiti. Sign the petition here.

#3 CALL: Dial 202-224-3121 and use the sample script below to contact your Congress members today to urge them to take action to protect Haitian and other Black asylum seekers at the border.

Valerie:

“The word ‘refugee’ melts away and slowly his full humanity comes into view. I imagine his children, the home he left behind, why he has risked everything to seek asylum, the fear in his heart as he runs.”

“To the white officer on the horse: “I choose to wonder about him as a human being. What makes him cruel? Then it happens: I see a frail white man driven by illusions of duty, power & aggression that permeate the culture of the institution he serves.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Thay.

“Thay turns 95 on October 11. To express our gratitude for his incredible contributions, we invite you to share about caring for Mother Earth, in particular, how we can listen to ourselves, our loved ones, and the Earth. Continuing Thay’s legacy through our own mindfulness is the most powerful gift we can offer.

Since the early 1970’s, Thay has been a pioneer of ecological justice, organizing Buddhists, scientists, and local communities to care for and protect Mother Earth. Thay teaches us that the first step to taking care of ourselves and our planet is to practice deep listening – a revolutionary act, in our often noisy world.”

-Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village.

Hope is a muscle.

Widening Circles

I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.

I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.

I circle around God, around the primordial tower.
I’ve been circling for thousands of years
and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,
a storm, or a great song?

“Alone, a bean is just a vine, squash an oversized leaf. Only when standing together with corn does a whole emerge which transcends the individual.”

-Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

🌕

The full moon in Pisces is Monday, September 20th at 5:54 PM Mountain Daylight Time (MDT).

Corn Moon

Despite relationship irritations, dissatisfaction with work and home, or feeling overwhelmed with what is on your plate, this full moon is conducive to taking a positive and proactive attitude towards improving your story.

Don’t allow your energy to be depleted by the mental struggle around your perceived burden of responsibility vs your own desires and needs. Make a conscious decision that creating a better story for yourself will benefit everyone in your life. And then do it.

Take some time to observe from a neutral place where you need to make a change. There is most likely something on your plate that you can easily prune.

This full moon is an excellent time to expand your inspiration of what is possible and to set some good intentions for attracting good luck, good news and good community. Practice optimism and generosity, and trust your intuition to let your emotions lead your intentions.

-P O W E R  P A T H

Spirit & Money

Fr Richard Rohr, Center for Action & Contemplation:

I’m convinced that money and soul are united on a deep level.

Money and soul have never been separate in our unconscious because they are both about human exchanges, and therefore, divine exchange, too.

From my perspective, when money and soul are separated, religion is the major loser. Without a vision of wholeness that puts money in its soulful place, religion “sells out.”

Commerce uses the metaphors of religion far more than it realizes: we purchase bonds and trusts, enter into covenants, forgive debts, are granted grace periods for repayment, enjoy indemnity, reconcile accounts, and redeem coupons.

All four Gospels in some form speak of “turning over the tables” of buying and selling. [2] Even with this forceful gospel teaching, our faith became transactional instead of transformational, calculating instead of consoling.

—

[2] See Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–18, Luke 19:45–46, John 2:13–17.

—

Lynne Twist, The Soul of Money Institute

“Our relationship with money can become a place where, day in and day out, we can engage in this meaningful spiritual practice.”

🙋‍♀️

GQ

A cabin at Table Mountain Ranch with a geodesic dome.

The Last Glimpses of California’s Vanishing Hippie Utopias
Half a century ago, a legion of idealists dropped out of society and went back to the land, creating a patchwork of utopian communes across Northern California. Here, the last of those rogue souls offer a glimpse of their otherworldly residences—and the tail end of a grand social experiment.

There was an aphorism in the movement: “Bad roads make good communes.” And the road we’re on today is bad. Several miles inland from California’s foggy coastline, we’re driving down a single lane hemmed in by 50-foot fir trees and then turn onto a rocky dirt path, joggling our rented SUV. Photographer Michael Schmelling and I are in Mendocino County, about a three-hour drive north of San Francisco, looking for what remains of perhaps the most famous of the hundreds of rural communes established across Northern California in the late ’60s and ’70s: Table Mountain Ranch.

The entire expanse—which once was a kind of American Arcadia, home to scores of hippies who’d fled San Francisco to live a new, idealistic kind of life

At one point in 1970, Table Mountain had over a hundred residents, some living in tipis, some in cabins, some crashing in the open air. It appears that before it became a commune, the 120-acre property had been a dude ranch, and the cabins and outbuildings were constantly being expanded in an endless ad hoc construction project.

It’s common in Northern California to find people who abruptly dropped out of society, never to return.

A deserted cabin at Table Mountain Ranch.

https://www.gq.com/story/californias-vanishing-hippie-utopias 

Brava!

Still lovin’ this.

NY Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney at the Met Gala 2021.

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What if…

‘What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?’ -Valerie Kaur

The Revolutionary Love Project, founded by civil rights leader and prophetic voice Valarie Kaur, inspires and equips people to build beloved community where they are. We teach core practices of revolutionary love, backed by research and infused with ancestral wisdom. Our team produces educational tools, training courses, artwork, films, music, and mass mobilizations that center the voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. In an era of great transition, we believe that we can birth a world where we see no stranger. Each of us has a role. When we lead with love, we labor with joy.

Radical love.

#1 DONATE: Haitian Bridge Alliance is on the ground helping Haitian refugees in Del Rio seeking asylum. Click here to donate now to support their efforts.

#2 SIGN: Families Belong Together has organized a petition to demand that the Biden Administration halt all deportations to Haiti. Sign the petition here.

#3 CALL: Dial 202-224-3121 and use the sample script below to contact your Congress members today to urge them to take action to protect Haitian and other Black asylum seekers at the border.

~Valerie Kaur

The Revolutionary Love Project