Don't Forget That MLK Was Once Denounced as an Extremist - Jeanne Theoharris in Time Magazine

Many of the criticisms lobbed at Black Lives Matter today were also leveled against civil rights activists five decades ago.

Our pop history memory of the civil rights movement makes it seem as if most decent people were in favor of the movement, but the reality was that they were not. Many of the criticisms lobbed at Black Lives Matter today were also leveled against civil rights activists five decades ago.

Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and scores of their fellow activists were criticized by fellow citizens and targeted as “un-American,” not just by Southern politicians but by the federal government.

Civil rights activists were reviled, red-baited, and called extremists in their own time.

On the Selma-to-Montgomery march, in 1965, White Citizens’ Councils had plastered huge billboards along the route in which King and Parks were pictured attending a “Communist training school” (actually Highlander Folk School).

The civil rights movement was deeply unpopular at the time. Most Americans thought it was going too far and movement activists were being too extreme. Most white Americans were happy with the status quo as it was. And so they criticized, monitored, demonized and at times criminalized those who challenged the way things were, making dissent very costly.

A half-century plus later, in our popular celebration of Dr. King, the relentless nationwide opposition to the civil rights movement is usually left out.

The full article is available here

2020 Campaign Rhetoric Fact-Check: Does Joe Biden Advocate Socialism and Marxism?

 

The "Walk Away" from Democrats Campaign: When Bot Misinformation Warfare Meets Viral Hashtag - The Mercury News

There’s little actual evidence to suggest that Walk Away represents a mass exodus from the Democratic Party in support of Trump. 

The pro-Trump Internet is really good at convincing its audience that virality signals popular opinion, that its movement is and always will be winning.

There’s little actual evidence to suggest that Walk Away represents a mass exodus of Democrats in support of Trump. Instead, the Walk Away hashtag is going Conservative Internet viral on the hope that the country is on the verge of a mass conversion to Trumpian conservative thought. It never actually has to happen for the idea of it to go viral.

There is also evidence that the hashtag itself is being amplified artificially by bots and Russian trolls to seem bigger than it is, as well as using stock photos to depict people who are purported to be actual Walk Away-ers. 

The full article is available here

The Upcoming Republican National Convention - Heather Cox Richardson's Substack

 

It is traditional for a candidate to put in a short appearance to acknowledge the nomination and then give a keynote acceptance speech on the last day. But the RNC’s announced line-up features Trump speaking every night in the prime-time slot.

Trump will speak live from the White House. This raises legal questions because - while the president and vice-president are not covered by the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activities - the rest of the White House staff is. Further, it is against the law to coerce federal employees to conduct political activity.

The Republicans have written no platform to outline policies and goals for the future. Instead they passed a resolution saying that “the Republican Party has and will continue to enthusiastically support the President’s America-first agenda.”

The full article is available here

Common Fake News Claims About the Flu Vaccine - Dr. Melvin Sanicas

Fall is almost here, which means flu season is just around the corner.

It also means that anti-flu vaccine misinformation will go viral again.

Besides the common myths, there are posts that get shared over and over again through social media. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences investigated how misinformation grows online. The so-called “echo chambers” allow people to expand and amplify their own biases without obstruction.

Fake News #1: A Johns Hopkins Scientist exposed dangers of the flu vaccine.  The article in question was neither a peer-reviewed study nor a research article but an opinion piece (and everyone is entitled to an opinion!). This opinion piece was authored by an anthropologist who is neither a “Johns Hopkins scientist” nor a professional in the medical or biological fields.

Fake News #2: The CDC issued a flu vaccine apology.  On Dec. 3, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a health advisory to clinicians about the 2014–2015 flu season. The CDC press release stated that the H3N2 virus (only one of the three or four strains the vaccine was designed for) had mutated slightly, and protection for that one strain was reduced.

Fake News #3: The flu shot will make you susceptible to other respiratory viruses. There was one study (published in 2012) that suggested that the flu vaccine might make people more prone to infection of other respiratory infections. After the study was published, several experts looked into this issue further and performed additional studies to see whether the findings could be replicated. However, no other studies have found this effect.

Fake News #4: A CDC-funded study confirmed that flu shot link to spontaneous abortions.  A recent study showed an association between flu vaccine and miscarriage in this small group of women. It is important to note that millions of flu vaccines have been given for decades, including to pregnant women, with a good safety record. Indeed, pregnant women are at high risk of serious flu complications ― they are recommended for influenza vaccination during any trimester of their pregnancy.

The full article is available here

Post Office Spokeman Claims "Removing Dropboxes Due To Declining Volume" - Willamette Week

The removal of mailboxes arrives amid a change in leadership at the USPS that many postal workers contend is intended to sabotage the agency during an election year.  

A spokesman for the United States Postal Service confirmed that the agency has removed four blue boxes from Portland, and 27 from Eugene this week. The USPS plans to remove a few more boxes from Portland next week.

"The reason we're doing it is because of declining mail volume," USPS spokesman Ernie Swanson said. "Ever since the pandemic came along, people are mailing less for some reason."

The removal of mailboxes arrives amid a change in leadership at the USPS that many postal workers contend is intended to sabotage the agency during an election year. 

President Donald Trump said he is intentionally undermining the USPS to make it more difficult to vote by mail during a pandemic.

The full article is available here 

Debunked Right-wing Conspiracy Theories Detract From Very Real Issue Of Child Trafficking - Upworthy

When the actual issue of child sex trafficking - which is absolutely real and serious and deserves our attention - is conflated with debunked Right-wing conspiracy theories, it causes people to put their energies in the wrong places.

You know who never mentions any of the Right-wing child sex trafficking conspiracy theories raging around the internet? The organizations that have spent years and years battling child sex trafficking.

When the actual issue of child sex trafficking - which is absolutely real and serious and deserves our attention - is conflated with debunked Right-wing conspiracy theories, it causes people to put their energies in the wrong places.

The Polaris Project, a national organization that fights human trafficking, had to release a statement asking people to stop calling about Wayfair - the home goods products store - because it was overwhelming the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Why? Because a debunked Right-wing conspiracy theory has ricocheted around social media which claims that the company has coded listings for missing children being sold at exorbitant prices in a child sex trafficking scheme.

The other problem is that the issue of child sex trafficking is suddenly being used by Right-wingers to deflect from all sorts of other important issues.

So, please stick with the organizations that have been doing this work for decades. Get your information from them, not misinformation warfare social media posts. 

The full article is available here

CONSERVATIVE Tom Nichols: Why Trump Must Lose By A Landslide - Thread Reader

The only remedy - the only solution that can defeat Trump and Bill Barr in this plot against the election - is to elect Biden by an electoral college AND popular vote landslide. 

Trump will do everything in his power to rig this election, and, if he loses, to turn the election into a horrifying mess for as long as he can. He is directly attacking the electoral institutions of the United States, and he will welcome Russian help in this - again.

The only remedy - the only solution that can defeat Trump and Bill Barr in this plot against the election - is to elect Biden by an electoral college AND popular vote landslide. That means every vote, even in blue states, counts as a message against this electoral chicanery.

If there is any result other than a landslide, Trump and Barr are going to pull out all the stops to try to paralyze the election from the inside.

Trump made this scenario come to fruition. Don't complain to me about it - I didn't make the rules. Trump has made clear that he's inclined to not accept the outcome unless he likes it. So it must be uncontestable.

The full article is available here