(from Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken)
". . . I really think that if we don't start caring about whether people tell the truth or not, it's going to be literally impossible to restore anything approaching a reasonable political discourse. Politicians have always shaded the truth. But if you can say something that is provably false, and no one cares, then you can't have a real debate about anything. . . I've always believed that it's possible to discern true statements from false statements, and that it's critically important to do so, and that we put our entire democratic experiment in peril when we don't. It's a lesson I fear our nation is about to learn the hard way. . . "
Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
". . . Three years after taking the oath of office (as of Jan. 20, 2020), President Trump has made more than 16,200 false or misleading claims — a milestone that would have been unthinkable when we first created the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement he has uttered. . . The president apparently believes he can weather an impeachment trial (AND be re-elected) through sheer repetition of easily disproved falsehoods. . . "
". . . It’s past time to get a grip. Now impeachment is provoking concern that Trump's extreme (and armed) supporters will be moved to public violence. That perception of menace, however false, has likely propped up Trump for a long time. . . In the animal kingdom, there is a fascinating biological mechanism known as deimatic display. The mechanism developed to help weaker animals defend themselves through optical illusion and sleight of hand. The word “deimatic” comes from the Greek word "to frighten.” Animals with deimatic defenses include the Australian frilled lizard, the octopus and other soft or fragile creatures that make themselves look more dangerous and powerful than they really are. These bluffing displays and behavior include looking bigger than one is — like the pufferfish. . . we should be thinking of Trump as less Mussolini and more the little fat man behind the curtain. An “Oz-ness” may well be the open secret about Trump and Trumpism. Deimatic display is just part of his playbook. . . His daughter, female avatar and senior White House adviser, Ivanka, encapsulated the strategy in her 2009 book, “The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life.” “Perception is more important than reality,” she wrote, “If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true. This doesn't mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don't go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.”. . ."
Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
What’s in a name
Words are just words
Such compromise
Faithless was she
Deceitfulness; treachery
Breeching a trust; perfidious
No way to know
Well in advance
Now it’s all clear
Reaped what she sowed
She had to go
Dishonor waits
On perfidy
Rising above
Your misery
False man forgets worldliness
Minus or plus; perfidious
Cowards and fools
Hiding beneath lies
Accusat’ry
In you just like me
Will not die
Duplicity; two-facedness
Untrustworthiness confuses me
Such perfidy
Disloyalty
Baseless intrigue
Can it go on
Indefinitely;
Perfidy?
False . . .
Donald Trump
The United Kingdom is "our largest (trading) partner."
— PolitiFact National on Wednesday, June 5th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
Says Pennsylvania Republican nominee for Congress Fred Keller "was a 50-50 shot" before his landslide victory.
— PolitiFact National on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"They didn’t even put up a fight against SALT"
— PolitiFact New York on Tuesday, May 21st, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"We will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, very importantly."
— PolitiFact Health Check on Thursday, May 16th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
Tariffs are "paid for mostly by China, by the way, not by us."
— PolitiFact National on Tuesday, May 14th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"The poverty rate for Wisconsin families has reached the lowest rate in 22 years."
— PolitiFact Wisconsin on Tuesday, April 30th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
With a late-term abortion, "the mother meets with the doctor. They take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully. And then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby."
— PolitiFact National on Monday, April 29th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"Puerto Rico got 91 Billion Dollars for the hurricane, more money than has ever been gotten for a hurricane before."
— PolitiFact Florida on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"The FBI said (former national security adviser Michael Flynn) wasn't lying."
— PolitiFact National on Thursday, March 28th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"The Democrat(ic) position on abortion is now so extreme that they don’t mind executing babies AFTER birth."
— PolitiFact National on Thursday, February 28th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
Says Gov. Ralph Northam "stated that he would even allow a newborn baby to come out into the world... then talk to the mother and talk to the father and then execute the baby."
— PolitiFact Virginia on Wednesday, February 20th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
Says that at Beto O’Rourke’s rally in El Paso, there were "200 people, 300 people."
— PolitiFact National on Tuesday, February 12th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the country, and considered one of our nation's most dangerous cities. Now, immediately upon its building, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of the safest cities in our country."
— PolitiFact National on Friday, February 8th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"58,000 non-citizens voted in Texas, with 95,000 non-citizens registered to vote."
— PolitiFact National on Monday, January 28th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"We are not even into February and the cost of illegal immigration so far this year is $18,959,495,168. Cost Friday was $603,331,392. There are at least 25,772,342 illegal aliens, not the 11,000,000 that have been reported for years, in our Country."
— PolitiFact National on Monday, January 28th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
Says there’s "never (been) so many apprehensions ever in our history."
— PolitiFact National on Friday, January 11th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"When I say Mexico is going to pay for the wall, that's what I said. Mexico is going to pay. I didn't say they're going to write me a check for $20 billion or $10 billion."
— PolitiFact National on Thursday, January 10th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
California’s deadly wildfires "would never happen" with "proper Forest Management."
— PolitiFact California on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trum
"At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall."
— PolitiFact National on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019
False . . .
Donald Trump
"Mexico is paying for the Wall through the new USMCA Trade Deal."
— PolitiFact National on Friday, January 4th, 2019
Page 1 of 12 . . . "
Lindsay, Ted, Marco, Mitch and EVERYBODY, please SING ALONG . . .
Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
. . . YOUR president???? (unfortunately, this is a real news story)
". . . Trump said in a disapproving tone. “The baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.” Trump then put on an incredulous tone. “You hear late term, but this is where the baby is born, it’s there, it’s wrapped, that’s it,” Trump said as he made a guillotine motion with his hand, as if he were implying that the baby’s head would be sliced off. . . These are living, feeling, beautiful, babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world,” he said. The claims, of course, are false. . ."
The Star is keeping track of every false claim U.S. President Donald Trump has made since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. Why? Historians say there has never been such a constant liar in the Oval Office. We think dishonesty should be challenged. We think inaccurate information should be corrected. And we think the sheer frequency of Trump’s inaccuracy is a central story of his presidency.
The Star is keeping track of every false claim U.S. President Donald Trump has made since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. Why? Historians say there has never been such a constant liar in the Oval Office. We think dishonesty should be challenged. We think inaccurate information should be corrected. And we think the sheer frequency of Trump’s inaccuracy is a central story of his presidency.
Other Ray Jozwiak Offerings
(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)
(from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/02/president-trump-has-made-false-or-misleading-claims-over-days/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5b33a485fa5c, By Glenn Kessler ,
Salvador Rizzo and Meg Kelly November 2, 2018)
". . . In the first nine months of his presidency, Trump made 1,318 false or misleading claims, an average of five a day. But in the seven weeks leading up the midterm elections, the president made 1,419 false or misleading claims — an average of 30 a day. . . Combined with the rest of his presidency, that adds up to a total of 6,420 claims through Oct. 30, the 649th day of his term in office, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. . .)
. . . that this is not merely a matter of opinion but either TRUE or FALSE!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!!!!
(from https://thehill.com/policy/defense/422223-us-ally-in-syria-the-islamic-state-has-not-been-defeated)
". . . The White House also said in a statement that the U.S. "has defeated the territorial caliphate.". . . Trump then doubled down on those claims in a video message Wednesday evening, saying that the U.S. has "won against ISIS.". . . “We’ve beaten them and we’ve beaten them badly. We’ve taken back the land and now it’s time for our troops to come back home," he said. . . "
(from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/vote-against-the-gop-this-november/2018/06/22/a6378306-7575-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?utm_term=.857ab8aeb4c8 by George Will, conservative, American political commentator who writes regular columns for The Washington Post and provides commentary for NBC News and MSNBC)
". . . Consider the melancholy example of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), who wagered his dignity on the patently false proposition that it is possible to have sustained transactions with today’s president, this Vesuvius of mendacities, without being degraded. In Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons,” Thomas More, having angered Henry VIII, is on trial for his life. When Richard Rich, whom More had once mentored, commits perjury against More in exchange for the office of attorney general for Wales, More says: “Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Wales!” Ryan traded his political soul for . . . a tax cut. He who formerly spoke truths about the accelerating crisis of the entitlement system lost everything in the service of a president pledged to preserve the unsustainable status quo. . ."
. . . you see a whacked-out meme on FB (or elsewhere on the web), spouting hate or (what seem to be) extremely aggravating 'facts' about a population of which you know very little (or possibly nothing), PLEASE do not post it (or re-tweet, or email all your friends). Instead, do some research.
(One option is https://www.snopes.com/ - but I would recommend looking at two or three in addition). You may just find that the meme that so stirred your emotions actually contained false information. Plus, you may actually learn something.
. . . is the very least we can expect from a President . . .
(https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/fact-checker-president-trump-has-made-3251-false-or-misleading-claims-in-497-days/ar-AAy5VMf)
". . . In the 497 days since he took the oath of office, President Trump has made 3,251 false or misleading claims, according to The Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president. . .That’s an average of more than 6.5 claims a day. . . When we first started this project for the president’s first 100 days, he averaged 4.9 claims a day. . ."
(from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-trumps-doctor-okay/2018/01/17/0d887f50-fbce-11e7-ad8c-ecbb62019393_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-e%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.404d0acc0244)
". . . (Bandy X. Lee, the Yale Medical School psychiatrist) said the screening test (Rear Adm. Ronny) Jackson gave Trump “gives the public a false sense of reassurance.” Indeed, Donald Trump Jr. used the results of the test in a tweet: “More #winning. 30 out of 30.” . . . She said the test, though useful for detecting Alzheimer’s and the like, indicates little about “his high functioning, his frontal-lobe functioning, that we’re questioning.” To figure out what causes the worrisome traits President Trump exhibits — disordered decision-making, an insatiable need for affirmation, little impulse control, confusion about facts, difficulty foreseeing consequences — you’d need more extensive tests, a psychological exam and an MRI. . . "
