Burke: Lies, damn lies and why many are eager to believe them

By Tom Burke / Herald columnist

Thing One: I’ve had it with liars. I’m melt-down-manic mad and tooth-grinding incensed with the disgusting bottom-feeders who simply make up crap (see below) and then peddle it for their own political gain and power; with the scum who parrot Vladimir Putin’s propaganda; and the grifters who steal suckers’ money with their lies. I’m done with TV trolls, keyboard commandos, and those who use complete, total, disprovable and disproved deceit to manipulate the narrative.

And who am I talking about? Trump Republicans. MAGAS. Qs. Putin’s puppets. Useful idiots. TV “entertainers” on Fox News.

I’m ready to explode at Carlson, Greene, Hannity, Johnson, Bannon, DeSantis, Meadows, McCarthy, Don Jr., Hawley, Gaetz, Gosar, Gohmert, Cruz, Rand Paul, Cawthorn, Graham, Jordan, and a whole lot more.

And, I’ve had it with those who believe their lies. I’m crushed flat by the ignorance of the cultists who believe their crap and are too stupid, or too lazy, or too gullible to do the slightest bit of research, fact-checking, or logical thinking. They buy into the total bull**** they are being sold because they are aggrieved, afraid or just asses.

How can one engage, how can one debate, how can a people develop any sort of rational policy or law or pursue justice when one side simply lies. Bald-face lies. Makes it up. Asserts the earth is flat, 2+2=5, gravity isn’t, Biden lost, vaccines don’t work, or Putin isn’t a war criminal.

And the lies I’m talking about, my god, the list grows longer and longer every day.

But here’s a sampling:

The Big Lie. That there was mass voter fraud. Trump won. (Lies.) Vaccines don’t work. We don’t need masks. Covid’s over. (Lies.) Ivermectin cures covid and, “Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus.” (Lies) Biden’s impaired and/or senile. He’s a puppet and controlled by some nefarious, malign force in the White House. (Lies.) The Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionists were “like regular tourists;” are political prisoners; did nothing wrong; and the riot was a false flag or FBI operation. (Lies.) Ashli Babbitt was a martyr. (Lie) Liz Chaney is a traitor. (Lie) Truth Social works. (Lie) JFK Jr. is coming back from the dead to be Trump’s Vice President before the 2024 election. (Lies.) Russia didn’t help Trump in 2016. (A lie.) It was a “perfect” phone call. (A lie) Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Jackson “went easy” on child sex predators, is a zealot, the pick of the radical left, and representing criminals as a public defender disqualifies her. (Lies.) Social Security, Medicare, and Medicare are “Ponzi schemes” and need to end. (Senator Ron Johnson, again). (Lies.) Climate change isn’t real, it’s a hoax. (Lies.) Anthony Fauci lies. (A lie) CRT (critical race theory) is being taught in public schools. (A lie) The Democrats didn’t condemn the street violence in 2020 or 2021. (A lie.) Hunter Biden’s laptop is a “thing.” (A lie.) The “People’s Convoy” has a purpose. (A lie.) Biden cut 1 million jobs at the VA. (A lie.) (Note: The VA employs a total of 413,000 people.) The 2020 Senate race in Georgia and election was fraudulent. (A lie.) Ukraine interfered with the 2016 election. (A lie) The Republicans say Biden isn’t doing enough to help Ukraine. (A lie) (Note: 31 Republicans in Congress voted against $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid before they whined about Biden. And eiht voted “No” to strip Russia of Most Favored Nation status, Biden’s “at war with oil and gas,” “destroyed U.S. energy independence,” and drove up energy prices. (Lies) The U.S. and Ukraine are making bioweapons. (A lie) Biden is “weak” on Russia that’s why Putin started war. And, the Ukraine war is Joe Biden’s cover up for what Hunter did there. (Lies) There are neo-Nazis running the Ukraine. (A lie.) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is a “thug.” (A lie.)

There’s more. Every day there’s more. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s mouth is an open sewer running thick with the stomach-turning waste of Republican pols. And Tucker Carlson is repeatedly featured on Russian state TV for backing Putin. (But as a federal judge and Fox News’s own lawyers said defending Carlson against accusations of slander, “Whether the Court frames Mr. Carlson’s statements as ‘exaggeration,’ ‘non-literal commentary,’ or simply bloviating for his audience, the conclusion remains the same — the statements are not actionable.” (Translation: He lies.)

As former Republican media strategist Rick Wilson said, “The secret is (Republicans) really don’t care about logical consistency, facts, reason, history, or anything else except whatever tickles their outrage button.” He went on, “GOP leaders don’t care about reality; their audience doesn’t care about the truth, and their political media apparatus always stays on message.”

The question for you, gentle reader, is: Do you care about truth?

Thing Two: I would like to do more for the Ukrainians. I’ve used my platform here to advocate for them; I’ve asked others to help; and I’ve donated to refugee organizations.

I’m of an age where going “over there” is not prudent; writing my representatives is redundant, they’re already on board; protesting in the streets, unless in Moscow, won’t help, and no one has asked us to shelter refugees, yet.

So what more can I do? Well, I’ll keep exhorting readers, friends, and neighbors to give what they can; dig a little deeper in my own pocket; and back President Biden and appreciate his leadership.

But after that, I’m not sure. Suggestions?

Tom Burke’s email address is t.burke.column@gmail.com.