A Tangled Web of Rumors

A Tangled Web of Rumors

A recurring theme has emerged after the 2016 election claiming "the Russians did it,"  meaning that Russia somehow caused Hillary Clinton to lose the Presidential election (rather than her own incompetence) because Russia wanted Donald Trump to win.  Most of the stories surrounding this claim are filled with wild speculation and leaps of fantasy but have been repeated often enough, from so many different sources, that many believe the central claim.

Several alternate explanations, which are just as fantastical, have arisen that may appear to be attempts to counter the central Russian theme.  We know that the Steele Dossier, which details Trump's dealings with Russia, is a real document.  We also know that there are at least two lawsuits against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) concerning the way they did not follow their own charter in running the Presidential Nomination process.  These two matters get conflated by the 1% in a way that is distracting voters from "real" issues.  (The pending passage of "Obamacare repeal" for instance.) They are being used as a foundation on which to build conspiracy rumors that attack either the Republican Party, the Democratic Party or even both, but the goal is to get you to pay attention to irrelevant "facts" so that the 1% can continue to pick your pocket.

The Steele Dossier

Buzzfeed is the only media outlet to make the dossier available.  They open their January 10 story by stating that the document is unverified.   Rachael Maddow has featured the dossier on her show several times.  Other news organizations have since published stories that portions of the dossier have been verified.  An analysis of the dossier is posted in Wikipedia.  While there is a lot of speculation about the veracity of the dossier, the many so-called experts may believe or not believe its contents.  How is the "average citizen" suppose to choose "sides"?

The 1% don't care, just as long as you fight with one another about meaningless matters.  The dossier is just one portion of the "Trump/Russia" connection but it is used as a foundation for other anonymously sourced reports that are putting more and more pressure on Trump.  (While I surely think Trump a fool, I have to ask the question, "How in the world did a fool get elected President?  What were the forces that made that possible?  How do those forces gain by feeding me irrelevant information?"  Netflix "House of Cards" is suppose to be a fantasy -- is it?)

I am reminded of Judith Miller's reports in the New York Times about Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction that were used to justify that war.  She was fired for those stories because they were suppose to be false, but late last year some outlets still reported that WMDs were indeed found.

These rumors just won't die.  They are much like Clinton's lie during the Michigan Primary that Sanders did not support the Auto Bailout.  Of course he supported the Auto Bailout.  He did not support the give-away to the 1% that was included in the bill that he voted against.

Lawsuits against the DNC

At least two lawsuits were filed against the DNC in 2016.  The first was file because the DNC suspended Sanders' campaign access to the DNC voter database.  It is a complicated mess.  The second was filed as a class action lawsuit by contributors to the Sanders campaign because of collaboration between the DNC and Clinton's campaign to the detriment of Sanders.  The legal filings for the DNC lawsuit include information that all Democrats should be aware of.  (See Note below.)

These lawsuits are sometimes conflated but they serve as a foundation for rumors and what are often called "conspiracy theories".   Shawn Lucas was the process server for the class-action law suite who was found dead in his home.   Beranton J. Whisenant, Jr. was a U.S. attorney found dead on a Miami Beach and rumored to have something to do with the class-action case (although as a US attorney, he shouldn't have had any interest in the civil case).  Also the DNC is also suppose to have murdered Seth Rich because he was the one who supplied Clinton's emails to Wikileaks and not the Russians.

Fact vs Fiction

Living in an era of Fox News reinforced by social media and propaganda web sites like Alex Jones Infowars, it is becoming more and more difficult to separate Fact from Fiction.  Unfortunately, facts often are conflated with obviously false, wild rumors and then the facts get dismissed as not being true.  It is way too easy to believe or not believe these allegations depending on which version most closely comports to your opinion.

The Clinton campaign repeatedly blames Russia for her loss when there is no proof.  Trump is alleged to be a Russian pawn but the story (so far) depends a lot on anonymous sources.  Many, both Republican and Democrat, believe that Hillary Clinton runs a "murder, inc." organization.  The denial of that rumor is used to obfuscate the fact that Huma Abedin simultaneously worked for the Clinton campaign, the Clinton foundation and her own consulting firm.  We must view very skeptically both the conspiracy claims and the denials of those conspiracies.  Look for the underlying facts.  Often there is a truth that you should not allowed to be denied.

Do you recall when Dan Rather was fired from CBS News?  Do you recall Gary Webb's story about how the CIA imported crack cocaine into LA to finance Oliver North's (Reagan's) campaign against the Nicaraguan Contras?  Do you recall how strongly the "main-stream media" rejected these stories?  There may have been details that were not correct, but they were, in general, true.  We have to be aware of the motivations of the myriad alliances that corporatists make with one another and how those alliances are merely temporary and only hold as long as all members of the alliance can make money.

Why do Conspiracies divert out attention?

Do not be diverted from understanding that middle-class America has been getting smaller and smaller since Reagan was elected.  Bill Clinton was instrumental in deregulating the economy which caused the tech-bubble in 2000 and the Great Recession in 2008.  George W. Bush made no efforts at all to counter the movement of wealth from the middle class to the 1%.  Barack Obama made some wonderful noises, but Obamacare still leaves insurance companies with CEOs who are paid exorbitantly for not really doing much; there are still US troops in Afghanistan; Guantanamo is not closed; the list goes on and on and on.  These facts end up dividing us as we enter into false debates about trying to blame either the Republican or the Democrat.  The truth is, neither party is on your side.  But it is your fault for not paying attention.

Keep your eyes on the prize.  What do you want from your government?  Translate those wishes into concrete actions you can take to change the Democratic Party remembering that we are "all in this together".  Sadly, if you don't work within the party, you will be presented with two more corporatists in 2020.

Note:

If you would like to review the court documents you can either join PACER and look for the case numbers or you can use a search engine (google) to look for the case numbers.  It is up to you how deep into this you might want to go.  Case No. 0:16-CV-61511-WJZ is the Wilding lawsuit.  Case 1:15-cv-02211 is the database lawsuit.