Fox News poisons the American people from dawn to dusk. An exquisite example is the recent appearance by the unhinged and rage-filled Mark Levin. Within the toxic waters of the talk radio sewer Mark Levin is known by an absurd moniker bestowed on him by none other than Sean Hannity. He refers to him as “the Great One.”
We are fully in the Germany of 1932 position. It only took 23% of that population to nearly destroy the whole world. This time they intend to succeed. We need to know how to stop this. I am hoping that as we move forward, you will offer advice on how to take effective action. Besides voting. Besides protesting - which never seems to be effective (especially when they are so violent).
Yes. That's just it. I think that there is a sense it will all stop and we can vote accordingly. Except as others and I have said, the US states are electing "richardheads" and they are doing greater harm. (See Tennessee.) So what can we do?
Make sure to get out and vote--every single election--and especially in the crucial municipal and state elections. The GOP counts on apathy, yet it is these local elections--for school boards, county seats, town committees, etc--that determine so much.
We are The Union, a pro-democracy coalition dedicated to saving our democracy from the authoritarian attacks it currently faces.
WHAT WE DO
We are building the strongest political coalition of people and organizations in American history because the task before us demands it.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Threats to our democracy continue to grow every day. Our work must continue. Donald Trump ordered the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol to overturn a free and fair election… and Republicans are still trying to return him to power, even if they resort to violence. Urgent action is needed at not just the national level, but at state and local levels, to overcome Republican plans to destroy voting rights and civil rights.
THE UNION IS A COALITION OF PRO-DEMOCRACY ORGANIZATIONS.
Apr 7, 2023·edited Apr 7, 2023Liked by Steve Schmidt
The most important thing you said? "Rupert Murdoch has done more to take this country down than anyone else in its history." I still think that not enough Americans are aware of this because so many of them are not interested at all. He's driving the car off the cliff and I fear he may succeed.
My father passed away about a month before Trump’s inauguration. He used to listen to Mark Levin, who made him angry and fearful. I was happy when he stopped tuning in. He seemed to realize this was bad for his mental and physical health.
Thanks for mentioning this documentary. I hope we can let people know about it; many people don't understand that millions of Americans have been brainwashed: MAGA-CULT.
Perhaps like my mother, who died in 2003, your dad did it to ensure he had a sense of how bad it was. May his memory be, like my mother's, for a blessing.
I wish that were true. My father was not an educated man. The only reason he didn’t cast a vote for Trump was that his health was failing in the fall of 2016, and he didn’t vote at all.
Oh I'm sorry that it wasn't that. By "educated" I'm guessing you mean what was in another thread earlier this week - that is, not exposed to people unlike him or those of many different cultures.
Pretty much. He worked for the power company and on weekends played drums for jazz bands. We had POC in our home. I really don’t know what happened to his views, as we only reconnected later in his life.
That’s why I think the only way to win is with love, kindness, and a constant reminder to those who hate that we don’t hate. That we love. That we love God (or at least faith and strong morals), that we love America, etc.
Thanks Steve. This is obvious projection on their part - taking their own playbook and accusing the other side of being the ones committing it. Sadly, it will throw confusion in some circles, especially for those who cannot see what is going on around them. Hopefully, it doesn’t go further than that.
In addition to 'projection', watching Levin reminded me of something I read in Timothy Snyder's book "On Tyranny": If a person simply talks loudly and confidently, no matter what they're saying, some people will take them to be a 'leader' and just follow them for no reason other than that. Also, Tim Ryan, on The Warning zoom session mentioned that MAGA is knowingly playing to the part of the brain, the amygdala, which over-rides reason and incites fear and anger in their listeners. Levin used all of these tactics and many people will be convinced by this utter BS.
Thank for bravely listening to the Fox fairy tale Channel. I do not have the stomach to do so myself. However, I am positive your description of Levin is accurate and I am sure his moniker was given by his fellow traveler, Vladimir Putin. Their ideology and distortion of facts are worrisome to me. Especially after the blatant disregard for our Constitutional right to protest the murder of innocent children in our country. It is the Republican party which seeks civil unrest and destruction of our institutions. Their thirst for absolute power is insatiable and you are correct, it will become deadly. They are stirring up their base with lies and propaganda just like Putin does in Russia. Soon it will be illegal to think differently than their warped sense of patriotism. God help us and deliver us from the grasp of the maga extremists in our midst.
I managed to watch most of the Levin clip. It is full-on propaganda and is playing to the amygdala part of their viewer's brains that incites fear and anger: cult-indoctrination tactics. Terrifying.
Unfortunately, educating these individuals who believe their lies is a task so difficult it is beyond my abilities. I have family and friends who will not be dissuaded from their positions. They have shunned me for upsetting their apple cart.
Now we're talkin' the True, Real, Core, Heart of the problem with "the American media"--without resorting to Judith Miller two decades ago, or even to Maggie Haberman or Peter Baker, Susan Glasser, Bob Woodruff etc. Or Walter Duranty nearly a century ago.
Fox. And their constellation. Republican. On The Right. That's where The Problem is. Not on The Left.
With these Right Extremists selling nonsense, it is no wonder that whatever value there is left for serious Republicans has pushed them all into a very dark place. How hard it must be for the remaining Republicans who repudiate, not only Donald Trump, but what he revealed with such force in so little time. It takes momentous news taking place in separate places around the nation to make noise and force repeated attention to catch the ear and the eye of national news organizations. With Fox News, the propaganda media of misinformation and disinformation that has no relevance as actual news because it is run by individuals with no professional standards in the business, the thinking of these extreme and disruptive factions that are plotting novel political strategies around the country (Burn It All Down) are handing it all in a silver platter for the respected and valued journalists and reporters who can fact-check every lie, every brutish opinion, every insanity spewed out publicly. Because the Law now is alive and well, after the blow received under the Trump Administration. It just needs a Dose of Reassurance. What is spurious, as the above Fox appearance, instead ends up being always the now Republican Brand Cliché, "... with Hillary Clinton." Oh dear, how tyrannical!
I've been watching the ~1979 documentary "Battle of Chile" about the collapse of democracy in that country, the way Chile's far-right convinced itself of electoral fraud, then the staggering blows to the economy and government dealt by extremists who preferred to reduce the country to ashes knowing they would personally gain power. I feel like these history lessons are lost on U.S. leadership. These times require great leaders, but I see none in any branch of government, nor in politics generally. Nor do we have great leaders in the press, and our once great news institutions are infected themselves with debilitating partisanship and other problems. I do not understand why so many liberals fail to see the danger posed by right-wing extremists, who are gaining power over their own party and over key institutions every day.
So relevant! Thank you! Here is some fairly recent history that rings so loudly. I first became aware of this through Isabel Allende’s books. The scariest thing is the wealthy right wing manipulated the economy. So afraid the combination of far right and corporations will do the same here.
Just his book! Interesting - never watch FOX, so no idea who this obviously deranged fool even is! These people never hear bright folks, Democrats or journalists with real brains and Pulitzers speak, or unless challengers with years and years of accomplishment like SSchmidt somehow break through. So we are stuck. Sure wish the loss Fox faces would shut down the stream of lies and idiocy. Thanks Steve.
Thanks for this Steve, so glad you addressed this. I call all this news 'sensationalist news,' it emotionally triggers people. I am truly hoping that the Fox/Dominion case will help discredit and dismantle ALL of right wing news, both tv and radio, AND, we will institute laws about this kind of batshit lying to the populace. IF that can't happen I don't believe this country can remain a democracy AT ALL. The fascists running the GOP, federally and in states will have to removed somehow (voting them out is almost impossible because of extreme gerrymandering that Supreme Court has allowed)....this assault on democracy cannot be allowed to continue without destroying our form of government. Look at Tennessee. The GOP is in Wisconsin is already talking about impeaching a democratically seated Supreme Court justice.
This one, Steve, has me thinking about what happens to people's brains when they are so full of rage all the time. Well, this opened my eyes to something I have never given thought to until today. What are these people, so full of fear and rage, getting out of it? Well, I am no medical doctor or psychiatrist, but I think there may be some rewards for these people in the following ways:
Hatred changes the chemistry in the brain. It stimulates the area in the brain responsible for planning and execution of motion. These are secondary responses to other emotions like fear and anxiety.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
Rage controls an area of the brain that changes your body’s central nervous system. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 “𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡” 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥. As the person begins to use rage as a source of control, the addiction grows and the aggression gets more intense. The rage soon becomes the central emotion in the individual’s life, masking all other feelings of joy, hope, depression, passion, and everything in between.
One part of the brain that is stimulated during these episodes is the amygdala. Amygdala is the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation. This also creates “fight or flight” responses and increases the levels of two hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. Studies have shown the relationship of this part to PTSD and dementia.
There is a reward system for this part as well
Glutamatergic neurons in the basolateral amygdala send projections to the nucleus accumbens shell and core. Activation of these projections drive motivational salience. The ability of these projections to drive incentive salience is dependent upon 𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐫.
This is a big rabbit hole and tied not to jump down too many, but I think there should be studies on maga's for this kind of information to help better understand.
This just got me thinking this morning and these are my very unscientific observations.
There is certainly a lot to think about regarding how this level of grievance and anger can be sustained over seemingly “normal” ups and downs of life in a vibrant democracy. I think you’ve isolated a credible piece of the puzzle.
Mark Levin is spouting propaganda. Fox spouts it all day and night. Levin, Carlson, and others are spouting propaganda for Russia and its 5th column here, with Trump and his associates being chief among them. What Levin is saying is the opposite of the truth. This is a typical technique of Russian propaganda and propaganda in general. It's easy once you get it. Listen to what they're accusing their adversaries of and you'll know what they are guilty of. When propagandist like Levin speak, they are working to weaken and destroy our country. (It's particularly jarring when someone Jewish spouts this type of propaganda, given the ubiquitous antisemitic nature of the MAGA movement and other anti-Democratic movements worldwide.) I'm reading Keir Giles excellent book "Russia's War with Everybody: And What It Means For You" and highly recommend reading it or listening to Giles in an interview online.
We are fully in the Germany of 1932 position. It only took 23% of that population to nearly destroy the whole world. This time they intend to succeed. We need to know how to stop this. I am hoping that as we move forward, you will offer advice on how to take effective action. Besides voting. Besides protesting - which never seems to be effective (especially when they are so violent).
Yes. That's just it. I think that there is a sense it will all stop and we can vote accordingly. Except as others and I have said, the US states are electing "richardheads" and they are doing greater harm. (See Tennessee.) So what can we do?
Make sure to get out and vote--every single election--and especially in the crucial municipal and state elections. The GOP counts on apathy, yet it is these local elections--for school boards, county seats, town committees, etc--that determine so much.
Check out
https://jointheunion.us/
(From their website)
*************************
WHO WE ARE
We are The Union, a pro-democracy coalition dedicated to saving our democracy from the authoritarian attacks it currently faces.
WHAT WE DO
We are building the strongest political coalition of people and organizations in American history because the task before us demands it.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Threats to our democracy continue to grow every day. Our work must continue. Donald Trump ordered the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol to overturn a free and fair election… and Republicans are still trying to return him to power, even if they resort to violence. Urgent action is needed at not just the national level, but at state and local levels, to overcome Republican plans to destroy voting rights and civil rights.
THE UNION IS A COALITION OF PRO-DEMOCRACY ORGANIZATIONS.
PAID FOR BY THE LINCOLN PROJECT, www.lincolnproject.us.
Martha thank you… this feels and has felt like 1932 for six years and as a grandmother it sickens me BUT
Won’t give up hope or working to
Do whatever!!! Blessings, Marsha
Stan thanks for your kind response
Let’s me feel like a virtual hug, Marsha
The most important thing you said? "Rupert Murdoch has done more to take this country down than anyone else in its history." I still think that not enough Americans are aware of this because so many of them are not interested at all. He's driving the car off the cliff and I fear he may succeed.
My father passed away about a month before Trump’s inauguration. He used to listen to Mark Levin, who made him angry and fearful. I was happy when he stopped tuning in. He seemed to realize this was bad for his mental and physical health.
Reminds me of the documentary "the brainwashing of my dad," about a daughter's view of her dad descending into right-wing madness.
I’ve heard of that but have not seen.
Thanks for mentioning this documentary. I hope we can let people know about it; many people don't understand that millions of Americans have been brainwashed: MAGA-CULT.
Perhaps like my mother, who died in 2003, your dad did it to ensure he had a sense of how bad it was. May his memory be, like my mother's, for a blessing.
I wish that were true. My father was not an educated man. The only reason he didn’t cast a vote for Trump was that his health was failing in the fall of 2016, and he didn’t vote at all.
Oh I'm sorry that it wasn't that. By "educated" I'm guessing you mean what was in another thread earlier this week - that is, not exposed to people unlike him or those of many different cultures.
Pretty much. He worked for the power company and on weekends played drums for jazz bands. We had POC in our home. I really don’t know what happened to his views, as we only reconnected later in his life.
That’s why I think the only way to win is with love, kindness, and a constant reminder to those who hate that we don’t hate. That we love. That we love God (or at least faith and strong morals), that we love America, etc.
Beautiful!! Thank you, Stan.
I just actually elaborated on this: https://open.substack.com/pub/stanmitchell/p/the-dark-gloom-before-easter?r=az6fa&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
FOX Network should be banned from the airways. Let the learn to speak Russian. Putin will welcome them with open arms.
Thanks Steve. This is obvious projection on their part - taking their own playbook and accusing the other side of being the ones committing it. Sadly, it will throw confusion in some circles, especially for those who cannot see what is going on around them. Hopefully, it doesn’t go further than that.
Yes. Projection, projection, projection. 24/7.
In addition to 'projection', watching Levin reminded me of something I read in Timothy Snyder's book "On Tyranny": If a person simply talks loudly and confidently, no matter what they're saying, some people will take them to be a 'leader' and just follow them for no reason other than that. Also, Tim Ryan, on The Warning zoom session mentioned that MAGA is knowingly playing to the part of the brain, the amygdala, which over-rides reason and incites fear and anger in their listeners. Levin used all of these tactics and many people will be convinced by this utter BS.
Thank for bravely listening to the Fox fairy tale Channel. I do not have the stomach to do so myself. However, I am positive your description of Levin is accurate and I am sure his moniker was given by his fellow traveler, Vladimir Putin. Their ideology and distortion of facts are worrisome to me. Especially after the blatant disregard for our Constitutional right to protest the murder of innocent children in our country. It is the Republican party which seeks civil unrest and destruction of our institutions. Their thirst for absolute power is insatiable and you are correct, it will become deadly. They are stirring up their base with lies and propaganda just like Putin does in Russia. Soon it will be illegal to think differently than their warped sense of patriotism. God help us and deliver us from the grasp of the maga extremists in our midst.
I managed to watch most of the Levin clip. It is full-on propaganda and is playing to the amygdala part of their viewer's brains that incites fear and anger: cult-indoctrination tactics. Terrifying.
Unfortunately, educating these individuals who believe their lies is a task so difficult it is beyond my abilities. I have family and friends who will not be dissuaded from their positions. They have shunned me for upsetting their apple cart.
Now we're talkin' the True, Real, Core, Heart of the problem with "the American media"--without resorting to Judith Miller two decades ago, or even to Maggie Haberman or Peter Baker, Susan Glasser, Bob Woodruff etc. Or Walter Duranty nearly a century ago.
Fox. And their constellation. Republican. On The Right. That's where The Problem is. Not on The Left.
With these Right Extremists selling nonsense, it is no wonder that whatever value there is left for serious Republicans has pushed them all into a very dark place. How hard it must be for the remaining Republicans who repudiate, not only Donald Trump, but what he revealed with such force in so little time. It takes momentous news taking place in separate places around the nation to make noise and force repeated attention to catch the ear and the eye of national news organizations. With Fox News, the propaganda media of misinformation and disinformation that has no relevance as actual news because it is run by individuals with no professional standards in the business, the thinking of these extreme and disruptive factions that are plotting novel political strategies around the country (Burn It All Down) are handing it all in a silver platter for the respected and valued journalists and reporters who can fact-check every lie, every brutish opinion, every insanity spewed out publicly. Because the Law now is alive and well, after the blow received under the Trump Administration. It just needs a Dose of Reassurance. What is spurious, as the above Fox appearance, instead ends up being always the now Republican Brand Cliché, "... with Hillary Clinton." Oh dear, how tyrannical!
I've been watching the ~1979 documentary "Battle of Chile" about the collapse of democracy in that country, the way Chile's far-right convinced itself of electoral fraud, then the staggering blows to the economy and government dealt by extremists who preferred to reduce the country to ashes knowing they would personally gain power. I feel like these history lessons are lost on U.S. leadership. These times require great leaders, but I see none in any branch of government, nor in politics generally. Nor do we have great leaders in the press, and our once great news institutions are infected themselves with debilitating partisanship and other problems. I do not understand why so many liberals fail to see the danger posed by right-wing extremists, who are gaining power over their own party and over key institutions every day.
So relevant! Thank you! Here is some fairly recent history that rings so loudly. I first became aware of this through Isabel Allende’s books. The scariest thing is the wealthy right wing manipulated the economy. So afraid the combination of far right and corporations will do the same here.
Just his book! Interesting - never watch FOX, so no idea who this obviously deranged fool even is! These people never hear bright folks, Democrats or journalists with real brains and Pulitzers speak, or unless challengers with years and years of accomplishment like SSchmidt somehow break through. So we are stuck. Sure wish the loss Fox faces would shut down the stream of lies and idiocy. Thanks Steve.
Let's hope SSchmidt can break through to some of these Faux News followers. Maybe then those people can break through to other followers.
Lisa,
That's my hope...
Steve
Thanks for this Steve, so glad you addressed this. I call all this news 'sensationalist news,' it emotionally triggers people. I am truly hoping that the Fox/Dominion case will help discredit and dismantle ALL of right wing news, both tv and radio, AND, we will institute laws about this kind of batshit lying to the populace. IF that can't happen I don't believe this country can remain a democracy AT ALL. The fascists running the GOP, federally and in states will have to removed somehow (voting them out is almost impossible because of extreme gerrymandering that Supreme Court has allowed)....this assault on democracy cannot be allowed to continue without destroying our form of government. Look at Tennessee. The GOP is in Wisconsin is already talking about impeaching a democratically seated Supreme Court justice.
Mark Levin is an embarrassment to my faith. I don't know what else to say.
This one, Steve, has me thinking about what happens to people's brains when they are so full of rage all the time. Well, this opened my eyes to something I have never given thought to until today. What are these people, so full of fear and rage, getting out of it? Well, I am no medical doctor or psychiatrist, but I think there may be some rewards for these people in the following ways:
Hatred changes the chemistry in the brain. It stimulates the area in the brain responsible for planning and execution of motion. These are secondary responses to other emotions like fear and anxiety.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
Rage controls an area of the brain that changes your body’s central nervous system. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 “𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡” 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥. As the person begins to use rage as a source of control, the addiction grows and the aggression gets more intense. The rage soon becomes the central emotion in the individual’s life, masking all other feelings of joy, hope, depression, passion, and everything in between.
*********************************************************************************************************
One part of the brain that is stimulated during these episodes is the amygdala. Amygdala is the integrative center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation. This also creates “fight or flight” responses and increases the levels of two hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. Studies have shown the relationship of this part to PTSD and dementia.
There is a reward system for this part as well
Glutamatergic neurons in the basolateral amygdala send projections to the nucleus accumbens shell and core. Activation of these projections drive motivational salience. The ability of these projections to drive incentive salience is dependent upon 𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐫.
This is a big rabbit hole and tied not to jump down too many, but I think there should be studies on maga's for this kind of information to help better understand.
This just got me thinking this morning and these are my very unscientific observations.
There is certainly a lot to think about regarding how this level of grievance and anger can be sustained over seemingly “normal” ups and downs of life in a vibrant democracy. I think you’ve isolated a credible piece of the puzzle.
Mark Levin is spouting propaganda. Fox spouts it all day and night. Levin, Carlson, and others are spouting propaganda for Russia and its 5th column here, with Trump and his associates being chief among them. What Levin is saying is the opposite of the truth. This is a typical technique of Russian propaganda and propaganda in general. It's easy once you get it. Listen to what they're accusing their adversaries of and you'll know what they are guilty of. When propagandist like Levin speak, they are working to weaken and destroy our country. (It's particularly jarring when someone Jewish spouts this type of propaganda, given the ubiquitous antisemitic nature of the MAGA movement and other anti-Democratic movements worldwide.) I'm reading Keir Giles excellent book "Russia's War with Everybody: And What It Means For You" and highly recommend reading it or listening to Giles in an interview online.
Mark Levin is insane.
He's a wanna be Gordon Liddy.
He's the hate one.
Projecting their fears, lies and hate never gets any prettier or believable.