A vast side-dish conspiracy

Jerry, would ya wake up to reality? It’s a military thing – Cosmo Kramer. Plot: “Seinfeld’s” Kramer says he’s seen a part-pig, part-man creature — what he calls a scheme to create “a whole army of pigman warriors.” Remember when conspiracy theories were fun? As opposed to, say, ones concocted to obliterate democracy? Social media…

Only one man could turn Arizona blue

Loaves and fishes. Water to wine. Franco Harris’ “immaculate reception.” All certifiable miracles. Add now what Donald Trump made possible in Arizona. Late-to-acknowledge-MLK-Day Arizona. Evan Mecham’s Arizona. “Let us see your papers” Arizona. And now: Katie Hobbs’ Arizona. Mark Kelly’s Arizona. Blue Arizona. Arizona, where Democratic secretary of state-elect Adrian Fontes, post-victory, called Big Lie adherents “traitors.”…

‘Real freedom won tonight’

In a propagandist’s bag of tricks, analysts call the “glittering generality” the easiest to deploy. “Family values.” “Real America.” “Patriots.” “Pro-life.” No propaganda term is abused by the “family values” crowd, however, like “freedom.” Exhibit A: National embarrassments Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert named their cuckoo klatch the Freedom Caucus. Yeah. Republicans…

The Big Lie by the numbers

Huffington Post had the perfect headline: “Trump stumped over why Jan. 6 panel didn’t ask him to testify earlier. Nobody else is.” The committee’s rationale may be best expressed by what Trump’s former attorney, John Dowd, says in Bob Woodward first book about Trump, “Fear”: “He’s a (rhymes with ‘clucking’) liar.” Executive privilege being what…