Thought About The 2020 Election: Post-Election Blues

Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that Trump lost the election. After a moment of reflection though, I made a startling realization: CRAP.......BIDEN IS PRESIDENT NOW!? If one looked up the definition of "Career Politician" in the dictionary, one would see a picture of Biden next to that word. I know that he marketed himself as a Progressive, but there isn't anything progressive about him. His voting record over the decades confirm this. He's as career politician as they get. If one looks up Biden's scorecard on PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter, he made countless false claims. On one hand, it's not on the same caliber as Trump. However, it isn't anything to brag about either if you get my drift. 

I've said this before, but regardless of who wins, we the people lose, regardless of political affiliation. If Trump and Biden were the best that either party could do, then the whole system failed. Both candidates are curses for there respective parties. I know that those who consume tribal politics would disagree, but this is the case. Both parties are equally consumed by corruption and ethical shortcomings. There is no righteous pillar in the snake pit, only demagogues consumed by lies.

Kixmiller Pigeon - Thoughts About The 2020
Election: So Far: 14 Mar, 2020. The topic was about the DNC race.
Sure, Joe Biden isn't as bad as Hillary. However, comparing
the two would be like comparing a dumpster fire to a stopped-up
septic tank. Their still both very terrible. Comparing Joe Biden and
Hillary is like choosing between being shot in the knee-caps or being
tasered in the nuts. It's going to be painful regardless. Their are no winners
in that contest!
 

In the race between Trump and Biden, we were given the choice of being kicked in the face or tasered in the nuts. Neither candidate is anything to brag about. In these type of elections, it's doesn't become who you vote for, but who you vote against. It's a shame really as we should be demanding much better from the parties. The candidates that people really wanted have been sidelined by big money and declared "Communist Radicals" by the powers at be (like how the DNC used Republican talking points to demonize Bernie Sanders). 

For those who very glad that Bernie Sanders didn't get the nomination because they viewed him as one of those quote "Communist radicals", those fears wasn't based on anything that was real or genuine. There never was a real possibility of a Communist takeover as it was never in the cards in the first place. The fears of a Communist takeover was only real if that person's definition of Communism was simply an umbrella term for any random crap that they didn't like (and not as how the word is actually defined as there is no one from either party advocating such a system. I linked to Webster's definition of the word below). If there is one thing that the DNC and the GOP have in common, it's that they are slaves to big-money interest.

We also need to come to another revelation: as much love as Obama got after Trump's victory, Obama is the reason why Trump became President. Obama traded in idealism for career politics which alienated those voters that put him in office. If Biden doesn't want to see another Trump victory 4 years from now, he has to become what he marketed himself as, whether he likes it or not. However, I already feel that Biden is going to fall into bad habits marked by his predecessors. People voted for Trump because they were sick of the political status quo that defined Biden and his predecessors. I already see Biden as basically Obama Mark II; defined with empty promises, disappointment, and money-consumed lobbyist and billion-dollar interest at work. It's sad when I already have to place expectation this low.  
This image never gets old! (I never covered Biden's "hand-on" approach to women as that was the stuff that everybody else was going to cover. The topics covered in this article is what people should be focused on.

There is something else that has to be stated that should strike fear and dread into Biden. The only reason why most  millennials voted for Biden was because he was the best of a really crappy situation where both candidates were nothing to brag about.  I've still not forgotten the "Empathy" remarks that he made (YouTube video from SecularTalk linked below). Their is no love for Biden. They, like me, are not tied to any party loyalty either. They are independent from the party establishment which their is no empathy for. Biden has to make me and everybody else in this demographic satisfied as a voter.  Noticed that I said satisfied, not happy. It's not the job of a politician to make people happy. This is our own job and not that of others. Anyone who thinks that politicians should make people happy have a very distorted view of how politics work. This is true regardless of party affiliation. However, politicians are indebted to those who voted them into office (again, regardless of affiliation). As a result, if Biden doesn't pursue that policy of progressive politics, this group will turn on him (and it won't be pretty either). Biden is enslaved to this group, for better or for worse. His political fate is in there hands as they are the wildcards.

As an Independent,  I don't owe anything to either party and their is no party allegiance either. The Republican Party betrayed me with there hypocrisy and constant lying. However, that doesn't mean that I'm a shoe-in for the Democrats either. Voting straight party in the past was the biggest mistake of my life. Blind support of any political party will just lead you down the path of constant disappointment. This is the reason party allegiance needs to be sworn off. George Washington warned about political parties in his Farewell Address for a reason. We need to heed that warning. We need to vote for politicians based on the merit of their policies and not by the "brand" that they represent. At the end of the day we need to remember this: red or blue, what's the difference.

Here's my ultimatum: (you better be listening Biden) if you make a difference based on a rational interpretation of party policy and push a progressive platform, I will vote for you again in four years. (You don't even have to succeed, just put in some real effort! I think that I'm not asking for much) If not, then I'm not voting for you or your party and instead will vote for whatever Libertarian nominee gets the ticket as there is no way in Hell that I'm voting for Trump ever (EVER!!!). Granted, I'm very doubtful that Biden reads this blog. Hell, I don't read it half the time either, and I'm the one running it!

Voter Ballot Conspiracy and Corporate Media
When World War 1 ended in 1919, General Erich Ludendorff, the Supreme Commander of the German Army, made the unfounded claim that Germany lost the war because of Communist, Jews, and the general collapse of the home front. Even though Germany lost the war because the country was defeated in the field of battle and through the combined economic and industrial resources of the Allies, Ludendorff spread the false claim that stated otherwise. Many believed him, including a German Army Corporal named Adolf Hitler.

We fast forward over a hundred years later and false claims run rampant. Even though Trump lost the election legitimately, he is spreading false claims that have no backing. There is no evidence to support his claims of voter fraud. I'm not shocked that Trump is saying this. Given his mannerism, I actually expected this. What's shocking is how many will blindly believe him at face value without evidence. This is something that become true simply because people wanted it to be true, no evidence needed. Trump knows that those who blindly believe him will carry his false claims far and wide.

Any election in this country is very transparent. In fact, given the attention for 2020, this was one of the most transparent yet. Their have been isolated errors due to simple human error that were quickly corrected. However, there have been no evidence of an organized plot to throw the election. Despite this though, Trump is quick to declare voter fraud without evidence. The fact is whether one likes it or not, Biden was elected democratically.

The reason why most media outlets have stated that there is no voter fraud is because there haven't been any convincing evidence to support it. I'm willing to embrace the claims as long as there is that solid evidence to support it (and no, sensationalist Facebook click-bait and memes isn't valid evidence). Hostility is encouraged when these outlandish claims were presented as the gospel truth. Shooting off outlandish claims without evidence does come with real-world consequences. Again, look at the actions of Erich Ludendorff. His false claims propelled Hitler into the spotlight. Many will resort to aggression due to views that were formed without merit. At the end of the day, we are all responsible for the words that come out of our mouths. I'm glad they are doing the voter recounts in Georgia and the other states just as confirmation that this election has been clean.

I feel sorry for most Republicans politicians. I know that most probably don't approve of Trump spreading false claims. However, Trump has such a strong grip and personality cult that those who speak out publicly will be ejected from the party and ostracized by Trump personally. One could make the safe assumption that many Republicans feel oppressed. Personality cults and brands are never a good thing. Political parties need to be formed around ideas, not people. The reason why the Democrat Party has been suffering from so many issues is that they built a personality cult around Clinton's brand of politics and those (Pelosi, Biden) who are intent on preserving that status quo, regardless of how detrimental there actions are to the party.
 
I know that many are fed up with traditional media outlets. The frustration is understandable. The TV media outlets have been selling us sanitized news for decades now. Here in America, news is a business and not a public service. Controversy sells. News sources are not going to report the peaceful protest that have largely defined the Portland demonstrations, but those occasional outburst because that is what draws in the ratings. Violence attracts views, which generates revenue. No convoluted plan but simple, winner-takes-all, Capitalism at play.

However, when many people abandoned those traditional sources, they went to places that were far more partisan and biased than anything that they would have gotten from TV. Most gravitated to social media (Facebook in particular). Many embraced social media as an outlet despite it being one of the most destructive places to get news from.  The phrase that starts with “I read this on Facebook….” is one of the most toxic words that one can hear.

Fact Checkers And Conspiracy Theories In General.
Anyone who is a regular on my blog knows how I feel about conspiracy theories. On one hand, there are legitimate reasons to be against something. However, when one forms an opinion, it's usually based on absurd claims and not anything of merit.

I can understand why many Conservatives have a very strong dislike for George Soros. However, instead of basing those complaints on anything of substance, they will resort to absurd claims such as the following:
  • Soros is trying to establish the New World Order (while jamming to New Order)
  • Soros is a Nazi (even though he's Jewish and many of his relatives were killed in the Holocaust)
  • Soros is a Communist (even though he funded anti-Communist movements in Eastern Europe)
  • Soros secretly funding the migrant caravans (even though there wasn't a logical exclamation of why he would do such a thing and there's no evidence to support that claim either)
Soros is ranked somewhere in the 160's on Forbes 500 richest people. Despite being on the lower echelons of that list, George Soros is constantly singled out, like how the Rothschilds family of prominent bankers are also constantly singled out despite them being lower on that list as well. There is something that Soros and the Rothschilds have in common, and it's the basis for all of these absurd conspiracy theories: their Jewish. Many of the claims are modern updates of old anti-Semantic tropes that have gone back centuries. For several, words like "Globalist" and "Main-stream media" are dog whistle terms to insinuate Jewish domination of society without flat-out declaring it. As a dog-whistle term, there is plausible deniability for those using those words.

Montage of George Soros Conspiracy Memes found on Facebook

After Jeffrey Epstein's suicide, their was a flood of conspiracy theories. It was already sickening that this monster evaded justice by taking his own life. It was equally sickening of how shear incompetence resulted in a deluge of hyper-partisan conspiracy theories. The fact was that Epstein socialized with both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. What does all of this mean at the end of the day? Absolutely nothing, as again, a monster evaded justice because he was too much of a coward to face the consequences of his actions.

Conspiracy theories were a thing before Trump. However, he legitimized and normalized them. When Trump plastered various tweets insinuated a Clinton link in the Epstein suicide, many embraced it at face-value simply because Trump stated it. The claim magically true for millions wanted they wanted it to be true so that it would validate their worldview. For many others, such claims become true when its repeated over and over again. This was true with the "Soros is funding the migrant caravans" despite lack of evidence, and now "Trump is declaring voter fraud". Repeating the same thing over and over again doesn't magically make it true all of a sudden.

Obama was a train-wreck of a President. I don't think I'm going to get any argument from that statement. However, instead of basing those views on a rational interpretation of party policy, many (again perpetrated by Trump) hinted around absurd birther claims that were easily debunked with a few minutes of research (it's shocking how many people are experts at using Google when browsing for porn, but yet, when actual research enters the picture, many instantly flip on the stupid switch) Yet, many still embraced the claims because: (A) Trump said it and (B) people wanted it to be true. Again, opinions magically became facts because many believed them to be facts.

Biden's mental health could be going given his age. At the same time, before one is quick to question Biden's mental health, remember that Trump has constantly promoted conspiracy theories.

There is a silver-lining here. People often form opinions based on personal experiences. As such, if a person believes in conspiracy theories, that individual was probably abducted by aliens at some point in there life. As such, the existence of aliens have been confirmed! (I know that this joke is not going to make me friends in many circles. I'm telling it at my expense).

Seriously speaking though, the fact checkers continue to perform a valuable public service during the election and after. I've mentioned this before constantly, but fact checkers allow people to form opinions based on facts without conforming to political slant. Fact-Checkers are objective as they examine claims, not party. One can remain independent without partaking in that destructive game called tribal politics. 

However, (like what the PolitiFact banner states) facts are still under attack though. Many have dismissed them as "liberal propaganda" because they don't like that they say. We're entitled to our opinions. However, were not entitled to our own facts. How much of our opinions are formed around memes and click-bait? How many opinions are formed around fallacies, stereotypes, prejudices, and stereotypes? 

Articles Of Interest
PolitiFact - Donald Trump’s Pants on Fire claim about illegal votes : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/nov/06/donald-trump/donald-trumps-pants-fire-claim-about-...
PolitiFact - How has Joe Biden fared on the Truth-O-Meter?  : https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/sep/29/how-has-joe-biden-fared-truth-o-meter/
Snopes - RUMOR ALERT: Dominion Voting Systems Fraud Claims : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rumor-alert-dominion-voting-systems-fraud-claims/
Snopes - Fraud Claims Aimed in Part at Keeping Trump Base Loyal : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/11/08/fraud-claims-aimed-in-part-at-keeping-trump-base-loyal/

Snopes - Did a Fox 2 Detroit Report Expose Voter Fraud in the 2020 Election? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/detroit-voter-roll-lawsuit/

Snopes - Do Hundreds of Counties Have 1.8 Million ‘Ghost Voters’ in the US? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ghost-voters-in-29-states/
Snopes - Did Libertarian Candidate Jo Jorgensen Lose 40K Votes in 10 Minutes in Pennsylvania? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jorgensen-40k/
Snopes - Georgia Poll Worker in Hiding After False Claims Online : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/11/07/georgia-poll-worker-in-hiding-after-false-claims-online/
Snopes - Was the Ballot of Deceased Man Named William Bradley Counted in Michigan? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/william-bradley-voted-dead/
Snopes - ‘This Isn’t Over!’: Trump Supporters Refuse to Accept Defeat : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/11/07/this-isnt-over-trump-supporters-refuse-to-accept-defeat/
Snopes - Military Voters Fear They’re Part of Unsupported Fraud Claim : https://www.snopes.com/ap/2020/11/13/military-voters-fear-theyre-part-of-unsupported-fraud-claim/
FactCheck.org - Trump’s Wild, Baseless Claims of Illegal Voting : https://www.factcheck.org/2020/11/trumps-wild-baseless-claims-of-illegal-voting/
FiveThirtyEight - Americans Were Primed To Believe The Current Onslaught Of Disinformation: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/americans-were-primed-to-believe-the-current-onslaught-of-disin...
PolitiFact - No, receiving multiple ballot applications doesn’t let you vote more than once:
PolitiFact - Donald Trump says Joe Biden can only win by a 'rigged election.' That's wrong in several ways :
FactCheck -Trump Campaign Exaggerates Potential for Mail-In Voting Fraud After Election :
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/08/trump-campaign-exaggerates-potential-for-mail-in-voting-fraud-afte...
Wikipedia - George Washington's Farewell Address : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington%27s_Farewell_Address
Merriam-Webster - Communism : https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communism
Kixmiller Pigeon - Thoughts About The 2020 Election: Reflections Of 2008 and 2012 : https://rkixmiller.dudaone.com/thought-about-the-2020-election-so-far-1
Kixmiller Pigeon - Thoughts About The 2020  Election: So Far : https://rkixmiller.dudaone.com/thought-about-the-2020-election-so-far
Kixmiller Pigeon - Thought About The 2020 Election: Super Tuesday : https://rkixmiller.dudaone.com/thought-about-the-2020-election-part-1

Voter Ballot Conspiracy and Corporate Media
Wikipedia - Enrich Ludendorff : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Ludendorff
Wikipedia - Stab In The Back Myth : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_myth

Articles of Interest - Fact Checkers And Conspiracy Theories In General.
PolitiFact : Fact-check -Did 3 million undocumented immigrants vote in this year's election? : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/nov/18/blog-posting/no-3-million-undocumented-immigrants-...
PolitiFact : Explaining the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories linked to Trump, Clinton : https://www.politifact.com/article/2019/aug/13/explaining-jeffrey-epstein-conspiracy-theories-lin/
FactCheck.org -  Bogus Conspiracy Theory Claims Epstein is Alive : https://www.factcheck.org/2019/08/bogus-conspiracy-theory-claims-epstein-is-alive/
FactCheck.org - The Epstein Connections Fueling Conspiracy Theories : https://www.factcheck.org/2019/08/the-epstein-connections-fueling-conspiracy-theories/
Snopes -  Did Google Remove Photos of Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein from Search Results? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/google-clinton-epstein/
BBC News - RNC 2020: Trump warns Republican convention of ‘rigged election’ - https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-53898142 
PolitiFact -  What is QAnon, the baseless conspiracy spilling into US politics? : https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/aug/27/what-qanon-baseless-conspiracy-spilling-us-politic/
PolitiFact - The CDC “adjusted the US Covid deaths from 153,504 to 9,210.”  : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/aug/31/facebook-posts/no-cdc-did-not-quietly-adjust-us-co...
Snopes - ‘He Spent Their Blood Like Currency’: Trump Promotes Falconer’s Bizarre Anti-Biden Conspiracy Theory : https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/10/16/biden-trump-seal-team-six/
BBC News - US election 2020: 'QAnon might affect how my friends vote' : https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54440973
BBC News - Jeffrey Epstein: How conspiracy theories spread after financier's death : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49312746
BBC News - Trump stokes 'birther' conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53774289
Wikipedia - George Soros : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros
Wikipedia - Geroge Soros (Conspiracy theories and threats) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros#Conspiracy_theories_and_threats
Wikipedia - Open Society Foundations : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Society_Foundations
FORBES WORLD’S BILLIONAIRES LIST (George Soros was #162 as of 2020): https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/#2ad7bd40251c
Snopes -

Did George Soros Pay Refugees in Honduras to Join a Caravan and Storm the US Border? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/soros-caravan-refugees/

Snopes - Did the FBI Confirm George Soros Was Funding the Migrant Caravan? : https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/george-soros-migrant-caravan/

PolitiFact - Says Christine Blasey Ford and her lawyer were photographed with George Soros, Hillary Clinton. : https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2018/sep/26/blog-posting/christine-blasey-ford-hillary-clinton...

FactCheck - No Evidence Soros Is Funding Immigrant ‘Caravan’ : https://www.factcheck.org/2018/10/no-evidence-soros-is-funding-immigrant-caravan/
FactCheck - Viral Meme Misidentifies Nazi Guard as Soros : https://www.factcheck.org/2018/10/viral-meme-misidentifies-nazi-guard-as-soros/ 

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