“Good night and good luck.” – Edward R. Murrow

The Washington Post – I should say, Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post – ran an article last week which featured a report from an organization called “PropOrNot” which claims it used “a combination of manual and automated analysis…in order to identify (“red flag”) [actual quote from the site, verbatim] the following as Russian propaganda outlets.”

Hmmm…”red flag” as in, “Red Scare?”  In what is a bona fide rebirth of McCarthyism, PropOrNot claims to be “an independent team of concerned American citizens with a wide range of backgrounds and expertise” that is currently “volunteering time and skills to identify propaganda – particularly Russian propaganda…”

Seriously, is this some kind of joke?  Is this the same group of “professionals” who devise the “seasonal adjustments” used to brew up Government economic reports?   Has anyone vetted this organization?  Apparently Jeff Bezos is unable to answer any of those questions or, as a responsible purveyor of “independent” journalism he would have dispelled these questions by disclosing the credibility of this group up front.

You’ll note that I specifically single out Jeff Bezos.   Bezos was quietly appointed by the Secretary of Defense to the Defense Innovation Advisory Board in July.    The Board was formed in March 2016 to “focus on new technologies and organizational behavior and culture.”  The Board has been asked to  “identify innovative private-sector practices and technological solutions that the DoD could employ in the future.”

Clearly this is straight out of Orwell’s playbook.  It has behavioral modification and thought control seeping from every pore.  It is a Deep State operation and Jeff Bezos is now part of the Deep State fabric.

This is Orwell’s Thought Police.    The new “advisory board” is headed up by Google’s Eric Schmidt.  Recall that right after the primaries if you typed “Presidential election” in a Google search bar the first item that popped up was picture of Hillary Clinton standing in front of the Presidential seal.   It was eventually removed.

This blog was listed as one of the 200 websites that “reliably echo Russian propaganda.” I’m quite honored to be listed among many of the well-respected sites on “the list.”   Several readers emailed me to say that “you must doing something right” to be included on that ridiculously absurd “Red Scare” list.

The two gentlemen who should be most offended are David Stockman and Dr. Paul Craig Roberts,  both of whom stick out prominently on the list.  Stockman and Dr. Roberts are former high-level Government officials.  Both were, among a long list of prestigious and patriotic accomplishments, members of Reagan’s Cabinet.  The accusation that they are conduits for Russian “fake news” is not only absurdly idiotic, it’s libelous terrorism.

This development is yet another move down that slippery-slope to Totalitarianism on which the United States Government is sliding.  In the 1950’s a Senator named Joseph McCarthy implemented a raging Congressional witch-hunt for “communists.”  The inquisition featured more than a month of televised hearings that began looking for communists in Government.  For over two years McCarthy was allowed to conduct inquisitions which extended beyond Washington DC and which eventually pointed the finger at prominent writers and famous Hollywood personalities.  He singularly destroyed highly successful people in all areas of society.   It was an absolute tragedy and a complete disgrace to this country.

Fortunately, Edward R. Murrow featured a report that undermined McCarthy’s Red Scare witch hunt.  McCarty was eventually censored by the Senate and, even more fortunately, died in 1957.

Unfortunately, American journalism no longer has the likes of an Edward R. Murrow – or even Woodward and Bernstein.  Corporatism and the Deep State has succeeded in eradicating unbiased and truthful mainstream journalism.   The Alternative Media – like the sites featured on the PropOrNot Red Scare list – represent a bona fide attempt to present the truth to the public.

I predict this PropOrNot movement, sponsored by the likes of Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, is going to succeed in shutting down the one ray of hope left for this country.   Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post has taken the lead in this modern version of a McCarthyism “witch hunt” and the WashPo exemplifies the amount of political power and wealth being directed at suffocating the truth.   It is Orwell’s playbook unfolding in front of us.

Good night and good luck.