Ramblings of a Philly Fictionista: Alternative Facts Make Way for Alternative Reality in the Trump Administration

On Saturday, March 4, 2017 Donald Trump accused former-President Barack Obama of wire tapping his phones prior to the November elections; that Trump accused Obama of committing an actual crime that may be punishable by a stint in prison.

Typical of Trump, he offered no evidence and when confronted by lawmakers as well as the public, he remained silent. Naturally Obama denied doing anything.

It didn’t take long for members of the press to accuse Trump of creating a diversion that would take the focus off of allegations that have come to light in which members of Trump’s staff had met with Russian officials as well as the allegations that Russia hacked into the Democratic Party in order to ensure Trump would win the election.

If that was Trump’s plan, he obviously doesn’t understand that the press-especially those who are unhappy with Trump’s actions against them-aren’t that easily derailed or fooled.

The allegations against Obama were both sensationalist and ludicrous. The story surely made headlines, but not for long.

Four days after Trump tweeted his assertion, the media was right back on the Russia hacking story so if it was his plan to muddy the waters a bit, it didn’t work.

On March 8 an article appeared online claiming that Roger Stone, a political consultant for Trump, was in contact with the same group of Russian hackers who have been accused of getting into DNC’s computers as well as Hilary Clinton’s emails in an effort to help Trump win the election.

Around the time of the Obama accusation, social media claimed that this was all a diversion to keep the American public in the dark about certain bills that were introduced during not only the Obama accusation, but the Russian hacking claim as well.

Using the media to create a questionable news story in order to mask another more damaging one isn’t something new.

Politicians as well as big businesses and even the Hollywood publicity machine have been using this sleight of hand since the invention of the printing press.

So regardless to what Trump may believe, he did not invent the tactic.

CEOs, politicians and heads of movie/television studios have commonly hired those who were not only adept at spin control, but had the expertise in creating a divisive environment.

Someone once said, “No one can appreciate crazy like those who give out the meds.”

These people that work to create chaos and get people talking or taking action through the media to spread the necessary toxicity understand the power of such environments; that they are in a sense giving out the meds.

It’s just not necessarily the type of meds that will create calmness, provide answers and give people a few moments of clarity.

After the appropriate time in the short, brief life of the news media, everyone’s attention goes back to normal, or in these days, abnormal issues at hand.

Like the Herpes Simplex Virus, the outrageous claims and accusations seem to go away, but they just become dormant and they will eventually flare up whenever these Drs. of Chaos bring them out of dormancy.

Part of their expertise is making it almost impossible to ascertain where the stories started which is the beauty of Facebook. You don’t have to prove it, you just have to post it.

No matter how crazy something is, or if the status update is accompanied by a link to a news website that no one has ever heard from before, if the right person or persons post it, the story will eventually gain enough traction that will lend some truth to it.

Lately, such a status update has appeared throughout the social media giant’s website. A lot of times.

Naturally there was no link provided, just an urge to copy and paste-in other words to spread the news.

The fact that it wasn’t really news wasn’t the point. It, according to the urgency of the post, was an outrage and more “evidence” of Donald Trump’s villainous rein.

The post claimed that both the Russian hack and the wiretapping allegation was a smokescreen to prevent the American people from finding out that certain bills had been introduced behind their backs.

The bills were even listed:

HR 861 Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency
HR 610 Vouchers for Public Education
HR 899 Terminate the Department of Education
HJR 69 Repeal Rule Protecting Wildlife
HR 370 Repeal Affordable Care Act
HR 354 Defund Planned Parenthood
HR 785 National Right to Work (this one ends unions)
HR 83 Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Bill
HR 147 Criminalizing Abortion (“Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act”)
HR 808 Sanctions against Iran

Really? Not really, but unless you are the type of person who likes to find out the truth on your own or are a news junkie you would have thought it was true. If it came from someone you trusted, then you were more inclined to accept the post as being true.

The truth is that all of the ideas were stated by Donald Trump (or tweeted about them) long before they became bills.

Yes, he does talk a lot and it’s hard to continue to listen to his rants, but they were mentioned in one form or another.

So here’s some actual truth:

• HR 861 (Terminate the Environmental Protection Agency) was introduced by Representative Matt Gaetz (Florida Republican) on February 3, 2017;

• HR 610 (Vouchers for Public Education) was introduced by Representative Steve King (Iowa Republican) on January 23, 2017;

• HR 899 (Terminate the Department of Education) was introduced by Representative Thomas Massie (Kentucky Republican) on February 7, 2017;

• HJR 69 (Repeal Rule Protecting Wildlife) was a constitutional amendment for the state of Virginia that was introduced by the Governor of Virginia, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, on January 11, 2017.

• HR 370 (Repeal Affordable Care Act) was introduced by Representative Bill Flores (Texas Republican) on January 9, 2017, but who didn’t see this one coming since Trump won the election in November?

• HR 354 (Defund Planned Parenthood) was introduced by Representative Diane Black (Tennessee Republican) on January 6, 2017 and was also a hot topic during the presidential campaign.

• HR 785 (National Right to Work) was introduced by Representative Steve King (Iowa Republican) on February 1, 2017.

• HR 83 (Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Bill) was introduced by Representative Lou Barletta (Pennsylvania Republican) on January 3, 2017 and has made several headlines in the news since the bill was introduced in January.

• HR 147 (Criminalizing Abortion /Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act) was introduced by Representative Trent Franks (Arizona Republican) on January 3, 2017.

• HR 808 (Sanctions against Iran) was introduced by Representative Peter J. Roskam (Illinois Republican) on February 1, 2017.

The Russian hacking story began to float around after the election in November, but gained more traction through an investigation conducted by the U.S. intelligence departments which included the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as well as the Senate Armed Services Committee and was publicly acknowledged as fact on January 6, 2017.

It has remained in the news since that time.

All of the claims about these bills are also null and void because all of them were introduced one-two months prior to Trump’s wire tapping claim so there is no smokescreen or diversion to any of them.

This is a crucial time for America as alt facts and fake news often get mixed in with actual news and actual facts.

It is understandable that prior to Trump’s attack on the press that many people started to have ambivalent feelings towards them.

That shouldn’t stop people from finding out what the real truth is and doing that is actually pretty easy.

If you really want to know what shady shit the elected officials are up to, you can just pay a visit to www.congress.gov If you scroll towards the bottom the website has both the House and the Senate members listed. To find out what they’re up to, you can click on their names.

This is how you stay informed. This is how you resist or support your elected officials.

If you want to know what Donald Trump is up to, you can pay a visit to the White House’s website at www.whitehouse.gov/ and get a clearer idea of what’s going on.

Getting your information from Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, MySpace or left-leaning/right-leaning websites is just bad.

Everyone has the right to be heard and to voice their opinions.

Everybody has the right to demonstrate, resist, protest or support whatever it is that they believe in or who they believe in.

In order to evoke change and it open up people’s hearts as well as minds, this should be done using the truth; using actual facts that are undisputable.

Relying on partial truths, embellished truths, alt facts and downright lies won’t change anything. It will only serve to inflict more injustice and serve to destroy whatever changes you hope to make.