Pelé and Me and George Santos Must Go
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A Brief-ish New Year Message:
Most of the issues I write about concern power, especially those who crave it and abuse it—always at the expense of others. The struggle for civil rights—whether based on race, gender, LGBTQ+, ethnic origin, or religion—is always about those with power and money trying to suppress those without. That’s how they keep their power and money. But in a democracy, they can’t do it alone, they need to enlist followers, usually those without power and money who greedily will do anything to get it, or those who blindly worship those who have it. While people fighting for civil rights try to convince those with rights and privileges about the benefits of sharing, those who horde power convince them not to share—pretty much the opposite of what we teach our children.
These followers are often self-sabotaging. Based on sheer numbers, it should be mathematically impossible to exploit women the way we do. It can only be done if those in power who benefit from the exploitation convince a large number of women that they aren’t being exploited, that they are actually part of the power group. Basically, it’s like the popular kids at high school inviting a few outsider kids to a party. Those outsider kids are so grateful, they’ll do the popular kids’ bidding for the rest of the year—even though the popular kids treat them badly and laugh at them. Trump called the people he rallied together on Jan. 6 “trashy.” The sad truth is, as Ponyboy would tell them, they’ll never be a Soc (for The Outsiders fans).
How do the powerful convince people to act against their own best interests? By telling them that their worst biases and darkest emotions are good and reasonable. That’s how you goad a bunch of average citizens to attack Congress of January 6th, even though it is treasonous, people ended up dead, and a lot of them ended up in prison. Did any rich and powerful conservative who encouraged them join the attack or face prison?
The powerful start by corrupting the concept of truth, which is the foundation of every democracy. The campaign by the right against legitimate news organizations like The New York Times and The Washington Post (and, yes, they get things wrong sometimes, but at least they admit it) is not about truth, but about suppressing truth because the facts might gnaw away at the veil of fantasy they’ve created to maintain power over the ill-informed. If the facts don’t match what those in power have been telling their followers, then attack the source of the facts. A simple tactic that only works on lazy thinkers. For them, Power Is Truth. If the facts contradict their agenda, deny, deny, deny. Deny what scientists say. Deny what doctors say. Deny what experts say. Unless they’re lying in a hospital in need of serious medical attention—then science and medicine are good.
Truth has become a valuable and fragile animal these days, an endangered species in great need of nurturing and protecting.
The money masters who control those who want to ban books, ban women’s rights, ban LGBTQ+ rights, ban religions other than their own, are able to convince their followers using the age-old logical argument: “I’m made of rubber, you’re made of glue. Anything you say bounces off me and sticks on you.” So, if you claim Fox News is biased, they claim the Post and Times are biased. If you say their politician is making a statement based on unreliable studies, they say your studies are unreliable. Ideological standoff? Not really, because facts can be verified, the reliability of news organizations can be objectively measured, studies can be judged based on who does them, who paid for them, how big the sample was, etc. You know, math and science.
It’s a new year and so we have to renew our commitment to the truth rather than throwing up our hands in frustration at the nattering nabobs of negativism (yes, I’m sampling Spiro Agnew). Elections are quickly approaching and we will need to make sure that Truth Is Power, not the other way around. For me, it starts here.
Politics: A Made-Up Man Is Now in Congress
N.Y. Rep.-elect George Santos is being investigated for lying about his past (NPR)
SUMMARY: “U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos of New York was under investigation by Long Island prosecutors on Wednesday, after revelations surfaced that the now-embattled Republican lied about his heritage, education and professional pedigree as he campaigned for office.
“…The Republican has admitted to lying about having Jewish ancestry, a Wall Street pedigree and a college degree, but he has yet to address other lingering questions — including the source of what appears to be a quickly amassed fortune despite recent financial problems, including evictions and owing thousands in back rent.”
MY TAKE: It’s pretty shocking to find out that an elected member of Congress lied about most of his background and, worse, that no one knew about it. A New York Times investigation found that Santos never worked at Goldman Sachs, didn’t graduate from Baruch College, didn’t attend New York University, and no evidence of his animal rescue group, nor did he disclose criminal charges for check fraud in Brazil. His business dealings are even murkier. He lied about his Jewish heritage and about his mother dying in the 9/11 attack (“George Santos said 9/11 ‘claimed my mother’s life.’ She died in 2016.”). Every day brings more revelations about his lies, but none more bizarre than his claim to be Jewish, calling himself “a proud American Jew,” which he later recanted saying he meant that because his maternal grandmother was Jewish, he was “Jew-ish.” Oy vey.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: Ordinarily, most of us wouldn’t flinch at finding out a politician lied. But this story has grown, not just because of the enormity of his lies, but because he was able to use those lies to get elected. And no one noticed.
But they should have. Back in September, well before the elections, The North Shore Leader, a small newspaper o Long Island, where Santos was elected, sounded the alarm about his many fabrications. As a result, the paper forced itself to endorse Santos’s Democratic rival. “This newspaper would like to endorse a Republican,” it wrote, but Santos “is so bizarre, unprincipled and sketchy that we cannot. … He boasts like an insecure child — but he’s most likely just a fabulist — a fake.”
It is impossible for the average voter to vet candidates to this extent. It’s not even possible for news organizations to vet every candidate. But it is possible—and necessary—for political parties to do a deep dive into the backgrounds of their candidates to insure they are who and what they say they are. That is their responsibility as a party wanting to earn our trust. Otherwise, our Congress could be filled with liars and scammers like Santos and Herschel Walker.
More important—and telling—than a grifter getting elected is the Republican reaction. The GOP is run like a 1950s corporation (or contemporary NFL team) in which earnings is the only ethics. If you find your best salesperson is a serial sexual abuser, you pay everyone off and keep them around because they’re a good earner. In this case, Santos is valuable to the Republican Party as part of their slim control of the House of Representatives than their commitment to election integrity (“G.O.P. Leadership Remains Silent Over George Santos’s Falsehoods”).
As the Times reported: “If Republican leaders demanded Mr. Santos resign — and he did so — it would prompt a special election in a swing seat, a potential blow to Republicans’ already precarious majority. And the incoming congressman had pledged to vote for Mr. McCarthy for speaker next week, a critical display of support for the Republican leader, who is facing a mini-revolt on the right and needs every vote he can get.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene, trying to solidify her power in Congress by supporting McCarthy’s bid as speaker, defended Santos: “The left doesn’t care about lying. The real reason they’re attacking George Santos is that he [is] the first openly gay [non-incumbent] Republican elected and they hate him for it.” Wait, the left is pushing LGBTQ+ agenda and at the same time derailing it?
Not all Republicans are silent. Republican Long Island Rep.-elect Nick LaLota called Tuesday for the House Ethics Committee to investigate Santos over his lies during his campaign.
Santos got elected based on lies about his qualifications. If he pretended to be a doctor but had no medical degree, should he still be allowed to operate on you? If he was hired to teach your children based on lies, should he be fired? If he sold you a car using false reports about its condition, should you get your money back? Why would the people of his district—or any member of Congress with integrity—allow him to take his seat? Anything less than his resignation is unacceptable.