Pompeo is a perfect example of this thing that just baffles me. He owes America *everything.* His grandparents immigrated from dirt-poor regions of Italy at the turn of the C19th. He graduated *first in his class* at West Point.

He has a law degree from Harvard. He was the editor of the Harvard Law Review. Went to DC and joined a blue-chip firm. Also made a fortune in private enterprise. America gave the grandson of dirt-poor immigrants the opportunity to do all of that.
He knows *damned well* what the Constitution says.

He's also seen enough of the world to know *damned well* how lucky he was to grow up in a country at peace, governed by that Constitution--and to know *damned well* what happens to a country in a civil war
--which is exactly the brink to which Trump has taken the United States, only recently the inarguable leader of the free world. We now have a GOP that thinks, "storming the capitol in an attempt to assassinate our elected leaders" is somewhere between "great" and "no biggie."
He knows *damned well* what the world thinks of us now, and how endangered we are because of it--and not just us, our generation, physically, but the idea of government of the people, by the people, for the people. It could, truly, perish from this earth-
because of this idiocy and sedition.

Why would Mike Pompeo want *any part* of that? What's the motivation? He already had a ton of money, earned legitimately, because America's a place where immigrants' grandkids can start their own companies and get really rich.
He's had all the professional accolades a man could want.

There's no secret he could be trying to protect from exposure that would be more shameful than what he's doing out in the open every day.
There's no Kompromat compromising enough to be worse for his image than being known to history as "the heat-seeking missile to Donald Trump's butt."
He *knows* it is wrong.
He *knows* Trump is dangerous.
He *knows* the lies Trump has told have now become murderous--and could well unleash unfathomable violence on the country that gave him everything. This is the country he wants to hand on to his kids?
He should have known from the beginning--and *he did.*
This is what he said when he was stumping for Rubio in Wichita in 2016:

"Trump would be an authoritarian President who ignored our Constitution.”
He expressed disgust--properly--about Trump’s boast that soldiers would commit war crimes on his orders.

Trump certainly made good on his "pro-war-criminal" promises. Pompeo *knows that is wrong.* Wrong to pardon war criminals, worse still to elevate them as heros.
Pompeo then: American soldiers “don’t swear an allegiance to President Trump or any other President. They take an oath to defend our Constitution, as Kansans, as conservatives, as Republicans, as Americans."
He hasn't even acknowledged Trump’s role in inciting the siege of the US Capitol, no less condemned it, no less immediately, publicly called, as a cabinet member, for Trump to be removed, no less resigned.
Why? What could make a man do that? Ambition? Does he think the only thing he hasn't yet achieved is ruling the whole country, and that after Trump dies, maybe he'll emerge as the top warlord and declare himself Emperor?
He can't, seriously, think that. He's too old and too fat to survive for a minute in anything but a pampered, First World liberal democracy. He's not going to last a day in the kind of world he's helping to usher in.
Inability to admit he made a mistake? Fear for his life? Does he think he'll be assassinated by some deranged Trump supporter?

I don't get it. America has been good to him. It was good to me, too.
It's the ingratitude that just makes no sense.

More from For later read

The common understanding of propaganda is that it is intended to brainwash the masses. Supposedly, people get exposed to the same message repeatedly and over time come to believe in whatever nonsense authoritarians want them to believe /1

And yet authoritarians often broadcast silly, unpersuasive propaganda.

Political scientist Haifeng Huang writes that the purpose of propaganda is not to brainwash people, but to instill fear in them /2


When people are bombarded with propaganda everywhere they look, they are reminded of the strength of the regime.

The vast amount of resources authoritarians spend to display their message in every corner of the public square is a costly demonstration of their power /3

In fact, the overt silliness of authoritarian propaganda is part of the point. Propaganda is designed to be silly so that people can instantly recognize it when they see it


Propaganda is intended to instill fear in people, not brainwash them.

The message is: You might not believe in pro-regime values or attitudes. But we will make sure you are too frightened to do anything about it.

You May Also Like

Trending news of The Rock's daughter Simone Johnson's announcing her new Stage Name is breaking our Versus tool because "Wrestling Name" isn't in our database!

Here's the most useful #Factualist comparison pages #Thread 🧵


What is the difference between “pseudonym” and “stage name?”

Pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie stars,” while stage name is “the pseudonym of an entertainer.”

https://t.co/hT5XPkTepy #english #wiki #wikidiff

People also found this comparison helpful:

Alias #versus Stage Name: What’s the difference?

Alias means “another name; an assumed name,” while stage name means “the pseudonym of an entertainer.”

https://t.co/Kf7uVKekMd #Etymology #words

Another common #question:

What is the difference between “alias” and “pseudonym?”

As nouns alias means “another name; an assumed name,” while pseudonym means “a fictitious name (more literally, a false name), as those used by writers and movie

Here is a very basic #comparison: "Name versus Stage Name"

As #nouns, the difference is that name means “any nounal word or phrase which indicates a particular person, place, class, or thing,” but stage name means “the pseudonym of an