Craig's Friend and GOP News Bubble

As amazing as it sounds, I found the friend that Craig Pierce talked to in his letter to the editor of June 27, 2014. I asked Craig’s friend if he really thought that America was burning and he said that he did because that’s what Fox “News” told him to think. I told him that Fox “News” wasn’t a real news program. I asked him to stop watching it for a while and to read or watch some reliable news sources, and suggested anything but Fox. Being a reasonable fellow, Craig’s friend said that he would and get back to me as soon as he could.

In a few days, we talked again and he said that he couldn’t believe how biased Fox “News” is, and was shocked to find out what was actually happening outside of the GOP and Fox information bubble. He told me of several epiphanies after realizing what was really happening in the country and the world.

- He couldn’t believe how much money the GOP is wasting on investigating the IRS non-scandal, and how Darrel Issa is grandstanding. And he was dismayed how Paul Ryan wants to make poor people suffer more so that they can stop being poor.

- Craig’s friend was shocked that George Bush started the NSA spying program with an executive order for warrantless searches of emails, phone calls, and Internet activity to find terrorist activity, but that the program expanded to spying on U.S. citizens, and that the Obama administration has restricted the NSA’s overreach.

- Craig’s friend was aghast that the Bush administration was aware of the VA record falsification in 2005 but ignored it, that Bush’s war of choice on Iraq overwhelmed the VA system, and that the GOP consistently blocked legislation to help veterans. He said it was unbelievable that Bush insisted that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 and that Bush said that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

- Craig’s friend was horrified to find out that Bush signed an agreement in 2008 to release Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi whose leadership helped ISIS become the currently profound threat to Iraq.

- He was appalled by Dick Cheney’s trying to blame Obama for the problems in Iraq when Bush and Cheney got everything wrong about their disastrous war of choice, and that the current problems in Iraq were caused by the Bush Administration’s reckless war that has cost 4400 American lives with many more wounded, and wasted trillions of dollars, none of which is available for the care of veterans, for addressing immigration problems, or anything else, yet the GOP’s answer to any problem is to cut taxes on the rich and powerful, even though supply side economics has never worked.

- He was stunned to find out that Obamacare is doing fine, and because the GOP needs to be outraged about something, they will continue to investigate the Benghazi attacks even though previous investigations over 20 months showed no conspiracies.

Craig’s friend told me that he will be voting for the Democrats in the next election and that he will try to convince Craig to do the same. He also commented that he would try to get Craig to break out of the GOP information bubble and get some real information. He said that friends don’t let friends watch Fox “News” or vote Republican.

JLF

(link to this letter)