Social Media Musings

By George Waas

Since the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, I have posted numerous essays on Facebook of varying length on matters of politics, law, history and other related subjects. I believe in an informed society that relies on facts, logic, critical thinking, and reasoned judgment. It is hoped the essays and commentary in this book will inspire dialog and further citizen involvement in their communities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665553148

George Waas

George Waas is a former newspaper reporter and a retired 50-year member of the Florida Bar. He spent 32 years as a lawyer with the State of Florida, the last 24 with the Florida Attorney General’s Office. An award-winning lawyer, he argued cases at every level of the federal and Florida judiciary, including the United States Supreme Court. This is his tenth book, all published by AuthorHouse and are available from the publisher, as well as from Barnes and Noble and Amazon. He is married to Harriet Issner Waas and has two daughters, Lani (Hudgins) and Amy (Kinsey), and four grandchildren, Hailey and Kelsie (Lani) and Avery and Connor (Amy).

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2022 George Waas. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/26/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5313-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-5314-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022903789

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

What Are We Supposed To Do?

Qanon And The Twilight Zone

Covid’s Consequences

Donald Trump And His Second Senate Trial On Impeachment

Is The Senate Trial Really Necessary?

A Good Start

Impeachment Votes

Does The First Amendment Permit Incitement To Riot?

Nonsense And Threat From Nunes

The Trump Trial: Can We Get A Copy?

Principled Republicans: There Are A Few Left

The Grand Old Party Is No More

Fools And Dangerous Fools

Precedent Is A Joke To The Republican Party

How Do You Convince Those Who Will Not Listen?

Hypocrisy Indeed!

The Right Stokes Fear And Anger Better

News Vs. Views

Checking Bias Vs. Real News

If Only The Democrats Could Go It Alone

What Do People Do When They Have Money?

Eviscerating The Voting Rights Act

What Exactly Is Cancel Culture?

The Republicans’ Attack On Voting Laws Fools No One

How Much Does It Cost To Live A Good Life? Not Billions.

Repeating The Big Lie

How The Hell Did We Get Where We Are?

Republicans Are Good At Playing The Emotion Card

The Republican’s Historical Success In Playing The Socialism Card

The Republican Chant To Any Increase In Taxes

Who Really Believes That The Voting Restrictions Are Reform Measures?

Academic Freedom Is Just Thought Control For Florida Republicans

I Suppose This Judge Never Heard Of Right-Wing Bias

A Brief History Of The Filibuster

The Republican Party Is The Party Of Lincoln: And Some Actually Believe It

The Threat Of Right-Wing Violence

America Is A Constitutional Federal Republic

Presidential Leadership And Other Quotes

Famous Quotes:

What Is Fascism?

How To Cope With A Pandemic

The Supreme Court’s Dark History

The Woes Of The Masons

What If The Constitution Were Changed?

The Supreme Court’s History Of Overruling Itself On Constitutional Issues

Why Is The Study Of History So Important?

We Are Living Through 1984 And Newspeak

This Is For Those Who Value A Free Press And The Public’s Right To Know; A Personal Story

Why Does Trump Say What He Says And Does What He Does?

What Are We Entitled To Know?

Should Police Be Protected From Lawsuits Under Qualified Immunity?

The Importance Of Newspaper Editorials In A Free Society

Is Journalism Dead? Perhaps In A Way Not Readily Understood

What’s The Matter With Baseball?

A Primer On Appropriation Of Funds And Their Use

What Exactly Is Critical Race Theory?

The Dire State Of Academic Freedom At The University Of Florida

Should Parents Dictate To School Officials What Their Children Should Be Taught?

Uf Academic Freedom Revisited

The Uf’s Dilemma On Academic Freedom

The Uf Tucks Tail And Reverses Itself On Academic Freedom; Not Really

Folks Oppose Social Programs—Until They Depend On Them

Historically, What Is A Zing! When Published In A Newspaper?

What Does The Republican Party Really Mean When They Chant Its Party Line

A Proposed Plan For The Democrats To Get Through To The Voters

A Proposed Plan: Part II

How To Deal With Critical Race Theory Without Emotion

Bob Dole: War Hero, Flawed Nixon Supporter Post Watergate

Trump And Clinton: Who Really Might Just Go To Jail?

The State Of Journalism Today

There Are No Education, Training Or Experience Requirements To Become A Journalist

Biden Is From The FDR School Of Government

How The Republicans Are Trying To Distance Themselves From January 6, 2021

The Chutzpah Award For Sheer Gall

A President’s Role As Consoler-In-Chief

How Democracy Dies

Feeling Great at 78

When Democrats And Republicans Worked Side By Side

January 6, 2021 Was No Patriotic Act In Defense Of Democracy, No Matter How The Republicans Try To Spin It

When A Politician Who Opposes Politicizing Is Part Of The Problem

The Party Of Law And Order Has A Problem With Law And Order

Is Voting A Right Or Privilege?

The Only Thing New Is The History You Don’t Know

There Is Nothing Hidden About The Republican Party’s Agenda Anymore

This Is Outrageous Conduct From A United States Senator

Will The Final Report On January 6 Make Watergate Look Like A Picnic In The Park?

Florida Governor And Congressional Redistricting; How Did We Get Here?

What’s Good For The Goose.......

When Neutral Appearing Laws Discriminate In Practice

Vision Without Execution

Republicans Make A Mockery Of Congressional Investigation By Invoking Fifth Amendment

What Is History?

Journalism Ethics: A Double Standard?

Three Historical Tipping Points, And The One We Face Today

Let’s Just Pass A Law

Republicans Know That Anger Sells, Especially If Packaged As Freedom, Liberty And Justice

Messages For Us From The Twilight Zone

Hoaxes, Witch Hunts And Denials

Becoming Informed In An Era Of Information Overload

When Have Conservatives Been On The Right Side Of History?

Republicans’ Reliance On False Equivalencies

Objectivity By Subjective People

Another Example Of A Law’s Unintended Consequences?

Authoritarianism: Planting The Seeds

What Will Authoritarianism Look Like

A Representative Democracy?

Flipping The Script On Draconian Thought Control Legislation

Florida Republicans: What Damage Can We Do Today?

Prove It!

Chutzpah! The Republicans Have It In Spades

A Constitutional Convention? It Can’t Happen Here! Think Again.

Recent Poll Shows 72% Of Americans Think The Country Is Headed In The Wrong Direction

Why I Am A Democrat

Back To The Dark Ages

Another Attack On The Enemy Of The People

What Does Legislating From The Bench Really Mean?

The Second Big Lie

Participating In A Democrat-Led Persecution

How Do We Break Through The Wall?

We Know What They Stand For; What’s Next?

Not A Good Day For DeSantis, Trump

Changing The Constitution Without Changing A Word

A Word About Treason

Why Do States Have Different Laws, Especially For The Same Conduct?

Why Are Challenges To Legislation Favored By Governor DeSantis Being Filed In Federal Court?

The Peril Of Non-Accountability

Ironies Of Irony

What Is A Patriot?

Would You Rather Be Woke Or Ignorant?

How The Republicans Work Their Game Plan

Uh Oh, Here We Go Again

Incredible Ignorance

Our Better Angels Had Better Appear Very Soon Before The Crisis Gets Out Of Hand

INTRODUCTION

I am the product of two professions driven by inquiry and skepticism, journalism and law. In both colleges many years ago, I was taught to ask penetrating questions and be skeptical of the answers. If I had any doubt, I would search for the facts, usually through a document search, or a deep read of the lawbooks. Asking questions and seeking the proper answers has sustained me professionally for 55 years. And they certainly helped in my personal life as well.

Both professions are founded upon logic, rational thinking, critical analysis and sound judgment. So, when I see something that doesn’t make sense, defies logic, is irrational, or otherwise is off-the-wall, I ask questions and search for answers. And since both professions are combative in nature, I’m certainly not afraid to state my opinions, my reasons for them, and am ready to take on those who disagree with the strongest weapon I have—facts, logic, common sense, reasoned judgment.

I must confess that I am a Facebook junkie. Not that I’m enamored with social media. There is certainly far too much misinformation, flat-out wrong information, etc., being spread on social media. And we know that, a lie travels around the globe while the truth is putting on its shoes. And while shared opinions based on fact is a positive for social media, rumors based on speculation or opinion, opinion based on opinion, and opinion based on wild theories and misinformation pose a clear danger. To offer another quote, this from former Harvard President Derek Bok, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.

For the most part, however, I pretty much kept my opinions to myself, or shared them with family and friends, until January 6, 2021 when for the first time since 1812, our nation’s Capital came under siege as a mass of Trump supporters tried to stop the constitutionally required certification of the Electoral College vote for the next president of the United States.

Since then, taking to heart the note on the Facebook page that says What’s on your mind, I’ve posted on Facebook my thoughts and opinions about various situations. Many of my posts are quite lengthy, solely because of the importance I place on analysis, fact, reason, logic, critical thinking and sound judgment.

What follows in chronological order from January 6, 2021 to February, 2022 are posts on a variety of subjects, mostly—but certainly not all— on politics. If nothing else, we need a national dialog on issues of great public importance. And we need that dialog to begin yesterday. Here is my take.

WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?

What are we supposed to do? This was the memorable statement made by one of the rioters during the siege on our nation’s Capital on January 6. This rioter said further: The Supreme Court won’t help us. Congress won’t help us. So, he reasoned, it was up to him and his ilk to take the law into their own hands and, following Trump and his acolytes, take over the government of the United States and thereby supplant law with anarchy. However, so far, I’ve not been able to find anyone who answered his basic question. So, here’s my take. In our Democracy, when there is a challenge to a law, the courts are the final arbiter. When the judiciary, in more than 60 cases including two at the Supreme Court, uniformly rejected every claim of a rigged election, supporters of Democracy don’t have to agree with the courts’ decisions, but they have to accept them. And this is where the rioters are so obviously wrong and wrongheaded.

It’s not up to them to choose to accept lie after lie about a rigged election, even if these lies are fueled by those who have taken an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and oppose all enemies, foreign and domestic. As was done in 2000, although many didn’t agree with the Supreme Court’s decision that awarded George Bush the presidency, we who support Democracy were obligated to accept it. And we did. If each one of us were free to disregard the actions of our government and pursue our ends as we saw fit, choosing with impunity to believe whatever we chose to believe, we would replace Democracy with anarchy. We can only hope that what happened on January 6 is not repeated. And we must expect those elected officials who fed these mindless minions with repeated lies are held accountable for aiding and abetting an armed insurrection.

Those who stormed the capitol must be also be held accountable for their seditious actions. It is accountability that provides guardrails protective of our Democracy. What happened was not a peaceful protest or demonstration protected by the First Amendment; it was a direct violent assault on our form of government. May our better angels prevail, and may the strength of our Democracy overcome this act of insurrection.

QANON AND THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Last night, CNN broadcast a special on QAnon. As I watched, what amazed me was how easy it is to sway the minds of the gullible; those who willingly fall prey to the power of suggestion, regardless of how outlandishly devoid of logic, reason and common sense. And I recalled that great TV series of the 1960s, The Twilight Zone. I’m sure many of you are familiar with this series; episodes are now shown on the SciFi network during certain holiday periods. It has been said that its creator, Rod Serling, had a keen sense of human nature and the human experience. He began each episode with an opening narrative. One such narrative struck me as most relevant to the QAnon movement. Some of you might recall it: It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone. I emphasize the key language because I believe it expresses precisely what drives the current iteration of extremism. Shadow, superstition and fear. And if you can tap into that, you can motivate and control. There was one particular episode out of the more than 150 that comprise the Twilight Zone collection, and ranks as one of the most popular episodes. It’s entitled The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. Those of you who are Twilight Zone fans well remember this one; those who are not familiar are encouraged to check it out on YouTube.

Without getting into details, substitute the source of misinformation in that episode, with an entity that stands to benefit the most by sowing today’s right-wing extremism, and you get the idea of how easy it is to turn friend against friend, and neighbor against neighbor. In this TZ episode, it was the flashing of lights, a few unexplained sounds, and before long, well, the result was violence. Serling understood the frailties and weaknesses of human nature, and his many episodes dealt with manifestations of that keen understanding. Today, social media, where just about anything goes, feed suggestibility and psychic vulnerability. The wilder the story, the most cryptic of messages, the most outlandish of allegations, serve as rocket fuel for extremism of the most dangerous kind. But it’s not as if this is new. Recall the Weimar Republic, which governed Germany following World War I and ruled from 1919-1933.

The founders of the Weimar Republic, Jews, socialists, liberals, war profiteers, and others on the home front were blamed for undermining the war effort. Enter Adolf Hitler, and we know what followed. We know that our republic requires eternal vigilance if it is to survive. In the past, each generation, when faced with an existential crisis, made it through the storm through the efforts of our better angels. We must call upon our better angels to deal with our current crisis of conscience. Find those who are planting the seeds of anger and discontent in the minds of the gullible. Follow the funding sources. Is the enemy homegrown? Is it fueled from foreign soil? Reason, logic, common sense, rationality must prevail. The alternative is simply inconceivable.

COVID’S CONSEQUENCES

This headline, Some May Not Recover Senses which appears in today’s USA Today, caught my eye. The article is about those who suffered from COVID-19, recovered, but did not recover some of their senses. We know of reports of virus victims losing their senses of smell and taste. However, researchers aren’t sure whether they will ever recover their senses; only time will tell. But there is one sense that too many others have lost, and it doesn’t look as if they will ever recover this lost sense.

It is the sense that has been demonstrably lost by those who incited and encouraged the attack on our capitol on January 6; by those who carried out the seditious assault; those who gave aid and comfort to the rioters during and after the attack; and those who continue to ignore or excuse the inexcusable, even giving aid to a member of Congress who has called for the murder of her fellow representatives with whom she disagrees. That sense that appears irretrievably lost is common sense. Common sense is defined by Merriam-Webster as, sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.

Thus, common sense equates to the knowledge and experience which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have. It isn’t necessarily based on education level; it’s derived from the accumulation of life’s knowledge from youth to adulthood, and life experiences. Common sense is what we generally rely on when making decisions. Common sense factors into deciding right from wrong. Take those who precipitated January 6 (a new day in our nation’s history that will go down in infamy).

Did Donald Trump use common sense when he repeatedly lied about the election? How about when he urged his followers to attack the Capitol? Did his loyal sycophants in Congress use common sense when they repeated the rigged election lie and either remained silent or supported the rioters? How about that member of Congress who refuses to disavow her threats to other members, and those who continue to remain silent in the face of such outrageous threats? And what about the rioters themselves? Do you see any exercise of common sense among them? Do you see anyone among these people exercising common sense? For them, common sense as historically and generally understood doesn’t exist.

It has been replaced by political expediency (or cowardice) on one hand, and reliance on wild-eyed conspiracy theories on the other. According to the FBI and Homeland Security, ideologically motivated lone offenders and small groups pose the most likely terrorist threat to the homeland, with domestic violent extremists presenting the most persistent and lethal threat. In sum, it is this domestic terrorism that poses the gravest threat to democracy. Fortunately, they are in the minority, and the majority, with cooler, common sensical heads, will remain ever vigilant.

We have gotten ourselves out of existential crises before. A civil war. Two world wars. Depression. The 1918 pandemic. Civil rights riots and demonstrations. And we are now working to combat the latest pandemic. We will work our way out of the great divide that we are now living through, but it will take the condemnation and ultimate accountability of those who fostered and participated in the insurrection. Again fortunately, this is beginning to take form. Many are leaving the Party of Trump, calling it a cult; officials who either remain silent or voiced support are facing isolation; and many on the far right are becoming disillusioned with predictions that failed to pan out. Maybe there is hope for common sense for at least some of these folks after all.

DONALD TRUMP AND HIS SECOND SENATE TRIAL ON IMPEACHMENT

As the Senate trial of Donald Trump gets under way, it is interesting to see how the view on its constitutionality is split along party lines, although a few Republicans appear to support its constitutionality. The Republicans argue that it’s unconstitutional because Trump is out of office and therefore, since he can’t be removed from office, there is nothing for the Senate to do but acquit. But Article I, Section 3 Clause 7 provides that: Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

Thus, there are two penalties that flow from a Senate judgment: removal and disqualification. Removal, according to another provision of the Constitution, requires a 2/3 vote--and we know that there aren’t enough Republicans willing to convict, so Trump won’t be removed. And, besides, he’s not in office and can’t be