Jeebus.
The entire left-o-sphere is in a hysterical frenzy about AARP based on a story in the Wall Street Journal that implies the venerable old-folks insurance and lobbying outfit is now OK with cutting Social Security benefits -- as long as the AARP gets a seat at the table and helps in the decision making process about who gets cut, how and when.
Somehow, everyone has forgotten that the Wall Street Journal is a Murdoch paper now, and its "news" is more and more inclined -- shall we say -- toward what's favorable to Murdoch's interests in taking over the world.
In fact, AARP has not said, and apparently has not agreed to, what the WSJ article implies.
But that doesn't matter. What matter are perceptions, and in this case, Murdoch and his tools have come up with a doozy of a perception: AARP is OK with cutting Social Security benefits, and with that domino falling, cuts are inevitable. Hahahahah.
Murdoch and his tools have been fiercely attacking AARP from the right for years; now, apparently they have decided it's time to go after AARP from the left. And it is working beautifully. There hasn't been this much unholy hollering on the left since the last time some libertarian or rightist tool stirred that pot.
AARP's statement is that its position on SS has not changed, and apart from the implied change in the WSJ piece, there is no evidence that it has.
Take issue with AARP's position, by all means, but don't do it based on the kinds of innuendo and misdirection that all Murdoch rags (including the WSJ) are notorious for.
Please.
Breitbart is laughing at you.
My cousin recently quoted from the Wall Street Journal on her blog. I think I got her mad at me when I pointed out that they were the bad guys, everything they include has a sinister political agenda, and you need to be very careful paying attention to anything they say.
ReplyDeleteIt was -- and still is -- really shocking that this Murdoch story -- which doesn't say all that much when you get down to it -- was used as a catalyst throughout the "lefty" blogosphere to denounce AARP in exactly the way the Rightists have been denouncing AARP for years.
ReplyDeleteThere are all kinds of reasons to criticize AARP, but I can't understand why a FOXified story in the WSJ became the central focus of an absolute chorus of truly mindless denunciation of AARP on the "left."
What an example of provocation and the effectiveness of propaganda.
On the other hand, these sorts of things happen because somebody on the A-List back channel is saying that it's a Big Story that has to be universally featured. The question is, who was the provocateur?
Ezra? Again? I don't know.
Ché