(How Not To Say) Told You So

 

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.― Joe Klaas

 

(How Not To Say) Told You So

by C.A. Matthews

Seven years ago, if you’d asked me if Hillary Clinton was going to win the 2016 presidential election or not and why, I would have answered: “Of course not! She’s not that popular. She actually smiled gleefully on television about slaughtering Qaddafi in cold blood when she was Secretary of State. Ew! She just rubs people the wrong way.”

I was right. Told you so.

If you would have asked me after the 2016 election how Hillary and the Dems were going to take their embarrassing loss, I’d have said: “They’ll come up with some elaborate excuse to cover up for the fact that they were too lazy to campaign in the Rust Belt, Deep South, or Rural West in order to garner those electoral college votes. They’ll refuse to accept their responsibility for this loss and will place the blame on others, pretending to be ‘victims’ of some great plot to make them look bad. Just you wait and see.”

Told you so—again. This time it was a much more sinister thing to have been right about. And it's been an uncomfortable seven years being maligned and shouted down although, in the end, I was proven right.

According to Black Agenda Report:

Taken together - the Mueller report that failed to uncover collusion between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign, and the Horowitz report that revealed violations of FBI protocols and which generated legal proceedings against some agents related to information used to justify launching Crossfire Hurricane, and now the Durham report - it is clear that the political and cultural phenomenon known as “Russiagate” could be legitimately characterized as a state-sponsored domestic psy-op.

The release of the Durham Report has finally vindicated my (and many others’) take on the Russiagate scandal. It has been proven beyond any shadow of a doubt to be indeed an elaborate fraud concocted by the Democratic Party with the help of the FBI. The 306-page report was sent to Congress by Attorney General Merrick Garland and concludes that the FBI engaged in a witch hunt, code named Crossfire Hurricane, that was orchestrated by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, aided and abetted by senior FBI officials who loathed Trump.  

We at The Revolution Continues were so confident that Russiagate was simply an elaborate cover up for Hillary’s unpopularity and big loss that we even created a whole page full of links to articles and videos demonstrating that none of the claims made by the Dems  were remotely true. (You can see just how much evidence we accumulated here.) 

To those of us on the actual Left who follow the reporting of independent journalists, Russigate was a blatantly obvious scam from the start. It didn’t deserve a moment’s notice of a serious publication or network and should go down in history as an example of how far a US political party will go to manipulate the mainstream media into covering for its extremely unlikable candidate and her poorly run campaign. President Richard "Watergate" Nixon is rolling in his grave at how long the Dems have got away with it.

So, here we are seven years later and the Durham Report has spilled the beans. There was no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and any foreign power. Zero evidence. No convictions were ever made from any of the multitude of allegations. Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald covers the whole story well in this episode of System Update: Durham Report Obliterates FBI for Russiagate Misconduct.

I hate to say, “I told you so!” to friends who fell hook, line and sinker for all the Russiagate nonsense, but it doesn't make any sense. Why didn’t they listen to us here at TRC in the first place? We could have saved them a lot of time and worry fretting over a so-called “foreign influence” interfering with the presidential election. Let’s face facts: The only persons who interfere with American elections are our fellow Americans who already have the power and means to do so, as well as the desire to change and/or manipulate the numbers in their favor. 

You think we’ll get an apology anytime soon from the top-ranked Dems who came up with this load of hogwash? I sincerely doubt it. To admit complicity in such a criminal plot that was a fiendish waste of time (and ultimately taxpayers’ dollars to debunk it) in order to **snigger** make demagogue Donald Trump look “bad” would make the Democratic Party look even more inept that the cognitively challenged resident currently residing in the White House. 

But Russiagate goes beyond mere ineptitude according to Black Agenda Report:

Remember, the infamous ‘Steele Dossier’ was paid for by the Clinton campaign and played a significant role in the mythology of Russigate. (…) Despite the fact that the Mueller report concluded that there was no evidence of Trump campaign collusion with the Russian Federation and that Russian election interference was largely an urban myth – the FBI’s absurd charges against the African People's Socialist Party (APSP) and its Chairman and supporters is based on the acceptance that the Russians are still involved in “malign influence” campaigns across the U.S. The FBI claims that the APSP has committed the ideological crime of “sowing dissent” among the public by their opposition to the Biden initiated war in Ukraine.

 

We talked about this incident concerning the APSP a couple of weeks ago in Weaponizing Free Speech. A made up hoax to cover for Hillary’s embarrassing loss in 2016 has led to a culture that demonizes and censors all groups that hold a very different outlook when it comes to eternal wars for resources at the expense of others. Because of a huge lie that has demonized Russia, dissenters such as the members of the African People’s Socialist Party must be arrested by the FBI and locked up. Their voices must be silenced—all because of the horrendous mess that is Russiagate, which was created for solely selfish political purposes.
 
Fellow Americans, the members of the APSP, could be sent to prison because (wait for it)... Because the Dems in 2016 wanted to make Hillary Clinton look like a victim of Russian propaganda and manipulation. It would be almost comical if it wasn't altogether criminal what the FBI is currently doing to the APSP members who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech.

And of course neither Hillary nor any of her pals in the DNC will ever see jail time for this criminal enterprise. Disgusting.

So, how can we prevent ourselves from saying “Told you so” when it’s oh-so tempting? Perhaps the best way is to not let these situations happen in the first place. Preemptively encourage your friends and family members to develop critical thinking skills. They must trust their natural sense of “What’s the motive behind this action? Who profits from spinning the narrative to make the public scared/angry/indignant about this particular person/place/organization? Is anyone trying to cover up for something they should or shouldn’t have done?”

If your friend or loved one can learn to stop and carefully question an organization’s or corporation’s or government’s or a political party’s motives and narratives, perhaps they will be able to stop themselves from becoming victims of the propaganda spewed from the mouths of co-opted mainstream media pundits. You won’t have to say “Told you so” ever again because they will be able to discern the truth and uncover the lies for themselves.

We talked about developing critical thinking skills on this blog before in our article on the East Palestine, Ohio/Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical burn (American Chernobyl). I know it’s easier said than done to inspire others to develop these necessary survival skills.

Some folks seem addicted to CNN or Fox News or whatever pundit they feel is speaking the gospel truth at that moment. They’ll automatically accept whatever is told to them by someone such as Rachel Maddow, even though her lawyers admitted in court that she isn’t truthfully reporting news but is “entertaining” her audience with whatever they want to hear. (And at a $30 million+ yearly salary Rachel will say anything. She doesn’t care if she’s acting like a parrot for a government disinformation agency. The money is good.)

This continual reinforcement of a false narrative from the media—such as the continual emphasis that Trump was working for Russia or that APSP members’ activism for peace in Ukraine is somehow “anti-American”—can make others act defensively when irrefutable evidence such as the Durham Report is given to them. They’ll lash out in anger or denial of the facts because of the psychic pain of cognitive dissonance. Providing facts that could overturn a big lie such as Russiagate could also ruin your relationship. I know I’ve been there. 

I was trying to convince a person that the Nazi influence in Ukraine goes way back to World War II. He wouldn’t have any of it. Photos of statues of Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera in prominent display throughout Ukraine wouldn’t convince him. Videos of the summer camps that Ukrainian children attend where they are taught white supremacist dogma didn’t impress him. Even the fact that the Russians lost 26 million lives to the Nazis and are vehemently anti-Nazi wouldn’t convince him that they had strong motives to help their fellow ethnic Russians in the Donbass who had been repeatedly bombed by Neo-Nazis since 2015. I suppose asking him to read this well-researched piece, Nazis in Ukraine—It's Worse Than You Think, wouldn’t change his mind, either. 

When at long last it comes out in the mainstream media that there have been real live Nazis in Ukraine all along—and no doubt it will come out as NATO distances themselves from Ukraine and the potential war with China heats up—how will I stop myself from shouting, “I told you so”? It’s going to be tough. I’ll have to bite my tongue. Hard. 

But if I really care about this person, step-by-step I’ll help him see how he has been indoctrinated by an uncaring mainstream media...who works at the behest of an equally uncaring government...who works essentially for the billionaires of the military industrial complex that profits from eternal war. I’ll take things slow and easy. If he starts to connect the dots on his own, I won’t stop him and take the credit, but give him all the praise he deserves as a critical thinker. 

Because that’s who we need more of in this world. Critical thinkers who won’t blindly follow the horrendous hoaxes such as Russiagate. Critical thinkers who’ll stop and dissect the propaganda they’re being constantly bombarded with. Critical thinkers who’ll fight back against the censorship imposed upon us by those who wish to manipulate us. 

Welcome to the “good fight,” comrades! 

An Example of a Substack "Note"

"The problem, as is so often the case, is that mainstream westerners make the assumption that "If that's what was happening, we would have heard about it in the news." Not understanding that their "news" media is designed to advance the interests of the powerful, not to report the news." --Caitlin Johnstone

This is why I wish they'd get rid of the moniker "news" for the infotainment shows on the networks and "news" channels. They're not telling us anything we really need to hear--they're simply covering for the powerful, the manipulators of kings and corporations. It's time to do like the character of Howard Beal did in the movie Network and throw the tube out the second story window.

 

 

Read more "Notes" like this one at our Substack page and subscribe today: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

 

Related and Insightful Links:

Durham Report Obliterates FBI for Russiagate Misconduct. Major Changes at Twitter Raise Serious Questions. And Reflections on the Extraordinary Life of David Miranda | SYSTEM UPDATE #83
https://rumble.com/v2o5wgs-system-update-83.html

Durham Report Reveals the Real Threat to “Democracy” – The FBI Weaponized by Democrat Party Affiliated Elites
https://www.blackagendareport.com/durham-report-reveals-real-threat-democracy-fbi-weaponized-democrat-party-affiliated-elites

Why the Conspiracy Theory About Trump and Russia Won't Go Away  https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/why-the-conspiracy-theory-about-trump

Eight Takeaways From the Durham Report
https://www.racket.news/p/damn-thats-thin-i-know-it-sucks-the

A Century of Censorship https://www.racket.news/p/a-century-of-censorship

Western News Media Exist To Administer Propaganda
https://open.substack.com/pub/caitlinjohnstone/p/western-news-media-exist-to-administer

Bellingcat is a Western 'psy-op'
https://mate.substack.com/p/elon-musk-is-right-bellingcat-is

We Must Speak Up Before the Propagandists Get Their War with China  https://therealnews.com/we-must-speak-up-before-the-propagandists-get-their-war-with-china

Counter-Disinformation: The New Snake Oil
https://www.racket.news/p/counter-disinformation-the-new-snake

Who is Accountable.us? https://indiemediatoday.substack.com/p/who-is-accountableus-howdidwemisstha

Marching To The Beat Of The Imperial Machine https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/marching-to-the-beat-of-the-imperial

‘Death Outlives War’: Analysis Estimates Post-9/11 ​US Conflicts Killed Over 4.5 Million https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/16/death-outlives-war-analysis-estimates-post-9-11-us-conflicts-killed-over-4-5-million/

A New Report Finds That the “War on Terror” Led to More Than 4.5 Million Deaths https://truthout.org/articles/a-new-report-finds-that-the-war-on-terror-led-to-more-than-4-5-million-deaths/

Biden Okays F-16s for Ukraine, US Weapons to Attack Crimea https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/biden-okays-f-16s-for-ukraine-us

Ukraine Aid Funding Expected to Run Out by Mid-Summer
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/16/ukraine-aid-funding-expected-to-run-out-by-mid-summer/

Nazis in Ukraine--It's Worse Than You Think https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/nazis-in-ukraine-its-worse-than-you-think-80a2b8028306

Peru’s coup-plotting congress has 6% approval, 91% disapproval (but full US backing)
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/04/16/peru-coup-congress-approval-us/

Seymour Hersh: The Ukraine Refugee Question
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/19/seymour-hersh-the-ukraine-refugee-question/

Patrick Lawrence: Farewell to the Welfare State? Not Just Yet.
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/17/patrick-lawrence-farewell-to-the-welfare-state-not-just-yet/

The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World
https://eisenhowermedianetwork.org/russia-ukraine-war-peace/

Patrick Lawrence: The USA’s Soviet-Style President
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/17/patrick-lawrence-the-usas-soviet-style-president/

SCOTUS Case May Slash Regulation Of Everything https://popularresistance.org/scotus-case-may-slash-regulation-of-everything/

Inflation drives US household debt to record $17 trillion
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/16/fcta-m16.htm


Montana Becomes First State to Ban TikTok Amid Concerns of First Amendment Violations
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/18/montana-becomes-first-state-to-ban-tiktok-amid-concerns-of-first-amendment-violations/

Report Reveals Top CEOs Dodge Taxes on Nearly $9 Billion in Retirement Funds
https://truthout.org/articles/report-reveals-top-ceos-dodge-taxes-on-nearly-9-billion-in-retirement-funds/

The Flight From the US Dollar
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/18/the-flight-from-the-us-dollar/ 

American Chernobyl https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/02/american-chernobyl.html

Weaponizing Free Speech https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/04/weaponizing-free-speech.html 

 

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