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In his novel 1984 George Orwell invented the expression “newspeak” to describe the ambiguous or deliberately misleading use of language to make political propaganda and narrow the “thought options” of those who are on the receiving end. In the context of today’s political discourse, or what passes for the same, it would be interesting to know what George would think of the saturation use of “anti-Semitism” as something like a tactical discussion stopper, employed to end all dispute while also condemning those accused of the crime as somehow outside the pale, monsters who are consigned forever to derision and obscurity.

The Israelis and, to be sure, many diaspora Jews know exactly how the expression has been weaponized. Former Israeli Minister Shulamit Aloni explained how it is done “Anti-Semitic”…”its a trick, we always use it.”

Fresh from that championship season, A Noise Within’s Spring 2019 season blasts off with a must-see modern dress Othello that demonstrates why the Pasadena classical repertory theatre company just won the coveted Ovation Award for Best Season. Shakespeare’s tragedy is on one level, of course, an extremely up close and personal tale about betrayal, as well as about friendship, romance, sex, marriage and, but of course, that “green eyed monster”: jealousy.

But the Bard’s interracial angle plus the play’s power elite milieu elevates Othello to the ranks of Shakespeare’s 38 plays that are full of social commentary. And the modern dress plus non-traditional gender and ethnic casting components in ANW’s production - reportedly award-winning director Jessica Kubzansky’s stroke of genius - adds a whole new 21st century dimension to this drama penned in 1604. The dramatis personae who belong to the armed forces wear contemporary-looking camouflage and dress uniforms emblazoned with “fruit salad” medals, ribbons, etc., while civilians, including Venice’s officials, are garbed in 2019 plain clothes (all courtesy of costume designer Angela Balogh Calin).

“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”- William Casey, Ronald Reagan’s first CIA Director (from Casey’s first staff meeting, 1981)

An internet troll isa person who starts quarrels or tries to upset people on the internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses and normalizing tangential discussion, whether for the troll's amusement or a specific gain. Sociopathic corporations use the technique to manipulate public opinion.

A disinformation agent publishes or otherwise provides false information that is intended to mislead. Disinformation is called propaganda when issued by government organizations, and it is called advertising when issued by corporations.

Ask Gov. Newsom to Fully Inspect Aged Diablo Canyon Nuclear Unit One Before it Re-Fuels

Contact: Mimi Kennedy (315) 246-7333; Harvey Wasserman (614) 738-3646 – solartopia@gmail.com; Myla Reson (310) 663-7660  – myla.reson@gmail.com

Dear Gov. Newsom,

We join hundreds of other Californians, including Sen. Ben Allen and San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon, who are calling, writing, faxing and e-mailing, asking that you take action at Diablo Canyon to protect our safety and economic future. Under PG&E’s current bankruptcy and criminal proceedings, your position gives you wide ranging powers to act.

Our Historically-illiterate (and proud of it) President Trump has Never Read the History of the Preventable Evils that were Loosed on America and the Planet by the President’s Corrupt Crony Capitalists in 1919

WARNING: Trump/Pence and their Cronies are Blindly Following the Formula for a 1929-style Stock Market Crash that is likely to be followed by a 1930s-style Great Depression)

“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” --  George Santayana

The following history lesson, taken virtually verbatim from the Encyclopedia Britannica is a perfect example of the old truism in the title (attributed to philosopher George Santayana).

Readers can draw their own conclusions from the following historical account of what can happen (like it did 100 years ago this year) when a group of greedy, unaccountable, authoritarian, Big Business-oriented ruling elites think that they can run a government like an inherently sociopathic, multi-national corporation.

For starters, consider these few facts – and then read on:

The “Desperado in Chief” wants — NEEDS!!! — a diversionary “national” emergency.

He says it’s about the border wall. He’s got everybody yapping about immigration and steel slats. He’s torturing and killing innocent children in concentration camps at the border for the private profit of the incarceration corporations … and to act out his own primal fantasies as an absolute dictator.

But really, he couldn’t care less.

In fact, what this is obviously all about is the four walls he doesn’t want to look at from the inside of a jail cell for the rest of his unnatural life.

Those walls have been closing in on him for a long time. But the pace is mightily accelerating.

His indicted (and convicted) co-conspirator Paul Manafort has just had his plea deal canceled because he got caught lying (again!) to the federal courts. The consequence: that former look-how-incredibly-rich-I-am ex-millionaire may spend the rest of his orange-clad life in prison.

Manafort is no doubt counting on a pardon from the Oval Office. But Trump doesn’t seem to have the oomph necessary to face the outcry that would arise if he freed his former buddy.

The lineup of Democrats who have already declared themselves as candidates for their party’s presidential nomination in 2020 is remarkable, if only for the fact that so many wannabes have thrown their hats in the ring so early in the process. In terms of electability, however, one might well call the seekers after the highest office in the land the nine dwarfs. Four of the would-be candidates – Marianne Williamson a writer, Andrew Yang an entrepreneur, Julian Castro a former Obama official, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman John Delaney – have no national profiles at all and few among the Democratic Party rank-and-file would be able to detail who they are, where they come from and what their positions on key issues might be.

Attention all vaccine-illiterate journalists, healthcare givers (and potential vaccine-recipients): you should not be criticizing what you don’t understand, especially when you are relying on the massive amount of dis-information coming from professional dis-information artists in the vaccine and medical industries who have ulterior motives, such as scaring everybody into demanding fully vaccinating their children because of an “outbreak” of measles among 0.0001 % of the American population, some of whom were already vaccinated!! (Note that tere have been 130 children who died from the measles vaccinations but essentially zero that died from measles in the past decade! The prevention is worse than the disese. Please do your investigative journalism like they taught you in journalism: look al all sides of issues and don’t be bamboozled by those pseudoscientists who have ulterior motives. Also –school yourself in real science. Gary G. Kohls, MD, Duluth, MN

n 1973 the War Powers Resolution weakened the U.S. Constitution’s placement of the power to start and end wars with the first branch of the U.S. government, the Congress. The new law carved out exceptions to allow presidents to start wars. However, it also created procedures by which a single member or group of members of Congress could force a vote in Congress on whether to end a war. Despite weakening the written law, the War Powers Resolution may finally be about to prove itself to have strengthened the ability of proponents of peace to put an end to mass slaughter.

Since 1973 we’ve seen numerous wars waged in blatant violation of both the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution, not to mention the UN Charter and the Kellogg Briand Pact. But we’ve also seen Congress members like my friend Dennis Kucinich force votes on whether to end wars. These votes have usually failed. And the Congress that ended this past December illegally refused (in the House) to even hold such votes. But debates have been created, people have been informed, and the notion that a law still exists that merits respect has been kept alive.