Truth Lies Politics And a Warming World

By Robert Byrum

The book covers the hazards we face today as our democratic institutions are being challenged to their very foundation. Lies and how they have influenced the public and created a society of hate, policies and laws that reinforce it even against children. It touches on today's idiocy of our unregulated gun

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Jan 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9781684866441

Robert Byrum

The author has discovered that the challenges of writing can be personally rewarding and fun when exploring new ideas that can be share with others. He has developed many interests during his long lifetime; his profession Structural Engineering, fishing, hunting, world travel, training dogs and now the new adventure; writing. He believes that: "The man who pursues happiness wisely will aim at the possession of many different interests in addition to those central ones upon which his life is built." Bertrand RussellIt has truly been a happy and rewarding adventure.All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated by the author to the Environmental Defense Fund

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Other Books by the Author

A Life Well Lived

Words Matter

Extinction

An Inconvenient Future

TRUTH LIES POLITICS AND A WARMING WORLD

ROBERT BYRUM

Truth Lies Politics and a Warming World

Copyright © 2023 by Robert Byrum. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of URLink Print and Media.

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Published in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023922914

ISBN 978-1-68486-640-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68486-644-1 (Digital)

09.11.23

Dedication

To the children, who through their efforts, are holding governments accountable for climate change.

Contents

Preface: Truth

Introduction: Lies and More Lies

Hate

The Children

Killing Fields

Climate Change and Climate Deniers

Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Evolution and Extinction

Sea Level and Temperature Rise

Politics, Woke and Wokeness

Plastics & Pollution

Toxic Chemicals

The Lies of Big Oil

The Future

Conclusions

Preface

Truth

Truth, what is it? Have we forgotten what it sounds like? Do we recognize it any more when we hear it, read or even speak it? Webster defines it as that which is true; a fact; a reality; the real or true state of things; a verified fact. But it is much more than just what a dictionary defines. It is a foundation for living, a commitment to a life of honest achievements and dealings, a beacon by which we live and without it we become lesser animals. Thomas Jefferson knew the value of truth when he gave us these words, We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created Equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Is it possible to have Equality among men without truth, or to experience Life, Liberty and Happiness? There is much truth in those few words. Can true Liberty be achieved and maintained with lies? No, but it can be destroyed with falsehoods. Can we live and be truly happy without being truthful to ourselves and others? Try living with a lie, will you ever be truly happy?

Today our lives are saturated with untruthfulness; it comes at us from many sources and for many reasons. How is it possible to understand and accept someone who is spreading lies and knows they are not true? And even more strange, how can people believe the lies and accept them as facts knowing they are not, and to continue to repeat them as the gospel? Is it because we have become immune to reality, have we all been taking dumb pills to dull our common sense and understanding of what is real? Or have we begun to believe that, Truth is not Truth as we were told by a former mayor of New York City named Rudy?

Liz Chaney, former U.S. House representative commencement address to the 2023 graduates, Colorado College.

After the 2020 election and the attack of January 6th, my fellow Republican wanted me to lie. They wanted me to say that the 2020 election was stolen, that the attack of January 6th wasn’t a big deal, and that Donald Trump wasn’t dangerous. I had to choose between lying and losing my position in the House leadership. America cannot remain a free nation if we abandon the truth. So, as you go out to change the world, resolve that you will stand for truth. Those who are trying to unravel the foundation of our republic, who are threatening the rule of law and the sanctity of our elections, know they can’t succeed if you vote. So, class of 2023, get out and vote. This means listening and learning. This means running for office. We need you to work to defend our Constitution and defeat those who deny the sanctity of our elections. We are entrusting our nation and the future of freedom to your care.

Introduction

Lies and More Lies

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Third Reich Minister of Propaganda during World War II.

Why today does that sound so familiar?

A question for MAGA Trump supporters in trying to learn why they continue to support him: Do you know, do you care, and do you care to know? In other words, do you really, care and care to know Donald Trump’s actual character: that he only cares about himself and his self-interest while caring little about the concerns and needs of the people and the country? In a deposition for a lawsuit by a writer who accused him of rape, Trump swore under oath saying stars have assaulted woman for the last million years. Do you know, care and care to know of his incompetence in business and politics, and that he is a scam artist? Do you, care, and care to know of his severe personality flaws and egotism is rendering him literally incapable of functioning as an effective President of the United States? Do you realize that this man’s disfunction is exceedingly dangerous and is undermining this country’s position around the world and is bringing us to a point of rupture in our constitutional form of government? And if you know these things and are apparently concerned with maintaining and expanding your personal freedoms and liberty, why would you ever consider voting for Trump? By doing so, you have given up your own personal freedom and liberty as the cost of supporting his personal cult.

How do leaders like Trump gain power in liberal democracies that are built on the guiding principles of freedom and rule of law? There are four basic principles.

They obtain limited political diversity with severe constraints on legislative, political parties, and interest groups. Super majorities are an example.

They gain political legitimacy based on appeals to emotions and the establishment of the regime as being a necessary evil to control and combat easily recognized social issues; things like Woke, the LGBTQ community and race issues.

They allow minimum political action and suppress any anti-regime activities. They create and repeat their lies on many levels.

They use ill-defined executive powers that are often vague and shifting which extends the power of the executive.

What paved the way for the rise of the fascist regimes in the 1930s prior to World War II? Who were the people who supported the growth of these organizations? They were people who were most ripe for extremisms, those most susceptible to anti-establishment, anti-LGBTQ people, anti-Jews and anti-democratic political beliefs. These are the same type of people who are active in this country today, encouraged by Trump and his legions. They suspend their critical thinking facilities and pledge obedience, allegiances and sacrifice their freedom to a powerful leader. In other words, they surrender their freedom for the promise of some social personal security to set under the wing of their exalted leader. This includes the suppression and even forceful opposition to those who are in disagreement with their views.

Democracy demands an informed electorate who will assume the responsibility to examine the politicians and issues of the day so they can make truly informed decisions. It demands that we never relinquish our freedoms and authority for some promise of a comfortable security that can never be obtained by listening to the Big Lie. Though Trump has been convicted of sexual attacks and is under investigation for conspiring to lead a coup to remain in power; to steal classified documents; to attempt to change the outcome of the electoral vote in Georgia; to lie and submit false tax forms in New York State and the Internal Revenue Service, and has been impeached twice his followers continue to kneel at his feet and cheer his every action.

We have long known that Donald Trump is a liar and a racist neo-naturalist. Republican leaders and their supporters who don’t openly oppose him are his enablers that permit him to continue his charade against country and its people. Being enablers they themselves are co- conspirators. Enablers is the term given to those who fail to act to oppose abusers when they know something is wrong.

They are not passive bystanders; they know what Trump is and fail to step forward and call him what he is, a liar and a charlatan. How can they, being in a position of leadership in the country, allow him to attack our democratic institutions and seriously damage their countries standing in the world? Each time anyone enables an abusive action, they support the perpetrators, they enable the lie and diminish themselves and their integrity.

So, the question remains: How long will it take for the Trump supporters to finally realize they have been duped by this con- artist who has sold them his snake oil of a campaign and presidency of no value but which could have disastrous consequences? And how much longer can Trump’s enablers and passive and active supporters continue to sacrifice their own integrity and sense of dignity?

Somehow, somewhere we as a people and a country have slipped off the rails and lost our direction and understanding for the appreciation of truth. Maybe it’s the overwhelming exposure we experience daily to these falsehoods that have become so ingrained in our minds and daily experiences that we have become hepatized and numb to their effect. Most of the serious lies today are political, told to sway public opinion and achieve an advantage or direct actions for the benefit of the teller or to slander the opposition. They are repeated over and over again to achieve mind control upon the unwary and naïve. The Big Lie then becomes acceptable to the unthinking and the gullible as the truth, and later these converts become disciples spreading the false word to the masses. It has become a serious concern for the discerning people of our country that only they can solve by powerfully countering the lies with the truth, but it must be done openly and forcibly in the public arena. Good will prevail when good people refuse to be silent.

And the Big Lie continues: Former President Trump accused Rupert Murdoch, Fox News chairman, of lying when he testified in court that there were no false claims of election fraud during the 2020 election. Trump ask as to how he could say that. The answer is simple; Murdoch is being sued for $1.6 billion dollars for supporting verified false claims broadcast continually by his company. He had better to tell the truth while under oath. Trump should take a lesson. He continues to rile that the election was a fraud and that he won. The lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox is due primarily because Fox top news commentators lied about the election for years, echoing Trump’s claim to their listeners while knowing full well that their reporting was false; misleading the American public. They were afraid that they might offend Trump, lose their viewers and crash the company’s stock price if they reported what they secretly believed. After they claimed that Dominion voting systems were rigged, they got caught in their lie’s. Murdoch testified in a court deposition that the Fox News commentators continue to broadcast the lies even when they knew and admitted in private, they were false. The hosts, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham in private text messages referred to Trump’s and his associate’s voter fraud allegations as being insane, and Carson went so far as saying privately that he hated Trump with a passion.

While doing so they committed their own fraud against their viewers and the American people and they are still lying. Question; loyal Fox News viewers what do you do now? You can read the court filings yourself and see how you’ve been cheated, flimflammed and hustled. Do you have enough self-respect to demand accountability? Sean Hannity said in a sworn statement he didn’t believe Trump’s lawyer, Sidney Powell’s election fraud claims for one second but that didn’t stop him from parroting her lies and conspiratorial fabrications of others on the air. Fox News host Maria Bartiromo said in a deposition It is easier to get good ratings when you are giving your audience something they want to hear. Hannity in a text message to two Fox News executive producers, said truthfully, Respecting our audience whether we agree or not is critical. One of the show’s producers responded referencing to ratings said Our best minutes last week were on the voting irregularities. Ratings were everything to these people: Truth not so much. They gave Fox viewers fiction because they feared facts were not what the viewers wanted. The truth is and has always been, that serious news organizations hold reporters and anchors accountable. Fox still has not even admitted publicly their lies their news organization continued to tell the American public. They feel confident that their viewers will stay with them as long as the network tells them what they want to hear, not what they should hear: The truth.

Tucker Carlson falsely calls the January riot at the Capital building was a peaceful gathering. He presented a video on his program of the riot, that was edited to show a misleading account of what happen on that day. The showing promoted Trump’s narrative that it was not