If you haven’t read the Orwellian memory hole statement from the White House yesterday, here’s the link. It must be seen to be believed. It blames Nancy Pelosi, naturally, and the police, which is a bit more mysterious. Ted Lieu was asked to comment on this marvel, which is even visually striking, using a black screen with white letters, ala Twitter in black mode, almost impossible to read. Perhaps the bizarre visual effect was aimed at that? Discouraging people from reading it?
.@PabloReports: What do you make of the White House blaming the police for what happened on January 6th?Lieu: The White House’s statement is batshit crazy.
The page opens with sprawling images of Nancy Pelosi and members of the January 6 Select Committee. It describes the roughly 1,600 people charged with federal crimes that day as “patriotic Americans” who were “unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples.” It refers to those convicted of seditious conspiracy, a charge requiring proof of a plot to overthrow the government, as “mere trespassers or peaceful protesters.”
And then there’s this sentence, which I had to read several times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating: “In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election.”
The constitutional process of certifying an election, the thing that happens after every presidential race, the thing Mike Pence carried out despite enormous pressure not to, is now being described on an official government website as “the real insurrection.”
Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen called the page “Orwellian gaslighting.” That’s the right word for it. This is the memory hole in action, except instead of disappearing inconvenient facts, they’re publishing them on a .gov domain and daring you to believe your own eyes.
The official government position is that the insurrection was everybody’s fault but Trump’s. The truth is that it was nobody’s fault but Trump’s. The other oddball thing about that government site is that the photos of both Pelosi and the January 6 committee twitch. I thought it was my computer but I’ve gone on the government site about six times now and it happens every time so it’s the site.
The dark imagery, the looming former House Speaker, and the twitching images, along with the lies, are a formidable image. Here’s at least one broadcaster that gets it. Thank God for small favors.
COMMENTARY: It seems an increasing number of Americans, including elected leaders and journalists, are afraid to tell the truth about what happened on January 6. That's dangerous.
