Tomorrow Belongs to Nina

The Terrifying Implications of Homeland Security's Disinformation "Arbietsgruppe"

Thanks again to American Thinker for running (an edited) version of this piece. You can visit the website at: https://www.americanthinker.com/

The sun rises in the east – that is an objective truth.

The moon weighs exactly seven pounds – that is an objective falsehood.

Everything in the middle is a matter of opinion and neither mis nor dis information exists – things are right or wrong or somewhere in between and anything or anyone claiming something else is true is just trying to sell you something.

And it is when government agencies attempt – in any, way, shape, or form – to benefit themselves by muddling that middle that a free society must demand it stop.

When questioned about his new Disinformation Governance Board, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attempted to allay fears and downplay concerns – his Agency will have no actual ability to manage the flow of information but merely “communicate those best practices to the operators” of various outlets.

But what is a “best practice?”  It was initially intended as a shorthand description of “don’t re-invent the wheel – this procedure has worked well in our accounting department so it should work for you, too.”  All well and good.

However, the term has morphed to allow “best practices” to include completely subjective procedures and initiatives that can mean anything the creator of the “best practice” wants it to mean.  A “best practice” for a pest extermination company is obviously extremely different from an organization that sees the value – either intrinsic or in the future economic viability – of every bug.

Best practices are no longer objective standards but merely a way for any organization to declare itself immune from contradiction by invoking the phrase.

One can look through literally thousands of pages of human resources, racial equity, DEI, or basic marketing material and find the term liberally used as an unarguable point.

But when the idea of government-disseminated “best practices” regarding the truth are on the table, the tablecloth must be pulled out, the gravy must go awry, and the wine must be spilled (unless it’s an Amarone, then take the bottle off first), despite the mess that causes.

People, as individuals, can and will occasionally reach levels of brilliance unimaginable. 

People, as groups, can and will usually devolve to levels of stupidity unimaginable.

Without in anyway attempting to draw a parallel to the actions of the current “January 6 Commission,” in 1933, after the Reichstag fire in Nazi Germany a law was implemented -  it was called the “Editor’s Law.”

It very specifically ordered the evil essential elimination of Jewish reporters, editors, etc. from the media.  But it also instituted other terrifying regulations, including Section 14:

Editors are especially obligated to keep out of the newspapers anything which:
a. is misleading to the public by mixing selfish interests with community interests;
b. tends to weaken the strength of the German Reich, in foreign relations or domestically; the sense of community of the German people; German defense capability, culture, or the economy; or offends the religious sentiments of others;
c. offends the honour and dignity of Germany;
d. illegally offends the honour or the well-being of another, hurts his reputation, or ridicules or disparages him;
e. is immoral for other reasons.

Besides the obvious evil Nazi-ness of the order, it also mentioned, in the first section: 

“the Involvement in the shaping of the intellectual contents of the newspapers or political periodicals published in the Reich, whether through writing, news reporting, or illustration or through appointment as chief editor, is a public function, regulated by the state through this law”

And the “shaping of the intellectual contents” of information available to the public is exactly what the Homeland Security “working group” is intent upon doing.

Turning to the more specific aspects of the new “working group,” (or Arbietsgruppe, to continue the previous theme), the appointment of Nina Jankowicz should terrify even the most jaded denizen of the DC swamp.  From trying to sing for her supper to dressing like a “Babylon 5” extra – here it is you can handle it - https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/04/29/lots-of-videos-of-disinformation-czar-nina-jankowicz-many-feature-singing-n465948 - it is clearly obvious that she will say or do anything to advance her erstwhile career.  One note to Nina – Kafka’s “The Trial” was meant to be a terrifying warning of bureaucratic dystopia, not a career blueprint.

As for Mayorkas, it is unquestionable that he is a grasping chancer, hellbent on climbing the Democratic greasy pole as far as he can.  But it must also be noted that even he seems – when appearing on accommodating television networks to explain the new concept – a bit put off (just as Border Patrol agents have “off the record” related after meeting him privately).

It’s as if is he is reading all of the words the kidnappers told him to but at least seems to be thinking about trying to blink out a “please help me – I’m not that evil” message during the interview.   Whether or not the fact that he has not resigned in protest by this point makes him a liar or a coward or a survivor is a matter of opinion.

In the end, the public and the media has to decide if it will allow itself to lie to itself and/or be lied to by anyone else to just make life simpler.

Maybe it’s time to choose neither.

If we do nothing, sadly, tomorrow may belong to Nina.