The Memes

So you've all seen them memes.  As I pondered what I could write on and would keep my blog going, it hit me this morning.  I now have two regular features.  The first will continue to be the Much Ado series and my new series will be on memes.  I'm not talking about memes or pics that make us laugh but the ones that spread the magical, mythical world of misleading political works.  Some are dog whistles with silent and often racist overtones.  Some are those wondrous fear mongering statements.  Others are over-simplified statements of complex problems.  Some are pure propaganda.  They float across my Facebook page on a regular basis.  We don't have to go looking for them.  They come to us.

And so I present the first in of The Memes.

This was the first version of this particular meme that has appeared now at least twice on my Facebook page:

Why is it that those on Welfare are either takers or "worthless liberals"? I suppose it is better than some of the earlier memes which implied or flat out stated that all welfare recipients were people of color and drug addicts.  Well they aren't.  Yes, there are those who abuse the safety net, but they are far outweighed by those who don't.  As far as the Federal dollar takers of the top twenty states who take Federal money for things like welfare and Medicaid, sixteen of them are Republican controlled..  The effects of sequestration will be felt by many.  I know.  I know.  It didn't seem like much when it occurred, but it does impact many.  As to the cry that it's Obama's fault, or it's Republicans' fault, it's not one or the others. It's Washington's fault.  They all own it, and it is all their fault.  Republicans, Democrats, and independents voted for sequestration and Obama suggested it.  Get over the finger pointing unless you are pointing at Washington D.C.

And then this one showed up:

This one also came with an article which cites such stellar (and I use that term with tongue planted firmly in cheek) The Blaze and other major Tea Party outlets.  Federal law prevents the distribution of Federal money for in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.  The majority of illegal aliens did not sneak in from south of the border, by the way.  Most arrived by legal visa or work permit and just didn't leave when they were suppose to.  That said, the reference here has nothing to do with Federal money but state money.  The primary source I could find was the California Dream Act which will give money to illegal aliens providing they meet certain qualifications. Such funding is also done in New York and in Texas.  That's right Texas.  Federal financial aid to illegal immigrants is a whole different thing.  And  if you are using The Blaze as a news source, you already have a factual problem.

The problem with these memes is that they are a common form of propaganda.  They blame groups for something they had nothing to with.  It's a magic trick. It's misdirection.  Immigrants or folks on Welfare have nothing to do with the cuts of sequestration.  Why should they be blamed for it?

I am appalled by the cuts for assistance to veterans due to sequestration.  I am appalled that we are not blaming in either of these memes the folks responsible...they live in the far off land with a name that begins with W and ends in D.C.