Cada cual, cada cual, atiende a su juego... :

www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion-es/article149324979.html

Evo Morales, Nicolás Maduro y, ahora, el flamante Presidente de México, se autotitulan "Progresistas"; por no mencionar a Pablo Iglesias y a otros por el estilo en el resto del mundo.

True! But one man's blind fanatic is, quite often, another man's "freedom fighter"... That's how polarization breeds, specially when we are in the hands of a virtuoso in the arts of sowing dissension and divisions where they should not be present and are not needed...

You are quite right! Deceit comes from many sides and fronts ...

The problem is when we only see one side and attack the other with fanaticism instead of establishing a civilized dialogue aiming for genuine harmonisation of the society in which we live.

I just saw a piece of writing from an Argie journalist friend of mine who defines himself as a liberal -since his arrival in Miami a few years ago, he has been orbiting around some of our many institutes and organizations who staunchly defend our freedoms and our democracy, not necessarily in the USA but rather elsewhere in our hemisphere- ; the piece claims that if the Democrats (the "American" political party who opposed Lincoln) regain power they will turn the US of A into another Venezuela...

We definitely must be aware of deceit, and it comes from many sides (and fronts), amigo Gerardo...

As usual, radical Socialists and disguised Communists take over words and terms having an uplifting and positive meaning to use them with the covert purpose to take advantage of their meaning to promote their goals. They are no longer Communists nor they even want to be called Socialists, but adopt instead the popular "Progressive" label.
However, the Progressive Movement was something quite different in the United States, with very laudable and well defined goals. It was an effort to cure many of the ills of the American society developing during the great spurt of industrial growth in the last quarter of the XIX century and early XX century. The so called "frontier" had been tamed, great cities and businesses developed, and the United States had emerged as a Big Power, but too many citizens did not share in the new wealth, prestige, and optimism.

This reform era began during Reconstruction, promoted by Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, and lasted until the American entry into World War I. The struggle for women`s rights and the temperance movement were the initial issues addressed. A farm movement also emerged to compensate for the declining importance of rural areas in an increasingly urbanized America. As part of this reform period, progressivism was rooted in the belief, certainly not shared by all, that man was capable of improving the lot of all within society, with no need for excessive and undesirable government meddling. In other words, it was a true movement opening the doors of public opinion to the path of participatory democracy.

Specific goals included:

► The desire to remove corruption and undue influence from government through the taming of bosses and political machines
► The effort to include more people more directly in the political process
► The conviction that government must play a role to solve some social problems and establish fairness in economic matters.

Progressive reforms followed during the first 20 years of the XX Century in the form of a conservation movement, railroad legislation, and food and drug laws. This progressive spirit also was evident in new amendments added to the Constitution providing new means to elect senators, protect society with law and order and extend suffrage to women. Urban problems were addressed as well by professional social workers who operated settlement houses as a means to protect and improve the prospects of the poor.

Despite the fact that the Progressive Movement, as such, disappeared after World War I, its influence was felt on subsequent years and such reforms were followed by others of similar importance, as the direct primary, secret ballot, and the initiative, referendum, and recall were effected. Local governments were strengthened by the widespread use of trained professionals, particularly with the city manager system often replacing the frequently corrupt mayoral system. In other words, less national government, and more power at the State and local levels, thus promoting more citizen participation.

This is a far cry from the so called "Progressives" in our current political scenario. Remember when Communist governments called themselves "Popular" and "Democratic"? We must be aware of their deceit. They are using other nice labels, but have similar goals.

"Progressive" is a new euphemism spreading its deceitful use in this century. The use of this word by the most radical Socialists aims to conceal their true political orientation, as if only radical socialism with another name is the real engine of progress. But this surge, misnamed progressive, isn't acting within the parameters of a true democracy in which harmony and negotiation should prevail to achieve order and stability. On the contrary, their purpose is to pulverize their conservative or even their moderate "enemies" and subdue them.

Their strategy focuses on fake news and harassment by all means imaginable. This strategy has been evolving since 2010 but the general public didn't start having a clue until 2013, when the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political leanings, focusing nearly exclusively on conservative groups. This revelation happened only after the House Oversight Committee issued a report, which concluded that although some liberal groups were selected for additional reviews, the scrutiny that these groups received did not amount to targeting when compared to the much greater and frequent scrutiny received by conservative groups. However, James Comey, who at the time was the FBI director, chose not to take action and investigate. In other words, he didn't find enough grounds for an investigation, but little is as unnerving as having trouble with the IRS, especially if you haven’t done anything wrong and find yourself forced to spend a lot of money on defense. That happened repeatedly during the Obama Administration, as the IRS enthusiastically targeted conservative groups since 2010 until their harassment tactics were uncovered.

In late September 2017, an exhaustive report by the Treasury Department's inspector general found that the IRS used conservative keywords to choose targets for further scrutiny. One month later, the Trump Administration agreed to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 400 conservative nonprofit groups who claimed that they had been discriminated against by the IRS under the Obama Administration. The settlement includes an apology from the IRS and a monetary portion characterized by an attorney for the plaintiffs as "very substantial".

The problem is that most of the US public was not aware that the truth was being more deeply concealed yet and that the divisive strategy had penetrated with its tentacles to even more moderate and respected political circles. So much so as to involve a war veteran senator. We owe Judicial Watch for revealing the additional and formerly hidden truth.

Last June 22nd, Judicial Watch released internal IRS documents revealing that Sen. John McCain’s former Staff Director and Chief Counsel on the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee, Henry Kerner, urged top IRS officials, including then-director of exempt organizations, Lois Lerner, to “audit so many that it becomes financially ruinous” for Conservative non-profit groups and organizations.

Early during his Administration, President Trump, presumably unaware of these facts, had confirmed James Comey as FBI Director, and also appointed Kerner as Special Counsel for the United States Office of Special Counsel. He already had the enemy within the White House working against his Administration.

According to Judicial Watch, the explosive facts uncovered were «contained in notes taken by IRS employees at an April 30, 2013, meeting between Kerner, Lerner, and other high-ranking IRS officials. Just ten days following the meeting, Lois Lerner admitted that the IRS had a policy of improperly and deliberately delaying applications for tax-exempt status from conservative non-profit groups.» And they add in their disclosure document that: «In the full notes of an April 30 meeting, McCain’s high-ranking staffer Kerner recommends harassing non-profit groups until they are unable to continue operating.»

We do not know if Senator McCain was aware of the underground work performed by Kerner, Comey, and others within the Trump Administration, but it is quite disturbing to learn that, according to Judicial Watch, after the 2013 meeting Senator McCain «issued a statement decrying "false reports claiming that his office was somehow involved in IRS targeting of conservative groups." The IRS previously blacked out the notes of the meeting, but we found the notes among subsequent documents released by the agency.»

Did Senator McCain know about these campaigns? Perhaps he didn't, but now he and the rest of the world know!

As for former FBI Director Comey, the general public has just learned that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hid from Congress a text message by FBI official Peter Strzok declaring that Trump wouldn’t become President: “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.” According to Judicial Watch, «the highly partisan Strzok became a lead player in Robert Mueller’s Russian collusion investigation of Donald Trump. Also, and still, in the lead is Andrew Weissmann, a senior deputy for Special Counsel Robert Mueller and a former chief of the Justice Department criminal Fraud Division.»

The real problem is that Weissmann’s objectivity in Mueller’s investigation was called into question in December 2017 when a separate JW FOIA lawsuit uncovered an email Weissmann wrote praising former acting Attorney General Sally Yates for defying Trump. Weissmann wrote to Obama appointee Yates in the email: “I am so proud. And in awe. Thank you so much. All my deepest respects.”

Weissmann is demonstrably an anti-Trump/pro-Clinton activist and, of course, he has a right to be whatever he wants to! But such activism is only legitimate as far as he does not actively participates in Mueller's "Russian collusion" investigation posing as if he were an objective official in those procedures.

The people of the United States can either approve or reject the ups and downs of President Trump's policy, but judgment must be based on real and true facts without being swayed by an overwhelming and skewed media campaign fostered by the misnamed Progressives. The strategy is clearly aiming to disrupt the US social fabric by promoting aggressive confrontation in the political scene ... Beware!