Thread by @kurteichenwald

1. I saw a tweet with a redacted 302 of Michael Flynn attached. Read the document, very interesting. Then, I read the responding tweets.

Oh my god.

Tweet after tweet of people repeating Trump and Fox News deceptions, sneering as if they are smart, not realizing....

2...their statements contradict each other, are squeezing conspiracy theories out of standard operating procedure, proclaim things suspicious when they are simply following law, use legal terms incorrectly, and make up facts.

I always snicker at Trump and Fox, knowing even...

3...if people watch and listen to their nonsense, they MUST know its all lies. Even the slightest exposure to other information - even as minor as discussing legal procedure or pointing out contradictions - would give them a belly laugh. But they vomit up everything they hear....

4...almost verbatim from what Fox and Trump says. Reading those tweet replies underscored for me: There is a huge portion of this country that is no longer in reality. They have become addicted to listening, adopting and repeating. They never question what they hear. They....

5...never consider that Trump and Fox have reasons for deceiving them, they never find an alternative news source to check what they are told. They simply live in a fantasy world. And Fox and Trump know this. In this regard, even Trump is smarter than others. He KNOWS he can....

6...say something, no matter how ridiculous, no matter how much it directly contradicts something he said two days earlier, and these people will regurgitate it. He knows Fox will say anything to feed these people's rage addiction, stoke it, get advertising money, get rich...

7...then relentlessly use deception to get these folks to vote for Republicans so the ones getting rich off of Fox can pay less in taxes. It's a vicious cycle.

Point is: Ignore these people. They are beyond reach. Once we accept that the Fox Newses and Trumps of the world do....

8...not care what is true, that they know they have a captive group of rage-addicted ditto-heads, that they know if they stop feeding them the rage, the money disappears, the issue becomes much simpler. A large portion of our country is brainwashed. They live in an alternative...

9...reality. And there is nothing to be done about it.

So, what to do? Ignore them. Ignore Fox, ignore the ragers. Don't correct their facts, don't tell them why their beliefs contradict each other. There is no point. They are in a cult, primed by Fox and planted by Trump....

10...I have no doubt that Fox has been one of the most destructive forces in this country's history. But those who understand how bad Fox is must accept that its rage-filled viewers are lost. Discuss things with people - whether they agree or disagree with you - only if they....

11...START from a fact base that is real. No bizarre "I heard this on TV" conspiracy theories. When the nonsense spews from the mouths of anyone connected to Fox - including politicians - pat them on the head, let out a little giggle, say "ok, ok..." then move on to fixing this..

12...country, NOT just by dealing with people who agree with you, but who deal in the real world. I know many Democrats and Republicans who are in the real world. I write off the many many that are consumed by delusions. We all have to do that. Starting today. Ignore them.

Done.