***
At 7:31, I looked up and said, “It’s 7:31” at the same time Lila ran in from the kitchen, shouting, “It’s 7:31.” Heather popped her head out of the bedroom: “7:31, everybody.” It was 7:31.
I was writing yesterday about how the basic assumption of a U.S. official in a press conference is that there is no history. So, for example, any suggestion that the U.S. is involved, directly or indirectly, in trying to overthrow the Maduro government in Venezuela is outrageous on its face. The ability of reporters or the general public to search for Venezuela Coup 2002 — well, let’s pretend that’s impossible.
Another egregious example of this History Starts Now, or At Least When I Say was John Kerry yesterday baldly stating, without an iota of self-awareness, that Bibi Netanyahu can’t be trusted because of his support for the 2002 invasion of Iraq.
It was a peculiar decision on the part of TPM writer Catherine Thompson not to mention a fairly obvious bit of context:
I’m beginning to think the war on AP History in Kansas is not an idea from the fringe. This hatred of history is simply a core part of what makes American thought American.
It’s painful to say something’s unfair to Netanyahu, but John Kerry’s forgotten he also supported the Iraq war http://t.co/sO2mBpN7I1
— Jon Schwarz (@tinyrevolution) February 25, 2015
KERRY: People who supported the Iraq war, like Netanyahu, are morons! *everyone else looks at shoes in embarrassment* http://t.co/sO2mBpN7I1 — Jon Schwarz (@tinyrevolution) February 25, 2015