Forget Birthers and Girthers
truth society .” Inconvenient truths are now readily labeled “ fake news  ” even when put out by “ papers of record ” like the New York Times or “ broadcasters of record ” like CNN . This is particularly convenient   of course   for those who have reason to fear truth . And hence those who have “ something to hide ” might have something to do with the spread of the “ post - truth ” phenomenon . Many who lament the “ post - truth society ” attempt to date its advent or to identify its sources with that last observation in mind – the observation that truth - fearers are apt to be “ post - truth ”- lovers . One oft - accused culprit   where sourcing ’ s concerned   is accordingly the class of people who misuse social media in pursuit of “ agendas .” Such purveyors of “ alternative facts ” are widely seen to undermine our relation to reality itself . This in turn fosters a dysfunctional version of what legal philosopher Brian Leiter has in another context labeled the “ hermeneutic of suspicion ” – a sort of news - readers ’ and - watchers ’ rendition of what once was called “ the paranoid style ” in American politics . Where dating the post - truth society ’ s advent is concerned   there are multiple milestone candidates on offer . Some will say it all started with the ravings of hate radio DJs like Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones   or of hate television hosts like Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity . Others will point to “ conspiracy theorist ” film - makers like Michael Moore or Oliver Stone   or to “ false equivalence ” claimants like tobacco manufacturers and fossil fuel companies eager to have us all thinking “ the evidence cuts both ways ” on cigarettes ’ associations with lung cancer or carbon ’ s association with climate change . Somewhat ironically   given the “ many sides of the story ” meme just alluded to   there is much to recommend most of the milestones and source - candidates just mentioned as having helped bring - in the era of “ post - truth .” I ’ d like to suggest   however   that the “ post - truth society ” has more saliently developed in lock - step with the political career of one man   and that it ’ s no accident that both have reached final fruition at the same “ moment ” in American political history . I refer   of course   to Donald Trump – a man whose relation to financial truth should draw our attention at least as readily as do his relations to legal and political truth . That  Donald Trump  might be more show than substance has been widely observed since well before  he  entered the 2016 Presidential race . And this distinction of course maps onto that between fake news and real news   appearance and reality – or truth . For reasons of this sort even I have suggested that Mr .  Trump  is a bit like an opiate   and might for this reason be labeled “ The Opioid President .” But while I continue to think this all sound as a matter of general characterization   I want here to draw attention to something much more specific – something   again   having to do with finance   not to mention our national economy . As most readers will recall   when Barack Obama was President many who disagreed with his politics sought to undermine his legal legitimacy by suggesting that he ’ d not been born in the U . S . “ Show us your birth certificate  ” these so - called “ Birthers ” demanded   and continued to demand even long after the then - President had – far too graciously – done so . Among these “ Birthers  ” of course   was Donald Trump   whose entry into the Presidential sweepstakes arguably commenced with his “ going public ” as a “ Birther .” Now   perhaps partly as “ payback ” for that sorry episode   many  Trump  detractors last month began calling themselves “ Girthers .” This they did in response to non - credible doctor reports to the effect that Mr .  Trump  weighed nearly the same as do many currently active professional sports figures of roughly the same height as  Trump  . Juxtaposed photographs of Mr .  Trump  and sundry star athletes   typically accompanied by stats and such captions as “ something doesn ’ t add up ” became something of a “ meme ” for a while on social media . I want to suggest that   how ever more plausible the skepticism of the “ Girthers ” is than was that of the “ Birthers  ” there is something far more important to be skeptical about – something that lends greater significance both to Mr . Trump ’ s still - undisclosed tax returns and to the ongoing Mueller investigation than seems to be thus far appreciated . Rather than “ Birthers ” or even “ Girthers  ” I wish to argue   we should all now be “ Worthers .”
truth society .” Inconvenient truths are now readily labeled “ fake news  ” even when put out by “ papers of record ” like the New York Times or “ broadcasters of record ” like CNN . This is particularly convenient   of course   for those who have reason to fear truth . And hence those who have “ something to hide ” might have something to do with the spread of the “ post - truth ” phenomenon . Many who lament the “ post - truth society ” attempt to date its advent or to identify its sources with that last observation in mind – the observation that truth - fearers are apt to be “ post - truth ”- lovers . One oft - accused culprit   where sourcing ’ s concerned   is accordingly the class of people who misuse social media in pursuit of “ agendas .” Such purveyors of “ alternative facts ” are widely seen to undermine our relation to reality itself . This in turn fosters a dysfunctional version of what legal philosopher Brian Leiter has in another context labeled the “ hermeneutic of suspicion ” – a sort of news - readers ’ and - watchers ’ rendition of what once was called “ the paranoid style ” in American politics . Where dating the post - truth society ’ s advent is concerned   there are multiple milestone candidates on offer . Some will say it all started with the ravings of hate radio DJs like Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones   or of hate television hosts like Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity . Others will point to “ conspiracy theorist ” film - makers like Michael Moore or Oliver Stone   or to “ false equivalence ” claimants like tobacco manufacturers and fossil fuel companies eager to have us all thinking “ the evidence cuts both ways ” on cigarettes ’ associations with lung cancer or carbon ’ s association with climate change . Somewhat ironically   given the “ many sides of the story ” meme just alluded to   there is much to recommend most of the milestones and source - candidates just mentioned as having helped bring - in the era of “ post - truth .” I ’ d like to suggest   however   that the “ post - truth society ” has more saliently developed in lock - step with the political career of one man   and that it ’ s no accident that both have reached final fruition at the same “ moment ” in American political history . I refer   of course   to Donald Trump – a man whose relation to financial truth should draw our attention at least as readily as do his relations to legal and political truth . That  [TGT]might be more show than substance has been widely observed since well before  [TGT]  entered the 2016 Presidential race . And this distinction of course maps onto that between fake news and real news   appearance and reality – or truth . For reasons of this sort even I have suggested that Mr .  [TGT]is a bit like an opiate   and might for this reason be labeled “ The Opioid President .” But while I continue to think this all sound as a matter of general characterization   I want here to draw attention to something much more specific – something   again   having to do with finance   not to mention our national economy . As most readers will recall   when Barack Obama was President many who disagreed with his politics sought to undermine his legal legitimacy by suggesting that he ’ d not been born in the U . S . “ Show us your birth certificate  ” these so - called “ Birthers ” demanded   and continued to demand even long after the then - President had – far too graciously – done so . Among these “ Birthers  ” of course   was Donald Trump   whose entry into the Presidential sweepstakes arguably commenced with his “ going public ” as a “ Birther .” Now   perhaps partly as “ payback ” for that sorry episode   many  [TGT]  detractors last month began calling themselves “ Girthers .” This they did in response to non - credible doctor reports to the effect that Mr .  [TGT]  weighed nearly the same as do many currently active professional sports figures of roughly the same height as  Trump  . Juxtaposed photographs of Mr .  Trump  and sundry star athletes   typically accompanied by stats and such captions as “ something doesn ’ t add up ” became something of a “ meme ” for a while on social media . I want to suggest that   how ever more plausible the skepticism of the “ Girthers ” is than was that of the “ Birthers  ” there is something far more important to be skeptical about – something that lends greater significance both to Mr . Trump ’ s still - undisclosed tax returns and to the ongoing Mueller investigation than seems to be thus far appreciated . Rather than “ Birthers ” or even “ Girthers  ” I wish to argue   we should all now be “ Worthers .”