An email exchange

 The first, from me to Justin Wilcox on Sept. 16: Dear Mr. Wilcox,

I write to ask your help in justifying spending $15 every four weeks for access to the Victoria Advocate’s website. You see, as a retired journalist and an openly progressive Episcopalian, I am aghast that Shawn Akers, the current managing editor, will face no consequences for his column praising Charlie Kirk. That I believe that Kirk and the MAGA movement are a clear and present danger to this country is irrelevant.

What is relevant? Akers’ column is a paean to misogyny, racism and fascism, because those are the things Kirk stood for. Further, the Advocate has become a proselytizing Christian MAGA propaganda sheet. The current news content gives lie to Mr. Akers’ assertions that his personal views, as expressed in his introductory column, would influence what passes for news judgment. But it has. And the effect on credibility can’t be ignored.

And if that it isn’t enough, the Advocate carries a regular column by Jim Graff of Faith Family Church, where Mr. Akers makes his spiritual home. It looks unseemly to me but maybe I’m influenced by my 22 years as a journalist. I don’t suppose it’s worth mentioning that Graff’s columns suffer from a lack of fact checking. Add to that, regular columns by Andrew Schroer and from Mark Ward Sr. are more of the overkill. By the way, take note that Mr. Akers’ byline is on Mr. Ward’s Sept. 6 piece, a reflection of sloppiness or incompetence. Take your pick.

Which, of course, leads me to ask: Does anyone edit the locally produced copy? Is there a current copy of The Associated Press Stylebook in the newsroom? Lack of consistent AP style, mistakes in grammar, poorly crafted stories and, sometimes, outright incomprehensibility rule the day. This critique also holds for content from the PR offices of Victoria College, Texas A&M-Victoria and others whose copy is published as though the submitters were a staff member. Now, I admit, we can let some errors slide in the puff pieces that now populate the Advocate’s pages, but what about that rare article where an error is material? Consider the consequences.

I know that reading books is largely out of favor. However, some in-depth knowledge of the MAGA movement would go a long way to shaping people’s understanding of what’s going on now. Making Kirk into a martyr and then excoriating those who don’t agree is right out of the Joseph Goebbels playbook. And, it’s happening right before our very eyes. If you have any desire to understand where we are in the grand scheme of things, read “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America,” by Duke University historian Nancy MacLean. It’s a start and if you want more, let me know. I have a list of books that bring this Christo-fascism movement into proper focus.

The journalism mission statement for the Carpenter Media Group is high-sounding. But, where is this mission operatoinalized? How is it deployed in Victoria? Inquiring minds want to know. And, again, please tell what value I’m getting from my $15 per four weeks.

  From Shawn Akers, with the Subject line "I thought we were going to friends" (sic): But apparently you see fit to go over my head instead of talking to me about it. That's your prerogative for sure. I appreciate you reading the paper, and thanks for your comments.

Finally, from me to Akers and Wilcox: Shawn,

I assume your email is the result of Justin Wilcox forwarding my email to him to you. That said, first, I don’t know why you thought we were going to be friends. Our worldviews don’t differ over petty issues. We are judged by the company we keep and the values we articulate or endorse. Those are so far apart that a friendship is impossible. The closest word to label what existed before your piece on Kirk would be détente.

But your treating Kirk like a hero or distinguished citizen was too much. Like many on alt-right, your article tried to walk a fine line between how Kirk delivered his message and what his message actually was. And the statements accurately attributed to him show him to be a racist, misogynistic unchristian provocateur. The media labeling him as a conservative activist is akin to calling a hurricane a breeze. Further, and I hope you see the irony, those who have pointed out Kirk’s real positions are now being systematically attacked by those on the far right and those with the power to do so are supporting arrests, job loses and doxxing. Just look at Greg Abbott’s reactions to the Texas Tech situation. And, I might remind you that several years ago, Abbott condoned shooting journalists. No, you do agree with him and saying the issue is no more that style rather than substance — well, that dog don’t hunt.

As for going over your head, you do know I don’t work for you? Right? And you tell me what talking to you about it would accomplish.

You know, I recommended “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America,” by award-winning Duke University historian Nancy MacLean to Mr. Wilcox. If you really want to understand what this divisiveness is about and why the leaders of this movement want it as a divide and conquer technique, MacLean’s work explains it. “Democracy in Chains” also makes clear that the violence is part of the plan. That’s being deployed by ICE’s sweeps and Homeland Security’s open attacks on journalists.

Then, read: “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer;  “Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right” by Anne Nelson;  “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart;  and, “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation,” by Kristin Kobes Du Mez.

If you read these books, you might open your mind to that fact that the billionaire class behind this has this country right where it wants it: on the ropes in a cold civil war, at least for now.. The endgame is a Convention of the States under Article V of the United States Constitution and rolling back our foundational document to the 1850s. It will leave only two functions for government — militarized law enforcement and national defense. And a preview of the reason for those two functions is now demonstrated as Trump violates posse comitatus in deploying troops as he has in Washington, Memphis  and, as a new test bed, Chicago.

As for my critique of the content of the Advocate, I stand behind it.