There is no longer any difference between the fourth estate and the deep state. There may have been a separation at one point long ago, but it's been long erased.
The backstabbing fifth column "journalists" will burn brightly in hell, right along side the viper accomplices in "government".
To the author's point: Facts don't matter, and 'true' and 'false' lose all importance and degrade into 'belief' - for most of humanity - the moment they are politicized, here's why: https://tritorch.com/folly
I read the article. So what does this say about those of us that see through this attack on us personally or who did not derive our identity from our political ideas? For instance, I am not angry at the people who succumbed to believing in masks, I am however very frustrated at the media apparatus that decided to drill them with this drivel 24/7.
Perhaps it says about those of us who saw through the onslaught of lies that the convictions of Edward Bernays do not apply to our clan, or at least, have less of an affect than those with a more trusting thought processes?
If the following applies to whoever is reading this, there is a good chance you knew the pandemic was a scam from shortly after the word go:
-----
Words like "pandemic" and "terrorism" are keywords used by politicians and pundits to manipulate the populace, in the same way and for the same reasons i use the word 'milkbone' to manipulate my dog.
-----
Now the question I pose to you, JG, why is this the case for some and not others?
Regarding the media:
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind." -Jim Morrison, Son of a Disinformation Agent
Given ^ that, is it any wonder to find when all is being revealed that the powers that shouldn't have ensured that they have a stranglehold on the media? The corruption is legion.
The question you pose is the one that I am fascinated with. It would be a study I'd love to conduct. I think here are some parts of it. Here's a couple thoughts, but Bonhoeffer also speaks to it.
1. Conformity. There are people out there that want to conform to the norm. If they sense something new, they are uncomfortable. I have not conformed most of my life, often without any effort, and find the cost of conforming more than the reward of remaining who I am. Maybe this also means I am lazy.
In reference to Bonhoeffer, I NEED my alone time to process and deal with my social interactions. I think it is to help me calibrate who I am, and ask questions about how I behaved and if I could have behaved better/different not because of conformity, but rather, by my guiding principles.
Ironically, I think conformity comes from being self absorbed. Conformity hits hard during the teenage years for this very reason. The person is not concerned for the welfare of others, but rather are more worried on how people might potentially view them. This is probably why instead of data, emotion was often appealed to during the pandemic. "It's not for you, it's for everyone around you." "You don't want to overwhelm the hospitals."
2. Intelligence level is not a factor. I have siblings that are smart. They both visited me wearing masks. I didn't have the heart to ask them if they had been vaccinated or boosted, but I already know the answer.
Bonhoeffer says in his quote that people are "made stupid" by the rise in external power. In this case, I think it was in part to the fear and panic offered by Covid. I don't think stupid is the answer here as I think stupidity is something that is a "default condition." A pet rock is stupid because it lacks the capacity for intellect. A person born with limited intellectual capacity is the same through no fault of their own. What these people have is they have handed over control/intent to another entity and the best answer comes down to the mantras and slogans they were given, but more fundamentally than that, it was "because a trusted entity told me so." It may be the CDC, NIH, Fauci, or the government, but that's it.
And this makes evolutionary sense. Going with the herd is a good response. It's why we all have a tendency to gag when other people throw up (traditionally we ate and drank from the same source) Without this herd like behavior, there would be little in the way of civilization. It's also why so few people are actually diabolically bad people because our society would cease to function if there were a ton of narcissistic sociopaths walking around.
3. Low self esteem. If you can rationally see yourself in the universe and the importance you play in it, this can mean less of a chance at being scammed or duped. For instance, if a hot girl in her twenties is reaching out to a 56 year old guy who looks shlubby, there is an agenda here. She doesn't find him attractive, and more often than not, she wants money (if they even are a she).
In a similar fashion, if I am being told to do something unprecedented, there needs to be a good reason for it. I want to know the angle. "We all need to do our part" isn't a good answer. If it "helps others more than it helps you" I want to see the data on it.
4. Knowing things by not knowing. I knew Covid was a scam from the get-go because I knew it was already here and spreading through our society. Did China shut down flights to the rest of the world? How long is a plane flight from China? Can something exist without us testing for it?
Maybe this was my common sense way of fending away fear. Anyhow, I think I recognized the fear for what it was and used a different strategy to work through it rather than panicking.
Thank you both for the discussion. When I was 15 I wrote a poem called “Conformity”. I did not understand it; it made no sense. Why would a person give up the things that inherently made them unique, made them who they were? Anyway, I have lived my life being different. My Son many times has difficulty with it but he is starting to understand. My Sibs many times just shake their heads. But time is showing that I have made the right choices. Anyway, thanks I don’t feel alone.
I asked a similar question a while back and got a bunch of awesome stories. It seems like most of us had some sort of revelation when we were young that authority figures are full of it. Feel free to add your story!!!
SimulationCommander, that is a sad article, and I've had similar experiences but mostly with people who end up lying to themselves in order to protect their ego.
I wrote many years ago about the subject of why we are the way we are, which you can read here if interested:
You can skip down to the last six paragraphs, - where I talk about 'Groundhog Day' - to get the gist of it, but please keep in mind this was written when I was far less emotionally and spiritually intelligent than I am now.
Super interesting, thanks for sharing! Although personally I think that you choose chocolate AND strawberry, and the simulation expands to include both choices. That's why I'm the SimulationCommander ;)
BHerr and I talk about this (for way too long) here:
I look forward to listening later this evening, thank you for sharing as well! To say I find these conversations fascinating would be an understatement!
The bigger problem is that it's not even close to being about one person. The Federal Government is so huge and unwieldy, it hardly matters who the president is. Trump on steroids for 8 years would hardly be a speed bump on the road to the Orwellian totalitarianism we are headed for. That said, I'll take a speed bump over a doormat\enabler any day.
I’m very fired up to vote for Kari Lake. I see her as the most important political figure in America. She will pull Finchem, Hameduh and Masters over the goal line. If she follows through on her promises she shows how the State can secure its border, she runs the woke out of our schools and she does a true audit on the 2020 election. How can we not be fired up?
As a Floridian I see the AZ governor race as the 2nd most important for me. If Lake wins I think she will put a lot of pressure on Abbot to not be such a cuck...maybe he will actually address issues with the boarder.
Please remember that it's always best to vote IN PERSON if at all possible. Also, when you vote tomorrow GO VOTE AS LATE AS POSSIBLE. This helps prevent them from running early analysis for Fractional Vote Manipulation.
Fraction Magic – Part 1: Votes are being counted as fractions instead of as whole numbers – BlackBoxVoting.org
Toby Rogers brought the first link to attention in his post: https://tobyrogers.substack.com/p/the-iatrogenocide-accelerates Toby says: "Stand for Health Freedom has also built voter guides of medical freedom candidates who need our support. If your state does not currently have a medical freedom voter guide, Stand for Health Freedom has instructions for how to get candidates to fill out their health freedom survey in order to receive an endorsement. This is a fantastic effort and Stand for Health Freedom deserves our support."
most just throw dirt at the other party, which is a shame. Why not tell where they are at, instead of trying to blame the others, even if you are right, throwing mud is bad.
Alice P.L./Bird - ThAnk you both, for sharing!! Recently saw posted that you can request to have your ballot "hand counted". Anyone familiar with this, or if it's the smart request to make?
"Hand counted" varies by state; state laws regarding voting are different. If your state does allow it then do it. That way your vote is not counted by a machine, it's transparent--out in the open--2 people have to count it.
Actually, I've always tended to wait until the last half-hour to vote. That's just my nature. But let's not have everyone on our side wait until the very last minute, or the polls might close on us before we can vote!
Good for you. Stuck in San Fransicko for the time being, but will visit FL in a few weeks (for the 3rd time in the last few years), and attend the Brownstone Institute event w/Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
1)I'd like to see a prohibition of retired politicians being able to become lobbyists or advisors -Ever-
2) some way to disentangle special interests from legislation
3) it might have been Neal Boortz? .. but someone made the suggestion that NO bill be made allowing more than one subject matter, and that they necessarily be lawfully written so that anyone with a 10th grade education and civics class could comprehend it. No more Attorney/Orwellian double-speak.
#3. A laudable goal. I'm on the planning commission in a minuscule Utah community. The Utah State Legislature passed a law that said laws and ordinances have to be in plain English that anyone can understand. We are bound to comply with state law. However, the legislature is the biggest violator of their own rule. Scratching your head over state code is an exercise in frustration.
For all its other faults, Washington state actually has a single-subject rule for bills. It's overall beneficial, though occasionally they'll find some technicality to throw out an initiative that people want and vote in (typically those that lower some tax).
I'd also argue that no bill should be able to have a title other than its chamber of origin + number. Too many lies like "Inflation Reduction Act".
I live in WA state and honestly have no idea what you are talking about. We have a budget surplus and bills are passing that raise taxes. Insley sucks ass.
That is correct but separate from what I’m talking about.
In WA, bills have a single subject rule. They can’t lump in healthcare, homeless, roads, etc into one bill. They must be separate, and I consider that a good thing because it reduces their ability to slip bad stuff through.
However, it has also been used for bad to repeal initiatives passed by the people. When I mentioned about lowering taxes, I was thinking of one of Tim Eyman’s initiatives like the ones lowering car tabs to a flat rate. It definitely isn’t the state legislature doing any lowering — that’s a concept they don’t understand.
Would you believe we have about 1.3 yd3 of books in an outbuilding on the yard? Every time I visit one of the local fleemarkets, yardsales and such, I have a book or three with me back home.
Anything from high-brow swedish 19th century poerty to old school books from the 1920s to well, anything pre-1950s really.
Many years ago the now unhusband and I went to the annual "New York Is Book Country" blocks-long flea market, though unprepared for the journey, and staggered home on the subway with five or six flimsy totebags-ful. A rare lovely memory to be sure.
I think reading Fahrenheit 451 before age ten has been a major factor in my bibliophiliac tendencies.
Also, paternal grandmother working as a translator-subeditor for a major publisher meant books were something I got every birthday, naming day, any and all other holidays and every visit.
One thing I recall is her reaction to the notion of "children's books" meaning dumbed-down and adapted and censored versions of the real thing. Hell hath no fury as a little chainsmoking lady who had witnessed the logic of "verbotener Autoren" first hand.
My step-grandfather worked in some humble position at a paperback publishing company and brought home a pair of Charles Addams's cartoon collections when I was very young.
I'd like to see the official parties dissolved after each election, and the elected officials belong to no party while in office. Meanwhile, the "Democrats" and the "Republicans" can spend some of their energy canvassing on the street to get people to sign petitions to put their candidates on the ballot, the same as they make third parties do.
This is in line with my feeling for my own nation.
Direct popular election of a local representative for the national quorum. One representative per commune (our lowest level of governement is called kommun/commune). No funding by taxation.
People want to organise and fund parties, go for it! But on your own time and on your own dime. And any and all funding to be fully transparent as to its origin - no anonymous donations, and no foreign donations.
I've got more I'd like to see, but the topic is the US and how it's system of/for elections was and is broken. I'd really like to see the Bad Cat's thoughts on how to instill respect and appreciation for the ideals and principles the process is supposed to embdy.
The choices before in the period from Bush I through Trump did not make much of a difference. Both parties supported an oligarchy which, whether you elect McConnell or Graham or Feinstein or Schumer, you get the same pro-oligarch policies. Trump presented an option. How do I know? The oligarch candidates hate him and are trying to excise him and his supporters. The US is not destined to exist as it was envisioned - a self- governing republic governed by free citizens who are free to run their lives and local governments. In fact, we are far from that now. However, if we only elect “approved” candidates, we will lose it completely. Trump is not attacked and harassed because he’s a bad person or a beyond the pale, but because he is willing to oppose the oligarchy. If Mother Teresa challenged them, she would be denounced a racist, Nazi, fascist, etc. My advice is vote for the candidates who challenge the entrenched political oligarchy.
👏👏👏which is why I voted for Trump and will again. Any candidate cozying up to the Establishment is a big NO and only supports the uniparty. Give me a fighter that loves America, with warts and all.
As an avid reader of the late-P.J. O'Rourke, I long ago resigned myself to the reality of the Uniparty or the "Left-Right Party" as P.J. referred to them. After eight years of Dubya and neo-cons, I'll admit to naive optimism and voting for Obama in 2008 seeking hope and change.
Hope was quickly throttled when Obama bailed out the banks and was given the Nobel Prize for nothing. Moreover, nothing changed. In fact, "it" became worse.
Today I was driving down I-95 in Massachusetts, and I saw a banner on an overpass:
"Vote Blue -- Fight MAGA Fascists".
This was the message being sent to thousands of people driving into town. That those people who vote republican aren't just neighbors with a difference of opinion; they are not people with whom you can find common ground; they are people with the most vile motives.
And one can draw a direct line between that banner and Biden's Philadelphia speech. This attitude is planned and organized, and it's coming from the top.
Meanwhile, Democrats literally paid for ads boosting those exact MAGA candidates in their primary. Why? Because they would be 'easy to beat' in the general election......
Fast forward a decade, and some Democrats are hoping to replicate that strategy by boosting GOP candidates who espouse far-right ideologies or tout the lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
---------
This is basically the perfect encapsulation of today's Democrats: support something with your actions, then complain about that thing with your words.
With the note that I've regretted every vote I've ever taken--
I was deeply moved to vote for Obama in 2008; I felt that I'd seen historical change in my lifetime, and it was the first time my kid was eligible to vote, and when we spoke on the phone, after midnight, that election day-into morning, sharing that moment with my own child was unforgettable.
Voted for Obama again, but with the dread that Romney might win.
Would not have changed either vote. Deeply regret having been, you know, fooled.
I have no idea why you thought Obama would be a great choice but I found that way too many people voted for him simply because he was (half) black. So many people after the election were patting themselves on the back for electing the first black president without realizing how racist that was.
She had a certain strange charm and I agree completely with your add'l comment below. She had natural smarts. But, too, she was in my view fairly batshit crazy.
And I do judge people by how their kids turn out. Maybe the unrelenting media spotlight on them didn't help towards a healthy maturing process. But there wasn't a cliche they didn't end up wearing with extreme pride.
Nor I. I didn't vote for either. I always used to vote third party or write-in at the presidential level. The first time I've ever voted for either the Democratic or Republican nominee was in 2020, when I voted for Trump, as the only alternative to the open totalitarianism that the Democrats had embraced, and as the closest thing to an adult in the room.
Wasn’t because he was black. I hated Bush and his horrific illegal war with s white hot heat and his neocons and warmongers. You weren’t a Democrat were you? I was then. I wasn’t all wrong sir.
If anything, I'm an anarchist. I hate both parties with the heat of 1000 suns. We have way too much of people voting for a candidate simply because of the letter behind his/her name (or color of their skin).
Race was absolutely not why I voted for Obama twice. I have since become pretty disillusioned with him. Hard to say whether the office changed him or he was putting on an act the whole time. Still, I think he was probably better than his opponents. Bottom line is, we never have a good choice.
I could never figure out (still can't) why everyone mistook Obama's spouting of milquetoast-ian platitudes for so-called "soaring rhetoric." He's always been a laid-back, "hip" flim-flam man, and many of us spotted it right away.
I was told that whites voted for Obama to feel good about themselves and not feel like they're racists.
It's the same sort of reasoning that was involved in the C0VID con: take an injection that doesn't work so you don't feel like you're going to die of C0VID.
Fear. He was calm and collected and spoke "well". Meanwhile George the 2nd said things like this:
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."
Lots to say here, but I'll start out by saying that that creep, Barry Soetoro, who came outta nowhere and presented to all of us as an appropriate candidate for President? Seriously?? The guy made my skin crawl then and that visceral reaction remains to this day.
Back then, I asked to not a single sensible answer the following: "Barry" is called "Black". Why is that? When one parent is White and the other (alleged) parent is African-American? So, he ignores his White mother by insisting he's Black? What if the parents' race were reversed and ol' Barry insisted that he was White because his father was White and his mother Black? How would that play?"
Most didn't even get the question...and its revelation of the implicit bigotry of "Barry's" classification of himself and the votes for him based upon it.
Agree 100%. Can't believe anyone was fooled by this shyster. The only thing he felt strongly about in his previous "elected office" (which he gained by destroying his opponent by having opponents sealed divorce records magically unsealed) was to speak against the "born alive infant protection act". He so loves abortion that when the abortion is botched and the baby survives, the little baby must be left without treatment to die on a cold metal tray or in a linen closet. Our country has been going down hill for some time now.
Exactly the same for me. I was at Obama’s first inauguration. Such hope. But after the Obamacare fiasco and his lack of fighting back I lost my enthusiasm the first term but voted for him again because....I was a Democrat. When he rolled over to McConnell on his constitutional right to pick a scotus I was done. Of course that was then. Now I’m voting R tomorrow. But lesser of 2 evils is my default vote--except Obama. I was excited then--for awhile.
You are pretty correct on that. I’ve been both in the past. No registration in my state but I did vote for W the first time for some now clueless reasons I understand now. 🙄. So I am rather bobbing in the political seas with no dock on either side but going R this time. I can’t even extrapolate what may happen or what the political field is in 2024 but take cover under a school desk beginning November 9.
While it's not an exact comparison, the optimisim and good will of Obama's first campaign reminds me a great deal of Tony Blair's first campaign in the UK back in 1997.
In both cases, all that optimisim was utterly misplaced - but it felt good at the time.
I actually remembered thinking
"Wow, maybe now the US can finally move on racial politics" lol nope.
I voted affirmatively for "none of the above" in 2016 but I couldn't sleep until it had been confirmed that Hillary lost. To say I despise her is a very moderate way of expressing my feelings.
There is no longer any difference between the fourth estate and the deep state. There may have been a separation at one point long ago, but it's been long erased.
The backstabbing fifth column "journalists" will burn brightly in hell, right along side the viper accomplices in "government".
To the author's point: Facts don't matter, and 'true' and 'false' lose all importance and degrade into 'belief' - for most of humanity - the moment they are politicized, here's why: https://tritorch.com/folly
Thank you for the link to tritorch!
I read the article. So what does this say about those of us that see through this attack on us personally or who did not derive our identity from our political ideas? For instance, I am not angry at the people who succumbed to believing in masks, I am however very frustrated at the media apparatus that decided to drill them with this drivel 24/7.
Perhaps it says about those of us who saw through the onslaught of lies that the convictions of Edward Bernays do not apply to our clan, or at least, have less of an affect than those with a more trusting thought processes?
If the following applies to whoever is reading this, there is a good chance you knew the pandemic was a scam from shortly after the word go:
-----
Words like "pandemic" and "terrorism" are keywords used by politicians and pundits to manipulate the populace, in the same way and for the same reasons i use the word 'milkbone' to manipulate my dog.
-----
Now the question I pose to you, JG, why is this the case for some and not others?
Regarding the media:
"Whoever controls the media controls the mind." -Jim Morrison, Son of a Disinformation Agent
Given ^ that, is it any wonder to find when all is being revealed that the powers that shouldn't have ensured that they have a stranglehold on the media? The corruption is legion.
The question you pose is the one that I am fascinated with. It would be a study I'd love to conduct. I think here are some parts of it. Here's a couple thoughts, but Bonhoeffer also speaks to it.
https://www.platoscave.org/2021/10/bonhoeffer-on-stupidity-entire-quote.html
1. Conformity. There are people out there that want to conform to the norm. If they sense something new, they are uncomfortable. I have not conformed most of my life, often without any effort, and find the cost of conforming more than the reward of remaining who I am. Maybe this also means I am lazy.
In reference to Bonhoeffer, I NEED my alone time to process and deal with my social interactions. I think it is to help me calibrate who I am, and ask questions about how I behaved and if I could have behaved better/different not because of conformity, but rather, by my guiding principles.
Ironically, I think conformity comes from being self absorbed. Conformity hits hard during the teenage years for this very reason. The person is not concerned for the welfare of others, but rather are more worried on how people might potentially view them. This is probably why instead of data, emotion was often appealed to during the pandemic. "It's not for you, it's for everyone around you." "You don't want to overwhelm the hospitals."
2. Intelligence level is not a factor. I have siblings that are smart. They both visited me wearing masks. I didn't have the heart to ask them if they had been vaccinated or boosted, but I already know the answer.
Bonhoeffer says in his quote that people are "made stupid" by the rise in external power. In this case, I think it was in part to the fear and panic offered by Covid. I don't think stupid is the answer here as I think stupidity is something that is a "default condition." A pet rock is stupid because it lacks the capacity for intellect. A person born with limited intellectual capacity is the same through no fault of their own. What these people have is they have handed over control/intent to another entity and the best answer comes down to the mantras and slogans they were given, but more fundamentally than that, it was "because a trusted entity told me so." It may be the CDC, NIH, Fauci, or the government, but that's it.
And this makes evolutionary sense. Going with the herd is a good response. It's why we all have a tendency to gag when other people throw up (traditionally we ate and drank from the same source) Without this herd like behavior, there would be little in the way of civilization. It's also why so few people are actually diabolically bad people because our society would cease to function if there were a ton of narcissistic sociopaths walking around.
3. Low self esteem. If you can rationally see yourself in the universe and the importance you play in it, this can mean less of a chance at being scammed or duped. For instance, if a hot girl in her twenties is reaching out to a 56 year old guy who looks shlubby, there is an agenda here. She doesn't find him attractive, and more often than not, she wants money (if they even are a she).
In a similar fashion, if I am being told to do something unprecedented, there needs to be a good reason for it. I want to know the angle. "We all need to do our part" isn't a good answer. If it "helps others more than it helps you" I want to see the data on it.
4. Knowing things by not knowing. I knew Covid was a scam from the get-go because I knew it was already here and spreading through our society. Did China shut down flights to the rest of the world? How long is a plane flight from China? Can something exist without us testing for it?
Maybe this was my common sense way of fending away fear. Anyhow, I think I recognized the fear for what it was and used a different strategy to work through it rather than panicking.
👍
All apologies for the delayed response Mr. Gleeson, there is a lot of interesting information to digest there, please bear with me.
I don't expect a quick response, but I do hope it provides some material for a rich discussion.
Thank you both for the discussion. When I was 15 I wrote a poem called “Conformity”. I did not understand it; it made no sense. Why would a person give up the things that inherently made them unique, made them who they were? Anyway, I have lived my life being different. My Son many times has difficulty with it but he is starting to understand. My Sibs many times just shake their heads. But time is showing that I have made the right choices. Anyway, thanks I don’t feel alone.
excellent response
I asked a similar question a while back and got a bunch of awesome stories. It seems like most of us had some sort of revelation when we were young that authority figures are full of it. Feel free to add your story!!!
https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/why-are-you-like-this
SimulationCommander, that is a sad article, and I've had similar experiences but mostly with people who end up lying to themselves in order to protect their ego.
I wrote many years ago about the subject of why we are the way we are, which you can read here if interested:
https://tritorch.com/choice
You can skip down to the last six paragraphs, - where I talk about 'Groundhog Day' - to get the gist of it, but please keep in mind this was written when I was far less emotionally and spiritually intelligent than I am now.
Super interesting, thanks for sharing! Although personally I think that you choose chocolate AND strawberry, and the simulation expands to include both choices. That's why I'm the SimulationCommander ;)
BHerr and I talk about this (for way too long) here:
https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/audible-screaming-1#details
I look forward to listening later this evening, thank you for sharing as well! To say I find these conversations fascinating would be an understatement!
The bigger problem is that it's not even close to being about one person. The Federal Government is so huge and unwieldy, it hardly matters who the president is. Trump on steroids for 8 years would hardly be a speed bump on the road to the Orwellian totalitarianism we are headed for. That said, I'll take a speed bump over a doormat\enabler any day.
I can't remember the reference, but someone once said "the permanent bureaucracy looks at those elected as the summer help."
Seems... accurate.
At least the former provides some entertainment on the way to the abyss.
So very true.
Gato, how can you make me laugh and feel despair at the same time? It’s a gift, I guess....
"and if i laugh at any mortal thing 'tis that i may not weep."
-lord byron
"they may take our lives, but they will never take our laughter."
-egm
Cat for president !
I often feel that well spoken words save my life. Thank you.
Same
Elections = "which toilet bowl to drink from"
ha!
Yup.
This time around at least one has been flushed.
The other one has Caddyshack floaters.
Sadly, yet happily I find myself on that position as well : )
i am a one issue voter.
i vote against democrats
👏👏👏👏👏
I’m very fired up to vote for Kari Lake. I see her as the most important political figure in America. She will pull Finchem, Hameduh and Masters over the goal line. If she follows through on her promises she shows how the State can secure its border, she runs the woke out of our schools and she does a true audit on the 2020 election. How can we not be fired up?
As a Floridian I see the AZ governor race as the 2nd most important for me. If Lake wins I think she will put a lot of pressure on Abbot to not be such a cuck...maybe he will actually address issues with the boarder.
True.
She's beating the drum for accountability on c19 as well.
I think she's a superstar in the making.
Maybe she’ll drag Parsons along. That guy is a feckless wonder
Such an important race that I gave to her campaign - from out of state.
Please remember that it's always best to vote IN PERSON if at all possible. Also, when you vote tomorrow GO VOTE AS LATE AS POSSIBLE. This helps prevent them from running early analysis for Fractional Vote Manipulation.
Fraction Magic – Part 1: Votes are being counted as fractions instead of as whole numbers – BlackBoxVoting.org
https://blackboxvoting.org/fraction-magic-1/
Video about Fraction magic:
https://youtu.be/Fob-AGgZn44
Arizona IT and Elections Expert: Elections Assistance Commi
ssion Was Aware That Machines Could Be Hacked in Minutes
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/elections-assistance-commission-aware-machines-hacked-minutes/
This website has collected candidates for health freedom for each state: https://standforhealthfreedom.com/vhf2022/
As Kansas shows, there can be glimmers of human decency:
https://joelshirschhorn.substack.com/p/kansas-pulls-covid-vaccine-ads-from
Toby Rogers brought the first link to attention in his post: https://tobyrogers.substack.com/p/the-iatrogenocide-accelerates Toby says: "Stand for Health Freedom has also built voter guides of medical freedom candidates who need our support. If your state does not currently have a medical freedom voter guide, Stand for Health Freedom has instructions for how to get candidates to fill out their health freedom survey in order to receive an endorsement. This is a fantastic effort and Stand for Health Freedom deserves our support."
Great info! It's impossible to tell these days because few candidates will state their positions anymore.
most just throw dirt at the other party, which is a shame. Why not tell where they are at, instead of trying to blame the others, even if you are right, throwing mud is bad.
it works with low information voters, though.
Alice P.L./Bird - ThAnk you both, for sharing!! Recently saw posted that you can request to have your ballot "hand counted". Anyone familiar with this, or if it's the smart request to make?
"Hand counted" varies by state; state laws regarding voting are different. If your state does allow it then do it. That way your vote is not counted by a machine, it's transparent--out in the open--2 people have to count it.
ThAnks, Alice!! : )
thanks ! I already voted, and seems I did the right thing LOL
Good idea re: voting late. I never thought of that.
Actually, I've always tended to wait until the last half-hour to vote. That's just my nature. But let's not have everyone on our side wait until the very last minute, or the polls might close on us before we can vote!
I'm excited to be voting for DeSantis. :)
I moved from California to Florida in 2019- just in the nick of time!
Good for you. Stuck in San Fransicko for the time being, but will visit FL in a few weeks (for the 3rd time in the last few years), and attend the Brownstone Institute event w/Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
I'm thinking of going to that! I'm a huge fan of Dr. Ladapo, firstly, and secondly, I'm a huge fan of Jeffrey Tucker!
We got here late Aug last year. Escaped just in time. :)
- Abolish the Administrative rule-making system and the Administrative Court system
- Eliminate government employee unions. Make all gov't employees Schedule F Employees
- Eliminate each of the 518+ Federal agencies/departments that cannot be tied to the Constitution, then,
- Conduct thorough top-to-bottom Constitutional review of 100% of the remaining Department/Agencies rules/policies
This would be a good start....
1)I'd like to see a prohibition of retired politicians being able to become lobbyists or advisors -Ever-
2) some way to disentangle special interests from legislation
3) it might have been Neal Boortz? .. but someone made the suggestion that NO bill be made allowing more than one subject matter, and that they necessarily be lawfully written so that anyone with a 10th grade education and civics class could comprehend it. No more Attorney/Orwellian double-speak.
#3. A laudable goal. I'm on the planning commission in a minuscule Utah community. The Utah State Legislature passed a law that said laws and ordinances have to be in plain English that anyone can understand. We are bound to comply with state law. However, the legislature is the biggest violator of their own rule. Scratching your head over state code is an exercise in frustration.
For all its other faults, Washington state actually has a single-subject rule for bills. It's overall beneficial, though occasionally they'll find some technicality to throw out an initiative that people want and vote in (typically those that lower some tax).
I'd also argue that no bill should be able to have a title other than its chamber of origin + number. Too many lies like "Inflation Reduction Act".
I live in WA state and honestly have no idea what you are talking about. We have a budget surplus and bills are passing that raise taxes. Insley sucks ass.
That is correct but separate from what I’m talking about.
In WA, bills have a single subject rule. They can’t lump in healthcare, homeless, roads, etc into one bill. They must be separate, and I consider that a good thing because it reduces their ability to slip bad stuff through.
However, it has also been used for bad to repeal initiatives passed by the people. When I mentioned about lowering taxes, I was thinking of one of Tim Eyman’s initiatives like the ones lowering car tabs to a flat rate. It definitely isn’t the state legislature doing any lowering — that’s a concept they don’t understand.
I don't think any reform will be effective until money is first removed as a corrupter of the system. How to do that? Ah, there's the rub.
100% this. I'm not sure, but ALL voters get better representation when this happens, I'm sure of it!
Many minds...problems become easier
I really recommend Simone Weil's "On the Abolition of All Political Parties".
Because neither the problems nor the debate nor any solutions are new.
Edit: best get a physical copy, for obvious reasons.
Of every written thing one cherishes.
Would you believe we have about 1.3 yd3 of books in an outbuilding on the yard? Every time I visit one of the local fleemarkets, yardsales and such, I have a book or three with me back home.
Anything from high-brow swedish 19th century poerty to old school books from the 1920s to well, anything pre-1950s really.
Many years ago the now unhusband and I went to the annual "New York Is Book Country" blocks-long flea market, though unprepared for the journey, and staggered home on the subway with five or six flimsy totebags-ful. A rare lovely memory to be sure.
I think reading Fahrenheit 451 before age ten has been a major factor in my bibliophiliac tendencies.
Also, paternal grandmother working as a translator-subeditor for a major publisher meant books were something I got every birthday, naming day, any and all other holidays and every visit.
One thing I recall is her reaction to the notion of "children's books" meaning dumbed-down and adapted and censored versions of the real thing. Hell hath no fury as a little chainsmoking lady who had witnessed the logic of "verbotener Autoren" first hand.
My step-grandfather worked in some humble position at a paperback publishing company and brought home a pair of Charles Addams's cartoon collections when I was very young.
Bent towards the sinister path early, I was.
I'd like to see the official parties dissolved after each election, and the elected officials belong to no party while in office. Meanwhile, the "Democrats" and the "Republicans" can spend some of their energy canvassing on the street to get people to sign petitions to put their candidates on the ballot, the same as they make third parties do.
This is in line with my feeling for my own nation.
Direct popular election of a local representative for the national quorum. One representative per commune (our lowest level of governement is called kommun/commune). No funding by taxation.
People want to organise and fund parties, go for it! But on your own time and on your own dime. And any and all funding to be fully transparent as to its origin - no anonymous donations, and no foreign donations.
I've got more I'd like to see, but the topic is the US and how it's system of/for elections was and is broken. I'd really like to see the Bad Cat's thoughts on how to instill respect and appreciation for the ideals and principles the process is supposed to embdy.
I agree with the sentiment, being as how my current feeling is "a pox on both their houses".
However, given human nature, some sort of tribalism will rapidly reassemble.
The choices before in the period from Bush I through Trump did not make much of a difference. Both parties supported an oligarchy which, whether you elect McConnell or Graham or Feinstein or Schumer, you get the same pro-oligarch policies. Trump presented an option. How do I know? The oligarch candidates hate him and are trying to excise him and his supporters. The US is not destined to exist as it was envisioned - a self- governing republic governed by free citizens who are free to run their lives and local governments. In fact, we are far from that now. However, if we only elect “approved” candidates, we will lose it completely. Trump is not attacked and harassed because he’s a bad person or a beyond the pale, but because he is willing to oppose the oligarchy. If Mother Teresa challenged them, she would be denounced a racist, Nazi, fascist, etc. My advice is vote for the candidates who challenge the entrenched political oligarchy.
👏👏👏which is why I voted for Trump and will again. Any candidate cozying up to the Establishment is a big NO and only supports the uniparty. Give me a fighter that loves America, with warts and all.
As an avid reader of the late-P.J. O'Rourke, I long ago resigned myself to the reality of the Uniparty or the "Left-Right Party" as P.J. referred to them. After eight years of Dubya and neo-cons, I'll admit to naive optimism and voting for Obama in 2008 seeking hope and change.
Hope was quickly throttled when Obama bailed out the banks and was given the Nobel Prize for nothing. Moreover, nothing changed. In fact, "it" became worse.
Alas, here we are.
i am a longstanding lover of senor PJ.
such a fun and fruitful author.
Hey, drone bombing children in schools and hospitals is not nothing.
No, it gets you a Nobel Peace Prize 🤡🤡🤡
I do not believe elections were this dirty and nasty until the Clinton Cabal arrived in DC.
Before then, people were civil.
Obama was divisive and derisive
I believe he brought this country down to it's knees, pitting people against each other, pettiness, outrage and just obnoxious. "Obama's Army"
Obama just got the ball rolling.
Today I was driving down I-95 in Massachusetts, and I saw a banner on an overpass:
"Vote Blue -- Fight MAGA Fascists".
This was the message being sent to thousands of people driving into town. That those people who vote republican aren't just neighbors with a difference of opinion; they are not people with whom you can find common ground; they are people with the most vile motives.
And one can draw a direct line between that banner and Biden's Philadelphia speech. This attitude is planned and organized, and it's coming from the top.
Meanwhile, Democrats literally paid for ads boosting those exact MAGA candidates in their primary. Why? Because they would be 'easy to beat' in the general election......
----------
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/27/1106859552/primary-illinois-colorado-republican-candidate-democrats-ads
Fast forward a decade, and some Democrats are hoping to replicate that strategy by boosting GOP candidates who espouse far-right ideologies or tout the lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election.
---------
This is basically the perfect encapsulation of today's Democrats: support something with your actions, then complain about that thing with your words.
For me, voting is an act of self defense. Which one of these evil clowns will damage me the least.
With the note that I've regretted every vote I've ever taken--
I was deeply moved to vote for Obama in 2008; I felt that I'd seen historical change in my lifetime, and it was the first time my kid was eligible to vote, and when we spoke on the phone, after midnight, that election day-into morning, sharing that moment with my own child was unforgettable.
Voted for Obama again, but with the dread that Romney might win.
Would not have changed either vote. Deeply regret having been, you know, fooled.
I have no idea why you thought Obama would be a great choice but I found that way too many people voted for him simply because he was (half) black. So many people after the election were patting themselves on the back for electing the first black president without realizing how racist that was.
I could never have voted for McCain.
Same. But maybe more for the you know who word salad expert he was saddled with.
But then I know more about political media assassination now. She never had a chance.
She had a certain strange charm and I agree completely with your add'l comment below. She had natural smarts. But, too, she was in my view fairly batshit crazy.
And I do judge people by how their kids turn out. Maybe the unrelenting media spotlight on them didn't help towards a healthy maturing process. But there wasn't a cliche they didn't end up wearing with extreme pride.
Nor I. I didn't vote for either. I always used to vote third party or write-in at the presidential level. The first time I've ever voted for either the Democratic or Republican nominee was in 2020, when I voted for Trump, as the only alternative to the open totalitarianism that the Democrats had embraced, and as the closest thing to an adult in the room.
He's never been an adult in any room, but it was grimly pleasurable to see everything he revealed in everyone else.
https://redfoliot.substack.com/p/the-human-smelter
Enjoyed your essay! I didn't know you wrote a substack, but thanks for sharing that one!
Glad you liked it.
Your one sentence pretty well sums up my feelings about Trump.
Wasn’t because he was black. I hated Bush and his horrific illegal war with s white hot heat and his neocons and warmongers. You weren’t a Democrat were you? I was then. I wasn’t all wrong sir.
If anything, I'm an anarchist. I hate both parties with the heat of 1000 suns. We have way too much of people voting for a candidate simply because of the letter behind his/her name (or color of their skin).
I hear ya. Heading there myself. It’s tribalism and I refuse. I’m in Gods tribe praying for discernment and how I can help Him move mountains.
Race was absolutely not why I voted for Obama twice. I have since become pretty disillusioned with him. Hard to say whether the office changed him or he was putting on an act the whole time. Still, I think he was probably better than his opponents. Bottom line is, we never have a good choice.
I could never figure out (still can't) why everyone mistook Obama's spouting of milquetoast-ian platitudes for so-called "soaring rhetoric." He's always been a laid-back, "hip" flim-flam man, and many of us spotted it right away.
I was told that whites voted for Obama to feel good about themselves and not feel like they're racists.
It's the same sort of reasoning that was involved in the C0VID con: take an injection that doesn't work so you don't feel like you're going to die of C0VID.
No, no...shot not for yourself. Take it so you can protect others and feel good about yourself. The height of sanctimony and ignorance.
🎯
Ha! Flim-flam man love it! And now he and big Mike are Flim flamming in Martha's Vineyard with all the rich white folk. Only in America. What a tool!
Fear. He was calm and collected and spoke "well". Meanwhile George the 2nd said things like this:
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."
Lots to say here, but I'll start out by saying that that creep, Barry Soetoro, who came outta nowhere and presented to all of us as an appropriate candidate for President? Seriously?? The guy made my skin crawl then and that visceral reaction remains to this day.
Back then, I asked to not a single sensible answer the following: "Barry" is called "Black". Why is that? When one parent is White and the other (alleged) parent is African-American? So, he ignores his White mother by insisting he's Black? What if the parents' race were reversed and ol' Barry insisted that he was White because his father was White and his mother Black? How would that play?"
Most didn't even get the question...and its revelation of the implicit bigotry of "Barry's" classification of himself and the votes for him based upon it.
Agree 100%. Can't believe anyone was fooled by this shyster. The only thing he felt strongly about in his previous "elected office" (which he gained by destroying his opponent by having opponents sealed divorce records magically unsealed) was to speak against the "born alive infant protection act". He so loves abortion that when the abortion is botched and the baby survives, the little baby must be left without treatment to die on a cold metal tray or in a linen closet. Our country has been going down hill for some time now.
He simply makes my skin crawl. Cannot stand the sight nor sound of that "shyster," as you rightly call him.
👏
I have neither considered him nor called him "black" at any time since becoming aware of him on the political stage.
Exactly the same for me. I was at Obama’s first inauguration. Such hope. But after the Obamacare fiasco and his lack of fighting back I lost my enthusiasm the first term but voted for him again because....I was a Democrat. When he rolled over to McConnell on his constitutional right to pick a scotus I was done. Of course that was then. Now I’m voting R tomorrow. But lesser of 2 evils is my default vote--except Obama. I was excited then--for awhile.
I've never been a registered member of any party, but I've always voted for Democrats when I voted. Them days is done.
But until Republicans can grow a generation of non-batshit-crazy sensible politicians, they got nothing to sell me.
You are pretty correct on that. I’ve been both in the past. No registration in my state but I did vote for W the first time for some now clueless reasons I understand now. 🙄. So I am rather bobbing in the political seas with no dock on either side but going R this time. I can’t even extrapolate what may happen or what the political field is in 2024 but take cover under a school desk beginning November 9.
It seems to me that normal people grow up and have jobs and a life.
I kind of thing people with sociopathic tendencies end up in politics or as executives.
The shite all looks the same. So hard. So hard.
While it's not an exact comparison, the optimisim and good will of Obama's first campaign reminds me a great deal of Tony Blair's first campaign in the UK back in 1997.
In both cases, all that optimisim was utterly misplaced - but it felt good at the time.
I actually remembered thinking
"Wow, maybe now the US can finally move on racial politics" lol nope.
What naive innocents we were.
I voted affirmatively for "none of the above" in 2016 but I couldn't sleep until it had been confirmed that Hillary lost. To say I despise her is a very moderate way of expressing my feelings.
Toilet bowls all the way down!
The Gatolian Dialectic:
1. do the same thing
2. get the same result
3. act surprised
“when is the last time you were excited to vote, as a positive, for a candidate as opposed to choosing the one that seemed likely to be least odious?”
Ron Paul, in I believe the 2008 or 2012 primary.