This post contains more education than 12 years of public school indoctrination. If you’re pumped full of identarian emotions and drugs, it’s hard for your prefrontal cortex to fully develop. Save the kids, Professor Gato!
Wow gato malo, you’re starting to sound like GK Chesterton! “Don’t tear down that fence until you know why it was there in the first place...” Great article.
Here's a topical cartoon about trebuchets, and incidentally, about the perils of warfare. This cartoon is safe for all ages but the site's disclaimer applies to most of its content.
Yes...it is curious how it might change ones perspective...For example, if the author was gatita mala, I would think of something a little more dangerous and full of ruses
We all need a default position because it is not possible, or desirable, to process enough information in real time to make every decision. I have a few:
-assume the government and its agents are lying/manipulating in favor of greater power for them.
-ask “who benefits?”
-stand on the hill of individual rights until carried off on a stretcher
-assume that the human body, biology, and the divine organism that is a person is far too complex to be managed like a machine, is operating in the interest of survival, and is best served by tools that enhance that mission without a lot of egghead meddling (Gato and I diverge a bit here, as I feel that most vaccines, most of the time, are a problem and much better solutions exist if we look for them).
Yes. When evaluating a situation always look at who is involved and what their positions are. In this case let's take a quick gander at the players "supporting Ukrainian freedom!":
1. George Soros
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Joe Biden
4. G.W. Bush
5. Lindsey Graham
6. Nancy Pelosi
7. Eric Swalwell
8. Justin Trudeau
9. Barack Obama
10. Adam Kinzinger
11. Pope Francis
12. MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, etc., etc.
When one side is chock full of disreputable, corrupt people it is an excellent "tell." Admittedly, there are quite a few stinkers on the other side as well, so maybe we shouldn't be greasing the slippery slope to get people--especially American people--killed?
The enemy of my enemy may well also be my enemy... these countries are sh!tholes on the way to irrelevance; the only significant interest the West has here is Russia's nukes. Otherwise, let 'em fight 'til they get tired of it. Make sure they stay in their sandbox, and give them a stern correction if they wander. Beyond that, it's best to ignore them.
Well my point would be, Lawrence, what other side? As far as i can tell, there is no, other side. Just because i am sure the lying crooks have all lined up for Ukraine doesn't mean that i am buying any kind of Russia tripe either. They're all crooks. It's like a bunch of street gangs that are fighting it out in town. I wish they could all lose. I don't see any good guy in any of this. Maybe it's always been this way. Damn them all. Meanwhile, let's get on with collapsing this gangster govt in the US and adopt a true, hyper federal government that bulldozes DC and then salts the earth on top.
This is especially true of the Ukraine news. If there's a narrative coming from the lying pie holes in DC then assume it's a lie until proven otherwise.
It is strange seeing a lot of internet commentators who (rightfully) have become extremely skeptical and disbelieving of what the media reports about covid, but still seem to believe everything they are being told about Ukraine.
China gets the oil. That's the thing driving this. Obviously. China totally tricked the EU into this Ukrainian fiasco. China tricked Germany and the EU into refusing Russian oil. So smart. So so smart. Without firing a shot China has succeeded in commandeering all ALL all Russian resources. Why don't people see the obvious? And truth be told I'm not anti China in the least. Seriously. I can just see it for what it obviously is. Two steps ahead of the west. Again. So smart.
Oh yes. I recommend that everyone read Steven Mosher's "The Bully of Asia". Fascinating read, gives a broad view of China's history and by the end of the book you understand why the Chinese are like they are, and what they have been and are up to as they manipulate the mindless and apparently unaware West to their own advantage. The Chinese are patient as they weave their web, and they always have a strategy.
In just the past few days I made an easy ~ 33% profit buying Chinese stocks after Tuesday's panic sell-off. I wish I could say the same about my much larger investment in Russia a few weeks earlier. 😡
The point of this comment is not to claim I'm a brilliant investor (far from it!) But it is to show how one can profit (sometimes) by taking the other side of a bet. As someone (Buffet, maybe?) famously said, Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy. Of course, it doesn't always work in the real world. Cheap Russian stocks got even cheaper... Their story is not yet done, but looking like a total loss.
Dear The Big At Large, you are an excellent example of why I copy comments along with the article to save off-line for my kids and grandkids to gain a perspective of wisdom. Thank you.
Another helpful heuristic is to follow alternative media. For example, Aaron Mate has been doing great work on Russiagate and Syria. So when Gato presents an article by Mate and asks "do you know the author and his intent and credibility" I can answer: "Yes! Aaron Mate is a real journalist, and I trust him to report basic facts correctly."
For those who haven't found these sources yet. If you click on these links they will lead you to many excellent ancillary sources. There are many more, of course, but these have been excellent for my information-gathering processes on many current topics:
Thank you for the list. I don't do the Bird, but others often post tweets. Very difficult to filter the continuous, relentless, 24/7 barrage of lies to try to understand what's really happening.
I have no Bird account either, but until those above who continue doing their main posting there, it's a concession I'm willing to make. BTW: I really don't understand why they haven't left yet. Except for certain corners, Twitter is absolute garbage. If I had an account I would DM them daily to tell them to GTFO.
While I absolutely agree with gato I also had the same feeling like you. Unfortunately many things happen fast in our life so you need to decide fast and you need some basic ideas. Like vaccine mandates were introduced overnight so they didn't let you 'research' the topic carefully. Also how did you research when most of the opposing voices were censored?
I learnt early on Covid19 was not what it was being sold as and long before the vaccines came out I knew they were useless at preventing moderate to severe infection.
Regarding vaccine failure go check out Dr Richard Fleming's 3 hour lecture that is on the High Wire website way back in mid 2020. He literally accessed the trial data on the vaccine manufacturers websites. He just knew where to look and how to analyse the data.
I have been subscribing to "dissident' voices for decades. I started my journey on topics such as passive smoking causing lung cancer and man made global warming back in the early 90s.
Once you start looking you end up following paths that lead you to the opposing viewpoints.
However you still have to weed out a lot of the grifters and hyperbolic types. Its like gardening, you have to continually attend to the weeds!
What I am saying is that once you start questioning official narratives you tend to build up your own network of sources with opposing views so when something like Covid or the Ukraine war comes along you are already ahead of the official narrative.
You yourself are already there to a certain degree by being on substack.
Excellent points. I've just finished RFK Jr.'s excellent "The Real Anthony Fauci." He (and others) make a rather convincing case that the problem is far broader than just Fauci as a compromised bureacrat. Let us agree, for argument, that much of the government, pharma, regulatory, research, academic, media etc. are heavily corrupted by Big Pharma and other special interests. Yes, dangerous drugs get approved, including perhaps the biggest disaster to date, the Covid-19 "vaccines." But what's missing from this entire argument? Simple:
It is quite likely that the vast majority of drugs that still get researched, tested and approved, are (relatively) safe and effective -- precisely the mission statement of the regulators. In other words, I don't buy into the entire argument that They are out to cull the human herd. Yes, there is much corruption, profit- and power-seeking operating. Ethics and morals are violated. Perhaps even laws. But on the whole, is it not closer to the truth to say "The vast majority of drugs (and other medical devices) are safe and effective for their stated uses" ?
What I'm trying to show is that it's one thing to question (say) the ethics of Fauci, a Bill Gates, etc. But it is probably going to far if one becomes an extreme skeptic, totally dismissive of everything. If you do that, you are essentially making the same cognitive error as a gullible person who swallows hook line and sinker anyone's claims. Just because you take the extreme opposite side of the argument, does not make you right.
I am one who fell for the vaccine trick. Back then I imagined a public health authority that was not corrupt. As a very vulnerable senior, I along with similar folk had trust. I did research back then when there were few alternative prevention suggestions. The time passed and real data began to arrive. After more research I have refused the booster despite regular prompts via my now registered notification channels. I really do feel betrayed and wish for some justice.
Sadly, I do observe the gato's cautions but clearly I didn't hold out long enough - I and too many others.
No research needed since there was no trial research available. I said from the get-go I would research the clot shot after the 5 yr safety trial data was in. My workplace said get the damn shot. I told them to go to hell. Still waiting on the safety data.
On Twitter and through comments on MSM articles worldwide we are being manipulated on a grand scale. For every divisive issue, look closely at the Twitter profiles; these AI-bots, PSYOP adversaries, and 'machine tools' solely exist to herd and divide us....and there are tens of thousands of them! As such, I think people mistakenly believe Twitter represents real life. It doesn't. Unplug from Twitter, go to a local coffee shop or pub...and life goes back to nearly normal.
Absolutely correct. Thankfully, I've never had a Twitter account.
I had no use for a medium designed for attenuated attention spans and instant gratification. The more people recognize that social media in its various manifestations is a tool of manipulation and thought control the better off we will be collectively.
MSM including Fox and News Max. Pulled here! Watch BBC maybe once a week. Excuse me while I return to FT8.. skip is allowing for antipodal contacts. … see - only one in 10,000 will understand that but the one will realize I am chasin AP, EZ etc
I am always amazed at reading Sen Paul's twitter feed. He posts something and nearly immediately the bots arrive to discredit him. Brit Hume as well. Somehow these things, bots, whatever seem glued to those feeds. I don't see these attacks on certain other people, ever, no matter how foolish they are. Of course, my posts are rarely attacked (no followers) and get a few likes which reinforces my use. Ah yes, social media!
I’m not sure how anybody believes anything any person in government or media or on social media says after the last 2 years. Admittedly I’m a marketer’s nightmare - advertising makes me skeptical. (What’s the nice female term for a curmudgeon?!) But the higher the hype and hysteria the more our response should be skepticism OBVIOUSLY. But then, skepticism has been purposefully driven out of people through “education” and that reinforced on social media. I’m so glad we homeschooled our kids…
Amen! I too am a female skeptical curmudgeon! And we homeschooled our boys through jr high. One of the best things we did was join the jr high debate team. Opened our eyes to a level of education we had not yet seen.
I am a female skeptical curmudgeon, also! When I was growing up I was known in the family as The Little Cynic. It's good to look at things carefully and ask questions especially, who benefits?
I resemble that remark! Like The Big at Large advises, my default position is to reject the “wave of the day.” I’ve grown skeptical to the point I have to check myself for cynicism in case I inadvertently reject something worthwhile. Am I now just oppositionally defiant to everything mainstream? Ugh. That’s not a good position either, though better than unquestioning acceptance, I think.
What did Sowell say about people not knowing what evidence is and accepting opinion in its place?
And “The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best?”
Who does decide when we reject the hard task of thinking?
"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."
They still believe because they rely on MSN for all they think and ‘know’, reject any information that challenges as the work of sceptics as swivel-eyed-loons, conspiracy theorists.
I have come to the conclusion a large majority like being lied to… they like the comfort of the consistency of narrative. If everyone is telling the same lies, it must be true and the actual truth is too disturbing. It’s a simplistic state requiring no troublesome thinking: Russia bad; Ukraine good; ‘We’ absolute virtuous heroes for helping ‘plucky’ Ukraine. Complexity makes their brains hurt.
Sorry if I sound contemptuous of my fellow Man, but it’s been a tough and revealing 24 months.
“nuclear war is worth risking for some things … But I think that’s a hard position to hold if you think the extinction of humanity is so bad that avoiding it trumps everything else.”
😵 WTLF. Please tell me that’s satire. Otherwise, there’s less hope for finding signs of intelligent life among the NPCs than I’d previously imagined.
“Crisis is our diet, served up as exotic dishes and dishes ever more exotic before we are able to swallow, let alone digest, those that were just before us.”
—Milton Mayer, “They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45”
I keep that title in mind every time I see a woke Democrat headline, video or article. They thought they free... To even consider proposing nuclear war shows such rank idiocy of its real-world effects and fallout at every level on every scale. WTLF indeed. The inmates have taken control of the asylum.
Until I see the mushroom cloud outside my window, I'm still choosing to focus on what I *do* know: And that's that America is being destroyed and the monsters behind the curtain don't want us to notice.
America is being destroyed by America one mandate at a time. One emergency order at a time, one crooked or incoherent politician at a time. Dear USA, stop poking your nose into things that do not concern you. Please.
A child is told- 'don't touch that stove-it's hot'. This is necessary when the child is very young, because the child cannot think critically yet. Eventually, though, 1 of 2 things happens. That child grows up and is shown how to cook on the stove, or the child is served meals forever and never learns about the stove in a timely fashion. Apply this to all things we admonish children for...many people never get beyond that initial stage- Don't _________, because danger. Being taught to think always involves new knowledge, and it has to be true and relevant, even if it is not easy to understand. This brings me back to a free and truthful press.
My parents had 3 children, I came along 12 years later. The stove story they tell is how when they were 6,5 and 4 years old, they 'decided' to cook breakfast for Mom and Dad. My parents awoke to a burning smell, to find they had turned on all the (electric) burners, to high, and were trying to make oatmeal. Dad remembered all the burners glowing bright red. Nobody got burned, or hurt, but my parents probably taught at least my oldest sister to cook quite quickly after that. (My brothers simply got served food till they left home). Funny how most rebels are really just curious kids trying to get some breakfast. Hungry rebels. best Canny Granny....
Agreed. Learning on your own is a sure way to internalize learning. Most importantly, you learn from your own mistakes. Rebels with a cause make the world go round. I hope there are young rebels out there willing to say, I want to see if it’s true, before I believe it.”
You touch on an important point. But haven’t we gone beyond that? Stoves are not longer allowed in the house in case a child burns themselves. Children become adults without ever being exposed to danger. They don’t know how to assess risk, manage or avoid it.
They need/want to be told - which makes them easily controlled because if authority says there is danger, there must be danger so they must do what authority tells them.
Well, your article is making me realize why I have been feeling a sense of relief about this manufactured crisis (Ukraine), as opposed to the prior manufactured crisis (COVID). With COVID, I definitely know that they are trying to kill us. The threat is very direct, and that is my (current hypothesis) framework for understanding. I have been isolated and ostracized for holding my opposing, strong view (which I can support with evidence that my loved ones refuse to even look at).
With Ukraine, it is also obvious to me that we are being similarly manipulated. In fact, it is so obvious that it is a grotesque cartoon. But because here in the US (so far) the threat is not as immediately threatening to our lives (we are, so far, mostly threatened merely with out of control inflation and potential economic depression), it allows space to think.
The only rational viewpoint at the present time is that I "don't know enough" to form an opinion other than that there is an awful lot of corruption, a lot going on beneath the surface, and that the fog-of-war propaganda is quite thick (which must mean "something" along the lines of "beware of the lies you are being fed"). Whereas with COVID, I knew so much already, that it was horrifying to see my loved ones going over that cliff (why did they not spend 2020 researching, as I did, so that they would know better than to take one of those experimental shots by the time they were available?) Time will tell if I get to that horrified place, with respect to Ukraine.
I'm someone who won't sit on the sidelines. I will research with an open mind. Or I wouldn't be reading your substack.
I would normally agree with you except that because the same people are involved in the support-Ukraine-war mindset/power dynamics that were involved in the Covid lockdown-vac-mandate one, that I believe that Ukraine is something else. It's a distraction or diversion from something else happening behind the scenes or about to happen. If I'm wrong about that, or in addition to this possibility, the US reaction to Ukraine will have the unintended consequence of debasing the US dollar to the point of pushing the US into poverty. I'm sorry to have such a negative view but that's what I see.
What I've noticed is that the more vocal proponents of COVID Reality are quiet about calling for Ukraine Realism, lest "unvaccinated" become equated with "Putin Stooge." Sadly, I think we're getting to that point, anyway.
Absolutely. On that deeper level, I agree that there is a lot of mischief afoot. My own relief is simply because I know that I do not know. With COVID, I know that I know. I can really "see" the horror of the entire plandemic, which definitely includes ALL of my loved ones following the piper off that cliff, and I am powerless to stop them. Believe me, I've tried.
With this (Ukraine, with the very loud drumbeat of war and economic depression that seems to be the icing on the cake of negativity), I can at least talk to my fellow humans about "inflation" and they will agree with me. I have a sense of comfort from being able to unite with people who've been on the opposite side from me, with COVID. So, in that sense I am responding to a few of the elements in the substack article. About our human tendencies to be tribal and seek agreement with each other. It feels good.
But we don't agree about everything, because I still know that COVID is not over. The digital ID and the effects of the jabs, and the fact that the EUA is still in effect.... it's not over, just because we are now "allowed" to take off our masks.
Thank you Gato! I think each newly branded crisis will have a shorter half-life with fewer participants because the truth will get out faster and eventually everyone will get caught feeling stupid. There's also exhaustion with hysteria. At some point, people will just get tired of being in a total state of panic. The Salem Witch Trials did eventually end.
Just so long as the reason it ends isn't, "I'm so tired of all this. Make it stop." "Certainly. Just shut up and do what you're told and it will stop."
You mention a very important topic. "Shut up and do what we tell you." is not an acceptable answer, at least in what claims to be a freedom-loving republic that values, or at least must tolerate, dissident opinions, no matter how polemic. Nor is it an acceptable position in what should be a forum of science or other discipline that is (theoretically) governed by rules of logic and need to prove propositions.
I suppose it is acceptable under some conditions, but speaking partially from experience, military basic training or living in a totalitarian dystopia are not my preferred modes of existence.
As usual, this is a thought-provoking analysis of our world today. You've written many excellent posts but this one finally got me to create a 'REREAD' label in my mail app so that I can flag it as something to revisit periodically.
The part I'm struggling with is in precept one. Too many times these issues aren't presented as sides of a debate. They are presented as monolithic matters that can only be right or else the other party is willfully evil. There is no space for debate about covid, Ukraine, racism, climatism, or the next 'crisis' du jour. As such I cannot seem to find a way to discuss these things with friends that I know to be otherwise intelligent. They are so convinced there is only one possible answer. This conviction is reinforced by various 'experts', 'fact checkers', and companies willing to punish 'bad thought'.
And the bow on top is the poison of 'silence is violence' in that you cannot attempt to remain neutral or state that you don't know enough to take a position. That exit has been barred, leaving me to politely state something non-committal like "It's terrible. I hope we are able to resolve it soon." before exiting the conversation swiftly.
Try asking them to explain why they feel so strongly. Usually they cannot, and once that happens, there is a possibility that they are on the way to being red-pilled...
And don't let them get away with a pithy, nonsense answer. Push back until they actually explain, with facts and logic, why they think what they think; or (more likely) they realize that they really do not know.
Thank you. It is a delicate dance (with friends and family) trying to have those difficult conversations. I simply don't engage with random people on contentious issues.
One of the scariest words i constantly saw during the Scamdemic was,"Whereas..."
It was $^#^@!× unbelievable how any tyrannical government action could be justified with the prefecatory phrase,"Whereas [insert whatever unproven but widely believed bullshit crisis harm]..."
So in my state, courts were closed down, rights were trampled, livelihoods ruined, all with the magic wave of a Whereas. No debate, no committee hearings, no proof. Just a bald assertion, Whereas We Say This is So, therefore, we have power to screw you over. And no one objected. Biy, the Framers sure flubbed that one. They assumed the Legislature would be jealous of power exercised by the Executive and naturally rein it in. Nope. We have legislatures that run and hide at the idea of confronting the Executive. They love a dictator as it absolves them of all responsibility. Our republic is fallen and no election to a corrupt and subservient Congress will change that.
When it’s politically convenient for covid to be over, the ‘leaders’ declare it’s over. When it’s politically convenient for covid to still be an emergency, it’s still an emergency. And while the legislature in Washington — and in Washington DC — is finally starting to demand a say in governing, this comes far too late for my liking.
We have checks and balances for a reason. The founders understood that unchecked power in the hands of one person was a recipe for disaster, and the last couple years have shown us why. Jay Inslee is not the ruler of Washington, able to close businesses and impose gathering rules at his whim (although always hiding behind his corrupt lackeys in the health department).
If they must exist at all, emergency powers should ONLY last until the legislature tasked with creating laws can convene. These days, our officials should be able to meet online within HOURS to actually vote and legally pass laws pertaining to the emergency. This “the governor decides based on a health official he employs” isn’t the way America was designed. The founders created a system in which it was SUPPOSED to be difficult to get stuff done — that way only the most important stuff would have enough support to become law.
And make no mistake, all too often our representatives are happy to pass the buck up the chain and keep their stance out of the public eye. But having your votes in the public eye is the point! You’re forced to defend your vote to your constituents, who can then throw you out of office because of it! This is one of the checks of the system!
When the governor (or president) sidesteps these checks and balances, they are undermining the very ‘democracy’ they are claiming to defend! In the case of Washington, Jay Inslee is acting like the very tyrant he accused Trump of being for four years! But Donald Trump wasn’t the one who closed businesses and imposed rules about who we could associate with. Trump wasn’t the one who imposed a vaccine mandate that resulted in thousands of healthcare workers being fired. Donald Trump isn’t the one STILL HOLDING ONTO THAT MANDATE, more than a year after it was clear that the vaccine did not stop transmission.
It’s not just legislatures; here in NM the state Supreme Court just upheld “Governor” Wujan-Grisham’s rights to have exercised emergency powers w/out consultation / consent of the legislature. She’s keeping a pretty low profile right now (up for election this Nov), re-opened the state & got rid of mask mandates (we were one of the last), is handing out tax breaks like candy & otherwise trying to get people here to forgot. Sadly, this pathetic state is 1-party & deep blue, so the majority probably will forget or forgive. Then if she wins again, she’ll return to tyrannical type
Excellent, I've been grappling with many of these rules lately myself and have never seen them laid out so clearly.
Plus of course there's the fact that ignorant people with strongly held beliefs are unpleasant buffoons that drive others away. If someone won't do it for society, they should at least do it for themselves. No one likes a pontificating bullshitter.
I'd add one more that wasn't explicitly stated but inferred: "Admit when you were wrong about a strongly held belief and understand and learn from the errors made in coming to that belief."
This post contains more education than 12 years of public school indoctrination. If you’re pumped full of identarian emotions and drugs, it’s hard for your prefrontal cortex to fully develop. Save the kids, Professor Gato!
I could not agree more. This piece is brilliant and deserving of broad distribution.
I wish that I could obtain a bound copy of gato's thought piece and place it with my copies of the Bible and Meditations for daily reflection.
Yep. Now I know why yesterday’s offering was so brief. El Gato was working on a masterpiece.
Save the “adults!” This is a treasure chest of truth and caution. Dig in and be rich!
Wow gato malo, you’re starting to sound like GK Chesterton! “Don’t tear down that fence until you know why it was there in the first place...” Great article.
spoiler:
wait until i tell you about trebuchets.
Where they load plague-ridden corpses into the trebuchets and fling them over the enemy’s battlements? World’s first deployment of bioweapons (?)
Here's a topical cartoon about trebuchets, and incidentally, about the perils of warfare. This cartoon is safe for all ages but the site's disclaimer applies to most of its content.
https://www.oglaf.com/siege/
oglaf can be very amusing sometimes.
Chesterton's Fence would have saved us all a great deal of hardship had anyone remembered it.
I think I saw them at the Ryman a couple years ago.
I've always thought that was advice that too few follow, or even stop to think about.
I was thinking the same thing reading this: this cat guy reminds me of Chesterton.
Often wondered
He is using the masculine for of gato malo, as opposed Gata mala, or gatita mala
Yes...it is curious how it might change ones perspective...For example, if the author was gatita mala, I would think of something a little more dangerous and full of ruses
We all need a default position because it is not possible, or desirable, to process enough information in real time to make every decision. I have a few:
-assume the government and its agents are lying/manipulating in favor of greater power for them.
-ask “who benefits?”
-stand on the hill of individual rights until carried off on a stretcher
-assume that the human body, biology, and the divine organism that is a person is far too complex to be managed like a machine, is operating in the interest of survival, and is best served by tools that enhance that mission without a lot of egghead meddling (Gato and I diverge a bit here, as I feel that most vaccines, most of the time, are a problem and much better solutions exist if we look for them).
Yes. When evaluating a situation always look at who is involved and what their positions are. In this case let's take a quick gander at the players "supporting Ukrainian freedom!":
1. George Soros
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Joe Biden
4. G.W. Bush
5. Lindsey Graham
6. Nancy Pelosi
7. Eric Swalwell
8. Justin Trudeau
9. Barack Obama
10. Adam Kinzinger
11. Pope Francis
12. MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, etc., etc.
When one side is chock full of disreputable, corrupt people it is an excellent "tell." Admittedly, there are quite a few stinkers on the other side as well, so maybe we shouldn't be greasing the slippery slope to get people--especially American people--killed?
A favorite: “they did not all suddenly get smart and well calibrated or honest this time.”
The enemy of my enemy may well also be my enemy... these countries are sh!tholes on the way to irrelevance; the only significant interest the West has here is Russia's nukes. Otherwise, let 'em fight 'til they get tired of it. Make sure they stay in their sandbox, and give them a stern correction if they wander. Beyond that, it's best to ignore them.
“ Canada”is the biggest useful idiot on this list - Zelensky knows
Amazing people like Donald trump and Lindsay Graham and Hannity didn't make the list!!!
Hannity? (see #12 Fox News), Lindsey Graham? (see #5). As for Trump I don't pay any attention to him. If he's on Team War then he, too, is a jerk.
Well my point would be, Lawrence, what other side? As far as i can tell, there is no, other side. Just because i am sure the lying crooks have all lined up for Ukraine doesn't mean that i am buying any kind of Russia tripe either. They're all crooks. It's like a bunch of street gangs that are fighting it out in town. I wish they could all lose. I don't see any good guy in any of this. Maybe it's always been this way. Damn them all. Meanwhile, let's get on with collapsing this gangster govt in the US and adopt a true, hyper federal government that bulldozes DC and then salts the earth on top.
This is especially true of the Ukraine news. If there's a narrative coming from the lying pie holes in DC then assume it's a lie until proven otherwise.
It is strange seeing a lot of internet commentators who (rightfully) have become extremely skeptical and disbelieving of what the media reports about covid, but still seem to believe everything they are being told about Ukraine.
Slow learners.
China gets the oil. That's the thing driving this. Obviously. China totally tricked the EU into this Ukrainian fiasco. China tricked Germany and the EU into refusing Russian oil. So smart. So so smart. Without firing a shot China has succeeded in commandeering all ALL all Russian resources. Why don't people see the obvious? And truth be told I'm not anti China in the least. Seriously. I can just see it for what it obviously is. Two steps ahead of the west. Again. So smart.
Oh yes. I recommend that everyone read Steven Mosher's "The Bully of Asia". Fascinating read, gives a broad view of China's history and by the end of the book you understand why the Chinese are like they are, and what they have been and are up to as they manipulate the mindless and apparently unaware West to their own advantage. The Chinese are patient as they weave their web, and they always have a strategy.
In just the past few days I made an easy ~ 33% profit buying Chinese stocks after Tuesday's panic sell-off. I wish I could say the same about my much larger investment in Russia a few weeks earlier. 😡
The point of this comment is not to claim I'm a brilliant investor (far from it!) But it is to show how one can profit (sometimes) by taking the other side of a bet. As someone (Buffet, maybe?) famously said, Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy. Of course, it doesn't always work in the real world. Cheap Russian stocks got even cheaper... Their story is not yet done, but looking like a total loss.
Warren Buffett also said: "Never invest in something you don't understand."
Dear The Big At Large, you are an excellent example of why I copy comments along with the article to save off-line for my kids and grandkids to gain a perspective of wisdom. Thank you.
Aw, thank you!
Another helpful heuristic is to follow alternative media. For example, Aaron Mate has been doing great work on Russiagate and Syria. So when Gato presents an article by Mate and asks "do you know the author and his intent and credibility" I can answer: "Yes! Aaron Mate is a real journalist, and I trust him to report basic facts correctly."
For those who haven't found these sources yet. If you click on these links they will lead you to many excellent ancillary sources. There are many more, of course, but these have been excellent for my information-gathering processes on many current topics:
Hans Mahncke: Covid origins, RussiaGate https://twitter.com/HansMahncke
Aaron Mate: RussiaGate, Ukraine https://substack.com/profile/1109249-aaron-mate
Mark Wauck: RussiaGate, Covid, Ukraine https://meaninginhistory.substack.com/
Edward Dowd: Covid fraud / vaccines https://gettr.com/user/edwarddowd
Lee Smith: RussiaGate https://twitter.com/LeeSmithDC
El Gato Malo: Covid https://boriquagato.substack.com/
Dr. Malone: Covid https://substack.com/profile/49176289-robert-w-malone-md-ms
Alex Berenson: Covid https://alexberenson.substack.com/
Robert Barnes: Legal issues, political insights https://twitter.com/Barnes_Law
Geert Vanden Bossche: Covid https://twitter.com/GVDBossche
Julie Kelly: Jan 6th https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2
Thank you for the list. I don't do the Bird, but others often post tweets. Very difficult to filter the continuous, relentless, 24/7 barrage of lies to try to understand what's really happening.
I have no Bird account either, but until those above who continue doing their main posting there, it's a concession I'm willing to make. BTW: I really don't understand why they haven't left yet. Except for certain corners, Twitter is absolute garbage. If I had an account I would DM them daily to tell them to GTFO.
While I absolutely agree with gato I also had the same feeling like you. Unfortunately many things happen fast in our life so you need to decide fast and you need some basic ideas. Like vaccine mandates were introduced overnight so they didn't let you 'research' the topic carefully. Also how did you research when most of the opposing voices were censored?
I learnt early on Covid19 was not what it was being sold as and long before the vaccines came out I knew they were useless at preventing moderate to severe infection.
Regarding vaccine failure go check out Dr Richard Fleming's 3 hour lecture that is on the High Wire website way back in mid 2020. He literally accessed the trial data on the vaccine manufacturers websites. He just knew where to look and how to analyse the data.
I have been subscribing to "dissident' voices for decades. I started my journey on topics such as passive smoking causing lung cancer and man made global warming back in the early 90s.
Once you start looking you end up following paths that lead you to the opposing viewpoints.
However you still have to weed out a lot of the grifters and hyperbolic types. Its like gardening, you have to continually attend to the weeds!
What I am saying is that once you start questioning official narratives you tend to build up your own network of sources with opposing views so when something like Covid or the Ukraine war comes along you are already ahead of the official narrative.
You yourself are already there to a certain degree by being on substack.
Excellent points. I've just finished RFK Jr.'s excellent "The Real Anthony Fauci." He (and others) make a rather convincing case that the problem is far broader than just Fauci as a compromised bureacrat. Let us agree, for argument, that much of the government, pharma, regulatory, research, academic, media etc. are heavily corrupted by Big Pharma and other special interests. Yes, dangerous drugs get approved, including perhaps the biggest disaster to date, the Covid-19 "vaccines." But what's missing from this entire argument? Simple:
It is quite likely that the vast majority of drugs that still get researched, tested and approved, are (relatively) safe and effective -- precisely the mission statement of the regulators. In other words, I don't buy into the entire argument that They are out to cull the human herd. Yes, there is much corruption, profit- and power-seeking operating. Ethics and morals are violated. Perhaps even laws. But on the whole, is it not closer to the truth to say "The vast majority of drugs (and other medical devices) are safe and effective for their stated uses" ?
What I'm trying to show is that it's one thing to question (say) the ethics of Fauci, a Bill Gates, etc. But it is probably going to far if one becomes an extreme skeptic, totally dismissive of everything. If you do that, you are essentially making the same cognitive error as a gullible person who swallows hook line and sinker anyone's claims. Just because you take the extreme opposite side of the argument, does not make you right.
I find I get caught up in the moment and take in too much from the suppressed point of view.
Fortunately I manage to pull myself out of it.
The culling angle of the vaccine being one of those occasions.
Like I said you have to continually assess your sources of information because it's quite easy to go further down rabbit holes.
I am one who fell for the vaccine trick. Back then I imagined a public health authority that was not corrupt. As a very vulnerable senior, I along with similar folk had trust. I did research back then when there were few alternative prevention suggestions. The time passed and real data began to arrive. After more research I have refused the booster despite regular prompts via my now registered notification channels. I really do feel betrayed and wish for some justice.
Sadly, I do observe the gato's cautions but clearly I didn't hold out long enough - I and too many others.
No research needed since there was no trial research available. I said from the get-go I would research the clot shot after the 5 yr safety trial data was in. My workplace said get the damn shot. I told them to go to hell. Still waiting on the safety data.
Spot on.
On Twitter and through comments on MSM articles worldwide we are being manipulated on a grand scale. For every divisive issue, look closely at the Twitter profiles; these AI-bots, PSYOP adversaries, and 'machine tools' solely exist to herd and divide us....and there are tens of thousands of them! As such, I think people mistakenly believe Twitter represents real life. It doesn't. Unplug from Twitter, go to a local coffee shop or pub...and life goes back to nearly normal.
Absolutely correct. Thankfully, I've never had a Twitter account.
I had no use for a medium designed for attenuated attention spans and instant gratification. The more people recognize that social media in its various manifestations is a tool of manipulation and thought control the better off we will be collectively.
Pull the plug.
MSM including Fox and News Max. Pulled here! Watch BBC maybe once a week. Excuse me while I return to FT8.. skip is allowing for antipodal contacts. … see - only one in 10,000 will understand that but the one will realize I am chasin AP, EZ etc
I am always amazed at reading Sen Paul's twitter feed. He posts something and nearly immediately the bots arrive to discredit him. Brit Hume as well. Somehow these things, bots, whatever seem glued to those feeds. I don't see these attacks on certain other people, ever, no matter how foolish they are. Of course, my posts are rarely attacked (no followers) and get a few likes which reinforces my use. Ah yes, social media!
Exactly. Not The Bee just posted an article this morning that the White House (Jen Psaki) is "training" 30 or so TikTok influencers on spreading the administrations propaganda on Ukraine. https://notthebee.com/article/the-white-house-briefs-not-one-not-two-but-30-tiktok-stars-about-ukraine-war
I enjoyed the comment that the TicTok folk were needed to brief Harris before her visit. Apparently the coordination arrived too late.
Not surprising
I’m not sure how anybody believes anything any person in government or media or on social media says after the last 2 years. Admittedly I’m a marketer’s nightmare - advertising makes me skeptical. (What’s the nice female term for a curmudgeon?!) But the higher the hype and hysteria the more our response should be skepticism OBVIOUSLY. But then, skepticism has been purposefully driven out of people through “education” and that reinforced on social media. I’m so glad we homeschooled our kids…
Amen! I too am a female skeptical curmudgeon! And we homeschooled our boys through jr high. One of the best things we did was join the jr high debate team. Opened our eyes to a level of education we had not yet seen.
I am a female skeptical curmudgeon, also! When I was growing up I was known in the family as The Little Cynic. It's good to look at things carefully and ask questions especially, who benefits?
I resemble that remark! Like The Big at Large advises, my default position is to reject the “wave of the day.” I’ve grown skeptical to the point I have to check myself for cynicism in case I inadvertently reject something worthwhile. Am I now just oppositionally defiant to everything mainstream? Ugh. That’s not a good position either, though better than unquestioning acceptance, I think.
What did Sowell say about people not knowing what evidence is and accepting opinion in its place?
And “The most basic question is not what is best, but who shall decide what is best?”
Who does decide when we reject the hard task of thinking?
"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."
Thomas Sowell
They still believe because they rely on MSN for all they think and ‘know’, reject any information that challenges as the work of sceptics as swivel-eyed-loons, conspiracy theorists.
I have come to the conclusion a large majority like being lied to… they like the comfort of the consistency of narrative. If everyone is telling the same lies, it must be true and the actual truth is too disturbing. It’s a simplistic state requiring no troublesome thinking: Russia bad; Ukraine good; ‘We’ absolute virtuous heroes for helping ‘plucky’ Ukraine. Complexity makes their brains hurt.
Sorry if I sound contemptuous of my fellow Man, but it’s been a tough and revealing 24 months.
I believe the word you seek is bi.. er, "shrew" or perhaps (new to me) "grimalkin" 😎
[I looked at synonyms for curmudgeon; most I had heard of, but "crosspatch" and "old trout"???}
“nuclear war is worth risking for some things … But I think that’s a hard position to hold if you think the extinction of humanity is so bad that avoiding it trumps everything else.”
😵 WTLF. Please tell me that’s satire. Otherwise, there’s less hope for finding signs of intelligent life among the NPCs than I’d previously imagined.
Mask up! If it saves even ONE life it’s worth it! Don’t kill Grandma! Get vaccinated! Let’s send 18 year olds to die for a war we know nothing about!
How do they not see the cognitive dissonance? How are they not constantly suffering from whiplash?
npc are playback machines, aka parrots
“Crisis is our diet, served up as exotic dishes and dishes ever more exotic before we are able to swallow, let alone digest, those that were just before us.”
—Milton Mayer, “They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933–45”
I keep that title in mind every time I see a woke Democrat headline, video or article. They thought they free... To even consider proposing nuclear war shows such rank idiocy of its real-world effects and fallout at every level on every scale. WTLF indeed. The inmates have taken control of the asylum.
Until I see the mushroom cloud outside my window, I'm still choosing to focus on what I *do* know: And that's that America is being destroyed and the monsters behind the curtain don't want us to notice.
America is being destroyed by America one mandate at a time. One emergency order at a time, one crooked or incoherent politician at a time. Dear USA, stop poking your nose into things that do not concern you. Please.
A child is told- 'don't touch that stove-it's hot'. This is necessary when the child is very young, because the child cannot think critically yet. Eventually, though, 1 of 2 things happens. That child grows up and is shown how to cook on the stove, or the child is served meals forever and never learns about the stove in a timely fashion. Apply this to all things we admonish children for...many people never get beyond that initial stage- Don't _________, because danger. Being taught to think always involves new knowledge, and it has to be true and relevant, even if it is not easy to understand. This brings me back to a free and truthful press.
Some kids just have to touch the stove themselves! If you tell them not to do it, they will. The rebels of the world.
My parents had 3 children, I came along 12 years later. The stove story they tell is how when they were 6,5 and 4 years old, they 'decided' to cook breakfast for Mom and Dad. My parents awoke to a burning smell, to find they had turned on all the (electric) burners, to high, and were trying to make oatmeal. Dad remembered all the burners glowing bright red. Nobody got burned, or hurt, but my parents probably taught at least my oldest sister to cook quite quickly after that. (My brothers simply got served food till they left home). Funny how most rebels are really just curious kids trying to get some breakfast. Hungry rebels. best Canny Granny....
Agreed. Learning on your own is a sure way to internalize learning. Most importantly, you learn from your own mistakes. Rebels with a cause make the world go round. I hope there are young rebels out there willing to say, I want to see if it’s true, before I believe it.”
But they will touch it only once.
Outstanding comment.
You touch on an important point. But haven’t we gone beyond that? Stoves are not longer allowed in the house in case a child burns themselves. Children become adults without ever being exposed to danger. They don’t know how to assess risk, manage or avoid it.
They need/want to be told - which makes them easily controlled because if authority says there is danger, there must be danger so they must do what authority tells them.
Well, your article is making me realize why I have been feeling a sense of relief about this manufactured crisis (Ukraine), as opposed to the prior manufactured crisis (COVID). With COVID, I definitely know that they are trying to kill us. The threat is very direct, and that is my (current hypothesis) framework for understanding. I have been isolated and ostracized for holding my opposing, strong view (which I can support with evidence that my loved ones refuse to even look at).
With Ukraine, it is also obvious to me that we are being similarly manipulated. In fact, it is so obvious that it is a grotesque cartoon. But because here in the US (so far) the threat is not as immediately threatening to our lives (we are, so far, mostly threatened merely with out of control inflation and potential economic depression), it allows space to think.
The only rational viewpoint at the present time is that I "don't know enough" to form an opinion other than that there is an awful lot of corruption, a lot going on beneath the surface, and that the fog-of-war propaganda is quite thick (which must mean "something" along the lines of "beware of the lies you are being fed"). Whereas with COVID, I knew so much already, that it was horrifying to see my loved ones going over that cliff (why did they not spend 2020 researching, as I did, so that they would know better than to take one of those experimental shots by the time they were available?) Time will tell if I get to that horrified place, with respect to Ukraine.
I'm someone who won't sit on the sidelines. I will research with an open mind. Or I wouldn't be reading your substack.
I would normally agree with you except that because the same people are involved in the support-Ukraine-war mindset/power dynamics that were involved in the Covid lockdown-vac-mandate one, that I believe that Ukraine is something else. It's a distraction or diversion from something else happening behind the scenes or about to happen. If I'm wrong about that, or in addition to this possibility, the US reaction to Ukraine will have the unintended consequence of debasing the US dollar to the point of pushing the US into poverty. I'm sorry to have such a negative view but that's what I see.
What I've noticed is that the more vocal proponents of COVID Reality are quiet about calling for Ukraine Realism, lest "unvaccinated" become equated with "Putin Stooge." Sadly, I think we're getting to that point, anyway.
Absolutely. On that deeper level, I agree that there is a lot of mischief afoot. My own relief is simply because I know that I do not know. With COVID, I know that I know. I can really "see" the horror of the entire plandemic, which definitely includes ALL of my loved ones following the piper off that cliff, and I am powerless to stop them. Believe me, I've tried.
With this (Ukraine, with the very loud drumbeat of war and economic depression that seems to be the icing on the cake of negativity), I can at least talk to my fellow humans about "inflation" and they will agree with me. I have a sense of comfort from being able to unite with people who've been on the opposite side from me, with COVID. So, in that sense I am responding to a few of the elements in the substack article. About our human tendencies to be tribal and seek agreement with each other. It feels good.
But we don't agree about everything, because I still know that COVID is not over. The digital ID and the effects of the jabs, and the fact that the EUA is still in effect.... it's not over, just because we are now "allowed" to take off our masks.
I believe my sense of relief is only temporary.
Thank you Gato! I think each newly branded crisis will have a shorter half-life with fewer participants because the truth will get out faster and eventually everyone will get caught feeling stupid. There's also exhaustion with hysteria. At some point, people will just get tired of being in a total state of panic. The Salem Witch Trials did eventually end.
Just so long as the reason it ends isn't, "I'm so tired of all this. Make it stop." "Certainly. Just shut up and do what you're told and it will stop."
You mention a very important topic. "Shut up and do what we tell you." is not an acceptable answer, at least in what claims to be a freedom-loving republic that values, or at least must tolerate, dissident opinions, no matter how polemic. Nor is it an acceptable position in what should be a forum of science or other discipline that is (theoretically) governed by rules of logic and need to prove propositions.
I suppose it is acceptable under some conditions, but speaking partially from experience, military basic training or living in a totalitarian dystopia are not my preferred modes of existence.
I did that once, with the vax. I won't do it again.
As usual, this is a thought-provoking analysis of our world today. You've written many excellent posts but this one finally got me to create a 'REREAD' label in my mail app so that I can flag it as something to revisit periodically.
The part I'm struggling with is in precept one. Too many times these issues aren't presented as sides of a debate. They are presented as monolithic matters that can only be right or else the other party is willfully evil. There is no space for debate about covid, Ukraine, racism, climatism, or the next 'crisis' du jour. As such I cannot seem to find a way to discuss these things with friends that I know to be otherwise intelligent. They are so convinced there is only one possible answer. This conviction is reinforced by various 'experts', 'fact checkers', and companies willing to punish 'bad thought'.
And the bow on top is the poison of 'silence is violence' in that you cannot attempt to remain neutral or state that you don't know enough to take a position. That exit has been barred, leaving me to politely state something non-committal like "It's terrible. I hope we are able to resolve it soon." before exiting the conversation swiftly.
Try asking them to explain why they feel so strongly. Usually they cannot, and once that happens, there is a possibility that they are on the way to being red-pilled...
And don't let them get away with a pithy, nonsense answer. Push back until they actually explain, with facts and logic, why they think what they think; or (more likely) they realize that they really do not know.
Hope this is helpful...
Thank you. It is a delicate dance (with friends and family) trying to have those difficult conversations. I simply don't engage with random people on contentious issues.
One of the scariest words i constantly saw during the Scamdemic was,"Whereas..."
It was $^#^@!× unbelievable how any tyrannical government action could be justified with the prefecatory phrase,"Whereas [insert whatever unproven but widely believed bullshit crisis harm]..."
So in my state, courts were closed down, rights were trampled, livelihoods ruined, all with the magic wave of a Whereas. No debate, no committee hearings, no proof. Just a bald assertion, Whereas We Say This is So, therefore, we have power to screw you over. And no one objected. Biy, the Framers sure flubbed that one. They assumed the Legislature would be jealous of power exercised by the Executive and naturally rein it in. Nope. We have legislatures that run and hide at the idea of confronting the Executive. They love a dictator as it absolves them of all responsibility. Our republic is fallen and no election to a corrupt and subservient Congress will change that.
Yes! Exactly! I wrote about this here:
https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/politicians-covid-is-over-but-the?s=w
When it’s politically convenient for covid to be over, the ‘leaders’ declare it’s over. When it’s politically convenient for covid to still be an emergency, it’s still an emergency. And while the legislature in Washington — and in Washington DC — is finally starting to demand a say in governing, this comes far too late for my liking.
We have checks and balances for a reason. The founders understood that unchecked power in the hands of one person was a recipe for disaster, and the last couple years have shown us why. Jay Inslee is not the ruler of Washington, able to close businesses and impose gathering rules at his whim (although always hiding behind his corrupt lackeys in the health department).
If they must exist at all, emergency powers should ONLY last until the legislature tasked with creating laws can convene. These days, our officials should be able to meet online within HOURS to actually vote and legally pass laws pertaining to the emergency. This “the governor decides based on a health official he employs” isn’t the way America was designed. The founders created a system in which it was SUPPOSED to be difficult to get stuff done — that way only the most important stuff would have enough support to become law.
And make no mistake, all too often our representatives are happy to pass the buck up the chain and keep their stance out of the public eye. But having your votes in the public eye is the point! You’re forced to defend your vote to your constituents, who can then throw you out of office because of it! This is one of the checks of the system!
When the governor (or president) sidesteps these checks and balances, they are undermining the very ‘democracy’ they are claiming to defend! In the case of Washington, Jay Inslee is acting like the very tyrant he accused Trump of being for four years! But Donald Trump wasn’t the one who closed businesses and imposed rules about who we could associate with. Trump wasn’t the one who imposed a vaccine mandate that resulted in thousands of healthcare workers being fired. Donald Trump isn’t the one STILL HOLDING ONTO THAT MANDATE, more than a year after it was clear that the vaccine did not stop transmission.
It’s not just legislatures; here in NM the state Supreme Court just upheld “Governor” Wujan-Grisham’s rights to have exercised emergency powers w/out consultation / consent of the legislature. She’s keeping a pretty low profile right now (up for election this Nov), re-opened the state & got rid of mask mandates (we were one of the last), is handing out tax breaks like candy & otherwise trying to get people here to forgot. Sadly, this pathetic state is 1-party & deep blue, so the majority probably will forget or forgive. Then if she wins again, she’ll return to tyrannical type
Pity. I have enjoyed a few travels through it, and was considering it as a prime location if/when I tire of Florida's sauna-like climate.
AZ would be better (I’m a native Arizonan but here in NM past 31 years). If things get much worse here, we will go there.
There are nice temps up north (Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff) but even the desert is great - there really is something to a “dry” heat ☺️
Excellent, I've been grappling with many of these rules lately myself and have never seen them laid out so clearly.
Plus of course there's the fact that ignorant people with strongly held beliefs are unpleasant buffoons that drive others away. If someone won't do it for society, they should at least do it for themselves. No one likes a pontificating bullshitter.
I'd add one more that wasn't explicitly stated but inferred: "Admit when you were wrong about a strongly held belief and understand and learn from the errors made in coming to that belief."
Never fumble the humble. Humility is the foundational virtue. The first step on the path to wisdom is the recognition of our own ignorance.
Some thoughts:
- Dunning-Krueger
- It ain't so much what you don't know that gets you in trouble. It is what you think you know that just ain't so.
- The West is now full of religious zealots, who don't believe in God.
- In the immortal words of Glum, "We're doomed, we're all doomed!"
"We're all gonna die!" Another fan of the "Banana Splits" and "Gulliver's Travels," I surmise!