What exactly are evangelical Christians worshipping when they so slavishly worship the government of Israel? They are not worshipping God or Godliness – just the opposite. They are worshipping the kind of people described by George Washington in his Farewell Address as “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men.” Ordinary politicians, in other words.
Millions of American “evangelical” Christians have been indoctrinated in the idea that they must be worshipful of Israeli politicians and bureaucrats. This is so because they are taught by preachers like John Hagee that the Bible says that God will bless those who bless the nation of Abraham. The absurdity of it all is that pop religionists like Hagee falsely conflate the Israel of the Bible with today’s politicians and bureaucrats of the seventy-six-year-old government of the country of Israel. The two have nothing whatsoever to do with each other. Israel’s politicians can be just as sleazy, immoral, corrupt, criminal, and murderous as any politicians anywhere. Hence the spectacle of American evangelical Christians cheerleading the killing of fellow Christians in Gaza by the Israeli military (and of the killing of even more fellow Christians from Russia by supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia).
What exactly are evangelical Christians worshipping when they so slavishly worship the government of Israel? They are not worshipping God or Godliness – just the opposite. They are worshipping the kind of people described by George Washington in his Farewell Address as “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men.” Ordinary politicians, in other words.
When politicians of any country use the coercive powers of the state to confiscate one person’s property, give some of it to political supporters, and keep some for themselves they are engaging in theft. Calling it “democracy,” “majority rule,” or “the only democracy in the Middle East” does not make it any less sinful.
In order to get elected all politicians everywhere must promise to steal money from those who have earned it and give it to others (and themselves) who have no moral right to it. Calling it “progressive taxation” does not make it any less sinful.
All politicians make promises to allocate other people’s stolen property to their political supporters, most of which they know they cannot keep. They lie, in other words. As Murray Rothbard once wrote, a master politician is a masterful liar, conniver, and manipulator. That is why so few moral people are ever elected to political office. And if they are they are usually quickly beaten down by harsh criticisms and condemnations, or ignored and marginalized.
When F.A. Hayek titled one of the chapters of The Road to Serfdom “Why the Worst Get on Top” he was referring to totalitarian socialist societies, but the same thing is true of any democracy anywhere. Just look at the current makeup of the U.S. House and Senate “leadership.”
To a large extent politicians become politicians because they can enrich themselves by soliciting and taking bribes. The late Yuri Maltsev, who defected from the Soviet Union to the United States after working for Mikhail Gorbachev, once remarked about how similar the U.S. government was to the Soviet government because, in his words, “government is all about taking bribes.”
It is a common practice of politicians in Washington to propose onerous taxes or regulations on an industry, then sit back and collect millions of dollars in bribes, euphemistically called “campaign donations,” and then once sufficient loot is collected, call the whole thing off. They call such proposed legislation “milking bills” because they milk “campaign donations.” Legal scholar Fred McChesney even wrote a whole Harvard University Press book about this phenomenon entitled Money for Nothing.
All politicians everywhere, including Israel, are showcases of the Seven Deadly Sins. Self-pride trumps humility for starters. What member of Congress is not an egomaniac? Envy poisons the heart of every proponent of “income redistribution” schemes, the cornerstone of welfarism everywhere.
Firstly and most obviously, it’s used to keep people divided against each other so they don’t turn against their rulers who’ve been robbing, cheating and oppressing them this entire time.
A lot of people wrongly ignore all politics because they rightly perceive the system is rigged. The answer isn’t to ignore all politics, it’s to ignore the fake partisan puppet show and pay attention to the real political game taking place behind it. Capitalism. Imperialism. Militarism. Authoritarian control. Narrative management. Oligarchy. Corruption. Oppression. Exploitation. Extraction. The stuff both parties in the fake political charade of official politics actively facilitate while pretending to advance human interests.
Participating in politics is a moral imperative; you’re only serving your own oppressors by ignoring it, because they sure as shit aren’t ignoring it. They want you to be a passive witness to their domination of society. The answer isn’t to ignore politics, it’s to pay rigorous attention to the real kind while aggressively attacking the fake kind.
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It’s not speculation to say today’s liberals would despise Martin Luther King Jr, it’s a presently observable reality — just look how they shit on Cornel West. The millisecond a black activist leader becomes politically inconvenient, they’re shrieking for his head like hyenas.
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American progressives were galvanized and energized by the 2016 Bernie Sanders campaign because they thought he was talking about fighting the abuses of the oligarchy and ending economic injustice. Then it turned out he was really just talking about voting for shitty Democrats.
Since then, the growth of government has led to the growth of an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy that plays an important role for the deep state. The deep state pursues its own agenda regardless of the wishes of the people. The deep state works to subvert those who oppose its agenda, using tactics up to and including assassination in the case of President Kennedy.
President Donald Trump is hardly the first political figure who has had the legal and policy processes weaponized against him. In fact, there is a long and shameful history of U.S. politicians and bureaucrats weaponizing governmental powers against their political opponents.
The First Amendment was not even a decade old when fear of influence on America by French agents was used to support the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. This outlawed “false, scandalous, and malicious writing” against the US government, Congress, or the president and made it illegal to conspire “to oppose any measure or measures of the government of the United States.”
The weaponization of politics is another example of how hysteria over alleged foreign threats leads to less liberty. The claim that opponents of U.S. government policy were serving interests of France is an early example. Sadly, critics of U.S. government policy have been smeared for spreading disinformation to benefit hostile foreign powers many times since.
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln oversaw the shutting down of newspapers and even the arresting of state legislators. After the U.S. became involved in World War I, Congress passed a new Sedition Act banning “disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language” toward the military or U.S. government. This act was used to imprison Eugene Debs, who then ran for president as the Socialist Party nominee while in prison.
The Michael Morell story demonstrates that the intelligence community needs sweeping reform, beginning with getting spies all the way out of domestic political life
Iraq has stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb, Bush administration officials said today.
In the last 14 months, Iraq has sought to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes, which American officials believe were intended as components of centrifuges to enrich uranium.
That same day, Vice President Dick Cheney went on “Meet The Press”and told Tim Russert Iraq had “reconstituted” its nuke program, citing “a story in the New York Times this morning.”
The Cheney-MTP episode set a standard for laundering disinformation through media. The Times got its “A-Bomb Parts” story by citing “Bush administration officials,” and Cheney sold the same story to the world by citing the New York Times. This merry-go-round is a perfect way for politicians and spooks to introduce bogus news into the world without leaving fingerprints.
The new story about former acting CIA director Michael Morell looks like a similar game of disinformation telephone. Again, the House Weaponization of Government Committee led by Jim Jordan recently questioned Morell. His answers suggest he may have been “triggered” by a call from then-Biden campaign official Anthony Blinken to organize a group letter signed by 50 former intel officials, opining the Hunter Biden laptop story looked like a “Russian information operation.”
To cloak their betrayal and treachery, the parties have pursued a divide-and-conquer distraction game, pushing half the nation into one-size-fits-all “enemies lists” with labels that have lost all meaning other than as means to promote divisiveness and rancor: Liberal and Conservative, socialist and capitalist, etc.
These three betrayals of public trust and representational democracy caused the demise of politics as a solution to social and economic problems. “Politics” has been stripped to its essence: an invitation-only auction of elections and political favors. The price to watch from the rear of the auction is $1 million; to actually place a bid, the minimum is $10 million, but the winning bids are generally much higher.
Here’s “politics” in America now: come with mega-millions or don’t even bother to show up.
Representational democracy–a.k.a. politics as a solution to social and economic problems–has passed away. It did not die a natural death. Politics developed a cancer very early in life (circa the early 1800s), caused by wealth outweighing public opinion. This cancer spread slowly but metastasized in the past few decades, spreading to every nook and cranny of our society and economy as “democracy” devolved into an invitation-only auction of elections and political favors.
Politics might have had a fighting chance but three forces betrayed the nation and its citizenry.
1. The Federal Reserve transferred trillions of dollars of unearned wealth into the feeding troughs of the super-wealthy and corporations, vastly increasing the wealth the top 0.01% had to buy elections and favors. The Federal Reserve cloaked its treachery with jargon– quantitative easing, stimulus, etc.–and then stabbed the nation’s representational democracy in the back.
2. The Supreme Court betrayed the nation’s representative democracy by labeling corporations buying elections and political favors a form of “free speech.” (Please don’t hurt yourself laughing too hard.) The Supreme Court’s equating wealth buying elections and favors with individual citizens’ sacrosanct right of free speech was a knife in the back of the nation and its citizenry.
3. The two political parties betrayed their traditional voter bases to kneel at the altar of corporate / elite wealth, wealth which bought elections and political favors. The Democrats, traditional champions of the workforce in the 20th century, abandoned workers in favor of serving their corporate masters, masking their betrayal with fine-sounding phrases.
The Republican Party, traditionally promoters of Big Business (Wall Street, banks, mega-corporations), had maintained a narrow but crucial interest in trust-busting (limiting monopolies) to defend free enterprise and small business from the predations of monopolies and cartels. Those days are long past; just as the Democratic Party tossed the working class overboard to the sharks, the Republican Party walked small business off the gangplank right into the voracious jaws of cartels and globalized, financialized corporate sharks.
To cloak their betrayal and treachery, the parties have pursued a divide-and-conquer distraction game, pushing half the nation into one-size-fits-all “enemies lists” with labels that have lost all meaning other than as means to promote divisiveness and rancor: Liberal and Conservative, socialist and capitalist, etc.
It’s not the citizenry who are “deplorable,” it’s the parties’ corporate-derriere-kissing toadies, lackeys, apparatchiks, purveyors of propaganda, enforcers, apologists, sycophants, grifters and “leaders” who manage to greatly increase their private wealth while “serving the public” (heh).
These three betrayals of public trust and representational democracy caused the demise of politics as a solution to social and economic problems. “Politics” has been stripped to its essence: an invitation-only auction of elections and political favors. The price to watch from the rear of the auction is $1 million; to actually place a bid, the minimum is $10 million, but the winning bids are generally much higher.
(Lobbying, campaign contributions, bogus think-tanks, and philanthro-capitalist foundations are all part of the auction funding.)
Here’s “politics” in America now: come with mega-millions or don’t even bother to show up. Choose which “enemies list” you want to be on; there’s not much choice. And don’t forget to put a flower on the grave of representational democracy.
The following list was created by the Israeli rabbi Chananya Weissman. Many thanks to MC for the tip.
31 Reasons Why I Won’t Take the Vaccine
by Chananya Weissman
1.
It’s not a vaccine. A vaccine by definition provides immunity to a disease. This does not provide immunity to anything. In a best-case scenario, it merely reduces the chance of getting a severe case of a virus if one catches it. Hence, it is a medical treatment, not a vaccine. I do not want to take a medical treatment for an illness I do not have.
2.
The drug companies, politicians, medical establishment, and media have joined forces to universally refer to this as a vaccine when it is not one, with the intention of manipulating people into feeling safer about undergoing a medical treatment. Because they are being deceitful, I do not trust them, and want nothing to do with their medical treatment.
3.
The presumed benefits of this medical treatment are minimal and would not last long in any case. The establishment acknowledges this, and is already talking about additional shots and ever-increasing numbers of new “vaccines” that would be required on a regular basis. I refuse to turn myself into a chronic patient who receives injections of new pharmaceutical products on a regular basis simply to reduce my chances of getting a severe case of a virus that these injections do not even prevent.
4.
I can reduce my chances of getting a severe case of a virus by strengthening my immune system naturally. In the event I catch a virus, there are vitamins and well-established drugs that have had wonderful results in warding off the illness, without the risks and unknowns of this medical treatment.
5.
The establishment insists that this medical treatment is safe. They cannot possibly know this because the long-term effects are entirely unknown, and will not be known for many years. They may speculate that it is safe, but it is disingenuous for them to make such a claim that cannot possibly be known. Because they are being disingenuous, I do not trust them, and I want no part of their treatment.
6.
The drug companies have zero liability if anything goes wrong, and cannot be sued. Same for the politicians who are pushing this treatment. I will not inject myself with a new, experimental medical device when the people behind it accept no liability or responsibility if something goes wrong. I will not risk my health and my life when they refuse to risk anything.
7.
Israel’s Prime Minister has openly admitted that the Israeli people are the world’s laboratory for this experimental treatment. I am not interested in being a guinea pig or donating my body to science.
8.
Israel agreed to share medical data of its citizens with a foreign drug company as a fundamental part of their agreement to receive this treatment. I never consented for my personal medical data to be shared with any such entity, nor was I even asked. I will not contribute to this sleazy enterprise.
9.
The executives and board members at Pfizer are on record that they have not taken their own treatment, despite all the fanfare and assurances. They are claiming that they would consider it unfair to “cut the line”. This is a preposterous excuse, and it takes an unbelievable amount of chutzpah to even say such a thing. Such a “line” is a figment of their own imagination; if they hogged a couple of injections for themselves no one would cry foul. In addition, billionaires with private jets and private islands are not known for waiting in line until hundreds of millions of peasants all over the world go first to receive anything these billionaires want for themselves.
10.
The establishment media have accepted this preposterous excuse without question or concern. Moreover, they laud Pfizer’s executives for their supposed self-sacrifice in not taking their own experimental treatment until we go first. Since they consider us such fools, I do not trust them, and do not want their new treatment. They can have my place in line. I’ll go to the very back of the line.
11.
Three facts that must be put together: Bill Gates is touting these vaccines as essential to the survival of the human race. Bill Gates believes the world has too many people and needs to be “depopulated”. Bill Gates, perhaps the richest man in the world, has also not been injected. No rush. Uh, no. I’ll pass on any medical treatments he wants me to take.
12.
The establishment has been entirely one-sided in celebrating this treatment. The politicians and media are urging people to take it as both a moral and civic duty. The benefits of the treatment are being greatly exaggerated, the risks are being ignored, and the unknowns are being brushed aside. Because they are being deceitful and manipulative, I will not gamble my personal wellbeing on their integrity.
13.
There is an intense propaganda campaign for people to take this treatment. Politicians and celebrities are taking selfies of themselves getting injected (perhaps in some cases pretending to get injected), the media is hyping this as the coolest, smartest, most happy and fun thing to do. It is the most widespread marketing campaign in history. This is not at all appropriate for any medical treatment, let alone a brand new one, and it makes me recoil.
14.
The masses are following in tow, posting pictures of themselves getting injected with a drug, feeding the mass peer pressure to do the same. There is something very alarming and sick about this, and I want no part of it. I never took drugs just because “everyone’s doing it” and it’s cool. I’m certainly not going to start now.
15.
Those who raise concerns about this medical treatment are being bullied, slandered, mocked, censored, ostracized, threatened, and fired from their jobs. This includes medical professionals who have science-based concerns about the drug and caregivers who have witnessed people under their charge suffering horrible reactions and death shortly after being injected. When the establishment is purging good people who risk everything simply to raise concerns about a new medical treatment — even if they don’t outright oppose it — I will trust these brave people over the establishment every time. I cannot think of a single similar case in history when truth and morality turned out to be on the side of the establishment.
16.
This is the greatest medical experiment in the history of the human race.
17.
It is purposely not being portrayed as the greatest medical experiment in the history of the human race, and the fact that it is a medical experiment at all is being severely downplayed.
18.
Were they up front with the masses, very few would agree to participate in such an experiment. Manipulating the masses to participate in a medical experiment under false pretenses violates the foundations of medical ethics and democratic law. I will not allow unethical people who engage in such conduct to inject me with anything.
19.
The medical establishment is not informing people about any of this. They have become marketing agents for an experimental drug, serving huge companies and politicians who have made deals with them. This is a direct conflict with their mandate to concern themselves exclusively with the wellbeing of the people under their care. Since the medical establishment has become corrupted, and has become nothing more than a corporate and political tool, I do not trust the experimental drug they want so badly to inject me with.
20.
We are being pressured in various ways to get injected, which violates medical ethics and the foundations of democratic society. The best way to get me not to do something is to pressure me to do it.
21.
The government has sealed their protocol related to the virus and treatments for THIRTY YEARS. This is information that the public has a right to know, and the government has a responsibility to share. What are they covering up? Do they really expect me to believe that everything is kosher about all this, and that they are concerned first and foremost with my health? The last time they did this was with the Yemenite Children Affair. If you’re not familiar with it, look it up. Now they’re pulling the same shtick. They didn’t fool me the first time, and they’re definitely not fooling me now.
22.
The government can share our personal medical data with foreign corporations, but they won’t share their own protocol on the matter with us? I’m out.
23.
The establishment has recruited doctors, rabbis, the media, and the masses to harangue people who don’t want to get injected with a new drug. We are being called the worst sort of names. We are being told that we believe in crazy conspiracies, that we are against science, that we are selfish, that we are murderers, that we don’t care about the elderly, that it’s our fault that the government continues to impose draconian restrictions on the public. It’s all because we don’t want to get injected with an experimental treatment, no questions asked. We are even being told that we have a religious obligation to do this, and that we are grave sinners if we do not. They say that if we do not agree to get injected, we should be forced to stay inside our homes forever and be ostracized from public life. This is horrific, disgusting, a perversion of common sense, morality, and the Torah. It makes me recoil, and only further cements my distrust of these people and my opposition to taking their experimental drug. How dare they?
24.
I know of many people who got injected, but none of them studied the science in depth, carefully weighed the potential benefits against the risks, compared this option to other alternatives, was truly informed, and decided this medical treatment was the best option for them. On the contrary, they got injected because of the hype, the propaganda, the pressure, the fear, blind trust in what “the majority of experts” supposedly believed (assuming THEY all studied everything in depth and were completely objective, which is highly dubious), blind trust in what certain influential rabbis urged them to do (ditto the above), or hysterical fear that the only option was getting injected or getting seriously ill from the virus. When I see mass hysteria and cult-like behavior surrounding a medical treatment, I will be extremely suspicious and avoid it.
25.
The drug companies have a long and glorious history of causing mass carnage with wonder drugs they thrust on unsuspecting populations, even after serious problems had already become known. Instead of pressing the pause button and halting the marketing of these drugs until these issues could be properly investigated, the drug companies did everything in their power to suppress the information and keep pushing their products. When companies and people have demonstrated such gross lack of concern for human life, I will not trust them when they hype a new wonder drug. This isn’t our first rodeo.
26.
Indeed, the horror stories are already coming in at warp speed, but the politicians are not the least bit concerned, the medical establishment is brushing them aside as unrelated or negligible, the media is ignoring it, the drug companies are steaming ahead at full speed, and those who raise a red flag continue to be bullied, censored, and punished. Clearly my life and my wellbeing are not their primary concern. I will not be their next guinea pig in their laboratory. I will not risk being the next “coincidence”.
27.
Although many people have died shortly after getting injected — including perfectly healthy young people — we are not allowed to imply that the injection had anything to do with it. Somehow this is anti-science and will cause more people to die. I believe that denying any possible link, abusing people who speculate that there might be a link, and demonstrating not the slightest curiosity to even explore if there might be a link is what is anti-science and could very well cause more people to die. These same people believe I am obligated to get injected as well. No freaking thanks.
28.
I am repulsed by the religious, cult-like worship of a pharmaceutical product, and will not participate in this ritual.
29.
My “healthcare” provider keeps badgering me to get injected, yet they have provided me no information on this treatment or any possible alternatives. Everything I know I learned from others outside the establishment. Informed consent has become conformed consent. I decline.
30.
I see all the lies, corruption, propaganda, manipulation, censorship, bullying, violation of medical ethics, lack of integrity in the scientific process, suppression of inconvenient adverse reactions, dismissal of legitimate concerns, hysteria, cult-like behavior, ignorance, closed-mindedness, fear, medical and political tyranny, concealment of protocols, lack of true concern for human life, lack of respect for basic human rights and freedoms, perversion of the Torah and common sense, demonization of good people, the greatest medical experiment of all time being conducted by greedy, untrustworthy, godless people, the lack of liability for those who demand I risk everything… I see all this and I have decided they can all have my place in line. I will put my trust in God. I will use the mind He blessed me with and trust my natural instincts. Which leads to the final reason which sums up why I will not get “vaccinated.”
We have a nation of infants sucking on pacifiers while trapped in their cribs by sociopathic parents/politicians. Infants are incapable of critical thought, must be fed to survive, and diapered at all times. Sounds like the majority of adult Americans today, except the diaper is on the other end.
One month ago I wrote an article – Silent Obedient Consent – about our day in Cape May Lighthouse State Park and my disappointment in seeing so many perfectly healthy young people obediently wearing their face muzzles, as dictated by government bureaucrats, on a bright crisp autumn day in a 244 acre state wild preserve. I found it sad that so many could be controlled so easily by so few.
Since my state has been on lockdown since our escape to Cape May and the weather has been cold, wet and snowy, we’ve been mostly cooped up in our home prison. The fear propaganda campaign has worked wonders, as our traditional Christmas Eve bash with 50 or so relatives and neighbors, was limited to six relatives. Monday, when I saw the temperature was going to 48 with bright sunshine, I insisted we needed to go to the 3,500 acre Valley Forge National Park to take a long walk.
We have lived eleven miles from Valley Forge Park for the last twenty-five years. I’m a student of history, so living this close to a national treasure, where a ragtag army of farmers showed tremendous fortitude and courage during the brutal deathly Winter of 1777-78, has been an endless source of enjoyment and learning for me, my wife and sons. The walking trails wind through beautiful rolling hills of trees, dotted with soldier quarters as they appeared 242 years ago.
Many an afternoon did we hike up Mount Joy over the mountain to reach General Washington’s headquarters. The museum on the headquarters site is filled with interactive displays describing the tremendous sacrifices made by these men to keep a the hopes of a fledgling country alive. You can’t help but be inspired by the bravery and courage of these men. They left their families and were willing to die for a cause that seemed unreachable. They were willing to sacrifice their lives to gain freedom from tyrannical monarch mandates.
The park rangers have always been friendly and helpful. We signed our two youngest sons up for a program where we took them there every Saturday and they were trained as recruits in the Continental Army with pretend muskets. It was fun for them and they learned about an important event in the founding of our country. Our three boys were full of energy and we would do the five mile trek around the park every time. They would roller blade, scooter or walk, but we always made two stops. One was the battery of cannons, where they would imagine blasting some redcoats.
The other was a huge climbing tree which we assumed was around in 1778 when General Baron von Steuben was drilling his Continental Army recruits, instilling discipline and teaching them tactics. Picturing the past heroic actions of true patriots is easy to do at Valley Forge. When we could get them down from the branches we would set the timer on our camera and take a picture for posterity.
All of my memories of time spent at Valley Forge Park were positive, until this past Monday. Once again, I was aghast at what I witnessed on a sunny brisk winter day. At first I was surprised at the huge number of cars in the parking lot. Many people had the same idea, as indoor dining has been banned by Generalissimo Baron von Wolf for the last month. Our level of enthusiasm for our enjoyable trek through this national treasure of a park waned immediately as we witnessed hundreds upon hundreds of young people, families, bikers, and joggers fully muzzled, as demanded by covid czar Dick/Rachel Levine and dictator in chief – Tom Wolf.
We were going to enjoy our unmasked walk no matter how many compliant sheep we had to pass. Lone bikers, near no one, were masked. Lone joggers were masked. One jogger would pull up her mask when she passed someone and then pull it down after passing. Little kids were masked. Mothers, fathers, teens on dates, and young guys were all masked.
I couldn’t help but think how government school indoctrination had worked wonders on these obedient serfs. Have years of helicopter parenting created such a pathetic generation of infant like rule followers? Are they so willfully ignorant they can’t do the basic research to realize masks don’t work, based on CDC studies and the actual case rates in states and cities with mandatory masking and lockdowns?
Based on my observations, at least 60% of these people, out getting exercise and fresh air (not too fresh with a filthy diaper on their faces), were obeying their tyrannical politicians and bureaucrats, or entrapped in fear by a flu with a 99.7% survival rate. We didn’t have the slightest hesitancy in walking next to or passing others resisters (aka anti-maskers, aka granny killers) who chose to live on the edge by breathing fresh air. I never have a problem choosing not to be one of the crowd and not following the lemmings.
The most embarrassing aspect of our afternoon was when fully masked sheeple would take a wide berth into the grass when they saw we were un-muzzled. They treated us like plague carrying super spreaders. This happened at least a half dozen times. When we passed two young fully masked parents pushing a stroller with an infant sucking on his pacifier, I jokingly said to my wife that I should patent a face mask with a built in pacifier. Too late. They already sell them on the internet. We truly must be living in some dystopian Twilight Zone episode.
If it was in my power, anyone who willingly wears a mask in the fresh air should be required to wear this mask. It would represent the infantilization of Americans during this era of idiocracy.
We have a nation of infants sucking on pacifiers while trapped in their cribs by sociopathic parents/politicians. Infants are incapable of critical thought, must be fed to survive, and diapered at all times. Sounds like the majority of adult Americans today, except the diaper is on the other end.
As we passed maskers by the dozens on the walking path, I found myself wondering if any of these people appreciated the irony of the cowardice and dishonor shown to those brave, honorable men who spent a brutal winter battling bitter cold, snow, starvation, typhus, small pox, dysentery, and the threat of attack from the most powerful army on the planet only thirty miles away in Philadelphia. These men faced death every moment of their existence. Meanwhile, our current army of Valley Forge maskers cower from the phantom menace of a highly non-lethal flu bug.
There are hundreds of statues scattered throughout the park honoring the patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice to create a new nation of self-reliant, strong, independent minded, citizens who didn’t require coddling by a massive overbearing Federal government. They just wanted to be left alone to work their farms, raise their families, and live as free men. Statues to honor our current day “heroes” would look like this.
When assessing the state of our nation, it is always a prudent choice to seek out the wisdom of our founding father who led the troops at Valley Forge – George Washington. I think the quote below captures the essence of what has been happening in this country over the last ten months.
The downward spiral crisis in this country is reflected in the apparent trivial submission of a vast swath of the populace to a psychotic belief a thin piece of cloth will save them from a moderately annoying flu that won’t kill 99.9% of Americans. This is a turning point in the history of our country. And not one which will go down in glory, taught in history books as a story of courageousness, fortitude, bravery and common sense.
“The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.”― George Washington
If General George Washington was alive today, he would be praying for the end of this societal mass delusion and for leaders who were not cunning, ambitious, unprincipled and intent on destroying everything he fought for during those times that tried men’s souls. The subversion of power by a cadre of extremely wealthy globalist traitors has succeeded beyond their expectations.
The future of our country hangs in the balance, just as it did in the Winter of 1777/78. The question is whether we remain sunshine patriots wearing masks as demanded by the monarchy or will we stand now, shed our masks and fight the tyranny engulfing this nation. The choice is ours.
“However political parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”― George Washington
The goal is a less political world, not a world which bends to our political will. We are not Imposers. So participate in politics and voting if you like, or refrain if you like. Voting is optional and anonymous for a reason. But never let anyone force you into taking a political stance, or even to hold a political stance. In 2020, privilege manifests as political extortion. Push back against these bullies.
Actor Chris Pratt finds himself a target of left Hollywood and various social media enforcers for his apparent lack of support for Joe Biden, a sin in his industry. Pratt has endorsed neither Biden nor Trump, which seems eminently sensible for a boy-next-door type who plays superheroes and adventurers in big blockbusters. But staying quiet is never enough for the political jackals, who insist silence is violence and a form of privilege. Trump is a Nazi; his electorate is full of hateful fascist enablers and this is no time for quietude. To make matters worse, the reticent Pratt also belongs to a Christian church which is “anti-LGBT”—which is to say not anti-LGBT at all, but simply not in full conformity with the language and demands of its accusers.
When his actor friend and sometime costar Mark Ruffalo rushed to defend Pratt’s character, the Twitterati reacted angrily but predictably:
This is a classic case of the Imposers positioning themselves as the Imposed Upon: LGBT advocates weaponize and contort simple words—hurt, harm, apathy, privilege, marginalized, vulnerable—in ways reminiscent of Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language.” They use words in consciously dishonest ways. They shift the parameters of what it means to “support” or “oppose” LGBT causes into a stark binary: you are for us or against us. Simply living one’s life peaceably is not an option in this bizarre worldview.
And the Imposer’s unconditional terms change constantly, seemingly overnight. One cannot avoid conflict by being “not overtly political,” as Ruffalo termed Pratt. The accusations against his church, for example, amount to nothing more than a demand for unconditional surrender of any theology or doctrine which does not comport with today’s instant (though far from universal) view of transgenderism. Unless and until that happens, his church is per se transphobic and evil: indifference, or even kind and loving disagreement, cannot satisfy the Imposers.
It does not matter whether Pratt’s church welcomes everyone, even those individuals it considers engaged in sin (which presumably includes just about every person on earth). It does not matter whether Pratt is a good person or friend to his fellow actors. His church must affirmatively endorse the views of LGBT activists; Pratt must actively endorse Biden. Anything else is weaponized privilege.
Of course this is nonsense, but the Imposers always claim to be the Imposed Upon. Media and politicians play along, and then social media voices join the chorus until the original reality becomes completely obscured: both Chris Pratt and his church were minding their own business and not hurting anyone. The Biden and LGBT activists came looking for them, not the other way around.
What incredible arrogance and hubris! This is real privilege: the privilege of demanding others not only share your political views but also see the world in starkly political terms. This is real hate, actual hate, not the phony kind imagined on Hate Has No Home Here yard signs.
When taken to an extreme, a positive rights worldview requires not only conformity and acquiescence with the political project of the day, but your affirmative participation. Not keeping up with the latest outrage, political machinations, or campaign—not leading a wholly political life—becomes a dereliction of duty.
Political liberty is quite simple, but not easy. We all owe our fellow citizens a duty not to aggress against them or their property, and not to commit fraud against them. In the broader societal sense, we all should strive to be kind, open, and generous with everyone we meet, unless and until they give us a reason to be otherwise. But that is all we owe. Being apolitical or even antipolitical is your absolute right. At best, politics is an uneasy and imperfect mechanism for peacefully transferring political power; at worst, it is barely a substitute for war. More commonly, politics is a turf battle waged by rival gangs to control the state apparatus (the turf is us and our money). Politics is not noble, virtuous, or even necessary. The people attacking Chris Pratt, and even hoping to harm his career, reputation, and finances, hold no moral high ground.
My great aunt, now departed, once told me about a decision she and her husband made as newlyweds just after World War II. Starting life together in a very modest house, they wanted to build lasting memories with family and friends. So they made a pact: they would never discuss politics in their home or allow guests to discuss politics. In her view politics was like sex and religion, a private matter. They wanted to avoid the disharmony and rancor they had witnessed among their own parents and families a decade earlier over the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal programs. They determined their hearth and home would be devoted to happiness, an apolitical refuge where every visitor would be welcome.
The goal is a less political world, not a world which bends to our political will. We are not Imposers. So participate in politics and voting if you like, or refrain if you like. Voting is optional and anonymous for a reason. But never let anyone force you into taking a political stance, or even to hold a political stance. In 2020, privilege manifests as political extortion. Push back against these bullies.
Jeff Deist is president of the Mises Institute. He previously worked as chief of staff to Congressman Ron Paul, and as an attorney for private equity clients. Contact: email; Twitter.
Sadly, a large quantity of Americans seem eager to take the fast lane on this road to serfdom, even as the economic and civil liberties restrictions pile up under the guise of a public health emergency.
Who says there’s not enough bipartisanship in Washington? President Donald Trump is praising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and urging Congress to follow her lead by passing yet another $2 trillion coronavirus bill that would “invest” in infrastructure.
What a sight to behold, a country in crisis inspires its leaders to come together for the common good. Even better, by forcing more debt and inflation on Americans, the economy can finally get roaring again!
That demented logic prevails in Washington, D.C., and the swamp-drainer-in-chief is no exception.
Fresh off signing the most expensive bill in American history, more than twice the cost of FDR’s New Deal, Trump is ready for whatever Pelosi throws at him next, as long as it also costs at least $2 trillion.
On Monday, Pelosi unveiled her wishlist for what she called “Phase 4” of Congress’s response to COVID-19. This fourth bill could very well be bigger than the previous three, setting a new price tag record.
The San Francisco Democrat listed “more direct payments,” “more opportunity for family and medical leave,” and an infrastructure megaproject.
“She wasn’t bad,” Trump tweeted after watching Pelosi’s press conference.
“With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill. It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4,” Trump wrote, adopting Pelosi’s term for the forthcoming proposal.
Sadly, a large quantity of Americans seem eager to take the fast lane on this road to serfdom, even as the economic and civil liberties restrictions pile up under the guise of a public health emergency.
Economist Peter Schiff, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, has been sounding the alarm that another crash is imminent since the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates to zero, promising to monetize debt without restraint or limit.
“President @realDonaldTrump thinks it’s the perfect time for the government to borrow trillions more to improve our infrastructure. That’s like a guy who just lost his job deciding it’s the perfect time to take out a second mortgage to put in the swimming pool he’s always wanted,” Schiff tweeted.
To extend the analogy, Trump is gaining support for the project by promising the biggest pool party ever. All politicians and special interests are invited.
There is no opposition to this profligate spending. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just wants to wait “a few weeks” to see how the other $2.2 trillion stimulus bill plays out first.
It doesn’t actually matter what happens in a few weeks though. When government policies go horribly wrong, a bureaucrat knows that just means the policy wasn’t enacted with enough gusto.
The coronavirus pandemic remains the sole focus of the country to the detriment of the people. Worse than the disease is the government’s cure.
…So how does our political system address this? By throwing gasoline on the fire, in the form of another national election in 2020. That looming contest already tells a story, it’s not about healing or coming together. Today the political class is more open about its desire to hurt and punish opponents; in fact, revenge and punishment feature prominently in the political narratives that fill our media feeds.
Hillary Clinton recently quipped that maybe she should run against Donald Trump in 2020 and “beat him again,” openly positioning her personal vendetta as the rationale for seeking the presidency. “The issues,” such as they are, take a distant backseat to her more pressing goal of defeating both Trump and his voters in a visceral way. Her 2020 candidacy, should it materialize, will coalesce around revenge:…
These presidential aspirants, like Trump, no longer care to maintain a facade of representing all Americans or smoothing over divisions when elections are over. Nobody runs for president to represent all Americans, and of course, nobody could in a far-flung country of 330 million people. Candidates who give lip service to the idea, as Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang have, gain little traction in the media-driven bloodsport…
Murray Rothbard said in Power and Marketthat “ballots are hailed as substitutes for bullets.” But in modern America, politics leads us closer to war, not closer to peace and justice and comity. Why should we accept weaponized mass politics when we have civil society, markets, and non-state institutions?
We need an anti-politics movement just as surely as we need an antiwar movement.
MCViewPoint 