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Author Topic: Corruption in Government  (Read 57580 times)

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AGelbert

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By Amy Goodman
Columnist

JAN 03, 2020   


Agelbert (ranty) COMMENT: Well, yeah. It is no accident that women and Native Americans (African Americans had the right to vote rigged out from under them until 1964 - and things haven't gone well AT ALL for them after 1964) DID NOT GET THE VOTE until the CORK (year 1911) was put in the maximum number of Representatives in the House.

I wrote the following rant in 2014 when I still believed there was some hope for Democracy in the USA. I am sad to say I no longer harbor that hope.

Yep. The issue is FASCISM. Our "Jews" just happen to be African Americans and the poor of all colors. But the Evil in Fascism is ALWAYS a growth industry and those pretending they will not be eaten alive by this predatory profit over people and planet fascism are just plain Wishful Thinking COWARDS.

We are in the throws of Inverted totalitarianism. Chris Hedges explains that in detail. I think you are familiar with that but if you want to refresh your mind, just Google it and Chris Hedges.

And YEP, it IS a police state but it is CLOAKED with the Color of LAW (see definition of Color of Law) with all the trappings (pure theater) of a representative republic.

Around the year 1800, the power of a (white, land owner) American citizen's vote was reasonable (if all the adult citizens had been allowed to vote). At that time a NEW Rep could be added to a state if the Congressional district exceeded 60,000 population. In 1911 the COUNT of reps was UNCONSTITUTIONALLY frozen.

You'll never get a lawyer to fight that, either. The historical record is quite accurate as to the unconstitutionality of that legislation. You probably know all about how the unconstitutional income tax was pushed on us. But the BIG BETRAYAL was the frozen rep count. This assured a fascist takeover because corporations would get MORE influence while the individual voter would get less. At present your vote is worth one SIXTEENTH of what it was in the year 1800! Representative Republic, my ARSE! 

And if some learned counsel would pound the table about the "progressive reform" of electing senators during the same period (early 20th century) so state legislators couldn't be bought by big wig money bags types, then tell them that it was a FICTION.

Why? Because it was ACCOMPANIED by freezing the rep count! What's that got to do with it? Tell said learned counsel to look up the word "senate". The Senate is NOT, and never was, a democratic, representative or otherwise, of the PEOPLE; it is a representative of the wealthy ELITE Powers That BE.

It is BALANCED (at least in theory) by the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Remember it has the SAME power as the House (except it isn't supposed to be able to INITIATE legislation - like it unconstitutionally DID in 2008 with the bailout!) with one third less members when this country got started.

As the number of reps got greater and greater from a population increase, the elite influence increased on a senate with less and less members in relation to the exploding population of the states. I.e. LESS DEMOCRACY in an already undemocraric senate - concentration of POWER in fewer hands!

In order for the proper balance to have been preserved with the, admittedly more democratic process of electing senators instead of having state legislators "elect" them, they HAD TO keep the same ratio of senators to representatives! They did not do that! They pulled a fascist one-two punch (one-two-three if you count the Federal Reserve ripping the power to print money away from the gooberment).

Keeping the, already pro-elite senate at two per state made it EASIER to BUY THEM. Freezing the house count did the same thing.

I wrote an article explaining all that several years ago. Here it is.

I'm talking about the sound bite of all sound bites, "No taxation without representation". We can all agree that representation is essential in a representative form of government, right?

Yes, we are a republic and the founding fuckers abhorred pure democracy. But they did write into the Constitution that for every 30,000 citizens, NO MORE THAN ONE representative would be elected to the House (but AT LEAST ONE per state). You can see this is dated stuff. The constitution needs to be CLARIFIED to reflect modern technology.

The constitutional clarification/amendment would be:

1) AT LEAST ONE representative for every 31,000 citizens.

2) The 'AT LEAST ONE representative per state' can be dropped because it is ridiculous and outdated to even consider a state with less than 30,000 citizens.


The corporatocracy would fight this tooth and nail because this amendment would make our House of Representatives a democratic organization for the first time EVER (in 1787 Native Americans, women and African Americans were excluded - In 1911 when they UNconstitutionally froze the rep count at 436, Native Americans, women and most African Americans could not vote).

Since 1911 we have been in a time warp where corporate power grew as our population grew. The fix was IN.

Now do the math. Assuming 2/3 of the population can vote, that means 200,000,000 votes. If you get one rep for every 31,000 voters, the House gets 6451 representatives.

Consider, for a moment, how your vote has been watered down through the years. The 65 reps back in 1787 represented about 2 million white men. In 1911 the 337 or so that voted to freeze the upper bound of the number at 436 represented 90 million mostly white men - NO WOMEN.

Now DAMNIT, PEOPLE! That was one of the most corrupt congresses we have ever had! That was THE Rockefeller congress! That was the Railroad baron congress! That was the congress that, in 1913, brought the federal reserve crooks into being!

We went from one rep for every 30,000 white men in 1787 to one rep for every 500,000 voters in 2010. Think about that. YOU and 15 other voters have the same power that ONE WHITE MAN had in 1787! And with the Citizens United Supreme treason, you are ACTUALLY getting one rep for every (assuming 10,000 public and private large corporation pacs) 22 rich corporations. THIS IS THE REALITY.

There is no valid argument for limiting the number of reps. NONE.

 We want a representative republic. We don't have one. This is not a 'progressive' issue. This is about DEMOCRACY! 

agelbert November 3rd, 2010 10:12 pm

I wish to add that every single issue of importance to the people in the USA which has been ignored, disdained, ridiculed or trashed by the media and/or the government owes its' continued repression to our lack of representation in congress.

The single argument against it is very old. I cede the floor to Patrick Henry:

"But we are told that we need not fear; because those in power, being our representatives, will not abuse the powers we put in their hands. I am not well versed in history, but I will submit to your recollection, whether liberty has been destroyed most often by the licentiousness of the people, or by the tyranny of rulers.

I imagine, sir, you will find the balance on the side of tyranny. Happy will you be if you miss the fate of those nations, who, omitting to resist their oppressors, or negligently suffering their liberty to be wrested from them, have groaned under intolerable despotism!

Most of the human race are now in this deplorable condition; and those nations who have gone in search of grandeur, power, and splendor, have also fallen a sacrifice, and been the victims of their own folly. While they acquired those visionary blessings, they lost their freedom."


I imagine that Patrick Henry, who is famously quoted as saying he smelled a rat in Philadelphia (the constitutional convention), would have preferred one elected representative for much fewer voters than 30,000. He wanted to keep a sharp eye on the reps way back when. He would probably be outraged and leading a revolution today.

Today we have the technology for an electronic congress. This congress would not be the pampered tools for corporations we have now. Their numbers would make OUR voices stronger than corporate voices. They would be more approachable and more willing to listen to us with the 31,000 voters per district. We would HAVE A VOICE!

Our reps would rule for us.

Patrick Henry's rat was eaten by a Rockefeller T-Rex. We need to kill this dinosaur. The damned thing will kill us all and then start on it's own tail.


"People talk sometimes of a bestial cruelty, but that's a great injustice and insult to the beasts; a beast can never be so cruel as a man, so artistically cruel. The tiger only tears and gnaws, that's all he can do. He would never think of nailing people by the ears, even if he were able to do it."
 Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


"I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness." 
 Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


"If you were to destroy in mankind the belief in immortality, not only love but every living force maintaining the life of the world would at once be dried up. Moreover, nothing then would be immoral; everything would be lawful, even cannibalism."
 Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


"We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values… when machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. April 4, 1967


The wheels of "fascist progress" were turning fast and furious in those first 20 years of the 20th century. But we had Bernays to put lipstick on that fascist BOOT in our face. The media was instrumental in keeping the lipstick in place throughout the 20th century and this century (see 911 lock step dumb playing). The lipstick is coming off.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #1096 on: January 07, 2020, 04:13:07 pm »
Serial Corruption by Trump

7,378 views•Jan 5, 2020


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Donald Trump financed and refinanced his business through a multiplicity of banks from around the world.

People don't trust Donald Trump especially as he continues to hide his tax returns.

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

Surly1

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"We are shocked, shocked..."

'Approximately 100 percent' of tariff costs have fallen onto Americans, new research shows

donald trump flagJoshua Lott/Getty Images

  • President Donald Trump falsely claims that China and other nations have paid the tariffs he levied on thousands of products over the past two years.
  • But "approximately 100 percent" of those costs have fallen onto American buyers, according to a new National Bureau of Economic Research paper.
  • The paper, which uses customs data through October 2019, reflects a series of similar independent findings that have been published over the past year.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage here.

President Donald Trump falsely claims that China and other nations have paid the tariffs he levied on thousands of products over the past two years. But "approximately 100 percent" of those costs have fallen onto American buyers, according to a new National Bureau of Economic Research paper. 

"Using another year of data including significant escalations in the trade war, we find that US tariffs continue to be almost entirely borne by US firms and consumers," the economists — Mary Amiti of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stephen J. Redding of Princeton, and David E. Weinstein of Columbia University — wrote in a paper that was circulated this week. 

A 10% tariff is associated with about a 10% drop in imports for the first three months, according to the economists, and this relationship becomes more intense as time goes on. So the effects of tariffs, which were increased this fall, may have not yet been fully seen. 

The paper, which uses customs data through October 2019, reflects a series of similar independent findings that have been circulated over the past year.

"The continued stability of import prices for goods from China means US firms and consumers have to pay the tariff tax," New York Federal Reserve economists Matthew Higgins, Thomas Klitgaard, and Michael Nattinger wrote in a November study

The US and China plan to sign this month to sign an interim trade agreement, which was reached in October as the two sides sought to defuse tensions. That stalled several planned escalations, but tariffs were kept on thousands of products shipped between the two largest economies.


AGelbert

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It is more than tragic
« Reply #1098 on: January 11, 2020, 01:38:51 pm »
"We are shocked, shocked..."


The US and China plan to sign this month to sign an interim trade agreement, which was reached in October as the two sides sought to defuse tensions. That stalled several planned escalations, but tariffs were kept on thousands of products shipped between the two largest economies.

Yep. The 🦀 Trump Train Wreck continues true to form, as Pulitzer Prize Winner Journalist David Cay Johnston accurately predicted.


🦀 Trump is not simply a stupid, incompetent greedball; Trump is simply an Evil Bastard. IOW, Trump is, and has been since he was knee high to a grasshopper, a PSYCHOPATH. Puerto Rico still hasn't gotten all the disaster aid money approved from 2017 Hurricane Maria damages. This cruelty is part of the "fun" for Trump. Disaster aid money denied is just the tip of that heinous modus operandi turdburg.

On January 7, 2020, there was a large earthquake in Puerto Rico. Many houses, culturally important old biuldings and school buildings made of concrete were severely damaged. Trump refused to send a nickel to Puerto Rico, despite this earthquaqe qualifying under the Disaster Declaration protocol for aid money.


Natural structure at Guayanilla beach area before the quake:


After the January 7, 2020 EARTHQUAKE.




Today, January 11, 2020, there was another large earthquake in Puerto Rico resulting in even more severe damages to hundreds of concrete structures, leaving hundreds more homeless. Trump is probably cheering.

« Last Edit: January 11, 2020, 04:59:23 pm by AGelbert »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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How is 🦀 Donald Trump viewed in Canada?
« Reply #1099 on: January 13, 2020, 02:31:03 pm »
How is 🦀 Donald Trump viewed in Canada?

Victoria Napora 👍

I have not entered the USA since 2016 and have no plans to ever cross again.

I and millions of other rational, thinking Canadians, were stunned that such a vulgar, lying, cheating, scamming, self-serving, crude, bigoted bully got elected. I had checked into his past and could not find ONE single redeeming factor that would cause one to vote for this wannabe dictator. I watched his hate-fest rallies and could not believe my eyes with his rabid crowd shouting ‘lock her up’ and ranting against anyone who didn’t fall down and worship the Hitler wannabe. But here we are……

I was absolutely incensed when the tinpot dictator implemented tariffs on Canadian steel & aluminum with the ridiculous excuse that Canada was a ‘security threat’. During the NAFTA negotiations, trump & his lackeys said there was a ‘special place in hell’ for us Canadians. And Mad King Donald didn’t want to negotiate with Ms. Freeland because ‘he didn’t like her’.

Trump also ragged on Canada (and other NATO countries) for not paying ‘our share’ of the NATO standard of 2% GDP for OUR own defenses. He even had the temerity to present Chancellor Merkel with an ‘invoice’.

He has called our PM two-faced, mean, nasty and a cowardly — all PERFECT description of trump himself.

Most disheartening was all the shouts of “YEA trump…you tell ’em potus” etc. and all the comments disparaging our government leaders and Canadians in general by his now entrenched KULT.

They forget that it was the Canadian Embassy personnel that protected, hid and assisted in the evacuation of the US Embassy workers during the Tehran uprising. (I’m talking to you, Ben Affleck and your Movie ‘Argo’ which basically ignored all the Canadians who risked their own lives to protect the US citizens). They have forgotten how the people of Gander NFLD took in and sheltered and fed hundreds of stranded US citizens in the aftermath of 9/11.

They ALL forget that ONLY one country has ever invoked Article 5 of the NATO agreement. That country was the USA after 9/11 and every single NATO country stepped up with support and even troops for the USA. Trump has refused to sign on to Article 5 and continues to demean NATO countries… WHY?? Because NATO was formed to present a unified front against Russian aggression. Anyone who doesn’t think that this pile of dog excrement isn’t Putin’s puppet is delusional to say the least.

The list goes on. I am horrified and dismayed at what is happening in the USA. When trump ‘stole’ the election, I predicted that the USA would end up a familial dictatorship or in a civil war. It is looking like I was not so far off with that prediction.

Even more stupefying are the actions and total DERELICTION of the sworn oaths of office of the members of the new ‘party to protect dictator trump’, formerly known at the republican party. I’ve always felt that one had to have pretty low standards to become a politician (in any country), but the blatant, open and ongoing corruption, self-serving, lies and deflections by these spineless sycophants in order to support and defend the most corrupt, lying, cheating, scamming, self-dealing, ignorant, vulgar, petty, vindictive, cruel, bigoted, unamerican, unchristian, power abusing, tyrannical wannabe dictator is beyond my comprehension.

Welcome to the banana republic of trumplandia. To me it is becoming more and more obvious that the USA is a failed experiment in democracy. :(( :((

Please note: I do not post these things because I have TDS, or I am ‘mean’ or upset because HRC didn’t win - you are 100% WRONG! I get a sick feeling every time I turn on the news and see that latest debacle happening in the USA, because what happens to our closest neighbour will surely affect us and right now, it is looking pretty darn frightening.

WOW! Thanks to you all who took the time to comment & upvote my reply. It gives me some hope that all is not lost and that the USA can actually recover from this trainwreck/sh***show of trump & his court of clowns, court jesters and ‘enforcers’.

https://www.quora.com/How-is-Donald-Trump-viewed-in-Canada

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #1100 on: January 17, 2020, 07:02:57 pm »

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Re: Corruption in Government
« Reply #1101 on: January 17, 2020, 07:38:46 pm »
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Debate: Do Libertarians Want The Freedom To Starve?
« Reply #1102 on: January 20, 2020, 09:46:17 pm »
  Debate: Do 😈 Libertarians Want The Freedom To Starve?
4,161 views•Jan 17, 2020


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Libertarian and Thom discuss freedom and the role of government, leading to a debate you will not want to miss.
 
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What is the role of government and what is freedom? Thom Hartmann has a different understanding of freedom than our libertarian friend, what is your idea of freedom and how best can we reach it.

Do libertarian economics ever make sense?

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Lindsey Graham is the Most Shameless Man in American Politics
2,511 views•Premiered 8 minutes ago

The Intercept
141K subscribers

The South Carolina senator once put a lot of effort into cultivating an image of a reasonable, sober, sensible, moderate Republican, willing to reach out across the aisle, willing to stick up for his principles, willing to denounce Donald Trump. But today, there is no position he won’t abandon, no U-turn he won’t perform, no lie he will not tell.

Hear more commentary from The Intercept's Mehdi Hasan on the "Deconstructed" podcast: https://theintercept.com/podcasts/dec...
Category News & Politics
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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When Did Tyranny Begin In America?
« Reply #1104 on: January 30, 2020, 11:37:45 pm »
When Did Tyranny Begin In America?
896 views•Jan 30, 2020


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We are looking at tyranny in America thanks to Donald Trump but when did it start?  Was it Nixon's treason, Reagan's treason or Jeb Bush's Treason?

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And will Tyranny in America end when Donald Trump is out of Office? 

Thom Hartmann offers a scathing critque and history of Tyranny and shows us how to stop dictatorship.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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🐘 Corruption in Government
« Reply #1105 on: January 31, 2020, 07:34:05 pm »












He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Who Is Really In Charge Of The US Military?

By Cynthia Chung, Strategic Culture.

In order to assess such situations, we cannot lose sight of the whole picture, and righteous indignation unfortunately causes the opposite to occur. Our focus becomes narrower and narrower to the point where we can only see or react moment to moment with what is right in front of our face. We are reduced to an obsession of twitter feeds, news blips and the doublespeak of ‘official government statements’. Thus, before we may find firm ground to stand on regarding the situation of today, we must first have an understanding as to what caused the United States to enter into an endless campaign of...
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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

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How 💵🎩 Capitalism's Structural and Ideological Crisis Gives Rise to Neo-Fascism
2,654 views•Feb 5, 2020


The Real News Network
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Globalization sociologist William I. Robinson explains how global capitalism has been mired in a structural crisis since the 1970s, but especially since 2008, which has also led to a crisis of legitimacy, giving rise to neo-fascism around the world.

Director: Will Arenas
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Category News & Politics

https://therealnews.com/stories/capitalism-structural-ideological-crisis-neo-fascism

Quote
"Capitalist ideology claims that the world is perfectly ordered and everybody is in their place (i..e. everybody gets what they deserve). This self legitmating aspect of Capitalism is Socially Catastrophic. This is the Victorian view of the world." Rob Urie - Author " Zen Economics"


He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

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The Well Funded Movement to Stop Democracy
« Reply #1108 on: February 05, 2020, 10:48:48 pm »
The Well 💵🎩 Funded 👹 Movement to Stop Democracy
320 views•Feb 5, 2020


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Democracy is in danger and this well funded movement is behind it, Jefferson Smith shares how corporate personhood has infected the judiciary!

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He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

AGelbert

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Quote
Those who acknowledge the truth—beginning with the stark fact that we are no longer a democracy—wander like ghosts around the edges of society, reviled as enemies of hope.

Truthdig

February 3, 2020

By Chris Hedges 🕯️

SNIPPETS:

If what happens in courtrooms across the country to poor people of color is justice, what is happening in the Senate is a trial. If the blood-drenched debacles and endless quagmires in the Middle East are victories in the war on terror, our military is the greatest on earth. If the wholesale government surveillance of the public, the revoking of due process and having the world’s largest prison population are liberty, we are the land of the free. If the president, an inept, vulgar and corrupt con artist, is the leader of the free world, we are a beacon for democracy and our enemies hate us for our values. If Jesus came to make us rich, bless the annihilation of Muslims by our war machine and condemn homosexuality and abortion, we are a Christian nation. If formalizing an apartheid state in Israel is a peace plan, we are an honest international mediator. If a meritocracy means that three American men have more wealth than the bottom 50% of the U.S. population, we are the land of opportunity. If the torture of kidnapped victims in black sites and the ripping of children from their parents’ arms and their detention in fetid, overcrowded warehouses, along with the gunning down of unarmed citizens by militarized police in the streets of our urban communities, are the rule of law, we are an exemplar of human rights.

The rhetoric we use to describe ourselves is so disconnected from reality that it has induced collective schizophrenia. America, as it is discussed in public forums by politicians, academics and the media, is a fantasy, a Disneyfied world of make-believe.


The worse it gets, the more we retreat into illusions. The longer we fail to name and confront our physical and moral decay, the more demagogues who peddle illusions and fantasies become empowered. Those who acknowledge the truth—beginning with the stark fact that we are no longer a democracy—wander like ghosts around the edges of society, reviled as enemies of hope. ... ...

The embrace of collective self-delusion marks the death spasms of all civilizations. We are in the terminal stage. We no longer know who we are, what we have become or how those on the outside see us.


It is easier, in the short term, to retreat inward, to celebrate nonexistent virtues and strengths and wallow in sentimentality and a false optimism. But in the end, this retreat, peddled by the hope industry, guarantees not only despotism but, given the climate emergency, extinction.

Full article:




He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Matt 10:37

 

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