Meet the Monied
Forbes – Forbes 400: Introducing The Wealthiest In America
Forbes – Forbes 400: The List
Apple Responds to Lawsuits With Cheaper Batteries and New Battery Display
Reuters – Apple apologizes after outcry over slow iPhones
Sanders Exposes Even More Political Maneuvering
Does Flynn Possess Secrets Or Is This Just More Political Theater?
Associated Press – Flynn may be moving to cooperate with Mueller’s Russia probe
A Rotten Apple: Aging, but Not Like a Fine Wine
Reuters – Apple faces lawsuits after saying it slows down aging iPhones
Pay No Attention to the Civil Service Behind the Curtain
The Intercept – How a Gay Friendly and “Very Pro-Choice” Trump Created the Most Anti-Choice, Anti-LGBT Administration in Generations
As Was Pointed Out to Me, This Article Misses Only the Nuance of Kylo Ren
The Intercept – “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Takes a Side in the Class War
The Boxing Match Continues, Tit For Tat
MSNBC – Trump spends holiday weekend intensifying FBI feud
MSNBC (Video) – Trump spends Christmas attacking the FBI
NASA or SpaceX; Who Will Land First?
NASA – The Moon Shines Brightly Among NASA’s 2017 Highlights
Gamers Beware, You May Soon Have a Classifiable Disorder!
Business Insider – ‘Gaming disorder’ may get classified as a mental health condition – here’s what that means
Did He Really Ever Intend to Finish Bush’s Wall?
Bloomberg – What Ever Happened to Donald Trump’s Wall? It’s in Pieces, in the Desert
Body Broker’s Stock Included Fetuses?
Reuters – Exclusive: Federal agents found fetuses in body broker’s warehouse (Warning: Graphic images)
Russia and Ukraine; Shades of Our War With the Mexican Cartels
National Post – ‘It doesn’t look like the war will end. No one wants it to’: This is the longest European conflict since the Second World War
As The Empire Appears Possibly Poised to Retract, the World Becomes More Interesting
New York Times – Royal Navy Escorts Russian Warship Near U.K.
Totalitarian States Act Rapidly in Ways Democracies Cannot
Reuters – China’s Communist Party to discuss amending constitution, graft fight
Left Hand, Meet Right Hand
The Hill – Cities sue after Pentagon failed to report crimes to FBI gun check system
Alexander Wept
The Intercept – The Election Fraud in Honduras Follows Decades of Corruption Funded by the U.S. War on Drugs
Checkers or Chess
Reuters – Putin critic Navalny barred from Russian presidential election
Neo-McCarthyism: A Dangerous Game
Buzzfeed – The Senate’s Russia Investigation Is Now Looking Into Jill Stein
The Game Continues
New York Times – U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan
A Compendium of Bushies
Library of Congress – Welcome to the Project for the New American Century
The Next Giant Leap
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdA94kVgQhU/
The Roman Superfood That May No Longer Be
BBC – The mystery of the lost Roman herb
Imperial Wizard Billy Snuffer of the Rebel Brigade Knights, left, discusses the Klan, Nazis and hate with Daryl Davis.
In 1947, the U.S. War Department released “Don’t Be a Sucker” to illustrate how Americans could lose their country if they give power to hatred.
Daryl Davis is nothing short of an American hero. He is also a social revolutionary in a nation indoctrinated by politics of rejection, tribalism, radicalization, and reactionary division. The KKK and Antifa are two sides of the same coin, molded by a determination to remain ignorant and without common decency toward or true empathy for their fellow human beings. Each side is populated by exclusionary culture warriors, both attempting to sow discord and to utilize said discord to elevate their chosen set of allies to positions of legal and cultural authority. Each side pretends to fight for what is right, by holding another set of people down; both are hypocritical in the extreme. They are all misguided and Daryl Davis, in his own way, is here to challenge that old paradigm of thought. He is here to remind us of who we really are. In these days of reactionary hurling of noise, epithets, bottles, and rocks at each other in the name of political activism, people like Daryl give me great hope. He understands the difference between divisive self-satisfaction and true change. He understands that the more we hate each other, the more we tear at the fabric of America, the more we give in to the momentary gratification of victory over our perceived opponents, the further our society will fall. This is Orwell’s Two Minutes Hate writ large and all too real. Daryl sees the bigger picture and understands that we are all in this together.
There are almost an endless number of questions to be asked about the vicious protests we have all witnessed of late. What are they? Why do they occur? What brings each side out and what convinces these people that different levels of violence are their tools of choice? Why do we feel comfortable utilizing violence against our fellow citizens? Why do we believe it righteous if used for the “correct” cause? These, and more, are all vital to understanding this phenomenon and not only bringing it to an end, but providing the country with a better path at the same time. So, let’s try and break it down a little.
Radicalization: noun: “The action or process of causing someone to adopt radical positions on political or social issues.”
English Oxford DictionaryRadicalize: transitive verb: “to make radical especially in politics”
Merriam-Webster DictionaryRadical: adjective: “2: of or relating to the origin : fundamental
3a : very different from the usual or traditional : extreme
b : favoring extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions
c : associated with political views, practices, and policies of extreme change
d : advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
It is my firm belief that, in order to employ violent tactics in the name of one’s political and social beliefs, one must radicalize to a large extent. Problems arise even when the radical groups are relatively limited in size. The crises occur when large numbers of people within a social structure begin to radicalize and it slowly becomes the norm. One technique used by radicals to spread their perspective is to engage in extreme encounters with radicals of different stripes. This is great marketing: it advertises both groups’ ideologies, garners widespread attention, and hijacks public discourse by reframing it in radical terms. The KKK and Antifa are both radical groups; this is why they so closely resemble each other and why, despite their best attempts, they do not truly represent the views of most people in American society. They are opportunists, seeking to destabilize in service to their own causes. It is also my firm belief that many participants within the groups are unaware of the machinations at work in organized movements such as these. Many do not see the massive amount of financing and centralized planning required to organize these protests in coordination around the country. These are not grassroots protests, they simply masquerade as such. From lurking forums, to discussing ideas and actions with people clothed in movement symbolism, to prodding participants for their own ideas, I have come to believe that the majority who follow these groups are not entirely aware of the way they are being used. Management and workers appear separated by access to information, just like a company.
Don’t be a sucker. Whenever anyone divides you up, regardless of the tools employed, they are not doing it for your benefit. You are only ever divided from other people in your society for the benefit of those seeking control of that society. Division is one of the primary tools of reactionary culture warriors, which is why they discourage communication with the other sides in a confrontation as much as possible. They reject dialectic and prevent thesis and antithesis from ever becoming synthesis. They don’t want a solution to the problem to develop naturally through conversation and individual growth; they want to artificially control the evolution of society. Daryl Davis, by his lonesome efforts to treat his countrymen with the respect due fellow human beings, threatens this paradigm. This is what makes him so special. He has not allowed hate to poison his soul.
Here’s an interesting line of inquiry: why do people fall for the trick? Why do so many let themselves be suckers? In most cases, it isn’t really their fault. We’re all brought up with a certain amount of indoctrination from our parents, schools, entertainment, news, etc. People grow up with different paradigms programmed into their consciousnesses, each acting out their lives through these differing lenses. Every event we witness, every hardship we suffer, every relationship we have is affected by those original perspectives, regardless of how hard we try to change the way we think over time. This is natural. Our brains are organic computers; our programming is partially software and, since neurons literally grow in specific patterns in response to stimuli, is partially hardware. What makes us so special is our ability to sit and self-reflect on our own thoughts. This allows us to see the way we think and, with a great deal of work, alter those mental patterns. The more we choose to think a different way, the more our neurons shift and grow to reflect those new ways of thinking. This is why is it so difficult for people to break out of long-term behavior patterns, but why it is always possible. This is why Daryl Davis is able to slowly teach Klan members to let go of the hate that has twisted their minds up inside. He is basically reprogramming individuals through his words and kindness. These small actions and successes prove that we are truly amazing beings.
Ok, that’s nice and all, but what does this BS about brains have to do with why people find themselves being suckered into dividing up their own society? The answer is pretty simple: they experience or witness crises and/or hardships that they don’t fundamentally understand and a radical recruiter, just waiting for the right opportunity, gives them a false answer that strokes their preconceptions. All it takes is seeing society change a little around you, seeing new faces replacing old faces, seeing things you love disappear, losing a job and seeing everyone around you losing their jobs, living through an economic crisis that saps your neighborhood of its life, seeing politicians promise to destroy industries that have sustained your local and regional communities for decades, hearing people blame groups you identify with for the decay, witnessing upticks in crime, losing loved ones to broken medical systems, and so many more potential triggers that it’s nearly impossible to catalog them all. If the idea the radical sells the potential recruit fits closely enough with the ideas and paradigms of thought that they have grown up with, the idea sails smoothly through the brain and gets them hooked. If they can blame a scapegoat ethnic, age, class, philosophical, sexual preference, or gender group, they will. ‘It’s the Mexicans! It’s the white males! It’s the gays! It’s those entitled Millennials! It’s the Boomers! It’s the Immigrants! It’s these feminists! It’s the blacks!’ Scapegoats are always just scapegoats. Like a fish on a hook, the new recruit may wriggle and struggle a bit as they are pulled in, but the experienced radical fisherman knows exactly the right triggers and arguments to use to seduce the naïve. Once they’re reeled in all the way, they are surrounded by others who have already accepted the new paradigm and their new beliefs are reinforced until their mind reshapes itself to think that way on its own. Recruiting is an art form. Spend enough time lurking activist groups, internet forums, and physical political gatherings and you will see the artists at work. They are very good at what they do and are always ready to stomp out dissenting voices that threaten to free a catch.
These groups of indoctrinated and fearful individuals are then sent out to clash with perceived opposing groups. Many times, violence is a foregone conclusion because it was the goal in the first place. Blood and fire make the news because they attract attention. News corporations love eyeballs because viewership means money and money is what ultimately drives every corporation. These radical groups are very aware of these relationships and will exploit them time and time and time again. If a few have to die along the way, it seems, so be it. So what is the cure? Is it joining your chosen group of “allies” and screaming, cursing, and hurling objects at your perceived opponent until they go away? Is that, perhaps, just a result of your unconscious radicalization? Shutting “those people” up for a little while might feel great and righteous, as did the Two Minutes Hate, but it only makes the problem worse in the long term. It further entrenches the beliefs of the opposing group, makes them more assured of their radical beliefs, makes you more assured of your radical beliefs, divides even the least radical in society, and pits neighbor against neighbor. When these groups shut up, they don’t disappear. They are still active, climbing into government, the police, courts, media, etc. Don’t be ruled by fear. Don’t settle for what feels good in the short term. Don’t be tricked by self-satisfaction. Don’t be a sucker.
Be your own person. See the power a single individual like Daryl Davis has. Change your society through a revolution of the mind.
– SoO
A painfully earnest Sen. Marco Rubio, right, explains to Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer of Politico why cutting taxes for the 1% is good, but preserving Social Security and Medicare benefits for the working class is bad. (Politico)
“Social Security is Going Broke”
Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan, much like the rest of Congress, are playing a shell game. Social Security, had it been left alone as intended, would be viable pretty much forever. From its inception, it was a basic pay-in pay-out system and surpluses were supposed to go back into the trust fund in order to offset future higher withdrawals.
“Well, either Obama and Geithner are lying to us now, or they and all defenders of the Social Security status quo have been lying to us for decades. It must be one or the other.”
Forbes – What Happened to the $2.6 Trillion Social Security Trust Fund?
However, Executive administrations and Congresses, looking for a means to hide revenue loss from mismanagement and kickbacks, started robbing the surpluses before they went into the fund. They used this money to supplement lost revenue from corruption, inefficiency, tax cuts, and tax avoidance by the very wealthy. The mechanism used to perpetuate this fraud on the American public was the swap out of cold hard cash for Treasury bonds and securities (basically IOUs to the trust fund).
“The Social Security Administration openly admits that ‘Money flowing into the trust funds is invested in U. S. Government securities. Because the government spends this borrowed cash, some people see the trust fund assets as an accumulation of securities that the government will be unable to make good on in the future. Without legislation to restore long-range solvency of the trust funds, redemption of long-term securities prior to maturity would be necessary.'”
Social Security Administration – Trust Fund FAQs
Now, here is where the language gets interesting. The SSA makes the claim that “Far from being ‘worthless IOUs,’ the investments held by the trust funds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U. S. Government. The government has always repaid Social Security, with interest. The special-issue securities are, therefore, just as safe as U.S. Savings Bonds or other financial instruments of the Federal government.” This is a fascinating way to characterize the issue and relies on perception rather than an understanding of reality. “Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government,” simply means that, much like the Wall Street bailout following the 2007/2008 crash, the taxpayer will cover any repayment of the bonds and securities. After all, this is where all of the government’s money comes from: us. Once this clear connection is understood, the shell game becomes fairly clear: we are all on the hook for repayment of the bonds/securities IOUs that the Treasury issued to the Social Security trust fund as it took and spent the money we, the taxpayers, were paying into said trust fund each and every year through our payroll taxes. This is robbing Peter to pay Paul, who was supposed to hold Peter’s money, but spent it instead.
The Republicans, loudly, and the Democrats, quietly, are playing this ‘the boomers will destroy SS!’ game right now because those bonds and securities are going to begin coming due in the next few years and there are nowhere near enough potential payroll taxes left to cover the boomer retirement wave. The fund should be brimming, not half empty and stuffed with meaningless IOUs underwritten by the same taxpayers who paid in to create the surpluses in the first place.
“The Social Security trust fund is merely an accounting device filled with IOUs that future taxpayers must repay. Far too soon, payroll taxes will be insufficient to pay all of the promised benefits. Unless Congress promptly takes action, taxpayers will have to pump hundreds of billions of additional tax dollars into Social Security to pay the promised benefits.”
The Heritage Foundation – Misleading the Public: How the Social Security Trust Fund Really Works
The Federal government, under either major party, will soon have to use tax revenue to pay back those bonds, which is not supposed to happen. My guess is option B will be to hack away at SS until the current pool of money coming into the fund can cover the bond repayments; then they’ll drain the fund, say it was proof the system never worked in the first place, and eliminate SS. I believe that this is the reason Obama spent the last year of his second term advocating for cuts to SS. If the shortsighted incompetent managers in Washington D.C. don’t kill the program, people will realize what they have been doing for a long time: stealing Americans’ retirement money.
Neither party will step up to fix this problem, as they are the exact people responsible for the problem existing in the first place. A solution to this impending budget crunch must come from the American people and must be pushed through the government with a wave of grassroots energy and honest political candidates. Nothing less will suffice.
– SoO
State of Opportunity 