The irony of the phrase “may the odds be ever in your favor” is not lost on the readers of the Hunger Games trilogy of novels or the film adaption. Despite the grimness of the story, over 65 million copies of the books have been sold. The total box office take so far has exceeded $1.4 billion for the four movies. The dystopian series tackles real issues like severe poverty, starvation, torture, oppression, betrayal and the brutality of war. It doesn’t fit into the standard film making success recipe of feel good fluff, politically correct storylines and happy endings. Each film in the series gets progressively darker, with the final episode permeating doom and gloom. The books and the movies capture the deepening crisis mood engulfing the world today. And they realistically portray the world as a place where there are no good guys in positions of power. The ruling class, in all cases, is driven by a voracious appetite for supremacy, wealth, and control.
An Ambiguous, Confusing, Dangerous World
The world is a morally ambiguous place where those in power and those seeking power utilize the influence of media propaganda and PR campaigns built around “heroes” and “icons” to psychologically control the masses, while enriching themselves and their crony capitalist sponsors. Endless war against the latest “bad guys” further enriches the arms dealers and their political lackeys who joyfully use faux patriotism and nationalistic fervor to insist upon more boots on the ground, drones in the air, bombs dropped, and missiles launched.
War is good for business and keeps the masses distracted, while the Wall Street financiers harvest the wealth of the citizens. The division of the country into 12 districts, sending their bounty to the capital of Panem at the point of a gun, while they are allocated a pittance to survive, is no different than our corporate fascist government as they extract hundreds of billions in taxes, fees, levies, tolls, and fines from the productive class, while regulating, enforcing, mandating, and authorizing the plebs to death.
We live in a confusing world of anxiety, hate, greed, deceit and immorality, where governments throughout the world are nothing but rotting cesspools of psychotic despots desperately clinging to power while using any means necessary to keep the masses sedated and docile. Good people, with noble intentions, still exist in this decadent world, but they do not seek power or have any say in the governance of this world. The oppressed are hopelessly enslaved in debt, kept submissive by welfare transfers from the corrupt state, dumbed down by the state education system, amused by technological gadgets and vacuous entertainment, and kept in perpetual fear of seen and unseen enemies. We are told who to hate, who to fear, who to love, and who to believe by a nameless faceless state run by people we didn’t elect, constituting the invisible government.
The world is a dangerous place, made more dangerous by a willfully ignorant populace who mindlessly go about their day to day existence without thinking, questioning, or considering the possibility their leaders are corrupt lying thieves. We are told Putin, Assad, China, Iran and ISIS are the bad guys. Previously we had been told Hussein, Gadaffi, Bin Laden, Mubarak, Al Qaeda and the Taliban were the bad guys. It is true that none of these men or organizations are good.
It is also true that no one in leadership positions in Washington DC, on Wall Street, in corporate America, or in the mainstream media are good. The entire world is under the control of deceitful, cunning, egomaniacal, corruptible, psychopaths who will stop at nothing to fulfill their personal agendas. They are human beings who have allowed their dark sides to dominate their actions. There are no good guys, just varying degrees of evil imposed upon the masses by erratic unpredictable people with wildly differing levels of intelligence, patriotism and judgement.
The Power of Propaganda
It’s a tribute to the propagandists who have taken Edward Bernays’ teachings to another level as they have molded the minds of millions, consciously manipulating the opinions and beliefs of the masses to further their agenda of world domination. Once the Cold War ended, the ruling class sought enemies to keep their military industrial complex and Wall Street financiers enriched and happy. 9/11 was used to further that agenda as war on a tactic (terror) will never end. Perpetual conflict is a chief goal of the establishment. Orwell would be impressed with how our keepers have perfected the “We‘ve always been at war with Eastasia” propaganda tool to perpetuate their goals. Both parties continue to promote war and increase the profits of the military industrial complex.
The U.S. invaded Afghanistan fourteen years ago to get bin Laden and rid the country of the Taliban. Bin Laden was supposedly killed in 2011, but no documentary evidence has been revealed to substantiate that claim. The Taliban is stronger than ever in Afghanistan after hundreds of billions in expenditures and thousands of lives lost. The occupation continues. The neo-cons convinced the dimwitted Bush to invade Iraq in 2003 because Hussein was a bad guy with weapons of mass destruction. Amusingly, he was our buddy when he was fighting our Iranian enemies and we provided him with the WMD (gas) he used on the Kurds.
After spending $1 trillion, we left Iraq as a festering quagmire of religious zealots with a bombed out infrastructure and a corrupt incompetent puppet running the show on our behalf. Then it was on to leaving Libya in a state of chaos because we overthrew another bad guy. We didn’t like the democratically elected leader of Egypt after we overthrew Mubarak, so we overthrew Morsi and installed another military dictatorship. The propaganda storyline is always about democracy and getting rid of bad guys, not the truth about securing oil resources, weakening the enemies of Israel, and keeping the profits flowing to our “vital” defense industry.
It seems the empire ran into a bit of a snag with their plan to remove the latest “bad guy” in Syria. Another “bad guy” – Vladimir Putin – saw through the American plan to eliminate Assad and have their co-conspirators in Saudi Arabia and Qatar build a gas pipeline to Europe. After overthrowing the democratically elected president (and friend of Russia) of the Ukraine and waging an unsuccessful war against Russian backed rebels in Eastern Ukraine, Europe was left at the mercy of an angry Putin as far as not freezing to death during the upcoming winter.
Putin is a strongman leader of a country with a nuclear arsenal capable of blowing up the earth several times over. He will do what is in the best interest of his country and will not blink when confronted with the likes of corrupt feckless toadies like Obama, Kerry, Hollande, Merkel, and Edrogen. His counter measures and revelations about the true nature of U.S. and Turkish actions in Syria and Iraq have blown the lid off of U.S. plans in the Middle East.
The latest fear mongering propaganda device for the vested interests has been the dreaded ISIS. The captured mainstream corporate media fails to mention the U.S. created, armed and continues to fund ISIS as part of their master plan to overthrow Assad. The U.S. left Iraq in such a state of chaos and lawlessness, fanatical Islamist radicals used the vacuum of power and the billions of dollars’ worth of top notch U.S. military hardware to create a safe space for themselves within Iraq and Syria. The U.S. has been funding and arming the supposed “moderate” Islamic radicals fighting Assad for the last few years, while attempting to use a false flag gas attack to wage all-out war. The U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Turkey created ISIS in order to further their economic and political interests. Lead neo con warmonger, Maniacal McCain, even had a photo op with his ISIS homies.
Once Putin decided to fully support Assad and actually concentrate on destroying ISIS, it became clear the U.S. was turning a blind eye to the billions in illicit oil profits being earned by ISIS refining, transporting and selling oil to Turkey. Putin began to destroy the oil infrastructure of ISIS and immediately saw a passenger plane blown out the sky and a bomber shot down by Turkey. So the organization we created is now the most feared terrorist organization on the planet, but we refuse to cooperate or coordinate its defeat with Assad or Putin because they are “bad guys”.
Turkey financially supports ISIS and is fighting hardest against our allies the Kurds, but we fully support their crazed dictator leader Erdogan. Iran is fighting ISIS, but more than half of Congress and all presidential candidates want to obliterate them on behalf of Israel. Virtually all domestic terrorism has a link to Saudi Arabia, they treat women like cattle, behead anyone not following Islamic law and are pumping oil at a prodigious pace in an effort to destroy the U.S. shale industry, but they are considered a close ally in the Middle East. It is quite clear there are no good guys running the show in this bizarro world of unholy alliances, backstabbing, revenge, and fear mongering.
A Lot of Hope is Dangerous
No one in positions of power can be trusted. Betrayal, violence, money, power and war are the weapons of the state. Loyalty, courage, sacrifice, love and hope are the domain of the people. The state walks a fine line between keeping the masses controlled through entertainment, debt, fear and hope. If the people lose all hope, despair leads to anger as those with nothing to lose take to the streets. President Snow of Panem explains the fine line between control and revolution:
“Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. Spark is fine, as long as it’s contained.”
In the Mockingjay portion of the Hunger Games trilogy you are left with the evil President Snow attempting to maintain the status quo, with Panem ruling over the formally subservient districts, while President Coin leads the rebels in attempting to overthrow the rotting immoral government of Snow. Both sides use the power of media propaganda, symbolism, false heroes, and despicable tactics to win. In the standard good guy/bad guy plot used to entertain the American masses, the rebels would be the good guys fighting for a noble cause.
Their symbolic mockingjay leader – Katniss Everdeen – is portrayed as the fearless revolutionary of the people. She is the hope which ignites a revolution and turns despair into a war against the oppressive state and the wealthy vested interests in Panem. The rebels have the moral high ground, but the underlying feeling of distrust is always evident. The good guys might not be so good.
The central question of the final episode was, real or not real? Who can be believed? Are heroes really heroes or are they just created by public relations propaganda specialists? When an icon used to inspire a revolution has served their purpose, will the “good guys” purposefully sacrifice them for the good of the establishment? Can any government be trusted? Can any politician be trusted? Can the media be trusted?
The truth is that no one in a position of power can be trusted. The only people who can be trusted are family and friends. And even they can turn on you with enough monetary incentive. It’s a confusing, brutal world driven by greed, endless military conflict, religious zealotry, and controlled by shadowy unelected men using their ill-gotten wealth to pull the strings on all aspects of society. We are living in a dystopian nightmare where the masses have been induced to love their enslavement.
Katniss undergoes a metamorphosis after seeing her sister blown up while rushing to the aid of victims and later confronting President Snow after the rebels succeeded in overthrowing his regime. President Coin, the leader of the “good guys”, reveals herself to be even more duplicitous and evil than the leader of the “bad guys”. She used the deep-seated characteristic of human compassion to kill Katniss’ sister along with hundreds of children and rescue workers as a tactic to turn the war in her favor. Those in positions of power will use any means necessary to gain or maintain power.
When Coin proposes a last Hunger Games sacrificing the children of the previous regime’s leadership, Katniss realizes Coin is going to just replace Snow as a dictator, perpetuating the despotic policies which created the rebellion in the first place. Katniss rightly decides that killing innocents, and especially children, is never justifiable. Therefore, she decides to kill Coin, while the rioting crowds kill Snow. She sacrifices her status as a national hero in order to give her country a chance to regain its former glory as a republic. The personal sacrifice on behalf of her country is almost unbearable, but ultimately sacrifice, courage, love, strength and hope for a better future are able to sustain her during the dark days.
Turnkey Tyranny
As the former Republic known as America has descended towards the tyranny of a corporate fascist surveillance state, there have been two true patriots who have dedicated their lives to inspiring a revolution in thought and action to help this country regain its former glory based on the U.S. Constitution. One patriot is young and the other patriot old, but their message is the same – we must resist and oppose the ever growing oppressive power of a tyrannical state systematically dismantling the Constitution and stripping the people of liberty and freedom. Their words speak for themselves.
“The great fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change. People won’t be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things… And in the months ahead, the years ahead, it’s only going to get worse. The NSA will say that… because of the crisis, the dangers that we face in the world, some new and unpredicted threat, we need more authority, we need more power, and there will be nothing the people can do at that point to oppose it. And it will be turnkey tyranny.” – Edward Snowden
“The original American patriots were those individuals brave enough to resist with force the oppressive power of King George. I accept the definition of patriotism as that effort to resist oppressive state power. The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of self-interest for himself, his family, and the future of his country to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state.” – Ron Paul
Edward Snowden is our modern day Paul Revere, but instead of riding across the countryside warning “the British are coming”, he used the power of modern technology to warn the world “the NSA is watching, listening, and monitoring”. He sacrificed his citizenship, high paying job, freedom, and possibly his life (if the U.S. government had its way) in order to blow the whistle on the blatant destruction and disregard for the Fourth Amendment being perpetrated by the NSA, with the full knowledge and approval of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the U.S. government.
He knew his revelations would result in his persecution, attempted apprehension and ultimate imprisonment, as the corrupt malevolent establishment and their mass media mouthpieces would brand him a traitor for revealing the truth about the illegal malfeasance being conducted at the highest levels of government. He realized true patriotism is sacrificing your life for something bigger.
“I had been looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership is about being the first to act. I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end.” – Edward Snowden
Snowden’s revelations exposed the U.S. government for what it really is, a corporate fascist organization designed to benefit a chosen few while oppressing the masses through debt, currency debasement, and perpetual war, while implementing Orwellian surveillance measures designed to capture dissenters and critical thinkers. The sustenance of the welfare/warfare state requires a dumbed down, passive, distracted populace who can be manipulated and controlled through propaganda and baubles.
Thus far, the vested interests have successfully convinced more than half the population that Snowden is a traitor. The power of propaganda in conjunction with a willfully ignorant public is a potent combination. Even though Snowden’s disclosures have not spurred a revolution yet, they have sparked an underlying dissent that has been growing, as trust in government, politicians, bankers, media and corporate leaders wanes.
“I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building. I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under. Everyone everywhere now understands how bad things have gotten — and they’re talking about it. They have the power to decide for themselves whether they are willing to sacrifice their privacy to the surveillance state.” – Edward Snowden
Snowden worked within the system until his conscience made it unbearable for him to support an immoral, rogue organization bent on trashing the U.S. Constitution at the behest of leaders’ intent on retaining their power, control and wealth through any means necessary. Ron Paul has taken a different, but equally noble path as one of the few patriots who worked within the system, but never became corrupted by the system. He has been a voice in the wilderness for decades, condemning the relentless march towards tyranny that he saw firsthand while in Congress.
The establishment, media and leadership of both political parties have scorned and ridiculed him as ineffective and inconsequential. There was never a piece of legislation with his name on it that passed during his time in Congress. His nickname was Dr. No, as he voted against anything that added to the national debt or took away freedoms or liberties.
This disparagement reveals the fallacy of what constitutes success in Washington D.C., as there are now over 5,000 Federal laws, 180,000 pages of Federal regulations, $18.8 trillion of Federal debt, $200 trillion of unfunded Federal liabilities, and every politician of both parties completely captured by corporate and special interests. There is one ruling party and the appearance of choice is nothing but a farce designed to make the masses think they have a say in the governance of their country.
“We’ve slipped away from a true republic. Now we’re slipping into a fascist system where it’s a combination of government, big business and authoritarian rule, and the suppression of the individual rights of each and every American citizen. When it comes to any significant differences on foreign policy, economic intervention, the Federal Reserve, a strong executive branch, a welfarism mixed with corporatism, both parties are very much alike. The major arguments in hotly contested presidential races are mostly for public consumption to convince the people they actually have a choice.” – Ron Paul
The vitriol and bile hoisted upon Snowden and Paul expose the weakness of the ruling class, as truth, honesty, personal courage, and sacrifice for a higher purpose are attributes they cannot subvert or buy off. It’s the words and actions of men like Edward Snowden and Ron Paul that provide hope for critical thinking liberty minded citizens. The ruling class knows a lot of hope is dangerous, so they must undermine the messages of these patriots. Ideas matter. Words matter.
These two men have inspired me and an unknown number of other citizens who still believe in the Constitution and will do everything in our power to provoke a revolution of reason, truth and honesty. The odds will never be in our favor. Carroll Quigley understood the odds were stacked against the American people over 50 years ago. The domination of the world by central bankers representing private interests has never been more evident than it has since the Federal Reserve created 2008 financial crisis and the traitorous actions taken by politicians and central bankers in the last seven years.
“The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland; a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank… sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world.” – Carroll Quigley
Even though the odds are never in our favor, there is still hope. Not everyone has to make the extreme sacrifice like Edward Snowden or dedicate their life to the message of liberty like Ron Paul in order to contribute to the revolution. There are thousands of small acts which will weaken the establishment. Arm yourself. Stop watching and listening to the mainstream media. Take your money out of Wall Street banks. Grow your own food. Barter with others and starve the beast. Reduce your tax footprint. Buy locally and boycott mega-corporations. Build relationships with neighbors and reduce your dependency on the government.
Don’t be a slave to debt. Live beneath your means and accumulate some physical silver and gold. Don’t vote for candidates selected by the vested interests. Spread the message of liberty and freedom to anyone who will listen. Support the alternative media and send pertinent articles to family, friends and acquaintances. Think critically. Do not trust your government. Prepare for the inevitable collapse of this rotten, fetid, corrupt paradigm. Hope, love, courage, and persistence will ultimately win. The tide is turning. Panem will fall. What replaces the existing social order will be up to us.
Well, I don’t really care enough to research why she passed out T4C. Was suspecting she was either anorexic or on drugs.
My footless friend has discovered in the ancient posts on my Facebook page I should have deleted when we moved that I am somewhat versed in the folklore of essential oils and have advised people in the past how to tell pure steam distilled oils from other blended oils. She just send me a gushing message about how thrilled she is that I know all that and that once she gets her prosthetic foot, she will come here and let me teach her everything I know.
What the FUCK is wrong with people? My husband says it is me, but I haven’t seen this woman in 20 plus years except for a charitable drop-by at the hospital to congratulate her on being alive. What makes her think that makes her welcome at my home for anything at all, much less to sit and force me to teach her anything that I’ve spent hours, weeks and years learning.
I’m irritated about this and I apologize in advance for dumping it here if it isn’t relevant, but I think it really IS. This is a disease on our society… the FSA, no matter what uniform they wear, thinks everyone else’s possessions and knowledge are theirs for the demanding.
Maggie, I don’t have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or even a smartphone. It’s not because I’m “afraid” of the technology or of learning how to use it. It’s because I don’t like it when people bother me. After reading what you have posted, I am glad I made that choice.
Hope is eternal. Hope is everlasting. Hope is a wish.
Make a wish and blow out the candles. Don’t tell. Hope it comes true.
Hopes and wishes go hand in hand. Both are ephemeral and void of surety.
An interesting juxtaposition comes immediately to mind from childhood memories and later as a young, half grown adult.
Singing the Walt Disney song “When you wish upon a star…” and then instantly –
“M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E Hey there, hi there, ho there, I’m as happy as can be…” With the Stanley Kubreck vision of soldiers singing in “Full Metal Jacket”, as they march against a flame lit backdrop of utter destruction. No doubt believing they are bringing “freedom and democracy”!
Hope is a good thing, but must always be based in reality. Otherwise it’s but a wish.
T4C, the problem isn’t her knowing if I unfriend her or if I delete old content. What is irritating me right now is that this happens all the time in so many ways.
I should NOT have to tell people all the damned time that they need to be invited to my home. I have two cousins that live closeby (relatively, here in the hills) and they are always welcome. Vice Versa for Nick and I at their homes. It is understood and has been spoken aloud. Otherwise, people should expect an invitation before they come driving up here.
BUT THEY DON’T. I lost a round bale feeder and several fence panels off my land to a relative who wanted to come check out the “hunting site” the year we bought the place. I didn’t think it would hurt and gave him directions. He called me the day he was here and asked if the round bale feeder was mine and I said that it was. He asked if he could borrow it since we wouldn’t be building here for a while. Shocked, I said yes.
He took the feeder and four of the sturdy fence panels. I let him know that he is NEVER welcome here again and will be shot on sight. He got all defensive on the phone: “Well, you weren’t gonna be using them.”
While I was here overseeing the building of the log home, an uncle known for offering his “services” in hopes of charging exorbitant rates came driving up to my entry and honked. I rode the quadrunner down and told him that I couldn’t let him in, because I was leaving to go to my cousins’ in just a bit. He wanted to just offer to see if he could “help” the builders. I told him the builders were not the type to hire outside help.
So, my problem is not FACEBOOK, you see. It is that I came out of FSA country. And I am no longer interested in providing for the FSA. Even though I took special care to locate myself great distance from the remnants of the FSA that once fed upon my father’s hard work and my own generous nature long ago, they are predatory and are trying hard to find a way to get them some of what they perceive to be theirs simply because it is mine.
You can see I have real location issues.
The odds are definitely not in my favor right now, but me and Lt. Beretta and Col. Remington are gonna change that. Nick and I are building a new sign for the gate entry.
Entry sign at gate of “neighbor” reads: “There is nothing on this property worth your life.”
DUD- Don’t you want to chime in on Facebook and CuNNt news anchors passing out? Crickets from you. At least some people make noise and wave their arms around a little.
Cocktail hour starts in two hours, then I will like you again.
@Deana Just for fun, I copied the entire article and the comments into a document and searched for the word “sheeple.” You are the only one who used it.
@Maggie, 2 things:
Nip your problem with the footless one in the bud–let her know you are very busy or some other excuse and YOU will let HER know when it’s OK to visit. Don’t be a pushover.
As to your son (stepson)? intrigue of the DC area–I live here, and the cost of living is high, so he needs to weigh that in any decision to settle here. Plus we have the worst or 2nd worse traffic in the country.
Unless he lives and works in DC proper and can use the metrobus/metrorail system, expect a long work commute.
Who groans beneath the Hiroshima curse
and strangles in the strings of purse
before She mends must sicken worse.
Her living mouth shall breed blue flies
and maggots creep about her eyes
no man will mark the day She dies.
She = USA
Admin –
Looks like a large Domino is teetering in the Middle east. There is NEVER just one cockroach as we all know. teetering is prelude to falling over. Guns over butter only to a point it seems.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-28/saudis-dismantle-welfare-state-boost-gas-prices-40-wage-war-us-shale
@Rise up… my son is currently living in the lap of luxury, hosted in the basement bedroom and living area/mancave that was the son’s living quarters of an old AF friend of mine who has worked in the DC area for the last 30 years since she exited the AF after our first enlistment. She just happens to live within a ten minute drive of APL, where his internship is/was… so he assumes it would always be like that. We tried to explain about life in rathole apartments that cost $1000+ per month, but while he says he “gets it” I can see that he thinks we are trying to discourage him.
And yes, the footless one has been told that her visit is impossible until at least later in the spring, since the construction issues make visitors unwelcome under any circumstances, much less someone requiring a wheelchair be hauled around. When she has her prosthetic foot on and is mobile, I will visit her in rehab and “assess” whether I want to continue a friendship at that time. If I don’t want to, I will just tell her to pull up her big girl panties and deal with it.
Hey Jim,
Your writing, and the Burning Platform website, are world class. They stand on their own.
When I started reading here years ago, I would devour all of the essays, etc and actually skip the comments section. But as time went on, the comments gradually drew me in more and more. It was the wicked combination of shit-throwing, infighting, amazing perspectives and random frivolity that, I felt, really made this place special. I still feel that way.
Edward Snowden is a hero, for sure. I believe, his courage on exposing the trampling of the 4th Amendment in our nation will go down in history as another hinge in the 4th Turning. When I questioned why the MSM reported on him accurately, it in no way was it meant to challenge his efforts. I was simply wondering why the MSM would report on him when it should, obviously, be a very touchy subject for the TPTB. Perhaps they report on Snowden because they want to extradite him at some future date for a trial and public flogging? I don’t know and that’s why I raised the question.
In any case – I only wanted to make TBP stronger via vigorous debate but also with some humor and some random fun. There are 3 here whom I would never want to disrespect. You, HSF and Stucky. I figured the rest here were “fair game” and they obviously, believed the same about me.
However, if I am “sideways” with you right now. Then I fucked up. People that know me would tell you that I am a “acquired taste” and an asshole most days.
But I would take a bullet before causing any harm to you (or TBP in general).
Therefore, I am not quitting the war, but I am choosing to battle on other “fronts”.
Please know that I plan on continuing to financially support TBP in 2016 and beyond for as long as I can.
No hard feelings.
Godspeed to you (and everyone else here). Never give up. I won’t either…
You know what is remarkable about admin’s articles, aside from the content and the righteous anger? His lack of typos and other assorted errors which are very common among even the top writers. Why do you think editors exist? Even the best of them will have their manuscripts drenched in red ink of the editor’s pen.
My secret theory about admin is that he, due to a boozy indiscretion, he fathered twins long ago. They are facsimiles of admin, named jim and Jim. They are 30 years old. One edits admin’s work, the other alerts him when some asshat posts something stupid or critical on TBP. Otherwise, I cannot imagine how admin does it. Great article once again.
Good piece, Admin. I hope ZH and others pick it up.
BTW you Trump supporters DO realize Trump has called Snowden a traitor and wants to hang him as such.
I think Deanna Johnston Clark is David Pierre; either that or they have the same writer. Davids comment on ZH is pretty much the same as Deanna. I haven’t been around here that long, but wasn’t there a big shit throwing event with this David Pierre a little while ago?
@Maggie, I’m not flipping you shit but I do have some advice. Stop posting info about your life on social media. Make your accounts private/invite only. On your public space post links, info and the odd comment that reflects how you really feel about all that ills us and that will act as moron repellent. Also, get a gate for the road that leads to your house and place it as far from your home as practical. Keep it locked with a combo lock so that you can allow people in via phone etc. Change the combo frequently. Watch the movie Second Hand Lions and post some creatively sincere “KEEP OUT” signs……..BIG ones like in the movie. I’d could help with that! 🙂 Also, put on an air of assholeitude around those looking to invite themselves over.
I’m reminded of a short lived gag Letterman did on his show with the key line being; “Don’t come to the island!” in reference to Letterman inviting himself to Marlon Brando’s private island.
It’s good to see my opinions of gefilte fish were accurate. I predicted, but did not post that admin would likely end up casting him down with the sodomites as RE and DP were.
Noobs come in here often and complain about the uncivil manner with which they are treated here so I tried to gently advise the trout upon arrival that he was being perceived as a douchebag but that offended him. Getting kicked around by others has no effect either so like I admin, I suspect he’s a paid troll.
@Bea, I tend to ignore most of the conspiracy BS that gets posted here for the same reason that I minimize my time spent on conspiracy sites……….there is always some lower hanging fruit to educate myself on or something productive I can be doing instead.
Even if every conspiracy theory proved to be true tomorrow, there’s no point in dwelling on it because I have zero influence over it. The straight up provable reality of our situation is too far fetched for mainstream ‘Muricans to handle as it is so I find very little value in embellishing it with the conspiracy side of things. You saw the country’s reaction to Snowden’s revelations or known truth right? There’s your sign! I rest my case.
I meant “OF known truth” at the end there.
@IS… Thanks for the advice and I will certainly review all my old accounts I have left open. I still have a MySpace account out there somewhere dormant (I hope.) I really only used the Facebook account to post private group messages to Nick and a few friends during my move here, but there were times when it was easier to upload images of the log home in progress to FB via my phone. I have purged those images, hopefully not too late. I do not post of private life on social media any longer, but had forgotten about old information posted long ago before the final move from Oklahoma. Like you said, I like to post links to information such as the Bill in Congress concerning gun control (I do not LINK HERE lest someone follow the link and “find” me. None of my hillbilly associates are likely to add much here.)
Our gates went on and stay locked after we lost the round bale feeder and fence panels to “family.” My two cousins who we are within twenty miles of their homes know where the key is hidden, but since that requires climbing the gate, they prefer to call ahead and let us open it. We prefer that as well, but would not be overly upset if they let themselves in. We have a motion detector for the entrance but haven’t installed it because we have lots of other projects to finish.
We moved here to get away from the rat race. We don’t need more rats trying to get in. I posted a sign after my “uncle” showed up that informed visitors that if they had not been invited they were not welcome. And if they had to think about it, they had NOT. Nick laughed about it, but said it was a bit much. I put it at ground level and he hasn’t noticed it is still there.
@Westcoaster
Give it a rest. Trump wants to hang Snowden, yadda, yadda. This the the fourth post I have seen at least where you have said as much.
We get it.
At one point when I dragged (invited) the jellytrout and EC off of Hardscrabble’s lovely prose over to the Andy Griffith video clip to banter (oddly, I gained respect for EC and learned a great dislike for the salamander), I had a suspicion that all the suggestions that he was worried about being targeted by TPTB for posting here were simply nonsensical things someone might post who was trying to disrupt discussion. While I certainly enjoy having my 400 comment record for Stucky to try to knock down (illegitimate or not, since it was of ill gotten gain trying to keep the banter of the salamander and trout off of HSF’s wonderful contribution). I am a bum magnet… I admit it. My footless friend is a leech as well. I will have to cut her off, but since she can’t get here for some time to come, it can wait until she heals (and her son and I have had the honest discussion about how I have invited HIM but not her.)
And as for Bea’s insistence that Snowden is related to Zuckerman/Rockefeller and that means conspiracy? I have somewhere around here a REAL family tree that shows my grandmother Catherine Fitzgerald, was descended from the Fitzgeralds of the Fitzgerald/Kennedy clan. SO FUCKING WHAT? She married a sharecropper named Hasty and that was the end of that relationship. LOL.
My mother’s uncles spent a lot of money trying to get some of the inheritance from a Fitzgerald in Texas who died and left a fortune in oil money to be split among his heirs. All they believed they needed to do was prove they were heirs. There is a LOT more to it than that.
Nick and I really just want to take care of our own business here. We really do. I like reading and commenting here on TBP because it is DISTANT. IF any of you lived closeby, I wouldn’t be so willing to show you what we do out here in the hills.
And if any of you come to my gate, look to the lower left for the sign telling you that unless you were invited, you aren’t welcome.
I only read the first portion and I began to recognize a lot of my own suspicions from way back in the day when the Shah was deposed and we suddenly had a new enemy in the Ayatollah. I was a young person then and had never considered anybody a real enemy. I have seen a parade of state enemies since that time.
I intend to give this article my full attention.
@Maggie, having a family trust your estate and business out of probate and out of the public view when you die which will help keep the riff raff away even if they are family. I know you said you were setting one up so you already know.
The trouble with the internet is that you never know how distant anyone is and distance can largely be irrelevant on the innwebz.
IS…We are in the process of setting up the trust now… point taken, studied and filed.
To be honest Maggie, I love it when people post all their business online. It’s very convenient to learn all about people I may be thinking about doing business for or with. Everyone is appalled that employers can check your background prior to hiring you but it’s a two way street. I can learn about employers down to individual employees and just about anyone else for free. If need be I can spend less than five bucks and get access to vast troves of records in minutes. The more info a person knows about you the easier it is to distinguish Maggie Smith from another Maggie Smith. You can even conduct a search on yourself to see what comes up. You might be shocked.
First-time visitor to this excellent site. Am surprised and delighted to see an actual quote by Dr Carroll Quigley, author of the Insider expose Tragedy And Hope which lays bare the very real Elitist global conspiracy that anyone can read, and which at this point in time cannot be debunked. The movement is no longer covert because the Insiders see their work, aided by puppet leaders and a corrupt press, as a fait accompli. Patriots keep your wits about you, and keep your powder dry!
“Some believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure—one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.” -David Rockefeller, Memoirs, 2003
Maggie, the bigger your perimeter, the more perimeter you have to defend. The more perimeter you have to defend, the less understanding you need to become. That’s just the way it is. Don’t feel guilty. A person who doesn’t work for a living still has a full time occupation aquiring what they need and want from the people they know. If that circle of friends is either not large enough or generous/gullible enough, they go looking for new friends. It’s their job. Jim, looks to be great stuff, man you pack a lot into a short essay. Got to reread a few times.
Strfcker… I found new stuff I’d missed each time I read it. It is an amazing essay indeed.
Thanks. I know.
@IS… I have done a search on myself and WAS shocked. Is why I have severed some family ties and have opted to use a new nickname. LOL.
Who the “H” is this Maggie character? Hey Maggie, if you want to have a private conversation then do it somewhere else. Your writing is almost unintelligible, as if you are telling an inside joke or speaking to a friend on the phone.
You are not even sticking to the topic in the Blog. If you are so bored in the morning, then go for a walk and clear out your brains, because on this blog your constant commenting tells me you are no more than a lout looking for some recognition !!!
The odds here are that flooding near the rivers and tributaries are going to continue throughout the coming days in spite of the rain finally having stopped.
http://www.weather.com/news/news/mississippi-river-flooding-december-2015
In the Southeast corner of Missouri, where a swamp was drained in the early part of the 20th century, turning a wet wasteland in to a farming mecca, there is the first and largest of many lines of defense against the raging waters trickling then streaming then roaring down from the Ozarks. When the rising creeks and streams feed the St. Francis, Black, Current, and fabulous Castor Rivers, where we mountain folk spend most of the sun-drenched weekends in the summer drinking cold beer and fishing, but we watch with caution during these raindrenched times, when the waters pour into the channels that directs, or “diverts” those waters that once flooded what was once (and is always just ONE GREAT FLOOD away from being again) the alluvial floodplain of the Mississippi. Where the water is directed into the “Big Muddy” just south of Cape Girardeau. is a manmade hill that parrallels the waterway the locals just know as the Diversion Channel. Located just south of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, it has been there for almost a hundred years and I bet I am one of the rare people who know the full history of when and why it is there. But, I am not alone in knowing what will happen in the hours ahead.
When flooding of this proportion is a threat, farmers desperate to keep their farmlands dry and the fertile topsoil in place can be found there, placing mountains of sandbags along that levee. As a matter of fact, making sandbags is considered one of the highest of charitable efforts this time of year.
It is one event that tugs at my memory of childhood; waking to find that the “version channel” had broken “up near Scott City” and Daddy had to head to the Castor with the road district crew and try to help dam the Castor so it didn’t break the levee further south. We kids would get up and look at the rising water in the floodway ditch that was only yards in front of our house, knowing that our front lawn could be a lake soon, and that we might be able to take the rowboat out into the neighbor’s field and actually stay afloat in the lowest part. Being small children, we didn’t realize that our hope to see our neighbor’s field become a lake was his and my father’s worst nightmare. We didn’t understand that the odds were never in our favor when the “version channel” had broken.
I don’t know why this Hunger Games article has sent me on this memory lane journey except that in my opinion, Collins is a successful novelist because she recognizes the themes in life that play out again and again in many different venues. We studied Collins in my Professional Writing/Editing Classes, back in the day. She understands what makes people hurt and she knows how to put the words together in a way that elicits emotion.
Like her or not… she’s a darned good writer.
Oh, and the floodplain has its own idiotic villains. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Scott_%28criminal%29
The National Guard now walks the channel 24 hours a day during this kind of weather to keep the James Scott’s away. I actually dated an idiot who tore up the levee with his 4×4 truck one drunken night, but his name didn’t make it into the wiki books. His father paid the judge a wad of money to let his boy off easy. In the end, I wasn’t good enough or rich enough to date him and that’s a good thing. Corruption isn’t confined to the Capitol. The people with money always get a pass.
Hey Rump? I think I see a fishtail sticking out of yours.
I/S- In a way you are right, but it is very hard to read the conditioned belief system day after day. Such is the peril of living in a world of sleeping minds.
I submitted no conspiracy, Collins lives where she lives, Snowden is bloodline. Prescott Bush funded Hitler, they seem to accept that and can discuss it as fact yet anything from the current time period is off the table.
I am accused of “making noise” and beat about the head while FB and fainting news anchors get no response from Admin, which we thought interesting. I absolutely understand that Admin would not want this site to transform into something on the order of BIN. What I truly hope for is that the critical thinkers here, who have some promise of the courage to look behind the curtain, will take the time to read and accept that scripted events are just that. I can take anything that is thrown my way and endure it gladly if some will start to really think about the real workings of the world.
@Bea… I don’t understand the fainting news anchor either… I’d hoped she died, which would at least elevate it to something more than a beauty queen taking too many diet pills.
As for my FB mini-melodrama… I simply was reminding myself here (and sharing the story with others because I truly do believe it is relevant in the twisted way my mind puts things together) — that MY LIFE and therefore EACH OF OUR LIVES is of grand significance beyond our own daily realm. Every single time we do something out of the ordinary, there is potential for consequences we don’t fully assess. And because it was a great opportunity for my pragmatic husband to tell me I TOLD YOU SO and remind me that being nice for the sake of being nice seems to bite me in the ass more than most people, I decided that I would tell people that even if you have limited your time on social media in these most disturbing times, you might want to go and clean up your old accounts.
No offense, Bea, but I really do have a copy of a family tree that shows I’m a Fitzgerald/Kennedy descendant. What does that make me? Other than a hillbilly wannabe.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/2-bankers-charged-with-creating-atm-cards-to-steal-from-accounts/ar-BBo0ahj?li=BBnb7Kz
Is anyone having problems with the site? I can type about a letter every second or two, it keeps crashing, and asking me if I want a live version. Very long load times.
The server company housing TBP has been under attack periodically since Christmas. There have been a number of 30 minute outages due to the attacks.
Forgive me for this experiment, Admin. It is my first attempted video upload to TBP in a while and while it has very little to do with Hunger Games, it has everything to do with Odds being in MY Favor. I think you understand that I insist on taking your articles’ macro philosophy to the micro level in every aspect of my life.
And, Rump… if you have read this far, then it is because you LIKE what I write.
[img]http://vid172.photobucket.com/albums/w17/marthaqaru/Fur%20Elise%20with%20Commentary_zpsap9bdh3k.mp4[/img]
I am having a lot of trouble with the site today. I blamed it on Flash, heh.
Maggie
Which Fitzgerald/ Kennedy family member are you related to?
I/S,
I think it’s a good thing that some of us suspect conspiracies everywhere, even though in some cases we’re bound to be proven wrong. Helps keep the government honest. If you stick to discussing what can be proven within the accepted paradigm, then it’s explainable in conventional terms, which tends to lead to conventional solutions, like voting. I don’t think that’s going to get us back to a constitutional republic. It’s true that we can’t affect what’s already history, but I’m hoping a few people will awaken to the existence of the political machine that allowed such things to happen. Not necessarily the masses, just the few percent who influence opinion or the ten percent who are the doers.
To all Snowden supporters: I’d really like to believe in him, I like the guy, it’s an inspiring story, he says all the things I want to hear. But I can’t shake the feeling that he’s at minimum being used by other parties. Like the contents of the material that he released; I’ve read security experts saying that he didn’t reveal any intelligence methods that weren’t either already known or highly probable, but he did so in a very dramatic way, and he continues to get coverage. Who benefits from Snowden being discussed in the mainstream media? Perhaps because people can’t self-censor if they don’t know that they’re being watched? Perhaps he serves as an example and warning to other government employees who might be thinking about speaking out about really inconvenient secrets? Perhaps by limiting the discussion to, well, the government is collecting telephone metadata to try to find patterns and identify terrorists, and if you’re okay with them doing that, then you have nothing to worry about, citizen. Anyway, do your own research if your interested, and draw your own conclusions.
Bea, I should have realized you would make me go get the family tree. Tell you what… I am cleaning up a real mess in the chicken and bunny pens from all the rain. When I get that finished, I’ll see if I can’t find the old genealogy crap my mother handed me and see if I can’t give you a name. I know I have pictures of the headstones at the Fitzgerald/Hasty cemetery I visited not too long ago. (I have a morbid thing about cemeteries.), but would not be able to tell you which was my direct ancestor.
And to think we could rid ourselves of these…moral and financial problems forever just by arresting, prosecuting and jailing a few psychotic, war mongering, neocon terrorists. They have no business being included in anything considered new and perhaps saving the Republic in the future either. After all the despicable things they’ve done not only to the middle east and the world at large, but especially to our own country. Just look at what these vermin have done since 2001. You want to know how to improve the world for everyone? Jail the neocons and their bankster enablers and dismantle and shrink the military/industrial complex…and our (financial and moral) problems are solved.
Hey Maggie, I think I was #100 and did not realize it at the time. Woo-hoo ! That’s about all the excitement I need for one day.
AnarchoPagan says: “To all Snowden supporters: I’d really like to believe in him, I like the guy, it’s an inspiring story, he says all the things I want to hear. But I can’t shake the feeling that he’s at minimum being used by other parties. Like the contents of the material that he released; I’ve read security experts saying that he didn’t reveal any intelligence methods that weren’t either already known or highly probable, but he did so in a very dramatic way, and he continues to get coverage.”
—————–
Glenn Greenwald was supposed to release a 2nd batch of documents that Snowden had given him. But after his (Greenwald) boyfriend was detained at Heathrow airport, he never released them (to my knowledge–someone correct me if that is not the case).
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa
“The NSA has repeatedly said that it has no idea how many documents Snowden downloaded and has no way to find out. As the NSA itself admits, the 1.7 million number is not the number the NSA claims Snowden downloaded — they admit they don’t and can’t know that number — but merely the amount of documents he interacted with in his years of working at NSA. Here’s then-NSA chief Keith Alexander explaining exactly that in a 2014 interview with the Australian Financial Review:
AFR: Can you now quantify the number of documents [Snowden] stole?
Gen. Alexander: Well, I don’t think anybody really knows what he actually took with him, because the way he did it, we don’t have an accurate way of counting. What we do have an accurate way of counting is what he touched, what he may have downloaded, and that was more than a million documents.”
The corruption in government is out of control! Even when caught, nobody gets punished!
US Attorney declines prosecution of former VA execs
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors have decided not to press criminal charges against two former executives at the Department of Veterans Affairs who were accused of manipulating the agency’s hiring system for their own gain.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Thursday it has declined a referral from the VA inspector general for criminal prosecution of Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves.
The inspector general said in a report this fall that Rubens and Graves forced lower-ranking regional managers to accept job transfers against their will. Rubens and Graves then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their pay while reducing their responsibilities.
Rubens had been earning $181,497 as director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Veterans Benefits Administration, while Graves earned $173,949 as leader of the St. Paul, Minnesota, regional office. Before taking the regional jobs, Rubens was a deputy undersecretary at the VA’s Washington headquarters, while Graves was director of VBA’s 14-state North Atlantic Region.
Rubens and Graves were accused of obtaining more than $400,000 in questionable moving expenses through a relocation program for VA executives, the inspector general’s report said.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said it has “referred the matter to the VA for any administrative action that is deemed appropriate.”
Rubens and Graves were demoted in November, but their demotions were rescinded this month after a paperwork mix-up. The VA has said it will reissue the demotions after the problem is resolved.
I don’t disagree AnarchoP but with Bea conspiracy seems to be his starting point for just about everything. Even if he’s right, so what? What can you do about it. I’m all for being aware of the world around us but our focus has to start local with shit we can control and influence.
Mainstream ‘Muricans look at you like your nuts if you tell them the banks caused the financial crisis. Throwing in a seven level diatribe about the Illuminati won’t help your case. That’s the point I was trying to make.
I wonder the same things about Snowden AnarchoP. I’m disappointed (but not shocked) not only with the peoples reaction to his revelations but the lack of any real earth shaking revelations. His journalist friend kept/keeps saying that more will be released in due time but I sure don’t hear much about it. I think most of us here already more or less KNEW what the govt was up to before Snowdens revelations. Hell, I knew about Stellar Wind years before so in my mind Snowden merely confirmed suspicions. Doesn’t seem like much to throw your life away for in retrospect.
Silverado, nice post. Rise up, that’s the kind of shit Silverado so aptly nails. I don’t know, maybe instead, we fire those filthy grifter whores, and PROSECUTE THEM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW?