Guest Post by Charles Hugh Smith
Maybe it’s my cheap seat or my general exhaustion, but the whole staged spectacle is beyond tiresome; I’ve had my fill.
Let me me know when it’s over: yes, all of it: the impeachment, the trade dispute with China, U.S. involvement in Syria, the manic stock market rally and the 2020 election.
I’m not interested in following every twist and turn of the endless trauma-drama because none of it changes anything: Swapping Pence for Trump changes nothing, and then swapping Warren for Pence in 2020 doesn’t change anything, either: the rot is too deep for any one person to do much beyond feel-good virtue-signaling and symbolic gestures (tax the billionaires, etc.)
The entire political process has devolved to staged battles in the Bread and Circuses Coliseum, entertainment that is highly profitable for the corporate media that whips the partisan mobs into a frenzy and highly useful for the status quo, as the sound and fury signifying nothing serves to distract the restive audience from the decline of everything of value: civil liberties, free expression, social mobility, free markets and so on.
The nation is in the deadly grip of cartels, monopolies and bureaucracies tasked with increasing and protecting the continuing concentration of wealth and power in financial and political elites.
We are eating our seed corn while borrowing profligately from the future to create an illusion of growth–an illusion that requires ever greater levels of intervention / manipulation and propaganda. Dissent must be buried or silenced, as the absurd disconnects from reality reach new extremes.
China is in the same boat, having borrowed $40 trillion into existence to fund a vast permanent construction project that has completed everything that is remotely useful and is now lumbering onward building ghost cities, stadiums, malls, highways across deserts, etc. because that worked so well for 30 years and policy makers don’t have any sustainable alternatives. That malinvestment leads to default and bankruptcy is That Which Cannot Be Spoken, lest the entire financial house of cards collapses.
In other words, a trade agreement won’t change anything: the world’s major economies are careening toward a demographic / financial / energy cliff that can’t be reversed with a trade deal or any other policy tweaks on the margins.
As for all our foreign entanglements–there’s no ending them, no matter how disastrous because the Imperial Pretensions / Project has no intention of ceasing the multi-level interventions of postmodern imperialism, regardless of who’s president.
Look, the clowns are harassing a chained bear–it’s the Stock Market Circus, led by head clown Powellus Absurdus. The must-always-levitate-higher stock market is the comic relief for the dismal slaughter of innocents that makes up the rest of the entertainment. Ha-ha, what fun the clowns make of the enraged bear, until the bear break loose and then ha-ha, the clowns scatter.
The mood of the mob is fast becoming ugly; even the victors of the staged games are being booed. The attention span of the audience has dwindled to the point that few even wait for the outcome of the contest to scream for somebody’s blood. The crowd is no longer satiated by gore or drama, and even the comedic interludes no longer mask the sense that the mob is one spark away from taking their rage and frustration out on each other–the vicarious thrills are no longer enough.
Maybe it’s my cheap seat or my general exhaustion, but the whole staged spectacle is beyond tiresome; I’ve had my fill. So let me know when it’s all over: the impeachment entertainment, the trade war drama, the stock market comedy, the election circus, all of it.
Until then, I’ll look to the real world for amusement and distraction. The Bread and Circuses Coliseum is feeling increasingly deranged and dangerous.
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And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, time for something completely different…
I was going to post this but you beat me to it.
The whole world’s a stage.
The New World Order…
Join up, or be ready to die fighting it.
Hard to blame him. This thing passed absurd long ago.
Was it Hitler or Goebbels who said, “You’re going to win so much, you’re going to get tired of winning”?
Yoebbels…… 🙂
Pop Quiz?
At the Air Force ceremony, Trump told graduates “to dominate the future, America must rule the skies” and “you’re going to win so much, you’re going to get tired of winning. But not really.”
Watching American culture today is like watching an ant colony after it’s been peed on.
Can anyone explain to me rush hour? In our virtual sphere is obvious decline and collapse. What’s keeping the cars on the road? Drivers. They go to work, business as usual. You’d think the economy is booming if you drive in rush hour. So how to square that circle?
RDoug- It’s like half price happy hour at the bar that people rush to get a seat only reverse. They owe more than they will ever pay off so they continue to clog the byways and highways to enjoy continued employment at half the income they used to make. Credit is maxed out now so I don’t know how long the sheep can hang on before the wheels come off the bus.
When you start seeing cheap healthcare premiums for American families, you will know it’s game over and the final flush is soon to be heard from coast to coast.
You want to know why the roads are clogged? Because they are throwing zero percent financing on car loans and giving them to anyone who can fog a mirror….legals or otherwise. Take a look around the next time you’re driving…and see the additional drivers at the helm. I bet some of them can’t even read a street sign let alone obey one.
BL and SeeBee, I am not convinced that you’re right because this game keeps on going. How long have people been up to their eyeballs in debt? Try to talk to these people. Their opinions are so lock-step Left or Right. (You even see that in these very comments.) They are Hegelian dialectic drones. If these subhumans are anything, they are, though primitively so, out for #1. You’d think they’d get angry, or drop dead, or question some of the sacred secular tenets. None of that is happening. This shit goes on. And on. And on. If you two are right, the collapse is nigh, as in this year. Virtually now. I seriously doubt that. I don’t trust the government numbers on GDP.
I’m not being flippant or whimsical. Seriously, isn’t something else at play here? some unseen factor or agency? Maybe some people are literally working themselves to death and we don’t see it in the news or anywhere. But that would not count unless they were actually productive people, not PC pushers and regulation facilitators. My best guess is that foreigners are picking up the producer slack, but that’s not credible. Is the underclass getting smaller, lighter? No. I think we are missing something. Honestly, I thought this house of cards would have collapsed by now. Obviously, I missed something. This shit can’t just hover indefinitely. Maybe I should start believing in magic?
Real…I’m with you, brother. I scratch my head thinking almost the same thing….How the heck is this ponzi going on and on and on….but we are missing something. There is an insidious undercurrent we have not been privy to. But money is shuffling around and there is so much subsidization going on. Bad behavior is not only NOT punished…it’s encouraged. Just a simple, silly little example. There are ads on the NYC subway, encouraging people who PAY for their rides to also PAY for the turnstile jumpers…
https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/guerrilla-subway-ads-urge-new-yorkers-swipe-farebeaters
Most of these fare beaters are able bodied young men. Not indigent. But they do it as a F/U to all who are paying to keep the system running. There are so many more examples of this…and on many levels….
Well, at the margins, more and more are.
As for the rest, maybe it’s a matter of mindless, souless, lifeless inertia.
“a trade agreement (with china) won’t change anything”- if the US imports the same number of container loads of drywall screws, underwear, cell phones, vitamins, and cat toys from Viet Nam or India or Honduras instead of China what difference does it make ? He is right.
Once you overcome the 2-party programming and come to accept that what we’re seeing is two (or three) crime syndicates pillow fighting each other over how they are going to strip mine what remains of America, it’s very liberating. Both the DNC and RNC are wholly owned subsidiaries, and none of their corrupt toadies who are allowed to run will ever change anything for the betterment of average Americans. Trump will not and can not save you, nor can anyone else allowed on the playing field.
HA! TC you have been on a roll buddy!
“China is in the same boat, having borrowed $40 trillion into existence to fund a vast permanent construction project that has completed everything that is remotely useful and is now lumbering onward building ghost cities, stadiums, malls, highways across deserts, etc. because that worked so well for 30 years and policy makers don’t have any sustainable alternatives. That malinvestment leads to default and bankruptcy is That Which Cannot Be Spoken, lest the entire financial house of cards collapses.”
No, they’re not. Think like a crafty ChiCom for a minute. It is glaringly obvious that the West’s days are numbered. Again, what does a cornered cottonmouth do? It lashes out. In preparation for the venomous onslaught, get you some mega-infrastructure in place to relocate millions of people…which the West paid for.
Big problem solved. And it is genius from the perspective of a chessmaster.
Your an idiot. The $40T has been squandered on Potemkin villages (or whole cities for a million with nobody living there) as well as supporting industrial capacity which is now being rendered irrelevant……ouch. The Politbureau did this to stay in power (the Chicom version of can-kicking) but make no mistake it is a colossal waste of capital…..Demographically China will also get old before they get rich…..nice try though.
They cannot feed themselves, nor do they have any potable water or arable land and technically if they can’t steal it from us….they can’t invent it.
China is fucked even worse than we are…..not chessmasters…..more like Master-Blaster from The Road Warrior.
“Your an idiot.”
I don’t have an idiot. I may be one though.
“The $40T has been squandered on Potemkin villages (or whole cities for a million with nobody living there) as well as supporting industrial capacity which is now being rendered irrelevant……ouch. The Politbureau did this to stay in power (the Chicom version of can-kicking) but make no mistake it is a colossal waste of capital…..Demographically China will also get old before they get rich…..nice try though.”
Just curious, but what intel/data have you seen to support this? And they’ll age out of competition within the next 5 years? Really?
China and Russia would clean our clocks. And it doesn’t take a RAND simulator to prove it out. Oh, but maybe you think China and Russia are shivering in their boots, afraid of some old Redoubters or (worse yet) Neurodiverse Chelsea Mannings?
“They cannot feed themselves, nor do they have any potable water or arable land and technically if they can’t steal it from us….they can’t invent it.”
True, they are great Xerox machines due to their culture. It worked very well for them in university, though. Staying up for 18 hour stretches working in groups in the library while we partied.
But, I do wonder what you think the $10 billion rail running from Tanzania down the coast of Africa is for? I wonder who now owns (due to default) many port facilities in Africa? Who established trade relations with the Africans rather than treating them like colonies?
“China is fucked even worse than we are…..not chessmasters…..more like Master-Blaster from The Road Warrior.”
Laugh. Out. Loud. Do better. Come up with some real data and critically thought-out analytics, please. For instance, if China is worse off than we are, I presume you never sweat them entering the WTO, or saving a $3 trillion surplus with us, or our manufacturing relocating there, or them co-opting our (admittedly shitty) culture (e.g., Hollyweird, NBA)?
You are spectacular at spouting out meta-history about quislings of old and the glory of riding crotch rockets. Maybe even some puerile memes that make me laugh. I have not once seen you present a cogent analysis as to our state of affairs on the world stage. Offer some solutions and intelligently debunk a person’s theory instead of resorting to ad hominem like you always do.
Don’t just sit there, furiously henpecking your keyboard from your Kaczynski bomb shelter in the hinterlands. Don’t be the typical Boomer Runner and Hider, man. I really want to hear your thought process.
Hey not my job….you make outrageous claims….well now you are being challenged a wee bit…so it back it up with some data….
Let’s start with: “The West’s days are numbered” please define what that means and then provide any data you have to support your claim.
Then I am curious about what you mean by “relocating millions of people”….who? Chinese? Africans? Americans? What does that even relate to?
So put a bit of meat on the bones of the “crafty Chicom” claim.
Meanwhile:
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/empty-china-cities-12-eerie-photos-enormous-chinese-completely-empty-people-ghost-towns-abandoned-a7982646.html
and
China grows old before growing wealthy
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china-will-grow-old-before-it-grows-rich_2784868.html
for a nice video on why China is a paper Panda:
https://bbccnnlife.com/2019/09/01/simply-explained-kyle-bass-jim-chanos-chinese-economy/
So your turn asshat.
Wait a minute. *I* make outrageous claims? Like China being worse off than we are? You have got to be kidding me, man!
When’s the last time you visited Commerce to check out the true data behind our trade imbalances, or the CBO to study our deficits? When’s the last time you looked at Medicare and the fact that we’re fooked by 2024, assuming we don’t have a recession? I’m not stating shit off the cuff. Go do the elementary math yourself. I have. Most of it doesn’t even require basic algebra.
They have created the most powerful triumverate on the planet today. Russia-China-Iran. And we encouraged it. They played Sun Tzu and in a matter of 30-35 years, they went from Deng Xiaoping to the second largest economy in the world. I believe in terms of human history, only we ever moved that fast when we took the reins from the UK.
But yeah, you’re right. Letting the ChiComs gut our manufacturing, letting them dictate terms to the WTO, letting them sell us cheap tchotchkes while we watch Honey Boo Boo isn’t problematic to you at all. No sir, they’re worse off than we are!
“China grows old before it grows wealthy”
That’s the same vacuous argument that the Britons made about us backwater hicks during the Railroad Boom and subsequent Long Depression of 1873. WTF does it even mean? Nothing, from a macroeconomic point of view.
All that matters is those crafty bastards lie, cheat, and steal successfully to reverse engineer everything Clinton gave them, and then use it to collaborate with the Russkies and Norks. That’s a fact.
No, Crotch Rocket Teddy, it’s not my job to educate you. If you even doubt anything I’m saying here, you’re hopeless and not worth the hand cramp it takes to respond. Come up with some data to refute the above. Save your silly URLs and try visiting .gov sites yourself.
The data are all there, available to every Boobus americanus to read if they so desired. Jim has posted this shit over and over on this site for 10+ years and you fly in here like a fucking seagull, shitting all over what everyone but you apparently knows.
I didn’t give you the downvote, I appreciate the response. Pro tip…don’t try to hide by Admin’s skirts….fight your own battles. I never said that China hasn’t achieved significant development I am however pointing out that malinvestment of $40T has serious consequences.
Sure they are making lots of things or they were until the Golden Golem of Greatness crotch kicked them….those supply chains are being rapidly moved out of China…..to many many other countries. Why? Trump got China to reveal the authoritarian state behind the Panda Mask…..just like he does with the Dems all the time.
Once that happened the market took care of the rest….the NBA or more accurately their true owner Nike has really picked the losing side in this battle.
Demographics are Destiny….an aging population has very different needs and capabilities than a young and hungry population. An aging China does not go on a global war of conquest…..though currently they do have 40M unmarried/excess males of military age so for the next decade or two that is a significant risk.
Russia but for its nuclear arsenal is utterly irrelevant…..I have been there more than 60 times. North Korea is simply a tool for Beijing and will do whatever they are told to do.
Iran is an interesting case and is a significant regional player ever since the Persian Empire…..though the Islam thing pretty much paid to them ever being a world power again.
Honey Boo Boo aside America has unrivaled strengths in technology and culture that are so often dismissed by you and Articles of Confederacy and many others here on TBP.
Of course, we have problems, I would be the first to say we are living in a post-constitutional system without the rule of law constraining the elites. Really not a good place to be but that is what the 4th Turning is for.
Despite these “challenges” would you want to be a citizen of any other country (unfortunately citizen of no country is not a viable choice!)….didn’t think so.
That means that since America is still “queen of the pigs”….we are better off doing our best to make things better here than throwing our hands up and hoping the crocodile eats us last!
BTW no serious Briton thought America would fade due to demographic decline….we both know that’s not true. Not with an entire continent to populate, a very high birth rate in America in the 19th century….you are way smarter than that (even if you are a commie rat).
“I didn’t give you the downvote, I appreciate the response. Pro tip…don’t try to hide by Admin’s skirts….fight your own battles.”
With all due respect, if you think I am cut from the type of cloth that Runs, then you have underestimated me. I don’t even know where this comment came from.
“I never said that China hasn’t achieved significant development I am however pointing out that malinvestment of $40T has serious consequences.”
Your opinion is that it is malinvestment, assuming, of course, that the $40 trillion is believable. I think it’s a dubious number, but more importantly, I can’t even fathom how *anyone* can look at those ghost cities and the level of detail in them and not go, “Hory Sheet”.
If that doesn’t work, perhaps look at their track record versus ours over the last 30 years.
“Sure they are making lots of things or they were until the Golden Golem of Greatness crotch kicked them….those supply chains are being rapidly moved out of China…..to many many other countries. Why? Trump got China to reveal the authoritarian state behind the Panda Mask…..just like he does with the Dems all the time.”
I agree that tariffs were both necessary and proper. Not disputing that…if anything, I would have gone even further.
“Once that happened the market took care of the rest….the NBA or more accurately their true owner Nike has really picked the losing side in this battle.”
Immaterial. My point is not who wins or loses a battle over a dimbulb athletic league. It’s the fact that this would have been an unconscionable event if we were ascendant or even stagnant. It’s an unmitigated disaster when China can dictate to Hollyweird that the remake of Red Dawn should have a different antagonist.
“Demographics are Destiny….an aging population has very different needs and capabilities than a young and hungry population. An aging China does not go on a global war of conquest…..though currently they do have 40M unmarried/excess males of military age so for the next decade or two that is a significant risk.”
Indeed they are. Now ask yourself something. Would you rather rely on our current population of Millennials and illegals to solve big problems, or a Chinese population that doesn’t need even 10 years to finish our way of life off.
“Russia but for its nuclear arsenal is utterly irrelevant…..I have been there more than 60 times. North Korea is simply a tool for Beijing and will do whatever they are told to do.”
Two rebuttals. 1) That “but” you inserted is one hell of a conjunction. 2) Putin is a lot of things but an idiot is not one of them. Never discount a nation that can keep a 40 year old fridge running on 25% (back in the day) of our GDP.
“Despite these “challenges” would you want to be a citizen of any other country (unfortunately citizen of no country is not a viable choice!)….didn’t think so.”
NO. I would rather die than surrender the tradition of my direct lineage. Francis Marion being only one of them. As Korn would say, I’m “Here to Stay”.
“That means that since America is still “queen of the pigs”….we are better off doing our best to make things better here than throwing our hands up and hoping the crocodile eats us last!
BTW no serious Briton thought America would fade due to demographic decline….we both know that’s not true. Not with an entire continent to populate, a very high birth rate in America in the 19th century….you are way smarter than that (even if you are a commie rat).”
You’re making my very point, that we are the prettiest of the ugly stepsisters in terms of the West. International capital is flowing out of Europe into America and the USD strengthens. The Euro is kaput.
I also can’t fathom how anyone can look at China and suspect they will fade due to demographic decline. The next recession we have will finish us off. How does that even compute in the same breath as the average Chinaman will be 34.33567 years old?
I’ll let some former coworkers know that I’m a commie rat. I’m sure more than a few will be…shocked.
Actually, I was responding PlatyPuss but good on you for rising to the challenge. Putin is just a strong man in the grand tradition of Russia….different cultures have different kinds of leaders…he mostly just wants to amass $B’s which he has and then enjoy them….I don’t think he has real ambitions beyond monetary comfort and staying in power to enjoy it. If we didn’t fuck with him as the designated boogyman punching bag we would never hear from him. We are not that far apart…nice response.
You’re an asshole but a good person. We aren’t that far apart. Now go get fucked! 🙂
I am even more entertaining in person! Now it is time to go think about grizzly bears and the avoidance thereof.
Enjoyed reading your dialogue and the longer it went, the more it converged.
Enjoyed reading your argument and the longer it went, the more it converged.
Boomers (like MH) are so tiresome.
I am a Gen Xer!
Articles of Confederation,
+1000?…
You eloquently pointed out much of the issue I have with ol Martel and his Hammer…
I’m glad you took the time to point these things out. I’ve lost the energy to.
Thanks again! It’s nice to see others that see through some of the ignorance spouted off like intelligence here.
Come on you commie rat….any time you want to have a fact-based discussion vs. your emotional “assumed knowledge” BS….let me know. Every post from you is some version of America is doomed, we are fucked….the world is controlled and we are simply meat puppets dancing for the amusement of the elite. It sounds more like a personal issue with your own “package” than a cogent comment on the state of the world or humanity in general.
You just can’t get through to some people. It’s not worth even trying. Crotch Rocket Teddy probably has a good heart but his knee-jerk, emotional responses leave much to be desired.
All good, can’t hug everyone! I do wish him the best though, and that’s about all we can do in these uncertain times.
At least Platypussy has the balls to come back with a decent argument….tick-tock Mr. AOC (your alliteration is showing!)….Nothing relevant to say? Pathetic. BTW I much preferred the Articles over the Constitution….give liberty a chance!
Charlie, like I said above: Your emotional ties to what existed when you were a kid make it impossible for you to acknowledge that I bitch-slapped you with reality. Sorry you can’t see that. Mathematics are what they are. It doesn’t matter what you or I think.
Go do your homework. Please. Go out and download all of the UNCLASS content .gov offers. You’re not arguing with me, you’re arguing with them.
I understand where you’re coming from. You care about the country, but unfortunately, idealism is a horrible lover.
In all respects, I cannot honestly envision the Commies displacing or looking out for any of their “comrades” any better than they have in their past. Master race, my ass…Hah
It’s not about that.
We’re broke. We’re pussies. We’re dysfunctional, both internally and externally. Everyone hates us except West Europe, which is even worse off than we are. We pushed Russia into the arms of China.
We’re fucked. If we as a nation can’t even agree on that, then we can’t even come up with solutions.
Actually, Western Europe hates us worse than Russia or China…yet another misinformed comment from your soup cooler. Like any vassal state (or continent) Europe resents our military protection even though it enables their quasi welfare states. The Europe trash is constantly reminded that that is inferior and failed and exists only as long as we support them and they resent the hell out of that and constantly try and push the boundaries of acceptable behavior…..e.g UK/Italy intelligence agencies participating in the coup against Trump……Russia just wants to be their own kleptocracy without our interference and China, well they don’t hate us, we are just in the way of their global hegemony…..China thinks they are superior to all other humans so we are essentially all third world barbarians to them.
I see. Europe hates Washington so much that they attempted to foment a coup to preserve our government of the last 70-80 years. Got it.
I think I understand your mindset now. You, like a lot of old guys, whistle nostalgically for times past. I can appreciate that. Europe certainly used to hate America when it was ascendant and individualistic, when Washington *was* the People. You associate America with Washington. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Washington goes in and takes out Libya for European oil supplies. Washington goes in and takes out (or attempts to) Syria for a pipeline to Europe. We overthrow a duly elected government in the Ukraine so Europe has a buffer.
Remind me again who the vassal is? The American People are the bitches of the rest of the world. We are the ones who die for every quixotic cause around the world.
Yeah, I don’t agree with China on much of anything. But to discount their history and their recent accomplishments is very Prophet generation, and that thought process is going to get us in a global war.
I am a certified Nomad but wise beyond my years I guess. Has America’s grand strategy not been clear to you? We own the world…it is our world and the rest of humanity just lives in it…..where the “we” is the deep state globalist elites who are significant powers in the shadows in American policy. We are most definitely not Joe Sixpack or anybody else without a lobbying checkbook or 8 figures or better in DC.
So the smallish group (call it 3000 people or less) that run/control America use our economic might to control the rest of the planet…..any group/country that challenges our hegemony is eventually eliminated via the US military. Those challenges typically come in the form of undermining the USD as the world’s reserve currency by having the temerity to trade the “spice”, black gold, oil for anything other than USD. Thus we put up with execrable Saudi Arabia because they are good little camel jockeys who do what we ask….and the Arabian peninsula is a great central airbase to control the region.
For other rivals (those with Nukes) we simply surround them and starve them slowly over time….If you look at China….we have done exactly that….with upgraded alliances military and trading with most of the countries surrounding them especially China’s traditional enemy Japan….same old playbook.
Now what has happened over the last 30-40 years as you point is the selling out of America to China by Bushes/Clinton’s/Obama/Feinstein/Pelosi/Justin Amash/Nike/Apple/Google etc….epic levels of corruption and certainly the argument that the NWO team wanted to align with China to deball the US and then have even more command and control is valid…….but maybe you haven’t been keeping up with recent events yourself.
We are actively agitating with Hong Kong….Trump’s efforts with North Korea were about neutralizing China’s guard dog….(nobody gives a shit about North Korea). China (much like all authoritarians) could not help themselves and lost the moral high ground…..
Everything is messy but I think the path is pretty clear now….America is starting to stir,” we always do the right thing after exhausting every other possibility” Winston Churchill. So the global traitors in government and the multi-nationals are going to find that the game is changing…..
Just look at the NBA….the absurdity of LeBron James kowtowing to China is the shot heard round the world….God these people are stupid. A few pics of abused Hong Kong protestors and he is done along with the NBA and then Nike….
That is really my objection to you and the other naysayers….get your balls back in your scrotum where they belong and out of your abdominal cavity. Of course, things are fucked up…when are things not fucked up? So great…now what.
I am not yearning for a past America MAGA…I yearn for the freedom to simply pursue life, liberty and happiness as I see fit….without insect overlords in DC or on the local city council telling me what I can and cannot do….pretty simple really.
With freedom, free markets and property rights everything is possible……so put a smile on your face and start doing….and quit whining like a millenial (soon to be the next “Greatest Generation”).
For the most part I agree with the above. I differ on a few points. Specific problems must be identified and agreed upon, along with root cause analysis.
Westerners are not very adept at root cause analysis. It usually goes something like “X occurred because of Y”, whereas in Eastern cultures, they firmly understand the multivariate and cyclical nature of everything. So do software developers when they write nested conditionals, especially in heuristics and propositional logic.
That’s where you go off the rails in your analysis and in your assumption that we are simply naysayers. If I can’t get you to track with me, then we’ll continue to butt heads on your “Ra Ra Murica” versus “Dude, we’re fucked. Now what are we going to do about it?”
It’s not about wailing and gnashing of teeth. It’s about accepting the reality that we have gotten the shit kicked out of us (us being Joe Sixpack) for 30 years, and expecting the system that aided and abetted the curb stomping to reform is naive at best, calamitous more likely. The problem IS the system…but you want me to support this bullshit nonsense? Tell me, has Trump arrested Jamie Dimon and the banksters for 2008? How about the medical cartels? Ghislaine Maxwell?
This is why I no longer attempt to lead Carol Anne Freeling to the light. It’s an utter waste of time. You can lead a horse to water and all that. We can’t agree on the root causes, thus we can’t even get to the point where we discuss solutions.
It’s not a cabal of Archons ruling the world that’s the problem. It’s the system in which they achieved it, and it’s US for letting it happen!
Ok so what do we do first?
With which issue? Let’s take healthcare.
No new laws need to be enacted; all that has to happen is to enforce existing antitrust laws that have been on the books for over a century. It is the only industry I know of where prices aren’t transparent and you can get gouged in a crisis with the govt. perpetually looking the other way. But boy oh boy, when hurricanes hit Florida, officialdom sure had no problems watching gas stations like hawks!
There’s a catch, though. It has grown from ~4% of GDP to kissing 20% of GDP. When you start enforcing said laws, expect a likely 10-12% collapse in GDP relatively overnight. 10% is the rule of thumb for a depression, 15-20% for a great depression.
However, and similar to the depression of 1920-1921 that we never hear about, it will be deep but swift. So prepare folks by giving an impromptu State of the Union, outlining what you are going to do without enacting new laws and what you support in terms of new laws (legalization of OCONUS Rx purchases, etc.)
Any lawmakers who fight this are by definition seditious. It is the duty of the executive to enforce Public Statutes at Large. But that is another conversation for another time.
This is what must happen because as goes healthcare costs, so goes the nation. So if we view Healthcare in Agile as a “feature”, we can break it down into smaller bites.
Task 1 could be to write the speech to give to the nation. Task 2 could be to research which lawmakers are receiving cash from which healthcare company, and to take copious notes. Task 3 could be to outline which regions of the country employ the most healthcare employees that don’t provide a single minute of actual medical care. Task 4 could be researching history as the catalog of solutions that it is, to see if anything similar has happened that we can learn from. You’ll likely end up with 200 tasks…who knows.
Outline all of your tasks and who is assigned to each one. Outline your risks because as we know, plans are useless but planning is everything. Outline how long each task will take.
All of this is doable, all surmountable. There’s nothing that can’t be done when individuals have the power to effect the change. I just don’t think it’s doable using the existing system that created this mess.
You asked me if I would be a Runner. I told you no. I stay in this country because I know in my heart where we’re headed, and I want to be here to pick up the pieces for my fellow Americans. If I can die having made my town a better place for my children, then I will have won.
And I will win. No doubt in my mind. Most people aren’t going to know WTF to do when it gets rough. I make fun of Boobus americanus but it is my duty as a Christian to feed the hungry. I really don’t have a choice in the matter.
Articles,
You sir, are on fire!
It is comforting knowing others who understand and feel the same way you do are out there.
Im not the most devout Christian by any means but believe me when i say this, May God bless you and your family.
I appreciate that, sir, but I don’t deserve any praise. Suffice it to say that life has made me…resolute. 🙂 We’ll get through the crisis but it WILL be one massive crisis. I’m not counting on solutions coming out of anyone in DC.
“It’s not a cabal of Archons ruling the world that’s the problem. It’s the system in which they achieved it, and it’s US for letting it happen”
The problem is both IMHO. The ruling ((cabal)) successfully duped our naive and/or ignorant ancestors and pandered to the baser traits of our own corrupted racial elites, thereby enabling said cabal to create the system in which in which they achieved their hegemony. Yes, in a sense, our ancestors let it happen, and, in sense we continue to let it happen. Until we or our progeny don’t.
It seems to me that the first step in taking responsibility for the mess we face is to correctly identify our primary enemy. The second step is to realistically assess his strengths and weaknesses and then mercilessly assess our own. Wereupon we coldly and rationally compare them. Then we root out false hope, bravado, and wishful thinking from our consciousness, and start plotting pragamatic short term survival strategies if nothing more, figuratively speaking, than evasion, camoflage, concealment, inflitration, and covert influence – tactics which our enemy has used against us. The time for overt resistance and eventual victory and restoration will reaveal itself later.
My 2 bits.
Martel,
When you say blanket statements like this,
Your credibility is weakened.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-watch/billions-ground-race-harvest-north-koreas-rare-earth-reserves-50137
Not to mention the natural gas pipeline plans to be run through a unified Korea from Russia to China as part of its unofficial northern silk road initiative.
The only battle will be as to what the “official narrative” will be peddled as history for PUBLIC consumption on how it actually happens.
Will China and Russia facilitate reunification talks to open North Korea up for their companies? Or will the North Koreans be blamed for a false flag attack on the U.S. to justify another war, where the rebuild can profit NATO aligned companies?
Interesting article. Stupid NORks could be sitting pretty selling rare earths alas the Hermit Kingdom lives in a fear based mindset instead of an abundance orientation. Time to invade and liberate the rare earths for the good of the North Korean people!
I think the mantle is getting ready to be passed as to who the face of the NBA is going to be. King LeBron is on the way out…
LeBron got involved because of the players union and the players losing out on potential salaries as the potential fallout for China terminating sales agreements. The salary cap for teams would be decreased which would negatively impact players such as Sacramento Kings player Buddy Hield.
Kings guard Buddy Hield could lose millions in firestorm between NBA and China
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/nba/sacramento-kings/article236015183.html
Martel’s Hammer, Articles of Confederation, Plato_Plubius,
That was a good debate, like being at a tennis match.
I’m chewing the cud.
China thinks they are superior to all other humans so we are essentially all third world barbarians to them.
That is what drives them. They think and plan in 10, 50 & 100 year segments while we skip around until the next election.
Remember Buckley used to drop pencils to check for gravity? I
m on my third object. Anything on my deskll do.I don
t think Russia gets pushed anywhere it doesnt want to go.I don
t think were “fucked” as the currency wars havent played out yet.s natural to be a “Protector” and hated too.It
There are some “pussies”. Point taken.
Dysfuntional peoples, with blue dots painted o`er their naked bodies used to ward off intruders on the cliffs of Ireland acting the fool and scaring the intruders away.
No ones acting “fucked” in my neck of the woods.
A house divided cannot stand. We can’t even choose to fish or cut bait. The world is bigger than your neck of the woods.
We’re fucked. Period, end of statement. The Constitution is null and void, over half the nation hates common sense, The Masked Singer rules the day, and half a dozen companies own over 90% of the media.
Good luck!
Horseshit. This “Divided House” of ours has stood since its inception. And it had and still has NOTHING to do with a weakened Constitution or peoples hating common sense or a Masked Singer or how many companies supposedly rule us. Or misinform!
This divided house will still be standing by the peoples lifting it up. Who won
t go down. Wholl keep STEPPING UP. The forgotten men had accomplished it in the past and will continue to do so for the future. They`re out there if you bothered to look!The girls all get prettier at closing time. Check it out. They look spectacular. Big lips, big boobs, big ass. Yeppers, must be closing time. Last call for alcohol. I might wake up with a bad hangover, an STD or two, and missing one arm.
I can always count on you to make fun of me AND make me laugh. Thank you, LOL!
Question……..What would Jesus do?
Do about what?
Lose on purpose.
He
d ask yet again, "Whosface is on the coin”?It is over.
The fat lady is warming up.
Smartest comment on this thread.
Hilary? She’d be death warmed over.
MG- It ain’t over til it’s over. And when it is over, it will be the beginning of another steaming dog pile of a new deception.
REST ASSURED that whatever comes in the new theatrical narrative, the USUAL SUSPECTS/THE CLUB/CRIMINAL CABAL will still be taking the sheep to the cleaners. Book it.
I did not read the whole thing. The first two sentences made think, ‘pussy! man up, if this makes you tired just kill yourself and do us all a favor. and please don’t write your pussy ass whiney shit any more.
STFU
Bob Gore has a different take on the whole drama. However, he seems to agree with Smith that the whole shitshow is staged. I read the first part of your comment and thought, pussy – man up and read the article. Stop whining about it being too long. Let’s have some cogent commentary, mmmkay?
“If you depend on someone informing you it is over, you do not have the common sense to know it has started. “
Here’s Charles Hugh Smith follow up
https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/economic-decay-leads-social-and-political-decay