America: A Nation of Exiles, Misfits, and Second Chances. But has it gone too far?

America. There has always been something truly unique about this country. People of all sorts have been coming here almost ever since its discovery, and they keep coming despite all our faults and failures (and there are many).  Nations, far older than us, are constantly comparing themselves to us. We’ve become the world’s yardstick for practically everything, but who are we really?

We don’t tend to think about it much, but most of those who came here to settle were misfits and exiles. They were people who didn’t fit into society any longer. They came to escape the restrictions their native country had placed on them. For many, they were locked into an economic and social caste system irrespective of their intelligence, ability, or motivation.  

Many were just one slippery step from debtor’s prison. Others had already fell victim to the harsh judicial system, often for petty crimes committed in the name of survival. The lucky one’s found themselves “transported”. This was a way to be rid of petty criminals, social deviants, and malcontents while emptying out their overcrowded prisons and relieving a marginal social safety net based largely on charity.  They were typically sent abroad as “indentured servants” to work off their sentences in places which were often difficult and dangerous (Georgia and the swamplands of South Carolina were often a key destinations).

Meanwhile, others simply wanted to chance to start life over again and a chance to show the world (and themselves) what they could do if given the opportunity, and so they came by the tens of thousands.  Many bore  the same title of “indentured servant” as the felons, though under slightly better circumstances in most cases.

These individuals were mostly young, poor, marginally educated, with very limited opportunities. Many were orphaned. They voluntarily leased themselves out for a set period of time. This usually covered their passage (typically in steerage) as well as their labor with the hopes that, in the end, they would get their chance at a new life. It was a difficult and often risky choice, with many never seeing the end of their bondage, but it was better than what awaited them if they had remained.

A surprisingly large segment of immigrants also came to avoid religious persecution. It was commonplace for each country to have an official religion, often headed by a monarch,  to which everyone was expected to participate, if not in person, then financially. It wasn’t uncommon for so-called “dissenters” to find themselves harassed by authorities, fined, imprisoned, or stripped of everything they owned in order to pay the mandatory tithes. This new country demanded none of that. There would be no state mandated religion.  It’s easy to understand why, to believers, this was seen as the “promised land”.

Not much has really changed in all those centuries since the first Europeans set foot on this continent. We still attract the world’s misfits, exiles, and those looking to start over. America is a different sort of country. It is not a nation which evolved organically over time like Europe or Asia. We came about in less than a blink of an eye in terms of history. We were created as an experiment, born out of a sense of justice, fair play, and individual sovereignty.

 In lieu of having a long history to shape our nation, ours was based a heritage of ideas stemming from the Enlightenment, Judeo-Christian morals, and the philosophies of the Near East, Ancient Greece and Rome.  Even our government was modelled on the Roman Republic. All of which is nicely summed up in our traditional national motto---"E pluribus Unum” (“Out of Many, One”) along with our official national motto, “In God We Trust”, which reflects the desire of many to come here to seeking their religious freedom.   

The Statue of Liberty, which graces the entry into New York, reminds us that we are still a nation of second chances. It’s often the first thing arriving immigrants see. The plaque at its base bears the  famous poem by Emma Lazarus entitled “The New Colossus” which speaks of America as the “Mother of Exiles”. It urges the world to “…Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breath free. The wretched refuse of teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift up my lamp beside the golden door!”

Marvelous words expressing the aim of America to welcome all those seeking to be free, but something has changed since those words were pinned in 1883. America was conceived of as a welcoming melting pot, where all would leave behind the worthless hatreds and prejudices from wherever they came. Here they would become a new people---“Americans”--- sharing a common language with a shared set of values, laws, and uniquely American traditions.

Somewhere along the way something changed. We no longer concerned ourselves with those who come here in defiance of our laws. We stopped being proud to be Americans. Today, we have some 13+ million illegals living here with millions using taxpayer based social services they never paid for. They have no interest in adopting our language, laws, traditions or values. Worse, we have politicians, cities and groups which are fine with that. What happened?

According to a U.S. government budget committee report on the costs of illegal immigrants to taxpayers dated January 11, 2024, 69% of illegal immigrants don’t have an education beyond high school (compared to 35% of Americans) which impacts their work skills and employability. Each individual cost taxpayers approximately $68,000 each over their lifetime or about $42 billion.  In addition, the children of illegal immigrates (including children born in the U.S. of parents here illegally) received roughly $68.1 billion dollars (as of 2019) in taxpayers funded services. Taxpayers also picked emergency care and other medical costs to the tune of $7 billion dollars annually.

Some hid behind the 14^th Amendment, which was intended to provide citizenship for recently freed slaves following the Civil War, in order to claim legal status, thanks “anchor babies” as noted above. More recently, others have claimed asylum status when they’re only seeking employment without applying for a work permit (employment isn’t recognized as a legitimate reason for asylum status under international law).  Still others send their children with strangers and then come seeking to be reunited with them.

Even certain religious institutions blatantly choose to ignore immigrations laws, believing that somehow they are exempt from following the law, and going as far as not just encouraging them to migrate, but providing them with shelter, housing, job contacts, and even how to manipulate the system to access taxpayer based services. Of course, these immigrants fill pews and church coffers, as well as improve their political clout.

We became fixated on the “right” of these individuals to enter our country undeterred while other nations, ever anxious to rid themselves of hungry mouths they can’t afford thanks to antiquated societal norms, openly proclaim that we had no legal right to protect and secure our border.

Somehow, our right of national sovereignty had come under attack while their sovereignty remained securely intact. Immigrants now come, not to be Americans, but to transplant their country, language, values, traditions, and all! Some intend to even transplant their religious values despite not being compatible with ours. We’re the ones expected to conform and adopt, not the immigrant. What went wrong?

Our  English language is treated as unimportant. The government now caters to “diversity” instead of promoting emersion. Immigrants view the taxpayer funded social security net as an entitlement just for being here. They regularly send money home to support their families and community, which is perfectly fine. But why do they refuse to apply for work permits and pay their fair share of taxes to the country which makes it all possible?

At about the same time, we started to see more and more people no longer identifying as Americans. They had become hyphenated Americans, be it cultural, racial, ethnic, or whatever. In addition, the very notion of “American” increasingly became as a form of slander. The “ugly American” of the 1960’s had suddenly returned home.

We were increasingly taught to be ashamed of our collective history. Entire chapters of our history have become distorted and rewritten. Critical thinking skills have been replaced, and with it, the quality of education. Discipline is now seen as a form of suppression. In colleges and universities, students aren’t expected to take responsibility for the debts they willingly incurred despite many earning majors where there is no demand in the job market.

Even the Pledge of Allegiance is no longer publicly acceptable. Neither are displays of the American flag (which is now considered a “trigger object”).  Statues and monuments deemed “offensive” by a select few are defaced, vandalized, and removed.  Individuals with criminal histories are portrayed as heroes while law enforcement is viewed with contempt.

While America has always welcomed various religions, how do we deal with a religion which wants to impose its own religious laws on society, going so far as verbal and physically attacking people, blocking sidewalks and traffic while they “pray”? They become incensed at criticism of their faith but encourage attacks on other religions. In Europe, this has proven to be a disaster as the governments continually cave to their demands while punishing the victims.  

This is all part of a new narrative being preached throughout America---the “Gospel of Political Correctness” as proclaimed by so-called “woke” Millennials and Gen Z. To contradict the gospel in any way is regarded as blasphemy or heresy, often resulting in being  “canceled” (sounds like a euphemism used by the Gestapo or KGB). The good news, however, is that you’re freely entitled to their opinion at any time, whether you want it or not.

How does a nation founded on freedom of speech, religion, and association cope with this? How does a nation protect its national security when our borders are ignored?  How do we address the issue of hyphenated loyalties, a declining education system, no common language, or an agreed upon history survive? Historically, nations similar to this  have become ungovernable and ultimately imploded. No nation can be pulled in multiple directions and hold in the long run  (I’m reminded of Yugoslavia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the Ancient Roman Republic).

I’m reminded of a quote by Theodore Roosevelt (perhaps our greatest president and certainly my favorite). In speaking before the Knights of Columbus at Carnegie Hall in 1915, the former president addressed many of these same issues when he said, “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he’s an American , but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room but for one flag…We have room for one language here, and that is the English language…and we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that loyalty is to the American people”.

I couldn’t have said it better Teddy. Well done. The question  which needs to be addressed is whether we are going to heed Roosevelt’s word, spoken some 110 years ago or are we going to go the way of the Yugoslavia past or current Europe? America has always been a country of second chances for those with nowhere else to go. But for us, here and now, there’s no place for us to go. There’s no one coming to our rescue. Republics rarely, if ever, get second chances.

 

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Poems: The New Colossus

“Americanism”  by Theodore Roosevelt (1915)

Theodore Roosevelt: No Room in This Country for Hyphenated Americans

Hyphenate American

House Judicial Subcommittee Report: The Costs of IllegalImmigration to Taxpayers

Indentured Servants  

The Decline of America May Not Be What We Think

I've been writing about illegal immigration for decades and there still doesn't seem any end to it, but that's on purpose as I'll show you. States along the border with Mexico are being inundated with individuals wanting to come to the U.S., not to gain citizenship, but to obtain---for free--- the benefits available to citizens because they worked and paid into the system through their taxes.

The federal government maintains that it controls the border problem, however it does next to nothing, and worse, it wants states not to enforce existing federal laws concerning illegal entry. Eric Holder, the AG under President Obama, even sued Arizona for doing nothing more than using existing federal laws to halt immigrants from illegally crossing the border (worse, he even allowed Mexico to join in the lawsuit against Arizona as a co-plaintiff).  Now it's Texas.

Some states and cities have declared themselves "open" to illegal immigration under the euphemistic sounding title of "sanctuary". The result has been thousands of individuals heading there and immediately demanding and receiving taxpayer funded government services.

As a result, some of the cities involved have seen increases in crime, homelessness, and a growing demand for public and private services, especially food and medical care. Unable to keep up with the demand, these cities and states have...ironically...turned to the federal government and requested additional federal dollars and aid to cope with the very problems they intentionally created. Did their legislatures, mayors, and governors not think this through?

Currently it's believe that there are some 10 million or more individuals  illegally in this country, The majority of them drawing on services paid for by taxpayers---you and me---that they never contributed  into.  Many have also decided that they have no intention or interest in integrating into society as previous migrants have historically done (other nations, such as Canada and countries in Europe and Asia) face similar problems.

It's as if these immigrants want to keep their  traditions, values, customs, and languages while at the same time relocate to where they can receive "free" resources---food, housing, medical care, child care, transportation, and so forth for nothing. In fact, not just do they "demand" these items (and more), but believe they are actually "entitled" to them!  Worse, they expect us---the citizens--- to conform and adapt rather than them!

Remember, these individuals have not come with the intent of gaining citizenship, few have applied for entry, and few have come seeking asylum. They come because they've been told they would be openly welcomed and provided with freebies simply for showing up. The majority of immigrants are coming north for nothing more than economic reasons---"economic asylum".  Bear in mind that the U.S and United Nations does not recognize "economic amnesty". Even Amnesty International doesn't promote "economic amnesty".

Amnesty can only be granted for ethnic, racial, political or religious  reasons only, and then only if you are in danger of torture, extreme discrimination, imprisonment or death.  Even then international law says they must seek shelter in the next closest stable country...not travel thousands of miles through safe countries and attempt crossing  the U.S. border illegally!

So, who is promoting this migration north? Why is the U.S. seen as the only acceptable destination?  

Many of those headed north are coming for economic reasons, so that seems to be a logical place start. The U.S. and some of its allies have instituted sanctions and/or embargoes against Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Of those, Cuba's has been the longest, first imposed on March 14, 1958 by President Eisenhower against the Batista Government to prohibit the sale of arms.

In October 1960, following the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship by the Fidel Castro's led revolution, another embargo was placed against Cuba. This applied to everything but food and medicine. The embargo was expanded in February 1962.

In Venezuela, sanctions were imposed in January 2017 by President Trump, for alleged human right violations, but rumors have persisted that it had more to do with Venezuela's suppressing a U.S. led attempt to overthrow the government. Either way, unlike Cuba, the sanctions helped Venezuela's economy to collapse, causing record level inflation, unemployment, poverty, and crime (Venezuela has the highest rate of violent crime in the world).   

The sanctions resulted in freezing $5.5 billion dollars belonging to Venezuela. Also, there was a 65% decline in the number of international banks willing to do business with them, with 99% of them coming between 2017 and 2019. This has resulted in severe shortages of food and medicine which the country must buy abroad.

It's estimated that some 80,000 HIV+ patients were affected along with roughly 32,000 individuals in need of cancer or dialysis medication or treatment. Some 15% - 20% of the population no longer has access to potable water during the height of the sanctions.

High unemployment (the result of many oil related businesses closing) triggered a serious increase in crime, making Venezuela the most violent crime ridden nations in the world. Presently, the crime rate (as of 2023) in Venezuela is 83.76 per 100,000. The majority of the crime is committed by individuals ages 20-30 years old. By comparison, the United States has a crime rate of 47.70%. So, if you want a reason for the exodus northward, there you go. U.S. imposed sanctions.

Economic issues have affected other countries in the region as well, such as the Caribbean island nations of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Their problems are primarily the result of inept governments, rudimentary infrastructure, failed social programs and perpetual poverty. 

The result is chronic unemployment and high crime rates (Trinidad and Tobago are ranked sixth in the world while Jamaica is tenth).  Another key factor, not found elsewhere, is the weather. Due to climate change, the Caribbean has found itself in bull's eye of some of the worse tropical storms and hurricanes on record.

Most of these countries have long depended on the tourist trade to pump money into the economy, but the weather and crime has caused tourists to go elsewhere. As an aside, in 2023, the U.S. pumped $110 billion dollars in humanitarian aid into Haiti alone. Without this aid, we'd see a much larger exodus northward toward the U.S. Compare that with $16 billion in aid (humanitarian and military) to Ukraine in 2023 and $3.3 billion to Israel.  

Brazil is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world. It is a key member of the economic union know as "BRICs" along with China, India and Russia, among others. Few know that Brazil was one the world's most impacted nations by the Covid-19 epidemic . The economy had been growing at a steady rate of 3.3% between pre-Covid 2001 and 2014. But between 2014 and 2020, the economy shrunk by the same percentage of 3.3%.

However, things bounced back by 2021 with growth rate of 5.5% followed by 2.9% in 2022 and 2.6% in 2023. Despite this, Brazil has seen a relatively high crime rate of 23.6 per 100,000 (ranked 9th in the world). It previously had been as high as 30.8. Unemployment is about 7.8% thus far for 2024, Compare that 2.6% in Mexico. The poverty rate is slightly higher than it neighbors at 24.3%.

Mexico, which has borne the brunt immigration crisis, has the 15th largest economy in the world and the second largest in Latin America behind Brazil. However, for the last 30 years, the Mexican economy has underperformed in terms of economic growth, poverty reduction, and the development of a strong middle class according to the World Bank.  

The  Mexican economy grew at just 2% between 1980 and 2022, though in 2023 it saw a growth rate of 3.2%. However, poverty, while dropping from 43.9% in 2020, still remains high at 36.3% in 2022.

Other countries in Latin America are facing economic difficulties due to a slow global economy (bearing in mind that the majority of these countries are rural and dependent of agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism, not to mention U.S. and international aid. As a result, many of these countries have expanded their trade interests from one based primarily on the U.S. to one based more on China, as well as Asia and the EU.

However, China's economy has cooled somewhat which has had the expected ripple effect on some of its poorer trading partners.  The result has been something of a unbalanced unemployment rate and largely stagnant poverty levels. Relatively high global interest rate and inflation remains a serious problem in servicing debt and public programs. As a result, we see moderately high unemployment along with a reduction in social programs, adding to poverty.

While "economic amnesty" is not recognized, under other forms of amnesty, an individual must seek sanctuary in the "next nearest safe country" . In Latin America, it appears there is no "safe" country. Just varying levels of poverty and unemployment. So, we see possible explanation for thousands of individuals willing to make the long walk to the U.S..

The next big issue is "who" is encouraging these individuals to come to America. Surely they know that illegal immigrants aren't welcome in America. They must know what they'll face when they get to the border. Are they delusional enough to think they'll be an exception? No doubt the drug cartels encourage these people to sell everything they have to make the long and often brutal journey, as long as they make money.

The cartels, using "coyotes" or guides, charge roughly $200 per person (which is a fortune for most of these people). In lieu of money (or even with it), they are often forced to smuggle drugs or other illegal contraband. Sometimes, they are only able to send their children to friends or relatives until they can raise the money to follow. In many cases, there's no assurance the children will reach their destination or that they'll ever see them again.

Using cartel connected coyotes is very dangerous. Immigrants have often reported being beaten, raped while seeing others murdered. The trip is fraught with other dangers such a injuries and no medical facilities (often the coyotes will confiscate any personal medication), corrupt cops and militias who have to regularly be bribed, as well as the lack of food or fresh water while dealing with the weather conditions and having no shelter other than what they brought with them.  

Aside from drug cartels, there are the various religious organizations, especially Catholic. 57.1% of Hispanics are Catholic. Most are historically highly devout and closely follow the dictates of their parish priest.  In America, Catholics are much more open minded and don't give the same level of credence to the priest's instructions, treating them more like  "suggestions" to be followed...or not at one's own discretion.   

From the 1960's onward, most conservative churches have been dying, especially Catholic, causing many parishes to merge while closing numerous schools and other institutions. In addition, there have been fewer priests and nuns signing up. The average age of a priest in 1970 was 30. Today it's 63. When it comes to nuns, only 1% are under 30 with the average age being 80! 

With the immigration of individuals from mostly Catholic Latin America, it's hoped this trend can be reversed. Thus, they are offered shelter (and presumably legal sanctuary since most law enforcement agencies won't enter a religious institution) once they cross the border, as well as help find housing, a job, help with translations and getting various services at taxpayer expense, and of course, religious services are offered in their native Spanish or Portuguese.  

However, to the chagrin of these churches is that a growing number of immigrants, while taking advantage of the services offered, are leaving the restrictions of the church behind. A good number are converting to Islam faster than any other demographic. In fact, in Latin America itself, Islam has grown by 23% with Shiites outnumbering Sunnis. A smaller, but significant percentage, have converted to Evangelical  Protestantism. So, we find not just Catholic organizations encouraging migrants northward, so apparently are Islamic and Protestant organizations too.

Illegal immigration has become more than a political issue of right versus wrong in terms of following the law. It's become an economic issue as employers seek a cheap work force not dependent on unions and are willing to accept long hours for very little money without complaining, thus forcing the traditional workforce to work for less too.

 Various religious groups are looking to grow their numbers and political clout. Meanwhile, mostly traditional conservative Americans are desperately trying to hold on to an America they see slipping through their hands like Texas sand. Hitler once praised Islam, saying that he wished all Germans were Muslims because Islam makes people compliant to authority.

So why isn't Washington doing anything? Simple. The federal government is on the side of Big Business. They fill their coffers, provide the perks and underwrite their campaigns. Both political parties may pretend to be concerned about illegal immigration, but remember that both the Democrats and Republicans are corporate owned and controlled. In truth, they are only concerned to the level Wall Street is. Meanwhile, Washington and Wall Street will continue to offer smoke and mirrors as our America slowly evaporates before our eyes.  

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Sanctions during the VenezuelanCrisis

How Sanctions Contributed to Venezuela's Economic Collapse

 

World Population Review: Crime RateBy Country 2024

USAID: Providing AdditionalHumanitarian Assistance to Respond to Rising Needs in Haiti

Foreign Aid By Country: Who's getting the most---and how much?

Latin America economic outlook, November 2023

 

Why are more Hispanics converting to Islam...

 

The Seeds of Destruction

There's expression which seems to aptly apply to the current state of America like no other which goes like this,  "every revolution contains within it the seed to its own destruction". The expression originates from author Frank Herbert's magnum opus, "Dune", first serialized in the sci-fi magazine "Analog" from 1963 through 1965 and finally published as a book in 1965.

The expression was given voice by the character "Princess Irulan", the emperor's daughter, as she said "...if history teaches us anything, it's simply this: every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. And empires that rise will one day fall". Have truer words ever been spoken (even if only by a fictional character)?

The United States was founded based on the concept of freedom of the individual, no matter what that entailed. We had the right to live where we wanted. To believe---or not---what we wanted. To lives our lives with as little government interference as possible. This was to be the land where the individual was sovereign. 

We welcomed everyone with a dream and who longed for freedom. It was here that a "seed" of the revolution which was planted by our Founding Fathers. In time it would be called The Tree of Liberty. It would bear fruit and shade for all Mankind or so hope our nation's Founders.

 That seed has struggled to survive. It's been watered with the sweat and blood of countless Americans. Some have sought to dig it up while others wanted to cage it and change it. Now that seed has grown into something not wholly expected.

We allowed ourselves to become distracted. We turned over its care to those for whom care was their own interests. They watered it too freely with our blood and sweat. They pruned too deeply, cutting away the lives of our young men and women for their temporal benefit like placing a rose in a vase. They deprived it of nourishment by cutting off its sources of knowledge as others poisoned its roots with lies and distortions.

The Republic created on that hot July day in Philadelphia in 1776 has passed as all empires do in their Autumns, yet those who destroyed haven't allowed it to fully take its place in history. They sought to hide what they've done by showing us reflections.   

Perhaps we were willing to be deceived. Unable to face what we had allowed.  But if we're to save it, we must let it go and salvage what we can. It's decay didn't result from the idea itself. The seed itself was good. Perhaps it placed too much faith on the individual. It's slow decay the result of our lack of attention. In the end, it shows that freedom is never free or safe, even in soil where it was planted.

 

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Living in a Dystopian America: How Did We Get Here and Can We Get Back?

The world seems like it's in some strange "Twilight Zone" episode. One could almost envision Rod Serling standing off to the side narrating the "peaceful" Antifa and BLM riots, demonizing those who refuse to accept restraints on freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, or justifying the ongoing fight between teachers, social groups, the courts and parents over the "right" of their children undergoing a gender change...and without their parent's permission or even knowledge!  The parent's refusal could mean the removal of your children from your home and their placement in a state run center.

Since when do third parties and institutions get to dictate the gender identification of children to their parents? As it is, they've dumbed down the quality of education and attempted to indoctrinate them politically. Is the creation of "Stepford" children now the objective of public education?  

We have major cities defying federal laws by declaring themselves "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants, and then have the audacity to ask the federal government for additional taxpayer money to deal with the mass influx of immigrants! Many of these same cities have passed laws to allow the homeless to sleep or camp wherever they want. They're free to occupy the city parks, panhandle where they want, and worse of all, they're allowed to use the bathroom anywhere they want---alleys, sidewalks, doorways or wherever.

Drug use and related crime has become rampant. The solution? Distribute free syringes and needles! Some of the homeless suffer from mental illness, so government cuts the very programs which could help them along with making low costs housing harder to find and afford. 10% of the homeless population, or about 67,000 men and women are veterans, and yet more  resources are spent on illegal immigrants than on those who served this country. What could be more dystopian than that?

Government corruption and incompetence has reached record highs while public trust has in its national institutions have reached record lows. Only two in ten Americans---20%--- admit to having any trust in Washington. The mainstream media no longer provides impartial factual news, it provides "informational entertainment", which is a polite way to say partisan propaganda. But perhaps worse of all,  we're so conditioned to it that most of us barely even register a response!

The result is that we are now more deeply divided along more issues than at any time in our nation's history with the exception of the late 1850's; the decade which preceded the Civil War. Wall Street has turned America into a defacto corporate oligarchy. How did it get this way? What happened to us?

I came across a short (21: 48) video put out by "After Skool" entitled "Mass Psychosis:  How an Entire Population Became Mentally Ill" (aka "A Killing of the Mind").  The video, done in conjunction with Academy of Ideas, explores how the ruling oligarchy has managed to manipulate entire populations in order to create essentially a society based on mass delusions which just might help explain how we got to where we are.

 If you are serious about wanting to know how we got to where we are and how we can get out of it, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to watch this video. The link is below. 

 

Click Here:

Mass Psychosis:  How an Entire Population Became Mentally Ill

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Is a Civil War in the Cards for America?

 It's been said here many times, and I think it's appropriate to say it again. America is more divided than at any time since just before the Civil War just over 150 years. We are actually more divided on the number of issues than were our forefathers, and the division on those issues appears to be at least as deep as it was back in the late 1850's. There seems to be the same lack of interest in compromise. Politics has become, for all intent and purpose, scorched earth.  It's all or nothing.

Let's look as the recent 2022 election. For the first time (at least in recent history), there was a protest which morphed into an attempt at a coup by intimidation. Such was the anger directed at Congress. But who was really surprised? The approval rating for the House has been in the toilet for decades as has that of the Senate.

 In most countries, with approval ratings like these (some as low as 9%, but most around low 20's) would have already triggered a revolution.  What did we expect? Even the judicial system has shown negative numbers along almost every other institution in America. Ironically, despite the Antifa and BLM "peaceful" riots and lootings, the police was one of the few institutions whose numbers were positive (along with the military).  

As of September 2022, some ten months after the Presidential election, 61% of Republicans believe the election was rigged; that Joe Biden didn't win the election fairly. On the other side of that coin, some 64% of voters don't believe the January 6 protest was spontaneous. In both instances that's 6 out 10 individuals (as an aside, immediately after the election 70% of Republicans and conservatives that the election was stolen).

To make matters worse, the majority of Americans no longer trust the mainstream media (or as conservatives now call it, "lamestream" media). To further irritate the Right, the liberal media continues to call the opposition to Biden's election the "Big Lie", echoing Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels' use of the term when referring to his brand of propaganda (a backhanded way of calling Republicans and conservatives "Nazis").

When Trump was President, the Left routinely waved flags and chanted "not my President" and the media encouraged it. When Trump supporters did the same thing (referring to Biden), it's suddenly "anti-American". Could the bias get any more obvious? 

Meanwhile, political establishment has lined up to go after Trump and his supporters every way they can, with the media carrying virtual non-stop coverage despite continuously getting some of their lowest viewership numbers ever.

The media's role has traditionally been providing the American People and the world with impartial and unbiased news. It's essential to a free nation. However, since Watergate the media (which has come under an ever tightening control of a smaller and smaller number of corporate owners) has become increasingly biased as to be essentially nothing more than the mouthpiece of their owners.

According to a Gallup Poll from October 2022, only 34% of Americans trust the mainstream media...despite how slick or sincere they look. When broken down by the partisanship, 70% of Liberals and Democrats trust the media, which given its liberal list, isn't surprising. 14% of conservatives and Republicans agree (likely Fox viewers), along with 11% of Independents (the nation's majority political bloc).

In case you're wondering, 96+% of all media is owned by just five corporations. That means everything you read, see, and hear. It also includes the movies you watch. The music formats you hear. The newspapers, magazines, and even what books are published.

They control internet content (and who gets censored, blocked, or "shadow blocked" such as yours truly). They even willing cooperate with government agencies in turning over personal information. Joseph Goebbels would have wet dreams over this kind of clout!

So, how serious it is...really? Well, it ain't good. According to a poll taken in August 2022 said that 66% of Americans believe that the divisions in this country have gotten worse since 2021. 62% of those think things are going to get worse with 60% expecting an increase in political violence.

Another poll from August 2022, roughly 43% of those polled think a civil war is likely in the next 10 years. A further 14% expect something close to a Civil War within the next decade or so. 55% of Republicans and conservatives agreed. So did 40% of Democrats. A earlier poll, from July 2022, indicated the number of Americans who expected a civil war sometime "over the next several years" was 50%.

The liberal leaning Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights was even more pessimistic. They said that 78% of Americans believe democracy is currently "under attack" (it is, but not by who they think). 53% think that America will no longer be a democracy in four to five years (not breaking news: we never were a democracy. We were a Republic, but no longer. We're a neo-fascist Corporatocracy). 54% say we're on the path to a civil war.

As an aside, their polling also indicated that race relations in America is getting worse. 62% say that discrimination against blacks is a "big problem". 62% think the government should do more to protect blacks. 66% want the government to take steps to lessen racial inequality while 55% want to see the government to do more to end income inequality. 67% want to see gay marriage protected while 62% want to protect abortion rights. 

A University of Virginia poll from  October 2020 said that they felt America was already in a cold civil War. The same poll also showed that 41% of those who voted for Joe Biden thought it was time to "split the country".  The Institute of Politics at Harvard's Kennedy School released an even more stunning poll result.

According to their poll, over half of those under 30 years of age saw America as "failing" with over one-third expecting a civil war in their lifetimes. But what if that happened? Well, the Civil War was the bloodiest America has ever experienced bar none. Approximately 600,000 people died during the four year conflict. 

Using the same percentage killed based on population, that would translate to about 19.8 million today, and that number could easily go higher. Much higher given that we have a far greater percentage of trained veterans as a percentage of population now than they did then, not to mention the deadliness of the weapons available.

They say that every revolution contains within its own seeds for self-destruction. While the Civil War was fought to preserve the Union, America's future might be more balkanized. Our increasing diversity---racial, ethnic, and so forth, all under the guise of "multiculturalism" may well be the culprit.  It has already manifested itself in our politics by challenging our values, traditions, and even language.  

These changes are showing up in our neighborhoods and communities in the form of more drugs, more crime, and more violence, especially in the form of racial and ethnic gangs murdering for control of territory. In some instances, they demand "their own" do the policing, which is rejection of our legal system.

We already see "Little Havana", "Little Vietnam", "Little China", "Little Columbia", and so on. No longer do they seek to mix and integrate into their new homeland as our immigrant ancestors before them had done. Instead, they remain aloof and separate. Some don't even bother to learn English or allow their children to be taught the language despite being supported by taxpayer dollars, adding insult to injury.

Perhaps the only solution would be the balkanization of America, leaving  it a loosely based confederation of regions. It's happened before. It happened in Ancient Greece, in Ancient Rome, the Holy Roman Empire, the British Empire, and elsewhere. We are, as humans, naturally tribal after all.

 One thing is for sure, doing nothing will not only result in a de facto balkanization along various social, racial, and economic lines, under a neo-fascist Corportracy, but also allow the increasing diverse cultures to come into conflict, providing a greater excuse for the expansion of the surveillance state.

It seems there is only one other option, and that's to accept the multiculturalism on our own terms. But that means that the country we've known---our collective history---and we grew up with has to be allowed to fade into the past. No dominance of any one race or culture or language. It means changes in laws, values, and acceptance of different or perhaps new religions which could dominate or replace older ones. It means starting over again as a country surrounded by those who wish us harm.

It's possible. It's too has happened before, under Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, the Kings of Persia, and, albeit briefly, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. You could even include the Mongol Empire. But it's all dependent on maintaining liberal societies along with tolerant leaders and capable administrators. The instant someone comes who shows a preference or a tendency toward despotism, and it crumbles. Some have suggested an economic and political system run by artificial intelligence.

The power elites who dominate this country has been trying to divide us any way they can for decades. In that they've been largely successful. Divided we are easily controlled and manipulated. United and we're unstoppable, but can we do it? We've reached one of those historical crossroads. A "Rubicon" if you'd like, which will be crossed whether we want to or not. What will it be?  

 

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Poll: 61% of Republicans still believe Biden didn't win fair and square in 2020

64% Think The January 6th Attack On The Capital Was Planned

Americans' Trust of the media Remains Near Record Lows.

Two in five Americans say a civil war is at least likely inthe next decade...

Leadership Conference  Poll:  54 Percent Fear America Is on the Path to Another Civil War...

Imagine another American Civil War, but this time in everystate

The Rise and Fall of Multicultural Empires

 

Yes Virginia, America is Becoming Fascist: The Myth of a Socialist America

We all see it nearly every time we get onto social media. Some group or another is trying to promote the concept that America is on the fast track toward socialism, Nazism, Communism, or whatever. They produce a list of greatly distorted "statistics', coupled with a picture of Hitler, Marx, or one of the other nefarious "villains" from the authoritarian pantheon of recent history.

The object is, of course, to spoon feed you and the rest of the public something approaching Pablum which is suppose to pass for knowledge. In trust, that's not Pablum they're peddling.  If you bother to look who's behind these sponsored posts,, you'll usually find that they're some extremist group looking to build support for some issue or bill, and not uncommonly, looking for some of your money.

Of course, social media being what it is, people tend to simply forward along what they see on the surface without doing much (or any) research. It's objective is to use our first impression and what we want to believe (all facts aside) and to function as "click bait". We do their marketing for them.  We've been conditioned to associate certain images, phrases, and images with particular emotions. We see a hammer and sickle, we automatically think Stalin or gulags. We see a swastika, and it's Hitler and concentration camps.

Today's political marketers have learned to link those images. If you're conservative, an image of Obama almost automatically triggers an image of Hitler or Stalin, if not Satan incarnate. If you're liberal, the same image practically makes you think of the Second Coming.  

Nowadays, we're being conditioned (just like Pavlov's dog or lab rats) to react a certain way every time we see or hear the terms "socialism", "Communism", Nazism, or "Fascism". If you're someone who's inquisitive and not willing to accept things at face value (as I am), you want to know why. You want to know who is behind the piece and what they gain and who is on the losing end.

Of course, that requires some thinking for yourself, which, sadly, isn't as common as it once was. The key reason is that education has repeatedly been dumbed down. Students are no longer taught critical thinking skills. Instead, they are taught to memorize what's presented to them and then to regurgitate it back in the form of a "standardized" test. It's no wonder students "graduate" from high school functionally two or three grades below where they should be.

Many students with a high school diploma are reading at a 10th grade level. Their math skills aren't much better. When it comes to history, civics, the sciences, or literature it's worth. The United States repeatedly performs toward the bottom among industrialized nations when it comes to reading, math, and science.

The world academic benchmark, set by the Programme for International Student Assessment (or PISA), ranks 30 of the 64 other industrial nations over the U.S. academically, and this wasn't a one off. It's consistent.  "Why is this?" you might ask yourself.  With the amount of money we spend on education and teachers, we shouldn't be ranked alongside second tier countries, and you would be right.

An ignorant populace, is a populace easily led. We've often heard the old maxim that employers want employees just smart enough to the job but not smart enough to question their bosses. Well, imagine that from a political perspective--- creating voters just smart enough to follow along but not smart enough to question their leaders.

People are usually so preoccupied with a increasingly chaotic "life" , they have no time or interest in researching what's actually happening (even if they knew where to look), not to mention confused and frustrated by the constant partisan bickering and crisis "de jure".

Most just want to turn on some mindless "reality" or game show, or watch a mediocre sitcom, Sadly, they're so brain numb from merely surviving the daily grind to recognize all the subtle political messaging in the shows and commercials (it's called "programming" for a reason you know).   

America, as almost everyone knows, is no longer the "America" of their youth. It's changed, and not for the better. Corporations literally own both parties and their politicians. While both operate behind a self-constructed image that they are the one and only "true" protectors of all that's good and righteous, they serve many of the same corporate masters.

In case you haven't noticed, the mindset in Washington, as well as in state capitals and city halls has changed. They no longer see themselves as our employees "hired" to represent our interests. They view themselves as our superiors; ours "betters". They represent themselves and their friends (who are their "friends"? We'll get to that shortly), but it will suffice to say that at this point, the relationship between (s)elected officials and us is akin to that of master and a serf.

Their lobbyists openly write the legislation and shepherd it through committee after committee, until it finally becomes law. The only conflict, which is hidden behind partisan banners, is between competing corporate interests.

Corporations don't see nations. They see economic zones with governments serving as managers. It doesn't matter if they wear blue ties or red ones as long as they do as they're told. They dictate domestic and foreign policy, which includes the use of the military to force open access to markets or gain control over resources and assets; control is, after all, the name of the game.

Corporations are not democracies, nor are they intended to be democracies. They are, by their very nature, dictatorships. The workers don't get to vote on what they want to do, how much they get paid, or time off. You do the job or you either quit or get fired. Unions give you---the worker---a little more say in your job, but ultimately, it's do as you're told or leave.

The founder of modern Fascism, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, described Fascism as a integration between government and big business; a hand in glove arrangement (hand in mailed fist might be a better analogy).  Fascism borrows from both the Left and Right, depending on a country's history, traditions, laws, and values.

That's why the Fascism of Italy was different from that of Hungary or Romania, which were different from the Fascism of Germany (yes, Nazism is a form of Fascism), which in turn differed from that of Spain or Argentina (or later, in various post-WWII nations in South America which we installed after overthrowing their elected governments). It's also why it can be so confusing.

Fascism can have a centralized leadership, such as Germany did for instance, or it can have a broader committee style leadership like in Italy or Spain. Fascism allows for private business, though smaller shops tend to get forced out by the larger companies. Under Communism, there is literally no private anything---homes, businesses, banks, energy; nothing.  The state controls all.

With Fascism, there is private ownership. However, wages are regulated. Unions get eliminated, nationalized, or assimilated by the company as they are now. The social safety net, interestingly, is often typically enhanced. The government may outsource functions, including social services, to some anonymous corporation which doesn't always have to follow the rules. The police become militarized. There is also the development of a surveillance system, which can morph into a police state.

Additionally, the government/corporate partnership seek to weaken the opposition. They do this by acquiring control of the media and fomenting distention. They use the media to introduce "acceptable" behavior or thought while vilifying others. This includes political parties or ideologies. They also infiltrate various groups and work to either weaken or destroy them.

Along the same lines, they pit groups against each other through manufactured events. Using the media, they invent or play up stories to increase hostilities and suspension. The idea is to create a volatile social situation or crisis whereby the public will, at some point, demand martial law to restore order, which they will be more than willing to do. There is a sense of "empire", be it military, economic, or both. 

With Communism, private ownership of guns aren't permitted except by special permission. Under Fascism, there is a tendency to restrict gun ownership unless total elimination is possible. Despite urban myth to the contrary, the Nazis didn't strip guns from the population. In fact, it was the opposite.

The mainly socialist Weimar government, with pressure from the powerful Communist wing, greatly curtailed the private ownership of guns following WWI. The Nazis, however, restored private ownership of guns with the exception of criminals, Jews, Gypsies, and those deemed as "politically unreliable" such as Communists, anarchists, socialists, and pro-democracy individuals.

While I'm at it, to dispel another popular myth, the Nazis weren't anti-bible, anti-Christian or anti-religion. Religion functioned openly under the Nazis, though a faction had a "pagan" aspect to it, and some Nazis leaders regarded themselves as "neo-pagans".  They did try to introduce something called "Positive Christianity" which purged all Jewish references in the bible, but it wasn't very successful.

 They did, however, prohibit religions like Jehovah Witnesses, Quakers, Pentecostals because of their "anti-state" beliefs. However, the average German continued on as before, with some being Protestant (mainly Lutheran) and others Catholic.  Even the belt buckle of German soldiers had the motto "Gott Mit Uns" (God is With Us) on it.  Communism is officially atheist while democratic socialism is totally open.

Under democratic socialism, there is private property and capitalism, but it's not runaway or predatory capitalism. Certain key businesses, like energy, defense, utilities, national security consultants, banks and financial companies are regulated or nationalized. There is no such thing as "to big to fail" and  having bad business decisions bailed out by taxpayers.

There is usually a national healthcare system and a strong social safety net. Under socialism, there wouldn't be, for instance, a income inequality of 830 : 1 (that's $830 dollars to CEOs for every $1 an ordinary worker gets), or a loss of company benefits. There wouldn't be hungry kids or homeless vets. But, there's also high taxes and prices to cover the costs of all these government services.

It's interesting to note that those companies I mentioned above just so happen to be the big dogs in Washington. I wonder what they and their partisan party boy pals would think of that?  So, democratic socialism is blend of private and public control.  American capitalism historically put more emphasis on individuality and less government interference, allowing the marketplace to dictate who made it and who fails.

 Since the 1930's, there has been limited increases in regulation and a taxpayer sponsored public safety net like President Johnson's "War on Poverty" or the Clean Air and Water acts. Small businesses prospered and unions were strong. People mostly did for themselves. Union membership also declined from 35% of the workforce in 1954 to 12% in 2007 as many of issues unions campaigned for became federal law and more states (especially in the South) adopted "Right to Work" laws. As an aside, the United States is the only industrial nation which doesn't have a Labor party.

We all know the Republic is all but a shell of its former self; an illusion or PR construct. Most academics agree that we've become a Corporatocracy (a neo-fascist blending of state and big business), led by an elite group of very wealthy individuals and corporations. Some call them an oligarchy while others refer to them as a kleptocracy.  To those 99% of us on the bottom, it's all semantics.

The real question is what do you see? The strong vibrant America of your youth or an America becoming controlled more and more by an all powerful centralized state as it acquires private property and manner of businesses, including banks, brokerages firms, the media, oil companies, and the total collapse of Wall Street? If so, that could be Communism.  

Perhaps you see a growing unregulated corporate control over government; a revolving door between government officials and big business; distrust of the media and even elections; a weakening public impact on government? That could be Fascism or Corporatism if you prefer the more modern term.

If you see an increase in government regulation or nationalization of key strategic businesses, an expanding social safety net, growing unions, worker co-ops, and more public input, then maybe you're seeing democratic socialism. As for me,  I see an America in serious trouble and in need of patriots.

 

As Union membership has fallen, the top 10% have beengetting a larger share of income

Labor Unions in the United States

Corporatocracy