STONE HEAD SUNDAY

        Leaving the depressing sociopolitical scene for the moment, there has been an interesting online debate in other corners of the Blogosphere. Commenter Ark, who's appeared here a few times, began a discussion yesterday at InsanityBytes' blog promoting Atheism, which has spilled over into today, and over at The Lion's Den, and probably elsewhere. Admittedly, it's hard to follow all of this: at our site, a half-dozen comments qualifies as a lively discussion.😏

      Anyway, Ark made three points which the debate has turned upon:

              1. Believers indoctrinate children with this unfounded nonsense.
              2.Believers try in inveigle religion into society
              3.Religion is supernaturalism, brutal, violent and divisive.

      Actually, if Ark phrased it this way: "Some professed believers &c." I'd probably agree with the first two points and even the third with some qualification. The way that he stated these points is too general overall. Let's examine his points:

      1. Believers indoctrinate children with this unfounded nonsense. All civilized cultures recognize the indefeasible right of parents to be responsible for the spiritual instruction of the young. However, in the United States, parents are willing instead to turn over as much of their duties to the State or external institutions as possible; so in this sense, Ark has a point. Even countries like China respect the principle of parental responsibility more than the contemporary US does. 

    The State has no right nor authority to interfere in these matters at all, regardless of whether one believes what's being taught is unfounded nonsense or not. The only occasion for State intervention is when the laws are violated as to abusive or grossly negligent behavior on the parents' part. 

    2. Believers try to inveigle religion into society. Again, some do and some don't. Our Founding Fathers led off the Bill of Rights with Freedom of Religion for a reason (and many of them were 'believers'). Unfortunately, in the Postmodern US, we've seen a rise of Christian Nationalism which largely rejects the idea. The Founders justly were concerned that, in a pluralistic society like ours, a very narrowly-defined version of religious interpretation could force its way into power. 

   In countries like Russia, they've taken the more rational approach of setting up a council of religious leaders to advise on social issues. It's headed by the Russian Orthodox Church though the many religions of Russia have a seat at the table. In Russia, the approach has been effective because everyone has a voice; and has led to several humanitarian relief efforts abroad, as well as blockading corrosive threats to society and suppressing dangerous religious cults. 

  However, this is not what American Christian Nationalists have in mind. They envision something closer to 15th-Century Spain, only with Prosperity-Gospel Megachurch pastors in charge instead of Popes and Cardinals, and the Holy See in Hollywood as opposed to Rome. Lest we imagine, however, that Catholics aren't as susceptible to the same ideas, consider a comment recently left on a Catholic site:

   "The so-called Dark Ages were precisely the time that Europe turned towards God. These were the centuries one might say began with St. Augustine and St. Benedict, proceeded through Charlemagne and led up to the marvelous 11th century. Would that today's world had half the faith of the Dark Ages!!!"

   After I pointed out that the Dark Ages were a harrowing time of tyranny, poverty and ignorance, the commenter countered that:

   "The Inquisition was highly effective in maintaining religious and social stability and was not as bad as people's lurid imaginings. Read some responsible historian on the topic. Feudalism as a sociopolitical arrangement is neither good nor bad. It did provide people with a sense of purpose at their level. I wonder if our modern arrangement or disarrangement is better. As for literacy, I think it is highly overrated. What good has come from everyone knowing how to read? As Our Lord said, we'll always have poverty. It is a relative term."

   In fairness to Ark, stupidity like this creates Atheists more efficiently that all of the Scientistic theories put together do. Which brings us to Ark's final point:

   3. Religion is Supernaturalism: brutal, violent, and divisive. In this case, Ark is confounding Religion with Fanaticism, and also stretches the term 'Supernaturalism.' There are people who firmly believe in God, angels, demons, heavens and hells who don't belong to any organized religion (and actually they tend to be the least brutal, violent, and divisive of people).

     I think that it's noteworthy here to comment that Christianity---and to some extent traditional Judaism---are the only two religions that I know of where the prophets and apostles are depicted in the Sacred Writings as denouncing and opposing the leadership of their own religions. The earlier of the Jewish prophets (e.g. Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, Micah) were not exactly revered by the Religious Establishments of their day for exposing the corruption and hypocrisy rife within them; just as Christ did in His time, and the Apostles speak at considerable length about religious charlatans. The maxim "By their fruits you shall know them" applies to religious leaders too. Nearly every other religion teaches belief in a leader or system whereas ours specifically says, "Try the spirits to see whether they are of God or not:" in other words, don't believe everything you hear just because an authority says so. 

     Faith is dependent upon Reason and Free-Will. Obviously, a culture that allows the maximum independence of thought also allows the greatest expressions of Faith. Most of our spiritual problems as a society has come from outsourcing our thinking, and it certainly is not a matter of Faith to do so. 

    

    

      

     

BLACK FRIDAY AND THE US TREASURY

        Of all of the Cabinet Posts, the Treasury Department is the second most powerful in the Executive Branch of the US Government, between the State Department and the Attorney-General. The Incoming Government has installed loyal Bush Machine operatives in those latter two agencies. Marco Rubio, a product of Jeb Bush's Florida Swamp and opponent of MAGA until recently, was chosen to head the State Department, while Pam Bondi, another Florida Swampette and former lobbyist for Jeff Bezos, became Attorney-General nominee. 

      Scott Bessent, picked to head the Treasury Department, was one of the last appointed. The Controlled Opposition articles---at least the ones I've read---all celebrate Bessent as "a successful hedge fund manager" and a few have noted that he successfully predicted some of the foreign currency crashes that happened around the turn of the century. The problem here though is that nearly all of these articles leave out the minor detail that the hedge funds that Bessent so skillfully managed belonged to George Soros. It is true that he did predict the currency crises, however, it is not explained that he was able to do so largely because he was the cause of them.

     There's a lot to be said here. Bessent's history was not unknown to anybody, nor was his choice for this position something that only happened last week. Bessent has been on the 'short-list' for Treasury for months. The RNC and the Controlled Opposition obviously knew about his connections to Soros---we even mentioned it here in article last August. As usual, though, American 'Conservatives' decided to look the other way, just like they did with Vivek Ramaswamy, another Soros-connected Woke Republican. 

     Another interesting detail about Bessent comes from his profile, which also is rarely mentioned:

    "Bessent resides in Charleston, South Carolina. Bessent and his husband, former New York City prosecutor John Freeman, have two children."

     Does anybody else remember how, for the past year or so, paid pundits and Controlled Opposition Media figures were throwing up their hands in exasperated outrage about characters like Pete Buttigieg in the Biden Government? 'Oh, how terrible! A globalist who openly flaunts his perversion in a position of high authority! Oh, how did we ever sink to such a level! Things have never been worse than under Biden!', and so forth. Buttigieg was in a Cabinet position much less powerful than Bessent will be, but no matter to the True Believers, apparently. 

    It also evidently is of no concern that as Soros' Chief Financial Officer, Bessent was also directly involved in funding all of Soros' woke causes, including the Migrant Caravans that all of the White Supremacists now in charge of Immigration Policy are so concerned about. 

    Meanwhile, let's all keep on trusting the plan. Keep believing that the Globalist Oligarchs really don't mean what they say, and that all of these sudden converts to MAGA really are Conservatives now and really will put the country back on the right track. After all, controlling the narrative and keeping up appearances are what count: Reality and Reason, not so much. 

 

ZUCKERBERG JOINS 'TEAM WOKE' FOR THANKSGIVING

      President Trump's estate at Mar-a-Lago---which most recently was the scene of mega-fundraisers hosted by the Log Cabin Republicans and homo 'weddings'; held Thanksgiving Dinner today with WEF linchpin Mark Zuckerberg as Guest of Honor. 

     “Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming administration,” Meta said in a statement. “It’s an important time for the future of American innovation.” (Innovation in this case meaning, of course, the growing fusion between the Tech Oligarchy and Big Government). 

    Deputy White House spokesxhe Stephen Miller confirmed on Murdoch's network that “Mark, obviously, has his own interest, and he has his own company and he has his own agenda, but he’s made clear that he wants to support the national renewal of America under Trump's leadership,” (i.e. fast-tracking the Great Reset). Miller, who was a member of the previous Administration until leaked e-mails (largely shared on Zuckerberg's Media platform) exposed his ties to White Supremacist groups, apparently has evolved like Zuckerberg has. 

      Like probably at least half of the incoming Government, Zuckerberg's past crimes will be overlooked and he'll be welcomed by the True Believers and applauded by the Controlled Opposition Media. All that we really need now to complete the picture is for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to come on board; we already have George Soros, Bill Gates, Larry Fink and a host of Bush-RINOs and WEF apparatchiks going for us. 

     Anyway, here at least the sun is shining, the squirrels are out gathering walnuts, some turkey drumsticks are ready for the rotisserie, and some pumpkin pie is headed for the oven. It may not be Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, but there's something to be said for going to sleep at night with a clear conscience. 

      

CHINA ANNOUNCES INITIATIVE TO FIGHT TRASH CULTURE

        Many other nations outside the grip of American Exceptionalism understandably are concerned about preventing the now-obvious cultural rot prevailing in the United States from spreading like a plague into their own cultures. China has been no exception to this trend. The Chinese Government has held a fairly strong line against the importation of recreational drugs and the degenerating influence of America's Media Culture. Resistance to these things has led to a revival in the United States of the Yellow Peril genre in the American Media; which, unlike the Chinese Media, rarely distinguishes between Information and Entertainment.

      China today announced an updated set of guidelines for television programming. They read in part: "The creators should avoid wrapping absurd stories under the guise of realism and using absurd artistic techniques as an excuse to fabricate overly bizarre plots that lack genuine value...It also emphasizes that short-form dramas must not deliberately create appealling points through content that promotes materialism, flaunting wealth, power, or hedonism. The theme and the characterization of the protagonists should not deviate from mainstream values, and micro dramas should avoid promoting the views of getting something for nothing, instant success, or overnight wealth."

      If we had a Standard of Ethics like that in the American Media, 95% of our content would go offline: in fact, probably nothing but archived public-domain television and Classic Movie channels would be left. Not to say that it wouldn't be a positive thing if it happened here; but our Culture is too far gone at this point, and the very thing that China seeks to prevent actually defines contemporary American Culture in many ways.

    When we had a competitive Media Industry in the US, there were Professional Codes of Ethics which had similar guidelines to what China has. There were trashy, low-grade media outlets in existence: but most of them were on the fringes of society. Today, they've become Mainstream Media while productions that involve overly bizarre plots that lack genuine value clearly are on the margins. 

    If Americans still had a capacity for feeling shame, they would be mortified at the fact that the Communist Party of China has a greater commitment to upholding traditional values than we have; we might also start examining how far our own values have degenerated. It's reached the point where celebrities and Media Moguls are being put in charge of running important positions like the Department of Education, the Defense Department, and overseeing government spending, while football stars and talk-show hosts are considered prime candidates for positions like Senators and Governors. 

   That type of soul-searching is badly needed on our part, but is unlikely to happen since our same gutter-level Media has more or less programmed the American mind to believe that anything that China (or any of our other designated scapegoats) do must be bad. We ought to reflect instead upon how their families are stronger, their schools produce educated and productive citizens and they have nothing like the rates of addiction, declining mental and physical health, crime, and gender dysphoria that we have. Our system is supposed to be better; maybe we should start asking ourselves why it once was and why it no longer is. 

THE GREAT RESET STARTS AT HOME

       So, this weekend the Republican Establishment finished filling the top posts in the incoming Executive Branch. To summarize what the finished product looks like: I think that if Jeb Bush, Klaus Schwab, George Soros, Bill Gates, and Joel Osteen sat around a table and devised a Government, it would look about like what we have. There were one or two good choices: Robert Kennedy at HHS and Lori C. DeRemer at the Labor Department---the RINOs, of course, will never let these nominations see the light of day. Still some people are desperate to keep believing:

     That of course is very wishful thinking. I've always admired Nicole Shanahan's idealism, but we live in an era when ideals are considered old-fashioned and action for the sake of action is admired. This Transition Team isn't even bothering with background checks let alone worrying about what Interest Groups are horning their way into positions of power. As we saw during the whole Electoral Farce, most True Believers didn't much care about who took over either, as long as they weren't Democrats (although several 'former Democrats' seem to have gotten a free pass). Among the New Right of today, winning and taking power is a goal in itself: commitment to Conservatism, not so much.

     To underscore the incoming Executive Branch's deep commitment to the Bush Doctrine of enforcing (very selectively) freedom at the point of a gun, the swine in the Corporate Media have been stoking the public for the next upcoming State of Emergency. Because Americans seem to thrive on the excitement of these National Emergencies and there is no shortage of fanatics willing to carry them out, President Trump---or whoever writes his speeches for him---has already vowed to open a new one even before being sworn in. 

    To this end, (certain) immigrants are being designated as the official scapegoat for all of the failings of our culture. We've already mentioned here before how radically the Police/Surveillance State would have to be expanded to enact this kind of drama; and of course, the 'immigrant invasion' is a complete hoax---just like the Scamdemic (which had a 99+% survival rate); or all of the Terrorist Sleeper Cells (that we've never found); or numerous other national panic-attacks which have resulted in temporary losses of freedoms. 

   These outbreaks of mass-hysteria---while they usually have negative consequences for the public engaging in them---typically enrich Government contractors and other such creatures. Bush Jr. even boasted that National Security was the fastest-growing economic sector during his term; and the Scamdemic was by far the largest wealth-transfer in US history. This is all that the next State of Emergency will accomplish as well. 

    

     

     

TRASH CULTURE AND TECHNO-FASCISM

       Throughout the entire 2024 Election Spectacle, there have been many times when the overt pandering to Trash Culture has become so revolting and so impervious to any kind of rational discourse that one really doesn't know what can be said any further. The whirlwind of Executive and Legislative choices accompanying this month's Red Wave has managed so far to be a monumental collection of neurotics, utopian technocrats, perverts, and supremacists of different stripes---it's like a cross-section of American Trash Culture with an actual governing body to affix to its collective empty skull.

     Elon Musk has been at the apex of this grotesque pyramid, not only because he has the most money and the biggest mouth, but because he seems to embody Trash Culture in one personality.

        Indeed, there seems to be a definite trend within the Conservative-Industrial Complex to appoint people who have the largest celebrity cult-followings instead of an actual ability to manage a Government. TV talk-show hosts, along with obnoxious gadflies and frustrated Femiservatives are strongly represented in key positions.

      Yesterday, two more such figures were nominated. Media Mogul Linda McMahon, who brought us such uplifting cultural productions as professional wrestling and lingerie football is going to head the US Department of Education; while TV doctor and WEF member Mehemet Oz will be in charge of Obamacare and the federal medical bureaucracy.

     It's really hard to argue, as the Liberals are trying feebly to do, that this group 'doesn't represent America.' It may not represent American traditions, or American values; but it does seem to reflect what our culture has become over the last three-four decades. As another internet loudmouth, Jack Posobiec, stated at the opening of last February's CPAC Convention: "Welcome to the end of Democracy. We're here to overthrow it completely. We did not get there all the way on Jan. 6th, but we will endeavor to get rid of it!" Well, we certainly can't say that we weren't warned. 

    Actually we seem to be shifting toward a new type of Democracy: one where insta-polls, upvotes, and followers on Social Media authorize the leadership to do what it pleases in complete disregard of established norms. That used to be called Cancel Culture, but now that it's become institutionalized and Republicans are doing it, it's the New Normal. 

   Anyway, it's snowing up in the mountains, Thanksgiving is coming up, we may get a snowfall: Nature, good food, and good friends are still the best antidote to the folly and wickedness of our times. 

   

CENSORSHIP BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL CENSORSHIP

       Well, we probably all recall the outrage poured forth from the Controlled Opposition Media over the last four years about Democrat proposals---instigated by the Oligarchs at the World Economic Forum---about controlling so-called disinformation. This was accompanied by widespread complaints about the Biden/Harris Junta using the power of the State to target and silence Conservative media. After taking control of Congress in 2022, the Republican Party responded by being the most litigious Congress in US History and one which passed the most massive expansions of Government Surveillance, draconian suppression of protests under the Politically-Correct guise of fighting 'antisemitism,' (i.e. enforcing identity politics), and the seizure of Tik-Tok: all of which eagerly were signed into law by Biden. 

      Since 2022, the Republicans have been displaying an increasingly authoritarian direction when it comes to the First Amendment. Several State Governments have, under the pretext of fighting DEI and Woke Ideology, aggressively scrapped such programs and replaced them with their own versions of it. A Conservative approach would have been to break up the Academic Mafia and promoting School Choice; but the New Right isn't overly interested in winning in the Marketplace of Ideas these days; they're more intent on Controlling the Narrative, which obviates choice and rests upon top-down solutions.

     This week, amidst great fanfare, the mangers of the incoming Republican Administration announced a Lawfare scheme against the New York Times. This follows a move the week before the 'Election' aimed at CBS. This is on top of threats by President-Elect top advisor Elon Musk responding to criticism by vowing, “I’m going to find out who’s making these accusations and nuke them...There will be consequences for those who pushed foreign interference hoaxes.The Hammer of Justice is coming!” All of which sentiments suspiciously sound like Musk's confederates at the WEF and their demands that 'disinformation' be suppressed by the authorities. 

    Now no one disputes that Media Cartels like the New York Times and CBS are reprehensible organizations which are a disgrace to journalists everywhere; but suppressing them through Government-sponsored Lawfare and sending a chilling effect throughout the industry isn't the right approach. Most of the Republicans supporting these moves would react with horror if the Democrats did it, and rightly so: but they have no objection and are content to look the other way when media outlets of whom they disapprove receive the same treatment.

    A Conservative way to handle these Media abuses would be the same employed against the Academic Establishment: expand choice options by enforcing Anti-Trust Laws against Media conglomerates and reinstate laws prohibiting things like corporate cross-ownership and market saturation. However, Media Choice is no more an option than School Choice, and for the same reasons. 

    Indeed, aside from the abuses carried out by Repubican Congressmen and State Governors, the Conservative-Industrial Complex has made no especial secret of its hatred for contrary opinion. Recall the ominous productive conversations that Kyle Rittenhouse had with Party goons after refusing to endorse Trump; Joe Rogan had a similar epiphany in August after refusing to make an endorsement. Even Jeff Bezos, discreetly decided not to endorse Kamala Harris at his media outlet, The Washington Post suspiciously a day after Trump officials met with the CEO of Bezos' Space Program at NASA. 

    As Caitlin Johnstone noted, President Trump (or whoever writes his speeches for him) vowed as recently as September "that in his first week in office he’s going to stomp out 'anti-Semitic propaganda on university campuses throughout the United States." 

     "Trump was elected while openly campaigning against free speech, even as his supporters promoted him as a champion of free speech. He campaigned on jailing flag burners as well, for the record. Trump literally standing before an Israeli flag and vowing to kill free speech for the advancement of Israeli information interests makes a lie of everything the so-called “MAGA movement” has ever claimed to stand for and exposes it for the scam it has always been. Trump supporters are already falling all over themselves to justify his warmongering cabinet picks and his vow to crack down on freedom of assembly on college campuses...These people will put zero pressure on Trump to end wars and fight authoritarianism. They’ll bootlick and make excuses throughout the entire four years, just like they did last time. They’re not anti-establishment populists, they just want to feel like anti-establishment populists. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Trump supporters are George W Bush supporters LARPing as Ron Paul supporters."

    The White House Transition Team, headed by Hollywood Media Oligarch Linda McMahon and WEF-orbiter Howard Lutnick, installed South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a hardcore Christian Nationalist as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security---a secret police force illegally created in 2001 by the Neocon Bush Administration. 

     

     Kristi Noem is the Governor of a small state who, like other Femiservatives such as Sarah Palin and Kari Lake, appeals aesthetically to the Oedipal Complexes of many males on the New Right who are comforted by a strong maternal figure protecting the household from evildoers like anti-Israel protesters and immigrant invaders. Shortly before (illegally) dispatching the puny South Dakota National Guard to Texas in support of Governor Abbott's illegal takeover of the Mexican Border, Governor Noem took the rather woke position of passing the "nation's toughest hate-crime law;" but, again, such things are only bad when Democrats do them. 

    The New Right's embrace of pro-censorship policies are wholly in line with the Neoreactionary, or Dark Enlightenment, philosophy espoused by ideologues like Curtis Yarvin, Steve Sailer, Vox Day, and others who categorically reject the idea of a Free Press. This very clearly is the driving force behind Postmodern 'Conservatism' in the United States. By the express admission of its followers, Democracy and Freedom are incompatible; but too many want to overlook minor details like that, sacrificing Liberty for fake 'security.'