lewrockwell--2020-08-06--The Heart of the Matter in the South China Sea

When the Ronald Reagan and Nimitz carrier strike groups recently engaged in “ operations ” in the South China Sea , it did not escape to many a cynic that the US Pacific Fleet was doing its best to turn the infantile Thucydides Trap theory into a self-fulfilling prophecy .
The pro forma official spin , via Rear Adm. Jim Kirk , commander of the Nimitz , is that the ops were conducted to “ reinforce our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific , a rules-based international order , and to our allies and partners ” .
Nobody pays @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real message was delivered by a CIA operative posing as diplomat , Secretary of State Mike “ We Lie , We Cheat , We Steal ” Pompeo : “ The PRC has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region ” , in a reference to the Nine-Dash Line .
For the State Dept.
, Beijing deploys nothing but “ gangster tactics ” in the South China Sea .
The Third Revolution : ... Economy , Elizabeth C. Best Price : $ 10.48 Buy New $ 15.27 Once again , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facts on the sea are stark .
Anything that moves in the South China Sea – China ’ s crucial maritime trade artery – is at the mercy of the PLA , which decides if and when to deploy their deadly DF-21D and DF-26 “ carrier killer ” missiles .
There ’ s absolutely no way the US Pacific Fleet can win a shooting war in the South China Sea .
A crucial Chinese report , unavailable and not referred to by Western media , and translated by Hong Kong-based analyst Thomas Wing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ context .
The report refers to US Growler electronic warplanes rendered totally out of control by electronic jamming devices positioned on islands and reefs in the South China Sea .
According to the report , “ after the accident , the United States negotiated with China , demanding that China dismantle the electronic equipment immediately , but it was rejected .
These electronic devices are an important part of China ’ s maritime defense and are not offensive weapons .
Therefore , the US military ’ s request for dismantling is unreasonable.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that the systems – including electronic jamming – deployed by the PLA on islands and reefs in the South China Sea , covering more than half of the total surface , are considered by Beijing to be part of the national defense system .
We Have Been Harmonize ... Strittmatter , Kai Buy New $ 30.99 I have previously detailed what Admiral Philip Davidson , when he was still a nominee to lead the US Pacific Command ( PACOM ) , told the US Senate .
Here are his Top Three conclusions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the “ secret ” of the Indo-Pacific strategy : at best a containment exercise , as China continues to solidify the Maritime Silk Road linking the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean .
The South China Sea is and will continue to be one of the prime geopolitical flashpoints of the young 21st century , where a great deal of the East-West balance of power will be played .
I have addressed this elsewhere in the past in some detail , but a short historical background is once again absolutely essential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ South China Sea increasingly looks and feels like a Chinese lake .
Let ’ s start in 1890 , when Alfred Mahan , then president of the US Naval College , wrote the seminal The Influence of Sea Power Upon History , 1660-1783 .
Mahan ’ s central thesis is that the US should go global in search of new markets , and protect these new trade routes through a network of naval bases .
That is the embryo of the US Empire of Bases – which remains in effect .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that came up with most land borders and maritime borders of states bordering the South China Sea : Philippines , Indonesia , Malaysia , Vietnam .
We are talking about borders between different colonial possessions – and that implied intractable problems from the start , subsequently inherited by post-colonial nations .
Historically , it had always been a completely different story .
The best anthropological studies ( Bill Solheim ’ s , for instance ) define the semi-nomadic communities who really traveled and traded across the South China Sea from time immemorial as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for “ south island ” and “ people ” .
America ’ s Global ... Sempa , Francis Best Price : $ 6.18 Buy New $ 14.96 The Nusantao were not a defined ethnic group .
They were a maritime internet .
Over centuries , they had many key hubs , from the coastline between central Vietnam and Hong Kong all the way to the Mekong Delta .
They were not attached to any “ state ” .
The Western notion of “ borders ” did not even exist .
In the mid-1990s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of their descendants in Indonesia and Vietnam .
So it was only by the late 19th century that the Westphalian system managed to freeze the South China Sea inside an immovable framework .
Which brings us to the crucial point of why China is so sensitive about its borders ; because they are directly linked to the “ century of humiliation ” – when internal Chinese corruption and weakness allowed Western “ barbarians ” to take possession of Chinese land .
The Nine Dash Line is an immensely complex problem .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bai Meichu , a fierce nationalist , in 1936 , initially as part of a “ Chinese National Humiliation Map ” in the form of a “ U-shaped line ” gobbling up the South China Sea all the way down to James Shoal , which is 1,500 km south of China but only over 100 km off Borneo .
The Nine Dash Line , from the beginning , was promoted by the Chinese government – remember , at the time not yet Communist – as the letter of the law in terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the South China Sea .
One year later , Japan invaded China .
Japan had occupied Taiwan way back in 1895 .
Japan occupied the Philippines in 1942 .
That meant virtually the entire coastline of the South China Sea being controlled by a single empire for the fist time in history .
The South China Sea had become a Japanese lake .
Well , that lasted only until 1945 .
The Japanese did occupy Woody Island in the Paracels and Itu Aba ( today Taiping ) in the Spratlys .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear-bombing Japan , the Philippines became independent in 1946 and the Spratlys immediately were declared Filipino territory .
In 1947 , all the islands in the South China Sea got Chinese names .
And in December 1947 all the islands were placed under the control of Hainan ( itself an island in southern China . )
New maps duly followed , but now with Chinese names for the islands ( or reefs , or shoals ) .
But there was a huge problem : no one explained the meaning of those dashes ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : China : How Was ... Engdahl , F William Best Price : $ 4.93 Buy New $ 14.89 In June 1947 the Republic of China claimed everything within the line – while proclaiming itself open to negotiate definitive maritime borders with other nations later on .
But , for the moment , there were no borders .
And that set the scene for the immensely complicated “ strategic ambiguity ” of the South China Sea that still lingers on – and allows the State Dept .
to accuse Beijing of “ gangster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ millennia-old transition from the “ maritime internet ” of semi-nomadic peoples to the Westphalian system spelled nothing but trouble .
So what about the US notion of “ freedom of navigation ” ?
In imperial terms , “ freedom of navigation ” , from the West Coast of the US to Asia – through the Pacific , the South China Sea , the Malacca Strait and the Indian Ocean – is strictly an issue of military strategy .
The US Navy simply can not imagine dealing with maritime exclusion zones – or having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time they need to cross them .
In this case the Empire of Bases would lose “ access ” to its own bases .
This is compounded with trademark Pentagon paranoia , gaming a situation where a “ hostile power ” – namely China – decides to block global trade .
The premise in itself is ludicrous , because the South China Sea is the premier , vital maritime artery for China ’ s globalized economy .
So there ’ s no rational justification for a Freedom of Navigation ( FON ) program @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aircraft carriers like the Ronald Reagan and the Nimitz showboating on and off in the South China Sea amount to 21st century gunboat diplomacy .
And Beijing is not impressed .
As far as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) is concerned , what matters now is to come up with a Code of Conduct ( COC ) to solve all maritime conflicts between Philippines , Vietnam , Malaysia , Brunei and China .
Next year , ASEAN and China celebrate 30 years of strong bilateral relations .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be upgraded to “ comprehensive strategic partner ” status .
Because of Covid-19 , all players had to postpone negotiations on the second reading of the single draft of COC .
Beijing wanted these to be face to face – because the document is ultra-sensitive and for the moment , secret .
Yet they finally agreed to negotiate online – via detailed texts .
It will be a hard slog , because as ASEAN made it clear in a virtual summit in late June , everything has to be in accordance with international @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Law of the Seas ( UNCLOS ) .
If they can all agree on a COC by the end of 2020 , a final agreement could be approved by ASEAN in mid-2021 .
Historic does not even begin to describe it – because this negotiation has been going on for no less than two decades .
Not to mention that a COC invalidates any US pretension to secure “ freedom of navigation ” in an area where navigation is already free .
Yet “ freedom ” was never the issue .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that China must obey and keep the South China Sea open to the US Navy .
Well , that ’ s possible , but you got ta behave .
That ’ ll be the day when the US Navy is “ denied ” the South China Sea .
You don ’ t need to be Mahan to know that ’ ll mean the imperial end of ruling the seven seas .

When the Ronald Reagan and Nimitz carrier strike groups recently engaged in “operations” in the South China Sea, it did not escape to many a cynic that the US Pacific Fleet was doing its best to turn the infantile Thucydides Trap theory into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The pro forma official spin, via Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander of the Nimitz, is that the ops were conducted to “reinforce our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, a rules-based international order, and to our allies and partners”.
Nobody pays attention to these clichés, because the real message was delivered by a CIA operative posing as diplomat, Secretary of State Mike “We Lie, We Cheat, We Steal” Pompeo: “The PRC has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region”, in a reference to the Nine-Dash Line. For the State Dept., Beijing deploys nothing but “gangster tactics” in the South China Sea. The Third Revolution: ... Economy, Elizabeth C. Best Price: $10.48 Buy New $15.27 (as of 04:54 UTC - Details)
Once again, nobody paid attention, because the actual facts on the sea are stark. Anything that moves in the South China Sea – China’s crucial maritime trade artery – is at the mercy of the PLA, which decides if and when to deploy their deadly DF-21D and DF-26 “carrier killer” missiles.
There’s absolutely no way the US Pacific Fleet can win a shooting war in the South China Sea.
Electronically jammed
A crucial Chinese report, unavailable and not referred to by Western media, and translated by Hong Kong-based analyst Thomas Wing Polin, is essential to understand the context.
The report refers to US Growler electronic warplanes rendered totally out of control by electronic jamming devices positioned on islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
According to the report, “after the accident, the United States negotiated with China, demanding that China dismantle the electronic equipment immediately, but it was rejected. These electronic devices are an important part of China’s maritime defense and are not offensive weapons. Therefore, the US military’s request for dismantling is unreasonable.”
It gets better:
“On the same day, former commander Scott Swift of the US Pacific Fleet finally acknowledged that the US military had lost the best time to control the South China Sea. He believes that China has deployed a large number of Hongqi 9 air defense missiles, H-6K bombers, and electronic jamming systems on islands and reefs. The defense can be said to be solid. If US fighter jets rush into the South China Sea, they are likely to encounter their ‘Waterloo.’”
The bottom line is that the systems – including electronic jamming – deployed by the PLA on islands and reefs in the South China Sea, covering more than half of the total surface, are considered by Beijing to be part of the national defense system.
We Have Been Harmonize... Strittmatter, Kai Buy New $30.99 (as of 05:21 UTC - Details) I have previously detailed what Admiral Philip Davidson, when he was still a nominee to lead the US Pacific Command (PACOM), told the US Senate. Here are his Top Three conclusions:
1) “China is pursuing advanced capabilities (e.g., hypersonic missiles) which the United States has no current defense against. As China pursues these advanced weapons systems, US forces across the Indo-Pacific will be placed increasingly at risk.” 2) “China is undermining the rules-based international order.” 3) “China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States.”
Implied in all of the above is the “secret” of the Indo-Pacific strategy: at best a containment exercise, as China continues to solidify the Maritime Silk Road linking the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Remember the nusantao
The South China Sea is and will continue to be one of the prime geopolitical flashpoints of the young 21st century, where a great deal of the East-West balance of power will be played.
I have addressed this elsewhere in the past in some detail, but a short historical background is once again absolutely essential to understand the current juncture as the South China Sea increasingly looks and feels like a Chinese lake.
Let’s start in 1890, when Alfred Mahan, then president of the US Naval College, wrote the seminal The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. Mahan’s central thesis is that the US should go global in search of new markets, and protect these new trade routes through a network of naval bases.
That is the embryo of the US Empire of Bases – which remains in effect.
It was Western – American and European – colonialism that came up with most land borders and maritime borders of states bordering the South China Sea: Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam.
We are talking about borders between different colonial possessions – and that implied intractable problems from the start, subsequently inherited by post-colonial nations.
Historically, it had always been a completely different story. The best anthropological studies (Bill Solheim’s, for instance) define the semi-nomadic communities who really traveled and traded across the South China Sea from time immemorial as the Nusantao – an Austronesian compound word for “south island” and “people”. America’s Global... Sempa, Francis Best Price: $6.18 Buy New $14.96 (as of 05:18 UTC - Details)
The Nusantao were not a defined ethnic group. They were a maritime internet. Over centuries, they had many key hubs, from the coastline between central Vietnam and Hong Kong all the way to the Mekong Delta. They were not attached to any “state”. The Western notion of “borders” did not even exist. In the mid-1990s, I had the privilege to encounter some of their descendants in Indonesia and Vietnam.
So it was only by the late 19th century that the Westphalian system managed to freeze the South China Sea inside an immovable framework.
Which brings us to the crucial point of why China is so sensitive about its borders; because they are directly linked to the “century of humiliation” – when internal Chinese corruption and weakness allowed Western “barbarians” to take possession of Chinese land.
A Japanese lake
The Nine Dash Line is an immensely complex problem. It was invented by the eminent Chinese geographer Bai Meichu, a fierce nationalist, in 1936, initially as part of a “Chinese National Humiliation Map” in the form of a “U-shaped line” gobbling up the South China Sea all the way down to James Shoal, which is 1,500 km south of China but only over 100 km off Borneo.
The Nine Dash Line, from the beginning, was promoted by the Chinese government – remember, at the time not yet Communist – as the letter of the law in terms of “historic” Chinese claims over islands in the South China Sea.
One year later, Japan invaded China. Japan had occupied Taiwan way back in 1895. Japan occupied the Philippines in 1942. That meant virtually the entire coastline of the South China Sea being controlled by a single empire for the fist time in history. The South China Sea had become a Japanese lake.
Well, that lasted only until 1945. The Japanese did occupy Woody Island in the Paracels and Itu Aba (today Taiping) in the Spratlys. After the end of WWII and the US nuclear-bombing Japan, the Philippines became independent in 1946 and the Spratlys immediately were declared Filipino territory.
In 1947, all the islands in the South China Sea got Chinese names.
And in December 1947 all the islands were placed under the control of Hainan (itself an island in southern China.) New maps duly followed, but now with Chinese names for the islands (or reefs, or shoals). But there was a huge problem: no one explained the meaning of those dashes (which were originally eleven.) Target: China: How Was... Engdahl, F William Best Price: $4.93 Buy New $14.89 (as of 11:15 UTC - Details)
In June 1947 the Republic of China claimed everything within the line – while proclaiming itself open to negotiate definitive maritime borders with other nations later on. But, for the moment, there were no borders.
And that set the scene for the immensely complicated “strategic ambiguity” of the South China Sea that still lingers on – and allows the State Dept. to accuse Beijing of “gangster tactics”. The culmination of a millennia-old transition from the “maritime internet” of semi-nomadic peoples to the Westphalian system spelled nothing but trouble.
Time for COC
So what about the US notion of “freedom of navigation”?
In imperial terms, “freedom of navigation”, from the West Coast of the US to Asia – through the Pacific, the South China Sea, the Malacca Strait and the Indian Ocean – is strictly an issue of military strategy.
The US Navy simply cannot imagine dealing with maritime exclusion zones – or having to demand an “authorization” every time they need to cross them. In this case the Empire of Bases would lose “access” to its own bases.
This is compounded with trademark Pentagon paranoia, gaming a situation where a “hostile power” – namely China – decides to block global trade. The premise in itself is ludicrous, because the South China Sea is the premier, vital maritime artery for China’s globalized economy.
So there’s no rational justification for a Freedom of Navigation (FON) program. For all practical purposes, these aircraft carriers like the Ronald Reagan and the Nimitz showboating on and off in the South China Sea amount to 21st century gunboat diplomacy. And Beijing is not impressed.
As far as the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is concerned, what matters now is to come up with a Code of Conduct (COC) to solve all maritime conflicts between Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and China.
Next year, ASEAN and China celebrate 30 years of strong bilateral relations. There’s a strong possibility they will be upgraded to “comprehensive strategic partner” status.
Because of Covid-19, all players had to postpone negotiations on the second reading of the single draft of COC. Beijing wanted these to be face to face – because the document is ultra-sensitive and for the moment, secret. Yet they finally agreed to negotiate online – via detailed texts.
It will be a hard slog, because as ASEAN made it clear in a virtual summit in late June, everything has to be in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).
If they can all agree on a COC by the end of 2020, a final agreement could be approved by ASEAN in mid-2021. Historic does not even begin to describe it – because this negotiation has been going on for no less than two decades.
Not to mention that a COC invalidates any US pretension to secure “freedom of navigation” in an area where navigation is already free.
Yet “freedom” was never the issue. In imperial terminology, “freedom” means that China must obey and keep the South China Sea open to the US Navy. Well, that’s possible, but you gotta behave. That’ll be the day when the US Navy is “denied” the South China Sea. You don’t need to be Mahan to know that’ll mean the imperial end of ruling the seven seas.
Reprinted with the author’s permission.


lewrockwell--2020-08-06--The Humiliation of Western History

The Humiliation of Western History

The most important issue at stake in the culture war is who controls the narrative through which society understands itself .
At present , those controlling the narrative appear to be committed to reorganising society ’ s historical memory , and disputing and delegitimising its ideals , from liberty to equality .
Take Netflix , for example .
It is dominated by programmes , like Dear White People and Explained : The Racial Wealth Gap , that recast the Western way of life and Western history as irredeemably malevolent .
The humiliation and demonisation of the past and its ideals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event .
Prize-giving ceremonies , be they the Oscars , the Tonys or the Pulitzers , invariably include speeches boasting of the bravery of the recipient for daring to ‘ speak truth to power ’ .
Ironically , this supposedly rebellious rhetoric is espoused by those who actually wield cultural power .
These cultural elites see it as their raison d ’ être to denounce the culture into which they were born .
Moreover , they do so for the public ’ s benefit , in order to ‘ raise awareness ’ .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Essay Best Price : $ 16.66 Buy New $ 9.95 Back in the 1960s , raising awareness was a form of consciousness-raising .
It was something one did to change one ’ s own outlook on the world .
But in recent years , especially on social media , it has become a means to raise the awareness of others .
As such , many use ‘ awareness-raising ’ as a way to distinguish themselves from those , who , to use the smug language of the day , ‘ don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the dogma of awareness-raising is The New York Times , the most influential newspaper in the US .
In August 2019 , it decided ‘ to speak truth to power ’ by launching the 1619 Project , an ongoing initiative , featuring essays and other contributions , which maintains that the year 1619 , and not 1776 , is the true origin of the US .
This , the project argues , is because the US was founded for the purpose of entrenching slavery , and 1619 was the year African slaves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US history is therefore shaped by this founding , enslaving moment .
From this distorted vantage point , the American Revolution is presented not so much as a War of Independence , but as a selfish attempt to preserve the exploitative and oppressive legacy of 1619 .
The famous founding assertion that ‘ all men are created equal ’ , and are entitled to ‘ Life , Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ’ , is denigrated as mere cover for the practices of a group of unprincipled and dishonest slave-owners .
Unlike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look critically at uncomfortable truths about their past , the 1619 Project offers a ‘ take it or leave it ’ version of history .
Its aim is not to criticise existing historical narratives about the US .
It is to negate and even morally annihilate the very foundation on which the US was built .
As the NYT put it : ‘ Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written .
Black Americans fought to make them true .
Without this struggle , America would have no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rectenwald Buy New $ 19.99 In rejecting the founding ideals of liberty and equality as false , the 1619 Project strips America ’ s founding document , the Declaration of Independence , of every shred of moral authority .
It also erases the profound contribution the American Revolution made to the development of the Western ideal of freedom .
The 1619 Project does not offer any new insights into the past .
Rather , it seeks to contaminate the past and render it toxic .
Indeed , one of the main contributors to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that its principal objective is not to shed light on the past , but to undermine the moral authority of the present .
‘ I ’ ve always said that the 1619 Project is not history ’ , she writes .
‘ It is a work of journalism that explicitly seeks to challenge the national narrative and therefore national memory .
The project has always been as much about the present as it is about the past.
’ Clearly for Hannah-Jones , the objective of the project is to alter America ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the national narrative .

The most important issue at stake in the culture war is who controls the narrative through which society understands itself. At present, those controlling the narrative appear to be committed to reorganising society’s historical memory, and disputing and delegitimising its ideals, from liberty to equality. Take Netflix, for example. It is dominated by programmes, like Dear White People and Explained: The Racial Wealth Gap, that recast the Western way of life and Western history as irredeemably malevolent.
The humiliation and demonisation of the past and its ideals is now enacted at every important cultural event. Prize-giving ceremonies, be they the Oscars, the Tonys or the Pulitzers, invariably include speeches boasting of the bravery of the recipient for daring to ‘speak truth to power’. Ironically, this supposedly rebellious rhetoric is espoused by those who actually wield cultural power. These cultural elites see it as their raison d’être to denounce the culture into which they were born. Moreover, they do so for the public’s benefit, in order to ‘raise awareness’.
Dissenters Project: Th... Collection, Essay Best Price: $16.66 Buy New $9.95 (as of 05:08 UTC - Details) Back in the 1960s, raising awareness was a form of consciousness-raising. It was something one did to change one’s own outlook on the world. But in recent years, especially on social media, it has become a means to raise the awareness of others. As such, many use ‘awareness-raising’ as a way to distinguish themselves from those, who, to use the smug language of the day, ‘don’t get it’.
One powerful proponent of the dogma of awareness-raising is The New York Times, the most influential newspaper in the US. In August 2019, it decided ‘to speak truth to power’ by launching the 1619 Project, an ongoing initiative, featuring essays and other contributions, which maintains that the year 1619, and not 1776, is the true origin of the US. This, the project argues, is because the US was founded for the purpose of entrenching slavery, and 1619 was the year African slaves first arrived in Jamestown. All subsequent US history is therefore shaped by this founding, enslaving moment.
From this distorted vantage point, the American Revolution is presented not so much as a War of Independence, but as a selfish attempt to preserve the exploitative and oppressive legacy of 1619. The famous founding assertion that ‘all men are created equal’, and are entitled to ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’, is denigrated as mere cover for the practices of a group of unprincipled and dishonest slave-owners.
Unlike previous initiatives designed to encourage people to look critically at uncomfortable truths about their past, the 1619 Project offers a ‘take it or leave it’ version of history. Its aim is not to criticise existing historical narratives about the US. It is to negate and even morally annihilate the very foundation on which the US was built. As the NYT put it: ‘Our founding ideals of liberty and equality were false when they were written. Black Americans fought to make them true. Without this struggle, America would have no democracy at all.’
Beyond Woke Michael Rectenwald Buy New $19.99 (as of 11:37 UTC - Details) In rejecting the founding ideals of liberty and equality as false, the 1619 Project strips America’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, of every shred of moral authority. It also erases the profound contribution the American Revolution made to the development of the Western ideal of freedom.
The 1619 Project does not offer any new insights into the past. Rather, it seeks to contaminate the past and render it toxic. Indeed, one of the main contributors to the project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, admits that its principal objective is not to shed light on the past, but to undermine the moral authority of the present. ‘I’ve always said that the 1619 Project is not history’, she writes. ‘It is a work of journalism that explicitly seeks to challenge the national narrative and therefore national memory. The project has always been as much about the present as it is about the past.’
Clearly for Hannah-Jones, the objective of the project is to alter America’s historical memory in order to gain control of the national narrative.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-08-06--Striking Decline of Premature Births and SIDS During COVID

While the global lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic have had far-reaching ramifications , not all side effects have been bad .
Two interesting changes noted by doctors around the world are a dramatic reduction in premature births1,2,3,4,5 and sudden infant death syndrome ( SIDS ) .
As explained by the Decan Herald:6 Fear of the Invisible Roberts , Janine Best Price : $ 41.22 Buy New $ 18.31 Curiously , during March and April this year , while most of the world enforced more or less strict stay-at-home orders , premature births plummeted by 90 % in Denmark7 and 73 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Canada.9 Dr. Roy Philip , a neonatologist at University Maternity Hospital Limerick in Ireland , told the Deccan Herald10 he ’ s “ never seen anything like these numbers ” in his two-decade career .
Unusual reductions have also been reported in other countries , including Australia , the Netherlands and the U.S .
The Vanderbilt Children ’ s Hospital in Nashville , Tennessee , for example , had about 20 % fewer preemies than is typical for March.11 As noted in the Irish study , posted on the preprint server medRxiv June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not known why the premature birth rate has dropped so dramatically .
Doctors discussing the issue on social media13 with their associates have brought up the possibility that it might be because pregnant women have had more rest and less work stress .
While one can hardly say the pandemic has brought a general reduction in stress — quite the opposite — pregnant women may still have felt greater than normal support from family members .
Perhaps they got greater amounts of sleep .
Staying at home may also have protected them against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your risk of pregnancy complications .
Other possibilities include a significant reduction in air pollution .
Could It Be Related to Fewer Maternal Vaccinations ?
One factor that has not been openly addressed is the reduction in maternal vaccinations .
While I ’ ve not been able to locate any statistics on maternal vaccination rates before and during the pandemic , it seems reasonable to assume that many may not have gotten otherwise routine vaccinations for the simple fact that non-emergency medical appointments were , in many areas , during certain timeframes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ... Rohde , Wayne Buy New $ 17.99 Health officials have also expressed worry about dropping childhood vaccination rates during the pandemic,14 so it ’ s likely ( but not confirmed ) that maternal vaccination rates have declined as well .
In California , for example , childhood immunization rates plunged by 40 % in the weeks after the first lockdown orders went into effect.15 While the scientific evidence is far from conclusive , some studies suggest maternal vaccinations might raise the risk of preterm birth .
One such study,16 published in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , found it raised the risk by anywhere from 4 % to 25 % , or 14 % on average .
According to this paper:17 Another study , published in 2016 , pointed out the difficulty in assessing the available data:18 An article19 in Koren Wellness also highlights another curious trend .
According to a Health Choice white paper20,21 by Amy Becker and Mark Blaxill published June 18 , 2020 , the death rate among children in the U.S. has mysteriously dropped during the lockdowns , from an While Becker and Blaxill22 admit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the SIDS trend during the pandemic , ” the data does show that this drop is related to a dramatic reduction in infant death specifically , not older children or teens .
Koren Wellness brings up the possibility that reduced vaccination rates may have played a role by reducing the number of infants dying from SIDS:23 Thimerosal : Let the Sc ... Kennedy Jr. , Robert F. Best Price : $ 18.01 Buy New $ 15.93 Remarkably , after banning vaccinations for babies under the age of 2 in Japan , SIDS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Japan became known for having the lowest infant death rate in the world .
In contrast , the U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate — and the highest vaccination rate as well .
If infant vaccinations improve health and save lives , why do our statistics not support such claims ?
As noted in a 2011 study looking at the possibility that vaccines might be causing biochemical or synergistic toxicity resulting in higher mortality:26 In their white paper , Becker and Blaxill also note that:28 The lowered infant mortality rate reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also addressed in a June 16 , 2020 , commentary in The BMJ .
Responding to the authors of a paper titled “ Fewer American Infants Are Dying During the COVID-19 Lockdown .
Why ?
” retired pediatrician Allan S. Cunningham writes:29 Fauci : The Bernie Mado ... Ortleb , Charles Buy New $ 5.99 It ’ ll be interesting to see what conclusions can be drawn later on once we have more data and statistics , but if infant vaccinations have a detrimental effect and increase the risk of death , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the pandemic would be quite instructive .
Aside from carefully considering the potential negative impacts of routine vaccinations , another simple strategy that can have a major impact is the mother ’ s vitamin D level during pregnancy .
I firmly believe optimizing your vitamin D during pregnancy is one of the most important things you can do for the health of your child .
When a child is born deficient in vitamin D , his or her health can be significantly affected .
Research32 by GrassrootsHealth has shown pregnant women need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least 40 ng/mL ( 100 nmol/L ) to optimize benefits .
Having a level of 40 ng/mL during pregnancy has been shown to lower the risk of preterm birth by 59 % , compared to having a level of 20 ng/mL.33 Other research34 have shown most women can reach a level of 32 ng/mL ( 80 nmol/L ) when taking 4,000 IU ’ s ( six times the RDA of 600 IU ) of vitamin D per day .
So please , if you ’ re pregnant , make sure to get your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is important to see what your level is so you can adjust your dosage to fit your body ’ s requirements .
As discussed in several recent articles , vitamin D may also be crucial for lowering your risk of COVID-19 .
You can find more information about this , and how to most effectively raise your level if deficient , in “ The Most Important Paper Dr. Mercola Has Ever Written.
” The Best of Joseph Mercola

While the global lockdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic have had far-reaching ramifications, not all side effects have been bad. Two interesting changes noted by doctors around the world are a dramatic reduction in premature births1,2,3,4,5 and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). As explained by the Decan Herald:6
“About 1 in 10 US babies is born early. Pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks, and any delivery before 37 weeks is considered preterm. The costs to children and their families — financially, emotionally and in long-term health effects — can be great.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, babies born premature, especially before 32 weeks, are at higher risk of vision and hearing problems, cerebral palsy and death. The best way to avoid these costs would be to prevent early births in the first place.”
Fear of the Invisible Roberts, Janine Best Price: $41.22 Buy New $18.31 (as of 02:55 UTC - Details) Curiously, during March and April this year, while most of the world enforced more or less strict stay-at-home orders, premature births plummeted by 90% in Denmark7 and 73% in Ireland,8 and nearly halved in Canada.9
Dr. Roy Philip, a neonatologist at University Maternity Hospital Limerick in Ireland, told the Deccan Herald10 he’s “never seen anything like these numbers” in his two-decade career.
Unusual reductions have also been reported in other countries, including Australia, the Netherlands and the U.S. The Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, for example, had about 20% fewer preemies than is typical for March.11 As noted in the Irish study, posted on the preprint server medRxiv June 5, 2020:12
“An unprecedented reduction in [preterm birth] PTB of [very low birth weight] infants was observed in one health region of Ireland during the COVID-19 lockdown. Potential determinants of this unique temporal trend reside in the summative socio-environmental impact of the COVID-19 dictated lockdown.
Our findings, if mirrored in other regions that have adopted similar measures to combat the pandemic, demonstrate the potential to evaluate these implicated interdependent behavioral and socio-environmental modifiers to positively influence PTB rates globally.”
Why Have Premature Births Dropped?
It’s still not known why the premature birth rate has dropped so dramatically. Doctors discussing the issue on social media13 with their associates have brought up the possibility that it might be because pregnant women have had more rest and less work stress.
While one can hardly say the pandemic has brought a general reduction in stress — quite the opposite — pregnant women may still have felt greater than normal support from family members.
Perhaps they got greater amounts of sleep. Staying at home may also have protected them against infections in general, which can increase your risk of pregnancy complications. Other possibilities include a significant reduction in air pollution.
Could It Be Related to Fewer Maternal Vaccinations?
One factor that has not been openly addressed is the reduction in maternal vaccinations. While I’ve not been able to locate any statistics on maternal vaccination rates before and during the pandemic, it seems reasonable to assume that many may not have gotten otherwise routine vaccinations for the simple fact that non-emergency medical appointments were, in many areas, during certain timeframes, canceled. The Vaccine Court: The... Rohde, Wayne Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:05 UTC - Details)
Health officials have also expressed worry about dropping childhood vaccination rates during the pandemic,14 so it’s likely (but not confirmed) that maternal vaccination rates have declined as well. In California, for example, childhood immunization rates plunged by 40% in the weeks after the first lockdown orders went into effect.15
While the scientific evidence is far from conclusive, some studies suggest maternal vaccinations might raise the risk of preterm birth. One such study,16 published in the journal Pharmacy World & Science in 2007, found it raised the risk by anywhere from 4% to 25%, or 14% on average. According to this paper:17
“Data mining had indicated that maternal vaccination (among other factors) might be related to preterm birth. The following regression analysis showed that, the women who reported being vaccinated shortly before or during gestation had a slightly higher risk of giving preterm birth (O.R. = 1.14; 95% CI 1.04–1.25) as compared to the non-vaccinated group.
Whether the association between maternal vaccination and the risk for preterm birth found here is causal or not deserves further studies. Data mining, especially with additional refinements, may be a valuable and very efficient tool to screen large databases for relevant information which can be used in clinical and public health research.”
Another study, published in 2016, pointed out the difficulty in assessing the available data:18
“Heterogeneity across 16 studies reporting preterm birth precluded meta‐analysis. In a subgroup of the highest‐quality studies, two reported significantly increased preterm birth (risk ratios (RR) from 2.4 to 4.0) following severe 2009 pandemic H1N1 (pH 1N1) influenza illness, whereas those assessing mild‐to‐moderate pH 1N1 or seasonal influenza found no association.
Five studies of SGA [small‐for‐gestational‐age] birth showed no discernible patterns with respect to influenza disease severity (pooled odds ratio 1.24; 95% CI 0.96–1.59).
Two fetal death studies were of sufficient quality and size to permit meaningful interpretation. Both reported an increased risk of fetal death following maternal pH 1N1 disease (RR 1.9 for mild‐to‐moderate disease and 4.2 for severe disease).”
SIDS Rates Drop During COVID-19 Lockdowns
An article19 in Koren Wellness also highlights another curious trend. According to a Health Choice white paper20,21 by Amy Becker and Mark Blaxill published June 18, 2020, the death rate among children in the U.S. has mysteriously dropped during the lockdowns, from an
While Becker and Blaxill22 admit there is still “no specific data on the SIDS trend during the pandemic,” the data does show that this drop is related to a dramatic reduction in infant death specifically, not older children or teens. Koren Wellness brings up the possibility that reduced vaccination rates may have played a role by reducing the number of infants dying from SIDS:23
“Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or crib death (cot death in the U.K. and Australia) is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant under 1 year old. It is the leading cause of death for babies between 1 and 12 months old, according to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Perhaps the best evidence of the infant death and vaccination linkage occurred in Japan. In Japan, between 1970 and 1974, 37 infants died after DPT vaccinations. Alarmed MDs in one prefecture boycotted the vaccine. The boycott spread to the entire country. The Japanese government decreed that the minimum age for vaccination was to be changed from the American vaccination schedule (2, 4, 6 and 12 months) to 2 years.”
Infant Vaccinations May Be Driving SIDS Rates
Thimerosal: Let the Sc... Kennedy Jr., Robert F. Best Price: $18.01 Buy New $15.93 (as of 02:45 UTC - Details) Remarkably, after banning vaccinations for babies under the age of 2 in Japan, SIDS virtually disappeared.24,25 In the years that followed, Japan became known for having the lowest infant death rate in the world. In contrast, the U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate — and the highest vaccination rate as well. If infant vaccinations improve health and save lives, why do our statistics not support such claims?
Are fewer children dying because their parents are skipping their routine childhood vaccines? If lives are being saved during the pandemic, this is a question that urgently needs answering.
As noted in a 2011 study looking at the possibility that vaccines might be causing biochemical or synergistic toxicity resulting in higher mortality:26
“In 2009, five of the 34 nations with the best IMRs required 12 vaccine doses, the least amount, while the United States required 26 vaccine doses, the most of any nation … Among the 34 nations analyzed, those that require the most vaccines tend to have the worst IMRs [infant mortality rates].
Thus, we must ask important questions: is it possible that some nations are requiring too many vaccines for their infants and the additional vaccines are a toxic burden on their health? Are some deaths that are listed within the 130 infant mortality death categories really deaths that are associated with over-vaccination? Are some vaccine-related deaths hidden within the death tables?
Prior to contemporary vaccination programs, ‘Crib death’ was so infrequent that it was not mentioned in infant mortality statistics. In the United States, national immunization campaigns were initiated in the 1960s …
For the first time in history, most US infants were required to receive several doses of DPT, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines. Shortly thereafter, in 1969, medical certifiers presented a new medical term — sudden infant death syndrome …
There is some evidence that a subset of infants may be more susceptible to SIDS shortly after being vaccinated. For example, Torch found that two-thirds of babies who had died from SIDS had been vaccinated against DPT … prior to death. Of these, 6.5% died within 12 hours of vaccination; 13% within 24 hours; 26% within 3 days; and 37%, 61%, and 70% within 1, 2, and 3 weeks, respectively …
The US childhood immunization schedule requires 26 vaccine doses for infants aged less than 1 year, the most in the world, yet 33 nations have better IMRs. Using linear regression, the immunization schedules of these 34 nations were examined and a correlation coefficient of 0.70 was found between IMRs and the number of vaccine doses routinely given to infants.
When nations were grouped into five different vaccine dose ranges (12–14, 15–17, 18–20, 21–23, and 24–26), 98.3% of the total variance in IMR was explained by the unweighted linear regression model. These findings demonstrate a counter-intuitive relationship: nations that require more vaccine doses tend to have higher infant mortality rates.”
Immunization Avoidance May Have Boosted Infant Survival
A VOYAGE IN IMAGINATIO... Holmes, Dr Joel S Buy New $9.95 (as of 04:21 UTC - Details) Koren Wellness quotes Australian researcher Viera Scheibner, Ph.D.:27
“Vaccination is undoubtedly the single biggest and most preventable cause of cot-death … The timing of 80% of the cot [crib] deaths occurring between the second and sixth months is due to the cumulative effect of infections, timing of immunizations and some inherent specifics in the baby’s early development.“
In their white paper, Becker and Blaxill also note that:28
“One very clear change that has received publicity is that public health officials are bemoaning the sharp decline in infant vaccinations as parents are not taking their infants into pediatric offices for their regular well-baby checks.
In the May 15 issue of the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a group of authors from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente reported a sharp decline in provider orders for vaccines as well as a decline in pediatric vaccine doses administered. These declines began in early march, around the time infant deaths began declining …
Are fewer children dying because their parents are skipping their routine childhood vaccines? If lives are being saved during the pandemic, this is a question that urgently needs answering.”
The lowered infant mortality rate reported in the Health Choice white paper is also addressed in a June 16, 2020, commentary in The BMJ. Responding to the authors of a paper titled “Fewer American Infants Are Dying During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Why?” retired pediatrician Allan S. Cunningham writes:29
“During the first 11 weeks of 2020 (through March 14) there were 209 fewer deaths in U.S. children <18 compared to the same period in 2019 (7024 vs 7233).
During the 11-week period following the emergency declaration (through May 30) there were 1465 fewer deaths in US children compared to 2019 (5923 vs 7388).30 The difference is statistically highly significant …
Becker and Blaxill emphasized that the most pronounced mortality decline occurred in infants <1 year. This is confirmed by reviewing the most recent data.31 There was a substantial and highly significant decline from 2020 weeks 5 through 11 to weeks 12 through 22 (367 to 309 infant deaths per week) …
The suggestion that vaccinations could be one factor in the causation of SIDS is not new … until properly controlled trials are done we will be unable to confirm or exclude a causal role for vaccines.”
Simple Strategies Can Improve Infant Health
Fauci: The Bernie Mado... Ortleb, Charles Buy New $5.99 (as of 02:55 UTC - Details) It’ll be interesting to see what conclusions can be drawn later on once we have more data and statistics, but if infant vaccinations have a detrimental effect and increase the risk of death, the dramatic drop in SIDS and premature birth during the pandemic would be quite instructive.
Aside from carefully considering the potential negative impacts of routine vaccinations, another simple strategy that can have a major impact is the mother’s vitamin D level during pregnancy.
I firmly believe optimizing your vitamin D during pregnancy is one of the most important things you can do for the health of your child. When a child is born deficient in vitamin D, his or her health can be significantly affected.
Research32 by GrassrootsHealth has shown pregnant women need a vitamin D blood level of at least 40 ng/mL (100 nmol/L) to optimize benefits. Having a level of 40 ng/mL during pregnancy has been shown to lower the risk of preterm birth by 59%, compared to having a level of 20 ng/mL.33 Other research34 have shown most women can reach a level of 32 ng/mL (80 nmol/L) when taking 4,000 IU’s (six times the RDA of 600 IU) of vitamin D per day.
So please, if you’re pregnant, make sure to get your 25 hydroxy D levels checked. Testing is important to see what your level is so you can adjust your dosage to fit your body’s requirements.
As discussed in several recent articles, vitamin D may also be crucial for lowering your risk of COVID-19. You can find more information about this, and how to most effectively raise your level if deficient, in “The Most Important Paper Dr. Mercola Has Ever Written.”
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola


lewrockwell--2020-08-07--The American History You’re Not Supposed To Know

Brion McClanahan ’ s new book , Southern Scribblings , contains sixty scholarly and eloquently-written essays about the American history you are not supposed to know .
The reason you are not supposed to know about it is America ’ s first cultural war that long preceded the current one and is still ongoing .
That “ war ” began with the New England Puritans , whose philosophical descendants became the universally despised “ Yankees.
” These are people mostly from New England and the upper Mid-West originally who believed that they were superior to all others and therefore had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them , by force if necessary .
They have a mindset of what Judge Napolitano calls “ libido dominandi , ” or the lust to dominate .
Today , Hillary Clinton would be what Clyde Wilson has called “ a museum-quality specimen ” of a Yankee .
Yankees are a component of both political parties , but today ’ s Democratic party is the home of the most extreme ones , who seem to be part Yankee and part Stalinist totalitarian with their university speech codes , their “ cancel culture , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aspects of everyone ’ s life with their “ Green New Deal , ” to confiscate private wealth , communist style , with “ wealth taxes , ” and so on .
Southern Scribblings McClanahan , Brion Buy New $ 24.95 After waging total war on the entire civilian population of the South from 1861-1865 , murdering hundreds of thousands , the Yankees commenced a “ holy war ” against American history and especially Southern history , a major theme of Southern Scribblings .
In war , the victors always write the history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible , no matter what the truth is .
The Yankees have been doing this for more than 150 years , as McClanahan describes in essay after essay .
Among the things you will learn from this book are why Hamiltonian statism has always been the enemy of American freedom and a poisonous threat to genuine , free-market capitalism .
Most Americans would also be surprised to learn that , after the War to Prevent Southern Independence , there was a monumental effort at reconciliation , lasting for generations , and supported by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McClanahan calls Jimmy Carter “ the last Jeffersonian president ” and discusses how “ Memorial Day ” began as “ Decoration Day ” where the sacrifices of soldiers on both sides of the “ Civil War ” were recognized .
This of course is no longer the case thanks to the stultification of America by the country ’ s own universities over the past generation .
The Problem with Linco ... DiLorenzo , Thomas J .
Buy New $ 29.99 Prior to the 1960s “ Civil War ” history was much more honest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since then .
For example , everyone understood that the tariff was the main bone of contention between the Yankees of the North , who wanted a 50 % ( and higher ) protectionist tariff , whereas the South wanted its entire country to be a free-trade zone with minimal “ revenue tariffs.
” Republican party newspapers even editorialized in favor of bombarding the Southern ports before the war because they understood that free trade in the South would be devastating to the Northern plutocracy .
Everyone also understood that slavery had nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military invasion of his own country because they were familiar with his own words and the 1861 war aims resolution of the U.S. Congress .
That all changed in the 1960s when Leftist historians like Kenneth Stampp decided that the history of the war and reconstruction should be rewritten so as to portray the New England Yankees as angels of salvation who were willing to die by the hundreds of thousands solely for the benefit of black strangers a thousand miles away .
( McClanahan points out the truth that racism and white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the South in the nineteenth century , something that even Toqueville wrote about in Democracy in America ) .
At the same time the history profession since the 1960s contrasted angelic Northern saviors to the descendants of Jefferson , Madison , Monroe , Jackson , and other Southerners as the most evil and decadent human beings to ever inhabit the earth .
This of course is the current politically-correct view of everyone and everything Southern in the eyes of the left-wing political elite .
A Disquisition on Gove ... John C. Calhoun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 10.00 Southern Scribblings explains what a big , steaming pile of horse manure this all is , along with the incredible hypocrisy of “ Northern self righteousness.
” It has fueled the fires of “ PC Lunacy , ” a section of the book containing nine hard-hitting essays .
You will also learn how insidious the academic history profession is with book after book having been written with false narratives about the “ lost cause.
” As the only group of Americans who ever seriously challenged the tyrannical impulses of the central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eternity in the eyes of the Puritan/Yankee culture that lords over American academe – and much of the rest of society .
The most interesting chapters to your author are the ones that dissect the Leftist and neo-conservative smearing of such Southern figures as Robert E. Lee and John C. Calhoun and their never-ending deification of Lincoln .
The chapters on “ the real Robert E. Lee ” is worth the price of the book .
Addressing the current effort by the ignoramus governor of Virginia , among others , to get the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Capitol building in Washington , McClanahan writes : “ No one as grand as Lee .
.
.
should be surrounded by such reptiles in Washington ” anyway .
Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville Best Price : $ 6.99 Buy New $ 11.95 Few Southerners have been as vilified as John C. Calhoun , a former secretary of war , secretary of state , vice president , senator , and representative .
The real reason for this vilification has nothing to do with slavery , but with the fact that , philosophically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a Jeffersonian and a champion of federalism , states ’ rights , and decentralization , deadly poisons to all would-be tyrants and dictators .
His Disquisition on Government is one of the greatest treatises on political philosophy ever written by an American and was a favorite of Murray Rothbard ’ s , who cited him in many of his writings .
McClanahan discusses many of the key ideas in the Disquisition in several essays on Calhoun .
After reading them you will understand the evil and dishonesty of his detractors , from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the entire academic history profession , which after all is dominated by self-described Marxists .
The Best of Thomas DiLorenzo

Brion McClanahan’s new book, Southern Scribblings, contains sixty scholarly and eloquently-written essays about the American history you are not supposed to know. The reason you are not supposed to know about it is America’s first cultural war that long preceded the current one and is still ongoing.
That “war” began with the New England Puritans, whose philosophical descendants became the universally despised “Yankees.” These are people mostly from New England and the upper Mid-West originally who believed that they were superior to all others and therefore had a “right” to govern over them, by force if necessary. They have a mindset of what Judge Napolitano calls “libido dominandi,” or the lust to dominate. Today, Hillary Clinton would be what Clyde Wilson has called “a museum-quality specimen” of a Yankee. Yankees are a component of both political parties, but today’s Democratic party is the home of the most extreme ones, who seem to be part Yankee and part Stalinist totalitarian with their university speech codes, their “cancel culture,” their utopian plans to centrally plan all aspects of everyone’s life with their “Green New Deal,” to confiscate private wealth, communist style, with “wealth taxes,” and so on. Southern Scribblings McClanahan, Brion Buy New $24.95 (as of 09:16 UTC - Details)
After waging total war on the entire civilian population of the South from 1861-1865, murdering hundreds of thousands, the Yankees commenced a “holy war” against American history and especially Southern history, a major theme of Southern Scribblings. In war, the victors always write the history to portray themselves in the best light possible, no matter what the truth is. The Yankees have been doing this for more than 150 years, as McClanahan describes in essay after essay.
Among the things you will learn from this book are why Hamiltonian statism has always been the enemy of American freedom and a poisonous threat to genuine, free-market capitalism. Most Americans would also be surprised to learn that, after the War to Prevent Southern Independence, there was a monumental effort at reconciliation, lasting for generations, and supported by presidents from McKinley to Bill Clinton. McClanahan calls Jimmy Carter “the last Jeffersonian president” and discusses how “Memorial Day” began as “Decoration Day” where the sacrifices of soldiers on both sides of the “Civil War” were recognized. This of course is no longer the case thanks to the stultification of America by the country’s own universities over the past generation. The Problem with Linco... DiLorenzo, Thomas J. Buy New $29.99 (as of 11:50 UTC - Details)
Prior to the 1960s “Civil War” history was much more honest and truthful than it has become ever since then. For example, everyone understood that the tariff was the main bone of contention between the Yankees of the North, who wanted a 50% (and higher) protectionist tariff, whereas the South wanted its entire country to be a free-trade zone with minimal “revenue tariffs.” Republican party newspapers even editorialized in favor of bombarding the Southern ports before the war because they understood that free trade in the South would be devastating to the Northern plutocracy.
Everyone also understood that slavery had nothing to do with why Lincoln launched a military invasion of his own country because they were familiar with his own words and the 1861 war aims resolution of the U.S. Congress. That all changed in the 1960s when Leftist historians like Kenneth Stampp decided that the history of the war and reconstruction should be rewritten so as to portray the New England Yankees as angels of salvation who were willing to die by the hundreds of thousands solely for the benefit of black strangers a thousand miles away. (McClanahan points out the truth that racism and white supremacy was worse in the North than in the South in the nineteenth century, something that even Toqueville wrote about in Democracy in America).
At the same time the history profession since the 1960s contrasted angelic Northern saviors to the descendants of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, and other Southerners as the most evil and decadent human beings to ever inhabit the earth. This of course is the current politically-correct view of everyone and everything Southern in the eyes of the left-wing political elite. A Disquisition on Gove... John C. Calhoun Best Price: $5.89 Buy New $10.00 (as of 10:30 UTC - Details)
Southern Scribblings explains what a big, steaming pile of horse manure this all is, along with the incredible hypocrisy of “Northern self righteousness.” It has fueled the fires of “PC Lunacy,” a section of the book containing nine hard-hitting essays.
You will also learn how insidious the academic history profession is with book after book having been written with false narratives about the “lost cause.” As the only group of Americans who ever seriously challenged the tyrannical impulses of the central government, Southerners must be demonized for eternity in the eyes of the Puritan/Yankee culture that lords over American academe – and much of the rest of society.
The most interesting chapters to your author are the ones that dissect the Leftist and neo-conservative smearing of such Southern figures as Robert E. Lee and John C. Calhoun and their never-ending deification of Lincoln. The chapters on “the real Robert E. Lee” is worth the price of the book. Addressing the current effort by the ignoramus governor of Virginia, among others, to get the statue of Lee removed from the national Capitol building in Washington, McClanahan writes: “No one as grand as Lee . . . should be surrounded by such reptiles in Washington” anyway. Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville Best Price: $6.99 Buy New $11.95 (as of 10:15 UTC - Details)
Few Southerners have been as vilified as John C. Calhoun, a former secretary of war, secretary of state, vice president, senator, and representative. The real reason for this vilification has nothing to do with slavery, but with the fact that, philosophically, Calhoun was “too much” of a Jeffersonian and a champion of federalism, states’ rights, and decentralization, deadly poisons to all would-be tyrants and dictators. His Disquisition on Government is one of the greatest treatises on political philosophy ever written by an American and was a favorite of Murray Rothbard’s, who cited him in many of his writings.
McClanahan discusses many of the key ideas in the Disquisition in several essays on Calhoun. After reading them you will understand the evil and dishonesty of his detractors, from neocons like Victor Davis Hanson to just about the entire academic history profession, which after all is dominated by self-described Marxists.
The Best of Thomas DiLorenzo


lewrockwell--2020-08-07--The Pharmaceutical Narrative Is Failing

The Pharmaceutical Narrative Is Failing

So now we don ’ t have to listen to what those doctors said in front of the US Supreme Court , because it turns out that one of them has some whacky beliefs about sex with demons causing reproductive disorders .
What a relief .
I ’ m not going to pretend that the things Dr. Stella Immanuel has said don ’ t sound just a little crazy to me .
They do .
But I ’ ve been observing this game long enough to have a pretty good idea of how this works : Someone says something that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ case , the narrative about medical science ) , and the machine that supports that narrative goes into overdrive to discredit them , with whatever information they can dig up–as long as it doesn ’ t involve discussing the actual substance of what the person has said .
I understand that for some people , maybe even for a great many , that is the end of the conversation .
So for everyone who is satisfied with the “ fringe doctors promoting hydroxychloroquine also believe demon sex causes fybroids ” narrative–please , stop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and you may go on believing that this group of doctors and other professionals has been thoroughly discredited by these statements .
A VOYAGE IN IMAGINATIO ... Holmes , Dr Joel S Buy New $ 9.95 For everyone else , if you are at all interested in why such a coordinated effort has been launched to silence and discredit this group , why–even before the sex demon stuff was uncovered–videos of the group ’ s press conference were quickly yanked from YouTube , and why their own website was taken down without warning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their new website can now be found here ) then please keep reading .
WHAT THE AMERICA ’ S FRONTLINE DOCTORS GROUP SAID : What follows is a brief summary of the key points made by the group America ’ s Frontline Doctors at their press conference last week .
I will not comment on the validity of their claims , however founder Dr. Simone Gold has provided support for much of what the group said , in a white paper that can be found here .
1 .
They believe that hydroxychloroquine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is the claim made by several of the speakers , including Dr. Immanuel , based on their own clinical experience , as well as on multiple published studies .
Many of those studies are listed here , and here .
2 .
State licensing boards are using their power to forcibly prevent people from having access to this drug .
According to Dr. Gold , many states have empowered their pharmacists to not honor prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine to be used in treating Covid-19 .
This , she says , is unprecedented : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state has threatened a doctor for prescribing a universally accepted safe generic cheap drug off-label.
” Zicam Cold Remedy Citr ... Buy New $ 9.97 ( $ 0.40 / Count ) Meanwhile , says Gold , the drug is available over the counter in many other countries , including Iran and Indonesia , where it can be found “ in the vitamin section ” .
3 .
There is a coordinated campaign to discredit and suppress information about the drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for Covid-19 : “ If it seems like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against hydroxychloroquine , ” said Dr. James Todaro , “ it ’ s because there is.
” Dr. Todaro is speaking from experience .
He was the co-author of a March 13 white paper arguing for the use of hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19 .
The paper was made public on Google Docs , received a lot of attention , and was then removed–without warning–by Google .
( It has since been put back up . )
4 .
The World Health Organization ( the authority upon which YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has said she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ misinformation ” ) halted its trials of hydroxychloroquine based on a blatantly fraudulent study that relied on data that it appears never even existed .
The WHO later resumed trials after independent investigators discovered the problems and the study ’ s authors retracted it .
5 .
We should be able to have a free and open discussion about this .
Dr. Dr. Joseph Lapado from UCLA , sums it up : Fauci : The Bernie Mado ... Ortleb , Charles Buy New $ 5.99 “ We ’ ve been using ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But all of a sudden it ’ s been escalated to this area of looking like some poisonous drug .
That just doesn ’ t make sense… At the very least , we can live in a world where there are differences of opinion about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine , but still allow more data to come , still allow physicians who feel they have expertise with it to use that medication , and still , you know , talk and learn and get better at helping people with Covid-19.
” WHY THE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
: The influence that the pharmaceutical industry wields over media outlets is no secret .
As of 2018 , an estimated 70 % of all news advertising in the US came from pharmaceutical companies .
I have written elsewhere about how “ reporting ” on medical issues can be difficult to distinguish from outright marketing for drug companies .
Social-media platforms are not immune to this influence , whether it comes via advertising dollars ; “ partnerships ” such as that between the CDC Foundation and MailChimp ( which like many other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ censoring content about vaccines that does not align with the positions of the CDC and the WHO ) ; direct investment , such as that of Google ’ s parent company Alphabet ; or indeed at the behest of politicians such as Congressman Adam Schiff , who last year wrote to the CEOs of Amazon , Facebook and Google , requesting that those companies censor information and products that did not conform to the officially sanctioned position on vaccines .
All three complied .
So it should come as small surprise that both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removing content supportive of hydroxychloroquine , a drug that is no longer covered by patent , and can be made and sold by any generic producer , for a fraction of the price that Gilead , for example , might charge for its still-patented Remdesivir .
Twitter and Facebook have likewise removed posts about the drug , most notably–and with no visible sense of irony–removing posts of the video in which the Frontline Doctors speak out about widespread media censorship of the topic .
( You can now see those videos on Bitchute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opinion on the merits of the drug hydroxychloroquine in order to recognize that something very odd is happening here .
Something that doesn ’ t seem to have anything to do with free and open inquiry or honest scientific discourse .
Unreported Truths abou ... Berenson , Alex Buy New $ 5.99 Many argue that the politicization of this drug is founded in a desire to unseat President Trump , that the opposition to it is primarily because it was endorsed by Trump , and if it is deemed to be a failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ patients ) it will be a powerful strike against the president .
That may well be part of what has motivated this .
But there is another motivation , having to do with the desire to push a more expensive medication onto the market , and to push a new vaccine on the world ’ s population .
More broadly , it has to do with the narrative that those in the business of selling drugs demand we believe : that we are all in desperate need of their products ( but only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are to be healthy–or indeed , if we are to survive at all .
If it turns out that this “ new ” virus is easily treatable , with hydroxychloroquine or anything else , then the industry ’ s dreams go up in smoke .
If hydroxychloroquine turns out to be a safe and effective way of treating Covid-19 ( as multiple studies and the experience in many other countries outside of the US indicate it may be ) then there is much less reason for anyone to receive a vaccine for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s population .
Likewise , there is no pressing need to develop a new , more expensive treatment .
But even more than that : If it turns out that hydroxychloroquine is after all a safe and effective treatment for Covid-19 , then this whole episode–the silencing of dissenting voices , the “ fact-checking ” on social media , the campaigns against “ misinformation ” –will be revealed in plain sight , for what it has always been : Nothing more than a well-funded marketing campaign and damage-control effort on behalf of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you need to use its expensive products in order to go on living .
The Culture Of Fear : W ... Glassner , Barry Best Price : $ 1.92 Buy New $ 25.00 So when a group of doctors took to the steps of the US Supreme Court and told the world how they were having success using a cheap anti-malarial that had been in use for 65 years to treat the most deadly contagion of our generation , it was a massive blow to the narrative upon which the pharmaceutical purveyors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ next few days , as viewers engaged in a race with the censors , quickly downloading videos before they were removed , to post them on other platforms… it became clear that the censors and the gatekeepers had lost control of the conversation .
This is not only about hydroxychloroquine .
Every time media outlets or social-media platforms engage in outright censorship of content , in a way that happens to benefit pharmaceutical companies , both parties lose just a little more credibility .
The actions we are witnessing now are not the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ value of what it provides to the world .
They are the actions of a desperate , threatened creature .
They are the actions of an entity that is not strengthened by the truth , but weakened by it .
That is what these ( increasingly obvious ) acts of censorship tell us .
What we are witnessing are the pangs of a lumbering , wounded , behemoth .
The Best of Bretigne Shaffer

So now we don’t have to listen to what those doctors said in front of the US Supreme Court, because it turns out that one of them has some whacky beliefs about sex with demons causing reproductive disorders. What a relief.
I’m not going to pretend that the things Dr. Stella Immanuel has said don’t sound just a little crazy to me. They do. But I’ve been observing this game long enough to have a pretty good idea of how this works:
Someone says something that contradicts the dominant narrative (in this case, the narrative about medical science), and the machine that supports that narrative goes into overdrive to discredit them, with whatever information they can dig up–as long as it doesn’t involve discussing the actual substance of what the person has said.
I understand that for some people, maybe even for a great many, that is the end of the conversation. So for everyone who is satisfied with the “fringe doctors promoting hydroxychloroquine also believe demon sex causes fybroids” narrative–please, stop here. Your ride is over, and you may go on believing that this group of doctors and other professionals has been thoroughly discredited by these statements. A VOYAGE IN IMAGINATIO... Holmes, Dr Joel S Buy New $9.95 (as of 04:21 UTC - Details)
For everyone else, if you are at all interested in why such a coordinated effort has been launched to silence and discredit this group, why–even before the sex demon stuff was uncovered–videos of the group’s press conference were quickly yanked from YouTube, and why their own website was taken down without warning by its host, SquareSpace, (their new website can now be found here) then please keep reading.
WHAT THE AMERICA’S FRONTLINE DOCTORS GROUP SAID:
What follows is a brief summary of the key points made by the group America’s Frontline Doctors at their press conference last week. I will not comment on the validity of their claims, however founder Dr. Simone Gold has provided support for much of what the group said, in a white paper that can be found here.
1. They believe that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment for Covid-19.
This is the claim made by several of the speakers, including Dr. Immanuel, based on their own clinical experience, as well as on multiple published studies. Many of those studies are listed here, and here.
2. State licensing boards are using their power to forcibly prevent people from having access to this drug.
According to Dr. Gold, many states have empowered their pharmacists to not honor prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine to be used in treating Covid-19. This, she says, is unprecedented: “It has never happened that a state has threatened a doctor for prescribing a universally accepted safe generic cheap drug off-label.” Zicam Cold Remedy Citr... Buy New $9.97 ($0.40 / Count) (as of 03:17 UTC - Details)
Meanwhile, says Gold, the drug is available over the counter in many other countries, including Iran and Indonesia, where it can be found “in the vitamin section”.
3. There is a coordinated campaign to discredit and suppress information about the drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for Covid-19:
“If it seems like there is an orchestrated attack going on against hydroxychloroquine,” said Dr. James Todaro, “it’s because there is.”
Dr. Todaro is speaking from experience. He was the co-author of a March 13 white paper arguing for the use of hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19. The paper was made public on Google Docs, received a lot of attention, and was then removed–without warning–by Google. (It has since been put back up.)
4. The World Health Organization (the authority upon which YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has said she bases her company’s policy on “misinformation”) halted its trials of hydroxychloroquine based on a blatantly fraudulent study that relied on data that it appears never even existed. The WHO later resumed trials after independent investigators discovered the problems and the study’s authors retracted it.
5. We should be able to have a free and open discussion about this.
Dr. Dr. Joseph Lapado from UCLA, sums it up:
Fauci: The Bernie Mado... Ortleb, Charles Buy New $5.99 (as of 02:55 UTC - Details) “We’ve been using (hydroxychloroquine) for a long time. But all of a sudden it’s been escalated to this area of looking like some poisonous drug. That just doesn’t make sense… At the very least, we can live in a world where there are differences of opinion about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, but still allow more data to come, still allow physicians who feel they have expertise with it to use that medication, and still, you know, talk and learn and get better at helping people with Covid-19.”
WHY THE ALL-OUT MEDIA ASSAULT ON THE FRONTLINE DOCTORS?:
The influence that the pharmaceutical industry wields over media outlets is no secret. As of 2018, an estimated 70% of all news advertising in the US came from pharmaceutical companies. I have written elsewhere about how “reporting” on medical issues can be difficult to distinguish from outright marketing for drug companies.
Social-media platforms are not immune to this influence, whether it comes via advertising dollars; “partnerships” such as that between the CDC Foundation and MailChimp (which like many other platforms, has an explicit policy of censoring content about vaccines that does not align with the positions of the CDC and the WHO); direct investment, such as that of Google’s parent company Alphabet; or indeed at the behest of politicians such as Congressman Adam Schiff, who last year wrote to the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook and Google, requesting that those companies censor information and products that did not conform to the officially sanctioned position on vaccines. All three complied.
So it should come as small surprise that both Google and YouTube have now taken to removing content supportive of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that is no longer covered by patent, and can be made and sold by any generic producer, for a fraction of the price that Gilead, for example, might charge for its still-patented Remdesivir. Twitter and Facebook have likewise removed posts about the drug, most notably–and with no visible sense of irony–removing posts of the video in which the Frontline Doctors speak out about widespread media censorship of the topic. (You can now see those videos on Bitchute.)
One need not have an opinion on the merits of the drug hydroxychloroquine in order to recognize that something very odd is happening here. Something that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with free and open inquiry or honest scientific discourse. Unreported Truths abou... Berenson, Alex Buy New $5.99 (as of 03:17 UTC - Details)
Many argue that the politicization of this drug is founded in a desire to unseat President Trump, that the opposition to it is primarily because it was endorsed by Trump, and if it is deemed to be a failure (or even better, dangerous to patients) it will be a powerful strike against the president. That may well be part of what has motivated this. But there is another motivation, having to do with the desire to push a more expensive medication onto the market, and to push a new vaccine on the world’s population.
More broadly, it has to do with the narrative that those in the business of selling drugs demand we believe: that we are all in desperate need of their products (but only the ones still under patent) if we are to be healthy–or indeed, if we are to survive at all.
If it turns out that this “new” virus is easily treatable, with hydroxychloroquine or anything else, then the industry’s dreams go up in smoke. If hydroxychloroquine turns out to be a safe and effective way of treating Covid-19 (as multiple studies and the experience in many other countries outside of the US indicate it may be) then there is much less reason for anyone to receive a vaccine for it, let alone the entire world’s population. Likewise, there is no pressing need to develop a new, more expensive treatment.
But even more than that: If it turns out that hydroxychloroquine is after all a safe and effective treatment for Covid-19, then this whole episode–the silencing of dissenting voices, the “fact-checking” on social media, the campaigns against “misinformation”–will be revealed in plain sight, for what it has always been: Nothing more than a well-funded marketing campaign and damage-control effort on behalf of the industry that wants you to believe that you need to use its expensive products in order to go on living. The Culture Of Fear: W... Glassner, Barry Best Price: $1.92 Buy New $25.00 (as of 04:07 UTC - Details)
So when a group of doctors took to the steps of the US Supreme Court and told the world how they were having success using a cheap anti-malarial that had been in use for 65 years to treat the most deadly contagion of our generation, it was a massive blow to the narrative upon which the pharmaceutical purveyors’ success depends. And over the next few days, as viewers engaged in a race with the censors, quickly downloading videos before they were removed, to post them on other platforms… it became clear that the censors and the gatekeepers had lost control of the conversation.
This is not only about hydroxychloroquine. Every time media outlets or social-media platforms engage in outright censorship of content, in a way that happens to benefit pharmaceutical companies, both parties lose just a little more credibility. The actions we are witnessing now are not the actions of an industry confident in the value of what it provides to the world. They are the actions of a desperate, threatened creature. They are the actions of an entity that is not strengthened by the truth, but weakened by it. That is what these (increasingly obvious) acts of censorship tell us. What we are witnessing are the pangs of a lumbering, wounded, behemoth.
The Best of Bretigne Shaffer


lewrockwell--2020-08-07--Will Trump Have Cities Named for Him & Monuments Built for Him?

While I don ’ t seek to bring about the deification of Donald Trump , or any other government official , I do seek to encourage calm minds and historical context when talking about the world .
In the triggered , emotion-heavy moment we live in , manipulation of mass opinion against Trump is a popular hobby among journalists , intellectuals , and a double-digit percentage of the population .
The Lincoln Memorial , desecrated repeatedly the past months , was not dedicated until 1922 , 57 years after the 1865 death of President Abraham Lincoln , who in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hated American presidents .
You can hardly get any worse than Lincoln .
When Trump was elected , a handful of celebrities threatened to leave the country .
Few actually followed through on that threat .
When Lincoln was elected , entire states left the country .
More followed .
By the end of Lincoln ’ s first year , 13 states and one territory had left the country .
It grew so divisive that some of those states had their own internal disputes over what state government was that state ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ne ... Dilorenzo , Thomas J .
Best Price : $ 4.25 Buy New $ 7.48 You really can ’ t get worse than Lincoln .
While some American celebrities critical of Trump threatened to leave for Canada , Lincoln took that a step further .
He deported one of his Ohio critics .
This expulsion from Ohio was not voluntary : the military rounded up the northern anti-war congressman Clement Vallandigham and sent him across the Confederate lines .
Eventually he fled to Canada , running for governor of Ohio in absentia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely the most sensible one of the whole lot in Congress .
I ’ ve yet to find a supersized statue built of him in DC .
Vallandigham , delivered forceful addresses for years , upending Lincoln ’ s narrative , and calling out Lincoln for mass imprisonment of political opponents in the North , shutting down hundreds of northern opposition newspapers , telegraph censorship , and waging war without congressional consent .
Far from being a civil war — where one side fights another side for control of the federal apparatus — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war of secession , where one side says “ I want a divorce , ” and the other side attempts to pummel them until they stop talking that way and start smiling again .
Lincoln , and others in the party he helped to form , escalated the fight until things got ugly .
It ’ s almost impossible to have been more hated than Abraham Lincoln was , and for good reason : it is hard to be more destructive than Abraham Lincoln was .
How to Win America for ... Stevo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23.33 Buy New $ 17.95 New York ’ s most deadly riots took place in July 1863 , when people refused to go fight in Lincoln ’ s awful war .
By the end of Lincoln ’ s first term , some 2 % of Americans had died in a war that had been directly caused by his inability to get along with others .
Though one in 50 is a large number by modern standards , this number barely indicates the amount of damage done to a largely agrarian country by having @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in war .
It was devastating to communities in the north and the south .
Nor did the death and destruction stop at lives lost on the battlefield .
The Union attacks on civilians , their homes , and their property were done with a vengeance and a clear intent that would make it impossible to leave the disagreement on the battlefield at the end of the war .
The tyrant Lincoln was so hated that statues stand to this day in memory of the people who sacrificed life , liberty , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positions in the United States and fighting on the side of their home state , in an effort to be left alone by the central planners of Washington , D.C. and the moneyed interests who backed them .
Schoolchildren tend to be fed with the most awful lies to lionize Lincoln and justify the awful war .
Like any war , there were many reasons this one was fought , some noble .
Letters from the time show Confederate soldiers calling it a fight over freedom , a second American Revolution from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took place in 1776 .
Thomas DiLorenzo ’ s The Real Lincoln offers numerous examples of such letters and is my favorite revisionist Lincoln text .
1986 - Present 1/10oz ...
Check Amazon for Pricing .
While Confederate soldiers were penning letters home like that , Abraham Lincoln was writing letters to his “ pen-pal ” Karl Marx , who had written for one of the New York papers that helped provoke the war between the states and gave Lincoln their backing .
Though Lincoln was unlikely to have known much of Marx @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington Post fantasizes , their tyrannical ideas about humanity were all too similar .
They could have made wonderful pen-pals .
It really is hard to be any worse of a president than Abraham Lincoln , yet he is honored in statues , street names , town names , school plays , and text books , often in the most propagandistic hagiography .
Donald Trump follows in a long line of presidents who exceed their constitutional authority .
He is barely the worst .
He hasn ’ t started any wars , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some areas , while unfortunately growing it mightily in other areas .
Lincoln is unquestionably the worst .
After that is FDR .
It is often the worst tyrants that the future seems happiest to deify .
I don ’ t know if Trump is going to turn out to have been an awful American president or a good one , but I know the more tyrannical he becomes , the more likely he is to be studied by the children of today ’ s protestors , rioters , journalists , and intellectuals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Last Gold Rushu202 ... Haynes , Bill Buy New $ 28.00 Those who oppose truthful inquiry and the freedom it propagates , tend to honor the tyrant and seek the convenient story .
Those who yearn for truth , welcome the disquiet of an insightful question .
In every age , people like that seek truth and prosper in the liberation that their search offers .
Far from being the spear tip of insightful questions , the prepackaged narrative of our day fits the current crop of government indoctrinated protestors well .
Who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be served to children and grandchildren of those protestors decades from now and emotionally acted upon .
Only time will tell if Trump will have monuments built for him and cities named for him .
Only time will tell who those are built by and named by .
History tends to reward the tyrant and the warmonger for knowing how to “ do something.
” Free men tend to honor those who show a calm head and measured restraint in time of crisis .
They , too , get cities named for them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the work of the calm heads and measured restraint of those who build .
The Best of Allan Stevo

While I don’t seek to bring about the deification of Donald Trump, or any other government official, I do seek to encourage calm minds and historical context when talking about the world.
In the triggered, emotion-heavy moment we live in, manipulation of mass opinion against Trump is a popular hobby among journalists, intellectuals, and a double-digit percentage of the population.
The Lincoln Memorial, desecrated repeatedly the past months, was not dedicated until 1922, 57 years after the 1865 death of President Abraham Lincoln, who in his lifetime, was one of the most hated American presidents.
You can hardly get any worse than Lincoln. When Trump was elected, a handful of celebrities threatened to leave the country. Few actually followed through on that threat. When Lincoln was elected, entire states left the country. More followed. By the end of Lincoln’s first year, 13 states and one territory had left the country. It grew so divisive that some of those states had their own internal disputes over what state government was that state’s authority. The Real Lincoln: A Ne... Dilorenzo, Thomas J. Best Price: $4.25 Buy New $7.48 (as of 07:05 UTC - Details)
You really can’t get worse than Lincoln.
While some American celebrities critical of Trump threatened to leave for Canada, Lincoln took that a step further. He deported one of his Ohio critics. This expulsion from Ohio was not voluntary: the military rounded up the northern anti-war congressman Clement Vallandigham and sent him across the Confederate lines. Eventually he fled to Canada, running for governor of Ohio in absentia. History shows that this man was likely the most sensible one of the whole lot in Congress. I’ve yet to find a supersized statue built of him in DC.
Vallandigham, delivered forceful addresses for years, upending Lincoln’s narrative, and calling out Lincoln for mass imprisonment of political opponents in the North, shutting down hundreds of northern opposition newspapers, telegraph censorship, and waging war without congressional consent.
Far from being a civil war — where one side fights another side for control of the federal apparatus — the War Between the States was a war of secession, where one side says “I want a divorce,” and the other side attempts to pummel them until they stop talking that way and start smiling again. Lincoln, and others in the party he helped to form, escalated the fight until things got ugly.
It’s almost impossible to have been more hated than Abraham Lincoln was, and for good reason: it is hard to be more destructive than Abraham Lincoln was. How to Win America for... Stevo, Allan J Best Price: $14.36 Buy New $17.95 (as of 04:37 UTC - Details)
New York’s most deadly riots took place in July 1863, when people refused to go fight in Lincoln’s awful war. By the end of Lincoln’s first term, some 2% of Americans had died in a war that had been directly caused by his inability to get along with others. Though one in 50 is a large number by modern standards, this number barely indicates the amount of damage done to a largely agrarian country by having so many of its able-bodied men slaughtered in war. It was devastating to communities in the north and the south.
Nor did the death and destruction stop at lives lost on the battlefield. The Union attacks on civilians, their homes, and their property were done with a vengeance and a clear intent that would make it impossible to leave the disagreement on the battlefield at the end of the war.
The tyrant Lincoln was so hated that statues stand to this day in memory of the people who sacrificed life, liberty, and sacred honor by leaving well-paid, well-regarded positions in the United States and fighting on the side of their home state, in an effort to be left alone by the central planners of Washington, D.C. and the moneyed interests who backed them.
Schoolchildren tend to be fed with the most awful lies to lionize Lincoln and justify the awful war. Like any war, there were many reasons this one was fought, some noble. Letters from the time show Confederate soldiers calling it a fight over freedom, a second American Revolution from a power-hungry tyrant just like the one that took place in 1776. Thomas DiLorenzo’s The Real Lincoln offers numerous examples of such letters and is my favorite revisionist Lincoln text.
1986 - Present 1/10oz ... Check Amazon for Pricing. While Confederate soldiers were penning letters home like that, Abraham Lincoln was writing letters to his “pen-pal” Karl Marx, who had written for one of the New York papers that helped provoke the war between the states and gave Lincoln their backing. Though Lincoln was unlikely to have known much of Marx or his writing in the way the Washington Post fantasizes, their tyrannical ideas about humanity were all too similar. They could have made wonderful pen-pals.
It really is hard to be any worse of a president than Abraham Lincoln, yet he is honored in statues, street names, town names, school plays, and text books, often in the most propagandistic hagiography.
Donald Trump follows in a long line of presidents who exceed their constitutional authority. He is barely the worst. He hasn’t started any wars, and he has slightly rolled back government in some areas, while unfortunately growing it mightily in other areas.
Lincoln is unquestionably the worst. After that is FDR. It is often the worst tyrants that the future seems happiest to deify.
I don’t know if Trump is going to turn out to have been an awful American president or a good one, but I know the more tyrannical he becomes, the more likely he is to be studied by the children of today’s protestors, rioters, journalists, and intellectuals as a great American president.
The Last Gold Rushu202... Haynes, Bill Buy New $28.00 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details) Those who oppose truthful inquiry and the freedom it propagates, tend to honor the tyrant and seek the convenient story. Those who yearn for truth, welcome the disquiet of an insightful question. In every age, people like that seek truth and prosper in the liberation that their search offers.
Far from being the spear tip of insightful questions, the prepackaged narrative of our day fits the current crop of government indoctrinated protestors well. Who knows what prepackaged “truth” will be served to children and grandchildren of those protestors decades from now and emotionally acted upon.
Only time will tell if Trump will have monuments built for him and cities named for him. Only time will tell who those are built by and named by. History tends to reward the tyrant and the warmonger for knowing how to “do something.” Free men tend to honor those who show a calm head and measured restraint in time of crisis. They, too, get cities named for them, and all civilization is a testament to the work of the calm heads and measured restraint of those who build.
The Best of Allan Stevo