lewrockwell--2020-11-05--OxyContin Maker Pleads Guilty and Shuts Down

In March 2019 , facing an estimated 2,600 lawsuits1,2 relating to its role in creating the opioid epidemic , Purdue Pharma — the maker of OxyContin — announced the company was considering filing for bankruptcy protection .
Around that same time , New York expanded its lawsuit against the company to include allegations that company funds had been fraudulently transferred into trusts and offshore accounts owned by members of the Sackler family in an effort to shield assets from litigation.3,4 In all , court documents reveal the Sacklers transferred more than $ 10 billion of the company ’ s funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fall under the fraudulent conveyance statutes , which is attempting to avoid a debt by moving assets to another person or legal entity , boggles my mind .
It appears the only reason they got away with this is they found the loophole of transferring their assets offshore .
American Overdose : The ... McGreal , Chris Best Price : $ 7.13 Buy New $ 13.15 The New York complaint also charged Purdue with secretly setting up a new company , Rhodes Pharma , in 2007 while the company was being investigated by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the Sacklers from the mounting OxyContin crisis and continue their profit scheme.6 Rhodes Pharma makes generic opioids , allowing the Sacklers to benefit from the opioid epidemic both in terms of brand name sales and generic sales.7 Rhodes Pharma and Richard Sackler also hold the patent to a new , faster-dissolving form of buprenorphine , a mild opioid drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction,8 allowing the Sacklers to further profit from the addiction crisis they helped instigate , the economic burden of which is costing the U.S. an estimated $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts,10 Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers sought to increase opioid prescriptions while simultaneously developing overdose treatment to boost its profits .
Purdue finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2019.11 At the end of October 2020 , Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges relating to its role in the opioid crisis , including violating a federal anti-kickback law , conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and violating the Food , Drug and Cosmetic Act.12,13 To settle the charges , Purdue is supposed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , forfeiture of past profits and civil liability payments.14 However , the company doesn ’ t have enough cash to cover the payments so , instead , Purdue Pharma will be dissolved , and its assets used to erect a “ public benefit company , ” in other words , a government-owned and controlled drug company .
This new company will reportedly be controlled by a trust that will “ balance the trust ’ s interests against those of the American public and public health.
” 15 Future earnings from this public benefit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the $ 8.3 billion penalty , which in turn is supposed to be used to combat the opioid crisis .
Dopesick : Dealers , Doc ... Macy , Beth Best Price : $ 4.90 Buy New $ 12.75 This is a remarkable development , and one wonders just how functional this setup is going to be .
In essence , the government will now be in the business of making and selling opioids , the profits from which will then be used to combat opioid addiction .
It seems like a circular and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Sackler family , meanwhile , have reached a separate settlement in which they will pay $ 225 million in civil liability for causing false claims about OxyContin to be made to Medicare and other government health care programs.17 While the agreement does not release the Sacklers from potential criminal liability , it seems the family will walk away scot-free .
And , considering they already transferred some $ 10 billion into their family trusts , the $ 225 million fine is a very small fraction , so they won ’ t end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have no remorse , Sackler family members , in a recent statement , shifted blame for the company ’ s illegal activities on its managers , saying they “ relied on management assertions the company acted lawfully.
” 18 This , even though several Sackler family members sat on the company board and were intimately familiar with the company ’ s marketing strategy .
It ’ s unclear whether this DOJ agreement affects or includes the Sacklers ’ other opioid company , Rhodes Pharmaceuticals .
If not , it falls short in that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to continue their opioid business .
Between 2009 and 2016 , Rhodes ’ market share of opioid sales actually exceeded that of Purdue itself.19 Aside from Purdue and Rhodes , the Sacklers have also profited from Napp Pharmaceuticals , a Cambridge-based drug company that manufactures — you guessed it — opioids.20 In 2018 , seven family members resigned from their directors ’ posts at Napp following a string of bad publicity relating to alleged tax evasion schemes .
Dreamland : The True Ta ... Quinones , Sam Best Price : $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , since deceased , was found to have avoided paying income tax , capital gains tax and inheritance taxes in the U.K. by falsely claiming non-domiciled status .
The family was also accused of using a Bermuda-based company to avoid paying corporate taxes for Napp Pharmaceuticals.21 Even though $ 8.3 billion is a record-breaking settlement , states have filed claims exceeding $ 2 trillion in Purdue ’ s bankruptcy case , and according to a November 2017 report22 by the White House Council on Economic Advisers , the estimated financial cost of opioid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 504 billion in 2015 .
In addition to health care costs , criminal justice costs and lost productivity due to addiction or incarceration , this figure also takes into account projected lost earnings and the value of statistical life for people who died prematurely .
In response to the Justice Department ’ s settlement with Purdue Pharma , 25 state attorneys general sent a letter23 to U.S. Attorney General William Barr , in which they object to the settlement and argue against the government getting involved in the opioid business .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , reads in part:24 Pain Killer : An Empire ... Barry Meier Best Price : $ 3.12 Buy New $ 7.66 Connecticut Attorney General William Tong also told CNN:25 How Purdue Launched and Fueled the Opioid Epidemic In previous articles , I ’ ve discussed the role false advertising played in the creation of the opioid crisis.26 To recap , a single paragraph in a 1980 letter to the editor27,28 ( not a study ) in The New England Journal of Medicine — which stated that narcotic addiction in patients with no history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the basis of a drug marketing campaign that has since led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people .
Purdue Pharma used this letter to the editor as the basis for its claim that opioid addiction affects less than 1 % of patients treated with the drugs .
In reality , opioids have a very high rate of addiction and have not been proven effective for long-term use.29 Research30 published in 2018 also shows opioids ( including morphine , Vicodin , oxycodone and fentanyl ) fail to control moderate to severe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as acetaminophen , ibuprofen and naproxen .
Various court cases have demonstrated how Purdue systematically misled doctors about OxyContin ’ s addictiveness to drive up sales .
The inevitable result of Purdue Pharma ’ s ruthless and immoral marketing campaign has been skyrocketing opioid addiction , which killed 46,802 Americans in 2018 alone.31 Adding insult to injury , when it became clear that people were dying in droves from opioid overdoses , Purdue launched an extensive damage-control operation that included the suggestion that those dying from opioids were already addicts , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who were not already addicted to drugs .
The company also sought to cash in on the rising addiction trend twice by getting into the business of creating overdose treatments .
Perhaps most egregious of all has been the reckless prescribing of opioids to young people .
Here , dentists have been a major part of the problem , as opioids are frequently prescribed when extracting wisdom teeth .
Insurance claims data from 2016 and 2017 reveal 60 % of children between the ages of 1 and 18 with private insurance filled one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removal,32,33 and dentists wrote a staggering 18.1 million prescriptions for opioids in 2017.34 As noted by Ronnie Cohen in a March 2019 article35 in The Washington Post , “ until recently , dentists seemed to have had no idea they may have been helping to feed an epidemic that resulted in a record 70,237 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2017.
” 36 But contribute they have , and according to data37 from the University of Michigan , 31.8 % , or just over 1 in 3 people who misused opioids during their high @ @ @ @ @ @ @ age 35 .
Data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse also confirms that prescription opioid use is a significant risk factor for subsequent heroin use:38 • Incidence of heroin use was 19 times higher among those who had used opioids nonmedically than among those who had not used an opioid • 86 % of young , urban injection drug users had used opioid pain relievers nonmedically before starting heroin .
The three primary sources of opioids were family , friends and personal prescriptions .
This is the reverse trend from the 1960 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who started abusing opioids had started with heroin • Of those who began abusing opioids in the 2000s , 75 % reported that their first opioid was a prescription drug • Nearly 80 % of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin Struggling With Opioid Addiction ?
Please Seek Help Regardless of the brand of opioid , it ’ s important to realize they are extremely addictive drugs and not meant for long-term use for nonfatal conditions .
Chemically , opioids are similar to heroin , so if you wouldn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a toothache or backache , seriously reconsider taking an opioid to relieve this type of pain .
The misconception that opioids are harmless pain relievers has killed hundreds of thousands , and destroyed the lives of countless more .
In many cases , you ’ ll be able to control pain without using medications .
In my previous article , “ Billionaire Opioid Executive Stands to Make Millions More on Patent for Addiction Treatment , ” I discuss several approaches — including nondrug remedies , dietary changes and bodywork interventions — that can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control pain , both acute and chronic .
If you ’ ve been on an opioid for more than two months , or if you find yourself taking a higher dosage or taking the drug more often than you initially did , you may already be addicted .
Resources where you can find help include the following .
• The Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration can be contacted 24 hours a day at 1-800-622-HELP You can also learn more in “ How to Wean Off Opioids.
” I also recommend keeping an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how low dose naltrexone ( LDN ) , an opioid antagonist , is being used at ultra-low micro doses of 1 microgram to successfully treat opioid addiction .
The Best of Joseph Mercola

In March 2019, facing an estimated 2,600 lawsuits1,2 relating to its role in creating the opioid epidemic, Purdue Pharma — the maker of OxyContin — announced the company was considering filing for bankruptcy protection.
Around that same time, New York expanded its lawsuit against the company to include allegations that company funds had been fraudulently transferred into trusts and offshore accounts owned by members of the Sackler family in an effort to shield assets from litigation.3,4 In all, court documents reveal the Sacklers transferred more than $10 billion of the company’s funds into family trusts.5
How this does not fall under the fraudulent conveyance statutes, which is attempting to avoid a debt by moving assets to another person or legal entity, boggles my mind. It appears the only reason they got away with this is they found the loophole of transferring their assets offshore.
American Overdose: The... McGreal, Chris Best Price: $7.13 Buy New $13.15 (as of 05:34 UTC - Details) The New York complaint also charged Purdue with secretly setting up a new company, Rhodes Pharma, in 2007 while the company was being investigated by federal prosecutors, as a way to protect the Sacklers from the mounting OxyContin crisis and continue their profit scheme.6 Rhodes Pharma makes generic opioids, allowing the Sacklers to benefit from the opioid epidemic both in terms of brand name sales and generic sales.7
Rhodes Pharma and Richard Sackler also hold the patent to a new, faster-dissolving form of buprenorphine, a mild opioid drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction,8 allowing the Sacklers to further profit from the addiction crisis they helped instigate, the economic burden of which is costing the U.S. an estimated $504 billion a year.9
Indeed, according to a lawsuit filed in Massachusetts,10 Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers sought to increase opioid prescriptions while simultaneously developing overdose treatment to boost its profits.
US Government Enters Opioid Business
Purdue finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2019.11 At the end of October 2020, Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges relating to its role in the opioid crisis, including violating a federal anti-kickback law, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.12,13
To settle the charges, Purdue is supposed to pay $8.3 billion in fines, forfeiture of past profits and civil liability payments.14 However, the company doesn’t have enough cash to cover the payments so, instead, Purdue Pharma will be dissolved, and its assets used to erect a “public benefit company,” in other words, a government-owned and controlled drug company.
The estimated financial cost of opioid addiction and death in the U.S. was $504 billion in 2015. In addition to health care costs, criminal justice costs and lost productivity due to addiction or incarceration, this figure also takes into account projected lost earnings and the value of statistical life for people who died prematurely.
This new company will reportedly be controlled by a trust that will “balance the trust’s interests against those of the American public and public health.”15 Future earnings from this public benefit company will be used to pay off the $8.3 billion penalty, which in turn is supposed to be used to combat the opioid crisis. Dopesick: Dealers, Doc... Macy, Beth Best Price: $4.90 Buy New $12.75 (as of 05:04 UTC - Details)
This is a remarkable development, and one wonders just how functional this setup is going to be. In essence, the government will now be in the business of making and selling opioids, the profits from which will then be used to combat opioid addiction. It seems like a circular and rather illogical setup. According to CNN:16
“Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who announced the settlement, defended the plans for the new company to continue to sell that drug, saying there are legitimate uses for painkillers such as OxyContin.”
Sackler Family Walk Away Scot-Free, Again
The Sackler family, meanwhile, have reached a separate settlement in which they will pay $225 million in civil liability for causing false claims about OxyContin to be made to Medicare and other government health care programs.17
While the agreement does not release the Sacklers from potential criminal liability, it seems the family will walk away scot-free. And, considering they already transferred some $10 billion into their family trusts, the $225 million fine is a very small fraction, so they won’t end up wanting financially either.
Proving they have no remorse, Sackler family members, in a recent statement, shifted blame for the company’s illegal activities on its managers, saying they “relied on management assertions the company acted lawfully.”18 This, even though several Sackler family members sat on the company board and were intimately familiar with the company’s marketing strategy.
It’s unclear whether this DOJ agreement affects or includes the Sacklers’ other opioid company, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals. If not, it falls short in that respect too, since they would then be able to continue their opioid business. Between 2009 and 2016, Rhodes’ market share of opioid sales actually exceeded that of Purdue itself.19
Aside from Purdue and Rhodes, the Sacklers have also profited from Napp Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge-based drug company that manufactures — you guessed it — opioids.20 In 2018, seven family members resigned from their directors’ posts at Napp following a string of bad publicity relating to alleged tax evasion schemes. Dreamland: The True Ta... Quinones, Sam Best Price: $4.00 Buy New $10.41 (as of 06:57 UTC - Details)
Mortimer Sackler, since deceased, was found to have avoided paying income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance taxes in the U.K. by falsely claiming non-domiciled status. The family was also accused of using a Bermuda-based company to avoid paying corporate taxes for Napp Pharmaceuticals.21
Penalties Still Won’t Cover States’ Claims
Even though $8.3 billion is a record-breaking settlement, states have filed claims exceeding $2 trillion in Purdue’s bankruptcy case, and according to a November 2017 report22 by the White House Council on Economic Advisers, the estimated financial cost of opioid addiction and death in the U.S. was $504 billion in 2015.
In addition to health care costs, criminal justice costs and lost productivity due to addiction or incarceration, this figure also takes into account projected lost earnings and the value of statistical life for people who died prematurely.
In response to the Justice Department’s settlement with Purdue Pharma, 25 state attorneys general sent a letter23 to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, in which they object to the settlement and argue against the government getting involved in the opioid business. The letter, dated October 14, 2020, reads in part:24
“We write to ask you to revise a proposed DOJ settlement agreement that reportedly would wrongly mandate that Purdue Pharma’s infamous OxyContin business be preserved as a public trust.
A business that killed thousands of Americans should not be associated with government. Instead, the business should be sold to private owners, so the government can enforce the law against it with the same impartiality as for any other company …
The role of government in any OxyContin business should be to enforce the law, just as against any other company. The public deserves assurance that no opioid business is given the special protection of being placed under a public umbrella.
Although it may take time to find a private sector buyer, the public should be confident that public officials are seeking to avoid having special ties to an opioid company, conflicts of interest, or mixed motives in an industry that caused a national crisis.”
Pain Killer: An Empire... Barry Meier Best Price: $3.12 Buy New $7.66 (as of 08:30 UTC - Details) Connecticut Attorney General William Tong also told CNN:25
“This settlement provides a mere mirage of justice for the victims of Purdue’s callous misconduct. The federal government had the power here to put the Sacklers in jail, and they didn’t. Instead, they took fines and penalties that Purdue likely will never fully pay.
Every dollar paid here is one dollar less for states like Connecticut trying to maximize money from Purdue and the Sacklers to abate the opioid epidemic. Preserving Purdue’s ability to continue selling opioids as a public benefit corporation is simply unacceptable.”
How Purdue Launched and Fueled the Opioid Epidemic
In previous articles, I’ve discussed the role false advertising played in the creation of the opioid crisis.26 To recap, a single paragraph in a 1980 letter to the editor27,28 (not a study) in The New England Journal of Medicine — which stated that narcotic addiction in patients with no history of addiction was very rare — became the basis of a drug marketing campaign that has since led to the death of hundreds of thousands of people.
Purdue Pharma used this letter to the editor as the basis for its claim that opioid addiction affects less than 1% of patients treated with the drugs. In reality, opioids have a very high rate of addiction and have not been proven effective for long-term use.29
Research30 published in 2018 also shows opioids (including morphine, Vicodin, oxycodone and fentanyl) fail to control moderate to severe pain any better than over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen.
Various court cases have demonstrated how Purdue systematically misled doctors about OxyContin’s addictiveness to drive up sales. The inevitable result of Purdue Pharma’s ruthless and immoral marketing campaign has been skyrocketing opioid addiction, which killed 46,802 Americans in 2018 alone.31
Adding insult to injury, when it became clear that people were dying in droves from opioid overdoses, Purdue launched an extensive damage-control operation that included the suggestion that those dying from opioids were already addicts, and that this wouldn’t happen to patients who were not already addicted to drugs. The company also sought to cash in on the rising addiction trend twice by getting into the business of creating overdose treatments.
Opioid Misuse Paves Way for Heroin Addiction
Perhaps most egregious of all has been the reckless prescribing of opioids to young people. Here, dentists have been a major part of the problem, as opioids are frequently prescribed when extracting wisdom teeth.
Insurance claims data from 2016 and 2017 reveal 60% of children between the ages of 1 and 18 with private insurance filled one or more opioid prescriptions after surgical tonsil removal,32,33 and dentists wrote a staggering 18.1 million prescriptions for opioids in 2017.34
As noted by Ronnie Cohen in a March 2019 article35 in The Washington Post, “until recently, dentists seemed to have had no idea they may have been helping to feed an epidemic that resulted in a record 70,237 U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2017.”36
But contribute they have, and according to data37 from the University of Michigan, 31.8%, or just over 1 in 3 people who misused opioids during their high school years ended up using heroin by age 35. Data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse also confirms that prescription opioid use is a significant risk factor for subsequent heroin use:38
Incidence of heroin use was 19 times higher among those who had used opioids nonmedically than among those who had not used an opioid
86% of young, urban injection drug users had used opioid pain relievers nonmedically before starting heroin. The three primary sources of opioids were family, friends and personal prescriptions. This is the reverse trend from the 1960, when more than 80% of those who started abusing opioids had started with heroin
Of those who began abusing opioids in the 2000s, 75% reported that their first opioid was a prescription drug
Nearly 80% of heroin users reported using prescription opioids prior to heroin
Struggling With Opioid Addiction? Please Seek Help
Regardless of the brand of opioid, it’s important to realize they are extremely addictive drugs and not meant for long-term use for nonfatal conditions. Chemically, opioids are similar to heroin, so if you wouldn’t consider shooting up heroin for a toothache or backache, seriously reconsider taking an opioid to relieve this type of pain.
The misconception that opioids are harmless pain relievers has killed hundreds of thousands, and destroyed the lives of countless more. In many cases, you’ll be able to control pain without using medications.
In my previous article, “Billionaire Opioid Executive Stands to Make Millions More on Patent for Addiction Treatment,” I discuss several approaches — including nondrug remedies, dietary changes and bodywork interventions — that can be used separately or in combination to control pain, both acute and chronic.
If you’ve been on an opioid for more than two months, or if you find yourself taking a higher dosage or taking the drug more often than you initially did, you may already be addicted. Resources where you can find help include the following.
Your workplace Employee Assistance Program
The Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration 39 can be contacted 24 hours a day at 1-800-622-HELP
You can also learn more in “How to Wean Off Opioids.” I also recommend keeping an eye out for my upcoming article about how low dose naltrexone (LDN), an opioid antagonist, is being used at ultra-low micro doses of 1 microgram to successfully treat opioid addiction.
Sources and References
The Best of Dr. Joseph Mercola


lewrockwell--2020-11-06--Gridlock Is Good—Except in the Jaws of Massive Public Debts

James Madison is surely smiling from his grave .
Pursuant to his constitutional design , last night a badly divided electorate got an utterly gridlocked government – with the Supreme Court and Senate in the hands of one party and the House of Representatives and White House marginally in the hands of the other .
That ’ s as good an RX against tyranny as it gets .
Vlad Putin is probably smiling , too .
His economy is being battered by Washington ’ s bully-boy sanctions because he has been falsely accused of throwing the election to Trump in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lights of the Dem and Deep State Russophobes , however , Putin appears to have been AWOL .
Yet the natural Blue Wave that was allegedly aborted in 2016 by Putin ’ s hackers and social media trolls didn ’ t happen .
What we got , instead , is Sleepy Joe ( apparently ) stumbling into the Oval Office with just one electoral college vote to spare ( 270-268 ) .
That is , the real people of Flyover America , not the Kremlin ’ s trolls , again voted for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whisker short .
The Politics Industry : ... Porter , Michael E. Best Price : $ 20.14 Buy New $ 20.25 Ordinarily , conservatives should be smiling most of all .
Donald Trump is no friend of liberty , small government or fiscal and monetary rectitude , and he ’ s now ( almost ) gone .
Good riddance !
More broadly , large , fully mobilized governmental majorities are the handmaids of Leviathan .
Always and everywhere the expansion of state power gets abused by ambitious politicians and government apparatchiks for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the many .
So paralyzed government is just the thing to safeguard personal liberty and private prosperity .
Nor are we talking just , or even mainly , about the threat of old-fashioned mailed fists and boot-heel tyranny where citizens are rounded up and jailed .
Today ’ s Leviathan presents more often than not as the Nanny State , wielding a velvet glove of regulation , taxation and fiscal subvention in the name of the public welfare and protection of citizens from themselves .
But the result is tyranny just the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 50-year old example , while the swift , shocking and economically catastrophic imposition of economic martial law last spring to eradicate a super-flu is but the latest .
Yet now this eight-month old excrescence of Nanny State oppression threatens constitutional government and capitalist prosperity like rarely before .
So the fact that the Dem majority in the US House has been cut from 35 votes to less than 20 and the Senate will likely remain 52-48 Republican is in many respects all to the good .
For one thing , all the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sean Hannity – Supreme Court packing , elimination of the Senate filibuster rule , sacking the Electoral College , making Washington DC and Puerto Rico ( Dem ) states , prohibition of fracking and outlawing of fossil fuels , Medicare-for-all , legalization of millions of new immigrant ( Dem ) voters – are now absolute dead letters .
Contract to Unite Amer ... Neal Simon Buy New $ 21.49 Even better , Sleepy Joe may well abdicate to a Kamala Harris Regency , but it will be one shorn of the Progressive/Left part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because on substantive legislation it will take 60 votes to break a Senate GOP filibuster , but it will be a rare day inside the beltway when 100 % of the Senate Dems including Manchin ( WV ) and Tester ( MT ) and 11 Republicans are corralled in favor of the kind of Bernie/AOC stuff that got stuffed into the Dem platform .
To the contrary , we can already hear the cries of “ sell-out ” and “ betrayal ” coming from the Progressive-Left whenever Sleepy Joe or Kamala , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ send their equivalent of Stevie Mnuchin , knee pads in hand , up to Capitol Hill to pleasure with compromises Senate Leader Mitch McConnell , who is now secure in another six year term and a guaranteed 60-years on the public teat .
Indeed , we suspect the Washington Republicans – as undeserving and feckless as they have been for years – may end up with the best of all worlds .
That is , being handed a cornucopia of attackable red meat for the 2022 mid-terms owing to the tabling of leftist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with progressives and woksters , even as they would have odds-on capacity to block Senate passage or even serious consideration .
So far , but , finally , not so good .
Alas , the one great flaw in James Madison ’ s design for a democracy hobbled with checks and balances is the case where the horse manages to get out the barn door , anyway .
Then you need strong majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill aligned with White House policies in order to enact positive measures to put the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are referring , of course , to the calamitous fiscal estate that has resulted from 40-years of deficits-don ’ t-matter drift and 4-years of the Trumpian fiscal bacchanalia .
The whole thing is now one giant Doomsday Machine driven by trillions per year of automatic entitlements , a rapidly swelling retirement-based Welfare State and a deeply embedded military-industrial-surveillance complex and its counterpart domestic pork barrels .
That all was bad enough , but the Lockdown Nation economic calamity and the Coast-to-Coast soup lines that have been enacted by the bipartisan duopoly to indemnify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , almost certainly guarantee that the fiscal equation will now go tilt .
Breaking the Two-Party ... Drutman , Lee Best Price : $ 16.01 Buy New $ 19.70 That is , a perpetually weak debt-entombed economy and the resulting depleted government revenues ( including state and local government , which are the one thing Biden will get funded in the coming Everything Bailouts ) will result in double-digit Federal deficits as far as the eye can see , as we will quantify on another occasion .
Needless to say , our newly-elected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything to ameliorate this embedded fiscal calamity .
You can be sure that the GOP Senate won ’ t enact any material Biden tax increases ; and by the same token , a Biden Administration already failing to make progress on the Progressive-Left agenda won ’ t be embracing social security , medicare and other entitlement reforms .
And , of course , the merchants of war own the Congress regardless of party , election results or actual national security needs .
But here ’ s the thing .
Under any circumstance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ i.e .
$ 2 trillion plus at current GDP levels ) aren ’ t sustainable because compounding interest expense eventually sends the ship-of-state into the fiscal drink .
In fact , in an economy that has been systematically and brutally stripped of private savings for decades by central bank financial repression , the only was to finance persistent double digit fiscal deficits and keep interest rates from lurching upward is via 100 % monetization of new debt issues .
Undoubtedly , Wall Street ’ s talking heads might initially find that prospect untroubling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insanity like today ’ s 367 Dow point rise on the apparent theory that the great 2020 election uncertainty is coming to a imminent end , and that a nice , pro-stimulus 47-year Swamp Creature will be shuffling into the Oval Office .
Why We ’ re Polarized Klein , Ezra Best Price : $ 15.88 Buy New $ 16.89 Yes , the uncertainty about the name of the next president is ending soon , even as the Donald ’ s desperate effort to reverse his loss in Michigan , Wisconsin and elsewhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his own making .
At the same time , a far more consequential uncertainty is just beginning .
No known laws of economics or experiences of history permit 100 % of massive public debts to be monetized indefinitely at the central bank ’ s printing press .
It is only a matter of time until the Fed prodigious money-printing blows the nation ’ s egregiously inflated and speculation-ridden financial markets sky high .
That ’ s the real end game of the gridlock that emerged from Tuesday ’ s voting .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good kind imagined by the wise men who wrote the nation ’ s constitution .
The Best of David Stockman

James Madison is surely smiling from his grave.
Pursuant to his constitutional design, last night a badly divided electorate got an utterly gridlocked government – with the Supreme Court and Senate in the hands of one party and the House of Representatives and White House marginally in the hands of the other. That’s as good an RX against tyranny as it gets.
Vlad Putin is probably smiling, too. His economy is being battered by Washington’s bully-boy sanctions because he has been falsely accused of throwing the election to Trump in 2016. This time, even by the lights of the Dem and Deep State Russophobes, however, Putin appears to have been AWOL.
Yet the natural Blue Wave that was allegedly aborted in 2016 by Putin’s hackers and social media trolls didn’t happen. What we got, instead, is Sleepy Joe (apparently) stumbling into the Oval Office with just one electoral college vote to spare (270-268). That is, the real people of Flyover America, not the Kremlin’s trolls, again voted for the Donald and came up but a whisker short. The Politics Industry:... Porter, Michael E. Best Price: $20.14 Buy New $20.25 (as of 05:28 UTC - Details)
Ordinarily, conservatives should be smiling most of all. Donald Trump is no friend of liberty, small government or fiscal and monetary rectitude, and he’s now (almost) gone. Good riddance!
More broadly, large, fully mobilized governmental majorities are the handmaids of Leviathan. Always and everywhere the expansion of state power gets abused by ambitious politicians and government apparatchiks for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. So paralyzed government is just the thing to safeguard personal liberty and private prosperity.
Nor are we talking just, or even mainly, about the threat of old-fashioned mailed fists and boot-heel tyranny where citizens are rounded up and jailed. Today’s Leviathan presents more often than not as the Nanny State, wielding a velvet glove of regulation, taxation and fiscal subvention in the name of the public welfare and protection of citizens from themselves.
But the result is tyranny just the same. The War on Drugs is a 50-year old example, while the swift, shocking and economically catastrophic imposition of economic martial law last spring to eradicate a super-flu is but the latest. Yet now this eight-month old excrescence of Nanny State oppression threatens constitutional government and capitalist prosperity like rarely before.
So the fact that the Dem majority in the US House has been cut from 35 votes to less than 20 and the Senate will likely remain 52-48 Republican is in many respects all to the good.
For one thing, all the hobgoblins that have terrified Mark Levin and Sean Hannity – Supreme Court packing, elimination of the Senate filibuster rule, sacking the Electoral College, making Washington DC and Puerto Rico (Dem) states, prohibition of fracking and outlawing of fossil fuels, Medicare-for-all, legalization of millions of new immigrant (Dem) voters – are now absolute dead letters.
Contract to Unite Amer... Neal Simon Buy New $21.49 (as of 05:28 UTC - Details) Even better, Sleepy Joe may well abdicate to a Kamala Harris Regency, but it will be one shorn of the Progressive/Left part of the equation. That’s because on substantive legislation it will take 60 votes to break a Senate GOP filibuster, but it will be a rare day inside the beltway when 100% of the Senate Dems including Manchin (WV) and Tester (MT) and 11 Republicans are corralled in favor of the kind of Bernie/AOC stuff that got stuffed into the Dem platform.
To the contrary, we can already hear the cries of “sell-out” and “betrayal” coming from the Progressive-Left whenever Sleepy Joe or Kamala, as the case may prove to be, send their equivalent of Stevie Mnuchin, knee pads in hand, up to Capitol Hill to pleasure with compromises Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who is now secure in another six year term and a guaranteed 60-years on the public teat.
Indeed, we suspect the Washington Republicans – as undeserving and feckless as they have been for years – may end up with the best of all worlds. That is, being handed a cornucopia of attackable red meat for the 2022 mid-terms owing to the tabling of leftist agenda measures by a Biden Administration chok-a-block with progressives and woksters, even as they would have odds-on capacity to block Senate passage or even serious consideration.
So far, but, finally, not so good.
Alas, the one great flaw in James Madison’s design for a democracy hobbled with checks and balances is the case where the horse manages to get out the barn door, anyway. Then you need strong majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill aligned with White House policies in order to enact positive measures to put the horse back in its stable.
We are referring, of course, to the calamitous fiscal estate that has resulted from 40-years of deficits-don’t-matter drift and 4-years of the Trumpian fiscal bacchanalia. The whole thing is now one giant Doomsday Machine driven by trillions per year of automatic entitlements, a rapidly swelling retirement-based Welfare State and a deeply embedded military-industrial-surveillance complex and its counterpart domestic pork barrels.
That all was bad enough, but the Lockdown Nation economic calamity and the Coast-to-Coast soup lines that have been enacted by the bipartisan duopoly to indemnify 150 million households and millions of businesses, almost certainly guarantee that the fiscal equation will now go tilt. Breaking the Two-Party... Drutman, Lee Best Price: $16.01 Buy New $19.70 (as of 05:28 UTC - Details)
That is, a perpetually weak debt-entombed economy and the resulting depleted government revenues (including state and local government, which are the one thing Biden will get funded in the coming Everything Bailouts) will result in double-digit Federal deficits as far as the eye can see, as we will quantify on another occasion.
Needless to say, our newly-elected gridlocked government is not about to do anything to ameliorate this embedded fiscal calamity. You can be sure that the GOP Senate won’t enact any material Biden tax increases; and by the same token, a Biden Administration already failing to make progress on the Progressive-Left agenda won’t be embracing social security, medicare and other entitlement reforms. And, of course, the merchants of war own the Congress regardless of party, election results or actual national security needs.
But here’s the thing. Under any circumstance, these now guaranteed double-digit annual deficits (i.e. $2 trillion plus at current GDP levels) aren’t sustainable because compounding interest expense eventually sends the ship-of-state into the fiscal drink.
In fact, in an economy that has been systematically and brutally stripped of private savings for decades by central bank financial repression, the only was to finance persistent double digit fiscal deficits and keep interest rates from lurching upward is via 100% monetization of new debt issues.
Undoubtedly, Wall Street’s talking heads might initially find that prospect untroubling, and perhaps even indulge in more insanity like today’s 367 Dow point rise on the apparent theory that the great 2020 election uncertainty is coming to a imminent end, and that a nice, pro-stimulus 47-year Swamp Creature will be shuffling into the Oval Office.
Why We’re Polarized Klein, Ezra Best Price: $15.88 Buy New $16.89 (as of 04:14 UTC - Details) Yes, the uncertainty about the name of the next president is ending soon, even as the Donald’s desperate effort to reverse his loss in Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere comes a cropper in a Supreme Court of his own making.
At the same time, a far more consequential uncertainty is just beginning. No known laws of economics or experiences of history permit 100% of massive public debts to be monetized indefinitely at the central bank’s printing press.
It is only a matter of time until the Fed prodigious money-printing blows the nation’s egregiously inflated and speculation-ridden financial markets sky high.
That’s the real end game of the gridlock that emerged from Tuesday’s voting. And it’s most definitely not the good kind imagined by the wise men who wrote the nation’s constitution.
PEAK TRUMP, IMPENDING CRISES, ESSENTIAL INFO & ACTION
The Best of David Stockman


lewrockwell--2020-11-06--Election Fraud, Covid, Currency Reset

Election Fraud, Covid, Currency Reset

So far , the most specific and potentially damaging charge from the Trump team is : on election night , 138,000 votes for Biden in Michigan suddenly showed up , and at the same time no new votes were recorded for Trump .
The NY Times denies this happened .
Instead , the Times claims , there was a typo .
An extra zero was added to the end of those Biden votes .
Actually , the new chunk of votes for Biden should have been 13,800 .
There ’ s only one problem with that claim .
Even 13,800 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without any change in Trump ’ s total , would be ridiculous .
Also , the Times states that the typo-error in Michigan was corrected , as soon as it was found .
I was watching network coverage of the election off and on , during the first long night of the election , and I saw no announcement from the networks that a mistake had been made in the Biden count in Michigan .
I may have missed that announcement , but I ’ d think it would have been a big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Utopia for Realists : H ... Bregman , Rutger Best Price : $ 3.80 Buy New $ 5.00 Bottom line : very strange .
Makes no sense .
Whether it ’ s 138,000 or 13,800 votes in a row for Biden , this is an issue that should be investigated to the hilt .
The question is , does Trump really have the organized legal team to do it ?
And is that team filing compelling motions in several states to challenge the vote-count process ?
Will those motions contain enough evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court , if necessary ?
It was clear , months ago that , using the “ coincidental ” excuse of COVID and the virus , mail-in ballots were going to be used , in awesome numbers , all over the country .
Immediately , Trump ’ s legal team and the Republican Party chiefs should have developed an airtight plan to challenge a whole menu of potential avenues of fraud .
Did they ?
If so , I haven ’ t seen evidence of it yet .
For that matter , Biden ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own plan to deal with potential Republican dirty tricks .
There are many layers to a truly major covert operation .
Many layers of benefit to various players .
I ’ ve written over 200 articles on the COVID op , describing the benefits .
On just one level , COVID was intended to swing the election .
That ’ s obvious : Take down the US economy and deflate a president , whose basic announced mission was to create a roaring economy .
Convince many voters that traveling to the polls to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Therefore , institute massive mail-in voting , thus presenting all sorts of opportunities for vote-count manipulation .
Yes , the manipulation could come from both political Parties .
But those Globalists who launched COVID were in a stronger position to influence the election , because they were better organized from the get-go .
Their intent was more focused .
Here is a backgrounder on wider purposes of the COVID op .
The COVID illusion and the currency reset : Will You Be Richer or ... Smith , Charles Hugh Best Price : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are several ways things could go .
In this article , I describe one path .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) and the World Bank ( WB ) are joined at the hip .
In 2018 , they double-knotted their ties by forming a partnership to monitor outbreaks and epidemics before they spread .
Basically , behind the scenes , the deal looks like this : WHO creates the illusion of global epidemics ; WB steps in later , to pick up the pieces of the result—injured national economies— by shelling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always carry conditions .
The prime condition is : let in private , roaming , foreign , predatory , private investors so they can take over vital sectors of a nation : energy , agriculture , water , etc .
But this time , with COVID : WHO , as planned , has gone ballistic .
The lockdowns are shredding economies .
It ’ s not going to be “ here ’ s a loan.
” It ’ s more on the order of : we have to bail out everybody .
How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , through switching over one kind of illusory money for another kind of illusory money .
“ We invented one kind of money out of thin air , and it reached the end of the line .
Now we have to invent another kind of all new money out of thin air.
” It comes with conditions , gradually implemented .
Basically , the deal is : “ we pay you , and you obey us.
” The behavioral side of the model is the Chinese regime , which controls obedience through a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Work Unchained Charles Hugh Smith Best Price : $ 11.00 Buy New $ 1.99 Infractions lower the score .
In which case , the violator can ’ t travel on a plane or send his kids to certain schools or stay in certain hotels or start a business .
There are levels of punishments .
Infractions include walking a dog off a leash , spreading fake news , crossing against a red light , failure to separate garbage properly , business fraud , criticizing the government , “ violating community standards ” … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be : “ Here ’ s your monthly digital check , now follow orders , or your money will be reduced .
Be a good citizen.
” Of course , a system like this requires complete and utter surveillance , public and private , every which way—including internal body sensors reporting physiological changes in real time , measured against algorithms which predict potential “ misbehavior.
” The holy grail is energy quotas for every person .
“ Mr .
Smith , this is your wall talking through the glorious Internet of Things .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaching its limit .
I want to help you avoid that limit and the social credit score penalties that would be enforced .
I ’ m going to initiate brown-outs and dimming in your home for the next two weeks .
Your Internet will be shut down—excepting the hours of midnight to three in the morning .
Cook all your meals for the day between four and five am… ” Behavior control .
What ’ s going on now is a tune-up for the future .
Now they say : stay indoors , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stand in line outside stores , keeping a distance of six feet .
Report people who appear sick .
Get tested .
Wash your hands a dozen times a day .
In the future , the list of rules and regs will expand , but the overall theme will be the same : be a good citizen and contribute to a better world .
Be sincere and earnest and helpful .
Don ’ t rebel .
And just like now , many , many people will respond : “ Yes , thank you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I like the feeling of contributing to something larger than myself .
I like the collective .
I like the fact that we ’ re all in this together.
” A sub-population of these people will want to do more .
They ’ ll want to join the government .
They ’ ll want to help the government enforce the rules .
They ’ ll want to “ express their energy.
” They would , if asked , gladly march in columns down streets , salute , hand out summons , make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under orders .
Pathfinding our Destin ... Smith , Charles Hugh Best Price : $ 9.95 Buy New $ 12.00 They would wear crisp uniforms , and take oaths .
They would want ranks and seals .
They would like to be called ELITE .
Because history means nothing to such people , they ’ ll never know names like SS , Red Guards , or Stasi .
But that ’ s what they ’ ll be .
Unless the whole plan for a technocratic Brave New World is exposed and falls apart @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and know what it means : Several propaganda themes are already emerging .
They will continue to be promoted in various ways , employing many messages .
I ’ m talking about official government and media propaganda .
The first great theme will be : HELP US BUILD A BETTER WORLD .
This message is for the sincere people who want to pitch in and do good , in a collective sense .
“ Let ’ s build a better world where we can avoid these pandemics , or see them earlier .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ equality and justice for all is the top priority .
Let ’ s all share and care… ” If you ’ re looking for logic , forget it .
In whatever way they can , the propagandists will imply that somehow the pandemic was a signal that we must “ do better.
” We must “ get through it together ” as we did during the crisis .
The love we showed then must be the love we show now .
An appeal to idealists everywhere who fall for vague generalities like cats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theme , aimed at the educated class and the technical types and the scientists and “ thinkers , ” will be : ORGANIZATION .
“ We must organize world civilization more effectively.
” Because somehow , that was the problem Before the Pandemic .
Lack of organization allowed things to get out of hand .
We can ’ t any longer be separate groups and nations going their separate ways .
Too much disorder .
We need better structures in every phase of life .
We need more interconnection and coordination .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fits their image of success .
If society operates like a machine , problems will be solved .
The third great propaganda theme is aimed at all sorts of people who emerged from their lockdown and self-isolation , took a walk in a park on a spring day , and suddenly remembered what they had been missing .
Their relief nearly reaches a point of hysteria , as at the end of a World War .
The theme is : NEVER AGAIN .
“ We don ’ t want to go back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and whatever it takes , we ’ re on board .
Tell us what to do.
” With these themes in hand , the technocracy can be enacted .
1 ) We ’ re all for building a better world .
2 ) We must organize it with t ’ s crossed and i ’ s dotted .
3 ) And we must never go back into the dark .
Unless people remember what is left out .
THE INDIVIDUAL .
And FREEDOM .
Technocratic operators are counting on us to forget .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ who value freedom to say , “ Well , it ’ s all hopeless .
I know what freedom is , but too many others don ’ t .
So why bother .
I ’ ll just surrender and float on the tide.
” Floating is an illusion .
The tide moves in a planned direction .
Toward a shore that isn ’ t pretty .
The Best of Jon Rappoport

So far, the most specific and potentially damaging charge from the Trump team is: on election night, 138,000 votes for Biden in Michigan suddenly showed up, and at the same time no new votes were recorded for Trump.
The NY Times denies this happened. Instead, the Times claims, there was a typo. An extra zero was added to the end of those Biden votes. Actually, the new chunk of votes for Biden should have been 13,800.
There’s only one problem with that claim. Even 13,800 votes in a row for Biden, without any change in Trump’s total, would be ridiculous.
Also, the Times states that the typo-error in Michigan was corrected, as soon as it was found. I was watching network coverage of the election off and on, during the first long night of the election, and I saw no announcement from the networks that a mistake had been made in the Biden count in Michigan.
I may have missed that announcement, but I’d think it would have been a big story and repeated often by the networks. Utopia for Realists: H... Bregman, Rutger Best Price: $3.80 Buy New $5.00 (as of 05:30 UTC - Details)
Bottom line: very strange. Makes no sense. Whether it’s 138,000 or 13,800 votes in a row for Biden, this is an issue that should be investigated to the hilt.
The question is, does Trump really have the organized legal team to do it? And is that team filing compelling motions in several states to challenge the vote-count process? Will those motions contain enough evidence to work their way to the Supreme Court, if necessary?
It was clear, months ago that, using the “coincidental” excuse of COVID and the virus, mail-in ballots were going to be used, in awesome numbers, all over the country. Immediately, Trump’s legal team and the Republican Party chiefs should have developed an airtight plan to challenge a whole menu of potential avenues of fraud. Did they? If so, I haven’t seen evidence of it yet.
For that matter, Biden’s legal team should have developed their own plan to deal with potential Republican dirty tricks.
There are many layers to a truly major covert operation. Many layers of benefit to various players. I’ve written over 200 articles on the COVID op, describing the benefits. On just one level, COVID was intended to swing the election. That’s obvious:
Take down the US economy and deflate a president, whose basic announced mission was to create a roaring economy. Convince many voters that traveling to the polls to vote in person would be medically dangerous. Therefore, institute massive mail-in voting, thus presenting all sorts of opportunities for vote-count manipulation.
Yes, the manipulation could come from both political Parties. But those Globalists who launched COVID were in a stronger position to influence the election, because they were better organized from the get-go. Their intent was more focused.
Here is a backgrounder on wider purposes of the COVID op. The COVID illusion and the currency reset: Will You Be Richer or ... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $11.55 (as of 05:55 UTC - Details)
There are several ways things could go. In this article, I describe one path.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) are joined at the hip. In 2018, they double-knotted their ties by forming a partnership to monitor outbreaks and epidemics before they spread.
Basically, behind the scenes, the deal looks like this: WHO creates the illusion of global epidemics; WB steps in later, to pick up the pieces of the result—injured national economies— by shelling out loans to governments.
These loans always carry conditions. The prime condition is: let in private, roaming, foreign, predatory, private investors so they can take over vital sectors of a nation: energy, agriculture, water, etc.
But this time, with COVID: WHO, as planned, has gone ballistic. The lockdowns are shredding economies. It’s not going to be “here’s a loan.”
It’s more on the order of: we have to bail out everybody.
How is that done?
Step by step, through switching over one kind of illusory money for another kind of illusory money.
“We invented one kind of money out of thin air, and it reached the end of the line. Now we have to invent another kind of all new money out of thin air.”
Universal guaranteed income (UGI). Eventually, for everyone.
It comes with conditions, gradually implemented. Basically, the deal is: “we pay you, and you obey us.”
The behavioral side of the model is the Chinese regime, which controls obedience through a “social credit score.” Money and Work Unchained Charles Hugh Smith Best Price: $11.00 Buy New $1.99 (as of 10:55 UTC - Details)
Infractions lower the score. In which case, the violator can’t travel on a plane or send his kids to certain schools or stay in certain hotels or start a business. There are levels of punishments.
Infractions include walking a dog off a leash, spreading fake news, crossing against a red light, failure to separate garbage properly, business fraud, criticizing the government, “violating community standards”…
Under a global UGI, it would be: “Here’s your monthly digital check, now follow orders, or your money will be reduced. Be a good citizen.”
Of course, a system like this requires complete and utter surveillance, public and private, every which way—including internal body sensors reporting physiological changes in real time, measured against algorithms which predict potential “misbehavior.”
The holy grail is energy quotas for every person. “Mr. Smith, this is your wall talking through the glorious Internet of Things. Your energy quota for the month is reaching its limit. I want to help you avoid that limit and the social credit score penalties that would be enforced. I’m going to initiate brown-outs and dimming in your home for the next two weeks. Your Internet will be shut down—excepting the hours of midnight to three in the morning. Cook all your meals for the day between four and five am…”
Behavior control. What’s going on now is a tune-up for the future. Now they say: stay indoors, don’t let in visitors. Stand in line outside stores, keeping a distance of six feet. Report people who appear sick. Get tested. Wash your hands a dozen times a day. In the future, the list of rules and regs will expand, but the overall theme will be the same: be a good citizen and contribute to a better world. Be sincere and earnest and helpful. Don’t rebel.
And just like now, many, many people will respond: “Yes, thank you. I like the straight and narrow. I like the feeling of contributing to something larger than myself. I like the collective. I like the fact that we’re all in this together.”
A sub-population of these people will want to do more. They’ll want to join the government. They’ll want to help the government enforce the rules. They’ll want to “express their energy.” They would, if asked, gladly march in columns down streets, salute, hand out summons, make arrests, and even commit violent acts under orders. Pathfinding our Destin... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $9.95 Buy New $12.00 (as of 03:30 UTC - Details)
They would wear crisp uniforms, and take oaths. They would want ranks and seals. They would like to be called ELITE.
Because history means nothing to such people, they’ll never know names like SS, Red Guards, or Stasi. But that’s what they’ll be.
Unless the whole plan for a technocratic Brave New World is exposed and falls apart, because enough people remember another name and know what it means:
FREEDOM.
Several propaganda themes are already emerging. They will continue to be promoted in various ways, employing many messages. I’m talking about official government and media propaganda.
The first great theme will be: HELP US BUILD A BETTER WORLD. This message is for the sincere people who want to pitch in and do good, in a collective sense. “Let’s build a better world where we can avoid these pandemics, or see them earlier. Let’s form a civilization where equality and justice for all is the top priority. Let’s all share and care…” If you’re looking for logic, forget it. In whatever way they can, the propagandists will imply that somehow the pandemic was a signal that we must “do better.” We must “get through it together” as we did during the crisis. The love we showed then must be the love we show now. An appeal to idealists everywhere who fall for vague generalities like cats fall for catnip.
The second great theme, aimed at the educated class and the technical types and the scientists and “thinkers,” will be: ORGANIZATION. “We must organize world civilization more effectively.” Because somehow, that was the problem Before the Pandemic. Lack of organization allowed things to get out of hand. We can’t any longer be separate groups and nations going their separate ways. Too much disorder. We need better structures in every phase of life. We need more interconnection and coordination. The educated class loves this stuff. It fits their image of success. If society operates like a machine, problems will be solved.
The third great propaganda theme is aimed at all sorts of people who emerged from their lockdown and self-isolation, took a walk in a park on a spring day, and suddenly remembered what they had been missing. Their relief nearly reaches a point of hysteria, as at the end of a World War. The theme is: NEVER AGAIN. “We don’t want to go back to those dark days under any circumstances, and whatever it takes, we’re on board. Tell us what to do.”
With these themes in hand, the technocracy can be enacted. 1) We’re all for building a better world. 2) We must organize it with t’s crossed and i’s dotted. 3) And we must never go back into the dark.
Unless people remember what is left out. THE INDIVIDUAL. And FREEDOM.
Technocratic operators are counting on us to forget. They’re counting on many people who value freedom to say, “Well, it’s all hopeless. I know what freedom is, but too many others don’t. So why bother. I’ll just surrender and float on the tide.”
Floating is an illusion. The tide moves in a planned direction. Toward a shore that isn’t pretty.
Are things pretty now?
That’s called a clue.
Reprinted with permission from Jon Rappoport’s blog.
The Best of Jon Rappoport


lewrockwell--2020-11-06--What Will It Take for Americans To Consider Breaking Up?

It ’ s one thing for mass democracy to produce bad results , in the form of elected politicians or enacted policies .
It ’ s another when the democratic process itself breaks down because nobody trusts the vote or the people who count it .
But that ’ s precisely where we are .
As things stand at this writing , last night ’ s presidential election remains undecided and looking ugly .
At least six states are still uncalled , and both the Trump and Biden camps have their legal teams claiming victory .
We may be in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ months of legal skirmishes , all of which can only add to our intense political ( or more accurately cultural ) breakdown .
Today , perhaps 140 million American voters are in purgatory , fearfully wondering what will happen to them if the other guy wins .
This is nothing short of a national psychosis , absurd yet deadly real .
And it gets worse every four years , despite the narrowing of any “ policy ” differences between the two parties over recent decades .
If anything , presidential votes are overwhelmingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person , not substantive ideology .
American Secession : Th ... F.H .
Buckley Best Price : $ 15.64 Buy New $ 16.22 Yes , this is unhealthy .
And yes , the psychosis manifests because the stakes are so high .
It manifests because government is far too big and rapacious ; lawmaking and jurisprudence too centralized in DC ; the unitary executive presidency too powerful ; and society too politicized .
But these are unhelpful truisms .
Plenty of Americans abjectly support more government , more centralized political power , an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the sharp politicization of every facet of life .
In Nation , State , and Economy Mises talks about a “ liberal nationalism ” and explains what a confident nation requires : What , then , is the common culture Americans possess ?
What binds us together as a unifying principle ?
Is it language ?
Religion ?
Constitutionalism ?
Love of country ?
( What country ? )
Markets ?
It certainly is not obvious , and few of us feel optimistic about America ’ s future .
Worse still , covid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of life—from family and work to sports , dining , movies , and travel .
When we stare ourselves in the mirror all day , and read everyone ’ s innermost thoughts on social media , we find familiarity breeds contempt .
The Republican Workers ... Buckley , F.H .
Best Price : $ 3.40 Buy New $ 11.98 Regardless of how the election turns out , it ’ s obvious America is not much of a country anymore , much less a nation .
The sooner we accept this , the sooner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ principles of federalism , subsidiarity , nullification , and even secession .
None of the current frictions will get better over time , but they can get much worse—and our most important task must be to avoid any movement toward outright civil war .
There are workable baby steps toward this .
Law professor Frank Buckley writes about “ secession lite ” in his sober and reasoned book on the subject of a national breakup .
Buckley sees a third-way approach between our current disfunction and an outright breakup into new political entities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nullification .
This echoes sentiments from Professor Angelo Codevilla , who similarly argues that the feds simply lack the manpower to enforce federal laws and edicts on recalcitrant states .
Just as blue states declared sanctuary cities as havens from Trump ’ s immigration policies , red states could restrict all manner of federal dictates ( abortion and gun control come to mind ) while simply daring the feds to interfere .
At the end of the day , Codevilla reminds us , there are only a few million of them and many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share this sentiment ; even if Biden prevails , they remain shaken by the degree of Trump support .
In fact the 2016 election saw the New Republic advocate nothing short of a renunciation of the hated red states .
Things don ’ t have to be this way .
Americans are lovely people—generous , open .
But politics divides them in the worst and most unnecessary ways .
It ’ s time to break up , and millions of us sense this instinctively .
So what ’ s stopping us ?
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ F. H. Best Price : $ 2.25 Buy New $ 11.75 For one , secession remains bound up with the Civil War and Confederate slavery in the American psyche , distant in time as they are .
Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion resulted in a nice , round number of fifty states , a nice , big American number .
Throw in a few specious Supreme Court decisions like Texas v. White , and it ’ s no surprise many Americans still have concrete between their ears on the subject .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And if you want political liberty to retain a foothold in the US , if you want Misesian liberalism to show a heartbeat in the West , you should cheer this .
Americans by and large are lovely people—open , generous , friendly , and quick to forgive .
A hyperpoliticized environment , where everything is existential and rooted in race , sex , and sexuality , is deeply at odds with our character and well-being .
We deserve to live peaceably as neighbors , even if that means breaking up and creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our dysfunction is not divisive ; the divide already exists .
Our task is to apprehend this and end the charade of one nation .
The Best of Jeff Deist

It’s one thing for mass democracy to produce bad results, in the form of elected politicians or enacted policies. It’s another when the democratic process itself breaks down because nobody trusts the vote or the people who count it. But that’s precisely where we are.
As things stand at this writing, last night’s presidential election remains undecided and looking ugly. At least six states are still uncalled, and both the Trump and Biden camps have their legal teams claiming victory. We may be in for days, weeks, or even months of legal skirmishes, all of which can only add to our intense political (or more accurately cultural) breakdown.
Today, perhaps 140 million American voters are in purgatory, fearfully wondering what will happen to them if the other guy wins. This is nothing short of a national psychosis, absurd yet deadly real. And it gets worse every four years, despite the narrowing of any “policy” differences between the two parties over recent decades. If anything, presidential votes are overwhelmingly about tribal affiliations with our kind of person, not substantive ideology. American Secession: Th... F.H. Buckley Best Price: $15.64 Buy New $16.22 (as of 10:56 UTC - Details)
Yes, this is unhealthy. And yes, the psychosis manifests because the stakes are so high. It manifests because government is far too big and rapacious; lawmaking and jurisprudence too centralized in DC; the unitary executive presidency too powerful; and society too politicized. But these are unhelpful truisms. Plenty of Americans abjectly support more government, more centralized political power, an omnipotent president and Supreme Court, and the sharp politicization of every facet of life.
In Nation, State, and Economy Mises talks about a “liberal nationalism” and explains what a confident nation requires:
A nation that believes in itself and its future, a nation that means to stress the sure feeling that its members are bound to one another not merely by accident of birth but also by the common possession of a culture that is valuable above all to each of them.
What, then, is the common culture Americans possess? What binds us together as a unifying principle? Is it language? Religion? Constitutionalism? Love of country? (What country?) Markets? It certainly is not obvious, and few of us feel optimistic about America’s future. Worse still, covid lockdowns have attenuated the ostensibly nonpolitical spheres of life—from family and work to sports, dining, movies, and travel. When we stare ourselves in the mirror all day, and read everyone’s innermost thoughts on social media, we find familiarity breeds contempt. The Republican Workers... Buckley, F.H. Best Price: $3.40 Buy New $11.98 (as of 04:28 UTC - Details)
Regardless of how the election turns out, it’s obvious America is not much of a country anymore, much less a nation. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can get to work asserting the principles of federalism, subsidiarity, nullification, and even secession. None of the current frictions will get better over time, but they can get much worse—and our most important task must be to avoid any movement toward outright civil war.
There are workable baby steps toward this. Law professor Frank Buckley writes about “secession lite” in his sober and reasoned book on the subject of a national breakup. Buckley sees a third-way approach between our current disfunction and an outright breakup into new political entities, primarily through aggressive federalism and state nullification. This echoes sentiments from Professor Angelo Codevilla, who similarly argues that the feds simply lack the manpower to enforce federal laws and edicts on recalcitrant states. Just as blue states declared sanctuary cities as havens from Trump’s immigration policies, red states could restrict all manner of federal dictates (abortion and gun control come to mind) while simply daring the feds to interfere. At the end of the day, Codevilla reminds us, there are only a few million of them and many millions of us. And progressives too share this sentiment; even if Biden prevails, they remain shaken by the degree of Trump support. In fact the 2016 election saw the New Republic advocate nothing short of a renunciation of the hated red states.
Things don’t have to be this way. Americans are lovely people—generous, open. But politics divides them in the worst and most unnecessary ways. It’s time to break up, and millions of us sense this instinctively. So what’s stopping us? The Way Back: Restorin... Buckley, F. H. Best Price: $2.25 Buy New $11.75 (as of 05:31 UTC - Details)
For one, secession remains bound up with the Civil War and Confederate slavery in the American psyche, distant in time as they are. Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion resulted in a nice, round number of fifty states, a nice, big American number. Throw in a few specious Supreme Court decisions like Texas v. White, and it’s no surprise many Americans still have concrete between their ears on the subject.
But Trump may have changed all that. And if you want political liberty to retain a foothold in the US, if you want Misesian liberalism to show a heartbeat in the West, you should cheer this.
Americans by and large are lovely people—open, generous, friendly, and quick to forgive. A hyperpoliticized environment, where everything is existential and rooted in race, sex, and sexuality, is deeply at odds with our character and well-being. We deserve to live peaceably as neighbors, even if that means breaking up and creating new political entities. Addressing the reality of our dysfunction is not divisive; the divide already exists. Our task is to apprehend this and end the charade of one nation.
The Best of Jeff Deist


lewrockwell--2020-11-06--Evidence Mounts of a Stolen Election

Evidence Mounts of a Stolen Election

United States Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney explains a special software developed by the National Security Agency that can be used to alter vote counts in elections .
He explains the software and its use in this 7 minute video .
In this article , the Off-Guardian explains the use of the software to alter the outcome of the vote in Wisconsin and Michigan : .
In this article the Fake News Site , CNN , attempts to explain away the obviously altered vote .
Voting by mail greatly facilitates the use of the vote-altering software and the use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mask mandate and Covid fear was to justify mass voting by mail .
This Machine Kills Sec ... Greenberg , Andy Best Price : $ 2.76 Buy New $ 7.95 The media speaks with one voice .
The print , TV , NPR , social media , and the anti-Trump Internet sites exercise censorship and control the explanations .
We are experiencing a well designed and successful coup against American democracy and accountable government .
No , this is not a conspiracy theory .
It is a revolution against red state America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight back .
They fear that exposing and resisting a stolen election would discredit American democracy .
In effect , patriotism makes them impotent .
Dark Mirror : Edward Sn ... Gellman , Barton Best Price : $ 23.11 Buy New $ 23.08 Republicans should think instead what it means to be governed by a President covered in criminal scandal who also seems to be suffering mental confusion and is likely for one or both of these reasons to be moved aside .
If Kamala Harris becomes president , we will have in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who hates white people and is vindictive against them .
The Democrat Party is now in the hands of indoctrinated leftists who despise the working class and champion “ oppressed minorities.
” Immigration floodgates will be thrown open .
Red states will be cut out of the federal budget .
Gutsy Republicans such as Devin Nunes and Jim Jorden will be falsely investigated , and Trump will be falsely prosecuted .
The rest of us will be silenced in one way or the other .
Think about how unlikely the Biden/Harris ticket is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suffers mental confusion .
His campaign events were barely attended .
Harris had so little support in the Democrat primaries that she was the first to drop out .
Even the Democrats didn ’ t want her ; yet she ends up the Democrat VP choice .
Americans watched as Democrat regimes in Minneapolis , Seattle , Portland , Chicago , New York , Philadelphia , Atlanta , and other cities responded to rioting and looting by hampering and defunding the police .
Fraud of the Century : ... Morris , Roy Jr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 18.61 How can such an unattractive party whose elected officials refused to enforce law and order win the presidential election ?
Whether or not you believe this report from a US Postal Service employee that he was ordered to backdate late mail-in ballots in Michigan , it serves as an example of how easy voting by mail makes vote fraud .
The threat posed to democracy by the software described by General McInerney is devastating .
With such software in the hands of intelligence services , every election in every country can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes it easier for elites to rule .
The vote altering software turns democracy into a cover for self-interested rule .
Yes , elites have always tried to purchase elections , but now they can program them .
I have often written that the digital revolution was the greatest threat humanity faces .
Proof piles up every day .
Further reading : here , here and here .
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts

United States Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas McInerney explains a special software developed by the National Security Agency that can be used to alter vote counts in elections. He explains the software and its use in this 7 minute video.
In this article, the Off-Guardian explains the use of the software to alter the outcome of the vote in Wisconsin and Michigan:.
In this article the Fake News Site, CNN, attempts to explain away the obviously altered vote.
Voting by mail greatly facilitates the use of the vote-altering software and the use of ballot dumps. One reason for the mask mandate and Covid fear was to justify mass voting by mail. This Machine Kills Sec... Greenberg, Andy Best Price: $2.76 Buy New $7.95 (as of 05:36 UTC - Details)
The media speaks with one voice. The print, TV, NPR, social media, and the anti-Trump Internet sites exercise censorship and control the explanations.
We are experiencing a well designed and successful coup against American democracy and accountable government.
No, this is not a conspiracy theory. It is a revolution against red state America.
Republicans are too establishment to effectively fight back. They fear that exposing and resisting a stolen election would discredit American democracy. In effect, patriotism makes them impotent.
Dark Mirror: Edward Sn... Gellman, Barton Best Price: $23.11 Buy New $23.08 (as of 03:17 UTC - Details) Republicans should think instead what it means to be governed by a President covered in criminal scandal who also seems to be suffering mental confusion and is likely for one or both of these reasons to be moved aside. If Kamala Harris becomes president, we will have in the Oval Office a female of color who hates white people and is vindictive against them.
The Democrat Party is now in the hands of indoctrinated leftists who despise the working class and champion “oppressed minorities.” Immigration floodgates will be thrown open. Red states will be cut out of the federal budget. Gutsy Republicans such as Devin Nunes and Jim Jorden will be falsely investigated, and Trump will be falsely prosecuted. The rest of us will be silenced in one way or the other.
Think about how unlikely the Biden/Harris ticket is for success. Everyone knows that Biden suffers mental confusion. His campaign events were barely attended. Harris had so little support in the Democrat primaries that she was the first to drop out. Even the Democrats didn’t want her; yet she ends up the Democrat VP choice. Americans watched as Democrat regimes in Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and other cities responded to rioting and looting by hampering and defunding the police. Fraud of the Century: ... Morris, Roy Jr. Best Price: $13.77 Buy New $18.61 (as of 05:36 UTC - Details)
How can such an unattractive party whose elected officials refused to enforce law and order win the presidential election?
The answer is fraud.
Whether or not you believe this report from a US Postal Service employee that he was ordered to backdate late mail-in ballots in Michigan, it serves as an example of how easy voting by mail makes vote fraud.
The threat posed to democracy by the software described by General McInerney is devastating. With such software in the hands of intelligence services, every election in every country can be decided behind the scenes.
This makes it easier for elites to rule. The vote altering software turns democracy into a cover for self-interested rule. Yes, elites have always tried to purchase elections, but now they can program them.
I have often written that the digital revolution was the greatest threat humanity faces. Proof piles up every day.
Further reading: here, here and here.
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts


What Now?

This may be the strangest election in history in that there is no evidence that any sizable group of people want Biden for president .
It ’ s his fourth time running for that office .
This year , Biden lost three primaries in a row , coming in fourth in the Iowa caucus , fifth in New Hampshire a distant second in Nevada .
At the end of February , he had accumulated a paltry 14 delegates — compared to 45 for Bernie Sanders and 26 for Pete Buttigieg .
Then James Clyburn said , Vote for Biden and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden .
( Although the black vote is NOT monolithic , they decided to make an exception this one time and vote monolithically . )
Biden has nothing going for him — no constituency , no fanatical supporters , just a career in politics that stretches back 50 years .
The Unexpected Preside ... Greenberger , Scott S. Best Price : $ 8.54 Buy New $ 11.33 Will anyone weep that Biden lost ?
No , they ’ ll weep because Trump won .
Yes , much of Trump ’ s vote hated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % of them actually supported Trump .
Ninety-nine percent of Biden ’ s vote is : “ I Hate Trump.
” How did Joe Biden become the nominee ?
Because he was the candidate most acceptable to black people .
Why ?
Because he was Obama ’ s vice president .
There ’ s a coalition built on rock .
Combine the empty suit from Delaware with Kamala Harris , who was polling at about 2 % among Democrats before she dropped out of the primaries .
Harris added nothing to the ticket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , self-imposed requirement that his vice president be a woman of color .
Unfortunately for him , there just aren ’ t a lot of massively impressive black women who are elected Democrats right now .
Barbara Jordan is dead .
Shirley Chisholm is dead .
Either of them would have been chosen over Kamala .
When Harris ’ campaign crashed and burned , I thought I ’ d embarrassed myself by predicting she would be the Democrats ’ 2020 presidential nominee back in 2016 before I ’ d ever heard her speak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her Senate race .

This may be the strangest election in history in that there is no evidence that any sizable group of people want Biden for president.
It’s his fourth time running for that office. This year, Biden lost three primaries in a row, coming in fourth in the Iowa caucus, fifth in New Hampshire a distant second in Nevada. At the end of February, he had accumulated a paltry 14 delegates — compared to 45 for Bernie Sanders and 26 for Pete Buttigieg.
Then James Clyburn said, Vote for Biden and African Americans in South Carolina voted for Biden. (Although the black vote is NOT monolithic, they decided to make an exception this one time and vote monolithically.)
Democrats never looked back.
Biden has nothing going for him — no constituency, no fanatical supporters, just a career in politics that stretches back 50 years. The Unexpected Preside... Greenberger, Scott S. Best Price: $8.54 Buy New $11.33 (as of 05:37 UTC - Details)
Bill Clinton had Southern Democrats and baby boomers. Gore had the global warming zealots. George Bush had conservative Christians and Texans. Even Hillary had fanatical supporters. Remember the PUMAs (Party Unity My A$$)? How about the weeping loons at the Javits Center on election night 2016?
Will anyone weep that Biden lost? No, they’ll weep because Trump won. Yes, much of Trump’s vote hated Hillary, but surely at least 70% of them actually supported Trump. Ninety-nine percent of Biden’s vote is: “I Hate Trump.”
How did Joe Biden become the nominee? Because he was the candidate most acceptable to black people. Why? Because he was Obama’s vice president. There’s a coalition built on rock.
Combine the empty suit from Delaware with Kamala Harris, who was polling at about 2% among Democrats before she dropped out of the primaries. Harris added nothing to the ticket — except Biden’s ridiculously narrow, self-imposed requirement that his vice president be a woman of color.
Unfortunately for him, there just aren’t a lot of massively impressive black women who are elected Democrats right now. Barbara Jordan is dead. Shirley Chisholm is dead. Either of them would have been chosen over Kamala.
When Harris’ campaign crashed and burned, I thought I’d embarrassed myself by predicting she would be the Democrats’ 2020 presidential nominee back in 2016 before I’d ever heard her speak — before she’d even won her Senate race.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-11-06--When Your Vote Doesn’t Matter

When Your Vote Doesn’t Matter

I spoke yesterday with Bill Meyer , who hosts the Bill Meyer Show in Oregon .
We talked , among other things , about the explosive fact that in states like VA and CA , a geographically tiny canker sore of urban density has achieved almost unassailable political control over the entire state .
For example , in my state – Virginia – 85 percent of the state , by geography , voted for the Orange Man but because of Northern Va and Richmond , which are hives of government workers ( which means government-lovers ) the state fell to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the state is controlled politically by a minority of the state .
It ’ s the same in CA and a number of other states , too .
The people no longer have a voice .
Because some people control the state .
Break It Up : Secession ... Kreitner , Richard Best Price : $ 20.11 Buy New $ 18.72 What happens when the people of a state are disfranchised ?
When they come to know that their vote doesn ’ t matter ?
Is it equitable that a geographically and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the rest of the state ?
By what right does a Beltway bureaucrat autocratically govern the lives of farmers who live hundreds of miles away ?
The Coonman is the governor of Northern Virginia .
He is loathed in most of Virginia .
But the people of the rest of the state can not vote him out of their lives because their votes don ’ t matter .
Northern Virginia decides the politics of Virginia .
Do we not adhere to the idea of the consent of the governed ?
How can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice ?
This is not about red vs. blue .
It is about right vs. wrong .
It is time for a parting of the ways .
Before it comes to blows .
The people of Northern Virginia have the right to govern themselves – and so do the people of the rest of the state .
The state should be recognized in law what it is in fact , which is two states .
The same applies to the people of other states , who have the right to govern themselves but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone else in the state .
People change – and with them , politics .
It is unnatural to force them to pretend to be the same people when they are manifestly so different .
They must be allowed to separate .
The Best of Eric Peters

I spoke yesterday with Bill Meyer, who hosts the Bill Meyer Show in Oregon. We talked, among other things, about the explosive fact that in states like VA and CA, a geographically tiny canker sore of urban density has achieved almost unassailable political control over the entire state.
For example, in my state – Virginia – 85 percent of the state, by geography, voted for the Orange Man but because of Northern Va and Richmond, which are hives of government workers (which means government-lovers) the state fell to the Hair Plugged Man.
The majority of the state is controlled politically by a minority of the state. It’s the same in CA and a number of other states, too.
The people no longer have a voice.
Because some people control the state. Break It Up: Secession... Kreitner, Richard Best Price: $20.11 Buy New $18.72 (as of 04:28 UTC - Details)
What happens when the people of a state are disfranchised? When they come to know that their vote doesn’t matter? Is it equitable that a geographically and proportionately tiny part of a state dictates to the rest of the state?
By what right does a Beltway bureaucrat autocratically govern the lives of farmers who live hundreds of miles away? The Coonman is the governor of Northern Virginia. He is loathed in most of Virginia. But the people of the rest of the state cannot vote him out of their lives because their votes don’t matter. Northern Virginia decides the politics of Virginia.
Do we not adhere to the idea of the consent of the governed? How can there be consent when there is no choice? This is not about red vs. blue. It is about right vs. wrong.
It is time for a parting of the ways.
Before it comes to blows.
The people of Northern Virginia have the right to govern themselves – and so do the people of the rest of the state. The state should be recognized in law what it is in fact, which is two states. The same applies to the people of other states, who have the right to govern themselves but not the right to lord it over everyone else in the state.
This is a natural evolution.
People change – and with them, politics. It is unnatural to force them to pretend to be the same people when they are manifestly so different.
They must be allowed to separate.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters