Recently, due to the heat and a bout of laziness, I have been consuming a lot of culture and entertainment. When these moods strike, I usually end up watching a film a day mixed into consuming a TV series on my watchlist over a period of a few days or completing a video game from my massive backlog. Over this past week, I watched Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR, a film that captured the big screen zeitgeist for a short time. Over the past six months, I also played and completed TALOS PRINCIPLE 2, the sequel to what is the best puzzle game of all-time. So how do each of these pieces of entertainment rank?
Alex Garland is a writer. No matter the genre, Garland has likely contributed to it. Back in the late 1990s, he entered our zeitgeist as a novelist writing THE BEACH (The Leonardo DiCaprio film) and THE TESSERACT. He moved into film and wrote a few of the best science fiction movies screenplays of the late 2000s/early 2010s, SUNSHINE, NEVER LET ME GO, and DREDD. He also was a primary writer on a DEVIL MAY CRY video game and another original well-reviewed game, ENSLAVED: ODYSSEY OF THE WEST. Taking the next evolutionary step, Garland began directing films. His first film was the indie darling EX MACHINA followed up shortly after by my favorite sci fi movie of the past decade, ANNIHILATION. He moved into television and created the very good Hulu TV show DEVS. With such a diverse creative career, I was looking forward to watching his latest film CIVIL WAR. Unfortunately, this movie was an idea that needed to stay locked in his brain. While the movie has wonderful cinematography and solid acting (A shout out to Kirsten Dunst’s husband Jesse Plemons who has the best scene in the movie), the screenplay is its biggest flaw. Since the United States is divided in ways like it has never been in my lifetime, a little dose of reality to make the film relatable would have been a positive step. Nick Offerman playing the President as a Trumpian type leader just doesn’t work. The Texas/California alliance with their two-star flag would carry more weight if we had a better understanding as to why these two states rebelled. But the director goes out of his way not to make any political statements. The movie should be retitled, SCENES FROM A CIVIL WAR. This leads to its other biggest flaw, a story focusing on journalists reporting on the ongoing Civil War. They move from location to location engaging with people while trying to remain objective. The movie wants you to be horrified by the images inside of these vignettes. But the movie having an objective point of view sucks all the emotion and drama out of the film. When the movie begins its final battle in Washington DC, it had already lost my interest. So, the ending left me feeling cold. I don’t know what the purpose of this movie was supposed to be. But it feels like one giant misstep for Garland and A24. On the brighter side, I finished THE TALOS PRINCIPLE 2 over this past weekend. One of the most beautiful games graphically that has ever been loaded onto my screen, the Talos Principle 2 is primarily a puzzle game mixed into a science fiction atmosphere with large doses of philosophy thrown in. Taking place after the completion of the first game, where the ending delivers a twist that human beings are extinct and life continues on through immortal robots that were created by one of the last humans who wanted to give them access to all the knowledge and history of humanity so as not to repeat its mistakes, this game starts with your creation as the final robot in their futuristic utopia, the robot 1K or number 1000 (The peak number for the “perfect” society of New Jerusalem). When these robots discover an ancient megastructure, your task is to infiltrate this monument through completing puzzles in twelve different worlds which unlock access. The puzzles are incredible and creative. As a person who historically struggles with puzzles, my cheat rate on this game was low (Around 20% of them required me to check YouTube for a solution). The game pays off its large commitment (47 hours of playtime) with a wonderful ending and the potential release of another game. The video game industry has not had the best decade so far. But this game is in the elite tier. I highly recommend purchasing this game and encourage getting that grey matter operating inside of your head whether through the intricate and complicated puzzle solving or reading the philosophical writings. TALOS PRINCIPLE 2 is a fantastic game that should not be missed. Until next time!
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My continued fascination with late 19th Century writing continues. There was my review of THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV last year. Shortly after was my blog speculating on whether human evolution has reached a new era here. There was my analysis about whether the economic system of feudalism has returned despite our evolution towards being more democratic and individualistic. Today, this blog will be a review of one of the most famous political manifestos ever written, GOD AND THE STATE, by Mikhail Bakunin. Before diving into the heart of this review, a little background on who Bakunin was.
Bakunin was born in the Tzer Oblast in Russia located northwest of Moscow into a wealthy family in 1814 that had over 500 serfs on it working his family’s land. A restless youth, he studied philosophy and wanted to become a mathematics teacher while often getting in trouble at school while also rejecting a military career. His wealth allowed him to travel all over Europe and read the great German philosophers which soon put him into Karl Marx and Pierre Joseph-Proudhon’s orbit. As society began to rebel against the engrained political systems in the mid-1800s including such famous events as the February 1848 French Revolution, the 1848 Prague uprising, and the 1849 Dresden uprising, Bakunin became obsessed with freedom movements for various ethnic groups including the Slavs who were mostly living under the thumb of the Austrian Hapsburgs. His rebellious stance towards these governments got him arrested, sentenced to death and eventually placed into solitary confinement in the famous Peter and Paul fortress prison in St. Petersburg, Russia. After escaping Russia through Japan and the United States during the Civil War, Bakunin became a prolific writer and one of the earliest promoters of the anarchist movement. Founding what would later be called collectivist anarchism, his writing would influence the International Workingmen’s Association and was key to the early Spanish anarchist movement of the 1930s. Bakunin did not agree with Marx and his ideas about the “dictatorship of the proletariat” and after the First International was founded in 1864, Bakunin and Marx clashed over their contradictory views until Marx had Bakunin removed out of the organization in 1872. Now on his own, Bakunin wrote his most famous work, GOD AND THE STATE, before his death. After failing to initiate an anarchist revolution in Bologna in the 1870s, Bakunin died shortly after in 1876. His legacy is often linked with two individuals, Karl Marx, who founded communism which has plagued the Earth since the late 19th Century and can be directly blamed for over 100 million deaths due to its failed ideology. The other is Peter Kropotkin who followed Bakunin and converted his form of collectivist anarchism into anarcho-communism, a more controversial political ideology. GOD AND THE STATE coming in at a little over 100 pages is an interesting read. Unlike Kropotkin whose anarcho-communist ideology in practice would establish a new ruling order and Karl Marx’s ideology which did create powerful, oppressive states for the “greater good” that led to the most violent century in human history, Bakunin differed from both men by prioritizing human liberty and freedom above any institutional structure. He was one of the first to see governments and religion as dueling oppressive forces that have held the human race back for centuries. On God: “The idea of God implies the abdication of human reason and justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty and necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind both in theory and practice.” “To worship a god is to degrade oneself, to kneel before an imaginary tyrant who demands obedience and submission.” On Marx’s Idea of Socialism and Communism: “Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice; socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality” On the State: “The supreme law of the State is self-preservation at any cost. And since all States, ever since they came to exist upon the earth, have been condemned to perpetual struggle — a struggle against their own populations, whom they oppress and ruin, a struggle against all foreign States, every one of which can be strong only if the others are weak — and since the States cannot hold their own in this struggle unless they constantly keep on augmenting their power against their own subjects as well as against the neighborhood States — it follows that the supreme law of the State is the augmentation of its power to the detriment of internal liberty and external justice. “The State is a prison, a cage that traps the human spirit and traps the mind.” The State is a tool of oppression, a weapon wielded by the ruling class to maintain their power and privilege.” But where Bakunin excels is understanding a new tool of oppression that has caused so much global harm in the 21st Century, a managerial society ruled by intellectual elites. Over 140 years ago, he foresaw the type of authoritarianism that would come out of this type of societal structure. “Human labor, in general, is still divided into two exclusive categories: the first—solely intellectual and managerial—includes the scientists, artists, engineers, inventors, accountants, educators, governmental officials, and their subordinate elites who enforce labor discipline The second group consists of the great mass of workers, people prevented from applying creative ideas or intelligence, who blindly and mechanically carry out the orders of the intellectual-managerial elite This economic and social division of labor has disastrous consequences for members of the privileged classes, the masses of the people, and for the prosperity, as well as the moral and intellectual development, of society as a whole.” This aspect of his writing is often overlooked. Bakunin saw the world changing from one with legacy systems of power like government and religion into a different type of world filled with intellectuals who would enforce the same oppressive systems onto the masses. Can we honestly argue that the world in existence today is not the reality that Bakunin was so concerned about? In conclusion, if you are interested in the ideas of anarchism and freedom, this manifesto is a good place to start. Bakunin is a smooth writer with clear, direct ideas. If you find the time, take the two hours required to read this important political manifesto. And once again, maybe human civilization was smarter in the late 19th Century? Maybe the technocracy that surrounds us has hindered our ability to critically think? An interesting question for a later debate. Until next time. For many people in the United States, Joe Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate was shocking. Here was an 82-year-old man and one of the most controversial presidents of my lifetime rambling off topic, staring blankly ahead dazed and confused, and looking more interested in sitting on a beach licking ice cream than having to debate a narcissistic businessman with tens of millions of followers. Being an individual who is running the most powerful country in the world while resembling a man who is a tiny step away from being committed to a senior center, Biden proved without a doubt that his first presidential term will be his only one. Even if he somehow recovers from this embarrassment and defeats (Or cheats) Donald Trump in 2024, there is no possibility that he will be coherent in January 20, 2029 when his second term ends with Biden closer in age to 90 than 80. But this debate performance was not shocking for those who evaluate our political scene daily. Biden has been in decline since the Democrats barricaded him in the basement during the campaign in 2020. The man who was so vigorous in the 90s and as Vice President has biologically aged out of the political scene. He is a shell of the angry, vengeful, and corrupt Senator he was for many decades. But the bigger crime is something that no one is talking about. The fact that our mainstream media protecting Biden gaslighted the American people for four years about our president’s true mental condition.
We have a divided and distrustful media environment. This has been discussed in many of my previous blogs. Because as has been proven, the biggest purveyors of disinformation is the government and corporate media. They lie to us ALL THE TIME especially regarding the actions of this current president. Whether falling over sandbags or tripping on airline stairs. Which of course is fact checked by the dishonest fact checkers. Rambling on at press conferences. And in the most hilarious and disturbing instance, having his press secretary accuse AI of creating deepfakes of his inept public performances. For years, the elites in control of the media have mocked the alternative press calling them “conspiracy theorists, liars, and disinformation experts.” And four years later after his abysmal debate performance, they decide to finally tell us the truth that many of us already knew. In order: NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON POST THE ECONOMIST THE NEW YORKER THE HILL has a nice summary. Even shocked Democrats are now discussing Biden’s incompetence. This is all enraging. To give you an overall summary, concerns have been issued over Biden’s condition for years and have been met with gaslighting and antagonism by the corporate press. Now, they decide in unison (Almost like it was planned) to reveal the truth that has been apparent on video and in the public for so long. Not only that, but it also raises some disturbing questions. Who is running the country? Someone has for the past four years. Was this a planned coup by the Democrats? Every day in this increasingly crazy world, I am becoming more of a believer that free will is not as commonplace as we think. Maybe our lives are scripted like a Hollywood movie. Would it really surprise you at this point if the Matrix is real? Whatever the case maybe regarding reality, let’s hope we figure it out. Because the threat of a nuclear war, whether it being real, or a simulation seems increasingly likely by the day. And this inability to recognize this truth is going to lead to our final destruction. If we can’t agree on the mental state of a declining old man, how in the hell are we going to resolve this Russia/Ukraine problem? As Hollywood struggles to recover from the COVID-19 lockdowns that impacted the industry in ways the studios failed to comprehend, the ticket sales in 2024 continue to lag behind 2023 by 24%. Due to the exceptional success of OPPENHEIMER and BARBIE which saved the film industry last year, many insiders in the industry firmly believed that the lower attendance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 were outliers and that moviegoers would return to the theater. But 2024 is showing that depressed ticket sales is likely the new normal. So what has caused this change in behavior among the movie-going public? Three things specifically stand out.
First, the pandemic changed people’s behavior. Movie events and word of mouth have become the defining characteristic of movie attendance. But the most overlooked factor is that ticket prices have exploded due to inflation. Attending a film with a family of four used to be a cheap night of entertainment. In California, a night out with your wife and two kids can cost 60 dollars before purchasing any of the expensive refreshments or beers and wines. These high prices change consumer behavior. Film goers and families will require more encouragement and positive press before spending a large amount of money on the next blockbuster film. Second, it is generational. Generation Z was the first generation born with a tablet in their hand. They have never experienced a world without YouTube or internet streaming. Because of this, entertainment is cheap, free, and can be experienced on your tablet or phone from the comforts of your own house. There is no identification with “event” films that used to take our culture by storm through the 1970s until the 2010s (AVENGERS likely being the last true event). This change in behavior is something that Hollywood has still not resolved. But one of the most overlooked problems which will be denied by the executives at the television networks, film studios, and recording companies is that Hollywood has an elitist problem. Films have become the centerpiece of the culture war and whether you agree with the conservative opinion about films becoming “too woke” or the liberal opinion that social identity and political observations need to become a centerpiece of our art, the average consumer doesn’t care. Because of this, there are millions of people in the United States who have rejected entertainment completely. But this opinion that Hollywood is elitist and no longer understands the American people is a valid argument. There is the completely out of touch Stephen Colbert and his VAX-SCENE which were not only painfully unfunny but could be seen as government and corporate propaganda. Plus, the shots have proven to be more dangerous with time as more studies have been done. There is the increase in deaths which still hasn’t been properly researched or studied to find the underlying cause (The vaccines have to be considered as a factor). There is Hollywood’s embrace of liberal politicians in an era when censorship and “lawfare” tactics to imprison or remove the opposition has become the greatest threat to our personal liberties in my lifetime. To summarize how out of touch Hollywood and the streaming services are, I want to bring your attention to Season 4, Episode 2 of the Amazon show THE BOYS called “Life Among the Septics.” THE BOYS is a popular, comic book show that treats superheroes in a more realistic light. When given God-like abilities as a person, is there any doubt that many individuals would use these powers for personal gain? Or to commit large amounts of violence to cover up a crime? THE BOYS works because it handles the characters realistically while often diving into satire. The satire works very well when it focuses on our present-day culture. Whether satirizing the fact that we have too many superhero movies, or that Hollywood has lost its ability to make original content, or in some of the funniest scenes, the superheroes use their powers in unique ways to pleasure themselves or commit obscene sex acts, many of these moments are hilarious and demented. But what does THE BOYS television show fail at? POLITICS In the episode mentioned above, THE BOYS are trying to track down a superhero named FIRECRACKER who has become a right wing, Tucker Carlson type firebrand complaining about “the liberals” that are ruining the country on her popular radio show (And if you pay attention to the Twitter Files, the Russia Gate hoax, and Hunter’s authentic laptop, she may not be wrong). While the liberals who run the show take great joy in mocking Pizza Gate in one scene and other ridiculous conspiracies associated with the right like Flat Earth ideology or believing in alien technology covered up by the government, they fumble the satire through their own certainty of “truth.” FIRECRACKER even has a scene where she attacks the idea of vaccination. Firecracker’s whole argument seems ridiculous to the creators of this show. As they wallow in their ignorance, data continues to be released about the increasing amount of side effects, and the fact that the 9th Circuit Court just ruled that the COVID-19 vaccines were NOT VACCINES because they did not prevent spread has proven that these products do not work as advertised. In their quest to prove their intellectual superiority to the lower-class plebes that live in the center of the country, Hollywood is showing that it may be even more sadistic and stupid than the idiots that they satirize. In Season 2, THE BOYS revived everyone’s favorite villain, The Nazis, in the form of the super-powered STORMFRONT which came across as unoriginal and moronic. Hollywood has turned Hitler into a fictionalized cartoon character instead of the dangerous and idealistic person that he was (Which is often overlooked to emphasize his cartoonish villainy). The first good political satire joke in THE BOYS will be its first. I am not holding my breath that they can pull it off. My word of advice for THE BOYS in the future. Stay out of present-day politics! Your lack of knowledge regarding the political problems of the 21st Century United States is embarrassing. ![]() Over this past month, there has been an unending barrage of political and economic news. The election is heating up and both the liberals and conservatives are digging into their respective ideological trenches which will make the next five months of mainstream news insufferable to watch. Even a person who is fascinated with this topic and has a master’s degree in media studies has found the news in 2024 mostly divisive and ideological. There is only so much an individual can take on social media of Trump defenders fighting with the pod people liberals over how evil the “orange man” is. Because of this, my motivation to blog and do research on my next unannounced project has grinded to a halt due to writer’s block. Sometimes, your brain just needs a break. A couple of short tidbits. Understanding that the economy in the United States is a horrifying disaster right now as China, Russia and India make their push to officially create their alternative to the US dollar while Americans are distracted over a kangaroo trial involving an ex-president/reality show host, it may be hard to leave the house and travel this summer. Wallets are getting increasingly thin due to inflation. Gas prices are on the verge of exploding once the US reserves are drained which will make flying or taking a road trip pretty expensive. But even if it is just to camp an hour away or to visit an amusement park one state over that you have always wanted to attend, I think it is important to travel. The world seems to be heading into a dark place. It is important to schedule some time away and gain some new, mentally fresh experiences. My wife and I just got back from a seven-day cruise on Holland America to my 40th State (Alaska) which also involved a short layover in Victoria, BC, Canada. In October, I will be taking another cruise in the Mediterranean to see Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and Italy (And possibly Albania). Counting this recent trip to Alaska, I have now been to 40 of the 50 United “States” and have gone to eight foreign countries on two continents (Four in the Caribbean). After this autumn trip to the Mediterranean, it will be twelve or thirteen countries visited on three continents. Our recent push to travel has been motivated by the state of our present-day world. Even though my wife, kids and I live a pretty comfortable upper middle-class lifestyle, it also feels like one job loss or bad financial investment could put an end to our travel plans very rapidly. Plus, traveling has been proven to be beneficial to enhance your mind and soul and gets you out of the routine of the 9 to 5 work lifestyle. If you enjoy seeing new places and having new experiences, then go to that city or National Park you have always wanted to experience. My wife and I are preparing to tighten the screws and live a much simpler lifestyle soon if our prediction about the economic state of the United States comes true. So, we are enjoying ourselves until that moment when we longer can. Finally, I have mentioned previously that I support multiple independent journalists and podcasts on Substack, Rumble, and Patreon. On Matt Taibbi’s RACKET NEWS and Michael Shellenberger’s PUBLIC websites both hosted on the Substack platform, they have begun posting stories that further their investigative articles published last year called the TWITTER FILES. Called the Censorship Files, these are articles published after FOIA requests were made that helped clarify much of the information that Elon Musk leaked to them a few years back regarding X/Twitter. In the 20th Century, the mainstream media would have talked about these investigative stories for months. Scandals would have flooded the news, and many government workers would be contemplating jail time. But not in the 21st Century where obvious corruption will likely get you promoted. Now that we live in a propagandistic media environment where criticism of the government is virtually outlawed, there has not been any attention paid to these incredibly important stories of government/corporate collusion which is illegal based on our Constitution and historical legal precedents. If you want to read these stories and are not subscribed, click NO THANKS on the Racket News link provided above and this will unlock all the stories. On Public, the most disturbing story about the CIA and how it took control of Twitter is paywalled. Racket has a summary of the full details regarding that horrifying story. This is just more evidence showing how far the United States has fallen from our Founders' Constitutional ideals into an oligarchical and authoritarian society. At some point, I hope that Americans band together and do something about these individuals that are actively destroying the American dream. I will be back with another story in a couple of weeks. As mentioned above, get out and travel and try to free your mind from the overwhelming media barrage of information. Enjoy the things that are important to you and try to make that your priority before the madness of our Autumn elections takes over our national discourse. This question has been nagging me since the COVID-19 lockdowns were initiated in March of 2020. There has been a general malaise among the population; a feeling of hopelessness that permeates our society. What the hell happened to this country almost four years ago? Did we really have a lab created virus released onto the population followed by lockdowns initiated by our public “health” officials that went on so long that it devastated our economy and required government bailouts only to be followed by the largest riots in American history over a questionable death involving a black man and a white officer? While listening to podcasts, you can get a sense that our society has flown off the rails and fallen into a deep pit of insanity. The United States has never been so divided. Reading the news slides you into a pit of despair as globalists with a lot of money and patience are pushing for total control over our lives. The whole charade of this past few years feels evil and with certain people, even supernatural. Are dark forces behind this push for control, the loss of morality in our society, and the chronic division that has broken this nation into two warring political ideologies? I don’t know. But some interesting changes have been occurring with a few public figures that may lead to a greater trend in the near future.
First of all, US citizens who actively participated in a religion or church has dropped below 50% for the first time in American history. The decline really accelerated at the start of the 20th Century when 70% of Americans still identified with a religion. This number has fallen to 47%. What has replaced it? The new technocratic, scientific world (Scientism) has become many people’s new religion of choice (Even if the practitioners don’t define it as such). This new “science” divided the world when the COVID-19 lockdowns began and was accelerated when a genetic vaccine was released onto the population that had a much higher uptake among the believers in science than the followers of religion. But the other interesting political change is watching political alliances change. The world is no longer divide between conservatives (Republicans) and liberals (Democrats) anymore and the sub-categories that exist inside each system. The world has been very strictly divided amongst those who seek freedom (That coalesce around the conservative movement often represented by the imperfect Donald Trump or individuals like RFK Jr. on the political side and Matt Taibbi on the journalistic side) and those who are fully authoritarian (A majority of liberals including almost the entire Democratic Party and the administrative government and intelligence agencies that support them). These rapid changes have led to a strengthening in religious faith which will soon lead to an increase in individuals attending church services. A few public examples that back up this argument. 1) Candace Owens became a practicing Catholic. 2) Naomi Wolf has been reading the 16th Century Geneva Bible, which has made her re-evaluate her own faith and is often considered the best translated version of that ancient text. 3) Rob Schneider is now Catholic. 4) Tucker Carlson has had many spiritual leaders on his podcast recently and admitted that he is questioning his beliefs. 5) Finally, and most shockingly, Russell Brand, ex-drug and sex addict, recently prayed the rosary on his podcast. So what is going on here? First, the people discovering religion have been a strong part of the “resistance” to the tyranny being forced onto us. Many of them have acted in shock and bewilderment as to how rapidly our society has shifted. Even though you can make the argument that these plans to alter our society have been in place for awhile by powerful human beings scheming conspiratorially together, there is a “dark force” and “evil” feel to all of these changes. With the foundations of society fracturing and support mechanisms failing, people have never been so isolated. As a one-time practicing Catholic, the one thing I had the hardest time understanding was “faith.” Even though the morality of the ancient texts is essential in understanding one way to live a good life, the idea of faith in God always disturbed me. Why believe in something that has never been shown to have existed? The COVID-19 lockdowns set me straight. People turn to religion and fantasy when the world no longer makes sense. The scientific and technological world has no morals. It created a division in our society that may never be repaired, and worst of all, it leaves your soul empty. There is nothing in science that can fulfill the need for purpose. THIS IS WHY RELIGION EXISTS. In mythology, the Romans and Greeks who did not understand so many things about the world created Gods like Neptune, King of the Sea, to explain things about the powerful ocean that they don’t understand. Folklores and fairytales exist inside every culture to explain phenomenon that did not make sense for the medieval or ancient minds of the time. Bringing this into the present day, society feels at war with itself and on the brink of collapse. Glaring down such negativity, what is wrong with turning to a source of hope that has guided human beings for millenia? Let me hear your thoughts on this observation. Until next time! It is still hard to contemplate what happened to the United States in March of 2020. As a citizen, I have had plenty of issues with my government in the past. But despite these issues, it always felt like my Constitutional freedoms were being protected. When accounting for the 4th Amendment violations brought to the public’s attention by Edward Snowden, the US government and many corporations seemed like an irritating nuisance sitting in the background of the classroom keeping watch but doing nothing. You knew the “government” was watching but you never felt threatened by it. There has never been a moment in my life where I thought the United States would ban or make illegal certain types of political speech or try to control our behavior through coercion. But then, COVID-19 happened. What followed was the first “hard tyrannical” approach enforced on the citizens by the US government (And most governments worldwide) and the acquiescing corporations who went along with the proclamations with very little pushback.
Masks – CHECK Stay Six Feet Away (Enforced in stores and movie theaters) – CHECK Lockdown in Your Home – CHECK Later in the pandemic, Certain Industries were Mandating Vaccines – CHECK Unvaccinated need to get negative PCR Tests – CHECK Need a negative PCR Test to attend social events – CHECK As this was occurring, a thought began to enter my head. Do any of these edict’s work? What is their purpose? As 2021 approached, certain doctors, public figures, politicians, and corporate CEOs began to push back on the public health services that initiated these lockdowns. The first signs of dissent began in May of 2020 during the George Floyd Riots where the public health figures endorsed national protests while earlier in the pandemic, informing us that we needed to stay six feet away from everyone including our neighbors. This protocol was “lightened” and altogether ignored during the BLM riots. As people began to understand the lack of common sense and contradictions, a large movement began to ask questions about all of these mandates and directives. This led to another first in American history; tech and legacy media companies actively censoring information that contradicted the public health/government narrative when individuals began to speak out. There was no one who questioned these contradictions more than Robert Kennedy Jr., the son of assassinated presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. His voice became one of the strongest dissenters against the COVID-19 lockdown madness. RFK Jr. is founder of an organization called CHILDREN’S HEALTH DEFENSE. Per the mission statement below: Our mission is to end childhood health epidemics by working aggressively to eliminate harmful exposures, hold those responsible accountable and establish safeguards to prevent future harm. We fight corruption, mass surveillance and censorship that put profits before people as well as advocate for worldwide rights to health freedom and bodily autonomy. In 2022, RFK Jr. released the definitive book about Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), who became the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the masking regulations, and for creating protocols for the treatment of the disease. Titled The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health, the book is over 900 pages with thousands of references going back close to fifty years in a few instances. It is well researched, dense, and informative. After taking six months to focus on its content and slowly coming to terms with the complexities of the inner workings of government agencies, the novel, while quite entertaining, is a horror novel all the way through. You probably believed that Stephen King, Chuck Palahniak, or H.P. Lovecraft wrote some of the scariest words ever published inside a novel. When you get done with RFK Jr.’s 934-page magnum opus, you may reconsider that opinion. One thing you will quickly realize when reading this book. RFK Jr. knows a lot about the health and pharma industries. Chapter 1 is the longest chapter in the book (Clocking in at 230 pages) that examines the failures of the treatment protocol and overall response to COVID-19 when the disease initially broke out. Our hospitals, lacking imagination and craving profits, agreed almost completely with the CDC’s failed protocols. Besides the controversy over ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, and the promotion of the dangerous medication known as remdesivir, the protocol failed at treating the disease early (Hospitals only dealt with severe cases that could have been avoided with proper medication), put people onto ventilators which was often a death sentence, and while this was occurring, kept promising a magical vaccine that would neutralize COVID-19. When reading this chapter, you realize how truly incompetent our public health leadership was at the leadership level. Then you get to Chapter 2. When individuals are asked to describe what a villain looks like, most people have a general idea through their own cultural identity, personal beliefs, or ethics about how to describe this type of evil. If this is the case, then Dr. Anthony Fauci is a villain. As the book gets more complex, you can come to a few conclusions based on the facts presented that the only solution to fixing the CDC, FDA, NIAID, and other health organizations is to burn them to the ground and scatter them into history. Fauci and his allies have created a mafia type fiefdom with public money to create medications or vaccines that only have one goal: to line their profits and help improve the bottom line of every pharma, medical, and health insurance company. Safety is not the priority. Finding the magic snake oil that can be marketed to millions of Americans is the real goal. The public money that the Federal Government gives these federal agencies is dispersed in a manner that keeps everyone working inside these programs loyal to their ultimate cause; making themselves wealthy. Have you ever asked yourself this question? Why did people who got HIV and AIDS seem to die so quickly in the 80s and early 90s? But in our present day, they seem to live normal, healthy lives (See Magic Johnson). Well, the answer is AZT (Azidothymidine), one of Dr. Fauci’s “medications,” which absolutely obliterated human immune systems and led to horrible side effects. The medication was toxic. It led to an undeclared genocide against AID patients during the 20th Century and shortened hundreds of thousands of patients’ lives. When the impact of these drugs started coming to the attention of medical professionals with consciences, the same propaganda system we saw during COVID was activated. Dr. Fauci, the media, the pharmaceutical/government/health care complex flooded the airwaves with their pro-AZT propaganda. Doctors were destroyed and had their careers terminated for questioning the medication. No one was allowed to question the “science.” Diving deeper into the book, the factual details continue to get more horrifying. Most vaccines or medications are not properly safety tested before being released onto the market. If this was not enough, Bill Gates gets introduced into the book. Using his tax-free Foundation, Gates has become the most powerful individual in the global health care scene during the 21st Century. Gates promotes vaccines that don’t pass safety trials and then dumps them into Africa (Usually) to inoculate the citizens and children who end up with terrible side effects. Gates uses donations funneled into media outlets to propagandize his actions into a positive narrative. While Gates does this, he admittedly is making billions in taxpayer free money while intimidating governments and global health agencies into forcing countries to buy his questionable products while receiving legal immunity from the consequences. And the worst part of Gates’ actions are located in the final chapter. Gates has been game planning the EXACT GLOBAL GOVERNMENT REACTION to a dangerous viral outbreak that billions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic during run throughs and trials dating back to 2010 on multiple occurrences. It almost makes one believe that this was all intentional. So what can you take away from this? I recommend this book for two specific and important reasons. 1) Read it to learn how our pharma and medical companies aligned and helped by our government agencies have corrupted this industry beyond repair and may actually be dangerous to our lives depending on the health issue that we are diagnosed with. If this is the best our government can do, then why does any of this exist? 2) The knowledge about how medication works and the different debates over proper treatments and protocols is fascinating to learn about. You quickly realize that the medical industry is not as clearly defined as people may believe. What works for some people may not work for others. There is no silver bullet like a vaccine that can save humanity (Sorry Bill Gates). Humans are complicated and as knowledge continues to be attained, medical treatments will continue to change. Science is not one definitive truth. Science is fluid. Understanding this will prevent you from being suckered by the snake oil salesman like Dr. Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates. If you get the chance, read this book. It will change your life. The question above is presented as pure speculation. When it comes to Empires in recent history, the “Empire on which the sun never sets” (British) came to an end after World War II. The British had an almost 400-year rule as the greatest empire in human history based on overall size. At its height after World War I, the British Empire covered 13.01 million square miles of land (22% of the Earth) and by 1938, it ruled over 438 million people (20% of the world’s population). Americans love to read about the Revolutionary War where the genius of General Washington and the intelligence and wisdom of the Founding Fathers led to the United States colonies becoming an independent nation separated from the British after an eight-year battle. In 1812, we went to war with the British again in what would be ruled a draw (The conquest of Canada was prevented, and the British burned the White House down) even though the US maintained its territorial integrity. With the United States officially becoming an Empire after the conclusion of the Spanish American War in 1898 and the beginning of the Filipino American War (Which was written out of the history books when I was a child) in 1899, the United States could finally rival the powerful Brits in military power.
This leads into World War I, a war where the United States maintained neutrality. This war is where the answer to my question above begins. Now considered an ally, the United States refused entry into the war even though German U-Boats sank multiple American freighters. The one thing that turned the tables for intervention was the Zimmerman Telegram which united the executive and legislature branches of the United States for the first time on the possibility of going to war. In the telegram, it was a private communication from German foreign minister Zimmerman promising parts of the southern United States back to Mexico and California would be given to Japan if both countries would fight on the German side. Because of this telegram and not the sinking of merchant ships (As the history books like to say), war was declared against Germany on April 6, 1917. After the telegram went public, both Mexico and Japan denied the contents of the telegram. Quote: “Japan’s ambassador to Germany called it “too ridiculous for words,” and the Mexican government officially declined the offer on April 14, 1917. Zimmermann resigned as foreign minister in August 1917. But the telegram's impact on American public opinion about Germany's intentions was a significant factor in the United States' decision to enter the Great War.” So, who gave us this telegram? Quote: ” BRITISH code breakers obtained two copies of the coded Zimmermann telegram, and they were able to break the cypher using a broken code and comparing the telegrams.” The accepted factual history was that this telegram was authentic, and the British were only helping their allies by drawing us into a war that benefitted them when the Central Powers slid into defeat in 1918. But a historian has a different perspective. In fact, Barbara Tuchman wrote an entire book explaining how this telegram was a fake. After World War II, history declares that the “Sun officially did set” on the British Empire. India became independent shortly after and by 1967, more than 20 British territories had become newly independent nations. The United States took over the role of the British becoming the largest and most powerful military on Earth and the greatest financial power in history. But as the British were licking their wounds, did their influence truly go away? Recently, I was listening to Richard Poe, a writer who has done mountains of research on the British Empire. He has concluded that the British Empire is still a keen participant in global events and is still active in shaping political narratives. In this article, he writes about how the British published a washed-up political writer’s manifesto named Karl Marx and pushed Communism onto the world. He has evidence that the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion document was a fabrication by British intelligence to blame the Jews. And the rise of the Bolsheviks was encouraged to destroy the rising power of the Russian Empire. Bringing this to our present day, who were the people that helped bring about the Russia Gate charges that were later proven to be fabricated? It was the British. The Five Eyes intelligence group involves five countries. The UK, three UK Commonwealth Nations (Canada, Australia, New Zealand), and the United States. With so much control over this intelligence gathering operation, how can we be confident that the United States is not the UK’s vassal state? For years, the British have been criticizing people like Tony Blair for being the United States’ bitch. What if the reverse is true? Would like to hear your thoughts on this! Recently, I started re-visiting a childhood obsession. As a parent to two “Gen Z” kids (Whatever the hell that means), it is fascinating to observe what my children’s generation is fascinated about. YouTube, Japanese Anime, Japanese Video Games, and Streamers are the popular things in my house. For me, growing up in the 80s, I was fascinated by Voltron, GI Joe, the NFL, Oingo Boingo, and PEANUTS (Many of these things are now culturally iconic). While at Catholic School, our teacher would give us library time (If my memory serves me, it was once every two weeks) to check out books. At the time, reading classic American and Russian novels, Sci Fi blockbusters by creators like Heinlein, Clarke and Dick, and political screeds about the Reagan era were not my cup of tea. I was fascinated by two things: World War II history and comic strips. Generation X is the generation long tied to making the superhero comic books of Marvel and DC famous. In the present day, these properties have taken over modern-day cinema. But despite reading lots of these comic books (Especially X-Men), my fascination with comic books never reached my adoration for three comic strips: THE FAR SIDE, PEANUTS, and GARFIELD. While the former was brilliant for creating a world where all creatures had a conscience, and were often put into cultural, political, and absurdly intelligent situations inside of one panel while the latter had more of a cynical absurdist and sometimes stupid theme to it, nothing compared to PEANUTS. PEANUTS was never an artistic masterpiece. It often was dead serious. But no comic strip even to this day has dived into psychology, depression, the darkness and frustration of life, and the cynicism of the people in your community (With a little bit of philosophy thrown in AKA Linus) like PEANUTS did. So, I decided to reflect on this aspect of my past. What drove me to be so attracted to this specific comic strip as a young child? Going back to my school library in 2019 during the memorial for my father, I realized that my name was inside every single CHARLIE BROWN book that my old school still has inside their “Comedy” section. Something about reading the frustrating adventures of a boy who failed at everything in life but kept getting himself back onto his feet to try and fail again was appealing to my young mind. So lately, I have been going back and reading them again. Two things really stand out when revisiting PEANUTS. 1) The philosophical debates, child-like situations, and observations by these very mature children really hold up in the present day. These kids, especially the philosophizing of Linus who deals with his own insecurities by latching onto a blanket, were intelligent, grounded, down-to-earth, and realistic. Lucy, inside her psychiatry booth (5 cents), would give a cold, hard reality check to many of the kids who had legitimate problems and her advice would provide them no comfort. 2) PEANUTS also never reveals where it takes place inside the United States. The comic strip seems to take place in an imaginary United States that many people believe existed from the late 1940s into the 1980s. The purposeful intent of this artistic decision allows anyone who recognizes themselves in one of these characters to identify more clearly with the most well-written, psychologically developed children ever created inside of any medium.
Re-reading PEANUTS, I have no doubt that Linus is my doppelganger. I have always been philosophical and fascinated by the spiritual. I was attached to a blanket FOR WAY TOO LONG as a child and yes, it was my “security blanket”, and I had a sister who had a very similar personality to Lucy. As I aged and left this comic behind (Especially after Schulz’s death in 2000), I moved onto darker things in my teen years like Tim Burton and horror films and a fascination with punk and goth music. That sense of sadness that permeated my childhood continued and got worse during my teen years. This depression lingered into adulthood. Only seeing the smiling face of my daughter snapped me out of my mental funk. There is something wrong with your head when lyrics from one of your favorite bands bring a smile to your face and years later, you have a recognition about how dark the lyrics are. For instance, the lyrics to Oingo Boingo's NOTHING BAD EVER HAPPENS TO ME below, Have you heard about the Joneses, my, my, my It happened so quick, and no one knows why Their teenage son, he seemed okay But his suicide ruined everyone's day And I can't believe that anyone would Wanna do such a terrible thing But why should I care? For me, PEANUTS was something I needed at a specific time in my life (Between seven and fifteen years of age). It brought me joy despite the often-depressing content. During the almost 50 years of its existence, PEANUTS continues to be an amazing work of art. It is the greatest comic strip of the 20th Century. A couple of months ago, I posted a long, bloviating post about humanity entering a new “era” of history. A new evolution (Or devolution) of mankind that will likely define the next century or two. Even paying attention to the news badly, there is something that is terribly wrong with the world. The most powerful once stable nation states seem to be collapsing. Institutions are breaking. Governments are corrupted beyond saving, and people are unhappy and struggling to maintain their lifestyles. Rule by the people thru the democratic system is in serious decline. As these institutions decline, various “new” philosophies have sprung up in hopes of leading and guiding the people of this planet into a new direction.
The first is THE GREAT RESET, a collection of “ideas” being promoted by some of the richest men on the planet. Through strategic capture of the political systems in nation states throughout the world and help from NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that give tax free money to help propagandize, manipulate, and force governments and corporations into a new social and political direction (Through a manufactured word called ‘governance’), the decline of the nation state can be partially blamed on these self-interested billionaires and their insatiable thirst for total control. But the weakness in our country was also caused by our own arrogance and naivete by continuing to elect corrupt, evil politicians who passed one terrible law at a time that slowly broke down this country’s foundations. When evaluating all the videos and documents related to this plan, no one can really explain what THE GREAT RESET is. The philosophy of this idea is explained with vague information that is spewed out in soulless corporate lingo. It appears to have three main foundations. 1) Create a blending of corporations and governments through globalized entities to rule the planet. 2) Force authoritarianism on the people through the globalist’s own interests in topics like climate change, equity, and central digital bank currencies. 3) Modify human beings for the upcoming technocracy by controlling their bodies and minds. No one really knows what is being accomplished or what the final solution of this RESET will be. But freedom and human rights will probably not survive this transition. The second is authoritarian capitalism best represented by China and Russia. This new political system resembles fascism by design. The difference is that authoritarian capitalists do not actively engage in multiple genocides like Hitler’s Germany did. In comparison, authoritarian capitalists do violate Civil Rights, engage in repression, and participate in propaganda and manipulation for the benefit of the state. But even though the state has strong control over its people, the economic system is more capitalistic and freer than the authoritarian system that the citizens live under, and it mostly benefits chosen elites who have the proper personal government connections with the regular people getting the financial leftovers. Unfortunately, the “success” of China and Russia has led many other nations to pursue this freedom destroying political ideology even though the majority of the wealth goes to the upper echelon. When viewed through an analytical lens, both these new political systems have one thing in common. They both restore the once failed idea of oligarchy. Oligarchy was the foundation of feudalism which was the established political ideology of the Dark and Middle Ages. Throughout the globe, an emperor, king, or queen ruled with a court of nobles who controlled most of the country through their own massive fortunes while keeping the common man under control through taxation, slavery, and religion. Religious leaders along with the nobles often had political power in the king’s court. And if the “monarchy” got out of hand, it was not uncommon for the nobles to put some “magic juice” into the king’s meal to bring about the next hereditary ruler. Even a democratic republic like the United States has been badly damaged and has begun to resemble an oligarchical, feudalistic system. As the tech industry has grown powerful, the hope that this new technology would increase knowledge and lead to freedom movements around the globe has created a new reality where privacy is non-existent, basic human rights are under attack, and an authoritarian system with limited opportunities for the average man is being implemented. The evil tech investor Peter Thiel reflects this common, underlying attitude by saying, “democracy—based on the fundamental principles of individual responsibility and agency—does not fit comfortably with a technocratic mindset that believes superior software can address and modulate every problem.” Before understanding this transition, we need to go back to the rise of the present-day nation state. Many historians believe this new era of political ideology began with the Treaty of Westphalia signed in 1648 by various “nation states.” The treaty ended the Thirty Year’s War which was primarily a battle between Protestants and Catholics and the long running Bringing this into the present day, recent studies have been peer reviewed and published on this technocratic, neo-medievalism/feudalism that the people of this Earth are being guided into. This has especially been brought to the attention of the right as the left-wing Democrats seem to be the biggest promoters of this “new world.” Globalist and technocratic psychopath Dr. Harari agrees on this new direction. “None of these things [laws, justice, human rights, money] exists outside the stories that people invent and tell one another. There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws, and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings.” And Mattias Desmet has warned us in his new book, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TOTALITARIANISM, “Totalitarianism and technocracy like to present themselves as the pinnacle of rationality and science but this could not be further from the truth. It is a form of control.” These articles on feudalism serve a very defined purpose, conditioning. They are preparing us for a future that a very small, but incredibly wealthy, group of people through their funding of academic research, capture of governments, and media control wants to begin imposing on the entire globe. Feudalism failed because people started educating themselves. The printing press invented around 1436 AD was the first step that helped unlock the human mind. The next was the cultural, scientific, artistic, and philosophical advancements and re-discoveries of ancient teachings during the Renaissance. Starting around the end of the 14th Century, the ideals of the Renaissance took hold into the 17th Century when the “nation state” and sovereignty became the next step in human evolution. This bleak future can be stopped. But turning to history, this lesson can be missed. Many historians believe that humans evolve in a mostly upward direction with the occasional setback. New inventions and ideas always move our species forward. After a specific period of war or political turmoil, we usually find ourselves on the right path again. But what if this foundational teaching about human development is false. The Egyptian, Greek and Roman Empires were impressive displays of human innovation and intellectual thought. But as the Roman Empire began to collapse and human beings began to decentralize into tribes with traditions and their own religions, humanity took a large step back progressively. It took almost a thousand years to re-discover the ideas of these ancient Imperial thinkers and start moving the evolution of humanity forward again. Today, we have the technology, scientific inventions, engineering knowledge, a more evolved social understanding, and a motivated individuality to again push this species upward. But if we don’t unite and take this threat of the potential of feudalism or neo-medievalism seriously, it won’t be long until the 1200s return with technological upgrades becoming our new reality. |
AuthorEXPERT OF SOME Archives
June 2024
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