"How many times do the “leaders” of California have to put their hands on the stove before they learn to let it cool?"
Unfortunate attempt at analogy. They do not learn because they do not get burned. They are protected from the consequences of their words and actions. Unless they cross The Party (e.g. Andy Cuomo). Say anything. Do anything. It's more than protected - the negative consequences of their actions are used as fuel to incite hate for the opposition. Karen Bass lying to blame ICE for the lack of progress in fire rebuilding, when in fact the biggest barrier is obtaining the required permits, for example. It's how it's done. Rather than burned, they get to reach in and get the cookies.
I will say that after watching Jay Inslee get relentlessly ratioed on every single post he made, it FELT like we were making more progress than we actually were.
Progress is real, slow but real. The Party is not progressing, it is regressing. That is progress of a kind. It is getting harder and harder to stay loyal, and if the trajectory continues, people will begin to catch on I think. Or so I choose to believe.
If you don’t think this police state won’t be deployed against us when the Democrats are installed by the (((powers that be))) in 2028, you aren’t paying attention.
Whatever his reasoning for the response, Trump is going to be the architect of his own failure and over something that need not have been and all because his ego is bigger than his wisdom and I say that as a Trump supporter since 2015. I still support him to this day but I’m also going to call him out when he should be called out just as he deserved when he kept trying to promote the covid vaccine as winning long after it became clear to his base that it was far from winning. Trump is incapable of admitting being wrong and the longer he insists on being right the harder he makes it for himself to ever concede. It will be his own undoing.
Let’s assume that he is not lying about this, that there is no cover-up of Epstein; that there is no evidence or at least none now that can be located so they have no way to move forward with prosecuting anyone. Even then we already know this is a lie b/c they have video of the men engaged in sex with the minors we just can’t see it b/c it’s illegal content and that’s reasonable. It’s not reasonable to try and sell the public this lie that there is nothing to prosecute anyone with but let’s forget about that for now. The proper way to handle this is NOT the path Trump and his team choose. They knew how important the Epstein case is with the MAGA base and so telling the base that this is a nothing burger and to move on was foolish beyond foolishness. I don’t know why any of them thought that could work. It makes me wonder if anti-Trump forces are involved and their getting Trump to act this foolishly to destroy himself.
If there is really no evidence to convict anyone else of sex with minors, then the ONLY way to have handled this would have been to treat it as seriously as the base views it and not to tell them to forget about it and move on. Better yet, after seeing the negative backlash to this to then try and shame them into silence/compliance is how you make things worse than they already are.
That said I for one do not believe the “Lone pedophile" theory as is being promoted. As Tucker Carlson pointed out, how does a high school math teacher with no college degree or connections go from that to owning several planes, a pleasure island filled with underaged girls and the largest residence in Manhattan? How does one like that end up rubbing elbows and doing business with some of the world’s most powerful and wealthy men unless he has something to hold over them that gives him control and influence? If Epstein was running a honey pot operation to blackmail these men, then there is absolutely no way he was doing it without the help of at least 1 state actor possibly 2 or even 3 of which America, Israel and the UK are the most likely culprits. Meghan Kelly said from what her sources told her, Epstein was not one of ours, not one of Americas’ intel agency assets. Epstein was an asset to someone as a former FL Attorney involved in the case around 2007 publicly said that he had been told that Epstein was an intel asset and to treat him as such in court. When an intel asset goes to court the attorneys are briefed so as to take care with what questions they ask of the asset in order to avoid compromising them or the agency they work with.
Epstein was working for someone the question is who and it sounds like it wasn’t us, wasn’t the CIA or some other American intel agency. That leaves Israel’s Mossad as the most likely candidate, and it also makes sense. If it were being suggested that he worked for MI7 there’d be far fewer questions and pushback. The resistance to him working for Mossad is b/c we’ve been slowly conditioned to view Israel as something it is not. The Israel of today is not a nation of religious Jews as was the Israel of biblical times. Today Israel is predominantly secular and the adherence to the Jewish tradition is about ethnicity and tradition and not any faith or religion. Regardless of what it does what it does the fact is it acts in its own best interest like any other nation does, but we’re supposed to pretend like as if they don’t. The Snowden leaks proved that Israel was Americas #1 spy threat; not the way to treat a nation you claim is your #1 ally.
Trump has most likely been lied to about all of this and doesn’t know the truth (unlikely) or he’[s had the talk all presidents get and has found out that he isn’t the most powerful leader on the planet as he thought and so in order to protect himself a and more importantly the lives of his family he’s being forced to play ball; to cover this up. This is the most likely explanation that covers all in question and would explain his irrational behavior and treatment of this. If he felt he was being forced to do this b/c of his family’s safety I could see that making him angry and causing him to treat his base the way he has. If this is really what’s happening the way they handled it was still done poorly and without much thought of how it would go over. If they continue down this path, they aren’t going to get people to give up but keeping tossing more and more fuel on to the fires of conspiracy.
This was a very good piece but I wish you hadn’t included DJT’s rant. I don’t see how this particular rant on Miz Bondi and the Epsteen Files has to do with the rest of the piece, which has to do with the troubles we Californios face at present.
Well, it was tangentially related to Newsom with HIS unforced error, but mostly it was too important to ignore but didn't warrant its own piece. I sometimes "combine" stories like this.
It is possible there was officially unofficial (or vice versa) communication to have the raid of the park be a message; modern politicos prefer "sending messages" before achieving anything real, since it's less controversial and is perceived as cheaper and safer (a real thing you cannot back away from, a symbolic one you can retreat and flip-flop on).
It is equally possible it was leaked, which means people high enough places are more loyal to their ideology/ethics than to the duty of their station or just their duty, period. Which I support, but:
If your ethics and your orders clash, the right way of handling it is to hand in a public and officially made protest to your superiors and state you refuse to participate. If this means you get fired or jailed, then that's the price of having said ethics. You do not have a right to subvert a duty entrusted to you by your fellow man to your own personal cause.
(Which is part of why I left teaching many years ago now; I could no longer support nor condone the politicisation of being a teacher, nor the ideological programming my particular fields had been turned into.)
Sadly, ethics are expensive and most of us have mortgages, spouses, children, bills and so on. I do not accept that excuse: I understand it but I do not accept it. Consider: the fact that you have bills to pay? Does not make the act you have qualms about anything else than it is. You have just decided that your ethics can be bought for money, is all.
Tangential, maybe, but look at Bass. What are her ethics? My guess:
1) Do I profit from this?
2) Do I risk future profit?
3) If '1' is greater enough than '2' then '2' does not matter.
And that is ethics on a lower level than any mammal or anything with a spinal column. That's eusocial insect-ethics.
As to Epstein, does any rational person actually believe that the CIA and the rest of the scum involved actually left a bunch of incriminating evidence sitting around for the incoming Trump Administration to find. Get real, the Epstein files disappeared by midnight last November 5th.
Here's a thought, let's go after Fauci, he hasn't committed suicide yet from his future jail cell.
I've made this point several times, lately. Yes, it is corrupt. Yes there was and still is a disgusting, despicable system of immorality that is maintained precisely because it is politically useful. ANYTHING released by the federal government (or any government) will be carefully crafted fiction that serves the entrenched political power. Even if you choose to believe that the residents of the top floors at DoJ and FBI are sincerely committed to finding the truth, because they are affiliated with your party, you have to realize that what's bellow the top floors hasn't changed and whatever is "found" in their search will have been well crafted to serve a purpose other than truth.
So why fuss over it? Epstein wasn't the mastermind, kids. His death didn't end anything but Epstein. So what exactly is the point? Be outraged, that is reasonable. It's disgusting. Demand justice, even as you know there will be none, never stop challenging - that's morality. Demanding more fiction is not productive. If you really want change, stop supporting national political parties. Vote out incumbents. Ignore the media and political speeches, tweets, posts et al - read the legal record of what those elected have actually done. Read legislation. Read the congressional record. Do the same at your state level. Relay on primary sources. Take back your synapses.
You know what, even letting yourself be aware of the inconsistencies, the obvious lies and corruption is a good first step. Share your observations that others might become aware. This is productive. Expecting that the government is going to "get to the bottom of it" is less logical than the story they've constructed.
As for Epstein, if you need corroboration of what you need to believe, do what the media and political parties do - make it up. It will be just as real as anything dug up by the DoJ or the FBI.
As for Fauci, I have to repeat the reasoning above. He is protected. He has followed party orders, he has stayed loyal and obedient. Unless that changes, demanding justice for his crimes is pointless. Shouting at a hurricane or pissing into the wind. Nothing positive will come of it. Harsh, but true. At most perhaps an honest DoJ could find and freeze the rewards he received for his obedience.
I doubt Epstein even had "the dirt" to begin with. It's not like he's the top of the food chain OR the one actually doing the blackmailing. That stuff is WAY above his pay grade.
Agreed....the whole thing is a tempest in a teacup designed to be a distraction. The Deep State is not yet morbid, let's finish that job. Ignore social media with the algorithmic echo chamber of bots and idiots trying to change the narrative. Want to be informed, read essays on substack signed by real people.
Some group on Facebook posted a picture of a protester standing in front of an Army truck and said it would be America's "Tienanmen Square Moment." I don't even know where to begin on that one.
Thanks. The one thing I disagree with is that it may affect the midterms. That is why I decided to post on it. This was just one of several major stories Clay and Buck were planning on covering one day last week and it blew up. Not only among their listeners, but also on their “Talk Back”, basically a voice mail for paying subscribers, who see this as THE issue above all others. True, some may be seminar callers, but I got a feeling that this is a problem, especially when may substackers, including some I subscribe to and those who subscribe to mine are saying similar.
Lit by the opposition, it is a fire storm none the less and must be fought.
Also, Democrats talk about wage theft and labor exploitation--but not when they talk about "undocumented" labor. When you aren't legally living in the country in which you work, you have no reliable labor rights.
This is a most important point that is overlooked by those that think it is compassionate to support the illegal population. This is the core reason to have an illegal population - it ca be controlled and exploited. Seriously, if you think that enforcement of the immigration law is wrong, why are you protesting the enforcement and not the law? Selective enforcement is always wrong, and never a means to justice. Justice requires equal application of the law. What you are demanding is, rather than actually create legal protections for the people for whom you claim to have compassion, you demand they be kept in a constant state of "we're going to let you break the law, for now, when it suits our purposes", with the constant threat of instant revocation of that state. You are DEMANDING government enslavement of a population. how do you square that as "compassion"??? How do you square that with "equality"??
An illegal resident does not have equal protection. Actively advocating to maintain that status quo is to endorse, even demand, inequity. Administrative policy that requires ignoring the law is (a) never more than temporary, and (b) ripe for assured abuse. If this is not clear, you need to step back from the party glare and blink.
I have something very similar to that in my notes for a future article........
As a libertarian, I think there should be no minimum wage. But an EVEN WORSE system is to have a high minimum wage for LEGAL workers, and then a black market wage for illegal labor.
How many California (or Washington, or Oregon) industries are entirely propped up by illegal labor now?
Another bad unintended consequence of a minimum wage, is no raises for good work. My daughter gets 15.00 an hour in Massachusetts, even though she is an excellent employee, never misses a day and does more than is asked of her( I tell her to have her own standards and not do the minimum required by employers), there is no raise. 15.00 is too much. If there was no minimum wage, the kids might be hired at 8.00 then the excellent workers might earn 12 or 13 while the lousy ones could stay at 8. Then good hard work would be rewarded. Right now, it doesn't matter how good or bad you are it's 15. I have to fight that and tell her, to keep up her standards and it will pay off in the future, even though she can't see it now.
In effect the entire economy of CA is. Look, the reason this is all happening is primarily as a result of total stagnation of (legal) worker incomes for 50 years, while productivity has increased along with prices of everything: in order to keep the peasantry placcid, you have to introduce mesures to compensate for that and exporting all industry overseas. The most obvious one is the cost of clothing, we all survive on sweat shop apparel made in Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc. That's one very significant measure. Illegal workers to try to keep food prices down is another. The reality is that we aren't paid enough to actually afford the true cost of things anymore, and we can't afford housing mostly because of immigration: if there wasn't huge demand for housing, there would be no speculation on house prices or mortgage failures etc.
(I'm talking in very broad strokes and omitting several other causes and effects, but these are the most obvious and relevant for you to get the idea)
Well, also foreign and domestic corporations own a significant amount of housing and farm land. Domestic companies may be one thing, but why do we allow foreign ownership of any land, let alone critically important farms and homes? Trump has made a big deal about China, but they aren’t even the country with the most real estate holdings here. What about his smarmy new buddy, King Charles Spaniel, the guy who accepts literal bags of cash from a Qatari sheik? How much US real estate did he inherit from mummy?
Yep. Businesses are hammered by inflation just as much as consumers, and also look for ways to scrimp and save in order to beat inflation + taxes. So they trimmed and trimmed and trimmed for 50 years (since we fully went off gold), but you simply can't outgrow the money printer going full bore.
Newsom is remarkably unnimble for a politician which makes a convincing case that he's really never been anything more than a cardboard cutout for donor interests.
Our friend eugyppius has (on X) what I think to be an extremely sensible perspective on Epstein.
And to express it my way--too many of the voices on social media right now are (to be nice and vulgar about it) just giving themselves giant but useless boners about Epstein whether they're big mad MAGA or gleeful Democrats.
The Administration has two years to get urgent work done. Dumb PR mistakes about The List! The List! are maybe the least urgent concerns of all.
"The Administration has two years to get urgent work done. Dumb PR mistakes about The List! The List! are maybe the least urgent concerns of all."
I sympathize with this point of view, but the Trump team needs to realize that THEY ARE THE ONES WHO STOKED THE EXPECTATION. "We only have limited time to do important things" is a grown-up point of view. "Why are you still talking about that".......not so much.
--------
As far as Newsom goes, he's SUPPOSED to be the perfect politician. The result of a lifetime of being groomed for this exact role. Ironically, that left him transparently unequipped to actually lead.
Nothing ironic about it, his success has always been easy. Get some donors, (guaranteed by aunt Nancy) win the primary with maybe 20% of the total voting public (dem controlled SF, CA) and breeze through the election. The single party state guarantees all your ideas are praised and all your f'ups are ignored. Never had the "gotta get this done or I'm finished" moment. Never had to work too hard. Never had to answer an unfriendly press. Remind you of another recent national candidate? ... Anyhow, never had to develop the rigor or skill set most competent politicians have. The "cardboard cutout" moniker is accurate.
Well, that's why I said "dumb PR." Susie Wiles can't fix everything. As it is she must sleep 40 minutes every two nights or so. It's not a gang of idiots this time around but there are plenty of "it's my moment to shine!" types and they need choke collars employed ruthlessly.
Remember that gag-inducing puff piece on Newsom and the then Missus, Kimberly Guilfoyle from a couple of decades ago? Much as I despise Bill Clinton that boy had real natural talent and Newsom can't even simulate an intermittent flicker of human warmth.
My thoughts about Epstein are the client list is so full of the who's who of our government, that I doubt the list will ever see the light of day.
After listening to both sides of the Bondi debate...we had been told early and often there would be a "client list." So her answer being in regard to "all the files" doesn't mesh. She should be fired then for lack of clarification. Because the only answer is the "stupid or liar" answer.
There is little doubt in my mind that Trump and many in government and outside government are on that list. To go this far in only to say "sorry guys, it was all made up" is ridiculous and isn't fair to the victims who have already come forward.
I was listening to the Tucker Carlson interview today and I have heard such things said before about our different political institutions. "Rogue frat houses" comes to mind. Most people might have in mind reforms or ways to make the institution better, but mine is (on a loop) reduce the amount of power the government has over our lives.
If T was on that list, why wouldn’t they have used that instead of the Russia collusion hoax?
I believe that the reason it wasn’t released is that it was destroyed long before it could have been used against anyone, before T was sworn in.
Keeping that evidence around is in my mind little different than a murderer keeping their victims bodies lying about the house just waiting to be found.
It could very well be a mutually assured destruction thing. This alleged "list" has persisted through many administrations and neither have been successful in extracting it. This could imply either that the list does not exist, or that it has captured all areas of government.
No one in DC had any interest in the list, until an outsider, T, came to town. Remember, it was T who had Epstein’s sweetheart deal thrown out that led to his arrest and Maxwell going to prison. T also threw him out of Mar a largo. I believe that all major players in the bureaucracy are captured, if not directly, then through close associates. But I also believe that whatever was known on these was destroyed.
why is any single individual or entity allowed to grow that much marijuana? (Yes, it does boggle the mind.)
Something to do with 'stacking' permits together to be able to run a huge operation. (Likely using the special connections they had)
"How many times do the “leaders” of California have to put their hands on the stove before they learn to let it cool?"
Unfortunate attempt at analogy. They do not learn because they do not get burned. They are protected from the consequences of their words and actions. Unless they cross The Party (e.g. Andy Cuomo). Say anything. Do anything. It's more than protected - the negative consequences of their actions are used as fuel to incite hate for the opposition. Karen Bass lying to blame ICE for the lack of progress in fire rebuilding, when in fact the biggest barrier is obtaining the required permits, for example. It's how it's done. Rather than burned, they get to reach in and get the cookies.
I will say that after watching Jay Inslee get relentlessly ratioed on every single post he made, it FELT like we were making more progress than we actually were.
Perhaps the Bass situation is the same.
Progress is real, slow but real. The Party is not progressing, it is regressing. That is progress of a kind. It is getting harder and harder to stay loyal, and if the trajectory continues, people will begin to catch on I think. Or so I choose to believe.
If you don’t think this police state won’t be deployed against us when the Democrats are installed by the (((powers that be))) in 2028, you aren’t paying attention.
Not too happy about some of that showing up in the BBB - especially that Palantir stuff.
Whatever his reasoning for the response, Trump is going to be the architect of his own failure and over something that need not have been and all because his ego is bigger than his wisdom and I say that as a Trump supporter since 2015. I still support him to this day but I’m also going to call him out when he should be called out just as he deserved when he kept trying to promote the covid vaccine as winning long after it became clear to his base that it was far from winning. Trump is incapable of admitting being wrong and the longer he insists on being right the harder he makes it for himself to ever concede. It will be his own undoing.
Let’s assume that he is not lying about this, that there is no cover-up of Epstein; that there is no evidence or at least none now that can be located so they have no way to move forward with prosecuting anyone. Even then we already know this is a lie b/c they have video of the men engaged in sex with the minors we just can’t see it b/c it’s illegal content and that’s reasonable. It’s not reasonable to try and sell the public this lie that there is nothing to prosecute anyone with but let’s forget about that for now. The proper way to handle this is NOT the path Trump and his team choose. They knew how important the Epstein case is with the MAGA base and so telling the base that this is a nothing burger and to move on was foolish beyond foolishness. I don’t know why any of them thought that could work. It makes me wonder if anti-Trump forces are involved and their getting Trump to act this foolishly to destroy himself.
If there is really no evidence to convict anyone else of sex with minors, then the ONLY way to have handled this would have been to treat it as seriously as the base views it and not to tell them to forget about it and move on. Better yet, after seeing the negative backlash to this to then try and shame them into silence/compliance is how you make things worse than they already are.
That said I for one do not believe the “Lone pedophile" theory as is being promoted. As Tucker Carlson pointed out, how does a high school math teacher with no college degree or connections go from that to owning several planes, a pleasure island filled with underaged girls and the largest residence in Manhattan? How does one like that end up rubbing elbows and doing business with some of the world’s most powerful and wealthy men unless he has something to hold over them that gives him control and influence? If Epstein was running a honey pot operation to blackmail these men, then there is absolutely no way he was doing it without the help of at least 1 state actor possibly 2 or even 3 of which America, Israel and the UK are the most likely culprits. Meghan Kelly said from what her sources told her, Epstein was not one of ours, not one of Americas’ intel agency assets. Epstein was an asset to someone as a former FL Attorney involved in the case around 2007 publicly said that he had been told that Epstein was an intel asset and to treat him as such in court. When an intel asset goes to court the attorneys are briefed so as to take care with what questions they ask of the asset in order to avoid compromising them or the agency they work with.
Epstein was working for someone the question is who and it sounds like it wasn’t us, wasn’t the CIA or some other American intel agency. That leaves Israel’s Mossad as the most likely candidate, and it also makes sense. If it were being suggested that he worked for MI7 there’d be far fewer questions and pushback. The resistance to him working for Mossad is b/c we’ve been slowly conditioned to view Israel as something it is not. The Israel of today is not a nation of religious Jews as was the Israel of biblical times. Today Israel is predominantly secular and the adherence to the Jewish tradition is about ethnicity and tradition and not any faith or religion. Regardless of what it does what it does the fact is it acts in its own best interest like any other nation does, but we’re supposed to pretend like as if they don’t. The Snowden leaks proved that Israel was Americas #1 spy threat; not the way to treat a nation you claim is your #1 ally.
Trump has most likely been lied to about all of this and doesn’t know the truth (unlikely) or he’[s had the talk all presidents get and has found out that he isn’t the most powerful leader on the planet as he thought and so in order to protect himself a and more importantly the lives of his family he’s being forced to play ball; to cover this up. This is the most likely explanation that covers all in question and would explain his irrational behavior and treatment of this. If he felt he was being forced to do this b/c of his family’s safety I could see that making him angry and causing him to treat his base the way he has. If this is really what’s happening the way they handled it was still done poorly and without much thought of how it would go over. If they continue down this path, they aren’t going to get people to give up but keeping tossing more and more fuel on to the fires of conspiracy.
This was a very good piece but I wish you hadn’t included DJT’s rant. I don’t see how this particular rant on Miz Bondi and the Epsteen Files has to do with the rest of the piece, which has to do with the troubles we Californios face at present.
Well, it was tangentially related to Newsom with HIS unforced error, but mostly it was too important to ignore but didn't warrant its own piece. I sometimes "combine" stories like this.
Edit to add: It was also a pseudo-follow up to the article: https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/why-do-you-care-so-much-about-sex
Got it! 👍🏼
Which part of "illegal" do they not understand? I am glad to have a seat in my shower when I take in a drink now. heehee
SC - Sorry to see Quasi take off for another season. And the ICE raid MDM brings this to mind... https://youtu.be/AFSfM30qJLE?
It's not so much that Quasi moved out and more that nobody else did :p
You ask how people knew of the raids.
It is possible there was officially unofficial (or vice versa) communication to have the raid of the park be a message; modern politicos prefer "sending messages" before achieving anything real, since it's less controversial and is perceived as cheaper and safer (a real thing you cannot back away from, a symbolic one you can retreat and flip-flop on).
It is equally possible it was leaked, which means people high enough places are more loyal to their ideology/ethics than to the duty of their station or just their duty, period. Which I support, but:
If your ethics and your orders clash, the right way of handling it is to hand in a public and officially made protest to your superiors and state you refuse to participate. If this means you get fired or jailed, then that's the price of having said ethics. You do not have a right to subvert a duty entrusted to you by your fellow man to your own personal cause.
(Which is part of why I left teaching many years ago now; I could no longer support nor condone the politicisation of being a teacher, nor the ideological programming my particular fields had been turned into.)
Sadly, ethics are expensive and most of us have mortgages, spouses, children, bills and so on. I do not accept that excuse: I understand it but I do not accept it. Consider: the fact that you have bills to pay? Does not make the act you have qualms about anything else than it is. You have just decided that your ethics can be bought for money, is all.
Tangential, maybe, but look at Bass. What are her ethics? My guess:
1) Do I profit from this?
2) Do I risk future profit?
3) If '1' is greater enough than '2' then '2' does not matter.
And that is ethics on a lower level than any mammal or anything with a spinal column. That's eusocial insect-ethics.
Aka communism.
As to Epstein, does any rational person actually believe that the CIA and the rest of the scum involved actually left a bunch of incriminating evidence sitting around for the incoming Trump Administration to find. Get real, the Epstein files disappeared by midnight last November 5th.
Here's a thought, let's go after Fauci, he hasn't committed suicide yet from his future jail cell.
Dick Minnis
removingthecataract.substack.com
I've made this point several times, lately. Yes, it is corrupt. Yes there was and still is a disgusting, despicable system of immorality that is maintained precisely because it is politically useful. ANYTHING released by the federal government (or any government) will be carefully crafted fiction that serves the entrenched political power. Even if you choose to believe that the residents of the top floors at DoJ and FBI are sincerely committed to finding the truth, because they are affiliated with your party, you have to realize that what's bellow the top floors hasn't changed and whatever is "found" in their search will have been well crafted to serve a purpose other than truth.
So why fuss over it? Epstein wasn't the mastermind, kids. His death didn't end anything but Epstein. So what exactly is the point? Be outraged, that is reasonable. It's disgusting. Demand justice, even as you know there will be none, never stop challenging - that's morality. Demanding more fiction is not productive. If you really want change, stop supporting national political parties. Vote out incumbents. Ignore the media and political speeches, tweets, posts et al - read the legal record of what those elected have actually done. Read legislation. Read the congressional record. Do the same at your state level. Relay on primary sources. Take back your synapses.
You know what, even letting yourself be aware of the inconsistencies, the obvious lies and corruption is a good first step. Share your observations that others might become aware. This is productive. Expecting that the government is going to "get to the bottom of it" is less logical than the story they've constructed.
As for Epstein, if you need corroboration of what you need to believe, do what the media and political parties do - make it up. It will be just as real as anything dug up by the DoJ or the FBI.
As for Fauci, I have to repeat the reasoning above. He is protected. He has followed party orders, he has stayed loyal and obedient. Unless that changes, demanding justice for his crimes is pointless. Shouting at a hurricane or pissing into the wind. Nothing positive will come of it. Harsh, but true. At most perhaps an honest DoJ could find and freeze the rewards he received for his obedience.
Yup Bill Gates made sure of that.
I doubt Epstein even had "the dirt" to begin with. It's not like he's the top of the food chain OR the one actually doing the blackmailing. That stuff is WAY above his pay grade.
Agreed....the whole thing is a tempest in a teacup designed to be a distraction. The Deep State is not yet morbid, let's finish that job. Ignore social media with the algorithmic echo chamber of bots and idiots trying to change the narrative. Want to be informed, read essays on substack signed by real people.
Dick Minnis removingthecataract.substack.com
Some group on Facebook posted a picture of a protester standing in front of an Army truck and said it would be America's "Tienanmen Square Moment." I don't even know where to begin on that one.
I wonder if these protesters know what happened after Tiannamen square protest. It wasn't pretty.
I saw a video that was like "We're blocking the roads but the cowards went around us through the fields."
As opposed to...............?
MacArthur Park was one of the worst songs of all time 🤮
Strong Agree. One of the Worst Songs Ever to become a hit.
Who bought that record????
It's a Great Unresolved Mystery.
I don't know about that.
I’m with T on the Epstein mess. Here is what I just posted on my stack, it’s free.
https://zakitsune.substack.com/p/the-deep-states-gift-that-keeps-giving?r=mza28
Thanks. The one thing I disagree with is that it may affect the midterms. That is why I decided to post on it. This was just one of several major stories Clay and Buck were planning on covering one day last week and it blew up. Not only among their listeners, but also on their “Talk Back”, basically a voice mail for paying subscribers, who see this as THE issue above all others. True, some may be seminar callers, but I got a feeling that this is a problem, especially when may substackers, including some I subscribe to and those who subscribe to mine are saying similar.
Lit by the opposition, it is a fire storm none the less and must be fought.
But, all this is arguing against her points.
Also, Democrats talk about wage theft and labor exploitation--but not when they talk about "undocumented" labor. When you aren't legally living in the country in which you work, you have no reliable labor rights.
This is a most important point that is overlooked by those that think it is compassionate to support the illegal population. This is the core reason to have an illegal population - it ca be controlled and exploited. Seriously, if you think that enforcement of the immigration law is wrong, why are you protesting the enforcement and not the law? Selective enforcement is always wrong, and never a means to justice. Justice requires equal application of the law. What you are demanding is, rather than actually create legal protections for the people for whom you claim to have compassion, you demand they be kept in a constant state of "we're going to let you break the law, for now, when it suits our purposes", with the constant threat of instant revocation of that state. You are DEMANDING government enslavement of a population. how do you square that as "compassion"??? How do you square that with "equality"??
An illegal resident does not have equal protection. Actively advocating to maintain that status quo is to endorse, even demand, inequity. Administrative policy that requires ignoring the law is (a) never more than temporary, and (b) ripe for assured abuse. If this is not clear, you need to step back from the party glare and blink.
Correct. There is no moral justification whatsoever for illegal immigration. It just enriches gangsters and enslaves people.
I have something very similar to that in my notes for a future article........
As a libertarian, I think there should be no minimum wage. But an EVEN WORSE system is to have a high minimum wage for LEGAL workers, and then a black market wage for illegal labor.
How many California (or Washington, or Oregon) industries are entirely propped up by illegal labor now?
How about "outsourced" jobs...? I dn't want to talk to someone in Guam when I call my local credit union....smh
Yep.
Another bad unintended consequence of a minimum wage, is no raises for good work. My daughter gets 15.00 an hour in Massachusetts, even though she is an excellent employee, never misses a day and does more than is asked of her( I tell her to have her own standards and not do the minimum required by employers), there is no raise. 15.00 is too much. If there was no minimum wage, the kids might be hired at 8.00 then the excellent workers might earn 12 or 13 while the lousy ones could stay at 8. Then good hard work would be rewarded. Right now, it doesn't matter how good or bad you are it's 15. I have to fight that and tell her, to keep up her standards and it will pay off in the future, even though she can't see it now.
I fear what the younger generation is learning about our economy and how you actually get ahead.
In effect the entire economy of CA is. Look, the reason this is all happening is primarily as a result of total stagnation of (legal) worker incomes for 50 years, while productivity has increased along with prices of everything: in order to keep the peasantry placcid, you have to introduce mesures to compensate for that and exporting all industry overseas. The most obvious one is the cost of clothing, we all survive on sweat shop apparel made in Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc. That's one very significant measure. Illegal workers to try to keep food prices down is another. The reality is that we aren't paid enough to actually afford the true cost of things anymore, and we can't afford housing mostly because of immigration: if there wasn't huge demand for housing, there would be no speculation on house prices or mortgage failures etc.
(I'm talking in very broad strokes and omitting several other causes and effects, but these are the most obvious and relevant for you to get the idea)
Well, also foreign and domestic corporations own a significant amount of housing and farm land. Domestic companies may be one thing, but why do we allow foreign ownership of any land, let alone critically important farms and homes? Trump has made a big deal about China, but they aren’t even the country with the most real estate holdings here. What about his smarmy new buddy, King Charles Spaniel, the guy who accepts literal bags of cash from a Qatari sheik? How much US real estate did he inherit from mummy?
Corporations shouldn't be allowed to buy up housing and farms, period.
I agree.
Yep. Businesses are hammered by inflation just as much as consumers, and also look for ways to scrimp and save in order to beat inflation + taxes. So they trimmed and trimmed and trimmed for 50 years (since we fully went off gold), but you simply can't outgrow the money printer going full bore.
Earlier today I happened by a quote from Eric Hoffer that applies to all of this: "We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves."
Similar to, but not the same as "thou doth protest too much."
I got a special little kick about how he said to drop it, then brought up the 2020 election again.
Newsom is remarkably unnimble for a politician which makes a convincing case that he's really never been anything more than a cardboard cutout for donor interests.
Our friend eugyppius has (on X) what I think to be an extremely sensible perspective on Epstein.
And to express it my way--too many of the voices on social media right now are (to be nice and vulgar about it) just giving themselves giant but useless boners about Epstein whether they're big mad MAGA or gleeful Democrats.
The Administration has two years to get urgent work done. Dumb PR mistakes about The List! The List! are maybe the least urgent concerns of all.
"The Administration has two years to get urgent work done. Dumb PR mistakes about The List! The List! are maybe the least urgent concerns of all."
I sympathize with this point of view, but the Trump team needs to realize that THEY ARE THE ONES WHO STOKED THE EXPECTATION. "We only have limited time to do important things" is a grown-up point of view. "Why are you still talking about that".......not so much.
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As far as Newsom goes, he's SUPPOSED to be the perfect politician. The result of a lifetime of being groomed for this exact role. Ironically, that left him transparently unequipped to actually lead.
Nothing ironic about it, his success has always been easy. Get some donors, (guaranteed by aunt Nancy) win the primary with maybe 20% of the total voting public (dem controlled SF, CA) and breeze through the election. The single party state guarantees all your ideas are praised and all your f'ups are ignored. Never had the "gotta get this done or I'm finished" moment. Never had to work too hard. Never had to answer an unfriendly press. Remind you of another recent national candidate? ... Anyhow, never had to develop the rigor or skill set most competent politicians have. The "cardboard cutout" moniker is accurate.
Well, that's why I said "dumb PR." Susie Wiles can't fix everything. As it is she must sleep 40 minutes every two nights or so. It's not a gang of idiots this time around but there are plenty of "it's my moment to shine!" types and they need choke collars employed ruthlessly.
Remember that gag-inducing puff piece on Newsom and the then Missus, Kimberly Guilfoyle from a couple of decades ago? Much as I despise Bill Clinton that boy had real natural talent and Newsom can't even simulate an intermittent flicker of human warmth.
It was far too petty to bring up today, but the back-and-forth between him and Vance was a perfect example:
Governor Gavin Newsom
Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t.
JD Vance
Had a great time, thanks
https://x.com/JDVance/status/1944433280041808120
Yes I saw that today and I wanted to smack JD upside his head.
Concerning Epstein.
My thoughts about Epstein are the client list is so full of the who's who of our government, that I doubt the list will ever see the light of day.
After listening to both sides of the Bondi debate...we had been told early and often there would be a "client list." So her answer being in regard to "all the files" doesn't mesh. She should be fired then for lack of clarification. Because the only answer is the "stupid or liar" answer.
There is little doubt in my mind that Trump and many in government and outside government are on that list. To go this far in only to say "sorry guys, it was all made up" is ridiculous and isn't fair to the victims who have already come forward.
I was listening to the Tucker Carlson interview today and I have heard such things said before about our different political institutions. "Rogue frat houses" comes to mind. Most people might have in mind reforms or ways to make the institution better, but mine is (on a loop) reduce the amount of power the government has over our lives.
If T was on that list, why wouldn’t they have used that instead of the Russia collusion hoax?
I believe that the reason it wasn’t released is that it was destroyed long before it could have been used against anyone, before T was sworn in.
Keeping that evidence around is in my mind little different than a murderer keeping their victims bodies lying about the house just waiting to be found.
I don't know, and I have heard this argument.
It could very well be a mutually assured destruction thing. This alleged "list" has persisted through many administrations and neither have been successful in extracting it. This could imply either that the list does not exist, or that it has captured all areas of government.
No one in DC had any interest in the list, until an outsider, T, came to town. Remember, it was T who had Epstein’s sweetheart deal thrown out that led to his arrest and Maxwell going to prison. T also threw him out of Mar a largo. I believe that all major players in the bureaucracy are captured, if not directly, then through close associates. But I also believe that whatever was known on these was destroyed.
Can't argue with any of that!