Yes, this moment in our political lives, seems surreal - even though it's in many ways so similar to the last two Presidential runs. (Can the familiar be called 'surreal'? )
It's certainly understandable to be depressed by this situation, given the tremendous, critical needs for principled governance and leadership.
Unfortunately, a system that is itself so abjectly corrupted by the unttempered pursuit of money and the power to increase wealth simply is incapable of producing anything other than corrupted seekers of power and wealth for their own sake.
Biden and the D's can't run on anything other than 'not Trump' (or 'not Desantis'). It'll be more of the same: emphasizing the culture war, ignoring the class war and the state of permanent violence attending to foreign wars and the blow-back into the mass culture of violence.
In fact, today I saw an ABC News clip with the pretty bluntly honest title, "Biden taps into culture wars in reelection announcement" .
Of course. What else can he sell himself on?
Yes, it's dismal. Still, we know that we- humanity and the current life on the planet - were never going to be saved by the electoral / political system we have. This demands we remain clear, spiritually alive, strong in principles and in our intentions., and ready to help our fellow beings in whatever ways we can.
Makes you want to puck. What happened to the America that used to make me proud. The DNC? The RNC. Both are completely nuts. Hope a strong 3 party candidate runs and gives us a hopeful 3rd choice.
Joe Biden won't be debating? Can't they use a cardboard cutout? Oh wait. No debates? So why do they call themselves the Democratic Party? They don't seem to be very Democratic. How about changing their name to the Politburo Party? That would be more descriptive. And honest.
Contrary to the MSM badmouthing Tucker Carleson separating from FOX, I just came across this 36 minute address by Tucker Carleson to a Black Tie Dinner of the Heritage Foundation. He was the only one in a crumpled suit. What a contrast! That was a few Days before he was canned or sacked!
He was not reading from a Tele-prompter.
He was clever, witty and self-depreciating, telling it like it is I think most of us here would agree with
Listening carefully for all the nuance, in his extemporaneous use of the Word from the heart, he has the same Message I've been attempting to convey a few years longer than he since 1976. That's not a boast, but just recognizing the Truth and Historical Reality and Public Record.
I am very happy to see him so developed in the Faith as a SEER.
That's what The Book called them before Prophets.
For the 1st Time, contrary to the MSM Propaganda, having watched his whole Address or Sermon, I now see Tucker in a Positive New Light, as a Brother in the Faith, to be supported in prayer.
He also reminded us to pray for The Nation and for me that's CanaDa.
“Prophet sees Canada as the new Israel“, The Halifax Daily News, 11 August 1986
I certainly hope others who watch Tucker lecture the Heritage Foundation are moved to discuss it?
331+ million people in this country and these are options. We listened to the nearly two hour launch speech of RFK Jr. Of this I will say, it oozed with honesty. That in itself gave us pause to offer him our consideration. His "skeletons in the closet" comment near the end was quite amusing; his views overall--well, lots with which to make common cause.
People on theduran are saying one big reason for Tucker Carlson to be pulled from the air is the fact that Tucker recently hosted RFK Jr. The Democrat power brokers are making sure Joe Biden has a lock on the nomination - no competing candidates to be allowed to get airtime on the mainstream media.
This is an interesting speculation by Rick Wilson.
When I posted the link to Tucker Carleson's excellent extemporaneous Address to the Heritage Foundation, while reading it, I had the thought how interesting and exciting it would be to see Celebrity Tucker Carleson take on Celebrity Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential nomination, and this appears later Today,
'Rick Wilson: Tucker Carlson might be boxed into entering 2024 presidential race by Fox contract'
"Fox probably has a pretty stiff noncompete in his contract, so I wouldn't count on the Tucker Carlson White Power Hour on the Blaze or Daily Wire any time soon," Wilson said. "TBD, of course, but Fox will leak those details soon enough to chill the waters. Which leads us to a fascinating prospect."
"What if he runs?" Wilson added. "He's rich enough. He'd instantly have an online fundraising juggernaut second only to Trump, and perhaps surpassing him. He's polarizing, terrible, and utterly amoral ... in short, better than Ron DeSantis for the base. I'd argue he's the only Republican who presents a material danger to Donald Trump in a primary. Celebrity, money, mental acuity, cynicism, pro-Putin isolationism, and an overt love of authoritarianism are a pretty strong secret sauce for the MAGA base. Celebrity got Trump the [White House]. It could certainly do the same for Tucker."
All the qualities that make Carlson's potential candidacy seem far-fetched would be considered strengths in a GOP primary, Wilson argues.
Anyone who watched Carleson's speech linked below would be hoping to see such an interesting Primary to Watch! I think Tucker would come out the Winner and that would shake up EVERYTHING!
It sure would freak out the Biden Democrats and Democrats in General.
Democrats would have to rush and find their own Celebrity Candidate
If Republicans mirror Democrats and prohibit any challenge to Trump, it would be amazing if the 2024 US Presidential Election was determined by 3rd Party Democratic and Republican Celebrity Candidates!
With EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE happening, EVERYTHING is POSSIBLE!
FEE’s Jon Miltimore latest piece ~ “Signs You Might Be Living During a Revolution” ~ quotes historian Jacques Barzun’s description of those signs in his 2001 book “FROM DAWN TO DECADENCE: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life” as follows:
“First, a piece of news about something said or done travels quickly, more so than usual, because it is so uniquely apt. … People ask each other what is true and what it means. The atmosphere becomes near electric, the sense of time changes, grows rapid; a vague future seems nearer. On impulse, perhaps to snap the tension, somebody shouts … throws a stone through a window, which provokes a fight. … As further news spreads, various types of people become aroused for or against the thing now upsetting everybody’s daily life. But what is that thing? Concretely: ardent youths full of hope as they catch the drift of the idea, rowdies looking for fun, and characters with a grudge. Cranks and tolerate lunatics come out of houses, criminals out of hideouts, and all assert themselves.”
Barzun continues:
“Manners are flouted and customs broken. Foul language and direct insult become normal, in keeping with the rest of the excitement, buildings are defaced, images destroyed, shops looted. Printed sheets pass from hand to hand and are read with delight or outrage—Listen to this! Angry debates multiply about things long since settled: talk of free love … of sweeping out all evils, all corruption, all at once—all things new for a blissful life on earth.
“A curious leveling takes place: the common people learn words and ideas hitherto not familiar and not interesting and discuss them like intellectuals, while others neglect their usual concerns—art, philosophy, scholarship—because there is only one compelling topic, the revolutionary Idea. The well-to-do and the “right-thinking,” full of fear, come together to defend their possessions and habits. But counsels are divided and many see their young “taking the wrong side.” The powers that be wonder and keep watch, with fleeting thoughts of advantage to be had from the confusion. Leaders of opinion try to put together some of the ideas afloat into a position which they mean to fight for. They will reassure others, or preach boldness, and anyhow head the movement.
“Voices grow shrill, parties form and adopt names or are tagged with them in derision and contempt. Again and again comes the shock of broken friendships, broken families. As time goes on, “betraying the cause” is an incessant charge, and there are indeed turncoats. Authorities are bewildered, heads of institutions try threats and concessions by turns, hoping the surge of subversion will collapse like previous ones. But none of this holds back that transfer of power and property which is the mark of revolution and which in the end establishes the Idea.”
Miltimore then concludes by asking: “Is the current social unrest the beginning of an actual revolution?”
A perspective not heard very often in America today, or in a long, long time… :
TUCKER CARLSON’S FIRST COMMENTS SINCE FOX FIRING by Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge 042723
After Tucker Carlson's surprise split from Fox News, the #1 rated cable news host in history re-emerged from his home office on Wednesday to offer a stunning 8PM monologue covering his thoughts on the media landscape, and his future.
According to Carlson, one of the things one notices when one takes a little 'time off' is "how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are. They're completely irrelevant. They mean nothing.
"In five years we won't even remember that we had them... and yet, at the same time, the undeniably big topics - the ones that will define our future - get virtually no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources. When was the last time you heard a legitimate debate about any of those issues?"
"Debates like that are not permitted in American media," Carlson continued, adding "Both political parties, and their donors, have reached consensus on what benefits them - and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.
"Suddenly the United States looks like a one-party state," Carlson said.
Carlson doesn't think this will last, however, noting that while the above is a "depressing realization," he doesn't think this is permanent.
"Our current orthodoxies won't last. They're brain-dead. Nobody actually believes them. Hardly anyone's life is improved by them. This moment is too inherently ridiculous to continue, and so it won't.
The people in charge know this, that's why they're hysterical and aggressive. They're afraid. They've given up persuasion - they're resorting to force. But it won't work. When honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars who've been trying to silence them shrink - and they become weaker. That's the iron-law of the universe; true things prevail."
Tucker rhetorically asked "Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some - and that's enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon."
Yes, this moment in our political lives, seems surreal - even though it's in many ways so similar to the last two Presidential runs. (Can the familiar be called 'surreal'? )
It's certainly understandable to be depressed by this situation, given the tremendous, critical needs for principled governance and leadership.
Unfortunately, a system that is itself so abjectly corrupted by the unttempered pursuit of money and the power to increase wealth simply is incapable of producing anything other than corrupted seekers of power and wealth for their own sake.
Biden and the D's can't run on anything other than 'not Trump' (or 'not Desantis'). It'll be more of the same: emphasizing the culture war, ignoring the class war and the state of permanent violence attending to foreign wars and the blow-back into the mass culture of violence.
In fact, today I saw an ABC News clip with the pretty bluntly honest title, "Biden taps into culture wars in reelection announcement" .
Of course. What else can he sell himself on?
Yes, it's dismal. Still, we know that we- humanity and the current life on the planet - were never going to be saved by the electoral / political system we have. This demands we remain clear, spiritually alive, strong in principles and in our intentions., and ready to help our fellow beings in whatever ways we can.
Makes you want to puck. What happened to the America that used to make me proud. The DNC? The RNC. Both are completely nuts. Hope a strong 3 party candidate runs and gives us a hopeful 3rd choice.
Joe Biden won't be debating? Can't they use a cardboard cutout? Oh wait. No debates? So why do they call themselves the Democratic Party? They don't seem to be very Democratic. How about changing their name to the Politburo Party? That would be more descriptive. And honest.
Contrary to the MSM badmouthing Tucker Carleson separating from FOX, I just came across this 36 minute address by Tucker Carleson to a Black Tie Dinner of the Heritage Foundation. He was the only one in a crumpled suit. What a contrast! That was a few Days before he was canned or sacked!
He was not reading from a Tele-prompter.
He was clever, witty and self-depreciating, telling it like it is I think most of us here would agree with
Listening carefully for all the nuance, in his extemporaneous use of the Word from the heart, he has the same Message I've been attempting to convey a few years longer than he since 1976. That's not a boast, but just recognizing the Truth and Historical Reality and Public Record.
I am very happy to see him so developed in the Faith as a SEER.
That's what The Book called them before Prophets.
For the 1st Time, contrary to the MSM Propaganda, having watched his whole Address or Sermon, I now see Tucker in a Positive New Light, as a Brother in the Faith, to be supported in prayer.
He also reminded us to pray for The Nation and for me that's CanaDa.
“Prophet sees Canada as the new Israel“, The Halifax Daily News, 11 August 1986
I certainly hope others who watch Tucker lecture the Heritage Foundation are moved to discuss it?
https://youtu.be/N32UPXGChgo
'Tucker Carlson’s firing reveals how afraid the media is of independent journalists'
The TV host paid the price because he tried the impossible: straddling the divide between corporate media and critical journalism.
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2023-04-26/tucker-carlsons-firing-reveals-how-afraid-the-media-is-of-independent-journalists/
331+ million people in this country and these are options. We listened to the nearly two hour launch speech of RFK Jr. Of this I will say, it oozed with honesty. That in itself gave us pause to offer him our consideration. His "skeletons in the closet" comment near the end was quite amusing; his views overall--well, lots with which to make common cause.
disantis' flip on ukraine is troubling!
trump on ukraine: 4 years building up ukraine militarism, and he claims to drain the swamp.
biden, master machine politician, in swamp pocket and vote harvester extraordinaire
People on theduran are saying one big reason for Tucker Carlson to be pulled from the air is the fact that Tucker recently hosted RFK Jr. The Democrat power brokers are making sure Joe Biden has a lock on the nomination - no competing candidates to be allowed to get airtime on the mainstream media.
This is an interesting speculation by Rick Wilson.
When I posted the link to Tucker Carleson's excellent extemporaneous Address to the Heritage Foundation, while reading it, I had the thought how interesting and exciting it would be to see Celebrity Tucker Carleson take on Celebrity Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential nomination, and this appears later Today,
'Rick Wilson: Tucker Carlson might be boxed into entering 2024 presidential race by Fox contract'
"Fox probably has a pretty stiff noncompete in his contract, so I wouldn't count on the Tucker Carlson White Power Hour on the Blaze or Daily Wire any time soon," Wilson said. "TBD, of course, but Fox will leak those details soon enough to chill the waters. Which leads us to a fascinating prospect."
"What if he runs?" Wilson added. "He's rich enough. He'd instantly have an online fundraising juggernaut second only to Trump, and perhaps surpassing him. He's polarizing, terrible, and utterly amoral ... in short, better than Ron DeSantis for the base. I'd argue he's the only Republican who presents a material danger to Donald Trump in a primary. Celebrity, money, mental acuity, cynicism, pro-Putin isolationism, and an overt love of authoritarianism are a pretty strong secret sauce for the MAGA base. Celebrity got Trump the [White House]. It could certainly do the same for Tucker."
All the qualities that make Carlson's potential candidacy seem far-fetched would be considered strengths in a GOP primary, Wilson argues.
https://www.rawstory.com/tucker-carlson-2024/
Anyone who watched Carleson's speech linked below would be hoping to see such an interesting Primary to Watch! I think Tucker would come out the Winner and that would shake up EVERYTHING!
It sure would freak out the Biden Democrats and Democrats in General.
Democrats would have to rush and find their own Celebrity Candidate
If Republicans mirror Democrats and prohibit any challenge to Trump, it would be amazing if the 2024 US Presidential Election was determined by 3rd Party Democratic and Republican Celebrity Candidates!
With EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE happening, EVERYTHING is POSSIBLE!
Indeed. What's really depressing is that these people are mirrors of so much of...US.
Out-Bloody-Standing, Bill.
The question is no longer "Will the United States survive to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026?"
The questions now are: "Can It?" and "Should It?"
FEE’s Jon Miltimore latest piece ~ “Signs You Might Be Living During a Revolution” ~ quotes historian Jacques Barzun’s description of those signs in his 2001 book “FROM DAWN TO DECADENCE: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life” as follows:
“First, a piece of news about something said or done travels quickly, more so than usual, because it is so uniquely apt. … People ask each other what is true and what it means. The atmosphere becomes near electric, the sense of time changes, grows rapid; a vague future seems nearer. On impulse, perhaps to snap the tension, somebody shouts … throws a stone through a window, which provokes a fight. … As further news spreads, various types of people become aroused for or against the thing now upsetting everybody’s daily life. But what is that thing? Concretely: ardent youths full of hope as they catch the drift of the idea, rowdies looking for fun, and characters with a grudge. Cranks and tolerate lunatics come out of houses, criminals out of hideouts, and all assert themselves.”
Barzun continues:
“Manners are flouted and customs broken. Foul language and direct insult become normal, in keeping with the rest of the excitement, buildings are defaced, images destroyed, shops looted. Printed sheets pass from hand to hand and are read with delight or outrage—Listen to this! Angry debates multiply about things long since settled: talk of free love … of sweeping out all evils, all corruption, all at once—all things new for a blissful life on earth.
“A curious leveling takes place: the common people learn words and ideas hitherto not familiar and not interesting and discuss them like intellectuals, while others neglect their usual concerns—art, philosophy, scholarship—because there is only one compelling topic, the revolutionary Idea. The well-to-do and the “right-thinking,” full of fear, come together to defend their possessions and habits. But counsels are divided and many see their young “taking the wrong side.” The powers that be wonder and keep watch, with fleeting thoughts of advantage to be had from the confusion. Leaders of opinion try to put together some of the ideas afloat into a position which they mean to fight for. They will reassure others, or preach boldness, and anyhow head the movement.
“Voices grow shrill, parties form and adopt names or are tagged with them in derision and contempt. Again and again comes the shock of broken friendships, broken families. As time goes on, “betraying the cause” is an incessant charge, and there are indeed turncoats. Authorities are bewildered, heads of institutions try threats and concessions by turns, hoping the surge of subversion will collapse like previous ones. But none of this holds back that transfer of power and property which is the mark of revolution and which in the end establishes the Idea.”
Miltimore then concludes by asking: “Is the current social unrest the beginning of an actual revolution?”
Source: https://jjmilt.substack.com/p/signs-you-might-be-living-during
The Foundation for Economic Education’s Jon Miltimore recently listed “14 Signs of Totalitarianism” as follows:
~ 1. Dissent is equated to violence
~ 2. Media is controlled
~ 3. The legal system is co-opted by the state
~ 4. Power is exerted to quash dissent
~ 5. State police protect the regime, not the people
~ 6. Rights—financial, legal, and civil—are contingent on compliance
~ 7. Mass conformity of beliefs and behaviors is demanded
~ 8. Power is concentrated in inner ring of elite institutions and people
~ 9. Semi-organized violence is permitted (in some cases)
~ 10. Propaganda targets enemies of the state regime
~ 11. Entire classes singled out for persecution
~ 12. Extra-legal actions are condoned against internal regime opponents
~ 13. Harsh legal enforcement against unfavored classes
~ 14. Private and public levers of power are used to enforce adherence to state dogmas
Given those signs, how close is America to becoming and being a Totalitarian State?
Full article at https://jjmilt.substack.com/p/14-signs-of-totalitarianism
Interesting article from Reason magazine about RFK Jr.: https://reason.com/2023/04/28/the-very-strange-new-respect-for-authoritarian-democrat-robert-f-kennedy-jr
A perspective not heard very often in America today, or in a long, long time… :
TUCKER CARLSON’S FIRST COMMENTS SINCE FOX FIRING by Tyler Durden / Zero Hedge 042723
After Tucker Carlson's surprise split from Fox News, the #1 rated cable news host in history re-emerged from his home office on Wednesday to offer a stunning 8PM monologue covering his thoughts on the media landscape, and his future.
According to Carlson, one of the things one notices when one takes a little 'time off' is "how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are. They're completely irrelevant. They mean nothing.
"In five years we won't even remember that we had them... and yet, at the same time, the undeniably big topics - the ones that will define our future - get virtually no discussion at all. War, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources. When was the last time you heard a legitimate debate about any of those issues?"
"Debates like that are not permitted in American media," Carlson continued, adding "Both political parties, and their donors, have reached consensus on what benefits them - and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it.
"Suddenly the United States looks like a one-party state," Carlson said.
Carlson doesn't think this will last, however, noting that while the above is a "depressing realization," he doesn't think this is permanent.
"Our current orthodoxies won't last. They're brain-dead. Nobody actually believes them. Hardly anyone's life is improved by them. This moment is too inherently ridiculous to continue, and so it won't.
The people in charge know this, that's why they're hysterical and aggressive. They're afraid. They've given up persuasion - they're resorting to force. But it won't work. When honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars who've been trying to silence them shrink - and they become weaker. That's the iron-law of the universe; true things prevail."
Tucker rhetorically asked "Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some - and that's enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon."
Watch Carlson’s statement at https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tucker-reappears-8pm-time-slot-not-fox-which-just-suffered-catastrophic-ratings-crash
of course, there's also RFK Jr....not that that would cheer you up.