The increasing use of capitalism's terms, (e.g., 'recapitalization'; 'war fighter' for associate/employee/worker; baseline assessment); and corporate processes - use of contracted staff (i.e., mercenaries), all reflect the increasingly corporate orientation of the military.
What else are flag officers now but executives of the military looking for their next promotion into a corporate board sinecure, and willing to use their 'employees' to serve the corporate agenda (e.g., bombing fishing boats)
At some point you will get to 'Buck Turgidson' (in Doctor Strangelove) talking about 'getting your hair mussed' in a nuclear exchange and calling it 'acceptable'.
Ooh, "sinecure," don't see that word bandied about too often. 10 merit points! :-) George C. Scott's performance in "...Strangelove..." is one "for the ages"! According to recorded commentary for the movie on DVD, that backward tumble/somersault, leading to the general continuing his dialog without a hitch when upright again, was ACCIDENTAL!! And Kubrick had the genius to keep it in the movie.
Usually when a company recapitalizes it adjusts its ratio of stock to debt. It's not obvious how that applies to missiles other than the fact that now when we spend additional money it's all pretty much added to the public debt ($38 trillion or so) since we are greatly outspending our tax revenue.
Republicans used to howl about "profligate deficit spending" on Fed. level...except spending for war, of course. But nowadays "Deficits don't matter" is their philosophy. Some day they will, though, and your offspring and their offspring will be footing the bill. A recent article in Stars & Stripes quoted from the game plan of Project 2025 to effect that a major goal is "...to chip away at the role of government as a force FOR GOOD in the lives of Americans." Wow! Is that blatant enuf for ya, folks?!?
1) "Republicans used to howl about "profligate deficit spending" on Fed. level...except spending for war, of course."
Well, to be fair, I think the blame can be equally spread among the Dems and the 'Pubs.
2) "But nowadays 'Deficits don't matter' is their philosophy. Some day they will, though, and your offspring and their offspring will be footing the bill."
Was recently in on an online webinar on the $1+ TRILLION per year Penta-gone "budget," the point being that it's just adding to the debt, ya can't pay for it through tax cuts. Presently payment on the interest on the debt alone, not the principal, is at 13% of the federal budget; in 20 years it will be 42% if nothing is done. And there won't be. So long Medicare. So long Social Security. So long other entitlements. The Penta-gone budget will go one. So will US taxpayer money subsidizing Israel. We're starting to meet the criteria for being a "failed state."
3) "the game plan of Project 2025 to effect that a major goal is '...to chip away at the role of government as a force FOR GOOD in the lives of Americans.'"
Well, so much for that line in Article 1, Sec. 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution "to provide for the general welfare," a quaint notion, as the Constitution itself has become.
Of course the Dems are just as responsible for the grossly "overfed" War Machine. My point was that it was the GOP, starting under Reagan, that loved to lecture about downsizing gummint, responsible budgets, etc. Current version of GOP is only looking to downsize programs that are actually of benefit to those of us who don't quite make it into the Billionaire Class. "don't quite make it" said with maximum facetiousness, of course. :-) Thanks to corporate games played with stock options, Mr. Musk is said to be the first Trillionaire in history. Ha! That's only "on paper"! Gawd, how I hanker for this stock market bubble to BURST!!
"Gawd, how I hanker for this stock market bubble to BURST!!"
Hear ya, with ya, but how many innocent bystanders with their retirement plans subject to the Wall St. games-players are gonna get hurt, as is always the case...?
Ha!! Jim Cramer, who I think is an idiot to be frank, used to say his wife, 'The Trading Goddess,' always reminded him that "Pigs get slaughtered!" The ignorant masses--I won't let them off the hook by calling them innocent--who have been driving stock prices to absurd heights simply because they've been rising for so long (this is called FOMO--Fear of Missing Out on yet higher prices) deserve their financial heads handed to them for not studying market history. All bubbles burst eventually, and the bigger they've been inflated with hot air the louder the POP! when the pin penetrates the balloon. "Cry havoc, and loose the dogs of war!" I say. I'm known as Mr. Nice Guy, don'tchaknow? :-)
Wow. I hadn't seen that clip of Brian Williams. How can anyone think that calling these killing machines "beautiful" is a normal thing to say? Also, "recapitalization" is an apt word from a capitalist who has lost his soul.
The US President, who can destroy the world if he wants to, thought a nuclear-powered engine was the same as a nuclear bomb. So yeah, there is no lower limit to the hubris-stoked stupidity of American politicians.
With all due respect, it would be nice if folks here at BV ~ and in many other places on the Internet ~ would learn and understand the difference between “Capitalism” and “Corporatism”: the term Mussolini created as an friendlier-sounding term for “Fascism.”
Corporatism is the marriage at the hip of Governments ~ particularly at the National, Federal level ~ with Corporations and other privately-owned economic enterprises.
It is a system whereby cultural, social, civil, and, particularly in this case, economic Vested Special Interests [VSIs] can gain ready and easy, but expensive access to the legal power, the administrative authority, and, above all, the spending capacity and capability of that Government as governed by its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees. And use that access to advance the agendas, profits, and returns-on-investments of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs.
That is NOT “Capitalism” by any stretch of any definition. Capitalism is the COMPLETE Separation of The Economy and State; just like there is supposed to be a COMPLETE Separation of Church and State. [EMPHASES added.]
America is not now, nor has it ever been a “Capitalist” Nation.
What needs to be changed in America is that those Corporatist VSIs can and do have access to that Government’s power, authority, and ability to print, control, and distribute money. And until that Is changed, NOTHING is going to change. Except to get worse.
And this is nothing new.
There were all sorts of Vested Special Interests very much at work crafting what became America’s system of Governance as established by the Constitution in 1788. And successive generations of VSIs ~ thru their owned, operated, commanded, and controlled politicians, bureaucrats, and judges ~ have manipulated and modified that Constitution and its system of Governance so that that power and authority of ~ and, particularly, that control and distribution of wealth by ~ the Government, has grown and grown to what it is today.
Again: The REAL PROBLEM is the fact that that Government has all that legal power and administrative authority, and, above all, that ability to create and spend or give away money.
That is what really needs to be changed. And again: Unless and until it is changed, things are only going to get much worse than they are becoming now.
And they can and will only get worse as long as America is controlled by an autocratic, oligarchic. plutocratic, patriarchal Ruling Political Class/Caste and its Deep State: the military-industrial-congressional complex, the banking finance-printing press web, the techno-infotainment matrix, the petro-food-guns-n-drugs cartels, the pharmo-medicoinsurance-legal cabals, and the surveillance-secrecy-security-censorship-propaganda panopticon that owns and operates, and commands and controls the politicians, bureaucrats, and political appointees at center stage in America's Reality TV Soap Opera Extravaganza; and America's $ 1 = I Vote system of Government and Governance that gets, puts, and keeps them there.
So the Real Question is: How do Americans go about getting rid of that Ruling Political Class/Caste and its Deep State?
Especially before it mutates in a full-blown, bottom-line, bullet-hits-the-bone Dictatorship.
Sorry to say that I can't fully agree with your assessment here, Jeff. While I can't take time to craft a fuller response here, I'll just make a few points that indicate why that is.
It's certainly the case that corporatism has exacerbated the problems created by capitalism. This should be fairly obvious (as per the results of Citizens United v. F.E.C.).
But long before corporations were a legal 'thing', capitalism was already problematic. Wealthy 'elites' ruled in many old societies; i.e. it was concentrated wealth that gave them power to control others- and their society.
I would argue, in fact, that the creation of corporations and all their power was almost an inevitable product of capitalism. So, too, are ecological destruction, imperialism and war.
Capitalism has, as a fundamental virtue, growth; of profits, markets and market share, and of control over resources and labor. When limits to any of these things are faced within one's own country, they must be pursued in others; hence, colonialism and other aspects of imperialism, and war. Anything which interferes with that primary objective is to be eliminated.
Corporations have merely amplified the power dynamic... given cover to the individuals at the top while amplifying their voices and their power.
You seem to be arguing, at least at points, that government, with its power, is the problem. Certainly, a case can be made against centralization of power, and the scale. But I'd argue instead that government simply lost any semblance to the democracy that it proclaims to uphold, because of the growth of power coincident with the concentration of private capital. Almost all politicians - certainly at the federal level today - are compromised by it. And it was only because those who set up the American form of government deliberately elevated the interests of wealthy landowners above those of the commoner, and because of what appears to be an almost religious adherence to the virtue of capitalism, that there were inadequate protections against what was to come- i.e. the ruthlessness of corporatist capitalism and its takeover of all electoral and policy politics that plague us today.
Thank You, Roger, for Your feedback. i appreciate the opportunity to explore this further. You covered a lot of territory with lots to ponder, and i will try to respond in kind.
For starters, You argued “that the creation of corporations and all their power was almost an inevitable product of capitalism. So, too, are ecological destruction, imperialism and war..., colonialism and other aspects of imperialism, and war.”
The Age of European exploration, conquest, occupation, and colonialism [aka Imperialism] all over the Planet was not driven by Capitalism, which did not exist at that time. The dominant economic system in Portugal, Spain, France, and ultimately England was MERCANITILISM...:
*** “Mercantilism was an economic theory common in practice in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. This theory advocated governmental regulation of the nation’s economy to generate wealth and augment national power. Moreover, the basis of the theory was that the wealth of the world was static, and it was necessary to accumulate the maximum possible share of the wealth by increasing their exports and limiting their imports through tariffs.
*** “The main difference between capitalism and mercantilism is the role of government. Capitalism typically functions without government intervention, while mercantilism involves government regulation.
*** “Capitalism is an economic system in which private owners control the country’s trade and industry, rather than by the state, while mercantilism is an economic theory and practice that advocates governmental regulation of the nation’s economy to generate wealth and augment national power.” *** [From “What is the Difference Between Capitalism and Mercantilism” at https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-mercantilism/ .]
Which, bottom-line, means that today’s Corporatism is actually nothing but an updated version of Mercantilism.
As just one example of Mercantilism’s similarity to Corporatism: Do You think that all those Mercantilists in Europe could have organized, financed, and carried out all their Conquests of The Americas, Africa, and Asia WITHOUT their respective Government’s [ie, their Kings’] total involvement, financing, and approval?
You wrote: “You seem to be arguing, at least at points, that government, with its power, is the problem.” That is Exactly what i am arguing, Roger.
Again, and as the most obvious and obscene example: How many Wars could America’s Military Industrial Complex ~ the ultimate manifestation of Corporatism ~ have waged over the last 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki without the US Government’s approval, funding, and providing the personnel and equipment to wage those Wars? Any at all?
The issue ultimately boils down to some simple but very challenging Questions: “What is the purpose and function of Government? Why do Humans have Governments, and what are those Governments supposed to do? Are they supposed to protect Human Rights? Or meet Human Needs and satisfy Human Wants?
Which leads to the next set of Questions: What are Human Rights versus Human Needs and Wants? And can a Government meet the Human Needs and satisfy the Human Wants of some of its Citizens without violating the Human Rights of other of its Citizens?
And finally, i’m curious. You wrote: “Almost all politicians - certainly at the federal level today - are compromised by [the growth of power coincident with the concentration of private capital].” Which specific politicians would You say are Not compromised by that?
Thankee again for the feedback, and have a Great day.
Thanks for the further discussion including the comparison of mercantilism with capitalism. I don't doubt that today's corporatism is an updated, more highly systematized version of mercantilism; but this is not an either/or situation, in my view. I guess we'd differ in terms of which came first: the intrusion of government or the effective dominance of societies by wealthy elites who largely controlled economic activity. From the dictionary definition of capitalism: "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit".
At any rate, I'd suggest that the process was more reflective of a reciprocal interplay - the interests of (concentrated) private capital being increasingly advanced by governments from which they themselves were largely formed. Let's keep in mind that the system of governance in the U.S. - its Constitution and legal framework- was designed by capitalists, well before corporations were legal entities. And I suspect (though I wasn't around at the time!) that capitalistic practice, i.e. the for-profit control of trade and industry by private owners, probably was common well before even mercantilism is thought to have become widespread.
When I speak of the likely inevitability that capitalism would 'evolve' to where it is today, it is BECAUSE of its primary values, objectives and dominant operative paradigm of growth (of profits, and to create that growth, the concentration of control over resources, labor and markets. As to the values, that's an important term in this context, because capitalistic systems by nature assign monetary values to ALL things, whether living or not, effectively reducing ALL LIFE to money - which is expressed by abstract symbols ($$, etc.). Certain 'types' of humans are drawn to this as you probably have noticed. The greediest, most self-serving among us seem to have naturally been drawn to power- including political, of course. And valuing of money (and its accumulation) has led to a devaluing of other humans and other living beings - factors in colonialism, imperialism generally, and the elevation of money-generating enterprises (e.g. corporations) above all else.
It's a bit of a tangent perhaps, but this is, as Iain McGilchrist writes extensively (in "The Master And His Emissary" and "The Matter With Things"), the property of the left brain hemisphere- which is reductionist, both abstract and extractive, binary in nature, and utilitarian and self-concerned in values; as compared to the right hemisphere, which is the home of 'relationship to Other' (i.e. the Whole of 'what is'), empathy, context, depth, time, nuance, art, music, and generally what we call, 'intuition'.
McGilchrist, a neuroscientist/polymath, concludes that somehow, especially in the West, the pre-existing natural / healthy balance of right and left hemisphere processing was upended (perhaps, ironically, very possibly during what is known as 'The Enlightenment'); such that our society reflects the values and tendencies of the Left hemisphere- where 'the Emissary' has usurped and cast aside 'the Master' - i.e. lost the ability to see the world as a Whole and as it actually presents, substituting in the process the Left's 'representational', absolutist view of life devoid of context, depth, nuance or of ability to see other as anything more than of utilitarian (or transactional) value to self.
Thank You, Roger, for that very thought-provoking and exploration-inspiring response. To adequately reply to it, i need to do some online research to explore the wide variety of points You raised.
But first, we need to clarify whether we’re talking about Capitalism or Corporatism. Your dictionary definition of Capitalism leaves out one very critical characteristic: Government involvement in the Economy. Google’s AI Overview’s response to the inquiry “corporatism vs capitalism” is as follows:
“Capitalism is an economic system with free markets and private property, while corporatism is a system where the state closely partners with large corporations and labor groups to manage the economy. THE KEY DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT: IN CAPITALISM, THEY ARE IDEALLY SEPARATE, WHEREAS IN CORPORATISM, THEY ARE MERGED, WITH THE STATE REGULATING AND DIRECTING ECONOMIC POLICY THROUGH THESE ESTABLISHED GROUPS.” [EMPHASIS added.]
While America’s trade and industry are certainly for profit, they are not controlled solely by private owners. Governments at all levels ~ particularly the Federal ~ have a great deal of control over many, many aspects of this Economy, and what Corporations and other business enterprises can, cannot, and/or must do.
Do we agree on that point? i ask that because of Your statement “Let's keep in mind that the system of governance in the U.S. - its Constitution and legal framework- was designed by capitalists, well before corporations were legal entities.”
So my question is: Can someone be a Capitalist and also be a Slave-Owner?
The reason i ask that is because, according G-AI Overview: “Many prominent Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, were slave owners, with some holding hundreds of enslaved people throughout their lives. Others, like Benjamin Franklin, were slaveholders who later became abolitionists, while some, like Alexander Hamilton, did not own slaves themselves but married into slave-owning families. OF THE 55 DELEGATES TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, APPROXIMATELY 25 WERE SLAVE OWNERS.” [EMPHASIS added.]
The only reason there is and can be Slavery in a particular Nation is because the Government of that Nation says it is legal. That is government involvement in the economy in a very significant way, wouldn’t You agree?
And remember that Slavery was written into the Constitution as perfectly legal; primarily because if it hadn’t been, the proposed Constitution would not have been ratified, and the United States of America would not have come into existence at that time.
So the question is: Were those Slave-Owners “Capitalists” or “Corporatists”?
[Note: It’s interesting to learn that the Articles of Confederation “did not explicitly mention slavery, but they did not prohibit it, leaving the issue to individual states. During this period, some states, like Massachusetts, made slavery illegal, while others continued to allow it and even import slaves. Later, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, enacted by the Confederation Congress, prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, showing that the government under the Articles could take action against it.” [G-AI Overview response to “was slavery written into the articles of confederation?”]
In any event, the first thing from Your response i want to explore is Dr McGilchrist’s theory about Left and Right Brains and the impact that it has on cultural, social, economic, and political systems.
My first question for him is as follows: Is there any difference in the functioning of the two Brains, and their interaction between the Brains of people in Western civilization [ie, The Americas and Europe] as opposed to those of people in Eastern civilization [Asia, and Oceania] and Indigenous Peoples all over the Planet, starting in Africa?
And the second thing to be researched is Mercantilism itself, about which i know very little. Again, was that something that happened all over the Planet ~ particularly in China and India ~ or just in Europe? And what was the predominant economic system in operation before Mercantilism emerged? Which happened at the same time as the Age of Discovery and the European exploration, conquest, and expansion of Colonial Empires.
Let me pause there, as i have boat chores to do and errands to run. i’ll continue responding to Your response when done with that later today. In the meantime, Thankee again, stay Safe and have a Great day. ~ jeff
For years I've been saying that (deregulated) Capitalism will kill us all. Now I'll have to say that Corporatism (crypto-fascist Capitalism) will kill us all. Thank you, jg moebus. I am smitten by your very well written indictment of the world's Deep State.
What is to be done? — Chernyshevsky, Tolstoy, Lenin, et al. That is truly the Real Question.
Thank You, Christopher, for the positive feedback. i appreciate it very much.
What Is To Be Done is what NEEDS To Be Done: A complete and total change to America’s system of Government and Governance so that the Corporatists and their ilk of Vested Special Interests do not have that ready and easy but expensive access to that Government’s legal power, administrative authority, and ability to print, control, and spend money.
And it would take a Revolution to make that happen. Which, if one happened, would be the FIRST American Revolution.
*** What happened in 1776 was not a Revolution, but a Secession. It was never the intent of the American Colonists to overthrow the King and Parliament in London, and take over rule of the British Empire [what a Revolution is].
*** Rather, it was their intent to throw the King's governors, tax collectors, and especially, his soldiers, out of the Colonies south of Canada, and to establish a sovereign, independent Nation. The Empire could continue on its merry way toward global presence, domination, and control all it wanted to. Just not in the newly to-be-created United States of America. ***
But at this stage of The Game, Christopher, i believe that the American Peoples will have to confront and contend with, and determine how to overthrow the Dictatorship ~ that is looming ever closer every day ~ before they can even think about how to change how America is governed, and to then make that happen.
Lemayday is almost upon us and the Supreme Commander of SAC 4****Curtis who was literally God, and has Standed down the Wing except for us Sky-Cops again :/ @ SAC Supreme Headquarters, OFFut AFB, Nebraska only place higher-- Heaven. He's not happy that you are not prepared for "Recapitalization!" Bombs Away!! :o) 89 Seconds to Midnite. :/
2) "Recapitalization." Oh, god, not only the MIC, or the MICIMATT as Ray McGovern suggests, but now we work in Wall St., the financial sector unabashedly? It's of a piece. Any bets that this CSAF has an MBA?
3) Totally unaware until now of the Brian Williams inadvertent tip as to what the mainstream media in this country is all about. Simply dumbfounding. Tidbit: sometime before his career crash-and-burn, when he was riding high in his ratings, there was a biographical sketch of him. Very quizzical, yet revealing to me, was that he said ever since so young, whatever age that was, he said he always wanted to be a news anchor, maybe like Cronkite, I can't recall who his idol was. Note: not a journalist, not a newsman, but a t.v. news anchor. Well, for awhile, he did splendidly in that role, but I guess ultimately caught up in his own fantasies about the job.
Nothing new under the Sun. Don Henley wrote & Sung about in the good tune "Dirty Laundry" years ago now on his Tour in the Eighties "Building the perfect Beast!" that I saw on Boston Common: "The Bubbleheaded Bleach Blonde comes on at 5, She can tell you about the Plane Crash with a gleam in her Eye!" "Well I could've been an Actor , but I wound up here""I just have to look good I don't have to be clear"....
Something about being aboard a helicopter that was shot at during Dumbya's Excellent Adventure I think, all in his imagination, or image buffing. The higher ups hesitated a bit on what to do with him, but soon did the right thing - hard to believe, huh? - and banished him to MSNBC at 11:00 pm I think, brought in Lester Holt. Last I heard Williams had left MSNBC to start some venture, apparently believing he still has a following.
XK: Thank you for refreshing my recollection disgusting really..! Especially from someone who was literally shot at before, and believe me you'd remember it, while on Duty in the City I worked for 20 yrs. as a Firefighter with a Crossbow. The Dart was found in our Pre-Connect attack lines in line w/ our Jump Seats when we returned to the Firehouse. There were other times as well when we were still on hot scenes before Police arrived. Part of the job & territory unfortunately. Its even more of a War out there now.
Speaker Mike Johnson was one of the recipients of the message sent Yesterday and checking my X feed tonight, I couldn't resist the segue and responded to the Speaker's X post.
Speaker Mike Johnson @SpeakerJohnson
The peaceful sunset outside my office window tonight is a reminder to me that God still has His hand of blessing over our nation. Thankfully, after 42 long days, we will soon get our vote to finally end the painful Democrat Shutdown — and get the American government open and operating again for the people.
Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com
Matthew 5:45 says God makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
As a Son of God, and a Canadian, The Kansas City Times was describing and quoting me as Americans were celebrating Revolution in 1976.
After the Republicans left town, The Times published these excerpts on September 13, 1976, "He came to town for the Republican National Convention and will stay until the election in November TO DO GOD'S BIDDING: To tell the World, from Kansas City, this country has been found wanting and its days are numbered [...] He gestured toward a gleaming church dome. “The gold dome is the symbol of BABYLON,” he said.” [...] He wanted to bring to the Public’s attention an “idea being put out subtly and deceptively” by the government that we have to get prepared for a War with Russia.”
That 1976 FUTURE is NOW with the Revelation of the details GENERALLY unfolding in the spirit of the letter.
The World is waking up to see Americans may hasten “its days are numbered” part of the 1976 Vision, and waits with bated breath.
This specific 'Prophecy,' is also in that September 13 Historical US Newspaper record, "There are 30 months before the fate of the world will be sealed with EITHER Destruction OR the Universal Brotherhood of Man,¨ he said.
¨The 30 month figure concerned a Treaty between Israel and Egypt¨
NOTE: This does not say Armageddon happens in 30 months from the 1976 article.
Exactly 30 months into the Future, a Treaty between Israel and Egypt was signed, THE CAMP DAVID ACCORD.
History shows talks broke down on the 12th day and no Treaty was to be signed. Begin and Sadat were leaving.
It was on the 13th Day, as in the date of the The Times 1976 article and the picture accompanying it, an unexpected window of opportunity appeared and opened the way for the Treaty to be signed. This signified the Universal Brotherhood part of the projection.
The February 1979 Iranian Revolution happened in the 29th month. The Israeli attack on Iran on June 13 with US Complicity is the Sign of The Times the Powers have chosen the DESTRUCTION option in the 1976 choice.
The Kansas City Times published a followup on ALL SOULS DAY, November 2, 1976, with evidence confirmed 7 years to the month later, when THE DAY AFTER Kansas City was incinerated in a Nuclear Holocaust was shown to the World on November 20, 1983.
Speaker Johnson, you were among the 100 + people from the White House, Cabinet Secretaries, Senators, Representatives, the Pope, other Religious Leaders and many others to get notice on X Yesterday of this: https://rayjc.com/2025/11/11/declaration-II-the-last-trump/
I was surprised to get this email from your Office later on Remembrance/Veterans Day.
Happy Veterans Day!
Office of Rep. Mike Johnson
To: Ray Joseph Cormier;
11/11/2025 19:07
I'm impressed your Office still had my email address because the last time I wrote to you via your embedded Office email system was on December 2, 2023 in response to this from you;
Response from Rep. Mike Johnson
To: Ray Joseph Cormier;
12/01/2023 15:15
Rep. Mike Johnson's Banner Image
Dear Mr. Cormier,
Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns regarding the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your thoughts and concerns regarding issues that matter to you and our nation.
As you know, the United States has a longstanding and vital tradition of supporting Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East. The terrible images we have seen coming out of the October 7th attack on Israel are shocking. The deliberate murder and kidnapping of civilians are horrendous war crimes, which I have condemned in the strongest terms. My first act as Speaker of the House was to call up a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas’ brutal war against Israel and reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense. You will be pleased to know that resolution passed overwhelmingly in the House.
Hamas is clearly responsible for all the current suffering in Gaza after its unjustifiable atrocities. I will continue to be actively engaged on this issue, and I am committed to making sure that all hostages return home safely. Rest assured, I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress debates this matter and others that are important to Louisiana and our nation.
Again, thank you for reaching out to me with your opinions. If you would like to stay up to date on things going on in Congress, go to https://mikejohnson.house.gov/contact/subscribe.htm and sign up for my newsletter. Finally, please always feel free to contact my office at any time.
Israel has the World believing and not questioning, there was no Israeli violence against Palestinians since 1948, that could have provoked Hamas to carry out October 7
Yesterday was one of the longest days in my 82 years sitting at my PC speaking Truth to Power for most of Remembrance/Veterans Day.
I replied to over 100 comments by several White House personalities & sections, many Cabinet Secretaries, Senators & House Representatives, Governors, the Pope, other Religious Leaders, Canadian Premiers, the PM, and other well known influential personalities as they randomly showed up in my X feed.
I've been on Twitter since 2013. With the identical message, Yesterday and Today I got 25 more followers, more re-posts and likes, like I never had before.
To reinforce the Remembrance Day message, (as in the Revelation of Jesus Christ 2:9 & 3:9-10) sent Yesterday in this Day After, this was directed to these people: @pontifex @realDonaldTrump @netanyahu @MarkJCarney
On November 11, when nations remember those sacrificed in war, the Final Word was delivered.
The World listen to what was Declared in the hearing of The Governor-General, Prime Minister, Military Brass, Ambassadors of the Nations and the Public, after the solemn silence, and after the 3 Abrahamic Religions prayed to God there should be no more War.
There was total silence after that as Dignitaries laid their wreaths at CanaDa’s National War Cenotaph 40 years ago in 1985.
This was not to condemn, but to awaken. The Leaders and Public are still asleep, sleepwalking on the Path to ARMAGEDDON/WWIII.
THE DECLARATION
Hear O people and Nations, even to the ends of the Earth, the Word of the LORD God, who is, and was, and is to come, The Almighty
The LORD has a controversy with the rulers of this age and the powers they serve.
Do you do well to honour the dead, and yet deny the God of the living?
Why do you follow the vain traditions of men, and make of no effect, the Principles of God?
You come here for one hour, one day a year, in a great show of public patriotism — and then forgetting, return to the same machinery of debt and war that devours our world.
Hitler is dead — but the spirit of supremacy and genocide lives, and the military-industrial-financial empire (the Dollar Beast) holds the world hostage tighter than it was in 1985.
Therefore, this is the Word of the LORD God: Cease your genocides. Dismantle your idols of debt and weaponry. Turn to the God of the Living before the living join the dead you mourn.
THE DECLARATION: Nov. 11, 1985
DECLARATION II – THE LAST TRUMP: Nov. 11, 2025
Those with eyes wide open can see the powers of this age, now hold the world hostage to greater wars — and the very rumours of war foretold 40 years ago.
To see the pictures and embedded links within the message, go here:
As Carlin noted, language always gives it away.
The increasing use of capitalism's terms, (e.g., 'recapitalization'; 'war fighter' for associate/employee/worker; baseline assessment); and corporate processes - use of contracted staff (i.e., mercenaries), all reflect the increasingly corporate orientation of the military.
What else are flag officers now but executives of the military looking for their next promotion into a corporate board sinecure, and willing to use their 'employees' to serve the corporate agenda (e.g., bombing fishing boats)
At some point you will get to 'Buck Turgidson' (in Doctor Strangelove) talking about 'getting your hair mussed' in a nuclear exchange and calling it 'acceptable'.
Ooh, "sinecure," don't see that word bandied about too often. 10 merit points! :-) George C. Scott's performance in "...Strangelove..." is one "for the ages"! According to recorded commentary for the movie on DVD, that backward tumble/somersault, leading to the general continuing his dialog without a hitch when upright again, was ACCIDENTAL!! And Kubrick had the genius to keep it in the movie.
Thanks, need all the merit points I can get. :-) Next time I watch it, I'll look for that tumble.
Usually when a company recapitalizes it adjusts its ratio of stock to debt. It's not obvious how that applies to missiles other than the fact that now when we spend additional money it's all pretty much added to the public debt ($38 trillion or so) since we are greatly outspending our tax revenue.
Well, ya know, all those billions coming in from tariffs will have us swimming in excess cash any time now..../s
I've already spent my $2000 check!! So I hope I get it. (sarc)
😆😆😆
Republicans used to howl about "profligate deficit spending" on Fed. level...except spending for war, of course. But nowadays "Deficits don't matter" is their philosophy. Some day they will, though, and your offspring and their offspring will be footing the bill. A recent article in Stars & Stripes quoted from the game plan of Project 2025 to effect that a major goal is "...to chip away at the role of government as a force FOR GOOD in the lives of Americans." Wow! Is that blatant enuf for ya, folks?!?
1) "Republicans used to howl about "profligate deficit spending" on Fed. level...except spending for war, of course."
Well, to be fair, I think the blame can be equally spread among the Dems and the 'Pubs.
2) "But nowadays 'Deficits don't matter' is their philosophy. Some day they will, though, and your offspring and their offspring will be footing the bill."
Was recently in on an online webinar on the $1+ TRILLION per year Penta-gone "budget," the point being that it's just adding to the debt, ya can't pay for it through tax cuts. Presently payment on the interest on the debt alone, not the principal, is at 13% of the federal budget; in 20 years it will be 42% if nothing is done. And there won't be. So long Medicare. So long Social Security. So long other entitlements. The Penta-gone budget will go one. So will US taxpayer money subsidizing Israel. We're starting to meet the criteria for being a "failed state."
3) "the game plan of Project 2025 to effect that a major goal is '...to chip away at the role of government as a force FOR GOOD in the lives of Americans.'"
Well, so much for that line in Article 1, Sec. 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution "to provide for the general welfare," a quaint notion, as the Constitution itself has become.
Of course the Dems are just as responsible for the grossly "overfed" War Machine. My point was that it was the GOP, starting under Reagan, that loved to lecture about downsizing gummint, responsible budgets, etc. Current version of GOP is only looking to downsize programs that are actually of benefit to those of us who don't quite make it into the Billionaire Class. "don't quite make it" said with maximum facetiousness, of course. :-) Thanks to corporate games played with stock options, Mr. Musk is said to be the first Trillionaire in history. Ha! That's only "on paper"! Gawd, how I hanker for this stock market bubble to BURST!!
"Gawd, how I hanker for this stock market bubble to BURST!!"
Hear ya, with ya, but how many innocent bystanders with their retirement plans subject to the Wall St. games-players are gonna get hurt, as is always the case...?
Ha!! Jim Cramer, who I think is an idiot to be frank, used to say his wife, 'The Trading Goddess,' always reminded him that "Pigs get slaughtered!" The ignorant masses--I won't let them off the hook by calling them innocent--who have been driving stock prices to absurd heights simply because they've been rising for so long (this is called FOMO--Fear of Missing Out on yet higher prices) deserve their financial heads handed to them for not studying market history. All bubbles burst eventually, and the bigger they've been inflated with hot air the louder the POP! when the pin penetrates the balloon. "Cry havoc, and loose the dogs of war!" I say. I'm known as Mr. Nice Guy, don'tchaknow? :-)
Wow. I hadn't seen that clip of Brian Williams. How can anyone think that calling these killing machines "beautiful" is a normal thing to say? Also, "recapitalization" is an apt word from a capitalist who has lost his soul.
Trump will make this guy a 5 star general and put his portrait on a white house wall.
If there's any room left on the walls after Trump has plastered images of himself all over the place!
Thanks I needed that chuckle.
The US President, who can destroy the world if he wants to, thought a nuclear-powered engine was the same as a nuclear bomb. So yeah, there is no lower limit to the hubris-stoked stupidity of American politicians.
With all due respect, it would be nice if folks here at BV ~ and in many other places on the Internet ~ would learn and understand the difference between “Capitalism” and “Corporatism”: the term Mussolini created as an friendlier-sounding term for “Fascism.”
Corporatism is the marriage at the hip of Governments ~ particularly at the National, Federal level ~ with Corporations and other privately-owned economic enterprises.
It is a system whereby cultural, social, civil, and, particularly in this case, economic Vested Special Interests [VSIs] can gain ready and easy, but expensive access to the legal power, the administrative authority, and, above all, the spending capacity and capability of that Government as governed by its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees. And use that access to advance the agendas, profits, and returns-on-investments of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs.
That is NOT “Capitalism” by any stretch of any definition. Capitalism is the COMPLETE Separation of The Economy and State; just like there is supposed to be a COMPLETE Separation of Church and State. [EMPHASES added.]
America is not now, nor has it ever been a “Capitalist” Nation.
What needs to be changed in America is that those Corporatist VSIs can and do have access to that Government’s power, authority, and ability to print, control, and distribute money. And until that Is changed, NOTHING is going to change. Except to get worse.
And this is nothing new.
There were all sorts of Vested Special Interests very much at work crafting what became America’s system of Governance as established by the Constitution in 1788. And successive generations of VSIs ~ thru their owned, operated, commanded, and controlled politicians, bureaucrats, and judges ~ have manipulated and modified that Constitution and its system of Governance so that that power and authority of ~ and, particularly, that control and distribution of wealth by ~ the Government, has grown and grown to what it is today.
Again: The REAL PROBLEM is the fact that that Government has all that legal power and administrative authority, and, above all, that ability to create and spend or give away money.
That is what really needs to be changed. And again: Unless and until it is changed, things are only going to get much worse than they are becoming now.
And they can and will only get worse as long as America is controlled by an autocratic, oligarchic. plutocratic, patriarchal Ruling Political Class/Caste and its Deep State: the military-industrial-congressional complex, the banking finance-printing press web, the techno-infotainment matrix, the petro-food-guns-n-drugs cartels, the pharmo-medicoinsurance-legal cabals, and the surveillance-secrecy-security-censorship-propaganda panopticon that owns and operates, and commands and controls the politicians, bureaucrats, and political appointees at center stage in America's Reality TV Soap Opera Extravaganza; and America's $ 1 = I Vote system of Government and Governance that gets, puts, and keeps them there.
So the Real Question is: How do Americans go about getting rid of that Ruling Political Class/Caste and its Deep State?
Especially before it mutates in a full-blown, bottom-line, bullet-hits-the-bone Dictatorship.
Which could happen very, Very soon.
Sorry to say that I can't fully agree with your assessment here, Jeff. While I can't take time to craft a fuller response here, I'll just make a few points that indicate why that is.
It's certainly the case that corporatism has exacerbated the problems created by capitalism. This should be fairly obvious (as per the results of Citizens United v. F.E.C.).
But long before corporations were a legal 'thing', capitalism was already problematic. Wealthy 'elites' ruled in many old societies; i.e. it was concentrated wealth that gave them power to control others- and their society.
I would argue, in fact, that the creation of corporations and all their power was almost an inevitable product of capitalism. So, too, are ecological destruction, imperialism and war.
Capitalism has, as a fundamental virtue, growth; of profits, markets and market share, and of control over resources and labor. When limits to any of these things are faced within one's own country, they must be pursued in others; hence, colonialism and other aspects of imperialism, and war. Anything which interferes with that primary objective is to be eliminated.
Corporations have merely amplified the power dynamic... given cover to the individuals at the top while amplifying their voices and their power.
You seem to be arguing, at least at points, that government, with its power, is the problem. Certainly, a case can be made against centralization of power, and the scale. But I'd argue instead that government simply lost any semblance to the democracy that it proclaims to uphold, because of the growth of power coincident with the concentration of private capital. Almost all politicians - certainly at the federal level today - are compromised by it. And it was only because those who set up the American form of government deliberately elevated the interests of wealthy landowners above those of the commoner, and because of what appears to be an almost religious adherence to the virtue of capitalism, that there were inadequate protections against what was to come- i.e. the ruthlessness of corporatist capitalism and its takeover of all electoral and policy politics that plague us today.
Thank You, Roger, for Your feedback. i appreciate the opportunity to explore this further. You covered a lot of territory with lots to ponder, and i will try to respond in kind.
For starters, You argued “that the creation of corporations and all their power was almost an inevitable product of capitalism. So, too, are ecological destruction, imperialism and war..., colonialism and other aspects of imperialism, and war.”
The Age of European exploration, conquest, occupation, and colonialism [aka Imperialism] all over the Planet was not driven by Capitalism, which did not exist at that time. The dominant economic system in Portugal, Spain, France, and ultimately England was MERCANITILISM...:
*** “Mercantilism was an economic theory common in practice in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. This theory advocated governmental regulation of the nation’s economy to generate wealth and augment national power. Moreover, the basis of the theory was that the wealth of the world was static, and it was necessary to accumulate the maximum possible share of the wealth by increasing their exports and limiting their imports through tariffs.
*** “The main difference between capitalism and mercantilism is the role of government. Capitalism typically functions without government intervention, while mercantilism involves government regulation.
*** “Capitalism is an economic system in which private owners control the country’s trade and industry, rather than by the state, while mercantilism is an economic theory and practice that advocates governmental regulation of the nation’s economy to generate wealth and augment national power.” *** [From “What is the Difference Between Capitalism and Mercantilism” at https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-capitalism-and-mercantilism/ .]
Which, bottom-line, means that today’s Corporatism is actually nothing but an updated version of Mercantilism.
As just one example of Mercantilism’s similarity to Corporatism: Do You think that all those Mercantilists in Europe could have organized, financed, and carried out all their Conquests of The Americas, Africa, and Asia WITHOUT their respective Government’s [ie, their Kings’] total involvement, financing, and approval?
You wrote: “You seem to be arguing, at least at points, that government, with its power, is the problem.” That is Exactly what i am arguing, Roger.
Again, and as the most obvious and obscene example: How many Wars could America’s Military Industrial Complex ~ the ultimate manifestation of Corporatism ~ have waged over the last 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki without the US Government’s approval, funding, and providing the personnel and equipment to wage those Wars? Any at all?
The issue ultimately boils down to some simple but very challenging Questions: “What is the purpose and function of Government? Why do Humans have Governments, and what are those Governments supposed to do? Are they supposed to protect Human Rights? Or meet Human Needs and satisfy Human Wants?
Which leads to the next set of Questions: What are Human Rights versus Human Needs and Wants? And can a Government meet the Human Needs and satisfy the Human Wants of some of its Citizens without violating the Human Rights of other of its Citizens?
And finally, i’m curious. You wrote: “Almost all politicians - certainly at the federal level today - are compromised by [the growth of power coincident with the concentration of private capital].” Which specific politicians would You say are Not compromised by that?
Thankee again for the feedback, and have a Great day.
Thanks for the further discussion including the comparison of mercantilism with capitalism. I don't doubt that today's corporatism is an updated, more highly systematized version of mercantilism; but this is not an either/or situation, in my view. I guess we'd differ in terms of which came first: the intrusion of government or the effective dominance of societies by wealthy elites who largely controlled economic activity. From the dictionary definition of capitalism: "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit".
At any rate, I'd suggest that the process was more reflective of a reciprocal interplay - the interests of (concentrated) private capital being increasingly advanced by governments from which they themselves were largely formed. Let's keep in mind that the system of governance in the U.S. - its Constitution and legal framework- was designed by capitalists, well before corporations were legal entities. And I suspect (though I wasn't around at the time!) that capitalistic practice, i.e. the for-profit control of trade and industry by private owners, probably was common well before even mercantilism is thought to have become widespread.
When I speak of the likely inevitability that capitalism would 'evolve' to where it is today, it is BECAUSE of its primary values, objectives and dominant operative paradigm of growth (of profits, and to create that growth, the concentration of control over resources, labor and markets. As to the values, that's an important term in this context, because capitalistic systems by nature assign monetary values to ALL things, whether living or not, effectively reducing ALL LIFE to money - which is expressed by abstract symbols ($$, etc.). Certain 'types' of humans are drawn to this as you probably have noticed. The greediest, most self-serving among us seem to have naturally been drawn to power- including political, of course. And valuing of money (and its accumulation) has led to a devaluing of other humans and other living beings - factors in colonialism, imperialism generally, and the elevation of money-generating enterprises (e.g. corporations) above all else.
It's a bit of a tangent perhaps, but this is, as Iain McGilchrist writes extensively (in "The Master And His Emissary" and "The Matter With Things"), the property of the left brain hemisphere- which is reductionist, both abstract and extractive, binary in nature, and utilitarian and self-concerned in values; as compared to the right hemisphere, which is the home of 'relationship to Other' (i.e. the Whole of 'what is'), empathy, context, depth, time, nuance, art, music, and generally what we call, 'intuition'.
McGilchrist, a neuroscientist/polymath, concludes that somehow, especially in the West, the pre-existing natural / healthy balance of right and left hemisphere processing was upended (perhaps, ironically, very possibly during what is known as 'The Enlightenment'); such that our society reflects the values and tendencies of the Left hemisphere- where 'the Emissary' has usurped and cast aside 'the Master' - i.e. lost the ability to see the world as a Whole and as it actually presents, substituting in the process the Left's 'representational', absolutist view of life devoid of context, depth, nuance or of ability to see other as anything more than of utilitarian (or transactional) value to self.
If I need empathy, I'll buy it. That's my guess for what the uber-rich believe.
Thank You, Roger, for that very thought-provoking and exploration-inspiring response. To adequately reply to it, i need to do some online research to explore the wide variety of points You raised.
But first, we need to clarify whether we’re talking about Capitalism or Corporatism. Your dictionary definition of Capitalism leaves out one very critical characteristic: Government involvement in the Economy. Google’s AI Overview’s response to the inquiry “corporatism vs capitalism” is as follows:
“Capitalism is an economic system with free markets and private property, while corporatism is a system where the state closely partners with large corporations and labor groups to manage the economy. THE KEY DIFFERENCE LIES IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT: IN CAPITALISM, THEY ARE IDEALLY SEPARATE, WHEREAS IN CORPORATISM, THEY ARE MERGED, WITH THE STATE REGULATING AND DIRECTING ECONOMIC POLICY THROUGH THESE ESTABLISHED GROUPS.” [EMPHASIS added.]
While America’s trade and industry are certainly for profit, they are not controlled solely by private owners. Governments at all levels ~ particularly the Federal ~ have a great deal of control over many, many aspects of this Economy, and what Corporations and other business enterprises can, cannot, and/or must do.
Do we agree on that point? i ask that because of Your statement “Let's keep in mind that the system of governance in the U.S. - its Constitution and legal framework- was designed by capitalists, well before corporations were legal entities.”
So my question is: Can someone be a Capitalist and also be a Slave-Owner?
The reason i ask that is because, according G-AI Overview: “Many prominent Founding Fathers, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, were slave owners, with some holding hundreds of enslaved people throughout their lives. Others, like Benjamin Franklin, were slaveholders who later became abolitionists, while some, like Alexander Hamilton, did not own slaves themselves but married into slave-owning families. OF THE 55 DELEGATES TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, APPROXIMATELY 25 WERE SLAVE OWNERS.” [EMPHASIS added.]
The only reason there is and can be Slavery in a particular Nation is because the Government of that Nation says it is legal. That is government involvement in the economy in a very significant way, wouldn’t You agree?
And remember that Slavery was written into the Constitution as perfectly legal; primarily because if it hadn’t been, the proposed Constitution would not have been ratified, and the United States of America would not have come into existence at that time.
So the question is: Were those Slave-Owners “Capitalists” or “Corporatists”?
[Note: It’s interesting to learn that the Articles of Confederation “did not explicitly mention slavery, but they did not prohibit it, leaving the issue to individual states. During this period, some states, like Massachusetts, made slavery illegal, while others continued to allow it and even import slaves. Later, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, enacted by the Confederation Congress, prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, showing that the government under the Articles could take action against it.” [G-AI Overview response to “was slavery written into the articles of confederation?”]
In any event, the first thing from Your response i want to explore is Dr McGilchrist’s theory about Left and Right Brains and the impact that it has on cultural, social, economic, and political systems.
My first question for him is as follows: Is there any difference in the functioning of the two Brains, and their interaction between the Brains of people in Western civilization [ie, The Americas and Europe] as opposed to those of people in Eastern civilization [Asia, and Oceania] and Indigenous Peoples all over the Planet, starting in Africa?
And the second thing to be researched is Mercantilism itself, about which i know very little. Again, was that something that happened all over the Planet ~ particularly in China and India ~ or just in Europe? And what was the predominant economic system in operation before Mercantilism emerged? Which happened at the same time as the Age of Discovery and the European exploration, conquest, and expansion of Colonial Empires.
Let me pause there, as i have boat chores to do and errands to run. i’ll continue responding to Your response when done with that later today. In the meantime, Thankee again, stay Safe and have a Great day. ~ jeff
For years I've been saying that (deregulated) Capitalism will kill us all. Now I'll have to say that Corporatism (crypto-fascist Capitalism) will kill us all. Thank you, jg moebus. I am smitten by your very well written indictment of the world's Deep State.
What is to be done? — Chernyshevsky, Tolstoy, Lenin, et al. That is truly the Real Question.
Thank You, Christopher, for the positive feedback. i appreciate it very much.
What Is To Be Done is what NEEDS To Be Done: A complete and total change to America’s system of Government and Governance so that the Corporatists and their ilk of Vested Special Interests do not have that ready and easy but expensive access to that Government’s legal power, administrative authority, and ability to print, control, and spend money.
And it would take a Revolution to make that happen. Which, if one happened, would be the FIRST American Revolution.
*** What happened in 1776 was not a Revolution, but a Secession. It was never the intent of the American Colonists to overthrow the King and Parliament in London, and take over rule of the British Empire [what a Revolution is].
*** Rather, it was their intent to throw the King's governors, tax collectors, and especially, his soldiers, out of the Colonies south of Canada, and to establish a sovereign, independent Nation. The Empire could continue on its merry way toward global presence, domination, and control all it wanted to. Just not in the newly to-be-created United States of America. ***
But at this stage of The Game, Christopher, i believe that the American Peoples will have to confront and contend with, and determine how to overthrow the Dictatorship ~ that is looming ever closer every day ~ before they can even think about how to change how America is governed, and to then make that happen.
Lemayday is almost upon us and the Supreme Commander of SAC 4****Curtis who was literally God, and has Standed down the Wing except for us Sky-Cops again :/ @ SAC Supreme Headquarters, OFFut AFB, Nebraska only place higher-- Heaven. He's not happy that you are not prepared for "Recapitalization!" Bombs Away!! :o) 89 Seconds to Midnite. :/
And.., never forget--"Peace is our Profession," "To err is human, to forgive divine neither of which is current SAC Policy."
1) Abomb-ination of the English language...?
2) "Recapitalization." Oh, god, not only the MIC, or the MICIMATT as Ray McGovern suggests, but now we work in Wall St., the financial sector unabashedly? It's of a piece. Any bets that this CSAF has an MBA?
3) Totally unaware until now of the Brian Williams inadvertent tip as to what the mainstream media in this country is all about. Simply dumbfounding. Tidbit: sometime before his career crash-and-burn, when he was riding high in his ratings, there was a biographical sketch of him. Very quizzical, yet revealing to me, was that he said ever since so young, whatever age that was, he said he always wanted to be a news anchor, maybe like Cronkite, I can't recall who his idol was. Note: not a journalist, not a newsman, but a t.v. news anchor. Well, for awhile, he did splendidly in that role, but I guess ultimately caught up in his own fantasies about the job.
Nothing new under the Sun. Don Henley wrote & Sung about in the good tune "Dirty Laundry" years ago now on his Tour in the Eighties "Building the perfect Beast!" that I saw on Boston Common: "The Bubbleheaded Bleach Blonde comes on at 5, She can tell you about the Plane Crash with a gleam in her Eye!" "Well I could've been an Actor , but I wound up here""I just have to look good I don't have to be clear"....
Leave it to the artists to put it best. Don Henley et al. not in my playlist, I'm more Billie Holiday.
ie. "If it bleeds it leads!!"Song aged pretty well 43 yrs. ago still just as relevant! "We all know Crap is King"
As I remember Brian Williams was all Style, and no Substance...! Didn't he also BS/ Lie like a Rug about being at News Scenes he was never at!?
Something about being aboard a helicopter that was shot at during Dumbya's Excellent Adventure I think, all in his imagination, or image buffing. The higher ups hesitated a bit on what to do with him, but soon did the right thing - hard to believe, huh? - and banished him to MSNBC at 11:00 pm I think, brought in Lester Holt. Last I heard Williams had left MSNBC to start some venture, apparently believing he still has a following.
XK: Thank you for refreshing my recollection disgusting really..! Especially from someone who was literally shot at before, and believe me you'd remember it, while on Duty in the City I worked for 20 yrs. as a Firefighter with a Crossbow. The Dart was found in our Pre-Connect attack lines in line w/ our Jump Seats when we returned to the Firehouse. There were other times as well when we were still on hot scenes before Police arrived. Part of the job & territory unfortunately. Its even more of a War out there now.
That last line is terrifying.
That last line is terrifying.
Speaker Mike Johnson was one of the recipients of the message sent Yesterday and checking my X feed tonight, I couldn't resist the segue and responded to the Speaker's X post.
Speaker Mike Johnson @SpeakerJohnson
The peaceful sunset outside my office window tonight is a reminder to me that God still has His hand of blessing over our nation. Thankfully, after 42 long days, we will soon get our vote to finally end the painful Democrat Shutdown — and get the American government open and operating again for the people.
Ray Joseph Cormier @RayJC_Com
Matthew 5:45 says God makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
As a Son of God, and a Canadian, The Kansas City Times was describing and quoting me as Americans were celebrating Revolution in 1976.
After the Republicans left town, The Times published these excerpts on September 13, 1976, "He came to town for the Republican National Convention and will stay until the election in November TO DO GOD'S BIDDING: To tell the World, from Kansas City, this country has been found wanting and its days are numbered [...] He gestured toward a gleaming church dome. “The gold dome is the symbol of BABYLON,” he said.” [...] He wanted to bring to the Public’s attention an “idea being put out subtly and deceptively” by the government that we have to get prepared for a War with Russia.”
That 1976 FUTURE is NOW with the Revelation of the details GENERALLY unfolding in the spirit of the letter.
The World is waking up to see Americans may hasten “its days are numbered” part of the 1976 Vision, and waits with bated breath.
This specific 'Prophecy,' is also in that September 13 Historical US Newspaper record, "There are 30 months before the fate of the world will be sealed with EITHER Destruction OR the Universal Brotherhood of Man,¨ he said.
¨The 30 month figure concerned a Treaty between Israel and Egypt¨
NOTE: This does not say Armageddon happens in 30 months from the 1976 article.
Exactly 30 months into the Future, a Treaty between Israel and Egypt was signed, THE CAMP DAVID ACCORD.
History shows talks broke down on the 12th day and no Treaty was to be signed. Begin and Sadat were leaving.
It was on the 13th Day, as in the date of the The Times 1976 article and the picture accompanying it, an unexpected window of opportunity appeared and opened the way for the Treaty to be signed. This signified the Universal Brotherhood part of the projection.
The February 1979 Iranian Revolution happened in the 29th month. The Israeli attack on Iran on June 13 with US Complicity is the Sign of The Times the Powers have chosen the DESTRUCTION option in the 1976 choice.
The Kansas City Times published a followup on ALL SOULS DAY, November 2, 1976, with evidence confirmed 7 years to the month later, when THE DAY AFTER Kansas City was incinerated in a Nuclear Holocaust was shown to the World on November 20, 1983.
Speaker Johnson, you were among the 100 + people from the White House, Cabinet Secretaries, Senators, Representatives, the Pope, other Religious Leaders and many others to get notice on X Yesterday of this: https://rayjc.com/2025/11/11/declaration-II-the-last-trump/
I was surprised to get this email from your Office later on Remembrance/Veterans Day.
Happy Veterans Day!
Office of Rep. Mike Johnson
To: Ray Joseph Cormier;
11/11/2025 19:07
I'm impressed your Office still had my email address because the last time I wrote to you via your embedded Office email system was on December 2, 2023 in response to this from you;
Response from Rep. Mike Johnson
To: Ray Joseph Cormier;
12/01/2023 15:15
Rep. Mike Johnson's Banner Image
Dear Mr. Cormier,
Thank you for contacting my office to express your concerns regarding the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your thoughts and concerns regarding issues that matter to you and our nation.
As you know, the United States has a longstanding and vital tradition of supporting Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East. The terrible images we have seen coming out of the October 7th attack on Israel are shocking. The deliberate murder and kidnapping of civilians are horrendous war crimes, which I have condemned in the strongest terms. My first act as Speaker of the House was to call up a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas’ brutal war against Israel and reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense. You will be pleased to know that resolution passed overwhelmingly in the House.
Hamas is clearly responsible for all the current suffering in Gaza after its unjustifiable atrocities. I will continue to be actively engaged on this issue, and I am committed to making sure that all hostages return home safely. Rest assured, I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress debates this matter and others that are important to Louisiana and our nation.
Again, thank you for reaching out to me with your opinions. If you would like to stay up to date on things going on in Congress, go to https://mikejohnson.house.gov/contact/subscribe.htm and sign up for my newsletter. Finally, please always feel free to contact my office at any time.
Sincerely,
Signature Image
Rep. Mike Johnson
Speaker of the House
It seems like history began and ended on October 7th, Ray. For Mike Johnson, at least.
Israel has the World believing and not questioning, there was no Israeli violence against Palestinians since 1948, that could have provoked Hamas to carry out October 7
Yesterday was one of the longest days in my 82 years sitting at my PC speaking Truth to Power for most of Remembrance/Veterans Day.
I replied to over 100 comments by several White House personalities & sections, many Cabinet Secretaries, Senators & House Representatives, Governors, the Pope, other Religious Leaders, Canadian Premiers, the PM, and other well known influential personalities as they randomly showed up in my X feed.
I've been on Twitter since 2013. With the identical message, Yesterday and Today I got 25 more followers, more re-posts and likes, like I never had before.
To reinforce the Remembrance Day message, (as in the Revelation of Jesus Christ 2:9 & 3:9-10) sent Yesterday in this Day After, this was directed to these people: @pontifex @realDonaldTrump @netanyahu @MarkJCarney
On November 11, when nations remember those sacrificed in war, the Final Word was delivered.
The World listen to what was Declared in the hearing of The Governor-General, Prime Minister, Military Brass, Ambassadors of the Nations and the Public, after the solemn silence, and after the 3 Abrahamic Religions prayed to God there should be no more War.
There was total silence after that as Dignitaries laid their wreaths at CanaDa’s National War Cenotaph 40 years ago in 1985.
This was not to condemn, but to awaken. The Leaders and Public are still asleep, sleepwalking on the Path to ARMAGEDDON/WWIII.
THE DECLARATION
Hear O people and Nations, even to the ends of the Earth, the Word of the LORD God, who is, and was, and is to come, The Almighty
The LORD has a controversy with the rulers of this age and the powers they serve.
Do you do well to honour the dead, and yet deny the God of the living?
Why do you follow the vain traditions of men, and make of no effect, the Principles of God?
You come here for one hour, one day a year, in a great show of public patriotism — and then forgetting, return to the same machinery of debt and war that devours our world.
Hitler is dead — but the spirit of supremacy and genocide lives, and the military-industrial-financial empire (the Dollar Beast) holds the world hostage tighter than it was in 1985.
Therefore, this is the Word of the LORD God: Cease your genocides. Dismantle your idols of debt and weaponry. Turn to the God of the Living before the living join the dead you mourn.
THE DECLARATION: Nov. 11, 1985
DECLARATION II – THE LAST TRUMP: Nov. 11, 2025
Those with eyes wide open can see the powers of this age, now hold the world hostage to greater wars — and the very rumours of war foretold 40 years ago.
To see the pictures and embedded links within the message, go here:
https://rayjc.com/2025/11/11/declaration-II-the-last-trump/