"Return Of The Wolfman"
by Bill Bonner
"Homo homini lupus."
– Latin proverb, meaning “Man is wolf to man.”
POITOU, FRANCE – "We saw a strange beast early this morning. Driving to the train station, an animal slouched onto the road ahead of us. At first, we thought it was a wild boar. There are a lot of them in the area. Then, it saw us coming and dashed back into the woods. But it was taller and longer than the typical boar, and it moved more like a dog than a pig. “It was a wolf,” concluded a neighbor. “We found one dead on the railroad tracks a few months ago. They’re all over France now.”
In the mid-20th century, this area became a major producer of sheep. But only after wolves were exterminated. Now, with the wolf making a comeback, will the sheep be next to go? Readers may want to keep that in mind… as we consider the affairs of men in the next few hundred words. In short, the wolfman is back…
Lunar Lunacy: Usually, civilized life goes on in a give-and-take, live-and-let-live kind of fashion. But sometimes, when the moon is full, people go a little mad; they grow furry ears and long teeth. That’s what happened in the early 20th century… first with the Bolsheviks… then the National Socialists (Nazis). In each case, a determined group – often very small at the beginning – believed that it had the one and only TRUTH… and that all others must bend to it. Or else…
Then, as the howling grows louder, and the predators get control of the government, other groups are eager to join. The media is first; it wishes to be part of the glorious new future. Politicians, bureaucrats, opinion mongers, view shapers – none wants to be left behind. Religious groups and nonprofits join the pack; they begin to see how the new faith connects to their old one. And business – partly trying to protect itself… and partly trying to gain special privileges – soon takes its place among the beasts.
Even ordinary people, who might otherwise get on with their own honest and dignified lives, are inspired to snarl and yelp. And then, the whole lot of them are headed for trouble. And now, as the moon grows brighter… is that a dog we hear… or a wolf?
Cancel Culture: Let us begin with the supposition that almost everything we hear in the news is either a lie or a fraud. Of course, we will be wrong occasionally, but probably not often. The public has better things to do (idly scrolling through Facebook!) than trying to understand the issues in any depth. Besides, reporters are too lazy – and have little incentive – to dig beneath the popular narrative to find out what is really going on. And anyone who dares try to put forward a contrary view is quickly censured.
Recall that Donald Trump – who won more votes than any Republican in history – was cut off from Twitter; the company didn’t like his views of the election results. (Note that we offer no opinion as to the election results themselves… We just call attention to the extraordinary situation in which a major public figure is censured for his views.)
Just in the last few days, Senator Rand Paul was cut off from YouTube after he cited studies critical of mask mandates… and blasted the censors for cutting others off. The video sharing platform also tried to remove Dr. Dan Stock’s speech on the virus to the Mount Vernon Community School Corporation in Indiana after it went viral. That is to say, YouTube tried to take it down because people wanted to see it… and because it had the wrong point of view.
You might say, “YouTube is a private company. It can do what it wants.” Which is perfectly okay with us, too. We’re just exploring a phenomenon here, not arguing about the law. If we’re right, America’s “private” sector and its most important institutions have been corrupted by public sector money. The press asks no “hardball” questions. The universities no longer teach people how to think; they teach them WHAT to think. Businesses have figured out that it’s the feds who butter their bread.
Preposterous Policies: Returning to the legal issue, last year, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz made the remarkable claim that people “have no right not to be vaccinated.” What kind of Brave New World is this? People have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but not to decide what is put into their bodies? What kind of world is it where private companies act as censors for the feds?
And how come the press goes along with some of the most intrusive and preposterous government policies in history – the trillion-dollar deficits… stimmy checks… the invasion of Iraq… the COVID-19 shutdowns…?
Real Mischief: Yes, Dear Reader, people seem to go mad from time to time. And now, you can start a war and kill thousands of women… and then go on to a comfortable retirement berth as an elder statesman (George Bush Jnr.). But pinch just one woman (or more) on the derrière, and your career is sunk (Andrew Cuomo).
You can tell all the lies you want (Petraeus, Flynn, Milley, Mattis, et al.)… and move on to a rich reward at Raytheon or Lockheed Martin… but tell the truth just once, and you’ll go to jail (former National Security Agency intelligence analyst Daniel Hale).
You can print trillions of fake dollars and you will become the most admired public servant since Pontius Pilate (Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell)…but try to pass off just one fake $20 bill, and the police will kill you (George Floyd).
The media condemned Floyd’s killer – even before trial! – but it never once raised doubts about the system that was fatal to him. Instead, it went after the soft target – the alleged “racism” of others, the Trumpian white trash – and gave a pass to the furry elite’s real mischief – militarizing the police… the War on Drugs… the War on Poverty… punishing savers… eliminating good-paying jobs… and shifting $30 trillion to itself by backstopping the stock market and funding its pet projects.
Today, we come to no conclusion. We just note that the moon, big and yellow already, is waxing…and trouble is afoot."
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