"The U.S. Is A Lawless Society Where The Criminals Get To Go Free But Underwear And Socks Are Locked Up"

"The U.S. Is A Lawless Society Where The Criminals

Get To Go Free But Underwear And Socks Are Locked Up"

by Michael Snyder

"We live in an environment of complete and utter lawlessness. When predators boldly roam the streets without fear but good people are literally afraid to leave their own homes, that is clearly a sign that our societal collapse has reached a very advanced stage. Even in the rare instances when they are actually caught and convicted, our system will still often allow violent criminals to go free. For example, a woman in California that was convicted of stabbing her boyfriend more than 100 times was given a sentence that didn’t include even a single day in prison…

"The family of a man who was murdered by his date after she stabbed him more than 100 times has voiced their outrage after the California woman was sentenced to just 100 hours of community service with no jailtime. Bryn Spejcher, 33, was given the lenient sentence after psychiatrists said the incident was ‘100 percent’ caused by cannabis-induced psychosis, which she suffered after taking two hits of the victim’s bong. The judge ruled Ms Spejcher ‘experienced a psychotic break from reality’ and ‘had no control over her actions’ when she killed Chad O’Melia, who was 26 years old at the time of his death, on Memorial Day weekend 2018."

This is America now. Our major cities have become places where literally anything goes, and that is particularly true for members of Generation Z. In fact, one recent survey discovered that about one-third of that entire generations openly admits that “they shoplift while cashing out at self-check”…"More than half of Gen Z shoppers prefer self-checkout lines - and would even switch their store of choice for the ease of self-serve kiosks, according to new data from Avery Dennison - but it’s not necessarily because they’re independent or introverted. In fact, one-third of the young shoppers admitted that they shoplift while cashing out at self-check. According to a recent LendingTree survey of 2,000 Americans, nearly half of Gen Z respondents said they steal the most expensive item from their cart, while only 37% said they would only lift necessities."

This is one of the reasons why self-checkout lanes are now being taken out at stores all over the nation. I certainly won’t miss self-checkout lanes. Honestly, I am not fond of them at all. Of course taking away self-checkout options won’t do much to stop the tsunami of theft that we are witnessing from coast to coast.

In Oakland, the very first In-N-Out Burger location ever established is being closed down because the crime in that particular neighborhood never stops…"The In-N-Out slated for closure is in a busy business corridor that attracts travelers headed to the airport and baseball fans who attend A’s games at the Coliseum. Since 2019, police have logged 1,335 incidents in the vicinity of the restaurant on Oakport Street - more than any other location in Oakland, the newspaper reported." They were far more patient than I would have been. Needless to say, I wouldn’t have waited for 1,335 crimes to be committed before shutting that restaurant down.

In San Francisco, KPMG is actually moving out of the KPMG building because conditions in the city have deteriorated so dramatically…"Accounting firm KPMG is set to move out of its $400 million namesake building, another high-profile exit from San Francisco’s beleaguered downtown. The consulting and accounting giant first leased space in the 25-story office tower when the building opened in 2002. Its name hangs above the entry to the skyscraper where the company currently occupies more than 100,000 square feet."

It comes as shoe store Alto prepares to exit San Francisco Centre, the city’s biggest mall, next week. Businesses and residents have fled downtown San Francisco since the pandemic with groups blaming crime, homelessness and work-from-home keeping people from downtown. It is easy to point a finger at the west coast, but things have gotten really crazy on the east coast as well.

As I discussed earlier this week, a CVS store in Washington D.C. is being permanently closed because teens would loot it multiple times per day…"A Washington D.C. CVS store is shutting its doors after being repeatedly ransacked by thieves, the chain has confirmed. The pharmacy, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, went viral last October when videos emerged of it totally stripped of all its products after being targeted by a teen gang. Staff claim more than 45 schoolkids would go into the store and steal chips and drinks in the morning, after their classes and late at night. It will close on February 29, according to WTTG-TV."

This is what a lawless society looks like. At this point, things are so bad that Walmart and Target “have begun locking up underwear and socks”…"Walmart and Target have begun locking up underwear and socks – the latest items to be protected against shoplifters. As thefts have surged over the past year, stores have been increasingly keeping items behind lock and key. But these have tended to be electronics and toiletries." As you can see, my headline was not an exaggeration at all. We really are locking up underwear and socks, and we really are allowing violent criminals to go free.

The thin veneer of civilization that we all depend upon on a daily basis is breaking down all around us, and you never know when someone will totally flip their lid and start shooting at you…"A Las Vegas pastor was murdered in front of his family following a feud with a neighbor over the chickens and dogs she kept in her property

A disturbing image shows the moment Grace Point Church pastor Nick Davi, 46, was fatally shot by his female neighbor Joe Junio, 36, who also wounded his wife Sarah Davi on December 29. The shooting happened after Junio had allegedly harassed the family for weeks, throwing feces on their backyard, flooding their home, and issuing threats after the Davis complained to the gated community’s homeowner’s association."

Now we are moving into the most chaotic election season in our entire history, and I believe that will usher in widespread chaos all over America. Our society is not ready for the changes that are coming. So I hope that you are doing your best to get prepared. If you think that our country is lawless now, just wait until you see what conditions will be like a couple of years from now. Social order is literally imploding right in front of our eyes, and life in America will never be the same as it once was."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"How It Really Is"

“My own view is that this planet is used as a penal colony, lunatic asylum and dumping ground by a superior civilization, to get rid of the undesirable and unfit. I can't prove it, but you can't disprove it either. It happens to be my view, but it doesn't challenge any of the findings of Darwin or Huxley or Einstein or Hawking.” - Christopher Hitchens

Greg Hunter, "CV19 Vax is Anti-Christ Technology"

"CV19 Vax is Anti-Christ Technology"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst and former Pfizer employee who has been reporting on the nightmare of the CV19 vax that she tagged as a bioweapon from the very beginning. She was the first to say the CV19 vax was created to hurt and kill people. She was one of the first to warn people not to take the CV19 vax. Kingston predicted that “vaccine” makers wanted to get people sick and then come up with new treatments to make money off the people they caused to get sick. She has been reporting on the nightmare of these “vaccines.” Kingston has new analysis on three important current stories that show people around the world are finally waking up to this crime against humanity. 

First stop Japan, where top doctors there are calling for all mRNA CV19 vaccines to be stopped now. Kingston says, “It’s always darkest before the dawn. It was two and a half years ago that I was on your show saying these were not biologics. They are advanced gene editing technology that are meant to cause disease, disability, infertility and death, and they need to be stopped to protect humanity and all lifeforms. Now, top professors and doctors out of Japan just did a national press conference where they said over six months, they have done a review of thousands and thousands of peer reviewed publications, and when you do that, you will find they are not biologics. The doctors and researchers found that those who say these are very good vaccines, basically, said you are fools, and you caused humanity to be thrown into this abyss of hell. They not only say do not give mRNA lipid nanoparticle to people, but they say this is the number one threat to the planet. I pointed out that this is truly demonic technology, and I was condemned. Recently, the Surgeon General of Florida called it the anti-Christ technology.”

Kingston also has been following the so-called “Pandemic Agreement” being pushed by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO). Kingston says, “They are working on the Pandemic Agreement, and they say they are not going to have any regard for human rights. 140 nations have come back and say we have amendments we want to make to it. They also want to manufacture the vaccines, and they want a piece of the profits. Bill Gates, Pfizer and the US government do not want to give up royalties, and I think they don’t want people to know what they were injected with. In this situation, I think greed may be good to quote Gordon Gekko.” In short, the “Pandemic Agreement” does not look like it is going to be approved and implemented. Martin Armstrong predicts the same outcome for the UN/WHO Pandemic Agreement.

Finally, an update on Ken Paxton’s (Texas Attorney General) case against Pfizer. Paxton is suing the company for fraud over their CV19 vax. Kingston says, “The most effective way to wake people up is to do a class action lawsuit. I think this is why the Texas lawsuit is so very important. As time goes by, people are going to be sitting at home, and they will see an ad that asks ‘Are you having heart complications, blood clotting, were you injected by a Pfizer vaccine? You may be entitled to a million dollars. Call 1-800-SUE PFIZER.’ That snaps the brain on. That gets people to say ‘wait a second.’ I think that is going to wake people up.” There is much more in the 1-hour and 6-minute in-depth interview.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with renowned biotech analyst Karen Kingston as she gives another update on the more than 14 billion global bioweapon mRNA/nanoparticle injections and why the Texas AG’s lawsuit against Pfizer will cause a CV19 vax great awakening for disabilities and murder.

- https://rumble.com/

"We Can't Ban Our Way To A Better World"

"We Can't Ban Our Way To A Better World"

by Charles Krblich

"Il nous faut de l’audace, encore de l’audace, toujours de l’audace!"

("We need audacity, more audacity, always audacity!")

- Georges Jacques Danton

"Just a short time ago, on a Saturday, before a flake of snow glistened in the air on the following Sunday, an imminent weather emergency caused New York Governor Kathy Hochul to “ban travel” and postpone the Steelers-Bills super Wild Card game until the following Monday. Certainly, severe weather is a legitimate reason to cancel or postpone events, and to stridently warn against travel during white-out conditions in a blizzard, but a travel ban?

Banning isn’t limited to travel during white-out conditions in blizzards though. It is truly a bipartisan pastime. Ban gas stoves; Ban gas-powered generators; Ban books; Ban misinformation; Ban fake news; Ban gender affirming care; Ban parents from being notified of gender transitions; Ban abortions; Ban the banning of abortions; Ban gasoline powered cars and trucks; Ban the unvaccinated; Ban the unmasked; Ban DEI; Ban gas boilers; Ban coal; Ban nuclear; Ban high-capacity magazines; Ban guns; Ban incandescent lightbulbs...

Those bans are just to fix all of society’s important problems, but there are presumably less important things that need banning as well. What would really help is banning honors classes to produce equity, banning youth tackle football, and even banning sledding! In Canada! If we pass just a few more laws that ban the things we don’t like and banish the people who support them, utopia will arrive and thou-shalt-not do anything.

Maybe you agree with some of these bans and maybe you disagree with others. Certainly if you have any political leanings at all, some of these bans will find your enthusiastic support and others your passionate fury. The most difficult position to hold is that none of these things should be banned, and people should largely be free to do as they please. That position infuriates everyone!

Yet it is clear beyond any doubt that bans simply don’t work. I was a child during the “Just Say No” anti-drug campaign. Drugs were banned, and yet always available. Chicago has banned guns for years and yet has incredibly high gun violence. We banned smiles, playgrounds, and normal personal interaction for years in order to ban Covid and we still catch Covid.

Ironically, it is the rebels who pay no attention to the bans that are often celebrated by history. This is true both in real life and in fictional epics familiar to everyone. In real life, the Russian Samizdat reproduced, often by hand, great works of literature like "Doctor Zhivago" and "The Gulag Archipelago." Much of their work was producing political texts and personal statements – editorials – that often criticized the Soviet Government and offered alternative solutions to the government’s handling of events. The members of the Samizdat faced severe punishment involving torture and death if they were caught, and we celebrate their courage today.

Fictionally, we celebrate the scrappy rebels in the "Star Wars" franchise, we root for Neo to win back humanity’s freedom from the scourge of the machines in the "Matrix" franchise, and we feel the passion and duty of Atticus Finch as he does the unthinkable in his society and defends a black man accused of raping a white woman because it’s the right thing to do.

There are so many more examples, but what is important is that in each example there are laws – either written or unwritten – that are being broken in service of true liberalism. In the Samizdat example, there are often steep personal costs paid, but the delusions of the Soviet state eventually faded and the members of the Samizdat became celebrated heroes rather than vicious criminals spreading misinformation.

In each of the stories there is inevitably a society, culture, or villain that is unbearably cruel and filled with hypocrisy and judgment. Whereas the villain wants complete control, abject anarchy, or the banishment of all non-conformers, the heroes always have the strength to follow their own conscience.

Isn’t this the world we live in? Both sides see themselves as the heroes resisting the unbearable cruelty and hypocrisy of the other. To quote Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "They don’t believe in science/progress and are very often misogynistic and racist. It’s a very small group of people, but that doesn’t shy away from the fact that they take up some space. This leads us, as a leader and as a country, to make a choice: Do we tolerate these people?"

What are the means and methods for not tolerating someone? Banishment is, of course, one of them, and thus bank accounts were frozen, disabled grandmothers assaulted, and rebel ringleaders jailed. The state does not need Gulags if on one hand they can approve of some riots but use unapproved protests to turn off your ability to bank, transact, work, and live with the flip of a switch.

The last few years have taught us how fast a person can be turned into swine and banished without remorse.

This moral dilemma is highlighted in one of the allegedly “banned” books. “Banned” because it has racist language, yet still freely available in every book store and on Amazon, there is a character who is a strict disciplinarian who often chastises the main character for his recklessness. She is on a mission to ban his audacity and wildness. She desires to “civilize” him. That is ultimately what banning is trying to bring about: one’s idea of proper civilization.

Yet civilization thrives in the cracks and margins, in the collective behavior of individuals striving to live the lives they desire despite their circumstances. The Samizdat copied the great literature because it was worthwhile, and in our “banned” book, our main character discovers his friend has been betrayed and will be returned to slavery if our character stands by idly.

So Huck Finn, who values his own sense of freedom more than anything, does what we all should do in the face of the “civilizers:” drop our pretenses and say, “All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” In doing so, he follows his gut instincts and makes one of the most important moral decisions of his life. Maybe, if we follow that example, we wouldn’t be so concerned with fixing society by banning things like sledding, and would in turn find the lost joy that lives in untamed audacity and recklessness."

- https://brownstone.org/

Paul Craig Roberts, "The Western World: RIP"

"The Western World: RIP"

by Paul Craig Roberts

"I have come to the depressing conclusion that the white ethnicities that constituted the nations of Western Civilization have degenerated into such insouciance and stupidity that they have no possibility of survival. They sit mindlessly in front of TV absorbing their brainwashing and indoctrination. They can’t pay their rent, mortgage or car payments, but they pay endlessly for care of immigrant-invaders who are overwhelming their communities with material needs.

In the US, North Carolina, once a Southern state, now an immigrant staging ground, has given over its high schools to serve as immigrant-invader “resettlement areas.” To Hell with the North Carolina taxpayers. Immigrant-invaders’ rights preempt those of North Carolina taxpayers, whose majority white population, according to the narrative, consists of white supremacist racists exploiters. https://thepostmillennial.com/

North Carolina has also, at taxpayers’ expense, built a campus for a “head’s start” program for children of immigrant invaders. The program takes over a former school property for NC American citizens. https://www.wect.com/

Wherever you look, you see the US welcoming at citizens taxpayer expense endless burdens from immigrant-invaders permitted to walk unheeded across the border into the Tower of Babel that the US has become. According to leaks, RINO Republican Senators are preparing an immigration bill that would force America to accept 1.8 million immigrant-invaders each year. Amazing to watch white people destroy their own country. https://dailycaller.com/

No one in America can do anything about it. Instead of stopping the invasion and over-running of the country, the US government commits endless American resources to defending the aggressively expansive borders of Israel and Ukraine, while Washington dismantles the barrier put in place to defend America’s borders. And the fool responsible for this policy is running for reelection as president with the media’s and America’s elites’ support.

In what remains of European ethnic countries, the director of the EU’s “border protection agency, Fronrtex,” Hans Leitjens, said that “nothing can stop immigrants.” What he means is that the EU will not stop immigrant-invaders from bringing the Camp of the Saints to all of Europe and perhaps to Russia as well, considering the weakness demonstrated by a government that could be ruling the world. https://www.infowars.com/

The dumbshit Hans Leitjens, obviously a proponent of Western annihilation, says that opposition to being overrun by immigrant-invaders constitutes “xenophobia and prejudice.” There you have it. If white ethnicities attempt to prevent their overthrow by invaders, they are xenophobic and racist.

How did so many white ethnicities get converted to a point of view that doesn’t serve them? "The English Suffer While Immigrant-invaders Are Housed in Hotels." This is what white people have learned to expect from “their” governments. https://www.rt.com/business/

Don’t you think it is strange that the world’s white ethnicities are prepared to commit lives and endless resources to protect the borders of Israel and Ukraine, but nothing to protect their own borders? How can people this totally stupid continue to exist?"

- https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/

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The American public, always fully and truthfully informed by their trustworthy 

government and main stream media, reacts as expected to the dire situation...

Adventures With Danno, "Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 1/28/24

"Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!

This Is Ridiculous! What's Next!?"

"In today's vlog, we are at Walmart and are noticing some outrageous price increases on groceries! This is not good as grocery prices have already reached an all-time high! It's getting rough out here as more and more families struggle to put food on the table!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Full screen recommended.

Travelling with Russell, AM 1/28/24

"Russian Typical Supermarket Tour:

 Would You Shop Here?"

"How does this Russian supermarket compare to shops where you live? With more than 20,000 locations in Russia, Pyatyorchka is Russia's most and well known popular supermarket."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

1 Ruble = 0.01114 USD, Jan 28, 2024

Canadian Prepper, "Imminent Nuke Deployments In Europe; Tanks in Texas? Lebanon-Israel War Starts In Days"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 1/27/24

"Imminent Nuke Deployments In Europe; 

Tanks in Texas? Lebanon-Israel War Starts In Days"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "Wow, Another Business Closed Forever; Costco Preps, Buy Now"

Full screen recommended.

Jeremiah Babe, 1/27/24

"Wow, Another Business Closed Forever;

Costco Preps, Buy Now"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"I Suddenly Realized..."

"This iconic photograph marks the end of the career of matador Álvaro Munero. In the midst of the battle, he suddenly repented and sat down at the edge of the field. Subsequently, in an interview, Alvaro will tell: “Suddenly I saw not horns, but the eyes of a bull. He stood in front of me and started looking at me. Just stood and watched, making no attempt to attack. The innocence that is in the eyes of all animals looks towards me with a plea for help. It was like a cry for justice and somewhere deep inside me, I suddenly realized that he was addressing me in the same way we address God in prayer: “I don't want to fight you, please leave me, because I have done nothing wrong to you. You can kill me if you want, kill me if you want, but I do not want to fight you." And I, reading it in his eyes, felt like the worst creature on earth. After that I became a vegetarian and stopped fighting bullfights." This story was published in 2012. After thousands of other foreign publications told about the case, millions of people learned about the matador Álvaro Munero, and this photo became one of the most recognizable."

- quora.com

A superb website, highly recommended!

"A 1960's Musical Interlude"

Mason Williams, "Classical Gas" (1968)

o

Full screen recommended.

Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue" (1968)

o

Jefferson Airplane, "White Rabbit" (1967)

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Cradled in cosmic dust and glowing hydrogen, stellar nurseries in Orion the Hunter lie at the edge of a giant molecular cloud some 1,500 light-years away. Spanning nearly 25 degrees, this breath-taking vista stretches across the well-known constellation from head to toe (top to bottom). The Great Orion Nebula, the closest large star forming region, is right of center. To its left are the Horsehead Nebula, M78, and Orion's belt stars. Red giant Betelgeuse is at the hunter's shoulder, bright blue Rigel at his foot, and the glowing Lambda Orionis (Meissa) nebula at the far left, near Orion's head. 

Of course, the Orion Nebula and bright stars are easy to see with the unaided eye, but dust clouds and emission from the extensive interstellar gas in this nebula-rich complex, are too faint and much harder to record. In this mosaic of broadband telescopic images, additional image data acquired with a narrow hydrogen alpha filter was used to bring out the pervasive tendrils of energized atomic hydrogen gas and the arc of the giant Barnard's Loop.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101023.html

“10 Things You Should Know About Life’s Most Important Questions”

“10 Things You Should Know About 
Life’s Most Important Questions”

by Marc Chernoff

"It’s a harsh fact that every one of us is ignorant in some way. Although we tend to pretend otherwise, it’s impossible to know it all. Ignorance is our biggest collective secret. And it’s one of the scariest and most damaging realities of life, because those of us who are most ignorant – and thus most likely to spread ignorance – are also the ones who often don’t know it.

Here’s a quick test: If you have never changed your mind about one of your learned beliefs, if you have never questioned the fundamentals of your opinions, and if you have no inclination to do so, then you are likely ignorant about something you think you know.

What’s the quickest solution? Get outside and find someone who, in your opinion, believes, behaves, and handles certain aspects of life very differently from you, and just have a simple, honest conversation with them. I promise, some of life’s most important questions will become clearer by doing so. And it will do both of you lots of good. Once you’ve done that, here are some key things to remember:

1. Many of the biggest misunderstandings in life could be avoided if we would simply take the time to ask, “What else could this mean?”

2. An expert is not a person who gives all the right answers; she’s the one who asks the right questions.

3. Very few of us actively seek new knowledge in this world on a daily basis. We get comfortable with what we know, and we stop questioning things. On the contrary, we try to squeeze from the unknown the answers we have already shaped in our own minds – judgments, justifications, validations, forms of consolation without which we might feel incomplete or off-center. To really ask something new is to open the door to the storm.  And the answer just may blow us away.

4. If someone can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about how they answer you.

5. Monsters do exist in the real world, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous in the long run. More dangerous are the common people with good intentions who are instantly ready to believe and act without asking questions.

6. At the end of the day, the questions you ask of yourself determine the type of person you will become.

7. Courage doesn’t happen when you have all the answers. It happens when you are ready to face the questions you have been avoiding your whole life. 

8. When it comes to your relationships: Does he/she treat you with respect at all times? That’s the first question. The second question is: If he/she remains the exact same person ten years from now, would you still want to be in a relationship with him/her? And finally, does he/she inspire to be a better human being? When you find someone that you can answer yes to all three questions, you know you’ve found yourself a relationship worth having.

9. Regardless of how much you know, or how many incredible questions you ask, you can never know it all. To believe that you do, is proof of the contrary. The wilderness around us always holds answers to more questions than we have yet learned to ask. And that’s a beautiful thing.

10. Although life will always be filled with unanswered questions, it’s the courage to seek the answers that counts – this journey is what gives life meaning.  Ultimately, you can spend your life wallowing in frustration and misery, wondering why you were the one who was chosen to deal with your problems, or you can be grateful that you are strong enough and smart enough to grow from them. 

Your turn: Be present and have patience with everything that remains unexplained in your heart and mind. Try to love life’s questions. Like locked doors or like good books written in foreign languages, respect their nature. Don’t expect all the answers to come easy. They cannot be given to you right now because your present understanding isn’t ready yet. It’s a question of experiencing everything first. Right now you need to hold on to the questions – explore, learn, and live your life. Perhaps, as you do, you will gradually find yourself experiencing the answers you always wanted.

So with that said, which of the reminders above hit home the most? Why? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and insights with us."

- http://www.marcandangel.com/

"You Cannot Shirk This..."

“Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your convictions is to be an unqualified and inexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may. If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have done your duty by yourself and by your country – hold up your head! You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

- Mark Twain

"There comes a time in every man's life when he has to choose sides. I have chosen my side. I am comfortable with my decision. I do not think everyone on my side is a saint, but I know that those on the other side are much, much worse. Sometimes a man with too broad a perspective reveals himself as having no real perspective at all. A man who tries too hard to see every side may be a man who is trying to avoid choosing any side. A man who tries too hard to seek a deeper truth may be trying to hide from the truth he already knows. That is not a sign of intellectual sophistication and 'great thinking'. It is a demonstration of moral degeneracy and cowardice."

- Steven Den Beste

"You Finally Find What You're After..."

"When we're headed toward an outcome that's too horrible to face, that's when we go looking for a second opinion. And sometimes, the answer we get just confirms our worst fears. But sometimes, it can shed new light on the problem, make you see it in a whole new way. After all the opinions have been heard and every point of view has been considered, you finally find what you're after - the truth. But the truth isn't where it ends, that's just where you begin again with a whole new set of questions."

- "Grays Anatomy"

Maya Angelou, "One Of The Greatest Inspirational Speeches Ever"

Full screen recommended.

Maya Angelou, 

"One Of The Greatest Inspirational Speeches Ever"

"Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014 was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes including racism, identity, family and travel."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Englewood, Ohio, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Our Alaric Moment"

"Our Alaric Moment"

by The ZMan

"If you were living in the Western Roman Empire in the fourth century you probably knew that things were not going well. This assumes that you were prosperous enough to have time to think about these things. You could see that the infrastructure was failing and that the empire was struggling to maintain order. On the other hand, the decline had been happening for a long time so things may have seemed normal. Without some way to compare the present to the past, you only have instinct.

Today we have mountains of facts and figures to tell us how things are doing in the Global American Empire. There was a time not so long ago when these facts and figures made up the bulk of news coverage. Economists became court wizards, explaining the latest unemployment figures or trade numbers. They were also called upon to bless whatever polices were being debated in Congress. In the Obama years, economic data was the way we measured the glories of the empire.

That has all changed now. One reason is no one in their right mind takes anything the government says at face value. People had grown used to the way the media biased the numbers depending upon who was in office, but the mortgage crisis cratered the public’s confidence in the numbers themselves. If all of the court wizards explaining the numbers could not see the mortgage fiasco coming, then why should anyone believe them about unemployment or inflation?

Then you have the general lying that has become a feature of government. The lying about Covid not only disgraced the medical profession, but it finished off whatever trust people had in the official numbers. If the government lies about how many people are dying from Covid just to move more product for the drug makers, the government will lie about how many people are working or the inflation numbers. No one trusts the numbers because no one trusts the people issuing the numbers.

The point here is we cannot trust the numbers if the numbers have no relationship to anything we have experienced. When the end of the world has the same numbers as what most consider to be a golden era for the empire, those numbers cease to have any meaning to us. Throw in the fact that most people do not feel like they are richer than their ancestors and those inflated stock figures carry even less weight. We are left to rely on our instincts to judge things.

Of course, our sense of things, that gut feeling, is the result of a many small things that we experience every day. Three-quarters of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction because they go to the grocery store every week. They see that despite the crowing about inflation coming down, food remains expensive. Granted, no one is starving in America due to a lack of affordable food, but it is that thing they see every day that gives people a sense of things.

Think about something simple like a pint of premium ice cream. A few years ago, a pint was sixteen ounces. “A pint is a pint the world around” was true from peak of the British empire until just a few years ago. Now a pint is fourteen ounces. The price for the new pint is not the same as the old pint. The price is more than the old pint. A few years ago, the old pint of ice cream was five dollars. That is about 31¢ per ounce. Today the new pint is over seven dollars or 51¢ per ounce.

That is a seventy percent change in the price. This is one example and probably not a representative one, given that butterfat prices drive dairy prices. Even so, this is something people see all over the marketplace. Shrinkflation is a word because it is a thing that exists. People notice that the containers are getting smaller, or they are getting less full in the case of things like snacks. Meanwhile, prices go up. This subtly tells people that something is going wrong.

This brings us back to where we started. There were those in the Roman Empire who sensed the true state of affairs. No doubt some of them lived and died expecting things to fall apart, only to stagger on long past their time. Then there were others who internalized this reality and just accepted that no matter how grim things might appear, the empire was a permanent feature of life. The people probably just tried to make the best of things, even as they noticed the decline.

All of that changed on August 24, 410 AD when Alaric led the Visigoths into the eternal city, sacking Rome and setting off the collapse of the Western empire. The empire staggered on for a bit longer, but it was over at that point. All of those bad signs people had sensed probably seemed obvious in retrospect. Even so, the sack of Rome by the Visigoths was a shock to the world. The signs seemed obvious, but people still thought that the imperial order was permanent.

This is most likely the fate of the American empire. There are lots of signs that things are going poorly for the empire. Getting whipped by a collection of bronze age goatherds in the graveyard of empires should have been a wakeup call, but the empire is now picking fights with Russia and China. Meanwhile things deteriorate domestically, both economically and culturally. Yet, we stagger on, but somewhere out there is an Alaric moment just waiting to happen."

- https://thezman.com/

o

"The Decline and Fall of the American Empire"

"The Very Idea..."

"In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth is dredged up only as a final resort when the

alternative options of deception, threat and bribery have all been exhausted."

- Michael Musto

"The Goths – Ancient Rome’s Migrant Crisis"

"The Goths – Ancient Rome’s Migrant Crisis"

by Martin Armstrong

"The globalists refuse to declare the migrant crisis an “invasion,” but we have history’s guidance to show us what happens when an unsustainable number of people enter a nation. The Goths, a non-military group considered migrants, are a perfect example. These men, women, and children sought refuge within the Roman Empire. This was not an invading army but rather a fleeing population seeking safety from the Huns. The Goths, long-time foes of the Romans, appealed to be admitted to Roman territory due to the threat they faced and needed to seek asylum. This event led to significant consequences and marked a turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.

The great Gothic migration involved hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children. While, to some degree, the growing unrest in the East pushed them southward, there is also little doubt that the border defenses of the Roman Empire had also been seriously weakened by the political instability and economic pressures that were building within Rome itself. Of course, the rumor of great plunder and riches available in Roman territory acted like a magnet much in the same way as the rumors of streets paved in gold in America prompted great European migrations during the 19th and early 20th centuries or the outdated stereotype of the American Dream.

By 238 AD, the Gothic position was so threatening to the Roman Empire that Emperor Maximinus was forced to pay them vast amounts of tribute, similar to how countries currently pay all expenses for migrants. While his aim may have been to buy time, this demonstrated weakness on the part of the Romans, who were still in the middle of internal political struggles for power. Internal imperial rivalries ultimately defeated Maximinis. Within less than four years thereafter, the Goths began a series of raids along the Danube.

A decade later and Philip I attempted to quell the influx of migrants, but died while battling his successor, Trajan Decius. Rome was simply decaying gradually from internal struggles, which weakened the economy and constantly pitted one legion against another in a struggle for power. We see internal struggles today throughout the West as politics continue to divide the people. The Romans did not consider the Goths to be a force that would threaten the entire Empire, but rather more as a barbarian force looking for plunder rather than power.

Trajanus Decius declared the Goths an enemy and attempted to force them out of the empire, only for the masses to return a year later. The Goths were prepared this time and formed several strategic alliances with enemies, such as the Dacian Carpi. This led to a full-scale invasion, and the Roman Empire suddenly found itself besieged as war raged on in Moesia, Dacia, and even in Thrace, while the main body of the Gothic invasion was preparing a descent into the region of the Black Sea.

After many battles, the Goths emerged as the new masters of the entire Danube territory, all the way to the Black Sea. Trebonianus Gallus emerged as the new Emperor who could do nothing to reverse the Empire’s humiliating defeat. The Goths now turned to Illyricum and Thrace, burning and plundering their way across the region. By 253 AD, the Goths set sail along the Black Sea, headed straight for Asia Minor, which was wide open and waiting to be plundered.

The Roman Empire was declining until Emperor Aurelian came to power and began restorative efforts, including anti-immigration policies. He not merely launched defensive measures, he moved on the offensive against the Goths and demolished them through a series of battles. The Goths were driven out of the Balkans and into Dacia. Aurelian also greatly restored the Black Sea defenses, which helped those regions rebuild their economies as well. However, Aurelian failed to pursue the barbarians into the Roman province of Dacia, pulling back and establishing the new border once again along the natural border as originally defined by Augustus – the Danube.

Aurelian’s decision to redraw the borders left Dacia in the hands of the Carpi and the Goths. Once the Goths were contained, they began to divide into two distinct groups – Ostrogothic and Visigothic kingdoms. These groups would evolve into powerful states that would ultimately bring down the Roman Empire in the West.

Those in favor of the Gothic migration stated that the newcomers would increase tax revenue and benefit the Roman economy. It was a humanitarian crisis and Rome’s responsibility to solve. Instead, the unsustainable influx of Gothic refugees contributed to the eventual fall of the Western Roman Empire. The event marked a turning point in Roman history and was part of a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressures of invasion, civil war, plague, and economic depression. History always repeats."

- https://www.armstrongeconomics.com

"How It Really Was"

We all know the rest of the story...

Dan, I Allegedly, "These Are The Good Times"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 1/27/24

"These Are The Good Times"

"What if this is as good as the economy is going to get? These are the good days. You have to expect things to take a turn from here and know that this is as good as it’s going to get for many people."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Carly Simon, "Anticipation"

"These are the good old days..."

- https://www.youtube.com/playlist

"Texas Has Been Warned; Are We Heading To Civil War 2.0?"

Practical Preparedness, 1/27/24

"Texas Has Been Warned; 

Are We Heading To Civil War 2.0?"

"Texas has defied a direct order. 25 states are defending them.

 What is going on at the Southern border?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Fox Business, 1/26/24

"Take Our Border Back: 

700K Trucks Will Take Part In Border Convoy"

"Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, details plans for a multi-day 

trucker convoy showing support for Texas' right to self defense."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"War? 25 Red States Rally 'Round Texas 

As Battle Brews With Biden Over Border"

o

"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." - "Declaration Of Independence"

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_revolution

o

"The Declaration of Independence"

"A Classic Musical Interlude: Righteous Brothers, "Unchained Melody", Live

Full screen recommended.

Righteous Brothers,

 "Unchained Melody", Live

I'd never seen this performed live before. Wonderful... Enjoy!

Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Loving Touch"

Full screen recommended.

Deuter, "Loving Touch"

Beautiful...

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile star fields of the constellation Cepheus. Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully cataloged as NGC 7023 this is not the only nebula in the sky to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this remarkable image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries in impressive detail. Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star.

The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the dusty clouds glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula may contain complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about six light-years across.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120929.html

"And The Hell Of It Is..."

“You go up to a man, and you say, “How are things going, Joe?” and he says, “Oh fine, fine... couldn’t be better.” And you look into his eyes, and you see things really couldn’t be much worse. When you get right down to it, everybody’s having a perfectly lousy time of it, and I mean everybody. And the hell of it is, nothing seems to help much.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

"People are sad. People are broke. People are worried about money, people are worried that they're not enough and not amounting to anything and they don't feel good about themselves. People have rough times, and everybody's pretending it's not true, and we need to break that veneer." - Eve Ensler

Epic Economist, "15 Critical Items To Stockpile For The Coming US Blackout"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 1/26/24

"15 Critical Items To Stockpile 

For The Coming US Blackout"

"Empower your US blackout survival strategy here! Explore essential items to stockpile, from water to flashlights. Stay connected with emergency radios and solar-powered chargers. Dive into the risks of power cuts and discover solutions like backup generators and sustainable energy. Stay aware of the situation - thrive during outages with expert insights."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Lubbock, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Gregory Mannarino, "Alert! Alert! Alert! Banks Are Running Out Of Cash, Get UnBanked Now!"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 1/26/24

"Alert! Alert! Alert! 

Banks Are Running Out Of Cash, Get UnBanked Now!"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Poet: Theodore Roethke, “The Geranium”

“The Geranium”

“When I put her out, once, by the garbage pail,

She looked so limp and bedraggled,

So foolish and trusting, like a sick poodle,

Or a wizened aster in late September,

I brought her back in again

For a new routine -

Vitamins, water, and whatever

Sustenance seemed sensible

At the time: she’d lived

So long on gin, bobbie pins, half-smoked cigars, dead beer,

Her shriveled petals falling

On the faded carpet, the stale

Steak grease stuck to her fuzzy leaves.

(Dried-out, she creaked like a tulip.)

The things she endured!

The dumb dames shrieking half the night

Or the two of us, alone, both seedy,

Me breathing booze at her,

She leaning out of her pot toward the window.

Near the end, she seemed almost to hear me -

And that was scary -

So when that snuffling cretin of a maid

Threw her, pot and all, into the trash-can,

I said nothing.

But I sacked the presumptuous hag the next week,

I was that lonely.”

- Theodore Roethke

"Grave Faults..."

“Only the following items should be considered to be grave faults: not respecting another's rights; allowing oneself to be paralyzed by fear; feeling guilty; believing that one does not deserve the good or ill that happens in one's life; being a coward. We will love our enemies, but not make alliances with them. They were placed in our path in order to test our sword, and we should, out of respect for them, struggle against them. We will choose our enemies.”

- Paulo Coelho, "Like the Flowing River"

"Be Open Minded..."