"Bamboozeled..."

"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back." - Carl Sagan

Always fully and truthfully informed by their government
and mass media, deeply concerned Americans
react as expected to disastrous economic and social news...

"Because..."

"There is much asked and only so much I think I can or should answer, and so, in this post I would like to give a few thoughts on what seemed to be the overwhelming question: "WHY?" And here is the best answer I can give: Because. Because sometimes, life is damned unfair. Because sometimes, we lose people we love and it hurts deeply. Because sometimes there aren't really answers to our questions except for what we discover, the meaning we assign them over time. Because acceptance is yet another of life's "here's a side of hurt" lessons and it is never truly acceptance unless it has cost us something to arrive there. Why, you ask? Because, I answer. Inadequate yet true."

- Libba Bray

"The Writing on the Wall"

"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders - what would you tell him to do?"

"I... don't know. What could he do? What would you tell him?"

"To shrug."

- Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged"

"The Writing on the Wall"

by Jeff Thomas

"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors -when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed.

Ayn Rand; "Atlas Shrugged," 1957

"Pretty strong words… the last four, in particular. Ayn Rand knew whereof she spoke. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1905, she became politically conscious while still a child and did not favor the existing concept of constitutional monarchy. So, it would not have been surprising if, when the Russian revolution broke out when she was twelve, she bought into the proselytizing of Vladimir Lenin, as so many did at that time.

Instead, she quickly surmised that the Bolsheviks’ claim to improve life for the average man was, in reality, a plan to diminish the quality of life for all of the people. In doing so, the Bolsheviks confiscated her father’s business and displaced her family. At one point they were nearly starving, but in 1925, she received permission to emigrate to the US. (She later attempted to get her parents and sisters out, but it proved to be too late.)

A Lesson Hard-Learned: In establishing her now well-known beliefs in governmental systems, Ayn Rand had the benefit of having observed the entire progression from a relatively benign monarchical system to totalitarianism. As a result, she not only learned that political leaders can be deceitful in their claims for social improvement, she also learned, first hand, that those leaders (and/or hopeful leaders) who promise that they are going to change the system in such a way that everyone will "have all they need," are the most deceitful of all.

In my opinion, the greatest possible threat from the fanciful claims by politicians lies in the willingness of the populace to actually believe such claims. Sadly, it does seem as though the majority of people in any country tend to be extraordinarily gullible in this regard.

The very idea that some method can be found that would make it possible to equalize all people is patently ludicrous. There will always be differences in intellect, talent, and ambition from one individual to the next. The idea that any government should somehow enforce the more gifted or more motivated to continually give up the fruits of their efforts, whilst giving those fruits to others who are less gifted and less motivated is, by definition, unworkable.

The Obvious Choice: Such an idea, whether we consider it laudable or not, cannot ultimately succeed. The most that can be expected is that the idea could successfully be enforced, which would result, eventually, in the gifted and motivated ceasing to make the necessary effort to excel. And, of course, in socialist countries, this is what, over time, we see take place. There is a direct relationship between the degree of "redistribution" by the government and the decline in effort by the gifted or motivated.

Still, there will always exist those who are less gifted or less motivated who will want to believe that political leaders can somehow make this impossible concept a reality. And of course, these people can fully be expected to vote for, or otherwise support, those who make such empty promises.

Therefore, the realization that should be taken away from this discussion is that, over time, it is perfectly predictable that a given government might ultimately go in a direction of self-destruction, as it will be likely to pander to the majority, who seek such largesse at the expense of others.

What then, of the minority? What of those who are in that group of more gifted or more motivated people - the ones that do, historically, tend to push a society forward with their abilities and efforts? They have a choice. They can "go with the flow," should the country in question go into social and political decline; they can accept it and try to muddle through, as did Ayn Rand’s parents after the revolution. Or they can vote with their feet, as did Rand herself.

The results of these choices are plain: Zinovy and Anna Rosenbaum disappeared into Soviet obscurity, whilst daughter Ayn escaped to become a novelist in a freer and more inspiring country: the US. This scenario repeated itself in Germany and Austria in the 1930s, when such notables as Albert Einstein, Friedrich Hayek, and Ludwig Von Mises made their exits to the US, England, and Switzerland, respectively.

The Writing Is on the Wall: And so it has gone, throughout history. When the writing is on the wall that "the society is doomed," most people invariably stick it out where they are, hoping either that "things will get better," or at least, that "it won’t get too much worse."

In George Orwell’s 1945 book, "Animal Farm," the pigs convinced the other animals to revolt against the farmer, whom the pigs claimed was oppressing them. When the revolution succeeded, the animals proudly painted the words, "All animals are equal" on the barn. Later, under cover of darkness, the pigs changed the wording to, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others." This was literally the writing on the wall - the signal that the moment had arrived when the animals should have either overthrown the pigs or, if that was not possible, hopped the fence and skedaddled.

In real life, making this decision is quite a bit more difficult. However, it can be said that Ayn Rand made the task simpler for us. In the quote above, she offers the "writing on the wall." It only remains to us to decide whether the point she describes has been reached. We can assume that, if we are presently living in a country that matches her description, and it remains possible at present to make an exit, as she did in 1926, we would be well advised to do so. Certainly, her parents mistakenly waited longer, and young Ayn was the only one who escaped the Soviet Union.

We cannot control the obsessive behaviour of tyrants. They will forever be amongst us, and the majority of people do tend to "go along" in the end, either through ignorance or in the false belief that they will somehow benefit from such tyranny. Our one choice, therefore, is the one that was faced by Ayn Rand and her parents. They chose differently and their fates could not have diverged more as a result."

- https://internationalman.com/

o

"Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard - the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money - the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue. In a moral society, these are the criminals, and the statutes are written to protect you against them. But when a society establishes criminals-by-right and looters-by-law - men who use force to seize the wealth of disarmed victims - then money becomes its creators' avenger. Such looters believe it safe to rob defenseless men, once they've passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter.

Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion - when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed." An excerpt from “Atlas Shrugged,” by Ayn Rand.

Full text of “Francisco’s Money Speech” is here:

- https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/

Freely download "Atlas Shrugged", by Ayn Rand, here:

- https://archive.org/

"How It Really Is"

 

Dan, I Allegedly, "Is Buying a Home Still Worth It?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/15/24

"Is Buying a Home Still Worth It?"

It is amazing that people are going to buy a home. 

Is it still worth it? Should you just rent?

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Bill Bonner, "The Resistance"

"The Resistance"

Nations, clubs, tribes - almost all forms of human associations - need their 

unifying myths. None are absolutely true. But some are more un-true than others.

by Bill Bonner

Poitou, France - "Victors write history. And they give themselves leading roles in it. Then, with only their own lies for reference, they turn into numbskulls.

Immediately after WWII, US officers interviewed captured German soldiers as well as the civilian population. They were amazed to find almost none said they were Nazis. Within weeks after their surrender, the Nazis had vanished from German history. Most people said they were always against them... and only put on uniforms, or otherwise supported the war effort, because they had to.

Likewise, in France, after a short period of score settling and collaborator-shaming, visitors discovered that almost everyone had been a member of the French resistance - apparently, the whole population had been bravely fighting the German usurpers. And so it was that yesterday, France’s national holiday, the flags unfurled and the ‘anciens combattants’ assembled in our little village to honor the local heroes of the resistance, 1940-1945.

Source: Bill Bonner

The old soldiers - there couldn’t have been more than a dozen of them - were appropriately bedecked with campaign ribbons. There were veterans of the Indo-China wars (in which the French fought to avoid Vietnamese independence)... and there were veterans of the Algerian war (in which France tried to keep the Algerians on the leash). The last WWII veteran from the village must have already bit the dust; none were present.

Still on hand, however, was a doughty WWII-era Jeep. There was no marching band to head up the procession; instead, the Jeep led the way, with a speaker mounted on the back. As another reminder of America’s lost industrial might, two GMC trucks, also of WWII vintage, joined the promenade.

Source: Bill Bonner

At precisely 11:15, someone turned on the music and the parade began. Flags waving, the mayors, prefects, gendarmes, and local big-wigs... all set out down the little lane towards the center of town, trailed by a solemn crowd of gawkers and patriots. Arriving at the town square, the officials lined up according to rank... the goodest and greatest in the front... the lesser grades behind them... and the hoi polloi, including your editor, on the fringes.

There must be some law that requires public officials to speak at events such as these but forbids them from saying anything meaningful. We heard from politicians, military leaders, and local busybodies. All had the same message; that if it had not been for the courage and determination of the “maquis” (resistance fighters with their headquarters hidden in the woods, whom the Germans saw as ‘terrorists’) France would not be the free country it is today... and we’d be listening to speeches in German, drinking beer rather than wine, and paying our bills on time.

But WWII, like WWI, was won by manpower and firepower. The resistance fighters had very little of either. As for becoming more like the Germans, the French lost the Franco-Prussian War in 1870; after the surrender, no attempt was made to change the language, drinking preferences, or credit scores. France boomed, quickly paying its war debts – in gold.

But nations, clubs, tribes - almost all forms of human associations - need their unifying myths. None are absolutely true. But some are more un-true than others. Surveys show both Americans and Brits, by large majorities, believe that it was their own soldiers who defeated Hitler. But it is not even close to the truth. The Soviet Union pulled off a remarkable ‘double envelopment’ at Stalingrad and wiped out 800,000 German, Italian, Hungarian and Romanian troops. After that, German forces were fighting a losing battle... with an incompetent fantasist as their commander-in-chief.

Back in France, a majority of the population supported the Vichy government and its peaceful settlement with the Germans. Many people hoped the Germans would win the war against the Soviets, whom they regarded as a worse menace. And among the ‘maquis,’ confusion, violence, and claptrap ran wild. In the countryside around here, the WWII era was a dark episode... and all the cats were gray.

“It really was not much like they pretend it was,” says an 87-year-old friend. “The best organized of the resistance groups were the communists. They didn’t take their orders from de Gaulle in London, but from Stalin in Moscow. And they hated anyone they regarded as ‘bourgeois.’ There were also groups of thieves... and some far-right militia. So, when armed men came to your house, you didn’t know who they were or what they would do. Sometimes they would just steal your car... saying they were commandeering it for the resistance. But sometimes it was much worse.

They rounded up a group of people from [the neighboring town] and executed them. For a long time, we didn’t know what had happened to them, but then their bodies were found in the river. Nobody seemed to know who had done it, or why. And my neighbors up the road... they would never talk about it, but the maquis came and apparently did unspeakable things. The daughter, who was a teenager at the time, was never quite right after that.” Stay tuned..."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "Trump's Now Lock On The Presidency Presents Massive Opportunity"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/15/24

"Trump's Now Lock On The Presidency Presents

 Massive Opportunity. Complete Outline"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Economic Market Snapshot 7/15/24"

"Economic Market Snapshot 7/15/24"

○

Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...

Only the consequences are real - to you!

○

"It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it. 

You and I are not in the Big Club."

- George Carlin

o

Market Data Center, Live Updates:

- https://www.marketwatch.com/market-data 

○

- https://www.asktraders.com/analysis/

○

Comprehensive, essential truth.

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

○

Financial Stress Index

"The OFR Financial Stress Index (OFR FSI) is a daily market-based snapshot of stress in global financial markets. It is constructed from 33 financial market variables, such as yield spreads, valuation measures, and interest rates. The OFR FSI is positive when stress levels are above average, and negative when stress levels are below average. The OFR FSI incorporates five categories of indicators: credit, equity valuation, funding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United States, other advanced economies, and emerging markets."

○

- https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/

Job cuts and much more.

○

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

○

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

○

- https://wallstreetonparade.com/

○

- https://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

○

- https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

○

Commentary, highly recommended:

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

○

"The more I see of the monied classes,

the better I understand the guillotine."

- George Bernard Shaw

○

Oh yeah... beyond words. Any I know anyway...

○

And now... The End Game...

o

"Larry C. Johnson & former FBI HRT Sniper Chris Whitcomb on the Failed Assassination of Donald Trump"

Dialogue Works 7/14/24

"Larry C. Johnson & former FBI HRT Sniper Chris Whitcomb 

on the Failed Assassination of Donald Trump"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 7/15/24

"Judge/Johnson/McGovern: 

Assassination Attempt of Donald Trump"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jim Kunstler, "Shocks to the System"

"Shocks to the System"

by Jim Kunstler

“Trump is brushing off assassin’s bullets like dirt off his shoulder, racking up a mile long rap sheet of the fakest & gayest felonies known to man, chased through civil court by crazy-eyed harridans deranged by how horny he makes them. Joe Biden has jello for supper at 4pm.”

 - Aimee Terese on “X”

"Dear Hitler,' “Joe Biden” wrote his personal note of condolence Saturday night. 'So sorry to hear that you were inconvenienced by loud noises in PA, where I grew up in the black church. Chris Wray tells me that fine people may be behind it. Will keep you in the loop. Get well soon!"

Here’s some more consolation: The New York Times reports this morning that the FBI is looking into the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life as “possible domestic terrorism.” One must ask: are they trying to shed new light on this event, or just blowing more smoke up America’s ass - because that has been the FBI’s specialty for at least the past eight years. We’ll know if they take the definitive step of labeling the act a “hate crime.”

The weakness of narrative-tweaking is beginning to show. The amazing part is that only the elite thinking class of Americans fell for it, exactly the demographic that hangs on every word in The New York Times. The Deplorables out there in Flyoverland delivering Froot Loops to the Piggly-Wiggly and driving fork-lifts around the Amazon warehouse apparently never bought the narrative bullshit generated by the Media-Blob Industrial Complex. You’d hate to suppose that thinking is overrated. Or is it just a certain kind of thinking?

Try as you might to locate some malign, overweening, scheming cabal behind all the trips laid on our country, the truth is probably much simpler: set out on a journey defined by one lie, and then tell a lie to cover the first lie, and then another, and pretty soon you’re lying all over the place about everything until reality gets obliterated. This is exactly what started in 2016 when Hillary Clinton sought to cover up her email and private server scandal with the Russia collusion hoax.

Have you forgotten how entrenched the FBI, CIA, and other agencies dug themselves in on that? It began as dumb-ass insinuation that Donald Trump was a Russian agent, but the FBI turned itself into fantasy factory when they ran with story. They manufactured one sub-plot after another, most of it comically absurd, like the entrapment of General Flynn for having a conversation with the Russian ambassador — as if foreign countries send ambassadors here for some other purpose than communicating with our government officials. Tell me, you Harvard grads who devour The New York Times every morning with your turmeric and wheat-grass detox smoothies: should an incoming White House National Security Advisor not speak with envoys from other lands?

So, following the election of 2016, scores of government officials from Barack Obama and Joe Biden on down set out to wreck Mr. Trump’s turn in office, and ran one hoax after another to disable and dislodge him, and each hoax was a battery of lies begetting more lies. The style of thinking behind all that is called unprincipled. Many of these lies entailed crimes, some of them gigantic frauds perpetrated on the citizenry such as the ballot-stuffing operation that jammed “Joe Biden” into office - and which you were not permitted to speak of on penalty of cancellation and prosecution.

By 2020, “Joe Biden” had racked up enough bribes from foreign lands that he was susceptible to blackmail and thus to manipulation. That his mind was failing through his entire term only made that easier. Both “Joe Biden” and the Neocon gang at State and the CIA were implicated in a web of crimes in Ukraine, and war there was one way to cover all of it up, so they made sure that war happened. The lies and hoaxes continued to multiply, accompanied by huge, destructive pranks - the George Floyd riots, the drag queens in the kiddie classrooms, the wide-open border, the FBI-instigated J-6 riot - and the Democratic Party was embroidered in that whole tapestry of degenerate politics along with the Deep State blob.

In short, the Democratic Party appears to be guilty of programmatic treason against the people of the United States. They know that a reckoning awaits if Mr. Trump manages to return to office. They’ve known it for years. But two recent Supreme Court decisions really amped up their fears: 1) Trump v. the United States establishes presidential immunity from prosecution for acts involving his core constitutional duties; and 2) Loper Bright v. Raimondo establishes that the federal bureaucracy can no longer rule over citizens unchecked by the courts. Both of these would make it much easier for a President Trump to disassemble the Deep State. And of course, that may lead to the investigation and prosecution of Deep State personae who abused their positions - possibly even prison. . . a discomfiting prospect.

The Democratic Party’s cover got blown on June 27th when Joe Biden had to go live in a debate and displayed his mental incompetency for all to see. That shock to the system forced a scramble to replace “JB” pretty late in the election cycle, since now just enough voters may be indisposed to re-electing an obvious human wreck. But the switcheroo effort seems to have lost traction. And the party may have muffed its blackmail leverage over “Joe Biden.” After all, his briberies are all well-cataloged by the House Oversight Committee, including the vast bank records of the many shell companies set up to receive the bribe money.

Is it possible, though, that “Joe Biden” holds blackmail material over his party confederates? After all, he’s still president. He has access to things you’d never dream of and, demented as he is, he has plenty of help close at hand from Hunter, Dr. Jill, and the Lawfare posse for sorting it out. He probably knows a thing or two about his old pard Barack Obama, too, that would make some folks uncomfortable. So, looks like “JB” is fixing to hang in there as his party’s nominee, and whoever doesn’t like it can go suck an egg.

After the stunning events of Saturday evening, it also looks like candidate “Joe Biden” would go down in flames against Donald Trump on November 5, stuffed drop-boxes and all. Not a few Democratic Party bigshots have already made noises about leaving the country if that happens, possibly to nations lacking extradition treaties with the USA. Many others must be gobbling Xanax like Tic Tacs now that Donald Trump has survived the ultimate affront to his existence. You know the old nugget of wisdom: if you come at the king, you better not miss. Ooops."

- https://kunstler.com/

o

Omar, "The Wire"

Canadian Prepper, "WARNING: Cancel Your Plans. 100 Days of Chaos Ahead. What Happens Next..."

Canadian Prepper, 7/14/24

"WARNING: Cancel Your Plans. 

100 Days of Chaos Ahead. What Happens Next..."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Gnomusy, "Dolmen Ridge"

Gnomusy, "Dolmen Ridge"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Close to the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and surrounded by the stars of the Hunting Dogs (Canes Venatici), this celestial wonder was discovered in 1781 by the metric French astronomer Pierre Mechain. Later, it was added to the catalog of his friend and colleague Charles Messier as M106. Modern deep telescopic views reveal it to be an island universe - a spiral galaxy around 30 thousand light-years across located only about 21 million light-years beyond the stars of the Milky Way. Along with a bright central core, this stunning galaxy portrait, a composite of image data from amateur and professional telescopes, highlights youthful blue star clusters and reddish stellar nurseries tracing the galaxy's spiral arms.

It also shows off remarkable reddish jets of glowing hydrogen gas. In addition to small companion galaxy NGC 4248 at bottom right, background galaxies can be found scattered throughout the frame. M106, also known as NGC 4258, is a nearby example of the Seyfert class of active galaxies, seen across the spectrum from radio to X-rays. Active galaxies are powered by matter falling into a massive central black hole."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210409.html

"We've All Heard..."

“The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can’t pretend we haven’t been told. We’ve all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still, sometimes, we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today’s possibility under tomorrow’s rug, until we can’t anymore, until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin meant: That knowing is better than wondering. That waking is better than sleeping. And that even the biggest failure, even the worst, most intractable mistake, beats the hell out of never trying.”

- “Meredith”, “Grey’s Anatomy”

"15 Signs American Families Are Flat Broke"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 7/14/24

"15 Signs American Families Are Flat Broke"

"As darkness shadows the American dream, more and more families are grappling with the harsh reality of financial distress. In 2024, an unprecedented number of Americans consider themselves "broke," reflecting a widespread economic struggle. From the relentless surge in inflation to the crippling burden of debt, the signs of instability are everywhere. Now, optimism has vanished, giving way to a pervasive sense of despair that is forcing many households to make heartbreaking sacrifices just to stay afloat.

As the cost of living continues to rise far faster than people's paychecks, new data reveals that a staggering number of U.S. workers are coping with profound hardship. Today, we compiled the most important stats you need to know about this growing crisis that weakening Americans’ personal finances. Before moving on, please support our work with a thumbs up on this video, and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel to stay current with the latest news. Without further ado, let's dive into today's discussion."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"That's Why..."

o

Full screen recommended.

Steppenwolf, "Monster"

"This great song from Steppenwolf never gained the popularity it should have - probably because it's so long. I just had fun playing along with it and decided to make this video. I hope it will reach a few people so they can see what a great message John Kay had back then - and that it's (unfortunately) very - if not more so - relevant today. I included some of the fantastic artwork from David Dees." Listen to the words...As absolutely true, even more so, in 2024 as it was when released in 1970.  

                                                        "We're so freakin' doomed!" - The Mogambo Guru

The Daily "Near You?"

Lawton, Oklahoma, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"American Eschaton Part III"

"American Eschaton Part III"

It's Coming Faster than Ever

by Contemplations on the Tree of Woe

"On Friday, I said I’d do a Substack post on Sunday. Then, on Saturday, a gunman attempted to assassinate President Trump on live TV. He failed, but it was a horrible and historic moment, the sort we will all remember for years to come. I don’t have any new information to offer that isn’t already circulating in our circles, nor do I see much value in speculating about the event when others with more qualifications than I have already done so. So let me just say that I’m grateful to God that President Trump survived the attempt on his life, and awed by the courage and resolve he showed in his response. I am also deeply saddened by the casualties suffered by the innocent bystanders, for whom a GoFundMe has been established.

Given yesterday’s events, it does seem reasonable today to review the imminent American Eschaton and update my predictions in light of an assassination attempt occurring. The American Eschaton is a term I coined to describe the end of America as we know it, and back in September 27, 2023 I predicted it was 16 months away.

"Sixteen months from now (472 days, to be exact), on January 25 2025, the next President of the United States will be sworn into office. In an ordinary year in an ordinary decade in an ordinary nation, the next President would be obvious. It would be Donald Trump…But this is not an ordinary year, or an ordinary decade, or an ordinary nation, and so it’s not going to play out like that…

I predict an American Eschaton: The end of America as we know it. It will be a Fourth Turning, but it will be a Fourth Turning that goes against us. The exact manner in which our eschaton will occur is much harder to predict. The end of America as we know it doesn’t necessarily mean nuclear apocalypse, government collapse, or secession. It could simply mean a transformation of America into something Unamerican. (The Russian Revolution of 1918 was the end of Russia as the Russian of the time knew it, for instance.)

How will my prophesied End of America as We Know It come about? I predicted several possibilities might occur:

• Managerial Triumph;

• Managerial Collapse;

• Peaceful National Divorce;

• Civil War (Violent National Divorce); or

• Global War

And here is how I saw it playing out when I wrote the article 11 months ago:

Managerial triumph is likely to occur if: Either Trump is removed from the ballot by legislation, incarceration, or assassination; or election fraud is used to prevent him from fairly competing; or a pretext is found to cancel elections altogether; and Either the Right does not react to this outcome by some form of direct action; or the Right does react, but ineffectively and stupidly, and collapses back into passivity thereafter; and The managerial elite manage to stave off systemic collapse from other causes.

Managerial collapse will occur if: Either Trump is removed from the ballot by legislation, incarceration, or assassination; or election fraud is used to prevent him from fairly competing; or a pretext is found to cancel elections altogether; and Either the Right does not react to this outcome by some form of direct action; or the Right does react, but ineffectively and stupidly, and collapses back into passivity thereafter; and The managerial elite fail to stave off systemic collapse from other causes.

The right-wing could trigger a national divorce if: Either Trump is removed from the ballot by legislation, incarceration, or assassination; or election fraud is used to prevent him from fairly competing; or a pretext is found to cancel elections altogether; and In response, one or more red states secede from the Union, refuse to recognize the Washington D.C. government, or otherwise provoke a national divorce; and The Federal government, perhaps under international pressure or weakened by the collapse of the petrodollar, permits this secession or at least does not oppose it.

The left-wing could trigger a national divorce if: Trump is elected back to the Presidency to execute his “Dark MAGA” platform; and In response, one or more blue states secede from the Union, refuse to recognize the Trump presidency, or otherwise provoke a national divorce; and The Federal government, perhaps under international pressure or weakened by the collapse of the petrodollar, permits this secession or at least does not oppose it.

The United States might slip into civil war if: Whichever faction loses the 2024 election (Left or Right) attempts a peaceful secession; and The Federal government responds with military action and is met by counter-military force by the state(s).

The United States might also fall into civil war if: Either Trump is removed from the ballot by legislation, incarceration, or assassination; or election fraud is used to prevent him from fairly competing; or a pretext is found to cancel elections altogether; and The Right responds violently and the government fails to quickly frighten or pacify the insurgency by police or military action.

Alternatively: Trump is elected back to the Presidency to execute his “Dark MAGA” platform; and The Left responds violently and the government fails to quickly frighten or pacify the insurgency by police or military action.

There are essentially two ways in which global war might begin: China and/or Russia starts the war because their leaders believe that the United States is badly led, broke, disunited, and therefore likely to lose; or

The United States starts the war because our leaders believe that the system is heading for either collapse or Trump victory and decide that large-scale global conflict is better than relinquishing power. Given that Biden has proven himself senile and incapable of holding office; given that Trump was already ahead in the polls; given that Trump was nearly martyred, but instead rose to truly heroic status in his fist-pumping response; given all that, it seems to me that Trump is now, essentially, unstoppable in any legitimate election.

Yet none of the circumstances that made an American Eschaton likely 16 months seem to have changed, because it was obvious to any observer that Trump would win any legitimate election 16 months ago!

So where are we now? Well, as predicted, the Left has attempted to remove Trump from the ballot; as predicted, the Left has attempted to incarcerate Trump; and now, as predicted, the Left (or at least a lone gunman affiliated with the Left) has attempted to assassinate Trump.

The next gambit on the list above is the use of election fraud to prevent Trump from fairly completing. That election fraud could come in the form of mail-in ballot harvesting, fake ballots, voting machine manipulation, and/or voting by illegal immigrants.

But Trump is now so far ahead in the polls that it will be hard for anything short of utterly blatant fraud, or even complete cancellation of the elections, to keep the Left in power. Given the Right’s simmering resentment over the 2020 election, repeating than fraudulent antics of 2020 in an even more egregious manner, when Trump is so far ahead now, seems much more likely to lead to national divorce or civil war from the Right than was the case 11 months ago.

On the other hand, if that level of election fraud is not pursued (and he is not killed in a second attempt) Trump will almost certainly win, and then we have to imagine national divorce or civil war being possible from the Left.

Is there a peaceful path for Trump to take power and implement his agenda? In my original article, I didn’t see one because I didn’t see any circumstance under which the Left would simply capitulate. But I do see such a possibility now.

Imagine, if you will, that the smartest members of the ruling class have concluded that Trump is very likely to win; imagine, further that they believe economic calamity is unavoidable or global war is inevitable or necessary. If so, then it would make sense to allow Trump to be elected and then “accelerate” progress towards these events. Why?

If there is an economic collapse under Trump’s administration (perhaps due to de-dollarization), he will be blamed in the same way that Herbert Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression; and just as Hoover’s economic policies were utterly discredited for generations, so too will Trump’s. Moreover, the resulting economic conditions might pave the way for a new Roosevelt on the Left with the usual socialist promises to make things better.

On the other hand, if there is a global war, then having Trump in office is virtually the only means by which young white men - the core of our fighting force - are likely to be persuaded to accept a draft or go to war. Not many men would die for Biden or globohomo, but if Trump issues the call and the cause seems patriotic, many (not all, but enough) will respond.

How such a war might break out; I’ve already discussed. Trump does not seem likely to escalate against Russia, but it seems entirely possible he might support Israel if its war breaks out into a wider war, perhaps triggering a cascade into global war; alternatively, there remains the possibility of Chinese action against Taiwan. Regardless, as I’ve previously explained, we’ll likely lose the war for lack of industrial capacity, positioning Trump as the fall guy for our military failure.

The future is uncertain. But yesterday’s assassination attempt should be a wake-up call for normies and muggles who continue to believe that “nothing ever happens.” Things are happening, and the worst is yet to come. Whether the future holds a national divorce, a civil war, an economic calamity, or a global war, I cannot say. Sadly, the one thing I least expect is peaceful transfer of power to the next President."

- https://treeofwoe.substack.com

Jeremiah Babe, "You Missed Bitch"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/14/24

"You Missed Bitch; 

Another Crash Will Happen And It Can Happen To You"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Larry C. Johnson Updating his Analysis on How Trump Survived Assassination"

Dialogue Works, 7/14/24

"Larry C. Johnson Updating his Analysis 

on How Trump Survived Assassination"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Dialogue Works, 7/14/24

"Larry C. Johnson & Former FBI HRT Sniper 

Chris Whitcomb on the Failed Assassination of Donald Trump"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "Everything Changed Yesterday"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 7/14/24

"Everything Changed Yesterday"

"We need to bring back civility. With what we all witnessed 

yesterday this is absolutely tragic. Let me know what you think."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

Dan, I Allegedly, "Prices Keep Going Up - What’s Next?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 7/14/24

"Prices Keep Going Up - What’s Next?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "It's A Lock, Trump Will Be The Next President"

Gregory Mannarino, 7/14/24

"It's A Lock, Trump Will Be The Next President, 

And This Is What You Need To Do Now"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"We Haven’t Seen A 'Historic Surge' Of Corporate Bankruptcies Like This Since The Great Recession"

"We Haven’t Seen A 'Historic Surge' Of Corporate

Bankruptcies Like This Since The Great Recession"

by Michael Snyder

"We continue to get numbers that indicate that the U.S. economy is steamrolling in the wrong direction as we approach the most chaotic election season in our history. Needless to say, the performance of the economy is going to play a major role in the outcome of the election, because millions upon millions of Americans are really suffering right now. Homelessness has been growing at the fastest pace ever recorded, hunger and poverty are exploding, and we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis that doesn’t seem to have any end in sight. Unfortunately, there are signs that things will soon get even worse. For example, we experienced a “historic surge” of corporate bankruptcies during the first half of this year that was worse than anything we have witnessed since the first half of 2010…

There is a “historic surge” of corporate bankruptcies underway in the U.S., as debt-saddled companies struggle to adjust to the new era of high interest rates. New figures published by S&P Global Intelligence show that 75 companies filed for bankruptcy in June, the highest number recorded in a single month since early 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That pushed this year’s total number of bankruptcies so far to 346, which is notably higher than comparable levels seen in the past 13 years.

Before this, the highest half-year figure recorded was in 2010, with 437 companies filing for bankruptcy from January through June. During the first half of 2010, we were just coming out of the Great Recession. Do you remember how painful things were in those days? Sadly, I believe that what is ahead of us will be even more painful. The unprecedented measures that our leaders took to prop up the economy worked for a while, but now cracks are starting to show all over the place. And a lot more big businesses will go belly up during the months ahead.

Earlier today, I was quite saddened to learn that Big Lots is on the verge of bankruptcy…"Discount retail chain Big Lots said it will close up to 40 stores this year and may declare bankruptcy. The Columbus, Ohio-based company wrote in a quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing it expected further operating losses and has “substantial doubt” it can continue as a functioning business. Big Lots last month reported a net loss of $205 million in the quarter ending May 4, 2024."

When I lived in Virginia many years ago, I would shop at Big Lots quite a bit. And it always seemed to be doing fairly well. But now times have changed. Today, most Americans have very little discretionary income. In fact, surveys have shown that the vast majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck at this point…"A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year. In other words, more than three-quarters of Americans struggle to save or invest after paying for their monthly expenses.

Similarly, a 2023 Forbes Advisor survey revealed that nearly 70% of respondents either identified as living paycheck to paycheck (40%) or - even more concerning - reported that their income doesn’t even cover their standard expenses (29%)."

There is no way to spin those numbers in a positive manner. Any way that you look at them, they are absolutely horrible. The middle class is being ripped to shreds, and those that are running the system seem to be all out of answers.

Young adults in particular are having a very difficult time in this environment. According to a survey that was recently conducted by Bank of America, almost half of all adult members of Generation Z “are relying on financial help from their parents and family members”…"A new survey by Bank of America finds that nearly half of adult members of Gen Z are relying on financial help from their parents and family members to get by. The survey for Bank of America’s Better Money Habits team found that 46% of Gen Z are receiving financial assistance from their parents or other family members, a figure that declines to 30% for Gen Z non-students."

Have you noticed that so many young adults seem to be very bitter and very angry these days? This is one of the big reasons why they are in such a foul mood. Many of them were promised that life would be good if the studied hard, went to college, and did all the right things. But now many of them are discovering that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was just an illusion.

Of course there is a small sliver of society that is still doing exceptionally well. Flooding the system with trillions upon trillions of dollars has been very good for the financial markets, and those with lots of money in the financial markets have been living the high life.

In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, millionaires are complaining that the town is being ruined by all of the billionaires that are now moving in…"Millionaires once accused of ruining a gorgeous town in Wyoming now complain they are being driven out of the area by billionaires. Jackson Hole has long been a popular vacation spot for celebrities including Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Matthew McConaughey. An influx of wealthy people sent house prices sky-rocketing and forced ordinary workers to live on the other side of the mountain on the Idaho-Wyoming border."

There are more billionaires in America today than ever before. That is the good news. The bad news is that there are more homeless people in America today than ever before, the ranks of the poor are growing very rapidly, and more Americans are falling out of the middle class with each passing day.

The wealthy may think that all of the wealth that they have piled up will insulate them from the unprecedented chaos that is approaching, but the truth is that a day of reckoning is coming for them too. In the end, the entire system is going to completely and utterly fail, and those that believed that the party would last forever will be bitterly, bitterly disappointed."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/