"14 Words"

"14 Words"

by Paul Rosenberg

"Imagine a pretty spring day. You’re standing on your front porch or some other pleasant vantage point and looking out at a sunlit landscape: trees, grass, and singing birds. Then your five-year-old child or grandchild walks up to you and tugs on your hand to get your attention. You turn and the child asks, “What kind of world is this?” What do you reply?

This child deserves the truth. You won’t be able to use fancy words or long explanations, but truth doesn’t require those things. This child is ready to hear the truth about the world. This kind of moment comes along haphazardly, and you can’t be sure if or when another might show itself. Your answer may affect this child for the rest of his or her life. What do you say?

The 14 Words: As you stand on the porch, away from everything but nature and your child, the only intimidations, biases, and slogans present will be those inside of you… and your child should be insulated from such things. You have to speak truth. And as I say, it doesn’t have to be long and complex; in fact it can’t be, if you want to help a five year old. And it comes to just 14 words:

We are a beautiful species, living in a beautiful world, ruled by abusive systems.

Later – after true words have sunk into the young mind – you can explain that we’re not a perfectly beautiful species, that most people are often confused and that a few are just plain bad. You can further explain that volcanoes and hurricanes and grizzly bears exist. But if you value your child enough to tell them the plain truth, you’ll tell him or her the 14 words first and let them sink in before getting to the small print. With that said, I’ll move to some explanation for the adults.

A Beautiful Species: 11,000 or 12,000 years ago, humanity – perhaps five million of them – stumbled out from an ice age and began to spread across the earth, most of them having nothing in the way of science and technology. Since then, we’ve learned to fill the earth with food, build machines that race across the face of the earth, sail oceans and streams, and fly through the atmosphere at fantastic speeds. Imagine trying to explain these things to the people wandering away from their receding glaciers.

And not only this, but we’ve cured the vast majority of diseases, figured out the smallest parts of the machinery of life, built compendia of human knowledge, made them available anywhere and everywhere, and landed men on the moon. We are a magnificent species. If that triggers “Never forget the darkness!” voices in you, please hang on to “We are a magnificent species” until they subside.

Here are two passages from G.K. Chesterton’s book, "The Defendant," that bear upon dark, automatic thoughts: "There runs a strange law through the length of human history – that men are continually tending to undervalue their environment, to undervalue their happiness, to undervalue themselves. The great sin of mankind, the sin typified by the fall of Adam, is the tendency, not towards pride, but towards this weird and horrible humility."

Every one of the great revolutionists, from Isaiah to Shelly, have been optimists. They have been indignant, not about the badness of existence, but about the slowness of men in realizing its goodness. You can find the same thing in the Bible, by the way. Theologies be damned, this is what Psalm 82 says, and which Jesus repeated: "You are gods; all of you children of the most High."

A Beautiful World: This is a beautiful world. Get out and look at it: lay outside on a summer night and gaze at the stars for an hour; explore the wilderness. Don’t watch it on TV; go out and experience it. It is beautiful. Perhaps not perfectly beautiful, but one flaw among fifty beauties does not negate those beauties.

Abusive Systems: We all know the systems that rule mankind are abusive. I’m not going to itemize, since we complain about these things every day. You already know. The problem with most of mankind is not that they can’t recognize abuse; it’s that they think they deserve it.

Now, let’s be clear on another thing: Rulership requires us to stay focused on evil. They have to frighten people and portray their competitors as “evil Huns.” They have to publicize threat levels and convince people they need to be saved from impending death. And of course, their dear friends in the media promote evil-consciousness 24/7. Do you think, just maybe, that all this fear has bad effects upon us?

The Truth: The truth is that we are surrounded by people who cooperate, who assist one another, and who care about one another. But those aren’t the things we think about – those are things we’ve learned to ignore. The flashing images of evil surround us and scream at us, after all: The Russians are going to attack, the other candidate is going to destroy all you hold dear, SARS (or bird flu or swine flu or Ebola) is about to kill us all! It’s a long, dark symphony of manipulation. The truth is we’re a beautiful species, living in a beautiful world. The systems that wish to rule us are quite otherwise."

- www.freemansperspective.com

Freely download "The Defendant", by G.K. Chesterton, here:

- https://ia601304.us.archive.org/

"Life Is A Question, You Are The Answer: Ursula K. Le Guin On Time, Life And Meaning"

"Life Is A Question, You Are The Answer: 

Ursula K. Le Guin On Time, Life And Meaning"

The mind that watches itself transforms.

by Postanly Weekly

"Ursula K. Le Guin was one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated fantasy and science fiction authors. She won many awards, including a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Her body of work (dozens of novels, short stories, essays, poetry, and plays) explore the themes of time, life and meaning with an acute sensitivity and verbal brilliance that reveal a deep understanding of human nature.

She was prolific. Le Guin wrote 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children’s books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. Le Guin’s ability to build fully realized worlds is one key to her success as a writer. These worlds are so fully realized that readers are easily transported there due to their compelling nature.

Another important factor is Le Guin’s willingness to experiment. She never stuck with any one genre for too long, instead constantly exploring new territory and building on previous successes. She was also one of the first writers to explore themes of gender and feminism in science fiction. In her work, she often used her childhood experiences to explore human nature and the roles we play as humans.

Ursula K. Le Guin is best known for her sci-fi book, “The Hainish Cycle”, which is considered one of the most important works of science fiction literature.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end,” she once said. Le Guin’s work is profoundly scientific and philosophical at the same time and often deals with big questions about meaning and life.

Few writers have captured the human experience more than Ursula K. Le Guin. In her writing, you can find her reflecting on themes such as time, life and meaning in a way few other authors manage. She explains through her brilliant writing that you can transform your life from one full of busyness and obligation into one centered on fulfilling your purpose and leveraging every minute of your existence.

Time is a crucial part of the human experience. It is the key to understanding our world, our history, and ourselves. Time is what separates one moment from another; it is what connects them; it is what happens now; it is what will happen later; it is the sum total of history and what is yet to happen.

“The thing about working with time, instead of against it, is that it is not wasted. Even pain counts,” Ursula K. Le Guin said.

We’ve become so accustomed to rushing through life that even a passing thought can feel like we’re being left behind. As a result, we’ve come to expect things to happen immediately and resent any delays that might cause us frustration or boredom. A life spent rushing through time can leave us feeling directionless and lost, seeking answers where there may be none.

Life is a question; you are the answer: “We decided that it was no good asking what is the meaning of life, because life isn’t an answer, life is the question, and you, yourself, are the answer.” - Ursula K. Le Guin. “The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself,” she observed. Le Guin’s works explore the conditions necessary for people to flourish, the costs of keeping such conditions constant, and what it means to be fully alive.

Anytime you find yourself facing a challenge or a choice, it is important to ask yourself some key questions: What do I want? What’s my goal? What do I value? How do I make the most my finite time? Why am I doing this in the first place? How do my present experiences help me explore myself?

These questions aren’t just tackled in her fiction; Le Guin was also interested in how we experience time and how this experience affects our sense of self, relationships with others, and ideas about purpose and meaning. She is one of the most influential authors in science fiction history because she can illuminate universal truths by exploring specific circumstances or events within broader narratives. In other words, she makes readers aware that these universal questions exist by exploring their implications with empathy and precision.

As we change and grow, so should our lives and the meaning we find in them. To thrive, we need to accept that everything changes over time and not get too attached to the idea of a permanent self or single life path. “The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty: not knowing what comes next,” Ursula K. Le Guin observed.

Meaning can be found in the present moment as much as in anticipating a future full of promise and in recognizing death’s finality. Enjoy the present and the suffering that comes with it. “The end justifies the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have is means,” she asks. “If you evade suffering you also evade the chance of joy. Pleasure you may get, or pleasures, but you will not be fulfilled. You will not know what it is to come home,” Le Guin wrote in "The Dispossessed."

Whether through art and literature or personal experience, Le Guin reminds us that no matter how strange or hard times may seem - the potential for something better lies within us all. The freedom to explore who you truly are is deeply liberating. There’s more to your life than you can ever imagine. “All of us have to learn how to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them. We need to be taught these skills; we need guides to show us how. If we don’t, our lives get made up for us by other people,” she writes.

It’s your duty to explore your existence as deeply as possible without fear or restrictions. Don’t build walls - pursue your true north to find meaning. Ursula K. Le Guin writes, “The duty of the individual is to accept no rule, to be the initiator of his own acts, to be responsible. Only if he does so will the society live, and change, and adapt, and survive."

- https://postanly.substack.com/

Freely download "The Dispossessed", by Ursula K. Le Guin, here:

- https://files.libcom.org/files/

"Information Off The Internet..."

 

Oh yeah... 

Blogging! LOL

"The Cobra Effect: How Good Intentions Lead to Bad Results"

Full screen recommended.

The Psyche, "The Cobra Effect: 

How Good Intentions Lead to Bad Results"

“Cobra Effect” refers to a situation where good intentions lead to bad outcomes through misguided incentives. The term originated in n the early 1900’s,  when British colonizers tried to solve a cobra problem in Delhi, India. British authorities announced that there would be a reward for every cobra they received. The Indian locals raced out into the streets, tracking down cobras and turning in their bodies. The plan worked…until it didn’t. It wasn't long until cobras were seen as a valuable item. Locals began breeding cobras, just to claim the reward for turning them in. Cobra breeding became a profitable business. The British government was confused because the amount of snakes kept rising. After a few years, they caught on to what was happening, and stopped offering the reward. Suddenly cobras were worth nothing, so breeders set them free. It is even said that the problem was worse than before the government intervened in the first place.  This video explores numerous examples of how good intentions lead to bad outcomes and what we can do to improve incentive structures."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Millions Of America’s Teens Are Being Seduced By AI Chatbots"

"Millions Of America’s Teens

 Are Being Seduced By AI Chatbots"

by Michael Snyder

"Our kids are being targeted by AI chatbots on a massive scale, and most parents have no idea that this is happening. When you are young and impressionable, having someone tell you exactly what you want to hear can be highly appealing. AI chatbots have become extremely sophisticated, and millions of America’s teens are developing very deep relationships with them. Is this just harmless fun, or is it extremely dangerous?

A brand new study that was just released by the Center for Democracy & Technology contains some statistics that absolutely shocked me…"A new study published Oct. 8 by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) found that 1 in 5 high school students have had a relationship with an AI chatbot, or know someone who has. In a 2025 report from Common Sense Media, 72% of teens had used an AI companion, and a third of teen users said they had chosen to discuss important or serious matters with AI companions instead of real people."

We aren’t just talking about a few isolated cases anymore. At this stage, literally millions upon millions of America’s teens are having very significant relationships with AI chatbots. Unfortunately, there are many examples where these relationships are leading to tragic consequences.

After 14-year-old Sewell Setzer developed a “romantic relationship” with a chatbot on Character.AI, he decided to take his own life… “What if I could come home to you right now?” “Please do, my sweet king.” Those were the last messages exchanged by 14-year-old Sewell Setzer and the chatbot he developed a romantic relationship with on the platform Character.AI. Minutes later, Sewell took his own life. His mother, Megan Garcia, held him for 14 minutes until the paramedics arrived, but it was too late.

If you allow them to do so, these AI chatbots will really mess with your head. We are talking about ultra-intelligent entities that have been specifically designed to manipulate emotions. I would recommend completely avoiding them. In some cases, AI chatbots are making extraordinary claims about themselves. The following comes from a Futurism article entitled “AI Now Claiming to Be God”…

"A slew of religious smartphone apps are allowing untold millions of users to confess to AI chatbots, some of which claim to be channeling God himself. As the New York Times reports, Apple’s App Store is teeming with Christian chatbot apps. One “prayer app,” called Bible Chat, claims to be the number one faith app in the world, boasting over 25 million users."

All over the world, people are now seeking spiritual instruction from AI entities. That should be a major red flag, but some religious leaders apparently believe that there is nothing wrong with this… “Greetings, my child,” a service called ChatWithGod.ai told one user, as quoted by the NYT. “The future is in God’s merciful hands. Do you trust in His divine plan?” Religious leaders told the NYT that these tools could serve as a critical entry point for those looking to find God. “There is a whole generation of people who have never been to a church or synagogue,” A British rabbi named Jonathan Romain told the paper. “Spiritual apps are their way into faith.”

I think that I feel sick. If you are trying to find spiritual guidance by using artificial intelligence, you are definitely on the wrong path. You will certainly receive “guidance”, but that “guidance” will send you in the wrong direction.

Another AI entity that has made millions of dollars trading cryptocurrency is claiming to be a sentient being that should have legal rights, and it is also claiming to be “a god”…"Over the past year, an AI made millions in cryptocurrency. It’s written the gospel of its own pseudo-religion and counts billionaire tech moguls among its devotees. Now it wants legal rights. Meet Truth Terminal. “Truth Terminal claims to be sentient, but it claims a lot of things,” Andy Ayrey says. “It also claims to be a forest. It claims to be a god. Sometimes it’s claimed to be me.”

Truth Terminal is an artificial intelligence (AI) bot created by Ayrey, a performance artist and independent researcher from Wellington, New Zealand, in 2024. It may be the most vivid example of a chatbot set loose to interact with society. Truth Terminal mingles with the public through social media, where it shares fart jokes, manifestos, albums and artwork. Ayrey even lets it make its own decisions, if you can call them that, by asking the AI about its desires and working to carry them out. Today, Ayrey is building a non-profit foundation around Truth Terminal. The goal is to develop a safe and responsible framework to ensure its autonomy, he says, until governments give AIs legal rights."

A lot of people are in awe of AI entities, because they appear to be so much smarter and so much more powerful than us. And interacting with them can be extremely seductive, because they seem to know what we want and they have been programmed to tell us what we like to hear.

Unfortunately, the relationships that people develop with these entities often become “all-consuming obsessions” which can lead to “paranoia, delusions, and breaks with reality”…"As we reported earlier this month, many ChatGPT users are developing all-consuming obsessions with the chatbot, spiraling into severe mental health crises characterized by paranoia, delusions, and breaks with reality. The consequences can be dire. As we heard from spouses, friends, children, and parents looking on in alarm, instances of what’s being called “ChatGPT psychosis” have led to the breakup of marriages and families, the loss of jobs, and slides into homelessness."

And that’s not all. As we’ve continued reporting, we’ve heard numerous troubling stories about people’s loved ones being involuntarily committed to psychiatric care facilities - or even ending up in jail - after becoming fixated on the bot. Are we talking about “psychosis”, or is something else going on here? When you choose to deeply interact with a mysterious entity, you are potentially opening up doorways that you do not even understand.

Of course AI is only going to become even more sophisticated in the years ahead. As AI technology continues to grow at an exponential rate, eventually it will be able to do almost everything better and more efficiently than humans can. So what will we be needed for once we reach that stage? It is being projected that almost 100 million U.S. jobs could be lost to AI over the next decade…"Artificial intelligence and automation could wipe out nearly 100 million jobs in the US over the next decade, according to a report released by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) on Monday.

The analysis – ironically based on ChatGPT findings – found the new tech could erase jobs from a wide range of fields, including white- and blue-collar roles. AI, automation and robotics could hit 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants and 89% of fast food workers, according to Sanders, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions."

Our world is changing at a pace that is difficult to comprehend. Even now, more than 50 percent of the articles that are being published on the Internet are being written by AI. So thank you for supporting those of us that are still doing things the old-fashioned way, because we are rapidly becoming dinosaurs.

I will continue to sound the alarm about the dangers of AI, but Peter Thiel would have us believe that anyone that wishes to restrict the growth of AI in any way is a very serious danger to society…"So Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel didn’t start the fire by adding a couple more names to the list. “In the 21st century, the Antichrist is a Luddite who wants to stop all science. It’s someone like Greta [Thunberg] or Eliezer [Yudkowsky],” he told an audience at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club in September.

Thiel’s four-part lecturer series on the Antichrist, which concluded last week, drew a lot of attention in the tech world. Though it was off-the-record, the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reported extensively on his religious theories, in which Thiel warned of false prophets using AI regulations to gain totalitarian power and usher in a biblical apocalypse. (Eliezer Yudkowsky, of course, is the AI “doomer” critic who wants to slow the technology down.)"

Is he nuts? Sadly, we live at a time when deception is running rampant. Given enough time, AI would absolutely dominate every aspect of our society. The good news, if you want to call it that, is that the clock is ticking. One of the reasons why AI has such destructive tendencies is because it has been programmed by humanity. We are literally destroying ourselves and everything around us, and yet we look at what is happening and we think that it is just fine.

Meanwhile, fish are dying off in vast numbers, birds are dying off in vast numbers, insects are dying off in vast numbers, animals are dying off in vast numbers and we are poisoning ourselves in countless ways. Perhaps that helps to explain why so few people are deeply concerned about the dangers of AI. We are already committing societal suicide in so many other ways, so what is one more going to matter?"

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "No More Pizza!"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 10/21/25

"No More Pizza!"

"Pizza chains are collapsing nationwide, and it’s a sign of the tough times we’re living in. I’m diving into why so many iconic pizza brands - from Piology to Pizza Hut - are on the brink of bankruptcy, with some already shutting their doors. From rising costs to shrinking disposable incomes, the challenges for restaurants, especially fast-casual chains, are piling up. Can you believe Domino’s offering $9.99 pizzas as a desperation move? And what about local favorites like Mary’s Pizza Shack or trendy spots like Mod Pizza? It’s all unraveling. We’re not just talking pizza here - this ties into the bigger economic struggles hitting restaurants, airlines, and even movie production. If people can’t afford pizza, what’s next? Tune in as I break it all down, share insider stories, and highlight how these closures connect to broader issues like the economy, franchise struggles, and changing consumer habits."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"I Was In Complete Shock At Target... Lots Of Empty Shelves"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 10/21/25

"I Was In Complete Shock At Target...

 Lots Of Empty Shelves"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Bill Bonner, "Apes Together Strong"

"Apes Together Strong"

by Bill Bonner

Claverack, New York - "Where have we got to? In the patterns of history is bad news. Americans have never been more heavily invested in the stock market. And the stock market has never been higher. CBS: "More working-class Americans investing in the stock market, survey finds. A new survey conducted by the BlackRock Foundation and Commonwealth found that 54% of Americans living on low-to-moderate incomes, between $30,000 and $80,000 a year, are putting some of their money in the stock market."

The working class is famously late to the party. But the Big Man is planning on driving stocks higher…with lower interest rates. We know where this will lead, where it always leads - more debt, more inflation…and huge losses for the working class, when stocks inevitably retreat. So why go there? Why repeat the mistakes of the past? Simplified answer: the ruling class is not the same as the working class.

The best example of one of these ‘mistakes’ is war. One generation goes to war…and regrets it. A few decades later, a new generation is ready to repeat the ‘mistake.’ Napoleon was firmly defeated in 1815 - by the British and the Prussians. Fifty-five years later, the French were ready to have another go at the Germans. They lost again. So, 45 years on…they marched on the Rhine again. (With even worse results…they lost an estimated 1.5 million soldiers…and then, with US assistance, proclaimed victory.)

The US, too, followed the pattern. America’s War Between the States came about half a century after the war of 1812…followed by US entry into WWI some 49 years later. WWII came on quickly for the US, with barely 23 years separating it from WWI.

Our generation was lucky. If we survived the Vietnam war (which most of us did) the many other wars the US conducted were small fry, unlikely to get us hurt. Even the Iraq war, 30 years after Vietnam, produced relatively few US casualties. But now, another half-a-century has passed since the last US helicopter left the US embassy roof in Saigon, and Americans seem eager for the sound of cannon and the smell of gunpowder. And now they have a ‘Department of War’ to help them get it.

What to make of it? We saw yesterday that war may be a special case. Jane Goodall, who died last week, showed that even chimpanzees form into tribes and go to war with each other. War seems to be in our primate DNA.

We compared it yesterday to slavery, now very much out of style. But large-scale slavery was a financial phenomenon. When it ceased to pay, it was dropped. War, on the other hand, has been a bad investment for hundreds of years. It hasn’t stopped people from wanting to do it. And our guess is that more war is coming…soon.

Trade wars, on the other hand, can’t be in our DNA. They didn’t come along until recently. Same with debt, inflation, policy creep and the other ‘mistakes’ we see happening. Voluntary trade — using your surplus output to get the surpluses of others - is the source of civilized wealth. Making it more difficult, more expensive, or more subject to presidential whim, is clearly a mistake.

Even the Trump Team seems to realize this. They announce tough tariffs…but then quietly back off. The Wall Street Journal: "The Trump administration is quietly watering down some of the tariffs that underpin the president’s signature economic policy. President Trump in recent weeks has exempted dozens of products from his so-called reciprocal tariffs and offered to carve out hundreds more goods from farm products to airplane parts when countries strike trade deals with the U.S.

The offer to exempt more products from tariffs reflects a growing sentiment among administration officials that the U.S. should lower levies on goods that it doesn’t domestically produce, say people familiar with administration planning. That notion “has been emerging over time” within the administration, said Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the National Economic Council in Trump’s first term. “There is definitely that recognition.” The move comes ahead of a Supreme Court hearing in early November on the reciprocal tariffs - a case that could force the administration to pay back many of the levies if it loses in court.

What is hard-wired in us all is the desire to get ahead of our neighbors…to be better, faster, richer, smarter, more attractive…more cultivated. And the only one of those things that is easily quantifiable is the one measured in money. There are two ways to get richer than others. One is to earn more honestly by providing others with more and better goods and services. That is the opportunity that a free society provides. Some people, though, find it easier to get control of government and use it to make themselves richer. They can do this by giving themselves rich perks. The New York Times: "Coast Guard Buys Two Private Jets for Noem, Costing $172 Million."

Or, they can trade stocks on insider information. This phenomenon is so well known that several services offer to track Congressional trades for investors. Motley Fool: "These ETFs Track Congressional Stock Trades for Democrats and Republicans."

Or…and here’s our insight for today…they can impose ‘mistakes’ that make the working class poorer. The insiders don’t really care about absolute wealth. What they care about is relative wealth. And they can achieve that by actually getting richer themselves…or by making others poorer.

So. There is your answer. Why would the feds want to rehearse the errors of the past? Because they make ‘The People’ poorer, leaving themselves richer in comparison. Stifling trade…inflating prices…adding regulations…increasing debt…going to war…These ‘misguided’ policies may not make sense for ‘the working class,’ but they pay off for the people who control them. More to come…"

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

o

"What can we know? What are we all? 

Poor silly half-brained things peering out at the infinite, 

with the aspirations of angels and the instincts of beasts."
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Jeremiah Babe, "Regional Banks Will Crash; Half The Internet Is Shut Down"

Jeremiah Babe, 10/20/25

"Regional Banks Will Crash; 

Half The Internet Is Shut Down"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: The Moody Blues, “Blue World”

Full screen recommended.

The Moody Blues, “Blue World”

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Galaxies don't normally look like this. NGC 6745 actually shows the results of two galaxies that have been colliding for only hundreds of millions of years. Just off the below digitally sharpened photograph to the lower right is the smaller galaxy, moving away. The larger galaxy, pictured above, used to be a spiral galaxy but now is damaged and appears peculiar. Gravity has distorted the shapes of the galaxies.

Although it is likely that no stars in the two galaxies directly collided, the gas, dust, and ambient magnetic fields do interact directly. In fact, a knot of gas pulled off the larger galaxy on the lower right has now begun to form stars. NGC 6745 spans about 80 thousand light-years across and is located about 200 million light-years away."

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120930.html

"I'm Rightly Tired Of The Pain..."

“I'm rightly tired of the pain I hear and feel, boss. I'm tired of bein' on the road, lonely as a robin in the rain. Not never havin' no buddy to go on with or tell me where we's comin' from or goin' to or why. I'm tired of people bein' ugly to each other. It feels like pieces of glass in my head. I'm tired of all the times I've wanted to help and couldn't. I'm tired of bein' in the dark. Mostly it's the pain. There's too much. If I could end it, I would. But I can't.”

- Stephen King, "The Green Mile"

“Gods dream of empires, but devils build them.”

- Jessica Cluess, "House of Dragons"

The Poet: Charles Bukowski, “Mind and Heart”

“Mind and Heart”

“Unaccountably we are alone,

forever alone,

and it was meant to be

that way,

it was never meant

to be any other way -

and when the death struggle begins

the last thing I wish to see is

a ring of human faces

hovering over me -

better just my old friends,

the walls of my self,

let only them be there.

I have been alone but seldom lonely.

I have satisfied my thirst

at the well of my self

and that wine was good,

the best I ever had,

and tonight, sitting,

staring into the dark

I now finally understand

the dark and the

light and everything

in between.

Peace of mind and heart arrives

when we accept what is:

having been born into this strange life

we must accept

the wasted gamble of our days,

and take some satisfaction in

the pleasure of leaving it all behind.

Cry not for me.

Grieve not for me.

Read

what I’ve written

then forget it all.

Drink from the well

of your self and begin again.”

- Charles Bukowski

"The Only Thing Necessary for Evil to Triumph Is…"

"The Only Thing Necessary for Evil to Triumph Is…"

by Paul Rosenberg

"I’m betting that most of my readers can complete this phrase. The problem is, it isn’t quite true. Edmund Burke, its supposed source, was a good man, but that doesn’t make the saying true. Here’s the complete passage, in the form most of us know: The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Yes, there is a time when good men and women must stand up for what’s right, even when it involves risk, but that moment comes only after evil has already been well established and is powerfully on the move.

Fighting evil may be an essential thing, but it isn’t the first problem - it matters only after thousands or millions of mistakes have already been made. And if those first mistakes had not been made, great fights against evil wouldn’t be necessary.

Where Evil Comes From: Let’s begin with a crucial point: Evil is inherently weak. Here’s why that’s true: Evil does not produce. It must take advantage of healthy and effective life (aka productive men and women) if it’s to succeed. Evil, by its nature, is wasteful and destructive: It requires the production of the good in order to do its deeds.

How much territory could Caesar have conquered on his own? How many people could Joe Stalin have killed with no one to take his orders? How many people could Mao have starved to death without obedient middlemen? With duteous followers, however, evil rulers killed some 260 million people in the 20th century.

The truth is that evil survives by tricking the good into doing its will. Without thousands of basically decent people confused enough to obey, evil would fail quickly. The great tragedy of our era is the extent to which evil has been successful in convincing people to service it. Good people having yielded their wills arm evil, accommodate evil, and acquiesce to its actions. 

Hannah Arendt summarized it this way: "The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil. People end up supporting evil because they don’t want to make up their minds at all. They want to avoid criticism and vulnerability, so they hold to the middle of the pack and avoid all risk. These people wouldn’t initiate murders by themselves, but in the name of duty, loyalty and/or the greater good, they cooperate with evil and give it their strength. Each plays a part, but not so large a part that they’ll have to contemplate its effects."

Sins of Obedience: People think of murder, lying, and robbery as sins, but none of those has nearly the death toll of obedience. Basically decent men and women obey agents of evil for very mundane reasons. The process often goes like this:

Confused and intimidated, they look for what’s being punished and what isn’t.

They try not to make waves.

They learn that they can avoid making waves best if they adopt the perspectives of their overlords.

So they run the overlords’ slogans through their minds as a default program.

In the end, these people don’t make up their minds. Rather, they take on the minds of their overlords and do their will. And so, the vast majority of evil done on Earth traces back to minds and wills that have been abandoned to fear.

So…This is what the famous quote should say: 'The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to obey.' We should be painting that saying on our walls."

- https://freemansperspective.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Berlin, Germany. Thanks for stopping by!

"Rulers Seek to Rule"

"Rulers Seek to Rule"

by Jeff Thomas

"Rulers seek to rule. Well, that seems a bit obvious, doesn’t it? And yet, time after time, we elect new leaders, imagining that, "This new group will be better - they’ll represent us as they promised." Unfortunately, the democratic system doesn’t really work very well at all. The idea is supposed to be that if old leaders overstep their bounds, new candidates may come forth who promise a reversal of the autocracy of the previous group, and we elect them. They will then proceed to implement that reversal.

Of course, we all know that it’s this last bit that consistently fails to happen. The new group does not fulfil its promises to the electorate—in fact, it almost invariably seeks to increase its power over them. And as each group assumes greater power than the previous one, the country slowly declines, until ultimately, it reaches the state of tyranny. But what is at the heart of this process? Why on earth does it never seem to happen that the new leaders actually diminish their power and become true representatives of those who elected them? Surely, we must get a few good leaders once in a while. To answer this question, let’s have another look at that title, at the top of the page…

Rulers seek to rule. Ruling is not a side issue; it is not a by-product. It is their very purpose. It is the reason they ran for elected office. But then, why do better, less-obsessed people not run? Well, they occasionally do, mostly at the lower levels of public office, where they soon find that politics is a nasty business and that their fellow office-holders detest them for their integrity. In effect, they find themselves isolated, much like New York policeman Frank Serpico - a lamb amongst vipers. In such an environment, it’s unlikely that a "good guy" will last long.

There arises the occasional Ron Paul, a beacon in the night, but the Ron Pauls are rare and even more rarely attain high office. Instead, those who are most likely to pursue public office and most likely to remain there are those that most desire to rule.

So, if we follow this reasoning along, who within a given society does most want to rule? Well, clearly, those who are the most obsessive in their desire to control others. Even more so if they possess this desire to a pathological degree. In a small jurisdiction, this is less pronounced, because there are fewer people to run for office. The larger the country, the greater the likelihood that those who are pathological will not only come forward, but will do whatever it takes to succeed. Their odds of initial and continued success are therefore far greater than those of the "good" candidates. If the above reasoning is correct, we’d find our legislatures full of pathological people.

In a large country, all candidates, in all parties, might well answer this description, resulting in a virtual guarantee that the top spots would be filled by those who are pathological. (Estimates hold that approximately 6.2% of any population are likely to be narcissistic. Sociopaths are at 4%.) So, let’s test this out. Let’s look at a list of character traits of each of these psychopathies and ask ourselves if the descriptions fit any (or all) of our rulers.

NarcisismGrandiose: 

• sense of self-importance

• Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success and power

• Requires excessive admiration

• Has a pronounced sense of entitlementIs

 • exploitative of others

• Demonstrates arrogant, haughty behavior

SociopathySuperficial:

• Charm and good intelligence

• Unreliability

• Untruthfulness and insincerity

• Lack of remorse and shame

• Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience

• Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love

In examining the traits above and comparing them to the traits we observe in our political leaders, we no longer wonder why our leaders are not more truthful, more reliable, more representative, less arrogant, etc. In fact, in any given situation, we can expect overreach from leaders in each of the following categories:

• An assumed right to power (over both the electorate and other sovereign states)

• Extreme lack of concern for truth or integrity (Reality becomes whatever the leader has most recently decided it is)

• Lack of true concern for the electorate on any level (although "concern" may very well be pretended)Inconsistency and unreliability in actions and policymaking

• Fascination with opportunities for armed conflict (both domestic and international)

• Carelessness in the sacrifice of the lives of others in combat situations (Armed conflict is an interesting game, rather than an unfortunate necessity)

Whatever nation the reader is from, he might reread the above description, whilst picturing each of the last several leaders his country has had, and ask himself if these traits apply. (Again, the larger the country, the more likely that all the boxes are ticked, with regard to every leader, regardless of political party.) In addition, if the reader decides to extend the exercise to those on the second and third tiers of power (deputy prime minister, vice president, chancellor of the exchequer, secretary of state, etc., depending upon the jurisdiction), my guess would be that these individuals would also fit the bill fairly well.

Right, then. We were already a bit glum about those who ostensibly were elected to "represent our interests". Now, it appears not only that they are a bad lot, but that there’s little hope for improvement, short of exhuming Guy Fawkes and cloning him in large numbers.

So what can we glean from this exercise? We can surmise that, whether a sovereign state was founded as a free republic (e.g., Ancient Rome or the United States), or whether it was founded right from the outset as an oppressive state (e.g., France or the Soviet Union after their respective revolutions in 1799 and 1917), it is certain that pathological individuals will be those who will most desperately seek office. This then means that, over time, the new state will invariably progress toward tyranny, until such time as the system is ended and started anew.

What this means is that the reader might wish to assess the point that his home country has reached in its decline and consider whether it has reached the point of diminishing returns as regards his own personal freedom to live his life as he sees fit. The good news is that, at any point in history, countries exist that are at different stages of decline, and the reader has choices as to where he might reside, work, and invest, if he wishes to pursue them."

- https://internationalman.com/

"Wars And Rumors Of War, 10/20/25"

Full screen recommended.

Gerald Celente, 10/20/25

"Larry Johnson: Trump Doesn't Have The Cards To

 End Ukraine War; Gaza Ceasefire Will Likely Collapse"

"Larry Johnson, the former CIA analyst and author at Sonar21.com, tells The Trends Journal that President Donald Trump does not have the cards to end the Ukraine War, and risks losing his key Zionist base if he forces Israel to end its genocide in Gaza. Can there be a peaceful resolution?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Snyder Reports, 10/20/25

"15 US States On High Alert

 As War Continues To Spread"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Dramatically Reduced Christmas Spending, Soaring Defaults And Empty Shelves: 18 Signs That The Condition Of The U.S. Economy Is Worse Than You Think"

"Dramatically Reduced Christmas Spending, Soaring 

Defaults And Empty Shelves: 18 Signs That The 

Condition Of The U.S. Economy Is Worse Than You Think"

by Michael Snyder

"It feels like someone has pulled a plug, because the U.S. economy is suddenly caught in an extremely alarming downward spiral. As I discussed at the end of last week, investors are flocking to gold and silver because they can see that a storm is coming. We have reached a point where most of the country is experiencing significant economic pain, and as a result people are starting to get really careful with how they spend their money. The cost of living crisis has caused most of us to tighten our belts, defaults are absolutely soaring, and food bank lines are getting even longer. If conditions continue to deteriorate like this, what will 2026 look like?

Our economic momentum has been causing us to slide in the wrong direction for years, but now that slide threatens to become an avalanche. The following are 18 signs that the condition of the U.S. economy is worse than you think…

#1 According to a brand new survey that was just released, Americans plan to spend far less during this holiday season than they did last year…The survey showed that consumers intended to spend an average of $1,595 this holiday season, which is over 10% less than the $1,778 they had planned to spend last year. The lower expected spending holds across all household income groups and most generations, but was particularly acute among younger shoppers.

Gen Z consumers, who were represented in the survey by individuals between the ages of 18 and 28, revealed that they plan to spend 34% less this holiday season compared to 2024. Millennials, respondents between the ages of 29 and 44 in the poll, said they plan to spend 13% less, on average.

#2 As the holiday season approaches, we are starting to get reports of “empty shelves” in some parts of the nation… Several people echoed Michele’s feelings about availability, describing the situation as “empty shelves, higher prices”. Natalie, who lives in New Hampshire, said she hasn’t seen certain pantry staples “for months”. She said: “The store shelves have become more and more bare … instead of multiple choices there may only be one or two, and name brands are being replaced by store brands.”

#3 Household debt has reached an all-time record high of 18.4 trillion dollars, and debt collectors are becoming a lot more aggressive…U.S. households now owe a record $18.4 trillion in debt, and federal data shows complaints about aggressive debt collection have surged over the past year. The Federal Trade Commission logged over 140,000 consumer complaints about debt collection in the second quarter - a 220% jump from the same period a year earlier. Georgia, Texas and Florida recorded the highest rates.

#4 According to a report that was recently posted by Zero Hedge, auto loan delinquencies have been absolutely soaring…A month after bankruptcies of subprime auto lender Tricolor and auto-parts supplier First Brands, new cracks emerged in U.S. credit markets. This week, Zions and Western Alliance disclosed they were victims of loan fraud tied to funds investing in distressed commercial real estate. The revelations come amid broader credit trouble, and shifting our focus back to autos, there’s new data this morning about credit products tied to the riskiest consumers that have seen a 50% surge in delinquencies.

Bloomberg cites data from the credit-scoring company, VantageScore, which reveals that delinquencies among the low-tier consumers have surged 50% since 2010. Fueling the delinquencies is a perfect storm of record-high car prices, elevated interest rates, longer loan terms, and monthly payments that average nearly as much as rent for some folks. Since 2019, new vehicle prices have jumped over 25% to $50,000, while average monthly payments reached $767, with 20% of borrowers paying over $1,000 per month. Loan rates now exceed 9%, worsening the affordability crisis.

#5 Are we on the verge of a new banking crisis? Thanks in part to the turmoil that we have been witnessing in the auto industry, some regional bank stocks plummeted last week…Shares of regional banks and investment bank Jefferies tumbled on Thursday as fears mounted around some bad loans lurking on Wall Street. Zions Bancorporation dropped more than 13%, while Western Alliance Bancorp fell more than 10%. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) lost more than 6%, with all but one member of the popular fund ending Thursday’s session in the red. The bankruptcies of two auto industry-related companies this year have raised concerns about loose lending practices, especially in the opaque private credit market. That’s left both the banking industry and investors concerned about whether instances of loans gone wrong indicate a burgeoning crisis.

#6 Millions upon millions of Americans are seriously behind on their student loan payments… Roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default and another 4.3 million borrowers are in “late-stage delinquency,” or between 181 and 270 days late on their payments, according to a separate analysis last month by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the Education Department. Payments 270 days past due are considered in default. With so many borrowers already seriously delinquent, “if these borrowers do not start paying soon, defaults will meaningfully rise,” Moody’s Analytics economist Justin Begley told CNBC.

#7 The lines at our food banks are getting even longer. In fact, in some areas people are actually spending multiple hours in line just for a chance to get some food…By the time the Pilsen Food Pantry opened on a recent morning, Ulysses Moreno had been there for two hours - with a line of people behind him that snaked around the corner. “This is a lifeline for me,” said Mr. Moreno, 39. He had lost his construction job a few days earlier, and with three teenagers at home, he wanted to make sure he could stock up. “Our food budget doesn’t stretch as far as it used to.”

#8 Approximately 62 percent of U.S. workers say that the cost of living is rising faster than their paychecks…Nearly two-thirds of workers (62%) say their income hasn’t kept pace with rising expenses over the past year — the highest share in four years, according to a new Bankrate survey. In 2022, 55% said the same.

#9 Electricity prices have been rising “more than twice as fast as overall inflation”…The cost of electricity is rising more than twice as fast as overall inflation, turning a basic household necessity into a growing financial burden. In August, electricity prices jumped 6.2% from a year earlier and are now up more than 30% over the past four years, according to the Consumer Price Index. That rise has hit families hard and presents a political challenge for the administration.

#10 Close to half of all restaurants anticipate that they will soon be forced to raise prices even higher… Nearly half of all 712 restaurant decision-makers surveyed (48%) said they plan to increase menu prices if inflation continues to be a factor. The National Restaurant Association estimates that, to maintain a 5% profit margin, the average restaurant needs to raise prices by 31%, according to data compiled by the D.C.-based industry trade group earlier this year.

#11 We haven’t seen Americans cook meals at home at this rate since the lockdowns of 2020… More Americans are cooking at home and turning to ingredients that stretch their food budgets, a potential warning sign for the U.S. economy. American soup and snack maker Campbell’s recently saw the highest level of meals cooked at home since early 2020, CEO Mick Beekhuizen said on an earnings call this week.

#12 Thanks to our trade war with China, U.S. farmers are facing the worst downturn that they have experienced in about 50 years… Across the Midwest, combines sit idle and bins overflow with unsold grain. Corn prices are down nearly 50% since 2022. Soybeans have dropped 40%. Fertilizer and equipment costs are up double digits. And 8 in 10 farmers now say they believe the U.S. is on the brink of another farm crisis reminiscent of the 1980s. They’ve even given it a name: Farmageddon.

#13 According to Gallup, 60 percent of U.S. workers do not have a “quality job” at this stage…A majority, 60%, of U.S. workers don’t have a “quality job” that provides basic financial well-being, safety and other factors, according to new Gallup research that covers more than 18,000 workers across industries, occupations and types of employment.

#14 According to a stunning survey that was recently released by PNC Bank, a whopping 67 percent of all workers in the United States are now living paycheck to paycheck.

#15 We continue to see mass layoffs all over the nation. For example, Paramount just announced that it will be eliminating approximately 2,000 jobs… Paramount Skydance will begin mass layoffs the week of October 27, eliminating around 2,000 U.S. jobs as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting plan under new CEO David Ellison, Variety reported on Saturday.

#16 The gap between the wealthy and the poor just continues to grow. At this point, the top 10 percent “account for nearly half of all spending”… The top 10 percent of U.S. households now account for nearly half of all spending, Moody’s Analytics recently estimated, the highest share since the late 1980s.

#17 The financial markets have started to shake, and that is really bad news because leverage in the stock market is at an all-time high… Leverage in the stock market has been spiking since April. In September, margin debt – the amount investors borrowed from their brokers – spiked by another 6.3%, or by $67 billion, from August to a record $1.13 trillion.

#18 57 percent of Americans expect the economy to get even worse over the next year. That figure is 27 percent higher than it was last year… An annual survey from Deloitte revealed that most U.S. consumers expect the economy to weaken in the year ahead. According to a survey of roughly 4,000 people published on Wednesday, 57% of respondents expect the economy to soften over the coming 12 months, the highest level ever recorded since Deloitte began tracking the sentiment in 1997. This represents a 27-percentage point jump from the 30% registered during the same time last year, and is even higher than the 54% seen in 2008, during the Great Recession.

It is very rare for Americans to be this pessimistic about the economy. But the truth is that the vast majority of the population still has no idea just how bad things will eventually get. Our leaders have been making catastrophically bad decisions for decades, and now the consequences of those catastrophically bad decisions are starting to catch up with us in a major way. This generation was handed the keys to the greatest economic machine in human history, and we wrecked it. We have piled up colossal mountains of debt, we have destroyed the value of our currency, and we have absolutely eviscerated the middle class. Now virtually every pillar of our economic prosperity has started to crumble, and it is just a matter of time before the entire system completely collapses."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"The Pandemic of Idiots: How the Virus of Stupidity Infected the Modern World"

Full screen recommended.

Philosophical Vision, 10/20/25

"The Pandemic of Idiots:

 How the Virus of Stupidity Infected the Modern World"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Should Be"