Jim Kunstler, "The Artificial Demon"

"The Artificial Demon"

by Jim Kunstler

“With apologies for bluntness, the mainstream press 

f**ked around, now the mainstream press is finding out.” 

- Matt Taibbi

"I will proffer a harsh truth to you: the best outcome in Ukraine would be for Russia to win the war as expeditiously as possible, neutralize and disarm the place, change-out its illegitimate government, and let it revert to being the frontier backwater it was for eight decades previous, when it was not a problem for the other nations of the region.

Mr. Putin has put up with our country’s psychotic nonsense with remarkable patience. The idea that he seeks to conquer western Europe was a preposterous confection of the neocon crazies in our State Department and Intel “community.”

The long game for the neocon crazies has been to use NATO as the instrument to break up Russia and gain control of its resources. This was after Secretary of State James Baker told Mikhail Gorbachev on February 9, 1990, in discussions over German reunification, that “not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.” Starting in 1999 with the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, sixteen additional nations were induced to join NATO, encroaching on Russia’s borders, with new military bases and missiles. It was a stupid game.

And it failed. Ukraine was the final gambit. The US destabilized it on purpose in 2014, installed a series of governments we could control, made it a ward of US taxpayers, sprinkled it with bio-weapons labs and money laundries, and gave Mr. Zelenskyy the go-ahead to start shelling the Donbas provinces adjacent to Russia. After years of that, Mr. Putin moved to stop it in 2022. The development of drone weapons, along with US-based satellite targeting tech, has prolonged the war. But, of course, the Russians, too, have modernized their own weapons arsenal to match that. The current state of things is a slow Russian grind to defeat a Ukraine that has run out of available fighting men and is apparently short of all weapons besides its drones.

On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump promised to end the Ukraine war in a New York minute. That proved more difficult and complicated than he realized. He said lately in so many words that he has “lost patience” with Mr. Putin for failing to join a ceasefire as a prelude to peace talks. Accordingly, Mr. Trump set a fifty-day deadline and then shortened it to twelve-days, running out on August 8-9 (accounting for time zones). Failure to comply will cause Russia to suffer a new round of sanctions. Mr. Putin has shrugged off that threat, saying that time has proven Russia to be sanction-proofed.

Some kind of game is afoot in all this. Neither Trump nor Putin could possibly want to turn this fiasco in Ukraine into a greater war that will destroy what’s left of Western Civilization. You might find this startling, but for all our efforts to anathemize Russia, it is still a part of Western Civ. After its soviet experiment failed, Russia wanted above all to reintegrate economically with Europe, but the neocons here and the globalists of Europe would not allow that. They became determined instead to wreck Russia — a vicious ethos likely to have emanated from the UK, with its lingering imperial delusions. (For Germany, it has brought only economic suicide.)

You might suspect that Mr. Trump has to pretend to be tough with Russia to counter the still-lingering suspicion — germinated by the Hillary Clinton campaign a decade ago — that he is “Putin’s puppet.” By coincidence, strange or not, that trope is now unraveling with the release of the RussiaGate intel archive that the rogue DOJ and FBI squirreled away since the Trump 1.0 term in office. Mr. Patel found a trove of documentary evidence in a burn-bag in a back room at FBI headquarters. DNI Tulsi Gabbard retrieves more previously-hidden evidence by the day from the vast NSA data base. It ought to be clear now that the initial Hillary Clinton campaign prank metastasized into the worst perversion of abusive government power in our country’s history, and is yet on-going.

The major news organs, who were accomplices in RussiaGate, won’t publish or broadcast any of the recent discoveries about exactly how the hoax evolved into a body of delusion that took over the brains of half of the country and led to a string of additional vicious hoaxes including the Covid-19 operation, the stolen election of 2020, and the J-6 prosecutions. Maybe nothing can be done about the perfidious New York Times or Washington Post because the First Amendment allows lies to be printed within the limits of the libel laws. But the TV networks have additional obligations to the public interest under the broadcast regulations and they can lose their licenses. Perhaps they should and will.

For the moment, realize that we are in the middle of a maelstrom. Arrests and prosecutions are coming, and Mr. Trump’s clock is ticking on the Ukraine war. Upping the ante on the war is the last thing our country needs. The RussiaGate disclosures afford the president an out on his strong-arm tactics with Mr. Putin and his support of the Zelensky regime."

- https://www.kunstler.com/

o

"Clinton Approved Russian Hoax,

 Operation Mockingbird Still Active"

Dan, I Allegedly, "300 Million Jobs Lost - Are You Ready for the Shift?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 7/30/25

"300 Million Jobs Lost - 

Are You Ready for the Shift?"

"300 million jobs could disappear due to AI - are you ready for this seismic shift? In this video, I dive into how artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, from manufacturing to finance, and what it means for all of us. Companies like Microsoft and Nvidia are leading this transformation, and experts predict massive changes by 2025, including new opportunities in AI ethics and automation. But what does this mean for workers? Will your daily tasks be replaced? Let’s talk about it! I also share how AI tools can enhance efficiency, even for small businesses, and explore why embracing this technology is critical for staying ahead. Whether it’s using AI for legal research, automating repetitive tasks, or understanding the broader economic impact - this is the start of a new industrial revolution."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gerald Celente, "Tariff War Heating Up, So Too Will Israel War"

Very strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 7/30/25

"Tariff War Heating Up, So Too Will Israel War"

"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."

- https://trendsjournal.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Peru's Greatest Mystery – Megalithic Ruins No Human Could Ever Build"

Full screen recommended.

Business Hook, 7/27/25

"Peru's Greatest Mystery – 

Megalithic Ruins No Human Could Ever Build"

"Ollantaytambo, nestled in Peru’s Sacred Valley, is one of the world’s most mysterious ancient sites. Known for its massive megalithic stonework, the site features perfectly cut granite blocks weighing up to 70 tons - fitted so precisely that not even a blade can slip between them. While the Incas are credited with their development, the precision, scale, and unexplained tool marks suggest a much older, advanced civilization. Strange knobs, drill holes, and melted stone surfaces raise questions about forgotten technologies. Ollantaytambo isn't just a ruin - it's a challenge to history itself, urging us to rethink what ancient civilizations were truly capable of."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue"

Full screen recommended.

Paul Mauriat, "Love is Blue"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and astronomers in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. 

As for the view from planet Earth, this sharp image shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions along the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 4 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe."

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

The Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "What If?"

"What If?"

"What if you slept?

And what if,

In your sleep

You dreamed?

And what if,

In your dream,

You went to heaven

And there plucked

A strange and

Beautiful flower?

And what if,

When you awoke,

You had the flower

In your hand?

Ahh, what then?"

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"The Life You Have Left..."

“The life you have left is a gift. Cherish it.

Enjoy it now, to the fullest. Do what matters, now.”

~ Leo Babauta

○

“This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.

Every breath is a choice.

Every minute is a choice.

To be or not to be.

Every time you don't throw yourself down the stairs, that's a choice.

Every time you don't crash your car, you re-enlist.

If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume

and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?"

- Chuck Palahniuk

○

"If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make,

who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?"

- Stephen Levine

"In Ordinary Times..."

"In ordinary times we get along surprisingly well, on the whole, without ever discovering what our faith really is. If, now and again, this remote and academic problem is so unmannerly as to thrust its way into our minds, there are plenty of things we can do to drive the intruder away. We can get the car out or go to a party or to the cinema or read a detective story or have a row with a district council or write a letter to the papers about the habits of the nightjar or Shakespeare's use of nautical metaphor. Thus we build up a defense mechanism against self-questioning because, to tell the truth, we are very much afraid of ourselves."

- Dorothy L. Sayers

"Alert! Nuclear Dead Hand Is Active! August 8 WW3 Rapid Deadline!"

Prepper News, 7/30/25

"Alert! Nuclear Dead Hand Is Active!

 August 8 WW3 Rapid Deadline!"

"They are moving fast, but why? Russia just threatened 

Trump with nuclear Armageddon for the first time!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Leesburg, Florida, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"My Task..."

“My task, which I am trying to achieve, is by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel; it is, before all, to make you see. That and no more, and it is everything. If I succeed, you shall find there, according to your deserts, encouragement, consolation, fear, charm, all you demand – and, perhaps, also that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask.”

- Joseph Conrad

"Cleverly Disguised..."

"This is Hell, cleverly disguised just 

enough to keep us from escaping."

- Jean-Paul Sartre

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

- William Shakespeare

Greg Hunter, "Clot Coverup from CV19 Vax"

"Clot Coverup from CV19 Vax"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

Retired Air Force Major Tom Haviland has been on a mission to uncover all the gruesome material that was being reportedly pulled out of the veins and arteries of the CV19 vaxed. For the past there years in a row, Haviland has been asking embalmers in the “Worldwide Embalmer Blood Clot Survey” what mortuary workers are finding in the bodies they are preparing for burial. Back in April on USAWatchdog, Haviland said, “I surveyed embalmers all around the world in the United States, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand. In my latest survey at the end of 2024, 301 embalmers did respond. 250 of them, or 83%, said they are still seeing the unusual white fibrous clots in the veins and arteries of their corpses.”

So, why is this not a huge story that the more than 5.5 billion CV19 vaxed should know about? Haviland thinks there is a clot coverup from the CV19 vax going on. Haviland found one vascular doctor who is consistently pulling long fibrous clots out of his patients since the CV19 shot rollout in 2021. Haviland says doctors are being threatened to keep quiet about fibrous clots in living patients. Haviland explains, “I was introduced to this gentleman Dr. Mohannad Bisharat, who is an endovascular specialist and cardiologist in Jacksonville, Florida. He admitted to me he had been removing these same white fibrous clots from living people in the last four years. He calls them ‘devious clots.’ I am showing you a fibrous clot still covered in blood (that Dr. Bisharat removed). When the blood is washed off, that will become a white fibrous clot. What is interesting is later that month, that same doctor Bisharat sent me this email. It says, ‘I was instructed to immediately terminate all communications in this regard. Sorry, apologies for the inconvenience.’ So, somebody got to him. Probably somebody at the hospital said, hey, we want you to stop talking about this. Don’t bring this up or else we will come after your license. We will take away your board certification and your ability to practice. The same thing could happen to him as people like Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Ryan Cole and Dr. Pierre Kory. The medical cartel came after them and their licenses and board certifications. So, obviously, Dr. Bisharat is afraid to speak out.”

That is not the only way the “Clot Coverup from CV19 Vax” is taking place. The Lying Legacy Media (LLM), who take billions in advertising dollars from Big Pharma, are keeping quiet and gaslighting the public. They seem to want people getting the CV19 vax and resulting death and disability to think it is simply just a few unlucky people, when millions are killed or injured by the CV19 bioweapon vax. So, that leaves the heavyweights of Alt Media to ride to the rescue and blow the whistle on the CV19 clot coverup - Wrong! Haviland has tried for three years to get on with the heavyweights in Alt Media to get the word out. Haviland tried in person to get Tucker Carlson to interview him about his astounding findings that are backed up by bonafide science. There were NO takers. Haviland says, “I paid $1,600 last September to go see Tucker Carlson in person to get a 30 second photo op with him, and I actually gave him one of these vials with the clots. I gave another vial to his producer Samantha and all the information to her to get on Tucker’s show. It’s not just to be on his show, but I want to get this important information out about these clots. Tucker has failed to contact me.”

None of the other big names in Alt Media have gotten back with Haviland either, and this includes Glenn Beck, Megyn Kelly and Joe Rogan. Haviland even wrote a post about getting rebuffed by the big cowardly Alt Media names on his Substack called Clotastrophe. All I can say is SHAME on you all!" There is much more in the 42-minute interview.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with Tom Haviland to do a deep dive into the “Worldwide Embalmer Blood Clot Survey” and why there is a gigantic “Clot Coverup from the CV19 Vax.”

- https://rumble.com/

After the Interview: There is lots for free information on Laura Kasner’s Substack called “Clotastrophe.” This is where Tom Haviland posts his survey work. He has a new post called “Tucker, Glenn, Megyn, and Joe REFUSE to Address Embalmers’ Clots.” There is zero charge to visit this site. Tom Haviland accepts zero compensation for his work.

This has been called "the greatest organized mass murder in the history of the world."

It is, and God help you if you've taken this shot...

"After All..."

“The acceptance of ambiguity implies more than the commonplace understanding that some good things and some bad things happen to us. It means that we know that good and evil are inextricably intermixed in human affairs; that they contain, and sometimes embrace, their opposites; that success may involve failure of a different kind, and failure may be a kind of triumph.”

- Sydney J. Harris

And, of course, the universal and inevitable excuse…

“A person who is going to commit an inhuman act invariably 

excuses himself to himself by saying, “I’m only human, after all.”

- Sydney J. Harris

I've always wondered...

Everyone says “Only human…” compared to what?

"Debt, War, and Energy: Fourth Turning Climax by 2032"

"Debt, War, and Energy: 

Fourth Turning Climax by 2032"

By Ivor

"Geopolitics: Analysts have noted heightened risks of conflict as we enter the final leg of the Fourth Turning, pointing to escalating Israel-Iran tensions, US and EU interactions with Russia, and the potential for broader geopolitical strife influenced by technology and strategic interests. The Fourth Turning is reportedly expected to climax prior to 2032.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Russian intelligence claims that the US and UK are holding secret talks with Ukrainian officials to replace President Volodymyr Zelensky with former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny, reportedly discussed at an Alpine resort. This claim remains unverified. Some Western reports have also suggested Zaluzhny as a potential successor amid declining support for Zelensky. However, the Ukrainian presidential office, through Andrey Yermak, has denied allegations of secret meetings to replace Zelensky, labeling them as Russian propaganda.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia has developed “immunity” to sanctions, responding to President Trump’s 10-day ultimatum for a Ukraine ceasefire. Trump envoy Keith Kellogg stated that oil sanctions on Russia could have a significant impact if enforced effectively, targeting the country’s 7 million daily barrel exports. The Kremlin, however, has downplayed the potential effects. Internet disruptions and calls for cash reliance in Russia indicate possible internal preparations for further pressure.

Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly considering a 30% reduction of US troops in Europe, which could affect approximately 20,000 of the 90,000-100,000 currently stationed there, as part of a broader military posture review. With significant bases in Germany and Poland, this potential shift aligns with a focus on regions like the Indo-Pacific and budgetary considerations. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stated that this move would encourage European allies to strengthen their own defense capabilities. NATO, however, has expressed concern that a reduced US presence could undermine regional stability and deterrence against aggression.

Finally, Iran is reportedly considering a shift from GPS to China’s BeiDou navigation system due to security concerns following GPS disruptions during recent conflicts, signaling a potential move toward non-Western technology infrastructure.

Economy: Global economic indicators show varied trends. US government debt has increased by $519 billion since the debt ceiling was raised in July, reaching $36.73 trillion, with projections estimating $37.8 trillion by year’s end due to Treasury auctions in the bond market. Michael Snyder has drawn comparisons to 2008, pointing to parallels seen in Las Vegas. Hotel occupancy has dropped by over 14%, casino revenues have declined, and unemployment has risen alongside a weakening housing market.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank head warned that without central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), central banks risk losing control over economic systems to alternatives like Bitcoin, highlighting the need for digital payment innovation amid growing public interest.

Energy: In Wyoming, a large AI data center in Cheyenne is planned to consume up to five times the state’s residential power usage, with a proposed 1.8-gigawatt facility that could scale to 10 gigawatts. The tech company behind the project has not been disclosed. Wyoming, a leading US energy exporter, may face increased electricity costs for residents due to this development. Greenpeace has also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the Wyoming data center, warning that its massive energy consumption could undermine renewable energy efforts.

In Europe, the EU’s commitment to purchase $750 billion in US energy over three years has been questioned by analysts from Rabobank and Kpler, who argue that achieving this target would require an unrealistic 67% reliance on US energy, given current imports of €65 billion annually. This could strain market dynamics and conflict with Europe’s clean energy objectives, according to these analysts.

European Politics: In Manchester, UK, police arrested 35-year-old theatre worker Samuel Rowe in his garden after mistaking his gardening tools for weapons. Rowe was trimming his hedge with a small sickle and carrying a sheathed Japanese weeding trowel when officers, responding to a public report, detained him. The tools were described by police as a “large dagger” and a “peeling knife,” resulting in a caution. Rowe has expressed concern that this could impact his career. This incident occurs within the context of UK laws on offensive weapons, which include exceptions for work-related tools but can still lead to arrests. Manchester Police defended their actions, stating they acted on a concerned citizen’s report and prioritized public safety, while acknowledging the tools were indeed gardening implements, as reported by BBC News."

Sources here:

- https://peakprosperity.com/

"How It Really Is"

”Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies – or else? The chain reaction of evil – hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars – must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” 

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

”I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

- James Baldwin

Bill Bonner, "The Information Problem"

"The Information Problem"

by Bill Bonner

"History will be kind to me. For I intend to write it."

- Winston Churchill

Eugenie les Bains, France - ‘It certainly has a 1999 feel to it,’ we said to no one. Working alone in our little octagonal office in rural France, ‘no one’ is our assistant...our confidante...our right hand man. As sharp as a tack. As empty-headed as a cabinet member.

We look back. As the 21st century gestated, the US stock market became more and more absurd. Companies with no earnings, no business plans, no employees, and no real hope were suddenly worth millions of dollars. These were ‘dot.coms,’ the enterprises - often created by kids who recently dropped out of college - that would remake the whole world based on a new model. The new model depended on an idea - that material progress was the result of “information.”

‘What is the difference between Manhattan and Mozambique?’ asked the callow cognoscenti. Mozambique has rich farmland. Beautiful beaches. Mineral wealth. Agricultural wealth. And with 33 million people, a substantial human wealth too.

Manhattan, meanwhile, has no lush fields...no pristine beaches...no active mines and only 1.6 million people. But these Manhattanites are far richer, with a total GDP of about $1 trillion compared to a total GDP for Mozambique of only about $22 billion.

Why the difference? They share the same air...the same 24-hour day...the same laws of the universe. But one group knows how to take these resources and work them up into skyscrapers and YouTube. The other doesn’t.

‘Information is the key,’ they said. They claimed to understand how the information revolution wrought by the internet had changed everything. ‘And now,’ they said back in 1999, ‘the folks in Mozambique have access to all the facts and figures regularly used by the Manhattanites to make money, it is just a matter of time until they put up their own Rockefeller Center and begin dining at their own Tribeca Grill.’

Of course, they were wrong. It’s been a quarter of a century since the internet was fully built out. Mozambique is still poor. Manhattan is still rich. And the internet is a mess - filled with lies, distortions and time wasters. For every page of the periodic table, there are thousands of pages of fake news, claptrap science, and kitten videos. In short, the internet mirrors real life itself - with a fool on every corner and a jackass in every high public office.

But wait. Hallelujah. Now we have AI! Finally, the AI companies - Nvidia in the lead - are at the top of the stock charts, just as the dot coms were 25 years ago. They offer to solve the problem created by the internet...‘too much info.’ Instead of sorting through thousands of pages ourselves...trying to separate the beer from the foam...we have AI to do it for us.

Test it yourself. Just go to ChatGPT or Musk’s Grok 3. Ask it to cut through the crap and give you a straight answer. Are stocks going up or down? Will tariffs really help the US economy? Is Israel really murdering women and children?

In every case, you will get a fairly intelligent mush-mouth answer. And talk about time wasters! Using AI tools, you can not only disperse info (as on the internet), you can create it...mountains of it...sometimes true, sometimes false...sometimes helpful, sometimes not.

Want to see a video of Donald Trump driving his golf cart off a cliff? How about a video of ‘Gone With the Wind’...but with the Confederate States victorious? True history; fake history? You can rewrite history to suit any crackpot theory you come up with. Yes, dear reader…AI will make the ‘information problem’ worse, not better.And what an opportunity for the elite. All over the world, mainstream governments are finding it harder and harder to justify themselves.

Populations are declining. Social welfare systems — set up like Ponzi schemes — are going broke. Economies are trussed up by far-reaching regulations, taxes, sanctions, inflation, central planning, and wasteful government programs. Debt grows by the trillions. The rich get richer than ever. But the typical citizen finds it harder and harder to get ahead. Thanks to tariffs, deficits, and the Big, Beautiful Budget Abomination we’re on course for a national debt of $150 trillion by mid-century.

Of course, the debt bubble will blow up long before that. In the meantime, AI will be useful. It will help keep the voters confused and docile, so the parasitic elite remain in control. CarnegieEndowment.org: "AI: The New Face of Propaganda." On June 23, 2025, WITNESS received a WhatsApp video showing clouds of smoke billowing from Evin prison in Tajrish, Iran. Filmed from a nearby apartment, the communication carried a stark message: “They are trying to open Evin.” The infamous prison - a site of torture, killing, and confinement of dissidents, journalists, and activists - had been bombed. Israeli officials deemed the strike “symbolic,” a gesture against the Islamic Republic’s repression. For many Iranians, shattering the gates of Evin seemed to be a resonant symbol of hope for the freedom of the nation’s best and brightest long held behind its walls.

On social media, Israel tried to capitalize on this development. Its foreign minister posted another clip showing Evin’s entrance gates being blown apart in an apparent surgical strike. He boasted on X (formerly Twitter), “¡Viva la libertad, carajo!” (“Long live freedom, damn it!”). But unlike the first video, the Israeli footage was likely fake.

Forensic analysis of the Israeli clip suggests that it was likely created using artificial intelligence (AI). For example, it contained still images of the Evin gates found in an article published in 2021; these images could have been manipulated by AI tools. These findings were corroborated by the Deepfakes Rapid Response Force, a rapid response mechanism for evaluating deceptive AI run globally by WITNESS. Yes, AI will be a useful tool. Not necessarily a beneficial one."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Russian McDonald’s New Menu! Russia’s Cutest Burger?"

Full screen recommended.

Lisa With Love, 7/30/25

"Russian McDonald’s New Menu!

 Russia’s Cutest Burger?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Window To Moscow, 7/30/25

"Hot Summer in Moscow 2025! 

Real Life Inside Russia Capital City"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "WTF? $7,000 To Rent A Haul To Move To Alabama"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/30/25

"WTF? $7,000 To Rent A Haul To Move To Alabama"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan I Allegedly, "Don’t Get Ripped Off Again! Avoid These Dirty Tricks!"

Full screen recommended.

Dan I Allegedly, AM 7/30/25

"Don’t Get Ripped Off Again! 

Avoid These Dirty Tricks!"

"Mechanic scams are everywhere, but you don’t have to be a victim! In this video, I’m exposing shady practices from dealerships and mechanics who try to rip you off. From unnecessary $7,000 airbag repairs to bogus diagnostics, you’ll hear real stories and tips to avoid being scammed. Learn how a $25 scanner or a trusted local mechanic can save you thousands! Plus, we’re talking about the importance of having honest professionals in your life, whether it’s a mechanic, accountant, or attorney. Stay informed and protect yourself from getting ripped off in the auto industry and beyond."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Shocking Prices at Kroger"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 7/30/25

"Shocking Prices at Kroger"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Grocery Prices Are Skyrocketing!"

Adventures With Danno, PM 7/30/25

"Grocery Prices Are Skyrocketing!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Necessary Losses: The Life-Shaping Art of Letting Go"

"Necessary Losses: 

The Life-Shaping Art of Letting Go"

by Maria Popova

“The art of losing isn’t hard to master,” Elizabeth Bishop wrote in one of the great masterpieces of poetry. “Every mortal loss is an Immortal Gain,” William Blake wrote two centuries before her in his beautiful letter to a bereaved father.

We dream of immortality because we are creatures made of loss - the death of the individual is what ensured the survival of the species along the evolutionary vector of adaptation - and made for loss: All of our creativity, all of our compulsive productivity, all of our poems and our space telescopes, are but a coping mechanism for our mortality, for the elemental knowledge that we will lose everything and everyone we cherish as we inevitably return our borrowed stardust to the universe.

And yet the measure of life, the meaning of it, may be precisely what we make of our losses - how we turn the dust of disappointment and dissolution into clay for creation and self-creation, how we make of loss a reason to love more fully and live more deeply.

That is what Judith Viorst explores in her 1987 consolation of a book "Necessary Losses" (public library) - an inquiry into the profound and far-reaching relationship between our losses and our gains, revealing renunciation as a fulcrum of growth. She paints the vast landscape of loss upon which life plays out:

"When we think of loss we think of the loss, through death, of people we love. But loss is a far more encompassing theme in our life. For we lose not only through death, but also by leaving and being left, by changing and letting go and moving on. And our losses include not only our separations and departures from those we love, but our conscious and unconscious losses of romantic dreams, impossible expectations, illusions of freedom and power, illusions of safety - and the loss of our own younger self, the self that thought it always would be unwrinkled and invulnerable and immortal.

[…]

These necessary losses… we confront when we are confronted by the inescapable fact… that we are essentially out here on our own; that we will have to accept - in other people and ourselves - the mingling of love with hate, of the good with the bad;… that there are flaws in every human connection; that our status on this planet is implacably impermanent; and that we are utterly powerless to offer ourselves or those we love protection - protection from danger and pain, from the in-roads of time, from the coming of age, from the coming of death; protection from our necessary losses."

These losses are a part of life - universal, unavoidable, inexorable. And these losses are necessary because we grow by losing and leaving and letting go. As a sculpture is shaped by what is chiseled off from the block of stone, so too are we shaped by what we lose - by choice, with all the complexities and difficulties of letting go, or by the scythe of chance, which takes away as impartially as it gives. Viorst writes:

"The road to human development is paved with renunciation. Throughout our life we grow by giving up. We give up some of our deepest attachments to others. We give up certain cherished parts of ourselves. We must confront, in the dreams we dream, as well as in our intimate relationships, all that we never will have and never will be. Passionate investment leaves us vulnerable to loss. And sometimes, no matter how clever we are, we must lose… It is only through our losses that we become fully developed human beings."

We enter the realm of loss the moment the umbilical cord is cut to sever what Viorst calls the “blurred-boundary bliss of mother-child oneness” - the primal loss that sets off the ongoing task of becoming ourselves. From this origin point, she traces the lifelong vector of losses and gains:

"Exchanging the illusion of absolute shelter and absolute safety for the triumphant anxieties of standing alone… we become a moral, responsible, adult self, discovering - within the limitations imposed by necessity - our freedoms and choices. And in giving up our impossible expectations, we become a lovingly connected self, renouncing ideal visions of perfect friendship, marriage, children, family life for the sweet imperfections of all-too-human relationships. And in confronting the many losses that are brought by time and death, we become a mourning and adapting self, finding at every stage - until we draw our final breath - opportunities for creative transformations."

In a sentiment the poet Mark Doty would echo - “you need to both remember where love leads and love anyway,” he wrote in his beautiful reckoning with love and loss - she adds: "We cannot deeply love anything without becoming vulnerable to loss. And we cannot become separate people, responsible people, connected people, reflective people without some losing and leaving and letting go."

Complement Necessary Losses, which goes on to explore the many regions of loss in human life and how they can become frontiers of growth, with Hannah Arendt on learning how to live with the fundamental fear of loss, Thoreau on living through a loss, and Alan Watts on learning not to think of gain and loss, then explore two uncommon lenses on loss: fractals and chlorophyll."

https://www.themarginalian.org/

Musical Interlude: Juzzie Smith, "Bluesberry Jam"

One-man-band extraordinaire!

Juzzie Smith, "Bluesberry Jam"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"To some, it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky. To others, it looks like a gaseous nebula where star formation takes place. Cataloged as IC 2944, the Running Chicken Nebula spans about 100 light years and lies about 6,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Centaur (Centaurus).

The featured image, shown in scientifically assigned colors, was captured recently in a 12-hour exposure. The star cluster Collinder 249 is visible embedded in the nebula's glowing gas. Although difficult to discern here, several dark molecular clouds with distinct shapes can be found inside the nebula."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200420.html

The Poet: Joy Harjo, “Remember”

“Remember”

“Remember the sky that you were born under,

know each of the star’s stories.

Remember the moon, know who she is. I met her

in a bar once in Iowa City.

Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the

strongest point of time. Remember sundown

and the giving away to night.

Remember your birth, how your mother struggled

to give you form and breath. You are evidence of

her life, and her mother’s, and hers.

Remember your father. He is your life also.

Remember the earth whose skin you are:

red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth

brown earth, we are earth.

Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their

tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,

listen to them. They are alive poems.

Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the

origin of this universe. I heard her singing Kiowa war

dance songs at the corner of Fourth and Central once.

Remember that you are all people and that all people are you.

Remember that you are this universe and that this universe is you.

Remember that all is in motion, is growing, is you.

Remember that language comes from this.

Remember the dance that language is, that life is.

Remember.”

- Joy Harjo,

“How We Become Human”

"Helpless People"

"Helpless People"

“Almost all Americans have had an intense school experience which occupied their entire youth, an experience during which they were drilled thoroughly in the culture and economy of the well-schooled greater society, in which individuals have been rendered helpless to do much of anything except watch television or punch buttons on a keypad.

Before you begin to blame the childish for being that way and join the chorus of those defending the general imprisonment of adults and the schooling by force of children because there isn’t any other way to handle the mob, you want to at least consider the possibility that we’ve been trained in childishness and helplessness for a reason. And that reason is that helpless people are easy to manage.

Helpless people can be counted upon to act as their own jailers because they are so inadequate to complex reality they are afraid of new experience. They’re like animals whose spirits have been broken. Helpless people take orders well, they don’t have minds of their own, they are predictable, they won’t surprise corporations or governments with resistance to the newest product craze, the newest genetic patent - or by armed revolution. Helpless people can be counted on to despise independent citizens and hence they act as a fifth column in opposition to social change in the direction of personal sovereignty.”

- John Taylor Gatto,

o

Big Brother & The Holding Company, 

"Heartache People"

The Daily "Near You?"

New Braunfels, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Never..."

“Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest - forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.”

 - Hannah Arendt, "The Origins of Totalitarianism"

○

Freely download "The Origins of Totalitarianism" here:

- https://cheirif.files.wordpress.com/

"The End of History"

"The End of History"

A somewhat exaggerated obituary...

by Joel Bowman

“History is a cyclic poem written by time upon the memories of man.”

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

"Remember when history ended, dear reader? The year was 1992. "Under the Bridge" and "Tears in Heaven" were playing on the FM radio. The Cold War, which had promised such a “Bang!” had ended with barely a whimper. And American philosopher, Francis Fukuyama, had just published a daring book: "The End of History and the Last Man."

In light of the great Soviet collapse, Mr. Fukuyama was of the opinion that The West had not simply triumphed over The Rest, but that the world had finally reached “the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”

In other words, whatever was to be done in the fickle and turbulent realm of politics had, by the grand old year 1992, already been done. Here is Mr. Fukuyama, joining a long line of intellectuals (including Marx) to have become ensnared in the labyrinth of Hegel’s dialectical materialism: “Both Hegel and Marx believed that the evolution of human societies was not open-ended, but would end when mankind had achieved a form of society that satisfied its deepest and most fundamental longings. Both thinkers thus posited an "end of history": for Hegel this was the liberal state, while for Marx it was a communist society. This did not mean that the natural cycle of birth, life, and death would end, that important events would no longer happen, or that newspapers reporting them would cease to be published. It meant, rather, that there would be no further progress in the development of underlying principles and institutions, because all of the really big questions had been settled.” ~ Francis Fukuyama

But a curious thing happened on the way to the end of history; namely... history did not end. The political pendulum did not come to a full stop. Stubbornly, insolently, it kept right on a-swingin’...

Time and Again: Indeed, the ‘90s were a time of great political upheaval and experimentation, not all of it leading to the holy grail of western liberal democracy, as imagined by Mr. Fukuyama.

In the power vacuum created by the collapse of the Soviet Empire, Gorbachev’s perestroika (a program of political and economic “restructuring”) delivered the Russian people from the brutality of communism… into the unloving embrace of a corrupted oligarchy…and then to a kind of faux democracy that has seen the same man at the helm for a quarter of a century. (After this year’s “election,” Vladimir Putin became the longest-serving Russian leader since Joseph Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953.)

As for the Americans, co-belligerents in the aforementioned ideological conflict, they continued their own long march…headlong toward a special brand of political circuses and economic madness. In a country where any boy, girl or two-spirit animal might grow up to be president, the nation that enthusiastically sent its soldiers abroad to “make the world safe for democracy” offered up a Bush, followed by a Clinton (twice), followed by another Bush (twice), then very nearly another Clinton. Two decades of political power, held in the hands of two dynastic families.

Meanwhile, beneath fierce power struggles at the executive level, America’s vast and menacing security state – about which General Eisenhower famously warned in his farewell address in ‘61, at the height of the Cold War – continued its inexorable mission creep into the lives and private affairs of the good citizens of The Republic.

The Scourge of War: Neither the defeated Soviets nor the victorious Americans appeared willing to take the path Fukuyama had so carefully laid out for them. The End of History would have to wait...

Ah, but what about Europe, some venture to ask? Indeed, Mr. Fukuyama himself preferred the transnational euro-model to the comparatively unipolar American offering. Might not the “post-historic” world manifest itself over on the continent, where a common “Esperanto” currency – in the form of the euro – would facilitate free trade and citizens of all backgrounds, creeds and cultures would walk arm in arm from the Seine to the Danube, the Bay of Biscay to the shores of the Black Sea?

“I believe that the European Union more accurately reflects what the world will look like at the end of history than the contemporary United States,” declared Fukuyama at the time, in brave defense of his curious, end-of-days timeline. The EU’s attempt to transcend sovereignty and traditional power politics by establishing a transnational rule of law is much more in line with a ‘post-historical’ world than the Americans’ continuing belief in God, national sovereignty, and their military.”

Alas, not unlike the Ruskies and the Yankees before them, the Europeans would go on to disappoint Mr. Fukuyama, too. After a relatively sanguine start to the new millennium, the Eurozone spent most of the ensuing two decades descending gradually into first economic, then political, and now widespread cultural disaster. Today, protests from one end of the continent to the other – Finland to Greece, the Netherlands to France, Poland to Ireland and plenty more between – underscore real discord between neighbors in the great eurocrat utopia. Not to mention the scourge of war, which threatens to drag the entire continent, if not the whole western world, into yet another great conflagration.

Under the Bridge: And so, almost a quarter of a century after Mr. Fukuyama stopped the clock on History, it plods along regardless. Evidently, something about the political spirit of mankind just doesn’t want to sit still. In the year 2025, the world is faced with a plethora of political challenges, for which many of the seeds were sown in the dimming twilight of the last century.

That is to say, the ideological struggle continues against the backdrop of protests, uprisings, springs, occupations, revolutions and, over the weekend, here in the United States of America, attempted assassinations. (How close the Republic was to having its own Franz Ferdinand moment, we may never know...)

When Mr. Fukuyama stopped the clocks back in 1992, America’s debt clock was just ticking past $3 trillion. As we type these very words, that figure is fast approaching $37 trillion, a rather brassy 785 percent increase. According to the latest estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, it is set to top $60 trillion within the next decade. And the rate of increase is only accelerating…

In its report the CBO revised its estimate of the budget deficit for 2024 from $1.6 trillion to $1.8 trillion - an increase of more than 20 percent.

As a proportion of annual GDP, the debt will rise from almost 100 percent this financial year to 122 percent in 2034, meaning that the debt is growing at a much faster rate than real economic output. Interest rate costs to service the debt, now approaching $1 trillion, will rise to $1.7 trillion by 2034, when it will become the single largest line item on the federal budget.

Which brings us back to the lessons of history…Will the United States have to go “Full Argentina” before the pendulum swings back the other way, to sanity, fiscal responsibility and limited government? Or is the die cast? We wait to see…Of course, Mr. Fukuyama is not alone in wondering how all this ends. Only, if history has taught us anything, it doesn’t. The show, as always, goes on."

- https://joelbowman.substack.com/