Jeremiah Babe, 12/6/25
"Collision Course With Economic Disaster,
The World Is About To Change; You Have A Lot To Lose"
Comments here:
So, we rise from the rubble...
StatCounter
Saturday, December 6, 2025
"U.S. Businesses Are Going Bankrupt At An Absolutely Blistering Pace"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 12/6/25
"U.S. Businesses Are Going Bankrupt
At An Absolutely Blistering Pace"
"Small businesses are going bankrupt at the fastest rate ever recorded. Nearly 2,500 mom and pop businesses have closed this year alone, and economists are warning this is just the beginning. In this video, we hear from real business owners facing foreclosure, bankruptcy, and impossible choices. Breweries, restaurants, gift shops, detailers, farmers, and entrepreneurs who did everything right and still couldn't survive. They followed the rules. They trusted the process. And the system failed them anyway.
This isn't about politics. It's about people. The ones who poured their savings, their time, and their dreams into something real. The ones who are now driving Uber, closing their doors, or wondering how it all fell apart. Consumer confidence is crashing. Layoffs are surging. More than 20 states are already in recession. And we haven't even felt the full impact yet. What do you think is really driving this collapse? Have you seen small businesses in your area struggling or closing? Share your story in the comments."
Comments here:
"A Great Kindness..."
“So don’t ask yourself what people want. Ask instead, What is true? What really inspires me, excites me? What will really help people and take away their confusion and suffering? It’s sort of a funny, crazy way to go, but I think it’s the only way to bring water to the wasteland Joseph Campbell described. When I read something truthful, something real, I breathe a deep sigh and say, “Fantastic – I wasn’t mad or alone in thinking that, after all!” So often we are left to our own devices, struggling in the dark with this external and internal propaganda system. At that point, for someone to tell us the truth is a gift. In a world where people all around us are lying and confusing us, to be honest is a great kindness.”
- David Edwards
"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you."
- Oscar Wilde
"Moscow Christmas Decorations Tour 2025"
Full screen recommended.
Travelling With Russell, 12/6/25
"Moscow Christmas Decorations Tour 2025"
"How does Moscow prepare for Christmas? Join me on a tour of the very centre of Moscow to see how the streets and shops look ahead of the New Year in Moscow, Russia. Including visiting some of Moscow's most famous and luxurious shopping malls."
Comments here:
Musical Interlude: Michael Franti, "Hey World (Don't Give Up)"
Full screen recommended.
Michael Franti, "Hey World (Don't Give Up)"
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Planetary nebula Abell 78 stands out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. In fact the colors of the spiky Milky Way stars depend on their surface temperatures, both cooler (yellowish) and hotter (bluish) than the Sun. But Abell 78 shines by the characteristic emission of ionized atoms in the tenuous shroud of material shrugged off from an intensely hot central star. The atoms are ionized, their electrons stripped away, by the central star's energetic but otherwise invisible ultraviolet light.
The visible blue-green glow of loops and filaments in the nebula's central region corresponds to emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms, surrounded by strong red emission from electrons recombining with hydrogen atoms. Some 5,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Cygnus, Abell 78 is about three light-years across. A planetary nebula like Abell 78 represents a very brief final phase in stellar evolution that our own Sun will experience... in about 5 billion years.”
Chet Raymo, "The Ring of Truth"
"The Ring of Truth"
by Chet Raymo
"In Salley Vickers' novel, "Where Three Roads Meet," the shade of Tiresias, the blind seer of the Oedipus myth, visits Sigmund Freud in London during the psychoanalyst's final terrible illness. In a series of conversations, Tiresias retells the story of Oedipus- he who was fated to kill his father and sleep with his mother- a story at the heart of Freud's own theory of the human psyche. At one point in the conversations, as Tiresias and Freud discuss the extent to which our lives are fated, the question of immortality arises. Freud says of Oedipus that "he made his story into an immortal one, so far as any story is." And Tiresias replies, "But, Dr. Freud, stories are all we humans have to make us immortal."
Oedipus lives on, whether he lived or not in actuality. Sophocles lives in our consciousness as vigorously as ever he did in life. They live because their stories touch something resonant and unchanging in human nature. Vickers suggests that what makes the Oedipal story immortal is not any necessary tendency of humans to act out the Oedipal myth, a la Freud, but rather Oedipus's rage to know the truth- or become conscious of a truth he has known all along and suppressed - even though the truth will be his undoing.
The poet Muriel Rukesyser got it exactly right when she said: "The universe is made of stories, not atoms." Even atoms are stories we tell about the world, having first paid close attention to how the world works. The plays of Sophocles and the other Greek dramatists live on not because their authors were immortal, but because nature endures and their stories tell us something that rings true about enduring nature. And, like Oedipus, we have a rage to know, even if knowledge will unseat some of our more comfortable illusions.
"A Companion..."
"Someone once told me that time is a predator that stalked us all our lives. But I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, that reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we live it. After all, Number One, we're only mortal."
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"
"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"
Now and then, very rarely, you stumble upon something simply extraordinary,
something that's just so astonishingly beautiful and well done it's unbelievable.
This is one of those times...
Savor the magic...scroll through the many musical images with sound on.
No sign in required.
Look at this astonishing image, turn sound on...
Khalil Gibran, "The Garden Of The Prophet"
“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only when the soul goes wandering in desolate places, and the heart is drunken with over-mindfulness of self.
Life is deep and high and distant; and though only your vast vision can reach even her feet, yet she is near; and though only the breath of your breath reaches her heart, the shadow of your shadow crosses her face, and the echo of your faintest cry becomes a spring and an autumn in her breast.
And Life is veiled and hidden, even as your greater self is hidden and veiled. Yet when Life speaks, all the winds become words; and when she speaks again, the smiles upon your lips and the tears in your eyes turn also into words. When she sings, the deaf hear and are held; and when she comes walking, the sightless behold her and are amazed and follow her in wonder and astonishment.”
Read Online: “The Garden of The Prophet” here:
"The Mania of 2021"
"The Mania of 2021"
(Originally published August 3, 2021)
by Paul Rosenberg
"There are times that not only try men’s souls, but warp them. Westerners of our generations never believed that mass manias could re-appear, but we’re living through one right now, and against my wishes I feel a need to address it; not as a victim or a participant, but as an observer. Manias – mass warpings of the human soul – are clearly not something we’ve outgrown. Granted, the mania of 2021 has required immense technological assistance, and so it may be that we have improved… that only technological abuse could give rise to such a mania in our time… but here we are all the same.
As for calling this a mania, I have no qualms using the term: Abdication of judgment is pandemic these days:
• Naked and open racism – “We know you’re bad because of the color of your skin” – is proclaimed proudly and defiantly.
• Group attacks on dissenters, though virtual rather than physical, occur continually, embodying a level of sadism that I’d rather not describe.
• People lose their jobs because they espouse the “wrong” opinion, on even trivial subjects. Still worse, millions have denied their own minds in order to retain their jobs.
• Biology is being directly attacked and denied, and reality with it.
I could go on, but decrying the moment is not my purpose. I wish rather to explain it.
The Unmooring of The West: For a long time, the people of the West have been unmoored from their traditional principles; cut away from them and left to drift in a raging storm of inputs. A book would be required to document this, and so I’ll have to simplify greatly, but it’s fair to say that this long development was horribly misdirected.
Like every civilization, Western civilization had gaps, errors and mistakes, but efforts to rip it apart over recent centuries, and especially the past half century or so, were of a terribly misguided nature. They were, in fact, vandalism on a grand scale. Civilizations are to be improved, not wantonly ripped apart.
By dismembering a civilization, you tear up not only that which is fit to be replaced but that which deserves to endure. And so the stabilizing elements of Western civilization were removed: Balance, reasonableness, self-examination, the ability to stand alone and judge fairly, and tolerance. In their absence we see rage, envy, lust for power, malice, and their many dark mutations.
The present mania stands on this foundation. At their root, the virtues of the West were attached to seeing as individuals, acting as individuals and judging individuals. The present mania distinguishes itself by seeing groups, acting as groups, and judging groups.
The Mob: I’ve tried dancing around the word “mob,” but I really can’t find an honest replacement for it. The fact is that when human psyches are warped, people do become mobs. Again I’ll have to simplify, but such is the present necessity.
Lacking individual judgment, humans act as mobs… as flocks or herds. More than that, their directions are set by references to Satan figures. That is, they organize themselves around what they hate. And from that organizing principle, the rest follows. It’s what happened in the past and it’s what’s happening now. It is no coincidence that two generations of intellectuals have been trained in criticism, deconstruction and their variants; they know almost nothing of building and repairing real things.
The mob, then, is focused upon shared hatreds and the power to destroy. We don’t like to say that (and for good reason), but the facts are what they are. This is not to say that the souls which are presently warped cannot come back to reason – assuredly they can – but the nature of manias is precisely that they bring humans into such states.
Why Did This Happen? This mania is different from others because it has been driven technologically, based upon an experimentally-refined science of manipulation. And so there is a chance that it may run for an extended time. And even if it does unwind as others have, holdouts may remain for many years. Presuming that this mania does crack and collapse, there will follow at some point a search for a cause, much as many have tried to find a cause for others.
Leaving aside the root causes such as the above and the scientific cultivation of mass manipulation by people such as Edward Bernays, the present mania has a number of notable causes. I’ll list them below, but we should remember that this is a preliminary list: The behind-the-scenes manipulations that played such a large role in this mania will not be seen clearly for some time. We may have a good idea of what they were, but we most likely don’t know precisely, and the actual facts may surprise us. That said, the moment calls for at least a preliminary list of proximate causes, and so I’ll give you one:
The COVID response: The response of governments to the COVID-19 mini-plague were far worse than the disease itself, which would otherwise have gone into the history books as a mundane little plague on the order of the flu of 1957. Instead, the perpetual human vulnerability to fear was targeted with 24/7 propaganda systems, tuned moment by moment to the most resonant frequencies and blasted at top volume. Perhaps there was a purposeful element to this and perhaps it was simple power-lust, but more than likely it was both. Time will have to tell.
Covering up the errors: As we all know, 15 days to flatten the curve has turned into well over 15 months in many places and The Science has become nothing but the variable wishes of the powerful. The first error, of course, was to create the virus, by either hubristic or malicious “gain of function” research. Then, of course, its release.
The second error was to lock down billions of human beings. The amount of damage done by this can barely be calculated, but it very clearly includes a sickening number of deaths (epitomized by locking old people into close quarters but by no means stopping there), a horrifying number of suicides, overwhelming amounts of emotional distress, tens of thousands of “vaccine” deaths, the trampling of rights, and economic distortions whose effects may last for decades.
So, how does a power-holder cover up such misdeeds? Firstly by keeping the fear going. Frightened people don’t ask pointed questions; they hunker down and try to stay alive. Secondly by keeping one or more Satan figures as their focus. And as we all know, that role was laid upon Donald Trump. Whatever Mr. Trump’s failings, the hate focused upon him was indeed a derangement. At present, a great deal of hate for Mr. Trump endures while new embodiments of evil are presented: Trump supporters, Caucasians, masculinity, people who believe in XX and XY sexual differentiation, and so on.
Binary vision: Humans have a weakness for binary divisions: Us-Them and so on. This has turned into a sharp divide, perhaps nowhere seen more starkly than in the US. It’s all too easy for humans to see those on the opposite side of such a divide as cartoon monsters, rather than as individuals worthy of toleration.
Defending one’s errors: People who’ve fallen into things like sadism will avoid considering their error, for what I’m sure are obvious reasons. And so the powerful are providing a long string of excuses for doing so. In this way human errors perpetuate themselves, until the game cannot be continued for some reason or another… after which a slow process of denial, bargaining and so on begins.
Social media: I’ve previously called social media a vampire parasite, and I stand by that characterization: It has purposely and methodically addicted billions of people to itself, then abused them for power and profit. Over the past few years social media, for whatever reasons, has whoreishly joined itself to power, in a full-blown Orwellian display of manipulation. I have no less vulgar way to describe such obscene actions. History will condemn this in the strongest terms, and rightly so.
Frightened rulers: Here we lack sufficient data for clarity, but rulers who blather on about a “Great Reset” have clearly lost confidence in what they’ve been doing. Thriving systems don’t need to be reset. And so we can infer that the rulers of the West (and beyond) are in fear of their game collapsing, which led to a string of errors and abuses.
What Now? What matters now is, as the Bible recommends, to “speak the truth in love.” We must call barbarity and sadism what they are, but for productive reasons and in productive ways. Many of us have multiple and valid reasons to be angry. Acting from anger, however, is seldom helpful. At the end of the day what we need is not justice, but improvement. This is not to say that justice is meaningless; rather, it’s to say that we haven’t the ability to gain both justice and improvement, and that improvement is the more necessary of the two. However disappointing that may be, I think it holds up as substantially correct.
And if so, our job is to speak the truth about what has happened, but with a clear goal in our minds: that of unwarping human souls. For this reason, I recommend that we call group beatings sadistic; that we call neo-racism evil; that we defend reality; that we call intolerance barbaric… but that we do this of necessity, not of anger. And we must always provide accessible pathways to reconciliation. For everyone’s sake, we must do these things and persist in doing them. Good luck to us all."
The Poet: Czeslaw Milosz, "A Song On The End Of The World"
"A Song On The End Of The World"
“On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.
On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.
And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.
Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.”
~ Czeslaw Milosz
"Universal Truth, Facts & Life"
"Universal Truth, Facts & Life"
Past happenings, History, facts about life and long living.
By Shiv Tandon
"In the Middle Ages, there were no toothbrushes, perfumes, deodorants, and much less toilet paper. Human excrements were thrown out of palace windows. On a holiday, the palace kitchen was able to prepare a feast for 1500 people, without the minimum hygiene. The explanation is not in the heat, but in the foul odor emitted under the skirts. It was also not customary to shower due to the cold and the almost non-existence of running water. Only the nobles had lackeys to fan them, to dispel the bad odor that exhalated the body and mouth, as well as to scare away the insects.
Those who have been to Versailles have admired the huge and beautiful gardens that, at that time, were not only contemplated, but used as a toilet in the famous ballads promoted by the monarchy, because there were no bathrooms.
In the Middle Ages, most weddings took place in June. The reason is simple: the first bath of the year was taken in May; so, in June, the smell of people was still tolerable. However, as some odors were already beginning to bother, the brides carried bouquets of flowers near their bodies to cover the odor. Hence the explanation of the origin of the bridal bouquet. The baths were taken in a single massive tub filled with hot water. The head of the family had the privilege of the first swim in clean water. Then, without changing the water, the others arrived in the house, in order of age, women, also by age and finally, children. The babies were the last ones to bathe.
During the 1600s and 1700s, the Palace of Versailles, like many other European royal residences, did not have modern bathrooms or sanitation facilities.
1. No bathrooms: The Palace of Versailles, built during the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715), did not have dedicated bathrooms. Instead, chamber pots and commodes were used in private quarters.
2. Medieval hygiene: During the Middle Ages, personal hygiene was not a priority. Toothbrushes, perfumes, deodorants, and toilet paper were not widely used or available.
3. Waste disposal: Human waste was often disposed of by throwing it out of windows or into streets, a practice known as "chamber pot emptying." This was common in many European cities, including Paris.
4. Palace specifics: Versailles had some primitive sanitation facilities, like latrines and cesspits, but they were not connected to a modern sewage system. Waste was often collected in cesspits and emptied manually.
5. Royal exceptions: Royalty and nobility used decorative commodes and chamber pots, sometimes with aromatic herbs or perfumes to mask odors. However, these were not connected to drainage systems.
6. Modernization: It wasn't until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that modern plumbing and sanitation systems were gradually introduced in European royal palaces, including Versailles.
These practices were common during that time period and not unique to Versailles. The palace has since undergone significant modernization and now features modern bathrooms and sanitation facilities."
Dan, I Allegedly, "This Is the End of the Post Office?!"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 12/6/25
"This Is the End of the Post Office?!"
"Amazon’s potential exit from the U.S. Postal Service could spell the end for this iconic institution! In today’s video, I’m diving into how Amazon’s move to privatize mail delivery might impact the USPS and why this loss could be catastrophic for one of America’s longest-standing services. With billions in losses, mounting debt, and the growing push for privatization, the USPS finds itself on shaky ground. Could this truly mark the end of daily mail delivery as we know it? Let’s talk about it."
Comments here:
"Americans Are Ditching McDonald's in Numbers We’ve Never Seen Before"
Full screen recommended.
The Unfolded States, 12/6/25
"Americans Are Ditching McDonald's
in Numbers We’ve Never Seen Before"
"When McDonald’s becomes too expensive for everyday Americans, it’s no longer just a fast-food story - it’s an economic warning sign. Across the country in 2025, something unusual is unfolding. Families who once relied on McDonald’s as the cheapest, quickest meal are suddenly walking away. Rising prices, shrinking value, and a growing sense that “fast food isn’t affordable anymore” are reshaping one of the most iconic parts of American culture. But what looks like a simple shift in eating habits is actually a deeper signal - one that reveals how inflation, weakening wages, and declining customer trust are rewriting the rules of the U.S. economy.
In this investigative breakdown, we dig into why Americans are ditching McDonald’s at unprecedented levels, how the company’s pricing model collided with a strained working class, and what this shift means for the future of the fast-food industry. Using verified data on menu inflation, traffic patterns, operating costs, and consumer behavior, we uncover the real forces behind McDonald’s downturn - and why it matters far beyond the drive-thru. A new reality is emerging - one where even the most familiar brands are no longer guaranteed a place in American life."
Comments here:
Adventures With Danno, "Stocking Up On These Grocery Deals At Meijer!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 12/6/25
"Stocking Up On These Grocery Deals At Meijer!"
Comments here:
Friday, December 5, 2025
"Breaking! Nuclear Base Fires At Drones! Germany Starts Forced Conscription!"
Prepper News, 12/5/25
"Breaking! Nuclear Base Fires At Drones!
Germany Starts Forced Conscription!"
Comments here:
"People Are Selling Everything To Buy Time - What Happens When There's Nothing Left To Sell?"
Jeremiah Babe, 12/5/25
"People Are Selling Everything To Buy Time -
What Happens When There's Nothing Left To Sell?"
Comments here:
Adventures With Danno, "People Acting Crazy...This Is Ridiculous"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 12/5/25
"People Acting Crazy...This Is Ridiculous"
Comments here:
"Americans Are Relocating By The Millions As They Get Priced Out Of This Economy"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 12/5/25
"Americans Are Relocating By The Millions
As They Get Priced Out Of This Economy"
"Millions of Americans are packing up and leaving the country. Not for vacation. For good. Doctors, teachers, young families, retirees. People from all walks of life are relocating overseas because they simply can't afford to stay. The cost of living has gotten so out of control that hardworking folks are finding a better quality of life in Spain, Poland, Thailand, Vietnam, and beyond.
In this video, we're looking at real stories from real people who made the decision to leave. Some of them left years ago and can't believe what America has become when they come back to visit. Others are planning their exit right now. And the reasons keep coming up over and over again: housing costs, grocery prices, healthcare, safety concerns, and a retirement system that doesn't add up anymore.
This isn't about hating America. It's about asking why the promise we grew up believing in feels so far out of reach for so many people. When a thousand dollars a month gets you further in Europe than five thousand does here, something has gone seriously wrong.
We're also hearing from people who stayed and are struggling to make ends meet. Families choosing between groceries and rent. Young graduates buried in debt with no jobs waiting for them. Parents doing mental math at the movie theater just in case something goes wrong. The American Dream used to mean something. Owning a home. Raising a family. Building a life. Now it feels like survival mode for too many of us.
Whether you're thinking about leaving or you're committed to staying and fighting for something better, this video is for you. These are conversations we need to be having. Because when this many people are heading for the door, it's time to ask why. Drop a comment and let me know what you're seeing in your community. Are people talking about leaving? Are you thinking about it yourself?"
Comments here:
Musical Interlude: Soothing Relaxation, "Dance of Life"
Full screen recommended.
Soothing Relaxation, "Dance of Life"
Be kind to yourself, forget all the troubles
for a little while and enjoy this beautiful video...
"A Look to the Heavens"
“NGC 253 is not only one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, it is also one of the dustiest. Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel in the constellation of Sculptor, NGC 253 lies only about ten million light-years distant.
NGC 253 is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies, the nearest group to our own Local Group of Galaxies. The dense dark dust accompanies a high star formation rate, giving NGC 253 the designation of starburst galaxy. Visible in the above photograph is the active central nucleus, also known to be a bright source of X-rays and gamma rays.”
"Guard Your Honor..."
"Reputation is what other people know about you.
Honor is what you know about yourself."
- Lois McMaster Bujold
"One Chance..."
“You get that one chance, and damn it, you’ve got to take it! If there’s one lesson I know I will take with me for eternity, its that there are those things that might happen only once, those chances that come walking down the street, strolling out of a café; if you don’t let go and take them, they really could get away! We can get so washed out with a mindset of entitlement – the universe will do everything for us to ensure our happiness – that we forget why we came here! We came here to grab, to take, to give, to have! Not to wait! Nobody came here to wait! So, what makes anyone think that destiny will keep on knocking over and over again? It could, but what if it doesn’t? You go and you take the chance that you get; even if it makes you look stupid, insane, or whorish! Because it just might not come back again. You could wait a lifetime to see if it will… but I don’t think you should.”
- C. JoyBell C.
"The False Choice Society"
"The False Choice Society"
by The Zman
"The false dichotomy, sometimes called the false choice, is one of the most popular rhetoric tricks used in liberal democracy. The point is to frame the debate in such a way as to either avoid some unpleasant topic or narrow the scope to the benefit of one party in the debate. “We either do X or we allow this terrible thing to continue” is an effective way to compel action. After all, everyone knows that doing nothing in never an acceptable action. Only monsters choose that option.
It is fair to say that our political system is built upon the false choice. Every election we are asked to choose between the two offerings put forward by the parties. In most cases, one option is ridiculous. That is why over 90% of incumbents win reelection. In races with real competition, the options put forward are nearly identical. Both parties offer up a plank of wood spouting whatever slogans are popular at the moment. The voters select between two robots programmed by the same people.
The reason this is a false choice is there is at least one other option. The voters could stage a boycott of the election. Maybe demand some reforms as a condition of rejoining the charade of democracy. Of course, the voters could riot at the polling stations, hurl the voting machines into the river and burn the ballots. They could vote for a third party candidate as a protest. Picking from one of the two options offered up from the uniparty is a false choice, because there are other options.
Of course, people do not select the other options because they are constantly reminded that those are all bad options. No rational person votes third-party. Even the most cynical critics of democracy say the third party option is a waste of time. Similarly, boycotts are dismissed as pointless. Rebellion, of course, is dismissed out of hand, despite the fact the country was literally founded on rebellion. The one thing everyone seems to agree upon is you have no choice but to pick from the two parties.
Another example of where the false choice is the foundation of liberal democracy was in the Covid panic. The reason the rulers took a wrecking ball to society is they were sure they had just two options. It was either the wrecking ball or do nothing and we all know that doing nothing is never an option. They had to do something, and all of the choices were bad, so they happily went with the bad option. When you eliminate the best option, you are always left with the worst options.
The false choice plays out in more subtle ways too. Unwilling to leave well enough alone, the rulers then tried to impose a vaccine passport. The idea was to require this for travel or to attend public gatherings. Given that liberal democracy looks a lot like fascism, businesses and banks were making noises about requiring the vaccine in order to have a job or use the financial system. You could get the vaccine, the choice was yours, but you may not be able live in society.
People are rightly upset about this turn of events. House broken conservatives were banging on about how the vaccine passport was just like when their grandparents made the Jews wear gold stars. The point of the yes/no debate on the vaccine passport was to distract from the real problem. The people in charge of public health are incompetent and had turned a minor public health problem into a disaster. Worse yet, they seemed to take some pleasure in being incompetent at it.
Not so long ago, proof of vaccination was a common requirement for travel. People were given a card that showed their vaccinations. This was before computers when the people in charge were somewhat competent at their jobs. People went along with it because they understood it was for public health. They could trust the people in charge enough to go along with it. The people who cured things like polio and smallpox were proud of it and the policies that made it possible.
Today, of course, no one trusts anyone. There can be no public pride in collective accomplishment because we have accomplished nothing, other than putting men in dresses and desecrating some statues. This is why half the public was skeptical of the vaccine and the passport business. Instead of dealing with that reality, we chose to have a debate about the passport itself. The false choice here was whether to get the vaccine or not. Whether to have a proof of vaccine or not.
The promise of democracy is that public policy is no longer set according to the narrow interests of a small ruling class. Instead, the marketplace of democracy will set the priorities and select the polices based on majority will. In reality, democracy is a mass delusion where the public debates pointless issues and selects from identical options, all in order to avoid facing reality. Say what you will about aristocracy, at least everyone knows who is in charge and who is to blame.
The Covid hysteria underscored how the false choice society staggers on through inertia and dumb luck. Faced with a real crisis, the current regime would collapse in a pile, with the people bickering with one another over how best to celebrate the pile once the dust settles. The false choice society is a society built on lies the people tell one another in order to avoid reality. The trouble is reality is the thing that does not go away when you stop believing in it."
Judge Napolitano, "INTEL Roundtable w/Johnson & McGovern: Weekly Wrap 5-Dec"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 12/5/25
"INTEL Roundtable w/Johnson & McGovern:
Weekly Wrap 5-Dec"
Comments here:
“What Mark Will You Leave On The World?”
“What Mark Will You Leave On The World?”
by Maria Rodale
“As some of you know, this time of year is my favorite time to truly reflect on the past and the future. Things seem to slow down enough that there’s finally time to ponder and think and plan and dream. The questions and thoughts change as I get older. When I was younger, it was more about what I wanted to accomplish (although I still have a VERY ambitious list for that). Now, it’s a little bit more of what do I want to leave behind?
The thing about life and reality is that it is so fleeting. Things that seem huge and vastly important can become footnotes to history or, like handprints in the sand – here today, gone tomorrow – washed away by wind or a wave. But I firmly believe that if we don’t think about it – and aren’t awake about it – we simply drift through life asleep and miss the best of it. In fact, I kind of believe that part of our purpose here in life is to create it, create change, push evolution forward, and improve things. To me, leaving a mark isn’t about getting credit or recognition, but making sure that the things we do have a positive impact rather than a negative one, and I think that starts in our heads and our hearts.
So I urge you to take some time for yourself this week, carve out an hour or, better yet, a day when you can really open your heart and calm your head enough to dream about what you truly desire. If you can dream it, you can create it. And then your life will leave a wake of happiness and joy.”
“Yet now, as he roared across the night sky toward an unknown destiny, he found himself facing that bleak and ultimate question which so few men can answer to their satisfaction. What have I done with my life, he asked himself, that the world will be poorer if I leave it?”
- Arthur C. Clarke, “Glide Path”
The Poet: W. H. Auden, “The More Loving One”
“The More Loving One”
“Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.”
- W. H. Auden
Chet Raymo, “The Sound And Fury”
“The Sound And Fury”
by Chet Raymo
“Once I mentioned here Himmler and Heydrich, two of Hitler's most terrible henchmen. A friend said to me: "If there's no afterlife, no heaven or hell, then those two diabolical creatures got away with it. Their fate was no different than that of any one of their victims, an innocent child perhaps." And, yes, if there is no God who dispenses final justice, then we are left with an aching feeling of irresolution, of virtue unrewarded, of vice unpunished. Heydrich was gunned down by partisan assassins, and Himmler committed suicide a few hours before his inevitable capture, both fates arguably less tragic than that of their victims. How much more satisfying to think that the two mass murderers will spend an eternity in hell, while their victims find bliss.
This may not be a logically consistent argument for the existence of God, but it is certainly compelling. My friend says: "If there's no afterlife, then it's all sound and fury, signifying nothing. Of course, this emotive argument for the existence of God is balanced by another argument against his existence – the problem of evil: How can a just and loving God allow the existence of a Himmler or Heydrich in the first place. Here the argument is not just emotional, but consists of a thorny contradiction.
It comes down, essentially, to head vs. heart- what we would like to be true with all of our heart, vs. what our head tells us is an unresolvable conundrum. So each of us decides: To follow our hearts and make the blind leap of faith, or to follow our heads and learn to live with the sound and the fury. For those of us who choose the second alternative, the relevant words are that distressing coda, "signifying nothing." Our task is one of signification, of finding a satisfying meaning this side of the grave.
For many of us, that means finding our place in the great cosmic unfolding, and of recognizing that our lives are not inconsequential, that by being here we jigger the trajectory of the universe in some way, no matter how small, and preferably for the good and just. Yes, we make a leap of faith too, I suppose - that love, justice, and creativity are virtues worth living for - but at least it is a leap of faith that is not into the unknown, does not embody logical contradiction, and is consistent with what we know to be true, or at least as true as we can make it.”
This may not be a logically consistent argument for the existence of God, but it is certainly compelling. My friend says: "If there's no afterlife, then it's all sound and fury, signifying nothing. Of course, this emotive argument for the existence of God is balanced by another argument against his existence – the problem of evil: How can a just and loving God allow the existence of a Himmler or Heydrich in the first place. Here the argument is not just emotional, but consists of a thorny contradiction.
It comes down, essentially, to head vs. heart- what we would like to be true with all of our heart, vs. what our head tells us is an unresolvable conundrum. So each of us decides: To follow our hearts and make the blind leap of faith, or to follow our heads and learn to live with the sound and the fury. For those of us who choose the second alternative, the relevant words are that distressing coda, "signifying nothing." Our task is one of signification, of finding a satisfying meaning this side of the grave.
For many of us, that means finding our place in the great cosmic unfolding, and of recognizing that our lives are not inconsequential, that by being here we jigger the trajectory of the universe in some way, no matter how small, and preferably for the good and just. Yes, we make a leap of faith too, I suppose - that love, justice, and creativity are virtues worth living for - but at least it is a leap of faith that is not into the unknown, does not embody logical contradiction, and is consistent with what we know to be true, or at least as true as we can make it.”
"Life's Funny..."
"Life is painful and messed up. It gets complicated at the worst of times, and sometimes you have no idea where to go or what to do. Lots of times people just let themselves get lost, dropping into a wide open, huge abyss. But that's why we have to keep trying. We have to push through all that hurts us, work past all our memories that are haunting us. Sometimes the things that hurt us are the things that make us strongest. A life without experience, in my opinion, is no life at all. And that's why I tell everyone that, even when it hurts, never stop yourself from living."
- Alysha Speer
"The joke was thinking you were ever really in charge of your life. You pressed your oar down into the water to direct the canoe, but it was the current that shot you through the rapids. You just hung on and hoped not to hit a rock or a whirlpool."
- Scott Turow
"Life's funny, chucklehead. You only get one and you don't want to throw it away. But you can't really live it at all unless you're willing to give it up for the things you love. If you're not at least willing to die for something - something that really matters - in the end you die for nothing."
- Andrew Klavan
"The Addiction to Entertainment: The Cause of Intellectual and Cultural Decline"
Full screen recommended.
"The Addiction to Entertainment:
The Cause of Intellectual and Cultural Decline"
by The Psyche
"In a world drowning in constant noise, instant stimulation, and endless scrolling, have we unknowingly become addicted to entertainment? And more importantly - what is this addiction doing to our minds, our culture, and our ability to think? This video explores the profound psychological and cultural consequences of living in an era where silence feels uncomfortable and distraction feels necessary. Inspired by insights from Kierkegaard, Postman, Huxley, Adorno, Nietzsche, and modern neuroscience, we reveal how entertainment has evolved from a source of joy into a subtle form of control - one that shapes our attention, weakens our intellect, and erodes our inner world. In this deep and eye-opening journey, you will discover:
• How infinite entertainment rewires the brain and destroys focus.
• Why boredom is the birthplace of creativity - and why we avoid it.
• How algorithms hijack our dopamine systems.
• Why overstimulation creates emptiness instead of fulfillment.
• The cultural decline that begins when entertainment becomes a lifestyle.
• How silence, reflection, and depth are becoming rare - and revolutionary.
• The hidden psychological mechanisms that make distraction addictive.
• How to reclaim your mind in a world built to steal your attention.
This is not just a video - it’s a wake-up call. If you’ve ever felt mentally exhausted, emotionally numb, or trapped in endless consumption… this message will show you why - and how to break free. Stay until the end - the final revelation may change the way you see entertainment, culture, and even your own life."
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Dan, I Allegedly, "Amazon's 30 Minute Delivery Kills Small Businesses!"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 12/5/25
"Amazon's 30 Minute Delivery Kills Small Businesses!"
"Amazon’s 30-minute delivery is here, and it’s a game-changer! Imagine needing something last-minute - like eggs for your cake or trash bags - and getting it delivered to your door in just 30 minutes. This innovation, already rolling out in cities like Seattle, Philadelphia, and now Fort Worth, Texas, might just revolutionize shopping as we know it. But what does this mean for small businesses already struggling with record bankruptcies? Let’s break down the numbers, the impact, and what this means for the future of retail."
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