Tag: politics

Two Tidbits of Timeless Political Wisdom from Machiavelli

“Generosity” funded by debt or currency devaluation is the opposite of generosity: it is the ultimate taking.

Now that the air is thick with the burned-rubber stench of politics, let’s consider two tidbits of timeless political wisdom from Machiavelli. Though often-maligned as the dark Lord of amoral cunning, my re-reading of Machiavelli’s The Prince (completed in 1514, published after his death in 1532) reveals Mr. M. as a practical sort, not so much a promoter of devilish amorality as an observer wise to the vagaries of power.

Let’s start with a famous excerpt from Chapter Six. The first is a translation in the modern vernacular; the second is an older more literal translation.

The Prince (PDF):

Here we have to bear in mind that nothing is harder to organize, more likely to fail, or more dangerous to see through, than the introduction of a new system of government. The person bringing in the changes will make enemies of everyone who was doing well under the old system, while the people who stand to gain from the new arrangements will not offer wholehearted support, partly because they are afraid of their opponents, who still have the laws on their side, and partly because people are naturally skeptical: no one really believes in change until they’ve had solid experience of it. So as soon as the opponents of the new system see a chance, they’ll go on the offensive with the determination of an embattled faction, while its supporters will offer only half-hearted resistance, something that will put the new ruler’s position at risk too.

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Engineering A Crisis: How Political Theater Helps Keep The Deep State Stay In Power

A failed assassination attempt on a presidential candidate. An incumbent president withdrawing his re-election bid at the 11th hour. A politicized judiciary that fails to hold the powers-that-be accountable to the rule of law. A world at war. A nation in turmoil.

This is what controlled chaos looks like.

This year’s election-year referendum on which corporate puppet should occupy the White House has quickly become a lesson in how the Deep State engineers a crisis to keep itself in power.

Don’t get so caught up in the performance that you lose sight of what’s real.

This endless series of diversions, distractions and political drama is the oldest con game in the books, the magician’s sleight of hand that keeps you focused on the shell game in front of you while your wallet is being picked clean by ruffians in your midst.

It’s the Reichstag Fire all over again.

It was February 1933, a month before national elections in Germany, and the Nazis weren’t expected to win. So they engineered a way to win: they began by infiltrating the police and granting police powers to their allies; then Hitler brought in stormtroopers to act as auxiliary police; by the time an arsonist (who claimed to be working for the Communists in the hopes of starting an armed revolt) set fire to the Reichstag, the German parliamentary building, the people were eager for a return to law and order.

That was all it took: Hitler used the attempted “coup” as an excuse to declare martial law and seize absolute power in Germany, establishing himself as a dictator with the support of the German people.

Fast forward to the present day, and what do we have? A discontented citizenry, a disconnected government, and a Deep State that wants to stay in power at all costs.

So what happens? Trump has a near miss, Biden bows out, and politics becomes exciting to the masses again.

It works the same in every age.

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The Hypocritical Oath of the Political Class

The Hippocratic oath is well-known. It is an ethic code dictating the medical profession. It is named after the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. It is respected as a guide for the healing professional’s conduct.

It is still used in the graduation ceremonies of many medical schools. Its code of principles dictates the obligatory ethical behavior of those practicing the medical arts.

There is another oath

But this article introduces another oath governing those elected to political office. It is the Hypocritical Oath. This is disconcerting. It is incensing. It is inexcusable.

But it is casually accepted and cunningly justified. It is the old “bait and switch” con on the political level—the citizen is told the POL will do one thing only to see the exact opposite is being practiced once the POL is safely ensconced within the beltway!

The term “hypocrite” is never commendable. Etymologically it refers to one who is playing a part. In the theatrical use it describes one who would change personalities by removing one mask and putting on another.

Thus the “hypocrite” is wearing a mask that convincingly presents himself one way but will quickly change masks to be a totally different character and is equally convincing in the opposite role.

Our term communicates that one is “acting on the stage; pretense; playing a part, pretending.”  “A hypocrite, one who tries to make himself appear to be what he is not, especially to seem better than he is.” [Century Dictionary]

An interesting observation regarding political hypocrisy. It is “the conscious use of a mask to fool the public and gain political benefit”.

In any given year political hypocrisy is rampant. In an election year political hypocrisy is “pandemic.” It does not matter if one is red or blue or purple. There are myriads of examples where the POLS don a mask and play the part.

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Welsh Police Pay Home Visit to Man For Displaying Reform UK Political Sign

A video shows Welsh police visiting a man’s home because he displayed a Reform UK political sign on the wall, despite this being a completely normal sight during election season.

Voice of Wales posted a clip to X showing an officer at the man’s house talking about how “concerns” had been expressed about the sign and that he needed to take a photo of it.

The officer also took a photo of another Lest We Forget Flag that is sometimes displayed outside homes to honor Britain’s war dead.

Apparently, such signs are apparently offensive and worthy of police investigation based on a single complaint, despite the fact that people in the UK routinely display signs of parties they support outside their homes during election season.

Such “concerns” were deemed a potential threat despite the fact that, according to polls, around 15-20 per cent of the British population is set to vote for Reform UK in the national election on July 4th.

According to Voice of Wales, the complaint was made by the charity which who owns the house next door, which is set to be turned into accommodation for asylum seekers (economic migrants).

As part of its manifesto, Reform UK has pledged to drastically cut mass migration and stop the flow of small boats containing illegal immigrants entering Britain.

This is by no means the only example of Brits receiving home visits from police over their political views.

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“Overkill”: Dems Bristle After AIPAC Spends ‘Unprecedented’ Amount To Defeat Bowman

While Rep. Jamal Bowman, a moron, may have sealed his fate after pulling a fire alarm to delay a House vote on a congressional stopgap bill, the ‘squad’ member’s Democratic primary loss to ‘moderate’ challenger George Latimer has raised eyebrows for other reasons.

Chief among them is what Axios described as an ‘unprecedented financial investment’ by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which spent over $14.5 million to defeat Bowman, mostly via TV ads attacking the incumbent.

While Bowman also faced opposition from a ‘Crypto Super PAC‘ – and Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss posting on X that “this is what happens when you pick a fight with the crypto army,” Democrats tell Axios that AIPAC’s enormous ad spend may have also been meant to intimidate Democrats who are critical of the Jewish state.

“It might change how they talk about [Israel],” one moderate House Democrat told the outlet, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“The number is gross … I don’t like it,” another House Democrat told Axios, calling the figure “Overkill,” and adding “If anything that much money could backfire, because then you get people that are like, ‘This is just wrong.”

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Political Consultant With Lincoln Project Ties Arrested For Child Sex Crimes

Joel Searby, a veteran political consultant who headed up ex-CIA officer Evan McMullin’s independent presidential bid in 2016, has been arrested and charged with multiple felonies relating to child sex crimes.

Searby, 43, is charged with felony counts of lewd and lascivious behavior, communicating to lure a minor, traveling to lure a minor and using a device to commit a felony. He is currently being held at the Alachua County Jail without bond.

According to the arrest report, Searby used the messaging platform Snapchat to send inappropriate pictures and text messages to a 15-year-old boy. He later attempted to lure him to a meeting for sex acts.

Searby used a fake name and photo in order to coordinate the meetup, police said.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office took over the boy’s account in order to continue communication with Searby. This led to a judge granting a search warrant for the consultant’s home.

Searby allegedly told the boy that he had a “secret crush” on an older man in his 40’s when he was around the boy’s age. He wrote that they first kissed and then “did more stuff in secret whenever we could. He kind of taught me stuff. …”

According to the report, Searby then asked the victim if he “Would ever do something like that?” The victim then replied with, “maybe I would have to think abt it.”

The consultant then went into detail about his sexual encounters with his “secret crush” before asking if the boy would ever “do that stuff.”

Searby also stressed that the boy would need to keep things secret. “I’m super secret. I have to know you will keep it between us. It’s a huge deal,” Searby wrote, according to the report.

Searby was ultimately arrested without incident on Friday.

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8 Signs That Extremists Are Taking Over Our Country

It is happening all around us.  Our nation is being radically transformed by people with extreme ideologies, and that should deeply alarm all of us.  According to Google, an extremist is “a person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action”.  Sadly, that definition accurately describes many that hold prominent positions of power in our society today.  In so many cases, individuals that have political beliefs that most ordinary Americans would consider to be very radical are going to extraordinary lengths to impose their views on all of the rest of us. 

The following are 8 signs that extremists are taking over our country…

#1 In Oregon, a high school track and field coach has been fired for simply “expressing his concerns about allowing biological males to compete with girls”…

The head track and field coach at a high school in Oregon has been fired after writing letters to state officials expressing his concerns about allowing biological males to compete with girls.

John Parks, who had been employed at Lake Oswego High School since January of last year, says his contract was terminated shortly after he began speaking out against trans-identified males self-identifying into female races.

#2 Officials in Seattle have decided that it is perfectly okay to hire migrants that have come into the United States illegally as police officers…

Now, faced with what can only be called an emergency due to low staffing, the city is taking advantage of Senate Bill 6157, signed into law by far-left Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, which will allow DACA recipients or so-called “dreamers” to apply to become police officers.

One issue facing DACA recipients becoming police officers is because they are in the country illegally, which means that they are not generally permitted to carry a firearm. However, Biden’s ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, FIrearms and Explosives) has ruled that “It is ATF’s position that DACA recipients can possess duty firearms and possess ammunition as part of their official law enforcement officer duties,” according to the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

#3 Even though reservoirs are overflowing right now, bureaucrats have decided to greatly restrict the flow of water to countless potato farmers in the state of Idaho…

Eastern Idaho farmers may soon be out of water after the state issued a major curtailment.

Brian Murdock, a farmer who resides in East Idaho, warned of the potential devastating impact of the order on his business during his appearance on “The Bottom Line” Wednesday.

“Well, as you said, the state of Idaho and the Idaho Department of Water Resources has issued this curtailment of 500,000 acres. And to help put that in perspective, that’s basically 781 square miles of farm ground that is being taken out of production,” Murdock stressed.

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House Passes $883 Billion Annual Defense Bill With Culture War Amendments

The House of Representatives on June 14 passed its annual defense policy bill with GOP-approved culture war amendments that are certain to put the House on a collision course with the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The final tally on the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) vote was 217–199, with six Democrats voting in favor and three Republicans voting against.

The $883.7 billion bill, which has more than 1,000 pages, provides continued funding for military aircraft, ships, vehicles, and weapons programs. It also includes a 4.5 percent pay raise for U.S. service members and about 15 percent in additional pay for some junior enlisted service members, bringing their overall pay boost to nearly 20 percent under this year’s budget.

The NDAA includes culture war provisions such as eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions within the Department of Defense (DoD) and imposing a hiring freeze on DEI positions in the DoD. There is a measure to block DoD funding for abortion-related expenses, another that bars the DoD from funding or providing gender transition surgeries and hormone treatments, as well as measures to prohibit the DoD’s education arm from purchasing or displaying material that “promotes radical gender ideology or pornographic content.”

The House version also includes an amendment, introduced by Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), that prohibits the Pentagon from contracting with entities that have engaged in boycotts of Israel and would bar the department from selling products made by entities that boycott Israel at any of its commissary stores or military exchanges.

Another amendment, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), would block the DoD from allocating funds for various climate-action-related executive orders issued by President Joe Biden.

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Court Rules “Success Kid” Meme Use in Political Ad Does Not Qualify as Fair Use

When the Obama White House in 2013 used the “Success Kid” meme to promote, in posts on social media, the adoption of the Immigration Reform Bill – nobody clenched a fist, much less batted an eyelash to brand this PR strategy as a copyright violation.

However, the same can’t be said for the case of former Republican Congressman Steve King’s use of the meme (variations of which have been all over the internet for the past 15 or so years). But, when it made its way to one of King’s Facebook posts in 2020, the family of the child whose picture is used as a template sued on copyright grounds.

And now a court has once again sided with their arguments. The “new rule” is that the image turned into a meme, when used in a political ad, does not fall under the fair use copyright exemption.

The mother of the child, Laney Griner, has no problem with the picture being used in other types of ads – the United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ruling notes that she took the photo in 2007, and after “Success Kid” became extremely popular, copyrighted it in 2012 to then license it to the likes of Virgin Mobile, Vitamin Water, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola, who used it in ads.

The original 2022 verdict in the case brought by Griner against King was that unlicensed use took place and that his campaign, but not the congressman himself, was guilty, and ordered them to pay $750.

In appealing the ruling, the campaign argued copyright law’s fair use rule to defend the inclusion of the meme in a fundraising effort. Another argument was implied license.

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Parade of Pharisees: It’s Time to Separate Piety And Politics

Piety with a side of eggs

One of the most brazen if not most shameless “free exercise thereof” examples is the annual National Prayer Breakfast. Politicians gather to silently pray that the Lord will smite all their enemies — or at least get them indicted on multiple charges. And the common theme of comments at the event is that the political class is doing God’s work.

The prayer breakfast long ago turned into the type of “market” that Jesus castigated thousands of years ago. The prayer breakfast became notorious as “an international influence-peddling bazaar, where foreign dignitaries, religious leaders, diplomats and lobbyists jockey for access to the highest reaches of American power,” the New York Times reported. Maria Butina, who the media labeled as a Russian spy because she failed to register as a Russian agent, used the breakfast as a way “to establish a back channel of communication” with America’s top political leaders, according to a 2018 federal indictment. Franklin Graham described the prevailing motive at prayer breakfasts in 2018: “I can tell you right now, everybody in that room has the same agenda. They’re wanting to be able to rub elbows with somebody that they normally couldn’t rub elbows with.”

Controversy over the foreign spying spurred a newly formed organization to take over the prayer breakfast gig. It issued a revised mission statement: “The vision of the National Prayer Breakfast Foundation is to promote and share the idea of gathering together in the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth,” with participants “united in believing that by looking to the life of Jesus, people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs can join together, encourage and promote forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Politicians joyfully join together to con the rubes — to keep average Americans paying and obeying Uncle Sam. The national Prayer Breakfast is a keystone of civic religion in the nation’s capital. That religion is devoted to worshiping the government and pretending that federal agencies can perform miracles, regardless of their past records.

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