To the extent that there is an international conspiracy to subjugate the human race, it is not being directed by a small island nation of a little over 11 million people, with a GDP comparable to Jeff Bezos, that can't even keep the lights on. It is being directed from the offices of autocrats and oligarchs for their personal enrichment. Rubio is a servant to this conspiracy, and a traitor to democracy.
When I was a young adult I ran across a book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy by Gary Allen. It described the influence of the oligarchs and the the intentions of these morbidly rich sociopaths. At that time it was the conservatives who were concerned and paying attention to what Allen predicted. The names have changed and their activities are no longer as secretive. Americans now have a choice. Become proactive and resist the plans of these destructive monsters or settle into the life of modern day serfs and slaves. Time to bury the fear and step up to the plate. We can turn this around.
Time for retraining about your rights and what to do if you are stopped. There are seminars you can attend, and as always, there is information online. The ACLU website is a good place to search. Share it with your family and friends.
We have a lot to look forward to after this election, but the more these fascists are cornered the more they will strike out. Don't obey in advance, friends. Stay LOUD like Thom and Company. America is worth it and we must show up in every way we can. See you in the streets.
Legacy media has utterly failed its primary mission, to report what’s happening. It understands that repeating isn’t reporting, but doesn’t care. It is therefore contributing to and accelerating the collapse of a once-great nation. Should we somehow survive this period we must refresh our expectations of a free press. Trust-busting would be a great place to start.
It was not a chemical that reacted with another substance inside the chamber. It was a carrier material (gypsum pellets, earlier diatomaceous earth) pre‑soaked with liquid hydrogen cyanide (HCN).
When the can was opened and the pellets were poured into the chamber, evaporation alone released the gas. No mixing, no reaction, no catalyst.
CAN the administration EXCLUDE PEOPLE FROM THE MONETARY SYSTEM simply by ACCUSING them of supporting terrorism? Or do they have to be formally indicted? I’m worried that the answer will cause widespread panic. DOES the DOJ have the power to ruin people’s lives by adding them to the Terrorist Watchlist? CAN The Administration AVOID the effort and expense of prosecution? If you don’t even have to get to the point of prosecution that leaves the door open to freezing assets and debanking millions of Americans for making charitable contributions and participating in demonstrations in support of Leftist organizations.
How do they DEFINE “unAmericanism” or “anti-capitalism”? Is it left to be purposely ambiguous? I notice the memorandum did NOT mention anything about those who are ANTI-DEMOCRACY! Those against tradition “morals”? How about pathological liars? Pedophiles? Rapists? Convicted felons? Violent rioters attempting to overthrow an election? I’m a Christian. I’m an American. I believe in capitalism, the same kind of welfare capitalism we’ve had for over 100 years (except for the early 1900s when we had Lassez Faire capitalism). Like our founders and centuries of other Americans (including 14 million WWII US military) I believe in democracy am against other forms of government, especially communism and fascism. BTW, ANTIFA is Bigfoot, a unicorn, the bogieman…it doesn’t exist.
I'm pretty sure this administration can now freely exclude, imprison, deport, and/or destroy anyone they want anywhere, anytime. It is now up to our judicial system, the states, and we, the people, to stop the trumpnazis. P.S.: AI wrote this, not (the very traceable) me.
Owning our shadow - as individuals, groups and nations - is not an endeavor for the faint of heart.
We need to study of the many ways in which we disown, deny, and project our selfishness, rage, hatred, cruelty, indifference, fear, pain, greed, and narcissism. This labor, because it involves expanding into the unknown, is very challenging. However, the alternative is projection and scapegoating.
When this mechanism of disowning threatening material is expressed at the group level, it can become a very serious concern. Group members can numb themselves and comfortably carry on in their chosen victimizing direction, unencumbered by sorrow, guilt or shame.
In scapegoating, it is as if a group in the grip of the collective shadow is mesmerized - through a kind of "participation mystique" - and in the process justify the most extreme atrocities.
Connie Zweig, in Meeting the Shadow:
"The power of the collective mind reinforces our most cherished ideas and opinions... It requires a tremendous effort of consciousness to question dogmas of orthodoxy and the behavior of authorities who have a strong sense of entitlement.
"Projecting our shadow onto others can justify the most extreme atrocities. In order to thwart the Devil... the Church tortured herbalists, midwives, and wise women suspected of witchcraft until they confessed their crimes and denounced their 'accomplices.' Over 100,000 people were put to death in Europe... 83 % of them were women."
****
This is what is playing out every day before our eyes.
Thank you, Denise, Jo, Robot and others who "liked" my comments.
A few more thoughts:
We have many examples from modern times: Armenians, Native Americans, South African and African-Americans, European Jews, and Palestinians have served the delusion that their victimization is necessary for a country to be pure and whole. When a country's own negativity is projected onto the designated scapegoat, we witness the appearance of such images as the "greedy" Jew, the "stupid" black, the "corrupt" Italian, and the "perverted" AIDS patient.
Yet, we are all part of each other's suffering. When we are silent, we give the process our passive support. The first step is to identify and call it out. Any other alternative is simply enabling these behaviors.
We need to accept our responsibility for the scapegoating system as a whole. When it's possible, we are called to courageously address it in action, even at the risk of facing the brunt of a group's negative transference, where the dissenter is framed as a cause for the group's problems... a ready-made scapegoat.
Depending on the psychological health of the group, calling out and opposing the scapegoating process often requires defying the group and risking serious penalties. Christ and other prophets who took on corruption faced extreme reactions.
One path is to walk away from the corrupt group or society (which believes itself to be innocent of transgression). After taking time to heal and understand the group unconscious, such a person may return as a teacher and interpreter - living the archetype of the wise elder or shaman... serving the group through his or her knowledge.
World-renowned founder of Analytical (or "depth") Psychology, Carl Jung, was known for his study of archetypes - universal, primal symbols and images that derive from the "collective" level of our unconscious minds. They're the psychic counterpart of instincts. Jung described them as innate knowledge derived from the total of human history. They prefigure and direct conscious behavior. Two of the archetypes to which he gave much attention were that of the "scapegoat" and the "shadow."
The shadow essentially involves all the things we can't face. The shadow areas of both our individual and group-level awareness are literally created by our felt-need to avoid (and hide from ourselves) what is true. This is usually accomplished by way of three mechanisms - all of which distort our processes of perception and thought.
Denial - "we don't notice the fact that we don't notice."
Splitting - we unconsciously cordon off areas of our awareness, making some truths taboo or "bad, while other areas are regarded as acceptable or "good." This can happen because the "bad insights" are threatening to our self-image. But as Shakespeare wrote: "The truth will out..."
Projection is the third process. Low and behold: we see in the outside world the very qualities we've been unable to accept within ourselves. Through the psychological mechanism called projection - we see "others" possessing these traits. We then often feel justified in acting out our aggression toward those upon whom we have projected our shadow.
Is it true that ICE has a national quota for 2,000 arrests every day? No matter how guilty or innocent; 2000/day. That's nit how you rid your country of the nasty ones. The agents will always go for the low-hanging fruit; mothers dropping off the kids at school, dads at work in the fields. It's easier than ferreting out the "bad guys." They need to change the system. One arrest of a "bad guy" is worth 500 innocents, for example.
Attacking women's rights is a deliberate blueprint and core strategy for authoritarian regimes, serving to establish social control, enforce rigid hierarchies, and dismantle democratic norms. Writing was on the wall and not enough people cared.
Also, us atheists (rather humanists) are like canaries in a coal mine.
Whoa! That was powerful! Louise’s songs give me the shivers.
Louise’s Daily Songs are beautiful and very powerful in their own right, but using music - especially music and lyrics that are that good and relevant - combined with narrative is a master stroke.
Hartmann & Louise for President!
My question is, what is the legal status of Rubio’s proclamation? Much of it is contrary to the Constitution, is it not?
Doesn’t it have to be approved through Congress?
Is the plan to use it purely as political manifesto to destroy the Democratic Socialists, and possibly others in the election? Or just to scare them?
Or is the US, as a country, now heading right across the border into lawlessness?
Are we are on the cusp of a major new wave of repression designed to disrupt civil society, tie the courts and civil liberties organizations in knots and decimate the political opposition?
Our government is implementing Project 2025 and very few are paying attention. It is more than half implemented! (you can check that out on AI) Read a summary of this, google what has been done so far... the press doesn't even mention Project 2025 but it's real.
Join the Resistance, protest with No Kings, pay attention to and follow Indivisible, support the many progressives who are running for office, tell your Secretary of State or your Democratic party to put out a statewide notice to everyone to doublecheck their voter registration status (because right wing Vigilantes are being paid to challenge voter registration status and getting people deleted from voter registration rolls...). Volunteer to help with the election in your district...
To the extent that there is an international conspiracy to subjugate the human race, it is not being directed by a small island nation of a little over 11 million people, with a GDP comparable to Jeff Bezos, that can't even keep the lights on. It is being directed from the offices of autocrats and oligarchs for their personal enrichment. Rubio is a servant to this conspiracy, and a traitor to democracy.
When I was a young adult I ran across a book called None Dare Call it Conspiracy by Gary Allen. It described the influence of the oligarchs and the the intentions of these morbidly rich sociopaths. At that time it was the conservatives who were concerned and paying attention to what Allen predicted. The names have changed and their activities are no longer as secretive. Americans now have a choice. Become proactive and resist the plans of these destructive monsters or settle into the life of modern day serfs and slaves. Time to bury the fear and step up to the plate. We can turn this around.
Forewarned is Forearmed
Time for retraining about your rights and what to do if you are stopped. There are seminars you can attend, and as always, there is information online. The ACLU website is a good place to search. Share it with your family and friends.
We have a lot to look forward to after this election, but the more these fascists are cornered the more they will strike out. Don't obey in advance, friends. Stay LOUD like Thom and Company. America is worth it and we must show up in every way we can. See you in the streets.
Legacy media has utterly failed its primary mission, to report what’s happening. It understands that repeating isn’t reporting, but doesn’t care. It is therefore contributing to and accelerating the collapse of a once-great nation. Should we somehow survive this period we must refresh our expectations of a free press. Trust-busting would be a great place to start.
It Can't Happen Here?
Zyklon‑B was used in WWII by the Germans.
It was not a chemical that reacted with another substance inside the chamber. It was a carrier material (gypsum pellets, earlier diatomaceous earth) pre‑soaked with liquid hydrogen cyanide (HCN).
When the can was opened and the pellets were poured into the chamber, evaporation alone released the gas. No mixing, no reaction, no catalyst.
Wake Up Everybody . . .
#VOTE for Repairing a Dying Democracy
#Sanction all Oligarchs
CAN the administration EXCLUDE PEOPLE FROM THE MONETARY SYSTEM simply by ACCUSING them of supporting terrorism? Or do they have to be formally indicted? I’m worried that the answer will cause widespread panic. DOES the DOJ have the power to ruin people’s lives by adding them to the Terrorist Watchlist? CAN The Administration AVOID the effort and expense of prosecution? If you don’t even have to get to the point of prosecution that leaves the door open to freezing assets and debanking millions of Americans for making charitable contributions and participating in demonstrations in support of Leftist organizations.
How do they DEFINE “unAmericanism” or “anti-capitalism”? Is it left to be purposely ambiguous? I notice the memorandum did NOT mention anything about those who are ANTI-DEMOCRACY! Those against tradition “morals”? How about pathological liars? Pedophiles? Rapists? Convicted felons? Violent rioters attempting to overthrow an election? I’m a Christian. I’m an American. I believe in capitalism, the same kind of welfare capitalism we’ve had for over 100 years (except for the early 1900s when we had Lassez Faire capitalism). Like our founders and centuries of other Americans (including 14 million WWII US military) I believe in democracy am against other forms of government, especially communism and fascism. BTW, ANTIFA is Bigfoot, a unicorn, the bogieman…it doesn’t exist.
I'm pretty sure this administration can now freely exclude, imprison, deport, and/or destroy anyone they want anywhere, anytime. It is now up to our judicial system, the states, and we, the people, to stop the trumpnazis. P.S.: AI wrote this, not (the very traceable) me.
Rubio names any movement that isn't far right as violently against our country. Not to mention their favorite Antifa isn't even a movement.
Owning our shadow - as individuals, groups and nations - is not an endeavor for the faint of heart.
We need to study of the many ways in which we disown, deny, and project our selfishness, rage, hatred, cruelty, indifference, fear, pain, greed, and narcissism. This labor, because it involves expanding into the unknown, is very challenging. However, the alternative is projection and scapegoating.
When this mechanism of disowning threatening material is expressed at the group level, it can become a very serious concern. Group members can numb themselves and comfortably carry on in their chosen victimizing direction, unencumbered by sorrow, guilt or shame.
In scapegoating, it is as if a group in the grip of the collective shadow is mesmerized - through a kind of "participation mystique" - and in the process justify the most extreme atrocities.
Connie Zweig, in Meeting the Shadow:
"The power of the collective mind reinforces our most cherished ideas and opinions... It requires a tremendous effort of consciousness to question dogmas of orthodoxy and the behavior of authorities who have a strong sense of entitlement.
"Projecting our shadow onto others can justify the most extreme atrocities. In order to thwart the Devil... the Church tortured herbalists, midwives, and wise women suspected of witchcraft until they confessed their crimes and denounced their 'accomplices.' Over 100,000 people were put to death in Europe... 83 % of them were women."
****
This is what is playing out every day before our eyes.
Thank you, Denise, Jo, Robot and others who "liked" my comments.
A few more thoughts:
We have many examples from modern times: Armenians, Native Americans, South African and African-Americans, European Jews, and Palestinians have served the delusion that their victimization is necessary for a country to be pure and whole. When a country's own negativity is projected onto the designated scapegoat, we witness the appearance of such images as the "greedy" Jew, the "stupid" black, the "corrupt" Italian, and the "perverted" AIDS patient.
Yet, we are all part of each other's suffering. When we are silent, we give the process our passive support. The first step is to identify and call it out. Any other alternative is simply enabling these behaviors.
We need to accept our responsibility for the scapegoating system as a whole. When it's possible, we are called to courageously address it in action, even at the risk of facing the brunt of a group's negative transference, where the dissenter is framed as a cause for the group's problems... a ready-made scapegoat.
Depending on the psychological health of the group, calling out and opposing the scapegoating process often requires defying the group and risking serious penalties. Christ and other prophets who took on corruption faced extreme reactions.
One path is to walk away from the corrupt group or society (which believes itself to be innocent of transgression). After taking time to heal and understand the group unconscious, such a person may return as a teacher and interpreter - living the archetype of the wise elder or shaman... serving the group through his or her knowledge.
World-renowned founder of Analytical (or "depth") Psychology, Carl Jung, was known for his study of archetypes - universal, primal symbols and images that derive from the "collective" level of our unconscious minds. They're the psychic counterpart of instincts. Jung described them as innate knowledge derived from the total of human history. They prefigure and direct conscious behavior. Two of the archetypes to which he gave much attention were that of the "scapegoat" and the "shadow."
The shadow essentially involves all the things we can't face. The shadow areas of both our individual and group-level awareness are literally created by our felt-need to avoid (and hide from ourselves) what is true. This is usually accomplished by way of three mechanisms - all of which distort our processes of perception and thought.
Denial - "we don't notice the fact that we don't notice."
Splitting - we unconsciously cordon off areas of our awareness, making some truths taboo or "bad, while other areas are regarded as acceptable or "good." This can happen because the "bad insights" are threatening to our self-image. But as Shakespeare wrote: "The truth will out..."
Projection is the third process. Low and behold: we see in the outside world the very qualities we've been unable to accept within ourselves. Through the psychological mechanism called projection - we see "others" possessing these traits. We then often feel justified in acting out our aggression toward those upon whom we have projected our shadow.
Is it true that ICE has a national quota for 2,000 arrests every day? No matter how guilty or innocent; 2000/day. That's nit how you rid your country of the nasty ones. The agents will always go for the low-hanging fruit; mothers dropping off the kids at school, dads at work in the fields. It's easier than ferreting out the "bad guys." They need to change the system. One arrest of a "bad guy" is worth 500 innocents, for example.
Attacking women's rights is a deliberate blueprint and core strategy for authoritarian regimes, serving to establish social control, enforce rigid hierarchies, and dismantle democratic norms. Writing was on the wall and not enough people cared.
Also, us atheists (rather humanists) are like canaries in a coal mine.
Whoa! That was powerful! Louise’s songs give me the shivers.
Louise’s Daily Songs are beautiful and very powerful in their own right, but using music - especially music and lyrics that are that good and relevant - combined with narrative is a master stroke.
Hartmann & Louise for President!
My question is, what is the legal status of Rubio’s proclamation? Much of it is contrary to the Constitution, is it not?
Doesn’t it have to be approved through Congress?
Is the plan to use it purely as political manifesto to destroy the Democratic Socialists, and possibly others in the election? Or just to scare them?
Or is the US, as a country, now heading right across the border into lawlessness?
Are we are on the cusp of a major new wave of repression designed to disrupt civil society, tie the courts and civil liberties organizations in knots and decimate the political opposition?
Our government is implementing Project 2025 and very few are paying attention. It is more than half implemented! (you can check that out on AI) Read a summary of this, google what has been done so far... the press doesn't even mention Project 2025 but it's real.
Join the Resistance, protest with No Kings, pay attention to and follow Indivisible, support the many progressives who are running for office, tell your Secretary of State or your Democratic party to put out a statewide notice to everyone to doublecheck their voter registration status (because right wing Vigilantes are being paid to challenge voter registration status and getting people deleted from voter registration rolls...). Volunteer to help with the election in your district...