Open Thread - 11-15-24 - Snake Farm
The plot: Blondie (Clint Eastwood) defeats Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) in a three-way Mexican showdown and then sets his gaze upon Tuco, the last two men standing. After defeating Tuco, and after a faked hanging, and in magnanimous fashion, Blondie splits the stolen money with Tuco (Eli Wallach) and lets him go, in essence he pardons him, as he rides of into the distance. Art imitating life.
Donald Trump's cabinet picks are rolling in like an assembly line. There are shouts of glee and cries of despair echoing across the land as the future settles into the minds of the body politic. Some pundits point fingers, some pound their chests. The nation remains divided, perhaps even more so after the election. There's an eerie calm across the land, for now.
As I see it, there are some Good potentialities among his picks. There is much fat to be rendered from the bloated governmental carcass. That rendering will cause some hurt but really should be done, the behemoth is stuffed like an 86 pound turkey.
The US of A will be none the worse with healthier food and better product regulation. Regulating poisons would also be a huge plus. Health has been neglected for too long in this country for the sake of corporate profit.
I foresee possible Bad consequences looming in the future as well, namely censorship. Consequences that may affect c99 and the internet in toto. In the past Trump had originally voiced opposition to Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1996, which will directly affect c99 and myself, which provides immunity to online platforms from civil liability based on third-party content. The former President has gone quiet since his previous opposition to Section 230 after he launched his social media platform, Truth Social.
We shall see, since the Republicans have also shown a desire to censor social media, albeit from a different angle from that of the Democrats.
There are Ugly storm clouds of war building on the horizon as well, as Trump loads his cabinet with hardliners. The European theater may quell, but the specter of the ongoing and troublesome war in the Mideast continues. Let's hope that the recent bluster emanating from certain voices in the incoming cabinet are meant to bring the antagonists to the bargaining table and not a portent of the future.
In this moment in time, I feel like the dog in this video. Let us hope to be unburdened by what may be, as the US, Israel and Iran face off in a Mexican showdown of three.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and the Dog
0:49
Pack your parachute because it's going to be a long trip to the bottom of the rabbit hole. When we hit the ground floor be careful where you step because it may very well be a snake hole rather than a rabbit hole.
At the bottom of the hole is the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the bankers dream. CBDC is potentially the holy grail of an authoritarian's dream. They've been talking about it for years now and you know darn well they want it badly. Their problem is: how do they implement it?
A CBDC wont work if there's too much resistance from the people and as of right now there seems to be much resistance to the idea. Again, that pesky internet thing is getting in the way of authoritarian dreams.
The majority of that resistance is emanating from the political right, with the assumption that much of the left is already primed for a move to CBDCs, especially the youth who are already well versed in digital payment systems.
President elect Trump has stated that he's against CBDCs. OK, sure, but I think we'd all agree that politicians have a proclivity to grease the language and tell potential voters what they want to hear, anything to get them to the voting booth.
Trump's also given a thumbs up to Bitcoin. Although they're not the same, blockchain is the common denominator.
It seems contradictory, doesn't it, but isn't much of governmental policy contradictory? Especially when the policy is controversial.
Now let's go down that rabbit hole.
Imagine, if you will, that the economy collapses early on in Trump's second term. The dollar is worthless, the store shelves are bare, jobs are lost and the populace becomes ever more desperate by the day.
Like a hero from an old western the banks ride in to save the day with a CBDC. At first it will be marketed without the programmable component, but as we all know if there's a tool that can be used, sooner or later, it will be used.
In this version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it's Trump who may lead the right down the CBDC hole.
I've mentioned several times in the past how American politics seems staged and choreographed, and I'm not the only one. It does help to explain the bizarre nature of our political world. Could it be that this theatrical play's purpose is to introduce CBDCs to the American public? Who better to lead the resistance to that project than a manufactured pied piper like Trump. There hasn't been a better huckster of a salesman since PT Barnum.
My premise is perhaps there is a twenty first century script that has been written with the intention of leading us into the arms of a financial prison of our own making, and Trump is the chosen one to lead the American public there, after the fall of the dollar.
With a programmable CBDC and social credit score, complete control will finally be realized.
There may be a snake in the bottom of the hole, after all.
Ray Wylie Hubbard: Snake Farm (3:54)
Comments
Good morning Free Rangers...
Feed Your Head
Jefferson Airplane: White Rabbit
Lyrics
Good morning...
Whitney Webb suggests that TPTB will sell CBDC to the public as a convenience. I think they will offer a small UBI as CBDC, and who will refuse? We'll simply have to wait and see. In the meantime, might be a good idea to buy some metals for bargaining. They've been selling old US (90%) silver dollars at trade day for $30, and I've been buying some most weeks. Just a little insurance.
One of the last conversations I had with the now deceased judge was about gold. He suggested useful things like tools are also a hedge in case of collapse. People in Western NC suggest generators are a good investment. Months after Helene some are stil without power. We've been considering a propane generator for the well house. No power, no water with a well.
I've been working the edge of the woods today knocking down dead trees (saplings) and putting them on the ground to rot. Had to blow the leaves off the winter annual ryegrass so it can grow. I like a patch of green in winter. I need to blow the leaves off the roof but we had 1.3" of rain yesterday and I want it to dry out before I climb up there. At some point, I know I'll need to find help for such chores.
The garden has largely put to rest for the winter. However, broccoli is beginning the head up as are the cabbages. Collards and kale are plentiful. We're bringing in the house plants today as 30's are expected next week. I noticed CO has been getting lots of snow.
There will be good and bad in the Trump 2.0 term. It is another wait and see game to my mind. No doubt the neocons on the right and left have their knives out for him as evidenced by the Thune ascendancy... Much like Trump united populists on the right and the left.
Have a good weekend and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good advice...
about the precious metals, tools and generators.
I'm cautiously optimistic about some of Trump's picks and dismayed by others. Thune, in my humble opinion, will play the same role as McConnell in thwarting some of Trump's agenda. And that, my friend may very well be part of the script, er, I mean plan.
But, as I've stated before, I think the executive branch wields too much power, mostly by executive orders. It will be interesting to see how Trump executes that provision of his office. I think executive orders by the president need to be curtailed.
Be careful on the roof!
Good one
I don't know what will happen with Israel, or anything else, but...I could see them expelling all the Palestinians to northern Gaza, annexing the southern territory and expelling all Palestinian Israelis and building a mile wide DMZ full of guard towers and mines.
PS. we 99% are Alice, and the rest are our gov and the 1%, but you knew that.
Your assessment...
on Israel is plausible.
My big worry is the Iran haters that have been appointed to Trump's cabinet, and yet to be confirmed, but the hard liners should receive little opposition from the senate. It portends bad omens.
And D.C. is the rabbit hole.
It's possible Trump
will attempt a Nixon goes to China. Kinda like N Korea. As for the Iran Hawks all that's needed is for Trump to question their loyalty and they'll roll over and pee themselves.
Yep...
loyalty to Trump is his prerequisite numero uno.
That YouTube still picture
of Lee Van Cleef makes me think of the Pete Townshend solo album "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes".
I can't decide between "North Country Girl" and "The Sea Refuses No River" as an exemplar- so I'll just post the latter... The whole album is stellar, though.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
In my book...
Lee Van Cleef is the quintessential villain, his eyes tell the tale. He's one of my favorites.
Great tune from a great album, thanks ufs.
I can't help it.
Gotta post this one too. Not a lot of people know it...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Double good...
ditto what I said above.
Heh, great GB&U clip. IMHO, Tuco is one of the truly
great anti-heroes, especially as portrayed by Eli Wallach. Your column recalled to my mind a column I once wrote over at TOP and decided to repost here. Its message isn't on point, but has some application to all those who cast imprecations at those who vote for other third parties of who refuse to vote especially followers of the NuDems.. Simply put, principles matter.
Meanwhile, Tuco has a message for that wing of the uniparty which forever promises things to the hoi polloi and then fails to deliver.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Agreed...
about Tuco. I see parallels between Tuco and Blondie and the current dynamic between present and incoming presidential administrations. They're all thieves, but some have honor, as honorable as a thief may be, that is.
Got a link to your essay?
Tuco's message:
Apropos.
Speaking of musical connections,
I'm reminded of the late guitarist for Wall of Voodoo, Marc "Chicken Eyes" Moreland.
As a band, Wall of Voodoo was very much inspired by the soundtracks from the Sergio Leone films- Stan Ridgeway primarily wanted to run a film-scoring practice, not a rock band.
When performing live, Mr. Moreland had 3 completely anonymous, bare-aluminum stomp boxes in his very simple guitar rig. Each had only two controls: the in/out stomp switch, and one unlabeled knob for adjustments. In fact, the only inscription on each box was its name, in Sharpie. And they were named, in sequence: "Good", "Bad", and "Ugly"...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Wow...
great insight into WoV's musical inspirations. You can definitely hear Leone's influence in that tune, one I hadn't heard before.
Great story about "Chicken Eyes" stomp boxes, and I got to believe "Chicken Eyes" is a direct riff of Angel Eyes. Hah!
Yup. They are, and will always be,
on of my favorite bands of the era. And I enjoyed the hell out of seeing them while they existed. My drum kit expanded to include 3 differently-tuned cheap sauce pans for percussion riffs, entirely as a paean to the late Joe Nannini, their percussionist. I called it the Pandemonium.
And I actually wrote and recorded a protest song that I dedicated in large part to the band, including the spaghetti-western feel, entitled (unsurprisingly) More Land...
The lyrics are as follows:
------
the last great land rush
came and went so fast
did you see it
did you hear it
did you feel it
you know you missed your chance
and the good bits are all taken
there's an on ramp by the wellhouse
and an arby's
and dry cleaners
and a mobil
where the old home used to stand
and that old tree in the back yard
where your childhood days wore thin
is a manhole
or a grease pit
or a light pole
and they'll ask you to move along now
and i hear that they're planning to pave
that last bit of green out west
there'll be t-shirts
they'll sell hotdogs
they'll scalp tickets
and videotape it for the kids
chor: it's a long way from that valley, down to the jersey shore
and they say they just don't make em like they used to anymore
and sometimes you gotta run cause it's so hard to make a stand
but where you gonna go? they're not makin' any more land
outro: those endless cities rose up
and we never even knew
we just let the planners tell us
cause they'd all been to school
and now you've gotta walk just so
and stand in line to pay
we never even noticed
just how much we gave away
----
I did the twangy lead solo on my bassist's Rickenbacker 4001 bass, through a Fender Champ set to "stun". The year was 1985.
Good times, those- good times...
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Tough to sum up the Trump team --
other than he wants nothing to do with those with relevant credential. (The feeling may be mutual; although Pompeo seems to be disappointed that he didn't get the call.) Not so much because such people have been dismal failures in the administrations over the past fifty years, but because those were the officials that either tanked his first term or revealed his incompetence.
So far and for the most part, his picks are a collection of amateurs without relevant expertise. With the bar now so low, still expect that the amateurs will fail. The "glue" between Trump and his collection of picks is a self-interested and half-baked libertarian (free market and federal government limited to the military) fantasy:
Deregulation for me but not thee. (Trumpsters don't want or care about healthy foods and drugs.)
Socialism (government contracts) for me but not thee.
Free speech for me but not thee.
Medical care for me but not thee
Guess they'll outsource enforcement of abortion bans and illegal immigration with the feds paying the bills.
I'm not expecting a lot of anything to happen
Replacing the US dollar? This is the fantasy of those who so tightly control it amidst $35 trillion of US debt and the emergence of an alternative financial structure. They will hold on to the dollar until they blow up the planet, for all the power it gives them. I suppose we could always buy things with BRICS currencies. Remember, per Marx in the Grundrisse, that money is only a lien on future labor -- so if there's no future labor, then what of money?
Remember that Trump likes to appoint swamp monsters, then fire them when they behave as expected and hire more swamp monsters. And that's probably what he'll do until some Banderite inj#cts him with l#ad because the Azov Battalion wants more sympathy from the White House. The remnant Presidency of J. D. Vance will be preoccupied with the resultant chaos. Chaos will ensue until something like Food Not Bombs or Revolutionary Blackout Network becomes the de facto government, and I choose those entities because Keith McHenry and Sabrina Salvati appear to me as America's sanest people at this time.
This will be what we get for going along with a "politics" that promotes endless war and secret control of America by alphabet agencies. Most everyone lives in a fantasy world. Vast populations of dupes quail stupidly, today, before tiny cadres of the paid-off. But people don't stay stupid forever.
The Grayzone seems particularly bright today.
“The Democrats and Republicans want you to believe they are mortal enemies engaged in a desperate struggle when all the time, they are partners with a power-sharing agreement.” - Richard Moser