The Weekly Watch
The Culture of Incompetence
It seems to me that incompetence reigns supreme across the government, corporate, and economic spectrum...at least here in the western world. The sad state of the US with its crumbling infrastructure, the mass of homeless people camping on urban outskirts, overcrowded prisons swelled beyond their capacity, schools more concerned with identity issues than education, (and I'm sure you can add to the list)...all as we send our wealth over seas to feed failing war(s) and the unquenchable MIC. The post WWII industrial powerhouse has been shipped out of the country, a deal sealed by Clinton's NAFTA. Ross Perot was right about the "giant sucking sound" NAFTA would create. I remember just a couple of decades ago it was easy to find a carpentry crew, mechanics, welders, and other skilled trades people, but not today. It seems we no longer train craftsmen and women.
Jeffery Sachs gets to the bottom line in this 3.5 min take...
"US politics is basically a plutocratic state where public policy has been taken over by several powerful lobbies, each one devoted to its specific area." Professor Jeffrey Sachs critiques the US political system at a recent conference in Vienna for peace in Ukraine.
Government by and for the oligarchs. Is the broad scale incompetence just a result of the corruption?
What got me to thinking about US incompetence was Larry Johnson's comments on the Duran this week. His dad was a union industrial shop foreman. He made enough money to support the family on one salary. He laments those jobs, the middle class, and the entire industrial base are gone. He goes on to compare the US educational system to Russia's rigorous science and math based schools.
Why Public Schools and the Mainstream Media Dumb Us Down (11 min)
In this video we examine how public schools and the mainstream media have contributed to the growth of a passive citizenry, thus paving the way for the rise of tyranny. We then look at the role anti-authoritarians play in a free and flourishing society.
Just look at the US president....tottering and demented. A perfect figurehead of this warmongering, failed empire. If only he could play the fiddle like Nero.
Looking back on the nation of my youth, it is easy to see how the peace movement of those days grew. I enjoyed listening to JFK's peace speech from 60 years ago. I watched it with commentary from Viva and Barnes (the speech without commentary is at the link above).
JFK's 1963 "Peace Speech", & Why It Probably Lead to His Assassination - Viva & Barnes Compare that to Biden's, "Come on, man!" or "You know the thing..."
RFK jr gave a speech in response to his uncle's this week. Transcript here.
Marking the anniversary of President John F Kennedy's peace speech at American University, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announces a fundamentally new direction for American foreign policy. With his election in 2024, our country’s decades-long journey into military imperialism will be over. We will instead become again the exemplar of peace, freedom, and democracy that once inspired the world.
I like the ideas, but wonder if TPTB would even allow discussion of them...much less the implementation. If nothing else...bring on the talk of peace!
Tucker explains what happens to politicians that speak in that way, and question the narrative...on anything. (18 min)
On the 6th episode of 'Tucker On Twitter,' Tucker talked about presidential candidate RFK Jr.
Last week I devoted the column to FBI corruption. Did you catch any of the Durham testimony in Congress? Here's a nice collection of clips from Forbes.
Looks pretty dismal for the dims and their FBI allies. Sadly most of the MSM isn't covering the story...to busy on the exploding sub full of oligarchs.
FBI Chief Knew Russiagate Was A Scam & HID THE EVIDENCE!
Former special counsel John Durham appeared on Wednesday in front of the House Judiciary Committee to discuss his lengthy report criticizing the FBI for its investigation into the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia during the 2016 election. Republicans like Jim Jordan touted Durham’s findings that the FBI shouldn’t have launched the Russia probe to begin with, reiterating their argument that it was a political hit job against the Trump campaign, while Democrats warned Durham that he was harming his reputation by aiding the Trump cause. Jimmy discusses how little attention the Durham report received even thought it exonerated Trump of nearly all Russiagate charges and revealed that the source of the entire investigation was the Clinton campaign.
Wagner's opera...is it a comedy or a tragedy?
Things evolved quickly with the Wagner Mutiny. Alex really caught the spirit of the changes with his three clips yesterday. I'm a bottom line type, so let's start with the last clip...
Lukashenko saves the day. Prigozhin calls off mutiny (14 min)
Russia supports Putin. Modi meets Biden. Podolyak, this is not Netflix. Duda, wild animal. U/2 (27 min)
Prigozhin mutiny. Own goal, gift to collective west [COMMENTARY BEFORE PUTIN'S SPEECH]. U/1 (25 min)
EDIT to add:
Alex morning update...(35 min)
Prigozhin off to Belarus. NYT, Biden had mutiny intel. MSM coup mania. Elensky, no elections. U/1
As usual, Alex does a great summary. I would suggest the answer to the Wagner Opera riddle (above) is that it was comic rather than tragic.
Prigozhin’s Gambit—Treason by any other name
Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind—Yevgeny Prigozhin has become a witting agent of Ukraine and the intelligence services of the collective West. And while there may be those within Wagner who have been unwittingly drawn into this act of high treason through deception and subterfuge, in the aftermath of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s address to the Russian nation on June 24, and Yevgeny Prigozhin’s impolitic reply, there can be no doubt that there are only two sides in this struggle—the side of constitutional legitimacy, and the side of unconstitutional treason and sedition. Anyone who continues to participate in Prigozhin’s coup has aligned themselves on the wrong side of the law and have themselves become outlaws.
...
Failing to create the conditions conducive for the collapse of domestic support for Putin and the Ukrainian conflict by pressuring Russia from without, the collective West began working to create the conditions for bringing down Russia by sowing internal seeds of dissention. This strategy hinged on a very sophistical information warfare scheme which simultaneously sought to suppress and discredit narratives which sustained the official position of the Russian government, while building up covert agents of influence within social media outlets deemed to be influential amongst the Russian public.
...
Prigozhin’s antics, which were played out in intimate detail on social media, caught the attention of pro-Ukrainian information warfare specialists, who began promoting the narrative of Prigozhin—a former convict with zero political experience—assuming a leadership position in Russia. Prigozhin himself seemed to feed off this notion. While publicly denying any such ambition, Prigozhin continued his public trolling of Shoigu and Gerasimov. The vitriol became so intense that Putin was compelled to summon both men to the Kremlin, where they were read the riot act by an irate Russian President and told in no uncertain terms to cease and desist or pay the consequences. Putin also at this time had Shoigu step back from being the overseer of Wagner logistical support, instead turning that task over to General Sergey Surovikin, a senior military commander overseeing the air component of the SMO.
...
At some point in time Prigozhin’s antics caught the attention of Ukrainian intelligence, and their British and US counterparts. The narcissistic need for attention, coupled with grandiose notions of self-importance, made Prigozhin an ideal candidate for recruitment by a hostile foreign intelligence service. A financial component—basic greed—can be added to this behavioral model as well. In addition to seeking to bring Wagner under the operational control of the Ministry of Defense through the rationing of ammunition, Defense Minister Shoigu announced that Wagner fighters would have to sign legally binding contracts with the Russian Minister of Defense to allow them to continue to serve in their capacity as a combat unit. The reason for this was the constitutional ban on private military companies operating on Russian soil.
...
If the CIA and MI-6 were involved in the recruitment of Prigozhin with an eye toward facilitating Wagner’s march of Moscow, then they would have been directly engaged in an action that constituted an existential threat to Russia.
Prigozhin Headed for Belarus After Ending ‘Insurrection’
Russia’s Wagner Group has called off its march on Moscow and agreed to stand down after launching a two-day mutiny and seizing a military base in the city of Rostov-on-Don. The Kremlin said it would drop all charges against the company and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been guaranteed safe passage to Belarus.
Prigozhin shared a brief audio statement to social media on Saturday confirming his decision to withdraw, saying that the PMC would return to its “field camps” and continue their previous operations in Ukraine “according to plan.”
There are many ways to interpret this story. In the eyes of western media, this was a dream come true... "Putin finally deposed". Both Biden and Scholz encouraged the Wagner mutiny (or was it a psy-op?) Well time will tell us more, but at present it seems the situation is stable. Regardless of the coup, Russian forces continue to inflict severe damage on what's left of Ukraine's army. So sad, such a waste of lives.
The Truth About Ukraine’s Failing Counteroffensive And The Peace That Could Have Been
Vax Debate, or Partisan Propaganda?
6.5 min of Dr Hotez contradicting himself depending on who is holding office at the time...
No wonder this moron wouldn't debate RFK.
Jimmy explains the situation as well...
Remember When DEMOCRATS Were The Anti-Vaxxers???
In the last year of the Trump presidency, as the pandemic came to dominate American life, prominent Democrats like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Andrew Cuomo were united in the opinion that no COVID vaccine developed on Donald Trump's watch could be trusted. Video after video show the three -- and others -- raising questions and concerns about a possible Trump vaccine.
Jimmy shares the videos and talks to guest Rob Schneider about what happened to all these "anti-vaxx" Democrats and why they weren't roundly criticized for questioning Big Pharma at the time?
Dr Kory was on Jimmy's show discussing his new book, The War on Ivermectin. It was an excellent review of the true war on science conducted by big pharma.
Talk about incompetence...on purpose and for profit
Leading Doctor Exposes TRUTH About Anti-Ivermectin Propaganda Campaign (28 min)
Dr. Pierre Kory was among the earliest members of the U.S. medical community to raise his voice in opposition to the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that he’s become something of a pariah for speaking the truth, he’s consolidated his experience and wealth of information into a new book, The War on Ivermectin. Jimmy talks to Dr. Kory about the calculated propaganda campaign waged by the medical and pharmaceutical establishment against the “wonder drug” Ivermectin.
That story sure helps explain the incompetence of our "sick" care system, and brings to mind my initial question after Jeffery's comments, is the incompetence driven by greed and profit?
Economic Incompetence
Why, oh why, can't we figure out sanctions come back to bite us in the ass. Our sanction happy oligarchs have managed to unite the rest of the world against us. (6 min)
The presidents of Iran and Cuba vowed Thursday to jointly confront the "aggressive imperial policy" of the United States, which has sanctions in place against both countries. Hosting his counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Havana, President Miguel Diaz-Canel said both nations "have had to face heroically, with tenacious resistance, the sanctions, the pressures, the threats, the blockades and the indifference of US imperialism and its allies." The men presided over the signing of memoranda on cooperation in areas including customs, telecommunications and justice. Jimmy discusses other meetings the Iranian leader held with heads of state in Venezuela and Nicaragua, noting the many countries from the Global south that are seeking to escape the United States' imperialist orbit.
Another 46.2 billion US dollars are sold, and China's holdings of US debt have dropped to 1 trillion US dollars.
Until June 2019, China was the largest holder of U.S. debt. However, after 2020, Japan increased its holdings of bonds by $58.9 billion, surpassing China to become the largest holder of U.S. debt.
The untold story behind Saudi Arabia’s 41-year US debt secret
Saudi Arabia will need to liquidate its Treasuries to raise cash, a more troubling worry has also emerged: the spectre of the kingdom using its outsize position in the world’s most important debt market as a political weapon, much as it did with oil in the 1970s.
...
Another exception was carved out for Saudi Arabia when the Treasury started releasing monthly country-by-country breakdowns of US debt ownership. Instead of disclosing Saudi Arabia’s holdings, the Treasury grouped them with 14 other nations, such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria, under the generic heading “oil exporters” — a practice that continued for 41 years.
Much of the world has begun dedollarizing.
And then we have political incompetence....which Jeffery summarized in the top clip.
However the prime example this week was Biden declaring Xi a dictator essentially nullifying Blinky's weak attempt at improving relations with China.
There's much more to say about incompetence, and I hope you'll chime in with examples which strike you in the comments below. It has been a roller coaster this week on the news cycle. I'm afraid most people in the US spent time watching the oligarch submarine saga. Yet, The Navy thought it detected the Titan's implosion soon after the sub went missing: WSJ. Perhaps the story was meant to distract from Hunter's guilty plea, the failure of the Ukrainian offensive, Durham's testimony exonerating Trump and pointing guilt at the $hill & Co, and so on. Reminds me of the "spy" balloon fiasco. All I can conclude is we as individuals need to promote our own skill set and become friends with other skilled people in our own community. Isn't it interesting how neighbors help each other in emergencies like hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, etc. I've always wondered why we can't behave that way all the time! So with that I'll leave the floor open for this open thread...
Comments
Community resources...
My local buddy and fellow musician grew up in this community. Years ago he said to me, "I can't move. I would lose all the resources I've developed over a lifetime."
I felt that way this week when a local mechanic came over and helped me to replace the starter in my 60 year old tractor. Sure was nice to start mowing the jungle after all the rain this week.
It took me months to finally get a crew over here to repair my soffit on one side of my house. It was one of my students (now grown with a family) who help me line up the crew.
I also recommend getting to know some local farmers. That's an important survival resource.
So much for my two cents, what's on your mind?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning
A very competent essay on the apparent demise of skill sets in the US.
The failure of public education to encourage useful proficiency in most
branches of art, science, math reading comprehension, etc. does not bode well.
The system does little to usher young minds toward the trades and other
constructive endeavors.
Above that, I think you are right how greed, profit and corruption are behind
lowering our expectations of competency in general. Oh, were it not so.
Thanks for the watch. It keeps great time!
Thanks for coming by and reading...
Looks like the heat bubble over Texas is headed our way next week. we've had a relatively cool summer so far. Maybe the heat will only linger a week. Long term forecast (voodoo) suggests a wet week will follow.
Did y'all ever warm?
Thanks for the song. John is one of my favorites. I sing several of his pieces. My great grandfather was a carpenter, and I'm so glad to have several pieces he built. He made all three of his daughters a full bedroom suit. I have two of those three sets including cedar chests, chest of drawers, and mahogany rocking chairs made from the interior of old elevators from a fancy hotel which was torn down. My Mom kept the two beds.
Take care!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hi
We see incompetence, but in the end who benefits? Why revere government if it does less and less for you, and more and more to you. We know who our pols work for and it's not us. Both parties agree on 95% of foreign, domestic, trade and tax policy. The rest is just a show to keep us off balance and preoccupied. We crab about vaccines and covid, but the health care insurance system kills as many by greed, neglect and denial, shortening peoples lives.
As for the Titanic pony show, billionaires dying in their pursuit for new and more exotic amusements didn't flash with most people. The whole Lifestyle of the Ultra Rich and Famous is getting old. The wealthy spend every waking hour making their every whim real. The newly rich at least have humbler beginning to recall. Their kids.....I can't imagine having a life where any denial is temporary, and after daddy dies the skies the limit.
At some point Jimmy and Dr Kory...
...discuss the leading causes of death. Third on the list was health care mistakes (mainly over prescribing).
I continue to hope for economic collapse before we start a nuclear war in a desperate bid to maintain hegemony. We'll see.
Good to "see"" you this morning. Thanks for reading!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
No, thank you for this
I visit, and check out the links, but been pretty bleak about our current state. On a lighter note I've given up on the idea of the Guillotine as the answer. I'm leaning more toward a whole tree industrial wood chipper, with a nice conveyor belt feeding the hopper. We could set it up by the ocean, feed the fishies, give something back to nature.
my end path...
...is to be rolled in a hole in our old cemetery...let me feed the earth that has fed me.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I know,
right? Next time around, I’ll definitely pick my parents better…
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Once more you lead with what I believe
is the most prescient issue facing us today and how much we are leading the world into oblivion. Thank you very, very much.
When I started with the DoD as a civilian I was not political except for my personal goals. But over a period of time as I stood beside the soldiers, I gradually became more in tune with the people soldiers. Our primary mission was support of them, not for logistics but for making their life just a little better, relieving the burden of their worries for the family, for their economic worries. I knew that while they worried so much about their own survival, they cared for their personal charges.
Over time I rose in the hierarchy and began to have some influence over our support. In our formal organization chart I had 2 locations, one as a systems programmer and analyst for the primary mission, the other as an advisory position within the command structure. When they were having the big staff meetings, I was the guy in the back row in the cheap seat without a glass of water.
Those were the best of times...
Then in the second half of the raygun debacle that changed and the MBA, PMC, mentality was given the reins. And control over the funding and direction.
I managed to salvage a few projects, mostly because of my relationship with the "labor" part of our installation but it wasn't to last. Eventually no matter what I did I realized that the whole structure had changed. People weren't rewarded because of competence, they were advanced because of compliance.
Tho it might come across wrong, I can honestly say that the MBA, PMC, people were the dumbest people I ever worked with. I had been a project manager a number of times and had found that there were many who weren't the most talented but except for the group I mentioned above they worked as hard as they could and contributed so much.
As an analogy, I designed the car but I knew that the guy who made sure that the engine had oil was just as important as I was. Neither one of us considered the other dumb.
The MBA, PMC, crowd actually believe that they are the smartest in the room. But then they measure other things.
Thanks, LO. Another wonderful lead.
I'm sorry if my ramblings distress anyone.
Dead on target!
In a similar vein, as Jimmy says, "journalist aren't fired for lying, but for telling the truth." The system selects for compliance and incompetence, not for thinking, questioning, and creativity.
Thanks for your comment, and the story of your experience. Much appreciated!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thanks for noting the interplay between the rise of the MBA
and the decline of the USA. I've long felt that somebody needs to take a long hard look at that. I've worked with some and could never figure out what they brought to the table.
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 --
Oh my, yes. You saw the trend also.
I was amazed that there were supposed college level students who were barely capable of bonehead math. Very little critical thinking.
I was picking up some extra spending money by writing term papers for them and doing a little tutoring. Little did I suspect that that was my future. I do the effort and then somebody else signs it.
I am very thankful for C99. There are few places left with this caliber of people, people who care more for passion than profit.
Thank you, sincerely.
On edit... as I thought about it, I think that the MBA program was an indentifiable characteristic of a particular class of people. People who have little inhibition to stealing from others, whether it's intellectual property or the fruit of their manual labor.
I'm sure there are MBAs who differ in their beliefs and attitudes and I'm sorry I lump them in with the Gates and Bezos. Another human failing of which I am guilty.
Sam Houston State University
offers freshman courses in remedial reading and math.
How the hell do you pass college entrance exams if you can't read or do math?
Decades ago, when I attended that school, it had transitioned from Sam Houston State Teachers College to university status. It was renown as the top university in the state for obtaining a teaching certificate. That was a sure fire way to get hired at the top tier school districts.
Now, it is known as the school to teach reading and math.
gaaahh!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning, LO!
You packed in some great information and very competently gave us all a lot to think about.
Texas "teach to the test" education is as ridiculous as it is inferior. My secretary told me she would back off pushing her 2 kids to make good grades and steer them towards working in the trades. College brings debt and does not improve chances of getting a good job.
I am fortunate that I know competent builders, landscapers, fence builders, mechanics, because they are clients I have represented at some point.
Back in 1998, my then husband died from medical malpractice. He made me swear I would not engage in litigation because it would drag on for years, and he felt his life's loss was not of real value, since he was 100% disabled. I had asked for a biopsy over and over for at least 5 years before his death from cancer. No dr. would do a skin lab. He died from skin cancer. How is it that all these doctors at all these top hospitals and clinics in Houston ignored what was in front of them?
Anyway, I wanted to pack up and leave the state. It almost immediately dawned on me that this was the safest and securest place I could ever expect to live all alone. Now, it is the place where I feel safe to live as an elderly woman.
Sorry to ramble!
Enjoy the day, friend.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
It took me till grad school...
...to figure out it is all about what I WANT to learn, not what the prof thinks I should know. Went from mostly A's to mostly B's, but I learned much more.
Both you and my buddy are correct that a lifetime of resources are difficult to replace. Value where you are and who you know.
Glad you came by today. Y'all have a good one!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I disagree with the Academy of Ideas people
I think that they have fallen into the correlation/causation fallacy. They don't come across as a truly altruistic group searching for solutions but rather someone who is using our current failure in education as a way to further more selfish goals.
Our educational system is failing, has failed. It has failed for the same reason just about all of our traditional societal systems are failing. It is just as much a part of our societal infrastructure as water. And like water, its supply has been corrupted and privatized for profit's sake.
I disagree with the Acamedy of Ideas people because I don't believe that the intent all along was to build a compliant society. That might be where we are but as the main theme of this thread leads us it is a result of the incompetence of those we have entrusted with its protection. Would I trust Gates or Bezos or Zuck or anyone within their organization to come up with an educational system? Never in a bazillion years. They have always served a different master.
Some months ago when I was following Martyanov I believe he or someone who was commenting mentioned, the Bologna process and how it differed from the ru approach. I won't bother linking to the baloney. It was bad enough that I did a little research. Took quite a few hand wipes.
I believe that education is like sowing seeds where ahead of time it is impossible to fully predict what the result will be. The reason is that so much of
educationlearning relies on the environment, the attitudes, the societal interactions, the curiosity of the student.When I and my partner were working to raise my sons my goal was to make sure that the ground their seed was landing was full of nutrients and that they could grow in the direction they felt most comfortable, the best fit. Mostly I wanted to ensure that their education wasn't only in a classroom, that it was but a piece of their psyche(?, dam aphasia).
We most definitely must retrieve our society. Education is vital. And it doesn't start with kindergarten, nor does it end -- ever.
Be well, please.
I just finished the Huxley book and then did the Peter May Lockdown novel. This latter one was written in the early naughts and was built upon the idea of a pandemic that caused a lockdown in London. He couldn't find a publisher until a year or so ago because no one believed that a semi-deliberate lab leak would cause such a panic and that the company that did it would profit so much from a "cure".
Peter May's Lewis books are excellent, tho somewhat distressing in the way the people are exploited, then forced out of their homes. I had read the series before but this time I'm getting more from them.
Keep looking forward, there be monsters if we stop.
As a retired teacher I have my own view...
Not that of the "academy", but my own experience based analysis. But like all other professions (including the story you told earlier), the system works against you if you push for thinking by students, parents, and administrators. I taught in the "world's sock capitol" where the objective was fodder for the mills. Put the kids in rows to prepare them for a life on the line. Now even that is gone. All the mills shipped out to Mexico and China where labor is cheap.
One of my favorite lines is, Children should learn by doing, and as a result, students will love to learn. That line bought me a pretty good grant one time.
Thanks for your comment and thoughts!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning LO, thanks for the WW. The incompetence
you see running rampant is the failure at all levels to reward and encourage thought and reasoning and the quasi ritualistic substitution of certain rote processes and procedures with no thought given to why they are undertaken and/or what they mean or imply.
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 --
In fact rewarding just the opposite
Have a good Sunday!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
right you are
as otc mentioned above, 'teaching to tests' limits one's ability to question and
learn in the process. It becomes like planned obsolescence of human thought.
Inquiry tends to get us in trouble. Which is a danger I enjoy.
This gave me a chuckle.
This one too!
Well, donuts are a powerful enticement...
Sugar and fat are pretty addictive.
Heard a fellow at trade day yesterday saying ..."it's buy one get one free, that's why I always eat at McDonald's". I thought ,yeah, "super size me". He was a larger man.
Addictive food is a common thing in the US. Just look around at our fellow citizens.
So many views on this so called mutiny. It's been interesting.
George Galloway. (18 min)
"Churchill called Russia a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. George unravels the Wagner ‘attempted coup’
Barnes take is interesting too.
What can we say? We live in interesting times seem correct.
Thanks for the humorous tweet!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Funny
But I just lost my appetite.
When I heard the news about the "negotiation" I have to confess I had a laugh. I got a laugh out of Jackson Hinkle too. I'm not a fan, but I must confess I had similar thoughts this morning before I saw his tweet. It won't load, here's the link-
https://twitter.com/jacksonhinklle/status/1672996661092814860
語必忠信 行必正直
George had a similar hypothesis...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Yes, just finished watching
Loved the part about the long standing hatred of the UK for Russia. The US is afflicted also. George is quite brilliant. Thanks LO.
My reasoning process is at the link if anyone is interested. Like George, I'm not entirely committed to it, so I didn't upload it. It's an impression, based on my European history degree from 50 years ago and military training almost as far back:
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-drive-on-moscow...
Wrote it this morning. (edited to correct link). Someone from Singapore is really interested in my blog. I wonder if it's Wyatt.
語必忠信 行必正直
This seems about right...
from your link...
I'm not rushing to judgement, but sure seems like the psy-op hypothesis is possible if not likely.
Thanks for the link!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Schools and labor unions
I think the downfall of unions contributed in part to the loss of high level of industrial skills. I look to my brother who became what I suppose might be called now a Master Machinist. After high school he joined an apprenticeship program run the Machinist Union. He had a job in the steel mills while attending classes in the evening at a local high school run again by the union. I really don't know but I would guess the same happened in other crafts like becoming an electrician, wood worker, drafting technician, etc.
Also, a thing called a vocational high school went the way of the dinosaurs. I went to one and it had both a vocational track and a "higher education track". I do remember that the counselors did everything they could to push students away from a vocational track. I wanted to attend auto shop and my counselor said I could not take it. No reason given.
While some of the jobs have been over taken by computerization, still there is no pathway for a young person to develop a high level industrial skill. Oh, should mention those jobs were exported anyway.
As for the schools. Well, education does not have a neutral role but aims to achieve goals set by the society as a whole. During Soviet times, schools taught Marxism. At my high school we could not graduate out of economics unless we defended capitalism and attacked socialism.
One thing the current controversy over teaching gender and sexuality and concepts from critical race theory, and in previous times the teaching of evolution in particular that bothers me is that the State owns the children of the society. I have seen school administrators claim that parents have no right to even knowledge of a schools curriculum. Schools have take the prerogative over even deciding the gender of a child over and above anything the parents desire.
I think you are correct...
That's why I mentioned Larry Johnson's Dad was a union man. Union folks were quality tradesmen.
Your school comments are also correct.
Seems to me reading, writing, and arithmetic are the basic skills which should be emphasized.
Thanks for your input!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The unions weren't taken from us.
We gave them away because we didn't fight hard enough for them. When the union "management" decided that they were on a different side was the time to fight for each other, for solidarity. Maybe stop by the local steward and turn over his desk.
Was it last week that the union mgmt endorsed brandon? Where were the members?
When raygun fired the patco(?), where was the solidarity?
Maybe we should go back further... Taft Hartley? It received bipartisan support to override Truman's veto. Then again, since the exec branch has to enforce the law it could have been nullified by lack of support, kinda like the way raygun killed the anti-trust laws.
Sorry, unions won't save us. It's going to take a lot of effort to overcome the apathy.
Sorry if I come across as bitter.
Addendum: My union card expired in 1969.
once again...
I think you're on target.
My point was that unions trained people to do real stuff. Now that is gone.
At least we lived in times when we were more competent. We can recognize the difference.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Agreed.
At a certain point, unions became front groups for the democratic party. By front group I mean the priority of the union was not their workers, but the interests of the democratic party. Everybody vote for Brandon (and earlier Hillary). And by then, they were extensions of management/ownership.
I wonder if the masks were a give away?
They called out Ray Epps on Jan 6 too.
Ray Epps Shouted Down by Crowd as a Fed - Jan 5 Jan 6
Another psy-op? That's what I think. YMMV.
Thanks for chiming in!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thx for the
Viva-Barnes video on JFK's Peace Speech. Rbt Barnes showed a very impressive, consistently accurate knowledge of the Kennedys and the Cold War. Before they ran the speech w commentary, Barnes went through the JFK and RFK political histories in 15 minutes w/o notes and unlike most commentators who usually falter in one area of the story, he got just about everything right. Well done.
Such a fascinating speech, as it is probably the last time a US president has praised Russia for anything except breaking up the Soviet Union. I am reminded that it was that speech the final draft of which JFK deliberately kept from review and editing by most of the usual few dozen people in the natsec pipeline who would normally see such things beforehand. The CIA wasn't allowed to see it, and most in the top layers of the State Dept, all the congressional leadership, and his VP Lyndon Johnson. Undoubtedly Kennedy knew they would all object and how they would object as they all held rigid, predictable Cold Warrior attitudes.
Depressing and sobering to see how the presidency and US leadership overall has devolved in the past 60 yrs on US-Russia matters and how we're now on the brink again in my lifetime. Reminder to self to finish the remaining work on my backyard fallout shelter.
As to the fall out shelter...
...as the old poster used to say..."In case of nuclear war, bend over, put your head between your knees, and kiss your ass good bye."
JFK's speech speaks so much for our time. As I said, it is easy to see how the peace movement evolved from it. My, we were so lucky to live in those times!
Peace be with you my friend!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
signing out for the night...
...see you tomorrow.
I'll leave you with this. Sounds of silence. Sleep well my friends!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank you Lookout
It was very touching to listen to JFK’s Peace Speech including relevant questions and interpretations. This is something I can send to people with the hope that they listen, and maybe gain insight and inspiration.
On another note, what is the difference between doctor Peter Hotez and a drug dealer?
Regarding your question about why don't people more often respond with support for each other at times that are not ones of emergency - I think that because these crises are growing, and we will continue to experience the necessity of support for one another it will at some point become a more natural human response toward considering the needs of others.
Be well all and enjoy inspiration wherever you find it.
Good morning...
Hope all is well in your world. I noticed your PM is in China today.
I, too, was touched by JFK's peace speech. Glad you enjoyed it.
As to Hotez, I saw him as a dim partisan, warning against vaccines when Trump was in and pushing them once Biden was elected. The most amazing aspect is that idiot got so much air time. What a media mess.
Gonna be hot this week, but moderating next week. No choice but to take what we get.
Thanks for coming by abd reading!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
For information purposes only! I do not have a Spotify account.
As far as I can tell Scott has yet to take advantage of his new freedom.
Oops I was a bit premature:
Several of RFK's podcast episodes are on YT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chO2tTn2Jx8&list=PLgzLhMtBfrIzeQ87Okppm-...
I didn't see Scott's there yet, but I bet it will be posted sometime soon. Scott is on lots of shows as you well know. Glad to see he's back on twitter.
Thanks for the tweets!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”