Playing The Government’s Game: When It Comes To Violence, We All Lose
Submitted by John Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,
“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”
- John Lennon
Yes, the government is corrupt.
Yes, the system is broken. By broken, I mean it’s “dysfunctional, gridlocked, and, in general, incapable of doing what needs to be done.”
Yes, the government is out of control and overreaching on almost every front.
Yes, the government’s excesses—pork barrel spending, endless wars, etc.—are pushing the nation to a breaking point.
Yes, many Americans are afraid. Who wouldn’t be afraid of an increasingly violent and oppressive federal government?
Yes, the citizenry has little protection against standing armies (domestic and military), invasive surveillance, marauding SWAT teams, an overwhelming government arsenal of assault vehicles and firepower, and a barrage of laws that criminalize everything from vegetable gardens to lemonade stands.
Yes, in the eyes of the American surveillance state, “we the people” are little more than suspects and criminals to be monitored, policed, prosecuted and imprisoned. As former law professor John Baker, who has studied the growing problem of overcriminalization, noted, “There is no one in the United States over the age of 18 who cannot be indicted for some federal crime.”
Yes, the United States of America is not the democracy that is purports to be, but rather an oligarchy ruled by a wealthy corporate elite.
Yes, politics is a sham. Average Americans have largely lost all of the conventional markers of influencing government, whether through elections, petition, or protest, have no way to impact their government, no way to be heard, and no assurance that their concerns are truly being represented.
Yes, the Obama administration’s efforts to identify, target and punish “domestic extremists” through the use of surveillance, corporate spies, global police and the Strong Cities network sends a troubling message to all Americans that any opposition to the government—no matter how benign—will be viewed with suspicion and will likely be treated with hostility.
Yes, we have reached a tipping point. The freedoms we once enjoyed are increasingly being eroded: speech, assembly, association, privacy, etc.
Yes, something needs to be done about the government’s long train of abuses, power grabs, erosion of private property, and overt acts of tyranny.
Yes, many Americans, increasingly dissatisfied with the government and its heavy-handed tactics, are tired of being used and abused and are ready to say “enough is enough.”
No, violence is not the answer.
A handful of armed protesters are not going to fix what’s broken in the government by forcing a showdown with government agents. In fact, this kind of scenario plays right into the government’s hands by provoking a violent confrontation that allows government officials to sanctimoniously justify their use of surveillance, military weaponry and tactics, and laws criminalizing guns and hate speech in order to target anyone who even vaguely resembles an “anti-government extremist.”
Take the latest spectacle in Oregon, for example.
Armed activists led by brothers Ryan and Ammon Bundy have occupied a federal wildlife refuge. The Bundys (infamous for their 2014 standoff with the Bureau of Land Management over grazing rights on federal land in Nevada) are protesting the government’s prosecution of two ranchers, Dwight and Steven Hammond, who have been sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly setting back fires on government-owned land in Oregon. (Mind you, the government owns more than half the land in Oregon.)
Few conflicts are ever black and white, and this situation involving the Bundys, the Hammonds and the BLM is no exception. Yet the issue is not whether the Hammonds are arsonists as the government claims, or whether the Bundys are anti-government extremists as the government claims, or even whether ranchers should have their access to government-owned lands regulated as the BLM claims.
No, as I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the larger question at play here is who owns—or controls—the government: is it “we the people” or private corporations?
Are American citizens shareholders of the government’s vast repositories, or are we merely serfs and tenant farmers in bondage to corporate overlords? Do we have a say in how the government is run, or are we merely on the receiving end of the government’s dictates? What recourse do we have if we don’t approve of the government’s actions?
Almost every struggle between the citizenry and the government is, at its core, about whether we are masters or slaves in this constantly evolving relationship with the government.
- Do parents have a right to allow their children to play outside alone, or must they abide by the government’s dictates about how to raise their families?
- Do homeowners have a right to manage their private property as they see fit, whether it’s with solar panels, vegetable gardens or rain barrels, or must they first seek the permission of the government?
- Do activists have a right to freely associate with one another, assemble in public, and voice their opinions publicly or privately, or must they be constrained by what the government and its corporate partners deem to be appropriate?
- Do residents of a community have to obey whatever a police officer says, lawful or not, or do Americans have a right to resist an unlawful order without getting shot or arrested?
It doesn’t matter what the issue is - whether it’s a rancher standing his ground over grazing rights, a minister jailed for holding a Bible study in his own home, or a community outraged over police shootings of unarmed citizens - these are the building blocks of a political powder keg.
Much like the heated protests that arose after the police shootings in Ferguson and Baltimore, there’s a subtext to the Oregon incident that must not be ignored, and it is simply this: America is a pressure cooker with no steam valve, and things are about to blow.
This is what happens when a parasitical government muzzles the citizenry, fences them in, herds them, brands them, whips them into submission, forces them to ante up the sweat of their brows while giving them little in return, and then provides them with little to no outlet for voicing their discontent.
As psychologist Erich Fromm recognized in his insightful book, On Civil Disobedience: “If a man can only obey and not disobey, he is a slave; if he can only disobey and not obey, he is a rebel (not a revolutionary). He acts out of anger, disappointment, resentment, yet not in the name of a conviction or a principle.”
Let me say it again: an armed occupation of a government property only plays right into the government’s hands and increases its power over the citizenry. Yet it speaks to a growing tension over how to bring about meaningful change when dealing with a government that refuses to listen to its citizens.
This is what happens when people get desperate, when citizens lose hope, and when lawful, nonviolent alternatives appear pointless.
Whether the parties involved are blameless or not, whether they’re using the wrong tactics or not, whether their agendas are selfless or not, this is the face of a nation undergoing a nervous breakdown on all fronts.
Now all that remains is a spark, and it need not be a very big one, to set the whole powder keg aflame.
The government has been anticipating and preparing for such an explosion for years. For example, in 2008, a U.S. Army War College report warned that the military must be prepared for a “violent, strategic dislocation inside the United States,” which could be provoked by “unforeseen economic collapse,” “purposeful domestic resistance,” “pervasive public health emergencies” or “loss of functioning political and legal order”—all related to dissent and protests over America’s economic and political disarray. Consequently, predicted the report, the “widespread civil violence would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.”
In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released two reports, one on “Rightwing Extremism,” which broadly defines rightwing extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” and one on “Leftwing Extremism,” which labeled environmental and animal rights activist groups as extremists.
Incredibly, both reports use the words terrorist and extremist interchangeably.
That same year, the DHS launched Operation Vigilant Eagle, which calls for surveillance of military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, characterizing them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.” These reports indicate that for the government, anyone seen as opposing the government—whether they’re Left, Right or somewhere in between—can be labeled an extremist. Under such a definition, John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams—all of whom protested and passionately spoke out against government practices with which they disagreed—would be prime targets.
Fast forward a few years, and you have the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which President Obama has continually re-upped, that allows the military to take you out of your home, lock you up with no access to friends, family or the courts if you’re seen as an extremist. Now connect the dots, from the 2009 Extremism reports to the NDAA and the UN’s Strong Cities Network with its globalized police forces, the National Security Agency’s far-reaching surveillance networks, and fusion centers that collect and share surveillance data between local, state and federal police agencies.
Add in tens of thousands of armed, surveillance drones that will soon blanket American skies, facial recognition technology that will identify and track you wherever you go and whatever you do. And then to complete the circle, toss in the real-time crime centers being deployed in cities across the country, which will be attempting to “predict” crimes and identify criminals before they happen based on widespread surveillance, complex mathematical algorithms and prognostication programs.
Hopefully you’re getting the picture, which is how easy it is for the government to identify, label and target individuals as “extremist.”
All that we have been subjected to in recent years—living under the shadow of NSA spying; motorists strip searched and anally probed on the side of the road; innocent Americans spied upon while going about their daily business in schools and stores; homeowners having their doors kicked in by militarized SWAT teams serving routine warrants—illustrates how the government deals with people it views as potential “extremists”: with heavy-handed tactics designed to intimidate the populace into submission and discourage anyone from stepping out of line or challenging the status quo.
What we’re grappling with is a double standard in what the government metes out to the citizenry, and how the citizenry is supposed to treat the government.
SWAT teams can crash through our doors without impunity, but if we dare to defend ourselves against unknown government assailants, we’ll be shot or jailed.
Government agents can confiscate our homes, impound our cars and seize our bank accounts on the slightest suspicion of wrongdoing, but we’ll face jail time and fines for refusing to pay taxes in support of government programs with which we might disagree.
Government spies can listen in on our phone calls, read our emails and text messages, track our movements, photograph our license plates, and even enter our biometric information into DNA databases, but those who dare to film potential police misconduct will likely get roughed up by the police, arrested, and charged with violating various and sundry crimes.
This phenomenon is what philosopher Abraham Kaplan referred to as the law of the instrument, which essentially says that to a hammer, everything looks like a nail. In the scenario that has been playing out in recent years, we the citizenry have become the nails to be hammered by the government’s battalion of laws and law enforcers: its police officers, technicians, bureaucrats, spies, snitches, inspectors, accountants, etc.
This is exactly what those who drafted the U.S. Constitution feared: that laws and law enforcers would be used as tools by a despotic government to wage war against the citizenry.
That is exactly what we are witnessing today: a war against the American citizenry.
Is it any wonder then that Americans are starting to resist?
(43 votes)
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I'm not sure why I'm reading so much sentiment against the "militia" on Oregon. I for one am refreshed to see someone finally decide the proverbial "line" has been crossed. I mean, if it hasn't been crossed by now, what the hell will it take exactly to do so?
For these people in Oregon, they decided they've had enough. I totally get it. It's funny how scared everyone is suddenly becoming once someone/a group finally steps up to play ball and fight back.
You can't call them stupid or claim they have a bad strategy; the revolution isn't going to be organized or planned, it's going to come from an event at random that sparks it off. For them, their event has come.
I for one am not stepping to immediate judgement; I want to see a little more play out, and we should too.
The Hammond Family Does NOT Want an Armed Stand Off, and Nobody Has a Right to Force One On Them | Oath Keepers
So these oath keepers are out of touch with reality. No one said the take over of the wildlife refuge was to protect the Hammonds or keep them out of jail. The oath keepers should either lend a hand to help or but out of it completely. I think the oath keepers are under government control anyway.
. Why haven't those that have issued "Calls to Arms" been detained yet? Insurrection is outlined in the Constitution, and anyone who knows the document also knows that gives .gov full legal authority to detain them. Yet they are allowed to send more flies to the honeypot so that it can be smashed.
Think man, think! This is a setup, a trap, and they fell right into it.
yep. I posted much the same thing the other day and I got mostly downvotes. Maybe people have looked into this a little further and figured that out. The timing of this is a little to convienent. They are either a setup, or incredibly stupid. Either way, not exactly people you want on your side.
Yup. On this, I'm behind you 100%. As much as that matters for anything, anyway...
Setup or not at least they are doing something , I am stuck in England until the 20th of Jan but when I get back and if this is still ongoing I WILL go and make a stand with them because it is time to man up and push back against evil and when I die at least I can say I did something so stop the spread of evil that is taking over the world.
Because this situation is extremely fragile. The government can't just walk in there and start arresting armed men. This situation belongs to whoever doesn't screw up first. If the militia gaffs, it'll hurt our cause. If the government gaffs, it'll inspire more. Obviously these people aren't leaving until they get what they want.
Alright, well they now control a federal building so the government can't simply do nothing without looking timid and bolstering confidence among us watching. They can't just walk in and start throwing tear gas either (but if they do, expect it to happen overnight vs watching it on the news in prime time.) One wrong move by either side is going to take a sledge hammer to an idle pendulum, one way or another.
I don't think people realize how serious this truly is. Calling it a false flag I think is also foolish, at least so early. From the videos I've seen, I feel like I can discern at least a sizable number of honest hearts in the group.
I think we need to pay attention a lot more than some of you seem to scoffingly realize, and we may also need to be ready to accept this is the first real attempt at something real.
Day by day, be patient with conclusions but watch in earnest.
My family roots go back generations in Harney County, Oregon. Ranching is in our blood.
I live in LA now but I'm prepared to go back and join my family.
I'm concerned about the infiltration by the feds - see Operation Gladio-style or hijacking the Occupy or Tea Party Movements-- to undermine an honest movement that finally yells HALT to the federal gov.
The collusion of interests that precipitated the Hammond ranch ordeal - the feds, the courts, the enviro groups, the police state - is stunning.
This is it boys, this is war.
Yep. Let's see how the first battle plays out. That will set the stage for everything else.
Of course, we had better not take the "news" at face value when it first comes out. Any one can tell that this is going to be spun for the benefit of TPTB regardless of what actually happens...but whatever happens, the truth about it is going to be important.
Like when the police burned out Dorner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNk-bV40XMc
Facebook page, donations requested. Theme is oddly familiar. Milking this situation for all it is worth is the act of a dirty rotten scoundrel. If cost was an issue, what this is should not have been planned. I mean, come on!
When JFK died, the headline news in Canada read: "Kennedy Assassinated. Johnson New President" The creeping-up-behind-you sensation is ever present. Media and Banks are the enemy of Americans. Their government is under siege by foreign interests, specifically the state of Israel which houses the Rothschild wealth. This is a movie set until proven otherwise. Bundy ranch debacle, including men on horse back riding across the range like Big Valley, about 50 people. Hysterical men recording and broadcasting, prayers of the Jewish persurasion, if you can believe that.
I watched it all. They have thought of everything. Getting us off our land and into the city is not going to be easy and when the foreclosure and demand to evict are ignored, we are going to find out what happens by watching this unfold. Devious minds have been hard at work for a very, very long time. The debt of this nation will collapse it. 911 reparations are your only hope, and everyone knows it or should know it by now.
http://www.alan.com/2016/01/04/oregon-militia-asking-for-snacks-socks-mo...
http://www.people.com/article/oregon-militiamen-accepting-donations-face...
Funding is always an issue. They have to pay for water, food, and any other necessities that will be required. They are staying in a government building that is abandoned for half the freaking year.
Of course they need money. If you don't understand that, never become a general.
"Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics."
The Soviet Union didn't have a violent revolution they had a collapse.
Unsustainable policies you just wait out. You don't have to do anything but recognize they are unsustainable and collect better sustainable ideas for the period after collapse.
The Soviet Union had unstainable policies from around 1917 to 1989. Don't know how much elasticity is left in our 'American Exceptionalism,' but I can't stand much more. Please don't make me wait that long..................
US unsustainable policies predate Soviet Bolshevism by some time. Perhaps you have not long to wait.
Not a valid comparison: The USSR did not possess the GRC (Global Reserve Currency), like the USSA does, and whose 'Debts' can thus be paid by printing new currency.
"Greenspan: US Can Pay Any Debt It Has Because It Can Print Money To Pay It"
As long as the USD is the GRC, the US can keep issuing its fiat chits, to pay for all imports -- if the foolish, weak or corrupted foreign governments play along. That's why we have the DOD + NSA + CIA (with its hundreds of bases, offices and safe houses), and Fed and State Dept: To find out the leanings and mindset of friends and foes alike, to find out their strengths and weaknesses, so that we can control them (via persuasion, bullying, bribes, blackmail, punishment), to preserve our Dollar hegemony.
The USSR or any other country wasn't even in the same ballpark as the USSA is.
Bottom line: Until a large coalition drops the USD in a swift and coordinated manner (to prevent divide & conquer), the USD hegemony will continue for an indeterminate period of time. Read the previous sentence as many times as it takes for its truth and meaning to sink in 100%.
Having a diffuicult time with this...no violence etc. I try to believe we can do this diplomatically, but the words of Patrick Henry and give me liberty or death rings in my soul...zero hedge should post the speech...I dont know what to do but my patience is growing thin, and my age is getting to the point where I am ok with moving on into the next life.
Sounds like you might end up getting Liberty after death, or at best, both on the same day......
To die fighting for the freedom I long for without ever knowing it, would still be better than living one day with the yoke of slavery.
Die on your feet or live on your knees. Choice gets easier as you age. If you live long enough it is like you've seen this movie before. Plus you realize there are a lot stupid people in the world and at one time you were one of them. Before long it gets tough to keep distracting yourself and face the fact your mortal and there are senarios where death may be the preferred option. We aren't there yet but well on our way.
"I'm not sure why I'm reading so much sentiment against the "militia" on Oregon."
There are a few different reasons why. I posted this earlier but I don't think anyone saw it. Also Montel spouting off is interesting because Hedger Lumberjack dug up that he is admittedly ex military intel. Montel might as well be Farrakhan. Also the timing with the gun legislation is too coincidental.
Repost:
In additon to this Montel fiasco there is a man named John Ritzheimer who has interjected himself into the Oregon situation. I have been watching him for a while due to the suspicion that he was an agitating spook.
He is a former US Marine that has organized armed protests outside of mosques in the Phoenix area. He likes to post videos of shooting the Koran out in the desert and has also has encouraged "draw pictures of Mohammed" events. The FBI is supposedly "monitoring" him. There are a couple other AZ people out there by the names La Voy Finicum and Blaine Cooper. Ritzheimer said they went to Oregon in an camper or RV and got right in and nobody was much around.
Ritzheimer is supposed to be a pro-gun advocate and yet he hasn't had much to say about the innocent young redneck boy who is rotting in an AZ jail after being falsely accused of the freeway shooting that continue to happen (Just had another one). This kid was ruined when they showed videos of him shooting in the desert with his son. The kid nor his gun were available for all of the shootings so they changed a date. The whole thing is terrible. Anyway I could be wrong but I am not so sure about this guy. I would stay the hell away from this standoff scenario because it's starting to stink.
This is John Rizheimer. Here is an article that shows a pic of him and also has an ebedded video. http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/anti-islam-activist-jon-ritzheimer-reported-to-fbi-7511119
Another mass shooting the kid is innocent it was obvious from the beginning he is being framed. http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/north-phoenix/dps-single-shot-fired-at-vehicle-on-i-17
AZ ties to Oregon http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2016/01/04/oregon-mili...
For a different perspective, to be better informed, I suggest this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpkm6iSd--c
I saw that there is uranium there and that is interesting. When this situation first started it reminded me of the modern day standoff that happened in SD known as "wounded knee II". Feds were paying local goons to terrorize and murder other Indians because it was found that they also have huge uranium deposits. Their children were being murdered and they had to fight back, they really had no choice. There are similarities between both incidences but this time there is a choice, especially with the timing.
Bundy is turning himself in so he may be taking the wind out of the sails himself. What .gov did was wrong and I completely understand wanting to stand up but this is very suspicious timing with too many suspicious characters. At least the late arrivals. Yesterday I would have completely agreed with you.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/north_america-july-dec11-blackhills_...
Fast forward to 1980. The Supreme Court agreed with the Sioux: The land, long since settled, had been taken from them wrongfully, and $102 million was set aside as compensation. The trust’s value continues to grow well beyond $1 billion, but the Sioux have never collected.
One key problem: The tribes say the payment is invalid because the land was never for sale and accepting the funds would be tantamount to a sales transaction. Ross Swimmer, former special trustee for American Indians, said the trust fund remains untouched for one reason: “They didn’t want the money. They wanted the Black Hills.”
“The Sioux tribes have always maintained that that confiscation was illegal and the tribes must have some of their ancestral lands returned to them, and they’ve maintained that position since 1877,” said Mario Gonzalez, general counsel for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, who has devoted much of his career to the issue.
There are thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of instances every year where citizens are given unfair treatment by our government and the courts. Every now and then people take to the streets and protest, and then you guys calll them thugs, or commies, or terrorists. But this time it's different because... it's white guys.
If you listen to the news real closely, you will notice that TPTB are using the MSM to regain control of The Narrative.
They are now saying "Now that the 2 convicts have turned themselves in for jail time of 5 years, there is no reason for the sympathizers to stay, and that they should leave and thus settle things peacefully."
Notice the Deflection & Redirection away from "Government overreach", to "Armed (extremist) sympathizers".
And where exactly are the Oath (Bee) Keepers, Brandon Smith, Panic List Snyder et al on ZH to call "Bullshit!" and yank back The Narrative? Where? [crickets] Oh yeah... crafting the next eloquent and emotive click-bating, ad-revenue generating blog article --since 'The Show Must Go On'.
p.s. Smith, spare me your amateur hour anti-FLIR garage tech, for which their lead engineer and I had a good chuckle. Impress me with next Gen FLIR tech, or Active Denial tech or how to down a drone Serbian or Iranian style, and maybe you'll get more deserved attention and kudos from those who aren't just 'impressionable simple folk'.
There's much more to it, Xatos, although I'm in full agreement with your attitude and outlook. There's a demented judge who has a litany of personal and professional problems that made the decision to re-jail people under a law meant for 'terrorists,' and who already have each served time.
And there's the story of the federal land grab and how they're going after on of the last parcels where the owners wouldn't sell.
And there's a story about disingenuous prodding of people to catch them up in the 'protest' which some libs now call a 'revolt,' and even more. I just hope those fine young men don't give up their lives for something that's ill-timed, ill-placed and poorly planned.
Someone online posited that this event is more like Harper's Ferry than Fort Sumpter.
There are a number of SUCKERS here in fight club that ought to be goddamned ashamed of themselves for taking the bait of the Oregon "Millitia takeover" hook, line, and sinker and then attempting to shame those that called them out for it. You idiots just need to drop out of the battle and go back to being dumb, mindless consumers because to be honest with you, you are not all that different. That said, I apologize to the 90% of Fight Club that are not morons. I do not mean you at all, and you will know who I mean when I speak of these drones. I'm not even going to be nice to these idiots. You deserve to be crapped on. Support from dupes like you %$# it all up for the rest of us that worked goddamn hard as hell to deprogram ourselves, when you did nothinig more than realize "something was wrong" back in the day but didn't lift a goddamn finger to figure out what was wrong with your thinking that allowed you to be fooled for so long in the first place. And here we are, having to deal with your broken minds as they react the same way as when you were "asleep" in a reckless, emotional, and "belief-based" manner. Be gone from us all of you Ciphers, be gone back to Consumerdome, at least go meander over to Alex Jone's bullshit honeypot website and fantasize away about a bunch of nonsense that is only real between your ears. Sorry for the rant, but I am getting really pissed.
actually, alex jones agrees with you...so before becoming upset, you should check your facts....
What Alex's position on this particular matter is of little importance. Focus man, focus. Alex is a destraction to the cause of restoring liberty in this nation, and in no way has he been a net asset. He sets himself up as a strawman for the cause and - because of his antics and psychosis-like presentation - acts as a honeypot himself, easily smashed and taking with him more logical, rational thinking people by wrongly inferred association. He's controlled opposition and it is staring you right in the face.
You sound like Michael Savage who I enjoy listening too...
The public schools did a pretty good job programming; I remember movies like Soylent Green and all the good drug movies(Easy Rider) and how easy it was to be enticed by drugs in HS, free love, 60's/70's protests and sadly Vietnam. The peak cycle of prosperity was the late 70's and I believed in values & the American dream(what a sucker). With Clinton, I could smell the political rats from then on and try not to be played. It's blogs like ZH where people like me can have an open mind and learn from this type of debate. Reading this site has me devouring as much international information to understand our place in the world. To be fair the corporate elites didn't really put the peddle to the metal until the mid-80's when jobs left from here to overseas.
Not all of us had it figured out like Ted Kascyski,As the Unabomber manifesto put it, "The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."
Did not want Bush Sr. war in Iraq & 9/11 was the real wake up that Bandar Bush's gang was up to no good. I have been grieving the loss of America, all the innocent people that die due to our banker wars...
We are witnessing history like Obummer promised us without the hope.
P.S. I witnessed the Ruby Ridge incident in Naples ID and it was sickening/terrible, they had provocaturs, skin heads & locals onsite wondering what the government was doing against its own. It had other unintended consequences that the press never wrote about.
With all due respect, I think the peak of the American middle class lifestyle was a bit earlier, in about 1973. Right when Archie Bunker was yelling about it the most. Ironic, isn't it? And to think his chair is in the Smithsonian......
thx...it was still flourishing in CA...aerospace(weapons) industry
In most of the US the two-income household really took off during the decade. Out of necessity. Could still get the standard of living, just not on one income,
I think the peak of American optimism was more like in the 50s. In the 60s we had the revolt of the flower children, druggies and loud music. In 1967 Jimmy Carter spoke of the "malaise" in the country. It was palpable. Things got much worse with the Vietnam war and the draft. I was caught in the university mobs and riots. My town was under martial law for 10 days. Lots of things changed after that. It was never the same again.
I don't mind you being pissed, Frankie. But could you use a few paras?
Easier to read rather than skim over a solid block of words.
As I did.
Thanks ever so!
Are you drinking?........ You sure the phuk type like you are.
"It's The Banks! It's The Banks! The Vault of the once dirty laundry.
I'll bite... Frankie, wake me up when all these well-meaning 'Boys With Toys' clubs actually DO something Real & Substantial. Scared of violence? Fine.
How about some waves of non-violent dissent/things like:
- A Million Man March on DC,
- A National or State Strike,
- Truck & Tractors shutting down DC
- Creating a Super-PAC (comparable to AIPAC) that kicks A$$
- etc, etc.
Pathetic! I've heard Arabic women ululate with more vigor and courage -- w/o owning a single GD gun, at that! I now suspect that just about the only ones left with courage, are combat vets -- which TPTB fear for good reason.
This sounds like "man, we have to do something!", like attitude, ye of little patience. Listen, the cause of liberty is having 4th generational warfare employed against them, where .gov uses 99% psychological and 1% force. You do not combat an effort like that with an antic like this. Already the psyop battle has been lost, and .gov is in a win-win situation. If they Waco these guys, they'll scare 95% of the mall ninjas and gear queers back into their workshops, and if they don't then they can claim "how reasonable they are in dealing effectively with domestic terrorists". Either way, these guys lose. There was no popular support behind this to start (huge mistake), the timing stinks being right on top of the King's decree on firearms, and a lasting caricature of liberty-minded folks is being set up that will be used against you and me for years. Nothing positive will come from this. At the very least we'll see an uptick in polls demanding "assault weapons" bans, and likely new, and even more draconian domestic terrorism laws.
You never want bloodshed when resisting immoral state power. But if there is bloodshed, you also never want it to look like you started it and therefore deserved it, which is exactly what these guys did when they marched in their with weapons.
Hearts and minds lost, and for what?
Buddy, I think you're side-stepping my question, by debating the pros & cons for Violence.
I short-circuited that meme by demanding proof for NON-Violent Civic action -- the kind that used to be in vogue with white people in the 60s or 70s, and which is now practiced with civil courage only by non-white racial groups, or by non-Christian religious groups (Jews, Muslims).
Until I see a Preponderance of Evidence that these groups are capable of even basic Non-Violent Civil Disobedience -- which are the requisite early stages of civil revolt -- their nice-sounding proclamations of "armed intention" have NO meaning, relevance or credibility. If they aren't already part of Operation Gladio 2.0, they might as well be. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
My advice to these 'Liberty' groups:
A. "Begin with The End in Mind"1: Work your Strategic Vision backwards. Have your own "Oded Yinon Plan", so to speak.
B. Have professionally run Master Projects on parallel tracks: 1. Non-Violent Civil Dissent (civil resistance/disobedience), 2. PR Machine playing to the MSM and leveraging K-Street lobbyists, 3. Recruitment & Training (civil, militia).
C. Have SMART2 goals for each of these 3 Tracks, to ensure Accountability, Compliance, and timely Results. Don't have fuzzy goals or definitions: Define and use words with clinical precision and military rigor, and bust the MSM when they don't. Sloppy & lazy handling drives the car into the ditch.
D. Take and keep ownership of The Narrative, and retake it when the MSM or TPTB try to take it over with their classic "Deflect & Redirect" techniques of debate.
1 Part of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"
2 SMART Goals must be: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Repeatable, Timely. This is SOP in highly successful companies, in setting Quarterly and Annual Goals for the Professional Development Plan (PDP) & Annual Reviews of its staff. (Hope some of you have learned something new here.)
p.s. A part of me thinks what my family and friends have suggested with increasing frequency: That I devote far less time to ZH, and devote it instead to writing a book -- as many ZH writers like to do -- to retain my passion and better support my lifestyle. One of them also reminded me of an old Jewish adage: "Anything worth saying, doing or having, is worth charging money" (e.g. Books, Newsletter subscriptions, Website ads, Club fees...). Seems like an increasingly crowded space already, but hmmm...
Today was just discussing with a neighbor about the same as John's talking points...too bad the MSM is censored...we are being played by the deep state. This is one of the traps they are baiting per a Rand Report (2002?) Obummer has signed all his executive paperwork for Martial Law & jokes about a 3rd term. Part of me thinks this election is just WWE Raw political theatre until "the one makes himself, King".
Could not locate the Rand report but came upon another gem of people being played with a plan from long ago.http://modernhistoryproject.org/mhp?Article=FinalWarning&C=7.7#Tension
The larger battle is the unipolar(USA) vs. multipolar(China/Russia) new world global order.
http://fxandgeopolitix.com/2015/12/29/as-the-east-creates-the-west-tries...
How will Americans handle that?
Sabotage is the way to win fast and without risk.
There is no way to keep air traffic running without full public support, airports are fragile things. Bullet holes in parked airliners that happen while citizens around the airport bang on pots and pans will increase costs and disrupt schedule a lot. One bullet hole a day in one airliner at one airport would be seriously disruptive.
Sure, they would adjust to that, so some clever person would have an idea that adjusts to their adjustment, etc.
The government cannot win a battle with citizens if we don't let it become a battle with police and armed drones. The world of commerce and infrastructure is our world, they cannot win in a world we citizens so completely control.
So some national organization needs to say "airlines will not fly" and tell everyone how and why, at which point we stop paying taxes and start hindering airlines and infrastructure. Citizens will end the government when we give them no choice.
A group of citizens who disagree with the direction of a society and who are large enough, passionate enough and bold enough to stop airline traffic and keep it stopped have to be dealth with. We are too many and too well armed to be eliminated. We only want a return to the original constitution and lawful government under that Constitution*. Political QED.
*Yes, we will need to improve it, and internet technology makes make other changes necessary or desirable. But the Constitution is a known starting point, although we don't have any of the people infrastructure to support it.
You are on dangerous territory. People in East Berlin used needleprick tactics. They left the restaurant when a Soviet soldier entered, do little things that cost the government money and where they can't get you. Discourage youngsters from enlisting because the forces all over the world cost a lot of money and kids might come back in a wheelchair. Those who come back intact are often found in the police forces where they are too trigger happy.
>>>Sabotage is the way to win fast and without risk.
Agreed (although "fast" and "without risk" may be overstating things a bit).
Even "small stuff" done repeatedly can cumulatively become "big stuff". Such efforts don't even have to be violent; Karl Denninger, during one of his rants on civil disobedience, pointed out that several guys driving 40 mph on a major freeway can effectively shut down transportation in a big chunk of a city. Hell, if they're retired they can do it every day....
And may God richly bless all those patriots serving their country in the NSA!
I was thinking about inviting some old ladies over to play Mah Jong for dimes, but now that I put it out on the internetwebs I better not.
Don't want to go to jail and get tazed and all that stuff, bro!
You're up against a massive, massive problem. In the sixties it was considerably safer to 'protest' because there was very little chance the police would kill you. That is no longer the case. The police WILL kill you now, willingly and with no fear because they know they will never be held to account. When the whole bloody system is captured and corrupt, there are very few good choices.
Don't be so simple and linear.
They gotta sleep and live somewhere too, as do their families. "If a cop shot one of my family members, their life would be over as they knew it. What goes around, comes around" is the mindset that needs to be adopted.
Something needs to be done.
Violence is not the answer.
- these are the 2 themes I got out of this article-
Here's my something.
I'm raising 90 percent of our meat. Our garden should cover about 75 percent of everything else next year. I'm raising extra critters to barter with.
Im learning how to do useful things. Build things, find things. I gave up on Walmart. And McDonald's. I bank at a credit union. I have savings. Read more.
Some things I still need to do.
Keep the tv off for longer periods. A few weeks would be a good start. Read meaningful book to my kids more often. Consider homeschooling. (Small town and their school is actually really good) Buy more books. Meet more like minded people in real life.
get your kids the hell out of the public school system. Don't kid yourself for another moment.