Spurred from several recent conversations, it becomes entirely necessary for this specific audience to understand a reality that is never discussed.
If you are reading this, wherever you are reading this, by self-association you are in a select group of high information people with a much larger understanding of the issues than your network. That means you know, comprehend, understand and have a level of insight and discernment that is far above average. Now, let me be brutally honest.
Factually speaking, all of the people within the mechanisms of DC, the people you associate with being key allies to fight back against the visible corruption, the people you assign hope toward, are not as smart as you.
Re-read that as needed.
One of the biggest shifts of thinking needed, in order to change our dynamic to the abusive relationship with government, is to realize these people you consider important are just not that smart. They are not wiser; they are not more strategic; they are not as well versed in the details at the heart of the crisis; they are not as well informed; they do not have special access to information that makes them more capable; they do not understand the issues better than you.
Again, RE-READ that with new eyes to evaluate and understand the challenge.
It doesn’t matter what position they hold, or what access they have, or what groups, interests, networks or information resources are at their disposal. You know more than them, and you understand the material at a much higher level of comprehension than they do. It does not matter what their rank or importance is, YOU know more. Once you realize this, then you begin to change how you look at the challenge and at their functional capability within it.
The informational context you assign to them does not exist. The things you think they know, they don’t. The very specific information you believe they are aware of, does not exist in their mind. The people in Washington DC, those allies who you think might have the skills to fix issues, have no concept of what material you are aware of. You are light years ahead of them in the scale of information you understand, and the context it means.
I am not being hyperbolic.
Here’s the kicker…. They think they are more aware than you.
The system around them reinforces a belief that they hold some level of knowledge that you do not have. As a result, when they engage with you, they talk down to you, or talk in a manner of unintentional intellectual condescension that stems from a place where they cannot fathom your level of knowledge.
If you have the opportunity to talk to them, I mean really get beyond the surface level stuff and dig into the weeds (even the shallow weeds), suddenly they start to get a strange look on their face – that becomes fear – as your knowledge starts to destabilize their prior view of you.
Let me be very clear and precise. It doesn’t matter who they are, or what title they hold; the same reality of material fact that I am describing applies to all of them – at every level.
If you think of a top apex-level person, currently or formerly inside government, that aligns with the principles of freedom and liberty – and has a keen awareness of the issues and subject matter that has created our current crisis dynamic, I have likely spoken to them. Those who fit that description, and may even be reading this right now, will tell you in a moment of brutal honesty, I am correct.
The people you think can fix this stuff have no idea how much you know. Additionally, it becomes destabilizing and unnerving for them to accept your level of information and understanding.
Another key and important element, beyond the knowledge, intellect, wisdom and discernment level… YOU care more about it than they do. The stuff that you know, the stuff that you yearn for them to address and fix, is more important to you than it is to them.
Why am I telling you this?
Because we all need to change your reference points when communicating with them. We need to confront their condescension early in our contact. We need to be deliberate, direct, and brutally honest in our delivery.
When we write to them, articulate the arguments. When we talk to them, pull them into the weeds of the issues and force them to see that our grasp of the topic far exceeds their ability to bullshit their way around the issue.
Being courteous, respectful and considerate for their role, does not mean you have to dumb yourself down or consider yourself subservient to their view.
I guarantee you two things. First, that you know the material better than they do. Second, I absolutely guarantee that you care more than they do. What that latter element says about the challenge is for another discussion, but these key points need to be emphasized.
That’s it.
Love to all,
~ Sundance
Right-on, Sundance!
Of course, one of the reasons we are so much more aware and better informed than the ass clowns who are running things, is because we have the benefit of Sundance and the Fellowship of the Tree House.
Exactly, Seneca.
Sure, thats PART of it,…
but, while Sundance and the House have been here for many years, the audience,…hasn’t.
THEY, by openly and gleefully shredding their credibility, and promulgating more and more absurd narratives created a thirst, and hunger for Truth and Credibility, which Sundance and the House stood ready to satisfy.
Supply and Demand; the less of something (in this case, Truth and Credibility) there is available, the more valuable it will be percived to be.
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”, is about far more than physics.
THEY, by their very actions, created us. The Tea Party, MAGA, the Buchannan Brigade, Barrys Boys have always been around, the #’s expanding or contracting, largely dependant on,…THEM.
Our growth is a direct consequence of a responce TO Obamas extreme “fundamental transformation”.
And the lockstep, single voice by rote news “coverage” of MSM, promulgating the company line and destroying its credibility, helped create the vibrant, dominating Alt-media, the Rebel alliance of the Treehouse, TGP and many other podcasts, and outlets.
One thing that can be said of most Treepers–we don’t accept everything as gospel without doing our due diligence. We read, we dig, we go down rabbit holes at times but we come up with information. We have been lied to by our government “masters” so many times that irregardless of what they tell us is true, we check, double-check and then check one more time. We are not sheeple. We are what the Marxists fear most–dubious, thoughtful, curious, inquizative, and, most of all, skeptical. We don’t accept everything on face value. If we did, our knowledge base would be worth about as much as the US dollar is these days!!
There is a wonderful group of people here at the Tree House. We aren’t a group dumbed down by the educational system. We are a diverse group willing to include all who come here with open minds and closed mouths and we desire equal justice under the law. American law. Constitutional law. Beyond that, we want to be left alone to live our lives as WE see fit. No mandates. No executive orders. No threats. We believe in the Golden Rule and the Bible. We are free and independent thinkers. We care about OUR country and what is being done to it.
We also understand TOO BIG FOR YOUR BRITCHES and we know what consequences exist for those with said britches!
Exactly, Seneca. And if I may add: we here at the Treehouse are humble: humble enough to realize we don’t have all the answers, so we search out others who may and who often provide new insights for us to consider. Related to being humble is our ability (or choice) to be teachable.
Those a$$hats in DC have no humility and certainly have proven to be unteachable.
Truth is what I seek and why I am here. I feel fortunate enough to have found Sundance and The Last Refuge on Twitter several years ago and I’ve never turned back. God bless everyone on this forum. 🙏🇺🇸
Amen Sporny
Me as well. I’ve been fortunate to have found this group, and have been trying to pass on the wisdom to others. Some have taken it on board, others have bathed in the sea of knowledge and come out dry. You can’t reach everyone.
Absolutely correct! We do know far more than those who should know more. Last Spring wrote a detailed email to our GOP House representative regarding her vote on the disastrous budget CR. Part of that email included the very simple question
” Why do you always represent the GOP rather than your constituents?” Her response was downright pathetic. In it she tried to convince me what a great deal the
” concessions ” the GOP received in passing that last budget piece of garbage were for conservatives. It was such a ignorant response, I just deleted it.
“Those a$$hats in DC have no humility and certainly have proven to be unteachable.”
Is there humbleness somewhere in this sentence?
Your analysis is correct. To demonstrate what Sundance has been saying about D.C., all you need to do is either email or write to your favorite representative addressing your ideas on one specific topic along with the facts. Then wait for their response. If it even mentions your topic, you’ll be lucky. It’s usually a broad-brush response that will show that understanding on his/her part is very minimal. They and their staffers are obviously focused on more important matters (like money) than what their constituents are concerned about.
It’s the CTH first principle: The truth has no agenda.
All office holders have an agenda which, in and of itself, is not bad, but many place their agenda above the truth. So, we have a moral problem.
The second issue is from a solution delivery perspective. The whole political process is flawed. As an engineer, you define the problem, analyze it, and develop a solution to resolve it. The old political process was to identify the problem, take a poll, then cobble together a coalition that keeps you in the mainstream majority and implement that whether it solves the problem or not. The recent past was never let a crisis go to waste and use a crisis to advance your agenda which typically exacerbates the problem. Today, the politically impatient have no time to wait for a crisis, so they create one or several to use to keep the public anxious and unbalanced so they can promote an even more radical agenda that no one would agree to under normal circumstances.
Finally, with social media and the dumbing down of culture, there’s been a major shift in the typical skillset of the politician. Seventy years ago, leaders were chosen based on their character ethic. Today, they are chosen based on their personality. It’s the charismatic showman not the problem solver that gets elected. Thus, as Sundance notes, they’re not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to addressing our nation’s issues.
Most voters would prefer to just live their lives and hope that the politicians they elect don’t screw things up too bad. That paradigm is gone. The lack of ethics combined with a lack of problem-solving talent amongst our leaders is a dangerous cocktail. It leads to the kakistocracy that we now have in place. Imagine, the mighty USA had at the start of 2022, Biden, Harris, and Pelosi as our top 3 in leadership. Never in our nation’s history have we been led by such inept people. Even though they cheated to get there, the fact that a large portion of our society voted for these yahoos is greatly disturbing.
Perhaps these incredibly inept and corrupt people were not leading anything, just that they were in those positions because they would do whatever the people who actually lead the country wanted them to do.
When I ran across the TreeHouse some years ago, I was smart enough to stay there, keep reading, and come back often.
I always laugh at ass clowns.
Amen, and AMEN TO THAT. 10 years for me.
DC has a lot of lamp posts on Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves…….
And they are far too empty…..
Chesty Puller, USMC General was reported to have said at the Chosin Reservoir (Korea Dec 1950), “We’re surrounded. That simplifies things.”
Go forth and have an honest and directed conversation with these top apex-level people who surround us…! Great strategy & tactics, SD!
A man who was there with Chesty when this happened related the story to me.
Chesty called in all his officers, West Point boys. Asked them what to do, told them to consult together while he had a smoke and make a recommendation. They came back and recommended surrender because they were surrounded and couldn’t see a way out.
Chesty said “ok that’ll be all. Where are my damn NCO’s?”
A sergent (all of whom had been through WW2) came up and said “Sir, all we have to do is send a few men over to this hill yonder and start a ruckus, and the rest can haul ass over to that other hill behind us. We repeat that and leapfrog these hills and get the hell out of here.”
Chesty said “Ok boys, we’re surrounded. That simplifies things. Anywhere you aim, you’re gonna hit something.”
They made it out.
So yeah, “it simplifies things” is correct. But I always like the last part about hitting something no matter where you aim. Those guys didn’t surround themselves out of there, they shot their way out.
Appreciate the Chesty reference, sir. I suspect he and men like him would have already solved these problems we have.
What a great historical tidbit. Ask the damn Senior Master Sargent, he’ll give it to you straight up, with no yes-man bull hockey.
In today’s Marine Corps, Chesty would have never made General. He would have been court marshaled and busted down to Pfc.
..but still served with honor and pride.
Unfortunately, the District of Corruption is surrounded by idiots. The only good guys inside the circle are locked up in the bowels of the city. The District is inherently evil, defiling justice and liberty. For them, freedom is a joke and the Constitution is a paper written by some dead white guys.
The inhabitants of DC are still idiots. Evil, self-serving idiots. As for Chesty, he was up against the North Koreans. Evil in their own right but rank amateurs compared to the DC political elites!
Rebierocket as a lover of all things history thank you so much for sharing that with us be well God Bless
R.D.
Talked to a group of the “Chosin Frozen” some years back about how I built my meager collection of M-1 Garands because a member said a bunch of these heroes might want to buy a “wall hanger” to rekindle memories.
I was giving the talk and it was “the M-1 is a great gun..” and “you can get one of these guns from the CMP..”, etc. when I was interrupted by a gnarled old Gunnery Sargent who rumbled at me softly but forcefully. “Son, excuse me, but the M-1 is NOT a gun, it’s a rifle!”
To quote one of the last lines in that Korean War saga, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, “..where do we get such men?”
THESE MEN and WOMEN
THEY WERE MADE, By The GREAT DEPRESSION, CONSERVATION CORPS CAMPS and DESPERATION to
PROTECT THEIR NATION, THEIR FAMILIES and THEIR FELLOW FIGHTERS
That is Correct, War Planner. We were taught from the beginning of boot camp to treat our “weapon” aka “rifle” as we would our own wife or girlfriend… It was never to be called a “gun.”
“This is my rifle, this is my gun
This is for killing, this is for fun!” — Full Metal Jacket
A better question might be “Where did they all go?”
Rebierocket,
Yes, I know I was a Marine in the Tet Offensive of 1968, in Vietnam. Good story, however those Officers weren’t West Point boys… Chesty Puller was a Marine. A few were Annapolis grads… and you are right them NCO’s, the Sergeants, Corporals, the Gunny’s got things locked and loaded and moving…
“First, that you know the material better than they do. Second, I absolutely guarantee that you care more than they do.”
Absolutely, 100% agree!
For point of reference, go back to 2010 when Nancy Pelosi, who kept ALL Republicans from participating in the drafting of the Obamacare bill, infamously said “Congress [has] to pass the bill so you can find out what’s in it, away from the fog of controversy.”
And what did Congress do?
THEY PASSED THE BILL.
I have people in my family who still believe Obamacare is a good thing and it’s good thing we have socialist healthcare for everyone!
I’ve got corner posts smarter than those people.
You mean?? They make a tree stump look like a computer?
[I’m giggling as I type – most unbecoming of a rather elderly bloke].
The over-riding character trait of these politicians is political ambition.
What motivates that ambition may differ, but it is ambition not intelligence that has garnered their position.
Recently I re-read a piece published in 1904 and written by John Peter Altgeld, who was a Progressive Democrat Governor of Illinois from 1893 to 1897. His Progressiveness notwithstanding or perhaps due to his experiences, Altgeld makes an interesting observation.
Titled: “A Good Fellow”
When a young man of respectable parentage, fair education, good character, and honorable ambition, comes to the legislature of his State to represent a constituency, and begins a public career which he hopes will make him famous and bring glory to his family, he is at once sought by the lobbyists and the other older members who are schooled in corruption, and made to understand that if he would succeed in politics he must be a “good fellow.” On all sides he is flattered, directly and indirectly, and in most cases he yields to these seductive blandishments of his newly-found friends, and they take him under their protection and proceed to have a good time. He is invited to little dinners, to play cards, and to various other diversions; wine is free and cigars are plentiful. When he loses at the gaming-table he is given a loan of fifty dollars, and another, and another, until he is deeply in debt; but he is told not to worry about that. There are easy ways of making money with which to recoup himself. Fromm that moment the young man is doomed. He is in the power of the corruptionists, and must vote as they direct. In a short time he is a full-fledged boodler, hungry for money and ready for any iniquity.
In other cases, when it is found that a man cannot be enticed along a line of dissipation, he is approached in a different way. He is told that there is a great future for a man of his ability and acquirements, and that he can wield a powerful influence and earn large fees if he will be but tactful and not make himself obnoxious to the ruling faction of the legislature. He is promised the chairmanship of committees, is assured of future political promotion, is offered an interest in various schemes, and all that is asked in return is that he be “a good fellow.” Too often the young man yields. He accepts the flattery as being simply the appreciation due to a superior man. He becomes inflated with a sense of his own importance. He grabs at the promised promotion, and is seized with a hunger for money; and then he is lost. He may last longer than the man who indulges in physical dissipation, but the moral dissipation is the same in both cases. Self-respect, noble aspirations, honor and manhood die, and only the wreck of a blighted life remains.
These two examples illustrate conditions that are only too common in American politics.
We all like the pleasant and agreeable good fellow, but the “good fellow” in politics is a different specimen of humanity.”
In the 21st century you can see this yet; one only needs eyes to see and know what to look for.
Or a “good filly,” in the case of (the late) Dianne Feinstein.
The political class has been perfecting the art of corruption since the time of the first civilization. The corrupt political class has brought down every great and not so great state that has ever existed. I sometimes feel I have more in common with a Roman citizen of antiquity that was witnessing the fall of Rome and realizing her plight than I do with the majority of my fellow countrymen.
A politician is a merchant. His only stock-in-trade is compromise. What can possibly go wrong?
His other stock in trade is selling influence.
“boodler” LOL!
Those techniques still seem to work to this day.
The thing I know for certain is that I have no idea what will transpire over the next year plus, let alone what will transpire after the election. What I fear is that the “elite” described in this article believes that they know exactly what will transpire. We should all be afraid of such hubris.
I am not afraid of them and I will never be afraid of them no matter what they do. These people are the scum of the earth. I will stand up and face them like a man with full knowledge that God is standing with me. Fear is a useless emotion in this instance. Please stop with the Doom and Gloom.
This is not doom and gloom. This is simply my reading of the current situation. I believe I am being realistic. With extended family down to infants, I openly express my fear. That is not to say I will bow to the tyrants.
Don’t be afraid. The evil ones exploit our fears to control us.
Instead, be angry and engaged. And don’t forget to have faith in our Creator. It’s much more productive.
There is at least one exception: Donald Trump.
I’m reminded once more of a passage.
To whom much is given, much is required.
Also remember the parable of talents.
I’d implore all readers to make use of your abilities in faithful service to those good things worth upholding.
We are the good guys we have been waiting for.
I never send e-mails or snail mails to my reps and senators anymore. I call the staff and unload on them; if they care to pass it on, great.
This morning I explained to my US Rep’s staffer that I was aware of her yea vote for more money for nazi’s, and my hope that someone
will attempt to primary her. If not, I explained, I will watch to see if her largesse with our tax dollars continues, and if so will be leaving
her spot empty on the ballot.
I *always* write letters (not emails) because what I put down on the paper says I took the trouble to WRITE IT OUT and the words on the paper are sincere and, if angry, are indelible.
being polite to them is getting increasingly difficult
Absolutely love the sharpening of talons…needed for verbal jousting. 🥰
Sundance,
I could take your words and stand in front of hundreds and extoll them if I had the opportunity to do so and proclaim from the mountain top that they (politicians and bureaucrats) work for us, we do not work for them. I do not suffer fools anywhere, anymore. To do so is at my own peril and the peril of others I love and respect. I am 78 years old and still have a voice. I fear for my family, friends and country. Stand up people and do something, make a positive difference!
The best class I ever took in college was “speech”. The first few speeches I had to give scared the heck out of me. No more thanks to a great professor, who by the way I didn’t like then and probably would not like now. But, did I learn from her and those experiences. Thanks for the article and all you do and give…everyday!
Your writing seems to show that you give great speeches!
Smart people learn even from teachers they don’t particularly like. In fact, *everyone* has something to teach …
some people teach ‘how not to behave’.
Do as I say not as I do…
Keep on vocalizing!
The House questions and answers at all Hearings support Sundance’s comments and they can’t even answer those lame questions.
Well thanks boss. I’ll do my best to live up to your accolades
Good timing with this one, Sundance: on the day the epitome of the very people you are speaking of in this article dies (Senator Feinstein).
Also…
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Some of us have been saying this for awhile. These people are just not that smart and you can see the evidence every day in what they say and what they do. In fact, the vast majority of these people are shockingly stupid. There is no need to be afraid of these people. They are not infallible. They make tons of mistakes. They can be outsmarted and they can be defeated. We’re on our way of beating them right now despite all of their best efforts and years of planning. They are losers and they are going to lose.
Very cool article.
Thank you.
I’ve believed for years now that the only way out is to remove all of them From the house , Senate and Executive Branch they are all corrupt by active participation or complicit behavior. I was asked by someone what can be done to correct our problems and the answer is to remove the entire problem. Anything short of that would be a defeat. What do you think they have planned for us?
Confidant is easy to obtain if you are never challenged.
Sundance is exactly right. I have noticed the same thing for years. The example I used was concerning the local or state elected persons in the “good ole boy” network.
Just talk to the average person and hear how they think about “elected Grubermint officials” . Most think the elected officers are smarter and know more than the “average” citizen because they are elected..
However, before many of the people who ran for an office, were considered by people in the communities to be well liked, but not necessarily any more intelligent than anyone else. ( Sometimes thought of not as intelligent.) Nonetheless, after they win a “popularity” contest election, they suddenly become the smartest creatures around in many people’s mind. Ultimately, the elected person begins to believe their own hype.
How does becoming “elected” make someone any smarter the day after the election than they were the day or weeks before the election? 🤔 That attitude has baffled me for years.
I’ve long believed that DC critters think they know more than us because the IC makes them think they are “in the know”. It helps explain why they all seem to become different people once they get to DC and take positions that make you think WTF changed?
Examples: Jan 6th was an insurrection. No need to see tapes or subpoena anyone. We know because the IC told us.
The elections are secure, no evidence of fraud. We know.
President Trump is a Russian mole and the greatest threat to our democracy. Fifty-one of our top men attest to it.
We, the IC, can’t share any actual evidence with you our elected officials on any of these because it would compromise an investigation but we want to let you know we do have the evidence because you are super important to our democracy and we need you to help save our democracy.
Their strategy is to inflate an already inflated ego and the result is nothing gets done to seek the truth. Why seek the truth when you’ve been assured by the government’s top men that you already know the truth. (FWIW- They are also probably blackmailing the heck out of anyone who questions the given narrative.)
That’s why we don’t see any of them doing anything to right any of these wrongs. As SD said above, they think they are informed. It’s their source of information that’s the problem.
If they were just plain stupid they wouldn’t get the uncomfortable look on their face that SD describes when confronted with facts. They are smart enough to recognize it when it’s thrown in their face. They are just too weak or corrupt to act on it or to admit they might be wrong.
The old pictures are coming out. It’s been a while since we’ve seen them. Earlier this week it was the red-haired girl. Now it’s our bald eagle sharpening his talons. Up next, Mickey Mouse. (may as well since we have a Mickey Mouse government now)!
While reading this article I thought about the one with McConnell, Ryan, Reid and I don’t remember who else standing in a group in their underwear looking oh so proud and pompous.
the moment they screwed-up the cheat for killery is the moment i realized their fallibility
narcissistic sociopaths have many, many weaknesses, and the entire lot are narcissistic sociopaths
Their hubris always does them in. They grossly underestimate the power of the people, and they continue to do so at their peril.
Humbly, thanks Sundance. Your encouragement and prayers are welcomed.
Won’t want to take anything away from Sundance but a lot of my learning comes from the posts as well. Sometimes, Sundance goes over my head and I have to rely on those who understand, to say it a little differently. They also post very informative ideas, suggestions, and opinions.
No disrespect…. but if we’re smarter why are they succeeding where we are not.
It’s call power.
“It’s not a matter of what is true that counts but a matter of what is perceived to be true.”
~ Henry Kissinger, Knight of the Sovereign MILITARY Order of Malta
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled.”
~ Mark Twain
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true. The other is to refuse to accept what is true.”
~ Soren Kierkegaard
In his essay, The Power of the Powerless ,” Vaclav Havel said, “Living within the lie can constitute the system only if it is universal. The principle must embrace and permeate everything. There are no terms whatsoever on which it can co-exist with living within the truth, and therefore everyone who steps out of line denies it in principle and threatens it in its entirety.”
{ https://hac.bard.edu/amor-mundi/the-power-of-the-powerless-vaclav-havel-2011-12-23 }
Point. Counterpoint.
Second, I absolutely guarantee that you care more than they do.
So true…and many of those people who “know and care” are in a Wash DC jail. Pray for them.
Sundance, “I feel your pain”, but I hate to tell you, we ain’t that smart, either. We have allowed so much corruption to exist for so long that it boggles the mind. Some very smart people have captured our country, and I don’t know how we are going to get it back. DJT may be the one to do it, but my fear is that we welcome a dictatorship to solve the current problem. Of course, right now, we have an oligarchy, not a Constitutional Republic, so maybe a benign dictatorship is an improvement. Time will tell. POLITICIANS ARE THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY.
This is being hidden by entire msm. Photos: Trump, supporters descend on Anaheim for GOP convention https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-29/photos-trump-and-his-supporters-descend-on-anaheim-for-gop-convention . Yeah…right now.
If you’ve ever heard the term “brown-noser” that’s what elected pols are, in spades, you remember them from school and/or college; they are far from the cream of the crop, they get everything they possess from being what they are, i.e., brown-nosers, they are not merit based. They are not solid, down-to-earth people, they are not grounded in principle, and the vast majority of Washington pols are such people; naturally, there are a few exceptions, e.g., Gaetz, Nehls, maybe Greene, the jury’s still out on her, IMO; as for Boebert, she’s history, IMO, she screwed the pooch recently, remembering that the Media will amplify anything negative about the Right and its electees. Most politicians rank right next to the proverbial used-car salesman, but lower in honesty, intelligence, and principle.
We know some of the Bethesda, N Va, crowd on a personal basis. The people who keep us humming here on the Eastern Shore, right down to our landscaper, who had a stint in jail are heads and shoulders above the DC crowd. I appreciate, once again, Sundance putting to print what I have know. A great read to kick off the weekend, thanks!
My first experience in knowing this was around 2010.
This was the time the Tea Party rose up and a time of great information being pushed into public knowledge. Blogs and social media were doing investigative reporting and Glenn Beck was using his chalkboard for complex relationships.
I attended a townhall with my republican congressional rep. He was inundated with questions and facts about what was going on and congressional failures to address the issues.
The attendees were very well educated on the issues ….and my Rep knew “nothing” about anything.
I was flabbergasted of how uninformed he was. That was the first time I realized the local citizens/constituents knew more than he did.
For a greater view of what is happening in Ukraine, check out our daily reports. A large portion of America is basically facilitating the de-militarization of Ukraine. It’s because they lack real information.
https://askeptic.substack.com/
Today’s report
https://askeptic.substack.com/p/russia-ukraine-reports-2023-09-29
One topic in the report is the real reason why the US is willing to spend so deeply. Look for the video with Michael Hudson regarding Lend Lease.
The sad truth is that “they” only respect one thing. MONEY. To them, money is power and influence. Having money means they don’t have to care so they don’t. Menendez has no fear because he gives lots of money to his fellow elites and every one of them plays the same game.
JoeBama the puppet has declared MAGA republicans as extremists and a threat to our democracy. Don’t forgot this is the moderate unifier that the legacy media sold to the sheeple and got the votes from the elite anti Trump republicans. Bushes, Cheney, Romney, McConnell and the like.
Thank you for writing this. It is possible to be both evil and stupid. If these creeps were competent, we would all still be locked in our houses and would all be jabbed.
I have a couple years of college but no degree, and I consider myself to be of average intelligence. But I do have a couple of traits that I find to be more and more rare these days – I have an insatiable curiosity to want to know as much truth as I can about any possible subject, and I have an unusually high distrust for people in authority who tell me that things must be a certain way but can’t ever give me a reason why!
I try very hard not to be snarky but it is more than a little frustrating when I get into conversations with people who have advanced degrees and realize that they may know more than I do about one particular subject, but they are absolutely ignorant about 95 other things that anyone with common sense should have learned before reaching adulthood!
And sadly, when this country was founded, our forefathers specifically wanted government service to be a sacrifice, only to be undertaken by those who had been successful in other areas of their life, and were able to give short periods of time to conduct the necessary business of a part-time legislature, before returning to their homes and prior careers. But now, we have flipped that entirely on its head and people who have zero qualifications, but do have ruthless ambitions for power and money are making decisions on subjects they know nothing about, and for which they are never held responsible when the “you know what” hits the fan!
Intelligence, education, judgment and morality are all independent variables.
This is BEYOND TRUE. I worked part time in the government specifically the VA as a specialty contract physician and before graduating from medical school in the Pentagon and in the Depart of Transportation as an analyst. I was also prior military. All my immediate supervisors and those above them in the my governments jobs were pretty much clueless as to what was going on with their employees as well as the overall workings of the individual departments (see Price’s square root law). At best these people had a series of checklists and algorithms that are not very nuanced to go by. They seemed to count on some form of “institutional consciousness” whereby the place clunked along on auto-pilot. They love the institutional context, love sitting in endless meetings, and they love the insulating comfort of bureaucratic regulation. HOWEVER, these people did have a very cunning and feral sense of self preservation. I always told my family and friends that these people really don’t work so when a threat to their easy gravy-train comes along (i.e. Trump) they could devote their full time attention to getting rid of it and you were paying their salary to do it.
Sundance I attribute much of our insight and knowledge of our current situation to the time and effort you have so graciously given to us on a daily basis this fellowship you have created in and among these branches is so very much appreciated prayers for you and yours with much love and appreciation
R.D.
Politicians are just one
step up from Used Car
Salesmen.😉
The majority of both
99.9% are just
really-really good at
Bullsh….ting.
And that is what they
are good at.
Along with bringing in
a sale and commission
to put in their wallet.💰
Not really a big difference
between the two.💁🤷♀️🤷♀️
That is why I love
President Trump.
He is not a politician.
feels like we are vibrating in 2 centuries 1776 and 2023 a rebirth of our Nation…….
Sorry to repeat a post but mostlyOgauge has offered us these sites to try not to financially support those anti-American companies which are at war with us, we should not finance our own destruction:
https://daveseminara.com/complete-list-of-woke-companies-condemning-so-called-racist-voting-laws/
And this:
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/these-51-big-businesses-target-conservatives-heres-what-you-can-do-stop-them
This information bears repeating, so Thank You!
So very well articulated, S.D.
That applies equally as well, here in the Land of Oz, where the aforementioned class of people abound – and you are correct – they don’t have a clue.
Especially those who have spent their entire working life in one organization – no ambition to further their knowledge but rather to push their way further along the trough to get closer to the inlet…
All the folk who were good at their jobs & who knew their way around are gone – pushed aside or out so that the head honcho’s can employ a dumber lot to thus ensure he/she looks ‘so much smarter’.
Been there, seen that.
And I cry for my ‘dumb’ fellows.
“They are not wiser; they are not more strategic; they are not as well versed in the details at the heart of the crisis; they are not as well informed; they do not have special access to information that makes them more capable; they do not understand the issues better than you.”
Right on! Sometimes, surveying the various political, the so-called wise ones in our different layers of government stand out as self-centered ignoramuses. I have a representative for my district in Southern California, as an example, who is of Korean descent. In her emails to me and other constituents constantly characterizes her self as a “tax fighter” and watching out for pork and obscene government spending.
Yet, she is rated “excellent” as a supporter of the funds we send to the crooked money laundering operations in the Ukraine which , to me, is to say she is tone deaf to the big picture.
You know, not the DC big picture. The *American people* big picture . When we’re out here in SoCal paying $6.50 to $7.00 for a gallon of gas and our cost of living, housing, food, etc. is at a rate of *well over* the lied about 7% and she cannot square this against the billions of dollars ourt government is pissing away on Zelinsky? I write her about this and she responds saying it’s necessary to ward off the evil being done in Asia by the CCP.
No sense of priorities and no math skills.
Tax fighter, my rosy red buns!
Please apply this to your representative if it is appropriate.
I might be brilliant on Capital Hill but here at CTH I am a Sweat-Hog in Mr. Kotter’s class!
.
Never the less, I am available and in-service to the Lord in whom all things are possible.
.
Many blessing Sundance and Admins.
Thank goodness we had 23 House Republicans who apparently have the same smarts we do, those who read this site, and gave the middle finger to McCarthy and just wrecked his latest attempt at a short gap continuing funding resolution!!! SHUT THIS DAMN THING DOWN AND PREPARE THE MOTION TO VACATE!!! Get rid of McCarthy!!!🤬
God Love Sundance!!!
1978, under communism –
“A specter is haunting Eastern Europe: the specter of what in the West is called “dissent.” This specter has not appeared out of thin air. It is a natural and inevitable consequence of the present historical phase of the system it is haunting. It was born at a time when this system, for a thousand reasons, can no longer base itself on the unadulterated, brutal, and arbitrary application of power, eliminating all expressions of nonconformity. What is more, the system has become so ossified politically that there is practically no way for such nonconformity to be implemented within its official structures.
Who are these so-called dissidents? Where does their point of view come from, and what importance does it have? What is the significance of the “independent initiatives” in which “dissidents” collaborate, and what real chances do such initiatives have of success? Is it appropriate to refer to “dissidents” as an opposition? If so, what exactly is such an opposition within the framework of this system? What does it do? What role does it play in society? What are its hopes and on what are they based? Is it within the power of the “dissidents”-as a category of subcitizen outside the power establishment-to have any influence at all on society and the social system? Can they actually change anything?
…”
{ “The Power of the Powerless” – Vaclav Havel }
Sundance just gave us our own “Power of the Powerless” essay…
“The Power of the Powerless” (October 1978) was originally written (“quickly,” Havel said later) as a discussion piece for a projected joint Polish Czechoslovak volume of essays on the subject of freedom and power. All the participants were to receive Havel’s essay, and then respond to it in writing. Twenty participants were chosen on both sides, but only the Czechoslovak side was completed. Meanwhile, in May 1979, some of the Czechoslovak contributors who were also members of VONS (the Committee to Defend the Unjustly Prosecuted), including Havel, were arrested, and it was decided to go ahead and “publish” the Czechoslovak contributions separately.
Havel’s essay has had a profound impact on Eastern Europe. Here is what Zbygniew Bujak, a Solidarity activist, told me: “This essay reached us in the Ursus factory in 1979 at a point when we felt we were at the end of the road. Inspired by KOR [the Polish Workers’ Defense Committee], we had been speaking on the shop floor, talking to people, participating in public meetings, trying to speak the truth about the factory, the country, and politics. There came a moment when people thought we were crazy. Why were we doing this? Why were we taking such risks? Not seeing any immediate and tangible results, we began to doubt the purposefulness of what we were doing. Shouldn’t we be coming up with other methods, other ways?
“Then came the essay by Havel. Reading it gave us the theoretical underpinnings for our activity. It maintained our spirits; we did not give up, and a year later-in August ig8o-it became clear that the party apparatus and the factory management were afraid of us. We mattered. And the rank and file saw us as leaders of the movement. When I look at the victories of Solidarity, and of Charter 77, I see in them an astonishing fulfillment of the prophecies and knowledge contained in Havel’s essay.”
Translated by Paul Wilson, “The Power of the Powerless” has appeared several times in English, foremost in The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe, edited by John Keane, with an Introduction by Steven Lukes (London: Hutchinson, 1985). That volume includes a selection of nine other essays from the original Czech and Slovak collection.
Seems to me that a great deal of creditability should go to those who are/were labeled ‘conspiracy theorists’. It made people think, thirst for answers. There’s a lot done simply because someone(s) dared to ask, ‘what if’. Too long we’ve been afraid to test the water, afraid of what people would say. It took those who asked what appeared to be stupid questions and made the same kind of remarks that got the ball rolling a lot of the time.
Conspiracy Theorist, the phrase is exhausting. The Scientific Method starts with a theory, then you proceed to test And replicate. Basically, you think before you do a whole bunch of work. Why should investigation of political conspiracy be any different? Trust the science, right?
Agreed. I like to remind people who use conspiracy theorist as a pejorative that conspiracy is codified in law. A significant percent of federal crimes are prosecuted under the conspiracy code. Conspiracies are not fairy tales.
Conspiracy theorists are labeled domestic violent extremists, enemy combatants, and/or terrorists.
“The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees, in every object, only the traits which favor that theory.”
–Thomas Jefferson to Charles Thompson, 1787
Orange Man Ruh-Sha Ruh-Sha RuhShaaargh!
Thanks for bringing some momentary levity.
All great points about the term ‘conspiracy theory’. It is my understanding that the term ‘conspiracy theory’ was invented by the CIA/Intelligence community.
It was and is put as a method to discredit those who are getting too close to the truth about their actions (their lies).