All Glory to God forever and ever Amen. Thank you for this. I think you're absolutely right. I think Trump, trying to wave us off this subject, sorely misunderstands what he's just done. God's Will be Done!
I don't think so, Fins. I think you might be surprised by how furious MAGA may turn out to be. When someone crushes you with betrayal, you're too shocked at first to react much at all. Then, the heart begins to turn cold, and it happens with speed.
MAGA have been true believers. They have had the faith of little children. There's nobility in that. But if nobility is battered by a harsh reality, the disillusionment can leave people embittered and dangerous and impervious to any attempts to mollify them. What just came into my mind is the scene in "Death of a Salesman," when Willy Loman's son ( Bud, isn't it? ), who has idolized Willy, discovers that his father has been routinely unfaithful to his mother.
"When you're older, son, you'll understand these things!" Bud understands right away. It's what he understands which shatters everything.
There will always be the palace guard types, the people who take it personally and deny reality. "This is a terrible thing they're doing to my president!" The day Nixon resigned, 25% of the electorate still supported him. Joseph and Magda Goebbels types will always exist.
If you go to spiked online you'll find a confounding article from yesterday about the supposed existence of a video which shows all the activity in Epstein's cell block during that critical eight hours. The writer says it annihilates all notions that Epstein didn't kill himself. I don't know what the hell to make of it. At such moments I turn instinctively to cats, who have a wiliness which makes them invaluable as consultants. Have a look at it and let me know what you think.
Back off a bit and I'll slip you a sardine. Maybe two.
"When someone crushes you with betrayal, you're too shocked at first to react much at all. Then, the heart begins to turn cold, and it happens with speed."
I wish I could believe that. But what true believers do when they are betrayed is not to get mad at the person who betrayed their trust, but instead to double down.
When confronted with the overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence that the cult leader is a fraud, a charlatan, or even an active predator and they are the prey, rather than change leaders or change beliefs or change groups, most people, most of the time will instead double down. They make excuses, they deny, dissemble, they change the subject, they blame themselves, if they only had more faith, then Trump would feel safe to disclose the list but he doesn't feel that they have his back, they gotta show their idol that they are worthy of the list. Witness the behavior of cultists.
The process is called "cognitive dissonance" and it is abundantly documented. As alluded to earlier, there are entire religions organized around the principle.
Cognitive dissonance is not limited to stupid people. In fact, the intelligent are at least as prone, perhaps because they are better at rationalizing. In fact, much so-called "knowledge work" is basically learning symbol manipulation in order to rationalize an intended result.
I have no idea what to make of any such video. I note only that, if there really were no Epstein client list, why did the DoJ wait through two administrations and the better part of a decade to tell us? Hell, why was the vice president calling for the disclosure of this list a month ago, why didn't anyone clued in pull Vance aside and tell him that there was in fact, no list?
"Put not your trust in princes." Exactly what I've been thinking.
Of course, there exists the question of who will claim power after the collapse of the current system, and of modern liberal democracy as a whole. Could it be the barbarians who have been let into the West en masse? Or neopagan rulers? Or some other totally unexpected parties? As with the fall of any empire, there will be a great vacuum of power just begging to be filled.
Spot on. The beginning of my doubts, at least my deepest ones, was the President's proposal to turn Gaza into a sea side resort. I overlooked that instance of inhumanity (how could I in retrospect?) but the war against Iran and the Epstein episode have ended any trust I had towards POTUS. Prophet and King David got it right (and David should know about princes). On the secular side, the Who offered wise advice, praying that "We won't be fulled again".
A real good article. Fake Messiahs lead us towards damnation. The Messiah, the Christ, Jesus lead us towards Salvation through the Cross, no through worldly or religious or conservative success
Thank you for this. The practice will be to truly turn my eyes toward the goodness of the Lord, away from the fascinating train wreck before my eyes. A person can pray for mercy on us like Abraham prayed for the cities on the plain. A person can pray for our leaders. We can love our neighbors.
I feel like Trump would be forgiven by the American people if he owned up to any entwinement and just put everything in the open. A democratic plea deal if you will. I think there's room for repentance in the American right.
If it turned out that there was an Epstein/Israel connection, "mad" wouldn't do to describe their reaction to its exposure. "Suicidal," maybe, but not "mad."
You probably know who Mark Helprin is. There's a video from yesterday which is about fifteen minutes long. It's Helprin talking with Charlie Kirk. They vent their supposed amazement at the legacy media's baffling lack of interest in the Epstein matter. It's a "wink wink" sort of thing which Helprin, especially, purveys. You should look at it.
As disillusioned as some may be, this whole matter only shows that it is more complicated than anyone believed it to be. Who cares who is involved? At this point no one cares, because we all believe (by now) that everyone including current leadership, past leadership, judges, politicians, the deep state, celebrities, and public in general are very much part of it. We all suspect what is going on. So, it would have to be up to us to protect our children, our youth, our system, ourselves and our current world from those evil forces.
My reaction: your bottom line is right on the mark. Obviously politics is a dirty game and ever will be so. Re Mr. Trump, I would suggest that drawing conclusions without all the evidence as to any person's direct involvement with, and/or complicity in, any particular form of evil is spiritually and socially irresponsible. The unseen forces pulling the strings of power are ubiquitous and anybody in a leadership position must continually traverse a minefield to stay both in command and alive. A king / queen can be a saint because he or she holds power by birthright. An elected official cannot be a saint by virtue of unsullied political life though, even so, he or she may become one by a kind of martyrdom.
"Trump is not our populist messiah. He is our final, most painful lesson in the dangers of political messianism."
I had thus figured out about two weeks into the man's first term.
All Glory to God forever and ever Amen. Thank you for this. I think you're absolutely right. I think Trump, trying to wave us off this subject, sorely misunderstands what he's just done. God's Will be Done!
For the hard core of MAGA, nothing the man does could change their minds. Live little boys, dead little girls, livestock, whatever.
Similarly, for Trump’s enemies, he can do no right. He could cure cancer and they'd bitch about the doctors that he put out of work.
It's the poor schmucks in the middle who keep getting whipsawed that are more concerning.
I don't think so, Fins. I think you might be surprised by how furious MAGA may turn out to be. When someone crushes you with betrayal, you're too shocked at first to react much at all. Then, the heart begins to turn cold, and it happens with speed.
MAGA have been true believers. They have had the faith of little children. There's nobility in that. But if nobility is battered by a harsh reality, the disillusionment can leave people embittered and dangerous and impervious to any attempts to mollify them. What just came into my mind is the scene in "Death of a Salesman," when Willy Loman's son ( Bud, isn't it? ), who has idolized Willy, discovers that his father has been routinely unfaithful to his mother.
"When you're older, son, you'll understand these things!" Bud understands right away. It's what he understands which shatters everything.
There will always be the palace guard types, the people who take it personally and deny reality. "This is a terrible thing they're doing to my president!" The day Nixon resigned, 25% of the electorate still supported him. Joseph and Magda Goebbels types will always exist.
If you go to spiked online you'll find a confounding article from yesterday about the supposed existence of a video which shows all the activity in Epstein's cell block during that critical eight hours. The writer says it annihilates all notions that Epstein didn't kill himself. I don't know what the hell to make of it. At such moments I turn instinctively to cats, who have a wiliness which makes them invaluable as consultants. Have a look at it and let me know what you think.
Back off a bit and I'll slip you a sardine. Maybe two.
"When someone crushes you with betrayal, you're too shocked at first to react much at all. Then, the heart begins to turn cold, and it happens with speed."
I wish I could believe that. But what true believers do when they are betrayed is not to get mad at the person who betrayed their trust, but instead to double down.
When confronted with the overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence that the cult leader is a fraud, a charlatan, or even an active predator and they are the prey, rather than change leaders or change beliefs or change groups, most people, most of the time will instead double down. They make excuses, they deny, dissemble, they change the subject, they blame themselves, if they only had more faith, then Trump would feel safe to disclose the list but he doesn't feel that they have his back, they gotta show their idol that they are worthy of the list. Witness the behavior of cultists.
The process is called "cognitive dissonance" and it is abundantly documented. As alluded to earlier, there are entire religions organized around the principle.
Cognitive dissonance is not limited to stupid people. In fact, the intelligent are at least as prone, perhaps because they are better at rationalizing. In fact, much so-called "knowledge work" is basically learning symbol manipulation in order to rationalize an intended result.
I have no idea what to make of any such video. I note only that, if there really were no Epstein client list, why did the DoJ wait through two administrations and the better part of a decade to tell us? Hell, why was the vice president calling for the disclosure of this list a month ago, why didn't anyone clued in pull Vance aside and tell him that there was in fact, no list?
Very sophisticated, and I know you're right, but child rape may be the bridge too far.
I hope so.
But I doubt it. Witness the behavior of cults.
"Put not your trust in princes." Exactly what I've been thinking.
Of course, there exists the question of who will claim power after the collapse of the current system, and of modern liberal democracy as a whole. Could it be the barbarians who have been let into the West en masse? Or neopagan rulers? Or some other totally unexpected parties? As with the fall of any empire, there will be a great vacuum of power just begging to be filled.
Spot on. The beginning of my doubts, at least my deepest ones, was the President's proposal to turn Gaza into a sea side resort. I overlooked that instance of inhumanity (how could I in retrospect?) but the war against Iran and the Epstein episode have ended any trust I had towards POTUS. Prophet and King David got it right (and David should know about princes). On the secular side, the Who offered wise advice, praying that "We won't be fulled again".
Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
A real good article. Fake Messiahs lead us towards damnation. The Messiah, the Christ, Jesus lead us towards Salvation through the Cross, no through worldly or religious or conservative success
Thank you for this. The practice will be to truly turn my eyes toward the goodness of the Lord, away from the fascinating train wreck before my eyes. A person can pray for mercy on us like Abraham prayed for the cities on the plain. A person can pray for our leaders. We can love our neighbors.
I feel like Trump would be forgiven by the American people if he owned up to any entwinement and just put everything in the open. A democratic plea deal if you will. I think there's room for repentance in the American right.
Biden and Kamala must have been implicated as well, or perhaps they covered for the Clintons. Otherwise they would have released the dirt on Trump.
More likely, the Israelis would get mad at having their sources and methods exposed, not to mention their leverage would disappear.
If it turned out that there was an Epstein/Israel connection, "mad" wouldn't do to describe their reaction to its exposure. "Suicidal," maybe, but not "mad."
You probably know who Mark Helprin is. There's a video from yesterday which is about fifteen minutes long. It's Helprin talking with Charlie Kirk. They vent their supposed amazement at the legacy media's baffling lack of interest in the Epstein matter. It's a "wink wink" sort of thing which Helprin, especially, purveys. You should look at it.
As disillusioned as some may be, this whole matter only shows that it is more complicated than anyone believed it to be. Who cares who is involved? At this point no one cares, because we all believe (by now) that everyone including current leadership, past leadership, judges, politicians, the deep state, celebrities, and public in general are very much part of it. We all suspect what is going on. So, it would have to be up to us to protect our children, our youth, our system, ourselves and our current world from those evil forces.
My reaction: your bottom line is right on the mark. Obviously politics is a dirty game and ever will be so. Re Mr. Trump, I would suggest that drawing conclusions without all the evidence as to any person's direct involvement with, and/or complicity in, any particular form of evil is spiritually and socially irresponsible. The unseen forces pulling the strings of power are ubiquitous and anybody in a leadership position must continually traverse a minefield to stay both in command and alive. A king / queen can be a saint because he or she holds power by birthright. An elected official cannot be a saint by virtue of unsullied political life though, even so, he or she may become one by a kind of martyrdom.
Trump wears the mark of the beast on his forehead… this is the test…
Wait till you figure out that Epstein types invented the Christianity psyop too.
Good article
Ever hear the phrase, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer!” You’re NOT a great thinker!
True!