We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
We have gotten so used to the way that things are, we painstakingly believe that they have always been this way. We think that taxes, regulation and dual-working families are the norm. They are not. They are progressive inventions. The life we live today is the utopia that President Wilson forged back in 1913.
Here, we take a look at what life was like before the progressive improvements in American Society.
Detroit’s Belle Isle back in 1905. Source: Coleman Family
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, circa 1905. “Lawn tennis courts, Pocono Mountain House.” 8×10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
When
writing historical things, I try to include perspective from people who
actually lived through the events. And for money issues in the US, I’m
able to do that back to about 1905.
So, do you think life was nasty, brutish, and short in 1905? That
there were poor and starving people falling dead on every street corner?
Hardly.
1905. “Lackawanna Railway station, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
The Wright brothers
were flying for 30 minutes at a crack; Einstein was upgrading the laws
of physics; telephones and electric lights were being installed all
across America; Henry Ford was getting the final pieces in place for his
moving assembly line and Model T; radio was being developed; art was flourishing; and the world was more or less at peace.
American homes in 1905.
Sure, we have far more tech and better medicine now, but mostly
because the people of earlier times (like the 1905 era) gifted it to us.
People in 1905 lived in heated homes, refrigerated their food, had access to professional physicians, traveled the world
(mostly on trains and ships), read daily newspapers (there were many
more of them in those days), watched movies, and ate just about the same
foods we eat.
Chicago circa 1906. “Lake Shore Drive, Jackson Park.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
So, was it really that bad a time?
No, it wasn’t. In fact, it was better in important ways.
Money Issues in the US: The Facts Don’t Lie
Consider this:
The working person of 1905 kept his or her money. They ended up saving somewhere between a quarter and a half of everything they made – after living expenses.
Portland, Maine, circa 1905. “Congress Square Hotel, Congress Street and Forest Avenue.” 8×10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
It’s hard to be completely precise when reconstructing the budgets of
average people in 1905 (records are hard to find), but we do have
enough for a good, close guess.
Here’s how finance worked for a working family man of 1905:
Life in the center of a medium sized town in 1905.
If you’re thinking that I’m taking liberties with these numbers, let
me assure you that I’m not – I’m being conservative. For example:
The income figure should probably be higher. I’ve found figures of well over $800 for construction workers.
As for expenses, I rounded up from a New York Times article, dated 29 September, 1907. It specified $325 per year.
Added to that is the fact that many people grew their own food during that time, which would skew the figures further.
As noted initially, I compared these numbers with stories I heard
from relatives who lived through the time. My uncle Dave, for example,
used to tell me how he got a job paying $390 per year sweeping floors as
an unskilled immigrant (who spoke almost no English) in 1903.
New York, 1904. “A flower vender’s Easter display, Union Square.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company.
The next time you drive through an old part of town and see the grand old houses, remember that people were able to build and buy them because their paychecks weren’t stripped bare.
There were no income taxes in 1905, no sales taxes, no state taxes, and not much in the way of property taxes.
Circa 1905. “Saranac Lake central station, Adirondacks, N.Y.” With a locomotive of the Delaware & Hudson Railway. 8×10 inch glass negative
There was also no such thing as a military-industrial complex in those days, and – miracle of miracles – the rest of the world survived!
And Now…
Today, the situation is much, much different. The average working family pays about half their income in combined taxes:
income taxes (to the state and the Feds), payroll taxes, property
taxes, gas taxes, utility bill taxes, sales tax, local taxes, and on and
on.
Philadelphia circa 1904. “City Hall clock tower from South Broad Street.” 8×10 inch glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company.
So, figuring an average income of just over $50,000 (the 2011
figure). And combined taxes of about $25,000, the average American
family is left to pay bills like these:
Mortgage 11,000 Car payments 6,000 Gas, repairs, etc. 2,500 Property taxes 2,500 Food 3,000 Total $25,000
That leaves people zeroed-out. And again, I’m being conservative, and I haven’t included a number of smaller expenses.
The Mississippi River circa 1905. “Union Depot and steamboat landing at foot of Jackson Street, St. Paul, Minnesota.” Starring the sidewheeler Hiawatha. 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company.
Great Grandpa Did It, So Why Not Us?
Your great grandfathers faced very few of the taxes that we face.
(The government survived on tariffs.) There was no social security
either, and – believe it or not – the streets were never full of
starving old people. Families were able to take care of their own – it’s not that hard when you’re saving half of your income!
Circa 1905. “St. John Street, Quebec.” Rue Saint-Jean at Côte du Palais in Quebec City, home to the drugstores of P. Mathie and J.E. Livernois. 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Photographic Company.
We have forgotten that it was once possible for an average person to accumulate money. The truth is that productive people should be comfortable. Well-off, as they used to say.
So, why can’t we party like it’s 1905?
New York circa 1903. “Looking up Broadway from City Hall.” With a view of the National Shoe & Leather Bank, and a roving vendor of DESKS.
So, why can’t we party like it’s 1905?
…
…
So why NOT?
…
You might want to think about that question.
May 1910. “Noon hour at Obear-Nestor Glass Co., East St. Louis, Illinois. Names of the smallest boys are: Walter Kohler, 981 N. 18th Street; Walter Riley, 918 N. 17th Street; Will Convery, 1828 Natalie Avenue; Clifford Matheny, 1927 Summit Avenue. All employed at the glassworks.” Photo by Lewis Hine.
Thank you for reading this masterfully written piece. If you loved the photos, you can check out a ton-load of them on SHORPY. You can go to SHORPY HERE.
Circa 1907. “Northampton, Massachusetts — Elm Street.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
Meme
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Well, it’s been (almost) three solid years into the Donald Trump Presidency and not one treasonous criminal action has been punished. Not one. ZERO. Zilch. Na-da.
Take for example when Hillary Clinton literally laughed out loud at a question about her email investigation — had to wipe her eyes, she laughed so hard. She laughed at us, at America, for being so clueless as to think she’d ever answer to our laws.
And she’s still laughing, because she’s right: she’s untouchable. The consensus is that even though we know that the first email investigation was rigged by the FBI to clear Hillary, no one will reopen the case.
-Cold Fury at hold your breath.
Nope. All we (the people) have are promises. Promises that someday, at some time, all the 5d machinations of the DOJ will “get to the bottom” of things. They’re “experts” don’t ya know. Don’t ya know.
Promises.
You know, like all those promises that the government has given us year, after year. Year after year. Promising to make changes. Promising to fix potholes. Promising to do things. But doing nothing.
Promises.
Same old. Same old.
Watching FBI agent Peter Strzok battle with Congress, my initial reaction was pure anger.
His repeated, arrogant insistence that he had done nothing wrong despite tons of evidence to the contrary convinced me he deserved immediate firing — if not the firing squad.
Gradually, though, anger gave way to amazement as Strzok grew increasingly combative and condescending. Given his predicament, the sneering and smirking were stupid, and yet he persisted.
Who is this jerk, I wondered, and how in the hell did he get to be a big shot at the FBI? And why are taxpayers still paying for the privilege of his malignant presence on the FBI payroll?
My answers can be summarized in four names: James Comey, Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein and Christopher Wray. They are chief culprits in the death of public trust in the Department of Justice.
-Michael Goodwin
Meanwhile, those who have committed the most blatant abuses of their offices in the history of the world, are walking free in their mansions, and enjoying the “good life”. They are still on the media networks. They are still cavorting with “our betters”. They are still eating expensive steaks and drinking high-end Chardonnay. They are still cavorting with the rich and famous. They are still behaving like they always have.
They are rubbing their privilege in our faces.
Real privilege is begin able to avoid getting arrested when you break laws. Real privilege is knowing that you are immune from the Justice system, and that you can do what ever you want in life and no one will lift a finger against you.
Blatantly.
Real privilege is killing a threat in public. While in Federal custody, and having all the guards asleep, the cameras turned off, and the documents erased.
Real privilege is doing it blatantly, in an "in your face" assault, with zero consequences.
The pure audacity and brazenness of these crimes are mind blowing and staggering in their audaciousness.
They are doing so because they know there isn’t a FU@KING THING that we can do about it. We are powerless, and our illustrious president; Donald Trump is actually powerless to stop them.
Real privilege is operating in the open, in public, where everyone knows that you have this privilege.
Powerless.
Full of hot air.
Every day, it seems more and more likely that Donald Trump is just a clown to entertain us "normal's" with the hope for change, when in all actuality, nothing substantive is getting resolved.
I give you my word!
Now, do not misunderstand.
Oh, for certain, he has done some good works. Yes he has. Yes, he is miles ahead of any other Republican President, including Ronald Reagan.
But…
But…
It’s all fun and games. The expression on all those “Holier than thou” smug (in your face) progressive Marxists is precious. And, yes, I do enjoy sitting down with a big bowl of popcorn and watch their heads explode.
But Trump is NOT doing the dirty and nasty work that he needs to do…
Getting us out of the eight wars (x8) that we are currently fighting. There is no reason at all for us to be fighting and dying in Yemen. None.
Elimination of those progressively-armed Federal Agencies; IRS, ATF, FDA, EPA, and for certain FBI and the DOJ. They are now armed military forces with their own law-making branches, their own judicial branches, and their own processes. All of which lie OUTSIDE our elected Congressional representatives. They police, and enforce, the two-tiered justice system.
Arresting and trials, with death sentences for treasonous activity…
It’s a treasonous bunch for certain, but nothing is getting done.
It appears, by all substantive measure, that AG Barr is just as ineffective as AG Sessions was. "Ineffective" is a polite word for "corrupt".
Ah. The Progressive globalist oligarch cabal.
Their crimes vary from committing outright treason, stealing and embezzling millions (if not billions) of dollars, and cover-ups at an extraordinary scale. All these people should have been left hanging from a scaffolding with back hoods over their heads.
Yet nothing has happened.
As much as I admire Trump for taking on the wild beast that the United States has become, the fact remains that serious action MUST occur to slay the lawless oligarchy that rules our nation. Unless that is taken cared of, everything will subside and revert back to the gallop of rampant progressive Marxism.
Our patience has worn thin. We are no longer the hopeful, wide eyed people we once were. We can see the evil straight up. We know the score, and no media spin, or RINO-conservative article is going to change our assessment.
Comey got the last laugh. He is above the law. He earned that by keeping the Clintons above the law.
- From Don Surber
How about greed for personal gain. How about treason for personal gain. How about murder for personal gain. How about coverup for personal gain.
One quibble: I met Randy Weaver at a Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot one year, and spent about an hour hanging out and casually conversing with him. At NO point did he strike me as an “outspoken white separatist”; white separatist he may have been, which is not a crime (yet).
But he wasn’t an “outspoken” anything at all. He was instead very quiet and humble—almost diffident, really. The one thing that stood out most about him was how deeply he was still haunted by FBI scumwad Horiuchi’s wanton, vicious murder of his entire family.
Weaver’s grief over their execution by federal death-squad was still as raw and agonizing as if it had been fresh, several years after his own despotic government inflicted it on him.
I hadn’t known of Barr’s sordid history before, but it does clearly establish one thing: the very idea of him ever ensuring justice against Deep State coup d’état plotters is no better than wholly ludicrous.
That Barr would defend such an outrage against all decency and humanity as the FUSA government’s murder of unarmed and innocent civilians at Ruby Ridge—a youth shot in the back as he fled the monstrous agents of a monstrous tyranny; his dog killed for no purpose other than to terrorize him; his mother sniped from hiding as she committed the heinous crime of standing in the doorway of her own home with her infant child in her arms—puts paid to that nonsense.
-Cold Fury. Put no faith in the stalwart AG Barr. He's a deep swamp plant.
They should have been arrested, incarcerated, and hung until dead. That didn’t happen, and now it seems that Barr is just another Sessions. It’s all a dog-and-pony show,
This "investigation" into the treason of the Deep State is proving to be the equivalent of a 25-month pregnancy, and counting.
- From Col. B. Bunny at Liberty's Torch
It’s all a fraud
One of the features of the current year is the regular reminder that western style democracy is a complete fraud. According to the political class, democracy allows for public policy to reflect the will of the people. The parties put forward candidates offering various policy proposals and the public signals their preferences by voting for one or the other candidates. The winners then set about trying to implement the policies they proposed. That’s how we’re told representative democracy works.
In reality, nothing like this happens. Instead, the parties put on a show for the voters, rarely intending to actually do what they claim. Instead, they manufacture differences between one another, so they can pretend the choice before the voters is stark. Once the election is over, the politicians go back to living their lives of leisure, waiting for instructions from the people who actually run things. The politicians are like robot actors, brought out for elections, then put back in storage.
The obvious example of this is the most recent American presidential election in which Donald Trump scored a stunning upset on the promise to reduce immigration, crackdown in illegal immigration and address the gross inequality resulting from globalization. So far, none of that has been done. Instead, he spent most of his presidency fighting a seditious coup to get him out of office. In fact, Trump’s three years are pretty much what Jeb Bush promised when he was running in the 2016 primary.
-The Z man Blog
Before…
Russian oligarchy prior to the 1916 October revolution. Most, if not all, of the people in this photograph were killed, or fled the country to safe havens elsewhere.
After…
We
know what will happen. It has been well documented. People will be
collected. They will be rounded up into urban areas, or centers. The men
will be separated out from the group. They will be led to an isolated
area, a cellar, a warehouse, a cluster of tree, an area behind a
bulldozer. They will then be held down by two people and shot dead.
Well, were the criminals arrested?
But, that didn’t happen did it? Nope. Instead what did we get? We got a media onslaught of a “Russian Narrative”. We got trade wars that increased the prices of our purchases, and we got a promise with more wars “down the pipe”. The latest being with Iran.
Meanwhile in America, in the “heartland”, we are arrested and incarcerated for the slightest offense. It’s really sad and alarming to the most wide-eyed believer.
This is what is called a “two-tied” ,”unequal“, or “Medieval” Justice system. Hell would freeze over before the likes of Louis Learner would be arrested for anything resembling jaywalking.
The Joke Police are looking to strip Dave Chappelle of his speech rights, which once again proves we are coming to a decision point in this country. That’s what this whole godforsaken Woke Crusade boils down to — a choice, and the choice is this: Are we going to allow ourselves to become second class citizens in our own country? Are we going to allow far-left activists and their allies in the media, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood to bully us into creating a two-tiered class system?
- Great little slice of outrage from John Nolte.
Two-tiered Justice System.
Heck! Hillary Clinton could be filmed stabbing an illegal migrant to death in the town square with hundreds of onlookers, and the news media would report that Donald Trump did it.
What we get is “bread crumbs”. A monthly feed of hope…
Hope…
But, people… Hope is not actionable by itself.
People, a two tiered justice system is not sustainable.
Two Tiered Justice
If you have one set of laws for the members of the government and another set for everyone else, you are not being governed, you are being ruled.
- SteveF, comment at Daily Pundit, via Cold Fury
And this quote…
“How do I recognize that the SHTF is very close?”
One of as closest answers possible to give there is this: “You know it is close when people stop worrying about repercussions (punishment from the law and the system).”
-Organic Prepper
Yeah, and this…
Then as now, the pleasant skin of “Yay, democracy!” has been sloughed off to reveal the naked sinews of power and wealth and violence beneath. There’s no crisis like there was in 2008. The world isn’t ending like it was in 2008. But I’m telling you that it feels the same to me.
They’re. Not. Even. Pretending. Anymore.
-Epsilon Theory
Give him some time…
The conservative argument is always “give it some time”. “It’s a big mess and Donald Trump is only one lone man.”
Yes. I get that.
But we don’t have all day. We do not have an unlimited amount of time. We have THIS window. Maybe another four years. Maybe…
Maybe…
Yes, there are things that need to be put into place. I get that…
Prerequisites for draining the swamp.
The thing is that there just isn’t a lot of time.
There really isn’t.
You either do things NOW, or accept the fact that they will never get done.
Don’t believe me? Well then do some comparisons…
Obama implementation of ACA ObamaCARE … months.
Obama giving 7 billion dollars to South Africa … weeks.
Wilson in the formation of the Federal Reserve … months.
Arrest, trial, sentencing and execution for Lincoln’s death … months.
Meanwhile…
Arrest, trial, sentencing for contemporaneous treason … years
Don’t you all see that there is something seriously wrong here? Don’t you see that time IS AN ISSUE?
Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it is raining.
Lewis Powell Payne 2. A UNIQUE INSIGHT into the Civil War Confederates has been brought to light in the form of rare photographs that have been enriched with colour. The authentically colourised pictures depict the tragic circumstances of the war with two dead men lying on the ground in Maryland, USA; a confederate buried and a federal unburied. Other photos include a portrait of American confederate soldier and commander of the Confederates States of America, Robert Edward Lee, and Lewis Powell Payne, who conspired with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, leaning against a wall. Further images expose the aftermath of the war with a confederate soldier in Petersburg, Virginia, lying lifelessly on the ground with blood on his face. The vintage photographs were carefully colourised by CEO, Mads Madsen (23), from Horsens, Denmark, who spent between 12 to 14 hours to colourise the pictures of the dead men at Dunker Church and Antietam alone. Mads Madsen / mediadrumworld.com
Meanwhile
Yeah. Meanwhile, it’s the same old. Same old.
It’s nearing the next election cycle. They know how to predict our behavior. They know how to manipulate us. They know what buttons to push.
They are following the same old tired formula. They are expecting us to react in the same old tired manner.
Who cares what conservatives do, say, or think anymore? They didn't conserve America. They didn't conserve the ladies room. They couldn't even conserve the two human sexes!
- Vox Day at Vox Popoli
They are expecting to move us “normals” to pull the lever to whomever they want us to.
You know strike at the curtain, not at the man behind the curtain. Fight and get all worked up with the political hot-button items of the day. From “Red Flag” laws, to “global warming”, to LGBT bathrooms.
Vote to make a difference.
No one, of course, no one is talking about the REAL issues.
That is the sustainability of an oligarchy under the guise of a democracy / partial republic. No one is talking about this. For they, the Kingly rulers, believe that they have sufficiently dumbed down the populace to a point where we are unaware of their crimes and their manipulations.
They are chomping at the bit, as all this has been in the works for a century at least and it is just about ready for fruition. All they need is to disarm a large enough segment of the population. If they can’t do it overtly, they will do it covertly though “red flag” laws, and when that happens, it will just be a matter of months before they can exert full dictatorial control.
As if they don't have it already.
People, if you can get arrested in your own yard for making and selling lemonade, you ARE living in a dictatorship. If you have to pee in a cup to get a job, you are living in a dictatorship. If you need to undress to your underwear to board a plane, take a train, or travel you are living in a dictatorship.
It’s just a matter of months.
Voting?
Elections provide the illusion of control.
However, every study conducted on this issue has proven that the issues that matter to the voting public are not what the fellows in Washington DC promote. They have a totally different agenda.
Americans in America today. Many on drugs. Many unemployed or underemployed. Many getting their information from questionable sources.
It is a globalist agenda and they follow the money path and directions from the global oligarchy.
Today, we are fighting PROXY wars in the Middle East. Not because mainstream Americans demand that we fight Yemen to protect our "interests", but rather because it is what the donors to our political class desire.
Sometimes, in a once in a century event, a candidate will be elected (like Donald Trump) that will try to do the “right thing”, and who will make the hard and the difficult choices.
But, what if all the people that he has to work with are corrupt? What if they do not answer to their constituents simply because they are not beholding to them. What if they don’t need to try?
What then?
Broken electoral system.
Knowledge is power
It should be clear enough for everyone that the “Deep State” is far larger and far more powerful than any citizen voted initiative, even when it is the President of the United States. There is nothing that we can do about it. We can only react to it. There are three options.
Except accept our fate, fight back, or flee.
We crossed the Rubicon.
We must now accept our fate. As well as how it will develop in the next few years, or…
We need to jump ship. Escape while it is still possible. Just like the multimillionaire software oligarchs are doing. Or…
We need to fight and take back what is ours.
Face the facts. Face it. Our nation is a full-on oligarchy, run like the most evil and corrupt mob organization ever conceived.
Meanwhile, us citizens are treated like dirt. We are the money-cows that have zero rights and are ear-marked for the gulag as soon as a Progressive Democrat gets control of the armed forces. You know this is true, or do I need to provide links and data to convince you all?
They have already nullified key sections of the Bill of Rights. Since when can any Congress make any law infringing upon any of the Rights within the Bill of Rights? Or, do you think that everything will magically reverse and go away?
Read this letter…
They have already nullified key sections of the Bill of Rights. Since when can any Congress make any law infringing upon any of the Rights within the Bill of Rights? Or, do you think that everything will magically reverse and go away? Negating the Bill of Rights.
Be Sensible
Here is my attempt to talk you, the reader, out of dangerous violent action.
Most conservatives are sitting tight and looking around trying to see what other conservatives are doing. Then, they plan to take action themselves. No one wants to make the first move. They are waiting on the mainstream American news media to somehow report on other traditional conservatives taking action…
The thing is that the American mainstream media controls information dissemination.
American mainstream media controls information dissemination.
There is no way to know positively if other conservatives are taking hard action. Thus, as a result you risk becoming the lone “gun man” who is disturbing the tranquility of “our republic”.
Listen to me.
War is ugly.
People die. Including you, your friends, your family and your loved ones.
It should be avoided at all costs.
People get tortured, and sadness abounds.
Dying ain’t much of a living.
If you are truly unhappy with the way things are today, then leave the United States.
If you are unhappy, but do not want to hurt anyone, just lie low and hunker down. Go with the flow. Do what everyone else is doing. Accept things as they are, and hope that your children will turn things around.
Violence is a last resort item that will probably get YOU KILLED. Heed my words.
…
Let’s take a breather and look at our options. There are three, and only three options.
[1] – Protect your own.
Option one. You can, if you wish, to accept servitude and slavery. There is no shame in that. As the saying goes in North Korea…
"It's better to be miserable than dead."
That’s fine. I’m sure that is your deep desire. Let it all blow over, and some day everything will change. Most (so called) Conservatives will accept this reality. My guess is that 94% will.
Pretend that some day it will all go away.
Think about other things. Think about your family. Think about your career. Think about your favorite sport team.
It was the summer of 1996, early June, and I was teaching a course at Simmons College in Boston to make some extra dough. Jennifer was clerking for a lawfirm down in Dallas, pregnant with our first child.
My dad called. He and my mom were in London, where they had rented a small flat for a month. Did I want to come over and stay for a few days?
As it happened, I had five days free, perfect for a long weekend trip. I walked down to a cheapo travel agency on Boylston (yes, a physical travel agency), and found a ticket for $600 or thereabouts.
Seemed like a lot. I could have afforded it, by which I mean there was room on my credit card to buy it, not that I could really afford it. $600 was a lot of money to me.
That said, I hadn’t seen my parents since Christmas, and my dad sounded so … happy. This was a special trip for them, a chance to LIVE in a city that my father LOVED, and this was my chance to share it with them. But $600. I dunno.
I called my father and told him that I just couldn’t swing it. He understood. He was a very practical guy. The call lasted all of 20 seconds. You know, international long distance being so expensive and all.
I never saw my father again. He died a few weeks after he and my mother got home.
You must make the choices in life that mean a lot to you.
My cat taught me this trick; “Life is hard. Then you nap.”
Up until now, this has been the status quo for most of America and most certainly for most Conservatives, and “normals”. We have accepted our lot. We don’t like it, but we accept it.
We pay our taxes.
We don’t protest when the government is out of control.
We accept the fact that we must undress to travel.
We shrug off the latest restrictions on our freedom.
We have adapted to the chains around our wrists, and the shackles on our legs.
The spunk is beaten out of us.
This is true though many do not want to admit it. Listen up! Here is the harsh truth…
Let me tell you that it’s only going to get worse. It’s going to get a whole lot worse. But maybe you can survive. Ride the waves, so to speak.
There are a lot of sick and perverse people around us. We are simply not seeing them. They are waiting for the SHTF.
- Selco at Organic Prepper
Ride the waves.
Accept your place in the world.
American mainstream media telling us “normals” what they fully intend to do with us once they reacquire the reins of power.
This is what the United States government wants you to do.
It is what the progressive liberals want you to do.
This is what the American mainstream media wants you to do.
This is what the “deep state” wants you to do.
This is what the “swamp in Washington DC” wants you to do.
This is also probably what your friends and family want you to do as well. It’s a female trait; safety over freedom. Even if that safety is probably going to be short lived.
Washington Post opinion writer Jennifer Rubin appeared on MSNBC's "AM Joy" Sunday and said that not only does Trump have to lose in 2020, but there must be a purging of "survivors" who still support the commander-in-chief.
"It's not only that Trump has to lose, but that all his enablers have to lose," she said. "We have to collectively, in essence, burn down the Republican Party."
"We have to level them because if there are survivors — if there are people who weather this storm, they will do it again."
- Nick Givas at Fox News, about the 2020 national election
Your freedom, if you wait, will be short lived.
Progressive Marxist plans for when they obtain the reins of power. Only this time, it will be forever.
Option two. Alternatively, you can do what I did. Leave. My guess that a small minority will join me, but you all had best consider this option. Time is fleeting and the window of opportunity is closing.
It’s not a comfortable option. You must discard most of your belongings. Move away from all you know and love. Lose your support network, your friends and your family.
You will need to embrace a new place, a new culture, a new society and a new way of doing things and living life. You might need to learn a new language, take up a new occupation, and live at a standard of life that you are not accustomed to. Are you up to it?
Yup.
That’s right. You can leave.
Leave America.
Doug Casey quote.
It’s no longer my business who gets rich and who suffers in the USA. It’s one big enormous cluster f@ck and I want no part of it. Not at all. I really do not want to get embroiled in any kind of spitting match between progressive and traditional nationalists.
Not.
My.
Problem.
When you get older in life, you learn that there are some things worth fighting for, and other things that are important to you. You learn to pick and choose your battles selectively. You know what is important, and what hasn’t a hope in Hell in occurring.
So you make decisions based on YOUR own personal circumstances.
In my case, for me, it’s one of moving to a freer nation. One where I can live life on my very own terms. And let others battle the mess that the United States is today.
Maybe I cannot get a bagel or an authentic NY Style slice of pizza, but I sure can get other things just as wonderful.
For those of you who would prefer to live to a grand old age, and have no desire to observe blood spilled, I would advise you to leave America. I would advise you all taking some immediate actions to secure a safe-haven and protect you and yours from the encroaching darkness.
Life is far too short to get killed, watch your family suffer through hardship or endure a life crippled.
Do what I did, and flee.
Spicoli telling it like it is. Wars and strife are for younger idealistic mean to deal with. Old grizzly coots like myself would rather stay far from all the strife and life the rest of our life in peace. While it is impossible to find the best island to hide upon, we can make reasonable choices and hunker down for the protracted shit-storm that is about to be unleashed.
That's what many Jews did in the 1930's when Hitler rose to power. Some made it to the USA, but only a few. Some made it to Shanghai, and there they huddled in their enclaves while the war waged around them. While others went next door to Poland. But that didn't help them at all.
Call me a coward, if you will.
While the USA goes through the “big reset”, I will be out here, minding my own business. I will not need to fight, or witness atrocities. And I will be safe.
The days of the United States fighting a three or four year long war are long over. Today, the United States fights long-duration decade-long wars that never end.
Instead of the second American Civil War (CWII) being over in a short period of time (like the first American Civil War), it might be prolonged for decades.
Decades, or even longer. Maybe something resembling the Palestine vs. Israel conflict. The "forever" war.
Are you willing to permit you and your family to endure that?
Instead, I will be surrounded by people who will not be affected by anything going on in the USA. Just like youse guys aren’t affected by anything going on in Lusaka, Zambia. Just like your family is not affected by what is going on in Spain right now. Or Singapore. Or Taipei.
When you live in another nation, it’s a different world, and I’m doing just fine, thank you.
Outside of the USA, everything is just fine.
Call me what ever names you want. I just do not want to be either a slave or embroiled in the SHTF CWII, Fourth Turning that is gathering momentum in America today.
And, make no mistake, it is gathering momentum.
While I had hope that the election of Donald Trump would reverse and undo the damage of progressive Marxism, he has not.
He has failed.
Hey! Instead of tweeting about buying Greenland, how about shutting down the ATF, or at least downsizing it... severely.
Outside the United States, everything is just fine.
Yes. Donald Trump.
He’s done some nice things, and he’s a hoot to listen to, but he’s not doing the real hard and uncomfortable things that need to be tasked.
It's as if the United States is a big car wreck. With broken windows, flat tires, a fire in the engine, with wounded and dying people inside. And Donald Trump, is well, washing the rear view mirror instead of tending to the damage and the destruction that urgently needs his attention.
A great example of that is former AG Jeff Sessions and his war on medical marijuana instead of prosecuting for treason. It's the same thing. Just different personalities.
Donald Trump has failed to reverse the century of Progressive ideology and oligarchy control. He has not undone the mistakes of Wilson, and FDR. Nor has he taken affirmative action to restore liberty crashed by Bush, Clinton and Obama. America is just treading water.
Realize that, and take appropriate action.
[3] – Go on the offensive.
Option three. The “into the black” option.
I’m not moping around waiting to die. I’m not lazing around eating bonbons. The present is for DOING. The present is FLEETING. I’ve got something to SAY before I go. I’ve got a future to SECURE for my children, because in them I can still see future’s promise and not just future’s threat.
-Epsilon Theory
Do not misunderstand. Just because I am quiet and kind, does not mean that I am incapable of being entirely and dangerously violent.
Disclaimer.
It is natural to fight for freedom and liberty. That being said, it is ugly, ugly business and should only be undertaken as a last resort. You should not go about it cavalierly. You need to plan and strike with maximum effectiveness at the root causes, the generals and the masterminds of those who are sealing your freedom.
You can, if you wish to stay, go on the offensive and fight back. (As the saying goes; Be a man gosh-darn it!) Though, you must realize that you are taking a big and dangerous risk. Be careful.
The Stoner 63. This was exactly the kinds of weapons that the founders intended the people to arm themselves with. Not single-shot .22 round BB pellets.
You are only a single person and the problems going on in America are far to large and deep for a single person to handle. You know this, right?
However…
However, regionally, YOU can make a difference.
Warning: If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don’t you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can’t think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you’re supposed to read? Do you think everything you’re supposed to think? Buy what you’re told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you’re alive. If you don’t claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned.
- Chuck Palahniuk, “Fight Club” (1996)
Regionally… locally… YOU can make a difference.
Regionally.
Locally.
Contrary to the Mainstream media narrative, conservatives, and traditional patriots do not strike out at innocents. We are not progressives who want to shoot up a elementary school, run down people on a sidewalk, or shoot up a Walmart. Nope.
No.
We only fight as a last resort.
However, when we fight, we aim at the target, and we do our best to hit that target. And we do not care how we do it.
You will know when real conservatives are taking action. It won’t be a school full of innocents shot up. No. It will be a counsel member, a congressman, or a labor leader strung up and lynched. It could be a university professor, a member of the mainstream media management, or a software mogul.
We study. We prepare. We plan. Then, we hit where it matters the most. When playing chess, we go after the King and The Queen. We don’t bother with the pawns.
We go after leadership.
Make sure that your entire family is properly trained in the use of firearms.
The progressive liberal cabal, and their RINO enablers, treat Americans as animals. Like cattle and that they can ratchet up the intensity of their progressive agenda slowly without worry of a backlash. They view this entire matter; the adjustment towards progressive Marxism as a giant rheostat.
However traditional conservatives do not look at things that way. We look at it as an on/off switch. We are petrified that it might go to on. But if it does, we will NOT have any mercy. It will be a real bloody nightmare.
The conservative populace will target the progressive leadership in precise surgical attacks. Avoid the innocent. Hit those singular individuals that run the oligarchy in your region. Do not waste your time on the little guys. Target those in charge. Then go down the list and hit their enablers.
Ai! And it’s certainly a target-rich environment.
Target Rich environment.
Operational Zone
In the map below you can easily identify where you live and what social-geographic region that you inhabit. That is your operational zone.
Select your operational zone.
Compile a target list.
Plan each one thoroughly.
America’s cultural enclaves. America is not a homogeneous society. It is a collection of social-economic regions. America’s cultural enclaves. (Image Source)
You need to [1] identify the progressives that live within that area, you need to [2] identify the enclaves of the wealthy and [3] their points of egress, such as small regional airports. You need to identify [4] bridges and [5] choke-points and [6] you need to target those enemies of Liberty…
The Marxist cabal.
Operational Plans
Go after the key and central figures that are running the Marxist plan and take them down. (One George Soros is equivalent to 10,000 social justice warriors. ) Do not waste your time on the enablers, and the vast bulk of society. Do not hurt innocents, or the misinformed. Protect where possible, but stick to your mission parameters.
A word of caution.
If this is your preferred avenue of approach, and I have been unable to talk you out of it, then take the necessary precautions.
1. Go "X-ray" leading up to any action. Zero internet. Zero cell phone. Zero electronics. Communicate face to face or not at all. There is an over-reliance on electronic communication monitoring systems. In war, you go full X-ray.
2. Tell no one what your plans are. No one. Not even your dog. Missions are secret, for a reason.
3. Leave no records, or justification of your actions. They should speak for themselves. You do not need to hope for death and leave some kind of manifesto to prove yourself. You are not some ego deprived, basket head-case. You do not need to justify your actions.
4. If you want to target a person, consider other means aside from (noisy and easy to trace) firearms. For "surgical" strikes, nothing beats poison, radiation or "accidents". Remember Antonin Scalia. It's worked great for the progressive cabal. Adopt their strategy.
5. Any target worth your effort will be protected. Either by personal surveillance, guards, or other means. If not, then they are just plain foolish in their arrogance.
6. Threaten no one. Avoid arguments. Be as low-key and innocuous as possible. Be the Scarlet Pimpernel.
With that understood by most of the readers here, I’m sure you can all see how these RFL (Red Flag Laws) may eventually become the confiscation we’ve been warned about all along. RFL allow the state to use almost any reason they desire to go to your home, enter it and take your firearms away from you. All they have to do is justify it to themselves.
Make an angry, politically-charged Facebook post? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has happened.
Make a Twitter post that “authorities” interpret as being Islamophohic? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has happened.
You get in an argument with your woman and piss her off? A RFL can be used to confiscate your guns. It has happened.
Spare me the talking points on the legal limits of RFL at the present time. All they needed to do for now is get the laws into place. Rest assured they will be administratively and bureaucratically tweaked and adjusted so that it gets EASIER for the boys wearing the Oakleys to kick your door in, and those bureaucratic and administrative tweaks will make it harder and more expensive for you to get your guns back. Assuming that you ever get them back at all.
RFL are the tool that willll be used to get guns away from anyone and everyone that those in charge don’t want to have them.
All the talk that’s been had in your group about being quiet about your guns… Put that into action now. Ditch the NRA stickers, stop the good old boys gun discussions down at the local watering hole, remove the vanity pics from Facebook (why do you still have FB?). No one needs to know about your guns if they don’t live in your house. It won’t be easy to change those habits, but it’s time now.
The legal framework for taking your guns away simply for being a wrong-thinker is in place. The local Kommissar has his eyes open and the police will follow their orders to knock on your door when they get the order.
-American Partisan
Study Materials
Anything worth doing is worth doing well. If you are going to sit and stay put and be passive, then put on the “neutral” camouflage and go with the flow. If you are going to flee, then prep and make the leap. And, of course, if you are going to strike against the progressive cabal study.
If you are desirous of taking matters into your own hands, be realistic about it. It will not be like any television show, or movie that you have watched. It will be up front and personal. It will NOT go the way you planned, and it will NOT be pleasant.
Think. Think very carefully if you really want to do this. Bugging out and high-tailing it to a foreign land is a much easier and less risky thing to do.
In the early stages of SHTF, the government will still be functional and they will have the resources to track you down and kill you dead. Realize this. They will protect their elite members and protected classes of people and will strike back harshly at you and yours… their inferiors.
Realize it, and take the appropriate measures.
Advantage lies in secrecy, surprise, planning, and backup plans. Trust no one. Plan on the worst possible outcome, and keep frosty and alert.
War is not like a video game. It is up front, in your face and personal. You had best steel yourself for this reality if you are even going to contemplate fighting and hurting others. It’s nasty, nasty business. It really is.
If you are not ready to kill someone with a knife, up close and personal, then you are not ready to do anything. Option three is not for you. You should reconsider options one or two.
Life isn’t fair. Deal with it.
When one anonymous phone call can cause police to descend on your house, seize your firearms, and shoot you if you resist, then you no longer live in a nation of laws.
- Staff at Amerika
I have a friend here in China named Ronald. He’s from South Africa.
He fled his home nation when the social Marxists came to power and started to implement their war on “white people”. (Within months of Barrack Obama giving 7 billion dollars to South Africa to “improve their energy grid”. Who’d have thought?)
He lost just about everything that he owned. But… he’s alive. He has a roof over his head and trying to make it at 65 years old in a strange land with strange customs.
But at least he doesn’t have to worry about gangs of black urban youth riding technicals, crashing through his doorway and abusing his family and friends.
His point of view is that while things are a real struggle for him at this time, it is far better for him now in China that were he to have stayed in South Africa. He’s a lucky man and has his nut.
The holy grail of nuts.
Conclusion
Don’t put too much faith in Donald Trump and the Republican crew to reverse centuries of progressive Marxism. They are floundering. They are not doing anything. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s that they do not have that ability.
As a result all this is just leading youse guys along.
As Bill Barr slowly and efficiently covers up the seditious plot and other crimes committed by the FBI and DOJ during the Obama years, it is not unreasonable to wonder how far down the scale this moves the political center. Twenty-five years ago, most dissidents would have thought this level of corruption was improbable, if not entirely impossible. The typical normie was still sure the next election would bring reformers, who would chase off the crooks and clean up the system...
One thing we know is that dissident ranks are growing. Even the Left is admitting it. The popularity of dissident sites, podcasts and video shows are at record highs. More important, the general sense within dissident ranks is that reform is impossible...
Whatever you may think of Trump, the result of the last three years is proof that elections don’t matter. This shameless refusal by public officials to apply the law to Washington insiders makes a mockery of the rule of law. Throw in the stunning dishonesty of the mass media and the metastasizing surveillance state and it is impossible for even the most gullible to remain a civic nationalist.
-Z man blog via Remus
Do not be caught off guard. You are a man and have responsibilities.
Newsflash: Red Flag Laws are already being enforced across the country, even in some die hard Red States.
My advice to Armed Patriots is still the same:
DUMP ALL Social Media
Do NOT advertise anything about Firearms on your vehicle or person
Keep your Personal Business to yourself
NEVER willingly install Listening Devices in your House such as SIRI and ALEXA
Big Brother is listening and watching 24/7.
Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!
-The Tactical Hermit
Take your responsibilities seriously and make the hard and difficult choices.
Choose one of the following three options and go full blast at it. You do not have forever. Now is the time. You are the person. Be smart. Be frosty. Be serious.
Stay and accept a life as a serf in a two-tiered society.
Flee for greener pastures.
Fight the bastards, but be smart about it.
The BIG GAME is coming.
" this past weekend i was at the local having a pint. out of no where there was a commotion by the pool tables behind me. i looked and there stood a kid 17-18ish, yelling at a guy standing with his hair in a ponytail.
he had a slight smirk on his face. he never said a word, he just stood staring back with a shit eating grin.
eventually the manager walked over, and ended up kicking the kid out.
the manager came back sat next to me and the bartender walked over. i looked at the manager and said, “that kid was gonna get pounded if it went to blows.” the bartender (an Irish guy and former hell raiser) nodded and the manager quickly agreed. “OH YEAH!!!!” manager spent a year in prison for involuntary man slaughter. guy pulled a gun on him, he took the gun and he shot the man in the face, point blank.
when he told me the story he did it in the most chilling voice i’d ever heard from his mouth.
guys that fight, NEVER talk shit. there’s a disagreement and either a fight begins or does not. when a fist lands on your face, that’s the primary sign you are in a fight. there’s a certain way i fight if i KNOW it’s gonna down. don’t ask, i ain’t telling.
“when you are short on everything but the enemy, you are in combat.” -murphey’s laws of combat.
guy ended up coming up to the bar to get a drink. i looked over at him and said, “god dammit i was hoping you were gonna unload on him.” he smiled and said, “nah, i only fight men.” i told the bartender i was covering his beer. he shook my hand, thanked me and i asked his name.
“Mike, you.”
i answered, “Danny. nice to meet you. stay the fuck up Dude.”
he turned and walked back to his game of pool.
stay up.
- ITLR: The Barking Doggy
“… if Barr & Durham fail to deliver a bale of indictments, they will be putting a bullet in the head of this republic. There will be no hope of restoring trust in the system …” There’s more.
“What is most perilous for our country now, would be to journey through
a second epic crisis of authority in recent times without anybody
facing the consequences of crimes they might have committed. The result
will be a people turned utterly cynical, with no faith in their
institutions or the rule of law, and no way to imagine a restoration of
their lost faith within the bounds of law”.
The first epic crisis was the finance debacle of 2008,
“… fraudsters and swindlers in that orgy of banking malfeasance were never marched into a courtroom, never had to answer for their depredations, and remained at their desks in the C-suites collecting extravagant bonuses”.
The FBI, the Department of Justice, the CIA, the FISA
Court, the Department of State, et al, originated and assisted this
clunky coup attempt and continue to cover up the misdeeds of their
participants. Piles of actionable evidence have been part of the public
record for some time now, yet we still await reason to believe the Barr
and Durham investigations are being conducted in good faith. Given
events thus far an objective observer would bet the other way.
As Mr. Kunstler points out, trust, perhaps
legitimacy itself, is slipping away from DC. Consider their serial
crimes, not merely unpunished but flouted as insider jokes. Consider
the malicious partisanship and sponsored assaults by DC’s core agencies,
openly applauded in DC as brave and heroic. Consider past and ongoing
“legislating from the bench” specifically intended to undo the express
will of the people. The emerging message is plain enough now to be
unmistakable. Our votes don’t count. Because we don’t count.
Bonus
Most SHTF and Prepper articles concentrate on self-preservation. Now, Self-preservation is important, but it will not take our Republic back. Always remember that. Fighting a Defensive war is a losing proposition.
NO ONE ever wins a war fought on the Defensive.
Highlights from Part one. Staple this to your Brain.
1) Government identification records are the clerical basis for mass murder and other atrocities: No, not every government ID scheme leads to genocide and expatriation. But for the collectivists of both the German Reich and the USSR, each victim’s identity card was both part of the initial targeting and the final “production record”.
2) Get to the forest early if you want to live: If you think they will be coming for you, you are probably right. Plan not to be where they know you work and live. Act early if you want to maximize your chances. You and your family will die if you are at your government-approved address.
3) The Bad People will have lots of help from your neighbors:The most disturbing moment for me in the KGB museum was not in the execution or interrogation/torture cells. It was realizing, while moving through the excellent exhibits on the mass deportations of Lithuanians after “liberation” by the Soviets in 1944, that most of the deportees (many of whom were subsequently executed or starved or died of exposure and disease) had been betrayed to the NKVD/KGB by their neighbors.
4) “Fascism” is not the only mortal enemy of freedom and life; the real enemy is collectivism in any form: At each of the memorials, one could tell the provenance of any signage by its reference to “fascism”. Mostly, such markings were from the Soviet era, during which — not coincidentally — many more millions of innocent human beings were killed by the “enlightened” Communists than had been slaughtered by the Hitlerites and their collaborators. While it is too much to expect the Soviets to acknowledge these facts, it is essential that freedom-minded folks grok that collectivism, in any form, can and usually does lead to the mass grave.
5) Never report en masse when ordered to do so: Nothing good ever happens to folks who do.
6) Food and ammunition will be the vital shortages you must address in order to live: Empty weapons and bellies a successful resistance does not make.
7) The Bad People will torture and kill those who help you: Get used to the idea. Retribution killing is a standard totalitarian play. Try to avoid jeopardizing your allies to the extent possible, but know that they too will be swept into the whirlwind.
8) The Bad People will torture and kill your family
members:Sippenhaft ain’t just a chapter in Vanderboegh’s long-awaited novel. The KGB museum was filled with execution orders with notations indicating that not only had the subject been killed per order of the Party, but that “special measures” had or would be taken against the victim’s family.
9) You must be prepared to fight until victory or death: Once you go to the woods, you are there for the duration. The Baltic “forest brothers”stayed out until they were killed or captured. More on them in the next part of this report.
10) If you think it can’t happen here, you are wrong. The Polish and Lithuanian Jews who were ground into dust by the Einsatzgruppenthought the same thing. So did the Lithuanians who couldn’t believe that the Communists under Stalin and subsequent regimes would hold their passionate patriotism against them.
Almost all of those folks who believed “it couldn’t happen” died.
A few survived by running into the woods, or by bearing up under the brutal realities of the Gulag, year after year after year.
Each of them knows the single biggest lesson from Lithuania: naked, brute force can and does triumph over kindness, love of kin and country, and simple human decency — often for decades or more.
Lose your illusions.
While there is still time.
Stay Alert, Armed and Dangerous!
SHTF Related Index
This is a collection of my posts related to SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan), CWII (American Civil War 2), Fourth Turning (Strauss–Howe generational theory)
and other posts related to the very sad and sorry tatters that America
is today. Actually, I am a little stunned that I have written so much
about these matters. But America today is very ill and there are things
that really should be said.
Here are the posts.
SHTF and Related Index
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
