Les Misérables

We seem to have turned back the clock to 1862.

The financial titans who are managing the Great Taking openly boast about their plans which will turn us all into their slaves:

https://thewinepress.substack.com/p/tokenization-blackrocks-larry-fink

Meanwhile, average jobless Americans who shoplift to feed their families are somehow the "crazy" criminals who must be stopped: 

https://youtu.be/RwXdbwauDc4

Like I said before, I don't support the "No Kings" baloney because it's not going after the right people. Trump is not the main problem, bankers and corporate bigwigs are. And considering their complete lack of compassion and shame, things are only going to get worse.

Violence Nation

You may recall this admission made by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his 1967 address Beyond Vietnam - A Time To Break Silence:

"I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent."

Not only has nothing changed for the better since then, now we actually have a "Department of War" whose civilian leader literally wants to make the Pentagon a global arms bazaar:

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/hegseth-pentagon-acquisitions/

If the United States ever was a force for good in the world, we're not any more. And "our" Congress appears to be on board for just about anything the President wants to do.

Re: No Kings Protests

FYI - The state of emergency which was declared on September 11, 2001 is still in effect, having been renewed annually since it was enacted.

To blame Trump for what is now happening is a bit ridiculous, since Congress has had plenty of opportunities to stop him and his predecessors. At least he's doing out in the open what they all did in secret.

For this reason, I don't support the "No Kings" protests.

I would, however, support "No King But Jesus". Send me the link if you know where it is.

Subs Beware !!!

We go up, we go down, we don't even screw around (an old submarine ditty).

You may have seen this discussion of submarine-related threats made by President Trump and assorted Russians leaders:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/medvedev-again-trolls-trump-us-submarines-black-cat-dark-room

Here is another report which is potentially more significant:

https://www.techinasia.com/news/chinese-scientists-ai-cut-submarine-survival-5

If what the Chinese claim is accurate, this would be a serious threat to our most important nuclear weapons capable platform.

Submariners, beware. They're comin' to git ya.

Are We Getting Fooled Again ???

The current "shutdown" and other shenanigans going on in DC remind me of something which happened in the early days of our republic:

The United States Constitutional Convention was a gathering of delegates from 12 states in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Presided over by George Washington, the convention ultimately discarded the Articles and drafted the U.S. Constitution, establishing a stronger federal government with a system of checks and balances. Key compromises, such as the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise), resolved disputes over state representation, leading to the creation of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Purpose and Context

Weak Government: The existing government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to effectively govern the new nation, leading to issues like economic instability and unrest, such as Shays' Rebellion.

Revision vs. New Government: While initially called to revise the Articles, many delegates, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, recognized the need for a completely new framework for government.

(h/t Google AI)

Sound familiar? Today's quandary also reminds me of these lyrics from the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who:

We'll be fighting in the streets

With our children at our feet

And the morals that they worship will be gone

And the men who spurred us on

Sit in judgement of all wrong

They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new Constitution

Take a bow for the new revolution

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

Don't be surprised if the new revolution / second civil war predicted by so many ultimately results in the US Constitution getting thrown in the trash by the New Founders of the Untied States of America. Any new constitution they intend to write will (in my opinion) be an absolute abortion (no pun intended).

And keep these song lyrics in mind, too:

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss

If you think "King Trump" is bad, wait until you see his replacement.

From NIMBY To PIMBY ???

Following the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in 1979, the US more or less gave up on building new nuclear power plants. I think it's fair to say that no one wanted one in their backyard (NIMBY).

But now, for some reason, the powers that be are pushing the idea that everyone should want a nuke or two in their neighborhood (Please In My BackYard, or PIMBY):

https://studyfinds.org/nuclear-backyard-tiny-reactors-could-power-towns-campuses/

I worked for military, commercial, and government entities in the nuclear field for 25+ years and another 10 years in a state environmental agency, and trust me when I say the concept discussed in the above report is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. I say this for multiple reasons, including but not limited to the following:

• Substituting an increase in nuclear waste for a decrease in so-called greenhouse gases is NOT a good trade-off - CO2 feeds life, while nuclear waste remains deadly, essentially forever;
• It will be extremely difficult to properly staff and monitor all these mini-nukes, and the possibility of having computers run them has always been anathema in the US (for good reason); and
• Each one would represent a serious security and environmental risk, and considering the growing number of would-be terrorists and nut jobs in our nation, the danger of such risks is only going to increase.

I'm sticking with the conventional wisdom (NIMBY). Had you seen what I have inside this industry, I think you would too.

By the way, all those radioactive shrimp now being removed from your store shelves probably got their Ce-137 from a nuclear power plant somewhere (Fukushima?). They are a warning of possible worse things to come, and I strongly recommend we heed that warning.

The Latest EU Fantasy

According to this report, the EU is "openly" considering space mining:

To secure its long-term supply of raw materials, Brussels wants to extract strategically important minerals from the moon. The impetus comes from a recent report by the EU Commission in light of growing dependence on third countries. (Google translation)

Source - https://deutsche-wirtschafts-nachrichten.de/716984/space-mining-die-eu-will-seltene-mineralien-vom-mond-holen

Dear EU, this makes about as much sense as not wanting to find out who really destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines.

You have neither the equipment nor the expertise for large scale space mining. Perhaps Elon Musk could help you overcome these obstacles.

Anyway, good luck. You'll need it.