OpLog

The real coup is happening behind the scenes, away from the dangerous and wholly chaotic takeover of government payment systems and the dismantling of the institutions of education and justice. It is the losing of battles with China and Russia, battles hard fought and won since 1961, and the Kennedy Administration.

Right now at the forefront of our foreign relations, there is an attempt to claim Canada as an annex of the United States, Greenland has also been named, and South Africa is risking invasion by US authorities. Iran is being forced to explore a violent answer to the Trump administration’s declaration of violence if Iran does not meet their demands. All that being said, and it is all bad, the real conquest is taking place with Russia and China.

There is presently a cold war taking place with China, but Trump doesn’t seem to be fighting that war. Instead, the administration is quietly allowing China inroads into our foreign intelligence, by not stopping the flow of intelligence from the U S to China, through blustering of the international finance community. Many of the financial and intelligence organizations the previous administration set in place Trump is dismantling, while trampling the agreements we have with Mexico and Canada.

This constant contradictory political destruction of the U S instrutional infrastructure speaks directly to helping Russia and China interest in infiltrating U S Intelligence and Policy. Once in the systems of government, is it a short walk from unwitting helper to full partner.

Read the article from the Dispatch

Why Is Trump Trying to Lose Our New Cold War With China?

In the United States, there is a strong love-hate relationship with billionaires. This is for a good reason. There are 3000, or so, billionaires in the world, and there are about 100 million or so, millionaires. But there are 8,000,000,000 people in the world, and 75% of those people make less than a living wage. But 70% of those billions of people fuel the world’s economy, directly.

In 2024 alone, these industries had record profits, Oil and Gas, 17% increase YoY, Candy, also a 17% increase YoY, Health Insurance 4% increase YoY, and Utilities, especially electricity with 19% increase YoY. This is not to mention the enormous inflation that plagues many countries overseas, like Turkey and Ukraine.

There have been a number of very reasonable explanations for these increases, all of which fall under the umbrella of supply and demand. Some of those reasons are: that more people are buying, you can’t compare the economy now to the pandemic economy, the supply chain is radically different now as compared to the pre-pandemic supply chain. None of them take into account the elephant in the room, greed.

Not corporate greed, corporations are run like dictatorships, with an authoritarian in the top position, and some C-Level executives who mostly resemble oligarchs. And huge numbers of workers (citizens) who must do exactly what the dictator says or they lose their livelihood. Although for the most part, corporate laws mirror common law, there is a great deal of corruption at the top.

Greed has no goodwill, and becoming a billionaire takes a cold and calculating person, who is willing to present themselves as a savior and person of the people and for the people. This is far from the truth. The richest person in the world feeds off a Chinese market and gets most of his business in the United States because Chinese workers are so oppressed. He prances around on stage with presidents and makes people believe he is a genius, when all he does is prance, and those will much more intelligence, are doing the work, to make him wealthy. He is not the only billionaire doing this.

Our most prominent phone manufacturer, buys the cheapest parts from China, as does the second largest phone manufacturer. Software giants, all use workers from Kenya, to race to train the latest AI chatbot, that can act appropriately and not hallucinate constantly and treat people with the most vile discriminatory rhetoric. They pay these workers 2 dollars for a 16 hour day.

We all know this but we allow it, mostly because we have come to see it as a good and proper way to act, even if it’s repulsive and oppressive. Everyone wants to be rich, right?

80 percent of the stock market is owned by billionaires, 20 percent by everyone else. That is our economic weathervane when it could never predict the economic value of the average person, who spends 90 percent of their wealth to survive during their lifetime.

Although there are some very reasonable ways to alleviate this disparity, that’s not going to happen. Because the average person believes they can’t change the power structure that oppresses them. Building businesses based on quality of profit, rather than quantity, will gain more profit over ten years than a company focused on quantity. But everyone wants the most, the most power, the most money, and the best cars, bicycles, and guitar strings.  The constant media reporting on companies’ profits, and how important that is, will thwart any effort to help the average person. And if the billionaires don’t get what they want, they will take it, by violence, manipulation, and disinformation.

Our fight is to question everything. To build businesses that help the average person, not the corporate executive. And when greed rears itself above all else, tear it down. Non-violently. MLK Jr and a group of people who needed freedom, walked across the bridge in Selma, with an army of people that meant to kill them on the other side. They didn’t want to go, they were scared, they feared for their lives. They didn’t raise a hand against their oppressors.

We have dozens of ways to fight oppression and billionaires. Much easier than Selma.

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There is much chatter that a Trump presidency will lead directly to an Authoritarian Administration. The fact of the matter is, he will try to become a dictator or king, but he will ultimately fail. Two hundred-year-old democracies don’t die easily, especially if the institutions and authorities have made that democracy the greatest one in the world. The truth is, the freedoms afforded the citizens of that democracy are what have provided the opportunity for the authoritarian opinion that the system is broken. The freedoms lost to this administration will return, only this time, we will learn a hard lesson.

Love and joy are just as powerful a trait as toughness and brutality. There is much to be learned in our government about kindness and strength of will. A campaign for elected office that was founded on the principle of bringing back joy to politics is not a weakness, because joy is not a weakness. Joy is about understanding. Joy requires us to see the truth, that people often need understanding, and that some people need to be removed from power. There is no difference between the mean decision to remove someone from power, and the kind decision to remove someone from power.

Holding people accountable is how they learn, and it is an act of love to restrict certain people from interacting with large groups of people. This is why many celebrities and authority figures need security details. Often our authority figures are corruptable in some way, and that has lead to us believing that corruption and greed stand for some type of goodness in action.

As the media landscape changes so does our perception of good and bad. Doing the right thing is often skewed by our definition of what is acceptable as success. But large groups of people, led by an immature, often fearful, and reactive leader, will rebel. This is what is quietly happening in our country and several countries throughout the world.

Love and joy have very little to do with the often overly emotional and blind faith of our social relationships or the pursuit of happiness. Strong feelings are often built on immediate reactions to the need to fulfill lust. Joyful people often wait to engage in relationships and don’t jump right into those situations. The same happens in politics and our political reactions are often built on what will give us immediate relief, which is rare in government. Democracies are especially slow to see results to change.

Trump understands that offering immediate relief to masses of angry and disillusioned people will get him power. But our fixed-term limits are a sure thing because people are expecting them, they are built into our society. Trump will not hold onto power, and the magic of his administration will fade just as rapidly this time, as last. This power will fade, as Trump fades and passes out of reach due to being human, and mortal.

The institutions of our democracy can’t be turned off quickly enough for a dictatorship to hold power, but they can be damaged severely. It is up to us to make the transition back to a functional society as smooth as possible. More communication on a deeper level and more understanding of people’s needs is coming, and it is our job, to bring joy to hold power, rather than annihilation.

People can recognize that goodness and kindness have greater strength than any strong man. We can have joy and still protect our borders, fight invasion, and seek justice. The voices of hate are a minority with a megaphone attached, take it away, and give it to joy and love, where we can conquer the world, once more.

It’s Christmas Eve, and just about the first days of Hanukkah, and those Holiday Messages are out there, having a mental impact on us. By the way, those are the holidays I celebrate, because my dad was Catholic and my mom Jewish. It’s a learned tradition. The reality of holidays is, that they are neither good nor bad, they are what we make them. The pressure we feel is almost always commercialized and learned from many years of being taught what material function is to be served on any particular holiday. Most people experience a deep mental impact on Christmas and New Year’s.

Stripping away the pressure does happen for some people. I recently heard a podcast, where the guests were minor celebrities speaking about Christmas. One guest said Christmas is for kids, that he didn’t feel any need to participate, he felt no pressure at all. Another guest felt joyous and spirited during Christmas and loved to walk around town and look at all the decorations. Their partners, both women, also guests felt there was much to do during the holidays. They were extremely busy, working, planning, and buying gifts.

Neither of the men felt any pressure because they were not planning, buying, and working during the Holiday. While their partners felt there was a great deal of pressure to meet an undefined standard, every year. Both women felt they had to present themselves in the spirit of the holiday season, by throwing parties, buying gifts, and working a great deal to be considered “good” holiday hosts.

The pressure was there, having its effect on the families, but none of the participants would consider backing away from their holiday stress, even though the impact on people is so great. While the example is just four people, the truth of holiday stress is overwhelming.

Opioid deaths in December 2023, totaled 5813, a decrease from July 2023, but an overall increase over the months leading up to the new year. Domestic violence, alcohol-related violence, and assaults all increase between 2 and 10 percent during the last quarter of the year. The most telling statistics are those suicide hotlines rose 45% over the last year, with a large number during the holiday season.

The best way to deal with holiday stress is to back away from it. Just because people are texting and posting good cheer, and high spirits does not mean they are feeling that way, when not texting or posting. Be aware of the reality of the Holiday Season, it is mostly advertising. Malls empty out by 7 pm, on weekends, and even though the media is saying it’s a banner year for retail, it is not. Three large retailers are going under, Container Store, Party City, and Stop and Shop. Shop small shops, buy less, buy more for the thought than the trend. These are all ways to reduce stress.

Stay away from large gatherings, where there is a tendency to feel the need to meet a standard that is out of reach. That standard might be partying, eating, gift purchases, or flirting. Enjoy the moment, leave early, and take time to reflect on all the good that is happening around us.

Walk away, it is easier than you think, to regroup, not get caught in the marketing, and stay sober, lively, and engaged. We all experience the holiday season differently. Take the time to reach out, people are lonely, afraid, unsure of themselves, and feeling like they don’t measure up and no one cares. There are people who care, and if you don’t mind, leave a comment here, and I will answer you.

Be well, be back, and come often. I am always here.