The Revolving Door

 From Amuse on X:

In the past decade, a peculiar phenomenon has emerged, blending the power of unelected bureaucracies with the unparalleled influence of Big Tech companies. Google, Meta, Twitter, and even OpenAI now operate as soft extensions of the federal government, employing hundreds of former FBI, CIA, DOJ, and DHS officials. These figures, long familiar with surveillance and information control, have seamlessly transitioned into roles dictating content moderation, security policy, and even artificial intelligence ethics. This phenomenon, which mushroomed during the Biden administration, reveals a disturbing reality: the government’s ability to outsource censorship to private entities, effectively sidestepping constitutional constraints.

A quick LinkedIn search reveals that hundreds of former federal employees, many from surveillance and justice agencies, have taken key roles at Big Tech companies. Google alone absorbed 130 former DOJ, FBI, and CIA officials. Meta followed suit, hiring 47 ex-government operatives for politically sensitive positions in trust and safety, security, and content moderation. TikTok, despite its Chinese ownership, employed 25 former U.S. intelligence officials, while Twitter (pre-Elon Musk) had 46 former FBI employees, many of whom held significant positions.

The stories behind these hires underscore the tight integration between government and tech. James Baker, the former FBI general counsel who played a controversial role in the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, became Twitter’s deputy general counsel, where he oversaw legal and policy decisions, including those related to content moderation. Aaron Berman, a CIA veteran, now manages misinformation policy at Meta, influencing decisions on what content is allowed to circulate. OpenAI has followed suit, hiring Paul Nakasone, the former Director of the National Security Agency, to advise on security and policy issues, ensuring government-aligned priorities shape AI development. These individuals are not mere advisors; they hold significant sway over policies that directly shape the flow of information and public discourse, as evidenced by their roles in suppressing key stories such as the Hunter Biden laptop controversy and moderating pandemic-related dissent. Their embedded presence within corporate hierarchies demonstrates how deeply government-aligned priorities can permeate private platforms. (Read more.)

Trump and the New World. From Armas:

Friends, it’s a new year and a new episode of The Hard Country, in which we discuss the extraordinary actions — against the trafficking cartels, and especially against their allies in the Mexican state — undertaken in the first week of the new Administration of President Donald J. Trump. The odious Vladimir Lenin once quipped that there were decades in which nothing happened, and weeks in which decades happened — and the new White House has given us an example of the latter. Settle in and have a listen on what’s changed, and why we may allow ourselves a sentiment on the border and the Western Hemisphere that has been in short supply for many years: Hope. (Read more.)

 

Fantasy ideology. Because living in a make-believe world has consequences. From Jennifer Roback Morse:

Let’s give this problem a name: Fantasy Ideology. The purpose of a Fantasy Ideology is NOT to solve a problem. It is to help the partisans accumulate more power.

The process works like this.

Creating a Dystopia, in Five Easy Steps

Step 1. Sell the public on the utopian ideal of completely eliminating an Intolerable Problem. (Climate change. Systematic racism. Sexism. Homophobia. Injustice to transgender people. COVID. Take your pick, the possibilities are endless.) Catastrophize the Intolerable Problem. Demand nothing less than its complete elimination.

To be clear, even good ideas and noble goals can be transformed into utopian impossibilities. For instance, we can eliminate some inequality, but we will never have perfect equality in every dimension. That’s completely impossible. Human beings are irreducibly different from each other.

For instance, some environmentalists want to eliminate all pollution, all carbon footprints. That’s not possible. Can we reduce pollution? Sure. But eliminate it? No.

Some in the public health establishment insist on trying to eliminate all cases of COVID. Can we reduce the number of cases? Sure. But eliminate them all? No.

But these ideas must never spoken aloud, because realistic obtainable goals do not serve the purpose of accumulating power.

Step 2: Sell yourself and your ideological buddies as the potential Savior Class who can make this dream a reality, if only

Step 3: You have enough power. Doing the impossible requires a lot of power. Thus, the Savior Class requires unlimited power to bring about the Fantasy. But even with lots of power, you can’t really do the impossible. So, you must fill the society with

Step 4: Unlimited propaganda. The propaganda keeps people convinced that the Fantasy is possible and desirable. It diverts attention from the problems and costs associated with trying to do the undoable. Finally — and very importantly — the propaganda must divert the attention of ordinary people away from the failure of the Fantasy and toward the

Step 5: Scapegoat Class. The Fantasy will never materialize, even with massive amounts of power and propaganda. So the self-appointed Savior Class needs someone to blame.

Every totalitarian ideology you can think of has had a Scapegoat Class. The Communists had their kulaks and rich peasants. The Nazis had their Jews. Today’s Ruling Class has its “basket of deplorables,” the unwashed, embittered “garbage” people who “cling to their guns and their religion.” (Read more.)

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Frugal Living Tips From The 1950s

 From New Trader U:

One of the most impactful frugal living strategies from the 1950s was the focus on home-cooked meals. Preparing meals from scratch using whole ingredients is more cost-effective than relying on pre-packaged or restaurant food and offers significant health benefits. Home cooking allows for better nutrition and portion control by controlling the quality and quantity of ingredients.

Another smart eating habit from the 1950s was the creative use of leftovers. Instead of discarding excess food, thrifty households would repurpose leftovers into new dishes, such as turning Sunday’s roast into Monday’s hash or Tuesday’s soup. This approach minimized food waste and stretched grocery budgets further. Additionally, many families in the 1950s maintained home gardens, which provided fresh, affordable produce and further reduced food expenses. (Read more.)

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Princess Margaret's Lady-in-Waiting

From Newsweek:

A lady-in-waiting acts as a go-between. People came up to me and asked, "What color is she wearing tomorrow?" because they wanted flowers to compliment her outfit. I told people what she liked to drink, I found out where the lavatory was at different events—all those sorts of things in order to make her day run as smoothly as possible.

At a cocktail party or dinner, I'd find people that Princess Margaret wanted to meet and bring them over and introduce them. I had to gauge when the timing was right; if she was having a fascinating talk with somebody, I didn't want to butt in with a new person. I had to assess whether she was enjoying the conversation. A lot of that was down to eye contact.

At dinner parties, I always sat at a table where we could have eye contact, so I knew if she needed me. I became very attuned to her, and I think it helped that I'd always been her friend.

When you're traveling—which I did a lot with Princess Margaret, to Australia, Zimbabwe, Canada, all over the place—all day, it's hard work. In the evening, Princess Margaret would say, "Get into your dressing gown, Anne, and come and have a drink with me." I'd go up to her sitting room and we'd talk about the day, laugh and have a really good time together. (Read more.)

 

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Justice Restored: Trump’s Mission to Reclaim the DOJ

 From Amuse on X:

The Department of Justice is finally being reclaimed from the grips of partisan weaponization. President Trump’s administration, in its second term, is delivering a long-overdue reckoning. Over 20 career officials, entrenched in a culture of bias and selective enforcement, have been sidelined overnight. This isn’t just a shake-up—it’s a war against the corruption that has festered for years under the guise of justice. Trump’s team is not just draining the swamp; they are dismantling it, brick by brick, to restore fairness and accountability to an institution that has betrayed the American people.

The abrupt sidelining of over 20 long-serving DOJ officials marks the death knell of what conservatives rightly decried as the "Merrick Garland Reign of Terror." For years, Garland’s DOJ symbolized the grotesque transformation of justice into a political weapon, targeting Trump and his allies while coddling Democratic operatives. This two-tiered system eroded trust in one of America’s most critical institutions. But with Trump’s return to the White House, the administration is laser-focused on uprooting this corruption and restoring equal justice under the law. (Read more.)

 

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Apeel

 Now we have something called Apeel. What is Apeel? From PCC Community Markets:

“I’ve recently heard about an alarming coating that is sprayed onto produce to extend the visual preservation of produce (organic and conventional) made by a company called Apeel. I need to know that PCC isn’t allowing produce treated with this coating. Thank you for your time.”

PCC responds: We understand your concern about a new coating being used on foods and have received several questions asking if Apeel products are harmful.

What is Apeel made of?

 “Edipeel,” produced by Apeel Science, is a plant-based, FDA-approved coating derived from the peels, seeds and pulp of fruit and vegetables. The coating, as well as a version meant for organic foods labeled as “Organipeel,” is meant to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables….To our knowledge and our supplier’s knowledge, no producers or packers in our supply chain are using this substance on their produce. Apeel’s coatings are not widespread in the organic marketplace, so customers are generally unlikely to encounter it when they shop organic. In our discussions with folks up the supply chain and experts in the organic community, Apeel is mostly used only at the request of distributors, and we know that ours are not asking growers to apply it. (Read more.)

Washing fruit is not enough. From The Guardian:

A new scientific report lends weight to consumer concerns about pesticide residues on food, presenting fresh evidence that washing fruit before eating does not remove various toxic chemicals commonly used in agriculture.

The paper, published on Wednesday in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters, comes amid ongoing debate over the extent of pesticide contamination of food, and the potential health risks associated with a steady diet that includes pesticide residues.

In May, Consumer Reports said it had determined that 20% of 59 different fruit and vegetable categories carried pesticide residues at levels that posed “significant risks” to consumers, based on an analysis of data gathered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The central aim of the new paper is to share the technical details of a process the authors developed for enhanced trace detection of pesticides in foods. But the underlying finding about the ineffectiveness of washing fruit is important for consumers who may be relying on food safety practices that are insufficient, the authors said. (Read more.)

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Hope in the Ruins

 From Coffee and Covid: "Grateful locals even erected a Hollywood-style sign for the President...."

 

  From Edward Feser at Postliberal Order:

Raymond Chandler wrote of “those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch.” When these notorious winds arrive, he noted, “anything can happen.” And it did happen, last week.

I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life, nearly six decades. During that time there have been several major earthquakes;many heavy rainstorms yielding devastating mudslides and serious flooding; countless major fires; and, in 2011, an especially destructive windstorm. But never before have I seen Santa Ana winds as powerful and wide-ranging as those that tore through L.A. last Tuesday. 

Never before have I seen block after block of the city I love razed by Dresden-like firestorms. Never before have I personally known so many people whose homes were gravely threatened, seriously damaged, or in several cases completely destroyed, by a natural disaster.

Especially distressing was another personal first – my mother having to evacuate her home as one of the larger fires spread in the direction of the neighborhood I grew up in. At the time I write this, her home now appears to be safe. My immediate family and our own home are also fine. But a couple of the smaller fires that broke out last week were, for a time, alarmingly close. (Read more.)

 

The human factors. From Sharyl Attkisson:

It was November of 2018, flames blew through Paradise in less than 24 hours, torching more than 31 square miles. It became known as the Camp Fire, killing 85 people and destroying nearly 19,000 homes. The fire was caused by electrical transmission lines, owned and operated by PG&E. According to a 700-page investigation by the state, PG&E failed to inspect and maintain an aging electrical tower. It wasn't an isolated case. PG&E equipment reportedly sparked 19 major blazes in 2017 and 2018.

PG&E, pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and agreed to pay $13.5 billion to victims of the Camp Fire and other fires, and hundreds of millions to the local government.

With many open questions in the latest fires, critics point to man made contributors to the resulting disaster: fire department budget cuts, canceled insurance policies, corruption scandals, the state’s destruction of dams that once held crucial water, an empty water reservoir near the main fire and broken or dry fire hydrants. (Read more.)

From Fox News:

 The president and first lady Melania Trump then experienced the damage up close, meeting with local law enforcement and members of the community for a tour of the destroyed Pacific Palisades neighborhoods.

"Not even believable," Trump told reporters on site.

Trump sat down for a roundtable with LA Mayor Karen Bass and other state officials. When the president entered the room, individuals were heard chanting "USA, USA, USA!" Bass greeted the president and said that his presence was welcomed.

"This is an honor to be with you," during the meeting, saying that homeowners told him that they want to rebuild their homes in the area.

At one point, the president criticized Bass for not using her emergency powers to respond to the wildfires.

"You have emergency powers just like I do … you have to exercise them also," Trump told Bass, who responded that she did exercise them.

"I don't think you can realize how rough, how devastating it is until you see it," Trump said of the wildfire damage. "The federal government is standing behind you, 100%."

Trump said that he is going to waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area. "I'm gonna be the president to help you fix it," he said. "We're going to waive all federal permits... Because a federal permit can take 10 years... we don't want to take 10 days." (Read more.) 

Meanwhile, in North Carolina....From BPR News:

President Donald Trump wants to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – and during a visit to Western North Carolina on Friday he floated the idea of eliminating the agency altogether.

Trump landed at Asheville Regional Airport Friday morning on his first visit to North Carolina since the start of his second term. The western part of the state, along with neighboring communities in Tennessee, has been reeling since Hurricane Helene unleashed devastating flooding and landslides in the mountain region last September.

“ FEMA has been a very big disappointment,” Trump said. “They cost a tremendous amount of money. It's very bureaucratic and it's very slow. Other than that, we're very happy with them.”

Getting rid of FEMA would take congressional action and it is unclear if there is any support from lawmakers to do so. The agency is usually only called into a disaster area by a governor when the state cannot handle recovery alone.

Trump said he wants to restructure disaster response so that states handle resources that the federal government provides.

“ I think we're going to recommend that FEMA go away and we pay directly. We pay a percentage to the state, but the state should fix this. If the state did this from the beginning, it would have been a lot better situation,” Trump said.

Trump also announced that he has enlisted the Army Corps of Engineers to repair roads and bridges and is preparing to sign an executive order “slashing red tape and all bureaucratic  barriers and permits to ensure the rapid reconstruction of the roads here in Western North Carolina.”

“We're going to go through a permitting process that's called no permitting. Just get it done,” he said.

In North Carolina, Helene caused an estimated nearly $60 billion in damage. A bipartisan federal funding bill signed into law last month by then-President Joe Biden allocated billions of dollars to disaster relief. But the aid will take months to arrive, and local officials say more help is needed.

The North Carolina General Assembly has, in three different rounds of legislation, allocated over $1 billion in state funding toward a range of recovery needs – from infrastructure rebuilding to rental assistance and from social services to support for daycares destroyed in the region. (Read more.)

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Biological Truth

 From Tierney's Real News:

On inauguration day, President Trump reversed 78 Biden policies, signed dozens of executive orders & pardons and issued one restoring “biological truth” to the US Government - proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female.

The executive order states that Federal funds will no longer be used for “gender ideology” or “gender reassignment” surgery or hormones and basically that men should be kept out of women’s sports and women’s bathrooms & dressing rooms. Pretty simple.

“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” (Read more.)

 

From Right Flank:

In January 2024, The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, brought “leaders from government, business, and civil society to address the state of the world and discuss priorities for the year ahead.” What harm could come from that? It depends on what priorities are being discussed.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation–GLAAD–has attended the WEF annual meeting since 2018 to “bring LGBTQ people and issues into focus.”

In 2024, GLAAD focused on its relationship with the Partnership for Global LGBTIQ+ Equality. For its part, the “PGLE is a project of BSR, the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Economic Forum.”

Confused yet? LGBTIQ + GLAAD + PGLE + BSR + U.N. = ????. It sounds like a highfalutin equation for an esoteric brand of cult knowledge. Put another way, it’s decidedly gnostic.

That’s okay. It’s supposed to be confusing. Engineered cognitive dissonance is at the center of the Leftist strategy for a corporate takeover of the world.

GLAAD has every right to fight defamation against gays and lesbians. But what if they were recruiting young people and indoctrinating them in LGBT ideology? And what if the WEF and the UN were backing them?

It would be an indoctrination program, not a human rights campaign. (Read more.)

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Making a More Family-Friendly America

 From Helen Roy:

Like the Princess of Wales, our lovely new Second Lady will have the opportunity to choose a platform for which she will advocate during her tenure. I hope that Usha chooses exactly what she cares about most, be it harsher punishment for parole violators or saving the American honeybee. But I feel the need to humbly suggest to her that she is now presented, by virtue of her complex calling as a mother, lawyer, and American icon, with a unique opportunity to initiate a more Family Friendly America.

The American family needs encouragement. Morale is low, anxiety is high, and ambivalence is giving way to culture war partisanship. This problem—nebulous and complicated as it is— cries out for attention, for the sake of men who hope to be good fathers, for children who represent the future of American dynamism, and for women, especially, either whose lives feel impossibly strung between work and home, or those who are alienated and disregarded in their lives as mothers, or those who are terrified by the prospect of losing everything they’ve worked to build in order to start a family. Battles in the ongoing feminist/antifeminist debates seem to occur along these faultlines, but we all have much more in common than we think. There are ways to win-win-win here. (Read more.)

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Louis XVII in Prison

The boy-king Louis XVII was forcibly removed from his mother Marie-Antoinette in the summer of 1793. He was eight years old. He was beaten and abused, especially when he refused to deny God. He was forced to sing obscene songs and curse and swear. He was shown pornography. The soldiers poured alcohol down his throat so that he became drunk. It was in an intoxicated state that he was forced to sign the testimony that his own mother had committed incest with him. One can see from his handwriting that he was not himself, especially when comparing it with his schoolwork.

Why did the builders of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" feel compelled to torment a small child? Because they knew that children are the future. To manipulate and enslave a child's mind, to weaken his free will through alcohol, pornography and sexualization, is to make him a creature of the state, an automaton, a drone. The horror of the Temple prison has been replicated, in some degree at least, by every totalitarian dictatorship, by the communist and fascist regimes who wished to enslave the Church and make a god of the nation-state. When the state becomes a god, it is insatiable, for every false god is a demon. (Sources: The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette during the Revolution by Nesta Webster, Louis and Antoinette by Vincent Cronin)


Handwriting of the Dauphin Louis-Charles, from his exercise books, with corrections from his father, Louis XVI.

The drunken scrawl of the eight year old Louis XVII in prison.

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