Next Stop Chile - What Kind Of GPS Are We Using

The Merry Pranksters crossed the country in 1964. It was quite a trip - literally quite a trip. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters were heading to New York. They didn't have a GPS. LSD was used for guidance.

Yeah well, it was a different time. The 60s were about to explode. The Civil Rights Movement was progressing. War in Vietnam was expanding. Drugs were going mainstream. A lot happened. Protests, sit-ins, be-ins were everyday events.

Medgar Evers was assassinated. JFK was assassinated. Malcolm X was assassinated. MLK was assassinated. Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.

The Beatles came to Manhattan. 

Topless dancing came to San Francisco.

A new nation sprung up in Woodstock.

It was a really busy time. Hell, it was a whirlwind. "Turn On, Tune In and Drop Out", "Don't Trust Anyone Over 30" and "If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Problem" were popular expressions.

Having lived through those years, I have no idea how we are where we are today. We're all on a new cross country trip that started on January 20, 2017. That's the day we officially embarked. That's the day we all got on the bus.

Considering the occasion, there was a rather lack luster turnout. The driver was not all that popular. The majority of voters had opted for a more qualified, less hateful driver. Someone who knew how to get us to where we were going safely. Someone who knew the way.

So it's been the better part of 2 years and we seem to be lost. It's not clear where we are headed and the driver is acting crazy. He may be the only one on this bus using LSD.

I think this bus's guidance system was developed by John C. Calhoun back in the day when America was a great slave nation.

I think John's vision was coded for today's political environment by a well funded group of extreme economists and dirty tricksters. It was a massive effort and it cost billions of dollars and it spanned several decades.

The boys and girls who drove this effort are all billionaires and they all seem to be primarily opposed to one thing. They don't like majority rule. They don't like our Constitution. The bros heading up this movement are all Koch heads.

There is a wonderful book that is ideal reading on this trip. It's "Democracy In Chains" by Nancy MacLean. It documents the evolution of this GPS system. This GPS system does not use satellites. No this GPS system is ideologically driven. The ideology is simple. If you're not a Koch head, Go Pound Sand.

Yep, as dark as that sounds, it is the message for those of us who are not billionaires. And, if you read Nancy's book you will know exactly where this bus is headed. We are going to Chile.

To be precise we are recreating the government of Chile's ruthless dictator, General Augusto Pinochet.

This will not be a simulation. We're not talking about virtual reality. We're talking about reshaping our government along the guidelines used when Chile's Constitution was thrown out and replaced with one designed by an American economist - the same American economist whose work is behind the Koch heads GPS. That man is James McGill Buchanan.

Yeah, Charles loves James. He loves Ayn too. He loves them so much that he made it his life's work to reshape our country and our Constitution into one more in keeping with his personal wishes and desires. He doesn't like rules. He likes to make the rules.

"Fear" is another excellent book. It was written by Bob Woodward. The very Bob Woodward who helped expose Nixon and Watergate. It's an easy read. It's a must read for everyone on this bus.

Kesey's bus didn't fare too well. It got lost in the woods. The Merry Pranksters dispersed in the crowd. We were left with some interesting tales and some great music.

The folks behind this bus trip aren't looking to expand our awareness. They are not interested in human evolution and enlightenment. Nope, the Koch heads are interested in only one thing.

What are you interested in? Are you up for tossing our Constitution? Do you want a country designed for the few at the expense of the many? Do you value health, education and science? Do you want to preserve our environment? Or, do you want your children and grandchildren to grow up as serfs, peasants, peons and slaves?

Holy Moly!

Active Measures - Inactive Congress - Foundering Ship Of State

When World War II ended, we did not abandon those we had defeated and leave them to their own devices. We invested in rebuilding Germany and Japan. Secretary of State George Marshall oversaw what became known as the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan had bi-partisan support.

General Douglas MacArthur oversaw the rebuilding of Japan. This also had bi-partisan support.

It didn't matter what party controlled the White House. Both Truman and Eisenhower knew the importance of investing in democracy.

It's worth mentioning that all of these statesman were U.S. Military veterans. Truman, Eisenhower and MacArthur were combat veterans. They knew the sacrifices our citizens made to rid the world of fascism and they wanted to make sure it never happened again.

We took an active role in fostering democracy. We formed alliances to protect democracy. When the war ended we participated in NATO and the United Nations.

We helped turn countries that were hostile to us into trading partners. We didn't do as well after the Civil War. We didn't do as well after the fall of the Soviet Union.

We did not succeed in making friends and allies in the South and Russia. Southern opposition and resistance plagues us to this day.

We do not have a friend in Russia. On the contrary, we have an active enemy.

There is no military power on Earth to rival the United States. We are a nuclear super power. If you want to take down our democracy, you need to do so non-militarily.

Propaganda has been around for a long time. It has been used by advertising agencies, political parties and religious groups. It is in constant use today.

Propaganda is the preferred tool for those wishing to take us down from within. You can read all about that and get up to speed on what's been happening in a matter of weeks.

If you're not one of us. If you're a foreign power and you wish to take us down, you need new weapons. Russia has developed those weapons better than anybody else. They are known as "active measures". They include propaganda, disinformation, provocation, conspiracy, Kompromat, and cyber warfare.

Russia used those weapons big time during the 2016 elections to help get Donald Trump elected. There is a documentary on this. It is called "Active Measures".

Russia has also been attempting to recruit American assets. Well known, morally bereft, ignorant narcissists were preferred. People who could be easily compromised, who were excessively greedy and lacking in patriotism were ideal. Donald Trump met all those qualifications. Donald Trump's relationship with Russia is detailed in "Active Measures".

"Active Measures" is about 2 hours long. It is loaded with facts and attempts to tell a really complex story in a relatively short period of time. It covers a lot of ground. I was prepared for it by virtue of having read some books and articles.

I was able to follow it. I'm not sure how well I would have followed it if I had not read about these events in advance. To be sure, it's all there in the documentary. I just have no idea how someone experiencing this for the first time would react. Would it overwhelm them?

"Active Measures" is showing in a few movie theaters. It is also available on line. I watched it on HULU. I hope everyone gets to see this. I hope it gets on regular TV as well. I don't know what it would take to make that happen. I just know it would be good for the country.

Jack Bryan, Neil Barrett, Marley Clements, Doran Danoff, John MacCallum, and Laura DuBois did a great job on "Active Measures" and the nation is truly in their debt. They are doing the job our Main Stream Media should have been doing all along.

I hope this is just the start of the coverage this subject deserves. It's our democracy at stake after all. It's the difference between democracy and fascism. I would love to see more of this - lots more. It would be wonderful to see this done as a series in which each separate aspect could be covered in full detail.

So Russia has us under siege. Putin is actually stepping up his attacks for the mid-term elections in November. Which gets us back to those who would take us down from within the country. The scandal in all of this is that our Congress is actually abetting Russia by remaining inactive in the face of a foreign invasion.

To be more specific, the Republicans in Congress are abetting Russia by remaining inactive. The Republican Party has been bought and paid for by the Kochs and their pals.

These new owners of our government are interested in one thing and one thing only. They do not want to be taxed. They want to strip us of any benefits we have. Social Security, Medicare, Minimum Wage, Funding for Education, Environmental Protection, Workplace Safety, Universal Suffrage, Majority Rule, Healthcare, etc. - are all on the chopping block.

Yep, the .1% of our population who have more than the rest of us combined want to keep Donald Trump in office long enough to get their legislative agenda passed into law. They've already got the biggest tax cut ever, but that's not enough.

After adding over 1.5 trillion dollars to the deficit because of the tax cuts, Trump is now saying there isn't enough money to give federal workers a 2.5 % pay raise.

Talk about a cluster f**k. We are getting it from within and without. A foreign enemy has taken over our White House and domestic oligarchs have neutralized our Congress. It's a perfect storm and our ship of state is foundering.

The only thing that will keep us afloat is a Blue Wave on November 6th. We need to elect every Democrat on every ticket. We need to take back Congress. We need to protect our Justice Department and our Intelligence Community. We need to make sure Robert Mueller gets to complete his investigation.

Holy Moly!