Listen to a reading of this article: ❖ It's very cute how empire apologists talk about driving Putin from Ukraine so there can be peace, like that's a real thing. Like if it happened the war would just stop, and the US alliance wouldn't with absolute certainty continue the attack and work to topple Moscow by any means necessary.
George w bush just had a Freudian slip for the ages: “The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine.”
Were it not for former CIA director William Casey's assertion that, "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the US public believes is false.", and the oft cited, by me, right here, Obama's Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, we might not be doubting our own thoughts, but nooo.
Caitlin nobody in Congress is on our side. They are quite willing to burn down the Republic to save "Democracy" and bioweapons labs doing research on COVID-19 three months before it was a thing.
Bioweapons, for political purposes. It just did not say whose biosecurity state would use it. As for the impeachment. This was forwarded to me by an international lawyer.
"There would be one Article of Impeachment in this Bill of Impeachment against Biden:
That President Biden has committed a series of non-neutral and belligerent acts against the Russian Federation without the express authorization of the United States Congress in violation of the War Powers Clause of the Constitution, Congress’s own 1973 War Powers Resolution, and the 1907 Hague Convention on Neutrality during Land Warfare to which the United States is a contracting power and is thus “the Supreme Law of the Land” under Article VI of the United States Constitution. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are also contracting parties to this 1907 Hague Convention"
Your last line is magnificent. I did publish the post that quotes your We're Just a Confused Species. I also quote Jung, Wendell Berry, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and an Andrew Varnon I think you'll really like: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/whats-the-best-that-can-happen
As a reader here, a consumer of Tucker Carlson, and also of Glenn Greenwald (foremost), I can say the equation of "the Squad" to Tucker Carlson is false. He is incorrect on some ideas, but he stands on what he thinks is true. The Squad just voted for 40 billion for the war in Ukraine.
As far as people in positions of power or in politics that oppose the empire, of course there are a few. A very small number to be sure, but of course there are a few. Rand Paul stalled the 40 billion war fund long enough to get supporters. Unfortunately it isn't going to work.
Thomas Massey is no friend to the empire.
Ron Paul certainly wasn't.
There are a few. No one is perfect, but they are enemies of the empire, same as you.
In the fog of propaganda shit to which we are consigned it is sometimes easy to misidentify enemies as friends. Still, it is a relief to see a break in the mental tug-of-war, bona fides aside, as in Tucker Carlson's refusal to condemn Putin and Russia outright: in fact he seems to be on their side. Trump ain't my kinda guy, but he is, or was, no war-monger. The most important issues - ending the nuclear arms building-up, in fact ending nuclear capability altogether, and promoting a dialogue that will find a peaceful, that is, a reasonable resolution to the Ukraine/Russia disaster and destruction - useless sacrifice of lives on all sides, needs input from all sides, no matter the ideological purity of contributors.
I wonder sometimes...Will anyone believe the truth once the TV man goes home and the Ministry of Truth closes its door forever? Have we become so conditioned to accept misinformation that we'll find the taste of true intellectual freedom bitter?
"Same people, slightly different bumper stickers."
Ha ha. I'm from the far right. I have been enjoying you're blog. I believe we live in an epoch change right now because the far left and far right are agreeing on so many issues. I enjoy Tuckers' rants, but remind myself regularly: if it comes from MSM, then it comes from "the machine".
Caitlin as always thank you, and sadly I agree, the mainstream media, Tucker Carlson et al, included, is not our friend, although it has to be said there are far worse than him out there, (in fact I rather enjoy his rants), and uniformly and for some time now, too long in fact and progressively not a source of independent, unqualified reportage and/or opinion that it is safe for “us” to trust, in fact to the point that it has become a source of mismatched and adulterated noise, rhetoric and internecine squabbling regardless of the slant across the gamut of political/ideological perspectives, regardless of the audience, it is focused on appealing to, from the extreme right to radical left in my simplistic and wholly uneducated opinion, which collectively is “us”.
In fact the pervasive paucity of independent, well researched, objective and cogently argued editorial available to “us”, the audience, in any form, leaves any relatively balanced sensible individual at a loss when trying to form an objective opinion and garner some sense of how to piece together what is really going on in the world, net of the accompanying subjective, and inaccurate “fluff”, for want of a better word.
However, in reductive terms given the fact that “we” are the audience, and by definition, either directly and or collaterally fund these media enterprises, either passively, by simply clicking on free content and viewing/reading it, and/or paying a subscription(s) for the privilege, are we not in aggregate pretty much responsible for the often unconscionable “schlock” and complete shite that we inarguably and habitually consume on a global and daily basis, and after the fact habitually bemoan the quality and/or veracity thereof.
In facile terms perhaps it is like bit like compulsively frequenting the same series of restaurants and always complaining about the service and/or quality of the food on offer, and/or perhaps being so inured to the mediocre fare, “we” en-mass just keep gobbling it down anyway, completely illogical who knows, but that is what “we” do, pure and simple, and surely you would think that if there was sufficient and well-orchestrated push back, “we” would not be in this position, Q.E.D why some of “us” turn to the likes of you Caitlin, Substack, and other comparable alternative platforms, clearly just not in sufficient numbers, yet at least.
Clearly the same pretty much goes for the “source” of the regurgitated, redacted and heavily expurgated narrative/spin and the impact thereof, which the various political incumbent protagonists/governments and their decisions, actions and/or policies dictate on any given day, which obviously to a greater or lesser degree “we” depending on our respective geography ultimately determine, that is if “we” live in anything like a democratic society, i.e. as “we” ultimately voted the “bar-stewards” in, and likewise are similarly masters of our own misfortune, and like many of the deepest wounds “we” suffer in life are self-inflicted.
So in essence “we” end up as reluctant, consistently dissatisfied but nevertheless compulsive spectators to events that are both imposed on us, and which “we” simultaneously tacitly at least enable, and perhaps that is just human and herd nature, which unfortunately is pretty much statistically all pervasive, ergo the state of the world currently finds itself in, net of a clutch of people/organisations prepared to speak out and attempt at least to sound the alarm and/or solicit and effect change, so once again thank you for your efforts on our behalf Caitlin.
I think Elinor Wylie’s poem, The Eagle and the Mole best describes where we find ourselves culturally, although it clearly does not provide a solution to the predicament, but does illustrate the increasingly polarised world “we” are allowing ourselves to live in, which is both deeply insightful and depressing, particularly as I sometimes find comfort in the underlying philosophy.
I find it amazing how you can point out so many difficult and obvious faults and yet fail on the facts for so many of them. Your great a complaining but less than wise in your conclusions. Context is critical to measuring anything and you fail in that department. Russell Brand a raving anarchist and Left wing devotee agrees with your empire viewpoint and so do I. Yet he offers a range of alternative solutions and positive encouragement instead of beating the hatred drum. I’m Libertarian, not religious but respect all viewpoints knowing I’m often wrong and still learning new things daily. To sum up I’m already very afraid of the unintended consequences of screaming racism and pitting one tribe against another, now we have the end of civilization to worry about. Systemic corruption and voter ignorance are the root cause not the capitalistic system, every other critical issue is a diversion away from corruption. You should spent more time exposing corruption and less complaining about it.
Caitlin Johnstone - Your insights & deep understanding of Geopolitics & the Ruling Class is astounding - It is the efforts of real journalists like yourself that give me hope & keep me going - please keep up your good work. Others are beginning to see the light of Truth. SWJW.
All right, here's what I see as the problem with comparing Tucker to the Squad:
We know that the Squad are useless at best because of their votes. They TALK a good game, but when it comes time to put their money where their mouth is, they always fall in line.
Tucker is a pundit, not a politician. He doesn't get to vote on this stuff. Regardless of what he might want to DO, he still TALKS a good game just like the Squad does, except that the entirety of his job is talking.
And if he's talking about stuff that you yourself have talked about--such as the Deep State, or how war with Iran would be bad and imploring then-president Trump not to do it, or about how the Ministry of Truth is bad, or about how it's not as simple as "Ukraine good, Russia evil!"--then I will gladly take it! I don't CARE whether or not he's sincere or whether he's simply decided to pretend to have these positions to get good ratings. The IMPORTANT thing is that at this time and also for the past several years, people have heard him talking about how the establishment narrative is bullshit, which it has been, and they have believed him.
Let's also not forget that he was, and surely still is, being spied on by the intelligence agencies. You might recall that particular story, Caitlin. It was a big deal. So that doesn't exactly jibe with the idea that Tucker is just as much a willing servant of the empire as Rachel Maddow or Anderson Cooper. Do Maddow and Cooper get targeted by spooks the same way? Of course they don't.
Now, having said all of that: yes, I'm aware of his segments on China, and I won't be surprised if he actually advocates for doing something immoral (either regime change or something else) when the US shifts its focus to China. When that happens, I'll get mad at him *then*, because he will be on the wrong side *then*.
But right now, he's more of a help than a problem. And it's not just me saying that. It's Glenn Greenwald. It's Jimmy Dore. It's Aaron Mate.
I don't mention them because I accept everything they say as irrefutable truth simply because *they* are the ones saying it, although I'm happy to confess that I consider Glenn to be the journalistic G.O.A.T. (At least among journalists who are still able to do their job and aren't in the process of being extradited to the States.)
I mention them because they all make good points in support of Tucker. Glenn made some very good points about why it was as stupid to blame Tucker for the Buffalo shooting as it was to blame Rachel Maddow for one of her fans shooting Steve Scalise and many other Republicans, for example.
And frankly, Caitlin, to use Jimmy Dore's union analogy, right now you strike me as the kind of person he talks about in that analogy. You know how it goes: "If you're in a union and you're organizing against management, you can't ask 'Okay, who's a Trumper? Go away, we don't want your help. Who's a Proud Boy? Get lost, we don't want your help either. Who's a transphobe? Fuck off outta here...' etc, until you have half the people you did at the start, or less. Good luck getting anything done after you've rejected so many people who were ready to ally with you."
You're saying "Okay, everybody who's saying we shouldn't risk nuclear war with Russia right now...how many of you would be happy to risk a nuclear war with CHINA? All of you assholes go away, we don't want your help."
Maybe they ARE assholes, but there's absolutely no good reason to not accept their help. This is the first post you've made that I'm not going to click Like on.
The TV Man Is Not Your Friend: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
George w bush just had a Freudian slip for the ages: “The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq. I mean of Ukraine.”
Were it not for former CIA director William Casey's assertion that, "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the US public believes is false.", and the oft cited, by me, right here, Obama's Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, we might not be doubting our own thoughts, but nooo.
Here it is again. https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/5736
How about a video. https://www.bitchute.com/video/nu3xihn83Ydk/
This is old propaganda 101, especially with the Ukraine getting all up in the mix now.
Just remember, don't believe anybody, especially people who are certain, like me, just look into for yourself. :-)
Caitlin nobody in Congress is on our side. They are quite willing to burn down the Republic to save "Democracy" and bioweapons labs doing research on COVID-19 three months before it was a thing.
Bioweapons, for political purposes. It just did not say whose biosecurity state would use it. As for the impeachment. This was forwarded to me by an international lawyer.
"There would be one Article of Impeachment in this Bill of Impeachment against Biden:
That President Biden has committed a series of non-neutral and belligerent acts against the Russian Federation without the express authorization of the United States Congress in violation of the War Powers Clause of the Constitution, Congress’s own 1973 War Powers Resolution, and the 1907 Hague Convention on Neutrality during Land Warfare to which the United States is a contracting power and is thus “the Supreme Law of the Land” under Article VI of the United States Constitution. The Russian Federation and Ukraine are also contracting parties to this 1907 Hague Convention"
Mostly agree, but liberation theology. Religion can be a powerful force of dissent.
Your last line is magnificent. I did publish the post that quotes your We're Just a Confused Species. I also quote Jung, Wendell Berry, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and an Andrew Varnon I think you'll really like: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/whats-the-best-that-can-happen
As a reader here, a consumer of Tucker Carlson, and also of Glenn Greenwald (foremost), I can say the equation of "the Squad" to Tucker Carlson is false. He is incorrect on some ideas, but he stands on what he thinks is true. The Squad just voted for 40 billion for the war in Ukraine.
As far as people in positions of power or in politics that oppose the empire, of course there are a few. A very small number to be sure, but of course there are a few. Rand Paul stalled the 40 billion war fund long enough to get supporters. Unfortunately it isn't going to work.
Thomas Massey is no friend to the empire.
Ron Paul certainly wasn't.
There are a few. No one is perfect, but they are enemies of the empire, same as you.
In the fog of propaganda shit to which we are consigned it is sometimes easy to misidentify enemies as friends. Still, it is a relief to see a break in the mental tug-of-war, bona fides aside, as in Tucker Carlson's refusal to condemn Putin and Russia outright: in fact he seems to be on their side. Trump ain't my kinda guy, but he is, or was, no war-monger. The most important issues - ending the nuclear arms building-up, in fact ending nuclear capability altogether, and promoting a dialogue that will find a peaceful, that is, a reasonable resolution to the Ukraine/Russia disaster and destruction - useless sacrifice of lives on all sides, needs input from all sides, no matter the ideological purity of contributors.
I wonder sometimes...Will anyone believe the truth once the TV man goes home and the Ministry of Truth closes its door forever? Have we become so conditioned to accept misinformation that we'll find the taste of true intellectual freedom bitter?
"Same people, slightly different bumper stickers."
Ha ha. I'm from the far right. I have been enjoying you're blog. I believe we live in an epoch change right now because the far left and far right are agreeing on so many issues. I enjoy Tuckers' rants, but remind myself regularly: if it comes from MSM, then it comes from "the machine".
Caitlin as always thank you, and sadly I agree, the mainstream media, Tucker Carlson et al, included, is not our friend, although it has to be said there are far worse than him out there, (in fact I rather enjoy his rants), and uniformly and for some time now, too long in fact and progressively not a source of independent, unqualified reportage and/or opinion that it is safe for “us” to trust, in fact to the point that it has become a source of mismatched and adulterated noise, rhetoric and internecine squabbling regardless of the slant across the gamut of political/ideological perspectives, regardless of the audience, it is focused on appealing to, from the extreme right to radical left in my simplistic and wholly uneducated opinion, which collectively is “us”.
In fact the pervasive paucity of independent, well researched, objective and cogently argued editorial available to “us”, the audience, in any form, leaves any relatively balanced sensible individual at a loss when trying to form an objective opinion and garner some sense of how to piece together what is really going on in the world, net of the accompanying subjective, and inaccurate “fluff”, for want of a better word.
However, in reductive terms given the fact that “we” are the audience, and by definition, either directly and or collaterally fund these media enterprises, either passively, by simply clicking on free content and viewing/reading it, and/or paying a subscription(s) for the privilege, are we not in aggregate pretty much responsible for the often unconscionable “schlock” and complete shite that we inarguably and habitually consume on a global and daily basis, and after the fact habitually bemoan the quality and/or veracity thereof.
In facile terms perhaps it is like bit like compulsively frequenting the same series of restaurants and always complaining about the service and/or quality of the food on offer, and/or perhaps being so inured to the mediocre fare, “we” en-mass just keep gobbling it down anyway, completely illogical who knows, but that is what “we” do, pure and simple, and surely you would think that if there was sufficient and well-orchestrated push back, “we” would not be in this position, Q.E.D why some of “us” turn to the likes of you Caitlin, Substack, and other comparable alternative platforms, clearly just not in sufficient numbers, yet at least.
Clearly the same pretty much goes for the “source” of the regurgitated, redacted and heavily expurgated narrative/spin and the impact thereof, which the various political incumbent protagonists/governments and their decisions, actions and/or policies dictate on any given day, which obviously to a greater or lesser degree “we” depending on our respective geography ultimately determine, that is if “we” live in anything like a democratic society, i.e. as “we” ultimately voted the “bar-stewards” in, and likewise are similarly masters of our own misfortune, and like many of the deepest wounds “we” suffer in life are self-inflicted.
So in essence “we” end up as reluctant, consistently dissatisfied but nevertheless compulsive spectators to events that are both imposed on us, and which “we” simultaneously tacitly at least enable, and perhaps that is just human and herd nature, which unfortunately is pretty much statistically all pervasive, ergo the state of the world currently finds itself in, net of a clutch of people/organisations prepared to speak out and attempt at least to sound the alarm and/or solicit and effect change, so once again thank you for your efforts on our behalf Caitlin.
I think Elinor Wylie’s poem, The Eagle and the Mole best describes where we find ourselves culturally, although it clearly does not provide a solution to the predicament, but does illustrate the increasingly polarised world “we” are allowing ourselves to live in, which is both deeply insightful and depressing, particularly as I sometimes find comfort in the underlying philosophy.
Avoid the reeking herd,
Shun the polluted flock,
Live like that stoic bird,
The eagle of the rock.
The huddled warmth of crowds
Begets and fosters hate;
He keeps above the clouds
His cliff inviolate.
When flocks are folded warm,
And herds to shelter run,
He sails above the storm,
He stares into the sun.
If in the eagle's track
Your sinews cannot leap,
Avoid the lathered pack,
Turn from the steaming sheep.
If you would keep your soul
From spotted sight or sound,
Live like the velvet mole:
Go burrow underground.
And there hold intercourse
With roots of trees and stones,
With rivers at their source,
And disembodied bones.
With that in mind what the F..k do we do?
I find it amazing how you can point out so many difficult and obvious faults and yet fail on the facts for so many of them. Your great a complaining but less than wise in your conclusions. Context is critical to measuring anything and you fail in that department. Russell Brand a raving anarchist and Left wing devotee agrees with your empire viewpoint and so do I. Yet he offers a range of alternative solutions and positive encouragement instead of beating the hatred drum. I’m Libertarian, not religious but respect all viewpoints knowing I’m often wrong and still learning new things daily. To sum up I’m already very afraid of the unintended consequences of screaming racism and pitting one tribe against another, now we have the end of civilization to worry about. Systemic corruption and voter ignorance are the root cause not the capitalistic system, every other critical issue is a diversion away from corruption. You should spent more time exposing corruption and less complaining about it.
My money is on Russia!
Caitlin Johnstone - Your insights & deep understanding of Geopolitics & the Ruling Class is astounding - It is the efforts of real journalists like yourself that give me hope & keep me going - please keep up your good work. Others are beginning to see the light of Truth. SWJW.
Hypocrisy is their greatest luxury....
All right, here's what I see as the problem with comparing Tucker to the Squad:
We know that the Squad are useless at best because of their votes. They TALK a good game, but when it comes time to put their money where their mouth is, they always fall in line.
Tucker is a pundit, not a politician. He doesn't get to vote on this stuff. Regardless of what he might want to DO, he still TALKS a good game just like the Squad does, except that the entirety of his job is talking.
And if he's talking about stuff that you yourself have talked about--such as the Deep State, or how war with Iran would be bad and imploring then-president Trump not to do it, or about how the Ministry of Truth is bad, or about how it's not as simple as "Ukraine good, Russia evil!"--then I will gladly take it! I don't CARE whether or not he's sincere or whether he's simply decided to pretend to have these positions to get good ratings. The IMPORTANT thing is that at this time and also for the past several years, people have heard him talking about how the establishment narrative is bullshit, which it has been, and they have believed him.
Let's also not forget that he was, and surely still is, being spied on by the intelligence agencies. You might recall that particular story, Caitlin. It was a big deal. So that doesn't exactly jibe with the idea that Tucker is just as much a willing servant of the empire as Rachel Maddow or Anderson Cooper. Do Maddow and Cooper get targeted by spooks the same way? Of course they don't.
Now, having said all of that: yes, I'm aware of his segments on China, and I won't be surprised if he actually advocates for doing something immoral (either regime change or something else) when the US shifts its focus to China. When that happens, I'll get mad at him *then*, because he will be on the wrong side *then*.
But right now, he's more of a help than a problem. And it's not just me saying that. It's Glenn Greenwald. It's Jimmy Dore. It's Aaron Mate.
I don't mention them because I accept everything they say as irrefutable truth simply because *they* are the ones saying it, although I'm happy to confess that I consider Glenn to be the journalistic G.O.A.T. (At least among journalists who are still able to do their job and aren't in the process of being extradited to the States.)
I mention them because they all make good points in support of Tucker. Glenn made some very good points about why it was as stupid to blame Tucker for the Buffalo shooting as it was to blame Rachel Maddow for one of her fans shooting Steve Scalise and many other Republicans, for example.
And frankly, Caitlin, to use Jimmy Dore's union analogy, right now you strike me as the kind of person he talks about in that analogy. You know how it goes: "If you're in a union and you're organizing against management, you can't ask 'Okay, who's a Trumper? Go away, we don't want your help. Who's a Proud Boy? Get lost, we don't want your help either. Who's a transphobe? Fuck off outta here...' etc, until you have half the people you did at the start, or less. Good luck getting anything done after you've rejected so many people who were ready to ally with you."
You're saying "Okay, everybody who's saying we shouldn't risk nuclear war with Russia right now...how many of you would be happy to risk a nuclear war with CHINA? All of you assholes go away, we don't want your help."
Maybe they ARE assholes, but there's absolutely no good reason to not accept their help. This is the first post you've made that I'm not going to click Like on.
This piece is brilliant. I wish more folks had Caitlin's awareness.