So true. Personally, I work with Democrats and very few Republicans. I may be the only one. But that doesn't mean they hate me and that doesn't mean I hate them. We are friends and while we might not see eye to eye, that is fine because mutual respect trumps meaningless political alliance. They try to over hyped politics because that is literally their only way of controlling the people en masse.

As Shapiro succinctly stated, culture wars matter, political wars do not. The politics of the left, more than any other single cause, is creating the culture war.

So you can say divide and conquer, two sides of the same coin, blah blah blah all you want, but most people can't think in such a nuanced way. Ergo, politics have brought us the idiocracy.

working towards freedoms is creating a culture war Lol what

I never said that. Keep your foolish words off my plate.

Well the right brought us the Patriot Act so I’m pretty sure it goes both ways.

Well, a republican was in office when it landed, but it was conceived long before that, so I think that's a pretty superficial argument, especially when you consider that Obama directly extended it.

So you just hand wave away the fact that the right passed the Patriot Act? They have no responsibility for their own actions because a Democrat extended it?

Pretty much, but no, not really.

I wave away the "fact" that the "right passed" the Patriot Act because it was designed to be implemented regardless of who was in. It wasn't a bipartisan piece of ... whatever constitution-violating-piece-of-shit-document-law-legislation-thing.

You talk about being obtuse to left/right but you are only pushing the point that only the left takes away rights when that’s clearly not the case, otherwise the right would’ve voted against the Patriot Act. Both sides are complicit.

I never said any such thing, or implied as much. Once again, does nobody here know how to read a fucking sentence without injecting their own bullshit and attributing it to me?

Breathe. Realize that responding with anger does little else than release stress hormones into your bloodstream.

For fuck sake, READ

Oh so this is just a culture bashing argument. Got it. Makes sense as to why you won’t hold the right accountable for any of the things they’ve done, but want to bash the left for things that haven’t been done (since legislation and politics are not at play here). Sorry for my reading comprehension but you didn’t exactly make your ‘culture’ argument clear. (And I’m not sure how you entirely separate the culture from the actions, but whatever)

This is some god tier mental gymnastics

your bias is showing

No, my knowledge is showing. And of course I'm biased, I'm not a retard.

you are very smart

p.s. bush passed the patriot act

With critical thinkers like you around, there's no need for information.

your smartness is showing

Man I hope he doesn't find out what Reagan did to 2nd amendment rights or his head might explode.

I don't know what world you are living in because in this world it's the exact opposite

Meanwhile the right wants to throw me in a cell for eating mushrooms and give billions more to private prisons, big oil, and the MIC. Truly the ideology of freedom and learning.

This needs to be upvoted more

We don’t need to vote for one party or another within the same crooked system, but take apart and re-build the system, as it is flawed and allows for unlimited corruption.

You know, I have been saying this for years now and rarely get anything more than a derisive chuckle. Yet more and more people are coming to the same conclusion on their own. I just hope I live long enough to see a constitutional convention or its equivalent.

....or it's equivalent, yeah, that one.

As if there will be any other way.

Hijacking to point out how important these 2018 midterm elections are.

Support candidates who truly put America First

Politics aren't going to fix the systemic issues.

congress and senate r the root of the problem (now that msm is dead)

That's something I appreciated about the recent election. Both parties had vulnerabilities exposed. I'm going to continue to hold out some hope that Trump will expose more, even though I don't yet have much reason to think that he will.

Every four years we get another circus and another injection of hopium.

Mmmm, that yummy hopium. Keeps me going for another four years.

I'm really not sure about a constitutional convention right now.

The way I see it, there are, in our time, a few very powerful hands on a few very important "levers" in government, the economy, and the media. If "the people rise up", enough to instigate a constitutional convention, then there is a giant risk of the usual political judo whereby grass-roots enthusiasm is channeled into doing the bidding of a corrupt but well-placed few.

ALEC is a prime example of what I'm thinking of. But in the case of a constitutional convention, those efforts would get ten times worse. (Lordy, the amount of resources/money/influence that could be thrown at "our" reps, at such a convention, by regular old corporate lobbying, rogue deep-state cabals, and foreign powers... It boggles the mind).

IMHO, I see our job right now as "holding the line". I think we need a couple of generations of slow change in the right direction (money out of govt, remove gerrymandering, reverse voter suppression... all of which will eventually create a positive feedback loop with elected officials, less lobbying, better Supreme Court appointments, which will further improve the situation with lobbying, voter suppression, gerrymandering, and on and on).

That is a valid position and I see the wisdom of it. I just don't think we have the time to play a long game like that. And not to say that a constitutional convention or move towards some other form of independence would be perfect or utopian. Far from it if history is any indicator. But I do think it is worth trying or at the very least exploring the concept.

Consider: How would you update a constitution to adjust for modern times? The founders of the US had the Magna Carta and other such documents for inspiration but had to devise something new to adapt to their times. Now, with the advent of mass transit and world connectivity through the internet (as well as the rise of the corporate leviathans), I think it is time for us to again form something that can adjust to our times.

In a slow climb out we would have to battle a well entrenched, well oiled, super well funded machine whose only desire seems to be self perpetuation. I would rather we break that machine and build something better than attempt to turn it around. But that is just my opinion.

Thank you for sharing your perspective and interacting respectfully. Regardless of what tactic we use and where this all goes, being respectful and polite is always appreciated and a step in the right direction. :)

How would you update a constitution to adjust for modern times?

Agreed that there are myriad ways to update the Constitution to the benefit of regular folks.

But would they win, if we opened those gates?

We got "healthcare reform" under Obama (ACA) that ends up as a giant gift to the health insurance industry...

We got "anti-terrorism" under Bush (PATRIOT act) and Obama (NDAA) that gives government more power to spy on you, and a giant business boom to thee military industrial complex.

The ways that "The People's" needs get turned around, upside down and reversed, on the road from the original idea to the final result, has many causes and factors, band I am not confident a Constitutional Convention is safe from similar machinations.

I would rather we break that machine and build something better than attempt to turn it around.

It's a great idea. But an expert can take your karate chop and bend your force into punching yourself in the balls in the blink of an eye.

Imagine a constitutional amendment that reinforces lobbying. If you don't think that could happen, I'm not sure you've been paying attention to the last 30 years.

I don't disagree, but I must ask: why do you believe that turning this around is a more viable option? The very forces that make it seem impossible the break and rebuild would not allow its course to be hi-jacked either.

But an expert can take your karate chop and bend your force into punching yourself in the balls in the blink of an eye.

True, but one should not go into it expecting that to happen. Anyone can be blindsided. If they are too good an expert to chop then maybe we should consider a different tactic or three.

I get that this could be corrupted and I get that it could turn out worse than it was before, but I also don't see the long route going where we need it to. The long route can be usurped just as easily and people could also loose sight of the goals over time. How many generations in before people forget what the point was?

But would they win, if we opened those gates?

There is only one way to find out and we shouldn't adopt the mindset that it won't due to corruption. What if those gates were opened and the best case scenario happened? Many believed legalizing marijuana would lead to social upheaval and collapse, yet Colorado seems to be doing fine.

One good way to combat (though not eliminate) corruption in a constitutional convention would be full transparency. The money trail could be easily followed by any and all contacts and relationships (business wise) could be traced and followed. Curious which people and organizations a person represents? The info would be provided without request or fee. Of course my idea would really work best if we educated and not indoctrinated our citizens. That is a hurdle for another conversation.

Imagine a constitutional amendment that reinforces lobbying. If you don't think that could happen, I'm not sure you've been paying attention to the last 30 years.

I absolutely believe that could happen because I have been paying attention. It is because of this that I don't think your tactic is entirely viable. Some change perhaps on a small scale and/or in the short term, but not the kind of change that seems to be needed. I could well be wrong though. Time and pressure will tell far more accurately than my speculation.

I think there will be 2 main changes that will happen.

I think what will happen is that it will become increasingly difficult to do evil things without it being leaked to the masses, such that one by one people who do evil things will be exposed or resign so that they don’t get exposed. People are becoming more aware and more sensitive to these things. They can’t sweep them under the rug.

Secondly, we will replace our government with other technologies. So much of our government is a poor attempt to do things which shouldn’t be undertaken by a top down centralized government. As they provide increasingly unsatisfactory results, we will build our own organizations that obsolete the centralized ones. Looking at something like organic foods, you see the centralized government watering down the rules such that undesirable stuff is still in the food, so people will create an organization or several organizations which can provide them more confidence in the food they are eating. You could also look at something like Social Security/ObamaCare/etc., where we pay an organization (currently our government) some amount of money per year to provide us the service of having a safety net. These are things that you primarily need a reasonable sized pool of people to even out the risks. We don’t need the federal government to provide us these services, and once we (en mass) figure out that we’ve gotten an incredibly poor return on our investment, it will likely spur us towards alternative options that are smaller and more responsive to our criticisms.

leaked to the masses

Leaked by who?

While I believe this system has been corrupted, I still think it would be easier to rebuild it than to try and start over. Its not the system that is the problem its the humans that want to find a way to game the system. No matter the system you put in place if you don't take that in to account and stay vigilant in the fight against corruption you will always end up in a cycle

I still think it would be easier to rebuild it than to try and start over.

I'm not sure I see a difference unless you meant "reform" instead of "rebuild". Yes, corruption is always going to be a factor and I don't propose we eliminate it entirely (I don't believe that can be done). But we should should certainly explore methods, tactics, and/or avenues by which we can establish more effective obstacles to corruption. Kind of difficult in a self perpetuating system already hi-jacked by corruption. Sometimes foundation up builds are easier than renovations. ;)

I've said this for years and I'm sure I'm not the first. We need to get money out of politics. We may never achieve any semblance of altruism from our public officials but as long as people can profit from their public service special interests will continue to Trump public good.

The solution is not that radical, and wouldn't cause much pain to enact, which is local government run by local citizens.

You could leave everything the same (which I don't necessarily suggest) but you could, and basically all your taxes and regulations would be in your own city with you and all your neighbors making sure things are on track.

Now this doesn't eliminate disagreements, political parties, etc, just trillions of dollars in fraud and corruption and waste and death.

All your taxes besides a small percentage for national defense would go to your local community, the laws would be written by the majority, don't like it? no problem, there's a thousand cities that will have a majority that believe largely as you do, so go move there and be happy.

average people are buying into and identifying with what were extremist minorities at unprecedented rates.

That's because "extremist minorities" are affecting real, malignant change with repercussions they can't begin to fathom.

Hell, the most devout zealots of faith had more interest in truth than the lispy, intellectual, science-worshiping dickheads of today

He posted unironically to a global network of billions of computers... impressed you were able to work in some gay bashing as well.

But you're right, science never works and that's why you won't be able to reply to me even though you have a really good response... I'm sure.

I used to make a much bigger distinction between Zionists and regular Jews, but then I read Culture of Critique and learned that it's a little more complicated than that.

Culture of Critique

Oh God not that quack. Please go look at some criticism of Kevin MacDonald. His work is not scientifically sound by any measure, and he misrepresents others research for his narrative. The Culture of Critique series is a classic case of propaganda.

Here's a wikipedia article where you can follow it's sources for more info.

John Tooby and Steve Pinker both will talk about why Kevin MacDonald is not only not respected in his field, but is shunned.

This is tip of the iceberg stuff but I would ask that you do your due diligence when coming towards a new idea and research why it might be bunk.

I'll have to watch later, I'm at work. I thought the book was very compelling. Have you read it?

How many people must be "stopped" to achieve world peace? Think about it. Probably less than 300? Less than 100?

Sure the cycle would repeat. But on the short term.

Around 8000. Dutch bank whistleblower Ronald Bernard exposed it all in his one hour+ interview. Pedophilia, global control, secret societies, etc. He worked for them but couldn't go through with 'the children'. Media silenced it.

Number seems high.

Its GLOBAL control of all media, finances and military industries. Its no easy feat. Even the ~8000 have thousands and thousands of minions who work for them, usually being fully aware of what they're doing but then doing it anyway because of money.

Do you have the interview link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0hb8dfKN8k part 1. Other parts are in the related videos. There is also a an English voice over of this iirc. Just type 'Ronald Bernard' into the search bar on Youtube and it should show up.

Yes, but it's the few that don't that are screwing it up for the rest of us! It's like few bad apples are ruining the entire basket!

I am merely displeased because I am not a part of this mafia.

Your interpretation of making a living and live in peace is entirely too much on the rosy side, when in fact the social interaction amongst species of this world consists of a full spectrum of drives, urges, predispositions, needs, cravings ... of which emotions are a secondary expression to satisfy the former. The truth is that when animals get frustrated or are in need of something, they are capable and liable to commit heinous things. It all depends on the moral compass, conditioning and values of the observer too.

I'd say that in a world where 8 billion walking shit factories are competing for limited resources (jobs, friends, partners, offspring, distractions etc etc. too!) you get a color spectrum that's every shade between dark burgundy red and pitch-black darkness. All the rest is just naive at the very least, but likely just way more like charades and strategy fore the organism to get what it wants, which becomes ever more and is needed with as little effort exerted as possible.

High functioning clinical psychopaths project their psyche with a vicious doggedness normal humans do not comprehend, poisoning the human well, so to speak.

Why is all sort of mindless viciousness dismissed as "human nature" when it clearly isn't?

The dominant driver in human systems is the psychopathic minority.

The dominant driver in human systems is the psychopathic minority.

But they are the drivers and unless someone else of a different mind set is ready, willing and able to take control of the steering wheel, we will never progress like we should and will never be free.

But how do we take control from psychopaths without killing them and becoming psychopaths ourselves? Are you sure its not part of human nature?

They can be killed. We are being fooled by them into believing it is wrong to kill parasitic organisms. If that was true, there wouldn't be human bodies at all, or even small animals. We all have the right to defend ourselves from parasitic organisms. Don't let parasitic organisms sell you otherwise.

Malleable humans steeped in ignorance and fed shadows can be trained or tormented into the most despicable authoritarians capable of anything.

Whether intense reprogramming or incrementally shaping through time humans can be pressed into almost any mould.

Identity politics.... We have to rise above this. Refuse to be anything other than a loving individual and nationalism will die... so will religion, racism... make all the isms mean less to you than love and they will lose the power to divide.

nationalism will die

Have you bought into the 'all humans are equal' meme?

It's a principle designed to support individual free will. What would you prefer instead?

What would you prefer instead?

Truth and honesty.

Even of the truth is that certain races are predisposed to violence due to genetics? That the gene has been pin pointed and statistics made. Showing its prevalence in a race directly corresponds with the races stats for violent crime

I personally feel that race realism is a most important topic.

Those who lie about our differences are lying about nature.

Thomas Jefferson sure wrote some dank ass memes.

nope. it obvious that different populations of people have different genetic and cultural influences.... I'd say that in the real world, no two people are equal. BUT we are going pretend like 9/11 was a Muslim attack on America, Israel is our friend and that we're all the same..... in the name of social justice. It will kind of be like we all got lobotomies, except we'll all know that we are lying to each other and only going along with everyone else to avoid public shaming, imprisonment and or massive fines.

Welcome to Carls Jr. Would you like to try our BIG ASS Fries?

"Hi brother. Welcome home.", says some dude you've never seen before with his face painted like an Insane Clown Posse uber fan.

This is why I don't like to have any political affiliation, pigeon holing myself into a particular way of thinking feels so limited to me. I try to vote for the lesser of two evils in most cases and I'll just say that it usually doesn't matter, it's the illusion of choice and no matter who we vote for things will not change with the current two party system. I agree we need to tear things down and build them from the ground up, right now it's all about power over the people instead of power for the people and there's so much divisiveness that you can't go into a single reddit thread without mention of somebodies political affiliation usually followed by some ridiculous argument that devolves into name calling and further divisiveness.

I personally hate it because I know there are good people on either side and sometimes those good people because rabid towards each other because of the current political climate. I wish we could all agree that our current system is shit and unite as a people to push for change but honestly I don't see that happening, it's sad but I just don't see it because most people think that they have no power to change anything, myself included. It's a true statement as well, us as individuals cannot change anything, we have to do it together and it's just hard for me to envision that happening right now. I just hope something happens in the next 10 or 20 years before my son becomes an adult so he doesn't have to deal with the same shit.

Brilliantly said

They say it's a semantic shift, when a word comes to mean something else through popular usage, but there is something else, like when the definition of the word fascist was altered on all online dictionaries last year so as to avoid pesky political ramifications for HRC and pals. I like to call that "something else" a "semitic shift", personally, and not because "yer a Nazi!!", but because, when you trace those suspect shifts, they seem to all stem from one single group of people, namely, Jews.

Even those of us with the most peaceful intentions should be mindful of two common faults:

1. Failing to mind our own business. We're really, really, not entitled to an opinion on how others live.

2. Trying to be God's policemen. See no. 1 above. Enforcers are not needed.

Peace is an illusion. We will never be at peace until humans change their very nature. There currently exists no system of society and government that does not place one man above another, and until then we will always face strife between the haves, the have nots, and those that want more. We must rid ourselves of kings and nobles and bankers and politicians and investors.

evil always takes over what was once wholesome.

At this point, its too far gone. burn it all to the ground and start over.

Then enjoy a limited time of peace, until evil ruins it all over again.

Isn't life grand?

as long as there is limited resources, there will be "evil"

Yea that's what I think... We are super smart organsisms and the earth is a big so maybe there is artificial scarcity , but also maybe not.

shapeshifters are people too

Interesting thought piece with the same sentiment. Not sure of origin.

It's the false dichotomies. We are given two corrupted choices while both are corrupted away from the truth in order to assist the self-interests of parasitic intentioned beings.

"Politics" is the problem, as it's been hijacked/controlled since the beginning.

Well the right brought us the Patriot Act so I’m pretty sure it goes both ways.

So you just hand wave away the fact that the right passed the Patriot Act? They have no responsibility for their own actions because a Democrat extended it?

your bias is showing

you are very smart

p.s. bush passed the patriot act

I don't know what world you are living in because in this world it's the exact opposite

How would you update a constitution to adjust for modern times?

Agreed that there are myriad ways to update the Constitution to the benefit of regular folks.

But would they win, if we opened those gates?

We got "healthcare reform" under Obama (ACA) that ends up as a giant gift to the health insurance industry...

We got "anti-terrorism" under Bush (PATRIOT act) and Obama (NDAA) that gives government more power to spy on you, and a giant business boom to thee military industrial complex.

The ways that "The People's" needs get turned around, upside down and reversed, on the road from the original idea to the final result, has many causes and factors, band I am not confident a Constitutional Convention is safe from similar machinations.

I would rather we break that machine and build something better than attempt to turn it around.

It's a great idea. But an expert can take your karate chop and bend your force into punching yourself in the balls in the blink of an eye.

Imagine a constitutional amendment that reinforces lobbying. If you don't think that could happen, I'm not sure you've been paying attention to the last 30 years.