This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

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On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

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Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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He Is Risen, Indeed

Jesus’ resurrection witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, then He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not worthy of our faith and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting of death and gain the victory over the grave (1 Corinthians 15:54–55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Jesus’ resurrection validates who Jesus claimed to be, namely, the Son of God and Messiah. According to Jesus, His resurrection was the “sign from heaven” that authenticated His ministry (Matthew 16:1–4). The resurrection of Jesus Christ, attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:3–8), provides irrefutable proof that He is the Savior of the world.

Jesus’ resurrection proves His sinless character and divine nature. The Scriptures said God’s “Holy One” would never see corruption (Psalm 16:10), and Jesus never saw corruption, even after He died (see Acts 13:32–37). It was on the basis of the resurrection of Christ that Paul preached, “Through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin” (Acts 13:38–39).

Jesus’ resurrection validates the Old Testament prophecies that foretold of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection (see Acts 17:2–3). Christ’s resurrection also authenticated His own claims that He would be raised on the third day (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34). If Jesus Christ is not resurrected, then we have no hope that we will be, either. In fact, apart from Christ’s resurrection, we have no Savior, no salvation, and no hope of eternal life. As Paul said, our faith would be “useless,” the gospel would be altogether powerless, and our sins would remain unforgiven (1 Corinthians 15:14–19).

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), and in that statement claimed to be the source of both. There is no resurrection apart from Christ, no eternal life. Jesus does more than give life; He is life, and that’s why death has no power over Him. Jesus confers His life on those who trust in Him, so that we can share His triumph over death (1 John 5:11–12). We who believe in Jesus Christ will personally experience resurrection because, having the life Jesus gives, we have overcome death. It is impossible for death to win (1 Corinthians 15:53–57).

Jesus is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In other words, Jesus led the way in life after death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike other religions, Christianity has a Founder who transcends death and promises that His followers will do the same. Every other religion was founded by men or prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we know that God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Hebrews 10:12).

The Word of God guarantees the believer’s resurrection at the coming of Jesus Christ for His church at the rapture. Such assurance results in a great song of triumph as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (cf. Hosea 13:14).

Jesus’ resurrection has an impact on our service to the Lord now. Paul ends his discourse on resurrection with these words: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Because we know we will be resurrected to new life, we can endure persecution and danger for Christ’s sake (verses 30–32), just as our Lord did. Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thousands of Christian martyrs through history have willingly traded their earthly lives for everlasting life and the promise of resurrection.

The resurrection is the triumphant and glorious victory for every believer. Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). And He is coming again! The dead in Christ will be raised up, and those who are alive at His coming will be changed and receive new, glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). Jesus’ resurrection proves who Jesus is. It demonstrates that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. It shows that God has the power to raise us from the dead. It guarantees that the bodies of those who believe in Christ will not remain dead but will be resurrected unto eternal life.
xhttps://www.gotquestions.org/resurrection-Christ-important.html

Site rules stolen from our good friend PAVACA

There are Important Notifications from our host, Wolf Moon; the Rules of our late, good Wheatie; and, certain caveats from Yours Truly, of which readers should be aware. They are linked here. Note: Yours Truly has checked today’s post for any AI-generated content. To the best of her knowledge and belief, there is none. If readers wish to post any AI-generated content in the discussion thread for today’s post, they must cite their source. Thank you.

Today, I wanted to look at a video (1 hour) that was brought to us by phoenixrising37 on April 9, 2025. A rough transcript is at the bottom of the article.

Burning Bright, over on Badlands Media, talks of the present conflict being as a “War of Stories” He also mentions that you can see the Overton window (wiki) shifting as people learn and share information. This video is a classic example of not only the Overton Window shifting but of a limited hangout.

It is aimed at MAGA and not the American public in general. Whether Catherine Austin Fitts knows it or not, she is serving the interests of the ‘International Syndicate’ aka Cabal as the Cabal tries to limit the damage done by Trump, Elon Musk and Q. The video shows what ground has been ceded and the diversions deployed to limit the damage.

Last week I went over part of a Colonel Towner/Alpha Warrior video. As luck, or God’s Hand, would have it, I went over some of the other sources that led me to believe Colonel Towner is fairly close to the truth. There is no way of knowing the full truth because so much is classified, but Colonel Towner’s ‘Story’ is consistent with information from other sources I have encountered over the decades. Also she has made it clear she uses sources that rely on primary documents like financial records and State Department cables.

Catherine Austin Fitts [wiki] presents information that is interesting because it shows us what information the Cabal KNOWS the MAGA base has, while at the same time trying to lead us astray. The purpose of the video, of course, is to get us to repudiate POTUS Trump and attack Elon Musk both of whom are major threats to the Cabal.

Catherine Fitts, is a former investment banker who was investigated for years for insider dealing and bid rigging. She starts out with the synopsis:

👉Our👈plan had been to win the proxy war by hybrid war in the Ukraine. Get a hold of the Russian resources and maintain our hegemony against China in a unipolar model. Guess what? We failed.
The current Administration was put into place by the bankers to get the control grid accomplished.
Trump can only do what the bankers want him to do.

Do you want a global Mafia or the Federal Reserve which is still under the powers of congress?”

This is a mix of truth: The Cabal is losing the Ukrainian war against Russia. And a falsehood. “Trump can only do what the bankers want him to do.” With the false Choice “Do you want a global Mafia or the Federal Reserve?” Also note that she acknowledges the cabal started the war in Ukraine in order to get their hands on Russian resources. — Operation Gladio anyone?

At 14 minutes she says: “One of the most important interviews at the beginning of the administration is Secretary of State Rubio gave an interview and he said we’re no longer a unipolar model it’s now a multi-polar world and we have to adjust to a multi-polar world.” And at 15 minutes she says: “ So now that you can’t strip out and get cheap oil and gas and resources and commodities going east. [Russia] What are you talking about? You’re talking about Greenland, Canada, Mexico, the Panama Canal. You’re talking about going north & south right?”

This supports the idea, that some folks have suggested, of a Sovereign Alliance between, Trump, Putin, Xi and Prince Mohammed bin Salman with different spheres of influence.

At 31 minutes Catherine presents her reason WHY Trump is under the control of the Banker Cabal.

… so every week the New York Fed and the primary dealers of which Howard Luton’s firm was one of them, 24 primary dealers go out in the market and they borrow money and they put it in the New York Fed. The New York Fed is the depository for the US government. So treasury, the agency, say they have their bank accounts in the New York Fed or the New York Fed member banks as agents. Those member banks of course own and control the New York Fed. So they put the money in Treasury and Treasury spends the money. The last month, I think it was February, our total deficit was bigger than 100% of our revenues. Okay? 👉So we’re really dependent on the Fed borrowing and putting that money in….”👈

…so day to day week to week the federal government is 100% dependent on the New York Fed. Now at the beginning of the administration a reporter from 👉Politico👈 asked the chairman of the Fed, Jay Powell, if Trump wants you to resign will you. He said no. The reporter said well can Trump fire you? He said no. [LAUGH] Trump can only do what the bankers want him to do. So he can go for 24 hours without the bankers.

I might have fallen for this bit of falsehood, if I had not done my homework a couple decades ago. And wrote about it here:

A PRIMER ON MONEY

Here are the salient parts:

Money Is Created by Banks Evidence Given by Graham F. Towers, Governor of the Central Bank of Canada (1934)

Some of the most frank evidence on banking practices was given by Graham F. Towers, Governor of the Central Bank of Canada (from 1934 to 1955), before the Canadian Government’s Committee on Banking and Commerce, in 1939. Its proceedings cover 850 pages. (Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence Respecting the Bank of Canada, Ottawa, J.O. Patenaude, I.S.O., Printer to the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, 1939.) Most of the evidence quoted was the result of interrogation by Mr. “Gerry” McGeer, K.C., a former mayor of Vancouver, who clearly understood the essentials of central banking. Here are a few excerpts:

👉Q. But there is no question about it that banks create the medium of exchange? 👈

Mr. Towers: That is right. That is what they are for… That is the Banking business, just in the same way that a steel plant makes steel. (p. 287) The manufacturing process consists of making a pen-and-ink or typewriter entry on a card in a book. That is all. (pp. 76 and 238) Each and every time a bank makes a loan (or purchases securities), new bank credit is created — new deposits — brand new money. (pp. 113 and 238) Broadly speaking, all new money comes out of a Bank in the form of loans. As loans are debts, then under the present system all money is debt. (p. 459)

*US Banks Operating Without Reserve Requirements (2009)

Banks typically have 3% of their assets in cash in order to meet customer needs. Since 1960, banks have been allowed to use this “vault cash” to satisfy their reserve requirements. Today, bank reserve requirements have fallen to the point where they are now exceeded by vault cash, which means lowering reserve requirements to zero would have virtually no impact on the banking system. US banks are already operating free of any reserve constraints. The graph below shows reserve requirements falling to zero over the last fifty years.

Translation: US banks can create money out of thin air just as Mr. Towers described.

At 53 minutes she tries to redeem herself by invoking Christianity by saying “…you can’t make me.” [choose between them.] She then goes into “…I studied for two and a half years spiritual warfare at a wonderful church. I mean I really got an immersive course in spiritual warfare and what you learn in spiritual warfare? There’s a concept of just standing…”

And that is how she fought “…the Department of Justice for eight years and then fight with the IRS for four Years…” starting in 1997. Did she win? Or did she take a plea deal with a non-disclosure agreement?

Wiki mentions:

Fitts was a member of the Global Business Network‘s “Worldview” from 1996-1997, and served on the advisory board for The Arlington Institute from June 1998 to June 2000.

I find it interesting that WIKI has no pointer to The Arlington Institute.

In 1989 John Petersen founded The Arlington Institute (TAI), a non-profit, future-oriented research institute, the purpose of which was to work with the leadership of the national security community to change the idea of “national security” from death and destruction to a broader understanding of security that included, environmental degradation, climate change, social value shifts, science and technology breakthroughs, and other global issues that clearly contributed to our security. The “think tank” now serves as a global agent for change focusing on facilitating the transition to a new world. It does that by developing new concepts, processes and tools for anticipating potential futures and translating that knowledge into better present-day decisions.

There are a lot of other ‘tells’ throughout the video.

Such as: “…Solari Investment Advisory Services, LLC provides research advisory and screening services to Swan Asset Management, a registered investment advisor based in Augusta, Georgia. Catherine Austin Fitts is the founder and managing member. LINK”

She also says “I love Switzerland and I love the Swiss… I live in Netherlands half the year… Half the people at Solari are Dutch…”

Paul is co-owner and managing director of Holland Gold and the Aunexum Precious Metals Group. He also lives in The Netherlands, a country with very close ties to Belgium.

Reinvent Money — Description

Welcome to reinvent.money where Paul Buitink conducts insightful interviews with leading experts in finance and geopolitics in order to improve public understanding of what’s wrong with our financial system and how it can be improved. Paul has been active in both the mainstream and alternative finance space, having worked at a bank, credit insurance company, gold companies and 👉a Bitcoin exchange. He was also one of the driving forces behind the campaign to establish a full reserve bank in The Netherlands, called depositobank. LINK

So it does not look like Fitts actually left her career as an investment banker AND she is directing people to invest in GOLD. Also her ‘Black Budget’ reveals happen AFTER her problems with the government are settled. AND after, as she says ” On September 10, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of of DOD,which is one of the agencies where the majority of money was going missing, did a press conference and said there’s 2.3 trillion missing from the Department of defense.”

At 3 minutes she starts talking about a secret black budget for BLACK PROJECTS that she says STARTED AT THE END OF WWII. 🤔

As Colonel Towner says, put on your GLADIO GLASSES and you can see Catherine Austin Fitts is revealing the part of the puzzle that is already known. However instead of getting into Operation Gladio, and the overthrow of sovereign nations so the cabal can rape them of their raw materials and enslave the population, she veers off into left field.

…clearly part of the problem was that trying to finance the black budget and a whole parallel universe of the sort of weaponry and intelligence and Military infrastructure was getting more and more painful. When 911 happened they passed the Patriot Act that made it much easier to get on budget money into the black budget but it kept ballooning. As some of us described it, it was enough money to fund a separate civilization.

You know essentially people saying we can’t operate within this Democratic Machinery. We have to fund and build a secret infrastructure outside the government. So we called it the Breakaway civilization. Literally. You know you funded a very significant infrastructure. One way of looking at what’s happening now is the Breakaway civilization is breaking back in…. So for example in two or three years ago I sat down and I spent two years with one of the best researchers I know. We tried to estimate how many underground bases there were just in the United States alone. And in the oceans immediately outside of the United States.🙄 We estimated 170 and that of course is the platform for all sorts of activities that you want to keep secret. you know including some of the things you may or may not be doing in space so so and there was a wonderful group, there were two people at the Washington Post 🙄 I think 2010, 2012 that did a big study they made a database of all the secret facilities and all the facilities that had been financed through the Patriot Act or after the Patriot Act…

And you thought Alex Jones served up some weird stuff!

One of the cudgels, Fitts uses to bash Trump with is the Federal Account in Standards Advisory Board statement 56 made during Trump’s first term. However if you read it closely, it says CLASSIFIED ACTIVITIES MUST ALSO MEET GPFFRs standards, but will be reported only to cleared people including elected officials. That sounds like ‘Black Budget’ items ALSO have to be accounted for.

Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards 56: Classified Activities

Summary

The objective of this Statement is to balance the need for financial reports to be publicly available with the need to prevent the disclosure of classified national security information or activities in publicly issued General Purpose Federal Financial Reports (GPFFRs). This Statement allows financial presentation and disclosure to accommodate user needs in a manner that does not impede national security.

This Statement permits modifications that do not affect net results of operations or net position. In addition, this Statement allows a component reporting entity to be excluded from one reporting entity and consolidated into another reporting entity, and the effect of the modification may change the net results of operations and/or net position. … [Sounds like the bottom line has to be accurate but some fudging is allowed to mask classified info. –GC]

This Statement applies to federal entities that issue unclassified general purpose federal financial reports (GPFFRs)…

This Statement does not apply to the reporting of financial information within the GPFFR in the classified environment and only applies when the information is presented in the unclassified environment, such as publicly available component reporting entity GPFFRs.

👉 This Statement does not apply to classified GPFFRs provided to cleared personnel, including elected officials. This does not relieve reporting entities from their requirements and responsibilities to comply with other accounting standards in the appropriate classified environment.👈

At 11:30 Fitts says this about Advisory Board statement 56.

….the Trump Administration, the White House and Congress, Senate and House Republican and Democrat all got together and agreed to a little known policy called Federal account in standards Advisory Board statement 56. How’s that for a delicious electric entertaining headline. I call it for short fasbee 56. What fasbee 56 said as a matter of administrative policy agreed to by everybody during the sex scandal that the US government didn’t have to obey the Constitution Provisions for financial management. Didn’t have to obey the laws and regulations. That a secret group of people, by a secret process, that would remain secret, could take portions of the federal government finances and move them outside the financial statements in the budget process, on a secret basis not just for the 24 agencies, but for 150 plus governmental entities. When you combine it with the National Security classification laws, it also applies to the big Banks and defense contractors and other contractors doing [business] with the federal government.

Now let me explain to you what that means as [a] matter of financial disclosure. It means when I look at the US bond market, whether it’s the treasury bond market, the corporate bond market, or most of the large cap stocks their financial disclosure is entirely meaningless. I have no idea what it means. Okay?

Then she gets into bashing DOGE and Elon Musk.

First I want to put up the FACTS. As far as Bitcoin goes, Scott has been educating us on it’s decentralization. With gold, Steve has mentioned that if you do not have the physical gold in your possession, it is back to the old gold smith’s trick of several people ‘owning’ the same gold.

Last is what DOGE is actually doing vs the screaming horror scenarios the Cabal is trying to feed us.

FED Scoop: DOGE’s IT modernization work could start with GAO report

An executive order from Trump this week charged DOGE — which is absorbing the U.S. Digital Service — with leading an initiative “to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.”…

In a report released Thursday, the GAO said that 463 of its 1,881 IT-related recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget and agencies since 2010 haven’t been addressed, creating challenges for the federal government in “effectively acquiring IT and managing IT projects.”

Additionally, the GAO said that 32 of its 69 priority recommendations for government IT over the same time period have also not been enacted. “If the agencies fully implement all recommendations that have not yet been implemented,” the watchdog said, “we estimate they could potentially achieve hundreds of millions in savings.”

A few of the tidbits where Catherine is trying to scare people.

2:12 — Catherine: He [Trump] is unbelievably Pro CBDC as long as privately owned and controlled exactly the stable coins. so yeah right. So let’s let’s discuss that too.

8:55 — To just go to a total control model, where they say you know, because their belief is democracy doesn’t work. So what you know and it’s similar in most of the G7 Nations but I use the United States. We have the bankers, who traditionally controlled monetary policy, and then the people’s Representatives, the legislature that controlled fiscal policy. You know taxation with representation not without. Part of what happened after the deal in 1995 and why they started I think to have what I call a financial coup. They said look this doesn’t work. We the bankers are to take control of fiscal policy. What we’ve been watching and part of what doge is doing is the continual process of stripping away the civil service so the bankers control through corporate contractors. Because that’s part of building the control grid.

22:50 — Catherine: Well here’s my question, because a lot of what they’re doing is focused on plunder. So from my guess from what I can tell, and the best source of information, Wired Magazine🙄 has done a remarkable job of documenting and and describing what DOGE is doing with the IT systems. My guess is they’re just taking the data right? They’re just taking it and moving it into their AI.

23:15 — If you look at musk’s different companies, including the ones he’s out in the market raising capital for, you know you were systematically firing the IGs. Firing the White House ethics office. You know a lot of those IGS were at agencies that are doing investigations or regulatory actions against him or his company. If you look at you know a government special employee such as Musk, [He] is not supposed to be fiddling around in things that cause their business values and private interests to go up. You know from everything I can see they are. I also think they’re literally just taking data and moving it into private Ai and that is going to be unbelievably good for whatever AI you moving [it into] because what AI needs to really build is very high quality data and government data and payment data is remarkable in that respect.

24:45 – Paul: They’re feeding the AI Beast. [This] was the ultimate goal I guess. Indeed. Then to control Society.

24:50 — Catherine: Well. But if you have a server, a government server, that has data on it which is subject to very serious privacy laws and National Security laws and you just bring in an external hard drive, slap it on and then take it out?

Paul: that’s theft.

Catherine: But, it’s criminal right? It’s criminal theft. And if it’s helping your AI, and you’re out raising capital for that company’s AI, you’ve got an AI, X-AI is a company and you’re raising Capital at the same time and the value of your your market value is going up while you’re raising stock that’s a violation of the of the laws related to government special employees. If it’s happening that is a criminal violation.

25:30 – Paul: It’s interesting to see how a lot of alternative media are sort of aligning at the moment with a lot of mainstream media when it comes to the risks and dangers of the policies being implemented at the moment by Trump and Musk and his other Tech Bros.

50:05 — Catherine: Well if you’re pumping out money it’s a way to balloon it. That doesn’t go into the regular indices. It’s kind of you’re building a parallel track. If you look at the genius act which is the act going through Congress to create the regulatory structure for stable coins in the US. It’s all going to be run by the big Banks. I mean if you look at the New York Fed and the banks that own and control the New York Fed and the banks that are going to control the Stable Coin Market, it’s like meet the new boss, same as the old boss. They’re just, here’s the important thing, to understand Paul, if the guys at the New York Fed do a CBC, they are subject to congressional oversight, the rules, regulations and laws that oversee them. That require them to do certain things and provide disclosure. If those same Banks do a CBD I.E programmable money, through stable coins, they are free of Congress.

I will leave it to Scott to refute that bunch of garbage.

This attack I had to laugh at. We have seen the Cabal use a disgruntled family member to smear someone they hate. Looks like Musk has joined the crowd.

33:00 — Catherine: I don’t know. Did you see Elon Musk’s dad just did an interview; quite wild… So Musk’s father gives an interview and he talking about how close the family is to Netanyahu and Netanyahu two years ago in the Biden administration had explained publicly that Elon Musk was the real president LAUGHS.

33:45 – Paul: True fact. Laughs. He’s already being called the co-president right and but it leads to all sorts of anger and fighting also within Trump’s crowd…

They then go on to praise the Chinese.

43:10 — Catherine: If you look at their planning it’s unbelievable. The planning, the plans they publish, they work at it. I mean it’s a very interesting topic because I studied Chinese. I lived in Hong Kong for a years, studied Chinese and I have a lot of thoughts about what makes Chinese culture unattractive, but also what makes it great and and attractive in many ways.

Kevin O’Leary has a completely different take on China.

🔥WOW: Kevin O'Leary ERUPTS at MSNBC host who tries (and FAILS) to PIN HIM for applauding President Trump's pressure campaign against China!

"They cheat, they steal. They don't play by the rules. And I've had enough!"

"I don't care about the volatility. I don't care if Trump… pic.twitter.com/eRZ4wjAetK

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2025

….”They cheat, they steal. They don’t play by the rules. And I’ve had enough!” “I don’t care about the volatility. I don’t care if Trump ratchets it up 25% a day!” MSNBC: “What do you mean you don’t care about volatility? If volatility has a direct impact on us as consumers?!” “Because we have to fix this problem once and for all. It’s killing us! It’s killing small business in America. It’s killing large businesses!”….

The video in the tweet is a very, very interesting 5 minute talk.

At 25 sec O’Leary talks about all the IP (Intellectual Property) the Chinese stole.

At 1:10 the interviewer slides in the BIG LIE. “…China has a system in place, that is ABLE to manipulate the world, its currency and everything else BECAUSE of its totalitarian nature…”

WRONG! China is where it is today BECAUSE they BRIBED CLINTON! Without Clinton OK’s to export military IP, with out Clinton & Bush getting China into the WTO, China would have followed the Soviet Union into oblivion. SEE: Chasing the Dragon: Clinton’s China Policy

ALSO 70 years of Chinese growth in one chart.

At 2 minutes O’Leary gives the solution on how to deal with China. Just as we did with the Soviet Union. Starving peasants are ALWAYS a threat to a totalitarian regime so while the USA has the upper hand we SQUEEZE China.

Catherine on the other hand completely over looks China’s technology theft. ESPECIALLY Google’s helpful hand.

Google’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center in China.

The Hill — Chinese national charged with stealing Google AI secrets

Google, Facebook, Neuralink Sued for Weaponized AI Tech Transfer, Complicity to Genocide in China and Endangering Humanity with Misuse of AI

34:50 — Okay, so let me give you one other example, healthcare was pretty ugly. This is the worst. There is an Australian Think Tank created by the Australian government in 2001 after 911 to track the top Technologies that drive geopolitical and economic power. They tracked 64 of the leading Technologies at the end of the financial, I think 2008, US was the leader in 60 of 64. They just published their 2024 report. I think it was the end of 2023. The US was the leader in seven, China was the leader in 54 and is moving up fast. Now that’s because, if you look at where we’re allocating our capital, we’re not allocating our capital to maintain our leadership in science and technology.

So if you look at the expenses you have in the United States, and the dollar system, you have way too much going to corruption. You have way too much going to subsidizing the centralization of the economy. You have way too much money spent on control. You have way too much money poisoning people and then paying for them to be sick. We either, as a society, have to change the way we allocate capital or basically we’re all going to be governed by the Chinese.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Timestamps from Youtube:

0:00 Intro

2:20 What is the black budget

6:13 Funding a separate breakaway civilization

9:45 DOGE and the black budget

18:28 Is Trump leading America the right way?

20:52 Trump and Musk implementing the control grid

30:25 Trump useful idiot or master?

36:08 The role of technology

38:20 Project 2025

42:50 We need a new culture

47:08 The importance of joyful and productive thoughts, lessons by Mo Gawdat

48:14 CBDC versus stable coins

52:42 Spiritual warfare and gold

TRANSCRIPT FROM YOUTUBE

I cleaned it up a bit and added a few more comments, but I did not have time to do a good job. Two of my trucks broke down on the road this week. I ended up having to borrow a truck from my neighbor for the weekend gigs. The second truck broke down Tuesday and we ended up towing it. — 😱 (Shudder, I was in the towed truck.)

Intro

0:00 –Catherine Fitts: The federal government has been operated as a criminal Enterprise on a financial basis period way outside the law. It has enough money to fund a separate civilization. Our plan had been to win the proxy war by hybrid war in the Ukraine. Get a hold of the Russian resources and maintain our hegemony against China in a unipolar model. Guess what? We failed.

The current Administration was put into place by the bankers to get the control grid

accomplished. Trump can only do what the bankers want him to do. Do you want a global Mafia or the Federal Reserve which is still under the powers of congress?

0:50 — Paul Buitink (Reinvent Money): Hello everybody and welcome back to reinvent money, a podcast about money and power. Back on the show today [is] a former assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the George a Bush Administration and founder of the Solari Report, Catherine Austin Fitts. Welcome back to the show Catherine.

1:05 — Catherine: Hey Paul it’s wonderful to be back. I love you, I love your company.

1:10 –Paul: Thanks so much. Yeah, last time we actually recorded at your place in frand [?] wonderful location. This time we do it online. Looking forward to catching up with you because [there is] just so much going on and we cannot possibly discuss all the major events in one podcast. So let’s just focus on two things that are near and dear to you.

On the one hand on the one I would like to discuss the black budget with you because you’ve been writing about that for so long that every year billions disappear from the US budget into. it’s trillions it’s trillions that crazy.

Catherine: Trillions yeah

Paul: So I was wondering if Doge, Musk and his ilk can actually shed some light on on the black budget and whether we can find out what’s going on there. or what do you think?

2:00 — That’s not going to happen so that’s one topic and the other topic is the CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency] because you are very skeptical and you find CBDC a very dangerous Prospect. Then Trump is also against CBDC so I was wondering how do you resonate with that.

2:12 — Catherine: He’s unbelievably Pro CBDC as long as privately owned and controlled exactly the stable coins. so yeah right. So let’s let’s discuss that too. But let’s [start with] What is the black budget.

2:20 — Paul: First talk about the black budget could you? First explain to our viewers what exactly is the black budget.

2:30 — Catherine: So the black budget started at the end of world War I [I think she means WWII] with the 47 and 49 act in the United States where a process was set up to to fund a secret infrastructure for highly classified projects by the military and intelligence. At first there was money that was seized at the end of World War II and that was a portion of the funding but there were also ongoing activities including clawing money out of Appropriations made to other agencies that was used for black projects. You had one Congressional committee which would oversee the quote unquote black budget and as that money grew and then was made eligible for providing contracts to private corporations. So bringing private companies in to do these highly classified projects and pay for it. From essentially issuing treasury bonds and borrowing money. You know you created a direct linkage on classified projects between the ability to borrow as much as you wanted globally and the stock market is the only way I can describe it. The securities market. So the black budget grew and grew and then something happened. We had a budget deal in 1995. There was a big effort by the central Bankers to get the US governmental process on a more balanced budget and a financially responsible trajectory with respect to retirement savings.

3:50 — The budget deal exploded. The government shut down. There was a big fight. And as later described to me by the largest head of the largest pension fund in the country, we’ve given up on the country. We’re moving all the money out starting in the fall and that was the fall of October 1997. The beginning of the 1998 fiscal year, when literally trains of money started to disappear. By 2001 there was $4 trillion missing.

On September 10, 2001, Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of DOD,which is one of the agencies where the majority of money was going missing, did a press conference and said there’s 2.3 trillion missing from the Department of defense.

I was working with a reporter on a story that was going to publish that Friday. A cover story going gratis to all the Senate and Congressional desks explaining about all the money that was disappearing from the federal government. We called it the missing money. I made the mistake of saying to the reporter, nothing will stop this story from going viral and then we know what happened. What happened the next day is several buildings holding all the records of that $4 trillion dollars got blown up and we were Off to the Races with great Appropriations and the war on terror.

5:00 — but the money kept going missing, missing, missing. I kept covering it for many years and so a process began. The largest amount that went missing in any year was in 2015. That was 6.5 trillion, A professor from Michigan State University heard me talking about it and said you know, what can I do to help? I had him and his students do a survey of DOD the two agencies where the majority of money had gone missing.

5:30 — He came back and found 21 trillion missing. I had it up to 12 trillion and he increased it by 9 trillion. Essentially you know what everybody says. Well where’s the money going and we can engage in conjecture on that.

But clearly part of the problem was that trying to finance the black budget and a whole parallel universe of the sort of weaponry and intelligence and Military infrastructure was getting more and more painful. When 911 happened they passed the Patriot Act that made it much easier to get on budget money into the black budget but it kept ballooning. As some of us described it, it was enough money to fund a separate civilization.

You know essentially people saying we can’t operate within this Democratic Machinery. We have to fund and build a secret infrastructure outside the government. So we called it the Breakaway civilization. Literally. You know you funded a very significant infrastructure. One way of looking at what’s happening now is the Breakaway civilization is breaking back in.

6:40 – Paul: And how does it manifest itself this Breakaway civilization? How how can we recognize that? How is it being built?

7:00 – Catherine: So for example in two or three years ago I sat down and I spent two years with one of the best researchers I know. We tried to estimate how many underground bases there were just in the United States alone. And in the oceans immediately outside of the United States. We estimated 170 and that of course is the platform for all sorts of activities that you want to keep secret. you know including some of the things you may or may not be doing in space so so and there was a wonderful group, there were two people at the Washington Post I think 2010, 2012 that did a big study they made a database of all the secret facilities and all the facilities that had been financed through the Patriot Act or after the Patriot Act.

7:35 — It was called Top Secret America and you saw this enormous explosion of money going for these activities. Part of the thing to understand Paul, is this explosion of secret and invisible activities, are the money is not often spent productively. You get an enormous corporate infrastructure which is financially dependent on this money. Then you get huge lobbyists and constituents depending on this money. The next thing you know everybody’s in the defense and the national security business and everybody’s making money from secrecy. It was very interesting.

8:11 — I’ve had a couple of interactions in the last 20 to 30 years with various groups who [are] inside the Machinery. Who decide okay we’re going to reduce the secrecy. They work through the different liabilities, Financial liabilities because you’ve transferred so much powerful technology, ownership of technology, to private companies without reimbursing the taxpayers. Or you’ve stolen so much money.

they can’t figure out how to let the secrecy down. It’s one of the things I think that’s driving the administration and all the US administrations, and around the world.

8:55 — To just go to a total control model, where they say you know, because their belief is democracy doesn’t work. So what you know and it’s similar in most of the G7 Nations but I use the United States. We have the bankers, who traditionally controlled monetary policy, and then the people’s Representatives, the legislature that controlled fiscal policy. You know taxation with representation not without. Part of what happened after the deal in 1995 and why they started I think to have what I call a financial coup. They said look this doesn’t work. We the bankers are to take control of fiscal policy. What we’ve been watching and part of what doge is doing is the continual process of stripping away the civil service so the bankers control through corporate contractors.

9:40 – Paul: Right?

Catherine: Because that’s part of building the control grid.

🇺🇸 REP. MIKE LAWLER: DOGE IS DOING A TURBOCHARGED FORENSIC AUDIT OF THE ENTIRE GOVT

“We’re spending $86 trillion over 10 years—and we’re $36 trillion in debt.

That’s $1T a year just on interest.

DOGE is digging through every department.

This is a real audit.

It’s been… https://t.co/zoRdpN22b9 pic.twitter.com/lmPB41912m

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 11, 2025

DOGE and the black budget

Paul: Because on the one hand you could argue DOGE is for example bringing Full transparency when it comes to USAid. They are trying to make it clear to the American public and the whole world basically how the money is being spent in the US on a government level. But they also were going to check out the DOD. Right?

10:10 — Some of the expenses within DOD. But you don’t think in the end DOGE could play a role in trying to uncover all these black budget expenses.

New @DOGE findings, this time it’s $5.1 billion. pic.twitter.com/vHRnDHZSUS

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) April 10, 2025

10:15 — Catherine: So let me, because we can make some things very simple. This is something we can make very simple. When the professor from Michigan State University, Dr Skidmore, and I published this big study in 2017 saying there’s 21 trillion missing. You know of undocumented adjustments in the government. Of course the question was, was I part of a group of people in the first Bush Administration, [Who] got laws passed to have audited financial statements? The reason we know there’s 21 trillion missing is every year they said we can’t publish financial statements as required by law and here are the undocumented adjustments. Right? so they failed to comply with the most basic constitutional and legislative requirements of how we run the federal government.

11:00 — [The federal government] has been operated as a Criminal Enterprise on a financial basis period. Way outside the law. So there was a big sort of hullabaloo in Washington while whereby everybody the treasury DOD and HUD were dancing around about how they were going to explain why they couldn’t produce audits for 20 years. How they were going to keep saying well next year we’ll do it, okay? So the resolution of that big debate, Paul, was in October 2018.

11:30 — Do you remember when we had Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh? And America spent a week exploring the teenage sex life of Judge Kavanaugh. During that time interestingly enough the Trump Administration, the White House and Congress, Senate and House Republican and Democrat all got together and agreed to a little-known policy called Federal account in standards Advisory Board statement 56. How’s that for a delicious electric entertaining headline. I call it for short fasbee 56. What fasbee 56 said as a matter of administrative policy agreed to by everybody during the sex scandal that the US government didn’t have to obey the Constitution Provisions for financial management. Didn’t have to obey the laws and regulations. That a secret group of people, by a secret process, that would remain secret, could take portions of the federal government finances and move them outside the financial statements in the budget process, on a secret basis not just for the 24 agencies, but for 150 plus governmental entities. When you combine it with the National Security classification laws, it also applies to the big Banks and defense contractors and other contractors doing [business] with the federal government.

13:00 — Now let me explain to you what that means as [a] matter of financial disclosure. It means when I look at the US bond market, whether it’s the treasury bond market, the corporate bond market, or most of the large cap stocks their financial disclosure is entirely meaningless. I have no idea what it means. Okay?

13:15 — Now the first thing if you’re serious and you’re Doge and you want to know. I think their number one goal is to cut current expenditures and try and help get the model back in economic balance. We need to talk about the real issues that need to be faced and dealt with. I think that’s part of what they’re doing. The first thing you would have said is, you know something? We’re going to resind fasbee 56. Not a word. Go over to X. Everybody’s saying, why aren’t you doing anything about fasbee 56? Why aren’t you saying anything about the 21 trillion? Mum’s the Word okay? But remember fasbee 56 was done by the first Trump Administration. So here’s what DOGE is doing.

14:11 — One of the most important interviews at the beginning of the administration is Secretary of State Rubio gave an interview and he said uh we’re no longer a unipolar model it’s now a multi-polar world and we have to adjust to a multi-polar world. Okay You’re talking about an enormous change because we’re taking the old Bretton Wood system that was adapted for the Petro dollar and is now adapted to the debt dollar. And you’re saying okay, the revenues minus expenses don’t work. We’re running at an unacceptable trade and budget deficit our plan had been to win the proxy war by hybrid war in the Ukraine get a hold of the Russian resources and maintain our hegemony against China in a unipolar model. Guess what we failed. So Trump’s trying to put a happy face on guess what we lost. Right? There’s no happy face but he’s trying and that’s what Rubio is trying to do.

15:02 — So now that you can’t strip out and get cheap oil and gas and resources and commodities going east. [Russia] What are you talking about? You’re talking about Greenland, Canada, Mexico, the Panama Canal. You’re talking about going north & south right? But well. you’re trying to get the revenues back in balance. You’re trying to get the trade of the Commodities you want and need to run the global Empire Back in Balance. So you’re asking Europe to pay more. So whether you’re trying to get the revenues up or the expenses down, and they’re trying to do both, they’re trying to re-calibrate the model and any administration would have to do this.

15:49 – And one of their biggest problems is (she laughs) that one of the reasons the expenses have ballooned, is you’ve been paying people to go along with what you’re doing. So the American population is basically, here’s a check, sit down, shut up, and don’t ask questions. Whether it’s hiring a lot more people on defense contractors or giving everybody a check not to work, you know the lack of productivity has gone up up up up up. Healthcare expenses have ballooned because everybody’s sick. So your health care’s gone down okay?

So you have a whole layer of unproductive spending but then you have a layer of corruption. The corruption is absolutely in the old model and the new model and it is off the charts.

16:40 — The problem is the people who have been getting that money, They have the ability to kill people. They have the ability to destroy you. They have the ability to you know, I mean their covert operations capacity is enormous. When you look at a group of Mafia who are getting their cash flows cut and their security clearances canceled you know they get very angry and mad. So you’ve got a war going on.

17:00 You know it’s really funny because one of the latest Gallup poll charts, do you ever watch the Gallup Poll charts?

Paul: Sometimes yeah but not consistently.

Catherine: Well there’s the latest one. [It] says the question is: Is the country going in the right direction? They’re asking the Americans. The Republicans go from saying 10% saying it’s going in the right direction. Trump wins and immediately Rises to 68%. If you look at the Democrats they’re at 40% and then they dive to 5%. So it’s a huge spread. I’ve been trying very hard to listen to each group and each group is embroiled in lots of different issues. On some issues they have good Intelligence, on other issues they’re as stupid as a rock. It’s frightening but neither of them see the control grid being engineered and snapping into place. It’s like they’re both asleep to their real dangers. It’s frightening because the inability to compute and get a good map of what’s going on, let alone what to do about it, Is, I’ve never seen it lower in the United States than it is now.

18:20 — Paul: It’s become increasingly difficult of course to understand what’s going on because, the world is getting so complex. At the same time there’s more tools available right now than ever before to understand what’s going on. Do you believe Trump leading America the right way? On balance that America is heading the right way? After two months of Trump? Or are you. because I know you’ve always been skeptical about him, and quite a few of his team members. You like a few others, for example like Kennedy. But you’ve always been highly skeptical about Musk for example. But do you think America is going the right way or only getting worse from here?

19:00 — Catherine: So my goal, you know, if there’s anything we love at Solari it’s Freedom. So our tagline is actionable intelligence for Free Inspired Life. We want you to be free, right? That’s what we want and I believe you can’t be free unless we’re all free. So it’s an all or nothing kind of thing. I believe in a world where you have free speech and and relatively free flow of capital. That’s where entrepreneurs solve a lot of the problems that plague us. People figure it out in their daily lives So our focus is on sovereignty. Individual sovereignty. Government sovereignty and freedom.

19:25 — I would say that the current Administration was put into place by the bankers to get the control grid accomplished. The last group couldn’t accomplish the control grid. This group is doing a remarkable job of implementing the control grid at high speed and and marketing it. I would say both the Democratic and Republican side do not see the digital concentration camp snapping into place around them and it’s shocking.

19:55 — Paul: It’s like a new tech right? That’s being rolled out in front of our eyes.

20:00 — Catherine: It’s not technocracy it’s slavery. I mean I think it’ll have a different face and feeling in Europe than in the United States. But in the United States we’re talking about slavery and and we’re talking about you know, I have is we don’t need soft power anymore because with drones and robots and invisible weaponry and surveillance systems you know we can use hard power very cheaply and economically. And if you look at some of the things that have been happening in the United States with using hard power to basically kill people and take their lands you know this is very dangerous.

21:00 – Paul: Yeah, but Trump and Musk implementing the control grid at the same time you do favor smaller government so with Trump slashing Department of of Education like having costs and also um sending away lots of bureaucrats, it should make the federal government smaller. So that would align them with your view of more individual freedom is that correct?

21:15 — Catherine: No. No not at all, because if you look at the control structures being put into place, and the money being put behind them, you’re going to have significantly less [freedom] It looks to me, like it’s too early to tell, but it looks to me like they’re planning on leaving the control pieces of the US government in place to control.

21:35 – Paul:Right, so they’re symbolically slashing certain costs, but at the same time our freedom is being heavily reduced on other fronts,

21:40 — Catherine: Right. If you look at many of the things there, if you said to me okay go into Washington and dramatically reduce current expenditures in a way that’s good for the country, and healthy for the country, I would be reducing many of the same things, although I would be doing it a way where it would stick and not attract Court opposition. So you know, you’re the administration went in and said we want shock and awe. They’re purposefully cutting in ways that are illegal and causing great backlash in the courts. The question is why? Are they doing it that way? they clearly intend to do it that way. They want to do it that way. It doesn’t have to be done that way. It can be done totally legally. Quickly you know. It’s the difference between do you want to do neurosurgery with a scalpel or with a hacksaw. If your doing it with a hacksaw I don’t think you’re planning on the patient living.

22:45 – Paul: So they want the patient to die. Then with what glowing Minds do. Then resurrect something.

22:50 — Catherine: Well here’s my question, because a lot of what they’re doing is focused on plunder. So from my guess from what I can tell, and the best source of information Wired Magazine has done a remarkable job of documenting and and describing what DOGE is doing with the IT systems. My guess is they’re just taking the data right? They’re just taking it and moving it into their AI.

23:15 — If you look at musk’s different companies, including the ones he’s out in the market raising capital for, you know you were systematically firing the IGs. Firing the White House ethics office. You know a lot of those IGS were at agencies that are doing investigations or regulatory actions against him or his company. If you look at you know a government special employee such as Musk, [He] is not supposed to be fiddling around in things that cause their business values and private interests to go up. You know from everything I can see they are. I also think they’re literally just taking data and moving it into private Ai and that is going to be unbelievably good for whatever AI you moving [it into] because what AI needs to really build is very high quality data and government data and payment data is remarkable in that respect.

24:10 — Now the DOGE is making a great effort to persuade you there was terrible corruption in the systems and there is terrible waste. Clearly if 21 trillion is missing you know you have all sorts of strategies to get that money missing so I’m not trying to say that the old system was right because there was a massive Financial coup going on. But if you look at what DOGE is doing it looks to me like they are basically stripping data and privatizing it in the just do-it method.

24:45 – Paul: They’re feeding the AI Beast. [This] was the ultimate goal I guess. Indeed. Then to control Society.

24:50 — Catherine: Well. But if you have a server, a government server, that has data on it which is subject to very serious privacy laws and National Security laws and you just bring in an external hard driver, slap it on and then take it out?

Paul: that’s theft.

Catherine: But, it’s criminal right? It’s criminal theft. And if it’s helping your AI, and you’re out raising capital for that company’s AI, you’ve got an AI, X-AI is a company and you’re raising Capital at the same time and the value of your your market value is going up while you’re raising stock that’s a violation of the of the laws related to government special employees. If it’s happening that is a criminal violation.

25:30 – Paul: It’s interesting to see how a lot of alternative media are sort of aligning at the moment with a lot of mainstream media when it comes to the risks and dangers of the policies being implemented at the moment by Trump and Musk and his in his other Tech Bros.

25:50 — Catherine: So you know this is what makes it complicated. If you look at what needs to be done in terms of re-engineering the model? It’s hard work. It’s not easy. So if you look at what Trump is trying to do. It’s not easy. and he is trying to do it. He is trying to change the model.

26:10 — Catherine: Now my concern is the big racketeering. So somebody stole the 21 trillion. Now we’re stealing all the data, okay. And the courts are pushing back. But the big steal is what Howard Lutnick the Secretary of Commerce described as $500 trillion of land and mineral resources owned by the federal government. So if you think the Federal government has 36 trillion of debt, you know that’s pretty tiny compared to $500 trillion of land and mineral assets. Unfortunately my concern is that this group of people is really looking to privatize and steal that. We’re looking at a group of people building up to the biggest land grab in history.

26:55 – Paul: So they driving down the economy to the bottom in order to then seize the opportunity to, you got it, Buy assets on the cheap.

27:00 — Catherine: Well, my question is are are they systematically… Now, if you look at some of the things. You know tariffs or other things, the president is trying to do. He wants to move manufacturing back to the United States. And you need the dollar to come down and you need a variety of reasons for it to be cost effective to move back. So I’m not saying he’s necessarily doing those things to cause a recession, but if you look at a whole bunch of stuff that’s going on, it looks to me like we’re building up into you know a real potential reset down. So, for example, if you look at all the growth in GDP for quite a while now, it’s come from deficit financing. right? In the United States. so I don’t know. It looks to me, if you look at what the shock and awe strategy is and I don’t know the answer. The shock and awe strategy is designed to dismantle a portion of the government and the economy in a way that you could get a very significant recession.

28:15 — I mean here’s the biggest question on the economy. It comes down to the fight over the HHS appointees. So HHS is the Health and Human Services. If you look at the 2025 federal budget, the military budget, not the black budget, but the military budget is $857 billion. The Medicaid and Medicare, the health care budget is $1.8 trillion. So it’s more than double the cost of running a global Military. okay and that has ballooned. If we went back to 2010 disability levels, Paul, we would save $500 trillion a year on the budget. So when Kennedy went through his confirmation hearing and he said we have a chronic epidemic, we have an epidemic of chronic illness among the children. You know he uses the number, I think 54% of kids, have have chronic illnesses. The pediatrician I most trust says it’s up in the 70s because most kids can’t afford to get properly tested. So America is being poisoned. I don’t know if you’ve been to America recently, but literally America is being poisoned. It’s not one thing it’s many things. What Kennedy has been fighting for is to get into HHS and really turn it around. Step one being bringing transparency to what is causing Health to decline. Right now we spend almost double what the next industrialized country spends on healthcare. $135,000 per person. Everybody’s just walking around poisoned.

30:00 — So if you’re going to turn the budget around you need a plan. If you look at what just happened with the number two person going into CDC, Kennedy’s nomination got thrown out and killed. The White House had to withdraw it. If you look at who they’re putting in it says full on control grid. You know mRNA technology is going to poison another round of people. it’s bad.

30:30 – Paul: What’s Trump’s Role in all this? is he like just a useful idiot? Is Trump a useful idiot or a master?

30:37 — Catherine: He also one of the Masters behind this strategy. So he’s doing. It I mean if you if you look at his announcement for the Stargate initiative several days into the administration it was 500 billion for data centers. You know ostensibly private investment, but if you look at where it’s really coming from it’s coming from government and mRNA technology for everybody even though we’ve proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that mRNA technology is poison and kills.

31:05 — So you know now what I try and explain to people is the fundamentals of how the US government works. Okay so every week the New York Fed and the primary dealers of which Howard luton’s firm was one of them, 24 primary dealers go out in the market and they borrow money and they put it in the New York Fed. The New York Fed is the depository for the US government. So treasury, the agency, say they have their bank accounts in the New York Fed or the New York Fed member banks as agents. Those member banks of course own and control the New York Fed. So they put the money in Treasury and Teasury spends the money. The last month, I think it was February, our total deficit was bigger than 100% of our revenues. Okay? So we’re really dependent on the Fed borrowing and putting that money in. Now we could talk about the fact that we don’t need a debt based currency but let’s leave that for another day.

32:00 — Catherine: You know, so there’s a bit of a ruse here. But the minute the New York Fed stops doing that. everything stops okay? so day to day week to week the federal government is 100% dependent on the New York Fed. Now at the beginning of the administration a reporter from Politico asked the chairman of the Fed, Jay Powell, if Trump wants you to resign will you. He said no. The reporter said well can Trump fire you? He said no. [LAUGH} Trump can only do what the bankers want him to do. So he can go for 24 hours without the bankers.

32:50 – Paul: yeah? So Trump has the bankers and his Tech oligarchy basically setting the agenda and defining what’s going to happen in the US.

33:00 — Catherine: I don’t know. Did you see Elon Musk’s dad just did an interview; quite wild. I don’t know if you saw it.

33:05 – Paul: No there. I know they don’t see each other, but what did he say?

33:10 — Catherine: So we’re going to use a clip of this. We’re just about to record our first quarter wrap up. We’re going to use– we have Great Clips on everything. The big story we’re going to do is Trump, the first 70 days. you know we got tons of clips and stories and everything. So Musk’s father gives an interview and he talking about how close the family is to Netanyahu and Netanyahu two years ago in the Biden administration had explained publicly that Elon Musk was the real president LAUGH.

33:45 – Paul: True fact. Laughs. He’s already being called the co-president right and but it leads to all sorts of anger and fighting also within Trump’s crowd. So sooner or later some people will…

33:50 — Catherine: You look like I’m giving you a headache.

34:00 – Paul: Yeah, It’s such a mess. [Both Laughing]

34:05 — Catherine: No, you know something? It’s not a mess. In other words what we need to do is distill the complexity down and see the basic simple phenomenons of what’s happening because it all comes down to revenues, expenses, and assets. You need your revenues to go up, and you need your expenses to go down. Part of it is we the United States the dollar system have been running the greatest misallocation of capital in the history of Western civilization.

34:30 — You know that because you have a very wonderful and successful gold company and you were right at the heart of trying to help people find real solutions to deal with that massive misallocation of capital, right?

34:50 — Okay, so let me give you one other example, healthcare was pretty ugly. This is the worst. There is an Australian Think Tank created by the Australian government in 2001 after 911 to track the top Technologies that drive geopolitical and economic power. They tracked 64 of the leading Technologies at the end of the financial, I think 2008, US was the leader in 60 of 64. They just published their 2024 report. I think it was the end of 2023. The US was the leader in seven, China was the leader in 54 and is moving up fast. Now that’s because, if you look at where we’re allocating our capital, we’re not allocating our capital to maintain our leadership in science and technology.

So if you look at the expenses you have in the United States, and the dollar system, you have way too much going to corruption. You have way too much going to subsidizing the centralization of the economy. You have way too much money spent on control. You have way too much money poisoning people and then paying for them to be sick. We either, as a society, have to change the way we allocate capital or basically we’re all going to be governed by the Chinese.

36:00 — Paul: I guess that’s also where people like the role of technology. Musk and Peter Thiel would agree with you that the US needs to invest more into technology and science and AI and robots. I guess they would like to achieve that goal by slashing unnecessary expenses and by focusing on technology.

36:25 — Catherine: So I think technology is important. However I would say it’s not number one. Here’s why one of the things I love about some of the people Trump has brought in is they think and function entrepreneurally. We do. If you look at the old model, if you look at corruption 1.0 or dollar model 1.0 you know it got very sluggish, very slow moving. So we need something much more responsive to the future. Much more hopeful. Much more building wealth. A lot of them talk a very good game on these topics. It breaks down when you get into the reality of where their money’s really going. What’s really happening because what we’re seeing is the solution is, okay, we’re here now. So we get to control. I’ll never forget when I was I was having a meeting with the cabinet secretary I was working for when I was in the Bush Administration. We wanted to propose a new housing platform and we brought in two guys who were the top guys in the Housing Industry. Who’d led this Commission on how we should reinvigorate housing in America and they had proposed lots of decentralization. The secretary wanted a lot of centralization of course, because that’s how you get political contributions. You centralize control and then everybody’s got to come into you and give you political contributions and there you go and so one of them said said well Mr secretary I thought you Republicans you believed in decentralization and local whatever.

38:10 — The secretary had this little assistant who’d come in from Heritage Foundation. It is one of the conservative think tanks and he was very kind of chipper. He said yeah, yeah, but we’re here now,

38:20 – Paul: Right. It’s always the same thing, Right? I mean the Heritage Foundation was also authoring this project 2025 right ? Is that something that’s being rolled out?

38:40 — Catherine: I’ve not read it, but my understanding is a lot of the things they’re doing was envisioned by that. And of course the leader of that has come-in a very important position.

……

[Kevin Roberts, was the Project leader and is now president of Heritage Foundation.]

NY Mag: All of the Trump Cabinet Picks That Have Ties to Project 2025

[No Shit Sherlock, It was a collection of CONSERVATIVE articles, brainstorming type articles.🙄 Only the Demon-rats could blow it into some type of crisis.

People named in that NY Mag article.

J. D. Vance is a longtime friend and collaborator with foundation president and Project 2025 architect Kevin D. Roberts.

Brendan Carr, the FCC chair. authored the FCC chapter.

Pete Hoekstra, nominated U.S. ambassador to Canada. It’s not clear how he contributed, but the Department of Education chapter cites a critical report he authored in Congress on the Department.

Russell Vought is one of the architects of Project 2025, and he wrote the Mandate for Leadership’s Executive Office chapter, which proposes a sweeping transformation of the federal bureaucracy to eliminate the independence of federal agencies and consolidate and expand the president’s executive power.

Tom Homan is one of the many people listed as contributors to Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, but it’s not clear how he contribute.

Karoline Leavitt, appears in a previously unpublished 30-minute video entitled “The Art of Professionalism.”

Also Steven Miller and John Ratcliffe are named in the article.]
……

38:45 — Catherine: So let me just mention what’s number one. If technology is not number one, what’s number one. If you’re going to run a global system, you have to have a culture that can run a global system. You have to have a culture. I used to have an ally [who] would say, a culture is the integration of the Divine and everyday life. I went back to him and I said John Edward Hurley you forgot to mention culture can be the integration of the Demonic in everyday life. [Laughs]

39:15 — If you’re going to run a global dollar system, monetary, financial markets, trade, or you’re going to be a critical power in the multi-polar world, you have to have a culture that is up to the task. And what in 1998, I had a choice of either walking out of the establishment purposely, or or going back in and I decided to walk out. Part of that decision was to then litigate with the Department of Justice for another 12 – 13 years. Or well litigate for eight years and then fight with the IRS for 4 Years. Anyway I decided to walk out because I said look for real solutions in the wilderness than to be part of something that was going to fail. I was sure the unipolar model that they were often running was going to fail. I wouldn’t have said it to you this way in 1998, but I’ll say it to you now. They didn’t have the culture that was necessary to succeed at doing that. They couldn’t.

40:30 — it’s what Sergey Lavrov said. The Americans are not agreement capable. It’s because they don’t have a culture. Now if you look at the people who designed the strategy that failed, the neocons, they’re the ones who are ransacking the government right now? So the country lost. But you know they still think they’re going to win because they’re going to get the plunder.

40:45 – Paul: What kind of culture do you need then?

41:00 – Catherine:I think..I remember when I was a little girl growing up in a family that really believed in the great game of civilization. We would talk about what it was like to build a cathedral, to design and build a cathedral that would take longer than your lifetime to build. To envision that. To be happy to do that. Having those kind of long-term lead times and having a culture where people could cooperate on the enormous things that we needed to do. So I was brought up in two different families, but both families were very involved in and they would compete. They were very, particularly my father’s family, they were very competitive about who’s done the most for civilization this year and know.

41:50 — So my father came back from the war. They moved the hospital he was an intern with over to the China-Burma theater during the war. When he came back he was commissioned to redesign the emergency rooms for the entire country. So he spent years doing that and being really proud of how many lives and they would literally compete, he and his brothers how many lives did you save? How many lives did we save. That was their metric. Not how much money did you make in the stock market, in the crypto Market, it’s like how many lives did you save this year. So my uncle got him back. He got the first transplant center set up in South Carolina. My grandfather had started a clinic in Jackson Tennessee which then became the hospital. Then they decided they weren’t good enough. He and his partner closed it down went up to the Mayo clinic. When they came back they brought antibiotics to Tennessee. They had a cousin in the legislature and they got antibiotics authorized by the legislature. And again it was like your grandfather saved thousands of lives with antibiotics. What have you done today?

43:00 – Paul: In a way the US can learn from Chinese Culture. A culture to have a long-term focus. To think more about the community and then just yourself. Of course there’s a lot to complain about Chinese culture and and the centralized control they have, but they do have a long-term Focus that they are able to do right.

43:10 — Catherine: If you look at their planning it’s unbelievable. The planning, the plans they publish, they work at it. I mean it’s a very interesting topic because I studied Chinese. I lived in Hong Kong for a years, studied Chinese and I have a lot of thoughts about what makes Chinese culture unattractive, but also what makes it great and and attractive in many ways.

43:30 — If you want to think about this issue, there’s quite a growing movie industry in China. [So] watch Wandering Earth One and Two. Watch[ing] the comparisons in Wandering Two is particularly good. You have the human race, [who] believes that the sun is going to fail and they come up with a project. A centuries long project to move the Earth out of the solar system to a new Sun. Okay?

44:05 – Paul: It sounds a bit like [what] Elon Musk [is] trying but then of course much bigger.

44:10 — Catherine: It’s called the Wandering Earth. The Chinese end up taking the lead to make this happen because the Americans can’t maintain a long-term project. They can’t get out of the short-term political mode and into taking responsibility to build civilization. There’s one great line, where the Chinese leader, who’s amazing a wonderful, wonderful guy, typical Chinese Mandarin. He says in the face of Crisis there is only responsibility. I said tell that to the Americans.

44:50 — Paul: But I guess that’s also the point, that guys like Peter Thiel and Musk make. That they believe that democracy is not going to work because it’s only leads to a loss of freedom and also a slowing down of the economy. If you have more of a technocracy in place then you should be able to achieve better outcomes for the economy.

45:10 — Catherine: Forget. If you look at trying to do things with that kind of digital control it’s not only environmentally very damaging and energy wasteful it’s so anti- Innovation. I could talk about this forever it’s a lose, lose, lose, lose. It’s total Yaya. Although the guys who end up controlling can make a fortune. So if you want to centralize ownership. Control of everything, Bravo. But there are ways of getting from here to there if we need to evolve our culture and our civilization, there are ways of getting there from here that don’t require technocracy.

45:50 – Paul: I like your road better than their road to be honest. I hope we can achieve it.

46:00 — Catherine: Let me get back to our goal. Why do I live in Netherlands half the year?

46:03– Paul: Because you like it over here?

46:05 — Catherine: So I always say… You know because I love Switzerland and I love the Swiss. I always say the Dutch or the Swiss in a good mood. If you look at the Swiss, if you look at the Dutch history and culture what they’ve achieved and how they’ve achieved and what their culture is compared to the Americans, you know there’s a reason they get things done. Half the people at Solari are Dutch.

46:35 – Paul: We know how to get things done. We like business. We like trade. We like freedom of course. We invented the capitalist model basically.

46:45 — Catherine: Right, but you have a way of maintaining your state of amusement all the time you’re focused on productive action. Productive action.

46:50 — Catherine: I’ve just finished reading a book by a guy I’m going to mispronounce his name named Mo Gawdat, it’s g a w d a t. Do you know who he is? … He was the chief business officer at Google. As soon as he came to understand AI he immediately quit and completely changed his life. He’s got a new book. I was reading it and it says your thoughts should either be joyful or productive.

47:30 — If you you find your in negative thinking and one of the things I do because I spend so much time every week trying to understand current events and how they fit into the long-term trend and what it means to you and me that you know it can get very negative yeah ex exactly yeah so if you find yourself in a negative Loop say to yourself it’s got to be productive or joyful. When I’m looking at really ugly things, like some of the people, I mean if you look around the planet there’s a lot of genocide going on, it’s very ugly. Sometimes I can’t get to joyful, it’s just too ugly. But I can say there’s no point in not being productive. I can get to productive. Then from there if I get something done I can get to joyful.

48:10 – Paul: that’s a very smart way to live. We also wanted to talk a little bit about CBDC versus stable coins. Because you already mentioned earlier that the debt-based dollar system is of course changing but it’s still being maintained. It’s still the hegemonic currency but it seems like they need the stable coins as the next way to maintain the dollar dominance. The status quo right?

48:40 – Catherine: And it’s very clever. Remember in Iraq when they would send pallets of cash to get everybody off the dinar. They just hand out cash all over Iraq or whatever they were doing. I mean it was billions and billions of dollars of pallets of cash just going to Iraq. So the stable coins are going to be the digital equivalent of the pallets of cash in Iraq. What you are going to try and do is get every person around the world who you can reach through a mobile phone to get on the dollar. You’re going to try to massively build the market share of the dollar and if you can engage Google pay, Apple pay, Visa, Mastercard — all these people — you can literally afford to give away massive amounts of dollars just to get them on the dollar right? So you can go to extraordinary lengths to build out the market share. That’s what they are using stable coins to do. As they do it they can use stable coins to do what they used to use the hedge funds for which is to balloon their balance sheet and they buy more and more treasuries and that keeps the treasury market going.

49:55 – Paul: I saw this week Tether was the 7th largest buyer of US treasuries in that particular week. It’s like the biggest stable coin. It’s already one of the biggest buyers of treasuries at the moment.

50:05 — Catherine: Well if you’re pumping out money it’s a way to balloon it. That doesn’t go into the regular indices. It’s kind of you’re building a parallel track. If you look at the genius act which is the act going through Congress to create the regulatory structure for stable coins in the US. It’s all going to be run by the big Banks. I mean if you look at the New York Fed and the banks that own and control the New York Fed and the banks that are going to control the Stable Coin Market, it’s like meet the new boss, same as the old boss. They’re just, here’s the important thing, to understand Paul, if the guys at the New York Fed do a CBC, they are subject to congressional oversight, the rules, regulations and laws that oversee them. That require them to do certain things and provide disclosure. If those same Banks do a CBD I.E programmable money, through stable coins, they are free of Congress,

51:05 – Paul: But if they would, because of the big fear people have of course is with CBDC you have centralized control. People are afraid that at some point it could lead to government’s censoring their expenses or programming their money. When we use stable coins, it’s a little bit more dispersed. A little bit more decentralized.

51:30 — Catherine: Totally, centrally, controlled, but privately with no obligations to the citizen or the Congress or anybody else. So their basically completely out of control. They are not subject to FOIA. They are not subject to reporting. They are not subject to disclosure.

Do you want a global Mafia or the Federal Reserve which is still under the powers of congress. Which do you want?

51:55 – Paul: I would then choose the Federal Reserve.

52:00 – Catherine: I hate to say it this is the first thing I’ve ever seen anybody do that made the FED look good. [Laughs]

52:05 – Paul: That takes something.

52:10 – Catherine: If you come into Solari, we have a panel called video shorties and one of the first playlists is financial transaction freedom. The first three videos are the ones I always show people to help them understand what’s going on. One of them is the president in the Minneapolis Fed saying you know Americans would be crazy to let this happened. CBDCs are terrible, but you know we’ll lose taxation you know they’ll just take the taxes out of our bank account. You don’t want this. So the Fed, you know the FED is slow walking this whole thing, because they know, they can’t really do this unless they get out from under Congress.

52:45 – Paul: So if you could, if you would choose between CBDC, and stable coins everywhere in the US, even you would also choose CBC.

52:55 — Nope, you’re not going to, you can’t make me. [choose between them.]

So you know and this is really funny, because this has happened to me when I was litigating with the Department of Justice. I was told it was hopeless. I had no chanc.e I was going to you know I was going to die. I was going to live in poverty. And um uh and I studied for two and a half years spiritual warfare at a wonderful church. I mean I really got an immersive course in spiritual warfare and what you learn in spiritual warfare? There’s a concept of just standing. When it’s absolutely hopeless and there’s no way you just stand on God’s word. And what happens to you I swear, I wouldn’t have believed it, and I wouldn’t have tried it, if I had any other choice — but suddenly a door opens that wasn’t there. It’s kind of like the universe says okay well we couldn’t trick her on that one…. The technocrats love to do that. Do you want to cut off your right foot? Or do you want to cut off your left foot? It’s like no, I’m not.

54:00 – Paul: Good, Stand your ground and be strong. Any more advice, Catherine you have, for our dear viewers.

54:10 — Catherine: I hate to be totally obsequious, but you know something, you absolutely, if you come to Solari, we have a great old piece but still timely, What percent of my assets should I hold in precious metals? We divide precious metals into a core position and an investment position. Right now, you know everybody 100% should have a core position, well with some rare exceptions, but right now, I’ve never seen gold look more attractive as an investment position as well. So I appreciate you, I appreciate Holland Gold, but precious metals for a variety of political and economic reasons I think is going to do very well. If somebody’s not familiar with precious metals, they need to start learning. I tell everybody never touch precious metals until you’ve gotten yourself a really good education on what it is. How it works. How given what you need, where you want to own it, how you want to own it, what you want to own, so it’s a big topic. But you know the time has come and there are a lot of good people who’ve been building businesses to help you with this. What I’m saying is good for Holland Gold but Holland Gold could be very good for you. So get that education. Start thinking about precious metals.

55:30 – Paul: Well, thanks so much for the recommendation, Catherine. People can definitely also educate themselves on many different topics from investing to health to spiritual awareness going to Solari of course. So could you give the website where people can find you?

55:45 – Catherine: So we’d love to have you as a subscriber. We have a lot of free introductory content if you want to just first get to know us. It’s at solari.com — s o l a r i.com You’ll find everything there.

56:00 – Paul: You also have regularly organize meetups for people.

56:05 – Catherine: I wish you could have come. We had the most wonderful, a lot of people brought their kids, so we had some, not too young, we had a lot of you know college kids. And that age. We had people from Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium, England, Ireland, and the great one, we had somebody come from Sardinia sat down turned and introduced himself to the person next to him. They were also from Sardinia and they never met before they were like what what a freaking coincidence. Or Providence. Well if you want to have a successful life right now, you have to find like-minded people, you have to find people who want to be free. Who really work at being free. Enjoy helping and collaborating with other people who want to be free.

Paul: Totally agree Catherine thanks so much for all your insights and all the work you do. Perhaps next time we can do it again in your office.

Catherine: Keep in touch thank you Paul have a wonderful day.

This Rejoice & Praise God Sunday Open Thread, with full respect to those who worship God on the Sabbath, is a place to reaffirm our worship of our Creator, our Father, our King Eternal.

It’s also a place to read, post, and discuss news that is worth knowing and sharing. Please post links to any news stories that you use as sources or quote from.

In the QTree, we’re a friendly and civil lot. We encourage free speech and the open exchange and civil discussion of different ideas. Topics aren’t constrained, and sound logic is highly encouraged, all built on a solid foundation of truth and established facts.

We have a policy of mutual respect, shown by civility. Civility encourages discussions, promotes objectivity and rational thought in discourse, and camaraderie in the participants – characteristics we strive toward in our Q Tree community.

Please show respect and consideration for our fellow QTreepers. Before hitting the “post” button, please proofread your post and make sure your opinion addresses the issue only, and does not confront or denigrate the poster. Keep to the topic – avoid “you” and “your”. Here in The Q Tree, personal attacks, name-calling, ridicule, insults, baiting, and other conduct for which a penalty flag would be thrown are VERBOTEN.

In The Q Tree, we’re compatriots, sitting around the campfire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores, and discussing, agreeing, and disagreeing about whatever interests us. This board will remain a home for those who seek respectful conversations.

Please also consider the Guidelines for posting and discussion printed here: 
https://www.theqtree.com/2019/01/01/dear-maga-open-topic-20190101/

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On this day and every day –

God is in Control
. . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . .
Keep Looking Up

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Hopefully, every Sunday, we can find something here that will build us up a little . . . give us a smile . . . and add some joy or peace, very much needed in all our lives.

“This day is holy to the Lord your God;
do not mourn nor weep.” . . .
“Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet,
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared;
for this day is holy to our Lord.
Do not sorrow,
for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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Reasons

Everything happens for a reason?

Does everything happen for a reason? The short answer is “yes”; because God is sovereign, there are no random, out-of-control happenings. God’s purposes may be hidden from us, but we can be assured that every event has a reason behind it.

There was a reason for the blindness of the man in John 9, although the disciples misidentified the reason (John 9:1–3). There was a reason for Joseph’s mistreatment, although his brothers’ purpose in what they did to him was very different from God’s purpose in allowing it (Genesis 50:20). There was a reason for Jesus’ death—the authorities in Jerusalem had their reasons, based on evil intent, and God had His, based on righteousness. God’s sovereignty extends even to the lowliest of creatures: “Not one [sparrow] falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” (Matthew 10:29, NET).

Several factors help us know that everything happens for a reason: the law of cause and effect, the doctrine of original sin, and the providence of God. All these demonstrate that everything does happen for a reason, not just by happenstance or by random chance.

First, there is the natural law of cause and effect, also known as the law of sowing and reaping. Paul says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7–8). This means that in every action we take or word we utter, whether good or evil, there are certain inevitable results that follow (Colossians 3:23–25). Someone may ask, “Why am I in jail? Is there a reason for this?” and the answer may be, “Because you robbed your neighbor’s house and got caught.” That’s cause and effect.

All that we do is either an investment in the flesh or an investment in the Spirit. We shall reap whatever we have sown, and we shall reap in proportion to how we have sown. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). The believer who walks in the Spirit and “sows” in the Spirit is going to reap a spiritual harvest. If his sowing has been generous, the harvest will be bountiful, if not in this life, certainly in the life to come. Conversely, those who “sow” to the flesh are going to reap a life without the full blessings of God, both in this life and the life to come (Jeremiah 18:10; 2 Peter 2:10–12).

The reason some things happen can often be traced back to original sin in the Garden of Eden. The Bible is clear that the world is under a curse (Genesis 3:17), which has resulted in infirmities, diseases, natural disasters, and death. All these things, although under God’s ultimate control, are sometimes used by Satan to inflict misery upon people (see Job 1–2; Luke 9:37–42; 13:16). Someone may ask, “Why did I contract this illness? Is there a reason for it?” and the answer may be one or more of the following: 1) “Because you live in a fallen world, and we are all subject to illness”; 2) “Because God is testing you and strengthening your faith”; or 3) “Because, in love, God is disciplining you according to Hebrews 12:7–13 and 1 Corinthians 11:29–30.”

Then we have what is called the providence of God. The doctrine of providence holds that God quietly and invisibly works through the natural world to manage events. God, in His providence, works out His purposes through natural processes in the physical and social universe. Every effect can be traced back to a natural cause, and there is no hint of the miraculous. The best that man can do to explain the reason why things happen in the course of natural events is to point to “coincidence.”

Believers proclaim that God arranges the coincidences. The unbeliever derides such ideas because he believes natural causes can fully explain each event without reference to God. Yet followers of Christ are wholly assured of this profound truth: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

The book of Esther shows divine providence at work. The banishment of Vashti, the selection of Esther, the plot of the assassins, the pride of Haman, the courage of Mordecai, the insomnia of the king, the bloodlust of Zeresh, and the reading of the scroll—everything in the book happens, like cogs in a well-oiled machine, to bring about the deliverance of God’s people. Although God is never mentioned in Esther, His providence, working through “coincidence,” is plain to see.

God is always at work in the lives of His people, and in His goodness will bring them to a good end (see Philippians 1:6). The events that define our lives are not simply products of natural causes or random chance. They are ordained by God and are intended for our good. We often fail to sense God’s hidden guidance or protection as events in our lives unfold. But, when we look back at past events, we are able to see His hand more clearly, even in times of tragedy.