“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
Yes, it’s a cult from a horror film, alright, entitled, “The Last Gasp of the Trump Derangement Psy-Op.”
Alright, people, this writer/author/person typing (and killing yet another keyboard) while sitting inside on a GORGEOUS February afternoon while the lake in the back yard is slowly melting, has a number of posts percolating, and one of them was supposed to be on psy-ops thanks to an investigative reporting masterpiece done by not any mainstream media journalist, but Millennial Millie Weaver. It was uploaded to the internet on Tuesday evening.
Unfortunately, the darn thing won’t embed, but can be found here.
[Edit: Wolf will attempt to embed it now here!]
Essentially, Millie goes through the entire January 6 invasion of the Capitol psy-op and links it up to the Congressional shiv to the kidneys of the Make America Great Again movement. (And some “conservative” Republicans look really bad in her rehash of the sequence of events, too.)
In the midst of her video is a video of John Sullivan – the paid insurrectionist and professional rioter – showing off his all black riot gear, complete with back face covering, and telling the audience that said gear is available on his website for purchase.
Isn’t that special? Just like he was Coco Chanel telling all the ladies that every wardrobe needs a little black dress…just in case.
Or a professional chorus handbook section on wardrobe for concerts for ladies – black from the neck to the toes and wrists, no exceptions.
Black to the professional agitators is a uniform. (Seriously, if they wore a specific plaid, we’d all know EXACTLY who they are. Black has become the American universal alternative in a way, so they tend to blend in unless one is looking closely.)
Honestly, everyone is wearing black like priests and religious orders where they do so in anticipation of their own death(s) as black was once the color indicating mourning.
Only now, for these professional rioters and the true insurrectionists, the ones who so far have escaped any meaningful prosecution, the color is a uniform, one of darkness, of cover of night.
Why?
More or less…the people in the professional political class (they pay the professional rioters via laundered “non-profits”) who Millie Weaver ties to the January 6 event in her video, don’t like us.
This appears in the Day 8 email from Fr. Richard Heilman, one of the authors of Let Freedom Ring: A 40-Day Tactical Training for Freedom from the Devil.
“Freedom from Elitism” by Fr. Rick Heilman
In an interview with Carl E. Olson, Dr. Angelo Codevilla, author of the book, The Ruling Class, said:
“The ruling class are society’s ‘ins.’ This class comprises persons in government, those who depend for their livelihoods on government, and whose socio-economic prospects and hopes are founded on government. Thus, it includes most people in the educational establishment, the media, and large corporations. Its leading elements and its major voting constituencies are the Democratic party. But it transcends political parties because any number of Republicans aspire to its privileges and share its priorities.
Above all, the ruling class defines itself by a set of attitudes, foremost of which is contempt for those outside itself. This contempt stems from the rather uniform education that the ruling class’s members absorbed from universities and which they developed by living in their subculture. Believing themselves intelligent apostles of scientific truth, they regard others as dumb and in the grip of religious obscurantism. Religion is the greatest of the divides between the ruling class and those it deems its inferiors. Whereas they believe themselves morally good and psychologically sound, they regard others as suffering from psychological dysfunctions and phobias – effectively as bad people. The ruling class does not believe that those outside itself have the right or capacity to conduct their own lives.”
(Why am I having flashbacks to middle school, the only years I attended government school?)
The problem for the “elites” is that thanks to the efforts of XVII, and others out there pushing deplorables in the right direction, the psy-ops they’ve used to convince us all that things are dark, and dreary, etc., aren’t working any more largely because the group of people they are trying to pin the tail of the psy-ops on aren’t having being blamed for something they didn’t do.
That’s where we are…and that’s why a staged candle light vigil on the steps of the Capitol with congress critters looking all tragic and holding what amounts to Tabernacle lights is laughably bad political theater.
Unfortunately for them, they don’t get that.
God bless all who have died in the last year no matter the cause or co-morbidity.
And in that spirit, our dance club selection (don’t think, just move to the music):
_______________________________________________
Please review our HOST and site owner’s Guidelines for posting and discussion for this site. Wolf is kind enough to put up with *most* of us and our antics after thorough vetting. Violators of the baiting and deliberately attempting to divide the group rules WILL face consequences.
The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Company manners are appreciated. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog out discussions best saved for a wrestling mat. Say hi to anyone who is actually hanging out there for the rest of us.
This site is a celebration of the natural rights endowed to humans by our Creator as well as those enshrined in the Bill of Rights adopted in the founding documents of the United States of America. Within the limits of law, how we exercise these rights is part of the freedom of our discussion. THAT MEANS THAT ALL OF US HERE ARE ENTITLED TO OUR OPINIONS AND PREJUDICES, ETC., SO LONG AS THEY CAUSE NO PHYSICAL HARM TO OTHERS OR DOXX OUR FELLOW TREE DWELLERS.
All opinions here are valued for the diversity they bring to the issues, and the shaping of understanding regarding topics for which many of us do not have all information.
Be careful in expressing thoughts as we would all like to think well of the rest of the group, and ill-thought out comments have a way of wrecking that for everyone.
Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights
No running with scissors
If you bring snacks, be sure they are made with bacon
Auntie DePat’s requests as we are all supposedly adults and not perpetual high school sophomores or the back row of the soprano section in any big chorus:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
7“Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
Prayers for the nation, the salvation of humanity, and all of us here – lurkers and members – as well as our families, are welcome.
Well, for today, we’ll leave off with the hopium, but while we’re waiting, some people just have too much time on their hands.
https://youtu.be/csSI6dpKNl0
And just a quick reminder:
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Q !4pRcUA0lBE ID: 9b1a97 No.1372772 📁 May 11 2018 12:12:38 (EST) Expand your thinking. Why are we being attacked? Why are we being attacked by people who claim to be PRO-POTUS? Do we have a face? Do we have a name? Do we use platforms whereby we collect followers? Selfless. Zero vanity. Why are we here? Why do we ask questions? The choice has always been yours. Use logic. Free information. What draws people here? Expanding exponentially? They all claim to be insiders. They all claim to have insider contacts. They do not. Patriots do NOT reveal classified information. Why do we communicate this way? Think for yourself. Clickbait. We are a threat to profiteering. Information should flow freely w/o costs. We established a series of ‘proofs’ for this specific reason. Undeniable. Unpredictable. Coincidence after Coincidence. Growth due to confirmations. Real source(s) communicating w/ the people. Unrestricted. TOGETHER. Control the information (THEY). Harness followers / profiteering (THEY). Define Media. Primary goal of the Media? To Sell (each selling a dif narrative – set of targets). Selling makes money. Be careful who you follow. Define ‘Patriot’. They want you DIVIDED. Attacks will only get worse. Q
And now for the obligatory message from our sponsors:
Here at the Q tree we believe in the concept of CIVIL open free speech and the discussion that fleshes out ideas. When commenting and participating in the OPEN discussion on this thread all comments MUST NOT CONTAIN personal threats, baiting, name calling, or other anti-social words fomenting hate, violence or destruction. Our host Wolfm00n has strict rules about that.
Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone
Please, stock up on blanks for celebratory gunfire, be ready to swing from the chandeliers…and no messing with the nuclear weapons.
Please remember to remain locked and loaded and ready for trouble should the insurrectionists try to invade your space.
Those who have things to say that do not fit the generally accepted limits of “civil” discussion, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. You’re welcome to visit over there and say hi to anyone hanging out over there.
Auntie DePat’s requests as we are all, ahem, adults, not uncivilized pygmies:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
One other vital note:
Please, review these rules that our host Wolfm00n outlined toward the beginning of the growth of the tree itself. it won’t take long.
1Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nin’eveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah arose and went to Nin’eveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nin’eveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he cried, “Yet forty days, and Nin’eveh shall be overthrown!” 5And the people of Nin’eveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6Then tidings reached the king of Nin’eveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 7And he made proclamation and published through Nin’eveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, 8but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence which is in his hands. 9Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” 10When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them; and he did not do it.
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.
Please include: President Donald Trump, the Q team, our soldiers in the field, special forces, tactical units, first responders and those working behind the scenes…and any and all people with family members in the hospital, COVID or not.
Cover image: Alice In Wonderland, Central Park, New York City.
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Q !UW.yye1fxo No.44 Jan 19 2018 16:53:00 (EST) Why are we here? Why are we providing crumbs? Think MEMO. BUILDING THE ARMY. Not convinced this is spreading? You, the PEOPLE, have THE POWER. You, the PEOPLE, just forgot how to PLAY. TOGETHER you are STRONG. APART you are weak. THEY WANT YOU DIVIDED. THEY WANT RACE WARS. THEY WANT CLASS WARS. THEY WANT RELIGIOUS WARS. THEY WANT POLITICAL WARS. THEY WANT YOU DIVIDED! LEARN! FOR GOD & COUNTRY – LEARN! STAY STRONG. STAY TOGETHER. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT. This is more important than you can imagine. Q
THEY WANT US DIVIDED.
That’s the bottom line. The other side wants us fighting among ourselves over what we have seen, and what we have not. What we believe, what we do not. What we want to happen, what we are willing to wait to happen.
They want us divided, and one of the people who is telling us that, and to sit tight and wait for it all to unfold got testy about it last week. Begin with the 58th minute, for the rant. (Skip over if you are not into hopium.) (Even the woman who goes before me at Eucharistic Adoration needs hopium to get through this.)
https://youtu.be/Xi4EY4VKq2Q
Regardless of what any or all of us are seeing, it’s happening…just not the way we imagined it would.
Just a reminder:
Of course, this does not mean committing felonies, but standing up to the forces that want to tear this nation – and humanity apart. The very people XVII told us will be destroyed by the time this movie comes to an end are currently roaming the halls of power…supposedly. It’s a sickening sight.
And now for something completely different.
Your weekly reminder to take the pledge:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
And now for the nitty gritty of the Q Tree 5 minute, stand up, Tuesday morning meeting version of the Daily Thread.
The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog it out with anyone who happens to still be hanging out there.
This site is a celebration of the natural rights endowed to humans by our Creator as well as those enshrined in the Bill of Rights adopted in the founding documents of the United States of America. Within the limits of law, how we exercise these rights is part of the freedom of our discussion.
Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
And Auntie DePat’s requests as we are all, ahem, adults…supposedly:
If you see something has not been posted, do us all a favor, and post it. Please, do not complain that it has not been done yet.
The scroll wheel on your mouse can be your friend. As mature adults, please use it here in the same manner you would in avoiding online porn.
Thank you so much for any and all attention to such details. It is GREATLY appreciated by more than one party here.
7“And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread; 12And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; 13And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. 14For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; 15but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome. Via con Dios.
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Yes, it’s Monday…again.
But it’s okay! We’ll get through it.
Free Speech is practiced here at the Q Tree. But please keep it civil. We’re on the same side here so let’s not engage in friendly fire.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven that Wolf has created for us.
Please pray for our real President, the one who actually won the election:
For your listening enjoyment, I offer this composition from Tony Anderson, titled “Eternal Spring”:
On a lighter note, a mashup of The Wellerman Song:
Our beloved country is under Occupation by hostile forces.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Joe Biden didn’t win.
I will keep saying Joe Biden didn’t win until we get His Fraudulency out of our White House.
Wheatie’s Words of the Day:
So long
Did you ever wonder where the farewell phrase, “so long”, came from? It is kind of an odd way to say goodbye, if you think about it.
Apparently, no one knows for sure where it came from. Its earliest use dates back to the early 1800s. There are several theories about its origin.
One theory is that British soldiers imported the Malayan salutation, Salang. Another theory is that it came from the German parting salutation adieu so lange…but I tend to like the theory that it came from the Gaelic/Irish word for goodbye, Slán.
Used in a sentence:
I am looking forward to telling His Fraudulency “so long”, when we kick him and Team Fraud out of our White House.
Nobody expected Chris Wray to play Mafia Nan’s queen of diapers face-up on January 6, but that is exactly what appears to have happened.
The only question now is WHY.
To quote a friend from a former life, “AYE-YI-YI!”
OK – let me back up a bit.
First, I want to thank phoenixrising for her comment HERE, which alerted me to a post on Telegram from Tierney Real News, which can be found HERE and repeated HERE, about an article on John Solomon’s JustTheNews, by their Chief National Security Correspondent, Susan Katz Keating, which can be found HERE:
…..before we get into the substance of this article, a few reminders.
OK – that’s minimizing. It’s bigger than just a few reminders. Let’s get started.
Background
This is now the FOURTH article in the “Buffalo Jump” series, covering my perspective of the Capitol Hill “Reichstag” event as a PLOT by Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and many others to “finish off” President Donald Trump AND his movement.
Please feel free to go back to these prior articles for reference:
I cannot claim credit for realizing that the tactical maneuver of Trump’s supporters to their political demise on January 6, 2021 at Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, was something known to American historians and anthropologists as a buffalo jump. However, as soon as I heard the ill-fated demonstration called that, all my questions about what …
Alternate Title: Bring Out The Owl! We continue with Part 2 of the Buffalo Jump series. For background, see Part 1: If you want a TL;DR version of what was wrong with the Capitol Rally on January 6, 2021, imagine trying to fit a million people into the little area numbered “8”, in the upper …
Alternate Title: The moment I realized that GOD would back me in going asymmetrical on these unworthy China-compromised “U.S.” military bastards. I have recently come into possession of information which made a lot of things start making a lot more sense. I only needed a final confirmation that I was correct – and I just …
These three prior articles (please see the valuable discussions in the comments, in all cases) can be summarized as follows:
Explanation of the Capitol Hill event in terms of a Native American “buffalo jump”
How aftermath recriminations show the event was logistically set up to fail as it did
How cringeworthy performances and sketchy backgrounds of dubious chaos provocateurs implicate anti-Trump military elements using leftist cover as part of the coup
Generally speaking, beyond these opinion pieces, there seems to be an emerging consensus on the pro-Trump right of the following:
There was some sort of coordinated, planned effort to lead Trump and his movement into some kind of Reichstag moment, to finish off Trump as a political force.
Violence was largely provoked and initiated by people associated with leftist groups, but many of Trump’s supporters were clearly drawn into the mayhem.
While the events of January 6 resulted in successful certification of a highly fraudulent election, they failed to end the political career of Trump, or the strength of his movement, still dominating GOP politics.
Beyond those widely held ideas, there are also strongly held opinions among different groups on the right. Some of these opinions are highly divergent.
I will go from roughly “most commonly held” to “most divergent”.
There may have been either some awareness of a plot by elements on the pro-Trump side, or in the absence of prior awareness, a very fast and skilled response to the events of that day.
The Insurrection Act may have been invoked by Trump and is likely still in effect.
The Ashli Babbitt shooting was either:
very real and an assault on patriots that requires justice
very real and Trump’s fault
a phony provocation which failed to initiate greater violence
a phony shock-event designed to STOP greater violence
The whole thing was a giant sting operation against all of Trump’s enemies
Biden’s presidency is limited in some fashion
There are two Presidents
Trump is still the only real President
The Biden administration is not real and is not actually in power.
People are being arrested and we are watching actors and not real people
There is no plan and we are doomed.
There are many more schools of thought, and I won’t get into all of them. However, I think we can mostly agree about the following items which concern THIS article:
Nancy Pelosi was likely involved in any treachery on that day, January 6, 2021.
The FBI was the primary force directed against Trump’s followers who either entered the Capitol or participated in violence.
So THAT positions the two main players here – but not completely.
Before we get back to the article, we have more “background” to discuss. In particular, a prior article on this site.
I’ve decided there is too much here to do a summary – we need a CLEARINGHOUSE. Please submit more information in comments, and we’ll include links here. Wikipedia: Nancy Pelosi’s father and related mob articles Pelosi’s Father: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D%27Alesandro_Jr. Archived Version: https://archive.md/HWVJj The above article is very interesting because the authors (likely Pelosi aides) HIDE the …
Now, as the title suggests, the article is more a bibliography of other sources on Nancy D’Alesandro’s family background, than it is a new investigation of any kind. I didn’t even bother to quote much of it – just to provide links. I did comment on the “grooming” of her father’s Wikipedia article to HIDE her mob background.
I recommend checking out some of the links, including one where the author stopped by in the comments! Likewise, it’s worth looking at Aubergine’s comment which explains Pelosi’s behavior in a most excellent way.
SO – with all that taken care of, let’s get back to the new story.
Switching over to text for our low-vision folks…..
and inserting a few pictures…..
and starting over at the beginning…..
While Washington, D.C. was riveted Jan. 6 on events at the U.S. Capitol, the FBI quietly released a trove of files from an “urgent” — yet seemingly controlled — investigation 60 years ago into Nancy Pelosi’s father.
The files reveal the results of an intense two-month investigation into Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., a Maryland politician who served in a long career as a member of Congress and mayor of Baltimore.
John F. Kennedy’s White House ordered the investigation after JFK planned to appoint D’Alesandro to a government post. A routine FBI name check revealed “allegations” against D’Alessandro, according to a Feb. 6, 1961 teletype from “FBI Director.” The director at the time was J. Edgar Hoover.
The “urgent” teletype seemed to signal the goal of ensuring that D’Alesandro would be appointed to a government watchdog board that reviewed defense contracts.
“The White House has requested that we proceed with a special inquiry investigation but that if substantial derogatory information were developed, we should report this and discontinue any further inquiries because substantiation of any of the allegations would eliminate Mr. D’Alesandro,” the FBI director wrote in the teletype that is located on page 19 of the trove.
“Assign immediately,” Hoover wrote, instructing the Baltimore and Washington field offices to “afford continuous attention” to the investigation.
In sometimes illegible and heavily redacted reproductions, the 248-page collection shows that FBI agents were tasked with running down rumors and facts surrounding their man.
“There have been allegations that D’Alesandro has associated with the Baltimore criminal element and [redacted] and the son, Franklin Roosevelt D’Alesandro, had been arrested for rape,” an agent wrote on page 14 of the trove. The allegations may have been rumor, the agent noted.
Elsewhere in the trove, agents wrote about the son, who was arrested and acquitted on charges that saw others convicted of raping two young girls, aged 11 and 13. The young D’Alesandro, who died in 2007, also was tried and acquitted of perjury in relation to that case.
In the 1961 inquiry into the senior D’Alesandro, the G-men delved decades into their subject’s past.
“In 1945 it was alleged that one Charles F. Cammarata had been able to get away with all sorts of criminal activities in Baltimore, Maryland, and had operated almost unmolested due to his friendship with and the protection of Congressman D’Alesandro,” one unnamed agent wrote in a Jan. 30, 1961 memo to the White House.
In the same memo, which begins on page 38 of the collection, the agent summarizes allegations that a powerful D’Alesandro took payoffs from applicants to the police force, and that he helped to hinder the investigation and prosecution of crimes.
The following year, the memo notes, D’Alesandro was reported as the main speaker at an event for the International Workers Order, an insurance organization placed on a list of subversive organizations by the U.S. attorney general in 1947 and later disbanded by order of the New York State Insurance Department for being too closely aligned with the Communist Party, in violation of regulations prohibiting political activity in the industry.
In a series of endorsements commencing on page 129 of the trove, a phalanx of associates — judges, politicians, friends, and acquaintances — described D’Alesandro in glowing terms. He was “upright,” they said, or “loyal,” “honest,” and a devoted family man.
Two acquaintances hedged their praise. In an undated memo, one agent wrote: “Another individual stated he would be hesitant in recommending D’Alesandro for any office where he would be in a position to award contracts without first having the approval of another supervisor.”
Following the investigation, the Senate confirmed D’Alesandro for the contract oversight position. He was sworn into office on March 28, 1961, while his wife, along with JFK and a young Nancy, looked on. D’Alesandro served on the Renegotiation Board, which later was disbanded.
In 1966, Mildred Stegall, who at the time was an assistant to President Lyndon Baines Johnson, contacted the FBI and asked them to search their files for material on D’Alesandro. The resulting FBI memo, dated Sept. 21, 1966 and reproduced on page 16 of the trove, did not explain why Stegall wanted the information.
The FBI did not disclose why the entire collection was released on Jan. 6, and did not immediately respond to Just the News.
Speaker Pelosi did not respond to questions from Just the News.
SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.
Before commenting further, I would encourage you to check out the FBI document yourself. Compared to many of these FBI drops, this one is high in information, lacking in annoying redactions, and easy to navigate.
I think that the JustTheNews article is really good – HOWEVER – like all journalism, it has a point of view, and this one could be described as “concise yet hitting all the ‘newsworthy’ (read ‘potentially scandalous’) points briefly, to the point of mild distortion”.
That’s not a diss. Frankly, we are LUCKY to get journalism like this. However, what this means is that when you read the actual document, there are a LOT of subtleties and general impressions that come out, which DO NOT MATCH the article’s synopsis.
I found that I had to RESET my initial impressions after I read the FBI document, to realize that the JTN analysis was very good, but did not openly state some of the things I am about to say.
First off, the impression that the actual FBI collection gives, is that D’Alesandro was a GREAT GUY – a really honest fellow, a “pillar of his community”. JustTheNews addresses this prevalence of glowing testimonials, but it’s actually much different to see them in print.
It’s very interesting to note that almost all the witnesses who DO say anything other than “great guy, loyal citizen, pillar of the community” state that any quibbles with D’Alesandro were either “just business” or “just politics”. He is otherwise described as a proud child of immigrants, very religious, and otherwise a very admirable person.
So what gives?
SUBTLETY. The mark of the mafia.
There are no smoking guns here.
We don’t see brazen criminality. Instead, we see things like ONE WITNESS (the article said two – I only saw one myself) hinting that D’Alesandro could not be fully trusted with contracts (implying favoritism, “pay to play”, etc.).
We don’t see D’Alesandro waving commie red flags. Instead, we see him CANCELING an engagement when the press found out there were REAL LIVE COMMUNISTS associated with an event he was signed up for.
We don’t see informants stating any knowledge that D’Alesandro mixed it up with the communists they were watching. Instead, we remember that the LOUD AND OBVIOUS commies and the QUIET AND STEALTHY ones rarely intersect, lest the cover of the latter be blown.
Instead of D’Alesandro associating OPENLY with the Soviets and pro-Soviet Americans during the McCarthy years, we see him doing so ONLY during World War II.
We don’t see D’Alesandro naming his kids Sasha, Tanya, Vladimir and Dimitri. Instead, we see him name a kid after OUR socialist, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
AND this.
We don’t find Nancy Pelosi ordering a mob hit and getting caught.
But we DO find Nancy D’Alesandro’s MOTHER – also named Nancy D’Alesandro – testifying about the books, in a trial involving a construction company with an Italian owner.
A real nothingburger – right? That’s what it sure sounds like.
Now this point is extremely interesting, and is a BEAUTIFUL example of Baltimore corruption.
You just read that statement by the subsequent mayor – right? Saying that the former Mayor D’Alesandro was a great guy. Right? Sounds totally on the up and up. Right?
Another serious allegation against D’Alesandro was that he had received kickbacks from building developer Dominic Piracci on city contracts. Piracci’s account ledger included several payments totaling $11,000 to D’Alesandro which he later erased to keep the information from investigators. The developer later explained that the payments were legitimate loans to Mrs. D’Alesandro to finance her cosmetics business which since had been fully repaid, and he doctored the documents only “to save” the D’Alesandro family “from embarrassment and from further trouble” given a criminal investigation into his business practices. In April 1954 Piracci “was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the city of $42,996 in connection with the construction of an off-street parking garage in Baltimore,” and also found guilty for “obstruction of justice in that he submitted to a Baltimore City Grand Jury a ‘completely phony’ ledger to conceal $35,000 in weekly payments to the Peoples Holding Corporation” whose officers “were also charged with conspiracy to defraud Baltimore City in an off-street parking garage contract.” Mrs. D’Alesandro testified on Piracci’s behalf at his criminal trial, and although she insisted the “loans” from Piracci were repaid there was no documentary evidence to corroborate that testimony. The supposed repayments were made in cash rather than by check. Mrs. D’Alesandro’s testimony may have saved her husband’s sorry ass from criminal liability but could not save his then-bid to become Maryland’s governor. The D’Alesandro’s son Thomas III later married Piracci’s daughter Margaret.
Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. and the Mafia
Quite a bit of difference – right?
Indeed, reading this whole SOTN2012 article puts the entire FBI drop in a whole new light.
The difference is NIGHT AND DAY.
SO – here is the big question.
WHY?
Why drop this fluffy light version of the truth?
Why drop this FAUX SCANDAL about Pelosi’s father – when the full truth seems to be much more damning?
And why drop it on January 6, 2021?
I’m open to suggestions. Very open.
W
Title: CAREY TREATMENT, THE ¥ Pers: COBURN, JAMES / AUBREY, SKYE ¥ Year: 1972 ¥ Dir: EDWARDS, BLAKE ¥ Ref: CAR019AF ¥ Credit: [ MGM / THE KOBAL COLLECTION ]
Addendum: A Byrne-Moore Theory of FBI “Go-Along Plus Leverage” For Institutional Preservation of Independence at a Power Transition
OK, people. I think I’ve got it.
This is the result of a good night’s sleep, some discussions with my wife about Trump’s relationship with his various Secretaries of Defense, and roughly 50 GREAT comments by the posters here. I feel like I can pull it all together into a coherent picture.
Here are some of the components:
“Friday night drop syndrome”
Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr. (TDAJ hereafter) mob, CIA, Soviet connections
Urban renewal, construction, and kickback culture as family constants
Patrick Byrne’s account of FBI trying to gain leverage on Hillary Clinton in 2016
Michael Moore’s (the other one – Thomas Paine’s) account of FBI political shenanigans before and after 2008 transition
Comey and Company getting leverage on Trump in 2016 election
All accounts of Christopher Wray being institutionally loyal to the FBI
Soviet/CIA long-term strategy of weakening America to global control through “endless war”
Pentagon / MIC buy-in on endless war and opposition to Trump and his “peace SecDef” ideas
Likely FBI knowledge of Pelosi’s plot, but no visible evidence of it
All of this stuff fits together into a neat theory of what is going on.
I will try to explain it in no particular order, but hopefully so it makes sense.
If we look at FBI antics in 2016 (and other years) in a non-partisan way, including both Byrne’s revelations AND Trump’s revelations, it looks like the FBI engages in a behavior which can be looked at as either VERY SWAMP or ANTI-HEROIC WITHIN THE SWAMP. That behavior is to maintain independence by holding LEVERAGE over whoever is in charge.
That is to say, the FBI seeks to hold something over everybody, but particularly a new President. Arguably, this is so they can stay somewhat apolitical in a highly political environment.
SIDEBAR:Yet, if we understand social theory, we know that the socialists are fully aware that they can shift the baseline politics both within and underneath the FBI despite FBI efforts, so that the FBI trying to “right the ship” in a strong current can only work to SOME extent to depoliticize, and the socialists are OK with this.
The result is that FBI presents a new or recently shifted power-holder with both “silver and lead”. These may even be false offerings and entrapments into crime.
The “lead” is “we have certain stuff that can destroy you”.
The “silver” is “we didn’t destroy you with certain stuff”.
The TWO different “certain stuffs” may be the SAME THING or they may be DIFFERENT.
SO – what we have here is a combination of the silver and the lead.
This “offering” to Pelosi on January 6 is in some ways a way of saying “we know what you did there” regarding the Capitol Hill plot – the buffalo jump. It WAS a traditional “Friday night drop” in order to not attract TOO MUCH attention, yet at the same time, to get SOME attention. It was CALIBRATED to be associated with the January 6 plot, but not enough to be provably so, or detrimental in that way. It was QUIET ENOUGH to be a kind of “peace offering”.
Thus, the Capitol Hill cover-up offering is – per se – mostly silver and a hint of lead, based on the timing and association. “Silver bullets can still kill“, saithTHE WOLF.
However, what is IN THE BULLET? Is it just “silver jacketed”? Silver plated? Methinks so. I think there is a lot of LEAD THERE – hidden in the package.
I think Grandmaintexas is right – this is a whitewash – again – MOAR SILVER – but even more specifically what Aubergine is thinking – a show of possible lead – getting ahead of ALL FUTURES which would include impeachment, failed impeachment, backfire with Trump the victor, and specifically futures where ANYBODY has enough power or leverage to throw the FBI under the bus.
FBI did not “show the lead” – only hinting at it – in part to make it a peace offering to Pelosi – but even more to micromanage the outcome to exactly where they wanted it – leaving the D’Alesandro family baggage under the rug, where it still gives FBI continuous leverage over Pelosi.
But FBI also “exposed different lead” very slightly as a threat to Trump – “we can protect Pelosi – you’re finished for 2020 – remember that”.
NOW – this is very interesting. We see the SAME THING going on under J. Edgar Hoover, in several of the documents themselves, where CONGRESSMAN Thomas D’Alesandro Jr. is either writing to the FBI or commenting to agents, OR when Hoover is telling people to, essentially, “back off if they find anything”. TDAJ always subtly mentions his “good relationship” with the FBI, but he even more subtly hints at whatever POWER he has over them.
We see the BALANCE OF POWER – the negotiation – the “Art of the Swamp Deal“. Pure MAFIA.
It is almost as if the documents are saying “If you don’t understand that this is a deal, just look in the documents themselves. We cut a deal with Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., then – we’re cutting a deal with his daughter now.”
We are left to GUESS what is NOT in the documents – what is being hinted at – but I’m pretty certain that it has much to do with the famiglia D’Alesandro having both Soviet connections they find embarrassing to some parties, particularly in connection to the defense appointment, and to the assassination of JFK, as well as all the dirty mob and/or CIA stuff that is intentionally not mentioned in the drop.
Chrissy Mercury shows the silver lining to Caprodite, but we all know that ZEUS can throw his bolts from the clouds if she gets out of line with her fellow gods and demigods.
Epic. We truly live in historic times. And yes. Washington becomes Olympus.
This Sanctuary 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 is 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 you’re addressing the issue only, and not trying to confront 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.
Let’s not give the Internet Censors a reason to shut down this intellectual haven that Wolf has created for us.
The Storm is upon us. Please remember to Pray for our President.
And,
All Things Work Together For Good . . .
Many things are happening now in this country and around the world that would tend to make some people doubt if the end result will be “good”. In God’s plan, not everything will end up in a situation that someone might define as good, but God knows why He is doing things this way and we have just got to believe that. Why? Because the end result will be very good, indeed!
Most of us, if not all, won’t be able to see how, for example, the persecution and deaths of vast numbers of Christians in the last 2,000 years could possibly be good. However, God is in control and He has permitted that persecution and those deaths to happen as part of His perfect plan. And God knows that the persecutions and deaths will all work together with other events so the big picture end result is good. We just can’t see it from our earthly perspective.
God’s Word says: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
For our good . . . let’s see . . . we, the wicked, sinful, totally undeserving are chosen by God to get resurrected bodies that are spiritual and imperishable, raised in glory and power. And, after that, we get to live for eternity (get that? for eternity), living with Jesus and God, where Jesus has prepared places for us . . . in a place encrusted by gems with gates made from giant pearls, and streets of transparent gold lighted by God’s glory. A river of the water of life, clear as crystal, comes from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street and on either side of the river is the tree of life. There will be no more tears, pain, crying, sorrow or death, but, I believe, God’s peace, perfect joy, thanksgiving, praise and worship, and many other things that are totally beyond our imagination.
Yes, I would most assuredly say that things will have worked together for our good no matter the result of specific events leading up to the final conclusion.
What about all the things that cause us to say “oh, woe is me”? Is there much of a comparison between those things and what God has planned for us in the future for eternity? Thinking of that, shouldn’t it be a bit easier to follow Paul’s advice and rejoice in Christ? I mean a really deep-down, heartfelt Rejoice!
Now, taking a closer look at “all things work together for good” . . .
When Christians say all things work together for good, we are referring to a portion of one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament, Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Or, as the KJV translates it, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
God works all things together for good—both His good and our good. As God is glorified, His people benefit.
In Romans 8, Paul contrasts a life lived in selfish pursuits (the flesh) and one lived in league with, or in accordance with, God (the Spirit). He impresses upon readers that our sovereign God is all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful.
We who love God can trust His goodness, His power, and His will to work out all things for our good. We journey together with Him.
The promise that God works all things together for good does not mean that all things, taken by themselves, are good. Some things and events are decidedly bad. But God is able to work them together for good. He sees the big picture; He has a master plan.
Neither does the promise that God works all things together for good mean we will get all that we want or desire. Romans 8:28 is about God’s goodness and our confidence that His plan will work out as He sees fit. Since His plan is always good, Christians can take confidence that, no matter our circumstances or environments, God is active and will conclude things according to His good and wise design. With this knowledge we can learn to be content (see Philippians 4:11).
The fact that God works all things together for good means God’s plan will not be thwarted. In fact, we are part of His plan, having been “called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). When we trust God and His way, we can be sure that He is active and powerful on our behalf (see Ephesians 3:20).
God knows the future, and His desires will be accomplished. “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’” (Isaiah 46:10). Even when things seem chaotic and out of control, God is still in charge. We sometimes worry about what’s happening to us because we do not know what is best for us. But God does.
The principle of God working all things together for good is well illustrated in the Old Testament account of Joseph’s life. Early in Joseph’s life, Joseph’s jealous brothers sold him into slavery. In Egypt, Joseph rises to a position of responsibility. Then, he is unjustly imprisoned and forgotten about by his friends. God gifts him the ability to interpret dreams, and through that ability Joseph is once again raised to a place of honor and power. When drought forces Joseph’s brothers to seek food elsewhere, they travel to Egypt and encounter Joseph, who eventually saves them from starvation and grants them a livelihood in his new land.
Throughout his life, Joseph trusted God no matter his good or bad circumstances. Joseph experienced plenty of bad things: kidnapping, slavery, false accusations, wrongful imprisonment, rejection, and famine. But in the end God brought things to a wonderful, life-affirming conclusion. God blessed Joseph’s entire family through those painful circumstances and through Joseph’s faith.
Paul’s life is another testament to how God works all things together for good. Paul suffered shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, murder attempts, temporary blindness, and more—all within God’s plan to spread the gospel (see Acts 9:16 and 2 Corinthians 11:24–27). Through it all, God was steadfastly working to bring about good and glorious results.
After promising that God works all things together for our good, Romans 8 concludes with the wonderful fact that God trumps everything that comes against Him and those who belong to Him. Christians are assured that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35–39). God’s love is everlasting, and His wisdom is infinite. It doesn’t matter who or what attempts to thwart God’s plan; no one and nothing can. God will work all things together for the good of those who love Him. Our decision to align our will with God’s and to always trust Him will be rewarded.
God is in Control . . . and His Grace is Sufficient, so . . . Keep Looking Up
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.”
Scroll down for some info, some of it may be useful, some may be interesting, some might even be both, but more likely most is neither, about precious metals and what sorts of products are out there.
His Fraudulency
Joe Biteme, properly styled His Fraudulency, continues to infest the White House, we haven’t heard much from the person who should have been declared the victor, and hopium is still being dispensed even as our military appears to have joined the political establishment in knuckling under to the fraud.
One can hope that all is not as it seems.
I’d love to feast on that crow.
But we do have a nice little distraction at the moment. SCOTUS at least pretended to pay attention to a lot of election fraud cases on the 19th; as I write it’s 5PM ET and I have no idea how that went. It’ll be interesting to see how they weasel out…this time.
Justice Must Be Done.
The prior election must be acknowledged as fraudulent, and steps must be taken to prosecute the fraudsters and restore integrity to the system.
Nothing else matters at this point. Talking about trying again in 2022 or 2024 is hopeless otherwise. Which is not to say one must never talk about this, but rather that one must account for this in ones planning; if fixing the fraud is not part of the plan, you have no plan.
Lawyer Appeasement Section
OK now for the fine print.
This is the WQTH Daily Thread. You know the drill. There’s no Poltical correctness, but civility is a requirement. There are Important Guidelines, here, with an addendum on 20191110.
We have a new board – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation.
And remember Wheatie’s Rules:
1. No food fights 2. No running with scissors. 3. If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone. 4. Zeroth rule of gun safety: Don’t let the government get your guns. 5. Rule one of gun safety: The gun is always loaded. 5a. If you actually want the gun to be loaded, like because you’re checking out a bump in the night, then it’s empty. 6. Rule two of gun safety: Never point the gun at anything you’re not willing to destroy. 7. Rule three: Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. 8. Rule the fourth: Be sure of your target and what is behind it.
(Hmm a few extras seem to have crept in.)
Silver (and Other Bullion): The Basics
First thing: Bullion is not a coin collection, and a coin collection isn’t bullion. People I know who know I collect get the two mixed up a lot, and I suppose it’s understandable, because coin shops generally sell both rare coins and bullion.
The key difference is that collector coins are generally worth considerably more than the metal they contain, and even when they’re not, they’re being bought because of the date of issue, the design, the error made in producing it, or any of a number of issues that have nothing to do with what it’s made off. The value of the metal in the coin puts a floor on its value, though. For instance, there are plenty of “common” gold coins that collectors want (because they’re trying to put together a date set), that are worth barely more than “melt” (the term for the value of the gold or silver in the coin). Their prices move up and down whenever gold fluctuates. But they’re still being bought for their interest as collectibles; they’d be worth something even if the gold value dropped to zero (like that’s going to happen!).
Bullion, on the other hand, is being bought because it is made out of what it is, and other considerations are secondary. But not necessarily insignificant: People will buy precious metals in a form that makes it easier to sell. One of the issues is it being in a form that the buyer will trust to actually be made of silver (or gold) rather than somehow faked (e.g., gold or silver plated lead). If it has to be assayed, that has a cost, which will eat into how much you’ll be paid for your bullion. Which is why a struck coin (or coin-like) object is often trusted, and why some of this stuff comes in tamper-evident packaging.
To sort of drive home the difference, I was told this story by a coin dealer one time, and I’m sure it’s not a terribly uncommon occurrence. Someone offered him a gold coin. It looked to be a rare date, so it’d be worth a lot more than the gold content. On closer examination, though, it was counterfeit, but undeniably made out of real gold. He paid the customer what the gold in the coin was worth, then took a pair of pliers and bent the coin…and tossed it in a pot he was going to sell to the wholesale market, where it would no doubt be simply melted. He didn’t want anyone to mistake the coin for something rare…as opposed to just a lump of precious metal.
I’m going to assume here you want silver itself, not a piece of paper saying you’re entitled to it, not a futures contract, not mining stocks. You want the lump of metal in your hand.
History and Overview of the Metals Themselves
Some history, because why not? Copper, silver and gold (among other metals) were all discovered so long ago we have no idea who discovered them. When coinage was invented in the 600s BCE (at least in what we think of as the Western world, though that place–Lydia–was in present day Turkey) it started out as an alloy of gold and silver. These materials were known to be rare, and were valued as jewelry if nothing else. Gold, in particular, simply didn’t tarnish or corrode. Silver would tarnish, but once it did tarnish, that was the end, it didn’t turn to useless powder like iron did. Copper similarly. In fact, these metals are sometimes found free in nature, not needing to be extracted from ore: gold most commonly, then silver, then copper. (Because of this, in most ancient Egypt, gold was considered more common than silver and was less expensive. Once we figured out how to extract them from ores, the situation changed.)
Unsurprisingly, given their similar chemical properties, copper, silver and gold appear in the same column of the periodic table, and they’re known as the coinage metals, because once we started making coins, those were the metals that went into them. Gold, in particular, was difficult to convincingly fake, because it was denser than anything else known. Nothing else was as heavy on a per volume basis. If you gold plated a lead brick, that brick would be much, much too light! (Only in the 1700s did we discover other things, like platinum or tungsten, that could equal or exceed gold’s density.) Their chemical symbols are Cu (copper), Ag (silver) and Au (gold). But, when talking to someone whose interest is in historic coins, they’ll be abbreviated AE, AR, and AU, usually as ligatures (like Æ, but AU and AR don’t seem to exist in unicode as ligatures). I learned the chemical symbols long before the numismatic ones, and get twitted for writing Ag a lot.
Immediately to the left of these three, under iron/cobalt/nickel, are a group of six metals called the Platinum Group Metals. These are: ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), and osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt). Platinum is quite famous, the others less so. Platinum was discovered about a century before the others, and they’re almost invariably found together in nature. You can buy platinum, palladium, and sometimes rhodium as bars and rounds (and even NCLT platinum and palladium, I’ll explain what that means below). At least in theory you can, for rhodium–you’d better bring about $25 grand to the table. But the others (ruthenium, osmium and iridium) are very specialty items, hard to find in solid as opposed to powder form, and available in 50 kilogram lots.
And to the left of osmium is rhenium (Re), an interesting metal in its own right, and the second to last stable element to be discovered, back in 1908. It’s sometimes used in spacecraft and jet engines, relatively cheap compared to the PGMs but more expensive than silver and considered the ninth precious metal, sometimes.
Anyhow: Once we started making coins, gold and silver began to be thought of as “money.” (Copper was good for making money out of too, but it had a number of other uses as well, and still does.)
Troy Ounces and Purity
The precious metals (but not copper) are commonly weighed out in either grams or troy ounces. Troy ounces, though are different from the grocery store ounces (avoirudupois onces); it’s a parallel weight system. Avoirdupois and troy both use the same “grain” (the grain you use at the reloading bench; the grain your ammo’s bullets are weighed in). But an avoirdupois ounce is 437.5 grains, where a troy ounce is 480 of them. Worse, a troy pound is twelve troy ounces, 5760 grains, whereas an avoirdupois pound is 16 avdp ounces, or 7000 grains. Fortunately, you will almost never hear about troy pounds except in some weird Parade magazine ads for silver weighing a quarter or a third of a pound (don’t do these–you’re paying their advertising budget). Pretty much, everyone in the US who deals in precious metals thinks in terms of troy ounces, and even multiples will be in ounces. There are ten ounce, hundred ounce, and even thousand ounce bars of silver out there, but I don’t recall ever seeing bars denominated in troy pounds. (Which doesn’t necessarily mean some eccentric guy isn’t doing that, somewhere.) Even overseas in the metric rest-of-the-world, the troy ounce clings to life, and foreign countries and companies make products in ounces, alongside their other products in grams.
You will sometimes see gold sold in kilogram bars. A kilogram is 32.15074657 troy ounces…if you can afford to buy that much gold in one lump, good for you! And those bars you see in videos of bank vaults? They’re typically about 400 ounces. They don’t make them precise, but they are marked with their precise weight. At that level, the institutions have no trouble whipping out their calculators and knowing what it’s worth.
Even a futures contract is for an approximate amount…you’ll be delivered about 100 ounces of gold, possibly in one big bar, but will be expected to pay a certain price per ounce. Just be prepared to buy a bit more or a bit less than that. I wasn’t planning to talk about futures, but there is one good thing about them from our standpoint; if a company can say that their bars are “good delivery,” that means the Big Boys trust that company and its bars, and therefore you can too.
[A troy ounce, by the way, is 31.1035 grams. That’s a number I have memorized. But I don’t remember other than “twenty eight point something” how many grams are in an avoirdupois ounce, which should tell you where my head is–precious metals, not groceries. [If I need to know I can grab a calculator and do the following: (437.5/480) x 31.1035.] And incidentally, since the mid 1900s the ounce (both of them) has been defined in terms of the metric system. (Aw, geez, now I have to look it up): one avoirdupois ounce is exactly 28.349523125 grams, by definition. And that also means the troy ounce is exactly 31.1034768 grams by definition, just in case the six digits of precision I have memorized isn’t enough.]
Purity is usually given as a decimal fraction; you will see notations like “.900 fine” which means ninety percent of whatever it is you’re looking at, is of the precious metal, the rest is some sort of alloy. Generally, when looking at a piece of bullion, you will be told how much pure metal is in it. A one ounce gold American Eagle, for instance, will weigh more than an ounce, but there will be a full ounce of gold in it plus some copper and silver. Our old silver coinage was .900 fine (this will become relevant below) and people call that “coin silver.” British silver was 0.925 fine in the good old days, that’s commonly known as “sterling silver.” In a way it really doesn’t matter, what matters is the net amount of silver or gold. (The other metals will generally be .999 fine in any product you will find.) Gold, by the way, is often given in karats, 24 karats is pure, 18 karats is .750 (common in European jewelry), 14 kt is common here in the US (and the Europeans wonder why we go gaga over it).
Your Choices for Silver
So how do you get into silver? There are three main methods–and the first two apply to the other metals to some extent or another.
1–Rounds and Bars
A lot of people produce “rounds” that look like coins; when you look at them closely, though, the writing says they contain so much silver (usually an ounce). There won’t be a denomination, and usually there’s no country name, but there will be a company name. In this same vein, there are one ounce bars (rare for silver) and larger bars (5, 10, 100 and even 1000 ounce). Sometimes the rounds are prized and even collected for the artwork; even I once bought a two ounce round that had a “Don’t Tread On Me” motif on it. In all cases, there is a marking on the rounds/bars indicating how much silver is in them, and they are usually 99.9% pure, better known as .999 fine. Gold purity will usually be given this way too, but sometimes, you will see it given in karats, 24 karat being pure. Back when I was buying lots of precious metals (when the price was a lot lower), I tended to buy silver in larger bars, with some rounds thrown in. I also had bars of other metals (but not gold).
If you get into more expensive metals’ bars, there are some big, internationally known companies whose one ounce (and higher) bars are considered trustworthy, such as Johnson Matthey, Hereaus, PAMP (formerly Credit Suisse and you’ll see plenty of bars marked as such), APMEX, and Engelhardt. Some of these come in a tamper proof plastic pack. Recently, I’ve seen gold come as a sort of wafer like a big chocolate bar, with individual blocks you can twist and break apart. Although this looks like a decent way to buy gold in one gram increments, I have no idea what the aftermarket is like once they’ve been broken apart.
1/2 ounce platinum bar from PAMP; they sell many different sizes in both metric and troy, the troy sizes being more common here, but 1 gram being conveniently small. They also do silver, gold, palladium and even rhodium.
Don’t be fooled, this bar is MUCH larger than the PAMP one above.
This is one of those break-apart-able chocolate bar style, I’ve seen them with little piece sizes of 1 g (like shown here) and 1/10th of an ounce. As I said I have no idea what the aftermarket is like for the pieces, but it might help you own gold (or platinum) in small pieces, which might be convenient for trade.
2–NCLT Bullion Coins
There are the current crop of coins–yes, legally coins because they have a denomination on them–that only an idiot would spend at face value. Because they don’t circulate, but are legal tender (to unmask idiots, maybe), they’re called “Non-circulating Legal Tender” or NCLT for short. These coins will have a government’s name on them, a denomination, and they will also give their content and purity. Generally even when the metal isn’t pure, there is a net ounce (or half ounce, or quarter ounce) of gold or silver or whatever in them.
Your choices are American eagles, Canadian maple leafs, Chicom Pandas (please don’t buy these!), and so on, often in ounces, sometimes in grams. Back in the 70s and 80s there was pretty much one country doing this, South Africa, and they were producing the krugerrand (the gold rand). If memory serves, they came in 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce and quarter ounce sizes. They were not pure gold, however: with copper alloyed they tended to be tan in color.
The Krugerrand, which started something…
Our gold eagle is also not pure gold but is alloyed with a mix of copper and silver, so it has a proper “gold” color to it. We also sell a “buffalo” that is very pure gold; but I don’t see those as often.
Canada, in particular, loves to make pure gold coins, one ounce and up, and they’ve even made manhole-cover sized 100 kilogram gold coins (I got to see one once) that were 99.999% pure. However, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. Because gold will dent easily, these “Maple Leaf” coins get beat up and generally won’t sell for as much as you would think they ought to.
Since the impure coins still contain an ounce of gold or silver (or whatever) in them, the alloy is extra and usually helps the coin’s physical durability.
This is actually my favorite way to hold gold–American eagles. They come in 1/10th, 1/4th, 1/2 and 1 ounce sizes, denominated 5, 10, 25, and 50 dollars (and yes, that $10 should be $12.50 to be consistent–but again no one is actually going to use these at face value!). In general the buy sell spread is narrow on them, but is significantly wider for the smaller sizes.
Silver eagles (they are only made in one ounce size, denominated a dollar) tend to sell at a huge premium…nevertheless I buy one each year, because…yes, well, I am collecting them by date. (So much for the great divide between bullion and collectible coins–but I consider them part of my collection, not my bullion stash.) Actually, since I’m not the only one collecting (rather than accumulating) these coins, that’s probably why they sell at such a premium.
Junk Silver
Finally…yes, you can buy old coins. There’s an entire market for what is called “junk silver.” Junk silver is real coinage that actually circulated, once, not like those NCLTs we were just talking about.
“Junk” silver. That 1964 quarter (and the dime next to it) is surprisingly worn…and 1964 is such a common date that any wear at all makes it worthless as a collectible. But it’s a bona fide piece of silver!
But, these are old coins that are common dates, or they worn so badly they have no numismatic value. (You will find a LOT of early 60s coins in junk silver, that are in pretty decent shape, and you will see the occasional very worn coin from before 1940 as well.) They’re worth their silver content, and that’s it. Prices will be quoted in terms of face value. Ask a coin dealer how much he’s selling junk silver for, and he’ll tell you something like, “26 times face.” (Kitco is selling hundred dollar bags for $2,596.24–so basically, 26 times face. But that includes quite a substantial volume discount!) That means he’ll sell you a silver dime out of his junk silver dime stock, for $2.60, a half dollar for $13.00…and a quarter for $6.50. In general, though, you buy several of these at a time. A dollar’s worth, face value, contains .72 ounces of silver in it. (It also contains copper; the silver is 90% pure.) With these coins, it will be a bit less because many of them are worn, but this is figured into both the buying and selling price. The Kitco bag I just mentioned, for example, claims to have 71.5 ounces of silver in it, not 72. If you are on a super-tight Biden-era budget, this is the only way to get into silver, because no one makes rounds or NCLTs with only 0.072 ounces of silver in them, but an old dime has that much.
When you go to sell these, you will be paid, again, some number times face value. The difference between what the dealer sells for and what he pays is how he makes his lunch money.
But now I need to tell you some things that are well known to the experienced, but probably won’t be obvious. First off, half dollars from 1965-1970 contain 40 percent silver, not 90 percent. You can buy those as junk too, and they’ll be cheaper, but there’s less of a market for them and the buy/sell spread is really bad. pricing and almost no demand. Second: Old silver dollars have .77 ounces in them (they’re different because the events of 1853 and 1873 left them alone–I’ve talked about this) and sell at more of a premium because too many people just like silver dollars. There are “junk” silver dollars, usually loose in a tray at the coin shop, but they will cost a lot more for what they are than junk dimes, quarters, and halves, because they’re popular as silver dollars–you’re edging into “numismatic” territory here. Finally: the part-silver “war nickels” from 1942-1945, identifiable from the fact that the manganese in them turned black AND the large letter over the dome of Monticello (that’s the mint mark) don’t trade in this market. At least, I haven’t ever seen them offered as bullion–but then I never really went looking, either. They contain 0.05626 ounces of silver in them, which is more than half as much as a silver dime…fancy that. (Silver was so cheap relative to gold at the time that none of our silver coinage at the time was worth even close to face value.)
Is there such a thing as “junk gold”? Sort of. There are plenty of US gold coins–some even desirable to a numismatist–that sell for just barely over their melt value, simply because that melt value is high. You could buy one of those. If you buy one that’s just barely of numismatic interest, you might not lose that much money if gold drops. You could go look up prices, figure out how much the gold is worth (gold was 20.67 an ounce back then, so a $20 gold piece that is “junk” should sell for a bit more than gold spot; proportionately so for the $2 1/2, $5, and $10), and if the coin isn’t priced that much more, you can go for it. I’d buy something with the highest grade manageable because those are least likely to drop in value; these coins will almost certainly come in a certified holder with a grade on it. You shouldn’t technically rely on that grade but use your own judgment (which if you are a beginner, you don’t have!) but in this case it doesn’t matter that much.
How about the other metals? Nope, no junk rhodium. No junk palladium. The only other precious metal that ever got used in a circulating coin (other than via fraud by Spain) was platinum, and that was by Russia in 1828-1845. Those coins came in 3, 6, and 12 ruble denominations, weighing almost exactly 1/3, 2/3, and 1 1/3 ounces. And the sixes and twelves are all scarce to rare, selling for far more than their weight in platinum (try five figures). You might luck into a three ruble piece that is beat to hell and gone not selling for too much over a thousand bucks…but that’s still far more than the platinum is worth.
Watch the Spread
However you choose to pursue this, be aware of the spread. Find out not just how much the dealer is selling it for, but also what he’s buying it for. These two numbers are different; this is how he pays for his lunch. And his mortgage. For example, gold eagles often sell for more money than other gold coins. But they also are bought for more money. The dealers have to make a living, and they do so based on that buy/sell spread. You want to pick a product that has the narrowest buy/sell spread possible, because that represents how far the price has to move before you can make your money back. For example, if they want $1850 for an eagle, but are willing to pay $1825, that’s a better deal than a Canadian Maple leaf selling for $1830…but they’re willing to pay you $1790 for it. Even though the Eagle is $20 more expensive. Because in the first case, you can make your money back after gold goes up $25, in the second, you have to wait for it to go up $40. The same sort of considerations apply to rounds, junk silver, and the like. (And this is why new jewelry is often a terrible buy for such purposes–though second hand might not be so bad–the first owner paid for the artist’s labor.) But, as with everything else, there is a caveat…the spreads themselves can change with time, and what’s true today can be not true five years down the line. But a really huge difference in spread between Major Well Known Refinery’s platinum bar versus Fly By Night Platinum Company’s bar probably won’t change all that much.
Junk silver has a wide spread and if you’re a major investor it sucks for that reason, but if you are expecting a huge price hike, or the end of the world, it has its advantages. If you find yourself in some post-apocalyptic market trying to buy a head of cabbage, a silver dime is the right size; a one ounce gold eagle will be a pain in the ass, if not impossible, to get change made for and you’ll probably not get all the change you should because of that (you’re paying them for the pain-in-the-ass factor). I’m sure I need not make snide remarks about moneychangers to this audience, though in this context, they have to make a living too. (The objections, in the Bible, were to them doing their business on Temple grounds.) Because of all of this, I do have a notable amount of junk silver–bought years ago when it was a lot cheaper. It’s part of the picture; I wouldn’t want it to be all of it…but if it’s what you can afford to do, it’s better than nothing!
In that mode, I have another combination coin collectiong/bullion story to tell. I went to a coin show with a couple of gold eagles just in case I found a coin I really wanted to buy (gold was a lot cheaper back then) but didn’t quite have the money for. Sure enough, there was something I didn’t have the cash for. “Can you take a trade for some of it?” I asked. The dealer asked me with some trepidation what it was I was offering to trade. After all, it could be something he’d have no use for, and he’d have to sell it to some other dealer and get less than it was worth so that dealer could make his lunch money–what a pain! I pulled out a gold eagle. His eyes showed his relief. One of those is instantly negotiable at a coin show as if it were a really odd-denominated piece of paper money. If nothing else he could walk over to the APMEX table and sell it. Of course so could I, so I basically got what it was worth in trade, just so he could save some time and not have to wait for me to run over there and make the deal. I even got some regular money back as change. Moneychanging, indeed!
Finally, there’s the issue of spot prices. Which by the way are now (Kitco Ask):
(Rhodium is insanely rare stuff, and tends–in the long term–to go up and down a lot. I’ve seen it as low as $400…but that was 20 years ago. And back then you couldn’t buy it as bars, you had to buy it by the 50 kg lot as powder. Now PAMP makes bars and I don’t make nearly enough money. Gold bullion taste…chicken bullion budget!)
Anyhow, the issue of spot prices. You’ll never pay spot. You’ll invariably pay a bit over it, and that amount will fluctuate. And sometimes spot does something crazy, like taking a major dump, and no one will have any precious metals for you to buy. Sure, silver spot is fifteen bucks that day after the huge drop, but there’s no silver to be had. Some coin shops will have a tray full of miscellaneous silver rounds…and the price card on the tray will say something like $3 over spot. That means they’ll look at the spot price at that instant, and add three bucks to it, there’s your price. (And that implicitly means “per ounce” so if there’s a two ounce round in there it will cost you six bucks over the spot price of two ounces of silver.)
Spot prices tend to be a product, largely, of the futures market and doesn’t reflect what people will pay for physical metal that day, on Main Street.
I have deliberately given you no advice on whether to do this. That’s because I have no idea what’s going to happen in the market. Of late silver seems steadier than gold, which seems to be sliding. Even platinum (which has been ridiculously cheap lately compered to gold) seems to be doing well, going up mostly. But that could turn around at any time. I venture no predictions. I am not responsible if you run off and buy a bunch, and the price drops, because I haven’t told you to do so or even claimed it’s a good idea. All I’ve done is given you some pointers on how things work, and what kinds of products there are, and how you might evaluate them compared to each other. You can lose money on this. I know people who ran up their plastic buying gold and silver back in the early 2000s…and lost their shirts and ended up with monster credit card debt. I’ve been mauled and even eaten by that bear a few times myself (though never with plastic), and no one else was responsible for that.
If you want some notion of the bewildering array of different products out there, check out kitco.com and apmex.com But also check out your local coin shop(s), and price shop all of them and the internet, IF you decide to go forward with this.
Obligatory PSAs and Reminders
China is Lower than Whale Shit
Remember Hong Kong!!!
Whoever ends up in the cell next to his, tell him I said “Hi.”
中国是个混蛋 !!! Zhōngguò shì gè hùndàn !!! China is asshoe !!!
China is in the White House
Since Wednesday, January 20 at Noon EST, the bought-and-paid for His Fraudulency Joseph Biden has been in the White House. It’s as good as having China in the Oval Office.
Joe Biden is Asshoe
China is in the White House, because Joe Biden is in the White House, and Joe Biden is identically equal to China. China is Asshoe. Therefore, Joe Biden is Asshoe.
But of course the much more important thing to realize:
Joe Biden Didn’t Win
乔*拜登没赢 !!! Qiáo Bài dēng méi yíng !!! Joe Biden didn’t win !!!
File the problem of “too much MAGA” under “GOOD TROUBLE”.
Yes, I was PLEASED when former Ohio Congressman Jim Renacci came out of some seemingly short retirement, and started talking about getting out from under the economic errors of the current “masked out” administration – talking about “making Ohio great again” – talking about “Ohio First”.
Was he going to run for Portman’s seat? Or maybe even DeWine’s?
Yes, I was HAPPY when I learned that former Ohio State Treasurer and Marines veteran Josh Mandel was going to run for Rob Portman’s Senate seat in Ohio.
But I was simply overjoyed when former Ohio GOP Chair, “rugby mom”, and MAGA Super-Woman Jane Timken decided to MAKE SURE that Portman’s seat will GO MAGA in 2022!
At this point, there is NO WAY – barring a CHEAT ELECTION – that Portman’s seat goes to a RINO or a Dem. NO WAY.
Two of the absolutely BEST and MOST MAGA candidates in Ohio are contending for Portman’s seat. EITHER ONE is an absolute dream candidate for a MAGA-savvy Trump supporter.
Look at it like Sun Tzu. If one falls, the other goes in. WE’VE GOT IT COVERED.
However, before I get into these two amazing candidates, and why you need to back EITHER ONE OR BOTH, let me give you a LINK to a great summary of possible contenders for that seat:
I will provide you with snippets from this article, to show you who THEY thought were in the running, and one who was NOT…..
First, my THOUGHTS on that article.
Jim Jordan? Please! We love him RIGHT WHERE HE IS. Let’s concentrate on keeping him there!
John Kasich? Thank you, NO THANK YOU. John Kasich may well be in this race – but only IN SPIRIT. And you’re going “HUH? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, WOLF?” No, I have not. Just wait. All will be explained.
Old Congresspeople? OLD NEWS. Very likely a lot of CHINA TAINT and BLACKMAIL BAIT in that bunch. SIDE-EYE REQUIRED.
Let’s try that again.
State Officeholders? STATE MACHINE. Yes, there are some very good ones in the bunch, for state offices, but we cannot afford a weak DeWine type, or frankly another Portman, in Portman’s place. Let them contend for DeWine’s replacement, or for higher state offices, or as Congressfolks.
An author? Hey – he can post HERE. Better yet, let him get into FOOD FIGHTS on Twitter with Cultural Marxist Stephen King. But please NO, we need HARD MAGA, not SOFT ARTSIES.
Jim Renacci? I love the guy, but after his MACHINE LOSS (take that as you will) to super-nebbish Sherrod Brown, the INVISIBLE MARXIST, I don’t have FAITH that Renacci won’t choke, or “be choked”. I can see Renacci as GOVERNOR – and a good one – who would pull a TRUMP on Ohio.
Can we save him or something? Thanks!
And NOW we’re down to picking between Peter and Paul. Romulus and Remus. Super-MAGA vs. Ultra-MAGA. Clash of the MAGA TITANS. All that matters is that BOTH of these two great individuals get into office somehow. And ONE of them is going to be filling Portman’s seat.
So here we go. WHY I LOVE BOTH OF THESE CANDIDATES.
Josh Mandel
If you can’t trust the Marines, who CAN you trust?
Yeah, we may joke about “jarheads”, but I have never gone wrong trusting the Marines, and I’m not going to second-guess about them now.
“In Washington, I will pulverize the Uniparty – that cabal of Democrats and Republicans who sound the same and stand for nothing,” he vowed. “My candidacy is about standing up for working people, economic freedom and individual liberty. We must stop the far left’s assault on American values.”
Senate Candidate and Marine Veteran Josh Mandel
OMG – and he ALWAYS sounds like this! MARINES!!!
Josh dropped out of the Senate race against Sherrod Brown to deal with family issues, which may have ended in divorce, but to me that is just bona fides about a man who follows THE LORD and puts his responsibilities to HIS COMMANDMENTS over personal gain and power.
All marriages cannot be saved, but those who at least TRY, demonstrate valor with every attempt. There is no greater demonstration of proper political priorities than to put FAMILY before POLITICS.
We know we are in a SPIRITUAL BATTLE, and thus I am looking for people who SERVE GOD to have the strength to WIN.
However, THAT is not demonstration of MAGA. Instead, it has been Josh’s fearless and relentless support for Trump, NEVER WAVERING, which tells me that Josh, like ME, will never abandon Trump!
JI: When you say you’re running to help define the party’s future, are you envisioning that Trump will run again in 2024?
Mandel: I hope he does. I hope he runs for reelection in 2024 — pardon me, I hope he runs for president in 2024. And once again, I’ll be a full-throated supporter behind his candidacy. In Ohio in 2016, I was the first statewide official to support Trump. Late in the fall of 2016, after the AccessHollywood tapes came out and all these Republicans were jumping ship, I stuck with him. And in the 2020 reelection, I was part of a small group called the Trump 500, which is a small group of people around the country who raised over $500,000 for his reelection. I’ve been a strong Trump supporter. I think what he’s done for America, and what he’s done for Israel, is unrivaled, and I’m proud to call him my president.
Keep reading that article to see how Mandel has an AMAZING way of handling the press. The lefties at Jewish Insider try going after him with a subtle hidden “You don’t believe the conspiracy theory that Trump really won, do you?”, and Mandel responds with a lesson in how the Democrats stole the election instead of giving them a sound byte. Then they go after him with “antisemites said bad things about Amy Acton” (Mike DeWine’s tragic Democrat lock-down czarina) and Mandel follows up his immediate “I heard nothing about that” (me, neither) with a full press statement of (paraphrasing again) “SHE WAS HORRIBLE AND RUINED OHIO“.
LOL! OMG – and Amy Acton is being mentioned as a possible Democrat opponent. IMO her candidacy is already DOA.
Josh Mandel is a FIGHTER. He is very much like Trump – VERY MUCH. He takes no prisoners on Iran policy and Biden’s insanity on policy thereof.
The ONLY thing I would fault him with is being a bit too diplomatic toward some of his future Senate comrades – Cruz, Lee, and Rubio – but think about it. Think about TRUMP running in 2016.
Yeah. SOMEBODY was paying attention – about how to WIN and LEAD.
Jane Timken
The reason you EVER said “President Trump” is because of this woman.
Let me state that again, slightly differently.
You would have NEVER said “President Trump”, were it not for Jane Timken.
In my opinion, Jane Timken was single-handedly responsible for making Ohio a core part of the MAGA movement.
Yeah, yeah, yeah – everybody knows that Trump always says it was Ohio Trump campaign director Bob Paduchik, and IT WAS BOB PADUCHIK – but it was also JANE TIMKEN. And yes, they are both part of the machine politics that is Ohio politics, but they are the FAST-LEARNING, HIGHLY EVOLVING, MAGA side of the Ohio political machine.
And if you want a demonstration of that, consider how Jane was very recently re-elected to Ohio GOP Chair, then two weeks later she QUITS, so that Bob Paduchik runs for her seat unopposed, while Jane runs for Portman’s seat.
See how that works? Let’s have that smile one more time, Jane!
And even though Mike DeWine is supposedly in on this machine kabuki, the whole point is that REPUBLICANS WILL HOLD THE SEAT. And THAT is the number one rule. If you can make it happen with MAGA, all the better, because everybody knows MAGA is the future, but Republicans WILL retain the seat, or it will not happen.
NOW can you see why it’s important that there be two amazing MAGA candidates for Portman’s seat? There will be NO chances taken that the seat goes to the Demmunists. NO CHANCES.
But now that I’ve gotten that POLITICAL stuff out of the way, let’s talk about Jane Timken, and the MAGA reasons why she would be such a GREAT senator for Ohio.
Very few people are “Trump-level” – meaning they get strategy – tactics – intuitive understanding of where things are going. Jane Timken is one of those few people. Jane managed to get the MESS that was Ohio politics, when it was DISRUPTED by MAGA, into a coherent force that was STRONGER because of that disruption.
Yeah, who does THAT sound like?
Jane has PROVEN herself a WINNER. She DOES. NOT. CHOKE.
She even CALLS HERSELF – accurately – a disruptor – a “conservative disruptor”. But she is not a disruptor like some of the people who can only disrupt by attacking and breaking – she disrupts by LEADING and bringing together. I am only a rank amateur in such endeavors, trying to emulate Trump as the manager of a small blog. Jane Timken is a PRO. She turned Ohio from old-school to MAGA in a single election, and kept the state so MAGA for 4 years, that the Demmunists and ChiComs didn’t even THINK of trying to pull a “Georgia” in Ohio.
This is an important issue for me, and particularly in looking at OHIO CANDIDATES, because it is my contention that Trump’s victory in Ohio in 2020 was SHAVED BY SEVERAL POINTS, to hide Trump’s actual victory in the other swing states. A massive margin increase in Ohio would have given away the game.
There is no way that Trump could have GONE UP in Ohio and lost the other swing states, so it was REQUIRED that Ohio’s vote be tampered back to “no increase” in Trump’s margin versus 2016.
This remains a HUGE DANGER to the citizens of Ohio, whose votes can easily be overridden by such cheating.
Thus, Ohio needs massive focus on election fraud that DID NOT SHOW UP, in order to address the baseline cyber fraud which IMO stole YUGELY from Trump in 2020. Only by this issue being fronted by NATIONAL CANDIDATES will this get the exposure needed.
Now – I know this lady would be a JUNIOR SENATOR, but in the long run, she has the abilities of a guy like Mitch McConnell to LEAD THE SENATE. In our victory against SOCIALISM, we need people like her at the highest levels.
Yeah, are you thinking as LONG-TERM as me? YEAH. Think about it. WE NEED OPTIONS.
Another reason I like Jane is that she understood Trump’s personal stance and political strategy on GROWING MAGA with traditionally Democrat groups. Thus – VERY EARLY ON – she understood the value and virtue of my fellow “extremist” and “insurrectionist” Brandon Straka, and his “#WalkAway” movement, which helped spread the MAGA message to traditional Democrat voters and voter blocs.
This kind of savvy does not walk into the store every day, people – much less as a lady of many virtues, including TOUGHNESS, KINDNESS, and HONESTY.
John Kasich
So – let me tell you right now – whichever one of these two, Josh Mandel or Jane Timken – ends up representing Ohio, I will back them 100% and all the way to the Senate!
But let’s get back to the THIRD “candidate” – John Kasich.
We need the SPIRIT of John Kasich in this primary.
I know that sounds shocking to my fellow MAGATS, but hear me out.
One of the huge risks of this primary election – this “battle of the MAGA stars” – is for the Soviet Democrat FAKE NEWS to play “LET’S YOU AND HER FIGHT” with Josh Mandel, and “LET’S YOU AND HIM FIGHT” with Jane Timken.
They are ALREADY STARTING. Here is Politico, trying to PICK THE FIGHT.
Mandel and Timken both launching on pro-Trump platform sets the stage for an intra-party race to the right, an effort to secure both the president’s potential support and that of his voters in the state.
Mandel’s campaign manager, Scott Guthrie, in a statement said the former treasurer was “the only unabashedly pro-Trump candidate in this race.” Mandel also tried to bludgeon Timken by tweeting a photo of her with Kasich, whom she endorsed in the 2016 primary. Kasich responded by tweeting a photo of himself with Mandel.
Timken in the interview said it was no secret she previously supported Kasich, the state’s sitting governor at the time, but that he has “disappointed me and many Republicans. And, quite frankly, I don’t think he’s a Republican anymore.”
She also said she would have joined Republican senators who objected to the certification of the Electoral College last month, saying there had been fraud and election integrity issues. Mandel last week told POLITICO he would have objected to certification. Election officials and judges in multiple battleground states, including some Republicans and Trump appointees, found no evidence of significant fraud or irregularities in the November election.
Notice how the candidates are both using John Kasich as the “bad guy” to define themselves as MAGA?
That has worked in the past, and may have even been necessary at some point, but I think it’s a bit long in the tooth. VICTORY NEED NOT BE RUTHLESS.
In my opinion, there comes a point where, rather than pounding our old “enemies” – OK – let’s be more honest – old “frenemies” – OK – let’s be even MORE honest – OLD FRIENDS – like dead horses, or wearing their valor falsely as a “skin suit”, we need to HONOR EARNESTLY what they did right. I do NOT mean that we should virtue signal to all the many things that they did wrong, but rather to respect what RIGHTNESS they may have had.
Would this primary between MAGA VICTORS not be better if we actually stole a few tricks from the Kasich playbook, so we could BEAT THE TAR out of the Bolsheviks in the general election?
Yes, the Ohio GOP is now MAGA, and MAGA now needs to be MAGAnimous in victory.
No need to bash Kasich.
No need to bash each other – for ANY reason.
No need to do the Democrats’ work for them.
Ohio will have ONE MAGA Senator in November 2022.
There is no reason it can’t have TWO of them in 2026.
And a MAGA governor winning in BOTH YEARS.
There are so many MAGA possibilities, it would be a shame to fritter away ANY of them.
Thus, I would counsel the imperative of the two major MAGA candidates operating by the Good Old Ohio Machine Maxim of DO NO DAMAGE. Even to the defeated Kasich wing.
Don’t kick the man that’s down. It’s over. It’s not honorable.
The Kasich idea of bipartisanship and “honorable opposition” actually works with “honorable opposition” – like two MAGA candidates contending for one spot.
It doesn’t work with Bolsheviks, or CCP, or CCP minions. It doesn’t work with conniving globalists and communists, who trick gentle souls into self-defeating strategies – who make them into human IEDs to stop – say – Trump. It doesn’t work when dealing with a side that relies on FAKE NEWS and political DIRTY TRICKS using the powers of government.
It DOES work WITHIN an authentically American system of electoral and political opposition between honorable parties. It does work when we get back to AMERICAN principles – which are sadly lacking on a global scale.
SO – let’s have a GREAT primary where we realize that BOTH MAGA candidates are running for TWO very powerful positions of national importance.
ONE of those offices will be filled in 2022.
BOTH candidates need to emerge VICTORS from the primary.
Friday is back at Wolf’s Pub, and it’s time for some battle Scripture before we get down to the Friday Night Special: Mead!
The Psalms are unmatched for inspiring us as we do battle with evil. A psalm a day keeps the devil away. And who couldn’t use a little inspiration right now?
Our President is currently deprived of his rightful office while a puppet is being jerked on his strings by the globalists and the CCP, and our freedoms are bleeding out upon the Dark Winter snow.
One of our champions, Rush Limbaugh, has died.
Parts of the country have been dealt a serious blow with winter weather that has strained to the limits the power grid. People have died from the cold in one of the most advanced and wealthiest nations in the world. This is unacceptable.
We have no idea how the SCOTUS will behave with the election fraud cases being heard today.
We are having to deal with the full realization of the treason that has taken our Republic and replaced it with a corporate political system that is for sale to the highest bidder.
We have been betrayed by our own, just as David was betrayed by Saul, and also by his own son, Absalom.
It is in this possible setting that David wrote Psalm 35.
I’m not going to do an exegesis of the whole psalm, but here is a link to it. I am going to concentrate on just the first verse, which when unpacked, will amaze and inspire you:
“Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me.”
(Psalm 35, NKJV)
I also have a copy of the Art Scroll Tanach Series, Tehillim (Psalms) described as the “sacred hymnal of the Jewish People. I have benefited from the commentary of the rabbis who, naturally, are steeped in the subtleties and language that give great insight to every verse of Psalm 35. The description reads in part:
“The Art Scroll Series presents the comments of the classic giants of ancient and contemporary times in a logical, comprehensible manner, like a master teacher on an exciting voyage of intellectual discovery.”
I have found this to be true. The painstaking and deeply thought out commentary is rich beyond words for those who love God’s word. I highly recommend the Art Scroll Series for any Hebrew Testament book you seek to study. They are worth every penny and more.
Now here is the same verse from the Tehillim:
“To David: Fight HASHEM, my adversaries, battle my attackers.”
Hashem’s literal translation in Hebrew is “the name,” and refers of course, to God.
“Of David. O LORD, strive with my adversaries, give battle to my foes…”
Let’s unpack this one verse.
“Fight, HASHEM” is explained by one medieval rabbi, Radak, “as a command.” It’s possible meaning?
“Is it conceivable that a flesh and blood servant should order his master, “Go out and fight my enemies for me?’ Yet we find that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to David, ‘You immerse yourself in Torah study and I will fight your wars.’”
(Art Scroll Series Tanakh Tehillim, p. 422.)
The Tehillim commentary goes on to link this with Moses in The Book of HASHEM’S wars, (Numbers 21:14),
“HASHEM said: ‘If you are [immersed] in the Book [of Torah study], then [your wars will become] the wars of HASHEM [and I, HASHEM, will fight them for you.]”
Isn’t that wonderful? If we immerse ourselves in Scripture study, God will fight our wars for us.
Next, we have “my adversaries.” The literal translation of this is: those who fight me. Likewise, “my attackers” has a literal translation: those who declare war on me.
Here the commentary makes an interesting observation. The attacks are one-sided. David is not attacking. He is being attacked.
“He does not say that he fights them, rather they fight him, but he does not reciprocate their hostility (Hirsch).”
(Art Scroll Tanach Series Tehillim, p. 422.)
According to one rabbi, if the adversary had been only one, such as Saul or Absalom, this would not have constituted a war, but a quarrel. However, because in both instances others joined with Saul and/or Absalom, “…the limited quarrel turned into a war. David refers to these outside interlopers as…literally those who declare war against me.”(Art Scroll Tanach Series Tehillim, p. 422.)
Here is the kicker:
“Midrash Chachamin suggest that the difference between these words may be understood in the light of the fact that every war which flares up on earth is evidence of a tremendous spiritual struggle between celestial forces representing each side. David asks that Hashem first vanquish his adversaries above…and consequently this will spell the doom of those who make actual war below…his attackers.”
(Art Scroll Tanach Series Tehillim, p. 422.)
Let’s just repeat that:
“Every war which flares up on earth is evidence of a tremendous spiritual struggle between celestial forces representing each side. David asks that Hashem first vanquish his adversaries above…and consequently this will spell the doom of those who make actual war below…his attackers.”
This brings to mind:
“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:11-)
And this:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
And this:
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed…” (2 Cor. 4: 8-9)
And indeed, Psalm 35 goes on in verse 2 to describe the taking hold of shield and armor, or as the rabbis interpret those words, as an encircling armor, denoting God’s full protection of David while his enemies are being destroyed.
House Rules
How comforting Scripture is and how merciful our God is towards us. And so let us try our best to be merciful to one another as we go about this day. Borrowing from Deplorable Patriot, Please review our HOST and site owner’s Guidelines for posting and discussion for this site. The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Company manners are appreciated. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog out discussions best saved for a wrestling mat.
It’s Mead Time
Moving on to our drink special this fine Friday, let’s learn about Mead, that fermented honey drink that is known by almost every culture the world over. Here’s a fantastic video by Tasting History with Max Miller. There’s a fun, crash course in the history of mead, and a very simple recipe for making your own. I liked this guy so much I subscribed to his channel. This video about mead has nearly 950,000 views in just a few months.
If you aren’t into making your own (but really, I think we should all be preparing to make our own mead, wine and beer as well grow our own food and raise chickens and goats and so on) you can certainly find some mead at your local liquor store. I’ve provided a link that will take you to a surprising selection of mead and mead products. Some of them look a bit iffy, but it would be fun to try a few and see how you like it.
Tonight, we have a home fermented mead made by our dear bouncer, Hans. He makes mead like a Viking. Speaking of which, here’s a fun book titled “Make Mead Like a Viking,” by Jereme Zimmerman. A taste:
“As you’re coming closer to a state of Viking Zen, allow your mind to detach itself from your body and travel back to an ancient world of fire and ice in which mythology, magic, and reality were so intertwined as to be one and the same.”
And to get us to a state of Viking Zen, I present a Nordic lullaby, The Wolf Song:
Part of the battle we are fighting against the supremacist elites in all our institutions and in business, is the intended destruction of our heritage. Whether you are English, Irish, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, German, Welsh, Scots, Austrian, Polish, Hungarian, etc., the globalists seek to destroy your western heritage, especially Christianity. We must not allow it.
We must do everything we can to preserve our heritage. Literature is key. Remember the classic legends of the Norse gods? A reprint of this wonderful book (of a series of classic literature for young people) is a potent way to learn of our heritage. I have just begun reading this one to my grandchildren. You can purchase it here. There are three volumes out now.
Not that most Americans haven’t expected this for over a year, but on Wednesday, the dreaded news arrived, and not by press release or a talking head reading off of a teleprompter, but straight from the woman who stood by Rush Limbaugh’s side while he fought a scourge of a disease.
BREAKING: Rush Limbaugh's wife Kathryn announces on his radio show that he passed away this morning due to complications from lung cancer
It was the bombshell that dominated the day’s news. All day, one tribute after another was published on every social media platform. President Trump, among others, called into Fox News, and talked at length about his friend, the man he met, actually, after the escalator ride in 2015.
From the time Rush Hudson Limbaugh, III, hit the airwaves in 1988 with his Excellence in Broadcasting Network that eventually grew to over 600 stations, including the 50,000 watt powerhouse known as KMOX after another legend in radio, Robert Hyland, passed away, El Rushbo, as we liked to call him, breathed new life into what was then very much country club conservatism, and bridged the gap between the Ivy League and Little League. He was a man of the people despite being born into a family of lawyers, and spoke the language of Americans on the street who loved Ronald Reagan in the same way they/we loved Rush, and we now love Donald Trump.
He spoke our language.
He also believed very much in the concept of American exceptionalism, something that this humble Midwestern girl has a problem trumpeting. And Rush was not shy about touting the strengths of this nation compared with our roots where the people are comfortable just as they are.
“I’m aware that the United States is young compared to countries in Europe and Asia that have been around for hundreds of years. They’re thousand-year-old civilizations,” he told listeners in 2013. “So, I go to Europe and say, ‘Wait a minute. Why is this bedroom so damned old-fashioned and doesn’t work? What the hell is this? They call this a toilet?’ So I started asking myself, ‘How is it that we, who have only been around 200 years, are light-years ahead of people that have been alive a thousand?’ So, I started thinking this. It was a matter of genuine curiosity to me, and not from a braggadocios standpoint.”
Maybe so, but Americans, because of our experience in the place we are in the time this nation has existed, are a different breed.
Rush, unlike the Ivy League Country Club Conservatives who could write exquisite prose, but didn’t quite get why farm reports were important in the long run, made us, or got us to, understand what it meant to be Americans again. Yes, in 1980, our men’s Olympic hockey team won one heck of a tournament against the odds, and that gave us a boost, but it took someone like Rush, who had fun while talking politics, to explain that the give and take gradual slide into socialism was happening.
The “Undeniable Truths” were part of an article he wrote for the Sacramento Union back in 1988. Here they are:
The greatest threat to humanity lies in the nuclear arsenal of the USSR.
The greatest threat to humanity lies in the USSR.
Peace does not mean the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Peace does not mean the absence of war.
War is not obsolete.
Ours is a world governed by the aggressive use of force.
There is only one way to get rid of nuclear weapons – use them.
Peace cannot be achieved by developing a “understanding” with the Russian People.
When Americans oppose America, it is not always courageous and sacred; it is sometimes dangerous.
Communism Kills.
Neither the US, nor anyone else, imposes freedom on the peoples of other nations.
Freedom is God given.
In the USSR, peace means the absence of opposition.
To free peoples, peace means the absence of threats and the presence of justice.
The Peace Movement in the US, whether by accident or design, is pro-Communist.
The collective knowledge and wisdom of seasoned citizens is the most valuable, yet untapped, resource our young-people have.
The greatest football team in the history of civilization is the Pittsburgh Steelers of 1975-1980.
There is no such thing as war atrocities.
War itself is an atrocity.
There is a God.
Abortion is wrong.
Morality is not defined and cannot be defined by individual choice.
Evolution cannot explain Creation.
Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society.
Love is the only human emotion that cannot be controlled.
The only difference between Mikhail Gorbachev and previous Soviet leaders, is that Gorbachev is alive.
Soviet Leaders are just left-wing dictators.
Abe Lincoln saved this nation.
The L.A. Raiders will never be the team that they were when they called Oakland their home.
The US will again go to war.
To more and more people, a victorious US is a sinful US.
This is frightening and ominous.
There will always be poor people.
This is not the fault of the rich.
You should thank God for making you an American; and instead of feeling guilty about it, help spread our ideas worldwide.
Rush has updated this list, many of the “old” UTOL having become somewhat dated (but no less true for being in the past tense!) As read by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show, Friday, February 18, 1994:
(All equally truthful: number 1 is not more or less important than 35.)
There is a distinct singular American culture – rugged individualism and self-reliance – which made America great.
The vast majority of the rich in this country did not inherit their wealth; they earned it. They are the country’s achievers, producers, and job creators.
No nation has ever taxed itself into prosperity.
Evidence refutes liberalism.
There is no such thing as a New Democrat.
The Earth’s eco-system is not fragile.
Character matters; leadership decends from character.
The most beautiful thing about a tree is what you do with it after you cut it down.
Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of the twentieth century.
The 1980s was not a decade of greed but a decade of prosperity; it was the longest period of peacetime growth in American history.
Abstinence prevents sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy -every time it’s tried.
Condoms only work during the school year.
Poverty is not the root (“rut”) cause of crime.
There’s a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.
If you commit a crime, you are guilty.
Women should not be allowed on juries where the accused is a stud.
The way to improve our schools is not more money, but the reintroduction of moral and spiritual values, as well as the four “R’s”: reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmatic, and Rush.
I am not arrogant.
My first 35 Undeniable Truths are still undeniably true.
There is a God.
There is something wrong when critics say the problem with America is too much religion.
Morality is not defined by individual choice.
The only way liberals win national elections is by pretending they’re not liberals.
Feminism was established as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.
Follow the money. When somebody says, “It’s not the money,” it’s always the money.
Liberals attempt through judicial activism what they cannot win at the ballot box.
Using federal dollars as a measure, our cities have not been neglected, but poisoned with welfare dependency funds.
Progress is not striving for economic justice or fairness, but economic growth.
Liberals measure compassion by how many people are given welfare. Conservatives measure compassion by how many people no longer need it.
Compassion is no substitute for justice.
The culture war is between the winners and those who think they’re losers who want to become winners. The losers think the only way they can become winners is by banding together all the losers and then empowering a leader of the losers to make things right for them.
The Los Angeles riots were not caused by the Rodney King verdict. The Los Angeles riots were caused by rioters.
You could afford your house without your government – if it weren’t for your government.
Words mean things.
Too many Americans can’t laugh at themselves anymore.
I first discovered Rush before he moved to KMOX here in town while he was on a station out of Granite City, Illinois, I think. Maybe Edwardsville. I was working a job in semi isolation, and going to school at night at a local university when he would keep me company until a stick in the mud boss told me it was unprofessional to have even classical music going while doing what amounted to a grunt job.
At any rate, this was the early 1990s when waking up was hard to do, but thanks in part to Rush, it happened. I began to understand that there was a whole world outside of Social Justice Warriors that really seemed to talk…and that was all they did. Coming from a defense family, that was not the way things were supposed to be. Results were expected.
At any rate, as life went on, Rush and I sort of parted ways. Some of his stances…we were in the same ballpark, but I was just in a different part of it. Not important at this juncture. Water under the bridge.
That doesn’t change the fact that a void has opened in the world of American conservative commentary and broadcasting which is not going to be filled in the same way ever. Some other names will come along, but there will only be one El Rushbo.
So, lift your glass, and toss one back for the legend who started the long march of true red white and blue Americans back to the place we really belong.
And from the grooveyard of forgotten favorites as the Couch Commando calls them:
And this classic:
Oh, my.
Well, if you all have any favorites from Rush’s years behind the golden mic at EIB, or stories to add of your introduction or how he kept you grounded through the Clinton, Bush and Obama years, please put them in the comments.
(See, death doesn’t have to be all about crepe hanging.)
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Please review our HOST and site owner’s Guidelines for posting and discussion for this site. Wolf is kind enough to put up with *most* of us and our antics after thorough vetting. Violators of the baiting and deliberately attempting to divide the group rules WILL face consequences.
The discourse on this site is to be CIVIL – no name calling, baiting, or threatening others here is allowed. Company manners are appreciated. Those who are so inclined may visit Wolf’s other sanctuary, the U-Tree, to slog out discussions best saved for a wrestling mat. Say hi to anyone who is actually hanging out there for the rest of us.
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15“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. 17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Prayers for the nation, the salvation of humanity, and all of us here as well as our families and the repose of the soul of Rush Limbaugh, III, are welcome.
