Surveillance Revisionism

I happened to catch some Newsmax on a recent night and couldn't help but grin listening to the commentators drone on about the surveillance state and how the citizenry shouldn't have to give up so much of its personal data.

Many will have no problem with giving up their data to corporations - who in turn affect and shape state policy and effectively lobby the government.

Trump and the Shepherds for Sale

https://religionnews.com/2025/03/10/defunded-evangelical-aid-groups-are-reaping-what-the-religious-right-sowed/

I'm sure many readers have already seen these headlines about Evangelical funding being cut by DOGE - and no doubt many caught the fact that there's something poetic about these developments.

The Mainstream Media has Turned John Bolton into a Centrist, a Voice of Reason and Moderation

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/11/g-s1-48112/john-bolton-greenland-national-security

I've been touching on this lately - but here's another example. The mainstream media (following the DNC) is tacking Right when it comes to economic and foreign policy issues.

The GOP's Sociopathic Behaviour Regarding Israel

Watching a PBS Frontline episode on campus violence the other night I fully expected to see some clips of the congressional hearing with university presidents - a dialogue that was largely misrepresented in the mainstream media. It goes without saying this was misrepresented by the Right.

The BBC, Russia, and Unreality

BBC coverage within Russia has taken a rather snarky tone for some time. They're not really reports as much as they are snide editorials. Secular Humanism is the religion of modern culture and the BBC advocates for this - even if they would deny it. Classical Liberalism is the default political theory, even though there's no real basis for assuming this within a secular worldview. They can't appeal to any authority and in a contest of empirical evidence the system is far from unassailable even though they seem to think so. One would think that an international news outlet would be a little more cynical regarding the history of democracy and liberalism in the West, but after all we are talking about a kind of faith - even if it's a vain and empty one.

Moral Character and Public Officials

In 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) released a statement on moral character and public officials. Many will recall this was at the height of tensions between the Clinton administration and the GOP. The Culture Wars were raging and many Evangelicals were in a state of apoplectic rage, convinced that Clinton was a communist determined to bring America down. They and their allies were doing all they could to combat his administration.

A Ukraine Miscellany XII: Thank You USA (II)

The US for its part is returning to the George Bush posture of post 9/11 – you're either with us or against us. In other words if you're not on board with Washington's global design, you're being relegated to the enemy column. And yet the Bush threat of 2001 carried more weight than it does under Biden in 2022. This is not because Biden is weak per se, but rather he presides over a nation that is undergoing social disintegration and even while it flexes its international muscle – domestically it faces deep systemic problems and is even now living under the shadow of civil conflict. And as things presently stand it looks like there's a good chance Trump could be president again in a couple of years which will effectively dash America's standing on the world stage.

Bush Isn't Funny

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/5/22/george-w-bush-is-not-funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEg6Ht2pNH0

For several years – but certainly for the past few months we have been subjected to media expressions of moral outrage and disgust over Putin's actions and his invasion of Ukraine. And it goes beyond the media – celebrities, the public sector, corporations and the like have all jumped on this bandwagon. Even a regional Russian Festival was canceled as it was deemed inappropriate to celebrate Russian culture at this time – which ironically it must be noted that about half of the music and dances in the event were... you guessed it, Ukrainian.

The Biden Doctrine: Great Powers Conflict, Endless War, and Regime Change

With Biden's open call for regime change in Russia, he has played his hand. Though framed as 'controversial' by the media, Biden was simply expressing what has been US policy for almost twenty years.

Deluded Populations and Sacral Propaganda

It's evident to all in the West that Russian media twists and distorts the Ukraine War narrative. The state obfuscates the extent of the war, downplays its intensity, ignores and spins civilian deaths and in general misleads its public as to the nature, cause, and goals of its policies.

In addition to this and to the outrage of many, Vladimir Putin the Russian president quotes Scripture and draws parallels, even blasphemous comparisons between the 'sacrifices' made by Russian soldiers and the death of Christ. He presents a picture in which the Russian public is led to believe that God is with them and their cause. He stands by their troops and their cause is just and righteous.

Indeed it is sickening and could even be described as evil.

Justified Cynicism Regarding the GOP's 2021 Virginia-Election Narrative

Many Evangelicals have celebrated the win of Glenn Youngkin in the Virginia gubernatorial race. There have been various discussions regarding whether or not he's actually an Evangelical, his place in the GOP vis-à-vis Trump, and what his win means in terms of the pending 2022 mid-term elections.

The Afghan Legacies of George W Bush and Tony Blair

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/7/31/george-w-bush-should-shut-up-and-go-away

The author of the editorial is correct in exposing a rather startling truth - men like George Bush have no conscience. A man who should be in sackcloth and ashes is instead living the good life and has been largely rehabilitated in the eyes of the American public. 

Rumsfeld: Evangelical Praises for an Unrepentant Mass Murderer

The legacy of George W Bush is being slowly rehabilitated. In many circles it is already complete. The dismal state of the country and world by the end of his presidency has been forgotten and re-written and he's been transformed into cute and bumbling Grandpa George.

But that's not what he was. He tore the Middle East apart, sowed cancerous seeds within American society and its judiciary, used technology for evil means and left behind a legacy of war, mass death, torture, kidnapping, assassination and the like. He was and is a monster and yet he was the darling of the American Evangelicals – one of their own. It's a testimony to the sad and degenerate state of American Christianity.

Some Comments on the Mueller Probe

On this point it must be admitted that Donald Trump is right. The Mueller probe has destroyed lives. It is a case of McCarthyism reborn, a trend which seems to be popular these days. We're also seeing it (in a different form) with the #MeToo movement.

Under this type of investigation there's no assumption of innocence, there's no due process, the verdict all but precedes the investigation. The prosecutor is also the judge (in many cases) and guilt does not have to be based on evidence, but largely rests on association.

Rehabilitating and Revising Collective Memory

https://original.antiwar.com/Danny_Sjursen/2018/11/15/the-reclamation-of-george-w-bush-is-an-american-tragedy/

It used to take a generation or so for the revision to begin. And then as we entered the Internet age, things began to change. The information age turned out to be the age of myth, the age of ignorance. Reagan was scarcely in the grave and already the legend was being written and the mythology created about his deeds and legacy. We'll now see the same with regard to George HW Bush.

The Latin American Pseudo-Left Revolutions and the American Backlash

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecuador-election-lasso-idUKKBN15W1G7

The Bush years afforded a rise of a new Latin American Left. From Argentina, to Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and even some of the nations in Central America, the people reacted to over a century of US imperialism and voted in governments that were openly hostile to American interests. It was a New Leftist Revolution, or was it?

Christopher Steele, the US Deep State, the UNSG and Bulgaria

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/the-uk-spy-behind-trumps-kompromat-also-investigated-eus-georgieva/

Anyone following international news in the latter half of 2016 would have known something about the disturbance with regard to the selection of a new UN General Secretary. At the time Bulgarian Kristalina Georgieva was in the running and yet it was a candidacy born in controversy as Sophia had switched gears and disavowed a former candidate due to perceived controversies.

Mainstream Media's Anti-Russian Campaign

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/08/30/491898040/the-curious-deaths-of-kremlin-critics

This piece ran about a month ago on NPR and yet it is but one example among many. The US Establishment is seeking to reconstitute the Cold War and while China is one villain, the chief antagonist is Russia under Vladimir Putin.

The lies grow wearisome. Putin is hardly a virtuous character but US accusations are disingenuous, rooted in arrogance and extremely hypocritical.

The fact that the Mainstream media has embraced conspiracy theories regarding Russia tells us a great deal about their role.

Brzezinski's Pivot or Recalibration?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/08/25/the-broken-chessboard-brzezinski-gives-up-on-empire/

This is a very interesting article and some will find it surprising. Brzezinski is villainised by many. He's considered part of the Globalist Cabal, a Rockefeller protégé turned puppetmaster, a collaborator, counterpart and friendly rival of Henry Kissinger. He has navigated many circles within politics, business and academia.

His 1997 book The Grand Chessboard became famous in the alternative media and conspiracy circles. This was the book that laid out the plans for the American Empire and predicated it on a Pearl Harbor-type event. 

Rick Warren's Continued Drift

http://pulpitandpen.org/2015/07/06/rick-warren-teaching-contemplative-prayer-at-hillsong-2015/

As Rick Warren came onto the scene in the late 1990s many realised there were problems with his teaching. And then came 'The Purpose Driven Life' in 2002 and for several years it seemed like Rick Warren was going to be the new leader of American Evangelicalism.