There is no more shock when it comes to the feds or govt, the policies they attempt to enforce or the unfair treatment in the justice system. Every outrageous thing they do just strengthens my resolve. I think a lot of people feel the same way now. By no means are their antics “normalized” by my standards, but there is a certain numbness associated with the anger, it’s not a sharp, loud anger, it’s a deep seething anger, which is very dangerous for them when we all reach that point.
The most DOWNVOTES!!!! The White House YouTube page is a fucking dumpster fire.
The Fifth Column
…You will obey me while I lead you, and eat the garbage that I feed you,
Until the day that we don’t need you. Don’t go for help, no one will heed you.
Your mind is totally controlled; it has been stuffed into my mold,
And you will do as you are told until the rights to you are sold…
“I’m the Slime.” Album: “Over-Nite Sensation.” Written by Frank Zappa. Performed by The Mothers of Invention. Discrete Records 1974
“The Fifth Column” is defined as a clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation’s solidarity. Psychological warfare is an important factor: winning hearts and minds.
The term was coined during the Spanish Civil War. Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces, with the support of Germany, were marching on Madrid in four columns. In a telegram to the German ambassador, Franco advised him of the four columns of soldiers and that “the fifth column waited to rise from the inside.” Since then, the term has been regularly used to describe an insider attack.
Over the years the term has become less about its original application to a single battle or armed conflict generally, and more about the use of dis- and mis-information to undermine an adversary’s message. Today, its true power is becoming apparent.
I am old enough to remember when Walter Cronkite read the news every night. When he did, he read the four W’s: Who, What, Where and When. That was the news. It was on for 30 minutes every night, facts were stated and that was it until the morning news.
Newspapers had opinions- on the Opinion page. News was called news and opinions were called opinions. It was up to us to draw our own conclusions. No more.
It began as a trickle, first with cable TV and the 24/7 news cycle. Slowly, stealthily, the line between news and opinion began to blur, then shift. No longer were we trusted to form our own opinions based on facts. Our opinions were provided for us disguised as facts. This filtered into print media also, as opinion leaked from the op-ed pages into the articles. Even so, we still had the ability to filter the facts.
Then came the internet. This was and is a dangerous turn. Between cable news and the rise of the internet and social media, the news has become a sea of noise. Today, between the five of them, Apple, Twitter, Google, Amazon and Facebook control the vast majority of internet and social media platforms. The First Amendment severely restricts any attempt by the government to inhibit free speech. The same is not true of the privately owned internet and social media platforms. The government can’t silence you if your political views are unpopular. The Big 5 can, and do.
They started by deleting individual messages or banning individual users for “offensive content,” the definition of which grew to include “hate speech,” as defined by them. Then hate speech grew to include political views with which they do not agree, which then grew to include any statement that a member of the woke Twitter mob found offensive. Thought that did not conform got disappeared.
As I remember, the correct way to think is to think for yourself, but that no longer seems to be the case. Between their academics and their cellphones, our children, starting in kindergarten and going all the way through college, are not being taught the correct way to think, they are being taught to think correctly. That’s a big difference.
But it’s not just the kids. Through politically motivated “news” sources, internet tycoons and the social media mob, the Fifth Column has wormed its way into every corner of our society. The onslaught is constant and unwavering. Here are some examples of what is being presented as fact:
You know what? Never mind. I started citing examples and felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Instead, I will just summarize: War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strength
Our very lives are under a Fifth Column assault the likes of which the world has never seen. It has been rising for years, more and more boldly, and is reaching a fever pitch. The message saturates our society, pushed relentlessly through all avenues great and small while dissenting voices are ruthlessly shouted down or crushed.
The events in Washington on January 6th pushed it into overdrive. Now, not only are individual voices being silenced, but the Big 5 are actively “deplatforming” websites and social media outlets which, in their view, promote what they call sedition. So free speech became hate speech which is now sedition.
But why? What is the motive? The Fifth Column is not a goal in itself; it’s a weapon. Whose weapon? One only needs to look at whose political agenda the Fifth Column promotes.
The message is everywhere. I will feed you. Vote for me. He has what you don’t, I can give you what he earned. Vote for me. He is your oppressor; I will take his power. Vote for me. He is your enemy, I am your ally. Vote for me. Don’t listen to him, listen to me. Oh, wait, you can’t listen to him; his voice has been muzzled. Good. Vote for me. Give me control and all will be well.
These are dangerous times.
Disclaimer: No actual frogs were boiled, injured, abused, or even harassed during the research for this article. It’s just a metaphor.
Frogs are not known for their brilliance. It’s an amphibian, after all. How smart can an amphibian be? Not being a frog myself, I think I can speak for them enough to say that if I were a frog I would not want to be boiled. If someone threw me into a pot of scalding water, I think I’d be smart enough to hop right back out. You can’t boil a frog all at once. If you try, you’ll end up being outsmarted by a frog. That’s not something to brag about.
To boil a frog you have to be slow and subtle. Frogs like cool water. Fill your pot with cool water, then put the frog in. He will swim happily, without a care in the world. Turn the stove on low while he’s not looking. Raise the temperature of the water ever so slowly and he won’t notice until it’s too late. He might notice the water is getting warmer, but if you’re slow and subtle enough he won’t recognize the danger until he’s cooked through.
I repeat: I did not actually try this with a real frog. It’s just a metaphor.
There are other metaphors for this condition. One that comes to mind is the “camel’s nose under the tent.” Another is the question “How do you eat an entire elephant?” The answer is “One bite at a time.” My personal favorite is the term “weasel creep,” which was coined by the brilliant Scott Adams, author of the Dilbert comic strip. All say the same thing: if you try to do something all at once you will be stopped, but if you cross a line just enough to get away with it that becomes the new line, which you now cross just enough to get away with it, and on and on until you have achieved your goal.
If you read my rant about the TSA in the December 15 edition of the Beacon, you probably see where this is going. Immediately following the 9/11 attacks, in response to that horrific act, our benevolent leaders, in plain view, passed sweeping legislation which trampled (still tramples) our Constitution in the name of safety. I called it treason because it is just that: al Qaeda is “given aid and comfort” by the actions of our legislators and the Agencies they spawned. We went from the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave to the Land of OBEY and be Frightened. Not just at the airport, either. The response to 9/11 laid the groundwork. Americans can be compelled and/or coerced to trade liberty for safety, under penalty of law. A line was successfully crossed.
Enter 2020 and the Great Coronapanic. What is being forced upon us now goes far beyond Fourth Amendment violations at the airport. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are under assault. It’s going for the throat. It’s closing businesses large and small. It’s destroying people’s livelihoods. We are prevented from seeing our loved ones. There are curfews. They tried and failed to come after our Faith.
I am in no way downplaying the seriousness of this highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease. Yes, we do need to take steps to slow, or preferably prevent its spread. Of course we do. What we do not need is another overreaching violation of our rights in the name of safety, especially not one that is going to bring down the economy. But hey, it worked in 2001. Time to move the line again.
It goes deeper than that, though. The lockdowns/shutdowns are not sustainable. People need to eat. Even a frog knows that. Riding to the rescue is our benevolent leadership. They are here to save you now from the virus. First they will save you physically from the illness. It’s their job to save you, even if it’s from yourself, by locking you down, bankrupting your business and costing you your job. Then they will save you from the resulting economic devastation by using the word “trillion” like it’s no big deal.
Again, I am not downplaying the severity of the disease, but Covid is not the threat. The threat is the so-called “measures” taken in response to it that are undermining the very foundation of our Republic. You have the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, so long as you exercise it outdoors, in groups of ten or less, six feet apart, and with your mask on. And you don’t need to work, either. Work is dangerous.
They will take care of your every need $600 at a time. Never mind where the money is coming from. It’s coming from nowhere, especially now because nobody is working. They have your safety and best interests at heart. Stay home and they’ll feed you. Just OBEY and you will be fine. When the economy crashes, they’ll save you from that, too. A line is being crossed again. Not only is it impacting our liberty, this time it’s taking our economy off a cliff. It is up to us, the Free and the Brave, to hold the line. Is this water getting a little warm?
18 U.S. Code § 2381.Treason: Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
I have a wingman, Jake, who goes with me on every trip. We have been traveling together for over 20 years. He is a staunch supporter of the Constitution and a fierce defender of the First Amendment. When he speaks, he speaks loud and clear. Sometimes he makes people angry. That’s OK. First, some background: Air travel is a vital part of our economy. I will be the first to say that effective aviation security is necessary, but the key word is “effective.” The 9/11 attacks could have been stopped prior to the airport security checkpoints. The clues were there and were known. Some of the culprits were under FBI surveillance. The failure was not with the private contractors that were then running the checkpoints, the failure was with intelligence agencies not acting on information they had. Tactics are specific actions. Strategy is the goal the tactics achieve. The tactic on that September day was a conspicuous act of violence. You can't question how well that went. The strategy those bastards achieved exceeded bin Laden's wildest expectations. Out of the ashes in New York, Washington DC and Shanksville rose a monster known as the Transportation Security Act. It’s hard to argue with a name like that, but along with the Homeland Security Act it's effect was to sacrifice, on the altar of “National Security,” precious, priceless freedoms that so many true patriots bled and died for. The cost to our liberty has been deep and wide. There have been many successful Fourth Amendment challenges, both legal and legislative, to this vast overreach and attempted subjugation of the masses. However, Federal Courts have given the Transportation Security Administration, the TSA (spawned by the Transportation Security Act), a blank check. The Fourth Amendment does not apply to airport screening because according to the Federal Courts, flying is a choice not a right. Submit or drive. At the regulatory level, the TSA has given us backscatter imagers that look beneath our clothes and “enhanced patdowns” that in any other setting would be sexual battery. Flight crews are subject to the same security screening as passengers. (Heaven forbid a pilot should bring something aboard an airplane that would allow him to, like, take control of it or something.) Meanwhile, the ramp agents, who have access to every part of the airplane, swipe a card and walk through a door carrying backpacks- contents unknown. At the practical level, we have the Blue Shirts at the checkpoint. They have free reign with the weight of the Federal government backing them up. Give a little person a little power and watch what happens. It would take way too long to list the dozens of examples of arrogant abuses of power, which I either witnessed or was subjected to at checkpoints all over the country. Truly, you have no idea. If a person dares to object, they will be labelled “uncooperative” and their day gets really bad. The Blue Shirts have the power, per the Department of Homeland Security, to make your day really bad. In other words: OBEY. The final straw was the guy in Roanoke who inspected my Pop Tarts. It was then I decided I needed a wingman. That was when Jake entered the picture. Jake was in the toy aisle at Walmart when I found him. He cost $0.88. His full name is Jake the Fake Snake. He does not like the TSA. He rides in my carry-on bag, hiding, lurking, lying in wait to hear the magic words: “Secondary search!” Then he speaks. If a human dares to speak, they will regret it. Jake speaks silently but loudly. Generally, the reaction is a flinch, followed by anger that anyone would dare to mock. But when politely reminded that fake snakes are not on the "prohibited items" list, the anger turns to frustration. “I suppose you think this is funny.” “No, I think it’s tragic. It’s also protected free speech, or are you going to go after the First Amendment now, too?” They really don't like that. So here is where the citation of the US Code comes in to play. The strategy was to disrupt our way of life. Nowhere is it so apparent they succeeded than aviation security. From the hallowed halls of DHS headquarters in Washington to the airport checkpoint, the TSA willingly, if not eagerly, tramples our freedom. Aid is being given to our enemies in the name of National Security, but also in the name of indoctrination. It was the camel's nose. It was the foundation. Now the same principle is being applied. Terrorists are so 2001, but they did serve their purpose in testing the limits of what We the People are willing to give up so that our benevolent leaders can keep us safe from all harm. The enemy du jour is a virus. What will be the next limit? We will find out soon. Then what?
The Mid-East is an interesting place. They don't really like Americans there. We are tolerated because we are a market for the oil. But more so we defend the oil. Our military presence in the region allows the oil-rich countries to spend their profits on themselves because we are the ones spending the money to keep the oil flowing. We are the bird on the rhinoceros's back. We are tolerated because even despite our disagreeable culture we serve a purpose.
With the exceptions of Lebanon and Israel, which are the only true democracies in the region, the Mid-East states are monarchies to varying degrees. In some, such as Kuwait, the Emir, or King, appoints his successor but an elected Parliament has a say in the making of laws. At the other end of the spectrum is Saudi Arabia, where the King's word is law and the title passes via heredity. In between, and in the majority of the countries, the head of state has the power to override the legislature, should a legislative branch exist. Should we in the US end up with all three branches of government controlled by a group who seem to be competing amongst themselves over who can be the most radical, we too will find ourselves governed by a monarchy.
Much of the law in the Mid-East, unsurprisingly, is based upon Islamic principals and can be quite harsh. Some examples:
Yes, the penalty for theft in some countries is to cut off the thief's hand.
In Kuwait, a college party was raided and several students were arrested for possession of alcohol. Not "underage possession," just possession. Alcohol is illegal in Kuwait. The offenders were referred to the Ministry of Moral Values for punishment. "Ministry of Moral Values" is a scary name for a government agency. As an aside to this, a Kuwaiti parliament minister suggested that alcohol be legalized and was arrested for it.
In Saudi Arabia, it is illegal for a couple to hold hands in public. Agents of the "Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" patrol the streets carrrying sticks to whack offenders. Sex outside of marriage is a capital offense.
Possession of bacon is a crime in Saidi Arabia. Qatar also. Really.
Do not let the customs agent find your crucifix or Bible.
A group of my female colleagues left the hotel in Riyadh to sightsee and shop. They didn't get very far. They were driven back to the hotel by Saudi women throwing rocks at them because they were not dressed properly. Granted, it was the responsibility of my colleagues to know better, but such is the environment there.
There was, however, an amazing breakthrough recently: female air traffic controllers. Imagine a female giving instructions to a male. They let women drive now, too.
It is not a huge stretch to compare what is happening here in the US to some of the above examples. Hold the PC "cancel culture" up to the incident with the rock-throwing Saudi women and see if they resemble each other. I can imagine "Community Policing" being an equivalent to a "Ministry of Moral Values" and/or a "Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" to ensure I have my mind right. What other things might happen should the one party who knows what is best for you is allowed to ascend to the throne? I bet it would be interesting.
Vote
I have talked about some interesting places I have been: Kyrgyzstan and Djibouti where "democracy" isn"t really what it seems, and the Middle East where monarchy is exactly what it seems. These are places where people are governed not by choice, but by the whim of a ruling class. In some of these places there is the facade of government by the people and for the people, in others there is no facade. In all the cases mentioned, though, the people are simply ruled.
This essay is about a different place, the Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. They are three small countries located in northeastern Europe, bordered by Poland and Belarus to the south, Russia to the east, and across the Baltic Sea from Scandinavia.
The people in these countries are truly free, and they know it. Every day the town squares are filled with people. There are parks, sidewalk cafes, and shop after shop. The sidewalks are lined with street vendors selling everything from ice cream to fresh produce to amber jewelry to balloons and toys for the kids. The streets are crowded with happy, peaceful, smiling people. It is like a carnival every day. There is a reason for that.
Some of the street vendors, however, sell souvenir of a time when things were not so bright. There is a reason for that, too. I will come back to it
The countries being located on the Baltic Sea, with its access to the Atlantic Ocean, made them desirable real estate for their larger, stronger neighbors. As such, for centuries these neighbors fought almost continuous wars of domination with control of the Baltics, and the Baltic people, being traded back and forth by treaties drawn up by foreigners. This went on until the end of World War I, where amongst the chaos, the people were able to fight for and finally win their independence in 1920. It was to be short lived.
Back to the street vendors: They sell souvenirs such as Reichsmark coins, Soviet identification papers, and medals and badges of rank from German and Soviet soldiers and police. They are eager to share the history as they hawk their wares. I got the story first-hand from an elderly couple who lived through it as they sold me the memorabilia they had collected.
The independence gained in 1920 lasted 19 years. A week before the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact which "gave" the Baltics to the Soviets. The Soviets moved in and there followed collectivization of industry and agriculture and purges and mass deportations to GULAG for those who resisted. The Baltics were back to square one, only worse.
Germany welshed on the deal in 1941 and invaded. After two years under the Russian boot, many viewed the Germans as liberators. Think about that: how bad does it have to be for the Nazis to be the liberators? The bloom soon left that rose when the mass murder and deportations to the concentration camps began. Russia took back over in 1944 as Germany was in retreat and they picked up right where they left off. It went on until 1991 when the the Soviet Union collapsed and freedom was finally restored. Real freedom, not Bishkek or Djibouti freedom.
These people do not take their freedom for granted, they revel in it. They truly appreciate and enjoy every minute of it because after hundreds of years of occupation and 50+ years of brutal domination they truly understand what it means. You can see it in their eyes and feel it in the air.
The "protesters" here in the good ol' USA are nothing more than tools. They have no idea the privileges and freedoms they so take for granted as they do the bidding of their shepherds who promise a Socialist paradise. They want to overthrow the Fascists. They should ask the Baltic people about Fascism and Socialism. They march, they shout, they burn, they loot, all in the name of justice and equality urged on by a ruling class who sees them only as useful. They haven't a clue as to the reality that is the freedom they are fighting to destroy because they have no idea what it means to live in a land where No Lives Matter. They should be careful what they wish for.
I do not take my freedom for granted. Our Republic is in danger. It is imperative that the shepherds be prevented from achieving the power they are so cynically trying to attain using their sheep. There are still patriots who will fight. If it is not stopped at the ballots, it will almost certainly devolve into chaos. If so, then so be it, but avoidance is less messy.
Vote
Interesting is a Matter of Degree: Africa
Where to start? There are places in Africa that are so interesting that the State Department warns clearly that you are on your own if you go there. You can expect no assistance whatsoever from the US government because it is either impossible or too dangerous (or both) to provide aid. Pilots treat flying over some areas the same way they treat flying across the ocean: there are places to land on either side but not in the middle.
The Republic of Djibouti is not such a place, but that is not to say it is a good place. It is a tiny "republic" on the northeast coast of Africa about the size of Massachusetts. The government, on paper, is a republic. In reality, there is one party which every six years wins 80% of the vote for both president and legislature. Opposition parties are permitted by the constitution, but their candidates, supporters and many journalists seem to get arrested a lot during election years.
There is no industry to speak of. Only about 4% of the land is suitable for agriculture. There are no natural resources. Unemployment consistently runs around 60% and poverty at around 23%. (Poverty in Africa is a lot different than poverty in the US).
The one thing Djibouti does have going for it is it's location at the entrance to the Red Sea. There is a huge seaport through which imports and exports flow to and from most of northeast Africa and where merchant vessels refuel and reprovision. Even more, though, is the money that comes in from other nations who maintain a military presence in this very strategic location. Hundreds of millions of dollars come from these two sources.
The government professes that it has the well being of the people in its heart and will apply these riches to make their lives better. They periodically announce education initiatives, human rights initiatives, healthcare reform, infrastructure improvements, etc., but they never seem to materialize.
The privileged few live in walled compounds topped by razor wire. The hotel where we stay is the same, with the addition of broken glass embedded in the top of the wall and private guards with AK47's at the gate. A hamburger at the hotel restaurant was $37 last time I was there. Of course I had the choice of going outside the wall to look for less expensive food.
Djibouti is a democratic republic where the favored are rich and everyone else lives in hovels, defecates in the streets, and barely survives. They are fortunate that their government knows what is best for them.
It is sad that conditions in the US are so bad by comparison to Africa that the only thing left to do is to burn cities, tear down statues and steal TVs. Wouldn't it be great if we could be so lucky as to have a single party- the one party which will look after our every need- to finally take over and make things right? There are those right here at home who really believe that.
Vote
As past articles have shown, I go to some interesting places worldwide, and I see some interesting things. Today I will talk about an interesting incident a little closer to home. It happened in 2009, shortly after the Obama inauguration, on the Metro train platform in Falls Church, Virginia.
“Who is John Galt?” is the first sentence in the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It is a frightening story about government taking control through law and by force, the means of production, with the lofty goal of distributing wealth "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." It's fiction, allegory, and a great read. It doesn't end well for civilization. What makes it frightening is that we are well down the road to moving this book from the Fiction section to Non-Fiction.
"Who is John Galt?" was also on a bumper sticker, which along with my American Flag sticker, my VT sticker, my "Don't Panic" sticker, and my "An Armed Society is a Polite Society" sticker decorated a piece of luggage that went everywhere with me.
I work as an airline pilot. An advantage to the job is that you can live wherever you choose and fly free of charge from your local airport to your assigned base to work your assigned trip. At the end of your rotation, you fly back home. It can be a nuisance, but it's worth it.
My home is in Floyd. At the time this incident occurred, my assigned base was Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC. There are no direct flights from Roanoke to Reagan. You could fly two legs with a plane change to get to DC. It's close enough to drive, but driving I-66 from I-81 into DC is a fate worse than death. Everyone reading this who has done it is nodding their heads.
My best option was the direct flight from Roanoke to Dulles where I would catch the Metro train to Reagan. That is how I ended up waiting on the platform at the Falls Church station at 7:00 in the morning, in full uniform, when from behind me there came an angry voice:
“Do you realize that the philosophies put forth by that woman are responsible for more deaths than Hitler and Stalin combined?!” it accused.
Surprised and confused, I turned to find myself confronted by a casually but well-dressed and obviously furious man of about my age. His face was flushed, chin out, chest out, and fists clenched. I had no idea what I had done to make him so angry. All I was doing was waiting for a train.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You know what I mean!”
“I'm sorry? I really don't.”
“That 'John Galt' sticker on your bag, don't you know what it represents?!” He said.
“Yes, I do. Why else would I have it on my bag?”
The wrong answer, at least according to him. He began to shake visibly.
“Don't you realize that the only way we will ever have peace in this world is when all the wealth is distributed evenly?!” (Yes, he really said that- shouted it, actually.)
I was stunned that he believed what I had just heard. I said:
“So I should work as hard as I can, then have the rewards I have earned taken from me because someone else decided there are people who need it more than I do?”
It was his turn to be stunned. His expression changed from anger to incredulity. It was inconceivable to him that someone would form that statement as a question.
“Well, (puzzled) ...yes.”
I was in the presence of a zealot and I had had enough. We were beginning to attract attention. In a different forum, I might have engaged, but in a public place, in uniform, representing my company and my airline, I excused myself semi-politely and turned away. He wasn't through. Well, he was through; he just didn't realize it yet. He darted around in front of me and started to shout something about how the evils of capitalism cost the lives of helpless millions. Then he noticed my lapel pin.
My Marx and Lenin lapel pin. The one I bought on eBay the day after Obama was elected and which I wore on my uniform blazer so I would not be purged and sent to a reeducation camp. That lapel pin.
I could almost hear the gears in his head gnashing. His eyes bulged. He choked on his words, gave me a look of pure hatred, turned on his heel, and stalked down the platform to ride a different car.
It's a funny story if told in a vacuum. Unfortunately, it's not a vacuum. After this recent election, there are now people in power who believe the same as my failed antagonist. They intend to create the kind of socialist utopia that Ayn Rand predicted. Just like the book, it will be the end of us if they get their way.
If you have not read this book, it's worth the read. It's hefty, over 1000 pages, but it's a great mystery/romance/action/science fiction story that absolutely nails the perils of Socialism. It's also coming true.
I’m preparing to book my hotel in DC. Where are the majority of Pedes staying!?
Edit: please dm me instead of commenting
