Thank you for your kind words. There is one very important “detail” that I left out of my writing – with a few keystrokes from someone’s computer, they can cut anyone off from their money. Again, thanks to the Social Security number which everyone has.

One more comment regarding Mr. Musk – some time ago, he publicly stated that his “finances” were so simple and straight-forward that he could file his own federal income tax return HIMSELF and that it would only require a few hours to accomplish.

The guy is as full of CRAP as the day is long.

Thank you for a very interesting article. Some time ago, I read Norman Finkelstein’s “The Holocaust Industry” and was already aware of some of the facts touched upon in this article. The “Holocaust” – the gift that keeps on giving!

When did the Republicans do anything to prevent the remaking of America? In fact, Republican Presidents and Congressmen have abetted it at every point. News says that some Republicans are getting concerned about the border issue. Let us hope not. For the Republicans to adopt the issue as an election tactic is to guarantee that nothing constructive will be done.

Please allow me to put in my “two cents worth” in regards to the minimum wage topic, in particular, and to the general economic situation in the United States today, as I see it.

I am a 70-year-old retired industrial electrician (United Auto Workers Journeyman Electrician), having worked practically my 40+ year lifetime as an electrician in various factories in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Upon graduating from high school in 1969, I got a job in a Green Giant food processing plant, where they canned vegetables and also packaged frozen vegetables. I worked in the “freezer section” and had a full-time job in which I earned $2.28 per hour. It was just an ordinary factory job, which anyone could do, with a minimal amount of training.

I retired from a factory a few years ago, where I was employed as an industrial electrician, being responsible for the production equipment, as well as for the physical plant. At the time of my retirement, I was earning $25 and some change per hour. I could purchase MORE with that $2.28 in 1969 than I could with the $25+ in 2019.

At the factory from which I retired, I used to be teased by the “kids” that I worked with about my “sky-high” wages that I was receiving. I refer to them as “kids,” because they were young enough to be my children. They were earning somewhere around $16 or $17 per hour at the time. Many times when I would be kidded by them about my “sky-high” wages, I would take them aside and explain to them about “our” wages that we were receiving.

I told them about my first factory job and my $2.28 per hour wage. I also told them about my (then) current $25+ per hour wage and the fact that I could purchase more with the $2.28 than I could with the $25+ per hour wage. I told them that what I was trying to tell them was that I was working for 1969 UNSKILLED WAGES and that they were working for considerably less than that!

A couple of the most recent “fatalities” here in the United States have been Hershey’s chocolate and Carrier air conditioning / refrigeration. The American employees that worked in those factories were highly skilled, turning out excellent products, and the operations were very profitable. But the parent corporations decided that they could make MORE profits by moving their production to Mexico, which they did.

Hershey’s and Carrier’s examples are not isolated ones. The process has been repeated thousands of times over the past two decades here in the United States.

The point that I am trying to make is that there is absolutely NO shortage of money with which to pay factory workers, fast-food workers, or Walmart workers. The simple fact is that the corporations want ever increasing amounts of money for themselves and the workers be damned. It all boils down to GREED, which is what is strangling the United States.

The United States now manufactures very few useful products that American consumers can purchase and in doing so, earn relatively good wages. About the only “industries” left in the United States are the armaments (WAR materials) industry, the financial industry, which specializes in screwing people out of their money, the medical industry, which specializes in treating symptoms, with ever-increasing amounts of hugely profitable prescription drugs and the other sundry scams and economic conspiracies (all “legal”) that go on.

In closing, I would like to state that my opinion of MY country is that it is a washed-up Banana Republic, which exists only because of unlimited amounts of debt that keeps being created, the bill for which will be coming due, sooner or later.

Thank you.

“Control by government is an obvious failure. Control of others is the problem, okay in nature, a failure in civilizations.

Anything by government will eventually be a failure – including government itself”

If it wasn’t for (some) control of the commercial airline industry and the automotive industry, planes would be crashing and falling out of the air. We would also see Corvair-type vehicles being sold.

You sound like the typical “Libertarian” – get rid of all government controls and regulations. The consumer and his or her safety be damned!

What is needed is HONEST government, with COMMON-SENSE controls and regulations. Things that I will never see in what few remaining years of my lifetime that I have left!

Thank you.

No, ONE DEATH is too many. It all goes back to the greed and power thing.

If we had truly honest and non-corrupt government that was doing what it was supposed to and not doing what it was not supposed to do, all of these non-stop wars would end. If there was no corruption in OUR government, there would be no need for personal income taxes and there would be no need for any political parties, because all of the politicians would be doing the right thing by the people. But it will NEVER happen!

Thank you.

Mr Unz:

I am very grateful for your web site and of the controversial subjects that you cover. My main criteria for “alternative news” web sites is “Do they condemn both political parties equally?” – since, in my opinion, both parties are rotten to the core.

I am a 70-year-old retired industrial electrician (United Auto Workers Journeyman Electrician) and only began my efforts in getting “educated” as to the truth about happenings in the USA and around the world around 10 years ago. Prior to that, I was busy working, saving money and trying “to get ahead.” Now that I am retired, I have become even more committed to becoming “educated.”

I do not watch ANY television, nor do I read any newspapers or “news magazines.” I do NOT trust the mainstream media to tell the complete “story” on any subject. I have come to the conclusion that almost everything that “happens” in both the USA and around the world involves a scam and/or a conspiracy or a combination of the two. Nothing is as it seems. NOTHING.

I very much wish that you or one of your many contributors would look into the death of Walter Reuther, who, at the time of his tragic death, was the president of the United Auto Workers union. He was involved in two plane crashes in a year’s time – the second one being the fatal one. To date, I have found very little writing on this subject. Like JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr., Malcolm X, James Hoffa, Olof Palme and Dah Hammarskjöld, I believe that Walter Reuther was killed by “them.”

Walter Reuther was an incorruptible person and unlike now, the United Auto Workers union had absolutely NO corruption. Reuther did not only look out for UAW members; he looked out for ALL American workers. Next to John F. Kennedy, Walter Reuther was the most admired American in all of Europe.

Thank you.

The crisis could still be avoided, but only if Congress becomes serious about cutting spending, starting with the military industrial complex. Congress should also start to reform monetary policy by auditing the Fed, legalizing alternative currencies, and exempting precious metals and cryptocurrencies from all capital gains taxes. The welfare-warfare-fiat money system will end. What is not known is when it will end and whether it will be replaced by an even more authoritarian government or by a return to limited, constitutional government.

Statesman Ron Paul‘s articles are so well constructed, revealing the problem, and suggesting the cure, that they are a pleasure to read, and to analyze.

In order that we Americans are to be able to (as Ron Paul writes), “return to limited, constitutional government” we will need to Restore Our Republic (that was overthrown in a Coup D’état on November 22, 1963. It was on that day that our Last Constitutional President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated (in a MOSSAD/CIA/MI6 operation).

Significantly, our only surviving Statesman, former 8 term Congressman Ron Paul, who ran a strong popularly supported campaign for the Presidency, (writes/expresses himself very carefully, points to our necessity to “return to limited, constitutional government.” Ron Paul shouts this Revolutionary Dynamite, his clarification that We Americans, in 2022, do not currently have a “constitutional government,” limited, or in any useful form, whatever.

No other American politician approaches Dr. Ron Paul in his Daring, and Courage, and the continual correctness/sharpness of his political analysis and advocacy. I do not wish to add any further of life’s pressures on Ron Paul by this fulsome analysis. However, I fear that some of his admirers do not understand the uniqueness of Ron Paul’s long and lonely struggles, and his undying optimism for the future of our Nation. Any more than they understand John F. Kennedy‘s standing in the line of fire, in a desperate effort to save our country.

We must join the Pauls and the Kennedys, McKinney, Kucinich, Ventura, and others, in building Political Power with which we may Restore Our Republic, and bring Peace and Prosperity to our planet.

Dr. Peter J. Antonsen – nom de guerre -Durruti

“He couldn’t do anything – because of democracy.”

No, Trump couldn’t “do anything” (to effect significant and meaningful change for the benefit of the AVERAGE American citizen), because had he attempted to do so, the Deep State would have killed him. That was the reason why I had no illusions about his presidency from Day 1.

Readers would do well to watch the video on YouTube – “Walmart The High Cost Of Low Price” – the video came out quite some time ago but everything that it says is as true now as when the video was made. If not more so!

Musk didn’t “buy” anything; his line of credit allowed for the acquisition.

Now, for a few quotes, attributed to Julian Assange:

Facebook has all of your friends wearing a wire;

YouTube has you in the dock, talking to the judge;

Twitter is a police interview that never ends

Speaking for myself, I do NOT have a Facebook account, nor have I ever posted ANYTHING on Twitter…

As the Bible says, “The people cry peace, peace, but there is no peace.”

There will NEVER be any peace in this world as long as the United States’ military-industrial complex is functioning, thanks to the Deep State, and also as long as Israel’s war-mongering Jews are in power.

I looked up Kiryas Joel in Wikipedia. I NEVER rely on Wikipedia for anything the least bit controversial, but I thought that they might have some objective information about this city. From what I found out, 61-62% of that city’s residents live below the poverty line and many of that city’s residents live in (most likely Jewish-owned) townhouse-style condominiums, as opposed to normal privately-owned residences.

I grew up in a small community 75 miles west of Chicago, Illinois and that town had two scrap metal yards, both Jewish-owned. As a teen-ager, I used to mow lawns in the summer and shovel snow in the winter, for spending money. My dear grandmother used to jokingly say that I was half Jewish.

I used to attend church regularly and used to believe that the Jews were God’s “chosen people” but from what I have discovered in my recent attempts at being educated about events, I no longer believe this. I think that Jews, as a group, are as despicable as the Americans and British that control the financial “business,” Hollywood and the media.

If one does some research on the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire that occurred in 1911, it is obvious that Jews did not even care about their own people. Jews, as well as the WASPs, have much blood on their hands.

FDR’s “New Deal” actually prolonged the “depression” It took WW2 to energize the US economy…

That being said…

The united States of America was largely successful due to the (lack of) ethics of most builders of industry, raking in millions in profits for themselves while ignoring the basic needs of those who made their success possible by their hard work.

It was common to see these “captains of industry” do their damnedest to pay their employees as little as possible while raking in massive profits benefiting only themselves.

These “captains of industry” attempted to redeem themselves by establishing “foundations” (which guarded their wealth, making it tax exempt) and indirectly countering their own beliefs that it was not necessary to pay their employees a “decent wage”.

They always pleaded poverty to their employees while living grand lives themselves.

One must not forget the “company town” with the “company store” which was a more advanced form of “slavery”, putting people in bondage by charging artificially inflated prices for goods while their employees wages were “not quite enough” to escape the cycle. Those who attempted to escape the “company town” were threatened with lawsuits and more for “moneys owed” to the company…

These injustices contributed to the rise of labor unions, which at first, were brutally suppressed.

There were exceptions, such as Henry Ford, who almost single-handedly created the middle class by paying his employees well above “market wages” of the day. Ford’s $5.00 per day wage was not entirely altruistic as it was also instituted to stem “turnover” as assembly line work was monotonous, but his writings have stated that one of his objectives along with the institution of the 8-hour workday was to make it possible for workers to “enjoy the fruits of their labor”.

The “robber baron” label, being criticized by today’s proponents of “capitalism” and “free markets” have it wrong.

We have never had truly “free markets”… and still have a “robber baron” system where even CEOs of failing corporations are rewarded with massive “golden parachutes”–being rewarded for their incompetence. It’s an exclusive club and we (ordinary people) “ain’t in it”.

“Naturally, those fired will get a job elsewhere in another industry. The employer who sacked them may well have done them a favour by firing them as they may now pursue employment in an industry that is BETTER SUITED TO THEIR SKILL SET.”

That may have been true THIRTY YEARS AGO, but 90% of the manufacturing has been moved to cheap labor countries.

“Now, I don’t disagree that Henry Ford’s doubling of wages to $5/day was done to stem the rate of attrition as worker’s who took Ford a long time to train would regularly depart for greener pastures elsewhere.”

The last part of this statement is INCORRECT. There were NO other “greener pastures” for workers to go to, when Henry Ford was assembling the Model T and had implemented his $5 day. ALL of the other manufacturers / assemblers were paying considerably less in wages at that time.

“Truth Vigilante” – first of all, I do not hide behind any alias.

You sound like a dyed-in-the-wool “Libertarian” who expects everyone (meaning the non-rich) to fend for themselves. What? PEOPLE need to be protected from the ABUSES of CORPORATIONS? Absolute NONSENSE! So say the “Libertarians”.

If you would like to get a REAL education in economics, you would do well to investigate the writings of Ha-Joon Chang, Ph.D. You might be very surprised at what you would learn!

How ironic that in 2005, Senator Obama went to Donetsk with 30 + million bucks to disarm the East Ukrainian army, but didn’t stop in Lvov to disarm the Bandera Nazi army. His flight continued into Russia, where he was detained over his PassPort – the Russians new the skinny on O bama all along.

And here we are in 2022 – the US and 15 countries re-arming the Ukie Bandera Nazi armies and Russia rescuing East Ukraine and liberating the rest of Novi Rossiya.The Maidan was planned after Gorby and Yeltsin refused to redraw the Ukie borders in 1990. The NeoCons, Mossad and Cia must have had one hell of a party – celebrating that Win Win. And their plan is still ongoing.

Thank you for the reply, but I stand by my comments completely. I have done extensive reading about Henry Ford, the Ford Motor Company, Alfred P. Sloan and General Motors, the employment conditions of those times, as well as the history of Walter Reuther and the organizing of the automotive industry by the United Auto Workers union.

You are correct in the statement that workers were still leaving Ford, even after the implementation of the $5 day but the fact remains that there were NO other employers at the time where a worker could go to make that kind of a wage. The other auto makers and automobile assemblers reviled Henry Ford for implementing his $5 per day wage.

And while I am on the subject of the auto companies and unions, after World War II, when unions were at their height of power and effectiveness, that was the time period in the United States when ALL American workers were seeing their most significant gains in the standard of living. It was NOT because of the “largesse” of the corporations.

American corporations have not “given” anything to their workers that they have not been forced to give. If the corporations had done the “right thing” by their workers and had treated them properly right from the start, there would have been NO NEED for any unions. American workers have the UNIONS to thank for their paid vacations, sick leave and all of the other “fringe benefits” that they now receive.

When Walter Reuther was president of the United Auto Workers union, there was ZERO corruption in that union. Now, half of the UAW officers are either in prison, are under indictment or are awaiting sentencing on corruption charges. Next to John F. Kennedy, Walter Reuther was the most highly respected American in Europe. Europeans turned out by the thousands to see him, because they knew what an honorable person he was and that he looked out for ALL workers, not just union members.

This brings to mind a story, about an incident that really happened…a Ford Motor Company official was showing a United Auto Workers official an area of production, the area being full of robots that had replaced workers. The Ford official told the UAW official that the robots did not take vacations, call strikes, pay union dues, etc. (or something to that effect). The UAW official told the Ford official that he was quite correct and also that the robots WOULDN’T BE PURCHASING ANY FORD VEHICLES. That actually happened.

Walter Reuther had many wonderful ideas and had they been allowed to have been implemented, the United States would be a much better country than it is now today. Instead, the United States, like England, has turned into a washed-up Banana Republic. We now have record numbers of millionaires and billionaires. We also have record numbers of homeless people, record numbers of home foreclosures and record numbers of bankruptcies, both personal and business.

I am NOT “anti-capitalist” – I am for common-sense regulation of business and ZERO corruption in business, governments and unions. I have said this many times before and I will say this again – there is NO shortage of money with which to pay American workers. There is also definitely no shortage of greed with which the rich continue to make themselves richer, at the expense of everyone else.

I believe that the United States is too far “gone” and things are just too out of control for things to get better, Our country had many good leaders, among them, JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr. Walter Reuther and James Hoffa. But “they” killed them all, so as to further the corporate fascist state that our country has become, with BOTH political parties being complicit in this.

Thank you.

Brad Anbro
retired United Auto Workers Journeyman Electrician

A United States agency combatting disinformation – sounds like the fox was put in charge of guarding the hen house!

I am waiting for the U.S. government to “come clean” about the murders of JFK, RFK, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, Walter Reuther, James Hoffa, Dorothy Kilgallen, Marilyn Monroe and many others.

Also, coming clean about UFOs / aliens and, of course, September 11, 2001.

“Greta Thunberg: Our house is still on fire and (you’re) fuelling the flames”

The “house” is indeed on fire, but the middle and lower classes are NOT “fuelling” (sic) the flames. The rich Jews & goys are the ones who, since the beginning of time, have been responsible for 99% of our country’s and the world’s problems.

The “rich” want it all and they will not be happy until they get it all and have everyone in their complete control (“Great Reset” / “New World Order” / call it what you want).

Some are more “philanthropic” than others, using the wealth they have plundered from the common good to buy themselves today’s equivalent of an indulgence – a ticket to heaven once sold by the Catholic Church for a princely sum. These “philanthropists” very publicly recycle their riches, while quietly claiming tax exemptions, to make it look as if they deserve their fortunes or as if the planet would be worse off without them.

👍👌

Another EXCELLENT video on the fraud of “climate change” –

Video Link

Please allow me to go on record as publicly stating that NONE of the members of either house of Congress speak for me; NO ONE in the national Democratic and Republican parties speak for me; none in the “Green Party” speak for me; none in any Socialist party speaks for me and the president of the United States certainly DOES NOT speak for me.

Thank you.

“The cause of every recession, depression, labor problem, etc is gov’t.”

then

“The Federal Reserve, in particular, is directly responsible for the price inflation occurring and the hyperinflation that will occur in the not too distant future, leading to a depression that’s going to set the country on fire.”

You contradicted yourself! The Federal Reserve is NOT “the government” – it is a privately owned and run for-profit corporation.

Ninety-nine percent of the contents of your posts are nothing but disinformation and B.S. Just as with the “Libertarians,” you blame the “government” and the people. What I suggest that you do is to embark on a serious study of REAL American history. You will find that after World War II, when the unions were their strongest, that was the time period when Americans’ wages, benefits and standards of living were RISING. Now they at best have stagnated and with this government / corporate fraud called “inflation,” people’s assets and net worth are being robbed from them.

Just for your information, and that of anyone else reading this, if it were not for unions, there would be no paid vacations, no sick leave, no profit sharing plans or any of the other so-called “fringe benefits” that we now have. If the CORPORATIONS had operated their businesses in a fair and and in a legitimate manner right from the start, there would have been NO NEED OF UNIONS.

The commenter who posted about the Buffalo Bills and the government tax subsidy scams of all professional sports was correct. There is a web site that deals in this “Field of Schemes” and it details the government-funded scams that keep “professional” sports profitable.

While you are attempting to study the REAL history of the United States, also do some REAL research on the kinds of individuals that James Hoffa and Walter Reuther were. I have done extensive reading on both Mr. Hoffa and on Mr. Reuther. In my opinion, they were infinitely more honorable and forthright than ALL of our politicians, none of whom I would walk across the street to spit on.

The United States, thanks to the corporations and the laws and regulations enacted by the corporate-controlled political parties (BOTH parties), has become a washed-up, bankrupt,
Third World Banana Republic.

(signed)
Brad Anbro
retired United Auto Workers Journeyman Electrician

This is where the WEF comes in. The liberal fascist psychopaths running this multi-headed Hydra are, as the excellent Transnational Institute (TNI) noted , planning to replace a recognised democratic model with a model where a self-selected group of ‘stakeholders’ make decisions on behalf of the people. We are increasingly entering a world where gatherings such as Davos are a ‘..silent global coup d’etat to capture governance’.
Now, I’d argue that this is a mere development of the usual ‘liberal democratic’ model where the ruling capitalist elites, the owners of society, control politics through bribery, the MSM through ownership, and the other brainwashing mechanisms of advertising, PR, think-tanks etc, also through ownership and ideological conformity.
The current drive of the globalists is designed to do away with the middle-men, the political servants and stooges, and rule more directly through ‘Young Global Leaders’ selected by the WEF. It is a transition from neo-feudalism to feudalism plus technology, and is the INEVITABLE development of Free Market ie oligarchic capitalism.
What is more, and what these bio-warfare preparations and the CoViD19 operation with its compulsory injections, forced isolation and masking, suppression of useful alternative medications and TOTALITARIAN suppression of information, science, opinion and debate, all show, is that an exterminationist drive is at work.
In an era of computerisation, automation, robotisation, AI etc, the vast bulk of humanity are surplus to requirements, a ‘useless class’ as that dear Israeli Yuval Noah Hariri calls us. Even our consumption is no longer required, if only because it destroys the life-supporting biospheres that even the Gods Upon the Earth require to be working. We are now only a THREAT to elite rule. So they are OPENLY working on our destruction by disease, and their MSM presstitute vermin, that swarming horde of little Streichers, not only close their eyes to it all, but hysterically deny it, and silence anyone who dares say otherwise. There is a sad inevitability to it all-the lunatics were always going to win, but the decent fraction of humanity kept kidding itself. Better luck next incarnation.

“Bill,” “Truth” and others who will read this:

My perspective is from a person who spent over 40 years working in various factories as an industrial electrician. Some were union; others were not union. As I said in my post, I have done extensive studying and reading about unions, union leaders and the REAL American history. I draw my opinions from facts that I have learned in my 70+ years existence on this earth.

My first 19 years as an industrial electrician was with this very conservative-type, non-union company (meaning: vote straight Republican). They had over 1,000 people who worked there. I knew practically everyone and they knew me. The first 15 years that I was there, I actually enjoyed going to work every day. They ran the place like a big family.

They had their own self-funded insurance plans; they had a company doctor & first aid department at the factory; they had three barbers, who would cut the employees hair on company time; they had their own dental clinic, with a very competent dentist and they had a cafeteria for all employees, which cooked and baked practically all of the food and desserts, the quality of the food rivaling the best restaurants in town and the prices subsidized by the company.

The last 4 years that I was there, they forced out the company president, because he was too honest with the employees. They brought in a bunch of “bean counters” to run the place and to try to get all of the employees to run scared. I had what I would consider an EXEMPLARY work record. I probably had less than 5 days of sick leave in my 19 years and was almost never late for work. I never had to do a job over again because it was not done right the first time. Many years I would receive computer print-out sheets saying that I had not been responsible for ANY medical costs incurred by the company.

I would receive annual employee ratings by my supervisor, in which every category was checked off as highest or next highest in performance. NONE OF THAT MATTERED – I was laid off after 19 years of SERVICE to that company, along with most of the rest of the Maintenance Department. I KNEW that I would be laid off soon, because I could “read the writing on the wall.” The CEO had his local construction company buddies in the factory doing plumbing & electrical work that the Maintenance Department was perfectly capable of doing.

Right after I had reached my 19th year of service, I went in to the office of my supervisor’s supervisor, whom I had known for many years. I said, “Ken, I just got my 19th year in here.” He said, “That’s great, Brad.” I then said that I would not be here for my 20th year. He asked me what I was talking about and I told him that I was going to be laid off. He told me that my job was “safe” and I replied, “Bullshit! I can see what is going on here.” Shortly after that, I, along with almost all of the other Maintenance personnel, was laid off.

I KNEW even before I was laid off that I would have a very difficult time finding another job as an industrial electrician. Many of the factories in the Rockford, Illinois area, where I worked, were either closed up or had down-sized to a small shadow of their former selves. My efforts at finding another job proved my assessment of the area employment situation.

That company prided itself on not being a company that laid off workers when things got slow. They had a profit-sharing system in which they shared the profits with all of the employees. They would hold monthly plant meetings and the company accountants would show slides of the ACTUAL costs & profits to the employees. One year was an exceptionally good year for profits and they paid a bonus that amounted to an additional 58% increase in the employees’ annual wages.

It is my firm belief that unions have, over the course of their existence, done a very poor job of educating the American public as to the benefits of union membership. Regarding the United Auto Workers union (UAW), of which I was a member, when Walter Reuther was president of that union, there was ZERO corruption in that union. He would not stand for it. Next to John F. Kennedy, Reuther was the most respected American in all of Europe, because they knew what he stood for – an honest wage and good working conditions for ALL workers, not just union workers. Now, most of the officers of the UAW are either in jail, awaiting sentencing or are under indictment for union corruption.

Walter Reuther had many wonderful ideas and goals for ALL American workers – not just for the union workers. Had his ideas been implemented, our country would be a much better place for ALL American workers. But “they” killed him – he was involved in two plane crashes in less than a year’s time; the second crash being the fatal one. “They” wanted him out of the way, just as they wanted James Hoffa out of the way. Just as with JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr., Malcolm X, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Olof Palme and Dag Hammarskjöld, of Sweden.

You mention the person not being able to “afford” a union plumber. My first job, after graduating from high school in 1969, was at a food processing factory that was owned by one of the largest American food companies. I had an ordinary factory job, which anyone could do with minimal training and I made $2.24 per hour. I could purchase MORE with that $2.24 than I could with the $25+ per hour that I was receiving when I retired!

As I said before, the United States has gone from being the most technologically advanced CREDITOR NATION into being a corporate-fascist, bankrupt Banana Republic DEBTOR NATION. We have record numbers of millionaires and billionaires. We also have record numbers of homeless people and people in jail. We have record numbers of foreclosures and record numbers of bankruptcies, both private and corporate.

As I have said many times to countless people, there is more than enough money to go around in our country. But the rich do not want that; they want it all for themselves. That is why, in my opinion, the United States has become the most corrupt country in the world, with the complicity of BOTH national political “parties.”

I believe that the United States is too far “gone” to be able to salvage. If there was a revolution, the resultant “government” would be as bad or worse than the present one, owing to human nature. I stand behind my comments, because they are based on FACTS. The average American does not care about any of this. He or she is so wrapped up in their computer-generated TV programs, their “professional” sports teams and holding onto their precarious employment positions, saddled by record amounts of personal debt.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply. OK that you are in Australia. I have talked with numerous people from that country, using my hobby of ham radio – but not about politics or economic matters.

Speaking only for myself, I tell people that I am a man without a “party” – NONE of them represent me or speak on my behalf. That includes the Democrats, the Republicans, the Socialists, the Communists, the Greens, the Libertarians and the anarchists. I do NOT feel that there are any currently in the U.S. House or Senate who speak on my behalf. From what I have read of the Libertarians, and Ron Paul included, is that they are all SILENT on who will protect the “people” from the corporations. Are the individual states supposed to do that? They are just about as corrupt as the U.S. government. Maybe I have been missing something on this over the years?

Personally, I would like to see the U.S. government revert back to the days, post-World War II, when the EFFECTIVE income tax rates of the corporations and the rich were at their highest and the REAL tax rates for the American Middle class was its lowest. That, combined with meaningful and realistic federal REGULATION of the various business interests, including the “financial industry,” whose main objective is to screw others out of their money and assets.

That, and a down-sizing of the U.S. military, an end to these non-stop WARS in which the United States has engaged in since the end of World War II and an end to the phony “war on terrorism” and the “war on drugs.” Also, an end to the legal/judicial/prison complex. If these things could be achieved, there would be no need for any personal income tax whatsoever. But none of this is going to happen, because the rich do not want to get any less rich.

In regards to unions, I stand by my comments about unions and the need for them. American corporations have a long and sordid history of exploiting their labor. History bears this out, in no uncertain terms. All one has to do is research our country’s REAL history.

I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never see any of these positive changes in the few remaining years that I have in my lifetime. I will continue to do what I have been doing and that is to avoid any unnecessary debt and to avoid any interaction with the police and the court system, as much as is possible.

Thank you.

Although it is not entirely relevant in relation to the symbolic/popular figure of Cecil Rhodes, I think it worth mentioning that he was Rothschilds bagman in South Africa, appointed by them to, among other things, snatch up gold and diamond mines in the country.

Even Wikipedia has this to say about him:

“He entered the diamond trade at Kimberley in 1871, when he was 18, and, thanks to funding from Rothschild & Co, began to systematically buy out and consolidate diamond mines. Over the next two decades he gained near-complete domination of the world diamond market, forming a massive monopoly. His diamond company De Beers, formed in 1888, retained its prominence into the 21st century.”

His story is quite an interesting one – and it differs widely from the popular image of him.

Yes, and check out Anton Chaitkin’s book – “Treason in America” and L. Fletcher Prouty’s book – “The Secret Team” – the attempt to overthrow the Democratic Republic of the United States has been in progress since the founding of our country and continues to this day!

“Nothing??? All hope is lost?

Then why piss and moan?”

“Repugnant” is EXACTLY correct. No American “president” is about to do anything major that will have a positive and lasting effect on the average America. If that person did, “they” would KILL him.

It is that simple.

‘When the nation is on a total war footing, people snap to attention and salute and do what they’re told and don’t ask questions, and the incumbent party and president enjoy almost godlike status.’ — Kevin Barrett

Nevertheless, the party in the White House usually loses votes in the midterm election. That would be great, if we had an actual opposition.

But dirty old turtle Mitch McClownell turning up in Keeeeeeeeeev to signal his support for flushing $40 billion down the toilet shows that a change in Congressional control won’t stop the egregious, reckless logrolling to feed the war leeches.

There is only one War Party. It’s the enemy of the people — always has been; forever will be.

Leave “WHAT” to a U.S. president or government worker?

Yes! Let’s leave EVERYTHING to the corporations and the banksters, since they’re doing such a fine job with EVERYTHING as it is…

Thank you very much for this excellent article. I have done a lot of reading on the life and work of Henry Ford, including two extensive biographies that covered his faults, as well as his successes.

Henry was very late in coming to terms with the United Auto Workers union, but his wife helped him to finally see the light on that. He did not always surround himself with the “nicest” people (Harry Bennett) but, in my opinion, he was 100% correct on two very important subjects – the Jews and the banks & Wall Street.

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” Henry Ford’s own words.

Pierre and “Truth Vigilante” (and “Realist, if he is reading this) –

With all due respect, you people need to do some REAL research on American history and that of the history of the labor unions in the United States. You would be very surprised at what you would LEARN about unions. Do a little research on the history of the United Mine Workers union. You would find that the mine owners in the western United States employed people riding on trains, using machine guns, to mow down, in cold blood, men, women and children.

Also, if you did some REAL research on the history of the United Auto Workers union (the UAW), you would find that while Walter Reuther was president of that union, there was ZERO corruption in that union. Next to John F. Kennedy, Walter Reuther was the most highly respected American in Europe. Reuther was not concerned with only the working lives of UAW workers; he was concerned with the lives of ALL American workers. But “they” killed him, just as they did with JFK, RFK, MLK, Malcolm X and Dorothy Kilgallen. Now, most of the officers of the UAW union are either in prison, are under indictment or are awaiting sentencing for their corruption.

If it were not for the contempt with which corporations and business owners treated their employees, there never would have been a need for unions in the first place. If it were not for the unions, American workers would not be enjoying paid vacations, sick leave, safer working environments, profit sharing and ALL of the other so-called “fringe benefits” that they now receive. EVERY “benefit” that American workers now enjoy was gained by a struggle, NOT by the kindness of corporations or the large business owners.

In my lifetime of 71 years, I have witnessed first-hand how MY COUNTRY has gone from being an industrial powerhouse with the world’s leading technology and being the world’s largest CREDITOR NATION to being the world’s largest DEBTOR NATION. The United States “owes” so much debt – fictitiously created “money” – that if every citizen of the USA were to sell everything that they own and give all of the money to the federal government, there still would not be enough to pay off the national “debt.”

And please do not start in on how nothing is “free” – since the end of World War II, the corporations and large businesses have been enjoying CORPORATE WELFARE and are enjoying their lowest EFFECTIVE income tax rates in recent history. The corporations and the “rich” are the largest recipients of welfare in our country.

Pierre, in regards to the “Christian society” that the United States supposedly has, I have noticed that for the most part, churches in the USA are silent as to what is going on. The country is “going to Hell in a handbasket” (pardon my language) and I only know of TWO church leaders who are vocal about what is going on. Those two people are Chuck Baldwin, of Kalispell, Montana and Louis Farrakhan, of Chicago, Illinois.

Pierre,

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. My use of capital letters was used only as a way of emphasis, not as “table pounding.” In my 40+ years of honest employment as an industrial electrician, I have been fortunate to have held some very good jobs; others, not so good.

It was not the intention pf my post to portray the government as being “good” in the past. I guess that I was trying to say that it was less corrupt than it is now. Yes, I still look up to JFK and Walter Reuther as great people. They both had many faults, as do I, but I think that they tried to help “the average man” as best as they could.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for the reply. If there are any “true heroes” around today, I sure do not know of any. I am very impressed with what Chuck Baldwin always has to say and I at least give Louis Farrakhan credit for knowing and speaking out about what is really going on in the USA and around the world.

Thank you.

I am sorry, but I do not know who “Laffer” is that you are referring to. Probably because I do not watch TV or avail myself of any of the MSM offerings.

Thank you.

Thank you again for another reply and for explaining who Laffer is. Since you seem to be “aligned” with the Libertarians, please explain to me why I never hear any of them mentioning anything about protecting people from predatory businesses, corporations and the complete farce (in my opinion) of what we call the “legal system” here in the USA.

Are the 50 states supposed to look out for the people, or do Libertarians believe that the businesses, corporations and legal system are going to “fix themselves?” I am not trying to be a smart aleck, but what I have asked you about the Libertarians is something that I have been wondering about for a long time.

Thank you.

Thank you again for the nice reply. I have checked out Lew Rockwell from time to time.

As I have said in many posts, I am a man “without a party.” None of them represent me or speak for me. I think that both the national Democratic and Republican parties here in the USA are as corrupt and bought off by the Big Money interests as can be. The “Greens” do not speak for me, because I think that this entire “climate change” thing is just the latest way for the elites to tax and to control every living thing on the planet.

I don’t consider myself either a socialist or communist because I would not trust any of the people who would be running those governments to do the right thing. Human nature being what it is, the resulting governments of those two would be much worse than what we have now. In my older years, I have become very much anti-war – not anti-defense, but anti-war.

I have a lot of respect for some of the things that various Libertarians say, as well as some of the things that the John Birch Society organization says. I keep telling my girl friend (my ex-wife) that the things which the government should be doing, it does not do. And the things that it should not be doing, it does do.

As far as government regulation is concerned, I think that a common-sense approach to regulation needs to be undertaken. But since the government is controlled by the Big Money interests, common sense is in very short supply.

Thank you.

Hundred of thousands of dead and maimed Iraqi children, and war-criminals Bush n Blair still haven’t been charged. DU! Did they really think it was depleted?
Don’t look at this if you’re squeamish:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=depleted+uranium+iraq+birth+defects&t=h_&ia=web

Please allow me to add my “two cents worth” in this discussion, from the aspect of my hobby – amateur (ham) radio and the personal experiences that I have had with this hobby. I have been a ham since 1981 and have made over 70,000 contacts with other ham radio stations, mainly using Morse code as my means of communication and mainly contacting foreign stations.

Over the years, I have had contacts with a few thousand Russian hams. We hams exchange cards, which are similar to post cards. They serve as verification that the contact had taken place and are used in the application for various awards and also as a courtesy between stations. Over the years, I have received hundreds of these cards from Russian hams. Many of the Russian hams will write on their cards a personal note. I have found that by reading these cards, Russian hams are JUST LIKE American hams – they want to live, work and play, just like everyone else. They want to enjoy their hobby and they want to live in peace.

Since the troubles began in Ukraine, there have been efforts of many United States hams to “boycott” Russian hams, avoid contact with them and also to prevent Russian hams from participating in some of the on-the-air ham radio contests that have taken place. I DO NOT agree with this; I feel that it is anti-ethical behavior on the part of American hams.

Personally, I have done just the opposite – I have actively looked for Russian hams with which to communicate and to let the Russian hams know that I am not “anti-Russian.” If I was to “boycott” any hams, it would be the Israeli hams. But I will not do this. If an Israeli ham calls me, I will at least be polite and let him know how well his signal is being heard in my country. After all, Israeli hams are NOT “their government,” just as American hams are NOT “their government.” As my dear mother always used to say to me, “Two wrongs do not make a right.” I try to live by this as best as I can and I also try to live by “the Golden Rule” as best as I can.

A couple of years ago, I spent three weeks in Sweden, home of my ancestors. I had been thinking about spending a month in Scandinavia and a month in Russia. My plan was to fly from Stockholm, Sweden to Moscow and take the trans-Siberian railroad west to St. Petersburg and then take it to the eastern edge of Siberia and hopefully meet some of the many Russian hams with which I have made contact with over the years.

I gave up on the idea of touring Russia, after I had discovered some of the apparent problems with travel in Russia – problems of not many Russians being fluent in English, a lack of signs in the English language and many places of businesses not accepting American credit cards – only dealing in Russian roubles.

My own personal safety had never been a concern of mine. I would have felt at least as safe in Russia as I do here in the United States. I am now almost 71 years old and will probably never have the opportunity of being able to tour Russia. I will be content that my radio signal can travel there and I will continue my best, using my hobby of ham radio, to act as a “goodwill ambassador” for the people of the United States.

In closing, I would like to state that from what I have learned about Vladimir Putin, I think that he, unlike 99% of the American politicians, is a very intelligent person and that he is trying his best to look out for the Russian PEOPLE – again, unlike the American politicians.

Thank you.

Brad, N9EN (my ham radio callsign)

Please allow me to share my opinion and thoughts on the plight of the once-great United States, of which I am a citizen, for better or for worse. I have NO college degree in anything. I am a 71-year-old retired industrial electrician who has worked in that capacity for over 40 years.

I have done much reading and studying about REAL United States & world history and about many of the recent events. I am of the opinion that EVERYTHING going on in the USA and in various parts of the world is all planned – orchestrated, if you will. NOTHING of any consequence happens by chance.

I believe that Soros, Schwab, Gates and the various “foundations” and “think tanks” are among the most evil people and organizations in the world. Everything in the United States is that way because the “elite,” the “secret team,” the “illuminati” (call them what you will), want things that way – so that they can divide & conquer and eventually own everything and enslave all of humanity.

There is so much technology available here, in the United States and in other countries around the world, that ANY problem could be solved – if only the “Big Money” interests would allow that. But they do not want any of he problems solved – problems due mainly to themselves.

Awhile back, Hillary Clinton was conducting a press interview and one of the press people asked her that in regards to the “war” on drugs, why they just didn’t legalize and tax drugs. Her response was because there was too much money in it. But then she realized that she had “let the cat out of the bag” and tried to retract her statement. But it was too late; she had actually told the truth!

Every problem – the phony “wars” on drugs and “terrorism;” the child and adult kidnapping and trafficking; homelessness; starvation; the phony military wars and almost every other problem – could be solved if they just took the MONEY out of the equation. But the people in the “system” are making too much money for it to stop. They do not want to kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs (for them).

Anymore, I watch NO television nor do I attempt to get any “news” from the mainstream media. At best, it is nothing but half-truths or simply outright lies. I believe that EVERYTHING here in the United States and around the world is either a conspiracy, a scam or a combination of the two. Nothing is as it seems. Absolutely NOTHING.

Thank you.

Thanks for the reply. I did not mean literally everything, but almost everything.

Yes, I believe that college and professional sports serve as a distraction from the really important things that are going on. I am the world’s worst sports person. I watch nothing.

I think that there are a couple of other reasons why the average American seems oblivious to what is going on in the USA and around the world. One reason is the entertainment industry. TV – “Dancing With The Stars;” “America’s Got Talent;” the completely idiotic sit-coms and computer-generated nonsense seen on TV and in the movies.

Another reason, I believe, is that most Americans are saddled with tremendous amounts of debt and the fact that their employment situation is so precarious – possible down-sizing or off-shoring their jobs. That is, for the few who still have relatively decent-paying jobs.

Good luck with ham radio! I am constantly amazed that “foreigners” STILL want to communicate with Americans, but they do, for which I am very grateful. I will continue to be active in ham radio until I am so old that I can no longer communicate via Morse code. Maybe I’ll take up “voice” communication then – ha!

NO vaxxes here, either. Best of luck to you & yours…

America, where are you?

It’s the same place that it has been since at least the early 1970s, when our political “leaders” of both parties began HELPING American industry to off-shore the jobs. And if you want to go back earlier, it’s at exactly the same place that it was shortly after World War II, when the majority of the tax burden was shifted from the corporations and the rich to the American Middle Class.

There is so much technology available that the United States could solve EVERY problem that it has, if it actually wanted to. But there is too much money to be made by keeping things the way that they are. And as I have said numerous times, there is more than enough money to accomplish these things. It’s just that the corporations and the rich would not continue to become even richer.

I was in Sweden for 3 weeks in the fall of 2019 and had the pleasure of riding one of their normal surface trains from Strängnäs to Stockholm. I do not know how fast it was going; maybe 65 or 70 miles per hour. But the train was so clean that one could eat off the floor, using the floor for a dinner plate! And the train was so quiet that I could WHISPER to my friend next to me and he could hear everything that I was saying, with no difficulty.

Seeing as how this is “Memorial Day” – in honor of all the dead who fought in the Banksters’ wars, I propose that the name of the holiday be changed to Bankers’ Day.

Video Link

Thank you.

Ralph,

I personally believe that “Covid,” like AIDS and Ebola, originated in U.S. military biological weapons laboratories. If one stops and thinks about it, it would be completely AGAINST China’s interests to develop this and to infect its largest trade customer – the United States.

I also believe that the “prominent powers” have a plan that they have begun to implement, to reduce the world’s population by billions of persons.

BTW, “Ralph” is my middle name!

Larry,

I enjoy your articles very much. From what I have gathered, the United States has done with China exactly as it had done with Russia in the past – give away or sell its important technology so that it has new enemies with which to make war (and enjoy the foreign countries’ cheaper labor in the process).

I have done extensive reading of the works of Antony Sutton, Ph.D. (now deceased). He spelled out in his books just how the United States has operated in the past and continues to operate to this day.

Keep up the good work!

I agree with most of what you say. But concerning the police situation in this country, how more likely are you to be killed by a COP than an “ordinary criminal?” 5 times? 6 times?

As far as respecting the police is concerned, I no longer have respect for them. Sure, they have a very undesirable job, but they have developed an “us vs. them” mentality and they feel that they do not need to go by the laws that they are supposed to enforce. I don’t know how many times I have seen a police car make a turn or a lane change and they do not even bother to use their turn signals.

My girlfriend (my ex-wife) watches “Chicago P.D.” and I am constantly seeing the “police” routinely beating up the suspects (on the show). That is just as much criminal behavior as what the suspects are in there for. They had an excellent teacher on this in real life. Do some research on Jon Burge, who was a detective for the Chicago Police Department and who routinely beat and tortured suspects in order to get confessions (usually false ones), with which the suspects were tried and convicted (also, falsely or wrongfully convicted).

A few years ago, I was hauled into court on a trespassing charge. I was sitting on a bench at 7:00 AM, in front of a pond. One of the homeowner’s association members, in his self-righteousness, had called the county sheriff’s office and I was arrested for trespassing. It took a $500 retainer to an attorney, who produced documents that I was on COUNTY PROPERTY, to get the case thrown out. That was after I had appeared in court 2 or 3 times. While I was in court, I noticed an older couple, sitting in there and waiting for their case to be heard. I was in my early 60s at the time and they were quite a bit older than I and they were dressed very nicely. I thought to myself, “What the hell are they in here for?” I never did find out, but it most likely was some kind of a phony trumped-up charge with which to extract money from them.

I am in my early 70s now and I now AVOID the police as much as I can.

Thank you.

“The US grants the greatest opportunity to the many as any other system in the world.”

That was true 40 years ago, but with the off-shoring of millions of good-paying jobs to foreign countries, that statement does not hold much water…

The purpose of my post is not to argue with you, only to agree with “anarchyst” in what he says about this “climate change” being a fraud.One cannot change another’s mind by arguing…

Back in the 1960s, when I was a kid in school, unlike most other boys my age, I spent a lot of time in libraries. I remember picking up a “news magazine” – I don’t remember if it was Time, Newsweek or some other – and on the front cover of the magazine was a picture depicting the earth, half covered in
ice. The caption accompanying the picture said, “Ice Age Coming!” Well, it was “global COOLING” then and now it is global WARMING.”

Like “anarchyst,” I believe that this whole climate change thing is nothing but the newest installment in the on-going methods by the Big Money Interests to tax and control everything and everyone on the planet. If there really is “anything” to this climate change stuff, then the rich bastards can pay for it because, obviously, they are not paying for anything now.

You would do well to watch a video on YouTube by Lord Christopher Monckton, of England. He is not a scientist but he has done a lot of research on this and has the facts to back up what he says. Video –

Video Link

Another person that you might want to check out is Dr. Timothy Ball, Ph.D. –
https://www.heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/timothy-ball

I do not go along with most of the views of the Heartland Institute, but I sure do agree with what Dr. Ball (and Lord Monckton) have been publicly saying for years about “climate change.”

Again, it is not my intention to argue with you; only to point out some possibly new avenues, which, if you investigate them, might possibly change your views. To use a favorite saying of one of the world’s most prominent UFO researchers, Stanton Friedman (now deceased) – “Don’t bother me with the facts; my mind’s made up!”

Thank you.

[The (((Wall Street Barons))) never “decided to offshore virtually all manufacturing jobs to China, ensuring its status as an economic power house a few decades later”. Instead, it was the Asian Barons — using HK as their financial center — who built up China into the manufacturing hub of Asia during the early decades of Deng’s market reforms. ]

You are very much mistaken if you believe that the “Asian Barons” and their “financial center” were responsible for the off-shoring the millions of jobs to China. Also, that article you cite from the “Fed” is about 95% B.S.

American corporations and their boards of directors were the principals responsible for the decisions to do the off-shoring in the first place. Also, the U.S. politicians of BOTH political parties were responsible for enacting legislation that made it beneficial for the off-shoring.

I witnessed this first-hand when I was employed at an A.O. Smith Automotive Products assembly plant in Rockford, Illinois. I was an electrician there for 6-1/2 years. The Rockford plant assembled truck frames for General Motors. My boss’ son, who was the plant electrical engineer, was sent over to China, as A.O. Smith wanted to build an assembly plant there. He regularly sent me letters from China and kept me informed of the happenings there.

A.O. Smith, like all of the other American corporations doing the off-shoring, wanted to take advantage of the cheap Chinese labor. A.O. Smith eventually sold off their automotive products division to a “hot shot” start-up corporation by the name of Tower Automotive. A.O. Smith had been building frames for vehicles since Henry Ford’s Model T and if ANYONE knew how to build frames and make money doing so, it was A.O. Smith. But A.O. Smith decided that there was no longer any money to be made in being a “Tier 1” supplier to the automotive industry; the “Big 3” were putting terrific pressure on their suppliers to cut costs, while they themselves did very little to control their costs. Tower Automotive eventually filed for bankruptcy.

What I am getting at is that ALL of the American corporations willingly off-shored the millions of jobs to China. I doubt very much that China “stole” ANY technology. It was either given to them or sold to them very inexpensively.

It is my opinion that the American corporations, the American politicians and American people are among the stupidest people on earth. The technology has been given away or sold and the manufacturing bases are no longer in the USA. And now, Americans’ standards of living are heading for the toilet. I blame American consumers just as much as I do the politicians and the corporations. At one time, they had a choice of either purchasing American-made (for a higher price) or foreign goods. They chose the foreign goods and became addicted to the cheap prices. Now there is no longer any “choice” – almost all manufactured goods are now manufactured either in China or in some “Third World” country that utilizes slave or prison labor. And ultimately, the American consumer is the loser!

Thank you.

A couple of more things that I would like to share with the reader, concerning “free enterprise” and also transportation in the USA…

Being a new resident of Tennessee, having escaped from the “Sucker State” – Illinois, I am very proud of a government agency that we have here in Tennessee. That agency is the Tennessee Valley Authority, an unqualified success that originated when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.

Another Tennessee success story is the city-owned and operated cable TV and internet provider in Chattanooga, TN. Chattanooga residents enjoy some of the lowest rates for cable TV and internet access. But, of course, there are business concerns who are trying their best to stymie that city’s publicly owned utility, as they are also trying to do throughout the USA. Website –

https://broadbandnow.com/report/municipal-broadband-roadblocks/#tennessee

In regards to transportation here in the USA, get ready for the next scam and hang onto your wallets. The upcoming new scam will be “driverless cars” and you just wait and see. The manufacturers and the software companies will have the laws set up so that they have ZERO liability. Who will be paying for the resulting damages and experiencing the needless deaths that will occur? Why, the American consumer, of course.

They really need to change the name of our country from “the United States” to “Scams R Us,” because that is what the country has become. One scam right after another.

Thank you.

No, nothing is “funny” about any of this. In fact, I don’t see hardly anything “funny” about anything more these days.

You mention the tens of thousands – like all the “scientists” and their computer models, who publicly state that the THREE buildings “collapsed” due to fire on September 11, 2001?

Yes, I will agree with you on one thing. Homo sapiens being “brought down” by imbeciles. Yes, they have – imbeciles, for the most part wearing two- and three-piece business suits!

Thank you.

Thank you for the reply and information. While I was employed at A.O. Smith / Tower Automotive, the plant’s largest “customer” was the G.M. assembly plant in Silao, Mexico, followed by the G.M. plant in Janesville, Wisconsin and a plant in the vicinity of Detroit, Michigan. The Michigan plant was the destination for the commercial truck frames; the other two plants received frames for the passenger and light truck markets.

At my last job, from which I retired, there was a Mexican American, who was a “die setter” for the punch and transfer presses. He was a very nice American citizen, who had been a U.S. citizen for many years and was very fluent in English, with very little Spanish accent. We got to talking one day and I had told him that I had been doing some studying about Mexico and the American businesses there.

I told him that since the passage of “NAFTA” and the establishment of the “maquiladoras,” life in Mexico for the average citizen there was WORSE than before the establishment of the maquiladoras. I told him that I had found out why they called the manufacturing areas maquiladoras. I told him that I had found out that it was a derisive term, which roughly translated was “mills of gold” (gold mills). The maquiladoras were supposed to be great sources of wealth but the wealth was only for the owners of the manufacturing facilities. He told me that I was 100% correct. He was greatly surprised that I knew so much about his home country.

I have also found out that many American companies have set up manufacturing and assembly plants in Brazil. I read an excellent book about the closing of an American stamping plant in Detroit and the shipment of all of the presses to Brazil, where they opened up a new plant for producing the same exact products as were produced in Detroit, although with much cheaper labor!

I am now 70 years old and am retired, having “made my million,” so to speak. I worked as an industrial electrician for 40+ years and have seen first-hand how the United States has gone from being the world’s largest producer of useful goods and being the world’s largest creditor nation to being the world’s largest importer and the world’s largest debtor nation.

The United States (and most of the individual states) is bankrupt, according to standard accounting principles and is well on its way to becoming a sophisticated Banana Republic, but nobody gives a damn. Certainly none of the politicians of BOTH political parties, since they are all in on the scam. I fear greatly for the young people just starting out and attempting to raise families. What are they going to do for jobs? Become “burger flippers” or “greeters” at Walmart?

The (rich) continue to become richer and everyone else continues to become poorer. Very sad…

Thank you.

“Corvinus” – In one day I will be 71 years old. I am not “rich,” but I am not “broke,” either. Everything that I own was earned in a legitimate manner, by working as an industrial electrician for 40+ years.

In my short lifetime, I have witnessed first-hand how the United States has gone from being the #1 manufacturer of useful products and being the world’s largest creditor nation to being the world’s largest importer of products and being the world’s largest debtor nation.

If there is ANYTHING here in the United States that is better than it was when I was growing up in the 1960s, then I sure as hell do not know what it is.

Please do not talk to me about engaging in “critical thinking” – I have read many books by some very intelligent persons in the last 15 years and get my current news from websites, such as Unz, websites that condemn the “Democratic” and “Republican” parties equally, since both, in my opinion are rotten to the core. I do not watch ANY television, nor do I read any of the so-called news magazines, since most of the “news” is either outright lies or at best, half-truths.

I HAVE been “duped” by a few things in the past – notably the assassinations (murders) of JFK, RFK, MLK, Jr., Malcolm X, Dorothy Kilgallen, Marilyn Monroe, Olof Palme and Dag Hammarskjöld (of Sweden) and James Hoffa, Walter Reuther and the events of 9/11/2001.

I will repeat my earlier statement – Everything in the United States is either a conspiracy or a scam, or a combination of the two. EVERYTHING.

Thank you.

Thank you for the kind words. I cannot understand how anyone in their right mind could be a member of any “Optimist Club” – everything just keeps getting worse and worse. And I am not referring to the so-called “climate change” / global warming “issue.”

This world could be such a wonderful place if people just cooperated with each other, minded their OWN businesses and stopped provoking / creating wars.

There are basically no “shortages” of anything in this world, with the exception of common sense and a love of one’s fellow man. Contrary to Malthusians, such as “Mulga Mumblebrain,” there is not even a world overpopulation “problem” – if everyone in the world were grouped into families of six people and given an average sized piece of land to live on, they would ALL fit into the state of Texas, with land left over. I HAVE done the math on this.

Also, contrary to what “Mulga Mumblebrain” says, the only thing “collapsing” in this world is man’s compassion for his fellow man.

Thank you.

I do NOT trust anything that is in Wikipedia, if the subject is of an important, controversial or significant nature. Look up “Tariff of Abominations” and you will see that the article completely contradicts itself.

Thank you.

“exorbitant Union wages to third rate employees who would strike often for higher wages for inferior work,” blah, blah, blah…

Don’t you people get tired of trotting out that old anti-union dog? I suggest that you not judge others by yourself. Every time you point a finger at someone, you’re pointing three fingers back at yourself.

If it wasn’t for unions, no one would have any paid vacations, no sick leave, no medical or dental coverage, no kind of retirement programs and no workplace safety.

In my 40+ years as an industrial electrician, both in union and non-union factories, NO ONE ever asked me to do a job over again because of sub-standard work. And routinely working with 240 and 480 volts A.C. power, no one was EVER injured or encountered an unsafe installation made by myself.

As far as the “high” union wages are concerned, that is a bunch of B.S. After graduating from high school in 1969, I took a job at a food processing factory, doing UNSKILLED work for $2.24 per hour, a job that anyone could do, with minimal training. I retired from my last factory job as a SKILLED industrial electrician, making $25.00 and some change per hour. I could purchase MORE with that $2.24 than I could with the $25.00+ that I retired with.

If you want to place the blame for the high costs that Americans now face, place the blame where it belongs – with the idiots running these corporations and their EXORBITANT salaries, “perks,” stock dividends and buy-backs. These idiots who, for the most part, treat their employees like dirt and who never get tired of grabbing more for themselves.

Also place the blame with the Federal Reserve and the member banks, who create “money” out of thin air, non-stop and launder billions of dollars, tax-free, every year. Blame the fraudsters in the so-called “financial industry,” whose specialty is defrauding people out of their hard-earned money, who manipulate all the “securities markets” and all of the commodities markets.

If these corporations (and private businesses) had been conducting their business endeavors in a legitimate manner in the first place, there would have never been any need for any unions. But they didn’t do that and that is why the unions were formed.

You and the rest of these “free-traders” need to get your facts straight.

(signed)

Brad Anbro,
retired United Auto Workers Journeyman Electrician

You must be a complete moron. I was referring to the QUALITY of my work, always having been done in a safe manner and meeting the National Electrical Code. “Electrical fires” are caused by something not “being right,” whether an insulation breakdown, a connection loosening up and overheating, etc. Obviously, you know nothing about electrical work, or are just trying to impress people with your “humor,” which I do not find amusing in the least.

Don’t forget the suspicious death of William Colby – in a canoeing “Accident.”

Also check out the book by Edward T. Haslam, “Dr. Mary’s Monkey” and the book by Judyth Vary Baker, “Me & Lee.”

OK on all, “CQ” – that is what I do with my ham radio, when I am looking to make contact with someone. I call “CQ” (the ham radio jargon for “come quick”).

I just get so tired of these people who make silly-ass comments and do not have the facts with which to back up what they say. I will listen to anyone, provided that they have the facts with which to substantiate their opinions.

My “real” education began about 15 years ago, and I am still learning.

Good luck!

Please tell me – by whom and in regard to what have I been “duped?”

Thank you.

“CQ” – Your mention of “electrical fires” got me to thinking about some training that we had to take in the job that I retired from. We watched a video on hazards of electrical work, primarily on what I would term freak electrical “explosions.”

The video showed a piece of equipment undergoing a catastrophic breakdown, with the resulting “ball of fire” coming out of the equipment and engulfing the worker. These kinds of occurrences do happen, although very rarely, and there is always a cause for them happening.

In my last few jobs, we had to wear special flame-retardant clothing and in the last job that I had, there were strict “rules” in place for working on equipment that was “hot” – equipment that still had the power applied to it. They wanted the electricians to wear special “lineman’s gloves” and hand tools that had special insulated handles. Also, a special face mask & hard hat.

I never bothered with any of that stuff because the equipment that I usually worked on, using 480 volt, 3-phase AC power, was considered (in the trade) as “low voltage.” High voltage usually referred to voltages such as 11,200 volts and higher, which I never worked around.

In the last job that I had, I was the oldest electrician and there were a couple of much younger guys who, after seeing the “electrical explosions” video, became slightly paranoid about working around the 480 volt equipment. There was this one piece of equipment where the main circuit breaker had gone bad and it had been replaced with three bare copper “bus bars.” One of the electricians showed it to me and made a cringe. I told him to just not touch it and he wouldn’t have to worry about it.

Memories…

ALL billionaires?

No… just the JEWISH ones.

Jewish billionaires are no worse than gentile billionaires…they should all be eliminated.

Unfortunately the US Government and Mr Biden appear to still hope for a Ukrainian victory over Russia.

I don’t think so.

Without a direct intervention from NATO (WWIII) then the outcome (Ukrainian defeat) was always a foregone conclusion.

What they’re doing now is simply using the conflict as a pretext to gush billions in lucre to all the players involved. Biden and son, Kolomoisky, Zelensky, no doubt untold hundreds of other Zionists and others like these charming folks. (just the introductory paragraphs is enough to sicken and repulse).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_the_Study_of_War

Ukrainian and Russian men are dying so that guys like this

can become fantastically wealthy, while orchestrating the mass-slaughter of untold tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian Christians.

Such a deal! It’s like ((WWI and II)) all over again!

An unlimited supply of slop in the trough, (tell me that guy doesn’t look like a pig)

` this is his brother, the neocon Robert Kagan

the whole point of dragging this thing on is to milk it for the maximum lucre they can steal, and get as many Ukrainian and Russian people killed as possible.

It was these people’s grandfathers, like Lazar Kaganovitch who orchestrated the deliberate mass starvation genocide of millions of Ukrainians in the last century. Or Genrikh Yagoda, who terrorized or murdered untold millions of Russian Christians.

It’s what they do. Their hatred for Russians and Ukrainians (white Christians) is infinite. And a war where they can steal billions from Americans (mainly white Christians), and force British and French and German and Polish and other white Christians to cough up weapons and lucre to slaughter other white Christians, is just about as good as it can get for these filthy Satanic scum. And it’s difficult for me to understand how the Ukrainian people can serve as cannon fodder, with such depraved degradation- the same tribe who murdered so many millions of their ancestors, in the most cruel way imaginable.

It is, just as the Russian Coat of Arms depicts, as if Vlad Putin is a modern-day Saint George, and is slaying the forces of evil that menace the very survival of Christendom and its people.

God speed to Vlad Putin, and pray he prevails, for the people of Russia, for the people of Ukraine, and for all the rest of us.

Actually, the Earth is greening. Vegetation all over has increased in the last decades, a fact observed by scientists of NASA and others and which has remained nevertheless completely beyond the comprehension of hardcore tree huggers who are unable to make two plus two of several elements that produce the proverbial four: increased heat and increased CO2 in the atmosphere (plants and trees just love gobbling up CO2!) that is why they call it Greenhouse Effect see, because it turns the entire Earth into a Greenhouse.

Nov 23, 2020
Greening of the Earth Mitigates Surface Warming
A new study reports that increased vegetation growth during the recent decades, known as the “Greening Earth”, has a strong cooling effect on the land due to increased efficiency of heat and water vapor transfer to the atmosphere.
A new study published in the journal Science Advances titled “Biophysical impacts of Earth greening largely controlled by aerodynamic resistance” reports that the entire land surface would have been much warmer without the cooling effect of increased green cover during the recent decades. The study used high-quality satellite data from NASA’s MODIS sensors and NCAR’s state-of-the-art numerical earth system model.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/greening-of-the-earth-mitigates-surface-warming

Earth getting greener, NASA’s new maps confirm

Earth has continued to grow green since the turn of the century and this could help moderate global warming, according to new maps released by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA). High levels of carbon dioxide increased photosynthesis, according to authors of a review paper published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/earth-getting-greener-nasa-s-new-maps-confirm-69361

Oh wait, don’t tell me. Let me guess…NASA is also into it…!

One billion plus autistic morons with small eyes are the target of the Jewish Globalist ire because they’re not the ballplayers the WEF thought they were but the Ukraine war business is a sham and eventually, Russia will join in to help destroy China because it will be in its interests. No God fearing people (it doesn’t matter which deity you’re addicted to) want the godless communist thugs to become the rulers of the world.

Pandemic, energy crisis, large cyber attacks (“predicted” by the WEF a while ago), food shortage (“predicted” by some other big globalist institution, etc.

Don’t worry. All according to plan…

As for the green energy nonsense – once people start freezing to death, or feel it deeply in their pockets, most will quickly disavow their good climate intentions. Virtue-signalling is fun only if it’s not too costly.

Look, I’m all against pollution and for the preservation of the environment, animals and plants — but climate change is a hoax. A costly hoax. Let’s not be stupid.

Where should the electricity come from? Of course, further from the socket and of course further from the factories

Exhibit A why (most) women should not be involved in politics? (On the other hand, most male politicians are equally stupid and mendacious, so I don’t know).

Get your kids the hell out of US schools!

I will repeat that because it needs to be said over again. “Get your kids the hell out of US schools!”