Out of the blue, I've decided to drop my United States of the Solar System, A.D. 2133 threads (cold turkey) and start a daily commentary on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Exercise in Nature. I have online subscriptions and the plan is to spend significant time and effort reading and writing concerning the newspapers and going for long walks in nature. I'll probably lose the standoffish religious and political science-fictional act I've maintained for several years. I'm already suffering withdrawal symptoms. Here are a few related posts from a few years ago, but they are not necessarily representative of my current goal. This is just to help get the ball rolling. A frustrating evening has motivated me to attempt a different approach to life, the universe, and everything!! No more "save the world" talk!! This should be refreshing!! Perhaps I'll add this thread to The United States of the Solar System: A.D. 2133 (Book Eleven) thread!! The Missing Link
orthodoxymoron wrote: I now authorize whatever means necessary and appropriate, to deal with those who wish me harm (in any way, shape, or form -- in-body or out-of-body -- in planning, ordering, or carry-out stages). I have been extremely tactful and discrete. My internet-activities have been a rather quiet back-channel for those in the know. It was never intended for those I come in contact-with in my local-community -- yet someone alerted them to my "madness". It's SO Obvious. I haven't been fooled -- and I'm not fooled -- even though I am a "completely ignorant fool". It stinks when people stick their noses in other people's business. I'm going silent -- not because I've been threatened and harassed -- but because no one has properly discussed my concerns with me over the past seven years of internet posting (and I'm not necessarily referring to forum-members).
I have come to the conclusion that I am finished -- and that I will be very harshly punished for attempting to make things better for everyone -- everywhere. The creation of Male and Female Human Physicality was probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. Freedom (even Responsible Freedom) is probably heresy and rebellion in this universe. I have never felt more helpless and desperate than I feel presently. Ethics seem to be of no consequence in this universe. Absolute Obedience seems to be EVERYTHING in this universe. I hope everyone is happy with what's coming -- and I hope someone remembers me -- because I don't think I'll be part of what's coming -- whether I wish to be, or not. I think my fate is sealed -- and that it's not a good one. But none of you seem to give a damn about any of this.
I have observed (even in myself) that the Creation v Evolution debate is often Closed-Minded Pseudo-Intellectual Trench-Warfare -- rather than being Eclectic, Open-Minded, and Multi-Disciplinary. What if Darwin's Theory mostly applies to that which preceded the Human Being? What if most everything evolved over billions of years -- and that a product of this ancient evolutionary process (some form of humanoid) created the Human Being -- and that this creation (or genetic engineering) might've been an Illegal Innovation? Think about it.
Imagine a Pre-Human Reptilian-Theocracy led by a Reptilian-Queen who expected Absolute-Obedience. This Hypothetical-Queen might've been the Benchmark of Everything. The 'Law of God' might've been every word that proceedeth out of the 'Mouth of God'. There might've been no Written 'Word of God'. There might've been no Constitution and Bill of Rights. There might've been no Governmental Body of any sort. Everything might've revolved around this Hypothetical Reptilian-Queen. Perhaps this state of affairs existed for millions, or even billions, of years. But what if an ambitious and clever underling decided to create the Human-Race and Responsible-Freedom -- clearly in defiance of the Reigning Queen? That would mean war, wouldn't it? War in Heaven, perhaps? What if the Humans eventually lost the war? What if the Humans have been punished, tortured, enslaved, taxed, lied-to, etc, etc, etc -- for tens of thousands of years -- by the Hypothetical Reptilian Empire -- to send a clear message to the entire universe -- to never, ever attempt anything similar to the Human-Rebellion? Is Humanity on the Verge of Extermination? Will Humanity revert to a Reptilian Theocracy? Status Quo Ante Bellum? Think about it.
Some of you need to think very, very deeply about an Ancient One-Race, One-Religion, One-Government, One-God Theocratic Universe -- AND the Advent of Someone With a 'Better Idea' -- who Created a New-Race, New-Religion, New-Government, Poly-Theistic Solar System -- and the Reaction of the Galactic Powers That Be. I'm very, very, very , very serious about this. The problems connected with all of this are UNIMAGINABLE -- from the Innovation and the Status-Quo points of view. I will elaborate later -- but I am so upset, I can hardly type. Once again, are we about to experience 'Status Quo Ante Bellum'? Think about it.
You just keep ignoring me, and writing me off -- AT YOUR OWN PERIL. Some of you are guilty of GROSS NEGLIGENCE. YOU KNOW BETTER -- YET YOU DO NOTHING AND SAY NOTHING.
The Sovereign Reptilian Queen of the Air aka Lilith
in a Tibetan Underground Base with Her New Creation.
Just Wait Until Enlil Finds Out About This!!!Is the United States of the Solar System a Representative-Republic or a Representative-Theocracy? Is the 'Separation of Church and State' intended to keep a Good God or a Bad God out of government and governance? Think about it. Is the 'God of This World' a Good God or a Bad God? As blasphemous and irreligious as this sounds, what if Washington D.C. were superimposed onto Vatican City -- with 10,000 PhD Representatives -- a Ceremonial and Ambassadorial PhD King and PhD Queen of the United States of the Solar System -- and a Very Human, Very Visible, and Very Imperfect Ceremonial, Ambassadorial (and Authority of Last Resort) PhD 'God' (making sure that things didn't spiral out of control -- but not micromanaging or manipulating)???!!! What if half of the PhD Representatives resided in Italy -- and participated in daily legislative sessions within Vatican City? What if the other half of the PhD Representatives were spread throughout the Solar System -- communicating and voting via the InterPlaNet???!!! If Fox News broadcast this proposal -- can you imagine being one of the people answering the angry and livid calls from the General Public???!!! Can you imagine the Official Statements from the Political and Religious Leaders of the World???!!! Can you imagine the responses from Sirius and Orion???!!! Would we suffer a Drac-Attack???!!! Would a Solar System 'God' be the Real Deal -- or just a Propped-Up Puppet Who Agreed to Sell-Out the Human Race??? Would a Solar System God be the God of the Universe -- or just a Local God?? Would there be a Human God and a Reptilian God? Does Michael-Horus-Jesus have Dual-Citizenship??Mercuriel wrote:Lets go even further...
INRI = Inanna - Nimrod - Marduk Ra or just Ra at that time - And Isis...
Moses with Horns
> Horns signifying both Genetic Lineage to the Anuks and "Right to Rule" as the gODS had 'em in abundance due to Them being Master Geneticists...
For instance - Enlil was known as the Bull and Marduk was known as the Ram...
Da Vinci was trying to tell Us something here and most have missed It.
Interesting eh ?
And nope - You're not finished just yet anyways. Almost - But not yet...
This 'God Issue' could be EXTREMELY complex and problematic -- in the context of a hypothetical Reptilian v Human Galactic Civil War. Sherri Shriner says that Aliens Are Not Our Friends. But what if Aliens Are Our Relatives???!!! Just think of that Hundred Mile-Long Alien-Spacecraft as being a Bad@$$teroid Mother-In-Law Ship!!!! There's a reason why some of us lead -- and why some of us are merely internet warriors!!! What continues to REALLY worry me -- is whether the Human Race is capable of properly debating and discussing this sort of thing???!!! Is there a critical mass of people who are REALLY doing their homework regarding Politics and Theology in a New Solar System and Brave New Universe???!!! I know there are certain individuals who read my tripe -- completely understand it -- and are capable of intelligently discussing everything in this thread -- yet choose to remain silent or mostly silent. This makes me EXTREMELY apprehensive. I am keeping this tempest in a teapot safely within the confines of this website -- but a proper conversation is NOT occurring. I had hoped that this could be a Mostly Private Back-Channel -- with some meaningful discussions -- even with Alphabet Agency Interns -- but this isn't happening. It seems as if everyone is watching gleefully as I continue to post Provocative Non-PC Speculations and Proposals -- which can and will be (and probably already have been) used against me. I will be MOST interested to learn who said what about me. What did YOU say -- and when did you say it??? I came in peace. Shall I leave you to your own devices -- or will ET simply leave us in pieces???
I continue to conceptualize the possibility of the historical and contemporary existence of an Orion-Sirius-Egyptian-Roman Empire, administered in this solar system by a hypothetical Reincarnating Osiris-Isis-Horus-Set Royal Family -- wherein the Roman Empire and the Roman Catholic Church would be a highly important and relevant piece of this puzzle. I can't prove this -- and I don't even have a lot of evidence -- but it is part of my ongoing science-fiction series, which I am sharing with the very few of you who bother to read my tripe. I continue to think that Theology is a HUGE part of Politics -- regardless of any problems with texts, history, personalities, ethics, whoever, and whatever. It's still important. My Goal is a New Reformation of the City-States, which retains the best and discards the worst. Once again, I do not wish to start from scratch, or to reinvent the wheel. God and the way God runs the Universe, is a HUGE part of properly understanding Solar System Governance -- especially regarding whether the United States of the Solar System has more than a snowball's chance in hell of being established, and of surviving for more than a generation. I've been told that 'in 20 years, you'll be working for us' and that, in essence, my bad-side would manifest itself. I don't wish to elaborate. The Mind, Character, Personality, Nature, and Government of God are HUGE ISSUES. We should take off our shoes -- because the ground upon which we are standing is HOLY GROUND. Please listen to this previously posted link, for a very balanced theological conversation. Note especially the material in the second hour.
I keep trying to imagine a peaceful and happy solar system, with highly ethical and competent leadership, and without a lot of negative drama. Solar System Governance should be somewhat boring and uneventful. I envision continuing doing what I'm doing right now, but in a much more sophisticated and refined manner. I'm really not joking when I speak of a 600 square-foot office-apartment, a Cray, and a Fisk! I am joking when I speak of a Personal Sport-Model Bad@$$teroid and Six Goddesses! One more time, the 'God' portion of the hypothetical New Solar System is VERY important. Perhaps Male and Female Human Physicality -- combined with Responsible Freedom -- are a Rebellious-Invention in a Theocratic Hermaphrodite-Reptilian Universe. I don't know that this is the case, and I am VERY, VERY, VERY sorry for any disrespect or irreverence, especially if this hypothesis is completely in error. However, if this theory is even partially correct, it is VERY important to determine how we might bring that which exists in this solar system -- into harmony with the rest of the universe -- or how to conduct business in a manner which does not cause the rest of the universe to seek to exterminate ALL of us. When I say that I feel as if I am in conflict with Myself, Divinity, and Humanity -- I do not imply hostility or hatred -- but rather a fundamental idealistic struggle -- which seeks to overcome all obstacles to the achievement of a Genuinely Heavenly Universe. A New Solar System must be considered in harmony with a Brave New Universe. The way things have been run throughout the universe, for billions and trillions of years, may not change anytime soon, and perhaps for good-reason -- but where does that leave the Human Race, in this little solar system? Was our punishment and extermination decided upon Hundreds of Thousands of Years Ago? "We can change!!" might be irrelevant. "The decision is made"?
I would encourage all of you to study the Bible, even if you don't believe a word in it, and even if you don't believe in God (with an upper or lower case 'g'). We need the mental and spiritual discipline and exercise connected with serious Bible-study. I have made some study suggestions below, and I didn't pull them out of an anatomical black-hole. Something is VERY wrong with me, on a physical, mental, and spiritual level, but I still have enough sense to point you in productive areas of research. I feel VERY attacked, and I might not get better anytime soon. However, I don't think I'll get worse anytime soon. I think I'm pretty much stuck in the muck, right where I am. I am not leadership-material in the real-world, but I am a serious force to deal with in the theoretical-world. I mean absolutely no harm, and I completely agree with the Hippocratic Oath "First, Do No Harm". Don't stop thinking about the Idealistic Integration of Theoretical-Theology, Theoretical-Governance, and Science-Fiction. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, and "V" are only the beginning. Alex Collier is absolutely right when he says that Hollywood is really "clued-in" regarding all of the esoteric stuff. I simply have a HUGE problem with the regressive-influences in Hollywood. I don't even want to begin to think about how nasty the closed-door meetings get in Hollywood, New-York, Washington, DC, London, and Rome. Some of you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. The horror.
Siriusly, people in the 'know' have known a lot of damning things about a lot of things and people for a very long time -- but a censoring power rules above them which wishes to keep sweeping everything under the rug. I discovered this and that about this and that -- but I simply had to move on -- rather than involving myself in pointless trench-warfare with the BTB (Bastards That Be). I still wonder what sort of Galactic Arrangement this Solar System and the Human Race exist under??!! I suspect that it's NOT a nice one. Attempted reforms might be pointless. Resistance might really be futile. This is the major reason I keep harping on Solar System Governance -- like a broken CD. This is the thread that never ends. It just goes on and on, my friends. "End the Thread! End the Thread! End the Thread!"
I recently joked about the Solar System being ruled from Pluto -- by a bunch of Plutocrats!! But seriously, it might be fun to think about a United States of the Solar System Plutocracy! Consider the United States of the Solar System as being completely human (or mostly human) -- and Nibiru basically being an Ellis Island of the Galaxy for Freedom-Seeking Reptilians and Greys -- in a Circular Orbit, Safely Beyond the Orbit of Pluto! I'm assuming that this Solar System is a Human Island in a Reptilian Universe (for modeling purposes). I'm having a very difficult time transitioning from my stupid and useless real world life -- to my exciting and important out of this world imaginary life. I'm not sure if I actually crave this sort of life -- or if my insecurity DRIVES me to think about this sort of thing. I suspect that current Solar System Governance is an absolute nightmare -- especially if one really had clear vision and compassion. The view from the top might REALLY suck. I keep imagining myself being on the Moon -- looking at Earth -- and weeping and weeping and weeping. I kid you not. As you well know, my conceptual modeling is quite strange and somewhat insane -- and I'm REALLY pulling my punches and restraining myself. I really am. I'm also probably completely discrediting myself, and possibly ruining whatever future I might've had. This whole thing seems like a complete loss and a complete waste of time -- yet I keep on keeping on -- but WHY? It takes all kinds -- but WHY? The show must go on -- but WHY?
I wish to make it clear that I support the individuality of various races, nations, and religions -- but I do not support Uber-Alles Nationalism. Once again -- what is the proper definition and role of 'God' in Solar System Governance? This might very well be the trickiest and stickiest part of this whole 'Governance' subject. A lot of this probably is dependent upon how this universe really works. It might not be up to us locals. I am supportive of the human race -- yet I don't know the whole story regarding the origins, nature, history, and destiny of humanity. I continue to fly-blind -- just like most everyone else. I have no inside contacts. I don't do regression-hypnosis -- or anything supernatural and creepy. I just passively research and reflect. That's all. I belong to no secret societies or think-tanks (other than participating in this website). This thread continues to be merely a Study-Guide -- although I am quite committed to the concept of Responsible-Freedom. I have made certain proposals in rather definite ways (one in particular) -- yet I desire that these proposals be highly refined. I consider them to be 'diamonds in the rough'. My strange speculations are intended to make all of us think in ways which might result in the 'Eureka Phenomenon'. A lot of this is up to YOU. I can lead a horse to water -- but I can't make it pee. Is that how it goes?
Siriusly -- what if Archangel Michael was (and is) NOT like Max Von Sydow -- but rather more like Dr. Who -- Alaya in 'Dr. Who' -- Anna in 'V' -- or Vala Mal Doran??? One more thing. What if Popes and Queens were elected by at least the Priests and Aristocrats -- in a televised electoral process? What if they served ten-year terms -- and then became Popes and Queens Emeritus? This question is especially relevant if Popes and Queens rule the world -- with or without the Queen of Heaven and God of This World. What if the United States of the Solar System ruled the Solar System -- as an Open Secret Government -- with the Pope of Rome and the Queen of England serving as the Ceremonial King and Queen of the United States of the Solar System (especially if they were openly-elected and non-bloodline -- with 10 year terms)? What if the Roman Catholic Church Joined the Anglican Communion???!!! OMG!!! What if the current and hidden God of This World and Queen of Heaven retired -- and advised a New and Open Solar System Administrator? How might such a hypothetical administrator be chosen or elected? What would Orion and Sirius say? I'm presently thinking of various 'prophecies' (including Biblical prophecy) as being a Scripted Punishing Sentence Against Humanity -- rather than being a Pre-Cognitive History of the Future). How would YOU set up Church and State in a New Solar System -- with a Clean-Sheet of Paper and No Historical Baggage??? Think about it.
I can't begin to tell you how much it hurts to try to deal with all of this. I come from a conservative Christian background -- and I am trying to stay as close to the original path as possible -- but every post of mine is full of heresy and even blasphemy -- but I really have absolutely no hatred or feelings of ill-will toward anyone. I'm simply trying to consider possibilities which are not widely considered. I think DiVinci and Michelangelo are extremely interesting. I think they both knew a helluva lot -- but that they had to be very careful -- because of potentially nasty Powers That Be -- human and otherwise. Same goes for the Bible. I'll be VERY interested to see where the Quest of the Historical Jesus ultimately leads. I continue to like the Teachings Attributed to Jesus -- but the REAL story concerning Jesus might be more disorienting and upsetting than most of us can imagine. My inner thoughts are MOST upsetting. I think the religious world (all religions) are going to go NUTS as the REAL TRUTH emerges. I'm trying to be as traditional and respectful as possible -- but I see nothing but trouble for the next few decades -- and possibly for the rest of the 21st century. The chickens, greys, reptilians, and who-knows-what, are coming home to roost, and probably to do some heavy-duty @$$-kicking. Go easy on me guys. I'm quite sensitive -- and I can't stand the sight of blood. I've been recently joking about living in an old decommissioned missile-silo! Unfortunately, if the excrement really contacts the refrigeration-system, I doubt that there is any place to hide, anywhere in the solar system. Anyway, I presently feel as if I have very little to lose, so here goes another speculative what-if episode.
To recap -- what if the Roman Catholic Church joined the Anglican Communion? What if the new Anglo-Catholic Church were headquartered in Vatican City? What if the United States of the Solar System were headquartered in Vatican City? What if the Monarchy and the Papacy united to become the King and Queen of the United States of the Solar System -- doing double duty as the King and Queen of the Anglo-Catholic Church? What if the King and Queen both had PhD's in Solar System Studies and Governance? What if they were non-bloodline positions -- with 10 year terms? What if they were elected by the 10,000 Representatives? What if the sacred and secular governance aspects were handled by the United States of the Solar System? What if the sacred and secular ceremonial aspects were distinctly Anglican? What if theological issues were debated and decided by the United States of the Solar System? What if the 10,000 Representatives of the United States of the Solar System all had PhD's in Solar System Studies and Governance? What if the hypothetical and hidden Queen of Heaven and God of This World were replaced by a visible, but largely observational, ceremonial, and ambassadorial Solar System Administrator(s) -- who might be an Authority of Last Resort? What if most sessions occurred within the relatively new and large building next to St. Peter's? What if special sessions and ceremonies occurred within St. Peter's? What if the Secret Government and the United Nations were effectively replaced by the United States of the Solar System? What if that 1875 Cavaille-Coll Pipe-Organ (by Fisk or Reiger perhaps) were installed as originally designed and intended in St. Peter's? Have I caused enough trouble for one post already???
You City-State and Moon People (and Other Than People) must just LOVE me!!! I hear that the Jesuits hate me!!! But guys -- instead of the poison-cup -- could you just buy me a Ducati 1098R -- and give me a couple of weeks -- if you know what I mean??? Mind you, I just keep forcing this sort of thing into cyberspace to make all of us think. I'm not saying that this is the way things should be. I'm not saying 'my way, or the highway'. Can you imagine the anger, confusion, and running in the streets if my ideas were implemented? But really, I tend to think that we're somewhat screwed no matter what we do. The problems which confront us are that bad. The Horror. Enough for Now. More Later. This is getting way too scary for me. I need to stop.
Consider Dr. Venkman of Ghostbusters!!
Dr. Who? Dr. Bowman?
My posting regarding how things work and how things should work in the solar system has been going on for several years now -- with very little response or conversation. Is it because I'm getting it wrong -- getting it right -- no one gets it -- or no one cares??? I feel very shut out. I feel way out of any sort of loop. Is this too simple? Is this too hard? Should I beg? Should I kneel? Should I shout? What should I do? What should I not do? Should I do anything at all? I didn't do much for decades because I sensed that what has happened over the past couple of years would indeed be the case -- and I was right. I tried to reason with people from time to time -- but to no avail. It seemed pointless then -- and it seems pointless now. Perhaps my work is done. Perhaps the task I came into this life to perform was an impossible job. My teeth are ground-down and I feel horrible 24/7. I sense that Humanity Can Do Nothing Right in the Eyes of the Galactic Powers That Be. I'm feeling no love. I sense that I have promoted love -- lifetime after lifetime -- but that love is not the way things work in this universe. I have more recently been promoting the concept of Responsibility -- with Love, Freedom, and Response-Ability orbiting this central concept. So far there seems to be very little interest in this innovation -- which shouldn't surprise me, at this late date. Even the Teachings of Jesus seem to have been largely ignored for 2,000 years -- and thousands of Horrible Images of Jesus Christ as a Human Sacrifice continue to be paraded and displayed throughout the world -- without anyone seeming to notice the problems connected with this. So why should I be surprised when my tripe is trodden under foot??? "Stupid Latter-Day Luddite Me for Liking the 'Bach B-Minor Mass'!!"
orthodoxymoron wrote: The question that continues to puzzle me is "why have there been so few comments on my threads throughout the years??" I think I know why the regular forum-members don't post -- but I think I know who monitors this website -- and who these monitors are associated with. There are those who should be communicating with me on this thread (but don't). I might continue this thread as long as I can, regardless of whether anyone views it (and comments on it), or not. These seem to be the best of times, and the worst of times, for a variety of reasons. Are we in the eye of a storm?? Is there no problem?? Is everything fine?? Is this a fast-talking and fast-walking contest?? Is this a "more secret-agent than thou" contest?? Is everyone right?? Is everyone wrong?? Is everyone innocent?? Is everyone guilty?? The Ancient Egyptian Deity told me "No One is Good" and "People Deserve to Die". The AED thought that even the women and children deserved to die in the Ancient Roman Colosseum!! Is this the End of Humanity? Is the Decision Made?
The question that continues to trouble me is "what is the true soul-history of this solar-system??" The answer to this question might go a long-way toward understanding terms such as "Original-Sin", "Fallen and Sinful Human-Nature", "Prison-Planet", "Planet in Rebellion", "Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World", "Lamb's Book of Life", "Nephilim", "Giants", "Angels", "Demons", "Gods", "Sons of God", "Daughters of Men", "Fallen-Angels", "Mystery of Iniquity", "Sin", "Righteousness", "Perfection", "Perfect Law of the Lord", "Trinity", "Nature of Christ", "Soteriology", "Christology", "Eschatology", "King of Babylon", "Whore of Babylon", "Orion Group", "Roman Empire", etc. We don't seem to have enough information to answer the most important questions regarding life, the universe, and everything. What if this whole solar-system is based upon deception?? Will the truth set us free and/or precipitate the end of the world (as we know it)?? Should we be "true-believers"?? Should we be "atheists"?? Should we be "agnostics"?? Should we simply "follow the leader" and "just follow orders"?? Is resistance futile?? I continue to offer to correct any errors I've made on the internet, throughout the years. I've repeatedly requested detailed critiques of my internet-posting, with no responses. There's been some meaningful conversation, but most of it seemed to involve a fake "niceness" which mostly seemed to end in "nastiness". Should I NOT Talk About God and the Bible?? Should I keep my word, and end this thread?? Should I start a Wall Street Journal thread?? Actually, that might be a fine-idea!! No more Mr. Nice-Guy!! No more Church of Orthodoxymoron of Latter-day Luddites!! Just The Wall Street Journal!! "The Bottom-Line is the Bottom-Line!!"
Thank-you, mudra. I'm still not sure how to proceed, but I might attempt to provide a "Daily Interpretive-Summary" of the Current Front-Page. I will resist the temptation to simply post articles and videos. I will try to just post my own words (perhaps combined with appropriate images). What if there were The Wall Street Journal Church??!! What Would Trinity Church Say?? Here is another minimal-list:mudra wrote: It's a holographic Universe Oxy. You are free to explore it from any point you choose. It all goes nowhere really. I am very curious to hear your comments on the Wall Street journal articles. It should be fun.
Love from me
mudra
1. The Wall Street Journal (print and online).
2. The SDA Bible Commentary -- Volume Four (Isaiah to Malachi).
3. Sacred Classical Music.
There's more to this than you might think. This does NOT involve joining or leaving ANY church or organization. Imagine a Minimalist Crystal Cathedral Concept Church based upon this little list!! What Would Dr. Robert H. Schuller Say?? "The Sacred Must Become Secular, and the Secular Must Become Sacred!!" and "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!!" BTW -- One of my favorite movies is the 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World!! I think it describes the History of the World extremely well!! It might also describe the End of the World quite accurately!! What Would Jupiter Jones Say?? What Would Mr. Edgars Say?? Does Satan Have an Office at Goldman Sachs?? What if the History of the World is Bull v Ram aka Pinkie v Brain?? Imagine Ram and Bull discussing Sirius-Issues at Starbucks!! Best-Friends and Worst-Enemies?? Think Long and Hard About What I Just Said!! One last thing. I recently encountered a woman who said something rather cryptic regarding "sixteen-years", but I don't want to talk about it, other than that I noticed.
This thread will literally be a "Journal". The Wall Street "Journal". Get it?? If only Ron Klug could see me now!! Harper and Row should've worked with me, to publish my Interpretive Paraphrase of the Life and Teachings of Jesus!! This was a very long time ago!! Ron wrote at least one book about "Journaling". I talked to Mr. Klug at a writer's conference, and submitted part of my manuscript to him. Frank Peretti was the keynote speaker at that conference!! He was funny and profound!! I think I'll start by commenting on What's News on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. This is the narrow column on the left side of the page, which runs from top to bottom. It is divided into two sections. 1. Business and Finance. 2. World Wide. I might do a detailed analysis, or I might simply do some sort of an extemporaneous expression, reminiscent of the Eureka Phenomenon!! Well here we go!!orthodoxymoron wrote:I suspect that to really understand history, one must be an insider. But that opens up a whole new can of worms. I've attempted to deal with this stuff for several years now, and I feel as if this was a mistake. I've started The Wall Street Journal thread, to try to forget about the important things (like saving the world). Let me just say that if all the world has been a stage for thousands of years, with One Script-Writer and Director, the implications and ramifications of this are MOST Upsetting. The Visible PTB might all simply be Actors and/or Pawns in a Theater of the Universe. But what if the Reprehensible has been Absolutely-Necessary?? What if Watergate was necessary?? What if 9/11 was necessary?? What if the only way to run a hypothetical Prison-Planet in Rebellion, is by controlling Everyone and Everything in secretive and nefarious ways?? What if my pipe-dream of open and honest governance, with everyone loving each-other, is pure unmitigated-poppycock?? I've gotten to the point where I have to stop. As a youth, I intuitively knew a lot about the way things really worked, but I didn't get involved, and now I know why.
Yahoo said state sponsored hackers penetrated its network in late 2014 and stole personal data on over 500 million users. This is what they tell us, but how much personal data gets passed around throughout the world, each and every day?? This sort of thing becomes front page news when it is not possible to sweep it under the rug. It is my impression that all of our lives are open-books to those in the know -- and those with the dough. I think we all live in a Fish-Bowl (or is it a Yellow Submarine??)!! It's just going to get worse and worse. I keep suspecting that all of our Past-Life Data will eventually be posted on the internet for all to see. Every Secret Thing will probably be revealed.
Wall Street bank's fees from equity deals have fallen to their lowest level in more than 20 years, as firms opt for cheap private funding. This is one example of why Free-Enterprise is probably a good-thing. Competition Improves the Breed. It's painful and angering for some, but it forces everyone to dig-deeper and try-harder. I've been advocating Micro-Competition and Macro-Cooperation. This is sort of how a corporation works. Everyone competes with Everyone, yet there is an Umbrella of Cooperation to ultimately do that which is in the best-interest of the Company. One might argue with a coworker without serious-consequences, but insubordination to the CEO might result in traveling and meeting new people.
Big ad buyers and marketers are upset with Facebook after learning the firm vastly overestimated average viewing time for video ads. Why is this an estimate?? Why can't the actual viewing times be accessed?? Some low-budget research by the ad-buyers and marketers should've revealed the real-deal. No one should've been blindsided by this one!! Don't salespersons tend to exaggerate and sugar-coat?? Haven't these people ever bought used-cars?? Would YOU buy a used-car from Richard Nixon??
Bonds rallied for a second day as renewed central bank commitments to easy policies curtailed investors' fear of a "taper tantrum". The experts provide reasons why things go up and down, but are the provided-reasons the real-reasons?? Greed and Fear are two basic factors relative to why things go up and down. The underlying undercurrents might be incredibly-complex. The Cliff Notes version might be simplistic and deceptive. There are undoubtedly black-box computer-programs which analyze all relevant-factors 24/7. I keep suspecting that humanity will become obsolete in SO many ways. But until then, just remember that the Trend is Your Friend.
U.S. Stocks extended gains, with the Dow rising 98.76 points to 18392.46. The dollar fell further. The doom and gloom forecasters have been predicting a market-crash for several-years now. The National-Debt is unimaginably and astronomically high. SO many people receive some sort of public-assistance!! Low-wage foreign-workers keep taking U.S. jobs!! This would seem to militate against current stock prices. What is REALLY going on here?? The published reasons for why things go up and down might be very-different than the real-reasons. Some say the markets are rigged. Imagine a Central War-Room, where the markets can be made to go in whichever direction the Big-Shots wish!! I once heard someone say that the markets move in a manner which screws the most people!! Consider deception and surprise when analyzing why the markets do what they do. How extensive is Insider-Trading?? How leveraged are stock-bets worldwide?? What happens if the music slows?? What happens if the music stops?? Will the USD crash?? Will the Dinar skyrocket?? What if the USD gets backed-up by silver, gold, or something of significant-value (with no crash)?? What Would John F. Kennedy Say?? What Would Ron Paul Say??
This first analytic-post is pretty lame, but I will attempt to cover the entire left-column of the first-page each-day (with an increasing level of sophistication). I haven't decided which type of writer to model, but I might simply be "myself' (whatever that means). Anyway, now I'm going to post an article from the Opinion page, by Kenneth L. Woodward. I once had the privilege of asking Mr. Woodard a question about money in a public-meeting at Pacific Union College, in Angwin, California. It was the last question, and Kenneth Woodward commented that no one seemed to want to talk after my question regarding Money and Religion!! It had something to do with "Rich Christians"!! Oxymoron or Wave of the Future??!! BTW -- Chelsea is my favorite Clinton!! I've always wanted to talk to her!! Here's that article (about Hillary). http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-democrats-methodist-moment-1474586097
The Democrats’ Methodist Moment
Young Hillary Rodham saw the church’s social concerns
shift from alcohol and gambling to sexism and racism.
By Kenneth L. Woodward
Sept. 22, 2016 7:14 p.m. ET
Young Hillary Rodham saw the church’s social concerns
shift from alcohol and gambling to sexism and racism.
By Kenneth L. Woodward
Sept. 22, 2016 7:14 p.m. ET
After Bill Clinton, a Bible-toting Southern Baptist, was elected, I repeatedly tried as religion editor of Newsweek to interview him about his religious beliefs and practices. Ten days before the 1994 midterm elections, the White House offered me Hillary, the sturdy Methodist, instead.
The first lady spoke candidly about her Methodist upbringing, her core Christian beliefs and prayer habits, and how she frequently consulted the latest Methodist Book of Resolutions, the church’s official handbook on social and political issues, which she kept upstairs in the family quarters. Piety plus politics was her message.
I asked her if she ever thought of becoming an ordained Methodist minister once her White House years were over. “I think about it all the time,” she instantly replied. But after exchanging glances with her press secretary, Lisa Caputo, she asked me not to print what she had said because she felt it made her sound much too pious. I didn’t.
I feel free to mention this now because Hillary Rodham Clinton obviously has opted for a career in public service. But for a serious Methodist, public service is a form of ministry. All the more so because, as Mrs. Clinton’s former youth minister told Newsweek with sly self-awareness: “we Methodists know what’s good for you.”
Although religion is not an issue in this year’s presidential election, Hillary Clinton is by far the more religious candidate. What’s more, hers is the more religious political party—even though atheists, agnostics and other religiously nonaffiliated Americans (the “Nones”) now represent the largest bloc, replacing African-Americans, within the Democratic Party. To understand this seeming paradox, we first have to recognize that since its transformation in 1972 under another Methodist politician, George McGovern, the Democratic Party has advanced a righteous politics that mirrors the political righteousness of the United Methodist Church.
Methodists have been zealous monitors of American morals since the middle of the 19th century when, as historian Nathan O. Hatch has written, Methodists operated “the most extensive national institution other than the federal government.”
Their longtime concern with politics is symbolized by the Methodist Building, still the only nongovernmental edifice on Capitol Hill. It was built during Prohibition to house the denomination’s powerful Board of Temperance, Prohibition and Public Morals. The building also provided office space for Washington lobbyists representing the other mainline Protestant denominations. Together, they formed a moral Maginot line against the growing political influence of American Catholics as a threat to their vision of a Protestant America.
By the time Hillary Rodham joined a Methodist youth group in the early 1960s, the church’s social concerns had shifted from alcohol, gambling and shopping on the Sabbath to racism, sexism and the war in Vietnam. Thanks in large part to South Dakota’s George McGovern, so would the concerns of the Democratic Party.
The events of 1972 inaugurate what I call the Methodist Moment in Democratic Party politics. That was the year McGovern won the party’s presidential nomination—and, coincidentally, the year former Republican Hillary Rodham became a Democratic Party activist. McGovern was the son of a Methodist minister, grew up in a Methodist manse, graduated from a Methodist college, studied for the Methodist ministry before taking a doctorate in history, and taught at his Methodist alma mater before accepting the challenge of rebuilding South Dakota’s moribund party. His stump style was prairie preacher; his reformer’s rhetoric Methodist to the core.
In 1972 the United Methodist Church, as it was by then called, held its quadrennial General Convention—the church’s highest legislative body—as it does every presidential election year a few months prior to the national political conventions. A review of the positions taken by the church reveals remarkable congruence with the Democrats’ subsequent party platform. Both opposed the war in Vietnam and called for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops. Both framed the nation’s economic ills as “systemic” and proposed wholesale transformation of political, economic and social institutions.
What is truly astonishing is the way that the Democrats’ planks on emerging culture-war issues echoed the (often more radical) stands adopted by the Methodists. Among the rights of children, for example, the Methodists included the right “to a full sex education, appropriate to their stage of development.” Affirming the rights of women, the Methodists supported full equality with men and demanded and end to “sex-role stereotypes.”
To counter overpopulation, the convention recommended the distribution of “reliable contraceptive information and devices.” Less than a year before Roe v. Wade, the convention urged “removal of abortion from the criminal code” but stopped short of approving abortion on demand. Finally, the Methodists embraced affirmative inclusion by reserving 30% of seats on all church boards and agencies for nonwhites, even though barely 6% of church members were African-American.
The events of 1972 also hastened the steady decline in membership and influence among the liberal mainline churches. Before the 1970s were out, the politically and socially conservative Southern Baptists superseded the United Methodists as the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. As one generation gave way to the next, more and more young Methodists, Presbyterians and the like grew up to become religiously something else or—especially among millennials—nothing at all.
In sum, many of today’s Nones have retained the Methodists’ ethos of righteous politics while jettisoning the beliefs, behavior and belonging that made righteous Methodists Methodists in the first place. Many Jews and Roman Catholics can and do find in progressive Democratic politics aspects of their own social-justice traditions.
But the emergence of the Nones shows us that anyone can think and act like righteous Methodists just by being a liberal Democrat.
Mr. Woodward is the author of “Getting Religion: Faith, Culture and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Era of Obama,” just published by Convergent Books.
I will become more factual and sophisticated, with time, regarding The Wall Street Journal. I'm just trying to make an editorial-transition from Religious and Political Science-Fiction -- to Boring and Stuffy News-Commentary. I've compared myself with the news-reporter Chad Decker (from the 2009-10 "V" series)!! Perhaps The Wall Street Journal thread will strengthen that assertion!! BTW -- consider reading The Camera Never Blinks by Dan Rather. It's a great book!! Anyway, today's commentary is quite a harangue!! I'll try to tone it down as I proceed!! I'm trying to remake myself into a Kinder and Gentler "Completely Ignorant Fool"!! Perhaps, in my next-life, I'll be the host of "The Regressive Perspective"!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.
No CEO at the nation's largest 100 companies had donated to Trump's campaign through August, while 11 backed Clinton. This is surprising to me. I keep imagining the Big-Shot CEO's donating to BOTH candidates, to cover their bases. Do the CEO's know something about the near-future of America that the rest of us don't?? Does this reveal their perceptions of the perceived-power (or lack thereof) of the President of the United States of America?? I remember when Dr. Robert H. Schuller wanted to build a Family Life Center on the Crystal Cathedral Campus -- and NONE of His Major-Contributors supported this project (at least initially). I remember the day he told the congregation this sad fact. I was there. Are the CEO's sending their money to the Pope, the Queen, and Putin?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.
Cruz, in a reversal, said he plans to vote for Trump, citing a pledge to back whoever won the GOP nomination. Does it really matter who votes for who, if all the politicians work for the Same Guy and/or Gal?? Are modern-politics a necessary-evil?? Should everyone just play-along with this seemingly superficial and corrupt game of money and power?? Sometimes I wish I would've signed on the dotted-line and joined the club. Perhaps I should've stayed at the Crystal Cathedral, joined the Masons, started a business in Garden Grove, gone to all the parties, used a couple of Hollywood connections I had, become morally-ambiguous, and become a Filthy-Rich Mover and Shaker in Southern California!! I'm sort of bitter, and sort of serious!! I might've gotten a free-ride on a UFO to the Dark-Side of the Moon, to meet with the Queen of Heaven and the God of This World!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.
Trump received numerous loans from his father early in his real estate career, documents show. So what?? Why is this news?? It might be newsworthy if Trump received numerous loans from the Mafia throughout the years!! What if he did?? He was supposedly close to some pretty-shady characters throughout the years!! Politics seems to be synonymous with Big-Money and Smoke-Filled Rooms!! Sherry Shriner claims that neither Trump or Hillary are the same people they were years ago, and that they've been replaced and/or taken-over. She's much more descriptive than I'm willing to be, and I have no idea how compromised politicians are, but this stuff scares the hell out of me. Supposedly the Jesuits have a lot to do with all of this, but I don't know for certain. The Ancient Egyptian Deity said he was very close to Obama, and that he really liked Bill Clinton!! He said Ron Paul was bad for America!! Now you know too much!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.
Two of Clinton's attorneys were granted immunity as part of a now-closed FBI email probe, lawmakers said. Is the law an ass??!! We have the best legal and political system money can buy!! Why do we have "lawmakers"?? Should we have the "Perfect Law of the Lord" which never changes (because it's perfect)?? What if there is a Perfect-Law which predates the creation of the human-being?? What if there is a Better-Bible hidden in the Vatican-Archives?? I'm still wondering about those 37 books I supposedly wrote in antiquity, which are supposedly hidden in the Vatican-Archives??!! No black SUV's have pulled into my driveway at 3AM, delivering me a personal-copy of what I supposedly wrote (and I'm NOT holding my breath)!! If that strange message I found in my word-processor is even partially-true, I'm suspecting some sort of an Old-Testament Commentary, written during the Intertestamental-Period (possibly in Egypt or Tibet)!! Sherry Shriner recently suggested that there were several additional-chapters to the Book of Daniel (hidden in the Vatican Archives)!! What Would Desmond Ford and Raymond Cottrell Say?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.
Obama rejected a bill that would let Americans sue foreign governments over terror attacks. Congress is likely to override the veto. This makes my hair stand on-end!! This sounds like a bunch of gangsters protecting each-other from the good-guys!! Are Politics and Religion sort of like the Crips and the Bloods??!! Do the Corrupt Rule the Stupid?? Americans should be able to sue whoever did them wrong, wherever the hell they are!! Americans should receive free legal-assistance from the U.S. Government when they sue foreign governments over terror attacks!! Do Americans work for the Government?? Does the Government work for Americans?? What do YOU think?? Sorry. I couldn't resist.
The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling on countries to refrain from nuclear testing. What if all Nuclear-Programs are controlled by the Secret-Government and/or the Secret Space Program?? Remember the UFO's shutting-down Missile-Silos??!! I continue to speculate concerning an Ancient and Ongoing One Solar-System Government (which controls Everyone and Everything -- including ALL Weapons of Mass-Destruction)!! There might be several-factions of one general-government!! I've suggested the possibility of Anna and the "V's" running the solar-system since the Garden of Eden (at least for the past six-thousand years)!! Sorry. I couldn't resist.
The Gathering Nuclear Storm
Lulled to believe nuclear catastrophe died with the Cold War,
America is blind to rising dragons.
By Mark Helprin
Sept. 23, 2016 6:11 p.m. ET
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gathering-nuclear-storm-1474668674
Lulled to believe nuclear catastrophe died with the Cold War,
America is blind to rising dragons.
By Mark Helprin
Sept. 23, 2016 6:11 p.m. ET
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-gathering-nuclear-storm-1474668674
Even should nuclear brinkmanship not result in Armageddon, it can lead to abject defeat and a complete reordering of the international system. The extraordinarily complicated and consequential management of American nuclear policy rests upon the shoulders of those we elevate to the highest offices. Unfortunately, President Obama’s transparent hostility to America’s foundational principles and defensive powers is coupled with a dim and faddish understanding of nuclear realities. His successor will be no less ill-equipped.
Hillary Clinton’s robotic compulsion to power renders her immune to either respect for truth or clearheaded consideration of urgent problems. Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state once said that he was “pure act” (meaning action). Hillary Clinton is “pure lie” (meaning lie), with whatever intellectual power she possesses hopelessly enslaved to reflexive deviousness.
Donald Trump, surprised that nuclear weapons are inappropriate to counterinsurgency, has a long history of irrepressible urges and tropisms. Rather like the crazy boy-emperors after the fall of the Roman Republic, he may have problems with impulse control—and an uncontrolled, ill-formed, perpetually fragmented mind.
None of these perhaps three worst people in the Western Hemisphere, and few of their deplorable underlings, are alive to the gravest danger. Which is neither Islamic State, terrorism, the imprisoned economy, nor even the erosion of our national character, though all are of crucial importance.
The gravest danger we face is fast-approaching nuclear instability. Many believe it is possible safely to arrive at nuclear zero. It is not. Enough warheads to bring any country to its knees can fit in a space volumetrically equivalent to a Manhattan studio apartment. Try to find that in the vastness of Russia, China, or Iran. Even ICBMs and their transporter-erector-launchers can easily be concealed in warehouses, tunnels and caves. Nuclear weapons age out, but, thanks to supercomputing, reliable replacements can be manufactured with only minor physical testing. Unaccounted fissile material sloshing around the world can, with admitted difficulty, be fashioned into weapons. And when rogue states such as North Korea and Iran build their bombs, our response has been either impotence or a ticket to ride.
Nor do nuclear reductions lead to increased safety. Quite apart from encouraging proliferation by enabling every medium power in the world to aim for nuclear parity with the critically reduced U.S. arsenal, reductions create instability. The fewer targets, the more possible a (counter-force) first strike to eliminate an enemy’s retaliatory capacity. Nuclear stability depends, inter alia, upon deep reserves that make a successful first strike impossible to assure. The fewer warheads and the higher the ratio of warheads to delivery vehicles, the more dangerous and unstable.
Consider two nations, each with 10 warheads on each of 10 missiles. One’s first strike with five warheads tasked per the other’s missiles would leave the aggressor with an arsenal sufficient for a (counter-value) strike against the now disarmed opponent’s cities. Our deterrent is not now as concentrated as in the illustration, but by placing up to two-thirds of our strategic warheads in just 14 submarines; consolidating bomber bases; and entertaining former Defense Secretary William Perry’s recommendation to do away with the 450 missiles in the land-based leg of the Nuclear Triad, we are moving that way.
Supposedly salutary reductions are based upon an incorrect understanding of nuclear sufficiency: i.e., if X number of weapons is sufficient to inflict unacceptable costs upon an enemy, no more than X are needed. But we don’t define sufficiency, the adversary does, and the definition varies according to culture; history; the temperament, sanity, or miscalculation of leadership; domestic politics; forms of government, and other factors, some unknown. For this reason, the much maligned concept of overkill is a major contributor to stability, in that, if we have it, an enemy is less likely to calculate that we lack sufficiency. Further, if our forces are calibrated to sufficiency, then presumably the most minor degradation will render them insufficient.
Nor is it safe to mirror-image willingness to go nuclear. Every nuclear state has its own threshold, and one cannot assume that concessions in strategic forces will obviate nuclear use in response to conventional warfare, which was Soviet doctrine for decades and is a Russian predilection now. Ballistic missile defense is opposed and starved on the assumption that it would shield one’s territory after striking first, and would therefore tempt an enemy to strike before the shield was deployed. As its opponents assert, hermetic shielding is impossible, and if only 10 of 1,500 warheads were to hit American cities, the cost would be unacceptable. But no competent nuclear strategist ever believed that, other than protecting cities from accidental launch or rogue states, ballistic missile defense is anything but a means of protecting our retaliatory capacity, making a counter-force first strike of no use, and thus increasing stability.
In a nuclear world, unsentimental and often counterintuitive analysis is necessary. As the genie will not be forced back into the lamp, the heart of the matter is balance and deterrence. But this successful dynamic of 70 years is about to be destroyed. Those whom the French call our “responsibles” have addressed the nuclear calculus—in terms of sufficiency, control regimes, and foreign policy—only toward Russia, as if China, a nuclear power for decades, did not exist. While it is true that to begin with its nuclear arsenal was de minimis, in the past 15 years China has increased its land-based ICBMs by more than 300%, its sea-based by more than 400%. Depending upon the configuration of its missiles, China can rain up to several hundred warheads upon the U.S.
As we shrink our nuclear forces and fail to introduce new types, China is doing the opposite, increasing them numerically and forging ahead of us in various technologies (quantum communications, super computers, maneuverable hypersonic re-entry vehicles), some of which we have forsworn, such as road-mobile missiles, which in survivability and range put to shame our Minuteman IIIs.
Because China’s nuclear weapons infrastructure is in part housed in 3,000 miles of tunnels opaque to American intelligence, we cannot know the exact velocity and extent of its buildup. Why does the Obama administration, worshipful of nuclear agreements, completely ignore the nuclear dimension of the world’s fastest rising major power, with which the United States and allies engage in military jockeying almost every day on multiple fronts? Lulled to believe that nuclear catastrophe died with the Cold War, America is blind to rising dragons.
And then we have Russia, which ignores limitations the Obama administration strives to exceed. According to its own careless or defiant admissions, Russia cheats in virtually every area of nuclear weapons: deploying missiles that by treaty supposedly no longer exist; illegally converting anti-aircraft and ballistic missile defense systems to dual-capable nuclear strike; developing new types of nuclear cruise missiles for ships and aircraft; keeping more missiles on alert than allowed; and retaining battlefield tactical nukes.
Further, in the almost complete absence of its own “soft power,” Russia frequently hints at nuclear first use. All this comports with historical Soviet/Russian doctrine and conduct; is an important element of Putinesque tactics for reclaiming the Near Abroad; and dovetails perfectly with Mr. Obama’s advocacy of no first use, unreciprocated U.S. reductions and abandonment of nuclear modernization. Which in turn pair nicely with Donald Trump’s declaration that he would defend NATO countries only if they made good on decades of burden-sharing delinquency.
Russia deploys about 150 more nuclear warheads than the U.S. Intensively modernizing, it finds ways to augment its totals via undisguised cheating. Bound by no numerical or qualitative limits, China speeds its strategic development. To cripple U.S. retaliatory capability, an enemy would have to destroy only four or five submarines at sea, two sub bases, half a dozen bomber bases, and 450 missile silos.
Russia has 49 attack submarines, China 65, with which to track and kill American nuclear missile subs under way. Were either to build or cheat to 5,000 warheads (the U.S. once had more than 30,000) and two-thirds reached their targets, four warheads could strike each aim point, with 2,000 left to hold hostage American cities and industry. China and Russia are far less dense and developed than the U.S., and it would take more strikes for us to hold them at risk than vice versa, a further indictment of reliance upon sufficiency calculations and symmetrical reductions.
Russia dreams publicly of its former hold on Eastern Europe and cannot but see opportunity in a disintegrating European Union and faltering NATO. China annexes the South China Sea and looks to South Korea, Japan and Australasia as future subordinates. Given the degradation of U.S. and allied conventional forces previously able to hold such ambitions in check, critical confrontations are bound to occur. When they do occur, and if without American reaction, China or Russia have continued to augment their strategic forces to the point of vast superiority where one or both consider a first strike feasible, we may see nuclear brinkmanship (or worse) in which the United States—startled from sleep and suddenly disabused of the myth of sufficiency—might have to capitulate, allowing totalitarian dictatorships to dominate the world.
Current trajectories point in exactly this direction, but in regard to such things Donald Trump hasn’t the foggiest, and, frankly, Hillary Clinton, like the president, doesn’t give a damn.
The way to avoid such a tragedy is to bring China into a nuclear control regime or answer its refusal with our own proportional increases and modernization. And to make sure that both our nuclear and conventional forces are strong, up-to-date, and survivable enough to deter the militant ambitions of the two great powers rising with daring vengeance from what they regard as the shame of their oppression.
Mr. Helprin, a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute, is the author of “Winter’s Tale,” “A Soldier of the Great War” and the forthcoming novel “Paris in the Present Tense.”
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