Category Civil Society

Jul 17 2020

‘Save the Fish!’ Accused Epstein Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bogus U. N. Sideline


Meanwhile the stench of dead fish is coming from the United Nations, where activist posers Ghislaine Maxwell and Scott Borgerson used the cause of ‘Saving the Environment’ to save themselves from being caught up in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.

Judi McLeod image

Re-posted from the Canada Free Press By  —— Bio and Archives—July 16, 2020

‘Save the Fish!’ Accused Epstein Madam Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bogus U. N. Sideline

There’s no mystery about who Ghislaine Maxwell’s “secret” husband is. The biggest mystery is how Maxwell of United Nations “Gillie” fame and Dr. Scott G. Borgerson got away with masquerading as environmental ocean activists—while Maxwell was still tied to accusations of providing minors for sexcapades with pervert Jeff Epstein. ( Ghislaine Maxwell: The U.N.’s Our Girl Gilly, July 11, 2020)

It’s not just princes and ex-presidents cowering from being outed in the Epstein sex scandal, but leaders of the radical environment movement, out there in droves selling the Big Lie that there is more plastic than teeming fish in the world’s oceans.

Perhaps accused Epstein Madam Ghislaine Maxwell will bring an end to cash-greedy activists diving into the ocean hunting for plastic because they will now be far busier diving for cover.

Until a savvy real estate agent recognized Maxwell from an Internet photo, after selling Maxwell and Borgerson (the Marshalls!) their New Hampshire hideout, they were just Janet and Scott Marshall.

‘Is this Ghislaine Maxwell’s mystery husband? (New York Post, July 15, 2020)

“Ghislaine Maxwell is secretly married — and refusing to reveal her husband’s name, prosecutors said this week at the accused madam’s bail hearing.

“Though the British heiress — who is accused of helping the late billionaire perv Jeffrey Epstein target underage girls — didn’t say the name of her mystery spouse, reports suggest it could be British tech CEO Scott Borgerson.”

Borgerson is much closer to home in the USA than he is in Britain.

In point of fact, Borgerson aka Scott Marshall has not only testified before a number of U.S. congressional committees, but is on the public record for having contributed to White House strategic policy.

This is how a Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) entry describes who Borgerson really is: (Council of Foreign Relations, July 13, 2008)

“Dr. Scott G. Borgerson is the CEO of CargoMetrics Technologies LLC.

“Prior to co-founding CargoMetrics, Dr. Borgerson was the Visiting Fellow for Ocean Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations. He also served as a Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. An expert on the Arctic, Dr. Borgerson has published numerous landmark articles on the subject; he advises national and international leaders on emerging Arctic issues; and he is a co-founder of The Arctic Circle, a global NGO.

“A former Coast Guard officer, he has held positions as a ship navigator, a patrol boat captain, an assistant professor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the founding managing director of the Academy’s Institute for Leadership. He earned the Achievement, Commendation, and Meritorious Service Medals as well as numerous unit awards while on active duty, all a tribute to the Coast Guardsmen he served alongside with during his decade of military service.

“He has testified before a number of congressional committees, contributed to White House strategic policy making, and his op-eds and articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic and Foreign Affairs, among other publications.

“He serves on the boards of The Arctic Circle, the Kostas Homeland Security Institute, Catalyst Maritime and the Institute for Global Maritime Studies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.”

“Dr. Borgerson earned a B.S. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with high honors as well as M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Worthy of note that Borgerson not only received his Ph.D degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where Rockford (Rocky)  Weitz taught, but that from 2008 to 2013, Weitz was a principal CEO of Borgerson’s company CargoMetrics. (Source)

Borgerson was also on the board of the Ghislaine Maxwell-founded TerraMar Project, which got both of them speaking engagements at the U.N. TerraMar was shuttered by Maxwell after the August 2019 arrest of Epstein.

“Maxwell was linked to the divorced dad last year when the Daily Mail said she was living at his oceanfront mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. (New York Post)

“Her matrimonial status was divulged Tuesday as Manhattan prosecutors accused her of purposely hiding her wealth.

“The defendant also makes no mention whatsoever about the financial circumstances or assets of her spouse, whose identity she declined to provide to Pretrial Services,” Assistant US Attorney Alison Moe told Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan during a video conference.

“Borgerson, 44, denied the two were romantically linked last August, as well as the notion that Maxwell was staying at his home.”

Borgerson walking Maxwell’s ‘rescue’ dog July, 2019 Daily Mail photos of Borgerson walking Maxwell’s ‘rescue’ dog suggest otherwise:

“Last July, he was seen walking a dog on Boston Common near the apartment he keeps during the week while running his company. He has denied a report that said the dog belonged to Ghislaine. (New York Post)

Borgerson, whose phone appeared to be off Wednesday, couldn’t immediately be reached.”

“Maxwell, 58, was previously linked to Ted Waitt, the founder of Gateway Computers, until at least 2010, according to Britain’s The Sun, which said she began dating Borgerson in 2013.

“She also dated Epstein.”

On Tuesday Maxwell’s lawyers failed in their bid asking for her to be sprung on a $5 million bond and have her waiting out her July 2021 trial in a luxury hotel.

“Maxwell was busted July 2 on a six-count indictment charging her with recruiting and grooming young women to be sexually abused by both her and Epstein. (New York Post)

“She has denied all allegations against her.”

While addressing the U.N., Maxwell echoed the plastics in the ocean mantra put into play myriad ocean activists, including Canada’s Minister of the Environment Catherine McKenna: “If we don’t act, plastics will outweigh fish in our oceans by 2050.”

Meanwhile the stench of dead fish is coming from the United Nations, where activist posers Ghislaine Maxwell and Scott Borgerson used the cause of ‘Saving the Environment’ to save themselves from being caught up in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal.

 

Jul 17 2020

Toronto Bans Holy Communion in Churches – Is History Repeating?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada

Re-Posted Jul 17, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

There we go again… Toronto banned (Catholic and Orthodox) churches from giving Holy Communion. Not long ago, all churches were forced to close for more than two months and public Masses were banned. Now they’re opened, but Communion is banned. This virus is allowing the destruction of religion which was indeed part of the Marxist agenda. It is really amazing how draconian politicians are becoming, which is stirring up the religious right, and was a direct consequence of the Communist Revolution.

While Constantine I the Great had pictured himself with the Roman god Sol, he used Christianity as the excuse to plunder the pagan temples. There too, he used religion to divide the Roman Empire and he justified that there should be only one emperor because there was only one God.

We also find a religious war within Christianity known as Iconoclasm. Following the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527–565) saw a vast increase in the use of images. It was the year 695AD when Justinian II’s government added a full-face image of Christ on the obverse of imperial gold coins. The change caused the Caliph Abd al-Malik to stop using Byzantine coin types and he introduced the first purely Islamic coinage with only lettering.

The iconoclasm began with Byzantine Emperor Leo III, who issued a series of edicts between 726 and 730 against the veneration of images. This ignited a religious conflict that led to priests being killed for protecting icons.

So religion has often erupted into social conflicts and civil unrest. We see this same issue reemerge during the 16th century when it erupted in Germany in Wittenberg during the early 1520s. It prompted Martin Luther to intervene arguing that the mental picturing of Christ when reading the Scriptures was similar in character to artistic renderings of Christ. Thus, the Lutherans favored sacred art in contrast to the Calvinists who argued for the removal of all religious images. Interestingly enough, it was the governments, in most cases, who removed images in the Reformed Protestant cities and territories of Europe.

There is a cycle to everything.

Jul 17 2020

The Legacy of Socrates for Humanity


Armstrong Economics Blog/Socrates

Re-Posted Jul 17, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Dear Martin,

Thank you for spending your precious time to compose such a detailed blog post. The gems within your answer truly clarify this seemingly impossible situation for me. We *are* all connected and cycles are clearly human nature playing out. Greed, as you noted, is part of that equation. Socrates is the most important contribution to mankind that I can think of. Socrates can one day (finally) allow us to see our humanity and alter our course for the better.

Warm wishes,

J, Austin, TX

REPLY: Thank you. I have seen the world and how it functions. I’m extremely fortunate to have had a front-row seat from Europe to Asia, and even advising China during the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis. There are some things you can only come to understand by doing it. All the great economists who actually contributed something were traders who were not formally educated. Trading is the ultimate teacher, for it makes sure we must remain humble. Being called into China taught me something that should have been obvious, yet was never articulated.

I was taken to a secret installation in a motorcade that was surrounded by tanks and had three huge satellites on the roof. They were monitoring every commodity in the country, but they were not sintering. They were tracking 249 varieties of tea. They were fascinated that the same tea was selling for different prices in different cities. I had to explain transportation costs and human desire always mean something different from someplace else. Under communism, they were used to everything being the same price even it if cost twice as much to transport it across the country. I was there for the transition from communism to capitalism.

I have witnessed so many things around the world being called in to even the birth of the G5 (now G20) to the stock market and economic collapses. I have been called in by so many governments in times of crisis that it has taught me a variety of events and opened my eyes to the world economy and how we are all connected.

What I have witnessed is that we are all connected and it is IMPOSSIBLE for any head of state to stand up and promise some economic solution that requires global actions. The world economy has been destroyed from manufacture to food supply and distribution chains. What has been done is just beyond stupid. We cannot even imagine how world leaders were stupid enough to follow the advice of Neil Ferguson.  It is my hope that Socrates will one day be consulted rather than this sort of unprofessional approach to something that is so damaging that it threatens, not just starvation, but world war.

ANYONE who bad-mouths me personally is trying to prevent anyone from discovering that a computer can do an unbiased job, which threatens some aspect of their income or they are being paid under the table to try to prevent any change to the status quo. Attacking me personally is like attacking your wife because you did not take out the trash. All I can do is hope that when I am gone, they will be left with the reality of just a computer — not me.

Categories: Socrates
Jul 17 2020

Trend in Interest Rates


Armstrong Economics Blog/Interest Rates

Re-Posted Jul 17, 2020 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty,

Good morning. Repo rates have been creeping up ever so slightly and quietly. Points wise not much, but percentage-wise, numbers are getting bigger. Has everybody been lulled to sleep and looking the wrong way again?

Best,
E

REPLY: The shift from a Public to a Private wave is in full motion. We can see this in Moody’s AAA Corporate Bond Index. Note that the while chaotic swing in March ran right up to the top of the Downtrend Channel and then we have swung down and just closed below the bottom of the channel. We have an important turning point arriving in October. We show the next major turning point in the US 30-year bonds being September.

These governments imposing lockdowns again are acting political rather than in the best interest of the people. Locking people down results in a collapse of tax revenue. Many in the USA have been promised by the Democrats they will be bailed out if they win the White House right down to their pension funds. This is what is going on behind the curtain – cutting deals.

Clearly, these governments are not stupid. They have to realize how much revenue has collapsed and how much damage they have caused to the people and the economy. Our models are projecting HIGHER interest rates ahead and this reflects their high-risk gamble on trying to overthrow Trump. What they fail to grasp is that the private sector has lost all confidence in governments and as such, they have destroyed the old financial system of perpetual borrowing.

As fiscal mismanagement abounds, interest rates will rise to reflect credit risk. The central banks are powerless to prevent this rise. The Fed cannot buy all state debt any more than the ECB will be authorized to buy all sovereign debt in the Eurozone. We have reached the point of no return.

Jul 17 2020

Angels On Our Shoulders….


Posted originally on The Conservative Tree house on July 17, 2020 by 

This update is going to be a little raw, perhaps written more for me than you.  First, to those who are offering support – THANK YOU.  I remain outside the wire, and way out of my comfort zone… but that’s ok.

In the background there was one setback, the print company ran into a problem with the binding for the briefing material (72 hr delay); apparently it’s a little overwhelming. [Not a bad thing really]

However, that is a minor setback compared to the angel who appeared at the most opportune moment.   The biggest hurdle is nearly overcome, and as one person described: “holy sh!t the murderers row” is assembled.

The oral briefs paid dividends.  Now there’s an army forming, dispatches received, everything locked in place, one serious angel to thank.  Factually, “it’s not only what’s in the documents, it’s also what’s on the documents that matters, & no-one ever noticed until now.”.. ~JW

The next week is critical.  CTH into the belly of the beast. Again, an apology for spending less time on daily news events, research and writing, and more time on the critical cusp of activity previously discussed. That’s why the daily content of the site is less.

THE alliance of allies is a priority; that means a personal investment.  Each person briefed recognizes this is much bigger than previously thought. Stunningly so. One by one, people see the importance.  It’s an amazing story in totality.

I’m less worried about Barr-Durham failing now.  Hoping for their success, and recent background indicators support ‘cautious optimism’; but preparing just in case.

I let down someone important to me but not the goal; which reminded me just how much our founders put at risk when they faced far more serious challenges than my simple effort.  Regardless, it is a crushing gut-punch to see yourself drive with such intensity that you generate collateral damage accidentally.  Lesson: it is much harder to forgive your own trespasses against others, than it is to forgive those who trespass against you.

Again, thanks for your support. Every prayer is felt, and I really believe those prayers are making a difference; remarkably so.  This journey is actually bringing me closer to my own faith which was quite unexpected.   Truthfully, nakedly, I’m also scared as hell; this is so far out of my comfort zone – that’s likely the reason for my renewed reliance.

All of that said, things are falling into place.  The balance has shifted a little, and now not only are doors opening, but our own door is being knocked upon.  That result can only be described as guided.  Ergo, I’m seriously humbled.  Humbled and more optimistic.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

~ Sundance

Remember – Do not worry yourself with dark imaginings. Turn your fear into resolve; turn that resolve into action. I am not going to be discouraged… check that…. I purposefully choose not to be discouraged. Each of us has the ability to control our thoughts.

Live your best life, RIGHT NOW, and remember it’s the only one we have.

We live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We are the people of that nation, with boundless opportunities most of the world can only dream of.

We are Americans….

Stop giving the opposition power by positioning your outlook that Barr and Durham will do nothing…. Just stop. We must demand action.  We are worth it. Do not give them an inch of room for obfuscation. Do not worry about being perceived as an a**hole about it.

Quit listening to those who say “can’t” and “won’t”…

If they feel comfortable sitting in their socially distant box and bitching about all things that are not right, or might be not be right…. Or, if they prefer to allow themselves to be overcome with dark imaginings simply because what cannot be done is more comfortable than the effort to oversee what needs to be done…. well, that’s okay.

They can do that.

And when they are done doing that they’ll still be in the same place.

But I swear to you: I am more confident than ever.

The goal is in sight.. a blinding light… and it cannot be avoided. Recent events have only confirmed this to be true. We are on the right side of history.

We are all being guided. It is rather remarkable.

I saw this tweet from Lee Smith and it is very true:

When I read that message from Lee, it really resonated.  We must go on offense armed with the truth, and not stand around defending against lies.

Weaponized truth is righteous.

 

Jul 17 2020

Rebel Alliance Ground Reports – What’s Your Current COVID Status…


Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on July 16, 2020 by 

Red States, Blue States, Red Regions and Blue Regions present an incredible disparity within our republic; I’m curious what is the current status of the COVID lifestyle near you. What is going on in/around your town, city, region or hamlet?

This isn’t just a typical request for ground reports, it’s also a little selfish. You are helping with advanced recon for an ongoing travel itinerary. East Coast, mid-west, then west. Trying to travel during this COVID crisis is a hot mess of frustrated puddle jumping, changes and cancellations. It is quite amazing the scale of difference between cities and states. The media has been reporting in large generic terms, but the stuff that matters is how it impacts your life; your daily function. That’s what we are all interested in.

It is remarkable how different life amid COVID is within each state, even when two states are right next to each other. So how is it your area?

Jul 17 2020

President Trump Delivers Remarks Outlining Deregulation Initiatives – 4:00pm ET Livestream…


Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on July 16, 2020 by 

Today at 4:00pm ET President Trump will be delivering remarks on ‘Rolling Back Regulations’ to help Americans. The speech is from the south lawn of the White House. [Livestream Links Below]

White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream – Alternate Livestream Link

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Jul 17 2020

Kayleigh McEnany White House Press Briefing – Video


Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on July 16, 2020 by 

Earlier today White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany held a press briefing at the White House.  [Video Below – Transcript Will Follow]

Jul 16 2020

The New Abnormal is Global Socialism


The new abnormal, heavily advertised and promoted by the Democrat Party and woke sycophants is a huge disaster unfolding

Dr. Ileana Johnson Paugh image

Re-posted from The Conservative Tree House By  —— Bio and Archives—July 15, 2020

The New Abnormal is Global Socialism

“Socialism is government force to control and change society.” – Paul B. Skousen

Ihave seen socialism creep into American education since 1979 when Jimmy Carter established the now massive bureaucracy called the Department of Education which became the blue print of socialist indoctrination in America. Through my experience first as a graduate student and then as a teacher in America, I also witnessed socialism advance in academia.

As a former citizen of a socialist republic for twenty years and after years of examining American society, I have seen in action most of the 46 goals of socialism as described by Paul B. Skousen in his book, The Naked Socialist.

Skousen’s highly accurate list describes the promotion of socialism and the U.N. as “the only hope for the world.” (#1 and #2)

As many Americans know, the U.N. and its many affiliates have managed to convince 178 countries to sign the U.N. Agenda 21 in 1992, later morphed into U.N. Agenda 2030, a document which controls every aspect of our economic and private lives through SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT and subservience to the whims of globalists, beginning with abolishing of private property and destroying the U.S., the last bastion that stands in its way.

The global green economy has been promoted for decades and the Democrat Party has officially forced it through the passing of its Green New Deal, which is neither green, nor new, nor a deal. It is a subjugation of the U.S. economy to the globalist U.N. Agenda 2030. (#4)

We saw the influence of the World Health Organization (WHO), a U.N. affiliate, and its false claims about Covid-19 which pretty much destroyed the robust U.S. economy and left millions unemployed, all for the common good.

Environmentalists and CDC doctors became controllers of everything we do as human beings and business owners. Everything was brought to its knees in a mere five months, including religion, education, and organized sports.

Liberals and the socialist Democrat Party have been advocating no borders and vilifying President Trump for securing the border. (#3)

One-world currency servicing the one world government is already being touted through the cashless society.  A fully cashless economy means EVERYTHING is digital, traceable, and controlled. (#5)

A Cashless Society

No cash means, among many other nefarious elements of control:

  • No odd jobs to make an extra payment for your mortgage or car
  • No summer cash earned during school
  • No cash from Grandma inside birthday cards and on holidays
  • No more piggy banks or savings for a special event/trip
  • No more rainy day fund
  • No more quick sale of that old bike or garage sales
  • No more hiring of teenagers to cut your lawn
  • No more collection for charity

Banks will have total control over every single penny you earn and it will be recorded electronically. If you misbehave or belong to a divergent thinking group, your electronic money will be unreachable until such a time that you have been scored socially adequate. Every movement will be recorded and traceable, no more off the grid economic activity. Every penny in your possession will be taxed and no more jobs under the table. There will be no more criminal and underground economic activity. (#27)

Somehow, during the Covid-19 lockdown, the nation is running out of change and stores are encouraging people to stop using cash. They say, money is dirty (it is literally and figuratively) and can easily spread disease. We seem to have managed fine since the invention of coins and paper money stashed in strange places circulated for millennia but suddenly they have become public enemy number one. (#5)

The paid mobs of rioters/protesters are holding glossy and preprinted signs advocating the U.N. goal of private property elimination, of private land, of wealth

Control of the Internet and installing a thought police on social media has become a way to silence and censor conservative and libertarian points of view under the excuse that such thoughts violate “community standards.” Such obscure community standards include only leftist opinions. Facebook, Twitter, and Google do a pretty good job of policing opinions they dislike and wish to squash. (#6)

Mobs of violent protesters and rioters and the vagina-hat women’s marches screech about economic equality,  which strictly speaking is impossible. Equal pay is also impossible as we all have different levels of education, qualification, experience, work ethic, skill, willingness to do dangerous and unpleasant jobs, etc. We also have employment laws in place that bar job discrimination based on race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, culture, or disability. (#8)

In line with U.N. Agenda 2030 recommendations, we have already seen many advances in regulating all transportation under the ruse of pollution limits, fuel efficiency, and preventing further damage to the environment. (#15) This also includes the nationalization of energy production under the excuse of equal access to natural resources. (#16)

The paid mobs of rioters/protesters are holding glossy and preprinted signs advocating the U.N. goal of private property elimination, of private land, of wealth, of suburbia living because it is socially unjust. People can only live well if all land is used for the “common good,” a key word for the communist collective. (#17)

Hollywood and the media have promoted for decades pornography, gender fluidity, and other promiscuous activities in order to destroy the family unit, marriage, and the Christian faith. (#18, #20, #21) Any degeneracy has been portrayed as “normal, natural, healthy.” (#19) Deviations from the two biological sex distinctions have mushroomed. (#22)

Students are controlled through socialist, social justice written textbooks and revisionist history in schools and NGO-driven (non-profits) environmentalism synchronized with U.N. Agenda 21

Using the environment as a ruse, socialist globalists have created a one world governing body (under United Nations) in order to control any economic activity and development as a SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT lynchpin goal.

The population has been forced into making “ecologically correct” choices – low-flush toilets, low-water washers, electric or hybrid cars, recycling, mandatory recyclable packaging, low-energy use appliances, CFL bulbs, solar panels, and rationed electricity access via controlled smart meters. (#32)

Students are controlled through socialist, social justice written textbooks and revisionist history in schools and NGO-driven (non-profits) environmentalism synchronized with U.N. Agenda 21 17 sustainable development goals. (#37)

The media has done a spectacular job of advancing socialism into society by controlling information and misrepresenting reality through daily lies in non-ending indoctrination of the pliable masses and low information voters. The juvenile attacks and insults on the President Donald J. Trump are never-ending and based solely on lies. (#38)

Socialism has marched unimpeded and is now devolving into Marxism, aided and abetted by other sources and means:

Presenting work as optional by providing funds from government for economic stimulus spending, unemployment (caused by the same people issuing the “generous” help from taxpayer dollars or from baseless money printing), endless welfare, illness, retirement. (#40)

Socialism has been a tragedy, failing miserably in all the tyrannical Communist Party-ruled socialist republics

  • Ignoring the Constitution and brainwashing people that it is an old-fashioned document. (#41)
  • Present Founding Fathers and American heroes as exploiters who did not care for the downtrodden. (#42) Making heroes out of cowards who burn the American flag and loot and burn stores while ignoring the real heroes. Use mobs to destroy historical statues and replace them with Marxist symbolism.
  • Discredit American culture and history in schools; present the discoveries and inventions of white men as supremacist and racist; use Caucasian academics to teach that whites are successful because of a media-manufactured construct called “white privilege.” (#43)
  • Government regulations in education, welfare, mental health, social agencies, arts, media, hospital care, doctor care, pharmaceuticals in an attempt to control everything. (#44)
  • Overt installation of socialism, beginning with the socialists in Congress, schools, and academia. (#45)
  • Use chaos and panic driven by the media and a viral crisis (Covid-19) to deploy top-down government control around the world and restriction on personal rights and freedoms—where and how to shop, worship, walk, get food, see a doctor, and how long to wear an oxygen-reducing mask. (#46)

The new abnormal, heavily advertised and promoted by the Democrat Party and woke sycophants is a huge disaster unfolding. Socialism has been a tragedy, failing miserably in all the tyrannical Communist Party-ruled socialist republics, but, if you ask the average indoctrinated and well-fed American students, they think that socialism/communism are better alternatives to the “evil” capitalism. I know firsthand, it is a gross distortion of reality.

Jul 16 2020

Can’t Lean On Black Lives Matter, Only Kneel Before Them


‘Lean on Me’ is a beautiful, hand-clapping song. ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, America’s much revered National Anthem.

Judi McLeod image

Re-posted from The Canada Free Press By  —— Bio and Archives—July 15, 2020

Can’t Lean On Black Lives Matter, Only Kneel Before Them

Abad idea whose time has come: It started when Black Lives Matter protesters began temporarily suspending their signature chants, screeches and wailings during protests to sing super talented Bill Wither’s song,’Lean on Me’—an idea that crash landed at the L.A. Times with a suggestion that the song should replace the National Anthem.

But Baby, It’s Gotta’ Be Cold Outside’ when a catchy, hand-clapping tune can replace the 206-year-old ‘Star-Spangled Banner!

“An op-ed from The Los Angeles Times raised eyebrows for calling on “The Star-Spangled Banner” to be canceled as the national anthem. (Fox News, July 14, 2020)

“imposing and fussy.”

“Contributing writer Jody Rosen began his column by slamming a San Francisco monument of Francis Scott Key, who famously wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as “imposing and fussy.”

“After noting that the Key statue had been taken down by rioters, Rosen appeared to offer a justification for the vandalism as he, too, was a slaveowner.”

Rosen authored the book ‘White Christmas: The Story of an American Song’.  How long before the revisionist culture delists the song because of its first word?

“The wave of reckoning and revisionism that is sweeping the country may have to come for the national anthem,” Rosen wrote, pointing to viral claims that “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a “racist song” that stems from Key’s poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” which invokes slaves. (Fox News)

“Rosen listed several songs that have been floated around to become the next national anthem, including John Lennon’s “Imagine,” James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” as well as other iconic American tunes like “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” and “This Land is Your Land.”

“Nope, none of these songs will do,” Rosen argued. “At a moment when the United States is in the grip of multiple crises — convulsed by debates over racism and injustice, ravaged by a pandemic, with a crumbling economy and a faltering democracy — the very idea of a national anthem, a hymn to the glory of country, feels like a crude relic, another monument that may warrant tearing down. But if we must have an anthem, it should be far different than the one we’ve got now, positing another kind of patriotism, an alternative idea of America and Americanness. It would also be neat if it was, you know, a decent song, which a citizen could sing without crashing into an o’er or a thee, or being asked to pole vault across octaves.”

“The LA Times writer concluded that such a song should be Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.”

“It’s a modest song that puts on no airs. It speaks in plain musical language, without a trace of bombast, in a tidy arrangement that unfolds over a few basic chords. It doesn’t march to a martial beat or rise to grand crescendos. The lyrics hold no pastoral images of fruited plains or oceans white with foam, no high-minded invocations of liberty or God. ‘Lean on Me’ is a deeply American song — but it’s not, explicitly at least, a song about America,” Rosen explained. “Yet it has long been a kind of national anthem. ‘Lean on Me’ is one of just a handful of songs to have reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts in two different versions… It is surely among the most widely sung American songs of the past half-century.”

“Rosen noted all the famous singers who have performed the hit song, like Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Shawn Mendes and Nick Jonas, and how the song was sung at Black Lives Matter protests across the country in recent weeks and was used as a tribute to first responders towards the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

“What do all of these singers hear in ‘Lean on Me’? They hear a message of friendship and fellow-feeling so straightforward it may at first appear banal,” Rosen continued.

“When you bolster that sentiment, as Withers does, with some handclaps and a funky bassline, the words ring even truer. It’s a message you could build something on, a pretty solid foundation for a decent society. It can bear the load.”

“Rosen’s suggestion, however, was widely panned on social media.

“It’s almost like they’re trying to reelect Trump,” Tom Bevan, RealClearPolitics president and co-founder, reacted.

“Let’s replace it with ‘Everybody’s Special’ from Barney and Friends,” Ben Shapiro joked.

“Let’s just Etch-a-Sketch everything and start the country from scratch, shall we? Saves time…” The Hill media reporter Joe Concha suggested.

“First they wanted you to kneel, and now they want to replace the national anthem. This is an erasure of our history and tradition—plain and simple,” Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., warned.

“There has been a cultural shift following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, a Black man, died after a White police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

“The television shows “Cops” and “Live PD” were canceled, “Gone With the Wind” was temporarily pulled from HBO Max and re-added with historical context. White actors have withdrawn from voicing characters of color on animated TV shows, brands like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s have been retired, and episodes of sitcoms featuring blackface have been removed from streaming platforms. And the Washington Redskins will be retiring its longtime franchise name.”

But no one seems able to read ‘The End’ after any of the above.

‘Lean on Me’ is a beautiful, hand-clapping song.  ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, America’s much revered National Anthem.

As for BLM’ adopting ‘Lean on Me’ as its own,  nothing American can lean on BLM which only wants an entire nation to kneel to them.

“Lean on Me” at Batavia Black Lives Matter protest