An Examination of Conscience


Posted originally on the CTH on October 8, 2023 | Menagerie 


This is not a political post. You may vigorously state and defend your opinions. Do it in a civil and respectful way, or do not comment here. If you cannot abide by this one very clear request, I’ll put you on the blacklist. I have the very strong opinion that people who cannot express themselves with respect do not need to be babysat in moderation. Keep to the topic.

Once upon a time, in the Treehouse long, long ago, this was a well practiced custom. The discourse and exchange of ideas was the better for it. Those of you who cannot give and take in this manner take something away from this fine site, and from each other.

You are not out there fighting the good fight. You are just standing on the sidelines, stomping your feet. And before getting your back up, please go back and re-read my second sentence.

If you aren’t clear on what that means, then I suggest you not only studiously read Sundance’s comments, but also our admin Stella’s. Go look for some of her posts and comments here, or go over to her blog, Stella’s Place. She is a master at clearly presenting logic and defending her position without logical fallacies or disrespect. It’s kind of like a classroom for discourse, in my opinion.

I have been intending to do a venting post. Kind of a rant, if you will, for all of us. No great ideas, or study, or thorough examination of a subject. Just a brief few sentences on things I think are wrong. But now isn’t the right time for that, if it ever is the right time.

Yesterday I did a post requesting prayer for Israel. Apparently, a lot of people had a problem with that. A lot of others made a complete mockery of the idea by praying or wishing awful things for the terrorists.

Terrorists whose actions, whose nature, whose belief system and morals are the most awful example of what a human can be. They do not deserve sympathy. We can’t  even put ourselves in their shoes, and try to see their side. They don’t have a side. Hate and evil are not a legitimate platform to examine for worth or understanding. Full on rejection of all they entail is the only logical and moral response, not only for Christians and Jews, but for anyone with a functional brain.

Some of the things I wanted to rant about have a little relevance here. They aren’t unique to me, or original in any way.

I am particularly tired of people who won’t work, who have never worked, and never intend to. Yet each year their lot gets better and mine gets worse.

I am tired of knowing that if I so much as don’t pay a parking ticket, I’ll suffer a trip to court and an expensive fine, while there are murders set free.

I am tired of paying more for goods because a whole group of people believe they are entitled to steal from everyone and suffer no consequences at all. And they don’t suffer any consequences. At all.

And, may I boldly emphasize that the topic and point of this post, and comments, is not about ranting. Maybe another day.

As I said, these few examples, and the others I’d intended to list, have nothing directly to do with my topic. Ah, but indirectly, there’s the point.

I have become so absorbed in my interior rants that I have crossed a line. I’m no longer in a place of righteous anger and seeking justice, justice grounded in God’s law and truth. I am no longer listening as I ought at all times to Christ’s voice inside me. I am no longer looking to him who taught us the both/and way of walking out our lives of faith. The Master who both turned over the moneychanger’s tables and wreaked havoc at the Temple, and rebuked the Sons of Thunder for their thirst for vengeance.

Yesterday was a stark wake up call for me. My own house in not in order. My will is not submitted to Christ. My words do not reflect his teachings. My heart has been given to passions other than that which should at all times be central in my life.

I have failed to carry my cross. I have scorned my cross. I have failed to offer my sufferings to Jesus. I have, through my fault, my most grievous fault, sinned greatly in my anger and pride.

The Confiteor

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done,
and in what I have failed to do;
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hosts Former Acting CIA Director Mike Morrell for Discussion to Help Multinational Corporations Engage with Fourth Branch of Government


Posted originally on the CTH on June 28, 2023 | Sundance 

The larger story behind this recent Intercept Article is the headline you just read. Let’s talk….

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a representative organization in the United States that lobbies Congress.

The CoC represent the interests of the multinational corporations who use K-Street and J-Street in DC to write rules, regulations, policies and laws as part of their corporate control over U.S. wealth.  That’s what the CoC does.  That’s the entire purpose of the Chamber of Commerce.

The CoC has long been in the background of our political discussions.  During the Obama administration, the Dept of Commerce literally permitted the Chamber of Commerce to write U.S. trade language – physically write the words that go into U.S. trade deals with other countries.  This was the era of maximum value for the CoC that saw their coffers swell, as multi-billion-dollar multinational corporations realized the CoC was in the business of literally controlling the U.S. capitalist economy.

The arch nemesis of the CoC was President Donald Trump, who threw the CoC out of the room when decisions were being made about trade and economic policy.  This was the era of minimum value for the CoC, when corporations were no longer getting to influence the policy.  The CoC then turned to their purchased politicians in Congress, specifically to their #1 ally Mitch McConnell, to ask for help in overcoming the problem that Trump and his America First agenda represented.

As the MAGA America First economic and trade influence in Congress increased, the CoC had trouble because Trump would target any of the Republican CoC beneficiaries, and that could result in a career ending primary challenge.  The Republican wing of the UniParty had a tough time supporting Tom Donohue who was CoC president at the time.

The result was an angered CoC turning instead to the Democrat wing of the UniParty with an offer of an open checkbook.  The Democrats then became the lifeline for the CoC to remain in control of the economic outcomes from policy, regulation and law.  In essence, the mechanism of CoC influence flipped from purchased Republicans to purchased Democrats.   At the time of this paradigm shift, it was noted by media but not understood at its root cause.  I just explained the correct context and reason for it.

Now, we enter a phase where an entity larger that Congress is now in control.  The three branches of government have been superseded by an omnipotent Fourth Branch that controls the other three.   The intelligence apparatus is now larger and more influential than the executive, legislative or judicial branches beneath it.   While people understand how the 4th branch can influence the legislative and executive outcomes, people struggle to understand how the 4th branch can influence the judicial branch.

A clear example of the 4th branch controlling the judicial branch is clear in the Trump Mar-a-Lago documents case, where the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the DOJ being allowed to make arbitrary determinations and definitions of what constitutes “national security.”  SEE BELOW:

The intelligence apparatus (4th branch) determines the “classification status”, and the intelligence apparatus (4th branch) determines the secrecy or lack thereof of the item defined as “national security.”

As soon as the judicial branch, in this example the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, defer the definitions and determinations of what constitutes “national security”, they are essentially becoming subservient to the Fourth Branch of government.  See how that works now?

As a result, we have all three branches of government now subservient to the control of the Fourth (unelected and bureaucratic) Branch!   This is also how the mechanism of the Lawfare operation against Donald Trump is being organized.

Back to the headline….

Understanding that corporations are now needing to work closely with the legislative and executive branches, the lobbyists who control that influence need to organize a new angle of their influence operation to include the Fourth Branch, the intelligence branch.

This is the context for the next story:

Intercept – THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE hosted Michael Morell, former acting director of the CIA, at a major gathering for corporate executives on Monday, according to a copy of the agenda obtained by The Intercept. The invitation to Morell — who spoke at the Association Committee of 100 in conversation with a top Chamber executive — is another sign of the increasingly warm ties between the Chamber of Commerce and the network of Democratic-aligned opponents of Donald Trump that the former president maligns as the “deep state.”

[…] The rift between the Trump wing of the party and the Chamber began during the 2016 campaign, during which the pro-business lobby did not get behind Trump soon enough, Trump later let the Chamber know. Trump and his allies felt further betrayed after Republicans moved through Congress a multitrillion-dollar tax cut, only to see the Chamber increasingly endorse Democrats in close House races. Senate Republicans such as Ted Cruz and John Cornyn of Texas rarely miss an opportunity to lambaste the Chamber; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., have made their refusal to meet with the organization conspicuous

“The priorities of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have not aligned with the priorities of House Republicans or the interests of their own members, and they should not expect a meeting with Speaker McCarthy as long as that’s the case,” Mark Bednar, a spokesperson for McCarthy, told CNBC. 

But Morell’s appearance also signals that big business has interests that go beyond Trump’s many grievances related to the 2020 election. Morell’s talk, according to a source, focused on the geopolitics of the U.S.’s ongoing confrontations with Russia and China — pocketbook concerns for the Chamber’s Association Committee of 100, which is made up of top corporate executives.  (read more

Hopefully, you can see how the alignment of the Chamber of Commerce fits in to the Sea Island Billionaire group backing Ron DeSantis.  This is the core of the “trillions at stake” understanding.  This control issue inside the battle for the soul of the Republican Party also plays out in the voice of DeSantis #1 financier, Ken Griffin:

Politico – […] While he’s supporting one of this cycle’s biggest culture warriors in DeSantis, Griffin said most hot-button issues — abortion rights, battles over sex education and LGBTQ rights — don’t define his interests. He wants to improve the diversity of the GOP and blunt the vein of populism that has complicated the party’s relationship with the corporate world — two things he’s consulted with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about. (link)

Traditional Fascism was defined as an authoritarian government working hand-in-glove with corporations to achieve totalitarian objectives. A centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, using severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

That governmental system didn’t work in the long-term because the underlying principles driving free people rejected government authoritarianism.  Fascist governments collapsed, and the corporate beneficiaries were nulled and scorned.  Then along came a new approach to achieve the same objective.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) was created to use the same fundamental associations of government and corporations.  Only this time the corporations organized to tell the governments what to do.  The WEF was organized for multinational corporations to assemble and tell the various governments how to cooperate to achieve control.

Fascism is still the underlying premise, the WEF just flipped the internal dynamic.

The assembly of the massive multinational corporations, banks and finance offices now summon the government leaders to come to their assembly and receive their instructions.  Some have called this corporatism. However, the relationship between government and multinationals is just fascism essentially reversed with the government doing what the corporations tell them to do.

One brutally obvious example: Big Pharma telling governments to promote the vaccine and figure out the control details later.

Now consider:

A massive multinational corporate conglomerate telling a centralized autocratic government leader what to do, and using severe economic and social regimentation as a control mechanism, combined with forcible suppression of opposition by both the corporations and government.

Doesn’t that define our current reality?