Another Clue Behind Prigozhin’s Death


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Aug 30, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin released the following video in June on Telegram. I think it is worth revisiting this video. Prigozhin states that entering Ukraine was an invasion based on lies. He believes that the Defense Ministry was in on the cover up, potentially in cahoots with the West, and that they swindled Vladimir Putin into believing his lie.

If you read my book, “The Plot to Seize Russia,” you understand the calculated corruption of the Russian Oligarchs who hoped to use a Western alliance to regain power. Prigozhin states that false intelligence was leaked to Putin, which led him to believe Ukraine was working with NATO, which is true. However, he said that Russian intelligence reported that Ukraine and NATO were planning a direct attack on Russia, which led to the “special operation” on February 24, 2022.

“What was the point of the war? The war was needed for the self-promotion of a bunch of bastards to show off what a strong army it is so Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu gets a Marshall,” he alleged. Sergei Shoigu has led the Ministry of the Russian Federation since November 6, 2012. Shoigu and Prigozhin have been archenemies, with Shoigu leading from behind the scenes while Prigozhin was on the frontlines with a separate mercenary group. Prigozhin firmly believed that Shoigu needed to be removed from power and believes he failed the invasion of Ukraine. Putin was in the middle of the battle, with both men being personal friends.

However, siding with Prigozhin would mean changing the entire narrative of the February 24 invasion. Declaring Shoigu unfit to lead would weaken the entire military’s image and add to the narrative that the West is decimating Russia. The entire coup by Wagner was to oust Shoigu, not Putin, as he was accused of denying the group ammunition and costing Russian lives. One man said too much, while the other was complacent with the narrative. There is a possibility that a divide within the military would have grown if both men were permitted to live.

What Comes After Amen…


Posted originally on the CTH on August 29, 2023 | Sundance 

A few days ago, I wrote an allegory, “Rise Up Old Mules“, with the full intention of reviewing comments and following up the next day to see if people still held the knowledge of coded writing. [Idalia delayed my review]

An allegory is a literary work that makes extensive use of symbolism in order to communicate a broader moral or meaning. Nearly every aspect of an allegory—from characters, to objects, to dialogue, to settings, to major plot events—can typically be interpreted as having a secondary, symbolic meaning that fits into the allegory’s broader meaning. 

In the writing of our forefathers, and even many writings long before and a few still today, allegories were/are used to convey messages publicly that are interpreted with a silent understanding. They were/are essentially coded messages from rebels, insurgent dissidents, in various societies who were working within the boundaries of government review.

You may have vague reference points from similar formats of communication that took place in various prisoner of war camps.

How do POWs communicate when their captors are constantly monitoring their activity?  The never spoken language of POW’s in a prison camp has a similar allegorical communication style.

The best allegories communicate from a factual reference point about subject matter, but then weave the current context or power conflict within it so as not to attract the understanding of censors, monitors or those in power who seek to stop any form of communication that is against the interests of the oppressive regime.

It is a communication style lost over time as successive generations no longer taught or had need for the skillset to understand the implied message.  However, in this modern era where six corporations control all media; where there is direct collaboration between the government censors and social media platforms over content; where arbiters of acceptable speech under the auspices of “disinformation review panels” are now deployed using both human review and automated intelligence; it is worthwhile revisiting the old ways to understand a method of discussing rebellion in public.

There is one big benefit to the deployment of AI search spiders crawling all over the internet to analyze and identify subversive speech.  AI cannot detect allegorical writing patterns, it never will.  Current AI sweeps, crawls and searches are based on human inputs to create the pattern context the AI is launched to discover.

Y’all know, I test weird stuff in the tech communication space just to probe how effective the new mechanics are, and create strategies around their constructs.  Allegorical writing was designed to communicate subversive information in the sunlight of public presentation.  Historically, human censors could not see the implied meaning in allegorical communication, and the content itself – if correctly structured – carries an inherent deniability.

From my review, about half (+/-) CTH readers understood the implied meaning, about half did not.  Approximately 10% were absolutely clueless, and a few even found the inverse meaning within the story.

Approximately half of the CTH audience picking up the implications within an allegory is much better than I expected, much better.  This is an interesting outcome, although given the high intelligence and specific demographics of the CTH family it makes sense.

My point is this: teach your friends and family, especially the younger family members, how to understand coded public messaging and what context frames the cornerstone of how it is delivered.

The old ways are going to be important if a few strategically placed voices are going to be forced to mount a successful counterinsurgency against an entire UniParty system, that aligns with an oppressive regime.

Mules = soldiers.

Exceptional Mules = special forces.

Collars = rifles.

The silent wise men at auction = leadership (think founding fathers).

The fields = the battles.

The farmers = YOU!

[Perhaps Re-Read With New Eyes]

Hunting the Desperate for Data


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency Re-Posted Aug 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

People are lining up to peer into a reflective orb to scan their eyes scanned in exchange for crypto – welcome to 2023. Sam Altman, Alex Blania and Max Novendstern founded Worldcoin “with the ambition of creating a new identity and financial network owned by everyone,” as per their introduction email. “Worldcoin consists of a privacy-preserving digital identity (World ID) and, where laws allow, a digital currency (WLD) received simply for being human. We hope that, where the rules are less clear, such as in the US, steps will be taken so more people can benefit from both.” Over 2.25 million people have provided their biometric data to gain access to the blockchain and the company is now worth around $3 billion.

The founders first targeted poor areas of Africa where they offered desperate people $60 worth of crypto for their biometric data. CNBC reported that they hired hundreds of “Runners” who acted as sales people to recruit new clients to harvest their data. The people worked on commission only and targeted people on the streets, schools, shopping centers, and anywhere they could find vulnerable people willing to give away their personal information. In Kenya, for example, there were reports of thousands of people lining up to join the platform.

The aim is to harvest the data of every individual globally and then connect that data to a decentralized ID linked to the blockchain. They call the need for biometric data proof-of-personhood “lets you prove you are a unique and real person while remaining anonymous.” I for one do not need a computer to prove to me that I am a real human being. Absolute nonsense.

Sam Altman is an intelligent man. He helped develop ChatGPT and OpenAI. Now he claims this concoction can prove that living people are not AI robots. World ID is now active in 34 countries with over 1,500 orbs available. They claim the data is encrypted but almost anything can be hacked or seized by government. In fact, Worldcoin has already been hacked by people who sold the data on the dark web.

Governments are becoming suspicious or perhaps jealous of that valuable data. The UK, France, Argentina, and Germany are investigating the company and Kenyan authorities raided their offices in Nairobi. The powers that be will create a digital passport linking every human to a centralized database. They likely will not allow a private firm to maintain such a database, for our safety of course.

Trilateral Commission: 2023 is Year 1 of New World Order


Armstrong Economics Blog/Great Reset Re-Posted Aug 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The Trilateral Commission is a private group of elites formed in 1973 by David Rockefeller to discuss control of Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Membership is invitation only and their meetings are shrouded in secrecy. Takeshi Niinami, Meghan O’Sullivan, and Axel Weber are the three chairs of the organization. Although the members of this organization are not household names, they are very powerful decision-makers – the elite appointed by the dollar.

In leaked notes from a conference held earlier in the year, one speaker has declared that 2023 is year 1 of the New World Order. “Three decades of globalization — defined as integrated, free-market based and deflationary — has been replaced by what will be a multidecade period of globalization defined as fragmented, not-free-market-based but industrial-policy based and structurally inflationary. This year, 2023, is Year One of this new global order.”

This group is also working in secrecy to alter the world as we know it. They are another version of the World Economic Forum in every way possible. They developed a Task Force on Global Capitalism in Transition to transition the modern world away from capitalism. As stated on their website: “There are growing concerns about whether market-based economies will be able to address three major challenges. First, climate change. Second, the disruptions triggered by the digital revolution. Third, rising inequalities.”

And 2023 is the first year of this New World Order, as we have seen all the globalists embedded in politics implement policies to achieve these goals. Remember, all of the rules they want to implement are for you and me – not them. “Moving toward a more sustainable and inclusive capitalism is a defining challenge of our age. The task force hopes its work stimulates discussion, debate, and, ultimately, decision,” the website also states. “Inclusive capitalism” is an oxymoron. Capitalism by definition is “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.” It is not meant to be a fair and equitable system. Everyone has an opportunity to earn in this for-profit system that demands hard work over welfare.

The Trilateral Commission is something I will discuss more as many have not heard of the organization. They are so confident that their ideals have been embedded in our society that this is supposedly year 1. The elitists will fail miserably, but chaotic times are ahead. It is no longer a conspiracy that there is a global cabal of elitists who are actively changing society as a whole.

Open the Floodgates – Entering the US is Easy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Immigration Re-Posted Aug 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Spread the love

The border is literally open to all as it has been revealed that border gates have been permanently welded open. The US government claims this was done in preparation for the monsoon season and to help endangered animals safely pass. In Arizona alone there are 114 gates open areas that attract over 1,400 illegal aliens from throughout the world every single day.

The people breaking the law by entering from the southern border are laughing at us. “It was so easy to get into the US. Nothing like our journey through Mexico. That part was hard,” she added. “I thought there was going to be more security,” one migrant from Cuba told the New York Post. Border agents have reported busloads of people arriving as if they were on a guided tour.

Biden is auctioning off unused materials intended to secure the border. Democratic governors are complaining that they cannot handle the large influx of people but they have not turned on Biden. Senate Republicans are demanding that the Department of Defense (DOD) step in and prevent the Biden Administration from auctioning off the remaining border wall materials for pennies on the dollar.

There are reports of men from China and other nations arriving with what appears to be military haircuts. Biden is an utter disgrace to America, a treasonous crook openly selling out our country. America has been invaded. I cannot comprehend how anyone could still support that man after the chaos he has caused over the past three years.

Interview: THE CLUELESS GOVERNMENT ARE THE PROBLEM AND THEY WILL CRASH AND BURN


First Published on One Radio Network on Bit Chute at 20:12 UTC on August 22nd, 2023.

The Caplan Suit to Bar Trump Using the 14th Amendment


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Aug 27, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Caplan Lawsuit

Many emails have come in about Lawrence A. Caplan filing this Declaratory judgment to ban Trump from running for President under the pretense of the 14th Amendment. In his filing, he is clever to state that he admits he was a member of the State Bar of California, but then states “Petitioner has never been sanctioned or suspended by any court” but it appears he may be stripped of his license to practice law in California if this is indeed the same Laerence Allen Caplan. Apparently, his photo appears nowhere, which is rather strange as well.

CANONS OF CONSTRUCTION

That said, Caplan argues that no conviction is necessary and that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is self-executing, which is a real stretch. The words must be given the meaning they had when the text was adopted. This is probably the most overlooked canon of Construction ever.

This entire Section 3 was retributive against anyone in the Confederacy. It was deliberately excluding what they saw as anti-constitutional subversives from office to seek retributive justice. It was in itself anti-democratic and unconstitutional. It removes a constituency’s chosen representative while doing nothing to address the sentiments that such a constituency may still hold. Had they gone along with everyone else in the Confederacy, that was good enough. That itself violated Due Process and the civil rights of those who voted for the individual.

Congress eventually, with a clear head realized this in itself violated the Constitution and effectively subjugated the South as if they were now the slaves of the North with no rights whatsoever. Congress, with a clearer head, passed the Amnesty Act of 1872, removing all the implications of Section 3. The manner in which Capaln attempts to use this to prevent Trump from holding office is clearly politically motivated, and in reality, Section 3 is questionable as to its Constitutional status. I am shocked that no lawyers seem to have taken up this argument. If one’s political beliefs can be a bar to holding office, then we cannot have a Constitutional government supported by the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

The 14th Amendment Section I also stated that the Due Process Clause applies to the States:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

How can Section 3 afford no due process and equal protection? It cannot negate Section 1 rendering that overruled. Caplan argues it is self-enforcing, and a mere allegation means Trump cannot ever hold office. This is really unconstitutional concerning Caplan’s argument. You cannot interpret Section 3, which creates a legal absurdity. He states:

Any number of top legal scholars, including but not limited to Judge Luttig and Laurence
Tribe conclude that Section 3 requires absolutely no legislation, criminal conviction or other
judicial action to enforce its command. In legal terms, Section 3 is completely “self-executing”.

What Caplan has filed, I believe, is just a continuation of this legal persecution that justified the American Revolution. It is borderline frivolous to grant the interpretation of the 14th Amendment bars Trump with a mere allegation that violates both Due Process of law and the First Amendment. Caplan has the audacity to argue that with Trump merely being charged is good enough, and this clause bars him with simply an allegation. Is Caplan seeking to ensure the Neocons rule?  This rejects the foundation of our claimed Rule of Law that one is innocent until proven guilty. This argument in itself violates Due Process of Law. It is denying Trump even a right to be heard.  One clause in the  Constitution cannot be interpreted, so it violates another. This leads to absurdity.

The Supreme Court held in US v Lanier, 520 US 259, 266 (1997) that “due process bars courts from applying a novel construction of a criminal statute to conduct that neither the statute nor any prior judicial decision has fairly disclosed to be within its scope. “

The press is NOT reporting that there have already been Section 3 cases that have generated two state and three federal judicial rulings. These are the first rulings on Section 3 in 150 years. There was even one fact-finding hearing before a Georgia administrative law judge trying to bar Rep. Marjory Greene. That produced a very inciteful written decision as well. Judge Charles Beaudrot concluded in a ruling later affirmed by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger:

Her public statements and heated rhetoric may well have contributed to the environment that ultimately led to the Invasion. . . . But expressing constitutionally-protected political views, no matter how aberrant they may be . . . . is not engaging in insurrection under the 14th Amendment.

On June 3, 2023, yet another federal judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin dismissed three more challenges that were attempts to prohibit Sen. Ron Johnson, Rep. Tom Tiffany, and Rep. Scott L. Fitzgerald from being elected. The press is not reporting that this argument has failed in every court it has been presented. These are attempts to violate everyone’s civil rights by overthrowing elections. Only the CIA is allowed to do such things.

To add to the legal nightmare, Article l, Section 5, actually bars Section 3 challenges to U.S. senators and representatives, and it casts doubt that it could ever be self-executing. That provision states that “Each House shall be the Judge of the . . . Qualifications of its own Members.” Under this clause, each of these bodies has exclusive power to decide a Section 3 challenge to one of its own. Clearly, when the 14th Amendment was passed, it could not overrule Article I, Section 5. There is no evidence that Section 3 is self-executing, so who decides? Congress or the Courts?

There is one case involving Section 3 from the period of the Red Scare following the Russian Revolution. This was the case of Victor Berger, who was a socialist from Wisconsin. Berger won a seat in Congress in 1910 and then again in 1918. Following his first term in Congress, he spoke out stridently against American involvement in World War I. The House voted 311-1 to exclude Berger from holding a seat, claiming he gave aid and comfort to America’s enemies by merely his political speech. Four years later, he was reelected, and the Supreme Court vacated his conviction under the Espionage Act, which they have tried to use against Trump. The 1919 exclusion of Berger from Congress was a constitutional violation based on the rhetoric of the Red Scare-era excesses, much as we have seen calling January 6th an unarmed insurrection, which is absurd, or the COVID-19 hysteria, which they will bring back to control civil unrest. The Berger case illustrates the dangers of construing Section 3 too broadly as they are doing right now.

More than 1,033 people have been arrested for storming the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. None have been charged with 18 USC §2383. Rebellion or insurrection. Their charges have been ranging from obstruction of an official proceeding to assault. There are statutes on Rebellion and Insurrection. Nobody is charged with that, and these filing against Trump and others calling it an insurrection are frivolous and clearly an abuse of process.

18 USC §2383. Rebellion or insurrection

Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808 Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, §330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147 .)

This statute prohibits the incitement, assistance, and participation in a rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States and its laws. The punishment for this crime is a fine, a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and ineligibility for public office.

REBELLION and INSURRECTION refer expressly to acts of violence against the state or its officers. This distinguishes the crime from SEDITION,  which is the organized incitement to rebellion or civil disorder against the state’s authority. It also separates the crime from TREASON, which is the violation of allegiance owed to one’s country by betrayal or acting to aid the country’s enemies.

We must understand that these crimes are easily confused, but if the party wasn’t acting on behalf of (or giving aid to) a foreign government, they really cannot be charged with treason, as some accused Edward Snowden. Calls to rise up against the authority of the government by staging non-violent protests and strikes would fall more into the category of sedition. Nonetheless, that would not be considered rebellion or insurrection unless the incitement included calls for violent acts such as the destruction of government property or the assault of state officers.

None of the more than 1,000 people the government is punishing simply because they were Trump supporters have been charged with rebellion or insurrection. They were UNARMED, and the videos clearly show that the capital police even escorted them in. There were government agents all intermixed, and the videos confirm that. This was orchestrated to use this 14th Amendment to prevent Trump from ever running again, no different than the Weapons of Mass Destruction that never existed or, as Johnson said, we were never attacked by Vietnam. They wanted war and lied about that as well. Or the 1962 Project Northwoods proposal, in which the CIA wanted to kill Americans to justify invading Cuba, Kennedy rejected.

Neil Oliver Contemplates Western Leaders Squeezing Jello in a Closed Fist, While BRICS Leaders Smile


Posted originally on the CTH on August 26, 2023 | Sundance 

Comrade rebels, for his weekly monologue UK pundit Neil Oliver reviews the ever-controlling, increasingly totalitarian, western political landscape, and then gives his perspective on how the BRICS formation seems to be benefiting from it.  It is an interesting contrast worth review.  WATCH:

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Descending Deep into this Darkness


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re- Posted Aug 26, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty,

One of my mentors told me about you 6 months ago. Since that time, I have been an avid reader of your public and private blogs. Additionally, I’ve incorporated the Socrates arrays into my trading strategy.

First and foremost, thank you so much for everything you do. The world needs a voice like you during these difficult times as we are descending into darkness. You are helping so many people wakeup to the truth. Your integrity from within, courage in adversity and service above self have helped me to find my own voice. It is time for humanity to rise against our oppressors and take back our freedoms.

My question this morning is what happens to Socrates after you’re gone? I have watched several interviews as well as your documentary where you talk about how the CIA desperately wants the technology. Do you have a plan in place for protecting this powerful tool?

Wishing you many more years of health and happiness!

Best,

Evan

ANSWER: Thank you. I do not regret what they did to me. I survived but emerged with a deeper understanding of how corrupt the system is. Having a working knowledge of law, I went toe-to-toe with my oppressors, who were clearly taking orders from those who sought to take over Russia and strip it clean of its wealth. I watched how they rigged trials, selected judges, and pretended it was random, and then saw how they altered transcripts to change the very words spoken in courts only to find the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to be as fake as a $3 bill. I helped others in their legal defense. I told one black kid to go to trial. He won. My own court-appointed counsel dared to say I helped a criminal escape. He said the jury did not find him innocent, only that there was insufficient evidence. That was the view of even these fake lawyers who pretend to defend people but are paid for by the court to make sure they lose 99% of the time. His mother hugged me and said I was the first white person who ever helped her family.

I have seen it all. I watched them prosecute three separate Italian Mafia families for “conspiracy” to murder the same alleged murder using three different theories, and no corpse was ever found. It was as if your spouse vanished, and they then charged you with conspiracy to murder them without any corpse ever found whatsoever. All they had was a car parked at the airport and nothing more. They found them all guilty and sentenced to 20+ years for nothing. I have ZERO respect for our legal system anymore. It is so corrupt I cannot even recant all the horror stories I witnessed. My own real lawyer warned me they would try to kill me. They did; I was in a coma but survived, to their dismay.

When the Rule of Law collapses, so does society. Lady Margaret Thatcher explained that Britain, in its golden age, brought the rule of law to the world. Civilization exists ONLY when everyone benefits. What is going on now is that when the LEFT seizes control, they seek to force their view on everyone else. This is simply an economic religion that has doomed the world, and we will not revitalize civilization until this collapses and people see what it really is. Communism collapsed in 1989. Ironically, this is just one Fibonacci count of 34 years later – it’s our time.

As Maggie said, when you run out of other people’s money, that is when it all falls apart. We have reached that point in history. That is why they are now pushing for CBDCs for total control because the debt system is collapsing. They are indeed, running out of other people’s money.

We are descending deep into this darkness. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will emerge from this stronger, just as I did. When you see the system for what it truly is, that is when it will all change. Thirty years ago, the system was corrupt, but they at least tried to hide it. Today, they no longer care because they control the elections, and only a fool thinks they are fair. They will do as they like, for the government has undergone a silent coup and nobody seems to care in Washington. It’s like J. Edgar Hoover who had files on every politician, and they did as he said, or else. The Neocons are doing the same.

As for Socrates, it will survive me. The government canceled all the visas of my programmers from around the world. This is a worldwide effort to preserve this for posterity. People have always tried to infiltrate my operation to grab whatever they can because they are corrupt and greedy. All they ever see is money and screwing the world. Their greed blinds them, and they cannot fathom that they will not have the life they dream about because they are just corrupt in character. I have seen the evil inside the belly of the beast as well as on the outside. My goal is for Socrates to survive and help post-2032. It is my gift to humanity.

Irish Media Minister Supports Government Defining What Is True and What Speech Can Be Permitted Online


Posted originally on the CTH on August 26, 2023 | Sundance 

Discussing the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), Ireland’s Media Minister defends the decision that a government appointed entity will ultimately decide what speech is permitted by citizens.  This is the next phase in the control of opposition to the expansion of government controls.  We are all traveling at the front of one long continuum toward tyranny.

Are the people of Ireland so weak and pathetic they cannot make decisions or formulate opinions for themselves?  Of course not.  This is not what government control of information is about.  Government control of information is about CONTROL of the people. WATCH:

CTH has encountered criticism for our position on information.  Perhaps it is important to step back and explain exactly why we should not be playing by rules established to control us while engaged in the battle of ideas.  First, my position:

…”There is no such thing as “disinformation” or “misinformation”.  There is only information you accept and information you do not accept.  You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.”… 

There are only two elements within the public discussion of information, truth and not truth.

In an era filled with “fact-checkers” and institutional guardians at the gates of Big Tech, let me explain exactly why it is important not to accept the speech rules of the guards.

When you accept the terms “disinformation”, “misinformation” or the newest lingo, “malinformation,” you are beginning to categorize truth and lies in various shades.  You are merging black and white, right and wrong, into various shades of grey.

When your mind works in the grey zone, you are, by direct and factual consequence, saying there is a problem.  You are correct; however, this is where people may make a mistake. The problem is supposed to be there.

It is not a solution to the problem to try and remove the grey simply because it takes too much work to separate the white pixels from the black ones.  You were born with a gift, the greatest gift a loving God could provide.  You were born with a brain and set of natural instincts that are tools to do this pixel separation, use them.

If you define the grey work as a problem you cannot solve on your own, you open the door for others to solve that problem for you.  You begin to abdicate the work, and that’s when trouble can enter.

The sliding scale of Pinocchios is one of the most familiar yet goofy outcomes.

Put more clearly, when you accept the terminology “disinformation”, you accept a problem.

The problem is then the tool by which authorities will step in to make judgements.

Speech, in its most consequential form, is then qualified by others to whom you have sub-contracted your thinking.

When you willingly sub-contract information filters to others, you have lost connection with the raw information.

CTH was founded upon the belief that truth has no agenda, nor does it care about you, your feelings, or your opinion of it.  It just sits there, empirically existing as evidence of information in its most pure form.

The search for truth, in all things, is the mission objective of this assembly.   Often, we don’t like the truth; often, the truth is bitter, cold, challenging and even painful to accept.  However, the truth doesn’t care.  Information in its most raw form is ambivalent to your opinion.  If you struggle to accept these things, that’s when you need grey.  The New York Times is not called the “grey lady” accidentally.

Personally, I am an absorber of information – perhaps on a scale that is unusual.  But I do not discount information from any form until I can put context to it and see if the information makes sense given all the variables present.  When something doesn’t feel right, it’s almost always because it isn’t right.

Often, I find myself struggling in the grey and complex.  It is not unusual to spend days researching, digging, clarifying a situation, only to discover the path to finding the truth is in another direction entirely.   Erasing everything and starting over is frustrating, but it is genuinely the only approach that works; and often finding truth is supposed to be difficult, that’s why it is rewarding.

In the digital information age, we are bombarded with information.  It is easy to be overwhelmed and need to find something or someone who has better skills at separating the black grains from the white ones.  All opinions in this quest should be considered; thus, it is important to allow the free flow of information.

There is some language that needs to be constrained if we are to participate in a respectful society, with grandma’s rules and knowing the audience.  CTH has guidelines for comments for this exact reason.  However, those constraints need to be based on a set of inherent values.   When it comes to information, it is important to draw a distinction from speech.

There needs to be an open venue for all information. Unfortunately, when we begin to apply labels or categorization to information, there’s an opportunity for information to be manipulated – even weaponized.  Saul Alinsky spent decades pondering the best techniques to weaponize information and speech.  Alinsky’s intentions, in the endeavor to change society by changing how language and information was used, were not good. He devoted his completed rulebook book to Lucifer.

Be careful about anyone saying we need to label or categorize information in order to control or remove speech from the discussion.

You were not born with a requirement to believe everything you are told; rather, you were born with a God-given brain that allows you to process the information you receive and make independent decisions.