Something better …

This blog is not monetized. I don’t care about making money. I do that in my private life, and that supports this. Costs are modest.

I do not seek followers. They are here because of what we write. The numbers, sometimes impressive, are a mystery. What do you think? What do you read? Do we matter or do we merely flow in and out of your email? I don’t know. When you come here, we get a “hit.” What does that mean? Did you read? Think? If you see a long paragraph or long piece, do your eyes avoid it? Do you move on?

James Corbett recommended a book. I just now opened the cover. I am going to use the mere partition descriptions as a cleansing tonic. They are brief.

The book is The Politics of Obedience, by Etienne de la Boetie, written 500 years ago. I have not yet read it. I will. I am only showing the beginning, describing the content of the partitions. It is having a cleansing effect on me. The man walked upright.

Part I:  The Fundamental political question is why do people obey government. The answer is that they tend to enslave themselves, to let themselves be governed by tyrants. Freedom from servitude comes not from violent action, but from the refusal to serve. Tyrants fall when people withdraw their support.

Part II: Liberty is the natural condition of the people. Servitude, however, is fostered when people are raised in subjection. People are trained to adore rulers. While freedom is forgotten by many there are always some who will never submit.

Part III: If things are to change, one must realize the extent to which maintaining foundation of tyranny lies in the vast networks of corrupted people with an interest in maintaining tyranny.

I think it is going to be a comforting book. I walk upright. I will never submit.

34 thoughts on “Something better …”

    1. and do not be turned off by the cheap flahy self publishing feel to the cover; it has some incredibly powerful pages inside; narrow but profound.

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  2. Mark, it seems standing up for our rights does great things for our posture! I do find myself walking more upright these days, while most others seem to be hunched over. I say this metaphorically as well.

    As a voluntaryist at heart, I will be ordering my copy of the book today. (Thanks for the reminder!) For those who don’t have the book, or don’t want to read a book, this is a video (less than one hour) delineating Etienne de la Boetie’s concepts in a modernized fashion (mandatory vaccines are mentioned). It’s called Understanding our slavery – With Etienne De La Boetie (the second), as the guest speaker writes under the pen name, “Etienne de la Boetie”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hymya5zK9cc&feature=youtu.be

    What hit home with me was (at around the 50 min mark) the host, Nigel Howitt (AKA Lawful Rebel), noted the weaponization of altruism, and how the notion of altruism is our Achilles heel. It’s something that I have touched on briefly. What I have seen glaringly during this fake pandemic, and portrayed primarily by the wearing of masks, is how the “kindness” of people is being used against the population into subverting them for the sake of the greater good. It seems the sheeple very willingly submit to authoritarian rules in order to save their neighbor and fellow shopper (although at first, it was just to “flatten the curve” and “save grandma”). It’s evil genius – a clever and deceptive method of gang stalking and gaslighting. Now I can see why the concept of “service to others” (in contrast to “service to self”) was being pushed so heavily in the alternative media and new age circles for the past few years. I think it was all to prime the pump for this agenda. Most of what I hear from the normies is how thoughtful and caring they are, and that we should all be thinking of others, rather than ourselves. This is total folly (and inversion), of course.

    Following is a brilliant and resourceful essay written by Nigel Howitt, “The pandemic narrative is a fatal blow to human freedom and therefore human flourishment”: https://lawfulrebel.com/the-freedom-threat/. Had I read his article prior to my most recent POM post, I definitely would have included it as a reference. I would say Nigel is the epitome of a “coronadult”.

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    1. It is the weaponization, not the altruism, that’s messed up. Love, charity, and compassion are never bad as principles and practice.

      This, is what government (mind control) exists for; to oppose the laws of nature and true liberty. Within the laws of government another type of freedom that exists only within the limits dictated by the “color of law.” There is a (huge) difference.

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    2. Stephers, I agree with you about posture. When I go out now, I keep my shoulders back and head high. The fact that I stand out in my masklessness emboldens me. I don’t exactly enjoy this–it’s depressing if I get too much in my head about it–but if I respond with my whole body, it’s actually invigorating. I can see the benefit of mentally and emotionally boosting myself up as I leave the house to face the world. Though I ordered that fake mustache and beard and still think it would be fun to fuck with people about mask alternatives (as mentioned in another thread), I’m currently more interested in simply moving through space with the expectation that nobody will challenge me, that I am under no obligation to do what everyone else is doing.

      My state, Indiana, has gotten more aggressive about compliance, though it’s still not as totalitarian as I hear other places are. I’ve been going to a lot of stores the past couple of days. They are now all plastered with MASK REQUIRED signs, and very few people are defying this order anymore. If anyone confronts me, my plan at the moment is to simply say–cheerfully and off-handedly–“I’m exempt,” with the expectation that we can just leave it at that. No need to feign illness. No need to lie. I am exempt. Everyone who rejects this narrative is exempt. Further conversation about it is a waste of breath, and the mask-wearers need all the oxygen they can get.

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    3. Stephers, this scamdemic has been great for my posture too! I’ve had to go to a lot of public places the past few days, and before leaving the house I make a note to align myself and prepare to meet a potentially hostile world with calm dignity and grace. If I get too much in my head about all this, I get depressed, but when I let my whole body take over, it’s actually invigorating. So I suffuse my body with the knowledge that I’m perfectly within my rights to live my life mask-free, and I move with purpose, expecting to be allowed to do whatever I’m doing without interference or confrontation. So far, it has worked. In crowded stores where I’m the only one not wearing a mask, employees have been courteous and helpful, not saying a word about my bare face.

      Though my area was lax about enforcement for longer than others, the pressure to conform is getting stronger. Every store is plastered with Wear A Mask signs. Few of them have guards enforcing it at the door, though, and as I said, nobody has confronted me so far. I’ve decided against that fake-mustache-and-beard idea I tossed out in another thread. Now, if anyone confronts me, I plan to simply say, in a cheerfully off-handed way, “I’m exempt.” Why be cute or funny or apologetic or angry or defensive about it? Just tell the truth. And it is the truth–I am exempt, because I declare myself to be, as should everyone who sees through this fascist farce. I’ve found that when I speak the truth without betraying the weaknesses of sarcasm, anger or insecurity, people are disarmed. It’s a good habit to get into. Talking about it beyone that simple declaration would be a waste of breath… and the mask-wearers need all the breath they can get.

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  3. Thank you for the links. There are so few of us, so many of them, and so much of the “… tyranny [that] lies in the vast networks of corrupted people.” People are so good at virtue signalling while screwing their neighbor.

    You know, surely, even as this had to be explained to me, that the ring in Tolkien’s trilogy was a symbol of power. It corrupted everyone who came in contact with it, including Frodo, who had to withdraw at the end, as he knew the ring had affected him.

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      1. MT – The comments (I read the first 50 or so) do reflect that perhaps the propaganda is not working as well as expected. I am grateful to see that. Although when I am out and about daily, the people I see are not a reflection of what I see being said online in response to these blatant agitprop pieces.

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        1. I just dropped off a letter at the PO, and a young gal came charging out, obviously angry. They only allow three in at a time and require masks. “Pain in the ass, isn’t it” I said. She was mad, it turned out, that a woman had violated the three-person rule. She had “barged in.” Disappointed, I said “Ah well, Don’t worry. There’s no virus.” At that she became indignant and was still haranguing me as I got in my truck, she in her car. Can’t wait for contact tracing.

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          1. Ugh. The vitriol of these ignorant sheeple. It’s interesting, our local post office is one place I have gone a number of times – without a mask. Only 3 people allowed in the lobby at a time, but the sign says “mask recommended”. The PO employee (the same woman that has been there for 20+ years) never says anything to me, and I think she is smiling at me behind her mask. Meanwhile, I saw something quite disgusting today – an older teen boy was eating a sub/sandwich WITH a mask on! He repeatedly pulled down the mask with each bite, but he chewed with the mask on (outside sitting on a bench in 95 degrees no less), AND his fingers were covered in goo from his sub. So gross. Oh, the ignorance. I didn’t say a word, but my expression said, “What a numskull.”

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  5. Q: What do you think?
    A: There is a full-on propaganda war going on and this is one of maybe only three sites I can count on for true insight on the situation. It is not always obvious who is telling the truth, who is honestly mistaken, who is lying, and who is trolling, and this site does an excellent job at accommodating a spectrum of opinion without letting the trolls take over. There is a very high signal-to-noise ratio here and I do appreciate the ad-free format. Mark, I am extremely grateful for what you have done and continue to do for truth seekers.

    Q: What do you read?
    A: Everything.

    Q: Do we matter or do we merely flow in and out of your email?
    A: I do not receive email notifications; I just visit the blog daily to see what’s new. Often several times a day to catch the new comments. I don’t need a reminder. It’s that good.

    Q. When you come here, we get a “hit.” What does that mean? Did you read? Think? If you see a long paragraph or long piece, do your eyes avoid it? Do you move on?
    A: I try to read everything, including the comments. That said, posts signed “Mark Tokarski” get my fullest attention. I’m here for the whole package. I enjoy the digressions. I appreciate the links to videos and other sites even though I may not agree with everything. I am rarely disappointed, and if I am, so what, I’ll be back for more later.

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  6. I am reading a book written by John Lamb Lash, “Not in his name”. I am deeply touched. This books seems to hit the nail right on its head, showing the roots of what’s been going so terribly wrong in the last 2000 years. I was born in a Christian family, quite strict as it was. I got out of this whole belief system, some 40 years ago, and during the last 4 decades it became more and more childish and even stupid to me. It seems to me now that it even carries the roots of evil in for example what is called in the book the “Redeemer complex”. My parents will turn in their graves would they get to know the thoughts I have had lately….

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    1. I share that kind of background. I’ll always fondly remember Christopher Hitchens’ words, that he could not belong to a religion whose members proudly call themselves sheep.

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  7. We took our grandson and daughter-in-law on a birthday treat, water skiing, or whatever they call it with the feet in sideways, like ski boarding. It was 95 degrees down there.I was outdoors, and yet some 20 year old came up to me and told me I had to have a mask. I refused, of course, and she threatened to call her “supervisor”, of course, ever notice that all Americans apparently have a supervisor? Is anyone free? I never put on the mask but we glared at one another, and I wandered the boundaries until she got in a boat. I did not imagine that they would have to wear masks while on the water, but the boat drivers did. I was told I could ride in the boat to take photos, but would have to wear a mask. I live on the wrong planet. Is is bonkers nuts! And people just accept it. That’s the problem.

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    1. Keep kicking against the pricks, Mark, I applaud your stand and hope the penny will drop for those benighted souls/fools (delete as appropriate) sooner rather than later.

      Pay increases for doctors and teachers in the UK, bribery whilst millions are made redundant.

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  8. This blog is not monetized. I don’t care about making money.

    For what it’s worth, if there were some kind of monthly / fortnightly podcast featuring writers (and even commenters) of this blog, I for one would be happy to contribute a few dollars per month to support and encourage it.

    Not that I am trying to ask or advise that you do this, merely making the point that there ARE people out there who appreciate the value of time and effort, especially in a scene as tiny as the alternative / conspiracy / truth (ACT) subculture is.

    There’s so little quality content out there at the moment, so few podcasts where the interlocutors are aware of media fakery, science fakery, the outright HOAXiness of the Konyvirus. It seems obvious to me that one of the main reasons for this is that there is precious little financial incentive for anybody to invest the time and effort required to produce a quality product.

    In most areas of life we accept that good things cost money, we accept that the person putting in the time and effort to produce something good deserves recompense for his or her time, and we also accept that — by and large — we get what we pay for.

    Somehow in the ACT realm there is an overarching dogma towards the opposite, towards shunning and even undermining those who their own value time and effort. There is an expectation, often although not always stated, that those who care the most about good research and discussion somehow owe it to those who either can’t or won’t put in the time to produce it themselves.

    Perhaps the ACT subculture would find its numbers growing exponentially if the same entrepreneurial spirit which drives innovation EVERYWHERE ELSE were more encouraged in our corner of the internet.

    Call me crazy.

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  9. I saw that piece by James Corbett. It should be good reading.

    “Conspiracy theorists” are being attacked. Question NOTHING. You might want to check out the coordinated attack by Scientific American and HBO’s John Oliver of LAST WEEK TONIGHT.

    https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-drawn-to-conspiracy-theories-share-a-cluster-of-psychological-features/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b_eHBZLM6U&t=18s
    Coronavirus: Conspiracy Theories: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
    3,815,118 views•Jul 19, 2020
    LastWeekTonight

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  10. I noticed some resemblances lately, watching movies with Paul Newman and Kevin Costner.. They both reminded me somewhat of GW Bush, when seen from certain angles or in shadow. Not sure if they ever came up in the face comparison posts?

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      1. I tried doing a face comparison of young Jack Nicholson and young Ted Bundy a while back–the resemblance is startling to me when I just put pics side by side. I don’t have your skills with visual software though, Mark.

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  11. Thanks – I will be away for a while, but copied these comments to One Note so that I can take a look at them on return. Ted Bundy would be a huge find, and I’ll also look at Costner and GW Bush. Curious indeed.

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  12. Fascinating data point I stumbled across today about skepticism of coronavirus statistics, “while 48% who reported no main news source thought so [were skeptical of coronavirus statistics]. Only 7% of CNN and MSNBC watchers thought so.”

    Excellent example for the strength of the propaganda machine, even in a supposedly “free” society. Seriously, 7%. Compared with 48% who have no main news source. That’s wild. Their brains are being effectively scrubbed and bleached.

    Those are totalitarian propaganda machine levels of changing public opinion. Manufacturing consent!

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  14. Hey Mark, looks like old friend Thomas Pynchon has told the truth again, in two distinct areas. The first is the pedophilia scandal. In Gravity’s Rainbow the top scientists in the rocket project is rewarded for his hard work by being given a week with a child sex slave once a year, a victim who he assumes is his daughter although he suspects it isn’t as she looks a little different each year while remaining the same age. So according to Pynchon Epstein and Co. aren’t blackmailing powerful people, they’re rewarding them. The child sex slave victims are payments for a job well done, not currency to be used to force powerful people to do what they’re told. The second is the subject of the goal of the Elite, which seemed to cause some confusion. The goal, as communicated on 9/11, is to leave the planet. The plan, how is it going to happen is called “The Rainbow.” Hence the large amount of rainbow symbolism. What does it mean? Anton Chigurh mentions it in classic spook writer Cormac McCarthy’s “No Country for Old Men” but it’s stated much more clearly by Daniel Craig in “Knives Out”, a film in which the lead actress claims to have read “Gravity’s Rainbow” (everybody’s favorite only-a-smart-person-can-read-this book). The Rainbow plan means doing nothing and letting the answer/solution come to you, falling at your feet like a rainbow from the sky. Go watch those two movies and listen for the main character’s (played by Craig and Bardem) talk about their Rainbow plans. What this means in real life is that Elite don’t have a plan written down on paper or covered in meeting, offsites or seminars. It’s going to happen because it’s going to happen because everything they want to happen always happens as long as they keep things going the way they are. The wars, politics, etc… are diversions and noise, they are not signal. The signal came on 9/11, which is why they stopped the world to listen then restarted it a week later and let the noise continue. The beauty of this plan is that anyone looking for it will never find it because it doesn’t exist except conceptually. The fallacy of looking for the Elite’s plan is the plot of Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. Whether the Rainbow lands at their feet tomorrow or in 1,000 years doesn’t matter to them. It’s inevitable and unstoppable, like gravity.

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      1. We’ll spread out across the galaxy (universe?) and colonize other planets. How? I have no idea but certainly not with fake rockets or fake UFO technology. Maybe like in the Pynchon books (Gravity’s Rainbow – Astral Projection, Bleeding Edge – via technology to create gateways to alternate dimensions). It’s my feeling that humans leaving earth has happened many times in the past and every time we find the evidence we chalk it up to “ancient aliens” or UFOs, etc..

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        1. Thanks for the response. Totally agree with last sentence and it might not be just a feeling of yours… but a fact.

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          1. I know I’m right. I was there when the ball dropped in NYC. I got the message and I saw the sender.

            “Miss me with that bullshit (bullshit)
            You ain’t really wild, you a tourist (a tourist)
            I be blackin’ out with the purist (the purist)”
            Jay Rock, “King’s Dead”

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  15. One more thought: not only is gravity unstoppable, it’s unknown. We can fake zero G by flying in a wide arc but that’s just a card trick. And nobody knows what causes gravity. That’s the analogy of the Elite’s plan. Trying to stop it is like stopping gravity. Trying to understand it is like trying to understand gravity. Cue spook fake scientist Einstein.

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