<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[A Ghost in the Machine: Political Commentary]]></title><description><![CDATA[Political Commentary]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/s/political-commentary</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!PYmZ!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F51aada2d-c711-42b3-97b4-1123d31618d0_1280x1280.png</url><title>A Ghost in the Machine: Political Commentary</title><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/s/political-commentary</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:46:38 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[danield.crazycomedy@gmail.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[danield.crazycomedy@gmail.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[danield.crazycomedy@gmail.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[danield.crazycomedy@gmail.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Alex Pretti and Alinsky's Rules for Radicals]]></title><description><![CDATA[An honest framing clarifies everything]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 31 Jan 2026 23:24:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png" width="527" height="528" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:528,&quot;width&quot;:527,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:261306,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Screenshot of X post by @TheOnlyDSC with meme about ICE doing &#8220;Pretti Good&#8221;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/186443711?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Screenshot of X post by @TheOnlyDSC with meme about ICE doing &#8220;Pretti Good&#8221;" title="Screenshot of X post by @TheOnlyDSC with meme about ICE doing &#8220;Pretti Good&#8221;" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!weFf!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb67a8cf6-11cd-40ef-a7e2-926304ff29f0_527x528.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Screenshot of<a href="https://x.com/TheOnlyDSC/status/2015202583191699505"> X post by @TheOnlyDSC</a> with meme about ICE doing &#8220;Pretti Good&#8221;</figcaption></figure></div><p>From Saul Alinsky&#8217;s <em>Rules for Radicals</em>: </p><blockquote><p>Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. (Rule #4)</p><p>Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. (Rule #12)</p></blockquote><p>From Frank Herbert (<em>Children of Dune</em>):</p><blockquote><p>When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom, because that is according to your principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom, because that is according to my principles.</p></blockquote><p>The quotes above illustrate a kind of <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/guerilla-morality">guerilla moralizing</a> characteristic of malignant narcissists, cult leaders, and communist operatives. <a href="https://x.com/ItIsHoeMath">Hoe_Math</a> (in an X post I remember but can&#8217;t find now) observed that when communists make moral arguments, they are really saying, &#8220;These are the noises I have learned to make, so that you do what I want.&#8221; Or &#8220;These are the symbols I have to create on your screen to get you to do what I want.&#8221; They don&#8217;t actually care about Justice or Fairness or Christianity or anything else they will appeal to in order to manipulate you. They say those things because they know you care about them, and by appealing to your principles, they can wield power over you.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/sunnyright/status/2015762567776583933&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;&#8220;Charlie Kirk was asking for it by saying controversial things&#8221; \n\n&#8220;The National Guardsmen were asking for it by being present in DC when the left didn&#8217;t want them to be&#8221; \n\n&#8220;You can&#8217;t hurt a guy just because he&#8217;s engaging in armed obstruction of law enforcement&#8221; \n\nSame people.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;sunnyright&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Sunny&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2014886645615472641/yWoa-q3g_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-26T12:23:41.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:882,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:6866,&quot;like_count&quot;:52145,&quot;impression_count&quot;:1432736,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>That&#8217;s why the same leftist activists who are crying and caterwauling about Renee Good and Alex Pretti today never complained when federal law enforcement agents killed Ashli Babbit or <a href="https://www.deseret.com/2023/8/9/23826780/witnesses-fbi-kill-utah-man-threats-biden-social-media/">Craig Robertson</a>. The Left marched and protested for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and demanded everyone &#8220;say their names,&#8221; but they ignored <a href="https://reason.com/2023/09/27/tony-timpa-wrongful-death-trial-ends-with-2-out-of-3-cops-getting-qualified-immunity/">Tony Timpa</a> and <a href="https://reason.com/2020/03/16/maryland-man-killed-in-no-knock-swat-raid-was-shot-while-asleep-family-says/">Duncan Lemp</a>. I could go on and on, because the instances of obvious hypocrisy are endless, but they all really boil down to one thing: communists&#8217; only categorical imperative is gaining the power to reward their friends and punish their enemies. And who are their enemies? You are, if you believe that anything can be objectively Good and True and Beautiful in its own right, regardless of your own or anybody else&#8217;s immediate self-interest. </p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/ramzpaul/status/2016204654980292813&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;I don&#8217;t remember you saying this about Ashli Babbitt.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;ramzpaul&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;RAMZPAUL&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1591074150696865792/4tQhJQFu_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-27T17:40:23.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Pence: Probe Fatal Minneapolis Shooting: &#8220;A full and transparent investigation of this officer involved shooting must take place immediately.&#8221; | https://t.co/iy21UAldIr&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;Mike_Pence&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Mike Pence&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2013708375733760000/Mugs4lrF_normal.jpg&quot;},&quot;reply_count&quot;:14,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:57,&quot;like_count&quot;:804,&quot;impression_count&quot;:8464,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>That&#8217;s why they have pushed the <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/a-not-so-very-proud-pride-month-2025">Rainbow Demon Church&#8217;s</a> depraved and demonic gospel into the public square and tried to force everyone to acknowledge it. If you tried to ignore them and just avoid the issue and live your own life in peace, they wouldn&#8217;t let you. They would dump tons of time and money into waging lawfare against you until you baked them a cake with their slogans on it. It was never about the cake. It was only ever about getting the power to punish you and force you to bend the knee to their inverted religion, to get regular people to call homosexuals engaging in anal sex and fist-fucking &#8220;love.&#8221; To call two sodomites buying baby boys a &#8220;family.&#8221; To agree that an autogynephile with his dick and balls intact could put on a wig and a dress and be just as much a woman as any adult female. It was all a giant humiliation ritual they imposed on the culture in order to demonstrate their power to punish their enemies (you) and reward their friends (anyone willing to call evil &#8220;good&#8221; and good &#8220;evil&#8221;). </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>That&#8217;s why they rioted in support of <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/didndoonuffin-blm-poster-child-gets">violent career criminals</a> killed mid-crime spree by police or private citizens. It was never about &#8220;Black Lives&#8221; mattering. It was never about Justice. It was only ever about punishing their enemies (you) and rewarding their friends (all the violent criminals who continually steal, kill, and destroy and all the multimillionaire Marxist proprietors of &#8220;nonprofits&#8221; like BLM).</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/WatcherontheWeb/status/2015537143779873141&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Oh no!\nYou mean the same people who still believe:\n\nThe \&quot;Very fine people\&quot; hoax\nThe covington kid hoax\nThat Kyle Rittenhouse was \&quot;HuNtInG bLaCk PeOpLe\&quot;\nThat the 2020 election was \&quot;ThE mOsT sEcUrE iN hIsToRy\&quot;\nThat Joe Biden was \&quot;ShArP aS a TaCk\&quot;\nThat Hunter's laptop was \&quot;RuSsIaN&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;WatcherontheWeb&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;The Watcher On The Web&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2012996509915111424/zUMnimzD_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-25T21:27:56.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:1,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:32,&quot;like_count&quot;:237,&quot;impression_count&quot;:2300,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>Look back over the post-Obama era of gay race communist activism. Look back even further to that era&#8217;s ideological forefathers (folks like Saul Alinsky, Bill Ayers, and Jeremiah Wright) and the American cultural revolution of the 1960s in which they gained prominence. And look back even further to the Frankfurt School and the Bolsheviks (and beyond them to their bankster financiers). Those are all specific people and concrete historical moments, but they are connected by threads that, when you zoom out and view them holistically, reveal a larger and more comprehensive conspiracy of evil (and ultimately, a <a href="https://markbisone.substack.com/p/the-devil-incarnate-part-6">spiritual evil</a> that is deeper and older still). </p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/Cernovich/status/2016948074883797126&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;During Biden&#8217;s regime, children were sex trafficked and held in houses of horror in El Paso Texas and elsewhere. Not one Democrat- from Congress members to media people to reply guys said a word.\n\nI don&#8217;t care about Pretti Good. I really don&#8217;t, and I look down on anyone who does.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;Cernovich&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Cernovich&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1981917778467532800/1LpS5x6S_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-29T18:54:28.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:70,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:693,&quot;like_count&quot;:4573,&quot;impression_count&quot;:129467,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>A key element of that larger, worldwide, multi-generational conspiracy has been the dissolution of the all the advanced nations into a <a href="https://chrislangan.substack.com/p/on-the-kalergi-plan">Kalergian</a> goyslop goo. They&#8217;ll push for open borders and mass migration under the pretext of whatever moral principle or economic consideration they think the nation in question will accept. When it&#8217;s the English, it&#8217;s, &#8220;You colonized them, so now you owe it to them, as a form of reparations, to allow them to move to your own country and colonize you.&#8221; When it&#8217;s the Irish, it&#8217;s, &#8220;You, too, were colonized by the British, so you and the Africans are really brothers, and you should show your brotherly love by letting them all move into your country. Saying, &#8216;Ireland for the Irish&#8217; is hateful racism!&#8221; Now, they&#8217;re even pushing for the Japanese to open their borders and import wage slaves from the global south because, uh, something something GDP will go up. There is no common thread to any of it except that by breaking down ethnic, tribal, religious, regional, and familial ties, they can create a worldwide mass of individuals with no loyalty to anything or anyone and no ability to coalesce into anything capable of challenging their totalitarian rule.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/martianwyrdlord/status/2016672793543217331&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;What makes this especially painful is that the globalists got the Ukrainians all hopped up on 100-proof ethno-nationalism so that they'd fight like demons against the Russians.\n\nNow that the most aggressive Ukrainians who could have defended the country are all dead, the&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;martianwyrdlord&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;John Carter&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1984103353899429888/ClDJH1oQ_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-29T00:40:36.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Ukraine is speedrunning the Great Replacement in less than a decade.\nWhen the country is &#8220;rebuilt,&#8221; at least eight million migrants will be brought to the country. This is being said openly, without shame. https://t.co/idfiWwFZUM&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;Babygravy9&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;RAW EGG NATIONALIST&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1217799023228325888/O9waSZzh_normal.jpg&quot;},&quot;reply_count&quot;:186,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:923,&quot;like_count&quot;:5689,&quot;impression_count&quot;:166366,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p><em>That</em> is the bigger picture that is really the proper frame within which to understand the Left&#8217;s anti-deportation activism today. It&#8217;s always the same kinds of people agitating for the same kinds of things. There is a discernable spirit animating them, and that spirit prefers to operate <em>sub rosa</em>, which is why its agents (leftist activists) are always following Alinsky&#8217;s maxim of freezing, personalizing, and polarizing their targets. They want you to lose sight of the forest for the trees. They will bombard you with a litany of hyper-specific and mostly irrelevant, but very emotionally charged, details, while completely ignoring the larger context and obvious patterns connecting the present controversy with past examples that they&#8217;d rather everyone forget.</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/wayofftheres/status/2017274522312052885&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Okay, update to project 2025. \n\nThese ones get deported to the Congo.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;wayofftheres&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Clay Martin &#9876;&#65039;&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1889884596747247616/a-MctRW4_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-30T16:31:39.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Liberal woman says &#8220;when all this is done&#8221; she doesn&#8217;t want trials but vengeance and wants to subject Trump supporters to the worst imaginable torture&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;DefiantLs&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Defiant L&#8217;s&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1428167484406964229/Q8fS7M5X_normal.jpg&quot;},&quot;reply_count&quot;:78,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:48,&quot;like_count&quot;:748,&quot;impression_count&quot;:10122,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>And that brings me to Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Renee Good was just a mom who was trying to get home to her kids, and those jackbooted ICE nazis murdered her for it! Never mind that she&#8217;d lost custody of those kids after her lesbian wife put out a lit cigarette on one of them, and that those kids were in another state, halfway across the country. (Remember when these same leftist commentators made such a big deal about Kyle Rittenhouse &#8220;crossing state lines&#8221; to be in Kenosha, a city forty miles from his own home and a place where his dad and other family members lived?) Never mind that Ms. Good parked her car in front of ICE vehicles and refused to move it. Never mind that after she&#8217;d been threatened with arrest and told to get out of her vehicle, she heeded her lesbian wife&#8217;s advice to hit the gas and drive directly at one of the agents, who promptly shot her. (After which Ms. Good&#8217;s lesbian girlboss wife then shrieked in disbelief and shouted, &#8220;Why did you use real bullets?&#8221; Thereby demonstrating a childish disconnect from reality.) </p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/LauraPowellEsq/status/2010913250783772931&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;I missed this clip before.\n\nAfter Renee Wood&#8217;s death, someone&#8212;apparently her partner, Becca&#8212;screaming: &#8220;Why did you have real bullets?&#8221;\n\nHow could she not know law enforcement uses real bullets??\n&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;LauraPowellEsq&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Laura Powell&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1757644565740396545/9LjI5FNH_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-13T03:14:14.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[{&quot;img_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/w_1028,c_limit,q_auto:best/l_twitter_play_button_rvaygk,w_88/fa68al4q7spedrju51el&quot;,&quot;link_url&quot;:&quot;https://t.co/JqiBcP0mDV&quot;}],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:2485,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:3219,&quot;like_count&quot;:27752,&quot;impression_count&quot;:2539801,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:&quot;https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2009781497255874560/vid/avc1/720x1280/TAp-ufgZd8tEcbun.mp4&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>And then there&#8217;s Alex Pretti. Hey, Mr. Right Winger, don&#8217;t you support the Second Amendment? Don&#8217;t you believe in the First Amendment right to free speech and peaceable assembly to petition your government for redress of grievances? Well, then, you must surely also support Alex Pretti&#8217;s right to go armed with a pistol to an anti-ICE protest, right?</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/AuronMacintyre/status/2016622229975437652&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;1) Pretti was always an armed lunatic trying to create a violent confirmation, he was not an innocent bystander trying to help, he was a terrorist\n\n2) If ICE would simply arrest and charge every single person attacking them the Pretti shooting would never have taken place&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;AuronMacintyre&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Auron MacIntyre&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2009666786472390656/thAayEQc_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-28T21:19:41.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Alex Pretti spits on a federal agent and then kicks out his taillight in footage released by the BBC from 11 days before his death.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;greg_price11&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Greg Price&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1599596465130700800/njeeSJmC_normal.jpg&quot;},&quot;reply_count&quot;:98,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:544,&quot;like_count&quot;:4258,&quot;impression_count&quot;:82691,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>But was Pretti merely protesting? Or was he recklessly interfering with law enforcement properly arresting criminals?</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/wil_da_beast630/status/2016563675436285975&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;Deporting illegal immigrants actually poses no threat to my \&quot;basic freedoms,\&quot; while letting armed mobs override the democratic will of the people on most-major issues like migration in fact does.&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;wil_da_beast630&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Wilfred Reilly&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1669495664634482689/Ea9al1JC_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-28T17:27:00.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:85,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:1447,&quot;like_count&quot;:8665,&quot;impression_count&quot;:107793,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>Suppose that you are morally opposed to the War on Drugs. Suppose that you decide to get several dozen like-minded activists together and go protest in front of a DEA office building by holding signs and shouting slogans into bullhorns, in the hopes of getting public attention and support for changing the USA&#8217;s drug laws. That would be a form of protest 100% protected by the First Amendment. Given the actual state of gun laws in America, it would depend on the locale whether you could also go armed to such a protest (despite the Second Amendment being in the federal constitution and applying to state and local governments by way of the 14th Amendment). But you could at least make a case that going armed to such a protest should be constitutionally protected.</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/AuronMacintyre/status/2015526831626084479&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;People seem to not understand the stakes so let me help you out\n\nWe already had tens of millions of illegals and Biden let in at least 8 million more in 4 years \n\nThe left have openly declared their intention to replace the population and make elections irrelevant&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;AuronMacintyre&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Auron MacIntyre&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2009666786472390656/thAayEQc_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-25T20:46:57.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:428,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:2982,&quot;like_count&quot;:14254,&quot;impression_count&quot;:394301,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>But suppose that instead of protesting in front of a DEA office building, you and your fellow activists decide to show up, armed, at a meth lab while DEA agents are trying to raid it and arrest its operators, and suppose you and your comrades then blow airhorns and rape whistles into the ears of DEA agents, obstruct their movements and spit on them, and then physically grapple with them, all while they are trying to make arrests that are in accordance with their lawful objectives. That doesn&#8217;t sound like a protest. That sounds reckless and criminal. And then if you get shot in that situation, aren&#8217;t you at least partly, if not completely, to blame for it? Your fellow activists may call you a martyr for giving your life for a cause they believe in, but nobody can, in good faith, claim that you didn&#8217;t bring about your own demise by your own conscious choices. But of course, that&#8217;s the key phrase right there, &#8220;good faith.&#8221; Leftists don&#8217;t act or argue in good faith. So they will create the perfect storm of danger and then act like innocent victims when they are harmed by it.</p><div class="twitter-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2016688511017947273&quot;,&quot;full_text&quot;:&quot;This is the way it always goes with the Left's martyrs. They start by telling us this entirely fictional biographical story where the martyr was a benevolent and humble servant of the oppressed. Then when it turns out -- as it literally always does -- that he was actually a&quot;,&quot;username&quot;:&quot;MattWalshBlog&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Matt Walsh&quot;,&quot;profile_image_url&quot;:&quot;https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/2014488225310515201/MViNdHE3_normal.jpg&quot;,&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-01-29T01:43:03.000Z&quot;,&quot;photos&quot;:[],&quot;quoted_tweet&quot;:{},&quot;reply_count&quot;:960,&quot;retweet_count&quot;:6221,&quot;like_count&quot;:47136,&quot;impression_count&quot;:795963,&quot;expanded_url&quot;:null,&quot;video_url&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM"></div><p>In understanding moral and political controversies, beginning with an honest and coherent framing of the underlying situation is everything. If you start with a dishonest and manipulative frame, one which hyper-focuses on a few isolated details while completely ignoring the larger context, you will inevitably end up with a skewed view of the relevant issues and reach erroneous conclusions. Of course, erroneous conclusions is just what the communist chaos agents want you to reach. They want you to feel the full moral weight of your convictions (which they do not share), based on a deceptive framing that all but guarantees you will be morally disarmed and therefore easy prey for their <a href="https://ponerology.substack.com/">pathocratic</a> agenda.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 41% off an annual subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off"><span>Get 41% off an annual subscription!</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for/comments&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Leave a comment&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/alex-pretti-and-alinskys-rules-for/comments"><span>Leave a comment</span></a></p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption"><em>A Ghost in the Machine</em> is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Trust the Plan, or Chimp ... or Blackpill?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Some thoughts about Trump 2.0 a year after his re-election]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/trust-the-plan-or-chimp-or-blackpill</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/trust-the-plan-or-chimp-or-blackpill</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2025 23:39:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1304978,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Trust the plan, or chimp? \&quot;Fell for it again award\&quot; meme, AI-generated image of Trump playing 7D chess, and an AI-generated image of an angry chimp in a MAGA hat&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/179088733?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Trust the plan, or chimp? &quot;Fell for it again award&quot; meme, AI-generated image of Trump playing 7D chess, and an AI-generated image of an angry chimp in a MAGA hat" title="Trust the plan, or chimp? &quot;Fell for it again award&quot; meme, AI-generated image of Trump playing 7D chess, and an AI-generated image of an angry chimp in a MAGA hat" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!4wX0!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa9fd5b11-c92d-4306-927e-5d8a82660e84_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><em>Trust the plan, or chimp? (Or do neither and just blackpill?)</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>It&#8217;s now been a year since <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-once-and-future-president">Trump won re-election</a>, and even though his second term has been markedly different from (and I would say, much more effective than) his first, the Right is still as divided as ever over the question of whether to &#8220;trust the plan, or chimp?&#8221; Or there&#8217;s a third option, which is to do nothing and just blackpill and complain and make fun of anyone who still believes in anything (<em>i.e.</em>, the George Carlin method).</p><p>Are those of us who supported and voted for him just naive suckers? Winners of all those &#8220;Fell for It Again Awards&#8221; depicted in so many memes? Or is there still a solid plan in place, and should we trust that Trump and his team are already thinking eight moves ahead in their 7-dimensional geopolitical chess game? Or does the framing assumed by this line of questioning <em>itself</em> represent a false binary and maybe even a bit of psyopping wizardry?</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Honestly, I still don&#8217;t have a great read on Trump. Zoo&#8230;</p>
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          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/trust-the-plan-or-chimp-or-blackpill">
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Turning Point]]></title><description><![CDATA[Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska (we haven't forgotten you). May your murderers and their enablers know only terror and suffering the rest of their lives (and beyond) ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/a-turning-point</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/a-turning-point</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 14 Sep 2025 15:09:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1420040,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Various images and posts related to the murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, and the Left&#8217;s response to both. We are sharing a country with literal demons &#8230;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/173480685?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Various images and posts related to the murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, and the Left&#8217;s response to both. We are sharing a country with literal demons &#8230;" title="Various images and posts related to the murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, and the Left&#8217;s response to both. We are sharing a country with literal demons &#8230;" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1jH1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fccbfdd4a-d4c2-4b20-acbd-bfd38dbac55e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The murders of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, and the Left&#8217;s response to both, show that we are sharing a country with literal demons &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><p>I was still collecting my thoughts about the savage and senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska, in anticipation of writing a post about that, when I heard the news that Charlie Kirk had been assassinated at a college campus in Utah. I never really listened much to Kirk. His target audience was a generation or two younger than me, yet in spite of his youthful appeal, I also thought of him as a dinosaur of sorts, a throwback to an older, pre-Obama era of corporate conservatism that would never question the core tenets of the post-1964 political order. But after listening to various clips of his interviews and debates, I have come to really admire him. Whatever else he was (or was not), Charlie Kirk was sincere, good-hearted, and completely committed to the belief that we can and should talk to each other, no matter our differences. He gave the benefit of t&#8230;</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Evil Drops Its Mask of Sanity]]></title><description><![CDATA[And the UK government and its pet Muslim migrant invaders show their true colors ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/when-evil-drops-its-mask-of-sanity</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/when-evil-drops-its-mask-of-sanity</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 30 Aug 2025 20:42:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png" width="414" height="386" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:386,&quot;width&quot;:414,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:304931,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;When Evil drops its happy mask and shows its true nature &#8230; A psychopathic clown takes off its happy circus mask.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/172352311?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="When Evil drops its happy mask and shows its true nature &#8230; A psychopathic clown takes off its happy circus mask." title="When Evil drops its happy mask and shows its true nature &#8230; A psychopathic clown takes off its happy circus mask." srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!wPJd!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F607d2187-80f5-4649-b96f-f288916d2083_414x386.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">When Evil drops its happy mask and shows its true nature &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><blockquote><p><em>They began with the fact of sin&#8212;a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or no man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt. Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. Some followers of the Reverend R.J.Campbell, in their almost too fastidious spirituality, admit divine sinlessness, which they cannot see even in their dreams. But they essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street. The strongest saints and the strongest sceptics alike took positive evil as the starting-point of their argument. If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can only draw &#8230;</em></p></blockquote>
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          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/when-evil-drops-its-mask-of-sanity">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Coming Apart Even Further (Or A Tale of Two Grocery Stores)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Our civilization is on the razor's edge, and if the issue of immigration isn't solved now, America as we know her is over.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/coming-apart-even-further-a-tale</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/coming-apart-even-further-a-tale</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:19:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1114246,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Coming Apart Even Further! A tale of two grocery stores &#8230; Book covers for Sam Walton Made in America, Charles Murray Coming Apart, and a book about Publix customer service.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/162198299?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Coming Apart Even Further! A tale of two grocery stores &#8230; Book covers for Sam Walton Made in America, Charles Murray Coming Apart, and a book about Publix customer service." title="Coming Apart Even Further! A tale of two grocery stores &#8230; Book covers for Sam Walton Made in America, Charles Murray Coming Apart, and a book about Publix customer service." srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xelz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb82965d0-5390-4186-b25b-b2cbbfe87c3b_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Coming Apart Even Further! A tale of two grocery stores &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><h3>We&#8217;ve had a lot of &#8220;weeks where decades happen&#8221; over the past few years &#8230;</h3><p>2012 feels like a lifetime ago now. The choice for President that year was either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. Romney represented Bush-era Wall-Street-friendly neo-conservatism, while Obama represented Clinton-era Wall-Street-friendly neo-conservatism in blackface. Most Americans were happy with at least one of these two options, and they believed that their vote really mattered.</p><p>Back in 2012, <em>Operation Iraqi Freedom</em> was officially over, and the GWOT forever wars seemed to be finally winding down. Maybe instead of wasting all those billions of dollars in the Middle East, we&#8217;d finally start spending that money rebuilding our own aging infrastructure here at home. One had reason to hope!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>Back then, most states did not recognize homosexual marriages. If you lived in middle America, you could still go about your daily routines and never once see a &#8220;<a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/pride-goeth-before-the-collapse">Pride Flag</a>&#8221; in real life. Maybe you knew (or more likely, knew <em>of</em>) someone who was gay, but they didn&#8217;t parade their sexual degeneracy in front of everyone&#8217;s faces. &#8220;Don&#8217;t ask, don&#8217;t tell&#8221; was still the official policy of the military, and that was also the custom by which most Americans were happy to abide (at least in &#8220;flyover country&#8221;): <em>whatever two consenting adults want to do with each other behind closed doors is their business; I don&#8217;t want to know about it</em>. (Some wild-eyed Bible thumpers warned that the &#8220;gay rights movement&#8221; was a slippery slope that would end in child-grooming and pedophilia; turns out the Bible thumpers were 100% right and all the credentialed experts were 100% wrong &#8212; something that has turned out to be the case about a lot of other things over the past 13 years.)</p><p>We had not yet experienced the hysterical moral panic of the <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/didndoonuffin-blm-poster-child-gets">BLM</a> (Blacks Looting and Murdering) movement. Violent crime rates were still trending downwards, after having fallen steadily since the early 90s, and America&#8217;s big cities had once again become desirable places to live. You could still make the case, without sounding totally ridiculous, that race relations in America were improving and that Obama&#8217;s presence in the White House was a sign that racial distinctions were less important than socioeconomic ones. (Hadn&#8217;t that been the lesson of the Occupy Wall Street protests the year before?)</p><p>Back in 2012, most people understood that the country&#8217;s biggest and most prestigious newspapers had an ideological bias, but those newspapers were still widely considered to be <em>factually reliable</em>. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed, &#8220;You are entitled to your own views; you are not entitled to your own facts.&#8221; Maybe the <em>New York Times</em> editorial page skewed liberal, but the front-page news stories were all factually accurate, <em>right</em>? They wouldn&#8217;t just make shit up and pass it off as fact, <em>right</em>? And they certainly wouldn&#8217;t coordinate with the CIA and with other media outlets to peddle bullshit on an industrial scale and manipulate Americans into going along with an enemy agenda, <em>right</em>? I mean, sure, there used to be an Operation Mockingbird and all, but that was <em>decades ago</em> and all that corruption had been fixed, <em>right</em>? In 2012, sober-minded and politically astute adults still trusted the nation&#8217;s newspapers of record, like the <em>New York Times</em> and the <em>Washington Post</em>, to get their facts right. (How quaint that sentiment seems today!)</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/coming-apart-even-further-a-tale?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/coming-apart-even-further-a-tale?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p>Another institution most of us still trusted in 2012 was modern healthcare. For the most part, people still took the Surgeon General&#8217;s warnings seriously, and if &#8220;studies showed&#8221; something to be the case, most of us trusted that it was, in fact, the case. At the very least, pretty much everyone trusted their family doctor to give sound medical advice. For most of us, if the doctor said you or your kids needed a vaccination, you accepted whatever was in that shot without question. (How incredible that sounds today!)</p><p>A lot has changed, obviously, since 2012. As the infamous Lenin quote goes, there are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen. The past 13 years have had a lot of weeks where decades happened.</p><h3>Or Maybe We&#8217;ve Just Become More Aware of How Things Have Always Been (at Least in Living Memory)</h3><p>Or maybe, instead of saying that a lot has changed, it would be more accurate to say that the underlying reality of our situation has really not changed all that much, but that many of us (myself included) have finally become aware of that reality. In other words, we had <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/advice-for-the-recently-red-pilled">the red pill</a> rammed down our naive gullets. Looking back, I know I feel stupid to have ever trusted the institutions and public officials like I did. It all seems so obvious in hindsight that everything was a lie, but some of us, myself included, believed those lies for as long as we could.</p><p>13 years ago, all the regime&#8217;s best marketing slogans &#8212; <em>Diversity is our strength! We have to end our dependence on fossil fuels! We are a nation of immigrants! They hate us because of our freedom!</em> &#8212; may have been complete nonsense, but this nonsense was thoughtlessly believed by something like a supermajority of Americans. Sure, there were public figures who (ostensibly) criticized the regime publicly, but such criticisms almost always accepted as valid the core tenets of the regime narrative. </p><p>Real criticism of the regime&#8217;s founding myths were all safely outside the Overton Window, and unless you knew where to look and were specifically looking for it (meaning, effectively, that you already knew the regime&#8217;s founding myths were complete bullshit), you could spend all day sifting through the &#8220;marketplace of ideas&#8221; and never once hear anything that would make you suspect the whole thing was a giant con.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 41% off an annual subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off"><span>Get 41% off an annual subscription!</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[An Honest Question for Blackpillers]]></title><description><![CDATA[You raise some valid concerns. Suppose everything you warn us of comes to pass. What then?]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/an-honest-question-for-blackpillers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/an-honest-question-for-blackpillers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2025 14:51:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:1855682,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;An Honest Question for Blackpillers &#8230; AI-generated image of culture warriors discussing what to do&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/i/158063763?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="An Honest Question for Blackpillers &#8230; AI-generated image of culture warriors discussing what to do" title="An Honest Question for Blackpillers &#8230; AI-generated image of culture warriors discussing what to do" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!vPeD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fff3403f4-1ce0-4768-9c96-cb01294f25a3_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><em>An Honest Question for Blackpillers &#8230;</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Lately a lot of my <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/life-after-civilizational-cancer">blog posts</a> and <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/be-careful-what-you-agree-to">podcast episodes</a> have been about the issues splintering the coalition formerly known as the Dissident Right. Unless you&#8217;re the one in power, you basically have three choices:</p><ol><li><p><em>Fight</em> the power; </p></li><li><p><em>Join</em> the power; Or </p></li><li><p><em>Ally tentatively</em> with the power, in the hopes of getting <em>something</em> rather than <em>nothing</em> from the regime. </p></li></ol><p>During the <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/kamala-harris-is-a-psychopath">Biden/Harris</a> administration, the choice was easy: fight the power.</p><p>But now Trump is in office, and things are a little trickier. He has done a lot of things we all said we wanted, but . . . He exempted Israel and Egypt when he halted foreign &#8220;aid&#8221; payments (in reality, funding for social engineering projects on behalf of Globohomo). He has promised to release the Epstein files, and his AG released them to Zionist neocon-artist influencers, rather than just posting the PDFs online. He has talked about taking over Gaza, so that it is our responsibility, rather than Israel&#8217;s, to clean up the mess tha&#8230;</p>
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Life after Civilizational Cancer?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Trump 2.0 is (mostly) crushing right now. Here are my thoughts about what that means and what comes next ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/life-after-civilizational-cancer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/life-after-civilizational-cancer</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 02:20:59 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png" width="1024" height="608" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:&quot;normal&quot;,&quot;height&quot;:608,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Uncle Sam recovering in a hospital bed after intense chemotherapy to fight off an aggressive civilizational cancer known as Marxcissism &#8230;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Uncle Sam recovering in a hospital bed after intense chemotherapy to fight off an aggressive civilizational cancer known as Marxcissism &#8230;" title="Uncle Sam recovering in a hospital bed after intense chemotherapy to fight off an aggressive civilizational cancer known as Marxcissism &#8230;" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MQvg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6e91c50e-3fa0-451d-a963-25d13f29a965_1024x608.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Uncle Sam recovering in a hospital bed after intense chemotherapy to fight off an aggressive civilizational cancer known as Marxcissism &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><p>I&#8217;ve been rethinking a lot of things lately. It&#8217;s uncanny how synchronicities work. It&#8217;s like Life suddenly and repeatedly grabs you by the shoulders and turns you towards a particular direction, when you&#8217;d rather focus your attention elsewhere, and it keeps doing this until you finally catch on and start wondering what it is Life is trying to show you.</p><p><a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/promethean-fire-with-rurik-skywalker">My recent conversation</a> with <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Rurik Skywalker&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:66153654,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F97ff7728-944e-43b2-b276-e4a6125f7fbc_569x400.png&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;db9f61a4-f7d4-414d-910b-74ac8f4032e0&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> was of a piece with other things that have come up recently for me. Books that had sat on my reading list for some time suddenly started urging me to read them, and the timing couldn&#8217;t have been better. I had some routine conversations that unexpectedly veered off into the realm of spirituality and metaphysics. Out of nowhere, I started stumbling upon repeated references to the television show <em>Lost</em>, which has some intense esoteric imagery like something out of a dream,<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a> so I&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/life-after-civilizational-cancer">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Just Say No to Blackpills]]></title><description><![CDATA[Evaluating Trump's cabinet picks in light of the bigger picture]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/just-say-no-to-blackpills</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/just-say-no-to-blackpills</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 26 Nov 2024 06:22:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png" width="672" height="378" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:672,&quot;bytes&quot;:1122601,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Cartoon of Trump telling a young MAGA supporter Just say &#8220;No!&#8221; to blackpills&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Cartoon of Trump telling a young MAGA supporter Just say &#8220;No!&#8221; to blackpills" title="Cartoon of Trump telling a young MAGA supporter Just say &#8220;No!&#8221; to blackpills" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!YChb!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F709df35d-397f-445f-a851-2d735f780571_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Just say &#8220;No!&#8221; to blackpills</figcaption></figure></div><p>We Americans are less than three weeks removed from the biggest election in living memory, and we&#8217;re already taking for granted what happened that day and how well everything has been going since. For the past decade (if not longer), criminal insanity has become so commonplace that normal life feels anticlimactic and even boring. So many of us (<a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/signs-of-the-times">including me</a>) were expecting things to go completely off the rails this year, and that&#8217;s probably what <em>would have</em> happened had Trump not fortuitously turned his head and thereby missed <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reactions-to-the-attempted-assassination">being assassinated</a> by mere inches. I was also expecting the Left to steal the election and for the theft to be so obvious that it would put the final nail in the Republic&#8217;s coffin, but thankfully, we got a <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/trumps-win-gave-us-a-reprieve">four-year reprieve</a>. WWIII hasn&#8217;t happened &#8212; yet &#8212; although <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/608194-us-admits-russia-strikes/">the outgoing Biden Administration seems hell bent on starting it</a> before Trump can take office. For now, at least, things appear to be getting back to normal. </p><p>Of course, this new &#8220;normal&#8221; is tenuous. It&#8217;s like the newfound sense of sanity that an alcoholic experiences after a couple weeks&#8217; sobriety: he sees the wreckage left behind by several years of wild benders and knows that cleaning it up will be an uphill battle, but he also feels his mind getting clearer and his body getting healthier, and he starts thinking that maybe Life is worth living after all.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 41% off an annual subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/41off"><span>Get 41% off an annual subscription!</span></a></p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Once and Future President]]></title><description><![CDATA[He came, he saw, he won reelection.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-once-and-future-president</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-once-and-future-president</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 09 Nov 2024 16:17:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png" width="468" height="321.8048780487805" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:733,&quot;width&quot;:1066,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:468,&quot;bytes&quot;:1240693,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;The once and future President -- Trump survives assassination attempt -- four months later he wins reelection&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="The once and future President -- Trump survives assassination attempt -- four months later he wins reelection" title="The once and future President -- Trump survives assassination attempt -- four months later he wins reelection" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0W_Y!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F82775ff3-5603-4f70-a915-5c43b1a52cb7_1066x733.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Trump, the once and future President</figcaption></figure></div><p>On election night, I didn&#8217;t even bother to check the results before I went to bed. I knew Trump would be winning, but in the back of my mind, I feared that no matter how big a lead Trump had, by the time I woke up in the morning, his apparent victory would have been buried beneath an avalanche of fraudulent ballots. Just like in 2020, but even more infuriatingly obvious this time. Thankfully, I was wrong.</p><p>Just to recap events prior to election day, Trump&#8217;s enemies had already tried to <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reactions-to-the-attempted-assassination">assassinate him</a> twice, and Soros DAs<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a> had waged all-out lawfare against him to keep him out of office. After all that, they surely feared retribution for their crimes. I expected them to unleash everything left in their arsenal in a final attempt to subvert the election (all to &#8220;protect our democracy,&#8221; of course). </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p>Voter fraud has been the bread and butter of urban Democratic Party machines for decades.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-3" href="#footnote-3" target="_self">3</a> Now that mail-in ballots make it easier than ever for Democrats to ma&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-once-and-future-president">
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Rising Counter-Elite]]></title><description><![CDATA[RFK, Jr.'s announcement of an alliance with Trump is another sign of the deepening schism among the West's ruling class, and *that* is something to celebrate.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-rising-counter-elite</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-rising-counter-elite</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 24 Aug 2024 19:15:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/f_ALJjWS2n4" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>RFK, Jr. <a href="https://robertfkennedyjr.substack.com/p/why-i-am-suspending-my-campaign-for">announced yesterday</a> that he is (effectively) dropping out of the race and supporting Donald Trump&#8217;s campaign for President. There have even been rumors of a cabinet position, and today Kennedy joined Trump onstage at a campaign rally.<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-rising-counter-elite">
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          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reactions to the attempted assassination of Trump ]]></title><description><![CDATA[The losers running this clown-show are pathetic. They're still occupying seats of power and have their slimy fingers on enough Samson options to be dangerous, but they're losing control rapidly ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reactions-to-the-attempted-assassination</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reactions-to-the-attempted-assassination</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 14 Jul 2024 20:33:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png" width="498" height="410.82151029748286" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:721,&quot;width&quot;:874,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:498,&quot;bytes&quot;:784515,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Of mice and men &#8230; The regime's pet congressweasels on J6 vs President Trump after the assassination attempt.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Of mice and men &#8230; The regime's pet congressweasels on J6 vs President Trump after the assassination attempt." title="Of mice and men &#8230; The regime's pet congressweasels on J6 vs President Trump after the assassination attempt." srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QKKA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc2e6ba56-a490-4780-956e-403d9bdad063_874x721.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Of mice and men: the regime&#8217;s pet congress-vermin on January 6th vs President Trump moments after surviving an attempted assassination.  </figcaption></figure></div><p>A lot of virtual ink has already been spilled discussing yesterday&#8217;s attempted assassination of President Trump. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Neoliberal Feudalism&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:114509837,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/20e25d4a-3870-41f7-988f-121cff662c8f_400x400.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;3554c597-4d76-4b83-863d-dacc5f047f9d&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> has <a href="https://neofeudalreview.substack.com/p/on-the-trump-assassination-attempt">an insightful and persuasive analysis</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> based on what we know so far. <span class="mention-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;John Carter&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:44654668,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;user&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:null,&quot;photo_url&quot;:&quot;https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8192017a-3a9f-407d-9e21-6d64993c1fa4_640x640.jpeg&quot;,&quot;uuid&quot;:&quot;c60cd1b5-4adf-4dc6-9f33-8aa24fde294c&quot;}" data-component-name="MentionToDOM"></span> also wrote <a href="https://barsoom.substack.com/p/crying-havoc">an excellent post</a><a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-2" href="#footnote-2" target="_self">2</a> about it. Both essays are well worth reading, as they cover this topic from different angles. There&#8217;s not much left to say about the event itself (at least given the limited information presently available), but people&#8217;s <em>reactions</em> to the event provide some interesting food for thought, especially when compared to the the way people responded to previous events like 9/11, the JFK assassination, and Pearl Harbor.</p><p>Like practically everyone else who was alive at the time, I clearly remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard the news about 9/11, and I remember my reaction: disbelief, shock, horror, confusion, anger, and a feel&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reactions-to-the-attempted-assassination">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Holy Day of Our Civic Religion]]></title><description><![CDATA[That hardly anyone believes in or practices anymore, but there is real greatness there to be rediscovered and celebrated.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-holy-day-of-our-civic-religion</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-holy-day-of-our-civic-religion</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 04 Jul 2024 16:33:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png" width="524" height="294.75" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:524,&quot;bytes&quot;:1402434,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Happy Independence Day, America &#8230; the high holy day of our civic religion -- images of American Revolution and July 4 1776&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Happy Independence Day, America &#8230; the high holy day of our civic religion -- images of American Revolution and July 4 1776" title="Happy Independence Day, America &#8230; the high holy day of our civic religion -- images of American Revolution and July 4 1776" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!8NxF!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F926c7375-0616-4de0-ab3a-f3918d2dbe8e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Happy Independence Day, America &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><p>In <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-american-experiment-was-a-success">America</a>, today is Independence Day. Or simply, &#8220;The Fourth.&#8221; As a holiday, it&#8217;s been completely emptied of meaning. Now it&#8217;s just a day off work and an excuse to fire up the grill, drink beer, and watch fireworks. However, I am somehow old enough to have grown up in a time and place where it was still celebrated as <em>the</em> High Holy Day of our civic religion. If Washington&#8217;s birthday was our Christmas, then Independence Day was our Easter, the dawn of a new creation in which the will of heaven was brought into perfect alignment with the government of men.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p>Obviously, by the time I was being brought up in this civic religion, that golden age was a distant memory, but the faith itself was still strong and continued to claim the loyalty and affection of millions of Americans. We had our pantheon of heroic demigods, immortalized in our monuments, and we had our mythologized accounts of their heroic deeds. We had out holy texts, to wit, <em>The Declaration of Inde&#8230;</em></p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-holy-day-of-our-civic-religion">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The United States of Freier-dom]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sorry Americans, our "greatest ally" just isn't all that into us ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-united-states-of-freier-dom</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-united-states-of-freier-dom</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 04:06:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg" width="456" height="456" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1024,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:456,&quot;bytes&quot;:140233,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;The United States of Freier-dom, where simping for Israel is a way of life &#8230; A skinny hipster dressed as Uncle Sam waving an Israeli Flag and celebrating America's \&quot;greatest ally.\&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="The United States of Freier-dom, where simping for Israel is a way of life &#8230; A skinny hipster dressed as Uncle Sam waving an Israeli Flag and celebrating America's &quot;greatest ally.&quot;" title="The United States of Freier-dom, where simping for Israel is a way of life &#8230; A skinny hipster dressed as Uncle Sam waving an Israeli Flag and celebrating America's &quot;greatest ally.&quot;" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TU0T!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F273cf3e7-a973-4f31-b2fd-a9f24a7fe906_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The United States of Freier-dom, where simping for Israel is a way of life &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Why are we Americans such schlemiels, suckers, and simps for Israel? As the (apparently) <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/jeffrey-epsteins-ex-says-he-boasted-about-being-a-mossad-agent">Mossad honeypot operation known as Jefrey Epstein</a> showed, our oligarchs and politicians are getting some play out of the deal, at least. But what&#8217;s in it for the rest of us?</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p>Before we consider this question further, a couple of quick caveats are in order. First, anti-Zionism does <em>not</em> equal antisemitism: <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/mike-benz-candace-owens-2024">not all Jews are Zionists</a>, and not all Zionists are Jews. In America, <em>MOST</em> Zionists are <em>NOT</em> Jews, but are instead the kind of evangelical <a href="https://rumble.com/v3my5ov-israeli-police-arrest-five-people-for-spitting-on-christians.html">Christians whom Israelis like to spit on</a>. Second, ditching Israel as a &#8220;greatest ally&#8221; doesn&#8217;t mean we have to go and immediately run into the arms of the <a href="https://www.notonyourteam.co.uk/p/meet-the-omnicause">pro-Palestinian camp</a>. In spite of the popular saying that &#8220;the enemy of my enemy is my friend,&#8221; if you&#8217;re an American, then the folks who loudly chant &#8220;death to America&#8221; are probably <em>not</em> your friend either. Sometimes, when the Hatfields are warring against the McCoys, the best thing for third parties to do is to <em>not get involved</em>. Our first (and likely our only truly great) President, George Washington, had something to say about this in <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/george-washington-farewell-address-1796">his farewell address</a>:  </p><blockquote><p><em>Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government . . . Excessive partiality for one foreign nation and excessive dislike of another cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots who may resist the intrigues of the favorite are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests. </em>&#8212; George Washington (1796)</p></blockquote><p>It&#8217;s a good thing Washington didn&#8217;t live to see the <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/they-dont-make-war-criminals-like">neo-con-artist cabal hijack America&#8217;s foreign policy</a> as ruthlessly and efficiently as a gang of Saudi terrorists (who had absolutely no link to the &#8220;<a href="https://gregreese.substack.com/p/the-zionist-death-grip-on-the-united">dancing Israelis</a>&#8221;) hijacking an airplane on 9/11.</p><p>So let&#8217;s consider America&#8217;s &#8220;special&#8221; (in the sense of &#8220;special Olympics&#8221; and &#8220;special needs&#8221;) relationship with Israel. From America, Israel gets money, weapons, protection, and unfettered access to all our elected officials. It&#8217;s obvious why Israel wishes to remain our &#8220;greatest ally.&#8221; But what exactly does America get out of this relationship? Forever wars? Enemies around the world? The complete corruption of &#8220;our democracy?&#8221; <a href="https://reason.com/2024/05/02/antisemitism-awareness-act-congress-israel-protests/">Restrictions on our First Amendment rights</a>?</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p>
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The American Experiment Was a Success!]]></title><description><![CDATA[We learned a lot about what works and what doesn't, about how to keep a republic, and how to lose it ...]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-american-experiment-was-a-success</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-american-experiment-was-a-success</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 08 Jun 2024 18:07:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg" width="520" height="520" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:1024,&quot;width&quot;:1024,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:520,&quot;bytes&quot;:153726,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;The American Experiment was a success! Uncle Sam performs an experiment with test tubes in a lab.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="The American Experiment was a success! Uncle Sam performs an experiment with test tubes in a lab." title="The American Experiment was a success! Uncle Sam performs an experiment with test tubes in a lab." srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QZ6F!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd7614b0d-8fcd-4fc9-8169-277c4ac6ab3e_1024x1024.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The American Experiment was a success! We learned a lot about how to keep a republic, and how to lose it &#8230;</figcaption></figure></div><p>Today, we find ourselves on unstable footing atop a precipice. We are at a unique vantage point in history. Looking back, we can remember what it felt like to believe in the promises of America&#8217;s ideals, but we can also see the illusory hopes and fears that bewitched us and caused us to lose sight of those ideals. As we look forward, we can see our impending and inevitable descent into an uncertain, post-collapse future. One thing <em>is</em> certain: we cannot remain where we are. Indeed, we are already accelerating towards a terrible inflection point, and it would take an absolute miracle of biblical proportions to halt our momentum now. But what we <em>can</em> do, while we are still relatively close (in time) to our civilization&#8217;s peak, is to take in the big-picture view of our past, so that we can understand where it all went wrong, and then pass those lessons along to our descendants. The Ame&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/the-american-experiment-was-a-success">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[I am Feminism: hear me screech!]]></title><description><![CDATA[With feminists, as with other malignant narcissists, the *real* issue is never what they say it is; rather, it's their addiction to attention and control, which they will lie, cheat, and steal to get.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/i-am-feminism-hear-me-screech</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/i-am-feminism-hear-me-screech</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 26 May 2024 15:12:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png" width="1280" height="720" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:1280,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:940971,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;I am Feminism; hear me screech! The malignant narcissists d/b/a postmodern feminists are finding that their spell is breaking, and nobody wants to play their stupid games anymore. Photo of Talor Lorenz, Luke Crywalker, and the Wicked Witch of the West.&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="I am Feminism; hear me screech! The malignant narcissists d/b/a postmodern feminists are finding that their spell is breaking, and nobody wants to play their stupid games anymore. Photo of Talor Lorenz, Luke Crywalker, and the Wicked Witch of the West." title="I am Feminism; hear me screech! The malignant narcissists d/b/a postmodern feminists are finding that their spell is breaking, and nobody wants to play their stupid games anymore. Photo of Talor Lorenz, Luke Crywalker, and the Wicked Witch of the West." srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!A9Om!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4590c762-7911-4499-9a84-3080752f788e_1280x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><em><strong>I am Feminism; hear me screech!</strong></em> The malignant narcissists d/b/a postmodern feminists are finding that their spell is breaking, and nobody wants to play their stupid, manipulative mind-games anymore.</figcaption></figure></div><p>Malignant narcissists<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>, like postmodern feminists, crave attention and control over others like junkies crave their next fix, and like junkies, they will lie, cheat, and steal in order to feed their addiction. They will violate boundaries and betray trust, and then act shocked and aggrieved when people stop accepting their promises and excuses. </p><p>&#8220;How could you do this to me?!&#8221; narcissists will scream at the longsuffering friend or family member who has finally had enough and decided to put his foot down. They beg and plead, and when that doesn&#8217;t work, they lay on a guilt trip, which is every bit as impassioned as it is illogical, and when <em>that</em> doesn&#8217;t work, they lash out with angry threats and insults. And that&#8217;s how they treat <em>their own family and friends</em>, so imagine how shamefully they trea&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/i-am-feminism-hear-me-screech">
              Read more
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      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nikki Haley: She Gets Us!]]></title><description><![CDATA[A modest post in support of Nikki Haley for President, brought to you by Banksters for a Ukrainian Genocide and The Transnational Church of Satan!]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/nikki-haley-she-gets-us</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/nikki-haley-she-gets-us</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2024 21:08:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Imagine, if you will, a political leader with the electrifying charisma of Jeb! Bush, the feminine charm of Hillary Clinton, and a greater lust for war than both Jeb! Bush and Hillary Clinton combined! If what I&#8217;ve described sounds too good to be true, then say <em>hello</em> to Nimrata &#8220;Nikki&#8221; Haley!</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png" width="524" height="524" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:720,&quot;width&quot;:720,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:524,&quot;bytes&quot;:814635,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Banksters for a New Ukraine at a Nikki Haley for President campaign rally&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Banksters for a New Ukraine at a Nikki Haley for President campaign rally" title="Banksters for a New Ukraine at a Nikki Haley for President campaign rally" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Elh1!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F398af514-b32f-4d0d-ab73-e4137b7b85ce_720x720.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption"><em>Banksters for a Ukrainian Genocide</em> endorse Nikki Haley for President!</figcaption></figure></div><p>The great Will Rogers once observed that &#8220;America has the best politicians that money can buy.&#8221; Nikki Haley is proud to carry on this tradition of public service for private profit. Like her neo-con-artist hero, <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/they-dont-make-war-criminals-like">George W. Bush</a>, Ms. Haley is &#8220;a uniter, not a divider.&#8221; As her recent presidential campaign has shown, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/biden-campaign-reports-42-million-in-january-fundraising-8e477187">Ms. Haley brings together wealthy mega-donors from both sides of the political aisle</a>. Very shrewd people who make their living valuing assets agree: Nikki Haley is the best Republican candidate for their money!</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/nikki-haley-she-gets-us">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Check Your Black Privilege]]></title><description><![CDATA[An off-the-cuff twitter rant in response to a black race grifter]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/check-your-black-privilege</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/check-your-black-privilege</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 20 Dec 2023 06:15:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9jnK!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F97b7731e-b408-44e4-9511-c9a07a87ad44_439x733.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes these twitter spats are ridiculous. And even when you&#8217;re making a valid point that is absolutely true and needs to be considered by more people, how much good is your little tweet going to really do? But sometimes, someone just catches you at the right moment and says something so absurd and intellectually lazy or dishonest that you just lose your shit and unload on them with both barrels. </p><p>Granted, such a response is usually unproductive, given how few the number of people are who will actually see it &#8212; and the even tinier number who may see it and reconsider their beliefs about the issue as a result &#8212; and even more than that, the vanishingly small, practically to the point of being nonexistent, number of people who will see it and reconsider their beliefs on the issue, and who will also happen to have a large enough influence to be able to change the world, at least as it pertains to the issue at hand.</p><p>But sometimes, you just have to get it off your chest. And as a white man<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a>&#8230;</p>
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA["Hate Speech" Bad, but Pedophiles Are Okay???]]></title><description><![CDATA[Interesting to note which platforms the pro-censorship Conformmunists have a problem with, and which ones they don't . . .]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/hate-speech-bad-but-pedophiles-are</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/hate-speech-bad-but-pedophiles-are</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 05 Dec 2023 03:38:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png" width="445" height="390" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:390,&quot;width&quot;:445,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:352518,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!qymw!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5774f2a3-8496-4555-9159-da3cb62bf9cb_445x390.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">So Jonathan Katz, Marisa Kabas, and Amran Gowani want to be Substack&#8217;s hall monitors! Well, isn&#8217;t that special!</figcaption></figure></div><p>So the Church Ladies of Substack, <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/conformmunism-isnt-cool">Conformmunist</a> clowns like <a href="https://theracket.news/p/more-on-substacks-nazis">Jonathan M Katz</a>, <a href="https://substack.com/@hollymathnerd/note/c-44565767">Marisa Kabas</a>,<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> and <a href="https://substack.com/@agowani/note/c-44465939">Amran Gowani</a>, have decided this platform has a problem. Apparently, there&#8217;s too much freedom of speech, meaning people might utter an impure thought that would offend their virginal minds. But no worries! These brave moral crusaders are proposing the perfect solution: deputize them and their fellow travelers as Substack&#8217;s official Hall Monitors. They will make sure everyone behaves themselves at all times and nobody discusses any ideas of which the regime does not approve.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Get 25% off a paid subscription!&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/25percentoff"><span>Get 25% off a paid subscription!</span></a></p><p>Sadly, my previous posts about <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/marxcissist-mania-is-sweeping-america">Marxcissist maniacs</a> and their <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/reject-the-marxist-mind-games">crybully mind-games</a>, which were written the last time a cabal of commie Karens demanded censorship on Substack back in April, have turned out to be evergreen. The names may be different, but the NPC hive mind programming and passive-aggressive <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/guerilla-morality">guerilla mo&#8230;</a></p>
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          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/hate-speech-bad-but-pedophiles-are">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[They Don't Make War Criminals Like They Used To!]]></title><description><![CDATA[Reflections on the charm and charisma of George W. Bush after seeing him throw out the first pitch of the World Series, and some comparisons of War Pigs Past and Present . . .]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/they-dont-make-war-criminals-like</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/they-dont-make-war-criminals-like</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 05 Nov 2023 15:59:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png" width="485" height="457.1264367816092" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:574,&quot;width&quot;:609,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:485,&quot;bytes&quot;:588793,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Today&#8217;s War Criminals Lack the Charm and Charisma of George W. Bush&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/png&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="Today&#8217;s War Criminals Lack the Charm and Charisma of George W. Bush" title="Today&#8217;s War Criminals Lack the Charm and Charisma of George W. Bush" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EaCB!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc804e9db-5989-42a0-92ac-4b51e01f0e4e_609x574.png 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Today&#8217;s War Criminals Lack the Charm and Charisma of George W. Bush</figcaption></figure></div><h3>We Celebrate War Criminals When They&#8217;re Charming!</h3><p>I watched a little bit of the first game of the recent World Series between the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. They had the Rangers&#8217; former owner, George W. Bush, throw out the opening pitch. Watching Bush walk to the pitcher&#8217;s mound, I remarked, to no one in particular, &#8220;Oh look, there&#8217;s a war criminal!&#8221;</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p>My eight-year-old daughter, who was also watching the game, asked me whether Bush was a &#8220;bad guy.&#8221; Even though Bush was every bit the &#8220;war criminal&#8221; the Brandon regime now accuses Putin of being, I suddenly felt a strange reluctance to condemn him. Why? What stopped me? As bad as it sounds, Bush had turned on his jovial charm for the cameras, and on a visceral level, the spell was working. I felt a twinge of cognitive dissonance &#8212; could someone who projects such a warmhearted, likeable image really be bad? </p><p>It took the G.O.P. many years, and the iconoclastic &#8230;</p>
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          <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/they-dont-make-war-criminals-like">
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Beware the Bamboozlers]]></title><description><![CDATA[We must prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually for the whirlwind of bullshittery that we&#8217;re going to be facing from warmongering politicians and media shills, because it is coming at us fast.]]></description><link>https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/beware-the-bamboozlers</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/beware-the-bamboozlers</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Daniel D]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 12 Oct 2023 02:34:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1556195332-95503f664ced?crop=entropy&amp;cs=tinysrgb&amp;fit=max&amp;fm=jpg&amp;ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHw0fHxtYWdpY3xlbnwwfHx8fDE2OTcwNzYyMzB8MA&amp;ixlib=rb-4.0.3&amp;q=80&amp;w=1080" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" 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class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg role="img" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><title></title><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Beware the Bamboozlers!</figcaption></figure></div><p>In my <a href="https://aghostinthemachine.substack.com/p/israels-911#details">last podcast episode</a>,<a class="footnote-anchor" data-component-name="FootnoteAnchorToDOM" id="footnote-anchor-1" href="#footnote-1" target="_self">1</a> I discussed how, after 9/11, our natural human feelings were weaponized against us by psychopaths in our own government. The painful lessons from that era are applicable now. As President George W. Bush once so eloquently said, &#8220;<em>Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on &#8212; uh &#8212; well, you&#8217;re not gonna fool me again!</em>&#8221; </p><p><a href="https://www.wrathofthewendigo.com/">Clay Martin</a> posted a pair of videos on a similar theme today that I strongly encourage you to watch. </p><h3>Video #1: String Pulling</h3>
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