If the threat of "armed insurrectionists" and "domestic terrorists" is as great as some claim, why do they have to keep lying and peddling crude media fictions about it?
You forgot the hallmark of true authoritarian conspiracy nuts: the fact that nothing happened on March 4 is proof that the "counter-measures" worked, and need to be maintained and (god willing!) enhanced.
"You forgot the hallmark of true authoritarian conspiracy nuts: the fact that nothing happened on March 4 is proof that the "counter-measures" worked, and need to be maintained and (god willing!) enhanced."
Good point.
They win either way. If there's violence, it shows their warnings were prescient. If there's none, it shows their warnings were effective.
Robert Barnes and others had been warning for past 2 years that Qanon is run by the Intel agencies and telling people to stay the f away from it. There’s a reason why no one is yet questioning who’s running qanon.
The last Q drop on the 6th was a link to Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It.’ Hmmm. It was a very sophisticated psyop, with enough truth to sustain and grow. The overarching theme is total war on populism.
A "sophisticated" war on "populism"? To whom does The "We" in "We're Not Gonna Take It" refer?
Don't get me wrong: You are right. Q is TOTALLY a Statist chimera, made possible by an in-the-tank-for-the-State media, and for one purpose only: dragnet for libertarians. See, Conservatives have shown they can easily be co-opted with croni-Capitalism, but the libertarians, they're a tougher nut to crack, with that "stupid" individual freedom running through their veins.
It was a sophisticated psyop. Very few missteps or tells. The wacky stuff was never actually in the drops.
But the last drop - morning of - pulled the mask off, completely...as does the fact that we don’t (and won’t) know Q’s identity despite Q’s ‘culpability’ and total spectrum surveillance.
Long game trap, nurtured with patience and skill. Impressive, really. Shows some respect for Deplorables. Indicates the road back to legit self governance is 10,000 miles of broken glass
The anti-populists have always been their elite urban progressive cousins, with also elite socialist academics feeding those "we are one" inclusiveness. Both are forcing cultural and societal self-destruction to collapse everything into total equality. Whatever level the society and its economy collapses into is acceptable to them so long as they, the elite, remain not too damaged.
I've been telling people that if the MAGA fanatics on 1/6 had read more Sun Tzu and less of Trump's stupid tweets, they would've never accepted any invitation to walk into the Capitol building after there was already a melee outside. No security force does that unless getting people inside was part of some offensive plan. It's pretty obvious that the MAGA dupes waltzed right into a fairly well planned narrative/optics trap that never put anyone in Congress at risk but gave the FBI a long list of "terrorists" to destroy for years of political hysteria value.
That sounds about right. In fact, it's one of the few observations on the actions of the Capitol Police that day that make any sense.
Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into these events. Or not. I'm beginning to adopt the general attitude that suspecting the very worst about any national political event is the safest and most realistic option.
In fact someone posted footage early on, now lost in the flood of keywords, of the very first rush past the perimeter barricades on the outskirts of the grounds and even there the cops were pushing back and fighting them, they were just overrun.
I'm not sure the actions of the cops trying to beat back a crushing onslaught with batons and CS gas before being overpowered needs any explanation.
Yes, and there was also footage of the doors being opened and the protestors waved into the Capitol... AFTER there was already fighting outside. That makes absolute zero sense from a security point of view, none.
Considering the hyperbolic, breathless coverage surrounding Qanon - and the fact that a VERY leaky Fed almost certainly knows who it is - the absence of follow-up stories concerning Q's "real" identity certainly suggests it was an Intelligence operation.
Fed typically refers to the Federal Reserve. Assuming you mean it as the govt more generally, they likely don't know who Q is. It could be Russian or Chinese intelligence, or simply an American troll, but as long as they're using the right browser and basic security software like VPN there's no way to determine who they are. People have run entire darkweb marketplaces with billions of $ of illegal sales for years without being caught because it's so difficult to penetrate the tech, and to my knowledge, every single time a DW market was shut down it was a sloppy user mistake rather than overpowering the anonymizing technology.
Quite honestly, I thought it was a massive internet troll from Day 1.
It could be a bored 58 year old nerd in his mom's basement.
It could be a group of Russians in St. Petersburg figuring out how best to mess with the US. It could be the same in China, or Iran. (Twitter has had to flag and remove hundreds of thousands of accounts from foreign actors who push tribalism; 180k in 2020 alone: https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/information-operations-june-2020.html )
But, sure, it could be CIA, I suppose.
Whoever it was, they apparently use a pretty good VPN.
As I noted above, the ten million indoctrinated "we know better than you do" guardians of "correct" thinking will keep them from influencing us too much.
The Left knows at some point the 5% who truly embrace and practice freedom independence and autonomy will say “Done!!!”
Except when that happened in 1776, the real patriots and committed independents didn’t have to worry their neighbors and fellow citizens would stab them in the back fighting for freedom. But, we surely do today...
It's like the campfire joke at Cub Scout camps: An older Scout or adult comes out on stage pretending to spray from a can. Then a younger Scout comes out and asks what they're doing. "I'm spraying giraffe repellant." "But there are no giraffes here!" "See - it works!"
It's called a "groaner" because of the predictable audience reaction. At least, though, the Cub Scouts are smart enough to see that it's a joke ...
Qanon is a sad joke. I think it helped recruiting for certain stupid groups of people inclined to wrong-headed magical thinking. Mostly kkk/white christian nationalist/stupid fucking redneck groups. That's why some of the same language like "the storm" is used interchangeably in these movements. MSM loves covering qanon because it checks several boxes for news entertainment. They are of no significance. I do look forward to seeing all the documentaries and the various Q tattoos the next few years.
The major players don't subscribe to qanon. They are lying low for a while. We're probably looking at an attempt of something on scale between OK city and 9/11. The heat is on and they may not be able to pull off anything big. Which could lead to many smaller scale attacks on soft targets. My guess would be mass shootings and pipe bombings. Once these turds realize things aren't going to end the way they want it, they'll probably engage in their own personal storms in a purge mentality of sorts. They work in small pods so this will tough to stop.
The overzealous security after 1/6 seems more like TSA still requiring us to take our shoes off going through airport security than some totalitarian counter measure. Both are done for show and serve no purpose. I hope there are smart people working on anti-terrorism that are good at their jobs. We do not have a rich history in our country of handling nuanced things like anti-terrorism (international or domestic) very well. I hope it's different this time.
Same thing for the Covid lockdown. The death rate is low because of the lockdown, and if we end it lots of people will die. This issue is related to Bobby Soave's article "America's Lost Generation": https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/americas-lost-generation
The fascination here is how the two conspiracy cults--Qanon and BlueAnon--are mutually reinforcing. And how members of each might be feeling the way Henry Emmons, a follower of William Miller, who predicted the second coming for October 22, 1844:
"I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come;– I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o'clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain– sick with disappointment."--Wikipedia, "Great Disappointment"
I recall reading a fairly modern example of belief perseverance detailed in a study on the subject.
A doomsday cult predicted the end of the world would come on X day. As believers, they would be spared. They all divested themselves of their worldly possessions and met in one place to pray.
When the end of the world didn't happen, the leader proclaimed that they had been witness to a miracle. The power of their prayers and their faith was so great, it had saved the entire world. "O Great Day!"
Not only did they come away from the event more certain than before that their beliefs were The Truth, they also became more enthusiastic in their proselytization efforts.
Perhaps Mr. Emmons would have not fallen into a two day funk had he been told his prayers had helped stave off the end of all things.
Er...the entire QAnon subject is to instill the fear of conspiracy to the point of turning DC into an armed camp ringed by the Pelosian Guard. I have worked inside the beltway for 25 years and the only mention I’ve ever heard of QAnon is from CNN, MSNBC, and the Washington Post. I do know however that when I changed my screen name to ‘CIA owns the WaPo’ I was immediately banned from the reader comments section. There’s a conspiracy theory for you.
Hell, the battle is lost, the war is over. Q, Blue, or whatever, we are in a one party state, media on board, tech in full throated support. The revolution was actually not televised (thank you, Gill Scott Heron) it happened while the world watched something else.
I first posted months ago about being afraid to live in my own adopted country for the first time in my life. I came here as a one year old child from the Philippines with my mother, the new foreign wife of a soldier returning from the Vietnam War in 1966. When we were stateside, we lived mostly here in the South and it wasn’t easy for my mother to be seen as “colored” or for me to be seen as a small step above being black in south GA. I entered my 1st grade year in 1971, the first year the school was integrated at that level. Before that, I was only allowed to attend a segregated kindergarten. I know more about racism than most of the know-NOTHINGS protesting in our city streets today. Now, my fear has only grown...& it’s NOT Trump supporters that I fear.
Thank you for remaining true to your core beliefs in free speech, Mr. Greenwald. I don’t think I’m overstating how valuable that is.
Is that a threat? Do you know something about M. michele morgan that we should know? Why should she/he/them worry about being stopped by a "policeman"? Who are you, Red? Come clean. That's my real name. What's yours?
Conservative here. It’s not my side that is pursuing cancel culture, doxing, shaming, book banning and censoring. These are the authoritarian moves of the left.
I have been following the travails of Jodi Shaw, avowed liberal,formerly of Smith College, who resigned her position and refused to take a financial settlement that would have bought her silence. She is speaking out against the outright racism against white people like herself that has become a college norm everywhere now. Confess your white guilt? What?! She is planning to sue Smith. She set up gofundme and paypal, and is amazed at the support pouring in from “the right”. Of course the right supports someone who is brave enough to choose freedom over comfort.
How many on the left pay for subscriptions to conservative publications and want to know how others think?
The left is worse, they've infected our nation's HR departments, but the right also bears watching sometimes. They're trying to censor books in Tennessee and in Kentucky they're trying to make it illegal to insult cops, for Pete's sake.
I do check in a lot with publications on the right and, at least for the moment, there's an unusually great diversity of thought. Here's hoping that the ones who genuinely want to help the working class (not just seem to, for political purposes) win out.
You got me there, M. russian bot, but I never liked those old monickers like "Commie" and "Pinko" (where DID pinko come from?). I did see a movie called Reds, I think, which (I could be mistaken) seems to perfectly fit the current discussion.
Look, M. Sonja is living her Marxist past. There, is that better?
You sent a message to me asking about how I might feel the next time a policeman stops me? Bless your heart, you’re just so pitiable with your generalizations. You only demean yourself, my dear, when you allow your assumptions to be based upon nothing more than your own selectively limited perspective.
You think someone else is deluded? I have not voted in a presidential election in the 21st century except this year, for La Riva, to protest Leonard Peltier's continued incarceration, and did so in person on election day. I only voted for Obama and Sanders in the primaries. At no time did I vote for any ticket with a Biden on it. So much for your febrile perspicuity.
What sort of a "move" is it when heavily armed civilians invade state capitol buildings in protest of COVID restrictions, or act as de facto law enforcement with the encouragement of local police on the scene?
I'm not minimizing what is happening at Smith. I had a taste of it where I taught as adjunct (not my main gig) and left, of course. When you realize someone can destroy you out of malice or on a whim, and that nothing you can say or do will matter, while they will be rewarded for it, or at least remain unscathed, the chill and foreboding you feel is unique. But these people don't have guns. There's at least that.
"Subscriptions?" Oh please. I see you're sheltered.
That's because you're rational. Culture wars are ALWAYS a diversion, no matter who is playing. There is something quite different going on that they all have an interest in diverting you from seeing. Glenn has been great in shedding light on that.
Are you two people, Red? Or maybe a committee? Or a.......commune? You sure talk in innuendo, as if you can't seem to come to a.....collective decision?
You always go halfway there, and then end with ad hominem. Come on, state plainly your philosophy and politics. Are you an individual, or just an insult committee?
It was plain to see on January 6th, to everyone with even a modicum of intelligence and a passing affinity for reality, that what took place was a riot carried out by a hodgepodge of Trump supporters and others with a variety of grievances. By every conceivable metric (duration, property damage, violent assaults), this riot was much less severe than the dozens of riots that occurred (to the cheers of the same media pundits of elected Democrats decrying the January 6th riot) throughout 2020. Indeed, most of the "casualties" from the riot occurred because the participants were so infirm and elderly they were dropping from heart attacks and strokes.
It was clear from the beginning that the powers-that-be, however, were going to milk this riot for everything they could. The subtle shift in lies surrounding the narrative woven by our Dear Leaders in the days following the riot were important. They very quickly shifted from blaming Trump himself to blaming, "right wing extremists" and "white supremacy". This was a very telling shift, as well as being critical to their strategy. If the source of the problem was Trump (or any specific, identifiable source), then the crisis could eventually be resolved. Trump could be jailed or otherwise eliminated from the scene, and the crisis would be resolved, with all "emergency" powers relinquished. But that isn't the goal. Like the "war on drugs" or the "war on terror", a war against a slogan or an idea has no achievable victory conditions. How can we know when the war against "white supremacy" has been won? How do we know what freedoms are necessary to sacrifice in order to win the war against "dangerous ring-wing extremists"? Who are these enemies? What does one have to do or say to be considered a domestic terrorist who is so dangerous that they cannot be afforded legal or Constitutional rights? What speech is so dangerous that it cannot be allowed?
These things are all undefined and unknowable by design. There are no powers that cannot be claimed, no person that cannot be silenced, no end to the "emergency" that requires this totalitarianism. Even raising questions about the reality "emergency" itself denotes one as someone who probably harbors sympathy for "the enemy" (as evidenced by the treatment received regularly by Greenwald).
Unfortunately, those feebleminded enough to believe that "our very democracy" is at stake and threatens to be toppled by an unhinged mob of racist Trump supporters that want to sow nationwide destruction, are all in. For them, this is an existential threat, where the ends justify the means. Even those with the capacity to perceive a sliver of objective reality and see through some of the lies, see those lies as inconsequential (or even justified and necessary!). After all, if a false narrative about an officer being beaten to death with a fire extinguisher can rally support in the war against evil, right-wing, white-supremacists whose divisions are laying in wait, ready to take over the country, is that really a bad thing?
Many have described the rise of Trump as the "post-truth era". Unfortunately they didn't know how accurate that was.
You are so right, damn it all to hell. It's so infuriating. The machinations of Pelosi and Shumer are so utterly transparent in their invention and manipulation. It drives me crazy how many people fail or refuse to see through it and call it out.
Creating fear is a power grab. At the same time, we are being told that the demons of racism are everywhere and people need to be fired for saying the wrong thing. We are a year into the lockdown, and we are still being told that if we reopen the economy a large number of people will die.
You ask "After all, if a false narrative about an officer being beaten to death with a fire extinguisher can rally support in the war against evil, right-wing, white-supremacists whose divisions are laying in wait, ready to take over the country, is that really a bad thing?"
We have seen this before. It can result in horrible suffering and death. Witness Colin Powell standing before the UN waving photographs of a burned out panel van claiming it was a mobile chemical weapons laboratory.
Yes, Powell et al (and boy that sure was a worldwide Statist clusterf...) did demagogue and dissemble, but his target wasn't Americans.
The Authoritarian Socialists (another term for Fascists, btw) ringing themselves with conscertina wire today have you, freedom-loving Americans, in the crosshairs.
We have NEVER seen this before, not to this level of blatant power-grab.
Most of the feebleminded who believe the ends justify the means are supporting those for whom the means are the ends--incompetents who find material compensation in wielding power with psychopaths and sociopaths telling them how to wield it.
"This is what happens when the demand for insurrection exceeds the supply."
The beauty of the capitalist system is that supply can be adjusted upwards to meet the demand. The FBI have extensive experience in manufacturing 'terrorists' i.e. dupes to whom an FBI informant provides a home made bomb and then turns them in. This simple formula can be used to manufacture a virtually unlimited number of insurrectionists. So while there may be temporary insurrection inflation, the system is ultimately self-correcting.
"So while there may be temporary insurrection inflation, the system is ultimately self-correcting." I love to see an analogy pushed to its limits and continue to function.
I am a socialist and recent events have had me puzzled. What I can say is that today's politicians can be described in the words of cowboy movies as "lily livered." Neither of our 2 Parties represent me. If it were me, I would have gone out to greet the "insurrectionists" and talked with them about their concerns. I am unafraid when it comes to reaching out to those who don't think like I do. what does this say about today's members of Congress that they scuttled Pence out the back door to "safety" when he could have spoken as Trump's VP to the "invaders." To make this short: Elected officials don't know who their constituencies are and fear them because only powerful and wealthy donors matter. Leave it to Glenn to explain a panoply of complicated stuff.
Your mistake is in believing that their rationale is not cynical. With a couple of exceptions that fall into the category of "useful idiots," none of them truly believe an insurrection is occurring or in the process of doing so. This is a power play. I despise drawing comparisons of this nature because it always sounds hyperbolic and stupid, but this is a fake Reichstag Fire.
With each new accusation, the Democrats have upped the stakes. We've gone from Russian meddling to outright insurrection. The hyperbole is rising with each wave of spittle-flecked demagoguery. They know what they're saying is untrue, they just don't care. They have power, they intend to keep it no matter the cost.
The Reichstag actually burned, just the Nazis blamed the communists for what they did themselves. The Democrats are claiming an armed insurrection that didn't even happen.
I am a libertarian and fully agree. As a social liberal I recognize that government has legitimate functions, and one is helping to care for the vulnerable. The social safety nets of Scandinavia are often cited as examples of socialism that works, but the leaders of every Scandinavian country disagree vociferously. They say they are market-based economies, not socialist. I believe them.
As a fiscal conservative I recognize that being a social liberal is a luxury that can only be afforded if we are fiscal conservatives.
I, too, would have greeted the insurrectionists and asked them to speak. The escalating authoritarianism has only one destination: civil war. This is beyond sick.
The reason Scandinavian countries disagree with being labelled socialists is because they practice the exact opposite of what Bernie sanders and his supporters want. Scandinavian Countries have the lowest corporate tax rate and the highest personal income tax rate. This is the exact opposite of what Bernie claims to want as he complains corporations aren’t paying enough taxes. So either Bernie can claim to want to be like Scandinavian countries or he can tell lie and he picked lying. He also used to be vehemently against illegal immigration and even called it “right wing” policy which lowers wages until trump came. Then he did a while 180 on it. I had known Bernie was a fraud since I saw this happen in 2016.
Yes, Scandinavian countries are free market countries with a strong social safety net. I'm not sure why you are claiming that they practice the "exact opposite" of what Bernie Sanders wants. Bernie Sanders wanted to lower personal income taxes on the wealthy? News to me. While there may be differences in Sanders policies vs. Scandinavian policies (which differ between countries), "exact opposite" is not being truthful. He is for taxing the wealthy fairly and using this to fund a social safety net similar to Scandinavian countries. A social safety net that their citizens love for very good reason.
No, you are confusing "wealthy" with someone who makes barely over the average income. Denmark's income tax is 60% on 1.3x the average income (source below). So if average income is $50k, then it means anyone making $65k and over pays 60% in income tax. Also 25% sales tax on everything you buy - from eggs to everything.
Do you think Bernie has told people that he would like to tax 60% any household making $65k? And would you be okay with an extra 25% sales tax on eggs, milk and everything?
Do you think $65k is considered "wealthy"?
Do you think it's wise to pay 60% of your income for the rest of your life in taxes just to get university and health care? Or would it be wise to decide by yourself which insurance you want to pick? Or get it from your employer?
Btw, I am NOT saying US's current health care or education system is any good. I am saying Bernie doesn't tell the truth.
Search through his twitter history. I can point to 8 tweets where he was bashing millionaires and billionaires. Then suddenly he changed his tune to only bashing billionaires and not millionaires because he himself became a millionaire. Can such a person be trusted?
And how does one claim to provide a social safety net while doing a full 180 on their position on illegal immigration? Do you think Scandinavian countries allow illegal immigration? They are the most low population homogenized countries.
Norway also charges 78 percent tax on oil extraction because they have massive reserves. This also doesn't fit the whole environment friendly narrative.
Scandinavian countries are low population homogenized Monarchy's that found wealth through rich oil deposits.
> "Scandinavian countries tend to levy top personal income tax rates on (upper) middle-class earners, not just high-income taxpayers. For example, in Denmark the top statutory personal income tax rate of 55.9 percent applies to all income over 1.3 times the average income. From the American perspective, this means that all income over $65,000 (1.3 times the average U.S. income of about $50,000) would be taxed at 55.9 percent."
> "However, depending on the structure, a VAT can be a regressive tax because it falls more on those that consume a larger share of their income, which tend to be lower-income earners."
> "While Scandinavian countries raise a lot of revenue from individuals through the income tax, social security contributions, and the VAT, corporate income taxes—as in the United States—play a less significant role in terms of revenue. All Scandinavian countries’ corporate income tax rates are lower than the United States’ rate."
> " Norway is situated on large reserves of oil and charges companies a corporate income tax rate of 78 percent on extractive activities."
You forgot the hallmark of true authoritarian conspiracy nuts: the fact that nothing happened on March 4 is proof that the "counter-measures" worked, and need to be maintained and (god willing!) enhanced.
"You forgot the hallmark of true authoritarian conspiracy nuts: the fact that nothing happened on March 4 is proof that the "counter-measures" worked, and need to be maintained and (god willing!) enhanced."
Good point.
They win either way. If there's violence, it shows their warnings were prescient. If there's none, it shows their warnings were effective.
Anyone else beginning to wonder if QAnon has been taken over by the CIA and is now a false flag operation?
Robert Barnes and others had been warning for past 2 years that Qanon is run by the Intel agencies and telling people to stay the f away from it. There’s a reason why no one is yet questioning who’s running qanon.
The last Q drop on the 6th was a link to Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It.’ Hmmm. It was a very sophisticated psyop, with enough truth to sustain and grow. The overarching theme is total war on populism.
A "sophisticated" war on "populism"? To whom does The "We" in "We're Not Gonna Take It" refer?
Don't get me wrong: You are right. Q is TOTALLY a Statist chimera, made possible by an in-the-tank-for-the-State media, and for one purpose only: dragnet for libertarians. See, Conservatives have shown they can easily be co-opted with croni-Capitalism, but the libertarians, they're a tougher nut to crack, with that "stupid" individual freedom running through their veins.
It was a sophisticated psyop. Very few missteps or tells. The wacky stuff was never actually in the drops.
But the last drop - morning of - pulled the mask off, completely...as does the fact that we don’t (and won’t) know Q’s identity despite Q’s ‘culpability’ and total spectrum surveillance.
Long game trap, nurtured with patience and skill. Impressive, really. Shows some respect for Deplorables. Indicates the road back to legit self governance is 10,000 miles of broken glass
The anti-populists have always been their elite urban progressive cousins, with also elite socialist academics feeding those "we are one" inclusiveness. Both are forcing cultural and societal self-destruction to collapse everything into total equality. Whatever level the society and its economy collapses into is acceptable to them so long as they, the elite, remain not too damaged.
Taken over? No. Run, from the beginning?
As I recall, Q’s first post was that Hillary’s arrest was imminent.
Obviously she was never arrested or charged or indicted or “locked up”.
This bogus prognostication should have been. Easy to understand since she is untouchable.
Of course. Holy Mother Hillary is about to be beatified, isn't she?
I've been telling people that if the MAGA fanatics on 1/6 had read more Sun Tzu and less of Trump's stupid tweets, they would've never accepted any invitation to walk into the Capitol building after there was already a melee outside. No security force does that unless getting people inside was part of some offensive plan. It's pretty obvious that the MAGA dupes waltzed right into a fairly well planned narrative/optics trap that never put anyone in Congress at risk but gave the FBI a long list of "terrorists" to destroy for years of political hysteria value.
That sounds about right. In fact, it's one of the few observations on the actions of the Capitol Police that day that make any sense.
Then again, maybe I'm reading too much into these events. Or not. I'm beginning to adopt the general attitude that suspecting the very worst about any national political event is the safest and most realistic option.
There's a shitload of footage of Capitol police pushing back hard on rioters, it just didn't go as viral in some circles because it doesn't feed their desired narrative that they were set-up. One of many, for example - https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/video-shows-capitol-police-cop-getting-crushed-by-protesters/
In fact someone posted footage early on, now lost in the flood of keywords, of the very first rush past the perimeter barricades on the outskirts of the grounds and even there the cops were pushing back and fighting them, they were just overrun.
I'm not sure the actions of the cops trying to beat back a crushing onslaught with batons and CS gas before being overpowered needs any explanation.
Sounds like a slow day in Portland
Yes, and there was also footage of the doors being opened and the protestors waved into the Capitol... AFTER there was already fighting outside. That makes absolute zero sense from a security point of view, none.
Considering the hyperbolic, breathless coverage surrounding Qanon - and the fact that a VERY leaky Fed almost certainly knows who it is - the absence of follow-up stories concerning Q's "real" identity certainly suggests it was an Intelligence operation.
Fed typically refers to the Federal Reserve. Assuming you mean it as the govt more generally, they likely don't know who Q is. It could be Russian or Chinese intelligence, or simply an American troll, but as long as they're using the right browser and basic security software like VPN there's no way to determine who they are. People have run entire darkweb marketplaces with billions of $ of illegal sales for years without being caught because it's so difficult to penetrate the tech, and to my knowledge, every single time a DW market was shut down it was a sloppy user mistake rather than overpowering the anonymizing technology.
From one I saw storming the Capitol, I suspect is the "visitors" in Area 51.
Quite honestly, I thought it was a massive internet troll from Day 1.
It could be a bored 58 year old nerd in his mom's basement.
It could be a group of Russians in St. Petersburg figuring out how best to mess with the US. It could be the same in China, or Iran. (Twitter has had to flag and remove hundreds of thousands of accounts from foreign actors who push tribalism; 180k in 2020 alone: https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/information-operations-june-2020.html )
But, sure, it could be CIA, I suppose.
Whoever it was, they apparently use a pretty good VPN.
Our intel agencies know who Qanon is, but haven't told us AND the media doesn't ask.
It's obviously them.
If so, that's exactly what they would want you to wonder :)
QAnon is chimera.
Always has been.
As I noted above, the ten million indoctrinated "we know better than you do" guardians of "correct" thinking will keep them from influencing us too much.
I think they are real: all four members.
QAnon is probably a product of the CIA, like the KGB used to create organisations, that pushed forward those who likely would resist or make trouble
The Left knows at some point the 5% who truly embrace and practice freedom independence and autonomy will say “Done!!!”
Except when that happened in 1776, the real patriots and committed independents didn’t have to worry their neighbors and fellow citizens would stab them in the back fighting for freedom. But, we surely do today...
Agreed, but I think it's a lot higher than 5%, and growing.
It's like the campfire joke at Cub Scout camps: An older Scout or adult comes out on stage pretending to spray from a can. Then a younger Scout comes out and asks what they're doing. "I'm spraying giraffe repellant." "But there are no giraffes here!" "See - it works!"
It's called a "groaner" because of the predictable audience reaction. At least, though, the Cub Scouts are smart enough to see that it's a joke ...
Same with Covid response.
Same with AGW.
And I thought all this time that "win-win" had fairness as a necessary condition!
Turns, out Democrat "win-win" means "heads I win, tails you lose"!!!
there were no counter measures - there was nothing to counter. that's the point of Glenn's article
Isn't the Guard deployed in DC indefinitely a counter measure?
Same with poverty programs.
Actually, there was a commentator on MSNBC this week saying exactly that.
In that kind of "damned if we do, damned if we don't" narrative atmosphere their actions produce, what the hell can be done to push back against it?
Qanon is a sad joke. I think it helped recruiting for certain stupid groups of people inclined to wrong-headed magical thinking. Mostly kkk/white christian nationalist/stupid fucking redneck groups. That's why some of the same language like "the storm" is used interchangeably in these movements. MSM loves covering qanon because it checks several boxes for news entertainment. They are of no significance. I do look forward to seeing all the documentaries and the various Q tattoos the next few years.
The major players don't subscribe to qanon. They are lying low for a while. We're probably looking at an attempt of something on scale between OK city and 9/11. The heat is on and they may not be able to pull off anything big. Which could lead to many smaller scale attacks on soft targets. My guess would be mass shootings and pipe bombings. Once these turds realize things aren't going to end the way they want it, they'll probably engage in their own personal storms in a purge mentality of sorts. They work in small pods so this will tough to stop.
The overzealous security after 1/6 seems more like TSA still requiring us to take our shoes off going through airport security than some totalitarian counter measure. Both are done for show and serve no purpose. I hope there are smart people working on anti-terrorism that are good at their jobs. We do not have a rich history in our country of handling nuanced things like anti-terrorism (international or domestic) very well. I hope it's different this time.
Same thing for the Covid lockdown. The death rate is low because of the lockdown, and if we end it lots of people will die. This issue is related to Bobby Soave's article "America's Lost Generation": https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/americas-lost-generation
Yep. No wonder people are escaping to red states.
This is happening and a perfect description of quite a few ilibs when I asked why nothing keeps happening with all these dire warnings.
The fascination here is how the two conspiracy cults--Qanon and BlueAnon--are mutually reinforcing. And how members of each might be feeling the way Henry Emmons, a follower of William Miller, who predicted the second coming for October 22, 1844:
"I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come;– I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o'clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain– sick with disappointment."--Wikipedia, "Great Disappointment"
I recall reading a fairly modern example of belief perseverance detailed in a study on the subject.
A doomsday cult predicted the end of the world would come on X day. As believers, they would be spared. They all divested themselves of their worldly possessions and met in one place to pray.
When the end of the world didn't happen, the leader proclaimed that they had been witness to a miracle. The power of their prayers and their faith was so great, it had saved the entire world. "O Great Day!"
Not only did they come away from the event more certain than before that their beliefs were The Truth, they also became more enthusiastic in their proselytization efforts.
Perhaps Mr. Emmons would have not fallen into a two day funk had he been told his prayers had helped stave off the end of all things.
Yeah, but they had to start from $0 again. Do you think they learned THAT lesson? (Probably did individually, and quietly.)
Good god. Take a breath. Take another breath. Now walk a mile or two. The fear of conspiracy will abate and you’ll see more clearly.
Er...the entire QAnon subject is to instill the fear of conspiracy to the point of turning DC into an armed camp ringed by the Pelosian Guard. I have worked inside the beltway for 25 years and the only mention I’ve ever heard of QAnon is from CNN, MSNBC, and the Washington Post. I do know however that when I changed my screen name to ‘CIA owns the WaPo’ I was immediately banned from the reader comments section. There’s a conspiracy theory for you.
Hell, the battle is lost, the war is over. Q, Blue, or whatever, we are in a one party state, media on board, tech in full throated support. The revolution was actually not televised (thank you, Gill Scott Heron) it happened while the world watched something else.
Hearted, except for "the war is over."
TAS/pop122 - talk to me in a couple of years and see how you feel about the war.
If you don’t have the brains to participate in the discussion, don’t.
Lack of brains is a feature of that particular poster.
Also, accuse your enemies of that for which you are guilty. The security state put DC under military occupation to prevent a military occupation of DC
I first posted months ago about being afraid to live in my own adopted country for the first time in my life. I came here as a one year old child from the Philippines with my mother, the new foreign wife of a soldier returning from the Vietnam War in 1966. When we were stateside, we lived mostly here in the South and it wasn’t easy for my mother to be seen as “colored” or for me to be seen as a small step above being black in south GA. I entered my 1st grade year in 1971, the first year the school was integrated at that level. Before that, I was only allowed to attend a segregated kindergarten. I know more about racism than most of the know-NOTHINGS protesting in our city streets today. Now, my fear has only grown...& it’s NOT Trump supporters that I fear.
Thank you for remaining true to your core beliefs in free speech, Mr. Greenwald. I don’t think I’m overstating how valuable that is.
"A small step?" Big enough not to end up in a chain gang I am sure. (See, e.g., Douglas Blackmon) https://books.google.com/books/about/Slavery_by_Another_Name.html?id=2v-BYWrjl9IC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1
Are you Douglas Blackmon, trying to pitch your book?
The next time a policeman stops you, come back and tell us how you felt.
Is that a threat? Do you know something about M. michele morgan that we should know? Why should she/he/them worry about being stopped by a "policeman"? Who are you, Red? Come clean. That's my real name. What's yours?
Conservative here. It’s not my side that is pursuing cancel culture, doxing, shaming, book banning and censoring. These are the authoritarian moves of the left.
I have been following the travails of Jodi Shaw, avowed liberal,formerly of Smith College, who resigned her position and refused to take a financial settlement that would have bought her silence. She is speaking out against the outright racism against white people like herself that has become a college norm everywhere now. Confess your white guilt? What?! She is planning to sue Smith. She set up gofundme and paypal, and is amazed at the support pouring in from “the right”. Of course the right supports someone who is brave enough to choose freedom over comfort.
How many on the left pay for subscriptions to conservative publications and want to know how others think?
The left is worse, they've infected our nation's HR departments, but the right also bears watching sometimes. They're trying to censor books in Tennessee and in Kentucky they're trying to make it illegal to insult cops, for Pete's sake.
I do check in a lot with publications on the right and, at least for the moment, there's an unusually great diversity of thought. Here's hoping that the ones who genuinely want to help the working class (not just seem to, for political purposes) win out.
How do we "help" the working class? Hinder those that would and could hire them to.....work?
Everybody I know knows Trump voters, and knows why they voted as they did.
How many people here are agreeing with you, Red? C'mon, you better up your posting. Maybe you can change someone's mind.
Come on Timothy you should know your colors. It's not Red, it's Commie Pinko, isn't it?
You got me there, M. russian bot, but I never liked those old monickers like "Commie" and "Pinko" (where DID pinko come from?). I did see a movie called Reds, I think, which (I could be mistaken) seems to perfectly fit the current discussion.
Look, M. Sonja is living her Marxist past. There, is that better?
I prefer red diaper doper baby.
I already cancelled my subscription here weeks ago. Runs out in a few days.
Say, I hope your sports betting is better.
You sent a message to me asking about how I might feel the next time a policeman stops me? Bless your heart, you’re just so pitiable with your generalizations. You only demean yourself, my dear, when you allow your assumptions to be based upon nothing more than your own selectively limited perspective.
Thanks! Got any tips?
Who cares what white Americans think? Are you two percent of humanity, or three?
And another shoe drops.
Lol, the CCP isn't going to treat blacks any better than Uighurs.
Why did ALL Trump voters vote as they did, Sonja?
Yeah, and you and everybody YOU know sure could FIX everyone else's vote, since YOU know, not only why we voted for DJT, but how we SHOULD have voted.
You think someone else is deluded? I have not voted in a presidential election in the 21st century except this year, for La Riva, to protest Leonard Peltier's continued incarceration, and did so in person on election day. I only voted for Obama and Sanders in the primaries. At no time did I vote for any ticket with a Biden on it. So much for your febrile perspicuity.
Note I did NOT say you voted for Mr. Biden.
What sort of a "move" is it when heavily armed civilians invade state capitol buildings in protest of COVID restrictions, or act as de facto law enforcement with the encouragement of local police on the scene?
I'm not minimizing what is happening at Smith. I had a taste of it where I taught as adjunct (not my main gig) and left, of course. When you realize someone can destroy you out of malice or on a whim, and that nothing you can say or do will matter, while they will be rewarded for it, or at least remain unscathed, the chill and foreboding you feel is unique. But these people don't have guns. There's at least that.
"Subscriptions?" Oh please. I see you're sheltered.
"...heavily armed civilians..."
You are deluded. I rest my case.
Michigan, Texas, North Carolina, that I can immediately recall, though the list is longer. Unless that was toy gun cosplay.
If you think those were "heavily armed civilians," then you have another think coming.
The FBI said in front of the Senate that not one protestor had a firearm... not one.
I expressly said STATE capitols, in fact. What is wrong with you?
M. Sonja, take your ridiculous ad hominem, and go to Hell.
I was referring to the protests at state capitols, against COVID restrictions (which -- namely, the shutdowns -- I agree were ill conceived).
WOW if your memory, and your tropisms, are that bad, media has you where it wants you.
That's because you're rational. Culture wars are ALWAYS a diversion, no matter who is playing. There is something quite different going on that they all have an interest in diverting you from seeing. Glenn has been great in shedding light on that.
Yep.
Are you two people, Red? Or maybe a committee? Or a.......commune? You sure talk in innuendo, as if you can't seem to come to a.....collective decision?
You always go halfway there, and then end with ad hominem. Come on, state plainly your philosophy and politics. Are you an individual, or just an insult committee?
It was plain to see on January 6th, to everyone with even a modicum of intelligence and a passing affinity for reality, that what took place was a riot carried out by a hodgepodge of Trump supporters and others with a variety of grievances. By every conceivable metric (duration, property damage, violent assaults), this riot was much less severe than the dozens of riots that occurred (to the cheers of the same media pundits of elected Democrats decrying the January 6th riot) throughout 2020. Indeed, most of the "casualties" from the riot occurred because the participants were so infirm and elderly they were dropping from heart attacks and strokes.
It was clear from the beginning that the powers-that-be, however, were going to milk this riot for everything they could. The subtle shift in lies surrounding the narrative woven by our Dear Leaders in the days following the riot were important. They very quickly shifted from blaming Trump himself to blaming, "right wing extremists" and "white supremacy". This was a very telling shift, as well as being critical to their strategy. If the source of the problem was Trump (or any specific, identifiable source), then the crisis could eventually be resolved. Trump could be jailed or otherwise eliminated from the scene, and the crisis would be resolved, with all "emergency" powers relinquished. But that isn't the goal. Like the "war on drugs" or the "war on terror", a war against a slogan or an idea has no achievable victory conditions. How can we know when the war against "white supremacy" has been won? How do we know what freedoms are necessary to sacrifice in order to win the war against "dangerous ring-wing extremists"? Who are these enemies? What does one have to do or say to be considered a domestic terrorist who is so dangerous that they cannot be afforded legal or Constitutional rights? What speech is so dangerous that it cannot be allowed?
These things are all undefined and unknowable by design. There are no powers that cannot be claimed, no person that cannot be silenced, no end to the "emergency" that requires this totalitarianism. Even raising questions about the reality "emergency" itself denotes one as someone who probably harbors sympathy for "the enemy" (as evidenced by the treatment received regularly by Greenwald).
Unfortunately, those feebleminded enough to believe that "our very democracy" is at stake and threatens to be toppled by an unhinged mob of racist Trump supporters that want to sow nationwide destruction, are all in. For them, this is an existential threat, where the ends justify the means. Even those with the capacity to perceive a sliver of objective reality and see through some of the lies, see those lies as inconsequential (or even justified and necessary!). After all, if a false narrative about an officer being beaten to death with a fire extinguisher can rally support in the war against evil, right-wing, white-supremacists whose divisions are laying in wait, ready to take over the country, is that really a bad thing?
Many have described the rise of Trump as the "post-truth era". Unfortunately they didn't know how accurate that was.
You are so right, damn it all to hell. It's so infuriating. The machinations of Pelosi and Shumer are so utterly transparent in their invention and manipulation. It drives me crazy how many people fail or refuse to see through it and call it out.
Creating fear is a power grab. At the same time, we are being told that the demons of racism are everywhere and people need to be fired for saying the wrong thing. We are a year into the lockdown, and we are still being told that if we reopen the economy a large number of people will die.
Bang on!
You ask "After all, if a false narrative about an officer being beaten to death with a fire extinguisher can rally support in the war against evil, right-wing, white-supremacists whose divisions are laying in wait, ready to take over the country, is that really a bad thing?"
We have seen this before. It can result in horrible suffering and death. Witness Colin Powell standing before the UN waving photographs of a burned out panel van claiming it was a mobile chemical weapons laboratory.
No, we haven't seen this before.
Yes, Powell et al (and boy that sure was a worldwide Statist clusterf...) did demagogue and dissemble, but his target wasn't Americans.
The Authoritarian Socialists (another term for Fascists, btw) ringing themselves with conscertina wire today have you, freedom-loving Americans, in the crosshairs.
We have NEVER seen this before, not to this level of blatant power-grab.
Maybe not here but we definitely have seen it before. The Reichstag in 1933 comes to mind.
Most of the feebleminded who believe the ends justify the means are supporting those for whom the means are the ends--incompetents who find material compensation in wielding power with psychopaths and sociopaths telling them how to wield it.
Your comment is an excellent supplement to Glenn's excellent essay. Thank you.
Fuck ‘em. They wanna use 1984 as a handbook? Fine.
The Principles of Newspeak was written in the past tense.
Exactly. The State's "newspeak" is the timeless attempt to destroy individualism, which is the for-all-time enemy of the State.
It’s just not gonna work.
This is what happens when the demand for insurrection exceeds the supply.
"This is what happens when the demand for insurrection exceeds the supply."
The beauty of the capitalist system is that supply can be adjusted upwards to meet the demand. The FBI have extensive experience in manufacturing 'terrorists' i.e. dupes to whom an FBI informant provides a home made bomb and then turns them in. This simple formula can be used to manufacture a virtually unlimited number of insurrectionists. So while there may be temporary insurrection inflation, the system is ultimately self-correcting.
Once again, crony-Capitalism is not Capitalism. It is anti-Capitalism.
"So while there may be temporary insurrection inflation, the system is ultimately self-correcting." I love to see an analogy pushed to its limits and continue to function.
The dreaded insurrection arbitrage...
Doesn’t have anything to do with economic systems but point taken.
You supply siders think you are so clever, don't you? :)
And you non-supply-siders are so happy with your "discovered" crony-Capitalism.
So clever of you to yell. "See? See? Down with Capitalism!"
But maybe I misunderstand M. Scott, with that sneaky :)
:)
When the "demand" is State generated, that is the very definition of Crony-Capitalism, NOT Capitalism.
Well said
I am a socialist and recent events have had me puzzled. What I can say is that today's politicians can be described in the words of cowboy movies as "lily livered." Neither of our 2 Parties represent me. If it were me, I would have gone out to greet the "insurrectionists" and talked with them about their concerns. I am unafraid when it comes to reaching out to those who don't think like I do. what does this say about today's members of Congress that they scuttled Pence out the back door to "safety" when he could have spoken as Trump's VP to the "invaders." To make this short: Elected officials don't know who their constituencies are and fear them because only powerful and wealthy donors matter. Leave it to Glenn to explain a panoply of complicated stuff.
Your mistake is in believing that their rationale is not cynical. With a couple of exceptions that fall into the category of "useful idiots," none of them truly believe an insurrection is occurring or in the process of doing so. This is a power play. I despise drawing comparisons of this nature because it always sounds hyperbolic and stupid, but this is a fake Reichstag Fire.
With each new accusation, the Democrats have upped the stakes. We've gone from Russian meddling to outright insurrection. The hyperbole is rising with each wave of spittle-flecked demagoguery. They know what they're saying is untrue, they just don't care. They have power, they intend to keep it no matter the cost.
How do you know the Reichstag fire wasn't faked?
The Reichstag actually burned, just the Nazis blamed the communists for what they did themselves. The Democrats are claiming an armed insurrection that didn't even happen.
The story is more complicated than that. Nazis bad, duh, but they weren’t behind it either
But regardless, the Nazis, like today's Democratic Party, sure knew how to "use" it. That should be crystal clear in both cases.
I don't think M. Lee meant to imply that. Didn't M. Lee mean to say, "....but this is a fake, like the cause of the Reichstag Fire."
I am a libertarian and fully agree. As a social liberal I recognize that government has legitimate functions, and one is helping to care for the vulnerable. The social safety nets of Scandinavia are often cited as examples of socialism that works, but the leaders of every Scandinavian country disagree vociferously. They say they are market-based economies, not socialist. I believe them.
As a fiscal conservative I recognize that being a social liberal is a luxury that can only be afforded if we are fiscal conservatives.
I, too, would have greeted the insurrectionists and asked them to speak. The escalating authoritarianism has only one destination: civil war. This is beyond sick.
The reason Scandinavian countries disagree with being labelled socialists is because they practice the exact opposite of what Bernie sanders and his supporters want. Scandinavian Countries have the lowest corporate tax rate and the highest personal income tax rate. This is the exact opposite of what Bernie claims to want as he complains corporations aren’t paying enough taxes. So either Bernie can claim to want to be like Scandinavian countries or he can tell lie and he picked lying. He also used to be vehemently against illegal immigration and even called it “right wing” policy which lowers wages until trump came. Then he did a while 180 on it. I had known Bernie was a fraud since I saw this happen in 2016.
https://youtu.be/vf-k6qOfXz0
Yes, Scandinavian countries are free market countries with a strong social safety net. I'm not sure why you are claiming that they practice the "exact opposite" of what Bernie Sanders wants. Bernie Sanders wanted to lower personal income taxes on the wealthy? News to me. While there may be differences in Sanders policies vs. Scandinavian policies (which differ between countries), "exact opposite" is not being truthful. He is for taxing the wealthy fairly and using this to fund a social safety net similar to Scandinavian countries. A social safety net that their citizens love for very good reason.
No, you are confusing "wealthy" with someone who makes barely over the average income. Denmark's income tax is 60% on 1.3x the average income (source below). So if average income is $50k, then it means anyone making $65k and over pays 60% in income tax. Also 25% sales tax on everything you buy - from eggs to everything.
Do you think Bernie has told people that he would like to tax 60% any household making $65k? And would you be okay with an extra 25% sales tax on eggs, milk and everything?
Do you think $65k is considered "wealthy"?
Do you think it's wise to pay 60% of your income for the rest of your life in taxes just to get university and health care? Or would it be wise to decide by yourself which insurance you want to pick? Or get it from your employer?
Btw, I am NOT saying US's current health care or education system is any good. I am saying Bernie doesn't tell the truth.
Search through his twitter history. I can point to 8 tweets where he was bashing millionaires and billionaires. Then suddenly he changed his tune to only bashing billionaires and not millionaires because he himself became a millionaire. Can such a person be trusted?
And how does one claim to provide a social safety net while doing a full 180 on their position on illegal immigration? Do you think Scandinavian countries allow illegal immigration? They are the most low population homogenized countries.
Norway also charges 78 percent tax on oil extraction because they have massive reserves. This also doesn't fit the whole environment friendly narrative.
Scandinavian countries are low population homogenized Monarchy's that found wealth through rich oil deposits.
https://taxfoundation.org/bernie-sanders-scandinavian-countries-taxes/
> "Scandinavian countries tend to levy top personal income tax rates on (upper) middle-class earners, not just high-income taxpayers. For example, in Denmark the top statutory personal income tax rate of 55.9 percent applies to all income over 1.3 times the average income. From the American perspective, this means that all income over $65,000 (1.3 times the average U.S. income of about $50,000) would be taxed at 55.9 percent."
> "However, depending on the structure, a VAT can be a regressive tax because it falls more on those that consume a larger share of their income, which tend to be lower-income earners."
> "While Scandinavian countries raise a lot of revenue from individuals through the income tax, social security contributions, and the VAT, corporate income taxes—as in the United States—play a less significant role in terms of revenue. All Scandinavian countries’ corporate income tax rates are lower than the United States’ rate."
> " Norway is situated on large reserves of oil and charges companies a corporate income tax rate of 78 percent on extractive activities."