Jim, I want to thank you specifically for your brilliant insight, observation that it gets to a point with these people, the devout adherents of Trump, that they mostly stop listening to what he is saying and register above all how he is feeling about a topic and then take on that emotion themselves on that topic. That helps me understand the phenomenon better because II've had such trouble relating to the couple friends I have who have been sucked up into his cult. I, we, do of course listen to the content of what he says, as one should. We do that with everyone else, why shouldn't we do so with him? Why should someone care above all how a lifelong criminal *feels*? That's how they con people. But the Right has managed to pull off this state of affairs with him. Thanks again for your 5 years of good work to understand all of this clearly and accurately. and then commicate it to the world. Much appreciated!
“You can: call, email, and tag state attorneys general and members of Congress on social media. They don’t have to be your own. It only takes one to step up and get this process moving. Remind them: They work for us.
Hold on to your hope. Because again—we don’t need permission to enforce the Constitution. We just need courage.”
Did you all know you can listen to articles if you press the play option in the right hand corner?
Hello my friends. I, in the past months, since I found Jim, and all of you, have learned and grown much. I attended college in the 1970s (god I feel so old saying that!) and this post, more than all the others by Jim, really hit home for me. It is a synopsis which could be the outline of a book, of our current situation. Not only in the US but the world.
There are two things going on in our world, our lives, both internally and externally today that I feel we must observe, study, and exploit in order to break the death spiral that the country, and for that matter the world appears to be in.
I am referring to the violence visited upon two groups: the children of Gaza, and the children exploited by Epstein
The existence of this violence upon children, when seen by all of us, appears to have broken through on some deep human level that I cannot fully explain. Even the hardest maga world is breaking apart, breaking down.
Now we are far from out of the woods. Just look at the vote yesterday to send hundreds of millions of offensive weapons to Israel.
To kill and maim children.
We all have had, or known and loved, children.
I feel that this primal, primitive human connection has the power to undo the chaos of hate and violence that has captured us today.
Thank you Jim, and all of you readers who sustain me.
Thanks a lot for this, Jim! Really, really helpful in understanding this phenomenon. I will use it and your last several articles (though I'm slowly learning that there are valuable insights throughout your bibliogfaphy) as a reference point I return to and attempt to show other people. One thing I've noticed - and you probably have too -- it seems increasingly hard to share articles with people that *they actually read*....people tend to be so vaccuum-sealed in their own "ecosystem" of what they read that asking even a friend to read something that means a lot to me can be an insurmountable request. Anyway, I will try. Some of my friends/family will be willing.
Another poster below brings up an interesting topic. The military, the Americans in it, it's going to be different with each person but that is a subject worthy of investigation. Also, the effort to recruit probably 10s of 1000s of new ICE workers....what is that process like? How is that going? Fascinating material for a documentary that would have access to a good-sized budget...
The ICE recruitment process is going to be a round-up of unqualified ideological extremists. The fallout from that, ie the litigation, is going to last for decades. It's going to be a nightmare.
Well said, thanks. I hadn't considered the litigation that will come from this. It would interest me to learn the process they're using to go about *locating* these unqualified ideological extremists. You figure it's mostly via the internet. Notices on Truth Social, maybe even X, all the places where they *know* these people congregate onliine. Maybe they also use exactly the same methods the Armed Forces do when they try to recruit people. An area learns that they're coming to town and the appropriate people show up. Whatever they're doing it leads to an assemblage of nightmarish individuals. And with the budget they now have they know they can entice them away from their current work and into a new career. Scary stuff.
Trump's base has fallen down this psychological rabbit hole, while many others know he's defective but have chosen self-interest ahead of being advocates for decency and/or moral clarity. Either way, it's not good and all we can do is keep fighting the good fight and hope the pendulum will swing. A good economy requires stability and decent policy, none of which appears to be present in the Trump administration. Ultimately and despite our trauma that's the hill he's going to die on.
Jim, have you read (or at least encountered) the book "Political Ponerology" by Andrew M. Lobaczewski? It has a bizarre history that makes people leery of it— not least the fact that it's published by a sketchy company called Red Pill Press, which also publishes books on space aliens, channeling, pyramid mysteries, etc. But a few years ago the publisher started using a blurb for it by Philip Zimbardo (of the Zimbardo prison experiments)— distinguished Professor of Psychology at Stanford for 40 years and former President of the American Psychological Association— in which he said, “Political Ponerology is fascinating, essential reading.” I was naturally skeptical that this blurb was authentic, but then just a few months before he died last year I happened to run into Zimbardo at a conference, and I asked him whether he had actually said that. And he said, "Yes, I did— it's an extremely important book!" If you haven't read it, you really should: it will give you an enormous amount of supporting data and insights for what you are saying here. [NOTE: just ignore the "Foreward" by Michael Rectenwald in the latest edition— it's a laughable attempt to use the book in support of an alt-right "anti-woke" agenda.] https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Psychopathy-Totalitarianism/dp/1734907452
Thank you, Jim, for another insightful analysis. This information is empowering. It’s like seeing the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. It demystifies the cult leader when you understand the techniques they’re employing. I’ll be sharing this information.
Excellent analysis. Solutions exist if certain steps can be taken. Besides how Maga got trapped into authoritarian causedtrauma added to their previous trauma, the non-Maga population experience trauma from authoritarian betrayals and moves affecting them. Those people are frozen, pleading, disbursed, believing there is no way out, frantic for a solution that their reps were hired to do, but did not. Betrayal, shock of realization of behind the scene players' behaviors and motives permeat their perspective. Now with pedophiles being revealed daily in government with likely blackmail used in government including in all branches add an additional shock to perception of power and how things worked. It was not just Rule of Law but Rule of Law and Blackmail. This later not just for anything but especially set up for pedophiles, who are many. That realization changes perspective.
Another great article Jim! I listened to your British narrator while cooking and misheard "cognitive dissonance" - thought I heard "dissidents". As I noted some of your poimts om a post-it, I realized that my phone's many spy tools could be noting me noting you and flagging me, just like that, as a cognitive dissident. Surely Substack is providing a wealth of data to the Thought Police, I just hope they are being persuaded to think like us.
You get full credit for it, and deserve it. You are helping to change the conversation in America, and many of us are taking what we learn here into the streets. You have proven that we can still stand up to tyrants like Patel and Flynn and the system still has some protections for us, though maybe not for much longer. How do you think cognitive dissonance is affecting our military? Do they really want to kill for sex trafficking arms dealing money launderers?
Dictators don’t last and historically die ugly deaths. I don’t really see this being so different. I’m frightened for the future of the US but believe our citizens can pull it out of this mess of political corruption. Trump will be dead at some point. The cult won’t find a sub and they will also die is my belief and seen as old, old fashioned, worthless as things from the past tend towards. Elvis was once king in a way you had to see, live to understand. All you guys are too young to remember the old ladies hanging on to that or slinging panties at an old tom jones. Sadly this happens when it’s an aging pop culture icon. I think Trump will “go” this way. The children he raped won’t miss him or build monuments. It will help us rebuild as he is not a military figure really. It’s all been a surreal tragedy to live.
Can the memetic target or source be that easily switched when Trump expires? Can millions of people act like that “school of fish” and start to follow someone else? Vance?
Trump is a delivery system. He’s the hired front man gone a little rogue of a trans- international well organized crime org. by now nearly an institution. Become the government. It’s older than Trump stuf as you know. He’s messed a lot up by being so brazen. He’s also revolting as are his people and dumb to boot. Who will follow leader Theil? Johnson? There was a push towards a more accepting world before Trump arrived. Someone had to act to try to capture the USA or we’d be beyond being back to the Stone Age.Anticipated was a backwards moment towards a white only hierarchy since the ‘60’s it was mentioned. I believe the criminal interruption of the development of mankind is possible mostly as a mental exercise. I also believe these are adventures in sci fi as musk and Theil deal. Trump is the Antichrist if we let him. I’m not gonna. I know you won’t.
Jim, I want to thank you specifically for your brilliant insight, observation that it gets to a point with these people, the devout adherents of Trump, that they mostly stop listening to what he is saying and register above all how he is feeling about a topic and then take on that emotion themselves on that topic. That helps me understand the phenomenon better because II've had such trouble relating to the couple friends I have who have been sucked up into his cult. I, we, do of course listen to the content of what he says, as one should. We do that with everyone else, why shouldn't we do so with him? Why should someone care above all how a lifelong criminal *feels*? That's how they con people. But the Right has managed to pull off this state of affairs with him. Thanks again for your 5 years of good work to understand all of this clearly and accurately. and then commicate it to the world. Much appreciated!
This article suggests what to do now - near the end of the article it says to use 14.3 of the Constitution
https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/ex-cia-whistleblower-the-nsa-audited?utm_medium=ios
A quote from the article :
“You can: call, email, and tag state attorneys general and members of Congress on social media. They don’t have to be your own. It only takes one to step up and get this process moving. Remind them: They work for us.
Hold on to your hope. Because again—we don’t need permission to enforce the Constitution. We just need courage.”
Did you all know you can listen to articles if you press the play option in the right hand corner?
Hello my friends. I, in the past months, since I found Jim, and all of you, have learned and grown much. I attended college in the 1970s (god I feel so old saying that!) and this post, more than all the others by Jim, really hit home for me. It is a synopsis which could be the outline of a book, of our current situation. Not only in the US but the world.
There are two things going on in our world, our lives, both internally and externally today that I feel we must observe, study, and exploit in order to break the death spiral that the country, and for that matter the world appears to be in.
I am referring to the violence visited upon two groups: the children of Gaza, and the children exploited by Epstein
The existence of this violence upon children, when seen by all of us, appears to have broken through on some deep human level that I cannot fully explain. Even the hardest maga world is breaking apart, breaking down.
Now we are far from out of the woods. Just look at the vote yesterday to send hundreds of millions of offensive weapons to Israel.
To kill and maim children.
We all have had, or known and loved, children.
I feel that this primal, primitive human connection has the power to undo the chaos of hate and violence that has captured us today.
Thank you Jim, and all of you readers who sustain me.
As we used to say in the 70s
Peace.
Thanks a lot for this, Jim! Really, really helpful in understanding this phenomenon. I will use it and your last several articles (though I'm slowly learning that there are valuable insights throughout your bibliogfaphy) as a reference point I return to and attempt to show other people. One thing I've noticed - and you probably have too -- it seems increasingly hard to share articles with people that *they actually read*....people tend to be so vaccuum-sealed in their own "ecosystem" of what they read that asking even a friend to read something that means a lot to me can be an insurmountable request. Anyway, I will try. Some of my friends/family will be willing.
Another poster below brings up an interesting topic. The military, the Americans in it, it's going to be different with each person but that is a subject worthy of investigation. Also, the effort to recruit probably 10s of 1000s of new ICE workers....what is that process like? How is that going? Fascinating material for a documentary that would have access to a good-sized budget...
The ICE recruitment process is going to be a round-up of unqualified ideological extremists. The fallout from that, ie the litigation, is going to last for decades. It's going to be a nightmare.
Well said, thanks. I hadn't considered the litigation that will come from this. It would interest me to learn the process they're using to go about *locating* these unqualified ideological extremists. You figure it's mostly via the internet. Notices on Truth Social, maybe even X, all the places where they *know* these people congregate onliine. Maybe they also use exactly the same methods the Armed Forces do when they try to recruit people. An area learns that they're coming to town and the appropriate people show up. Whatever they're doing it leads to an assemblage of nightmarish individuals. And with the budget they now have they know they can entice them away from their current work and into a new career. Scary stuff.
I bet the unemployed Oath Keepers and Proud Boys are knocking their doors down. The anti-government militia types, the wanna be cops...the worst. :(
Trump's base has fallen down this psychological rabbit hole, while many others know he's defective but have chosen self-interest ahead of being advocates for decency and/or moral clarity. Either way, it's not good and all we can do is keep fighting the good fight and hope the pendulum will swing. A good economy requires stability and decent policy, none of which appears to be present in the Trump administration. Ultimately and despite our trauma that's the hill he's going to die on.
Jim, have you read (or at least encountered) the book "Political Ponerology" by Andrew M. Lobaczewski? It has a bizarre history that makes people leery of it— not least the fact that it's published by a sketchy company called Red Pill Press, which also publishes books on space aliens, channeling, pyramid mysteries, etc. But a few years ago the publisher started using a blurb for it by Philip Zimbardo (of the Zimbardo prison experiments)— distinguished Professor of Psychology at Stanford for 40 years and former President of the American Psychological Association— in which he said, “Political Ponerology is fascinating, essential reading.” I was naturally skeptical that this blurb was authentic, but then just a few months before he died last year I happened to run into Zimbardo at a conference, and I asked him whether he had actually said that. And he said, "Yes, I did— it's an extremely important book!" If you haven't read it, you really should: it will give you an enormous amount of supporting data and insights for what you are saying here. [NOTE: just ignore the "Foreward" by Michael Rectenwald in the latest edition— it's a laughable attempt to use the book in support of an alt-right "anti-woke" agenda.] https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Psychopathy-Totalitarianism/dp/1734907452
Thank you, Jim, for another insightful analysis. This information is empowering. It’s like seeing the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. It demystifies the cult leader when you understand the techniques they’re employing. I’ll be sharing this information.
This is everything that people in power don’t want us to know! It’s brilliant.
Thanks Jenn. Feel like I finally have a decent handle on it. Now it’s just about spreading awareness and using the information to defeat it.
We gotta blast it out everywhere. 🫡
Excellent analysis. Solutions exist if certain steps can be taken. Besides how Maga got trapped into authoritarian causedtrauma added to their previous trauma, the non-Maga population experience trauma from authoritarian betrayals and moves affecting them. Those people are frozen, pleading, disbursed, believing there is no way out, frantic for a solution that their reps were hired to do, but did not. Betrayal, shock of realization of behind the scene players' behaviors and motives permeat their perspective. Now with pedophiles being revealed daily in government with likely blackmail used in government including in all branches add an additional shock to perception of power and how things worked. It was not just Rule of Law but Rule of Law and Blackmail. This later not just for anything but especially set up for pedophiles, who are many. That realization changes perspective.
Another great article Jim! I listened to your British narrator while cooking and misheard "cognitive dissonance" - thought I heard "dissidents". As I noted some of your poimts om a post-it, I realized that my phone's many spy tools could be noting me noting you and flagging me, just like that, as a cognitive dissident. Surely Substack is providing a wealth of data to the Thought Police, I just hope they are being persuaded to think like us.
Thanks. Actually the phrase cognitive dissidents is in there too :)
You get full credit for it, and deserve it. You are helping to change the conversation in America, and many of us are taking what we learn here into the streets. You have proven that we can still stand up to tyrants like Patel and Flynn and the system still has some protections for us, though maybe not for much longer. How do you think cognitive dissonance is affecting our military? Do they really want to kill for sex trafficking arms dealing money launderers?
Dictators don’t last and historically die ugly deaths. I don’t really see this being so different. I’m frightened for the future of the US but believe our citizens can pull it out of this mess of political corruption. Trump will be dead at some point. The cult won’t find a sub and they will also die is my belief and seen as old, old fashioned, worthless as things from the past tend towards. Elvis was once king in a way you had to see, live to understand. All you guys are too young to remember the old ladies hanging on to that or slinging panties at an old tom jones. Sadly this happens when it’s an aging pop culture icon. I think Trump will “go” this way. The children he raped won’t miss him or build monuments. It will help us rebuild as he is not a military figure really. It’s all been a surreal tragedy to live.
This isn’t Tom Jones—and I’m old enough to remember him. It won’t wear off with Trump. They’ve been rewired.
Can the memetic target or source be that easily switched when Trump expires? Can millions of people act like that “school of fish” and start to follow someone else? Vance?
More like JIM Jones! Great article BYW!
Trump is a delivery system. He’s the hired front man gone a little rogue of a trans- international well organized crime org. by now nearly an institution. Become the government. It’s older than Trump stuf as you know. He’s messed a lot up by being so brazen. He’s also revolting as are his people and dumb to boot. Who will follow leader Theil? Johnson? There was a push towards a more accepting world before Trump arrived. Someone had to act to try to capture the USA or we’d be beyond being back to the Stone Age.Anticipated was a backwards moment towards a white only hierarchy since the ‘60’s it was mentioned. I believe the criminal interruption of the development of mankind is possible mostly as a mental exercise. I also believe these are adventures in sci fi as musk and Theil deal. Trump is the Antichrist if we let him. I’m not gonna. I know you won’t.
Damn right. 🫡
🙏🫡
"History is what the leader says, not what’s in the books. Truth is not discovered, it is dictated."
This is what we're about to learn courtesy of Grizly Maxwell and Donald Trump, the Charles Manson of American politics. A fantastic presentation, Jim.