How the US government will be overthrown ... again

For those who say the United States is not the same country they grew up in, I agree. In addition to the peaceful transfer of power, the government is impacted significantly on an ongoing basis that can only be described as a subtle, morphing style coup d'etat perpetrated by groups of privileged. But the best -- or most dramatic -- is yet to come, and will be the greatest shift of power the country has ever experienced.

Money is the root of all evil and the same can be said about a new cryptocurrency-driven economy. Bitcoin and its ilk are being leveraged to undermine the dollar, along with the full faith and credit of the United States government, effectively sliding wealth quietly out from under unsuspecting capitalists. But at the end of the day all forms of money are just stand-ins for privilege, which is the boiled-down meaning of wealth and greed.

The privileged class makes policy as it always had, and keeps the dangerous class -- those who might threaten to dethrone them -- with less stature and standing.

If the the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve lose the ability to affect monetary policy, then the power to regulate the economy, for the current players, at least, will evaporate.

As we were reminded in 2007, speculative markets have a jaw-dropping impact on the economy, but have long been the domain of fund owners, stockholders and trading agents, to the exclusion of the workforce -- those who actually produce wealth through the making of goods & services -- and the consumer market, which is drawn from and supported by the former.

We are seeing a fluid shift in influencers who hold the lion's share of power and privilege on our soil and across the earth. I predict the total collapse of the US dollar as the measure of wealth and privilege on a global scale. But they are the sham power brokers; the only reason they have any real power is through smoke and mirrors.

Since before the turn of the century, speculative markets have been glamourized to the extent that it was commonplace for grocery store clerks, cops and factory workers to trade stocks and bonds as a means to improve their situations. And through frugal, thoughtful investments many did ... right up until the fall of 1929, the period when paper wealth disintegrated.

But this lesson in smart money has been lost to history through a terrible education system that either mischaracterized or misunderstood the Wall Street Crash.

My suggestion to working folks is to run fast from cryptocurrency and blockchain-based instruments and focus on using your earnings to maintain material needs. I have said many ways that true wealth is owning property and possessing means, knowledge and skill as consideration for goods and services.

If you're one of the lucky ones who's ignorance is bliss, and you don't concern yourself with the prospects of the US Dollar as a going concern, then let me caution you away from the facts:

• The national debt as of this writing is $29 trillion, 140% of total GDP
• The government created from thin air enough money to quadruple the money supply in the last two decades, from less than $5 trillion to $21 trillion
• Federal revenue from individual taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes and tariffs is shrinking at an alarming rate

A University City, Missouri police sergeant detained a man who flipped the bird and demanded identification

 

On May 9, 2021 a sergeant with the University City, Missouri Police Dept. detained and demanded the identification of a man after receiving a middle-finger salute.

Sgt. Larry Becton approached the man and accused him of "aimlessly walking around" and insisted that he provide ID.

"Do you live over here," Becton asked. "It's not an option. Right now you're being detained ... for suspicious activity," the officer said.

"I will take you to the station and get your ID," Becton repeated.

The suspect, who asked to remain anonymous, asked,  "Is this because I flicked you off?"

As Becton demanded the man stand up, presenting his handcuffs, said, "I'm going to put you in handcuffs right now. Go ahead and resist if you want to." He then reached into the man's pocket and fished out his wallet. "For future reference, young man, you don't disrespect the police like that" the police sergeant said.

Sgt. Becton eventually released the individuals he had detained without any charges.

See the encounter.

Jury acquits Minneapolis man in self-defense shooting

Back in May of 2020 a group of men in a plain white van drove through the streets of Minneapolis shooting at people, injuring several. One man, Jaleel Stallings of St. Paul, who was struck by one of the bullets, returned fire in self defense. For that, the men then climbed out of the van and proceeded to beat Stallings, calling him a "worthless piece of shit." These are undisputed facts.

But there's so much more to the story. The militants in the van were actually Minneapolis police officers who were enforcing a nighttime curfew in the days after the George Floyd murder, committed by officers of the same police force. For daring to defend himself, police arrested Stallings for attempted murder and assault -- charges which prosecutors had the nerve to pursue. But thankfully jury sided with the victim and acquitted him.

Police will tell you that they used "less-lethal" bullets, but in video footage recently released by Stallings' attorney, distinguishing rubber from lead is nearly impossible.

In a story published by The Associated Press, rubber bullets used in this attack on protesters and the working press, were referred to as "nonlethal," but tell that to the 53 people who were killed by them, or the 300 hundred left permanently disabled, between 1990 and 2017. Police routinely use "less-lethal" measures, like firing taser hooks and rubber bullets, as punishment for daring not to capitulate to their power and authority.