JOLIET, IL — A standoff Thursday morning with a rifle-wielding man in a downtown parking deck ended without injury
The man is going through a divorce, a source told Patch, and was armed with a rifle equipped with a sniper scope. He was on the third deck of the four-story garage opposite Harrah’s Casino. The man was taken out of the parking deck on a gurney and transported to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center via ambulance.
The man had not been identified by police Thursday morning.
The man drove into the deck in a silver Ford Focus and called his wife, who then called police, said Deputy Chief Al Roechner.
Joliet, Cass and Clinton streets were blocked off during the incident. The nearby Will County Courthouse was evacuated and put on a soft lockdown as a precaution. Two ambulances and a SWAT team assembled near the parking deck, and two K-9 units were deployed inside the garage. Photo: Joseph Hosey | Patch
Turkey has reportedly struck 63 targets in Syria this morning, in a vengeance attack on ISIS in Jarablus.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Senat RP/Polish Senate
AFP, 24/08/16 07:48
Turkey’s army and international coalition forces on Wednesday started an operation to drive Islamic State jihadists out of a key Syrian border town, a statement from the Turkish prime minister’s office said.
“The Turkish Armed Forces and the International Coalition Air Forces have launched a military operation aimed at clearing the district of Jarablus of the province of Aleppo from the terrorist organisation Daesh,” it added, using an Arabic acronym for IS group.
The state-run news agency Anadolu said the operation began at around 4 am local time (0100 GMT).
Turkish F-16 jets dropped bombs on IS targets in Jarablus — the first such assault since a November crisis with Russia sparked by the downing of one of Moscow’s warplanes by the Turkish air force, the private NTV television reported.
Security sources quoted by Turkish television said a small contingent of special forces travelled a few kilometres into Syria to secure the area before a possible operation.
Broadcaster CNN-Turk reported that Turkish artillery hit 63 targets in Syria.
Several mortar rounds from IS-held Jarablus hit the Turkish border town of Karkamis on Tuesday, prompting the army to pound the jihadist positions on Syrian soil with artillery strikes.
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The new batch of emails showing that the State Department gave special access to top Clinton Foundation donors while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state brings to mind the case of a shady Miami businessman serving a 12-year prison sentence after scamming the government out of millions. His name is Claudio Osorio, a Clinton Foundation donor who got $10 million from the government after the Clinton State Department reportedly pulled some strings.
Osorio got the money from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a federal agency that operates under the guidance of the State Department, to build houses in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. The OPIC supposedly promotes U.S. government investments abroad to foster the development and growth of free markets. Osorio’s “Haiti project” was supposed to build 500 homes for displaced families in the aftermath of the earthquake. The project never broke ground and Osorio used the money to finance his lavish lifestyle and fund his illicit business ventures. He also ran a fraudulent international company with facilities in the U.S., United Arab Emirates, Germany, Angola and Tanzania that stole millions from investors. Some of the OPIC Haiti money was used to repay investors of his fraudulent company (Innovida), according to federal prosecutors. In September 2013, Osorio was sentenced to 150 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
Not surprisingly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) never mentioned Osorio’s Clinton connections and seemed to downplay the $10 million scam of taxpayer funds by focusing on the “victims” that invested in his bogus company. Among them was a beloved professional basketball star. “Osorio offered and sold shareholder interests and joint-venture partnerships in Innovida to select individuals and groups, raising more than $40,000,000 from approximately ten (10) investors and investment groups in the United States and abroad,” a DOJ statement says. “Osorio solicited and recruited investors by making materially false representations and concealing and omitting material facts regarding, among other things, the profitability of the company, the rates of return on investment funds, the use of investors’ funds and the existence of a pending lucrative contract with a third-party entity. Osorio received moneys from investors based on these misrepresentations. Osorio used investor monies for his and his co-conspirators’ personal benefit and to maintain and further the fraud scheme.”
The bigger story is that, despite Osorio’s shady history, it appears that the Clinton State Department helped him get $10 million—which will never be repaid—because he was a Clinton Foundation donor. This connection was not made until years after Osorio got sentenced. After his 2013 sentencing in Miami, the area’s largest newspaper tied him to the Clintons and President Obama as a campaign donor who held fundraisers at his waterfront home, but the foundation was not mentioned. A Washington D.C. newspaper eventually connected the dots after obtaining a document that shows an OPIC official recommending funding for Osorio’s Haiti project. In the document, the OPIC official writes that Osorio’s company had “U.S. persons of political influence that are able to assist in advancing the company’s plans.” It continues: “For instance, former President Bill Clinton is personally in contact with the Company to organize its logistical and support needs,” the document states. “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made available State Department resources to assist with logistical arrangements.” Additionally, the Clinton Global Initiative had “indicated that it would be willing to contract to purchase 6,500 homes in Haiti from InnoVida within the next year.”
Less than 24 hours after the OPIC official submitted the recommendation, the news report says, OPIC approved Osorio’s $10 million loan to build homes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Not one was ever built and no one has been held accountable for giving the crooked businessman millions of taxpayer dollars.
Crown Prince of Bahrain Forced to Go Through Foundation to See Clinton, after Pledging $32 Million to Clinton Global Initiative
Hollywood Executive Casey Wasserman, Slimfast Mogul Daniel Abraham, Controversial Appointee Rajiv Fernando also among Clinton Foundation Donors Granted Special Favors from Clinton State Department
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch today released 725 pages of new State Department documents, including previously unreleased email exchanges in which former Hillary Clinton’s top aide Huma Abedin provided influential Clinton Foundation donors special, expedited access to the secretary of state. In many instances, the preferential treatment provided to donors was at the specific request of Clinton Foundation executive Douglas Band.
The new documents included 20 Hillary Clinton email exchanges not previously turned over to the State Department, bringing the known total to date to 191 of new Clinton emails (not part of the 55,000 pages of emails that Clinton turned over to the State Department). These records further appear to contradict statements by Clinton that, “as far as she knew,” all of her government emails were turned over to the State Department.
The Abedin emails reveal that the longtime Clinton aide apparently served as a conduit between Clinton Foundation donors and Hillary Clinton while Clinton served as secretary of state. In more than a dozen email exchanges, Abedin provided expedited, direct access to Clinton for donors who had contributed from $25,000 to $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. In many instances, Clinton Foundation top executive Doug Band, who worked with the Foundation throughout Hillary Clinton’s tenure at State, coordinated closely with Abedin. In Abedin’s June deposition to Judicial Watch, she conceded that part of her job at the State Department was taking care of “Clinton family matters.”
Included among the Abedin-Band emails is an exchange revealing that when Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain requested a meeting with Secretary of State Clinton, he was forced to go through the Clinton Foundation for an appointment. Abedin advised Band that when she went through “normal channels” at State, Clinton declined to meet. After Band intervened, however, the meeting was set up within forty-eight hours. According to the Clinton Foundation website, in 2005, Salman committed to establishing the Crown Prince’s International Scholarship Program (CPISP) for the Clinton Global Initiative. And by 2010, it had contributed $32 million to CGI. The Kingdom of Bahrain reportedly gave between $50,000 and $100,000 to the Clinton Foundation. And Bahrain Petroleum also gave an additional $25,000 to $50,000.
From: Doug Band To: Huma Abedin Sent: Tue Jun 23 1:29:42 2009 Subject:
Cp of Bahrain in tomorrow to Friday
Asking to see her
Good friend of ours From: Huma Abedin To: Doug Band Sent: Tue Jun 23 4:12:46 2009 Subject: Re:
He asked to see hrc thurs and fri thru normal channels. I asked and she said she doesn’t want to commit to anything for thurs or fri until she knows how she will feel. Also she says that she may want to go to ny and doesn’t want to be committed to stuff in ny… From: Huma Abedin [Huma@clintonemail.com] Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:35:15 AM To: Doug Band Subject:
Offering Bahrain cp 10 tomorrow for meeting woith [sic] hrc
If u see him, let him know
We have reached out thru official channels
Also included among the Abedin-Band emails is an exchange in which Band urged Abedin to get the Clinton State Department to intervene in order to obtain a visa for members of the Wolverhampton (UK) Football Club, one of whose members was apparently having difficulty because of a “criminal charge.” Band was acting at the behest of Casey Wasserman, a millionaire Hollywood sports entertainment executive and President of the Wasserman Foundation. Wasserman has donated between $5 million and $10 million to the Clinton Foundation through the Wasserman Foundation.
From: Tim Hoy [VP Wasserman Media Group] Date: Tue. 5 May 2009 10:45:55 – 0700 To: Casey Wasserman Subject: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
Casey: Paul Martin’s [popular English footballer] client [Redacted] needs to get an expedited appointment at the US Embassy in London this week and we have hit some road blocks. I am writing to ask for your help.
The Wolverhampton FC is coming to Las Vegas this Thursday for a “celebration break.” [Redacted] so he cannot get a visa to the US without first being “interviewed” in the visa section of the US Embassy in London …
I contacted Senator Boxer’s office in SF for help … They balked at the criminal charge and said they “couldn’t help.”
I’m now trying to get help from Sherrod Brown’s office but that’s not going well either. So do you have any ideas/contacts that could contact the US Embassy in London and ask that they see [Redacted] tomorrow? From: Casey Wasserman To: Doug Band; Trista Schroeder [Wasserman Media Group executive] Sent: Tue May 05 2:23:50 2009 [PT] Subject: FW [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
Can you help with the below [Hoy email], or maybe Huma??? I am copying trista as I am on the plane in case I lose connection … thx. From: Doug Band Sent: Tue May 05 7:08:21 2009 [ET] To: Casey Wasserman; Trista Schroeder Subject: Re: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
Will email her. From: Doug Band To: Huma Abedin Sent: Tue May 5 7:26:49 2009 Subject: Fw: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
[As per subject line, Band apparently forwarded Abedin material sent to him by Casey.] From: Huma Abedin [Huma@clintonemail.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 7:39:38 PM To: Doug Band Subject: Re: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
I doubt we can do anything but maybe we can help with an interview. I’ll ask. From: Huma Abedin To: Doug Band Sent: Tue May 05 5:50:09 2009 Subject: Re: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
I got this now, makes me nervous to get involved but I’ll ask. From: Doug Band To: Huma Abedin Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 7:43:30 PM Subject: Re: [Redacted] Wolverhampton FC/visa matter
Then don’t
The Abedin emails also reveal that Slimfast tycoon S. Daniel Abraham was granted almost immediate access to then-Secretary of State Clinton, with Abedin serving as the facilitator. According to the Clinton Foundation website, Abraham, like the Wasserman Foundation, has given between $5 million and $10 million to the Clinton Foundation. The emails indicate that Abraham was granted almost immediate access to Clinton upon request:
From: Huma Abedin To: H Sent: Mon May 04 4:40:34 2009 Subject: Danny
Danny abraham called this morning. He is in dc today and tomorrow and asked for 15 min with you. Do u want me to try and fit him in tomorrow? From: H To Huma Abedin Sent: Mon May 04 5:14:00 2009 Subject: Re: Danny
Will the plane wait if I can’t get there before 7-8? From: Huma Abedin Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 5:15:30 PM Subject: Re: Danny
Yes of course
Additional Abedin emails in which the top Clinton aide intervenes with the State Department on behalf of Clinton Foundation donors include the following:
On Friday, June 26, 2009, Clinton confidant Kevin O’Keefe wrote to Clinton saying that “Kevin Conlon is trying to set up a meeting with you and a major client.” Clinton wrote to Abedin, “Can you help deliver these for Kevin?” Abedin responded, “I’ll look into it asap” Kevin O’Keefe donated between $10,000 and $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Kevin Conlon is a Clinton presidential campaign “Hillblazer” who has raised more than $100,000 for the candidate.
On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, Ben Ringel wrote to Abedin, “I’m on shuttle w Avigdor Liberman. I called u back yesterday. I want to stop by to see hrc tonite for 10 mins.” Ringel donated between $10,000 and $25,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
On Monday, July 6, 2009, Maureen White wrote to Abedin, “I am going to be in DC on Thursday. Would she have any time to spare?” Abedin responded, “Yes I’ll make it work.” White donated $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
In June 2009, prominent St. Louis political power broker Joyce Aboussie exchanged a series of insistent emails with Abedin concerning Aboussie’s efforts to set up a meeting between Clinton and Peabody Energy VP Cartan Sumner. Aboussie wrote, “Huma, I need your help now to intervene please. We need this meeting with Secretary Clinton, who has been there now for nearly six months. This is, by the way, my first request. I really would appreciate your help on this. It should go without saying that the Peabody folks came to Dick [Gephardt] and I because of our relationship with the Clinton’s.” After further notes from Aboussie, Abedin responded, “We are working on it and I hope we can make something work… we have to work through the beauracracy [sic] here.” Aboussie donated between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation.
On Saturday, May 16, 2009, mobile communications executive and political activist Jill Iscol wrote to Clinton, “Please advise to whom I should forward Jacqueline Novogratz’s request [for a meeting with the secretary of state]. I know you know her, but honestly, she is so far ahead of the curve and brilliant I believe she could be enormously helpful to your work.” Clinton subsequently sent an email to Abedin saying, “Pls print.” Jill and husband Ken Iscol donated between $500,000 and $1 million to the Clinton Foundation. Clinton subsequently appointed Novogratz to the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.
The newly obtained Abedin emails also contain a memorandum sent to Cheryl Mills from State Department White House liaison Laura Pena revealing that Rajiv Fernando was proposed for his controversial appointment to the sensitive International Security Advisory Board as early as June 2009. Fernando was not actually appointed until 2011, and his appointment raised a firestorm because, according to an ABC News report, “he had no obvious experience in the field.” Fernando donated $1 million to the Clinton Foundation.
The Abedin emails reveal that even U2’s Bono got into the act when former Bill Clinton aide Ben Schwerin, who helped set up the Clinton Foundation, urged Abedin to help the aging rock star broadcast from the international space station. In a May 27, 2009, email with the subject line “Bono/NASA,” Schwerin wrote, “Bono wants to do linkup with the international space station on every show during the tour this year.… Any ideas? Thks.” Bono has been a donor to the Clinton Global Initiative. And in 2011, he gathered top entertainers for “A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation.” According to USA Today, “Some tickets were sold to the public for $50 to $550, and premium seats went for $1,000 to $5,000 on the Foundation website.”
“These new emails confirm that Hillary Clinton abused her office by selling favors to Clinton Foundation donors,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “There needs to be a serious, independent investigation to determine whether Clinton and others broke the law.”
This is the tenth set of records produced for Judicial Watch by the State Department from the non-state.gov email accounts of Huma Abedin. The documents were produced under a court order in a May 5, 2015, Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:15-cv-00684)) requiring the agency to produce “all emails of official State Department business received or sent by former Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin from January 1, 2009 through February 1, 2013, using a ‘non-state’.gov email address.”
In June, Judicial Watch uncovered two batches (here and here) of new Clinton email records through court-ordered discovery. Twice in May, Judicial Watch uncovered new Clinton emails, including emails that show Clinton knew about the security risk of her BlackBerry (see here and here). Recently, Judicial Watch released other State Department emails (one batch of 103 pages, the second of 138 pages), with newly discovered Clinton emails also going back as far as January 2009.
In March, Judicial Watch released Clinton State Department emails dating from February 2009 that also call into question her statements about her emails. Those emails contained more evidence of the battle between security officials in the State Department, National Security Agency, Clinton and her staff over attempts to obtain secure BlackBerrys.
On August 9, Judicial Watch produced a 2009 email in which Band directed Abedin and Mills to put Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and Clinton Foundation donor Gilbert Chagoury in touch with the State Department’s “substance person” on Lebanon. Band noted that Chagoury is “key guy there [Lebanon] and to us.” Chagoury has donated between $1 million to $5 million to the Foundation, according to foundation documents. He also pledged $1 billion to the Clinton Global Initiative.
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly stated that she believes that the 55,000 pages of documents she turned over to the State Department in December 2014 included all of her work-related emails. In response to a court order in other Judicial Watch litigation, she declared under penalty of perjury that she had “directed that all my emails on clintonemail.com in my custody that were or are potentially federal records be provided to the Department of State, and on information and belief, this has been done.” This new email find is also at odds with her official campaign statement suggesting all “work or potentially work-related emails” were provided to the State Department.
August brings with it a certain dread as we near the change of seasons. We become painfully aware that we will soon shift from complaining about the heat and humidity to complaining about the cold and snow. It’s what we do — every year. But no one dreads this time of year more than students who are not excited about returning to the routine of curfews, homework and testing.
To make matters worse, students start Day 1 posing for pictures so Mommy can post them on Facebook, which she places alongside a yellowing picture-of-a-picture she took long before Facebook existed, a picture of the same child on Day 1 of kindergarten, all those years ago. It probably doesn’t help that accompanying that post are Mommy’s tear-jerker paragraph about how Johnny or Jenny or Tyquon or Taniqua “grew up too fast” and the question, “Where did the time go?” I love seeing those first day of school posts, but just look at some of those kids’ faces, and you know they don’t share my — or Mommy’s — enthusiasm.
On a more serious note, however, is that during this time, as we’re focused on another school year, I think about how politicized education has become. I started teaching in 1996. I was excited and full of ideas and ready to make a difference. And though I transitioned three years ago into another career, I still take pride in knowing that I did make a difference. Former students, colleagues and parents continue to remind me of that. As much as I got frustrated, particularly toward the end of my career, never have I doubted that I was doing what I was meant to do, that I had the “it” that teachers who capture students’ attention and respect have.
It goes without saying, therefore — though I will say it — that I value quality education. I believe young people deserve the best educational experience possible. That means academics, athletics, friendships and more. The entire experience matters. Not every public school teacher will tell you that public school is not the best environment for every child. But I will. Some students soar in public school, but others drown. Some thrive in any situation. Peers’ bad behavior doesn’t bother them. Common Core — miraculously — doesn’t crush them. Nothing seems to get in their way. Most children are not so impervious to what takes place around them, however, and for them, there needs to be options. It’s called school choice. Whether home schools, charter schools, voucher programs, or public schools, school choice is vital, and yet it remains controversial.
Evidence reveals that students enjoy academic success when parents are allowed to choose their academic environment. This is especially important for minority and poor children, who have flourished when given those choices. Removed from the public school setting, many students’ grades skyrocket, their confidence explodes and their opportunities multiply. Many are lining up, begging for a place in a non-public school.
So why does the Democratic Party continue to oppose school choice? Why does the party that ranted during its national convention and continues to rant about the importance of education, its commitment to blacks and Latinos and its support of the poor embrace a come-hell-or-high-water commitment to keeping kids in schools that, for whatever reason, do not serve them well? Of course, this same party also balances its faux favor for our little ones with its passionate praise of Planned Parenthood. I think that’s what you call irony or an oxymoron orÂ…hypocrisy.
Why are these “progressives” willing to sacrifice our youth? Because they’re in bed with teachers’ unions. For this unholy alliance, they have sold their souls, as well as our offspring to unions doing the same. The Washington Teachers’ Union, for example, is coming after Walmart, which is asking people to nominate teachers to receive school supplies and a $490 gift card. According to a union press release, Walmart’s sin is that it is “one of the country’s biggest funders of school privatization efforts, or charter schools,” having given more than $2.3 million to the D.C. Public Charter School board. Union President Elizabeth Davis said, “Walmart and the Walton Family have consistently sought to privatize our schools and destroy public education.” Perhaps she never considered that Walmart wants to give children the opportunity to go to a school where they can thrive so they have the future everyone desires. Do they not deserve that? Apparently, Davis and her comrades think not. So to punish Walmart for caring, the union is calling for a Walmart boycott.
Democrat laypeople need to be aware of what’s going on. I believe if they did, they would rise up and speak out. After all, Democrats want their children to receive a quality education, too. Black folks want their children to have a good future, too. Poor people want opportunities for their children, too. But the Democratic machine would rather cater to these knuckleheads who speak out of both sides of their mouths.
If knowledge truly is power, children have the right to receive it free of politicians’ quest for it. As students head off to school this year, I urge everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to support our kids; consider the benefits of school choice. And while it may be cute, it’s not enough to put up pictures of kids on the First Day of School. It’s more important to put kids first — and to hold politicians and parties accountable when they fail to do so.
Adrienne Ross is an author, speaker, columnist, editor, educator and Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Reach her at aross@semissourian.com.
A professor at Johns Hopkins University is urging lawmakers to consider creating new gun laws which require American senior citizens to take competency tests to prove that they are stable enough to own firearms.
According to Shannon Frattaroli, PhD., the new requirements are necessary due to rising dementia and suicide rates among older adults.
“So much of the dialogue around guns in this country has been around crime, and lately, mass shootings. And the older population is not part of that. But when you look at the suicide issue, it’s impossible to ignore older Americans,” the professor told New America. “With that in mind, any conversation about guns has to include a conversation [about] gun ownership among older adults. There’s definitely more to be done on that issue in the United States.”
The academic also said older adults should consider weighing the risks against the benefits of gun ownership.
“Older adults need to consider the risk whether an actual home invasion is likely to occur, versus the likelihood that the [older] person would use that gun to do harm to themselves, or a grandchild would find that gun, or they would harm someone coming into the home who’s not there for a home invasion, someone there for a legitimate purpose like a caretaker,” she said.
Frattaroli continued, “The unintended and tragic potential family impact is much greater for older people than that scenario that the home would be invaded in the middle of the night and they would need to ward off that criminal with a gun.”
Earlier this year, the White House announced that it was workingwith the Social Security Administration to “begin the rulemaking process to include information in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm for mental health reasons.” The move would expand the NCIS reporting to cover all of the nation’s seniors.
Globalism is a barbaric relic — voluntary tribalism is the future
I have been writing rather extensively about the ideology of globalism in recent months, primarily because the battle lines between sovereignty and global centralization have never been more defined than they are in 2016. In the past, globalists have often hidden the true motives of their cult; namely the goal of erasing national borders and all remaining vestiges of self governance. Normally, they would only pronounce the great advantages of globalization while dancing around the fact that millions of people will not accept it. Today, however, the globalists have come out in direct confrontation with supporters of sovereignty.
After the Brexit referendum, a new tone appears to have been set. The elites have now entered the mainstream media to state in essence that yes, they are globalists, they want total centralization and they are here to fight a philosophical and/or physical battle with those they call “populists” (also known as conservatives and sovereigns).
When they have discussed globalization in previous years, it has always been presented as some kind of natural progression of events. The first secret of elitist propaganda is their constant assertion that globalism is “inevitable;” that it is foolish to fight against it because it is the unavoidable future of mankind. The fact is that if globalism is so inevitable, the elites would not need to expend trillions in capital and decades of energy trying to fool the masses into accepting it. If globalism is inevitable, couldn’t the elites simply lay back in their pool side cabanas, sip their dry martinis and just watch it all unfold on its own?
Instead, the elites have foisted globalism upon the shoulders of the public, and are by some indications preparing for outright war in order to force us “populists” into compliance.
The second secret of elitist propaganda is their strategy to disguise centralization as decentralization. For instance, the new globalist claim is that a shift away from a system in which the dollar is the world reserve currency into a system in which a basket of currencies becomes the world reserve is a move towards a “multi-polar world.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
In reality, the basket currency system the elites are pushing for falls under the umbrella of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. Meaning a switch away from the dollar into the SDR will result in even morecentralized power for the elites. That is not a multi-polar world; it is a uni-polar one.
It is schemes like this that expose the great weakness of globalism as an ideal — the elites cannot accomplish it without using deception and force against innocents. Such a philosophy is a failure by default.
The third secret of globalist propaganda is that they present globalism as if it is a “new” idea. This is yet another lie. Globalism is merely another expanded form of centralization (or collectivism), and centralization has been the prevailing tool of cultural control for ages. If anything, the freely elected governments and voluntary tribalism of constitutional Republics is the newest and most advanced social concept in all of human history. Such systems present the potential for lasting decentralization, as long as participants remain vigilant to co-option by globalists.
Sadly, the people of America and the rest of the West have not been vigilant for quite some time, and today our experiment in sovereignty is being twisted, eroded and overrun.
Some seem to find new hope in the rise of conservative activism like the U.K.’s Brexit movement. As I explained in my pre-referendum article Brexit — Global trigger event, fake out or something else?, these movements are a step in the right direction, but they have a tendency to underestimate the globalist strategy.
I suspect according to the evidence outlined in the article linked above, as well as the behavior of elites ever since the U.K. referendum passed, that a plan is underway to allow conservatives and sovereign activists marginal victories. Ultimately, in order for the elites to achieve the long-game of total centralization, they need to fully demonize and destroy their philosophical opponents. That is to say, they need to make conservatives and freedom fighters out to be historical monsters, and themselves out to be the heroes of the day. The only way for the elites to win is to fool the masses into accepting and even demanding globalization while casting out conservative principles as dangerous or evil.
But how would they make this possible?
It’s simple, really. They have already set the stage for an international economic and political crisis of epic proportions. Why not let conservatives and sovereigns take over as captains of an already sinking ship, then blame them when there aren’t enough lifeboats to save the passengers?
Following this line of thinking was how I was able to correctly predict the success of the Brexit vote, it is the reason why I have consistently argued that the Fed will raise interest rates once again in 2016 despite multiple signs of a recessionary downturn and why I believe Donald Trump will be the next president.
Once instability has run its course, the damage is done and the “populists” are blamed, the elites plan to swoop in with globalism as the fix-all.
The question then arises, if this is the strategy being implemented by the globalists, what can be done about it?
As with most conundrums, the problem is often the source identifier of the solution. That is to say, if centralization and the elites behind it is the problem, then decentralization and the removal of those elites from power is the most effective solution. If forced globalization is leading to the ruination of man, then voluntary tribalism may be the cure.
The issue actually has more to do with individual psychology than geopolitics.
Human beings have two inherent psychological qualities that can work together, or conflict; the need for individual liberty, and the need for community.
We are social creatures. We can accomplish great feats by working together, but the ideas for these feats are always born in the imaginations of individual minds. Without the group, the success of the individual can be greatly hindered. Without individual minds, the success of the group is impossible.
The elites would have us believe is that individual success and community success are mutually exclusive; that we cannot have both. This is simply not true.
Globalists assert that if the individual focuses on his own success, then he cannot focus on the success of the group. This “conceited” self interest, they claim, will sabotage society as a whole and lead to humanity’s destruction. Therefore, under globalism, the individual must sacrifice his freedom of choice and association; he must sacrifice his right to apply his labors how he wishes, so that the group can supposedly thrive.
I would assert the opposite. Because all ideological groups are abstractions and not cultural facts, they are completely dependent on the success of the individual in order to thrive. While the individual may need help from others, he must be allowed to choose who those people are. He also must be able to choose how his ideas and efforts are realized. Otherwise, the ideas have no steward. Under globalism/collectivism, they immediately become the property of the group if they are even acknowledged at all, and the group does not think; the group is not capable of thinking. The group only has merit as long as the individuals within it have merit. The group is not real. And so, under the control of a vaporous collective, good ideas usually die.
With globalism as the dominant ideology, individual accomplishment falls and thus, the system itself will eventually fall.
This does not mean that the solution is to end all group interaction or organization so that individuals can go off to to form their own one-man, mini-nation states. If that is what an individual wishes to do then that is all well and good, but failure is just as likely in that scenario as it would be under globalism. Instead, the answer may be a return to tribalism, of a voluntary variety.
Our inherent needs for individual freedom as well as community interaction can in fact work together. The group does not need to supplant the individual to succeed, each member of the group just needs to share the same goals and understand the merits of those goals.
If a person does not understand or respect the goals of that group, then he can easily leave, or refuse to join. As long as it is unacceptable for any group to use force to compel an individual to participate, then there can be no loss of individual liberty. Under this model, we could see the rise of numerous tribes, and tribes within tribes. Of course certain universal truths would have to be respected.
The most common argument against tribalism, whether voluntary or not, is the argument that it will lead to so many conflicting interests that chaos and violence is inevitable. Wars over resources and property will erupt, some claim, or society will falter into a dog-eat-dog survival of the strongest Mad Max scenario.
First, I would like to point out that globalization and centralization have not solved any of these problems. Globalism only seems to lead to more efficient war and death, rather than less war and death, and the sides are less defined. Under the global elites, people are constantly pitted against each other over false narratives and false flags. We become pawns that are sacrificed to further their agenda. I hardly see how this is a superior system. The only wars ever worth fighting are against centralizing tyrants.
Second, while tribal conflict is surely possible due to philosophical differences, the promotion of individual freedom, rather than the collective, as the essential element of society makes violent opposition far less likely.
Freedom is a universal inborn psychological construct. Almost all people have a sense of it and its usefulness. In fact, most fundamental moral principles including freedom are shared by people regardless of their cultural backgrounds. The only places in which freedom is not respected are places in which centralizing elites have propagandized and threatened the citizenry. When those elites and their influence are removed for a time, there is usually a natural wellspring resurgence of respect for liberty within that society.
Men and women will organize and rally around freedom without being lied to or threatened. There are not many ideologies that can make the same claim. Globalism certainly can’t.
Third, the next objection from skeptics will be that a handful of controllers under globalism would be preferable to tens of thousands of tyrants lording over thousands of fiefdoms. Again, these people just don’t seem to grasp the notion of voluntary community or the effectiveness of individual rebellion.
I would rather face a thousand minor tyrants with minor armies than a tiny cabal of tyrants with a global army. The difference being that it is far easier to erase a tyrant with a hundred men in my way than it is to erase a global tyrant with hundreds-of-thousands of men and a massive surveillance apparatus in my way. In a world where individual liberty is paramount and the people are armed, minor tyrants would be so terrified to pursue power they would likely be dissuaded altogether. The minimal protection they might muster would never be enough to stop every single bullet flying in their direction.
The idea of voluntary community is so foreign to the public today that it would probably take a catastrophe for such a system to be adopted. But, since the global elites have already taken it upon themselves to create the catalysts for an economic and political crisis, we might as well take advantage and rebuild from the ashes with voluntary community in mind.
This, of course, requires that the liberty minded not only survive the catastrophe, but also fight back and remove the elites from the picture. There can be no voluntary tribes with the globalists in control of the mechanisms of power. They are, in effect, a bastardization of a tribe that has been allowed through lack of vigilance to subversively and systematically destroy all other tribes. They have convinced much of the world through chicanery that their tribe is the only tribe with merit.
The propaganda only works to a point, however. During any breakdown in normal social order, people invariably create their own social order, and they usually do this by forming small tribes. Families come together, neighborhoods come together, towns come together and so on, and they do this voluntarily, without being aggressively compelled by others. The natural default of human beings is freedom, and tribalism, two things which do not necessarily have to conflict. Our natural default has never been to pursue globalism or utter collectivism at the expense of the individual.
In the end, globalism is doomed to crash in a ball of flames, but not before the globalists attempt to take everyone else down with them. It would behoove us to start constructing our tribes now, rather than after the situation has become grim in the absolute. Through localized production, alternative trade models, local organization for mutual aid and defense, and the principles of liberty, America could become a network of tribes within a tribe; a self reliant system built around redundancy rather than interdependence.
The globalists? Well, they will try to stop us. But at least at that point the sides will be drawn more clearly. I cannot think of a better war to fight than a war to stop the barbaric trespasses of the global elites. And when it is all over, I look forward to a more complex and “chaotic” society where collectivist streamlining is abandoned for a wild west of voluntary associations. A land where tribes roam free. — Brandon Smith
Homer 33C schools rank among the best in Will County
Efforts to prepare Future Ready students are paying off in Homer School District 33C.
According to a recent Chicago magazine article, Homer 33C schools are among the “Best Public Schools” in Will County.
“We are proud to make Chicago magazine’s Top 10 list of Best Public Schools in Will County,” said Superintendent Kara Coglianese. “Our teachers and staff work hard to prepare Future Ready students and it’s reassuring to know our efforts are paying off.”
The magazine looked at a number of factors, including spending per pupil, PARCC attainment, NWEA/Map growth in reading and math and results from the Illinois 5Essentials Survey to determine the Top Elementary Schools and High Schools in Six Counties.
Listed among the Top 10 elementary schools in Will County are Goodings Grove at No. 3, William J. Butler at No. 6 and Luther J. Schilling at No. 7.
“Students in Homer 33C continue to perform above the state average, demonstrating growth on local and state assessments,” said Kathleen Robinson, assistant superintendent for instruction. “We attribute this to rigorous curricular expectations, a high quality teaching staff and supportive families and community.”
Coming in at No. 1 on the Will County list was Eisenhower Academy in Joliet. The No. 2 slot went to Anna McDonald School in Manhattan.
Homer School District 33 joined the Future Ready movement in 2013, committing itself to empowering students for success in a dynamic world.
It began investing in 21st century learning tools, including Chromebooks, iPads, 3D printers, Spheros and Google apps, and opened three STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) labs at Homer Junior High School and Hadley Middle School.
Students are learning how to write computer code, build Lego robots and design structures, roller coasters and 3D objects. More importantly, they’re learning how to articulate their thoughts and ideas with the use of multiple media and technologies.
Starting this school year, every child in grades 3-8 will have his own Chromebook or repurposed laptop to work with on a daily basis. They will be taking notes, conducting research, completing assignments and taking tests or quizzes on the devices.
“We want our students to possess the advanced tech skills and critical thinking skills that will give them an edge in life,” said Coglianese. “That means preparing them for a world of global competition and faster communications.”
The Obamacare Tax Relief and Consumer Choice Act, introduced last month by Republican senators, would suspend Obamacare’s individual mandate when health insurance premiums rise.
Sens. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), John McCain (R., Ariz.), James Lankford (R., Okla.), Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), and Richard Burr (R., N.C.) introduced the bill at a time when major insurers such as Aetna and UnitedHealth have announced they will cut participation in the Obamacare exchanges. Insurers participating in Obamacare are requesting an average national rate increase of 23.9 percent.
Obamacare’s individual mandate requires individuals to buy health insurance or pay a penalty to the IRS. In 2016, uninsured individuals must pay either 2.5 percent of their family income or a flat fee of $695 per adult and $347.50 per child, whichever is greater.
The bill would suspend this penalty under two circumstances. The mandate would no longer apply to residents in states where health insurance premiums have increased by 10 percent or more on average. The mandate also would not apply to individuals who cannot afford the deductible of available health care plays, under Obamacare’s current definition of affordability.
“Because these deductibles are so high, especially the bronze plans, this would essentially exempt everyone making less than close to $100,000 dollars regardless of whether premiums went up in your state or not, the deductible would be a huge exemption from the mandate,” said a Senate aide who is familiar with the bill.
The bill would also remove Obamacare restrictions on health savings accounts, removing Obamacare’s 20 percent tax on the accounts and allowing them to be used to cover over-the counter drug and medical costs.
“Obamacare stripped away a valuable tool that patients all across our country came to depend on—health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts,” Lankford said in a press release. “These valuable tools are used by people all across our nation to help with the cost of high deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket medical expenses using tax-free dollars. This bill repeals these harmful Obamacare provisions, and restores the full ability for Americans to utilize these valuable savings and spending health care accounts.”
Americans have fewer health insurance choices now that some insurers have announced they are exiting Obamacare. When Aetna exits the exchanges next year, residents of Pinal County, Arizonawill be left without a single insurer offering coverage.
The bill would help uninsured residents of this county, who would otherwise be forced to pay the Obamacare penalty.
“Just last week, Aetna became the latest major health insurer to exit the marketplace, which makes Pinal County, Arizona the first in the country to have zero options when it comes to Obamacare’s marketplace,” said McCain, who represents the state. “Our legislation would provide relief to Arizonans and Americans across the country who have been hit the hardest by out-of-control health care costs under Obamacare.”
“Arizonans shouldn’t be forced by the government to pay potentially thousands of dollars for something the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have made increasingly unaffordable,” McCain said.
“From the start, Obamacare has been the wrong solution to fixing our nation’s health care system, and has left our citizens with less freedom, reduced access, and decreased quality of care,” McCain said. “Now we are seeing the consequences: premiums are skyrocketing, insurance companies are facing massive losses, co-ops are going under leaving thousands of Arizonans out-to-dry, and citizens are facing higher health care costs for decreased quality of care and fewer choices.”
The bill will be voted on this fall, according to the Senate aide.
I have been writing rather extensively about the ideology of globalism in recent months, primarily because the battle lines between sovereignty and global centralization have never been more defined than they are in 2016. In the past, globalists have often hidden the true motives of their cult; namely the goal of erasing national borders and all remaining vestiges of self governance. Normally, they would only pronounce the great advantages of globalization while dancing around the fact that millions of people will not accept it. Today, however, the globalists have come out in direct confrontation with supporters of sovereignty.
