Rules of Regency Redux – Part II

Posted on by charliej373

By Charlie Johnston

(Following is the second part of the Rules of Regency. It was originally published on Aug. 10. 2016. I reprint it here verbatim with no edits. There was no prophecy involved, though I anticipated several events that did not fully manifest until this year. You did not have to be a prophet to see this coming. Certain disorders, when indulged, will lead to very predictable consequences. Consider, as you read this, that it was written and published before Donald Trump was elected and before the left had fully revealed themselves, over four years ago.-CJ)

Following is Part II of the Rules of Regency. You can see Part I here. It is, of course, America-centric, as I am an American and that is where I can have the most immediate impact. It is also, however, a template for any country which seeks to restore a harmonious social order. Some adjustments would have to be made for various local cultures, but the big principles are universal.

Accountability

The American system was set up to make the government accountable to the American people. Once elected, officials would hire their team of people and voters would judge them according to how their team performed.

Now, legislators and executives make big promises that they don’t keep. When voters complain, the officials note that their intentions are good, but they are not allowed to fire the holdover government workers from previous officials – workers who thwart their wonderful plans. Bureaucrats, meanwhile, sometimes joke that presidents come and presidents go, but the bureaucracy goes on forever. Officials have the built-in excuse that there is nothing they can do -and it is harder to fire a bureaucrat than to knock down the milk bottles at the local carnival. It is a good deal for both the officials and the clerks, whose power and perquisites grow while they are accountable to no one. But it is a terrible deal for the public – and for social cohesion. Yet it is called ‘public service.’

Abolish almost all civil service laws and all public employee unions. The American system is not supposed to guarantee jobs for life for bureaucrats – who can then snub their nose at both the officials who are supposed to be their bosses and the people who elect them. Let each official hire and fire, at will, those who will work under him – and then hold him completely responsible at the ballot box for the results. This will return the whip hand to the people who are supposed to be served, not ruled.

It will also make the “sacrifice” that government workers and officials constantly boast of into a reality. To go into government work when it offers no guarantee of security, a person will either have to be so committed to accomplishing a particular task that he will take a break from his real career in order to actually serve – or be so non-politically competent that he holds onto his job from administration to administration by sheer ability. If a person wants job security, he will work for or build a private company that produces real goods and services and real jobs. That would be a true public service.

The reality is that all government workers are parasites of a sort. In most biological systems, some parasites are necessary and good – and form a symbiotic relationship with their host. But when even benign parasites multiply beyond the symbiotic level, they start killing the host. We are long past that point.

There are other structural changes in the political system which would enhance accountability without denying the true masters, the people, their right of collective sovereignty. In the legislature, the House of Representatives was supposed to be a citizen legislature, reflecting the churn of public passions. I don’t like term limits, for that deprives citizens of the right to vote for whom they choose. Rather, I prefer to allow House Members to run for as many terms as they wish – but however many terms they win, there is no pension. If they want a retirement plan, they each have to fund their own. The Senate is supposed to be a haven for experienced professionals, chosen by the states as a check on the unbridled passions of the House. It was a stabilizing element injected into the peculiar American system of a hybrid democratic republic to prevent the instability inherent to democracy. Return selection to the States and offer a pension there. Eliminate most campaign finance laws, except for disclosure of very large donations and to prevent foreign influence. Campaign finance laws, if truth in advertising applied, are incumbent-protection schemes. Appoint federal judges to a ten-year term rather than an unreviewable lifetime.

 

Subsidiarity

The principle of subsidiarity holds that nothing should be done by a larger and more complex organization which can be done as well by a smaller and simpler organization. St. John Paul emphasized this principle in his 1991 Encyclical, ‘Centesimus Annus,’ as a corrective to the statism which was disfiguring the application of authentic principles of social justice.

There are many problems with centralization. Three that are critical here are that:

1)      It is inefficient

2)      It enfeebles and disables the means that are efficient, treating them as competitors for resources.

3)      It is fertilizer for a massive corruption that is beyond the control of ordinary people.

St. John Paul, in his classic, concise elegance, said it, “…leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public agencies which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by concern for serving their clients and which are accompanied by an enormous increase in spending.” Read his full Encyclical to get a solid primer on the subject (which will help in understanding the rest of this small section.)

Big unwieldy centralized agencies do not take into account unique local needs and peculiarities, insisting instead on a one-size fits all approach – that often does not fit any. Meantime, it saps the life and energy out of those smaller, more local agencies and volunteer associations that do handle problems well.

Centralization, accompanied by a lack of public accountability, is a hothouse for virulent corruption. Progressives think that corruption can be ended by a massive centralized regulatory regime. American founders understood that corruption is endemic to much of human nature – and that centralization just made corruption massive and impervious to public oversight. Their system of rigorous accountability and equally rigorous subsidiarity made for a self-policing and healing system. With numerous, competing centers of localized authority, corruption would be localized. When it became endemic in one center, it would be advantageous to the ambitious in another center to expose and uproot it. Thus, though corruption is always with us to some extent, it would keep it local, easily uprooted, and make it in the interest of the ambitious to uproot it.

Therefore, all powers that are not explicitly granted to the federal government would be returned to the states. As I mentioned under the “Federalism” section,  most regulatory agencies would be dismantled or reduced to boards whose sole purpose is to arbitrate disputes between the states over an overlapping issue. Big internal crises that are beyond the Constitutional power of the federal government would, upon petition by a majority of the states or two-thirds majority of the house, lead to the creation of a temporary federal task force to address the problem, with a specific date of expiration of not longer than 10 years. Once again, public ‘servants’ would have to actually serve and make sacrifice rather than rule and call their unaccountable sinecures ‘sacrifice.’

Volunteer associations would be encouraged and made easy to begin, rather than regulated to death and made to heel to a state’s political preferences.

Since Congress would have less to do (no longer deciding winners and losers in the field of commerce and public policy questions unrelated to its legitimate authority) the size of Congressional staffs and the profusion of lobbying would be dramatically decreased. That would also give officials time to pay serious attention to their legitimate duties rather than distracting the public with what type of light bulbs they will be allowed or what size soft drinks they may purchase.

The federal income tax will be abolished as a bad experiment that intruded on the freedom of all and was weaponized to target dissent. Alternate means of taxation, through sales and excise taxes among others will be found. If taxes are tied to productivity and commerce, it will give government officials incentive to promote productivity and commerce rather than strangling it.

Read Alexis de Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America,” a concise two-volume explication of the philosophical underpinnings of the American experiment in a hybrid democratic republic to understand why American worked so well for so long – and how to restore that framework.

 

Justice

In the first place, the law should apply equally to all, both great and small. The routine practice of the Congress of exempting itself from rules it imposes on lesser mortals will cease. It will be allowed to impose no rules that are not Constitutionally enumerated to its authority.

In the short term, our society has been divided into levels of division that led to sudden mass slaughter in Rwanda. A few large principles are required to keep that division from exploding into massive violence.

When large segments of society seek to get their way by violent aggression, that aggression is fueled, not quenched, if the response is not resolutely decisive. When large numbers of political office holders seek to weaponize the law to punish their opponents or those who merely disagree with them, it undermines the legitimacy of and public respect for the law, planting seedlings of violent opposition when that becomes the only effective means of redress of legitimate grievances.

Therefore, substantial early arrests must be made of public officials who have weaponized the law to punish dissent. That means a lot of federal agents, especially high officials in the IRS, will be going to jail. Also headed for jail are those state attorney generals who seek to make it a felony to disagree with them politically – right now most publicly on ‘climate change.’ Judges and human “rights” commissioners who have imposed penalties on Christians for simply living their faith – refusing to participate in offensive ceremonies, but discriminating against no one – will not just lose their office, but go to jail for a time. I have always loathed abuse of public power against ordinary citizens. A small number of early, vigorous arrests should get the message across and take the wind right out of this modern penchant.

No one shall be arrested during the time of emergency for merely advocating an opinion, but protests that depend on rioting will result in mass arrests of the rioters. Those who try to deprive others of their civil liberties will be arrested. Radicals on campus and in such movements as BLM will be given the opportunity to suffer for their beliefs if they express them violently or hinder others from the free expression of competing beliefs.

When disorder is small and sporadic, the public interest and safety is usually best-served by the incarceration under criminal law of the few who commit actual crimes. When it is widespread and an entire culture has degenerated into disorder, the primary goal is the re-establishment of a stable public order and the reintegration of the offenders into that order. That is why, after the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln did not seek to punish and jail rebel leaders, but to knit them back into the common family the nation was intended to be.

The need for temporary jails will be great in order to check the abuses of public corruption and arrogance and the violent aggression of rioters. But the duration of incarceration for such offenders must only be for the duration of the Storm. The purpose of incarceration is to prevent an explosion of violence while society is rising to the challenges of the Storm and to re-knit it into a common culture once again. All such offenders should be released within six months of the Rescue, with a return to normal criminal law – with the exception that those who abused a public position of trust to punish enemies may be permanently barred from holding any office of public honor or authority.

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94 thoughts on “Rules of Regency Redux – Part II”

  1. Incredibly prescient, even from simply a natural lens. This one is SO good, filled with refreshing thinking. As I ponder the Rules of Regency and all that is yet to unfold, I have found myself humming a song from childhood history classes: It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.

    On another note, here’s a dream for which to pray. Just imagine the blessings this would bring should DT have the courage to act on Fr. Bozant’s invitation! https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/priest-invites-president-trump-to-consecrate-u.s-to-immaculate-heart-of-mary

    Liked by 9 people

    1. President Trump should make a Pilgrimage to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac Hill… before the election. He should consecrate America to Our Lady under the Tilma of Saint Juan Diego.

      A perfect location to display unity among races.

      Liked by 5 people

  3. Hey, cool stuff, Charlie. I agree on so much. I would add or expand on several things, so let me get on my soapbox and rant a bit.

    Institutional pensions kill all sorts of institutions and empires, too. Army pensions killed Rome. I suggest that *no* pensions of any kind be allowed for any organization, only individual pensions that save earnings without promises of future funding. Apply it to private as well as public organizations. Privatize social security (if anything remains) so that the government places money in a pension account owned by the individual, with restricted investment requirements. Only individuals can own and control a pension account and organizations can only contribute earnings – no organization-provided pensions and no future funding promises.

    I agree the 17th Amendment allowing public election of senators must be repealed, but that’s only partly as a check on the House. The key to restoring the power of the States is this change, and it makes the States (perhaps uneasy) allies and protectors of their citizens against power grabs by the Feds. We the People need States as independent and powerful players at the Federal level, and the Senate is that piece of the Federal government.

    I also think the Feds should have little or no power to regulate through regulatory agencies, except possibly in the four areas originally allowed for: Depts of State, Justice, Treasury and Defense. All else could be as you say, to arbitrate disputes between States, but I also think that certain functions might be done *for* States if several States were to petition the Feds to help them. I’m thinking of the way the FCC tracks and reports Ham Radio and other licenses. The FCC would have no regulatory enforcement capabilities but would track licenses and other single-database or testing information for any group of states. If the States that were involved were to find a better way and withdraw at a later date from the petition, the Fed-level agency would cease to exist.

    Pay: No money should go from the Federal government to any federal politician. Although this is quite intrusive, I’ve seen so much corruption that I think every campaign will have to be independently audited by a respected accounting firm or similar, all contributors verified as qualified, and if a candidate loses a race, any remaining campaign money must be returned to those who contributed, as a final settlement, not go into the candidate’s pocket. Also, since so much corruption involves using family members as cutouts, I think every elected politician and his adult relations must have their personal financial books audited while in office and for several years after the politician’s retirement from office. This will restrict the pool of politicians to those with either clueless family members (who will get caught) or families that have traditions of honesty and service running through them. RICO actions could be taken against families that commit corruption crimes. Not sure how that is to be done, but RICO corruption in political families is a *huge* problem now.

    Now let’s get to specifics…

    The House: I think that the members of the House should be allowed to raise money for local election campaigns *and* to pay them in office, but *only* individual citizens of that congressional district would be able to give to the politicians in that district. I have come to despise how leftists pile into a district in order to influence the vote for local politicians and DAs and others, and it has forced conservatives to do the same pile-in. If you’re living in the district, you can contribute as much as you like, but if you do not live in the district, you cannot contribute anything.

    The Senate: If senators are paid anything, it should be only by the State that appointed them – pay should come from the entity they represent. Senators would be barred from raising money, since they do not need to campaign.

    The Presidency: No pay and no substantial gifts and no advances on tell-all books after leaving office (please!). Ever. Business expenses part of White House budget. Campaign expenses paid by donations to person or party from citizens *only* and stiff fines against the candidate or party and the contributor if the contributor is not qualified. No business or other organization can contribute. No union or other organization can force members to give to a particular candidate or party. Contributions must come only from qualified *individual person-citizens*. This would mean that the people of a non-State entity would not be allowed to vote for the Presidency. The right to vote for the Presidency is a privilege of being a citizen of a State, since the Constitution is for or involving the States (“these United States”).

    This means that the people of Puerto Rico and Guam and so on would not be allowed to vote for any Federal political position unless and until they voted for and are accepted as a State. This has direct implications for the District of Columbia which will never be a State. Just as the Virginia side of the DC area was ceded back to Virginia, so should the Maryland side of DC be immediately ceded back to Maryland as the City of Washington, reporting as a standard city to the State of Maryland and its governor and legislature. And neither Virginia nor Maryland can move its state capital closer to the White House than they currently are (Annapolis and Richmond).

    The House is for the citizen residents of the districts in the States, the Senate is for the individual States, and the President is for all citizens and as a regent for legal guests and the people in any dependent non-states until they become independent countries or enter as States with a good-sized population and/or land area compared to our existing States (no mini-States and no City-States, please!).

    Rant off. Sorry, but this kind of stuff I think about a lot, so I had a lot to say. It’s kind of a hobby. Could be wrong, could be right, but certainly happy to contemplate this. I hope y’all are not bored with my contribution to Charlie’s excellent Post. And I pray that the 16th Amendment is also repealed, and I would make property taxes at all levels illegal/unconstitutional! Did you know that when this country was founded and for quite a while after the founding, there were no property taxes? Washington became a very rich man by surveying and claiming property all over the place, because he paid no property tax. Your home is not your castle if the city or state can take it away from you for nonpayment of a property tax. If you have to pay a property tax on your home, you don’t really own your home, you’re only renting it.

    Liked by 5 people

      1. That is the major flaw among the many good points Steve made. In Europe before the American founding, high officials were often not paid – some, in fact, paid to get the office. This limited office to the wealthiest in the society and, effectively, disenfranchised those of less than great wealth. In the Constitutional debates, founders were adamant that a good (but not great) salary be paid to all elected office-holders, so that even those of the most modest means could serve.

        I hate when people say it’s all about the money. Money is only secondary to power as a motivator for the ambitious. So when you come up with a program that limits office to only the most wealthy you effectively limit the offices to only those who have the two most potential venial motives.

        Liked by 11 people

        1. Yes, it is all about power. Right now, if you have money you can always essentially buy power, if that is what you desire at any costs (ie, Soros) If you have power, you can get money. (ie, Biden). Of course, there are more examples. Maybe that was always true, but it seems so much more pronounced today.

          Liked by 6 people

        2. OK, fine, the President can get paid. My main point is *not* to limit the money per se but that the politician should get paid by the people they represent. A House member lives in his or her district and gets paid by their districts and not by outsiders, the Senators get paid by the State each represents, and the President by the People via the White House budget because he represents everybody. I see so much corruption now by rich ideologues who pay to buy the District Attorney election and so on and regular people who send money to ideologically matching candidates to take down someone they don’t like in a district they are 2,000 miles away from. House districts are local and should be funded locally, not by outsiders with ideological axes to grind and huge amounts of money. This is consistent with the Founders’ intent here, that representatives represent their district. And I don’t want any mixed loyalties for senators, so the States are on the line for that in whatever way they each decide (the 50-state laboratory, right?)

          Soros is paying to run his candidates in all sorts of districts all over the States, with resulting massive *mis*representation rather than representation and even outright destruction of our country’s underpinnings. I don’t know exactly how to prevent that or even reduce it, but this is at least an attempt – not perfect – so think of something that keeps distant, rich ideologues out of local politics and I’ll be fine with that. It’s easy to figure out what entity should pay the Senators – their States, not the Feds – but representatives are tougher to figure out. Perhaps the local representatives could be paid to serve in the House with a small salary or the original per diem approach, but when it comes to House members, at least campaign money should be local if at all possible. Why should Soros be able to buy my Congressional representative or my state- or county-level district attorney or education commissioner? Yet he is doing this all over the place. How do you stop that and make local races truly local? The Founders had this emphasis right, but ideologues are subverting that intent. Fix the Federal part of this in terms of Congressional districts and encourage the States to fix their local state, county and city races so elections are as local as possible.

          Liked by 3 people

    1. I am not concerned about Amy. She is brilliant and will be prepared for all questions. As for the rest, which is about social credits (due to tracking on FB and other sites), this is essentially what was foretold over 2,000 years ago. I am already identified as a conservative and a Catholic. Also, older and ill; therefore, I am expendable. Because I believe in an almighty and loving God, because Christ has so much mercy, because Our Blessed Mother is such a strong advocate, and because all the angels and saints want to help us, I can still get up in the morning and face the day. If I were an atheist, I would find the whole thing absurd. I think power, money and pleasure would be my only objective if I were an atheist. I am not at all sure that the Golden Rule would make any sense at all since life itself would be an absurd accident.

      Liked by 10 people

  5. The last five paragraphs are happening now except that they are the reverse of your recommendations. In the cities that did as recommended the violence stopped immediately. The msm and other RINOs don’t help when they turn a blind eye, all in the name of money.

    Liked by 5 people

    1. Well, Members of the Sunrise Foundation, meet Gideon’s New Army, a.k.a. CORAC, formed by and from the children of Light who were born from THE ONE Who created all things, beginning with LIGHT. And His Son IS the Light of the World. Fear melts in His Love; evil transforms in His Love; and Christ’s Light obliterates even the darkness in which you operate.

      As we continue moving forward with CORAC, we can recall Isaiah 58:8
      “Your light will break out like the dawn,
      And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
      And your righteousness will go before you;
      The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”

      And stand firm in PSalm 23: 1-6
      The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
      He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
      He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
      Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
      Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
      Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

      Liked by 10 people

        1. 🤩 It seems, Sorrowful, that we’ll need to continue holding each other up. HTTP’s post IS a sad state of affairs. Scary too. I’m just determined not to take the enemy’s bait which would lead us into the vortex of fear, depression and anxiety. That said, we’re human. The world around us is frightening, disordered and downright ugly at times. We’re gunna feel a full range of all kinds of emotions as we carry on. Here’s to lifting each other up as we continue next right stepping! 🎉💥🙏🔥♥️

          Liked by 7 people

          1. DAILY REFLECTIONS WITH
            ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN
            A foretaste of judgment

            Once when I was waiting outside for an audience with Pope Pius XII, I was troubled in spirit. I was saying to myself, the good Lord has given me many more opportunities than he’s given to other priests: education and opportunities for apostolate, and how little I have done with them. I was disconsolate. Then when I went in and saw Pope Pius XII, I said, ‘Your Holiness, I have just discovered how easy judgment is going to be.’ He said, ‘Tell me, I would like to know.’ I said, ‘Well, I was just saying to myself how much I’ve failed, how little I have loved the Church, really. Then I come in here, and I find the Church personalized. You are the Church, and I am deeply moved at seeing you and how much I love you. I think that’s just the way it’s going to be when we go before the face of our dear Lord. We will be discontented with ourselves, but when we go there, we will be surprised how much we really have loved him.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘that’s exactly the way it will be.’

            Liked by 4 people

              1. Mick I have to go back n look what I heard on Catholic radio 📻 ??? Can’t remember what I wrote!!! 😳 Lol. Is there a tincture for forgetfulness??? 🥴

                Liked by 1 person

                1. Not open quite yet, HttP: Whitmer is insisting that her edicts still have the force of law for 21 days, and that many of them will be in effect after that because of sources of alternative authority (other than the law that was ruled unconstitutional). So she plans to perpetuate her tyranny notwithstanding the opposition of the legislature and a huge smackdown by the highest court in the state.

                  These people, their egos, their hubris, and their lust for power are simply unbelievable.

                  Liked by 1 person

    2. Well that was upsetting! San Diego has a “hub” according to one female speaker on the video. They are probably the ones that burned down 2 banks and other buildings in La Mesa (a suburb) a while back. Sad, ignorant young people. How on earth did it come to this – so many brainwashed.

      Such great points, Charlie! I’ve said before that I learned more from my politcally minded father than I did in school! He taught me about centralized government vs. states’ rights in my childhood. That goes along with subsidiarity; those closest to the situation should take care of it. The more money goes through various layers (city, county, state, fed), the less of it there is to be spent where it is needed, because it is siphoned off at each level, probably being wasted and/or paying salaries for bureauocrats. If I’m not mistaken, the old encyclical, Rerum Novarum also touched on subsidiarity.
      You’re elected, Charlie!

      Archangels, be powerful tonight helping the President! Thank you, Jesus!

      Liked by 9 people

  8. Happy Michaelmas Day! He is my favorite so I had to name one of my boys after him–the red-headed one. It is interesting that the old Michaelmas Day was celebrated on Oct. 11.
    This Oct. 11 is going to be a watershed moment for the US.

    Liked by 6 people

    1. Awesomeness, Joyful. My son is named, “Gabriel,” another Saint of this day along with Raphael. Rock on in God’s Glory Holy Archangels! Intercede, guard, guide and protect us!

      Liked by 9 people

      1. Indeed, Beckita. Furthermore may the archangels intercede for POTUS at tonight’s debate; plus the Holy Spirit to inspire him with wisdom and knowledge.

        Liked by 7 people

  9. amazing truths Charlie. boy, a lot “has” happened just as you laid out.
    Kamala’s “bail out” of BLM and Antifa needs to stop. Agreed that everyone needs to be picked up and held secure until after the “storm”. May it be so.

    Liked by 7 people

  10. a Psalm Prayer from Psalm 68 for the feast of the Archangels with an emphasis on Michael due to the battles we face today:
    Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,
    And let those who hate Him flee before Him.
    2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
    As wax melts before the fire,
    So let the wicked perish before God.

    Liked by 7 people

    1. ” St. Athanasius relates that the devils, on being asked what verse in the whole Scripture they feared most, they replied, ‘That Psalm which begins: “Arise, O Lord, and let Thy enemies be scattered. Let those that hate Him flee before His Face!’ Then they are compelled to take flight.” https://illuminadomine.com/the-holy-face-medal/

      Liked by 9 people

  11. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! – 😉

    https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/sunday-firesides-dont-hope-to-live-in-historic-times-be-historic-yourself/

    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-angel-of-death?mc_cid=6e6ba58859&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6

    YEP!! Satan, his demonic forces & useful idiots are busy, BUSY …. ;-(

    https://christianlifedaily.com/once-family-friendly-tv-channel-shocks-fans-with-movie-featuring-homosexual-themes/

    https://www.lifenews.com/2020/09/28/planned-parenthood-opposes-amy-coney-barrett-its-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-seat-we-demand-a-no-vote/

    https://www.foxnews.com/media/tucker-carlson-amy-coney-barrett

    https://www.catholicleague.org/barretts-faith-trashed-by-media-and-activists/

    https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/09/when-the-dogma-lives-loudly

    https://blog.adw.org/2020/09/god-can-use-anything-but-he-shouldnt-have-to-a-homily-for-the-25th-sunday-of-the-year/

    https://phys.org/news/2020-09-salty-lake-ponds-gurgling-beneath.html

    https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/nyt-editorial-board-wants-censorship-of-trump-and-allies-on-election-night/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!

    Liked by 5 people

  14. WHAT!
    WE COULD SEE AN AURORA IN NORTHERN US ON ARCHANGEL DAY!
    The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has announced G1 and G2 geomagnetic storm watches for nights from September 27 through September 29. Those watches are a measure of solar activity reaching Earth’s atmosphere and alerts at that level indicate that the aurora may be seen in the northern US.
    Didn’t Our Lady predict these lights over Europe to indicate a 2nd world war when she appeared in Fatima

    https://www.fatima100.fr/en/the-newsletters/285-20-the-sign-in-the-sky-during-the-night-25th-to-26th-january-1938.

    Liked by 1 person

        1. Both, Linda. It’s what Charlie has consistently named “a worldwide civil war fought on cultural lines.” I think our own country’s woes have hyper-dominated the news so that the messes worldwide are not getting much coverage. Maranatha!

          Liked by 5 people

          1. Yes I’d like to see what’s going in around the globe 🌎. Beckita is there a site that shows more of world news?

            Curious to anyone’s thoughts on first debate last night!!! Whoa!! 🤜 🥊

            Liked by 2 people

  15. “When large numbers of political office holders seek to weaponize the law to punish their opponents or those who merely disagree with them, it undermines the legitimacy of and public respect for the law, planting seedlings of violent opposition when that becomes the only effective means of redress of legitimate grievances.”

    Bit more than seedlings nowadays

    Liked by 4 people

  16. Hey, look at the picture at the top of today’s post and look at what Q posted today! Coincidence? 🙂

    [img]https://qanon.pub/data/media/3b050a773c8e30af49a0a5c0cf3e8d50e1cf2203c02030db17538709b6b53846.jpeg[/img]

    P.S. I’m trying three ways to post an image hoping at least one will work … without html, with , and with [img] …

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I found the debate not at all surprising, Irish. While I wish DT would not have talked over Biden, how does one debate with lies with the typical garbage from those who have taken over the Democrats: falsely blame the opposition for the crimes you yourself are committing?

      Liked by 4 people

  18. In regard to Black Lives Matter, we aren’t opposing just a physical and political movement. The basis of their movement is spiritual, and unfortunately the kind that comes from the pit of hell. Please watch the following video where three founding leaders reveal the source of their spiritual power. The video runs for 6 minutes;

    Despite the above, as we all join together to take our next, right step, let us all be clear in knowing that we serve a Name that is above all other names, and that name is Jesus.

    Rachel Jackson and Christ For The Nations sing; Jesus, Jesus, Jesus;

    Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
    There’s just something about that Name
    Master, Savior, Jesus
    Like a fragrance after the rain
    Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
    Let all heaven and earth proclaim
    Kings and kingdoms may all pass away
    But there’s something about that Name.

    Liked by 3 people

  19. “The federal income tax will be abolished as a bad experiment that intruded on the freedom of all and was weaponized to target dissent. Alternate means of taxation, through sales and excise taxes among others will be found. If taxes are tied to productivity and commerce, it will give government officials incentive to promote productivity and commerce rather than strangling it.”

    You were/are circling the target with this insight Charlie.

    This guy just yesterday narrowed in a little further toward what is an inevitable conclusion: we are at or very near the end of the era of Federal Taxation.

    http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2020/09/helicopter-money-and-end-of-taxes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+google%2FRzFQ+%28oftwominds%29

    He hasn’t got it quite right either but like you is mulling the direction we are committed to now as a society.

    The key to understanding why Federal Income Tax is now a relic of the past (or soon to be) is money.

    What is money? What is currency? What is the function of money? What is the nature of money in an AI world?

    Money used to be commodity based. Certificates. Pieces of paper that could be exchanged for real stuff. Started with medieval goldsmiths. They were the progenitors of the modern banking system and of modern money. U.S. currency used to be “Good as Gold”. Why? Because it used to be that you could exchange a $35 worth of $1 bills and receive an ounce of pure gold in return from the U.S. Government. You’d shove the paper into the teller’s cage and the U.S. shoved actual physical gold back at you.

    FDR ended that commodity based currency regime for average Americans in 1933. Richard Nixon closed the gold exchange window for Foreign Governments in 1971. What can you exchange a U.S. dollar bill for today? You can go into any bank and exchange a wrinkled up old damaged greenback for a spanking new green piece of paper. There is nothing “real” behind that piece of paper.

    https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/reports-statements/gold-report/current.html

    We are now adrift in a make believe sea of monopoly money. Not just in the U.S. but the whole world.

    Fiat money: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money

    “Fiat money can be:

    Any money declared by a government to be legal tender.

    State-issued money which is neither convertible by law to anything else, nor fixed in value in terms of any objective standard.

    Intrinsically valueless money used as money because of government decree.

    An intrinsically useless object that serves as a medium of exchange (also known as fiduciary money.

    The term fiat derives from the Latin word fiat, meaning “let it be done” used in the sense of an order, decree or resolution.”

    Yup.

    Fiat money is coercive in nature. The government decrees that this piece of paper is “Legal Tender for All Debts Public and Private”. And that’s that.

    The Constitution gives Congress the right to coin money. This power the Congress has handed off to a private banking cartel called the Federal Reserve Bank. It ain’t Federal and there ain’t no Reserve.

    The Marxists have zeroed in on this shaky standard of what is and isn’t money to argue that Congress can invoke into existence by Fiat or “Royal Decree” all the money it wants. It’s right there in the Constitution. They have developed a theory of what modern money is and how it should be used. Amazingly enough they call it : Modern Monetary Theory or MMT for short.

    MMT is behind the AOC/Bernie/Biden “Economic Plan” of essentially “free stuff” for everybody. Just create Fiat Money our of thin air by Congressional Fiat and pass it around. Call it walking around money. Those “stimulus checks” you got in the mail without even asking for it this past summer? MMT.

    Never going to be “paid for” in the old fashion sense.

    The current and growing like a metastasizing growth of MMT Fiat currency masquerading as public debt has condemned us to a MMT future. Print, baby, print. The whole concept of Federal Debt is merely a charade at this point.

    So we have to learn how to manage an MMT world. Because there is no alternative. We’ve been herded into it by politicians and bankers since WWII and now we must learn how to limit Fiat money and manage Fiat money to try to make it work without collapsing the whole economy.

    That’s where Federal Income Taxes come in. Here’s where the AOC/Bernie/Biden “free stuff for everybody” nonsense has got to be confronted and curtailed. If you get “free stuff” just by opening your mail then why work at all? We see glimpses of this in those who stay on unemployment in lieu of going back to work. Or welfare.

    What the AOC/Bernie/Biden Marxists won’t do is discuss taxes. Under MMT the collection of Federal Income Taxes MAKES NO SENSE. Why collect taxes when all you have to do is push a button and create all the money you need or want? The answer from the MMT theorists: We need to keep taxing the hell out of Americans in order to ensure proper social outcomes. Proper social behavior. Do what we say or else. We will confiscate all that “free stuff” for those who stubbornly oppose the implementation of the socialist agenda. This is going to be a problem for the Church. The Church does not behave appropriately as far as Marxists are concerned. The Bishops are going to learn this lesson too late.

    The stumbling block for MMT is the collection of taxes in the new MMT monopoly money world we are now committed to going forward .

    The fight is over taxes. The fight is how to limit Congress’s irresistible lure to exchange MMT for Votes in a flood of “free stuff”. Can our Government constrain itself to manage our society through the rapids ahead? It’s going to have to. Because there is no alternative.

    The course:

    End Federal Taxation of any kind. Limit the footprint of the U.S. Government on society to the current percentage of GDP that it presently represents … about 19% of total GDP. Print up the Fiat and say “NO MORE” to stand up the Government and pay its bills. Leave the private sector to grab the incentive to produce real wealth unconstrained and unfettered by the Federal Government. Don’t starve the beast just regulate the diet. It’s what “Made America Great” in the first place.

    The Taxless Society. That’s the fight.

    I’ll leave it to the imagination to envision all the benefits that would follow from this course of managing the Fiat situation bequeathed to us since the end of WWII. V shaped recovery would not do justice to what we will experience one day as Federal Taxes become a receding in the rear view mirror ancient relic.

    The Freedom to Keep What You Make of yourself. Imagine.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Stormy tracker,

      I can tell you’re brilliant.

      You helped me understand things better. That is what Trump spoke about a v shape recovery? He is planning to end fed taxes?

      We need to pray more for him and his family. If I didn’t know any better the evil one was provoking him to act poorly last night in debate.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Littleonein Pa you are very kind. But I’m not as brilliant as you or I might think. What I am is concerned because our system is very vulnerable to sudden and sever collapse at any moment. There are people who want to see that outcome come to pass.

        I think Donald Trump would love to eliminate all Federal Taxes. Thing it is such a radical and outside the box concept none of the really brilliant people (or so they think) can afford the humiliation of putting the idea forward for fear of the ridicule of the brilliant ones.

        Thing is that we are being pushed into a no exit corner. Taxation will have to be ruinous to pay off the current future obligations of the U.S. government. The interest on the debt will become the biggest single piece of the domestic discretionary budget crowding our all the nifty things that we get from the Federal Government.

        The major obstacle is the Congress. It will take major legislation involving a new form of Budget Authority not heretofore used in this country. It will be a form of Permanent DEFINITE Budget Authority. The Definite part means essentially that there will be a very strict definite or defined limit as to how much of this FIAT funny money can be created on an annual basis. Otherwise we have Zimbabwe. This will have to be enacted as part of an historic recovery bill.

        It will change America’s business model. Systemic change. A whole lot of people with an interest in the current tax based business model, like bankers and politicians and Wall St will everything in ther power to oppose what will have to be done.

        Now don’t take me wrong about this but it’s going to be a little bit like Peter stepping out of the boat in the deep water. We aren’t there yet as a nation and I do believe it is going to take a major collapse or our financial institutions to begin a “dialogue” on what we do next. That dialogue will center on the implementation of a MMT scheme of some sort.

        We will do it the hard way. Of that we can be certain. It will not be taken seriously until after a major crash.

        Liked by 2 people

  20. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! – 😉

    ttps://www.grunge.com/236372/mysteries-and-secrets-of-the-shroud-of-turin/?utm_campaign=clip

    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-american-vs-catholic?mc_cid=4c0eeb46c5&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6

    https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/greek-orthodox-church-in-us-asks-un-to-censure-turkey-over-hagia-sophia-643935

    https://www.crisismagazine.com/2020/will-children-ever-be-children-again

    https://americanmind.org/features/the-racial-marxism-of-blm/

    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/09/the_debate_trump_was_great_chris_wallace_was_a_dreadful_disgrace.html

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/09/30/the-fbi-knew-in-december-2016-steeles-primary-sub-source-was-a-suspected-russian-spy-did-james-comey-know/

    News Overload this AM:
    https://stream.org/category/us/
    https://townhall.com/
    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/
    https://thefederalist.com/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!

    Liked by 3 people

    2. Thanks as always, CD, for the links. The Americanthinker article was helpful in making sense of the debate, though I only watched part of it. My blood pressure couldn’t take it! The points in the article were excellent in helping me to sort out what I saw. I wasn’t really sure what to think of it and this is one time the “Monday morning quarterbacking” was a positive.

      Trump will never get a fair shake from any of the media. Oh, by the way, it’s nice to see EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo being utilized by Fox; he’s a good interviewer, and was in a clip on Fox today (online) with viewers of the debate.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. check the 10 minute mark- Victor Davis Hanson did not like the format
        Check the 18 minute mark how “critical race theory” is being taught in our schools, government and businesses. Peter Kirsanow a commissioner on the US Commission on Civil Rights says it is “toxic”.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. The video is unavailable, Sorrowful. VDH was on Tucker last evening speaking to how we’re at the same point as were people before the French Revolution as well as the Bolshvik Revolution. Tucker, too, has had much reporting on the actual content of “critical race theory.”

          Liked by 4 people

  21. Totally off the wall: “Squirrels gathering nuts in a flurry, Will cause snow to gather in a hurry.” “In addition, “a tough winter is ahead if squirrels’ tails are very bushy.” WHAT kind of tail is our squirrel sporting? Asking for a friend. (from the old Farmer’s Almanac.)

    Liked by 5 people

  22. Interesting your mention of squirrels. In Magalia, foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the squirrel tails are very bushy. Also the acorns are the largest that many of us can ever remember seeing. It will be interesting what kind of a fall we will be facing. Just got removed from Precautionary Evacuation while having a forced power outage for 3 days. … Maybe the squirrels know something. I am praying for soaking rains for all of the west coast, but I don’t know if that is a prayer that will be answered soon.

    Liked by 5 people

  23. After witnessing some of that shameless spectacle last night, i sat on a boulder somewhere up on the back hill. Yeah, it’s official. I couldn’t think of one worldly institution that has so much as a shred of its credibility and dignity intact.

    Yet… a moment for joy. Admittedly, I mighta grinned at the thought of Trump just going over and deckin’ Biden after he called him a “clown,” but had real, deep and abiding joy spending a nice chunk of the night just looking at Jesus, with naught else but mere dust under His feet, and the countless dust mites that inhabit each.

    So, He directed my attention to thinking about the dignity of individual people (at least I discern that He directed my attention to thinking about the dignity of individual people). A repeat calibration of sorts. Accompanied by the silence, but maybe, just maybe, a familiar little ‘click’ of something popping back into place.

    Really, is there anything more worthy than to be about His business!? Especially after a calibration!

    Liked by 7 people

  24. “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” –St. Thérèse of Lisieux, ora pro nobis.

    Liked by 8 people

    1. Love her so much, Maggie. I’m keeping company with a first class relic of St. Thérèse during these days. Our community, ASOH, is on my lips in prayer while I venerate her. As a patron of this site, she is present in an intimate way already. May she especially strengthen Charlie and, as patron of missionaries, we welcome her onto the streets with us as we proceed in developing the work of CORAC.

      Liked by 6 people

  25. JESUS = GOOD NEWS! – 😉

    https://www.ncregister.com/blog/french-soldiers-tell-how-st-therese-helped-and-protected-them-in-world-war-i

    Lord! Raise up Legions of Good-Guys for the coming battle …. Good-Guys of Faith, Patriotism and Good Will!!
    https://www.churchmilitant.com/video/episode/vortex-fr-altman-lets-it-rip?mc_cid=b319424151&mc_eid=2a0b6c7ef6

    https://www.axios.com/us-china-global-power-intelligence-threat-house-report-f0294083-dbf4-475e-b5e6-4f79015a5d0d.html

    Still thinking about Votin’ Biden ’cause Trump is an Orange Meanie?
    Check the below to find the “Good Company” you will associate with ;-(

    https://www.catholicleague.org/biden-team-welcomes-christian-bashers/
    https://www.worldtribune.com/comrades-communist-party-usa-endorses-biden/
    https://www.axios.com/us-china-global-power-intelligence-threat-house-report-f0294083-dbf4-475e-b5e6-4f79015a5d0d.html
    https://www.npr.org/2020/06/15/876893948/planned-parenthood-backs-biden-seeing-a-life-or-death-election-ahead
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenrobinsonjacobs/2020/08/26/black-lives-coalition-wont-endorse-biden-but-warns-against-danger-of-trump-winning-four-more-years
    https://www.newsbreak.com/news/1549369731983/soros-funded-muslim-group-associated-with-homophobia-terrorist-defenders-endorses-biden
    Yeah …Right!
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/02/fact-check-antifa-com-redirects-joe-biden-site-hes-not-involved/3455297001/

    https://tomperna.org/2020/09/29/prayer-to-saint-michael-the-prayer-we-need-to-pray-every-day/

    GOD SAVE THE REPUBLIC & ALL HERE!

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Happy Feast day everybody !!! Becky I just love that pic you put up of St. Therese of Lisieux!!!

    Also, I listened again today to the last Corac video Charlie and Michael put up and got the prayer down on print that Charlie says everyday! I really like this prayer! Singingjuls here we go!!! lol

    Prayer Charlie says every day –

    “I pray that the Lord will help me to give me the grace to proclaim the Kingdom with power, clarity and conviction that will inspire billions to new hope across the world.” – Charlie Johnston

    Liked by 3 people

  27. PS:
    I see nothing wrong with Pastor Coverstone’s latest presentation and the interpretation of his dream.
    The few Catholic Pastors that are willing to Speak-Up with an old fashioned Biblical Prophet:….” Repent, Get-Ready, Armour (of God) Up and brace yourself for the Fight ahead” …… are silenced, ignored, demonized or smeared by the Usual Suspects …. secular & Church.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRLULdKGs9xjf9J0FUSY6bQ

    Speaking of Church Bigs who are are …… Fill in the Blank …………. ;-(

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pope-francis-declines-meeting-mike-pompeo-ahead-u-s-election-n1241670

    It has been SEVEN YEARS & seven months since Pope Benedict XVI resigned his post!?
    I still want to know WHAT The Deal Was/Is? ….. Though considering what’s been going on these past 7.6 years!! …… I’m betting on Demonic Wolves and The Smoke of Satan!!

    GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Love her too, Beckita. I named her as our grandson’s patron saint when he was baptized, as he was born on her feast day. I’m sure she and the Lord don’t mind if a female is a patron saint for a male. 🙂 May she grant us all the power of her intercession for protection and all levels of healing. I ask her for special blessings for our grandson on his birthday. Amen!

    Liked by 1 person

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Published by charliej373

Charlie Johnston is a former newspaper editor, radio talk show host and political consultant. From Feb. 11, 2011 to Aug. 21, 2012, he walked 3,200 miles across the country, sleeping in the woods, meeting people and praying as he went. He writes on cultural, global and political issues from an orthodox Catholic perspective. He emphasizes that we find God most surely through the ordinary, doing the little things we should with faith and fidelity. His constant refrain is that, to live real joy, we must acknowledge God, take the next right step, and be a sign of hope to those around us. He lives in the Archdiocese of Denver in the United States.