The Media and American Decline

The absence of a competent, an ethical, or an independent media is a detriment to the nation's future and its capacity for self governance. When a future historian writes the history of America's decline and fall, he may  begin with the advent of Progressivism or with the birth of the American Century, but he may just as likely begin with the invention of television news and the decline in newspaper competition.

Ann Coulter Should Apologize

Ann Coulter should apologize for calling King Hussein a retard.  Mental retardation is not a sign of bad character. Also, most mental retards have a better understanding of the United States Constitution than King Hussein does. Coulter owes retards an apology.

Antony Sutton's "America's Secret Establishment"

I read Antony Sutton’s history of Skull and Bones*(America’s Secret Establishment) last summer.  I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but Progressivism fits the Hegelian model that Sutton describes as Skull and Bones's ideology; moreover, the Hegelian model seems to have guided the direction of American politics for the past century.  The concept of gradual socialization leading to a socialist America was characteristic of many Progressives, particularly Walter Weyl in his New Democracy.  Sutton says something more:  the American political process has been an orchestrated dialectic between two apparently competing factions, but the end result of the dialectic will be a synthesis that benefits the elite of both factions.  As America becomes increasingly oligarchic there seems to be some meat on Sutton's discussion of Skull and Bones.

Sutton's history of Skull and Bones says more about American conservatism's being a form of Progressivism than it does about the left-wing Progressivism of Theodore Roosevelt and his cousin Franklin.  Everyone already knows that left-wing Progressives favor socialism.  There is more confusion about American conservatism, which claims to favor traditional American values.  There is, though, a socialist tradition in America that arches from Hamilton to the Whigs to the Progressives.  The Whig ideology was necessarily couched in individualist rhetoric just as Hamilton claimed to favor states' rights in The Federalist Papers.  In other words, Whig liberalism was baloney, just as today's Republican Party's claims of being for small government is baloney.  

The Whigs didn't picture themselves as more conservative or more radical than the Democrats, only more in favor of public works, centralized control,  the public good, central banking, and subsidies to business.  Both American conservatism and American progressivism in their current forms are descended from the Whigs'  and Progressives' ideologies, but there was no Federalist, Whig, or Republican conservatism until  1912.   Since then, both American conservatism and American "liberalism" have been Progressive, and have had little regard for Jacksonian or Jeffersonian republicanism except in apologia.   Warren G. Harding ran on a platform of normalcy, as did Calvin Coolidge.  Normalcy or consolidation has been part of Republican Progressivism pattern ever since.  Reagan claimed that "government is the problem," but he consolidated government. He did not reduce it.  In order to attract Americans who continue to believe in 19th century liberalism, the Republican Party has continued to lie and claim that it favors small government.

 Skull and Bones was present at the founding of both major political factions.  Much later, the Kennedy administration appointed Skull and Bones members (McGeorge Bundy, William Bundy, and Averell Harriman, along with a range of cronies.**  Kennedy had asked Skull and Bonesman Robert Lovett to join his cabinet, but Lovett  refused, recommending the Bundys instead. ) As well, Skull and Bonesmen have dominated American conservatism:  William F. Buckley, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush were members.  There is little of Jefferson or Jackson in American conservatism, which is pro-bank, pro-banker, pro-big business, and pro-elite.

Before I had heard of Skull and Bones or knew of his membership in the Skull and Bones order, I had concluded that William Howard Taft was the founder of American conservatism; it turns out that his father, Alphonse Taft, was the founder of Skull and Bones, and William F. Buckley, who adapted Taft conservatism to the post-war era, was also a member.  Recall that Buckley did his best to destroy Ayn Rand, in particular through a review of Atlas Shrugged by Whitaker Chambers.

Thesis: left-wing Progressivism (Roosevelt, Perkins, Rockefeller, Morgan), 
Antithesis: conservative Progressivism (Taft, Buckley, Bush)
Synthesis: American oligarchy and crony capitalism

Since 1912 American politics has been a Hegelian battle between two versions of Progressivism; the ideas of the founding fathers are recognized rhetorically, especially in the conservative version, but are ignored in operation by both factions.    The outcome is a mix of fascism and socialism, an oligarchy based on money printing and finance.   

* http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Secret-Establishment-Introduction-Order/dp/0972020748/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356154884&sr=8-1&keywords=sutton+skull+and+bones

**Domhoff credited Lovett, Harvey Bundy and John McCloy with having a close working relationship; and credited John F. Kennedy as accepting Lovett's advice to appoint Dean Rusk as Secretary of State, Robert McNamara as Defense Secretary, and C. Douglas Dillon for the Treasury.

***Thus, TR became president, and the Order of Skull & Bones for the first time moved into the White House. Roosevelt surrounded himself with Bonesmen. His successor in 1908, William Howard Taft, was himself a second generation member of Skull & Bones.

Pre-Christmas Snow in West Shokan

 

I shared a few pictures of my home in West Shokan, New York with some friends.We had a pre-Christmas snow last night, but the melt started almost immediately, causing an upsurge in the stream, a dense fog, and flooding in nearby Woodstock, NY.  May the criminals in Washington and Albany remain far away from our home, and God bless you this holiday season.

Letter to Larry Mone of the Manhattan Institute: America a Pig State

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494

December 19, 2012

Larry Mone

Manhattan Institute

52 Vanderbilt Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Dear Mr. Mone:

Thank you for your fundraising letter of December 4.  I think highly of much of what the Manhattan Institute has done.  Examples are Brian Anderson's book on political theory, which I reviewed for the Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Theodore Dalrymple's essays.  Since 2008, when I last contributed to the Manhattan Institute, I have concluded that the United States is in worse shape than I had thought.  The days of a republican United States will not return, nor will the American tendency toward an oligarchic, dictatorial system reverse.

I hold the Manhattan Institute's perspective partially responsible for America's decline into oligarchy.  American conservatism is rooted in Republican federalism whereby the federal government exercises hegemony over the states, monetary policy, constitutional interpretation, and economic regulation.  From the nation's beginning, Hamilton urged an increasing degree of centralization and federal power; your organization's approach is in the Hamiltonian conservative tradition. 

Oligarchy, centralization, and increased government authority result from the interaction of the brokerage of special interests and Federal Reserve Bank counterfeit:

Brokerage of Special Interests x Federal Reserve Counterfeit = Oligrachy, Tyranny

We are past the point where the size and power of the federal government can be explained as a natural outgrowth of federalism, technology, or economies of scale.  Rather, we live in an oligarchy of financial interests cartelized through the Federal Reserve Bank.  The Hamiltonian vision that you advocate depends on criminality:  the banking system's stealing from the public.  The eventual result has been (not will be) the dissolution of the American republic into an authoritarian, criminal organization. The dissolution has already occurred; the government of the United States is an irretrievable abomination--a pig state.  Please take my name off your mailing list.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.   

King Barack Murders Children, Moves to Take Away Your Right to Defend Yourself from His Majesty

King Barack sheds a tear for the children murdered in Connecticut, but he sheds no tears for the 168 children he and his colleague George Bush have murdered in Pakistan (h/t Mike Marnell).  In Vietnam Lyndon Baynes Johnson and the United States government murdered several hundred thousand Vietnamese children.  Now,  cheered on by America's backward media, Washington's serial killers aim to ruthlessly capitalize on a tragedy to  illegally prevent you from defending yourself from them.

 From The Telegraph:


In an extensive analysis of open-source documents, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that 2,292 people had been killed by US missiles, including as many as 775 civilians.

The strikes, which began under President George W Bush but have since accelerated during the presidency of Barack Obama, are hated in Pakistan, where families live in fear of the bright specks that appear to hover in the sky overhead.

In just a single attack on a madrassah in 2006 up to 69 children lost their lives.

Chris Woods, who led the research, said the detailed database of deaths would send shockwaves through Pakistan, where political and military leaders repeatedly denounce the strikes in public, while privately allowing the US to continue.

"This is a military campaign run by a secret service which raised problems of accountability, transparency and you have a situation where neither the Pakistanis nor Americans are clear about any agreements in place and where the reporting is difficult," he said.

Ubi Libertas, Ibi Patria (Where Liberty Is, There Is My Country)

Choosing to live in the United States because it once had a Constitution and was once the home of Jefferson makes as much sense as choosing to live in Athens because it was once the home of Aristotle or choosing to live in Great Britain because Scotland was once the home of Adam Smith.

Burn the UN Flag Day: October 13, 2013

Kenneth Christian Matteson posted this on Facebook Events.  He proposes October 13, 2013 to be Burn the UN Flag Day. Every day should be Burn the UN Flag Day.  Protestors should bring a few of these to the Kingston, NY planning board and burn them on the days when they discuss their plan.

Plan for a Pro-Freedom Retirement Community in Latin America

I recently mailed this idea to the president of a leading retirement and healthcare real estate investment trust here in the U.S.  The idea is to develop planned communities for Americans in lower cost countries that have more freedom than the United States.  Chile and Uruguay are prime candidates, but as America becomes increasingly unstable and socialistic, places like Nicaragua, Panama,  and Nevis are also candidates. The proposal is as follows:

 I'm a college professor in New York who is a former Sunrise shareholder and has recently bought 100 shares of HCN.  I'm also a former employee-benefit-plan administrator in industry and have published on pension-and-ERISA issues and healthcare reform.  I have an idea for you, and I am happy to discuss it further.  The idea is to transfer what you're doing here to Latin America and the Caribbean (e.g., Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, and Nevis).

The model I'm suggesting is this:  A host country-based healthcare facility surrounded by a high-end retirement community.  The idea includes three or four elements:

1. There will be increasing instability in the United States due to monetary-and-fiscal policy. This will make a second, foreign residence attractive to affluent retirees who may be interested in basing part or all of their retirement portfolios in another market-based economy as well as in alternative citizenship and residence that will diversify citizenship risk.

2. Healthcare costs are on the rise.  Healthcare tourism is a way to sidestep the American system's costs.  An American-managed, community-based healthcare system will take the perceived risk out of healthcare tourism.  As well as providing a foundation for a large-scale community, the community's hospital could provide healthcare tourism services to Americans who want an American-managed healthcare facility. 

3. The cost of living in Latin American countries like Costa Rica is advantageous and can draw Americans threatened by inflationary monetary policies and a declining social security system. This may open large new markets for your organization.

4. Many Americans might be interested in relocation as a way to economize and enjoy life in a new environment, but they are deterred by the uncertainty, bureaucracy, and language barriers of relocation.  A systematic approach that would provide turnkey relocation support and services to Americans who wish to relocate but lack the initiative could open new markets.  In effect, an organized approach can replace the transactions costs of individuals' dealing with visas and the like with an organized approach.  These services could extend to citizenship applications, opening bank accounts, assisting with relocation, and language instruction. 

Why I Do Not Support National Review Conservatism

PO Box 130

West Shokan, New York 12494

December 7, 2012

Mr. J.P. Fowler

National Review

215 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10016

Dear Mr. Fowler:

I am in receipt of your fundraising letter of November 30.  I did contribute to National Review once or twice, but I have since concluded that the Buckley brand of conservatism has contributed to the nation's ongoing decline.  I have two chief reasons for reaching this conclusion. 

First, the lesser-of-two-evils voting strategy creates a Hegelian dynamic whereby a left-wing thesis confronts a conservative antithesis.  The conservative antithesis is an argument for no change, while the left-wing thesis is an argument for socialist change. The outcome is an incremental socialist (Democratic Party) or fascist (Republican Party) trend, and your lesser-of-two-evils voting philosophy has contributed to it.  American conservatism is unique because of William Howard Taft Progressivism, but it still leads to fascism.  Instead, there needs to be a pro-freedom thesis, or better yet, an elimination of the Hegelian model altogether because it is superstitious. At this point in history, only a radicalism alien to your Taft conservatism will be successful in reversing the totalitarian trend.

Second, your brand of conservatism does not aim to reduce or even to limit government, despite your and the GOP's protestations.  The expansion of government is an outcome of two interactive factors: the brokerage of coalitions of special interests and the unending availability of Federal Reserve Bank counterfeit.  The brokerage of coalitions inexorably pushes elected officials to expand government, and the Fed's unlimited monetary expansion power makes expansion possible.  You favor the Fed's unfettered monetary creation power, and you do not offer an alternative to democracy's brokerage of special interests, a brokerage recognized and heralded by Herbert Hoover, as William Appleman Williams describes in his Contours of American History.

I have concluded that I have as little common ground with your publication, William Howard Taft Progressivism , the GOP, and neoconservative fascism as I do with the Democratic Party and their more thuggish version of socialism. 

 

Please remove me from your mailing list.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

Professor Robert Paquette Takes On PC U

Professor Robert Paquette, an esteemed historian who courageously suffers Hamilton College's political correctness, has posted on the unsustainability of the United States  as evidenced at Hamilton.  Like most American colleges and universities, Hamilton advocates environmentalist ideologies that benefit American investment-and-commercial banks; it happens that senior officials of Goldman Sachs are on Hamilton's Board of Trustees, and it was the Goldman Sachs trustees who pushed Hamilton toward sustainabilty indoctrination. 

Paquette points out that universities seek grant money from the same investment banks that have benefited from Bush-and-Obama socialism.  Politically correct, green university students are eager to work on Wall Street, while most are eager to condemn Charles Koch.

Paquette and I were lucky enough to hear Charles Koch speak, and I was impressed.  At a time when academics were extolling Enron, Paul Krugman was collecting honoraria from Enron, Harvard Business School was selling case studies advancing Enron's philosophy, and Fortune was naming Enron the most creative firm, Koch rejected the advice of executives he had hired from Enron.  He suggested that he had found their ideas to have been absurd, yet these were the ideas the American business academy had considered the nation's most creative.  Koch is now the fourth-richest American, and Enron's former supporters now attack Koch because he does not adhere to their ideology, an ideology that was entirely consistent with the views of Jeffrey Skilling and Andrew Fastow.

Paquette makes the following point:

(T)hose who graduate (from Hamilton), precisely because of the deficiencies and one-sidedness of their education, will prove defenseless in articulating a thoughtful response to the caricatures of American and Western history that now pass as gospel as precincts of the cultural left capture ever more ground inside and outside the academy. 

Paquette emphasizes that American history is neglected--even among history majors. This is an understatement, for even if American history were required, it would be taught in an ideologically slanted, uninformed way.  Frederick Jackson Turner's nonsensical frontier thesis is presented as fact in Mickey Mouse history classes while ideologues in academic garb ignore T.S. Ashton's reasoned assessments of the industrial revolution.

Worse, American universities are purveyors of illiteracy.  At Hamilton, which is an elite college, the students have been adequately prepared at the primary and secondary levels.  In contrast, at public universities the students have been indoctrinated in public schools from their early years, but they have not been taught to read, write, or do basic mathematics.  Academics are uninterested in teaching their half-literate students how to read, write, or do basic math because it is much more fun to indoctrinate them than to educate them.  

Still worse, New York's public education system, and the American university system, are not just purveyors of ignorance, illiteracy and lack of historical knowledge.  They are purveyors, along with its inventor--The New York Times--of holocaust denial.My students have never heard of the differences between Hamilton and Jefferson, but they also have never heard of the Gulag Archipelago, and they have never heard of the twentieth century's socialist mass murders.   Their education has been silent with respect to the vicious bloodshed that the ideas of the academic left have caused, for they are taught that workers who voluntarily immigrated here are victims of the worst harm and discrimination in history.

Let us conclude with some certainty:  American universities are a load of crap. They are purveyors of illiteracy, ignorance, and holcaust denial.

 To see the history and origins of political correctness and its link to Wall Street, turn to the history of investment banking and George Peabody.  Peabody was one of the earliest American international investment bankers, but his success at first was as a Baltimore merchant. After some success selling State of Maryland bonds, Peabody sold railroad bonds. Since the best market was in London, he moved and spent his mature years there. 

On one of a handful of return trips to the United States from his home in London, when Peabody was already a famous philanthropist, he counseled another Baltimore merchant, Johns Hopkins, on how to establish a university.   Johns Hopkins University relied on the Peabody Library for decades.  Prior to his death, Peabody invited a partner, J.S. Morgan, to join his firm.  J.P. Morgan, J.S.'s son, was a student at a German university and, in effect, worked as an intern at Peabody's firm. Peabody supported J.P. Morgan during his early business career.  

After his death, at Peabody's request, the Peabody firm's name was changed to Morgan Grenfell.  J.P. Morgan did not graduate college, but his son, J.P. Morgan Jr., graduated from Harvard in 1886.   Morgan Sr. donated generously to the Harvard Medical School, whose transformation can be viewed as the most important historical step toward the modern university.  Abraham Flexner's 1912 report on medical schools, which extolled the Johns Hopkins Medical School, established the Johns Hopkins model (which Harvard followed) as the basis not only of medical education, but of modern American education and the modern American research university.  In effect, two Peabody pupils provided financing for the transformation of the religious American colleges of the nineteenth century into the modern university.  The money trail extends further, for the Carnegie fortune, which was the source of the Carnegie Foundation's funding for Flexner's report, was crystallized through J.P. Morgan's acquisition of Carnegie Steel, and his creation of the steel trust--U.S. Steel.  The university was linked to Progressivism and Wall Street from its beginning.   Today, buildings at Harvard include the Peabody Museum (there is also one at Yale), Morgan Hall (Harvard Business School), Mellon Hall (Harvard Business School), Rockefeller Hall, and Lehman Hall.