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Episode-985- From Pawn to Personal Sovereignty

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If You Wish to be Free - First Understand You are a Pawn

If You Wish to be Free – First Understand You are a Pawn

I chose the title today in spite of the wackos at the fringe of the “sovereign citizen movement”, not because of them.  In may ways those people have polluted the concept of personal sovereignty but no other phrase really applies to what I want to discuss with you today.

Personal sovereignty basically means “self ownership” and as such is much larger then any political statement.  Someone who truly lives their life based on self ownership must carry far more responsibility then just telling others that they won’t do as commanded.  The individual sovereign much accept that if they fail the failure is theirs and it will be up to them to get up and try again.  They realize any help by any other party will be voluntarily and not something they are entitled to.

They will carry a burden that due to this they must also have a responsibility to help others in need, to do what is right for simply the sake of right.  They can’t rely on others to tell them when to give, what to give, how much to give or who deserves their help.  They must be responsible for themselves, their families, their communities and their nation as a whole.  The problem is today, most people even those who believe they are “free” are pawns on a giant chess board.  Just as the drug addict must first admit to being a drug addict before he can become free of drugs, so must we admit first that we are pawns if we wish to claim our birth rights of personal sovereignty.

Join Me Today As I Discuss…

  • The blog post that led to this
  • What our nation claims to be vs. what it is
  • Why you must first accept you are a pawn if you want to be free
  • Why you have to let go of all dogmatic beliefs when they are proven false
  • What is personal sovereignty
  • What are your responsibilities as someone who owns yourself
  • How do you break the chains that keep you on the game board
  • What hope do we have if we indeed are all pawns?  A lot!

Resources for Today’s Show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Comments

Episode-985- From Pawn to Personal Sovereignty — 143 Comments

  1. Personal sovereignty (freedom) from actual & perceived judgement from others. How about that type of freedom. Also freedom from attachments, “to-dos”, outcomes. Keeping up with the Jones’. Most talks on personal freedom are in regards to being free from oppressive governments, work places, etc., but some of the ones commonly overlooked are ones just mentioned, and they have quite an impact.
    Good topic and approach angle. Thanks.

  2. “I am a pawn in the system, and I don’t have to be anymore.”

    That needs to be a moral patch or a shirt. I am drifting more towards a patch. you did a wonderful show today Jack.

  3. Perfect timing needed to hear this. I have some physical issues that make it almost impossible to work a job. Some days are ok and I can work like 3 men. Other days it’s all I can do to shower and dress. Many have told me to file disability. That is just a pill I can not choke down. For now I have to let hubby bring home the paychecks. ( Although I was having a brief questioning if I should or just give up on the homestead and go get a j.o.b.. )

    I decided if I can’t bring home the bacon any more then I will grow it myself along with the lettuce and tomatoes! On days when I am strong and able bodied I do physical manual labor. On days when I am having a hard time moving I study, do research, and learn new skills. So when the strength comes back I can rock and roll again with new ideas.

    We don’t have near the cash coming in like in the past. Yet savings is bigger & our debit is smaller. I don’t have new clothes or lunches out. Don’t drive a new car or have a big fancy TV. Don’t shop for stuff aka crap all the time.

    Instead have invested in live stock. Spent $100 for 4 turkeys now have 30 turkeys well 29 ate one. Bought 3 pigs now have 12. It’s hard work sometimes. Stressful sometimes too. Because I am not sure exactly how to do all this. But you know I have never been happier. Never felt freer. I worry less and less about money. I feel like I have broken out of the chains that were weighing me down.

    I took the red pill and am very glad I did. (matrix best movie ever)

  4. The chessboard analogy is a classic mirror-image paradigm; i.e., the only thing that limits the movements of a pawn (or a bishop, or knight, or king) is the mind-set of the ‘player’ who controls action on the board. In other words (regardless of which piece you most identity yourself with) ‘freedom’ is not an option until you come to realize that it is YOU (not the chessboard, or the individual pieces) who is playing the game. 😉

    • I dont get why people keep making the chess/checkers analogy. Chess is the game of kings and queens not the republic that this nation is suppose to be about.
      A President on the other hand deals with other nations kings. Therfore makes desitions on that level, But we dont. But this ecconomic issue dose not require that kind of thinking. I play chess and I have had many game that end in massive losses. But thats not what is needed here. We dont need to (capture a particular piece to gain a tactical advantage over a sector of the game board)

      I dont see that as the right way of thinking. I see us all as brothers and sisters giving each other support when needed and a boot in the butt when we get off tract.

      There will never be 100% employment for everyone. And there should not be. Not Everyone can Be rich. Not everyone wants to be. Not everyone can live nor wants to live on the same level of society. Not Everyone has the same abilities but we can all live forfilling
      lives.

      I think there is enough to go around if not for the hoarding and Selfishness and greed of some. Call me a socialist if you like but i would not go that far.

      (Oh, and sorry Jack for posting in the wrong spot)

      I see you all as my brothers and sisters.

      • @Ray

        The chess checkers analogy isn’t about what you are tying to make it about. Checkers is a simple game you are playing one to 4 moves ahead at most at any one time and most are only playing 2 moves ahead. Chess is complex, if you are good you are 9 moves ahead and in 9 different scenarios at any one time.

        What I often say is while we play checkers, our controllers are playing 3d space chess. This is a way of saying those in control are able to keep the masses in the dark.

        Next thank you for helping me with the creation of what based on feedback so far has been one of the best episodes in TSP history and please realize you are a pawn, simply so you can rise up and stop being one.

        • If i am a pawn or not is not an issue with me. I really dont loose one second of sleep about who is President. Not until they come knocking on my door. I agree with you on more thing than not. The way i live my life helps me not have to worry about what they do.

          What i worry about is what i have control of.

    • I saw the same thing on opensecrets, too. How does the US Government & US State Department give out tax dollars to any campaign???

      • “..The organizations themselves did not donate , rather the money came from the organizations’ PACs, their individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals’ immediate families. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.”

        • Jack,

          I also am wondering if you have a trusted source for the statement that Obama and Romney share the same top 10 donors. Looked online, but didn’t find the same results that you did. Link? Excellent podcast, keep up the good work.

    • Yeah, I went looking this morning and couldn’t find anything that showed any real overlap either. Microsoft, Google, and the Univ. of California lead Obama’s list everywhere I checked, and financial institutions lead Romney’s lists.

      • Yall have been had look up the Big Os list for 2008 and find out how much stuffing those companies kept doing in 09, 10 and 11. You are looking at 12 vs 12 which seem logical but the big banks stuffed the current assclowns war chest prior to this year, important for posturing purposes you know.

        Like I keep saying we play checkers while they play 3d space chess.

        • Thanks, Jack! I’ll dig further back.

          This morning, I found myself in a “discussion” with someone trying to tell me Bernake will keep rates at zero to get Obama reelected, and I wanted some hard data to demonstrate how little the banks care about whether the R’s or the D’s are in power.

        • At one point in the campaign, a few months back, the lists of both were almost identical. Now that Ronmey’s been officially nominated, other groups pouring in, and more mainstream funding, the lists have diverged slightly.

          slightly.

  6. This is so timely. I just got done talking with my brother this weekend on this very subject.

    I think the hardest part is unplugging from it all. We were sucked into it at such a young age (right out of college) and now taking the pill means more short term pain. The Debt that you get early on enslaves us. Its all about cash flow for most of society.

  7. Thank you for continuing to tell it like it is and helping to keep us on point. Sometimes it feels so lonely but having this podcast and community to come to helps on this road to removing as many of the traps of “pawnism.” as possible.
    -Jess

  8. Jack,

    Probably the best and most foundational episode I’ve heard. Fantastic balance. I’m earmarking this for referencing others to later and this is Facebook share worthy.

    Trey

  9. 32 minutes in and a few random thoughts Jack:

    1) “Life Coach Jack”, I like these almost as much as the garden episodes
    2) “The best move is not to play”
    3) “Love many, trust few; always paddle your own canoe”

    These thoughts popped into my head. Now back to the podcast…

  10. Jack !

    (ep. 985)
    EXACTLY RIGHT (at about 25 mins in)

    The older you are, the worse “waking up” is. – much worse.- that damn blue pill!

    I was a total fool for unwittingly playing the pawn for the scumbags at the top,…I knew something wasn’t right, but never saw the “better way” out of the system. Or at least thought of property and self sufficiency as unattainable, therefore not persued.

    …And now it feels like it’s too late, the music has stopped and there are no chairs left.
    As you said, I wasted my effort, my money, and most of all my life playing the game as a pawn, and worst of all, I feel as if I’ve failed my family.

    –NOT giving up , or whining, it’s just feels like crap telling youself, “If I only had started 15-20 years ago, I’d be set.”
    Still working on a plan.
    We are only somewhat prepared, and I hope there is at least 2 years to make something happen with property.

    Thanks for all you do.

    • Totally there with you Dan.

      But I do feel grateful that I’m waking up NOW.

      I have a neighbor who is ten years older, and he’s just waking up.. and he’s TIRED. And my parents are only now realizing that the system they spent their entire lives supporting isn’t going to be there for them in their ‘golden years’.

      Waking up now is the best we can do. (But if you get that time machine working, let me know. ;-))

  11. Fantastic episode! So many truths. I can say it… I am a Pawn but I will continue to do everything in my power to reduce my dependency and NOT be used to promote their agenda.

  12. I was thinking along these lines the other day…just not as deep…never as deep as Jack. 😉

    I kept thinking about a part in Band of Brothers when Blithe is talking to Lt. Speirs.

    “You know why you hid in that ditch Blithe?”
    “I was scared.” “We’re all scared.”
    “You hid in that ditch because you think there is still hope…”

    I’ll let you make your own links. But for me, it brings me to the idea that I realize the fact that things are going to change….and hopefully I’ll be ready for it when it comes. But one thing that I won”t be doing is mourning what was…

    Here is a link to the vid – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DFReW8KMuA&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLBXFr1fzbkbJknbTHWrFCdA

  13. Just what I needed to hear. So much of my thinking is caught up in the regret of years wasted and money squandered. This was a wonderful wake up call and just as valuable if not more then a show on gardening or security. Those things are valuable topics, but sometimes we need a pep talk to push us on and focus us. I found myself near to tears a few times as I listened today. Thank you so much Jack. I recalled an old saying today as I listened and it applies so well to those of us who’ve wasted time and life in the hamster wheel: “When’s the best time to plant a tree? 25 years ago. When’s the next best time? Today.” I think lots of trees got planted today.

    • LOVE that quote about planting the tree.
      So true- so much that could have been started yesterday, but today is the perfect time to prepare for tomorrow. It’s not too late!

      Thanks for another great show Jack!

    • Your tree-planting example says it all…but also reminds me of another bit of ‘sage’ advice: “Plant an acorn in a flowerpot, and you get a tiny oak tree.” 😉

  14. FYI – While a common term, there isn’t a unified definition for fascism, economically speaking. It’s an ongoing debate.

    In any case, I agree that fascism is an appropriate description of the modern political economy in this country. Essentially, marriage between govt and industry into a unified entity that is neither public (in the socialist sense) nor private (in the capitalist sense). (e.g the Fed)

  15. Now that’s what I call an awesome show!

    I had to play that one a second time through the stereo in my garage while working on the rabbitry. My poor phone speaker was just no match for the “Hell yeah’s” I was throwing out in agreement.

    Who would have known that producing your own food would be such an empowering feeling.

    Thank you.

  16. I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more, if they only knew they were slaves. -Harriet Tubman

  17. Pingback:Evolution vs. Devolution (04) | CiderPress

  18. When Jack mentioned everyone worrying/arguing/focusing on the presidential election it reminded me of ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People’.. which says that successful people focus their attention and efforts WITHIN their ‘circle of influence’. Which is the things that they can have an effect upon.

    Example: Growing a tomato plant -vs- Reading another article on UN gun grabs.

    To disempower, all you have to do is keep peoples attention focused outside their circle of influence. Their actions then have little to no effect, leading to discouragement, ending in less and less action (giving up).

    Conversely, effective action (within your circle) motivates, leading to more action. (example: a bigger garden =)

    But to bring it back to the show.. the ‘chess masters’ have us all focusing our political/economic attention as FAR AWAY from our ‘circle of influence’ as possible. On a sham election.

    Your local city council is much more likely to pass/repeal laws that impact your preparedness (legality of gardens, livestock, graywater use, rain water collection..). Your local sheriff and judges what laws actually get enforced.

    Bring your attention back to your circle of influence.. your home, family and community.. don’t bother worrying about the next level until your own house is in order.

      • Totally…

        For a long time I used to get real “wound up” about politics. Even more so after I became a libertarian/anarcho-capitalist and realized that this so-called two party system is really just one party, “the statists”.

        Eventually, I’ve gotten to the point where I quit focusing on that crap and spend my time on what “I can control”: my career, my personal relationships, things that fall under the umbrella of “prepping”. I now give that same advice to others…

        The effect of that is:

        1. I’m more effective. It seems obvious but probably most people don’t really direct their attention to things they can control. It turns out, you can be more effective with respect to affecting things you can actually control.

        2. I’m more relaxed. Again it seems obvious but was something I needed to realize: it’s a LOT less frustrating to quit worrying about things you can’t control.

      • I totally agree with this statement.
        “‘The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People’.. which says that successful people focus their attention and efforts WITHIN their ‘circle of influence’. Which is the things that they can have an effect upon.”

        And I would add that If we All would just love our brothers as our self, there would not be a need for govts.

  19. This was a fantastic show, and a prime example of why I listen to TSP regularly. Even though I don’t agree 100%, it’s still something like 95-98% agreement, and that’s more than enough.

    NOTE: What I’m putting below is not to be taken as any kind of criticism of this show. It’s more of an addendum.

    One dimension that wasn’t touched upon with regards to receiving help and helping others is the role of gifts. By that I’m not talking about Christmas or birthday gifts — I’m talking about the role of gift-giving in traditional societies, and even American communities through at least the first half of the 19th century. Most people did not necessarily barter for the basic things they needed — they lived within networks of mutual obligations among members of the extended family and community (which often overlapped). By that, I mean that if someone had a considerable surplus of something that was needed by others, they simply shared it — with the knowledge that when they were in need, somebody else in the community would step up and help them out. Instead of relying on market exchanges — either monetary or barter — they paid it forward. When someone on the receiving end had something they could give to help someone else out, they did — and it often was not the same person that gave them the prior help/gift. All participated with the simple expectation that when they had the ability to help someone, they did — and when they needed help, someone would step up and help them out.

    Inherent in these kinds of arrangements was a great deal of trust between members of the community. In the event that someone shirked on their responsibilities, they could be subtly reminded through social pressure (the positive aspect of gossip) or by being exiled from the circle of giving. Also inherent in these arrangements — and probably the reason they’re hardly used today — is the OBLIGATION that a gift places on the receiver. There’s a reason for the old saying, “Give a gift, give a burden.” In our modern society, where community has been gradually fragmented and eroded over time, but especially over the last century, it is much EASIER for people to engage in market transactions, where both parties walk away without any obligations left to be settled.

    Charles Eisenstein has done some great writing on this topic, especially in his book _Sacred Economics_, which you can access for free online. Also informing this viewpoint are several historical essays and books — one of which was “The Market in the Early Republic” by James Henrietta. Personally, I’m a believer that any kind of true personal sovereignty as described in this episode must include some kind of return to the pay-if-forward gift circles of mutual obligation that existed long ago, if for no other reason because by withdrawing activities from the “market” and placing them under more direct community control, it serves to disempower the powers-that-be and their control over our lives.

    • ‘I store meat in the belly of my brother’

      I agree that we need disintermediation (the removal of intermediates or ‘go betweens’) in our gift giving. Government, at all levels, has said:

      “Let us remove the hassle and responsibility of gift giving. We’ll take the money (taxes) and gift it appropriately, and you can go about your life feeling satisfied, and proud in the knowledge that you’ve ‘helped’ your fellow citizen.”

      The catch? The Government becomes ‘The Giver’ and receives the OBLIGATION of the receiver. The receiver, knowing the gift cost the Government nothing (no sacrifice), feels contempt rather than gratitude.

      When was the last time you heard of someone thanking their fellow citizens for their disability or unemployment check, or their SNAP card?

      Contrast the emotions of those programs (for both giver (taxpayer) and receiver), with the feeling of sharing your extra tomatoes with your neighbor, or receiving some homemade chicken soup from a friend when you’re sick.

      Its time to remove the middle man.

      • You bring up an important point here, Insidious:

        “Contrast the emotions of those programs (for both giver (taxpayer) and receiver), with the feeling of sharing your extra tomatoes with your neighbor, or receiving some homemade chicken soup from a friend when you’re sick.”

        By allowing the state to take over many of the things that were previously worked out in communities, they have also removed the opportunity for most people to have the GOOD FEELING that goes along with giving a gift to someone else, as well as the genuine GRATITUDE that comes from receiving such a gift. This is something that Charles Eisenstein has discussed in depth in several interviews I’ve heard with him. The point he brings up is how so many extremely wealthy people (think Bill Gates or Warren Buffett wealthy) set up foundations to give their money away in their later years. Why do they do this after spending so much effort accumulating it? Because it FEELS GOOD to help other people, that’s why.

        Eisenstein actually takes this dynamic further, asking why we don’t just start off from the point of giving gifts and cultivating networks of gratitude. It’s kind of like the wealthy industrialist on vacation who discovers a poor fisherman lounging on the beach and tells him that he should re-invest his profits from fishing, buy more boats and eventually he’ll be able to retire and spend his days lounging on the beach — exactly as he is already doing. Eisenstein (correctly, I believe) points out that the idea of scarcity is built into the monetary system, making us always feel as if we don’t have enough when, in fact, we all live in the middle of vast abundance. It is this sense of scarcity that prevents so many of us from taking the leap and re-invigorating gift-giving networks to bypass both the state AND the market in meeting our needs — and reclaiming our sovereignty.

      • What is even more telling about this concept is as follows, if you did thank someone who would you thank and what response would it generate.

        You are in line with your SNAP card, do you turn around and ask the guy behind you if he has one and if he doesn’t say well thanks for working so hard so I can have one? Do you say to the clerk thank you for working so hard so I can have this type of assistance when I am down on my luck? How would you expect that they would respond, would you expect that they would feel you are sincere? If you were it is still likely they would resent you isn’t.

        So this dynamic has made gratitude all but impossible has it not? The receiver now sees the gift as a “benefit” and the giver feels it is “theft”.

        Now if you were hungry and down and out due to circumstance and your neighbors all came to your house each with a bag of groceries and said, this is to help you get back on your feet. How would you feel about them, they about you? Would you thank them, would you mean it would they see your thanks as sincere?

        More over if your neighbors were helping you how much more of an obligation do you feel to “get off of assistance” then when you are getting “benefits” from the state. Trust me folks these programs have destroyed the fabric of the nation. The real problem is now they have altered the entire economy to a point were elimination of them is all but impossible without a lot of courage, pain, time and a very controlled process of phase out. Well either that or collapse.

        • Jack, those who have a J.O.B. working in the system are reciveing the benefit of work and pay from thier employer ( be thankful). The employer is recieving the benifit of a system that works for them. (be thankful) The employee that works but dose not earn enough from the J.O.B. yes, should also be thankful for help. but the person that can not find a job should also be thankful. Because there is help.

          If we start casting off the weak and not able, it is said ‘the women and children are next.’ I might not go that far.

          But the ones who steal from the storehouse ( the takers) are the problem. Not the needy.

        • @Ray again you are a pawn,

          1. Stop defending the system that turns humans into batteries

          2. Stop confusing corporatocracy and plutocracy and fascism with capitalism the three are being use to kill capitalism

          3. NO ONE SAID to cast off the weak that is bullshit and you buying into the marketing of the liberal wing of the bullshit that is the the mono two party system.

          4. You are actually starting to wake up, keep doing so, I know this based on other recent comments you made. Don’t be a fucking PAWN man, admit you are a pawn and sever the fucking cord, you are sooooo damn close I can feel it accept the horror of the reality and cut the fucking cord, do it and never look back.

        • Jack
          This is not an attack on an individual. Im hopeing you can have an open mind and understand this post with no assuptions.

          Ive written a thesis paper on the matrix ecconomy 10 or more years ago in college. Not bassed on a movie of fiction.

          Your analogy of chess/checkers is faulse and boarder line Narcisstic. Your assumptions that I am defending this system faulse. Although I do talk to my senators and congressman . Ive won awards for my papers Ive written to them in the past.

          My only point, that I repeat once again, is that we are the common people. You dont think on the level of chess in your day to day living. You dont control never will control ANY chess pieces.
          If you think you do you should do some research on
          (NPD) Narcisstic personality disorder.

          Again I am not attacking anyone. Just offering clearification.

        • @ray I stand by my statement that you are a pawn and frankly I am no narcissist. I know I don’t control things, I do however know those in charge do and only by being aware of it can I choose not to be manipulated.

          I don’t think you are attacking anyone, I just think you are completely totally wrong because the truth is to hard for you to accept.

          As for winning an award for a paper that says what those in charge want us to believe about something, LMAO, what do you think that proves? Again I invite you to go back to 2008 and start listening then, perhaps when you hear me with 95% accuracy tell you what is going to happen with precision accuracy you might just open your mind a bit. Also you can hear me be totally wrong about 5 out of 100 times and I suspect you will enjoy that.

    • “Give a gift, give a burdon”
      Ok, all I can say is WOW, Truth . No matter who you are there is a battle to respect your self.

      If you know you owe a debt, you are humbled. And it may even cause you to think out of your particular box that you are in.

  20. Jack, what is so significant about 16 trillion that was not significant about 10 trillion, 5 trillion and 1 trillion? While I acknowledge our debt is impossible to pay off, it’s not because it’s a big number (16 trillion), but instead because of how the banking system works (which you have explained very well in the past). Why make such a big deal about the number, when it’s the system?

    • Well 5 trillion could have been paid off, as you state is never was going to be but this nation with a real currency system could actually have paid off 5, when it was 10 I was already saying it can’t be paid off, why is 16 a big deal, because many people who are asleep said it “would never happen” when it was 10. Also the bigger the number gets the bigger the interest and that is what will get us to a point where we can’t service the debt, that my friend is end game.

      Next the number awakes people, when it hits 18, may be it will awaken a few more. Likely 20-24 which will come faster after 18 then 16 did after 12 will be the breaking point, do some math and see what the interest will be at that point.

      Yea the number matters and as it grows it matters more.

    • The money is a tool for those in power to remain in power. Its a tool in this system and when it breaks they will just pick up another one.

      • If we are self relient meaning off the grid for electricity food, water or even income, and we see a fellow in true need, we would give to them from our surplus and ‘I thank you’. But if we are on the grid and recieving from the system that provides for us why not give? But as for the wealthy who have grown fat from the sutplus, ‘I thank you’ as well.

        • If we are self relient meaning off the grid our for electricity needs and food, water or even income, and we see a fellow in true need, we would give to them from our surplus for that ‘I thank you’. But if we are on the grid participating in the system and recieving from the system that provides for you why not give? I am thankful of you. But as for the wealthy who have grown fat from the surplus, ‘I thank you’ as well, when you donate and/or pay taxes.

  21. Jack,
    Thanks for a great show. This show along with episode 935 “The Economic Collapse” have really hit a nerve with me. Thanks to your listeners and comment thread contributors as well. I found Chris H’s and Insidious’ contributions especially usefull. Today is my 3 month “anniversary” listening to your show. Although I have never personally used drugs nor abused alcohol, I feel like I am in a 12 step program with a support group, one day at a time…

  22. Superior show. I just forwarded it to over 100 people and posted the link on my Facebook page. Great job as usual Jack!

  23. GREAT show, Jack! Even those of us who consider ourselves people who “get it” can increase our personal sovereignty. I am still being pushed around on the chessboard. Thanks for the “kick in the pants” to push even harder to take responsibility for myself and my family, and rely less on systems of support.

    In the Christian Scriptures, it says “Don’t conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed in the renewing of your mind.” Whether in spiritual, economic, or physical bondage, the first step is changing your mind. Thanks for the reminder, Jack.

    I resolve to become more personally sovereign, as I am created to be.

  24. I came across this today on The Burning Platform and I think it sums up our current predicament and the captivity of the 2-party system in helping to push it forward just about as well as anything….

    “We will all swallow our cup of corporate poison. We can take it from nurse Romney, who will tell us not to whine and play the victim, or we can take it from nurse Obama, who will assure us that this hurts him even more than it hurts us, but one way or another the corporate hemlock will be shoved down our throats. The choice before us is how it will be administered.

    “Corporate power, no matter who is running the ward after January 2013, is poised to carry out U.S. history’s most savage assault against the poor and the working class, not to mention the Earth’s ecosystem. And no one in power, no matter what the bedside manner, has any intention or ability to stop it.

    “If you insist on participating in the cash-drenched charade of a two-party democratic election at least be clear about what you are doing. You are, by playing your assigned role as the Democratic or Republican voter in this political theater, giving legitimacy to a corporate agenda that means your own impoverishment and disempowerment.

    “Our corporate oligarchs are harvesting the nation, grabbing as much as they can, as fast as they can, in the inevitable descent…

    “Obama is not in charge. Romney would not be in charge. Politicians are the public face of corporate power. They are corporate employees. Their personal narratives, their promises, their rhetoric and their idiosyncrasies are meaningless. And that, perhaps, is why the cost of the two presidential campaigns is estimated to reach an obscene $2.5 billion. The corporate state does not produce a product that is different. It produces brands that are different. And brands cost a lot of money to sell.

    “You can dismiss those of us who will in protest vote for a third-party candidate and invest our time and energy in acts of civil disobedience. You can pride yourself on being practical. You can swallow the false argument of the lesser of two evils. But ask yourself, once this nightmare starts kicking in, who the real sucker is. ”

    Chris Hedges, How Do You Take Your Poison?

  25. I think this was one of the best episodes I’ve listened to. I’ve listened to it twice already, and plan on a third. I want to talk to my children about these concepts. I have already started taking steps to take back my sovereignty. And you know, it feels like I have some purpose and steps and goals now. There is a certain freedom in simply seeing that. Thanks Jack for a powerful show. I’ve shared and shared and shared this one.

  26. Very interesting talk on the podcast today.

    I never thought of ‘The Matrix’ as an allegory for plutocracy but I can see it easily.

    I have thought in the past about the the middle class (everyone thinks they are middle class) are more like battery hens in cages. Corporate nutrients, advertising and entertainment all piped into our cage-homes, no need or desire to venture out. And as long as you keep laying those eggs for the master you can stay.

    As usual I try to think of parallels down here in Australia, I think we are only a few moves behind the USA economically so a lot of the discussion still applies here. Our politicians are definately pawns of the US administration.

    Someone mentioned that when social welfare is local (eg neighbours lending a hand) the helpers and recipients are very connected and its a win win. With big government welfare, there is a disconnect and resentment.

    Much like the way we are disconnected with our food supply. I have found that producing our own food has been very empowering. I have no doubt that reconnecting with local communities would be even more empowering. But we are surrounded by people in the suburbs who would not accept the idea of being a pawn in the game. In fact they are convinced they are Kings and Queens on _their_ board, I mean just look at all the cool ‘stuff’ they have on their board!

    I am not the most community minded person around either, but I think the dividends would be worth the effort. I will work harder.

  27. Loved the show, but one small nitpick: Taxes rising from 10% to 15% is actually a 50% increase in taxes, not a 33% increase. It’s even worse than you said it was.

  28. It is a great episode, but the we can all agree that the process to stopping being a pawn is more complex than refusing to be part of the political games.

    ’cause even thou Obama & Romney aren’t that different policy and donors wise, but Obama is using a electric hammer to close the coffin while Romney is using a plain old hammer, and we all know which one of the two is more open to a liberty minded position.

    You can still elect a Libertarian the GOP, but you can’t get one through the Dems, so tactically we know where our bread has better chance of being buttered.

    • For me, the message of this episode has nothing to do with presidential politics. Its simply used as a familiar example for illustration.

      The real message (for me) is that, as a chess piece, there is an illusion of freedom (As a rook.. you can slide diagonally in any direction you want!) while the reality is that your choices are completely constrained by the ‘rules of the game’ (those rules are NOT being written by ‘we the people’). And that your choices, even within those constraints, are ‘influenced’ via propaganda.

      Take a step back and see the board. Try and understand the ‘rules’. See what the propaganda is pushing you towards. ALL media messages are delivered with a PURPOSE.

    • off topic:

      i find it interesting that everyone making the Romney over Obama argument is basically saying ‘he’ll destroy us slightly more slowly’. 🙂

      seriously? that’s your argument?

      wake up, and listen to yourselves

      • It is like ”The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”.

        For some reason the shiny Libertarian Presidential candidate and Congress doesn’t exist, so we rather go with the Ugly, Romney.

        My argument might make you smile, but we all know who is would love to take your guns and ammo from you. Is it Romney or Obama ?

        It is so much about the rules but about reality, freedom is dying.

    • …Sams,

      Might as well save your breath, that opinion doesn’t get much traction around here.
      I’ve tried to make a similar point.

      The political system may suck, and could be much better.
      But this is where we are- today. -And that’s the system we have- today.
      Voting against someone , instead of for someone. Because the choice has already been made in the Northeastern U.S..

      Romney is not my first choice, however, 4 more of obama will be disastrous for what’s left of the Constitution.
      We didn’t get here overnight, and we can’t change it in one election.
      And voting any other way will put obama back in. Period.

      Full disclosure- I’m not a D or an R. I’m fiercly Independant.
      Or for those who like lables, a “Constitutional-moderately-liberal-conservative”.. 😉

      • @TrekFanDan, it isn’t that I don’t respect your opinion it is that your argument and the argument of those making it is so weak. An argument of well they both are terrible but one is worse is an OLD argument and one many are tired of hearing.

        What I want to know is what will you say in two years if Romney is president and the debt is up to 19 Trillion, the police state is more powerful then ever, we are deeper into the shit in the middle east, the currency is being talked about being revalued in public, he has put a sad ass liberal on the court, etc, etc, etc, will you still say yea it is bad but it could be worse?

        • Jack
          In a word, yes, it “could be worse” , and would.

          Here’s why,
          Romney, though not any more perfect than me or you, is NOT—- an AMERICA HATING Marxist, Socialist, Communist, Ant-Colonialist, Cop & Military hating, Racist, pissing all over the Constitution, and our allies. Getting into bed with our enemies…the list goes on and on.

          He has not said, or even remotely inferred the things that those in the “D” party have in the pas 4 years. Far too many to list here.

          Take a deeper look at the positive things Romney has done, you will be suprised.

          Has he done things, I don’t agree with?
          Sure.

          But would he be better than obama- ?
          A resounding Hell yes.

        • And with that there is nothing left for you to argue. Seriously even when he does the exact same shit you are still going to say one is better then the other. I promise you one day when you realize this fiction for what it is and realize there is no choice, when you do finally say I am an pawn and don’t have to be any more, I PROMISE not to say I told you so, seriously.

        • Jack you talk of a matrix. I agree there is a matrix that supports people but also enslaves people (slavery is a sin when abuse is added). that lean on the system for support for too long. But some people lean on the system to suppliment for the needs they cant or do not want to meet for them self. ( job, money, and now healthcare has grown too exspensive.) Jack , I know you will check what I say. But But please understand ( not the pawn ) the pilgram in me.

        • @ray you need to listen to this episode twice a day like a damn asprin until it breaks the clog of brainwashed bullshit out from between your ears. You just told us the system is a slave master then defended our need to have it, REALLY? My God man, fuck please get this, get it now another day wasted is too late.

          If you…..

          Are a drain on the system
          Just lean on the system
          Just rely on it for an occasional recharge
          Or work hard and never draw only provide energy into it

          And if you are any of those and then you defend it and on top of it you spend energy competing for one ruler of the system vs another you are nothing but a pawn, you are no pilgrim. The pilgrims said screw the system, left the system and risked all to do so. Well, they tried your approach and chose the “less oppressive” Dutch government first and then realized, well, that didn’t work either.

          See your problem is you feel a need to defend the hard working man who has to draw unemployment or some other assistance during a down time, why, did I ever attack that man? Hell did I attack the useless person who has been on welfare since birth, who’s mother was also? No, if fact didn’t I say if you are in need of assistance take it but work your ass off to get the hell off asap?

          Though I am not telling you to get off it so I don’t have to foot the bill for you, the scum running our nation will piss away our money anyway even if we cut welfare to zero, they will still piss it away. If you attack your fellow man or defend him in this system you are a DAMN PAWN.

          I didn’t say anything about my fellow citizen, I attacked the SYSTEM, I am free, you defend the system on any level and you are its slave, you are a pawn.

      • Dan & Sams –
        Vote your beliefs.

        Here’s a little food for thought (just an example):

        ‘OBAMA’S Health Care Plan’:
        Who wrote it? (not ‘Obama’)
        Did ‘we the people’ want it? (polls said ‘No’)
        Who ‘rubber stamped’ it without even reading it? (ALL of the clowns)

        Who benefits? (Cui Bono – THE question)

        My insurance premiums have gone up 10-12% a year, while benefits have decreased since it passed.

        Lets say Romney is elected, will he repeal the law? (LOL)
        Lets say he does, will my premium go back down?

        On their chessboard its ALWAYS heads they win, tails you lose. Their board, their rules, and ‘they’ is not ‘OUR government’.

        • What people still don’t get about Obamacare is what I tried to tell you guys BEFORE the bill was even on the floor, remember that guys?

          Here is what I said, “Obamacare will be designed to fail, 4-8 years after it passes and it will pass, the same people that opposed it today will be begging government to fix it tomorrow, they will let them take over, this is designed to completely put the cost of insurance though the roof, ruin quality of care, make doctors want to quit and make the people in the end blame the insurance companies. When that happens the government will provide a solution and it will be a full takeover with wide popular support.”

          Romney to repeal? Those saying that need to pay attention, that was primary election Romney, he has now already said, “I won’t repeal all of Obamacare”, not even elected yet and going back on flat out promises. Yea, sure he is different then Obama.

          Sad isn’t it Insidious, just remember we didn’t always “get it” ourselves. Waking up from this crap sucks, admitting that you are screwed sucks, admitting that the choice has never been real and you have been lied to since birth about “American Democracy” blows. It is better then being a battery in the matrix though isn’t it?

      • Well politically I might be a peon or not, I am open on this aspect.

        It is just that the truth is that everybody favorite Libertarian kid, Rand Paul, would never be elected even for school janitor in the Democratic Party, even is dads politics are only palatable to the GOP.

        Would you rather try to gain bigger influence on a strong GOP or try to both pointlessly fight Obama 4moreyears of madness while at the same time being blamed for the defeat of the only party that ever gave Libertarians a chance ? If the USA was a parlamentarian system I would support you voting for a protest party like UKIP in the UK, but this ain’t the case.

        Just tell me, wish Libertarian or even constitutionalist ever had any traction outside the GOP ?

        Just because you have no control of the situation doesn’t mean that you are a peon, it might mean that you suck at winning, which is a big problem of those who champion liberty through political means.

        As for me personally I try not be a peon, I prep for my financial Independence, I try to avoid debts and I try to get better options for my safety and that of my loved ones.

  30. @Jack :

    “So you think Romney is pro 2nd amendment? Based on what actions, not words.”

    Romney will owe is victory to the pro 2nd amendment vote, at least you can threaten him realistically to not encroach on it and He might listen. He might not be personally pro gun, but given a strong enough conservative congress He would not cross the line.

    On the other end Obama will not care and would just rail road people who he doesn’t need anyway.

    What are our realistic options ?

    • Seeing as how when Obama get’s re-elected he will immediately abolish the 2nd amendment. NOW is the time to head to Bulk Ammo and stock up! If you wait until after the election the price will be double, if you can even get any!

      more seriously. doesn’t hurt to stock up before the prices shoot up and supplies get tight following the election. 😉 Democratic presidential terms are boom times for gun and ammo manufacturers.

    • @sams, oh like Bush who said and I quote,

      “I would sign a bill to continue the assault weapons ban but we don’t have the votes to get an extension passed in the house”.

      Do you not remember that? Bush Jr. the guy that the NRA said, “If he is elected we will have a office inside the White House”.

      Bush the guy that allowed gun grabbing after Katrina?

      Um to be blunt Bush that is likely far more a friend to Gun owners then Romney!

      Please repeat after me, “I am a pawn in the system and I don’t have to be any more”

  31. @Modern Survival:

    “Please repeat after me, “I am a pawn in the system and I don’t have to be any more” ”

    I agree with the statement on the situation, I just don’t agree with your about what we should do about it.

    Who knows maybe I am wrong and you are right, in any case it doesn’t mean much before we acquire personal self-reliance and then resources to of real impact by being successful, or at least that is how I see it.

    Preparing for when time get tough, or even if they don’t or actually get better.

    PS:

    Even in your example the key was that Bush didn’t have the votes, so He couldn’t act as a jackass. Same with President Romney, stack the House with Libertarians and He will behave himself. Garry Johnson is not going to be president, at least until the day 1/3 of the Congress is made of Libertarian and real conservatives.

    But time for the peon to sleep, I have university classes to attend tomorrow and a weekend full of work and fitness planned. Maybe I will agree with you after a good night sleep. 😉

    • English Comp 101 I hope?
      I really hate to call people out on their use of language, but please read through your sentences before clicking the “Post Comment” button. One particular item that you wouldn’t catch by reviewing your comments though, is where you substitute the word “is” for the possessive pronoun “his” in your comments. My sentences are not always clear either, but by the time you get to a university classroom, you should know that Romney will owe “his victory” and not “is victory” to to the 2A supporting voters.
      Again, to the TSP community, I apologize for nit-picks. I try to avoid them, but it takes me longer to read when I hit these glaring mistakes. I just have a tough time reading while my eyes are rolling.

        • Hey Jack,
          At least I apologized in my post for criticizing. Sometimes it just gets to me. I am far from perfect, but I try to be as correct as possible so that my meaning is clear. I also strive to be civil in my responses, and add something of value. My other posts will bear this out. I didn’t call him names, or anything of the sort. I could ding most posters, you included, but I don’t, because it bothers me just about as much to be grammar cop, as it does to trip over the grammatical errors.
          BTW – This is one of those days that I am on call for work, so I both have a life, and today, have a little time on my hands. I don’t want to get into anything, then get called away in the middle for work. So seriously, dude, I don’t make a habit of this.

  32. Jack, your metaphors were dead on today. Did you hear Romney’s quote about Bain Capital harvesting companies? Sounds just like the “batteries” on the Matrix. I bet ole Mitt would love to harvest some pawns as well. Not me! I’m awake you SOBS!

  33. Reading these comments led me to the conclusion that I must have misheard some of the episode, so I had to re-listen to it.

    Some thoughts:
    – A ‘pawn’ is an unthinking tool of the ‘player’.
    – Our primary education system is DESIGNED to produce pawns.

    What does it teach?

    UNCRITICALLY listen to, memorize and regurgitate what the ‘authority figure’ says. The better you do this, the higher your reward (praise, ‘opportunity’). Non-conformity to this ethos will result in parental punishment and disappointment, public shaming (including in front of peers) and a life of mediocrity and toil.

    Who is the ‘authority figure’? The person at the ‘front of the room’ talking. Politician, blogger, newscaster, writer, columnist.. if they’re talking, and you’re listening, storing, and regurgitating, they’re the authority figure. They’re running your life. You are their pawn.

    Now when Jack was talking about the players (IMO), he was talking about the ‘big players’.. the slave OWNERS. Those people at the front of the room, they’re the ‘house slaves’, the ones who listen and regurgitate, those are the ‘field slaves’.

    [Pawn is not as emotionally charges as Slave. I think the term is accurate.. I’m sorry if it offends anyone]

    So step 1 to freedom (sovereignty)?

    CRITICALLY exam every thought/idea that is presented to you. CONSCIOUSLY choose what you believe, and based on those beliefs, what action(s) you will take (actions are based on your beliefs). ACCEPT full responsibility for the consequences of your beliefs and actions (past and present).

    Personally, I’ve been amazed at how many of ‘my’ beliefs I’ve had to throw out over the past couple of years. And I know the process is far from over.

    New (to me) information and reflection will lead to new beliefs and actions, and hopefully, some wisdom.

    • IMO if you want to figure out the Owners strategy, and stay one move ahead. You need to be focusing on ‘what’s the Owners play’.. not paying attention to the cavorting ‘house slaves’.

      Watching the individual pieces move in the chess game won’t tell you what the strategy is. If you’re always focused on the piece ‘in play’, you’ll always be one step behind. You need to step back, look at the whole thing, and figure out the pattern.

      Just like chess, history repeats.. the pattern will repeat.

    • I have used and likely will continue to use both slave and pawn but in some ways pawn is more accurate though as you say slave is more jarring and has a use as such.

      Here is the thing though classically a slave knows he/she is a slave and for any offended by US slavery slave does NOT equal black in the traditional histories of the world. There have been slaves of every color and race. During certain times slave was effectively a class layer in some societies and in a very few one of the worst punishments a slave could get was freedom. He would loose all status, housing and food and not have any way to gain employment he would have to beg a new master to take him in. In others slaves could and regularly did “earn freedom” and as such were considered now equals in a society and many such later would become slave owners. I am not defending the vile practice of slavery here, I am just telling you the truth about history, in this dynamic again the SYSTEM was the problem.

      Now the word pawn when used to describe humans has generally meant one who thinks he is doing something for himself when actually he is being used by others. While I would have to feed, house and clothe a slave my pawns would have to feed, clothe and house themselves. If some of my pawns need to have it provided I can take it from other pawns and pit them against each other, while they fight on “opposite sides” both are actually furthering my agenda, one neither actually supports.

      True I am acting as a slave master but one is checkers when everyone knows who and what they are, any one can become a “king” but very few do.

      In the other there is only one king on each side, that is all there will ever be, each side is willing to die and sacrifice to defend their king. Of course when ever there is an opportunity to remove the opposing king, he never falls, he yields for a time, the board is reset and the pawn go back to defending their side and the chess masters share a glass of fine scotch paid for off the pawns back.

      The analogy it seems has more then one dimension.

      • for Jack,
        Yes, as you have said in the past, I would share a beer with you even though I do not drink beer anymore. ( palio, my decision) Thank you for your Podcast.

      • And other dimensions,

        Ment for your humor,

        while I sip’ and hold up my ‘pinky’.
        You would use your massive ‘brain’ to make me feed , house, and cloth you, then my self before we ‘take over the world’.

        Meant for your Valor,

        Jack if we read the same text and get different meanings dose that mean any of us are not honest about our understandings? NO. It meant (We) have different perspectives, and the Truth must be revealed, for Justice and the American way.

      • forced slavery, and abusive slavery was vile, not slavery in general. If I did a wrong that earned punishment (death, or dismembermment) slavery could be my repentence. Being set free I could redirect my life for the good or usefulness of sociaty. Is this not true?

    • Where is that “+1,000,000” button when you need it?

      This was a fantastic summation of our schooling system, Insidious. Are you familiar with John Taylor Gatto and the work he has done on exposing the modern schooling system? I only ask because you seemed to be channeling him in your response.

      Here’s a good place to start with Gatto’s work for anyone else interested: The Six Lesson Schoolteacher (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/gatto2.1.1.html).

      For what it’s worth, Gatto was a 2x NYC teacher-of-the-year and NYS teacher-of-the-year. He quit publicly on the Op-Ed page of the Wall St. Journal in a column where he said he didn’t “want to hurt kids anymore” by participating in the schooling system.

      • That’s an amazing/disturbing article.

        For those who don’t read it:
        ‘School is like starting life with a 12-year jail sentence in which bad habits are the only curriculum truly learned.’

        Lessons:
        1) “Stay in the class where you belong.” (where you are put by others, is where you belong)
        2) ..turn on and off like a light switch (don’t care, don’t get involved)
        3) ..surrender your will to a predestined chain of command. Rights may be granted or withheld, by authority, without appeal. (what you want is irrelevant)
        4) ..only I (the authority figure) determine.. what you will study (what you will know, your interests, what is worthwhile) ..the lesson of DEPENDENCY
        5) ..your self-respect should depend on [authorities] measure of your worth.
        6) ..you are being watched.. there are no private spaces.. there is no private time.. [you] should tell on each other.. no one can be trusted.. privacy is not legitimate.

        I will definitely be adding Mr. Gatto to my reading list, ty Chris.

  34. This episode was awesome, Jack.

    For any of you who are interested, I have just published a book detailing how our society is structured to keep people as “pawns”, though I think of it as slavery. You can check out a synopsis, along with a visual graphic detailing the monopolies, at my site http://endlessunlimited.com/?page_id=217

  35. This was definitely one of my favorite shows. I’ve already listened to it twice and am trying to get my wife to hear it 🙂

  36. As long as the government steals 50% of my paycheck, I’m 50% slave, and no amount of self reflection can change that.

    • At mike what you are is a content spammer. So I left your poor poor pitiful me comment and removed your link.

    • @ Mike,
      True, The system is there. There is no arguement with that. In fact it was our forfathers over the years that set up the system. Its irronic, to make a living useing the system that you are trashing, Jack. Which is set up. Free speech !

      • @ray miller

        Sadly free speech doesn’t exist.

        I think the solution is to teach our kids right. Teach them the true meaning of Liberty. Open their eyes and keep spreading the word.

        I have a tip for people with young kids trapped in public school. This is for kids that are too young to understand that they can’t go on anti-government rants in school. Tell them that we are always learning new things about the way the universe really works. Give examples about how we used to think the earth was flat etc. Then tell them it’s okay to remember something for a test, but to take everything with a grain of salt because we’re always learning new things, and something that they learn in school today might not be true tomorrow. Then when they get older and you tell them Abraham Lincoln was actually a tyrannical racist, it won’t shatter their world view :-b

        • @Mike that is a good comment, make more and earn some trust around here and I don’t care if you link back to your business with your name. I am still skeptical about you but will give you the opportunity to earn trust.

          You and ray should both read this page specifically section four, http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/about-tspc/disclaimers-policies-2

          On your contention that if you pay any tax you are still a slave is a fools statement, those at the top pay taxes, they just know why and see it as the cost of doing business, just like office rent, get a clue man if you want success.

        • @Modern Survival
          Where did my more awesome comment go? I have a copy if you want me to repost it.

          Regarding free speech, I didn’t really understand whatever context ray miller was trying to make about free speech. I was merely remarking that free speech does not exist in the Constitutional sense. We have “free speech zones” in DC, and protests require licensing and fees…. Of course this forum is your private property and you can decide what gets posted or not. You don’t have to school me on private property. I’m from the Austrian school :-p

          Anyway, I don’t care if you removed my link, and that site is not a business; it’s something I’m passionate about. I have a few sites about everything from papercraft to precious metals, and the PM site seemed most appropriate.

        • Your more awesome comment? Whatever, I have no idea what you are talking about. Perhaps you went into the belly of akismet.

        • @ Jak
          still you ass ume, wrong. You have no reinvent come back so so random slander. the tool of a jerk.
          even if I get nervous and cant say my thought clearly. clearly you lost this argument.

        • @Ray again I think you have taken to drinking before coming here to comment. I disagreed with you a lot in the past but you made sense your last few comments are just incoherent ramblings. Are you okay? And yes I am serious.

        • Jack I have different devices that I use to communicate posts with. some I am still trying to learn how to get it to not spell check in the wrong word and when I turn spell check off it does other things. When I use my home computer I get better results.
          All week last week I’ve been traveling and working at different locations. At times struggling with my equipment. But As you can see I never used personal attacks, name calling or insults to communicate.
          My intent has always to share my thoughts and learn other perspectives, even with humor and a little poetry yes.
          If your concerns are ginuine then I thank you. But as in the past youve tended to sink to insult rather than staying on point.
          As I said in the past, I like the information shared in your show but when you rant about those wierd topics I have concerns.
          not personal
          Oh,
          By the way I’m not a Pawn, I’m a Person.

        • @Ray see you don’t get it, I only mean your final statement by the way. You think I see you as a pawn, I don’t I am telling you the leaders you defend see you that way and as long as you do their bidding that is what you are.

          To me you are a human being, worthy of respect but also worthy of honesty even when it isn’t what you want to hear. To those in charge you are a vote, you are a poll stat, you are a tax payer to be harvested, you are a microphone that can be used to repeat a signal, which side you choose to parrot doesn’t matter to them as long as you pick a side.

          I still think you were drinking lately while replying or else you are so confused by your devices you are posting replies to one person as though they are to another.

          Again get it dude I personally respect you it is they who don’t when I tell you that I am not insulting you, I am insulting them. One day perhaps you will accept the truth in that. It is your choice though, but do you know why you believe what you believe.

          Don’t you know how old the game is to them? Do you know about the role of IG Farben in WWII? About Standard Oil under Bush Jr’s grand daddy? Do you know that the Germans advertized in the NY Times that the Lusitania would be sunk and our government let people board it anyway? Kennedy’s speech on secret societies? Charles Limburg’s warnings about being suckered into WWII? How the Rothschild family became the wealthiest family in the world, how they financed both sides of the Napoliniac wars and intercepted the message about Brittan victory? Don’t you know that the Federal Reserve Act was written by bankers on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia?

          I mean we are taking hundreds of years of known history now. The Bilderberg group, we know it is real now, do you think a few hundred of the world’s most powerful people meet once a year to play canasta? Say what you want about Alex Jones, I agree he is a nut but the footage he got on what goes on at Bohemian Grove, can you really defend that in any way?

          You think I think this is a game? Dude I am telling you those in charge see it that way, I challenge you to honestly research even 50% of what I have mentioned above and prove it wrong or if it is correct, to tell me honestly what it means about those running our nation. Will you take that very fair and honest challenge?

        • Also it seems I may have misjudged you as a spammer. Unless you prove me wrong in the future I apologize, as a site owner I am sure you are aware of the problem. Feel free to use your link in your handle going forward.

      • @ray miller,

        I allowed Mike’s comment and simply removed his link, his link was to his business and based on his comment in my judgement it was the only reason for his comment. So his speech was not impaired.

        Also your free speech doesn’t give you the right to use another person’s property to make you point does it? Do you know what free speech is?

        You or Mike the spammer are free to use a public resource or your personal property to say what ever you want, do what ever you want and I will defend it, you are not free to use my property for it. Let me explain with an example, this is my blog so I am going to use my free speech about you right now.

        “ray miller is ignorant to what free speech is”

        See now there is nothing you can or should be able to do about it is there? It is my free speech and I can back it up with facts. Now let me fix the problem and cure your ignorance by showing you what free speech isn’t.

        Should I be able to write, “ray miller is ignorant to what free speech is” with red spray paint on your front door then say if you paint over it or wash it off you are censoring my speech?

        Of course not, why? That door is your property, I can’t use it for my free speech without your consent because your right to property is EQUAL to my right to free speech. Get it?

        Just to complete the circle in case you need me to, this site, this show, this forum, etc is my property. I built it from NOTHING to what it is. It now costs me about 500 dollars a month just to provide the resources it needs to keep it running, my right to my property is equal to your right to free speech. Welcome to a world of actually understanding all rights not just the ones you want to talk about at any given moment.

        • Wow Jack that is the most impressive ass kicking via text I have ever witnessed in my life. It is sad how many today defend a right and yet fail to understand the right they claim to defend. Well said sir!

  37. Greatest takeaway of the podcast:

    GET TO KNOW & BE ACTIVE WITH YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. You are much more likely to make a difference for the positive at the local level then you ever will be at the fed.

    Don’t spend your wheels or fight your friends over stupid presidential trivia, when you can help guide the helm of your local ship.

    thx jack

  38. The wealthy do more good by creating jobs directly and indirectly through their spending than by donating or especially by paying taxes. Taxes only consume wealth that could be used to increase the living standard of a broader segment of society, e.g. those who benefit from the creation of new jobs.

    • I don’t know how this ended up here. I clicked reply on one of Ray’s earlier posts where he was thanking the wealthy for donating and paying taxes.

      • Yes, the wealthy do alot and do deserve ‘thanks’ from the heart when they donate AND pay taxes. But my question, that I try to figure out is if the need is there and deserved, should we insure there is help or not,(Like social security) and if not. That would means from time to time if the needy deserve the help, the help may not be there even when IT IS HERE in this wealthy nation.
        Again, there will NEVER be in this nation 100% employment .Not because people are lazy, but because we have free will and some people prefer to hire certain types of people.

      • @Ray (10/6/12-8:19 pm),
        Nobody deserves thanks for paying taxes. They deserve to have their stolen property restored. If they make a private donation, fine, thank them. They deserve to be thanked for kindness and generosity. That said, in nearly every case, the wealthy person who donates ends up doing less good for others than would have been done by hiring someone for productive work. For a more thorough treatise on this, I would refer you to the writings of Murray Rothbard. Perhaps “Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature” would be a good selection.

        Are there exceptions to the typical case? Of course there are! As Jack has also stated, there are those who truly cannot do for themselves, and must rely on others for their basic needs. Now, I could be an ass and say that one in that position is just a drag on society, and should be allowed to die. I would be wrong, of course, especially in an advanced society, because that person who, today cannot make his own way in the world, could be a day away from the technology that allows him to live and provide for himself. Having relied on others for his existence, he will not likely be able to afford that technology. Here again, it will be others, possibly wealthy others, and just as likely, donations from all levels of the economic spectrum that makes it possible for him to attain the means to live a self-directed and satisfying life. In terms of money, it is unlikely that this would ever be repaid. It is almost certain, however, that those who contributed voluntarily, believe that the satisfaction of having helped one in true need is payment enough.

        The more advanced a society is, the more the individual members can afford to expend resources on things of this nature. I think I recall that it has already been said previously in comments for this show, that the increasing use of government for means of benevolence causes a certain amount of decline in private charity. This is partly due to less being available for private charity. Likewise, some simply decide that since government is already providing subsistence, there is no reason for them to do more on their own for others in need. Government is a cancer that eats away and destroys human kindness and compassion. On the surface, for those who choose not to look any deeper, it may seem otherwise, but it has always been little more than a means of control by the few over the many.

        I agree there will never be 100% employment in this or any nation. There will always be some voluntary unemployment. This does not imply that the voluntarily unemployed are in need of assistance. We can only surmise that they deem their time more valuable than the potential price they could sell it for. More importantly, in our current circumstances, the government prevents the clearing of the labor market by imposing an artificially high price on labor through minimum wage laws. The artificially high price reduces demand, though the supply remains at relatively high levels. This is an example of unintended consequence due to government intervention. People who otherwise would have been able to find paying jobs to match their skills are left unemployed, because they are not allowed to negotiate with a potential employer for a price on their labor that doesn’t meet or exceed the minimum set by thugs with guns. It has much more to do with this than with prejudice, as I believe you may be implying.

        I know I am not going to adequately answer many of your assertions, but I don’t think a reply to a post is the best method anyway. Short of turning the post into a “Readers Digest” version of writings by others much more capable than myself, the answers will only be half-assed, and less than adequate. Don’t settle for my feeble attempts to explain in a post like this. Check out the literature section of mises.org. Read “Economics in One Lesson”, by Henry Hazlitt. Trust me, I was not always as adverse to government intervention as I am now. I believed in government enough to play dress up in Marine garb for eleven years, believing that I was defending freedom. Now, I see it from a different perspective. Now, I am much less proud that my Great-Grandpa was one of the last handful of veterans of the Spanish-American War. His war was the result of Teddy Roosevelt’s insecurity in his own manhood. The wars today are no different, just different main characters with fragile balls. This is the way I see government, the only good they do is incidental to their primary goal of running other peoples lives to justify their own pathetic existence.

    • Remember money is the ‘control’ of the system. You are in the system when you need money because you cant or do not do it for your self.
      Jack says we are batteries or something like that. But we are humans and every life is important. Not like a battery. Not finite! The potential of every soul is unfathamable.
      Think of what one man said that lead so many after, to DO so much. So much as to lay down thier lives. for a righteousness! That they beleaved in. They went against ALL lines.
      I think every man should be free. Not because he is my brother but because he is ‘A MAN’ !
      Give him strength. give him support, tell him he is GOOD when he is good, in your eyes.
      But tell him , when this country was founded there were ‘Dark days and moonlight’.

      • Ray,

        Money is not the control of the system, but a tool used by those who control the system.

        Stop being so sensitive to the use of analogies. Jack is not attempting to dehumanize or belittle anyone. It seems you can’t draw the comparison between the way inanimate things are used in everyday life by all of us, and the way the common person is used by those who who wield the power derived from political connection.

        The analogy is a tool Jack has employed to give people a way to visualize the situation. You take it far too literally. That makes you a tool. Your insistence that it just isn’t literally true, prevents the metaphorical truth from penetrating the layers of bullshit that stand in the way of objective thought about the reality of life.

        No, we are not literally batteries, but we will be used in a similar manner to store energy for later use by the rulers. No amount of feel good, supposedly self-esteem enhancing crap talk will change the reality. Only by having eyes opened to the truth of how we are manipulated, and yes, moved around the board “like” chess pieces (analogy alert!), can we take back any amount of control of our own lives.

  39. Jack,
    I listen to your podcast for the self sufficiency information . The political stuff is over the top for me. Chess/Checkers, pawn, coppertop batteries, blue pill, red pill stuff is too weird.
    I understand you feel like a pawn ( being an ex millitary man). But we non inlisted people have a choice. we can choose who our leaders are( not like a pawn). I follow who I choose.

    So ‘I agree to disagree’ with your thoughts on the government. I choose to listen to your podcast for information I can use in my day to day life as a man.

    • Whatever dude, but if you think you are choosing your leaders, you are indeed a pawn. That is what make you a pawn.

    • Oh and just so you know changing your name and email address when you make a comment doesn’t change your IP address, LOL.

      • dude.lol again you assume wrong. but your not feeling well today so I will not respond with insults. But. Did I not use the same name?

  40. Great show, Jack. As far as most preppers go (I think) I’m pretty young. I just turned 25. Today’s show was very motivating and helpful. As long as I can remember I’ve always felt like a pawn to the government. I complained about it but really had no idea how to change my situation. With prepping I began to feel more in control. Since beginning to listen to your podcast and this one in particular let me realize I don’t have to be a pawn. There is a way out and I’m on the path! Than you

    • Hadn’t really considered the Argentina and Zimbabwe collapses as test runs for our own impending collapse. I’ll have to reread this and think it through, but on first read, it seems plausible. I would have used them as examples of what can happen, but even as suspicious as I usually am of political and economic goings on in the world, I didn’t make that particular connection.

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