Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“Your rulers want you to depend on machines to do your thinking for you. They want you relying on AI to do your reasoning, researching, analysis, and writing. They want you to require easily controllable software to form your understanding of the world, and to express that understanding to others. They can control the machines, but they can’t control the human mind. So they want you to abandon your mind for the machines. They want you relying on artificial intelligence so you stop using your organic intelligence. They want your critical thinking skills to atrophy. … They want your sense of morality to waste and wither away. They want you perceiving reality through interpretive lenses controlled by plutocratic tech companies which are inextricably intertwined with the power structure of the western empire.” (11/01/25)
“The culture of the second half of the twentieth century was in many ways defined by the worldwide growth of huge cities, and the relative anonymity they afforded — with all its opportunities to escape the constraining norms of smaller towns and villages, but also to engage in actions many would consider immoral. But this culture ended sometime in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. For even if you think that you are hiding in plain sight, with over 60,000 people surrounding you in a massive stadium, the power of social media can now expose you to a massive worldwide audience in a matter of minutes. In a literal sense, cities are still growing and the world is still urbanizing. In a cultural — or, if you will, spiritual — sense, the urban interlude of human history has come to an end. We all live in a village again.” (10/31/25)
“In a world where there is very little actual human intelligence, it’s important for the United States to stay ahead of everyone else when it comes to artificial intelligence. That’s what I think, anyway. It’s always better to be ahead of the future than behind the past. Part of getting ahead is dominating in the advanced AI chip game, which we are, thanks in large part to President Trump. These ‘semiconductor’ chips are key to the world’s data and so many high-paying future jobs that to not fight to make the US the leader in this field would be negligence. That’s probably why the Biden administration seemingly did all it could to hinder their development.” (11/02/25)
“A century and some before the American Revolution, the English republican Henry Haggar had argued: ‘If the God of heaven did in that age take away the Kingdom and Dominion of the whole earth from Nebuchadnezzar, that head of gold, and turn him out a-grazing among the Oxen, and give his kingdom to whomsoever he pleased; then let not men in this generation think it strange, though God Almighty hath taken away the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland (which are but a small part of the earth) from Charles Stuart, and given them to the honorable Parliament.’ … Americans have held crowns in contempt since before we were Americans. Not so Donald Trump, who enjoys portraying himself wearing a crown and encourages others to do the same.” (10/31/25)
“I feel quite strongly that we should pay less attention to billionaires (indeed that’s rather the point of this small essay) so let me acknowledge at the outset that there is something odd about me therefore devoting an edition of this newsletter to replying to Bill Gates’ new missive about climate. But I fear I must, if only because it’s been treated as such important news by so many outlets—far more, say, than covered the United Nations Secretary General’s same-day appeal to international leaders that began with a forthright statement of the science. … In fact, I could probably just note that Gates, with impeccable timing, decided to drop his remarks at the same moment that Hurricane Melissa plowed into Jamaica, doing incalculable damage because of winds made stronger by the ocean heat attributable to global warming.” [editor’s note: Amazing how this screed is timed, even though I agree with the title – SAT] (11/01/25)
“Amid all the overexcitement about artificial intelligence, there is little room for public consideration of mind-blowing findings on natural intelligence.” (10/31/25)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Katrina Gulliver
“My neighborhood is stalked by 12′ skeletons, huge spiders, and gigantic inflatable cats with rolling eyes and wagging tails. Animatronic witches cackle as I walk by. In one yard, skeletons in team jerseys are playing soccer. Another is full of disturbingly realistic gravestones. There are mannequins on porch swings with glowing red eyes. It’s ‘Spooky Season.’ The scope of Halloween has expanded from a single day into a weeks-long festival, creeping back into mid-September. Gone are the days of just putting out a jack-o’-lantern on the 31st to indicate you were open for business, trick-or-treating-wise.” (10/31/25)
“One of the more maddening aspects of the rise of wokeness in the last decade was how some of the younger advocates for ‘social justice’ responded to criticism. ‘Read a book,’ they’d tell me, and roll their eyes. I was twice their age, had relevant degrees from Oxford and Harvard, but I could obviously only believe what I believed because I had never ‘read a book.’ No discussion was possible until I had ‘educated’ myself — a task they refused to expend any ’emotional labor’ on. … It wasn’t the differing opinion that upset me. One of my queerest character traits is that I love differing opinions. It was the assumption that none of this was opinion at all, but merely established empirical fact — of which I was blissfully unaware, probably because I was a bad-faith bigot, or had never picked up a book.” (10/31/25)
“Some Democrats in the Albany may be starting to see the insanity of New York’s ‘climate action’ laws — but will enough agree to even delay the suicide pact? Gov. Kathy Hochul says she wants to ‘review all our options,’ including making changes to the state’s disastrous 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act — which set budget-busting, pie-in-the-sky mandates to slash greenhouse-gas emissions. Plus, some Assembly Democrats who once denied Hochul was banning gas stoves now admit that’s just what she’s doing — and demand she delay the ban. Yet it’ll be tough to convince the progressives who dominate the Legislature to roll back the law, since global-warming hysteria remains the rule on the left, especially among the donor class and other college-educated whites.” (11/01/25)
“An attack on Venezuela is completely unjustified and illegal. The president has no authority to start a war with Venezuela. An American attack will be a flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter and international law. The U.S. will be committing criminal aggression against a neighbor on the dubious pretext of combating drug trafficking, but we all know the real goal is to attempt forcible regime change. No one can be surprised by this news.” (10/31/25)
