I appreciate everyone who participated in a recent experiment I conducted.
Yesterday, I asked readers to "Bill Rice, Jr's Newsletter" to hit one of my cross-posts with a "like" if they received it. This will help me gauge how many of my subscribers are receiving and opening my dispatches.
It's now been 24 hours: And here are the results:
- 36 subscribers hit my post with a "like." (one of the "likes" was from me and I didn't count myself).
- I have 7,567 total subscribers (allegedly or purportedly, according to my Substack metrics.)
That means 1-in-210 of my subscribers opened this cross-post dispatch (judged by "likes" or those who helped with my experiment.)
.... That's 0.47 percent of my readers.
I still don't think I'm "reaching" as many people as I think I'm reaching or that Substack says I'm reaching.
Bill - here perhaps is one clue to explain your problem of the ‘phantom readers’ – based on my own experience using Substack as a reader.
I first ‘discovered’ Substack five years ago because one American blogger I subscribed to at the time advised that he was changing to Substack as his delivery platform. Before that I had never heard of Substack (I am not American – I live in a country far across the sea on the other side of the planet).
As the incongruities with the Covid disaster began to become blatantly obvious, I started to discover more and more Substack authors who were speaking sense about the complex and confused ‘Covid situation’. These authors generated some brilliant, almost troll-free, subscriber commentary that I also found enlightening. At about that time I dumped my longstanding subscription to a Murdoch newspaper because I could no longer tolerate their deceptive ‘curation’ of the so-called ‘News’ and the ‘Opinion’ that they chose to publish. (I watch no free-to-air TV - but am a heavy podcast consumer).
Since that time, the number of Substack authors I ‘subscribe’ to has grown to a very large figure. Most of these ‘subscriptions’ were found by means of referrals - or just mentions by other Substack authors, or their readers. Often the decision to ‘subscribe’ was made as a reflex action after reading a brilliant article by the author - and that is how I came across your Substack. However, of all these I am only a paying subscriber to a few – not because the others are not worthy – but because if I ‘rewarded’ any more I would quickly go broke.
But here is the punch line of this missive – what I have found – and what I believe you are experiencing - is that you are up against the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and that it is simply not possible to read – or sometimes even open – more than a few of the many Substack articles received every day. Your articles – although brilliantly informative – are in competition with many other Substack authors for the ever-diminishing pool of time of the reader base. I believe that we are encountering a very novel situation (historically) where the volume of high-quality information and analysis has grown into a massive avalanche that is now overwhelming information consumers - such as myself.
Some Substack authors use a one-off ‘Buy me a Coffee’ mechanism to get a trickle of revenue outside of the Substack subscription system, and I sometimes happily use this to ‘reward’ some author who has produced something of significant value. I believe that a ‘reward’ system is important to encourage an author to keep writing.
Another mechanism that a few Substack authors have woken up to is to periodically compile their Substack articles into one contiguous document/anthology and publish it as a book – provided it is competently edited and cohesive. I would happily buy such a publication if it were a reasonably priced eBook, but if you chose that path then beware of the legacy and academic publishers, who because they do not understand the psychology of how prospective eBook buyers make purchase decisions, invariably set a prohibitive price, which then becomes the Kiss of Death to a book’s success by killing off the spur-of-the moment purchase decision mechanism. (Naomi Wolf’s eBooks are one such example).
I regret that I don’t have any other answers to the readership problem for you, but I only hope that you keep at it.
I did not see a cross post yesterday or even a post from you can you tell me what/where? I can usually find anything from a paid newsletter in the paid section and there’s nothing from June 6th.
the "like" button wasn't working for me. tried several times. not the only weird glitchy problem i've had with substack - have been unable to comment many times
Hmm. I've also noticed a dramatic drop in the number of "likes" and Reader Comments my stories generate (compared to what my articles once produced). Also, if someone does make a comment, those comments get very few or maybe one "like." Someone used to make a comment and those popular comments would get 20 to 30 "likes."
... All of these observations add up and activate my "Spider Sense," causing me to think that "something has changed on Substack."
I always read your posts, but yesterday I got nothing, no notification or anything. And yes soemtimes the "like" button doesnt work. Atm I am being asked to accept all cookies or something similar on every substack page everytime I open one, its very annoying, its not even the site, but every page. The other glitch is if you like my post or respond it is sent to my junk email, and even when I try to say its not junk it will not put it back in the inbox. Microsoft / google/ hotmail is playing games
Bill your in-depth analysis was spot on its always about the power and the $$. If you follow who benefitted financially from the pandemic leads you to who calling the shots..
They will ALWAYS say their control is necessary for our safety. Or sell it as "convenience" - that is only more convenient because they've intentionally made our old, tried and true systems more inconvenient.
First they sell digital currency as convenient. When enough buy off on convenience (carrots) narrative it shifts to mandates (sticks). The only way to prevail is to not allow that critical mass of convenience seekers to reach support for/apathy about mandates on those not seeking 'convenience.' Is the only defense.
OUR challenge is to educate enough people in out sphere of influence to endure the inconvenience not playing their games entails.
Having done time in Facebook jail as a repeat offender, I have been frankly surprised at the comments I have seen over the past few months. They are much farther over-the-line than anything I ever got booted for. Since I refuse to believe that the PTB would restore free speech after squelching it so thoroughly during covid, I conclude that there is an ulterior motive. I believe “they” are allowing us to weave our own rope— as Cardinal Richelieu said, “Give me but 10 lines written by the most honest of men, and I will find enough to hang him.” The comments and Notes on Substack are much more inflammatory than on FB, but it will all end up in Palantír. We will be identified as enemies of the PTB, and that will be that.
and that's okay with me. death before dishonor. I used to see tattoos like that in the Marine Corps. I always wondered if they really understood what that meant. It is easy and cheap to make those kind of statements when there is no cost. Now and in the future we get to find out what that means to people. I don't expect much.
I wonder what people think "the land of the free" means. If this is free, I don't want to see un-free ... but I'm seeing it every day, everywhere I look. Say "land of the free" enough times and 99 percent of the people believe it's true.
I once wrote a column about Lee Greenwood's patriotic classic, "I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free."
In that column, I pointed out to Greenwood that he wasn't free to sing that song in public for almost two years.
Makes me a little sick at heart to think about that. I remember the Lee Greenwood song, even then I had trouble with the stupidity. We as a nation aren’t really free at all. Compared to North Korea or increasingly Europe we are “free”. But that kind of comparison is like comparing a disease that kills right away and one that takes years to kill you. Without what remains of the BOR and the CONstitution we would have been finished long ago.
CONstitution because I read this book years ago, which was very compelling at the time.
What I find distressing about massive censorship and propaganda is that surprisingly many people don't choose to see it for what it is. Many of our fellow citizens have not come to understand the overt public manipulation that took place during the Covid event and so will be fooled again when the next panic event is launched.
These days, when I point out examples of Covid propaganda, I often get a response like: "I am so over Covid! Let's just move on."
I think this explains it:
The Terrifying Theory of Stupidity You Were Never Meant to Hear – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jessica, take it up with Jeffrey Tucker. Brownstone isn't big enough or influential enough to control any narratives. As the leader of that organization, Jeffrey can publish whatever essays he'd like and probably has his reasons for not publishing pieces or interviews that YOU want him to publish.
From time to time, Brownstone publishes a few of my article, but the site doesn't publish 95 percent of my articles, including many I like and think are important. I also submit stories to The Daily Sceptic that Toby doesn't run.
IMO, The Brownstone Institute has done more than any other organization to challenge the draconian and misery-producing response to Covid. I don't agree with your continued effort to "go after" Jeffrey and Brownstone because you're not getting the space you want.
As you know, I do think your work on the bizarre number of "Covid deaths" in NYC is important and intriguing.
Bill, to clarify: I/we don't "need" space in Brownstone. They published a number of my pieces in the past.
The point here is relevant to your article focus - controlling a narrative - and operating within acceptable parameters and the false binary of lab leak/market (which we have written about recently as well).
The irony of "skeptical" publications saying no to hosting a debate because they have already decided what they think is - in our view - in conflict with the publications' origins and what they say they value and advance.
You're doing great work, Bill. Please keep it up. You are making a difference. In the future, people will look back at your writing and say, "that was a courageous man who never fell for the ruse and exposed the lies from day one."
I'm happy to announce Canada is already here. Currency restrictions, plus a new bill allowing the government to put spyware in all our phones and computers.
They keep reducing the amount of cash you can take out of the country or withdraw from the bank. I'm sure the Wal-Marts and big retailers are on board as digital currency will reduce employee theft.
Absolutely true, ending currency as we know it is a primary goal. I've stayed connected with an array of friends throughout the world of Finance, where I work, in order to keep tabs on this topic. Anyone interested in more detail on the foundations, plans, and connections between planned "Centralized Digital Currency (CBDC)," 15-minute cities, and social credit scores should also hop over the UnWoke.Academy - this currently redirects to my Substack - and follow the topic.
I'd say you pretty much nailed it on every point you made. The problem is, human beings are social creatures (herd animals) who can only sustain those social structures if a hierarchy exists. Which requires submission and deference. COVIDiocy showed us submission and deference are the default human response. Add the fear and guilt cards and sanity isn't even an afterthought, not that it ever was for most Human nature ensures that those challenging the rulers will always be a minority, a pretty small one.
The only way to win is to out-compete their messaging. Which goes along with every point you made. How? Three things come to mind:
1) Take their power away They have all the money. They own the media, academia, medicine, entertainment, MIC, government on all levels (mostly). So long as they have all the economic power, I don't see a way to really defeat them. Fight, yes. Delay, yes. Win battles yes. But they're always there, with all the money, all the power, and will come right back. They know that in their smugness. Take their wealth, and their power is gone.
2) A Christian revival would help. So long as most bought into that mostly benevolent and life-affirming dogma, we were a hell of a lot better off. Whether you're a Christian or not, that's undeniable. They'd still have all the money though.
3) Emergence of a leader with the right qualities, who can stay alive. Trump showed what's possible along those lines. He's a huge improvement, but I'm talking about somebody several notches above him.
#3 is out of our control. #2 is not a quick fix, nor close to a total fix. Heck, the church hierarchy was mostly corrupt, as were most governments in its heyday. Still, it would go a long way. #1 is something we could do, disruptive as it might be short term. After all we outnumber them thousands to one. A workable way to make it happen, if it's even possible, is way beyond the scope of a comment.
This is a fantastic post, Steel J. I love posts that look at "possible solutions" from a perspective of what's plausible or, perhaps, do-able.
I think we've got to somehow get "narrative-changing" real journalism that reaches enough people to detonate all of the bogus narratives. I've got a business idea that might advance that possible solution. It would be a big improvement on Substack, not that I want to harm Substack, which has been a beacon of free speech for years. I just don't like all the new metrics and trends I'm observing on Substack.
Leadership IS the key. It's got to be a real leader. Trump is making some positive changes - but the "vaccines" are still the "elephant in the room." IMO, until we go after the Big Pharma/Vaccine establishment, nothing really radical will probably change.
I seriously/genuinely believe every important "narrative" is bogus. Somehow 51 percent of the population has to figure this out. Don't trust the experts ... or the government or the "watchdog" press.
Thanks for the kind words. We can complain all day, and justifiably, about the lameness of most people and their unwillingness to see reality, or even try to. Not that any of us are so brilliant and have all the answers, but you have to at least try to diagnose a problem accurately and formulate corrective action, all with eyes wide open, to have a chance. But the psychological and mental workings of most people is set. I love that so many have lost faith in the institutions and PTB. But it didn't happen because they were persuaded by cogent arguments. It happened because the screw-ups and foreseeable damage (though it was not foreseeable to them) of the COVID response was so severe and obvious the less lame among the masses couldn't ignore what they saw. So yeah, wake up whoever's wakeable with truth, but that will never be enough. The mainstream dogma, and mainstream leaders have to change. Only then will the critical mass of people be on the side of truth, decency, prosperity, and all the other good things. Not because they figured it out, but they will switch from following crap to following good ideas. So long as the evil ones have all the money, that won't happen, absent a Jesus-like figure emerging, which is highly unlikely. And even Jesus couldn't change the world in his own time, he planted the seeds. It would be nice not to wait generations. Good leadership will have to address how wealth is distributed, and change it. I'm a free-market, merit-based guy, some dimwitted critics might jump to the conclusion I'm a commie. Quite the opposite. Most of the ultra-wealthy didn't get that way by providing a net benefit to society. Institutional wealth needs addressing too, not just individuals. Like the left with vaccines and climate change, the PTB have done a great job of demonizing "wealth redistribution". The fix isn't to take their wealth and give it to whom somebody judges as "more deserving". That would be more corruption. The point is the taking, not the "redistributing".
silicon valley and the deep state are one and the same. it was devised as the ultimate surveillance tool. the cia had its fingers in any substantial silicon valley startup via its financing arm, in-q-tel
The PTB are just biding time to allow Trump to exit the stage, either at the end of his term or impeachment when the Dems control the House in 27. These people are very predictable. I think DeSantis and Vance are captured. Rubio and Gabbard have been surprisingly independent of the "Narrative". I'm not sure any of the four mentioned will be able to sustain the Trump Movement. I hate to be pessimistic, but I don't see another Trump stepping forward over the next decade to prevent the scenario Bill mentioned above. The sheep-like response to the lock-downs and vaccine propaganda has showed that the vast majority of the population will go along with government dictates. More than likely another national emergency in the form of an economic collapse will precipitate a government response that includes CBDC to "save" the population from the disaster destroying saving and retirement accounts and real estate values.
The Biden Administration has shown that they will send armed shock troops to your house if you cross them. What will we do when the government dictates that cash is no longer to be used and digital cash/ID cards are issued? Do you think your friends and neighbors in the suburbs and small towns will take to the streets in protest? Probably not. Sorry to be so glum.
I've written that it's almost impossible to "change a narrative" once it's firmly established. However, this happens once and a while. Two independent authors challenged the "Wet Market" theory, which was widely accepted and, thanks to their journalism, was suddenly fair game to consider and a valid theory.
I was also struck by how quickly the "narrative" about DeSantis suddenly changed. For at least two years, he was a "rock star" for conservatives. Then he became another Jeb Bush, neo-con, fraud - almost overnight. Somebody worked "a narrative change" program on DeSantis IMO.
Remember way back in the 90's-2000's when discussion about "political correctness" was a thing? It's never mentioned any more, and now we see where that nonsense was headed.
I appreciate everyone who participated in a recent experiment I conducted.
Yesterday, I asked readers to "Bill Rice, Jr's Newsletter" to hit one of my cross-posts with a "like" if they received it. This will help me gauge how many of my subscribers are receiving and opening my dispatches.
It's now been 24 hours: And here are the results:
- 36 subscribers hit my post with a "like." (one of the "likes" was from me and I didn't count myself).
- I have 7,567 total subscribers (allegedly or purportedly, according to my Substack metrics.)
That means 1-in-210 of my subscribers opened this cross-post dispatch (judged by "likes" or those who helped with my experiment.)
.... That's 0.47 percent of my readers.
I still don't think I'm "reaching" as many people as I think I'm reaching or that Substack says I'm reaching.
Bill - here perhaps is one clue to explain your problem of the ‘phantom readers’ – based on my own experience using Substack as a reader.
I first ‘discovered’ Substack five years ago because one American blogger I subscribed to at the time advised that he was changing to Substack as his delivery platform. Before that I had never heard of Substack (I am not American – I live in a country far across the sea on the other side of the planet).
As the incongruities with the Covid disaster began to become blatantly obvious, I started to discover more and more Substack authors who were speaking sense about the complex and confused ‘Covid situation’. These authors generated some brilliant, almost troll-free, subscriber commentary that I also found enlightening. At about that time I dumped my longstanding subscription to a Murdoch newspaper because I could no longer tolerate their deceptive ‘curation’ of the so-called ‘News’ and the ‘Opinion’ that they chose to publish. (I watch no free-to-air TV - but am a heavy podcast consumer).
Since that time, the number of Substack authors I ‘subscribe’ to has grown to a very large figure. Most of these ‘subscriptions’ were found by means of referrals - or just mentions by other Substack authors, or their readers. Often the decision to ‘subscribe’ was made as a reflex action after reading a brilliant article by the author - and that is how I came across your Substack. However, of all these I am only a paying subscriber to a few – not because the others are not worthy – but because if I ‘rewarded’ any more I would quickly go broke.
But here is the punch line of this missive – what I have found – and what I believe you are experiencing - is that you are up against the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day and that it is simply not possible to read – or sometimes even open – more than a few of the many Substack articles received every day. Your articles – although brilliantly informative – are in competition with many other Substack authors for the ever-diminishing pool of time of the reader base. I believe that we are encountering a very novel situation (historically) where the volume of high-quality information and analysis has grown into a massive avalanche that is now overwhelming information consumers - such as myself.
Some Substack authors use a one-off ‘Buy me a Coffee’ mechanism to get a trickle of revenue outside of the Substack subscription system, and I sometimes happily use this to ‘reward’ some author who has produced something of significant value. I believe that a ‘reward’ system is important to encourage an author to keep writing.
Another mechanism that a few Substack authors have woken up to is to periodically compile their Substack articles into one contiguous document/anthology and publish it as a book – provided it is competently edited and cohesive. I would happily buy such a publication if it were a reasonably priced eBook, but if you chose that path then beware of the legacy and academic publishers, who because they do not understand the psychology of how prospective eBook buyers make purchase decisions, invariably set a prohibitive price, which then becomes the Kiss of Death to a book’s success by killing off the spur-of-the moment purchase decision mechanism. (Naomi Wolf’s eBooks are one such example).
I regret that I don’t have any other answers to the readership problem for you, but I only hope that you keep at it.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts.
I did not see a cross post yesterday or even a post from you can you tell me what/where? I can usually find anything from a paid newsletter in the paid section and there’s nothing from June 6th.
I didn't see that either or I would have liked it. I am overwhelmed as well.
the "like" button wasn't working for me. tried several times. not the only weird glitchy problem i've had with substack - have been unable to comment many times
Hmm. I've also noticed a dramatic drop in the number of "likes" and Reader Comments my stories generate (compared to what my articles once produced). Also, if someone does make a comment, those comments get very few or maybe one "like." Someone used to make a comment and those popular comments would get 20 to 30 "likes."
... All of these observations add up and activate my "Spider Sense," causing me to think that "something has changed on Substack."
Hey, the like button worked for me here for once - usually it doesn’t and not just on your stack.
I ignore substack letters. Prefer to read on the site itself.
drastic drop in the number of "likes" for me
from >50 to maybe 3 or 4
Unrelated to the experiment, but you did clear cookies and site data, restart, and log in to Substack again?
No. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get my tech expert, my wife Carrie, to see if she can do that for me!
I didn't get it; nothing from you other than this since Jun 2. Substack must also censor.
thanks for the feedback. I'd value other subscribers who can tell me if they receive every one of my dispatches or not.
Me either
Yesterday was a terrible day and I only read one substack. Jeff Childers. I restacked today's for you.
Just looked to see if I got a stack from you yesterday...I didn't.
I always read your posts, but yesterday I got nothing, no notification or anything. And yes soemtimes the "like" button doesnt work. Atm I am being asked to accept all cookies or something similar on every substack page everytime I open one, its very annoying, its not even the site, but every page. The other glitch is if you like my post or respond it is sent to my junk email, and even when I try to say its not junk it will not put it back in the inbox. Microsoft / google/ hotmail is playing games
Bill your in-depth analysis was spot on its always about the power and the $$. If you follow who benefitted financially from the pandemic leads you to who calling the shots..
Yup. That is the plan. Do. Not. Comply.
They will ALWAYS say their control is necessary for our safety. Or sell it as "convenience" - that is only more convenient because they've intentionally made our old, tried and true systems more inconvenient.
First they sell digital currency as convenient. When enough buy off on convenience (carrots) narrative it shifts to mandates (sticks). The only way to prevail is to not allow that critical mass of convenience seekers to reach support for/apathy about mandates on those not seeking 'convenience.' Is the only defense.
OUR challenge is to educate enough people in out sphere of influence to endure the inconvenience not playing their games entails.
They know how to roll-out these schemes, that's for sure. Everybody in government - or the Deep State - is NOT dumb. Some are diabolical geniuses.
Having done time in Facebook jail as a repeat offender, I have been frankly surprised at the comments I have seen over the past few months. They are much farther over-the-line than anything I ever got booted for. Since I refuse to believe that the PTB would restore free speech after squelching it so thoroughly during covid, I conclude that there is an ulterior motive. I believe “they” are allowing us to weave our own rope— as Cardinal Richelieu said, “Give me but 10 lines written by the most honest of men, and I will find enough to hang him.” The comments and Notes on Substack are much more inflammatory than on FB, but it will all end up in Palantír. We will be identified as enemies of the PTB, and that will be that.
and that's okay with me. death before dishonor. I used to see tattoos like that in the Marine Corps. I always wondered if they really understood what that meant. It is easy and cheap to make those kind of statements when there is no cost. Now and in the future we get to find out what that means to people. I don't expect much.
I wonder what people think "the land of the free" means. If this is free, I don't want to see un-free ... but I'm seeing it every day, everywhere I look. Say "land of the free" enough times and 99 percent of the people believe it's true.
I once wrote a column about Lee Greenwood's patriotic classic, "I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free."
In that column, I pointed out to Greenwood that he wasn't free to sing that song in public for almost two years.
Makes me a little sick at heart to think about that. I remember the Lee Greenwood song, even then I had trouble with the stupidity. We as a nation aren’t really free at all. Compared to North Korea or increasingly Europe we are “free”. But that kind of comparison is like comparing a disease that kills right away and one that takes years to kill you. Without what remains of the BOR and the CONstitution we would have been finished long ago.
CONstitution because I read this book years ago, which was very compelling at the time.
https://www.amazon.com/Hologram-Liberty-Constitutions-Shocking-Government-ebook/dp/B00NRJEAN4/ref=sr_1_10?crid=N43U2FLURVOS&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KUMTryb9y2t2cJovIK7uehEUlfOJgi6K9uzPrKmNA5cY9_BSxET_Lyo31KnLmr4VUwgJhB9Y7AafGK9y8svIObVCsOJsEEG9wSGbNzj2kY69f53i1YA3ctbK2vBxnUBA85P7DkDpB8DE0LSUrh7XCPLtE5Nxg-TT2Byt70I8pmAu-z23cjdmnEurJt6QJsGUGeeJBqde3epje3IsXo7UXLOffGE_COxaYtRhjdRvQew.FOYZVej0TAhz_GN4V0wZ1CR4v4Eb_BFKCGEqlPqEhZs&dib_tag=se&keywords=boston+t+party+books&qid=1749545266&sprefix=boston+t+party%2Caps%2C278&sr=8-10
Use cash
https://usecash.ca/
Special pamphlet available, print and distribute
.
What I find distressing about massive censorship and propaganda is that surprisingly many people don't choose to see it for what it is. Many of our fellow citizens have not come to understand the overt public manipulation that took place during the Covid event and so will be fooled again when the next panic event is launched.
These days, when I point out examples of Covid propaganda, I often get a response like: "I am so over Covid! Let's just move on."
I think this explains it:
The Terrifying Theory of Stupidity You Were Never Meant to Hear – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfekgjfh1Rk
And even some who were somewhat familiar with Bonhoeffer, totally missed and flubbed the test of our own era.
Unfortunately, TPTB and MSM are not the only ones trying to manage the narrative.
Perhaps Jeffrey Tucker of Brownstone and Toby Young of Daily Sceptic could be interviewed about their responses to us? https://www.woodhouse76.com/p/question-everything-except-that-thing?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web
Jeffrey is one of my heroes. I call him America's "adult in the room."
I strongly recommend his most-recent essay at Brownstone:
https://brownstone.org/articles/can-the-tyranny-be-soft-landed/
So, your reaponse to my comment is to...not respond to what I am saying.
Ok. :)
Jessica, take it up with Jeffrey Tucker. Brownstone isn't big enough or influential enough to control any narratives. As the leader of that organization, Jeffrey can publish whatever essays he'd like and probably has his reasons for not publishing pieces or interviews that YOU want him to publish.
From time to time, Brownstone publishes a few of my article, but the site doesn't publish 95 percent of my articles, including many I like and think are important. I also submit stories to The Daily Sceptic that Toby doesn't run.
IMO, The Brownstone Institute has done more than any other organization to challenge the draconian and misery-producing response to Covid. I don't agree with your continued effort to "go after" Jeffrey and Brownstone because you're not getting the space you want.
As you know, I do think your work on the bizarre number of "Covid deaths" in NYC is important and intriguing.
Bill, to clarify: I/we don't "need" space in Brownstone. They published a number of my pieces in the past.
The point here is relevant to your article focus - controlling a narrative - and operating within acceptable parameters and the false binary of lab leak/market (which we have written about recently as well).
The irony of "skeptical" publications saying no to hosting a debate because they have already decided what they think is - in our view - in conflict with the publications' origins and what they say they value and advance.
You're doing great work, Bill. Please keep it up. You are making a difference. In the future, people will look back at your writing and say, "that was a courageous man who never fell for the ruse and exposed the lies from day one."
Thank you very much, Blair.
I'm happy to announce Canada is already here. Currency restrictions, plus a new bill allowing the government to put spyware in all our phones and computers.
Whee!
Isn't communism just fab?
They keep reducing the amount of cash you can take out of the country or withdraw from the bank. I'm sure the Wal-Marts and big retailers are on board as digital currency will reduce employee theft.
Absolutely true, ending currency as we know it is a primary goal. I've stayed connected with an array of friends throughout the world of Finance, where I work, in order to keep tabs on this topic. Anyone interested in more detail on the foundations, plans, and connections between planned "Centralized Digital Currency (CBDC)," 15-minute cities, and social credit scores should also hop over the UnWoke.Academy - this currently redirects to my Substack - and follow the topic.
Probably been bullshit forever. I noticed as a teen in the 70's.
I'd say you pretty much nailed it on every point you made. The problem is, human beings are social creatures (herd animals) who can only sustain those social structures if a hierarchy exists. Which requires submission and deference. COVIDiocy showed us submission and deference are the default human response. Add the fear and guilt cards and sanity isn't even an afterthought, not that it ever was for most Human nature ensures that those challenging the rulers will always be a minority, a pretty small one.
The only way to win is to out-compete their messaging. Which goes along with every point you made. How? Three things come to mind:
1) Take their power away They have all the money. They own the media, academia, medicine, entertainment, MIC, government on all levels (mostly). So long as they have all the economic power, I don't see a way to really defeat them. Fight, yes. Delay, yes. Win battles yes. But they're always there, with all the money, all the power, and will come right back. They know that in their smugness. Take their wealth, and their power is gone.
2) A Christian revival would help. So long as most bought into that mostly benevolent and life-affirming dogma, we were a hell of a lot better off. Whether you're a Christian or not, that's undeniable. They'd still have all the money though.
3) Emergence of a leader with the right qualities, who can stay alive. Trump showed what's possible along those lines. He's a huge improvement, but I'm talking about somebody several notches above him.
#3 is out of our control. #2 is not a quick fix, nor close to a total fix. Heck, the church hierarchy was mostly corrupt, as were most governments in its heyday. Still, it would go a long way. #1 is something we could do, disruptive as it might be short term. After all we outnumber them thousands to one. A workable way to make it happen, if it's even possible, is way beyond the scope of a comment.
This is a fantastic post, Steel J. I love posts that look at "possible solutions" from a perspective of what's plausible or, perhaps, do-able.
I think we've got to somehow get "narrative-changing" real journalism that reaches enough people to detonate all of the bogus narratives. I've got a business idea that might advance that possible solution. It would be a big improvement on Substack, not that I want to harm Substack, which has been a beacon of free speech for years. I just don't like all the new metrics and trends I'm observing on Substack.
Leadership IS the key. It's got to be a real leader. Trump is making some positive changes - but the "vaccines" are still the "elephant in the room." IMO, until we go after the Big Pharma/Vaccine establishment, nothing really radical will probably change.
I seriously/genuinely believe every important "narrative" is bogus. Somehow 51 percent of the population has to figure this out. Don't trust the experts ... or the government or the "watchdog" press.
Thanks for the kind words. We can complain all day, and justifiably, about the lameness of most people and their unwillingness to see reality, or even try to. Not that any of us are so brilliant and have all the answers, but you have to at least try to diagnose a problem accurately and formulate corrective action, all with eyes wide open, to have a chance. But the psychological and mental workings of most people is set. I love that so many have lost faith in the institutions and PTB. But it didn't happen because they were persuaded by cogent arguments. It happened because the screw-ups and foreseeable damage (though it was not foreseeable to them) of the COVID response was so severe and obvious the less lame among the masses couldn't ignore what they saw. So yeah, wake up whoever's wakeable with truth, but that will never be enough. The mainstream dogma, and mainstream leaders have to change. Only then will the critical mass of people be on the side of truth, decency, prosperity, and all the other good things. Not because they figured it out, but they will switch from following crap to following good ideas. So long as the evil ones have all the money, that won't happen, absent a Jesus-like figure emerging, which is highly unlikely. And even Jesus couldn't change the world in his own time, he planted the seeds. It would be nice not to wait generations. Good leadership will have to address how wealth is distributed, and change it. I'm a free-market, merit-based guy, some dimwitted critics might jump to the conclusion I'm a commie. Quite the opposite. Most of the ultra-wealthy didn't get that way by providing a net benefit to society. Institutional wealth needs addressing too, not just individuals. Like the left with vaccines and climate change, the PTB have done a great job of demonizing "wealth redistribution". The fix isn't to take their wealth and give it to whom somebody judges as "more deserving". That would be more corruption. The point is the taking, not the "redistributing".
I don't know what's happening in your country, but Canada is being flooded with Muslims.
Yesterday, on Eid, our new PM told us that Muslim values are Canadian values.
Joy.
The "mendacious media".
I despise them. They are all hypocrites and/or incredibly obtuse. And cowards.
Yeah, but how do you REALLY feel?
silicon valley and the deep state are one and the same. it was devised as the ultimate surveillance tool. the cia had its fingers in any substantial silicon valley startup via its financing arm, in-q-tel
as just one example: https://unlimitedhangout.com/2021/04/investigative-reports/the-military-origins-of-facebook/
also: the classic fabio vighi analysis of how the 2019 repo crisis was the basis for the plandemic
https://thephilosophicalsalon.com/a-self-fulfilling-prophecy-systemic-collapse-and-pandemic-simulation/
The PTB are just biding time to allow Trump to exit the stage, either at the end of his term or impeachment when the Dems control the House in 27. These people are very predictable. I think DeSantis and Vance are captured. Rubio and Gabbard have been surprisingly independent of the "Narrative". I'm not sure any of the four mentioned will be able to sustain the Trump Movement. I hate to be pessimistic, but I don't see another Trump stepping forward over the next decade to prevent the scenario Bill mentioned above. The sheep-like response to the lock-downs and vaccine propaganda has showed that the vast majority of the population will go along with government dictates. More than likely another national emergency in the form of an economic collapse will precipitate a government response that includes CBDC to "save" the population from the disaster destroying saving and retirement accounts and real estate values.
The Biden Administration has shown that they will send armed shock troops to your house if you cross them. What will we do when the government dictates that cash is no longer to be used and digital cash/ID cards are issued? Do you think your friends and neighbors in the suburbs and small towns will take to the streets in protest? Probably not. Sorry to be so glum.
I've written that it's almost impossible to "change a narrative" once it's firmly established. However, this happens once and a while. Two independent authors challenged the "Wet Market" theory, which was widely accepted and, thanks to their journalism, was suddenly fair game to consider and a valid theory.
I was also struck by how quickly the "narrative" about DeSantis suddenly changed. For at least two years, he was a "rock star" for conservatives. Then he became another Jeb Bush, neo-con, fraud - almost overnight. Somebody worked "a narrative change" program on DeSantis IMO.
Remember way back in the 90's-2000's when discussion about "political correctness" was a thing? It's never mentioned any more, and now we see where that nonsense was headed.