I preface this commentary with an expiation for frequently using coarse language and its use in the title. Unfortunately, it’s the one word that encapsulates and concisely captures the essence of my feelings about most governmental, political, social, and economic implications. I don’t want to seem erudite or elite. I am an auto-didactic polymath, committed to the fundamentals of this republic.

I’ve been asked to be more circumspect with my selection of expletives. I will therefore use my acumen with our language and find appropriate expressions going forward and only use imprecation judiciously; as needs must.

If my use of objectionable or offensive words causes you annoyance, I apologize. It is never my intent to aggrieve anyone, I only wish to open closed minds to alternatives and possibilities. Sometimes linguistic shock is the only arrow in the quiver to get the job done. It’s been my experience that when people are shocked by uncomfortable words or deeds, they are often in need of a few disconcerting inferences to awaken them to the harsh realities of a boorish world.

Am I not allowed the same latitude as our government by the first amendment? I don’t misrepresent events or facts intentionally to deceive as they do; my ethics and morals forestall hypocrisy. So, in deference to your sensitivity, I’ll tailor my language to accommodate this request.

I find most of what our government does and says quite repugnant, yet entreaties to stop, go unattended, but I will endeavor to persevere, being more aware of my prose.

Society has become so fake that the truth actually bothers people. ~ C.R. Dickens

About the title…

I learned this idea of calling Bull… from a CEO who wanted the truth in every aspect of our business. If we discovered any situation or manager misrepresenting something, we had permission to sound the alarm – politely at first. If their course continued and if proof existed that the direction violated a corporate directive, or would disparage our company to the client, we could call ‘bull.’ Here’s the big but… we must have incontrovertible proof for our assertion; and yes, I have erred and apologized.

Today, I’m exercising that option!

In My Opinion…

Our republic is not doing well; in fact, it’s on the verge of crashing, not just financially, but socially and politically; before our eyes. It’s not one particular president or party, it’s a combination of preconceived and intentional factors. The crux of this is our form of government and the opportunities it allows for unscrupulous behavior to subvert it.

To review; America is a Constitutional Republic; one in which, rather than directly governing, the people select their members to temporarily serve in political office. The constitutional part means that both the citizens and their governing officials are bound to follow the rules established in that Constitution.

I want to emphasize the word ‘temporary’ in the definition above.

That’s how it was supposed – designed to work.

The original concept was based on trust. Trust – that the representatives would exercise good judgement and be people of good moral character. It inferred that their desire to serve the republic was altruistic, not self-serving. They were elected, selected to serve – representing their constituents to the republic.

The terms are set as 4 years for the House of Representatives (HoRs), and 6 years for the Senate (Sen).

At the beginning of this Congressional session (#117) the term averages are 8.9 years for the HoRs and 11.1 years for the Sen. There are twelve congressional members serving for over 36 years, seven for over 40 years, one for nearly fifty years.

That, folks, is NOT temporary…

What we have in America right now is a Plutocracy. These elected representatives use their wealth and position to rule America; and dare I forget, to enrich and empower themselves by the decisions they make for their benefit.

We are not a factor in their decisions except as the means to their ends.

* Plutocracy is a government controlled exclusively by the wealthy, either directly or indirectly. Plutocracy allows, either openly or by circumstance, only the wealthy to rule. This can then result in policies exclusively designed to assist the wealthy, which is reflected in its name – the Greek words “ploutos” and “kratos” translate to wealthy and power or ruling, respectively, in English.

There is the illusion of choice in any election, but evidence reveals the fallacy. We’re presented with minimal alternatives as our choice; one less palatable than the next and certainly not the crème de la crème. We select from the least evil of the lesser. The power of the partisan political machines assures that the number of candidates is intentionally limited to ensure a clear winner who is a partisan political loyalist.

Yes, there are independent candidates in the mix, but they are more annoying distractions than a choice. They serve to reinforce the illusion of fairness and choice in every election.

The ratios for the two major parties are basically even at roughly 25% each, and the independent number is the sum of the two. This independence indicates their dissatisfaction with the mainstream partisan political parties. A majority of these noncommittal voters will undoubtedly vote for one of two major political candidates, and votes for anyone other than one of the mainstream candidates is assumed to dilute the voting pool. Although there are only two mainstream parties, the other 51, create 53 distinct political parties with ballot access in America.

There is an interesting wrinkle in the American Administrative Electoral System. The Bicoastal Elite use their power and wealth to influence elections with campaign contributions to their chosen preferred partisan political party. The 2024 total – so far – is $375 million, $271 million disbursed, with the expected spending to exceed $10.2 billion: for a single election.

What does this imply about the value of the presidency?

The axiom: ‘Money talks…‘ rings true. Doesn’t it…

There is an ‘inarticulate’ puppet in the fore who acts as the Master of Ceremonies and who presides over the spectacle as the oligarchs pull the strings. The face changes every four or eight years to maintain a respectable pretense for the unaware serfs. Their tenure is abbreviated if the incumbent proves unmanageable or runs counter to the partisan political platform. Recall the message sent with the removals ‘with extreme prejudice’ of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy. Yes, impeachment is an alternative, but it’s seen more punitively, than practically, and with balance in the congressional houses, pressing this formal accusation is impractical.

It is imperative that the sheeple believe that they have input and value in the system. That’s part of the façade others like me reveal. It’s all window dressing… It’s all Bull…!

We, the people, Have No Input.

We vote for these representatives, but once in place, our rights recede. We have value at two points in this cycle, when they are running. I count this as two points in the process; initially to get elected, and secondly, to maintain their position.

That is our value to politicians.

They only need us when they want something.

Funny that none of them asks us how they should vote on specific issues, or if we need new laws, or if war is warranted.

There are no polls or surveys, they assume that they know what we want, and too few of us speak up about the transparency of their self-serving choices.

Their choices are a gross assumption based on the surmised partisan makeup of their constituents.

There must be some divine insight imbued during the oath of office ceremony, giving them special insight as if gifted by a divine light that edifies them to the needs of their people.

The proper term is omniscience – now they are better than those who put them there: they know everything.

You can imagine why I’m adamant about their complicity in the downfall of our republic. The process is turned to favor the elected and not the electorate. The campaign process is all about promises and assurances. The follow through is couched in compromise, conniving coverups, and convoluted claims that “we did what we could… and the other party was stronger because our party’s numbers are dwindling…” or… “it was the right thing to do…” but, for whom?

It’s a numbers game…

Imagine what twenty million new voters will do to the tenuous and precarious balance of power.

More people mean more seats in the House of Misrepresentatives where the laws are crafted, and in the Senate, where there are only one hundred senators, it’s crucial that one party has a partisan majority to pass their legislation.

“If Pro is the opposite of Con, what is the opposite of progress?” ~ Mark Twain

What’s missing from this scenario is the will of the people.

I trust you comprehend that there is no real intent to represent the people, only the partisan political parties. We are no more than the means to their end…

Mark Twain commented that there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.

Unemployment:

According to the Ludwig Institute (LISEP), the true unemployment rate through March is 24.2%, the headline rate is 3.8%.

Why?

The headline rate excludes several categories of workers to deflate – lower – the numbers to support a favorable narrative. The administration is lying to us. Imagine the ratio when you add twenty million new available workers who will count as available in the workforce numbers when they receive permits.

Shouldn’t the number be a factor of the number of available jobs and the number of people available to fill them?

Why manipulate the numbers to promote lies?

Inflation:

The rate of inflation for March 2024 is 3.5%. It’s based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), or a carefully selected basket of goods and services consumed by households. The real number hovers near 8%. The actual rate is obscured in the calculations of included and excluded commodities. It takes an economics degree, which I do not have, to comprehend the actual numbers and impact. From what I can find the numbers are massaged by excluding many commonly purchased household items to drive the ratios into an acceptable range.

I spent considerable time searching for the real inflation numbers – not the Administrations’ approved and massaged data. I could not find any substantiated figures. What I found ranged from 4% to 20% through April 2024. And like the real unemployment numbers this is obviously the work of ‘The Ministry of Truth.’

Why?

This may seem obvious, but to make someone look better or worse for partisan political purposes.

My purpose in exposing these two numbers is to reveal how the administrations use data points to sell their agenda and narrative. By inflating or deflating any number, they can make their case.

“Figures don’t lie, but liars’ figure” ~ Mark Twain

* The quote is a play on words used to make a point. Figures, the noun, refers to numbers. … The point of the saying is that you can start with accurate data (“figures don’t lie”), but the data can be manipulated by someone knowledgeable and unscrupulous (“liars can do the figuring”).

We see and know what they, the administration, want us to see and know. It’s to their benefit to present the information in a manner that supports their intent. So, depending on how these figures are presented, the rates can be favorable to the incumbent and damming for the opposition and vice versa. It also depends greatly on your alliance to the cult and which cult presents the information.

Why is this important?

Whenever there is a question with discordant answers it causes me to question what I see. Why do the numbers vary so widely – what are they trying to hide?

Occam’s Razor tells us that the simplest answer is usually the correct choice. So, the purpose of these deceptions is pure partisan political pandering. They want to look better than their opponents. They count on our partisan political alignment and loyalty to accept their lies as facts. They expect us to follow along blindly, accepting their every word as gospel, never doubting, or challenging, their accuracy or veracity.

This is what they think of us.

How do you usually respond when you discover that someone lied to you?

Do you rush to embrace their next statement or are you wary?

When you discover that the last statement was a lie, are you more likely to believe them or do they lose credibility?

Over my lifetime, I’ve discovered that partisan political lies far exceed the truth. Now I’m disinclined to believe anything I hear from any party through the Corporate Media Complex; this is the basis of my cynicism and distrust for our government.

The Truth Hurts – but it’s far better than living a lie. It is often painful, but it is better to face it than to live your life in denial.

America is crumbling and we must awaken or acquiesce, tacitly accepting the consequences of that decision.

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. ~ Dylan Thomas (1914 – 1953)

I’m Calling Bullshit!

For the Amalgamated Heavy, Unabashedly, I AM ~

May 9, 2024

~ The Author ~
Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam war, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; we’re not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a retired blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This was his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… but alas… life goes on!