Because human affairs are complex, we may be inclined to think that such a rudimentary investigative principle is of limited practical utility, but in recent years I have found it infallible.
The world is full of would be activists—people who are fervently interested in promoting a program. Many of these programs are eccentric at best, and as long as no money is available to fund them, they will remain in obscurity. However, if a program’s activists are energetic and backed with massive funding, they may rapidly exercise major influence on public policy.
Money has always been used to propagate new ideas and beliefs. In a true liberal democracy with a free marketplace of ideas, such propaganda will be challenged and circumscribed by competing points of view. Its influence becomes pernicious when the marketplace of ideas ceases being free because competing opinions are censored and vilified.
Many now marvel at how propositions that no one believed in or even talked about just a few years ago may, virtually overnight, become vociferously supported by governments, corporations, and celebrities.
It’s important to understand that such movements don’t emerge organically at the grassroots level. They fire up and rapidly gather steam only when they are backed by significant capital.
Thus, anytime you are confronted with the seemingly widespread embrace of an irrational or even destructive doctrine, it’s likely that a quirky billionaire and his foundation are generously funding its propagation and the election campaigns of politicians who will endorse it.
(Natural News) Nearly all major U.S. corporations are now led by ‘woke’ left-wing CEOs more worried about “climate change,” “equity,” and using their positions to advance political agendas than actually earn higher returns and dividends for shareholders, as evidenced by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week.
But they are also sensitive — at least for now — to public pressure campaigns, as evidenced by decisions made by credit card giants Mastercard and Visa: Both have decided to halt the implementation of a plan that was intended to track firearm sales and help reduce gun violence, a move that activists had been pushing for, Bloomberg News reported late last week.
Discover Financial Services and American Express Co. are also pausing the work along with Visa and Mastercard after a series of bills in state legislatures targeted the International Organization for Standardization’s new merchant category code. The MCC was created to be used when processing transactions for gun and ammunition stores, which activists hoped would track firearm sales and help curb gun violence, the report stated.
“There are bills advancing in several states related to the use of this new code,” said a spokesman for Mastercard in a statement Thursday. If passed, the proposals would create an “inconsistency” in how merchants and others apply the code, he added.
“It’s for that reason that we have decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC,” the spokesman said.
The spokesperson also stated that the company is halting the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC due to the “significant confusion and legal uncertainty” created by legislative proposals related to the use of the code, Bloomberg News noted further.
Previously, Visa and Mastercard had expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the new system in curbing gun violence, as it would not provide sufficient details to identify specific types of firearms purchased, such as semi-automatic rifles versus safety equipment. Additionally, the proposed merchant category code was criticized by Second Amendment advocates and politicians who viewed it as a violation of constitutional rights and privacy, said the outlet.
Previously, all major payment networks had agreed to implement a new merchant category code that would apply to all purchases made at gun and ammunition stores. However, purchases of firearms at other types of retailers would not be included, said the report — likely because the goal is to put gun stores out of business, not fellow woke corporations (which would then stop selling guns altogether).
“MCCs are one data point that would not provide any insight on specific purchases or resolve larger issues,” the Mastercard spokesman said, according to Bloomberg. “We are committed to working with policymakers and elected officials to contribute to constructive solutions that address the gun violence issue, while respecting important constitutional rights and protections for lawful activities.”
Discover has also announced that it will be removing the merchant category code (MCC) as well, stating that it is doing so “to continue alignment and interoperability with the industry.”
Visa and Mastercard’s earlier decision to implement the code had led to swift backlash from politicians. In September, 24 state attorneys general had written to then-CEO of Visa, Al Kelly, and CEO of Mastercard, Michael Miebach, urging them to “take immediate action to comport with our consumer protection laws and respect the constitutional rights of all Americans,” according to the outlet.
Several Republican politicians have introduced bills in various states, including Mississippi and Florida, aimed at restricting the use of the new code by prohibiting banks and payment processors from using it for firearms transactions. In West Virginia, a bill passed the House earlier this year that would “prevent the use of payment card processing systems for surveillance of Second Amendment activity and discriminatory conduct.”
(Natural News) We are nearing the end of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and the people who grow our food are worried that the residual pollution and contamination from the East Palestine train disaster in Ohio will ruin the spring crop.
Farmers in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania are especially concerned that dioxins and other deadly chemicals may have spilled over onto their land, affecting their crops and livestock, and the soil where they grow and roam.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) have asked United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Thomas Vilsack and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Michael Regan to address these concerns by sending resources to the region so farmers can test their soils, plant tissue, and livestock for chemical contaminants.
The trio also requested a review of what kinds of disaster assistance are most appropriate to offer to affected farmers, none of whom have received anything close to clear guidance about how to proceed for the spring planting and rearing season.
“Farmers in the region are already reporting receiving requests to cancel orders due to health concerns,” a letter from the three senators reads. “Farmers and food producers in East Palestine and Darlington Township need assistance in responding to this manmade disaster.”
(Related: The air quality in East Palestine is dismal, a scientific report found.)
Are they trying to create fear about food grown near East Palestine?
The reason why farmers are specifically asking for disaster assistance to remediate the disaster is because there is a chance that consumers will be apprehensive about buying, or will flat-out refuse to buy, any produce or meat from the region even if test results come up negative.
“Senators Casey and Fetterman have worked tirelessly to support Pennsylvanians and Ohioans impacted by this disaster in the short term, namely advocating for resources and holding Norfolk Southern accountable for the harm the derailment has inflicted, in addition to working to prevent similar disasters from happening in the future,” a press release about the letter said.
Fetterman continues to struggle with serious health issues. The day of the derailment, he had to be taken to George Washington University Hospital for lightheadedness potentially related to a stroke he suffered on the campaign trail related to cardiac problems.
After leaving the hospital on February 10, Fetterman was checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for depression. Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff, tweeted the following about his condition:
“Productive morning with Senator Fetterman at Walter Reed discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill, and other Senate business. John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes. He’s laser-focused on PA & will be back soon.”
Another letter that Fetterman also signed was sent to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw asking how his company plans to assist farmers and others throughout the region with their short-term water needs.
“What will be done in the long-term if water sources are contaminated by the hazardous materials that leaked out of tanker cars or that were created during the explosion and subsequent fires?” that letter asks, along with numerous other questions.
“What is the company’s plan to reimburse local farmers if their crops, soil, or livestock are found to be injured, killed, contaminated, or in any way rendered less valuable by the derailment or its effects?”
“What are the company’s plans for remediation and disposal of impacted soils? Will any of the materials need to be transported off-site for treatment and disposal? And how will the company ensure communities are protected along the transportation route?”
The latest news about the situation in East Palestine can be found at Disaster.news.
(Natural News) Dr. Naomi Wolf, author and lifelong liberal, has penned a major apology to conservatives who refused to swallow the Democrat-left narratives surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol false flag in 2021.
We all know that a riot of some kind took place at the Capitol that day. We all know that then-President Donald Trump gave a speech near the building. But what we have also long known is that the deep state fomented the riot by using undercover operatives that witnesses actually saw that day. And now, after Fox News host Tucker Carlson has aired actually never-before-seen footage from that day — footage that has revealed the Democratic left’s lies — Wolf believes she owes conservatives who never bought into them a big mea culpa.
“There is no way to avoid this moment. The formal letter of apology. From me. To Conservatives and to those who ‘put America first’ everywhere,” she began on her Substack page.
“It’s tempting to sweep this confrontation with my own gullibility under the rug — to ‘move on’ without ever acknowledging that I was duped, and that as a result I made mistakes in judgement, and that these mistakes, multiplied by the tens of thousands and millions on the part of people just like me, hurt millions of other people like you all, in existential ways,” she continued. “But that erasure of personal and public history would be wrong. I owe you a full-throated apology.”
In a letter of apology, she admits to having believed lies and causing damage to the reputations of conservatives based on false claims.
“While ‘fact-checkers’ state that it is ‘misinformation’ to claim that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was in charge of Capitol Police on that day,” she wrote, “the fact is that the USCP is under the oversight of Congress, according to — the United States Capitol Police.”
Wolf noted:
This would be the same Congress that convened the January 6 Committee subsequently, and that used millions of dollars in taxpayer money to turn that horrible day, and that tragic event, into a message point that would be used to tar a former President as a would-be terrorist, and to smear all Republicans, by association, as “insurrectionists,” or as insurrectionists’ sympathizers and fellow-travelers.
“There is no way to unsee Officer Brian Sicknick, claimed by some Democrats in leadership and by most of the legacy media to have been killed by rioters at the Capitol that day, alive in at least one section of the newly released video. The USCP medical examiner states that this Officer died of ‘natural causes,’ but also that he died ‘in the line of duty,’” Wolf continued. “Whatever the truth of this confusing conclusion, and with all respect for and condolences to Officer Sicknick’s family, the circumstances of his death do matter to the public, as without his death having been caused by the events of Jan 6, the breach of the capitol, serious though it was, cannot be described as a ‘deadly insurrection.’”
Sicknick was not killed that day, and he did not die at the hands of ‘rioters.’ He died of two strokes he suffered at the base of his skull the next day. The only person killed at the Capitol that day was a young Air Force veteran, Ashli Babbitt, who was unarmed. She was shot to death.
Even lifelong Democrats cannot deny that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) did not claim that the footage aired by Carlson was fake, but instead criticized Fox News for allowing it to be broadcast. The Guardian‘s characterization of Carlson and Fox News as guilty of “over-use” of the Jan 6 footage is strange, she noted, adding: “Isn’t the press supposed to want full transparency for all public interest events?”
(Natural News) While so many environmentalists are distracted by the abstract concept of “climate change,” there is a very real pollution problem that is suppressing human immune systems and damaging human hormonal expression. The issue of biosludge and persistent bio-accumulative toxins continues to be ignored by the EPA.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supposed to protect the environment and human health from toxic pollution, but according to former EPA scientist and whistleblower Dr. David Lewis, the agency is nothing more than a pollution protection racket for big industry. In a new interview with Mike Adams, Dr. Lewis explains how the EPA destroys the careers of scientists who speak out against industry pollution while covering up evidence of toxic pollution to protect corporate profits.
Dr. Lewis speaks out about biosludge, dioxins, and bio-accumulative toxins
Dr. Lewis’s own career was destroyed by the EPA after he raised warnings about EPA-approved “biosludge” pollution of soils with human sewage waste. Biosolids, or treated sewage sludge, are often applied to farmland as fertilizer, but they often contain dangerous levels of heavy metals, pathogens, pharmaceuticals, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and other toxic substances.
According to Dr. Lewis, the EPA carries out selective “science” in order to protect the profits of corporations, and has been doing so for decades. He explains that the agency is heavily influenced by lobbyists, and its policies and regulations are often written by corporations themselves. In the interview, he also talks about the corruption of science in academia, and how bio-terrorists and foreign adversaries could easily use biosludge as a vector to acutely poison the population.
Despite the EPA’s claims that it protects public health and the environment, Dr. Lewis warns that the agency is endangering both by allowing toxic pollution to go unchecked. The EPA is currently facing lawsuits for failing to protect against a massive vinyl chloride burn in East Palestine, Ohio. The vinyl chloride was not shipped away and incinerated at high temperatures; instead, the EPA and the Department of Transportation allowed the vinyl chloride to be burned in pits, unleashing some of the most toxic substances known to man – dioxins. Dioxins are typically released by a variety of industrial processes, including incineration of waste, and can cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious health problems.
Dr. Lewis exposes the thuggish EPA
Dr. Lewis’s own experience as an EPA scientist and whistleblower provides a firsthand account of the agency’s corrupt practices. After raising warnings about biosolids pollution, Dr. Lewis was targeted by the agency and his lab was shuttered.
He explains that the EPA engages in a variety of tactics to silence scientists who speak out against industry pollution, including intimidation, harassment, and retaliation. According to Dr. Lewis, the EPA has downplayed the dangers of biosolids and has ignored evidence of their toxicity. He explains that the agency has been heavily influenced by the sewage industry, which has sought to promote biosolids as a safe and effective fertilizer. Despite the risks, Dr. Lewis continues to speak out against the EPA and industry pollution. He believes that it is essential for scientists to be able to speak out without fear of retaliation, and for the public to have access to unbiased information about the dangers of pollution.
Dr. Lewis believes that it is essential for the public to be aware of the dangers of biosolids and to demand that the EPA take action to protect public health and the environment. He calls for a moratorium on the use of biosolids until their safety can be guaranteed, and for greater transparency and accountability in the regulatory process. As the author of Science for Sale, Dr. Lewis continues to speak out against industry pollution and the EPA’s protection racket. If we are to truly protect public health and the environment, we must hold corporations accountable for their pollution and create a truly independent regulatory agency that is not influenced by industry interests.
(Natural News) The overwhelming majority of American parents, regardless of political affiliation, opposes the exploitation of children by the Cult of LGBT, multiple new polls have found.
McLaughlin and Associates in partnership with Summit.org had 71 percent of respondents in its poll agree with the statement that “pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for underage children seeking gender transition should be legally liable for any harmful side effects that arise.”
Seventy-two percent of Republicans, the same poll found, also believe that doctors and companies should be held liable for the “sex change” mutilation of children – this compared to just 59 percent of independents and 45 percent of Democrats.
Amazingly, 35 percent of Democrats in the McLaughlin-Summit.org poll indicated that they support slicing off young girls’ breasts, removing young boys’ genitals, and pushing children into the arms of LGBT groomers who want to sexually mutilate them.
Perhaps not surprisingly, older respondents leaned towards protecting children while younger respondents apparently believe that destroying children’s bodies is a good thing because it helps them become their “true selves.”
“Those over the age of 55 were more likely by a slim margin to say that doctors and companies should be held liable than those under the age of 55, at 63 to 56 percent,” reports The Post Millennial.
“Among Trump voters in 2020, 77 percent said the companies and doctors should be held liable, compared to 45 percent of Biden voters. 35 percent of Biden voters said they shouldn’t be held accountable.”
(Related: Remember when Procter & Gamble [P&G] went woke with a Pantene marketing scheme promoting the transgender mutilation of children?)
If you support mutilating children’s bodies, you’re a pervert
Dr. Jeff Myers, president of Summit.org and co-author of the new e-book “Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry’s False Ideology,” commented on the results of the poll with the following:
“This poll reflects Americans’ growing concerns for what is happening to young kids in the name of transgender ideology. Doctors are routinely prescribing powerful drugs to kids as puberty blockers without FDA approval for such use.”
“In our new book we document how children are being subjected to dangerous risks and lifelong side-effects, all to promote a radical ideology and reap massive profits for the transgender medical industry. These doctors and pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable for harms that are likely to manifest years after treatment.”
A second poll conducted by the same groups found that 71 percent of respondents are either somewhat or very “concerned” about “efforts to expose children to the transgender movement using things like drag shows, school curriculum, and social media.”
As with the first poll, Democrats were far more likely to support this type of perverted exposure with 46 percent saying they are not at all concerned about the LGBT grooming of children at bars, night clubs, and even churches – this compared to just eight percent of Republicans and 28 percent of independents who feel the same.
Eighty-eight percent of Republicans say they are somewhat or very concerned about child grooming while less than half, or 44 percent, of Democrats feel the same way. Sixty percent of independents, meanwhile, say they are somewhat or very concerned about child grooming.
“From TV to Tik Tok to drag shows and trans curriculum in schools, our children and grandchildren are being bombarded daily with the transgender ideology,” Myers added. “This polling shows that the American public is concerned and angry about this targeting of kids.”
The latest news about the transgender mutilation of America’s children and the Left’s love affair with it can be found at Transhumanism.news.
