Comment of the Moment: Donald Trump Uses 3 Neil Young Songs At Mount Rushmore Event
UPDATED
On July 3, 2020, Donald Trump used 3 Neil Young songs at the Mount Rushmore Event: “Rockin In The Free World” (2X, before and after), “Like a Hurricane”and “Cowgirl in the Sand”.
And -- again -- Neil Young has expressed his strong opposition to Donald Trump's use of his music, tweeting: “This is NOT ok with me…” (More details, footage and commentary here.)
All of which -- naturally -- created much angst and drama across the lands. In fact, our TW tweets saw the highest number of impressions ever since we started using the tweetverse.
Neil Young News: Donald Trump Uses 3 Neil Young Songs At Mount Rushmore Event
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) July 4, 2020
See https://t.co/x53zebwGBi
☮️♥️@NeilYoungNYA pic.twitter.com/ByNGNpN5X6
(Incidentally, numbers add up to nothin'.)
Now, onto the TW Comment of the Moment on Donald Trump Uses 3 Neil Young Songs At Mount Rushmore Event by Greg "A Friend Of Yours":
For starters, I guess I would agree that the polite, gracious thing to do would be to honor someone’s request when it comes to something like this, but then Donald Trump is not a polite, gracious man when it comes down to brass tacks, which is exactly the mindset the powers behind him had in mind when they approached him to run for the Presidency, something he had to be convinced into doing.Thanks so much for sharing the comments here AFOY. It's been awhile and we appreciate your dropping by with your thoughts.
He’s clearly not a politician, he’s a disrupter- again something his backers were looking for, something long honed as a negotiating tactic in order to bring out people’s real positions, and real objections. Bluster, bad manners, self aggrandizing statements, buffoonery, and more- crazy like a fox.
What is the urgent crisis at hand requiring brass tacks? Well, take a look at what Rockin’ In The Free World chronicles (incidentally, a song that calls out the man many people believe JFK Jr.- a close personal friend of Trump, had identified as being at the very center of his fathers public execution- a man whose party aligned politics, along with the democrats, is the very thing that Trump is standing up against, but never mind that for now). Whatever else you think about the songs meaning, its upshot is that despite all the attacks on freedom, you have to still stand up and fight for what you think is right, and wrong or right, many people believe this is exactly what Trump is doing, including myself. As I’ve said elsewhere, how is it that no one short of a Donald Trump could be found to lead the charge of the behind the scenes patriots in this last ditch effort to oppose the tyranny of globalism, and the Federal Reserve Bank? "Drain the swamp," rend asunder the Deep State, the Shadow Government. How is it that no one possessed of any backbone, not bought and paid for, no establishment figure not compromised in one way, shape, or form, can be found to do the right thing?
Can anyone deny that the country is not in a metaphorical “Hurricane” at the moment? Notwithstanding Neil’s objections, I think the song choices are right on.
The more pertinent to me song choice is Devils Sidewalk, a metaphor for the battle raging against good and evil, a battle that clearly defines the Civil War and second American Revolution the country is currently right smack in the middle of, in addition to the larger struggle being waged on a world wide basis- a struggle that traces its origins all the way back to the Tower of Babel, but, better not go there, except to say that Thrashers oft alluded to “Big Shift” weighs in the balance- the Great Awakening, the much needed shift in consciousness, Ascension, etc.
Anyways, I thought about it for a bit last night after reading this post, and the comments, and though I didn’t have the time to really go into it, from my memory of Devils Sidewalk I wasn’t perplexed by the song choice at all. Nor was I surprised by the other choices, although Cowgirl In The Sand?, that doesn’t quite fit in other than “Be on my side, I’ll be on your side,” I guess. Dunno. Sure, for the average person, heck, even for some Neil fans, it’s a relatively obscure cut off a relatively obscure album, but evidently Trump is not the average person when it comes to knowledge of Neil, and very likely neither is someone(s) somewhere on his campaign team.
Just take a close look at the incredible lyrics. It describes the devil dining on the “streets of hate,” and the captain sounding the warning to a crew who would rather focus on a “woman delicious.” Never mind, there is no metaphorical devil, no streets of hate. Some things aren’t getting better or worse, and there’s nothing to avoid, as long as we have so many toys to enslave- I mean, divert our attention. “There’s a garden growing… And a million weeds… With no way of knowing… Who has done which deed.” Sound like an “invisible enemy,” sound like something Trump is always on about? An enemy that, throughout republican and democrat administrations alike, has successfully sought to destroy America’s industrial base, so that globalism’s new engine of empire, China, can be built up? You wouldn’t want to trumpet those sentiments walking into a car factory in Michigan, would you? There is so much more to say, but I’ll leave it at this- there is a lot of grist for the mill here, and strange as it may seem, there is more than enough there in the lyrics to match up with the real world crisis that Trump and his backers are trying to wage war against, whether you like him or not, and you will never understand the man and what he is attempting to do, if you don’t understand the battle against evil that is being waged. But, if you just can’t stomach so disagreeable a man co-opting songs that make the honest attempt to call out evil for what it is, then ignore it.
Don’t give it the attention that will blow it up into something more than it is. But, again, notwithstanding Neil’s objections, I’m fine with it.
A Friend Of Yours
There's just so much to unpack in all of this that probably for the 1st time in 25 years of running TW, we're totally scattered on where to turn next while watching this slow motion train wreck. If only Neil and the Horse had been on the road this summer as planned, we would be out on the rail flying our colors. But, alas ...
We did make a few comments and asked some questions after our annual 4th of July post got clobbered to the back seat by the latest Donald-Neil news. So if you missed that in all of the fireworks, check that post out on A Happy 4th of July To All of Our "Children of Destiny": Stay Calm & Enjoy - UPDATED.
A Happy 4th of July To All of Our "Children of Destiny": Stay Calm & Enjoy https://t.co/e35uGnb20a
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) July 4, 2020
☮️♥️@NeilYoungNYA #4thofJuly2020 #4thJuly pic.twitter.com/i8vlEAWKst
So, -- FWIW -- what's happening here? Because, whatever it is, it ain't exactly clear.
There are those that do not see this as much more than just a political appropriation of an artists work by a politician. Another ripoff, so nothing new, really. But it strikes us all as a bit too odd and almost contrived.
Last week, Young criticized Trump‘s leadership of the U.S. in a lyrical rewrite of his 2006 track “Lookin’ for a Leader” during Porch Session earlier this week. (See link for lyrics update.) Now Trump's Mount Rushmore event. What will be next in this 4 year battle of ever escalating tensions?
Can a Neil-Donald truce be achieved? Should someone hold peace talks between the two? Maybe Willie could volunteer to moderate?
When this all started at the very beginning of Trump's campaign with his escalator ride to the strains of RITFW, it seemed rather straightforward. Candidate A purchases playback rights to a song library. simple. Neil's music is in that library for anyone to purchase, no matter the cause.
As we understand things (and please correct us) if Neil doesn't want his music used for event playback purposes, he has to withdraw from the arrangement. From what we gather, Neil has asked a specific candidate not to be allowed to purchase his music. But again that's not how the system works. It's all or none. He can't allow Bernie Sanders to purchase his music rights and not someone else. Again, please correct us. (Note, as background, some of the intricacies of licensing music are discussed here in 2016 on "'Fuck You, Donald Trump" Says Neil Young Onstage; Posts Video Clip to His Facebook Page.)
Donald Trump & Neil Young Tangle Yet Again Over Use of Music At Events OR Donnie, Ronnie & Neil: Southern Man and The Un-Civil Wars of Donald Trump & Neil Young or Rebels with Causes w/ Northern Man
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) July 4, 2020
See https://t.co/x53zebwGBi
☮️♥️@NeilYoungNYA @realDonaldTrump #4thofJuly pic.twitter.com/y53jPk2TMA
Also, NASA Played Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" Prior to SpaceX Launch at end of May.
Neil Young News: NASA Plays Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" Prior to SpaceX Launch
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) May 31, 2020
See https://t.co/anCjgoQjEr
☮️♥️@NeilYoungNYA pic.twitter.com/ppUtpp4SLQ
In 2019, US President Trump Has Been Listening to New Neil Young & Crazy Horse Album "COLORADO" (Kiddingly)
Neil Young News: US President Trump Has Been Listening to New Neil Young & Crazy Horse Album "COLORADO"
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) October 24, 2019
See https://t.co/ECn4fpmDlQ
-@NeilYoungNYA @CrazyHorse4HOF @nilslofgren #CrazyHorse4HOF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/28c8mKOJQW
And, Donnie, Ronnie & Neil + Merry: Southern Man and The Un-Civil Wars of Donald Trump & Neil Young or Rebels with Causes w/ Northern Man.
Donnie, Ronnie & Neil + Merry: Southern Man and The Un-Civil Wars of Donald Trump & Neil Young or Rebels with Causes w/ Northern Man
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) June 4, 2020
See https://t.co/kWVSBe9ZK9
☮️♥️@NeilYoungNYA @dhlovelife @drivebytruckers pic.twitter.com/WsoYYWPTVX
Back in 2015, Neil Young to Donald Trump: This Note is NOT for You!.
"We got a thousand points of light
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) March 2, 2019
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler, Machine gun hand "
See "Neil Young to Donald Trump: This note is NOT for you!" https://t.co/NwF5dGmPsm …@Neilyoung @NeilYoungNYA @SharryWilson @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/rrQHXPuwl7
Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" played for President Trump's arrival @CPAC 2019 conference this morning.@Neilyoung @NeilYoungNYA @rustradio @neilyounglyrics @SharryWilson https://t.co/SNseKBDQVX
— ThrashersWheat (@ThrashersWheat) March 2, 2019
FWIW: "There's something happening here. What it is, ain't exactly clear"
Labels: donald trump, neil young, politics, rockin in the free world, songs
by thrasher@PermaLink: 7/06/2020 01:07:00 PM
18 comments
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18 Comments:
You may want to read Neil Young's reaction to all this: a letter to the imposter's exploitation of NY songs at the White House. It can be found as a "Viewpoint" on NYA.
We humans seem to have a long and illustrious history of knee jerk reactions. For some mysterious reason we always wait for all hell to break loose before we see the error of our ways. Never a thought to be proactive on problems we’re faced with, or recognition that we’ve been here before. If it wasn’t so painful, it would be humorous.
Right now the United States is once again polarized beyond recognition and no one is willing to compromise enough to actually take real action to solve any of the problems we face. We’re all too busy defending our beliefs without any regard for the ultimate solutions necessary to actually solve anything. And I think this is exactly what our government wants. They have been using this same technique for as long as I can remember.
As long as we keep fighting with each other the government is free to maintain their status quo and therefore none of these monumental problems are ever resolved. They keep all the power and we get exactly what we deserve. Every single issue we see right now is never going to be solved as long as we rely on our government to help us. They simply don’t care, so ultimately we are on
our own. Until we all decide on what we all ultimately need to do to make every life equally free and valued in this country, we are doomed to be stuck in this repetitive tape loop situation until the end of time. Are we really okay with this?
How much longer before we all realize that we’ve already seen this movie and we would all like a different ending this time. One where we all feel safe and respected by our fellow citizens, and is this ideal even going to be a real possibility? Is that what we all really want?
As of right now, it sure doesn’t look like it.
Peace 🙏
The Rolling Stones brought suit through BMI. Just saying you don't like it will do nothing if one expects to influence Twitler's behavior. He should just bring a lawsuit. It is deserved.
@ Dionys - thanks. posted @
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2020/07/neil-youngs-open-letter-to-president.html
@ Dan - as always, thank you for sharing your thoughts here in these troubled times.
We are hearing increasing concerns from our freinds around the world expressing concern about what appears to be the great "great unraveling".
Certainly not the type of #BigShift that AFOY's CotM references.
To be clear we have always implied that the #BigShift is in a positive -- not negative -- direction. But many are finding the level of pain unacceptable -- rightfully so.
As Buffalo Springfield observed so succinctly oh so long ago on FWIW: "There's something happening here. What it is, ain't exactly clear"
But what is it?
OK, we realize that it drives folks nuts to just toss out "Winterlong" or "It's all illusion" as a simple shorthand explanation.
We won't re-hash this for 100th time here. Everyone has read and seen it here before or can look around and find copious detailed discussion of #BigShift to help better understand we're talking about a shift in consciousness.
Likewise, we've said that if you're prepared for #BigShift, then none of this comes with great surprise or alarm which is why we have been invoking the "Stay Calm" mantra.
And last we checked, we hadn't heard of any rusties rioting in the streets.
But let us offer what little hope our little blog can to our small but mighty audience.
What the Buffalo Springfield couldn't quite put their finger on during the Sunset Strip riots back in November 1966 was that the "something" was classic divide & conquer control techniques which go back to the beginning of time.
Left vs. Right being played by the controllers. same as it ever was. As long as everyone is arrayed against one another rather than against the true enemy, the masses will always be on the losing side.
Hence the maxim: UNITED WE STAND/DIVIDED WE FALL
and we're falling big time these days. quite sad, but not unexpected. but we try.
And until everyone realizes that they're being totally played by false enemies, fake narratives and unite together, the "great unraveling" will continue.
So. In our little TW world, we seek to try to unite the hard core Left Wing Rusties with the hard core Right Wing Rusties. Then we all win together.
All else is distraction.
Peace 🙏
@ Aer - yes, it does seem a bit odd to issue yet another statement that says essentially: "I'm not going to file a lawsuit."
@ Ian/Meta Rocker - if you're out there ans till listening, we haven't forgotten you and your concerns. as time permits, you'll see your concerns addressed.
@ AFOY - likewise
"Some see life as a broken promise; some see life as an endless fight. They think they live in an age of darkness. They think they live in an age of light."
Pt. 1 of 2:
This is not a retraction, but an amendation. Regarding my comments on the previous thread, the only one I regret is the implication that I would fully cease participating with this forum. Dan is right, and I'm sometimes just as guilty of knee jerk reactions as the next person. That sentiment aside, however, my other criticism stands. In addition to those comments:
1) I'm not interested in enacting any form of "cancel culture" here, as I don't find that constructive. Thrasher's Wheat continues to have my heartfelt support for the good work it does as a home and watering hole for Neil nuts of all persuasions. Yet notwithstanding that impassioned discourse is a pivotal part of our very humanity, I don't wish to see this slip into being a toxic environment--and, for better or worse, intellectual honesty and the simple fact that I care compel me to assert that, yes, I see potential for toxicity stemming from AFOY's recent post (more on this with point #3 below). By extension, any decision to remove or distance myself from a potential toxic environment is not the same cancelling, and I'm still here because I really want to give this latest contretemps a fair opportunity to shake out.
2) This is not about "orange man bad". My concern here isn't with folks who simply voted for or support POTUS generally, and I wouldn't like anyone to leap to the conclusion that a simple political difference is grounds for me to turn my back on a community. Although it can be challenging to light on common ground, in this case I have specific issues with what I find to be the extreme tenor of AFOY's comments. It's worth saying here that I don't doubt AFOY's good intentions, just as I don't doubt Thrasher's good intentions in creating this cotm.
Pt. 2 of 2:
3) What most deeply disturbs me about AFOY's words is what I read as a twisted quasi-deification of President Trump. For instance, the notion that Trump, a man who ran for the presidency back in 2000 and flirted with the idea in the media for years before that, had to be "convinced" to run in 2016 is highly suspect. Moreover, in the context of AFOTY's apparent argument, it constitutes a truly grotesque and disturbing attempt to paint the current US president in messianic terms, as some sort of sacrificial lamb, a Chosen One anointed to die/suffer for the cause of... what exactly? That part is unclear to me, in spite of the scattered references to China and rebuilding the American economy. Neither of which are primarily spiritual or theological subjects, incidentally.
It is possible I've misread, or overread, AFOTY's comments, but I remain skeptical. I see much projecting of religious--and, particularly, eschatological--beliefs onto the president in his words. This, unfortunately, plays into a pattern all too dishearteningly common among evangelical voters in the US, those who were key in propelling POTUS to the highest office in the land. To them, and to the various pundits and preachers who have poisoned the well with this sort of half-baked pseudo-theology, I would say that regardless of my own religious beliefs (or absence thereof), manipulating people's deeply-held faith convictions and narratives for political again is not simply cynical; it is among the most cravenly exploitative and morally--spiritually-- bankrupt acts I can think of.
Again, I'll quote your friend and mine: "Let's impeach the president for hijacking our religion and using it to get elected".
Lastly, @Dan Swan: Thanks for your balanced, thoughtful reflections. I don't think there's too much I can say about the substance of your comments without repeating the mini-manifesto I laid out in the previous thread. So I'll leave you, thrasher, and anyone who happens to read this with my warmest and most peaceful wishes.
"They found faith in the way things are and the way things change, and they said goodbye like two old friends." Om shanti.
~Through a keyhole in an open door.
Ian, I appreciate many of your points- in particular the one allowing as how you may have “overhead” my comments, lol. I can’t go long tonight, but hope to respond at some point to yours, Dan’s and Trasher’s comments, but thinking of what’s on my plate the next several days, maybe I can be brief here- no laughing aloud permitted at me and the concept of brief in the same sentence...
I think your comments about the layered meanings of the concept of evil from the previous post are very well taken, and even as a Christian my understanding of the term is much more informed by say, Alan Watts or Joseph Campbell, and other non-traditional Christians thinkers, than the lions share of what has come down through the centuries in fundamentalist terms. Also, space is limited here, as is my patience to make a point sometimes, and therefore I can stray into simplistic and broad brush mode, and you are right to point it out. Having said this, in self defense, I have to clear up a few things, beginning with the notion that I attribute messianic or deity status to POTUS, or that I am seeing through an eschatological lens, as it is commonly understood in a Biblical context, much as I do liken what we are going through as an end to all things destructive of our Divine nature, and the beginning of something altogether different, along the lines of the “Big Shift,” for lack of a more succinct way of saying it. It is a working out on a grand scale of the most rudimentary of all of life’s truths- cyclical change. The most recent iteration of this truth is the Christian concept of death and resurrection- death accompanied by suffering, but then new life. The oldest understanding is the observation of nature itself, and succeeding cultures knew it in mythological stories like the Phoenix. This is what is happening now, but on a huge and novel historical level, yes, of Biblical proportions, but then the Bible is really less a story about God, as it is a depiction of the process man must undertake to be fully what he was created to be. In this sense especially, it is not Trump or any other “leader” who will lead us out of the paper bag, but our own turning inward to our Christ/I Am presence which indwells all of us. This is the Christian understanding, which stands along countless other understandings. I hasten to add that virtually no fundamentalism, Christian or no, conforms to what I have just described. But now I’m a little far afield, I know, and I’ve got to somehow wrap this up for now, incomplete as it is. As Thrasher has emphasized, we are the ones we’ve been waiting for, but in the meantime we live in a world beset by, sorry, evil, and, you know, any port in a storm. I see Trump and his Patriot backers as the only port available at the moment, is all. Maybe I can write something more coherent at some point than this off the cuff effort, but I gotta go. Peace to all during this “unraveling.” I am only encouraged and steeled to the painful birth we are experiencing, and hope I am right about what I think Trump is doing, but respect that others don’t share my view. Lastly Ian, thank you for your thoughts on community, and the need to find common ground.
A Friend Of Yours
Greg, Way too much to unpack here, and I appreciate your good faith attempt to shed some light.
While your lionizing of POTUS may not have been intentional or conscious, your follow-up confirms that the thought patterns, or archetypes, of a particular metaphysics are alive and well not in only your worldview, but in your approach to our political institutions and leaders.
I simply question the wisdom of applying this cosmic/spiritual frame to humanity's at least partly self-constructed material conditions without serious qualification. The greatest value of stories is most often not in their literal veracity, or else we wouldn't need so many different ones to keep trying to work through perennial questions and yearnings. In this spirit, I'm suggesting that perhaps a literal application of a dualistic, good vs. evil metaphysics to the stifling, and often self-inflicted, complexities and breakdowns of our geopolitical and economic systems is not the most useful, or yielding, frame of reference--not if we wish to avoid consigning whole swaths of our fellow humans to a status of implacable adversary or irredeemable evil.
On a more mundane level, I find problematic your invocation of patriotism--which may as well be a religion in itself, for all the blindly sentimental fervor with which some are content to substitute empty flag-waving for genuine communal conscience or engagement in problem-solving--and the connection this appears, by extension, to forge between national and spiritual identities. But then, I'm not a nationalist, and indeed regard the nation state--and thus its supporting ideology, that of patriotism--as one of the most pervasive and potentially distorting human-made smokescreens or optical illusions vexing the tireless search for any degree of Self-realization.
As to Trump, I suspect you will be disappointed if you expect any lasting, positive change resulting from his ascendancy, and that of his backers, in this particular moment of tumult. If I am proved wrong, let me have the humbleness and grace to acknowledge as much in due course. Nor do I see how this optimism squares with your acknowledgement of cyclical change. By your own admission, one could conclude "Big Shift" has always and will always be taking place on this earthly plain. So it seems odd to expect humanity to permanently "level up"--except in some sense not encompassed by the material universe as we observe and comprehend it. If life itself is ineluctably cyclical, as in a feedback loop, then the only sure exit--the only salvation, the only stillness--comes in a reckoning with death, or an ending of life. Which returns us to eschatology, no? I would end by returning your attention to my previous point: that perhaps the escape from futile feedback loops in this life is not best facilitated by a literal superimposition of the life/death struggle onto our immediate material challenges.
~Through the keyhole in an open door.
I would suggest reconsidering the "metaphysics" with a little naturalism and reading many things other than Christian texts. Pick up Wittgenstein or Hume.
@ Ian, while my active command of the English language sometimes fails me, I always appreciate carefully thought through reasoning in this language. And while I do not want to support intellectualism for its own sake, I definitely believe that it is high time that people stand up against the simpletons and know-nothings on both sides of the Atlantic. Even if that nowadays is considered futile...
@Abner Snopes, While naturalism is a broad term, I essentially agree with you, and I hope it's evident I don't rely on specifically Christian sources in my own thinking, but rather try to draw from many strands of thought, maybe looking for latent links between connections between naturalism spirituality.
@Dionys, Many thanks for your words. I'm bookish for sure, but I do try to find a healthy, productive balance between words (or thoughts) and actions!
~Through they keyhole in an open door.
P.S. @thrasher, thanks for your reply on direct message. I hope my participation here is sufficient grounds to reassure you. On a much more mundane note, I can't seem to post here from my mobile device, and don't know if this is something you can look into.
@ Ian. I had issues with posting on my phone but through shear dumb luck that if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will see ... ... .... View Web Version. Click on that and you should be able to post from your phone. I hope this helps.
P.S. Thank you for your insightful input. I have enjoyed the journey.
Peace 🙏
@ Meta Rocker - once again, your diligence here is greatly appreciated.
There's a reason a lot of us rally like the song "Words", we suppose.
Mainly, it's the attention to nuance with the goal of achieving an understanding in our writings. None of this shouting back and forth which is considered debate in today's hot climate.
There are no regrets or apologies when folks are being sincere and "intellectually honest". But we forgive where there is no expectation nor request.
moving along ...
@ AFOY - it truly warms our hearts to see you & Meta Rocker exchange divergent views in such a calm, rational fashion w/o the usual histrionics we see elsewhere in the vast media wasteland.
The references to Alan Watts & Joseph Campbell made us smile. Maybe someone who is unfamiliar w/ their work will be curious and look into these gentleman and discover something meaningful. If so, a good days work has been had by all.
@ Abner - same as above. And we'll be checking on Wittgenstein & Hume, too!
@ Dionys - your command of the English language exceeds many, many Americans, so no shame.
As far as intellectualism goes, again, these days, just about anyone capable of stringing together 3 sentences is "intellectual" -- sadly.
@ Meta Rocker - absolutely, your participation here is more than sufficient.
sorry on mobile troubles. it happens and is ongoing.
what platform? iOS? Droid?
On Android, we know that when you click to Post a Comment, it appears nothing happens. So you have to scroll down to see Comment Box. That seems to be the main problem we've been able to diagnose. Some call that User error. Others call it bad design. We lean to the latter. :)
@ Dan - thanks, yes, that's another path to comment w/ View Web Version.
we are enjoying the journey, as well. there are relatively few that understand that it's not about the destination. clearly you -- and everyone on this thread -- do understand.
We are humbled and blessed to have you all as fellow travelers on the rusted human highway ...
safe travels and happy peace trails.
@Thrasher, excellent. There is no reason to hide. As to left vs. right, I see political labels as being no more absolute than stage directions: stage left and stage right are relative to the view from the proscenium. The images is mirrored or reversed from the audience perspective. Political theatre, if you will.
Tech-wise, I'm on iOS and resigned that glitches with interface will have to be worked around. I can open and type in the comment box, but when I click to submit, the page reloads and the comment disappears. Whereas on full web mode, I can immediately see my comments posted under the thread. If this site usually filtered comments before posting (as I vaguely recall may have been protocol at one point...), I may not have suspected anything was even wrong for hours or even days.
A final thought: I know you've been subject to censure and removal on various social media platforms. Although I'm not seeking to condone or justify that sanctioning, if you have been apt to post content such as AFOY's cotm elsewhere in the past, I can see from a realistic standpoint why the powers that be on some platforms might get a tad squeamish. At risk of sounding overly blunt, the chance of us Neil Heads coming off like a bunch of loose canons has to be conscientiously balanced with the imperative for open, robust conversation. Then again, the Thought Police are routinely so inconsistent and seemingly capricious in their enforcement, it could just be a case of aggravating the wrong person on the wrong day. Which still counts as abuse of administrative power, just of less premeditated yet more discursive and elusive origin.
~Through the keyhole in an open door.
Naturalism is broad. I was using the term in this context to mean "in complete opposition to anything supernatural."
@ Meta Rocker - regarding the de-platforming of TW and other ongoing shadow banning, we really don't think we've broached any particular lines w/ this subject.
seems to be safely w/i boundaries of today's Big Brother/Sister speech restrictions.
That said, the TW de-platforming occurred within several weeks of the release of Monsanto Years. AS you re-call Neil was hitting Monsanto very hard on the GMO issue which we were echoing/reporting here on TW.
Obviously we can't prove that Monsanto was directly responsible for the TW de-platforming, shadow banning & harassment. But internal corp documents did reveal a Monsanto Fusion Ctr who's goal was to track anti-Monsanto activists.
Lastly, if anyone ever has any doubts about "the pen is mightier than the sword", here's your case in point. They definitely fear us, which is good and how it should be.
No Fear.
"Suddenly Disney is out of magic, Paris is no longer romantic, New York doesn't stand up anymore, The Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, and Mecca is empty."
"Normal never was."
"NOT Looking for a Leader" b/c "We're The Ones We've Been Waiting For"
#WT1sWBWF #BeTheRain #BigShift
peace
Typo alert: In my reply to Abner Snopes, meant to say I tend to search for connecting points between naturalism *and* spiritual consciousness. Wouldn't want that point to get garbled by a moment of rushed, inattentive keyboarding.
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