Hey all! Been downsizing my collection, here's the first batch of records! Asking $5 to ship, prices are pretty flexible (most are priced to sell on discogs, I'm less of a Saleswoman(TM) on reddit/fb haha)
Also I've been grading p conservatively because I'm scared of grading too high :') Can send over photos of anything if you'd like! (sidenote if reddit eats my formatting I WILL cry and also will b coming back to edit this praying tho)
Beethoven, George Szell, The Cleveland Orchestra - Symphony No. 7 - VG+/G+ - $22 - Sleeve has ring wear & general shelf wear but looks pretty darn good! Small hole punched in top left corner. Inner sleeve is a tad discolored just from being?? old paper?? :) Record is in phenomenal condition!
BØRNS - Live at KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic (RSD 2016 clear vinyl) - VG+/VG+ - $35 - Cover slightly worn from being shelved, only played this one a couple times, so record is juust shy of new! (This live session is straight up soooo good, if you like BORNS it's a must listen, tbh won't even be mad if this one stays in the collection xoxo)
David Bowie - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars - VG/G+ - $16 - Record is in good shape! A few scratches, but nothing major. Definitely has some popping but still very listenable! The sleeve has one (taped) rip on the front, and wear on the edges, but fairly decent condition :)
David Bowie - Reality - NM/NM - $45 - Been played MAYBE once, has been in the plastic sleeve since I bought it! Record & sleeve in absolutely great condition, the only wear is really on the plastic outer sleeve, just from being shelved, hype sticker still intact.
David Bowie - ★ (Blackstar) - VG+/VG - $45 - Played only a couple times, I'm the only owner! Sleeve has two creases bc of the cutout :( otherwise is in phenomenal condition, kicking myself for not leaving this one in a plastic sleeve :') Haven't done the "leave the sleeve in the sun" thing yet but I'm so so tempted if it's on my shelf much longer!!
Dean Martin - French Style (NOT LEGIT lol, from First Records press in Taiwan, circa 1967) - VG/G+ - $20 -Record is in great shape, some minor scratches, sleeve has a bit of wear, small rip in the plastic on the bottom corner of the back side, but for what it is it looks great!
Halsey - Badlands (UO Exclusive baby pink marble vinyl) - VG+/VG+ - $55 - Record was played a few times, but handled with care! Cover has slight wear from being shelved, but looks pretty darn good.
Herbie Mann/Bobby Jaspar - Flute Souffle - VG+/G+ - $30 - Sleeve has ring wear & little tapes on the spine (they're not covering holes idk why they're there?), some pencil writing on the back but is otherwise in pretty good condition! The record looks BEAUTIFUL, even has a lil sheen still :') (I made this post about this release bc it doesn't quite match any of the discogs entries based on the sleeve/labels/runouts?? It's not a release that's like wildly different based on release but it's still weird!)
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - NM/VG+ - $55 - Record only removed to check for quality but has never been played, cover only really worn from being shelved!
Mark Ronson - Uptown Special (bright yellow vinyl) - VG+/VG+ - $40 - Record was played once or twice, cover has one corner slightly bent but otherwise very light shelved wear! Such a gorgeous color for it too!!
Panic! at the Disco - Vices & Virtues - VG+/VG+ - $70 - Record played a couple of times, but handled with care! Inner sleeve is near pristine, cover worn a bit from being shelved, has one small crease but has been well-handled.
Peter Gabriel - So - VG/VG - $40 - Record is in great shape!! One minor scratch on B-side (only really visible if you're looking!) Original inner sleeve in VG+ condition, outer sleeve has some shelf wear, mostly along bottom edge.
Shel Silverstein - Where the Sidewalk Ends - VG+/VG+ - $40 - Sleeve has some wear from being shelved, record is in great condition!
Various - The Wizard of Oz OMPST (75th anniversary, ruby red vinyl) - NM/NM - $75 - Plastic seal cut open just to check the color! (GORGEOUS ruby red!) Never been played, just ogled for a while :)
Various - Katamari Damacy OVGST (Blue/Yellow, Orange/Yellow 2x LP) - NM/VG+ - $300 - Records never played, only ever opened to appreciate! Cover slightly worn in cornefolding bits, but I've taken good care of her! The music kicks in my fight or flight though it's time to let it go to be loved! (I actually fucking adore this thing I feel like I'm rehoming a kitten)
OKAY that's the list for now folx :) again feel free to PM with questions/offers/rq for photos! I also have a big list of tapes for sale as well as a link to my discogs on my profile if you'd like! Lots of the vinyl in my collection is loosely for sale but I started with the "worth listing" batch, feel free to peep & see if I've got something you've been looking for!!

Other stories by TheMaskedOne2807: The Oil Chapter 1 (Getting Back)
[First] [Previous] [Next] [Wiki]
“You are the most stupid idiot that has ever lived!!! As dumb as the shit, you crap out your mouth!!! Pilu yelled, shaking Kenneth by his collar.
“Are you done? Kenneth asked as he smacked her hands off him. “Because I’ve got more important things to do today than listen to you huff and puff.”
About to yell even louder, Pilu stopped as Kica walked in between them, staring at the dead Nok Inside the back room. Its greyish-white scaly chest was completely exposed; however, its lower region and its face were covered by cloth.
“Do you really want to open up a Nok and have me look inside?” Kica asked.
“Well, I had a feeling that everyone would probably fall asleep if I just talked all day long, me included, Kenneth replied. “So I thought it would be best to kill two birds with one stone.
“Giving you and Aloko a better understanding of the body and its internal workings while keeping you on your feet.”
“I guess that makes sense, Kica agreed, seeming slightly conflicted. “But even so, it’s a Nok. The only thing I think it and I have in common is the color of our blood.”
Crossing his arms, Kenneth turned his head toward the Nok.“Regardless of species, all have to follow a certain set of biological rules ingrained in their very essence, or as my people call it, DNA.”
Tilting her head in complete confusion, Kica repeated some of the words she didn’t understand. “Bi-logi-shel…? De-En-A…?”
Seeing her expression of utter confusion, Kenneth scratched the back of his head. “How to explain it…? Well, take you and me for instance. Both of us have a circulatory system and a heart that pumps blood through it.
“The only difference is that while you have two, I only have one, and the same is true for our lungs. You only have one, but I have two. Now, I’m not saying we look completely the same on the inside.
“Our organs do vary in shape and size as opposed to only numbers. However, they do serve the same purpose and perform the same tasks regardless. It's pretty much what I mean by biological and DNA.”
“More shit coming out of your mouth, Pilu angrily growled as she walked into the back room. “Thanks to you, I have to clean blood off my dagger now.”
“If you are going to open that mouth, could you tell me why Aloko isn’t here? Kenneth replied. “Doesn’t he usually arrive on his own, or is he escorted by you?”
Looking at the cadaver with indifference, Pilu reached for her dagger. “The commander's orders were for us to protect the healer before and during your boring talks. Aloko was responsible for getting here on his ow--”
Suddenly, Pilu jumped back, slamming her raised tail and back into the wall as she pointed her shaking dagger at the dead Nok.
With his hand resting on his sword hilt, one of the guys accompanying Pilu asked. “What---?”
“The heretic! It isn’t dead!” Pilu shouted.
Moving their gaze to the dead Nok, both of the guys tilted their heads in confusion as they whispered to one another. “You don’t think she’s been inflicted with madness after the battle?”
“Don’t be dumb; she just got spooked and is too proud to admit it.”
“What are you two idiots talking about!” Pilu demanded as the heretic’s arm suddenly fell off the table, its fingers twitching.
Before anything more could happen, Pilu let out a battle cry and leaped toward the heretic, plunging her dagger into its heart.
With wide eyes, everyone stood in shock at the scene before them. All except Kenneth, who let out a sigh of annoyance as he walked into the room. “Thank you, Pilu, you’ve just stabbed a corpse.”
Tracking each and every one of his movements as he made his way over to the other side of the heretic, Pilu furiously yelled. “Why did you bring a living heretic inside these walls!”
“Trust me, that one was dead, Kenneth calmly replied as he inspected the stab wound. “You know, I chose this one specifically because it had barely any wounds on it.”
Growling, Pilu opened her mouth to yell as loud as possible at Kenenth; however, her momentum was cut short when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the heretic’s head move.
To everyone’s collective shock, the cloth on the heretic’s head started to move, falling down around its neck as its long, fang-filled maw suddenly opened wide.
“It still isn’t dead!” Pilu exclaimed, shocked beyond belief, as she pulled her dagger out of the heretic, ready to plunge it down over and over again until it was truly dead.
Before she managed to, Kenneth caught her arm with his right hand and held it in place. “Calm down, would you! There is no need for that!”
“You filthy traitor!” Pilu yelled as she reached for her other dagger and swiped it at him.
Quickly letting go of his bag, Kenneth crossed his arms and caught her wrist. “Okay, why don’t we just relax for a second? First of all, I’m no traitor, and second, this Nok is definitely dead.”
“Vola!!! Nohys!!! Help me!!! Kill the black healer!!!” Pilu yelled while violently struggling to get free.
Hesitating for one moment, both glanced at one another as they drew their swords and sprinted toward the room. However, their moment of hesitation allowed Kica to reach the doorway before them and block it.
Coming to a complete and sudden halt, both almost tripped over each other, trying not to crash into Kica.
“Step aside, healer!” Vola yelled.
“We have to kill the heretic and traitor!” Nohys added.
Determined not to let that happen, Kica stabbed all of her claws into the surrounding wood. “If you want to kill Kenneth, you’ll have to cut me down first!”
“Have you been inflicted with madness?!” Both of them yelled as they threw down their swords and tried to push her out of the way.
At the same time, Kenneth was still restraining Pilu, trying to explain himself. “Would you calm down already! It’s dead! Just look at the wound! There’s barely any blood!”
“You can’t trick me traitor!” Pilu growled, struggling with far more ferocity than before.
It was impossible to reason with someone as thick-headed as Pilu, so he had to resort to other measures. Yanking on her arms, Kenneth pulled her forward, and as she stumbled, he pushed her away.
With what little time he had, Kenneth grabbed the cloth around the Dead Nok’s neck and ripped it off.
However, just as he did, Pilu threw one of her daggers, hitting his head and making him drop the cloth.
“Ow! Kenneth yelped in pain as he pointed to the dead Nok. “Hey, you psycho! Take a gander and tell me how it could have survived all night with a wound like that!”
Glancing for but a moment, Pilu’s gaze slowly became affixed on the dead Nok’s throat and the broken speartip in it. “How…? But it made…?”
“I can answer any question you’d like, Kenneth offered, ”But first, would you please just calm the fuck down.”
Looking shocked and confused while continuing to stare at the wound, Pilu surprisingly stopped attacking him.
However, it was too soon for him to relax as Kica amazingly was still blocking the doorway despite how strongly Nohys and Vola were pushing up against her.
Feeling a surge of anger, Kenneth walked up right behind her and, with a strong push, sent both of his open palms directly into their chest, knocking them to the ground.
Panting, Kica staggered a bit as she pulled her claws out of the wood. “Thank you. I didn’t know how long I’d last."
“You could have gotten hurt, you know, Kenneth replied, crossing his arms. “Despite how much I dislike it, I am able to handle myself when push comes to shove.”
Turning around to face him, Kica replied. “I just… I knew they weren’t going to hurt me. As much as a scratch on me and the commander would have their heads.”
“Tell me, Pilu loudly said, her gaze still affixed on the dead Nok’s throat. “You said you could answer my questions, so tell me what vile dark heretic magic would allow them to move after death.”
“None whatsoever, Kenneth matter-of-factly replied as he turned around to face her. “I did say I’d answer any question, but I think it would be a bit difficult if those two you came with were still trying to kill me.”
Turning to glare at Kenneth, Pilu deliberately pushed past him as she walked over to the door. “Vola! Nuhys! Stop being dumb and put away your swords, or I’m telling the commander you tried to attack the healer!”
As they got back on their feet, both followed her command, sheathing their swords. With that matter handled, Pilu spun around, glaring expectantly at Kenneth.
“Kica, you might also want to listen to this, Kenneth recommended. “What just happened wasn’t some magical event; it was the old-fashioned stiffness of death and some involuntary muscle twitching.”
“What’s that even supposed to mean?! Pilu angrily snapped. “Don’t keep crapping out of your mouth and speak like the rest of us, not these made-up words!”
“Very well, Kenneth replied. “After you die, the muscles or the hard-to-chew meat, if you like, starts to stiffen, similar to when you flex your body. It happens gradually decently soon after death and persists for some time until the body… well, becomes too tired to do so and relaxes.
“Which is what we experienced when the jaw suddenly opened. Although I don’t know when this one died it did seem rather soon compared to normal. It might just be to it being a different species or some factor I’m not aware--”
“So the heretic’s flesh just became hard, and after some time, it became soft, Pilu interrupted, sounding irritated. “Then how did it move its fingers.”
Putting his pondering on the back burner, Kenneth cleared his throat. “To explain that, I first need to know if you remember an explanation to a question Aloko asked about the body, how it moves and performs actions?”
“Hmph… why would I listen to anything you say?” Pilu replied, glancing to her side.
Seeming deep in thought Kica raised her head, “Was it something like the mind holds sway over the body?”
“Not my exact words, but you're right, Kenneth replied with a thumbs up. “You see, the mind sends and receives signals throughout the body telling it what to do and learns if something may be wrong.
“An example of this would be if Pilu and Vola stood at opposite ends of the outpost and you needed to communicate with each other using Nuhys to deliver orders and information. Now, are we all caught up?”
Slowly, Pilu’s tail flicked from side to side. “Just shit out your mouth and tell me already.”
“That twitching is simply one of those messages between you and Vola, Kenneth explained. “While this Nok is dead, certain parts of its body aren’t fully yet, which, since rigor mortise is wearing off, allows the message to go through.”
Growling, Pilu walked right passed Kenneth and sat down in her usual spot.
‘Hm… either she’s understood that and was satisfied, or she doesn’t care anymore. Either way, she’s quiet,’ Kenneth thought as Vola and Nyhus joined Pilu.
“So…. um, how can a body not be fully dead if it is dead?” Kica asked, sounding as uncertain as she looked confused.
“I can get into that once I begin, but I’d like Aloko to be here as well, Kenneth replied as he walked over to his bag and picked it up along with the cloth he dropped earlier. “Do any of you know where he might be?”
“I-I think he’s doing his work, Kica responded. “It should be in one of the corners down by the rear wall.”
Walking over to the dead Nok, Kenneth closed its mouth and gently placed the cloth over its head. “I’ll be right back then.”

***
Meanwhile, as the caravan of wagons came to a halt, Kovoto knew they’d finally arrived at the guild. Teetering with excitement, he couldn’t stop himself from dancing around inside the confined space.
‘Finally! Finally! I’ve made it back!’ Kovoto thought as he grabbed the dry and squishy clump of pla-stic off the table. ‘I know you alone will clear this pesky little debt I’ve accrued. When those old fools see this little thing, they’ll probably beg me to join the higher ranks.
‘Once that happens, I’ll be free from their overbearing rules, and I can invent and experiment as much as I want.’
Suddenly, the door flung open, filling the wagon with light. Caught off guard and mid-spin, Kovoto lost his balance and fell onto the wooden floor.
“I see you are as elegant as ever, The person standing outside the wagon dressed in the same attire as Kovoto said, sounding rather amused. “Am I to assume you have completed your assigned task, or have you just been inflicted with madness after fearfully hiding inside the wagon for your entire journey?”
Recognizing who the voice belonged to, Kovoto discreetly hid the clump of pla-stic in his pocket and checked his other one to see if the small wooden box he carried was still safe and secure.
Feeling at ease knowing it was still hidden from prying eyes, Kovoto got back up and smugly replied. “I was simply celebrating my safe return, Shivi. Being attacked twice by roaming heretics and treading lightly at those brutish outposts has a way of making one appreciate the safety of the walls.”
“I still don’t understand why you’d even agree to do something like this. Shivi questioned as he stepped into the wagon, holding a piece of paper and a freshly inked quill. “How often isn’t the one sent by the guild killed by heretics?”
“That’s where you and I differ, Kovoto replied with a shrug. “I’m not willing to wait for a chance to be given as an act of generosity by one of the higher ranks. I’d much rather obtain it at my liking.”
Walking passed him, Shivi looked through all of the specimens he’d collected, noting each one down on the piece of paper in his hand. “Perhaps you are one in a thousand, or Qtika may have protected you.”
“Why not both,” Kovoto replied with a hand in each pocket as his tail swayed lazily from side to side.
Opening the last wooden box, Shivi inspected its contents and noted it on his paper. Turning around, he gestured for Kovoto to follow him out of the wagon. “Scholar Marashi and the other higher ranks are currently in the discussion room, but I was told to bring you to them as soon as you returned.”
Reacquainted with the familiarity of the stone-paved ground, Kovoto followed Shivi, excitingly thinking. ‘I can’t wait to see those old fools' faces and tails when I show them something they’d never seen before.’
On their way inside, both of them passed by members of the guild who handed the merchant a hefty sum of coins for his troubles and, from what Kovoto discreetly spotted, a little more.
Disinterested and wise enough to stay out of such matters, Kovoto looked the other way until he entered the guild.
Inside, the building was brimming with members, most of whom only had a tin or lead ring tied to their heads using tufts of fur. They were immersed in various studies, surrounded by scrolls and stacks of books as they prepared for their upcoming evaluation and chance to rise in the ranks and gain another more pristine ring.
A select few who weren’t stuffing themselves with knowledge like a glutton were of a much higher rank with bronze and silver rings.
They immersed themselves in conversation as opposed to books, discussing ideas and experiments with those of equal rank while their assistants were at their beck and call.
To his right, he could see the usual large crowd in front of the request board, each one racing to write down all of the new requests near the bottom before anyone else even had a chance to look it over, much less answer the question.
However, something peculiar at the very top of the board piqued his interest. “Shivi, are my eyes playing tricks on me, or are there actually new requests at the top of the board?”
“Tsk…! If only Shivi sniggered. “They were removed, and there was an uproar among the members. Some celebrated others demanding to know the answer that had been accepted. It had gotten so out of hand that Scholar Marashi had to calm the situation and explain the paper was simply so old it had to be replaced.”
“Hehe… good, Kovoto laughed. “I would have been very angry if someone managed to trick a royal household before I figured out the answer and claim the reward.”
“I see your travels with the merchant haven’t changed you much, Shivi replied. “Wiser men, then you have tried to figure out those questions for centuries now. What makes you think you can figure out why the sky’s blue and convince a royal family your answer is correct?”
“Just wait and see,” Kovoto nonchalantly replied as both reached and entered the discussion room.
Instantly, his eyes fell on scholar Marashi, a silver-furred old man dressed in a robe with his hood pulled back, exposing the vast number of rings all over his head made from the most precious metals.
He, along with four other high-ranking members, each with a few rings of their own, were sitting around a table in the middle of a discussion, or more accurately, an intellectual shouting match.
They were so enthralled in proving themselves right and everyone else wrong that all of them only took notice of Shivi when he handed scholar Marashi the piece of paper in his hand.
Quieting down, scholar Marashi took the paper and began carefully studying its contents, absentmindedly dismissing Shivi with a wave of his hand.
After a bit of time, scholar Marashi raised his head and, in a calm, slow, and almost meek-sounding voice, addressed Kovoto. “Come closer, young men; my tired eyes are not as young as yours.”
Obliging his request, Kovoto could barely wait to reveal the pla-stic in his pocket and ascend to the higher ranks.
“Is this close enough, esteemed scholar Marashi?” Kovoto respectfully asked while wondering what would be the best way to accept his promotion without making them think he was too eager.
Squinting his eyes and turning both of his ears toward him, scholar Marashi looked Kovoto over for a moment. “Hmm… Welcome back to the capital, young man. I see you suffered no wounds on your travels with the merchant… and you collected the specimens we’ve asked of you.”
“Yes, some of them were rather hard to find on my travels, and attacks from heretics certainly didn’t make it any easier, but despite all, I’ve collected each specimen as per the contract,” Kovoto boastfully replied.
“Hm… the young do seem to have luck on their side, but in these times, they seem to lack wit, scholar Marashi replied, sliding the piece of paper to his side for the other high-ranking members to see. “Many of the specimens you brought back seem to have diminished in freshness.
“As per the terms of the contract invoked in the goddess Qutika’s name, any specimens that are collected but brought back unusable will not be deducted from the debt that is owed the guild. Having looked over the list and keeping the dangers of this task in mind, I deem it adequate that three-fifths of your debt is paid back.
“The remaining debt you’ll have to work off, but given your accomplishment of this highly valued task, I doubt it will take much more than five years with the many offers you’ll receive from other members of the guild asking for an assistant.”
Slightly annoyed, Kovoto pushed his anger to the side for now.“If I may, regarding the contract, I’d like to talk about the part regarding new discoveries.”
Scholar Marashi looked at Kovoto for a moment before slowly getting up from the table. “Jibi! It's such a long walk. Would you go upstairs and find the young man’s contract.”
Looking a bit surprised and annoyed, the high-ranking member with five bronze rings underneath his jaw got up while the others sniggered.
Almost as quickly as he left the room, he returned, placing the contract in front of scholar Marashi, who proceeded to take a close look at it. “Yes, I see. Any discovery of specimens not on the list can be counted toward deducting your debt, or if you have none, be exchanged for coins as long as it becomes guild property.”
“As I’m sure you figured out, high-ranking members of the guild, I have something to show you, Kovoto gleefully replied with a wide smile as he walked over and placed the clump of pla-stic in front of scholar Marashi. “I have named it pla-stic, and it is one of a kind.”
Looking intrigued, all of the high-ranking members carefully yet eagerly studied the clump poking and prodding it, one even ripping a piece off and rolling it between his fingers.
Looking thoughtful, scholar Marashi eventually swatted the member's hands away. “Pla-stic, now this is something I have never seen before or heard any mention of. It is soft but also feels a strange kind of firm. Tell me where did you come across such a unique thing?”
Feeling superior, Kovoto graciously replied to scholar Marashi's question. “I did not come across it. Through hard work, dedication, and a willingness to try the most obscene things one could imagine, I managed to create… PLA-STIC!”
“Hmm… impressive young man, Scholar Marashi praised. “It has been a long time since any member has made something new and so special. Abiding by the contract, this… pla-stic and the method to creating it will belong to the guild, and in exchange, your current debt will be deducted by one-fourth.”
“EH…! Kovoto rather loudly exclaimed in shock as his smile quickly faded. “ONE-FOURTH! You just said it was special! Why only so little of my debt!”
“You better remember who you are in front of!” The pink and violet-furred high-ranking member beside scholar Marashi interjected.
Caught off guard by his own outburst, Kovoto quickly bit his tongue as scholar Marashi spoke once again. “Young man, this… pla-stic is special, but I do not know its worth and can therefore not probably appraise its value.
“If there’s something more you’d like to tell all of the members here right now about pla-stic that could prove its usefulness beyond its apparent value, that could change.”
Falling silent, Kovoto tried to think of anything he could say. ‘How can it be used?! By Akina, how can it be used?! Think, what did that… what was his name…?! URG! I can’t remember! The black healer, what did he say? My imagination sets those limits.’
‘That vague…! NO! I can’t waste years being an assistant for those idiots who don’t know what they are doing!’
Having waited for long enough, scholar Marashi eventually spoke. “I see. Do rest assured, young man, the guild and all of its great minds will figure out any and all secrets as well as uses for the pla-stic in due time. On behalf of the guild, I thank you for your contributio--”
“Wait! Kovoto interjected as he reached into his pocket. “I may not have had enough time before coming back to the capital to figure out the many secrets of my pla-stic, but it was not the only thing I managed to create.”
Pulling out a small wooden box from his pocket, Kovoto placed it on the table and opened the lid. Just as before, all of the high-ranking members went to get a closer look, curious and excited to see what else the young man had to show them.
However, as scholar Marashi looked inside his expression of excitement and intrigue turned to shock as he stammered. “Wh-where… did you get this?”
There wasn’t any going back now, and he knew it, so Kovoto had to sell it for all it was worth. “I’ve named it black liquid, and unlike the pla-stic, I had a bit more time figuring out its secrets. To begin with, it is able to devou---”
“I asked you where you got this from!” Scholar Marashi interrupted, his voice not that of the frail old man but a veteran of intellectual shouting matches.
Growing a slight bit timid, Kovoto faked a smile and replied. “Esteemed scholar Marashi, as I told you, the black liquid is another crea--”
“OUT! Everyone out…! except you!” scholar Marashi yelled, slamming his hand on the table and closing the lid to the wooden box.
Shocked at the sudden outburst, all of the high-ranking members quickly followed his order to leave the room.
“Young man, I won’t ask again,” scholar Marashi warned as he got up from the table and walked over to Kovoto with his tail raised.
Surprised the old man was still able to get it standing, Kovoto simply replied, “Esteemed scholar Marashi, I’m telling you the truth. I was the one who crea---”
“You listen here, you son of a whore! Scholar Marashi snarled. “I can have you banished, and you’ll have to sell that body of yours on the street to pay the guild back if you don’t tell me the truth!”
Swallowing his fear, Kovoto knew the old man was serious; however, if the truth had to come out, it would be to his benefit. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. I’ll even tell you everything I know from my research about the black liquid, but in exchange, I want my debt completely gone and to be promoted.”
Poking his claw into Kovoto’s throat, scholar Marashi yelled.“You think you are in any position to barter with me?!”
His eyes were fearful yet filled with determination as he replied. “Scholar Marashi, I will not waste years of my life working under fools who think they are better than me anymore. Either you promote me and erase my debt, or I leave.”
Snarling, scholar Marashi bared his teeth for a moment before pulling back his claw.
Reaching underneath his jaw, scholar Marashi removed one of his bronze rings and handed it to Kovoto. “You are hereby promoted from assistant to inventor, and your debt is erased; on this, I swear on the blood of Heka. Now tell me everything!”
Clutching the bronze ring in his hand, Kovoto recounted everything that had happened regarding the black liquid on his travels.
(Patreon): Get 1-3 weeks early access to future chapters. Also, a 100+ page story I wrote prior to the posting of The Plague Doctor for all members.

For the sake of transparency, I am not the architect of the following discoveries, and am just helping to forward their message and clean it up. Copywrite of the following work belongs to no one and everyone is not only welcome to share these findings as if they were their own, but openly encouraged to do so.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”

A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

u/neodestiny and friends.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

u/neodestiny and friends.
For the sake of transparency, I am not the architect of the following discoveries, and am just helping to forward their message and clean it up. Copywrite of the following work belongs to no one and everyone is not only welcome to share these findings as if they were their own, but openly encouraged to do so.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”

A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

I really want to find more poems like In The Desert by Stephen Crane or poems like Shel Silverstein's poems please

Introduction:

Hello everybody, I'm DoxiadisOfDetroit, and I want to welcome you all to the beginning of what we at the Mod Team hope will be a foundational resource for Left-Urbanists/Municipalists who want a better understanding of urban issues regarding political structures, economics, and social relations within your home cities/metropolitan areas.
The text that we'll be analyzing from beginning to end is: Urban Politics- Power in Metropolitan America Seventh Edition by Bernard H. Ross and Myron A. Levine (this text can be found on Amazon for less than $10, but other sites such as ThriftBooks has it for even cheaper).
I personally acquired this text in order to develop an understanding of machine politics, since my city (Detroit) is under the control of one in every way conceivable other than in name. I brought an analysis of this text up to the rest of the Mod Team because the scope of this work, when combined with Leftist theory, creates, in my opinion a political tendency (Left Municipalism) that represents the final hope for Left-wing political hopefuls before I see our movement going down a pessimistic and self-destructive death spiral where we're permanently irrelevant and even more politically persecuted. If/when genuine Leftists start scoring victories on the municipal level, it'll escalate the contradictions of capital to the point where even "apolitical" people in the general public knows that our society exists under "Authoritarian Capitalism" or, a form of Democracy purer than any system that has ever existed in human history.
As this series goes along, and the topics of this book are covered (there's a lot of good material in here), we will cover topics fundamental to building a coherent, Leftist, transformational alternative to the failures of the status quo and the use of Market Urbanism, which, is a crucial goal at the moment since we find ourselves seep walking into an unprecedented urban crisis in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chapter I: The Urban Situation and 9/11

The main point presented in this chapter focuses on the aftermath of the 9/11 attack and which sociopolitical forces had a say in rebuilding effort once the dust finally settled. Even though Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of the largest city in the world's sole remaining superpower, despite being dubbed "America's mayor" by the media immediately after the planes hit the World Trade Center, Giuliani didn't actually have much of a say in the rebuilding effort, no one within the New York City government or New York State government actually had that ability, that power was squarely in the hands of the Landlords, financiers, and insurance firms (i.e. the very definition of "Capitalists"). Since, despite his popularity, Giuliani was prevented from running for mayor of NYC again due to term limits, and he had threw all of his support behind one of his old donors, the lifelong Democrat and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who, broke municipal campaign spending records in the 2001 NYC mayoral election, spending $75 million of his own money to narrowly defeat his and Giuliani's Democratic rival Mark Green.
This is a good point to introduce our first Left Urbanist/Left-Municipalist concept that will help us understand the sociopolitical themes that are found within the text: the Capitocracy- What we can define as a "Capitocratic" political system is one that's dominated by the interests of capital which is the least controversial definition that I would come up with
(NOTE: I didn't coin the term, I had to look it up to see if it was in use before I chose it as an appropriate definition for the 21st Century city's mode of production, the furthest back I can see that it's been in use is on the Daily Chess forum on November 16th, 2011, where it was used as a term to describe the state of the nation of Greece which was in the middle of it's (still ongoing) debt crisis. And, this term is used specifically because, in my opinion, it covers many terms already coined for forms of government: rule by the rich, rule by corporations, rule by elites, rule by algorithms, rule by criminals/thieves, rule by the elderly, etc.).
The use of this term in this context does not suggest that Capitocracy is a "new" or "recent" development within human history. While America, at it's creation, could be called a "Capitocractic government" it is by no means the first nation to fit this description, a detailed analysis of the origins of Capitocracy and it's effects on cities/metropolitan areas is outside of the scope of this series.
But, Capitocracy as a description of the political status quo in urban America at the turn of the century is useful because it captures the reality that the power of capitalists are far superior to the power of your average politician. The book explicitly states that an analysis of power in our era must be understood as something that exists beyond formal institutions of local government. I'll give a quote:

In U.S. cities and suburbs private individuals and corporations often possess or share the power to make key decisions. Private power constrains public officials [page three]

Because the founders of this nation encouraged the ideal of the Jeffersonian Democracy, which, while "progressive" at it's time, is a political philosophy that is in total opposition to the empowerment of the metropolitan masses of today, the United States constitution has little/no explicit rights given to cities, which, is interpreted as "empowering" the state and federal government.
It's the rebuilding of the World Trade Center itself that is a great example of how the Capitocracy operates in the aftermath of crisis. The WTC was originally created by state/municipal political power (although under the influence of Nelson and David Rockefeller) as a symbol of the "rebirth" of NYC at a time where deindustrialization and suburbanization was causing cities across the world to decline, the task of rebuilding was put under the control of figures such as Larry Silverstein, and, as the bidding and proposals started being put together, New Yorkers began to see just how little influence they had in their city.
New York Governor Pataki and Giuliani created the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) which partnered with New York and New Jersey Port Authority to take charge of the rebuilding effort (though it doesn't literally own the WTC cite). But, the authority of the organization was expanded to the entirety of lower Manhattan, it was granted the power to direct federal aid, seize land, and override local zoning codes. To the surprise of few Leftists, the first chairman of this public corporation was a former head at Goldman Sachs.
Now, here's the portion of the text where we'll have to take on a more skeptical analysis: after going detail of the LMDC, the book suggests:

European cities possess the ability to guide private investment for public purposes [...] they build affordable housing, preserve city streetscapes, curb urban sprawl, promote mass transit, and protect greenspace, actions unthinkable in America by regional governments [page nine]

Since the text doesn't give specific examples, it confuses me as to what aspects of Capitocracy in European cities are superior to aspects of Capitocracy in American cities, there is no place on Earth where the interests of citizens and the power of Democracy is more powerful than the forces of Capital. I know that there are likely Capitalists who hold elected positions within European municipal governments, and there's bound to be Capitalists who sit on unelected boards which determine the economic planning of those cities too. It's these ignorant appeals to the false superiority of European social democracy that this series will challenge as we go on.

The Themes of this Book:

The book does a quick summary of the topics that'll be brought up as the text goes along:

1. Globalization is a relatively new force that is acting to shape patterns of development and power in America's cities and suburbs. This is basically the vanilla, "apolitical" way of saying Neoliberal globalization has unleashed a set of socioeconomic conditions that cities, states, and nations are unable to control themselves. Even though cities are some of the least powerful polities in the world, it is the goal of Left Urbanism/Left Municipalism to establish our cities as the true sources of power in the global economy, and revolutionize social awareness and the abilities of true Democracy.
   
2. Despite the importance of private power, the formal rules and structure of American cities and suburbs remain important as they continue to exert significant influence on local affairs. The fragmentation of decision making authority within metropolitan areas is specifically mentioned in this section. It's a topic that has a lot of literature and theory has covered, and we will do the same here.
   
3. Federal and state actors and intergovernmental relations have a crucial impact on the politics of the intergovernmental city. This is restating my observation that the rights of cities are legally undefined within the U.S. Constitution and in state law. A good example is t New York State passed a law that stopped New York City's tax on stock transfers and fees for suburban commuters, this caused a loss of $400-$500 million dollars.
   
4. Sunbelt cities suffer from serious urban problems despite the general distinction that can be made between Frostbelt and Sunbelt communities In simple English, this states that there are issues with growth in the Sunbelt despite massive growth in job and population growth, the poverty of the "Old South" is mentioned specifically.
   
5. Urban politics in the United States is largely the politics of race, not just in the politics of economic development and municipal service delivery, citizens in the United States have not been willing to confront fully the continuing patterns of racial imbalance in the American metropolis, a "new immigration" has added to the diversity found in U.S. communities, adding to the complexity of ethnic and race relations. This section states that: "While Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of de jure segregation, governments have shown no great willingness to eliminate de facto segregation" which is very true, but, it also criticizes efforts like the Kerner Commission on their findings of race relations at this stage in the American project. It suggests that recent immigrants to America complicate the "two America's" finding by the commission.
   
6. New gendered interpretations are essential for a more complete understanding of who exercises power and whose needs are met in the urban arena. This section is pretty much what's in the title, it specifically mentions the rise of single mother households and their indicators for households in poverty.
   

Metaphors and Conditions for Urban America

We're getting close to the end of the chapter, and I don't have much time, so I'm going to throw the rest of the points made in this chapter together.
The text suggests that cities like New York and Los Angeles are examples of urban citadels where the wealthy live in luxury towers and safe gated neighborhoods, and, because of 9/11, landlords and police departments have increased surveillance. It suggests that the worst case scenario for cities is that we get stuck in a Blade Runner Future where the "haves" control technology to violently battle with the low skilled urban poor.
It moves on to talk about the USA Patriot Act of 2001 has restricted the flow of people across American borders as well as (in the text's words) "made non-U.S. nationals feel unwelcome". This will be an important topic to cover since I've been seeing people critique the free flow of people across national borders as "Neoliberal globalism" and refusing to imagine a Leftist alternative.

Conclusion

This chapter ends on two points that are crucial for understanding how to craft Left Urbanist/Left Municipalist politics. The first point is that "urban" problems have spread to the suburbs such as the deterioration of their economic bases and population decline, and that American political culture is highly skeptical of "big government" and it's problem solving abilities. These are topics that have been discussed many times on every corner of the internet, but, without a Leftist lens of analysis, all of the whitepapers, policies, and reforms won't do anything but enable the surge of reactionary local politics that will bring the destruction of the only political field Leftist have the ability to participate in.

While I was finishing up the dishes today, my NK(7f) said “ms.__ I’ve got a poem you might be interested in”. She reads me the poem “How Not To Have To Dry The Dishes” by Shel Silverstein. The last few lines,
“And you drop one on the floor Maybe they won't let you Dry the dishes anymore”
This made me CRACK up. You trying to get me fired girl?!

Note: For, officially, a multibillion dollar company, reddit's formatting options are subpar overall. I'd love to be able to embed pics here. For a better formatted version, read it on [Medium]
__________
Pic 1
I've largely come to abhor the entire category of work roughly summed up as "Zen and The Art Of [Fill In The Blank]." In general, these are hackneyed efforts to insert a degree of artificially abstruse mysticism into the most banal subject matters.
So now let me turn around and add my own dregs to that tradition: let's talk about Zen and the classic children's story "The Missing Piece."

Suppose a warrior, forgetting that he was already wearing his pearl on his forehead, were to seek for it elsewhere, he could travel the whole world without finding it.

For many years, I read the Missing Piece and myopically focused on its romantic implications. For both personal reasons, and reasons specific to the metaphorical language of the book, I can perhaps be mistaken for this myopia.¹
However, it's fairly clear now that the book is less interested* in telling people they don't need a partner in order to be happy and more interested in telling people they are already, in a "cosmic" sense, totally complete.
The Missing Piece is a cutting allegory for an affliction of mental un-wellness that, arguably, has plagued humanity for the entire span of our species' brief geological time on Earth, and can be summarized thusly:
The Missing Piece is a microcosmic allegorical tale of a timeless, particularly human madness - a story about a creature convinced, against all reason, that Its own mouth² is a mistake of cosmic design . A creature whose life obsession is to rectify this imagined error , who devotes Itself to a Quixotic and borderline nihilistic lifelong Odyssey to find a pretend cure to a pretend problem which, definitionally, cannot exist.
Pic 2

But if someone who knew what was wrong were to point it out to him, the warrior would immediately realize that the pearl had been there all the time.

On Its doomed journey to find a piece of Itself that is not, in fact, missing - in between all the trappings of what, for a two dimensional geometric shape can only be said to be a rich and varied life - our Hero does in fact run into someone who "knew what was wrong" and tries to point it out.
I'm speaking, of course, about the very first badass sentient triangle that our Hero runs into early in Its journey to nowhere. This, as a practical matter, abjectly useless, presumably totally immobile chunk of sentient triangular material completely rejects not only our Hero, but the entire premise of our Hero's search.
"I am my own piece", the mouthless flotsam psychically declares, so affronted by the idea of being someone else's missing piece - so affronted by the very notion that anyone might somehow be missing a piece in the first place - that It would rather condemn itself to continue a fate worse than Sisyphus, rooted for eternity in one spot, than partake in the hungry delusions of a roving, raving mendicant semi-circle.
Unfortunately for our Hero, this arrow struck lightly and did not deter him from wasting more time.

So, if you students of the Way are mistaken about your own real Mind, not recognizing that it is the Buddha, you will consequently look for him elsewhere, indulging in various achievements and practices and expecting to attain realization by such graduated practices. But, even after aeons of diligent searching, you will not be able to attain to the Way. These methods cannot be compared to the sudden elimination of conceptual thought, in the certain knowledge that there is nothing at all which has absolute existence, nothing on which to lay hold, nothing on which to rely, nothing in which to abide, nothing subjective or objective.

Our Hero is a true ascetic. It abandons comfort and ease and exposes Itself to the elements. It allows Itself to be frozen solid by winter snow only to be resuscitated come Spring. It crosses an entire ocean without a boat. It places Itself in outrageously dangerous positions for a two dimensional geometric figure of It's size and shape - including getting stuck in a hole, getting stuck behind a wall³, and being shot in the mouth by an arrow three times Its size.
On the one hand, it must be said that our Hero is living a robust and varied life of adventure and intrigue. On the other, there is a pervasive over-the-top-ped-ness to Its search . A pining intent that suffuses every page with an almost ritualistic sense of myopic self-sacrifice. As our deluded little semi-circle passes through the Campbellian slings and arrows of Its fruitless Odyssey, always there is an air of modest self-flagellation - an air that echoes the punishing asceticism of so many religious and spiritual traditions - a kind of universal hybridized new age catechism: "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" meets "X marks the spot."
Though the determinists will no doubt point out that, but for each and every one of Its travails, our Hero would never have encountered the precise fateful triangle that once and for all sated Its insane hunger for being something other than Itself,⁴ I submit that our Hero might look back on Its travels after being relieved of Its self imposed impossible burden and, dare I say, have some regrets? Chief among those regrets, would, presumably, be Its accidental but nonetheless horrendous murder, and cowardly flight therefrom, of a hapless triangle.
Pic 4
One would imagine, I daresay even hope, that our Hero would recognize - viewed through the sobriety of having the illusion of Its search dispelled by virtue of the same's ostensible fulfillment - that the death of this innocent creature was not only entirely avoidable, and entirely our Hero's fault, but also totally, tragically, pointless.
Pic 5

Aeons of striving will prove to be so much wasted effort; just as, when the warrior found his pearl, he merely discovered what had been hanging on his forehead all the time; and just as his finding of it had nothing to do with his efforts to discover it elsewhere.

At last, after a lifetime - possibly lifetimes - of searching, our Hero finds what It believes to be Its missing piece. Another sentient triangle, this one perhaps younger, perhaps more naïve, maybe eager to experiment with it's acute angles, maybe restless of Its listless and permanent immobility, agrees to allow Itself to be co-opted into an ad hoc mouth plug.
In a flurry of adrenal pleasure, our Hero, now no longer semi-circular, discovers It can roll with extraordinary speed and grace. Testing Its new found ability, It shoots into the distance, only to find that the reality of "being whole" is not quite the panacea It had imagined. "Wholeness," it turns out, has a cost - freedom. Now "whole", our Hero is astonished to realize It is no longer free to do many things - things It was now perhaps surprised to realize It really quite enjoyed doing.
Pic 6
The final straw, the moment of realization - the arrow that struck deep (dare I say the moment of "Enlightenment" ? !)comes when our Hero tries to sing Its long awaited, long planned, long imagined celebratory tune.
Just then, having arrived, at last, at the ostensible fruition of a life long enterprise - standing at the precipice of victory - harsh reality strikes home without remorse: you can't fucking sing with a sentient triangle stuffed into your mouth.
"So that's how it is." The circle mumbles.
Yes, my silly little two dimensional murderer, that's how it is.
Pic 7

Therefore the Buddha said: 'I truly attained nothing from complete, unexcelled Enlightenment.'

And so, our Hero arrives, in a cosmic sense, precisely where It began - Itself, rolling at Its pace, singing Its song, able to do the things It wants to do, responding to conditions as they arise - albeit having left behind It a trail of blood, sweat, and tears.⁵
I have thoughts about how a semi-circle comes to be so confused that It maligns Its own mouth. That is, especially as the parent to a child, a really interesting and arguably incredibly important question. I've expounded on some of the symptoms of that disease recently and here I'm attempting to present a lens through which The Missing Piece can be seen to be narrativizing one instance of what it looks like when someone is cured.
But what I really want - what, arguably, the whole human race needs - is an inoculation. Research is ongoing.

Footnotes

1. On a personal level, for me the connection between a totality of personal identity and being someone's husband was a matter of preordained fate bordering on mysticism.
2. I think referring to the orifice as a mouth is supported by the text. At one point our hero seems to turn Itself upwards toward the rain and let the water fall into the triangular orifice, giving the distinct impression that the rain is being drunk. It later sheds a single crocodile tear as It flees the scene of a thoughtless triangular manslaughter (for which It suffers no punishment BTW), implying that it does have use of water. Finally, upon full insertion of a sentient triangle into Its orifice, our Hero is unable to sing Its victory song without muddling the words - strongly implying that the orifice is a mouth. Contra our Hero being bullseyed harmlessly in the same orifice during his adventures, which would, presumably, have caused severe injury if the orifice was indeed a mouth.
3. Both of these monumental ordeals are brushed over fairly swiftly in the narrative, but in truth, I'm hard pressed to imagine the immortal eternity it must have taken for our Hero to break free of that hole or pass around that wall. Indeed, it seems all but impossible given Its range of motion is clearly limited to forward or backward along a two dimensional line, that It ever escaped. The only plausible explanation is that our Hero is, literally, immortal - or perhaps suffering through literal rebirths, sometimes page by page. Alternatively, perhaps Its world is populated not only by simple geometries but also foisting geometries which came to Its aid off page.
4. Personally, I reserve judgment on freewill versus determinism - or put another way, "I don't know and I really don't care" - a refrain that the spiritually talented reader will swiftly realize is worth a Kingdom.
5. It might at first glance be confounding that the semi-circle continues rolling along singing Its "I'm looking for my missing piece" song even after It has given up the search - to that I'll respond with Yunmen:

Master Yunmen said: "You monks must not think falsely; heaven is heaven, earth is earth, mountain is mountain, river is river, monk is monk, and layperson is layperson." After a long pause he said, "Come on, try picking up that hill for me!"

*Editor's Note - This is me being disingenuous - in truth, I have no idea what Shel Silverstein intended - I just know what I saw and now I'm saying what came to mind.