What I saw in my career as a journalist is that my house was falling apart around me. I didnβt do the upkeep I should have while I was writing.
One day I noticed water dripping onto my desk from the ceiling in the billiard room - which I used as my study.
The roof leaked. I kept telling myself I'd fix it someday - but that day never seemed to come.
I donβt know why I chose the billiard room. The house had 24 others. It was a Gothic Victorian Western Homestead with cathedral ceilings. It was my idea, or at least I had asked for them. They seemed to be a good thing at the time.
In retrospect, that was a lot of slate sitting over my head. It must have also been raining in some of the other rooms. But, I never had the time to revisit them and check.
They were mostly for guests, servants, and other things like kitchens and bathrooms. I figured their occupants would take care of it, and tell me if something was going wrong.
All the fireplaces also kept catching fire. Not just the hearth - the whole damn thing, chimney and all. I suppose I shouldβve had the sweeps clean out the suet now and then.
I was always fascinated by new fangled gizmos. Weβd hauled in all the modern conveniences of the time. We had the first flush toilets, hot water radiators, and even gas lighting fixtures in every room, with a lot of buried pipes in the walls.
The place was built like a fortress, with wood siding on the outside to give it some western hospitality and make it look like a ranch. I know, I know - with cathedral ceilings. What was I thinking?
The pipes were embedded between two layers of pressure bricks, covered by slats and plaster. When we had plumbing problems, we couldnβt get at anything to fix it. So, we left it alone.
Iβm surprised the whole house didnβt blow up while we were still living in it.
Thatβs erosion for you - it creeps up when you least expect it. I didnβt have the money to maintain the place, even if Iβd tried. The mortgage had already reached the moon. So, we had to sell it - and move out.
Empires have a way of quietly collapsing in the same steps.
It starts with picking on those who no one will defend. The homeless, the destitute, the disabled, and the aged - all who are estranged or abandoned. It happens to all of us as we get older. We get locked inside what's left of our minds.
Nobody cares if we cease to exist. We become a problem to others, and the easiest targets for a regime, because there's no resistance when it comes to our welfare.
Then the regime moves on to those who are different and unwanted. The gays, the know-it-alls, the people of color, and other minorities.
Itβs not done because of anything about them. These groups can offer some opposition, especially with outside support. Itβs done to acclimate the rest of us - to make it seem normal for the government to do this, and teach us not to get involved.
Finally, the regime goes after all of us. Itβs the women, the dissenters, the contrarians, the reporters, the teachers, and the truthers.
Then come the doers. The librarians, the inventors, the technicians, the explorers, the builders, the healers, and the people who ask questions.
They donβt stop there. They come for the children, the progressives, the rebellious, the experts - and anyone else who might one day get in the way.
Itβs anyone who doesnβt offer VALUE to the few still clinging to power. And those who remain, party like itβs the roaring twenties - while everything else is falling apart around them.
By then, itβs too late. Thereβs nobody left to be ruled. A once-great nation is gone. Trust me, you donβt get it back. I wish Iβd taken better care of my own house when I had it.
Tomorrow is No Kings Day. Let the crowns fail, and not the country fall.
I am a passionate anti-Fascist. I just attended a march 45 miles from my house. I paid all of my expenses and joined thousands of American patriots to send a message to the convicted criminal, Donald Trump, (and his criminal Sycophants), that we will not permit him to overthrow our Constitutional Republic to establish a Fascist, White-Supremacist, Christian-Nationalist Kleptocracy to be ruled by the Trump Family Crime Syndicate. I am on my way to join a march 10 miles from my house to send a second message. We will never allow Trump to rule the USA as a dictator. NO KINGS! EVER!
πΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆ
πΈπ« No Kings 2.0πΈOCTOBER 18πΈππΈππΈ
πΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆ
This Saturday - TOMORROW!
βͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺ
βͺβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺβͺ
βͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺπ₯π₯βͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄βͺβͺ
βͺπ΄π΄βͺπ΄π΄πβͺππβͺππβͺπ΄π΄βͺ
π΄π΄βͺπππ΄π΄πππππππβͺπ΄π΄
π΄π΄βͺππππ΄π΄ππππππβͺπ΄π΄
π΄π΄βͺβͺππππ΄π΄ππππβͺβͺπ΄π΄
π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺπππππ΄π΄πβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄
π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺπβπβππ΄π΄βͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄
βͺπ΄π΄βͺβͺπππππππ΄π΄βͺπ΄π΄βͺ
βͺβͺπ΄π΄βͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄βͺβͺ
βͺβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺβͺ
βͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺπ΄π΄π΄π΄π΄βͺβͺβͺβͺβͺβͺ
No crown survives the lie. No lie outshines the moon.
https://www.nokings.org/
βοΈ Elbows UP! π’π¦ποΈπ§
What I saw in my career as a journalist is that my house was falling apart around me. I didnβt do the upkeep I should have while I was writing.
One day I noticed water dripping onto my desk from the ceiling in the billiard room - which I used as my study.
The roof leaked. I kept telling myself I'd fix it someday - but that day never seemed to come.
I donβt know why I chose the billiard room. The house had 24 others. It was a Gothic Victorian Western Homestead with cathedral ceilings. It was my idea, or at least I had asked for them. They seemed to be a good thing at the time.
In retrospect, that was a lot of slate sitting over my head. It must have also been raining in some of the other rooms. But, I never had the time to revisit them and check.
They were mostly for guests, servants, and other things like kitchens and bathrooms. I figured their occupants would take care of it, and tell me if something was going wrong.
All the fireplaces also kept catching fire. Not just the hearth - the whole damn thing, chimney and all. I suppose I shouldβve had the sweeps clean out the suet now and then.
I was always fascinated by new fangled gizmos. Weβd hauled in all the modern conveniences of the time. We had the first flush toilets, hot water radiators, and even gas lighting fixtures in every room, with a lot of buried pipes in the walls.
The place was built like a fortress, with wood siding on the outside to give it some western hospitality and make it look like a ranch. I know, I know - with cathedral ceilings. What was I thinking?
The pipes were embedded between two layers of pressure bricks, covered by slats and plaster. When we had plumbing problems, we couldnβt get at anything to fix it. So, we left it alone.
Iβm surprised the whole house didnβt blow up while we were still living in it.
Thatβs erosion for you - it creeps up when you least expect it. I didnβt have the money to maintain the place, even if Iβd tried. The mortgage had already reached the moon. So, we had to sell it - and move out.
Empires have a way of quietly collapsing in the same steps.
It starts with picking on those who no one will defend. The homeless, the destitute, the disabled, and the aged - all who are estranged or abandoned. It happens to all of us as we get older. We get locked inside what's left of our minds.
Nobody cares if we cease to exist. We become a problem to others, and the easiest targets for a regime, because there's no resistance when it comes to our welfare.
Then the regime moves on to those who are different and unwanted. The gays, the know-it-alls, the people of color, and other minorities.
Itβs not done because of anything about them. These groups can offer some opposition, especially with outside support. Itβs done to acclimate the rest of us - to make it seem normal for the government to do this, and teach us not to get involved.
Finally, the regime goes after all of us. Itβs the women, the dissenters, the contrarians, the reporters, the teachers, and the truthers.
Then come the doers. The librarians, the inventors, the technicians, the explorers, the builders, the healers, and the people who ask questions.
They donβt stop there. They come for the children, the progressives, the rebellious, the experts - and anyone else who might one day get in the way.
Itβs anyone who doesnβt offer VALUE to the few still clinging to power. And those who remain, party like itβs the roaring twenties - while everything else is falling apart around them.
By then, itβs too late. Thereβs nobody left to be ruled. A once-great nation is gone. Trust me, you donβt get it back. I wish Iβd taken better care of my own house when I had it.
Tomorrow is No Kings Day. Let the crowns fail, and not the country fall.
Yours truly,
Mark Twain
JOIN THE DEMOCRACY TRAIN.
ππ¨π¦π¬π§π«π·π―π΅π¦πΊπ©πͺπΊπ¦πΈπ³π³π±π°π·π΅π±π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώπ»π¦
πΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆ
AHI - Human Kind (Official Music Video)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2qLAvaT59es
πΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆπΈπΆ
Keep protests peaceful.
Don't kill anyone.
They DO make a difference.
Here are some resistance related guides from around the world:
πΊπΈ Fundamentals of physical surveillance: a guide for uniformed and plainclothes personnel
https://archive.org/details/fundamentalsofph0000silj
The RCMP has its own publications including:
π¨π¦ GCPSG-022Β (2025) - Threat and Risk Assessment Guide
GCPSG-010Β (2022) - Operational Physical Security Guide
π¨π¦ GCPSG-019Β (2023) - Protection, Detection, Response, and Recovery Guide
https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/physec-secmat/pubs/index-eng.htm
The non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation also has excellent guides on:
πΊπΈ Street Level Surveillance
https://sls.eff.org
πΊπΈ Surveillance Self-Defense
https://ssd.eff.org/
πͺπΊ πΈπͺβ οΈ Resistance Operating Concept
https://jsou.edu/Press/PublicationDashboard/25
πΊπ¦ πΊπ² Radio Free Ukraine Resistance Manual
https://radiofreeukraine.com/3d-flip-book/resistance-manual/
β οΈ Assessing Revolutionary And Insurgent Strategies (ARIS) Studies (now at archive.org)
https://web.archive.org/web/20250310000340/https://www.soc.mil/ARIS/books/arisbooks.html
β οΈ Civilian-Based Defense: A Post-Military Weapons System
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/civilian-based-defense-a-post-military-weapons-system/
π Simple Sabotage Field Manual by United States Office of Strategic Services
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184?ref=404media.co
β οΈ Library of Congress
Revelations from the Russian archives: documents in English translation
https://www.loc.gov/item/96024752
π Robert Reich/Resistance School
Communicating Across Difference
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaT8gjnOmQl3dguy0_E0vVCL5ZYEyCTzu
π Bernie Sanders:
https://m.youtube.com/@BernieSanders
π CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists:
Safety Kit
https://cpj.org/safety-kit/
π Activist Handbook:
https://activisthandbook.org/introduction
(β οΈ These are USA sponsored websites. Some publications may have been removed by the Trump regime)
I am a passionate anti-Fascist. I just attended a march 45 miles from my house. I paid all of my expenses and joined thousands of American patriots to send a message to the convicted criminal, Donald Trump, (and his criminal Sycophants), that we will not permit him to overthrow our Constitutional Republic to establish a Fascist, White-Supremacist, Christian-Nationalist Kleptocracy to be ruled by the Trump Family Crime Syndicate. I am on my way to join a march 10 miles from my house to send a second message. We will never allow Trump to rule the USA as a dictator. NO KINGS! EVER!