The Post-Partisan Emporium

 The first article can be found here ... The Secret of the Sages John Michael Greer Two weeks ago we talked about the way that life throughout the modern industrial world has fallen into the grip of lenocracy—that is, a system in which pimping of one kind or another is the most common feature of economic life, or in less idiosyncratic language, a system in which every economic exchange is exploited by interests that contribute nothing to the transaction but must be paid off before the transaction can take place.  Lenocracy is a feature of all complex human societies, for much the same reason that every animal species has parasites:  whenever freeloading on someone else’s labor and resources instead of doing the work yourself is an option, someone or something will be found to fill that niche. A handful of bloodsucking leeches. I’ll let you figure out why I’ve included this picture. Yet societies vary in the amount of lenocracy they tolerate. In particular, when markets are relatively f

 Thanks to Saint Jimmy for bringing this essay to our attention... Cthulhu Gazes Right The Regime Dons a Skin Suit ISAAC SIMPSON “But, given our present political conditions under which every office seeker must cater to the vote of the masses, the only means by which the born leader can lead is the expert use of propaganda….Ours must be a leadership democracy administered by the intelligent minority who know how to regiment and guide the masses.” -  Edward Bernays , Propaganda (1928) — Super Bowl 58. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I put a lot of stake in the images that uncontrollably flash into my mind, and when I woke up the next morning I kept seeing the same thing: Post Malone’s bolo tie.  The Ozempicked pop star eschewed his wiggerish priors for a clean cut cowboy rendition of “America the Beautiful.” Why was I thinking about this? Where had I seen it before? At the Grammys, Beyonce had appeared in cowboy gear wearing a bolo tie with a similar turquoise clasp to promote her