1. The Devil’s Advocate
Time Stamp: 19:20
- Satanism Isn’t Political, Satanists Can Be.
- The Church of Satan clearly outlines its own political policy:
- In it Magis Gilmore clearly states:
- Individuals are free to “support political candidates and movements whose goals reflect their own practical needs and desires.”
- The closest political message Satanism has would be Anton LaVey’s Pentagonal Revisionism. Where he outlines a Five-Point Program that “is necessary for Satanic change to take place.”
- https://www.churchofsatan.com/pentagonal-revisionism/
- Stratification, Strict taxation of all churches, No tolerance for religious beliefs secularized and incorporated into law and order issues, Development and production of artificial human companions, and The opportunity for anyone to live within a total environment of his or her choice, with mandatory adherence to the aesthetic and behavioral standards of same
- But as Magistra Barton clarifies:
- https://www.churchofsatan.com/five-point-plan-revisited/
- “… every Satanist is free to support through action any or none of the points of Pentagonal Revisionism. We do not collectively lobby for our ideals, we work in the background, effecting change when and where we can,”
- When I share my political ideas, I am not doing so to form herd conformity and action, but rather to inspire individual thinking and action.
- I want Satanists to consider the reality behind their political leanings and choices, not to simply adopt a ‘party’ and follow lock step inline with it.
- I will always err on the side of individual liberty. Liberty to be who you truly are, to fuck who you want to fuck, and say whatever the fuck you want to whomever you want.
- Those of us in the US are privileged to have so many protections, and granted so many man made rights. We should exercise them, or they will be taken away. If not from our government than from each other.
- Do not let that happen. This is not a Left or Right idea, this is a universal Satanic idea.
- There are groups out there which claim to be Satanic that also demand herd conformity and action. Satanism as a religion does not!
- I certainly do not either. But I will call a spade a spade. If that hurts your feelings as a Satanist or political activist, tough shit. Turn the proverbial channel. I am not doing this for YOU, I am doing this for ME.
2. infernal Informant
Time Stamp: 33:16
- Biden’s 2020 election win over Trump is step one. But ‘lame ducks’ can do damage.
- https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/biden-s-2020-election-win-over-trump-step-one-lame-ncna1246863
- The last time an incumbent president was defeated was 28 years ago, when Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton beat President George H.W. Bush. But changes in party control are far more common, including Clinton’s handover to George W. Bush in early 2001, when Bush staffers complained about acts of vandalism in the West Wing (and missing “W” keys on their keyboards). Barack Obama’s handover of power to Donald Trump is one of the more dramatic recent examples.
- No matter who is taking over the presidency, the so-called lame-duck period between the election and the inauguration of a new president on Jan. 20 can be difficult, especially in times of national crisis. (And before the 20th Amendment, ratified in 1933, it lasted for five months!) President-elect Biden will take over a country facing myriad challenges. And Trump’s lame-duck period could be one of the most treacherous in American history.
- History provides plenty of context. Sitting presidents may be tempted to try to lock in decisions that their successors dislike, like President John Adams’ appointing dozens of last-minute judges in early 1801 before Thomas Jefferson became president. Or the two transition teams may simply find it difficult to cooperate in the handover process. Sometimes, however, what a lame-duck president doesn’t do can be just as important — and perhaps even more dangerous.
- Take the example of President James Buchanan. Elected in 1856, as the country slid further into sectional disputes, Buchanan ran an administration dedicated largely to preserving Southern priorities: His inaugural address stated that the country should accept the results of the forthcoming Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which (at his behest) would eviscerate the Missouri Compromise and declare that Blacks could not be citizens of the United States; he favored those trying to bring slavery to Kansas and ignored violence against those preferring that it to be a free state; and, most disastrously, he did virtually nothing as the country plunged into civil war.
- After Abraham Lincoln’s election victory in November 1860, Buchanan remained passive as the Southern states gradually seceded, barely lifting a finger to complain or encourage them to remain in the Union. Buchanan even argued that he had no constitutional authority to compel states to stay. Worse yet, he allowed the South to take possession of forts and armaments it would use in the battles to come. As a result of Buchanan’s inaction, Lincoln entered office in a terribly perilous situation, with Army officers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on the verge of starvation. A few months later, Lincoln’s attempt to resupply the fort led to the opening shots of the war.
- Like Buchanan, President Herbert Hoover remained seemingly paralyzed during his lame-duck period, after his loss to Franklin D. Roosevelt in November 1932. As the country sank deeper into the Great Depression, the banking system was on the verge of complete collapse, with bank failures multiplying by the day. Hoover, in the grip of his ideological objections to federal assistance, refused to intervene, even as the Federal Reserve begged him to declare a bank holiday. Hoover repeatedly maintained that the economy would begin to recover at any moment: “The Depression is over,” he told people.
- Hoover also tried to manipulate Roosevelt into declaring that he would maintain the economic policy status quo upon taking office, including the gold standard and fiscal austerity, as well as the creation of no major public works projects. Hoover blamed the deepening economic crisis on FDR, claiming that Roosevelt’s profligate spending proposals were rattling the markets and undermining economic confidence. Roosevelt largely ignored Hoover’s demands, however, and made his own plans for rapid action upon taking office, including a bank holiday imposed by executive order on his third day as president.
- With the Covid-19 virus still spreading rapidly across the country, Trump’s repeated insistence that we are “turning the corner” is eerily reminiscent of Hoover’s asserting that the Depression was about to end, and it’s entirely possible that Trump will, like Hoover, try to bully the incoming administration into a series of irreversible decisions.
- Or perhaps, like Buchanan, Trump will simply claim that he doesn’t have the authority to impose national mandates on the states and will remain passive in the face of the increasing danger. He could also encourage the rise of violent “militias” that refuse to accept the outcome of the election by continuing to spread misinformation that it being “stolen” from him.
- At best, the transition process will undoubtedly be a contentious one (as was the Obama-Trump handover four years ago), especially if Trump continues to falsely claim that Biden’s victory is tainted by fraud.
3. Creature Feature
Time Stamp: 45:56
- The Queen’s Gambit
- https://www.netflix.com/title/80234304
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen%27s_Gambit_(miniseries) - created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott and released on Netflix on October 23, 2020
- American drama television miniseries based on Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel of the same name
- Log Line: a fictional story that follows the life of an orphan chess prodigy Beth Harmon during her quest to become the world’s greatest chess player while struggling with emotional issues and drug and alcohol dependency. The story begins in the mid-1950s and proceeds into the 1960s.
- Stars Anya Taylor-Joy.
- Isla Johnston as young Beth
- Annabeth Kelly as five-year-old Beth
- Carlos Rafael Rivera composed the series score.
- Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov and chess coach Bruce Pandolfini acted as consultants.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10048342/, 8.9/10 on IMDB
- https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_queens_gambit, 100% Fresh Critics Score, 97% Audience Score
- It excels as a series for the writing, aesthetics, and performances.
- https://www.netflix.com/title/80234304