Alinsky Re-visited. Mass Media Lost Its Way. - Kathmandu .

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Let's hear it for Saul.

This is one of Alisky's tenets and it is why the bigger and more distant government becomes the easier it is to destroy.

" ... “that unless individual citizens were regularly involved in the action of governing themselves, self-government would pass from the scene.” (See 1 below.)

And:

Sent by a very dear friend and fellow memo reader.  (See 1a below.)

Finally:

Black's are dependent upon Democrats and Democrats know the mass media folks are in their corner.  Because the mass media are in the pocket of Democrats it no longer serves the critical purpose it once did. It is being replaced by social media folks and that is not a healthy condition but the mass media voluntarily abdicated their role of factual un-varnished reporting and chose to be become biased entertainment vehicles. (See 1b below.)
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This is what Stacey Abrams wants to bring to Georgia. https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/articles/2018/10/10/how-does-venezuela-like-socialism-now/
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Chapter 6 - Kathmandu part 2 (See 2 below.)
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Dick
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1) Saul Alinsky’s 13 Tried-and-True Rules for Creating Meaningful Social Change

Saul David Alinsky died 36 years before the election of Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton's first attempt for the presidency. But many feverish screeds on social media, talk radio, and YouTube might have made one think he lurked behind these politicians like Rasputin. Spoken of by many on the right as a servant of the devil, "American Joseph Goebbels," and “dangerous harbinger of insurrection,” Alinsky developed a reputation for insidiousness that may exceed his influence, considerable though it may be.

But liberals and leftists have no special purchase on Alinsky’s legacy. As one thoughtful, eloquent pundit recently wrote, “the Right has taken Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals and shoved it up where #TheResistance don’t shine.” Not long before this charming appropriation, Alinsky’s 1971 manual of political warfare found its way into the hands of some of the same Tea Party organizers who had made his name synonymous with everything they despised about the left. (See Alinsky court his Luciferian comparisons in the 1966 interview above.)

But Alinsky wrote Rules for Radicals for his demographic. From the 30s to the 70s, he organized poor, working people in Chicago and other cities and addressed counter cultural and civil rights activists nationwide. The opening paragraph of the book makes it perfectly clear who his readers are:

What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.

Alinsky's reference to Machiavelli sets readers up for a high degree of ruthlessness and realpolitik, and the book does not disappoint. If you’re looking for Anarchist Cookbook-level radicalism, you’d best look elsewhere. While Alinsky talked tough, in an honest Chicago way, he did not recommend violence in his manual. In the Prologue, he denounces “parts of the far left who have gone so far in the political circle that they are now all but indistinguishable from the extreme right.” In recent revolutionary violence, he writes, “we are dealing with people who are merely hiding psychosis behind a political mask.”

Rules for Radicals recommends mostly working within the system—though in the twisted way Machiavelli is reputed to have done (whether or not he’s been interpreted fairly). Below, you’ll find Alinsky’s list of 13 “Rules for Radicals,” offered with his proviso that political activism cannot be a self-serving enterprise: “People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others. The price of democracy is the ongoing pursuit of the common good by all of the people.”

1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood.
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone.
3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty.
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules.
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There is no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions.
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’re doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones.
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don’t become old news.
8. “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new.
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist.
10. "The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition." It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.
11. “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.” Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog.
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” Never let the enemy score points because you’re caught without a solution to the problem.
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

Alinsky’s rules can and have been used for anti-democratic designs. But he defines the U.S. as a “society predicated on voluntarism.” His vision of democracy leans heavily on that of keen outside observer of early America, Alexis de Tocqueville, the French philosopher who “gravely warned,” writes Alinsky, “that unless individual citizens were regularly involved in the action of governing themselves, self-government would pass from the scene.”

1a)

Sinking Sleaze-Bob Menendez
Michelle Malkin <https://patriotpost.us/columnists/28>  * Oct. 17, 2018 

The metaphors don't get any better (or worse) than this:

A van carrying Hillary Clinton, fresh from throwing her #MeToo sisters under
the bus this weekend, crashed into a parking garage pillar on the way to a
New Jersey campaign fundraiser Tuesday for beleaguered Democratic Sen. Bob
Menendez. At her side was Huma Abedin, who is divorcing convicted serial
sexter and underage girl stalker ex-Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in the accident. But politically, damaged goods
plus damaged goods equals an epic car wreck.

Tone-deaf Clinton had just earned recriminations from the left's resistance
wing for defending her horndog hubby on "CBS Sunday," where she flatly
denied that the 49-year-old commander in chief's Oval Office sexcapades with
22-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky were an "abuse of power" because, well,
"she was an adult."

This is the same fauxminist champion who sidled up to disgraced Hollyweirdo
Harvey Weinstein despite warnings from entertainment industry insiders about
his alleged sexual predation of young starlets that reportedly dated back to
2008.

Question: Who could have possibly thought it a good idea for Hillary and
Huma to front a women-themed party for Sleaze-Bob Menendez?
Answer: only a conglomerate of liberal hacks and flacks with more blind
spots than the Land of the Cyclops.

The powerful pol, running for a third term in the U.S. Senate, is up to his
eyeballs in personal and professional skeeviness:

-Menendez flew the crony skies on multiple luxury flights to the Caribbean
with wealthy donor pal Salomon Melgen on taxpayer dime and time.
-Sleaze-Bob in turn used his Senate influence to push a lucrative port
security deal benefiting Melgen.

-Creepy doctor Melgen was convicted of bilking sick old people on 67 counts
of massive Medicare fraud totaling $90 million.

-And in my favorite mendacious Menendez-engineered scheme, which I dubbed
the 36DD visa program, Menendez and his staff pressured the State Department
to expedite the foreign tourist and student visa approval processes for a
bevy of buxom foreign beauties. As I previously reported, one of them,
Brazilian actress and porn pinup star Juliana Lopes Leite (aka "Girlfriend
1"), had her F-1 student visa application moved to the top of the pile in
2008 after Menendez and his staff intervened as a favor to model-lovin'
Melgen.

-Another 36DD visa beneficiary, Rosiell Polanco-Suera, testified that her
rejected visa application (along with her sister's) received reconsideration
and instant approval after Melgen promised to "fix it" by reaching out to
Menendez.

And that's all on top of the sordid and unresolved mess involving Obama
Justice Department court filings related to the "specific, corroborated
allegations that defendants Menendez and Melgen had sex with underage
prostitutes in the Dominican Republic." Melgen owned the Casa de Campo
resort home where he and Menendez reportedly engaged in sexual romps with a
bevy of Dominican escorts, including at least one minor girl.

The same Dems and femmes who demanded we "believe all women" during the
Brett Kavanaugh witch hunt declined my invitation in 2013 to join my
bipartisan Ladies Against Senator Sleaze-Bob group when reports of the
underage prostitute parties broke.

I'm still waiting for a single female Democrat to step up to the plate.
Tick. Tock.

Here's the good news: Despite the best efforts by Beltway Dems and their
media allies to whitewash the aftermath of Menendez's federal corruption
mistrial last fall, New Jersey voters smell a rat. The Garden State may be
bluer than Papa Smurf, but Menendez's approval ratings are taking an island
dive and recent polls should him in a dead heat with GOP challenger Bob
Hugin.

This week, Senate Majority PAC, the Senate Democrats' super PAC, announced
it would be dumping $3 million to help Menendez in the state that Clinton
won by a 14-point margin over Donald Trump. That's $3 million diverted from
other competitive Senate races in battleground states, including North
Dakota, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, Tennessee, Montana and Missouri.
So the Titanic attempt to save sinking Sleaze-Bob may end up torpedoing the
Dems' chances of re-taking the Senate. No worries, though. I hear Hill and
Bill will have plenty of room on their Corruptopalooza post-election
speaking tour stage for the losers.


1b) Democrats Know They Can Always Count on the Media
By Ben Shapiro

This week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in preparation for a 2020 presidential run, decided to fight back against President Trump's brutal nickname for her: Pocahontas. Trump, you'll recall, labeled her Pocahontas because for years, she has claimed Native American ancestry. Not only that, she claimed repeatedly that her mother's Native American ancestry drove her parents to elope after her father's family refused to welcome her mother with open arms thanks to their bigotry. As it turns out, Warren could never provide any evidence of Native American ancestry — even though she spent years labeling herself Native American while at the University of Pennsylvania Law School as well as Harvard Law School.

On Monday, Warren decided she'd had enough. She released a video of her family members discussing her claims of Native American background. "Native communities have faced discrimination, neglect and violence for generations," Warren intoned. "And Trump can say whatever he wants about me, but mocking Native Americans or any group in order to try to get at me? That's not what America stands for."

She accompanied that video with her supposed proof of Native American background: an analysis by professor Carlos Bustamante of Stanford University in which he explains that it is possible that Warren had a Native American ancestor anywhere from six to 10 generations ago. That would have made her anywhere from 1/64 to 1/1,024 Native American. The study was based not on Native American DNA but on Mexican, Peruvian and Colombian DNA.

In fact, not even Cherokees were happy with Warren. In a stunning rebuke, the Cherokee Nation released a statement saying, "Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage," and that Warren's DNA test "makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven."

All of this should have been foreseeable by anyone with half a brain. Falsely claiming you are Native American for years is bad enough. But releasing a study demonstrating that you are 99.9 percent white — and then claiming that such a study justifies your false claims? What made Warren, an intelligent human being, think such a thing?

Only one simple fact: Warren knows, as everyone in politics knows, that the media will cover for nearly any instance of leftist political manipulation. They'll cover for Warren fibbing about her ancestry. They'll cover for Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke driving drunk, plowing into a truck and then attempting to flee the scene of the crime. They'll cover for Arizona Senate candidate Rep. Krysten Sinema saying that she didn't care if Americans joined the Taliban (CNN's headline: "Krysten Sinema's Anti-War Activist Past Under Scrutiny as She Runs for Senate"). Democrats have the enviable advantage of being able to trot out nearly any story and be given credibility by most of the mainstream media.

Non-Democrats, however, see this game. And every time the media simply parrot Democratic talking points on issues like Warren's ancestry, they undercut their credibility. Large media institutions have done more than anyone, including President Trump, to destroy their reputations with the American people. Their pathetic behavior over the past few weeks, in the approach to the 2018 elections, shows that they're doubling down on stupid.

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2)

Kathmandu, Part 2

On Saturday, after our experience in the traffic on the city tour Friday, we decided to stay on foot and just walk around an area called Tamel near the hotel.  Old Grumpypants had read about Tamel and thought it would be a good area for walking and shopping, and he was right.  It was only about a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel, but it was a different world.  Narrow streets lined with shops, and little alleyways leading to cafés and hotels. 

It was a mix of lovely shops with beautiful things and storefronts selling schlock.  Jim was in a surprisingly agreeable mood about shopping, since we quickly realized how inexpensive things were, so we actually bought a few things in some of the nicer shops.  We found a little t-shirt shop where they did custom embroidery while you waited, so in ten minutes, he had a custom T.  (He wanted a pickleball design, but they didn’t offer that option.)  It was just guys in a tiny space with piles of t-shirts and two embroidery machines.  He paid about $7.00 for this all-cotton tee.

One thing that I must point out about this city are the power lines.  They are all strung from pole to pole, and gathered in big clusters at each pole.  They say that the power goes out frequently here, and looking at the way the power lines are strung, that is very easy to believe.  We were told that they are not just power – that phone lines are mixed in with them.  At times, we saw monkeys walking across the lines like high-wire acrobats, so they must not be killer wires.  But they are unusual, as you’ll see in the photos.

We stopped at a little Korean café surrounded by greenery for a cappuccino,  (an Italian drink in a Korean café in Kathmandu, Nepal – what a world!) finished up our shopping, and then headed back to the hotel so that I could catch up a bit on these travelogues.  Dinner was once again in the VIP lounge, where Kim took very good care of us.

On Sunday, we had made arrangements with Deepak, the driver recommended to us, to pick us up at 8:00 a.m. and go to Bhaktapur, a small town outside of Kathmandu.  We were both anxious to get out into the countryside and away from the hullabaloo of the city. 

A word here about driving in Nepal.  Most of the roads don’t have lane markers, and they would be a waste of paint.  If the road is wide enough to squeeze through, you just do it.  If the two lanes east bound are congested, just go into the westbound lane and pass and then swerve back in just in time to avoid the oncoming motorcycles or cars.  At times, we were the third car on a two-lane road.  No problem!  Just trust that you will make it.  Beware of the dogs and goats and cows in the road – we saw only one dead dog who had tried to cross a major highway.  Pedestrians meander at will between the cars/bikes/motorcycles/trucks/pushcarts/animals. 

This is not to say that there are no accidents.  A big article in the paper while we were here talked about the highway deaths that were expected during this festival time, largely due to drunk drivers.  Oh, great – add liquor to all this chaos.  I thought these people didn’t drink.

Deepak arrived right on time, and suggested that we also visit a monastery on our excursion.  We agreed, without really knowing what we were getting into, but the men who had recommended Deepak had gone to both places and said they were worth it, so off we went.

The first hour or so of the drive was just to get out of K.  There was a lot of traffic, and we drove through neighborhoods that were busy commercial areas.  That sounds pretty high-falutin’ for what we actually saw.  The road was lined with open storefronts, facing a dirt track between them and the road.  The dirt area was filled with old cars and trucks, stray dogs and cows, garbage, spare tires, oil barrels, and various other forms of debris.  There didn’t seem to be an inch that was attractive or clean.  Everyone was selling something – I don’t know who was buying.

We worked our way up a hill to stop at a large statue of Shiva, one of the principal Hindu gods.  We paid the foreigners’ fee, and walked up to the statue, which was built only recently.  There was a little green space around it, and it looked out over the valley, which was nice, but even the parking lot here was littered with trash.  Nobody seems to care or notice.

Along the way, Deepak told us his story.  He was one of three children, living in a small rural village.  His father had two wives, and, when Deepak was young, Papa left them to go live with the other, younger wife in Kathmandu.  Deepak never saw him again.

After 7^th grade, Deepak had to drop out of school to work to help his mother feed the family.  He went to the city and got a job washing dishes at a restaurant.  They gave him food and a bed, but often did not pay him.

During the civil war, he was up on the restaurant roof watching a battle between the Maoists and the police.  The police thought he had thrown rocks at them, so they came up to the roof and arrested him.  He was in a cell for three days that was so packed with people that there was no room to sit down.  He went without food for those 3 days.  Then the police decided he was innocent, and they let him go.

He went to work for the local tour company, washing and cleaning cars.  Gradually, he learned to drive, got a license, and became one of their drivers.

When the earthquake hit in 2015, he was driving somewhere away from the quake.  His mother called and said “The house has just fallen down.”  He told her to go to a relative’s house in the same village, and she told him that ALL of the houses had fallen down. He went home and they lived out in the open for a while.  Then he built a temporary home while they were waiting for the government to come help with rebuilding.  They are still waiting.

Now – do any of you want to complain about your lives?

We eventually got out into the countryside, and drove up a winding mountain road.  Deepak was a very good driver, but the road was narrow, twisty, uneven, and had quite a drop-off.  Oncoming trucks and motorbikes would come zooming around the curves as if it were Le Mans.  I decided not to look at the road but to focus on the scenery.

About 3-4 km from the monastery, the pavement ceased and it became a dirt road  with deep ruts and a lot of bumps.  Deepak joked that we would now be getting a massage from the road.  After about 2 km of this massage, we were both getting tired of it, but we soldiered on to the top of the mountain to the monastery. 

This monastery was built in the last 20 years by donations from all over the world.  It is a Buddhist monastery, and sits on the spot where Buddha is said to have given up his body to a tiger to eat.  The monastery is built on several levels on the hillside, so we clambered all up and round and back down again to see the various temples and viewpoints overlooking the countryside. 

Then we had the joy of the long massage on the way back down the hill, and the mountain road following that.  Deepak pulled it off in fine fashion.  Bahktapur was back toward Kathmandu, so we headed back in that direction.

Bahktapur is a suburban area of the city.  Within it is an old city, with tiny narrow streets, temples, squares, and lots of restaurants and cafés.  Deepak wanted to drive us around in there, but we explained to him that we would much rather walk, so he found a parking space and we went first for lunch.

This was at a rooftop restaurant in the heart of the old town.  I’m still only eating soft food, so I ordered chicken curry.  This has been my staple meal since my encounter with the rock.  If the chicken is too tough to chew, I can just eat the sauce and the rice, but usually the chicken is tender and I can cut it into tiny pieces and eat it.

After lunch, we got to stroll.  Deepak came with us, to explain what we were seeing.  The old temple had been knocked down by the earthquake, but it being slowly rebuilt.  There is another Kamari here, and we saw her house.  It is an ancient city, with buildings dating back to the 14^th century.  Fascinating and great for strolling.  We even bought a couple of things in the shops.

Then it was back to the car, back to the hotel, and another dinner in the VIP lounge.  We learned the next morning that The Chimney, the most famous restaurant in Kat that is here in the hotel, had reopened while we were here.  We were very disappointed not to have known that because we would have loved to eat there.  Oh, well, next time.

Monday morning we were off to the airport to fly to Delhi to join out Nat Geo group for the rest of the trip.  Given how inefficient coming into Kat had been, were expecting the worst going back out, but about one hour after leaving the hotel, we were checked in and sitting in the Executive Lounge.  Not bad.  We had to go through 3 security checks at the airport – one before entering the building, one before entering the gate area, and another before entering the plane.  They have separate lines for men and women at these security checks, and I got felt up by 3 different female security guards.  Guess I must look especially suspicious.

Our Jet Air flight (chalk up another airline) was very nice.  The flight was only an hour long, but we were served a nice lunch (chicken curry for me, something else for Jim) and arrived right on time.  During the day, the Delhi airport is not nearly as chaotic as it is late at night, so we got our bags pretty quickly and met Rajeev from Nat Geo. 

More soon!

Here is the link to the photos:  https://www.mmemery.com/Kathmandu-2
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