It was foretold that in the ashes of the greatest generation would rise a class of grifters, conmen and ne'er-do-wells. Such a time has come to pass, courtesy of elected officials, private equity underwriters (PEU) and TechGods.
A handshake was once one's word, their personal bond. Entities now have beneficial owners such that the people behind them are unknown. PEU's can on all sides of a deal, a carnival side show of the multi-armed man in a hall of mirrors, thus giving the impression of being at arm's length in multiple directions simultaneously.
Elections were won by votes based on barnstorming and word of mouth. The most powerful court in the land negated that practice by awarding money free speech rights.
Wisdom, knowledge and virtue have been replaced by insolence, sloth and whimsy.
Christ has been pushed aside for Old Testament Kings.
Justice turned into "Just Us."
Violence was to be avoided, only a last resort. Now those in charge look to punch first, seeking an immediate knockout.
Truth telling was once an obligation of great leaders. Spin has replaced that, with the greatest fawning aimed at the most powerful. Mirror, mirror.
Charlatans promise absurd things to divert attention away from their mendacious machinations. The people are too exhausted trying to get by to challenge any of their nonsense. The blather floats in the airwaves and bobs around the internet.
Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod brethren. Increasingly, more are one. Together they remake the world to fulfill their dark dreams of obscene personal wealth by any means possible. For that many suffer.
Update 8-13-26: This post came from these words shared by my wise friend regarding his grandfather.
I think of him and men of his caliber and era often. They believed in the country and sacrificed heavily for it. They were not perfect, of course. But they would never profiteer and betray the principles of the Constitution or their countrymen.
The current crop of hooligans dishonor their sacrifices and memory. They dismantle what our forefathers defended. Not only do I question their allegiances, but these guys and Trump's crew all dance to the same tune from The Greatest Show on Earth , never enough!
They do not care what they destroy or who they destroy. Traitorous. I would not be surprised if Palantir CEO Alex Karp Took the playbook from Sheldon Adelson with the news media. Control the data and control the outlets.
Private equity is mankind's "highest calling" according to Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein. It is so powerful it has people speaking from the afterlife:
Thus endeth the lesson.
