Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 2271

Neocons Are Back

On Friday, President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill for 2018. The $1.3 trillion bill was so monstrous that it would have made the biggest spender in the Obama Administration blush. The image of leading Congressional Democrats Pelosi and Schumer grinning and gloating over getting everything they wanted — and then some — will likely come back to haunt Republicans at the midterm elections. If so, they will deserve it.

Even President Trump admitted the bill was horrible. As he said in the...

Blasting Off in a Homemade, Steam-Powered Rocket

Flat-Earth theorist and self-taught rocket scientist ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes has catapulted himself half a mile into the air aboard a homemade rocket in Californian desert town.

The 61-year-old limo-driver-turned-rocket-scientist launched his steam-powered rocket and reached an altitude of 1,875 feet (572m) near Amboy, California on Saturday. The event was previously delayed due variously to technical problems and/or lack of permission.

“This is like the Falcon Space launch,” Hughes’ team member J...

Ancient American Etiquette

Editor’s note: The following excerpt on “Teepee Etiquette — The Unwritten Law of the Lodge,” was taken from The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore (1912) by Ernest Thompson Seton. Seton said he gathered these maxims on American Indian hospitality “chiefly from observations of actual practice, but in many cases from formal precept.” They’re still largely apropo for modern hosts entertaining visiting guests in their “teepee” (though your mother-in-law may disagree).

Teepee Etiquette — The Unwrit...

Are You a Biphasic Sleeper?

Last week, in the first installment of my Mail on Sunday Life Plan, I tackled sleep – and how to beat insomnia. By now, I hope you’ll have put some of my advice into practice: over the past seven days you’ll have been sticking to a regular waking time, sorted out your bedroom and reset your body clock with daily, brisk morning walks. You’ll also be thinking more positively thanks to the Three Good Things exercise – recorded in your Sleep Tracker diary.

If you missed week one of the sleep plan...

The Ideal Weapon for Self-Defense

The AR-15 may well be the most vilified rifle in existence at the moment, possibly even more so than the Soviet-designed AK-47. This is especially true following several incidents where bad people did bad things with the rifle in question.

As per usual following such incidents, politicians begin clamoring for the rifle to be banned. They use all kinds of rhetoric to paint the firearm as some kind of evil murder-death-kill machine that serves no other purpose except to end lives. This usually...

The Death of Democracy

Anyone who thinks democracy doesn’t matter may be in for a rude shock later this year, when we know the result of America’s mid-term elections. The Deep State is on course to take control of Congress. If this happens, it will be the next step in a global trend of side-lining democracy in the West, driven in large part by American foreign policy. It has led to governments everywhere increasing control over their people, in an inversion of democratic principles.

It affects us all. Since the Twi...

The EU Is Waging a Cold War Against Russia

Marine Le Pen, one of the only patriots left in the power wings of Paris, spoke to the French people about how the European Union is waging a new Cold War against Russia. Fort Rus quotes Le Pen:

“I believe that the current events may have far more significant implications,” Le Pen said.

“It’s a strategy of building a wall separating Russia and the European Union. I know from my own experience of work in the European Parliament that the European Union is conducting a real Cold War against Russ...

The Untold Story of John Bolton’s Campaign

In my reporting on U.S.-Israeli policy, I have tracked numerous episodes in which the United States and/or Israel made moves that seemed to indicate preparations for war against Iran. Each time—in 2007, in 2008, and again in 2011—those moves, presented in corporate media as presaging attacks on Tehran, were actually bluffs aimed at putting pressure on the Iranian government.

But the strong likelihood that Donald Trump will now choose John Bolton as his next national security advisor creates a...

SOLs for Cars

Have you heard about SOL for cars?

It’s like the Standards of Learning for kids –  the tests administered by the schools as a way to gauge whether (cue The Chimp) the children is learning. SOLs are widely considered a scam because the kids aren’t learning – just being taught to pass the test.

It’s a game.

Likewise, the government’s miles-per-gallon testing. The car companies build their cars to perform as well as possible on the EPA’s test loop, so they can tout the best-possible city/highway...

Washington Has Declared Hegemony

I agree with Stephen Lendman (below) that the Russian government’s efforts to deal with the West on the basis of evidence and law are futile.  There is only one Western foreign policy and it is Washington’s.  Washington’s “diplomacy” consists only of lies and force.  It was a reasonable decision for Russia to attempt diplomatic engagement with the West on the basis of facts, evidence, and law, but it has been to no avail.  For Russia to continue on this failed course is risky, not only to Rus...