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If you think Donald was hated, wait to see how many enemies Joseph makes. By the way. Commie-la Harris cannot be the first woman vice president or president anymore, because the lefty fruitcakes under Joseph protection have erased women. Now Harris is just a person. Welcome to lefty Twilight Zone where lefty lunatics, are literally running the asylum.

The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters #52

Carl and Callum discuss how Heinlein was right, what we have already seen will show us about the Biden administration, and the consequences of transgender prison policies.

Machiavelli's The Prince (1513)

Chapter XIX: That One should Avoid being Despised and Hated

Summary and Analysis Chapter 19

A prince must avoid becoming hated or despised. Taking the property or the women of his subjects will make him hated. Being frivolous, indecisive, and effeminate will make him despised. All a prince's actions should show seriousness, strength, and decisiveness. The best defense against internal threats such as conspiracy is to be neither hated nor despised. If a conspirator thinks that killing the prince will enrage the people, he will think twice.

Wise princes are careful not to antagonize the nobles and to keep the people happy. In France, the parliament restrains the ambition of the nobles and favors the people, without directly involving the king, so that he cannot be accused of favoritism. Princes should let others do the unpleasant tasks, doing for themselves what will make them look good.

Some people may object that the careers of the Roman emperors go against this argument, because many of them were greatly admired, yet were still assassinated. This is because they had to deal with their soldiers, and they could not satisfy both the soldiers, who wanted warlike leaders, and the people, who wanted peace. Marcus, Pertinax, and Alexander were all compassionate and just, but only Marcus escaped assassination, because he was a hereditary ruler and did not owe his power to the army. Commodus, Severus, Antoninus, and Maximinus were all cruel and greedy, and only Severus escaped assassination, because he was so cunning and ruthless, and because he kept up a splendid reputation. But in Machiavelli's time, princes do not have the same need to satisfy their armies, because armies are not used to being together for long periods and controlling whole provinces, the way Roman armies were. Instead, princes should satisfy the people, who are more powerful.

Analysis

Conspiracy and assassination occupy Machiavelli's attention in this chapter. The best way to avoid these dangers is to avoid being hated or despised by one's subjects. (By despised, Machiavelli means to be held in contempt or to be regarded with no respect.) In the state, there are two main groups the prince must court: the nobles and the people, a theme pulled from Chapter 9. Although a prince must not alienate the nobles, he must win over the people, because they are the majority, and their ill will can cost a prince his place and his life. Hated and despised princes are targets for assassination, because assassins conclude that the people will support killing the ruler.

Plots such as these were a real concern for Renaissance rulers. Machiavelli offers as an example the 1445 assassination of Annibale Bentivoglio, ruler of Bologna, noting that popular support enabled the family to keep their power despite their desperate situation after the assassination. In Machiavelli's own lifetime, in Florence in 1478, the Pazzi conspiracy against the Medici had resulted in the injury of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the death of Lorenzo's brother. In both cases the assassins were from rival powerful families; they were not disgruntled subjects. As if acknowledging this, Machiavelli observes that there is no real defense against a determined assassin, because anyone who is not afraid to die can kill a ruler. Nonetheless, he maintains that popular support is the best prevention.

About balancing the conflicting demands of the people and the nobles, Machiavelli offers the interesting example of France's parliamentary government, which allowed participation by both the aristocracy and the commoners. Rather than presenting it as a democratic innovation, he offers it as a way of increasing the absolute ruler's power, taking pressure off of the prince by putting competing interests into a neutral forum—in effect, giving unpleasant tasks to others so they do not damage the prince's popularity.

In the midst of his argument, Machiavelli embarks on a long digression about the many Roman emperors, good and bad, who were assassinated. He concludes that most of them were undone by their powerful and bloodthirsty armies, a problem that the princes of Machiavelli's time need not worry about. His more interesting observation, which is somewhat lost in his analysis, is that nearly all of the rulers were killed regardless of their qualities and actions. Some did one thing and others did the opposite, but all came to basically the same end. The key to their success or failure is whether they adapted their actions to their times and political circumstances. This theme reappears in Chapter 25, where Machiavelli discusses the effect of fortune on human affairs.

Marcus Marcus Aurelius (161-180), called "the Philosopher;" one of the most respected of the Roman emperors.

Commodus (161-192), oldest son of Marcus Aurelius. Noted as an enthusiast for gladiator and wild animal games in the Coliseum. Assassinated by a group of conspirators.

Pertinax (126-193). After Commodus was assassinated, Pertinax was proclaimed emperor by the praetorian guard, but was assassinated three months later by rebellious soldiers.

Julianus (died 193) After the assassination of Pertinax, Julianus bought the office of emperor from the praetorian guard, but was assassinated by order of the Senate two months later.

Severus Septimius Severus (145-211). Proclaimed emperor by the Senate. Overcame claims to the throne by Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. He died while on a military campaign in England.

Antoninus Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (188-217), called Caracalla. Oldest son of Septimius Severus. He was killed by the prefect of the praetorian guard, Macrinus.

Macrinus Marcus Opellius Severus (circa 164-218) spent all of his brief reign on military campaigns in Asia. He was executed by his opponents.

Heliogabalus also called Elagabalus (circa 204-225), Heliogabalus was killed by the praetorian guard.

Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (208-235). Succeeded his cousin Heliogabalus. Killed by rebellious soldiers in Gaul.

Maximinus (died 238) named emperor by the army after Alexander Severus was killed. Subsequently killed by his own troops.

Krunoslav 9 Jan 22
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The Pazzi conspiracy was depicted in the show "Da Vinci's Demons".

The show portrayed the older Medici brother as benevolent, but socially stiff, and the younger Medici brother was portrayed as charming and beloved by the citizens. After the Pazzis killed the younger brother, the older brother gave a "Romans, lend me your ears!" style speech and rallied the citizens to lynch the Pazzis.

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More Machiavelli!

The Praetorian Guard must have possessed power, because many assassinations were
due to the Guard.

Yeah. Probably the only way civil war in its actually happens in America is if there is a split among the military. Other than that , civilians no matter how armed they are cannot fight and win against US military. But in this podcast they show soldiers being forced into a parking lot to sleep on the floor and use only one bathroom after being discriminated against by the FBI, to do background and social media check on them to see if they are loyal communist or not.

Probably soon Joseph and his handlers in the military industrial complex will declare war to some country somewhere before Easter while they declare half the American patriots as terrorist group. Meanwhile lefty radicals hate Biden because he is not radical enough. Also the Big Tech is pushing for him to do what they wants which creates geopolitical problems. Not to mention the whole Green New Deal, lock downs and masks will piss off lot of small business owners and anyone not big business. Everyone else is targeted. And off course Biden is CCP's lapdog so they will want him to do things as well as Davos , which destabilizes geopolitics around the world, so many countries might think not relying on USA as much. Especially for navy protection.

And since no one really likes Joseph , he will be despised and hated and who knows what might come of it.

@Krunoslav

In war, it's often strategic to focus firepower. Democrats focussed firepower on Trump as a proxy attack on Republican America. Republicans should focus firepower on Biden. What a target. Biden is a sitting duck. Cook his goose. Pin the tail on the donkey.

Democrats don't understand that Trump is more than a man. Trump is the elected representative of Republicans. An attack on Trump is an attack on all Republicans. The more Trump is despised by democrats, the more Republicans love Trump. We have entered an age where it's not possible to gain the good will of all of America. What now matters is gaining the fanatical support of a faction. This is how democrats roll.

The best plan is the James Bond plan. Create chaos so that nobody else's plan works.Light the fuse on every powderkeg. The only thing keeping the democratic party together is despiseal of Trump. Biden is continuing it by calling republicans domestic terrorists. But the democratic party is full of factions and there is no democrat that enjoys the goodwill of all democrats. It's not possible. It was proved by the 2020 democratic primary. Nobody could break away and win. It was full of chaotic lead changes. Biden only won because he was the least despised.

Johnson won in 1964 because he courted rural votes with rural development projects. Today, the democratic platform is explicitly anti-rural.

Good point, that Biden's plan will cause global disintegration. Then democrats will miss Trump. Note that the world wasn't disintegrating under Trump.

Democrats used climate change as an all-purpose scapegoat. Whenever something bad happens in the world, blame Biden.

I'm wondering if there will be a new Waco, where Biden sends in the military to crush a Republican sanctuary zone and they overdo it, leading to Biden being despised.

Obama's VA was a debacle and Trump reformed it.

I've seen homeless shelters that are more luxurious than the parking lot.

The military is funded by federal tax, which means that Republicans are funding half the military but have no control over it. Compelling argument for secession.

Energy begets economic prosperity. Trump goosed the energy economy and Biden will kill it in favor of the green deal, leading to economic contraction.

What do you think will happen to the military and national guard if America fissions? If you are the governor of a seceded state, what do you do about the military?

@Krunoslav

I think it's also a matter of time before the MSM has to begin to reverse the negative perception the country has for them, and take off the Kid Gloves they've been using to handle Biden in order to prop him up against Trump. TDS has to wear off at some point, blaming everything on Trump will only fly for so long. As CNN's ratings continue to fall and Twitter continues to implode, I'm hoping a more moderate news cycle will prevail.

@jaymaron Well I don't know what you mean by republicans, because in political circles the republican party, the GOP is controlled opposition.

As someone described GOP as a 'Jobber' in WWE.

One who is only used to put over talent. Also known as "Enhancement Talent." A 'Jobber' means a guy that is used to make another wrestler look good, usually performing in squash matches against wrestlers that are being pushed into the main event scene or newcomers that need their talent to be recognized but not in a top tier feud.

They are not meant to win, and even when they officially win, the policies for foreign and many domestic affairs do not change in any meaningful way since there is no two party system, there is only one giant swamp full of swamp creatures.

So I don't think there are republicans and democrats. I think there is the corporate, technocratic bureaucratic, globalists, neocons and lefty radicals vs what we might call everyone else, or normal people.

Trump was an outsider , a guy that mess up the plans of the establishment, making them get out of the shadows and stop pretending that they are not doing what they have been doing for a long time. That was the biggest side effect of Trump era. Great awakening.

@jaymaron "What do you think will happen to the military and national guard if America fissions? If you are the governor of a seceded state, what do you do about the military?"

To be honest I have no idea. Too many unknowns , both legally and in terms of loyalty to give any kind of educated guess. I really can't tell, yet. I will have to wait and see what happens and where its all going.

@Krunoslav

At present there are many factions. Once war breaks out, there can only be 2
sides. There will be a sorting. What do you think will be the fundamental axis of division?

@jaymaron Lovers of Truth against haters of Truth

@jaymaron "What do you think will be the fundamental axis of division?" in America?

Hmm, hard to say. I know there is a division already, but unless there is a split in the military, there is not all that much people can do, if they try anything violent. If they try anything , they will be labeled as terrorists and attacked like ISIS with full force.

There could be civil disobedience on mass, perhaps in some states. But that is not enough to change the establishment. I think in absence of war the only way forward would be trough cultural change and its not clear how much of that will be allowed by the establishment. So maybe it will happen in places like Texas or Florida or Alaska, but not California or New York etc.

Unclear how this will play out, but one thing is clear, that it will get worse before it gets better and there can be no stability until one side has complete victory.

@dentrawler

This is reminiscent of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). King
Charles II had a weak brain, like Biden, but the Spanish royalists propped him
up because they were afraid of opposing factions. Charles II was of frail
health because he was a deeply inbred Habsburg, and he went senile. He was
never educated because the royalists were afraid that it would stress his frail
brain. The royalists endeavored to keep him alive as long as possible, because
the succession was uncertain. Ever since he was born, Europe was waiting for
his death, but Charles II continued to baffle Christendom by staying alive.

Wilson, for the last 2 years of his presidency, was a vegetable because of a stroke, and democrats hid it. Democrats hide Biden.

In 1700 the Spanish Empire included the Spanish Netherlands, large parts of
Italy, the Philippines, and much of the Americas. Charles's closest heirs were
members of the Austrian Habsburgs or French Bourbons. Acquisition of an
undivided Spanish Empire by either threatened the European balance of power.
England and France attempted a compromise similar to the Missouri Compromise.
They proposed partitioning the Spanish Empire into two parts, but it was
rejected by the Spanish. The Spanish insisted on winner-take-all.

Charles II named Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, as his heir. A
competing contender was Charles, younger son of Leopold I, the Holy Roman
Emperor, which was Habsburgland. Philip accepted the kingship and was
proclaimed king of an undivided Spanish Empire on 16 November 1700, leading to
war between France and Spain on one side, and the Grand Alliance on the other.

Because of Biden's dementia, the executive branch is a power vacuum, with many
factions rushing in. The only thing holding it together is hate of republicans, but now
they never need to worry about elections again. It's a powderkeg.

The fundamental axis of civil war may be: Biden royalists vs. Those not in Biden's favor.

@dentrawler Well MSM is like Russian "Pavda" or "China Global Times" a mouthpiece for the establishment. So they won't change unless there is some kind of damage control, but integrity they do not have.

Pravda is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, formerly the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the country with a circulation of 11 million. The newspaper began publication on 5 May 1912 in the Russian Empire, but was already extant abroad in January 1911. It emerged as a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union after the October Revolution. The newspaper was an organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU between 1912 and 1991. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union Pravda was sold off by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to a Greek business family in 1996, and the paper came under the control of their private company Pravda International.

Best thing is to forget mainstream and build whole parallel civilization, since if any change happens it will have to be done with cultural changes. And for that you need complete new infrastructure and installations. Politics is downstream from culture. And right now the cultural Marxism is wining, by changing culture. It took them 60+ years or more. If you want to change current system culturally it will take long time.

Alternative is that something big happens that is unexpected and changing the odds. Some black swan or until the current system destroys itself because it is self destructive. But it will be hard and lonely road for many for a long time. There is just not enough organization or firepower for any kind of proper resistance in a hurry.

If I'm wrong I'll be pleasantly surprised, but its not likely. Providing we are not all enslaved and hooked up to matrix, this will be long game. Little by little. That is how the other side won. Little by little over long time. Constituency of purpose.

@Krunoslav

I'd say the current state of Left Wing extremism that has boiled over in America these past four years started to simmer most notably when Clinton was elected. It was still tolerable at that time, sort of fringe, but now with the help of hand held tech, it's become pervasive. Supposing, in all hope, that this wave of irrational liberalism has reached its zenith then I can see the beginnings of a swing back to balance as the post millennial generation is predicted to be the most conservative since the 1950s. I think America fluctuates a little faster than a 60 year cycle (not to say that's what you meant). If this is not the peak of Lefty Madness, I'm afraid the Silent Majority of rural America is nearing it's breaking point. I'm hoping the Dems recover from their TDS and it doesn't come to that.

I keep posting this Map from this years Congressional results, it doesn't vary much, but this is what America really looks like.

Do you have a link to that Media Empire chart, the photo doesn't enlarge very well ?

@jaymaron

One thing Dems have to admit is that Trump helped unite them, but now that he's out, they'll resume eating their own...it's their nature. I thought the Democratic Primaries were going to end it for them, but they figured out how to blame Trump for the Virus, and a gullible public swallowed it whole. MSM is trying to spin dissention in the Republican Party, but it's just smoke, if Conservatives know anything, it's Solidarity. Bros before Joe. Stay strong, and thanks for the history refresher.

2

Fruitcakes should not be in positions of power over anybody else...if they can't even manage themselves.

dmatic Level 8 Jan 22, 2021

So Trump should not have been president? Biggest fruitcake of them all!

@JacksonNought Depends on your definition of fruitcake, I suppose. Trump is/was one of the greatest Presidents we've ever had....even in the face of all the demonic hatred spewed at him.

@dmatic you mean demonic hatred spewed out of him? Worst president we've ever had. And by fruitcake I mean a psychologically damaged compulsive liar, malignant narcissist, conman, tax evader, draft dodger, thin skinned whining baby, perpetual bully, self-aggrandizing solipsistic ego queen...

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