Current Trends: Globalism, Censorship, Persecution, 'Redistribution' Of Wealth: In Summary - Worldwide Totalitarianism

In other words - as we see again - paving the road for the arrival of the Tribulation. A trend we can see on a daily basis:

Oligarchy In The 21st Century

That this question came up at all is the result of a Princeton study on the subject. A TalkingPoints post back in April reported on the study, which asks "who really rules the US." The study concludes that in the past few decades America's political system has evolved fromdemocracy to oligarchy.

In such a system, wealthy elites wield most power. Data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, [show] that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of or even against the will of the majority of voters.

"The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy," 'the authors] write, "while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence."

This is a strong conclusion, indeed, and one that The Daily Bell itself often focuses on. However, there is a difference: We believe that it is not so much "rich, well-connected individuals" that steer the country as a handful of top globalists with access to the incredible riches ofcentral banking that they helped create and implement.

It is a very small group, in our estimation, that has created the conditions of increased internationalism that is apparently their goal. In order to steer the world in that direction, they utilize mercantilism – the conflation of private interests with the legal force of government.

The two main tools of this mercantilist system are monopoly central banking and corporate personhood. The resultant system is constantly consolidating, creating larger and larger business entities and government initiatives.

Beyond the mechanism itself, the system is perpetuated by certain dominant central themes put out to support increased globalism. One of the main memes involves the insistence that capitalism is subject to failure and needs constant regulation and supervision. Another is that self-interest creates conflicts of interest.

Harvard Hosting Satanic 'Black Mass'

With secularism on the rise in the United States, Satanists increasingly appear willing to challenge Christians for equal time and space in the public square, under the rubric of asserting First Amendment rights of religious freedom.

Now, under the auspices of a student group, Harvard University is going to allow a Satanist group from New York to perform on Monday a Black Mass on campus.

It will take place in the basement of Memorial Hall, despite strong objections voiced by the Roman Catholic Church.

“It’s unacceptable,” Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights headquartered in New York City told WND.

“Harvard would never allow an anti-gay event on the campus sponsored by an independent student organization and then have Harvard conclude, ‘Well, that’s the way the student’s feel about the issue and we believe in academic freedom.’”

Donohue said he was particularly upset because Harvard’s first reaction was to misrepresent the event.

“Leaving aside the in-your-face assault to the Catholic Church that is being made here, I don’t like it when people lie,” he said.

“Harvard put out a statement initially that made it sound like the controversy related to a controversy over a Buddhist presentation or a Shinto presentation, without mentioning in their statement that it was the Satanic Temple of New York sponsoring a Black Mass on the campus,” Donahue said.

He noted that Harvard then “got so much flack they revised their statement, but they lied again saying the ceremony was meant to be educational.”

“There’s nothing educational about allowing Satanists to celebrate a Black Mass any more than it would be to allow the enemies of Muslims or the enemies of Jews to conduct an anti-Muslim or an anti-Semitic ceremony on campus,” he said. “How about Holocaust deniers? Is Harvard going to give them a forum on campus, too?”

The Harvard Cultural Studies Club, a student group organized under the auspices of the Harvard Extension School, has invited the Satanic Temple of New York City to conduct the Black Mass on Monday at theQueen’s Head Pub, a student eatery and beer hall located in the basement of Memorial Hall, a Victorian Gothic structure built north of Harvard Yard in Cambridge in the 1870s to commemorate Harvard students who fought for the Union in the Civil War.

WND contacted Harvard University for comment and received no response.

“We are hosting a reenactment of a historical event known as a Black Mass,” the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club said in a press release. “The performance is designed to be educational and is preceded by a lecture that provides the history, context and origin of the black mass.”

The Satanic Temple of New York appears particularly determined to promote Satanism under the guise of supporting the First Amendment.

The decision of Harvard University to allow the Cultural Studies Club to host a Satanic Mass on campus follows the continuing request by the Temple of Satan in New York to install their nearly finished seven-foot statue of Baphomet cast in bronze in a place of honor on the lawn in front of the Oklahoma state Capitol, next to a carving of the Ten Commandments that was erected in 2012.

Pope Francis To World: Redistribute The Wealth

Pope Francis on Friday renewed his call on global leaders to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor.

Francis made his plea during an address to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other U.N. leaders gathered in Rome for an audience with the pope, CBS News reports.

Railing against an “economy of exclusion,” Francis called for a state-led global initiative to close the widening gap between rich and poor through redistribution.

“Specifically, this involves challenging all forms of injustices and resisting the economy of exclusion, the throwaway culture and the culture of death which nowadays sadly risk becoming passively accepted,” Francis said.

The comments were in keeping with the Pope’s previous critiques of income inequality at the World Economic Forum in January and in a private March meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Pope and Ban skirted the issue of an ongoing U.N. investigation into the Vatican’s handling of sexual abuse cases and briefly touched upon the Catholic church’s stances on birth control and abortion.

Silencing Christians

I am bitterly disappointed in HGTV. They are arguably one of my very favorite channels. That they would bow to censorship, especially of Christians, boggles my mind.

Twin brothers, Jason and David Benham, were preparing to launch a show on HGTV this fall entitled: “Flip It Forward.” In the show, the brothers would be helping families in need to renovate their homes. But when their staunch Christian beliefs were brought into the limelight by Right Wing Watch, a hateful organization that targets conservatives, HGTV cancelled the show before it ever had a chance to air. Their crime? A strong stance against homosexuality, abortion and radical Islam.

Let’s turn this around for just a minute and play ‘wag the blog.’ If a Muslim says hateful things about Christians — anywhere in media — are they targeted? Nope, they are applauded and sometimes given their own network and/or show. If the homosexual movement comes out against Christians and makes inflammatory comments concerning their faith, are they held accountable? Nope — they are hailed as courageous, forward thinking, proactive against haters. See a trend here?

Why does the First Amendment apply to those on the Left, but not the Right? What’s next? Segregation for Christians? Separate housing… schooling… fountains… restrooms? Where does this end? It doesn’t, except with persecution, imprisonment and death. Evidently Christians are the equivalent of… take your pick of any persecuted section of society: slaves, blacks, Jews… and must be silenced. Shhh! Don’t speak or live your faith! By the narrowest of margins – 5 to 4 – the Supreme Court upheld praying in public this week. But think about this – it involves ‘Christian’ praying, not Muslim, Hindu, Satanic, etc. The silencing of Christian voices in America is in full swing and it will get much worse, I fear.

Right Wing Watch and People for the American Way are funded heavily by George Soros. 

They are constantly trolling for someone on the Right to attack and smear. This time, they smeared the twins because their father is a pastor. One who believes homosexuality and abortion are sins, and that radical Islam is evil. Right Wing Watch/People For the American Way and the Left don’t believe he has a right to publicly voice his opinions and that the perceived sins of the righteous father are the sins of the sons. Both boys have come out and stated they love everyone – they love gays and Muslims – they just don’t condone their lifestyles or beliefs. For that heinous stance, they are to be discredited and punished in the way that Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty was. Being a vocal Christian in America is beginning to be a very dangerous thing and they are to be hunted and summarily judged guilty of hate. These organizations that are going after the twins are all parroting each other with identical, scripted rhetoric. If you ask me, the hate shoe is on the other foot.

So, Soros, the Left and Right Wing Watch/People for the American Way have made themselves the judge and jury of someone who opposes killing children in the womb. It’s a federal crime to kill a baby tortoise, but killing a human baby? Tres chic! Margaret Sanger would be soooo proud.

One of the twins, David, organized a 2012 Christian prayer rally called Charlotte 7:14 in 2012 — one that he spoke about in-depth with Christian radio host Janet Mefferd:

Benham is right and he has the courage and fortitude to live and speak his faith. The Left hates him for it. They hate what is moral and right in the eyes of Christianity. Our churches are in grave danger and we have turned from God. We need more like him speaking out, not less. And our Constitution is supposed to guarantee him that right. No one should lose their livelihood because of their faith.

HGTV has the right to hire and fire who they want. It is their network. The Benhams have said if their belief in Jesus Christ cost them a show, then so be it. I only wish there were millions more like them — those who were strong enough in their faith and their beliefs to stand no matter what. They follow in the footsteps of our Founding Fathers.

Caroline Glick: A Sad Independence Day

Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israeli Independence Day, is a joyous holiday. In Israel, every year, from Eilat to Metulla, from Tel Aviv to the Jordan Valley, everyone across every spectrum – secular, religious; rich, poor; left, Right, Ashkenazi, Sephardi – is out celebrating.

The reconstitution of the Jewish state, and its growth within three generations from a third world economic and military basket case into a prosperous and powerful country, is among the most astounding success story in human history. Certainly it is the greatest story of Jewish success since Joshua led a nation of former slaves in conquering and settling the land of Israel some 3,500 years ago.

And today, three generations after the enslavement and genocide of European Jewry and the expulsion of the Jews from Islamic lands, the Jewish people in the Land of Israel have built arguably the most dynamic society in the world.

For the Jews of the Diaspora, Israel’s success should be a source of enduring pride and joy.

Independence Day should be celebrated by Jews throughout the world. But in recent years, associations of Israel with joy have become increasingly rare.

Netanyahu Tells Rice: Iran Must Not Be Allowed To Enrich Uranium

The deep divide between the Obama administration and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on the Iranian nuclear issue resurfaced during this week’s two-day (May 7-8) Jerusalem talks held by the visiting US National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who was joined by Wendy Sherman, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and head of the US delegation to the nuclear talks.

Rice reiterated President Barack Obama’s contention that Iran and the P5+1 countries must reach a deal by the year’s end, before internal political conditions in Iran alter the landscape. The US urges Israel to recognize that Iran is already irreversibly a nuclear threshold state, and so it should be permitted to maintain a civilian nuclear program. This includes uranium enrichment and the construction of new nuclear reactors, with the proviso that Tehran commits not to turn its capabilities to military uses.

Netanyahu rejected the American position, arguing that Israel cannot leave its security in the hands of intelligence agencies whose forecasts and evaluations of the past years have often proved inaccurate.

Directly after Netanyahu and Rice met on Wednesday, a senior Israeli official said Israel continues to insist that Iran should not have the right to enrich uranium. The official, who spoke with unusual frankness, said that the Obama administration’s eagerness to seal the deal has more do with US domestic political concerns than Tehran.

“We would be happy to see July 20 pass without a deal,” the official said, referencing the target date set for a comprehensive agreement. He added that there was worry in Israel that Obama might be tempted to accommodate Iran now, in order to head off potential gains by Republicans in the November mid-term elections.

The Israeli official was emphatic about his bottom line: “Are we going to agree to [let Iran go ahead with] enrichment? No!”

On Thursday, May 8, Netanyahu echoed this outlook, saying: “Iran must not have centrifuges or enriched uranium.” Rice proposed a limit on the number of centrifuges Iran is permitted to operate, as well as a cap on the amount of uranium it can enrich.

Our sources say Netanyahu flatly rejected Rice’s argument that the quantity and sophistication of the centrifuges are not of he highest importance, compared with the real question of how many centrifuges Iran will be allowed to operate under close international scrutiny.

“The best defense against a nuclear Iran is to keep a nuclear weapon out of its hands. Tehran needs centrifuges and enriched uranium for the single purpose of building a nuclear weapon. Tehran must be deprived of this capability,” 

 ...administration officials conferred with several former Israeli security figures who are regularly consulted by Netanyahu on the nuclear issue. 

Those advisers came back to Netanyahu with the impression that Obama was fixated on a fast deal regardless of Israel’s opposition. They also warned him that his rejection of the US compromise proposal would bring down on Israel’s head a propaganda campaign in both the local and international media that would impugn his credibility on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Jerusalem regards the Newsweek charge of Israeli spies crossing the red line in America as the opening shot of this campaign.

America's Last Straw

The tenth of May is the anniversary of the “royal assent” of the Tea Act -- famously known as one of the last straws that led to the American Revolution.

A “last straw” -- defined as “the last of a series (as of events or indignities) that brings one beyond the point of endurance” -- represents the point at which things really do make a difference.

The phrase originated from a proverb about a camel whose back was broken after it was laden with one straw too many. The exact appearance, consistency, or origin of that particular straw, however, is open to speculation.

Numerous examples of lawlessness and corruption add to the weight that is breaking our spirits and threatening our financial and national security -- fast becoming an unsustainable liability that future generations had no hand in building, yet will be asked to bear.

And when we dare to balk, we’re chastised by a Democrat-media complex that portrays us as extremist, unintelligent, conspiratorial, anarchist, racist, hateful, or as warring against the environment, science, women or the poor.

But still our party and pundits admonish us to be patient, choose our battles wisely, steer clear of social issues, and employ only “winning” arguments as we focus on the bigger goal of building a bigger tent.

The establishment seems unwilling to deviate from that strategy unless it is presented with the perfect alignment of the perfect issue or the perfect case  -- or perhaps it is holding out for the perfect quantity of them. It appears doubtful, however, that any number of additions to the 76 examples listed in a Tea Party favorite Senator’s fourth report on Obama’s abuses of power would receive any serious attention.

Instead, we the People are told to wait for: The Next Election. A rescue by a Republican majority -- led by an establishment that we are supposed to trust to cover our breaking backs, even though we have seen it turn its back on Tea Party members and have heard its hints that “Obamacare isn’t going anywhere.”

Is that last straw fluttering overhead, about to land? Will it inspire citizens to do more than vote, write letters, sign petitions, or stand in protest -- but actually refuse to pay the fine, enroll in the program, follow the rules, or submit the tax?  Might we find it necessary to compose a list of grievances that begins with the phrase, “When in the course of human events?”

“There is a direct line from our forefathers on Griffin’s Wharf in Boston Harbor to where we stand today,” wrote Sen. Lee.  “They had the courage to challenge a government that was too big and too intrusive, but also unfair. The result was the creation of an America of, by, and for the people. Our challenge today is to reclaim it.”

Before that last straw breaks America’s back.