Category: Politics & Society

2020: A Year To Remember

On By Joel AgiusIn Human Condition, Personals, Special OccasionsLeave a comment

2020 has been a very challenging year for most of us. I think we can all agree it has really left its mark on us all to varying degrees. We have faced many trials and tribulations. The world has become a different place in the era of COVID-19. Over the course of the year, in particular over the last few weeks, I have heard a fair few people say that 2020 is a year to forget, that we should just write it off and hope 2021 is better. But I have to disagree with this sentiment. I think 2020 is probably one of the years we must remember most. Yes, it has been nothing short of a nightmare at times, but it taught us many valuable lessons that we should carry forward into the rest of our lives on this Earth. Each year I usually do a wrap up of the year, be it personal or otherwise. This year I will be combining the two and going over some of the lessons I have learnt that I think we can all take heed of in our own lives.

2020 started with fire. The fires that ravaged Australia left us all living alongside a haze of smoke that seemed as if it would never dissipate. For me personally, the fires led to my Pop coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks. During this time, we all spent some quality time together, watching shows, playing pool at my uncle’s place, and having many a memorable conversation. Not long after he returned home to the South Coast, Pop had a fall and ended up in hospital. Just a few weeks later, at the end of January, he tragically passed away. I was there in the last couple of days of his life. Seeing him as he was in his last days, it really impacted me. It had a major effect on me on those days, and the days that came after his passing. As I have mentioned before, I don’t think I realised just how much of an impact it had on me, particularly from a mental standpoint, until a few months later. But that is for the next lesson. This tragic event in my life, despite its harshness, taught me a truly valuable lesson that I will remember as I continue forth in my life: We should always value the time we have with our family, friends and loved ones. Life changes fast, and so we should always make the most of every moment we have with the people we care about. Because we really don’t know when we’ll be spending our last moment with them. Make good memories with them that you will always remember fondly. Those memories can be such an incredible source of comfort in times of sorrow. I sometimes find myself thinking about my Pop, wishing he was still with us to celebrate special occasions, to talk to. But I just remember the memories we made, and I am so ever grateful for them.

This year has been a real test for our mental wellbeing. COVID-19 has led to lockdowns and isolation. As human beings, we are social creatures, so isolation can have a significant impact on our mental health considering we do not have those physical, face to face connections that we so enjoy. Many of us have experienced life-changing circumstances throughout this year. Most of us have probably been on a mental rollercoaster ride, having to deal with far too many ups and downs for one year. So, the next lesson 2020 has taught us is this: We must always take care of ourselves. This year in particular has reflected the importance of looking after our mental health. For me, that meant getting help when I was in a pretty bad way mentally. About a week or two into May, my anxiety had built up again, and had led to a sense of depression because of how anxious I was. As I’ve explained in a previous article, I ended up consulting a GP and then starting sessions with a psychologist. While I began the process of recovery and figuring out ways of managing the anxiety in particular, I decided it would be best for me to take another three months off from university (that’s one study period for me). So, my three-month break that had started after the conclusion of a study period in February turned into a six-month sabbatical. This turned out to be a necessity. If I had kept studying while I was trying to get better, I don’t think I would have truly been able to. I needed to have my mind focused entirely on that recovery at the time. I knew this would mean my studies would take a bit longer to complete, but I needed to put my mental health first and get my head right before I could continue. It was a difficult decision, but it was the right one. To anyone who is struggling mentally, I would encourage you to take heed of this particular lesson that 2020 has taught us. Look after yourself. Do whatever you need to do to ensure that you can maintain good mental wellbeing. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone, to get help. Because that can make all the difference.

2020 has also taught us that we cannot take things for granted, especially our freedom. If the age of COVID-19 has taught us anything it is this. Having endured lockdowns and restrictions on our lives that have changed them, inducing fear in the population, we must all awake to the reality that freedom is never a given. Our movement has been limited. Who we are permitted to see has been limited. What we are permitted to do has been limited. Many of us have allowed politicians to control almost every aspect of our lives. We took our freedoms for granted, and those in power took advantage of that. So, if we are to learn one thing from the harsh reality we have faced and continue to face, it is this: we must never take such a thing as freedom as a given. We must recognize that the freedoms that we should value so much are easily able to be stripped from us if we do not defend them from power-hungry, controlling individuals who will seize any opportunity they can to take more power than is given them. COVID-19 has given them the excuse they needed to take power under the guise of keeping us all safe. We have been told that life will never really go back to what it was before the virus. While it is easier to roll over and accept this, it is much more beneficial in the long-term to push back and ensure that we can live as free a life as possible.

Now to probably the most valuable lesson I have learnt this year: In the darkest times, an unexpected ray of light can enter your life, changing it for the better. 2020 has been especially dark for me, as I’m sure it has for many. Looking back, that darkness really started to consume me from May, putting me in a position where I needed to get help. But even after getting help, there was still darkness. There were still times when I wondered if things would ever really get a lot better. I still wasn’t really motivated. I still struggled to work up the resolve to get things done all the time. I would still put things off, telling myself they could wait until later. I still had periods of anxiety, albeit more manageable than they were before, but I suppose I felt as if I wasn’t really where I wanted to be just yet. In fact, that didn’t happen until later in the year.

In mid-September, that unexpected ray of light shone through the darkness surrounding me, guiding me out of it. My life changed. I became more motivated. I started writing again. I worked ahead in my university studies. I got back into an exercise regimen. I felt happier. All of these things have continued from that point forward to this day, and I am so incredibly grateful for that ray of light. As I’ve said before, sometimes the most incredible people come into your life when you least expect it, their impact profound. This is the very reason I cannot just write off 2020. Because even though 2020 has been one of the most taxing years, it has brought me some of the greatest things in my life. It is those amazing connections in life that turn up when you least expect it that make the biggest differences, the greatest of impacts.

2020 has been a wild ride, but it has been a necessary and meaningful one. Sure, there has been a lot of bad news this year, and sometimes it is difficult to see past that, to find the good in the world. But we cannot write off this year. We cannot just forget it. 2020 has brought with it important life lessons that are of great value to all of us moving forward. If anything, I feel like this year has helped me to grow significantly as a person, and to become a better version of myself. I am grateful for all that this year has taught me and brought me, and I’m looking forward to growing even more in 2021.

As I round this out, I would just like to thank everyone who has followed along on this blog over the past year. I appreciate all the support, and I hope you have all enjoyed what I’ve been publishing. This is my last one for this year. More to come in 2021.

A Happy New Year to all of you.

Christmas: A Light In The Darkness

On By Joel AgiusIn Human Condition, Personals, Special Occasions1 Comment

Christmas is probably one of the best times of the year. Family coming together, celebrating, giving, laughing, sounds of joy filling the air. It is a time when many of us celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and remember the very first Nativity. This year more than ever, after all we have been through, we could really do with something to celebrate. But for some of us, this Christmas will be unlike any other that has come before it. We’ll get to that in a moment.

I love Christmas, because it brings a smile to so many people’s faces, no matter what they have been through. A lot of us have been through hell this year. There were the bushfires at the beginning of the year. COVID-19 came along and threw our world upside down and inside out, keeping us from seeing our family, friends and loved ones, putting us on edge. Many would have suffered from mental health conditions due to the constant lockdowns and isolation. It has affected us all in different ways, but I think we can all agree it’s been a really tough year. So, we can all use a bit of Christmas cheer to reignite our hope and bring some much-needed happiness to our souls.

For me personally, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year. It’s been a pretty bumpy ride. Although I went through a stage for months where I was in a pretty bad way mentally, in the second half of the year, more from around September onwards, I found my grounding and became more motivated than I had ever been before. My life turned around, and that was truly a Godsend. But I’ll speak more to all of that in my yearly wrap up next week. This one isn’t about me. It’s about you, all of you. Because 2020 has not discriminated. We have all faced many hardships this year, and we all deserve to be happy, if at the very least for a day.

Now this Christmas is going to be different for some of us. While some of us will get to celebrate the occasion with family and friends, having a feast and giving gifts, there are still a lot who will not be afforded this opportunity on Christmas Day. Those who have been affected by COVID-19 in some degree, be it directly, being in an area that has been designated a hotspot and being told to isolate, or having restrictions imposed on them by governments, will have a somewhat different Christmas this year, being unable to celebrate with their family and friends (for some it may be all, for others they may be able to still celebrate with those in their household). In particular in NSW right now, our Christmas is restricted in that we are only allowed no more than ten people to visit our homes on Christmas Day. This is just adding insult to injury after all we have been through this year. And so, I have a message to share that will hopefully bring some warmth and joy to everyone at this time when I know many of us will be feeling deflated.

I know we have all been through a lot this year. And I know many of us are still going through it. But Christmas is a time when we can stop, even for just one day, and consider all that we are grateful for. We can take time to reflect on what good things have come out of this year. As we think about these joyous things, a smile will no doubt begin to beam from our faces, in turn lifting our spirits so that happiness may bubble up inside us, bringing about a warmth within us that brings us great comfort.

Christmas is a time of hope. As I have spoken to before, hope is such an incredible thing. One of the three members of what I call the Trinity of the Heart (Faith, Hope and Love), all it needs is a spark to set ablaze, to come alive within our hearts. Hope nurtures the soul, bringing about a sense of peace in times of anguish. After all we have been through this year, I think we could all use a little hope in our lives. Even now, as all our Christmas plans are thrown into chaos and uncertainty, we need to hold on to those little sparks of hope, no matter how disheartened we might feel. There is a quote from Desmond Tutu: “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” This year we have been surrounded by darkness, but, as I have learnt, just one ray of light, one that may even be unexpected, can guide us out. That reminds me of another quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” This year has taught me that much is true. Only in the dark times I went through this year did the stars in my life come out to greet me and change my life.

Christmas is typically a time when family and friends come together to celebrate and share in the spirit of the season. This year that might not be possible for many of us. But that should not discourage us from getting in touch with those special people in our lives on Christmas Day. To those who won’t be able to see their family, friends and loved ones on Christmas Day as they usually would, I say this: Spend time on the day contacting and talking to those people you care about. Be it a phone call, text/messaging through various apps, video calls or whatever else, we have the technological tools at our disposal to still spend time with those we care about on Christmas Day, even if we are not able to be in the same room as them.

To put it bluntly, I know it sucks that we can’t all be together for Christmas this year. I’m going to miss seeing my extended family, cousins and all. It’s devastating not being able to have a normal Christmas after all we have been through this year. Personally, I’m going to spend Christmas Day contacting those I care about, because even though we cannot all gather in the same place, I want to feel at least some sense of normality about Christmas. I might be lucky enough to see a few, but regardless, I’ll be making sure to reach out to them on Christmas Day. I’m sure I will not be alone in this sentiment.

To all those who are in isolation over Christmas, I can only imagine what you are going through. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I hope that you’ll still be able to find some hope and joy this Christmas, be it through contacting family and friends, or even through reading this message.

Christmas may look different this year, but we should not let that stop us from celebrating the occasion. We cannot let this virus take Christmas from us. The human spirit is an incredible thing. It can help us to persist, to keep going, even through the darkest of times. Combined with the Christmas spirit, its effects are amplified. We have all been through a lot of darkness this year, but I hope that at this special time of the year we can find the light.

God Bless you all and have a very Merry Christmas.

The Only Thing To Fear Is Fear Itself

On By Joel AgiusIn Human Condition, Politics & SocietyLeave a comment

Fear is powerful. It paralyzes, stopping people in their tracks, breaking them down so that they will submit to its will. Fear can lead to destruction, to ruin, to misery. But for those who crave power and control, it is one of the greatest things on this Earth. To them, it is a weapon waiting to be harnessed for their own gain.

Now I have touched on this before in previous pieces on COVID-19, government, and media, so you’re probably wondering: Why am I writing about it again? Because people are doing the same thing they did before with the latest outbreak in the Northern Beaches. Just like before, Governments are capitalizing on it to give themselves more power and control. Just like before, the media are sensationalizing it to create fear amongst the people. And just like before, people are capitulating to the fear. That is why we need to talk about fear again, this time more in depth than before, particularly in the context of COVID-19.

Obviously, at the beginning of the year, when COVID-19 was still new and unknown, it was reasonable to fear it. After all, human beings typically fear the unknown. That fear was rational. But now that we know more about this virus and how it works, along with the fact that it has a 99.8% recovery rate, fear of COVID-19 is generally irrational. But because governments and the media saw how effective fear was in controlling the general population in the first round of lockdowns towards the start of the year, they now know that weaponizing it is the most effective way of maintaining control over the public. Governments use it to ensure the people are subservient to their will. The media use it to create stories that they can use for their publications and television news programs to boost their ratings, and, by extension, profit. This has always been about money, control, and power.

Although the media would have you believe otherwise, the outbreak in Sydney’s Northern Beaches is not something to panic about. What the media will not tell you, because it does not suit their fear-inducing narrative, is that NSW has an excellent contact tracing system which has already traced all chains of transmission and figured out the original case (patient zero). If the media reported this, it may reduce the level of fear amongst the people, something that would not benefit the media at all. They are always looking for good stories, and COVID-19 has provided them with a never-ending pool of content. What the journalism industry has become is truly a disgrace. We are in desperate need of more good and honest journalists.

Since the outbreak in the Northern Beaches, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has made the decision to issue a five-day stay at home order, amongst other restrictions, for those who reside there, which has now come into effect. She has also imposed restrictions on the Greater Sydney area, including limiting the number of people you can have at your home, bringing back the four square metre rule, putting limits on how many can attend indoor gatherings, only 20 people dancing at wedding parties, and no singing/chanting except for places of worship. These restrictions will last until at least Wednesday, two days before Christmas. The four square metre rule will likely be in place beyond that point. These restrictions on Greater Sydney are arbitrary and unnecessary. This outbreak will likely be dealt with within the week.

It is at this point that NSW should be extremely grateful certain others are not running the State. If the Left were to have it their way, Daniel Andrews would be brought up to run point on the NSW response. We must recall that Andrews and his Government were responsible for Victoria’s “second wave”, which killed over 800 people, and left others without their businesses, jobs, and livelihoods, leading to a mental health crisis, and the annihilation of small business, Victoria’s economy, and, by extension, almost a quarter of Australia’s economy. Unwilling to bear any responsibility whatsoever, we still don’t know whose call it was to set up the ill-fated Hotel Quarantine as it was. So no, NSW do not need Daniel Andrews and his daily fearmongering press conferences.

Others on the Left, including former ABC journalist Quentin Dempster and the ABC’s “expert” on COVID-19 Dr Norman Swan, have called for the Premier to lockdown completely, mandate masks, and rush forward an “effective vaccine”. Constant lockdowns cause and exacerbate mental health conditions. When mask mandates have been brought in in places all over the world, cases have not decreased. In fact, most of the time they have increased. To put it bluntly, masks do not seem to work, considering the very fine particles that this virus travels in. And as to an “effective vaccine”; such a thing is not possible to create and mass produce in less than a year. It typically takes 8-10 years to create a safe and effective vaccine. We really do not know what adverse effects the current rushed vaccines may have on those who take them 5-10 years down the track. To read more on this, see my recent piece “Vaccine Skepticism Is Justified” (link here: https://jjsoutlook.com/2020/12/12/vaccine-skepticism-is-justified/). Again, these responses are just plain unnecessary and destructive. Unfortunately, we cannot expect anything less from those at the National Broadcaster. Their goal, like all other elites in this, is to instill fear in the population and benefit from it in the form of money and power.

Predictably, other State Premiers have reacted to the Northern Beaches outbreak in the typical fashion of overreacting. Tasmania have closed off to NSW (the Sydney to Hobart Yacht race has also been cancelled for the first time in its 76-year history, again for no good reason). The Northern Territory have told those returning from NSW they will need to quarantine for 14 days upon entering the Territory. Those from NSW wishing to travel north to Queensland are now required to obtain a permit unless of course you are from Greater Sydney, in which case you cannot enter Queensland at all. Victoria and South Australia have closed its borders to all of Greater Sydney, with the former adding the Central Coast (which only has one case). And, as always, Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has reinstated the hard border closure to all of NSW. Premiers will probably tell you they have made these decisions based on the “health advice”. When asked to show you that health advice, they will refuse to do so, because quite frankly there probably is none to justify these arbitrary measures. Premiers are using the borders as their political playthings, abusing their power for their own political gain. These measures are purely political. They are only interested in power and control.

And so, we return to fear. Those who control fear, control the people. Over the course of the last year, we have seen that demonstrated the world over, including right here in Australia. People have become more and more subservient to government overreach, doing whatever Big Brother tells them to. Those who are awake to this reality can see through the agenda of the elites and those attempting to control the narrative. Yet there are many who have become just like sheep, following governments blindly, masks over their eyes, into the dark abyss that leads directly to hell on Earth. Mask mandates are only the beginning. Next, they will be mandating the vaccine, which will probably end up having significant adverse effects that we will not know about for a few years. Soon enough they will be leading us straight to the Gulags, and those who have followed them blindly will willingly walk in, probably thanking those who put them there for doing so. This is a slippery slope. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you.” The only way to prevent this is to resist the fear and all that goes with it.

Upon the occasion of his first inauguration, Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his speech that “there is nothing to fear but fear itself”. This is true at most times, but none more so than now as COVID-19 gives government and the media the excuse to take more power by instilling fear in the public. At the outset of this piece, I wrote that fear is powerful. That is exactly why it is weaponized. We must learn how to combat this destructive force so that we can live our lives unrestricted, happy, and free.

It is time to stop falling victim to fear. We cannot allow fear to control our lives, to take away what could be joyful memories waiting to be made, to imprison us. We cannot allow it to keep us removed from others, to tear our lives apart. We can no longer live in fear.

Because that is no way to live.

Constitution Destroyed; New Version To Take Its Place

On By Joel AgiusIn Politics & Society, SatireLeave a comment

Earlier today, the United States Constitution was found in tatters in the Supreme Court of the United States. A worker in the Supreme Court said the sacred document constructed by the Founding Fathers had gone missing last Friday, coincidentally the same day the Court decided not to hear the Texas lawsuit. When asked where it had been located, the worker told us an eyewitness had found the shredded document on the floor under the desk of Chief Justice John Roberts.

Since this revelation, some have questioned how the Supreme Court can ever be trusted again. However, Chief Justice Roberts denies any culpability, instead claiming that President Trump is trying to frame him for this heinous crime. This has put to rest the fear that the highest Court in the land may be compromised, considering it is the only reasonable explanation. After all, President Trump is responsible for everything that goes wrong, but nothing that goes right.

In discussions as to what should be done about the now destroyed Constitution, Democrats have decided the best course of action would be to write up a new one, in which all rights afforded to Americans are taken from them in the name of protecting them from COVID-19. When asked if this was truly on the cards, President-Elect Kamala Harris said she would sign an Executive Order as soon as she was sworn into office to make it happen.

Under the New Constitution, anyone who protests for their rights will be arrested and imprisoned for the good of the country. It is, after all, to keep people safe. Except of course Black Lives Matter, pro-choice protestors, and Antifa. They will be allowed to continue their peaceful protests with no restrictions. It is also rumoured that under the New Constitution, Antifa will be called upon by the Government to keep the streets safe. They will of course be compensated for their work.

The New Constitution will be printed by Dominion Constitutions (no affiliation to Dominion Voting Systems).

In a completely unrelated story, there have been reports of sounds coming from the final resting places of the Founding Fathers, as if they were rolling in their graves.

America On A Knife’s Edge

On By Joel AgiusIn Politics & SocietyLeave a comment

There is no putting it lightly: America is on the brink of Civil War. At this point, it really does not matter who is inaugurated as President on January 20, 2021. After the decision of the Supreme Court yesterday to throw out a Constitutional case, a dispute between the States, the divide between citizens and States is being driven to a point where the United States of America as we know it could come to an end.

For those unaware, earlier this week the State of Texas, under the leadership of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit against four States: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. The suit, filed in the Supreme Court, was essentially based in one key area of the Constitution, that which surrounds the responsibilities of the State Legislatures. Constitutionally, the State Legislatures bear the responsibility of appointing electors to attend the Electoral College on December 14. Additionally, if any changes to Election rules and procedures are to be made in a State, they must go through and be approved by the Legislative Chambers in that State. In the cases of the four States Texas filed suit against, electoral changes were made by the Courts and/or the Secretaries of State. They were never approved by the State Legislatures. A similar occurrence took place in the 2000 Election of Bush v Gore, in which Florida came under dispute and was settled in the Supreme Court, who ruled that what had taken place was unconstitutional. The same was applicable to this case, backed by at least 17 other States and the President himself. Yet only two Justices, Justice Thomas Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas, were willing to hear it. The other seven, including Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, declined to even hear the case.

This case had two clear cut outcomes; 1. Upholding the Constitution of the United States of America, or 2. Tossing aside the Constitution and essentially declaring it just a piece of parchment that has no meaning. The Supreme Court chose option two. They chose cowardice. The Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves.

In a case where there is a dispute between two or more States, the case bypasses all State and Federal Circuit Courts and is filed directly with the Supreme Court. There are generally two outcomes of a dispute between States. The first: The dispute is settled by the Supreme Court. However, in the case that it is not settled by the Supreme Court, the States may take matters into their own hands. Yesterday, the Supreme Court, in their weak decision to recuse themselves of responsibility in what is probably the most historical case that would ever front them, made a critical error. They chose to say the case had no “standing”, a doctrine brought in by the courts within the last century as a means of washing their hands of any cases they do not want to bear responsibility for. It is truly a coward’s way out. In not resolving the dispute themselves, they have practically just told the States to settle it themselves. Essentially, the Supreme Court just sanctioned a Civil War.

But before we get to that, there are still possible avenues. Indeed, according to lawyer Robert Barnes, who has had a multitude of wins in civil, criminal, and Constitutional law, “when law professors gamed out a 2020 election contest, they had this stage as only the half-way there. Other possibilities: VP not certifying contested electors; House and Senate contesting electors; 12th Amendment challenge as to who contests electors, etc.”. He also stated that “after the Supreme Court ruled against Gore, the advice of the chief of his legal team was to take it to Congress. The 12th Amendment does empower Congress to vote if electors are contested.” Barnes knows what he is talking about. But to understand exactly what this means, we must understand how the process works from here.

On the 14th of December, Electors in each State (one for every Federal House and Senate Representative in the State) will vote, the Governors will certify their State Electors’ votes, and they will then transmit the slate of Electors from their State to Congress. That is, unless they are contested. Typically, in the case that things are uncontested, on January 6 the Electors will meet in DC at the US House in a joint session with the Vice President (in this case Mike Pence) presiding. Under the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution “The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such a number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed.” However, in the case that there is, at this point in the process, still unresolved litigation, electoral slate issues, or investigations that cloud the outcome of a State or several States, objections may be raised to the Electors from these States. House Members and Senators can join together to make such objections and force a contingent vote in the House, whereby, under the 12th Amendment, each State carries one vote. The exact phrasing in the 12th Amendment of the Constitution is as follows:

“The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such a number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. ”

This all goes back to what Barnes said. If there are States contested in litigation or whatever else, their Electors may not be certified be that either by the Vice President himself, or by objecting Members of Congress, which would result in an immediate election in the House. It is pertinent to note that Representatives Mo Brooks, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Moore have already indicated that they will object to Electors from contested States. They would need a Senator to join them in doing so to make arguments. In this case, Senator Josh Hawley would be in the best position to present compelling arguments, given his history as a lawyer and former Attorney General, in addition to the time he has served as a member of both the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees. If a House election was to occur, it would likely be a victory for Trump, given Republicans hold the majority of States in the House, and thus Trump would be re-instated as President.

There is still ongoing litigation in multiple States, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. After the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday not to hear the Texas lawsuit, Trump’s legal team are filing similar lawsuits in each of the four States individually. Sidney Powell is also pursuing cases, with emergency filings made in the Supreme Court for Georgia, Michigan, and Arizona, with Wisconsin to follow. These cases also raise Constitutional issues and are being filed on behalf of the people of America. The fact of the matter is that, even though each State will submit its slate of Electors on Monday, while this litigation continues, these Electors may indeed be rendered moot. Legislatures may also take matters into their own hands and, under the Constitution, choose and send their own Electors. There is a reason the Trump legal team has been fronting hearings with State Legislatures in these swing States.

And there is one more thing that may yet strike from the darkness. On September 12, 2018 President Trump signed a little-known Executive Order (EO 13848). This Executive Order is entitled “Executive Order on Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election”. It covers everything from election interference derived from other nations to US Politicians and the media aiding in such interference. In fact, this Executive Order is so extensive, it is as if Trump knew there would be interference in the 2020 Election. Keep in mind, he had this all drawn up and signed just months after the 2018 mid-term Elections. He was able to view what occurred in the mid-terms and create an Executive Order to catch them out if they tried it again, which inevitably they would. But there is something truly extraordinary about this Executive Order that you would only know if you read it. At the very start of the EO, Trump states the following:

“In recent years, the proliferation of digital devices and internet-based communications has created significant vulnerabilities and magnified the scope and intensity of the threat of foreign interference, as illustrated in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with this threat.”

Yes, you read that right. The United States of America has been under a State of Emergency since this Executive Order was signed back in September 2018. That State of Emergency was extended, and here’s the kicker: The 2020 Election was held under a State of Emergency. Further, Section 1(a) of the EO states:

“Not later than 45 days after the conclusion of a United States election, the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of any other appropriate executive departments and agencies (agencies), shall conduct an assessment of any information indicating that a foreign government, or any person acting as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign government, has acted with the intent or purpose of interfering in that election. The assessment shall identify, to the maximum extent ascertainable, the nature of any foreign interference and any methods employed to execute it, the persons involved, and the foreign government or governments that authorized, directed, sponsored, or supported it. The Director of National Intelligence shall deliver this assessment and appropriate supporting information to the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.”

This means that the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, must submit a report on all election interference from foreign governments and those who have assisted in it. This report will be delivered to President Trump, the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the newly instated Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller (it is no accident his predecessor Mark Esper was fired shortly after the Election), the Attorney General Bill Barr, and the Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. Of course, there is a 45-day deadline. That deadline is the 18th of December, this Friday. This Executive Order was designed and signed into law for a specific purpose. It stands to reason that this will play a major part, even if it be subtle, over the weeks to come. For those who wish to read the rest of EO 13848, here is a link to the official Government website with the EO written out in full: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-imposing-certain-sanctions-event-foreign-interference-united-states-election/.

As all these things continue forth, millions of Americans have been actively supporting the President. Just today, they turned out in force to the March for Trump and Jericho Marches, and heard from an incredible line up of speakers, including the recently pardoned General Mike Flynn. As Flynn spoke, Marine One flew overhead carrying Trump on his journey to the Army vs Navy game, where he was greeted with a thundering applause and cheers from the military. Meanwhile, a sea of Trump supporters marched around the Supreme Court of the United States in what are called Jericho Marches. The Jericho March originates from Biblical times, in which God gave Joshua an unusual strategy for the battle of Jericho. The Israelites marched around the city of Jericho once every day for six days, soldiers playing their trumpets while priests carried the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day, they marched around the walls of the city seven times, and, at Joshua’s order, let out a powerful roar. Then the walls of Jericho fell. In the modern day, a Jericho March is essentially a prayer walk by a group or congregation, the purpose being to pray for something and ask God to intercede. The Jericho Marches in the US persist to break down the walls closing in on democracy.

Americans are getting out there and making their voices heard. They are fighting for the President. But as I said at the outset of this piece, no matter what happens, the civil unrest occurring could easily tip over into a Civil War. And that is where this final interesting development comes in. After SCOTUS denied Texas a hearing, Texas GOP Chairman Allen West released the following statement, suggesting the possibility of secession:  

“The Supreme Court, in tossing aside the Texas lawsuit that was joined by seventeen States and 106 US congressmen, have decreed that a state can take unconstitutional actions and violate its own election law. Resulting in damaging effects on other states that abide by the law, while the guilty state suffers no consequences. This decision establishes a precedent that says states can violate the US constitution and not be held accountable. This decision will have far reaching ramifications for the future of our constitutional republic. Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution. The Texas GOP will always stand for the Constitution and for the rule of law even while others don’t.”

For those unaware, secession is “the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state.” Essentially, the Texas GOP Chairman is suggesting that States who respect the Constitution should withdraw from the Union and form their own. The last time secession occurred in the United States was in 1860-61, when 11 States withdrew from the Union following the election of Abraham Lincoln. Interestingly, secession preceded the American Civil War.

If this were to occur again, the States would be truly divided. A second Union could form, thus splitting America. Tensions would likely rise and boil over to the point where a new Civil War is sparked. Even if there was not to be a secession, Civil War is still a significant possibility. But there is one thing that could prevent a destructive event from ensuing. Whilst many judicial and investigative bodies may be working against Trump, he has the all-important military on his side. And they might just be the only group he needs.

Make no mistake, this is not over yet. The only date that really matters at this point is January 20th, Inauguration Day. Until then at least, the fight continues.

As the American author Napoleon Hill once said: “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”