<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Clusterfuck Nation]]></title><description><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler’s Clusterfuck Nation blog is updated Mondays and Fridays. The KunstlerCast podcast and Eyesore of the Month are monthly features.  Read & comment here. ]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rWi-!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0bf113f5-5511-4aa8-a169-97454aa71bf9_256x256.png</url><title>Clusterfuck Nation</title><link>https://www.kunstler.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:42:22 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.kunstler.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[jameshowardkunstler@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[jameshowardkunstler@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[jameshowardkunstler@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[jameshowardkunstler@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Realignments]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;A sane society cannot debate its way out of psychosis. It must diagnose the patient with lethal precision and restore the ancient boundary between the mad and the free.&#8221; &#8212;LHGrey on "X"]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/realignments</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/realignments</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:33:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic" width="700" height="471" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:471,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:66487,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/211547643?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!2dLR!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1f7bc2b3-9175-4cdd-823e-77c15524ae43_700x472.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Back in the days of sailing ships, a certain subtropical zone of the ocean became known as the &#8220;horse latitudes.&#8221; There, an eerie windless calm prevailed, sometimes for weeks, stalling the progress of ships in mid-crossing. In desperation to save water on-board, captains ordered the horses being transported to America to be cast overboard, and the animals&#8217; bloated carcasses drifted in an ominous cort&#232;ge of warning to other mariners entering the zone of stillness and death.</p><p>This stretch of weeks in late summer has become the horse latitudes of human affairs for American politics. The primaries are mostly over, at least the ones that mattered. Congress has departed the Potomac swamp for the lakes, seashores, and the county fairs out where the corn grows high. The heat in the Arabian Sea must turn the deck of an American aircraft carrier into a giant hot-plate sailors fear to tread. Even the country&#8217;s multitude of lawyers turn off their cell-phones and contemplate the blank, watery horizon with heads full of iced brown liquor.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>We civilians are stuck between that old rock and a hard place. . . two political parties whirling around the drain of extinction in a nation seeming to drift toward the edge of the known world. In the background, a massive realignment grinds away. The old parties of labor and of property have forgotten their reasons for existence. Labor vamoosed to Mexico, China, and obscure faraway lands decades ago. Property is still here, but it&#8217;s all been collateralized into grift and fraud.</p><p>In the absence of working people to defend, the Democrats became a party of racketeering race-and-gender hobgoblins, now marshaling into an insectile host of predatory Marxists, and altogether their antics present as a spectrum of mental illness. Voters who somehow managed to preserve some sense of mental decorum increasingly abandon that lunatic coalition &#8212; but where to go? This is exactly what is happening in the state of Michigan with the rise of Abdul el-Sayed, who adds a caboose of jihad to his choo-choo train of Bolshevik nuttery. Long-time Dems like Democratic attorney Julian Epstein are publicly jumping ship to support el-Sayed&#8217;s opponent, Mike Rogers.</p><p>The clueless old gorks in charge of the Democratic Party &#8212; the likes of Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Mark Warner, Liz Warren, Chris Murphy, Sheldon Whitehouse &#8212; are suddenly nowhere to be seen (or heard). They don&#8217;t dare denounce this latest onrush to new-and-improved insanities because, apparently, insanity is all the party has left &#8212; stealing other people&#8217;s property. . . pretending to change sexes. . . organizing giant frauds. . . demanding payoffs for hallucinated affronts. . . and feeding the vicious Leviathan they want government to be.</p><p>And don&#8217;t be too sure that coalescing around the figure of one AOC in 2028 is going to save this outfit. Sandy is trying to pretend she&#8217;s somewhere in the middle, between the feckless old official leadership and the outright commies, but she&#8217;s still a member of the odious &#8220;Squad&#8221; composed of Somali fraudster Ilhan Omar, jihadist Rashida Tlaib, and race-hustler Ayanna Pressley &#8212; meaning, it&#8217;s just the same brand of <em>crazy</em> the party has been cultivating for more than a decade. What remains for America to discover about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is that she&#8217;s a mere opportunist with nothing inside except some skill at middle-school girl games. . . Eva Peron without the savvy.</p><p>On the other end of the political transect stand the Republican phantoms of Congress busy getting nothing done for the past year and a half despite holding the majority in both houses. They&#8217;re personified perfectly by Senator Mitch McConnell, quite possibly dead for all that anyone really knows. In John Thune you have something like an anti-leader, doing everything possible to evade his duties, squashing election reform under arcane procedural bullshit, obstructing the confirmation of important agency nominees and federal judges, and &#8220;gaveling-in&#8221; ghost sessions of his chamber to prevent the president from making recess appointments. And why? Probably for no better reason than he just wants to dissociate himself and many of his fellows from the president because he&#8217;s seen as too gauche for their club.</p><p>Speaking of whom, you see Mr. Trump and his faction stand apart, but not alone, in this big game. He&#8217;s going through a rough patch in these horse latitudes of summer. But despite some appearances, and despite the bluster emanating from Tehran, he has already succeeded in neutralizing Iran while Secretary Bessent keeps the maniac IRGC in an ever-tightening economic squeeze. There&#8217;s reason to believe this will end well for the Middle East, actually in an epic realignment of actual interests, rather than obsolete tribal animosities.</p><p>Mr. Trump is also working hard to realign American interests at home into an economy based on making things of value instead of just taking profits on financial shell-games. It&#8217;s a gigantic task and one that will take time to get working because factories can&#8217;t be built overnight and the demoralized working class can&#8217;t be instantly realigned to opportunities that are months from materializing. In the meantime, have a little faith if you can, even though these have been notably faithless decades for our sore-beset nation, and we are too accustomed to bad faith.</p><p>Just power through these listless, torpid dog days of August and gird your loins for action in the fall because it&#8217;s coming. And that includes a long-awaited accounting for the many crimes against the people of this land by some of our own people. A new permission structure is building out there in the foggy gloaming: you will be set free to stop pretending about a lot of stuff that matters.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" 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is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Things Get Spicy]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;The left are incompetent biotrash who purge everyone too attractive, too capable or too intelligent to uncritically accept their retarded worldview.&#8221; &#8212;Aimee Terese on &#8220;X&#8221;]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/things-get-spicy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/things-get-spicy</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 12:33:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic" width="700" height="394" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:394,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:34903,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/211170667?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kfd9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bcd14fe-e258-4514-8820-8ffb1fb273df_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The Jihad for Lunch Bunch Sends Greetings to Infidel America</figcaption></figure></div><p>And so, all of a sudden, having failed to subvert or assassinate the president they abhor, and foil his attempt to repair our country, the combined forces of the Democratic Party, the seditious news media, and a traitorous government bureaucracy resort to communist jihad in their crusade to wreck the USA. That&#8217;s a great combo, all right: history&#8217;s worst system for managing human affairs paired with a cult of bloodthirsty conquest. They&#8217;d decapitate the Beach Boys singing <em>Fun, Fun, Fun</em> if they could time-travel back to 1964, and stuff anyone who objected into a gulag.</p><p>There&#8217;s a sort of last-gasp feeling about all this. Michigan Senate candidate Abdulrahman el Sayed put it nicely the other day when he said of his opponents, &#8220;When they go low, we go lower.&#8221; True dat.</p><p>And you can see where things go from here: election clean-up comes on no matter what, SAVE Act or not, probably via a comprehensive PDJT National Security Executive Order yet to be declared. There&#8217;s already a fair chance that SCOTUS will clear the way for the US Postal Service to regulate &#8220;uniform standards&#8221; for the distribution of mail-in ballots (from a March, 2026 previous exec order #15399 &#8212; &#8220;Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.&#8221;</p><p>Cue the communist jihadis to stage street-actions (a.k.a. &#8220;riots&#8221;) this fall in their captive cities and states. Since they can&#8217;t win elections without massive fraud, they will opt to do whatever is necessary to make the election impossible, and chaos is their go-to tactic in this contest of wills. The catch is, the communist jihadis are still a very small demographic. The president is not going to allow a replay of the savage and ridiculous 2020 BLM riots. This time around, they get briskly squashed.</p><p>If the big red states like California, New York, and Illinois try something funny, like refusing to open polling places and allow the election to happen, then you will see Gavin Newsom, Kathy Hochul, and JB Pritzker marched straight into jail. The USA will temporarily become FAFO-land. The Communist Control Act of 1954 (50 U.S.C. &#167;&#167; 841&#8211;844) is still on-the-books. It defines the Communist Party (or a party that quacks like one) to be &#8220;an instrumentality of a conspiracy to overthrow the Government of the United States.&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>The scene begins to look like a civil war or a state of siege, constraining the president to use the military to enforce civil order where the civil authorities have failed, demurred, or revolted. It would be extraordinary and nauseating, but arguably necessary to purge the extreme political illness that holds the nation in thrall. This disease has been allowed to worsen and rage for ten years. We are good and goddam sick of it.</p><p>As for Jihad, the first amendment prohibits religious persecution, of course, but under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, (8 U.S.C. &#167; 1189) the State Department can designate political groups as &#8220;foreign terrorist organizations.&#8221; Nominees for that might be: the Muslim Brotherhood and any of its offshoots, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim Students Association (MSA / MSA National), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and others, if their spokespeople have called for the establishment of Sharia law, or advocated jihad for the purpose of capturing territory here in the USA.</p><p>While the aforesaid so-far-hypothetical events spool out around the election, something else pretty big will probably get underway this fall: the long-awaited commencement of prosecutions against former government officials (and perhaps some current ones) for their parts in the ten-year-long coup against the two-term president Donald Trump, as well as the criminal operations conducted under the sham president &#8220;Joe Biden&#8221; between those two terms.</p><p>That would have to include Dr. Anthony Fauci &#8212; with his active criminal referral already in-process at DOJ &#8212; and many of his colleagues at the public health agencies who perpetrated the Covid op. New scandalous details about it emerge from Dr. Fauci&#8217;s captured communications from the period 2020 to 2025. This week you learned that he hid crucial facts from the public about the Covid vaccine causing an alarming rate of miscarriage among pregnant women who received the shots. It&#8217;s right there, in black and white, in his texts and emails between himself and former CDC director Rochelle Walensky.</p><p>It&#8217;s also interesting to see that former FBI director Christopher Wray is coming back on the radar screen after lying low for eighteen months. You know he was involved in almost every aspect of the ten-year-long coup. He took a hand-off of the RussiaGate baton from James Comey in May of 2017 and ran with it through a dozen related ops including the FISA abuses, the Steele Dossier, Lawfare against Trump appointees (the abuse of Rudy Giuliani and others), fake impeachment # 1, the Jan. 6 capitol riot, the Mar-a-Lago raid, and much more. He probably lied to Congress a dozen times. You have to wonder how many trips he has been summoned to make to the grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida. No leaks from down there. . . everything is sealed.</p><p>So, while the summer breeze still wafts over the barbeque in the briny air, and an unnerving stillness persists, forces are moving and roiling under the surface. Enjoy at least the appearance of calm seas while you can because it&#8217;s going to roughen up in the weeks ahead.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Democrats' Ghost Dance]]></title><description><![CDATA["Kill them. Murder them. Let the streets soak in their red capitalist blood.&#8221; &#8212;Hasan Piker]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-democrats-ghost-dance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-democrats-ghost-dance</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:35:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic" width="640" height="318" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!U7B3!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff97df825-ba4e-4953-b92a-c16930c6b56a_640x318.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The dapper Hasan Piker, dressed for success</figcaption></figure></div><p>You can&#8217;t overstate the power of ideas, especially bad ideas, and super-especially bad ideas that are really just manifestations of emotional states such as envy, vengefulness, enmity, sloth, and greed. Did somebody say <em>communism</em>? A lot of people are saying it lately. This garbage barge of management nostrums for the ills of advanced industrial society has steamed back into New York Harbor and is busy now dispatching its agents across the land.</p><p>It&#8217;s yet another youth movement in an America which cultivates them at regular intervals associated with Fourth Turnings. I happened to be in college during the last one, the hippie rebellion of the late 1960s. It was mostly adolescent sexual energy tinged with resentment over the military draft and the war that went with it, plus a lot of marketing opportunities for music and clothing.</p><p>The US economy back then was still a roaring industrial engine. The comforts of that bygone time are legendary. You could easily support a family on an assembly-line job. College was cheap as hell &#8212; my State U charged about $500-a-year for tuition <em>and </em>room-and-board. (Imagine that!) You could hide-out from the draft there, too. The new birth-control pill turned campus life into a non-stop orgy with classes for R &amp; R. Is it any wonder that the hippies morphed so easily into hedge funders?</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>This time around it&#8217;s pretty ugly for the youth demographic. College for them turned out to be a life-altering swindle, burdening the young with unpayable loans that can&#8217;t even be escaped via bankruptcy. Even the sex angle was ruined by vindictive feminism and the trans fad. Work is scarce and it&#8217;s nearly impossible to make a living at it, that is, pay for food and a roof over your head (and, ugh, those loan repayments!). Plus, work is mostly found only in meaningless service to despotic corporations. The most enterprising might land a job in an NGO, but the work there is &#8220;activism,&#8221; which is pretend work, productive of nothing but the acting-out of grievances.</p><p>These grievances, it has been noted by many high-toned observers like VDH, are real enough to provoke a desperate reach for remedies, and communism is a ready-made portfolio for all that. In the 1960s, we still had the reverberations of the civil rights crusade setting a basic moral tone for hippiedom. But fifty years later, that has all mutated into a race-and-gender hustle that adds so much piquancy to the recycled communist agenda. (Note that a hustle is a low-grade racket, and a racket is an effort to get something for nothing.) So, today&#8217;s communist program is not just a war against the injustices of capital, but a jihad against the Western Civ horse that capital rode in on, and most particularly the white horseman up in the saddle.</p><p>Hasan Piker, the present guru and demigod of the movement, put it pretty plainly in a <strong><a href="https://x.com/Tectone/status/2085718952563392798?s=20">Twitch-stream</a></strong> a few years back when he was rising to stardom on Uncle Cenk Uygur&#8217;s Young Turk Network. &#8220;We want more immigrants to come into your countries and then they&#8217;re gonna fuck your sisters and then your daughters &#8212; we&#8217;re here to destroy the White race, bitch.&#8221; Piker is also a leading amplifier of Jew-hatred and other calumnies such as the USA &#8220;deserved&#8221; the 9/11 attacks. Apropos of our action in Iran, Piker quipped, American soldiers should be shot at like cattle (<strong><a href="https://x.com/Tectone/status/2086115837589459365?s=20">link</a></strong>).</p><p>Piker is rumored to have earned over $6-million on Twitch. He&#8217;s quite tall (6&#8217;4&#8221;) ripped, and a snappy dresser, often sporting old-fashioned sport-jackets with a necktie (dress for success?) and is probably catnip to the cat ladies of Gen Z, who comprise the bulk of the activist corps of the rising Gen Z Democratic Socialists &#8212; as the communists have styled themselves to avoid stimulating any action around the Communist Control Act of 1954 (50 U.S.C. &#167;&#167; 841&#8211;844), which categorizes the Communist Party per se as &#8220;an instrumentality of a conspiracy to overthrow the Government of the United States.&#8221;</p><p>Altogether, Hasan Piker and the Democratic Socialists pose quite a vexing problem for the pathetic, old, square, bloviating chuds in the Democratic Party of the Chuck Schumer / Cory Booker ilk. Other bloggers (e.g., Jeff Childers at <em><strong><a href="https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/its-not-about-the-burrito-saturday?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=463409&amp;post_id=210353424&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=64uoj&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Coffee &amp; Covid</a></strong></em>) have observed that Democratic Socialism is the monster that the Dems have been working on sedulously for more than a decade in their Frankenstein lab of Gramscian cultural overthrow. The monster has escaped and is now out on the highways and in the hedges terrorizing the public.</p><p>You are surely aware that the entire regular agenda of the Democratic Party has for some time been patently insane. They are still wasting the nation&#8217;s patience with debates over the self-evident idiocy of men in women&#8217;s sports, resistance to the deportation of illegal immigrants, and their obviously evil opposition to voter ID. Communism is just the icing on that fruitcake. The recent primary election victories of such prodigies as Abdul El-Sayed, Melat Kiros, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, along with the ongoing capers of Mayor Zohran Mamdani pretending to govern New York City, must be giving the old guard the vapors.</p><p>And yet, the most pathetic actual commie among them, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Jewish, Israel-hating <em>alte kocker, </em>abides and even thrives in his new role as Godfather to this hatch of larval communist youth. This is Bernie&#8217;s revenge on the party that robbed him of two presidential nominations. He&#8217;s doing what all good Jacobins do &#8212; what they live for! He has sentenced his old comrades of the DNC to death. He&#8217;s stuffing his old enemies into the tumbrel and carting them off to the public square for execution. They can see it coming and it&#8217;s giving them the heebie-jeebies. And finally, of course, the Mamdanis and El-Sayeds and their spawn will come for Bernie, too, leaving only AOC in the ensanguinated ruins to become America&#8217;s Eva Per&#243;n. Wait for that!</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" 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is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Four Way Squeeze]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;. . . it&#8217;s subversion and nothing about it is accidental. it&#8217;s a well worn playbook to use the democratic institutions of a high trust state to destroy a civilization.&#8221; &#8212;El Gato Malo on Substack]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-four-way-squeeze</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-four-way-squeeze</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:42:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic" width="660" height="371" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!O6R8!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd83b5eec-36f0-496e-b95d-9df13643e4ab_660x372.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">One way, or another, we&#8217;re gonna find you, we&#8217;re gonna gitchya gitchya gitchya. . . .</figcaption></figure></div><p>The days might still be long, but this is a dark season in our country&#8217;s politics. Everybody&#8217;s nervous and many are furious, and yet all that emotion goes nowhere, just eats you up while you watch and wait for signs that help is on the way. What would that help even look like? Maybe a concerted effort to bum-rush a whole lot of bad ideas out of American life and replace them with better ideas that are worth building a life around.</p><p>Of the two political parties that used to vie between the interests of property and of labor, there is almost nothing left &#8212; nothing coherent, anyway. Mr. Trump &amp; Co. still stand outside a feckless Republican establishment that can only say &#8220;no.&#8221; That is bad enough, when it comes to vital matters like election reform and sound fiscal policy. But the President is methodically wearing them down with tactical work-arounds such as this week&#8217;s use of State Department visa control to prevent foreign visitors coming here just to drop birthright citizens.</p><p>Things will get super-serious when the president has to manage the government&#8217;s functional bankruptcy, the bond market crack-up under our impossible debt-burden, and all its knock-ons. It&#8217;s coming for sure, and will require a stringent reorganization of American finance, probably even of our money itself. That will be a moment when the nation understands what leadership really means, not just endless deception and fakery.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>Speaking of which, you have the other party, the Democrats. The Dems, unmoored from the interests of labor (whatever is left of it), are now strictly just the party of bad ideas and crime. The party is also, at this juncture of history, caught in a gruesome four-way squeeze that could easily drag it into extinction. Let&#8217;s count them.</p><p>First, is the basic basket of ideas that comprise the party&#8217;s platform, readily identifiable for some years now as the &#8220;Woke&#8221; catalog. Virtually all of them are ideas that a majority of the public rejects as insane. A wide-open border. We tried that for four years under the fake president &#8220;Joe Biden.&#8221; Didn&#8217;t work out so well. Added many millions to the <em>free everything</em> dole that actual citizens resentfully have to pay for. Took jobs away from said citizens. Got a lot of (mostly) women murdered and raped. Let in Gawd knows how many foreign terrorists.</p><p>&#8220;Woke&#8221; also includes the DEI products of manufactured race animus and gender confusion, especially as applied in school from K all the way to PhD. Apart from the sheer hatred and idiocy these things generated, they also led to the scrapping of merit and excellence as organizing principles for civilization. Americans increasingly reject all of that.</p><p>The second squeeze point is the Democratic Party&#8217;s criminal portfolio. The Covid-19 operation was basically theirs. It killed and injured millions, wrecked the integrity of medicine, and brought on the deliberate perversion of our election procedure. It gave us fake President &#8220;Biden&#8221; and the autopen gang that ran him. Along the way, the party weaponized the law and produced one hoax after another: RussiaGate, Impeachment, J-6, the 2024 Trump trials &#8212; treason, sedition, deprivation of rights under color of law, obstruction of justice and much more. These crimes are a huge burden for the party and they are in the process of being adjudicated, and a lot of the party&#8217;s heroes will end up in prison.</p><p>The third squeeze is the party&#8217;s widespread and atrocious racketeering operation. The process of uncovering it has been going on since Jan 20, 2025, but still has a long way to go in terms of courtroom action. The Somali <em>Learing</em> Center in Minnesota, fake hospices by the hundreds in California, Medicaid fraud in state after state. It was generally allowed to go on by state officialdom. We await the eventual indictments of Governor Tim Walz, Gavin Newsom,  JB Pritzker, Janet Mills and many other Democratic politicians.</p><p>The Democratic Party racketeering apparatus also included the money-laundering system that kicked back millions of dollars from a matrix of NGOs that washed taxpayer money into the party coffers. USAID was a major mechanism, and has been mostly shut down, but thousands of NGOs still exist and function as employment centers for young party &#8220;activists&#8221; who otherwise would have to work the espresso machines. A lot of that activism depends on <em>funding </em>from the likes of George Soros, the Tides Foundation, Bill Gates, Neville Roy Singham, and other criminally-tinged philanthropy outfits. Justice is coming for them now, too.</p><p>Which redounds directly to the fourth squeeze: the rise of communism and jihad as the Party&#8217;s new rallying cries while the other three squeezes work to put the party&#8217;s old guard out of business. Communism is the fad-du-jour among Democratic Party youth because the <em>over-production of elites</em> (i.e., college graduates) are increasingly closed out of cushy jobs in the besieged NGO matrix, threatened further by the advent of artificial intelligence, and have been trained-up by the lefty-left college faculties to fall in love with the utopian nostrums of Karl Marx.</p><p>Communism is the Party&#8217;s last resort and most of America will not buy it, no matter how heartfelt the youth faction appears these days. Americans believe in property rights. They want to own things. They don&#8217;t really enjoy being pushed around by kommissars. They want to keep Thanksgiving and Christmas.</p><p>As for jihad, it&#8217;s hard to imagine a less likely route to the hearts and minds of America. No matter how pissed off you are about Israel, jihad is not the answer to America&#8217;s problems. No, Dorothy, Kansas will not be joining the <em>Ummah</em>. You will not have to don the burka. Sharia will not replace English common-law. This is a hill that somebody&#8217;s going to die on, and in America it&#8217;s not going to be Americans.</p><p>Personally, I don&#8217;t see how the Democratic Party as currently configured survives this four-way squeeze. If President Trump can succeed in starting to reindustrialize the country &#8212; even considering A-I and robots &#8212; there will still be a need for human labor and labor will seek some kind of political representation. Maybe they can find it in the hollowed out husk of the thing that used to be the Democratic Party. Otherwise, fuggeddabowdit. The party is toast.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[KunstlerCast 449 — Dr. David Martin on The Covid Op and Matters of National Survival]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dr.]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-449-dr-david-martin</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-449-dr-david-martin</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:14:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/209886937/8767521cc57e5a952aedce45d368c7a3.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dr. David Martin is a businessman, professor, author, inventor, and global foresight specialist. CEO of RASA Energy, M&#183;CAM International, Partner of Fully Live Productions, Creator of the M&#183;CAM CNBC IQ100 Index, and advisor to governments in over 120 countries, Dr. Martin specializes in putting humanity back into humans and business. His work can be followed at <strong><a href="https://www.davidmartin.world/">davidmartin.world</a>,</strong> and <strong>@DrDMartinWorld</strong> on social media. For more information about the economic and social issues in this podcast, feel free to read his blogs at <strong><a href="https://www.invertedalchemy.com/">invertedalchemy.com</a></strong><a href="https://www.invertedalchemy.com/">.</a></p><p>The KunstlerCast theme music is <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/larry.unger.165/videos/">the beautiful Two Rivers Waltz written and performed by Larry Unger</a></strong></p><div><hr></div><p><em><span>This podcast is sponsored by </span><strong>McAlvany Precious Metals</strong><span>. For more than 50 years, McAlvany Precious Metals has helped investors learn about and own physical gold and silver as part of a long-term approach to wealth preservation.</span></em></p><p><em>To explore their market insights, educational resources, and see whether precious metals make sense for you, visit:</em><span> </span><strong><a href="http://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong><span>.</span></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[August 2026 | Eyesore]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;Only we humans make waste that nature can&#8217;t digest.&#8221; &#8212; Captain Charles Moore (oceanographer who discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch)]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/august-2026-eyesore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/august-2026-eyesore</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:49:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic" width="700" height="525" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:525,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:174677,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/209788050?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!dRKN!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc7f586c1-8899-42e5-813d-226bbcce12a5_700x526.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>We continue the summer disquisition on a very particular issue of urban design: the fence &#8212; because it is the small details that add up to a big picture of how your town presents itself &#8212; and how that presentation makes you feel.  Last month, it was the stockade fence around the front of a house, sending all the wrong messages about the relationship between private property and the public realm. This month it&#8217;s the issue of plastic fences, such as the one above.</p><p>There is a mechanism in our neurology that revolts against fakery, especially things made of plastic when they are deployed among things found in nature. Is there anything more depressing, for instance, than a child&#8217;s discarded once-brightly colored plastic plaything deployed in the weeds of a neglected yard?  A trike or a deflated wading pool. The colors are faded from exposure to ultraviolet light, and coated with a creeping patina of mold. </p><p>You sense that even in decomposition it is not <em>returning-to-nature</em> because it is not a natural thing in the first place. It will ultimately deteriorate into micro-plastic particles that get into the eco-system as <em>alien material</em> and end up lodged in the workings of living organisms: bugs, fish, mice, &#8216;possums, and on upward in the chain. Eventually, a lot of micro-plastic ends up in <em>you</em>!</p><p>Behold the plastic fence above. Like a lot of things in this world, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Cheap. Effective for preventing walked dogs from shitting in your flowers. Looks like an old-timey wooden picket fence. It&#8217;s trying hard to say that it&#8217;s charming. (Fail.)</p><p>But then the years pass. The casual pedestrian comes by. He sees the green algae spreading on the pickets, he sees the broken pickets. His mind no longer registers <em>charming picket fence</em>. It registers <em>decrepitating plastic junk</em>. Another thing we register subconsciously is the essential lie that comes with the sales pitch: <em>maintenance not required</em>. This is the basic lie of all plastic material; that you don&#8217;t have to take care of it. You don&#8217;t have to paint it periodically or replace parts here and there &#8212; as in the pickets or posts of a wooden fence when they rot out. You can observe this vividly in houses with vinyl siding. Because vinyl promises <em>no maintenance</em> it doesn&#8217;t get maintained, not even cleaned once in a while. That&#8217;s why such houses collect those automobile exhaust emissions in grimy streaks and patches under the soffit and the eaves, and pieces fall off or dangle.</p><p> Yes, it&#8217;s a complex and perhaps esoteric dynamic between materials used to build things and human cognition, but it&#8217;s for real. So, the bottom line is: don&#8217;t do it. Don&#8217;t buy plastic crap if you can possibly help it. Every little bit of it contributes to the degradation of our culture. Buy better. . . do better. . . be better!</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Everybody Knows]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;I underestimated how emotionally committed much of the press is to rallying around Anthony Fauci. His reputation is more important to them than anything. . .&#8221; &#8212;Matt Taibbi]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/everybody-knows</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/everybody-knows</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:23:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nGZJ!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffc042be1-37f9-4e48-8252-073c88e5627e_646x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Dr. Fauci Swearing to Tell the Truth</figcaption></figure></div><p>The baleful afterburn of Dr. Fauci&#8217;s one-sentence testimony (&#8220;On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer. . . .&#8221;) seeps over the land like some ghastly pestilence now. You couldn&#8217;t have seen a more vivid demonstration of manifest evil than the master bureaucratic grifter formerly self-styled as &#8220;The Science&#8221; stonewall his way through that fateful reckoning in Sen. Rand Paul&#8217;s committee hearing last Wednesday.</p><p>The score so far: over a million dead in America from the Covid-19 virus that Dr. Fauci helped develop starting as far back as the 1990s, with Dr. Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina. Tens of thousands left with serious, lasting injuries from the vaccines they promoted. The exact number of vaccine-connected deaths unknown because the public health agencies refused to report honestly on an operation that they caused to happen. There are whole legions of high officials and doctors behind Dr. Fauci now desperate to cover their asses.</p><p>Along with the mendacious news media. HHS Sec&#8217;y Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. happened to be on Dana Bash&#8217;s CNN Sunday morning program. By the way, Dana Bash used to be married to one Jeremy Bash, Chief-of-Staff to CIA-Director Leon Panetta under Barack Obama. CNN lied consistently to the American people during the years of the Covid emergency. You have to wonder if CNN takes direction from the CIA, or maybe rogue elements in (or retired from) the agency. Sunday, Dana Bash went on offense against RFK,Jr.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p></p><div id="youtube2-MPP5exb-2rw" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;MPP5exb-2rw&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MPP5exb-2rw?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p>Didn&#8217;t work. RFK, Jr. kept his cool. The harshest thing he said to Bash through all her hectoring was &#8220;you were part of the problem,&#8221; a startling understatement. Ms. Bash otherwise only wrecked herself, over-speaking her guest at every opportunity, pettifogging, and filibustering. Everybody could see what she was up to. Imagine how desperate CNN was to think that Dana Bash could bluster her way over Mr. Kennedy. He helped her expose herself as a tool.</p><p>The news media has been a very active co-conspirator in the Covid operation. You&#8217;d think Senator Paul might want to subpoena some network executives from CNN, CBS, NBC, MSNOW (especially), plus Executive Editor Joe Kahn of <em>The New York Times</em> (and his predecessor during Covid, Dean Baquet) to find out why they reported so much pure falsehood around the so-called pandemic. How did they happen to become the propaganda department for the Democratic Party, and what was the party&#8217;s interest in the Covid operation? D&#8217;unh. . . .</p><p>Everybody knows. Even the super-hyped-up cat ladies, nose-rings, NPR stars, and moiling transsters of the lefty-left know. They have kin and friends who either died on respirators with IV lines of remdesivir in their arms, or were gifted by the vaxx shots with turbo-cancer or myocarditis or neuromuscular disease or immune system failure or some mystery illness. They have been harmed even more than those of us who declined to get vaxxed. Sooner or later, that&#8217;s got to mean something.</p><p>As for Dr. Fauci&#8217;s motive in this huge fiasco. . . it&#8217;s got to be clear both from the record of his career &#8212; nicely reported in RFK,Jr&#8217;s 2021 book <em>The Real Doctor Fauci</em> &#8212; and from the 1000-plus-page personal diary he recorded on the HHS computers, that Fauci was doggedly in pursuit of glory. Glory! And that his personal <em>holy grail </em>was to find a &#8220;universal vaccine&#8221; that could defeat any virus, so as to be acclaimed by all mankind! Glory! Glory! Glory! Given what is understood now about viruses and their interaction with vaccines &#8212; for instance, the flu vaccine which uniformly fails to adapt to annual virus mutations &#8212; that Dr. Fauci&#8217;s quest was quixotic, very basically foolish. All he ever produced, from the AZT wonder-drug for AIDS he developed back in 1986 (that probably killed as many people as died from the disease itself) to the Pfizer / Moderna mRNA shots for Covid in 2021 . . . all that frantic, questing &#8220;science&#8221; just ended up killing and harming the credulous in large numbers. The buttoned-up little fellow appears to be guilty of mass-murder on an epic scale.</p><p>Of course, he is presumed to be protected by the autopen-signed peremptory pardon he received from minions of &#8220;Joe Biden.&#8221; Perhaps Dr. Fauci&#8217;s invoking the Fifth Amendment under those circumstances will prompt an overdue look at just how this autopen thing really worked. In any case, Dr. Fauci is liable to be voted in contempt of Congress this week for not answering any questions put to him. The connected legal procedure will keep Dr. Fauci&#8217;s misdeeds under public scrutiny for at least months to come.</p><p>It&#8217;s also a fact that the autopen pardon does not shield him from charges brought in state courts. The AGs of Florida, Louisiana, Alabama have declared investigations. Louisiana and Missouri have already made Dr. Fauci sit for depositions, and now they can compare his answers with the entries from his diary. It is obvious that on countless occasions and on many vital issues, Dr. Fauci told the public one thing while he believed (and recorded) the opposite in his diary.</p><p>One question that the public badly wants Secretary RFK,jr. to answer: how come you haven&#8217;t pulled the mRNA Covid vaccines altogether? They don&#8217;t work and they harm people. Why are they even still available? Would such a move amount to an admission that the whole emergency was a fake and a failure? And that the government&#8217;s own public health agencies are culpable? Would the survivors of the 268-million Americans who got the shots be a little pissed-off? What, then?</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" 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is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Curse It is Cast]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;I have nothing to hide. I can explain and validate everything that I&#8217;ve done.&#8221; &#8212;Dr. Anthony Fauci, recorded for TV in 2022]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-curse-it-is-cast</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/the-curse-it-is-cast</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:14:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic" width="600" height="589" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:589,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:58641,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/209242705?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1v8j!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25b805cb-b85f-4f1b-9e44-c016d973f9ef_600x590.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>However you cut this Fauci business, one thing Americans have learned is how slippery and treacherous this thing called <em>The Law</em> has become. You saw it in the sundry Trump prosecutions of 2024, too &#8212; a marvelous demonstration of how to play Hide-the-Salami with the truth about anything and everything. You saw it in the structured failure to adjudicate election fraud in 2020. You saw it in the Jan-6 prosecutions and the Congressional Jan-6 Committee charade that followed. And much more.</p><p>And one thing it&#8217;s good for is demoralizing the whole citizenry to the max. Who in this land was not mortally depressed watching Rand Paul&#8217;s Senate hearing Wednesday starring Dr. Fauci? (One last time, the center of attention!) We have become a procedural republic, slipping into an impotence of legalistic self-fuckery the way old folks slip into dementia, one lost memory at a time. There sits the murderer of millions cloaked in the banality of his evil &#8212; as it was at Nuremburg eighty years ago &#8212; and this time, you just have to lump it, America. The law can&#8217;t touch him at all.</p><p>Dr. Fauci ran his own titanically corrupt fiefdom out of the nation&#8217;s public health complex. Half-a-million a year wasn&#8217;t enough for &#8212; let&#8217;s call him what he was &#8212; an executive bureaucrat. He doled out millions in grants to universities, drug companies, and putative public service orgs, and extracted his vig, about a million bucks in prize money during the Covid-19 episode, not counting his share of royalties from drug patents. A modest million. He must have thought: <em>who will even notice</em>. . . who would ever be bothered by that tiny number when Congress, the Federal Reserve, and everybody else is drowning in numbers with so many zeros it gives them tachycardia just to glance at the balance sheet.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>Plus, the thoroughly dishonorable news media was busy making Dr. Fauci a rock-star. He had everything but the stadiums. The grand old gals of Hollywood were going all moist over him. &#8220;Julia Roberts sent me flowers today,&#8221; he typed into his government-issue diary. Barbra Streisand called him on the phone. &#8220;I told her that I work listening to her songs on ALEXA,&#8221; He gushed. His <em>work</em> resulted in the deaths of millions and the injury of millions more. Neverminding that, he carefully tracked and marveled at his burgeoning fame:</p><blockquote><p>&#8220;Big front-page article abut [sic] me appeared in the Washington Post, [Dr. Fauci wrote]. Very flattering. The situation with my national and international fame is explosive and really unimaginable. It is not hyoperbole [sic] to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable peson [sic] in the world.&#8221;</p></blockquote><p>Did Dr. Fauci know that his work-product, the Covid-19 episode and the operations around it, were aimed at setting up conditions to get President Trump bum-rushed out of office in favor of the vacant and pliable tool that was &#8220;Joe Biden?&#8221; Did others on the White House Covid Task Force know how that would work? Did they know who or what they were in league with?</p><p>Anyway, it didn&#8217;t turn out as well as they&#8217;d planned, of course. The four years of &#8220;Joe Biden&#8221; only proved how much that coalition of Deep Staters, globalists, and domestic riffraff hated the old American republic and its pain-in-the-ass Constitution. But when they foundered in 2024 &#8212; when old Joe-from-Scranton finally gave away the game on that fatal debate stage &#8212; and the party had to stuff his idiot veep into the nomination, the Democratic Party crossed an event horizon into total detachment from reality, where they remain to this day.</p><p>So then, where did the Democratic Party get the idea that going balls-out Bolshevik-Jacobin would be their salvation after what they already did to try to wreck our country? And by Bolshevik-Jacobin I mean the marriage of murderous envy with civic psychosis. <em>The line it is drawn; the curse it is cast</em>, Dylan prophesied half a century ago. They&#8217;re in your face now. Just listen to them. They mean it. They want all your stuff and they want you dead. They want to put your sons in a cocktail dress. They want mutts from savage lands slavering on your daughters in a drainage ditch. Will half the people in this country really vote for <em>that </em>again?</p><p>Yet great forces unseen just now are driving the nation to an autumn reckoning, and the main thing to be reckoned is the survival of the USA as a functioning republic with the credibility of law restored and the demons of lawfare crushed. The possibility of legislated election reform slips away day by day, it&#8217;s true. But, please understand, this president will not allow the coming election to get pounded down a rathole. If nothing else, we are going to get an intervention under a national security executive order, on the president&#8217;s constitutional duty (and his oath) to &#8220;take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.&#8221;</p><p>The ensuing fight over this will be short and decisive. These mad dogs will be put down, as mad dogs must be. We are going to take our country back. Depend on it.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s newest novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[KunstlerCast 448 — Lt. Morrisseau's Rebellion and the Rise of Bernie Sanders]]></title><description><![CDATA[On this summer break podcast.]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-448-lt-morriseus-rebellion</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-448-lt-morriseus-rebellion</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:46:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/209170603/45cdac3a76a0bed61f690a0588fe306d.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On this summer break podcast. Dennis Morrisseau is an interesting friend of mine with a political history worth recounting.</p><p>He was the only US Army officer in the USA who refused orders to Vietnam after several in-uniform protests &#8212; including one at the White House gate, noted by Walter Cronkite on CBS-News at the time &#8212; and he beat the court-martial that resulted. Dennis went on to run for Congress in Vermont 3 times 1970, &#8216;71, 74 . Bernie Sanders was on Dennis&#8217;s campaign staff in the &#8216;71 election, and we&#8217;ll hear more about that.</p><p>After politics, Dennis went on to found and run the popular Burlington, VT restaurant: Leunig&#8217;s Old World Cafe (since renamed Leunig&#8217;s Bistro).</p><p>He lives in West Pawlet, VT in an art gallery on the Indian River called LOST &amp; FOUND ART. He Winters in Belize.</p><p>The KunstlerCast theme music is <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/larry.unger.165/videos/">the beautiful Two Rivers Waltz written and performed by Larry Unger</a></strong></p><div><hr></div><p><em><span>This podcast is sponsored by </span><strong>McAlvany Precious Metals</strong><span>. For more than 50 years, McAlvany Precious Metals has helped investors learn about and own physical gold and silver as part of a long-term approach to wealth preservation.</span></em></p><p><em>To explore their market insights, educational resources, and see whether precious metals make sense for you, visit:</em><span> </span><strong><a href="http://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong><span>.</span></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Will the "Fat Lady" Finally Sing?]]></title><description><![CDATA["The Fauci diary is amazing. He monologues like a Scooby Doo villain." El Gato Malo on "X"]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/will-the-fat-lady-finally-sing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/will-the-fat-lady-finally-sing</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:37:05 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg" width="680" height="449" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:449,&quot;width&quot;:680,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:82872,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/208676151?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c9c98da-e686-4b35-98f8-9603a5c8b628_680x450.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uMuq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F81b247f5-ebf7-46af-b83c-9599ca0488e3_680x449.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Dr. Anthony Fauci in Covid Regalia</figcaption></figure></div><p>Remember Covid-19? Seems like long ago in a world that time forgot. Well, you get to revisit the whole sketchy business on Wednesday, July, 29, when Dr. Anthony Fauci is called to testify about it to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Though half the USA is still psychotic and unable to process reality, the other half of the country understands that Dr. Fauci has some &#8216;splainin&#8217; to do.</p><p>Dr. Fauci was initially invited but declined to appear (didn&#8217;t feel like it), so the committee issued a subpoena compelling him (under penalty of up to a year in jail for failure to show). Because Dr. Fauci was given a peremptory pardon by &#8220;Joe Biden,&#8221; he cannot legally invoke the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. He will have to answer the questions. Of course, Dr. Fauci has demonstrated in previous appearances that he is a world champeen of failing-to-recall stuff and, at age 85, one might expect him to work that angle to the max.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>One big question hanging over the whole proceeding is whether Covid-19 was concocted in the Wuhan Institute of Virology or &#8220;jumped from animals to humans&#8221; as Dr. Fauci posited around the 2:14 mark (near the end) of this video from a <em><strong><a href="https://youtu.be/Sr6FLxtH7vo">White House press conference, April, 13, 2020</a></strong></em>:</p><div id="youtube2-Sr6FLxtH7vo" class="youtube-wrap" data-attrs="{&quot;videoId&quot;:&quot;Sr6FLxtH7vo&quot;,&quot;startTime&quot;:null,&quot;endTime&quot;:null}" data-component-name="Youtube2ToDOM"><div class="youtube-inner"><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Sr6FLxtH7vo?rel=0&amp;autoplay=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;enablejsapi=0" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" gesture="media" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowautoplay="true" allowfullscreen="true" width="728" height="409"></iframe></div></div><p>The Intel Community now kind of leans toward the lab leak theory. Anyway, that all leads to another question as to whether Dr. Fauci directed his agency, the NIAID, to arrange funding for gain-of-function research at Wuhan on coronaviruses found in Asian bats. IOW, did they make the chimeric virus on-purpose? In past testimony, Dr. Fauci has equivocated and dissembled about that, played word games that led to raised voices between himself and Sen. Paul.</p><p>As it happened, then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard recently unearthed the paper trail of emails and memoranda between Dr. Fauci and his colleagues / partners in other corners of the epidemiological world that show how, at the time, they were all scrambling to cover their collective asses in the Covid-19 business. One partner in particular, Peter Daszak of the New York based EcoHealth Alliance, which had channeled many grants to Wuhan since 2014, was especially active in fabricating alibis and ruses &#8212; including a major paper in the UK&#8217;s leading medical journal, <em>The Lancet</em> (the article was later nullified).</p><p>Behind that smokescreen of confabulation lies the wreckage of American society by the evil Covid-19 business. It was even evident at the time (spring 2020) that President Trump suspected he was being played by the committee of &#8220;experts&#8221; that had been set up to make Covid-19 policy. His body language suggested as much in news conferences where he shifted uncomfortably from side to side, watching while others spoke at the podium, as if rehearsing his later YMCA dance. At one point, April 23, 2020, (Fauci wrote in an email) President Trump called advisor Deborah Birx (&#8220;Scarf Lady&#8221;) into the Oval Office and yelled at her: &#8220;You and Fauci have destroyed the country and the economy. I should never have listened to you. You have completely destroyed us.&#8221; (Thanks to @JeffreyTucker on &#8220;X&#8221; for citation.)</p><p>And that was only the beginning of an event that led to a more momentous string of operations against the welfare of the American people, including the mass shutdown and ruin of small businesses, the orchestrated George Floyd riots, the year-plus of no school, and the mass mail-in ballot policy that enabled widespread voting fraud, ushering-in the election of Deep State tool &#8220;Joe Biden,&#8221; with the epic fuckery his handlers later laid on the body politic &#8212; including the open border, universal DEI, transsexuals celebrated on the White House lawn, the Ukraine money-laundry, weaponization of law and intel, build-out of the USAID-NGO grift matrix to fund Democratic Party operations, and much more.</p><p>Note, too, the concurrent disgrace of the medical establishment that went along with Covid policy. The doctors of America ganged up against the patients of America and broke the Hippocratic oath that says <em>first, do no harm</em>. The doctors went along with the fake mRNA vaccines long after it was evident that the shots didn&#8217;t work to prevent the disease and, in fact, induced widespread serious injuries, often fatal. The doctors, who followed the jive treatment protocol of ventilators along with remdesivir, the drug that destroyed patients&#8217; kidneys in a matter of days and killed them. The doctors, whose hospitals collected as much as $35,000 per patient documented as dying from Covid (which was often a lie). The doctors who played dumb about the efficacy of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. The doctors who still won&#8217;t admit that the vaccines are producing increased rates of cancer deaths and immune system failure. Sane Americans today now regard their primary care doctors as no better than 18<sup>th</sup> century quacks operating out of barbershops. Nice going, docs! (Apart from the colossal racketeering operation that you have enabled medicine to become.)</p><p>One abiding mystery in the bigger picture is why Donald Trump never really addressed the evil trip that was laid on him about Covid-19 by Fauci and many others. . . why he has not denounced the whole wicked business. . . why he has not already allowed HHS-Sec&#8217;y Robert Kennedy, Jr., to withdraw the Covid vaccine from approval. . . why one David Morens, a Fauci &#8220;advisor&#8221; is so far the sole official indicted for attempting to cover-up the funding chain for bat coronavirus research?</p><p>Perhaps after Dr. Fauci does his &#8216;splainin&#8217; this Wednesday, President Trump will feel free to come clean about what happened in March and April of 2020 and do some &#8216;splainin&#8217; of his own. If he does, prepare for possible widespread head explosions.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Struggle Session]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;. . .there is no saving the Left. There is only saving America from them.&#8221; &#8212; Sasha Stone]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/struggle-session-330</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/struggle-session-330</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:39:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic" width="700" height="467" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:467,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:90790,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/208325758?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fFQD!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbc72c6b2-43de-4524-af92-01f64ec827ef_700x468.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>The polycrisis of 2026 whirls like a demon-infested storm overcoming this human project of ours like a medieval panorama of the world&#8217;s end. Everything is fraught, tilting toward hazard, menace, ruin. Even under a summer sun, the mind sees only darkness everywhere it looks. Apocalypse now, it seems like. You almost can&#8217;t blame the doomers, the black pill-ers, lost in their transports of dread. But I tell you, we will get through this.</p><p>Is it a surprise that the IRGC has a death wish for its host, Iran? They&#8217;ve been advertising it loudly for half a century, yearning for martyrdom, the bliss of paradise, marriage to multiple perfumed virgins, all the pomegranates you could ever want, and perpetual dreamtime beside a gently burbling fountain in the palace of eternity. Trouble is, to get there you must have your head blown off.</p><p>That&#8217;s exactly what the IRGC is asking for, though the millions of ordinary Iranians probably have their doubts about the ask. They are hostages of the IRGC regime, which refuses to just stop being a problem for the world. Mr. Trump&#8217;s proffer for Iran still abides: become a normal nation, sovereign and all, only without atom bombs. Let ships sail through Hormuz unmolested. Sell your oil, make some money, trade with the other fellas across the Persian Gulf, have a nice civilized life with all the refinements of age-old Persian culture, even with its Islamic overlay. Be happy!</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>The USA does not seek to occupy Iran, steal its resources, subjugate its people, force them to buy Minnie Mouse plush toys, play baseball, eat Jimmy Dean sausage for breakfast, strum banjoes, or wear cowboy hats. Just stop projecting violence and discord all over the Middle East.</p><p><em>You can&#8217;t make us</em>, the IRGC says. Yes, we will, the USA replies. And so it goes. Next up: bridges and power plants. Plus, every ship you damage, we&#8217;ll deduct the cost of repair from your frozen assets held in our banks. This is where things stand after the thirteenth night of strategic bombing against the IRGC&#8217;s launch sites, drone factories, missile storage caverns, and shoreline military installations. Iran prepared assiduously for this death-scene for decades, building hidey-holes here, there, and everywhere. But every time they launch something now, our satellites mark the coordinates, and boom, now there&#8217;s one less hidey-hole.</p><p>Iran&#8217;s currency, the rial, has an exchange rate against the US dollar of about 1,900,000 to one dollar. There is hardly a functioning economy left. The people are flat broke. Everyday life must be hell now. Could be the IRGC was getting tons of munitions and material for free from China, but days ago we blew up the railroad bridge at Aq Tekeh-Khan that was China&#8217;s main connection to Iran, so that&#8217;s over with.</p><p>You must doubt that Russia is capable of sending arms to Iran at this point. Russia needs every drone and missile it can fabricate now that Ukraine is sending drones clear into Moscow and St. Petersburg on a regular basis. Of course, that war is being stoked by NATO, which perforce includes the USA. A bill (H.R. 2913 &#8212; the Ukraine Support Act) that would furnish $1.3-1.8 billion in direct security, military, and reconstruction assistance for Ukraine plus $8 billion in loans was passed by the House in June, but languishes in the Senate. President Trump has threatened to veto it, as running counter to the administration&#8217;s preference for negotiations with Russia to end the Ukraine War rather than extend it.</p><p>These two conflicts must seem intractable for now, but the mojo driving them has clear and present limits. If the USA does not underwrite Ukraine&#8217;s war effort, then that leaves the EU nations, who are increasingly broke, and for all their idle talk are really incapable of mounting a major arms production campaign. The UK especially is skating on thin ice these days as Mr. Trump methodically cancels its long-running command and control of global finance through the City of London (as its &#8220;Wall Street&#8221; is called). In fact, it looks as if the floundering UK &#8212; with dopey Andy Burnham rolling in as Britain&#8217;s seventh Prime Minister in a decade &#8212; has passed the ball of globalist leadership to its forward striker (and all-purpose fixer) Mark Carney the Prime Minister of Canada.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!F-h7!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa49f8c5b-7df2-4e8e-a2d3-feb872f355c4_700x468.heic" width="700" height="467" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Carney, who was previously chief of the Bank of England, has played a series of losing games against President Trump the past year, while Mr. Carney is busy wrecking the Canadian economy for the sake of the globalist &#8220;green&#8221; flimflam, a sustained high volume of third world immigration, and outlandish DEI activism that includes giving vast tracts of real estate back to Canada&#8217;s <em>First Nations</em> people, their Indians. Carney has also very actively played footsie with the CCP to a degree that is seriously pissing off Mr. Trump. Among all the other shocks and surprises upcoming, you might imagine him having to send the 82<sup>nd</sup> Airborne up to Ottawa to inform PM Carney that there will be no globalist seat of operations in North America.</p><p>Yes, things are getting that strange. And then, continuing the clean-up operation south of our border, there is Cuba to straighten out. Cuba is obviously next. Our patience with that failing state&#8217;s communist export project is particularly thin, now that the Democratic Party here is entertaining Marxist-Leninist dreams of glory.</p><p>On top of all that, we have serious concerns with the financial markets and the widening income inequality that drives the younger generations&#8217; yen for &#8220;socialism&#8221; (free rent, free medicine, free stuff). Financialization concentrates and compounds wealth while the salary-mule class stagnates, suffers, goes broke, and nurses its grievances. We&#8217;re pushing into the season of financial train wrecks. AI has cornered all the free capital in the land &#8212; for something that appears to be an existential menace as much as any potential economic benefit &#8212; and it is wildly perverting the equity market. The bond market groans under the debt burden and the impossibility of fiscal prudence. Capitalism that can&#8217;t self-correct invites financial and political violence.</p><p>It&#8217;s probably a greater threat to us than the faraway wars, bad as they are. Mr. Trump, Secretary Bessent, and others in charge surely know this &#8212; that the American ownership class has become tiny, and that the cure for that is getting the vast dis-owned, forsaken middle-class back into businesses that they will own, in an economy based on production of real goods, not on playing games with money. There is so much to be done and we can get it done if we screw our heads back on.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[War, Over There, Over Here]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;The left&#8217;s goal is always to break human reason. . . .&#8221; &#8212;Elizabeth Nickson]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/war-over-there-over-here</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/war-over-there-over-here</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:37:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic" width="700" height="394" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:394,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:91931,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/207767119?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xZfc!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F966cfd99-8562-45c1-b3f0-c3b857da2e88_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Iran. . . message received</figcaption></figure></div><p>You ask: <em>Why did Achilles drag Hector around the city of Troy three times</em>?</p><p>Answer: He was just that pissed.</p><p>So it goes with President DJ Trump and the intransigent jihadi maniacs running Iran down a rat hole. Mr. T is just that pissed, too. &#8220;War is Hell,&#8221; the savvy Union general WT Sherman observed after he torched Atlanta, setting a precedent for moral clarity in the service of tactical fortitude. And thus, a century-and-a-half later, this is Iran&#8217;s hard time. Iran can make it stop at any time by. . . stopping. But the catch is, they really have to stop it, no more head fakes, ruses, jukes, dodges, and ploys. Just stop it.</p><p>Don&#8217;t doubt that they will have to stop it. We are going to make them stop. In the meantime, there is plenty else to concern those of us who care about our country, and Western Civ more generally, on the home front. Here comes the Insane Clown Posse of the Democratic Socialists. Their platform: abolish the police; no more jail for criminals; open borders; amnesty for all border-jumpers; abolish the Senate; Abolish the electoral college (House of Representatives to elect the president); defund the War Department; voting rights for all non-citizens; &#8220;wealth&#8221; taxes; free housing, food, medical care for all; green new deal laws; free Palestine (which is more important than any place else on Earth)!</p><p>Oh, and they are quite out-front about merely using the Democratic Party as a means to acquire power. Yeah, you noticed that already? Nobody actually had to read the quiet part out-loud. (Well, it wasn&#8217;t all that quiet.) Question is: how is all this going to work in practice (or in the <em>praxis</em>, as the Gramscian Marxists like to say &#8212; because it sounds like some occult power), as they roll over every institution in the land.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are our own jihadistas. They aim to make their program work by jamming it down America&#8217;s throat, starting with the throats of the plain old Democratic Party, the party of FDR, JFK, and HRC, currently fronted by Hakeem Jeffries (the House) and Chuck Schumer (the soon-to-be-abolished Senate). These two appear to be totally buffaloed by the DSA&#8217;s Insane Clown Posse. It&#8217;s their own Frankenstein monster, stitched together in their laboratory from the tatters of the 20th century. And like in the original by Mary Shelley, this monster is fixing to <em>abolish</em> its maker. Hakeem and Chuck are just standing by like a couple of credulous clucks waiting to see how things develop as the calendar marches implacably toward the catastrophic midterm election.</p><p>Last week&#8217;s Maine Senate primary debate was instructive. A more pitiful conclave of political losers had not been observed on continental US soil since Millard Fillmore led the Know-Nothing party into oblivion in 1856. (And, of course, five years later the American Civil War ignited.) Remember the old maxim: &#8220;As Maine goes, so goes the nation.&#8221; Well, Gawd help us, then. See for yourself (click image):</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/rZj096rpuKk" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic" width="680" height="316" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:316,&quot;width&quot;:680,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:37923,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://youtu.be/rZj096rpuKk&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/207767119?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!CXsq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3398668-944c-44a3-9777-8ee69e8c8634_680x316.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The Maine Senate Primary Candidates Debate</figcaption></figure></div><p>The fellow on the right pretending to be a woman is one Ashley Webb (formerly James Charles Webb) who cited &#8220;her&#8221; reasons for joining the race as: running for office before (unsuccessfully), being a songwriter, writing books, and being an &#8220;angry citizen&#8221; who would be an &#8220;angry senator.&#8221; Perfect! You might ask: why wasn&#8217;t Punch the Monkey onstage with the rest of this bunch?</p><p>Here is your very picture of <em>Progressivism</em>, the larval form of DSA &#8212; and, as you read this, there are Progressive larvae yet metamorphosing into full-blown DSAs all over these fifty states. Mamdani in New York. . . Brandon Johnson in Chicago. . . Katie Wilson in Seattle. . . Michelle Wu in Boston. . . Karen Bass in LA, etc. And here come DSAs Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander, taking House seats in New York and Melat Kiros out in Colorado (yes, the lady who likes to wipe her hands on the US flag) who are expected to join The Squad (AOC, Jayapal, Pressley, Tlaib) next January. Plus, over on the soon-to-be-abolished Senate side, one Dr. Abdul El-Sayed running in Michigan. They all promise to keep the punishment coming until American morale improves!</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic" width="600" height="409" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:409,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:41170,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/207767119?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ajAz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7e7f7c5d-b33a-407b-ba84-153b65d76f56_600x409.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Looming over this Insane Clown Posse of &#8212; oh, let&#8217;s just say it &#8212; feckless <em>communists</em>, is the ancient visage of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) &#8212; like F. Scott Fitzgerald&#8217;s Eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg &#8212; the old war-horse&#8217;s long-cherished dreams finally coming true. Remember, in 1988 Bernie took his new wife on a honeymoon to the Soviet Union? Like. . . to witness how well that system was working. . . exactly three years before it collapsed. You can say the Democratic Socialists of America have got exactly the avatar they deserve.</p><p>The question is: will the DSA drag the Democratic Party into oblivion? Most assuredly they will. We are going to get election reform one way or another this year. There will be no more mail-in ballot harvesting or voting by non-citizens or vote tabulation machines. It might be that a substantial demographic in our country is insane, say, generously, maybe forty percent. But a firm majority of Americans are not insane and they are going to put a stop to this communist insurrection just as President DJ Trump &#8212; who is really pissed &#8212; will put an end to the forty-seven-year Iranian jihad. What a week it has been!!! More thrills and chills ahead, you can be sure.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Acceleration]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;. . . the Democrat Party. . . are morally bankrupt nincompoops who have been beaten by the establishment like the rented mules they are. &#8220; &#8212;Kurt Schlichter on X]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/acceleration</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/acceleration</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:45:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic" width="650" height="433" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/bdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:433,&quot;width&quot;:650,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:41195,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/207419553?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rGlg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbdc76061-7dd8-41fe-8377-4501a4a7f42c_650x433.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">President Trump Reads the Riot Act on the Deep State</figcaption></figure></div><p>Strange to relate, in last night&#8217;s speech to the nation on election chicanery, President Trump managed to both overwhelm and underwhelm public expectation. He touched on voting machine shenanigans, registration skullduggery, cyber-fuckery, labor union toolery, ballot fraud, and especially China meddling. </p><p>Internal CIA / FBI docs at the time said that China&#8217;s policy around the 2020 US election was to &#8220;leverage all domestic and foreign elements&#8221; opposed to the President to prevent his re-election. The Intel bunch never sent that memo to the White House. They were too busy pushing fake Russia meddling, fake impeachment, and a fake Covid-19 pandemic. Then they declared that the 2020 was &#8220;the most secure election in history.&#8221;</p><p>As of yesterday, the President de-classified many thousands of Intel agency documents for the public (and news media) to peruse. And naturally, the major cable news networks (except Fox) declined to broadcast the speech. As of Friday morning, <em>The New York Times</em> leads the offensive to disparage the actual news.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg" width="650" height="244" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:244,&quot;width&quot;:650,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!H52l!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7d22b26-3f41-4121-9784-e5ef8fe749df_650x244.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>He&#8217;s Obsessed, that Trump! The actual news: China hacked over 220-million voter registrations, plus social security files; manufactured and shipped tens of thousands of fake US driver&#8217;s licenses to be used in motor-voter states; and paid favored US journalists to write negative articles about Mr. Trump. The Department of Homeland Security reported 278,000 non-citizens were registered to vote in federal elections. But that number was compiled only from states that complied with DOJ demands for voter rolls. California, New York, and Illinois and many other states refused, so the number is probably more than double the DHS figure.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>The big take-away was that US Intel agencies withheld all this intel from the President of the US, Mr. Trump, in the lead-up to the 2020 vote. Yes, there really is a Deep State, as seen starkly in a now-declassified memo from the then-chief of the FBI&#8217;s Counterintelligence Division, one Nikki Floris, who wrote &#8220;I&#8217;m basically running a shadow government at this point&#8221; by hiding information from POTUS. Ms. Floris is now employed as Microsoft&#8217;s Director of Insider Risk (former Deputy Attorney General under &#8220;Joe Biden,&#8221; Lisa Monaco, is President of Microsoft Global Affairs.)</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg" width="700" height="136" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/beea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:136,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OOzA!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbeea1921-3a71-498e-86c5-2fa01ce0198b_700x136.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>According to the NY Post&#8217;s Miranda Devine, in August 2020, Nikki Floris also tried to hoodwink Senators Chuck Grassley and Rob Johnson, telling them the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian op &#8212; a gag later ratified by fifty-one former intel officers (including five former CIA Directors) who signed the notorious October letter to the news media. All of this activity, Mr. Trump averred, amounted to a cover-up of a conspiracy by members of the permanent bureaucracy to overthrow the government. And that is exactly why more than one federal grand jury is convened in Fort Pierce, Florida, right now, to sort out who, exactly, is going to account for these rather grave crimes. The new document release is apt to accelerate the work of US Attorneys there, since declassification is the biggest routine holdup in the process.</p><p>On the &#8220;underwhelming&#8221; side of the president&#8217;s speech, there was little mention of the swing-state ballot fraud enabled and conducted by local election officials in Fulton County, Georgia, Maricopa County, Arizona, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Antrim County, Michigan, Mesa County, Colorado, and Philadelphia, PA. But you know that the FBI raided Fulton County election headquarters months ago and seized around 700 boxes of evidence, and then reassigned 260 FBI agents to examine all the material. All that might still be to-come.</p><p>Then there is the question of the millions of dollars that Hunter Biden winkled out of China over the years before the 2020 election &#8212; records of which were stuffed in his infamous laptop, along with photos and video of his sexual exploits there &#8212; and whether Hunter&#8217;s father, Joe, was a blackmail captive of China leading up to that election. Stay tuned on that.</p><p>Altogether, Mr. Trump&#8217;s speech and document drops are obviously an effort to move election reform, the <em>Save America Act</em>, through Congress, where it has languished in a procedural miasma for months due to one man: Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The President&#8217;s emphasis last night on China&#8217;s election meddling is purposeful in ways not broadly apprehended, but I will tell you:</p><p>If Congress does not find a way to vote that bill out to Mr. Trump&#8217;s desk before they recess for the rest of the summer in late July, Mr. Trump will invoke an executive order under the National Emergencies Act (NEA) &#8212; Public Law 94-412; codified at 50 U.S.C. &#167;&#167; 1601&#8211;1651 &#8212; requiring the fifty states to employ all the same provisions that are in the SAVE America Act for the 2026 midterm elections. Under the NEA, the federal courts cannot be used to fight or strike down the executive order; it can only be stopped by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.</p><p>If that is the course that this takes, you can expect Antifa and the Democratic-Socialist foot-soldiers to take to the streets this fall in a violently-amplified episode of &#8220;No Kings&#8221; demonstrations &#8212; because fair and honest elections with citizens-only voting will mean the end of the Democratic Party, and they know it. Last night&#8217;s move by President Trump is only the opening bid of a quickening game against the Deep State, and their partners-in-sedition. The game is gonna get rough now.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><span>J</span><em><span>HK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" 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is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[KunstlerCast 447 — Eric Metaxas on American Revolutions Then and Now]]></title><description><![CDATA[Eric Metaxas is the author of seven New York Times Bestsellers, including his newest: Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World. His earlier books include Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Martin Luther, as well as thirty children&#8217;s books.]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-447-eric-metaxas-on</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast-447-eric-metaxas-on</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 06:31:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/206853493/68e715134a9a2a47521848f53bafcf17.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Eric Metaxas is the author of seven New York Times Bestsellers, including his newest: <em><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Birth-Greatest-Nation-History/dp/B0GRX217DD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WIPN2JLGTMGD&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.I4PUkE5Tjbk6qtRY9_8SoQ.3nli1Zzb0I7mSEp1B-48MLWfvZ4sg1oQ81SmLxYpMn8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=Revolution+-+eric+metaxas&amp;qid=1783631381&amp;s=audible&amp;sprefix=revolution+-+eric+metaxas%2Caudible%2C126&amp;sr=1-1">Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World</a>.</strong></em> His earlier books include <em><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bonhoeffer-Pastor-Martyr-Prophet-Spy-ebook/dp/B003GY0K48/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AZL69ZTN4D8H&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dyuTofGvPewsgzE61qaFD2Grj67dTkdhdlzAiGOC2u8OzvgM9nAKj67XhiW5zOCARpKjmdz0s9AGfFnVMyd1dRNYaM8z8n1el5phLjEeiUliwwihL97fl11VmXhYecH7Mfnc_zLZxNxOn1m9TgcIJWfz921PYPxI6a93wjJ6j2wE8CX1pyUYCHBTZ1EZejMnjmguTXL23sYGvXgzkIg758aLJsxqoVJEo5KI6M0aPSI.WrrIyNrNGzJZgy_yr_AjuCSuWIOvFAVSU7_Gqc8UTSs&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=bonhoeffer+pastor%2C+martyr%2C+prophet%2C+spy+-+eric+metaxas&amp;nsdOptOutParam=true&amp;qid=1783631274&amp;sprefix=Bonhoeffer%3A+Pastor%2C+Martyr%2C+Prophet%2C+Spy+%2Caps%2C142&amp;sr=8-1">Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy</a></strong></em> and <strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Eric-Metaxas-audiobook/dp/B0753LFVCN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1TCV0G5HTMKGW&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Q1EEIJuJHgnmFuAk6QM0rq9STvaQ7ruSC8Q1lYjuOjruv0yhPt0WcHD1aQwPGzSSnF-_ElnibVCEr_vg6lVXqwDIE1sX_Jc9DhCeeLG3541OBj8FcxnoNV_bggUV_zFjdGMU2GGN_GvTPylIkrQwbWcIKzuOewxshsFspn50HnPg_shQZwpIXHyYHFGO8lXknBz0VTsERFge4JrOjxfJ46oj365TQ1EII0nTHP3kSGU.Hiq2B3DV6DQt_L0zboA8igdHr4UaGjuSxRMnYA0AV1s&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=martin+luther+-+eric+metaxas&amp;qid=1783631323&amp;sprefix=martin+luthor+-+eric+metaxas%2Caps%2C124&amp;sr=8-1">Martin Luther,</a></strong> as well as thirty children&#8217;s books. His works have been translated into 25 languages. Eric is the host of <strong>Socrates in the City</strong> and the <strong>Eric Metaxas Show</strong> (on Apple Podcasts), where he has interviewed Dick Cavett, Ron Howard, George Foreman, Mel Gibson, Morgan Freeman, and many others. His humor has appeared in <em>The Atlantic</em>, <em>The New York Times Magazine</em>, and <em>The New Yorker</em>.</p><p><span>The KunstlerCast theme music is </span><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/larry.unger.165/videos/">the beautiful Two Rivers Waltz written and performed by Larry Unger</a></strong></p><div><hr></div><p><em><span>This podcast is sponsored by </span><strong>McAlvany Precious Metals</strong><span>. For more than 50 years, McAlvany Precious Metals has helped investors learn about and own physical gold and silver as part of a long-term approach to wealth preservation.</span></em></p><p><em>To explore their market insights, educational resources, and see whether precious metals make sense for you, visit:</em><span> </span><strong><a href="http://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong><span>.</span></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Carrot and Stick]]></title><description><![CDATA["Persian kings did not build empires by being naive about deception; they practically invented the genre.&#8221; &#8212;Jesus Enrique Rosas]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/carrot-and-stick</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/carrot-and-stick</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:17:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic" width="675" height="443" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:443,&quot;width&quot;:675,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:57261,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/206835211?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nfms!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9048d736-2908-4581-a620-97f2323922a9_675x443.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>Where do the enemies of our country &#8212; including the ones inside our country &#8212; get the idea that Iran is winning this war? They wish it into existence. The wishing is necessary to put across the talking points that President Trump and his advisors don&#8217;t have a plan, don&#8217;t know what they are doing, that the USA is persecuting and <em>oppressing</em> Iran for no good reason.</p><p>We pounded Iran over the weekend for a very good reason: Iran needs to learn the hard way that there are consequences for breaking agreements. For instance, at around 7:15p.m. local time, Iran fired a projectile at the Cyprus-flagged container ship GFS Galaxy, managed by Dubai-based Global Feeder Shipping, in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed it was &#8220;a warning shot,&#8221; but it was a direct hit on the ship&#8217;s engine room, disabling the vessel. The crew had to abandon ship in lifeboats &#8212; and were soon rescued by a combination of other commercial ships and Omani navy vessels. One crew member went missing.</p><p>Hours after the attack, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. And soon after that, President Trump asserted that the Strait was open to commercial traffic, with US forces positioned to ensure freedom of navigation, contradicting Iran&#8217;s announcement of closure &#8220;until further notice.&#8221;</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>It&#8217;s not the President and his advisors who are confused, it&#8217;s the situation, and for a good reason: Iran&#8217;s leadership is confused. It&#8217;s as if Mr. Trump has to stand between Abbott &amp; Costello doing their <em>Who&#8217;s on First</em> routine. All the while the IRGC fulminates and fires what remains of its ordnance at ships and other countries in the region, Iran&#8217;s putative civilian leadership, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, and Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, are talking desperately on the phone to mediators in Qatar and Pakistan about how to implement &#8220;technical issues&#8221; in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).</p><p>All of this indicates that Iran&#8217;s leadership is badly split between its civil government and the IRGC (Revolutionary Guard) forces that operate as a competing Mafia-style command structure with an attached military of its own, separate from Iran&#8217;s regular army. The major discord between the two entities is that the civil government would apparently like the conflict with America to resolve in a way that will allow their country to salvage its economy and return to normal relations with the rest of the world, while the IRGC remains obdurately bent on jihad, no matter what it means for their country and its people.</p><p>The problem with jihad is that it must be waged against all infidels, meaning the people of Western Civ &#8212; a major part of <em>the rest of the world</em> &#8212; and now even many states around the Persian Gulf region who have joined President Trump&#8217;s Board of Peace &#8212; Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan &#8212; that might qualify as targets of jihad, too. Why? Because Israel was one of the initial signatories, making the Board of Peace a creature of The Great Satan (the USA) and Little Satan (Israel).</p><p>Of course, a key precept in jihad is <em>taqiyya,</em> which prescribes lying and deception in the service of jihad, which further suggests that, for the jihadist IRGC, there can be no real understanding in the Memorandum of Understanding that Iran&#8217;s civil government signed. Taqiyya requires the IRGC to lie, which it has demonstrated it is determined to do. . . like, firing missiles at commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after it promised not to. How can such conduct possibly produce mutual understanding?</p><p>And so, if you picture the negotiations as a carrot-and-stick type process, you see that Iran&#8217;s IRGC is oblivious to carrots. Only the stick might avail, and Mr. Trump is obliging them with it. By the way, rumors circulated the past twenty-four hours that the IRGC&#8217;s newest commander, Ahmad Vahidi, was killed in his bunker by an American bomb over the weekend. True? Dunno. We&#8217;ll probably learn soon enough. Vahidi became the IRGC Commander in March of this year after his predecessor, Mohammad Pakpour, was successfully blown up. Who&#8217;s available to step-up into the job now? I guess we&#8217;ll find that out soon enough, too.</p><p>Speaking of targets, we also learned that President Trump was targeted for assassination by Iran (surprise surprise) upon leaving last week&#8217;s NATO confab in Turkey &#8212; Israeli intel informed him &#8212; necessitating that switcheroo between the new Air Force One gifted by Qatar, and the good old baby-blue Air Force One just recently retired from service going all the way back to Bush One. The old plane had better defensive weaponry aboard, our officials explained.</p><p>If I were president of our country, at this point in the quarrel with Iran, I&#8217;d consider just dropping Graham Platner over Tehran. And if that fails to get their minds right, follow-up with Rosie O&#8217;Donnell and Ana Navarro.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p>J<em><span>HK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" 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is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Scenario]]></title><description><![CDATA["Witness list expanding in multi-conspiracy probe out of Fort Pierce. . . ." Paul Sperry, Real Clear investigations.]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/scenario</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/scenario</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:43:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic" width="700" height="394" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:394,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:92226,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/206436217?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!NSG9!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30c25582-2f91-4fe2-8940-3198220180f9_700x394.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Seth Rich, when he was alive, at his leisure</figcaption></figure></div><p>The scene: February of 2027, a federal courtroom in Fort Pierce (St. Lucie County), Florida, the third day of trial in the RussiaGate matter. Defendants seated on the right (from the judge&#8217;s vantage) are so numerous they require two tables, including John Brennan, James Comey, James Clapper, Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein, Strzok &amp; Page, Bruce Ohr, Lisa Monaco, Mary McCord, Christopher Wray, Marc Elias, and seven other former federal officials.</p><p>Former President Barack Obama and former Sec&#8217;y of State Hillary Clinton, named as &#8220;unindicted co-conspirators,&#8221; are not present in the courtroom for the sake of decorum. Former MI6 agent, the slippery Christopher Steele, purveyor of the infamous &#8220;dossier,&#8221; is on-the-lam, whereabouts unknown. The charges against the bunch are Seditious Conspiracy (18 U.S. Code &#167; 2384), Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice (18 U.S.C. &#167;&#167; 1503, 1512, 1519), Conspiracy Against Rights / Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law (18 U.S.C. &#167;&#167; 241, 242), Perjury (18 U.S.C. &#167; 1621), Concealment (18 U.S.C. &#167; 1001).</p><p>At 10:00 a.m., a &#8220;surprise&#8221; witness is ushered into the room. Gasps erupt from all angles. The witness is immediately identified by his snow-white hair and beard. Everybody sees it is Julian Assange. He is a surprise witness for security reasons. He has been flown from Sydney to New Delhi to Frankfurt, and finally to Miami in a US government airplane, the lone passenger.</p><div><hr></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>Recall: in June 2024, Assange reached a plea deal with the US DOJ: guilty on one count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defense information. He was sentenced to sixty-two months (time served), crediting the approximately five years he had already spent in Britain&#8217;s Belmarsh prison while fighting extradition &#8212; but not counting the six years and ten months he was holed-up before that in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. There was no additional jail time, supervision, or financial penalty.</p><p>Assange is sworn and seated, led through preliminary questions as to his identity, place of residence, his former occupation running the news service known as Wikileaks, blah blah. The prosecuting federal attorney will now turn to the subject of one Seth Rich &#8212; remember him? The twenty-seven-year-old was working for the Democratic National Committee (DNC)  in 2016 as Voter Expansion Data Director. At 4:00 a.m. July 10, 2016, Rich was found dead, shot twice in the back, on Flagler Place NW, in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in what police called &#8220;a botched robbery.&#8221;</p><p>Rather bizarrely from a police procedural standpoint, Rich&#8217;s wallet, stuffed with money, his watch, and his cell phone remained on his person. Only his laptop was taken in the &#8220;robbery.&#8221; It has been a &#8220;cold,&#8221; unsolved case all these years.</p><p>Sometime before the murder, as early as Spring 2016, well before the Democratic party&#8217;s nominating convention, Assange&#8217;s Wikileaks received a large packet of information containing as many as 58,000 emails hacked out of the account of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton&#8217;s campaign chairman. The emails detailed many curious machinations inside the DNC that year, including sketchy efforts underway to derail Clinton&#8217;s rival, Bernie Sanders, excerpts from Clinton&#8217;s paid private Wall Street speeches (e.g., to Goldman Sachs), references to Clinton&#8217;s health problems, her private email server issue, various Clinton foundation dealings, and a lot of strange chatter about &#8220;pizza&#8221; and other mundane food items that would eventually spawn the &#8220;PizzaGate&#8221; story alluding to alleged child sex cult activities centered around John Podesta and his brother Tony.</p><p>It was quite a juicy load. But Wikileaks sat on it until just before the election. That spring and summer, Hillary was already laboring under the scandal about the private email server she had set up in her suburban Chappaqua, NY, home. She had apparently used it casually when she ran the State Department to conduct official government business, including classified information, instead of her official government email address. That itself was against the law, apart from what else the content of the Podesta email trove revealed. The FBI had been working the server case that spring, and just weeks before the convention, FBI Director Jim Comey made a big public show of exonerating Hillary, declaring incorrectly that he declined to prosecute &#8212; since it is not the FBI&#8217;s job to prosecute, only investigate, and for the DOJ to actually decide whether to prosecute. But he did add for the record that her doings had been &#8220;extremely careless.&#8221;</p><p>Anyway, Comey&#8217;s blunder became a low-grade scandal unto itself, colored by the suspicious meeting a month earlier between Bill Clinton and then Attorney General Loretta Lynch in her official airplane parked on the tarmac of the Phoenix airport. Both claimed they just talked about their grandchildren. Hence, Comey letting Hillary off the hook in July had the odor of a set-up. She was duly nominated July 26, 2016.</p><p>In October, 2016, Wikileaks began dribbling out the hacked Podesta emails they had obtained earlier that year, just in time for the election. To complicate things, the FBI and the New York City police were just then investigating former Rep. Anthony Weiner, husband of Clinton&#8217;s closest aide Huma Abedin, for sending sexually explicit messages to a minor. In the course of things, they obtained Weiner&#8217;s laptop, which was stuffed with 140,000 additional emails between Ms. Abedin and Hillary. Yikes!</p><p>On October 28, 2016 (eleven days before the election), Comey sent a letter to Congress notifying them that the FBI was reviewing these newly discovered emails to determine if they contained classified information (they did), in effect re-opening Hillary&#8217;s private server case.<span> </span>Comey later testified he felt obligated to inform Congress to avoid accusations of a cover-up close to the election. He called it a &#8220;no-win situation.&#8221; On November 6, 2016 (two days before Election Day), Comey announced the review found no new evidence warranting charges, reaffirming the July conclusion.</p><p>All of this intrigue revolved around the question of who, exactly, hacked those DNC emails. In June 2016, a cyber-security outfit called CrowdStrike, run by former FBI agent Shawn Henry, identified two Russian intelligence-linked groups &#8212; Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear &#8212; as responsible for the DNC hack. By that time, the Steele Dossier was already circulating between the CIA, the FBI, and the White House. The Russia collusion story (the RussiaGate hoax) was busy being born. Russia Russia Russia !!! It was all the people of the USA heard the whole four years of the first Trump term.</p><p>Which brings us forward to the courtroom scene, February, 2027, Julian Assange in the witness chair. The young lead federal prosecutor (one of several) in the room, finishes his preliminary questions and asks Assange: &#8220;Are you willing to tell the court now, who exactly was your source for the DNC emails?&#8221; Assange has kept it secret for all these years. But he had been very badly abused by some of the very US government officials who are sitting at the two defendant&#8217;s tables, and he is rather sore about all the years he had to hide out in the Ecuadorean embassy in London before the Americans induced the British authorities to stuff him in Belmarsh prison for another five.</p><p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he says placidly. &#8220;It was a young man named Seth Rich. He copied it onto a thumb-drive directly from the DNC.&#8221;</p><p>And that is how all the bullshit about RussiaGate finally dissolves into a rancid cloud of sedition for the folks slumped in their seats on the defendants&#8217; side of the courtroom.</p><div><hr></div><p>Shout out to the valiant podcaster <strong><a href="https://rumble.com/c/TheMelKShow">Mel K</a></strong> for pointing us in the right direction on this one.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" 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https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[July 2026 | Eyesore]]></title><description><![CDATA["The car has become the carapace, the protective and aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man." &#8212;Marshall McLuhan]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/july-2026-eyesore</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/july-2026-eyesore</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 21:12:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg" width="700" height="525" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:525,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:115504,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/205945701?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa7e583d9-88be-439a-8755-8c58b35bad62_700x525.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uN0Z!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa8712e05-1c86-4768-b87f-e08399a10c8e_700x525.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Uh-oh. . .  Stockade Fence Under Construction</figcaption></figure></div><p>Lurching into high summer, we take a break from the monumental grandiosity of High Architecture and focus on a small, but not unimportant, matter of civic design that applies especially to the American small town.  What&#8217;s wrong with the picture above?  I will tell you.</p><p>The everyday built environment is not just a collection or succession of things sitting on the terrain. It consists of relationships between them. A window is not a mere hole in the wall of a building, it is a relationship between the inside of the building and the outside. It is a <em>transition</em> between the two. </p><p>Likewise, a fence is a device of transition. It informs the citizen-at-large that the public realm of street meets and transitions into the private realm of the front yard, and ultimately the house. There are better and worse ways of doing this. A stockade fence is one of the worse ways because it is brutal and crass, like sticking your hand in the face of someone trying to speak to you.</p><p>Ideally, in the small town setting, you would want gentle transitions between public space and the private realm. And also, ideally, the private realm would show some generosity toward the street. It would share something of itself to the public, something worth sharing. All of which explains why the best fences in residential neighborhoods are semi-transparent.</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic" width="700" height="478" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:478,&quot;width&quot;:700,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:81014,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/205945701?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!RCDh!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9312adc5-b739-4273-b6f3-f1ad3f8b16e1_700x478.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>You can see through (and over) this fence. The property owner shows some generosity to the people on the street. You are allowed to see the house, and if the house contains some design grace notes, so much the better. The one above is rather austere. Its chief virtue is its clean, classic proportioning. But you are allowed to look through and over the pickets to see it. Don&#8217;t you like to see the houses along the street as you pass by? Of course you do.</p><p>Now, I will tell you why you see so many stockade fences in American towns: the automobile creates chaos in the street, even in a small town residential street, <em>low-grade chaos</em>. Even that much dissonance in your environment prompts self-defense. The house (the home-owner, that is) does not feel generous toward the street. He doesn&#8217;t want to share anything with the street and these menacing things moving in it. He wants to block it out, pretend that it&#8217;s not there. It&#8217;s a simple as that.</p><p>Bottom line: the people who manage your town and write the design codes must be careful to code the residential streets in favor of fences you can see through, and code against stockades and high walls, except under special circumstances. The outcome, I promise you, will be better looking towns. . . places you will enjoy walking around. Now, onto summer and all its pleasures!</p><div><hr></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://sagerestoration.com" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg" width="1200" height="628" 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srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!cD9a!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e2d24a2-16c4-4522-9395-5f9f2d63b970_1200x628.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>Eyesore of the Month is sponsored by </span><a href="https://sagerestoration.com/">Sage Restoration</a><span>.</span></strong></em></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Werewolves of London]]></title><description><![CDATA[&#8220;To use language to obscure reality is to show &#8216;indifference regarding the truth&#8217;&#8212; to lie to the public and cease to treat our fellow citizens as equals.&#8221; &#8212;Justice Clarence Thomas]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/werewolves-of-london</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/werewolves-of-london</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 13:09:31 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kPMP!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09c8df10-7bf5-438a-8835-75f4ae0f2d1e_700x385.heic" width="700" height="385" 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class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">The Chief and his harem</figcaption></figure></div><p>Now that the grand 250<sup>th</sup> USA birthday party is over &#8212; the speeches, the shrieking warplanes, the dazzling fireworks, the speeches and strawberry shortcake &#8212; there is only one way this thing can go. What <em>thing</em>? The war for the soul of the nation. Some mysterious somebody is behind the surging &#8220;Democratic-Socialist&#8221; craze. Somebody is paying for it. It&#8217;s a last-ditch drive to marshal the disaffected, under-employed young voters, choking on their college loans, deranged by anomie, and get them marching in solidarity with X-million illegal aliens to act-out an election jihad so as to squeeze out House and Senate majorities and, ultimately, wreck the nation.</p><p>That mysterious background &#8220;somebody&#8221; is not so mysterious. It just doesn&#8217;t self-identify under a banner, but you can easily tell who they are: the slippery closet-Marxist Barack Obama and, behind him, the American Deep State <em>nomenklatura</em> desperate to stay out of prison, along with the unelected EU Commission led by the grandmotherly sadist Ursula von der Leyen (plus the banksters behind her). Some call them &#8220;globalists.&#8221; They are a loose coalition of convenience against the populist threat of Mr. Trump in America and similar populist movements in Europe: AfD in Germany, the two parties of Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe in the UK, and LePen&#8217;s National Rally in France.</p><p>The EU, with its front-men Macron, Merz, and whoever will replace Starmer this month, is currently preoccupied with its stupid effort to provoke Russia into a wider war, using their proxy, Ukraine. Mr. Putin, still advancing through the Donbas, refuses to get drawn-in deeper with the EU despite the drone and missile sorties lately banging-up his oil depots. Mr. Putin is actually a defender of Western Civ &#8212; yes, ironic, isn&#8217;t it, considering what his country escaped out of in 1991 &#8212; but it&#8217;s so. Russia has become our natural ally in this struggle as the EU goes all werewolf on both Russia and us. File under strange-but-true.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>Contrary to Deep State propaganda, and the IRGC&#8217;s bullshit, Mr. Trump has the Iran situation in-hand. We have bigly reduced Iran&#8217;s capacity to make trouble in the world and our satellites watch everything they do now, so there will be no Iranian military re-build, no matter how the MOU talks go. They still do have the option of dropping their jihad fixation and acting like a normal nation, but we&#8217;ll just have to stand by on that.</p><p>What has to happen now in the USA is a summer of accountability. Perp walks. Indictments. Preparation for trials. Many of you are discouraged about this, I know, but please put those black pills back in the medicine chest. Accountability is coming. The mills of the law grind slowly, and it&#8217;s especially difficult since the Deep State has corrupted select precincts of the law, such as the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where rogue judges Boasberg, Chutkan, Sullivan, Howell, Meta, Reyes, Cooper, et al., have made an industry of paralyzing Mr. Trump&#8217;s executive branch.</p><p>Nevertheless, accountability might also be coming for Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the dodgy majority opinion on the SCOTUS&#8217;s June 30 &#8220;Birth Citizenship&#8221; decision (Trump v. Barbara), an epic fail for Justice Roberts (joined by Amy Coney Barrett and the three DEI gals). The 14<sup>th</sup> Amendment was written to mitigate the disruptions of the Civil War. Section One is clearly aimed at defining the full citizenship of former slaves, and that&#8217;s all, not the offspring of casual visitors and border-jumpers. There was considerable clarifying debate on the record about all that in June, 1866, with skeletons still being cleared off the battlefields. The 2026 decision looks like a debacle for reasons also obvious.</p><p>What motivated Mr. Roberts to do such a harm? Perhaps he&#8217;s just an idiot, but there&#8217;s more lurking there. It&#8217;s widely known that the Chief Justice made at least one week-long visit to Norm Eisen, after Eisen had been appointed Ambassador to Prague (2011) by his law school classmate, President Barack Obama. In these final years of Obama-in-office, Norm Eisen was busy plotting so-called Color Revolution in Europe, which climaxed in the 2014 Maidan operation in Ukraine. The purpose was to make Ukraine a proxy to weaken Russia, and would come to entail massive money-laundering and the setting up of bio-weapons labs there. This was also the period when then-Veep Joe Biden was given the &#8220;Urkaine Portfolio&#8221; and was busiest with his own grifting enterprise, through son Hunter.</p><p>Norm Eisen went on to become the chief lawfare ninja coordinating against the Trump administration with his field captains: Marc Elias, Mary McCord, Andrew Weissmann, and others. All have been involved in suspiciously seditious activities through both Trump terms. What was the Chief Justice confabbing about with Norm Eisen in Prague then? About vagaries of US / EU legal cooperation? Or were they deliberating on tactics for dealing with Barack Obama&#8217;s as-then-undeclared successor? Or possibly on bringing color revolution to the US, if Barack Obama&#8217;s posterity declared it necessary?</p><p>Consider the strange situation that one Sheldon Snook was appointed Special Assistant to Roberts in 2014. Snook is married to lawfare ninja Mary McCord, who served as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, DOJ (2014&#8211;2016) and Assistant Attorney General for National Security, DOJ (2016&#8211;2017). She was involved in the initiation of the RussiaGate operation and in 2019 was appointed Special Counsel to Jerrold Nadler&#8217;s House Judiciary Committee during the 2019 impeachment inquiry into President Trump &#8212; the impeachment that was all about Ukraine. . . and what might have been going on there under Obama, especially Joe Biden shenanigans.</p><p>Consider, too, that a scandal has just emerged involving CJ Roberts&#8217;s wife, Jane, and the enormous commissions she received working at the DC law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and then the legal recruiting outfit Major, Lindsey &amp; Africa (through 2019), and then another legal recruiting firm, Macrae, for placing eminent attorneys into law firms with active Supreme Court case practices. Her income from all this recruiting surpassed $10-million. CJ Roberts did not recuse himself from the cases involving these relationships. This is a still-developing story. . . .</p><p>And, of course, an investigation of California Governor Gavin Newsom begun, irony-of-ironies, by the Biden DOJ, has just blossomed into a florid scandal involving shell companies set up by Gov. Newsom&#8217;s busy wife, Jennifer, through which millions of dollars were laundered under various fake social and health service initiatives. Newsom appointee Alexis Podesta &#8220;wore a wire&#8221; during the period and is cooperating in the case. Buh-bye presidential hopes, Guv, and don&#8217;t let the cell door whack your ass on the way in.</p><p>These are just a few possible appetizers. The main course is coming up.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Burning Down the House]]></title><description><![CDATA["I forgot to get napkins. I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me." &#8212;Darializa Avila-Chevalier, primary election winner, New York&#8217;s 13th Congressional District]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/burning-down-the-house-c19</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/burning-down-the-house-c19</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:43:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg" width="600" height="400" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:400,&quot;width&quot;:600,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:119167,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F067d643b-cd1b-497a-8fa1-601b5d7d71bc_600x400.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zfmq!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5765875b-2dea-4197-a502-45f405838e06_600x400.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw" fetchpriority="high"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">DSA on the March shoulder to shoulder with the Pride Brigade</figcaption></figure></div><p>Who are all these Democratic Socialists of America, anyway?</p><p>&#8220;We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,&#8221; one of their spoxes declared on Instagram in 2024.</p><p>Hmmmm . . . . I wonder if you can be a little more specific. Like, including <em>democracy</em> and <em>socialism</em>, two western civ constructs? Kind of looks like a baby / bathwater situation, followed by burning down the house where the baby lived. Do we get a chance to debate this proposition in the midterm election?</p><p>Likewise, a St. Paul, Minnesota, school board member, one Chauntyll Allen offered the following policy recommendation on the <em>We Love Our Dog Park</em> Facebook page:</p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg" width="650" height="190" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:190,&quot;width&quot;:650,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:null,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:null,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:null,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OzMg!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd03bf48b-bc51-40d8-b938-a879dc58a163_650x190.jpeg 1456w" sizes="100vw"></picture><div></div></div></a></figure></div><p>A bad moon is rising on our nation&#8217;s 250<sup>th</sup> birthday. The country is in a rancid mood. You begin to see what happens when political ideas are carried to their last limits. Question is: does all this add up to a winning party platform? You must suppose that higher-ups in the Democratic Party are asking themselves the question now. What do Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer think when they see these Angels of Death on the march (or in flight) over the midterm battlefield?</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Clusterfuck Nation is a reader-supported publication. Subscribe to this blog on Patreon or right here on Substack!</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><div class="pullquote"><p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span>This blog is sponsored by McAlvany Precious Metals, helping investors learn about and own physical gold &amp; silver as part of a proven, long-term wealth preservation strategy. To explore their market insights, educational resources, visit: </span><a href="https://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong></em></p></div><p>Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, and Melat Kiros are going to Congress to link arms with &#8220;The Squad&#8221; &#8212; AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley &#8212; and they will bring their cargo of DSA policy ideas with them: racial, gender, and social justice; abolish ICE (no more deporting anybody); defund the police; end incarceration (no more jails); free housing and medical care; green this-n-that; government ownership of business; abolish the Senate and the electoral college; pack the SCOTUS. . . .</p><p>The platform apparently has a lot of appeal to a certain demographic &#8212; which, I suspect, includes the many young recent graduates of the diploma mills who are pissed-off that Mr. Trump &amp; Company are methodically shutting down the NGOs that were supposed to furnish these young race-and-gender studies majors with cushy, six-figure jobs doing &#8220;activism.&#8221; Alas, that pathway is increasingly blocked and the country only needs so many baristas. What to do then? Take it to the limit! Be communists. . . with all that entails. <em>What&#8217;s mine is mine and what&#8217;s yours is mine, too.</em></p><p>This new gen of Democratic Socialists is arguably worse than the Confederates of 1861. Those Rebs only wanted to secede from USA and go their own way in one corner of the land. They didn&#8217;t want to piss on Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonardo DaVinci, Jane Austen, Margaret Fuller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson as they walked out. The Democratic Socialists of our day are fully aligned with their avatars: Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot, who operated human meat-grinders at scale to tamp down the opposition. Not a great look to align with the great mass-murderers of history.</p><p>It must be agony for Schumer and Jeffries. Eradicate Western Civ. . . ? Piss on white people&#8217;s corpses. . . ? Are they really going to get behind that? No-o-o-o-o. But they will try to wriggle around this steaming pile for some weeks to come until it is obvious that the Democratic Party has blown itself up, hoisted itself on that old petard. It may be too late for the party&#8217;s old guard. No matter how many rain-dances Elizabeth Warren does, nothing will put out this dumpster fire.</p><p>Another question for the months ahead: can that party control its increasingly maniacal street warriors, the Antifas, the Pink Pistols, the Transgender Armed Defense forces, and whatever remains of BLM. There is still a lot of money in circulation for public demonstrations and disruptions from George Soros and other sponsors. And apart from that are the forces of jihad, with their own foreign patrons. Gawd knows how many jihadis came into the country during &#8220;Joe Biden&#8217;s&#8221; orchestrated alien invasion. Not just a few, you can be sure.</p><p>By the way, can somebody at the Office of Management and Budget do an audit of the $370-billion that &#8220;Joe Biden&#8221; handed over to John Podesta in the fall of 2024 to administer &#8220;climate-related provisions&#8221; of the Inflation Reduction Act, and figure out how much of it bounced right back into Democratic Party-adjacent NGOs and down to party capos like Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Brandon Johnson in Chicago, and Karen Bass in LA?</p><p>Meanwhile, the big celebration of America&#8217;s 250<sup>th</sup> is only hours away. There will be a lot of bangs and flashes the next couple of days. Let&#8217;s hope they are not really big ones. Stay alert and safe out there. And happy 250th birthday to you, America &#8212; if you can keep yourself.</p><div><hr></div><p></p><p><em><span>JHK&#8217;s new novel, a comic romp set during the week of the tragic JFK Assassination, November 1963. </span><strong>Autographed Copies from Battenkill Books.</strong></em></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy Autographed&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://battenkillbooks.com/book/9781952685972"><span>Buy Autographed</span></a></p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Buy at Amazon&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;button-wrapper&quot;}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary button-wrapper" href="https://www.amazon.com/Look-Gone-James-Howard-Kunstler/dp/1952685974/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1B5DR4FQZXR&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.KRXZRhepZQ_GzcqDUlydqw.PGLRoMJh8X57TtqbTX3arjSqC7QXsRvD0DNgdLd9jHY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=look%2C+i%27m+gone+%2B+kunstler&amp;qid=1761913483&amp;sprefix=Look%2C+I%27m+Gone+%2Caps%2C163&amp;sr=8-1"><span>Buy at Amazon</span></a></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic" width="348" height="522" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:522,&quot;width&quot;:348,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:40370,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/excerpt-from-look-im-gone-by-james&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/177649017?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!fTw_!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3621e471-df35-4a77-ad16-8dd1a240942a_348x522.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><em><strong>JHK&#8217;s World Made By Hand four-book novel cycle. A small town in the remnant of the USA in the not-distant future. The community struggles to carry on. . . .</strong></em></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic" width="1456" height="621" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:621,&quot;width&quot;:1456,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:177411,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/158765382?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" title="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!thax!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F77177fac-3792-439a-80cc-d7e3bc01df78_1612x688.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a></figure></div><div><hr></div><p><strong><span>NEW! Gallery 17 &#8212; Paintings from the 2025 Season. Have a look! (</span><a href="https://jameshowardkunstler.substack.com/p/gallery-17">Click here</a><span>!)</span></strong></p><div class="captioned-image-container"><figure><a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" target="_blank" href="https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17" data-component-name="Image2ToDOM"><div class="image2-inset"><picture><source type="image/webp" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic" width="320" height="321" data-attrs="{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:321,&quot;width&quot;:320,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:50354,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image/heic&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/p/gallery-17&quot;,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https://www.kunstler.com/i/204903243?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null,&quot;offset&quot;:false}" class="sizing-normal" alt="" srcset="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 424w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 848w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1272w, https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ghbY!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9b4c6834-f182-4fc4-9204-5e437b7f1540_320x321.heic 1456w" sizes="100vw" loading="lazy"></picture><div class="image-link-expand"><div class="pencraft pc-display-flex pc-gap-8 pc-reset"><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container restack-image"><svg aria-hidden="true" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 20 20" fill="none" stroke-width="1.5" stroke="var(--color-fg-primary)" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g><path d="M2.53001 7.81595C3.49179 4.73911 6.43281 2.5 9.91173 2.5C13.1684 2.5 15.9537 4.46214 17.0852 7.23684L17.6179 8.67647M17.6179 8.67647L18.5002 4.26471M17.6179 8.67647L13.6473 6.91176M17.4995 12.1841C16.5378 15.2609 13.5967 17.5 10.1178 17.5C6.86118 17.5 4.07589 15.5379 2.94432 12.7632L2.41165 11.3235M2.41165 11.3235L1.5293 15.7353M2.41165 11.3235L6.38224 13.0882"></path></g></svg></button><button tabindex="0" type="button" class="pencraft pc-reset pencraft icon-container view-image"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" class="lucide lucide-maximize2 lucide-maximize-2"><polyline points="15 3 21 3 21 9"></polyline><polyline points="9 21 3 21 3 15"></polyline><line x1="21" x2="14" y1="3" y2="10"></line><line x1="3" x2="10" y1="21" y2="14"></line></svg></button></div></div></div></a><figcaption class="image-caption">Luncheon on the Grass Updated  (after &#201;douard Manet)</figcaption></figure></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[KunstlerCast_446 — Mel K on the Infiltration and Betrayal of America]]></title><description><![CDATA[Mel K is an investigative writer, host, and producer.]]></description><link>https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast_446-mel-k-on-the-infiltration</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kunstler.com/p/kunstlercast_446-mel-k-on-the-infiltration</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[James Howard Kunstler]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:16:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/204333985/f16982b414cbcb3a3f7882cd603a63d2.mp3" length="0" type="audio/mpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Mel K is an investigative writer, host, and producer. Her new book, <em><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Infiltration-Instead-Invasion-Betrayed-1944-1954/dp/1961641496/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AD4W17RXW0T4&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.l8fXh9OeoR7M8jnvh6VVEPcpixkWBlT9UJ7wt7G9I9mrV3EToNc00d6LuAO0YIh7.xY-nmPkWx7y6Ud1T3Gf1OAKofTUYkXN5CTf6zuvDcWI&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=infiltration+instead+of+invasion+mel+k&amp;qid=1782843853&amp;sprefix=Infiltration+Instead+of+Invasion%2Caps%2C181&amp;sr=8-1">Infiltration Instead of Invasion: America Betrayed 1944&#8211;1954</a></strong></em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Infiltration-Instead-Invasion-Betrayed-1944-1954/dp/1961641496/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AD4W17RXW0T4&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.l8fXh9OeoR7M8jnvh6VVEPcpixkWBlT9UJ7wt7G9I9mrV3EToNc00d6LuAO0YIh7.xY-nmPkWx7y6Ud1T3Gf1OAKofTUYkXN5CTf6zuvDcWI&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=infiltration+instead+of+invasion+mel+k&amp;qid=1782843853&amp;sprefix=Infiltration+Instead+of+Invasion%2Caps%2C181&amp;sr=8-1">,</a> examines how intelligence networks, financial institutions, and supranational structures reshaped American sovereignty in the decade after World War II. Mel was a producer and screenwriter in Hollywood until she was cancelled by the Woke Rebellion. She reinvented her self as a podcaster and is now host of <strong><a href="https://themelkshow.com/">The Mel K Show</a></strong><a href="https://themelkshow.com/">,</a> where she has been killin&#8217; it with her commentary on the American political traumas and psychodramas of the day. She also happens to be the producer of <em><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Roseanne-Barr-America-Joel-Gilbert/dp/B0FFT3M2RB/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18XMU5ADN3AX1&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fE6x5SFu2nTyIdnNCuT1VYvL-Iww81R4B5OzUvk_WdnGbnRrJQBDExdaZtLWyMH7QdfO5PHqFhzWaPvEN8cSiM7qKk9bZDz4HjSupE73Db9Un4jTOTESnCVRqin_AAy7WTscGgMCA3iZfcTB1NSUjeIkRERPK0HMcwrOGjL6toiETANFt-Fd2va8pyQgPIbH27b1BPT_zkfCG037UZuhxRZSdllhbt32myKFw0nc8m8.GNUZXilwsaafnH70kGDdwoqXztjXO8uQ2Mtl3Vf2Vnk&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=Roseanne+Barr+is+America&amp;qid=1782844124&amp;sprefix=roseanne+barr+is+america%2Caps%2C187&amp;sr=8-1">Roaseanne Barr is America</a></strong></em>, which streams on Apple TV and other venues.</p><p>The KunstlerCast theme music is <strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/larry.unger.165/videos/">the beautiful Two Rivers Waltz written and performed by Larry Unger</a></strong></p><div><hr></div><p><em><span>This podcast is sponsored by </span><strong>McAlvany Precious Metals</strong><span>. For more than 50 years, McAlvany Precious Metals has helped investors learn about and own physical gold and silver as part of a long-term approach to wealth preservation.</span></em></p><p><em>To explore their market insights, educational resources, and see whether precious metals make sense for you, visit:</em><span> </span><strong><a href="http://mcalvany.com/">mcalvany.com</a></strong><span>.</span></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>