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Culture War Roundup for the week of October 21, 2024

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A side note, Pompeo is not the only politician who seems to be influenced by the CIA. Mike Johnson, The Speaker of the House went from one of the biggest opponent of the CIA one year ago to the [biggest proponent because "they took him to a room and showed him something"](source: https://rumble.com/v4siucc-system-update-263.html#)

What kind of world model fits all these facts? It seems like a barely incompetent CIA, is cheaply buying and influencing politicians on both sides, including the outsider candidate: Trump.

P.S. a previous popular Motte Thread What did you learn from leaked documents?

It looks far more like blackmail to me. Consider what one must do to become a politician in DC, its probable that the CIA has dirt on almost everyone. In this model of the world, the House, Senate, and Presidency are just kabuki executing the intelligence community's whims. This also somewhat fits with them desperately hating Trump, because his dirt was public pre-2015, making him largely more difficult to blackmail.

Mike Johnson is also uniquely vulnerable to blackmail considering his squeaky clean image.

And Trump is, of course, the opposite.

The Epstein stuff (having an organised operation creating and collecting blackmail, and kept under wraps) seems to support this.

My model: Johnson isn't a good faith actor and he complained about CIA for self agrandisment purposes only. He seems to be an absolute weasel.

it could also be Johnson is a good faith actor and his CIA took me to a room claim is a way of telegraphing to everyone that he has been compromised.

This seems coherent. Politicians often tell people what they want to hear and make excuses for changing their mind. His excuse is "men in suits showed me a secret", which is convenient, not disprovable, and would suit conspiracy theorists.

What kind of world model fits all these facts?

Intelligence community officials are megalomanical blowhards who worship Tzeentch.

Tzeentch

Agree on this part :p

Pompeo seems enthusiastic than just influenced "I was the CIA director, we lied we cheated, we stole".

Seems he found an agency in his image. Maybe he was influenced for quite a while, but the guy doesn't seem to be afraid of others but to fit in.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DPt-zXn05ac

Trump doesn't seem that courageous but I hope he doe reign them in instead of being reigned in by the CIA. Do I expect him to do that? No.

Trump loves to make promises, but he didn't really deliver in reigning in the deep state the first time. At least it is something that he throws some dirt on Pompeo.

Yeah, past performance is a better predictor than present promises

Trump doesn't seem that courageous

How do you figure that

Well, one of his major campaign promises was to release the JRK files. But he unapologetically broke his promise because a deep state person said no.

His motto used to be "you are fired" and he was elected to fire people (drain the swamp), and given executive power to do it. It was literally a memo or tweet away. He should have fired at least one government employee every day via twitter but did not.

These just don't sound like someone who is very courageous?

The man got shot in the head and then stood up, faced the crowd, and pumped his fist changing "Fight!" He ran for President and destroyed any chance of a peaceful quiet retirement because he felt called. He didn't have to do any of this.

Instead of positing that a promise unfulfilled is some kind of cowardice (because Trump can never be imagined to possess any good qualities), why not just suppose Trump changed his mind? You can say he changed his mind for bad reasons, you can even suggest that you would have done a better job if you want.

I suppose that may be true. Or he could be situationally brave. Or he never planned to keep his campaign promises.

You are right, there are many other interpretations.

"Intelligence Agencies create stories inside stories, each with its carefully constructed trail of evidence, in order to create false trails as diversions.”

True his autobiography is likely lots of lies/spin. But it also sounds like a politician the CIA can hardly rein in, who is desperate for attention. Some of it is backed up by court documents, although this is spotty, and some of it second hand.