AN OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SYSTEM

A View from the Great Southern Land

My interest in the US presidency and its influence on the world only commenced in 2001 when the group of CEOs, of which I was a member, had the former Deputy Director of the CIA (under President Ronald Reagan) come to speak. His topic was “business intelligence”. He said that each business needed an intelligence officer whose job was to scan the horizon and see what competitors were doing so that both the opportunities and threats to business could be understood. He also made the astounding claim to the group of Australian CEOs that Ronald Reagan was the greatest US president in history.

We were all dumbfounded because our view was that Reagan was a B grade actor who was out of touch and did a lot of damage to the US and the world. Our view was that Reagan had no clue about anything. However, this former CIA employee explained a few critical things to us.

Firstly, the US presidency comes with enormous power to make executive appointments. At that stage, he said that the president could personally appoint more than 3,000 people (it may be more like 4,000 now) to key roles in the administration. Some of these positions need to be approved by the US Senate, but in general, the president has immense power to select people he thinks are the best in the nation to implement his agenda.

Secondly, he said President Reagan had only a few areas of interest. He had a relaxed approach to work, and you could only get his attention if you brought him an issue that he thought was of critical importance. He then explained that Reagan only had two areas of foc:

1.     Cut Taxes, and

2.     “Cream” the Commies (I think that the translation is: bring the communists down).

This former CIA man said that if you brought the boss suggestions in these areas (and they had to be no more than one page), Reagan would be interested and prepared to take action. He then said that with this razor-like focus, Reagan turned the US economy around following the devastating Carter years. Reagan’s policies also led to the downfall of communism.

We all found it a fascinating story about how important it is to have a key strategic focus – in life, business and politics.

I reflected on this story about Reagan for many months and struggled to find only two strategic areas I could focus on for the veterinary school where I was dean. I never succeeded!

I did realize, though, that the US was extraordinarily influential as the leader of the free world. Because the US president can make appointments outside the system of elected officials or appointed bureaucrats, his agenda is more likely to be implemented. The story also made me think about the great differences between the governance systems in the US and other parts of the world.

The British System

The British system, has been the template for most countries in the Commonwealth eg Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a host of other countries (total of 56) in Europe (3), Africa (21), Asia (8), the Caribbean and the Americas (13) and the Pacific (11).

This system usually is one where representatives are elected, and the majority party selects a leader, who is usually designated as the Prime Minister or Premier. Without further reference to the electorate, the majority party can remove a Prime Minister, which has happened many times in Australia over the last 40 years. Members of Parliament, concerned about their own job security, get worried when opinion polls tell them that the party leader is not polling well.

The great political saying: “Always bet on the horse called self-interest because it’s always trying”, comes to the fore as individual members of parliament protect their own positions by removing an apparently unpopular leader.

In Australia, when opinion polls show the Prime Minister’s approval dips below 40%, there are usually rumblings and then declarations of allegiance to the Prime Minister. These declarations are a certain sign that the Party members are about to stab him or her in the back. In the past 20 years, there have been a number of these internal “coups”, and Prime Ministers or party leaders have been replaced.

To make it more difficult, in some cases, there is a requirement that a vote is taken of party members who are outside parliament. This was the process when Boris Johnson resigned as UK Prime Minister and the various aspirants for Prime Minister did a “show and tell” at Conservative Party meetings across the UK. The process resulted in Liz Truss being elected party leader and then appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, in one of her last official acts before she died. However, Liz Truss lasted less than 50 days when her colleagues deserted her and installed the present Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.

In the British system, the party leader who has a majority in parliament becomes the Prime Minister and appoints a cabinet of ministers with various portfolios. Usually, this is a group of 20 or so, and this group then has permanent employees under their areas of responsibility, called the Civil Service or Public Service. This latter group is tasked with the implementation of the policies of the government (the Party that has the majority in the parliament).

So, within the British system, the government leader has a tenuous grip on power and must keep an eye on the opinion polls and another on those with his or her MPs carrying knives. Rishi Sunak currently must sleep with both eyes open as he presides over a Conservative government that is likely to suffer one of the greatest electoral defeats in British history later this year.

In contrast, an elected President in the US is almost impossible to remove as an impeachment requires two-thirds of the US Senate to vote for his removal.

The Role of the Permanent Administrative State (“Deep State”)

Whatever political system is in place, there is a permanent administrative state (Donald Trump called it the “deep state”) that dictates and controls the policies in most political systems. The permanent administrative state is invariably collectivist and socialist in their education and thinking. This makes it almost impossible to change the direction of a country because those with their hands on the levers of power can implement quiet resistance. This resistance was evident during President Trump’s 2017-2021 term when a series of leaks and damaging revelations came out on an almost daily basis.

Currently, President Javier Milei of Argentina is facing fierce opposition to his radical proposals to privatize state-owned companies via an emergency decree – see this link. The permanent administrative state will strongly resist Milei’s free-market proposals, and it will be interesting to see how this momentous struggle plays out. I am backing the administrative state.

The permanent administrative state is much more powerful than most people realize. I covered this issue in a recent post – where I dealt with the battle between the permanent power and elected government. Daniel McCarthy was interviewed on the Spectator’s Americano podcast

and provided an excellent overview of this ongoing challenge.

The permanent administrative state continues to expand in every country. President Reagan drew attention to this in 1964, before he even became Governor of California. Reagan said :

“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!”

So, as I have studied US presidential elections closely over the past 20 years, the reality of the permanent administrative state has led me to the key question: who actually controls the election of US presidents?

The “deep state” worked tirelessly to block President Trump, and it was clear that Hillary Clinton was the candidate who had been selected to be president for the 2016 election cycle.

Trump disrupted the process and so brought down the wrath of the “deep state” on his head. The wrath continues to this day and will accelerate following his comprehensive “Super Tuesday” wins, which make him the presumptive Republican Party nominee.

Who Actually Controls the Election of US Presidents?

As I delved into the history of previous US presidents and did a lot of background reading, it became evident that the “deep state” is deeper than I’d realized. It seems as though the Trilateral Commission - founded by David Rockefeller in 1973 and the Council on Foreign Relations – founded in 1921, based on the secretive and influential UK Royal Institute of International Affairs (see this link) are the power players in deciding the US presidency. These organizations have close links to international financiers, and it makes sense that these wealthy globalists would want to control the election of the most powerful position in the West.

My research uncovered the fact that both Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton were selected by powerful globalists. Undoubtedly, this applied to both the Bush presidencies and also Obama. Barack Obama was plucked from obscurity and shoehorned into a position as a US senator for the notoriously corrupt state of Illinois. From this role, he quickly became the Democrat Party nominee for president. Who was behind this?

It seems likely that Hillary Clinton was promised the presidency (and if you read Clinton Cash -  you realize that everything was set up for the Clinton Foundation to take advantage of this). However, her secret emails and the private server that she destroyed resulted in a loss of public support. She was also very dislikable as a campaigner and her leaked speech about “deplorables” had a big impact on her presidential bid. This led to the unexpected win in November 2016 by Donald Trump.

The question is: was Trump a genuine opponent of the New World Order or controlled opposition?

I was a Trump supporter in the 2016-2019 period, and it he implemented various important policies: the defeat of ISIS, withdrawal from the World Health Organization, isolating Iran, peace initiatives in the Middle East and with North Korea, deregulation and expansion of US oil reserves. He presided over a stronger economy and fewer wars.

My first real concern was Operation Warp Speed where Trump oversaw the rapid implementation of new mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. I quickly realized that Trump had become a captive of Big Pharma and was manoeuvred into a situation where he approved and championed a “safety” process where there were no standard checks and balances to prevent adverse events from vaccines.

Patrick Wood has recently pointed out that this issue predated COVID-19, with an Executive Order signed by Trump in September 2019. Patrick wrote in Technocracy News  - just a few days ago:

“It is inconceivable that this editor missed former President Trump’s Executive Order EO 13887 on September 19, 2019, titled Modernizing Influenza Vaccines in the United States To Promote National Security and Public Health. Since then, it apparently has been swept under the carpet, virtually scrubbed from the Internet. Nevertheless, I found it, and this changes everything about Trump’s role in the biggest health fiasco in our nation’s existence.

Before you all attack dogs launch at me, be aware I voted for Trump. I have previously given him every benefit of the doubt on his role in starting Operation Warp Speed and his role with characters like Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, and Francis S. Collins. Certainly, he was just used or perhaps duped, right?

Ah, not so fast. The EO 13887 that Trump signed on Sept. 19, 2019, was just before COVID hit. It was one month BEFORE the now-infamous Event 201 role-playing exercise where the elitist response to COVID was carefully laid out. It was before anyone in the public sphere had even conceived that there was a new “vaccine” technology based on genetic engineering that would soon spring into existence, turning Americans into guinea pigs without so much as an “informed consent” form. Safe and effective, they said. No matter that you would get your shot under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), in lieu of any safety trials. Trust us, they said.”

Patrick Wood summarized the situation as follows:

• “Trump signed Executive Order 13887 well before COVID hit

• It set the stage for mRNA and DNA injections

• It turned over design, manufacturing and distribution to the military

• It set up a huge private-public partnership with Big Pharma

• It set up a task force co-headed by the Secretary of Defense

• Operation Warp Speed confirmed the design, manufacturing and distribution by the military.”

This story provides some detail about the power and influence of the military-pharmaceutical-industrial complex, and it is clear that no president can stand against the influence and might of those involved.

I have put away my Make American Great Again cap!

This section of my newsletter is really just an aide memoire about why we can’t trust politicians. Of course, they are under malign influence, and there must be a payback day for those who support their candidacies.

A note to self – put your hope in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

The Current US Presidential Campaign – Is A Fair Election Possible?

As political theatre, the current presidential campaign is quite riveting. An ageing, infirm and confused US president has been prevailed upon by his controllers to run again. This is one of the great political challenges of all time. They can’t keep him in the basement as they did in 2020 with COVID-19, and so they must have another plan.

For the 2020 election,  a clever strategy was enacted because of COVID-19 to flood the voting system with postal ballots, many of which had been harvested by Democrat operatives. I outlined this in a post in May 2022 – where I provided some information about the movie 2,000 Mules made by Dinesh D’Souza. Here is what I wrote about the movie:

“The word “mules” comes from the name given to drug couriers smuggling illegal drugs. The same name has been given to illegal “ballot stuffing” where Democrat operatives organized massive postal ballot drop offs by “mules”, mostly in the dead of night. At least 380,000 votes involving 2,000 vote “mules” were estimated to have influenced the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona. The movie provides information about how mobile/cell phone data was used to identify the more than 2,000 “mules” who collected and illegally dropped off postal votes.”

With the widespread use of artificial intelligence and social media, the 2024 presidential election is likely to be “nastiest, dirtiest, scariest election in our history”, according to a recent interview with Victor Davis Hanson.

The collectivists have never sought to “play fair”, so they will do whatever it takes to win the November election and further embed the “deep state” into all sections of US society. There are many options: a crisis that demands martial law (we are continually told about the right-wing extremists), a new pandemic, or even an assassination.

The most obvious solution is that those who hold the levers of power cannot allow Biden to run again and so at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, a new candidate will be found who is more electorally appealing.

In July 2022, I wrote -  about the possibility of Michelle Obama being tapped on the shoulder to run for the Democrats. I had seen the film: Michelle Obama 2024 – and I noted:

“The filmmaker Joel Gilbert notes that Mrs Obama has positioned herself perfectly for a presidential bid with the same formula as her husband. This is: a bestselling autobiography, the keynote speech at the Democrat National Convention and starting up a voter registration organization. Michelle Obama has been influenced by radical left-wing Democrats and the filmmaker believes that if she becomes President in 2024, she will further polarize the US by promoting destructive racial divisions. She has close relationships with 1960s radicals and convicted terrorists, Bernadine Dohrn and her husband Bill Ayers. Gilbert believes that Mrs Obama would take directions from the global elites and follow a destructive socialist and “progressive” agenda for the USA.”

Michelle Obama has stated she is not interested in becoming President but she may be “leaned upon” (as they say in Chicago) in the months ahead. Even the Democrats know that Joe Biden is unelectable, and these guys are ruthless. They have done everything they can to destroy Donald Trump and undoubtedly have some cards up their sleeves because they cannot leave open the possibility of a Trump presidency.

Alarmingly, the US Justice Department has been totally politicized to find “trumped up” charges to bring against the former president. Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s secret police chief, would be proud of the US Attorney-General, Merrick Garland. Beria said that he could prove criminal conduct for anyone and coined the notorious phrase: “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime”.  The four dubious cases against Trump, some federal and some local, carry combined sentences of more than 700 years.

Trump has beaten all his Republican challengers with one hand tied behind his back. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley spent hundreds of millions of dollars between them, and now, they have disappeared like a puff of smoke. Trump has a finely tuned team, and many are commenting that it is one of the best and most effective presidential campaigns that they have seen.

The noted historian Victor Davis Hanson was interviewed recently by Tucker Carlson, and his view is:

“We have no idea about this election because we've never had a president running against an ex-president. Number two, we've never had an incumbent president who is utterly corrupt like Joe Biden, and has lost all or most of his cognitive ability, and is very unpopular. And yet, we've never had a challenger who has been the victim of lawfare and is facing 91 indictments.”

The 2020 election campaign cost US$14.4 billion and was the most expensive ever. Undoubtedly, this will be exceeded and perhaps even doubled in the current election cycle. Biden’s team is raising extraordinary sums of money, and the claims about Trump are becoming increasingly hysterical: “danger to democracy” and “worse than Hitler”. Additionally, the Supreme Court, which has issued some directives that the collectivists don’t like, is also coming under attack.

I don’t know if Trump is an evil reprobate under the control of the global cabal or a potential saviour of the nation. From the first principles, it seems that it is impossible to gain access to power without being a tool of the New World Order. The only positive thing about Trump is that every evil collectivist in the world hates him; he may be better than I think, and I may be able to bring my Trump cap out of retirement.

So we are in difficult territory, and then there is the role of China, which is spending billions of dollars to foster turmoil in the US. Peter Schweizer’s new book Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans - details the impact that China has had on politics in the US. Schweizer has examined secret Chinese documents and followed the money trail to show the shocking attack by China on America’s physical and mental health, and the Chinese also helped create social division. The approach is “disintegration warfare” which is the term used in a book written in China in 2010 and seeks to fan the flames of racial and social divisions using Chinese “bots”. These are Chinese people posing as Americans online on social media such as Twitter (X). There are large sums of money also being spent by China to foment social disorder and support extreme left-wing organizations. Some of these organizations were behind the Black Lives Matter protests.

Undoubtedly, China will seek to enhance the divisions in the US during the election season. I think that we will see a series of events over the coming months that will demand an authoritarian response in the classic process of the Hegelian dialectic—problem-reaction-solution.

What is certain is that when the best presidential candidates that a country of 340 million can produce are two octogenarians, who no one really wants, then there is a problem with the system.

Hand on to your hats. Victor Davis Hanson is correct and what we are likely to see over the next seven months is the “nastiest, dirtiest, scariest election in our history”.

STORIES THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION THIS WEEK

Preventing the Abuse of Public Health Emergencies

The World Council for Health - is a group created to counter the narrative of the globalist World Health Organization. The group says it is a: “global coalition of health-focused initiatives and civil society groups seeks to broaden public health knowledge and sense-making through science and shared wisdom. We are dedicated to safeguarding human rights and free will while empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing.”

The organization is a non-profit organization and was founded in 2021 in the wake of the overreach of governments following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Council for Health has just published a document – see this link - which provides information on preventing public health emergencies being used for nefarious purposes.

The document is worthwhile keeping on hand because it provides a detailed analysis about the way the pandemic was used against populations with the global introduction of ineffective lockdowns and dangerous “vaccinations”. The authors note:

“Controversially, the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations, ‘declared’ COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. This was followed by many countries across the world instituting severe emergency measures, resulting in widespread violations of basic human rights. Governments abused the declaration of a state of emergency, revealing a brash and cavalier indifference towards IHRL (international human rights law) and the lawful limits to policymaking. Indeed, emergency measures were misused “as a nefarious government technique, rather than an exceptional temporary measure.” Unlawful COVID-19-related pseudo-legal emergency regulations breached the fundamental human rights of billions of people globally.”

They conclude:

“The illegitimate declaration of national emergencies resulting in the deprivation of vital human rights, witnessed on a monumental scale across the globe in the name of COVID-19 public health, should never be accepted again. Only with the firm foundation of a minimum global legal order, where States honor IHRL (International Human Rights Law) norms and their international legal obligations, can the world be shaped to achieve security and full enjoyment of human rights by all.”

Of course, the document will be ignored by governments and public health authorities but it does provide information that could be useful for the freedom movement.

A Devastating Defeat in Poldova

Dr Jacob Nordangård is a Swedish author and researcher, who has done an extraordinary job over the last 20 years bringing to light the extraordinary influence of the Rockefeller family (Jacob has just published an English version of his book on the Rockefellers (Rockefeller: Controlling the Game). He publishes a newsletter titled The Pharos Chronicles . I found his recent article fascinating that provides an overview of Swedish history, its neutrality and European conflict.

I recommend that readers subscribe to Dr Nordangård’s newsletter which always has an important perspective on the New World Order. He concludes his recent newsletter as follows:

“While all eyes are on the conflict in the East, negotiations and preparations are underway for the UN Summit of the Future and the Pact for the Future.23 This is what the members of G20, including United States, European Union and the Russian Federation, are working on.24 A new technocratic global order.

·       The League of Nations was created after the First World War.

·       The United Nations was created after the Second World War.

·       So what will transpire out of the third?

As the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace concluded at the beginning of the 20th century: there is no more effective method than war to change a society.”

The same measures can also be applied in the west as in the east.

A digital world brain with an all-seeing eye (AI) rises out of the ashes of the old crumbling order.”

It is important to remember Jacob’s point made by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in their own documents.

War is the most effective way to change society and undoubtedly we are facing extension of current conflicts in the days ahead.

Tories Divided Over Definition of Extremism

The West drifts aimlessly and confused in the face of Islamic extremism and ongoing demonstrations. In the UK, the Islamists have the government and opposition running scared as the threat of terror attacks reaches a crescendo and has been officially raised to “severe”. As with the US, the UK government cannot control its borders. Thwe only strategy proposed by Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, is to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. This is a plan that doesn’t even pass the most basic “pub test” and you wonder how the government could persist with such a plan.

The cost of the plan has been recently estimated at £500 million - and it is unlikely that any illegal immigrants will ever leave UK shores for Rwanda.

As the politicians dither, a search has begun for a new definition of “extremism”. The UK Times reported this week:

“A government plan for a new definition of extremism has sparked concerns in cabinet that it could inadvertently penalise groups opposed to gay marriage, abortion or new transgender rights.

In an effort to tackle growing Islamic and far-right extremism in the UK, ministers are attempting to update the definition to encompass any group or individual that promotes an ideology that “undermines the rights or freedoms of others”.

However, some cabinet ministers fear that would ban groups such as gender critical feminists challenging transgender women’s access to same-sex facilities, or conservative Christian groups that oppose gay marriage or abortion, for example.”

It is evident that the UK government has no idea about how to cope with the illegal immigrant influx nor how to combat Islamic extremism, as supporters of Hamas surge onto the streets of major cities and intimidate UK Jews. Things will only get worse when the Labour Party comes into government later this year.

All we can do is to watch what they do in the UK - and then do the opposite.

Israel Update

Amir Tsafarti is a Messianic Jew (a believer in Jesus) who writes with knowledge and insight about events in Israel. He has a regular newsletter and a website - which has his teaching and books.

His latest newsletter had some important information about the current situation in Israel and I have included an extract from this for Sons of Issachar readers. I believe that he is a credible and reliable observer and analyst.

He provides a high-level view of the major areas of current conflict: Gaza, the West Bank and the Northern Front (border with Lebanon).

“Gaza
Fighting continues throughout the Gaza Strip. In Khan Yunis, dozens of terrorists have been arrested over the past week. On Sunday, the IDF launched a major airstrike on Khan Yunis destroying more of Hamas’s infrastructure. Also, that day, an airstrike killed the leader of Hamas’s recruiting efforts Mahmoud Muhammad Abed Khad. An Israeli reservist, Sgt. Maj. Dennis Yekimov, was killed a day earlier in Khan Yunis bringing the number of IDF troops killed in the Gazan war to 246.

Last week, a group began marching in a call for the return of the hostages. They launched from Kibbutz Re’im, near where the Nova massacre occurred, toward Jerusalem. Over the next four days, more and more people joined the procession. Finally, on Saturday, the assembly that now numbered over 15,000 arrived in Jerusalem. Included in the numbers were quite a few members of the families of the abductees. I feel deeply for the pain of these people. I can’t imagine the anguish of not knowing the situation of your loved ones, particularly after hearing the many stories of the abuse and torture these hostages are experiencing.

And, yes, the torture is happening. Despite the efforts of Hamas apologists to downplay what the terror group has done and is doing; the violence is real. Even the United Nations, after a thorough investigation, had to admit that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that rape and sexual torture were and are being perpetrated on women and children.

But this march is not the answer. This is the Benny Gantz strategy of a victorious army running in retreat (see above story). Yes, pressure must be asserted, but not at the Netanyahu government. It must instead be directed at Hamas until they finally break and release all those they are illegally and inhumanely holding.

The West Bank
As I’ve said before, the West Bank is a very dangerous place. The Al Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, are very active. Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party tries to portray itself as peaceful, but in actions they show they are terrorists – regularly shooting at Israeli villages and military bases.

In the Hebron area last month, the Shin Bet thwarted a terrorist cell that sought to carry out an ISIS-inspired bomb attack. Using information provided by online videos and ISIS contacts, these men constructed 100 explosive devices. If this plot had not been discovered, the results could have been devastating.

The Northern Front
The clash between Israel and Hezbollah is evident for all to see by the rockets fired south and the airstrikes launched north. On Monday, thirty rockets were fired over the border toward Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. Thirteen were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas. Hamas claimed responsibility for 16 of the rockets; it is assumed that Hezbollah fired the rest. For its part, the IDF regularly sends planes, missiles, and weaponized drones at strategic targets in Lebanon. Friday night into Saturday morning saw seven Hezbollah terrorists killed by airstrikes. One drone strike killed Abbas Ahmed Halil, grandson of Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Halil was a member of the pro-Iranian Imam Hossein Division. Two of his compatriots were also killed in the attack. According to Hezbollah, 226 of its fighters have been killed since the beginning of the war.

Syria is also preparing for war. Last week saw a combined land and sea exercise by the Syrian military. This week, the Syrian army is following up by carrying out a huge military exercise. Yesterday saw rockets fired from Syria toward the Golan Heights. Israel immediately retaliated with an attack into Syria.”

The situation looks grave in Israel and the US is pressing the Israeli government to bring a halt to the conflict. There also is division in the Israeli government and Benny Gantz, a former military chief-of-staff and now leader of the National Unity Party, traveled to Washington DC last week to meet with senior Biden staff in an unapproved visit.

Biden advisors are trying to bring an end to the Gaza war as they need the vote of US Muslims in the coming elections.

The US is committed to an impossible to implement two-state solution for Middle East peace. Amir Tsafarti noted: “Biden’s administration is desperate to find someone to run with their two-state solution, and Gantz is their useful idiot“.

The situation in Israel is not only a threat to further conflict in the Middle East but has had a terrible impact on the Israeli economy, with reservists unable to do their normal jobs and tourism at an all-time low and unlikely to improve in the near future.

Israel is an important country to keep our eyes on because it is crucial in God’s end-time plan. There is much more trouble to come.