Your daily reminder:
Americans CAN stop this anytime without being arrested or punished in any way for their actions. STOP SPENDING on all but essential items and shift as much of that essential spending to local businesses. No need to stop eating out, just eat in locally run family eateries (NOT corporate chains). It’s about strategic spending decisions. It’s all about common sense, but if you need more detail, click here for my broader thinking.
There is no case to be made for saying ‘there’s nothing we can do’ It really is very simple, and I would urge you to encourage everyone you know to become part of a sustained act of strategic economic disengagement, because I guarantee just by this most simple of actions, you can unlock the gate on the road back to real American values. A sustained 3-4% drop in consumer spending will occur if Americans have the collective and sustained patriotic determination to say ‘enough is enough’.
I want to begin by thanking all of those who engaged and reached out to me after the first part of this series on my proposal to approach the Epstein operation from the perspective of looking beyond the sex trafficking, which represents a very small part of what this is all about. I can assure you that your encouragement to unravel this decades-old rise of the ‘Epstein Class’ is appreciated, because I feel passionately that it is a critical part of understanding so many events that led to the rise of MAGA as a movement, and thus where we find ourselves today. It does mean that, given the level of research required, it’s very difficult to post every day, but I’m sure you’ll understand, so I would just ask for your patience, because it’s very important to get it right.
I aim to examine the historical context and clarify that, while Epstein was undoubtedly in bed with Mossad, we must not dismiss the connection to Russia. In a post earlier in the week, when I was trying to formulate the best approach to what will be an open-ended series of pieces, it was suggested that I was on the wrong path when it came to the ‘Russian connection’. The consensus was that I should focus instead on the Israeli connection.
I’m more than aware that many are very unhappy with the level of support provided to Israel and the influence that Israel has in the halls of power. Indeed, this week it was revealed that Israel will be investing $93 million in the upcoming midterms, and that will be across BOTH sides of the aisle. These concerns are absolutely legitimate and valid claims, supported by plenty of evidence, but the Israeli connection is just one in a web of geopolitical influence that reaches across Europe and the Middle East, and by Europe, I, of course, include Russia.
It’s not my intention to provide a history lesson, but more to use historical context to explain the birth of what has already been termed the ‘Epstein Class’. In truth, Epstein was just a cog and a branding label in a much larger wheel of influence that has determined the political path the world has followed since World War II. What is vital in the telling of this story is that you leave all your common perceptions at the door, because what we are about to embark upon together, follows NONE of the rules that we thought were in place to keep us safe and build prosperity for all.
We start this journey of discovery with a blank sheet. I have a myriad of notes, recordings of speeches, archive film and the assessments of some of the world’s finest journalists in my information armoury. Mine is not an expedition in search of fame and acknowledgement, but rather the opportunity to share my thoughts as if you and I were having a coffee or a beer together. As I’ve said many times, I do not have the qualifications to call myself a journalist. I’m the guy next door who has a passion for research, knowledge and enlightening commentary. I like to think of myself as someone blessed with the ability to make sense of the complex and articulate it in a way that engages people, but ultimately that is for others to judge
In some ways, I’m about to attempt the impossible, because what I want to try and do is weave the events of today into my assessment of what has long been a global shadow organisation. An operation that Trump, or rather those pulling his strings, has now decided to selectively expose and declare as US foreign policy. There is little doubt in my mind that MAGA was born out of a psyops operation by the business and political elite to experiment with a new era of propaganda, and the Heritage Foundation have been the tip of the spear.
There’s much talk about the Reagan era being the key inflexion point when the elite really began to understand the power of selling a dream while emptying the pockets of the middle class. It’s been a mission to sell people the dream that if they just work harder, they will one day be rich too. It makes no sense to object to tax cuts when you believe it will affect you when you become rich soon. The same thing was going on in the UK with Reagan’s geopolitical sidekick, Margaret Thatcher. It’s worthy of note at this point that on the day Thatcher died, I honoured a longstanding bet that I would dance naked in my back garden. Fortunately, there are no photographs to share, so no trauma will be inflicted on anyone today.
The point is that this is where the wealth gap began its meteoric rise to its current level. So how does this relate to Epstein? Before we move on, I want to share an updated 2010 presentation that examined how everyday Americans perceive the wealth gap. The key takeaway is that NOTHING HAS CHANGED, except the rich have just got richer. It has become the societal operating system for capitalism in the 21st Century.
My thanks to Keven Duverglas for the clip.
Remember when I said to leave all your current thinking at the door? The reason that’s important is that I need you to stop thinking of the Epstein operation as a separate entity and start thinking of it as a societal operating system where the elite are the system administrators and we the people just have a guest account. Elections simply provide a new firmware update every cycle. I believe you can see the fingerprints of insatiable greed at the key economic inflexion points, such as the 2008 housing crash and the 2016 election of Trump.
The true act of deception has been to create the illusion that the election of a Democratic President represents change. It’s just a political boob job designed for those who purport to hold true American values to feel better about themselves. Their narrative becomes to promote the limited changes the elite will permit in order to paint a picture of a better society. It’s ground that the Epstein Class are prepared to concede periodically while Democrats repair the economic and regulatory carnage Republicans leave behind. The GOP have long been the errant teenager who leaves their bedroom a mess, knowing that while they roam the streets up to no good, when they come back their mother will have tidied up the mess and made their bed, so they can do the same thing again tomorrow.
It’s no coincidence that, based on data dating back to the 1950s, 10 of the last 11 U.S. recessions began under Republican presidents, and that economic downturns follow under Republican administrations. This isn’t hyperbole; this is just a simple statement of fact. In government, they spend like drunken sailors, and as soon as they lose power, they have a road to Damascus moment and become fiscal conservatives. There is absolutely no question that this is a product of the Epstein Class.
The same applies to job creation, since 1989, 51 million jobs have been created. Around 49 million under Clinton, Obama and Biden, with between 1 and 1.5 million created under the two Bush administrations and Trump. Earlier data is less granular, but if we look at the period from 1050 to 2023, between 70 and 75% of jobs were added under Democrats. Republicans despite their lies about being the party of fiscal responsibility, simply pile on the national debt in order to give tax cut to the rich. Again, NOT hyperbole.
They have developed a sophisticated sociopolitical and economic model that works in concert to drive a societal model in which all wealth is concentrated at the top by draining hope and ambition from those at the bottom. This is all part of the plan to reintroduce slavery in the form of economic slavery, with the White House becoming the plantation house. America is now a country powered by consumption, with the top 10% driving 49% of that spending. To really drive the knife in and twist it, spending by the bottom 50% is being increasingly driven by ‘buy now pay later’ finance provided by guess who? My simple question is: at what point will people wake up?
I’m going to need you to be patient, because to understand what’s going on and to understand the links to the Epstein Class, I need to show you how they are woven into your lived experience in America today. It’s important to see this as one big picture, and to do that, we have to establish a foundation on which all this is built. GREED. That will, of course, come as no surprise, but I’m pretty sure that by the time we get to the end of this journey together, you’ll share the same Eureka moment that I have had for the past week.
Those driving this bus will do everything to convince you that this is a big conspiracy theory, because that will ensure you dismiss the truth. Here’s what I would say to that. I believe those who know me and my work understand that my approach is to provide plausible assessments grounded in hard facts. I work on the principle that every piece I write is deeply researched and fact-checked through multiple sources, made possible with the assistance of those who support my work.
There is so much being hidden from view now in this upside-down world, but the secret is to marshal your thoughts around the facts to fill in the blank spaces. That’s where I come in to provide my thoughts as a basis on which you can use your own critical thinking and research to satisfy that my thoughts have validity in the fog of misdirection and disinformation. Do I always get it right? No, it’s impossible to always get it right, but what you can be assured of, is that when I get it wrong, I will apologise and correct errors in the same sunlight I share my opinions. I can do no more than that.
This series on the Epstein Class is probably the most important work I have done to date here. Its aim is to directly link the evolution of political tyranny in the US that brought us to this moment. To that end, it will alternate between historical and current-day data and events as we progress. I would appreciate your feedback on how this works for you as a reader moving forward, given this will be a new methodology for me.
There is no question that, if this comes together as I envision, it could pose a potential risk to my safety. To that end, I have retained lawyers and established a framework to store all research materials and resulting articles in a Faraday enclosure (my own SCIF so to speak held by my lawyers). I’m not trying to be sensationalist; I just want to ensure the work is protected and retained.
We live in a messed-up world, but NOBODY has to buy access to my thoughts. They are free for all to read and comment on, and when you do, I will engage. Truth Matters has always been about community from the very start, and it’s that sense of community that inspires those who can to support what I do here with my eternal thanks.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/15/defeat-trump-mass-non-cooperation
The key to defeating Trump? Mass non-cooperation | Mark Engler and Paul Engler
“The extraordinary level of grassroots solidarity and creative resistance in anti-ICE protests in Minnesota has given people a new appreciation for the power that mass non-cooperation can have in resisting the Trump administration’s drive toward authoritarianism. And it has created an awareness of why such action is clearly needed.”
Successful Social Movements
In this transcript Professor Chenoweth discusses the four elements necessary for a successful social movement. Below are excerpts from the transcript.
“The third thing that successful movements do is they innovate new tactics. This is very important because movements that tend to over-rely on a single technique like protests, like demonstrating every Friday, something that becomes very routinized, end up succumbing much more quickly first of all to protester fatigue, but the second thing is they often subject their participants to a higher risk of repression or communal violence from opponents. So movements that are capable of having the capacity to shift to methods of dispersion, like stay-at-homes or strikes or forms of economic noncooperation, tend to be much more effective because they have the capability of maneuver when the state begins to ramp up violence against them.”
The following takes the mass non-cooperation proposal a step further and would avoid the bloodshed we’ve already seen, and will see in the future with street demonstrations
The Peaceful Solution-Part 1
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports the HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience and economic disruption. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
As complementary reading re: "The Epstein Class", this well-researched piece by the Australian sociologist Melinda Cooper, entitled "Epstein Family Values", absolutely hits the right notes, tying the "new patriarchy", SV techno-feudalism, and the rank unaccountability of the uber-wealthy into a collective description of abysmal moral failure, and the class of victims created.
https://www.equator.org/articles/epstein-family-values?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=Equator+newsletter+15+-+150226+FREE&utm_medium=email