Politics Weekend Posting
Even though the US government is shutdown, we can still post on politics šĀ
Ā
Here is this week’s political posting. Have a great weekend everyone.Ā
The U.S. has kinda been at war with Iran for 5 or so years, since Iran has been supplying drones against Ukraine …. and Ukraine is supported by the U.S,
GOLD…….. $3885
PLATINUM…$1604
(apologies if columns don’t align.)
Silver Price Performance: % Annual Change
Year USD AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP INR JPY
2010 +83.0% +60.4% +72.8% +64.9% +76.5% +96.2% +89.8% +74.8% +59.7%
2011 -10.2% -10.2% -7.5% -9.4% -13.7% -6.9% -10.0% +6.9% -14.8%
2012 +8.3% +6.7% +5.6% +5.5% +7.5% +6.2% +3.5% +11.6% +22.2%
2013 -35.9% -25.2% -31.3% -37.6% -37.6% -38.5% -37.0% -27.4% -22.1%
2014 -19.6% -12.1% -11.9% -10.3% -17.4% -8.5% -14.3% -17.8% -8.3%
2015 -11.5% -0.7% +6.2% -11.0% -7.3% -1.5% -6.4% -7.0% -11.1%
2016 +17.3% +18.8% +13.9% +19.2% +25.6% +20.9% +40.1% +20.4% +13.9%
2017 +7.1% -1.5% -0.1% +1.8% +0.3% -6.7% -2.7% +0.3% +2.7%
2018 -9.5% +0.3% -1.8% -8.7% -4.3% -5.1% -4.1% -1.5% -11.9%
2019 +15.5% +16.0% +9.8% +13.8% +16.9% +19.2% +11.0% +18.1% +14.4%
2020 +47.5% +34.4% +44.7% +35.0% +38.4% +35.4% +43.2% +51.5% +40.2%
2021 -11.5% -6.2% -12.1% -10.0% -13.9% -5.6% -10.5% -9.8% -1.3%
2022 +2.9% +9.9% +10.2% +4.1% +11.6% +9.3% +15.3% +14.2% +17.0%
2023 -1.2% -1.4% -3.8% -10.3% +1.3% -4.8% -6.7% -0.7% +6.5%
2024 +21.7% +33.2% +31.9% +30.8% +25.5% +29.2% +23.5% +25.0% +35.7%
2025 +61.5% +51.4% +56.6% +41.9% +57.5% +42.6% +50.3% +67.4% +51.0%
Average 10.3% 10.9% 11.5% 7.5% 10.4% 11.3% 11.6% 14.1% 12.1%
October 3, 2025
Gold prices are up 1,075% from 2000 to 2025 (YTD as of July 3)
On average, gold has delivered a 10.9% annual return over 25 years
2025 is one of goldās best years in terms of returns, up 27% as of July 3, 2025
AS OF JULY…. what is it NOW…….46.2%…..
2020 25.1%
2021 -3.6%
2022 -0.4%
2023 13.2%
2024 27.2%
2025 YTD 27.0%….. note correction…. 46%
SILVER has FAILED to reach the all time high…. of $49.85 going back to 1980…
and did not pass that number in the last bull run…
WHEN IT BREAKS…..$50 and stays above… then we know we have a GAME PLAN
One of the reasons I tried to post annual gains of silver is very simply to show volatility…….
it can go down double digits as well as up double digits.
(unlike the dollar’s value or purchase power, which stays in single digits (mostly))
Thus silver price does not totally correlate with supply and demand or anti-correlate with dollar buying power. (Although those are the long-term trends)
Long term (25 year) straight line fitted to the Gold/Silver Ratio data shows an upward slope of 0.00338/day. Right now (10/5/2025) the Gold/Silver Ratio line value was 84.71. While the price data this morning calculated a ratio of 82.59. So because this ratio is lower than the fitted line value it means that the silver price is under-priced relative to gold. So based on this you should buy silver or silver miners rather than gold or gold miners.
The Supreme Court just overturned two Sicko San Francisco court rulings re: removing illegal immigrants.
Traitor Biden had given protected status to all Venezuelan illegals. (about 500,000, with 300,000 grifting on tax-payer money.) Trump had removed that status and
started to deport felons……only to be stopped by unelected Californian “judges”.
The Supreme Court returned Constitutional Executive powers.
Meanwhile in South Chicago…….
Nobody in their right mind..goes to South Chicago
the news via CNN:
A federal judge in Oregon has granted a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard into Portland after the president announced he would send in troops to protect what he calls a āwar-ravagedā city.
The ruling by the Trump-nominated judge marks the latest setback to White House efforts to crack down on Democratic-led cities it claims are stricken by crime and disorder, often in part by citing the need to protect ICE facilities from riotous protesters.
The temporary restraining order expires in 14 days on October 18, US District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump nominee, wrote in her order Saturday.
Trump will appeal next week, of course.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8wKv9Bi6Y
Welcome to 51 and 52 states.
Wow……. Drive Alaska to California without crossing any national border ?
Come on British Columbia ?
CFS- very interesting video
Thank You
Trump said plain he intended to annex Canada.
Thats what stopped Canadians visiting south.
Boarder towns, Florida and Vegas have paid a price.
imo Trump has caused alot of trouble for the states
If he attacks Iran and or Venezuela……..
HUMM………. this could get interesting…..
Royal Canadian mint website. No Gold for sale. 85% of silver is gone as well
Royal Canadian Mint shelves stripped bareāgold unavailable and more than eighty percent of silver gone as demand hits an unprecedented high. Same true in Australia, Vietnam, Various Costco Locations.
The Silver Academy
Oct 5
GOLD OPENS………. $3916…….
GOLD………. $3940…….. strong action in east…
This is the politics discussion board. A connection between politics and the price of gold? Who’da thunk it! Then again history may not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.
š The SHeeple have not figured out the connection ,,,,yet, and maybe never will š
I am thinking you already know that… š
Some folks may think the price of gold or silver has little to do with politics.
However it has much to do in expressing the value of currency, and economies, AND international relations., which all affect politics.
It appears China and the BRICS, in general, are trying to destroy the United States dominance in the world.
They have done it to themselves but Chinese are giving them a push here and there…irritating them.
A history lesson on gold….
The Supreme Court starts again today….
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/5-major-supreme-court-cases-100000008.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-struck-another-boat-illegally-221218116.html
I know it is more difficult, but these boats need to be cease AND THE DRUGS DISPLAYED.
Many people do not believe there are drugs on board.
Very Interesting !
Unusual !
AI Overview
As of early October 2025, reports indicate that Israel is spending up to $4.1 million on a public relations and marketing campaign targeting Christians in the Western U.S. using digital surveillance methods like geofencing. This is not a “spying” operation in the traditional sense, but rather a highly targeted digital campaign based on location data.
Key details of the report:
Campaign goal: The campaign is designed to bolster support for Israel among Christians in the U.S. and counter what it perceives as anti-Israel messaging.
Contractor: Israel’s Foreign Ministry hired Show Faith by Works, LLC, an American firm led by a prominent Christian conservative activist, to execute the campaign.
Digital tactics: The campaign, described as the “largest Christian Church Geofencing Campaign in US history,” uses geofencing to target people with pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian digital ads after they enter designated virtual perimeters around Christian colleges and churches.
Propaganda tools: The initiative also includes a mobile “October 7th Experience” exhibit that travels to church parking lots and colleges. This is one part of a larger, broader public relations effort by the Foreign Ministry, which also includes AI-driven social media activity.
Surveillance concerns: Human rights observers consider geofencing to be a form of surveillance, as it involves tracking individuals’ behavior and location data, often without their full knowledge.
.
Clearly the U.S. gives too much to Israel. This propaganda potential is very strange.
Published: October 7, 2025 8:00am WH.gov
Then-Vice President Joe Bidenās team intervened in February 2016 to prevent the CIA from disseminating an intelligence report to policymakers about the perceptions senior Ukrainian officials held about his sonās business dealings, newly declassified memos show.
The Covid infection and certain vaccines leave a PERMANENT immune system damage……
$3995……. GOLD……… after hours… Tues.
Hello Jerry… JtheLong… Gold $4,000… tough resistance… Ending diagonal pattern… The š„ š„ bull requires a break to regroup. š¢
$4009………… Hello Tommy…….. Yes tough resistance…. š
Hey where is the CHartster…
OOPS……… $4012
Trump Signs Order Approving 211-Mile Mining Road In Alaska
Tyler Durden’s Photo
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025 – 11:00 PM
President Donald Trump issued a presidential memo on Oct. 6 ordering the approval of a proposed 211-mile industrial road in Alaska to allow access to copper and cobalt minerals.
Gold is surprising. It certainly broke some charting rules. I doubt it will drop hard enough this month for the rules to stay intact.
A bigger surprise is silver not breaking 50 yet. There are people saying these high prices on silver will create massive margin calls on certain central banks. I hope itās true.
China is now leasing SILVER….. whole different situation than in the past….
Obviously, SILVER is stuck, …. Mom and Pop are dumping the silver, talk to
any coin dealer, there are more sellers than buyers…
I told you,…. you could dump those charts ….. (for the time being)
THE BIG CUP AND HANDLE was broken, … and I said …
“whole different game”… uncharted waters…
OOPS…………$4028………… Gold
$4047……..Gold…….. humm
Goes to show…….. the EAST has taken charge
And yet the U.S. dollar exchange rate is not dropping ?
Pretty good explanation of whatās happening.
Love him or Hate him , Mandani the guy running for Mayor of NYC , just called out the Murdering Zionists in Israel . And judging by the reaction to his comments , we now know some of the names of the politicans who support the Genociders in Israel…………… Hat tip to the man , for speaking up , especially in a City full of the TRIBE.
Everyone (all countries and tribes) in the Middle East are wanting to sign a peace treaty. The only ones left to say yes to a peace treaty is Hamas.
What if Hamas says no to a peace treaty?
Is that going to be Trumps fault? I think not.
But Hamas will be wiped out swiftly if they reject peace.
Trump will broker the unthinkable. Peace in the Middle East.
With the hatred openly taught in schools in the Middle East,any permanent peace is not possible in our lifetime…….. only an illusion of temporary ceasefire.
Maybe Trump will be impeached. The only question is who would do it.
Vance is right behind him…. things for the Middle East will not change…
the DEPT OF WAR… is still there…
Since the 1970s, at least 28 women have accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct,[1] for acts that have included rape.
Whats it say about a society that a rapist can be elected prez?
I guess if the victims can be bought off or intimidated its all ok.
He supports a genocide and does what he can to get wars going, humans really are stupid
There are a few You Tubes explaining it.
The Nature of Human Stupidity
Why Stupid People are Destroying Society – The Laws of Human Stupidity
Why Stupid People Become Successful
One of my favorite quotes is Einstein saying for a genius I sure do some stupid things.
Stupid might just be human.
It also says a lot about the morals of some women who go after rich men. How easy it is to lie.
Yes. The name of Monica Lewinsky comes to mind. (Little blue dress was actual proof)
(So many others)
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/fbi-corruption-probe-picked-evidence-bill-clinton-paid-through-backdoor-gop
Go Long…. š Gold $4050……..
If, GOLDMAN raised the goal post… $5000 … must know something the sheep do not know… huuumm
Silver is having a hard time… Cabal needs to keep making bombs with the silver….
The price might be high right now in comparison to what it has been but Imo we are a long way away from “unobtainium”.
Anyone I know is having no issues buying what they are after.
Just News…….. š … Depends on what they are going after..”unobtainable”….
BREAKING: Canada says to USA. No Silver for You!
Physical silver shortages grip major markets worldwide, w/ Costco, the Royal Canadian Mint, and leading dealers across the U.S., UK, Holland, India, Turkey, South Africa, & Vietnam reporting sold-out
The Silver Academy
Oct 8
What can I say Jerry? Around here there doesnt seem to be an issue.
I just called to see, if a gold shop had 100 maple leafs on hand, they do and I could pre purchase whatever I want and collect next wed when their orders arrive.
They have bars if I wanted bars.
I called another and their opinion is no silver shortage but a minting challenge…..again.
There are also options at flea markets and thrift stores around here altho very limited.
There are also lots of options with people selling online as well.
So, imo we are aways away from “unobtainium”
Maybe next week..
B…. thanks for the follow up…….. the shop has to ORDER THEM….not in stock….”when their order arrives” you can pick them up.
Are the MAPLES…2025?
Of course the article says… THE MINT. is OUT…
The WHOLE SELLERS, or large bullion DEALERS,, should have some older inventory coming in and
going out. Silver is not hard to get presently, in the US.
BUT, FUTURE might tell another story…. Who knows……
, there seems to be PLENTY OF SILVER coming into most COIN SHOPS…
Mom and Pop are broke and unloading.. or just taking advantage of years of
low silver prices…. You can buy silver for SPOT… that is the MARKET TODAY..
MAYBE NOT IN THE FUTURE…Who really knows…
NEW DAY…..(Thursday)………….. SILVER OVER $51….. first time ever…. I do believe….
The BIG CUP AND HANDLE…. has finally been achieved… 45 yr cycle… Pop out… š
Interesting ……
China previously had bought a lot of short-term U.S. debt, in order to maintain a lower RMB while the U.S. imported a lot of Chinese goods. Now China is NOT renewing U.S. debt as bonds and Treasuries mature.
But U.S. is not importing as much from China.
What does appear to be the case, however, is that the the U.S. appears to be creating money out of thin air. i.e. the Fed appears to be cheating/lying or mis-valuing items on its books. The published numbers don’t add up.
The Fed is cheating, CFS?
š¤£ha..hahā¦shockerā¦ā¦!
Some Democrats…..
.
(Expletives deleted)
.
Palisades Fire Arsonist, Jonathan Rinderknecht,
created Eerie Pictures of Burning Cities,
Felt āLiberatedā by Incinerating the Bible
. . . (people died in those fires)
Also Donated to Biden, Was Registered to Vote in Florida
What a waste of time flying around.
Golf holiday……. Long weekend… š
No wonder crime is dropping in D.C.
The House Oversight Committee is conducting an inquiry into allegations that Washington, D.C.ās Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) leadership is deliberately manipulating crime statistics. Sources familiar with the process claim that city officials routinely minimize violent crime by downgrading charges, a practice they allege starts at the crime scene and continues through the court system.
A reserve officer with MPD disclosed that responding officers are not allowed to classify violent crimes independently, leaving those decisions to higher-ranking officials like sergeants or lieutenants. āThey make you call an official, like a sergeant and the lieutenant on the scene to make that decision. Basically, to put people who have skin in the game with the crime stats in the business of deciding whether we should record the stat or not,ā the officer explained.
This process, the officer noted, disincentivizes officers from reporting violent crimes accurately.The National Pulse reported in July that Michael Pulliam, a Washington, D.C. police commander, is under investigation for allegedly doctoring crime statistics.
The investigation began after the Fraternal Order of Police complained that the department was deliberately falsifying crime data.Further, the officer noted that a legal change in September 2023, driven by D.C. Council Democrats, introduced a new charge of āendangerment with a firearmā as a substitute for assault with a dangerous weapon. While both are felonies, only the latter is classified as a violent crime in MPDās data. The officer claimed this distinction is often abused to artificially lower violent crime statistics.
A review of the data found 25 instances of āendangerment with a firearmā being used in arrests between September 2023 and late 2024, though the true number may be higher. This reclassification, alongside MPDās selective use of crime categories, has raised questions about the cityās reported 35 percent decrease in violent crime from 2023 to 2024.Additionally, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Matthew Graves, has faced criticism for declining to prosecute a significant number of cases, including assaults against police officers. In 2023, Gravesā office reportedly did not prosecute 42 percent of cases. After President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January 2025, Graves was removed from office and eventually replaced by Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.
The U.S. is fracturing……
We will have a war.
Unless it is a war against an enemy, it will be a Civil War.
Unfortunately the U.S. cannot win a war against our serious foreign enemies; such as China or Russia.
Why does Trump think he is so special ? If he should get the Nobel Peace Prize it will be a mockery of what the award stands for . Trump… ME-ME-ME . IMO , he should be on trial for murdering people on boats , & aiding a genocide..
https://www.rt.com/news/626122-trump-pressure-nobel-peace-prize/
Gold support at $4000… last night….$4044 early morning…should be an interesting day…IMO
Hi Jerry , Tommorow could be a really freaky friday for G&S , & especialy if Zionist trump gets the prize.
Hey IRISH………….. SILVER POPPED OVER $51 USD…. a few min ago…
Popped out of the LONG CUP AND HANDLE>…..45 yr. cycle…. š
Silver can now have it’s day in the sun…. š
whole new BALL GAME…..
Hi Jerry . I was watching the chart , $51.50 then down , S&G are looking very strong imo.
Btw… As a coin collecter i think you will like this short story … i hate it when people call old silver coins …JUNK.
https://stuartenglert.substack.com/p/junk-silver-isnt-always-junk
EXACTLY………. thanks IRISH…. those old coins are worth checking…
and watch out for those crooked COIN DEALERS, they will screw you
every time…. from my experience…. š
Got to know when they are BULLsh*** you….
Some of them are just CLUELESS also….
Reminds me of when I had to explain STAR NOTES to at least a couple
of dealers 20 yrs ago….
They call it junk silver because that is exactly what it is. Don’t get your little panties in a wad, a** clown.
Hello Jerry and Irish… Sorry to say, but, IMO, this leg of the precious metals bull has just burnt itself out… the miners are rolling over… the silver move was a stop running, false breakout – failing fast… as always, I could be wrong. š„ š„ š°
In this day and age, as the U.S. dollar loses significance in world trade, it would appear that gold is becoming more significant as pure money – a representation of value/cost of goods and as a settlement for trade. As such, it is destined to increase in dollars for a long time. That does not mean so much that gold is really increasing in value, but maintaining buying power as fiat currencies collapse.
Hello Tommy………….
Many of the miners are LIARS…… plus they are not worth the time to check their books…
digging holes with your cash… pennies stocks with little hope…(not all but many)
Just get the finished product…. PHYZ… be your OWN BANKER….
GOLD IS GOING UP.. and SILVER IS GOING UP…. $37 TRILLION of worthless paper floating around
the SYSTEM… IMO… who really knows…
The significance of the LONG TERM CUP AND HANDLE in BOTH GOLD and SILVER
have been achieved…… 45 yr cycle… that is a big thing.
I think we are headed a lot higher……….. IMO and research…. but, do your own DD…. š
and THANKS FOR THE COMMENT…. Iron sharpening Iron
Short term you could be correct…..
You were wrong clown.
Silver over $50 ………………………………… https://giphy.com/gifs/holy-****-boys-6gNNubeeM4RGU7krA5
Silver should increase in dollars relatively more than gold, because not only does it have value as money, but utility due to high conductivity. In a modern electrical world, the great conductor, silver, will be needed more and more.
Balance….
The far East is losing interest in gold and silver at this point ,,,,,,, indicating a pull-back:
e.g. as of about 10 minutes ago:
Hong Kong Gold 4,012 U.S.D., silver 48.74 USD equiv.
New York gold $4,006 silver $50.01
Not a chance….. better read some more tea leafs…. š
LIKe I SAID…………” Not A CHANCE”…. EAST JUST DROVE THE PRICE UP AGAIN….
HONG KONG TIME>……. $51plus
FREAKY FRIDAY AGAIN…………………………..
SILVER………… $51 plus
COMEX just lost the battle….
And down it goes !!!………. Will it go back up again today , tune in later to find out …… lol
Hang on a minute.. it’s going back up . forget spot price , the new term is YO-YO price …… lol
London getting drained….. of silver…
Great news for the world , bad news for trump … Oh s**t old trumpy is going to be humpy because he did not get the Nobel prize . His HUGE EGO has been hurt . He will probaly go apes**t & start bombing the snot out of some people. But look at who did get it …. so perhaps he has had some kind of win afterall…………………. Tough S**t you WARMONGER …………… HaHa.lol.
Trumpster should not have blown up the drug boats….
The head of the Prize Committee is a mob leader… lol
The Nobel prize winner thanked Trump:
From the comment section at Zerohedge.
Not even brokering a historic cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that ended more than two years of war was enough for President Trump to secure the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.
Supplying The occupiers with everything they need to commit genocide.
Unprovoked bombing of Iran
Killing shepherds in Yemen
Attacking boats in the Caribbean without investigating first.
Yep, definitely deserves the Nobel peace prize./s
The socialist, bordering on communist, Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee would rather see hell freeze before they awarded anything to the ultimate capitalist , Donald Trump.
https://jdrucker.substack.com/p/insanely-anti-trump-norwegian-nobel
NOTE………
Refineries…. are NOT taking anymore flatware, or junk silver coins for melting…
as of last night…according to Vermillion Enterprises in FLORIDA….
Anyone interested in more info…I will give you the website….
SOMETHING WRONG HERE………….. SHORTAGE IN INDIAN….. ok….
By Anjana Anil and Rajendra Jadhav
Reuters
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. has temporarily suspended fresh lump-sum and switch-in investments into the Kotak Silver ETF Fund of Funds, effective October 10, 2025, the company said in a statement today.
This is primarily due to a shortage of physical silver in the domestic market that lifted premium sharply above benchmark prices, Kotak said.
Hello Jerry and Irish… FREAKY Friday Silver is an understatement… The backwardization is significant.
https://xrpmanchester.substack.com/p/silvers-backwardation-breakthrough
Hello Tommy………….thanks for the comment and article….
We are going higher…. a lot higher… just a matter of time….
$51..which it hit this morning…. is a whole new game…
I was watching the tape at that time… $51.22 ..Hong Kong close…
Then guess what… š London was wondering what to do… š
Silver might … go down, I doubt it is going down for long, if it goes
down… I am writing this at 4:36 PM … NY GLOBAL could do anything.. š
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened China with ācountermeasuresā and hinted his upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping could be canceled as a result of Beijingās latest escalation in trade hostilities.
China ramped up its economic pressure campaign this week, first by imposing new export controls Thursday on rare earth minerals critical to the production of vehicles, weapons systems, and other advanced technologies. On Friday, Beijing escalated further, announcing new port fees on American ships and launching an antitrust investigation into U.S. tech giant Qualcomm.
In response to what he described as āgreat trade hostility,ā Trump said there was āno reasonā to meet with Xi in South Korea later this month.
CfS….your neck of the woods…….. but, you most likely have already heard the news…
Blast at a Tennessee explosives plant leaves 19 people missing and feared dead, sheriff says
Associated Press
TRAVIS LOLLER
Updated Fri, October 10, 2025 at 4:19 PM EDT
This is half way between Nashville and Memphis… .humm,
the CABAL drug dealer where taken out , a few days ago.in both those cities,
… revenge… or War….. DOJ and FBI, are going to have their hands full…JMO
It was more a loud rumble than a bang. I wondered why thundering so early in the day.
Good job they dropped the word “Great” because they are whimpy now. Britain. huh !
What the ?
This is ? legal ? in canuckland ?
On Friday, President Trump announced that the United States will raise tariffs on Chinese goods to 100 percent, effective November 1 or sooner.
The move comes in response to Beijingās efforts to tighten control over some critical minerals and rare earth elements.
Tariffs on Chinese imports currently stand at 30%.
Trump shared the announcement on Truth Social.
Way to go, Donny Boy. !
The White House began conducting mass layoffs on Friday amid a prolonged government shutdown, including slashing an entire department under the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The entire staff at the Community Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) received a layoff notice on Friday, an administration official confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The programās elimination comes as White House officials repeatedly warned that the administration would pursue mass firings and budget cuts if Democrats did not reverse course and reopen the government.
Did you know:
Last year, the Bidenās claimed $54,665 in Social Security income on a joint basis, which works out to about $4,555 each month. Even taking into account that this $4,555 figure is the combination of Joeās and Jillās monthly payout, this is well above what the average retired worker brings home each month from Social Security.
Is everyone prepared for the potential breakout of war against Iran? Under distraction of the peace plan in Gaza… Or maybe an attack on Venezuela?
The peace President and the 20 point plan… Ritter rant 59 on substack has a link to rant 58…
https://scottritter.substack.com/p/ritters-rant-059-censorship