Subjects of an Experiment

Good Morning, Brekfastpoppers. Today is Thursday, September 17, 2015. Our creative friend, Spider Harlotte, is here with me at the breakfast table. Her original intent was to discuss the debates, but something more pressing has come up that needs our immediate attention. Please join us for breakfast this morning. Given the disturbing nature of Harlotte's concerns, today we will be having dry toast and tea. Once you hear what President Obama has done, you won't have much of an appetite. We hope to see you soon.

Thank you all for joining me this morning. I have terrible news to share with you. President Obama has issued a new executive order which effectively authorizes the federal government to conduct behavioral experiments on United States citizens. The experiments are designed to help advance government initiatives. Government has grown so out of control under this administration that I shudder to think about the far reaching consequences of its long reaching intrusive arm. The president's executive order states that there is a growing body of evidence from the fields of psychology and behavioral economics that demonstrate that it is possible to serve the pubic better if big brother government understands how you and I make decisions. If you are into the actual name of the study, here goes: "Strengthening Federal Capacity for Behavioral Insights." In other words, the federal government, courtesy of Obama and his pals, are trying to tighten their stranglehold on all of us.

Does the name Cass Sunstein ring a bell? Sunstein is a behavioral scientist who co-authored a book with University of Chicago economist Richard Thaler, called "Nudge." The book took the position that government policies could be designed to "nudge" citizens toward certain behaviors and choices. Does the word "brainwashing" fit in here? Anytime the government does anything, they screw it up. Anytime the government announces a program of limited duration, it runs forever. Anytime the government inserts their ugly presence into a problem, the trouble escalates. Just witness what has happened to our country in terms of race relations. This administration has manipulated and encouraged events that have led us to a crisis of mammoth proportion. This administration has encouraged and fostered hatred of the police and has done absolutely nothing to calm things down. It really isn't a quantum leap of the imagination to think that this is exactly what President Obama and his scary friends were looking for. If you think of the nation as a giant laboratory, the experimenters, aka the government and its officials, have stirred the pot and ignited violent behavior that is shaking our world. Although Obama's initiative seems new, the idea has been around since 2013. Now that this administration has made the policy "official", expect manipulation, deception and creepiness on a scale that is impossible to fathom.

Agencies are being encouraged to employ the methods and techniques of behavioral science when developing strategies. In other words, the book "Nudge" has taken center stage. Federal agencies are directed to push us in the direction the government wants when it comes to policy making. We are little hamsters running around a wheel. I almost chuckled when I learned that the government wants to play around with labeling certain expenditures. If these expenditures are called benefits we, the fools, will feel more kindly toward their implementation. Cass Sunstein is advocating for the infiltration of covert government agents into online social networks to combat false conspiracy theories or narratives that may undermine our faith in government. From the looks of things right now, the government has a huge job on their hands. It is clear to anyone who is paying attention that Barack Obama is determined to leave office with the awful legacy of having changed us forever in ways that our Founding Fathers never intended or imagined. Our "do -nothing asleep on the job" Congress is allowing all of this to happen. The only possible way out of this is the 2016 election. One of those Republicans had better lead the way out of this mess.

Harlotte's Song

Oh, what a tangled web we weave

When first we practice to deceive.

Sir Walter Scott