John Minford, #SunTzu 9: 3 "These are the positions in mountain warfare."
To review...
1) Stay close to valleys 2) Camp high 3) Face the open 4) Fight downhill, not up
Yesterday, we analyzed a six-point map of election 2020 following out the fourth rule, don't fight uphill. Today, we'll explore the first three rules. First, though, a point about our text and translator...and Master Sun as well.
I've explained many times that I approach our text as if it were exactly as it is supposed to be. Written by Master Sun, translated perfectly, and most especially with repetitions being purposeful, meaning we need to study the same point again, often in new context.
If I was ever going to whine about this, it would be today's verse, which seems most likely our translator's choice, and I'm not certain he was being purposeful about this. Yet, why rebel? So, today we'll look at the first three rules for the core of our work.
It's also a perfect moment to bring in Roger Ames. His work on this section is simply awesome. You'll feel the strategy here, I promise!
Roger Ames, #SunTzu page 139 "Pass through the mountains keeping to the valleys; pitch camp on high ground facing the sunny side; and joining battle, do not ascend to engage the enemy. This is positioning the army when in the mountains."
The #MAGA mountain is the high ground where the vast majority of Americans agree. It is our founding principles. Here's an example. All legal immigrants believe in the legal process of immigration. They believe in the queue, and they do NOT believe in cutting the line.
Legal immigration is the high ground. While we fight for it, we win. We need to camp there, that is, to stake out our ground and stay there, never doubting for a moment that the citizens of America are with us. This high ground is nothing less than rule of law.
Why face the open? If the high ground is to your back, it's very difficult for the enemy to come down on you from above. The open is what is beneath you. The open is where you place your enemy so that you can sweep down from above, yourself.
You should hear me flipping my wig at the FOX news interviewers and commentators who seem NEVER to face the open ground and bring the debate home. Why doesn't anyone ever seem to take a stand on the meaning of the term "illegal?" How is this controversial?
Sadly, I have an answer. It comes from my friend @JonStancik's recommended book, Men In Black, by @marklevinshow. For the past 40 years, SCOTUS has given illegal aliens equal status before the law, creating new rights for them at every turn.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow And what did we do, when all this was going on? If you're like me you were sawing logs, sound asleep, paying no attention as the open field was handed over to the Democrats with their progressive left agenda. I had no idea. I feel like I'm only awakening now.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow But let's step back away from the specific example and review the strategic guidance from Master Sun. Stay close to the valleys. Established truth, known by all Americans. The real path of America is the valley. Camp high. Position ourselves on the high ground.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow Face the open. I have to go off again. I'd love to be wrong. I recently heard that the RNC has already conceded the fight for the House in 2020. Please, someone, tell me I'm wrong! Here's the truth. There are 435 open seats. That is the open field, each and every one of them.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow And here's what I'm looking for. 435 self-appointed leaders, one for each House district. What would it take to ensure that a Republican won YOUR district, even if it is the first time in 70 years? Could it happen? You bet it could. That's how our Constitution was written.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow Who remembers the Man of La Mancha, and his impossible dream? So what if it seems impossible? What better kind of dream is there? Besides, impossible always stops being so difficult once you make it possible. The field is WIDE OPEN. So don't believe those idiots, okay?
@JonStancik@marklevinshow In coming verses we'll be crossing rivers, heading through salt marshes fast as we can, and occupying level ground, fighting hard as we can. In every instance, we'll be working hard to follow Master Sun's guidance about placing advantage on our side.
@JonStancik@marklevinshow We have just a tad more than a year to marshal ourselves, and get this job done. Let's say, for the moment, we leave Trump's reelection to Trump and team. Let's say that the 435 House seats are our job. Are we up to it? To be honest, I don't know that we are.
To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.
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The brilliant tweet below, by my friend @FloridaBoyMedia, solved a YUGE problem for me. Why did @realDonaldTrump support @kevinomccarthy for speaker? Until the tweet below, I could not square that circle. Now I can.
2) The simple fact is that McCArthy is a natural enemy of Trump's, and of the #MAGA Movement, exactly as Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are. All of us sycophantic Trump supporters wanted him to be a temporary Speaker, himself. Alas.
3) Thing is, if we know nothing else about Trump, we know he does business with his enemies. Think of Kim Jong Un. No missile tests during Trump's administration. And how many since Let's Go Brandon? It ain't zero.
2) I was not in DC for the 6 January 2021 Rally. I wanted to go. Fiercely. It wounded my ego to NOT go. Allow me a martial arts term: Zanshin. It comes from the Samurai and means your sense of threat or danger. For the Samurai it was almost a mystical concept.
3) In Akira Kurosawa's great film The 7 Samurai (which was the basis of the Magnificent 7), there is a scene in which a Samurai being recruited and tested, refuses to walk past an open door, which was, in fact, hiding an attacker. He was the greatest recruit. That was Zanshin.
1/ I have now watched our podcast below. If you haven't seen it yet, find the time. It's worth it. I sure wish I could learn to make my eyes look at the camera instead of the person's face on screen. Alas.
2/ As to the coming thread, though, I walk away feeling some other ground needs to be covered. Try to stick tight if you can. Look at this list:
1) Doctrine 2) Strategy 3) Tactics 4) Execution
Why does it seem the other side has all four, but we only have the last two?
3/ I want you to try to answer that question for yourself, and my spoiler alert is for the next tweet, not this one. And by all means, please comment. Let me know what your thoughts are, please.
Can you say "getting into the weeds?" I don't imagine too many will care, but for some strange reason I've decided I want to know about the Rules Package. So, here's the best version of the current package I've yet found.
2) The PDF above is the one they call "The 55 Pages."
So, knowing I do not know this language, I decide to just start reading and here's a screenshot of the first thing I find.
3) Who knew? Who had any idea? the 118th Congress begins its own rules by adopting the rules from the 117th Congress. I'd never have imagined. Okay, a bit of searching - it does NOT pop right up - and, I found this:
General Flynn's voice is heard strong and clear. He pulls incredible audiences. His analysis and writings are very powerful as well. Here's his New Year's guidance!
2) We'll walk through his counsel in detail later in this thread (which may take a few days to complete). But let's cut straight to the chase. @elonmusk, can you give General Flynn his Twitter account back, please?
3) No, @elonmusk, there is not - to my knowledge - a major Twitter story behind the unhinged attacks that our government executed against General Flynn and his family. But, the simple fact of his purging from Twitter is, in its own right, an important story.
Analysis 4 - 31 December 2022 - Hammer & Scorecard
Do you follow @maryclairerose? If not, please do so right now! She will be our guide in today's work. She's one of our very best analyst/writers, period.
2) We'll dive into @maryclairerose's work in a moment. First, I have a bit of backstory to share. I met Marcy Claire in 2016. I'll never forget the call I got, shortly after we met, where Mary Claire explained the illegality of Obama's money drop to Iran. Who remembers that?
3) Mary Claire always combines brilliance with patriotic passion. Throw in far more than anyone's fair share of writing talent and you start to get the picture. As I recall it, none of her editors were willing to run with her scoop.