I'm so sick of being taken for a fool. I don't eat pablum. 'They', think we are so fucking stupid...and we, somehow, seem to reinforce that belief. On a global scale.
What gets mislabeled as cynicism...is usually pattern recognition...seeing the gap between what institutions say...and what their behavior actually shows.
A lot of public discourse is pablum by design.
It’s meant to soothe...not explain.
To manage fatigue...not invite real understanding.
And yes...systems often assume people won’t look closely.
Not because people are stupid...but because exhaustion works.
Complexity slows scrutiny. Partial transparency...creates the feeling of knowledge without accountability.
Where I’d push back slightly is the idea that “we reinforce it.”
Most people aren’t consenting...they’re just tired.
The fact that you’re angry means you haven’t accepted the children’s version of reality.
You’re still demanding adult explanations.
That’s exactly what threatens systems built on managed awareness! Keep doing what you're doing.
And so many people are truly exhausted by demands of work, family and trying to stay upright when they must. Even if they would like to know and understand they have no bandwidth left. I’ve been struck with this during the holidays, as I see so many people working too hard for too little. As much as I like knowing these patterns, I also see the way this regime is working to exhaust regular people, so they will give up and not fight back. It makes me sad. I had a sad Christmas, for many reasons, which makes me more aware of those with less of everything than I. 👹
Thank you so much for this explanation of the so-called ‘releases’ of the ‘files.’ I love reading your articles not only for their content, but for their format. You make it easy to read and comprehend the material simply by virtue of the layout, typeface, and overall presentation. I read and really over consume news, so sometimes I get almost bug-eyed. You are by far my number 1 Substack author/writer. Being a KC dude adds oodles to your cachet. Have a grand and Happy New Year my friend. Together we all will link arms to fight the Trump regime and begin the restoration of our democracy! 🥰🥳❤️👍
Thank you, Elizabeth...truly. That means more than you probably realize.
What you’re describing is exactly why I’m so intentional about format and structure. When you’re already over-consuming news...the last thing you need is more cognitive friction.
If the layout lowers the load and lets the pattern come through without making you bug-eyed...then the piece is doing its job.
And...I appreciate the trust. Being someone’s “number 1” is not something I take lightly...believe me, especially from a reader who clearly thinks hard and reads widely. That’s the audience I write for.
As for being a KC dude… I’ll take that with pride. There’s something grounding about coming from a place that values plain talk...skepticism of power..and showing up for your people when it matters.
The work ahead isn’t about outrage...it’s about clarity...stamina...and refusing to be infantilized. Linking arms starts with understanding how the machinery actually works...so we know where to apply pressure and where not to waste it.
Wishing you a genuinely restorative New Year...my friend. We keep going ...eyes open... backs straight...and no pablum.
I only have the one question, which was, while I dispute none of your assertions, who the hell was smart enough to be able to manage this as efficiently and noxiously across what- four administrations? What is apparently coming out is a gargantuan conspiracy so ludicrous I find it hard to fathom, yet compared to what’s really happening in plain sight it’s almost believably quaint. (Look at the damage Elmo did in just four months)
If this is as huge as we are beginning to fathom, it would take and probably did take a dedicated team to manage it over 30 years. Of whom, on what side, funded by.. beats me.
Zev Shalev has investigated Epstein for years using publicly available information. His The Greatest Heist connects some dots that are very enlightening. Epstein and the files are about WAY more than the trafficking operations. If it all ever comes out the fallout will be worldwide.
Reading Jack’s piece hit hard. It’s not just about Epstein — it’s about the systems that let the powerful evade accountability while the vulnerable are silenced. The clarity and courage in connecting the dots makes you see the story, and the harm, in a way headlines never do. This is essential reading.
Once again right on Jack. It is interesting to note that SO MANY people in power know so much about different “sections” of the Epstein files. Inevitably in history someone blows the whistle (thinking Nixon). This may not happen right away (pressure not strong enough) but I believe it will. With a dem controlled congress (or just the house) and victim’s testimony under oath (I still believe they have much info not made public) the screws will turn. Dems need only one thing to dig in the large hook and the whole thing will fall apart. Patience now is a virtue, pressure and daily publicity must keep this on the front burner!
I worked as lead paralegal for a firm specializing in complex litigation and antitrust in the 1990s.
The good folks at Bonneville Pacific Corporation (which rose again with new leaders
from the ashes after Chapter 11) were crooked as can be. Their portfolios and financial filings included towns, cities, completed electrical projects, planned hydroelectric plants, and local elected officials who purportedly signed off on them. Many of those did not exist.
Our client had invested huge amounts of money, in the range of $200 million. They were a major electricity provider in California. They were being sued by the Bankruptcy receiver on behalf of the small investors because our client didn't do due diligence but relied almost totally on the financials audited by Deloitte.
We only were able to catalog and summarize about 65,000 from close to a million documents. It boggles my old retired brain to think what had to be waded through on Epstein. These were in banker's boxes, over 1500 of them. Now it would take just a few memory discs.
Jack, do you know if any of the Epstein docs were Bates Numbered? That was our saving grace. We could easily check to see if any docs "disappeared" from one actor but still existed in records of another. (Like the Epstein Estate).
So, is the bottom line that we will not see justice for the victims? Are we to keep informed by the crumbs so eagerly spun and sprinkled at our tired feet to think the info dump is worthy of our heart felt emotions to get to the promised land of information that will make everything better? I think I saw the real truth in your reporting today. I am a sucker for wanting to believe that all the truth sstera really want to say the truth...NO! They want our tired souls to stay for another round of nothing said. I am sick to my stomach to think I bought into this pure bull shit. I have lots of important things to do, so with tears in my eyes and hurt in my heart, I just give it up. I am a disappointed patriot who loves democracy and law abiding officials and honesty in journalism. I am finding it hard to find any of these in my world. God help us all, because we have forgotten to help our fellow man.
Oh, my goodness!! This explains why this “process” has all seemed backward to me.
It kinda WAS.
Yes. By design, Rae....by design.
-Jack
I’m feeling a bit better about my brain right now, thanks to your explanation. 😉
I'm so sick of being taken for a fool. I don't eat pablum. 'They', think we are so fucking stupid...and we, somehow, seem to reinforce that belief. On a global scale.
You’re not wrong, Coco.
And you’re not crazy for feeling this way.
What gets mislabeled as cynicism...is usually pattern recognition...seeing the gap between what institutions say...and what their behavior actually shows.
A lot of public discourse is pablum by design.
It’s meant to soothe...not explain.
To manage fatigue...not invite real understanding.
And yes...systems often assume people won’t look closely.
Not because people are stupid...but because exhaustion works.
Complexity slows scrutiny. Partial transparency...creates the feeling of knowledge without accountability.
Where I’d push back slightly is the idea that “we reinforce it.”
Most people aren’t consenting...they’re just tired.
The fact that you’re angry means you haven’t accepted the children’s version of reality.
You’re still demanding adult explanations.
That’s exactly what threatens systems built on managed awareness! Keep doing what you're doing.
-Jack
And so many people are truly exhausted by demands of work, family and trying to stay upright when they must. Even if they would like to know and understand they have no bandwidth left. I’ve been struck with this during the holidays, as I see so many people working too hard for too little. As much as I like knowing these patterns, I also see the way this regime is working to exhaust regular people, so they will give up and not fight back. It makes me sad. I had a sad Christmas, for many reasons, which makes me more aware of those with less of everything than I. 👹
Thank you so much for this explanation of the so-called ‘releases’ of the ‘files.’ I love reading your articles not only for their content, but for their format. You make it easy to read and comprehend the material simply by virtue of the layout, typeface, and overall presentation. I read and really over consume news, so sometimes I get almost bug-eyed. You are by far my number 1 Substack author/writer. Being a KC dude adds oodles to your cachet. Have a grand and Happy New Year my friend. Together we all will link arms to fight the Trump regime and begin the restoration of our democracy! 🥰🥳❤️👍
Thank you, Elizabeth...truly. That means more than you probably realize.
What you’re describing is exactly why I’m so intentional about format and structure. When you’re already over-consuming news...the last thing you need is more cognitive friction.
If the layout lowers the load and lets the pattern come through without making you bug-eyed...then the piece is doing its job.
And...I appreciate the trust. Being someone’s “number 1” is not something I take lightly...believe me, especially from a reader who clearly thinks hard and reads widely. That’s the audience I write for.
As for being a KC dude… I’ll take that with pride. There’s something grounding about coming from a place that values plain talk...skepticism of power..and showing up for your people when it matters.
The work ahead isn’t about outrage...it’s about clarity...stamina...and refusing to be infantilized. Linking arms starts with understanding how the machinery actually works...so we know where to apply pressure and where not to waste it.
Wishing you a genuinely restorative New Year...my friend. We keep going ...eyes open... backs straight...and no pablum.
-Jack
You are #1, Zev Shalev from Naratif is my #2, Dean Blundell & Joyce Strong are my #3’s (tied). 👍❤️🥳
I only have the one question, which was, while I dispute none of your assertions, who the hell was smart enough to be able to manage this as efficiently and noxiously across what- four administrations? What is apparently coming out is a gargantuan conspiracy so ludicrous I find it hard to fathom, yet compared to what’s really happening in plain sight it’s almost believably quaint. (Look at the damage Elmo did in just four months)
If this is as huge as we are beginning to fathom, it would take and probably did take a dedicated team to manage it over 30 years. Of whom, on what side, funded by.. beats me.
That’s the right question, Randy...and the answer is less cinematic than people expect... which is why it’s so hard to see.
It didn’t require a single mastermind...a shadow cabal,,,or a 30-year conspiracy meeting in a bunker.
What it required was institutional continuity.
Large systems don’t run on genius. They run on:
*career risk management
*precedent
*legal insulation
*and incentives that reward not being the person who blows things open
Across administrations, the people who actually control flow aren’t presidents. They’re:
*senior DOJ managers
*career prosecutors
*agency counsel
*classification authorities
*risk committees
*and the lawyers who advise all of them
Those roles persist while politics rotates.
No one had to “manage Epstein” end to end.
Each node only had to do one small...defensible thing:
*narrow scope
*delay follow-up
*treat names as non-actionable
*classify evidence as case-bounded
*defer to jurisdiction
*invoke sensitivity
Every step looked reasonable in isolation.
Together...they produced containment.
That’s why it survived four administrations.
Not because everyone agreed...but because no one was incentivized to be the outlier.
As for funding or “sides”: it’s not left/right or foreign/domestic.
It’s system vs. disruption.
What Elon did in four months looks chaotic because it violated institutional norms loudly.
This was the opposite, slow...legal...boring...procedural...and therefore far more durable.
That’s the uncomfortable truth.
What you’re reacting to isn’t a conspiracy so much as a machine...that doesn’t need belief to function...only compliance...caution...and time.
And that kind of power is hiding in plain sight...everywhere.
-Jack
Zev Shalev has investigated Epstein for years using publicly available information. His The Greatest Heist connects some dots that are very enlightening. Epstein and the files are about WAY more than the trafficking operations. If it all ever comes out the fallout will be worldwide.
Reading Jack’s piece hit hard. It’s not just about Epstein — it’s about the systems that let the powerful evade accountability while the vulnerable are silenced. The clarity and courage in connecting the dots makes you see the story, and the harm, in a way headlines never do. This is essential reading.
Once again right on Jack. It is interesting to note that SO MANY people in power know so much about different “sections” of the Epstein files. Inevitably in history someone blows the whistle (thinking Nixon). This may not happen right away (pressure not strong enough) but I believe it will. With a dem controlled congress (or just the house) and victim’s testimony under oath (I still believe they have much info not made public) the screws will turn. Dems need only one thing to dig in the large hook and the whole thing will fall apart. Patience now is a virtue, pressure and daily publicity must keep this on the front burner!
I worked as lead paralegal for a firm specializing in complex litigation and antitrust in the 1990s.
The good folks at Bonneville Pacific Corporation (which rose again with new leaders
from the ashes after Chapter 11) were crooked as can be. Their portfolios and financial filings included towns, cities, completed electrical projects, planned hydroelectric plants, and local elected officials who purportedly signed off on them. Many of those did not exist.
Our client had invested huge amounts of money, in the range of $200 million. They were a major electricity provider in California. They were being sued by the Bankruptcy receiver on behalf of the small investors because our client didn't do due diligence but relied almost totally on the financials audited by Deloitte.
We only were able to catalog and summarize about 65,000 from close to a million documents. It boggles my old retired brain to think what had to be waded through on Epstein. These were in banker's boxes, over 1500 of them. Now it would take just a few memory discs.
Jack, do you know if any of the Epstein docs were Bates Numbered? That was our saving grace. We could easily check to see if any docs "disappeared" from one actor but still existed in records of another. (Like the Epstein Estate).
Sorry for my tangent.
#HoldFast
Sue
Excellent breakdown here, Jack, good points All, and will reStack ASAP 🙏
Thank you, Karen. I appreciate the reStack!
-Jack
Managed awareness. Planned . It continues in this administration. Congress needs to ask the right questions and stay on it.
So, is the bottom line that we will not see justice for the victims? Are we to keep informed by the crumbs so eagerly spun and sprinkled at our tired feet to think the info dump is worthy of our heart felt emotions to get to the promised land of information that will make everything better? I think I saw the real truth in your reporting today. I am a sucker for wanting to believe that all the truth sstera really want to say the truth...NO! They want our tired souls to stay for another round of nothing said. I am sick to my stomach to think I bought into this pure bull shit. I have lots of important things to do, so with tears in my eyes and hurt in my heart, I just give it up. I am a disappointed patriot who loves democracy and law abiding officials and honesty in journalism. I am finding it hard to find any of these in my world. God help us all, because we have forgotten to help our fellow man.
Makes sense finally
Does the Epstein records show alcohol or drug abuse patterns.
And they laugh at conspiracy theorists.