Can you please work with Hopium...your both focused on this same timing and I find both of your webinars of great help for our community building efforts!!
PLEASE help: Cold yo uplease give an dinvte or link for those interviews?
My cell is a dumb phone. And my laptop does not accept the substack app so i cannot join those interviews live despite being subscriber! This does not feel fair:) Why is there discrimination against non app user? it deters me from staying a subscriber!
I agree Karina! I've loaded Substack app and am apaid subscriber to Ruth, but I did not get a link for Steve Hassan nor this program. Why not put the link right in this notification? "Paid subscribers can go HERE to join". That's not hard, it happens all the time. The message is important but there has to be a hall with some chairs ready to go.
Thank you Harvey – how do we get this message through to LUCID? The app should also work on my laptop like other ones do (Signal etc). Substack needs to fix this, several of my friends have not subscribed when i prompted or invited them because they want the app on their laptop, not only on their cell!
On a broader level: i feel this cooperate-style of forcing everyone onto cell phones, (my eyes can't even do it), is not democratic and versatile, but rather oppressive, manipulative, and exploitative. (If we are different movement, the "how" is important. Inclusivity...)
I think writing about it here helps. They'll see it. I've written a few comments via email reply about logistical things.
I feel similarly-- I am just so overwhelmed with reading! I sometimes just follow posts that are videos or where the host reads it. I can close my weary eyes and just listen peacefully.
I am very grateful for Ruth, Anan G's Ink, Wahjat A, Jim Acosta, Miles Taylor, and Robert Hubbell in terms of the work they do, but also for giving my eyes and brain a rest! This is all so overwhelming - - by design, of course. Being part of these communities helps. Just do what's easy for you to keep up. Some days you can do more than others - - and that's ok.
The Velocity of Collapse: How Consumerism Elected the Crooks and Killed the Covenant
I. Prologue: The Illusion of Circulation
For decades, the U.S. economy appeared to thrive. GDP rose, markets soared, and liquidity flooded the system. But beneath the surface, something vital was dying: velocity—the rhythm of money moving through hands, communities, and civic life. This treatise explores how that decline unfolded, why it matters, and how we—consumers, voters, citizens—became both architects and casualties of a system that now devours its own cadence.
II. Velocity: The Pulse of a Living Economy
Velocity of money is not just a technical metric—it is the heartbeat of civic exchange. It measures how often a dollar is used in transactions, how frequently it moves through wages, purchases, and investments. High velocity signals trust, vitality, and shared participation. Low velocity signals hoarding, fear, and disconnection.
Since 1997, U.S. velocity has declined by over 35%, even as GDP and the money supply have grown. This decoupling reveals a system where money exists, but does not move—a body with blood, but no pulse.
III. The Rise of Financialization: From Breath to Echo
The decline in velocity coincides with the rise of financialization—the transformation of the economy from one rooted in production and exchange to one dominated by speculation, asset inflation, and synthetic instruments.
• Dollars now circulate within financial markets, not through communities.
• Corporate profits are used for stock buybacks, not wages or reinvestment.
• The Fed injects liquidity, but it pools in vaults, not in hands.
Velocity dies in this loop. The dollar becomes a ghost currency—visible, but untouchable.
IV. Congress and the Crooks: A Ritual of Deregulation
Congress did not act alone. It responded to voter demand—for tax cuts, cheap credit, rising home values, and market gains. In doing so, it:
• Deregulated financial markets (e.g., repeal of Glass-Steagall)
• Incentivized capital hoarding (e.g., capital gains tax cuts)
• Prioritized liquidity over velocity (e.g., QE without civic strings)
The result: a system where crooks were not anomalies—they were emissaries. They sustained the illusion of prosperity, feeding the market’s appetite while starving the commons.
V. The Consumer’s Covenant: We Asked for This
This is the hardest truth: we elected the crooks. Not just at the ballot box, but at the checkout line, the mortgage office, the brokerage app. We demanded comfort, not cadence. We chose:
• Spectacle over substance
• Growth over grounding
• Consumption over covenant
We didn’t just tolerate the system—we ritualized it. The crooks were not villains. They were priests of our appetite.
VI. The Collapse of Trust: When Microsoft Borrows Cheaper Than the U.S.
In 2025, Microsoft issued bonds at lower interest rates than U.S. Treasuries. This inversion—once unthinkable—signals a collapse in sovereign trust. The market now trusts a corporation more than a nation. The dollar still circulates, but not as breath—only as residue.
This is not just financial. It is mythic. The covenant has cracked.
VII. Aftermath: The Stillness of a Failed Economy
A failed economy is not one without money—it is one without movement. Without trust. Without shared ritual. We are rich in liquidity, poor in velocity. The game is over not because the system collapsed, but because it no longer sings.
Addendum: The Blank Canvas and the Muse
In the aftermath of collapse, we face not a void—but a canvas. And to create a new image, we must invoke not policy, but imagination. The Greeks gave us the Muse to honor the mystery of emergence—the 95% of the mind that does not ask permission. This is where art begins. This is where new civic ritual must begin.
Algorithms are not authors—they are brushes. They extend the hand, but they do not choose the stroke. The first stroke belongs to the unconscious, to the fragment, to the silence before the image.
“We are not just citizens—we are inheritors of a blank canvas. The crooks gave us liquidity. The Muse gives us cadence.”
“Art begins where certainty ends. The new economy will not be built—it will be imagined.”
Let this be our invocation. Let the canvas remain blank until the image is worthy. Let the Muse speak before the
market does. Let the next ritual begin—not with applause, but with a breath.
I pre-ordered the film on Apple TV; but it's not yet available...and no date showing for when it will be. And a search reveals it's not available for streaming anywhere yet. Thought I saw that it was to be available early in October... I'm hoping that we don't have bending-the-knee tech leaders stalling the release? Anyone heard anything about release dates for streaming?
Anna Akhmatova, a tremendously brave and determined Russian poet wrote throughout the horrors and privations of the Stalinist era, refusing to leave her country. See at least the wiki article on her, and read some of her very powerful and beautiful poems, however stark many are, because she told the truth about the suffering then which so many lived.
Wow! Just saw this. I saw the film recently. Here is my take: MOSF 20.13: Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5”: An epic, brilliant, evocative, necessary near-miss
The new film breaks a lot down, but leaves something to be “desired”
Can anyone direct me to the interview Ruth did with Anat Shenker-Osorio last week -- I couldn't make the live version but I don't see a recording anywhere?? Thanks!
Can anyone direct me to the interview Ruth did with Anat Shenker-Osorio last week -- I couldn't make the live version but I don't see a recording anywhere?? Thanks!
Trump’s Thought Police: Straight From George Orwell’s 1984 (Podcast)
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/10/25/trumps-thought-police-straight-from-george-orwells-1984-podcast/
Animal Farm by George Orwell perfectly describes life in the Trump era. Read the book or listen to this 12 min podcast.
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/01/10/maga-animal-farm-podcast/
Can you please work with Hopium...your both focused on this same timing and I find both of your webinars of great help for our community building efforts!!
It’s important to remember Kashoggi.
I've heard people say that Trump greenlighted that... Maybe it was on TV....
Raoul Peck does such stunning work! I've been watching Exterminate All the Brutes. 4 part documentary on HBO. Plus "I am not your Negro".
PLEASE help: Cold yo uplease give an dinvte or link for those interviews?
My cell is a dumb phone. And my laptop does not accept the substack app so i cannot join those interviews live despite being subscriber! This does not feel fair:) Why is there discrimination against non app user? it deters me from staying a subscriber!
I agree Karina! I've loaded Substack app and am apaid subscriber to Ruth, but I did not get a link for Steve Hassan nor this program. Why not put the link right in this notification? "Paid subscribers can go HERE to join". That's not hard, it happens all the time. The message is important but there has to be a hall with some chairs ready to go.
Thank you Harvey – how do we get this message through to LUCID? The app should also work on my laptop like other ones do (Signal etc). Substack needs to fix this, several of my friends have not subscribed when i prompted or invited them because they want the app on their laptop, not only on their cell!
On a broader level: i feel this cooperate-style of forcing everyone onto cell phones, (my eyes can't even do it), is not democratic and versatile, but rather oppressive, manipulative, and exploitative. (If we are different movement, the "how" is important. Inclusivity...)
I think writing about it here helps. They'll see it. I've written a few comments via email reply about logistical things.
I feel similarly-- I am just so overwhelmed with reading! I sometimes just follow posts that are videos or where the host reads it. I can close my weary eyes and just listen peacefully.
I am very grateful for Ruth, Anan G's Ink, Wahjat A, Jim Acosta, Miles Taylor, and Robert Hubbell in terms of the work they do, but also for giving my eyes and brain a rest! This is all so overwhelming - - by design, of course. Being part of these communities helps. Just do what's easy for you to keep up. Some days you can do more than others - - and that's ok.
After reading 1984, I set the book down, turned and said ‘Welcome Mr. Orwell. I had a feeling you would show up!’
Congratulations on interviewing him! I’ve pre-ordered the film on Apple+ TV!
The Velocity of Collapse: How Consumerism Elected the Crooks and Killed the Covenant
I. Prologue: The Illusion of Circulation
For decades, the U.S. economy appeared to thrive. GDP rose, markets soared, and liquidity flooded the system. But beneath the surface, something vital was dying: velocity—the rhythm of money moving through hands, communities, and civic life. This treatise explores how that decline unfolded, why it matters, and how we—consumers, voters, citizens—became both architects and casualties of a system that now devours its own cadence.
II. Velocity: The Pulse of a Living Economy
Velocity of money is not just a technical metric—it is the heartbeat of civic exchange. It measures how often a dollar is used in transactions, how frequently it moves through wages, purchases, and investments. High velocity signals trust, vitality, and shared participation. Low velocity signals hoarding, fear, and disconnection.
Since 1997, U.S. velocity has declined by over 35%, even as GDP and the money supply have grown. This decoupling reveals a system where money exists, but does not move—a body with blood, but no pulse.
III. The Rise of Financialization: From Breath to Echo
The decline in velocity coincides with the rise of financialization—the transformation of the economy from one rooted in production and exchange to one dominated by speculation, asset inflation, and synthetic instruments.
• Dollars now circulate within financial markets, not through communities.
• Corporate profits are used for stock buybacks, not wages or reinvestment.
• The Fed injects liquidity, but it pools in vaults, not in hands.
Velocity dies in this loop. The dollar becomes a ghost currency—visible, but untouchable.
IV. Congress and the Crooks: A Ritual of Deregulation
Congress did not act alone. It responded to voter demand—for tax cuts, cheap credit, rising home values, and market gains. In doing so, it:
• Deregulated financial markets (e.g., repeal of Glass-Steagall)
• Incentivized capital hoarding (e.g., capital gains tax cuts)
• Prioritized liquidity over velocity (e.g., QE without civic strings)
The result: a system where crooks were not anomalies—they were emissaries. They sustained the illusion of prosperity, feeding the market’s appetite while starving the commons.
V. The Consumer’s Covenant: We Asked for This
This is the hardest truth: we elected the crooks. Not just at the ballot box, but at the checkout line, the mortgage office, the brokerage app. We demanded comfort, not cadence. We chose:
• Spectacle over substance
• Growth over grounding
• Consumption over covenant
We didn’t just tolerate the system—we ritualized it. The crooks were not villains. They were priests of our appetite.
VI. The Collapse of Trust: When Microsoft Borrows Cheaper Than the U.S.
In 2025, Microsoft issued bonds at lower interest rates than U.S. Treasuries. This inversion—once unthinkable—signals a collapse in sovereign trust. The market now trusts a corporation more than a nation. The dollar still circulates, but not as breath—only as residue.
This is not just financial. It is mythic. The covenant has cracked.
VII. Aftermath: The Stillness of a Failed Economy
A failed economy is not one without money—it is one without movement. Without trust. Without shared ritual. We are rich in liquidity, poor in velocity. The game is over not because the system collapsed, but because it no longer sings.
Addendum: The Blank Canvas and the Muse
In the aftermath of collapse, we face not a void—but a canvas. And to create a new image, we must invoke not policy, but imagination. The Greeks gave us the Muse to honor the mystery of emergence—the 95% of the mind that does not ask permission. This is where art begins. This is where new civic ritual must begin.
Algorithms are not authors—they are brushes. They extend the hand, but they do not choose the stroke. The first stroke belongs to the unconscious, to the fragment, to the silence before the image.
“We are not just citizens—we are inheritors of a blank canvas. The crooks gave us liquidity. The Muse gives us cadence.”
“Art begins where certainty ends. The new economy will not be built—it will be imagined.”
Let this be our invocation. Let the canvas remain blank until the image is worthy. Let the Muse speak before the
market does. Let the next ritual begin—not with applause, but with a breath.
I pre-ordered the film on Apple TV; but it's not yet available...and no date showing for when it will be. And a search reveals it's not available for streaming anywhere yet. Thought I saw that it was to be available early in October... I'm hoping that we don't have bending-the-knee tech leaders stalling the release? Anyone heard anything about release dates for streaming?
It’s still in theaters.
Anna Akhmatova, a tremendously brave and determined Russian poet wrote throughout the horrors and privations of the Stalinist era, refusing to leave her country. See at least the wiki article on her, and read some of her very powerful and beautiful poems, however stark many are, because she told the truth about the suffering then which so many lived.
Thank you Ruth. Your interview was excellent.
thank you Ruth for the link to the unlisted video on YT
Wow! Just saw this. I saw the film recently. Here is my take: MOSF 20.13: Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5”: An epic, brilliant, evocative, necessary near-miss
The new film breaks a lot down, but leaves something to be “desired”
https://eastwindezine.com/mosf-20-13-raoul-pecks-orwell-225-an-epic-brilliant-evocative-necessary-near-miss/
The Substack version Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5”: An epic, brilliant, evocative, necessary near-miss
The new film breaks a lot down, but leaves something to be “desired”
https://open.substack.com/pub/sunmoonlight/p/raoul-pecks-orwell-225-an-epic-brilliant
The Substack version Raoul Peck’s “Orwell: 2+2=5”: An epic, brilliant, evocative, necessary near-miss
The new film breaks a lot down, but leaves something to be “desired”
https://open.substack.com/pub/sunmoonlight/p/raoul-pecks-orwell-225-an-epic-brilliant
Can anyone direct me to the interview Ruth did with Anat Shenker-Osorio last week -- I couldn't make the live version but I don't see a recording anywhere?? Thanks!
Can anyone direct me to the interview Ruth did with Anat Shenker-Osorio last week -- I couldn't make the live version but I don't see a recording anywhere?? Thanks!