What Does "The Hero's Journey" Mean for Us?
What is our "Hero's Journey"?
Thoughts on Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces"
The idea of the adventure of a hero is not one unique to the realms of myth and fairy tales. I am currently reading Joseph Campbell’s masterpiece, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces,” and I must admit that the profound nature of this book is eye-opening to say the least. Before opening the book, I would like to have believed that I understood the concept of a “Hero’s Journey” and what it entailed for characters in my books as they moved like chessmen across the board of space and time that is the plot of the story. And, now halfway through the book, I would also like to believe that I understand something more about stories.
And I would also like to believe that I have encountered something much more profound.
The “Hero’s Journey” affects us all, whether in the vastness of one’s life completely, or in the smallness of going to the grocery store. And the reason for this, I believe, is because the idea of this Journey is rooted in our abilities to choose. Even when one rejects their destiny, the destruction they have wrought is their creation, and theirs alone.
The Journey is all around us, an omnipresent force which moves the gears of the clock of destiny to chime to the time of the hero to begin again and be born anew. But the bell tolls for all, not just Theseus, and humanity’s destiny (and the destiny of the individual) resides in their unique keenness to hear the chimes of the seemingly supernatural, all-encompassing, subconscious forces of the world and mind.
So how then is the common man akin to the man of myth?
The answer is rather simple, and the answer is this: you have the ability to choose. Think about your choices every day, for the clock is constantly ticking, awaiting to chime its beckon for one to be summoned to the destiny of their life. Or perhaps it merely chimes to the destiny of one’s day, one’s singular hour. Destiny is a fickle mistress in that, though she is a commander of paths, she lays in bed with the autonomy of Free Will.
So, watch your life. You may be surprised to find that your “Hero’s Journey” lies everywhere. No matter how large. No matter how small. Listen well, for the bells of adventure beckon merely for those who hear.
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How is Writing Like Chess?
The Writer as a Strategist
Though I am largely a fan of strategy games, I am not very good at chess. I studied chess for short while, but instead of improving in my knowledge of the game, the experience gave me a rather interesting insight into the world of writing. And, as I stand now, I fully believe that the art of crafting a story is a lot like the science of playing chess.
“How, Will?” You must ask. “How is telling a story anything akin to two players moving chess pieces vindictively across the rows and files of the chessboard?”
And the answer lies within the question, for all a story is composed of is two forces, two objects of willpower, making moves across a board in hopes for a victorious goal.
Sit with me here and imagine. Have you ever been writing an arc, a chapter, or a scene and stopped to think: “Why isn’t this working? Why am I not moving towards my desired goal?” And thus the writer, whether they know it or not, sits at the board, ogling the pieces before them, pondering as to why their decisions up until this point are not working, when in a sudden in a whirlwind of epiphany, they think “Of course! If I do this, then it will work!”
Just like that, the writer is no longer merely a spinner of ideas or characters, but a strategist of the storytelling art. As the same way a grandmaster moves his pieces to his designs, the writer places their characters to create certain effects. The characters dance upon the board—upon the plot in a magnificent play to move toward the end goal.
The writer desires the checkmate, or, the end of the story.
But how do they do this with so much against them? And who, then, is their opponent?
The opponent of the writer remains one object, be it the the World, the Psyche, the Self. The writer fights against the mind, in a glorious duel to uncover the World within.
And so, for every brilliant move, there is an equal counter-force. This, is the exact way that the story is like the chess match. The writer concocts his plot by moving their pieces to the common goal of finality, just as the grandmaster moves their pieces to the common goal of checkmate.
How does this—how should this—change our mentalities as writers?
Well, it’s rather simple. If we think more about the utility of our characters, we will see more about their quality to the plot and why they are important. Likewise, if we think of the plot less a series of events and more a strategy, it gives us the ability to take away the intimidation that it sometimes presents. After all, it is merely the concoction that results from our strategic decisions along the writer’s journey—the writer’s game. And lastly, if we think of our end goal as checkmate, it implies one thing particularly.
It implies that we must be aware of the goal (the ending) and thus it gives us a goal to play our pieces in favor of.
I have been thinking about this analogy much lately, and I believe it is a strange one, yet equally refreshing. And though the World, the Psyche, and the Self strike against us, we must know that the strategy is in our hands, and, as long as we can play our way to victory, the art is eternally free.
Why Must Fantasy Remain "Realistic"?
The Light of Fantasy
Illuminating the Magic Mirror
Fantasy contains an inherent contradiction. The genre is not as it appears, but its truth makes it exceedingly relevant. Fantasy is not a pure escape. While escapism is absolutely a facet of the genre, it is misleading to suppose that fantasy fully escapes the present world. It is, instead, a mirror. Fantasy, as a rule, must reflect the world in which we live. As hypocritical as this sounds, the writer then has a mission to make the fantastic seem mundane, the surreal seem real, the unbelievable seem believable. A writer is to spin a web of illusion and capture the human mind within its grasp. To bring the myth alive, one must bring it down from Olympus—from the realm of the gods—and place it within the finite minds of fragile mortals. In essence, fantasy must reflect the human condition.
That is the only way that a man could wrap his head around it.
This is not for no reason, however; it is not out of spite, nor of a sinister machination of the author. Within a fantasy story, there is a conscious and unconscious desire to confront the horrors of the world. Through fantasy, a reader (and the writer) is able to confront the despicable and the evil.
Photo by William F. Burk
This is the thing that makes fantasy ever relevant. It is not merely the escape, but the reflection of the true magic in the world. It is the reflection of the human spirit and the miraculous desire for life to continue. It is in it's very essence a reminder that good can triumph and that there is still beauty worth fighting for. The glory of fantasy is that it attunes itself with the songs of our hearts and reminds us that there is something greater and far more powerful than despair, and that this power exists in each and every one of us—that we have the strength to overcome great adversity. There is light in the most pervasive darkness, and the greatest magic exists in the smallest of voices. Whether we know it or not, our greatest power against the evils of the world is but our mortal will to live that carves its path through the horrors around us. The reader sees themselves through the spyglass of the imagined world, and perhaps they discover through the tale that, though the world is vast and treacherous, there is light, and it is bright enough to illuminate the night.
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Why is Fantasy so Important?
On Fantasy, the Escapist,
and Plato's Cave
As a writer, I found the foundation of my own style only recently. The fantasy genre is much more than merely stories about heroes, elves, and dwarves. As a genre, it includes a specific set of characteristics; as a form of literature, it represents a realization that wells deep from within the human condition. Fantasy——and fantasy, in particular——is the Escapist’s Genre.
The very rise of the fantasy genre sprouts from despair. For my example, consider Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Published in 1939, the classic tale of the adventure of Bilbo Baggins came onto shelves during the eve of what would quite considerably be the largest war known to humanity. More so, the story arrived merely two decades after what was, at the time, the greatest war the world had ever known. The world faced depression; the world stared into the mirror and perceived their own mortality.
And thus, people wished to find a way out——to another world, another time.
To write fantasy is to seemingly write a paradox through a jagged spyglass. The world of the story must be unreal in some way. In contrast, it is the story’s realistic nature that captivates a reader. While the readers read to escape their surroundings, the readers secretly read to find themselves within the tale. So, while it is true that one wishes to leave the real world behind, it is just as true that one wishes to find shards of the real world in the place that the tale takes them to.
Along this vein of thought, the fantasy genre is comparable to Plato’s Analogy of the Cave. Imagine a person whom, throughout the entirety of his life, faced the back wall of a cave. And, as Plato puts it, there is a light that shines into the cave from the mouth, illuminating the back wall. People walk by the cave on the outside, casting shadows upon the wall for our prisoner to see. And, he sees nothing but these shadows. Given the only experience and knowledge he has perceived throughout his life, he would believe that these shadows are the “real” world and would not know that they are, in fact, merely the shadows of something else.
In certain aspects, fantasy stories follow this idea.
The writer creates a world, yet he can only make sense of it with what he knows and what he can fathom. One cannot write about something they do not cognitively perceive; creativity is only useful when it surfaces, not when it is dormant. So, then, the writer of fantasy, though crafty, must in some way or another cast shadows upon the wall for their reader (the chained man) to believe. This form of writing is, at its root, a type of trickery. It is a ploy by the hands of the writer, the Puller of Strings, to fool the reader into believing in the shadows: To make them care about non-existent characters, in non-existent places, doing non-existent things. With the reader always carefully in mind, the writer must piece together a mosaic of life and imagination, a collision of the real and the unreal. And therefore, as writers, we must watch the wall of the cave from the mouth, carefully observing the shadows that the world creates——and we must mold them to our liking.
Where Do Characters Come From? (Opinion Piece)
The Eternal Cafe:
At the Table of the World
Over the past few weeks, I have been going to the local Starbucks on a fairly consistent basis. Given that I have been stopping by for a drink quite often, I have become quite friendly with the majority of the employees. I enter the shop, order, then joke around with these people as they make my drink. To be completely candid, it is a bright part of my day. On my off days, I bring my computer and work on my stories. Sometimes employees on break will sit and talk with me for their short time.
This coffee shop experience is comparable to the endeavor of the writer. The journey of the writer takes place when one enters the “Eternal Cafe.”
The Eternal Cafe, however, is not a place one can reach on foot or by car. The Eternal Cafe is a state of mind. It is the mentality of the writer as he attempts to transcribe the words of the World. He enters the Cafe, and around him are people. They are but faceless phantoms, mixtures, entering and exiting the ethereal terminal. These phantoms will not speak unless the writer speaks first, but their faces appear, ever there, in his peripherals.
They all have a story to tell——but he lacks the time to tell them all.
The baristas work behind the bar, and the writer talks to them. As they converse, they tell the writer a story:
They give him a hint.
A quality.
A face.
These ghosts——these spirits——are what we call “characters.”
They embody us. They embody others. They embody themes.
They are the creations of our mind, molded from the World around us.
And that is what the writer has done, for the Eternal Cafe is but the sentience of the writer; it is his vigilance——his watchful eye. He is aware and catches the spirits as they go by; he is unaware and bumps into them. Some take hold and become people he knows quite well (if not completely), and some disappear——lost between the chasms of his mind, swept away by the muses.
The Eternal Cafe has only one table. One seat: The writer’s inevitable destination.
He sits at the table.
He must.
Beside him, is the Self: his heart, mind, soul, spirit. And, sitting lazily in front of him is the World——not the World as he sees it, but rather the World as it truly is. The conversation he has with this entity (whether we call it God or the Universe or whichever) is the essence of all true writing.
It is the purest form a writer can embody.
The Eternal Cafe has a plethora of entrances, each with a myriad of signs pointing us toward its doors. The World is ever before us; the phantoms ever walk our minds. We, as writers, must learn to perceive these things. For the single table beckons us, and the World has much to say.
What is Language? A Writer's Perspective.
Thoughts from Starbucks:
On the purpose of Language, the Story, and My experience with a Beta-reader
Recently, I had a conversation with one of the employees at the local Starbucks in which I often visit (caffeine addiction, so...). In the conversation, I found that she is a writer as well. It was a brief encounter, but it was still enough to spark thoughts into my mind——thoughts primarily on the essence of the story itself.
Language has one function: Communication.
All language is designed to do this one thing.
I remember my Intro to Composition 2 class during my second semester of college. The professor began his class by writing the word “SIGN” in big, bold, letters on the board. At the age I was, I was not prepared for the simplicity in which this word would begin to imply, and it was not until much later that the lecture would “click.”
He said: “A word, is a sign.”
It is such a bare——such a plain definition of the concept, yet it is the greatest definition I have yet to encounter. It is because words are signs.
A word represents a concept: Abstract or concrete, moving or stationary, true or false.
This applies to the story, as well. A story, at its most basic——most cellular level——is a variety of words which, when placed in particular combination, convey an idea. This idea, in terms of stories, creates the illusion of the world, or a world.
The writer of fiction, then, is alike the magician; the storyteller is an illusionist and a weaver of words. The job of the storyteller is to combine these words into the right order to make the reader (or listener) care about non-existent people, in a non-existent reality, doing non-existent things.
On my way home from the coffee shop, I considered this; I considered how these things could make me a better writer, then, I thought about my beta-reader.
Having a beta-reader has been, for me, the ultimate example of the importance of using words to create the illusion mentioned above——and using words correctly. The thing is this: I never realized just how blind I was——just how little I knew about writing the story——just how blind I was because I knew the story in its entirety.
So, what do I mean?
I mean that I know what I mean. I know the story; I know what the story is supposed to say. My reader, on the other hand, does not. This, then, means that the reader only knows the story through the information I give her. There have been many times when my beta-reader has come back and said something like “So [CHARACTER] is really...” or “So [THIS] is [THAT]?”
Conversely, these times fill my pulse with anxiety as I think “Oh no! What have I done to make her think that?”
What the reader thinks about your story, whether true or false, is not their fault. They only understand what has been communicated to them; they only comprehend the ideas that the writer’s words have conveyed to them.
I have learned, through many semi-anxiety-attacks as a writer, just how crucial it is to watch my words. When I edit, I ask myself “Does that word mean ___?” and “What am I trying to convey? What am I trying to tell the reader?”
Through my experiences with the beta-reader, I am learning to be a bit more discerning with my diction.
That said, I am glad that writing is, like all arts, an incremental process. I am merely learning and have far to go. That is my contemplation for the week, and I can say is this: Next time you edit, watch your words and say, “What idea am I trying to convey?” :)
Mystery Works! An Example From Kingdom Hearts.
This week has a lighter aura than the last.
However, there are things in this post that one might consider
SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM HEARTS 3, but idk.
READ AT YOUR OWN RISK :)
So, I finished Kingdom Hearts 3 last night, and I thought I would talk a bit about it.
And by the Aeons, I am NOT okay!
So, I wanted to talk about a technical storytelling aspect in Kingdom Hearts that I personally find intriguing. This would be what that I also think to be one of the greatest staples of the series: The usage of mystery over actiony suspense.
The story has a way of using cryptic language and imagery to propel itself and hook his audience. Think about it: The opening of the original Kingdom Hearts begins with Sora’s unclear dialogue, saying things like “I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately...Is any of this real, or not...?” Not to mention that the first place we see in actual gameplay is the enigmatic Station of Awakening.
Throughout the entire series, from the first battle with Darkside all the way to the final clash with Xehanort in the sky above Scala ad Caelum, the story has the essence of a mysterious dream.
So, why do I find this storytelling strategy to be so captivating?
We have all had dreams; we have all seen the Oracle or Soothsayer spin their omens and fortunes. In the beginning lines to Aristotle’s work on Metaphysics: “All men, by nature, desire to have knowledge.”
It is bred into us——from the moment we are born, we have such a driving curiosity. Consider: The infant tests objects by putting them into its mouth; children wander around the back yard, taking in the sights around them; teens wish to know what love and purpose are in a world that has been made new to them; adults desire to see things they could not see with younger eyes.
And it is that—--it is that primordial attribute of the human nature that makes Kingdom Hearts an exciting story.
It is no different than the stories of Greek myth, in which the hero or heroine encounters a world in which they did not know before——a world new to them, or perhaps a world made bare, manifest, or even true.
The same is true for Sora’s journey.
In the beginning, we have Sora, who, through each installment, has his character and spirit tested with each new thing he discovers about the world. Through this, we see a world unfold before him, be it through the loyal companionship of Donald and Goofy, or Sora’s striking desire save his friends and protect the ones he loves, or even in his encounters with the members of Organization XIII.
It is the “Myth.” Even the final installment for this arc itself mirrors the heroes of ancient myth—--a hero who hears a call to adventure, then journeys forth to meet his greatest challenge yet. He is brought to the brink of death, and failure consumes him. But not for long, as he overcomes——and through that resilience, he is victorious.
The final installment of the Seekers of Darkness Arc has closed, and I personally felt that it had been done by tying as few knots as possible. But. That in itself is the beauty of the series: A story full of characters, plots, and settings that keep us guessing.
The ending was somewhat bittersweet——we see a more human Xehanort, and we see the story laid out in the metaphor of a game of chess between the duality of Darkness and Light. And, though I told myself that I would be done after Kingdom Hearts 3, I must say:
I can’t wait for the next one.


Review: Finian’s Rainbow
On November 15, 2009 December 12, 2009 By dramaqueennycIn Broadway, musical, review, theatreLeave a comment
Originally reviewed for GaySocialites.com.
This musical revival charms from the word “go.” Finian’s Rainbow follows the charismatic Irish dreamer of the title (played with genuine magic by Jim Norton) and his fiery daughter Sharon (Kate Baldwin) through a fanciful version of the American south, where they go up against an intolerant Senator, a credit crisis, a wronged leprechaun, and, of course, a complicated love affair.
This is assuredly the best-sung Finian’s Rainbow that ever was. There’s no arguing with Cheyenne Jackson’s glittering delivery of “Old Devil Moon” (there’s a too-easy dirty joke in hunky Cheyenne playing a character named Woody, but I’ll leave it be). I’ve never heard a more luscious “How are Things in Glocca Morra” than the one Baldwin gives us. “Necessity” was never more passionate and moving than when sung by Terri White, and Chuck Cooper rattles the rafters in “The Begat” (I’d bet anything they turned his mic off more than once, he sings so strongly).
Director/choreographer Warren Carlyle has in general done a solid job of keeping what could have been hopelessly dated fresh and brisk. In his very briskness, though, he’s tended to gloss over some key things. The actual moment that Sharon and Woody fall in love, well, it just didn’t seem to happen. Boom, they’re in love — which could have been magic, too, but wasn’t. Also, lyricist Yip Harburg wrote some of the funniest, jokiest lyrics in musical comedy , but as often as not the cast zoom right by the jokes.
It’s clear that choreography is Carlyle’s great strength — when this Finian dances, it soars. If only the book scenes were as agile. These are quibbles, though, with a show that’s more often than not a genuine pleasure and delight.
Review: The Power of Two (CD)
On November 9, 2009 November 9, 2009 By dramaqueennycIn CD, reviewLeave a comment
The new duet CD by classic crooner Michael Feinstein and bodacious Broadway boy Cheyenne Jackson, “The Power Of Two,” opens with our two handsome, out fellas gushing over each other to the tune of Cy Coleman’s “I’m Nothing Without You.” They follow that up with “Me and My Shadow” made famous as a duet between Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Despite how little they physically resemble Frank and Sammy, the comparison is oddly apt. Feinstein is, and Sinatra was, his time’s greatest popularizer of the Great American Songbook. Jackson is, and Davis was, one of the great musical theatre showmen of his day as well as arguably one of the best vocalists. So, yes, like Sinatra and Davis, but oh, so much gayer.
Feinstein wrings every note out of “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter” and Jackson rattles the rafters with an open-throated “Don’t Get around Much Anymore.” But just as often they turn in all seriousness to gay subject matter. Michael solos on “The Time Has Come,” a moving ballad written by a gay songwriter in the aftermath of Stonewall. And later they have a gorgeously restrained romantic duet on “We Kiss in a Shadow.”


Shane SchaetzelRenewal, Social CommentaryAbuse, America, Bishops, Catholic Church, Eschatology, History, In the News, Modernism, Scandal, Violence2 Comments
Coronation of the Virgin, by Diego Velázquez, circa 1636
Praise be to God, Our Lady’s work has finally begun!
The prophecies of Fatima are coming to their fulfillment. Many Marian prophecies are now coming to fulfillment, all at the same time. Saint John Paul II’s prophecy of the Springtime of Evangelization is not to be understood in the present tense, but rather a future tense, which comes after the passion and crucifixion of the Church. The passion of the Church began in 2002, and now it is in full swing. We are approaching the crucifixion of the Church next. Then, and only then, will we follow with the resurrection and Springtime of Evangelization.
Make no mistake about it, the clerical-abuse and cover-up scandal is the passion of the Church. It began in 2002, with the public revelation of massive clerical homosexual abuse (pederasty) of teenage boys, and cover-up by the Church’s hierarchy. Since 2002, there have been pederasty networks uprooted in various dioceses around the world: Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Malta, Austria, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, etc. There will be more, many more, and what we are witnessing in the United States (US) is now the final straw. Our Lady gave the bishops in the US a full 16 years to repent and clean up their act. They did not. Instead they covered it up, even worse! While making it appear as if they were addressing the issue. The whole thing started in the US, and now, round two is going to begin in the US, reverberating around the world yet again. This time it will be a hundred times worse. Our Lady has pleaded with Our Lord to clean up his Church, and now the cleaning begins.
Like in ancient times, Our Lord uses the forces of the world to judge and purify his people. In AD 70, after the Jewish leaders of the Temple were given 40 years to repent, Our Lord used the Pagan forces of Rome to bring an end to the Temple and the political-religious system that distracted them from the arrival of their Messiah. So likewise, in 2018 and beyond, Our Lord will use the Secular forces of Western democracies to breakup the pederasty rings in the Catholic Church, often referred to as “The Lavender Mafia.” In the United States, we saw the fall of Cardinal McCarrick, followed by the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report. The deep roots of The Lavender Mafia have prompted other states to initiate their own Grand Jury investigations, starting in New York, Illinois and Missouri. More will follow. Many more. Once the gravity of the interstate problem is realized, it is all together likely that the US Attorney General will activate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). These are the laws that the government uses to fight organized crime. Once enacted, all federal and state grants to the Catholic Church will cease overnight. Since the US Catholic bishops take in about 60% of their funding for Catholic Charities that way, it’s gonna hurt. The Church will immediately find itself under both legal and financial scrutiny in every diocese of every state. The Catholic Church, Our Lord’s Holy and Spotless Catholic Church, will be treated as a criminal organization on par with the mob, all because of the infiltration and infestation of The Lavender Mafia. This is the passion of the Church, leading to her crucifixion. Many Catholics will lose faith because of this. If you think too many Catholics have walked away from the Church already, you haven’t seen anything yet. What we are about to face is nothing short of a purging, not just the purging of corrupt priests and bishops, but also the purging of Catholic laypeople who will leave the Church in disgust. It’s coming. It’s hear. It’s has begun.
At the height of Our Lord’s passion 2,000 years ago, all but Saint John, Our Lady and a handful of women abandoned him at the foot of the cross. From his 12 apostles, 120 disciples, and thousands of followers, the faithful of the Church were reduced to a mere remnant; his mother, his youngest apostle, and a small group of women. That’s it. What followed his resurrection was a Springtime of Evangelization that turned the ancient world upside-down. The events of 2,000 years ago were called the Passion of the Christ. The events of today will be called the Passion of the Church. As Christ has suffered, so will his bride. No, these are not the Last Days immediately before the end of the world, but this is the time that will initiate the last epoch of world history before the Last Days at the end of the world. We are about to enter the Age of Mary (Marian Age) which will be a Springtime of Evangelization unlike anything seen since the time of the Apostles following the Resurrection of Christ. It will be a time of relative peace for the Catholic Church, and great evangelistic success around the globe. But to get there, we must first go through the passion of the Church, followed by the crucifixion of the Church. Will you be one of the few to stand at the foot of this cross with Christ and Our Lady? Or, will you be one of the many who will lose faith, run away and hide?
The temptation is to say “I’m not Catholic,” just as Saint Peter denied Christ, cursing and swearing, “I don’t know him!” That’s how bad it’s going to get. In the days ahead, it will be easier to deny our Catholicity. Many of us will say “I’m not Catholic” or “I’m just a Christian,” while secretly going to mass when nobody’s looking. Still, many more will just say “I used to be Catholic” and stop going to mass entirely. Many of us will turn to Evangelical mega-churches, and Protestant denominations. A few of us will go to the Eastern Orthodox. But most of us will just stop going to church entirely, neither Atheist nor Christian, but just some kind of former Catholic who answers “none” on religious affiliation surveys. That is what we can expect in the months and years ahead. This is the purging. This is the exodus from the Catholic Church that parallels the exodus from our Lord during his passion and crucifixion. It is now upon us. The following outlines what could possibly happen in the months and years ahead…
A papal inquiry into the depth of the crisis that will likely result in multiple episcopal resignations,
More statewide grand jury reports, starting with New York, Illinois and Missouri, then fanning out across the country,
A possible activation of the RICO Act, classifying the US Catholic Church as a corrupt organization and placing it under federal investigation nationwide,
Protests erupting at the US National Bishops Conferences by angry Catholics demanding justice and resignations,
Protests against chancery offices across the United States, particularly in those dioceses hit hard by the sexual abuse scandal,
Vigilantes bringing harm to Catholic clergy (both innocent and guilty alike), as well as destruction to Catholic parishes,
A massive selloff of diocesan-held properties to pay for civil settlements and criminal penalties, some of which will likely be parish buildings,
A significant thinning of the number of priests on active duty,
The possibility of the Vatican itself under investigation, and criminal charges being filed against senior Vatican officials,
A very large number of Catholics walking away from the Church.
I cannot know how many episcopal resignations will happen after the papal inquiry, because I don’t know how deep The Lavender Mafia has buried its roots into the US Catholic Church, but it is helpful to remember that after the papal investigation in Chile earlier this year, Pope Francis required the resignations of every single Chilean bishop on his desk, before sorting through them to determine who would stay and who would go. Could something similar happen in the United States. I am leaning toward the possibility of yes, maybe even likely.
I believe what I have outlined above is a worst-case scenario. I am currently under the impression that we will see all ten of these listed events above, but I’m not a prophet, so we’ll just have to wait and see if I’m right, and how serious they will be. Perhaps, if we are lucky, all of these things might happen, but they won’t be so severe. So far, numbers 1 and 2 are already in play. Number 4 is in the planning stage. Number 6 has already happened at least once, according to a recent report out of Indiana, wherein an innocent Eastern Rite Catholic priest was beaten unconscious by a crazed vigilante who shouted “this is for all those kids!” during the attack. I fear this innocent priest has become just the first of many martyrs.
The root cause of this problem goes back to the 1920s. It was at that time two groups merged together that would eventually bring the Catholic Church to ruin. The first was a homosexual ring which entered the seminaries in about 1924. This is well documented in the 1982 book “The Homosexual Network” written by Enrique Rueda. The second was a full communist infiltration which began entering the seminaries in about 1929. Mr. Manning Johnson, a former official of the Communist Party in America gave the following testimony in 1953 to the House Unamerican Activities Committee. He said:
“Once the tactic of infiltration of religious organizations was set by the Kremlin, the Communists discovered that the destruction of religion could proceed much faster through infiltration of the Church by Communists operating within the Church itself. The Communist leadership in the United States realized that the infiltration tactic in this country would have to adapt itself to American conditions and religious make-up peculiar to this country. In the earliest stages it was determined that with only small forces available to them, it would be necessary to concentrate Communist agents in the seminaries. The practical conclusion drawn by the Red leaders was that these institutions would make it possible for a small Communist minority to influence the ideology of future clergymen in the paths conducive to Communist purposes.”
He went on to state the goals of the infiltration where twofold. The first was to neutralize the Catholic Church’s moral obstruction to the advancement of communism. The second was to direct clerical thinking away from the spiritual and toward the temporal and political.
Mr. Johnson’s testimony was corroborated by the testimony and autobiography of Dr. Bella Dodd, who revealed that one of her jobs in the Communist Party was to recruit young radicals (not always communists per se’) into the Catholic priesthood for the purpose of rising through the ranks of the hierarchy and recruiting more “social-justice” radicals who viewed the mission of Christianity more in temporal terms rather than spiritual. Dodd claimed that she recruited approximately 1,100 such men into the seminaries, many of whom went on to become Catholic priests, and some became bishops, archbishops and cardinals. Dr. Dodd eventually defected from the Communist Party and converted to Catholicism, and at the prompting of Archbishop Fulton Sheen began telling her story to the world. Once within the Church she befriended a devout Catholic by the name of Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, who has given her video testimony of her encounters with Dr. Bella Dodd to ChurchMilitant.Com and can be viewed here.
What we are dealing with now is the direct result of these two things, (1) the infiltration of a homosexual network into the Catholic Church starting in 1924, followed by (2) the infiltration of communist agents, and other radicals, beginning in 1929, who had neither faith nor morals, with the intention of corrupting the priesthood and destroying the moral influence of the Catholic Church in western society. Fast forward to 2018, almost one-hundred years later, and we have a mission accomplished. The destruction of the Catholic Church began in the 1920s. In less than 100 years, it has now nearly succeeded. If Pope Leo XIII’s vision of the 100-year satanic trial for the Church is to be believed, we can certainly date the beginning of that satanic trial no later than the 1920s. This would mean it should come to its conclusion no later than 2030 (hopefully?). If we are right in this interpretation, we are entering the final stages of it now.
The origin of this crisis, in and of itself, is of little concern to us outside of contextual understanding. Future historians will like to know the cause, effect and outcome of the crisis, but for those of us living through it right now, it matters little. What matters to us is how to identify the problem and uproot it, while at the same time preserving what remains of our Catholic Christian faith.
The primary problem in the Catholic Church is pederasty not pedophilia. There is a difference. Pedophilia, according to both psychiatric medicine and the dictionary, is the abnormal sexual interest in pre-pubescent children (ages 0 to 11). Ephebophilia is the abnormal sexual interested in post-pubescent teenagers (ages 11 to 17). Pederasty is a form of homosexual ephebophilia, wherein homosexual men seek out young teenage boys, for the purpose of sexual grooming and domination. Within the Catholic Church, the incidents of pedophilia (sex with pre-pubescent children) numbered in the single percentages, less than 5%. About 15% of sexual abuse was with teenage girls. The remaining majority, approximately 80% of sexual abuse was with teenage boys, between the ages of 11 and 17. That, by clinical definition, and the dictionary, is NOT pedophilia. That is pederasty. It is homosexual in nature, and reports indicated it’s not limited to teenagers. Young male adults, especially in the seminaries, report widespread sexual harassment from homosexual men, coming from; faculty, clerics and other seminarians. The Catholic Church is suffering from a homosexual crisis at all levels of the hierarchy. This is but a symptom of the wider problem.
The wider problem is a lack of supernatural faith, wherein the gospel is seen more in temporal terms (social gospel) rather than spiritual, which leads certain men (of a homosexual inclination) to believe that homosexual acts are not sinful. This is the greatest heresy of our time. It is the heresy of communism, which has led clerics and laypeople to believe the Church is more concerned about temporal matters of this world (social justice) than she is about the eternal matters of the spirit. This in turn has led to the second part of this heresy, which is that sexual sins are not sins at all, since they do not relate to the temporal matters of this world. In other words, the social gospel is more concerned with social justice than it is with private moral issues. So long as a given sexual perversion (such as homosexuality) does not deprive anyone of social justice (food, clean water, housing and medical care), it is not a sin. This thinking is communist to the core, and it leads to widespread sexual perversion. Today, we call this network of homosexual and pederast clergy “The Lavender Mafia.” They primarily operate in blackmail of each other, to maintain an atmosphere of secrecy and cover-up. They also oppress good clergy, due to their many positions of power, and keep them from acting in ways that might hinder their progress. This has been going on for decades!
So what shall we do? I think that question is answered with yet another question. In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel we read that many of Jesus’ disciples left him. Then he turned to Peter and the twelve and asked if they would leave him too. Peter responded on behalf of the twelve: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). So my questions to you are as follows: Where will you go? What other church has all seven sacraments of Jesus Christ? What other church has an authentic sacrament of the Eucharist? What other church has authentic holy orders? What other church is in full communion with the Successor of Peter? There are no others. Only the Catholic Church has all of these things. Every other church is a step down from the Catholic Church. Every other church is settling for less.
Let’s look at it a different way, shall we? Let me just put it bluntly to you with a little fire from my belly…
Why in HELL should we go anywhere!?!?! This is CHRIST’S CHURCH, and we belong to HIM. Why should WE leave!?! Why should WE be the ones to walk away in shame!?! WE didn’t molest those boys! Some of us were actually victims! WE didn’t cover it up!
SEND OUT THE PERPETRATORS, and give us our Church BACK!
WHY DOESN’T THE POPE EXCOMMUNICATE
THE LAVENDER MAFIA !?!?!
I think this is a more appropriate line of questioning. And I think it puts us in the right frame of mind. For anyone willing to stay at the foot of the cross during the Passion of the Church, is going to need some kind of a fighting spirit.
You see, on a personal note, I have nowhere left to go. I came into the Church in the Spring of 2000. I walked away from what could have been a fairly well-paid ministry at a local Evangelical Church. My wife and I suffered the scorn of our families and friends upon entering the Catholic Church. We literally lost all of our friends. We entered the Church anyway, and tried to put our social lives back together, only to be hit with the first wave of this pederasty scandal in 2002, and suffer even more scorn from our former friends, added by the scorn of society at large. Yet we stayed in the Church anyway, and raised two children within her. This kind of stubborn faithfulness to the Church comes only when one believes the Catholic Church is truly the Church established by Jesus Christ. So, let me put it to you this way. I literally have nowhere left to go. My back is up against a wall. I have no choice but to fight for my faith, or else give it up entirely, and I do mean all of it! I’m not willing to entertain that thought, so guess what I’m gonna do? You guessed it. I’m gonna fight. Will you join me?
Here’s what I’m going to do…
I’m will pray the Holy Rosary every night, asking Our Lord and Our Lady to remove these pederast priests and corrupt bishops from among us. I’m going to ask that he remove them abruptly and forcefully, using any means necessary. I will not ask for any mercy on that one. I do this for the sake of the saving the youth and young men from any more harm.
I will identify the problem as homosexuality in the priesthood, and call upon the pope and all bishops to enforce canon law which states that men with strong homosexual tendencies should not be admitted to the seminaries, and most certainly should not be ordained priests.
I will not give any money to the USCCB, or any collection sponsored by them. It is an institutionally corrupt organisation. That’s it. They will not get one more dime from me ever again — period.
I will not give any money to a bishop who does not call for the resignation and/or removal of clergy who cover-up sexual or physical abuse. I am fortunate in that my own bishop has already called for the resignation/removal of such clergy. If your bishop has not already done this, maybe you should call or write your bishop’s chancery office and ask him why not?
I will support criminal investigations of the Catholic Church wherever they may arise, and support the pope’s removal of problem bishops.
I will report any suspicious activity of criminal behavior both to civil and Church authorities.
I will continue to identify myself as a Catholic even if doing so is difficult and causes others to look down upon me.
I will continue to go to mass regularly and visit the confessional as much as possible.
I will educate my children about what happened, and how they too can fight the homosexual-communist network (The Lavender Mafia) that is infiltrated the Catholic Church.
Beyond that, I don’t know what else to do as a layman, and I don’t see much more we can do as laymen, other than making our sentiments known to our priests and bishops, as well as writing letters to the pope. I have written an open letter to the pope, which can be viewed here. There are, however, some practical considerations we Catholics should make in the days ahead.
One practical consideration is our safety and the safety of our priests and fellow parishioners. I’m generally not worried about the government. The state and federal governments will soon have their hands full investigating The Lavender Mafia across the United States and perhaps internationally. I know many people worry about persecution of the laity by government officials, and I’m not ruling out the possibility that something like that could happen in the future (a mild form of it already happened under the Obama administration), but that is not our primary concern right now. Our primary concern right now is not government persecution, but rather the persecution of crazed vigilantes who want to take the law into their own hands. These people are usually not very intelligent, so they are usually wrong in their fact-finding and make critical errors in logical thinking. As a result, they’re completely random, totally unpredictable, and usually punish the innocent instead of the guilty. Vigilantes truly present a real, physical danger to the safety of our priests and our families. Parish members should begin taking parish-security seriously. I’m talking about such things as security cameras throughout church facilities, lock-down procedures, and armed security personnel during liturgical times such as mass and public prayer. To cut down on cost, armed personnel could consist of parishioners legally trained and licensed in conceal-and-carry laws. This is a call especially to fraternal orders, such as the Knights of Columbus, for example. Now is the time to step up to the plate and become real knights in the traditional and historical sense, physically protecting worshipers in their pilgrim journey on earth. It only makes sense that knights should take more than a ceremonial role in the liturgies of the Church. Perhaps while the color guard is doing their thing during mass, a few well-placed knights in plain clothes, distributed throughout the chapel, trained and licensed in conceal and carry laws, could function as a layer of protection in the event of a vigilante or terrorist attack on the parish. Of course, I am also talking about bringing in the expert advice of law enforcement. Most large parishes have police officers on their parish membership rolls. They should be consulted. When such members don’t exist, a simple call to the local police department can easily produce free security advice from trained professionals. This is a very simple and doable thing, which shouldn’t cost any parish more than a one-time investment of a few thousand dollars for a hardened parish building, with a ready and able security detail that can last decades. If the Vatican can have the Swiss Guard, then local parishes can have a few security cameras, a lock-down procedure, and some armed knights.
Another consideration is how to talk about all this and who to talk to. I strongly believe that we Catholics should talk to each other about the crisis and its effects as much as possible. This helps to calm our nerves and strengthen our faith. It’s therapeutic you see. Even public discussion, such as here on this blog, and also on social media, can serve a therapeutic effect, provided it’s between practicing Catholics who really love the faith. However, I do not recommend broaching this subject with non-Catholics. If non-Catholics happen to broach this subject with you, simply remind them that whatever concern, frustration and anger that is being felt among non-Catholics, it’s ten-times worse among Catholics just trying to live the faith. Thank them for their concern. Assure them you’re working with other Catholics to purge the evil from our Church, and then politely move on to another subject. This assures non-Catholics that we are not tone-deaf to the problem, and we are trying to do something about it. However, there are some non-Catholics who will try to use this crisis as a means to draw you out of the Church, attempting to persuade you to become Atheist or join some non-Catholic denomination. You will know these people by their argumentative and accusatory tone. They will seem highly aggressive in their line of questioning, and sometimes mocking in their comments. These people are to be totally ignored. In some cases, we may have to ignore them rudely. They have an agenda, and we simply don’t have time for it. Nor will such people listen to reasonable discussion.
Another consideration is personal holiness. We are entering a dark time for the Church. Though times have been dark already, they’re about to get much darker. If you’re dealing with some personal sin, it’s time to root it out. Visit the confessional. Do spiritual exercises. Focus your mind on spiritual things, particularly the word of God as relayed in the Sacred Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition. Go the extra mile in your walk with God, and most especially, turn to Our Lady in this time of trial. Our Lady of Fatima told the children that the rosary was the spiritual weapon of her choice. Maybe we should take that seriously in our own lives as well.
We must also consider this. Homosexuality has now taken center stage in our culture. While the average layperson usually has no occasion to counsel homosexual people, in part because of the popularly encouraged “pride” in their sin discourages homosexuals from seeking counselling, especially religious counselling, it is nevertheless helpful for laypeople to understand something. The Catholic Church does not teach that temptation, in and of itself, is sinful. This is because the Scriptures tell us that Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). If Jesus could suffer temptation, and Jesus was without sin, as Catholic theology teaches, then temptation (in and of itself) is not sin. Therefore, if you have a passing temptation to steal something, and you don’t act on it, you are not a thief and you have not sinned. If you have a passing temptation to commit adultery, and you don’t act on it, you are not an adulterer and you have not sinned. Likewise, you have a passing temptation to commit a some homosexual act, or you are attracted to members of the same-sex, you are not a homosexual and you have not sinned. Temptation is just temptation. We are all tempted to do all sorts of things. If temptation (in itself) made us sinners, then we would all be thieves, adulterers, murderers, etc. So this is important to understand. When we speak of homosexuals, we speak of people who are acting in homosexual ways, not people who merely have passing homosexual temptations and resist them.
There is another consideration related to this. That is homosexual people who do act on their temptations, and live as homosexuals within the general population. Generally speaking, these are not the people we’re talking about when it comes to the homosexual crisis in the Catholic Church or The Lavender Mafia. Regular homosexual persons in society are just that — regular homosexual persons — and likely have no connection whatsoever to the homosexual/pederasty crisis in the Catholic Church or The Lavender Mafia. It’s very important to understand this. What’s going on in The Lavender Mafia within the Catholic Church likely has nothing to do with that gay fellow who lives down the street. There is probably no connection whatsoever. So it’s important that we don’t distrust innocent homosexual bystanders because of the crisis going on in our own Church. Unless he’s a Catholic priest or bishop, there is probably no connection at all. So leave that poor fellow alone and give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s probably just a regular person, trying to sort out the problems in his own life, just like the rest of us.
Finally, there is a prophetic component to all this, just as the title of this essay suggests. The crisis is real, but limited. There is an expiration date. It will come to an end. We just don’t know when that day will come. Our Lady has promised us victory, and she has promised us renewal. Those who stick with her, at the foot of the cross within the Church, will be rewarded when it’s over. However, consider this. Judgement always comes to the house of the Lord first, before it it brought to the world (1 Peter 4:17). If God is cleansing the Church now, among his own children, what manner of cleansing is he planning for the rest of the world when he’s done with the Church? Whatever we get, we know it will not be nearly has harsh as what’s coming to the world. We also know that the incidence of sexual abuse of minors, and sexual harassment of adults, is much higher in the world than it is in the Church. Approximately one in four public high-school students in the United States is sexually abused before graduation by a member of the faculty or staff, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So consider what great judgement is soon to befall this world immediately after the Catholic Church is cleansed. If this doesn’t motivate us to clean up our own lives, now before it’s too late, I don’t know what will. So be prepared. Pray the rosary. Go to mass. Go to confession. We must immerse ourselves in the things of God, and think about heavenly things, rather than the things of this world. For a great cleansing is soon coming upon this world, maybe within a decade or two? And it will make this current cleansing of the Church look like nothing more than a loving Father’s gentle hand of correction.
Why Do I Go To Mass?
2 thoughts on “Our Lady’s Work Has Begun”
Frank Andrew says:
Thanks for your powerful article, Shane, it’s a good overview and an encouraging action plan for the potential results of this new crisis.
I was born and raised a Roman Catholic but only paid it lip service. After the revelations of depravity in the early 00’s I lost my faith and left ‘The Faith’. I stayed away, angry, furious and determined to viciously undermine any religious belief as much as possible. Sad to say, I was very successful at it, too…..turning the rest of my family off all kinds of spiritual practice.
3 years ago I returned by “chance” (believe it or not, Fr. James Martin’s ‘Jesus-A Pilgrimage’ and British writer Peter Hitchens helping along the way) and have since been blessed with a stronger, more robust appreciation and gratitude for Catholicism.
This time, the latest round of predatory sexual behaviour from these rancid two faced, “politically engaged” sexual abusers won’t cause me to lose my faith or abandon the Roman Catholic Church.
Echoing Pope Benedict’s words that “The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world”, I believe we are supposed to be here and now as part of this current ‘History’ and are witnessing the acceleration of an already tottering North American Catholicism. But I’ve asked myself is that so bad? A brutal disinfecting is the only way forward. ‘Charters’, ‘plans, tersely worded damage control statements approved by the “legal team” isn’t going to cut it anymore. Our travel to the desert for Catholicism’s time in the wilderness has to be public, costly and humiliating. The smug certainty of our modern prelates has to be brought down until we can become the one true holy, Catholic and apostolic church again.
Maria Rios says:
This is a result of Vatican ll, l know people will rebuke this but ,that’s when all the nonsense and changes where made, it will get worse until tradition is restored


As Coronavirus Testing Gears Up, Specialized Swabs Running Out
by Lauren Weber, Christina Jewett
The two top makers of the highly specialized swabs used to test patients for the novel coronavirus are straining to keep up with the demand, even as both the Italian and U.S. governments are working with them to increase production, including at a key manufacturing site in the midst of Italy's outbreak.
The nasopharyngeal swabs required for the coronavirus tests are quite different from your standard Q-tips — and the exploding need for them has created a bottleneck in the soaring demand for diagnoses.
The swabs have to be long and skinny enough to get to the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat, behind the nose. They must be made of synthetic fiber and cannot have a wooden shaft. Nor can they contain calcium alginate, a substance typically used for swab tips in wound care, as that can kill the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These swabs are currently singled out by CDC and Food and Drug Administration guidelines as suitable for most coronavirus testing. Once used, they're typically mailed in transportable vials full of a solution known as "viral transport media," which keeps the virus testable.
While last week's critical shortage was a reagent chemical used in the diagnostic tests, now the specialized swabs are in dire demand, according to Soumi Saha, a pharmacist who is the senior director of advocacy for Premier Inc., a group purchasing organization that procures supplies for 4,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems. As testing finally ramps up in the U.S., hospitals especially are having a hard time getting enough of these swabs, Saha said.
"We have folks that can't get a hand on any of them right now," Saha said. "Hospitals want to do their part and want to expand access to testing, but they're hamstrung by the fact that they can't access the actual swabs."
Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb pointed out on Twitter on Monday that a lack of swabs could be the new bottleneck even as the number of sites with the capacity to test has increased, showcasing that the weakest link in the supply chain becomes the limiting factor.
Missouri has been among the places seeing a shortage of swabs, state Department of Health and Senior Services spokesperson Lisa Cox confirmed over the weekend. Ontario, Canada, plus counties in Washington and Michigan have announced that limitations on swabs were creating a logjam in their testing capabilities, according to news reports. Axios first reported on the national swab shortages last week.
Part of the problem lies in the nature of current test procedures for COVID-19. Typically, one needs to use two swabs per person: one swab for a flu test to potentially rule out the need for a coronavirus test, then another for the coronavirus if the flu test is negative.
Since the swabs are a product that is regulated, patented and specialized, they're hard to make on the fly, Saha said. That puts additional pressure on the two largest manufacturers.
One of them, Puritan Medical Products, based in Guilford, Maine, has been working to keep up with demand even as its workforce, like many in America, has been affected by the spread of the virus, spokesperson Timothy Templet said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with working groups from the White House and other federal agencies, has been in discussion with the company over the past week to redirect some of their manufacturing capabilities away from other clients to COVID-19 specialty swab production, Templet said.
Currently, Templet estimated, Puritan is producing between 800,000 and a million swabs a week that could go to COVID-19 efforts. If the government decides to redirect its manufacturing efforts, cutting off the supply of its other medical products for items like flu kits, it could make millions more.
Still, Templet said that ramping up production so drastically would take a few weeks to get fully off the ground, considering manufacturing capabilities and protocols.
Templet said HHS plans to open 37 testing sites across the country in the coming days to account for increased testing needs — which will require even more specialty swabs. He also said the government is considering expanding its recommended testing material options to allow for more general nasal swabs to keep up with the increased testing demand.
FDA spokesperson Stephanie Caccomo said in an email that the agency is aware of "supply chain pressures on obtaining certain materials for running tests" and that it is continuing to evaluate other options for specimen collection supplies, which it will list on its website.
Another specialty swab manufacturer, Copan Diagnostics Inc., which is based in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, is working 24/7 in a "tremendous effort" to produce products such as its CDC-recommended and patent-protected FLOQSwabs, all while asking customers and distributors to ration orders to maximize output, spokesperson Gabriela Franco said in an email.
While produced in a region hit hard by the novel coronavirus, where most other work has stopped, Franco said, the Italian government has allowed the business to continue production. And it is working with local and national authorities on keeping production up in case stricter health restrictions are adopted.
Copan could produce 720,000 specialized swabs in a day and as many as 100 million per year for the global market, according to records the firm filed in a 2018 patent lawsuit.
Amid the crunch, Copan CEO Stefania Triva said in an emailed statement that her company is working round-the-clock to keep up with demand.
"Without full commitment and sacrifices from all of my staff, we would not be able to meet this unexpected demand," Triva said. "COPAN's more than 660 members of staff, many of whom are women, without hesitation, once made aware of the Coronavirus emergency, have stepped up from five working days and two shifts to seven working days and night shifts also."
The volume of Copan swabs arriving in the U.S. has been increasing, according to data from Import Genius, which tracks container ships arriving in American ports. Six tons of Copan culture swabs arrived at the port of Norfolk, Virginia, on March 4. Before that, 4.5 tons of swabs arrived at the same port on Jan. 20. The swabs then tend to go to domestic test-kit assemblers that package them for health care use.
New Jersey-based Becton, Dickinson and Co., a leading assembler of those kits involved in ramping up coronavirus testing, has seen extremely high demand for swab products this year, company spokesperson Troy Kirkpatrick said. But now that Copan is "running operations 24/7" to increase production, Kirkpatrick said, "we will be providing hundreds of thousands of swabs to the U.S. market each week."


FCC’s Net Neutrality Myths
We’ve been having the policy debate over creating net neutrality since at least 2005. During that time there have been a lot of arguments made on both sides of the issue. But overall it’s been a policy debate that is similar to the many other issues discussed in the telecom regulatory world. Both sides make their arguments and eventually a decision is made to regulate or not regulate according to the arguments. Politics has always played a role in these debates and issues tend to slew a bit according to the political leanings of the FCC at any given time.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai recently released a document that argues strenuously for the end of net neutrality. This document lists various ‘myths’ associated with net neutrality and then describes why each myth is untrue. If you look back at the history of the net neutrality debate you’ll see that his list is a summary of the arguments being made over time by the big ISPs. This is a document that one would expect from AT&T, Comcast, USTA or ALEC – but not from the Chairman of the FCC.
I have a problem with the Chairman’s list because most of the conclusions drawn are factually incorrect. It’s expected for the big ISPs to make arguments in their favor, even if those arguments are not wholly true – but it’s disturbing to see these same arguments coming from the FCC, which is supposed to be the arbiter for telecom policy issues.
I don’t think I have any bias that makes me see these statements as false. Anybody whose been reading my blogs knows that I am as biased as anybody else in the industry. My bias is towards policies that allows smaller ISPs to compete. And I am strongly in favor of policies that try to solve the rural broadband gap and the overall digital divide. But other than that I am largely neutral on other telecom policies and am receptive to hear all arguments on the various issues. Other than as a consumer I have no strong bias in the net neutrality debate because I don’t believe that small ISPs will violate net neutrality even if there aren’t any rules. The net neutrality argument really only concerns the behavior of the largest and most powerful ISPs in the telecom market. I could go through the document and discuss each ‘myth’ – but that doesn’t lend itself to a blog-length discussion. But I think every one of the Chairman’s arguments is stretching the truth.
For example, the document rolls out the old big-ISP argument that broadband investments have dropped due to Title II regulation. This argument goes back to shoddy work done by one researcher on the big ISP payroll and has been debunked numerous times. The numbers tell a different story and investments have not dropped. So do the actions of the big ISPs – AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and most of the other big ISPs are all undertaking aggressive expansion and upgrades. Look at what each of these companies is telling their stockholders and you don’t see an industry in retreat. Title II regulation has had almost zero impact on investment decisions (and regulation rarely has ever done so).
Chairman Pai also argues that the Internet was free and open before we had Title II regulation. That’s not the way I remember it. The net neutrality debate has been going on since 2005 and the ISPs have been held in check by the threat of net neutrality regulation. Even without Title II regulations in place the FCC was able in the past to pressure the ISPs on practices like data caps and zero-rating by the threat of future regulation – and for the last decade this has largely worked. Title II regulation didn’t just appear out of thin air with the FCC order in 2014 – the net neutrality principles were the backbone of FCC regulation and actions for a decade before then.
This FCC document also argues that the Federal Trade Commission is well equipped to police unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive behavior from ISPs. That gives the FCC cover to duck out of regulating broadband. What this doesn’t mention is that the big ISPs are now attacking the FTC’s right to regulate broadband (a blog will be coming on this soon). I find it extraordinary that the FCC would declare that it should have no role in regulating broadband – the most important telecommunications product. Regulating broadband seems to be their role in the industry almost by definition.
I guess more than anything else this document disappoints me. While there have always been some politics involved in the decisions made in our industry, past FCCs have largely decided issues on their merits. My own business was founded largely due to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which unleashed much-needed competition into the industry. But I look at this current FCC and see that the pendulum has swung to one far extreme and the merit of issues aren’t even part of policy discussions. That saddens me.
Tagged: Chairman Ajit Pai, Federal Trade Commission, net neutraility, Title II regulations
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One thought on “FCC’s Net Neutrality Myths”
L. Nova says:
Why are you surprised Doug? Pai has shown to be a liar.
1. Blatant lying that NN caused a downturn of ISP network investment when the CEOs of these companies which are required by law to tell the truth to investors told them that the 2015 title II had no impact on network investment. Company records showed investment increased.
2. His refusal to release any evidence to investigators of why the FCC site went down claiming it was a DDOS attack.
3. Pai also wants to lower the minimum broadband speed of 25 megs to 10 megs. Why? Because of the many massive areas in this country that are STILL underserved. He wants to make it easy for wireless providers to deploy no matter how inferior or very costly to the consumer it is. All this 5G hype is just what it is: hype. It hasn’t even been developed yet. Never mind all the fiber needed.
4. Then there’s the matter of copper retirement which a vast amount of the country relies on for DSL and plain old telephone service that both AT&T and Verizon are pushing to get rid of without the equal function test that ensures that whatever replaces it can deliver without issue.
5. Preventing states from deciding for themselves what they want at the behest of corporate greed.
6. Then comes Pai’s argument of calling ISPs “information services” which they were 20 YEARS AGO at the dawn of the internet when Compuserve and AOL where dominant and dial-up was commonplace and expensive for those that could afford it.
ISPs are now “telecommunication service providers” hosting a helluva lot more than just information. We are talking about streaming TV made possible by Netflix, You Tube, VOIP telephones which have essentially replaced POTS, gaming, video chat, multimedia, downloads, e-commerce and a lot more.
7. His latest bullshit over twitter saying that the social network has silenced conservative views when in fact the company has only kicked off users that perpetuate hate speech which is not the same.


Sam Martin's cancer journey as told by his dad
Sam Martin's story has touched parents everywhere. Contributed
MARK Martin has shared a moving account of their son, Sam's, cancer journey on social media for Childhood Cancer Week and to support other families.
He details the extraordinary painful experience of watching their son suffer and then their decision to stop treatment.
The entire Sunshine Coast community prayed and lit candles for Sam, hoping for a miracle.
He passed away on October 8.
These are Mark's words:
"July 25, 2013 was the day our world would never be the same again.
"As parents we heard the words no parent ever thinks they will or should hear 'your child has cancer'.
"That was the start of an incredible, eye-opening and life changing 15 month journey that ultimately saw us lose our precious eight-year-old son, Sam.
"If first hearing those words isn't earth-shattering enough, being immersed into the world of children's oncology certainly is.
"For the first few weeks after being given the 'news', your feet don't touch the ground and your head doesn't stop spinning as your world alters from that of assuring the kids have got school lunches packed, or getting them to sports in time, to a world where you have absolutely no control of anything.
"A world of countless tests, a world where a foreign language is spoken, a world where your child is subjected to all sorts of invasive and painful tests.
"As this is all going on, you are trying as best you can to deal with a new level of fear and emotions, all while trying to keep a brave face to protect - as much as you can - from your precious child.
"From the time we were told the small lump on the left hand side of Sam's face was cancerous (initially thought to be a swollen gland) to the time we received a formal diagnosis was three weeks.
"In that time, the tumour had more than tripled in size and was now occupying the space of a lemon in Sam's head.
"Those three weeks seemed like an eternity as, without a formal diagnosis, no treatment plan could be put into place.
"We didn't care what they wanted to call Sam's lump, we just wanted to get on with getting it rid of!!
"When the diagnosis finally came through from the medical school at Oklahoma University, Sam embarked on 'his' treatment plan.
"We're saying his treatment plan in inverted commas as it wasn't his as such, we were dealing with a very aggressive, inoperable tumour normally found in adults.
"The style of treatment, the intensity of the drugs were those normally reserved for adults not a fragile eight-year-old boy.
"Thirteen rounds of chemotherapy was planned along with an intensive six-and-a-half weeks of radiation in the hopes of reducing the tumour enough to remove the balance through surgery.
"Regrettable, we've all been exposed to cancer, but nothing can compare to dealing with this disease when it has taken over the body of one of your children.
"We've all seen the images of a smiling child who has lost their hair due to treatment, normally with a Naso-gastric feeding tube taped to their faces.
"As heart-wrenching as those images are to see, in reality they are oncology kids on a good day.
"Thirteen rounds of chemo and six-and-a-half weeks of radiation doesn't sound too bad, yet the actual treatment is the easy part.
"The complications and legacy caused by the treatment are another story and one that we are completely unprepared for.
"To this day, we often comment that we don't think we could of handled what Sam went through, burns to his face and oesophagus, nights in ICU due to complications from surgery, the constant nausea and vomiting.
"Watching one of your babies go through this is soul destroying and it does throw a whole new perspective onto everything.
"In February 2014, Sam had completed his radiation treatment and, unfortunately, while there was a reduction in the size of Sam's tumour, it was not enough to enable an operation to be completed.
"The chemotherapy had had little impact on the tumour.
"We were given the option of continuing with more chemotherapy, purely as a way of prolonging Sam's life, or taking Sam home to enjoy some quality time with him.
"After seeing what Sam had been through for the past seven months, we chose to bring Sam home.
"This was by no way a sign of giving up hope as we explored many options and alternatives to treat Sam once we left hospital, yet it was a decision we made purely with Sam's best interests at heart.
"Sam thrived being out of hospital and even returned to school for a while, he enjoyed being a kids again riding his motorbike, kicking a footy and fighting with his big sister, Ella.
"While the time bomb was slowly ticking, those four months Sam was home were the best.
"It allowed us to see Sam again for who he was, a cheeky, loving little boy who had a love for life and an even bigger love for his family, not a sick, bed ridden, machine connected shell of his former self.
"In July 2014 Sam started to go downhill rather rapidly, the tumour had started to grow again and at even faster rate of knots.
"We returned to hospital, not for any oncology treatment, but because Sam felt safer there as he was getting sicker by the day.
"The tumour was now the size of a small watermelon and had deformed Sam's head to the shape of a football, it has travelled up into his brain as well as protruding through his ear canal.
"We could literally see the tumour growing daily as it was coming out of his ear.
"One morning in September, Sam asked to go home.
"He wanted to be him his own bed, be surrounded by all his family and be with his dog, Roxy.
"The next month was tough, although Sam was home he was not Sam, he was a lifeless body without the ability to communicate or do anything for himself, but he was at home.
"At 19:47, on October 8, 2014 Sam quietly drifted off to sleep and joined all of the other Angels in heaven, his pain and suffering had ended."
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A fantastic drama filled with the names of famous actors, originates in the heart of Africa. A small, not noticeable, at first glance, state of Wakanda, in fact, turns out to be a place that is rich in one of the unique types of metal – vibranium. It is capable of absorbing any vibration that has arisen. There are no analogues of vibranium, and when other miners learn about it, the state has to save itself from looting by any methods.
At the end of the first part, it becomes clear that there are unresolved issues that will be accurately covered in the continuation of the Black Panther.
When the Black Panther 2 comes out
The release date of the film Black Panther 2 has not yet been officially announced.
According to the latest data, the shooting of the part 2 will take place in 2020-2021. The premiere is tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2022.
To save Wakid from violent attacks from robbers, the prince of the state calls on the spirit of the Black Panther.
Previously, living people have already resorted to such help and know that her call is the latest measure. To do this, you need to conduct a complex ritual, which requires close attention and control. Not knowing all the features of the conduct, the prince did not expect that he himself would become the Black Panther. Such an omen promises only one thing: the ruler must defend the territory, stop the attacks of ill-wishers and keep the vibrarium on his land.
For fans of exciting adventures, the film will pass in one breath. The film will be available for display to any audience, therefore it rightfully belongs to a series of films for family viewing. It is planned to put it on a par with the film “The Avengers” and add the Black Panther to a spectacular squad of super-people, but what will come out of it – only time will show.
The Black Panther is Chadwick Bozeman. In addition to his acting career, he is a talented playwright and screenwriter. In 2016, he already played his character in the film “The First Avenger. Confrontation. “
Eric Kilmanger – Mikey B. Jordan. In the “Fantastic Four” in 2015, Johnny Storm played, after which he was seen by other directors and began to appear in films of a wider scale. In 2013 he voiced Victor’s cyborg in the animated series “Justice League”.
Nakya – Lupita Niongo. A native of Kenya, also engaged in directing and producing. Awarded an “Oscar” for the role of Patsy in the drama “12 years of slavery” (2013).
The eye is Danai Gurira. Actress, playwright. World fame was after the appearance in the second season of “Walking Dead” in the role of Mishon. Now the shooting of the series continues, and Gurira has become a central figure, having received public recognition.
All key characters are black. Do not forget that the film takes place in Africa.
Director Ryan Kugler until the last moment could not decide on the location of the shooting, because Niongo refused to go to Africa. Gurira had to persuade Lupita.
In the nineties, the role of the black panther was claimed by Wesley Snipes (he played the vampire killer in the action movie “Blade”), but the shooting did not take place.
During the shooting, only in extreme cases used the services of stuntmen. Actors tried to perform all the tricks themselves.
Originally, for Danai Gurira, the role of Nakiya was prepared, but after reading the script, Danai asked the director for a long time to give her the opportunity to play Okoy, because this character is closer to her in spirit.
Black Panther 2: release date
Black Panther 2 spring of 2022
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Apple iPad Mini 2 Release Date: How it is Likely to Differ From Current iPad Mini
Apple had taken the tech work by storm when it had launched the iPad Mini back in November 2012. However, we are fast approaching the first anniversary of the launch, which means there is a new version in the making and should be ready for prime time action soon. Also, the immense popularity that the first gen iPad Mini enjoyed has only led to the hype surrounding the second gen device to reach almost frenzied proportions.
It’s the talk of the tech town, which coupled with the complete secrecy that the device is shrouded in right now has only meant we can be at our speculative best to ascertain what to expect in the next couple of months from Apple. That it would be a significant improvement over the current version is all too well known, though all the curiosity is centered on by what margin. The iPad Mini is already an excellent device, (not for nothing did it go on to outsell its own stable mate, the iPad) and we all are eager to know how much better the next generation iPad Mini 2 will be.
Mentioned here are some of the key aspects of the iPad Mini and what we can expect from the iPad Mini 2.
One of the biggest debates currently centered on the iPad Mini is whether or not the iPad Mini 2 will sport a Retina display. There are a lot of factors which makes us believe there is no reason why the next gen iPad Mini won’t have such a display. After all, the lack of a retina display is considered one of the biggest flaws (if it can be considered a flaw in the first place) of the mini iPad and the biggest improvement Apple can implement with its next generation is to incorporate the high resolution displays. It can be considered a glaring omission given how obsessed Apple is with high resolution panels which it calls retina displays. The regular 9.7 inch sized iPads (4th generation onwards) all come with such displays, including many of the Macbook versions as well.
Another point in favor of Apple going for a retina display is the new font that is a bit narrower being used in the iOS 7. Apple has announced the new platform in early June. With this being the operating system for all future mobile devices from the company, it would be a compromise on something as vital as reading experience as the slightly lower resolution displays (1,024 x 768) of the iPad Mini could prove the thinner fonts a bit less appealing.
However, with that being the general expectation, those with their ears to the ground have however picked up a different trend. That Apple might skip on such displays for the new iPad Mini and the reason is being attributed to there being a lack of the said displays in adequate numbers. These rumor sources are claiming Apple will launch a new iPad Mini soon but it won’t have the Retina display, something that we got to wait till next year to see becoming a reality. Surely it is hard to believe the new iPad Mini will be missing out on Retina displays one more time, though it is only time and Apple that can tell what it has in store for us.
One of the biggest USPs of the iPad Mini has been its looks. Its light and thin, which combined with its even thinner bezels along the sides, has ensured the device is nothing short of a stunner. This combined with its 7.9 inch display ensured the iPad Mini is just right as far as portability and ease of use is concerned. It marked a complete departure from the iPad design which has remained more or less consistent ever since it was launched back in 2010. In comparison, the iPad Mini might look somewhat like an enlarged iPhone though there is nothing wrong in it being so. The sales figure is ample proof of that.
Now coming to the iPad Mini 2, expert opinion on this has generally been varying from an even thinner bezel to the bezel being completely non-existent. Also, the two usual qualities that gets further impetus with the new version of the devices, thinner and lighter, is also likely to be applicable to the iPad Mini 2 as well. However, it’s here that things can get a bit tricky for Apple as incorporating a Retina display will call for a bigger battery unit to ensure the tablet can stick to the 10+ hours of charge it is capable of. However, a radical new design should not be expected.
Apart from sharing the same resolution display as the iPad 2, the iPad Mini is also powered by the same Apple A5 dual core chip. That Apple will up the ante on this front is almost a certainty, more so if a higher resolution display is used since the latter will call for a more efficient graphics processor. Meanwhile, the iPad 4 equipped with retina display is powered by the faster Apple A6X processor and chances are that the same could also find its way into the iPad Mini 2 as well. Or even if it’s the same low resolution display is continued on the new iPad Mini, the A6 will no doubt do a world of good to its processing capabilities.
Meanwhile, Apple is also working on an even faster A7 chip as well and it shouldn’t be surprising if the same end up at the core of the new iPad Mini 2 as well. This will ensure Apple has the same chip in use across all its iPad range.
Storage Option
Currently, the iPad Mini is available in the 16, 32 and 64 GB storage options and that Apple will stick to the same with the new iPad Mini 2 is all too evident. However, a surprise addition could be a new version that comes with 128 GB of storage. Apple already offers an iPad with that much of storage, which means it perhaps won’t be too way off to assume an equivalent iPad Mini 2 variant might also be in the offing.
Rumor mongers have been really wild on this one though the one schedule that perhaps makes the most sense is a launch during the October November period. For not only does this make almost a year after the first gen version was launched, this period also goes well with what Tim Cook had announced that they have new exciting products to be launched after September. Further, Apple has also stated their new iOS 7 platform will be available in all its glory only in autumn.
Meanwhile, another school of thought had been maintaining that Apple will launch a non Retina panel equipped iPad Mini 2 this fall and will come up with a new iPad Mini complete with a Retina panel early next. This seems least likely as Apple surely won’t risk pissing off its fan base by launching a new variant of the iPad Mini so soon. Also, sales generally tend to drop off a bit right after the holiday season, a period that major manufacturers generally tend to skip launching any new product.
Apple has never adopted the low initial price bait to lure in consumers. What this means is that a price cut for the new iPad Mini 2 as is being rumored in some quarters seems least likely. Instead, the new iPad Mini will slot into the same price range as its ancestor. The price range starts at $330 for the base Wi-Fi only version of the tablet with 16 GB onboard, going all the way up to $659 for the top of the line LTE version of the Apple tablet with 64 GB of storage.
Also of course, the coming of the iPad Mini 2 should not be considered as the end of the road for the first gen version. Instead, Apple could well use the same as a weapon of choice to decimate the challenge posed by the budget Android tablets, including the new Nexus 7 2 which is expected to hit streets sporting a price tag of $230. A $100 discount is all that is needed to pitch the iPad Mini bang in the Nexus 7 2 territory. After all, the first gen iPad Mni is still going strong enough and continues to sell in numbers higher than its bigger cousin, the iPad. If that be the case, then both the two generation of the iPad Mini devices could be seen ruling the roost in the low to mid end smaller tablet segment.
Filed Under: Tablets Tagged With: Apple, Apple iPad Mini, Apple iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 2 Release Date
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Command Sergeant Major Harold Shrewsberry, USA-Ret
Golf Tournament Chairman
After Operation Desert Shield & Desert Storm, Command Sergeant Major Harold F. Shrewsberry became the Commandant of the NCO Academy at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
He had had six years of experience as a CSM and eight years as a First Sergeant and had combat assignments in Vietnam, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea and Operation Desert Storm.
He was the CSM of VII Corps Artillery, joining the Corps Artillery in Southwest Asia during Desert Storm in January of 1991 and deploying the unit back to Germany.
Other CSM experience was as Community CSM of Ansbach, Germany (1st Armored Division); CSM of the 7th Infantry Division (Light) Artillery, Fort Ord, California, helping to deploy the unit to Operation Just Cause and serving as Division (Rear) CSM; and CSM of the 2d Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, also in the 7th Infantry Division.


Thursday, 02 July 2015 12:47 | |
"For many years, however, more the last five years, we live the complete failure of the whole of our political world , which has led the country to the brink of a national test, one step before a disaster of historic proportions.
Recently we experienced the effort of some foreign powers (regardless of whatever our responsibilities) to design methodically destroying our country in every respect, national, historical, cultural, social and converting the people to our people slaves, who would beg for a piece of bread.
They saw trying to fully control the country's power system and make it an instrument for the implementation of their plan in all areas of our national life with special emphasis on the weapon of the economy, to dismantle the Greek society in all areas: labor, education, growth, trade, production, culture.
We saw to try to completely control the critical areas of international relations and of our national defense.
They saw the Memoranda and Loan Agreements to exclude any relationship with a country other than their own, to have such exclusivity in full control of our country and also to assert our common wealth, ports, airports, the major roads, solar energy, water, public buildings, our historical monuments, as well as control of education and culture.
And then we saw our governments to sign agreements and texts such characteristics maintained and Professor C. Kasimatis could not be signed "either with the gun on his temple."
Faced with this storm that surprised us all, our people found naked.
His only weapon was Unity. Unfortunately this did not happen.
At the same time we saw the struggle of SYRIZA to become government. Personally I warned that a government of the Left and with the heroic past of the Greek left would mean an alarm to the winners of the Civil War will want to exterminate both the government and the People who voted. This will dry out the country from money and at the same time do everything to punish us. That the effort of a left party become government without having obtained a foothold and without drawing direct application for the next day, they are opportunistic and will pay dearly. And I had set two conditions : The formation of a more than 50% Pallaikou Front and preparing alliances grounded upon joint ventures with powerful international forces for the joint exploitation of our national wealth, because otherwise, we would go barefoot thorns. And these developments unfortunately vindicated.
Today we find ourselves in front of a Referendum . After five whole months 'negotiations' with the 'institutions' -Troika made within the framework of the Memorandum, which dared SYRIZA to abolish the "First Law that would bring the House" as stated before the elections the current Prime Minister and they eventually threw rocks, ask us if we agree with the last sentence of the "institutions" requiring more steps, just half a billion additional measures amounting to 8 billion accepted by the Greek government and with signature of the Prime Minister himself.
Of course it is possible to vote for the agreement with lenders. But the NO voters will choose the ballot it is NOT at all burdensome and onerous agreements with "institutions". NO to all agreements that load the People with even more burdens leading to the full misery and killing and robbing of national integrity, independence and sovereignty. And one should not think or encroaching on this reply by displaying it as a vote of confidence in government and even more so as a consensus in its proposal of 8 billion which after all included in the proposal of the creditors.
Most important though, is what happens the day after the referendum . After complete as I mentioned earlier failure of the whole of our political world, which has led the country to the brink of a national test, I wish there was a way to form a government of "national salvation" to the country out of the current impasse in which the They have led leaders inferior conditions and problems facing the people and the country in recent decades, and especially during the time of the Memoranda.
However, since this is not possible, again the only weapon left to the Greek people is Unity . Only united like a fist we strive to address the cancer that threatens us even in death. The Greek people must demonstrate composure, maturity and responsibility and to become in any legal way to leading defender of freedoms and rights.
Google-Translation


America’s Shrinking Middle Class: A Close Look at Changes Within Metropolitan Areas
The economic status of adults improved in about half of U.S. metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2014
Map: The American middle class: Who is in it, and who is not, in U.S. Metropolitan Areas
Interactive: Are you in the American middle class?
The middle class is shrinking in most U.S. metropolitan areas, and lower-and upper-income tiers are gaining share
The tale of two metropolitan areas: A smaller middle class could signal a move either up or down the income ladder
Who is ‘middle income’ and ‘upper income’ in 2014?
Metropolitan areas with the highest shares of middle-income adults in 2014 are mostly in the Midwest
The 10 metropolitan areas that gained or lost the most in economic status from 2000 to 2014
Median incomes of the middle class and other tiers fell from 1999 to 2014
Who is middle income?
Share of American adults living in middle-income households has fallen
Many of America’s top middle-income metropolitan areas are in the Midwest and the Northeast
Metropolitan areas with the highest shares of upper-income people are mostly to the northeast
Most lower-income metropolitan areas are to the south or the southwest
Household incomes in many metropolitan areas in the southern part of the U.S. were less than the national median in 2014
U.S. metropolitan areas with the 10 highest and 10 lowest household incomes in 2014
U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest incomes for middle-class households in 2014
U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest incomes for households in the lower-income tier in 2014
U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest incomes for households in the upper-income tier in 2014
In 2014, metropolitan areas with higher incomes had larger upper-income tiers and smaller lower-income tiers
Median incomes of households in all income tiers fell from 1999 to 2014
The median income of households fell in the vast majority of the U.S. metropolitan areas from 1999 to 2014
From 2000 to 2014, upper-income tiers grew in areas where incomes rose, or fell by less; lower-income tiers grew more in areas with more of a decrease in income
The middle-class share fell more in metropolitan areas with more of an increase in income inequality from 2000 to 2014
Distribution of adults by income tier in U.S. metropolitan areas, 2000 and 2014
Distribution of adults by income tier in U.S. metropolitan areas, 2000 and 2014, cont.
Changes in the distribution of adults by income tier in U.S. metropolitan areas, 2000 to 2014
Changes in the distribution of adults by income tier in U.S. metropolitan areas, 2000 to 2014, cont.
The middle-class share fell in almost all U.S. metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2014
The share of adults in upper-income households increased in the vast majority of the U.S. metropolitan areas rom 2000 to 2014
The share of adults in lower-income households increased in most U.S. metropolitan areas from 2000 to 2014
The middle-class share was greater in metropolitan areas with lesser income inequality in 2014
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