There are almost ZERO genuine "conservatives" in the present-day USA

The title is one of my hypotheses.  It's based on long experience as an ardent conservative back in the 1960's, and on my continuing interest in all major political and economic philosophies up through today.  From Edmund Burke to Russell Kirk to William F. Buckley, Jr. and beyond, I'm well-versed in the personalities & principles of conservatism.  I haven't been a conservative for decades, but remember it all.  Some people have said, "But conservatism has changed since back then.".  No, and here's why:  the bedrock principles of a philosophy do not change.  The "change" is as follows:  conservatism has been displaced & co-opted by neoconservatism and neoliberalism (there's not a lot of difference between the two), and they have principles totally different from those of conservatism.

The term, "conservative" or "conservatism" once stood for honor, duty, conservation of high values, integrity, truth, acting in a civil manner, and minding your own business.  That's why the co-opters of the Conservative Movement retained the label rather than owning up to their real identity.  They wanted the (mostly) good reputation of being a conservative.

Russell Kirk (R.I.P.) is well known as the Father of American Conservatism.  His iconic book, The Conservative Mind" (1953), had seven editions with total sales over one million copies.  I doubt there are even ten so-called conservatives today (under the age of 50 of so) who know much of anything about him, or about the principles he espoused.

 From Kirk:

"When every person claims to be a power unto himself, then society falls into anarchy. Anarchy never lasts long, being intolerable for everyone, and contrary to the ineluctable fact that some persons are more strong and more clever than their neighbors. To anarchy there succeeds tyranny or oligarchy [emphasis added], in which power is monopolized by a very few."

~  The Russell Kirk Center

[Yes, I also had to look up the definition of "ineluctable".  It's an adjective meaning:  unable to be avoided or resisted, inescapable.  Kirk was an intellectual of the highest order, hence the fancy language.  He laid the philosophical underpinnings for American Conservatism, and did so almost singlehandedly.]

Kirk on civil society and change:

"Conservatives are champions of custom, convention, and continuity [as in the peaceful transition of power] because they prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't know... necessary change, conservatives argue, ought to be gradual and discriminatory, never unfixing old interests at once."

From---

https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/07/ten-conservative-principles-russell-kirk.html

No time to go through all ten principles from the link immediately above.  Just from the quotes cited so far, it should be obvious that Trump & Crew (and many others who claim to be Right-Wing) are not conservatives at all.  Some of them think they are, but that's only because they are completely unfamiliar with the founding principles of American Conservatism.  For example, such principles do not support threatening violence to election officials, or to those of us who are exercising the freedom to wear a pandemic mask, or those who believe a woman should have control over her own body, or those who believe human rights violations by Saudi Arabia, or Israel, or any other country disqualify them from being our ally.  Such principles do not support initiating violence or "first strikes" of any kind.  They do not support egregious lying or fraud, nor do they support wanton destruction of Nature in the name of capitalism.

True conservatives conserve good things rather than destroy or damage them for little or no reason.

So, what's my point here?  To those few of you who still are genuine conservatives, I suggest the following.  Politically and philosophically, get as far away as possible from the unprincipled, unethical, uncivil, phony "conservatives" who have co-opted the Conservative Movement.  Their ideology is much closer to fascism than it is to conservatism.  In the long run, History will judge them as either fascists or precursors to such.

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Not only my opinion.   Be Well

The Oligarchy Handbook

To my knowledge, no such Handbook exists; if it did, however, this would be a good outline or condensed version.  NOTE---  Certainly not all of it, but much of the information below comes from Noam Chomsky's superb book and documentary titled, Requiem for the American Dream.  The editors of the documentary came up with this subtitle:  "The Ten Principles of Concentration of Wealth and Power".  I would call it "The Ten Steps for Instituting Corporatism in a Society".  These concepts are evident not only in the USA today, but also in all industrialized countries of the world...some more than others.

1.  Reduce democracy---
Reduce or eliminate the input and influence of commoners in the formation of public policy.  The "little people" should be treated as "spectators" when it comes to government because they are incapable of comprehending complex matters.  They should be distracted with consumer consumption and kept apathetic.

2.  Shape ideology---
This begins with indoctrination in education.  Critical thinking and any challenging of Authority should be suppressed.  Except for basic skills such as reading and math, the minds of students should be molded to always accept Authority, wage slavery, war, the hierarchy of society, and a belief in the wisdom of opulence and luxury.

3.  Redesign the economy---
Complete the move (started in the 1970's) to Neoliberalism, Financialization, and Globalization.  In part, that means privatization of gov't infrastructure & services and the promotion of worker insecurity.  Separate worker productivity from wage increases.  Keep wages stagnant.  One way to do that is to promote the moving of manufacturing to emerging economies with low wages and sweatshop conditions.  Reduce or eliminate regulations applying to the Financial Sector so that income can be made without producing any goods or services...as with the use of bizarre financial derivatives and other financial instruments.

4.  Shift the burden carried by Oligarchs---
Make the Rich and Powerful less responsible for funding gov't, and for their own mistakes.  Reduce their taxes, and promote "Too Big to Fail", "Too Big to Jail", "Bail-Outs", and "Bail-Ins".  Increase gov't subsidies to mega corporations.  Let the "little people" foot the bill.

5.  Attack solidarity---
Reduce (through Edward Bernays style "molding of the public mind" Propaganda) the caring by individuals for the fate of others.  Destroy unions.  Clamp down on freedom of assembly, nonviolent protest, and any group that challenges the status quo.

6.  Run the regulators---
Promote and encourage a revolving door between BIG Business and high-level Gov't service...especially in the Financial Sector.  Poo-poo the concept of "conflict of interest".  Promise and provide high-paying, cushy, corporate jobs to regulators when they "retire" from gov't service.  Strive for "Government-Sachs".

7.  Engineer elections---
Continue the practice of having high-level political candidates selected, groomed, and financed by the Rich and Powerful.  Continue to encourage gerrymandering and voter suppression/manipulation.  In Primaries, continue to encourage the Corporate Media to slight or ignore any candidate not approved by the Oligarchy.  Promote and encourage the discussion of personalities rather than issues.  Continue to have debates run by a private corporation, thus making certain that no Populist candidates are allowed to participate.  Make sure that corporations continue to be "persons", and thus are able to contribute to our political candidates (via "free speech" money) in a virtually unlimited fashion.

8.  Keep the rabble in line---
Inundate the public with Edward Bernays style Propaganda Kool Aid all year, every year.  Attack Organized Labor.  Attack any Populist group.  Promote nationalism rather than patriotism.  Talk jobs, not profits.  Never reveal that while the wages of the "little people" have remained relatively flat (after adjustment for price inflation) for 30+ years, our incomes have increased 700%.

9.  Manufacture consent---
Mold the public mind to our benefit.  Keep the Propaganda flowing--- Trickle-Down Economics really works, there's no conflict of interest in having a Mega Bank CEO run a Gov't financial department, Big Biz should have a Stay-Out-of-Jail card, the Boogie-Man is coming so we have to go to war, the type of Globalization we're promoting really is good for the public, the commoners can have either privacy or safety (but not both), etc.  They've bought it all so far, and they will continue to buy it.

10.  Marginalize the population---
Make society an amorphous mass.  Attack and destroy groups critical of Power and Oligarchy.  Discourage the linking of individuals into effective political action organizations.  Denigrate them whenever possible.  Encourage the belief that commoners cannot understand the complexity of the issues facing the world today.  This all creates an unfocused anger which makes people more susceptible to our control.  Gain control of the internet, which is the greatest democratizing force in existence today.  Oppose net neutrality whenever possible.
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And so it goes.
Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Carroll Quigley on Our Government

[This piece was edited at 9 AM, Mountain Time.]

The brilliant historian, Professor Carroll Quigley, had this to say about our Gov't in 1966:

"The tragedy is that we no longer have a representative government in this country; the hope is that the little people will come to accept that...because there is nothing they can do about it."  

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No one understood the Power of the Shadow Gov't better than Quigley.

Bill Clinton thought so much of Quigley that he mentioned the good professor in his Inaugural Address.

Quigley considered himself a member of the Elite Class, hence his use of the phrase, "the little people".

The Shadow Government is much more powerful today than it was in 1966.

Not only my opinion. Be Well

Four Things You Need to Know About Neoliberalism

1.  It's not new and it's not liberal.

2.  It's sweeping over the entire world.

3.  It's a political and economic philosophy favoring the Rich & Powerful at the expense of the rest of us.      [Essentially, at its core, it's Crony Capitalism, AKA, Fascism.  Both FDR and Mussolini defined Fascism as the power of BIG Business married to the power of the State...an almost perfect description of Neoliberalism.]

4.  Here in the USA, it is subscribed to by almost all high-level Republicans AND Democrats.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well