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The mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was a shameful and tragic day. Some in Congress on the Jan. 6 congressional committee believe it represented a threat to American democracy.

Yet some of these leaders support another threat to our democracy that is arguably even greater.

Controversial Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is wanted by the United States for leaking classified government information in 2010 and 2011 that revealed potential war crimes perpetrated by the United States. The U.S. wants him tried for espionage, and, late last week, a U.K. court granted his extradition.

Assange and his defenders contend leaking secret government information to the public is what any journalist might do on a regular basis. Basic reporting.

This is not new.When The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which showed how the president had deceived the public about the Vietnam War, the Richard Nixon administration sued the paper. Henry Kissinger called the leaker, Daniel Ellsberg, "the most dangerous man in America." Nixon reportedly raged at his aides over Ellsberg, telling them to "destroy" that "son of a b---h" and "I don't care how you do it."

Successfullyrepresenting The New York Times then was attorney James Goodale. When former President Barack Obama was seeking to punish Assange, Goodale compared the situation to the Pentagon Papers case, telling The Guardian in 2013 "it's the very same thing ... [Y]ou've got to remember, [Chelsea] Manning's the leaker. Everyone says Assange is a leaker. He's not a leaker. He's the person who gets the information." That means "if you go after Wikileaks criminally, you go after the Times," amounting to "the criminalization of the whole process," Goodale argued.

The criminalization of journalism?

A free press is the cornerstone of any democratic society. Some will continue to argue whether the problematic Assange is actually a journalist, just as some now debate whether the Jan. 6 attack represents something greater than just the chaos of that day. But if Assange were found guilty of espionage for his actions, there is good reason to fear it would have a chilling effect on America's free press and do irreparable harm to our democracy.

Goodale warned of this very prospect back in 2013. "It's absolutely frightening," he said.

Read the original post:
The criminalization of journalism? - The Week Magazine

Before Sharon Nichols headed into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, she received a text message asking if she was worried. The president had called tens of thousands of people to D.C. for a rally promoting unfounded claims of election fraud. Hed promised it would be wild.

And I said, No, Nichols remembers. I thought that coming into the Capitol would be the safest place.

Nichols, like other Hill staffers, was mostly working from home. But she needed to come in that day to get her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. On her way to the vaccine clinic at the Rayburn House Office Building, Nichols could tell something was wrong.

I could hear Capitol Police officers kind of in distress, yelling at each other back and forth, she said. Im sure it was, you know, send help over here or there. This crowd is big, or we need backup at that location.

WATCH NOW | DEMOCRACY DIVIDED: Stories of the Capitol Riot

When she got to Rayburn, an officer told her she should probably go home. But it was her first opportunity to get the COVID-19 vaccine after a year of hell wrought by the pandemic.

Wed come off a year of this pandemic that had killed hundreds of thousands of people already, and there was finally light at the end of the tunnel, Nichols said. She decided to get her first dose.

Before she could leave the clinic, however, the U.S. Capitol Police Department sent out its first alert locking down all Capitol office buildings including the one where Nichols was getting her shot. No one would be allowed in or out.

They sent me back to my office and said, yeah, we probably arent going to be able to leave this place for a while, Nichols remembered.

At a TGIFridays restaurant nearby, three men whod met on Facebook were fueling up for then-President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally at the Ellipse. It was the culmination of months of lies spread by the president and his allies to cast doubt on the 2020 election, which hed lost to Joe Biden by more than 7 million votes.

The men Ronny Sandlin, Nathan DeGrave and Josiah Colt had connected over their support for Trump. Theyd met up in Tennessee and driven to D.C. together to attend the rally.

Sandlin, who organized the trip, according to federal prosecutors, had once built a successful internet marketing company and even started a non-profit organization in L.A. called The Pedal Movement to make bicycles accessible to the less fortunate.

But, Sandlin had lost his business, and his way, during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to court documents and family members, Sandlin had fallen into a depression over the past year and had turned his focus to the presidential election and calls to reverse Trumps loss.

Over a bite to eat and a beer, Sandlin explained in a video posted to social media why hed come to D.C. on January 6.

Because Im so sick and tired of people saying they believe in something and they dont stand up and fight for what they believe in, Sandlin said. I mean, no, but really, like I fight for what I believe in.

Freedom is paid for in blood, and tyranny always masquerades itself with safety and security, Sandlin concluded. Peace and love. Thanks, guys.

A short time later, he, DeGrave and Colt headed to the Capitol. Meanwhile, U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell was bracing for a fight.

Gonell is originally from the Dominican Republic. He came to the U.S. when he was 12 years old, and became an American citizen while serving in the U.S. Army.

My time in Iraq doesnt compare to everything that happened here on January 6, Gonell said.

Gonell was one of four U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the House Select Committee to Investigate January 6th. In his testimony, and in interviews after, he said the situation at the Capitol really began to get out of control around 2 p.m. an hour after then-Vice President Mike Pence released a letter saying he could not unliterally interfere with the electoral vote count, and roughly 50 minutes after Trump ended his speech by urging his followers to march to the Capitol.

We ran fully equipped with all the civil disturbance unit gear on to help the officers who were already fighting the mob, Gonell said. There was no time to devise anything because we were just trying to help out the officers who were getting beat up already. Then we began to get beaten up ourselves.

Officers from the D.C. Police Department eventually voluntarily deployed to the Capitol to assist beleaguered USCP officers. Bodycam video released from Capitol riot cases shows those officers forcing their way through crowds as angry rioters assault them and yell, Traitors!

They arrived to find their brothers and sisters in uniform already under assault.

I got hit with wood. Poles. Flagpoles. I got sprayed with so many things. People were throwing anything they could get their hands on, Gonell said. The metal barriers, they were ripping them apart to take those pieces and use them as projectiles.

In no time at all, the situation at the Capitol had become critical. Hundreds of rioters entered the building many through a window shattered by Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola and began making their way toward the Senate Chamber, where lawmakers had a short time earlier been meeting to certify the election.

Among the first rioters to enter the building was Doug Jensen. Jensen, a self-proclaimed digital soldier of the QAnon conspiracy theory, was at the front of the mob that chased USCP Officer Eugene Goodman through the Capitol.

Goodman had moments earlier diverted Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) from heading down a hallway that would have led him into direct contact with Jensen and other rioters. He then took it upon himself to challenge the mob alone and lead them away from the area where members of Congress were hunkered down.

Video of the pursuit shows dozens of people chasing Goodman as they yell, Keep running mother******! and Hes one person, were thousands!

Some 500 yards away, Sharon Nichols had made it to her office in Rayburn.

The hard part for me was that the rest of my office was teleworking that day, she said. So, I was alone in my office. I called my mom and my sister and said, Listen, turn on the news just so you know you know whats happening. But Im okay. Im locked inside.

Nichols said she turned the lights out in her office and tried to find a balance between having the TV on loud enough that she could hear what was going on but not so loud that anyone could hear it from the outside.

I didnt want to draw attention to the fact that somebody was in there, she said. If I muted the TV I could hear people walking. I was never sure if they were police officers or other staff or the mob.

Back in the Capitol, a battalion of USCP and MPD officers was regrouping in the bowels of the building for a final stand. They were led by D.C. Police Commander Ramey Kyle.

In body-worn camera video released by the Justice Department, Kyle can be heard rallying officers before they prepare to face off against thousands of pro-Trump rioters.

We are not losing the U.S. Capitol today. Do you hear me! Kyle yells. We are not losing the U.S. Capitol.

At the front of the line of officers trying to hold the Lower West Terrace was Sgt. Aquilino Gonell.

When I started feeling like I was losing air, I came to a conclusion at a point like, OK, this could be my last hour, Gonell said. Im thinking, Im gonna die defending the Capitol. I was prepared for it.

One of the officers in Kyles battalion moved up to take Gonells spot face-to-face with rioters. That officer was D.C. Police Officer Mike Fanone. Gonell says he still feels guilty about what happened to Fanone next.

Members of the mob grabbed Fanone and dragged him into the crowd beating him savagely with metal flagpoles and stolen police batons and tasing him repeatedly. Fanone says he heard them chanting, Kill him with his own gun! As a result of the assault he suffered a concussion and lost consciousness, and it was eventually determined he had a mild heart attack. Fanones limp body was eventually grabbed and pulled back into the building by his fellow officers.

No Looking Back Now, Boys

While the war to defend the West Terrace raged on, other rioters including Ronny Sandlin, Nathan DeGrave and Josiah Colt found other ways into the Capitol.

In video released by the Justice Department, Colt can be heard urging his friends to push deeper into the building.

Lets get to the Senate. The Senate, bro. The Senate. Where they are meeting, Colt says. No looking back now, boys.

According to prosecutors, the three men were among the first rioters to arrive at the Senate door, where they found two lone USCP officers attempting to guard the entrance. In short matter, the door was breached.

No going back now! DeGrave can be heard saying, the DOJ says. You just made history, bro. Thats your seat, bro. Thats your seat!

Nearby, Colt declares, This is our house now. It is not Chinas house. This is for America. This is for the people. This is for freedom.

We need everyone f****** in here now! DeGrave yells. Take laptops, take paperwork, take everything!

By the time the mob reached the Senate, members of Congress had already been evacuated. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, another life-and-death battle was being waged.

At the door to the Speakers Lobby, a small group of officers was trying to hold off dozens of rioters while elected officials were still rushing to safety. In a video captured by John Earl Sullivan, of Utah now charged himself in the case rioters can be seen smashing in the window of one of the doors. One rioter, Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, then begins to climb through.

Moments later, U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd fires a single shot striking Babbitt in the shoulder.

In the video, officers can be heard yelling at the crowd to get back while they work to provide Babbitt with medical aid.

We cannot get enough people to move to get her out of the building! one officer says. Shes bleeding out on the floor.

As news spread that a rioter had been shot, those bent on violence seemed emboldened. It was not long afterward that the war at the West Terrace reached a new level.

In body-worn camera video from four different officers who were attacked holding the entrance, bodies can be seen strewn on the ground as a bearded man in a Michigan sweatshirt now identified as Justin Jersey charges and attacks officers, trying to rip away their batons.

The small group of officers was brutalized with anything the mob could find, including flagpoles, sticks, and projectiles launched through the air like incoming missiles.

The DOJ says former CrossFit instructor Jack Wade Whitton, of Georgia, can be seen beating police with a crutch and then stomping on an officer while they cried out for help.

The officer, identified in court documents as A.W., was forced to scratch, claw and crawl to save himself.

Then, a Pennsylvania man identified by the DOJ as U.S. Marine Corps veteran Michael Lopatic joins the assault on police. Hes followed by a deputy sheriff from Tennessee named Ronald McAbee. McAbee can be seen in a video standing over the lifeless body of another rioter, Rosanne Boyland.

The D.C. Medical Examiners Office eventually determined Boyland died of an acute amphetamine overdose. Along with Babbitt, Boyland was one of five people who lost their lives amid the riot. The three others, among them USCP Officer Brian Sicknick, all died from natural causes, according to autopsies.

It was nightfall before police had pushed the remaining rioters back. Sharon Nichols had spent eight frightening hours alone until the lockdown was lifted.

I knew I was after curfew, so I kept my badge on or displayed so that people could see that I wasnt causing trouble, she said. So the first thing I did was, you know, I tweeted that I got home, I'm safe. I called my family. Going to sleep that night was tough. Because of all the adrenaline of the day, but then also it's sinking in and realizing that it'll have consequences for years that people died that day.

I cried, Nichols said. I cried several times. And then you try to process it. And Im talking to friends and thinking about the repercussions down the road. How many years would we be talking about this?

After a 22-hour day, Sgt. Aquilino Gonell made it home himself.

I was crying like I never cried before, he said.

When he got home, his wife, Monica, was there waiting for him.

I put the blanket over myself and gave her a big hug for 20 minutes, he said. I couldnt believe that my fellow citizens attacked us. I couldnt believe that. They attacked the police. I couldnt believe that in America this was happening.

For Gonell and other officers who defended the Capitol on January 6, the mental and physical scars are still healing. But, he says, there are good days too. Like the day he first walked on his own after surgery to remove metal plates and screws in his foot from injuries caused by rioters.

When he took that step, his 10-year-old son Emmanuel was there cheering him every step of the way.

I told him, people will read about what I did and what the other officers did, Gonell said. I told him he should be proud because I did what I had to do to keep the system that we have in place. And when I said that to him, he was like, well, if that ever comes in the history books and Im studying it, or they bring it up in class, Im going to say, Thats my dad! Thats my dad and Im proud of him. That felt good.

After five months behind bars, rioter Doug Jensen was released from pretrial detention. As a condition of his release, Jensen was prohibited from accessing the internet or using internet-connected devices. On the very first home visit, probation officers found him in his garage watching MyPillow CEO Mike Lindells cyber symposium on election fraud conspiracies. He was sent back to jail, where he remains while he awaits trial on felony charges of obstruction of justice and assaulting police.

Josiah Colt pleaded guilty in July to one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding. He faces a recommended sentence of five years in prison at sentencing. As part of his plea agreement, Colt agreed to cooperate with the governments prosecution of other rioters.

Colts friends, Ronald Sandlin and Nathan DeGrave, remain behind bars while they await trial on multiple felony charges for assaulting police and obstruction. A federal judge this week denied their request to have the obstruction charge thrown out. They face up to two decades in prison if convicted.

Sharon Nichols has returned to working in the same office where she hid for hours on January 6.

U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell got the opportunity to share his story in person to members of Congress at the inaugural meeting of the January 6th Committee. He was joined by U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and D.C. Police Officers Mike Fanone and Daniel Hodges. Gonell returned to active duty on November 3.

In August, President Joe Biden signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to all of the officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6.

To date, more than 700 people have now been arrested from nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol riot. That includes more than 220 defendants for assaults on law enforcement. More than 110 defendants charged in the case have pleaded guilty to charges ranging from parading in a Capitol building to assaulting police with a dangerous weapon. The longest sentence handed down to date will have a Florida man, Robert Scott Palmer, serve more than five years behind bars.

We're tracking all of the arrests, charges and investigations into the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Sign up for ourCapitol Breach Newsletterhere so that you never miss an update.

Original post:
Democracy Divided: The Stories of the January 6 Capitol riot - WUSA9.com

The issue of our age is: Why are so-called liberals incapable of recognizing the true enemies of democracy, and how far will they go to delude themselves?

They are the modern equivalent of the Inquisition, that group of know-it-all Catholic clerics who actually knew next to nothing but were perfectly willing to bet their eternal souls on their dogma. They had no problem locking up Galileo or Copernicus for claiming the earth revolved around the sun or burning Giordano Bruno at the stake for daring to be right about distant stars and the infinite universe.

Likewise, the nightly inquisition that is known as MSNBC, or the congressional inquisition known as the January 6 Select Committee, are each betting the soul of the country on their political dogmas. Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, and Liz Cheney wont be happy until the skin of Donald Trump sizzles. If hes innocent of insurrection, then he can prove it by surviving a third impeachment, damn it!

But what is so weird is how out of touch with reality these inquisitors are. All evidence of Trumps innocence is ignored, and most evidence of his guilt is manufactured. Take for example a fact check done by Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post last week titled No, Trump did not order 10,000 troops to secure the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Kessler reports a conversation between TV personality Sean Hannity and Mark Meadows, Trumps final White House chief of staff, in which Hannity says Trump requested increased National Guard support prior to the Jan. 6 protest at the Capitol. Meadows then confirms that Trump wanted 10,000 National Guard troops assigned to make sure that everything was safe and secure.

Kessler says those are false claims that have been debunked, but apparently, like other liberals, he doesnt understand the meaning of words. What Kessler proves sort of is that Trump didnt say I order you to provide National Guard troops, but what he also proves incontrovertibly is that Trump did request that the guard, 10,000 troops to be exact, be deployed prior to the riot that broke out the day the Electoral College votes were opened by Congress.

Citing the account of a reporter embedded with acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, Kessler confirms the story told by Meadows and Trump consistently: Trump wanted the National Guard deployed and expected it to happen.

The president, Miller recalled, asked how many troops the Pentagon planned to turn out the following day. Were like, Were going to provide any National Guard support that the District requests, Miller responded. And [Trump] goes, Youre going to need 10,000 people. No, Im not talking bullsh--. He said that. And were like, Maybe. But you know, someones going to have to ask for it.

Moreover, Kessler then discovers that Trump had a meeting with Miller and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which was subsequently recounted by the departments inspector general. Again, Trump is seen asking for National Guard troops.

Mr. Miller and GEN Milley met with the President at the White House at 5:30 p.m. The primary topic they discussed was unrelated to the scheduled rally. GEN Milley told us that at the end of the meeting, the President told Mr. Miller that there would be a large number of protesters on January 6, 2021, and Mr. Miller should ensure sufficient National Guard or Soldiers would be there to make sure it was a safe event. Gen Milley told us that Mr. Miller responded, Weve got a plan and weve got it covered.

Kessler, the fact checker, claims that this paragraph proves that Trump never gave an order that the Guard should be deployed. Of course, Hannity and Meadows never said that the president gave an order. They said he had requested 10,000 troops. But Kessler is the one who needs to be fact-checked. His claim that no direct order is mentioned is essentially contradicted by the language used by the inspector general.

GEN Milley told us the President told Mr. Miller that there would be a large number of protesters on January 6, 2021, and Mr. Miller should ensure sufficient National Guard or Soldiers would be there to make sure it was a safe event. [Emphasis added.]

If the commander-in-chief tells a Cabinet officer and a military subordinate that something should be done, that is an order, no mistake. And when Miller responded, Weve got a plan and weve got it covered, that was a lie and insubordination.

But yet, so far as we know, no one in Congress or the Justice Department is pursuing charges against Miller, nor for that matter has the Washington Post disciplined fact checker Kessler for dereliction of duty. But if we were truly concerned about threats to our democracy, then two at the top of the list would be a compromised media and a rogue military.

But the left isnt concerned about saving democracy; it is concerned about destroying Trump because, even wounded, he is the Samson who can pull down the entire corrupt superstructure of the uni-party ruling elites who are so out of touch that they cant even conceive of a stolen election.

Think about that. According to the left, democracy is put at risk because millions of people have questions about the 2020 election. It never occurs to them that the far greater risk is to deny the people the right to question the institutions that govern on their behalf. Indeed, Democrats turn everything on its head, and insist that concerns about corruption in our electoral process prove instead that the whistleblower is trying to destroy the system rather than save it.

But if the polls are to be believed, these champions of democracy may soon have to answer for their arrogance. Whether Donald Trump runs for president again in 2024 or not, we the people have a right to make decisions for ourselves with or without the approval of the know-it-alls who would dictate their beliefs to the rest of us.

With any luck, Trumps grand inquisitors may soon find out they are not the center of the political universe after all, and truth will prevail once again, just as it did for Galileo and Copernicus.

Visit link:
Why the Jan. 6 Inquisition Is the Real Enemy of Democracy - RealClearPolitics

Vowing to "awaken the people for the restoration of democracy", the BNP yesterday brought out a colourful procession in the capital, marking the 51st Victory Day.

Led by their central leaders, the party followers joined the event carrying the national flag, placards, banners and portraits of party top leaders.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir inaugurated the procession around 2:30pm in front of the party's Nayapaltan central office.

After parading different streets through Bijoynagar, Kakrail and Shantinagar, the procession ended at Nayapaltan around 3:50pm.

Thousands of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies started gathering in front of the central office since noon, causing traffic congestion.

At a brief rally before the procession, BNP leaders and activists demanded their party Chairperson Khaleda's treatment abroad.

Fakhrul said the current government shattered all the hopes and aspirations and the spirit of the Liberation War to establish a one-party Baksal rule "usurping" the state power.

"Today's programme is for awaking people afresh and waging a new struggle for the restoration of democracy."

"Let's make a good start of a movement through this programme, to free our leader Begum Khaleda Zia and ensure her proper treatment through this movement, we'll be able to establish a truly democratic state by restoring democracy in the country and we'll be able to restore our human rights," he said.

Fakhrul renewed their party's demand for allowing Khaleda to go abroad for advanced treatment.

The BNP leader said it is unfortunate for the nation that a government has been there in power by force using the state machinery even after 50 years of the country's independence. "They [government] have destroyed everything we achieved -- our sovereignty, our freedom, our right to vote, our right to write, our right to speak."

The nation celebrated the 51st Victory Day on Thursday by paying deep homage to the martyrs of the Liberation War and taking an oath to build the country as a developed, prosperous and non-communal "Sonar Bangla".

This year's Victory Day has special significance as it coincided with the celebrations of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of the country's independence.

Read this article:
People will be woken to restore democracy - The Daily Star

As an investor, Ray Dalio eyes the rearview mirror to see whats ahead. If this paradox makes sense, then you likely agree with the view of history that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Put another way, its hard to know where youre going if you dont know where youve been. In his latest book, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail, Dalio, the founder and co-chairman of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, shows investors their future by taking them back in time to study the rise and fall of great countries and powerful currencies. Because one question you never want to ask about either your money or your situation in life is: How did I get here?

In almost 600 pages of narrative and charts, the book paints Dalios interpretation of the tectonic shifts now reshaping global politics and financial markets in ways that loudly echo the past but are yet to be determined namely the competitive, complex relationship between the U.S. and China.

See: Ray Dalio says his China human-rights comments were misunderstood

How the worlds two most-formidable nations coexist or not is affecting and will continue to impact not only your wealth and opportunities in the 21st century but your childrens and their childrens as well. Says Dalio: [Americans] have to do three things: Wehave to earn more than we spend by being productive and get our finances in order; we have to work well together economically and politically, and we have to avoid war with China.

In this interview, which has been edited for clarity and length, Dalio offers insights about the similarities between the current economic and political cycle and previous ones, the disturbing external and internal threats to American democracy and influence, and how to and what to hold in your investment portfolio, including bitcoin, as history unfolds.

MarketWatch: Your new book is the latest in a series where you share your fundamental principles for investing in and living with the world as it is essentially ways to accept and play the hand youre dealt. What conditions and circumstances concern the United States right now that you want investors to understand, and why look to the past for answers?

Dalio: In my investing, I learned a lesson that many things that surprised me hadnt happened in my lifetime but had happened before. The first time that happened was inAugust1971 when the U.S. broke its promise to exchange dollars for gold so that it could print a lot of money,which led to the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. I was working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. I wassurprised that the stock market rose a lot, so I looked into history and I found that same thing happened in March 1933. And I learned why.

As a result of that, I always study whatdrove major economic and market movements in history. My study of the Great Depression is the reason we anticipated the 2008 financial crisis.

Many people are interested in the news of the day, but theyre not interested in the history and lessons of the past. But you wont understand whats going on if you just react to the news of the day.My approach has always been like [that of] a doctor, that if I havent seen many cases of it before I want to go back and study all the cases in history so I can make decisions today.

There are three things happening now that I needed to study:

These things are big. Almost every day were going to be talking about these three things and whats happening with them. The last time that happened was in the 1930-1945 period. They happened many times in history basically for the same reasons in the same way.

MarketWatch:The political and social divisions in the U.S. affectso much of whatAmericans take for granted,and maybe its because theyre taken for granted that they confront us now.Can this country move forward together?

Dalio: The fundamentals are clear. We have to do three things: Wehave to earn more than we spend by being productive and get our finances in order, we have to work well together economically and politically, and we have to avoid war with China. When I look at different countries, I judge them based on whether they have good finances, internal order and external peace.

If the causes people are behind are more important to them than the system, the system is in jeopardy. I worry thats where the U.S. is now.

We have the ability to do these things, but I worry about us being our own worst enemy.History has shown that if the causes people are behind are more important to them than the system, the system is in jeopardy. I worry thats where the U.S. is now.

There is agreat polarity, afight-and-win-at-all-costs mentality. Looking ahead, inthe 2022 electionswe will see the primary battle between the extremists and the moderates in both political parties and probably see moves to greater extremism. In the general election, thereis a good chance that neither side will accept being the loser.

This type of fight-to-the-death mentality could lead to some form of civil war. What I mean by civil war is a series of battles not resolved by the law or the Constitution, in which power is used instead includingthe failure of our democracy to work.

Barrons on MarketWatch: Ray Dalio on the possibility of U.S. civil war

Also, as I look ahead economically for the U.S., I see a worsening of the situation. Because of all the money that has been pumped out were now on a sugar high, but we are beginning to see that inflationwill pick up, and the stimulus checks that came in wont come in at the same rate, causing conditions to worsen.

It all comes down to a couple of basics.To be successful we have to be financially strong and be good with each other. Thats it.

MarketWatch: Easier said than done. There doesnt seem to be muchpolitical willright now in Washington or among the U.S. states to work together.

Dalio: I know. In these cases the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution,for example the divides became greater and greater. And then you have to pick a side and fight for that side. We are starting to see this in the U.S. by the movementof Americansto different states. Its not just a tax issue. Its a values issue.

Most likely youre going to see disagreements between the federal government and state governments on the matter of what is states rights that probably wont be all settled legally, so theywill be settled through tests of power. There will be places that people wont want to be because itll be threatening. People will want to be with their own kind.

See: Im done with Illinois! I want to retire in a small town in a neighboring state so where should I go?

Also: I want to move to the South, I want the beach and a liberal mindset. Where should I retire?

I want individuals to understand the mechanics of this,which is why I wrote the book. For example, Id like them to see historical cases and fundamental cause-effect relationships to understand whatit means to produce a lot of debt and a lot of money, so I wrote a chapter on the value of money.

MarketWatch: What could thissituation mean for U.S. investors?Youre describing a very differentAmerica toconsider.

Dalio: Right. I want people to be well-informed and worry about what they should worry about.

I have a principle: If you worry, you dont have to worry. And if you dont worry, you have to worry. If you worry, youll take care of the thing youre worried about. If people worry about the fighting and they worry about the finances, then they can work together and deal with these things.

People think the safest investment is cash, but they dont look at the inflation-adjusted return.

Financially, the way it worksis when the government needs to send out checks,it could either get the money from taxes or from borrowing. If it cant get all the money it needs from borrowing, the central bank can print the money. That devalues the value of money.

Central banks can create a lot more money and debt, but that wont raise living standards. Id like to help people see how money and credit move through the system to drive things. Id like to show people how money and credit are created and how a person who gets the money and creditbuys goods, services and financial assets, which makes those thingsgo up in price.

Id like to help them understand the reasons whycash is so bad in this type of environment. People think the safest investment is cash, but they dont look at the inflation-adjusted return.

Dont hold cash. Its better to hold a liquid, diversified portfolio of assets if its balanced. Make sure youre well-diversified outside of cash stocks SPX, -1.74%, bonds TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.399%, inflation-indexed bonds, commodities and gold GLD, -0.12%, and across many countries, particularly those with stronger income statements and balance sheets. An all-weather portfolio has currency diversification, asset-class diversification, country diversification and industry diversification.

MarketWatch: So youre thinking that higher U.S. inflation is not transitory. Its going to stick.

Dalio: Yes. Theres two types of inflation. Theres inflation when the demand for goods and services rises against the capacity to produce them. Thats normal, cyclical inflation. Then theres monetary inflation the creation of a lot of money and credit relative to the quantity of goods and services. The U.S. is having both.

When I look at the countrys financials going forward, what the size of the deficit will be and how much money is produced, thats a concern. Theres also the risk, or even the probability, that those who are holding cash and bonds will choose to sell those to move into other things. If that happens, the U.S. central bank will have to decide if it raises interest rates, which will hurt the economy and I dont believe they can do that in a significant way. It would be bad for the economy, politics and the markets if they tried to rectify that by allowing interest rates to rise. So theyre probably going to have to print more money, and that causes more monetary inflation.

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Today it doesnt cost anything to borrow. Right now if you take out debt, you have practically no interest rate andprincipal payments can be deferred, so money is essentially free.With the cost of money negative and below the nominal growth rate, its very profitable to borrow and invest in anything that can grow at the inflation rate or more. Thats whats priced into the markets now. And if they change things raise interest rates to be higher than is priced into the markets asset prices will go down and there will be more of an economic problem.

Central bankers, especially the Fed, are between a rock and a hard place. Theyneed to tighten quite a lot to restrain inflation, yet if they do they will hurt the economy.

Central bankers, especially the Fed, are between a rock and a hard place. Theyneed to tighten quite a lot to restrain inflation, yet if they do they will hurt the economy.Imagine what would happen if there was a tightening of monetary policy in the classic way of first causing asset prices to go down and then the economy to contract.

Politically, imagine what that would be like. People are at each others throats and theyve been given a lot of money. Im afraid of another economic downturn. We cant even get along on whether we can wear masks or not. You cant allow another economic downturn. You cant raise interest rates enough to bite. Interest rates have to be significantly below both the inflation rate and the nominal GDP growth rate.

Its easy to see what type of policy biases will exist by looking at whether circumstances favor debtors or creditors being favored. High real interest rateswill exist when circumstances make it better for the creditor to be helped and credit growth to show while low real rates will exist when central banks want to help debtors and want to stimulate credit growth.

History shows that when countries need more money and dont have other ways of getting it that they will produce more money.Producing money doesnt take money away from anyone so its politically easier because its a hidden tax. Nobodys complaining about where the money came from. If you get it through taxes, everybody squawks. History has shown that the easiest way is to print more money and give it out. If instead you tighten, it has consequences.

MarketWatch:Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencyalso is politicized. Crypto has become a political statement as much as away to make and losemoney.

Dalio: Theres a lot of money chasing all sorts of things,crypto among them. It has been an amazing accomplishment for bitcoin BTCUSD, -1.23% to have achieved what it has done, from writing that program, not being hacked, having it work and having it adopted the way it has been.I believe in the blockchain technology; theres going to be that revolution, so it hasearned credibility.

Im not an expert on bitcoin, but I think it has some merit as a small portion of a portfolio.

Im not an expert on bitcoin,but I think it has some merit as a small portion of a portfolio. Bitcoin is like gold, though gold is the well established blue-chip alternative to fiat money.

Key Words: Feds Powell says he doesnt see cryptocurrencies as financial stability concern

However, bitcoin has a number of other issues. If itis a threat to governments, it will probably be outlawed in some places when it becomes relatively attractive. It may not be outlawed in all places. I dont believe that central banks or major institutions will have a significant amount in it.

I have a little bit of it because I believe a portfolio should start off with, under a worst-case scenario, what assets protect it and make sure its diversified.Its almost a younger generations alternative to gold and it has no intrinsic value, but it has imputed value and it has therefore some merit.

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Ray Dalio warns Feds hands are tied and higher U.S. inflation is sticking around. Democracy, maybe not. - MarketWatch