We had an election this week that was distressing for many Main Streeters. Forget about party affiliation. And ignore who controls Congress for now. Let’s just look at what transpired.

• In a time of skyrocketing violent crime rates, a bunch of candidates who preside over soft-on-crime hellscapes won.

• In a time of $5 gasoline, a bunch of candidates who are enemies of the fossil fuel industry won.

• In a time when we’re shocked to find out what our kids are experiencing at school, a bunch of candidates who champion “family friendly” strip shows won.

• In a time when it’s clear we were lied to about the effectiveness vaccines and lockdowns, a bunch of candidates who enacted ruthless mandates and senseless lockdowns won.

• In a time when the basic America right of free speech is increasingly threatened, a bunch of candidates who support Big Tech de-platforming their political opponents - or anyone who threatens any part of the elites’ narrative - won.

The pendulum of American politics usually swings back and forth. Since 1934, the party in power loses an average of 28 house seats and 4 senate seats during the midterm elections. It creates balance. But that didn’t happen this time.

It’s obvious now that the elites - politicians, big business, big tech, the legacy media - have a tighter grip on the situation than we cared to admit.

Main Streeters are still the heartbeat of this nation. Family, faith, and freedom isn’t going out of style any time soon. But we’re getting beat to the punch right now. And we’re seeing the cost of that play out all across the country. Fortunately, there are many thousands of hard-working patriots doing everything they can to fight the elites, but it’s not enough at this point.

That’s the bad news and we have to face it. Taking America back from the elites is going to require a stronger response. We have to go on offense. What does that mean? We have some ideas but are still figuring that out.

What we do know is that the dynamics are the same. Main Streeters are a majority. The elites are scared of our collective power. And giants fall if you hit their soft underbelly.

Below is an article we wrote earlier this year about giants. It’s even more relevant now. The article refers mainly to big business, which might seem trite compared to the issues we’re facing. But the truth about facing giants applies to all elites. We should plan and act accordingly.

In the meantime, we can remember this . . .

Gina Carano 🕯 @ginacarano

You vote with what you give attention to, you vote with how you spend your money, you vote by creating the things you want to see in the world, you vote with your actions on a day to day basis. Do not be discouraged… ✨ There is always hope.

4:19 PM ∙ Nov 9, 2022

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The Empire On Which The Sun Never Sets 

Some empires are big and imposing and seem like they’ll last forever. A few centuries ago, the British Empire was in control of 25% of the world’s landmass. They held land on multiple continents, ruled over hundreds of millions of people, and controlled a bounty of natural resources.  

That empire is long gone.  

While at the height of its power, the empire was defeated by a ragtag band of rebels in the American Revolution. It should have been no contest. But the beliefs and ideas of American freedom fighters won out and sent the empire on its slow march into the history books. Britain still exists today, of course. And they are still considered one of the leading free nations in the world. But they are smaller and humbler than in their glory days. Most interesting of all, they were once an enemy and are now a friend.   

That brings us to the current struggle between Main Streeters and the global elite.  

The Soft Underbelly of the Giant 

The global elite is a dubious club of giant Wall Street firms, massive multinational corporations, billionaires, and their sad little friends in the media and Hollywood. They have a lot of power, money, and influence. It’s intimidating to think about facing them head on.   

But remember a secret . . . giants have weaknesses. Even if they're not obvious. Usually, the sheer physics of being so big and powerful works against you. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. 

We’ve heard the stories from history, literature, and movies. In the biblical story of David and Goliath, a young shepherd boy defeats a giant warrior with one rock from his slingshot. Malcolm Gladwell provides an interesting account of how we’ve misunderstood who the real underdog is in this story, concluding with this insight:

“The very thing that was the source of (Goliath’s) apparent strength, was also the source of his greatest weakness . . . giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket.”  

A more lighthearted example is from the movie The Little Mermaid. In the final battle, Ursula the sea witch grows into a giant and creates a huge whirlpool to destroy everyone she’s fighting. However, Prince Eric uses the momentum of the whirlpool to steer the jagged front end of a ship into Ursula’s side, reducing her to dust that falls to the bottom of the ocean.  

In neither case was it a matter of brute force or overwhelming strength. Both of these giants were defeated by one person using a clever, low-tech attack. David used a slingshot. Eric used the sharp edge of a stick. Ragtag rebels facing the giant and bringing them down.  

If you exploit a giant’s weaknesses, they fall in one of two ways. In many cases, they wither away either completely or become a much weaker shell of their former self. That works for us. In other – rarer - cases, their harsh exterior gives way to a nobler being underneath, the way the beast turns back into a prince in Beauty and the Beast. Our gentler nature as Main Streeters probably favors this outcome, everyone loves a story of redemption. But ultimately, the giant gets to decide which ending they choose. Either way, the threat to our future is gone.  

Giants Turn Tail and Run 

Watching giants fall isn’t only seen in history or storybooks. We see it all around in the business world. Sometimes, even the biggest and strongest companies are forced to wave the white flag and accept a humiliating defeat. A few examples:  

Amazon Fire Phone Flames Out: In July 2014, Jeff Bezos made a “bold bet” by launching the Amazon Fire Phone with much fanfare. The idea made sense given Amazon’s 200 million customers, oodles of content to promote and monetize, and experience manufacturing technology products like Kindle. And they accomplished something truly groundbreaking, they crashed and burned in only three months. Three months! This left Amazon with a $170 million write-down for the debacle, including disposal of $80 million unsold phones that were collecting dust in warehouses around the world. Whoops.  

Google+ Gets Subtracted: In 2011, Google launched its social network in what also seemed like the perfect business extension for a company with more web traffic than anyone on the planet. By far. Former CEO Eric Schmidt called it “one of the most ambitious bets in the company’s history”. Company bonuses were tied to the success of this network. In only 7 months they had 90 million users. Yet, with all that, by April 2019, Google+ was dead. Buh bye!  

Zillow Flips Out: Zillow is the most visited real estate website in the US and serves as a platform for buying, selling, and financing homes. They hold vast troves of data for just about every home in America, including the price of every sale, historical values, and detailed specs for each house. What company is better equipped for the house flipping business? In 2018, they launched iBuyer. By the end of 2021, iBuyer was toast. Zillow had to unload 7,000 homes, and took a $500 million write down on the failed venture. We’re sorry for your loss. 

zerohedge @zerohedge

Zillow Finds Institutional Buyer For 2,000 Homes As Disastrous Flipping Business Winds Down

zerohedge.com​​​​​​​Zillow Finds Institutional Buyer For 2,000 Homes As Disastrous Flipping Business Winds DownJust 16,000 left to go....

8:45 PM ∙ Nov 10, 2021

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Three giant companies with practically endless resources fearlessly attempting to claim more territory and further build their empire. Three giant companies running for the hills before taking any more damage. You love to see it. But how is this possible?  

Their Source Of Apparent Strength Was Their Source of Weakness 

As with the example of David and Goliath, giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. Especially giants who must answer to shareholders and boards with little patience. The above examples demonstrate what snowflakes they really are.  

Giants need growth. They need market dominance. Without it they starve, which is to say the CEO probably gets fired, the executive team gets reshuffled, the price of the stock plummets, and the board starts to churn with new members. All of which leads to bad PR, which can further the downward spiral. Nobody at those companies wants that.

So, when the going gets rough, the giants run for cover. They get back to their “core competencies” and “creating value” – whatever that means. That’s easier than saying “we’re scaredy cats and we know our dominance is fragile and temporary – shhhhh, don’t tell anyone”.  

Small Spending Shifts For Us = Existential Crisis For Them 

Now, when you think about the big companies with near-monopoly power like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Walmart, don’t see a giant to be feared. See a giant who doesn’t want their soft underbelly exposed.   

Sometimes that exposure comes through government anti-trust actions. Sometimes that exposure comes through competitors taking advantage of opportunities left open by the big players. It’s great when the work is done for us, but we can’t bank on that happening.

However, we can expose their soft underbelly immediately through shifts in how we spend our money and time. If we reshuffle our $16 trillion in annual consumer spending to different places, it’ll be felt across the business landscape.  

As just one example, we don’t need Walmart’s revenue to drop 50% for them to freak out, begin closing stores, and scaling back expansion plans. We don’t even need it to drop 5%. Even if the growth of shop local campaigns led to just a reduction in Walmart’s growth rate, they’d get restless and start looking for answers.  

It’s this way for all the giants. We can make simple changes like buying from small businesses, skipping a few trips to the big box store each month, and reducing our time spent scrolling on big tech products meant to hijack our brain.  

Main Street businesses will see more customers, you’ll see more money in your bank account, and you’ll reclaim precious mental energy for making memories and living your best life.  

All the while, these little shifts will create panic in board rooms and executive suites across America. A panic that will open their leaders up to our voices as consumers and shareholders.  

Note to the Giants: We’re not asking much. Just respect for the Producing Class, prioritizing America First economic principles, and ending the woke zombie nonsense that divides and demeans.  

If you do that, we can all be friends and you’ll make plenty of money in the long run. If not, then we know a shepherd boy with a sling in his pocket. He can’t wait to meet you.  

God bless and God bless America, 

Jeff and Luke