MLM and Fear Mongering

Today's blog post is about a particularly powerful psychological technique known as fear mongering. Fear mongering has become an epidemic in the United States and it is used in everything from news programs to selling drugs. Typically, people need to be pushed to action, and one of the most reliable techniques to push people is focused on their inherent survival programming. If people fear something is going to hurt them, then they are far more likely to make a change than if they were told the product or service could help them. Fear mongering comes at a heavy price and usually results in group separation, group tension, group distrust, and group unhappiness. While this technique can be used for good, it is typically seen as a devious manipulation technique to gain a means to an end.



Some of the most effective fear mongering comes from commercials trying to sell pharmaceuticals. I recently watched a commercial for "Jardiance", a type 2 diabetes medication, where a spokesperson and a small crew hit the streets to find people with this disease. Even though the situation was fictional, the effect made it seem as though these "regular people" had no idea how bad diabetes is and what it will do to their longevity. The spokesperson went through a series of loaded questions in an attempt to scare these people into focusing more on their health, and after they went through some fancy graphs (similar to "Rise of the Entrepreneur"), the people suddenly transformed and became more alert to their dire situation. After getting their attention with fear mongering, an anonymous narrator starts talking over the picture about all of the side effects, which were potentially worse than type 2 diabetes, only to be followed by every "regular person" agreeing they should take "Jardiance".

Here is the commercial:

There are two important parts to fear mongering in which you should focus.

1. They portray a situation as imminent doom in an effort to get a person to act quickly. People are naturally programmed to survive, and if they fear they are in trouble, then they will be much more likely to do something about it.

2. Fear mongering can lead to an inability to make clear judgments. After you have become afraid, a level of panic will set in and critical thought will dissipate because there isn't time to evaluate the situation. This allows the fear mongers to get away with anything, including putting a person in a worse predicament, even though they are pretending to be of service.

MLMs utilize fear mongering to manipulate their potential prospects and adherents. They take advantage of the vulnerable state in which their members are in, and they offer a remedy for their stress. Instead of MLMs offering a medication for diabetes, they offer an opportunity to fix money issues. They create a false situation in which MLM is the only option an MLMer has for survival, and without it, they may be "Stuck working for a boss", "Stuck trading hours for dollars", "Stuck with living paycheck to paycheck", or even "Stuck living an unfulfilled life". Only after they have created this false narrative will they possibly talk about the horrible statistics, but by then, the MLMers don't care or can't hear it.

Fear mongering is powerful enough to justify any narrative, and its rate of success makes it an extremely attractive option. Here are some effective ways to stop fear mongering from manipulating you.

1. Don't make a hasty decision based on the potential of future harm. It is okay to take a moment and do some research to find out more facts. This is the information age, and we have access to more information, faster, than ever before. Take advantage of this feature.

2. Ask yourself if the remedy is worth the cost? In the case of the diabetes medication, it is important to seek professional help rather than a paid commercial for answers, and in the case of MLM, it is important to look at the statistics for success, the harm it may cause others, and whether it is something feasible to do.

3. Ask if the problem is really as bad as they make it sound. Does it need to be addressed immediately, or can it be something that can be fixed over an extended period of time? One would argue, especially if you are young, money problems are a marathon not a sprint. It is important to understand how to grow your net worth and to set appropriate goals along a certain time line. Simply saying, "I want to retire in 2-5 years" is not an acceptable goal (assuming you aren't 63 years old with a large net worth).

4. Arguably the most important thing to think about. Does the person that is telling me this terrible news gain anything? You'd be surprised how often the answer is yes, and you would also be surprised at how often their gains are at your expense.

Fun Post Friday! #2

I haven't done a post like this in a while, but with all of the craziness in the world, it was time to look at something funny. Apparently, Sweden is going to extraordinary measures to deal with their immigration problems (Muslim refugees), and are ready to send in the clowns! The organization is called "Clowns Without Borders" (CWB), and it is a real organization. They have been doing this since 1996, and are about to spend another 25 million kronor to help refugee children get a monthly smile! According to Ayatollah Khomeini (former supreme leader of Iran) this is how he feels about fun and laughter, “Allah,” declared Khomeini, “did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious.” I'm going out on a limb here and say clowns aren't a big part of Islam.




Alright, enough clowning around with Sweden, MLMs are still around, and they are running very profitable circuses they call "functions". Let's break down these "functions", "seminars", "gatherings", and "meetings" for what they really are, glorified circus acts that are bringing in big dollars based on entertaining a vulnerable and captive audience.

1. Circuses and "Functions" are entertainment exhibitions - They both have a series of acts that bring laughter and escapism from the daily routine. They don't offer anything in the form of a solution for a brighter future. They both have loud music, dynamic lighting, and large energy.

2. Circuses and "Functions" are illusions - They both have magic acts, but circuses, unlike "functions", tell you in advance that they are trying to deceive you. The circus will have a magician come out and perform a series of tricks, while a diamond, or other high ranking status symbol, will lie to MLMers about a lifestyle they will never achieve as they extract dollars through routine purchases of tools and unsaleable products.

3. Circuses and "Functions" are superficial - There is no depth to their shows, and after leaving, you are not a better person. Instead of watching slapstick comedy from clowns, you are watching an elementary level public speaker tell jokes about "J-O-B's" and "Firing Bosses". Instead of watching animal acts, you are watching videos of high ranking members and their proverbial cages. Instead of watching a highly dangerous act, such as sword swallowing or the human cannonball, you are watching an 80 year evangelical preacher fly around on stage and acting crazed.



High ranking MLMers may look, dress, and sound differently from clowns, but the message is still the same. Give them some money and get distracted for a brief period of time. Turn off your brain, and remove yourself from the world. Live in the present moment and forget responsibility.

Clowns being sent to help Muslim refugees is as logical as MLMers giving financial advice. MLMers don't know anything about running a business, they don't know anything about taxes, they don't know anything about saving money for the future, they don't know anything about investing. You wouldn't trust a clown to give you life lessons, therefore don't trust a MLMer with your financial future.

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Source: http://dailywesterner.com/news/2017-07-20/sweden-deals-with-muslim-integration-by-sending-in-the-clowns/

MLM and Televangelism/John C. Maxwell

Today's blog post is about televangelism and how it has similar features to MLMs and their major functions. Televangelism first started with radio broadcasts in the 1920's, and the first major radio evangelist was S. Parkes Cadman (Samuel Parkes Cadman). With the advent of the radio, evangelism shifted from preachers traveling the country during The Great Depression by foot to broadcasting their message through short wave radio. S. Parkes Cadman was the first major radio evangelist, and his message was spread to over 5 million people through his Sunday afternoon program. In the 1950's radio evangelism was starting to shift to the popularly recognized televangelism of today, and by the 1980's Oral Roberts had a program that reached "80% of the potential television audience". This became the most effective way to spread the word of god, and it also became a great way to make money.

Today, televangelism is still effective in making large sums of money as preachers from megachurches, such as The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove California, can spread their word to millions of viewers. The Crystal Cathedral has been running their own television program, "The Hour of Power" since 1970, and even though it has suffered some recent complications with bankruptcy, it still exists today.



One of the most prolific preachers from The Crystal Cathedral is "Dr." John C. Maxwell. John Maxwell has been involved in preaching and televangelism since the early 1970's after receiving a master's in divinity and a doctorate in ministry, and no those are not degrees from Hogwarts. His original mentor, Robert Schuller, was the founder of The Chrystal Cathedral, and John Maxwell has done sermons for his "Hour of Power" television show.



John Maxwell has had a long career involving his "teachings" and is a self-regarded "Leadership Expert". He has written over ninety books, and believes there is still more leadership to be taught and written. He is also an avid MLM proponent and has done many speaking engagements at MLM functions. Although he has "retired" from the evangelism, he is still regularly hawking his services as an expert in the field of MLM training, and continues to overlap the word of god with MLM.

It is my opinion that John Maxwell is a fraud, and he uses his religious training to help perpetuate his criminal enterprise. He is another "Prosperity messiah", similar to Eric Worre, and he has made a career, and many millions of dollars, selling himself as the answer to people's problems. He, much like Worre, is a narcissist of the highest degree. He has no training in business and entrepreneurship, therefore his ability to teach in anything related to business, including MLM, is not going to be trustworthy. He has been studied by other biblical scholars, and they have found errors in his understanding and his interpretation of the scriptures. He has combined two criminal "businesses" into a major profit machine, and at the ripe age of 70, he isn't done yet.

MLM and televangelism share the same recipe for deception. They utilize the thought stopping rhetoric of religion to promote fake and or criminal teachings in an effort to extract dollars from people's wallets. John Maxwell was trained by Robert Schuller, a founder of the major televangelism movement, and has found his own technique for deceiving many millions of people. He, much like Schuller, has taken the word of god as a means to an end for profit. Instead of performing at The Crystal Cathedral, you may see John Maxwell at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and instead of promoting scripture, he may be promoting leadership and the "MLM gospel".

Below is John Oliver's special on televangelists.


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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Maxwell

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Televangelism

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hour_of_Power

Source: http://www.johnmaxwell.com/

Source: http://midwestoutreach.org/2016/04/10/some-concerns-about-john-c-maxwell/

Source: http://theaquilareport.com/ten-reasons-john-maxwell-is-wrong/

MLM and "Rise of the Entrepreneur" Part 1

***DISCLAIMER*** THIS POST IS LONG ***DISCLAIMER***

Today's blog post is a synopsis of, "Rise of the Entrepreneur", and how it is supposed to be a "documentary style film" for "Network Marketing". The movie was made by "Network Marketing Pro", Eric Worre, and it is his attempt to bring understanding to the "business" of "Network Marketing". The film is a cleverly designed propaganda piece that is designed to deceive and mislead potential future customers for Eric Worre's "Go  Pro" programs, and it is an incredibly spun view of "Network Marketing" as a whole.



 0:00-2:15

The beginning of the film starts with a call to action. The world is going fast and it is harder than ever to make a living. We need an answer, because everyone is suffering and there is nothing we can do about it. Robert Kiyosaki says, "Getting a paycheck is an industrial age idea", which makes no sense. Kiyosaki is notorious for saying weird, misleading, or fabricated statements and trying to pass it off as knowledge. This is a perfect example, because anyone that gets paid legally in MLM, and any other profession, will receive a paycheck. Kiyosaki will make more appearances in the film, and it should be noted that every time he says something, there will be something wrong.


2:16-3:42

This part of the film talks about his thesis. He also does his first list, which is one of Eric's favorite things, and he talks about his "Three Important Questions".

1. What's really going on in our working world today?

2. Is it better to be an entrepreneur or to work for someone else?

3. How can you be an entrepreneur without taking massive risk?

He also says there will be new information that nobody has ever heard before.


5:45-6:34

The interviews begin and there are a lot of random people saying some stuff that means nothing, but then...

Robert Kiyosaki is back, and this time he has brought interactive charts to the conversation. He starts by talking about people in the middle class and how their wages are going down. While this may be accurate, it has no correlation with "Network Marketing", and this is a common straw man tactic. He wants you to look at an unrelated problem. Then he gets back to being bizarre by suggesting that poverty is ending, but the "working poor" is going up. Not only does that not make sense, but his last graph suggested that poverty is rising because the middle class is being wiped out which is another way of saying the rich are getting richer! Robert Kiyosaki, the man, the myth, the wordsmith legend!

7:00-8:00

More random interviews, and then...

Robert Kiyosaki is back with MORE graphs! He starts by talking about how awful student loan debt is in comparison to credit card debt because it can't be forgiven. He even has a big smile when he mentions you can go bankrupt and "all is forgiven" if it is credit debt. Not true! You can lose your assets, such as your house and your car, and you may not be able to get a loan or gainful employment. Then he talks about the average wages of college students going down. Well, we currently have more people attending and graduating from college than ever before, so, the law of supply and demand comes into effect. If there were only 10 college graduates in a field one year, and then 100 college graduates the next year, then the demand for those persons will shrink unless more jobs are available. The issue is not college, but the inability to create new jobs. He missed the point entirely, and it has nothing to do with "Network Marketing".

8:00 - 9:00

A guy comes out talking about debt, and his numbers are...CRAZY! I don't want to harp too much on this because there is more important bad information (never thought I would say that), but this guy is the epitome of bad data. A quick Google search will reveal the true debt figures.

9:00 - 11:45

Worre emphasizes how much sorrow everyone has, and how terrible the world is because we live in a rigged system. He has more weird interviews to hype the sadness, and then he has a guy come on and say, "The economy is great!". This will be a recurring trend where MLMers play both sides of the fence. On the one hand, the world is rigged, life is hard, there is too much debt, not enough jobs, but the economy is wonderful. Does this make sense?

12:00 - 13:00

Worre talks about the stock market wildly, vaguely and incorrectly, and should be ignored as this has nothing to do with his "expertise". It is far more complicated than he made it sound, and your money doesn't just go to some random person when you invest it. This part should have been left on the cutting room floor.

13:00 - 13:50

Worre talks about what classifies as middle and upper class incomes. These numbers are important because they show the percentages of people that fall into these categories across every profession. You are much more likely to fall into one of these classes "working for someone else", than you ever will be working in "Network Marketing" according to the MLM's own published income disclosures.


13:50 - 15:34

Worre talks to a bunch of people that say being an entrepreneur is good and being an employee is bad. All of them speak with hyperbole when talking about employees and none of them acknowledge the fact that employees were directly responsible for their dreams. They act as though they accomplished everything on their own and employees are "modern day slaves". This is completely inaccurate, and their opinion of employees would leave one to believe their workers may need to find new employers.

15:34 - 17:28

Worre talks to more people, and this time they are saying starting a business is expensive, time consuming, and has a high risk of failure. Nothing really special there.

17:28 - 17:50

Guess who is back...KIYOSAKI!

Right on cue, he undermines the whole movie thus far by saying employees with college degrees are extremely vital to running a business. He even says, "A business is a team sport", and yet the whole movie suggests being an employee is bad and getting a college degree is bad. He is quickly becoming my favorite!

17:50 - 19:30

Worre et al. talk more about how expensive, time consuming, and education intensive it is being an entrepreneur. Worre begins to hint at the subject of the movie, because at this point, they haven't revealed it. Up to this point, they have only used the term "entrepreneur", but have yet to talk about "Network Marketing". There aren't many successful films that can go nearly 20 minutes without bringing up the subject.

19:30 - 20:30

Worre finally brings up "Network Marketing". He also uses the term "Direct Selling", partially correctly, suggesting it means products move from "Manufacturer to Consumer". "Direct Selling" can also be purchasing a product on eBay from another user, or the original method, a door-to-door salesperson coming to your house with a product. He also mentions "Multi-level Marketing", but acts as though that term doesn't fully encompass the "business", because his brand uses the term "Network Marketing". This is where he begins his brand enforcement, and starts working the term "Network Marketing" into the viewers vocabulary.

20:30 - 20:47

Once again...the one, the only...Robert Kiyosaki is back with another gem!

First, he mentions his relationship with Trump, then he holds up his book. He actually plugs himself while helping to plug Worre! Then he says people come out of school looking for a paycheck is, "terrible!". Robert, why else would people go to school? Oh, I completely forgot, Robert's logic is otherworldly.

20:47 - 21:30

Random people are suggesting "Network Marketing" is the best. One lady uses the celebrity fallacy suggesting authors and billionaires being associated with "Network Marketing" adds credibility. The two do not have a direct correlation as they did not become billionaires and authors because of "Network Marketing".

21:30 - 21:38

The excitement continues with...you guessed it, Robert Kiyosaki!

Unfortunately, he was too short this time, but he says go to school for a paycheck and do "Network Marketing" to be rich. I suppose nobody informed Robert that he failed at Amway.

21:38 - 22:56

Worre talks about marketing budgets and his numbers are WAY off. The average marketing budget should be around 10% of sales, but he seems to think it is 50%. He also suggests that "Network Marketing" is "completely efficient". This is the boldest lie. "Network Marketing" is the least efficient way to sell a product or service and it is reflected in the price. There has to be steep commissions paid to each tier causing the product price to rise. "Network Marketing" has never been price competitive in the market place.

22:56 - 24:29

This section is critical because there are a lot of problems describing "Network Marketing". One guy suggests big box retailers hire incompetent employees that don't know the products. This may be true, but at least they go through formal training. Whereas many "Network Marketers" do not go through formal training, and are often misrepresenting the products. TINA.org showed 97% of all MLMs in the DSA had false health claims and other misinformation when it came to the products.

Another person suggests "Network Marketing" is better than advertising because advertising has hype. Apparently, according to him, "Network Marketing" doesn't use hype? I don't think this guy is aware of the subject.

The third person is the worst. He actually describes how "Network Marketing" is a pyramid. He gives an example of how he wants to sell a million dollars worth of product. In a "typical sales company", he would hire 100 salespersons and have a quota of $10,000 in sales. Then he says, in "Network Marketing", he would worry about 10,000 "happy raving fans" "selling $100.00 worth of product". This is it folks, the smoking gun. If you want to make a million dollars in "Network Marketing" you better build a downline of 10,000 "fans", because the focus is not on selling products to customers. Those 10,000 "fans" selling $100.00 worth of product aren't going to be making any real income.

We will continue with part 2 soon!

MLM and Eric Worre

Today's blog post is about the "Network Marketing Pro", Eric Worre, and his rise to fame in the MLM industry.  According to Eric's LinkedIn profile, he was a MLMer for nearly 25 years and has been a MLM "trainer" for nearly 14 years. He started his career with "Prepaid Legal Services, Inc." (PLS) which is also known as "LegalShield" and ended with "Send Out Cards". He is one of the few MLM "trainers" that seems to actually have an extended experience with this "industry". Eric has gotten away from the term MLM and has emphasized the term "Network Marketing" instead, which is associated with his brand. He has a current YouTube account with over 170,000 subscribers, and has created a "documentary style film" called, "Rise of the Entrepreneur". He is also regularly available for speaking engagements, and has written the book, "Go Pro: 7 Steps to Becoming a Network Marketing Professional".

Eric's early history is a bit confusing, and completely left off of his website, but it appears he started a company called "The People's Network" (TPN) in the mid 90's with Jeff Olson, CEO of "Nerium", and Paul Meyer, and then sold it to "PLS" in 1998. "TPN" was a MLM that focused on selling satellite services and self-help channels. There is not much information about "TPN", and there is another organization called "The People Network" and also uses the acronym "TPN" which makes this more confusing.

After "TPN" merged into "PLS", Worre and Olson became "Vice Presidents of Marketing", and Meyer continued with "TPN" until it faded away. They all formed a new group as well called "L-K Marketing", and it appears that "PLS" generated much of its volume through this indivdual group. "PLS" eventually sued and fired Worre for a violation of their agreement and settled for over 1.3 million dollars. "PLS" operates under the name "LegalShield" currently.

Once Worre was terminated from "PLS", he started a new business with Patrick Hopf, a venture capitalist, called "Better Life Media". This business appears to have been a similar concept to "TPN", and focused on motivational programming. The network ultimately never took off, and even though they raised "Over 6 million dollars", according to bizjournals, they were unsuccessful at merging with a major televsion distributor.

After his short attempt to revive his cable network dream, Eric Worre joined a MLM supplement company named "Agel Enterprises", which still exists today. "Agel" is a struggling MLM with a reported volume of 37 million dollars in 2013. "Agel" has had a rocky history, which includes the termination of a former CEO, Glen Jensen, and many of the "Top Leaders" leaving to form different MLMs. This is essentially a "hydra effect" where top earners grow in one MLM and then split off to start a new one. Bo Short, CEO of Jeunesse, was originally an Amway diamond, and eventually Amway turncoat in the Dateline documentary. Worre would follow this course after leaving and suing "Agel", unsuccessfully, and joining into a new MLM called "Send Out Cards".

As of today it appears Worre does have a current affiliation with "Send Out Cards", according to this link, "https://www.sendoutcards.com/gopro/". There is also no information, other than his LinkedIn profile and his website, that would suggest he has stopped his distributorship with "Send Out Cards". Worre doesn't typically leave MLMs without a trail, therefore it is safe to assume that the link is active and he is still currently involved.

Worre's history with MLM is far from glamorous, and it doesn't help that his "Biography" page did not include any history before 2009. He is still regularly hosting seminars all over the United States, and he frequently creates videos with other MLM "trainers" as well as influential celebrities and businesspersons.

In my opinion, Eric Worre is a MLM fraudster and a narcissist. Since the beginning of his MLM career, he has continuously tried to put himself in the spotlight as much as possible. He is a "prosperity messiah", and he offers nothing but words and empty claims. In his movie, "Rise of the Entrepreneur", he spends fifty minutes self-promoting and repeating MLM fairy tales, and he does not "dispel many of the misconceptions related to Network Marketing". He offers no critical business advice, and he doesn't specifically teach how to make money. He is a king of mantras and BS.

I would also like to emphasize that Eric Worre claims to have retired from the MLM industry, and yet he does not have a residual income from the companies in which he was formerly associated. This perverted lie of working "2-5 years", and then retiring on residual income is completely false and it shows by Worre's history. He has either quit or been fired from all of his previous MLMs, even though he was supposed to be running his own businesses, and he does not currently have an affiliation with any of them, except for "Send Out Cards", but it doesn't appear that he is trying to do anything with that "distributorship".  The idea that an MLMer can "build a business" and then "walk away" and "watch the dollars roll in", should be a giant red flag if the "opportunity" is being presented in that fashion.

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Source: https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/minnesota/mndce/0:2011cv01769/120857/70

Source: https://networkmarketingpro.com/pdf/Eric-Worre-BIO.pdf

Source: http://newsok.com/article/2791079

Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2005/07/11/story7.html

Source: http://ok.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20061103_0000449.WOK.htm/qx

Source: https://networkmarketingpro.com/

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericworre/

Source: https://onlinemlmcommunity.com/the-peoples-network-history-review-and-cool-facts/

MLM and Sources of Information (MSM Part 4)

Today's blog post is about the sources people choose to cite when writing about a topic. Sources are extremely important because they can make or break the validity of an article. In recent events we have seen a rise in "anonymous sources", and these "anonymous sources" seem to have perfect information when it comes to fulfilling a particular news network's agenda. The most notable, and controversial, current news organization to get into trouble with "anonymous sources" is CNN as they have been using these sources to continue their Trump and Russia narrative. Unfortunately, it would seem the New York Times (NYT) has taken a page out of the CNN handbook and has also started their own "anonymous sourcing" to push a different Trump and Russia narrative involving his son, Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Even though every named source, including Trump Jr. and the lawyer have evidence to suggest this isn't a collusion story, the NYT seems to have found three "anonymous sources" that say otherwise. At this point, as long as these organizations say their information came from an "anonymous source", it may as well be fiction.

This shameful tactic of using "anonymous sources" to further their agenda against Trump isn't working, as CNN has dropped to last place in cable news and the NYT has been hemorrhaging money for years. In fact, the NYT just had a staged walkout because they were threatening to cut their editorial staff in half. And yet these organizations continue to falsify this narrative, because their agenda seems to be more important. Both CNN and the NYT had previously been considered two excellent sources for news, and in a short time, they have destroyed their reputations and joined the ranks of Buzzfeed and TMZ.

CNN has also tried to play both sides of the fence on this situation. While they get most of their anti-Trump and anti-Russia narrative from "anonymous sources", they also claim that people do not have a right, but rather a privilege, to be anonymous (which is incorrect) in the case of "HanAssholeSolo" and his clip featuring Trump slamming the CNN logo into the ground from a wrestling segment. CNN claimed that the person cannot be anonymous because they created a threat against CNN's employees, and yet their constant anti-Trump "news" that is fueled by "anonymous sources" is allowed to go unfiltered because they are supposed to have credibility. On top of this, the only reason CNN had an issue with the clip is that Trump had retweeted it. Had Trump not put the clip on his Twitter, then the clip probably wouldn't have been noticed. Below is a short clip explaining the hypocrisy.




This is also common place from MLMers as they regularly practice the distribution of misinformation. MLMers talk about fake or inaccurate statistics and bad analogies, and if they are confronted about these statistics or analogies, then they will either utilize a propaganda source or will leave the source "anonymous" as they disappear. MLMers do not care about the source of the information they are espousing, and as long as the information fits their narrative, then they will discount any other sources that may disprove their story. This is important because it allows the information creator to have complete control over the people receiving the information. Making sure a source is credible is as important as the information itself. If a person chooses not to check the source, then they are voluntarily giving up their right to accurate information.

MLMers emphasize obedience and an unquestioning loyalty because they are selling a scheme, and there is lots of information available to prove MLM doesn't work. They do not want people to search the internet for other perspectives, and they do not want people to check the validity of the information they are given. It is imperative to question everything, look objectively, and understand why the source is giving the information. Only after those criterion are met, can a person make an informed decision. 

MLM and the MSM (Main Stream Media) part 3

Today's blog post is going to focus on the recently wounded MSM network CNN, again, and its continued downward spiral. The story begins with a clip of Donald Trump, before becoming POTUS (President of the United States), appearing on a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), formerly World Wrestling Federation (WWF), segment in which he is shown beating up a person with the CNN logo for a face. The "meme" became war when Trump tweeted it out on his official Twitter account because CNN took the video as a threat against its "journalists". There is some significant irony as CNN's former New Year's Eve Special co-star Kathy Griffin recently posed with a severed Donald Trump head, and there was no mention of violence being spread against the POTUS, but rather a comedienne making a poor tasting joke. There was also a former CNN anchor being fired for calling Trump a "Piece of Shit" on his Twitter, and finally another video from Project Veritas showing another CNN producer stating 90+% of CNN employees hate Trump and his establishment. So, the CNN bullies didn't like it when they got a taste of their own medicine.

The real problem with this story is what CNN did to the person that edited and authored the Trump clip. CNN, a subsidiary for Time Warner, utilized their ability to track down the creator of the video through his ISP (Internet Service Provider). The creator was then coerced into sending CNN an apology or face the possibility of being unmasked. Reports are saying the author of the video is underage, and that CNN is directly violating the right to privacy (Fourth Amendment). Regardless of whether CNN did infringe upon the rights of another, this is blatant intimidation and should be brought up in court. To date, even with the apology in hand, CNN has stated that they can still release the identity if needed.

The two main points to focus on in this story are:

1. CNN is a group of bullies, and they believe they are allowed to fabricate the truth and create false propaganda against the POTUS, but also can cry foul when a video is made about them.

2. CNN has decided that they are above the law and can dole out "justice" the way they see fit through blackmail and extortion.

MLMers are also bullies as they believe they can fabricate statistics, use fallacious analogies, and continuously push their own agenda, and also completely lose their minds when people write information against their "businesses".  It is okay for them to misquote or completely lie about the statistics of small business success, talk about illegal tax breaks, and use misleading evidence and testimonials of success. They also seem to believe that they can label anyone that disagrees with them, and constantly attack people online that voice a differing opinion. Even though the onus is on them to prove their legitimacy, they regularly "defend, deny, distract, and then disappear" (Anna Banana), while never getting to the root of the problem being discussed. These are classic bullying tactics to avoid taking responsibility for their actions while continuing to perpetuate the same negative behaviors.

MLMers also believe they are above the law, and some of the biggest players have now infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. Government. While Betsy DeVos, Amway, may be the most notable, there are many members of the Government, in both the House and Senate, that have been lobbying on behalf of MLM for decades. MLMers have made the FDA and the FTC completely ineffective because of the millions of dollars "donated" to their member's campaigns. They are literally the wolves guarding the hen house and unfortunately, the wolves are mostly in the Republican party and the current POTUS doesn't seem to have a problem with MLM, so these problems aren't going away any time soon.

Finally, MLMers can be both bullies and above the law at the same time with their SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) lawsuits. They are extremely costly and time intensive, but most importantly, they are effective because the party being sued by the MLM usually doesn't have the same resources causing them to cave to the MLMs demands. They can directly attack the First Amendment rights of bloggers and writers with little consequences (a few dollars spent), allowing MLMs to make their issues go away. MLMs have nearly complete autonomy to do what they want and say what they want.

MLM, much like CNN, operates under a guise of legitimacy created by the powers given to elected officials. There is a misnomer that elected officials have to have their citizen's best interests at heart, and this has become extremely clear as MLMs and CNN have penetrated into the government through substantial "donations" backed by their multi-billion dollar corporations and crime families. It is more important now, than ever, to understand that these organizations didn't get to be this powerful because they love their fellow beings, but rather because they have gone out of their way to screw their fellow beings to the top.