“Thou Shall Not Steal,” “Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness” – Home Ownership, Other Rights Under Assault – Renters Are Being Denied Legal Rights Too

“You shall not steal.” – Exodus 20:15.

 “You shall not bear false witness…” – Exodus 20:16

Those quotes are from “the Torah” or Hebrew Scriptures are the voice of God speaking to Moses. The Hebrew Scriptures are often referred to by Christian believers as the “Old Testament.” Meaning, both Christians and Jews share those texts as inspired by God.

In the “New Testament” Gospels, Jesus refers very specifically to those teachings from Exodus 20.

In Matthew, 19:17b-19 (both above and below are from the Bible Hub), Jesus answers the good rich young man’s question about which commandments he should keep. Jesus said, “If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ “Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Each of the 10 Commandments is foundational for a healthy society. For the billions who believe in the God who created all things and who gave us free will that allows us to make choices both good and evil, it is hard to separate faith from daily living. Indeed, they should not be separated.

God gave humanity laws to govern just and unjust human behavior. Naturally, Jesus confirmed those divine Biblical laws, using these words.

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:18 (NIV – Bible Gateway).

There are those who try to say that Jesus was a socialist or a communist. That is utter nonsense. God’s words to Moses to the Jewish believers was confirmed by Jesus and reinforced. Those laws protect the rights to private property. Socialists and communists want to limit and/or end private property rights.

The Scriptures also warn of the sin of deception – “false witness” – ‘against’ or directed toward your neighbor, which Jesus later defined s everyone. The Bible warns against sexual sins. They warn against greed to a degree that money becomes someone’s idol or ‘god.’

Yet many of the things that Scripture forbids are preached by high profile people today and in recent decades.

Let us note that Islam and several other religions that have distinctive thinking from Christian or Jewish beliefs also confirm the rights to private property, the evil of deception, and so on. That is obviously not to say that all religions are the same, they are not. But it is to say that there are many areas of agreements between numbers of religious systems.

The quotes below illustrate that point.

That is said because a foundational reckoning has come to the United States.

• What direction will this nation go?
• What core principles guide this or that American leader?
• How do personal beliefs comport or not with fundamental rights, including the right to home ownership, liberty, other personal property, or life itself?

It is not bragging or prideful to say things that are demonstrably true. As someone who has studied history since my youth and who won numerous awards in history in high school and at the university level, it is fair to say what many others have also observed. It is this.

The USA is perhaps more divided now than any time in the last century, or perhaps since the Civil War. But do not think that such divisions are only occurring here. They are being fostered in many nations around the world that are not run by the communists or socialists.  For instance. A national identity crisis gripped the U.K. It resulted in the “Brexit” from the European Union. Poland and Hungary have fought to retain their national identities. Hong Kong tried to retain its unique identity apart from Beijing. Sadly, at least for now, during the COVID19 crisis and the political turmoil here in the U.S.A., Hong Kong has come under the grip of Communist Chinese influences.

When someone thinks about the claimed good vs. the claims of the evils about communism, think no further than Taiwan and Hong Kong. Both have fought in their own ways for decades to stay free. Similarly, South Korea is far more prosperous than poverty stricken Communist North Korea. Despite a huge army and nuclear weapons, South Korea has fielded their own defense against a communist takeover.

Americans would be wise to look to those examples before thinking if it is a good or bad idea to go further down the road to socialism and communism.

Back more specifically to the USA:

• How did we get to this point in time?

 

• How do we move beyond such deep divisions?

 

• How does someone discern what is true and correct in any time when the views of reality are divided by such a wide gap?

 

One short answer is that people must find common ground on what is and is not true. Sharing articles like this may be useful in that regard.

Before diving deeper into these pressing issues, let us note what millions of affordable housing seekers and manufactured home residents know and/or fear.

 

Affordable Housing and Manufactured Homes

There has been a sustained move by private equity and other capital to acquire land lease communities. A research document published in 2019 on that topic is linked here. Other sources have largely confirmed or echoed that report.

But let us note that private equity has been gobbling up large parts of conventional housing too.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when millions lost their homes, private equity bought much of that property up for rental housing purposes. The mantra of Rahm Emanuel, former Mayor of Chicago and former Chief of Staff to ex-President Barack Obama arguably applies – “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.” It is during times of crisis that the billionaire class and private equity often move to increase their holdings, economic and political power, and wealth.

 

 

The trend of private equity ‘taking over’ manufactured home communities was serious enough where some Democratic candidates specifically raised the topic during the 2019-2020 primary campaign cycle. Former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, Senators Elizabeth Warren (MA-D), and Bernie Sanders (VT-I, self-described Democratic Socialist who caucuses with Democrats and ran for president in 2015-2016 and in 2019-2020 as a Democrat) all made specific visits to manufactured home land-lease communities. Senator Warren wrote the CEO’s of several of the larger firms, who are routinely members of and/or have ties to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). Her concerns were well documented. See that report and letter linked below.

 

 

That said, that begs several questions. Among them are these.

 

• What precisely have affordable housing seekers and more specifically manufactured home owners heard since Obama-era Vice President Joe Biden purportedly won a widely disputed election?
• Castro, Warren, and Sanders all united behind former VP Biden. Perhaps more importantly, the billionaires are documented to have largely united behind Biden. Numerous billionaires, including but not limited to those named in the report linked below, backed Biden. It is those billionaires, say voices across the left-right spectrum, that are sounding the alarm that the billionaire class are the winners of the 2020 election upon the Biden-Harris ticket taking over the White House. Those points noted, were numerous Democrats only posturing support for manufactured home owners and affordable housing seekers?

 

One of our prior reports on the issue is linked here. What these have pointed to is the “Monopolization of the American Dream.”

 

 

A Longtime Leftist Sounds the Alarm for Everyday Americans

Millions know the name Edward Snowden. The person who helped make Snowden’s revelations about U.S. intelligence spying on Americans famous was attorney turned journalist Glenn Greenwald.

“The Three Greatest Dangers of Biden/Harris: Militarism, Corporatism and Censorship, All Fueled by Indifference.” So wrote award winning journalist Greenwald, a self-described progressive or left-leaning publication the Intercept he helped cofound.

As Greenwald explained why he quit the Intercept.  He did so because they wanted him to “remove all sections critical of” Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in a report he wanted to publish before the November 3 2020 election.

Greenwald denounced what he called “the pathologies, illiberalism, and repressive mentality” that had taken over at the Intercept.   Thus, he said he was “censored” by his own former media outlet. Greenwald blasted “these are the viruses that have contaminated virtually every mainstream center-left political organization, academic institution, and newsroom.”

Greenwald is far from alone in those concerns. As our MHProNews sister site quoted at length, 150 left-leaning – specifically anti-Trump – professionals in media, academia, and entertainment ripped the growing push toward censorship.

 

 

 

Additionally, Project Veritas broke an undercover video of an ABC News White House correspondent who said on a hidden camera that the problem of fake news is real. This is not a mere conspiracy theory of left or right wing believers.

 

 

The New York Times and MSNBC – both anti-Trump, left-of-center media platforms – lost an editor and producer respectively for spoon feeding readers what they wanted their readers to believe. They lamented in their own words, that major media was not sharing facts or views in an impartial manner. They too pointed to the notion that media is being used to shape a favored perspective, instead of giving a balanced report in their so-called ‘news’ stories.

 

 

Put differently, numerous media outlets have for years been spoon feeding ‘narratives’ as opposed to reality. Who says? Literally dozens and dozens of people in the news business.  None of this is new, it has been going on for years. The award winning documentary, Shadows of Liberty walks people step-by-step through the disinformation and media spin. It is told by those in media. The quotes below are from that compelling docudrama.

 

 

That brings to mind some things that many do not consider. It is the simple question. Who owns and or controls the media? How does that ownership influence their reporting?

 

• The Washington Post is owned by Jeff Bezos, who depending on the markets is either number one or number two richest man on the planet.
• MSNBC was initially forged as an alliance between NBC and Microsoft (MSNBC) – which has billionaire Bill Gates, another one of the richest people on the planet.
• The New York Times is publicly traded and has among the larger stockholder left leaning billionaires.
• “CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia,” says Note that AT&T was one of the companies that recently announced it would no longer give campaign (financial) support to any Republican that challenged the purported 2020 ‘victory’ of Obama-era VP Joe Biden.

 

The political left owns much of the media. Even some ‘right-of-center’ media outlets increasingly became anti-Trump media outlets.  That is not said to defend the 45^th president. Rather, it is a statement of demonstrable fact.

 

 

Several research reports claim that some 90 percent plus of news coverage about President Trump was negative. That should beg the question for clear, independent thinkers (keep in mind, this writer is not a member of either major party, nor any minor ones).  Why are these corporate media outlets so hell-bent at derailing President Trump?  Why are they equally against those who publicly supported or worked for him?

 

 

Is it because, as many claim, that President Trump was such a ‘threat to democracy?’ Just because some media outlet or person someone may like says something, that does not automatically make the claim true. Indeed, it is Greenwald who once again not only debunks several allegations against President Trump – who Greenwald has at various times called out for “lying.” Greenwald goes on to point out that the risk is from the left. The report linked below walks step by step through Greenwald’s specific evidence.

 

 

Given the hyper-negative view against President Trump is being repeated over and over by numerous mainstream media, social media, big tech, and political opponents, is it any wonder that millions think the man is a would be-Hitler?

But what Greenwald and others have illustrated is that President Trump’s term of office did not confirm those warnings. Indeed the 45^th president’s behavior belied the years of claims that were made against him.

But let us step back from current events to gain some historic perspective. We look at history, as many have said, because anything that has happened before can happen again.

This problem with much of mainstream media is far from new. Founding father and third-American President Thomas Jefferson, who fought for the freedom of the press, nevertheless was deeply concerned about publishers who published problematic information.

Abraham Lincoln famously noted the following quote. It is similar to what newspaper publisher/writer Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. similarly said.

 

 

 

 

The first two quoted comments above are book ends. If something is repeated often enough, it tends to be believed, even if it is not true. As this article demonstrates, it takes more effort to disprove something than to merely make the original lie or misdirection statement.

To Twain’s point, it may take hundreds of words to disprove something that only takes a sentence or two to falsely claim.

Summing up the above, there is ample evidence – not just from pro-Trump supporters, but also from those who critiqued or even opposed him – each of whom said in their own words that media coverage was largely biased and that censorship and limiting of free speech was growing.

 

 

 

Stepping Back from Politics…

But let us step back from specific politics and go back to core principles that have no party affiliation at all. Because those foundational principles will shed light on what has been occurring in America and nations around the world.

First, billions of people globally believe in God. While there are clear distinctions between various religious groups, there are routinely some common threads.  Among those common ideals are the notions cited at the top of this article. They include:

• a respect for private property,
• a prohibition against deception (i.e.: lies or misleading information),
• and what the founders of America called the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Even at a glance, socialism is not compatible with the centuries of beliefs of religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, or other religions. Each teaches the rights to private property explicitly and/or implicitly.

Even apart from religion, common sense should tell us that people do not want their possessions to be taken either by a criminal or by an overbearing government.

 

 

Most of us do not want to be lied to, tricked, or deceived. That instinctive desire for the truth is significant. It is as if God, our Creator, wants us to seek what is true. In fact, Jesus has said as much.

“Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:31b-32).

Almost everyone will agree that murder, for instance, is wrong. Murder can be defined as the taking of an innocent human life.  This belies the often-repeated notion that you can not legislate morality. That “you can’t legislate morality” claim is demonstrably pure nonsense, no matter how common that fable happens to be. All laws seek to legislate something that someone or some group purports to be ‘good.’

Goodness is a moral issue.

Against that backdrop, before pivoting back to what Greenwald said. Let us first note that Greenwald, born into a Jewish household, but Wikipedia says “Greenwald does not participate in any organized religion.” The point? Someone can often discern right from wrong even apart from religion. More on that further below.

What where the three things that Greenwald said on November 15, 2020 where looming from a potential Biden-Harris administration?

 

 

MHLivingNews and our MHProNews sister site has for years warned about the threat of the subtle- to often-raw power being exercised by the billionaire class. This is not mere ‘conspiracy theory,’ as some like to try to dismiss serious claims by a simple deceptive use of a phrase. To be clear, there are genuine ‘conspiracy theories’ that have little or no basis in reality. But then there are points that have obvious evidence which may or may not need more proof to rise to a level that could prevail in, say, a court of law.

 

That noted, when Warren Buffett plainly said and later repeated that there is class warfare in America, that should have been taken seriously by people across the left-right divide. One of the reasons we have long sourced information from ‘both sides’ of the political divide is: a) that is only fair and prudent, and b) there are times that one side discovers and notes an insight that the other missed.

 

Sometimes the truth is hiding in plain sight.

Let us next note again that Greenwald is not the only liberal that has made similar observations. On MHProNews, we have often cited the comments by former Governor Jerry Brown (CA-D). These comments came from the late 1990s. They are very much in keeping with our evidenced based contentions in recent years. They also happen to line up with what Greenwald and others previously cited by MHLivingNews have said.

 

 

What is rising in America is a new feudalism. It benefits the wealthy, while depriving most others of basic rights.

 

 

This rising feudalism may seem, short term, to be aiding more than the uber rich. But that is illusory, as history has often shown when authoritarian regimes come to power. There are those who are kidding themselves into believing that they won’t be harmed. Those that see what is coming but ignore it thinking that they will benefit, historically speaking, are in pure self-delusion.

Before pressing on, let’s once more make clear that Greenwald is not holding out as some kind of fan-boy for President Trump. The comment below makes that clear. He is blasting the Bush-Cheney Administration, while saying that President Trump is better by comparison. That is not to say that President Trump is some perfect saint. He is not, and the vast majority of his voters and followers know that about him.

 

 

Indeed, part of what makes Trump special in the eyes of his voting base – which swelled to some 75 million plus in 2020, a huge rise of well over ten million more votes than in 2016 – is because he has never pretended to be some saint.  Candidate Trump came out early on in the 2015 and 2016 cycle and said that he played the game and used ‘the rigged system’ himself. But unlike so many others, he was in effect doing a mea culpa. He pivoted to throwing in with the everyday Americans instead of with his fellow billionaires.  That was a major challenge to what has been called a rigged system for decades by some insightful voices.

 

 

This is a useful point to note for new readers that MHLivingNews/MHProNews are in favor of the free market. We are not opposed to honestly earned money. But we have routinely exposed dishonesty from early on in over a decade of publishing. When we discerned some things that we initially missed, we pivoted publicly and stated the error in our reading of what was harming manufactured housing multiple times.  That harm has routinely flowed from those inside the industry who have weaponized various aspects of capital access, the law, nonprofits, media, and political power.

In truly manipulative fashion, the case can be made that people like Buffett and his fellow uber billionaires have to a certain degree created their own opposition.  Why? Buffett has said he loves history, biographies and reading. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, or perhaps it can be summed up with this historic yet nefarious notion.

 

 

Note that those in ‘the opposition’ may or may not realize that they are mere pawns in a big game being played by billionaires and their corporate interests. Greenwald and others across the left-right divide have argued that Democrats posture doing things but they don’t actually follow through on their routine claims. But because they have the power of the media and big tech, the façade is to a degree maintained.

 

 

But that façade has been cracking during the Trump years. Evidence for that is the popularization of the phrase “fake news.” More evidence of that is the point that after some 5 years of blisteringly negative coverage, still over 10 million more people voted for President Trump than did 4 years earlier.

Rephrased, there is clear evidence that Americans are waking up to the threats from inside and outside of their own country. Like his ‘style’ or his ‘tweets’ or not, President Trump has been remarkably consistent in doing and working toward what he said in 2016 that he would do.  To ironically apply a quote from rival former President Barack Obama to President Trump, sometimes people with flaws do some really good things.

 

 

For a few moments, to illustrate what is occurring in affordable housing, let us note what manufactured home resident-advocate Tim Sheahan said as part of a longer statement.

 

 

Wittingly or not, Sheahan nailed a key point in that quoted comment.

The free market has been thwarted. What a close look at the evidence reveals is that what now exists now is a manipulated market.

This is why MHLivingNews/MHProNews has advocated the notion of separating the wheat from the chaff from all sources and people. For instance. There are some on the political right who blindly okay everything that is ‘capitalism,’ including crony and vulture capitalism. That is not what God would teach, is it?

We as trade publishers do not concur with those voices that wrongly claim that anything that is capitalist is fine.  That noted, there ought to be a distinction between free enterprise and mere capitalism.  They are similar, but not the same things.

What is necessary is a paradigm shift back to eternal truths.

Moral relativism is flawed.

This Prager University video below helps explain moral relativism. There is one minor caveat MHLivingNews would add, but would otherwise largely concur with the 5 minute presentation.

That caveat? There are subjective truths in matters of taste.  For example. I like certain foods, you may like other foods. In that limited sense, the notion that what is ‘true for me may not be true for you’ is accurate.  That nuance aside, one in fairness that is not easy to work into a 5 minute presentation, the balance of what this video says is illuminating, as are numbers of Prager’s videos.

 

 

What Is Said Is Less Important Than What Is Done

Merely Saying that someone will do something is vastly different than actually doing what someone says they will do. The quote below demonstrates that nicely.  It is followed by a pair of similar expressions from a former manufactured home community owner who reportedly sold his community to the residents.

 

 

 

Step-by-step, in report after report, MHLivingNews and our MHProNews sister-site has cited facts, evidence, quoted people accurately, and applied reason that points to the logical conclusions the evidence suggests. In truth and humility, we must say we get typos and that whatever gifts we bring to the table are God-given.

Additionally, that guiding light of Divine morality – which can be discerned by faithful souls as well as by people of no faith but who have good will – is possible from what is called “natural law.”

Wikipedia defines natural law as follows: “Natural law is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independent of positive law. According to natural law theory, all people have inherent rights, conferred not by act of legislation but by “God, nature, or reason.””

 

 

The concerns about a disputed election in November 2020 have been examined in reports and commentaries like the one linked above and several others on MHProNews. It has to be noticed that the Democrats have fought -with much success, one should observe – every step of the lawful challenges made by the Trump campaign that have brought over 1000 witnesses and mountains of evidence of election fraud.

 

 

 

Of course, the billionaire class wants the masses to believe that the election of Biden-Harris was legitimate.  They largely paid for the election of Biden-Harris.

Their corporate interests, in media and big tech among others, worked to support the Biden-Harris election. To underscore Greenwald’s point or that of Democratic Gov. Brown, there is obvious evidence that spans the decades that Democrats make promises that to a significant degree they do not keep to those identity groups that make up their voting coalition. In fairness, there are also times when Republican politicians posture being ‘anti-communist’ or ‘anti-socialist,’ while numbers of them failed on January 6 when the chips were down.

 

Back to Greenwald’s Concerns…

Senator Ron Paul (KY-R) is raising alarms about the militarization of Washington, D.C.

The documents linked below contain evidence of purported election fraud.

• Amistad Project

• Navarro Report 2.0

• The Art of the Steal

The next link frankly has not been closely reviewed by this publication, but it purports to provide evidence of Chinese and other foreign countries involvement in the 2020 election fraud.

• See the American Report election interference document linked here. It is worth noting that it fits well with the illustrations below and the Epoch Times infographic linked here.

 

Some of that was examined by several state legislatures. Several legislators wrote Vice President Pence asking him for more time to sort out (Pence declined doing so).

Most courts simply side stepped the issue. Dozens of judges failed to examine the evidence, using technical arguments like “standing” or “laches” (a lack of sufficient or proper time to act) in dismissing claims.

Roughly half the country believes that the election was stolen, and that includes some Democrats, even more independents, and most Republican voters. This is a reality that can not last without trouble ahead. It is not hoping for violence to recognize that in the legal methods of effecting change are short-circuited, that some will literally take up arms and fight what they see as the leaders of a rigged system.

 

 

Rephrased, it is unreasonable to think that what is being called the “alleged” victory of Biden-Harris can continue without serious repercussions in America that may continue on for years. Meanwhile, policies that helped most Americans are going to be rolled back, and policies that benefit the billionaire ‘moat building class’ are being implemented in their place.

 

 

Late Christmas Present for Billionaires Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, George Soros, & Their Candidates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris – From President Donald Trump

 

It is routinely the billionaire class, their media outlets, their narrowing or censoring of information, and the looming threat that they will now have the levers of power that posses a threat to private property and other human rights.

Does any serious, objective thinker believe that the billionaires who arguably helped rig an election are going to stop their own self-interests in a Biden regime?

 

Summing Up

There is a lot of detail and even more linked from this report. Investigators ask a question when examining a possible crime scene. Cui bono? Who benefits?

Right or wrong, it is the billionaires like those in reports we have featured several times over the years who are the ‘winners’ from the 2020 election. It is the billionaires who are coming into power if/when Biden-Harris get sworn in on January 20, 2021.

The politicians will make promises, and will do some of it, like their stated plan for sending out $1400 checks to every American. Talk about buying votes?  But what they do not say is that those checks are coming at the price of truth, freedom, authentic opportunities, and justice. They are buying off voters with borrowed money that limits their own future.

There is a myriad of details that goes into demonstrating that the American way has been subverted slowly, over time, often by the wealthiest in the nation. They have worked with foreign powers in doing so. Think Davos, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Economic Forum (WEF), and the looming “Great Reset.”

 

But all of that detail could be summed up with relatively simple moral truths. God gave us certain teachings. When those teachings are violated, expect trouble. God gave us the free will to make choices, but the Creator also gave us the Commandments to help us make good choices.

As the Scriptures say, God is not mocked. When the commandments are violated, there are consequences.

As the Apostle Paul said, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.” Galatians 6:7 (Bible Hub).

To sum up, one need not look beyond specific moral issues to see where the truth may lie on numerous issues.

For whatever moral failings President Trump, and every other living human for that matter may have, the 45^th president has been a champion of religious liberty, free speech, property rights, and the U.S. Constitution.

By contrast, what Biden-Harris are touting – notions like the Great Reset or the horrors that have flowed from the Wuhan China Virus – these have literally undermined the private property rights and other rights of Americans.

To understand these other issues and how they fit, see the related reports linked herein to learn more.

 

##

 

 

“We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, lifestyle news, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.)

(See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.

Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.

Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach

 

Related References:

The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.