Newsletter 6: Closer to the Precipice

Anatomy of a Lie | Some Comedy! | Father John Misty Concert + Playlist

Hey FAM!

I wasn’t planning on putting the first essay of my Dem•ocracy Project in the newsletter, but it didn’t end up being too long. It’s a decent overview of where we find ourselves just a few days over a month into the Trump 2.0 regime.

Let’s get to it.

There’s fun stuff beyond, so don’t get too depressed…

DEM•OCRACY PROJECT PART ONE | WHERE WE ARE

Essay #1 — Our Current Political Landscape

Let’s not beat around the bush.

Things are bad. Really bad.

On a scale of one to ten — with ten being the United States becoming a full-on Dictatorship — I currently put us at around seven.

Let’s just look at some of the “big” things that have been done in under a month.

Corruption has basically been legalized, if not promoted. Inspector Generals in all the cabinet departments (many from Trump 1.0) were purged. These are the people responsible for stopping governmental waste, fraud, and abuse.

If they are replaced they will be replaced by stooges who look the other way when literal criminals and fraudsters put in throughout the top levels of the Executive Branch take advantage of any “side hustle” they might want while doing their main job of destroying the government from within.

And that’s not just in Washington. The grift is global with Trump killing the law that made being bribed by a foreign official illegal. I’ve yet to hear a defense of that, but know that nearly every Task Force and internal Watch Dog Group to stop corruption throughout the Justice Department and the entirety of the Executive Branch has been killed.

No one has done these things before.

And you just don’t do them unless you’re looking to break the law.

But what is legal and illegal is now up for debate? Trump has proclaimed numerous Executive Orders that before him would always be considered the latter.

He attempted to freeze almost all allocated government spending and closed both the CFPB and USAID, citing completely unproven corruption at both. He’s tried to freeze funding everywhere. These are things that are completely contradictory to our Constitution and the balance set up by our Founding Fathers on the separation of powers.

He is literally taking the Legislative Branch OUT of our three branch system.

Our Judicial Branch — represented by federal judges of both political stripes — have paused many of these Trump power grabs.

But, it is fully debatable if Trump will abide by the courts. Any courts. While that may sound apocalyptic MAGA is laying the groundwork for just that.

We’ve seen the Republican Party (with very few exceptions) completely and utterly capitulating to Donald Trump on anything he says or does. They were purposefully and unceremoniously neutered by being forced to vote for a number of cabinet members that most fully understand are completely unqualified, dangerous, crazy, or all three.

Then there’s Musk and his posse of DOGE douche-kid coders running roughshod through the most sensitive information our government possesses with access to virtually ALL of EVERYBODY’S personal data. It’s all under the guise of rooting out the mythical “waste, fraud, and abuse” which could very well be a Trojan Horse for the biggest cyber-attack in world history.

They are making wild claims about the fraud they are finding and the money they are saving. Trump says “hundreds of billions,” Musk says $55 billion, but in trying to piece together what actual facts are out there, independent analysis says it may be a fraction of that. Maybe $8 billion.

And they’re getting there not by finding and eliminating fraud in any substantial way — there’s been only lies, wild exaggerations, and very little actual proof — but simply killing independent agencies and cutting staff.

And as much as Musk and Trump would like you to believe they’re cutting crazy, idiotic government jobs like Elevator Door Button Pusher, we’re actually seeing cuts in everything from critical safety jobs at the FAA to staff at national parks that are throwing them into chaos.

This whole operation is shrouded in exaggerations and lies and the possible damage and crimes that could very well be happening are staggering on multiple fronts. I’ll spare you even the likely possibilities.

While we’re being distracted by nonsense like the Gulf of America and somehow subjugating Canada, our standing on the world stage has almost completely bottomed out in only a month. We all knew Trump was going to fuck the Palestinian and Ukrainian people, but the degree to which he’s done it is simply shocking. Again, by any normal standards across the political spectrum.

Beyond the countless deaths and real potential of global disaster, we have lost all credibility as a force for good in the world. Our reputation is ruined and we are now more closely aligned with the evil countries in the world than we are the Democracies.

Think about that.

France. Germany. Great Britain. Denmark. Spain. Ireland. Estonia. Finland. Switzerland. Greece. Italy.

Name your European ally.

Then add every other Democracy in the world.

We are about to be on the other side of that equation.

But, the potential global catastrophe is further down the road. Right here, we are right there on the bad side.

We haven’t yet had the mass deportations that Trump promised.

Likely because he’s unable to shift the funds and/or purge the military of leadership that might not go along with soldiers being turned on Americans. Because, make no mistake, there’s going to be a major social upheaval if something on the scale of what Trump has promised comes to pass.

While we don’t know the numbers, there have been raids across the country, with the Trump regime claiming that they are detaining and deporting gang members and criminals. Are some of those migrants who have been shipped to black boxes in Panama and Cuba actual criminal gang members?

Maybe.

But we’ve seen no proof and are being asked to trust a man who lies almost constantly. And that’s not an opinion. It’s a fact. So, that possible flash point remains to be seen. I wrote about the worst-case immigration and legal scenario here.

But, make no mistake. There are multiple paths through the jungle here that are being hacked that get us to the last Constitutional guardrails — the courts and the military. Nothing tells me that we are going to avoid that.

Trump fired all three JAG heads from the military branches Friday night.

I wish I was wrong, but I don’t think I am.

Take A Deep Breath

I’ll stop there because it’s a lot. I’ll skip plans to kill the Post Office and what that could do to our elections.

Sorry.

Just know that this is not about making government smaller or more efficient. I don’t know anyone who isn’t for that. No. It’s a purposeful destruction and dismantling of both our government and our Constitutional Republic.

But, it’s not going unnoticed, and the Trump regime and Republicans are standing on the edge of a minefield bigger than anything in Ukraine.

The stuff they’re doing now is supposed to be popular with a big chunk of the population that has been conditioned for generations to think of the federal government as an evil monolith.

But DOGE efforts and the white nationalist intensity on rooting out Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and going after trans people isn’t really popular. It’s even more unpopular in the context of what they’re not doing — bringing down prices and any other bread and butter (and egg) issues that Trump promised he would make disappear.

We’re seeing historic lows in polling before they get to the issues that really matter in the lives of millions of Americans. And let me tell you, what they’re going to try to do is going to be wildly unpopular with majorities rarely seen in out polarized politics.

This is no spoon full of medicine, Mary-Poppins shit here.

Most of this comes down to the budget and starts in the House — the same Republican House that has barely been able to name a Post Office let alone pass a budget — even under Biden when that budget was DOA.

They have an even slimmer majority now, and there are open seat Congressional elections coming up that could make that even tighter.

To find the money to cover massive tax cuts for the rich means deep, painful cuts to very popular programs. The outlines of a plan emerging from the R House is literally political suicide. We’re already seeing street protests on mainly theoretical issues by activists who are into politics. Just wait until they attempt to take away programs that literally keep people alive.

I know in our own family my developmentally disabled sister-in-law is completely dependent on SSI and Medicaid. Taking that away or cutting it substantially would ruin her life, and throw ours into chaos.

Now take that anecdote and spread it across millions of people depending on a myriad of programs Republicans want to cut.

So, what about the Democrats?

After the Inauguration I was really worried.

All the dire things they campaigned on last fall, the things that were coming to pass, seemed to go by the wayside with a number of them reverting to common ground when we can find it language.

That is exactly NOT what we need right now.

What we need is what Republicans have always been willing to do in “normal” times under Democratic control.

That means using every trick in the book to slow down legislation and jam anything possible into the gears of government. It means protests, highlighting real, human stories, and coming up with consistent and constant messaging to counter the disinformation.

After that initial flat-footedness — and a real outcry from out base — I think they are on track. And I think one of the most important things we can do in the short term is to keep applying the pressure to make sure they stay on it.

Republicans haven’t been able to pass a budget in years without Democratic support. They always give in because, frankly, they don’t want people to suffer if the government shuts down.

Those days are over.

The American people need to feel the effects of what Republicans do. It reminds me of the scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Short Round had to burn Indy’s hand to bring him out of the evil spell.

Or maybe it’s a bucket of ice water and we call it the Democracy Challenge?

Those are the marching orders as I see them right now: Holding Democrats feet to the fire to not avoid a showdown, but welcome it.

In the essays ahead, I hope I can bring not just some context and insight to this fight, but more concrete examples and resources that will help people like you and me be part of this fight of our lives. I have some experience, but I’m on that learning curve too.

And I really mean the fight of our lives with every fiber of my being. We are in a battle in this country between Democracy and Dictatorship.

And we have to win it.

Anatomy of a Lie: Lifestyles of the Rich & Illegal

I’m working on a list of talking points for the MAGA-adjacent.

It’s going to be an ongoing list that I’ll update on occasion that debunks some of the most egregious lies and disinformation being spread (especially on social media) by Trump, Musk and Maga-Media.

These aren’t going to be deep dives into every single point with multiple footnotes, but true talking point that you can use with friends and family still open to facts.

Let me start with a big one that was recently spreading like wildfire — that FEMA sent New York City upwards of $80 million to put up illegal immigrants in luxury hotels.

This story came to light when the Trump regime literally stole money out the city’s bank account. For starters, that’s something that is illegal and amazing to think about since Trump and Musk have access to the personal bank accounts of virtually everyone who gets any money from the federal government electronically.

Just imagine the possibilities of abusing that power.

But, back to the story, which was a mix of lies and exaggerations.

The larger issue of immigration aside, we know that governors of both Texas and Florida had been shipping immigrants to New York and other “blue cities” that aren’t set up with the money or infrastructure to deal with them.

This money was Congressionally approved for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help cities who had these emergencies — and would have been allocated to border areas who have the infrastructure to deal with immigration services.

But, the money was sent to NYC because of this cruel stunt.

First, this wasn’t FEMA money being taken away from natural disasters — which the last Congress wouldn’t fully fund.

Customs simply uses the FEMA funds distribution system to allocate the money because they’re the best at it. I think what you call that is efficiency.

That’s the first lie.

The second is the luxury hotel thing. In actuality NYC took an old hotel and tried to rehab it to serve as a “Ellis Island” type facility to document, process and keep together these immigrants — most of whom were fleeing hardship and persecution and legally applying for asylum in the United States. I’ve seen video of the hotel. It’s one of those old shells of a formerly awesome old hotel that looks like it’s been abandoned for decades.

And yes, they did have to pay for other hotel rooms when the immigrants were dropped off from buses beforehand, on average $152 a night for rooms where people stayed. Most weren’t in Manhattan and far from luxury rooms which run $400 to $1,000 a night. They also had to put people in school gyms because they were desperate. I guess these families should have just wandered the streets? If your argument is being pro abject cruelty, then, yes, you win. Money was spent.

So, manufactured crisis, no FEMA disaster money, and no luxury hotels.

It takes about five minutes to debunk this kind of stuff.

But, it’s always easier to simply share things that fit your preconceived notions and political affiliation. And I’m not immune from doing the same. I’ve shared stuff that turned out to be false. Of course, I admit and retract the it when it happens.

We all need to get better at this, but this isn’t a both sides phenomenon.

It is Republicans who are purposefully injecting disinformation into the cultural bloodstream to keep their supporters constantly outraged which clouds a rational conversation on what they are actually doing.

Oh, and as a side note, Trump is talking about killing FEMA and letting the states handle their own natural disasters. States already have funds for natural disasters and rely on the feds when disaster strikes, which it does way more often in red states.

If that happens it’s going to be, well, a disaster.

Culture Club: Comedy! | Feelings! | Father John Misty!

Roy Wood Jr.: Lonely Flowers

I kind of stumbled upon this stand-up special on Netflix. I’ve seen clips of Roy Wood Jr. from the Daily Show and was aware that he got screwed from the anchor chair after Trevor Noah left. But, I wasn’t that versed in his comedy. What can you say about a comedy special other than it’s funny or not, which is highly-subjective.

I thought it was quite funny. And surprisingly touching at times. He has a running theme about how personally unconnected we currently are, which is one of the most sad and dangerous facts about our culture. Check it out.

SNL 50 Recap + 5 Sketches

Well, we hit peak SNL last Sunday. After all the docs, the promos and hype, and tie-in ads the 50^th celebration show hit NBC. Much like the show itself over the decades I thought it had hilarious sketches and bit and some that didn’t quite hit for me. But, I really don’t know how much better it could be done trying to jam so many former cast members (and current) into a show, even if it was three plus hours. I’ll keep it at that since I still haven’t gotten my check from Lorne Michaels after promoting the shit out of it to my massive subscriber base. I think I deserve Beatle reunion money, so until I do, just five more random sketches added to the collection here.

Getting More Than All the Feels

I’m sure most of you have seen these music reaction videos when younger folks react to hearing classic songs for the first time. There are tons of them out there and tons just of people listening to In the Air Tonight and losing their shit when Phil Collin’s drums kick in.

Stumbled upon this one on the opening of Boston’s first albums and really liked it.

It’s so fun — and somewhat sad being older — and watching people hear things for the first time. A couple years ago Boston popped into my head and I listened to a few songs while doing some painting. It was nice, but it had been literally decades before that, and who knows when it will happen again. But, damn, that album two-punch intro really is a sonic masterpiece. Good times.

Speaking of Good Times Bad Times, I went to see the officially sanctioned documentary Becoming Led Zeppelin late this week. Spoiler alert — it was good times. Expect a Zep music theme next week.

The Uncategorizable Father John Misty

This week was a big music week. Amy and I went to see Father John Misty at the Fillmore. We had dinner at Green Dot beforehand and talked to some young ladies who were also going to the show and tried to come up with how you would categorize his music.

There’s so much going on in his stuff that it’s tough. There’s definitely a folk, singer-songwriter component, but also elements of baroque pop, 40s-50s lush orchestration, jazz, and ornate multi-track vocals.

Quite a potpourri of styles.

If you don’t know, he was the drummer for Fleet Foxes before striking out on his own and coming up with the Father moniker. He’s got a really cool hipster vibe in the best sense of the term. The show was great. He had a really tight seven-piece band and the mix was just fantastic — an awesome wall of sound that’s as good as anything I’ve heard in years. The lighting was also cool and perfectly cued.

A big part of his appeal is his lyrics. After boning up for the show, I’d put his lyrics in three broad categories. First there’s pretty straight-forward love songs and bitter anti-love songs. Second there’s some broad philosophical and religious stuff that sometimes veers into the engaging but incomprehensible. Lastly, there’s seemingly autobiographical songs about the real him (Josh Tillman) that document a drug-fueled lifestyle on the edges of the underbelly of Los Angeles. I have no idea what is true, but it’s sometimes funny and always fascinating.

Here’s the setlist: