Newsletter #1: The Day Before Day One
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Hello FAM Subscribers!
First off, I’m going to try to make that FAM acronym a thing. Beyond the acronym it also harkens to family — and isn’t that the kind of warm and fuzzy feeling we need in our ever-increasing cold and isolated online worlds?
My initial plan was to send out the first newsletter next week and to subsequently always do it on Mondays. Given the profane swearing in tomorrow, I thought it was important to get something to your inbox beforehand. It is, after all, going to be the mother of all a case of the Monday’s type of Monday.
But, starting next week I think I’m switching to Sundays. I think the relative chill of Sunday is probably a better — you know, that coffee, music, Sunday edition paper kind of vibe. So, expect the FAM newsletter early every Sunday morning from now on.
I won’t be up, but that’s when I’ll schedule them.
As for content, my thought — after a hello — is to have one primary article/essay/post and then a mixed bag of content that mirrors the publication. I’ll let the content and context dictate that, so you’ll never know exactly what you’re getting. It’s the kind of anticipation that will likely have you leaping out of bed to see what exciting concoction I’ve cooked up. [denote sarcasm here]
With our fractured and contentious legacy media landscape everyone is looking for new outlets, so the newsletter (and pub) covers a bit of everything. Basically, it’s Huffington Post circa 2009. So, yeah, pretty cutting-edge shit.
Onward!
POLI•RANT: Surviving Day 1
Turn off the TV. Minimize the stress. And mock the fuckers.
If you’re anything like me, you know Trump’s Inauguration is going to be rough. His win on 11/5 was hard to fathom. And all the worst-case scenarios of what would happen if he were to get back in power have been bubbling in your brain like a ticking time bomb since he did.
Hopefully, you’ve been trying to not let those thoughts consume you. I’ve been mindful of trying to change up my life in ways to minimize the mental stress of his Second Coming without giving up (literally) on our Democracy. Take a look here for some things I’ve been doing that might help you.
But, there’s no denying that Monday is a really bad watershed moment. And just as not “obeying in advance” has become a motto that’s been making the social rounds so should not “freaking the fuck out in advance” be something we all try to do.
For starters, of course, I won’t be watching a second of it. There’s no reason to put myself through the stress, hatred, anger, and despair cocktail of emotions. There’s a social movement afoot to turn off the TV and deny him the rating. But, as far as I can tell, numbers are still derived Nielsen ratings — which is still a small sampling of folks who sign up to have their TV habits monitored. He’ll lie about it no matter what. So ignore the speech itself if only for your mental well-being.
The main thing is to not let the day control your central nervous system — because that’s what he wants as much as anything. He wants a day of cruel “shock and awe” to gin up his cult and try to scare us and knock us of our game. If he can cower us, or make more of us throw in the towel before things really begin, everything is easier for him and his despicable minions.
The speech is sure to be a dark, threatening dumpster fire. And the days fully of executive orders and who the fuck knows whatever reality-show-from-Hell surprised are going to be shocking. But, just remember that how it all sounds is not necessarily how it’s going to go down, or ultimately, end up.
All the immigration stuff is going to fought tooth and nail in courts all over the country. As will any other dictatorial executive branch overreach. Yes, the Supreme Court hugging the drain doesn’t give much reassurance for long-term outcomes. But, by the time we get there we’ll have a better idea how to most effectively fight back and how to galvanize popular opinion against a true agenda that is likely going to be very unpopular when put in motion.
So, DON’T let the assholes control your emotions and don’t cower in the corner. I think the best thing we can do on Monday is brutally mock him and his core supporters. THAT is what gets under THEIR skin. To that point, I made a bunch of really mean and (some) profane memes that I encourage you to share — along with any others — to let them know we’re not scared.
And we haven’t even begun to fight!
Shock & Awe Update
Since I posted the Poli•Rant (still not sure of that name) on Saturday a bunch of new info has been leaked out about Trump’s intentions on migrant deportation. The word on the street is that ICE will be hitting Chicago on Tuesday. I also saw a list of other potential cities. Unsurprisingly, they are almost all blue cities.
Beyond the legal challenges, keep in mind that Trump doesn’t have the personnel or detention facilities to do anything on a massive scale. Yet. But it confirms that this “program” is likely going to be part political retribution, and part mob boss shakedown.
If you know how this economy actually functions, it’s built largely on migrant (and, yes, illegal) labor. A great deal of that is in agriculture and meat processing, a great deal of that is in Red States. He might go after individual businesses in those states, but how he directs ICE is something I think he’ll be personally coordinating — based on who has paid and/or kissed his ass.
Does that sound like a mob boss or dictator? Yup.
So, be prepared for a big show of force next week, but keep it in perspective.
Sadly, the worst is yet to come and this issue has generated the most nightmare scenarios in my mind for some time. I’m going to post an essay on that this week, so check in on the publication periodically. I might even shoot out a “Special Edition” newsletter.
Not to worry, I’m not going to be filling your inbox with stuff all the time. That needs to be reserved for stores you haven’t bought anything from in a decade, erectile medication, and special mortgage refinancing offers.
Trump Inauguration Memes
The memes mentioned in the rant can all be found here. Please feel free to download and share any that might strike your fancy, or you Black Monday mood. They are probably more relevant to BlueSky peeps since many of you on other channels (FB, Insta) probably try to minimize the politics, which I totally get.
Culture Club: Some Entertainment from the Pages of FAM
How about that Gen X reference? Both the band and the idea of pages — like people read stuff that’s printed.
Below are some popular culture links to take the edge off. Speaking of the pub, if you haven’t had the chance check out my Welcome Post and FAM Primer to get an overview of this philosophy of this whole thing, what I’ll be writing, and how to navigate the site.
In Cin·e·philia I wrote a review for Nosferatu which you can find here. It’s still in theaters since being released on Christmas Day, and it’s well worth seeing on the big screen. Check out the review and go to the movies. If it’s a week night you might (like Amy and I) be the only ones in theater.
Given the frigid temps here in the Midwest, you might feel come comfortable on the couch. And given the news this week, looking for something familiar. In Show Binge I wrote a column listing some of the shows we always seem to have on repeat. Check that out here.
I’m thinking I might do an exclusive (wow!) weekly Spotify “mix tape” playlist to highlight in the newsletter every week. I have been trying to listen to more full albums which I’m posting in the Stream On section — dig the streaming music & Aerosmith pun. Night Train by the Oscar Peterson Trio might be a relaxing, jazzy choice to lower your stress levels. Link here.
One last thing. I decided to send this inaugural newsletter this morning. I’ve spent the majority of my professional career aided by professional proofreaders, in both journalism and advertising. I’m notoriously sloppy without them, especially under deadline. To wit, I just spelled journalism jourmalism which is thankfully pointed out in Word and the Substack templates. In the future I’ll employ my in-house proofing team (Amy) to try to keep the mistakes to a minimum. If they do get through, try to think of them as personal and somehow charming — like I’m sending you a drunken text at 3 am.
That’s it! Thank you again for handing over your precious email. I’ll do my best to produce content worthy of your cluttered inbox, and keep you from hitting the unsubscribe link.