I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. Relative to my Party, I'm further to the left of the median on all issues and consider my ideal politics Euro-style social democratic. I was an enormous Elizabeth Warren supporter in '20. But I'm also concerned about the demagogic potential of "Democratic Socialism" as a rallying cry. Like all flavors of populism, it can be made simplistic and reductive. Converting the 1% to biomass diesel fuel is only the flipside of Elon Musk wanting to convert the useless eaters to biomass diesel fuel. I've always had the most vicious, personalized political arguments not with Trumpers, but with Bernie bros, who are as capable of bad faith.
All that said, I cannot but bow down in abject praise of Bernie and AOC for doing the work and showing a pulse, nay, a fighting spirit in the teeth of Chucklefuck's "let's all keep our heads down and let Trump destroy himself" strategy, which isn't a strategy at all. They're rallying in red states but most importantly in red districts and while they have recruited some paid organizers, the support they're getting appears wholly organic and not astroturfed. Populism right or left is a reductive, easily understood political message that identifies and scourges the bad guys. No reason a left flavor can't be as effective in a low information environment as the Trumpian flavor.
And the Democratic Party is going to sorely need this energy, just as the GOP has grown addicted to the Trumpian variety. I'll take the morality of left populism over right populism any day.
The Bernie bros' go-to attack against me is to call me a shill for the status quo, a closet neoliberal who wants to remain dependent on the fickle charity of the broligarchy. Honestly, that's the way Bernie bros describe all Never Trumpers. It's doubtless the way that Communists described their fellow traveling liberals in the Popular Front. The kernel of truth is that I am, without any doubt, a political elitist. I'm a poor wholly dependent on the State (Social Security and subsidized senior housing) for my existence, but I'm also fairly well-educated in political history and political theory. Which is probably why I prefer hanging with Never Trumpers on social media than progressives.
Do I exhibit a little bit of consultant-itis when it comes to my general feelings on how the Democrats should capitalize on the anti-Trump wave surging through the electorate? I don't know; perhaps. But I do think the Democrats should hew to the strategy they used so successfully in '06 and '18 when they retook the House, which is to recruit candidates best fitted to their districts and eschew purity tests. Democrats are way too enamored of purity tests. Every day I get emails from the Justice Democrats salivating to primary an establishment Democrat (I haven't a clue how I wound up on their mailing list). What I don't want to see is a bunch of terminally online progressives backing out-of-state candidates in the name of a rizz that should only matter locally.
Worst is yet to come. Donald "The Beast" Trump is building a wall once again. Colossal tariff wall that is the beginning of the end for the system of down. At first the beast will pull the plug out of the global economy. The worst financial crisis of human history will pull a swarm of the banks underwater and the bank run begins. Then the beast will collapse a mountain of debt shattering the backbone of the monetary system causing a systemic risk to realize. Finally the beast will cast American citizens into a system slavery under the name of Ronald Wilson Reagan, just to "honor his legacy" count the number. After the destruction a new world order will be established in the US. And the Golden Age begins from the ruins of the world wide collapse. All of the system slaves will love it. No more cash - just digital transactions. No more traditional criminal activity. No more tax evasion. No more transactions without the "all seeing eye". Outcasts will hate the world without freedom, hope and privacy. To cover up the mess and distract the public by smoke and mirrors, the beast will engage in a war with Iran. Lies and deceit, corruption and decay, dancing on the graves will continue. Until; Black hole sun, won't you come, won't you come... I want to play a game. Time has come to opt out of the empire of filth. Live or die...
Well that's pretty doomy and I appreciate the music references as a fan of avant garde, atonal death metal (Behold the Arctopus, Flying Luttenbachers). I can dig the vibe.
Although it is absolutely true that the Smoot-Hawley tariffs in the US led directly to Adolf Hitler in Germany, I don't think things are going to get quite that dire. Trump is a bullheaded ignoramus but he's not much of an ideologue. He's fixated on tariffs the way an aging boomer is fixated on The Beatles, but at the end of the day he is nether strong nor courageous. His inelastic psychic need is for praise, not defending until death a discredited economic ideology. He blinked on tariffs once when the bond market started to go south and he could very well blink again as his supporters begin to confront empty shelves.
Theil, Yarvin, Musk, Andreesen, et al. are the techno-apocalyptics who are pushing for the future of digital feudalism that you lay out. But that's a cult within the finance world and there are bigger fish in that deep ocean who also think, with a fair amount of reason, that they can manipulate the gullible, simpleminded douchebag who pretends he's president.
The world will be a different place after the US midterms. Book it.
I don't even want to imagine what the next 100 days will bring! But I'm glad we have everyone on the Substack family keeping us updated on what's happening in the world and letting us know how we can fight back!
Better off? No. Chaos and anxiety abound. This mess was not a surprise. More mess to follow. Not a fun time even considering it all. Pay attention we must. Resist and refuse the tyranny. we must.
Rick, this is such a good and honest ad on Trump’s first 100 days. It needs to be shown from east to west and north to south on a daily basis so that his behavior is indelibly stamped in people’s minds. You have a knack for outdoing yourself. Bravo.
Hey CAM. OT for a sec, how's Western Canada handling Carney's victory? The Conservatives did better than expected from the polling and I don't know at this point if the Liberals can form a government without a coalition.
It’s a bit early to tell, except for Alberta. Danielle Smith stated that she wouldn’t advance a separation vote, but is demanding that Carney accedes to her request for a reset of the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta, meaning full autonomy on the province’s oil production and kill the greenhouse gas emissions cap. She also wants a guarantee that Alberta can freely build pipelines in every direction
for increased oil production, a move that is opposed by Quebec. The Premier of Saskatchewan said on election night that he looks forward to working with Carney - a good start. Quebec’s Premier has said he’ll support Carney provided he doesn’t step on Quebec’s toes with respect to immigration and its language law.
Carney will form a government as he’s only 3 seats shy of a majority. He’ll be seeking the help of Quebec members of Parliament to pass his legislation. Trudeau lasted three+ years with a minority government as he was kept afloat by the NDP. We don’t know what the BC NDP will do without their leader who was defeated, but it’s something to watch - maybe a defection or two. Carney’s a real smart guy and he’s used to running a tight ship, so he will likely see this as the great challenge which he’s ready to face.
Light 🕯️
Rick, on your subscription: NO WAY am I giving you my phone number!!! I signed up for Red Wine & Blue and it was solid messages and emails! NO WAY!
Kamala Harris' extremely perspicuous recent remarks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkOocwNymA4
Okay, so here's Bernie's recent war cry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBgl7n10CS0
I have to admit I have mixed feelings about this. Relative to my Party, I'm further to the left of the median on all issues and consider my ideal politics Euro-style social democratic. I was an enormous Elizabeth Warren supporter in '20. But I'm also concerned about the demagogic potential of "Democratic Socialism" as a rallying cry. Like all flavors of populism, it can be made simplistic and reductive. Converting the 1% to biomass diesel fuel is only the flipside of Elon Musk wanting to convert the useless eaters to biomass diesel fuel. I've always had the most vicious, personalized political arguments not with Trumpers, but with Bernie bros, who are as capable of bad faith.
All that said, I cannot but bow down in abject praise of Bernie and AOC for doing the work and showing a pulse, nay, a fighting spirit in the teeth of Chucklefuck's "let's all keep our heads down and let Trump destroy himself" strategy, which isn't a strategy at all. They're rallying in red states but most importantly in red districts and while they have recruited some paid organizers, the support they're getting appears wholly organic and not astroturfed. Populism right or left is a reductive, easily understood political message that identifies and scourges the bad guys. No reason a left flavor can't be as effective in a low information environment as the Trumpian flavor.
And the Democratic Party is going to sorely need this energy, just as the GOP has grown addicted to the Trumpian variety. I'll take the morality of left populism over right populism any day.
The Bernie bros' go-to attack against me is to call me a shill for the status quo, a closet neoliberal who wants to remain dependent on the fickle charity of the broligarchy. Honestly, that's the way Bernie bros describe all Never Trumpers. It's doubtless the way that Communists described their fellow traveling liberals in the Popular Front. The kernel of truth is that I am, without any doubt, a political elitist. I'm a poor wholly dependent on the State (Social Security and subsidized senior housing) for my existence, but I'm also fairly well-educated in political history and political theory. Which is probably why I prefer hanging with Never Trumpers on social media than progressives.
Do I exhibit a little bit of consultant-itis when it comes to my general feelings on how the Democrats should capitalize on the anti-Trump wave surging through the electorate? I don't know; perhaps. But I do think the Democrats should hew to the strategy they used so successfully in '06 and '18 when they retook the House, which is to recruit candidates best fitted to their districts and eschew purity tests. Democrats are way too enamored of purity tests. Every day I get emails from the Justice Democrats salivating to primary an establishment Democrat (I haven't a clue how I wound up on their mailing list). What I don't want to see is a bunch of terminally online progressives backing out-of-state candidates in the name of a rizz that should only matter locally.
Daaaamn
restack this.
After Canada election could it be time for an update … ?
Worst is yet to come. Donald "The Beast" Trump is building a wall once again. Colossal tariff wall that is the beginning of the end for the system of down. At first the beast will pull the plug out of the global economy. The worst financial crisis of human history will pull a swarm of the banks underwater and the bank run begins. Then the beast will collapse a mountain of debt shattering the backbone of the monetary system causing a systemic risk to realize. Finally the beast will cast American citizens into a system slavery under the name of Ronald Wilson Reagan, just to "honor his legacy" count the number. After the destruction a new world order will be established in the US. And the Golden Age begins from the ruins of the world wide collapse. All of the system slaves will love it. No more cash - just digital transactions. No more traditional criminal activity. No more tax evasion. No more transactions without the "all seeing eye". Outcasts will hate the world without freedom, hope and privacy. To cover up the mess and distract the public by smoke and mirrors, the beast will engage in a war with Iran. Lies and deceit, corruption and decay, dancing on the graves will continue. Until; Black hole sun, won't you come, won't you come... I want to play a game. Time has come to opt out of the empire of filth. Live or die...
Well that's pretty doomy and I appreciate the music references as a fan of avant garde, atonal death metal (Behold the Arctopus, Flying Luttenbachers). I can dig the vibe.
Although it is absolutely true that the Smoot-Hawley tariffs in the US led directly to Adolf Hitler in Germany, I don't think things are going to get quite that dire. Trump is a bullheaded ignoramus but he's not much of an ideologue. He's fixated on tariffs the way an aging boomer is fixated on The Beatles, but at the end of the day he is nether strong nor courageous. His inelastic psychic need is for praise, not defending until death a discredited economic ideology. He blinked on tariffs once when the bond market started to go south and he could very well blink again as his supporters begin to confront empty shelves.
Theil, Yarvin, Musk, Andreesen, et al. are the techno-apocalyptics who are pushing for the future of digital feudalism that you lay out. But that's a cult within the finance world and there are bigger fish in that deep ocean who also think, with a fair amount of reason, that they can manipulate the gullible, simpleminded douchebag who pretends he's president.
The world will be a different place after the US midterms. Book it.
Let's hope you're right.
You forgot that the main driver for DJT was staying out of jail (and making more money).
Excellent ad!!
Keep up the good work, slam Trump. Every chance you get. I am proud to be a supporter of The Lincoln Project!
I don't even want to imagine what the next 100 days will bring! But I'm glad we have everyone on the Substack family keeping us updated on what's happening in the world and letting us know how we can fight back!
Better off? No. Chaos and anxiety abound. This mess was not a surprise. More mess to follow. Not a fun time even considering it all. Pay attention we must. Resist and refuse the tyranny. we must.
Rick, this is such a good and honest ad on Trump’s first 100 days. It needs to be shown from east to west and north to south on a daily basis so that his behavior is indelibly stamped in people’s minds. You have a knack for outdoing yourself. Bravo.
Hey CAM. OT for a sec, how's Western Canada handling Carney's victory? The Conservatives did better than expected from the polling and I don't know at this point if the Liberals can form a government without a coalition.
It’s a bit early to tell, except for Alberta. Danielle Smith stated that she wouldn’t advance a separation vote, but is demanding that Carney accedes to her request for a reset of the relationship between Ottawa and Alberta, meaning full autonomy on the province’s oil production and kill the greenhouse gas emissions cap. She also wants a guarantee that Alberta can freely build pipelines in every direction
for increased oil production, a move that is opposed by Quebec. The Premier of Saskatchewan said on election night that he looks forward to working with Carney - a good start. Quebec’s Premier has said he’ll support Carney provided he doesn’t step on Quebec’s toes with respect to immigration and its language law.
Carney will form a government as he’s only 3 seats shy of a majority. He’ll be seeking the help of Quebec members of Parliament to pass his legislation. Trudeau lasted three+ years with a minority government as he was kept afloat by the NDP. We don’t know what the BC NDP will do without their leader who was defeated, but it’s something to watch - maybe a defection or two. Carney’s a real smart guy and he’s used to running a tight ship, so he will likely see this as the great challenge which he’s ready to face.
Good, optimistic words. Thanks, CAM.
Elbows up !
This ad needs to be aired on network television.
Excellent ad. I wished everyone watched it! Keep up the good work. The fight is worth it.