Let me begin by apologising for my absence over the past few days. I injured my right hand and couldn’t type or do many of the things we all take for granted each day. I’ve got an unassembled edit of a short video on Minneapolis, along with lots of dictated notes to wade through. For someone who often spends hours writing each day, it’s been a very frustrating time. I did feel better a couple of days ago, spent a couple of hours attempting to catch up, only to realise that my mind was much fitter than my hand. While I’m not back to full function yet, I can at least contribute to the conversation today.
If there’s one thing downtime allows, it’s reflection and an opportunity to take stock of where we are and look at the broader picture, in an effort to make some sense of it all. Tragically, there is no sense in this madness, just an ever-increasing ratcheting up of fear, division and despair. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the few days, it’s that no matter how hard tyranny tries to subjugate dissent, good people have the fortitude to step up in the face of overwhelming power to say, ‘We will not be bowed’
As a French philosopher and political thinker, Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, said, “There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice.” One thing that’s very clear in this moment is that when actors with malign intent take hostage the levers of power, those who object to that intent will face state oppression; it’s a story as old as time itself.
There is no better place to measure the right-wing narrative than on X. I get why many walked away from the platform, but in doing so, people are not addressing the problem; they are simply running away from it, pretending it somehow does not exist if they don’t read it. As someone with liberal values there, I face a level of often misspelt abuse, constructed with the grammatical ingenuity of an imbecile on speed. It’s certainly a level of disturbing abuse I had never experienced in everyday life until I became a resident there. However, on the upside, over the years, I have learned exactly how the MAGA messaging machine operates, what triggers it, and what the key issues and vulnerabilities in their narrative are.
The problem we face is that, despite knowing who Trump is, not even I was prepared for the societal rupture this administration has caused. It has been a blitzkrieg on moral decency, integrity and traditional American values. It’s a rupture that Democrats have simply failed to come to terms with in respect of the level of threat. Someone commented on one of my posts last week that they had muted my account because they felt my assessment of the situation was discouraging and demotivating. Let me begin by saying I get it: I understand that my musings can be, at times, brutally frank and unvarnished. For good or bad, I hold the view that you can’t fight an enemy unless you understand the threat they present. The aim is to stir anger rather than demotivate.
I have said many times that I come at this from the perspective of a pragmatic outsider looking in. Technically, I don’t have a horse in this race, but what I do have is a set of values that are very much a part of this fight. Values that have never aligned with the traditional Republican vision for society, though I do understand that their agenda largely came not from malign intent, but rather from the position that success comes from government getting out of the way, allowing innovation and competition to drive society, with social philanthropy filling societal deficiencies. How has that gone?
While I fundamentally disagree with this vision for a whole host of reasons, I understand that the intent was not to cause deliberate harm. Their vision was that profit cures all the ills of the world and that it’s better not to waste time worrying about the vulnerable. They are justifiable collateral damage in pursuit of the greater good. It’s this deeply flawed vision that has directly led to the largest levels of wealth inequality in modern history.
I’ve often been criticised for saying that history has taught us that capitalism remains the only game in town; even China came to understand that in its metamorphosis into a unique form of hybrid capitalism. It’s easy to get into the weeds over a word, but it’s all about ‘interpretation’. Whether it’s the Bible, the Constitution or the rule of law, it has become the magic word Republicans use to justify societal harm; they are masterful exponents of it.
Socialism in America is NOT the answer, and anyone who thinks it is is misguided. The problem with the term ‘Democratic Socialism’ is that it’s politically toxic, however much I may disagree with the statement. It’s why I have been advocating for the term ‘people first’ Democrats. Regardless of what we call it, rest assured, MAGA will label any attempt to move away from Social Darwinism as communism or socialism.
The reason I believe Zohran Mamdani will prove the ‘people first’ model works is simple. Transparency. Those who are looking for him to fail don’t want him to prove that, within their gilded capitalist society, you can still operate a socially responsible government. To provide leadership that improves the lives of the many at a small cost to the few, who won’t feel a thing as a result. The rich have become so accustomed to abdicating social responsibility that they now believe it’s their right not to give a damn about anyone but themselves.
I have to admit to going to bed last night, asking myself what’s the point? Why am I even doing this? The truth is, yes, I do feel like that sometimes. As frustration and despair creep in, I ask myself what difference my small voice can make in these times of an existential threat to the global community. Before the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, I was all excited about my new Political Truth Portal project and my plans for 2026. After the murder of Alex, I decided last week to put the Truth Portal on hold for a couple of weeks to focus on creating a short film about the extraordinary people of Minneapolis. A community that has come together to lead the way in peaceful opposition to a state-sponsored militia rampaging through their community. The sole purpose of the administration’s actions was to instil fear and victimise a population, solely as retribution for holding beliefs contrary to those of a convicted criminal in the White House.
Just at a time when I needed to be on my A game, I suffered a hand injury that stopped me in my tracks until today, when I’m now able to pick up the pieces and press forward. I know it makes little difference to anything or anyone, but it makes a big difference to me, because this is my sense of purpose, as I slowly creep towards the departure lounge, and it’s not a good feeling to be helpless when there is so much to say and do. Anyway, that’s enough of me feeling sorry for myself. Rest assured, I’m back in the saddle now, and while it might take me a few days to get fully back up to speed as I ease my way back into the swing of things, rest assured, I remain all in on the original mission.
One thing I have managed to do in my absence is structure things a little better. I have invested in new hardware to help with high-production-value political content creation, something my bank balance is certainly mourning this week. All technical adjustments and software updates have been made to support my upcoming podcast, and further investment has been earmarked for my YouTube channel. I may have been quiet, but rest assured, one thing I haven’t been is idle.
It’s looking like that in the next 24 hours or so, Truth Matters will hit the 100,000 subscriber milestone, which is absolutely mind-blowing to me in just a year of being here. To all those who have found a safe space in the Truth Matters mission to deliver resources for fact-based commentary and reporting, I have no words to articulate my gratitude for your support. For those who have become paid subscribers, your partnership is making it possible for me to contribute more to this fight, and for that, you have a special place in my heart and the grateful thanks of the love of my life, who, after a year, finally sees a break-even situation approaching for the work I do here. I’m pretty confident that in the months ahead, you will begin to see just what an impact can be made with a dedicated core of paid subscribers.
If we are to fight this tyranny effectively, it will require a collective effort to counter lies with truth and disinformation and misdirection with clear signposting to the facts. In a world where truth is being buried under a mountain of deceit, ours is no easy mission, as is so evident on X today. Now you can argue that nobody is forcing anyone to visit X, and you would be right, but that’s exactly like Trump saying that if you don’t report COVID, it doesn’t exist. Ignorance is no protection. I’m afraid to beat your enemy, you have to understand the constantly evolving far-right narrative, because that’s the poison that’s being dripped into millions of ears 24 hours a day. It’s exactly why a select few of us have to watch the narrative coming out of the likes of Fox News and far-right talking heads. It’s not something we want to subject ourselves to, be assured of that.
It’s important to recognise that this has now become a GLOBAL problem. The level of influence the Trump administration is having on European right-wing media is becoming ever more dangerous. In the UK, we have never seen so much reporting on the culture wars that are now dominating US politics. We hardly ever saw Christian nationalism in UK politics, but it’s washed up on UK shores in toxic drums of hate and division that are now resulting in poison seeping into the political conversation. This is a cancer that has now metastasised across the Atlantic, and it’s beginning to eat us alive just as it has many in the US.
This is a five alarm global fire and we are all at threat of being burned alive unless this fever breaks. The problem we face is that the media landscape, which now includes social media, is being held hostage by the state. It’s evident that the media's only interest is the conflict between ICE and those protesting their presence and tactics. There is little to no coverage of the massive peaceful protests taking place across the country. That’s why it’s difficult for the truth to emerge. We need a trusted portal where the truth is readily available to the public 24/7, because aside from a small vanguard of new media outlets, all we have is mass state propaganda. It’s a big hill to climb, my friends, but if we don’t address it, democracy will wither on the vine.
I want to conclude by saying I am fully committed to continuing with my daily contributions here on Substack as my footprint expands. Substack has become my natural home for my musings, although this week, I’m aiming for every other day while my hand fully recovers. I’ve certainly struggled a little today and don’t want to push things. My short-form notes will, of course, continue as normal with one finger typing on my phone.
At a time when corporate media has been taken hostage by malign actors, never has it been more important to hear truly independent voices of truth. More importantly, in an ocean of deceit and misdirection, never has it been more important to have access to fact-checked and well-researched reporting. It’s the support of like-minded people that helps to sustain resources like this. If you appreciate the work I do here, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Democrats are campaigning as if the 2026 election will be fair. That’s a mistake | Austin Sarat | The Guardian
The following are excerpts from this article:
“Last week, during an Oval Office interview with Reuters, Donald Trump touted his accomplishments and suggested that they were so great that “we shouldn’t even have an election” in November. Not surprisingly, that comment made headlines.
But it is at best a distraction from the real threat: the United States will have elections this year, but they will not be free and fair.
Far more important than his musings about calling off the midterms was what the president told the New York Times in another Oval Office interview. As the Times noted, he said that “he regretted not ordering the National Guard to seize voting machines in swing states after his loss in the 2020 election.”
As the Times observed, “Mr. Trump’s expression of regret … was ... a warning sign that he had not given up on the idea that voting machines were dangerous or that they could be seized in an effort to curb fraud.” We should take that warning seriously.
So far, the leaders of the Democratic party have not. They have focused on mobilizing to compete successfully in November, but have done little to ensure the election is not rigged through executive action, intimidation or interference with vote counting.
In a 16 January podcast interview, Robert Kagan, a historian and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explained why this is a mistake. Because of Donald Trump’s desire and need for complete domination, he cannot tolerate and will not allow a Republican defeat at the polls.
As Kagan put it: “There’s no chance in the world that Donald Trump is going to allow himself to lose in the 2026 elections, because that would be the end of his ability to wield total power. Unless they got up on the rooftop and said: ‘We are going to subvert the 2026 election,’ they could not be more obvious about what their intention is.”
At the end of the day, the president may be attracted to the idea of rigging the 2026 election not just out of a fear that he will not be able to work his will but because, as scholars suggest, electoral manipulation is a signal to critical audiences (including “bureaucracy, potential defectors within the elite, or powerful stakeholders within civil society”) of his “strength“ and “invincibility”.
Whatever Trump’s motivations, Democrats are making a mistake by underestimating the likelihood that, for all the artful campaigning and the many unpopular things they can pin on Republicans, none of that will matter. They, and all the rest of us, must mobilize to avoid that result.
We have no time to waste.”
• Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty.
From The Peaceful Solution:
The midterm election
Will it be free and fair? It won’t be. Will it occur at all? His Royal Heinous has already said that if we’re at war there’ll be no election. Guess what? If it’s looking bad for him, we’ll be at war to stop the election. The election is important to him because having the majority in the legislature gives the fascist regime the look of legitimacy.
People are putting too much faith in what the midterms will do. They may have a beneficial psychologic effect but in reality the outcome will have little or no practical effect, unless the Dems can get 2/3 majority in the house and senate, which they won’t. They will not be able to undo anything HRH has done or pass new legislation because of his veto power.
They will impeach HRH, but we’ve seen that movie twice before. Convicted in the senate and removed from office? We can only hope, but hope is not a strategy.
What can we do?
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. The other peaceful options are failing. Time is of the essence. We must go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting His Royal Heinous and the politicians who enable him.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. You and me. Hobble the economy and the stock market.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
This is how we can stop the fascist takeover.
Thank you so much. Your words help us to understand at a deeper level. Your dedication isn't lost on us. American patriots need to know there are others like you. Like minded, against white supremacy, and driven to restore some sense of a rule of law in this country. So much to do it's absolutely overwhelming. One foot in front of the other. We will win. History tells us that NAZIS ALWAYS LOSE!!!!