I sat down to write yesterday, and I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it because I didn’t know where to start, given the magnitude of the problem. I decided to take a research day to help me regain focus and find a way to express my feelings. Frustration? Anger? Distraught? But none of these are the right words; it’s much more than that. I’m struggling to find a way to articulate the abyss staring not just at the US, but the entire world.
There has never been a better example of the boiling frog scenario than what we have seen since Trump was elected. American society has been slowly trained to tolerate more and more cruelty and violence against underrepresented communities. It’s the classic example of moral decency saying, ‘Are we there yet?’ and those that should know better saying, ‘No, not quite.’ My simple question is ‘What will it take?’ The problem with ‘why do today what you can put off until tomorrow’ is that tomorrow never comes.
In June, the No Kings campaign came together to make a statement, with millions of people taking to the streets to ensure their voices were heard in opposition to the tyranny Americans are living through today. The next protest is scheduled for 18th October. Can you imagine if the civil rights movement had held an event every four months? The Civil Rights Act would have long been discarded.
Do I think the No King’s movement’s heart is in the right place? Absolutely, I do, and I don’t doubt their anger and frustration at the situation America finds itself in. But I believe the focus is misdirected. Are physical protests significant? There is no question that they are, and I am not looking to diminish the psychological impact that millions on the streets has. If it were every day, maybe it would have a real impact, but once every 4 months, that’s just interpreted by most critics as a day out. We are living in a different world from the one in the 1960s. You will recall that media coverage was sparse, to say the least, back in June. All the media was focused on was any violent flare-ups or property damage.
In October, I can guarantee that the coverage will be even worse, because Trump is now in firm control of the entire corporate media space, and the TikTok algorithm will likely be fine-tuned to block it out as well. The top military brass from around the world are not being recalled to attend a prize giving and a few drinks; there are plans afoot. Don’t worry, they are not returning to plan the response to the next No Kings event; I fear it might be for far more sinister reasons.
I have no idea what the reason is, but I listened to Katie Phang last night, who said she had heard from a source at DHS that it may relate to the declaration of martial law if a government shutdown is announced. I’m not sure this would warrant the recall of overseas-based brass, unless there is also an intention to announce a new doctrine related to the US global military posture. I can’t believe that anything is off the table right now.
The point I’m clumsily trying to make is that I believe that the moves Trump is making to ‘dismantle the radical left’ are part of a broader plan to put in place a state security apparatus to silence dissent completely. Not only is he coming after elections, he’s going after funding to not just the Democratic Party, but ANY group that is not in line with MAGA ideology. The reality is, he’s going to attack anything to the left of Mussolini and is going to try to impound their money. Don’t be surprised if he then claims he will use the impounded funds to go towards the national debt.
He’s making the rules now with support from right-wing justices on the Supreme Court who have become complicit in his tyranny.
I monitor and contribute to social media and X in particular, because it provides an inside track to the broader right-wing narrative they are pumping out beyond the cult on Truth Social. Unfortunately, many liberal voices have abandoned X and sought refuge in the liberal enclave of BlueSky, because there they can speak to people who agree with them. The right is more than happy for them to live there because they exist in a liberal echo chamber that reaches nobody who can have an impact on any election. It’s pretty sad, really. It’s like a visiting liberals in the zoo moment. To be clear, I have nothing against BlueSky no more than I have a problem with my local coffee shop. It’s great to talk, but as for winning elections, the jury is out.
It’s almost as if too many of the Democratic Party have retreated to cry in a corner, saying, ‘What can we do? Nobody is listening to us. You know why? Because aside from a few warriors, the left has absolutely nothing to say except ‘Trump is a fascist’, and how did that strategy work last November?
Look, the truth hurts sometimes, and I hate always having to be the one to tell it as it is, but if the left continues down this path of rudderless leadership and no vision, the implications are politically fatal. I believe that the Democratic Party is drowning in self-preservation and failed political strategies. There doesn’t just need to be a revolution in the country; there needs to be a revolution within the Democratic Party, and unless that happens, they may find themselves cast into the political wilderness for a generation. Given the political talent at their disposal, if this were to happen, it would be the greatest political tragedy in history. As for a third party, as some are suggesting, FORGET IT. It will just serve to split the vote.
I don’t technically have a horse in this race. If American democracy fails and descends into a theocratic autocracy, it will not directly impact me as it will many of my readers. I will retreat to the shores of Blighty to defend US theocratic autocracy from spreading to my shores. I come with no US political baggage; I come simply with an objective and pragmatic view, unhindered by anything other than a passion to preserve democracy. A desire to see a country for which I hold much affection defeat a tyrant. It’s much more difficult for the administration to come after me, though not, I suspect, impossible, so I can speak my mind without fear of easily obtained retribution.
Additionally, I want to be able to hop on a plane again to New York and catch up with some of my old music industry buddies, reminiscing about the good old days, rather than being forced to travel to London to do it when they visit the UK. I miss transatlantic flights and rude New York taxi drivers who flip the boot and leave you to get your own bags out. Maybe that’s changed now, though? What I don’t fancy is having immigration control read my social media at JFK and being sent to a black site for what I have said about Trump.
Meanwhile, I do understand why it might feel impossible to fight the tsunami of cruelty, extortion, lies and division, because it’s not something Americans have faced even if you take into account the Red Scare from the days of McCarthyism. As I have said many times, Trump is just a useful idiot. The delivery boy for a reimagined America that will become the hub from which to mount an economic assault on the world. The cabal behind this plot is wealthy beyond measure. It is fully intent on their political attack dog, disposing of all the rules that would prevent their assault on every foundation on which America was built.
Anyone who underestimates their power to upend the global world order is either a fool or they are in on the plan. If you thought Project 2025 was the playbook, it’s gone way past that, and I sincerely believe that there are no politicians who can halt this march to theocratic autocracy. Trump has taken all the levers of government hostage, installed a cadre in all key areas of the administration and built a state security apparatus under the guise of immigration enforcement. If you think this apparatus will not be used against political opposition, I suggest you seek a psychological evaluation.
All the pieces of the plan have come together largely unopposed, as Trump sees it; it’s the very definition of a bloodless coup on democracy. Those pulling the strings intend to unleash a reimagining of the crusades, a holy war to consolidate the evangelical Christian right, who now hold significant influence in the administration. They are going to claim they are destroying the ‘radical left’ in a righteous crusade to save America from the godless left. You and I might laugh at this, but they are deadly serious.
This is not just about power; this is about societal change. This is about white Christian fundamentalism, and they fully intend to impose a new world order if they are given the chance. Time and time again, we have heard ‘He will never get away with this’, only to find that he has done precisely that. It’s the same attitude that prevails when the question is asked, ‘Have we reached a constitutional crisis yet?’ Look in the rearview mirror, you might see it way off in the distance.
The move to indict James Comey is just another example of Trump not hiding the fact that his enemies had better get ready to pay the price for having the audacity to challenge him. I have no time whatsoever for Comey; in my view, he cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election. Trump really doesn’t care if he’s found guilty at trial; he simply wants everyone who has ever spoken out against him to live looking over their shoulder, wondering if they are next. It’s all part of the psychological operations (psyops) that are currently underway.
What people should be far more concerned about is this executive order:
This was preceded, as ever, by a Truth Social Post in which Trump stated:
“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
Whether it’s going after individuals or imaginary entities, he feels has challenged him; it’s always preceded by a Truth Social post outlining his intent. A practice I’m sure James Comey will have fun with in court.
With Antifa, he went for it right off the bat; I would strongly advise that you read the full text:
Section 1. Antifa as a Terrorist Threat. Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law. It uses illegal means to organize and execute a campaign of violence and terrorism nationwide to accomplish these goals. This campaign involves coordinated efforts to obstruct enforcement of Federal laws through armed standoffs with law enforcement, organized riots, violent assaults on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement officers, and routine doxing of and other threats against political figures and activists.
As is common knowledge, Antifa (/ænˈtiːfə, ˈæntifə/) is a left-wing anti-fascist and anti-racist political movement. It is a philosophy, NOT an organisation. However, it is a label that is often deliberately used to create a misleading narrative related to peaceful protest. Trump knows that if he uses this ‘catch-all’ label, it can be used as an umbrella to go after anyone who speaks out against him.
Once again, Trump is acting impulsively with his executive order. As reported by Joseph Gedeon in the Guardian on September 22nd:
Some extremist experts are however questioning the president’s authority to make such a designation. Unlike foreign terrorist organizations like Islamic State, no legal framework exists for designating domestic groups as terrorist organizations due to first amendment concerns about criminalizing political ideologies.
Because of that, Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, who has faced Congress as an expert witness on hate groups and extremism, said the move was “ridiculous on its face” and that Trump’s declaration appears to have “no basis in law or fact”.
This order will, of course, be challenged in court, but I suspect that this is exactly what Russell Vought, who no doubt drafted this along with Stephen Miller, intended. They will want to appeal it once again to the Supreme Court. It’s a typical pattern of behaviour, placing Democrats under constant pressure and fear of donors withdrawing their support. It’s all part of a carefully crafted strategy.
The Guardian concludes with this:
Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader who was convicted and pardoned for his role in 6 January, posted on X ahead of the announcement: “Who’s ready to go ANTIFA hunting? Because I know a few guys”.
In this moment, Trump fears no one, and that makes him both reckless and dangerous, especially as there are never any adults in the room to take the loaded gun away from him.
He is doing the same with the government shutdown. He has no intention of negotiating with Democrats. Firstly, it would contradict his narrative that he is in control; secondly, he sees it as a prime opportunity to fire thousands more federal employees. He’s daring Democrats to play chicken with public opinion on a shutdown. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said:
“President Trump is engaged in mafia-style blackmail, with his threats ultimately harming the American people.”
Hakeem Jeffreys added, referring to Russell Vought.:
“Listen Russ, you are a malignant political hack. We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings. Get lost,”
As reported by the Black Information Network on September 26th:
Former OMB official Bobby Kogan called the layoffs “extortionary.”
“His lawyers should tell him that a shutdown gives the administration no additional legal authority to justify the lawless dismissal of federal workers,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said, adding, “We won’t be intimidated.
The reason Trump is out of control and believes he’s invincible is that those around him, along now with Democratic leadership, are enabling him. The only people who think that Trump’s address to the UN General Assembly was a success are the sycophantic courtiers surrounding a buck-naked idiot who believes he’s king, telling him the suit he’s wearing looks sharp.. The world was embarrassed on behalf of millions of Americans. Outside the US, except for a small number of fanboy leaders, he is regarded with the total disdain he deserves.
I hate to repeat myself, but there is no short-term political solution to this unless the American people take collective action through a spending strike. Next time, I’ll walk through the nuts and bolts of how.
You can now find part two below:
What's next in this struggle for liberation?
Let me begin right out of the gate by reiterating that the next No Kings Day will be OCTOBER 18. I apologise; I said yesterday that the date was August 18, which was clearly incorrect. Otherwise, we would have needed to jump into a time machine to attend. It was a genuine mistake that slipped through the net, and I have no idea where that came from. I, …
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, tell politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
We are running out of peaceful options. The legislature and Supreme Court are controlled by HRH. He controls the executive branch, including the Military, Justice Department, FBI, ICE, the IRS. He controls all levers of power.
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. When all else fails we can go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
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 the HRH.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. All of us. Hobble the economy and the stock market. Mahatma Gandhi drove the British from India by peaceful civil disobedience. We can stop the fascist takeover in the same way.
We can keep rehashing past and present atrocities until our access to the internet is taken away by the regime, or we can DO something!
Now is the time for this Peaceful Solution.
Why a Spending Strike is the Best Option
TINA: There Is No Alternative. There is no peaceful alternative.
Other peaceful options:
Soft Secession
Federal funds make up 35% of California’s state budget, with $173 billion in federal grants awarded in Fiscal Year 2021 alone, making up a significant portion of state and local budgets for programs like health, education, and infrastructure.
Are they really going to pissoff HRH to the extent that he cuts off their federal funding?
Soft secession? Only to the point when HRH feels threatened.
He will move in with all his resources and stop it.
This soft secession idea is a political ploy by state officials to get their constituents to believe the officials are doing something to stop the takeover.
It’s also another distraction to the resistance in that it keeps us from organizing and uniting around what must be done and what will work. It’s another example of hoping for an easy fix, one that will not take any sacrifice.
In addition, soft secession is divisive, pitting blue states against red states, playing into the narrative of the Rat, who wants to start a civil war. MAGA not only wants to “own the libs”, they’d like to kill as many as possible, to eliminate the opposition.
Targeted boycotts
Why targeted boycotts are ineffective
Boycotts often fail because they require massive, sustained participation to create meaningful financial pressure, lack clear alternatives for consumers, generate insufficient negative media attention, and are easily weathered by companies waiting for the protest to fade. Additionally, the complex nature of modern capitalism and the proliferation of corporate conglomerates can make it difficult for boycotters to effectively target and impact a company's bottom line or reputation, especially when companies have multiple revenue streams, like real estate, that aren't affected by consumer boycotts.
In 2020, Goya Foods praised President Donald Trump on social media, which caused those in opposition to Trump to boycott their products. Trump loyalists simultaneously initated a counter-boycott, where consumers bought mass quantities of their products, in response. The boycott caused Goya profits to increase dramatically because Trump supporters started an opposing campaign.
The midterm election
Will it be free and fair? It won’t be. Will it occur at all? HRH 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.
SCOTUS members Roberts and Barrett may have an epiphany and save the country from civil war, but it’s doubtful. It’s going to be up to us to stop this.
Time is running out for a Peaceful Solution. Please spread the word.
How to accomplish a Spending Strike
“It’s the economy, stupid” as James Carville famously told Bill Clinton. It was then, and still is, in politics. The reelection of His Royal Heinous is largely attributed to the misperceived state of the economy. That’s what must be attacked, not individual corporations. The overall economy must suffer before the Greedy Bastards will pay attention.
HRH will not destroy the economy on his own (TACO). He will find a way to prop it up (like lower interest rates) because the economy and stock market are his report card and key to keeping power. The key to keeping power, as it is in Russia, China, Hungary, Turkey. They give the people a somewhat decent standard of living, and in exchange, the people have no political power. Only the autocrat has that. Unlimited.
Our best chance of success lies in obtaining high profile, national leadership and spokespersons. Fragmented, unknown groups leading the charge might work but would take much longer, and time is of the essence. Since the Disney boycott there have been more “bigger” names taking up the cause.
There will have to be a great amount of grassroot support before a national “leader” will take up the cause. Most of our supposed leaders are really followers of movements. They’ll get out front after it’s shown to have popular support. So, we recruit more foot soldiers, like ourselves, and spread the word on various Substacks and other social media platforms.
After mustering much grassroots support we can then approach some Substack writers who have many subscribers and appeal to them to take up the cause and spread the word. Writers like Jen Rubin, Steve Schmidt, Robert Reich, Heather Richardson, Paul Krugman. Again, a good amount of grassroots support will have to be demonstrated.
We will need an organized effort to encourage those writers to concentrate on this method of opposition. Possibly coordinated mass emails to them promoting the idea, or coordinated posts to their Substacks.
Then, hopefully, one or more national leaders will take up the cause. Possibly a steering committee composed of left, center and right individuals, but not current office holders. It should be seen as non partisan.
This will be a tough sell. Americans are addicted to buying. We are brainwashed from the cradle by advertising, popular culture, peer pressure, to consume. If you want to be happy and fulfilled, you must have this or that product. To overcome this, our fellow citizens must be convinced that this is the only viable peaceful solution to stop and reverse the fascist takeover. And it is.
Defeating the fascists in WWII did not happen without sacrifice from the citizens of the Allied countries. We will have to sacrifice to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of our country. We can sacrifice a little now or a much greater amount later. What kind of world will our children and grandchildren live in if we allow this to continue? Spending Strike, Spending Freeze, Spending Suspension, Spending Pause, Economic Disengagement, Economic Warfare, Stop Spending!, even Boycott. Choose your favorite but Do It, and Spread the Word!
If a single dollar doubles every day for 30 days, it reaches a total of over $536 million ($536,870,912) at the end of the 30th day.
So, would it follow, that a single voice that doubled everyday would become 536 million voices after 30 days? That seems doable.
For me, this weekend’s news was the final straw. We’re preparing for the worst. Looking for leadership both nationally and locally. So far, locally just ain’t there. I’m too old to be that guy, but still able to assist.