Politics – Page 2 – bendingtheneedle

Let’s Ask Arty About Democratic Socialism

Let’s Ask Arty uses existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to query LLMs about politics in these troubled times.

What is Democratic Socialism?

Democratic socialism is a political and economic philosophy that advocates for a democratic political system alongside a socially owned or regulated economy. It emphasizes both political democracy and economic fairness, aiming to reduce inequality through collective decision-making and public control over key sectors.

How does Democratic Socialism differ from “Traditional” Socialism?

Democratic socialism differs from traditional socialism primarily in its commitment to political democracy and its approach to economic reform. While both advocate for social ownership and reducing inequality, democratic socialism insists on maintaining democratic institutions and civil liberties.

Key Differences Between Democratic Socialism and Socialism

Feature	Democratic Socialism	Traditional Socialism
Political System	Emphasizes democracy, free elections, and civil liberties	May support centralized or authoritarian governance
Economic Ownership	Advocates social ownership of key industries, not all	Seeks complete public ownership of the means of production
Implementation Method	Uses gradual reforms through democratic processes	Often involves revolutionary change or centralized planning
Individual Freedoms	Strong focus on protecting rights and liberties	May subordinate individual rights to collective goals
Examples	Nordic countries (in practice), Bernie Sanders (in rhetoric)	Historical models like USSR, Maoist China

🧠 Philosophical Distinctions

Democratic socialism is a subset of socialism that integrates democratic governance with socialist economics. It aims to balance individual freedom with collective welfare.
Socialism, broadly defined, focuses on economic equality and communal ownership, but doesn’t always specify how political power should be structured.

🔍 Why the Confusion?

In the U.S., the term “socialism” has often been used pejoratively, leading to misunderstandings. Democratic socialism is sometimes conflated with authoritarian socialism or communism, despite its emphasis on democracy and civil rights.

Core Principles of Democratic Socialism

Political democracy: Free elections, civil liberties, and rule of law are essential. Democratic socialists reject authoritarianism in all forms.
Economic democracy: Major industries and services—like healthcare, education, and energy—should be publicly owned or heavily regulated to serve the public good rather than private profit.
Social justice: Policies aim to reduce inequality, protect workers’ rights, and ensure universal access to basic needs like housing, healthcare, and education.
Environmental sustainability: Many democratic socialists advocate for green policies and sustainable development as part of their platform.

🏛️ How It Differs from Other Systems

System	Ownership Model	Political System	Economic Focus
Democratic Socialism	Public/social ownership of key sectors	Democratic (multi-party)	Equity, welfare, and public good
Social Democracy	Capitalist economy with strong welfare state	Democratic	Redistribution through taxation
Communism	Full state ownership of all property	Often authoritarian	Classless, stateless society
Capitalism	Private ownership of most industries	Democratic or authoritarian	Profit-driven, market-based

Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica, Democratic Socialists of America

🧠 Key Takeaways

Democratic socialism is not communism—it supports democracy and civil liberties.
It seeks to balance individual freedoms with collective responsibility.
It’s gaining traction in the U.S. through figures like Bernie Sanders and organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America.

What Countries have implemented Democratic Socialism most effectively? How can one measure the success of Democratic Socialism?

Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland are widely considered the most effective examples of democratic socialism. Success is typically measured through metrics like economic equality, universal access to services, democratic stability, and overall well-being.

🌍 Countries with Effective Democratic Socialism

These nations blend market economies with strong welfare states and democratic institutions:

Sweden: Known for universal healthcare, tuition-free education, and strong labor protections.
Norway: Combines oil wealth with public ownership and generous social programs.
Denmark: Offers robust unemployment benefits, free education, and high civic trust.
Finland: Ranked as the world’s happiest country, with strong public services and low corruption.
Iceland and Netherlands also integrate democratic socialist principles, though with more market liberalism.

These countries maintain multi-party democracies, free markets, and civil liberties, while ensuring universal access to healthcare, education, and housing.

📏 How to Measure Success in Democratic Socialism

Success isn’t judged solely by GDP—it’s about how well a society meets collective needs.

Key metrics include:

🧮 Economic and Social Indicators

Income equality: Measured by the Gini coefficient—Nordic countries consistently rank among the most equal.
Universal access: Availability of healthcare, education, housing, and childcare regardless of income.
Labor rights: Strong unions, collective bargaining, and worker protections.
Social mobility: Opportunities for upward movement across generations.

😊 Quality of Life Metrics

Happiness and well-being: Finland, Denmark, and Sweden top global happiness rankings.
Life expectancy and health outcomes: Universal healthcare contributes to better public health.
Education outcomes: Free and high-quality education systems promote equity and innovation.

🗳️ Democratic Health

Political participation: High voter turnout and trust in institutions.
Freedom of press and speech: Strong protections for civil liberties.
Low corruption: Transparent governance and accountability.

My Take

Language resonates, and misinformation denigrates.

Americans have a Pavlovian response to the word “socialism.” If Socialism is in the name, most Americans want nothing to do with it. When they hear it, they blanch and recoil reflexively, never taking the time to differentiate Socialism from democratic Socialism.

Many citizens view Socialism as anti-American, even if it has the word “democratic” attached to it.

For years, politicians in both parties have successfully leveraged America’s innate fear and disgust of Socialism to denigrate and lie about Democratic Socialism. For example, as Arty stated, it falsely equates it to traditional Socialism or even communism.

But voters in New York City are on the verge of shaking things up in American politics by electing a Democratic Socialist to lead the most strategic, culturally and financially influential city on Earth.

Zohran Mamdani is a young, charismatic, and savvy candidate, but for most Americans (even New Yorkers), youth, charisma, and political chops have never been enough to clear the hurdle of being a Socialist.

So, why is Mamdani on the verge of becoming New York City’s mayor?

What’s changed?

I’d argue that the most significant change driving America’s willingness to look at Democratic Socialism with a more critical and unbiased eye is the policies of Donald J Trump, which are turbo-charging the rise in economic inequality across the country.

Middle- and lower-income New Yorkers are feeling the impact of unfair economic policies and the very real consequences of those policies — and on this election day, New Yorkers are a microcosm of Americans across the country.

And I believe that in America today, the conceptual and philosophically based fear of Democratic Socialism is less than the very real fear of not being able to afford housing, groceries, healthcare, and education.

Americans are looking for a government that balances economic fairness and personal freedom. Most Americans don’t want to abolish capitalism entirely, but rather tame its excesses, which have exploded over the last several decades and worsened further under Donald Trump.

The gap between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the population has widened, with income and wealth increasingly concentrated at the top. According to Arty, economic inequality has been trending upward for decades:

Post-WWII to 1970s: This era saw broadly shared economic growth. Incomes across all levels rose at similar rates, and the middle class expanded.
Since the 1970s, Income growth has slowed for most Americans, while the top 1% has captured a disproportionate share of income and wealth gains.
By the 2010s and 2020s: The top 5% of households saw their share of total income rise significantly, while the bottom 60% experienced stagnation or modest gains.

And by comparison, income inequality pales to the extreme wealth inequality in America, where the top 1% of households now hold more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.

But it’s what lurks behind the wealth and income numbers that truly matters and should keep average Americans up at night.

Rising inequality affects:

Social mobility: It’s harder for people to move up the economic ladder.
Political power: Wealth concentration can distort democratic processes.
Economic stability: Inequality can lead to reduced consumer spending and greater financial volatility.

Democratic Socialism isn’t just a policy shift—it’s a philosophical challenge to the idea that markets should dominate society. By prioritizing human needs over profit, it exposes the limitations and inequalities of unfettered capitalism. That’s why it’s seen as a threat—not because it seeks chaos, but because it seeks a different kind of order.

We’re about to see just how fed-up New Yorkers are with our current system of government. Today’s mayoral election may be a harbinger of change and political revolution in America.

If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out my book, My Paper, My Words: Rantings from a Progressive Boomer and Peeved Parent, from Amazon. And if you feel moved to write a review of the book, on Amazon, or anywhere else, I’d be honored.

My Paper, My Words is a collection of essays, stories, and poems that reflect the challenges of a middle-class husband and father trying to navigate a rapidly changing political, religious, and technological landscape of post-911 America.

Let’s Ask Arty about Donald Trump’s Characterization of President Reagan’s views on Tariffs

Let’s Ask Arty uses existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to query LLMs about politics in these troubled times.

Query 1: Donald Trump stated that Ronald Reagan “Loved tariffs for our country and its national security.” Does Donald Trump’s statement accurately reflect President’ Reagan’s views on tariffs?

No, Donald Trump’s statement that Ronald Reagan loved tariffs for our country and its national security does not accurately reflect President Reagan’s views on tariffs.

Reagan was a strong advocate for free trade and often spoke against tariffs, viewing them as harmful to economic prosperity.

In fact, in a 1987 national radio address, Reagan explicitly criticized tariffs, stating they “hurt every American” and arguing that protectionist policies like tariffs lead to “shrinking markets, collapsing businesses, and widespread job losses”. He believed that while tariffs might seem patriotic or protective in the short term, they ultimately stifle innovation, provoke retaliatory trade measures, and damage the broader economy.

Query 2: Donald Trump stated that an Ad created by the Government of Ontario of Ronald Regan criticizing tariffs was “fake.” Is Donald Trump telling the truth? Was the ad fake?

No, Donald Trump was not telling the truth.

A recent controversy arose when the Ontario government aired an ad using clips from Reagan’s 1987 speech to highlight his anti-tariff stance. Donald Trump responded by calling the ad “fake” and claimed it misrepresented Reagan’s views. However, fact-checks and the full context of Reagan’s speech confirm that he genuinely opposed tariffs and championed open markets.

While Reagan did occasionally use targeted trade measures for strategic purposes, his overall philosophy was rooted in free and fair trade, not broad protectionism or nationalistic tariff policies.

So, while Trump may frame tariffs as essential for national security, invoking Reagan as a supporter of such policies misrepresents the former president’s well-documented economic views.

My Take

Anyone with a cell phone or computer can do a quick Google search and know definitively that Trump was lying about the Ontario government’s Ad being fake and lying about Ronald Reagan “loving tariffs.”

It took me less than 5 minutes to debunk President Trump’s statements.

The more prescient issue is how fluidly this administration weaponizes lying.

Most politicians (and non-politicians for that matter) lie to get out of a jam. The Trump administration’s repetitive lying is part of a strategy to manipulate public opinion.

This administration is taking a page from the 1930s Nazi party playbook, where writings and speeches consistently emphasized emotional appeal, repetition, and the subordination of truth to political strategy.

More from Arty

According to Arty, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, believed:

Propaganda as Emotional Weaponry: Goebbels believed propaganda should appeal to emotions, not intellect. He once wrote that the goal was to make people “succumb to it utterly and can never again escape from it”.
The “Big Lie” Technique: While the phrase “big lie” is often attributed to Hitler, Goebbels is frequently associated with the idea that a lie, if colossal and repeated often enough, becomes accepted as truth. He accused others—like Winston Churchill—of using this method, even as he employed it himself.
Truth as a Tool, Not a Principle: Goebbels preferred to use partial truths or truths that served his agenda, but he was not above outright lies when necessary. He believed that the effectiveness of propaganda lay in its ability to shape perception, not in its factual accuracy.
Propaganda as Art and Power: In a 1936 commentary, Goebbels described propaganda as “a political power of the highest magnitude,” emphasizing its role in shaping national spirit and identity.
Creating a False Reality: His propaganda efforts aimed to construct an alternate reality in which the Nazi regime appeared righteous and justified, even as it committed atrocities. This manipulation of truth was central to his strategy.

The Trump administration has been widely criticized for employing repeated falsehoods as a political strategy, often aligning with the idea that repetition can foster belief.

Here are several notable examples of falsehoods repeated by Donald Trump and his administration:

1. Election Fraud Claims

Claim: The 2020 election was stolen or rigged.
Reality: These claims were repeatedly debunked by courts, election officials, and independent audits.
Strategy: Trump and allies repeated this claim hundreds of times across rallies, social media, and interviews, leading many supporters to believe it despite a lack of evidence. This lie continues to this day.

2. COVID-19 Misinformation

Claim: COVID-19 would “disappear” or be “under control.”
Reality: These statements contradicted public health data and expert warnings.
Strategy: Trump repeated these claims to downplay the crisis and maintain public confidence, even as cases surged.

3. Tariff Economics

Claim: China was paying the tariffs imposed by the U.S.
Reality: Importers, usually American businesses and consumers, pay tariffs.
Strategy: Trump repeated this economic falsehood to frame the trade war as a win for the U.S., despite its domestic costs.

4. Climate Change Denial

Claim: Climate change is a hoax or exaggerated.
Reality: Scientific consensus affirms climate change as real and human-driven.
Strategy: Trump used repetition to cast doubt on climate science and justify environmental deregulation.

5. George Soros Conspiracies

Claim: Soros funded protests and radical left movements.
Reality: No credible evidence supports these accusations.
Strategy: Trump repeatedly invoked Soros as a villain to energize his base and delegitimize opposition.

A 2023 study published in Public Opinion Quarterly found that repeated falsehoods from Trump’s presidency significantly influenced public misperceptions, especially among partisan audiences. The more often Trump or officials from his administration repeated lies, the more likely people were to believe them, even after the falsehoods had been publicly debunked.

Let’s Ask Arty About JD Vance’s Claim of Taxpayer-funded Healthcare for Illegal Immigrants

Let’s Ask Arty uses existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to query LLMs about politics in these troubled times.

Query 1: Is Vice President JD Vance’s claim that democrats are demanding billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants true?

What the Vice President Said:

Vance stated that Democrats are “threatening to shut down the entire government because they want to give hundreds of billions of dollars of health care benefits to illegal aliens”.
He cited two Biden-era programs that he claims provided emergency healthcare and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies to undocumented immigrants

What the Facts Show

Federal law prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving federally funded healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA subsidies.
The Democratic budget proposal aims to:
- Extend ACA subsidies for legal residents and citizens.
- Reverse Medicaid cuts from the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” that would affect lawfully present immigrants, such as refugees and those with Temporary Protected Status.

There is no provision in the Democratic proposal that offers free healthcare to undocumented immigrants.

What Democrats Say:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated: “Federal law prohibits the expenditure of taxpayer dollars on providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants. Nowhere have Democrats suggested that we are interested in changing federal law”.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republican claims “utter bull,” emphasizing that the dispute is about healthcare for American citizens, not undocumented immigrants

The claim that Democrats are shutting down the government to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants is FALSE. The dispute centers around extending healthcare subsidies for legal residents and reversing Medicaid cuts—not providing benefits to undocumented immigrants.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of how healthcare access works for different immigrant groups in the U.S., based on federal law and recent policy developments:

U.S. Citizens and Naturalized Citizens

Full access to federally funded healthcare programs like:
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies
Eligibility based on income, age, and other standard criteria.

This includes green card holders, refugees, asylees, and those with humanitarian parole or Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Medicaid & CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Prhogram):
- Eligible after a 5-year waiting period, unless exempt (e.g., refugees, asylees, veterans).
ACA Marketplace Subsidies:
- Eligible immediately if lawfully present.
State Variations:
- Some states offer Medicaid/CHIP to lawfully present children and pregnant women regardless of entry date.

🔵 DACA Recipients (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

Not eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, or ACA subsidies under federal law.
May access state-funded programs in select states.

Undocumented Immigrants

Not eligible for:
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- ACA marketplace coverage or subsidies
Emergency Medicaid:
- Covers urgent medical conditions (e.g., ER visits, childbirth) regardless of status.
Community Clinics & Safety-Net Providers:
- Often serve undocumented individuals, especially in mixed-status families.

⚪ Mixed-Status Families

Households with members of different immigration statuses (e.g., U.S.-citizen children and undocumented parents).
Citizen children may qualify for Medicaid or CHIP.
Parents may avoid seeking care due to fear, confusion, or legal uncertainty.

🏛️ Recent Policy Changes & Debates

The Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” restricted Medicaid eligibility for many lawfully present immigrants.
Democrats are seeking to restore pre-2025 rules, allowing broader access for refugees, asylees, and parolees.

Query 2: What changes to ACA subsidies are in Republican’s Big Beautiful Bill and how will that affect healthcare costs for American citizens who get their health insurance from the ACA?

The Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act makes significant changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, and the consequences for Americans relying on ACA marketplace insurance could be severe.

🧾 What Changed in the Bill

No extension of enhanced ACA subsidies: The bill omits renewal of the expanded premium tax credits that were introduced during the pandemic and extended through 2025.
Cuts to Medicaid and ACA eligibility:
- Stricter eligibility rules for Medicaid.
- ACA subsidies will no longer be available to many lawfully present immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers.
Codifies Trump-era ACA rules: These rules increase cost-sharing and reduce affordability for middle-income enrollees.

Impact on Healthcare Costs

Premiums could double: Without the enhanced subsidies, average monthly premiums may rise from $888 to $1,904—a 114% increase.
Out-of-pocket costs will spike: Families could face $900 higher deductibles and $313 more in monthly premiums.
Millions may lose coverage:
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates 4.2 million people will lose ACA coverage by 2034 due to subsidy expiration.
- Another 3.1 million could lose coverage due to ACA marketplace changes in the bill.
Uninsured rate will rise: The U.S. uninsured population could grow by 16 million over the next decade.

🧠 Who’s Most Affected

Working- and middle-class Americans who don’t qualify for Medicaid but rely on ACA plans.
Residents of Republican-controlled states that haven’t expanded Medicaid.
Self-employed individuals and gig workers who buy insurance on the marketplace.

This policy shift is at the heart of the current government shutdown, as Democrats are refusing to pass a funding bill that doesn’t include a renewal of these subsidies

Query 3: Where do the savings from cuts to the ACA in the Big Beautiful Bill go? Who benefits from getting rid of ACA subsidies?

The savings from cuts to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are largely redirected toward tax relief and deficit reduction, with the biggest beneficiaries being high-income earners, corporations, and defense spending priorities. Here’s how it breaks down:

💰 Where the Savings Go

Estimated $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and ACA subsidies over 10 years.
These savings are used to:
- Fund tax cuts for individuals and corporations.
- Offset increases in defense and border security spending.
- Reduce the federal deficit, though critics argue the impact is minimal compared to the human cost.

🏦 Who Benefits Most

Group	How They Benefit
High-income earners	Receive larger tax breaks due to reduced progressive taxation and capital gains reforms.
Corporations	Benefit from lower corporate tax rates and relaxed healthcare mandates for employees.
Defense contractors	Gain from increased military and border security allocations funded by healthcare cuts.
Private insurers	May profit from reduced competition and fewer subsidized plans on ACA marketplaces.

🚫 Who Loses Out

Middle-class and working Americans who rely on ACA subsidies to afford insurance.
Rural hospitals and clinics, which face reduced Medicaid reimbursements and may close.
Lawfully present immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, who lose access to subsidized coverage.

The bill’s supporters argue it reduces “wasteful spending,” but critics say it shifts costs from the wealthy to vulnerable populations and destabilizes the healthcare system

My Take

JD Vance was lying when he said, “Democrats are threatening to shut down the entire government because they want to give hundreds of billions of dollars of health care benefits to illegal aliens.”

The Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, was lying when he said, “The Democrats said instead that they wanted to give healthcare to illegal aliens instead of keeping critical services provided for the American citizens.”

Both these men, along with the President and Republicans in Congress, want to feather the pockets of the wealthiest Americans and fill the coffers of corporations at the expense of the poor and middle class.

I hope Democrats stick to their guns in the Government funding debate and fight republican cuts to ACA subsidies, which will hurt middle-class Americans by doubling monthly healthcare premiums, increasing out-of-pocket costs for families, and resulting in a loss of healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.

Let’s Ask Arty About President Trump’s UN Speech

Let’s Ask Arty uses existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to query LLMs about politics in these troubled times.

Query: Can you please fact check the speech and statements that President Trump gave at the United Nations on 09/23/2025?

President Donald Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2025, included several claims that have been widely fact-checked and found to be misleading or false across multiple topics. Here’s a breakdown of the most notable inaccuracies:

🌍 Claims About Ending Wars

Trump stated:

“I ended seven wars… Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.”

Fact Check:

Cambodia and Thailand: A truce was reached, but it involved mediation from other leaders and was not solely brokered by Trump.
Kosovo and Serbia: No war was actively occurring; Trump’s administration previously brokered an economic agreement, not a peace treaty.
Congo and Rwanda: Fighting continues despite a peace agreement; rebel groups were not part of the deal.
Egypt and Ethiopia: No war existed—only a dispute over a dam project.
Pakistan and India: India denies Trump’s involvement in the May ceasefire.
Israel and Iran: A ceasefire followed U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, but the situation remains volatile.
Armenia and Azerbaijan: A peace declaration was signed, but its long-term impact is uncertain.

🌡️ Climate Change and Renewable Energy

Trump called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and claimed renewable energy sources “don’t work” and are “too expensive.”

Fact Check:

In 2024, renewables and nuclear accounted for 40% of global electricity generation, with solar and wind surpassing coal in the U.S..
Over 90% of new renewable projects are now cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives.
Solar PV and onshore wind were 41% and 53% cheaper, respectively, than the lowest-cost fossil fuels.

📉 Economy and Poll Numbers

Trump claimed:

“I have the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had.”

Fact Check:

Public polling averages show his approval rating around 42–44%, down from 51–52% earlier in the year.
No public data supports the claim of record-high approval.

🛂 Immigration

Trump described U.S. immigration laws as “suicidal” and blamed them for economic and social decline.

Fact Check:

These statements are opinion-based and not supported by data presented in the speech. Experts widely dispute the characterization of immigration laws as inherently destructive.

🕊️ Criticism of the United Nations

Trump said:

“All they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up.”

Fact Check:

While the U.N. has been criticized for slow responses, it continues to play active roles in peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, and global coordination. Trump’s portrayal oversimplifies its functions

My Take

I’ve given up on President Trump ever speaking truthfully about anything. Whenever he opens his mouth, lies spill out. Lying is his default setting.

I can’t see how anyone with even an ounce of intelligence could watch that speech and not be embarrassed and ashamed of who we put in office.

We all knew the speech (like all of Donald Trump’s speeches) would be littered with lies and misinformation, so no surprise there. But the boorish and self-congratulatory tone was off the charts, even for Trump. If the delegations had any courage at all, they would have stood up and walked out.

The Aftermath of Our Bloodbath

“Hey Fascist, Catch”
has lit the match
and opened up the door
his hateful speech
had a long reach
see Charlie hit the floor

Kirk had a right
to spit his spite
and stir the grievance pot
but in the land of guns
for everyone
Tyler took his shot

Kirk was no saint
he lacked restraint
always punching down
crass and loud
he played the crowd
and hyped the orange clown

“Hey Fascist, Catch”
has lit the match
America is burning
In the aftermath
of our bloodbath
is anybody learning?

Now a nation mourns
with hate and scorn
temperatures are rising
no call for calm for the five-alarm
fire on our horizon

We ought to run
from martyrdom
not pin it to our chest
not canonize
the hateful guys
who scream
that they know best

With much at stake
it’s time we wake
and embrace our better angels
not reach for guns
and act like Huns
or rage like a deranged bull

“Hey Fascist, Catch”
has lit the match
America is burning
In the aftermath
of our bloodbath
is anybody learning?

Violence doesn’t solve anything, except….

I abhor violence, but the “violence doesn’t solve anything” lament rings hollow in a country that was born out of violent revolution and resistance, and a country that fought violently to prevent fascism from spreading across Europe and the world. Opposing tyranny and a love of freedom are part and parcel of the American experience. When an individual or government threatens our right to speak and live freely, we resist, protest, and, if necessary, we fight.

The American Revolution did not explode spontaneously into violence – it grew over time from protests, pamphlets, and reasoned arguments. When all of that failed, the only thing left was to either submit to tyranny or to fight.

We celebrate the success and ultimate sacrifice of the American Revolution every Fourth of July and Victory Day every second Monday in August. We pump our fists and fly flags to the rallying cries of “Live Free or Die,” “Give me liberty, or give me death,” and “Don’t Tread on Me.” The activities associated with these sentiments are rarely free of violence.

We humans haven’t evolved as much as we pretend. We struggle to sustain a lasting peaceful coexistence with one another; we’re unable to live-and-let-live, often because of the ginned-up fear around political, religious, and cultural differences, which keep us divided and fighting amongst one another. And make no mistake, leaders like Donald Trump understand that if we are fighting one another, we’re not fighting them.

America is marching towards fascism, and many Americans seem okay with the path we’re on. Maybe it doesn’t feel like fascism when you share the political, social, and religious ideology of your fascist government? Regardless, most Americans (across the political spectrum) do not want conflict, yet we find ourselves on a dangerous precipice of violence with one another, fueled by the assassinations of Melissa and Mark Hortman and Charlie Kirk.

And what makes our current situation even more perilous is that our President is not calling for calm or trying to defuse things.

Why do you think that is?

It’s because the President sees anyone who does not share his authoritarian views as the “enemy within.”

We shouldn’t kid ourselves about the character and nature of the individuals who sit at the highest levels of our government. Our government is awash in fascists and Christian nationalists who have no intention or desire to sit down with secularists, progressives, or even moderate democrats because they view them as a direct threat to their authoritarian designs on America.

If you cherish freedom for everyone, now is the time to speak loudly and to push aggressively (and peacefully) against a government that is trying to strip freedom away from your fellow citizens.

Charlie Kirk, Apathetic Farmer

Through his organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA), Charlie Kirk became a significant force in conservative youth politics by tapping into a feeling of cultural displacement among young white men—especially those outside elite institutions—by validating their frustrations and offering a political identity that felt empowering.

He successfully rebranded conservatism for youth by leaning into cultural grievances, opposing progressive ideas (like DEI, CRT, gender fluidity), which resonated with young men who felt blamed or sidelined in mainstream discourse.

In many ways, Charlie Kirk’s meteoric rise embodies the quintessential American success story, where money, power, and fame are all that matter and where kindness, empathy, and service to others are for suckers.

On the surface, some of what Charlie Kirk did and achieved seems almost noble. He reached out to a segment of society that felt politically voiceless and culturally alienated, and he gave them a voice. He recognized the underrepresentation and an utter lack of organized advocacy for non-college-educated white males in America and championed their needs.

The problem was how Charlie Kirk framed their economic disenfranchisement.

Kirk sold young white non-college-educated males on the simplistic notion that the source of their economic disenfranchisement were immigrants, women, minorities, and wokeism, when in reality, their alienation from mainstream American society and its institutions and their feeling of lost purpose and status stems from economic and social shifts that have eroded the traditional path of a stable, middle-class life for those without a bachelor’s degree.

When a large segment of the population feels economically useless and politically invisible, it creates fertile ground for resentment, polarization, and instability. Discontentment is low-hanging fruit for the opportunistic and power-hungry, and Trump and Kirk cultivated and harvested that low-hanging fruit with great success, while continuing to spread the seeds of grievance, misinformation, and lies across the fertile minds of disaffected American youth for fame, fortune, and power.

Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump are emblematic of the deep rot in America’s political system, where politicians and influencers exploit the disaffected for their own personal gain, indoctrinating followers with cultural hot-button issues and identity politics to the point where the cultivated group doesn’t even care that they’re not being helped.

Like Trump, Kirk was never interested in helping his followers; he was only interested in exploiting them. To Charlie Kirk, America’s disaffected youth were a cash crop.

Genuine solutions to political disempowerment and economic disenfranchisement are complicated, expensive, and require systemic intervention from empathetic, pragmatic, and intelligent leaders who are genuinely interested in helping others. Amplifying polarization, promoting misinformation, and framing politics as a zero-sum cultural war are not solutions; those actions ensure the status quo.

We must connect the disaffected to hope and aspiration, rather than hatred and anger. It’s one thing to say, I feel your pain, quite another to do the hard work of alleviating the pain – and as we see with Trump and saw with Charlie Kirk, it’s a lot easier and more lucrative to point a finger and say, “them, they, those people, they’re the reason you are not flourishing.“

Doing the hard work to bring the disaffected back into the fold means investing in government-sponsored programs, training, and empathy, and those things are a tough sell in today’s political environment.

American Graffiti

Cast your eye

ankle high

to the message wall

six inches tall

an instructive blurb

from the stony curb

inflicting think

with paint and ink

about a world

that’s on brink

Don’t be led by the moronic clown

who doesn’t know

what’s up from down

who sows the seeds

of discontent

and puts our feet

into cement

Don’t be fooled by the moronic clown

who doesn’t know

what’s up from down

who creates the chaos

in the street

then sends in troops

to “keep the peace”

who says that he’s

the only one

who can fix the shit

that he has done

Don’t be led by the moronic clown

who wears his lies

like a crown

who proffers hate

through Russian bots

while sending fascist

forget-me-nots

Shift your view

below your shoe

to the message wall

six inches tall

to the good advice

for one and all

inflicting think

with paint and ink

about a world

that’s on brink

Robber Barons and Bullies

Marble-toothed titans
with sneers caked in madness
greed-fed on blood bags
in sweatshops of sadness

Kingpins with linchpins
thick carrots and sticks
deft robber barons
are up to their tricks

The morally crippled
gerrymander in Texas
felonious punk-thugs
that hate and perplex us

Gun toting douchebags
in Home Depot lots
promoting a fascist
while twisting the knot

The clown at the helm
of this powerful nation
is steeped in decline
and reverse escalation

Whitewashing history
attacking the truth
a maniacal misfit
both rude and uncouth

He creates chaos
to hold onto power
commanding the guard
from his fake ivory tower

Targeting cities
that are mostly all blue
a pig who gropes kitties
and pays porn stars to screw

Visions of heaven
black heart full of hate
He’s never come close
to making us great

If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out my first book, My Paper, My Words: Rantings from a Progressive Boomer and Peeved Parent, from Amazon. And if you feel moved to write a review of the book on Amazon or elsewhere, I’d be honored.

Paint It, Black

Read to the cadence of “Paint it, Black” by the Rolling Stones.

I see a brown wall
and I want it painted black
if you have brownish skin
I want to send you back

I see brown men walk by
dressed in their working clothes
I tell my ICE agents
It’s time to make them go

I see the Ukraine fry
in Russian drone attacks
the bombing raids and tanks
that turn their cities black

I see our democracy
begin to fade away
a thousand starving kids
in Palestine today

When I look inside myself
I see my heart is black
the orange spray-on tan
can’t cover up the fact

’till that day I fade away
you’re tied onto the track
I’ll make you suffer days
while turning this world black

I watch the climate change
from here to Timbuktu
I smile at the heat that’s
burning into you

If you look hard enough
into my soulless eyes
there’s only room enough
for all that I despise

I see a brown wall
and I want it painted black
just like my darkened heart
too hard to even frac

I see brown men walk by
dressed in their working clothes
I tell my ICE agents
It’s time to make them go

My feeble mind is tainted
tainted black
Black as night
Black as coal
I wanna see the hope
Blotted out from your eyes
I wanna see them painted, painted, painted
painted black, yeah