Democracy in peril – bendingtheneedle

What Happened to Political Protest Songs?

In these turbulent times, why don’t we have protest songs like we used to?

What cultural or sociological changes have made the protest song less popular?

Why Protest Songs Once Thrived

During the 1960s-70s, the economics and centralized nature of the music industry, combined with a shared identity amongst America’s youth (cemented by America’s role in the Vietnam War), provided fertile ground for protest songs to gain popularity.

In the America of the 1960s-70s, young, college-educated, middle-class Americans (a significant demographic) aligned with the counterculture, civil rights, and anti-war movements. This alignment allowed protest songs to find a home in the collective conscience of a generation of young Americans.

The conditions that led to the popularity of protest songs in the 1960s-70s included:

Mass movements: Civil rights and anti-war protests created collective spaces where songs unified crowds.
Limited media outlets: Radio and television amplified protest songs as rallying cries, giving them cultural dominance.
Shared identity: Songs like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” or Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” became shorthand for generational values.

Why Protest Songs Declined

Protest songs haven’t disappeared, but their cultural role has shifted due to the following conditions:

Fragmented music culture: Streaming platforms and niche genres mean fewer “universal” hits that everyone hears.
Commercial pressures: Record labels often avoid overtly political content to maximize global market appeal.
Social media activism: Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram now serve as protest tools, reducing reliance on music as the primary vehicle for dissent.
Individualized expression: Protest today often emphasizes personal identity and micro-activism rather than collective anthems.
Cultural fatigue: In turbulent times, audiences may feel overwhelmed, turning to escapism rather than politicized art.

Today, activism often happens through digital platforms, fragmented music genres, and individualized expression rather than mass sing-alongs. Changes have made protest songs less central to political movements.

So, while video killed the radio star in the 1980s, changes in the music industry, commercialization, and the rise of social media may have killed the political protest song today — and that’s a fucking shame, because if there was ever a time for unifying the power of music against political corruption and maleficence, it’s today.

Here are some political protest songs’ that I’ve been working on (my lyrics, Suno’s music). Feel free to share or comment on them!

Song	About the Lyrics
Barbarians at the Gate (Version 1) Barbarians at the Gate (Version 2)	Donald Trump won’t be around forever (thank God) – but his impact will linger like a fart in a closet. Trump provides a blueprint for other candidates who might possess similar autocratic tendencies. This song is a “heads-up” about the barbarians who will gather at the gates of our democracy once Trump is dead and gone.
Hey Fascist, Catch	These lyrics are from a poem I wrote after the Charlie Kirk assassination. It’s about how dangerously divided America is and the potential for spiraling political violence that seems increasingly likely in the second Trump term.
Get a Load of Elon	I wrote the poem “Get a Load of Elon” after seeing the sickening footage of that smiling dirtbag laughing it up and swinging a chainsaw around like some fake-ass efficiency hero. Fuck that guy and everything he represents. I think Suno captured the tone I was looking for on this one.
The Orange King	Donald Trump is my fat, ugly muse. There, I said it. Shame on everyone who voted for this criminal, and fuck all the cowards in Congress who are failing to stand up to this two-bit thug. And that’s all I have to say about this song.
The Orange Morass	I came up with these lyrics based on a poem I wrote in 2017 called “Resist”, which was about pushing back against Donald Trump and his policies, which I saw as an existential threat to America’s democracy. I added several new verses for the song and reworked the verse that would become the chorus. I can see the Dixie Chicks or Dolly Parton belting this out. I’m not a big fan of country or rockabilly music, but I think that musical style works well with the words here.
Oligarchic Kings	Suno and I, channeling our best Pat Benatar impression. I wrote the poem “Oligarchic Kings” recently and published it on my blog. I changed it quite a bit for the song version.
Neo-Fascist-Oligarchic-Expialidocious	When I wrote this poem originally, I wrote it to the cadence of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from “Mary Poppins” and included it in my book “Imagine There’s No Donald” (available on Amazon😉 ). I asked Suno to create a power-pop song from the poem. It’s the only poem I used as is (not changing any of the words). It’s a campy/poppy version of a Disney classic.

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.

Barbarians at the Gate

When he dies, the only people who’ll mourn him are the hateful, greedy, and the willfully misinformed. The rest of us will be glad he’s finally gone.

The worry should be, who and what comes next.

The barbarians are at the gate, and they have a blueprint for hate.

Check out my Suno collaboration here.

My AI Music Project

For the last several weeks, I’ve been pushing my poems through the Suno AI music generator to see how they work as song lyrics.

I’m no Suno expert. In fact, I’m sure that I’m barely scratching the surface of its capabilities.

My process is simple (bordering on rudimentary).

I copy and paste a poem from my blog into the “Lyrics” window in the Suno song generator.
I enter a free-form description of the music style to use for the poem. For example: “Rap, Hip Hop, with Grunge Guitar licks, Female Vocals“.
I add a title for the song and click Create.

Suno generates two songs based on the criteria I entered. Next, I listen to the songs. I can tell right away whether I like what I hear, and often, I delete the song only after the first few bars. Other times, I find that some of my lyrics “work” nicely, while others don’t flow with the music and need tweaking.

I usually have the lyrics open in a text document as I listen to the song, pausing to rework my phrasing to better match the song’s cadence and rhythm. I add or delete verses, move chunks of text around, then have Suno create a new version of the song (with the same criteria). When I have the new songs with my lyrical updates, I go through the same listening and editing exercise.

It’s a very iterative process—and probably not the best way to use the tool. I haven’t managed to fiddle with the remixing and song editing features.

Poems don’t always have a verse-chorus structure commonly found in songs, so reworking these poems into lyrics often involves coming up with a memorable/catchy chorus. That has been the most fun and challenging part of this project.

Some poems that I envisioned as rap or hip-hop songs end up sounding better as rockabilly/country western songs. Switching the vocals from male to female can give a song an entirely new feel.

With Suno, I’ve repurposed my poems into thoughtful, memorable, and singable songs, even though I have no musical skills (I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s definitely a thing). The following table summarizes my “collaborations” with Suno that are publicly available for listening.

I’d love to hear what folks think of these songs or of AI music in general. Post your comments here or on Suno. And please follow me on either platform.

Song	About the Lyrics
Baby Teeth and Bullets	These lyrics are from a poem I wrote years ago after a spate of school shootings. I really like how Suno split the lyrics between male and female vocalists without me specifically directing it. I always heard this poem musically in my head, even when I was writing it. And, I always envisioned a female vocalist singing the “I see angels” part – it was like Suno was reading my mind on how to turn this poem into a song. Favorite Verse: I’m the isolated Incel The bullet in the gun The angry white American Who’s blaming everyone I’m the cryptic manifesto The video online The AR-15 lover-boy Who grew-up Columbine
Pierced Hearts and Sorrow	I wrote the poem “Pierced Hearts and Sorrow” after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. I also wrote a short story titled “That Final Hug” inspired by that horrible day. I’d gladly give up this type of inspiration if it meant fewer mass shootings where children are murdered in their classrooms. I hate that I feel compelled to write these types of poems. I think Suno captured the mood and tone of what I was trying to convey with my words. Favorite Lyric: We live in a land of pierced hearts and sorrow no shooting today? just wait till tomorrow In a fog of futility explicably numb we reach for our heartstrings but there’s nothing to strum
Hey Fascist, Catch	These lyrics are from a poem I wrote after the Charlie Kirk assassination. It’s about how dangerously divided America is and the potential for spiraling political violence that seems increasingly likely in the second Trump term. Favorite Verse: We ought to run from martyrdom not pin it to our chest not canonize the hateful guys who scream that they know best
Ashes to Ashes	I wrote a poem called “Ashes to Ashes” ten or more years ago. I fiddled with it and published it on my blog about 5 years ago. With some significant edits and a revamped chorus, here it is with Suno’s light touch. Favorite Verse: We stretch our souls tight on a drum We beat it bare till it goes numb We feel the eyes of everyone
Fury and Flow	Bored one afternoon, I challenged myself to write a poem about Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. With Suno’s assistance, here is the musical version of that poem. Favorite Verse: Tracing the stitch on her pillow she imagines the blood in her veins she chases the witch up a willow till the beat of her heart starts to wane
The Glen	I wrote the poem this song is based on about a month or so ago. It takes a familiar place for Portsmouth, RI, residents (The Glen) and builds a song about the realities of relationships around that place. I trimmed the poem quite a bit for the song and changed some wording. In fact, the verse about chasing fireflies does not appear in the poem at all. That verse came to me as I was listening to the rhythm of the music, and it turned out to be my favorite lyric in the song. I chose a country-western style, which I think works nicely. Favorite Verse: The fireflies we used to chase went dark forever without a trace and we chose to leave love’s warm embrace
Get a Load of Elon	I wrote the poem “Get a Load of Elon” after seeing the sickening footage of that smiling dirtbag laughing it up and swinging a chainsaw around like some fake-ass efficiency hero. Fuck that guy and everything he represents. I think Suno captured the tone I was looking for on this one. Favorite Verse: He pulled into Washington Black MAGA cap on his head He spent a ton of cash put a felon in our bed
The Orange King	Donald Trump is my fat, ugly muse. There, I said it. Shame on everyone who voted for this criminal, and fuck all the cowards in Congress who are failing to stand up to this two-bit thug. And that’s all I have to say about this song. Favorite Lyric: My heart is full of pennies there’s no light inside my eyes there’s only room for Donny and all that I despise My mind is fully tainted I can’t connect the dots I’m more and more acquainted with Russian drones and bots
Pandora’s Vox Pandora’s Vox (Blues Version)	I wrote a poem in May of 2024 titled “Bonjour, Borg”, which was about the headlong way we are embracing AI, without fully understanding the consequences. I reworked that poem, added a chorus, and handed it to Suno. I include two versions (a power pop version and a blues version). Favorite Lyric: We’re messing with knowledge we don’t understand playing our cards without knowing our hand A sprint to the finish But where are we going? Dimmed and diminished We’ve no way of knowing
New Boy Paranormal	I wrote a poem in May of 2024 called “Boys in Distress”. I took bits and pieces from that poem and wrote the lyrics “New Boy Paranormal”. It’s about young adult men in America not being able to find their footing socially to the point where they retreat into a digital world of grievance, anger, and misogyny. This is an example of a previously written poem serving as a concept for new lyrics for a song. I wrote this specifically for Suno. The chorus: Fiber-optic geldings alone inside their heads they bathe in Incel chatrooms masturbate beside their beds they’re the new-boy paranormal walking ghosts and talking shit the no-screw-boy semi-formal stalking post sand keeping fit is new and does not appear in “Boys in Distress” – I came up with it on the fly and added it after listening to Suno’s first attempt at creating the song from my poem. This song went through several renditions before I settled on a “Surf rock-influenced” beat. I smiled broadly when I heard the finished product for the first time. Favorite Verse: Fiber-optic geldings alone inside their heads they bathe in Incel chatrooms masturbate beside their beds
The Danger’s in Pittsburgh	I wrote this poem about the climate crisis about 4 years ago. I kept the words pretty much the same for the musical version – just adding a second verse to the chorus. I can see Greta Thunberg belting this out on the bow of the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior, with a hard-rocking band of Norwegian’s backing her. Greta, if you’re interested, text me. 😊 Favorite Verse: The dangers in Pittsburg the dangers in Norway wherever we live it’s outside our doorway The science is speaking the numbers aren’t lying The danger is global With temperatures rising
The Orange Morass	I came up with these lyrics based on a poem I wrote in 2017 called “Resist”, which was about pushing back against Donald Trump and his policies, which I saw as an existential threat to America’s democracy. I added several new verses for the song and reworked the verse that would become the chorus. I can see the Dixie Chicks or Dolly Parton belting this out. I’m not a big fan of country or rockabilly music, but I think that musical style works well with the words here. Favorite Verse: He belittles and threatens those who oppose him He stomps up and down screams America chose him!
Love Grenade	The phrase “love grenade” came into my head when I was noodling around a text file. I created this song entirely around that one phrase. No previous poem for this rocker – it just came to me very quickly, all of it from that one phrase “love grenade” – I like the vibe of the music that Suno generated – it’s got a female punk energy that’s fun to listen to (at least to me it is). Favorite Verse: You’re the drunken saint of unrestraint the banger at the ball a bourbon shot without a plot a fist inside the brawl
Oligarchic Kings	Suno and I, channeling our best Pat Benatar impression. I wrote the poem “Oligarchic Kings” recently and published it on my blog. I changed it quite a bit for the song version. Favorite Verse: Oligarchic Kings are here to clip your wings to wrap a rope around your throat to cast dark shadows over hope to crush your dreams of better days to dress your colors in shades of greys
Neo-Fascist-Oligarchic-Expialidocious	When I wrote this poem originally, I wrote it to the cadence of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from “Mary Poppins” and included it in my book “Imagine There’s No Donald” (available on Amazon😉 ). I asked Suno to create a power-pop song from the poem. It’s the only poem I used as is (not changing any of the words). It’s a campy/poppy version of a Disney classic. *Favorite Verse:* Neo-fascist-oligarchic-expialidocious Elon-Bezos-Zuckerberg are really quite atrocious We need to fight them in the streets and call them on their grossness Neo-fascist-oligarchic-expialidocious
Seeped in the 70s	When I was a youngster (I’m talking elementary school age), I remember “feeling” the news of the times – Watergate and Vietnam were in the news all the time. And though I was just a child and could not comprehend the realities swirling around me, I could sense a tension in the air – parents and other adults in heated conversations, the constant coverage of Watergate and Vietnam seeping into our subconscious among all the wonderful distractions of childhood at that time. That’s what inspired me to write the poem that this song’s about. Favorite Verse: Watergate was all around in our sight and in our sound on the news and in the paper the Viet Cong and foiled caper It lurked and hovered overhead Pages written and words were said it wormed its way into our head that innocence was finally dead
Too Small to See Too Small to See (Surf-Rock) version	I wrote a poem titled “Too Small to See” some 20 years ago after reading Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice,” which is about “the destructive power of human emotions, suggesting the world could end through either fiery desire or icy hate, with both leading to the same annihilation, equating intense passion (fire) with destructive greed/lust and cold indifference (ice)” – I remember taking more literal slant on the subject of human mortality against the backdrop of an e-bola outbreak, which made me think that the way humanity ends is less likely to be from nuclear annihilation or climate-related disaster and more likely to be something “too small to see” – like a virus – When COVID came along it only reinforced my belief that our angel of death will be too small to see, killing us all, infectiously. I used to Suno to create two versions of this song with different styles (I’m not sure which one I like better). Favorite Verse: We’ll end with a whimper viral, tiny, and small from something we caught on our trip to the mall
Time Misspent in Wonderland	This song combines verses from two separate poems I wrote a few years back – one about regret and the other about a post-apocalyptic world. The result here is both bleak and sweet. Favorite Verse: Some people start to gather shake their fists and curse the sun while others mumble silently quoting Nietzsche and Carl Jung
Mangled by the Madness	This song is based on a poem I wrote, which was published in Beyond Words Literary Magazine a few years back. I did not change any words in the poem. I just added a chorus, and Suno did the rest. Favorite Verse: With a never-ending stipend of more than you can bear an abundant over-ripened softened fruit of deep despair

The New Boy Paranormal

The collision of technology, conservative ideology, and the incel movement in American culture is resulting in a volatile mix of online radicalization, misogyny, and political extremism.

By amplifying exclusionary beliefs, digital platforms normalize violence and connect isolated individuals into communities that can spill over into real-world harm.

Online platforms, social media, and dedicated incel sites provide a fertile breeding ground and powerful echo chamber for individuals with extremist and misogynistic views. It is in these intellectually dank digital hangouts that we encounter the danger of algorithmic amplification and the recommendation systems, which push members of these online communities deeper into radical content, normalizing hostility toward women and liberal values.

There is also a porn-component to this toxic, digital culture. Studies show links between incel misogyny and online pornography, which reinforces distorted views of women and sexuality.

What’s even more concerning is the acceptance of misogynistic beliefs and behaviors as “boys will be boys” by the Trump administration, which is tapping into the aggrieved community of non-college-educated males, not for the purpose of assisting them, but rather to turn their growing sense of isolation and anger towards college-educated women into votes.

There is an overlap between MAGA conservatism and ideology and the INCEL movement in America, specifically around the anti-feminist narrative, where both groups tend to frame feminism as a threat to traditional gender roles.

INECELS adopt a worldview of being “dispossessed men,” which resonates with broader conservative rhetoric about cultural decline and loss of male authority.

It’s at our own peril that we turn a blind eye to the alignment of incels and far-right groups around exclusionary, anti-democratic, and xenophobic tendencies. Isolated and digitally immersed young men in America are susceptible to being drawn to extremist online communities that distort masculinity and normalize misogyny.

The blending of conservative ideology with incel dogma and rhetoric widens the divide over gender, sexuality, and democracy, fueling broader culture wars in a country that is more culturally polarized than ever.

I wrote a poem a while back about the radicalization of young non-college-educated males through far-right groups around exclusionary, anti-democratic, and misogynistic views. I used the AI music platform Suno to put my poem to music.

Here is the resulting song, New Boy Paranormal.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

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

Let’s Ask Arty About Gerrymandering

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

Query 1: What is gerrymandering?

Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating the boundaries of electoral districts to favor a particular political party, group, or incumbent. It’s a way of shaping the political landscape—literally—by drawing district lines in a way that influences election outcomes.

Query 2: How does gerrymandering work?

There are two main tactics used in gerrymandering:

Cracking: Splitting up a group of voters (usually of the opposing party) across multiple districts so they don’t form a majority in any of them.
Packing: Concentrating a group of voters into one district to reduce their influence in other districts.

Query 3: Why is gerrymandering (which seems like cheating) allowed?

Great question—and you’re absolutely right to call it out as feeling like “cheating.”

So why is gerrymandering allowed?

Constitutional Loophole

The U.S. Constitution requires redistricting every 10 years after the census to reflect population changes, but it doesn’t specify how districts must be drawn.
That power is left to the states, and in most cases, state legislatures control the process—which means the party in power can draw maps to its advantage

Supreme Court Decisions

In Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), the Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering is a “political question” and not something federal courts can regulate. This gave states a green light to continue the practice without federal oversight.
Earlier rulings had chipped away at protections in the Voting Rights Act, making it harder to challenge racial gerrymandering as well.

Query 4: Why does gerrymandering persist even though the public views it as an unfair practice?

Gerrymandering persists due to:

Entrenched Interests: Politicians benefit from drawing safe districts, so there’s little incentive to change the system.
Lack of Transparency: Redistricting often happens behind closed doors, with minimal public input.

Single-Party Control: When one party controls both the legislature and the governor’s office, they can gerrymander with few checks.

Query 5: Have there been efforts to reform gerrymandering at the state and federal level?

Some states have adopted independent redistricting commissions to reduce bias, but these reforms are uneven across the country. Congress has tried to pass national legislation to ban gerrymandering, but those efforts have stalled due to partisan gridlock.

Query 6: Which political party gerrymanders more aggressively?

Although both major political parties in the U.S. have used gerrymandering to gain electoral advantage, recent data suggests that Republicans have been more aggressive and systematic in their use of the tactic, especially in key battleground states.

Query 7: Is it true that when put to a congressional vote to end gerrymandering, the vast majority of Democrats voted Yes, and all Republicans voted No?

Yes, in recent congressional efforts to ban gerrymandering—particularly through the Freedom to Vote Act and the earlier For the People Act—Democrats overwhelmingly voted in favor, while Republicans uniformly opposed the measures.

This stark divide reflects broader tensions over voting rights, election integrity, and partisan control of the redistricting process.

Query 8: In 2025, Did President Trump request that Governor Abbot of Texas to gerrymander districts in Texas?

Yes, according to multiple reports, former President Donald Trump has actively encouraged Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Republican lawmakers to redraw congressional districts in Texas to favor the Republican Party.

What Trump Requested

Trump reportedly asked Abbott to call a special legislative session to redraw Texas’s congressional map in a way that could flip up to five seats from Democrats to Republicans.
In a CNBC interview on August 5, 2025, Trump stated, “We are entitled to five more seats” in Texas, signaling his belief that redistricting should be used to secure partisan advantage.

Query 8a: What has been the political fallout of President Trump’s request to redraw districting maps in Texas?

Political fallout from Trump’s request includes the following:

Governor Abbott added redistricting to the special session agenda, citing a controversial memo from the U.S. Department of Justice that questioned the legality of certain districts based on racial composition.
Democratic lawmakers fled the state to prevent a quorum and block the vote, triggering a constitutional standoff and threats of arrest from Abbott.
The redistricting plan is widely seen as part of a broader strategy to entrench Republican control ahead of the 2026 midterms and potentially influence future presidential elections.

Critics argue this effort undermines democratic norms and disproportionately targets districts with large Black and Latino populations.

The term “Trumpmandering” has emerged to describe this aggressive form of partisan redistricting.

My Input

Gerrymandering is a form of cheating and should be illegal, regardless of which party practices it.

Suppose a political party can’t win an election based on the policies it champions and implements. In that case, they shouldn’t be allowed to rig the outcome in their favor with the stroke of a redistricting pen – that’s ludicrous and unethical.

Recent polling in Texas shows that most Texans oppose gerrymandering. Texans aren’t stupid. They understand Governor Abbot’s motivation. They see the unquestioning loyalty, knee-bending, and ring kissing as a blatantly partisan power-grab that serves Trump and Governor Abbot but does nothing for the citizens of Texas.

The backlash in Texas to a corrupt process where politicians pick their voters instead of the other way around has been swift and decisive, particularly among Democrats and independents.

The sentiments nationally are similar, with voters across party lines supporting independent redistricting commissions and opposing partisan manipulation of district maps. For example, a recent poll in Ohio showed 57% of voters supported a neutral redistricting commission when asked in unbiased language—even though the measure was ultimately defeated due to misleading ballot wording.

If Texas succeeds in its efforts to gerrymander districts, it will be another nail in the coffin of American democracy.

My Paper, My Words is a collection of essays, stories, and poems 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.

America’s Political and Cultural Sepsis

The wreckage that Donald Trump is inflicting on American democracy is analogous to the widespread inflammation, leaky blood vessels, reduced blood flow to organs, and ultimately, organ failure caused by Sepsis in the human body.

Trumpism is a sepsis-like response to a massive infection of aggrieved, uneducated, bigoted, greedy, and hate-filled Americans – it engenders fear, anger, misinformation, and Christo fascist ideology that surges through the bloodstream of American politics and culture, poisoning democratic institutions, values, and traditions, stressing the entire body politic to the point of systemic failure.

The only chance of America surviving metaphoric organ failure and a complete collapse from political and cultural Sepsis is to prevent further infection — the best (and perhaps only) chance of doing that is a blue wave in the midterm elections (which Republicans are trying to gerrymander the fuck out of).

Suppose the Democrats don’t regain control of the House in 2026. In that case, we can pucker our collective lips, plant a fat kiss on the cold, colorless cheek of American democracy, and usher in an era of darkness, corruption, and repression unseen in our history.

Will voters see Trump for the lying, cheating, sociopathic thug he is and wake-the-fuck-up in 2026?

Let’s Ask Arty About the Correlation Between Religiosity and Authoritarianism

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

Query 1: Are religious fundamentalists drawn to authoritarian political leaders? If so, why?

Yes, religious fundamentalists often show a strong affinity for authoritarian political leaders – and there’s a fascinating psychological and sociological logic behind it.

Shared Traits and Psychological Alignment

Rigidity and Certainty: Fundamentalism is rooted in the belief in an inerrant set of religious teachings; religious rigidity and certainty mirror Authoritarianism’s emphasis on strict rules, obedience, and moral absolutism.
Low Openness to Experience: Both religious fundamentalists and authoritarian personalities tend to resist ambiguity, novelty, and complexity.
Cognitive Simplicity: Studies show that fundamentalists often prefer clear-cut answers and hierarchical structures, which align with authoritarian leaders who promise order and control.

Perceived Threats and Social Change

Fear of Cultural Shifts: Fundamentalists may feel threatened by secularism, liberal social movements, or pluralism, as they perceive these as challenges to their traditional values. Authoritarian leaders often position themselves as defenders of “traditional values,” making them appealing protectors.
Us vs. Them Mentality: Authoritarian rhetoric thrives on identifying enemies—whether immigrants, minorities, or dissenters. An us vs. them mentality resonates with fundamentalist groups that view the world in moral binaries.

Political Strategy and Mobilization

Christian Nationalism: In the U.S., for example, white evangelical Protestants and Christian nationalists score high on authoritarianism scales and are more likely to support leaders who promise to restore religious dominance in public life.
Religious Endorsements: Authoritarian leaders often co-opt religious symbols and institutions to legitimize their rule. This creates a feedback loop where religious fundamentalists feel seen and empowered

Query 2: So, do all religious people have an affinity for authoritarians?

No, not all religious people are drawn to Authoritarianism.

The link between Religiosity and Authoritarianism is strongest among those with rigid, dogmatic beliefs. More open, reflective forms of spirituality tend to correlate negatively with authoritarian attitudes.

Query 3: Is there a link between Religiosity, the MAGA movement, and Authoritarianism?

Yes, there’s a well-documented link between religiosity, the MAGA movement, and authoritarianism—though it’s nuanced and varies across race, gender, and religious traditions.

How Religiosity Connects to MAGA and Authoritarianism

White Christian Nationalism plays a central role. Surveys show that white evangelical Protestants and Christian nationalists are among the strongest supporters of authoritarian politics and the MAGA agenda.
Dominionist Ideologies like the Seven Mountains Mandate—which calls for Christians to control key societal institutions—are embraced by some MAGA-aligned religious leaders.
MAGA figures frequently use Religious Rhetoric and Symbolism to frame political battles as spiritual warfare, reinforcing authoritarian narratives of good vs. evil

Psychological Drivers

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) is a key predictor of MAGA support, especially among white men and white women. RWA includes submission to authority, aggression toward outgroups, and adherence to traditional norms.

Social Dominance Orientation—a belief in group-based hierarchies—also correlates with MAGA support, even among some women and people of color.

Race and Gender Matter

White Women show surprisingly high levels of authoritarianism and MAGA support, challenging assumptions that women are uniformly progressive.
Women of Color, by contrast, consistently show the lowest levels of authoritarianism and MAGA support, even when controlling for religiosity.

Religion as a Political Tool

MAGA leaders often invoke religious identity to legitimize their authority and mobilize voters. Trump’s use of phrases like “our religion” signals a vision of America as a white Christian nation.

Some former members of religious sects have even compared MAGA’s structure and messaging to authoritarian religious movements they escaped.

My Input

Religious fundamentalism and nationalist-tinged religious views are fueling authoritarian politics within the MAGA movement, putting Americans on a dangerous path, unseen since our war of independence in 1776.

Many of us probably never imagined America, a country that fought a world war to end fascism in Europe, would be on the precipice of falling to it at home. But we are.

Religion is fueling America’s flirtation with fascism.

We’re in a high-conflict / high-stakes environment, where groups (like MAGA) with an undying commitment to religious, political, and cultural identity flourish. Through Group Cohesion, Mobilization Power, and Clear Identity, MAGA’s loyalty, zeal, and adherence to rigid beliefs serve as the engine to Trump’s authoritarian politics.

To many in the MAGA movement, America’s constitutional democracy takes a back seat to religious and cultural identity. When MAGA members think the Constitution infringes on their perception of America’s religious or cultural identity, they’re okay with disregarding or tossing the Constitution altogether.

So, how do millions of Americans who don’t have the Group Cohesion, Mobilization Power, and Clear Identity of MAGA fight fascism and save democracy?

Because honestly, this fight is coming.

Fascism doesn’t go away on its own – it either takes root, or it’s rooted out.

Donald Trump manufactures and feeds the MAGA mob a constant diet of chaos, grievance, conspiracy theories, and lies. It’s the lifeblood of that movement.

Authoritarian forces are clamping down on democratic institutions and values in America. And because the confederacy of cowards in Congress refuses to serve as a check on executive power and because the judiciary continues to provide cover for Trump’s unchecked power, the last line of defense is citizen resistance, led by the pragmatic and morality-driven.

Pragmatic and morality-driven groups tend to be more adaptable and sustainable over time, as explained here by Arty:

Flexibility: Pragmatists can adapt their strategies to changing conditions, which is crucial in complex societies.
Cooperation: Morality-driven groups foster trust and reciprocity, which are essential for large-scale collaboration and innovation.
Reduced Internal Conflict: Moral norms help regulate behavior and reduce destructive competition within the group.

“While fanaticism is a high-risk, high-reward strategy that can dominate revolutionary movements like MAGA, it often burns out or fractures when the environment shifts. Whereas morality and pragmatism are slower-burning fuels that build civilizations, institutions, and long-term alliances.”

With the Epstein files we’re seeing a slight shift in the environment, causing some turmoil and fractures in the MAGA-sphere. But I don’t think we can rely on an Epstein-file-fueled MAGA collapse to save America.

Here is how American citizens can push back against fascism, with some help from Arty:

Build Parallel Structures of Power

Grassroots organizing: Form local networks that provide mutual aid, legal support, and community safety. These become lifelines when official institutions fail.
Alternative media: Create and support independent journalism to counter propaganda and amplify truth.
Solidarity economies: Support cooperatives and local businesses that resist authoritarian influence.

Shift the Narrative

Expose authoritarian tactics: Use storytelling, art, and social media to reveal abuses and rally public opinion.
Frame resistance as patriotic: Reclaim national symbols and values to show that defending democracy is not fringe—it’s foundational.

Strategic Nonviolent Resistance

According to civil resistance experts like Gene Sharp and Erica Chenoweth:

Disruption works: Strikes, boycotts, and mass noncooperation can paralyze authoritarian regimes.
3.5% rule: Movements that mobilize at least 3.5% of the population in sustained nonviolent protest have historically succeeded in toppling regimes.

Forge Broad Coalitions

Cross-ideological unity: Bring together liberals, conservatives, religious groups, labor unions, and marginalized communities around shared democratic values.
Intersectional movements: Link struggles—racial justice, climate action, LGBTQ+ rights—to build a united front.

Protect Vulnerable Communities

Rapid response teams: Organize legal observers, medics, and safe houses.
Digital security: Train activists in encryption and surveillance evasion.

Defend Electoral Integrity

Even if institutions are compromised:

Monitor elections: Document abuses and mobilize international attention.
Run insurgent candidates: Use local races to build power from the ground up.

Learn from Global Movements

South Korea: Citizens blocked martial law by physically surrounding Parliament.
Chile: Small affinity groups quietly resisted Pinochet’s dictatorship through coordinated strikes and art.
Belarus: Decentralized protests nearly toppled Lukashenko despite brutal repression.

The Ballad of New Bobby and Joan

This is the ballad

of new Bobby and Joan

Fender guitar-lords

with truth microphones

a daredevil’s mission

to gather us all

to shake us, and wake us

to answer the call

The pressure’s been building

at a pace that is steady

our ship has been drifting

now the people are ready

New Bobby and Joan

are taking the stage

with fine-tuned stringed weapons

and words dipped in rage

Bob nods at the drummer

to get the show started

he counts the band in

to the dark and uncharted

They follow Bob’s lead

tag along for the ride

Joanie plays rhythm off to the side:

“Gather your courage

for a darkness awaits you

take aim at the hate

and the man who berates you

beware of cracked shadows

and words made of hay

of crowned jokers with pokers

who demand that you to pray

The pols and preachers

can’t show you the way

their pockets are lined

by the players that pay”

The crowd gives applause

and they nod in approval

they know what they need

it’s not change, but removal

Bob sets the tone

with a sneer and a growl

stalking the stage

like a tank on the prowl

Joanie steps forward

and smiles at Bobby

she’s not just his muse

and she’s more than a hobby

Bobby sees Joanie step up to the mic

she covers terrain, like a train on a spike

“We’re zip-tied and tongue tied

by Silicon Valley

Kidnapped by agents

who crouch in the alley

we live in a land

that is free of the brave

led by a felon

both cruel and depraved

The dream we living

turns silkweed to ashes

torched by the rich

and the market that crashes

Elon and Donny

are having a spat

while democracy dies

in a GPT chat“

Bobby steps forward

his guitar is smoking

there’s blood on the frets

of the Fender he’s choking

Joanie steps back

away from the light

Bobby’s a star

that eclipses the night

“The system ain’t broken

it works as intended

in the times we’re living

the truth isn’t rendered

when God taints your money

the peril is real

there’s no milk and honey

just poisonous zeal

where the rich just get richer

the poor get to bleed

just to get stitched up

and ground into seed

Joanie steps forward

and together they sing

the sad but true story

of men kissing the ring

“They tip toe through crypto

and heap praise on their king

in the land of bent knees

and the home of the bling

They take jets from Qutar

and cut aid to the poor

plan missions to Mars

and sell weapons for war

I don’t know about you,

but I can’t take anymore

It’s time to take names

and kick down the door

The last chord rings out

the cheers earn them their wage

they turn away from the mic

and they walk off the stage

This is the ballad

of new Bobby and Joan

Fender guitar-lords

with truth microphones