It was too early for me ! Enjoying my second cup of coffee while reading the "updated" version. Enjoying my last Trump free day . I am looking forward to your new venture in February.
I know this is odd. But I wanted you to be aware and share that a lot of resister and opposition folks on Bluesky agreed to delete their Facebook accounts today. I posted around 5 PM that I wasn't able to...clumsy excuses of several kinds. Then I got a bunch of replies to my post saying others were spending hours on it and couldn't either. Not today Zuk! Not today. Can you share, please?
The commentary is part of my required reading as a citizen in the a republic to stay informed, but the dog pictures certainly help me relax a bit after processing what was written. Thanks for those Charlie. I have some fond memories of various dogs in my life, some extended family and others who were friends.
Charlie, I always look forward to your perspectives and thoughts. I listened to your Bulwark podcasts, and I stop what I’m doing to watch whenever I hear your voice on TV. However, please, please have someone proofread your columns before hitting send. There are usually several typos and missing words. I’m a paid subscriber and always-interested follower of you here, but the mistakes are distracting. Maybe I’m a loner in this, but as a paid subscriber, I’d expect a cleaner final version. Having said my piece, though, I do very much appreciate your work!
Hang on for the ride to the midterms!! By that time we should have a pretty good idea how the American rank and file are going to benefit from The Orange Oracle’s admin. VERY LITTLE, would be a safe guess. He’s already reneging on lowering prices, and likely his imposed tariffs will be spiking inflation for the real people. This guy is a sham and as Charlie notes, his wealth is up substantially already. Wait until he starts stiffing the tech bros. May they rot in hell, and may Trump join them at some point!!!
This is our first-ever test of who WE are. Our odds of getting through this are much better than theirs. We got lazy - took democracy for granted - and let this happen but now that it’s happened we will show who we are. My money is on us because they’re bogged down with far too many morons.
I would much rather hang out with Auggie and Eli than the "fancy" rich people who are hanging with him who shall not be named. You have a lovely wife and pups. You are surely blessed.
Let me get this straight - Biden's presidency increased the wealth of the tech/rich bros - the Orange Snake didn't. I guess they don't remember that the President Orange Snake AKA POS screwed everything up. For supposedly bright guys, they're remarkably stupid.
No conflicts, just interests. Given this, oligarchy (or autocracy) is inevitable.
The tariff thing is a budget gaslight, a con against the CBO: Humongous revenues anticipated from them will fade away as Trump trades them for grift of various kinds.
They'll fade away when MAGA suckers find their prices for food, clothing, etc. have quadrupled. A few hours ago, I heard that Johnson is giving the rich more tax cuts but denying mortgage interest and RE tax deductions to the middle class. I guess Elon Skum, the POS, Vivek, Bezo, etc. don't have enough billions.
Get this -- they also want to tax college scholarships to pay for their billionaire tax cuts. Hope the youngs aren't too distracted by the return of their precious Tik Tok to notice.
History always has to have new losers and evil-doers. Trump has always wanted to be so famous. He’s going to get his chance - when he overplays his hand with the American public.
Faustian Bargain? Actually there has been a journey filled with them.
GOP made one with the Southern Strategy to elect Nixon. Gradually they added the Moral Majority and the Tea Party people. Then Trump came along and the traditional Republicans lost control. Now the Oligarchs have been added to the mix.
We will see if all these Faustian Bargains will stay compatible and maintain control.
Just to throw some more fuel on the fire for why the grift exposes our soon-to-be leader as extraordinarily unfit ...(and am beginning to think Charlie is reading my mind about things I have wanted to spew for a long time.)
Short digression into a bit of theory … Various theories of levels of adult development began back in the 70’s with varying numbers of levels, but most share a couple common hallmarks of what it means to escalate to higher and higher levels of development: an increasing capacity for complexity, and an increasing breadth of feeling a connection to others.
Related to Grifts/Tariffs, it looks like this:
Lower levels = I have power over them, so I make more money! Yay for me!
Higher levels = It would be wrong to take advantage of any fellow human being, and tariffs could have a thousand ripple effects, so let’s look at all the consequences before we act.
Obvious, right!!?? (well, for readers of this newsletter, but apparently not for everyone).
Bonus fun fact/trade secret: Those of us who use these theories in our work often disguise developmental levels as just “different worldviews” or some other clever phrase, because if you expose leaders who are at a high level in the POWER hierarchy but are a low level in the DEVELOPMENT hierarchy, they would dismiss the theories as bunch of hooey … because that would be the textbook definition of a “clown with a flamethrower!”
Bear in mind that anyone can be a healthy contributing member of society at any level ... but as for people who are at high enough levels of development to know better, but go along to the grift anyway!!??....that will be a comment for another day.
[Chagrined editor’s note: An earlier, unedited version of this newsletter was accidentally sent out this morning (by me). My apologies. — CJS]
It was too early for me ! Enjoying my second cup of coffee while reading the "updated" version. Enjoying my last Trump free day . I am looking forward to your new venture in February.
I guess I was sleeping or too brain dead, but what's Charlie's new venture?
I think a podcast
Thanks!
Only 1,461 days to the next Trump-free day, and maybe less...?
I'm thinking two years. We might survive that long. I don't think the country can live through four more.
I like “218 weeks” a manageable hell 😩
I know this is odd. But I wanted you to be aware and share that a lot of resister and opposition folks on Bluesky agreed to delete their Facebook accounts today. I posted around 5 PM that I wasn't able to...clumsy excuses of several kinds. Then I got a bunch of replies to my post saying others were spending hours on it and couldn't either. Not today Zuk! Not today. Can you share, please?
@megpark.bsky.social
"A great civilization is not conquered from without unless it has destroyed itself from within"
https://youtu.be/uxoCM1yQqEA?si=5yHB5-o6NUnD2lrO
Good night, and good luck...
More Charlie! More Auggie and Eli👍
The commentary is part of my required reading as a citizen in the a republic to stay informed, but the dog pictures certainly help me relax a bit after processing what was written. Thanks for those Charlie. I have some fond memories of various dogs in my life, some extended family and others who were friends.
Charlie, I always look forward to your perspectives and thoughts. I listened to your Bulwark podcasts, and I stop what I’m doing to watch whenever I hear your voice on TV. However, please, please have someone proofread your columns before hitting send. There are usually several typos and missing words. I’m a paid subscriber and always-interested follower of you here, but the mistakes are distracting. Maybe I’m a loner in this, but as a paid subscriber, I’d expect a cleaner final version. Having said my piece, though, I do very much appreciate your work!
Hang on for the ride to the midterms!! By that time we should have a pretty good idea how the American rank and file are going to benefit from The Orange Oracle’s admin. VERY LITTLE, would be a safe guess. He’s already reneging on lowering prices, and likely his imposed tariffs will be spiking inflation for the real people. This guy is a sham and as Charlie notes, his wealth is up substantially already. Wait until he starts stiffing the tech bros. May they rot in hell, and may Trump join them at some point!!!
This is our first-ever test of who WE are. Our odds of getting through this are much better than theirs. We got lazy - took democracy for granted - and let this happen but now that it’s happened we will show who we are. My money is on us because they’re bogged down with far too many morons.
I would much rather hang out with Auggie and Eli than the "fancy" rich people who are hanging with him who shall not be named. You have a lovely wife and pups. You are surely blessed.
Sid and Athena suggest we spend the day in bed. In any case we'll be joining your boys in not watching tv.
Just love the pictures of the boys!
I feel bad for those that will be watching tomorrow because it is a job requirement. Lucky for me I have to wash my hair.
Let me get this straight - Biden's presidency increased the wealth of the tech/rich bros - the Orange Snake didn't. I guess they don't remember that the President Orange Snake AKA POS screwed everything up. For supposedly bright guys, they're remarkably stupid.
No conflicts, just interests. Given this, oligarchy (or autocracy) is inevitable.
The tariff thing is a budget gaslight, a con against the CBO: Humongous revenues anticipated from them will fade away as Trump trades them for grift of various kinds.
They'll fade away when MAGA suckers find their prices for food, clothing, etc. have quadrupled. A few hours ago, I heard that Johnson is giving the rich more tax cuts but denying mortgage interest and RE tax deductions to the middle class. I guess Elon Skum, the POS, Vivek, Bezo, etc. don't have enough billions.
Get this -- they also want to tax college scholarships to pay for their billionaire tax cuts. Hope the youngs aren't too distracted by the return of their precious Tik Tok to notice.
History always has to have new losers and evil-doers. Trump has always wanted to be so famous. He’s going to get his chance - when he overplays his hand with the American public.
Faustian Bargain? Actually there has been a journey filled with them.
GOP made one with the Southern Strategy to elect Nixon. Gradually they added the Moral Majority and the Tea Party people. Then Trump came along and the traditional Republicans lost control. Now the Oligarchs have been added to the mix.
We will see if all these Faustian Bargains will stay compatible and maintain control.
Just to throw some more fuel on the fire for why the grift exposes our soon-to-be leader as extraordinarily unfit ...(and am beginning to think Charlie is reading my mind about things I have wanted to spew for a long time.)
Short digression into a bit of theory … Various theories of levels of adult development began back in the 70’s with varying numbers of levels, but most share a couple common hallmarks of what it means to escalate to higher and higher levels of development: an increasing capacity for complexity, and an increasing breadth of feeling a connection to others.
Related to Grifts/Tariffs, it looks like this:
Lower levels = I have power over them, so I make more money! Yay for me!
Higher levels = It would be wrong to take advantage of any fellow human being, and tariffs could have a thousand ripple effects, so let’s look at all the consequences before we act.
Obvious, right!!?? (well, for readers of this newsletter, but apparently not for everyone).
Bonus fun fact/trade secret: Those of us who use these theories in our work often disguise developmental levels as just “different worldviews” or some other clever phrase, because if you expose leaders who are at a high level in the POWER hierarchy but are a low level in the DEVELOPMENT hierarchy, they would dismiss the theories as bunch of hooey … because that would be the textbook definition of a “clown with a flamethrower!”
Bear in mind that anyone can be a healthy contributing member of society at any level ... but as for people who are at high enough levels of development to know better, but go along to the grift anyway!!??....that will be a comment for another day.