Uncategorized, Politics & Culture

Cracking the MAGA Nut: Can the Outrage Machine be Disabled?

Unquestioned beliefs are the real authorities of any culture. Derrick Jensen Amidst the accelerating chaos that even has GOP senators and reps spooked, a couple things jumped to my attention this past week. First, even with Trump’s overall approval rating down to 36%, with the disapproval number at 60% (from Gallup), his support among Republicans remains almost 90%. And in trying to understand how 90% … Continue reading Cracking the MAGA Nut: Can the Outrage Machine be Disabled?

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Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Empire vs. Plutocracy: JD Vance’s Stephen Miller Problem

We build be adding, by growing, not by tearing down….We can love each other despite the disagreement. JD Vance – Turning Point speech, Dec 21st, 2025 We live in a world in which you can talk all you want about international niceties and everything else, but we live in a world, in the real world…that is governed by strength, that is governed by power. These … Continue reading Empire vs. Plutocracy: JD Vance’s Stephen Miller Problem

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Economics, Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Is Democratic Socialism Even Enough?

It is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Fredric Jameson I am writing on the last day of 2025, a year that has been truly breathtaking, in its pace of social and political upheaval. The sheer breadth of offenses churned out by Donald Trump and his Project 2025 ghouls is staggering, leaving libs, Dems, and the American populace … Continue reading Is Democratic Socialism Even Enough?

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Ecological Collapse, Intentional Communities, Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Crossroads

It is easy for me to imagine that the next great division of the world will be between people who wish to live as creatures and people who wish to live as machines. Wendell Berry As we limp towards the finish line of 2025, awash in institutional abuse, chaos, and collapse, it can be almost impossible to zoom out for a bigger picture of where … Continue reading Crossroads

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Intentional Communities, Politics & Culture, Uncategorized, Universal Basic Income

Fighting Primal with Primal

The problem may be more difficult to understand than to solve. Beneath the veneer of civilization, in the trite phrase of humanism, lies not the barbarian and the animal, but the human in us who knows what is right and necessary for becoming fully human. Paul Shepard, “Nature and Madness” As the linguist and philosopher George Lakoff has been telling us for many years now, … Continue reading Fighting Primal with Primal

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Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

The Liberal Time Trap

Necessity, the tyrant’s plea. Milton As we watch the Trump team’s dismantling of our storied republic, in the name of an ethno-nationalist, theocratic kleptocracy, liberals and Democrats are in a bind. Trump and his Project 2025 hit squad, generaled by Naziferatu Stephen Miller, are pushing all-in for a theft or outright canceling of the 2026 mid-terms. They know that their policies are becoming more and … Continue reading The Liberal Time Trap

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Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Stephen Miller’s Charlie Kirk Speech: A Small Man’s Revenge

Tis the time’s plague, when madmen lead the blind. King Lear I know I’m a little behind the news cycle now, but there was so much hand-wringing over Stephen Miller’s speech at the Charlie Kirk memorial service that I had to check out the full text and weigh in. The typical liberal reaction was a direct comparison of Miller’s remarks to Joseph Goebbels’ greatest hits, … Continue reading Stephen Miller’s Charlie Kirk Speech: A Small Man’s Revenge

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Economics, Intentional Communities, Modern Money Theory, Politics & Culture, Uncategorized, Universal Basic Income

De-Trumping Rural America

If change is to come, it will have to come from the margins. Wendell Berry You never change things by fighting the existing reality.To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Buckminster Fuller Before we get into what could be called a “rural strategy” for de-Trumping our non-urban areas in America, let’s do a quick recap of the overall scheme … Continue reading De-Trumping Rural America

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Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Trumpism’s Stagecraft Jumps the Shark

I don’t ever want to hear @charliekirk11 claim he is pro-Trump ever again. After this weekend, I’d say he has revealed himself as political opportunist and I have had a front row seat to witness the mental gymnastics these last 10 years. Lately, Charlie has decided to behave like a charlatan, claiming to be pro-Trump one day while he stabs Trump in the back the … Continue reading Trumpism’s Stagecraft Jumps the Shark

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Politics & Culture, Uncategorized

Polarization & Plutocracy: America’s Straitjacket

We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both. Louis Brandeis Every civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction, and the same cycle shows in them all. The Republic is born, flourishes, decays into plutocracy, and is captured by the shoemaker whom the mercenaries and millionaires make into … Continue reading Polarization & Plutocracy: America’s Straitjacket

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