Sorry, The Resistance is Busy Taking Calls From Donors Right Now.
But I'd be happy to take a message.
When I was a kid and tried to talk my way out of something I wasn’t supposed to be doing, my father would often tell me, “Don’t piss on my back and tell me it’s raining.”, and that phrase often runs through my mind whenever I see Hakeem Jeffries or Chuck Schumer give comment or make bad posts on social media about the latest overstep from Donald Trump and his administration. I have warm fascist piss running over my back and Hakeem Jeffries is assuring me the forecast called for rain.
The worst part isn’t that this lack of action and any kind of meaningful resistance is a shock; It’s that this is exactly what I expected. Failing to learn from history, and offering only the meagerest signs they are indeed pushing back against the boot pressing itself into our collective neck. The reason it feels like you were untethered from the dock and sent downriver without a paddle is because you were. Imagine being so certain in your own wellbeing that you literally sell the people who put you in office down the river to save your own scaly hide.
Those who do have the courage of conviction to speak out or at the very least are capable of feeling guilt, have—by their own party—been ostracized, denounced, or in the case of Democratic senator Alex Padilla, thrown to the ground by the authorities for daring to speak out against Secretary of Defense Kristi Noem. So much of politics is theater and showing an elected official being forcibly tossed out and handcuffed is powerful imagery. Chuck Schumer no doubt called senator Padilla, not to ask if he was okay or shaken up by the experience, but to tell him to tone down the rhetoric, and ask if he would be back in DC in time to vote on sending Israel more munitions.
Given what happened in Minnesota today, the fresh new war between the US-backed Israel vs Iran, and the No Kings protests happening along with our Dear Leader’s birthday parade I felt compelled to sit down at the keyboard and pour out some of what I’ve been feeling as we watch things fall apart.
The Media: Compliant, Complicit, Cowards.
The neutering of language by our elected officials and those in the most powerful media organizations has made much of what we are seeing possible. They would rather argue semantics, and make sure both sides receive fair representation. Even when that other side wishes them dead, regardless of how they write their articles. Objectivity and the consolidation of ownership is killing journalism, if it hasn’t already, and I’m not sure how many New York Times or Washington Post headlines I can read that make it sound like whatever latest atrocity or blatantly illegal and malicious act being taken by Trump and his cronies is of no more consequence than a fender bender before I go completely insane. Here’s a bold idea: When a politician or corporate mouthpiece does something fucked up, use words befitting the occasion. Say “Donald Trump is a Liar”, or “Stephen Miller is a Racist.”, or “JD Vance’s Mom Was Right to Sell Him for Some Perc 30s”, or “Sam Altman is a Vacant Eyed Ghoul”. Use the type of language that was created to describe what they are doing and who they are. If all that is holding you back from speaking truth to power is the fear that your access may be revoked, or your editor will berate you, then you have already lost. You are no longer a journalist at that point, you’re a PR person.
The media, like the supposed opposition party, are so beholden to monied interests, or in the case of much of the media, literally owned by them and thus able to cast the widest net to the most amount of eyeballs that they’ve trained much of the populace to think in those same objectivist terms. Again, who are you going to believe, them or your lying eyes? Jeff Bezos mandated that opinion pieces in his paper(The Washington Post) defend, “personal liberties and free markets", what Jeffrey’s idea of “personal liberties” is I would guess just means the right to play astronaut and not paying capital gains taxes. Despite the very obvious lies or obfuscation of the full truth of things, many people are willing to believe what they are being fed by a media who worries more about drawing the ire of a corporate sponsor than being fully honest with the public. And on flip side of that coin, you have conspiracists. I don’t indulge in many conspiracy theories, but I empathize and understand the allure. When what you’re being told on TV and social media misaligns with the world outside your front door, it’s natural to seek real answers. As a result people find themselves falling into a cycle of delusion and affirmation from other conspiracists who themselves were likely people who felt disillusioned and went out seeking answers when left unsatisfied by the conventional sources. What they find are people who will tell them what they wish to hear, affirm their suspicions that what they are being told by the media isn’t what’s really going on, and use that to push them further away from anything resembling reality. Because the heart of these conspiracies often indulges racist, xenophobic or other hate filled rhetoric that can be aligned with their own goals, the right has gradually and inevitably welcomed these people into the fold, and until relatively recently, managed to keep them at arm’s length. Just close enough to step into the voting booth, but far enough way they couldn’t claim a seat of power. Until they did, and we arrived at where we are now.
My disgust with the media is tempered only by the good journalists out there, willing to write and say what so many people like myself wish the mainstream sources had the stones to to say. Places like 404 Media do excellent reporting on important topics and they do it with a level conviction and courage that gives me some hope for the future of journalism. Support independent media, if you can. Even satirical publications like The Onion—actual fake news—are being more truthful to the public than the mainstream media is, and that is fucking sad.
Look at My Opposition Party, Dawg. I’m Gonna Die.
Cory Booker gave a 25 hour and 5 minute filibuster between March 31 and April 1, 2025, breaking a longtime record by former GOP senator and noted racist, Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1957. Senator Booker would then go on to approve some more of President Trump’s nominees, oh and he’s writing a book about this harrowing experience which you can purchase later this year at a bookstore near you. Making anyone believe this act of political theater was designed to do anything except raise his profile and line his own pockets was a really good April Fool’s joke on the senator’s part. I’m still laughing.
As irritating as performative and ultimately meaningless actions like senator Booker’s are he is merely continuing what has long been established by the Democrats. Say the right words, speak in a way that conveys sincerity, and then turn it into a book deal, or a cushy job in the private sector when you leave public office. Always in service of yourself or your donors, almost never in service of those who gave you the votes to put you in that seat.
So, if there are any Democrats or staffers or anyone tangentially related to an elected Democrat reading this and growing more and more red in the face, hello. You and/or your bosses are really blowing it right now. Do you know how hungry people are for someone in a position to do something to actually do something? To gum up the works, get in the way, draw attention to, or otherwise hinder this fledgling fascist autocracy from gaining even surer footing. But I know even as I type these words they are falling on deaf ears and closed minds. This post isn’t mean to persuade or change your mind if you are one of the ruling class. I don’t believe there is anything I, or anyone who isn’t signing the checks, can say or do that will convince you otherwise. I could scream until I was red in the face about all the myriad ways you are fucking both the party and the country over but I’m not fool enough to believe anything some random asshole from the Midwest say would hold any sway over your actions. That’s how far gone my faith in the party I was raised to believe in has strayed off the path. Whatever they were, is something they haven’t been for decades. They’ll drape themselves in the glory of their predecessors whose principles they have long since abandoned, and not give even a passing thought to the fact that were those predecessors around today they would be made pariahs and ostracized from the party for not worshipping at the altar of free enterprise.
Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and all the other most senior democrats would rather serve up warm platitudes and cringe-inducing clapbacks on social media than offer their supporters anything in the way of hope for true action. The only time they act with any sense of urgency is when Israel needs more bombs, or our already militarized and armed to the teeth police force demands more toys for them to terrorize the general public with. They continue to play by a rulebook that no longer exists. Where decorum matters as much if not more than doing what is right. And behaving as though a social faux pas is a far more serious threat than people being disappeared and shipped off to El Salvador. We can’t be rude to the fascists who want to kill us. That would be unseemly. So go on pretending like this is just another temporary setback. That this is a problem which will simply go away on its own, and not as Walter White told Skyler, rot that needed to be dealt with before it spread to the whole foundation.
The one spark of hope I do have is for more candidates like Kat Abughazaleh to appear on the scene and oust these corporate stooges masquerading as public servants. Kat is someone I’ve followed for several years online for her journalistic work, and to hear her speak is to hear someone who does have convictions, and is willing to put themselves on the line for what they believe. Someone willing to speak truth to power and push back when some idiotic conservative pundit scoffs at the idea that “everyone should have healthcare”. She possesses a type of courage that has been sorely missing from our only other viable political party, and I wish her the best of luck in her campaign. We need more like her if there is to be any hope of salvaging this party.
Don’t Let The Bastards Keep You Down
This has been a pretty grim post, but everything I wrote is something I feel in my bones. These are times that are both trying and overwhelming. At any moment we can be drinking from a firehose of information that shows us the all the most fucked up shit happening at any given time, but it’s important to remember that despite it all, there are still good things in this world. Find a community; online or in the real world that you share an interest or hobby with. Seek out people who share your values who you can commiserate with through the bad times. Remember that you are not alone and the whole point of a fascism is to make you feel hopeless and isolated and that their rise and dominion over all of us is inevitable. Remember that these people are often as stupid as they are cruel, and when pressed they collapse in on themselves like a dying star. Most importantly, don’t let the bastards keep you down.