Direct Action: An Historical Novel
changing the world – one arrest at a time!
I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of combining the US and Canada. Only why is all of Canada one state? Why not each province as a state?
I mean, if Wyoming with its 17 people counts as a state, why can’t Alberta or Manitoba?
Maybe I’m over-confident, but my guess is if we added ten Canadian states, each with two Senators, the balance of political power might shift away from the red states. I think it’s worth a shot!
Map of the 10 new states.
Two Berkeley protests over Earth Day weekend – a human billboard along Sacramento Street, and the weekly confab at the Tesla showroom – a walkable distance.
Photos by Luke Hauser/DirectAction.org
A first-month checklist:
(1) Scam American people – mainly your own minions – out of $2 billion – Check!
(2) Betray Ukraine while kissing Putin’s ring – (have we forgotten that around 2017 it was widely rumored that Putin had dirt on Trump – this continues to pay dividends) – Check!
(3) Impose punitive tariffs on the US’s major trading partners (Canada, Mexico, Europe, China) that can only be inflationary – Check!
(4) Disrupt any and all enforcement of financial laws, including de-staffing the SEC – Check!
I find myself wondering – what exactly will be the tipping point – the little thing Trump does that finally pushes things over the edge.
For Nixon, it was Watergate – a pointless, petty burglary of a down-and-out opponent. All the horrid crimes Nixon committed – and it was a third-rate burglary that took him down.
What stupid little thing will Trump do that brings the whole circus tent crashing down?
Trump and Argentine President Milei meet to discuss whose memecoin scam was the most successful. Trump stands to make more money, but Milei has already cashed out. So far, it’s a toss-up.
You would think the two would avoid being photographed together! Milei faces calls for impeachment, while Trump is a washed-up joke of a conman, grifting his own followers out of several billion dollars.
Question – how many people can they hurt before they are ejected from power?
Quick update – Trump and Milei meet to compare crypto-scam notes.
Is this a golden age of grift, or what? A con man for President, and the richest con man in the world as his chief advisor.
Quick thoughts on a few cons that Trump & Co are pulling in their first month back in office:
Crypto – 100% scam. Crypto is a useless faux-currency whose only “value” is that some other sucker might pay more for it. If Bitcoin or some other crypto-currency somehow took hold, the most it can do is supplement existing currency – in other words, increase the money supply and cause inflation.
Governments having a “strategic bitcoin reserve” – this is nothing but a funnel from taxpayers’ bank accounts into the pockets of the techno elite. There is absolutely no need for such a “reserve” – it’s just a way to pump the price of Bitcoin etc by creating more buyers.
Memecoins – these are always scams. How could they have any enduring “value”? It’s the nature of a meme to be transitory. Crypto is going to have to show the public more than “what’s trending on yahoo” as a basis of a new currency.
Trump & Melania memecoins – considering that most of the buyers are Trumpies (many of them “onboarding” to crypto for the first time) this is quite the karmic scam. At this writing, Trump’s coin is sitting at about 25% of the price most people paid, and Melania’s is at 10%. The First Family and Friends have pocketed at least $2 billion. Crypto brokers have made $100 million in fees. Ka-ching!
Image: Motley Fool
Trump toadie Charlie Kirk, an alleged Christian, had this to say while gloating about the coming year: “Is God done with this country? Now I can say confidently, no, God is not done with America.”
Reminds me of what my dear old mother used to say when I got in a wee bit of trouble.
“You go sit in that corner – I’m not done with you!”
Image: Michelangelo/wikimedia commons
A few forecasts for the coming year:
Elon & Trump fall out – duh! Seeing Elon do his “I’m a Happy Billionaire” dance must infuriate the faux-riche Trump. Ask yourself – can two con artists work together, even for mutual benefit? Did Ponzi have a partner?
Inflation surpasses the Biden years. Tariffs on cheap Chinese imports will mean more expensive Mexican imports. Impact on US manufacturing = nil.
Stock market “readjusts” to about 25-30K (Dow), which would bring recent dividends into the 3% range typical of post-Reagan capitalism. Based on the current valuation (Dow = 44K), dividends average around 2%. So unless every Dow corporation increases its dividends by 50% next year, say hello to a 30K Dow. As for Nasdaq, the gutter is the limit.
Immigrant bashing will escalate, including attacks on legal workers – immigrant workers that this country urgently needs to fill many types of jobs. Don’t expect any actual impact on the flow of undocumented migrants – just a lot of suffering.
Chaos will abound in several cabinet-level departments, including Justice (especially the FBI), Health and Human Services, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
ObamaCare will come under immediate and concerted attack by a President who suffers from legacy-envy, and would do anything to destroy guaranteed health care. He failed by a single Senate vote in 2016. Get ready for a renewed effort. Look for a neo-libertarian claim that everyone should be free to choose whether or not to be insured.
Image: CNN
Thought I’d share part of a letter I wrote to Speaker of the House Johnson a month or so ago, when he was so happy about Trump getting elected.
Now, even before Trump is sworn in, Johnson is discovering that he is “less than the dirt beneath [Trump’s] putting greens…”
Written and mailed late November 2024.
Dear Speaker Johnson:
I see that you worked hard – against the public demands of your leader, Mr Trump – to keep the government operating this Fall. You crossed the aisle just like Representatives have for most of our history.
Probably you think Trump will be grateful to you for your service, and will say “thank you” just as I, a left-liberal, has.
Forget it, Mike.
Now that Trump is in, you will be kicked into the gutter so fast it will make my head spin. You are nothing to him. You are less than the dirt beneath his putting greens.
Thank you for sticking to your job through thick and thin, despite the horrendous hand you have been dealt (Matt Gaetz? Marjorie Greene? I pity you.)
But keep your eyes open. You are about to find out just what you are worth to Mr Trump.
Blessings – George Franklin
Image: The Nation
Berkeley’s most notorious band, the Funky Nixons, are back – tanned, rested, and ready for whatever 2025 brings.
New tracks streaming now, with more on the way – not to mention our older music!
Find it all on youtube, or visit our spotify artist page – also on all other streaming sites.
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