Note To Democratic Leaders: Public Sentiment Is Everything

<Stephen Colbert offers
some friendly unsolicited advice for Democrats:

Yahoo News>

<i.>

"Public sentiment is everything." Four words, so simple, and so undeniably powerful; few sayings are so succinctly phrased, and yet, ring out, so stark and so unsparing, in their logic. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi often cited these words, originating from President Abraham Lincoln, as an example during Trump 1.0, of how the Resistance should go about its business. Depending on her mood, she sometimes cited the remainder of the quote, which is every bit as relevant: "With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed."

These words bear repeating, especially in light of the backlash that greeted Democratic Minority Leader Charles Schumer's recent announcement that he didn't intend to shut down the government -- which seemed technically doable, since eight of his colleagues would have to help Republicans get the so-called CR (continuing resolution) over the finish line.

With so much bitterness aroused by Trump's relentless power grabs -- coupled with the inhumanity of the CR's contents, as rubber-stamped by the House Republicans -- a little bit of suspense seemed natural. Things are different now, the whispers ran. This time, it's different. Senate Democrats are really gonna show some good old-fashioned gumption, and not get along to go along. Why should they, if the Republicans ignore it, as soon as the ink is dry on the agreement?

For a fleeting moment, it seemed that Schumer and his cohorts might do the unthinkable, and flip the script, just this once. Yet nobody knew how fleeting, it seems, since Democrats voted for that damned CR anyway (Friday, March 14th). Ten Democrats crossed the picket line, so to speak, in helping their Republican cohorts muscle the CR across the finish line.

Those optics were bad enough. But the spectacle looked even more damaging, when Schumer announced the day before (Thursday, March 13th) that his party wouldn't put up a fight. With no resistance forthcoming, everyone could vote as they pleased, which they did -- as he'd apparently planned, all along.

We'll revisit the relevant justifications in due course. Suffice to say, however, that the Democratic base remains utterly dumbfounded, and unforgiving. Those feelings are undoubtedly aggravated by the more disquieting news of book tours that Schumer and his House cohort, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, had already lined up for their respective passion projects (a historical overview of anti-Semitism, and a children's book, The ABC's of Democracy; they won't probably need the remaining letters, if indeed, it disappears).

Because our long-standing democratic experiment may be slipping away before our eyes, yet even amid the steady creep towards autocracy, every author needs to promote his product, right? The mind boggles. Apparently, Jeffries squeezed in a few appearances, while Schumer was forced to scuttle his competing effort -- amid death threats, and pleasant little rejoinders like some of these, posted on his Facebook page:

"DO SOMETHING. STOP FREAKING POSTING AND ACT."

"Find your spine! You didn't even get anything for it. Judas got 30 pieces of silver at least. Disappointed. Just resign. You are the modern day Neville Chamberlain and we needed a Churchill to fight."

"Oh, you are still here? I thought your spine dissolved, and you went with it."

"Since doing something isn't your thing, just pass the torch to someone that will fight for us, instead of making crappy deals, and kowtowing to the right."

"We're waiting for your plan to oppose it."

"You've already made it impossible for young adults to afford homes. Don't forget to blame yourself too."

"You are no match for what our times demand. Step down."

And those were some of the more printable responses! Like the man with the stovepipe hat said: "Public sentiment is everything." How does that work out in practice, though? Let's look at a case study or two.

<Bob Dylan, laying it down

at Clinton Correctional Facility:
Swingin' Pig (YouTube capture)>

<ii.>

I couldn't help but contrast last week's debacle with a different situation from the '70s -- Bob Dylan's song "Hurricane," which raised awareness of the wrongful convictions of middleweight boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and John Artis, for a triple homicide at a Paterson, NJ bar in 1966.

Artis won his freedom on parole, in 1981, while Carter had to wait for a federal judge to overturn his conviction four years later. Prosecutors appealed, only to abandon their efforts in 1988, when the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Carter went free, and promptly moved to Canada, where he became a citizen -- there's a moral in that somewhere -- and spent the rest of his life advocating for other wrongly convicted and imprisoned people. He died, at 76, of prostate cancer in 2014.

Those are the basic facts, which director-producer Joel Gilbert explores brilliantly in his four-hour documentary, "Bob Dylan 1975-1981: Rolling Thunder & Gospel Years." Gilbert opens with the story with how Dylan started crafting the song, after Carter sent him a copy of his book, The Sixteenth Round.

Carter sent the book detailing his unfortunate experiences to Dylan because of the singer's full-throated support of civil rights in the 1960s. And it didn't take long for "Hurricane" to take on a life of its own, in ways that neither man could ever have imagined.

My favorite example focused on the circumstances surrounding Dylan's performance of the song at Trenton State Prison, on December 7, 1975, which proved noteworthy, for several reasons. First, because the venue was a women's prison -- where the state of New Jersey, jittery of the public blowback, had temporarily shunted Carter. Second, because once the word got out, frenzied Dylan fans actually tried to scale the fence, in hopes of sneaking inside, to hear him! 

Whoever heard of anyone breaking into a prison? "Only Bob Dylan," I told myself," could inspire such a reaction." It made me laugh my ass off, and will evoke the same response, if you see the film. Third, and most critically, the show enabled Carter to break his isolation, since the guards allowed him to hear the proceedings over a phone extension -- where he briefly addressed the crowd, and provided a powerful reminder of his presence against a legal system that was trying to bury it.

But Dylan was hardly the only high profile supporter, as it happened. Another powerful example came from Muhammad Ali, who'd lost three years of his boxing career over his refusal to be inducted into the US Army. He used an unlikely forum ("The Tonight Show") in September 1973, to wish Carter good luck on his appeal, as he prepared to launch it.

It's also interesting to note that Dylan experienced his share of setbacks, as the film notes. Libel concerns from CBS's lawyers forced Dylan to change some lyrics, and ultimately, rerecord the entire song for his Desire album, due to mic leakage issues that precluded him from simply "punching in" the relevant phrases. A pair of benefits ended as a mixed bag, with the New York outing raising $100,000 -- while a comparable effort in Houston raised nothing, once all the expenses were subtracted.

Yet Dylan never wavered in his belief, as the film explains, that "Hurricane" would become a landmark song. Imagine if he'd approached that task like Schumer and his Democratic cohorts plot strategy: "What if nobody gets this song? What if the cops end up suing me? What if my fans still think he's guilty? What if he loses his appeal, and never gets to leave the slammer?" 

Thankfully, he didn't. Without any guarantee of success, Dylan kept his head down, and kept on keepin' on, I imagine that the authorities probably figured the jig was up, the minute they climbed the fence, even if it took another lengthy round of appeals for them to figure out. But it's fair to say, without Dylan's involvement -- and Muhammad Ali, and whoever else lent their name to it -- Carter might have waited a lot longer to win back his freedom, or never regained it at all. 

The donkey party could learn a trick or two here, because, remember -- public sentiment is everything.

<John & Yoko, at the "Free John Now" rally, 12/10/71:

Public domain:University of Michigan yearbook,
The Michiganensian, 1972>

<iii.>

The other relevant case study stares at me from under my desk, where the "to read" pile competes fiercely with the "just read" and "reread, yet again" piles. Guitar Army is a featured pick from the last pile, serving as a DIY collection of John Sinclair's columns, essays, press releases, and other writings. If you want a sense of his contributions to the MC5, and the counterculture, Guitar Army offers a great place to start.

Two of my favorite essays are "Poet Is Priest," and "Rainbow Power!", which lay out an eloquent case against the musical/political complexes that John campaigned against, all his life. I don't have to look far for a suitably inspirational quote, such as this one, from the latter essay: "If we live as individuals, or as fragmented little groups, each concerned only with its immediate little interests, we don't have any power at all, and the imperialist vampires and the snakes, rats and pigs who work with them can manipulate us at will." 

The most dramatic application of that principle followed the "John Sinclair Freedom Rally," which drew 15,000 people to Ann Arbor's Crisler Arena, on December 10, 1971. Organizers struggled to sell tickets for the event meant to raise awareness of Sinclair's own legal plight -- the 9 1/2- to 10-year sentence he'd drawn, for selling two joints to a female undercover officer -- that is, until John Lennon and Yoko Ono agreed to appear. 

Overnight, the show changed from an uncertain proposition -- "This is a total bomb you have on your hands," warned the eventual organizer/promoter, Peter Andrews,  (see link below) -- to one of the counterculture's last great defining moments, before the militant mellowness and shallow cynicism that defined the '70s spread like a virus, and took hold for good. 

By most accounts, the musical lineup made a stronger impression, than the all-star speakers who'd been lined up -- particularly Phil Ochs, who performed a newly-written song dedicated to a certain rogue inhabitant of the White House ("Here's to the land you've torn the heart out of/Richard Nixon, find yourself another country to be part of"), and an unannounced surprise guest, Stevie Wonder, whose set raised the energy levels considerably. Sinclair also made an impromptu appearance, speaking from prison, by phone -- just what made those '70s-era jailers so generous? -- a moment that served to underscore the event's purpose.

John and Yoko rounded out the proceedings with a 15-minute unplugged set, backed by an improvised folk ensemble. Characteristically, the ex-Beatle chose to play four new songs -- soon to grace his next album, Some Time In New York City (1972). They closed with "John Sinclair," his ode to the man of the hour, whose case would now prove impossible to ignore ("They gave him ten for two/What else can Judge Colombo do?").

Indeed, they didn't. The day before the rally, the Michigan Senate passed a bill that drastically reduced penalties for marijuana possession, and then -- a mere three days later -- the Michigan Supreme Court granted bail to Sinclair, as he continued to appeal his case. He eventually won a significant legal victory in 1972, when the US Supreme Court ruled, in an unrelated case, that the government could not use evidence against him gained via illegal wiretapping.

Can you imagine such a ruling in our current climate, whose high court obligingly crafted an infinite immunity right for its Chief Executive -- or, excuse me, "unitary executive" -- out of thin air, as long as he claims to wear his presidential hat? Like all power brokers before him, Chief Justice John Roberts will come to bitterly regret opening that door, even if he prefers to erode our rights at a slower pace than his bomb-throwing, ultra-reactionary cohorts.

In any case, our chief takeaways here are the same as the "Hurricane" situation. The Michigan justices claimed their ruling simply came in response to the Michigan Senate's actions, yet the coincidence is impossible to overlook. Having denied six of Sinclair's previous appeals, they had no incentive to hand him a win at this stage of the game, especially with his jailers in no hurry to let go of their prize trophy.

Before the rally sold out, nobody had any reason to believe that the wider world cared about John Sinclair's case, nor the causes that he espoused. And, until John and Yoko agreed to appear, there was no reason to expect more than a modest turnout that might or might not raise funds for Sinclair's legal bills. 

Although Andrews lost his job at the university -- and John and Yoko didn't get to pursue their dreams of a cross-country tour, to rally the newly-minted youth vote against Nixon's re-election -- what matters is the energy that the rally jump-started, a force that allowed the players to get beyond the standard refrain ("We can't") to, "We can, and will, because we must." Collective action works wonders that way.

That certainly proved the big takeaway for John Sinclair, as he writes in "Free At Last," a snapshot of the emotions that followed his release: "Because what we did was to show the dinosaurs that we can't be separated off and apart from each other, that we really are a whole thing which cannot be broken, that we can come together and move together to force changes where the control addicts think they've got us safely in our places, right?"

Indeed, this is the reality that keeps those control freaks awake at night. The day that people finally internalize that idea, and act on it, is the day they become irrelevant. How many Trabants sold after the collapse of East Germany's Communist regime? How many Teslas will continue to sell, as more and more of their owners don't want to go "from zero to 1939, in three seconds?" Draw your own conclusions, because public sentiment is everything.

"I saw ya!" 

(Or Fill in the CREEM-style caption

of your choice here.)

<Dylan in a rowdy mood,
Clinton Correctional Facility: 

Swingin' Pig, YouTube capture>

<iv.>

So just where do these case studies leave us, and what lessons can we learn from them? Did Chuck Schumer do the right thing, in backing down, as he did? He cited the millions of federal workers -- whose job status zigzags from fired, to re-hired, then sidelined, or fired, yet again -- as one reason. He further suggested that a government shutdown might have accelerated Trump's power grabs, for which his party lacked an endgame. Still other commenters speculated that Schumer might be saving his powder for the next potential flashpoint in June, when Congress will have to act on raising the debt ceiling.

Such technical arguments hold varying degrees of merit, though how effectively they rally the troops is an entirely different matter. Judging by the comments on Schumer's Facebook page, I doubt he's winning over many, or any of them -- because public sentiment is everything. For that matter, so is timing. Which record would you rather buy? "Free John Now," or "Free John Later?" I rest my case.

The Hurricane Carter and John Sinclair cases tell us something else. The responses they evoked had nothing to do with focus groups and pressers, or appearances on Sunday shows that fewer and fewer of us bother to watch anymore. They had nothing to do with waiting for some higher court to take pity, and issue another restraining order -- more legal catnip, perhaps, for Trump and his minions to ignore, as they've begun publicly suggesting, with increasingly.

Nor did they draw their inspiration from some far-off event -- a lawsuit here, a midterm election there -- that might finally make our lives bearable again, and restore some type of common decency. What's striking, though, is how many refuse to learn these lessons, as Columbia University has shown, in buckling to a laundry list of Trump demands (see link below). Neither did the Paul Weiss legal firm, in agreeing donate $40 million worth of legal work for Trump's causes.

Such arrangements, by any other name, should called for what they are: protection money. The trouble with them is that the price of protection always goes up, up, and out of sight, as the bully returns, bearing a list of new demands, leaving him free to leisurely pick off his opponents, one by one. 

However, if the Democrats want to avoid this grisly fate, they might do well to ponder what Kamala Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, observed, during an alternative town hall that he hosted in Iowa: "“There's a responsibility in this time of chaos where elected officials need to hear what people are irritated about. And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that's coming from America, (which) is, ‘Do something, dammit! This is wrong!’”

Which means, in other words, to start from the beginning. Get out of that permanent defensive crouch, and fan out across America, making the case that Republicans don't want their constituents to hear -- that we exist solely to toil for their billionaire donor buddies, just as our descendants did a century or so ago, when inequities existed at levels that would stagger the modern imagination.

The AOC/Bernie Sanders speaking tour, coupled with the handful of Democrats crashing Republican districts, is a great start -- but they need many, many more of their cohorts to join them, to make a major impression. The textbook example is the Democrats' response to Trump's joint address, whether you talk about their tiny signs, the womens' pink outfits, or the failure of Al Green's colleagues to follow after he got ejected, while the rest looked on, like grumpy kids enduring their detention. It was all over the place. And looked like it.

Let's lock the consulting class in the closets that they so richly deserve, and stop fixating so obsessively on playing percentages -- which move will succeed, more than 50% of the time, or won't? If Hurricane Carter or John Sinclair had started that way, their respective fights for freedom would have never gotten off the ground! If history teaches us anything, it's that the cause of justice never unfolds like some carefully calibrated game, at the measured pace of a championship chess match. It's quite the opposite, in fact.

Let's ditch the convoluted technical arguments, and de-emphasize all that elaborate, PBS-style jargon that sends voters off to an early bed, and finally start tapping into that primal scream, as Bob Dylan and John Sinclair did so effectively, a generation ago. And maybe then, there might still be a democracy left to save. Because public sentiment is everything. --The Reckoner

Links To Go (Learn A Lesson From The Past):

Ann Arbor Chronicle: The Day A Beatle Came To Town:
https://annarborchronicle.com/2009/12/27/the-day-a-beatle-came-to-town/index.html

John Lennon: John Sinclair Rally Set (Ten For Two):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi4VDlQviqY

Bob Dylan: 1975-1981: Rolling Thunder & Gospel Years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ykz132m9Is

MSN/Raw Story: Congressional Democrats Warned
They Face Revolt "Like Never Before":
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/be-very-afraid-congressional-democrats-warned-they-face-revolt-like-never-before/ar-AA1BoDT9

The Des Moines Register: "Do Something, Dammit!":
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/14/in-iowa-tim-walz-says-democrats-are-demanding-leaders-do-something-donald-trump/82311753007/

The Guardian: Columbia Should Have Said, "See You In Court":
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/22/columbia-university-trump-demands

One Picture, 1,000 Words: A Censored Doonesbury Strip

Have a look at what I found, footling around the Internet, complete with this self-explanatory comment: "All of the Gannett-owned newspapers removed 'Doonesbury' from last Sunday's (2/18/24) comics section -- here it is." As the assault on the First Amendment kicks into higher gear, many organizations are saving themselves the trouble of fighting for it, and rolling over in advance, apparently to save the goon squads the trouble. 

At least, I'm assuming, that's the scenario they're running over and over in their minds, though such impulses prove of limited use, once authoritarianism becomes an entrenched reality. That being said, I can recall similar instances of softer censorship. I remember the controversy that swirled around my hometown paper, just as I was starting my own career, when -- without comment, or explanation -- it abruptly shifted a For Better Or For Worse storyline about homosexuality onto its editorial page, where it sat for the next two or three weeks.

What made the whole business noteworthy, from my recollection, is that my hometown paper initially tried to avoid the subject altogether, even though the letters they begrudgingly printed -- as they began to appear -- raised the million dollar question. if socially relevant-themed comic strips can't appear in the comics section, where else do they belong?

As I recall, our paper  finally did respond. Management claimed that, since the comic raised a hot button issue of the time -- coinciding with the first calls for the legalization of gay marriage, for example -- readers would benefit from seeing it more prominently placed on the editorial page, where the usual robust discussion of truth, justice, and the American Way, or what those ideas meant, could occur.

I'm not sure that a lot of readers bought the explanation, pro or con, especially when For Better Or For Worse returned to its allotted spot on the comics page. Of course, this is the trouble with censorship, which thrives in the shadows. I recall one instance from my college years, when the Crucifucks' lead singer, Doc Dart, recounted the hassles of trying to play a show at Michigan State University.

Chief among those hassles, as Doc explained it, was the university's objection to printing the band's name in the advertising, since he and his merry men were actually supporting the Circle Jerks -- a more established name, but hardly one that might inspire any PTA members to buy the tickets! Who, I ventured to ask, was making such an issue?

Doc had no idea, beyond a shrug. "Eh, I don't know just people in higher places at the university, I don't know all their names. We never get to hear who does the complaining." Guitarist Gus Varner further claimed that MSU voiced no problem with the band's name, at first, only to backtrack the next day, and ask, "Can't you guys call yourselves something else?" Which, in fact, did happen, later in their existence -- with "Christmas Folks" apparently being the go-to alternate moniker of choice. I've never seen any flyers with that variation, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Other bands in that era experienced similar hassles, like the Dayglo Abortions -- who won a landmark obscenity case involving the cover art for their Here Today, Guano Tomorrow (1988) album -- and Vampire Lezbos, who took their name from a Cramps song (lifted, in turn, from a '60s Italian erotic horror film).

They actually came to a teen club that I also ended up playing, in the wilds of Southeast Michigan -- and I couldn't resist asking singer/guitarist Dave Whiting, "Has your name ever gotten you in trouble? I couldn't imagine why..." Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. You know the drill.

I didn't need to wait long for my answer. "We haven't been allowed to play shows because of it," Whiting responded. "Sometimes, they won't put our name on the flyers, because of it." 

As I recall, the local paper ended up using the name, connotations of undead or lesbianism be damned. Not a single soul complained, or if they did, it didn't inspire a letter, or emailed comment from anyone. Of course, this is the logic behind censorship -- a purely arbitrary yardstick, one that's based around, "What is not dirty? What is not clean? What should we not hear? What shouldn't be seen?", as Public Image asks in their 1992 song, "Acid Drops."

Of course, the man who penned those lyrics (John Lydon) is now a full-throated Trump supporter these days, apparently. While that may take some of the sheen off his outlaw reputation -- as we chronicled in our 2022 essay, "God Save The Queen (She Weren't No Human Being)" -- the basic point of the song still stands: "Who censors the censor? Can I do that myself? Make up my own mind, like anyone else? You read, but missed the plot -- You only see that what is not!"

So, in the spirit of public service, we present this panel from Doonesbury, just as we will present any other suppressed materials we come across. Apparently, the creator's sin was to offer a view of the Civil War that may rile up more Confederate-minded readers, who seem fine with free expression, and all the collateral rights that follow it, by implication -- as long as it's their own. And therein lies the heart of our current predicament. -- The Reckoner

Mad King Watch (Take IV): Letter From Bernie (Glimmers Of Hope?)

 

<Spotted On Instagram>

Another can of worms, another stomach burns

Yeah, your ghetto burns,

It's the song I hate, the song I hate...

A sieg heilin' squirt, you're an important jerk
Yeah, a fascist twerp, 

it's the song I hate, the song I hate...

We're banging pots and pans to make you understand
It's the song I hate, the song I hate...
<"Youth Against Fascism," Sonic Youth>

Fact! Tsunami were "Youth Against Fascism" before fascism was cool ! This show apparently never happened. I found the flyer in the SMR suitcase archive but couldn't remember a thing about it. @markanderson has a memory that @SonicYouth asked us to organize the show but couldn't play it for some reason. I don't remember any hard feelings though...@sonicyouth were always pretty cool. Can you even imagine getting a permit to do this type of protest at the Washington Monument in 2025 when park rangers are fired and the Nazi salute is back in vogue. Time for a reunion? I'd give a lot to see the Holy Rollers again.

========================================================================================

Well, much has happened, as they say, so, no use trying to summarize all the nefarious doings rattling around Trumpworld -- as I've said in the past, we'll leave that task to others. The real question, obviously, focuses on the immediate and practical, as in, "What can we do about all this madness swirling around us?"

That's why we thought it's worth running this latest update on Bernie Sanders's road tour of the nation, talking directly to voters -- red, blue, or green, and everything in between -- outlining what's at stake if Trump's orgy of mass firings, "impounded" funds, and other Biazrro World maneuvers are allowed to go unchallenged.

Word has now gone out that AOC and Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, are offering to hold any town halls that the Republicans are refusing to do. We've seen this movie before, of course, in 2017 -- when Republicans went into hiding, acting as though they'd just enrolled in the witness protection program, while they plotted to unwind the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

It won't help them then, and it won't help them now, since my standing joke is that even red state voters will probably miss such fripperies as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security (not to mention more specific ones closer to home, like special needs programs, or farm contract payments).

The guiding point that sticks out for me, in Bernie's letter, is that "we cannot simply be on the defensive -- in opposition to Musk and Trump." The opposite, in other words, from what out of touch Boomer technocrats like James Carville are advising: "Play dead, play possum," as if the political era of 1996 still existed, and the combatants were still quibbling over the finer points of budgetary arcana. Suffice to say, when the legacy media holds up this grizzled Yoda-like figure who hasn't worked domestic elections in decades, as some kind of working class whisperer for the ages -- if you believe that, well, I've got some prime swampland you can help me drain.

Now is the time to be heard, because in six months, we may not get the same chance if we lay back, and rest on our real or imagined laurels. As Bernie points out in his letter, broad levels of public support do exist for a more equitable healthcare system, and getting big (tech) money out of politics, among many other progressive goals. At some point, Trump and his minions will be gone from the scene that spawned them, and the Democratic Party cannot dine out indefinitely on that standard go-to takeout dinner of, "We're not Trump." 

Look at what happened during the pandemic, when circumstances forced governments' hands, large and small, to provide the sane relief measures they'd always begged off as too expensive, or impractical, or wide-ranging to implement. For an all too brief period, Americans got a glimpse of what a more extensive social safety net might look like -- from the expanded child tax credit, to the eviction moratoriums, and pauses on student loan debt, to name three major examples.

And, while that list might not exactly given Europeans sleepless nights, the array of supports offered a tantalizing preview of what we could have, if we could force the political governing class to do it, if we only could get them to feel the heat of public opinion! This idea offers a powerful antidote to the bromides that have delivered so little for Democrats at the political box office -- starting with, "Here's what you can't have, for Reasons A, B and C, so let's see what you stand."

Imagine what kind of world we'd have, for instance, had Obama not caved in to killing the public option. Or codified Roe v. Wade into law. Or raised the minimum wage, or overturned Citizens United, or banned gerrymandering, when Democrats enjoyed a 58-40 majority in the US Senate, during Obama's first two years as President -- when you could have passed whatever reforms you wanted.

Remind your friends and neighbors of these unpleasant facts, the next time they claim, "Obama tried hard, but the Republicans wouldn't let him do anything." True enough, for much of his tenure, but not during those crucial opening two years (2008-10), which end up the high water mark of newly elected Presidents' domestic achievements. Claiming, "They wouldn't let him," sounds better than the alternative ("We couldn't be bothered, because we always thought we'd get another shot"). 

And look what happened, once those extended supports were allowed to wither away, and companies began bullying people back into the office, out of some misplaced notion of going "back to normal." Who cares if you can barely afford the food on your hope, or the bill it costs to keep your lights on? You can always get some third or fourth dead end job to shell out for it all, right?

Forget it! We can, and must, do better than allowing all these reactionary oligarchs to impose some reheated Cromwellian 16th century social order by executive fiat. The GOP's collective alibiing for its Dear Leader offers a real opportunity for Democrats to clear the decks, stop dancing on the defensive, explain their ideas, and force an honest discussion about what they'd like to see happen.

Now that they've gotten the baton back, let's hope they don't drop it yet again, and bring home the realities of what's at stake. Never forget the real reason that all those supports faded away, and the bullying back to the office, returned with such full force.

Not because they didn't work, from their perspective -- but because they worked just a little too bit well. Now is our chance to let them know, loud and clear, once and for all, that it's high time for something else. Something that works for us, for once. --The Reckoner

Links To Go:
Austin American Statesman: Rally For Democracy Photos:
https://www.statesman.com/picture-gallery/news/politics/2025/03/08/elizabeth-warren-rally-austin-speech-texas-democrats/82055454007/?fbclid=IwY2xjawI7SHJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZ2M4nXZj7wfMq4z1M8Gb0-Tg2TADiHBWNqzZd61WuCksZRGFVewVj2dsA_aem_7ugjRT1xmDymjY-xm7zlPQ

Sonic Youth: Youth Against Fascism (Video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWzIlCJAw-o

Yahoo Finance: Business Leaders Turning On Trump -- Fast:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-business-leaders-turning-trump-164624598.html

========================================================================================

You know history as well as I do. Real change never takes place from the top on down. It always takes place from the bottom on up when ordinary people, by the millions, stand together to fight oppression and injustice.

With your help that is exactly the movement that we are building.

Over the last several weeks I have held a series of town meetings in districts with Republican House members who won close races in the last election.

And what I have found is that in these districts, and all across the country, Americans are saying loudly and clearly: NO to oligarchy, NO to authoritarianism, NO to kleptocracy, NO to massive cuts in programs that working people desperately need, NO to huge tax breaks for the richest people in our country.

As you know, the Republican majority in the House is very slim. If we can convince 2 or 3 Republican members from these districts to vote against cutting Social Security, Medicaid, Education, Nutrition and VA programs in order to pay for huge tax breaks for billionaires, we can defeat that horrendous piece of legislation.

Our first events in Nebraska and Iowa drew thousands of people.

But that was NOTHING compared to the events we just wrapped up this weekend in Wisconsin and Michigan.

On Friday night in Kenosha, Wisconsin we drew 4,000 people who came out on a cold night to stand up and make their voices heard.

The next day, we went to Altoona, WI -- population 9,200 -- where we had over 2,500 people attend our town meeting. I have long been told that progressive ideas are not popular in rural America.

Not what I saw there.

People in Altoona, and across the country, understand that health care is a human right, and our economy must work for all, not just the few.

And we closed our meetings in Warren, Michigan where we had more than 9,000 people come out to hear Abdul El-Sayed, Shawn Fain of the UAW and me. It was a gym full of people.

And an overflow crowd.

And an overflow-overflow crowd.

And an overflow-overflow-overflow crowd.

And by the way. At these rallies I made it clear that we cannot simply be on the defensive - in opposition to Musk and Trump. The working families of this country are hurting and we must go on the offensive - fighting for concrete solutions that will improve their lives NOW.

The good news is, poll after poll also shows that our agenda is incredibly popular with the American people. People want the wealthiest in this country to pay their fair share, they want leaders with the guts to take on the drug companies and the oil companies. They understand that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. Overwhelmingly, they want an end to our corrupt political system that allows billionaires to buy our elections.

We’ve now taking our campaign against Oligarchy to Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. Next, it looks like we’ll be heading out west.

Let me close by thanking the almost 200,000 people who have contributed over the past few weeks to make these rallies possible. I am very appreciative of your continued financial support.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Mad King Watch (Take III): Join The 24-Hour Economic Blackout Friday!

 

    Suggested Soundtrack: 

"People Have The Power" (Patti Smith)/

"Wait For The Blackout" (The Damned)

Nothing better sums up our current malaise than this Rolling Stone headline that recently caught my attention: "The Oligarchs Are Done Pretending To Care." Well, guess what? So am I, and should you, which Friday's request from People's Union USA is all about.

For the relevant nitty-gritty, go right to the bottom. Short, sweet, and straightforward, like all direct action should be, right? Don't spend any money for 24 hours, but if you must, make sure that it only goes to small local businesses. Above all else, don't use credit or debit cards. The next chapter comes with a one-week boycott of Amazon (March 7-14), which will kick off a series of others. We'll feature those details here, once they become available.

As the collateral damage of Trump's restoration continues laying waste to our government and our constitutional heritage, it's encouraging to see The Resistance, however we define it, taking on a more concrete shape. Presumably, People's Union USA recognizes what observers have pointed out from the beginning -- namely, that lawsuits and "pressers" (press conferences) will only accomplish so much.

Nonviolent direct action, on the other hand, can accomplish even more, because it doesn't require permission from any political establishment to proceed. A guiding principle is that the people lead the movement, not the other way around. Every time I hear Democratic mastodons like James Carville, who hasn't worked a domestic election in decades, advise us to "play possum," "wait for Trump to punch himself out," "wait for the MAGA Republicans to implode," I just want to upchuck! Trump and his trusted hatchet man, Elon Musk, didn't wait for us to react, so why should we return the favor? That makes no sense!

But there are no shortage of other reasons to launch the Blackout. As Newsweek's commentary points out, occupying buildings is risky, and hard to sustain for long, while overt acts of violent resistance can backfire, resulting in severe blowback that can stop a movement dead in its tracks. Street demonstrations can work wonders, if enough people show up to support them, if the media covers them, and if the powers that be heed them -- until they don't. What then?

That leaves the power of the purse -- our power. Stripping Trump and Musk of their aura of invulnerability is the key to slowing, then stopping, their so-called "shock and awe" campaign. The more we interrupt its momentum, the less likely it is to succeed. Once it stops doing either of those things, shock and awe has no relevance anymore. 

Starving their businesses of revenue is the most practical ways to show our disapproval of their traitorous power grabs, and pursuit of real and imagined enemies. Consider it a reverse tax, if you like, on the enormous wealth that our so-called political system allowed them to accumulate at such a rapid pace. Of course, the same scarlet letter applies to all the oligarchs who bent their knees to King Donald -- like Amazon's resident Dr. Evil, Jeff Bezos, who thinks nothing of killing political cartoons that might anger his new master, yet happily forks over $40 million on a proposed documentary about the First Lady. Need we say more?

Succeeding with a nationwide campaign like the 24-Hour Blackout sill also give the lie to the mass media's repeated attempts to bury the Resistance, as their star anchors and higher-ups strive hard to demonstrate how obedient they are, in advance. And, frankly, we can find no shortage of independent causes and organizations that could put our hard-earned dollars to so much better use.

Most relevantly of all, pulling off the Blackout also puts these businesses jockeying for Trump's favor on notice, that we can take our dollars elsewhere, even if it means sticking them in the safety of our pockets for 24 hours. If they heed disapproval, then find a different sort of customer who doesn't care, or doesn't mind. Either way, it's not our issue. 

Withholding our dollars -- and our consent -- also lets these corporate entities know that it's time to change how they treat us. Too many of them have grown too imperial-minded for their own good, as they continue to cut back employees, options, and services, always with an eye toward fattening up their bottom line.

You see it in the grocery stores, when they herd customers into one or two endless serpentine lines, even as they claim, "Nobody wants to work." You see it on retail shelves, all over, as business methodically eliminate smaller priced items in favor of more wallet-straining alternatives. You see it in the tech space, where its overdogs want you bundled, defaulted, and layered into infinity, which works well for them, but not so much for us.

One of the lasting legacies of punk rock, and the DIY indie movement that it birthed, is the simple notion that who you support matters as much as what you support, and why. As bitterly as people denounce the '90s-era major label signing gold rush, there wouldn't have been bands to scoop up -- without the Dead Kennedys, Black Flags and Circle Jerks that made it possible in the first place. 

The longer we can hang onto that cusp, the better off we are, and the more empowered we become. With that in mind, let your heart be your guide, and let your dollar speak your mind. See you Friday. -- The Reckoner

Links To Go: 
Fast Company: DOGE Protesters Say 
They're Just Getting Started:
https://www.fastcompany.com/91280513/tesla-takedown-protesters-say-theyre-just-getting-started-protesting-doge-at-dealerships

Newsweek: A National Debt Strike
May Be The Only Way To Stop Trump And Musk:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/a-national-debt-strike-may-be-the-way-to-stop-trump-and-musk-opinion/ar-AA1yJVwh?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LCTS&cvid=747f97f3fb1b4e60e5a332d12590c4f2&ei=32

Patti Smith: People Have The Power:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-TM9vSXNns

Tesla Takedown Homepage:
https://www.teslatakedown.com/

The Damned: Wait For The Blackout:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAD363eDTtc&list=RDWAD363eDTtc&start_radio=1

The People's Union USA Homepage:
https://theonecalledjai.com/

The 24 Hour Economic Blackout

As our first initial act, we turn it off.
For one day, we show them who really holds the power

WHEN:
Thursday, February 27th,
 From Midnight Till
Friday, The 28th, Midnight
(A full 24 hours of the 28th):
12:00 AM To 12:00 AM

WHAT NOT TO DO:
Do not make any purchases

Do not shop, online or in-store

No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy
Nowhere!

Do not spend money on:
Fast Food
Gas

Major Retailers

Do not use Credit or Debit Cards
For non-essential spending

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Only buy essentials, if absolutely necessary
(Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)

If you MUST spend: 

ONLY support small local businesses.

SPREAD THE MESSAGE!
Talk about it, post about it,
and document your actions that day!

WHY THIS MATTERS!

~ Corporations and banks only care

about their bottom line.

~ If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day,
it sends a powerful message.

~ If they don't listen (they won't) 

we make the next blackout longer (We will)

 

This is our first action.

This is how we make history. 

February 28th

The 24 Hour Economic Black Out Begins.

Mad King Watch (Take II): The Most Beautiful Word In The Dictionary...Until It's Not

 

<https://www.downwithtyranny.com/>

“The most beautiful word 

in the dictionary: tariffs!”~ Donald Trump

Suggested Soundtrack (tie): 

"Up, Up, And Away"/

"Which Way To Nowhere"

The Fifth Dimension

Day One has long since come and gone, and guess what? To nobody's great surprise, prices are arcing, like the song says (see links below) -- "Up, up, and away, in my beautiful, my beautiful, balllooonnn!" Suffice to say, historians will likely file Trump's signature campaign promise -- that prices would "start going down, on Day One" -- as one of the worst examples of election-era pandering, like the middle-class tax cut that President Clinton abruptly stopped dangling out to the masses, the minute he won his second term in 1996.

I'll just simply note where prices stand in my neck of the woods, namely, eggs and gasoline, two commodities that people seem to have seized on, as symbols of their struggles. First, the pump. Self-serve gas prices started at $2.93 per gallon last week, and finished at $3.09 per gallon, for a jump of 16 cents. It took $15 to keep the tank roughly half-full. All in all, not the worst outcome I've seen, but a definite upswing over the week before, with prices averaging $2.83 per gallon.

And now, to the eggs. Matthew's, our area grocery store chain, began imposing a limit on how many you can buy, as many other stores have done nationwide. No surprises there, right? As of 2/18, egg purchases are limited to one carton per customer (12 or 18 eggs, makes no difference).

Last night, the Squawker asked me to buy some eggs, to keep those breakfasts humming. Luckily for me, I snagged an 18-egg carton of Eggland's Best, for $5.56 -- good thing, too, because there was just one other carton, containing a couple of smashed eggs, leaking a fair amount of yolk. Ick! Think I'll give that one a miss, then.

Had I tarried a moment or two longer, though, I'd have surely been out of luck, because the cheapest cartons now start at $6.95, and rapidly escalate to $8.29, and $9.85, depending on how fancy you wish to get (brown? caged? free range? organic?). What does next week's price frontier hold? Time will tell, but it's not looking good, now that Trump's made good on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports.

There's just one slight problem, though, for those who aren't paying attention. Here's a few relevant facts that I found, using the magic of Google searching, in answer to this question: "What percent of our food, overall, comes from Canada and Mexico?" Here's what my screen spat back at me:

• In 2020, Mexico accounted for 77% of fresh vegetable imports to the US, while accounted for 11%. Mexico's share dipped in slightly in 2023, to 63%, which still gives them a pretty healthy market share, by any measure.
• Mexico is the largest source of US horticultural imports, including fruit, vegetables, and alcoholic beverages.
• Mexico accounted for 47% of US fruit and imports in 2023.
• Between 2017 and 2021, Canada and Mexico ranked as the first and third largest suppliers, respectively, of US agricultural products.
• Canada accounted for 16.3% of total US agricultural exports, ringing up $174.8 billion in sales.
• More than 30% of meat and meat products consumed in the US hail from Canada. 

Two takeaways stand out here, to any reasonable observer. First, Canada's chances of ever becoming the 51st state look rather remote. (Besides, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico should get first dibs on that privilege, snark, snark, snark. They've been waiting a bit longer for it.) Second, all things being equal, we'd miss our Canadian and Mexican brethren at the dinner table a hell of a lot more, than the other way around.

My own sense is that a targeted middle ground approach works best. Unrestricted free trade is bad, because it often leads to job losses, and the hollowing out of local industries -- who typically make way for corporate chains, with all the imperial dog-eat-dogism that such a tectonic shift implies -- one that opens the door to other hobgoblins, like loss of intellectual property, weaker environment regulations, and worker exploitation.

Yet rampant trade wars also yield mixed results (see link below) -- since it's consumers, not importers, who pay for those hefty tax hikes on their products. The notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff, imposed in 1930 over President Herbert Hoover's objections -- which slapped punitive tariffs on over 1,000 products -- is considered the textbook example of blunt instrument protectionism that backfired, for its role in kick-starting the Great Depression internationally.

By and large, trade wars aren't something that any rational politician would do, though it's not hard to see why they periodically resort to them. Trade wars offer an easy way to push buttons, and play to emotions, without ever having to do anything about the problem that's causing so much economic queasiness.

This is the essence of populism, as alternative political satirist Jonathan Pie has observed -- promising the Moon, then handing you a copy of the Apollo 13 DVD. Not that this inconsistency slows Trump down -- as he zigzags between blaming his predecessor ("Inflation is back -- I had nothing to do with it"), and vague promises of fighting "every level of inflation," whatever that means. It's what he does; when confronted, double, triple, quadruple down, if necessary. Facts be damned, and public opinion, too.

Yet Biden is long gone, so whatever's happening under Trump's watch is his nut to crack, his problem to solve -- fair or unfair, like it not -- and he should be held accountable, obviously. But so should the party -- and the voters -- that  enabled him, and this particular brand of madness. Because "concepts of a plan," at least, as this incumbent defines them, offer cold comfort at the cash register. --The Reckoner

Links To Go (Hurry, Hurry, 

Before Those Eggs Cost 15 Bucks A Carton):

CNN: Trump Is One Month In, And Already,

Americans Are Mad At Him For Inflation:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/economy/us-economy-trump/index.html

CNN: Trump Says DOGE Could Return

20% Of Its Savings Directly To Taxpayers... :
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/business/doge-dividend-checks-plan-inflation/index.html

History.com: Seven Contentious Trade Wars In US History:
https://www.history.com/news/7-trade-wars-boston-tea-party-smoot-hawley

The Fifth Dimension: Up, Up, And Away (Official Audio):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKkNlwpajNk

The Fifth Dimension: Which Way To Nowhere:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfGHZzumXJ4