The next four years will be a nightmare. On Sundays, I'll be highlighting a few articles and ideas that I've found useful—and that might help us figure out how to get through it all.
The theme this week: The American people have a short amount of time to push back against the oligarchs and extremists who want to control our future.
If you thought 20th Century fascists were hard to defeat, imagine if they had access to the same kinds of social media platforms and technologies that our new "Nerd Reich" controls.
Because if the fascists take over this time around, there's no going back.
Biden's Warning
In December 2023, The New Yorker's David Remnick asked "Are We Sleepwalking Into Dictatorship?"
America gave its answer when it woke up on Election Day 2024 and began frantically Googling: "did Joe Biden drop out?"
Now, Donny Dictator is coming back, Biden is bowing out—and Google searches are spiking again.
Following Biden's farewell address on January 15, the question Americans had for Google was: "What is oligarchy?"
For Framelab, Gil Duran writes:
"Oligarchy" and "plutocracy"... are Greek words that – unlike their linguistic cousin, democracy – probably aren't well-known to most Americans. Oligarchy means "rule by the few" or "control by a powerful elite." Plutocracy means "rule by the rich." Both terms describe systems in which the government serves a small minority rather than the vast majority.
But the challenge isn't just teaching America's political sleepwalkers new words.
"We must frame the problem in clear, relatable, and emotionally powerful terms to build a moral and compelling counter-narrative," writes Duran.
In his article, he offers "some preliminary ideas for framing oligarchy in clear terms that connect with Americans on an emotional and moral level."
Joe Biden’s farewell warning: Oligarchy threatens democracy
The worst problems of the 21st century stem from the fact that a handful of greedy individuals and corporations have chosen to sacrifice the public good for their own private profit.
Gil Duran
The Indefensible Pete Hegseth
In her Shero newsletter, Amee Vanderpool covered the Hegseth confirmation hearing and offered: "Key Pete Hegseth Takeaways and How You Stop Him"
Five reasons to vote no on Pete Hegseth:
1. Insufficient FBI Background Check
2. Rape Allegations
3. Ending “Woke Liberals” for “Warrior Culture”
4. Blatant Racism and Sexism
5. Gross Financial Mismanagement
Can he be stopped? Probably not.
Should we at least try? Vanderpool says yes.
Her tips on how you can make a difference:
The key to stopping his advancement is to make your objections known at every stage of the process. The first thing you can do is to forward this article to every person you know so that they are informed about the facts and about Pete Hegseth’s lack of character and qualifications. Next, you can contact the Republican Members of the Armed Services Committee, by calling their offices at (202) 224-3121 to demand that they vote “NO” against Pete Hegseth based on his lack of fitness.
If the Pete Hegseth nomination passes and makes it out of committee, I would ask that you stay tuned in order to call your own Senators to demand a no vote once his appointment reaches the Senate Floor. There is still a lot of work to do, and this is not over — Pete Hegseth leading the Department of Defense is too dangerous a proposition to simply overlook his confirmation process. Get involved now!
Read her full article here.
Key Pete Hegseth Takeaways and How You Stop Him
I spent all of yesterday morning watching the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee and let me tell you, it was painful.
Amee Vanderpool
Homan's "Shock and Awe"
Tom Homan, the Gestapo chief Trump picked to oversee his mass deportations, is chomping at the bit.
"Immigration raids in the sanctuary city of Chicago start immediately after Trump’s inauguration," writes Chris Zappa in his Gonzo Report newsletter:
Less than 24 hours after taking power, the incoming regime is gearing up to terrorize immigrant communities with Trump’s trademark mix of cruelty and theatrical propaganda. Let’s be clear: staging these raids in Chicago, a sanctuary city, is a deliberate political attack meant to create shocking images of armed agents dragging people from their homes, workplaces, churches, and schools. Trump’s immigration chief is bragging about creating “shock and awe,” and if that sounds familiar, it should—it’s the exact phrase used to describe the U.S. bombing campaign on Iraqi civilians in 2003. None of us are prepared for this unleashing of state violence against vulnerable communities, and it pains me to say it, but this is just the beginning where things are going from bad to worse, quite literally overnight.
Zappa (re)launched his newsletter soon after the election, writing:
With the U.S. at a critical juncture and the return of an authoritarian fascist administration, Gonzo Report is committed to providing a fierce, unfiltered perspective on the issues that impact democracy, civil liberties, and the freedoms we hold dear. In an era when misinformation and propaganda are on the rise, my goal is to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, delivering pertinent facts, context, and analysis to empower informed citizenship.
I really like his format and appreciate his quick takes on multiple news stories. You can read more and subscribe here.
Immigration raids start Tuesday in Chicago, MAGA rep intros bill to kill Dept. of Education, SCOTUS bans TikTok, Trump exploits wildfire victims...
Gonzo Report: January 17, 2025
Chris Zappa
Trump's "Hawk Tuah" Moment
Just when you thought Felonious Trump had hawked his last gross campaign merchandise, he decided to follow in the footsteps of Hawk Tuah Girl by launching his own pump-and-dump meme coin days before his White House return.
Trump Follows in Footsteps of Hawk Tuah Girl by Launching Meme Coin, Days Before Presidency
Trump is following in the footsteps of luminaries like Haliey “Hawk Tuah Girl” Welch, by launching a meme coin creatively dubbed $TRUMP.
Jon Christian
"Investors" flocked to the $TRUMP coin which quickly achieved a market cap of $32 billion, with 80% of the supply held by Trump Organization affiliates.
But many big accounts and crypto enthusiasts on X were not impressed.
Trump's sleazy scam, says Axios, "speaks to the nature of the crypto industry that someone could have $25 billion worth of something that literally did not exist 24 hours previously."
Tired of Humans?
If all your idols are letting you down, leaving you out in the cold, or otherwise disappointing you, it's easy to see why you might need a break from all of the human race.
Over at the Big Technology newsletter, Alex Kantrowitz is reporting on how Replika, the AI "companion app" is moving beyond the lonely hearts club clientele as it looks: "to become useful even for those who aren’t lonely or in need of a virtual companion."
Will Your AI Agent Be Your Friend or Lover Too?
Instead of an assistant that feels like a travel agent, maybe a friend (or romantic partner) is the most likely experience.
Alex Kantrowitz
Be prepared.
2025 is the year when AI "agents" could be not only taking your job, but also invading your life.
Writes Kantrowitz:
A companion that you feel a bond with is the most plausible agent experience, above a travel agent type AI. With people already falling in love with standard versions of ChatGPT, that no longer seems outlandish.
Kantrowitz interviews Eugenia Kuyda, the founder and CEO of Replika, in this week's Big Technology Podcast:
Inspiration vs. Ignore-guration
Reminder: Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
It's a good day to remember that, as MLK, Jr. once said: "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
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P.S. This really is the time to get off X once and for all. Please find me on Bluesky and these other places.
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