Trillbilly Worker's Party - Episode 381: Fugue State Of America

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

This week we're covering unwanted ads in your car, plane crashes, American brain drain, staffing and leadership shortages within the American police state, the United States' about-face on Ukraine, and much more Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/trillbillyworkersparty

Well, uh Aaron I don't know if you saw this but some Jeep owners are being hit with pop-up ads inside their cars and It's all part of Stellantis's plan to make an extra 20 billion dollars a year per for just her fortune So does this pop up? Alright, so I'm assuming it pops up or the screen which they're making screens and cards bigger Like like soon it's gonna be like a flat screen TV in your, like installed in your dashboard. So are these ads popping up like where you're looking at your maps app or some shit and it just pops up with like, you know, like dick pills or some shit like that. Yeah.

It'll drop down in front of your windshield. Like before we're like pop up out out where the windshield wipers pop up so you can't even see the road but like that's besides the point you need to see the ad don't focus on the road focus on the ad focus on the ad for a horty who are horty horty goat we oh shit yo so so what is this company even what is this company? I've never heard of this company. What'd you say Scantron? What is it called? Stellantis I guess the fuck is that you know that's a that's a ship from Star Trek to the USS the lattice What is it? Let's let's look it up

Stellantis Jeep ads also you're right like what? The the concept of having like zero autonomy Anywhere in your home your Jeep your car anything like that like at all point in time like you You you must be bombarded point in time like you you you must be bombarded with Messages that tell you your shit Doesn't work if you're depressed your dick is small and don't work

Like they got no already, man. Okay. I got it. I got it brother. I'm just trying to pick up my kid from school, okay? The principal is gonna start doing ads over the intercom in the mornings to like the kids But does your dad your dad's dick doesn't work tell him he needs blue chew Nah, bro, it's gonna be ADHD pills is medication issue like that for the kids and losing focus at school Let's see this is what yeah What is the Lantantis? FlexCare Extended Care Premium Plans are factory backed and offer you peace of mind in case of a mechanical breakdown, the ad reads. Offering an option to-

Oh, hold up, so they show you ads, hold up, hold up, they showed you ads like while you're driving your car, just in case you get, see, vertical integration, brother, just in case you get into an accident. You've already listened to the ad. Literally, here's what it is. I can't show it to the audience, but it comes up and it says,

purchase peace of mind. And you can click, you can click Bluetooth call to call them, or just hit okay. Okay, thanks for the peace of mind that I can purchase. You really gotta appreciate the vertical integration. You know, I was thinking about it, man.

I know this is the last episode, but I was thinking about the fire, the three fire companies that are responsible for fighting fires or firefighting companies, I should say. And it's like, I made the joke, but it's like, it feels like at every stage, like this, this, I don't know, man, like we're at this point where companies are, I mean we already manufactured crisis, right, it's part of the spectacle, you know what I mean? But it feels we're getting to a point where like, there are like not enough car accidents, right? No, right. What we have to do is we have to actually,

we have to distract you from driving. We have to preempt the accident by giving you an ad so that you can get your car fixed and some shit like that. You know what I mean? And well it's not just car accidents. It's plane accidents, too Like I think the last time we were that should be good. I was gonna say the last time we recorded I don't think we had talked about that plane that flipped upside down Back like a beach way

Like some like some flight shit start deser Washington So hold on so the ads pop up so the ads are popping up like across the windshield of the plane And the part in the cabin some shit in the pilots cabinet and the cockpit Well, yeah, the last thing you will hear before Impact when you're like breathing in the oxygen Will be an ad for purchasing peace of mind through the Delta miles program No, bro, it's gonna be an ad for Philemon's basement. Actually Philemon's basement does not even open anymore They closed out with some shit like that Well, I saw this thing Man, I can't find it now, fuck. I saw this thing about how the Boeing 737 MAX, which has already had a lot of problems...

Here it is. It's on someone named Nate Bear, wrote this on their sub-stack called Do Not Panic. Boeing is covering up another fatal max flaw a commercial airline pilot who analyzes Plan crashes is warning that another fault in the Boeing 30 737 max is in danger of causing the next catastrophic Crash and nothing is being done about it So like It's like it's weird. It's like several different things are going on here Like we've talked about this before in the past the reasons that there's so many problems with the 737 max is because of regulatory capture because so many people who work in

regulation of the aviation industry also work In the aviation industry and they just go back and forth and so there's a regulatory capture of the of the industry and I mean So you have so like you've got that you've got this problem with like the 737 Max, it's like similar to that like fire truck problem, right? Like it's like, what is really hollowing out our ability to even do these basic? Like fly planes.

I also have to say that like, all right, two things. One, I just feel like something like a plane, like is it like an Airbus? Is that what it is? The 737 Max is like an Airbus? I just feel like you should just stop making things that big when they're that dangerous.

You know what I mean? Like maybe make a fleet of smaller planes. And secondly, did you see though that Elon Musk said that he made a tweet where SpaceX actually is going to start to be involved in the plane in the making of airplanes The plane industry planology whatever you fuck you would have called it which I mean Yes, which I mean I have to say I know a lot of people get on SpaceX But I will admit this I will say this as someone who's a space enthusiast

Um that that Falcon 9 rocket is actually Pretty reliable, and it's used to ferry. I think it's the Falcon 9 It's used to ferry astronauts to the ISS right so but he's also not in charge of SpaceX I think a lot of people think that he's in charge of it, but he's not you know right Sort of like Tesla right like well. He didn't start Tesla. I think he just like showing bought it right no Yeah, but yeah, you bought it exactly. He didn't start Tesla. You just bought that shit. Yeah, um Well, it's it's I guess this is the so what we're referencing and by the way welcome to the show this week Tom's out He's got sick. He's got some sort of sickness

Skeleton crew to the scare skeleton crew today what we're referencing is on the patreon this past Monday we discussed this article about how the private equity driven consolidation of the fire truck manufacturing industry has basically created a situation where no fire departments can get fire trucks anymore and It's basically impeded the profit motive has impeded our ability to fight Give us a set of the patreon. I mean the man's greatest discovery. This is like this is like Prometheus You know Prometheus gave fire to the people this is like this is like Prometheus Just being like, you know what?

I gave you fire and now it's gotten out of control where you you have no control Actually, that's probably a good metaphor for capitalism, right? We're something that we have created something that is um Self-propagating you know what I mean? Yeah something that ignites that we we have now lost our ability to control it Despite the fact that it has built civilizations and also destroyed them, you know Well, it's it's the same thing with air travel and space travel. It's like these things that we've conquered. You know, we've conquered gravity. We figured out a way to conquer gravity.

Escape velocity. Do you know how fast you need to go? How much thrust you need to escape the orbit of Earth? And we can't even do that right anymore. It's a classic example of how, and again, if there is any future civilization in a thousand years, let's hope that it is luxury, gay space, communism, whatever the fuck. Star Trek shit. Yeah, but it probably won't be because it looks like the trajectory we're heading on is that the profit motive will eat away even even our

even our Meager try I know it's called meager. They're actually something to boast about right these are huge triumphs like right not only Okay, not only space travel, but antibiotics vaccinations Conquering diseases like all that is now elements I mean essentially what it is is that if being a human being and being alive right is this struggle against? Entropy right you know what I mean if civilization and the human experience is a struggle against that inevitable end that we will meet We've lost our ability to conquer the elements to master and manipulate the elements

To a point to a point in which fire Will be we will be swallowed by the seas and engulfed in flames brother Literally, no, it's all now sliding back. It is all now being slowly pulled back slowly Regressing like the profit motive has hollowed out even our ability to fight fires Like I said, bro, like oh you think we landed on the moon in 1969, which we did. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but now we can't even put out fires, dog. Like, how many, I mean, how degenerate of a society is it where, again, you cannot, you can no longer, you are no longer the master of your own creations. You know what I'm saying?

Your own triumphant creations that you no longer have any control over it because as you said, I like the term you use in the Patreon, the profit power site, because that's exactly what it is, man. It is. Everything is so febrile and brittle now. You know what I'm saying? And lethargic almost, man.

Yes, yeah. Did you see the company, I mean I'm gonna reference my own tweet but actually it's a tweet from this company called uh what is it called proto clone or some shit like oh yeah Evangelion looking fucking fucking what is man? This pale white musculature of like a fucking, like if you look at anatomy book, you know what I'm saying? And they break it down with, this is the musculature and it's supposed to be the first bipedal Android.

And I mean, I think it was Nathan Robinson, you know, and kudos to him for this tweet because it's true, but anytime you see a robot like that, it is going to be used to kill people And actually I'll walk it back a bit because I do not think that we are at a stage anymore where Yeah, I know people are scared about the Boston dynamic robots But I don't even think they'll get them shits up and working dog if any country if any country and you know I'll just be honest though if any country is going to achieve that sort of cyberpunk future, it's probably going to be

China, right? It's not going to be, it's not going to be, it's not going to be United States. But even at the same time, I've made this point before, it just feels as though, I mean, I don't know, dude, like any sort of innovation emerging technology, is just meant to bleed you like a stone and kill you, you know, and it might not even work. You know what I mean? So you won't even be decapitated by the proto-clone robot when you're trying to leave an Amazon company town, right? It'll just half chop off your head, you know?

You'll be still alive for a couple, it won't even kill you efficiently, you know? I have no, no, no, no. No, as soon as I saw that thing, I my death like my head half of it stoved in We about to still move it again. I just don't blink I Saw my death. I saw my death I was breaking rocks in a yard and one of those things ripped off a Pipe a piping thing from a wall and steam hissed out of it, and

then that thing just bludgeoned me to death. Very inefficiently for 30 minutes. Just hitting you with your balls or something. Not even hitting you with the head. It's just smacking your balls repeatedly while you scream in agony while the rest of the workers look on and hope that they're not next. I mean, that's the future that we headed towards, brother. To support this claim, which I think is 100% true, this is from Sam Stein at the Bulwark,

which is another sub-stack. The Borg? The Bulwark, sorry. Oh, I thought you said the Borg. Oh, the Bulwark, okay. The Borg is writing articles now. Resistance is futile, you have to read this shit. This guy Sam Stein writes, the Doge brain drain has begun.

It's not just jobs cut and agencies gutted, it's the talent that will be lost for generations to come. So anyways, what it talks about is the funding cap that the Trump administration under Musk's and Doge's recommendation put on the National Institutes of Health. So it says here, three days after the National Institutes of Health abruptly announced it would place a strict low cap

on the money it sends to universities and research institutions for the administrative costs of scientific research, the University of Iowa made an abrupt announcement of its own. The school's Office of the Vice President for Research declared that going forward it would pause the quote hiring of new graduate research assistants unless they already budgeted as a direct cost funded project.

Man, can I just say man that this is, you know, and I've mentioned my sister before, my sister works for the government, she works for the State Department, and probably doing some Miley Nefaria shit, I don't know. But this seems like a, it seems like a, what's the word for it? I mean, discouraging, I guess, but it seems like it's going to demotivate people from even going into government jobs, you know? Because if your job can be wiped away with just an election, right, then why the fuck would people who, and especially if we're looking at like people in STEM, you know,

people who want to go into the sciences, I think this, what is it, the National Science Foundation, I'm probably not saying. Yeah, but they've been cutting, I guess, funding or firing people too. And it's just this demotivating thing where it's like, I mean, I guess this is what it is when my father had said when Trump got elected, not that he voted for Trump, but I think this is a very American minded thing to say. He was like, well, he's going to run the country like a business. And he said this kind of approvingly, right? And that's actually what happened is that you get in and you just slash, right?

Because you want to minimize costs and maximize profit. Well yes, that's the thing, man. And to like sort of thread through several different needles here, so there is the FAA like we were just talking about that right like them basically Firing everybody at the FAA and replacing them all with like 20 year old SpaceX employees That comes on top of them basically cutting all science funding Which is like this is the thing like they've been talking about stem

For years like like we need to like slash funding in the humanities and reprioritize stem They're not even doing that anymore like so much of federal Or so much of scientific research just in general r&d whatever is funded through universities through grants through universities which there are Petri dishes for like emerging technology for consumer technology for whatever I mean military technology too let's not let's not get it twisted as well but still you know exactly and if you cut off that funding like they're gonna start paring down they're gonna

start firing people they're gonna start initiating hiring freezes wage freezes right and so you are going to have a process of brain drain you're gonna have a process where like those people can't get any upward advancement in their careers anymore they can't be bureaucrats they can't even work in university admin or research anymore. Maybe they'll go work for corporations, but that's, I don't know. I mean, it's.

I mean, this is the thing too, man. It's just like, it's funny because I feel like someone like Elon Musk, right, who seems to prioritize STEM, even though I'm pretty sure this guy's a moron, right? I don't know how much of an engineer he actually is. But like you said, even that, right? Because there seems to be this sort of dichotomy of STEM

versus the humanities, right? Especially on the right wing, right? As if the humanities are effeminate, as if they are broadified, right? I mean, literally, these are feminine studies, right? And all this, it's all wrapped up in misogyny and sexism, obviously, right? But even these people who are STEM majors

are supporting the cutting of, like in the hollowing out of scientific research. So it's like, what do you expect these people to do? I mean, look, if you work in a government, I guess your option is either to work at a fire liens basement, which again, I'll keep using that example, that place does not exist anymore. Work at your Cinnabon, local Cinnabon at your mall,

or become a suicide bomber. I mean, I would actually say that. I would encourage you to probably do that. But no, seriously, it's like, so where does this, let me ask you a question, man. What do you think is, this has to have some sort of effect that we can't see yet, all these firings. It has to have some sort of effect that we can't see yet, all these firings. It has to have some sort of effect

where people are not just demotivated, discouraged, impoverished, but angry, right? I bet it would have to. It seems to me like what they wanna do is they wanna preserve H-1B status so that they can import. Right, I forget about that. High skilled workers from India or whatever

who know how to code Basically what this is is it is a fundamental restructuring of administration across the board from the government to municipal governance to university governance, right and Basically automating it essentially right it that's why they need coders to do it They don't need you know what I'm saying. Like they don't write American They just need to know how to like program. You know what you know what man? I would say that I'm gonna try to articulate this I would say that the rise of AI You know so-called artificial intelligence machine intelligence, right?

I would say that that sort of maybe was prophetic in a way To weigh that to in the way that Trump through Musk now is cutting the ability of the government, where people, actual human beings allow things to happen. And I only say that because it feels like AI is very much about just, I mean, obviously, excuse me, cutting out the human element, right? Cutting costs, right? Using machines to automate things, but it feels like there's a similar philosophy, right?

With this austerity that we're seeing now, you know? Where it's like, I mean, I'm not even gonna say that what are they gonna replace all these people with AI? I don't even think we're there yet, but it's the idea of cutting out the human element of it, right, cutting out the humanity of it, you know what I mean? 100%, I think that they wanna,

what they really wanna do is they wanna cut out any kind of social basis within these institutions that could question anything. Right, right, right, right, right. They wanna install workers who are pliant, obedient, who just like are number crunchers, who know how to code. Because then- It's an attack on the social contract essentially.

Well that's exactly it. I mean, they are essentially trying to destroy America. And I don't mean that in like a Libsense, like oh Trump and Musk are selling off America to the Chinese or the Russians. That shit gonna be sitting off cinder blocks in your driveway, brother. No, it's not that, yeah.

No, I mean, like, they're trying to destroy it in the sense that, like, that's the last frontier of surplus extraction. There's nothing left. There's no society left. Like, there's, neoliberalism basically took down what was left of a society. Right, right, and it, yes.

Yeah, you've already got a junkyard, so now we're selling off the junkyard. Right, right, and if you wanna look at neoliberalism or, I mean, like, political economy, but neoliberalism especially about what to do with the self, with the individual, you know? Well, there is no longer an individual. There's actually not even a society, right?

Right. Yeah, it's not even solipsistic anymore. It's excised the human element, right? Right. Even the desire for fulfillment, right? Even the desire for a community, at this point, it's just like a watch. You know what I mean?

It's like these people think that they're watchmakers, and what they need to do is to tinker around and make it as mechanical as possible and Drain it of any sort of like human activity Yeah sort of human inspiration so that they can as I've said before so that they can squeeze us all like a Stone so they could get as much money as they want before fucking I was underwater or some shit She thought I mean, well, I think that the

So there's a few things that I wanted to cover on that front like I mean I saw this thing yesterday Dude, I am NOT gonna fucking be able to find this either It's such a fun show of me trying to find my bookmarks that I have a getting you navigating you Through a graveyard of your tombstones of your bookmark It tried to find the right one. I'm not gonna be able to fucking find it now. But the gist was that the Trump administration in, or not even Trump administration, Doge,

if you wanna separate the two out, Doge had fired this guy who was a veteran who worked at the VA he had like four kids you know a mortgage like these kids are also veterans by the way they um they fired this guy who is like a veteran who um Yeah, had four kids had a mortgage. Well. I worked for the VA You know the VA is one of the if you're looking for places within the American government where like actual existing socialism exists It is probably the VA because they actually do have a pretty good like robust

Social welfare system and healthcare system and everything But of course now they're taking the you know hammer and chisel and everything to that as well and it occurred to me like as I was reading that like You know we there has been a lot of talk like is this fascism is that is are we in a fascist moment? Is it new trump? Administration fascist and I do think that it is in some very important Fundamental ways but at the same time I think with that example you kind of see how like a fascist social base can never really cohere in america because really coherent America because

like at the end of the day the almighty dollar and the drive towards profit maximization and Stripping out every last, you know vestige Vestigial organ or whatever for parts and surplus of society disrupts the The process of the formation of a fascist social base. Right, right. Of a cohesive, yes, exactly, exactly. Because I'm saying a guy like that would be a perfect target for making a brown shirt in the streets like SS officer.

Him and his four children by the way, literally, yes. Yeah, Hitler Youth and everything, right. Yeah, exactly. You've got the whole thing ready made. But even that, even they can't even do that because they're so, and I'm not saying that like, oh, say what you want about the merits of National Socialism, at least it was an ethos. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it's like two different kinds of fascism.

It's obvious that we're in a post-neoliberal... It's too alienating. Yeah. Well, a post neoliberal. It's too alienating Yeah, well, it's you know right. It's too alienating right like fascism even for it to work has to have some sort of like social Base has a bond of some sort right right we have the mythology right the American mythology, but when you can't even Fulfill that mythology or the realization of that mythology in other people because you've just fired them, you know what I mean? You've completely just like chiseled away at any sort of like social base, right? Or I mean, don't want to use the word camaraderie because they're not comrades, but you know

what I'm saying? You've erased any sense of community because you literally have this again like a watchmaker this mechanical Desire right to just tinker around and just make the shit just tick, you know until the time runs out You know, that's true it what it really reminds me of it doesn't remind me of like Nazis in 1933 it reminds me of the Nazis in 1945 just like completely out of their fucking minds on like 1945 just like completely out of their fucking minds on like Methamphetamines and like their fucking fingers off and blowing their heads off in bunkers like that's really what it is more reminiscent of like

There's no ability to like actually Form a mass movement or a social base like it's right. We've skipped over that whole part We just went straight up to just do it Beth Mean an anti-semitic red so I guess mean, and anti-Semitic rants, or I guess like they're anti-Palestinian now. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well look at this. So this is another entry point in that,

this article was sent to me from someone in this anti-prison coalition that I sometimes work with because we're trying to stop this prison in Letcher County. I was kind of blown away by this story, especially given the. Extreme likelihood that they will go forward with this building, this prison in Letcher County. Um, this is in Forbes Bureau of prisons, executives announced retirement ahead of new director.

The federal Bureau of prisons is currently experiencing significant upheaval with a wave of leadership departures, leaving the agency without clear direction during a critical time. Acting Director William Lathrop, who stepped into the role on January 20th, 2025, after former Director Colette Peters was fired, has now announced his retirement. Lathrop's statement acknowledged the gravity of the situation saying we are in unprecedented times as an agency Okay, I just have to say critical times and unprecedented is like we need to lock more niggas up. We are We are at a deficit right now with putting people in prison, but okay sure whatever I think the problem is they've got so many people locked up But they don't have anybody to oversee them anymore. Right, right

Anybody anybody who has anybody currently incarcerated right now in their life will tell you Prisons are experiencing some of the worst staff shortages they've ever seen like this started during the pandemic But nobody wants to fucking be a prison guard and I said this leading up to the Trump thing like when people were talking about like concentration camps and then rounding up people which they are doing a good job of making the spectacle of rounding people up but like the at the same time like they're struggling to staff any of this because No one wants to be a prison guard. No one wants to fucking around people up. No one wants to get shaked. No, exactly. Exactly. This mass exodus has left the BOP rudderless.

Okay, so then there was five other senior leaders that quit. This mass exodus has left the BOP rudderless, grappling with pre-existing operational challenges exacerbated by the sudden leadership vacuum. As the agency faces increasing pressure to perform at mid significant policy shifts, uncertainty looms over its future. I mean, mass incarceration was one of those forms of fascism that we basically formulated

out of the neoliberal death drive, right? And now even that is collapsing in on itself. You know what I'm saying? Which is why I think you're sort of this, because people will compare obviously Trump to like the coma fascists, but you know, this is where Nazi Germany now. But again, not only, you have the mythology, sure, right?

But you're not able to fill the mythology because you don't actually have the social base the policies Right that would create that kind of thing But even even the most fascistic thing that you do is just locking niggas up You know what I mean? You're not even able to do that or or oversee them because people just like because you you've hollowed it out so much where I Mean, I mean, I guess this is why they would want like that Android thing right they would just rather replace it with

something that is unfeeling but it's not even about being unfeeling I think it's more about people just realizing that this is not a secure job you know what I mean? Maybe federal jobs are just not secure anymore so why the fuck would I risk my livelihood especially being a prison guard not to say that these prisons are incredibly violent but just the way that people think of prisons, right? They are violent environments created by the state, not because of the inmates, but you're not even able to do that. So you've just kind of passed over the whole concentration camps, right?

Because you can't even get people to believe that this is necessary anymore, or they wouldn't do this job, you know? That's exactly my point, right? You can't even have people staffing the concentration camps at this point because They didn't go through the ideological Process of trying to write a base for that like they just write They'll get like splashed on the cover of like New York magazine is like look at the hot new, right? They know how to party, but at the end of the day

It's like 18 coked out people who know how to like put fucking collar Locks on or whatever their fucking suits, but like they don't know I don't know there's no mass movement that people don't like this right right, bro There's no mass movement because you haven't gone through the maturation right of that was just the ideology right these are infantile Is what it is and it will remain infantile. You know not even infantile. It is it is almost aborted It is almost an aborted fetus, you know what I mean? It is unformed is what it is, man. That's right, that's exactly right.

And you know, this is an interesting thing. I don't know if you saw this over the last few days. The Trump administration had made a, oh my god dude, it's so disgusting. Like the White House itself published this on its Twitter page. But um, ASMR illegal alien deportation flight. And it's just them like... Like you know, pulling chains out of a box, like putting chains on immigrants.

It's just like... Dude, it's so... Somebody brought it up you know in my um because I posted about it um that this is you know truly some Lovecraftian like the old ones type of Kalutha like Kalutha like Cthulhu sorry evil but someone brought it up like that the fact that the clashing of the chains is what you can hear, you know? And I guess someone made the analogy of slavery and it's just so inhuman, right?

And so anti-human because who do you think is enjoying this? And I mean, I guess there are people that enjoy that, but more than anything, it just expresses to me that like, yeah, man, I know we've said this before, but this is the shape of the future, right? This is the outline of the future that we're headed about. If you want an auditory expression of that, it is chains, clacking against crack concrete,

you know what I mean? That's really what it is, man. Well, I think that like, partially what I find so fascinating about this though, is that it would be in any other environment in any other Time and any other place it would be ripe for an opposition movement because like I said They they appear pretty weak to me honestly like I really do think that like they

Okay, do they hold all the branches of government yes? They both are about to as Elon Musk about to like fire how many thousands of people from the IRS during tax season? Yes, they have the power to do some hated shit right now, but go ahead, you're right though, you're right though. This seems like an overreach, a lot of this shit, yo. Well, it seems like an overreach, like it seems like, it seems almost like an invasionary,

this is why I call the Democrats vishy Democrats Because it's not that it's not just that they appease the Republicans It's almost that like the Republicans are kind of an invading force on in America in some ways I'm not trying to say like oh Trump is a Russian asset He's not he obviously is very much a product of America right like it's undeniable But he's more a product of the political economic Circumstances of the last four years like I mentioned this book before I Mentioned on the episode last weekend with Gabby Del Valle, but like the book is Melinda Cooper's I

Think it's called counterrevolution. I hope I got that right extravagance and austerity and public finance and she's talking about like how the Supply-side revolution of the 70s created the circumstances for Donald Trump to become become so rich basically And so like that he is a product of America in that sense And so like he is a product of America in that sense However, like his cultural values and also even more, you know fundamentally maybe his like moral

Values, I don't think and that includes musk that includes Russell Vought Steven Miller all these people I don't think it's in line with the majority of Americans like I just that like, if there was an actual opposition party, they could harness some actual dissent, some anger. Right, right. Dude, because apparently, I mean, you know, say what you will about approval ratings and all this shit, because we clearly saw that like, none of these polls or none of this polling actually means anything, right?

It just seems to be pushed out to shape a narrative or create a narrative in the manufacturing of a spectacle. But you said the Vichy Democrats, and I really like what a friend of the show, Alexander Vina has called them, the children of men Democrats. They have acquiesced to the future. You made me think about that book, Discounting the Future, you know? And just like the fact that they've already sold it off, you know?

If the Republicans are the ones that actually enact it, you know, I would say that the Democrats and the Republicans do this too, but the Democrats normalize it. They've normalized it before it even happened. And I think we saw that during the fucking, the 20, the most recent election, where they knew that they were going to lose, you know? Yeah. And they went around gallivanting, actually, I mean, you don't want to re-litigate,

but they went around again, again, gallivanting with Liz Cheney, pushing some of the most right-wing policies that I've ever seen. They were literally nodding towards the Republicans and saying like, okay, we're on board with you Yeah, they even fucking won. You know well. This is a fascinating thing and this is a good segue into kind of like the Bulk of what I wanted to talk about today, which is I think very fascinating

I think this will prove to be one of the most fascinating weeks of the early Trump administration Granted who the fuck knows what could happen after this maybe JD Vance will they shit himself in front of an auditorium of people hopefully God Maybe he will spontaneously combust. I don't know is that a thing anymore that has happened in a while We need one of those back, you know You're right what happened to that that was pretty cool So this week is The week that I don't know if you saw this but like we have now definitively

officially turned on Ukraine We've re-joined or not rejoined We were never really on board with Russia except for like five years in the 90s when We gave for silton some acid and he shit showed on the lawn of the White House But like you know the story of Russia and Russian-American Relations for about a hundred years now has not been great to say But but this week we saw a very definitive pivot. And it was, you know, best summed up

in this post from Trump, I'm just gonna read here. Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky Talk the US of America into spending 350 billion dollars to go into a war that couldn't be one that never had to start But a war that he without the US and Trump will never be able to settle The United States has spent 200 billion dollars more than Europe and Europe's money is guaranteed while the US will get nothing back Why didn't sleepy Joe Biden demand equalization

and that this war is far more important to Europe than it is to us? We have a big, beautiful ocean of separation. On top of this, Zelensky admits that half of the money we send him is quote, missing. He refuses to have election, is very low in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden

like a fiddle. A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something I'll admit only Trump and the Trump administration can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring peace and Zelensky probably wants to keep

the quote gravy train going. I love Ukraine, and Zelensky probably wants to keep the quote gravy train going I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job his country shattered and millions of unnecessarily died And so it continues. I just love that He started it with like the reality TV show president started out by calling him like this comedian. What an election Yeah, okay, brother moderately successful Moderately dude yeah, okay, so what had happened was Trump and you know the administration went to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to negotiate or to open

negotiations with Russia to to basically To not really settle on anything necessarily although. I was reading in the New York Times coverage of this, that Trump already did make a few concessions to the Russians without getting anything in return, which I thought was pretty funny. Analysts note that the United States has already granted Russia two major concessions. One, ruling out Ukrainian membership in NATO, and two, suggesting that it is unrealistic for Ukraine to reclaim all its territory

without receiving anything in return. So like, I mean, and then they go on to talk about like how this also happened with him in South Korea, or North Korea, I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. And then furthermore He's trying to negotiate a new deal with China Something that's so fascinating to me and that gets lost in a lot of like analysis of Trump Is that like he is really really really bad at deal making just like Extremely bad at deal making like the man who professes the art of the deal, right? It's not really great at deal making apparently no, I mean like

if you're going to negotiations with Russia and it's like I mean, okay, so They obviously have some leverage. They could be like, alright Russia will grant you that they can't be allowed into NATO and you get the Donbass and these other territories. However, you're gonna have to pay us back on some of the money that we poured into this bullshit. Whatever, I'm just saying that happens in war in treaty negotiations, right? Like when you sue for peace or whatever.

Like you have to pay. It's transactional. An indemnity or whatever. Right, exactly. But no, they just like, again, Right like you sue for peace or whatever like you have transactional and then dignity or whatever right exactly But no they just like it again. He's like so bad at deals like he himself Is kind of like already like consigning the United States position to a weak point? And then like antagonizing Zelensky is like very funny to me I mean it's grim like you know tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed in this

The blood for that is on Americans hands like you know America not only You know pushed Ukraine to do this at every step of the way, but there are considerable There's considerable evidence that the CIA and other you know State Department or whatever other American maneuverings were happening prior to February 2022 that were pushing Ukraine into a you know a Bellicose position with regards to Russia basically Trying to get trying to instigate some sort of thing to happen And then granted I could be simplifying a little bit obviously. I'm not trying to like take away agency from

Vladimir v. Putin You brought that up. Why do they keep bringing up the V? Everything I've read in the New York Times this past few days like keeps mentioning Vladimir v. Putin I've never seen that before it feels very I, how can I put it? It feels like very, is it Russiaphobic? Yeah, yeah, Russiaphobic. It feels like, oh, how many niggas in America you know to have that name start with V? Vanessa, Victor?

Oh, the Russians though, they're just rife with V names. You know what I mean? All Vlads. As far as you can see. Yeah, exactly, it's this otherization is what I'm saying. It's weird, you know, it feels weird. Ivan, Vlad, yeah. I think that like, it's, I mean, that's its otherization is what I'm saying. It's weird. Yeah, if you're Ivan Vlad, yeah I think that like it's I mean that that's the you read between the lines and a lot of these like New York Times

articles And Like, you know, obviously they're working over time to manufacture the consent for supporting this war But like something that I've found really fascinating about this like You know the liberal line on this has kind of gone all over the place everything from like Donald Trump Is a Russian asset? To the p-tape, you know, what do they have on him? You're seeing you're seeing a little bit of that again the golden shower

But like new, you know, newly minted DNC operative David Hogg had a tweet. If we abandon Ukraine, Poland is next. You know what's going to be a lot more expensive than finishing this war and forcing Putin out of Ukraine? A third world war and a second Marshall Plan. We are arguably in the most important moment in geopolitics It's world war two and our president is letting a strongman castrate us and our ally. That's interesting Castor I mean okay. Yeah, cash rate David hogs using the word castor Interesting David on hog Oh my god, what do you think? What do you think is Trump's, what do you think is his motivation

behind this? Do you think it's wanting to make it seem as if he's finally doing what Biden couldn't? Do you think it's sort of the criticisms that liberals bring up that he is attracted, that he's a hard-on for strongman. Like what do you think is his motivation with this, yo? That's a good question because there was a New York Times article talking about, and I think it was on the front page today, about how the Republican Party has basically stayed completely silent about this.

And that includes a lot of people who were even pro-Ukraine. I think like Tom Tillis from North Carolina literally just got back from Ukraine. And affirming. Why are you still going to Ukraine in 2025, brother? You're a fucking loser. Like that's a 2022 thing. Maybe 2023. Nobody does that anymore. Nobody gives a shit anymore. Not to say that people haven't died there, I know, but like, you know, we've, it seems as if we've punted on it and he seems to be wanting to resolve it I don't know well. I think

Dude, I don't know that mean it's there's all kinds of different interpretations of this I Almost wonder if if it's not just a very cynical Attempt to Basically ring you can't Ukraine dry of all of its resources like food, rare earth minerals, etc. I think that's kind of how Trump sees the world. He obviously does not see human.

What was that famous quote from him where he was like, he's like, you wake up, you see four million people dead in an earthquake in India, and you just think like well. I mean That reminds me of his shithole country thing because I call you create a shithole country You know I mean even though even though these shithole countries have Resources that you could exploit Yeah, actually I see what you're saying now It feels as if like what so what is he gonna work a deal with Putin well after Ukraine's been bled dry So like you know share oil or some shit like what is that and I think it's not just Ukraine

I think that like there is an argument to be made that US oil Companies are leaving a lot of money on the table. I think Exxon Mobil pulled out of a $300 billion deal from Russia after the Biden administration slapped sanctions on Russia. I think in all of this, Trump's number one priority is just the dollar sign. That's always been it. It's just like- Making sure his boys get the bag. Exactly. It's just like making sure his boys get the bag. Yeah, exactly And I think that like for him it's got nothing to do with like he loves Putin a strong

strong-ass authoritarian or like or or or even necessarily Score, you know scoring one on the Biden people even though it does serve that purpose and and we can use that I just genuinely think it's because he thinks he's gonna get good deals out of it You know what I mean like right right money will be made and everyone will love him the business Like he Trump sees himself as an outsider not from American society, but from American Business Society Right, you know he's a real estate developer. He's not an oil. He's not an oil man. He's not a manufacturer You know I mean he fucking like I said earlier

He got big in like the supply side years all those tax. You know that those tax revolts and all those tax handouts Directly benefited the real estate industry in the 80s His mind is literally preoccupied with land. Yeah exactly land man I mean, I've never watched the show land man, but he is land man He wishes he was I think he sees himself as an outsider from you know That like inner circle of like Americans like business roundtable or whatever And I think that he thinks like oh, I'm gonna bring them deals

Dude, he's even talking He's even softened his line on China in the just in the last like week or so like he's talking about striking a new trade deal with them that will like be beneficial for both of us you know I'm saying it's just like he just that he just doesn't really like it's a weird combination of forces MAGA is right it's like his like insane death drive towards the maximization of profit mixed with Elon's similar thing, but Elon is also a dyed-in-the-wool Nazi.

And I think JD Vance doesn't care about any of that. JD Vance is not a businessman. He's not a fucking- No, JD Vance seems to be more obsessed with the cultural stuff. Exactly. Than anyone else, right? Like did you hear what he said?

100%. What was he, I don't know where Like, did you hear what he said? 100%. What was he, I don't know where he was saying this, but he said some shit, like, I mean, how many, I can't even say the most racist thing, because at this point it's just like, racist, it's not Seception, right? It's just like, let's concentric levels of just the most fascistic, racist shit I've seen,

but he was like, we need to get a, I forgot his exact words, but he was like, we need to get control over these immigrants coming to the United States, right? Like, basically he's saying that they are sullying, right? Like America, right? You know? And it's just like Trump, of course Trump is racist,

I'm not saying that, but JD seems like, and maybe this is his role as VP, is that he's the guy that throws the red meat, right, among the culture war, right, into the. Yes. You know what I mean? He is not like again Something that Chomsky I've heard him say before and I think is true Is that and it's basically the point I was just making you know 20 minutes ago? Which is that like fascism is hard to actually generate in America because of our you know

slavish undying worship of the prophet motive. Right. And, but JD is an exception to that. JD is kind of almost someone out of the Hitler mold in the sense that like, not really that interested in like profit rates, not interested in GDP, that kind of stuff, is genuinely more interested in the like cultural composition,

the genetic composition of America, like rebuilding a civic society. And this is what's really dangerous about it, in my opinion, because the engine, the propulsion of neoliberalism is the destruction of a social fabric, right? And we've pointed that out, like it's everywhere you see. JD comes along and I think JD Vance comes along

and like his thing is trying to knit back together that social fabric on a eugenicist basis, on a cultural basis, and not just JD Vance, Christopher Ruffo is another one in this mold, right? Pete Hexeth is another is another one It seems to be a reification of this like Chauvinistic, I mean hyper racist. I mean not to fight American mythology is what it is. You know what I mean? a hundred percent

That's what it seems to be that they are trying to reanimate I mean not that it's not reanimated but it's not so much where Trump's thing is like well Like we've got to make all my boys get the bag. We gotta make sure we maximize profits, grab land. For them, it's more about a cultural landscape, right? That they wanna conquer and bring back, you know? I think land is the nexus for those things, right? Right, that's true.

I think land is the nexus for the JD Insane, the JD Levensraum white nationalist project you know runs head-on with the supply side revolution of Reaganomics and that Trump is so much a part of like the land is really the kind of and it's why fundamentally like I don't know this is something interesting like part of this David Hogg tweet We are arguably in the most important moment in geopolitics since World War two and our president is letting a strongman castrate us and our ally So how old is this kid again?

like 12 like 17 or something like that What the fuck do you know about geopolitics and history? I don't know shit about it. You definitely don't know shit about it. Can you even drink yet, motherfucker? Shut the fuck up, yo. I hate this kid, yo.

I hate his fucking name. I hate his fucking face. Shut up. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Anyway, whatever, man. Sorry. Well, I think it's a prime example of how they still they still don't get it like yes I agree Russia and Ukraine is a like is a

very important node in why we are in a qualitatively new sort of like world system a a a new perhaps even like regime of accumulation like a new There are new rules that are developing for global engagement And I think that this is a one note in that but it is not the note I don't think in my opinion think either my opinion the node is Israel Palestine as I was just about to say that man It's so insane that you could say that well, I guess he's a liberal, right? So he wouldn't he wouldn't question right our fealty to Israel, right and the settler colonial project But I would think that that would as you always say that's the main prime contradiction now

You know what I mean? It seems to have even been informed sure by Ukraine But now this is the sort of driving wedge between the American I mean, especially the Democratic Party rather and like what sort of future is gonna take shape, you know 100% if there is any significant thing about the Ukraine thing. It's that like it I this is interesting And I think that it does need to be interrogated But like why is this and maybe this gets back to your earlier question But like why is this, and maybe this gets back to your earlier question, why is this such a huge rift between the Republican and Democratic parties? They are on agreement, they are in agreement on everything.

You know, Israel must be able to commit genocide, the borders must be militarized, climate change is like, we're not going to do anything about it, like, you know, trans people, we're not going to protect them, blah blah blah. They there in agreement about every single thing except Ukraine actually Weirdly enough like and even a lot of the Republican Party still was you know parroting the Ukraine line up until 36 hours ago but like it is it's now clear that the this is a huge rift between like the

Continuity of foreign policy and I guess I just say that like The only reason I point this out is that like there is usually a lot of continuity in foreign policy between or among Administrations right and that's for a reason it's because like hegemony has to be constructed daily You know what I mean? Like global hegemony and the fact that there is such a huge rift on between them on this I think that's very interesting and perhaps something to explore but I No, no, you can no no, I was just I'm just making observation like I'm this I don't even know how to How to kind of sketch this out, but do you think that it has to do with this sort of haunt illogical?

Sort of vestige of the Cold War perhaps, you know, yeah Sort of vestige of the Cold War perhaps you know yeah 100% well in Israel is also that way Honestly every single thing going on right now pretty much and we talked about this on the patreon on Monday but like You see so much Like that you know that Munich Security Conference. We talked about on the patreon hmm like this dude I think you might be the Chancellor of Germany like broke down crying And like it was jarring to everybody there. They were like, oh my god

And The reason he did was because of JD Vance's remarks that like far right wing Movements need to be allowed into governments in Europe and all right if you let JD Vance make you cry Like I'm sorry Anyway, whatever you'll find as a result though. There's been all this like discussion about like well why are so many right wing movements on the rise where they on the move and And I know it's a trite point, but like genuinely speaking you're generally speaking the reason why is because a

deep cosmic Hontological evil was sown into the world through the practice of anti-communism, but also a political evil was sown into the world to Through anti-communism. You know what I'm saying through poplar governments controlling natural resources busting unions and leftist you know movements communist parties and everything like that even say opposition to the civil rights movement which a lot of those civil rights leaders and that whole entire movement were accused of being communist sympathizers right a hundred percent dude yeah so it's like that's that's

that's why and genuinely like If you're gonna articulate something else, I guess you kind of like have to start taking into account like you know What what would the future look like in a world where we? neutralize the anti-communist Protocols and methods of governance and impulse in society. I mean, you could even ask that,

you could even like apply that domestically, right? Like just even the fact that like liberals themselves no longer, even though they say otherwise, like people like Ro Khanna, they actually don't believe that government can work. They don't believe that the state can do things for people. Even despite the evidence that during COVID that it could, it did do things for people, Even despite the evidence that during COVID that it could,

it did do things for people, right? I think the thing is, I think you're right. Like, and I've been thinking about that since we talked about it on Monday. Like, I think what's so interesting about that is that what Ro Khanna misses and what a lot of these Democrats miss is that like, for us to get to the 1930s and 40s to that place, that took, that was the product,

the result of several decades of Union activism and movement building and like and even furthermore Even furthermore like input, you know input from capitalists themselves also like there was a concept of a body politic of a civic community of a social fabric and of a body politic, of a civic community, of a social fabric. And we are not emerging from 30 or 40 years of building towards that. It's actually been the opposite.

It's been torn to shreds. And so I don't know, I just don't think it's, I think it's kind of like weak T to go out there and be like, actually we need to, you know, rebuild, we need a strong government. Well, I mean, again, I agree with it, but I just don't think it's an easy self because people don't have an example of that.

But also, history has just not brought us to that point where it would be a message that is amenable. Right, exactly. If anything, history has brought us to a point that the only thing that is amenable for people on the ground is what they've seen work for them, whether that's mutual aid or unions or whatever.

You know what I'm saying? If anything, those are the only remaining vestigial institutions that could provide, or religion, that kind of thing too. Well, neoliberalism just cast this such this wide shadow, this all encompassing shadow, like standing at the base of this huge mountain, that even getting out of it,

and how do we reverse the austerity and the privatization, and especially the prioritization of the self and the individual. And I mean this like almost in a metaphysical way, you know what I mean? Where I don't even think that you people, like you said this in the Patreon, that people don't even have an example. I guess COVID is the last thing. But when you're talking about the New Deal, nobody's alive. Nobody from that shit is alive anymore. No. They don't have any concept of the government working for them, which

is why they distrust the government, which is why they hate the fucking government, you know what I mean? Although I think they can, if they are proven otherwise, right? And especially if there are bonds in communities and the workplaces, that they can actually believe in this collective effort, you know what I mean? But they're not provided with any examples of that, and you've actually snatched that even promise or that hope away from them completely. So what are you talking about? And furthermore, yes, that is spot on. And furthermore, they've not even demonstrated

that the Democratic Party can even build towards anything positive. All the Democratic Party has done is just tear down and basically destroy any hope of a reform movement. And so I don't even think it would, it's just not a pitch that is gonna take hold anywhere because- You know what pitch is gonna work?

Did you see that? God, son, I wish I could remember. I'm not gonna look at my phone right now. I wish I could remember the representative. He's a black dude, a black rep, and he was like, oh God, was he like protesters that were protesting, I guess, the defunding of the NIH? And he was like, we're gonna like Hakeem Jeffries, the Speaker of the House in two years.

And I was just like. And then, I mean, these are not democratic politicians. These are voters, I guess, supporters, but they would do an interpretive dance outside of. Yeah, it sucks all that. I'm like, yo dog, these people literally, like I don't know how to explain to people. I don't know how else to say it,

but like not only do they not give a shit, but they don't believe in anything, man. They don't believe that they could even resist. It is simply just these spectacular overtures, as to make it seem as if, as always, they are on the right side of history. And as long as you fought, as long as you fought, you were too good,

and that's why you lost. But as long as you fought as long as you thought you were too good and that's why you lost But as long as you keep fighting that people kid then people can find solace in that, you know Yeah, it's I Don't know man. You're right. It's it's gonna require some fundamental Restructuring of I don't know. I'm really not that link Doom actually, I had a tweet this week that I deleted that I was like, yeah, I'm totally I think America's doomed. I think I was like, I don't think the world's doomed but I think America's Yeah, that's actually that's actually a really good that's actually really good

Yeah, it makes me kind of think I'm gonna botch this but it makes me think the Will Gibson quote like them the future The the future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed It makes me kind of think I'm going to botch this, but it makes me think the Will Gibson quote like the future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed. Actually the apocalypse is already here, but I think it's mostly centralized and localized in the United States. I think China will be fine. I think other, okay, when I say fine, these other places, I know climate change, you know, I used to call that the great equalizer, but again, we do not have, as we said, the start

of the show referencing the Patreon, we do not have the capacity to fight fires anymore brother. No That's what I mean that that that was kind of informing my take like it's kind of spiritually doomed in the sense that like Okay, you can have this continent and genocide a bunch of people and completely remake the ecological and genocide a bunch of people and completely remake the ecological landscape and then not only that, impose a settler slave society on top of it that then tries to reform itself out of it through multiculturalism and democracy.

Not because it's benevolent and generous, but just because it allows you to more efficiently, you know, extract more surplus. Exactly. 100%. 100%. And then once that like melted away through like the neoliberal years, all you're kind of left with is that like, you know, scared and shaking like settler psyche that's still

triggered from all those years of violence and everything. And so that kind of like gets re-initiated after October 7th where now every American is kind of like in a private and public and communal battle against their own ancestral It is. It is. It is. I mean, dude, listen, man, like there is some, there is some, there is some like black viscous liquid bubbling at the, of hatred bubbling at the heart of this country. And I'm sorry, we will be consumed by it

because again, the profit parasite, brother, you know, where we're not even the multiculturalism, not even the woke shit, you know, that Republicans accuse them of. These things that knit together a social fabric So that you can extract profit from people. Yeah, I don't even think we're capable of even doing that anymore, man No, no, no, I don't think so. I think that it's like that's why I mean like it might be doomed But at the same time

Going back to all the things we outlined at the beginning of this episode, you do have the makings or the ingredients for an actual opposition constituency. And I'm not saying some grand left-wing liberal alliance because if anything we have discovered over the last eight years that that's impossible. That happened. But you do have, in my opinion, like you've got the circumstances for it anyways. Like purging the government, I can't. But you do have, in my opinion,

you've got the circumstances for it anyways. Purging the government, now you've got a bunch of public workers basically out of work. You've got a recession that is brewing, and again, they're trying to pretend like it's not, but a lot of people are gonna be- Might already be here, maybe, like you alluded to. Yes. And pay track.

Yeah, yeah. You've got Them having a hard time actually staffing the major positions of you know ranks of the police state And then you've got a situation where like the sensible opposition party the Democrats have basically kind of just forfeited and No, it's just like they they they don't really care care they've make these seem symbolic like to me like the most symbolic like poignant and symbolic thing I'd seen so far from the Democrats since Trump took office was a bunch of these Democrats standing outside of an off an agency building I don't remember what building it was and they were demanding like let us in let

us in and then the camera pans over and it's just one security guard standing in front of the door. It's like, they could have easily just push the guy aside and walk in. They might have been able to do that January 26th, bro. Because they're so cucked by, not authority. They're not cucked by authority.

They're not cucked by this dictator fascist that is Trump. They're cucked by their own inability to imagine a better future, bro, which involves action, nigga. It involves action. If I say to myself that I want to be healthy, that I want to stop drinking, I want to fucking work out, if I want to fucking stop smoking cigarettes, all that, this is why they're addicts, brother.

You so right on the alcoholic tip, because it's like, well, these are the motherfuckers sitting outside the liquor store, bro, at nine a.m. before that shit opened up at 10, dog, telling themselves while they're sitting there that they're gonna get better. This is the last bottle, brother. Yeah, dude, it's... I'll say this too, man.

I don't think you have to, but I'll say this. I was just thinking about it, man. You know how I've said before that I feel like there's this sort of general malaise of futurelessness, right, like there's almost miasma of futurelessness. They are the most futurelessness, like how can I put that? They literally are incapable of imagining a future. I mean, literally just imagining doing anything different,

you know, not just an alternative. I'm just talking about the human ability to project into the future. You know what I'm saying? Even dogs can do that. You know, I'm just talking about the human ability to project into the future. You know what I'm saying? Even dogs can do that, you know what I'm saying? Even dogs who wait at home for their odors, they imagine them returning and coming back. These people are in a state of permanent inertia

is what it is, man. Yeah, I mean, it's, and it's partially because they are deeply, they've deeply internalized neoliberal ideology as well right they've internalized neoliberal philosophy and talking points and everything That that the only way to realize value in the present is by foreclosing on the future like they they are kind of trapped in a It's kind of fascinating like they are kind of trapped in a,

it's kind of fascinating. Like they are kind of trapped in the present in a way that's very unhealthy. You know, generally speaking, like living in the moment is good for you, right? Like you don't want to be future casting. You don't want to be like nostalgic. You do want to live in the moment, but for them, it doesn't work in politics.

It's not how politics works. That's how the exercise of power works, perhaps, in a way, but at the same time, you always want to be trying to figure out your opponent's next move. But they don't really, I guess that's the thing, Aaron, they don't even really see themselves, they talk a big game about Trump being their opponent, but they don't act like they have an opponent, right?

They're not making moves to predict how their opponent would operate or act. You can tell just by the fact that they clearly had nothing planned for Trump winning. They should just be paleontologists, brother, and study mosquitoes trapped in amber, because that is essentially what you are. You are trapped in amber like the mosquito

from Jurassic Park, brother. You are trapped in this crystal of the not even of the past But also of the present because you are present But you're not really living in the present because to live in the present means that you can foresee a future You know what I mean? That's the whole fucking that's I mean, I don't know if that makes any sense But that's the whole that's the way that time works You know I'm saying that it's ever moving forward, but they're an eight then incapable of moving forward brother They might as well take that little brush like Alan Grant from Jurassic Park and just you know sweep at fossils dog

That's what you should do because you don't you can't imagine anything different. Yeah, I think that like I don't know I think that yeah, I'm not really like that doom doomer ish yet on this whole thing because I think that there is a possibility there is a situation where It just seems that if if history couldn't create a Bernie Sanders And if it can create a Donald Trump, and it can even create a Barack Obama It's not gonna create any of those three figures again like they're obviously in the past like we should write dustbin them, but like it also though it seems like a truism that history will produce another

Figure to like perhaps articulate The things we've outlined here, but like I said man They've got a that whole Ukraine thing like is really kind of like the load-bearing Structure that holds up their whole Inability to see Israel-Palestine for what it is, you know what I'm saying? Like it is, because like they can only think in terms of, like the liberal mind can only really think

in terms of contradiction. And so for them, that's why like they see Russia bombing hospitals and it is a world historic, you know, war crime, which it is, it's not okay. But at the same time, they see Israel bombing hospitals. And they're like, well, it's just the cost of doing business. I think that they have to, and they're not going to. I think that's the big thing here.

They're not going to, anytime soon, come around to actually seeing Palestinians as humans. But that's the thing. That's the thing that prevents them, in my opinion, that is the thing that prevents them from actually moving past this. Right. You know?

If anything is forged out of this at this moment of contradictions, of heightened contradictions, if anything is forged out of it, the Democratic Party will have to die. Because I mean, even look at it. So we have disgruntled federal workers. We have this recession that we're heading towards, or possibly it's already happening. I even just think about the assassination of the healthcare CEO, man.

I think Bernie and Elizabeth Warren mildly suggested that, okay, these are my words, this is not what they said, but people were taking it as if they said this, that what would drive someone to do this, right? We should look at the healthcare industry and people got so upset. And I'm just like, dude, this is political capital, right? You can use this outrage that people feel to actually like move on something but I guess if you don't really believe in that because You cannot imagine alternative, you know under the shadow of neoliberalism Then I guess I guess you just always keep on losing man. I think this is what prevents them from seeing it for what it is

it's the They think oh well Obviously health care CEOs have done some bad stuff and like they think that oh, well, obviously, healthcare CEOs have done some bad stuff, and they think that so many people supported Luigi because healthcare CEOs are bad. I think the reason so many people supported Luigi was because what he did was actually courageous and brave. And that was the thing.

And furthermore, I genuinely think a big reason why was because dog We're like sharks we get like the scent of blood we want more You're like yeah, like yes like yes, we tasted blood man. Yes, we're sharks Oh, you're so right you have to create you have to you have this you have to wet the appetite. You know yes You know what the app it's I hate man You do you do you have to fucking cut off a few heads and then throw the bodies into the crowd and like, you know what I mean?

Literally. I mean, dude, I'm sorry that every I was talking about friend yesterday and she was saying that she was kind of doomerish because she was thinking that like, you know, that, well, are people just Americans just inherently evil? You know what I mean? And of course, like I'm like, no, dude, I think it's the institutions. I don't even want to get into that. But it's more like I was telling her that I think that people have this latent maybe this could just be me. I don't even want to get into that but it's more like I was telling you I think that people have this latent maybe this could just be me

I don't know But I mean I've worked at many places have worked especially in the food and the service industry in the food industry People have such latent rage Right like not against their boss, but like as an individual But the circumstances that that forced them to go into this fucking job that they fucking hate You know that that then to go into this fucking job that they fucking hate, you know? That then they go home, they fucking like, they go to the alienated families

and they watch bullshit TV and they maybe do drugs and drink and abuse their bodies. But people have this latent outrage that the Democrats refuse to harness. And the Republicans, I'm sorry, they're adept at doing that, you know? They're adept at doing that. Yeah, I don't think people have I mean dude the conditions that people have to put up with

it's just like really astonishing like we've We've kind of like naturalized ourself to it because you know like we're in America or whatever But yeah, I mean the Democrats aren't going to And neither is the Green Party neither is like PSL. I mean I'd say whatever No, I don't think anything currently are existing is going to Articulate I think it can lead to certain things that you can combine into some sort of like coalition or whatever But I think what I'm describing is more

sort of like coalition or whatever but I think what I'm describing is more fundamental it's like I'm genuinely describing a movement that is not just not just like aimed at changing the political situation or even the political economic situation but the kind of like philosophical underpinnings of Western society itself. Right. And I'm not saying that it's like some sort of like either third worldish thing or like some like whatever thing that like your average American would be out of, you know, would think is out of touch and like whatever. I mean like no, I mean I'm saying it like, dude, I mean dude, like the fucking the the fact that like I

don't know man just like the degree to which we sub like substantially altered the ecological landscape of North America like Sheep were not indigenous to North America right horses were not horses I think about that a lot actually yeah like I mean All this stuff, and a lot of these were adapted into native cultures, but they came at a huge ecological cost. I'm not just talking about the changes to the burn cycles that we had on forest, that Native Americans

had on forest, I'm also just talking about despoiling water sources and rivers and stuff just because you've got Husbandry on a scale that that this continent never evolved to be able to handle right right I mean, I'm just saying you need something more fundamental and deep-reaching than just like let's change the political situation like Transformative truly in paradigm shifting yes, it would you you can't if if I mean this is a bad example We like renegotiating your relationship with not just yourself and your fellow man But with the stars with the fucking gods. Yes exactly The thing that gave you being you're negotiating that you know, and I'm sorry man

Like it's just this is why like, you know, literally or figuratively, the Democratic party just needs to walk into the scene, right? I mean, capitalism writ large shore, but I just think that if that party continues to exist for the foreseeable future, I mean, I know this is a phrase people say often, but the Democratic party being the graveyard of social movements, they are, they are, they are, I mean, I don't know, man. It just feels as if that, that, that has to be excised out of the body politic, they are, they are, I mean, I don't know, man. It just feels as if that, that has to be excised out of the body politic, out of our,

out of our conception of politics and what government can do for people, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it has to be, you're right. I mean, cause it's creating a really weird warping and distorting effect on things at this point. You know what I'm saying? Did you see that poll, did you see that poll, dog, and distorting effect on things at this point. You know what I'm saying?

Did you see that poll, did you see that poll, dog, where it said that, what is it, like 45% of, and first of all, these polls, again, shouldn't place any stock in them. Pretty sure they're landline polls by people who are hooked up to IVs, like in a retirement home or some shit like that, you know what I'm saying?

Who are actually told secondhand by the aid that they want you to do this poll. These are not people who are actually alive, I should say, right? These are people who are soon on the way out. But no, seriously though, it's like, that Democratic voters were like, yeah, we want the party to move more to the center.

And it's like, you so much botched whatever messaging you had, whatever you could have done, that now that your own base believes in the Republican canard that you are actually too woke, you know what I mean? Because you have no control over your messaging and that's troubling, yo. And I feel like that's very much manipulation, man. I don't know if this makes any sense.

I might be wrong here, but I feel like Democrats are good at conditioning their base, whereas Republicans are kind of afraid of their base or cautious of their base, you know, maybe that's wrong But I just feel like they're cautious. They're definitely cautious for sure. Cautious, but it just feels like Democrats I mean they they've literally conditioned their voters to like apologize for them and to think that again Which the left does sometimes do it kind of adopts us to that we were too good and this is why we lost You know, yeah the right ideas, but we were too and we lost Primarily because they ended up blaming the same voters that they're trying to condition.

You know what I mean? Yeah. I think you're right. I don't know. I genuinely feel like until the left really reckons with the settler nature of America, and I'm not saying that again, the left needs to read Settlers, and I disagree with some of the moral prescriptions of that. I really do, I don't think that the majority of Americans

are evil or whatever, you know what I'm saying? I don't even know if J. Sakai or whoever wrote that thinks that either. I just don't like the way it's commonly perceived anyways. Right, right, right. I mean, yeah, no, that's a good point. I mean, don't get me wrong. I think there's like, there's like maybe a minority,

I would always say this, like maybe 15, 20% of people in this country who are straight up, if we went into an overt fascist, you know what I mean? That they are fascist, but that's not the majority of people. The majority of people don't even know what the fuck they believe in right They just want to live lives of dignity which you know Can be lauded to them in various ways whether that's a you know supporting

You know someone like Donald Trump or you know someone like Kamala Harris and the Democrats man which which just have to bring up again Man, what are these people doing? They are not present at this time. They're really not and It's funny and I know we can start wrapping up but Ezra Klein had that um Was his name like Jake Alken Schlaus? Ackensloss I don't know how to say I think he's from like Minnesota or something not a real name. It doesn't matter. It's not. Yeah I mean, it's just he was basically like

I mean, it's a fucking really long interview and there's a lot of bullshit in it, but He basically said something that I've heard every Democrat say since the election which is some version of We need to have we need to start having conversations and figuring out what happened and it's like the election, which is some version of, we need to start having conversations and figuring out what happened. And it's like, how am I gonna say that? It's like you're doing a hit and run dog,

you hit a deer or some shit like that, and you step out your car, and you're like, we need to find out what happened. You hit the deer, brother, you killed it, and you ran into it at like 90 miles an hour. I don't know, what is the long-term? Psychological cost just trying to memory hole Everything that happened after after over 7th, you know

It's just like by them trying to ignore it so much like I am now genuinely convinced I don't care what anybody fucking says. I'm genuinely convinced. That's what lost in the election I know I don't care what anybody fucking says. I'm genuinely convinced. That's what lost them the election I know I don't care what anyone says I don't care anyone's like like the vast majority of Americans don't care about this issue Whatever if that's true why the fuck won't they talk about it? understanding like wave they like if genuinely like why won't they even mention it like cuz it's not like it fucking You know what I mean like maybe that's why maybe they really do think the majority of Americans don't care about it and that's why they won't talk about it.

You're just making me think, I know we closed that, but you're just making me think of like this, maybe working on a short story in a Boulardian fashion where they memory hole this shit so much that they end up like developing like fugue states where they're only awake for, because they don't believe, because they have this conception of time, like a mosquito being trapped in amber, where they are only awake for maybe a few hours to then a few minutes a day. And the rest of the time, they're just sitting by and letting the Republicans do whatever they want.

Genuinely, I think that's it. I think that when you repress something that strongly, you do wind up producing fugue states in your own day today I think that's genuinely what's happening to them I think that's why they appear so like why dream hakeem jeffries doesn't ever look like look like he woke up from a nap Is this yes exactly like they they repress so much dude Like it's like on on and i'm not even just talking about israel palestine even though. I think that's the biggest one

Right, they were oppressed so much That like it can only resurface somewhere else like where you've got like yeah, Black Lodge Hakeem Jeffries coming choking That's probably what happened with Gavin Newsom. Yeah, they're like Black Lodge Gavin Newsom came out was like choking homeless people and taking their shit Gavin Newsom came out was like choking homeless people and taking their shit That's why they do their brother the few state of America dollars state of America, right? Oh God dude, okay, but before we before we like sign off. I just want to juxtapose these two articles though. I Almost brought this up a month ago. This is from January 14th

This is a this is a story in the New York Times For these teenagers in Ukraine hope arrived at the stage door The students in a summer acting course performed a play set in America called It's okay, and it gave them hope that their lives would be okay, too That's that's from January Just one short month later, Ukrainians stunned by Trump's comment fear they can no longer trust the US. Just like how fast things change, man. It's not okay. It's not okay, actually.

It is not okay, actually. Oh my god. Also, I just got a text from Bernie. Why does why this niggas still got my number dog Leave me alone Aaron it's Bernie back in 1991 I and a few other members started the progressive caucus. Okay, no one cares man. I'm good, man Yeah, a lot of good that did That did man wasn't Nancy Pelosi also a founding member of that caucus as well. Yeah, what she probably I think so anyway, man I Well, um If you'd like to go to patreon and hear more content, please go to the patreon. The link is in the show notes

Hopefully Tom will be back by Monday and I'm sure he will be He's a strong boy. He's a strong resilient boy who doesn't he very rarely gets sick. So You'll be fine All right with that He's a strong boy. He's a strong resilient boy who doesn't he very rarely gets sick, so All right, well thanks for listening this week everybody we'll see you next time The So Thanks for watching!