This reminds me of nothing so much as being called to the principal’s office in high school.

Somehow you offended the teacher, who wants you to respect them because of their twenty years of tenure, even though you’re more intelligent than they are.

Or some weasel kiss-ass cried wolf and since you’re the outsider, you’re the one who colors outside the lines, you’re at fault.

So you’re marched down to the office where some grand poohbah excoriates you, doesn’t want to hear your defense, just wants to sentence you to detention.

And when you emerge from the building having paid your penance, you run into the bullies on the schoolyard. There’s no one there to come to your defense. And it’s always the number two who is the consigliere, who warns you of the power of the number one, who stands there silently, staring at you, as you get ready to take a punch.

As for the number two… Sans the presence of number one he’s a wimp, who will beg for forgiveness if confronted when alone.

So you stand there and take your punches. There’s no alternative. No one can outrun these bullies, they’re a crowd, immersed in groupthink, and you’re the enemy, because you won’t pledge fealty, you won’t be on their side. You’re the outcast and for that alone, they’re gonna pick on you.

So…

Somewhere along the line the term “rock star” became equivalent to money. But the money always came last, after rock stars emerged and owned their piece of the firmament. Being a rock star is not about cash, it’s about being an individual who thinks for himself. Doesn’t worry what others have to say. And therefore, people are drawn to him.

The rock star was never the captain of the football team. Was never Prom King. The rock star was someone who stood on the fringe, observing, refusing to play the game.

And America is about the game. You’ve got to get good grades to get into a good college! And you have to network to work your way up the corporate ladder! That’s Jeff Bezos, all the rest of the two-dimensional wanks who’ve got money but no character.

And a rock star has character.

Steve Jobs was never perfect, but he didn’t want to lord his power over us. He wanted to create products so good that we were drawn to them, and him.

Elon Musk needs the adulation. He bought his own social network. He thinks he alone can solve the nation’s problems.

A rock star specializes in seeing the problem. Analyzing it and playing it back to us. Elon Musk can’t even see himself.

Back in the heyday of the rock star it was all about personal development, insight. You wanted to learn about yourself, how you fit into the world. And if ever the press and the public got close to understanding you, you pulled back and/or obfuscated. That’s Bob Dylan’s specialty, he’s constantly telling untruths, not to put one over on you, but to keep you guessing, and thinking.

And during Dylan’s heyday he famously said not to listen to him. That he was just one person speaking his truth. That you must find your own truth. Contrast that with the tech blowhards lording it over us each and every day.

Zelensky is a rock star. He spoke truth to power. And power didn’t like it.

The two bullies, Trump and Vance.

Trump has always been a bully. Who has never acceded to the infirmity or lack of status of those below them. He sees himself as a benevolent king.

As for J.D. Vance… He’s that number two I was referencing in the schoolyard above. Let’s see him make those statements in other circumstances, without the protection of Trump.

As for Lindsey Graham and Mike Johnson and the rest of the pussies patrolling the halls of Congress… We grew up with people like this. Sucking up to the popular and powerful. They’re concerned about their status in the hierarchy, not the truth, the truth has nothing to do with it.

And the truth is this exchange was on television. And now all over the internet. So the only thing up for grabs is interpretation.

On the right there are hosannas, we’ve finally got a leader, respect us.

But this reminds me of high school gangs who have no power after they graduate. There’s no context.

And here the context is the world.

You can live in the MAGA echo chamber, think everybody in Europe is a two bit idiot. But that is not the truth.

Trump has now told the world that you can’t count on him to fulfill the nation’s obligations. Isn’t this what Zelensky said today about Putin not fulfilling his promises?

But liars love liars.

The more you remove yourself from the world, the less power you have, never mind lacking insight.

People don’t want those damn immigrants in their neighborhood. And while you’re at it, get rid of everybody not like them, the Blacks, the trans people… Like I said, it’s like high school. There’s a big club but you’re not in it.

Everyone thought that Putin would wipe out Ukraine in a matter of days.

But that’s not what happened. Because it’s hard to conquer hearts and minds.

Meanwhile, America is rolling over to autocracy. If only we had a Zelensky on our side of the pond.

But Zelensky was a comic, who first and foremost knew people, relationships, and that’s what the world is all about.

As for negotiation… Do you know anybody who negotiates for a living? They don’t do it at all like Trump. What they’re looking for is a win-win, because you always end up coming back to the table, you see the same people throughout your life.

Bully and piss off people like Trump and Vance and you may think you’ve won, but the rest of the negotiating public is now on notice, doesn’t trust you and if it deals with you at all refuses to compromise.

The art of the deal?

The art of the SCHLEMIEL!

I’ll throw Biden and Kamala and the rest of the Democratic Party under the bus while I’m at it. They were so busy looking at each other that they had no idea of the temperature of the public.

And while we’re at it, let’s blame Fox News and the internet, because facts are now fungible. There is really no truth. No matter what you say, if you point to the words of the Brittanica or Einstein, it doesn’t matter. Because today emotions rule.

But you’ve got to know when to keep your emotions in check.

Yup, tell me to be thankful while you’re whipping me. God, it’s like a parent beating a kid while telling them they’re not going to quit until the child stops crying.

If you think America won today, you’re myopic.

We need more rock stars like Zelensky. They are our true leaders.

But just because you make music or have money that does not make you a rock star.

Like George Harrison sang, you must think for yourself. Own your position.

“Do what you want to do

And go where you’re going to

Think for yourself

‘Cause I won’t be there for you”

The principal ain’t going to be there for you. Nor the bullies.

And certainly not Donald Trump.

Then again, George had it right about Trump too.

“You’re telling all those lies

About the good things we can have

If we close our eyes”

That’s what they want us to be, sheep. Get in line, close our eyes and march in lockstep.

It ain’t me babe.

And it ain’t Zelensky.

As for those who are following in Trump’s footsteps…

The true believers, the non-thinking people who trust their leaders always have their best interests at heart… They learn the truth last.

Russia’s economy is teetering. This was the moment Ronald Reagan was waiting for. The weakness that will make the entire edifice collapse.

But Trump wants to prop it up and rescue it.

Thank god there are people like Zelensky, who channeled Daryl Hall today and said I CAN’T GO FOR THAT!

The original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers has a new band, The Speaker Wars. You’ll love Stan!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stan-lynch/id1316200737?i=1000696520478

 

 

 

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/a713a39a-14c2-4288-be9b-3c779fb628cd/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-stan-lynch

 

“The right-wing media machine is hitting a wall”

Free link: https://wapo.st/3XgG5QU

Most of the negative feedback I get is anti-Biden, anti-Democratic party, there’s not so much support for the efforts of Trump other than to say the government wastes money and THE DEBT!

But how many of these people are there?

Turns out Trump and Musk are not viewed so favorably by the public at large.

“Consider recent polling conducted by YouGov for the Economist. It found that only about a third of Americans supported the Trump-Musk push to fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Among Republicans, more than 6 in 10 supported the idea. Among non-Republicans, though, fewer than 1 in 5 did.”

But here’s the nougat:

“Why the divide? Unquestionably in part because Trump supporters exist in a disinformation bubble, to paraphrase a prominent foreign leader. They don’t see it that way, of course; in their view, their news diet represents an escape from falsehoods propagated by left-leaning elites. But the falsity of that framing is easily demonstrated.”

Of course Trumpists will dismiss these statements out of hand, if for no other reason than they’re in the “Washington Post.”

But it’s not all bad news for the right:

“The news sources most trusted among the strongest Trump supporters? Fox News and Musk’s X. The effort to denigrate the media has been so effective, in fact, that other recent YouGov polling shows that Americans — and not only Republicans — have more confidence in the accuracy of the Trump administration than of the media overall.”

In any event, despite the falsehoods and propaganda of the right, when it comes to Trump and Musk’s actions since the inauguration, most of America is thumbs-down. And it’s only Trump and Musk and their cronies who are unaware of this.

Now of course this may not matter. Trump is not only President, he controls the military and the money and…

But this discontent amongst the hoi polloi… As we learned in Vietnam, it’s not so easy to defeat hearts and minds.

So how does this play out?

Spontaneously. We cannot predict the future. For decades we’ve depended upon our elected leaders to foment change. That’s history when it comes to the left. No, it will be something from the grass roots, akin to the Arab Spring. A person or group who acts and captures the public’s will and desires in the process.

If this sounds ridiculous, just think back a couple of months to UnitedHealth. The fat cats, those with money, those with power, were lamenting the death of the executive, meanwhile, the public was on the side of the shooter. They were frustrated, finally someone had taken action.

Now it turned out that Luigi was crazy.

And I’m not advocating assassination.

But there is an undercurrent of discontent that can be tapped into.

Will this happen?

I won’t guarantee it.

Will Trump and his team quash any uprising?

Possibly.

Then again, look at the protests in Israel prior to 10/7, about the undercutting of the Supreme Court’s power. The government ultimately blinked.

We are in uncharted territory. But if you think the public is calm, that everything is hunky-dory…

You think that you finally own the libtards and are posting for virality on X.

Pride comes before a fall. Never forget it.

P.S. Trump and his team are not bulletproof. They are incredibly vulnerable themselves, just read this:

“Speaking of excessive government spending, it was reported last week that the Department of Homeland Security would spend $200 million on an ad campaign touting administration efforts to restrict migration across the border with Mexico. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem — very familiar with the right’s attention economy — stars in the ads, heaping praise on Trump (reportedly at his request).”

P.P.S. I know you’re busy, I know you’re burned out. But you should read this article. It’s not only opinion, there is quantification, there are numbers. When one team takes it too far…the pendulum usually swings back.

“U.S. Clashes With European Allies at the U.N. Over Ukraine – The United States voted against a resolution, backed by most of Europe, demanding Russian withdrawal from Ukraine — a deep fissure between allies, and a sharp shift in American policy.”

Free link: https://rb.gy/m00i1l

Who is going to stand up to this motherf*cker?

Is this the will of the people? To do a 180 on eighty years of American policy? To say the good guys are Russian and the bad guys are those fighting for western interests?

Do you think I want to write about Trump and Musk? OF COURSE NOT! I’d rather go back to my regular life. I regularly think what it was like, back in the day, when politics was over there, not top of mind, when I thought the people in D.C. had a handle on it.

Not anymore.

The problem is many people did not live through the Cuban Missile Crisis. Just like they didn’t live through polio and measles. So they’re not aware of how bad these actors are.

You’re safe until you’re not. You don’t get the MMR shot and are worry-free until you get measles and are hospitalized. And don’t look at my generation, we all got the disease back in the fifties, those who survived have natural immunity. It’s the younger, know better, ignorant generations who are paying the price.

Let’s put everybody at risk. From politics to health. Let’s throw truth out the window. Let’s make it up as we go along. THIS IS RAW INSANITY!

It’s like my entire education was worthless. What I learned was the power of analysis. Trump knows the power of the dick. He’s the guy who wants to make sure he’s not left out of the bathroom when the two most famous people are in there doing coke. He’s worried about his image, not the country. Getting rich all the while. Did you see that Melania is going to pocket $28 million from that Amazon documentary? And that you can get your name in the credits for ten mil?

Never mind the business leaders kowtowing to this doofus.

And if you think Trump is for the underclass… You never took a sh*t on his golden toilet. You don’t know rich people. Most of them want nothing to do with the hoi polloi. They live behind gates and they vacation on private islands that they fly to on private jets…

Everything is up for grabs. Everything you know is wrong, like the Firesign Theatre said.

But that was a different era, when artists questioned authority. Now they just accept it. You play music to get rich. Or you bitch that you’re playing music and are not rich. For what it’s worth…this is not the sixties anymore, with musicians speaking truth to power with the entire younger generation in thrall.

So…

Putin is smarter than Trump. Period. He’s got a failing economy, he’s nationalizing private businesses. The country is barely hanging on. And now he’s playing Trump like a fiddle.

And what is end game here? Putin is aligned with China and North Korea. Are we part of that club now? Are we part of the axis of evil?

And who is going to trust America ever again. We say we have your back and then…tough noogies.

And what about Europe, sharing boundaries with Russia. Have you ever been there? These countries are oh-so-close. Like New York and Connecticut. What’s to stop Putin now?

We let this guy get Crimea after the 2014 Olympics without uttering a peep.

Then he invades Ukraine and the entire globe thinks it’s a fait accompli that he’ll triumph, but Zelensky and the will of the people stand up to this world power. And continue to do so. Sure, with our money. But what is our money for if it not safety? If you don’t draw the line over there, it will come closer to you over here.

I want to know the MAGA people who support this. Who think this is a good idea. Tell me what’s in it for you. Tell me how it helps the United States.

I can’t figure it out.

So we’ve been bitching for decades that the U.N. is worthless, beholden to minor countries with flawed agendas preventing any true progress. And now we align with THEM?

Russia is the aggressor here.

As for Trump demanding minerals from Ukraine… That’s not America, we help people, we don’t rape people. We want to be your ally.

So now with this alignment with Russia and the end of USAID…the front moves here. Our lines of defense over there are evaporating. They attack here next.

And who is aligned with the U.S?

Not Europe, not Canada, not Mexico… All we do is threaten our allies with tariffs, trying to extort money from them.

As for other countries not paying their fair share for the Ukrainian war effort… They’re stepping up now. And is everything transactional? If you’ve got more, you can pay more. And that’s America. And if you’re always trying to balance the books you’re losing sight of the goal.

As for NATO… Europe is SOL.

Trump has gone rogue. The party of Reagan…who is standing up now? Where are those on the right who will loudly proclaim this is wrong?

And it is.

Making a peace deal while leaving Ukraine out?

Musk and Vance advancing the cause of the anti-immigrant right in Germany?

Be afraid, be very afraid.

I just can’t understand this. The Gulf of America was one thing. But are we now truly supposed to believe that Trump is going to annex Greenland and the Panama Canal and Canada is in play?

This guy has too much power. And for years, the Republicans have been advancing the idea of an executive presidency, with the official having more power.

Where is Congress?

Where are the American people?

Silent as history is being rewritten.

Actions have consequences. And if you think it will be easy to pull back from this alignment with Putin…

You’re wrong.