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💩EAT SHIT, YOU REPUBLICAN SCUMBAG!💩

I woke up in a foul mood, so I’m not really in the frame of mind to be pleasant and polite today. Then again, when it comes to the shitstains trying to destroy this country, I am never going to be pleasant and polite.

That’s why it put a smile on my face to come across this article: Make It Painful to Collaborate with Trump from Tom Malinowski at The Bulwark. Now, I generally do not read The Bulwark because they’re mostly ex-Republicans, and far too few of them take personal responsibility for building the fascist hate machine consuming everything good in the United States. But still, this caught my attention because I’ve been saying this for literally a decade.

Ever since two weeks after the 2016 election, I’ve been very clear on this point. There needs to be a price to pay for supporting Trump:

Under normal circumstances, you shouldn’t let politics come between family but this isn’t normal. Your Donald voting relatives have chosen to stand and be counted with white nationalists like the KKK and they should understand that there are consequences for that. Trump promised them that he would end “political correctness” and they would be free to be racist assholes without paying the price for it.

This is when you look them in the eye and tell them that they were wrong.

This is when you look them in the eye and tell them they’ve crossed a Rubicon.

This is when you look them in the eye and tell them that they’re no better than the white mobs that used to throw a party and lynch an innocent black man.

This is when you look them in the eye and tell them that they’re no better than the KKK burning a cross on a black family’s lawn.

This is when you look them in the eye and tell them that you’re ashamed of them and they’ve stained their soul.

It won’t be fun. It won’t be easy. It won’t be a happy memory. But it’s necessary. Your Donald voting relatives want to normalize what they’ve done and that cannot happen under any circumstances. You need to rub their nose in their shit until they realize their actions will never be accepted, will never be anything but an albatross around their neck for the rest of their days. And if they can’t handle that truth, let them go build a new family with their fellow white nationalists. Then they can see how much they enjoy attending white power parades and openly discussing killing all the Jews and other mongrel races.

Because that’s who your Donald voting relatives have put into the White House and they should not be allowed to forget it for one second.

I live this. I have not spoken to my Trump-voting in-laws in nine years. I stopped talking to one of my brothers because he wouldn’t stop spouting Fox News bullshit. I cut off one of my cousins I’ve known since he was a baby for the same reason. I’ve lost several friends who didn’t understand why supporting Trump was a problem.

Millions of MAGAts have experienced the same thing as friends and family have ostracized them. If not after 2016, then certainly after 2024. There are entire chat rooms of grandparents lamenting how lonely they are. Boohoo.

But it’s not enough. These are consequences on a familial and small-scale social level. I want consequences for the enablers of fascism. The elected officials. The cops. The federal agents. The security guards dragging women out of town halls. All of the people breaking the law because they think there will be no accountability.

I have been saying for months that when this is over and we win, because we WILL win, every single one of these motherfuckers has to face decades in prison, a short dance at the end of a rope, or they can flee to Mother Russia. I do not want to hear a single fucking word about “healing” the nation by “looking forward.”

This is what The Bulwark, and others, are finally starting to say out loud:

Democrats in Congress should start signaling now that those who play this game will pay a price down the road. They should announce that they will hold investigative hearings the moment they regain control of the House or Senate…

Now, Malinowski is talking specifically about congressional and White House staff selling access to Trump revolving around his stupid fucking tariffs. The entire thing has been a massive illegal grift with so much insider trading, even a cursory investigation will send dozens of people to prison for years.

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LOCK THEM UP! LOCK THEM UP!

But this is the kind of thing I’m talking about. From the mundane corruption of staffers to the murderous human rights violations by the concentration camp guards of ICE and CBP, all of these pieces of shit should understand that when the regime is removed from power, we will be coming for them. And if they’re lucky, it will be men in uniforms with handcuffs instead of a mob with a rope.

The greatest mistake Obama made was not throwing the entire Bush regime in prison. The greatest mistake Biden made was appointing a spineless pussy as Attorney General and then not replacing him when he sat with his thumb up his ass for four years. Merrick Garland should have been gone six months in and Trump still wasn’t even being investigated.

Fuck that. Never again. These Nazi rat bastards and their collaborators need to live in fear of justice and retribution.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

Trump ran on revenge and shitting on the rule of law. I don’t want to be a lawless regime. I want these fucks arrested, tried, and imprisoned for the rest of their natural lives.

Now, it’s true that I keep talking about mobs and ropes. Let me be perfectly clear: This is not in response to the Trump regime losing an election and leaving office. This is for when the Trump regime declares war on the country and tries to cancel elections or refuses to leave and after losing again. If they become an illegal occupying force, they will be removed by force and, well, what happens after that is on them. Mobs and ropes is the best they can hope for.

Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, thought he was being clever when he said the “second American Revolution” will be bloodless “if the left allows it to be.” One wonders if Roberts understands that the American Revolution occurred when the people of the United States got tired of the tyranny of a mad king and decided to kill their oppressors and every collaborator they could get their hands on.

But go ahead, buddy, cosplay as a freedom fighter when the regime collapses. See how that works out for you. Your options will be a jail cell or Mother Russia. Or the mobs and rope if you decide the second American Revolution shouldn’t be bloodless, after all.

But Republicans are, to a one, cowards, so it’s very likely they’ll try to slink away and demand no accountability. After all, that’s been the entirety of American history. The right tries to overthrow the government, loses again and again, and then gets a slap on the wrist. Even after losing the Civil War, we didn’t hang all of the leaders of the Confederacy. We didn’t even put them in prison for life.

This time has to be different. The fascists have to understand that we’re done coddling them. That this country is over treating spoiled racist white men with kid gloves. The crimes they’re committing will be prosecuted and they WILL see the inside of a cell for years on end.

As for the argument, “It will make them more desperate?” And? They’re already planning to establish a literal Nazi dictatorship and murder millions of people. Exactly how much worse do you think it’s going to get if they’re desperate? Trump has no intention of allowing elections to continue. He plans to be president for life and to appoint a successor. The people enabling him need to understand that they will not be protected by the color of their skin or the lean of their ideology when they are removed from power. Those days are fucking over. Put enough of them in prison or swing enough of them from trees if they take up arms against the country, they’ll get the message: No more fascism in America. The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi.

That we’re starting to talk about it now means the next Democrat to run for office will not be a “healer” or a “peacemaker.” They will be someone charged with bringing criminals to justice and restoring the rule of law and the only way that happens is by putting criminals in jail, not by “moving forward” because holding racist white men accountable makes racist white men sad. Fuck them. They’re butchers and fascists who hate this country. We owe them nothing.

We owe future generations justice. We owe it to ourselves.

I hope you feel better informed about the world and ready to kick fascists in the teeth to protect it. This newsletter exists because of you, so please consider becoming a supporting subscriber today for only $5 a month or just $50 a year. Thank you for everything!

☠️This Subscription Kills Fascists☠️

Fascism hates organized protests. They fear the public. They fear US. Make fascists afraid again by joining Indivisible or 50501 and show them whose fucking country this is!

The Blue Wave has begun and the fascist fucks are scared. There are 192 days until it hits Virginia and Pennsylvania. If I were a billionaire fascist loser, I’d think REALLY hard about getting out of the way.

This is it. This is Germany in the 1930s and what you do will be recorded in the history books. Your children and grandchildren will look back and ask what you did. Will you be able to look them in the face?

Fascism thrives on fear. It wilts under scrutiny. Never look away. Never stop fighting. Hold them accountable and make them pay for every cruel thing they do. It’s the only way we get through this. Support this newsletter for just $5 a month or $50 a year and we’ll get through together.

🖕FUCK WHITE SUPREMACY!🖕

When it was reported that the Trump regime was going to seize control of the Smithsonian museums and “fix” them, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time until they tried to destroy the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Its very existence is an affront to white supremacy and the mediocre losers who hide behind it.

So there was no surprise at all to read about what the pathetic white trash is doing now:

The Trump administration has begun returning historic artifacts to their owners and quietly removing key exhibits from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.

Journalist April Ryan from Black Press USA reports that one of the first major removals includes the original Woolworth’s lunch counter from the 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in; a pivotal Civil Rights Movement moment. The counter and its surrounding exhibit highlighted the bravery of four Black college students from North Carolina A&T, who peacefully protested segregation by sitting at a whites-only counter. Their actions ignited a wave of similar protests across the South and became a turning point in the fight for racial equality.

When Anastasia was in second grade, I chaperoned a field trip to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. They also, for the moment, have part of the original Woolworth’s counter. I had already chaperoned several field trips for Lila and Jordan at that point and had discovered that there was precious little teaching on these trips. It’s hard to teach a lesson when there are 20-25 small children to keep an eye on and not enough staff.

But I, as an extra body, was free to lecture away and as a history nerd, I could lecture on just about every display. The teachers loved me and the kids were enthralled as I spun story after story about American history.

And then we got to the Woolworth counter.

Anastasia, Jordan, and Lila went to William Ramsay Elementary in the West End of Alexandria, Virginia. It was a very diverse community with not a lot of white people. In the entire school, there were maybe a dozen white kids and Jordan and Anastasia were two of them. So I was able to give a lecture to a class of seven-year-olds about how before the 1960s, little boys and little girls that weren’t white weren’t allowed to go to school with white kids. And they couldn’t eat lunch with white people. And it was terrible and awful until some very brave people sat down at a lunch counter and refused to move. Now we can all sit together and play together and go to school together because things are better than they were, so on and so forth.

Apparently, while I was doing this loud enough for an entire class of little kids to hear me, I drew a crowd of adults who stood and listened. Mrs. Hall, Anastasia’s teacher, told me about it afterwards. I was slightly mortified.

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But this is the history the regime wants to hide. This is what they’re afraid of. Their excuse?

The decision is a move to reshape how American history is presented according to the Trump administration. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally now working in Washington, is reportedly leading the charge. According to a Washington Post report, she has been tasked with identifying and eliminating what she calls “improper ideology” in Smithsonian institutions. Halligan believes current exhibits place too much emphasis on the country’s darker history, which she says could divide the nation further.

Nothing proves the laughable claims of white supremacy more than the pathological need to erase the accomplishments of Black people.

We’ve taken the kids to the NMAAHC at least three times and it’s amazing. The entire bottom floor is dedicated to the horrors of slavery in America. It’s impossible to whitewash it without removing the entire section and the wholesale rewriting of history which I’ll bet money is exactly what the mediocre white racists plan to do to.

By the end of this year or next, I promise you, the regime will be demanding schools and museums go back to teaching the “Happy Slave” lie the South spread for generations after the Civil War. Florida has been working on it for a while.

If you can indoctrinate millions of children into white supremacy, that’s millions of children who might grow up to be Republican foot soldiers for fascism. That’s why Republicans have feared and despised schools and museums teaching the truth about American history for decades. Not because it will “divide” America, but because it will unite the country. Against the mediocre racist white men who can only find a home on the political right.

Never stop teaching your kids the truth. Fascism thrives on lies. Reality is like roach spray to them. Make them choke on it.

I hope you feel better informed about the world and ready to kick fascists in the teeth to protect it. This newsletter exists because of you, so please consider becoming a supporting subscriber today for only $5 a month or just $50 a year. Thank you for everything!

☠️This Subscription Kills Fascists☠️

Fascism hates organized protests. They fear the public. They fear US. Make fascists afraid again by joining Indivisible or 50501 and show them whose fucking country this is!

The Blue Wave has begun and the fascist fucks are scared. There are 192 days until it hits Virginia and Pennsylvania. If I were a billionaire fascist loser, I’d think REALLY hard about getting out of the way.

The Opinionated Ogre Podcast is 100% listener-supported. Please help us continue to inform/amuse/outrage you by becoming a supporting subscriber today for only $5 a month or just $50 a year! If not, it’s all good. Welcome to the Ogre Nation anyway!

🎤 The OG Pod Is Live!🎤

Shannon makes her triumphant return as a middle-aged woman and she is none too pleased about it! Join me as I welcome her to old age before tackling the latest bullshit from the fascist regime flailing about about trying to destroy America.

Ogre Nation News Update!

2:23 -15:17 Can You Hear The People Sing? The anti-Trump protests are spreading and growing. Will the legacy press be forced to take notice? Are the protests taking a toll on the fascists?

15:18 - 18:35 FAFO, Fascist Fucks A story that should be getting more airtime: There have been consequences for the GOP’s brownshirts, and it should be a warning for the rest.

18:36 - 23:23 It’s So Hard To Find Good Help These Days… Pete Hegseth is the most incompetent loser to ever lead the United States military, and his staff is just as bad. Trump needs the military under his control, but can he do it? We discuss.

23:24 - 31:18 SCOTUS Told Trump, “Not Tonight. I Have A Headache…” The Republicans on the Supreme Court remembered that their job is not to rubberstamp Trump’s lawlessness this week. Samuel Alito had his rubber stamp all ready to go, and he’s really mad about it.

31:19 - 38:37 This Week in Nauseating Racism

• Tennessee wants to kick undocumented children out of schools

• The 2019 El Paso shooter was sentenced this week. Finally.

• An American citizen was illegally arrested and detained by CBP in Arizona, who then lied about it.

• An American citizen was illegally arrested and detained by ICE in Florida, who then lied about it.

38:38 - 50:43 Headlines For Short Attention Spans!

• Pope Francis is dead and the right reacted exactly how you’d expect.

• The FDA is no longer inspecting milk. Time for a quick history lesson.

• Sarah Palin, the loser from Wasilla, has been suing the New York Times for almost a decade now. Let’s check in on how that’s going…

• CBS’ parent company Paramount disgraced itself and pushed out the executive producer of “60 Minutes” to please Trump

• Trump wants to kill Head Start, the program that puts almost one million kids a year in pre-k. Because no one hates children more than the party of “pro-life.”

• Elon Musk has a very important announcement about DOGE and his feelings.

50:44 - 1:02:45 Where We Wandered Last Week:

• Shannon - Savannah, Georgia

• Ogre - The Big Apple

Things We Discuss In The Show

Thousands join anti-Trump protests across US

Democrats, Denied Access to Ábrego García in El Salvador, Demand ‘Daily Proof of Life’

Tesla profits plunge 71% and it's all your fault for not liking Elon Musk! | Opinion

Six men charged after forcibly removing woman from North Idaho town hall

Exclusive: The White House is looking to replace Pete Hegseth as defense secretary

The vicious rivalries tearing apart Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon

Supreme Court reminds Trump to follow the law, signaling concern that he won't | Opinion

Tennessee Senate wants to kick undocumented kids out of school

Gunman in Racist Attack at a Texas Walmart Pleads Guilty and Families Confront Him in Court

U.S. citizen wrongly detained by Border Patrol says government account is false

Feds blame U.S. citizen for his arrest under suspended immigration law

US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts

Sarah Palin loses her defamation retrial against The New York Times

The top producer at ’60 Minutes’ has quit. He says he can no longer run the show as he always has

With Head Start in jeopardy, Trump administration threatens child care for 800,000 kids

Musk to reduce Doge role after Tesla profits plunge

Shannon’s Substack

I Visited Savannah and It Was a Blast

Read more

8 days ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Shannon Argueta

Christian Nationalism is neither Christian nor nationalism, but it is currently inescapable in this country. It presents a challenge for schools and educators-- how do you educate students in a climate of culture panic that demands adherence to a list of ever-shifting beliefs?

Katherine Stewart is an exceptional chronicler of christian nationalism, and is particularly good at framing what's really happening. A hugely valuable insight from her most recent work, Money, Lies and God, is that christian nationalism can be understood not as a particular set of policy goals, but as a particular mindset, a view of the world described by four beliefs.

First is the belief that the country is going straight to hell. Think Trump's many dark descriptions of the many ways that America is no longer great. Education has been captured by Marxist radical leftists who have installed groomers and pedophiles in every room. Any minute now they're going to lure your sons into the guidance office to get their penis chopped off during study hall. 

Second is the persecution complex. One survey shows that christian nationalists believe discrimination against white folks is at least as big a problem as discrimination against minorities. Trump's creation of the anti-christian bias task force is an expression of this view. Stewart points out that surveys show fear about the loss of status is a driver of Trump support. 

Third is the insistence that christian nationalists have a "unique and privileged connection to this land." Stewart has elsewhere made the point that for these folks, government derives legitimacy not from the "consent of the governed," but from alignment with proper christian values. Here that extends to individuals-- people who are aligned to the correct christian values created this country (hence our favored "exceptional" status), and such people are also entitled to privilege and position that others are not. (When those Others are given that undeserved privilege that should belong to the Right People--well, see the second item on the list).

Fourth, is the mindset that "Jesus may have great plans for us, but the reality is that this is a cruel place in which only the cruel survive." Yes, cruelty is the point of many christian nationalist policies and actions, but the point they want to make is that this is what the world is like--cruel and hard and a constant battle that you can only win by being hard and cruel and allied with Jesus, and if that sounds like a bizarre contradiction, well, there's a reason I don't capitalize the "christian" in "christian nationalism."

This mindset is also wrapped in a layer of anti-curiosity about other views. As one gifted student at my school years ago said when offered a unit about comparative religions, "Why would I study those other religions? They're all wrong." People with different views are evil or stupid or both; we can see this in action with the Trump regime, which never ever admits that reasonable people might have a view different from theirs. 

So what can schools and classroom teachers do in response?

The short answer is to develop a school culture that reflects and demonstrates a different view of the world.

The notion that the country is going to hell? Ironically, this MAGA linchpin is profoundly unpatriotic, and the counterpoint is actual patriotism. That's patriotism rooted in an honest story of our successes and failings, and the steps we have taken to live up to our principles in a long arc that speaks to the rising and advancing of the nation.

The persecution complex? Run a school in which dignity, respect, and quality instruction are not zero-sum qualities that are only available to a few students. Challenge every attempt to give some students less respect and dignity and education. 

The privileged position? Okay, this is honestly the hard one, because some students being deprived of their "rightful" position as the Most Special Boys and Girls are going to kick hard. But other students will see how you react to that. Students know whether rules and privileges are fairly handled or not. Students know whether some people in your school are valued more than other.

A cruel world? The school and classroom can provide a strong, living argument against this mindset, and all they have to do is value something other than cruelty. Schools and classroom management can be based on trust and support rather than threats and punishment. If your school's message is "Life sucks and you'd better toughen up," you are underscoring the christian nationalist message and all that's left is working out how to be the most cruel. 

And finally, recognize that ideas can be debated, discussed, and dissected, but to simply impose ideas on others through blunt power and rough cruelty is no way to grow in mind and character. Teachers especially have to remember this. 

None of this means a school culture of fluffy bunnies and warm fuzzy unicorns, and it certainly doesn't require the suppression of honest conflict or the erasure of consequences for bad choices. Nor does it require actual active dialog with christian nationalists.

All it requires is schools and classrooms based on grace and generosity, respect and recognized human worth for all students. It requires a school that recognizes and celebrates the rich beautiful diversity of human ways to be in the world, not some tiny cramped meager vision of a world of grey scarcity where some humans are worth more than others from the moment they walk in the door. This is how we do the best job of delivering a quality education to all students, and if that also shows them that there is a way to see the world other than in dark grasping angry paranoia--well, that would be a benefit to society as well.

It's worthwhile for US citizens, especially those of us who think of ourselves as Christians, to check ourselves for markers if these christian nationalist mindset characteristics. It's easy enough to fall into the idea that the country is going to hell, that some people matter more than others, that life is a bitch and the only way to win is to be the biggest bitch on the block. But if you agree with MAGA and your only beef is about which people are the most valuable, you've already handed them the win. There is no profit in replacing one dark vision of humanity with another just as dark.

Education is about helping young humans uncover and grow to be fully themselves, to grasp what it means to be fully human in the world. The christian nationalists of MAGA world have little interest in any part of that; that's why, though they wash up on our spiritual and intellectual shores time after time, they always fade back into their own dark depths. No reason that schools cannot be part of the resistance. 

These are dark times but I will continue to tell the stories you need to hear in a clear (and usually profane) voice. If I entertain/anger/inform you, preferably all three, please consider becoming a supporting subscriber today for only $5 a month or just $50 a year.

🖕FUCK THE Trump Regime!🖕

I’d feel bad for Pete Hegseth but he’s a MAGA white nationalist as well as a rapist, a fascist, a traitor, and just a complete asshole. Which is why Donald Trump picked him as Secretary of Defense in the first place.

Like most of Trump’s Cabinet, Hegseth was selected not only for being an ass-kissing sycophant but his utter lack of qualifications and future prospects.

This last bit is kind of important. Billionaires like Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgman will walk away from the smoldering wreck of the Trump regime and still be billionaires with an awful lot of power.1 But people like Hegseth? Patel? Gabbard? Kennedy? These are losers who will never again be this close to power of any kind and they know it. These are broken, delusional creatures who cling to Trump because he is their only chance to grab the brass ring and impose their cruel vision on the rest of us.

That’s what makes them so appealing to Trump. They will do anything he commands lest they be cast out. Trump loves bootlickers but bootlickers who are terrified of being fired are even better. It appeals to the wannabe tyrant in him.

This need to be surrounded by weak and spineless toadies is a problem, however.

Catch-22

So here’s the dilemma facing Trump. He needs Pete Hegseth because Pete Hegseth is weak. Trump needs a weak man who will obey his orders to corrupt the military and turn it into a fascist weapon to use against the civilian population.

This is a necessary step to cement Trump’s control over the country as an authoritarian dictator. More importantly, this needs to be done relatively quickly. The anti-Trump protests are growing larger, and Trump’s “beautiful” tariffs and resulting trade war are collapsing the economy at record speed. Add on top of that all of the economic destruction from the DOGE cuts, and you have the recipe for a nationwide revolt against the regime, as even loyal Republicans see their lives destroyed.

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It’s FAFO time for the GOP base.

To stop this, Trump will need the military. Even if he doesn’t try to have the protestors shot like he has so openly wanted to do for years, he has to keep the midterms from happening. He HAS to.

The devastating results in Wisconsin earlier this month and the overwhelming shift of the electorate to the left in every special election since November of last year point to the same kind of blue wave that annihilated the GOP’s hold on power in 2018.

That’s if the elections happened right now. What do you suppose they’ll be like after another 18 months of Trump shitting on the Constitution and the rule of law while bragging about it? Republicans are looking at an electoral wipeout beyond anything they’ve ever imagined. That means Trump will be facing an empowered and very energized House and possibly Senate, who will be out for his head.

Breaking things, including the law, gets harder without a compliant Congress. The impeachment hearings will last until the next election and will indict the entire Republican Party.

So, Trump cannot allow the midterms to happen. But again, he will need the military. He will need to send them in to certain cities in certain states to prevent them from voting. Or to seize the voting machines afterwards. But to do that, Trump will need someone in charge who is willing and capable of reshaping the United States military into a force that will obey flagrantly illegal orders.

Pete Hegseth is not man.

He’s certainly willing, of course. He’s a sycophant willing to obey any order he is given. But such a weak man is not capable. If Hegseth were capable, he wouldn’t be so weak. And here is the Catch-22.

Trump could replace Hegseth today with another sycophant. Another weak man willing to obey. But Hegseth’s replacement will also be incapable of reshaping the military into the weapon Trump is demanding.

Almost by definition, a bootlicking toady has no respect for the military and its centuries of tradition and honor. How could such a worm command the respect of the officers he would need to change the culture of the military into the dark vision of fascism Trump requires? Much less do it in less than a year and a half?

There are plenty of officers who would be capable of molding the military into something else. But they wouldn’t be the bootlicking toadies willing to obey illegal orders. You can have one, but not the other.

And in the unlikely event Trump were to find both? A fascist willing AND capable of reshaping the American military into a weapon to turn against the country? Even Trump wouldn’t be stupid enough to put that person in a position to do so. What kind of imbecile hands the most powerful military in the world over to someone more capable and then initiates a military coup?

So, yeah, Hegseth’s days may be numbered but Trump will still be fucked. He can either pick another ass-kissing clown and leave the Pentagon in chaos, or pick someone competent to get our military house in order, but then kiss his dreams of a military coup goodbye. He cannot have both.

Either way, the clock is ticking before we the people come for this corrupt regime and there just are not enough Proud Boys and Nazis to keep them in power past their legally-mandated expiration date.

Breaks my fucking heart.

I hope you feel better informed about the world and ready to kick fascists in the teeth to protect it. This newsletter exists because of you, so please consider becoming a supporting subscriber today for only $5 a month or just $50 a year. Thank you for everything!

☠️This Subscription Kills Fascists☠️

Fascism hates organized protests. They fear the public. They fear US. Make fascists afraid again by joining Indivisible or 50501 and show them whose fucking country this is!

The Blue Wave has begun and the fascist fucks are scared. There are 194 days until it hits Virginia and Pennsylvania. If I were a billionaire fascist loser, I’d think REALLY hard about getting out of the way.

In its most recent World Economic Outlook report, the IMF includes a chapter on “The Rise of the Silver Economy: Global Implications of Population Aging” (April 2025).

Here are the big trends in a nutshell. The red line (measured on the right-hand axis) shows that the average age of the global poulation was about 27 years back in 1980, is now up to about 35 years ,and is headed above 40 years in a few decades. The blue line shows average annual population growth. From 1980 to the present, it fell from 1.8% to about 0.8%, and it’s headed toward negative population growth later this century.

Of cousre, this decline in population growth isn’t distributed equally. This figure shows the timing at which countries start to experience a decline in the “working-age” population, defined here as ages 15-64. As you can see, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan were already experiencing a declin in the working-age population before the year 2000. Since 2000, the US, Canada, China, Korea, and Brazil have joined the club. In the 2030s, India and Indonesia will start to experience a declining working-age population. By later in the century, the pattern is projected to reach countries across Africa, like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, and others.

Does a decline in working-age population necessarily mean a corresponding decline in economic output? Maybe not. There will be more workers with greater experience. In addition, people seem to be maintaining their cognitive sharpness and physical health later in life, which is not only a good thing in and of itself, but also increases the chance that they will continue contributing to the economy as workers for a few years longer. The IMF rreport notes:

Alongside increases in longevity, the functional capacity of older individuals has improved over time. More recent cohorts of older individuals are physically stronger and cognitively abler than earlier cohorts at the same age. Notably, when cognitive capacities are the focus, “the 70s are the new 50s”: Data from a sample of 41 advanced and emerging market economies indicate that, on average, a person who was 70 in 2022 had the same cognitive ability as a 53-yearold in 2000. Over the course of a decade, this pace of improvement in cognitive abilities is associated with an increase of approximately 20 percentage points in the likelihood that individuals remain engaged in the labor market, either by working or actively seeking employment, along with an increase of about six hours in average weekly hours worked and a 30 percent rise in labor earnings, conditional on being employed.

Ultimately,the ability of economies to adjust to these demographic shifts will rely on a few variables: Is there at least a moderate upward trend in the number of people who continue working after age 65? Are people saving more, so that they will be ready for longer retirement? Will the skills of experienced older workers perhaps be an especially good complement with emerging AI tools, thus allowing them to maintain high productivity for longer? Are people planning for old age without too heavy a reliance on support from the smaller younger generations of their families? Is the private sector making the kind of investments in technology and physical capital that can raise the productivity of older workers? Will the public sector adjust old-age pensions to keep them solvent? Is a combination of the private and public sector making the kinds of investments so that homes, public spaces, and care facilities are available and accessible to an older population?

There’s an old line that “everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” One might say something similar about the monumental trend toward global aging. The IMF report sketches out a model of a future where various adjustments in labor force participation, technology, investment, and government policies helps smooth the transition to a “silver economy.” But in many countries, for many people, I suspect it will be a bumpy ride.

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