Friday Homestead Dispatch

Look Over There

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin

"Since the world as a whole lives in hope and always on the hope for the next generation, this is what gives us stability as a nation. A feeling that if you are poor, you and your family are not doomed to be poor forever; that if you are working in a job you do not enjoy, you are not doomed to hold that job forever but may quite probably find one you will like very much better at almost any time; that if you failed to receive or to take advantage of the education you feel essential for success, you still see visions of your children having the opportunities you missed—all of this makes for a restless world, perhaps, but a more stable one. There is a desire for progress in the hearts of all men, and it is the sense of frustration and inability to move forward that brings violent revolution."
— Eleanor Roosevelt, My Day (December 30, 1946)

1.
There are no saviors in the Democratic Party swooping in to Save The Day. We Boomers grew up on cartoon characters with flowing capes or other fancy costumery who would take care of the evil in the world; the liars, the cheaters, the grifters. Not even Mighty “Andy” Mouse can help us.

The people who are going to make a difference are the people who speak up. As mainstream and social media are normalizing the subversion of Democracy, journalists who are attempting to look behind the curtain are finding other means.

The example that stands out this week is that journalist Jennifer Rubin joined forces with others who have left the Washington Post due to its swing toward the orange-faced felonious man. She, along with other voices such as Joyce Vance, Andy Borowitz, Laurence Tribe, Katie Phang, George Conway, Olivia Julianna, Harry Litman (who recently resigned from the LA Times for reasons similar to hers for leaving the Post), and Asha Rangappa, have launched a new outlet called The Contrarian: Not Owned By Anybody.

The introductory page reads The Contrarian will be a central hub for unvarnished, unbowed, and uncompromising reported opinion and analysis that exists in opposition to the authoritarian threat. Our pre-election warnings that Donald Trump posed an unprecedented threat to our democracy were often treated as alarmist. However, the election of an openly authoritarian figure who traffics in conspiracies, lies, unconstitutional schemes and un-American notions, has moved the United States to an inflection point. The future of our democracy, and what Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth” hangs in the balance. And yet corporate and billionaire media and too many in the political establishment persist in downplaying the threat and seeking to accommodate Trump and his radical agenda. We refuse to follow the herd.

Unlike most corporate or billionaire media, The Contrarian will not offer Trump the benefit of the doubt. We will not normalize him. We will not engage in false equivalence. We will not excuse enablers in the media, government or business. We will not infantilize his supporters nor treat them as victims; we will confront them with the consequences of their presidential pick.

2.
With that in mind, another avenue of making a difference is YOU. For instance, this very minute you can send notice (after reading the Dispatch, of course) to the Department of Justice demanding that they release Volume 2 of the Final Report of the Special Counsel. Do it today as Biden’s getting hit in the ass by the door in a few days.

Also, flooding departments and Congress Critters with calls and emails in the next year WILL make a difference if enough of us do it. And if you’re not watching/listening to Heather Cox Richardson’s Politics Chats on Facebook or Youtube, you’re missing out. They are live most Tuesdays around 4pm EST. I have it on while I’m snipping tile in my studio.

Last Tuesday’s chat was centered around a way to move forward and how we can all play a part. I don’t know that many people who can be so articulate and inspire action as her. (She does mention in the video below that she may be moving these chats exclusively to Youtube in the near future…she’s aware of the FB change of censorship but her following is so large it may take a bit) It’s about an hour long but I guarantee it’s worth your time.

Also, Scott Dworkin’s Watchdog Coalition is another guardrail to hold back the lunatics coming to power. They’ve already sent more than 117,000 letters to Congress opposing Trump’s worst cabinet picks—all before he even steps foot in the White House.

The meme below demonstrates the lies that will be a constant theme with the lying liars of the right.

3.
Fun Fact: While Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri attacked Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies during Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing, his chart displayed behind him misspelled military. Heh. Seems we’re not up against the brightest bulbs in the class.

4.
We know why the GOP wants to make cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and anything to do with green energy. It’s to justify lowering taxes on the wealthy. The rubes voted for people who will filter their tax dollars to millionaires and billionaires through their own high taxes.

It may be more difficult than hoped for by the likes of Mike Johnson and other MAGAs. According to Politico, proposed cuts to green energy tax credits, worth as much as $500 billion, could be tricky — as the document notes, they depend “on political viability.” Already 18 House Republicans — 14 of whom won reelection in November — warned Johnson against prematurely repealing some of the IRA’s energy tax credits, which are funding multiple manufacturing projects in GOP districts.

5.
The House now has 435 members divided almost evenly between Republicans and Democrats. An interesting proposal to break away from the traditional ‘winner take all’ approach to our elections, Jesse Wegman and Lee Drutman from the New York Times suggest switching to a more fair system of proportional representation and House expansion.

For example, Massachusetts currently has nine seats in the House, all Dems. In an expanded House of 593 seats, Mass would have thirteen members divided into three districts of four or five representatives each. In this hypothetical article, the authors have divided the politicians into six parties; the Progressives, New Liberals, New Populists, Growth and Opportunity, Patriots, and Christian Conservatives. In this way, they argue, if proportional representation was used nationally, it would recreate the ideological diversity that is currently suppressed by the two-party system.

The 1967 law that would need to change is where it states that a number of districts equal to the number of representatives to which such state is so entitled, and representatives shall be elected only from the districts so established, no district to elect more than one representative… They are proposing it read by law a number of multimember districts fewer than the number of representatives to which such state is so entitled, and representatives shall be elected proportionally from districts so established, no district to elect more than nine representatives…

6.
I know there’s a trend to leave Facebook now that most of their guardrails have been sidelined and that Zuckerberg is zucking up to the orange creature. I, too, have been contemplating a move away, but I have many years of connections built on that platform, and I’m leaning toward what Rebecca Solnit wrote today on that very platform: People often suggest we quit our platforms; I stopped using Twitter because it's become a heavily manipulated right-wing hellscape, but THE IDEA WE SHOULD ALL GO SILENT AND BE UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER JUST AS AN INCOMING ADMINISTRATION THAT WOULD LOVE US TO BE SILENT, UNCONNECTED, AND DISENGAGED SEEMS LIKE AN INCREDIBLY BAD IDEA. Yeah, that boycott FB starting Sunday thing going around: No. Nope. Definitely not.

I've known Zuckerberg was evil and FB was a mess since at least 2016 (and have been telling you so on this very platform) and I'm not going anywhere. A lot of boycott ideas amount to "disengage, stand aside" and I want to see everyone do the opposite. There are boycotts that have an impact; this does not look like one either in impact or scale; a mid-size bunch of anti-Trumpists being very quiet is not powerful.

p.s. Don't click on ads and do keep criticizing Zuck and Meta. Be noisy.

7.
In 1986 I attended the Telluride Film Festival in my role as film booker for Liberty Hall in LFK. (In the tiny plane from Denver to Montrose, Jimmy Stewart was sitting behind me…seriously tall) After watching a half dozen films during the one of the days, the last film to be screened at the Sheridan Opera House was the world premiere of Blue Velvet. I was in the second row along with Laura Dern and Dean Stockwell.

Since I had watched films all day, and due to the intensity of the scenes with Dennis Hopper, I think my eye vessels became inflamed which led to a water running down my face…not really tears. Plus I was close to the screen, sitting there bug-eyed through the rest of the film.

Blue Velvet stands as one of my top five films. So glad I kept a press kit…RIP David Lynch (1946-2025).

8.
Lastly, Dropped By Birds will be making a rare Monterey Court appearance with guest Clay Koweek this coming Thursday, January 23rd. Please join us and make a reservation!

And now…