Abortion Politics, MAGA & The Rise Of A Very American Autocracy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Whenever I talk politics these days with my far more conservative relatives — who I love dearly — inevitably the subject of abortion comes up and inevitably I come away at a loss.

There are so many contradictions and poorly thought out things connected to cause and effect that it’s difficult to process. The most glaring paradox is, of course, is that “pro-life” advocates got so fucking worked up for 50 years about how “every life is precious” then when COVID hit the country they were fully prepared to sacrifice Elders to the grim reaper. Unless, of course, they were related to them, then that was different.

Meanwhile, it seems as though MAGA is offended that abortion is mentioned at all in the public square. They take ANY mention of it, even in the effort to keep women safe, as gratuitous and taboo. They get all worked up about how states like California tell women they can still get abortions there, as if the state is advocating they have abortions instead of carry their fetus to term.

So, for a lot of conservatives, all abortions must be illegal because, by definition, abortion is only used for birth control. But wait, there’s more — these very same people have used all sorts of birth control themselves and they lulz the idea that MAGA is coming after legal birth control next, even for married people.

Abortion was always a legal firebreak for birth control in general and now that it’s gone, all of the passion behind ending Roe is now going after overturning the legal framework that has kept any form of birth control legal.

This all points out the central tenant of MAGA — they have a very poor grasp of how they keep hurting their self interests with some of their much sought after policies. They’re oblivious to it until, of course, it gets personal, then they secretly pay for an abortion or whatever. They don’t mind being hypocrites. In fact, that’s kind of their thing.

Now, obviously, there is another Red Line that I’m very concerned about — once the United States is an autocracy, the clock will be ticking for when I cross the autocrat and an ICE agent shoots me in the back of the head. I’ve had the luxury of being a loud mouth crank in a liberal democracy and once that’s no longer the case, my goose is cooked.

I’m probably going to be one of the first victims of the autocrat simply because I’m never, ever going to fucking shut up — even if my far more conservative relatives beg me to “for the sake of the family.”

Free speech is part of my American birthright and I plan to exercise it to the very end.

Dave Chappelle, Or How I Learned To Quit Worrying & Love The ‘Woke Cancel Culture Mob’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Sometimes when I talk to my Traditionalist relatives, I’m aghast at how different they perceive the world relative to me. At the very forefront of their mind is the idea that the “woke cancel culture mob” is not only “grooming” children, but they will “cancel” anyone who is conservative enough to question their aggressive “gay agenda.”

Not canceled.

Ugh.

A prime of example of this bizarre world view is Dave Chappelle. My Traditionalist relatives believe that because of his aggressive anti-trans stance, that Chappelle’s career is dead and he now lives under an assumed name along with all the other “canceled” conservatives of Hollywood.

Of course, this is complete bullshit.

Chappelle is doing fine. He’s very popular and continues to have a robust career. But the expression my Traditionalist conservatives give me when I point this out is complete disbelief. They really believe that the “woke cancel culture mob” is so absolutely powerful that by definition if you have the temerity to cross them that you burst into flames and descend into some sort of “canceled” hell to be with a groomer Satan or some such.

This is why I just don’t believe there is any hope for America anymore. The idea that the people who otherwise would be the bedrock of our democracy now apparently, in the abstract, live in abject fear of having their lives ruined by the “woke cancel culture mob” just for being conservative is extremely alarming. They are primed and ready to, when the time comes, support America’s transition into autocracy.

Then, of course, the only question we face is do we endup around Hungary and Turkey politically or do we careen towards something closer to Russia or Nazi Germany. At the moment, I honestly can’t game things out that far.

And, yet, it definitely seems that this is it. Call it the Fourth Turning, or the “Great Reset,” or whatever the fuck you want, but the United States is far less stable than you might otherwise think. And, really, the issue is — when MAGA demands Blues bend a knee to autocratic fascism, do they do it or do they serve papers on a National Divorce?

At the moment, I think Blues are going to be so sucker punched by how rapidly the transition to fascism happens in the United States that they’ll just shrug and let it happen. After a brief moment of panic in late 2024, early 2025, we’ll just slip into autocracy, probably through a process that will ultimately end in a Constitutional Convention.

There is a small chance of a military junta, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

If you have the means, get a passport and start figuring out where you’re going to flee once the American Nazis known as MAGA finally consolidate power.

Why Did Someone From The Justice Department Search For Me On LinkedIn?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m generally so placid and sedate — especially if you met me in real life — that the idea that someone from the Justice Department was snooping on me using LinkedIn search is, unto itself, extremely alarming! It goes against my self-perception as a nobody that rants about a lot of things — some of them provocative — but who is totally ignored by everyone else.

First, I’m totally harmless. I sometimes get drunk and rant about how much I fucking hate fucking autocratic MAGA cocksuckers….but that’s it. It’s just venting. I am worried about the rise of autocratic MAGA fascism because it’s not an abstract for me — once the United States is no longer a traditional Western democracy….the clock is probably ticking until I get drunk and rant in a very public manner at a bar about how much I think our new autocrat is a fucking cocksucker.

It makes me wonder if someone narced on me or if there as something I wrote that piqued the Justice Department’s interest in little olde me. There are a few things I can think of.

One, I do really fucking hate the politics of would-be autocrat Mike Pompeo. And someone from his neck of the woods looked at this site, so I could see him thinking I’m some sort of deranged person who needs to monitored. While I think he’s a very alarming person because if he ever becomes POTUS he’s going to come after people just like me with ICE…it’s all rhetoric on my part. Like I keep saying, I’m not a violent person. Instead of, like, stocking up on guns, I just sit down and use that energy to work on a six novel thriller series that has a very anti-MAGA subtext to it.

Another possibility is they’re not thrilled with me becoming a downlow advocate of Blue secession. If that was the case, I get it. I probably earned being snooped on for such a radical proposal. But it’s just me following the logic of what’s going on in America to its conclusion — fascist MAGA Republicans are ascendant and for Blue’s it’s either leave the Union in late 2024 – early 2025 or bend a knee to fascism. While in theory I support a National Divorce, I definitely don’t support a civil war.

I suppose another possibility is when Catturd tweeted a link to me ranting about him being the “most dangerous man in America” the general massive (in relative terms) attention that that generated for this site caused some fucking MAGA cocksucker to narc on me. Ugh.

I will note that whomever it was from the Justice Department who was snooping just SEARCHED for me….they didn’t look at my actual LinkedIn profile. I don’t quite understand what’s going on with that distinction.

Anyway, I’m pretty much a harmless, if occasionally drunk, crank. But I am working on a really good novel series at the moment so, who knows, I may end putting a move on you after all, before I drop dead.

Hell, Sometimes Even I Want To Burn It All Down

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I am not, by nature, a violent man. In fact, I hate guns and I hate violence of any sort. I’m a man of ideas, a man of peace. And the argument could be made that having three cats when I was growing up gave me that brain parasite in cat urine that is makes you “nicer.”

But even I have to admit that income disparity in the United States is growing so alarming as to make the country far more unstable than you might think. I keep being reminded of this massive disparity when I listen to some of my favorite liberal-progressive podcasts.

The things they talk about are simply impossible for me to imagine being able to afford. And they’re so casual about it. They talk about their jetset lives and the elements of their latest AirBnB as if EVERYONE can do such a thing. I understand that some of it all is aspirational in nature — they talk about it to make themselves sound cool or they’re just clueless — but the net effect is I feel like going to the ramparts in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson.

All of this is even more relevant when you realize that the wealthiest, most stable, most powerful democracy humanity has ever seen could very well implode into civil war at some point between now and spring 2025. I know that at the moment that sounds both hysterical and fantastical, but if you look at macro trends — like income inequality — oh boy.

What’s even more alarming to me on a personal basis is I’ve shifted own my position on the future of the Union some. I used to consider myself a Lincoln Unionist through and through….but now, as autocratic MAGA fascists grow more and more politically ascendant I have come to believe that on paper, at least, Blue states should seriously consider secession.

But at the same time, I hate violence so much that I suppose it would be for the best if Blues simply bent a knee to fascist on the state level and let wealthy liberals flee the country en masse. Of course, there is a possibility that some sort of military junta will step in during any Certification Crisis in 2024 – 2025 and that will be a stop gap solution between autocracy and civil war.

Who knows. But all I know is the United States is primed and ready for civil war / revolution from either the Right OR Left. I suppose your best bet is to get a passport and leave the country now, in advance, if you have the means.

‘Bothsidesing’ The Death Of Democracy

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have yet again had an opportunity to have an impromptu focus group with my conservative relatives. And I’m very, very alarmed for the state of our American birthright, our democracy. The key element is the my Traditionalist conservatives, who would otherwise be the cornerstone, the bedrock of a stable liberal democracy are now primed and ready to be the same for fascist MAGA autocracy.

Here’s why — Traditionalist conservatives simply can not, will not unite with the center-Left to protect our democracy. And because of that, rather than even having an opinion when it’s factually proven that MAGA is in the wrong, they just throw up their hands and say, “both sides.”

By “bothsidesing” things, they are actually complicit in collapse of our democracy. When they tune out from political debate because they don’t want to agree with the center-Left, the fucking autocratic fascist MAGA cocksuckers win.

In short, Traditionalists who “bothsides” things are one step away from being “Good Germans,” or, in this case, “Good Americans.” And they will sit on their hands when ICE is weaponized and there’s a Constitutional Convention that will pass the modern MAGA version of the Nazi Enabling Acts.

And, of course, the issue is that they will be Good Americans until it gets personal. So, for my Traditionalist conservative relatives, the rise of autocracy is an abstract convenience. They won’t have to worry about being “canceled” by the “woke cancel culture mob,” but for ME, the end of American democracy is very concrete in the sense that I’m inevitably going to cross the autocrat because of my drunk big mouth.

Anyway, they key is — be prepared for the United States to transition into autocracy. The other two options — civil war or military junta — aren’t that great either. It will be interesting to see which of the three options we endup doing.

Will The 2022 Midterms Cause A Second American Civil War?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I keep saying, I think most of the reason America has civil war on the brain is for people on the Right, it is, in abstract terms, the worst thing they can possibly think of to happen because of dem dar libtards. They have no idea what they really mean by “civil war,” other than some vague notion should one happen, that they will, at last, be able to murder liberals in cold blood for political reasons without any expectation of criminal accountability.

But I hate abstract concepts like some nebulous “civil war” and so I want to break the abstract down into something more concrete.

First, I just don’t see MAGA getting so upset if they should lose the 2022 midterms that they start running around, killing liberals with their AR-15s that they seem to want to fuck so bad. There might be some pretty big protests, maybe a few Brooks Brothers Riots here and there and maybe even an insurrection….but not “civil war” in the way that Barbara F. Walter might suggest could happen.

I still believe, at the moment, that if there is a “civil war” in the United States, it will happen because, just like the first civil war, states begin to secede from the Union — a National Divorce, if you will.

As such, there are two ways that the 2022 midterms might cause a civil war. One would be that Republicans freak out when they lose and Trump gets it in his mind that he’s had enough — he begins to rant that Red States need to secede and establish something akin to Trumplandia. Meanwhile, the OTHER way the 2022 midterms might cause a civil war would be that Republicans gain control of Congress, Trump becomes Speaker of the House and in the process of impeaching both Biden and Harris, Trump dangles the idea of Red States seceding over the heads of the Senate.

But, as always, I’m obviously greatly overestimated Trump’s cognative abilities. Trump is both lazy and stupid to the point that even the most basic autocratic plays — like him becoming Speaker — may be out of his tiny little mind’s grasp. If he does it, it will be without much forethought.

I think he has being president again so much at the forefront of his mind these days that he can’t process being Speaker instead.

If we don’t have a civil war in 2023 because of the results of the 2022 midterms, we’re probably safe until, well, 2024 – 2025 when Blues will be forced to make an existential choice: bend a knee to fascist MAGA autocracy, or serve Reds papers on a National Divorce.

At the moment, I think we’re just going to slide peacefully into autocracy and that will be that.

Stephen Colbert As Lightning Rod

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In yet another sign that the United States is not only a failed state, but a political powder keg, we find ourselves in the curious situation where Stephen Colbert of all people is a lightning rod for MAGA Republicans. They say he’s not funny, which is demonstrably not true.

But the fact that Colbert has joined Dr. Tony Fauci as the whipping boy of the Right is both weird an ominous. The fact that given the choice of the astonishingly horrible Gutfeld! and Colbert the Right would rather watch Gutfeld! is a very dark sign for the future of the country.

The situation with Colbert is yet another sign that the country is tearing itself apart — the country can not continue to be dominated by a crazed minority of MAGA cocksuckers. There is going to come a point when either Blues bend a knee to MAGA-themed fascism or they are pushed out of the Union by Reds. The question at this point is simply a matter of specifics and logistics.

The country is so partisan and MAGA is so consumed by various Big Lies that as far as I can tell the U.S. Military is the only major American institution that hasn’t been destroyed by the forces of division. This is the case to the point that there is a small chance that instead of autocracy or civil war, the U.S. may be governed by some sort of military junta in a last ditch effort to prevent us from killing each other for political reasons.

But, as I keep saying, while my gut tells me Something Big is going to happen between now and, say, spring 2025…I just can’t game out what is it. It’s things like what’s going on with Colbert that are pings from a very, very dark and troubled future. If a nation like the U.S. can’t even agree on what to laugh at, then I don’t know what to tell you.

What The Fuck Is Wrong With The United States?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

American politics at the moment is a shit show and has been for some time. It’s completely fucking bonkers. And, what’s worse, it’s all happening in broad daylight. We see the lights of an oncoming train, we’re on the tracks and we’re just standing there, waiting to get hit.

I keep saying we’re beyond the Event Horizon for autocracy, civil war or military junta and every day I’m reminded of how right I am. MAGA Republicans now openly embrace some pretty basic elements of fascism and they’re screaming at the top of their lungs that they only believe in democracy if they win.

The idea that if Trump is indicted then he becomes a martyr for the cause, forcing Republicans to cling to him even tighter is seriously fucked up. I suppose we can at least be thankful that Trump is such a lazy idiot that there’s every reason to believe his innate laziness and incompetence may at least delay our final decent into fascism.

But there is the counter argument that Trump, unto himself, could force the United States into civil war. It could be that his historical purpose is not to be a transitional figure on our march to fascist autocracy, but the person who just by being a malignant digus causes the country to collapse.

As I keep saying, I just don’t think we’re going to have a civil war. The reason why the country seems to have civil war on the brain is the far fucking Right is made up of a bunch of fucking crybabies who take any perceived slight as the some sort of tyrannical oppression of what they hold dear.

Tectonic forces are at work here, things that are just difficult for one person to process. We’re all living through a massive historical event and as it’s happening to us, it has no value or narrative on a personal basis. As such, it won’t be until it’s all over with and we look back at what just happened that we’ll be able to understand how the fuck it all ended up happening.

Let me again stress — I do not pretend to be able to predict the future. I have no idea what is going to happen. I’m always wrong. Always. But I’m growing more and more alarmed that Something Bad is going to happen to the United States between now and, say, spring 2025.

The country is tearing itself apart in a pretty conspicuous manner there are two main issues that I just can’t game out at the moment. One is, like I mentioned, is it possible that Trump, unto himself, could start a civil war? And the other is, am I right to have such a low opinion of Blues ability to serve National Divorce papers on Reds if Trump — or whomever — demands Blues bend a knee to MAGA fascism?

I think that we’ll be a lot closer to knowing what is going to happen next after the midterms. That is when we’re going to lurch towards our fate one way or another, depending on the outcome of the vote. If Republicans win Congress, then things are going to get lit pretty quick. Meanwhile, of Blues somehow managed to keep Congress, then, well, the possibility of MAGA political violence will increase significantly.

All of this is part of how fucking bonkers America is right now. Something Big is on the horizon, but the question is: what?

Reds Are Pushing Blues Out Of The Union

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I get how Reds think that Blues are smug and condescending. Ok, I get it. But what I don’t get is why Reds continue to feel so oppressed and disenfranchised when it’s self-evident that MAGA is politically ascendant.

MAGA is ascendant to the point that at some time between now and January 2025, Blues are going to face the existential choice of bending a knee to MAGA-themed autocracy or not. If they don’t then their only choice will be to serve papers on a National Divorce and to initiate a Second American Civil War.

At the moment, I don’t think we’re going to have a 2ACW because, well, lulz, Blues just don’t have it in them. Even though they’re a majority of Americans, they are too divided, too busy bitching and moaning about trigger warnings, micro aggressions, and how many genders can dance on the head of a pin to address the cold hard facts

America is careening towards autocracy and unless Blues are willing to leave the Union to keep their freedoms, then, well, lulz. MAGA Republicans are inevitably going to gain power and when they do, that’s it. We will be an autocracy with the only question being if we are going to settle somewhere around Hungary and Turkey or Russia and Nazi Germany.

We may all be antifa one day.

At the moment, I just don’t know. It’s too difficult to game out the exact nature of our coming autocracy. But I do know that at a minimum 1 million wealthy liberals will leave the country starting in late 2024 when it becomes clear that Blues are simply going to give up.

Let me be clear — I can’t predict the future. And plenty of things could happen to negate all my hysterical predictions. I got 2020 – 2021 wrong (for the most part) because I not only totally overestimated Trump, but there was a pandemic. Something similar could happen.

But if you just look at macro trends, the United States is pretty much fucked. Republicans are fascists and Blues are simply too divided and ineffectual to do anything about it. I continue to be amazed by the Republicans I know who simply can not stop conflating the growing hard power of MAGA Republicans with the very soft power of Blues.

So, essentially, Reds want to end American democracy because Blues make them feel bad. As such, this makes Reds want to “own” the libs to the point that they’re willing to burn the whole country to the ground to prove their point.

There are no easy answers in a country that seems to only expect them.

My Hot Take On MAGA’s Bullshit Reaction To The Paul Pelosi Attack

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The point of MAGA Republicans going all-in with their bullshit conspiracy theory about the attack against Paul Pelosi is first it gives them political cover and two it gives them a running “joke” they can pivot to whenever they find themselves in a rhetorical corner.

That this would happen is a no brainer, given that the January 6th Insurrection — which should be considered the domestic political equivalent of 9/11 — is now pretty much a lulz for your average MAGA Republican. They cherrypick from January 6th what helps them and conflate, both-sides and muddle anything that doesn’t.

This is just another ping from a very, very dark future. The Right has built out not only an extensive permission structure when it comes to fascism, but also an entire dreamland where they’re some sort of oppressed minority that has to struggle against the all-powerful forces of the “woke cancel culture mob.” They continue to believe this despite how their actual hard power in the real world continues to grow and grow.

If anything, Reds risk pushing out the majority from the Union. There is at least a small chance that Blues — the national majority on a political basis — will grow so fed up with the rise of MAGA-themed fascism that they serve papers on a National Divorce, which causes a Second American Civil War.

I have my doubts about that, however.

What’s more likely to happen is we slide peacefully into autocracy and that will be that. Gradually at first, then faster and faster, basic freedoms that we have enjoyed in the United States for 240 odd years will evaporate. There will be Enabling Acts that are pushed through via a MAGA-lead Constitutional Convention

And it’s bullshit like the MAGA fever dream conspiracy about what happened to Paul Pelosi that fits in with that rather dystopian prediction.