I Am Beginning To Wonder About Crooked Media

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I have been listening to the various Crooked Media podcasts since the beginning. In fact, I may have even listened to the proto podcasts they did, like Keeping It 1600. And, in general, I’m quite pleased with my listening experience.

But there have been a few times of late when I was given pause for thought, that I’ve had some hint that maybe not all was as it seems with Crooked Media.

One event was when it become clear that Jon Lovett was VERY UNHAPPY at Crooked Media and might leave. Something about how it was all brushed under the table with rainbows and unicorn farts was a bit unsettling. The other incident was when Kara Swisher did some “real talk” with Jon Lovett and mentioned the efforts to unionize Crooked Media.

Lovett just stopped cold — for once he didn’t have anything to say –and said, “yadda, yadda, yadda” next question. So, it definitely seems possible that at some point in the near future, something jarring might pop out of the Crooked Media shadows and totally change how people perceive the company.

I hope not. That would suck.

Is Nikki Haley In It To Win It?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As we enter the primaries, we find ourselves in something of a quandary. Trump continues to support extremely unpopular things — like getting rid of Obamacare — and we all just shrug as if he’s some sort of unstoppable political force.

But what if he’s not?

At the moment, this is crazy to even suggest, but what if the polls are wrong and Nikki Haley manages to become a viable contender to Trump? The best case scenario for her, as of late 2023, is she shocks everyone in the early states, gets to be a media darling until Super Tuesday…and then it’s over.

There will be talk of her being Trump’s veep, but, ultimately, he picks some crazed MAGA half-wit who will be just as bad, if not worse, than he is should they ever become POTUS.

But this does raise the issue of what happens if Trump either isn’t the nominee or he loses in the fall. If he’s not the nominee, then think he runs third party and tries to win in the House when no one reaches 270. If he doesn’t win as the Republican nominee…oh boy. I still worry that he’ll scream bloody murder about the need for a National Divorce and, as such, a civil war.

Pondering A Third Trump Impeachment

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The more I think about it, the more I realize that by definition a Trump second term would be extremely unstable. I say this because first of all, all the tyrannical things Trump wants to do won’t happen in a political vacuum in either political direction — Left or Right.

First of all, there will be a lot of vocal anti-anti-Trump people who will rationalize any tyrannical thing Trump does in 2025 by saying, “the people have spoken.” Meanwhile, if Trump really abuses power in a tyrannical way, anti-Trump forces will have two possible reactions at their disposal — impeachment or somehow deposing Trump using the power of the U.S. Military. (NOT ADVOCATING ANYTHING.)

Impeachment would hinge on if Democrats won the House or not in 2024. And people would have to get REALLY WORKED UP even then. So, in a sense, the difference between politically removing Trump via impeachment and overthrowing him via a military coup would not really be all that different. In both instances, you would probably have to organize a General Strike to get the point across AND there is a good chance that Red States would begin to leave the Union in protest.

So, I dunno what to tell you. Hopefully, things won’t get so bad. Hopefully, something will happen and Trump will just scurry away into political oblivion.

The Warped Nature of American Politics Is Enough to Make You Throw Up Your Hands In Dismay

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

We live in strange times. My far more conservative relative — whom I love dearly — really lives in a totally different universe than I do. They have a pretty well thought-out series of talking points that he has been fed through all the Right-wing podcasts they listen to.

They think all the investigations into Trump are nothing more than “lawfare.” They think the economy is horrible. They think the armies of Russia and China are soooo much more powerful than ours because they’re not “woke.” I tried my best to point out how wrong all of that was on a strictly factual basis, but I don’t know how successful I was.

The point remains — the proof will be in the pudding should Trump get re-elected and he start to do things that are so totally bonkers that even Traditionalists who are “MAGA curious” will sit up and take notice. If Trump goes full tyrant to the point that Traditionalists — who otherwise love, love, love his policies — throw up their hands in disgust…everyone, not just Trump, will have a real problem on their hands.

That is crux of the issue going forward — is there *any* red line that Traditionalists will have should the time come? Is there *any* tyrannical thing that Trump might do that will cause them to say, “enough is enough” and support whatever last-ditch direct action might be thought up to get rid of Trump?

The entirety of the American democratic experience hinges on what Traditionalists decide at that point.

The ‘Vibsession’ Is Real In The Minds Of MAGA

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Another holiday season, another polite, but heated, debate with my far more conservative relative. It is clear to me that the center-Right and the center-Left in the US live in totally different realities now.

While I’m not suggesting that the U.S. economy is perfect, in general, it’s doing quite well in relative terms. But to hear my conservative relative talk, you’d think we were in the middle of a Second Great Depression. I finally had to make it clear that I actually had facts to back me up, if need be, just like they had all these fact about how horrible COVID lockdowns were.

This is a prime example of how fucked we are going into the 2024 election. It could be that we’re so divided that even though the economy is doing generally well enough people on the center-Right will be wrapped up in the “vibesession” that Trump will come roaring back.

And I don’t think we really appreciate how fucking bad a second Trump administration will be. It will far, far worse than any of us could possibly imagine. The key issue is, of course, what the reaction of the average person will be when Trump starts snatching people off the streets.

Who knows.

The Russians (Think They Are) Coming (In Late 2024, Early 2025)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

At least one notable Russian thinks that the U.S. will be so “leaderless” in late 2024, early 2025 that they can strike Europe with impunity. While if you were to read this blog on a regular basis, you might think that was *possible*, even I have my doubts.

The two main scenarios facing us are Trump wins and there’s a major re-alignment of the global order and Trump loses and we somehow have a civil war. There is a third, less likely scenario, whereby Trump loses and…nothing happens.

I can’t predict the future. I have no idea what is going to happen. But I am worried that Something Big will happen in late 2024, early 2025. Does that mean Russia will be able to invade Europe at will? I dunno about THAT. But I do think it’s at least *possible* that there will be so much mass chaos taking place in late 2024, early 2025 for various Trump-related reasons that, yeah, maybe.

But the U.S. Military so powerful that even if Russia attacked, say, Poland, we could still put a hurting on Russia, even if the rest of the military was being force into an untenable situation by ding-dong Trump.

Yet, let me be clear — I can’t predict the future. It’s possible that the coming year will be rather meh or something unexpected will happen that will punt our problems down the road another four years.

‘I’m Done With You’ — #lyrics to #pop #rock #ballad

I’m Done With You
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

conversations never had
leaving me less than glad
here I am wondering what is next
but you’ve left me no doubt
how you think by saying

I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you

I thought things
might get better
my head light as a feather
but now I realize my error
when you correct me
with these words

I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you

(bridge)
in my mind we’re together
again
but that’s just a wish
I’m afraid
the past is the past
and I just have to accept
my fate

I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you
I’m done with you

Things Continue To Improve With My Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While the scene continues to edge up some, in general, things –I think — have begun to stabilize some with this novel. One of my big worries is the story just isn’t dark enough for the genre. People want dark, twisted death and destruction when it comes to a modern mystery-thriller and, well, my story is more *edgy* than dark and twisted.

I kind of go there a few times. A few times I touch on subjects you just don’t really see talked about in pop fiction, at least, not in the way I address them. I’m very sex-positive, so I kind of matter-of-factly write about some rather provocative things between two consenting adults that will either make you giggle or oh, “hmmmm.”

Some of what I depict in this novel makes me nervous. I’m 50 years old, so I can only get in so much trouble with my family, but I think maybe that’s a good sign. It means I’m not playing it safe — even if the novel still isn’t nearly as dark and twisted as the modern mystery-thriller should be.

Only time will tell, I suppose.

Well, I Suspect Hollywood Actresses Will Like My Novel

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I’ve written before, Hollywood actresses have a…unique…psychology. And that psychology tends to get more unique the older they get because they often times become producers. That’s why someone like Jennifer Lawrence is cool with getting paid $20 million for a mid-tier vehicle where she apparently has a fight in the ocean totally buff naked.

And don’t get me started in how puzzling it is to me that there was this huge scramble to play the Hollywood movie version of Lisbeth Salander. I love the character, too, but, yikes, why put yourself through the horrific things that poor woman had to go through and have it on screen!

Sorry you had that done to you, Lisbeth.

Very curious.

With that in mind, it definitely seems as though if I win the creative lottery and my novel becomes successful enough that Hollywood will want to adapt it…that a lot of actresses will be interested in playing one of the numerous female characters I’ve come up with.

The novel isn’t nearly as dark as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But there are some…edgy elements to it that I think Hollywood actresses might really like. But, really, what do I know.

I’m just drunk nobody in the middle of nowhere with a dream.

I Have A Growing Number Of Books About The New York Times To Read

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I now have TWO tomes about The New York Times to read. I already have one, The Trust, while I’m waiting on the second, newer one, The Times to arrive in a few weeks from Amazon.

For all its problems, I really love The New York Times and I wish I could hang out with a few of them at some point in my life. All the times I’ve crossed paths with them they came across as really genuine, nice folks. Two of the times I had an opportunity to interact with Times folks, I was as giddy as a 50s bobby socker.

Anyway. Absolutely no one cares or listens to me. And if I ever manage to breakout with my DJ (novel) money and actually hang out with any New York Times people that way, it will all be very, very surreal.

I’m been a drunk crank loser for so long that any change in that particular situation that allow me to have drinks with New York Times people would be a rather dramatic change of fate.