America’s Hybrid Political Future Under Tyrant Trump

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Tyrant Trump plans to rule America under a hybrid of autocracy and military dictatorship. Receptive Red States will be governed under autocracy, while Blue portions of the country will get the full force of the military rod.

But there are a lot of problems with all of this, no matter how much Trump’s toadies may think they have everything figured out.

The key thing is, none of this is going to happen in a political vacuum. Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act all he wants to, but, in the end, the U.S. Military is not the Nazi SA and isn’t going to act as such. At its heart, the U.S. Military is made up of men and women who believe in democracy.

As such, there’s every reason to believe that if push comes to shove that not even the U.S. Military will be spared a cleaving between MAGA and Blues. It could be that Trump is such a malignant dumbass that he manages to destroy every single nation-wide institution in the United States, even the U.S. Military. That’s pretty deep, but also looking very possible.

I don’t know what to tell you, folks. American democracy either transitions into a hybrid of autocracy and direct military dictatorship….or Biden wins? Or something else happens I can’t predict? Maybe 2024 will be like 2020 and we manage to punt our problems down the road another four years.

At the moment, however, we’re in a “Not great, Bob,” situation.

‘Afterlow’ — #lyrics to a #pop song

Afterlow
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

fighting over the wetspot
and for the dawn to break
you just another in a number
of people who won’t give me space
what will happen after this
I don’t know
other than it will be low
the afterlow is my fate
the afterlow is this date
the afterlow is the case I make

the afterlow
the afterlow
leave me alone to sulk
in the afterlow
in the afterlow

lovers are a dime a dozen
when you’re hot
some are great in bed
and some are not
what am I to say or do
just leave me alone
you goon

the afterlow
the afterlow
leave me alone to sulk
in the afterlow
in the afterlow

(bridge)
the high is what I seek
but it’s just a peek
in the end no one will arrive
to sooth my frown
just get away from me you clown
let me dwell on the
afterlow.

the afterlow
the afterlow
leave me alone to sulk
in the afterlow
in the afterlow

‘New Model Army’ — #lyrics to a #pop #rock love #ballad

New Model Army
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

you’re my babe
without any fate
in the end no matter what
I’m willing to get into the muck
if I have to fight the New Model Army
for your love, it would be enough
New Model Army
New Modle Army
New Model Army

fight the good fight
the New Model Army is there
the New Model Army has no fear
don’t you fret
don’t you bet
the New Model Army
the New Model Army
the New Model Army
is what I will fight for you

The kids these days
don’t know what makes me afraid
the New Model Army does the trick
makes me want to spit
just accept no matter what
that the New Model Army is there to fight
New Model Army
New Model Army
New Model Army

(bridge)
peace is at hand
no army will need to show itself
when we feel hope is all around
because we have turn all frowns upside down
because the New Model Army
is nowhere to be found.

fight the good fight
the New Model Army is there
the New Model Army has no fear
don’t you fret
don’t you bet
the New Model Army
the New Model Army
the New Model Army
is what I will fight for you

I Have Not Felt This Amount Of Momentum For MAGA Since 2016

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I remember what it was like in 2015-2016. There was real excitement and momentum when it came to MAGA. And, sadly, I feel that same way now. There is real excitement, momentum on the part of MAGA. There is a lot of energy on the side of people who want…fascism, autocracy.

So, lulz?

It definitely seems as though This Is It. The End. We’re fucked. Now, there is a lot of Known Unknowns. There are plenty of things that could give us an off ramp and allow us to punt our structural problems down the road another four years.

But at the same time, it definitely seems we’re careening towards a hybrid autocracy – military dictatorship demanding on where you live in the United States. I think we have to accept that we need to recalibrate our expectations for life in the United States post-Trump swearing in.

We. Are. So. Fucked.

A lot of angry white angry people want a white Christian ethnostate. They are willing to give up their American birthright of living in a free country simply because they hate brown people, trans people and women with economic agency more.

The future fucking sucks. There are no easy answers. There is no endgame. We just have to figure out how to survive.

‘Afterglow’ — #lyrics to a #pop #ballad

Afterglow
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

lie next to you in the dead of night
feeling as though life is alight
is a baby on its way or did God
just make our bodies this way
what more is there to say
but to lie back and enjoy
the afterglow
afterglow, afterglow, afterglow

don’t you fret
the afterglow is a bet
against how brutal life can be
the afterglow is for you and me
baby you’ll always be by mind side
feeling just as sublime
in the afterglow, afterglow, afterglow

the afterglow is just fine
when you love someone so sublime
every such moment is precious
when you think of the rush
that will occur at any moment
when the dawn comes and the earth itself
gets to see the glow of the dawn

don’t you fret
the afterglow is a bet
against how brutal life can be
the afterglow is for you and me
baby you’ll always be by mind side
feeling just as sublime
in the afterglow, afterglow, afterglow

(bridge)
the dimness of the day
makes us all feel this way
but I know you’re the one for me
when I need to fight the new model army
my fear is going to be gone
once you hear this song

don’t you fret
the afterglow is a bet
against how brutal life can be
the afterglow is for you and me
baby you’ll always be by mind side
feeling just as sublime
in the afterglow, afterglow, afterglow

‘Vortex’ — #lyrics to a #dance #pop song

Vortex
lyrics by @sheltgarner
please give credit if you produce or perform

your love is a storm
I feel whipped and torn apart
whenever you sashay my way
giving me that glance that
breaks me into three
you’re a vortex
vortex
vortex
vortex

the power of yor love
is a sigh to see
baby, you mean so much to me
what am I to do
when loving you is like
being in the center
of a
vortex
vortex
vortex

lovers come and go
some are just for show
(don’t you know)
but our love will last forever
I’m sure this is the truth
nothing will change my mind
not even death itself
that might come because of life in a
vortex
vortex
vortex

the power of yor love
is a sigh to see
baby, you mean so much to me
what am I to do
when loving you is like
being in the center
of a
vortex
vortex
vortex

(bridge)
the calm of life
can be quite a delight
but it’s boring too
what’s a person to do
when you realize that love
is like a storm
crashing down on you

the power of yor love
is a sigh to see
baby, you mean so much to me
what am I to do
when loving you is like
being in the center
of a
vortex
vortex
vortex

Once More, With Feeling (Redux)

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Not only am I falling apart, but I continue to feel like I’m spinning my wheels when it comes to the first few chapters of this novel. This is the point in the past, of course, when the whole thing would collapse and I would pretty much lurch forward in the plot so I could at least start writing with some momentum again.

My heroine looks like Corrie Yee in my mind.

But this time, I’m not doing that. I’m going to press forward. I’m pretty sure that I have figured things out with the beginning of this novel. It’s just a matter of being really, really patient and methodical.

I’ve changed so much about characters and relationship when it comes to this novel that that, unto itself, is going to slow me down. But — hopefully — not too much. I am still on track to wrap up this third draft by about April 1st. That will give me a few months so do pre-flight things before I query to agents in the fall of 2024.

I still have no idea what I’m going to “comp” my novel to. In general, the novel could be compared to Gillian Flynn’s “Sharp Objects.” And I’m sure I’m going to make many, many mistakes as part of the querying process. But that’s part of the fun of it all, the thing that gives one a sense of adventure.

Being an aspiring novelist, you are bombarded with a lot of advice, all of it being contradictory. It’s enough to make your head spin. But I’ve come up with my own, personal, set of arbitrary rules that I *try* to follow as well as possible as I write this third draft.

I believe I have a stable first chapter. I believe I’m well on my way to having a stable second chapter. The big issue will be how quickly — or slowly — it takes me to get past just the first few chapters into the core of the first act and then into the second act.

I can’t keep writing and re-writing this portion of the novel forever.

The Blue Meanie Vision Thing

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

This is very, very silly, but it’s a fun twist on a very, very serious issue — what the fuck are we going to do about Tyrant Trump? I’ve gotten it into my head that rather than calling people who oppose Trump “Blues” or “NeverTrumpers” you could use the rubric “Blue Meanies.”

I like this because even though the Blue Meanies are ultimately defeated by the The Beatles in the movie, they’re pretty cool and they get shit done. They instill fear in their opponents, too. I like using this term because there is an whole iconography you could tap into.

So, technically, you could wear, say, a Blue Meanie lapel pin and no one would — at least initially — would know the political significance. But I think that while this is a cool idea, it’s just too silly for anyone to be willing to embrace it. It is fun to think about, however.

I like the idea of otherwise serious people thinking of themselves as “Blue Meanies” hell bent not on destroying Pepperland, but, rather saving America’s birthright of democracy. They’re only “mean” because they’re pissed off at Tyrant Trump and his ilk and they want things to go back to normal.

Anyway. Barring some indication that anyone cares about this idea, I’m going to try — TRY — to not mention it again because I’m afraid I’m making a fool out of myself.

I’m Worried About 2025

How Worried, Really, Should We Be About Trump’s Second Term?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It’s telling how different the two sides see the prospect of a Trump second term. The Right thinks the Left is completely nuts for worrying about it at all. And, yet, it definitely SEEMS from all available evidence that we should be extremely worried about a second Trump term.

The key issue being, Trump seems to think the Insurrection Act is magic fascist pixie dust that he can use from day one to impose his will on Blues who don’t want to live in a white Christian ethnostate. The key thin is, if you live in the rural part of a Red States, life is unlikely to change all that much for you in a Trump second term.

But for anyone living in either a Blue State, a Blue City in a Red State or the Blue part of a Purple State — holy shit, should you be worried. I think this because it seems as though Trump wants to rule those parts of the country as not just an autocratic thug, but as an actual military dictator.

Him doing that would be a very unstable, volatile situation with no ready endgame. We could see a MAGA counter revolution, then a coup then a National Divorce then a civil war / revolution. Or not. Maybe the Right has it all figured out and I’m bonkers to worry so much.

Only time will tell. No one can predict the future — especially me.