Month: December 2021

A Rich Man Leaves The Country, A Poor Man Stands & Fights


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I was really shocked and saddened when David Rothkopf made it clear recently that if things get too hot in the United States he’s bouncing to Europe. I went so far as to do a Twitter video where I pinged him, which I think prompted him to mute me for just being too weird.

Anyway, this fact has rolled around in my mind and it seems obvious that Rothkopf will not be alone should the United States become an autocracy. In fact, that could be the new divide in America going forward — the wealthy center-Left intelligentsia will all flee the country while poor idiots like me have to face the wrath of the autocrat.

It’s the ability for people to just fucking leave the country, that is something I find myself mulling a lot whenever I run the two different scenarios of civil war or autocracy. That modern element of extreme mobility is something that really changes the dynamic when it comes to either autocracy or civil war. It definitely makes autocracy more likely to happen. If you can’t keep someone like Rothkopf to stay in the country to help be something of a Thomas Paine for the fight against tyranny, well, lulz, you’re fucked.

You just drift gradually at first then far faster into an Americanized version of Russia. And I don’t have any simple answer as to how to keep people like Rothkopf in the country when push comes to shove. This is an even more extreme problem if we go the civil war route. If things grow existential, we’re really going to need thinkers like Rothkopf figure out how Blue States might win a civil war.

Or, put another way, in the end, no matter what happens, autocracy or civil war, it’s going to be broke ass motherfuckers like me who will have to step up and figure out how to bring back liberty and democracy. It won’t be people who can afford to leave like David Rothkopf who found the Third Republic, it will be poor morons like me.

Time To Do Some Basic Development


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Now that I have, in my mind completed a major restructuring of this novel project, I need to sit back and reflect some. I need to figure out different character’s motivation. I need to make sure all my names are consistent.

I think the issue of motivation — now that I have figured out how I could potentially try to sell a trilogy with two books waiting in the wings — that is going to be at the forefront of my mind for the time being. I have a much better handle on things than I did.

Everything works so much better now that I’ve split the first book in two. There are some structure issues within the first two books that I continue to struggle with, but over all, I’m rip roaring and ready to go.

I continue to hope I can use the last few weeks of the year to some of the reading I should have done years ago. But I do think, barring more freak accidents, injuries, tooth aches or whatever, that things should move far, far faster in January. I really have a far better sense of things than I did just a few days ago.

Now to build out characters, plot and motivation under the new division of books in the over all project. I have, essentially added another book to an already massive undertaking, but lulz, that’s what I wanted when I started all of this.

2022’s Coming Battle Royale Over COVID’s ‘Endemic’ Status


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Seems like the next major battle after Cancel Culture and CRT will be FOX “News” ranting at the top of its lungs that COVID is now “endemic” and fuck you. They will night after night lay out why they think around 2,000 people dying a day from COVID is just “a fact of life” and why is it we can’t get more tax cuts and young hack MAGA judges?

The reason why this is going to happen is, as I understand it, something being considered “endemic” is pretty much totally subjective. The issue is — how many people dying a day from something is a society willing to take? Red States are tired of the pandemic, so COVID is endemic, while Blue States are aghast at how many people are dying every day from COVID, so it continues to be a national health emergency.

And because of how subjective things are, this gives Fox “News” a huge opportunity to do what it always does — scare the shit out of white people about “evil libtards” who want to control them and divide the country between Red and Blue.

So, it’s easy to see the battle over COVID’s status being yet another bow in the FOX “News” quiver in their rapacious drive to flip Congress. They’ll play their audience like a xylophone, bouncing back and forth between CRT, Cancel Culture and COVID being endemic.

You already see FOX News doing this, they just don’t use the term “endemic,” probably because they don’t want to sound pretentious.

The GQP’s Malevolent Magical Thinking


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m not suggesting you should not vote. Please do! But going forward, you have to put your political actions in context. The United States is an autocracy without an autocrat. What does this mean? It means that, but for the want of a nail, the United States would be transitioning to a full-fledged Russian-style autocratic managed democracy at this very moment.

And, really, if you want to be clear eyed about it, this has really been the case since January 20th, 2017. Trump stress tested every element of our political system and, surprise! he gave half a dozen would-be autocrats the means to turn us into an autocracy once they get into power.

What pains me the most about all of this is that the people who should know better, the people who could single handedly save the Republic — conservative Traditionalists — are aligning with fascism. They are doing so because they are nervous about cancel culture, critical race theory and transgendered children. At the heart of all of this is the macro situation of an Republic slowly transitioning to an autocratic Empire in real time. And at its heart, the fact that Traditionalists would support fascism is more about race and shifting dynamics in gender roles than anything else.

The United States is growing very, very unstable. We’re a powder keg. And anything from Trump being indicted to a major domestic terrorist attack might be enough to cause states to begin the process of leaving the Union, which would prompt a civil war. Which side — Red or Blue — would start to leave the Union at some point in the near future (if we don’t become an autocracy) is still very much up in the air.

Let’s get back to the point of all of this — Republicans are strangling voting as a means of influencing the government. They only think elections that they win are legitimate. They literally only see democracy as a means to and end. If they win, democracy works. If they don’t then they have to “stop the steal.” It’s because of shit like this that I’m reading a huge tome on the rise of Hitler at the moment.

Steve K. Bannon

One person at the forefront of this slow-moving transition to autocracy is Steve K. Bannon. He is doing the hard work in the real world of making sure that on a local level GQP partisans administrate voting. The irony of all of this is, of course, that autocracy is so popular that if he would just cool it, he could very well get his autocratic rule without having to cheat.

But, lulz, fascists will be fascists.

As I keep saying — I have no idea if we’re going to have a civil war or slip peacefully into autocracy. The conditions are there for either eventuality. There is also a small chance that we may be temporarily governed by some sort of military junta as we struggle to avoid either one of the other two options.

So, again, please continue to vote and to be politically active. Please. But also be realistic. See things in context. Figure out what you believe in and are willing to suffer for in the real world. What are you willing to risk your life — and the lives of your family — and scared honor for? When things grow existential, are you going to flee the country or are you going to stand and fight to defend the Republic?

Things are dark and getting darker.

If You Don’t See My ‘Doom Shit’ As Reality, You’re A Fucking Fool


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Can I cancel “Mueller, She Wrote” on a personal level? There I was, listening to Deep State Radio when I heard someone from the Mueller, She Wrote (podcast? Twitter account?) and I let out a loud groan. I did so because that account blocked me for my “doom shit” some time ago and I feel this was uncalled for. If you don’t think Trump is above the law and we are lurching towards a dark future of autocracy or civil war — YOU ARE A FUCKING FOOL.

It’s just annoying. I’m right and I keep being proven right — and yet I got blocked by an account that a lot of blue check Twitter liberals respect. I don’t want to be unblocked — fuck’em — but that doesn’t stop me from being angry that I was wrongly punished for…being right?

What does “Mueller, She Wrote” expect to happen? Trump be indicted? The system working? Well, I hate to break it to them, but even if that happened, there are a dozen younger, more organized and focused would-be autocrats waiting in the wings to finish the process that Trump began. Again, you’re a fucking fool if you somehow thing magically there will be some sort of reset and there’s anyway that pre-Trump life snaps back into place.

Or best bet is we peacefully slip into autocracy and gradually center-Left people — like the people behind Mueller, She Wrote — will simply leave the country because they can. It will be broke ass fuckers like me who have to figure out how to avoid being unpersoned by ICE or The Patriot Front. And I’ll STILL be blocked by Mueller, She Wrote as all of this is happening.

We need to gird our loins for the massive clusterfuck that we’re rushed towards as a nation. It’s ironic that people who use the rubric “Mueller, She Wrote” would STILL think that somehow, magically, someone is going to save us from fascism. No one is going to save us. We have to save our selves.

And by “save ourselves” I mean, prepare for the possibility of civil war.

If we don’t become an autocracy, the only other option is Blue and Red start to murder each other in cold blood for political reasons. That’s it. In my eyes, I’m not peddling “hysterical” “doom shit,” I’m being something of a pragmatic realist.

We are so totally, completely fucked because white Christian conservatives are unnerved by the rise of what’s going on in Blue Cities and they’re willing to burn our democratic republic to the ground to prevent scary center-Left POC from “canceling them” on a personal basis.

Fuck Mueller, She Wrote. At least I’m seeing things for what they are, not what I “hope” they might be. Ugh.

Being Creative This Holiday Season


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It has just dawned on me that while I have fixed a huge structural problem by re-arranging things, I have also increased my work load for this trilogy. But it had to be done. But it’s because of stuff like this that it’s taken me so long to actually produce anything.

I need to stop talking about any of this, given how easy it would be for someone to think I’m all talk. But, you know, this is a lot of fun and I love to talk too much to just stop talking about what I’m doing.

Anyway. I have a lot — A LOT — of thinking to do this holiday season.

Hopefully, by January 1st, I can throw myself back into writing.

I Still Need A Novel Manuscript Consultant


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While things are moving again with this now trilogy of novels, it sure would be nice to have someone to video conference with every once in a while about what’s going on with all of this.

I’ve been working in a creative vacuum for most of the time I’ve been working on this project and it’s really slowed me down. If I had someone, anyone who knew what they were doing to whom I could talk every once in a while that would really help.

And, yet, lulz.

I’m used to figuring things out by myself, so why should this be any different. While it would be *nice* to have a knowledgeable sounding board, I got words to write. So, onward.

The biggest issue of the moment is making sure that the first book has the structure of a novel. The first book deals with a very tight chorology of events so it’s growing difficult to shoehorn in things that are needed for structure. But I’ve managed to figure things out. I’m pleased.

Anyway, here goes nothing.

Liz Cheney’s Principled ‘Front Stabbing’ Is Turning Me Into A Stan


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The Mooch talked of respecting people such as himself who did “front stabbing” instead of “back stabbing.” Well, while I totally disagree with Liz Cheney almost everything, her absolute principled attack on Trump and MAGA is a refreshing change of pace.

U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) delivers an opening statement during the opening hearing of the U.S. House (Select) Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on July 27, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. During its first hearing the committee, currently made up of seven Democrats and two Republicans, will hear testimony from law enforcement officers about their experiences while defending the Capitol from the pro-Trump mob on January 6. (Photo by Jim Bourg-Pool/Getty Images)

In fact, that’s exactly what America needs at the moment.

But, I fear, because we’ve moved past the event horizon of tyranny, nothing that even Liz Cheney can do at this point is going to prevent us from either becoming an autocracy or having a civil war.

So, that leaves Cheney potentially being thrown into the next level of American politics should there be a civil war-level crisis at some point between now and January 2025. And, at this point, I would note that we should not sleep on the possibility of a civil war happening a lot sooner than you might think.

If Trump faces, at last, some criminal accountability for anything from January 6th to, pick anything else he might have done, or if Trump is named Speaker of the House, then the country buckles into chaos in a way not seen since the end of the first American Civil War.

It would be then that she would shine. It would, of course, be very ironic if such a thing happened, but it is possible. If one of the most conservative members of the Republican Party were to save the Republic as a part of Blue State leadership, well, that would be a bonkers historical flipping of the script.

Everyone’s Writing Journey Is Different


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Ugh. I just need to get this out of my system. I’m very empathetic when it comes to people who have problems with their writing. I really don’t have a lot of room to talk since I’m an aspiring novelist

But the point of my consternation is people on Twitter who get so wrapped up in the obstacles of writing that they don’t actually…write. I totally get it, though, I talk about my writing to an absurd amount. But I like to think I’m not preening and it’s very clear that all my writing and talking about writing is more simply talking to myself to work out problems I may have with what I’m working on.

And, yet, the more I think about my irritation about about the Twitter writing community, the more I don’t care. Whatever. I have more important things to do, like, say, write, read and develop. Everyone’s writing journey is different and I have no right to tell anyone else anything about their journey.

I should just shut up and write.

Writing is very personal. And a lot of very successful writers have a conflicted relationship to writing. Not everyone is like me and 100% extroverted and write without even thinking about it. I tend to write like shedding skin. (Photography, meanwhile, is a very different issue, that actually has long-lasting value that causes me to come back to it.)

I think the big issue is a lot of writers are, by definition, very sensitive and any time you challenge someone’s personal, internal narrative about their writing and how difficult it is to write anything at all, the more likely you’re apt to make them very angry at you.

So, lulz.

Do whatever the fuck you want. Just at least TRY to write.

Mike Pence’s Potential John Dean Endgame (Which He Will Never Do)


by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It is a testament to how fucked things are in America right now that the thing that should happen, Mike Pence shiving Trump politically, isn’t probably going to happen.

Pence is never going to be a modern day John Dean.

Pence is the one person with the means, motive and opportunity to play John Dean in the Trump Show. If he were to politically immolate himself and turn state’s witness against Trump as some sort of Hail Mary pass to position himself to be the 2024 Republican nominee, then I would feel a whole lot better about where we are headed as a country.

But I think to think that this is in any way possible is to fall into the now-dead post-Watergate narrative where someone, somewhere breaks and does the right thing for the country out of guilt, or shame or principles or whatever. That just isn’t going to happen.

Watergate, it turns out, was a very specific set of circumstances. A lot of things went wrong for Nixon on both a political and personal level that simply are not practical. The press after Watergate became so cocky and started to believe it’s own…press…that they thought any major political scandal going forward would follow the same narrative.

After the Mueller Report was a bust, that was proven to be total bullshit. Trump is now above the law politically and he’s just as likely to become Speaker in 2023 as he is to be elected president in 2024.

So, while it would otherwise make total sense for Pence to be a modern day John Dean…just don’t see it happening. I say this, even though logically the only way Pence has any shot of being president is to rebrand himself as a Trump slayer and change the political equation so he is a more palatable option than the fascists of DeSantis, Hawley, Pompeo or Cotton.

If he could somehow destroy MAGA, then Pence a ticket of Pence / DeSantis makes a huge mount of sense. But we’ve passed the tyrannical event horizon. There is no stopping MAGA other than a civil war at this point. But that high risk, high reward option is so horrific I don’t like to think about it.