A Window Of Opportunity Exists To Reshape Social Media

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The recent news about Cambridge Analytica coming out of Great Britain lays bare the fundamental flaw the Facebook business plan — it doesn’t really have customers. The data of people who use it is where it makes money and as such that data can go to the highest bidder.

I have long proposed a new social media service that would be a Twitter Killer, but the concepts associated with it could very well be used on a Facebook Killer as well. But the key issue is — and here’s the rub — is you would have to apply the old Google slogan of “Don’t Be Evil.”

And that might be pretty difficult.

It might be difficult because, well, people won’t pay for a social media service. A social media service grows because of its viral nature and zero friction to adaptation. Even if you had to pay $1 a month, 99% of your user base would scoff.

It’s just not going to happen.

But having said that, we may have reached an inflection point whereby people might be willing to ditch Facebook if they were given assurances that there personal data wouldn’t be abused. Now, I don’t know how you could do that if couldn’t charge. And, yet, it seems as though if you could find a really wealthy liberal angel investor to fund a startup devoted to fixing the problems with Facebook (and Twitter) that it might be more successful than one might think.

Of course, you would have to bring something new to the table. You couldn’t just copy Facebook. You would have to be innovative. I still think that the concepts of Usenet, a service that was popular 20 years ago, would do the trick. It’s an established, tested method of social media that has, for the most part, been lost to the mists of time. Yes, Reddit exists, but I find it’s application of Usenet concepts ham-handed at best. I want a service that leans heavily, and directly on the Usenet I used 20 years ago.

Now, I’m aware that Google+, in a way, did just that, but that was designed by data nerds who didn’t understand basic human interaction. I guess what I’m saying is there has got to be a better way than Facebook and maybe someone with a liberal bent — and a lot of money — should step up to the plate.

#TrumpRussia, Cambridge Analytica, Stormy Daniels & Fall Of The House Of Trump

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Something has shifted subtly. I can’t put my finger on it, but it seems as though we’ve finally, finally, begun to enter the second act of the TrumpRussia imbroglio. And it’s coming from an unexpected place — Great Britain. I have often said that it’s not like the Dutch can march in and save the United States from Trump, but maybe the Brits via their investigation of Cambridge Analytica might be about to do it.

Add to this what’s going on with the Stormy Daniels scandal and it seems as though as of right this second, we’re lurching towards a perfect storm when it comes to Trump.

This is not to say that there aren’t any number of ways Trump could weasel his way out of this. He could start a war with Iran or the DPRK. He could be successful in muddying the waters of public opinion so much that we can never pin him down. All of those are very possible.

And, yet, something really significant seems to be brewing with both Cambridge Analytica and Stormy Daniels, enough so that I feel as though we may get out of this alive just yet. As I have mentioned before, it’s almost impossible to get rid of a president and as long as Trump is power we are at risk. So, it’s almost an all or nothing kind of thing. As long as Trump is president, we face a real risk of becoming a “managed democracy” like they have in Russia.

But since everything Trump touches dies, it seems as though maybe, just maybe, it’s possible Trump will actually be brought down. But it won’t happen until after the 2018 mid-terms. And that’s where we face a pretty enormous Constitutional Crisis. If Bob Mueller finally gives Congress a report that lays out any number of reasons why Trump should be removed from office…and nothing happens…then, well, we’re all pretty well fucked.

The next few days will be pretty telling I suspect. The next few days we will get some sense of how likely it is any of this will matter. It seems as though the Stormy Daniels interview, should it be aired, could be one for the history books. It could be quite memorable.

No matter what happens, I still have hope. I still have hope that when all is said and done, Trump will be removed from office by Congress sooner rather than later. There is the odd chance that if Mueller says Trump should be charged and nothing happens that the country will get so angry that we will really be in historic times. Some pretty unprecedented things could happen.

Regardless, we’ll just have to wait and see. I have a little bit of hope, but not too much. I say keep an eye on the DPRK and Iran. Trump could, in a final act of desperation, start a war with one or both of those countries and we’ll wake up in 2025 to President Tom Cotton.

‘Getting High With Russell’ #Lyrics To A Woke Pop-Rock Song

I just like this expression and so I’ve decided to write lyrics about this.

Getting High With Russell
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

these days can be so stressful
Netflix and chill
just isn’t much of a thrill
so in an effort to deal
I hang out with Russell

I get high with Russell
’cause that’s my thing
make me feel so chill

getting high will Russell
getting high will Russell
getting high will Russell

he’s my right hand man
the guy I turn to when I’m in need
in need of some weed
he’s there’s for me all the time
gives me reason to smile

getting high will Russell
getting high will Russell
getting high will Russell

[bridge]
Russell knows where it’s at
he’s going to clean up is act
but before he does pass the dutchie
pass it on the right hand side

wee’re all going to laid
we’re going to have it made
but before we do let me explain
that I have to get high with Russell

getting high with Russell
getting high with Russell
getting high with Russell

Trump Should Get It Over With And Fire Mueller So The End Can Come

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I am beginning to get the feeling that Trump is, like the great showman he is, teasing his eventual firing of Robert Mueller and wants to heighten the excitement for the season (series?) end of Celebrity President. But remember, it was a year after Nixon fired his Special Prosecutor before he resigned.

So, add to all of this the fact that Trump has a Vichy Congress to rely upon, the Russians could meddle in any prospective Blue Wave and Trump can always start a war with Iran or the DPRK to weasel his way out of all his problems and you have the makings of an enormous clusterfuck.

But I do think if Trump fires Mueller he will actually face some consequences for once. There’s a real chance that it would end his presidency…eventually. It is really, really hard to get rid of an American president and Trump could very well make it through 2020 and beyond.

All I know is I’m ready to protest if Trump fires Mueller and it won’t be easy to get rid of Trump if he does. It could take something like the People’s Impeachment that took place in South Korea for us to get rid of him. It could take a while. Like, weeks if not months of massive protests.

But the United States is not South Korea, so even that might not do the trick. I do think Trump should just fire Mueller and let the chips fall where they may. This teasing of us for weeks and months is really beginning to get on my nerves.

Stay Angry, Stake Woke #Resist

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I used to say we should “engage, not enrage.”

Those were very quaint days indeed.

Now, I realize we need to “stay angry, stake woke.”

We have to summon up the spirit of John Lennon and other icons to bring down the tyrant Trump using political means. Run for office. Vote. Organize.

No one is going to save us but us.

Do We Have What It Takes To Save Ourselves From Trump’s Autocracy?

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

We may have finally reached the tipping point of all of this clusterfuck. Or if we haven’t we’re getting a lot closer than we were. I still think we’re going to war with the DPRK by August, but we live in surreal times. There are no easy answers. I wish there were.

The issue is we’re going to have to save ourselves if that is even possible. It’s not like the Dutch are going to march in and save the day. We, as Americans, are going to have to fix this problem. But it’s very possible that Trump has successfully muddied the waters to such an extent that we’ll never pin him down.

But I still have hope.

The below video is pretty interesting.

I Repeat: We Will Be At War With The #DPRK By August #Resist #Trump

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The only reason why I keep saying that we’re going to be a war with the DPRK by August is we’re lurching towards a crisis and Trump has zero human empathy and so from his point of view it would make sense to have a war in August so Lee Greenwood will pop out by election day singing, “God Bless The USA.”

Now, as I’ve said before, when I was in Korea, problems were either solved in a really weird way, or there was a fist fight. And so, it’s still possible that Trump will meet Kim Jung Un, give him everything he wants and there will be Peace In Our Time in Korea and Trump gets the Nobel Peace Prize.

And then there’s what I really think will happen.

John Bolton will shave is facial hair, he gets the job and just as both TrumpRussia and Stormy Daniels scandals reach a crescendo, Trump attacks the DPRK and there’s an enormous reboot domestically. And we’ll all wake up in early 2025 to President Tom Cotton.

That, at least, seems to be the most logical thing for Trump to do at this point. Having a bloody, nasty, quick war with the DPRK would give him more than enough cover to fire Mueller, get rid of the Stormy Daniels problem one way or another and under the guise of being a war president establish a “managed democracy” like they have in Russia. That’s what he’s been longing for all this time.

So we wait. We wait and see if Trump is the blood thirsty tyrant libtards like me have said he is, or not. Only time will tell.

Some Scenarios Of The Near Trump Future

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I love to run scenarios in my head, so let’s sketch out various possible outcomes to what’s going on with Trump and see how close we get to what really happens.

1. The Wag The Dog
In this scenario, we’re at war with the DPRK by August and along the way Trump fires who he needs to fire and pardon’s who he needs to pardon and the whole Stormy Daniels problem vanishes down the memory hole. The war is dirty, but brief and about 1 million die. Of course, there are some curve balls that could happen during the course of the war including North Korean sleeper cells being activated and there being a real death toll of American civilians in the heartland. Or any number of other weird outcomes could occur that would not result in the things being as tidy as Trump would hope. War is hell and strange things happen all the time once you actually start them.

2. The Iran-Contra
In this one, the United States is just too divided, and the issue is just too muddied and we don’t finally pin Trump down. All we get, at best, is a televised speech where Trump wanly says he’s “sorry” and we all move on and Trump wins reelection.

3. Blue Wave: All Hell Breaks Loose
In this one, Trump fires Mueller, the Stormy Daniels scandal reaches a tipping point there’s an actual Blue Wave in November. Trump is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, but Trump refuses to accept the outcome and there’s a shoot out on the lawn of the White House between the Secret Service and the FBI. The United States is on the brink of civil war until Pence pardon’s Trump and actively tries to calm the situation down. Pence is worse than Trump in some ways because he has an ideology and there’s a lot of resentment against him by a large segment of the population. Also, there is the possibility that by the time all this happens we will reach such anger in the populace that even Pence is removed and we endup with a Democratic president in a round about way. Or it’s possible that if it Trump sees its obvious that he’s going to be impeached, the Vichy Republicans Congress may negotiate a deal whereby someone like Ivanka Trump may replace Pence during a lame duck session after the Blue Wave.

I honestly have no idea which one of these will happen. It’s likely it will be some muddled mixture of the three. Only time will tell.

The Odd Nature Of The Stormy Daniels Affair #resist

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

At last count, there were 19 women who have accused Donald Trump of inappropriate sexual advances. And yet, that is already baked into the cake as they say. His supporters shrug and don’t care. So it’s really interesting that the Stormy Daniels affair would have so much more traction than all those other women.

I honestly don’t have any explanation for it.

The relationship with Ms. Daniels was consensual and you would think it wouldn’t matter. And yet for some weird reason it does. And what’s even more interesting is why any of this has come up in the first place? Why didn’t Ms. Daniels just take the money and run as they say? Why would she care suddenly to talk about all of this a year into Trump’s administration.

These are mysteries that I can’t begin to understand. Anyway, I have a feeling that through bare knuckled legal tactics, all of this will eventually fade away and Trump will not survive, but prosper. But it’s one of those things, I will know we’ve reached the tipping point when I see it. And, currently, we’re no where near a tipping point.

V-Log: Some Thoughts On Stormy Daniels & Donald Trump #Resist

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The main issue at this point is if there is anything that will break the cult of personality associated with Donald Trump. It’s very possible that we may find out if Trump really could kill someone on 5th Avenue on FOX News and it not cause him any political damage.

It really could get that bad.

But we’ll see. It’s weird that Trump has two major scandals now that would otherwise bring down any other administration. But with Trump — nothing. Trump has a very powerful hold on the Republican Party and I just don’t know if it will ever be broken. It’s sad but true.

The two videos below deal with this.