Ms. Vivian Jenna Wilson…and America

I’m not normally a big reader of TeenVogue, but the most recent issue contains an article of real importance to us all, Vivian Jenna Wilson on Being Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter, Protecting Trans Youth and Taking on the Right Online, by Ella Yurman with Photography by Andy Jackson. In it, Ms. Wilson comes across as an intelligent, thoughtful, assertive, and attractive young person of whom any normal dad would be proud. 

Except, of course, she is Elon Musk’s daughter, and Voorsitter (look it up) Musk is anything but a normal father. He has famously rejected her and says that she was “killed by the woke mind virus.”

One wonders how dreadfully hard it was (and is) to be his child. But there's a larger issue here, of course. Her Dad is now everyone’s Dad. That is, he is President or Co-President or CEO or Voorsitter or whatever for the whole country. Meaning that his attitudes and activities impact us all.

Which makes this article and interview with Ms. Wilson particularly important. It gives some insight into who Elon is and what he might do.

And, alas, unlike his daughter, we cannot fly to Japan to escape him.

Voorsitter Musk

Elon Musk is now either running the American government or trying very hard to do so. He seems to be calling the shots at the White House while his nominal boss heads out for another round of golf. 

But the question is, what do we call him? Co-President Musk? Prime Minister Musk? Grand High Poobah Musk? It’s a puzzle.

I, however, have a suggestion. Let’s call him Voorsitter Musk. That’s Afrikaans for “Chairman.” It’s from the Dutch voorzitter, which means the same thing.

I think Voorsitter would make a great title for our fearless leader. For one thing, Elon Musk is not of Afrikkans-descent, but he is of South African origin, and so there is a nice continuity there. And, besides, he just looks like a Voorsitter, don’t you think?

Oh, and if you added an “h” in just the right place…

Well, you get the point.

~mjt

Stagflation, the economy that dare not speak its name

 Here’s an interesting article on CNN’s website, So, what is stagflation, anyway, and why is it so scary?  by Elisabeth Buchwald. In it, Ms. Buchwald first defines “stagflation” – which is the dangerous condition that occurs when prices are increasing but the economy does not grow – and then explains why the Federal Reserve is trying very hard not to use the term. It seems that the markets are starting to show signs of stagflation (mostly because of Trump’s tariffs and other dumbass measures), but the Fed won’t use the terms for fear of spooking the markets even more than they are spooked already.

But, let us admit it. Stagflation is coming and it may be the new norm. That’s because under Trump, the public regulation of corporations is going to be largely jettisoned. That means that we’ll see more monopolies. Which means in turn that businesses will be able to increase prices without restraint while having no motivation to innovate or otherwise undertake the sort of investments that would grow the economy. In other words, all the conditions for permanent and universal Stagflation are present and obvious.

Thus, if we are honest and foresighted, we will say that despite the Fed’s best efforts, Stagflation is the future…whether the Fed says the word or not. And that’s because it is at the very heart of the Trump/billionaires’ program for the economy. And it is not an accident. 

Rather it, like the impoverishment of the middle class, is a goal. Part of the plan…

To extract all that can be extracted from our wallets. And giving ever less – eventually nothing – in return. 

Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker

Hegseth and the Big Lie

So, as everyone knows now, Trump’s Head of the DOD, Pete Hegseth, accidentally sent US war plans to a journalist at the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. 

What’s been interesting to me, though, is how the Administration, Hegseth, and their supporters are handling the situation. One of their responses is to claim that the incident did not occur. Hegseth said that “no one was texting war plans” and that Golberg is a “deceitful and highly discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again.” 

Meanwhile, on social media, I have seen postings from Trump supporters saying that the whole thing was a trap into which the liberal media promptly fell. (Though exactly what the trap was and how it worked is unclear to me.)

This looks like a strategy of overt falsehood. And, let’s face the grim reality, it could work. The Administration could just keep claiming that it didn’t happen, and, sure enough, the MAGAts of the nation will believe it. The Big Lie is a proven winner.

Of course, it may be that Hegseth will eventually be forced to resign. That would be a very good thing, indeed. But, in the end the real solution to the problem is teaching Americans to turn off Faux News and turn on their critical thinking.

Or, to put it another way, we are a nation desperately in need of civics classes in public schools everywhere and anywhere.  

"Who Will Protect Us From Our Protectors?"

Interesting article in the magazine Dissent, “Trump’s Antisocial State” by Melinda Cooper. In it, Ms. Cooper looks at the ways Trump and his minions are transforming the American government and comes to some distressing conclusions.

As everyone knows, or should know, the government of the mid-twentieth century (after FDR) at least tried to make things a bit better for the average American. It was redistributive, meaning it took a small percentage of the wealth of the very rich and injected that back into the society as a whole.

But, at the end of the twentieth century, a new generation of “libertarian” populists and conservatives reversed that, and we saw instead a system installed by which money was taken from the middle and working classes and transferred to the vastly wealthy.

Cooper argues that we are in the next phase of that process. Now, the systems and institutions that were originally set up to protect American citizens and immigrants have themselves been reversed. In the American Government v.2, those systems are meant to coerce and control the population, not keep it safe.

Thus we come to a new and fascinating phase in American history. This will be remembered as the age in which our guardians become, instead, our guards…and our nation a prison. 

Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker

Earthquake In The Markets

Saw this interesting article in the Economist, “Beneath investors’ feet, the ground is shifting.” In it, the authors and editors say that investors are now on edge because the current economic downturn…call it a “Recession” to give it the right name…feels different from those in the past. Before, whenever there were problems on Wall Street or in bonds, they could flee to safe currencies (like the dollar) or stocks that usually weather downturns in the market with relative stability.

Now, that’s not true. The American dollar doesn’t seem safe, and the port-in-a-storm stocks seem threatened by unexpectedly destructive tides. And all this, of course, is the doing of Trump’s economic policy.

Which is interesting. The business community backed Trump this time around because CEOs thought the second Trump White House would be like the first, or, even like Ronald Reagan’s. They thought there would be stability in general, cost cutting in the government, and fewer taxes on The People Who Really Matter,  i.e., the Rich and Powerful. Or to be even more specific, on themselves.

Only, it didn’t work out that way. Trump’s economic policy is one of pure chaos. The oh-so-sensible Men and Women in Business are confronted with a world that is not predictable and is not stable. Their charts and plans and three month forecasts are increasingly useless.

One wonders, is this really what they wanted? Is this what they donated so much money to achieve? Is this why they bought newspapers, TV stations, and social media sites and filled the airwaves with fake news and genuine propaganda? 

My guess is…not. My guess is that they begin, slowly, to wonder at the value of their investment in Trump USA.

But, of course, it is too late now. They cannot undo what they have done. They have already given him, and those like him, absolute power.

A power which cannot be restrained by the law which they taught him to circumvent, by the courts which they permitted him to ignore, or by the votes they have suppressed.

A power which, now, like demons or earthquakes…

Will someday rise from below to consume them.

Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker

They Will Not Listen

Like a lot of people on the Left, I eagerly read the stories in the press and online about Trump voters who have changed their minds. I read that they have “buyer’s remorse,” and they regret their vote.

But, come, let’s be honest. Those Trump voters who are genuinely disappointed in Trump, and who might vote for someone else in future (if we still have elections in future) are the few, the proud, and the brave. 

The rest…don’t give a rat’s ass. From their point of view, things are just fine, thank you very much. Women and minorities are getting dinged. Immigrants and “foreigners” are being deported. College professors and intellectuals are being ignored. Know-it-alls …like scientists and doctors…have been chastened. All the people they hate are getting a middle finger…or a fist…squarely in the face.

It’s what they want. It’s what they longed for for years and years.

If, in the process, they lose their health care, or they cannot feed their children, or they lose their jobs and homes, or they suffer poverty, want, and disease…

Well, no problem.

They still get to own the libtards.

And nothing else matters.

Nightmare in Gaza

So, here’s a question for all those folks who “abandoned Harris” and helped put Trump into the White House because she and Biden weren’t doing more to stop the carnage in Gaza. 

Have you looked at the news lately? Particularly stories like this one on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty site:  Hundreds Reported Killed After Israel Begins Deadly Strikes On Gaza, Lebanon, Syria.

If so, I’m curious. Are you still proud of your role in turning the White House over to a lying psychopath? Because if you are, then I’m a little frightened by your concept of morality.

And if you aren’t…

Well, in that case…

I wonder how you live with yourself. And with the memory of what you helped come to pass.

The End of The Ed

 Trump has signed an order effectively ending the Department of Education. Of all the awful things he could do, has done, and will do…this is among the worst. It means that generations of young Americans will not have the advantages which the Dept. Of Ed brought to schools across the country – particularly schools in the (all too many) poorer regions of our nation.

Thus, when historians look back on this lamentable age, I’m guessing that March 20 will be recorded as a tremendous, self-inflicted defeat upon ourselves. It will be December 7, but   without even the small grace of being simply the victim, rather than the aggressor as well.

It will be as if the planes will be flown, and the bombs will be dropped, by the very people who are being targeted.

Copyright©2025 Michael Jay Tucker

Notes From Epstein Island

This is a bit late to the game, but just in case you missed it…a couple of Minnesota Senate Republicans recently introduced a bill that would have defined “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a mental illness. In other words, disagreeing or defying Trump would be considered madness.

For those with any sort of memory of history, that is chilling. It brings to mind the Soviet Union’s practice of defining critics as lunatics and locking them up in asylums. 

But here’s where the story gets some chuckles. One of the Republicans behind the bill was Justin Eichorn of Grand Rapids. And, according to several reports, the energetic Mr. Eichorn ”has been arrested for allegedly trying to solicit sex from a minor.”

It seems that Mr. Eichorn was online chatting with what he thought was a 16-year-old girl and suggested a meeting. But…oh, dear…it wasn’t a girl at all. It was a full-grown police detective.

My goodness. By golly. Rather a mess, don’t you think? 

Still, it is nice to know that there is a certain symmetry to it all. The man who attempted to define his opponents as mentally ill is alleged to have his own form of mental illness. And a fairly dramatic one at that. 

Pedophilia, that is. Or, if you prefer, gross criminal lust. 

Want some candy, little girl?

Could Anything Be More American Today?

So when I got home from my jog early yesterday morning, this newspaper was waiting for me. Could anything say “Trump’s America” than these headlines? Even if you discount the “Deportation” part of it, you have on one side the story of Texas arresting a midwife for “abortion” and on the other, the report of how our legislature is making it more difficult for shareholders and ordinary people to restrain the actions of corporations and CEOs.

In other words, meet the dystopian future…where people are regulated and Corporations are protected.

An Explanation of the Cybertruck

So here’s something amusing (sort of)  from Slate magazine, “Elon Musk Wanted the Cybertruck to Look Like “the Future.” But It Reminds Us of One Particular Past: The story of the Casspir, which patrolled townships in South Africa when the Tesla CEO was a boy” by Vivian Chenxue Lu and Nana Osei-Opare. In it, the authors note that the much loathed Cybertruck, widely described as a hunch-backed dumpster (with just about as much likelihood of catching fire), closely resembles the Casspir, an armored vehicle used in the Bad Old Days of Apartheid and the Boers’ dirty war against the liberation movement.

That may or may not be true. But, it is certainly fascinating, and you wonder a bit about what other holdovers from that complicated period in history might exist in Musk’s philosophy, Horatio.

From the department of the blindingly obvious

So I saw an article the other day that said the Democrats, as a group, now have a lower opinion of their party, and of the party's leadership, than at any time in history. The reason? Democrats are disgusted the party isn’t doing more to stand up to Trump and his billionaires

If that were all there was to the story, you’d have to say something like No Sh1t Sherlock and move it along. But, unfortunately, there’s more.

Specifically, the poll seems to be an awful surprise to some of the Democrats’ leaders–particularly Big Names in the Senate. They just can’t imagine why anyone would be displeased with their performance. 

Which is tragic, when you think about that. Somehow, they have convinced themselves that the Trump administration is just another GOP turn at the wheel, and that in two years or four, they’ll have another shot at Congress and the White House.

The reality, of course, is that nothing could be further from the truth, and we’ll be very lucky indeed if there are any elections at all, ever again, in ten years, or a hundred.  

A Private ICE?

 Disturbing article in the Guardian, “Pro-Israel group says it has ‘deportation list’ and has sent ‘thousands’ of names to Trump officials: Betar US is among far-right groups supporting Trump effort to deport students involved in pro-Palestinian protests,” by Anna Betts. In it, Ms. Betts writes that the organization “Betar,” a right-wing pro-Israel group has submitted “thousands” of names of individuals who it feels are supporting the Palestinian cause. Among them is Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia student who was arrested and accused of ““pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” He now faces being deported.

This is distressing for any number of reasons, not the least of them being that it seems to indicate a surrender into private hands of America’s immigration policy. Suddenly, it is not the border patrol or ICE or any other government agency determining who setting and enforcing immigration policy. Rather, it is an informal group with a strong political agenda and uncertain membership that is deciding whether or not a specific individual represents a danger.

That’s not a good thing. It is the kind of arrangement that leads eventually to witch hunts. And lynch mobs.

Both of which are all too likely at the moment. 

He's A Robot

 One thing I don’t understand is why no one among the tinfoil hat crew has come up with a particularly bonkers theory to explain why Trump the Candidate is so very different from Trump the President. Back in 2024, he was promising the moon and more to everyone. Lower prices. Jobs galore. The Middle Class protected. White people respected instead of mocked by full professors of Advanced Postmodernist Studies. 

Now, in office, he’s done none of those things and is, in fact, taking measures that actively harm a good many of his supporters – for example, cutting back on affordable health care and imposing tariffs on industries that can’t afford them. 

You would think, then, that the MAGA and the QAnon crew (not much difference between them) would be searching for an explanation. Yet, they haven’t seemed to come up with anything yet.

So, let me see if I can lend a hand. Now, what could we say? Ah, I’ve got it! Donald Trump has been removed. He has been replaced by a humanoid robot by Musk and his billionaire buddies. That works. Rather well in fact.

So, to all the MAGAnons out there, start spreading the news. Your hero has been replaced by an automation, as synthetic and soulless as a Visit With Abe Lincoln in Disneyland.

Now they get it?

 Now they get it?

Interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal, “How Wall Street and Business Got Trump Wrong:

They thought his second term would be like the first, giving priority to economic growth and the stock market. He had other ideas by Greg Ip. In it, Mr. Ip notes that the Overlords of Stock Exchanges and Hedge Funds assumed that Trump would be a cheerful advocate for Free Enterprise everywhere. They thought he’d take their side against loonie lefties who wanted them to, you know, actually pay taxes and not dump toxic waste in people’s drinking water and other pinko-commie stuff like that.

In fact, he’s done nothing of the sort. Instead, he has pursued policies that are not in the best interest of ordinary people…and aren’t much better for the Rich and Powerful. Tariffs, for example, which are pushing up costs even for the most potent monopoly, and trade wars with Canada, Mexico, China, Europe and on and on…which make international business vastly more difficult. 

One wonders, though, why the Oligarchs believed that anything else would happen. Trump more or less said openly what he was going to do if he got back into the White House. Perhaps they thought he was “just kidding.” Except that if Trump is a joke, he has a dreadfully unfunny punchline.

So, let’s have a cheer for the Rich & Powerful…the Oligarchs…the people Who Know Best…

Even if their “best” looks pretty damn dumb to the rest of us.

Human Sacrifice?

So I read the other day in The Guardian that Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, has accused Mexican and other immigrants of being virtually inhuman. In “‘They worship death’: Trump’s ‘border czar’ reveals extremist views in interview” by Jason Wilson, we learn that in a recent interview Homan has said that “They Worship Death” and come from cultures that practice “human sacrifice.” 

Oh, and he also says they’re part of the “great replacement theory.”

While the man is purely nuts, it is comforting to know there is a certain consistency in the Trump Administration. They’re all nuts. You don’t have to worry about a few sane ones slipping in when the door’s unlocked.

One final thing. I’m not sure that any Administration that’s throwing seniors and children and Ukrainians under the bus has any business accusing anyone else of human sacrifice.

No business throwing stones