Substack: Voters want Change
8.20.2026
8.19.2026
7.09.2026
7.06.2026
Israel vs Turkey
As Trump heads to Turkey, Netanyahu says Ankara shouldn’t be given F-35s or fighter jet parts
Netanyahu goes to Fox News to make sure Trump and the MAGA crowd knows how he feels about it.
Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu calls Turkey “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood.”
“I don’t think they should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter jets,” he insists.
Last month, Trump seemed to indicate he would agree to sell Turkey F110 fighter jet engines and readmit Turkey to the F-35 program.
Netanyahu argues that such a move would “upset the balance of power in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israel’s air superiority and also America’s posture in the Middle East.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Trump handles it.
7.05.2026
4th of July in Teabagistan
Anger and confusion as Trump keeps July 4 MAGA crowd waiting in rain for more than an hour
A good 4th of July out here in Maga-land (formerly Teabagistan). Hot and sunny for a couple of days with parades and fun until late storms washed away the fireworks show.
One positive sign for the future, maybe.
The Trump-MAGA sales booth with flags, hats, cups, everything Trump or MAGA, that had been a cornerstone of the town’s celebrations for the last ten years was not there this year. I didn’t see any Trump-Maga crap for sale anywhere.
Maybe the fever is breaking.
7.01.2026
6.30.2026
Musk Killed Millions?
The Musk Killed Millions debate seems silly to me. The cuts probably didn't kill millions, yet. It may get there but we'll never really know.
But... It probably did or will cause a lots a lot of deaths.
The big question to me is who was the stupid fucker than handed Musk the job?
Why isn't the argument "Did Trump's USAID cuts kill millions"?
From Gemini:
The argument that Elon Musk "killed millions" centers on the severe reduction of U.S. foreign aid. Critics, including public health experts and political figures like Representative Ro Khanna and Bill Gates, attribute these fatalities to the major cuts Musk helped enforce at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). [1, 2]
The Core Arguments
- The Aid Cuts: While leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk oversaw a major reduction in U.S. foreign aid, slashing humanitarian spending from roughly $14 billion down to $3.7 billion.
- The Death Toll Projections: Studies—including research published in the Lancet—project that these cuts to vital health and nutrition programs will cut off millions of children from treatment, potentially leading to over 4.5 million child fatalities and millions of other total deaths by 2030.
- On-the-Ground Impact: Humanitarian advocates and journalists who traveled to affected regions report that the stoppage of funds has halted deliveries of HIV/AIDS medications, malaria treatments, diesel for ambulances, and emergency food relief. [3, 4, 5]
The Counterarguments
- Combating Waste: Musk and his supporters strongly defend the reductions. They argue that much of the foreign aid budget was riddled with corruption, graft, and misuse, claiming large sums never reached the communities they were intended to help.
- Mortality Statistics: Musk has dismissed the projections, retweeting localized mortality data which he claims shows that death rates in Africa actually decreased after the foreign aid programs were interrupted.
- Denial of Causation: Musk has fiercely rejected the accusations, characterizing the claim that his actions killed children as a smear and threatening legal action against critics who publicly attribute the deaths to his oversight of DOGE. [1, 8, 9]
AI responses may include mistakes.
6.24.2026
American Crapitalism
Cross posted at Substack.
They used to say “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” That’s how it used to be. A good idea, finding a market and building a business would make you rich. But an important point that’s often lost is that you were also making consumers better off - making their lives easier.
You invented something useful or that people really wanted, got a patent, started a business and got to market. When the patent expired, the free market did what it was supposed to do. Competitors stepped in, prices dropped, the consumer got a better deal. Companies had to compete for their piece of the pie. They still made their profits but they also made consumers lives better.
It still works that way to a point. A good idea can still make you rich and consumers better off but in today’s American-style capitalism, at some point, the making consumers better off part of the deal gets lost and the business just starts mining consumers for every last nickel they have.
The real money is made not from the invention but finding ways to increase profits without increasing value.
If an American business rolled out the new mousetrap today, you wouldn’t buy a piece of wood and wire that simply worked. You’d get an internet-connected, Bluetooth-enabled appliance that needs constant firmware updates, a steady Wi-Fi signal and actually works about 60% of the time.
You’ll also need a monthly subscription, or annual if you want to save a couple of dollars a year, to keep it working. $2 a month to set the trap, $2 a month to release the mouse. You want 4K video of the mouse being killed? That’ll be $5 a month, but... but... The app will use AI to tell you what kind of mouse it was. Also, you’ll need a smartphone and our app to make it all work.
The company’s MBAs and lawyers would get to work lobbying the regulators to lock out any DIY competitors under the guise of “public health and safety.” Only licensed mousetraps allowed.
And don’t think you can just pitch that dead mouse into your own trash can. You’ll need a certified disposal process that only costs one dollar per mouse. Or... you can buy our rodent disposal tray (patent-pending) that uses our special odor-free disposal litter (patent-pending). A $10 bag will last for months. Both charges can be included on your monthly statement.
They’d also launch a MouseTrap(TM) game for the kids. They’ll need a phone or tablet and our game app of course. Oh... and little dead mouse stuffies!? Plastic dead mice in happy meals? A Netflix series? Think of the children!
Also... The company will eventually go public with a huge IPO so you can participate in the profits from this great product. But, there may not be any since they’ve borrowed heavily to pay the private equity investors back, along with a handsome profit, so the long-term outlook is probably not that great.
Wow... got carried away there. Still.
Capitalism American-style isn’t really about the product or making life better for people. It’s about turning the consumer into a resource to be drilled, fracked, mined and drained of every loose cent until the well runs dry.
The trap isn’t for the mice—it’s for you.
It’s American Crapitalism at its finest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)