In addition to our very own Project 2026, we need to strengthen connections, communication, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among democratic forces globally. All the Nazis are linked globally, but the forces of democracy seem to be operating in their own silos.
Jim, you know that Trump wasn't the beginning of this. He is the symbol of a diseased body politic. The disease started to metastasized in the 1980s. Reagan and then Clinton empowered corporations and started a war on low income folks. Corporate media was there every step of the way, shoving Republican narratives down our collective throats. They unleashed Trump onto the country. There were interviews and more interviews with him allowing him to carefully construct the story of a brilliant business man.
Meanwhile, the GOP in the Senate with the help of Democrats continued to roll back the progress of the 20th century. Bit by bit the New Deal was overturned. The goal was a one party state rooted in Christian Nationalism. But McConnell made a mistake.
McConnell didn't want Trump, but the GOP base did. McConnell ended up protecting Trump because he feared his primary voters. They all feared their primary voters (threats of violence).
Trump didn't lead the voters; the voters led him. It's the GOP voters/MAGA who took control. Now, McConnell is barely visible and Trump will continue to destroy the once mighty Republic. The Confederacy won.
If I don't have a sufficient daily dose of humor, I will go batshit crazy.
I offer this clip of legendary smut peddler, Al Goldstein of Screw magazine on his NYC cable access show, Midnight Blue, sharing his personal hatred of the current destroyer-in-chief even before bankrupting his first casino.
The best way to destroy trust in society is to prevent the public from knowing the truth by providing adequate and accurate facts. Look at any conspiracy and you will find that there were omissions of information and/or misinformation. These are seeds of distrust. The mass media is corporate and profit-driven. Trump was made for TV and TV coverage. TV sells in a different and more powerful way than radio or even social media. Television = Tell a Vision.
When Project 202? or the new Constitution is written, it will have to insist on non-profit, public-interest media organizations. Non-profit doesn't mean journalists can't make money. They should receive the highest salaries in the organization. Salaries can increase with the size of the organization.
Think of any species, honeybees for example. Imagine the scouts fly out looking for a new hive location and there are spies within their ranks deliberately telling them to go to a bad location or to a specific location for nefarious purpose. If they do so and return to the hive with a bad location or a specific location that is also not a good location, the whole future of the hive could be destroyed. This is what has happened to the US, and FOX "News" has been the single, largest contributor to promotion of lies and deceit. Trump and Murdoch connections go back decades.
My point is that a society that is going to survive requires adequate and accurate information.
In the interim, I propose more "guilds" for independent, investigative journalists who want to affiliate with each other in some way or ways that are also supported by the their readers. This protects independent journalists and give them allies and resources they may need in times of trouble like now. Forbidden Stories is one example, but these journalists work together for a specific purpose. Perhaps they would want to affiliate with other independent journalists? In any case, there could be many more than just several guilds.
Citizen journalists should become more active in their localities (instead of being only national influencers) and let other people know about them and what they are doing so they, too, can be supported. This kind of local support also supports state, national and international journalists who are working on educating and informing people instead of manipulating them for the sake of political, social, economic and/or religious control and/or profit.
Eventually, this abundance of adequate and accurate information could spill over into local civil town halls that could positively affect locat, state and national decision-making.
This transformation needs to take place in an incubator. Can that be done without strong leadership, progressive genius and a degree of isolation as in, for example, secession?
I completely agree and accept that what you are saying is in fact all true. The reforms needed to save democracy are easy to list but nearly impossible to implement because the current defects are the means for the minority to govern, and by govern, I mean rule. Citizens United, the Electoral College, and the disproportionate representation in the Senate are the trifecta, and the amending of the Constitution is the next to near-impossible task once the minority has seized power. We are stuck in a feedback loop that prohibits perfecting an imperfect union. Like most of you, I can see the problem, but I don't have a solution. When and if one comes along, it's going to be tumultuous. Jon Stewart runs for President? The US military storms the Capitol and takes down the authoritarian regime? That's all I got. Onward and upward my friends. :)
Trust is the connective tissue that holds society together. If you rip it apart with decades of deregulation, disinformation, privatization, and propaganda — surprise, surprise — your institutions collapse faster than a threadbare bra in a hurricane. Stewartson isn’t speculating. He’s diagnosing the patient mid-code-blue with the clarity of someone who actually understands that psychological warfare is real, and it’s working.
The Problem Isn’t Just Trump. It’s the Trust Vacuum That Let Him In.
That 1987 Soviet invite wasn’t just a quirky historical footnote; it was a handshake across the Atlantic from oligarchy to aspiring autocrat. Trump is a meat puppet with mob ties who learned early that America rewards showboating and punishes substance. And guess what? The media handed him the keys anyway. Garland fiddled while the Reichstag smoldered. And social media? It's not just a platform. It’s a militarized propaganda network, optimized for monetizing delusion.
This Isn’t a Government. It’s a Stage Play for Fascist Fanfic.
You’ve got a legislative branch run by cultists, a judiciary stuffed with Handmaid’s Tale LARPers, and a presidency that switches between “ineffectual liberal dad” and “literal aspiring dictator” depending on the news cycle. We don’t need to restore this system — we need a new operating system entirely.
Project 2026 is exactly the right name. If the right can game out a fascist future with PowerPoint decks and Christian dominionist think tanks, then we can map out a post-fascist democratic renaissance. It is not some utopian fairy tale but something functional, participatory, and just. A hard reboot. Parliamentary governance? Hell yes. Abolish SCOTUS as it stands? Bye, Felicia. Build a new education and justice system that doesn't reenact Jim Crow with better branding? Where do I sign?
Because Here’s the Damn Truth:
You can’t gaslight an entire population for decades, erase reproductive rights, flood the media with lies, then wonder why no one trusts the system anymore. Trust is earned, and you don’t earn it by asking the victims of abuse to forgive their abusers and vote blue no matter who. You earn it by burning the abuser’s house down and building a co-op in its place.
So good it took my breath away. Your best yet, by far, and you were good to begin with. Thank you for your continued hard work, vision, leadership and courage.
Elie Mystal talks about Project 2029. All the people I saw out protesting on April 5--so many--want what you are talking about here, Jim. What Elie Mystal wants.
t's scary. Every cell in my body wants the American I grew up in. I'm 80. But I hear you, that America is over and we can and will build something truer to its ideals, in its place. As always, thank you Jim for your wisdom, knowledge and generosity in sharing all of it.
In addition to our very own Project 2026, we need to strengthen connections, communication, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among democratic forces globally. All the Nazis are linked globally, but the forces of democracy seem to be operating in their own silos.
Jim, you know that Trump wasn't the beginning of this. He is the symbol of a diseased body politic. The disease started to metastasized in the 1980s. Reagan and then Clinton empowered corporations and started a war on low income folks. Corporate media was there every step of the way, shoving Republican narratives down our collective throats. They unleashed Trump onto the country. There were interviews and more interviews with him allowing him to carefully construct the story of a brilliant business man.
Meanwhile, the GOP in the Senate with the help of Democrats continued to roll back the progress of the 20th century. Bit by bit the New Deal was overturned. The goal was a one party state rooted in Christian Nationalism. But McConnell made a mistake.
McConnell didn't want Trump, but the GOP base did. McConnell ended up protecting Trump because he feared his primary voters. They all feared their primary voters (threats of violence).
Trump didn't lead the voters; the voters led him. It's the GOP voters/MAGA who took control. Now, McConnell is barely visible and Trump will continue to destroy the once mighty Republic. The Confederacy won.
If I don't have a sufficient daily dose of humor, I will go batshit crazy.
I offer this clip of legendary smut peddler, Al Goldstein of Screw magazine on his NYC cable access show, Midnight Blue, sharing his personal hatred of the current destroyer-in-chief even before bankrupting his first casino.
https://youtu.be/qVSAVdgBvQs?si=2ZPzNjAxqpTUzIQ0
The best way to destroy trust in society is to prevent the public from knowing the truth by providing adequate and accurate facts. Look at any conspiracy and you will find that there were omissions of information and/or misinformation. These are seeds of distrust. The mass media is corporate and profit-driven. Trump was made for TV and TV coverage. TV sells in a different and more powerful way than radio or even social media. Television = Tell a Vision.
When Project 202? or the new Constitution is written, it will have to insist on non-profit, public-interest media organizations. Non-profit doesn't mean journalists can't make money. They should receive the highest salaries in the organization. Salaries can increase with the size of the organization.
Think of any species, honeybees for example. Imagine the scouts fly out looking for a new hive location and there are spies within their ranks deliberately telling them to go to a bad location or to a specific location for nefarious purpose. If they do so and return to the hive with a bad location or a specific location that is also not a good location, the whole future of the hive could be destroyed. This is what has happened to the US, and FOX "News" has been the single, largest contributor to promotion of lies and deceit. Trump and Murdoch connections go back decades.
My point is that a society that is going to survive requires adequate and accurate information.
In the interim, I propose more "guilds" for independent, investigative journalists who want to affiliate with each other in some way or ways that are also supported by the their readers. This protects independent journalists and give them allies and resources they may need in times of trouble like now. Forbidden Stories is one example, but these journalists work together for a specific purpose. Perhaps they would want to affiliate with other independent journalists? In any case, there could be many more than just several guilds.
Citizen journalists should become more active in their localities (instead of being only national influencers) and let other people know about them and what they are doing so they, too, can be supported. This kind of local support also supports state, national and international journalists who are working on educating and informing people instead of manipulating them for the sake of political, social, economic and/or religious control and/or profit.
Eventually, this abundance of adequate and accurate information could spill over into local civil town halls that could positively affect locat, state and national decision-making.
This transformation needs to take place in an incubator. Can that be done without strong leadership, progressive genius and a degree of isolation as in, for example, secession?
One of your best Jim.
“The Executive Branch is simultaneously too weak, and too strong.” Truer words were never spoken. Great piece, Jim!
I completely agree and accept that what you are saying is in fact all true. The reforms needed to save democracy are easy to list but nearly impossible to implement because the current defects are the means for the minority to govern, and by govern, I mean rule. Citizens United, the Electoral College, and the disproportionate representation in the Senate are the trifecta, and the amending of the Constitution is the next to near-impossible task once the minority has seized power. We are stuck in a feedback loop that prohibits perfecting an imperfect union. Like most of you, I can see the problem, but I don't have a solution. When and if one comes along, it's going to be tumultuous. Jon Stewart runs for President? The US military storms the Capitol and takes down the authoritarian regime? That's all I got. Onward and upward my friends. :)
Trust is not a vibe. It’s infrastructure.
Trust is the connective tissue that holds society together. If you rip it apart with decades of deregulation, disinformation, privatization, and propaganda — surprise, surprise — your institutions collapse faster than a threadbare bra in a hurricane. Stewartson isn’t speculating. He’s diagnosing the patient mid-code-blue with the clarity of someone who actually understands that psychological warfare is real, and it’s working.
The Problem Isn’t Just Trump. It’s the Trust Vacuum That Let Him In.
That 1987 Soviet invite wasn’t just a quirky historical footnote; it was a handshake across the Atlantic from oligarchy to aspiring autocrat. Trump is a meat puppet with mob ties who learned early that America rewards showboating and punishes substance. And guess what? The media handed him the keys anyway. Garland fiddled while the Reichstag smoldered. And social media? It's not just a platform. It’s a militarized propaganda network, optimized for monetizing delusion.
This Isn’t a Government. It’s a Stage Play for Fascist Fanfic.
You’ve got a legislative branch run by cultists, a judiciary stuffed with Handmaid’s Tale LARPers, and a presidency that switches between “ineffectual liberal dad” and “literal aspiring dictator” depending on the news cycle. We don’t need to restore this system — we need a new operating system entirely.
Project 2026 is exactly the right name. If the right can game out a fascist future with PowerPoint decks and Christian dominionist think tanks, then we can map out a post-fascist democratic renaissance. It is not some utopian fairy tale but something functional, participatory, and just. A hard reboot. Parliamentary governance? Hell yes. Abolish SCOTUS as it stands? Bye, Felicia. Build a new education and justice system that doesn't reenact Jim Crow with better branding? Where do I sign?
Because Here’s the Damn Truth:
You can’t gaslight an entire population for decades, erase reproductive rights, flood the media with lies, then wonder why no one trusts the system anymore. Trust is earned, and you don’t earn it by asking the victims of abuse to forgive their abusers and vote blue no matter who. You earn it by burning the abuser’s house down and building a co-op in its place.
You can see my evolving version of Project 2026 here: https://twvme.substack.com/p/project-2026-a-progressive-counter
https://twvme.substack.com/p/top-25-focus-areas-for-a-progressive - one other -with the framework, broken out and cross linked.
E X A C T L Y
So good it took my breath away. Your best yet, by far, and you were good to begin with. Thank you for your continued hard work, vision, leadership and courage.
What Blue said!
Elie Mystal talks about Project 2029. All the people I saw out protesting on April 5--so many--want what you are talking about here, Jim. What Elie Mystal wants.
t's scary. Every cell in my body wants the American I grew up in. I'm 80. But I hear you, that America is over and we can and will build something truer to its ideals, in its place. As always, thank you Jim for your wisdom, knowledge and generosity in sharing all of it.