Things aren’t  going so great for us these days, although, after the special elections, they are looking a little better. The economic future looks rather shaky. And, because the president keeps bowing to Putin, applying and removing tariffs indiscriminately and doing things like posting A.I. created videos of himself in an airplane dumping feces on the citizens he’s supposed to serve, other countries are losing faith in the United States. It is a logical reaction. There are many more outrageous things he is doing. I could have mentioned releasing a masked group of agents to harass brown-skinned people who live in this country, or perhaps our military illegally blowing up random boats in the waters around countries with whom we have no declared conflicts. The list could go on for much, much longer, but most of these things are happening for a single reason: to distract us from the fact that his name is all over the Epstein files.

Kill people,     Many people are going to die,        Pooping on America,

Nuclear testing,     Bombing people,     Binance/World Liberty Financial,

Transparency-The New American Way,      A crypto bonanza, 

Stupidity hurts,    The Trumps are richer than ever,     He is scared, 

Building a ball room and destroying the White House,     

Hurting children to distract from children being hurt,        Tech thieves,        

 Epstein emails released,        MTG resigns,         Seth Meyers is threatened,          

 Mamdani is okay,        Okay to call me fascist,       Distraction

Podcast production was falling behind, but it’s catching up. There is a coup taking place right before our eyes.

We, as a people, must not look away from what is happening and make it known that this is unacceptable.  Resist.

Nation of laws,      Bomb Iran,     Ceasefire failure,

Epstein/Kirk/Putin/Ukraine/ICE/FCC/Free Speech,

Everything’s for sale,     RFK JR/USAID,        

Worst than I thought,      Immigration Solutions,       Due Process,

Not numb,     what to do?     Democracy will win,     

Deporting folks to torture camps,

ICE=KKK,    Prisons are doing great,     Focus on agreement,

Get together,     Let’s Roll

We are living through one of the darker moments in U.S. history. The tornado of disinformation and distraction intended to deflect attention from the destruction of a nation is unrelenting. And as intended, it has become difficult to know what to pay attention to. I addressed a few of the many troubling things happening today. Unfortunately, there is certain to be more to come in the very near future.

Military birthday parade,     No More Kings,     It's all spectacle,

Propaganda causes assassinations,       Villains and money,           

The Middle East Qatar- Saudi Arabia,     The Crown Prince,

Immigration solution,     Different interpretations,       I.C.E.,

Waste, Fraud and Abuse.

The Idiot Theory

Living under patrimonialism is exhausting.  It appears important national decisions are being made not though the use of reason and logic but rather through pure impulsivity. Tariffs are being imposed, reduced and/or removed on what feels like a daily basis. Recently, Charles Schwab sat in the Oval Office as Trump pointed out that the had made over $2B in one day due to stock market fluctuations. It is difficult to discern if these outcomes were caused by intentional market manipulation or simply the result of the whims of a doddering patriarch. Regardless, we are living in a time unremitting chaos. 

Prescient Marco Rubio,       Most beautiful word,      Lunatics,       Canada,

Too many topics,     Dangerous speech,     Tariffs: an opportunity for payoffs,

Megan Kelly,     Car manufacturing,       Marvelous tool for corruption,

Patrimonialism,      What are you doing?     What if anything?     Idiot Theory,

Market manipulation,     Self-made scions of wealth,      deregulation,

Charles Schwab $2.3M in one day,     Cashing in,      How deep is the rot?

Supporting a dictator.

I took advantage of an offer for free A.I. assistance It changed the name of the podcast and moved Dave to "Boxville" It also auto-tuned my voice a bit. I prefer the original episode which came just before this one.

In this episode of Frederick's Pines, we delve into the chaotic world of modern American politics, where truth is often overshadowed by spectacle. Host Dave from Boxville dissects the power dynamics between President Musk and former President Trump, exploring how their leadership styles contribute to the current political climate.

We examine the role of media and professional journalism in holding power accountable amidst the rapid spread of misinformation. The episode further explores recent controversial decisions, such as pardons related to the January 6th events and the implications of Elon Musk's access to government data. Through thought-provoking analysis, Frederick's Pines offers a critical look at the challenges facing democracy in today's world.

This episode has taken so long to complete because I have been both stunned and overwhelmed.

Trump election victory calls into question the intelligence and intentions of my fellow citizens. 

Then the combination of Elon Musk and Project 2025 has brought an onslaught of actions that are difficult to process.

There were many things I didn’t address but intend to, such as Canada, Greenland, USAID, Zelenskyy and Ukraine,  

Flood the zone.     Confound the media.     A single liar.

Flood of insanity.     Gaza.     Bad neighbor.      Voter suppression (Greg Palast).  

Norms.      Democracy may be dead.      Unleashing violence.

Violent Pastor Pollock (From Bulwark, MSNBC).     Elon and the boy.

What if anything?       Putin and the disgusting Democrat scam.

A coup.          What leverage do we have?   Musk goes nuts.     DOGE data theft.     

Idiot Joe.       Enough.     Surviving under dictatorship.     Estonia.

Some folks love what’s happening.      They’re children.

Nixon- Saturday Night Massacre.     Bork and the Supreme Court.

Problems at F.A.A. the result of firing or hiring?     Destroy truth.

Endless spectacle.     Studs Terkel- Hard Times.     Crash the economy and buy cheap.

Don’t give up.

The United States presidential election is going take place in a couple of days. While all elections are important, this one feels particularly freighted.  Donald Trump and the twisted remains of the Republican Party seem committed to a program of revenge, violence (“one rough day”), and serious diminishment of citizens’ rights. His primary supporter is a billionaire who was raised as an entitled child in apartheid-era South Africa and has shown a decided lack of empathy for others. Vice-president Harris, while somewhat of an unknown quantity, has shown herself to be a fairly normal and reasonably competent individual. She seems committed to the democratic process while her opponent appears wholly focused on undermining that same process. I fear that a number of guardrails that we have counted on have been weakened or are no longer in place and a second Trump presidency could lead us farther into oligarchy. That is not what the majority of Americans want. Let’s hope that enough liberty and justice oriented citizens turn out and let their voices be heard. So many voices that even the compromised Supreme Court cannot ignore them.

Fascism,     Enemy within,     Bull shit,     The healthiest president,

Hitler said that,     Can you believe we’re saying this?     I won; I lost,

Our little secret,     Russians,     Unbelievable,     Piece of amphibian,

Crazy,     This guy,     President Xi,     Watching suckers on television,

Environmentalists,     The wind is bullshit,     Jasper County rant,

Our government needs stop,     The final destruction of America,

The worst president in history,     It’s true,     Should be in jail,

One rough hour,     Hang Mike Pence,     Nothing done wrong,

The others had guns,     Beat her badly,     Our little secret,  

Shut Up     

So many things have happened in the last couple of months, it was difficult to decide what to feed into the Mind Thing. I chose some of the most important and some of the most fun. Hop on. Let’s go for a ride.

Immunity,     Assassination,      Ha ha ha,      The debate, 

Hello,     I’m Talking Now,      Sound Familiar?

Cats Eating People,     Unpresidential,     Geese on Steroids,

This Former President,     Not Too Nice,     Shot,

Blow Up,     Loser,     Can’t Do Anything,

Star Strangled Banner,     Lost By A Whisker,

He Lost,     Can’t Do Anything For Black People,

Fake News,     Laughing,     Trump’s Addled Brain,

Battery vs Shark,       Genius,      Connect The Dots,     

Rambling,      Gettysburg,   Wow,      Fight,

What The Hell?       The World Ended,       

Think Of It,        Execute the Baby,       Kill The Birds,

Fraud,     Failing Nation

A tree in my neighbor's yard became a stage for a dramatic confrontation between a single hawk and dozens of crows. The best I could figure out was the hawk had his eye on some fledgelings in a crow's nest. The crows seemed to understand the hawk's intention and weren't going to let it fulfill its desire. It was very noisy and intense. The little ones were obviously in serious danger. It was wonderful to watch the much smaller crows work together to thwart the much larger predator's attack. No written plans just a committed group of volunteers working together with purpose. Beautiful.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary madness is defined as “stupid or dangerous behaviour” and one doesn’t need to look too hard to see it all around us.There is a seemingly endless list of stupid things Americans are doing, all of which seem destined to harm the country. Destroying the environment, ignoring the harm it causes and letting Trump have a chance to return to office are just some of them.  Living in a society where nominating and electing cowards and criminals to higher office is a common occurrence is nearly enough to drive a sane person to despair. It is important to remember that the mad and the stupid are not the majority. They are loud and flamboyant and the media tends to give them a disproportionate amount of attention. The sane and the sensible are the majority in this country. If we can avoid despairing and remain focused and motivated we can as a country overcome the serious threat of antidemocratic authoritarianism. Let us not forget to hope, nurture, and laugh.  Especially to laugh at the madness and stupidity and carry on.

Nietzsche on the madness of crowds,        Sea of Madness, 

Insanity is a great virus,     Rachel Powell’s media bubble,

Dumb or insane?     Rubio strongman,     Rebecca Lavernz is going to prison,

Michelle Goldberg on Trump’s projection,     Susan Glasser Tu Quoque,     

Ulysses S. Grant  and the dividing line,       Crazy pants bing bing,

Wrestle the deep state,        More projection         Madness is stupid.

Cambridge definition of Madness,     Guns and environmental destruction,

Crazy consumerism,          Riding and ranting in the van,        Derrick Bonhoeffer on Stupidity,

How ‘bout that? 

This one took a while, obviously. Learning of Dave from Knoxville’s death, one of this podcast’s most long term and enthusiastic supporters, took the wind out of my sails for a while. He is deeply missed, but one must carry on. So, I will.

Good luck, Dave from Knoxville,    

Trump, DeSantis and their supporters are relentless,     Merchandising,

The Republican debate,     Indict the M.F.er,      Christian Trump supporters,    

Christian or Communist,  Mug shots,     Wheels of justice,     

No violent response,     Wrong leaders,      Stress fear, morality,   

Fascism,     Failure of the Media,        Fascism, top of the list,     

DeSantis - cruel, selfish, stupid,      Slitting throats,    

A.I. morality,      Mortality and Hope.