migrating from Medium (and Blogger) to better options Exploring New by the author I am shifting my article posting and blogging to a new place: https://stuff.davidaugust.com/ (I signed up for the 14 day trial… not sure yet if investing in paying monthly or annually is a good idea). My reasons are various, including: * wanting to be able to increase the amount of control I have over where people read my work and * hopefully (fingers crossed) avoid possibly having my stuff taken down by companies or governments that don’t like what I’ve written or said. If you just wanna join me in where I plan to post going forward, and don’t want the almost stream-of-consciousness of how I got here, you can just go there, hopefully subscribe, follow, sign-up, and you can not read the rest of this. #### Sites Can Get Disrupted I’m not yet a big enough “content creator” to likely be targeted by various authorities for hurting their feelings. But if folks get aggressive, there are steps they can take to disrupt a lot. The entire Medium site, for instance, could be taken offline simply by seizing the domain. So too with Substack. In one move, everything on those domains would all be inaccessible. In the past, Medium has been blocked or censored by various governments, and almost any other comparable site probably has been or could be as well. I started blogging a bigillion years ago, on Blogger. I did it with zero eye toward it ever being financially sustaining. **I saw things I thought were good to collect, or wrote things I wanted to write, and put them online.** That was it. Back then there were no categories, tagging or labels for posts. Whenever I wanted to go into a new topic, I made a new blog. Not ideal. Later I folded some of those separate blogs into one another and, sadly, never really finished that consolidation process. #### Not All Sites Plan to Be Reliable Now, in 2025, various social media platforms have made it clear they aren’t going to be very stable, predictable and safe going forward. Meta made it clear earlier this year, twitter did years ago (I’ve written a number of posts about migrating off of twitter systems) and tiktok has rumors swirling around of its no longer abiding by its own editorial judgement anymore either. As has been true for the last 20 years or so: **you control your own site/s the most, and your profiles on other people’s sites are in their sandbox.** Relying on any single company to still support whatever you are doing (staying in touch with friends or customers, marketing your products, services or ideas, and more) long term is a dicey proposition. Building your goals in someone else’s sandbox alone is not ideal, a little like building a castle on sand. #### Site Reliability Is Nice Whether it is connecting with my acting coaching clients, projects I’m performing in, articles I write, my social media posts, or bots posting poetry or protest, without an unlimited budget: **how do you try to spend not too much time and money, but end up with things basically working?** It is an good question. Even more so as this has been and can be part of how I afford being a living person (and find work and projects). Spending some time instead of money has been my recent method. All projects can typically have two of the following three things: be low cost, be good and get done fast. Its kind of an axiom of project management that you get to choose only two out of the list: time, price and quality. Good, Cheap & Fast: pick two! by Jardson Almeida #### Why Ghost I found an EU based way to host my site, and just this week I started moving my domains to a less expensive and easier to maintain registrar. Now I’m figuring out how to have ghost be how I host my blogging and articles. I realize now it probably makes sense to do what I did with those Blogger blogs back when I was regularly publishing on them: open up the possibility of **hosting my blog on a domain I own and control**. It also probably makes sense to open the possibility of **people helping fund it** too. Being able to afford to live, and having content I create help with that, would be useful. And I also want the **ability to move it all to other servers** if and when I need to, without being all sorts of locked into a single company’s offerings. While the domain ghost.io could be seized, in time I will likely transition my presence on ghost to be coming from my own domain that I own and control. Therefore, I hope to be less prone to going down if a single popular domain that hosts thousands or millions of others is taken down or out of service. Upsides of ghost include: **ghost is open source**. So if I want to, I can move to almost any web server hosted anywhere in the world and it should work. I can, without too much hassle, transition to having **my blog and articles on my own domain** , which also gives more flexibility for how it’s found if the current organization behind the hosting it were to change how their domain is set up. There seems to already be some known ways to migrate from Medium and Blogger to ghost. Downsides include: **getting my work discovered** by new people (and the people who know me or my work and are trying to find me), and learning something new. There may be other caveats I discover later. Substack would likely solve some of the discovery needs, and help my stuff be found, but they have some of the same resilience caveats Medium has, and Substack’s editorial stances are…not ideal. I am enjoying the feeling of having something tangible I can do to try to move my digital life to better ways of doing things amid the chaos in the world. So this, what you’re reading now, is the post announcing my switch…and hopefully I won’t have to revise this article down the road too much. (Like if ghost doesn’t end up making sense and I’d have to change the URL.) Right now, this makes sense: and $11 a month might work for me to move onto a platform for my articles and blogging that I can control more, whatever the future holds. I hope grow with it and have it all live up to this article’s title, and with it have some online longevity. _© Copyright July 15, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet.

politics ain’t therapy — it’s triage photo by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay, modified by author “I hate [politician on my side not doing what I want], they need to go!” You can blame people you basically agree with, or you can work with the people available to try to work toward better. The first feels good for maybe 5 minutes, then ruins improvement right now; the second has a chance to make things better. Try to take your anger, your resentment, which I share, to those chiefly responsible for problems, and not to those nearest and ablest to help, even if not as flawless as we’d like. “But David, we have to replace them with better people!” Is that legally or politically possible in the next 2 hours? No? Then shut up. When elections are in play, then make those choices; **today, make today’s choices**. Breaking our hopes for harm reduction right now to vent is foolish, destructive and silly. Focus on the goals, find how to _channel_ your rage and distemper toward actually making things shift, not just blowing off steam while ruining the future. Don’t just be angry, be strategically angry. > Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. > - Aristotle I share your frustration, but let’s not foil the people standing in a position to help us a little, even if not as much as we want and while they themselves are imperfect, when hours and minutes decide the fate of so many. Politicians, of every type, seek and often find political solutions: in other words, they talk about things. Soundbites may be ineffectual, certainly less effective than you or I want them to be, but those are the tools politicians have: words. We have words too, and we can use them to help ourselves and others, or to do the opposite. Let’s make things better. _© Copyright June 29, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Vent or Win, Choose Wisely was originally published in The Geopolitical Economist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

some current events around the airstrikes in iran A United States Air Force B2 Spirit in flight captured by a USAF Exchange Pilot Ho Kay, so we sent the freedom Doritos (B-2s) with some bunker busters and rumor is the bunker buster did not fully bust the bunkers at Fordow, like “have you driven a 30,000 pound bomb into Fordow, lately,” and the Doritos are like, “yeah, no, the penetrators did not penetrate fully, this never happens to me, I swear this is the first time I even tried this ordinance, can we just cuddle.” And Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang are like, “cool cool, you can’t hurt our bunkers quite as much as we thought. GBU? Guided Bomb Unit? More like Great Big Uh. Am I right?” And trumplethinskin is like, “hey man, I will totally f you up more, and like easier, you better shut up and stuff.” And like the rest of the world is out shopping for lead underwears while the penguins who got tariffed are making a defense pact with the orcas and Lichtenstein. So, your average Sunday. _© Copyright June 22, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Breaking Broken News was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

by David August Legislative Chamber from house.gov 1) The Speaker needed to have a serious one-on-one with his son to discuss what they’ve both been watching on their mobile devices. 2) The right wing extremists are busy setting up cameras in the women’s bathrooms to appease Representative Mace’s (South Carolina) fetis- interest in people’s naked bodies. 3) Representative Golden (Maine) got stuck in the gop cloak room and needed the jaws of life to find his spine. 4) Several members of the gop caucus are extremely photo sensitive after musk invaded their personal space and may or many not have bitten their necks. 5) MTG (Georgia) insisted after her boss asked that it take place during Moscow time working hours. 6) Xi was busy with Chinese government business and the Speaker wanted to get his input before making choices that impact the US-China relationship. 7) Secretary Noem wanted to submit a revised budget proposal for DHS but was at the doctor all day trying to get tested to see if she was positive for habeus corpus. 8 )Secretary Hegseth gives his best budget suggestions 8 beers in, and he starts the clock on the day’s beers at midnight. 9) Secretary Rubio wanted to see if he could destroy 16th longstanding alliance _before_ budget bill vote to win bet with Viktor Orbán he could make it more than 15. It’s a $2.50 bet. 10) President wanted the whole evening to try to get flotus to say more than 4 words to him before she goes to bed. (Or to try to have the American people not notice as the gop tries to destroy our healthcare and other programs.) inspired by a [Bluesky post by Representative Robin Kelly (Illinois), not approved of nor encouraged by them] _© Copyright May 20, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * 10 Reasons the Republicans Set the Rules Meeting at 1 AM in Middle of the Night was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

signal is the place for tea Michael Waltz’s emoji trio reaction to Yemen strikes, image made by author JD Vance [Vice President]: Hey everybody, just gonna check in, we invading Canada today? Mike Waltz [National Security Advisor]: yeah, gonna grab a latte from sbux first, anyone want me to grab them a cap or anything before I swing by the sit room? ☕️🥡💪 Mike Waltz added Justin Trudeau to the conversation. Tulsi Gabbard [Director of National Intelligence (DNI)]: I’ll take a soy cap. Marco Rubio [Secretary of State]: nothing for me John Ratcliffe [Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]: can I have a Macchiato? I’ll get you back on Venmo. Pete Hegseth [Secretary of Defense]: does sbux have cocktails? Mike Waltz added Mark Carney to the conversation. JD Vance: potus is deep into some chick-fil-a, so I’ll fill him in after. We thinking 101st Airborne to Ottawa government buildings first, or what? Pete Hegseth: I was thinking we’d open with a time-on-target from B-52s with JDAMs and Tomahawks on the Olympic Village in Montreal to open, that slanty tower thing never sat right with me. Then we’d put Navy Seal Team 4 on Nipigon Bridge to secure and protect it for the 1st Battalion, 151st Field Artillery (1–151 FA) of the Minnesota Army National Guard to move north from Minnesota and wheel right toward Thunder Bay. Anyone have a preference on giving the Abrams tanks more armor piercing rounds than incendiary rounds? Rain has been light in Canada and we don’t want to start wildfires. JD Vance: that sounds like a safer choice for us to use. Marco Rubio: agreed John Radcliffe: agreed on ordnance Tulsi Gabbard: can we add a few T-90s to those tank columns? Or even better do we have any T-14 Armatas to put on the mix? John Radcliffe: No, we don’t have T-90s or T-14s; those are Russian. Marco Rubio: can we make sure we have some HH-60G Pave Hawks with the 934th Airlift Wing’s compliment going to Ottawa to support the 101st? Gotta make sure we have some SAR assets because my phone doesn’t have good maps of Ottawa on it yet and I don’t want our boys getting lost if theirs don’t either. Pete Hegseth: good call. We are go to do this thing at 1pm later today. 🪖🪖🔫 JD Vance: in which time zone? Tulsi Gabbard: Eastern. Mike Waltz: CST Marco Rubio: yeah Mike Waltz: waiting for a drink carrier thingy from sbux. Should be in sit room in 10. I got SIGINT telling me Prime Minister Carney is totally just faffing around on his phone right now. They’re gonna be so blindsided. 😵 🇨🇦💥 Tulsi Gabbard: rofl 🚁 Marco Rubio: 👀📲🇺🇸 Pete Hegseth: 🍾🍸 VP Vance: 🎉🥳🛋️ Mike Waltz: 👊🇺🇸🔥 John Radcliffe: Ok, we’re doing this, and I’ll circle back on our status afterward with our next action items. Mike, it too late to grab me a frapp? _© Copyright March 27, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Canada Invasion CP small group was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#### Sean Casten on our tasks amid the Constitutional crisis Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention by Junius Brutus Stearns — released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts A thread by U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-6), original here and [here] Some morning thoughts on where we are in this constitutional crisis and what we all have to do — and believe — to get out of this with our democracy intact: First, the idea that you could have a democracy based on rule of law is a radical idea, no less so today than it was 250 years ago. Most of human history depended on might-makes-right, all powerful rulers. Trump has no respect for that idea or our 250 year old experiment, but he understands that Mad Max philosophy that governed most of human history. And therefore understands how fragile any democracy is. And while Trump is the (only?) alpha dog in the GOP, the rest of the GOP is also hostile to our founders intent. They hold CPAC in Hungary to learn from Orban how to destroy democracy from within, not how to protect it from a despot’s excesses, after all. Given that, it’s worth looking back to what our founders had to say about the need for virtue in a society. They were all schooled in Greek and Roman political philosophers. It was those principles that shaped the government they left for us. George Washington: > “I hope I shall always posses firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles: the character of an honest man” James Madison: > “to suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people is a chimerical idea” Jefferson: > “We have spent the prime of our lives procuring the precious blessing of liberty. Let them spend theirs showing that it is the great parent of science and virtue; a nation will be great in both in proportion as it is free” In other words: a representative government, based on the rule of law survives only so long as there is sufficient virtue in those tasked with carrying out those laws. And those moment we lose that virtue, we lose our liberty as well. We cannot separate politics from law, nor assume that one is superior to the other. We put fallible humans in charge of carrying out the law, and trust that they will be virtuous only to the extent we trust that the electorate is virtuous and will choose wisely. And therefore, there are two ways to destroy us from within. First by assuming that the LAW is fixed, immutable and somehow above human nature. Alternatively, by convincing the public that they are collectively without virtue. The first is the tool of the authoritarian. Constitutional originalism, biblical literalism — they all flow from that destructive impulse. The Roberts Court is the leading proponent of this view in America today. And the second is the tool of the demagogue. People cannot be trusted, so you must trust me. That is the tool of Orban, Putin, Hitler… and Trump. Today’s GOP fights with itself over whether to prioritize their authoritarian or demagogic impulses but agree that a representative democracy based on equal application of the rule of law must be stopped. Which brings back to Madison’s full quote. The central thesis of a representative democracy is not that the leaders will be virtuous but that the public will be. Read the whole thing: > I have observed, that gentlemen suppose, that the general legislature will do every mischief they possibly can, and that they will omit to do every thing good which they are authorised to do. If this were a reasonable supposition, their objections would be good. I consider it reasonable to conclude, that they will as readily do their duty, as deviate from it: Nor do I go on the grounds mentioned by gentlemen on the other side — that we are to place unlimited confidence in them, and expect nothing but the most exalted integrity and sublime virtue. But I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks — no form of government can render us secure. To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea. If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men. So that we do not depend on their virtue, or put confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them. It’s on all of us. To be virtuous. To know that the law is a partial and incomplete representation of a higher, virtuous, ethical standard. To be vocal and righteous in defense of that standard. And to trust that our neighbors feel the same way. Because the minute we lose our virtue — or our trust — this whole thing collapses. So go get into some good trouble today. We need you. /fin _text by Sean Casten, March 7, 2025_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Virtue and the Law was originally published in The Geopolitical Economist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

#### Situation in Ukraine and Security in Europe Senator Claude Malhuret speaks to the French Senate, credit: Public Sénat French Senator Claude Malhuret’s speech: Situation in Ukraine and Security in Europe March 4, 2025 [please forgive my machine assisted translation with edits for English clarity] Mr. President, Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers, my dear colleagues. Europe is at a critical turning point in its history. The American shield is slipping away, Ukraine risks being abandoned, Russia strengthened. Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a fool on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service. It’s a tragedy for the free world, but above all it is a tragedy for the United States. Trump’s message is that there is no point in being his ally, as he will not defend you, he will impose more tariffs on you than on his enemies, and he will threaten to seize your territories while supporting the dictators who invade you. The so called “king of the deal” is showing what the submissive art of deal is. He thinks he will intimidate China by capitulating to Putin, but Xi Jinping, seeing such wreckage, is undoubtedly accelerating preparations for the invasion of Taiwan. Never in history has a President of the United States surrendered to an enemy. Never before has one supported an aggressor against an ally. Never before has one trampled on the American Constitution, issued so many illegal decrees, dismissed judges who could oppose him, sacked the entire military leadership at once, weakened all counter-powers and taken control of social networks. This is not a mere illiberal drift, it is a beginning of seizure of democracy. Let us remember that it only took a month, three weeks and two days to bring down the Weimar Republic and its Constitution. I have faith in the resilience of American democracy, and the country is already protesting. But in just one month, Trump has done more damage to America than in four years of his previous presidency. We were at war with a dictator, we are now fighting against a dictator supported by a traitor. Eight days ago, at the very moment when Trump was patting Macron on the back at the White House, the United States voted at the UN in lockstep with Russia and North Korea against Europeans demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops. Two days later, in the Oval Office, the draft dodger gave moral and strategic lessons to the war hero Zelenskyy, before dismissing him like a servant, ordering him to submit or resign. Last night, he took a step further into disgrace by halting the delivery of promised weapons. What should we do in the face of this betrayal? The answer is simple: stand firm. Above all make no mistake. Ukrainian defeat would be European defeat. The Baltic States, Georgia and Moldova are already on the list. Putin’s goal is to return to Yalta, where half the continent was ceded to Stalin. The Global South await the outcome of the conflict to decide whether they should continue to respect Europe or whether they are now free to trample on it. What Putin wants is the end of the order put in place by the United States and its allies 80 years ago, whose first principle was the prohibition of acquiring territories by force. This idea is at the very core of the UN, where today, the Americans vote for the aggressor and against the victim, because Trump’s vision aligns with Putin’s: a return to the spheres of influence, where big powers dictate the fate of smaller nations. “I’ll take Greenland, Panama and Canada, you’ll take Ukraine, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe, he’ll take Taiwan and the South China Sea.” The golf oligarchs at Mar-a-Lago parties call it, “diplomatic realism.” And so we are alone. But the claim it’s impossible to resist Putin is false. Contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, Russia is struggling. In three years, the so-called second-best army in the world has managed to gain only crumbs from a country with a population three times smaller. With interest rates at 25%, the collapse of foreign currency and gold reserves, and a demographic collapse crisis, Russia is on the brink. The American lifeline to Putin is the greatest strategic mistake ever made during a war. The shock is violent, the shock is violent but it has a virtue. Europeans emerge from denial. On day one in Munich, they understood that Ukrainian survival and the European future are in their hands and that they have three imperatives. First, accelerate military aid to Ukraine to compensate for the American abandonment, to ensure it holds, and of course, to secure its and Europe’s place in any negotiation. It will be costly. It will require ending the taboo on using frozen Russian assets. It will require bypassing Moscow’s accomplices within Europe itself by a coalition of willing countries, of course including the United Kingdom. Secondly, require that any agreement be accompanied by the return of kidnapped children, prisoners and absolute security guarantees. After Budapest, Georgia and Minsk, we know what Putin’s agreements are worth. These guarantees must be backed by sufficient military force to prevent another invasion. Finally, and most urgently, because it will take the most time, we must rebuild the neglected European defense, which relied on the American umbrella since 1945, and dismantled since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a Herculean task, but it is on its success or failure, that the leaders of today’s democratic Europe will be judged in the history books. Friedrich Merz has just declared that Europe needs its own military alliance. This recognizes that France was right for decades in advocating for strategic autonomy. Now, it must be built. Massive investment will be needed, strengthening the European Defense Fund outside the Maastricht debt criteria, harmonizing weapons and ammunition systems, accelerating Ukraine’s EU membership, since it now has the largest army in Europe, rethinking the doctrine and conditions of nuclear deterrence based on French and British capacities, and relaunching anti-missile and satellite defense programs. The plan announced yesterday by Ursula von der Leyen is an excellent starting point. And much more will be needed. Europe will only become a military power again, by becoming an industrial power again. In short, we must implement the Draghi report, for real. But Europe’s real rearmament is its moral rearmament. We must convince public opinion in the face of war weariness and fear, and especially against Putin’s collaborators, both the extreme right and the extreme left. They once again stood in the National Assembly, yesterday, in front of you, against European unity, and against European defense. They say they want peace. What neither they nor Trump admit is that their peace is capitulation, the peace of defeat, the replacement of a De Gaulle Zelenskyy with a Ukrainian Pétain at Putin’s beck and call. The peace of collaborators who have for three years refused to help the Ukrainians at all. Is this the end of the Atlantic Alliance? The risk is great. But in recent days… but in recent days, the public humiliation of Zelenskyy, and all the reckless decisions made over the past month, have stirred Americans to action. Polls numbers are plummeting, Republican representatives are met with hostile crowds in their home districts, even Fox News is becoming critical. The Trumpists are no longer in their prime. They control the executive branch, Congress, the Supreme Court and social networks. But in American history, the defenders of freedom have always prevailed. They are beginning to rise once more. The fate of Ukraine plays out in the trenches, but it also depends on those in the United States who want to fight for democracy, and here, on our ability to unite Europeans, to find the means for our common defense, and to restore Europe as the power it once was in history and hesitates to become again. Our parents defeated fascism and communism at the cost of great sacrifice. The task of our generation is to defeat the totalitarianisms of the 21st Century. Long live free Ukraine, long live democratic Europe. the original French: [https://www.independants-senat.fr/post/claude-malhuret-situation-en-ukraine-et-sécurité-en-europe ] _© Translation Copyright March 6, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * French Senator on the US, Europe and Ukraine was originally published in The Geopolitical Economist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

petulance and grievance replace statesmanship and integrity still frame from White House instagram, not subject to copyright Bone soul rage at their petty and foolish inept attempts to bully their way to seizing the mineral wealth of an ally. The most craven and stupid attempt at colonial extraction. 45 says he’s gambling with WW3, as if Zelenskyy hasn’t been in an existential hot war larger than any since WW2 for three years and hasn’t also been personally targeted. As if WW3 wasn’t more of a 45 issue than Zelenskyy’s. He’s in it, Zelenskyy’s facing it. And that 45 and vance think Oval Office home court advantage would allow them to bluster a man into submission who for years has been working 24/7/365 to fight back the second largest military on earth. What words said in any room will make the man who stayed in his capital facing certain destruction and personal death flinch? What children our president and vice president are to imagine their swagger alone holds any weight. What contempt they have to admonish Zelenskyy for litigating in front of the press in the Oval Office when they could, themselves, in a moment dismiss the entirety of press and staff with a simple, “we’re gonna need the room.” They deign to speak for our country in its seat of power with the cowardice a 5 year old would wince at. Never before have I seen any world leader fail so spectacularly to grasp the moment and power they posses and instead vainly bully and try to extort so clumsily. The substance and form of their actions are both made of purified reprehensible baseless anger and greed. The ghosts of a thousand dictators and mass murderers through history stare in disgust, agape at the depths of 45 and vance’s depraved, weak, sniveling, spineless and pathetic behavior. They bring shame upon themselves, their families, the country and the world. _© Copyright February 28, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Oval Disgrace was originally published in The Geopolitical Economist on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

a fake children’s story I made up off the top of my head a close up of a animal in a field of grass by Daniil Komov on Unsplash Once upon a time, there was an orange creature named Winnie the Coup and he had what he thought was a friend, the Elongated Muskrat. Muskrat had a lot of toys and Winnie the Coup was sorta jealous. One day, the Muskrat came to Coup and said, “Hey, I wanna make you king, how about it?” Coup was elated. Coup had played at being president before but that was a lot of work. Being king sounded fun, but Coup worried it might be more work. So Coup said, “Muskrat, I like that idea very much, but I’m afraid there will be too much work as king. When I played at being president, there were all these meetings and paperwork and it was annoying.” Muskrat replied, in his smoothed tone, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of all the work. You’ll just enjoy being king. Don’t worry at all; I’ll take care of everything.” Winnie the Coup was very excited, what fun he thought: I’ll be king and ol’ Muskrat here will take on all the work! What a sucker Muskrat is thought Winnie the Coup. But Muskrat had a plan. Over his special K, he schemed and plotted. Muskrat would make sure Winnie the Coup became king, but Elongated Muskrat would make sure he kept the power for himself. And here’s how his plan went. Muskrat was very into nuts. And it just so happened that in the Enchanted Forest, all the animals would put their nuts into piles that had the animal they wanted as president’s name on the pile. But Muskrat had more nuts than any of the other animals in the forest. So Muskrat just made sure that Winnie the Coup’s pile was bigger, and the first part of his plan was a roaring success. None of the other animals even looked too closely at the piles, and Winnie the Coup was elected. But Coup was president again, not king like Muskrat had promised. So Winnie the Coup pulled Elongated Muskrat aside and said, “Hey, I am supposed to be king, that’s what you promised me!” Muskrat replied, “Oh, you will be, just you wait until I get my mini muskrats to work on the forest.” Coup wasn’t sure what that meant, but if it made him king, he was ok with it. The day came for the swearing into office, and Winnie the Coup treated it like his coronation. You see, Winnie the Coup hadn’t been willing to leave office as president, and now as king he wouldn’t have to. Being king forever sounded just right to him. Elongated Muskrat set to work turning president Coup into King Coup. He brought his mini muskrats and they started going from place to place, tearing apart anything that might make Winnie the Coup more president than king. First, Muskrat wanted to ruin all the trees and bushes that anyone who had ever been mean to him lived or worked in. He went with his mini muskrats and tore out the wires and phones everyone who ran things used to run things. He shredded their files after first peeking inside, he burned their branches and threw them out into the dirt. Some of the animals cried out, “We were using those!” and, “But wait, you can’t do that!” But Elongated Muskrat and his mini muskrats kept at it and kept tearing all the presidenty things apart. Muskrat half expected the forest council to stop him, to throw themselves in front of him and his mini muskrats, but they didn’t. And that was important for Muskrat’s plan’s second part. Muskrat wheeled around and smacked the forest council leaders in the face. They were shocked, no one had ever done that to the Enchanted Forest council before. People had heard of other forests having their councils smacked, or even run out of the forest entirely, but in this Enchanted Forest it had never happened. Muskrat saw that the council members were taken aback, and he smiled. Never again would Elongated Muskrat need to listen to the droning on and on of the forest council and all their rules and pesky complaints. Muskrat’s plan to make Winnie the Coup into a king was going along swimmingly. Sure the birds collided more than they used to, and the berries that were poisonous were mixed in with the berries that were good now, but Elongate Muskrat and his mini muskrats kept at it. They were making a kingdom for the future. Meanwhile, Winnie the Coup was happy as can be. He rode around on his pet bird to watch the other animals playing their games. He even had his driver drive him around at a big race some of the other animals ran. He felt very fancy. He felt king-like. Yes, there was the time that Elongated Muskrat’s kid had told Winnie the Coup he wasn’t really president and should shut up. But Winnie the Coup figured he wasn’t really president; he was gonna be king! So he didn’t worry about what Muskrat’s kid said. Elongate Muskrat suggested Winnie the Coup send out some of the animals that worked for them to go talk with animals in other forests, and Winnie the Coup liked that idea. He sent them out and these animals he sent told the other animals in all the other forests they were all on their own, and even if they’d been friends with the Enchanted Forest before, the other forests would have to sort out their problems without any help from the Enchanted Forest. The other animals in the other forests were hurt, and disappointed to hear that their old friends in the Enchanted Forest weren’t going to be their friends anymore. Winnie the Coup figured that was just fine, he didn’t want them as friends anyway, since he was going to be king of the Enchanted Forest anyway, and that was just what he wanted anyway. One day, after Elongated Muskrat had taken apart all the things that made the president a president and not a king, Muskrat came to Winnie the Coup. The next part of Muskrat’s plan had to happen. “We gotta get these animals in the forest council to shut up and just cheer us on, cheer on their king.” Winnie the Coup said, excitedly, “Yes, get rid of all the ones who don’t like me! Only my friends on the council.” Muskrat smiled knowingly and sent his mini muskrats to get the bigger muskrats and see that it was done. The animals in the council, some of them, shrieked and and complained. “You can’t do that,” they said, and, “Wait, but I belong here!” Elongated muskrat smiled as the bigger muskrats took the council members who weren’t his friends and carried them off. To those that remained, his friends, he said, “Don’t worry, we’re bringing them to an island where they’ll be happy and safe. It is a beautiful island, with a great view of a beautiful bay.” His friends on the council, the few remaining members of the council, thought that was nice, and after all, they were sure that their friends Elongated Muskrat and Winnie the Coup would take such good care of them if they’d sent the animals that used to be on the council that hadn’t been Muskrat and Coup’s friends to such a nice island. Winnie the Coup was so happy, he was almost king. He went to the nine wise owls and asked them if they wanted to do a whole coronation with the nine of them anointing Winnie the Coup as king. But he was not to get the eager “yes” he expected from the nine wise owls. Four of them stayed silent and the other five spoke up as one voice. “Oh no,” they said, “Winnie the Coup, we will not be anointing you king.” Coup was shocked, and angry. “Why not,” Winnie the Coup demanded, “Why won’t you nine owls anoint me as your king?!” The five owls spoke calmly, “Going forward there will only be the five of us, the other four are going to the…island.” They looked deep into Winnie the Coup’s eyes, “And as for anointing a king we will, eventually. But not you Coup, not you.” Winnie the Coup was turning red he was so angry. He stormed in to see Elongated Muskrat. “What is this the wise owls are saying!? They say they won’t anoint me king?!?” Elongated Muskrat turned slowly toward Winnie, “No, no they will not be anointing you king.” Winnie the Coup interrupted, “But why not!??” Muskrat spoke slowly as he wasn’t in a hurry, “You will never be king.” Coup almost choked on the spot, “But you promised me!” Muskrat looked blankly at Winnie the Coup who suddenly seemed older, more frail. “You have a choice. You can remain president for now, grow older and pass peacefully, or I can send you to the island, right now.” Winnie the Coup was still in shock. Could his friend Muskrat really be serious? Could Muskrat really not be making him king? “But who will be king?! Why have you been taking away all the things that make a president not a king if I am not to be king? Why send the forest council members who are not our friends away? Why send four of the nine wise owls to the island?” Muskrat could not believe the question. “Who shall be king? Well. I should think I shall make a very fine king.” Winnie the Coup could not believe it. Coup was so sad, he would not be king. He stood, still, in front of Elongated Muskrat and considered. “So…I can still be president?” “Yes, but I will keep doing the work, so you don’t have to,” Muskrat said dryly. Winnie the Coup stood in thought. Maybe president without the work would not be so bad. But he so wanted to be king. Elongated Muskrat stirred Winnie the Coup from his thought by speaking. “Or, you can go to the island, today. Right now.” Winnie the Coup thought to himself, maybe the island wouldn’t be so bad. After all, people said it was beautiful and had great views of the beautiful bay. As if Elongated Muskrat could read Winnie the Coup’s thoughts, Muskrat spoke, “And you do know that the island is not about being beautiful, nor does it all have views of the beautiful bay.” Winnie the Coup’s blood started go boil. He had heard of things in other forests, rumors really, where some of the animals of the forest were moved off or buried as one animal became king or president for life. Coup now knew, the Enchanted Forest was now like those other forests of rumor and the island was not where he wanted to go. He wanted to be king. “Now, Muskrat, look here. You said I would be king, and I expect you to make me full king!” Muskrat gazed through Winnie the Coup, “I am disappointed, Winnie the Coup. I will tell the forest of your unexpected retirement with a heavy heart.” With just a twitch of his head, Elongated Muskrat told the bigger muskrats to take Winnie the Coup by the arms. “What? What are you doing?! Unhand me. I’m your future king!” Winnie the Coup declared. “Don’t worry,” Muskrat spoke evenly, “They say the island is very beautiful.” “No! I am to be king! Muskrat, you make me King, it was your promise!!!” Coup shouted. Elongated Muskrat watched as his bigger muskrats dragged Coup away, “Regretfully, Coup, we will not have you with us anymore due to poor health.” Winnie the Coup shook with anger, shouted himself hoarse. He could not pull away from the bigger muskrats. They would bring him to the island. And thus ends the story, the story of Elongated Muskrat, Winnie the Coup and the animals of the Enchanted Forest. Sadly, they did not live happily ever after. _© Copyright February 17, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Winnie the Coup and the Elongated Muskrat Bulldoze the Gubment was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

we will get there future, tense by David August Sometimes the world disappoints us, tears our expectations down to bones that quake at the uncertainties the future promises. Sometimes darkness doesn’t seem to end at dawn but like a fog cascades into a contaminated daylight. Sometimes every wish becomes a lying fantasy of a life that never will be lived. Sometimes we believe the fiction that nothing can be what we want, nothing can be what we desire, believe, yearn for. But all the time the day ends, and the darkness ebbs, and every time the light is there, behind our eyelids and beyond our grasp, for now, while it feels like a taunt, an insulting fleeting glimpse that seems to be there just to make the dark feel colder; we cannot see what’s there. What’s there is the void we fear. What’s there is the uncertainty, the pain of discovery. What was will not be again. But as surely as it was there is brightness out there, beyond the now, beyond the moment of despair, there we will find it. And finding it and feeling its embrace we will know it was there, drawing us to it even as we were sure we had fallen forever. In darkness it beacons, not lighting our way as we so badly want, not holding us close as we so need to be held. It has a permanent patience, a small stance, a real resilience. Not flashy, but full, not gone but not gentle, the future is there, and we will be too. Not knowing when, nor how soon, nor if we can bare it, but we will be there, and only then will the edge of the storm mock us from memory declaring our despondency more fleeting and false than we knew. The future isn’t waiting for us. We are flying to it as we stand still. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. _© Copyright February 5, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet.

White Supremacist Christo Fascistland is a clearer moniker for the country Screenshot from white house dot gov of the Seal of the WSCF taken by author Washington, DC — Citing a clear pivot away from DEI and policies of equity and toward making the United States a full white supremacist christofascist state, the White House announced that along with the changes of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America and the Panama Canal to the Facebook Chasm of Shipping, the U.S.A. will now be known in the future as the W.S.C.F, or White Supremacist Christo Fascistland. The economic gains alone from both physical and digital map and globe sales are doing what one White House spokesperson called, “making good on campaign promises to build up the American worker though MAGA policies that put America First. Promises made, promised kept.” The Honorable Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R) from Louisiana spoke about the change in a quickly gathered press conference at the Capitol. “It’s time we let go of liberal fantasies and get honest about what this country is about. The Accuracy in Land Identifiers and Empowerment for Revisions act will finally tell the world who we really are and what we stand for.” He went on to say, “we’ve had natives claiming they belong in our country, and finally, with Trump’s leadership, we’re doing something about that. With ICE already showing so called Native Americans that this country isn’t theirs and they’re only here at the pleasure and permission of true Americans, we affirm the core of the MAGA movement.” John Thune (R) from South Dakota and majority leader of the Senate, also spoke to the press. He added, “There are no bones about it, we’re done with mincing words. The W.S.C.F. tells the world, and quite frankly ourselves, who we are and who we aren’t. Many immigrants and undesirables have been bringing our country down for too many years. It’s time for that to stop. Now we’ll have a sort of sign on the door, that on no uncertain terms says who this country is for and who is just visiting.” The Trump Store, the official retail website of the Trump Organization, had started selling updated maps and globes with the new names before the press conference concluded. But not everyone is pleased with the updates, nor with the ideas of an America that seems reflected in the new name. The concepts that underpin the name, like the preferential treatment in the legal system of white people, and the overt support of a certain subset of ideas called “Christian” by the federal government, are also controversial to some. Many other Americans do support the direction of the country, but object to the candor and would rather keep the traditional naming. The Anti-Defamation League, which recently supported Elon Musk’s post-inauguration salute by defending it, and then later expressed a new found concern over Nazi symbols, issued a statement on the country name update as well: “The ADL is pleased at the transparency such a name brings to a country with a rich history of placing some citizens above others. Though such a bold move might cause unrest or disagreement. We look forward to working with the Trump Administration to further the clarity, and maybe even help identify which citizens are true citizens of the W.S.C.F., and which are not.” The ACLU was more direct in their condemnation: “the values of the Constitution of the United States have served the people of this country well, and they require our constant vigilance and support to prevail against the forces of government abuse and oppression. While the new name for the country is itself incendiary and inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, the Amendments to the Constitution and the laws themselves, the reality behind the name, its inspiration, is the real concern. The removal of basic human rights from parts of the populace is propelled by both the deliberate actions and planning of those working to destroy the Constitution, and also by the reckless indifference of an electorate that needs those very safeguards.” “People in the U.S. have enjoyed and relied on the relative safety the U.S. Constitution helps provide. Many lawmakers, law enforcers and judges that are working to destroy it must be stopped. While the ACLU as always stands ready and able to push back against this autocratic and unjust creeping despotism, it will take both everyday Americans and the powerful among us to truly redeem the nation and move us all toward the ideals to which the United States strives and has striven for almost two and a half centuries.” Many countries around the world have sent messages to the W.S.C.F. State Department of both condemnation and admiration. Unexpectedly, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin made a statement and it stands out: “wow, even I didn’t think that could happen. It’s…so blunt.” _© Copyright January 25, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * White House Announces Name Change of U.S.A. to W.S.C.F was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

we cannot rely on facebook, instagram, threads, whatsapp, or any of them Social Network by David August To put this in the most stark terms possible: we cannot stand in a room owned by someone with bad intentions, with the air itself controlled by them, and hope to win a fight against them. Staying in the room with our communities is not a solve. We will suffocate. We have to migrate, and help our communities migrate. We have to work to reduce and remove ourselves, our businesses and lives from meta’s platforms (facebook, instagram, threads and all). Like an offline migration, not everyone is willing at the same point in time, or at all, to migrate. People have businesses and lives wrapped up in these platforms and may suffer, truly suffer, if they try to just walk away today. And sadly that means some members choose and end up left behind. (I wrote some guides on how to migrate from twitter to mastodon, and hopefully we, collectively, can help people migrate away from meta’s systems too.) But standing on a platform actively hostile to us is not a good way forward. This does not have to be all or nothing. We can start building our communities, businesses and our entire digital existences as non-meta presences while working to taper down our use of and dependence on the meta platforms. During the writer and actor strikes, Pinkertons, either literally employed by the Pinkerton company or functioning as if they were, were infiltrating the Facebook group I was helping moderate, trying to confuse and fragment support for the strikes and for unions in general. Someone on the company side hired a company/group that was oddly coming up as based in South Africa for the profiles they sent. And that was for a labor action zuck wasn’t invested into. Now, with him actively supporting transforming the meta platforms as twitter has been and continues to transform, us waging an info war when code of the apps, servers and systems we are trying to use is becoming designed against us prevailing is not going to succeed. We can, even need to, make our digital lives independent of meta’s systems even as we are still in some ways active on them. I have been investing time, energy and attention into trying to build a community, friendships and connections elsewhere expressly to have more control of my future, but many people I’d love to have connections to in those places aren’t there yet. It is heartbreaking. I imagine leaving one’s country is difficult not only because of the unknowns and such one is stepping toward, but also because of everyone and everything one is stepping away from. I feel a bit overwhelmed at the idea of trying to shift from meta’s systems. So many people I care about are not online anywhere else. Not sure who said it, but any conversation between two people which has a third person with a plan for that conversation functioning as sole intermediary is going to be a manipulated conversation. We have always, always, been at the mercy of the platforms’ owners. The communities we are part of there on meta (facebook, instagram, threads, and more) were _only_ ever in existence at the pleasure and permission of zuck. We cannot, simply cannot, maintain those communities on his tools against his wishes. That is simply the reality of them being his tools. Please join me on my email list, Mastodon and Bluesky. And if you want help shifting away, let me know; I’m happy to help however I can. _© Copyright January 14, 2025, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * Leave Meta’s Platforms was originally published in DataDrivenInvestor on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

we all do, every single living person, that’s who Continue reading on The Geopolitical Economist »

The Brink of Reckoning Continue reading on The Geopolitical Economist »

### American president Donald Trump’s bid to stay in office until 2036 quickly backed by lawmakers Is this real, or an article about another country with changed proper nouns? Powerless by David August “U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump, the nation’s second leader to serve non-consecutive terms as ruler of the United States, has ended any question about his political future by backing a constitutional amendment — quickly approved by the House of Representatives — that will allow him to stay in power until 2036.” “The proposal would allow Trump to stay in power either by scrapping America’s two-term limit for president or ‘resetting’ the clock so Trump’s two terms wouldn’t count against him.” “Trump critics denounced the move as cynical manipulation and called for protests on March 21. One member of the Democratic Party stood in front of the Capitol building holding a sign reading: “Zeroing presidential terms is usurpation of power.” Another protester’s placard said: “No to eternal Trump rule.” “‘The president is a guarantor of security of our country, its internal stability and evolutionary development,” Trump said. “We have had enough unrest.” “The amendment, tailor-made for Trump, allows a sitting or a former president to run for office ’regardless of the number of terms which that person held at the time when the amendment came into force.’” “House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that ‘these changes are necessary given today’s challenges and society’s demands,’ according to the Fox News channel.” _© Copyright December 1, 2024, David August, all rights reserved davidaugust.com_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. * * * American President Donald Trump’s bid to stay in office until 2036 quickly backed by lawmakers was originally published in The Haven on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

mass deportations and broad tariffs will not make things cheaper Continue reading on DataDrivenInvestor »

A Checklist for Vital Documents, Health Preparations, and Legal Protections Inflection by David August by @rahaeli.bsky.social (reprinted from https://bsky.app/profile/rahaeli.bsky.social/post/3labvxce57a2r with permission) Right. Here’s your to-do list for the next two months to put you in the best possible position to survive what’s coming: 1. Renew your passport (or apply for a passport) this week even if it is not expiring in the next four years. Renewing early will give you the maximum 10-year validity period. 2. If you don’t have a valid, official copy of your birth certificate in a place you can lay your hands on it in under 15 minutes if you need it, get one. Ditto for marriage certificates and any name change documents. 3. Make an appointment with your primary care doctor right now to review your vaccination records. Get a flu shot and a COVID booster, but also anything else on the CDC schedule you’re missing: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/adult.html You should get Tdap if it’s been more than five years (or you don’t remember how long it’s been), MMR if you haven’t had a single adult booster, shingles if you’re near 50, pneumococcal if you have any underlying conditions, and Hep A&B if you haven’t had them already. 4. If you can, consider getting vaccinated for certain diseases that happen when sanitation or public health breaks down: typhoid and cholera in particular. NB: the US does not include these vaccines in the schedule, your insurance probably won’t cover them, and you will need a travel health clinic. We have used www.passporthealthusa.com before for travel and they’re pretty decent. Save the yellow booklet with the vaccination records and put it in the same storage spot you keep your passport and birth certificate in. 5. If you have a uterus and are not actively trying to get pregnant right this minute, make an appointment right now with your OB-GYN to have an IUD placed. If you already have an IUD, unless it was changed in the last year or two, make an appointment right now to have it changed. 6. If you have a uterus and don’t want future pregnancies, consider trying to find a sympathetic GYN who will help you convince the insurance company that a hysterectomy is medically indicated: it’s hard but possible, especially if you have a documented history of painful or heavy menstruation. For the best odds of success, check out the crowdsourced list of cooperative doctors from Reddit’s /r/childfree subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/childfree/wiki/doctors/ 7. If you produce sperm and don’t want additional children, or are regular sexual partners with someone who has a uterus even if they are using long-acting birth control, consider a vasectomy. They’re easier to get than hysterectomy or tubal ligation, because of course they are. 8. If you have a family history of cancer, get a baseline screening for it: mammogram for breast cancer, colonoscopy or Cologuard for colon cancer, dermatologist visit with full-body exam and documentation of all skin abnormalities for skin cancer, etc. 9. If you have a family history of other issues that they can screen for, get the screening: if you have a family history of heart disease see a cardiologist, of brain aneurysm consider having a magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) scan, etc. (Hilariously, sigh, I was about three years shy of my next recommended-every-decade MRA and we were just about to schedule it a few years early because I have been having a few symptoms that are benign in 99% of people but are concerning with my severe family history of cerebral aneurysm.) 10. Begin making plans now for what you will do if you are without power and running water for an extended period of time, especially if you’re in a “blue” state that will be deliberately starved of recovery resources if a natural disaster hits. This includes food, drinkable water, and medication. (Yes, I know it’s difficult and overwhelming to think about and that if you’re on a tight budget or you take scheduled meds or your meds need a cold chain or expire quickly, it’s difficult to prepare. Do what you can.) 11. Especially if you are in a same-sex marriage or are not married to your long term domestic partner, make an appointment with an estate planning lawyer to draw up an estate plan including a will, an advance directive, and all necessary powers of attorney. Even if you’re young, even if you’re healthy, even if you trust your family to not be a problem, get the paperwork handled now so that your partner is your legal proxy. If money is short, you can DIY things in some states, but if you can afford it, get it done by a lawyer for maximum protection. This is especially critical if you’re disabled, and even more critical if you’re disabled and estranged from your legal next of kin or your next of kin disapproves of your partner or relationship. It’s also vital if you’re trans or otherwise LGBTQ+. For LGBT people in non-heterosexual marriages, make your plans assuming US v Windsor and Obergefell v Hodges will be overturned, the federal government will stop recognizing anything but heterosexual marriage, and in the worst case scenario individual states will be prevented from allowing them too. This will mean a return to the pre-2013 scenario where you need to engage in complex legal structures to make sure you and your partner have as much protection as you can get. Many of the legal benefits of marriage ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_and_responsibilities_of_marriages_in_the_United_States ) can’t be approximated through other means — — but there are clever ways to do some of them such as next of kin provisions, stepparent rights, medical decision making, custodial issues, etc. Check with your elder queer folks and see what provisions we used to set up and look for the in-community lawyers who used to specialize in those things. As I’ve been writing this thread, lots of people have been replying with all the reasons they can’t do one or more of these things (and that reason is usually “money”) and look, I get it, shit is going to be fucked and a lot of people are terrified this morning. I know shit is fucked and a lot of people are terrified this morning. I am right there with you. This list is a collection of actions to put you in the best possible position for the upcoming inevitable destruction. If you can’t do all of it, do what you can. Pick one thing on the list and do that. If you are financially comfortable, do what you can to help people who aren’t: you can start by going to GoFundMe and searching for “passport” or “birth certificate” and find a small GFM that’s close to meeting its goal to help someone near you get their documents in order. Ditto with searching for “vaccination costs” or “name change” or any other keywords you can think of that touches on any of these issues. Find an organization in your community that does vital records assistance — usually they’re orgs that fight homelessness — and give them money. Many voter assistance orgs do vital records help as well, especially in states with strict voter ID laws. They have teams of people who are experts at navigating complex scenarios and can help get people started on fixing whatever is fucked, and they can always use money to do it. If you don’t have money but you do have time, find an organization that’s doing the work and see what their volunteer options are. Are you a whiz at navigating bureaucracy? Go volunteer with your local housing organization to help people get their vital records. Etcetera. None of us can solve everything, but the next four years and beyond are going to be grim and awful and a lot of people are going to suffer, and the more we can build community and help each other, the more of us who will have a better chance to get through it. Pick a spot, any spot, and get started. Appending to thread because it’s useful: a link to information for vital records requests in all 50 states https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/w2w/index.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fnchs%2Fw2w.htm _© Copyright November 6, 2024,_@rahaeli.bsky.social _, all rights reserved_ David August is an award-winning actor, acting coach, writer, director, and producer. He plays a role in the movie Dependent’s Day, and after its theatrical run, it’s now out on Amazon (affiliate link). He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, on the TV show Ghost Town, and many others. His artwork has been used and featured by multiple writers, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, and others to express visually. Off-screen, he has worked at ad agencies, start-ups, production companies, and major studios, helping them tell stories their customers and clients adore. He has guest lectured at USC’s Marshall School of Business about the Internet. Visit us at _DataDrivenInvestor.com_ Subscribe to DDIntel _here_. Join our creator ecosystem _here_. DDI Official Telegram Channel: https://t.me/+tafUp6ecEys4YjQ1 Follow us on _LinkedIn_, _Twitter_, _YouTube_, and _Facebook_. * * * Protect Your Future Self: 11 Key Actions was originally published in DataDrivenInvestor on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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