Tag: fascism

Goodbye, Audible and Spoitfy Premium Audiobooks

On By Bubble Bubble Books and TroubleIn CoziesLeave a comment

With a heavy heart, I must announce my breakup with Audible and Spotify. Dammit—I’m gonna miss their all-access libraries of new-release audiobooks, but I can’t stomach their Trump-mongering shenanigans any longer. While watching the blasphemous desecration of the White House’s historic East Wing, I felt sick to my stomach about the soulless, greedy, power-hungry funders behind it. Lo and behold, Heather Cox Richardson (who I consider to be the voice of our nation) shared a list of big tech companies funding the forthcoming King’s ballroom. Google, YouTube (owned by Google), Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and many other tech giants are behind this—and for what? It all comes down to greed, power, and the breakdown of antitrust laws that will soon limit us all to the worst of the worst companies for all our technology.

It’s coming, y’all, if we don’t do something to stop it. And we can stop it! Look at how quickly Disney caved after the mass cancellations amidst the Jimmy Kimmel/freedom of speech debacle. Our pocketbooks wield great power—but it takes all of us to unite against evil. With the click of a mouse, we can cut off their life support. Yes, it hurts a little. Sacrifices will have to be made, but we can do it. Just look at how communities came together and made personal sacrifices during WWII.

I get that we live in an individualistic, isolationist society, thanks to COVID quarantines and social media, which may make it harder for people to see the forest through the trees. However, the forest is burning, and the flames are heading our way. In case you haven’t noticed, SNAP (food stamps) benefits will be cut off in November, leaving many families dependent on charities and food pantries. Meanwhile, the Orange Blob in Chief is tearing down the White House and building a royal ballroom, funded by tech giants that have Americans wrapped around their little fingers.

This has been on my mind all morning, so I spent a good part of my Saturday taking inventory of all my subscriptions and Googling (oh, the irony) which companies own them. This led me down quite the rabbit hole, but it needed to be done. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t even know my Ring camera is owned by Amazon, that I’ve been overpaying for my Audible subscription ($18 per month!), and that I’ve been hanging on to my Amazon Prime subscription ($15 per month). My god, I’ve been giving Bezos a good chunk of change every month, which means I’ve been subsidizing the White House desecration among many other traitorous activities.

While traveling down the rabbit hole, I did a little research on Spotify and stumbled across some highly disturbing news. This company—and HBO/MAX (another subscription I have to cancel)—are running ICE recruitment ads with disturbing dystopian language like “protect our American freedom.” Oh. My. God. Well, I guess I can kiss those premium audiobooks goodbye, which really hurts. I’m not going to lie—it’s going to be tough living without these services. But what other choice do I have? Financially support fascism so I can keep my little creature comforts? No thanks. I have plenty of access to free books via the Austin Public Library, and I can always just buy books at the bookstore, thus supporting authors and brick-and-mortar bookstores in the process. Now that’s something I can live with—and I’ll sleep a little better at night.

Anyhoo, if this is triggering your “cancel culture” narrative, I’m so very sorry (but not really). Call it what you will, but at some point, we all need to reconcile with the fact that we are losing our democracy—and it’s time to wake up and start canceling Big Tech as much as we can.

Rage On the Page Part II: Trump is a Russian Asset

On By Bubble Bubble Books and TroubleIn CoziesLeave a comment

We are barely into the second month of the conman’s presidency, and so much irreparable damage has already been done. Last week, I watched one of the darkest days in American history unfold as the Orange Felon and his soulless lackey, JD Vance, berated and belittled Ukrainian President (AND OUR ALLY!) Volodymyr Zelensky. It was so incredibly hard to watch as they attempted to tear down a great man with sheer hatred and belligerence. It was embarrassing to see our “leaders” behave like fifth-grade schoolyard bullies, pushing pro-Russia talking points and silencing him whenever he attempted to speak. The entire performance was shameful, disgusting, and most of all, dangerous. Dear readers, I want to make this point perfectly clear: Our country is now held hostage by a Russian asset. Trump talks a lot about “holding the cards,” but do you know who really has the cards? That would be Putin, an evil war criminal who should be executed for his crimes. My guess is that he has some damning evidence that could put Trump, Vance, and many others in prison for high treason and election fraud. Something sinister is going on, and I hope it all comes out one day…preferably sooner rather than later.

I hope you all understand that this performance was staged for Russian TV. I make sure to listen to the Orange Felon’s word salad closely because he tells on himself constantly. The sad thing is, many woefully uninformed people choose not to take his words seriously or to tune it all out altogether. After humiliating the Ukrainian president, Trump said with a twisted smile, “This should make for good TV.” Let’s extrapolate this for a moment. This statement clearly shows us that the entire Oval Office “meeting” was a pre-meditated ambush for Putin’s viewing pleasure.

I’ve been watching YouTube video podcasts nonstop, hoping for some breaking news about the Democrats pushing back, or miracle of all miracles, a Republican finally going rogue and fighting for the people. Sadly, I’m seeing none of this from our “leaders.” The Democrats are continuing to put out flowery statements, saying things like “We urge the Republicans to take a stand.” Y’all! We have moved past the point of “urging.” We need to start DOING! Our fascist President and his posse of Death Eaters are flouting the rule of law and our Constitution to gut the many critical systems that keep us safe. If you think this is hyperbolic, you’re wrong. They are tearing our federal government apart, slashing and burning and robbing the poor to pad their thick pocketbooks. Medicaid and Medicare are gutted. Millions and millions of Americans are going to lose their lifelines. The time to act is now, but the Democrats keep taking Q-Tips to a knife fight.

This is scary stuff, and I cannot believe we have four years of this. We are losing NATO, and we are teetering on the precipice of World War III. The recession—possibly another Great Depression—is looming. Why is it only up to the people to fight? And thank God they are. The Town Halls in ruby red districts are popping! Angry white Trump voters are finally waking up and holding their so-called leaders accountable. Isn’t it funny that the only way they’ll see the light is when they are personally impacted?

Sometimes I wonder about my former friend, a Trump voter, who would never shut up about how much she feared her boys being drafted into war if—gasp!—Kamala was elected. I wonder if she’s feeling somewhat regretful about her misguided and truly selfish vote. I wonder how she feels about her son—a young pilot in training—flying a small plane amidst all of the recent airplane crashes and near misses. I wonder how she feels about her web coding job, now that our so-called anti-immigrant President is planning to replace all high-paying tech workers with low-paid immigrants. I wonder how she feels about cancer research being cut off since she has a brain tumor that I hope will stay in remission for a very long time. I don’t wish ill will upon her, but I do wonder if she has changed her very stubborn stance on politics. You see, she and her husband were salivating at the chance to “own the libs.” They hate trans athletes. They hate paying taxes. They hate poor people asking for “handouts.” This is all very on-brand for Trumplicans buying into all the culture war garbage. Again, I wish her well, but I do NOT ever want to see or speak to her again.

So there you have it, folks. I’m scared, frustrated, infuriated, and ultimately ashamed to be an American. I can’t wait for my passport to come in the mail so I can have the option to abandon ship when the time comes. For now, I will continue to flood the zone by calling and emailing my senators and keeping an eye out for protests I can join.

Until next time…

Facing Fascism: Chronicles from a Commoner

On By Bubble Bubble Books and TroubleIn CoziesLeave a comment

I have started this sentence and backtracked so many times because it’s hard to know where to even begin. America is under threat, and we are flooded with red flag alarms about the fast-approaching downfall of democracy and a rapid descent into a fascist hellscape.

So, I guess I’ll start here: A very kind woman at my work shared something deeply personal and frightening: her husband has stage-four colon cancer with liver damage caused by chemotherapy. Since his condition is rare, he’s being studied, yet all of that halted immediately when our shadow President (God, it’s so hard to even write out his name), cruelly pulled the plug on federally funded medical studies. This incredibly kind woman, wanted to give me comfort that day because I was in the throws of anxiety after calling EMS on my father (another blog post for another time). And in this conversation, she told me this:  We are all experiencing a major pivotal point in American history, and that everyday folks need to write about it for future generations to study.

So, here I am, a mere commoner, providing some historical insight into the demise of our great nation with a surprisingly fragile democracy. The intention of this series is not to go viral, get a ton of likes or attract a mass following. I just want to chronicle this experience to share a slice of history not told by political podcasters and academics. These posts will be deeply personal, so I don’t care to share them even on my social media channels because, let’s face it, our pages are riddled with non-friend looky-loos, am I right? I’ll only share this initial post because I want to encourage others to chronicle their experiences too.

Here it goes: I’m incredibly scared. We were warned about the consequences of Trump without guardrails, but the majority of Americans who only serve their own interests (another post for another time) chose to be traitors to their own country. And for what? Racism, sexism, hate, bigotry, cruelty, greed, and the insatiable thirst for cheap groceries. I hate that I live in this deeply, DEEPLY, individualistic, selfish nation, but here I am. They’re proud of themselves for “owning the libs,” but I’m thinking by now they must be regretful. Of course, they won’t admit it to themselves or others, but how could they not be just as scared as the rest of us who voted the right way? How is it even possible to blame multiple plane crashes on something like DEI? Where is the fucking logic in this? They’re all going to find a way to blame Biden for all the hardships, yet none of their arguments make any sense. It’s all spin, spin, spin, fake Russian propaganda news (thanks a lot, Joe Rogen), and conspiracy theories. How are millions of Americans brainwashed? How?????

As for my anxiety de jour, it would have to be the recent scene captured on video of an unknown man barring the doors to the Department of Education Building. While watching the confused crowd of Congress members asking him repeatedly, “Who are you? Why are you blocking the door?” and seeing the armed police officers standing guard behind the glass window, I felt a rush of terror. This is something you would see in a dystopian movie, not real life. If this is allowed to happen, anything goes. My poor, frazzled mind is still grappling with thoughts of the shadow President and his young Nazi minions fucking around with ALL OUR SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION and dumping highly secure data into AI. As Rachel Maddow recently informed us, this is “Christmas in February” for our Chinese and Russian enemies. She also noted that our shadow President has major business dealings in China, so he stands to gain more billions and more power by helping them eviscerate our nation.

I think this is a good place to stop. Boundaries are so important, and I’m doing my best to flip the switch and take care of my mental health. It’s SO hard, but I’m trying. My Calm and Headspace apps are working overtime, and I highly recommend guided meditations, sleep stories, binaural music, and soundscapes to anyone who’s feeling ALL THE FEELS with me. Maybe pick up a self-help book while you’re at it. I recently listened to “Happy Days” by Gabrielle Bernstein and was sadly disappointed that most of her advice weighs heavily on religion, something my college philosophy professor called “the opiate of the masses.” Sorry, but I missed the organized religion indoctrination back in my misspent youth. I wish I could comfort myself with the “Jesus, take the wheel” mentality, but nah. It’s just not for me.

She did provide one very helpful piece of advice that I plan to follow! That’s the thing about self-help books, isn’t it? Most of it is gobbledygook, but one nugget of wisdom can really make a difference! Here’s the advice: Don’t repress your emotions. Get it out on paper by journaling for 20 minutes while listening to binaural music, which does something magical to your brain chemicals. She calls her journal, “Rage on the Page,” which I think is so apropos for the times. Write it all out in these three sections: Fear, frustration, resentment. Afterwards, the enormous cabin pressure should ease just a bit. I’m hoping this will help because dang! I have never felt the weight of the world on my shoulders like this. It’s heavy, unsettling, and so disorienting. I mean–my God–I just read a story in the Austin-American Statesman about a “Trump Burger” chain coming to Texas, making me wonder if this is even real news or something pumped out by Musk and his minions. The world is a scary place when you don’t even know what is real anymore.

While writing this, I’m wondering if a major server crash will wipe out my chronicles, so perhaps I’ll print this all out as I go along and keep a manuscript somewhere safe. That’s where my mind goes, and it’s a dark place, my friends. In the meantime, I’m going to make a conscious effort to take care of my mental health because worrying about things you can’t control is a pointless exercise.

Until next time…