"Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With the man who sold the world
- Lyrics from The Man Who Sold the World, 1970, David Bowie.
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Amusingly, the day Donald Trump was inaugurated this song trended on YouTube. The Man Who Sold the World was an early Bowie tune which never received much airplay till British pop-diva, Lulu - whom DB adored - brought it to the top of the UK charts several years later.
Nirvana covered the song in the 90s - above is an MTV performance - and totally nailed it. But, meanwhile, hiding in the Saturday Night Live archives is, perhaps, DB's most definitive interpretation of the "man" who is revealed to be an eerily puppet-like figure. (Also see.) Featuring the German performance artist, Klaus Nomi, the full video can be found here.
***
"I was saved by God to make America great again."
- A grandiose (delusional) statement attributed to Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration sourced from USA Today's Donald Trump sworn in as 47th president, declares 'America's decline is over'.
America's "decline" is over? No, judging by the news headlines over the past 8 days, many, both here and abroad, secretly fear the alleged "decline" may have just begun.
Moreover, America may be losing the support of friendly nations and allies due to the present administration's seemingly pathological disregard for diplomacy. (See article here and videos of officials from Germany, Ireland, and Denmark.)
Observe:
• Trump is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again), reversing U.S. climate policy
• Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz
• Trump’s new gender rules gut a key part of the Prison Rape Elimination Act
• Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies
• What is US birthright citizenship and what does Trump’s executive order do?
• Brazil slams US after dozens of deportees arrive handcuffed
• Trump imposes tariffs, sanctions on Colombia after it refuses deportation flights
(Update)
• US freezes foreign aid for almost all countries including Ukraine, except Israel and Turkey
• Trump offering buyouts to all federal workers
• Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans
***
The news is coming fast and furiously these days. I've never seen anything like it. Every day introduces a new abomination... with the leader of the new administration shooting out executive orders with machine gun-like rapidity. If this is an element of his strategy then it's effectively disabling us, leading some Americans to wonder: has there been a coup?
Seriously...
(Continued below the jump...)
... has America been effectively taken over by a right-wing authoritarian regime? This leads inquiring minds to an inevitable question: was the alleged presidential election as legitimate as we were led to believe? If so, then how is it that America, established by immigrants, is presently spending thousands of dollars (a head!) to deport them?
Public schools try to protect undocumented students from Trump immigration raid
•
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While signing Laken Riley Act, Trump says he’ll send ‘worst criminal aliens’ to Guantanamo
Sounds suspiciously like terrorism to me. I'm especially alarmed that immigration raids are taking place in schools and, apparently, churches.
***
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| Godzilla versus King Kong - political cartoon - 2024, David Horsey |
Ah, but what if all the mayhem addressed above was merely a smokescreen distracting us from an entirely more clandestine affair? Because, while Elon Musk may have been the red flag alerting the world at large that there's more to this picture than meets the eye, he wasn't the only tech tycoon present at Trump's inauguration.
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| Trump's Inauguration - 2025, Nicola Jennings. |
Left to right: Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg; Trump; Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk; Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos. Not pictured: Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook; Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai.
Did Trump just admit to cheating on the election?
•
How long can the appalling Musk-Trump bromance go on?
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'Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley
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'A mockery': Trump's new meme-coin sparks anger in crypto world
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Leak Reveals Musk’s Doge Could Be About To Trigger A Bitcoin-Inspired Price Game-Changer
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Trump announces a $500 billion AI infrastructure investment in the US
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•
•
***
• Trump Admin Orders Deletion of Information About Climate Change From Government Websites
• Exclusive: Musk aides lock Office of Personnel Management workers out of computer systems
• Musk’s Lackeys Seize Control of Social Security Check System
• Trump’s trade war among allies triggers retaliation from Canada and Mexico
***
A Last Word (2/3/2025)
The shit-storm continues here in the States with no end in sight... no one the wiser... and, apparently, not enough of an official resistance (nor hope of one)* to afford Americans any degree of peace of mind.
I didn't intend to post so many links. I never suspected it'd be necessary. All of it is weird, unprecedented. In reality, l've only presented the tip of the iceberg; as I write, more news is flying through the air like post-nuclear debris. It will not end. We, however, will move on.
You'll notice I've included some political cartoon art in this post. Humor itself is an art and one which saves our sanity. But, art in all it's myriad forms is the real subject of this post; art as an act of creation.
Because art is the voice of the people... and, ultimately, our greatest weapon. Art is a search for beauty; it is, by it's very nature - on the deepest of levels - an expression of love. Most importantly, art belongs to all of us... everywhere. It's enemies are the world's enemies.
Got art? Use it.
Comic Relief from Canada:
This is what winning looks like - 22 minutes
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* Re: a corrupted Supreme Court.
An apt song for the times. Bowie was always ahead of the curve.
ReplyDeleteThanks BG! DB was one of the Uber-creatives; he may not have consciously understood or even realized his visionary capabilities but he knew enough to run with them!
DeleteIncidentally, there is more to come with this post and the last but phone-blogging is a nightmare. My apologies for the delays.
Dark times are upon us. As for the legitimacy of the election...um, not freaking likely.
ReplyDelete"Interesting times," BG... with all that implies. Please, don't let it grind you down.
DeleteThe players are playing. They play each other. But, Fortuna plays them all... and has the last word.
Dia, if you're going to document all the stupid, inane, destructive, hateful and moronic decisions by the new administration, this will be a very, very, very, very, very long post indeed ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, BG. Overkill. I think I became overwhelmed. It was like being engulfed by a swarm of flies; one just keeps swatting. ;-)
DeleteIt's not that it is overkill, but you can not fall into the madness of MAGA. The lunatics have taken over the asylum and will, I fervently hope, burn out with insanity. Even now I notice the sudden disappearance of Trump flags in the surrounding neighborhoods. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
DeleteHah! Love the Trump flag story; it'd make a good cartoon. :-)
DeleteNote: comic relief, last link just posted. Hilarious!
DeleteComic relief is greatly appreciated! This link is excellent!
Delete:-)
Delete