Month: June 2017

‘Summer Solstice’ — Lyrics To A Woke Pop-Rock-Rap Song Of The Summer

These lyrics are meant to be set to a song of the summer kind of beat. I am using the events floating around right now. But given that no one listens to me, really I’m just trying to tell a story in verse for my own enjoyment. This song is meant to be a homage to The Temptations’ Ball Of Confusion.

Summer Solstice
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

the world is growing warmer by the moment
the days are growing hotter every day
the days seem to be growing longer too
there’s nothing to stop our doom
we need to address the change in climate
but Trump just sits on his tiny, tiny hands

[chorus]
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
is full of fear
is full of fear
is full of fear

a billion here a billion there
the Man is making more and more
while you and me are growing poor
they want to defund everything we need
23 million to lose their health care
all because the powers that be
want to annoy people like me

[chorus]
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
is full of fear
is full of fear
is full of fear

[bridge]
voter rights
are fading fast
racists delight
guns on the streets
people wanting to regulate us
beneath the sheets
it’s all happening
on summer solstice

[chorus]
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
summer solstice
the longest day of the year
is full of fear
is full of fear
is full of fear

Talk To Me Internet: Art In The Age Of Trump, Redux

By Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

The issue of how to deal with Donald Trump as president is a tough one for art. Art is usually the thing that autocrats first attack and Trump has set the tone of his era such that even Shakespeare is under attack. I don’t know what we’re going to do about it. I do my little part through writing song lyrics and struggling with a novel, but not much — at least right now — is happening either.

‘Denial’ — Lyrics To A Woke Pop-Rock-Dance Protest Song

I have mixed emotions about Selena Gomez’s song Bad Liar. In some ways it’s the song of the summer, and in other ways it kind of gets on my nerves a little bit. But it’s definitely got a beat and you can dance to it. But it has gotten me thinking about a similar song with more, um, “woke” lyrics that would be a sly take on climate deniers. At last, that’s the aim.

Denial
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

with you in control
the world continues to spin
but you have to admit
you’re doing nothing to stop
nothing to stop, nothing stop
how quickly it’s growing hot
and what not
so you can deny it all you want
tell me to slow my roll
but it’s clear
the world is getting hotter
it’s hot as can be
now what baby

[chorus]
stop denying what we all can see
stop denying what we all can feel
the world’s growing hot, hot, hot

those around you refuse to see
what is right before your face
your skin sweats just like mine
the summer seems to last all year long
the sun ain’t getting closer
but when I see you my blood seems to boil
we’re all going to suffer
the people across the globe can see
what we both know is the truth
you need to stop denying the facts

[chorus]
stop denying what we all can see
stop denying what we all can feel
the world’s growing hot, hot, hot

[bridge]
things are changing so quickly
the ice caps are melting at a rapid pace
what are you going to do when
there’s no ice left to rub across your face

don’t be in denial
don’t be in denial
don’t be in denial

Write What You Know

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I am struggling to write a mildly satirical speculative fiction novel about this crazy era we live in. I am writing my outline out in long hand because that seems to work the best for me. It’s a struggle though, for several different reasons.

I keep screwing up — at least in my own mind — and I start from scratch over and over and over again. I am trying to draw upon my personal experiences in Seoul about 10 years ago to give myself a plot, but even that’s difficult. I am juggling several different things in my head at the same time. The general crazy — if strong — high concept and then the more specific plot of what happened in Seoul.

So, I don’t know. I am trying to fuse the two things together as best I can, but it may take a lot longer — and require a lot more thought — than I ever imagined.

It’s fun, though. It’s fun to see if I can pull it off. I find myself doing a lot of pondering of both my high concept and what happened to me in Seoul. Only time will tell, I guess

Is Trump The Only Thing Stopping A Second American Civil War?

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I am concerned that in hindsight, this decade will be look back upon as the same as the 1850s. During that decade, the United States was tearing itself apart slowly and in hindsight it seemed obvious that a Civil War was in the making.

I worry that maybe the only thing stopping a bloody Second American Civil War is the simple fact that the surreal, extreme bizarre Right is content with the president. If something happens to Trump politically, is it possible that all bets are off? Is it possible there will be real bloodshed?

It definitely seems as though should a center-Left person win in 2020 or 2024 (more likely) that the same forces that elected Donald Trump in the first place will destroy the United States. And, really, at that point it’s a question of if our elected leaders are up to the challenge or not.

Nothing indicates right now, alas, that they are .

Regarding the American electoral process, the fix is in. Permanently.

A data breach reveal comes this week that indicates that things could all be over, with regards to fair and democratic elections in the US. And this is far bigger than the Right’s willingness to compromise democratic values in favor of the emotional gratification of simply winning something.

From Business Insider:

“A data analytics firm hired by the Republican National Committee last year to gather political information about US voters accidentally leaked the sensitive personal details of roughly 198 million US citizens earlier this month, as its database was left exposed on the open web for nearly two weeks.”

“This is the mother lode of all leaks…governments are made or broken on this. I don’t even have the words to describe it.”, said Archie Agarwal, founder of the cybersecurity firm ThreatModeler.

“This is what you can use to steal an election at the state and local level. It tells you who you need to advertise to to swing votes.”, said UpGuard cyber risk analyst Chris Vickery.

This now on top of the fact that Russia hacked voter rolls in 39 states last year.

What does this all mean?

It’s bigger than Trumpgate. It’s bigger than the prospect of a Mueller investigation coming to fruition in 12-18 months that could lead to the impeachment of Trump and prosecution of his inner circle and even Ryan and McConnell.

It’s lasting. It’s enduring. And it will forever change America’s place in the world.

As long as America has it’s short attention span glued to social media and unable to see clearly ahead for more than a week at a time (seriously ask yourself how often that is being done aside from planning a vacation or doing some budget forecasts), the entire country is at the mercy of whoever can manipulate how information is skewed and presented on their phones. Because hostile actors already manipulated voter perspective and belief in 2016 through Facebook targeting with razor-sharp precision.

It won’t even matter if gerrymandering is recalibrated in the courts at state levels.

The fix is perpetually in. Midterm elections, presidential primaries, general elections and even small races on the state level.

This leads one to conclude that Putin’s long game was never about the Rosneft deal. Or destabilizing NATO. It was about permanently knocking the US off of its pedestal. And now all signs indicate that a tailspin is imminent or even underway.

The manipulation of the democratic electoral process is successful in large part due to the Religious Right and Alt-Right having a larger voice than what is truly the case. Contrary to their claims, that voice has not necessarily grown. It’s just that it’s become heavily augmented, such as through a disproportionately-sized megaphone. 25% can now seem like 45%. And it’s not just the oft-mentioned ‘non-college white’ demographic whose beliefs are being bought. It’s anyone with a smartphone and scrolling thumb. It’s the entire electorate body.

Even if the unthinkable happens and people untether their emotions and momentary endorphin releases from social media, the US would still have to deal with the deep-rooted political obstructionism in Washington that is preventing the country to make bold endeavors to maintain its lofty place in the world.

For example, the US has all but ceded leadership of the global green economy to China. Remember all the bitching and complaining about OPEC controlling oil and influence over the past 50 years? Here was the chance to put that era behind them and put global energy influence squarely into the hands of the US. And instead, it chose to leave all that money and power on the table.

Also, thanks to China’s lack of obstructionist governing, the country is on track to not only outspend the US but soon lead the world in scientific and medical research.

Countries have often mused over the idea of what would the world look like if America wasn’t at the forefront and keeping the interests of the global community in mind (despite being viewed through the self-interest lens of the elite and ruling class of the US).

We’re all now at the early stages of the post-America era and the pride and overattachment to the past will only quicken the pace of its onset.

‘The Ballad Of Otto Warmbier,’ — Lyrics To A Pop Folk Song

Now, let me stress from the beginning that this entire situation is tragic. It’s tragic what happened to this poor boy and it’s even more tragic that there’s weirdly enough some traction when it comes to war talk as part of his death. I find this all weird. But his death is so tragic that it seems it warrants an attempt at a folk pop song. No one pays any of my lyrics any attention, so this is just me yelling out into the void my sadness at what happened. I don’t want war with North Korea, and it’s really sad that poor young Warmbier had to die at the hands of that horrific regime. This would be a folk pop ballad.

The Ballad of Otto Warmbier
lyrics by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls
please give credit if you produce or perform

the land of the morning calm is still
divided in two with dreams that are now nightmares
things are about as bad as they could be
and tragically, I am forced to sing
of one more thing, one more thing, one more thing

Otto Warmbier a young man just out of school
pulled down a banner like a fool
but nothing he could have done
nothing under the great big sun
could possibly merit his unjust treatment
he was beaten to an inch of his life
the North Koreans beat him again again
put him in a coma now he’s dead
put him in a coma now he’s dead
put him in a coma now he’s dead

there’s talk now of bombings
more dead, more dead, more dead
but what are these people thinking
don’t they know the list is long
as the people of Operation Paul Bunyon
and the crew of the Pueblo
can attest, the wicked North Koreans get no rest

so history will remain frozen I’m afraid
nothing will happen to avenge young Warmbier’s name
the millions that would die should try
is a cost far, far, far too high
though let us never forget what the North Koreans did
they beat poor young Warmbier again and again
put him in a coma now he’s dead
put him in a coma now he’s dead
put him in a coma now he’s dead

The Resistance Needs An App To Use Instead Of Twitter

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Now, I have gone into great detail about my personal vision for a “Twitter killer,” but because I don’t have any money, can’t code and don’t really want to learn, it’s just a daydream. But I can, at least, give some sense of what I think would be effective for The Resistance when it comes to defeating Donald Trump at his own game.

We need a service like Twitter, only better. We need a service that encourages longer, more in depth discussions. Now, I am WELL AWARE that Reddit exists. But I find Reddit too inward looking, difficult to use and from a design standpoint, kind of ugly.

So, I want an app that maybe is a fusion of the old IRC with the old Usenet. That probably makes no sense to most people, but it will to a few people. I have mapped out that vision in great detail on Instagram, but no one has taken me up on it and I should probably just focus on writing my novel.

Anyway.

It Was Inevitable That Obamacare Was Doomed

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

While Obamacare was a bad bill from the beginning, it was for most people at least a lot better than what existed before. But I’m enough of a student of history to know that it was inevitable that it would be repealed.

Republicans are so surreal in their hatred for everything connected to Obama that once they got power — however long it took — they were going to get rid of the legislation. So, we are on the cusp of just that happening.

So, I don’t know. What will be interesting to see is if once they do repeal it if the pendulum will swing by the other direction and we’ll go to a single payer format. That’s a very real possibility. Though, it’s also very real that we’re just doomed and we’re stuck with this soft dystopia for a few years.

History does not go in a straight line. The good guys don’t always win. So, this could be it. This could be the end of not only Obamacare, but the end of America’s liberal democratic republic. At least, for as long as I live.

When Our Cold Civil War Turns Hot: The Scalise Attack As New Harpers Ferry

By Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I saw on Twitter that someone out there in the surreal alt-Right echochamber is now openly talking about secession. I have seen several incidences where the bizarre Right that lives beyond InfoWars as suggested that the attack on Rep. Steve Scalise is up there with the Battle of Fort Sumner. That is, at least at this point, kind of grasping at straws. What these people are TRYING to say is that the tragic Scalise incident is something like John Brown’s attack on Harpers Ferry. That makes much more historical sense than the Battle of Fort Sumner, at least at this point.

What’s even more weird is that these bizarre, surreal Right wing nutjobs as blathering about this at a time when they have unprecedented power. There is effectively no check on the presidency and Trump is packing the judiciary with insane, young, whackjobs. So, really, the very people who are so upset with liberals have a vested interest, at least right now, in keeping the Federal government together as-in.

It makes me believe that maybe the only thing stopping open secessionist talk is the fact that Hillary Clinton lost. It makes me think that had Clinton won, one of the first crisis she would have had to address was a honest-to-God secessionist movement. What’s so troublesome is this problem isn’t going away. If you wanted to make a real historical analogy of all this, I might propose that we’re in, say, the 1857 era. We’re in that era of American history where the nation was tearing itself apart. So, should Trump lose in four years, watch out.

So, for the next four to eight years, we’ll be in a slow-mo Cold Civil War that will, in fits and starts, grind towards an actual secession of a few states. The actual make up of such a secessionist crisis is kind of puzzling.

Which states would bolt and why? Would it even be states at all, but rather some sort of coup in a few states? The reason why I suggest the latter is it is much more difficult for, say, South Carolina to bolt the Union because of, well, race. I just can’t see African Americans willingly joining disgruntled whites to leave the Union through some sort of secessionist convention. That leads to the idea of something a bit more violent and scary.

If not some Southern state, then which states would want to leave the Union? My guess is some state in the upper West where there aren’t any minorities. They would do it just out of spite. Though Texas is careening towards a bizarre enough Right wing hellscape that maybe they would be the state to do it.

Really, I just can’t see the Right being able to get enough leverage to start a secessionist crisis because Trump has a vested interest in keeping the government together. He’s much more likely to bend over backwards to give the insane, surreal 35% of the population that would be the most interested in secession everything they wanted. That would then make the whole situation moot.

That raises the issue of the center-Left seceding. I just don’t see that happening. While there was talk of California bolting the Union, that has subsided dramatically. That, then, raises the issue of why would the surreal Right be so fixated on leaving the Union despite getting everything they wanted.

That’s a tough one. I don’t have any answer to that. It would be a great historical irony if there was a secessionist crisis under Trump. The most likely scenario of that happening would be if in four or eight years a center-Left presidential candidate won. THEN, I could see Trump presiding over the dissolution of the Union quite easily.

But would there be a Second Civil War at all? Is it possible that we’re so divided that the “wayward sisters” that wished to leave the Union — whichever states they may be — would be allowed to “part in peace?” So, a lot of it would boil down to leadership. It could go either way. Either the Blue states bolt and join Canada or the Red states blot under a center-Left president and there (might) be a “hot” civil war. I’m not suggesting that a center-Left president would be more bloodthirsty, but I do think a center-Left president would be more likely to fight for the survival of the Union.

Regardless, we should all keep an eye on the surreal, bizarre extreme Right. That’s where tomorrow’s talking points for the Republican Party come from and before you know it secessionist talk may be something we all have to deal with.

Shelton Bumgarner is the editor and publisher of The Trumplandia Report. He may be reached at migukin (at) gmail.com.