speak easy
speak easy's JournalA brilliant song about popularism - Mr. Damage (1979}
David Bowie let loose hard lyrics once in a while in songs like Sweet Thing, Young Americans,and Station into the Station. His hardest takedown a popularism came very early, Signet Committee (1968) where the AI ‘love machines’ programmed to take out the establishment, killed everybody.
The Angels, an Australian band, all but matched Bowie lwith their song Mr. Damage. The message is that popularism is little more than swapping one of authoritarian religion like the Roman Catholic Church for another that promises chaos , revenge, and literal deconstruction.
Changing the lyrics, a little, can anyone doubt “ that yhe marveled one so recently deposed was seen three years later with a new suit of clothes - for the very special day (of victory and revenge) that fits Donald Trump to a T,
From my perspective, it is self evident, Trumpism is just another religion with a particular mission: to the most inflict damage on MAGA s enemies of the moment.
All the faithful follow. A very special day, indeed.
Those who consider themselves dispossessed , could hardly wait to evaporate the swamp with nuclear weapons. Well their motivations and hopes might have been different, but their desire was the same: as much damage, destruction, and deconstruction as possible.
Popularist influencers are as responsible as anyone else whether they have read Satre, Foucault, Mein Kampf or nothing at all.
“Holding frozen hands, as Mr. Damage holds the curse.”
Exactly right.
https://m.
Holding council with the king and queen
Trying hard to decide the fate of their regime
There's only one thing needed to complete the harmonisin'
That's a man with a voice like a scraping violin
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Toothless jaws gumming melancholy stuff
A burst of rapid fire Spanish from a window up above
Students out to pose in their studied disarray
Books of Sartre, Marcuse openly displayed
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Mr. Damage walks through the door of his sacrificial church
Mr. Damage, meet you in the lobby and he'll leave you in the lurch
Mr. Damage stands at the altar, sermon of the search
All the faithful follow
Resident winos stumbling and lurching
Walking cadavers, smiling and searching
Man with the DT's looking at the feeble glossy
Portraits of long-dead, celebrated people
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Trying hard just to keep a candle lit
A leather flyer leaves the subway anxious to admit
That the marvelled one so recently deposed
Was seen three days later in a brand-new suit of clothes
Brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A brand-new suit of clothes for a very special day
A very special day, a very special day, a very, very, very special day
Mr. Damage holds a curse
Mr. Damage drives a hearse
Don't you know who did it first, Mr. Damage
Holding council with the king and queen
Trying hard to decide the fate of their regime
There's only one thing needed to complete the harmonisin'
That's a man with a voice like a scraping violin
Waiting for Mr. Damage
Mr. Damage walks through the door of his sacrificial church
Mr. Damage, meet you in the lobby and he'll leave you in the lurch
Mr. Damage stands at the altar, sermon of the search
All the faithful follow
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Holding frozen hands as Mr
Damage holds the curse”
How brilliant was David Bowie? (Exhibit A) 1973, The 1980 Floor Show.
https://m.&pp=ygUKYm93aWUgZG9kbw%3D%3DHey MF, this is what is going to happen to the Epstein Memorial Ballroom on day 1
and Melania's 'Rose' garden and the Arc de Trumpe. Our Reps need to start saying it NOW.
Bondi Beach gunmen believed to be ISIS
ASIO examined Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram in 2019 for close ties to Islamic State cellAn IS flag was found in their car at Bondi Beach, according to a senior JCTT official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said ASIO took an interest in Naveed Akram six years ago, after police foiled plans for an IS terrorist attack.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-15/bondi-beach-attack-gunmen-father-and-son/106142630
Akram's ties to ISIS appear to pre-date October 7, and the War in Gaza
'He is Not a Lame Duck!'
‘He is Not a Lame Duck!’ Mike Johnson Claims Failure of Trump Pressure Campaign in Indiana Redistricting Is ‘Inconsequential’CNN’s Manu Raju caught up with Johnson in the halls of Congress and asked, “Are you worried about Trump’s grip on power after Indiana? Do you think it shows he’s a lame duck?”
“Not at all!” Johnson snapped back. “No, he is not a lame duck!”
Johnson continued, “He’s the most powerful president of this generation and many others. We have a lot more work to do together. The outcome in Indiana is inconsequential to that.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/not-lame-duck-mike-johnson-175440466.html
You're slipping Mikey. What you were supposed to say is 'He’s the most powerful president of this generation and any other generation in history.'
Kelly: Trump only concerned with trying to 'fleece the American people'
Kelly, in an interview on “The Jim Acosta Show” on Wednesday, said when it comes to affordability, the president “doesn’t understand anything about what the American people go through.”
“I mean, all this guy cares about is figuring out how he can fleece the American people out of their money, including his supporters,” Kelly added.
Trump has embarked on an “affordability” tour, delivering remarks on Tuesday at an event at a Pennsylvania casino that often resembled a campaign address.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5645234-kelly-trump-affordability-crisis/
Dems should repeat 'The Trump Affordability Crisis' as often as possible.
Disney's OpenAI Deal 'Appears to Sanction' AI Company's 'Theft of Our Work,' WGA Says
“Disney’s announcement with OpenAI appears to sanction its theft of our work and cedes the value of what we create to a tech company that has built its business off our backs,” the union said in a message to members Thursday. WGA said it will meet with Disney “to probe the terms of this deal, including the extent to which user-generated videos use the work of WGA members. We will continue to fight to protect our members’ creative and economic interests in the context of AI technology.”
Under Disney’s three-year licensing agreement, OpenAI’s Sora will be able to generate user-prompted videos from a set of more than 200 masked, animated or creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to start generating “fan-inspired” videos with Disney’s licensed characters in early 2026. In addition, as part of the deal, Disney will make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI.
According to WGA’s message to members, “Companies including OpenAI have stolen vast libraries of works owned by the studios and created by WGA members and Hollywood labor to train their artificial intelligence systems. We have repeatedly called for the studios to take legal action to defend the valuable intellectual property we help to create.”
https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/wga-disney-openai-deal-theft-of-our-work-1236606872/
Disney has not responded to a request for comment,
Nobel Prize for Venezuelan Dissident Draws Criticism
Source: New York Times
María Corina Machado is being honored for her push for democracy even as she backs President Trump’s military buildup and aggressive campaign against Venezuela.
She has also repeated debunked claims that Mr. Maduro manipulated U.S. elections, fueling accusations that she is amplifying misinformation to gain favor with the Trump administration.
“It will be a different kind of Nobel Prize ceremony,” said Benedicte Bull, a professor at the University of Oslo and a leading expert on Latin America in Norway. “Much more politicized than what we have seen before.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/world/americas/nobel-prize-venezuela.html
We will make America affordable again
or not
Trump struggles to persuade Americans to ignore affordability issues
Trump Calls Affordability a 'Con Job' as His Edge on the Economy Slips
Source: New York Times
President Trump is growing frustrated as Americans struggle with higher prices and pessimism over the state of the economy.
President Trump on Tuesday downplayed the cost-of-living pains being felt by Americans, declaring that affordability “doesn’t mean anything to anybody” as his political edge on the economy continues to dissipate.
In remarks during a cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump railed against Democrats who have championed the issue, which helped the party secure several off-year election victories last month and is likely to be a defining topic in the midterms next year.
After ticking off what he claimed were trillions of dollars of investments and other economic accomplishments, Mr. Trump called the issue of affordability a “fake narrative” and “con job” created by Democrats to dupe the public.
“They just say the word,” he said. “It doesn’t mean anything to anybody. They just say it — affordability. I inherited the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody could afford anything.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/politics/trump-affordability-economy-messaging.html
Affordability "doesn’t mean anything to anybody." Keep saying it Donald, loud and clear, as often as possible.
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Name: DenisGender: Male
Hometown: Whitehall / OH
Home country: United States
Current location: Sydney, Australia
Member since: Wed Jan 8, 2020, 06:44 PM
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