When The Going Gets Tough...
It's Time To Get The Party (Re)Started!
In just over 24 hours, someone I consider less than a man will—once again—be sworn in as President of the United States.
Drumpf isn’t the first to fit that description in my lifetime. Nor is he the first of them to serve two terms as POTUS…or POtuS. But he is the only convicted felon and former reality TV star amongst this bunch of Banana Republic populist pricks.
A banana republic is a country with an economy of state capitalism, where the country is operated as a private commercial enterprise for the exclusive profit of the ruling class.
Even Reagan had a better cabinet and co-stars.
Though they all had a weakness for bananas.
I grew up during Reagan’s presidency—first loving him as a surrogate "grandpa" and then loathing him for his lack of ethics, leadership, morals, and principles. That he and Nancy relied on an astrologer to make policy and scheduling decision throughout his terms in office still annoys and baffles me.
A Magic 8 Ball and/or Miss Cleo would have been cheaper…and just as good.
Especially for his complete silence during the early days of the AIDS crisis.
What a fucking coward-puppet-twat he was. Yes, I said it and I mean it.
While Reagan didn’t invent selling out to corporate lobbyists, religious zealots, or tech oligarchs, he certainly helped solidify them as a "winning" political strategy.
Much like Biden, I’m not sure how aware or involved Reagan actually was during his administration. But those who want all the credit…also deserve all the blame. Same goes for the orange chaos monster... aka Beetlefuck.
We already know what the “Make America Great Again” plan is:
Accept bribes, donations, and gifts from any/everyone
Demand loyalty and obedience to him and him alone
Deport or detain anyone who disagrees with him
Stoke division between the poor and middle classes
Suck and swallow as much billionaire “juice” as possible
Drumpf’s diss-track remix of “The New Colossus” goes something like this:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
As I lift my golden lamp and kick them out the golden door!"
Based On “The New Colossus” By Emma Lazarus
Sorry…it’s Sunday, and I intended to keep this short(er) and sweet(er).
The truth is—personally, politically, and professionally—the struggles are real.
As a creative, gay solopreneur, my struggles are also interconnected.
We all have our own “stuff,” so I won’t bore you with mine. But let’s just say that since the election, Lady Luck seems to have packed up and left the country. Ladies Justice and Karma are also missing in action. Where are the Angels in America? I hope Tony Kushner at least finds enough material to write some new plays.
Me? I’m doing my best to grin and bear the deep disappointment and frustration—both internal and external—that my empathetic, sympathetic self struggles not to (over)react to.
Long story short, I’m working on developing more patience and a thicker skin—toward myself, toward others, and toward other people’s beliefs and opinions. It won’t happen overnight. Change is gradual and rarely linear. Especially if you’re as stubborn as I am.
The next chapter of my evolution continues.
And so does the next chapter of our “democratic republic.”
Bless us, and all our mess.
Best wishes for peace, love, and light…
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. Let me hear you say, “This shit is bananas…B-A-N-A-N-A-S!!!” Why? Cuz I ain’t no hollaback girl. Bet you’re not either.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Here's The Real Reason Trump Moved Indoors (Scott Dworkin)
US Politics = Biggest Problems + Greatest Strengths (Pew Research Center)
The truth of grit: Determination will see us through… (The Journal Gazette)
ON THIS DAY = JANUARY 19
BIRTHDAYS
1809 = Edgar Allan Poe = American writer and critic
1839 = Paul Cézanne = French painter
1922 = Guy Madison = American actor
1923 = Jean Stapleton = American actor and singer
1939 = Phil Everly = American singer-songwriter
1943 = Janis Joplin = American singer-songwriter 🌈
1943 = Larry Clark = American photographsr and filmmaker
1946 = Dolly Parton = American singer-songwriter and actor
1947 = Paula Deen = American chef and author
1949 = Robert Palmer = English singer-songwriter
1953 = Desi Arnaz Jr. = American actor and singer
1954 = Katey Sagal = American actor and singer
1954 = Cindy Sherman = American photographer and director
1961 = Paul McCrane = American actor, director, and singer
1982 = Pete Buttigieg = American politician 🌈
1992 = Logan Lerman = American actor
1992 = Mac Miller = American rapper
1996 = Jakub Jankto = Czech professional footballer 🌈
EVENTS
1829 = Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part One premieres.
1901 = The New York Times reports the story of FTM politician Murray Hall.
1915 = Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
1953 = Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
1976 = Campaigning for the DNC presidential nomination, Hubert Humphrey publicly endorses gay and lesbian rights.
1978 = The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
1981 = Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
2025 – Bytedance and sister companies were banned from the United States for “security concerns."
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“We live in a rainbow of chaos.'“
Paul Cezanne
“When I meet someone, I look at their eyes and their smile and seek out the good first - it's easy to find when you're looking for it. You let a person shine with their own light and try to connect it to yours. As soon as I say hello, I go right to that light and I don't care who you are! I know we're all pieces of the same thing - I go for that common light because I know it's in all of us.”
Dolly Parton
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”
Edgar Allan Poe
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You’re not alone in your struggles, disappointment and frustration Clint! Even here in Toronto 🇨🇦 the angst is palpable as we anticipate your new administration. Right back at you with wishes for peace, love and light. We’ll make it through the crazy if we can support each other 🤗.
Well said on that farce of an upcoming so called president