Since the inauguration on January 20, 2025, following the news in the good, old U.S.A. is like having pins pushed into my voodoo doll brain. Please, stop torturing the nation, you horribly, deformed white men. I have awakened each morning since the inauguration to another Royal Decree or Outrageous Lie issued by 47 and/or his sidekick, Musky, including but not limited to:

1. A pissing contest over tariffs with Canada, China, and Mexico that’s sludging up the economy. Insulting the nation of Canada by suggesting it become the 51^st state, along with strategic efforts to deport immigrants from the U.S. and end birthright citizenship.
2. Quitting the World Health Organization because health is not a priority for 47 and Musky, and that’s just too bad for Americans and humans around the globe.
3. Flip-flopping like a dying fish. Banning TikTok in the morning because China is dangerous, and then restoring it later on the same day because…whiplash, anyone?
4. Establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, which has gained access to more than fifteen government agencies, including FEMA and the IRS, supposedly so Musky and his child minions can root out government waste. The DOGE sounds like war speak and reminds me of Hitler’s Final Solution. Language danger, Will Robinson!
5. Appointing unqualified and questionable candidates for government positions, including but not limited to RFK, Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, and Pete Hegseth. Befriending and empowering creeps like Musky and the murderer, Putin. Everyone knows Putin is the evil mastermind responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny and other political opponents, dissidents, and countless others.
6. Promoting white supremacy, inequality, and the potential for genocide by ending initiatives that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for each and every unique U.S. citizen.
7. Pardoning violent offenders from the January 6, 2021 mob, who were CAUGHT ON LIVE FOOTAGE scaling the White House with weapons and murderous intent. 47 even pardoned offenders with long rap sheets who’ve gone out and committed violent crimes since being released.
8. Unilaterally changing established place names, like changing Denali to Mt. McKinley, and the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, linguistic decrees that citizens at large can reject. 47 also wants to take over Canada, and also Panama, Greenland, and Gaza, formerly known as Palestine.
9. Spouting lies, lies, and damn lies about who started the war in Ukraine, which was just conducting state business when Russian troops invaded. The murderer Putin instigated the war and is still wreaking havoc with 47’s support.

This is just a short list of outrageous statements and power grabs perpetrated by 47 and his cronies since the inauguration. Equally disturbing is the way 47’s base perpetuates the propaganda. Last weekend at a bar, I overheard a bunch of racist locals supporting slaughter in Gaza as a way to achieve peace. I angry-laughed under my breath at the shallow stupidity, paid for my beer, and walked out of the bar.

What can I say to such people? I’ve met a few of the locals before and had conversations that felt friendly. I operate according to a Greek mode of hospitality that shows generosity and courtesy to strangers, and then some rando lets fly an excrementitious statement like a monkey throwing shit at the zoo.

I walked out of the bar in protest. I could have engaged in a grand confrontation, but I decided the situation didn’t merit it. There was no actual individual on hand who was being discriminated against, which would have changed my response.

In the face of basic shit-slinging, it is sufficient to deprive the bar of my patronage. I can add it to my list of businesses to boycott, which currently includes Chick-fil-A, Hobby Lobby, and Amazon Prime. Boycotting is a form of protest, and if you’re interested, BoardGameGeeks.com lists 119 companies you might want to boycott because they support 47 and his disastrous agenda, including rental car companies, airlines, fast food restaurants, sports teams, liquor and beer brands, retail establishments, clothing manufacturers, gas companies, and resorts.

But sometimes boycotting doesn’t seem like enough protest, like it’s only a drop in a bucket full of holes. I want to do more, and I want to do more that matters. Social media keeps me connected with progressive friends and patriots, from grade school pals to friends I met last week, who hearten me by sharing their outrage at the dismantling of democracy and who share tactics and actions to enact in solidarity.

A few friends told me about 5 Calls, an access site that makes it simple for “US constituents to make a political impact” by making five calls a day. I gave it a try and have added it to my protest repertoire. The site asked for my location by zip code. I chose my major concerns from a list of issues, including, “Fight Against Elon Musk’s/DOGE Government Takeover.” A short script popped up to help me voice my concern, along with the names and phone numbers of my House Representative and State Senators. After each call, I registered the elected official as “Unavailable,” or noted I left a “Voicemail” or had “Contact” with a human being. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) had a full voice mail, thus was “Unavailable.” Making five calls took less than a quarter of an hour. For those who like talking on the phone, it’s a value-added protest.

It is also satisfying to observe how many 21^st century major content producers embrace pluralistic values. From pointed, political questions on game shows like Jeopardy and The $100,000 Pyramid Show,to series like Mo and Reservation Dogs, the media throws shade at stereotypes, dogma, and propaganda. The content we choose is a form of protest. It matters because audiences translate to advertising dollars, profit for bean counters, and funding future projects. Characters that we might not meet otherwise can grow our understanding and raise questions we might not have come across on our own.

One content producer I have long admired is Mindy Kaling for her many talents as an actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Her work upends clichés and leaves them crumbled in the land of antique sand. Season 3 of The Sex Lives of College Girls dropped last November, but I’ve only recently had time to watch. It’s raucous, fraught, and full of quotable quotes. Its representation of ambitious young women on their journey to “becoming” is poignant, liberating, and sometimes laugh out loud funny. I look forward to watching her new series, Running Point, which dropped February 27 on Netflix.

Reservation Dogs, produced and co-created by showrunner Sterlin Harjo (no relation to Joy Harjo, though the poet makes a guest appearance in Season 2), is also a must-watch. The series premiered on Hulu in 2021 and ran for three seasons. Lily Gladstone is in it, and it’s the first American series to feature all Indigenous writers and directors, along with an almost entirely Indigenous Norther American cast and crew. The entire series was filmed in Oklahoma. I’ve mentioned Reservation Dogs in a previous column. It remains on my watch-again list.

There is so much to admire about the series, Mo, the Netflix series based loosely on the life of comedian, writer, and co-producer Mohammed Amer. Mo, the titular character, lives in Houston where he straddles the line between two cultures, three languages, and a pending asylum request while hustling without a work permit to support his Palestian family. The two-season series is eye-opening, heartrending, humorous and satiric, as when Mo is deported in word, but cannot be deported in deed because Palestine does not officially exist. The series led me to reflect again on belief, a contingent value for some of us. The final season dropped earlier this year; a year full of real-world refugees.

Engaging content restores my faith in the humanities, but a woman can’t watch TV all the time. 47 is always there, flaming orange with that terrible voice that reminds me of the man who molested me when I was an adolescent. Really, I can’t listen to 47 speak without feeling triggered.

I don’t know the key to happiness, but I’ve rarely been sad while captivated by nature, and human history says I’m not alone. Have you ever been startled by the rustle of a dry leave blown across the pavement by the wind? I’ve watched more than one tenacious squirrel trying to steal birdseed from a feeder. I’ve seen crows as fat as chickens. I’ve watched buds on tree limbs become tiny, lime-green leaves that mature into shamrock-green fullness in summer.

When 47’s lies personally insult me, I restore my sense of integrity by reminding myself I’m a Nobody. I mean a Nobody in the literary sense of Dickinson, Homer, and Kafka. To be a Nobody is to be invisible, powerful, and free. Emily embraces being a Nobody when she writes, “How dreary – to be – Somebody! / How public – like a Frog –.” Ulysses names himself a Nobody to blind and defeat the murderous Cyclops, Polyphemus, who plans to eat Ulysses alive. And finally, dear Kafka wrote about being a Nobody in his short fiction, “Excursion into the Mountains.” He describes a circle of Nobodies who link arms and go on an excursion up the mountain. He writes, “We go so gaily, the wind blows through us and the gaps in our company. Our throats swell and are free in the mountains! It’s a wonder we don’t burst into song.” Imagining being a Nobody is akin to meditation for me.

I’ve skipped over the obvious means of speaking truth to power: voting and supporting progressive candidates with donations. When I have the funds, I donate through Act Blue to support Democrats like AOC and Bernie on the national level. At the state level, I choose Susan Crawford, who is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court judge. The race between Crawford and Republican Brad Schimell is extremely important because it will determine if the Wisconsin Court has a progressive or conservative majority. Anyone reading this can donate to Crawford.

Sometimes everything fails to relieve my despair—solidarity, protests, content, and meditation—and I have to indulge in rage against the outrageous breaches committed by 47 and his royal court. Does anyone else think 47 and his despot cronies, like Putin and maybe Kim Jong Un or Mohammed bin Salman, want to join forces to conquer the world and carve it into three or four totalitarian super-states under their control, shades of Nineteen Eight-Four, a novel referenced by many?  What I don’t understand is how 47 gets away with violating laws, policies, and established due process in order to destabilize our nation and its highest ideals. His proclamations are as empty of legitimacy as dog shit on your shoe, a misstep that stinks and sticks.   

To 47 and all his shit-slinging followers, we see what you’re doing, and we choose dissent. Live free or die.

This concludes my rant of rage. Thanks for reading, and have a blessed day!