LXV. MAGA is FART

Each week, I plan on returning to leadership issues in general, yet the examples at the national scale keep dragging me back in. It would be akin to talking about preventing fires while the house is already on fire.

These are incredible topsy-turvy times when we call our long-standing alliances in the world our competitors but give a free pass to countries that actively cause chaos and death. When the administration puts forward individuals with better records as snake charmers. And then there’s the whole notion of putting January 6 thugs back on the street to prop up the big lie. We already knew that some of these confederates had a history of soliciting minors, assaulting officers, and weapons charges.

Both real and profit-driven media spend a lot of time working to frame all of this as some kind of policy, mostly associated with Project 2025.

This is exactly wrong.

The MAGA movement has no basis in fact or reality and is more akin to FART; Frequently Abandoning Rational Thinking. That will be the only consistency we see these years: lots of hot air, messes to clean up, with an aroma left behind.

Any decision that benefits the average American won’t be by policy, it’ll be completely by accident. Remember this: profit continues while not a single one of the actions, edicts, and orders taken will address the real issue: economic inequality.

So despite all the noise, here’s who is really winning:

To be quite serious, the actions taken by the Trump administration, many outlined in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 is everything about social control, not economic growth. After all, they are actively working to delete thousands of decent paying jobs for Americans. By these methods there are striking similarities to the strategies and personal whims employed by figures like Adolf Hitler in Germany and Viktor Orbán in Hungary.

You as the leader need to understand these historic parallels and realize that the crazy we are experiencing today is also the crazy of the past.

That means there is work to do.

Things have moved quickly because they know the initial timeline is to install as many controls as possible within two years before the mid-term election, to dismantle normal checks and balances while they can. For example, they chose USAID as a perfect attack point because its entire existence depends on the American people's understanding that making friends abroad enhances national security at home.

And then imagine the US Treasury working like your only local internet provider. You have limited choices and limited methods of complaint if your account is dropped, reduced, or throttled. There will be the ability to manipulate accounts, set up different methods of payment, target certain households, and do all of this regardless of what is said in public and regardless of whether being in office. Musk can walk away and still have a backdoor key to a public good.

While this is the first attack against public structures, be very mindful of manipulated events to be used as an excuse for a further power grab. Just as Hitler used the Reichstag Fire Decree to consolidate power and bypass parliamentary oversight, the Trump administration will make every attempt to expand executive authority at the expense of legislative and judicial checks. Citizens and lawmakers must vigilantly defend the separation of powers at every turn, with their boots, pens, voices, money, and time.

Peacefully, but annoyingly so.

Efforts to weaponize the justice system have begun by naming and firing public servants who took on Trump and the January 6th confederates, most notably in the office of the FBI. This will be another test of public complacency toward official lying and will continue without public pushback. To understand this better, imagine a team of respected teachers enforcing a strict honor code for testing at your school. Now, the most popular student, a young Donald, was caught cheating last week but becomes the student body president this week. Angry about being punished, he uses his new power to disparage these honest teachers and gets his friends to break the rules and make life hell for them.

This is similar to what's happening with the FBI when Trump sympathizers replace experienced agents. It's dangerous because it leads to a loss of expertise in handling complex cases, erodes the impartiality of law enforcement, and undermines the rule of law for the rule of one. Just as students might lose faith in the school system if they see teachers being abused and popular whims overwhelming rational thought, people could lose trust in the entire justice system if they believe the FBI is no longer stable and impartial. This situation threatens the foundations of democracy and justice.

If Kash Patel is approved by elected officials to head the FBI, good agents will be replaced by stormtrooper types, their only purpose being to take direction. Both Hitler and Orbán took this path by expanding control of their countries' legal systems. Project 2025's proposals to reshape the Department of Justice and federal law enforcement agencies echo these historical precedents. To resist this, it's essential to stop the destruction of the FBI now, maintain the independence of law enforcement agencies beyond any administration, and support whistleblower protections. We need much more than impromptu Senatorial press conferences.

Authoritarian regimes often seek to muzzle independent media, bring it under control, and promote their brand of censorship. Hitler's propaganda machine and Orbán's gradual takeover of Hungary's media landscape serve as cautionary tales. Fierce resistance should greet any proposal to restrict press freedoms or manipulate public broadcasting entities such as NPR and PBS.

Supporting diverse, independent media outlets and promoting media literacy beyond any ability to pay are crucial defenses against information manipulation and further dumbing down of the populace.

Historical authoritarians often scapegoated minority groups to rally support. Trump's rhetoric and policy proposals regarding immigrants and certain minority communities echo this strategy. Efforts to roll back civil rights protections or implement discriminatory policies must be vigorously opposed through legal challenges, grassroots organizing, and public education campaigns that highlight the value of diversity and inclusion. (Don’t forget to see The Brutalist before it wins best picture.)

The use of executive powers by Trump has been unprecedented in recent history, far outpacing his predecessors. During his first term (2017-2021), he signed 220 executive orders, and in just 10 days of his second term in 2025, he issued 44 more. This rate dwarfs the averages of recent presidents like Obama, Bush, and Clinton. He's also controversially used emergency powers to bypass Congress, such as for border wall funding and deploying military personnel. Governing in this manner is akin to a captain steering a massive ship by constantly making sharp, sudden turns – it may achieve short-term goals, but it risks destabilizing the entire vessel and leaving the crew (in this case, the American people and institutions) disoriented and struggling to adapt. This is a purposeful approach to erode checks and balances, create dependence upon executive authority, and diminish the long-term health of American democracy.

Ideological purges in government and institutions has been steadily climbing for decades, but not seen as brazen as the recent attempts. This is reminiscent of Hitler's "synchronization" of German institutions and Orbán's reshaping of Hungary's bureaucracy. We must resist plans to potentially remove career civil servants or impose ideological litmus tests on government employees. First, stay informed by following reputable news sources and fact-checking information, paying close attention to policy changes and appointments in government agencies. Second, engage in civic participation and contact elected representatives to express opposition. Be seen, be heard, and be a pest. Third, support civil service protection organizations by joining or donating to groups like Civil Service Strong that defend non-partisan government employees, and volunteer with or contribute to watchdog organizations such as the Government Accountability Project.

Authoritarian leaders often unite their base by manufacturing threats, both foreign and domestic. This has been used masterfully to consolidate ideologically-driven Christians. Rhetoric that demonizes political opponents or certain nations as existential threats to national security can be used to justify extreme measures at home. Countering this requires promoting a constant stream of fact-based discourse, protecting international cooperation (USAID, for example), and rejecting divisive, fear-mongering narratives in our schools, churches, and communities.

There is more to come.

We will see it in the manipulation of our electoral system under the guise of make-believe problems and election integrity. We will see it in crackdowns on public demonstrations and civil disobedience. Consider the analogy of a slowly boiling frog. Just as a frog might not notice the gradual increase in water temperature until it's too late, a democracy can erode through incremental changes that may seem innocuous in isolation but collectively undermine the foundations of representative government. Each small step away from democratic norms–whether it's deeming USAID as a waste, immigration as a bigger problem than it is, attacking the credibility of elections, demonizing the press, or eroding the independence of institutions–this is all very purposeful and contributes to an environment where authoritarianism can take root and not go away without force.

It is a cancer.

Democracy's immune system comprises powerful institutions, including the FBI, the judiciary, and international aid organizations. Informed citizens, not old FARTs, and adherence to constitutional principles back up and support these institutions. Just as a weakened immune system leaves the body vulnerable to opportunistic infections, a weakened democratic system becomes susceptible to authoritarian tendencies.

This is an opportunity to defend democratic institutions. Promote civic education in schools and at the dinner table. Join like-minded groups and be ready to protest. Protect journalists and journalism. Take your money elsewhere if shops, doctor’s offices, and other venues support and show corporate fraud such as Fox News. Engage in peaceful resistance, whether walks, boycotts, sit-ins, or sit-downs. Let other nations know where you stand via social media, sister city programs, and international clubs. Go on the offense and advocate for better campaign finance laws, strengthening ethics regulations, or updating checks and balances for the digital age. Defend the rule of law. Find some friends that don’t look or think like you.

In conclusion, the threat to democratic institutions is not a distant historical concern but a present reality that requires vigilance and action. What we are seeing is a doubling down on the crazy. It’s the marketing of the stable genius.

But we already know how this ends.

A generation of Germans went along until they were dead and buried.

Ukraine fighting against an invader has gotten lost in the purposeful chaos. This is a good read that shows the power of social media, the necessity of having good leaders, the difference between spin and reality, and service to country vs. service to self.

We have dealt with the very same things.

Vietnam became the war most associated with draft dodging, though history has been more kind to the dodgers for the lack of necessity of the war. But what if another country invades you, and you still don't want to fight? We spend a lot of time on patriotism and duty, but does a country send off those who have no interest? Would it be better to use whoever is willing, whether male or female, young or old? These are the kinds of issues we rarely discuss. The United States has been in many wars out of choice, not necessity. We’ve squandered much of what made America unique when it came to the folly of war. In Ukraine, the threat is real but the body count is simply overriding the patriotism. These are valid issues to wrestle with if we want to understand the long arc of history and assess where we are headed as one planet and not simply multiple tribes. First, freedom is not free, and real threats, like Russia, not the Trumped-up kind, need to be controlled.

I’m including the following video from the front lines of Ukraine, where they have filled the lack of physical soldiers with bomb-dropping drones from the sky. We are going to see a world with drones everywhere in the future. While that does not sound pleasant, it’s good to see Ukrainian ingenuity keeping the wolves at bay.

I’ve returned to this concept again because I’ve seen it as a factor throughout my life and career. While we have the comfort in this country to talk about morals, beliefs, and virtues, the genuine test comes when shit hits the fan and we identify with self-preservation vs. the greater good. As I always tell my kids, pick your battles. There’s a reason whistleblower laws exist and we’ve become over-reliant on lawsuits. It’s simply harder to do the right thing when an economic safety net doesn’t exist.

This is all the more reason to remember what the current power is all about. Social constructs to control what you say, do, hear, speak, or who you love. The American constitution, and even further with the Bill of Rights, was in most ways to protect society from the personal whims of a few in power. To establish a more perfect union beyond decrees or profit.

We can’t lose that for the sake of a few comforts.

This is a long but great piece of journalistic storytelling. It’s going to piss some of you off, while others are going to admire her hustle. There’s a lot to digest here. What does our immigration policy drive people towards? What role do gig economy companies have that outsource hiring of workers and making big money in the process? Was most of this a “victimless” crime? If you want to understand immigration issues, this is a story worth reading.

In my current position, I’ve been working with a log of young recruits on education scholarships for a branch of the armed forces. I talk to them about their experiences and every one of them is smart and motivated. One wants to work on rocket launches, while another wants to fly fighter jets. Another just wants to be posted anywhere but the middle of nowhere Missouri. One student I talked with was in full uniform. Though he is young, he has already done a stint as a platoon sergeant and is now transitioning to the National Guard. When you meet some of these American youth up close, all of them representing a great amount of diversity, you know something is going right.

I’m a big believer that we need two years of service to the country. Any kind of public service. This is a good article though it doesn’t get into the facts that some branches of the military have had a hard time recruiting because they have been less than stellar at dealing with sexism and racism. The concept of being “woke” comes up in this article, though as is often the case, it comes from a mentality that just wants the old ways to stay the same. Being a professional and a member of a democratic country means evolving. We know more than we knew then and we have better equipment and science. The military must be woke if it is going to be effective at protecting.

A group of historians and experts who value diplomacy leads the Quincy Institute. I’ve long been an admirer of Andrew Bacevich who helped put the group together. This is an interesting report that includes the details of the ask for a new generation of nuclear weapons, including the amount of lobbying funds and who is getting the funding. This is a perfect example of how civic engagement is largely determined by a few well-positioned and well-funded. It’s nothing new, though, for this item being discussed and the amount of money, the public needs to know more. It’s also an example of the “old economy”. What I mean is places and locations historically tied to the building and support of the military and other urban infrastructure. A new economy may not have the same locations and focus in mind. Despite the democratic ideal of sound public policy, a few pockets in a few locations often profit from the results.

An older article worth reading given the outcomes. Andrew Yang continues to get things right. Our country has outgrown many of the current procedures and the system that rewards incumbency and concentrates power. A democracy works in the exact opposite manner and brings new ideas and thoughts to light. Don’t be afraid of change, but recognize the evil that masquerades as change. The appropriate changes have no need for scapegoats.

And Now….

I retrieved this picture from Facebook, and the story was that the father left his collection of memorabilia to his sons when he passed. Within the collection, he left a small surprise; a signed ball from dad to son. I loved this. I’ve enjoyed sharing my passion for collecting certain things and it has been a connection from my youth to theirs. This father captured what it was all about. It’s all about passing on love and character through a variety of means, and every day spent with your loved ones is a good day indeed.

Hope to see you next time. Keep reading, practice your gratefulness, and remember to put some time into others for the sake of democracy.