The 2024 Gender Gap and Toxic Masculinity

It seems to me that American men are going through some things... and the pronounced gender gap in this election cycle certainly highlights it.

I cannot tell you the number of times I've been "gender policed" by other men on social media for supporting Kamala Harris. The worst of it is on Twitter/X, but there's plenty of this kind of internalized misogyny and enforced, confining, toxic masculinity on Facebook, as well.

According to these men, in 2024: Men are not "supposed" to vote for Democrats. Men are not "supposed" to vote for liberals. Men are not "supposed" to vote for women.

Though not exclusively, this trait is most acute among men without a college degree. And as the achievement gap / educational attainment gap between young men and young women in higher education continues to widen, this trend is going to get worse by 2028, not better.

The Apprentice (2024)

I went to see "The Apprentice" in theaters because no streaming service is currently willing to show this film. Donald Trump tried to stop it from being released. It's a dark, disturbing, well-crafted "origin story" of how Trump became Trump.

Set in the 1970's and 80's in NYC, the film at times feels almost like a Star Wars story, chronicling how one Sith Lord (Roy Cohn, Trump's nefarious, noxious, unrelenting lawyer and fixer) trains the next in the ways of the Dark Side. And true to form, Trump betrays those closest to him, violates them, belittles and dismisses them in their moments of great need... because that's what he learned how to do from Cohn himself.

If not Star Wars, the story arc could be among the darker works of Shakespeare.

So many of the essential moments of the film have already been verified several times over (via court documents and firsthand witnesses), thus the performances feel authentic and the chronology works effectively to chronicle the rise of Trump - often in ominous, unsettling ways - given what America under 45 has experienced (and may yet again face).

To that end, I turned to the people sitting next to me in the theater during the end credits.  I said, "can you believe someone would watch this film and think the guy would be a good choice for president?"

Concepts of a Plan: a Political Concept Album

"Concepts of a Plan: a Political Concept Album" is now available for $59.95 while supplies last! All the greatest American hits you love, dedicated to Our Great Country. Everyone is talking about it, believe me! People are saying it's really incredible what he's done, at a level nobody has seen before!

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Yeah, "they're eating cats and dogs" was unhinged Trump, but the truly damning highlight from the debate was this. It reveals Trump doesn't believe his job includes being prepared for, carrying out, or even thinking through his campaign promises.

Trump had a very long list of campaign promises from 2016 that not only weren't filled, Trump believes you don't remember them and it's not important, anyway; anger about the cost of living and paranoia about immigrants is enough to win in 2024.

This moment revealed how shallow a thinker Trump truly is, and the shallow thinking he in turn demands of his supporters to continue revering such an inept, cognitively compromised leader.

The Cats Are Not Safe, After All

There are many photos like this of Don Jr. and Eric Trump. They are authentic. They have circulated the Internet widely for a decade now. But in light of the recent manufactured right-wing controversy about Haitian migrants (legally in the USA under the temporary protected status program) eating pets in Springfield, OH, it's worth reflecting on this duality.

Q. Why isn't the practice of affluent tourists hunting exotic animals for sport controversial in the same way as low resource immigrants eating domestic animals for sustenance, even though the former really happens all the time and the latter appears entirely fabricated for the purpose of generating paranoia during an election?

A. Consider the lingering effects of European colonialism, systemic racism and xenophobia, and the pervasive notion that wealthy white men are never suspect or scrutinized for engaging in behaviors objectively worse than those alleged without evidence of minorities and immigrants.

Donald Trump's traveling hate circus is fading

What's important to understand is that Donald Trump is a malignant narcissist performance artist who played a billionaire on a reality TV show. He has been running a traveling hate circus since 2015. He's monetized it, branded it, politicized it, and nationalized it.

But Trump's act is fading. He keeps going back to his greatest hits of resentment and grievance, people fell asleep during his angry, tired grandpa rant at the RNC, and he isn't filling stadiums or airport hangars with eager supporters of all ages (while Kamala Harris does). Most voters are ready to move on from him.

So let's do that.  After November 5th, Donald Trump should never be in the news again except for updates about his convictions and eventual imprisonment. That's it. That's all.

Photo © Matt Kenyon

Won My First MTG Draft!

🌞🔥💧🌳💀

I know this is probably more nerdy than you are prepared to know, but I just won my first Magic: The Gathering Arena drafting event. 

I've been playing since the start of the 2020 pandemic and this is the first time I've gone 7-2 in matches to complete it!

The new Bloomburrow release is a fantastically fun set if you are interested in checking it out...

🦝🐭🦎🦇🐿🦦

You Coulda Had a Bad Bitch

Bernie Sanders is over a year older than Joe Biden, hits the street, and never misses a beat! Folks sure do age differently!

A broad array of polling data suggests Bernie would have defeated Trump in 2016. Bernie would be completing his 2nd term as president if the DNC had nominated him in 2016. Our country would be in an entirely different place right now. A better place.

Just sayin.

10 Years at the Rio Grande Farm Park

It's been 10 years since the community came together to "Keep Polston Public" by purchasing 38 acres of property along the Rio Grande river, moving forward with the Rio Grande Farm Park project thanks to the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition, Trust for Public Land, and countless other contributing organizations and individuals.

For me, having gone to Polston Primary school from 1988 to 1991 and later serving as a plaintiff to secure public ownership and access to the property in 2013, it has been an amazing journey to return to the land every year and see all of the developments to further the goals of local farming, gardening, and multipurpose community event space on this gem of a location.

Come visit sometime! Volunteer, donate your time or resources, or simply enjoy a tour...