Racist Ghoul of Staff

Stephen Miller will be remembered as one of the darkest political figures in American history. He will be compared to other aspiring fascists and authoritarians worldwide. The "mass deportation now" policy was all his. He actually has a long rap sheet by now of racist policies (like selecting immigration visas for only white South Africans) and unlawful policy tactics; several of Trump's key losses like birthright citizenship and deportation cases - including the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court - all had Miller as their chief architect.

Beyond that, Miller himself explicitly views the world as one of cruelty, dominance, "might makes right," and promoting the white nationalist Great Replacement Theory. Donald Trump promoting Miller into among the most important government positions is a signal of a lawless, authoritarian posture from the Trump administration for the next two years. Democrats who fail to acknowledge this, take it seriously, and act accordingly... will be failing their historic political mandate and oath to upload the Constitution as owed to their constituents.

 

The Polls Were Mostly Right, But...

It's looking like summer/fall 2026 polling data ultimately underestimated Democratic enthusiasm and over-weighted Republican participation, resulting in even bigger gains than anticipated. What didn't happen was what Speaker Mike Johnson claimed: that pollsters were under-sampling Republicans and the GOP would suffer few if any losses.

Why not? After three consecutive presidential elections in which polling underestimated Trump, pollsters became particularly concerned about missing Republican voters. As a result, pollsters increasingly adjusted samples using party affiliation and previous voting behavior. These adjustments can improve accuracy, but they can also introduce errors when the electorate changes. Pollsters underestimated Democratic enthusiasm and the number of Democratic-leaning voters who would actually participate. Some voter groups appear to have shifted politically more substantially than the polling models anticipated, such as Latinos and young men.

There is an important lesson here: correcting a previous statistical error can create a new one when pollsters become overly dependent on historical voting patterns. The 2026 results challenge the assumption that Republican voters are inherently more difficult to capture in polling or that Democratic support should routinely be adjusted downward to compensate for historical polling errors.

You Don't See Very Much

"You Can See Everything" - ⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really wanted to champion this film as I did with "Digger" earlier this month, as well as "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" last year. But I just can't.

Frontloading my praise for the documentary (about the 34 days prior to Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes commencing her 123 month prison sentence for conspiracy to defraud investors and wire fraud): it is constructed as an edge-of-your-seat interrogation of shades of truth and psychological performance. Documentarians Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim deploy skillful technical and artistic storytelling devices throughout - which themselves keep the viewer engaged and peering around every corner of the frame, looking for answers.

But unfortunately, the 174 minute running time is punishing to the point of feeling like audience abuse. It teases at revelations that never come. The plot development is so minor as to leave one wondering if it was missed entirely. A cursory viewing of the first hour tells us almost everything we ultimately conclude by the end of the third hour. And when the film devolves into being about itself and how it is made, there's only a passing and superficial examination of documentary film ethics on offer. Much like Theranos and its promised miracle machine, there is no payoff here worthy of the investment.

YCSE is no "Catfish" or "Tickled" or "Exit Through the Gift Shop" or "Capturing the Friedmans" - all documentaries with genuine twists and turns. Instead, YCSE wallows in the delusions of one woman with extreme closeups and Fielder's prolonged examinations as to whether we believe her... or whether she believes herself. No interviews with legal experts or medical device engineers. Nothing like a sobering fact-check to actually equip the audience with more information to reach an enlightened conclusion. And no fitting comeuppance for the incredibly controlling and narcissistic husband serving as the film's chief villain.

This documentary has clearly riveted critics; it will almost certainly win many awards and be nominated for countless more. While I can only give my candid assessment as a filmmaker and avid cineaste, I maintain that a sharper, more focused 60 minute version of this film streamed online is a more fitting place for the material than a 174 minute theatrical release. "I will never get those three hours back" is what I grumbled as I walked out after the end credits.

A quick whiteboard doodle

If you leave me alone in a room with a whiteboard and a dry erase marker for 5 minutes, this is what will probably happen.

Digger is a cantankerous romp of a movie

"Digger" feels like what "Birdman" director Alejandro González Iñárritu would do with a combination of "Dr. Strangelove" style and "Don't Look Up" substance.

Struggling at the box office, it's indeed a critically polarizing film and somewhat challenging to sit through, but I found it ultimately rewarding. It is a high-concept approach to dramatizing climate disasters - a catastrophic problem with which humanity must reckon in the mid-21st century. What will fine art, cinema, and theater do to reckon with the destruction of the planet at the hands of fossil fuel companies and a global economy beholden to dirty energy?

This film stridently hits audiences over the head - as Tom Cruise wielding a shovel - with an answer to that question: using inventive, over-the-top satire as a blunt instrument. I suspect this cantankerous romp of a movie will find an appreciative audience in the long run... even if in the long run, we're all dead.

DONALD WHO? and CEOS PAID 325x AVERAGE WORKER

DONALD WHO? Donald Trump is on the ballot, but Republicans are trying to pretend he's not. Meanwhile, Trump himself instructed his cult following to "pretend" Trump is on the ballot and "cheat like hell" to win the election for Republicans. However, a CNN analyzed AdImpact data for September 1–15, 2026 and found:

- Only 12 Republican TV ads mentioned President Donald Trump.

- Republicans produced more than 500 TV ads during that period.

- Those 12 Trump-mentioned ads represented about $1 million in spending, out of more than $160 million in Republican TV advertising.

- This that less than 1% of Republican TV-ad spending went to spots specifically mentioning Trump.

- By comparison, Democrats mentioned Trump in 95 ads during the same period, with about $23 million in spending. 

CEOS PAID 325x AVERAGE WORKER - A new analysis was just published from the Economic Policy Institute about CEO compensation at the largest U.S. publicly traded companies.

- Average CEO compensation rose 14% in 2025, reaching about $27.9 million among CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms.

- EPI calculates that CEOs received about 325 times the compensation of a typical worker in 2025.

- For comparison, the ratio was about 21-to-1 in 1965 and 31-to-1 in 1978.

- From 1978 to 2025, EPI estimates realized CEO compensation increased 1,316%, while compensation for typical workers increased 28%.

CEO compensation isn't simply a $27.9-million salary. EPI's "realized compensation" measure includes salary, bonuses, long-term incentives, and stock-based compensation when stock awards vest or stock options are exercised.

If you use the report's 325-to-1 ratio literally, one year of average CEO compensation is roughly equivalent to 325 years of the typical worker's annual compensation.

Arabian Leila's Upcoming Album

 🎧 💿🎵  Exciting news! My partner is working toward releasing her first album under her performer name, "Arabian Leila." This collection of 12 original songs is deeply personal - exploring trauma, recovery, dissociation, and the long journey of finding herself again. As an ex-Muslim, they are the songs of a woman who was silenced for decades - now choosing to speak not in secret, but publicly, boldly, and with intention.

In addition to writing, singing, and producing in close collaboration with a local Canadian music studio, she painted all of the album art for each song! Her tracks are currently in the mixing stage, combining all the elements to create polished songs with a blend of personal, heartfelt ballads fused with English and the Arabic hip-hop.

Currently, she's seeking funding to complete the mastering process, which is the final step to allow her voice to be heard clearly and professionally across all platforms. Any donation you can make will mean so much to her! She will send digital copies of the album to anyone who donates $20 or more. Thank you from both of us!

Link to her fundraising campaign here: https://www.gofund.me/0efb14471