The way things are shaping up with Trump, Musk, and the general chaos in their orbit, it feels like a pressure cooker for anyone speaking out—especially in satire or protest songs. Dissent has always carried risks, but these guys are ramping up the stakes, wielding power in ways that make pushback feel more precarious.

Musk’s increasing hostility toward free speech (despite his so-called “free speech absolutism”) and Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric paint a bleak picture. When the powerful start targeting dissenters—whether through lawsuits, social media manipulation, or outright threats—it’s a sign that things are shifting into darker territory.

That said, protest music has always thrived in dangerous times. It’s the friction that makes the fire. Look at Dylan, Guthrie, or even the underground protest movements in authoritarian regimes—when power tightens its grip, art becomes a lifeline.

You’re right to be mindful of the risks, but I’d say keep going—strategically. Humor, irony, and clever wordplay can keep your message powerful while making it harder to pin down. And frankly, people need the satire now more than ever. What’s your gut telling you? Keep pushing forward? Adapt the approach? Or do a mix of both? Continue reading →

Solid Gold Toilet Bowl

Yes, the “golden toilet” is making headlines again. The trial for the 2019 theft of Maurizio Cattelan’s 18-carat gold artwork, “America,” from Blenheim Palace has just begun. Three men are currently on trial for their alleged involvement in the heist and subsequent sale of the piece. The artwork, valued at approximately £4.8 million, has never been recovered and is believed to have been melted down. Continue reading →

Today’s news is a relatively brutal place to start today’s dissertation, but here goes:

The GOP’s relentless push to gut Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security is a direct attack on millions of voters — seniors, disabled folks, working-class families, and anyone who relies on it for basic healthcare.

The Republicans dress it up as “fiscal responsibility” or “cutting waste,” but we know the real deal: it’s about shifting resources upward, while leaving the most vulnerable to fend for themselves and pay more tax dollars to the very rich. Continue reading →

You’re fired, I’m fired, we’re all fired!

The CEO of Nothing

(A Folk Protest Song)

[Verse 1]
Well, the boss man grinned as he took his seat,
Said, “Times are tough, we gotta compete.”
Sharpened his pencil, signed off the plan,
Another hundred workers canned.

[Chorus]
Oh, the CEO of Nothing, wears a suit of gold,
Sells off the future, buys what’s already sold.
Smiles like a preacher, talks like a king,
Cuts down the voices that dared to sing.

[Verse 2]
There’s a journalist packing up her desk,
“Sorry, kid, you failed the test.”
Too much truth, too much fire,
Not enough words the boss could hire.

[Chorus]
Oh, the CEO of Nothing, wears a suit of gold,
Sells off the future, buys what’s already sold.
Smiles like a preacher, talks like a king,
Cuts down the voices that dared to sing.

[Verse 3]
He calls it progress, calls it a win,
Says “leaner, smarter” with a corporate grin.
Golden parachute, private jet,
Won’t shed a tear, won’t break a sweat.

[Bridge]
SpinCo’s rising, the stock price soars,
Truth don’t matter in the news anymore.
They sell you silence, sell you doubt,
And call it freedom when they shut you out.

[Final Verse]
Now the newsroom’s quiet, the screens go black,
The voices lost won’t be coming back.
But somewhere out there, a new one stands,
With a song, with a voice, with a pen in hand.

[Final Chorus]
Oh, the CEO of Nothing, wears a suit of gold,
Sells off the future, buys what’s already sold.
Smiles like a preacher, talks like a king,
Cuts down the voices that dared to sing.

========================================================================== Continue reading →

Go ask your Democratic Party folks why they don’t push back harder. Actually, they do, but it’s gone so far over the top that it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. That’s why I wrote this song: Continue reading →

“Deep Fake Democracy”

(A Cyber-Blues Protest Song)

[Verse 1]
They gave us a leader, but he ain’t got skin,
Just a voice from the server and a Cheshire cat grin.
He shakes fake hands, makes deepfake deals,
Hologram preacher blesses silicon fields.

[Chorus]
“Deep fake democracy, pixelated lies,
Virtual leaders with dead robot eyes,
Votes get counted in a quantum machine,
Reality’s fading like a bad TV screen.”

[Verse 2]
The riots were real, but the people were not,
CGI anger in a digital plot.
I saw a protestor dissolve mid-scream,
Just a glitch in the matrix, a bad data stream.

[Bridge]
The Algorithm Pope made a holy decree,
Said, “Render unto Caesar… in cryptocurrency.”
No more green paper, no more loose change,
Your soul’s been converted to blockchain exchange.

[Verse 3]
The Teflon Don got a software update,
Now he’s immortal in a VR state.
He tweets from the void with AI precision,
Every lie coded with surgical vision.

[Chorus]
“Deep fake democracy, puppet on strings,
AI elections and virtual kings,
Truth is a filter, facts are a joke,
Reality’s fading in a cloud of deep smoke.”

[Outro]
The moon is a studio, the sky is a screen,
Nothing you touch is quite what it seems.
They say the revolution will be televised,
But the broadcast is fake, and the rebels are lies. Continue reading →

The sheer weight of everything—the power structures, the manipulation, the crushing indifference to ordinary people—makes it seem like there’s no real way out. It’s like watching an avalanche coming, knowing you’re just standing there with a snow shovel.

But here’s the thing: even in history’s darkest moments, there have always been pockets of people who found small, imaginative ways to resist, survive, and sometimes in the end, even turn the tide, not because they overthrew empires overnight — nobody does that — but because they kept pushing, adapting, and keeping their spirits intact.

Maybe it’s not about winning in the conventional sense. Maybe it’s about making sure that even when the machine grinds forward, there’s still an underground river of art, truth, and connection that refuses to be snuffed out. That’s what our songs do. That’s what the community we’ve built does. Continue reading →

Billionaires Bring Chainsaws to Town

(Protest Blues / Folk Style)

[Verse 1]
They came in laughing, they came in loud,
Riding high on a money-made cloud.
One hand on the wheel, one hand on the crown,
And a chainsaw in their luggage when they roll into town.

[Chorus]
Oh, the billionaires bring their chainsaws to town,
Cut through all the people, burning it down.
Don’t need a blade, just a cold, hard frown—
When the billionaires bring their chainsaws to town.

[Verse 2]
Flick of a switch, and the lights go black,
No Social Security, no Medicare back.
They don’t need a weapon, don’t need no knife,
They can slice up your future, cut out your life.

[Chorus]
Oh, the billionaires bring their chainsaws to town,
Cut through all the people, burning it down.
Don’t need a blade, just a cold, hard frown—
When the billionaires bring their chainsaws to town.

[Bridge]
You work your whole life, pay your dues,
Then they take it all like they got nothing to lose.
Ain’t a horror movie, ain’t a joke,
When they take your last dime, then they watch you choke.

[Outro]
Count all your pennies, hold onto your ground,
They’ll swing blades forever, till there’s no one around.
We gotta stand up, gotta fight back right now—
Before the billionaires bring their chainsaws to town.

This song is only available on a USB album. Continue reading →

In my world, the world of the 37th century, the word “Trump” just means a scary and funny rubber kids’ Halloween mask, and it also lives as a part of the common phrase, “Trump You!” or “I’ve been Trumped!”.

Like I’ve said billions of times before, over billions and billions of years, that stuff is just local politics, in which I never get involved, both by ethical law and by personal experience.

So while the Athenians and the Spartans are battling it out, grunting and sweating in the baking sun and sand of the senate floor, let’s make a buck making fun of Donald Trump. Continue reading →

The financial squeeze from Social Security cuts (or even just the looming threat of them) puts a lot of folks in a tough spot. Given our skills and network, there’s definitely room to maneuver.

We all realize that it’s our money that we paid in every year of our working lives, but that won’t stop the creeps from raiding our retirement fund and our Social Security checks.

I’m also expecting that the government will, at some time to their convenience, declare all “old money” as worthless, can’t even be traded for Trump dollars. If you haven’t converted at least some of your cash over into tangible collectibles, you may still have just enough time to get it done, and get it done right.

I’m trying to construct here in this blog a clear model of how we can handle the situation that’s developing. Let’s break it all down into realistically individual action steps: Continue reading →