The Democratic establishment isn't stupid or inept, they are simply corrupt. This is why we get Democrats who can say the right things, then vote the opposite way. Yes the billionaire class are oligarchs, and fascists and authoritarians but all of that misses the point. The point is they are lying, cheating, thieves who have made our government a kleptocracy. Like the Republicans, Democrats have fallen for the siren song of wealth. It is why they support the slaughter in Gaza and see no Constitutional crisis. They are part of the money cult that has become America. The money cult is why our institutions are falling in line. They love their wealth more than freedom. Our strength to fight back resides in 3 fundamental things. 1) Unity. That is why the kleptocrats have done everything they can to divide us against each other. 2) Nonviolent Resistance. Resistance is not simply protest, it is sand in the gas tank of corruption. And 3) Strategic Planning. This demands that we be crystal clear on what we are fighting against (corruption) and what we are fighting for (universal human rights, from which comes real democracy). This has been a long time coming but here we are. This chaos is our opportunity to build a new more humane world than has ever existed. It's going to take time but we either roll over and surrender like Walz is doing or fight back for a better future.
Thank you for your conscious comments and your positioning of Democrats accurately. They are (and have been) the more clandestine side of the same coin that the other side of, is currently in charge of, and is carrying out the ongoing agenda. It is however being done with more overt and dangerous actions. It all is and has been (no there's no good old days) an intentional game orchestrated by elite "forces" some of who and which can be named, and should be called out. Corbin has great vision and dreams but he too (can be) viewed as a co-opted voice if he continues pushing that the solution resides with revamping the Dems. They surely have been exposed as complicit, and (have been) and are a closed shop to anyone attempting (or that has ever attempted) real change. The solution is in all of our individual hands.Many "cards" are now being played on us and our action (or non-action) is to recognize what is real and not and act accordingly. What are some of these "control" cards besides the current oppressive military in our streets? real ID's, stable coins/digital currency, possible declared lockdowns due to more fabricated climate/weather emergencies and health pandemics, food and water shortages , imminent internet collapse, the continued horrific absurdities of continuing wars, and (perhaps the worst) the continued dumbing us down with media brainwash. which lulls us into complacency. It all is in our face and it is all not as real as portrayed. It's time to not get fooled by thinking all is a result of dem/pub policy differences. They're in on it together. The remedy is more about total regime change...the thing we've been doing to others world over for decades. The reality is, they're running out of victims and are plundering US now and we need to notice it and speak to it. We can make all of this evil oppression vanish. As you say this is an ugly and beautiful time...and most of all, it's an opportunity.
Corbin your words ring so true and provide a clear roadmap, and the appropriate sense of urgency and represent the people. I can’t understand why in hell your grounded, common sense approach isn’t fully embraced by the progressive democrats. Please keep pounding the drum. You are a voice of clarity and reason in the madness. Thank you!
The UNDERSTATEMENT of year: “I fear that the Democrats we have in power now are not ready for this moment.” Correct, the democrats in power now couldn’t find their own asses with both hands. They still haven’t figured out why or how they lost America to a 78 year old, morbidly obese, demonstrably stupid, perverted, orange faced felon. The answer is the American People wanted CHANGE and apparently, ANY change would do - even Trump change. The last democrat who offered America a plan to change how things work was Bernie Sanders, but the Democratic establishment in charge somehow knew that America really wanted the most polarizing figure in America, Hillary Clinton’s version of change which just happened to be, keeping the status quo the status quo. Given the chance, they will do this again.
I am enjoying Newsome doing the Bully the Bully 101 thing. It’s easy and effective when dealing with a dull twit like Trump. It’s definitely change for the ever-so-timid dems but it’s not going to change anything.
The Orange situation isn’t going away any time soon and I do fear it’s already too late to do anything about especially with the opposition party leaderless and in shambles. In all honesty I can’t see myself voting for any incumbent democrats who are offering America virtually nothing aside from not being Trump. Personally, I have never feared more for our future.
RankChoice Voting the best way to make sure that people don't vote at all. I am a smart person and have never been able to make sense of it. It just seems like a way to turn away about 85% of voters or to obviscate the result of a vote. Let's settle for now on one person, one vote and count them correctly without gerrymandering results.
If you want to have a liberal democracy we must fight against complacency in the corporate Party. We must demand free and fair primaries and vote for the candidates of our choice. Progressives must have a voice and we must win.
The blue state governors must convene a Conference of Governors in Illinois immediately and set up the firewall to pour sand in the gears of a rogue, fascist and racist federal government that looms over our Democracy.
Corbin, You are so right! You have got my vote! I hope that *you* are in a political position to confront these easygoing tho slightly scared establishment Dems! There is no returning to "normal" after this mess. It has to be a brand new beginning. FDR turned us around and that is the model. Build, stop extracting (and benefitting from the extraction!)This piece is so on target. Will pass along to my friends...and by the way, you have described my Millennial offspring who are not impressed with the Democratic party at all! Simply refused to vote last time! Argh!
Why didn’t the Harris/Walz campaign listen to and act on the reports by cybersecurity and the NSA showing the criminal interference in the 2024 election? We didn’t have to be in this mess! Who decided to roll over and let this happen? What’s to stop it from happening again if the leadership of the dems won’t take on criminality in our elections? If there is an reason to clear out the old guard, this is it!
Actually, we have done it before and we must do it again. I call it Opportunity Capitalism. It was a form of regulated capitalism with appropriate pages taken from the socialist book. It is a mixed economy. We need to break up monopolies, reinstate the estate tax and raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy. That needs to be invested in education, research and other public programs that grow the economy from the bottom up.
Please be aware of Opus Dei, a secretive organization within the Catholic Church whose ultimate goal is an authoritarian theocracy. Project 2025 is a blueprint for their takeover. If was largely written by Russel Vought, who is Opus Dei. All the conservative Supreme Court justices were from the Federalist Society run by Leopard Leo, also Opus Dei.
I often think, as I’m participating in the resistance, “What is our ‘ask’? What is our vision of the future? Where are we leading people?”…and it seems like we’re expecting to go back to the system that led to this point in history. That’s not good enough. We (the resistance…which consists of moderate liberals and progressive Democrats and others) need to articulate our vision for the future. Our own version of Project 2025. If we don’t, one thing’s for sure: we’re going have Project 2025 for a very long time.
I have been reading you on and off and this one resonated in my bones and my shoulders dropped in relief that I am not alone! Btw I subscribed and passed you to friends. The establishment Dem party is over. It's been cooked, fried and left out too long. It was abandoned at the altar and it's still fussing with the veil. I am hungry for thoughtful, animated conversations about the country we want. And like you said, that's what project 2025 did and, as awful as we see that vision to be, it drew a huge group of ppl. I very much like the start of your blueprint for remaking the country and we still have to survive the destruction of the country as we have known it. It's a necessary purge. Corruption of every conceivable kind has the throne and violence is wielded as the hand of God. The greatest form of resistance is creating a vision of what can be.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has resolved, with unanimous disdain, to inaugurate a new dishonor: The Nobel Piece of Shit Prize.
This unprecedented award is reserved for those whose actions have not advanced peace, dignity, or human welfare, but have instead defiled them with consistent cruelty, deceit, and degradation.
The Committee announces, with grim appropriateness, that the first-ever recipient is Donald J. Trump, 45th and 47th President of the United States.
The Committee’s Citation
Donald Trump is awarded the Nobel Piece of Shit Prize for:
Corruption of Democratic Institutions – For his ceaseless efforts to delegitimize elections, stack courts, pardon cronies, and turn government into an instrument of personal vengeance.
Incitement of Violence – From summoning mobs to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, to glorifying political violence at rallies, to fueling militias with conspiratorial lies.
Hatred and Division – For racial animus, dehumanization of immigrants, and endless attacks on the vulnerable, all while cloaking cruelty in a flag and a Bible he neither understands nor respects.
Sabotaging Public Health – Through the deliberate undermining of science, promotion of disinformation, and current moves to eliminate life-saving COVID vaccines, he has endangered millions while claiming victory over “fake viruses.”
Global Destabilization – For cozying with dictators, alienating allies, and treating diplomacy as a real estate hustle while the world staggers under the weight of authoritarian resurgence.
Committee Statement
While the Nobel Peace Prize has historically honored those who strive toward peace and dignity, the Nobel Piece of Shit Prize recognizes the corrosive inverse: the individual who, through relentless mendacity and malice, leaves the world demonstrably worse.
Donald J. Trump’s record is a festering monument to ego and brutality. It is the Committee’s judgment that his legacy will not be measured in treaties signed or lives saved, but in institutions weakened, trust corroded, and human suffering amplified.
The Nobel Piece of Shit Prize is not accompanied by a medal, diploma, or monetary award. Instead, the recipient receives a bronzed plunger, a symbolic tribute to his lifelong service in clogging the flow of truth, justice, and human dignity.
History will not remember Donald J. Trump as a leader, a builder, or even a man of conviction — only as a bloated cautionary tale, a lingering stink, the sewage clog that choked the currents of democracy.
For more rage, reason, and righteous mockery, subscribe: @Open Letters by Mersault
Right! Saxy Bubba Clinton recruited the donor class in his third "Third Way" caving to privileged wealth, completing the abandonment of FDR's party. Too many comfortable Dems have glided on these coattails, and it's time for a break-up. Yeah, it's hard to do -- or is it? How much more fun to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our compatriots across all class lines and cheer a burgeoning middle class, throw MAGA into therapy, and recover pride, agency, and self-respect. It's our rebuilding year, and we've got some new stars.
The Democratic establishment isn't stupid or inept, they are simply corrupt. This is why we get Democrats who can say the right things, then vote the opposite way. Yes the billionaire class are oligarchs, and fascists and authoritarians but all of that misses the point. The point is they are lying, cheating, thieves who have made our government a kleptocracy. Like the Republicans, Democrats have fallen for the siren song of wealth. It is why they support the slaughter in Gaza and see no Constitutional crisis. They are part of the money cult that has become America. The money cult is why our institutions are falling in line. They love their wealth more than freedom. Our strength to fight back resides in 3 fundamental things. 1) Unity. That is why the kleptocrats have done everything they can to divide us against each other. 2) Nonviolent Resistance. Resistance is not simply protest, it is sand in the gas tank of corruption. And 3) Strategic Planning. This demands that we be crystal clear on what we are fighting against (corruption) and what we are fighting for (universal human rights, from which comes real democracy). This has been a long time coming but here we are. This chaos is our opportunity to build a new more humane world than has ever existed. It's going to take time but we either roll over and surrender like Walz is doing or fight back for a better future.
Thank you for your conscious comments and your positioning of Democrats accurately. They are (and have been) the more clandestine side of the same coin that the other side of, is currently in charge of, and is carrying out the ongoing agenda. It is however being done with more overt and dangerous actions. It all is and has been (no there's no good old days) an intentional game orchestrated by elite "forces" some of who and which can be named, and should be called out. Corbin has great vision and dreams but he too (can be) viewed as a co-opted voice if he continues pushing that the solution resides with revamping the Dems. They surely have been exposed as complicit, and (have been) and are a closed shop to anyone attempting (or that has ever attempted) real change. The solution is in all of our individual hands.Many "cards" are now being played on us and our action (or non-action) is to recognize what is real and not and act accordingly. What are some of these "control" cards besides the current oppressive military in our streets? real ID's, stable coins/digital currency, possible declared lockdowns due to more fabricated climate/weather emergencies and health pandemics, food and water shortages , imminent internet collapse, the continued horrific absurdities of continuing wars, and (perhaps the worst) the continued dumbing us down with media brainwash. which lulls us into complacency. It all is in our face and it is all not as real as portrayed. It's time to not get fooled by thinking all is a result of dem/pub policy differences. They're in on it together. The remedy is more about total regime change...the thing we've been doing to others world over for decades. The reality is, they're running out of victims and are plundering US now and we need to notice it and speak to it. We can make all of this evil oppression vanish. As you say this is an ugly and beautiful time...and most of all, it's an opportunity.
Corbin your words ring so true and provide a clear roadmap, and the appropriate sense of urgency and represent the people. I can’t understand why in hell your grounded, common sense approach isn’t fully embraced by the progressive democrats. Please keep pounding the drum. You are a voice of clarity and reason in the madness. Thank you!
Excellent article. Past time to change the guard.
The UNDERSTATEMENT of year: “I fear that the Democrats we have in power now are not ready for this moment.” Correct, the democrats in power now couldn’t find their own asses with both hands. They still haven’t figured out why or how they lost America to a 78 year old, morbidly obese, demonstrably stupid, perverted, orange faced felon. The answer is the American People wanted CHANGE and apparently, ANY change would do - even Trump change. The last democrat who offered America a plan to change how things work was Bernie Sanders, but the Democratic establishment in charge somehow knew that America really wanted the most polarizing figure in America, Hillary Clinton’s version of change which just happened to be, keeping the status quo the status quo. Given the chance, they will do this again.
I am enjoying Newsome doing the Bully the Bully 101 thing. It’s easy and effective when dealing with a dull twit like Trump. It’s definitely change for the ever-so-timid dems but it’s not going to change anything.
The Orange situation isn’t going away any time soon and I do fear it’s already too late to do anything about especially with the opposition party leaderless and in shambles. In all honesty I can’t see myself voting for any incumbent democrats who are offering America virtually nothing aside from not being Trump. Personally, I have never feared more for our future.
Missing: ranked choice voting. Necessary to build real coalitions and allow principled candidates to win
RankChoice Voting the best way to make sure that people don't vote at all. I am a smart person and have never been able to make sense of it. It just seems like a way to turn away about 85% of voters or to obviscate the result of a vote. Let's settle for now on one person, one vote and count them correctly without gerrymandering results.
If you want to have a liberal democracy we must fight against complacency in the corporate Party. We must demand free and fair primaries and vote for the candidates of our choice. Progressives must have a voice and we must win.
The blue state governors must convene a Conference of Governors in Illinois immediately and set up the firewall to pour sand in the gears of a rogue, fascist and racist federal government that looms over our Democracy.
This must happen soon….
Support for genocide while getting rich off PAC’s won’t get my help or money!
Is a National Progressive Campaign Committee possible? That was what I was hoping Bernie 2020 would turn into.
Corbin, You are so right! You have got my vote! I hope that *you* are in a political position to confront these easygoing tho slightly scared establishment Dems! There is no returning to "normal" after this mess. It has to be a brand new beginning. FDR turned us around and that is the model. Build, stop extracting (and benefitting from the extraction!)This piece is so on target. Will pass along to my friends...and by the way, you have described my Millennial offspring who are not impressed with the Democratic party at all! Simply refused to vote last time! Argh!
Why didn’t the Harris/Walz campaign listen to and act on the reports by cybersecurity and the NSA showing the criminal interference in the 2024 election? We didn’t have to be in this mess! Who decided to roll over and let this happen? What’s to stop it from happening again if the leadership of the dems won’t take on criminality in our elections? If there is an reason to clear out the old guard, this is it!
Actually, we have done it before and we must do it again. I call it Opportunity Capitalism. It was a form of regulated capitalism with appropriate pages taken from the socialist book. It is a mixed economy. We need to break up monopolies, reinstate the estate tax and raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy. That needs to be invested in education, research and other public programs that grow the economy from the bottom up.
Please be aware of Opus Dei, a secretive organization within the Catholic Church whose ultimate goal is an authoritarian theocracy. Project 2025 is a blueprint for their takeover. If was largely written by Russel Vought, who is Opus Dei. All the conservative Supreme Court justices were from the Federalist Society run by Leopard Leo, also Opus Dei.
I often think, as I’m participating in the resistance, “What is our ‘ask’? What is our vision of the future? Where are we leading people?”…and it seems like we’re expecting to go back to the system that led to this point in history. That’s not good enough. We (the resistance…which consists of moderate liberals and progressive Democrats and others) need to articulate our vision for the future. Our own version of Project 2025. If we don’t, one thing’s for sure: we’re going have Project 2025 for a very long time.
I have been reading you on and off and this one resonated in my bones and my shoulders dropped in relief that I am not alone! Btw I subscribed and passed you to friends. The establishment Dem party is over. It's been cooked, fried and left out too long. It was abandoned at the altar and it's still fussing with the veil. I am hungry for thoughtful, animated conversations about the country we want. And like you said, that's what project 2025 did and, as awful as we see that vision to be, it drew a huge group of ppl. I very much like the start of your blueprint for remaking the country and we still have to survive the destruction of the country as we have known it. It's a necessary purge. Corruption of every conceivable kind has the throne and violence is wielded as the hand of God. The greatest form of resistance is creating a vision of what can be.
🥇 DONALD J. TRUMP RECOGNIZED BY NOBEL COMMITTEE
Press Release from the Nobel Committee
Oslo, Norway – August 25, 2025
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has resolved, with unanimous disdain, to inaugurate a new dishonor: The Nobel Piece of Shit Prize.
This unprecedented award is reserved for those whose actions have not advanced peace, dignity, or human welfare, but have instead defiled them with consistent cruelty, deceit, and degradation.
The Committee announces, with grim appropriateness, that the first-ever recipient is Donald J. Trump, 45th and 47th President of the United States.
The Committee’s Citation
Donald Trump is awarded the Nobel Piece of Shit Prize for:
Corruption of Democratic Institutions – For his ceaseless efforts to delegitimize elections, stack courts, pardon cronies, and turn government into an instrument of personal vengeance.
Incitement of Violence – From summoning mobs to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, to glorifying political violence at rallies, to fueling militias with conspiratorial lies.
Hatred and Division – For racial animus, dehumanization of immigrants, and endless attacks on the vulnerable, all while cloaking cruelty in a flag and a Bible he neither understands nor respects.
Sabotaging Public Health – Through the deliberate undermining of science, promotion of disinformation, and current moves to eliminate life-saving COVID vaccines, he has endangered millions while claiming victory over “fake viruses.”
Global Destabilization – For cozying with dictators, alienating allies, and treating diplomacy as a real estate hustle while the world staggers under the weight of authoritarian resurgence.
Committee Statement
While the Nobel Peace Prize has historically honored those who strive toward peace and dignity, the Nobel Piece of Shit Prize recognizes the corrosive inverse: the individual who, through relentless mendacity and malice, leaves the world demonstrably worse.
Donald J. Trump’s record is a festering monument to ego and brutality. It is the Committee’s judgment that his legacy will not be measured in treaties signed or lives saved, but in institutions weakened, trust corroded, and human suffering amplified.
The Nobel Piece of Shit Prize is not accompanied by a medal, diploma, or monetary award. Instead, the recipient receives a bronzed plunger, a symbolic tribute to his lifelong service in clogging the flow of truth, justice, and human dignity.
History will not remember Donald J. Trump as a leader, a builder, or even a man of conviction — only as a bloated cautionary tale, a lingering stink, the sewage clog that choked the currents of democracy.
For more rage, reason, and righteous mockery, subscribe: @Open Letters by Mersault
Right! Saxy Bubba Clinton recruited the donor class in his third "Third Way" caving to privileged wealth, completing the abandonment of FDR's party. Too many comfortable Dems have glided on these coattails, and it's time for a break-up. Yeah, it's hard to do -- or is it? How much more fun to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our compatriots across all class lines and cheer a burgeoning middle class, throw MAGA into therapy, and recover pride, agency, and self-respect. It's our rebuilding year, and we've got some new stars.