He Said He Would [Politics]

It's really shocking to me how many people on both sides think 47 is not going to do just EXACTLY what he says he's going to do. They just keep thinking THEIR water's edge will be HIS water's edge. And it won't.

Both buyer's-remorse conservatives getting their faces leopard-eaten because they thought they were at the top of the social hierarchy AND the "Stop overreacting" white dudes with surprised Pikachu faces every. single. fucking. time. they are proven wrong about what they condescendingly mansplain/whitesplain/cissplain to marginalized people he can't or won't. They ALL seem to labor under the same assumption. He can't/won't/wouldn't/couldn't do "that."

Actually, he telegraphs every single move.

Exactly. Precisely.

I mean, he lies. So there's that. If his mouth is moving, he's lying. This is a guy who says he's taller than Obama (he's not), insisted that Kansas City is in Kansas (it's in Missouri), and used a sharpie on a National Weather Service infographic because he insisted a hurricane was going to make impactful landfall in Alabama (it wasn't, and didn't). And, of course, he says he hasn't even heard of the playbook literally put forward by all of HIS people for exactly what THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH intends to do to keep liberals from even being a roadblock to oligarchical and bigoted agendas. 

Even though he only mentioned his ignorance of Project 2025 once he found out it was wildly unpopular even on the right, and despite the fact that to even REMOTELY believe that bullshit, you would have to accept that a bunch of trusted advisors and aides surrounding him during his campaign didn't run their GRAND plan past the ONE person that was absolutely integral to its success with so much as a, "This cool with you?" But sure. He never heard of it. Right.

But he IS a liar. That's demonstrably true without even breaking a sweat. He said he'd build a wall and didn't. He says he's got the most beautiful plan for healthcare and doesn't have the first clue where to even begin. He says he won golf tournaments he didn't. That he nearly boarded helicopters he didn't. That he saw things he didn't. That people said things to him who didn't. He lies about not really knowing Michael Cohen. His golf scores. The size of his….inauguration. He breaks promises. He claims he's the smartest person on Earth and makes up people who think so. 

He's just….a liar.

So I can see there being some confusion about what truth even MEANS to a person like this—if he even has enough of a sense of reality to express truth. I can see why someone who hadn't been through four years of Trump might believe he was full of piss and wind. Like maybe nothing he says can be trusted, so why trust his threats against marginalized communities? 

But there are patterns to his "alternative facts." He also floats political ideas as throw away statements and then starts banging on them if he doesn't get pushback. He has the "tells" of a shitty poker player. He uses not-at-all-slick coded language to couch his racism and bigotry, most recently saying DEI when he means non-white or women or disabled or non cishet. 

And it's really clear, after you watch him for a while, who he's about to go after. 

He showed us exactly who he was nine years ago when he was running. He told us who he wanted to hurt. He told us who he hated and who he was pissed off at. He told us how important it was to hurt them. He revealed his racism over and over again. Then for four years he never wavered in being exactly the person he showed us he was. 

They said he would disclose his financial records. They were wrong.
They said he wouldn't go after Roe v. Wade. They were wrong.

They said he wouldn't have a major impact on the Supreme Court. They were wrong. (He got three appointments.

They said the CIA would never "let" him do any REAL damage to national security. They were wrong.

They said he wouldn't give massive tax cuts to the rich. They were wrong.

They said he wouldn't send the military into space. They were wrong.

They said he would take a global pandemic seriously. They were wrong.

They said he wouldn't contest the results of a democratic election. They were wrong.
They said he wouldn't leak secrets to Russia. They were wrong.

They said he wouldn't run the presidency for his personal profit. They were wrong.

They said he COULDN'T politicize the justice department. They were wrong.

They said he couldn't blatantly obstruct the Muller investigation. They were wrong.
They said he wouldn't pardon people who had attacked police and staged an insurrection. They were wrong.
They said he COULDN'T pardon himself. They were wrong (thanks to those three appointments).
They said he wouldn't dangle the Ukraine military aid in exchange for a quid pro quo investigation into his political rivals. They were wrong.
They said someone would stop him if he was found to be guilty of a quid pro quo with Ukraine. They were wrong.
They said he would never openly work with neonazis. They were wrong.

They said he respected democracy and wouldn't fire whistleblowers or bar access to the media. They were wrong.

They said they didn't think he would start trade wars that raised the price of everything. They were wrong. 

They said they didn't think he would deport the law-abiding people doing menial jobs that no US citizen wanted to do. They were wrong.

They said they didn't think he'd deport their undocumented spouses. Or the people that voted for him. They were wrong.
They said his party would stop him if he went TOO far and wouldn't enable his most outlandish bullshit.

They. Were. Wrong.

And apparently they aren't yet tired yet of being so utterly completely wrong.

People just keep thinking there's some adult in the room that's going to tell him no. Tell him how unpopular his policies are. Slow his roll. Stand up with arms akimbo and say, "Executive orders can't do that. You have overreached! Stand down, servant of the public. Stand DOWN!!"  There isn't an adult in that room. He's fired them all. He's surrounded himself with lickspittle sycophant flunkies because those are the only people his narcissistic fragile ego can handle. 

His learning curve is hardly Machiavellian, but he will do what he said he would. He has hit some speed bumps because he's comically incompetent. He will need to fire some people who've said no to him…purge some agencies that investigated his allies…. Undermine the power of the judicial branch. Edge congress out of lawmaking. Put his people everywhere..

But he will. He will do what he intends to and there's no restraining force outside of resistance to talk him down. Project 2025. Pull out of treaties. End critical aid to countries ravaged by colonialism. Trash NAFTA. Trade wars. Target the LGBTQ+ community. Assist in the genocide of Gaza. Let the world burn. Start wars. Go for a third term. 

Everything. 

The Weaponization of Magick in Toxic Positivity

There's a problem I see with most neopagans and modern practitioners….

First of all, let's be real. There IS something to some of the claims practitioners make. One of the most fascinating things I've found about the magick I practice is that it's usually traces about 90% of all the same lines as scientifically backed psychology. You don't even have to go too far into the transpersonal realm for most of it. Spiritual psychology, existential psychology, and humanistic psychology are all looking at things humans have been doing for forever to see why they help us lead more fulfilling lives.

Meditation is good for you, even if you're taking a guided journey to meet your guardians, spirits, ancestors, gods or higher powers. Keeping a physical metaphor of your intention on your person to remind you of your objective can help you focus whether you call that a charm or a foci. Your unconscious mind can be influenced with visualizations—whether you call it affirmations or glamours; by repetition—whether you call them mottos, slogans, or mantras; or by intense focus on your desires—whether you call that autosuggestion or manifestation. 

Parts work in psychology is SO much like shadow work that the first time I did the latter my shadow was already well developed and already waiting to talk to me. Habit stacking is useful to add things you want to do as a daily routine even if you call it ritual practice. Journaling helps you think straight and keep track of your long-term thought arcs whether you're doing it as an intellectual exercise or a spiritual practice. Time in nature is grounding and rejuvenating whether or not you hug a single tree. Higher powers don't need to be sentient beings to give our lives meaning and purpose. Service gives us emotional resilience whether we do it as a calling or simply because we see the need to reach out and bridge the divides that wound the human family. 

Yes, you can transform into a better version of yourself if you believe in yourself and are confident. And confidence affects everything from performance to mental health to body image and the energy you exude that people find compelling. It doesn't matter if that is coming from positive self talk into a mirror or a spell to "bring out your inner light." And it doesn't matter if your "reminder" that you are awesome is hooked to some music or a scent or something wrapped around your neck that gets in your way, repeatedly nudging those energies to the forefront of your mind.

Now…I'll admit that ten percent that goes towards the woo…I can't explain and have stopped trying. I've had experiences I don't claim to understand—channelled things that VERY clearly were not me and that then made predictions that turned out to be SPOT on accurate, and a number of coincidences so large as to give even my skepticism pause that I'm starting to sound ridiculous. But if explanations that sound like "lightning reflecting off of swamp gas wreathed Venus" help you sleep at night, wonderful. And if my drug addled visions of a story that has been told enough times that it has become sentient—conscious of itself and its purity and it's tellers, draws powers from humans' belief, and can influence humanity helps you sleep at night is what helps you sleep at night, wonderful. Whatever. 

It is in that ten percent that leans towards the "mundane" side that I see big problems among modern practitioners though—problems that trace the lines of the rest of our culture and its proclivity to silence the voices of the powerless. These "masters of transcending human limitations” forget what the rest of a human being is.

Yes, your perception can affect your reality—that's not really even a noteworthy observation these days (the science done on how our brain begins to trick us during hunger, sleep deprivation, the influence of music, or even the ability to solve a math problem that disagreed with one's politics)—but to fundamentally change perceptions in a way that alters our reality for longe than the song with the eighties power chords is on, someone has to CREATE that practice and do the work and it takes time and energy and probably won't work tomorrow. So you do it for yourself and teach if asked. But what you DON'T do is spew it AT others like a cereal box platitude of weaponized toxic positivity. ("If you'd just see this as a good thing….") A gratitude practice isn't going to polyana someone through chronic illness…injury…systematic injustice….or even just a REALLY bad time in their life.

Fuck off with that shit. Let people tell you they're hurting. Hear them without trying to guilt them that their magick ought to be powerful enough to overcome any hardship.

A practitioner who is serious about magick will work to create a world where those things do not limit the range of ALL our potentials, not castigate those who have obstacles to overcome for "bringing down the vibes, man." A true healer knows the world is caustic and has some empathy about that. 

I feel like the live, laugh, love practitioners aren't looking around and noticing that they're starting on third base by being middle class (usually upperly so) and mostly white, and are using their magick and "intentions" to justify silence…and silencING others. In a chilling echo to the lack of empathy we find everywhere in capitalism, they simply wrap it in a magical language "skin" and keep doing what the rest of society is also doing. But the shadows can't be denied in magick. (Actually "ESPECIALLY in magic") And so trying to keep everything positive always is just more of the same social hierarchy crap and "isms" and "phobias" as ever. It's gatekeeping with woo. It's just dressed up in robes and talking about ascending to the fifth circle….or something.

Yes. Another post about that fucking salute.

You know what happens when someone does a Nazi salute who didn't mean to or was just trying to wave or a did a "Roman" salute that got taken for something else? 

They apologize. 

Profusely. 

They fall over themselves trying to set the record straight. They make sure they disavow anyone who is cheering for them and correct anyone trying to excuse them. They take great pains to repudiate the ideology they were accused of representing. They are mortified that something they did landed in ~such~ a harmful way. They go OUT OF THEIR WAY to make sure that all possible ambiguity is removed from the gesture and that everyone knows that's not what they're about.

Now for ten points and control of the board, what has Musk NOT done. Who does Musk support and who supports him? Republicans, conservatives, neonazis, and moderates (echoed by no small number of white liberals) are throwing smoke screens about it not really really being real are BANKING on the fact that can't see into his heart of hearts to "KNOW" what he feels.

But you can judge his actions. You have all you need to know. Before. During. Especially since. The rest of this is just smoke-filled, coffee house crap.

Follow WAW, NWAW, or Chris Brecheen

Interested in following Writing About Writing? Or Chris Brecheen?

If you're trying to follow Writing About Writing (or if you are trying to follow ME as a writer), it might actually be confusing to navigate all the different ways I am online and what goes where.

Writing About Writing is on several social media, but each medium is updated a little bit differently. Some get every post I make, no matter how major or minor. Some media are privy to a cycle of "reruns" where most days I cycle through the popular posts of the past so that new folks can see old posts they may have missed (and old fans can be reminded of treasured classics).

Some social media have different signal-to-noise. Some I update in other capacities. Some are fire and forget. In some, I post my writing that is not "about writing," like the blog NOT Writing About Writing. Other places, more strictly ABOUT writing, pretty much keep it to this blog and it's updates along with macros, puns, and "You should be writing" memes. A lot of people have left Facebook and almost everyone I know has left X (Twitter). 

Here are a few questions I get a lot:

What should you follow if you want to see everything I write? 

You want My Public Facebook Page. Follow it (or friend it if you check out the guidelines below). Though be warned that it can sometimes be like drinking from a fire hose. I will post everything I write, including reruns, but I ALSO post navel gazing, proto-posts, Jack-Handy-caliber deep thoughts, amateur political punditry, social justice thoughts, macros, silliness, and geekery. 

What should you follow if you basically want all the official posts I write, but not a bunch of crap about politics, video games, my day, or social justice?

You will get a higher signal to noise ratio if you follow my Tumblr, but I write about politics, video games, social justice, and sometimes my day, so I'm not really sure you can avoid that if you're interested in me as a writer.

What should you follow if you basically want the Writing About Writing blog, but almost nothing else. 

You want the Writing About Writing Group. TWO posts most days (one new and one rerun). There is one meme (but only one) that is the prior day's best from the page. I almost never post from my other writing, and I almost never post more than one meme.

What should you follow if you basically want memes, puns, articles, and "you should be writing" reminders and don't really care about reading my blog?

Okay, that's cool. No no. It's fine. Really. While I put some aloe on this burn, you want the Writing About Writing page. Lots of memes, macros, puns, and comics and it's easy to scroll past the occasional post from my blog.

What should I do if I want all of these things? All of it! Give me more!!

Follow the Writing About Writing Facebook Page, The Writing About Writing Facebook Group, and my Public Facebook Page. Then go to the following button on the page and set your preferences to "See First." I will warn you that you may see some repeat posts, but this if you want to miss the fewest things I post, this is the way.

Or if you don't like Facebook, follow me on Bluesky and Tumblr. The two together should have pretty much everything I write.

All nearby Mandalorians in unison:
"This is the way"

The "Join this site" button on the left, toward the bottom of this (and every) page. 

Following Writing About Writing through Google's Blogger allows you to assemble a collection of blogs you follow. Most people following the blog this way have their own blog through Blogger, but it's not necessary. (You only actually need a Google account, which many people have through Gmail.) You will be notified when I write a new post.

Pros- Shows all updates (minor and major). Updates in a timely manner.

Cons- No reruns. No posts from any other venues. Blogger usually takes a few hours to get the latest post up.

R.S.S. Feed 

Note: Google has recently discontinued FEEDBURNER, but if you still want an RSS and/or email feed, here is a page of alternatives. 

If you have an RSS reader, you may like to simply be updated by having your RSS feed updated with the text of my latest post. If you click on the Feedburner button AT THE BOTTOM of the page, you can subscribe to Writing About Writing through a number of RSS readers including FeedDemon, Netvibes, My Yahoo, Shrook, NewsFire, RSSOwl and more. 

One of many Feedburner alternatives at the link above.

Pros- Shows all new updates (major and minor). Updates instantly.

Cons- RSS feed does not include reruns (even the Greatest Hits I like to cycle through). No posts from other venues. Many RSS readers are JUST text, so you won't see the images that are part of the posts. Also, if you get a little behind on your feed, catching up feels Sisyphean and knowing the next update is coming feels like the sword of Damocles. (Gotta get my Greek metaphors on.)

Email Notification 

….has been disabled by Blogger.

I'm really sorry. I will keep my eye on a replacement. When I'm making enough to pay all the bills with writing, one of the first orders of business is going to be hiring a web designer to completely overhaul the site and have all the cool things that I can't figure out how to do.

Bluesky

I keep most short things on Bluesky. While I'm not ready to leave Facebook, a lot of my friends ARE, so anything that CAN fit into the 300 character limit, will, and if it can't fit in 300 characters, it'll end up in a post that I LINK to on Bluesky (or I'll post it to Tumblr). This DOES mean that Bluesky is going to see a LOT of my personal posts.

Pros- A glimpse into my private life.

Cons- Who wants to see THAT crap?

Twitter

No

Pros- Peace of mind. Not supporting a Neonazi. 

Cons- Are there really any?

Facebook Page for Writing About Writing 

(That heading is a link)

W.A.W.'s Facebook page is its whole own thing.

In order to build an audience on Facebook, I spend a lot of time posting memes, macros, "you should be writing" reminders, inspirational messages, videos, and whatever thing about writing I find interesting and want to share.

This may seem counterintuitive, but I actually try NOT TO POST TOO MUCH FROM MY BLOG. The audience I've spent years carefully cultivating will not stick around if things get spammy. Most of the FB audience is there for the shenanigans, not the blog cross-posting.

You can increase your chances of seeing posts by setting the page to "see first," but you'll never see everything……because Zucc. FB does something horrible frequently enough that if I could som

Click "See first" to see more. 
But because FB wants page admins paying money
nothing you do will ever get you everything I post.
(You have to visit the page periodically and go through our history for that.)

Pros- Lots of other fun stuff going on. 

Cons- Lots of other stuff going on which. Also the FB algorithm prevents page followers from seeing every post so some W.A.W. posts will get lost. Not a good place to get all the blog updates if you want them. Enjoying anything on FB requires a shower with steel wool and industrial cleanser. Facebook is the Antichrist.

Tumblr 

(The heading is a link)

I joined Tumblr after Facebook's 2016 round of content throttling. Then Tumblr started doing it too and THEN they axed LGBTQIA+ content because of overkill compliance with Fosta/Sesta. These days I'll post all my blog stuff (reruns too) including from the non-writing blog, and a few of my well received memes very similar to my FB group except more memes and I sometimes I share other Tumblrs or something a little social justice-y. 

Pros- Blog posts from all locations. Best meme of the day. 

Cons- Somewhat limited presence on Tumblr. And I share other Tumblr posts about social issues from time to time.

Facebook's Writing About Writing Group

(The heading is a link)

Different from the FB page, the Facebook GROUP will only have the blog posts (usually two a day) and a single macro/meme/infographic that is kind of like "The prior day's best."

Pros- Mostly just blog cross posts. (Reruns and current.) Once-a-day "best of" macro/meme.

Cons- Nothing else.

My Public Facebook Profile

(The heading is a link) 

My Public FB profile is a melange of personal updates, posts about politics and social issues, geekery, things I find about non-monogamy, introversion, and pop culture. But it will also include some "behind-the-scene" thoughts about writing, running a page, and the creative process. (And sometimes complaining about some of the people I run into on the page itself.) If you wish there were more "Social Justice Bard" posts, this is a place where you can read the proto-versions of some of them as well as the ones that never make it to the blog.

You might want to follow for a while and decide IF you want to send me a friend request. I'm definitely not everyone's cup of tea with the geekery and the social justice stuff. 99.9% of my posts are public, so you really wouldn't be missing anything except the ability to comment.

If you don't care for my (very) occasional social issues post on other social media, you will like my profile even less. I write about that stuff almost daily. I can be a bit much for people. I post a lot. 

I have a Commenting Policy for this profile. You should read it before charging in. ESPECIALLY before charging into a contentious post. 

If you do want to "FRIEND" me, send me a PM with your request. (Don't worry, I check my "Message Requests" inbox at least once a day.) That account gets around 100-200 friend requests a week. I reject most of them because I don't know if they're there to try and rent my page or just pick a fight in the comments. So send me a message along with the request.

Pros- See more of "me." Get "behind the scene" updates. See "alpha" versions of posts and thoughts that never quite make it.

Cons- I post a LOT. I am not shy about my liberalism/leftism. 

Instagram

(The heading is a link)

Yes, I even have an Instagram. It gets periodic updates as well as the the occasional selfie (although late stage capitalism demands that I point out my Patreon selfie tier is still the best way to get those). I don't really pay much attention to it since images (or short videos) are not the medium I work in.

Patreon

(The heading is a link)

Though Patreon is less of a social medium, my patrons do get pictures and content through various tiers that are not available to anyone else. Newsletters, early access to posts, and the occasional post about what's going on that my regular readers aren't privy to. 

Others? 

I would love if something better existed than these few (oft problematic) sites. I know there's shit out there like MeWe or Dreamwidth. Most everywhere seems to suffer from two things:

1- Everytime we move, everyone goes somewhere different and some people I never see again.
2-As soon as they get enough people, capitalism corrupts them to be similarly evil, so there's no escape other than to use social media in the most subversive way possible. 

Right now, I am also fettered. For all Facebook's throttling and trying to squeeze blood from my stones (and even restricting my account for no reason and not telling me why), running a page of 1.3 million is what has made it possible for me to be a working writer.