From Russia -with Malice

The jury found malice.

He truly hates that woman, the writer. And yes, sadly, I do believe he’s Putin’s idea of an asset, which took years to activate.

That’s it in a nut.

Malice! That’s the perfect word for Mighty Mouth. Mr Retribution!

Oh yes: He hates you too! But it’s the delicious obsessively slow-cooked rotisserie version of hate: Malice!

70% chance he hates your guts too, voter. And if you serve on a jury? Malice!

And if you stand between him and his goal of being king of the world? Malice!

And imagine the malice he learned from his old man Fred whose ghost haunts Donald-Son-of-Fred every minute of his miserable sub-existence.

Fred taught him the existentialism of greed, that it would be far better to hurl oneself off a cliff, hitting every notch and crag on the way down, than to ever give up the quest for domination. So ultimately it’s a form of Submission on behalf of the worthless piece of crap son of Fred.

Malice !

Malice. And utter contempt.

But hey.

Who has that kind of dough? Let’s walk it back.

Republicans are campaigning on “inflation” and the kitchen table and look here now, people.

I’m still reminiscing about the $400k he paid in hush money to keep Stormy Daniels quiet (checks he signed, genius) – and that crime hasn’t been tried yet- so that judgement could add to the total. Almost a half million in hush money paid. Before any criminal penalties yet to come.

(I keep wondering about his struggling supporters who probably make less than 40k /year. He has a million bucks to spend on a mistress? )

Plus the NY fraud case to be decided next week could be $300 million. And FOX is on the hook for $780 million, and two more defamation judgements are coming. So he’s setting a couple of billion dollars on fire, just…behavior issues. Truly.

Genius! He’s one angry pirate captain! He claims he has $400 million somehow in cash. No one believes that. Perhaps buried on the golf course. (I’ve heard Trumps are old-fashioned pirates: they bury stuff. Like in the actual ground.)

(The porn star payout wasn’t $130 k as was usually reported; it was three times that. $130 k for each porn star and a like fee to the attorney for the arrangement. Why this is considered a slap on the wrist affair is open to conjecture; perhaps for libertarians it’s all aspirational.)

He paid $25 million for Trump University. These are big ticket items for the smartest guy in the room.

His BFF Rudy is on the hook for $150 million, to keep things in perspective.

These are deals and gambits he devised! No Democrats were involved!

When you de-regulate everything this is what you get. Pirates.

“When you’re a star they let you do that.”

“It’s been going on for a million years, fortunately or unfortunately.”

Far Left Conspiracy? Ummm…

The Front Runner.

“Alabama has done it and now so can you!”

-Steve Marshall, Alabama Attorney General.

That’s so upbeat!

Alabama is #1 at something!

Nitrogen gas executions.

Nitrogen hypoxia: It really works!

Less complicated than crucifixion, which is also death by hypoxia, or pressing by stones, or drowning. So many options.

Back in the day, 1700s, you could be drawn and quartered, beheaded, dragged and displayed in the Towne Square and no one would say boo. You could be shot and hanged and drowned in the river- all at once!

Alot of history and tradition there.

It took twenty minutes with the nitrogen, so presumably they could have just shoved the convict’s head in a bucket of water to achieve the exact same result.

What would civilized nations say?

Now that all murders are deterred we can all relax! Thanks, Alabama, for solving the crime problem. Again.

Now who is running for public office? This gets votes!

Stroke of “Genius”

(Everyone knows, you’re only as pretty as you feel, am I right? Think on these things.)

-Now, it’s fairly certain Biden is taking care of himself. Exercise, watches his diet. Ice cream. Delegates authority. Massive teams with decades of experience and expertise do the heavy lifting.

But the other guy? The walking nuclear meltdown? Not so much.

The campaign, the trials, the constant travel, public appearances, sleepless schedule, more plain flights- all must take a toll on the supposed front runner.

76 years old, overweight, nearly died of Covid… Blowing a gasket publicly for years without sleep, probably on steroids, who knows what else?

Reminds me of President Wilson’s final campaign.

Woodrow Wilson toured the western states by train in 1919 to campaign for the League of Nations- and it destroyed his health. He was probably predisposed to stroke:

“The tour’s intense schedule—8,000 miles in 22 days—cost Wilson his health. During the tour he suffered constant headaches and, in late September, collapsed from exhaustion in Pueblo, Colorado. He managed to return to Washington, but suffered a near-fatal stroke on October 2. He recovered and continued to advocate passage of the covenant, but the stroke and Republican Warren Harding’s election to the presidency in 1921 effectively ended his campaign.”- History Channel blurb

My favorite psychic readers are predicting Hair Guy might run out of steam by October due to some lifestyle choices and the ghost of Fred lashing him forward.

Sad.

Ok, who’s next?

How about Warren G Harding?

Now, as I said, Biden takes pretty good care of himself. The other guy, not so much.

We know the other guy, the insurrection one, is making whistle stops in the dead of winter in an interlocking schedule of contentious court cases where he’s yelling at the judge and no hours of prolonged rest.

So. Predictions?

You’re 76, your corpulent, your joints are stiff, your extremities are numb, you can’t stop yelling, and your stay up all night shadow boxing and tilting at windmills on the internet.

Stroke? Long Covid? Steroids? Mood enhancers? Super-hormone growth formulas bought from Republican hucksters? All the above.

Turn back the page, one hundred years ago, President Warren G Harding.

“Harding hadn’t been in good health when he took off for a West Coast tour that some people saw as a step in laying the groundwork for a 1924 re-election campaign.

Witnesses said Harding didn’t look well during the trip, and that he may have suffered a bout with food poisoning after eating seafood. Harding’s doctors were concerned enough about his health to divert his train to San Francisco. Harding was able to walk off the train into a limousine, which took him to the Palace Hotel.” Then. Dead. Heart attack.

Well. Let’s see who can use court appearances and rallies as a substitute for sleep.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Like the energizer bunny!

How about LBJ? Had his first heart attack at 47. The currrnt contender in the lack of sleep marathon is old enough to be his dad.

President Johnson:

“He was one of the hardest-working presidents ever and could have lived much longer if he had changed the lifestyle factors that caused his first heart attack at age 47. He had 20-hour work days, was always sleep deprived, chain-smoked, drank excessive amounts of alcohol, was overweight and did not exercise. He had eaten hamburgers and fried foods virtually every day, loved sugary desserts such as tapioca pudding, and almost never ate vegetables.”
Villages News, FLA

Sound familiar?

So I do work in the medical profession, albeit on the lowest rung. I’d give the former guy some pro advice:

Sir sir!: Keep on! You’re doing fantastic! Everybody is saying so. There’s never been a campaign like this!

Who’s next?

Eisenhower. On the golf course.

“Eisenhower’s myocardial infarction began on Friday, September 23, 1955, while he was playing golf in Denver. At first, he attributed his discomfort to the hamburger he’d had for lunch. He went back to the house where he was a guest, continued to have what he thought was intermittent “indigestion,” then awoke around 2 a.m. with severe chest pain. His wife, Mamie, called Eisenhower’s personal physician, who arrived about 3 a.m.”

Yes- though he is not actually the president of the United States but a Pretender, he is vying for a place in some journals of medicine.

If he’s keeps this up, supporters may have to stop by during visiting hours and tap on the glass. An aide will assist with the famous “thumb’s up.”

Too cruel? (For a man devoted to destroying health care?) Perhaps you’re right. Answer the call bell quickly quickly.

---

Unity dis

How come we can’t have unity all of the sudden?

Most of the country was ok with it on November 7, when it was obvious Biden and Kamala Harris had won the election .

It could have been a sweet, fair victory. There was actual dancing in the streets .

But no. It became a three-month long living nightmare.

What happened?

The biggest mind-war campaign I’ve ever lived through since the Cold War.

It was one big thing, that ended with violence and mass delusion.

A mind-war promoted by the Republican Party.

This plot was one overarching plot. And the Republican Party was onboard with every single attempt. Including the mob sacking the Capitol resulting in the death of a Capitol police officer and the terror attack on Congress- which was intended to undermine the election.

The Ukraine thing was to undermine the election.
The Hunter Biden thing was to undermine the election.
The post office thing was to undermine the election.
The Durham Report that never happened was to undermine the election.
The President’s claims that he would only lose if the election were rigged was to undermine the election.
The Attorney General’s assertion that mail -in ballots were an invitation to fraud was meant to undermine the election
The president’s call for foreign governments to call with opposition data was to undermine the election.
The limiting of ballot drop-off boxes was to undermine the election.
Rudy’s foreign exploits and Devin Nunez’ subversion of intelligence were to undermine the election.
Roger Stone Stop the Steal was to undermine the election.
Trump’s ignorant rant that the election votes only count on Election Day and not after midnight was to undermine the election.
The President’s calls to intimidate Secretaries of State were to undermine the election.
Lindsey Graham’s call to Georgia seeking to discard ballots was meant to undermine the election.
The pressure campaign by untrained observers who threatened poll workers was to undermine the election.
The jamming of a Conservative Justice to the Supreme Court was to undermine the election.
The president declaring victory on election night so he could party was to undermine the election.
The accusations that mail-in ballots were illegal was to undermine the election and to set up frivolous court claims which were to undermine the election.
The 60+ court cases were to undermine the election.
The press conferences with Rudy and Sidney and Jenna, to present 1,000 falsehoods about the election were meant to undermine the election
The amplification of public discontent from ingesting all the false claims about the election was to undermine the election.
The delays in accepting the result of swing states by the Republicans were to undermine the election.
The exhaustion of the public through non-stop false propaganda was to undermine the election
The rallies with domestic terror groups were to undermine the election.
The ignoring of Covid and the underfunding of the states during the pandemic was to undermine the election.
The speeches calling for 1776-style revolution in the US were to undermine the election.
The threats to Georgia’s governor after the kidnap plot of the Michigan terrorists was to undermine the election.
The speech at the Ellipse was to undermine the election
The ransacking of the Capitol was to undermine the election.
The Republican vote against the certification of electoral ballots was meant to undermine the election.
The Republican support for 100% of the above was to undermine the election.
The threat of rampant organized armed uprisings at state capitols was to undermine the election.
The attack on the US Capitol was to buy time for the Republicans in Congress to undermine the election.

Was the Republican Party really acting within normal parameters all this time?

Did they have the right to these actions?

Was it only fair to give the President a chance to make his claims?

This is what the government was doing instead of addressing Covid-19.

So that’s why we can’t have nice things, I guess.

Vote Blue. Check your voter registration. Vote.

In World War Two Americans united in opposing anti-democratic movements that threatened civilization world wide.

This ant-fascist policy was approved at the highest levels of government.

Today we have an extremist movement of officeholders covalent with the ideology of fascism, with disregard for the will of the People, which denies the legitimacy of the Federal government, and which refuses to acknowledge the authority of the President of the United States, the clear winner of the election of 2020.

The American fascist movement has also refused to comply with various orders of the US Supreme Court or to legislate with the popular party it opposes.

The America fascist movement has also undermined the independence of a free press- an essential doctrine of the founding era.

This was anticipated in the founding era, and a precedent was set for the peaceful transition of power with the words excerpted below.

---

President of the United States George Washington, prescient regarding current Republican efforts to disrupt the national government:

“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations under whatever plausible character with the real design to direct, control, counteract the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of the fundamental principle and of fatal tendency.

They serve to organize faction; to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party,

often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community;

and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common councils and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

-Washington’s Farewell Address, upon leaving office for private life.

(Pictured alongside the General is our “Paul Revere,” Woody Guthrie, with anti-fascist instrument. Sing out in November!)

The rank horror of this is beyond description.

It is cynical in the extreme, how a president who promoted bonkers conspiracy theories of QAnon, and publicly called out armed militias to his campaign, could the same week, and while positive for Covid, days before his decisive loss to Biden, select a Supreme Court justice to overturn human rights in America. And then enact a coup to remain in office.

The same month -Sept 2020, in which Trump nominated Barrett, plans were already in place to declare victory in the event he lost the election. He had contemplated this since July, according to his campaign manager.

This was a president who, the September he nominated Barret- had left the hospital -against medical advice- after nearly dying in the ICU- forced his Secret Service detail to drive in circles to greet well-wishers after he exposed everyone to Covid. Nuts. Don’t let Covid scare you, he told supporters, after a million Americans had died.

My suspicion is Trump was propelled by side effects of steroids used in the life-saving treatment for his condition at Walter Reed. Ignoring doctors, he may have just assumed he had some new physical superpowers.

(Trump had Covid when he debated Joe Biden- 6 days before Trump was hospitalized- a national security lapse that wasn’t lost on the nation’s adversaries.)

Yes the man who ridiculed Biden for his age had just emerged from the hospital himself and was lucky to be alive.

Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in a week before the election- which Trump lost. Many of us had already cast votes.

And then Alito prepared a decision that was largely bigotry with hate speech permeating every line, and certainly framed to humiliate his opposition among the public.

That’s not really a “decision” weighing evidence and precedent- no it’s a a screed. A personal vendetta. An insult. A punishing blow.

Alito’s decision in Dobbs revived the Doctrine of Popular Sovereignty- which historically, on the eve of the Civil War, was promoted to allow states to decide for themselves whether or not to allow human bondage: slavery- overturning hard-fought compromises of Congress to maintain the Union. Lincoln argued against the doctrine, opposing the spread of slavery to the expanding new territories and states. Why? Because slavery is wrong, and all men are created equal- according to our founding declaration. It spurred his campaign to the presidency.

So the Civil War was fought over exactly this theory of Alito’s and nearly 1 million Americans died in a fight that evolved into an issue of basic fundamental human rights as Lincoln knew it would.

The Nation will either be one thing or another- but it will cease to be divided, Lincoln warned. A house divided cannot stand.

So judged against Lincoln, we have a pretty malevolent character in Samuel Alito.

One thing we can say: the anti-democracy fascists will never stop with the wrecking ball to all our pubic institutions. And they’re not listening. They do not care who lives or dies as this week’s atrocity, denying life-saving medical care in Texas, has proven.

So the Christmas movies are streaming and the characters are trying to decide whether to stay and take a risk and refurbish the lodge, but the woman has a condo and is torn.

Where is the condo? I asked Ingrid.

“In the city.”

So that’s the update on the Christmas movie front.

***

Thought I’d watch another with Ingrid.

We watched “Christmas at the Ranch” last night.

Woman is a workaholic who refuses to leave The City and the mother is a simple country empath with a Scottish accent and a Christmas sweater and bangs n Botox and a log mansion and insists she come home where all her stuff is exactly the same-(it looks like as a child she collected stuff from Cost Plus)

anywho

She bumps into old boyfriend and tries to hide behind a tree and it turns out the bloke is still doing the same old same old. He looks like an unfrozen caveman with a chiseled expression, standard issue.

“I’m a different person than I used to be” she insists, but she still remembers two chords to the song she tried to write decades ago with Caveman. Oh no Im thinking not the guitar.

She begins to play.

Cat next to me is snoring now.

Dia de Los Muertos

The altars were all unplanned in general- each just seemed to emerge without effort from what was available and with the creativity of residents and the fragile ephemera of daily life. Like a little miracle.

Traditionally observed on Nov 1 & 2. A huge parade in the Mission District nearby, with drums and costumes and masks and face paint and candle lighting in a park.

We wondered whether the altars would of interest or perhaps too controversial or would bring up challenging emotions or would be uplifting and inspiring- but that may be true of all creativity, which often involves some risk of confusion or failure.

But the altars seemed to “want to” emerge anyway. Whether a tradition has begun remains to be seen.

One thing I’ve learned is there are many dimensions involved, and sometimes an invitation to contemplate. Most everything is fragile and passes away- would otherwise be forgotten or discarded. But for a time all is still and has a place and value.

Going forward I see the altar in its simplicity preferable to complex and challenging. The photos were up til the morning of Nov 2nd, and the altar gained in aesthetic appeal, when the photos were removed and it was no longer overladen with imagery, I believe. It became more decorative and welcoming. That may be a key to future presentation.

Unsure whether photos of those who died, as opposed to more creative symbolic representations, are acceptable to residents, given all their life and death challenges. Possibly a middle ground can be achieved somehow. I worry a little about this.

Thank you Mary Anne Voss for developing the idea into reality as a team. And to Augustina Ramos Silva from Oaxaca where the festival comes from, for approving and encouraging and providing the beautiful wall hanging. She is visiting her mother (in her nineties) in Mexico, and they definitely have their resplendent “ofrenda” there.

Peace.

Hurled Sink 1.

Or, Do These Pants Make Me Look Like A Marxist?

Ok. As I was saying:

Caution: Hurled Kitchen Sink Ahead

I’m peeping out of my burrow for one quick rant before the flying monkeys return to Washington:

I write because we are at an inflection point.

I write because I must.

I’m going to say everything only once and then it’s right back in the burrow. I’m not going to rant daily. But it needs to be said.

Ok.

With guilty pleas by Trump top insider/conspirators, the Freedom Caucus and the movement it represents is officially doomed. The leaders of the caucus are all implicated in Federal crimes. All of them.

The people who are indicted : leaders of the Freedom Caucus.

And the House of Representatives in its thrall is a power vacuum.

The failure to pick a Speaker of the House is truly a disaster for the Republicans.

There is more than a trace of blood in the water.

This is the first time in my entire life I’ve heard the Tea Party/ Freedom Caucus /Rush Limbaugh-ites admit they’ve completely fucked the entire thing up.

This is by design. It takes effort to screw this up.

The only reason they’re public with their failure is they’re forced to by the legal decisions and political circumstances of their own making that have hemmed them in in every direction. They are completely out of options.

This is a huge historic admission that exposes everything Rush Limbaugh propounded.

The decades-long Rush Limbaugh toxic-hate campaign led to directly to this: a branch of government almost completely destroyed. Undermined is understatement.

There are no lies left to tell. They aren’t telling them because they can’t think of any.

This is a vacuum specifically created to make room for a dictator.

There are only two choices. Government by compromise or by authoritarian rule. That’s it.

The Republicans said just this week they absolutely refuse government by compromise. Their words.

In theater lingo they’ve struck the set. The stage is bare. No special effects available. No curtain. No pretending. Nowhere to turn.
No tricks up their sleeve at all.

“We fucked up! We are losers! Why won’t someone help us out of this mess we created?”

After a violent election attack on the Democratic Party and on our system of government and a refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of the Biden administration, now they expect a hand across the aisle?

What?

They are opposed to representative government, period. Proof: Donald J Trump. And yet, now what?

They did this. This huge waste of time, the sabotage of an entire branch of government, was their political operation. No Democrats were involved.

One of the historic times when, to the astonishment of all, members were hopelessly unable to pick a Speaker of the House- perhaps the most basic, elemental and simple operations of governing- was a minute before the Civil War. The South refused to compromise on the slavery issue, saying no one could be speaker that wasn’t in support of the black codes in every state and territory. 1859-60.

And if a Speaker was chosen that didn’t meet that standard the states should just walk out.

The House of Representatives was then at an complete impasse. It went on for a month. Getting nowhere. Onlookers were really shocked. Picking a Speaker is usually a total no-brainer, with the usual horse trading etc.

It was an election year against Mr Lincoln and the same forces as we see today decided to scrap Democracy and walk out of the Perpetual Union.

This was by design. The faction had no possibility of getting its way so planned to blow everything up.

They know that. Most of the young libertarians do not know the history- but the ideologues do.

The Republican Party pledged to destroy the administrative state. They nearly succeeded. They are STILL working on it.

They don’t want to cut checks for workers or bureaucrats. Nope. Social Security?: you’ve got to be kidding. Jesus. Lord.

The leader is indicted. His attorneys have turned state’s evidence. He’s going to prison. Yes, really.

That’s his choice. His problems right now are entirely of his own volition. He could have conceded and surely would have won resoundingly in 2024. He chose an alternative path. Of lies, deception, fraudulent claims and threats of violence .

(That was such an exponentially “Nixon” thing to do, to not wait four fucking years. Instead, to send goons hither and yon, to wreak havoc far and wide.)

His propaganda channel paid out a billion dollars and is now officially regarded as a channel for lies, with (at least) three more billion-dollar payout trials yet to lose.

The minions are in prison also. This movement is collapsing.

This is not enough to stop Fascism. This is actually only a stop on the roadmap. A pause.

Out of the current ashes their star will surely arise. The imprisoned martyr. Demolition is a step in the process they’ve toyed with all my lifetime.

There are those who behind the scenes manipulated these people for decades, who truly are happy to destroy the government because they hate to pay taxes.

And they are enjoying this planned system shutdown by incompetent people who should never have been involved in government. For them, this is the ideal situation. Despite looming shutdown, people not getting paid, two wars, etc.

They agree with Trump: chaos is good. It creates a power vacuum. And that is great.

Some of them are working for other governments- not the USA. And some of those working on behalf of other governments are sitting members of Congress. So this for them is gigantic psychological operation. It succeeded spectacularly. Despite -or because of -your pickup trucks and flags.

Black Lives Matter and mythical “Antifa” – fringe movements with belated, nominal Democratic support -did not hold political power. These MAGAs do; they are in a power center at the heart the Federal government, with a vast sphere of influence. Huge difference. I’m just stopping the whataboutism right here.

And right now Republicans are trying to blame eight bomb-throwers in the House for a situation they marched toward in lockstep for years.

Yes the president was impeached- legally, and aquitted. Democrats accepted the result. As they should. (There is no political hassle ever that inconvenienced Trump even slightly or wasn’t used to his advantage, though he claimed to be a victim while he grifted his supporters.)

This is another thing entirely, this Trump/ no government thing.

So we hold the line.

The Republican Party must be allowed to hit bottom. As in addiction, there is no persuasive power that can effect the necessary change toward survival. It’s truly a death/spiral. We have to be ready. Courageous. And, when the time comes, to put the pieces back together.

Without that, hitting absolute bottom, the forces in play will redouble their energies. It’s truly a horror show, but mitigation keeps the ember of fascism smoldering just under the surface of public opinion.

But Fascism is not an opinion. It’s not a “point of view.” It’s a malevolent force, an energy.

Do not save the Fascists in the House! The “moderates” do not exist- they were expelled and voted out in primaries. Do not pretend to mollify a “moderate.” It is a ruse.

The American Fascists will never, never, never stop.

There is no gear to throw into reverse. There is no governor in that machine.

Historically, movements like we witness in the House have massacred their political enemies. Not that long ago. French Revolution. Russian Revolution.

They have expressed that desire just this year by a platform of “purging” the country of their opponents in a campaign of “retribution”. The leader has pledged to “terminate” the Constitution.

(FOX is pretending objectivity for the moment. It’s fake. Truly. They will never stop and they will betray their “friends.” They are not defending Sydney Powell, for example. Reminder: Corporations are NOT people.)

This is not metaphorical. It’s real. These are their words. When they tell you who they are, believe them.

In my youth, the Communism Hysteria, the Black Lists, McCarthism and the House UnAmerican Activities Committee were still recent and reverberating. This is far, far worse. Exponentially more dangerous.

But today there is a difference: the disputes that led to Civil War a century ago were sectional. The ones today are in every state- and popular opinion is not divided on issues of human rights.

Hold the line. Save the Union. We are the 80%. They are the 18%.

We’ve got this. Do not blink.

An Apt Comparison

…as if one were needed.

I was a high school long hair kid in 1972. We derelicts hated Establishment squares like Donald. But anyway. I judge the debate by a random comparison of 1972, the year I live in mentally.

Donald Trump in 1972: (NY Times profile)

“He is tall, lean and blond, with dazzling white teeth, and he looks ever so much like Robert Redford. He rides around town in a chauffeured silver Cadillac with his initials, DJT, on the plates. He dates slinky fashion models, belongs to the most elegant clubs and, at only 30 years of age, estimates that he is worth ‘more than $200 million.’ (That’s gone up a bit.)”

Joe Biden in 1972: (Wikipedia)

“Became the US junior senator from Delaware.
His campaign had almost no money, and he was given no chance of winning.Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers, an approach made feasible by Delaware’s small size. He received some help from the AFL–CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell. His platform focused on withdrawal from Vietnam, the environment, civil rights, mass transit, more equitable taxation, health care, and public dissatisfaction with “politics as usual”