At our all girl high school we had a group of seniors who belonged to a sacred group called ‘The Out to Lunch Bunch.’ I was a founding member. We memorized this particular passage because we felt it represented ourselves accurately. I had forgotten it’s magic until now. Thank you Sue! 🥰
The pattern I am seeing right now is the regime's attempt to impoverish the populace through inflation (via tariffs), monetary policy (decreased value of the dollar), decreased employment, and other threads I'm too confused to identify right now. Am I the only one seeing this?
CLF, nope…you’re NOT the only one. Even if there isn’t one “impoverish-the-populace” master plan…a bunch of moves can predictably land the same way: higher cost pressure + more job insecurity + weaker protections… which reduces bargaining power and makes people more controllable.
Tariffs can function like a broad price shock…employment insecurity makes people risk-averse… and eroding guardrails.
You’re seeing a pattern of outcomes…and you don’t have to prove intent to name it!
No, but I think one could take another step back and see this whole pattern as an element in an even larger pattern to suppress the part of the population they don't like: through financial means as you have seen, through attacks on the election process, and even through bad foreign affairs decisions which go toward "Putin-izing" the US government. And others, but I need to take another deep breath.
J.B., I hear you. And that “step back” is the right move...because it is a pattern: apply pressure across multiple systems (money, voting access, enforcement, narrative, institutions) until certain people self-silence...or...get pushed out.
The key is staying disciplined...name the pattern without spinning yourself into doom. Take the breath. Then pick one lane where pressure actually works...and stay consistent. Orientation first...action second...always.
Jack, thank you for your words on orientation, I have found your work very grounding in these turbulent times. I find myself being able to remain calmer and more focused, thank you for that.
Kristine Antonivich...you are most welcome. That...is the purpose of this work...and it fills me with more joy than you might realize, to read your words.
Thanks for the compass to continue moving forward in the murky waters of the present time. The north star you provide gives a focus to the moment and help in making sense of the horror.
Jo Burns, that means a lot. The goal isn’t to eliminate the murk...it’s to move through it without losing yourself. Orientation keeps panic from becoming paralysis. We hold fast.. stay clear-eyed...and keep going!
As always, Jack shows the way: The distractions were nearing wall-to-wall. Suddenly people are digging deep into the latest Epstein stuff and finding what the govt was trying to conceal, I knew there would be folks watching for it and sure enough, pages started disappearing, alas too late. Who knows what’s next? It is unfortunate this relegates the other horrifying things being perpetrated on us in the name of our safety and happiness to second page news. I can’t decide which is worse, so we’ll call it a mixed blessing.
Randy, that tension you’re naming is real. Distraction and revelation often arrive together...one horror eclipses another. The trick isn’t choosing which is worse...but not letting EITHER knock us off orientation. Attention shifts...patterns persist. That’s where the work stays.
Alexa, that’s exactly right. Care...and brief...intentional distance from the noise...isn’t avoidance...it’s preservation. Steady as we go...eyes clear...footing firm. You’re doing this the right way. Alexa Russell. You are.
This landed when we most needed it with the regime ratcheting up more chaos than a bag of squirrels..the protests have been unreal with people out in whiteouts and sub zero weather..the people are fighting back. Thanks for this piece. I listened to you on Steady yesterday. I realized you live in the same red state with Jess Piper on Substack. Wondered if you have ever read her. She’s a one woman fighter for democracy traveling and giving speeches in small rural towns in the Midwest.
Teri, it really did land in a moment of maximum chaos...and those protests matter.
People showing up in brutal conditions...tells you something REAL is happening beneath the noise.
That kind of resolve doesn’t disappear...just because attention shifts.
And yes...I know Jess’s work. I actually had her on as a guest on my podcast a little over a year and a half ago. What she does in small towns takes a different kind of courage...and it matters more than most people realize.
Teri, I too love Jess Piper. She hails from Columbia, MO., which is a liberal college town much like Lawrence KS. It’s really tough being Blue dots in Red states. Substack helps a lot to connect us.
No thank god just watching them in the trees teasing the dogs with their chattering and some coming down the tree just out of reach to really tease the poor dogs...
This is right. Authoritarian moments are not defined by spectacle but by disorientation. Confusion is engineered to feel private, so people fall silent. Orientation—seeing patterns, naming pressure, staying cognitively present—is a civic act. That is how democracies endure.
Thanks Jack and have a restful weekend everyone. My sons family is hosting a family from MNPLS who needed a break, here in Wisconsin. Then he had time for me and a nice walk now that it is a balmy 25 degrees. Life can be good sometimes.
Barbara, that sounds grounding in the BEST way. Making space for people...fresh air...time with family...that’s how we keep perspective when everything else feels off-kilter.
I spent time with my Aunt today...who I hadn't seen in years. She's 80 years old...and it felt so good to share some time and catch up. It really did. I felt re-charged.
Enjoy the weekend...and I'm glad you had that “balmy” walk. Life really can be good sometimes...even during times like this.
Jack is my inspiration to carry on.
💙🔥
Reading this short essay at the right time is better than taking a tranquilizer. Thanks.
You’re welcome, J.B. Glad it landed with you.🔥
-Jack
Jack, thank you. And your words brought to mind one of my favorites, with a wee bit of editing.
By Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Democrat, my child.
Sue, you’re welcome. I love Kipling, particularly the piece you posted!💙
-Jack
Love that! Thank you
At our all girl high school we had a group of seniors who belonged to a sacred group called ‘The Out to Lunch Bunch.’ I was a founding member. We memorized this particular passage because we felt it represented ourselves accurately. I had forgotten it’s magic until now. Thank you Sue! 🥰
The pattern I am seeing right now is the regime's attempt to impoverish the populace through inflation (via tariffs), monetary policy (decreased value of the dollar), decreased employment, and other threads I'm too confused to identify right now. Am I the only one seeing this?
CLF, nope…you’re NOT the only one. Even if there isn’t one “impoverish-the-populace” master plan…a bunch of moves can predictably land the same way: higher cost pressure + more job insecurity + weaker protections… which reduces bargaining power and makes people more controllable.
Tariffs can function like a broad price shock…employment insecurity makes people risk-averse… and eroding guardrails.
You’re seeing a pattern of outcomes…and you don’t have to prove intent to name it!
Thanks for being here. 🔥
-Jack
No, but I think one could take another step back and see this whole pattern as an element in an even larger pattern to suppress the part of the population they don't like: through financial means as you have seen, through attacks on the election process, and even through bad foreign affairs decisions which go toward "Putin-izing" the US government. And others, but I need to take another deep breath.
J.B., I hear you. And that “step back” is the right move...because it is a pattern: apply pressure across multiple systems (money, voting access, enforcement, narrative, institutions) until certain people self-silence...or...get pushed out.
The key is staying disciplined...name the pattern without spinning yourself into doom. Take the breath. Then pick one lane where pressure actually works...and stay consistent. Orientation first...action second...always.
-Jack
The lighthouse shining in the darkness is incredibly apt. I’m present, calm, and paying attention…thanks to you, Jack. 😐👍
S Lane, I’m loving the fact you are present…calm…and paying attention. You’re showing up…in a useful way. 🔥
-Jack
Jack, thank you for your words on orientation, I have found your work very grounding in these turbulent times. I find myself being able to remain calmer and more focused, thank you for that.
Kristine Antonivich...you are most welcome. That...is the purpose of this work...and it fills me with more joy than you might realize, to read your words.
-Jack
Thanks for the compass to continue moving forward in the murky waters of the present time. The north star you provide gives a focus to the moment and help in making sense of the horror.
#HoldFast
Jo Burns, that means a lot. The goal isn’t to eliminate the murk...it’s to move through it without losing yourself. Orientation keeps panic from becoming paralysis. We hold fast.. stay clear-eyed...and keep going!
-Jack
As always, Jack shows the way: The distractions were nearing wall-to-wall. Suddenly people are digging deep into the latest Epstein stuff and finding what the govt was trying to conceal, I knew there would be folks watching for it and sure enough, pages started disappearing, alas too late. Who knows what’s next? It is unfortunate this relegates the other horrifying things being perpetrated on us in the name of our safety and happiness to second page news. I can’t decide which is worse, so we’ll call it a mixed blessing.
Randy, that tension you’re naming is real. Distraction and revelation often arrive together...one horror eclipses another. The trick isn’t choosing which is worse...but not letting EITHER knock us off orientation. Attention shifts...patterns persist. That’s where the work stays.
-Jack
Having a bit of personal care and simple but short distraction from the ‘noise’ helps. As always, Steady as we go. Thank you Jack.
Alexa, that’s exactly right. Care...and brief...intentional distance from the noise...isn’t avoidance...it’s preservation. Steady as we go...eyes clear...footing firm. You’re doing this the right way. Alexa Russell. You are.
-Jack
This landed when we most needed it with the regime ratcheting up more chaos than a bag of squirrels..the protests have been unreal with people out in whiteouts and sub zero weather..the people are fighting back. Thanks for this piece. I listened to you on Steady yesterday. I realized you live in the same red state with Jess Piper on Substack. Wondered if you have ever read her. She’s a one woman fighter for democracy traveling and giving speeches in small rural towns in the Midwest.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri, it really did land in a moment of maximum chaos...and those protests matter.
People showing up in brutal conditions...tells you something REAL is happening beneath the noise.
That kind of resolve doesn’t disappear...just because attention shifts.
And yes...I know Jess’s work. I actually had her on as a guest on my podcast a little over a year and a half ago. What she does in small towns takes a different kind of courage...and it matters more than most people realize.
Hold fast indeed!
-Jack
She is truly a brave fighter for democracy
Teri, I too love Jess Piper. She hails from Columbia, MO., which is a liberal college town much like Lawrence KS. It’s really tough being Blue dots in Red states. Substack helps a lot to connect us.
And another question Teri….have you experienced a bag of squirrels?? Just curious…..👀
No thank god just watching them in the trees teasing the dogs with their chattering and some coming down the tree just out of reach to really tease the poor dogs...
Jack, I'm saving this for a reread when I get weary!
Brenda... Please DO. That is a great idea. Truly.
-Jack
As always you are my touchstone!
That's kind of you to say, Deborah. I appreciate you feeling comfortable here...and like it is being beneficial to you. I love that.
-Jack
This is right. Authoritarian moments are not defined by spectacle but by disorientation. Confusion is engineered to feel private, so people fall silent. Orientation—seeing patterns, naming pressure, staying cognitively present—is a civic act. That is how democracies endure.
#HOLDFAST
You show up Jane...thank YOU.
-Jack
Thanks Jack and have a restful weekend everyone. My sons family is hosting a family from MNPLS who needed a break, here in Wisconsin. Then he had time for me and a nice walk now that it is a balmy 25 degrees. Life can be good sometimes.
Barbara, that sounds grounding in the BEST way. Making space for people...fresh air...time with family...that’s how we keep perspective when everything else feels off-kilter.
I spent time with my Aunt today...who I hadn't seen in years. She's 80 years old...and it felt so good to share some time and catch up. It really did. I felt re-charged.
Enjoy the weekend...and I'm glad you had that “balmy” walk. Life really can be good sometimes...even during times like this.
-Jack
How lovely to spend time with your Aunt as well. Re-charging is the best!
☺️
Thank you!
Pamela...you're welcome.
-Jack