Jack - I regard this newsletter as a seminal document you have written. I have struggled with ascribing “crazy” to a lot of what we are experiencing but feeling this was not the right word especially considering that Trump is not doing all of this deconstruction by himself. Your analysis is extremely helpful and I will be sharing it widely. I don’t know where you find the time to produce these in-depth articles but that are most appreciated. This one helped orient me significantly. Thanks, Jay
Your instinct about "crazy" is EXACTLY the thing I was reaching for.
"Crazy" implies chaos and randomness...ONE man flailing.
What we're watching is closer to the opposite: it's deliberate...it's staffed...it has lawyers and a sequence to it...and Trump is the FRONT of it...not the WHOLE of it.
The minute you stop calling it crazy...is the minute you can actually SEE it...and once you can see it clearly...you can RESPOND...instead of just reacting.
That the piece helped orient you...is about the highest compliment it could earn, because that's the ENTIRE point of writing them.
As for the time...I don't steal it from sleep...because I guard my sleep with my life. But...it absolutely costs me in other places in my life, without question. The short answer, though...is I. Don't. Do. Anything. Else.
Healthy? Probably not. However...we aren't in normal times...and I refuse to treat it as such. I'm prepared to deal with the consequences of my unbalanced life.
Thank you for reading closely...and for sharing it widely! That's how this work travels.
Wow! This is an amazing crash course in staying engaged, paying attention and knowing what to listen and look for! Phew!! Printing this out to review and highlight.
Thank you! I trust what you write and the sources you provide.
And printing it out...to highlight...is EXACTLY how I hoped someone would use it. (I do the very same thing with pieces I find interesting. I go through highlighters like a cat goes through mice.)
It's built to be a field guide...not a one-and-done read; something to reach for...when the noise gets LOU...D and you need to remember what to LISTEN and LOOK for.
One word on the trust...because I don't take it lightly: the best way I know to keep earning it...is those sources. So don't just take my word... follow the links...kick the tires.
Trust that survives a little scrutiny...is the ONLY kind worth having.
Grateful you're here, BG... and grateful you're paying attention.
Gulp...guilty as charged for being so aghast at the cruelty, the lies, the incompetence, the utter absurdity of it all that "crazy" seemed an apt explanation. Although I always felt an uncomfortable sinister undercurrent. Now I see that "cunning" is a better word to describe the chaos.
Carol Anne...no guilt required... "crazy" is the word a decent person reaches for when they're staring at cruelty...lies...and absurdity...because the alternative... is almost too cold to say out loud:
That NONE of it is an accident. Reaching for "crazy" isn't a failure of your analysis. It's PROOF...your moral compass STILL works.
But...look at what you just said; you ALWAYS felt the sinister undercurrent.
That instinct was the REAL signal...and you were right to trust it.
"Cunning" is the upgrade...and here's the part that locks it in:
The chaos isn't the breakdown of the plan. The chaos IS the plan. Confusion is the cover that lets a great deal happen...while everyone is too disoriented to track it.
Once you see the chaos as an INSTRUMENT... rather than a SYMPTOM...the whole damn thing stops looking insane....and starts looking DELIBERATE.
You got there on your own! That's the hard part, Carol Anne.
I have ordered the audiobook by Altimeter, the Authoritarians and the audio book by Altemeyer and John Dean Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and his followers. I will take the information in these books and take their findings and apply them to the Project 2025 Manuscript and publish my findings on my Substack, A View from the Cheap Seats.
I am currently listening to the Habermann and Swan book Regime Change (my wife tells me I'm an audible learner). It is an interesting chronology of the Trump Administration and it will be interesting to see how Altimeter and Deans findings meld with their documented events.
This is a terrific reading stack; you're pulling from exactly the right places.
Altemeyer's RWA work...PLUS the Dean collaboration...gives you the psychology of the followers...and Haberman and Swan's, Regime Change, gives you the documented record...of the leadership ACTUALLY wielding that power.
Laying those two side by side...against Project 2025...wheeew...that's a genuinely smart approach...and I haven't seen many people doing it that way. Well done!
One thing that might help as you read: Altemeyer separates authoritarian followers (the RWA scale) from authoritarian leaders (social dominance orientation).
Project 2025 is interesting...PRECISELY because it's a document written by the strategist/leader class...BUT...engineered to mobilize the FOLLOWER base...so you can track BOTH halves of his framework in a single text.
Good on you for being an Audible learner, by the way...some of this material lands better read aloud anyway. I certainly use Audible a great deal...when I'm in the car.
Looking forward to whatever you publish! Tag me or drop a link here when it's up.
I am about half way through "Regime Change" by Habermann and Swan. it is a revealing documentation about the Trump administration and Trump himself gleamed from thousands of interviews of people that were actually there. It shows what happens when we put a carnival barker in charge of the country and its power structure. More when I get into the other two books.
Fascinating essay Jack. I’ve always felt that everything this regime does is very intentional. I now understand the psychology behind it. Thank you. This one is a keeper for future reference.
The intentionality is the part that took me a while to see clearly, too; once you understand the psychology...the PATTERN stops looking like chaos...and starts looking like DESIGN.
That's exactly the shift I was hoping the piece would land. Glad it's one you'll come back to!
It doesn’t help that mainstream media and social medias use algorithms to continue to repeat the chaotic messaging events. It leans towards the past when folks would read printed gossip rags about people in order to feel better about themselves without thinking if the information is true or not.
The algorithms reward outrage...and repetition...NOT accuracy....so the loudest...and most chaotic version of ANY story...is the one that keeps circulating.
You're right; it scratches an old itch...the gossip-rag instinct of consuming someone ELSE'S mess... to feel a little steadier about our OWN.
The format has just gotten faster...and more frictionless. The hard part...now...is slowing down LONG enough...to ask whether any of it is even TRUE.
I agree with the group. This post is a keeper. I’ll be printing it, as well, as the sources are fascinating, I’m sure. I’m also grateful to find myself here among this particular group of likeminded individuals. If I can say I feel particularly safe on many levels in particular spaces, this is one of those. Thanks for having me here.
Cherae, I appreciate your idea that we are a group. Never looked at it that way. Jack's posts as well as many of the comments left by others does give a feeling of hopefulness. The tactics learned here are really helpful in dealing with the daily noise and chaos.
YES!!! Finally have the whole map to address this conundrum. I had some points but far from all as explained here.
Thanks, Jack, very much. This is crucial for staying tuned, and hopefully effective, going forward with knowledge not exasperation. Clears the brain. Timely as usual.
Excellent. I hope this gets widely circulated, I think many people can’t process seven thousand word essays, good on em if they can, but there is absolutely no time to spare, and comprehension of this fact is still just a dim light on the horizon for far too many.
I had just finished this video before I got here, and for some reason this seems like a good and essential companion piece. (And yeah, I had a hard time not seeing Judge Luttig and then thinking William Shatner might have portrayed him once upon a time.)
You nailed EXACTLY why I keep these tight: a seven-thousand-word essay is a luxury of TIME...most people don't feel they have right now...and if the point can't get through QUICKLY...it doesn't get through AT ALL.
No medals for length; the medal is comprehension before the moment passes.
Thanks for the video, too...I'll watch it, and I trust your read that it's a companion piece. (And now I can't unsee it. Luttig does deliver every sentence like he's pausing for the dramatic... cut to commercial. Shatner would've nailed the cadence!)
“Knowledge does not protect against illusory truth. Your prior knowledge that something is false…does not reliably stop repetition from eroding it.” This is what gaslighting does. We’re being gaslit on a grand scale at this point in time.
Faith...that's the line that stops many in their tracks.
You've named the mechanism exactly; it works...precisely because knowing better ISN'T a defense. The REPETITION does the work...whether you consent to it...or not, which is what makes it so effective at SCALE.
The only real counter...is NAMING.IT.OUTLOUD. the way you just did.
How important and explanatory your article is, Jack! It is vital, and I appreciate the sources as well as your explanations. Having some of the books, one or two by Timothy Snyder being among them, I still have more reading to do. The True Believer by Eric Hoffer, read long ago, also came to mind, as well, while I read. Now I understand why no sensible reasoning, no truth, registered with a particular friend. Now, too, I understand the reasonings or underlying psychological underpinnings of some other friends.
We have seen and still are seeing these steps play out. I must reread, but my question remains, “What can we do?” You suggested having our sources lined up. I am pleased with those and find the days too short to keep up totally, despite best efforts. I am concerned about going through the time and how our society, our country, and our world can come through this, but I’ll keep the faith and keep paying attention.
I send much appreciation for your extra helpful work!
I had three interactions this week that are proof of this. One in particular floored me. I was working behind the bar when my buddy asked me how many times I’ve seen Springsteen. The answer isn’t important (102) but the reaction from the couple next to him was. I’ve know this couple for forty years. The wife said “ I used to like him but he’s pissing me off now.” My response “Why because he’s not a Trump fan?” She stared at me when I said “ You guys are big Christians. how do you feel about the whole cheating on all his wives?” The husband response. “We don’t know anything about that, but he’s a real leader. Not like Biden”
And now I know why. It is all about “Identity”. These are intelligent people.
Not red hat wearing rural blue collar people. Jack you had a hall of fame week with your writing. Thank you for all you do.
Great post Jack! This article should be required reading throughout a public (and private) school education. It can be applied to all age levels and should be repeated again and again. It might even be part of required reading to qualify to vote!
Jack - I regard this newsletter as a seminal document you have written. I have struggled with ascribing “crazy” to a lot of what we are experiencing but feeling this was not the right word especially considering that Trump is not doing all of this deconstruction by himself. Your analysis is extremely helpful and I will be sharing it widely. I don’t know where you find the time to produce these in-depth articles but that are most appreciated. This one helped orient me significantly. Thanks, Jay
Jay...this means a great deal, thank you.
Your instinct about "crazy" is EXACTLY the thing I was reaching for.
"Crazy" implies chaos and randomness...ONE man flailing.
What we're watching is closer to the opposite: it's deliberate...it's staffed...it has lawyers and a sequence to it...and Trump is the FRONT of it...not the WHOLE of it.
The minute you stop calling it crazy...is the minute you can actually SEE it...and once you can see it clearly...you can RESPOND...instead of just reacting.
That the piece helped orient you...is about the highest compliment it could earn, because that's the ENTIRE point of writing them.
As for the time...I don't steal it from sleep...because I guard my sleep with my life. But...it absolutely costs me in other places in my life, without question. The short answer, though...is I. Don't. Do. Anything. Else.
Healthy? Probably not. However...we aren't in normal times...and I refuse to treat it as such. I'm prepared to deal with the consequences of my unbalanced life.
Thank you for reading closely...and for sharing it widely! That's how this work travels.
-Jack
With JD Vance out there laughing off Nixon’s crimes this week, the acclimation machine was in full swing.
Susan...your one-sentence covered a hell of a lot; accurately, I might add.
-Jack
Wow! This is an amazing crash course in staying engaged, paying attention and knowing what to listen and look for! Phew!! Printing this out to review and highlight.
Thank you! I trust what you write and the sources you provide.
BG...this made my day...thank you.
And printing it out...to highlight...is EXACTLY how I hoped someone would use it. (I do the very same thing with pieces I find interesting. I go through highlighters like a cat goes through mice.)
It's built to be a field guide...not a one-and-done read; something to reach for...when the noise gets LOU...D and you need to remember what to LISTEN and LOOK for.
One word on the trust...because I don't take it lightly: the best way I know to keep earning it...is those sources. So don't just take my word... follow the links...kick the tires.
Trust that survives a little scrutiny...is the ONLY kind worth having.
Grateful you're here, BG... and grateful you're paying attention.
-Jack
Kicking tires as needed! 🤗
Completely agree about printing and mine just crapped out
So getting a new printer tomorrow.
I recently started to read Authoritarian Nightmare by Altemeyer Dean so this piece is so relevant to learning for actionable purposes
Outstanding, Donna!
-Jack
Gulp...guilty as charged for being so aghast at the cruelty, the lies, the incompetence, the utter absurdity of it all that "crazy" seemed an apt explanation. Although I always felt an uncomfortable sinister undercurrent. Now I see that "cunning" is a better word to describe the chaos.
Carol Anne...no guilt required... "crazy" is the word a decent person reaches for when they're staring at cruelty...lies...and absurdity...because the alternative... is almost too cold to say out loud:
That NONE of it is an accident. Reaching for "crazy" isn't a failure of your analysis. It's PROOF...your moral compass STILL works.
But...look at what you just said; you ALWAYS felt the sinister undercurrent.
That instinct was the REAL signal...and you were right to trust it.
"Cunning" is the upgrade...and here's the part that locks it in:
The chaos isn't the breakdown of the plan. The chaos IS the plan. Confusion is the cover that lets a great deal happen...while everyone is too disoriented to track it.
Once you see the chaos as an INSTRUMENT... rather than a SYMPTOM...the whole damn thing stops looking insane....and starts looking DELIBERATE.
You got there on your own! That's the hard part, Carol Anne.
-Jack
I have ordered the audiobook by Altimeter, the Authoritarians and the audio book by Altemeyer and John Dean Authoritarian Nightmare: Trump and his followers. I will take the information in these books and take their findings and apply them to the Project 2025 Manuscript and publish my findings on my Substack, A View from the Cheap Seats.
I am currently listening to the Habermann and Swan book Regime Change (my wife tells me I'm an audible learner). It is an interesting chronology of the Trump Administration and it will be interesting to see how Altimeter and Deans findings meld with their documented events.
Steven...thanks for this!
This is a terrific reading stack; you're pulling from exactly the right places.
Altemeyer's RWA work...PLUS the Dean collaboration...gives you the psychology of the followers...and Haberman and Swan's, Regime Change, gives you the documented record...of the leadership ACTUALLY wielding that power.
Laying those two side by side...against Project 2025...wheeew...that's a genuinely smart approach...and I haven't seen many people doing it that way. Well done!
One thing that might help as you read: Altemeyer separates authoritarian followers (the RWA scale) from authoritarian leaders (social dominance orientation).
Project 2025 is interesting...PRECISELY because it's a document written by the strategist/leader class...BUT...engineered to mobilize the FOLLOWER base...so you can track BOTH halves of his framework in a single text.
Good on you for being an Audible learner, by the way...some of this material lands better read aloud anyway. I certainly use Audible a great deal...when I'm in the car.
Looking forward to whatever you publish! Tag me or drop a link here when it's up.
-Jack
Will do, thanks for the advice.
Steve
I’ll be looking forward to that.
I follow you. Looking forward to your work!
I am about half way through "Regime Change" by Habermann and Swan. it is a revealing documentation about the Trump administration and Trump himself gleamed from thousands of interviews of people that were actually there. It shows what happens when we put a carnival barker in charge of the country and its power structure. More when I get into the other two books.
I rarely comment but this one is a "must." The article is stellar and to be read more than once.
Jean...SO glad you commented. Thank YOU for being here!
It means a great deal to me that you feel this article is of that kind of quality, and that it deserves to be read...and re-read.
-Jack
Fascinating essay Jack. I’ve always felt that everything this regime does is very intentional. I now understand the psychology behind it. Thank you. This one is a keeper for future reference.
Lori...thank you...that means a lot.
The intentionality is the part that took me a while to see clearly, too; once you understand the psychology...the PATTERN stops looking like chaos...and starts looking like DESIGN.
That's exactly the shift I was hoping the piece would land. Glad it's one you'll come back to!
-Jack
It doesn’t help that mainstream media and social medias use algorithms to continue to repeat the chaotic messaging events. It leans towards the past when folks would read printed gossip rags about people in order to feel better about themselves without thinking if the information is true or not.
CC...exactly!
The algorithms reward outrage...and repetition...NOT accuracy....so the loudest...and most chaotic version of ANY story...is the one that keeps circulating.
You're right; it scratches an old itch...the gossip-rag instinct of consuming someone ELSE'S mess... to feel a little steadier about our OWN.
The format has just gotten faster...and more frictionless. The hard part...now...is slowing down LONG enough...to ask whether any of it is even TRUE.
Thanks for reading...and for adding this.
-Jack
I agree with the group. This post is a keeper. I’ll be printing it, as well, as the sources are fascinating, I’m sure. I’m also grateful to find myself here among this particular group of likeminded individuals. If I can say I feel particularly safe on many levels in particular spaces, this is one of those. Thanks for having me here.
#HoldFast
Rae...this is exactly what I hoped to build here.
Not just a place to read...but a place to feel like you're among people who see it the same way.
That you feel safe here...matters more to me than ANY single post landing.
Print it...mark it up...share the sources...that's what they're for!
Grateful to have you in this group.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Cherae, I appreciate your idea that we are a group. Never looked at it that way. Jack's posts as well as many of the comments left by others does give a feeling of hopefulness. The tactics learned here are really helpful in dealing with the daily noise and chaos.
#Hold Fast
I’m of the opinion (for what it’s worth) that if we cannot manage to hang onto our thoughtfulness, we’re screwed.
If you’ll pardon my language.
And if you won’t. 😉
Hopefulness, I mean.
YES!!! Finally have the whole map to address this conundrum. I had some points but far from all as explained here.
Thanks, Jack, very much. This is crucial for staying tuned, and hopefully effective, going forward with knowledge not exasperation. Clears the brain. Timely as usual.
#Hold Fast/We WILL prevail
Toni..."Knowledge not exasperation"...that's the ENTIRE game right there.
Exhaustion is part of what the strategy COUNTS on...so trading it for a clear map...is itself...a form of RESISTANCE.
You already had the pieces; sometimes, Toni...you just need someone to lay them on the table at ONCE.
Grateful you're here for it.
#HoldFast...we WILL PREVAIL!
-Jack
Excellent. I hope this gets widely circulated, I think many people can’t process seven thousand word essays, good on em if they can, but there is absolutely no time to spare, and comprehension of this fact is still just a dim light on the horizon for far too many.
I had just finished this video before I got here, and for some reason this seems like a good and essential companion piece. (And yeah, I had a hard time not seeing Judge Luttig and then thinking William Shatner might have portrayed him once upon a time.)
https://michaelpopok.substack.com/p/judge-luttig-drops-devastating-warning?r=py0e3&utm_medium=ios
Randy...thank you...and amen on circulation.
You nailed EXACTLY why I keep these tight: a seven-thousand-word essay is a luxury of TIME...most people don't feel they have right now...and if the point can't get through QUICKLY...it doesn't get through AT ALL.
No medals for length; the medal is comprehension before the moment passes.
Thanks for the video, too...I'll watch it, and I trust your read that it's a companion piece. (And now I can't unsee it. Luttig does deliver every sentence like he's pausing for the dramatic... cut to commercial. Shatner would've nailed the cadence!)
-Jack
“Counsel…. Will.. APPROACH the, bench.” Hope Popok sees this.
“Knowledge does not protect against illusory truth. Your prior knowledge that something is false…does not reliably stop repetition from eroding it.” This is what gaslighting does. We’re being gaslit on a grand scale at this point in time.
Faith...that's the line that stops many in their tracks.
You've named the mechanism exactly; it works...precisely because knowing better ISN'T a defense. The REPETITION does the work...whether you consent to it...or not, which is what makes it so effective at SCALE.
The only real counter...is NAMING.IT.OUTLOUD. the way you just did.
Keep doing that, Faith!
-Jack
This magificent.
You included the differences of interpretation.
None even a signicant distraction, to your defense of your goal.
AND
ANDIt is extremely well writte,
Well presented
with formatting conducive to remembering
Dr. Black...thank you.
That last part is the whole game for me.
I'm not writing to impress an English professor; I'm writing...so the information lands ...and actually stays with you.
Sentence structure...word choice...formatting...every bit of it is in service of one thing:
Making the idea easy to take in...and easy to REMEMBER.
If a "correct" construction gets in the way of that...it goes.
So...hearing that the presentation...itself...helped it STICK...tells me it's working exactly as intended. Means a lot that you noticed!
-Jack
You don't allow the essential considerations to get lost in non-essential, although interesting, rabbit trails
Yes, you succeeded.
How important and explanatory your article is, Jack! It is vital, and I appreciate the sources as well as your explanations. Having some of the books, one or two by Timothy Snyder being among them, I still have more reading to do. The True Believer by Eric Hoffer, read long ago, also came to mind, as well, while I read. Now I understand why no sensible reasoning, no truth, registered with a particular friend. Now, too, I understand the reasonings or underlying psychological underpinnings of some other friends.
We have seen and still are seeing these steps play out. I must reread, but my question remains, “What can we do?” You suggested having our sources lined up. I am pleased with those and find the days too short to keep up totally, despite best efforts. I am concerned about going through the time and how our society, our country, and our world can come through this, but I’ll keep the faith and keep paying attention.
I send much appreciation for your extra helpful work!
#HoldFast
I had three interactions this week that are proof of this. One in particular floored me. I was working behind the bar when my buddy asked me how many times I’ve seen Springsteen. The answer isn’t important (102) but the reaction from the couple next to him was. I’ve know this couple for forty years. The wife said “ I used to like him but he’s pissing me off now.” My response “Why because he’s not a Trump fan?” She stared at me when I said “ You guys are big Christians. how do you feel about the whole cheating on all his wives?” The husband response. “We don’t know anything about that, but he’s a real leader. Not like Biden”
And now I know why. It is all about “Identity”. These are intelligent people.
Not red hat wearing rural blue collar people. Jack you had a hall of fame week with your writing. Thank you for all you do.
Great post Jack! This article should be required reading throughout a public (and private) school education. It can be applied to all age levels and should be repeated again and again. It might even be part of required reading to qualify to vote!