Story is what I do, as an author & screenwriter. Create & craft stories. For me, it's a noble calling. Because they permeate our lives. Even non-writers. They drive us. Both true & fictional. We are all authors of our own stories & past, present & future.

This is about Trump. 1) 2) I don't admire Trump, ever have. Never bought into his BS. I saw him for what he's always been: Fraud. Liar. Cheat. Thief. That's the true story behind the suit & red tie. Banks knew it, too.

So did the one Russian bank that backed him.

But Trump told a different story.

Journos: Please ask GOP reps if they are FOR same-sex marriage in the USA. If they claim it should be up to the states, remind them that that means they are against it in the USA. We settled the state thing in 1865, and they lost. Either we have equality for everyone or no one. 2) Claiming to leave it up to the states means they are against equality. If people in CA have more freedom and rights than people in TX, then we're not all equal.

If gay marriage is legal in HI or NY, then it should be legal everywhere. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of...

I like being woke. One of the greatest things a person can be is "awake" (philosophic ref there)...

Why would anyone be against being woke?

Why would anyone be against social justice?

Why would anyone be against equality? Regarding "cancel culture." We canceled King George's rule over America. Then slavery. Child labor. Jim Crow (which was itself trying to cancel non-white American citizens).
It's not whether cancel culture is wrong, it's whether or not the thing being debated should be canceled.

I wanted to expand more on this.

I watch @AoDespair deal with it a lot, more than I do myself (he is far more famous than me, after all) and whenever we're lectured on tone or language when defending ourselves against fascists, it really pisses me off. Here's why 1)

https://twitter.com/writerjoshjames/status/1467508697240850435

2) You're telling me how to defend myself. Don't.

We're attacked every day, called SJW, libtards, socialists, leftists, we're accused in the most awful terms of horrific things NONE OF WHICH IS BASED ON FACTS.

We are attacked every day and when we defend ourselves in kind?

Saturday thoughts. Juneteenth. I grew up in Iowa, went to public school. Went to a private college there, four years. Liberal arts college, in fact. I went to two grad schools, both state schools. One of the latter had a program specifically tailored for Black American stories.1) 2) I was very interested, as it involved close friends at that time. I read the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X, ROOTS, I read PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, all the plays on the topic, even tho I was a theatre mutt-

As a parent (and martial arts instructor) on top of a screenwriter/novelist, I feel I must address something important.

I know many of you have watched WHIPLASH or other movies featuring teachers/coaches who verbally abuse students and kids to get them to... excel.

So... 1) 2) Or maybe you watched HOUSE and thought, ah, I can pop pills and abuse my students because he does that to his interns... because I believe I'm as brilliant as Greg House... in fact, I think I HAVE to act like an ass because that's what geniuses do. I feel I must address this.

Here's the thing, and bear with me on this.

Some of us have been fired for being late to work. Even five minutes late, some of us have been canned.

Some of us have been fired for bringing back the coffee but forgetting the cream.

It's true. It happens. 2) Some of us have been fired because our boss had a bad day and wanted to take it out on someone they viewed as expendable.

Some of us have been fired because we turned down sexual advances by our supervisors, bosses or coworkers.

Many blame social media for the misinformation problem but that ain't the cause.

It's Reagan's. He got rid of The Fairness doctrine in news, which meant that talk radio, Fox News, etc, which led to a generation being exposed to deliberate lies for profit.

Bring it back. 2) Also, getting rid of the Fairness Doctrine worked out for Reagan, as he's somehow venerated as a "great" POTUS, when he was anything but. He was awful. He presided over a pandemic and did nothing, illegally sold arms, Wall St. crashed, there is a long list. But...

Just to piggy-back on Chief's point here, which I know he deals with on a massive scale beyond my own.

Here's the deal... not all Americans are racist, true. But America IS racist, we were built upon a system of white supremacy, Jim Crow is but a generation away... 1)

https://twitter.com/Stonekettle/status/1361818863684493316

2) BLM has already underscored that non-white folks receive different treatment via the justice system than white. Coates revealed the red-lining that kept non-white middle class from the same opportunities as whites.

There is a legion of data demonstrating America is racist.

Sunday thoughts:

I've had an untold number of abusive bosses over the years (I speak primarily of before I became a screenwriter.)

A large number. Same is true of teachers, instructors and coaches. I had those before I ever had abusive bosses. 1) 2) I've also lost jobs when it was clear I wouldn't put up with a abuse, or wasn't hired when it seemed like I wouldn't take shit. I interviewed for an assistant manager position in a business in Union Square eons ago. The manager looked at my resume, then looked at me, and said,

Look, I get the reasoning behind not calling witnesses. But what gets lost is that yet another rich white elected criminal got away with it. We've had decades of this (GWB lying re WMDs) & Ds have never stopped it. Never. They just sigh & ask for our votes. We want accountability They've never rid of of the EC, no Healthcare 4all & any gains we've gotten (NRA going bust, BLM showing us inequality) has been citizen advocacy. And citizens SHOULD do that. But we want our Dem reps to accomplish big things, too. We've given them all three branches twice.

I honestly think the Senate Dems underestimated how angry their constituents are about the result or their effort. We wanted him held accountable. We know it was hard, know the odds were slight. But we also wanted more effort. You want to know why people don't vote? Now you do. 2) they don't vote because they don't believe it matters. And they believe that because when it did matter, Senate Ds are claiming, we have the majority, but it doesn't matter because GOP is corrupt.

Well, DO SOMETHING dick-slaps, ya know?

Right, so we ignore crimes because, well, he's leaving anywhere & hope he doesn't nuke anyone in the next 4 wks. Or find a successful way to pull off the coup he's trying for. Riiggght. The below dude isn't offering any suggestions other than, eh, wait 4 weeks, maybe he won't.

https://twitter.com/ADGoldstein2/status/1341545745040764930

It's arguments like the above that really infuriate me. It's an argument born of privilege. He's not suffering, he's not at risk, ergo, what are we worked up about, just relax, voters took care of it. I hated it during GWB, when soldiers were dying & I hate it now.

I, for one, am sick & tired of the "We can't 'cause of Mitch" excuse. I get it, he's a corrupt asshole, but I don't live in KY, I can't vote against him. I voted for you to DO SOMETHING about that evil fuck, and if you won't, I'll vote for someone who will. Fight for us, or gtfo We can't uphold the constitution, becuz Mitch... we can't help starving people, becuz of Mitch, we can't stop them from stealing refugee kids, becuz of Mitch, we can't stop the madman with nukes at the head of our nation, cuz of Mitch.

You realize how that sounds?

Of all the awful things GOPers claim, top of the list (just below trickle down) is their mantra folks getting assistance get free money. It's NOT FREE. It's OURS. We worked for it. Doesn't belong to Congress. We invest it. We could give it to Exxon or a family to feed their kids. It's our choice, our money. Congress is supposed to do our bidding, but becuz of the fucked up way our Senate & elections are set up, whores like Rand & Mitch do the bidding of vast corporations. So they get the money rather than PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. I get that. But it ain't free.

Everyone who is shocked that 74 million people voted for Trump, don't be. That is EXACTLY how racist America is. And those of us who claim otherwise, we allow it.

We allow casual bigotry, casual cruelty and dehumanization of others based on race in our social circles. Just like we allowed homophobia & discrimination like that forever, we let people die of Aids because it was "just the gays" or "druggies". Now we don't allow that type of bullshit. But it was common in the near past. Now they're aimed at trans folk. And too many of you allow it.

The double-standard freakout from bros when a woman accurately calls deplorable people a basket of deplorables or a bunch of fuckers a bunch of fuckers yet no whisper of outrage when those same fuckers call us libtards or pussies or losers & suckers is stunning. Hypocrites. Support stealing refugee children from their parents?

Then you are deplorable.

Then you ARE a bunch of fuckers.

You know, I'm a liberal. A progressive. I'm a fan of @AOC and voted for her (I live in Queens). I'm also, besides being a writer, a self-defense instructor. A martial artist for most of my life. It's important to me. And one thing I realize as a liberal is, too many folks 1) 2) seem to be under the impression that liberals shouldn't fight back. That we should just smile & take abuse. I don't like to take abuse. No one should. When attacked, I defend myself. When my friends are attacked, I stand up for them, too. That's what we do. However, I note...

All great art is political. All of it. You may not agree with the politics, you may not be aware of the politics involved, but all great art has a political POV. I cannot think of any that doesn't have, in the end, some taste of a political POV.

For example, Star Wars... Star Wars is very political. It is, at its essence, about rebels banding together to fight an evil empire. But, you say, that's in space. Yes, but Lucas was, himself, very political. Did you know he was the original director on APOCALYPSE NOW? That he was against Vietnam War?

We've lost a quarter mil of citizens. Covid is ravaging through the Midwest and South now, third wave. Thousands will die. Not may, but will, before this is over.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE.

Let me repeat that for my friends and "christians"

THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE 1) 2) We could have kept our losses well below 10k, below 9/11 casualties, if we but put the effort into it.

Not only did we do NOTHING, we did worse. We let Trump and his supporters DOWNPLAY IT. We let them call it "just the flu" and "no big deal".

Respectfully, centrists lecturing us liberals on the importance of civility and not gloating after saying little to nothing to the MAGA Hats for four years is waaaay too much irony for my blood. 1) 2) Liberals weren't fighting for bragging rights. They were fighting to free stolen refugee kids from cages.

They were fighting to give poor people health care. And to protect pre-existing conditions.

They were fighting for civil rights.