Don’t try to make sense of it. I know, I know. You’re a responsible adult trying to at least cope and maybe even make things better. Congratulations. I commend you. Get to it and stay with it. But don’t try to make sense of it. This is government by whim, at best, and extreme and unsustainable corruption at its worst. Rats. I think I’ll have a drink. I even have a way of rationalizing that.
Canada, O, Canada, my favorite neighbor, seems to be enacting an ad hoc boycott of American, er, US, products. Can’t blame them. Good idea. I’ve seen notices of a US boycott of commerce on February 28. A nice sign and a good idea, and it shouldn’t be surprising that a minimalist cheers on less consumption. (Gotta remember to get that order in for some blinds and a skillet. Counter-productive, eh? I’m sure I’m not the only one.)
Sip.
This blog post is partly inspired by our recent podcast episode. (Intriguing Creativity with Steve Smolinsky and Tom Trimbath) Every month, Steve and I talk about problems and solutions. The creative solutions are always the most entertaining. We tend to stay away from politics, but to ignore politics lately is to ignore almost every aspect of modern life. So, we dove in.
I’ll spare you the details because an hour-long conversation of rants and raves, well, it would take less time for those who are interested to listen to the podcast. That’s why it is there.
Solutions tend to come in themes. For a while, everything would be solved if everyone had a website. Now, be on social media. Oops. Use AI. Uh oh. Don’t use AI. One theme goes back thousands of years: trust each other.
Predicting what we will need is only possible by chance because conventional wisdom is now moot. We don’t know what we need, but we know we need each other.
Another friend called me (an actual phone call!) to tell me that they and their neighbors got together to compare what each had, what they could offer, and what they might need.
Sip.
Sure, there are going to be marches and letter campaigns. We hope there will eventually be a legitimate election. But, in the meantime, neighbors can help neighbors. It is handier in communities with land, water, and sources of power. Despite what the ads say (Super Bowl Ads 2025), people don’t always have to rely on corporations or governments. Corporations and governments exist because they can be useful, but humans and human societies existed without central authorities. Some re-learning may be required.
That’s partly what Steve and I talked about. Steve lived in wilderness. I’ve lived frugally. Media romanticizes the cabin in the woods and the simple life, but when someone actually does it, they can also be ridiculed as backwards or out-of-touch. Worse, they can be labeled as a prepper, someone waiting for the civilized world to crash. And yet, such ‘silly’ ideas might be an effective coping mechanism for some.
Millions of people are like the fictional members of The Matrix, hopelessly plugged in, and prone to shock if they disconnect.
Sip.
There is no panacea. We will all need a variety of coping mechanisms, each customized to the uniqueness of individual lives. I’ve moved into a tiny house, and hope to move it and me onto land I own rather than land I rent. It might make more sense for someone to move onto a bus line or buy an ebike so they aren’t as reliant on petroleum. I know some folks who naturally will be growing more of their food. Bonus points for raising something that lays eggs. Omelets may be golden in more ways than color.
Pausing and deciding to not sip.
Pardon a war analogy, but it may elevate the example appropriately.
The US Civil War (the War Between the States) and World War I were horrendous. War is horrendous, but in both cases, waves of lives were thrown at conflicts in ways that were ludicrous. Weapon technology advanced while tactics didn’t. Politics is no longer the social movement of the 60s. Marches are gratifying, but not as powerful as the right and lucky viral tweet or video. Letters to senators should be powerful, but senators who are incumbent many times over have probably figured out ways to protect their careers regardless of the issues. They may not risk their position by prosecuting someone who seems to be unassailable.
What can we do for and with each other? Debates may succeed, but one person growing potatoes, and another person raising chickens, and someone else figuring out how to create a local area network, and someone else hooking up many power solar panels than their house needs can be a community that mutually survives. There will be disruptions, but they may be minor compared to people who are ignoring the issues or trying old tactics on an evolved battlefield.
What does this have to do with personal finance? Think more in terms of frugality. Respect needs over wants, and resources over hopes. As some politician said; “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” After you’ve established that foundation, you’ll have more security than most. Then, if you have excess resources, teach others, and maybe teach archaic institutions.
Sip.
My sips have been frivolous but a handy reminder. In joking solidarity with my northern neighbors in Canada, I, too, have decided to imbibe some Canadian whisky. (I realize the economics and math don’t necessarily work that way, but hey, an excuse for whisky.) More seriously, I intend to shop local even more than before. Supporting the local farmers builds community. Yes, it does cost more, but I also get more. The region becomes healthier. The people become more resilient. My money is going to someone I may know instead of a distant oligarch.
I am also a believer that what the oligarchs are doing in unsustainable. They’re so enamored with climbing as high as possible that I don’t think they realize they will inevitably fall. I don’t think anything is going to convince them until they contact the ground at full speed. I feel sorry for them because of their delusions and the impact they have.
I am not qualified to give advice, but I am allowed to pass along what I intend to do, and I extend that to celebrating others who are doing even more. Thanks to everyone who is doing in addition to talking. Nicely done.
Sip.
Trimbathcreative's Blog (Tom Trimbath) 
Where will be our beaches? I wonder.
We Americans are in a blitzkrieg of paper, scissors, and soon rocks. In what’s turning out to be this generations Pearl Harbor, we are now forced into a real-time civics lesson, where failure means the loss of our freedom – my freedom and your freedom. The parallels of events mimicking the lead-up to the takeover of the German government in the late 1930s are well documented. The main difference is the truly stifling deprivations of the German people after WW1 vs. the perceived deprivations of a minority of mostly white male conservative voters in the US. Both leaders promised to fix it all if given the power. However, that power rests in their ability to destroy the rule of law.
This is where history can teach us a critical portion of that civics lesson. As Eisenhower said, “The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no rule of law.”
What trump and his regime have done is the result of a premeditated invasion of our government that has been in the works since at least the end of WW2. They slowly ate away at our collective freedoms with a little bit here, a little bit there, testing with cases like Citizens United and Roe v Wade, pushing hard against our independent press corps, building a powerful propaganda network, and stonewalling any progressive leaders or legislation.
Our Democratic leadership has failed us in many ways. It is understandable that they come from an age where, generally, people had some semblance of integrity and honesty. Those times are past; decorum is nothing more than a fond memory. There is debilitating fear, pessimism, and hand-wringing in their ranks and in the country. The time for that is also past. It’s time to “imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage..” Their leadership must be ripped from their hands. We need to replace that old school with real leaders who will have the guts and resources to stand up to this orange bully and tweak his nose while kicking him in the halls of Congress. Unfortunately, this Congress has little power to help without a democratic majority or some republican allies with moral fiber and guts. It’s really up to us, the people. Yes, you heard me, We, the people.
History has shown us the dangers and possible outcomes of our current events, but let’s keep in mind that it also shows us the remarkable resilience and determination of desperate people clawing out from under the heel of jack-booted authoritarian goons – while spitting in their faces. From our Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 to the Civil War to WW1, and WW2, Americans have stepped up to resist people who have tried to destroy our country and its Constitution and Rule of Law.
The Rule of Law. There’s that pesky misunderstood phrase again. Simply, it protects us ordinary citizens from our government, from corporations, and from other citizens who would infringe on our freedom to live, our liberties, and our peaceful existence. That’s it, that’s all that stands in the way of some police force raiding your home and shooting you, a corporation selling you products that could kill you, a big business dumping waste in your water or poisons in the air, or building an airport on your land. No, it’s not perfect so spare me the whining, but without it, there would be chaos and death or enslavement for the powerless.
We are fortunate in that, so far, the sacrifices we are asked to make are phone calls, protesting, disseminating truthful information, boycotting businesses that support fascists, voting democrats up and down the ballot, supporting organizations that litigate on our behalf, and other perhaps inconvenient but fairly easy tasks. We have not yet been asked to storm beaches or embrace violence; just apply pressure and resistance. There are a lot of things that you can do, and everyone should find something that moves us forward.
But, the time is now, not tomorrow, not next week. The wrecking crew is moving fast, and if they succeed in rendering the courts null, it will be a disaster. As of today, elon has access to the Social Security Administration. The richest man on the planet now has control over whether your parents and grandparents will get their tiny poverty-level income, which is their money put into an account for their future.
Let’s Hit them where their money is. Let’s bring them to bankruptcy and have such a show of force of numbers in protests that they’ll break and run screaming into the night. From FDR: “We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us this is an emergency as serious as war itself. We must apply ourselves to our task with the same resolution, the same sense of urgency, the same spirit of patriotism and sacrifice as we would show were we at war.”
The greatest generation had their tests, Pearl Harbor, Dunkirk, D-Day, Midway, Guadalcanal, and other horrific battles against Nazis and Fascists and Imperialists. They fought them on the beaches, landing grounds, fields, streets, and hills, and they never surrendered. Will we see their like again, now that the need is thrust upon us?
Where will be our beaches? I wonder.
-Brian Kern 18-Feb-25