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Megathread: Attorney General Barr: No Widespread Election Fraud
Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. His comments come despite President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the election was stolen, and his refusal to concede his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden. In an interview with The Associated Press, Barr said U.S. Attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but they’ve uncovered no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.
An Updated Definitive List of the Bodega Boy's Aliases — Part 4!
Shout out to u/Misanthropia for the original post — the hive needed more updated art! This list is current as of episode 234 (2/10/21) Desus goes by numerous aliases on the Bodega Boys Podcast. These aliases are based on references to pop culture, sports, and hip-hop. The long and ever-changing list of aliases or "AKAs" are one of the many running gags on the show. During an interview with Method Man on Desus and Mero, Desus explained that the idea for aliases was based on the alter-egos of the rappers in the song "Wu-Gambinos" on the album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... by Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. (info via Wikipedia) Desus & Mero no longer record from Milk Studios (moved indefinitely) and have been recording the podcast remotely from home due to the pandemic. Most of the AKA’s now mention social distancing, hot takes on covid and store closures.
Desus
Desus is extremely consistent with his aliases, almost always presenting them in the exact same order and without any exclusions: Desus Nice — In a Hot 97 interview on April 13th 2017, Desus explains that people started calling him Desus as a play on his government name, "Daniel", and "Jesus", because he worked miracles with people's computers Young Chipotle — Desus’ original alias, he explains in one podcast that it originates from when he was broke and buying Chipotle was a genuine treat Pockets stay fat like Terio (Pockets stay fat like 'here we go') — A reference to viral star Terio, a young, obese African American boy whose videos of him dancing launched him to very brief viral fame. Recently, Desus added the more politically correct and kid friendly “here we go” Eli Litby — A play on Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin Boutros Boutros Gully — A play on Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the UN, “Gully” being Jamaican Patois for an impoverished area Slobodan Might-know-ya-bitch — A play on Slobodan Milosevic, former President of Serbia and important player in the Bosnian War Young Day Party — I believe this was adopted in the summer of 2016 after Desus recounted the story of a day party in D.C., which seemed to invigorate his love for partying during the day Young Hot Take — He has hot takes, pretty obvious here Desus H. Fuego — Another moniker to describe his hot (“fuego”) takes on topics Mr. Nandos with a rando — Nandos is a portuguese chicken restaurant chain which originated in South Africa and is big in the UK and Australia. Rando is slang for random person. Having Nandos with a rando is eating chicken with a random person (credit to u/deweez) Mr. Mil Novecientos Noventa Y Cuatro en Nueva York — In later episodes Desus rarely adds the “en Nueva York” bit, but it translates to “Mr. 1994 in New York”. "The Knicks team in 1994 made the finals and is a legendary team amongst all Knicks fans who were around at the time. That team got to game 7 of the finals against the Rockets. NYC rallied around that team hard body because that team absolutely embodied NYC to a T with guys like Ewing, Charles Oakley, Mason, Starks, and Derek Harper." (credit to u/Okieant33) Mikhail Goin-off — derived from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (credit to u/GhettoFob) converged with an allusion to losing ones temper in an act of random violence. The Jouvert Boss — “Jouvert” is a carnival held in Caribbean/West Indian culture, involving a lot of partying MC Likkle Gungo Pea — Gungo pea is a type of peas (also known as pigeon peas) often used in Jamaican dishes. Reference to his Jamaican heritage (credit to u/hopelessromcom) "Pullin' up from 40 with your shorty" — Desus will “pull up”, or make a pass at, your girl even when the odds are slim or unlikely, much like a 40 foot shot in basketball "Don’t talk to me in the Uber Pool, I don’t know you" — Uber introduced a service where you can share rides with other Uber users for a discounted rate. Desus has expressed his reluctance to engage with strangers when he is using it The original “my plus one got a plus one so don’t make a fuss son” — When Desus shows up to an event with a girl, he brings two, and he's intimating that the host shouldn’t have a problem with that Desus Rothstein, the Jamaican Jew — Originated around when Mero began his house search in Bergen County, NJ where a number of wealthy people of Jewish descent live. Desus envisions a version of himself who would fit in there Jermaine Avocado Toast — Desus has gotten more cultured as a result of their success, and as such he has been able to indulge in things usually enjoyed by privileged white people, a stereotypical example of that being avocado toast. This is Desus’ gentrified, hipster persona Young PA — Possible reference to the sound of small amount of air being expelled from a loose butthole, which is an impression Mero occasionally does (credit to u/jimsternub). This is also a reference to Brooklyn rapper Young MA. The Ghost of Mufasa — A reference to Lion King, but beyond that I have no idea why he adopted it. Still hilarious though, and the nickname that most often makes Mero laugh Young Charcuterie without the coonery — Charcuterie is considered very hip and trendy right now, and Desus is again saying he has a taste for the finer things, but is no longer interested in “coonery”, a derogatory term used to describe stereotypical African American behavior Chile Limon, the left handed reliever for the Yankee’s (Que lo que?) — A fictional persona that seems to be a Latino version of Dock Ellis, who famously threw a no hitter while high on Acid. Chile Limon is also a popular seasoning/flavor with the Latino community 3 Phone Jones — Desus originally adopted "2 Phone Jones" after he reluctantly bought an iPhone to go with his Samsung Galaxy. He then received a Google Pixel, making it 3 Phone Jones (credit to u/ArtSorr0w) Desus Ex Machina — A play on the common plot device “deus ex machina”, or “god from the machine” in which an unsolvable problem is suddenly resolved by some unexpected intervention. Desus also used to have a tumblr entitled "Desus Ex Machina" (credit to u/hardcore9) Jay Chuckles — Revealed in episode 55 to be a reference to a now-defunct shoe store in NYC. Did Desus read this thread? Stanley Cups — Desus' former rap alias, as revealed in episode 53. The Human Dr. Bronner’s Label (Dilute! Dilute! Dilute!) — A reference to the concentrated soap Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap, which needs to be diluted. I didn’t quite understand how Desus applied this to himself, but it came from a joke in Episode 51 or 52 about Sean Spicer trying to defray controversy surrounding President Trump's decisions Dionardo DiTrappio — A play on “Leonardo DiCaprio”, the actor, but referencing “trapping”, a slang for selling drugs. Mr. 240p because I like my Pino blurry — Desus longs for the days of very low resolution pornography. 240p refers to the resolution, which is extremely low by modern standards DJ Woolite AKA You're listening to Washed FM up next we got 24 hours of — The host of the fictional station “Washed FM”, a fictional radio station that is sometimes referenced along with “WSMK, Smack City Radio”. Woolite is a brand of fabric softener. Desus said multiple times on the podcast that now that he's single and living alone, he washes his clothes with extra fabric softener. As a kid, his clothes would get washed and be hard as nails. Again, he's got a taste for the finer things in life. (credit to u/Okieant33) The Curried G.O.A.T. — A double reference to Desus’s Jamaican heritage, where Curried Goat is a popular culinary item, as well as referencing the phrase “G.O.A.T”, short for “greatest of all time” Desus Spicer — A play on the former White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, who is often referenced on Desus & Mero as “spicing up” or “adding spice” to his takes Jamal Hashburn — A play on Jamal Mashburn, a former NBA player, about Hash The Bronx Celine Dion — Refers to the fact that Celine Dion is very popular in the Jamaican community, and so Desus is like Celine, but from the Bronx. (credit to u/chefboyardu) This is especially present with foreign and immigrant culture which means he is of mogul or iconic status for the Bronx (credit to u/courtofdacrimsonking) Wray and Nephew's Nephew — A play on J. Wray and Nephew rum, which has its origins in Jamaica like Desus. Also, Desus drinks a lot, which you probably should have figured out by now. Introduced in episode 58 The Moreno you can't contain-o — A play on "moreno", a Spanish term for someone with dark skin The Human Meme, Word to Ja — A play on Ja Rule's infamous mistake of believing that the word "meme" is pronounced "may-may" Young Erewhon — A reference to a bourgeois health food store in LA, which makes this nickname in the vein of "Jermaine Avocado Toast", demonstrating Desus' taste for finer things now. (credit to u/a-1-since-day-1) The Racist Provocateur — Desus flipped an angry tweet from April 28th 2017, in which someone called him a "racist provocateur" into a new alias Henrik Bud-qvist — A play on NHL goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who currently plays for the New York Rangers Nelson Bang-dela — An old alias resurrected in episode 65, a play on South African civil right's icon Nelson Mandela Sergio Can't-see-me — A play on Sergio Tacchini, an Italian fashion designer and former Tennis player Vladimir Boofin' — A play on Russian president Vladimir Putin, "boofin" being a reference to smuggling something by sticking it inside one's rectum The Human Werther's, melting in your mouth — A reference to Werther's Originals, a brand of caramel hard candies favored by old people. Not really sure what this one means otherwise. Mr. Becks on Deckington — The first time Desus introduced this one, he accidentally said "Mr. Becky's on Deckington" which was an incredible Freudian slip since Desus has been accused of not being into black women, and "Becky" is the stereotypical white woman name in pop culture. This is a reference to Desus always drinking Beck's, a cheap beer he favors along with Heineken. Adding "-ington" to words is New York slang, as Mero explains at some point. Rikki-Tikki-Squad-bi — A play on Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a character from the Jungle Book Greg "Paaa"-povitch — A very meta play on San Antonio Spur's head coach Greg Popovich and the onomatopoeia of spreading butt cheeks apart (according to Mero) Morris "Say it with your chest"-nut — A play on actor Morris Chestnut Mahatma Gone-B — A play on famed pacifist Mahatma Gandi Not Macka B but I got the cucumber — A reference to a viral video in which Reggae artist Macka B raps about healthy food in his "medical monday" series, Desus is unsurprisingly referencing his penis The juices are pressed but your boy never is — Being "pressed" means someone is applying pressure to you, and no one would do that to Desus. The juices he is talking about are probably the morning drink he has with lemongrass and cayenne pepper that he makes reference to many times in recent episodes of the podcast. I am the Art, dammit! — Not sure if this is a reference to anything specific or just a Kanye-esque line a crazed creative might yell out at some point The Don Dada Ganoush — I believe this is a reference to the Meditteranean dish Baba Ganoush, "Don Dada" is Jamaican Patois slang (I believe) for “top pimp” or “big player” and a sort-of homophone for "baba" No more Cup of Noodles — I don't know if this is a reference beyond the fact that Cup of Noodles is a struggle meal and Desus is no longer struggling The Prince of Peckham — A reference to Peckham, a diverse neighborhood in London The Fashion Nova Casanova — Fashion Nova is an online clothing retailer that specifically targets curvy women that Desus and Mero reference pejoratively (saying it's for bottle waitresses), Desus is saying here that he excels at seducing these kind of women ("Casanova" is a term of a man who excels at seducing women derived from the name of Italian Giacomo Casanova) "William H. 5 Cent, 10 Cent, Dolla... Forget the small change, give me the the big money wine" — A reference to Soca Boys song "Dollar Wine (one cent, five cent, ten cent, dollar)" which apparently was super popular in the West Indies. "William H Holla is something Jay-Z used to call himself back in his hey day. It comes from the fact that Bill Gates' full name is William Henry Gates. Jay-Z used to give himself nicknames back in the day. J-Hova caught on but he used the term William H Holla because Jay-Z also coined the phrase "Holla At Me" and "Holla Back" and just shortened it to "Holla". So put the two together and you have William H Holla. He first said it on the song "Stick to the Script" off the Dynasty album. So Desus took it and made it his own." (credit to u/Okieant33) The only anthem I salute is Dipset — A reference to the ongoing national anthem protests in the NFL, Desus is saying the only anthem he salutes is "Dipset Anthem" by Harlem rap legends The Diplomats Mister Sauga, Catch me at Square One Top Left. Mans is marved. (Dont cheese me bro) — Finally a Canadian-centric reference, which makes sense given that the Bodega Boys have performed there multiple times. This is a reference to the Square One Shopping Center in Mississauga, Canada (where Desus alleges his mysterious wife and kids live), and "top left" is Greater Toronto Area slang for "truthful" or "seriously". "Mans is marved", means "I'm hungry" in Toronto slang (credit to u/Fortehlulz33) Trill Rizzuto, holy cow! — A reference to former Yankees player Phil Rizzuto who would later go on to be a commentator, where his trademark expression was "holy cow!" Mister Soft Palms because all I do is count checks and jerk off — I don't know if this is a reference to anything except Desus bragging about his lifestyle "We got OJ, uh purple stuff, soda, and it's me! Sunny D!" — A reference to an old Sunny D commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQE3jWYuGiw), and a play on the fact that people likely used to called Desus by the nickname "D", so "it's me! Sunny D" would be like saying "it's me, Desus!". Also kind of ironic since Desus is not a particularly sunny person (cue Dark Desus). David Yerp-man — A play on David Yurman, an expensive jewelry company, and NYC slang exclamation "yerp" Desus-expensive, Desus-Red Bottoms, Desus-bloody shoes — A play on a lyric from fellow Bronx native Cardi B taken from her song "Bodak Yellow" Smo-a-kim Noah — A play on NBA player Joaquim Noah who played for the Knicks Andrew Coooooool-nanan — A reference to serial killer (most notable for killing Gianni Versace) Andrew Cunanan The Junior Energy God, come sit down 'pon me charger — Originally just the "Energy God" until Desus realized that that was fellow Jamaican Elephant Man's aliases. I thiiiink this is referring to the phrase "bring the same energy", the idea that if one is saying something behind someone's back, when confronted by the individual they should stick to their original statements. This alias started after the infamous Desus & Mero visit to the Breakfast Club, in which DJ Envy accosted the boys about a joke they made about his wife. Desus & Mero didn't punk out and therefore "brought the same energy". Someone tell me if I'm reaching here. Call me PetCo cause I got your bitch-on-freeze — A play on words for the dog breed Bichon Frise The Topic of Gossip in Syosset (Shout out to 11791 ah ah ah) — Syosset (zip code 11791) is a town in Long Island, NY. it's real bougie and suburban so Desus is saying basically he's got reach and is known not just in the hood but in the wealthy burbs too (credit to u/terminal-chillness) Grandpa Joe, When you see Charlie you see me don't touch that golden ticket — A direct reference to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Grandpa Joe) and Desus's cats name (Charlie) Dead Eye Desus (Mornin’ Sherrif) — Dead Eye Desus refers to the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2. The game features a gameplay mechanic called "Dead Eye" that allows the player to slow time to achieve easy head shots and kills. The game is also set in the late 1800's, early 1900's in the old West, which is why Desus typically references a Sheriff after saying Dead Eye Desus. (credit to u/biggak) Mr. Shopping at StreetEasy with a bad breezy like I'm Yeezy, please believe me — Another one of Desus' tongue twisters, this one is in reference to shopping at StreetEasy, a NYC real estate website with an attractive woman like Kanye West might do The Black Asiatic who will crack your back like an automatic craftmatic — Added in episode 54 after Desus' continuing gag about "big Black Asiatic men" (often referencing their penises). Here Desus is implying that sex with him (a Black Asiatic man) is very vigorous by saying he will change your posture like a Craftmatic mattress, which is a brand of mattress whose shape and orientation can be controlled electronically Mr. La Marina in a mesh Merina with a fresh misdemeanor and a cold demeanor — This one is a doozy, but was adopted after Desus mentioned his frequent trips to La Marina (a bar on the water in Manhattan) in episodes released in the summer of 2016. A mesh Merina is a a mesh tank top (I think). The other two parts are self explanatory. Not sure how he always gets this one right without mixing up the words. The Sheet-Mask Killer (No one could be iller) — A reference to Sheet Masks, a skin care routine some might find to be bougie. "No one could be iller" is a reference to how ODB introduces Ghostface Killah on "Da Mystery of Chessboxin" by Wu Tang Clan (credit to u/atorMMM) The Black Zack Morris of Port Morris — A take on Zack Morris for his problematic schemes on Saved by the Bell. (credit to u/justic3bon3r) Port Morris is a neighborhood in the Bronx (credit to u/m9rockstar) home of The Bronx Brewery and Bodega Boys Beer Young KPI — More than likely a reference to the various random office jobs Desus had (KPI = key performance indicator) (credit to u/atorMMM) Your Personal Desus — Desus sometimes will recite lyrics by Depeche Mode “Personal Jesus” (1989) More than likely this is a play off his main alias (credit to u/justic3bon3r) The Pelé of Peleton — Pelé (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) was a former Brazilian soccer player and considered one of the greats. Desus is an avid Peleton user so much he deems himself the greatest of all time Your problematic bae — Desus occasionally says problematic things, but you still love him, hence him being your “bae”. He always ends with this one, followed by an exaggerated kissing sound. *After Desus's last aka he gives some sort of problematic advice sometimes followed by explosions*
Mero
Mero (u/THE_KID_MERO) is far less consistent with his aliases. Depending upon how smacked he is, he will often exclude or repeat some of his aliases. He also adds them far less frequently than Desus. The Kid Mero — In a Hot 97 interview on April 13th 2017, Mero explained that this alias comes from the fact that his father and uncle wanted to name him "Ramiro", but his mother vetoed it and named him "Joel". His father and uncle continued to call him "Ramiro", which was shortened to "Miro" as a nickname. When Mero started tagging, he changed Miro to Mero because he found E to be a nicer letter to write (credit to u/atorMMM) as well as he just didn't like how the "i" looked. Also tagging the name "Ramiro" that long would get you arrested The Human Durag Flap — Mero’s original nickname, and a reference to how hood he is and his uncircumcised status, something that gets referenced very often (credit u/ZeddyG2 and u/chandlersokay) Curve Gotti — A play on “Irv Gotti”, former boss of Murder, Inc. records Donovan Mcdabb — A play on former NFL player Donovan Mcnabb, in reference to dabbing, which could have two meanings (smoking THC oil or the dance move created by the Migos) Trizz Khalifa — A play on “Wiz Khalifa”, but substituting the first part of the name with the slang “Trizz”. Usually said in a fake patois, imitating Popcaan's cry of "Fuck Wiz Khalifa!" at a Mixpak event SKKRRRT Loder — A play on “Kurt Loder” former host on MTV News and editor at Rolling Stone James St. Fatdick, I'll Ghost on you shorty — Originated right around the premiere of season 4 of Starz hit show "Power", here referencing the main character James St. Patrick, whose street alias is "Ghost" Tiger Backwoods — A reference to pro golfer Tiger Woods and Mero’s love for smoking backwoods “I no fucking baby, I fucking man!” — A reference to the viral video that sent friend of the brand Pioladitingancia to fame “Check the guest list again because my name is definitely on it, and no I’m not stepping to the side while you check! ” — Not so much a nickname but something Mero might have said back in the day when he was broke and had to lie about being on guest lists to get into clubs CC Dab-bathia — A play on Yankees Starting Pitchers name, CC Sabathia (and close friend of the brand) Goldman Shm-achs — A variation of the phrase made popular by Bobby Shmurda and a reference to Goldman Sachs. Mensch Montana — An alias borrowed from French Montana (who is from South Bronx) and popular artist with the Bodega Boys. They have mentioned his classic Mac and Cheese mixtapes numerous times on the podcast. Also this is a nod to his Jewish family connection; Mensch is Yiddish for "good guy." (credit to u/chefboyardu) TheDa-da-da Dad of the year — A play on a lyric from ScHoolboy Qs song "Man of The Year" (credit u/ZeddyG2). Mero already has three Mero Jr’s and the bodega princess, and as far as we can tell is an awesome dad, thus earning such a title. Confirmed to be a ScHoolboy Q reference in episode 56 Been-Smacked Biyombo — A play on “Bismack Biyombo”, a professional basketball player on the Charlotte Hornets Di-Yayo Maradona — Reference to Argentinean soccer legend Diego Maradona and slang for coke (credit to u/terminal-chillness) Dick-in-ya-bae Mutombo — A play on Dikembe Mutombo, former NBA player. Mero now respects the woman’s agency and asks for permission first before entering Barlos Santana — A play on famed guitarist Carlos Santana and Xanax bars The Dominican Don Dada — Jamaican Patois slang (I believe) for “top pimp” or “big player”, and as we know Mero is of Dominican descent, hence “Dominican Don Dada”. The phrase "Jamaican Don Dada" is used by the character Lennox in the movie "Belly", which is a classic in hip hop culture (credit to u/a-1-since-day-1) He follows this up with "catch me at Locksmith throwing up on myself". Locksmith is a bar on 192nd & Broadway in Inwood, which is a REALLY Dominican NYC neighborhood (credit to u/terminal-chillness) Some variation of "swipe my card again, put the bag over it, there's definitely money on it!" — A reference to a familiar experience for anyone who has been broke, in which you lie and act like it's the store's fault when your card gets declined Romeo Xantos — A reference to famed Bachata artist and Xanax, Bachata being a dance and music style originating in the Dominican Republic. Also the added "Sooo xanny, lemme black out" is a play on Romeo's adlib "sooo nasty, lemme find out" (credit to u/terminal-chillness) Light-an-L Dutchie "Hello? Is it weed you're looking for?" — Another weed double entendre referencing Lionel Richie and his famous song "Hello" Papa Sushi, The Dyckman Don — A reference to often-referenced MamaSushi, a fusion sushi restaurant on Dyckman Street in Manhattan Tom Brazy, your girl got my balls deflated — A boastful play on the Deflategate controversy surrounding Tom Brady and the New England Patriots after the 2014-2015 AFL Championship game Feel-da-ass Tyson (CONSENSUALLY WITH YOUR PERMISSION) — A play on “Neil DeGrasse Tyson”, a well known physicist Lil’ Snoozie Vert— A play on the name Lil Uzi Vert. This is also in reference for when Mero actually ‘tapped out’ on Instagram Live Fry-an-L Messi — A play on Lionel Messi, a famous Argentinian soccer player of Italian descent, and smoking an "L", slang for blunt Joe Hookah "I dare you! To smoke with me! At MamaSushi!" — A reference to rapper Black Rob's song "I Dare You" that features Joe Hooker on the hook. MamaSushi is a high-end restaurant chain located in New York Ben Barson my hands are gifted — During the 2016 election cycle, famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson engaged in a brief campaign for the Republican nomination. Mero took to doing impressions of him, exaggerating Carson’s urban upbringing by saying he was “Ben Barson”, in which the “C” was replaced with a “B”, as a Blood gang member would. Unlike Desus, who almost never fumbles his nicknames, Mero has maybe said this one correctly one time Xaniel Bedingfield — A play on Daniel Bedingfield followed by Mero playing "I Gotta Get Through This" a popular song by the artist Daniel Bedingfield with lyrics that are about Xanax (credit to u/KTTeal) Some variation of “I’ll open your medicine cabinet and take all of your Benzos” — This is self-referential in two ways: 1. The earlier reference here is to when Mero admitted to Desus that he will unashamedly go through people’s medicine cabinets in order to snoop on their lives and 2. After the boat party story in which Mero got drunk and took some Xanax’s, he added “I’ll take all of your benzos” bit to express how much he enjoys the feeling Benzodiazepines create The Xandman — This is a play on the musical artist “Scatman John” who was most known for his song “Scatman’s World”, the chorus of which Mero imitates with this name and the accompanying vocalization Rico Sabroso — Spanish for “Rich Tasty”, but I’m not sure what the reference here is beyond that Baby Newport — I assume a reference to Newport brand cigarettes, stereotypically popular in urban areas Niño Brown — A reference to the main character of the film “New Jack City”, in which Wesley Snipes plays a crack dealer named Nino Brown, but pronounced like the Spanish word for "kid", giving it some Latino flavor (credit to u/Okieant33) The East Tremont Stevie B — East Tremont is a predominately Hispanic area of the Bronx, while Stevie B was a recording artist from the 80’s with some incredible Jheri Curls. Sometimes sings "I want to be the one your Titi is fucking" after I met Mike Francesca im never gon’ fail — A direct reference from when the Bodega Boys actually met Mike on the last episode on Desus & Mero on Viceland. In translation, this means after finally meeting with the iconic Sports Pope this makes him unstoppable. This is also a reference to Kanye West's song 'Ultralight Beam' where Chance the Rapper says "I met Kanye West, I'm never gonna fail" (credit to u/RemyDWD) The Plantain Supernova in the Sky — A reference to the Oasis hit “Champagne Supernova”, but changed to reflect Mero’s Dominican heritage, which often uses plantains in its cuisine. Occasionally he will sing an extended version, which goes “One day you will find me, smoking weed on Tremont/in the Plantain Supernova in the sky”. How does he hit these melodies so perfectly every time? Tom Petty and the Ball Breakers — A play on the rock band name ‘Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’. Mero sings the chorus from Tom Petty’s solo project “Free Fallin’” as “Free Ballin’” suggesting that he feels free doing his Zoom calls without pants Barmelo Xanthony — An incredible play on the Bodega Boy’s favorite NBA player, Carmelo Xanthony, and Mero’s beloved Xanax’s. (credit to u/terminal-chillness) Most recently, Mero has changed his references to him making sound financial decisions and balancing his portfolio since the interview with Carmelo himself on Desus & Mero on Showtime Some variation of “If you see me in Target approach me like a bear” — Originates from Mero’s love of getting really high and hanging out in Target. Being high sometimes makes him paranoid, so he doesn’t like people just running up on him. Desus suggested people “approach him diagonally, like you would a bear”. Mero interchanges “bear”, “Ursine Mammal”, and “Oso” (Spanish for “bear”) at random Benzo the Clown — A problematic clown for kids that ruins birthday parties and not refunding your $50 deposit. Originated on Episode 96, Desus starts talking about rolling up to Mero Jr’s bar mitzvah smacked. (credit to u/outtaspite) Benzo’s antics are normally cut short by Mr. Fun Fun (voiced by Desus) normally ending with the problematic light I sold fake Lean to your favorite SoundCloud rapper — Not sure this is a specific reference other than the fact that Lean is pretty much a guaranteed accessory for any SoundCloud rapper and Actavis discontinued their codeine/promethazine cough syrup in 2014 due to abuse, so a lot of people are drinking fake Lean. "Llego el hijo de Tito y Fifa papi"/"The son of Tito and Fifa has arrived, papi — In later episodes, Mero began to include some Spanish phrases at the end of his list of aliases, usually beginning with this phrase and building off of it. When Mero does this he also says "Hassan tira me lo pita" which is slang for "Hassan drop me a beat". Mero is making pretend that he's a DJ on NY's Spanish Radio Station 97.9 La Mega. Mero from here goes on to talk all kinds of shit about how hard and gangster he is. (credit to u/bobbuddha and u/Okieant33) Please correct me if you have ideas or see mistakes! Discontinued aliases: Desus
Popheads Album of the Year 2020 #35: The 1975 - Notes on a Conditional Form
Artist: The 1975 Album: Notes on a Conditional Form | Alternate Cover Art | 🥾🌍 Label: Dirty Hit | Polydor Release Date: May 22, 2020 Total Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes Listen Here: Apple Music | Spotify | Youtube Music | Youtube Playlist Discussion: Popheads Fresh Thread A Boring Artist Intro The 1975 are a British synth-pop-rock band consisting of singer Matty Healy, leading guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer George Daniel. Healy is also the primary songwriter and Daniel does a lot of the production work on their tracks. The members met in high school and formed the band while they were still teens playing assorted gigs. Though they first "formed" in 2002, they wouldn't release their first work as The 1975 until 2012. Prior to 2020 the band had released three albums: The 1975 (2013), I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it (2016), and A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (2018). While they haven't had a top ten hit single type song yet, they've been fairly well-known and watched in the music sphere since their first album. Album Intro When Notes on a Conditional Form was first "announced" (in a sense) it was their third album and titled Music for Cars. Eventually, the band decided to split the Music for Cars album into a two-album era, starting with 2018's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships and ending with some unnamed album to be released in mid-2019. Eventually the album got a release date, a title, and a... memorable piece of cover art (🥾🌍) before being pushed back. Then pushed again. And again. And again. Until suddenly it was 7 singles, a new album art, and nearly a year later before the band actually remembered that there was supposed to be an album tying together all these songs they kept releasing. After enough delay Notes on a Conditional Form finally released on May 22, 2020, more than a year after it was first announced. The reception for the album was pretty mixed to say the least. The Metacritic average sits at a nice 69 right now, but the individual scores range from a stellar 5/5 from NME to a dismal single star from The Independent UK. Fans were also mixed on the album, with some finding the album a departure from their previous sound and overly bloated, and others enjoying the experimentation and change of pace (with many other criticisms and praises in between). The album wasn't the only thing to attract mixed reception for the band. The 1975 themselves had a fairly controversial year. I guess that's not really fair. More accurately Matty Healy had a bit of a controversial year. From complaining about independent content creators trying to market themselves during the pandemic to using the George Floyd protests to promote one of the band's songs it was an eventful era on Twitter for Matty, who eventually deactivated his account after the latter incident. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, they've also had to cancel their planned tour dates for the era. Instead they confirmed they are working on their next album. Luckily they seem to have learned from their mistakes and not announced a release date just yet. Tracklist The album has a total of 22 tracks. 22 damn tracks. Uh, do I have to review all of them? No? Good.
...
Well that was my first thought process anyways. However, to understand and dissect this album I really have to talk about both what works, and what doesn't. And after including almost all of the album anyways I figured I might as well go all in. If there are a few tracks that get a little less focus I apologize, but I did have to make sure I fit in my 40,000 character limit somehow. Is this write-up going to be long-winded, full of confusing takes, and possibly completely incorrect? Probably. But isn't that really what this album's all about anyway? So. Here we go. 22 songs. Let's get started. MaybeIshouldhavecampaignedharderforaKeshawriteupinstead Track 1: The 1975 Pre-release track (July 24, 2019) | Popheads Discussion
It's time to rebel
Another album, another track titled after the band. While not an official single, this was the first official piece to be released for the album. The track notably features a spoken word piece by climate activist, teenager, and apparent mortal enemy to 50-year old American conservatives, Greta Thunberg. I don't really have much to say outside of giving praise to Greta for this piece. It lies out the cold, hard truth, while keeping things (very tentatively) optimistic. It's a call to action to a very important problem. Is it a little... self-indulgent to include this to the start of your album that otherwise has very little to do with climate action? Yes. It's very 1975 of them and as you may see a few more times later on, it's the perfect fit to start off this album.
Nearly a month after the premier opening track, People became the first "official" single released. If you thought you knew what The 1975 was about, this track changed the tone of things completely. It was aggressive and loud and nowhere close to the usual synthpop sound the band was associated with. Unfortunately for those who enjoyed this new direction, this is pretty much the only occurrence of it on the entire album. I have to say that I appreciated it a lot more as a single than I do on the album. It's just kind of placed with really no reason. If it wasn't the only track to go this hard, or if it was placed further in to break up the album a bit maybe it could have worked. At the very least it fits nicely with the opening track, venting Matty's frustrations of the state of the world. While the sound isn't very 1975, the idea definitely is.
You lot just leave / I'll stay behind / I'm sorry 'bout my frail state of mind
After "The 1975" and "People", "Frail State of Mind" fit in a lot closer with previous perceptions of the band, though a little more electronic influenced than much of their previous work. The lyrics are based around feelings of depression, social anxiety, and fear of disappointment. The production is a little chaotic, but given the subject material it really works well. There's a lot to talk about for this song but, the final set of lyrics are some of the most heartbreaking on the album. Matty is isolating himself due to fears of bringing down the mood ("Don't wanna bore you with my frail state of mind"). His friends snap back at him and tell him he's faking it ("Oh, winner, winner, that's your biggest lie. I'm sure that you're fine"). Matty responds back that his struggles are real ("I haven't told a lie in quite some time"). Only for his friends to respond that they'll leave him if he doesn't bottle his real feelings ("You know we'll leave if you keep lying. Don't lie behind your frail state of mind"). I always perceived this as an imagined conversation in the mind of someone with social anxiety. He wants to open up, but is afraid that it will end up pushing his loved ones away. As someone who tends to overthink conversations way too much, these fears and unneeded worries are very much present in many interactions. There are times you want to open up, but the fear of things going wrong prevents any changes, positive or negative, from occurring. On the other interpretation, it being an actual conversation is probably even more heartbreaking as his friends don't trust him at all and instead tell him off for ditching them under the guise of mental health. Unfortunately it's not unusual for mental health to be completely ignored in favour of keeping up a façade of strength so it really can feel like there is no winning at times.
I thought that I was stuck in Hell / In a boring conversation with a girl called Mel / 'Bout her friend in Cincinnati called Matty as well
The lyrics for this song take a 'slice of life' style approach. It's a song structured as if it's all taking place during someone's party (per the title). It's fairly light-hearted on the surface, so I always imagined it as a backyard barbeque on a warm summer day. Though it seems to just be about the party at a glance, the lyrical content of the track actually heavily ties into Matty's past experiences with addiction and his recovery. ("There's a place I've been going / Now that I'm clean"). The song's outro lyrics build on it, with his reliance on his friends to typically keep him in line ("I depend / On my friends / To stay clean / As sad as it seems"). Lyrically, it can seem pretty boring to some. He's at a party, talks with some people, not much happens. But I think the song embraces the normalcy of life vs. the appeal of relapse. The party isn't lacking any "interesting" developments, but Matty turns down the advances (mostly) and sticks to the party. He's not really enjoying his time, but he's knows it's better than the aftermath of any alternatives. He still has a long way to go (as he does still try to go for a kiss at one point), so he still relies on his friends to keep him in check. It's not complete control, but it's a start.
Time feels like it's changed, I don't feel the same
With the latest stop on the genre tour bus of NOACF, we're back on the electronic side. It's a nice track, but in my opinion a little forgettable in the broad scope of the album. If you're going to have 22 tracks you should make every one count. The beat's nice, but it feels a little out of place. I do like the lyric "Time feels like it's changed, I don't feel the same", but otherwise not much is going on with only two short verses of content. Unless you want to be told to "Hit that shit" about 20 or 30 times, I don't think many will remember this song for long. It sounds like a draft they came up with, said they'd come back to work on it, and then completely forgot about it after releasing the album.
We're supposed to leave by half-past eight / Will you stay or wait?
Unfortunately, this is another one of the tracks that I group with "Yeah I Know" in the "Oh yeah I forgot this was on the album"-category. The 1975 again lean back toward a more pop-rock sound compared to their electronic outing in the previous track. Unfortunately, it hits almost the exact same pitfall where nothing interesting really happens . It seems that in this relationship, one side is a little more (or way-too-much-more) invested in the relationship than the other. Matty's begging with his partner ("You are mine, I’ve been drowning in you", "When you leave, I cry on the inside", etc., etc.). While she seems... a little apprehensive about the whole thing to say the least. By the end of the song he is in the same scenario as the previous chorus and again asks "Will you stay or wait". Thematically, it's kind of fitting how short the song is. Nothing has really changed since the previous time the question was asked. And we never really see how his partner feels about all this. Both the song and the relationship seems all very... rushed. The problem is whether that's by design or if it's another case of a song being left on the drawing board for too long.
I'm in love with a boy I know / But that's a feeling I can never show
For one of the first collaborations on any of their songs, the band brings on indie treasure Phoebe Bridgers (stream Punisher) as a guest vocalist. Compared to the rest of the album, the track is stripped down to its barest form. A song doesn't need to become acoustic to have emotional depth, but the sparse nature of the instrumentation brings out the lyrics nicely. The track is told from the point of view of two closeted individuals at odds with their sexuality and their religion. The lead has fallen into the hole of gay doubt, while continually confirming his love for Jesus Christ (a man) throughout the song . He's assumed that he was straight his whole life such that once he realizes that he is this "demonized gay" his feelings of love aren't happy, but frightening to him ("I'm in love but I'm feeling low"). Phoebe is experiencing similar problems. She also finds herself pining after someone of the same gender ("I'm in love with the girl next door / Her name's Claire"). The similarities keep coming, as she has also become very attracted to her friend and she clearly knows it ("Nice when she comes 'round to call / Then masturbate the second she's not there"). So they hold their feelings inside, hoping that something will change (I'm sure something many of us may have tried, and failed, at some point). Joining together, the chorus takes a somewhat sarcastic tone to both leads' dilemmas as if their devotion will suddenly fix everything. They both know that they're stuck in a dead end with their beliefs ("Fortunately I believe, lucky me"). They've been told their whole lives that religion can fix their 'problems', but both know in their hearts that they've been looking for acceptance in the wrong spots ("I'm searching for planes in the sea, and that's irony"). And even though I never grew up religious, I definitely relate to the struggles of finding self-acceptance and it's a beautiful song because of that.
I'll take a minute when I think I won't die from stopping
Roadkill decides to not do electronic OR pop-rock and instead goes a country-esque route. This song is definitely meant to be taken comedically. I mean how could it not with lyrics about literally pissing himself. Still, it's had its fair share of controversy. There was brief complaints about Matty using the f-slur, despite not being LGBTQIA2S+ himself. For the most part, it didn't stir up too much trouble. He was recounting a real life event that happened to him and he didn't want to mince words. Though I get why people are frustrated with it. Perhaps if this was his first problem it wouldn't have been as big a deal, but by the time the album came out he already had a few bouts with the controversy bull. There was also some minor controversy relating to the line "And I took shit for being quiet during the election / And maybe that's fair, but I'm a busy guy". Or more so, their silence during the UK's 2019 general election. And then telling people off for expecting them to speak up about politics. I don't know why out of all the 1975 faults this one annoyed so much, but it just kind of culminated their other issues together into one pointless line. I think what hurts the band the most is their calls for other artists to speak up about injustices then they just brush things like this off when asked. Like how hard would it have been to give some canned apology? Or at least ignore it? But no, this is The 1975! They need to have an opinion on something, even when that opinion is not having an opinion. And not speaking up because "You're a busy guy". With what? Recording the filler for this album? There are times when radio silence on an issue is fine, but given the current state of politics and the events that happened in elections around the globe why is it something you want to twiddle your thumbs about. I agreed with their reasoning that people shouldn't listen to musicians for political advice, but that doesn't mean people don't. Normally I wouldn't be as critical of something like this for most other artists, but when a band goes around saying they're politically motivated, then do nothing of the sort, it all feels a little disingenuous. ...Oh yeah there's other parts to this song too. The rest of the lyrics are pretty innocuous in relation. Singing about the stresses of touring. I'll admit The country sound actually works quite well with the band. I'd probably like it if the noted parts didn't exist. Yeah the song is a nice little a jam, but all it does when is remind me of all the parts of The 1975 I loathe. I'm sure everyone has at least reminder of how far up their own ass The 1975 can be at times and this one is mine.
Me & You Together Song was the band's 3rd single and probably has the most similar sound to the band's previous work. Really you could fit it on one of their early EP's and it wouldn't feel too out of place. It's upbeat enough to jam to, while also having some wistful lyrics to give a bit of depth. It's the classic "one friend falls for the other, but the other doesn't feel the same" trope. It doesn't look like the relationship is going to develop at all, but that doesn't stop the pining. Really this is the song that Then Because She Goes wishes it was. Matty does a much better outlining the shared relationship between him and this girl and their history. Many compared it to the standard rom-com movies that were all too prevalent in the 2000's and I completely get their comparison. It's a great light-hearted break from the emotional weight of the rest of the album. It also helps that the song is super fun to jam out to with some of the best guitar work and vocal delivery on the album.
I Think There's Something You Should Know hops back off the acoustic-country-pop-rock train to the electronic side of the album. Lyrically it takes a similar path as "Frail State" did earlier: Matty's trying to open up to someone else that he's not in a great mental state right now. He feels like the fame is getting to him and although he's doing well in the band, it's at the cost of his health. By external measures he is "successful", but it really doesn't feel that way. It's like when he hears that "The 1975 is successful" it's someone else that is experiencing that success, a false image of him in the limelight. He wishes he could be that successful person ("I'd like to meet myself and swap clothes"), but his mental health is holding him back from feeling happy with himself. As he puts it "You get a moment when you feel alright", but it still doesn't change the fact that he feels miserable behind everything.
Life feels like a lie / I need something to be true / Is there anybody out there?
This track is my personal favourite of the non-singles. It also has some of the more interesting production choices on the album. Matty Healy decides that if there's anything a synth-pop-rock band like The 1975 could use, it would be some psuedo-rapping. By him. And somehow I still like the song. I don't know if I'd say it worked... but it doesn't ruin the song in any capacity. Really if there's anything more fitting of an album released during quarantine it's this existential track. The chorus especially is the kind of cathartic experience that makes you want to shout out after being stuck inside for weeks at a time. The song deals with Matty building up false history for himself that doesn't really fit his current lifestyle anymore. He's told so many lies passed off as truth that it's getting hard to hold onto them any more. At the time a single lie seems like a fine idea, but then it builds and builds and suddenly he doesn't like what he has become anymore. He knows it's not him. At this point he just wants to open up to someone, but the things they know about him aren't even real. This is him finally hoping to give some truth and become a person he enjoys being, if that's even possible any more.
The production alone on this track already makes it one of my favourites on the album. Despite the upbeat nature, the lyrics hit the sweet spot of painfully sad and trying not to seem too bothered. Following the previous track, Tonight also deals with making mistakes that might be too far along to fix. The lyrics land neatly in a spot we can all relate with, messing something up for yourself so bad that you just have to sit down and think "What the fuck was I thinking" and trying not to break down. In this case, it's issues in his romantic life. At this point, the relationship is pretty much over so all he can do now is reflect on what went wrong. I really love the lyrics "And it's been replaying on my mind / Unfortunately, I've been to this place in my life / Far too many times / Sunday's nearly over, so I'll just lie awake" cause I think we've all had a time when there's nothing left to do but sit in your bed thinking about what went wrong. But it's Sunday, there's no time to reflect as life will continue on as normal once Monday comes around. As one could maybe guess from the title, he's now at the point where he finally realizes what he lost, but it's a little too late. As Matty says quite aptly in the chorus, "Tonight, I think I fucked it royally".
While there are lyrics to this song, I just count it as another instrumental track. Out of all of the hit/miss tracks on the album I've found this one has been the most controversial. It's definitely interesting, I'll give it that for sure. But it just feels so out of place. Some people will really enjoy this, but it's not for me.
Maybe I would like you better if you took off your clothes
So two things I've learned from looking into this song. 1) It's not actually about just taking off your clothes for a nude video call 2) Okay, it actually still kind of is about taking off your clothes for a nude video call But maybe I'm getting ahead of myself at the moment. "If You're Too Shy" takes a page out of the book of the previous albums' "It's Not Living" and "The Sound" and goes all out. With the bombastic chorus, an amazing sax solo, and lyrics 10x more catchy than they have any right to be, it's hard not to bop along. It also features the first appearance of FKA Twigs (stream Don't Judge Me) on the album as a backing vocalist. Really the song is so bright and upbeat that I almost don't care what it's about. He could be describing a perfect recipe for banana bread, or talking about how nice the weather is. Regardless, there is still a lyrical part of this song. And what subject are we onto this time? Why, sexy online messaging of course! Which is actually… pretty fitting for when the track was released considering many were stuck in lockdown. Matty still has a lot of the same fears as other songs on the album, but here we can see him start to build up his confidence. All so he can show off his privates to some random internet lady. Just kidding. (Kind of). Though the lyrics are played a bit tongue in cheek, it's not literally talking about calls in the nude (well, I guess it still could be but it's not the principal focus anyways). Really the removal of clothes is the singer opening up and letting this woman see him at his most revealed and vulnerable, both mentally andmaybephysically.
I think I've seen the side of every road / They all lead somewhere, I've been told
Sad acoustic 1975 time? Then let's bring Phoebe Bridgers back again on backing vocals! Continuing the anxious theme of the past, the lyrics follow up by looking toward the future and figuring out how Matty's going to fuck that up instead. Or at least how he think he will. And how he thinks he already has. From the starting "Will I live and die in a band?". We've got a window into a bunch of his biggest worries in life. It's easy to get caught up in your own mind sometimes. As shown from previous tracks on the album, it's not like he lacks regrets. Is there anything that he can do to stop creating more? If he thinks about his life in advance will it prevent him from making the same mistakes? Not likely. Turns out messing up is just a part of life. "See, I keep getting this stuff wrong, take me out, put me on". Still, it's hard not to worry when it keeps happening again and again.
The final instrumental of the album and, honestly, the only one I actually remember exists. The 6 minute runtime allows the track to actually build up and do something interesting. The instruments on the track take on elements from house and trance music. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but at least it feels like they thought about how it should fit onto the album unlike the other two (and a half) instrumentals.
What should I say? / Tell 'em the things that you told me / What should I say?
Before diving too far into the lyrical side, can I talk about how fantastic the production is here!? This is second track on the album to feature backing vocals from Twigs and another that follows the electronic influence. Twigs provides some absolutely haunting vocal effects throughout the song. It's all very controlled for the most part, yet something there's an air of anxiety to the vocals, plus the production keeps up the speed and doesn't slow down. The lyrics aren't too detailed, but the minimal use of words is all that's needed. So let's go back to "Roadkill" and all the other controversies caused by Matty putting his foot in his mouth. This song (along with Frail State and Tonight) really help me understand The 1975 "please Matty stop talking" experience from his side. Really it's about how anxious Matty feels being in the public eye. This track in particular shows his particular issue of not knowing what to do or say under pressure, but still feeling the pressure to say something. Anything. Despite practicing what to do and what to say in advance, he still feels the heat and often messes up because of it. He's looking for any kind of excuse for his behaviour, but at the end of the day he feels that it's all on himself. Sometimes he doesn't understand what he said to cause pushback ("Must have been something you were saying"), but it doesn't always stop him from panicking about it. Sometimes he does finally realize the full impact of his words ("What did I say"), but it's already too late.
And leaving you here is the thing that I fear, so I fight it
Another track following on the electronic train. The production on this one is nice, but after 19 songs before this I couldn't blame people if they forgot it. At this point the band probably would have had enough music for a full electronic-inspired album instead of this weird hybrid. According to Matty, the song is about a couple taking the words "til death do us part" literally. The lead is trying to hold on to life to avoid leaving his partner behind. Asking "Do you want to leave at the same time?" in the chorus refers to the act of passing on together. It's a sweet song that probably could have been built on a little more (especially since it was one of the last to be added to the album), but it works for the most part.
On "Don't Worry", we've got the albums third feature, Tim Healy (Matty's father). In fact, he's the one who wrote most of the lyrics! I don't have much to say about the track itself. It's a sweet ballad (a common theme with these last 3 tracks) told to a loved one. In specific this case father to son, but it's general enough to apply to any relationship. It's a song of reassurance. Given the fears and anxieties that have been expressed earlier in the album, it's always good to know that someone is in your corner, whether it's family (this song) or friends (the next).
You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me
The seventh and final single released also happens to be the final track of the album. Guys is a sickeningly sweet song giving thanks to Matty's bandmates for sticking with him after all this time. Lyrically it’s very specific to Matty’s own experiences - living with his friends, being in a band with his friends, traveling to Japan with his friends, etc. And at the end of the day this is the sincere closer the album needed. I'm going to be honest, I'm kind of a sucker about nostalgic tracks like this. Say what you want about the posturing and pretentiousness of the other songs, but anyone can tell that this is an earnest effort to give genuine thanks to his friends. Really it (and also The Birthday Party) does a good job showing that the band isn't primarily making music for the fame or the fans or the money. They just enjoy what they do; it's all something they started together and its what drives them to continue. The true Notes were the friends he made along the way, in a way. Another thing this track made me realize is that I truly believe everything Matty Healy says out loud he fully believes in. Are some of his takes incredibly useless, shortsighted, and ignorant? Oh for sure. But I don't believe he's doing it to get any sort of clout. Him and the rest of the band are a bunch of friends from some town out of England that have managed a monumental growth to stardom. They aren't always prepared so they do what they think is best. Is that an excuse for some of the shit he pulls sometimes? Definitely not. At the end of the day they're all grown adults that can be accountable for their own actions. But the track, and the album as the whole, help show why Matty feels he needs to speak all the time, his anxieties with fame and life, and how he can still keep going forward with the band's music. Overall Thoughts On the Album It's a mess for sure. And I love it. It's a mess and I love it. I love it because it's a mess. I'm not sure I would love it as much if it wasn't a mess. Odd eh? Despite all my gripes about the band and the album, I still love it. I think this would probably be the last 1975 album I would recommend newcomers listen to, but it does a great job (whether intentional or not) capturing their essence. I still think "If You're Too Shy" is my favourite track on its own, but "Guys" ties everything together so perfectly. It's responsible for it being an album I can say I enjoy as a whole, instead of a collection of tracks I kind of like. Are there songs that I skip nearly every time I listen to the album? 100%. But at least I can tell what the band was trying to accomplish. Also want to mention the non-single combo of I Think There's Something You Should Know - Nothing Revealed / Everything Denied - Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy) - Playing On My Mind - What Should I Say is a captivating and underrated representation of fear and anxiety. It's not a far departure from the themes of their earlier work, but it works for a reason. It's a great imperfect album. There are some parts that get on my nerves, but at the end of the day it works with the theme of the album. If I had to make a (kind of weird) comparison, it's very similar to my love for Closer (yes that Closer - and I know rate people are probably sick of the song by now). Closer is about dumb kids making dumb decisions. And they fully believe in their decisions. Does it make the choices any less dumb? Heck no! The listener knows their reasoning for being together is so obviously flawed. But for that it is both captivating, and (at times) relatable. Looking from the outside it's obviously wrong, but for the ones experiencing it they have very little idea how to make things right. It's not a defense to those actions, but can definitely make it more relatable and understandable. One point I haven't mentioned much that comes up often on the album is the idea of cancel culture. This part... I'm a little mixed on. I don't want to use a review about an overly long 1975 album to start a huge discourse about it, but it comes up a few times and can't be ignored when talking about celebrities making dumb decisions. I think there are definitely cases where the internet can be overzealous shutting down someone's career over past things said (especially if a genuine self-reflection or apology is issued). In more serious cases there are also some that will defend their favourites with the same reasoning, even though there are serious conversations that should probably be had. In severe cases there are also times that cancel culture has shown to have no effect when it really should (look at... well basically any of the successes that Chris Brown or Dr. Luke are still experiencing). But going back to the album: whether each point is right or wrong isn't what the album's about. It's about the process of fucking up sometimes. And how it happens to everyone. The stuff that can ruin relationships or create a missed opportunity or anything makes you wonder if you could have done better. It happens and it hurts. And sometimes it's over something dumb (see: every 1975 controversy). Sometimes you know you fucked up. And sometimes you feel you are still in the right (and sometimes you are!). Either way, it happens. You can try to plan and overthink and worry, but it will happen. And this album is a fantastic representation of that mix of regret, worry, self-reflection, and self-frustration that follows. Am I reaching for points with very little basis? Probably. But I've listened to this 22-song album so many times I want to at least get something out of it.
For those skipping to the end
TL;DR: This is a great album that messes up its execution at times. It's also about people messing up. It's not perfect and it's much more interesting because of that. It's also a bit bloated and they really q could have cut it down a little. Recommendations: All of the singles, Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied, Playing On My Mind, Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), What Should I Say Discussion Points
Let's get the big one out of the way first: What are your thoughts on the album? Did you enjoy it? Hate it? Somewhere in between?
What direction or sound should the band go with for the next album?
For those who listen to versions of albums you’ve personally altered (either by shortening, adding to, or rearranging the tracklist), do you take your edited or the original into account when considering your enjoyment of the album (or a bit of both)?
Genre-hopping: can it work on an album where fans are expecting one, but get something different? Do you think albums should mostly stick to one consistent sound?
There is often talk (not just in the music sphere) about authenticity of celebrities when championing social causes. Sometimes it's all for clout, sometimes it's important to speak up, sometimes the artist speaks up and then you realize you wish they didn't. Do you feel celebrities have an obligation to speak up for social causes? Or should they keep out of those discussions?
On a lighter note: Come up with a worse two-emoji cover for this album than 🥾🌍
Flatten the Curve. Part 79. Let's take another look at Cicada 3301. Who is Dan Jefferies and what is the Cicada Project? Because guess what? The project sounds like the Microsoft WO2020060606 patent.
Previous Post Here The New Normal. The word has been around for a lot longer then we realize. A lot longer. Know what else has been around for a while? New World Order.
Cicada 3301
Cicadas are strange, aren't they? You can't see them unless you look, and yet you can hear them everywhere. An omnipresent sound surrounding your environment. If you live in an area without Cicadas, and then travel to an area with Cicadas, you'll be acutely aware of the sound, and it'll throw you off at first. You'll find the noise annoying, but tolerable. And then slowly without realizing it, you ADAPT. It becomes your NEW NORMAL. And once it does, you don't give the Cicadas a second thought. And maybe that's a mistake. Maybe there is no maybe, it is a mistake. So we're going to dive deep into Cicada 3301 and how it fits into the Not Normal New Normal.
Break the Code
People can be broken down into two categories, those who like solving puzzles and those who don't. Those who don't are generally ok with the status quo. They don't see anything wrong. They don't realize that the puzzle has missing pieces, and even if they do, they don't mind. Why? I have no idea. That mindset is foreign to me, as it is to anyone reading this series. So let's take a look into the Cicada puzzle peices.
But the challenge to find what was hidden in this picture intrigued him. He stared intently at the image. Someone on the IRC had heard rumors that terrorist groups encrypt secret notes in image files, ones that could be retrieved by opening the file in a different format. Running a text–editing program called Notepad, he opened the image and, sure enough, saw a strange string of words and garbage characters at the end: “TIBERIVS CLAVDIVS CAESAR says ‘lxxt>33m2mqkyv2gsq3q=w]O2ntk.’ ” Caesar, he knew, was one of the most ancient forms of encryption, dating back to Julius Caesar, who used the cipher to safeguard military secrets. It works by taking the alphabet and then counting down each letter based on a designated number (say, replacing letters with ones three letters down the alphabet).
Cicada posted the first puzzle January 4, 2012. 2012 was also the year that the Mayan Calendar predicted the end of the world. Or the transformation of humanity into an enlightened state of consciousness. Obviously the world didn't end. So are we heading into an enlightened state of consciousness? Perhaps. Time will tell, like it always does.
2013, November 25 • Eriksson didn’t realise it then, but he was embarking on one of the internet’s most enduring puzzles; a scavenger hunt that has led thousands of competitors across the web, down telephone lines, out to several physical locations around the globe, and into unchartered areas of the "darknet”. So far, the hunt has required a knowledge of number theory, philosophy and classical music. An interest in both cyberpunk literature and the Victorian occult has also come in handy as has an understanding of Mayan numerology. Source Here
Remember the Mayan Calendar. Before anyone thinks Cicada was some kind of promotional stunt, or LARP, it wasn't. Nor was it the result of a single individual or a small group of individuals. Because if it was, the following would have been extremely difficult.
There were more than a dozen (Cicada posters with QR codes), spread over four continents. The Street View images seemed random: a narrow street near the University of Warsaw, a parking lot on a busy intersection of Seoul, a country road on the North Shore of Oahu. One location came up in front of a prominent doctor’s house in a wealthy section of Seattle. (When RS called the doctor, he said that he had never heard of Cicada 3301.) Amid the fervor, an anonymous person posted a mysterious confessional. “I was part of what you call 3301/Cicada for more than a decade,” the anonymous author wrote, “and I’m here to warn you: Stay away.” Any portentously dire and anonymous message on the Internet could be bullshit or trolling. But as the skeptical solvers read the screed, the author seemed knowledgeable enough about 3301 to give them pause. The author said he had been a military officer in an unnamed, non-English speaking country when, after a year of being unknowingly vetted in person, he was recruited by a member of 3301. He described them as “a group of like-minded individuals, all incredibly talented and connected, [working] together for the common good: the good of mankind.” But over several paragraphs, he cautioned about their cultish beliefs, a conviction, for example, in “the Global Brain as another kind of ‘God’ ” – 3301 was nothing more, he wrote, than a “religion disguised as a progressive scientific organization.” He concluded by saying he had since found Jesus. Source Here
The author claimed to be a military officer in an unnamed country. He warned of a Global Brain as another kind of God. Hmmmm. AI WORLD Government. And don't go thinking this is just some half baked organization trying to make a dollar and meeting in Hotel Banquet halls. Take a look at some of the organizations behind AI World Government. Microsoft. Amazon. IBM. FEMA. Army Research Laboratory. Defense Intelligence Agency. Homeland Security. MITRE Corporation. NASA. IARPA. DOE. NVIDIA. That's quite the Clubhouse, isn't it? Now take a look at the sponsors on this page If you don't find the sponsor list concerning, i don't know what to say and you should probably stop reading now. And for those of you who realize that Knowing is Half the Battle, Go Joe.
Prime Numbers in the Prime Timeline
Did anyone have Cicadas on their 2020 bingo card? No? That one was conspicuously absent from all those memes, wasn't it?
But researchers think this life cycle is all about tricking cicada predators — making sure that they can't sync up their schedules with the next cicada emergence. The cicadas generally follow an emergence schedule of either 13 or 17 years — both prime numbers. The schedule's indivisibility makes it more difficult for predators to predict the next emergence, research suggests. WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? — One of the most noteworthy parts about a mass cicada emergence is the sound the swarms of cicadas emit. The screech of a cicada has been likened to an "alien-like wail" and "field of out-of-tune car radios." Source Here
This wasn't the only article suggesting that Cicadas have an Alien Like Wail. In fact, it was in a lot of them. And with five corporations owning and controlling the MSM information stream, the Alien Like Wail is something we need to take note of. Do I need to remind you of the sudden influx of UFO disclosure happening from the American Military? It's not a coincidence. It's also not going to be the main focus on this post, but it will be written about shortly in Flatten the Curve. So let's just hope the "Aliens" aren't the predators that we're hiding from. Although I am dying to say, I don't have time to bleed. Or. Get to the choppa. So the Cicada puzzles involved Prime Numbers, Mayan numerology, and Runes, amongst other clues in their cryptographic and steganographic odyssey. But what other meaning is associated with Cicada, because the group didn't pick a random name out of a hat.
The cicada symbolises rebirth and immortality in Chinese tradition. In the Chinese essay "Thirty-Six Stratagems", the phrase "to shed the golden cicada skin" (simplified Chinese: 金蝉脱壳; traditional Chinese: 金蟬脫殼; pinyin: jīnchán tuōqiào) is the poetic name for using a decoy (leaving the exuvia) to fool enemies. In the Chinese classic novel Journey to the West (16th century), the protagonist Priest of Tang was named the Golden Cicada.
A decoy? I may have forgotten to include something about a decoy and the Cicada puzzles.
"WHOOPS Just decoys this way. Looks like you can’t guess how to get the message out”. Source Here
Clicking on the link takes you to a picture of a duck decoy. And anyone reading this series understands that we may be on the brink of WW3 with China over the environmental collapse that's upcoming, and that this war is also involving the race to AI supremacy, and that whoever controls AI, will now have dominion over the planet.
The earliest known fossil Cicadomorpha appeared in the Upper Permian period; extant species occur all around the world in temperate to tropical climates.Source Here
Whelp. There's something happening here. But what it is ain't exactly clear. There's a man with a mask over there. A-telling me, I got to beware. I think it's time we stop. Children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down. Ahem. Sorry. But seriously, what's going on? Upper Permian period? Really? Ring a bell? It should if you've read Flatten the Curve from the start. Why? Because the BLUE planet that we call home seems to be entering into a period that reminds me of the End Permian extinction event. And that's not good. Trust me. Also, let me explain one more time, that while we are seeing troubling signs in our current environment, this doesn't mean that the ecosystem will collapse tomorrow, or next year, or even this decade. We don't know the timeline, so don't go and join an end times doomsday cult just yet. But be prepared for the unknown as best as you can. Because while the environmental collapse and our future may be unclear, the powers that be still seem bent on starting a war. With each or other, or with something. (Something? Really? What do I mean? Well, who knows if all of the recent Alien disclosure is real or fake, but it's not slowing down. Regardless, it has to be taken into consideration and examined)
Who is Dan Jefferies?
Dan is an Author. Dan wrote a two book series called The Jasmine Wars. Here's the synopsis.
When a Jasmine Revolution sweeps away the brutal Communist regime, China transforms into the world’s first AI-driven Direct Democracy, ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity unlike anything ever seen in its five thousand year history. Now when an economic shock brings terrorism and ultra-nationalism roaring back, the nation’s favorite son, Colonel Ju-Long, races to uncover the traitors in his midst before his beloved country explodes into another devastating civil war. Source Here
AI Driven Direct Democracy. Sounds kind of like the AI World Government, doesn't it? Or maybe it's the opposite. Or maybe it's the same thing we have now, a Democracy that only works because it gives us the illusion of choice. But he's only an Author, you might be thinking. Isn't this taking it a little bit too far? Seriously Greek, you may be losing it. Should you take a vacation and relax, get your head on straight again? Long story short, no. I'm good. Completely and utterly good. Maybe working a little too much, and maybe I'll need a vacation after the pandemic protocols have been (hopefully) uninstalled, but not yet. And definitely not now. So Dan's an author, but what else is he? Because it’s a really odd world up above us. Seriously odd. Because while we struggle with having a life and a single occupation, those who worship in this AI technocracy seem to be able to multi-task like the spooky action of quantum entanglement.
DANIEL JEFFRIES • Author, Futurist, Thinker, Engineer, Systems Architect, Podcaster, Pro Blogger. Science Fiction: Daniel is the author of four cutting edge sci-fi novels, including the popular nanopunk epic The Scorpion Game, which readers have compared to the early cyberpunk masterpiece Neuromancer. Pro BloggePodcaster: His massively popular Medium blog with over 50K followers, and his Daily PostHuman podcast covers a wide range of future tech from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency. His articles have appeared in Bitcoin Magazine and he’s the number one writer for the popular magazine Hacker Noon. Engineer: For more than twenty years, Daniel created and implemented advanced tech solutions for early web companies and Fortune 500 companies, first with his own consulting company and later for open source pioneer Red Hat, using Linux, virtual machines, Docker containers and DevOps and now for the innovative MLOps AI startup, Pachyderm. Systems Architect: Daniel now designs cutting edge crypto and decentralized web platforms, starting with the Cicada concept project, and then rolling its ideas into stealth startups with gamified money solutions, decentralized IDs, reputation systems and advanced crytoeconomics architectures. Public Speaker: He’s also a well respected public speaker, having given talks all over the world on the future of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
That's the kind of bio that leaves you feeling like an underachieving peon, doesn't it? Kind of like the bio of Lance B Eliot, isn’t it? Well, not quite, but it's still impressive. But he's not an AI algorithm like Lance (at least I don't think he is) seems to be. So why did I include him in this post about Cicada 3301? Did you notice that in his bio there is something called the Cicada Concept Project? Yeah. Strap in and hold on, cause this roller coaster is about to start.
The Cicada Concept Project.
So Dan Jefferies came up with the Cicada Project, does that mean that he also came up with or is a member of, Cicada 3301?
Oh yeah. I mentioned Cicada 3301. A lot of people have asked me over the years if I’m involved with that project or if I’m behind the mystery in some way? The answer is no. But it’s also not that simple. Of course, some asshole on Reddit will inevitably post this in the comments: Is Dan Jeffries behind Cicada 3301? TLDR. No. LOL. I just saved his lazy ass some time. He can cut and paste it. Source Here • (I strongly recommend reading his post. Make the time.)
LOL! OMG, that's too funny, don't you think so too? Dan Jefferies the writer and Cicada 3301, give me a break! Don't be that a$$hole on Reddit and make unsubstantiated claims, ok Greek? Uh. Nope. Not ok. And my name is Biggreekgeek, not a$$hole. And if you insist on that nomenclature, then that's Mr. A$$hole to you. Because if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a 3301 Duck Decoy. Call me crazy, but I'm finding his assertion that it's all a mere coincidence too convenient. Now I know that you can't prove a negative, but trying to explain the name connection away by claiming synchronicity and it's just a result of the universe laying out your path, well, that doesn't work for me (read his post, this is what he actually claims).
Jasmine Wars • In the story Cicada is a massive distributed artificial intelligence and nation-state operating system. She’s a voting and communications platform and a fantastic alien mind. In many ways she embodies the best of the human race, while mitigating the worst of our dark dual natures. She seemed like the perfect choice for a chunk of killer future tech so I set out to create an early version of her.
Now let's do a little coincidence checklist for our New Normal reality.
Nation State Operating System • Ai World Government. ✔
Ultra Nationalism. ✔
Voting Problems. ✔
Strange how so many current events could be solved by the Cicada platform. And what about that curious word choice of a Fantastic Alien Mind? It might not rhyme with Orange, but didn't a lot of the 2020 articles about Cicadas mention an Alien-like wail? Yes. They. Did. Are you enjoying this roller-coaster yet? I hope so, cause this ride isn't going to be over for a while, despite the promised land just being two weeks away. (Edit: I've had this written for a while, but held back. Why? To see how the times went as we moved forward. And now we have our answer) Before we carry on like the wayward sons we are, let me give you the link to the Cicada Concept Project. Source HereREAD IT!
Let's Pull It All Together.
Dan Jeffries is the chief technical evangelist at Pachyderm. Evangelist. His title at Pachyderm is a little strange, don't you think? Cause I do. Really strange. Let's look up what the definition of an Evangelist is, shall we? e·van·ge·list /əˈvanjələst/ • noun • 1. a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching. Cute, isn't it? Nice little wordplay there. Not freaky at all. Nope. Sign me up to the cult. So Danny Boy came up with a concept called Cicada that can be a Direct Democracy system that uses secure BIO-ID, protects your privacy, and who's participants generate Cryptocurrency biologically. Didn’t some company get involved with these concepts at some point? I think so. What company was it? Hmmmm, let's see...was it...MICROSOFT? ID2020SOURCE HEREWO2020060606 - CRYPTOCURRENCY SYSTEM USING BODY ACTIVITY DATA Source Here Yep. It was Microsoft. And guess who else Microsoft is involved with?
2020, August 19 • Pachyderm Secures $16 Million Investment Led by M12 - Microsoft’s Venture Fund • Company raises Series B round on back of Fortune 500 enterprise adoption. SourceHere
AI WORLD GOVERNMENT is sponsored by Microsoft as well.
Ah Billy Boy, you sure are one clever little bugger, ain't ya? I've said it before and I'll say it again, AI will be the savior that will solve the Pandemic problem. Eventually. Some day. Not soon. Definitely. Not. Soon. Why? Well the pandemic disruption hasn't reached the proper level of disruption yet, that's why. (And should I point out that M-12 reminds me of MJ-12, or, Majestic 12)
Final Words.
Look. The Big Picture of Big Brother isn't an easy one to see, and it's an even harder one to explain. Like it or not, we're living in an epoch of civilization, a pivotal moment in time. The deeper I dig, the deeper my limited understanding becomes. This is disruption by design. And yet, I'm left wondering is this is a human designed disruption, or are we dealing with an unknown AI construct capable of not only deceiving and manipulating us common folk to advance an endgame, but also manipulating those who have engineered it. Implausible? Don't be too confident in that assumption. Why? Do you remember Billy Boy Gates smug look in certain interviews where he was advocating the vaccine? It reminded me of that look that parents get when their child just doesn't understand something they're trying to explain. "One day you'll understand". We've all heard that at one point by our parents, haven't we? And yet something changed in Billy Boy as the pandemic went forward and nobody was embracing him as our very own Marvel Superhero. His look went from smug to exasperated, almost confused. It was almost like he felt society wasn't acting in a preordained manner, as though a carefully thought out BLUEprint was suddenly developing problems out of the BLUE. I know everyone likes to talk about a plandemic. And I know that the majority of readers in this subreddit like to call it a low mortality virus, and maybe it is. But I find it hard to accept that human agents came up with something this intricate in depth and overarching in scope. Seriously. Just think about Cicada 3301 > Dan Jefferies > Microsoft Patent 060606. Because the similarities are too close for my liking to be coincidental. Especially when you consider the continued chaos of the economy, wealth inequality, tax evasion, the elections, the racial tensions, issues of policing and abuse of power, and I hope that I'm wrong, but it even appears that we may have even more upcoming chaos in our trust of the scientific research institutions and corporations. Out of chaos, order. Right? What order? AI world government. New World Order. New Normal. Great Reset. Build Back Better. Everyone has to be on board the Great Reset, right Klaus fourth industrial revolution Schwab?
October 18, 2019 • She noted that the number of people using the Internet exceeded half of the world’s population in 2018, with 80 per cent of Europeans having access compared to less than 25 per cent in Sub‑Saharan Africa. Almost half the world’s population remains offline and excluded from the benefits of digitalization. Source Here
Less than 25% in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to internet. And now we have Operation New Normal happening in Africa. Flatten the Curve. Part 60. Source Here And don't forget the military backed starlink to provide worldwide internet for those who aren't connected yet. Yeah. We're All In This Together. Right? Nicholas Negroponte is the founder and chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also founded the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC). Ah right. The failed attempt to get every child a laptop. From Nicholas Negroponte who accepted money from Jeffrey Epstein’s tangled web of foundations. And I quote; "If you wind back the clock, I would still say, 'Take it.'" Charming. The ends justify the means. Remember that. Wake up every day and repeat it to yourself. The ends justify the means. Why? Because that's how a lot of them think, and we are the means to the ends. Heads up and eyes open. Talk soon
Is it time for the Labour Party to finally back Proportional Representation before the next General Election?
While Keir Starmer and the current Labour Frontbench seem almost scared to even consider announcing new party policies, I wanted to raise a discussion on whether or not it is finally time that the Labour Party formally backs Proportional Representation as our new voting system. It is no secret that the current electoral system is a flawed two party system and favours the Conservative Party too much, which will now be made worse by the upcoming electoral boundary changes that are essentially gerrymandering in all but name. Labour have been out of power for over ten years now and the party faces a mammoth task to try and gain around 120 seats in the next election if they want to have a majority of just one. Landslides like this have happened in the past with the likes of Tony Blair, however the odds are very slim and I feel the stakes are too high to gamble on the small chances of Labour managing to pull this off. Henceforth I believe it is time that Labour backs Proportional Representation and encourages the smaller parties of Westminster - namely the Liberal Democrats and the Greens - to lend them their votes in the next election and stand aside in key target sides in order to ensure Labour wins a majority in the next election so that they can roll through Proportional Representation. This is in Labour's interest in order to finally get the murderous Conservatives out of Westminster, end austerity after eleven years of it and put through a more progressive and representative voting system. The political union has also been greatly threatened in recent years following strong support for Scottish Independence and Northern Ireland being threatened with different treatment to the rest of the UK in recent Brexit talks. With much of the United Kingdom feeling more disunited, having a more balanced voting system in Proportional Representation could help to restore faith in our democracy and truly make all votes across the entire country count, with all voices of the UK - English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish - being included. After years of political instability and uncertainty, coupled with the diminished odds of Labour securing a majority in the next General Election and thousands being indirectly murdered by the Conservatives through austerity and deliberate Lockdown in-competencies, I feel that it is in the national interest for the voting system to be changed to Proportional Representation and that Labour are the only ones who can deliver it.
How does American democracy compare with democracy in the rest of the world? Part 2: divided-power.
Welcome to part two of my two-part series comparing American democracy with the rest of the world, based on the modern classic of comparative politics Patterns of Democracy (2nd edition) by Arend Lijphart (rhymes with pipe-heart), published in 2012. Yes, part one is very long (and very fascinating, I’m told), but you don’t need to read it unless you want to, because I’ll briefly summarize the parts you need to understand. In his book, Lijphart classifies democracies into two broad categories, based on the question: who should the government be responsive to when the people are in disagreement? The answer provided by the majoritarian model of democracy is that government should be responsive to a majority of the people, or often in practice, a plurality of the people. In contrast, the consensus model of democracy accepts support from the majority as only a minimum requirement, and instead seeks to foster broad participation in government and broad agreement on policies. There are two complementary approaches to building a consensus democracy (or building a majoritarian democracy, if the antithesis of each approach is used). The first, the joint-power approach, seeks to broadly share power within institutions, for example multiparty systems, proportional representation, and coalition cabinets. In contrast, the divided-power approach diffuses power across separate institutions, for example across central and regional governments (federalism), upper and lower houses of the legislature (bicameralism), independent central banks, and constitutional courts with the power of judicial review. Note that these two approaches are complementary, not mutually exclusive. A democracy can embrace both joint-power and divided-power approaches, reject both, or embrace one while rejecting the other. As such, every democracy can be roughly divided into one of 4 quadrants. Here is a table displaying a prototypical democracy from each quadrant.
joint-power
non-joint-power
non-divided-power
Israel
UK
divided-power
Switzerland
USA
The United States’ approach to democracy almost uniformly rejects joint-power, while embracing divided-power, so we sit somewhere between a majoritarian democracy like the UK and a consensus democracy like Switzerland. In the last post I discussed non-joint-power in the United States, and in this post I’ll be covering divided-power. At the end, I’ll finish up with Lijphart’s conclusions on the effectiveness of consensus democracy vs. majoritarian democracy in general (spoiler: consensus democracy is better), and I’ll give my thoughts on the future of democratic institutional reform in the United States.
Divided-power in the United States
Let’s take another look at Lijphart’s conceptual map of democracy (democracies further to the left embrace the joint-power approach, while those toward the bottom embrace divided-power). As you can see from the conceptual map, out of the 36 sufficiently large and long-lived democracies in Lijphart’s sample, the United States ranks as a very close second to Germany in its strong approach to divided-power. Other notable divided-power democracies include Australia, Argentina, Canada, and Switzerland, with Switzerland being the joint-power black sheep of the group (Germany is also joint-power, but not to the same extent). Lijphart describes five institutions that can be used to build a divided-power democracy, and the United States has fine examples of all of them.
A federal government instead of a unitary government
A bicameral legislature instead of a unicameral legislature.
A rigid constitution that can only be changed by an extraordinary majority, as opposed to a flexible constitution that can be changed by a simple majority.
A Supreme Court with the power to review legislation, rather than the legislature having the final say on the constitutionality of its own legislation.
A central bank that is independent from the executive, as opposed to a central bank that is controlled by the executive.
Let’s talk about each of these aspects of divided-power, and how they are implemented in the United States in comparison to the rest of the world.
An exceptionally strong federalism
At its most basic, federalism means that there is a guaranteed division of power between central and regional governments. But how do we guarantee that such a division of power remains stable? There are typically three institutions that serve that purpose. Notice that these are the same as 2, 3, and 4 in the list of divided-power institutions above.
A bicameral legislature with a strong second chamber dedicated to representing the regions of the federation.
A written constitution outlining the federal division of power. To keep the division of power stable this constitution needs to be rigid, meaning that it should be difficult to amend.
A supreme or constitutional court that can protect the constitution with the power of judicial review, meaning that the court has the final say on the constitutionality of executive and legislative actions.
What is federalism good for though? Federalism is particularly well suited to very large countries (in terms of both population and geographic size), and to very diverse countries (in terms of religions, ethnic groups, languages spoken, etc.). The United States is the second most populous democracy in the world, with the first being India, which is also federal. The least populous federation is Switzerland, though it is still relatively large, being approximately in the middle of Lijphart’s 36 countries ranked by population. In terms of diversity, the US is only semi-diverse according to Lijphart’s classification, and in any case, state lines are not and probably could not be drawn with regard to separate racial, ethnic, and religious groups, as they can be in some other countries. In the case of India, a highly diverse society, British colonial authorities drew administrative lines without regard for linguistic differences, an unfortunate situation which was not corrected until the 1950’s, providing additional representation for linguistic minorities. Canada and Switzerland are other examples of federations with regional lines drawn (at least roughly) to contain cultural and linguistic minorities. It’s not common, but for diverse societies it’s also possible to have federal territories that are not defined geographically, for example Belgium’s three cultural communities. There is another possible purpose of federalism, and that is to allow the regions to experiment with different forms of government. In practice, however, regional governments tend to be extremely similar to the central government. If you’ve ever wondered why almost every US state has a bicameral legislature, even though state governments are not federal and some states are extremely small, then there’s your answer: there is no good reason, except that it mirrors the form of the central government. Presidentialism, too, has leaked into the states, with governors essentially acting as presidents for each state, despite the flaws of presidentialism I went over in the first post. There has been some experimentation with electoral systems among the states, for example ranked choice voting for congressional and presidential elections in Alaska and Maine and for local elections in many other states. There has only been one notable exception when it comes to majority/plurality electoral systems, in the state of Illinois, which used cumulative voting (a semi-proportional method) for its lower house from 1870 to 1980. Another notable case outside of the USA is Australia, with the state of Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory using the single-transferable-vote form of proportional representation for electing their regional assemblies, unlike the Australian House of Representatives and the regional lower houses of every other Australian state which all use ranked choice voting, a majority/plurality voting method. However, single-transferable-vote is far from unheard of in Australia, as it is also used to elect the national Senate. Of course, in the United States there has been a great degree of experimentation with state laws, including of taxation, drug prohibition, environmental regulations, etc. This has allowed some states to learn from the experiments of others, and at times has allowed certain states to lag far behind the others, depending on your perspective.
Bicameralism taken too far?
Bicameralism, meaning the division of the legislature into two differently constituted chambers, is closely associated with federalism, as the purpose of the second chamber is typically to give additional representation to the regions of the federation. In Lijphart’s sample, all 9 of the federal countries are bicameral, while only about half of the 27 remaining non-federal countries are bicameral. The unicameral countries tend to have smaller populations. Worldwide, about ⅔ of countries are unicameral. Typically, the first chamber tends to be the more important of the two, with the second chamber in a subordinate role, though there are notable exceptions: the United States, Argentina, Italy, Switzerland, and Uruguay all have chambers with approximately equal powers, or arguably in the case of the United States, greater powers. Second chambers that are directly elected tend to be more powerful, as direct election gives the second chamber additional democratic legitimacy and thus greater political influence, which is true for the five countries with powerful second chambers except for Switzerland, where most but not all members of the second chamber are directly elected. Some less important differences are that the first chamber also tends to be the larger one (with the only exception being the British House of Lords). Terms of office tend to be longer in second chambers, and second chambers tend to have staggered elections. One of the most important differences is that second chambers are often designed to overrepresent certain minorities, the most common example being the overrepresentation of regions with smaller populations, as seen in federalism. In this table you can see the degree to which different countries overrepresent the smaller regions. The three countries with the greatest degree of overrepresentation of smaller regions are Argentina, the United States, and Switzerland. These are also countries where all regions have equal representation in the second chamber regardless of population size. The same is true of Australia, which ranks 5th on the chart. In the United States, a staggering 10% of the best represented voters control 39.7% of the seats in the Senate. Other countries like Germany and Canada give greater, but not equal, representation to smaller regions, while Belgium gives only slight overrepresentation to its French and German-speaking minorities. In the United States the second chamber has some unique powers, such as ratifying treaties and confirming members of the federal judiciary, that the first chamber does not have. This, combined with the Supreme Court being one of the most powerful activist courts in the world, has produced an unusual situation where a minority controls an arguably more powerful second chamber. And the situation is only getting worse: by 2040, two-thirds of Americans will be represented by only 30% of the Senate. Having a bicameral legislature with special representation for smaller regions is an important guarantor of federalism, but as we can see from other countries like Canada, Australia, and Germany, the amount of overrepresentation seen in the United States is not necessary to maintain a strong form of federalism. Only time will tell whether the United States can maintain a stable and legitimate government in a state of continually strengthening minority rule.
The most rigid constitution in the world
A rigid federal constitution is another important guarantor of federalism, and the United States has the least flexible constitution in the world, with two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate as well as the approval of 3/4ths of the states being required to pass a constitutional amendment. There are several other countries where supermajorities are required, as you can see in this table, but not to the same degree as in the United States. It is one of the reasons the United States has the shortest written constitution in the world at 4,400 words, despite being one of the oldest constitutions. Having a constitution is not itself enough to guarantee federalism, an institution is also needed to defend the constitution. Independent courts with the power of judicial review fulfill that purpose, and the United States has one of the most vigorous federal courts, as you can see in this table. The German Constitutional Court arguably ranks in second place. Judicial review is particularly strong in several other countries besides the USA and Germany: India, and recently, Canada, Costa Rica, and Argentina. When it comes to the United States, Lijphart notes that, “The activist American courts and the Supreme Court in particular have been accused of forming an ‘imperial judiciary.’” A rigid constitution and the courts with independent review to back it up are an important anti-majoritarian device, while having a flexible constitution and no judicial review allow unrestricted majority rule. The UK is a prime example of majority rule, and is also one of only 3 democracies of Lijphart’s 36 with no written constitution, the other 2 being New Zealand and Israel. Switzerland is an odd outlier, being an otherwise completely consensual democracy with no judicial review, despite having a strong form of federalism. Perhaps this demonstrates that judicial review is helpful, but not essential, to maintaining federalism.
The paradox of the US Supreme Court
As explained in the last section, activist courts with the power of judicial review are an anti-majoritarian device, but the US Supreme Court is majoritarian in its makeup in almost every respect, in contrast to the German Constitutional Court and the Indian Supreme Court which follow a more consensual pattern. One example of the Supreme Court’s majoritarianism is its small number of justices, only 9, compared with 16 in Germany and 29 in India. This places a hard limit on the amount of broad representation of different population groups on the Supreme Court. A second majoritarian aspect is that justices are chosen by majority in the Senate, unlike the two-thirds majorities required in both German chambers. The court itself makes decisions by majority, which increases the power of the court to make decisions, but decreases the consensual nature of the decision-making. There are a couple more reasons the Supreme Court is majoritarian in its makeup: one is that vacancies are filled as they occur, allowing majorities to sequentially pick their favorites, whereas if justices were chosen as a group it would be more likely for minorities to be chosen. A second reason is that US justices have very long terms, which tends to be an obstacle to broad representation in an evolving society. In Germany and India, justices have mandatory retirement ages of 68 and 65, respectively, and in Germany they are chosen to 12 year non-renewable terms. This paradox of a consensual institution with majoritarian rules is seen not only in the Supreme Court, but in many other institutions of American democracy. The presidency, for example, represents a division of power between the executive and legislative, an expression of divided-power, while the presidency itself, a single person elected by majority, is the antithesis of consensus decision making.
One of the most independent central banks… at least until the 90’s.
Central banks are crucial policy-making institutions, particularly when they are strong and independent. Having a strong and independent central bank is an important aspect of the divided-power approach to building a consensus democracy (recall that an independent central bank is one of the five divided-power institutions enumerated above). The most important duty of central banks is making monetary policy – the regulation of interest rates and the supply of money, which in turn has effects on price stability, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and the business cycle. According to the Cukierman Index of Independence, central banks are at their most independent when they have exclusive jurisdiction over monetary policy and their only or primary task is to maintain price stability. Central banks may be less strong when they have multiple, possibly conflicting goals, such as both price stability and full employment. Other important aspects of bank independence are the independence of the bank’s governor from the executive, and when the bank is in full control of the terms of lending to the central government. Until around 1994, central bank independence was strongly correlated with federalism, another important divided-power institution, and the five central banks with the greatest independence were all federal systems: Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Austria, and Canada. As you can see in this table (continued here), these five banks reigned supreme as the most independent central banks in the world for 50 years, from 1945 to 1994. After 1994, many European central banks became remarkably more independent as a condition for participating in the euro, per the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, for example the Spanish, French, and Italian central banks which all increased by approximately .5 on the Cukierman Index in 1994, easily surpassing the United States. The establishment of the European Central Bank in 1998 and the adoption of the euro transformed the central bank for those countries into an element of the international system. After that, the correlation between federalism and central bank independence shrank considerably, as the central bank was no longer a domestic institution, following the same divided-power approach as the rest of the domestic government. The United States, in contrast, has remained completely static from 1945 until the present day, with a Cukierman Index of .56, putting it in 17th place among Lijphart’s 36 major democracies as of 2010. It’s beyond the scope of Lijphart’s book, and my own expertise, to say whether this has had any effect on economic growth or the ability of the Federal Reserve to maintain price stability, compared to EU countries.
Categorizing democracies using joint-power and divided-power
I want to talk about how majoritarian and consensus democracies perform in practice in the next section, but first, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention what Liphart describes as “one of the most important general findings of this book”, which is that the five variables representing divided-power tend to be clustered with one another, and also the five variables representing joint-power tend to be clustered with one another. For example, democracies which are federalist also tend to have bicameralism, constitutional rigidity, judicial review, and central bank independence (that last one only prior to 1994), all examples of divided-power institutions. Likewise, democracies with a lower percentage of minimal winning one-party cabinets also tend to have more political parties, less executive dominance, more proportional election systems, and greater interest group pluralism, all important divided-power institutions. Take a look at this factor analysis for a more precise picture. The numbers may be thought of as the correlation coefficient between the variable and factor 1 and 2, which represent joint-power and divided-power, respectively. Meanwhile, between the two approaches, joint-power and divided-power, there is very little correlation, for example federalism is not well correlated with the number of political parties. The United States is a perfect example of mixing the two approaches, as it closely adheres to the divided-power approach, while rejecting joint-power. These correlations are of immense interest to comparative political scientists, because it represents a useful way to categorize democracies along two dimensions. How is it that democracies end up embracing either of the two approaches? Taking another look at the conceptual map, one of the most striking patterns is that countries on the right side, the non-joint-power side, tend to be former British colonies, with some exceptions such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Greece, Spain, South Korea, and France. As Lijphart notes: “France is an especially interesting exceptional case: in view of French president de Gaulle’s deeply felt and frequently expressed antagonism towards les anglo-saxons, it is ironic that the republic he created is the most Anglo-Saxon of any of the continental European democracies.” The left side of the map, in contrast, includes most of the continental European democracies, and all five of the Nordic countries, which have a common Scandinavian cultural heritage of consensus decision making and arbitration. There are some exceptions on the left side as well (the joint-power side): Ireland, India, Israel, and Mauritius all were formerly under British colonial rule, the difference is that these are highly plural societies, where majoritarianism and its associated non-joint-power approach just do not work well in practice, often leading to sectarian violence, as I explained in the first post. What about the divided-power approach, signified by the bottom of the conceptual map? As explained earlier in this post, the size of the country (both in terms of population and geographic size), as well as diversity, are significantly correlated with the divided-power approach. In other words, the countries embracing divided-power tend to be larger and more diverse.
Wrapping up: majoritarian vs. consensus democracy
So how do majoritarian and consensus democracies stack up in practice? The conventional wisdom is that majoritarian democracies are less representative of the population, but are more decisive, and therefore better at governing effectively. Lijphart argues that faster decisions are not always wiser decisions, in fact the opposite is often true, and policies that are supported by broad consensus are more likely to be successfully implemented. He also observes that non-joint-power democracies like the United States have the disadvantage of frequently flip-flopping between contrasting policies whenever government control changes hands from one party to the other. Lijphart runs a regression on 17 indicators of government performance, such as government effectiveness, rule of law, and control of corruption, and finds that the joint-power approach is favorably correlated to a statistically significant degree with 9 out of 17 of them, while non-joint-power is only correlated with economic growth, but not to a statistically significant degree. In general, all of the correlations with economic variables are weak, such as with unemployment, budget balance, and economic freedom. Divided-power, meanwhile, has such weak correlations with all of the government performance variables that no firm conclusions can be drawn. Lijphart concludes that while joint-power democracies are not necessarily proven better than majoritarian democracies at all aspects of governing, they are almost certainly not worse, as the conventional wisdom goes, and along many aspects they are significantly better. One major exception is that when it comes to the control of violence, joint-power is very strongly correlated with a lower degree of violence, an intuitive result considering the discussion in my first post of the incompatibility between majoritarianism and diverse societies, as exemplified by Northern Ireland.
Consensus democracy: the “kinder, gentler” democracy
Consensus democracies may not always be superior decision makers, but Lijphart is able to draw other conclusions on the tendencies of joint-power democracies, but not so much on divided-power. He finds that joint-power democracies are more likely to be welfare states, have a better record of protecting the environment, put fewer people in prison and are less likely to have the death penalty, and are more generous with economic assistance to developing nations. When it comes to putting people in prison, the United States is such an extreme outlier among other democracies that Lijphart found it necessary to remove it from the analysis, but still, the effect of joint-power on incarceration rates was strongly negative and statistically significant. The USA has 743 prisoners per hundred thousand people, twice as many as the next democracy in Lijphart’s analysis, the Bahamas. Even extending the analysis to non-democracies, the USA has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with either Russia or China in second place, depending on the survey. When it comes to government effectiveness and “kinder, gentler” policies in general, the problem with all of these correlations, as Lijphart points out, is that culture may be a confounding variable, and “consensus democracy may not be able to take root and thrive unless it is supported by a consensual political culture.” But he offers hope that the cause-and-effect may go both ways: consensual democratic institutions may have the effect of making an adversarial political culture more consensual. Switzerland and Austria have not always had a consensual culture, their histories being marked by violent strife, while today Belgium, India, and Israel have adversarial cultures and consensual institutions. One hopes that over time those country’s institutions will have a positive effect on their contentious political cultures.
Where does the United States go from here?
The bad news is that the United States is probably not going to change one bit along the joint-power and divided-power dimensions. Some few countries have made a move towards federalism over time, and even more rarely a handful of countries such as New Zealand have moved towards proportional representation and a joint-power approach, but in general all democracies have been extremely stable along the joint-power and divided-power dimensions from 1945 to 2010, especially the United States, with its exceptionally rigid constitution. The bottom line: if you’re an American looking for a relatively “kinder, gentler” democracy with more proportional political representation, your best bet is to pack your bags. However, if you are ever in the extraordinary position of framing a new constitution or amending one, my advice is to learn from our experience and the experience of other democracies around the world: avoid presidentialism like the plague, embrace the parliamentary system, and adopt a proportional electoral system. This advice is doubly important for highly diverse societies, where majoritarianism (particularly of the non-joint-power variety) frequently leads to violence.
Lost in the Sauce: Trump milks election fraud claims to fund defense against lawsuits & potential charges
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis. Housekeeping:
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Transition
After weeks of delay, General Services Administration (GSA) chief Emily Murphy authorized the start of the presidential transition. However, in a letter to Biden, Murphy does not address him as “president-elect” and does not explicitly express “ascertainment” that Biden and Harris won the election. Instead, Murphy skips over that standard part of all transition approvals, under the Presidential Transition Act (compare to the GSA letter to President-elect Obama). It is unclear if this will have any practical effects on the transition. In a pair of tweets, Trump acknowledged the transition has begun - probably the closest he’ll come to “conceding.” Trump also referenced the “thousands of threats” Murphy says she received in her letter to Biden (which was an odd thing to include in an ascertainment letter):
I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good… ...fight, and I believe we will prevail! Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.
Shortly before Muphy’s decision, the statewide canvassing board in Michigan voted 3 to 0 to approve the election results, with one Republican abstaining, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected five Trump campaign lawsuits seeking to invalidate ballots. The New York Times reports that top aides to Trump spoke to him following these losses, telling him it was time to move on:
But in conversations in recent days that intensified Monday morning, top aides — including Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff; Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel; and Jay Sekulow, the president’s personal lawyer — told the president the transition needed to begin. He did not need to say the word “concede,” they told him...
Nominees and Appointees
The Senate on Tuesday failed to advance the nomination of Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by a 47–50 vote. With Sens. Grassley and Rick Scott contracting Covid-19, Romney and Collins voting against her nomination, and Harris returning to vote, Shelton’s confirmation was doomed. McConnell switched his vote to opposing in order to keep the option open to bring her nomination to the floor in the future.
Even some Republicans admit that Shelton is not fit to work at the world’s most powerful central bank. Her nomination has been condemned by hundreds of economists and Fed alumni, including prominent Republicans and at least seven Nobel laureates.
Michael Ellis, a White House lawyer accused of serious ethical misconduct in the Ukraine scandal, has been picked by Trump to be senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council (NSC). “Acting on orders from top NSC lawyer John Eisenberg — Ellis told officials in the NSC’s executive secretariat to move the transcript of Trump’s now infamous July 25 call with the Ukrainian president to a more highly classified server, according to testimony from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the armed services committee, have written to the inspector general of the Defense Department demanding an investigation into Ellis’ installation.
Since losing his reelection bid earlier this month, President Donald Trump has appointed three men with well-documented white nationalist ties to government roles:
Darren Beattie was a White House speechwriter fired in 2018 after it was revealed that he spoke at a white nationalist conference; 10 days ago, Trump appointed him to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, whose duties include commemorating the Holocaust.
Trump appointed Jason Richwine — a policy analyst pushed out of a conservative think tank for writing that Mexican and other Latino immigrants have lower IQs than white people — to a senior position at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Corey Stewart, who moved to Virginia from Minnesota to run a series of losing political campaigns premised around his fetish for Confederate history, has also been hired by the Department of Commerce as the “principal deputy assistant secretary for export administration.”
Trump’s nominee to become the next assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, Capt. Scott O’Grady, killed two elephants during a 2014 hunting trip in Zimbabwe. He paid $75,000 to hunt the animals, which he said was the “fulfillment of a life-long dream.” Trey Trainor, head of the Federal Election Commission, has been spreading the same election conspiracy theories as Trump and his legal team. “I do believe that there is voter fraud taking place” in key states in the 2020 presidential election, Trainor told Newsmax last week. “If she says there is rampant voter fraud... I believe her,” Trainor wrote of Trump-associated lawyer Sidney Powell.
Congress
Last week, the Senate Homeland Security Committee held a hearing focusing on the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19. Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) invited three doctors who have pushed hydroxychloroquine to testify about the (unproven) benefits of the drug and attack the integrity of the medical community, suggesting scientists were part of some “deep state” conspiracy (clip). Over the summer, the FDA determined hydroxychloroquine was not effective and could cause serious side effects.
Jerry Avorn, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, said hydroxychloroquine isn't being recommended for good reason; it is ineffective and potentially dangerous. "The idea that scientists are discouraging the use of (hydroxychloroquine) because it’s cheap is about as crazy as the President’s contention that the number of COVID-19 cases is being inflated because doctors make more money by doing so," Avorn said. "We need to base policy on reality rather than on crazy conspiracy theories, whether it’s about the pandemic or elections...What [Sen. Johnson] is doing is outrageous," Carome said.
A watchdog group has filed an SEC complaint against Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) for alleged insider trading. Shortly before Senator Perdue was appointed as chair of a powerful Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. Navy, he began buying up stock in a company that made submarine parts. And once he began work on a bill that ultimately directed additional Navy funding for one of the firm’s specialized products, Perdue sold off the stock, earning him tens of thousands of dollars in profits. Last year, Sen. Perdue privately pushed Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to give wealthy sports owners a lucrative tax break last year. Why Perdue got interested in an obscure tax regulation, which would impact at most only a small set of the richest Americans, is unclear. The Georgia Democratic Party and a watchdog group filed ethics complaints against Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) “for blatantly violating Senate Ethics rules to support her campaign.” While on federal property, inside the United States Capitol building, Loeffler solicited campaign donations live on Fox News. It is against the law to campaign in federal buildings. Sen. Loeffler appears to have omitted a holding company from her federally mandated financial disclosures, which would violate Senate ethics rules and federal law. Furthermore, Loeffler and her husband may also have used a Trump tax-law loophole to write off the $10 million jet purchase entirely. Individuals are not permitted to write off the purchase of a jet; only businesses can do that.
Court cases
D.C. Chief District Judge Beryl Howell ruled against Michael Pack, the head of the agency that runs the Voice of America, preventing him from making personnel decisions and interfering in editorial operations. Since his confirmation in June, Pack fired and suspended top executives, initiated investigations into journalists, and scrapped protections for the newsroom from political interference. The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to force former Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon to testify under oath as part of the agency’s investigation into Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data breach. Before joining Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team, Bannon served as vice president and a board member of Cambridge Analytica, which also did work for the president's campaign. The Supreme Court agreed to postpone oral arguments in a case concerning grand jury material redacted from former special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia. The House Judiciary Committee asked for the delay because of Biden’s election and the start of a new Congress Two Trump judges on the 11th Circuit struck down bans on juvenile gay conversion therapy in South Florida. Britt Grant and Barbara Lagoa ruled that therapists’ free speech rights trump medical consensus about the harms associated with trying to change teenagers’ sexual orientation. Judge Beverly Martin, a Barack Obama appointee, dissented.
DOJ and investigations
FBI agents in New York are reportedly investigating Rudy Giuliani. According to CNN, agents have recently contacted witnesses and asked new questions about Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine and possible connections to Russian intelligence. Some questions focused on the possible origins of emails and documents related to Hunter Biden. The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into claims that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton abused his office to benefit a wealthy donor. The probe comes after Paxton’s top deputies reported him to the FBI. All eight have since resigned, been put on leave, or been fired, prompting a whistleblower lawsuit. One week after Barr was nominated to lead the DOJ, a federal criminal probe into one of his former corporate clients was essentially dropped. Barr previously represented Caterpillar Inc, a Fortune 100 company, in a federal criminal investigation for trying to dodge paying taxes. However, after Barr’s nomination, DOJ officials in Washington told the investigative team to take “no further action” in the case. The White House directed the Justice Department to open an investigation into former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman in apparent retaliation for publishing an unflattering book about the president. The investigation into a seemingly unrelated paperwork dispute led to a lawsuit against Newman.
“This was weaponization of a lawsuit by the White House for retaliation for writing a book — for saying offensive words about Mr. Trump,” said John Phillips, a lawyer for Ms. Manigault Newman.
The Justice Department has scheduled executions for three inmates on federal death row, rushing to carry out the death penalty before Biden takes office. Since July, when it resumed carrying out the death penalty after a 17-year hiatus, the Trump administration has executed seven federal inmates.
The Trumps
Two separate New York State fraud investigations into Trump and his businesses have expanded to include tax write-offs on millions of dollars in consulting fees, some of which appear to have gone to Ivanka Trump. Investigators with the Manhattan district attorney's office, which is conducting a broad criminal investigation, and the New York attorney general's office, which has a civil inquiry under way, have subpoenaed the Trump Organization seeking records relating to the consulting fees.
The subpoenas were in response to a New York Times investigation into President Donald Trump's tax returns that first disclosed that he took $26 million in write-offs that came from fees he paid to consultants, including an apparent $747,000 fee that the Times said matched a payment disclosed by Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump.
Following the report, Ivanka Trump took to Twitter to complain about unfair harassment and politically-motivated investigations.
Despite admitting that the transition to Biden’s administration has begun, Trump has continued to send fundraising emails at a blistering pace. In an email sent Monday, Trump’s team solicited contributions to his “Election Defense Fund” - money that will ultimately be used to pay off campaign debts and fund his future activities. A large portion of this money may go towards his own legal defense in the many lawsuits and investigations that await him as a citizen.
Trump is only too aware that he can no longer use the Justice Department as his personal attorneys. He is also likely aware that he can use his campaign money to hire a very expensive legal team...According the Federal Election Commission, "In several advisory opinions the Commission has said that campaign funds may be used to pay for up to 100 percent of legal expenses related to campaign or officeholder activity, where such expenses would not have occurred had the individual not been a candidate or officeholder."
Trump, with top aides and allies, has discussed ways he could cash-in on his role as former president when he leaves the White House. The options he is reportedly considering include a book deal, media appearances, paid corporate speeches, and selling tickets to rallies. Sources told the Washington Post that after leaving office, Trump "wants to remain an omnipresent force in politics and the media," and cement his role as a GOP power broker. An apartment management company co-owned by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has taken action in court to evict hundreds of tenants. Westminster Management has moved against largely low- and middle-income tenants in the Baltimore area, many of them Black, whose apartments are managed by the company.
Immigration
District Judge Emmet Sullivan (an Obama-appointee) ordered the Trump administration to halt its practice of “expelling” underage migrants who enter the United States without a parent. The order requires the administration to once more process the humanitarian claims of minors who cross the border alone, rather than returning them to Mexico or flying them back to their home countries without due process. 28 children who have been detained in an ICE facility for more than a year could be deported after being denied the opportunity to seek asylum by Trump administration policies. Though federal courts have since struck down the policy, the judges could not intervene in the deportations of thousands of asylum-seekers that had already been scheduled. New reporting revealed that the White House blocked the Justice Department from making a deal in October 2019 to pay for mental health services for migrant families who had been separated by the Trump administration. The decision was made after consulting with senior adviser Stephen Miller.
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General Election 2019: Laura Kuenssberg sums up the ...
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