Space struck is a debut collection of poetry from Paige Lewis, and also my first time reading an entire book of poetry.
I just read Space Struck in its entirety one last time, this is my 3rd time. I listened to the audiobook while reading the book in tandem, and omg it was so immersive. I honestly would be content to read this book over and over again for months, it's just so good. And I'm not going to fully "finish" it, Space Struck gives me something I need so dearly and I will revisit many of these poems over and over again until I understand them as I understand my own heart beat. So it's not goodbye, not really. Just time to move on.
This was the first collection of poetry I've ever read and I'm, well, space struck. It was gorgeous. Paige's use of language is just incredible, it's so seemingly simple and minimalistic and yet their imagery is extremely inventive and they manage to say so so much. These poems really really struck my soul. Every one just means so damn much to me, I've let this book become a part of my heart for the past week and I'm so incredibly glad I did.
Another thing that was really cool was the formatting. Most of the poems have a specific shape to each stanza that they adhere to throughout the poem, and I just find that so interesting. It really redirects the flow of the reading, and also gives it such a cool sense of structure.
The heart. The love. The meaning and the depth. Every one of these works I felt so deeply, and I feel like I've come out of reading this book with more of myself than when I went into it. I bathed in Paige's words, I let them infiltrate my mind and unpack their suitcase. Several poems inspired my own work, and the narrative voice really deepened my own, I think.
It's rather crazy just how personal this poetry is to me. I wouldn't feel the same way sharing a paragraph from my favorite book as I do sharing a poem from this. They resonated with me so deeply and changed me and I feel so...not different—I feel so much more. I never knew words could have this much power.
I'm so so happy I read this. It was my first book of poetry, but it will most certainly not be the last I read. Poetry is going to become a part of my life now, I can't believe it hasn't been for so long.

For the sake of transparency, I am not the architect of the following discoveries, and am just helping to forward their message and clean it up. Copywrite of the following work belongs to no one and everyone is not only welcome to share these findings as if they were their own, but openly encouraged to do so.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”

A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

u/neodestiny and friends.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

u/neodestiny and friends.
For the sake of transparency, I am not the architect of the following discoveries, and am just helping to forward their message and clean it up. Copywrite of the following work belongs to no one and everyone is not only welcome to share these findings as if they were their own, but openly encouraged to do so.
Introduction
If you think you know anything about MAGA. Trust me, you know nothing. Not even his most devout followers or haters will have considered the following. And for the sake of our democracy and way of life, I hope people read this.
This work may very well help to shift the narrative on Trump in a meaningful and foundational way, but I don't want this work exacerbate any feelings of ill will to MAGA members, for they have been prey to possibly one of the largest con jobs our world has ever seen, especially without the help of this counternarrative.
Snippet From My Thesis On MAGA
As I work on tidying up the master file with the helpful dms I got, allow me to post just the most contentious part of it below, now that it’s able to stand on its own.
MAGA didn’t begin in 2015. I argue it began in 2001 on 9/11, while also harnessing and funneling decades of anti-government resentment till many Americans would openly call for a “wrecking ball” figure to help “drain the swamp.”

A Key Fueling Factor To American Outrage- Inflation
Many elements contributed to growing American anger that would later contribute to MAGA, this is a snippet from the larger work.
Rising Cost of Living
o In 1950, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 24.1. By 2000, it had risen to 168 (a 597% increase), and by 2023, it had reached 304.7, a 1163% increase from 1950.
o Housing prices saw a drastic rise overtime, with the median home price increasing from $7,354 in 1950 to $388,700 in 2023, a staggering 5185% increase.
o While rising rent costs can contribute to overall inflation and cost of living, even the left has largely failed to address how exponentially increasing real estate prices impact the cost of living. This omission has made many other conspiracy theories seem more plausible in its wake.
o If we don’t find real solutions for real estate that also aren’t extreme, then society will feel more and more pressure to accept “unreasonable solutions” like Trump, even though he’s the last person on earth who could solve it, considering his business acumen and history.
MAGA Dynamics and Blind Devotion
In 2016, it wasn't just the left calling the MAGA movement a cult. Trump famously said, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters." Even the left failed to grasp the gravity of this statement. As someone who nearly died in a deadly cult and based on my research, I don't know of a single cult where the founder could openly commit murder without losing members. Trump didn't just believe he'd created one of the largest cults ever; he believed he'd created the most fanatical. Let's hope his followers prove him wrong by showing a willingness to criticize him, regardless of their vote.

The MAGA Question
Instead of challenging MAGA supporters on fallacious beliefs, ask them this question to see if they’re at least able to see a world where Trump isn’t a biblical King: "If Trump admitted he was behind 9/11 and used resulting insurance money and donations from hostile governments to create false “grass root” campaigns. And did it all in a way to make it seem like others committed his own atrocities. And that he intended to destroy America in every way if he got elected, would you still vote for him?"

Yet even then, getting through to a MAGA supporter inevitably refers to 9/11 “research” out there when they realize individual positions are usually fallacious. This quagmire me decide to investigate this tragedy, to see if there was a more plausible counter theory. Honestly, the more I looked the more surprised I became. Here are my findings that are but a snippet of my full thesis on MAGA.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and MAGA
Conspiracy Theories and Credibility:
o First off, conspiracy theories should involve some effort to verify narratives, rather than just repeating claims across multiple sources that mistake themselves as evidence; like a bunch of people who repeat “bob farted” across multiple websites may see that as evidence, when in fact, it was Sean. Sorry Sean.

Early Origins of MAGA:
o Although some believe MAGA began in 2015, its roots lie as early as the 1980s with Rush Limbaugh and later became "serious" on 9/11.
o 9/11 conspiracy theories claim controlled demolitions were used, but the lack of any cellphone recordings of explosions weakens this theory.

Suspicious Factors:
o The official narrative involving chaotic jet fuel leading to a straight fall seemed questionable.
o The collapse of a third building (WTC 7), which wasn’t directly hit, fueled suspicions.
o Airline stocks were heavily shorted before the attacks, raising concerns about insider trading. Harvey Pitt, Republican SEC Chairman at the time, investigated this and claimed there was nothing amiss, but was criticized for later crimes and forced to resign.
o It’s also suspicious that in Trumps 2000 book “The America We Deserve” that he stated, “I really am convinced we’re in danger of the sort of terrorist attacks that will make the [1993] bombing of the Trade Center look like kids playing with firecrackers. No sensible analyst rejects this possibility, and plenty of them, like me, are not wondering if but when it will happen*.”*
§ Yet democrats would largely miss this point entirely and obsess over his false claim that he called for Bin Laden to be killed, when he had not. Somehow conspiracy theorists would find this ‘cool’ rather than suspicious.
CNN Fact Check Donald Trump Osama Bin Laden Book Claim

Reports and Simplified Narratives:
o FEMA's 2002 report and NIST's 2005 report provided technical explanations of the tower collapses.
o However, the Port Authority Chairman stuck to the oversimplified narrative that "jet fuel melted steel beams," even though he knew this was a half-truth, as detailed in the next section, fueling anti-government conspiracies. The question is why.

Potential Impact:
o 9/11 conspiracy theories sowed distrust in the government, which may have been one of the attackers' objectives. Anyone that heavily profited from this tragedy, and helped further those objects, should be questioned.
o The ‘Loose Change’ “documentary” pointed out suspicious parts of the story, but failed to give any clear claims as to who was purportedly behind it. It also failed to note the Twin Towers titanic design flaw that could result in a straight fall. Even the 2015 version of this film fails to mention nearly all of the known facts in this report.
o The Director of that film later states:
“I DON’T THINK WE’D HAVE PRESIDENT TRUMP IF IT WEREN’T FOR 9/11”
“9/11 created a culture of fear, of xenophobia, this sense of entitlement and everything we’ve seen. Warrantless wire-tapping, Guantanamo Bay, everything that’s happened led us to this point, we wouldn’t be here without 9/11. They want to kick out all the Mexicans and Muslims because of this culture of fear and bigotry and xenophobia that directly led to the election of fucking Donald Trump. [laughing] That’s our world now! We had Reagan before, and Governor Schwarzenegger. But President Donald Trump? It’s just weird. Everything is just weird.”
Theoutline Reflecting On Loose Change
o While the director was in the right to ask questions, he failed to ask the most obvious ones.
o However, his lead “researcher,” Jason Bermas, would turn out to be a full blown MAGA wingnut.
Patriot Jason Bermas
o Anyone that would benefit politically and financially from 9/11 should be fully investigated.
Further Reading:
Harvey Pitt - Wikipedia
Politifact How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation
It will never be possible to defeat MAGA followers “logically” with people who believed his parties rhetoric “that 9/11 was an inside job.”

I say… what if those Republican leaders were self reporting?
What if Trump followers have been rallying behind the very man responsible for its orchestration?

The Twin Towers and Larry Silverstein
Architectural Pitfalls of the Twin Towers:
· The Twin Towers had unique architectural flaws due to the excessive heavy load on their exoskeletons to allow for more floor and leasing space, which greatly contributed to their straight collapse after the 9/11 attacks. This was the first and last skyscraper made in this way.
· For anyone who said that “any other building would have fallen sideways,” you were right, though perhaps not entirely how you may have imagined. A "Coke Can" analogy shows how a similar weakened structure can result in a straight fall, contrary to conspiracy theories claiming controlled demolitions. This isn't something I'm asking you to take for granted, or to read from media sources you don’t trust. This is something you can verify on your own, in person, in real time, in reality.
· However Trump, despite being close friends with Silverstein as we’ll cover later, claimed "It wasn’t architectural defects, you know, the World Trade Center was always known as a very, very strong building” per the attached PolitiFact article.
· Supporting Article:
Engineering Experts Explain the Collapse of the Twin Towers
Politifact Donald Trumps 911 Speculation

Larry Silverstein, The Leasor Of The Twin Towers:
· Nearly went bankrupt after losing his main tenant Drexel Burnham in 1980 after he built tower 7 with him in mind.
· I don't know how many of us understand the level of desperation a situation like this can cause in someone and how many potential crimes it can easily push them towards.
· He is known for then saying, “…looking up at the twin towers and thinking, my building is huge, but it is made diminutive by the twin towers. So I said to myself, wouldn't it be incredible someday to own those?" That's not the statement of a sane person who nearly went bankrupt, and if anything, hints towards jealousy.
· He managed to secure Salomon Brothers two years later, which later paid $300 million in securities fraud penalties casting suspicion over the entities who saved Silverstein, in addition to their overall plans for the future.
· How he would become able to outbid everyone else in 2001, for the right to lease the twin towers, would become a mystery we will untangle later.
Further Reading
Manhattan Institute – Silverstein On Ground Zero
Justice Department: Salomon Brothers Securities Fraud

Trump and Real Estate Connections
Historical Context and Redevelopment Plans:
· A redevelopment plan commenced in the 1990s by Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani, spurred a commercial revival in downtown Manhattan, making the World Trade Center prime property. Pataki would go on to criticize trump, while the other would prove to be one of this wildest, if not craziest, supporters to truly fanatical degrees.
Further Reading:
Manhattan Institute: Rebuilding Ground Zero
· Tom Leppert was the CEO of Turner construction which right wing conspiracy theorists claimed helped ensure the towers would fall straight down. He also became part of Trumps transition team. While there’s no evidence of explosives being used, tampering with the exoskeleton and weaking the relatively thin central column ahead of time are theoretically plausible.
Huffpost Donald Trump Transition Team
Wikipedia Tom Leppert

The bidding for the World Trade Center lease involved only a few major real estate firms as allowed by the Port Authority Chairman. Below are the allowed bidders and their estimated worth at the time included:

· Donald J. Trump’s Organization:
o Worth around $1.5 billion in 1996 after multiple bankruptcies. Confirmed only by Forbes magazine in 2005.
· Tishman Speyer:
o Valued at approximately $1.8 billion in 2000, would soon face ‘tenant issues’ with many scrupulous legal claims against them.
· Gale & Wentworth:
o Worth a few million.
· Mortimer Zuckerman’s Boston Properties:
o Mortimer Zuckerman alone was worth around $2 billion.
· The Rouse Company:
o Mainly a shopping mall operator.
· Brookfield Properties:
o A Canadian firm valued at over $20 billion in 2000.
· Vornado Realty Trust:
o Worth an estimated $2-3 billion. Had the highest bid, but was unexpectedly outed by the Port Authority Chairman, paving the way for Silverstein’s win. CEO of Vornado Trust, Steven Roth would later do many deals with Trump in 2005 and beyond.
· Larry Silverstein:
o As mentioned, was nearly bankrupt in the 1980s, and was mysteriously awarded the right to lease the World Trade Center contract at $3.2 billion, twice the original asking price of 1.2 Billion. It would still be owned by the Port authority of NY and NJ, he would just own the rights to lease it.
o Port Authority Chairman, Lewis Eisenberg, made this unexplained decision, who also later became Trumps lead fundraiser in 2015.
o After putting down only $125 million, as per the contract, Silverstein would be getting back $100 million just 6 weeks after his bid and with an uncommon terrorist insurance addition. His exaggerated bid and insurance contract would also greatly inflate the amount of money he could get from an insurance claim. If the winning bid was 1.5 billion, the insurance payout would also have been much less.
o In real estate, its quite rare for a prudent investor to bid twice the asking price, as demonstrated by the other companies that backed out, of which I find no connections to Trump.
o If anyone had known about 9/11 ahead of time, like Trump claims he did, it would become drastically easier to outbid all competitors, knowing that for pennies on the dollar, you would be getting much more back.

Further Reading:
NY Times Article on World Trade Center Deal
Wikipedia on Lewis Eisenberg
Patch On Lew Eisenberg Leading Trump Fundraising
NY Times Article Silverstein Gets Most Of His Money Back

Giuliani’s Gangster Acts
Arguably, if the above points are what they objectively appear to be, that would be a bad thing. You’d think that would be enough. However, Guliani would say “hold my beer’ to those sentiments.

1. Outdated Equipment for First Responders:
· Due to Giuliani’s inadequate leadership, first responders used old equipment that failed to warn them to evacuate the towers. Which contributed to their deaths while they searched for survivors.
NY Times Article: Giuliani’s Preparedness on 9/11
2. Obstructed Recovery Efforts:
· Giuliani delayed proper search and rescue operations for days, possibly costing lives of citizens and first responders who didn’t know they needed to leave.
· 20 Years later he would claim that some of Bidens actions were so reckless that… “It would be as if I got down to ground zero and said take out the firefighters, all you civilians see if you can get yourselves out.” Self report?
NBC News Report: Giuliani’s Role in Recovery
NY1: Giuliani Reflects on 9/11 Anniversary
3. Twin Towers Fund and Privatization:
· Giuliani privatized the Twin Towers relief funds, making them unauditable.
NY Times Article on Privatization
NY Post Article: Giuliani and Twin Towers Fund
4. Survivors Threaten To SUE Guliani For Relief Funds
· Even after privatizing the twin towers fund, Giuliani would make it incredibly difficult for the victims to receive their fair share. Requiring many of them to spend unnecessary money on advisors and consultants.
· Even with their legal pressure, he only agreed to “give the remaining 100 million to victims,” out of 170 million, if he could first put the money into the bank account of a charity in which he controlled.
· From the attached article: “But Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, said that he remained adamantly opposed to any transfer of funds to Mr. Giuliani's charity.
He also objected to Mr. Giuliani's continued control over even the $15 million in his private charity. Mr. Giuliani, he charged, gives every indication of using the Twin Towers Fund to maintain a staff of loyal supporters and to advance his political aspirations.
'The concern that politics will infiltrate the fund becomes even more apparent when one reviews the list of the mayor's former political appointees who are assuming senior staff positions or serving on the fund's board of directors,'' he wrote in a letter on Monday to Eliot L. Spitzer, the state attorney general.”
NY Times Article On Guliani Pressed To Disperse Twin Tower Funds
· However, there is no evidence of Giuliani making good on this promise.
· There are honestly no words for this. All associates of Guliani should be investigated.
5. Attempted Election Cancellation in 2001:
· Giuliani tried to cancel the 2001 election to stay mayor longer. He even considered removing term limits with Governor Pataki’s support. Similar to how Trump has “joked” about increasing his own term limits.
Business Insider: Giuliani and Pataki’s Attempt to Cancel Elections
Esquire Trump Joke Third Term
6. Motive
· In 2000, Guliani unfortunately got prostate cancer. We have to be willing to ask if this was a motive for his corrupt acts.
SurvivorNet: Giuliani’s Cancer


Silverstein’s Unscrupulous Greed
1. Initial Settlement Demands and Profit Claims:
· Despite only having been out for $25 million, Silverstein initially sought nearly $8 BILLION in insurance settlements and argued for "loss of revenue from those buildings," which is quite an uncompassionate claim considering how many lost their lives. Talk about a prime example of the working and lower classes making sacrifices while rich elites complain they didn’t profit enough from the same tragedy.
2. Rebuilding Contributions and Insurance Payout:
· Despite the fact that he only owned the leasing rights to the twin towers, ‘Silverstein Properties’ received up to $4 billion from insurance payouts, instead of the Port Authority, which would be customary as the owner.
· While it's assumed that most of that money went to rebuilding, this isn't actually known or proven. It would be different if he had a separate insurance policy that was not connected to the rebuilding of the towers, with different monies going to the Port Authority to rebuild. This was not the case.
History.com: Rebuilding of Ground Zero
· He additionally refused to return the rights of Building 1 to the Port Authority until he secured additional funds from an $8 billion state fund. Talk about heartless.
Wikipedia: Larry Silverstein
· Various entities would contribute a total of $20 billion to rebuild all six damaged or destroyed towers, including four towers leased by Silverstein and two others he hadn't. This makes it unlikely that he had to go out of pocket with his 4 Billion.
3. Estimated Net Worth:
· While earlier records of Silverstein's net worth are unavailable, aside from his near bankruptcy in 1980, he is currently estimated to be worth around $1 billion.
Forbes Profile: Larry Silverstein

Silverstein’s Controversial Alignment with Trump
Larry Silverstein's connections and public persona have often been scrutinized. This scrutiny became particularly relevant in 2015 when he publicly displayed his support for Donald Trump:

• Long-standing Relationship: Silverstein revealed a 30-year-long acquaintance with Trump, emphasizing the depth of their connection. This means his relationship started in 1985, roughly two years after gaining a powerful criminal organization as a tenant in his tower 7, that saved him from bankruptcy, and 6 years before Trumps first, of many, bankruptcies. This also means they knew each other before 9/11.
• Supportive Yet Vague: He commended Trump for diligently pursuing what he believed to be right, echoing Trump's own ambiguous rhetoric. When pressed about the righteousness of Trump’s goals, Silverstein ambiguously responded, "well, it’s... you know... we’ll find out." This mirrors Trump’s evasive " Well, we're going to have to see what happens" stance, when questioned about committing to a peaceful transfer of power prior to January 6th—an event that ultimately unfolded with violence and chaos.
• Early Endorsement: By voicing his support when Trump announced his presidential campaign, Silverstein positioned himself as one of the early prominent figures in the MAGA movement.

Watch Silverstein Discuss Trump
CNN Trump On 2020 Election

The Man Who Boasted
When most people witness a tragedy, especially of this size, it takes time for their brains to comprehend what happened, it takes even more time to process it. Thus, anyone who was able to brag about their own assets hours after this tragedy on a radio show, is at least worthy of Investigation, especially if this very event helped reshape a misinformation landscape in which he would thrive as its King.
Politifact – How 911 Attacks Helped Shape Modern Misinformation

· Insensitive Boasts About Building Height:
o Trump also boasted that with the fall of the Twin Towers, his building became the tallest in Manhattan—an inaccurate and insensitive claim given the context.
Independent 9 11 Trump Tallest Building
· Early Claims and Revisions:
o Shortly after 9/11, Donald Trump claimed he saw the second plane hit the towers from his Manhattan apartment. He also made an unfounded claim that he saw thousands of Muslims in New Jersey cheering, a statement that has been widely debunked. Despite varying explanations and suggesting that he saw it on an untraceable video that was “widely covered,” these claims helped fueled significant conspiracy theories. If anything, this was a self-report.
o Snopes: Trump Claims Muslims Cheered
o FactCheck.org: Trump’s Revised 9/11 Claim
· Visit to Ground Zero:
o A week after the attacks, Trump visited Ground Zero and stated that although he was present, he wouldn’t consider himself a first responder. This attempt at humility struck many as morbidly insensitive, considering the true heroism displayed by actual first responders.
ABC News: Trump Shares New Details About Morning of 9/11

Legacy of Suspicion:
These actions paint Trump as one of the more suspicious figures post-9/11, who may have used the tragedy for personal and political gain. His connections with figures like Larry Silverstein and Lewis Eisenberg, the Port Authority chairman, hint at deep financial interests potentially influenced by the 9/11 aftermath. Meanwhile, survivors and first responders faced challenges in securing support, highlighting the disparities between their experiences and the political maneuvers at play. Again morbidly juxtaposing the struggles of the poor and working class versus elite swamp members such as Trump and his ilk.

While being, arguably, one of the more suspicious Americans of potentially “being an insider," Trump would go on to cast doubt everywhere else with his new holier than thou rhetoric and hints and claims that “it was an inside job” for the next 15 years.

What if he was speaking from personal experience.

The Deepfake Dilemma
Now in a world where Trump's followers already discount reality, the emergence of AI-generated deepfakes threatens to further distort the truth. This technology could transform legal standards of evidence, making it easy to dismiss genuine evidence against the right as fabricated, while baseless accusations against the left might be accepted as the long-awaited proof.

The Potential Escalation of MAGA Actions
Given the willingness of MAGA supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6th, bolstered by Trump's incendiary rhetoric, the potential for escalation is alarming. The advent of fabricated images and videos could present unprecedented national security threats.

Trump's Incendiary Rhetoric on January 6th
Trump's speech on January 6th was a clear incitement, as he urged his followers to "fight like hell" to "stop the steal," despite admitting DURING THE SPEECH that there was no evidence of the massive electoral fraud he claimed. As well as his lawyers laughable court “arguments.”
“...while there is no evidence to prove any wrongdoing…”
Npr.Org Read Trumps Jan 6 Speech
LawAndCrime Come On Now

This speech, coupled with his undermining of constitutional processes, underscores the risks and intentional deceit of his rhetoric. Too bad Republicans senators and our Supreme Court have either claimed he was above the law, or continue to postpone his court dates till after elections. A wild position when treason is on the table. Did that dude commit treason that claims he wants to become a dictator? I dunno, lets let him potentially get elected and then find out!

Elon Musk's Political Shift
Elon was once very much a leftist, unfortunately in more and more far left “activists” continue to attack him endlessly for not agreeing with them on their own singular issues and perspectives. To them I say congratulations, you successfully pushed the most powerful man on earth into the far right. Great job. Great job.
Elon Musk's journey from a liberal supporter to a figure embraced by the far right highlights the volatile nature of political affiliations in today's polarized environment. His actions since acquiring Twitter—such as promoting unfounded conspiracy theories and making high-profile firings—suggest a departure from his initial free speech advocacy.
Especially when considering he fired Don Lemon from his platform for an interview he found offensive. Canceling opinions you find offensive isn’t free speech, it’s literally the opposite. I’m sure many people were offended by the examples below. What about them?
Far Right Support Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Need for a Critical Approach
Supporters of Trump should critically evaluate why he did not pardon the January 6th insurrectionists during his term, despite using them as political leverage now. This pattern of using allies until they are no longer useful is evident throughout his political and personal dealings.
What better example could there possibly be as to what trump truly thinks of his supporters, how sacrificial he sees them as part of his endless narratives, then his refusal and failure to pardon January 6th insurrectionists while still in office?
Of course, anyone “just on the grass” or outside the building should only get a day in jail at most, however people that barged inside the capital should naturally get much more.
And while trump refused to pardon those people before, he now calls them “hostages” and is using them as political bait to a truly wild degree. It's very likely he will make good on this promise to further embolden the narrative that “Democrats are trying to take you down and only I can save you.”
His supporters need to seriously ask, “Why didn’t he pardon us before?”
Also, remember when he claimed he would pay legal fees for supporters that were violent at his rallies, but then seemed to falter and change his mind. Much like how Amber Heard donated her money, “by pledging it.”
List of allies he was quick to discard or dump. And let's face it, all of these people have done more for him than the average MAGA supporter. The only person he cares about is himself.
Trump claims that Mike Pence, the man he vetted more than anyone else, “has gone to the dark side.”
Trump seems to have supported the chants to “Hang Mike Pense,” at least in jest? We hope? There are also no links of him condemning them. Yet admittedly this one point doesn’t have hard evidence like a recording or video as far as I know, it certainly fits his brand.
Mike Flynn, a Trump appointee, later testifies against him.
Trump admits Flynn lied on his behalf, accidentally testifying against him, but does pardon him. As long as you’re colluding with Russia you’re ok it seems?

The Future Under Trump's Influence
Trump's rhetoric about overriding constitutional norms to address what he calls "massive fraud" hints at authoritarian aspirations. His praise for dictators and divisive language further aligns with dangerous historical precedents.
Important Articles:
“How a second trump term could end us democracy.” -commondreams
“Ask the expert: What a 2nd Trump term could mean for democracy and advancing policy.” - Msu Today
“Judgement Day” for political opponents.

To predict the future lets base it on known facts:
Apparently, he will help attack our constitution like he may have with the Twin Towers.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Stated he intended to be a Dictator on day one, but then promises it will be just for a day. Is that how that works? Or is it “Once you go Dictator you don’t go back?”
Praising dictators, referring to immigrants as vermin etc, akin to Hitlers rhetoric against “blood mixing.”
More fraudulent use of lawyers and courts that gets everyone else in trouble but him, with them arguing he's above the law. This further shows how much he will consistently use people for his own ends and then dump them when they're no longer of use.
Warning from republicans and notes on ass kissing. As well as being generally unfit for office.
If you want help from Trump you better kiss his ***
Trumps says he kept Omarosa just because she said nice things about him, while defaming her
DeSantis: "You can be the most worthless Republican in America, but if you kiss the ring, he’ll say you’re wonderful."
Thehill Trump Views People Who Kiss His A As Weak.
And if you dare to speak out against trump, you better kiss his ****
Politico Graham Breaks With Trump On Abortion
WashingtonPost Trump Graham Abortion
News Yahoo 30 More Republicans Denounce Donald Trump Unqualified President
Hot take, if he’s elected president America, and the world, is frankly fucked.

Predicting MAGA 2024 And Beyond
Naturally there are endless possibilities of what MAGA and dictators around the world decide to do this year and into the future. I believe that the one thing that insinuates when it's time for their next evil actions is dictated by their standings in the polls or when a fellow dictator needs a little more political pressure from war torn inflated oil prices etc.
Dictators Unite
While writing my thesis, I speculated that dictators globally were uniting, finding mutual benefits in their governance and deceitful tactics. This theory is increasingly recognized as these autocrats appear to be forming a coalition, undermining peaceful unity efforts through conspiracy theories to preserve their power.
Unherd How Autocrats Unite
The True Nature of MAGA
MAGA was never genuinely about speaking truth to power or restoring America's glory. It has been an elaborate scheme funded by immense wealth, perpetuating anti-American sentiments through fabricated grassroots movements by domestic and foreign actors. This movement has primarily enriched a select few power-hungry dictators and may have been responsible for some of our most horrific moments in history in the past and acts yet to come.
Trump and MAGA
While 'MAGA' predates Trump, he conveniently stepped into a role long in the making. Despite occasional deviations from the MAGA ideology, such as promoting vaccines to emphatic boos, Trump has largely embodied its principles. The real architects of MAGA, however, are likely disillusioned with his unpredictable attacks, which contradict their broader agenda of absolute power.
Nbc News Donald Trump Booed
Trump as a Martyr
Regardless of election outcomes, Trump is poised to claim interference. His rhetoric and the devout belief of his followers in his divine anointment could lead to his martyrdom, especially given his age and the vulnerabilities it brings. This martyrdom could solidify his legacy while serving the interests of MAGA strategists who find him increasingly burdensome even if he “wins.”
Factcheck Trumps Bogus Voter Fraud Claims
La Times Trump Democrats Effort Presidential Ballot

Two nail-biting finishes in a fortnight see Hawthorn locked into 15th on the ladder coming into round 10, with three wins for the season. The key to Hawthorn’s success this last fortnight really comes down to the application of intense pressure across the ground and maintaining such pressure for all four quarters.
Hawthorn’s next opponent is Port Adelaide who are coming off a big scalp, having beaten Geelong at the Cattery on Friday night. The Power has been a little hot and cold this season however they’re sitting at sixth on the ladder. They come into round 10 with a Loss-Win-Loss-Win record from the last month.
Port had a blistering start to Friday's game, stunning the Cats with eight goals in the first quarter. Ollie Wines, Jason Horne-Francis and Zak Butters each had a blinder, with the Port midfielders comprehensively beating Geelong in the stoppages. Meanwhile, the rest of the team held true, never conceding the lead.
Port Defender Esava Ratugolea dominated Tom Hawkins in the forward line, keeping him to seven touches and one goal for the match. Meanwhile, Jed McEntee disrupted Tom Stewart's ability to play intercept defender, enabling the likes of Willie Rioli to snag four goals, while Mitch Georgiades, Kane Farrell, and Darcy Byrne-Jones bagged two each.
Despite Geelong’s spirited comeback, Port dominated the Cats in just about every statistical category. This comes as Port was also missing their captain Connor Rozee. Next Sunday, Port will have a home-ground advantage while also potentially having Rozee return to their already dangerous midfield.
The last time Hawthorn faced Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval, the Power dominated the Hawks, defeating them by 55 points. While Hawthorn fought back hard in the second half it was never enough to close the gap created by 16 goal lead in the first half. Port had eleven goal kickers for the day, with forwards Jeremy Finlayson and Todd Marshall kicking five each, while Rioli kicked four.
Hawthorn did not have James Sicily in the side for that game and our defence, which at the time was made up of Jarman Impey, Sam Frost, Lachy Bramble, Blake Hardwick, James Blanck, and Bailey MacDonald, struggled to shut down Port’s forward line.
Hawthorn’s forward line at the time also looked quite different, consisting of Sam Butler, Jacob Koschitzke, Dylan Moore, Luke Bruest, Tyler Brockman, and Mitch Lewis.
It is not unlikely Sicily would return next week and his addition to the side should prove helpful. However, Sam Mitchell would have to consider the possibility of Sicily being tagged by McEntee, similar to his role against Stewart. Thankfully, Jack Scrimshaw has played two excellent games in the intercepting role and could negate the effects of that move, as could Impey who was BOG in round seven against the Dogs.
The inclusion of Seamus Mitchell and Jai Serong should also help sure up things in defence, with both playing well on Saturday against the Saints. However, the addition of Ethan Phillips is still warranted given Port’s tall timber in the forward line i.e. Marshall (198cm) and Finalyson (197cm), especially considering the Saints began using their height to their advantage following half time in Launceston. Sam Frost will also have to be at his best having struggled against Port last time. Changouth Jiath, who is currently having a lovely return in the VFL (8+ disposals and 4+ I50s), may find himself in the mix to play next week as well.
The Hawks may also need Mabior Chol (if he is available) back in the forward line to assist Gunston and Dear, who were both goalless on Saturday. Sicily and Hardwick could both play swingman roles to disrupt Port Adelaide’s structure, but ultimately, the forward line has to work hard to make the most of all opportunities at goal. St Kilda were able to more or less shut down Hawthorn’s ability to send the ball long into the forward line on Saturday, with the likes of Callum Wilkie and Josh Battle amassing six contested marks and 15 intercept possessions between them. Lloyd Meek would also be expected to move forward as he had on Saturday, resulting in a goal. If Chol isn’t available, Max Ramsden could provide the forward line with another target. As of writing, Ramsden has slotted two goals in the VFL against Sandringham.
Lastly, Hawthorn’s mids will be tested against one of the best midfields in the competition. Expect Meek to have some dominance over Dante Visentini, while Jai Newcombe, James Worple, Connor Nash and co will have to work very hard to win the clearances against Butters, Wines, Horne-Francis, and potentially Rozee.
Port Adelaide are a much more formidable side than the Bulldogs or St Kilda; one that has been considered a shoo-in for finals contention. Hawthorn must produce a similar effort as the past two weeks, perhaps even digging deeper, and must tighten things in the forward line if they are to compete strongly against Port.
Port’s last loss was against Adelaide, at Adelaide, following a win against St Kilda at the same ground. Their loss against Adelaide and inability to string multiple wins together might give the Hawks some confidence, but it may be wise to temper expectations lest they perform as they had against the Swans.
Edit: Fixed some spelling mistakes.

I have a question:
(will these things even be possible) but it will take this post to create coherent questions:
Personally I think that the West has gotten so advanced in all things because of a few reasons, mainly it's history of basic tension.
First let me say that of course I recognize that they used to be terrible, but, by, let's say, the 90's, they fixed themselves for the most part, gay marriage is legal even in the US (my country), lgbtq people aren't treated well enough in a lot of places, but there's an enormous economic and popular base that supports them that they should be proud of building as a freedom-loving and humane society. Problem is, now the slippery slope has ended in a landslide from Heaven. I have no doubt that this country will be punished for allowing incredibly vile things in the arts of society, as well as trampling on the innocence of the young.
I personally think that your religion dictates what civilization you belong to, so even though I only speak English and I am of Guatemalan descent (A Spanish-speaking country directly South of and bordering Mexico) I consider myself part of Middle Eastern civilization (please correct me if that's wrong).
Firstly:
One of those things that makes the West great is the two city system.
In the West the dialectic between philosophy (philosophy used to just mean an intellectual pursuit like a science) and morality is very stark. They can make a scientific discovery and not believe it, and they can believe something without evidence, but the struggle produces epic results. It invented science, opened the door of theology as a formal discipline, launched man into space (I get that the Soviets said they weren't Western but philosophically they were, after all Marx and Engels were Central/Western European) and the West made quick work of most of the other nations on Earth, and yet they have the right to believe the world was created when they were born, or that the Earth is flat. All this is the dialectic between Athens and Jerusalem, or, should I say, Athens tempered by Jerusalem.
One can say that this is a flawed value system, but it is certainly superior to anything produced by any other civilization thus far.
Ours must be the rise of a system similar to, yet detached from both of those cities and gaining our history back as the West did to Greece and Rome in their Renaissance, then improve it until we cross the span toward the Islamic equivalent of the Jewish Enlightenment.
We can do this with a balance between Babylon, tempered by Mecca. Babylon was a great city, and the first major metropolis (arguably after Uruk) in history, but really standing for all of the civilizations in Mesopotamia, mainly because the West may have invented science, but we invented civilization itself. They may have invented freedom, but we invented justice. We may be outnumbered by advocates of politicized shariah, but what can stop the forward march of justice?
There is also the matter of a structure of government. The well known and eminent Jewish-British-American historian Bernard Lewis, specializing in middle-Eastern civilization, who said, if I recall correctly: "the Muslims will have to create their own form of government (and separate it from religious rule)" after that he said that Islam has a huge tradition of humane, limited, responsible governance to draw from in order to make a modern society, especially in their use of the term consultation (shurah), where organization, power and authority came from within or below, not from above.
If there is a way to create a new kind of government for the Middle East I think it would take those shurah groups and have them act as American-style branches of government, with separation of powers, vetos overcome by major majorities, a branch for the clergy (the closest thing you have is the Ulema), a branch for the military, a branch of commerce, a branch of worker's unions etc. and to let them elect their own leaders to a high council that will be odd in number and do its voting that way.
So, after reading all of that, do you think this is, or that there is a superior model to Western Liberal democracy in the Middle East? I get that you might want a consultation based monarchy , certainly it would improve long-term wellbeing of the lands, but is it worth it to give up the ability to change the government without violence? It seems to me like there should be the council because of that, but honestly I'm incredibly ignorant of the Middle East, and Islam, I am merely here to ask a question.
We will create a civilization, and it will shine, and as a waining West succumbs to our fertility, we will be the faith populating the stars, that is if the Day of Judgement doesn't come first.

The Fascinating World of Cell Biology: Exploring Cell Structure, Cell Cycle, Cellular Transport, and Signaling
If you are unable to Handle your Online Biology Exam, Assignments and other coursework Tasks, get paid help from Online Helpers at Hiraedu!
Contact Details for Hiraedu Helper:
WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657
Call: +1 727 456 9641
Website: hiraedu. com
Email: info@hiraedu. com
Cell biology is the branch of science that seeks to understand the intricate mechanisms of cells, the basic units of life. It is a field that has revolutionized our understanding of the world and has led to numerous breakthroughs in fields such as medicine, genetics, and biotechnology. In this blog, we will delve into the fascinating world of cell biology, exploring cell structure and organelles, cell cycle and division, cellular transport, and signaling.
Cell Structure and Organelles
Cells are the basic units of life, and their structure and organelles play a crucial role in their function. The cell membrane, also known as the plasma membrane, is the outermost layer of the cell that separates the cell from its environment. The cell membrane is semi-permeable, allowing certain substances to pass through while keeping others out.Inside the cell membrane, there are various organelles that perform specific functions. The nucleus is the control center of the cell, containing the genetic material in the form of DNA. The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, responsible for generating energy in the form of ATP. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a network of membranous tubules and cisternae that is involved in protein synthesis, transport, and storage. The ribosomes are small organelles found throughout the cytoplasm, responsible for protein synthesis.
Cell Cycle and Division
The cell cycle is the process by which cells grow, replicate their DNA, and divide into two daughter cells. The cell cycle consists of three main stages: interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis. Interphase is the longest stage of the cell cycle, during which the cell grows, replicates its DNA, and prepares for cell division. Mitosis is the stage during which the replicated DNA is divided equally between two daughter cells. Cytokinesis is the final stage, during which the cytoplasm divides and the cell splits into two daughter cells.
Cellular Transport and Signaling
Cellular transport refers to the movement of molecules and ions across the cell membrane. There are two main types of cellular transport: passive transport and active transport. Passive transport occurs without the use of energy, while active transport requires energy to move molecules against their concentration gradient.Cell signaling is the process by which cells communicate with each other through signaling pathways. Signaling pathways involve a series of molecular interactions that allow cells to respond to changes in their environment. There are two main types of cell signaling: intracellular signaling and intercellular signaling. Intracellular signaling occurs within the cell, while intercellular signaling occurs between cells.
Online Courses and Certifications

• Cell Biology by University of California San Diego
• Cell Structure and Function by University of Geneva
• Cell Cycle and Division by Johns Hopkins University
• Cellular Transport and Signaling by University of Manchester
• Cell Biology and Genetics by Duke University

Books

• Cell Biology by Thomas D. Pollard and William C. Earnshaw
• Molecular Biology of the Cell by Bruce Alberts, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, David Morgan, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter
• Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics by Robert Schleif
• The Cell: A Molecular Approach by Bruce Alberts, Dennis Bray, Karen Hopkin, Alexander Johnson, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts, and Peter Walter
• Cell Signaling by John T. Hancock

Practice Exams

• Cell Biology Practice Exam by McGraw Hill
• Cell Biology and Genetics Practice Exam by Kaplan
• Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics Practice Exam by Elsevier
• Cell Signaling Practice Exam by Biology LibreTexts

Other Resources

• Cell Biology Tutorials by BioTecNika Store
• Cell Biology Online Courses by edX
• Cell Biology Study Guide by Biology LibreTexts
• Cell Biology Help and Review by Khan Academy

Cell biology is a fascinating field that has revolutionized our understanding of the world. To study cell biology, there are many resources available, including online courses, certifications, books, practice exams, and other resources. These resources can help you gain a deeper understanding of cell biology and its applications in various fields.
If you are unable to Handle your Online Biology Exam, Assignments and other coursework Tasks, get paid help from Online Helpers at Hiraedu!
Contact Details for Hiraedu Helper:
WhatsApp: +1 (213) 594-5657
Call: +1 727 456 9641
Website: hiraedu. com
Email: info@hiraedu. com
Share your thoughts and views in comment section!
Join This community to stay Updated!

hey guys, does anyone know how you would draw a symmetrical lewis dot structure for OSiP2H4 ? ive managed to get one but its not symmetrical. any ideas?

VII. The Ideological Assault on the Ego
The Exhaustion of Political Ideologies after World War II
…
The demands of “emotional survival” prompted a third course of action, leading many “world-conscious people,” as Dorothy Dinnerstein puts it, into attempts to renew the capacity for devotion on the modest scale of personal friendship and family life, “in the service of some spiritual equivalent of the ancients’ household gods.” The events of World War II reduced radicals of her generation, Dinnerstein writes, to a “state of moral shock,” a condition of “historic despair so deep that few of us could recognize it clearly as despair.” What made these events so shattering, she argues, was they they did not result simply from the actions of evil men but seemed to be rooted in large-scale social structures as such. “The impulse to build large-scale societal structures which would contain and eventually greatly reduce these nightmare forces was stalemated by massive evidence that large-scale societal structures per se - not just those in capitalist countries - were the habitat in which they managed most hideously to thrive.”
Dinnerstein argues that the postwar generation, even in its flight from politics, communicated to the next generation its “infernal vision of society” and its quasi-solutions to the problem of emotional survival.” <“Riding the Tiger”> Thus it inadvertently planted the seeds of the cultural politics that flowered in the sixties and seventies. From this point of view, the radicalism of the sixties represented not so much a return to political commitments after a period of political retreat as a metamorphosis of personal life into politics . “Make love, not war.” The most characteristic features of the new left derived from its attempt to “combine the ‘personal’ with the ‘political,’” as Shulamith Firestone noted in 1970, and from its belief that the “old leafletting and pamphletting and Marxist analysis are no longer where it’s at.” The new left’s suspicion of large-scale social organization; its rejection of democratic centralism; its distrust of leadership and party discipline; its faith in small groups; it repudiation of power and “power trips,” work discipline, and goal-oriented activity in general; its repudiation of “linear” thinking - these attitudes, the source of so much that was fruitful in the new left and of so much that was futile and self-defeating as well, originated in the central contention (as the San Francisco Redstockings put it in their 1970 manifesto) that “our politics begin with our feelings.”
Such a politics can take many forms: radical feminism, environmentalism, pacifism, nihilism, a cult of revolutionary violence. “Cultural revolution” is an ambiguous slogan. In China, it was invoked on behalf of systematic attacks on intelligence and learning, a revolution against culture . In the West, a critique of “instrumental reason” has sometimes degenerated into a Dionysian celebration of irrationality. The revolt against technological domination points toward “addled subjectivity,” as Lewis Mumford has called it. But in spite of the anti-intellectualism, the infantile insurgency, and the taste for destruction so often associated with cultural politics, it addresses issues ignored by the dominant political tradition: the limits of reason; the unconscious origins of the desire for domination; the embodiment of this desire in industrial technology, ostensibly the highest product of the rational intelligence.
The Neo-Freudian Left
The best way to understand why the idea of a cultural revolution encourages such contradictory applications is to study its attempt to ground social theory in psychoanalysis, with the usual disclaimer that many exponents of this position take no interest in psychoanalysis at all. But those who did turn to Freud, in the years following World War II, did so for good reasons. His work - in particular Civilization and Its Discontents, which provided both Brown and Herbert Marcuse with a starting point for their investigations of culture - seemed to speak more directly than any other intellectual tradition to the question that haunted the postwar world: Why is it precisely the highest civilization that has developed and unleashed unprecedented powers of destruction?
In order to address this question, Brown and Marcuse had to discard an earlier tradition of psychoanalytic radicalism, developed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich, Eric Fromm, Karen Horney, Gregory Zilboorg, and other “neo-Freudians,” who tried to press psychoanalysis into the service of social reform by emphasizing cultural instead of biological determinants of personality. The cultural school had set out to strip Freudian theory of its “biological determinism,” its “disregard of cultural factors” and “social conditions,” its undue emphasis on sexuality at the expense of “feelings of inferiority” and the “hunger of appreciation or affection,” its neglect of “interpersonal relations,” its “patriarchal” bias, its “hydraulic” theory of psychic energy - everything, in short, that allegedly stamped Freud’s thought as a product of nineteenth-century mechanistic science and bourgeois culture. Reinterpreted in the light of Marxism, feminism and cultural anthropology, psychoanalysis allegedly undermined the idea that sexual difference are divinely or biologically ordained and therefore unchangeable, destroyed the myth of the patriarchal family and monogamous marriage, and laid bare the psychological dynamics by means of which the patriarchal family and a repressive sexual morality served “to maintain the stability of class society,” in Fromm’s words. Feminism, Marxism, and psychoanalysis thus appeared to converge in an expose of the authoritarian family and of the “patricentric” personality who experiences suffering as guilt instead of injustice, accepts his lot instead of trying to change the social conditions that make him unhappy, and “identifies with the aggressor” instead of attempting to unite the victims of aggression against the prevailing social system.
In their eagerness to bring psychoanalysis up to date and to reconcile it with progressive social philosophies, the “neo-Freudians” deleted whatever was distinctive and original in Freud’s work and ended up with a psychological theory that merely confirmed what every literate, humane, right-thinking man or woman already knew. As Marcuse noted in his “Critique of Neo-Freudian Revisionism,” they “flattened out” the “depth dimension of the conflict between the individual and his society” and turned psychoanalysis into a “moralistic philosophy of progress.” According to Brown, they reversed the axiom that the child is father to the man, restated by Freud and supported with new evidence, and wrote instead as if toilet-training, parental injunctions against masturbation, and other child-rearing practices, repressive or enlightened, played the decisive role in psychological development. By dropping the “whole theory of infantile sexuality,” they recovered optimism “cheapy.” In place of psychoanalysis, they served up “lullabies of sweetness and light.” Even Reich, who rightly argued that “to fulfill its own therapeutic promises, psychoanalysis has to envisage a social transformation,” went astray, according to Brown, “in limiting the social transformation involved to the liberation of adult genital sexuality.” As Marcuse tried to show, the transformation of the polymorphous perversity of the infant into genital sexuality already reflected the triumph of the performance principle, as he called it, over the pleasure principle. A social revolution that aimed to break the cycle of domination and rebellion could not stop with the creation of a more permissive sexual morality. A so-called sexual revolution that confined itself to genital pleasure could easily lend itself to new forms of domination. The task confronting the culture revolution was not to set aside more opportunities for erotic indulgence, as a momentary release from the demands of alienated labor, but to eroticize work itself. The task was not to enlarge the domain of leisure but to abolish the very distinction between work and leisure, to make work into play, and to get rid of the aggressive, domineering attitude toward nature that informs the present organization of work.
Marcuse on “Surplus Repression”
The postwar reformulation of psychoanalytic social theory had to begin, then, with an attempt to undo the damage done by the cultural school of Freudian revisionists. For Marcuse, Freud has to be approached much as Marx had approached David Ricardo, as a hardheaded ideological opponent whose work needed to be taken more seriously than that of well-meaning but tender-minded ideological allies - the utopian socialists for Marx, the neo-Freudian revisionists for Marcuse - and when properly understood, contradicted its own assumption that human happiness remains a mirage “Freud’s own theory,” Marcuse insisted, “provides reasons for rejecting” Freud’s pessimism. Marx had turned political economy against itself by arguing that the laws of the market, described by Adam Smith and Ricardo as natural, inevitable, and unchanging, derived from a particular series of historical developments and were therefore open to further modification. In the same way, Marcuse historicized Freud. Whereas Freud’s theory of civilization derived the need for repression from the “natural” disproportion between human desires and the demands of reality, Marcuse tried to show that “natural” categories under close analysis proved to be historical and that repression originates not in the “struggle for existence but only in its oppressive organization.” By distinguishing between repression and “surplus repression,” Marcuse tried to give a psychological dimension to Marx’s theory of alienated labor, according to which labor beyond what is necessary for human survival goes into the production of “surplus value.” Surplus repression as Marcuse called it, originates in the organized apparatus of class rule and domination, which forces men and women to labor beyond the satisfaction of their needs. As society becomes more complex, the relations of production become increasingly hierarchical and the psychological sanctions enforcing alienated labor correspondingly severe. Thus civilization inflicts on individuals a burden of renunciation, of psychological suffering and guilt, bey
Just as Marx’s critique of political economy demanded a historical analysis of alienated labor, Marcuse’s position appears to demand a historical analysis of its psychological consequences, a history of surplus repression. Whereas Marx devoted much of his life to a study of changing modes of production, however, Marcuse fell back on Freud’s dubious theory of the primal horde, which traced the origin of patriarchy to the abortive uprising against the primal father. The sons overthrow the father but internalize his authority and reimpose it on women and children. This “patriarchal counterrevolution,” according to Marcuse, becomes the prototype of failed revolutions ever since. The alternating “rhythm of liberation and domination” arises out of the sons’ unconscious identification with the hated father. Instead of ridding themselves of his rule, they reestablish it in the form of the “patriarchal monogamic family,” which institutionalizes instinctual renunciation, channels “polymorphous perversity” into the single acceptable outlet of monogamous marriage, and enforces submission to social rules and the patriarchal compulsion to work. The uprising of the rebellious sons momentarily breaks the “chain of domination,” according to Marcuse; “then the new freedom is again suppressed - this time by their own authority and action.” Once established, this pattern repeats itself throughout history - as in the life and death of Jesus, which Marcuse reinterprets as a struggle against the patriarchal laws in the name of love, a struggle betrayed by Christ’s disciples when they deified the son beside the father and codified his teachings in oppressive new laws.
The theory of the primal horde served Marcuse, as it has served other theorists of the Freudian left, as a substitute for historical analysis, an admittedly “speculative” and “symbolic” encapsulation of the entire course of patriarchal history. It is easy to see the idea’s attraction for the left. It not only implicates the family in the origins of a repressive civilization but spells out the psychological linages between them. It purports to show how the Oedipus complex, and with it the whole apparatus of patriarchal domination, transmits itself from one generation to the next. It traces the Oedipus complex back to the dawn of history and thus helps to define the need for cultural revolution that transcends a mere change in power or institutions and breaks the cycle of rebellion and submission. But as Marcuse himself pointed out in his attack on the cultural school, psychoanalysis offers the “most concrete insights into the historical structure of civilization” precisely when it least concerns itself with developing a general theory of culture and sticks instead to clinical concepts - “concepts that the revisionists reject.” This warning - unfortunately unheeded by most of those who attempt to remodel psychoanalysis as a social theory, including Marcuse - applies with particular force to Freud’s speculations about group psychology, both in his essay of that name and in Moses and Monotheism, which rest on a model of mental conflict already discarded in the more strictly psychological writings of his last phase. Freud’s increasing awareness of a more deeply buried layer of mental life underlying the Oedipus complex, his revision of his instinct theory, and his new psychology of women point to the conclusion incompatible with many of the generalizations he continued to advance in his sociological writings. For one thing, this new line of analysis suggested that sexual pleasure is not the only object of repression. For another, it suggested that the agency of repression is not simply “reality.” Accordingly the outcome of the Oedipus complex - the theory of which Freud now made explicit for the first time - cannot be seen simply as the submission of the pleasure principle to a reality principle imposed on the child by the father. It is not just that parental commands and prohibitions, toilet-training practices, and threats of castration play a less important role in the child’s development than Freud had previously thought. The entire conceptual scheme that opposes pleasure and reality, equating the former with the unconscious and that latter with conscious adherence to parental morality, has to give way to a different model of the mind.
Marcuse himself challenged Freud’s group psychology in an essay published in 1953, misleadingly entitled “The Obsolescence of the Freudian Concept of Man.” Noting that Freud saw all social groups as revivals of the primal horde, with a “leader as a unifying agent” and the “transference of the ego ideal to the leader as father image,” Marcuse went on to argue that modern societies have dispensed with patriarchal imagery and patriarchal authority. “The fascist leaders were no ‘fathers,’ and the postfascist and post Stalinist top leaders do not display the traits of the heirs of the primal father - not by any stretch of the ‘idealizing’ imagination.” The emergence of a “society without fathers,” according to Marcuse, “invalidated” the “classical psychoanalytic model, in which the father and the father-dominated family were the agent of mental socialization.” The “decline in the role of the father” reflected the “decline of the role of private and family enterprise” and “society’s direct management of the nascent ego through the mass media, school, and sport teams, gangs,” and other agencies of collective socialization. These changes led to a “tremendous release of destructive energy,” a “rampant” aggressiveness “freed from the instinctual bonds with the father as authority and conscience.”
What these developments invalidate, of course, is not the “Freudian concept of man” but a social theory “extrapolated,” in Marcuse’s own words, from Freud’s extrapolations of clinical data into prehistory. They invalidate the idea, already weakened by Freud’s later work and by much of the work subsequently produced by Kleinians, object-relations theorists, and ego psychologists, that repression originates in the subjection of the pleasure principle to the patriarchal compulsion to labor. Yet Marcuse continues, even in his later writings, to condemn the “performance principle” as the primal source of human unhappiness and alienation. Forgetting even his own plea for the union of work and play, he insists that “no matter how justly and rationally the material production may be organized, it can never be a realm of freedom and gratification.” Because work “serves ends outside itself,” it remains “inevitably repressive” for Marcuse - a “neurosis.” For this reason, he argues that the liberation of Eros demands the technological abolition of work. Disavowing any intention of advocating a “romantic regression behind technology,” he insists on the liberating potential of industrial technology. “Is it still necessary to repeat,” he asks in his Essay on Liberation, “that science and technology are the great vehicles of liberation, and that it is only their use and restriction in the repressive society which makes them into vehicles of domination?” Automation alone makes it possible for Orpheus and Narcissus to come out of hiding. The Triumph of polymorphous perversity depends on its antithesis: instrumental rationality carried to the point of total regimentation. Presumably an exercise in dialectical thinking, this line of argument should give even Hegelians pause when they read (in Eros and Civilization) that the “transformation of sexuality into Eros presupposes the rational reorganization of a large industrial apparatus, a highly specialized societal division of labor, the use of fantastically destructive energies, and the co-operation of vast masses.” The achievement of “libidinal work relations,” it appears, requires the organization of society into a vast industrial army.

1. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen (1968) A [3 listens B/A-/A] not really a "Rock" album, but it's one of those albums that constantly caught my eye, plus 60s albums are getting hard to come by. His writing is otherworldly. Fully lived experiences and age with every character in these songs. I would hate to live in his mind, as it seems so damn complex and very overanalytical on every single human interaction. If Bob Dylan is a storyteller, he is a painter; the level of complexity in all of these characters and people are so detailed. Similar to Blood on the Tracks, a lot of the songs are about romance and past relationships, however unlike that album, it isn't as heartbroken and shows a lot of value towards those experiences; even if they're all difficult to move past. Great album and that is enhanced by close, focused deep dives into these lyrics.
2. Yes: i. The Yes Album (1971) A++ [6 listens A+/A++/A+/A+/A++/A++] Close to the Edge is still one of the most Epic-like songs in Rock history, so I was thinking it was going to be pretty hard to top that, and it turns out, they already did lol. CttE is a great song, but the rest of the album is merely ok, whereas Venture is the only weak song. Everything else is MAGNIFICENT!! Move over harmonica, the organ is officially the most underrated instrument now. EVERY climax of each song is immaculate, the guitar and keyboards are always on point, the singing has never been better! Nothing could ever match what CttE is, but they started off with making a more consistent album throughout instead of only in one song. All timer. ii. Fragile (1971) A- [3 listens A-/A-/A-] first time I actually felt like I got Rick Roll'd by an album, as I didn't realize that the song from that meme was from Roundabout lol. The song is great and is even better the longer it develops. However, it does fall apart as the album gets deeper, particularly in the second side. I read on the recording of this album and saw that the individual members worked on separate tracks as they were being rushed and it really shows, as there are very understated and disconnected from everything else next to them. It becomes very noticeable when a song like Roundabout literally kicks off the tracklist and you have to follow it. Now, I can see the path on their way to how CttE is formatted, as it's just 3 "Roundabouts" in a row. Good listen, but very unbalanced.
3. ZZ Top - Tres Hombres (1973) A++ [6 listens B/B++/A-/A+/A+/A++] I listened to Eliminator and thought it was kinda meh and someone suggested to listen to this, as this is their "signature sound". Thank God I did, because this is probably my favorite Blues Rock album I've heard so far. The choruses are solid and aren't straying too far from the standard Blues layout, but it's the drumming, guitar licks and the solos that won me. That drum lick on the opening of La Grange is so damn sweet. Hell Raiser's solo is so amazing. The guitar riff on Master of Sparks is so catchy. The guitar & bass interplay on Shiek and Precious and Grace are amazing. Honestly, even though the song structures aren't that unique, they did the absolute best with what they had. But if I'm being honest, the 3 additional live tracks at the end put it over the edge for me. The energy is palpable.
4. Joni Mitchell: i. Court and Spark (1974) A [3 listens A/A/A] been awhile since I listened to Joni Mitchell's Blue, but I still catch myself randomly humming verses from My Old Man and Carey, so she's managed to find a place to hide out in the corners of my brain. It's a more jovial Mitchell and a forward looking project, instead of her sulking in her life experiences. A "recollection" of memories with her stories, with how scattered the writing flows. My favorite songs are Help Me, Free Man in Paris, Just Like This Train, Raised On Robbery. Nice album, she's starting to flirt with Jazz, but not as risky as what would come after. Also, Twisted needs to be cut from this album tho; such an odd fit. ii. The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) A [3 listens A/A+/A] she's completely single and ready to mingle now with this one; in terms of the music. Playing off the cover art, its sound likes she's taking a stroll through the park, meeting strangers with different instruments and styles, stopping to sit in the grass or dance around with someone and moving on to the next person. This feels more unplanned compared to the others, which helps it create a separate identity from the rest of her work. I do think the songs struggle in the first half, but the second side are much stronger. Shades of Scarlett, Harry's House, The Boho Dance and the title track are my favorites. Also, the music and the combination of instruments on display is way more enthralling than the lyrics and her signature storytelling. It's very good, but there's definitely more complete albums she's made. iii. Hejira (1976) A+ [3 listens B/B++/A+/A+] For some reason, early on this is the album that hit the wall for me, as I i kinda got tired of her not really changing her vocal cadence that much in the first 2 listens. After getting pass that, it's hard not to respect her. I still don't think this album does much too advance her music on a stylistic level, as the previous two have, but fuck, she's so damn great at writing. Furry Sings the Blues, Refuge of the Road, A Strange Boy... just such amazing storytelling in those alone. Also, Song for Sharon is possibly my favorite Joni Mitchell song now; just perfection. Had that slow, casual feel reminiscent of Blue that is rare to come across. I honestly hate albums like this, "growers", as even now, I feel like if I listen to this a few more times, I'd come to admire it more.
5. Iggy Pop: i. The Idiot (1977) A+ [5 listens A-/A/A/A+/A+] I've gone through all of the Stooges albums and now it's time for Iggy Pop's solo material. Both of these were made along side Bowie's Berlin Trilogy and as the producer, his fingerprints are all over it. The desolate guitars ringing, while a very uncommonly low energy Iggy sings over it all. If the first half of Low could be called a trial run for New Wave music, then this album is the trial run for Post Punk. Also, the album art perfectly matches the tone of the album: a blue/black picture in the cold, mysterious darkness of night... with a clueless Iggy just along for the ride lol. This has his signature deadpan style, but none of the Garage Rock energy he's knows for, which imo makes this effort a more respectable leap then he may think. I read he really doesn't "claim" this album, as he sees it as more for a Bowie project, but this album is definitely made better with his inclusion. Yes, the music is the biggest part, but idk if you could just replace Bowie on any of these songs and it'd be instantly better. ii. Lust of Life (1977) B [3 listens B-/B+/B] Wow, the album where he put his "foot down" and went in on making an album that HE wanted, is of course the one I left unimpressed by. Not that it's bad, but it's just a Stooges album with, again, not of that high octane energy. Success and The Passenger are phenomenal songs, but everything else is just your by "the numbers" Rock n Roll standards with an updated Garage spirit than anything as inventive at The Idiot.
6. Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (1978) B+ [2 listens B+/B+] Genuinely can't remember how he got on my list or even remember if anyone even recommended him. But this is considered his "best album" and plus, outside of Elton John, I haven't really explored many Rock that centers around the Piano. It's a fun album, albeit very crude and satirical at times, it managed to balance it out well. Outside the double take lyrics, none of these songs are too special. I like the nice piano jingle of Werewolves of London and the title track is an interesting song. However, the last few songs tanked it. Okay listen; not everybody is an "album artist", as the singles were the best parts.
7. Wire: i. Chairs Missing (1978) A [4 listens B++/A/A/A] Wire! Pink Flag has managed to become an all time favorite since discovering it and honestly wasn't aware that they actually had other albums just as critically praised as it. As a 2nd album, it comes off very odd, but with hindsight of what follows it, it's easy to see that it's just stuck between two worlds: the world of "Proto"-Post Punk and the extended end of the "concept" of Post Punk. None of their music really feels like "Post Punk" as they never seem to conform to any genre sound. Where Pink Flag feels like a group of teens making Punk with a solid background in music, they weren't out to be "experimental" with the music. Here the Hardcore edge is removed, which allows their artistry to become more visible, but they're moving away from this subversion. Mercy, Practice Makes Perfect, I Am the Fly, Marooned, Outdoor Minor are the good ones. It's still very ahead of its time and still ahead of the curb. ii. 154 (1979) A++ [6 listens A-/A+/A++/A++/A++/A++] sometimes you have to let the thing you want go in order to fully accept the possibility that something can be better. I still desire a Pink Flag 2, but I'll be a fool to dismiss how amazing this is. The extremely eeriely brooding and atmospheric environment is pushing the limits of what Post Punk should even be. A song like Other Window creepy as fuck, due to Graham Lewis' increased vocal role, adding SO much to this tone. Touching Display is how every droning guitar should be used; deep, whole notes and if it was made in the 90s, it'll be my favorite Post Rock song outside of Slint. This is Avant-Post Punk essentially; carving out a deep future path for Gothic Rock to eventually go down. Also, SYNCOPATED RHYTHMS!! There are many bands to do it (often Pop bands), but none do it better with a heavy and Punk sound as they do. Also, compared to Pink Flag, there's SO little fat on here; so yes, it's definitely their best album. The ONLY flaw is the ending sequencing of it... Map should've been the closer and it would be PERFECT. / Colin Newman - A-Z (1980) A [4 listens B++/B/A+/A] Colin Newman's solo project and the "unofficial 4th Wire album" as many of the songs were written while the band was together. And it is obvious the time frame when, as it's more of a 154 Part 2 with how very unattached it is to being "Post Punk". However, similar to Chairs Missing, it's an unfocused album with so many great ideas. This is probably where I'd say it's too experimental, as some of these songs are just too intentionally eccentric. To be frank, I think he's trying too hard to be "weird" to match that energy of 154, but the weirdness was from the tone and how desolate the energy was. Whereas here, the energy is completely up and down and the oddness is in the erratic style than it's ambiance. This one probably has more moments and songs that I love more, but this makes Chairs Missing appear more concise lol. Still very good if you're a Wire fan, even if you can still sense that it's not really a true "Wire" project.
8. Siouxsie and the Banshees: i. Kaleidoscope (1980) B+ [3 listens A/A-/B+] with a different lineup this time around, interested to see how they will develop their sound going into the 80s. And it's kinda as I expected: more diverse instruments, more grooves with in the basslines and leaning on the singing to lead the direction. As the songs go on, they (specifically Siouxsie Sioux) lose their energy. Side 2 has all the best songs, while the first is lacking. Solid listen, but feels they overdid it when they should've kept it simple like on Scream. I respect the attempt and was probably a needed change due to how fast Post Punk was developing, but it could've been done more succinctly. ii. Juju (1981) A+ [2 listens A/A+] Well shit, it's like they already knew my criticisms lol. Finally dynamic songs! Partially why Bauhaus has become my favorite Post Punk/Gothic band, is that the song's layout and rhythms changes throughout a single song and doesn't remain static. Sioux is an all timer in presence, but not so much with singing imo, so she's used so much better as she's highlighted spottingly, particularly in crescendoing over the music. Also, this is heavy as hell; Monitor sounds like a SOAD track... Damn! Honestly, I thought this was going to be a repeat of Kaleidoscope, but man did they knock it out of the park. Fine tuned what they did and allowed themselves to amplify it without losing their identity completely.
9. Bathory: i. Self-Titled (1984) B++ [3 listens B++/B++/B++] the first "official" Black Metal album or EP given its length. Not only are the song structures primitive, but the mixing is as well. I think it works for what it is; something completely new. Even they didn't know what they were doing and it feels that way. The bassline is what seals the deal, as it keeps things very grounded. And the guitar is... well, it lays down the foundation of what Black Metal will become; for better or for worse. The production is really holding this back; it's very poorly mixed. The frayed sound of the guitars looses a lot of edge, which admittedly does make it an easier listen, but so much of its power is lost. Reaper, Raise the Dead, Necromancy, guitar solo on Sacrifice are the highlights. ii. Under the Sign of the Black Mark (1987) A+ [4 listens A+/A/A+/A+] I really love this album. Woman of Dark Desires, Massacre, 13 Candles, Enter the Eternal Fire, with that AWESOME guitar solo in the middle! This is the perfect step up, sound quality included. More songs with distinct identities, loved the pacing throughout and a very "easy" listen (i.e. no overly chaotic guitar solos). That's usually my main critique with most Extreme Metal albums is that songs tend to run into one another and there's very little differences between them all. The riffs are different, the tempo is different and the drumming is changed up on every song. Great album! But similar to all of their other stuff, I just wish it was longer. iii. Blood Fire Death (1988) A [3 listens A/A+/A] Another great album, but it's not a consistent as UtSotBM. I enjoyed the acoustic sections (that would later influence viking metal) which raises it up some points. It was an unexpected skill I didn't think they were capable of. However, this album is one that's trying to be two things: it does one really well and just "sorta" touches on the other one. It would've been great to see a better balance between these terrific Black Metal sections and these Viking Metal acoustic ones, giving equal time to each. I hope they would find a better balance in a future album, but I'm only listening to these 3. All were good listens and held up much better for pioneers of a genre.
10. The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash (1985) A [4 listens A+/A/A/A] a long awaited listen after seeing so much about this. It doesn't really come off as "Punk" but as legit, Irish/Celtic shanties. The novelty wears off after a few listens though. It's very genuine in its execution and doesn't come off as gimmicky at all. It's very 2 note: uptempo or slow wailing songs. Waltzing Matilda and I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday are by far the best songs here, with Dirty Old Town, Wild Cats and Sally MacLennane in that 2nd tier below. Really good and takes itself very serious.
11. Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician (1987) C+ [2 listens B-/C+] speaking of talking itself seriously.... here's the complete opposite. It's very VERY hard to actually get into this as it's just absurdist for absurdism sake as most of it is just so empty. There are a few sparks of musical inspirations that show they are capable of something more serious, but they seem to enjoy being nonsensical over making compelling music. It doesn't necessarily have to be serious satire or just cut and dry (I love Ween), but there has to be a point to this madness or else it just comes off as simply... madness.
12. Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime (1988) A+ [2 listens A/A+] Sounds like a "Heavy" Hair Metal band. The story is simply "okay" and that's being nice, as this was way over hyped, that I expected something like a To Pimp a Butterfly of themes and stories intersecting. This is like a Hair Metal version of the Wall. It feels more like a musical than a concept album with a linear story, which loses stream after Breaking the Silence. It is very melodramatic especially in the second half, but it was the 80s... However, it has Spreading the Disease so all of that is a wash; we don't got guys hitting high notes like that anymore, which you gotta admit Hair Metal nailed that with perfection. A++ music but A concept, so right in the middle.
13. Coroner: i. No More Color (1989) A- [3 listens A+/A/A-] first non big 4 Thrash. I don't know how popular they were beyond Europe, but they were pioneers in the Technical Thrash Metal (sometimes called Prog Thrash). The main issue is that all the songs run into one another, without any significant parts to either of them. They set their songs around the guitar solos (which can be unmemorable at best and very messy at worse), which furthers mushes everything together. This is why I tend to value pacing in music, especially in Heavy Metal. There's plenty of good riffs to be found, but you have to sludge your way to find them. ii. Mental Vortex (1991) A+ [2 listens A+/A+] great follow-up. The guitar is still leading every song, but it's not fully taking control over the identity of every one. The drumming and the shifts in the music (similar to Metallica's 80s work) better distinguishes each track, making every phrase more dynamic. It's pretty good, but admittedly the She's So Heavy cover puts it just over to be an A+; better than the original because its fully realized metal and ends 30 seconds sooner :p
14. Swervedriver - Mezcal Head (1993) A++ [4 listens A++/A++/A++/A++] a Grunge album in Shoegaze clothing. The music is very unassuming with its generic 90s vocals, but that's how that Shoegaze sound sneaks up on you. The reverb on every guitar note constantly adds texture to every moment, almost drowning you with its heaviness. And THEN, that's when the vocals start to shine; like warm light of a log cabin in the middle of a heavy, blinding blizzard. Also, Duress is up there along side Venus in Furs as those all timers I know I'll forever be listening to for decades to come. Phenomenal album, highly recommend! ii. Raise (1991) A- [2 listens A/A-] literally decided to listen to this days before finishing up as I didn't know this album was also a landmark in Shoegaze (maybe moreso than MH). This is the album shows that less discussed bridge from Noise Rock to Shoegaze, as so many places only consider Shoegaze as a direct evolution of Dream Pop. This is a true Alternate Rock sound, with heavy guitar distortion; but not to the extent to what Shoegaze is really known as. This is closer to Dinosaur Jr or Sonic Youth than MBV or Slowdive. That aside, its pretty good for a debut. The melodies aren't as great as MH, but a few songs like Son of Mustang Ford, Sandblasted and Sunset were great foundation points of what would follow. Wouldn't say it's a must listen, but it's a good entry.
15. Kyruss - Welcome to Sky Valley (1994) A [3 listens A-/A/A] Josh Homme from his original band and the "birth" of the Desert Rock genre. Solid album, I like the atmosphere it creates as a laid back, background album. Complete opposite of QQTSA in where it's like wandering down a barren "desert", instead of a isolated highway listening to a radio station. It works. Nothing here will jump out at you, but it's very clear that that's not the intent with it. Idk if I'd say it's a must listen, as I can see it being called uneventful. But it's a good listen if you want some background music with some grit to it.
16. Swans - Soundtracks for the Blind (1996) A+ [2 listens A+/A+] the last Swans I'm going to listen to as I didn't care much for To Be Kind, so I imagine I'm not gonna like any of their other stuff. This is in a different direction, where it doesn't even seem to be "music" at times. This makes GY!BE appear accessible in comparison. This is like flicking through the channels on a TV in this weird, strange motel in the middle of nowhere. A lot of dull, drawn out moments that actually work this time around, as it helps paint a better scene of this eldritch-like world it's in. If it had more of those spontaneous, random fully formed tracks, I'll love it more, however their sporadic appearances make them more special when they're coming out of nowhere. This is rare project where I feel that more listens would lower my love for it, as that unpredictability of it is its greatest strength.
17. Duster - Stratosphere (1998) A [3 listens A/A/A] VERY lofi with its low quality mixing. It's the pacing of Shoegaze without the distortion and the blasé attitude of Slacker Rock without the traditional song structure, to a point where it's closest to Post Rock but still has that character of your favorite 90s Indie Rock band (I'm also lost as well). RYM calls it Slowcore, which I find kinda cool. This is like if depression was an album; all the ebbs and flows of your mood slowly dropping, staying at a low point, that occasional optimism and right back into that shallow pit of somber, where you managed to make a somewhat cozy cottage due to you being there for so many times. Slowest part of a Built to Spill album, with a budget of $18 for production, bring a singer with possible self-esteem issues and tell them to make a 50 min lullaby to get a shoegaze-loving kid to sleep. I'm all out of metaphors.
18. Gustavo Cerati - Bocanada (1999) A+ [3 listens A+/A+/A+] another album I can't quite remember how it got on my list, but Trip Hop is another one of those genres that outside of Massive Attack and Portishead that I have very little experience with. Even though the lyrics are in a foreign language, it didn't hurt the overall experience of the album (it have may limited it being better though). Melancholy in his voice and the music, contrasting with the Trip Hop style. Tabu, Rio Babel, and Pasco Immoral are the ones that I recommend checking out if the runtime can be off-putting to some; but it's well worth the journey. Wonderful album that I'm glad I came across.
19. Immolation - Close to a World Below (2000) A [4 listens A+/A/A/A] Better than most Death Metal. Love that the vocalist is slow with his pace (he was great!), along with a solid and steady guitar riffs. I really dislike that drum sound (banging on the toms), but that's a hurdle it feels like you have to overcome to really get into the genre itself. Any of the first 4 songs and Lost Passion are worth checking out.
20. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells (2001) B+ [3 listens B++/B++/B+] I get why they're labeled Blues Rock. Maybe I didn't notice it before, but he sings like John Lennon, where he constantly on that upper octave (which is well out of their ranges) and they crack notes a lot. It's charming to a certain degree, but I don't think it really works with this heavy style. My biggest issue with it is that it's doing multiple things at once, instead of separately. The loud songs are too understated, as Union or Offend should be a bigger, hard, fast paced songs but instead have slow sections. They have this heavy guitar for no reason. We're going to Be Friends and This Protector being tender songs, when it's full acoustic and has a consistent theme, further adds to the lack of uniformity. Also, songs rarely change/switch up, which normally isn't that big of a issue, but when they're all 3+ minutes long, they all drag on. I know what a "perfect version" sounds like from them, so a lot of missteps feel more obvious than if it was blind to me, but I'm not super invested in this album, even with the number of listens.
21. Muse: i. Absolution (2003) A++ [5 listens A++/A+/A++/A++/A++] what if Radiohead chose to stay in 1997? What is it with these Post BritPop bands with incredible sophomore releases? Similarly to Coldplay, I didn't care much for Origin of Symmetry and had low expectations going into this. I don't know if I'm being too generous as only about 3 or 4 of these songs are really strong, however none are what I'd consider skips. This album is so damn tight in its tracklist. Some of the best collections of hooks and bridges ever. The singing isn't always on point, but the way they nail down the perfect formula for every song overshadows most of their faults in not being too special in any particular category. ii. Black Holes and Revelations (2006) A++ [3 listens A/A++/A++] Back to back bangers?! This one is probably my favorite, especially with how strong the second half of the album is. All the songs are great, but aren't straight retreads of what Absolution brought with the varied added instruments. Again, nothing they're doing is otherworldly, but they execute the structures of all of the songs so perfectly, that you tend to ignore the mediocrity of the band members' skills individually. They're the sum of their parts; heavily carried by their collaboration with the songwriting. These two albums are BARLEY A++ though... so if I give these two A++s, then I'm going to retroactively make Ok Computer a "Masterpiece", because it doesn't sit right with me with them being on the same level. Great pair of albums; y'all sleeping on Muse?
22. My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) B+ [3 listens B+/B++/B+] okay, this is emo, like legit emo pop. TBP had a bigger theatrical element infused in its identity, whereas this has all of its personality in its lyrics. And the lyrics are very... tbh cringe. Songs go in too long; great choruses and lyrics, but having the same structure over and over is too repetitive for me to really get into it. It's very melodramatic, particularly in the singing, which at least does make it a compelling listen. I just wish the music followed suit as well. He is also too frantic in his performance, where on TBP it is limited to a few songs. Maybe this is the line where it is too raw.
23. Joanna Newsom: i. YS (2006) B- [2 listen A-/B-] DENSE AS FUCK. Makes Bob Dylan look like an haiku writer. Each song is a storybook, that requires heavy attention. Music itself is not too impressive outside its complexity in the instrumentation. This non-stop, continuous nature of her singing is the major turn off. To a point where it's very hard to follow any story she's trying to paint and the entire thing feels tiring. I do like the harp playing and the orchestral spurts that brighten phrases, but that's the only positive I can come up with. Big disappointment and kinda soured me on her going forward. However, I decided on a whim to give her one more try and.... ii. The Milk Eyed Mender (2004) Masterpiece [3 listens A++/MP/MP] being majorly disappointed with YS, I decided to try her more stripped down Debut before completely writing her off, as the albums following YS are very long listens. And it turns out I actually enjoy this much more; matter of fact, I can't find any flaws within it: ZERO. Yes, her voice is even more of a sore thumb when most of the attention is on it (those harmonies on Peach Plum and Pear sound like Nightmare Fuel tbh). But if I can call Blonde on Blonde a perfect album, I can give a pass to her voice. Her flow in the songs are SOOO much better, that it makes YS looks even worse in that department. The harp playing isn't grand, but subdued in line with her wandering through each song; ebbing and flowing along with her energy in each track. Her cadence and timbre in how she sings is second to none her.
24. The Beach Boys: Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2005) A- [2 listens A/A-] most of my thoughts on in the Sessions review, as his worned voice hampered the album. I will say this imo would've bombed in 1967; baroque ballads, no rock lol. It would've kicked started Progressive Rock about 5 years sooner, but it wouldn't have made such a huge splash considering the trend all of music was already headed in at that point. This feels more like a live album / The Smile Sessions (2011) A++ [5 listens A/A/A+/A+/A++] BWPS felt like a monkey Brian needed to finally get off his back. A personal album made by Brian himself, whereas BWPS kinda feels like the "gift" to the world that SMiLE was promised as. This still has that youthful, tender energy of creation, where it's unabashedly open with its oddities. Kind of like how Beach Boys Today! was a left turn in their careers, this would've been that for Pet Sounds. BWPS was trying to meet SMiLE's high expectations; this is more honest. The harmonies are so warm, with the perfect blend of pathos. There's more playful instruments in the background that make the whole thing feel more playful. A few of the mixes aren't done well - "Wistful" is the best way to describe this project. Good vibrations finally "fits" inside an album; we can all die in peace now. It's too baroque to be really accessible and too Prog to have real standout hit singles. But as a confined experience, BY FAR the best the Beach Boys have made... or uhm would've made.
25. Sweet Trip - You Will Never Know Why (2009) A++ [4 listens A-/A++/MP/A++] ...I wish I didn't look up the background of this band before I listened to this. I went into Velocity Design and Comfort fully blind and while it's not the exact style I'm personally into, it's still so unique in what it brought, that I still think of it fondly. That is until I learned about one of the band members. The thing people don't understand about the "separate the art from the artist" thing is that is isn't because of a sense of "morally superiority", it's that every time I listen or consume the art.... I can't NOT think of them and what happened. I enjoyed this album a lot, but most of my time listening, my mind was clearly distracted. I was dying for them to go fully into the Electronic-Jangle Pop space they only would briefly explore on VDC. Valerie Cooper's singing is still SO awe inspiring and freezes you in time, easily the greatest part of the music. The only flaw is that it has only a handful of jingles that really grip me. Also, no entire song pulls me in the whole run, it's only really the chorus and occasionally the transitions between tracks (which are outstanding btw) which was also an issue with the VDC. If it was also a tad bit heavier in certain moments, that would've helped me overlook a lot of this minor flaws. Phenomenal album and perfect follow up, but it's gonna take some time before I can revisit this, as it's hard to mentally disassociate the individual from the music while it's so fresh in my mind.
Bonus Albums: (shorter reviews)
• Yellow Magic Orchestra - Solid State Survivor (1979) A [3 listens B/A/A] colorful and joyful. Sounds like this was the singular inspiration of every Nintendo soundtrack from the 80s and 90s lol. Liked the slow parts, but the bouncy songs are very fun to listen to. Low stakes but still aged wonderfully.
• Gary Numen - The Pleasure Principal (1979) B [2 listens B+/B] futuristic, yet undefined. Weird vocal style is kinda weird, not everyone can pull it off like David Byrne or Devo. Isn't jovial enough like YMO nor is breaking any new ground with the layout like Kraftwerk to compensate for its simplicity. Cars was a nice surprise tho.
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture and Morality (1981) A- [3 listens B++/A-/A-] finally a legit "Pop" singer. Synths are used as an aesthetic and not a crutch, now starting to feel like a more modern (or 80s I guess) style. Joan of Arc and Souvenir are my favorites. Good, but nothing too incredible.
• Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair (1985) A++ [2 listens A++/A++] holy hell, way way better than I expected it would be. I knew the two popular songs, but they were more denser and bigger than I assumed they were. The production here is so lush and wide, immediately obvious they were very "familiar" with the technology by then. I will be adding more of their albums for more detailed reviews on a future list. (Prob the Hurting and Seeds)

Hi all. I’ve been a lurker here for a few years and have been reading peoples stories to better understand Mormons, their lives and relationships with the church. I’m personal a nonbeliever in any religion, however I work at The Book of Mormon on Broadway.
We received this letter from a fan who found our show to be therapeutic for him as an exmormon. Here is his complete letter (warning it’s kinda long and some of it reads as a review or promotion for the show which is not why I share it, I’m not a backeinvester):
The Play That Changed My Life
By Richard McDonald
I am about to do it.... for the seventy fifth time.
The Book of Mormon on Broadway just celebrated 13 years on the Broadway stage at the Eugene O’Neil Thater and I have seen it seventy-four times....in the last 18 months! The reactions I get when people learn this range from: “What?” to “I think you need to see a therapist.”
Indeed, that is precisely the case. The show serves as a form of therapy for me, particularly since I made the decision in the summer of 2022 to depart from the Mormon Church after being deeply entrenched in its culture and teachings throughout my entire life.
To be frank, I always had a sense that something was not quite right. Yet, I chose to overlook these nagging feelings. I embarked on a mission (ironically in NYC), exchanged vows in the Mormon temple, and at times, I cherished the sense of community fostered by the faith. However, there were too many discrepancies that I could not reconcile. From the ban on Black people holding the Priesthood until 1978, to the myriad issues with church history, the treatment of LGBTQ individuals (I declined to support Prop 8 in California in 2008 and believe I was consequently blacklisted), and the marginalization of women in the church. I often felt very alone in my “liberal Mormon beliefs.”
An important part of my life has been my battle with addiction to prescription drugs. The church's response to my battles with addiction and legal issues resulting from those poor decisions – culminated in a "disciplinary council" which is better described as a “shame session” where you stand before your Mormon leaders to be judged. The result? They suspended my membership privileges so that I could repent. I was still encouraged to tithe during my suspension. Sit in shame but still give money as an act of obedience.
Despite grappling with these experiences, I endeavored to remain within the fold... to no avail. The final tipping point for me occurred in 2022 when I discovered that the church supports the clergy penitent privilege, allowing clergy to withhold information from law enforcement about child neglect or child sexual abuse disclosed during spiritual confessions if they deem it "reasonable and necessary" under church doctrine. I distinctly recall telling myself, "I cannot align myself with a church that prioritizes its image over safeguarding children from neglect and sexual abuse." Remarkably, the other concerns I had previously dismissed now appeared to gain greater significance and credibility.
Yet, losing my faith (the only thing I have ever known) is quite traumatic, especially when I came to the realization that the core belief system that existed in my life for so many years betrayed me on a spiritual level. This led me to question if I could ever trust my own personal judgement again. As I transitioned away from viewing the world through a Mormon lens, I experienced a profound sense of identity loss. The Mormon church had provided me with more than just a belief system; it offered a structured set of values, a supportive social network (if I followed along), and a clear sense of purpose.
As I contemplated life outside of the church, I found myself grappling with uncertainty and fear. Growing up in the Mormon faith instilled in me the belief that my safety and happiness hinged upon my unwavering obedience and loyalty to the church. The teachings emphasized that following the prophet equated to following God himself. Additionally, members were constantly reminded to be wary that Satan wants to take hold of you.
I have come to understand that experiencing mixed feelings is completely normal. Leaving my religion was not just about trauma; it brought about a sense of relief as well. No longer having to reconcile the parts of my belief system that never made sense was liberating for me. Yet-I recognized that I still needed some anchors through this transition, and I found them through an old friend and a Broadway Musical that simply changed my life.
Travis Stratford and I hail from the same town in Southern California and were both brought up in the Mormon Church. Now, we both find ourselves residing in New York City. Travis is a managing partner partner of Case Agency in Soho, and I have always regarded him as one of the smartest individuals I know. During our teenage years, I looked up to him as he was a few years older than me. Despite going our separate ways for 25 years—he served his mission in Sweden, while I served in NYC—our connection was immediate when we reunited. Travis offered me invaluable support and a non-judgmental perspective as a friend. Although Travis left the church in 2014, he never attempted to sway my beliefs in any direction. Instead, he simply listened and offered his insights when needed.
With the support of a close friend and a newfound liberating perspective free from the judgments of Mormonism, I found myself in Midtown Manhattan for a business meeting on 49th Street. As I strolled past the Eugene O’Neill Theater, I could not help but notice the bold letters proclaiming, "The Book of Mormon: The Funniest Musical of All Time!" Wait a minute... funny? I had not even thought about it that way, could it be possible to find humor in this situation? Is laughter an antidote for trauma? Without hesitation, I made my way to the box office and purchased a ticket for that evening's performance. Let me tell you, that night's show changed my life in the most remarkable way. Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote the Book of Mormon on Broadway, renowned for their work on "South Park," and complemented by the musical prowess of Tony, Oscar, Grammy and Emmy Award winner Robert Lopez, the songwriter behind "Avenue Q and Frozen," The Book of Mormon is directed by the renowned director Casey Nicholaw.
The fascinating thing about "The Book of Mormon" is that even after attending seventy-four performances, I still discover something new each time. It is ironic how the play brilliantly displays the peculiar beliefs of the Mormon religion, which I once considered normal. Concepts like God residing on a planet named Kolob, the Garden of Eden being in Jackson County, Missouri, and that in 1978 God changed his mind about Black people.
But my biggest takeaway from this play? It truly is a beautiful story. A story that will make you laugh so hard and make you think about what matters most. It portrays how individuals from diverse cultures, races, and nations can unite and form a remarkable bond and sense of community. It is a community characterized by acceptance, love, a touch of mischief, and above all, equality.
The play begins with two young Mormon missionaries, two white boys, find themselves paired up and dispatched to Uganda. Kevin Clay delivers a masterful portrayal as Elder Price. If an Osmond and a Romney were to have a love child, it would be Kevin Clay.
As Price longs for a more glamorous locale such as Orlando. His missionary companion, Elder Cunningham, played by Cody Jamison Strand, exudes a sense of enthusiasm, grateful for any assignment he is given. Price and Cunningham’s contrasting emotions of disappointment and eagerness are bundled together as they are sent off to the country of Uganda.
Upon reaching Uganda, they encounter villagers grappling with the harsh realities of AIDS, drought, disease, and oppressive rulers. Despite facing numerous challenges, the villagers find solace in sharing their beloved uplifting song, "Hasa Diga Eebowai." Led by Mafala Hatimbi (the incomparable Jaques Smith), this number is initially reminiscent of something from "The Lion King," the song serves as a symbol of resilience amidst adversity. As life continues to pummel them, this song becomes their source of solace. With their trademark Mormon enthusiasm, Price and Cunningham enthusiastically join in, only to discover the true meaning behind the seemingly uplifting tune - "F--k you, God." It is a jarring introduction to the harsh realities of the world they have entered.
At their shared missionary apartment (which ironically has a sign on the front door that says, “No Soliciting.”) Price and Cunningham meet a spirited group of fellow missionaries, all white boys and led by their district leader Elder McKinley (PJ Adzima), This group of Elders have not achieved much during their time in Uganda - no baptisms, nothing to even close.
However, they do possess one unique asset: their own musical anthem to navigate moments of uncertainty and doubt. "Turn It Off" presents a vibrant and energetic musical piece that humorously explores the Mormon tradition of suppressing emotions and urges. Elder McKinley leads the song, instructing fellow missionaries on the art of "turning off" undesirable feelings through a catchy and engaging chorus. The performance captivates with its visually appealing choreography, prompting toe-tapping and an introduction to our friend “Steve Blade.” Actor PJ Adzima delivers a standout portrayal of Elder McKinley, showcasing impeccable comedic timing and impressive vocal skills that always leave me with just a huge smile.
The narrative unfolds into a love story where Price and Cunningham navigate their own journeys independently. Price attempts to evade his destiny, while Cunningham adopts a more reckless approach to his missionary work. Strand, who portrays Cunningham, displays surprising athleticism (especially in “Man Up”) and non-stop hilarity with every line he delivers. Meanwhile, the villagers grapple with the dilemma and intrigue of embracing the Book of Mormon, as preached by Cunningham and his imagination, while also contending with the daily threats to their survival from General Butt F--k king Naked (Derrick Williams), who wants to control the villagers by threatening violence and performing circumcision on all the women. Williams crushes it with his unforgettable facial expressions and delivers one of the funniest lines at the end of the show.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the Ugandan village stands Nabulungi (portrayed by Kim Exum), a character characterized by her beauty and open-mindedness. Elder Cunningham frequently struggles to recall her name correctly, often referring to her by comical and absurd aliases such as Nissan Altima or Neutrogena. Cunningham puts his own creative spin on the teachings of the Book of Mormon, incorporating elements from various pop culture references like Star Trek and Star Wars. Despite the humorous misunderstandings, Nabulungi demonstrates her willingness to embrace Cunningham's interpretation, leading to her successful “baptism” into the faith. The double entendre number “Baptize Me” (my personal favorite) is the perfect blend of innocence and mischief which demonstrates the beauty of humor and human connection. Through her enthusiasm, Nabulungi helps recruit as many as twenty new converts, solidifying Cunningham's status as a hero among the other Elders which is beautifully celebrated in the number “I am Africa.”
Exum is truly spectacular as Nabulungi with her angelic voice that gives me Whitney Houston vibes (seriously, she is that good) in numbers like "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" and the only truly solemn moment in "Book of Mormon, “Exum presents a poignant reprise of "Hasa Diga Eebowai" that is infused with deep sorrow and disillusionment that just hits perfectly.
The show marches towards the end with memorable musical numbers like “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream,” “I Believe,” and “Joseph Smith, the American Moses.” "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" presents a lively and engaging musical sequence set in hell. This song showcases a cast of demonic figures, from a horned devil to dancing Starbucks cups, and cameos from Genghis Khan, Jeffrey Dahmer, Adolf Hitler and even Johnny Cochrane. It offers a humorous and irreverent twist on traditional Broadway show tunes. Visually striking, the performance features devilish costumes and makeup, effectively portraying the characters as residents of hell.
One of the standout moments in The Book of Mormon musical is the song "I Believe." In this pivotal scene, Elder Price faces the daunting challenge of confronting General Butt Fu--ing Naked who threatens the Ugandan village. To stop the warlord from perpetuating evil, Elder Price resolves to convert him to Mormonism. As the song unfolds, Elder Price gathers the courage and conviction needed for his mission. Throughout "I Believe," he passionately articulates the core beliefs of Mormonism, aiming to persuade the warlord to embrace his faith. However, the beliefs Elder Price emphasizes become increasingly unconventional and outlandish as the song progresses like the aforementioned “I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about Black people!”
This is Kevin Clay’s signature moment as Elder Price in the production and he delivers every time. Adding to the brilliance of this number is the interaction between Clay and Derrick Williams (The General), they compliment each other seamlessly throughout the number.
"Joseph Smith American Moses" offers a witty and thought-provoking take on the life of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, as interpreted by the Ugandan characters narrated with whimsical charm by Exum. This song is a clever homage to classic musical theater numbers, featuring a lively ensemble of performers who sing and dance their way through Smith's life story, and it is arguably the funniest moment in the show.
The show smoothly transitions into its finale, which I will not spoil but simply describe as "something incredible." However, what truly shines in the heart and soul of the production is its talented supporting cast. This diverse group, led by original cast members John Eric Parker and Lewis Cleale, steals the spotlight at every turn. Parker's commanding presence, both in stature and vocal prowess, is highlighted magnificently in the finale, leaving a lasting impression on the audience. Cleale delivers a remarkable performance, seamlessly portraying multiple roles including Joseph Smith, the Mission President, Elder Price's Dad, and even Jesus Christ himself.
Among the ensemble, Darius Nichols captivates the audience with his comedic brilliance, eliciting laughter with every line he delivers. Stoney Mootoo follows suit, earning chuckles from the audience with her humorous performance and proving her versatility as an exceptional dancer. Mootoo, a native New Yorker advocates for “trusting your gift” on her social media-and her gift shows in the production. Jasmine Richardson delights as Mrs. Brown and Sister Kimbe delivering great enthusiasm and impressive vocal chops of her own. The Mormon missionary ensemble also delivers standout performances, with Henry McGinnis displaying his talent by portraying three distinct characters: a Mormon missionary, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Yoda (his Yoda voice is something to behold). Special mention goes to John Kramer, who wins the award for looking most Mormon and whose portrayal of Elder Pop Tarts steals the spotlight in the memorable number "Turn It Off." And a nod to Daniel Fetter who gives the most amazing “Hello” in the opening number and steps in admirably as an understudy for Elder Price when needed.
What is even more impressive is that the show is evolving. In an article by Michael Paulson from The New York Times, it was reported that "The Book of Mormon," a musical comedy by the creators of "South Park," recently underwent significant revisions prompted by calls from Black members of its cast to reassess its content. The show, originally featuring two white missionaries attempting to convert souls in an Ugandan village facing various challenges, including AIDS and a warlord, was subject to scrutiny for its portrayal of African and Black identities.
The concerns expressed by actors, including Arbender J. Robinson, in a letter to the creative team urged a reconsideration of the show's themes and characters in light of evolving societal perspectives. This initiative reflects a broader trend in the theater industry, where productions are revisiting their content mid-run to address issues of race and representation.
The revisions made to "The Book of Mormon" included elevating the main Black female character Nabulungi and refining the satire to avoid reinforcing stereotypes. Changes ranged from subtle adjustments to more overt alterations, such as giving the Ugandan villagers greater agency and removing jokes that could be construed as culturally insensitive. For instance, a scene involving a typewriter was replaced with one featuring an iPad, shifting the focus from the character's perceived lack of sophistication to a commentary on the pitfalls of social media. According to Derrick Williams, a cast member since 2014 who also supported the revisions, there is a delicate balance between satire and offensiveness that must be maintained. The changes made throughout the show aim to sharpen the satire of Mormonism while placing Uganda and its inhabitants at the forefront of the narrative.
The revisions to "The Book of Mormon" reflect a broader industry-wide effort to address concerns about representation and cultural sensitivity, acknowledging the evolving social landscape and the responsibility of artists to engage with these issues thoughtfully and respectfully. What is important to recognize here is that the show changed....in a good way. The Mormon Church might want to adopt this same way of thinking by acknowledging their past mistakes by simply stating: “We’re sorry and we will fix it.”
However, at its core, the show is a musical comedy that does not claim to offer definitive solutions to these complex issues. Nonetheless, these criticisms pale in comparison to what the play truly is and that is a beautiful love story by the best performers in the industry.
The exceptional performances in the show function as a balm for my spirit. With each burst of laughter and every catchy melody, I find solace from my past Mormon experiences. I have moments of clarity where I realize that this story depicts a journey from defiance towards God to gratitude, as reflected in the powerful refrain: "Thank you God Ma'hanibu eebowai!" It sends shivers down my spine every time.
I invite all of you to come to the Eugene O’Neil Theater and witness a play that is a testament to the transformative power of unity and acceptance, as individuals from diverse backgrounds come together and learn to love and embrace each other despite what the world and other religions say. Oh yeah, you will laugh too...a lot. And what do “I believe” now? ... My code of conduct today is quite simplistic; I never have the right to hurt another human being. The question I ask myself with each new day is, do I have a good heart, and do I do what I do with love and with compassion? I feel free now, free from the box, free from believing that I am right and that everyone else is wrong.
I believe in being a decent human being. I believe in joy; I believe in laughter, and I believe in the power of the human spirit. Everything else, I will figure out tomorrow... because tomorrow is a latter day. And no.... I do not have maggots in my scrotum. Richard McDonald is the Chief Strategy Officer for EGXFuels, a green energy company. Richard resides in the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his daughter, Emma. They attend The Book of Mormon often.

Barred From Each Other: Why Normative Husbands Remain Married to Incarcerated Wives—An Exploratory Study – page 4
References
Accordino, M. P., & Guerney, B., Jr. (1998). An evaluation of the relationship enhancement®
program with prisoners and their wives. International Journal of Offender Therapy and
Comparative Criminology, 42, 5-15.
Adams, J. M., & Jones, W. H. (1997). The conceptualization of marital commitment: An inte-
grative analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1177-1196.
Agnew, R. (2005). Why do criminals offend? A general theory of crime and delinquency. Los
Angeles, CA: Roxbury.
Bahr, S. J., Harris, L., Fisher, J. K., & Armstrong, A. H. (2010). Successful reentry. International
Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 54, 667-692.
Beck, A., & Shipley, B. (1989). Recidivism of prisoners released in 1983. Washington, DC:
Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Ben Avraham, H. (2012). Prisoners’ conjugation. Retrieved from http://www.shabas.gov.il/
Nrdonlyres/765524A8-206E-43BC-A197-1B49E488D3D1/0/etyakdotasirim.pdf
Bobbitt, M., & Nelson, M. (2004). The front line: Building programs that recognize families’
role in reentry. New York, NY: Vera Institute of Justice, State Sentencing and Corrections
Program.
Booth, A., Johnson, D. R., White, L., & Edwards, J. N. (1984). Women, outside employment,
and marital instability. American Journal of Sociology, 90, 567-583.
Boswell, G., & Wedge, P. (2002). Imprisoned fathers and their children. London, England:
Jessica Kingsley Publishing.
Bradley, J. (1993). Methodological issues and practices in qualitative research. Library
Quarterly, 63, 431-449.
Braman, D. (2004). Doing time on the outside: Incarceration and family life in urban America.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Briggs, C. L. (1986). Learning how to ask: A sociolinguistic appraisal of the role of the inter-
view in social science research. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.
Bruner, J. (2003). Making stories: Law, literature, life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Burr, G. (1998). Contextualizing critical care family needs through triangulation: An Australian
study. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 14, 161-169.
Christian, J. (2005). Riding the bus barriers to prison visitation and family management strate-
gies. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21, 31-48.
Christian, J., Mellow, J., & Thomas, S. (2006). Social and economic implications of family con-
nections to prisoners. Journal of Criminal Justice, 34, 443-452.
Chui, W. H. (2010). Pains of imprisonment: Narratives of the women partners and children of
the incarcerated. Child & Family Social Work, 15, 196-205.
Clements, R., & Swensen, C. H. (2000). Commitment to one’s spouse as a predictor of marital
quality among older couples. Current Psychology, 19, 110-119.
Comfort, M. (2007). Punishment beyond the legal offender. Annual Review of Law & Social
Science, 3, 271-296.
Comfort, M. (2008). Doing time together: Love and family in the shadow of the prison. Chicago,
IL: University of Chicago Press.
Delgado, M. (2012). Prisoner reentry at work: Adding business to the mix. Boulder, CO: Lynne
Rienner Publishers.
Dodge, M., & Pogrebin, M. R. (2001). Collateral costs of imprisonment for women:
Complications of reintegration. The Prison Journal, 81, 42-54.
Dorval, M., Guay, S., Mondor, M., Mâsse, B., Falardeau, M., Robidoux, A., & Maunsell, E.
(2005). Couples who get closer after breast cancer: Frequency and predictors in a prospec-
tive investigation. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 23, 3588-3596.
Eggenberger, S. K., & Nelms, T. P. (2007). Being family: The family experience when an adult
member is hospitalized with a critical illness. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 16, 1618-1628.
Einat, T., & Chen, G. (2010). To be silent or not to be silent—this is the question: Gossip and
informers among female-prison inmates. Glimpse to Prison, 13, 15-31.
Einat, T., & Chen, G. (2012). Female inmates’ perspectives toward consensual same-sex sex-
ual relationships in an Israeli prison. International Journal of Comparative and Applied
Criminal Justice, 36, 25-44.
Einat, T., & Rabinovitz, S. (2013). A warm touch in a cold cell: Inmates’ views on conjugal
visits in a maximum-security women’s prison in Israel. International Journal of Offender
Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 57, 1522-1545.
Enticott, G. (2011). Techniques of neutralising wildlife crime in rural England and Wales.
Journal of Rural Studies, 27, 200-208.
Faith, K. (1993). Unruly women: The politics of confinement and resistance. Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada: Press Gang Publishers.
Farkas, M. A., & Rand, K. R. L. (1999). Sex matters: A gender-specific standard for cross-
gender searches of inmates. Women & Criminal Justice, 10, 31-55.
Farrington, D. P., & West, D. (1995). Effects of marriage, separation and children on offending
by adult males. In J. Hagan (Ed.), Current perspectives on aging and the life cycle, Vol.
4: Delinquency and disrepute in the life course (pp. 249-281). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Fishman, L. T. (1988). Prisoners and their wives: Marital and domestic effects of telephone
contacts and home visits. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative
Criminology, 32, 55-65.
Fletcher, G. J. O., & Kerr, P. S. G. (2010). Through the eyes of love: Reality and illusion in
intimate relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 627-658.
Florian, V., Mikulincer, M., & Hirschberger, G. (2002). The anxiety-buffering function of close
relationships: Evidence that relationship commitment acts as a terror management mecha-
nism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 527-542.
Geller, A., Garfinkel, I., & Western, B. (2011). Paternal incarceration and support for children
in fragile families. Demography, 48, 25-47.
Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime, and desistance:
Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 990-
1064.
Girshick, L. B. (1992). Stand by your man: A study of wives of prisoners (Doctoral dissertation).
Boston College, MA.
Girshick, L. B. (1996). Soledad women: Wives of prisoners speak out. Westport, CT: Praeger
Publishers.
Goffman, A. (2009). On the run: Wanted men in a Philadelphia ghetto. American Sociological
Review, 74, 339-357.
Goffman, E. (1961). Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. New
York, NY: Anchor Books.
at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 12, 2016ijo.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Golafshani, N. (2003). Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research. Qualitative
Report, 8, 597-607.
Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press.
Greenfeld, L., & Snell, T. (2000). Women offenders. Washington, DC: US Department of
Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Greer, K. R. (2000). The changing nature of interpersonal relationships in a women’s prison.
The Prison Journal, 80, 442-468.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
Gunnison, E., & Helfgott, J. (2013). Offender reentry: Beyond crime and punishment. Boulder,
CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Hagan, J., & Dinovitzer, R. (1999). Collateral consequences of imprisonment for children, com-
munities, and prisoners. Crime and Justice, 26, 121-162.
Hairston, C. F. (1991). Family ties during imprisonment: Important to whom and for what.
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 18, 87-104.
Hairston, C. F., & Addams, J. (2001). Prisoners and families: Parenting issues during incar-
ceration. Chicago: University of Illinois.
Hamlin, B., & Lewis, D. (2000). Women prisoners: A survey of their work and training experi-
ences in custody and on release (Home Office Research Study No. 208). London, England:
Home Office, Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
Hawkins, A., Carroll, J., Doherty, W., & Wiloughby, B. (2004). A comprehensive framework
for marriage education. Family Relations, 53, 547-558.
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Koscheski, M. (2002). The characteristics and motivations
behind female prison sex. Women & Criminal Justice, 13, 125-139.
Hill, M. S. (1988). Marital stability and spouses’ shared time: A multidisciplinary hypothesis.
Journal of Family Issues, 9, 427-451.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Holt, N., & Miller, D. (1972). Explorations in inmate-family relationships. Sacramento:
California Department of Corrections.
Horney, J., Osgood, D. W., & Marshall, I. H. (1995). Criminal careers in the short-term:
Intra-individual variability in crime and its relation to local life circumstances. American
Sociological Review, 60, 655-673.
Huston, T. L., Caughlin, J. P., Houts, R. M., Smith, S. E., & George, L. J. (2001). The connubial
crucible: Newlywed years as predictors of marital delight, distress, and divorce. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 237-252.
Israel Prison Service. (2012). Legal strategies. Retrieved from http://www.shabas.gov.il/
Shabas/ODOT/Strategic+justice
Jiang, S., & Winfree, L. T., Jr. (2006). Social support, gender, and inmate adjustment to prison
life insights from a national sample. The Prison Journal, 86, 32-55.
Johnson, B. R. (1997). Examining the validity structure of qualitative research. Education, 118,
282-292.
Kiser, G. C. (1991). Female inmates and their families. Federal Probation, 55, 56-63.
Klenowski, P. M., Copes, H., & Mullins, C. W. (2011). Gender, identity, and accounts: How
white collar offenders do gender when making sense of their crimes. Justice Quarterly, 28,
46-69.
Kurlychek, M., & Kempinen, C. (2006). Beyond boot camp: The impact of aftercare on offender
reentry. Criminology & Public Policy, 5, 363-388.
Langan, P., & Cunniff, M. (1992). Recidivism of felons on probation, 1986-1989. Washington,
DC: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Langan, P., & Levin, D. (2002). Recidivism of prisoners released in 1994. Washington, DC: US
Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Laub, J. H., Nagin, D. S., & Sampson, R. J. (1998). Trajectories of change in criminal offending:
Good marriages and the desistance process. American Sociological Review, 63, 225-238.
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1993). Turning points in the life course: Why change matters to
the study of crime. Criminology, 31, 310-325.
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2001). Understanding desistance from crime. In M. Tonry
(Ed.), Crime and justice: An annual review of research (Vol. 28, pp. 1-69). Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
La Vigne, N., Visher, C., & Castro, J. (2004). Chicago prisoners’ experiences returning home.
Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Lopoo, L. M., & Western, B. (2005). Incarceration and the formation and stability of marital
unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 721-734.
Mace, D. R. (1982). Close companions: The marriage enrichment handbook. New York, NY:
Continuum.
MacKenzie, D. L., Robinson, J. W., & Campbell, C. S. (1995). Long-term incarceration of female
offenders: Prison adjustment and coping. In T. A. Flanagan (Ed.), Long term imprisonment:
Policy, science, and correctional practice (pp. 128-137). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Mackey, R. A., & O’Brien, B. A. (1995). Lasting marriages: Men and women growing together.
Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Maner, J. K., Rouby, D. A., & Gonzaga, G. C. (2008). Automatic inattention to attractive
alternatives: The evolved psychology of relationship maintenance. Evolution and Human
Behavior, 29, 343-349.
Maruna, S. (2001). Making good: How ex-convicts reform and rebuild their lives. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
Maruna, S., & Toch, H. (2005). The impact of imprisonment on the desistance process. In
J. Travis & C. Visher (Eds.), Prison reentry and crime in America (pp. 139-178). New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Massoglia, M., Remster, B., & King, R. D. (2011). Stigma or separation? Understanding the
incarceration-divorce relationship. Social Forces, 90, 133-155.
McAdams, D. P. (1985). Power, intimacy and the life story: Personological inquiries into iden-
tity. New York, NY: Guilford.
McGowan, B. G., & Blumenthal, K. L. (1978). Why punish the children? A study of children of
women prisoners. Hackensack, NJ: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Meeks, B. S., Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (1998). Communication, love and relationship
satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 755-773.
Mikulincer, M., Florian, V., & Hirschberger, G. (2003). The existential function of close rela-
tionships: Introducing death into the science of love. Personality and Social Psychology
Review, 7, 20-40.
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new meth-
ods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Mumola, C. J. (2000). Incarcerated parents and their children (Bureau of Justice Statistics
Special Report). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996a). The benefits of positive illusions:
Idealization and the construction of satisfaction in close relationships. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 70, 79-98.
Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996b). The self-fulfilling nature of positive
illusions in romantic relationships: Love is not blind, but prescient. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 71, 1155-1180.
Neuendorf, K. A. (2001). The content analysis guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Nurse, A. M. (2002). Fatherhood arrested: Parenting from within the juvenile justice system.
Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Pelka-Slugocka, M., & Slugocki, L. (1980). The impact of imprisonment on the family life of
women convicts. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,
24, 249-259.
Petersilia, J. (2003). When prisoners come home: Parole and prisoner reentry. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Pogrebin, M. (2002). Qualitative approaches to criminal justice: Perspectives from the field.
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Pollock-Byrne, J. M. (1990). Women, prison, and crime. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks.
Rindfuss, R. R., & Stephen, E. H. (1990). Marital noncohabitation: Separation does not make
the heart grow fonder. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 259-270.
Rodriguez, N., & Brown, B. (2003). Preventing homelessness among people leaving prison.
New-York, NY: Vera Institute of Justice.
Rubin, I. S., & Rubin, H. J. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand
Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Sabatelli, R. M., & Cecil-Pigo, E. F. (1985). Relational interdependence and commitment in
marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47, 931-937.
Scott, M. B., & Lyman, S. M. (1968). Accounts. American Sociological Review, 33, 46-62.
Sergin, C., & Flora, J. (2005). Family communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Severance, T. A. (2005a). The prison lesbian revisited. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social
Services, 17, 39-57.
Severance, T. A. (2005b). You know who you can go to: Cooperation and exchange between
incarcerated women. The Prison Journal, 85, 343-367.
Shapiro, C. (2003, September). Families: A critical resource for New Jersey’s prisoner reentry
strategy. A paper prepared for the New Jersey Institute of Social Justice, Newark.
Sharlin, S. A. (1996). Long-term successful marriages in Israel. Contemporary Family Therapy,
18, 225-242.
Silverman, D. (1993). Interpreting qualitative data: Methods for analyzing talk, text, and inter-
action. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Sobel, S. B. (1982). Difficulties experienced by women in prison. Psychology of Women
Quarterly, 7, 107-118.
Sokolski, D. M., & Hendrick, S. S. (1999). Fostering marital satisfaction. Family Therapy, 26,
39-49.
Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). Terror management theory of self-
esteem. In C. R. Snyder & D. Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology:
The health perspective (pp. 21-40). New York, NY: Pergamon Press.
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Stanton, A. M. (1980). When mothers go to jail. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Stenbacka, C. (2001). Qualitative research requires quality concepts of its own. Management
Decision, 39, 551-555.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures
and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 12, 2016ijo.sagepub.comDownloaded from
Suchman, L., & Jordan, B. (1990). Interactional troubles in face-to-face survey interviews.
Journal of the American Statistical Association, 85, 232-241.
Surra, C. A., Arizzi, P., & Asmussen, L. A. (1988). The association between reasons for com-
mitment and the development and outcome of marital relationships. Journal of Social and
Personal Relationships, 5, 47-63.
Swisher, R. R., & Waller, M. R. (2008). Confining fatherhood incarceration and paternal
involvement among nonresident white, African American, and Latino fathers. Journal of
Family Issues, 29, 1067-1088.
Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency.
American Sociological Review, 22, 664-670.
Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools. New York, NY: The
Palmer Press.
Tewksbury, R. (2005). Collateral consequences of sex offenders registration. Journal of
Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21, 67-81.
Thompson, C., & Loper, A. B. (2005). Adjustment patterns in incarcerated women: An analysis
of differences based on sentence length. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 32, 714-732.
Travis, J., McBride, E. C., & Solomon, A. L. (2003). Families left behind: The hidden costs of
incarceration and reentry. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
Turney, K., & Wildeman, C. (2012). Redefining relationships: Countervailing consequences of
paternal incarceration for parenting (Working Paper). New Haven, CT: Yale University.
Vaillant, G. E. (1995). The natural history of alcoholism revisited. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Visher, C. A., & Travis, J. (2003). Transitions from prison to community: Understanding indi-
vidual pathways. Annual Review of Sociology, 29, 89-113.
Von Fremd, M. (2006). Katrina babies crowd New Orleans hospitals: Potential baby boom
noted by doctors nine months after hurricane hit. ABCNews.com. Retrieved from http://
abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id_2248604
Walker, N. (1983). Side-effects of incarceration. British Journal of Criminology, 23, 61-71.
Ward, L. (2001). Transition from custody to community: Transitional support for people leaving
prison. A Report Paper for the Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner. Victoria,
Australia: Office of the Correctional Services Commissioner.
Weber, R. P. (2001). Basic content analysis (Vol. 49). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
Western, B., & Wildeman, C. (2009). The black family and mass incarceration. ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 621, 221-242.
Wildeman, C., Schnittker, J., & Turney, K. (2012). Despair by association? The mental health
of mothers with children by recently incarcerated fathers. American Sociological Review,
77, 216-243.

For the past 22 years I have been dreading taking the AP chem exam and now it’s finally over. I got home and took a nap and for once I didn’t see Lewis structures floating in my head and acid base titrations everywhere. I no longer have nightmares about the exam and only have nightmares about ap stats.

I know there has to be some key fundamental thing I’m misunderstanding that is clouding my vision of drawing proper Lewis structures involving hydrogen and I need to figure out what it is.
I do not understand why when you draw a Lewis structure of say, NH3, hydrogen has a full valence shell with only a single bond with nitrogen. Because in that instance the single bond is essentially counting for 2 valence electron slots on hydrogen and one valence electron slot on nitrogen which does not make sense to me.
It makes a lot more sense to me when dealing with CO2 for example, where the double bond on either side of carbon accounts for 2 valence electrons in carbons shell and 2 valence electrons in oxygens shell.
To me, with my current understanding (which I know is wrong) I just don’t understand how with only a single bond in NH3, hydrogen’s valence shell is considered full. How can it share an electron with a spot on nitrogen’s valence shell and use that shared pair also for its 2 valence electron slots. Is it not sharing electrons between three valence slots technically?
Please help me understand what key thing I’m not getting here/ the conceptual component I’m not grasping.

I like to do wrestling related book reports, and in the past, this sub responded really well to my posts. Again, though, if y'all feel like this isn't the kind of content for this sub, let me know, and I'll post elsewhere.
Very, very short book that didn't detail too much, with a large portion being Billy just ranting on the history of wrestling or fighting.
As always, I attempted to keep to chronological order of events, even though Billy didn't tell a lot of this in order, and he never dated any story.
(Note: the number of guys named "Billy" in this post is just unreal and gave me a headache)
Billy describes how his dad, grandfather, uncle, and great-grandfather were all world-class boxers or fighters. He says his father taught him a ton of things to do in a fight and even underhanded tactics, like using a pencil to defend himself. Billy says a 4H pencil had the toughest lead that you could sharpen out and use as a weapon. The best part was that it wasn't classified as a weapon, so you could avoid the jail time that came with having knives.
Billy describes running home from school as 3 boys chased him. When he got home, crying, his dad asked him what was going on. After Billy explained, his dad said, "You can either fight the 3 of them or fight me." Billy chose the 3 boys, and his dad went with him to make sure the fights were 1 on 1. After Billy beat up the 1st two kids, the third one wanted none of it. Billy says this was the first time he saw his dad was proud of him.
Billy dreamed of being a pro boxer, but one day, as a child, he was struck in the eye by a metal sign that some other kids were playing with and severely tore his retina. He spent 6 weeks in the hospital, and his boxing dreams were over.
Billy's uncle wanted him to try out pro wrestling because it was popular in the 60s, but Billy's dad wanted him to do amature wrestling, though it wasn't as lucrative as pro wrestling. Eventually, Billy was brought to a local YMCA where he started to train amature.
Before long, Billy's dad relented and took him to Billy Riley's gym, the same place that Karl Gotch trained and that Dynamite Kid would go train at as well. Billy even met John Foley there, who would go on to be a feared shooter and manage Dynamite Kid in Stampede Wrestling. Though if that's the only place you know John Foley from, then you won't have a high opinion of him.
John Foley was a legit bad ass shooter for most of his career, who was known to take liberties with guys. By the time he got to Stampede Wrestling, though, he was an old timer who was more known as a drunk who everyone ribbed. One story suggests where he lost his nerve, and that would be the time he was being a little too physical in the ring with Lanny and Randy Poffo, prompting their dad Angelo came to the ring, and all 3 Poffo men beat the living shit out of Foley. Bret Hart says he "never lived it down."
Billy says the best match he ever saw was a "friendly" sparring contest between Jack Dempsey and John Foley that left both men with black eyes, broken noses and blood coming out of their ears and mouths. Billy says they were still close friends after.
Billy calls shoot fighting/grappling "physical chess," and he spent 12 years learning this at Reilly's Gym, also known as the Snake Pit.
Billy learned "catch-as-catch-can" (or Greco-Roman) wrestling in The Snake Pit from Charlie Carrol.
Charlie Carrol was 55 years old and 155 pounds to Billy's 6 foot 2, 190 pound 17 year old, but Charlie hurt Billy every single time they sparred. Billy says that Charlie kept him humble.
Billy puts over modern MMA fighters but says the best modern MMA fighter couldn't hold a candle to a mediocre 1930s catch wrestler.
It's not a long book, but a significant section early on is just Billy going over the history of catch fighting and amateur wrestling all the way back to the 1800s. He complains that modern amateur wrestling is all about power and maneuvering for points and says he doesn't even watch the Olympics anymore. It's actually super fascinating as he details various amature techniques used in different Olympic competitions and where they originated from.
He tells a story of how when he was a teenager, his coach Billy Riley (who was 55 years old) would walk with him down the street and often try to grapple with Billy or show him some maneuver right there and Billy says people would stare at them like they were homosexuals and says it was so embarrassing. At the time, homosexuality was illegal in England.
Billy Robinson is critical of modern coaching, which he says consists of the coach giving a ton of positive feedback. Billy Robinson won multiple amature championship tournaments and bouts but never heard a good word from Billy Riley. When Billy Robinson won his first amature world title, he remembered Riley saying, "That was good." Riley would later explain that it wasn't his job to tell Robinson what was good, but it was his job to tell Robinson what was wrong and where he can correct himself. Interesting take on coaching.
In 1956, Billy placed 3rd at the nationals for amature wrestling. In 1957, he won the nationals tournament! Riley told Billy Robinson, "You've won all the cups and the medals. Why don't you take me out and buy me a steak dinner?" When Billy Robinson said he couldn't afford to, Riley said to him, "It just goes to show you kid, you can't buy steak with medals. It's time you turned pro."
Billy says he regrets not putting pro wrestling off another couple of years. He thinks he should have been amature wrestling in the Olympics. He beat everyone who eventually wrestled on the Brittish team, and he thought he could have won a medal.
Billy turned pro at 19 years old and was asked to help get pro wrestling going in Sweden. The problem was that the Sweden Olympic amature wrestling team wouldn't allow it unless the pros proved they were legit and could beat them in an amateur contest. Billy beat them all, including Alex Gronburg, a 2 time Olympic champion and former world champion, and Gosta Andersson, who quit after a minute, saying, "Hey, it's too dangerous for us."
Billy Robinson asked to go to Spain and wrestle for a new promotion, but as he was getting ready to leave, his coach Billy Riley warned him that if he worked for that company he would be black balled out of most major European wrestling companies. Robinson told Riley that he had given his word, and he said this was the first time he ever went against Riley's suggestion.
It didn't matter because Billy said the Spain promotion fizzled out before he even got there, but no one told him, and he flew to Spain for no reason.
He ended up staying in Spain, living with someone Billy referred to as "the English professor" who introduced him to people like Earnist Hemmingway and Sophia Loren and got Billy work in a movie
One day, the professor told Billy that his name was in the newspaper, and sure enough, Billy was being advertised in a new wrestling promotion. When Billy called them, he was informed that they had a job for him. For 2 years, 1960-1961, Billy wrestled in Spain and made a name for himself.
Billy would wrestle in tournaments and other tours during this time as well, in places like Germany and Belgium.
It was at these tournaments when Billy started noticing guys wanting to train with him and only him. Billy days. "It was odd!"
Billy loved zoos and had opinions on the good ones. He says he could spend all day just watching gorillas
Billy says he didn't like France much, saying that compared to places like Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, France was pretty dirty and gross back then.
Billy seems to have loved Lebanon the most, and being a huge history buff, Billy goes on a tangent about the history of Lebanon.
Billy wrestled in India in 1962, and on the way back, he stopped in Lebabon right before a war broke out, and he had to quickly escape.
Billy says his father told him that he should pretend to not know English when traveling and not be identified as an English speaking person. He said this advice helped him his whole life while traveling.
The first time Billy got to India, he was shocked at the poverty and state of it. He remembers seeing dead animals all over the place and people sleeping in the streets among rats. Billy also puts over India and a big wrestling country and said he had a good time there.
Billy says he was fortunate to wrestle the original Dara Singh. Dara Singh was a huge name in India, and he eventually went to prison for killing 3 men. He did it because those 3 men killed his brother, so it was a revenge killing. Years later, he would be pardoned and released. This is when Billy beat him in India.
In India, it was legitimately against the law for a Muslim to wrestle against a Hindu, so the Muslim community "adopted" Billy Robinson as their guy to fight the Hundu guys. It's pretty fascinating imo.
After India, Billy wrestled in Napal and said he had a great time, even wrestling private matches for the King of Napal.
While in Napal, Billy was ribbed into approaching a live leopard and says it was the first time in his life that he ever felt fear.
Billy even helped some Americans set up a play for the King of Napal, where Billy was the stage manager and even took a couple of bumps on the hard wood floor. He says the King loved it so much that he called for an encore, so Billy had to do the painful bump again.
Billy recalls one time in Napal, a local accidently hit and killed a cow with his truck. Since cows were sacred, the man was killed right there, and his body hung from a lamppost.
While in Germany wrestling a tournament that was cross promoting with a ten pin bowling competition, Billy met his future wife Ursula. She was working on the bowling side and Billy on the wrestling side. Billy says when their eyes first locked, he was in the ring, and she was in the front row. Billy says, "It was the beginning of the end, for my single days." 18 months later she came to England and they got married.
Billy says he played some charity bowling games against the Beatles in the early 60s.
Dave Ruhl was an extremely popular face in Stampede Wrestling out of Calgary, and through his uncle Ray Steele, Dave got ahold of Billy and invited him to Calgary Billy says Stampede promoter Stu Hart saw Billy wrestle one match and then invite Billy to come to Stampede Wrestling.
While backstage at one of his first Stampede shows, he saw a bunch of big gues in the dressing room talking. Through eavesdropping, he heard them talking about football and asked them if they were wrestlers or football players. They said football players, and so Billy insisted they leave the dressing room. Things got tense and heated, but eventually, Billy made it clear that if they didn't leave, he would remove them. He says they all scurried out of the room and notes that one of them was a young Wayne Coleman, the future "Superstar" Billy Graham.
After reading Billy Graham's book, it's clear that these two fucking hated eachother, with Graham calling Billy a bully who took liberties with less experienced guys in the ring. In Graham's book, he details how poorly Robinson treated him when their paths crossed in Stampede Wrestling. Graham's book made no mention of Billy kicking him out of a locker room nor the supposed contract with Verne that forbade Robinson from hurting Graham.
Down the line when Billy came to Minnesota, Billy Robinson claimes that Billy Graham insisted that Verne write up a contract that prohibited Billy Robinson and Billy Graham from squaring up. I don't know the validity of this claim, but Billy Robinson says Billy Graham was so scared that he only came to Minnesota with the guarantee that Robinson wouldn't hurt him.
This claim about a contract and Graham refusing to work with Robinson, might come from the time in Minnesota when Graham opted out of working with him in favor of Wahoo McDaniel. One time they were matched up and Graham approached Robinson backstage and made a show of wrapping razor blades in his taped up hands, warning Robinson that if he attempted to shoot on him, that Graham would "shred you from your face to the tip of your toes." This is all from Graham's book, with Billy making no mention of it.
In Bruce Hart's book, he tells a story about how they had The Stomper penciled in to challenge NWA World Champion Dory Funk Jr, but they had The Stomper face Billy Robinson 2 weeks prior. The two meshed so poorly that it devolved into an ugly shoot, with the fans chanting boring at them. Eventually The Stomper left and got counted out, before getting to the back and telling Stu he is quitting. They had no choice but to put Robinson in his place, and while the match was amazing and Robinson would be a good face for Stampede at the time, even Bruce calls him a bully and finishes it by saying "here's not to you Mr Robinson, there is no place in Heaven for those who prey."
After Billy wrestled Dory Funk Jr in an 1 hour draw, and after Dory invited Billy to the States to wrestle.
Before heading over to the States full time, Billy did tours in England, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia where he won the World title for a company that Jim Barnett was promoting.
Billy met Jack Brisco in Australia, shortly after winning the world title there. Billy remembers there first match together, saying that Jack was trying to show off a little too much so Billy said he showed him a simple catch hold that put poor Jack in the hospital for a couple days! Billy says the 2 became friends and calls him a good amateur wrestler and great guy.
Jack Brisco was the one who first told Billy about "shoot wrestlers" in the States. Billy never heard the term before but says a shooter is just another word for catch wrestling.
Billy mentions a rib that Jack Brisco and Dick Murdoch played on him during that Australia tour. Dick introduced Billy to chewing tobacco and purposely misinformed Billy on how to enjoy it. Billy swallowed the juice and vomiting all over the place.
Another time, Jack and Billy were up in Billy's hotel room all night, talking holds and even practicing them on one another. It was middle of the night, so Billy was in his underwear when Jack asked him to go get the newspaper from down the hall. The second Billy got in the hallway, Jack locked him out and made Billy sneak back to his room a few floors up in just his boxers. Billy said this was the nicest hotel in Australia, too.
Billy says he got his first taste of American pro wrestling in Hawaii, where he wrestled for several months. Every single guy who writes a wrestling book inevitably ends up doing a tour in Hawaii.
It was in Hawaii where Billy met Verne Gagne, who was "wrestling" a tour there, but really, Verne was on vacation and wrestling as a means to vacation for free. A lot of guys did that with Hawaii back in the day.
Billy and Verne wrestled a tag team match together, and after Verne made sure to watch how Billy was as a singles wrestler. Verne asked Billy to come back to the mainland in 1972.
Verne even asked Billy to train his son Greg, and they ended up inviting several other guys to a small wrestling camp. The group consisted of Verne's son Greg, Ric Flair, Ken Patera, Jim Bunzell (who would later team with Ken in AWA and be one half of the Killer Bee's in the WWE), Bob Bruggers (a former Miami Dophins linebacker), and Hossien Khosrow Vaziri (the future Iron Shiek).
An infamous story happened at this camp, early on, Shiek was the only one of the 6 who had amateur experience, and one day he was boasting to the others about how neither Verne or Billy could get him on his back in an amateur bout. Billy heard about this and challenged him immediately to spar. Shiek was successful in holding his stance on his knees, with Billy unable to turn him. So Billy viciously dropped his knee into Shiek's thigh, fucking him up bad. Then Billy casually rolled Shiek over and said "told you I could flip you."
Billy acknowledges Sheik as a very good amateur but says he has a big head a big mouth. He knew Shiek wasn't familiar with catch-as-catch-can, ankle submissions, neck cranks or double wristlocks and took advantage of him. Billy just casually says "I knelt on his thigh in a way we do. He couldn't walk for two days and couldn't work out at the camp for two weeks."
Billy remembers a match he did early on working for Verne, where a fan in the front row was being obnoxious and screaming at Billy all match. After the bout, Billy went and picked the fan up out of his seat and smacked him a few times and notes how the fan stayed quiet the rest of the show. When he got to the back he was chewed our by Verne who was afraid of a lawsuit. Billy says the fan ended up getting tickets to a future show.
In the middle of the book he goes on a rant about the history of how wrestling started in carnival tents and how champions made money. He calls Gorgeous George a "carnie wrestler" and credits him for accelerating the change in how the general audience looks at pro wrestlers. He resents the sentiment that all wrestlers are showmanship guys and puts over himself and others like Lou Thesz as legit tough guys. Billy is always putting over his skills as catch fighter in the book.
Billy says he and Lou Thesz became pretty good friends.
Billy says Lou Thesz would call Ed "Strangler" Louis as the best wrestler of all time, while Billy says he would call Billy Joyce the best of all time. But he says that Billy Joyce said that George Gregory was the best of all time.
Billy describes one time he wrestled Verne Gagne with Lou Thesz as the special referee. Billy says that he and Verne weren't getting along at this point, so throughout the match, Billy was sorta abusing Verne and taunting him the whole time. Billy says he kept turning to Lou and saying "Look at this Lou!" And "What do you think of this Lou?" As he took advantage of Verne. Eventually Lou piped up and said, "Jesus Billy, take it easy on him, he is the boss."
Ed "Strangler" Louise had an "open" contract, meaning that if you were matched up against him and wanted to shoot, Ed encouraged it. What a badass.
John Pesek was a wrestler with legit Olynpic credentials. John Pesek decided to shoot on Ed Lewis when Ed was very sick and had boils all over. It was a hard fight but Ed won. Lou Thesz resented Pesek for attempting this and even had him black balled by the NWA later in his career. Lou never forgave John for shooting on Ed when Ed was sick and never admitted Pesek was talented in any way. Billy clarifies that John Pesek was legitimate in the ring and tells this story as a way to show Lou Thesz power back in those days.
Ben Assirati was a freakishly strong guy who was known as a legit street fighter. Billy says he was a masochist who not only liked to hurt people in the ring, but also liked to get hurt, himself. Ben Assirati tried to start a rival promotion in England, and was challenged to a legitimate shoot fight by promoters (and world class ass kickers) George Gregory and Billy Joyce, but Ben turned them down. Of course, when Lou Thesz was NWA Champion and touring through England, Ben made a big show of challenging him beforehand and even got the newspapers to print about it. On the night of the show, Lou had police block the entrance and not let Ben in the arena. Billy tells this story as if Lou was turning down Ben's challenge for the way he turned down Gregory and Joyce. But Billy really puts over Ben Assirati as a scary guy in the ring and says that people actually died in the ring with Ben. Wild claim that I couldn't back up online, though there are a ton of stories to speak on Ben's notorioty in the ring.
In Lou Thesz memoir, he stated that he challenged Ben first multiple times and Ben refused all of them
Billy says that when he first got to the States, Lou Thesz and Karl Gotch were close friends who respected one another. But something happened that led to the two refusing to speak to one another.
Billy says a lot of old timers were hot heads, and gives an example of when his son was born. Billy named him Spencer after Winston Churchill, but Karl Gotch got angry at this and said it should have been a powerful name like Thor or something silly. Billy says that he and Karl nearly came to blows in the street over this. So whatever fractured the relationship between Gotch and Thesz, it was probably minor and petty.
When talking about modern wrestlers, Billy always refers to them in quotations. Like in his book he says "pro wrestlers" as if he is air quoting when talking about modern guys.
Billy says a big difference between wrestling in America vs England was how much guys talked in the ring in America (called spots). Billy says this never happens over seas and says he didn't call spots verbally.
Another big difference is how pay structure worked. In America it was all based on the house and what the promoter felt you earned. Over seas, Billy says he and the promoter would sit alone and discuss the pay prior to the match. Ticket sales were irrelevant, you always got paid what you agreed to. He says America is where all the backstabbing and politicking started in wrestling.
Billy says Danny Hodge was probably one of the most dangerous guys from his time wrestling and puts him over as one ofthe greatest American wrestlers ever.
Billy describes an interesting concept for wrestling promoters back in his day. Every promoter had what he called a "policman" wrestler. When a new guy came in and wanted to challenge the top draw, he would face this "policman" wrestler as the top draw or promoter watched closely. For example, if you were looking to challenge Lou Thesz, first you would face Ray Steele as Thesz watched and judged, then after he and Ray would talk about the guy together.
While working for Verne Gagne in the early 70s, Billy was asked to wrestle with a green as grass guy and Verne told Billy to go 10 minutes before he beat him. This baffled Billy and Verne had to explain its a taping and they need to put on a good show. Billy says he shouldn't have done that, especially considering how Verne would go on to screw with Billy's payoffs down the line.
Billy says he took the kid down at the 9 minute mark and stretched him, nearly breaking his elbow as he screamed and cried and tapped out. Billy says the guy gave an interview later and said pro wrestling is the nastiest and most dangerous sport there is. Billy chuckles at this but he took some rookie and killed any interest the kid had in wrestling while abusing him.
Billy tells a wild story about a short real fight he had with Peter Maivia in Japan. Billy, Peter and a few other guys were eating at a restaurant when Peter got upset at how the menu and ordering system worked. Peter got so worked up that Billy yelled at him to calm down. Later as Billy was walking towards his hotel, a drunk Peter Maivia approached Billy looking for a fight. Billy attempted to restrain him, telling Peter as he held him, "Peter stop it. I don't want to hurt you." But Peter in his enraged, drunken state goes to bite Billy in the neck! Billy, having been trained in self defense and combat like this, knew to tuck his chin to save his neck, but Peter still bit down hard and into Billy's face! Billy says he still had scars from this 40 or 50 years later! When blood started pouring down Billy's cheek, he snapped and laid out Peter with an unspecified number of strikes that left Peter with a broken nose and two black eyes. He says the fight lasted all of 15 seconds. Billy says he had to go to the hospital to get stitches and shot for a human bite.
The next morning, Billy nearly kicked Peter's door down and told Peter he is lucky to be alive. Billy points out how biting the neck is an attempt to kill him, so he gives Peter a chance to try again. A very sober Peter backed down immediately
Billy says he saw an interview on Tv where The Rock claimed that Peter Maivia bit Billy's eye out and he needed surgery. Billy refutes this claim and says the only eye surgery he ever had was when he was a kid.
Billy says a lot of guys would spar once or train once with someone and then spend their whole career saying they were trained by that person. He gave an example of one time, Bill Watts called him up asking about Johnny Eagles, who said he trained at Billy's gym. Billy had a good laugh because Eagles stopped by his gym one time to borrow money.
Billy often goes on tangents or rants about bullies and how much he hates them. He calls them cowards who always back down when challenged. I guess that's why he doesn't see himself as a bully, while almost everyone who came up after him clarifies him as the biggest bully they ever met. I've read several, several dozen wrestling book, and only 1 guy didn't have anything bad to say about Billy. That was Dynamite Kid, who didn't have anything nice to say about Billy either. He was just the only guy to bring up Billy Robinson and not rant about how awful of a person he was.
If the only guy to not have a negative story about you in Dynamite Kid, then you may be an asshole imo.
Billy says he was AWA World Heavyweight Champion for 24 hours "until they changed the decision on me." I'm not a big AWA buff so if anyone knows this story I would like to hear it.
Billy briefly mentions the Gagne produced movie in 1974 movie, "The Wrestler" but unfortunately Billy has no tales from the set or stories about it at all. Billy alongside Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch all appeared in the film.
One time while in Alberta wrestling for Stampede, Billy was invited along with a couple other wrestlers to have dinner with the Primier of Alberta (like a State Governor) and at the event Billy was asked to join the premieres wife in the morning. So when the wife reminded Billy about coming by at 8am the next morning, Billy used British slang in response and said "Yes, I'll come knock you up at 8 o'clock tomorrow." Poor Billy had to explain that where he's from, someone waking you up in the morning by knocking on your door is a knocker upper.
Billy calls Canadian wrestler George Gordienko the strongest wrestler he ever got in the ring with. George Gordienko was originally hoping to be a doctor before becoming an exceptionally successful wrestler and someone who Lou Thesz once called one of the best of all time. Gordienko has been lost to time for the most part since he was banned from the United States during the McCarthy era. George married a woman who was the head of a communist party in America and poor George never got to return. He continued to wrestle in the UK until a bad ankle injury forced him to retire. He pivoted again and became a pretty succesful artist. Super fascinating story imo.
Over in Japan, Karl Gotch was working for Giant Baba in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and their competition, the International Wrestling Enterprise contacted Billy Riley and asked who was the best catch wrestler available to counter Gotch, who was doing big business for JWA. Riley immediately suggested Robinson, who was quickly invited to Japan for the IWE.
Karl and Billy were friends but working for rival promotions in Japan, so they could only meet and get together in secret.
Billy ended up winning the World title for the IWE and they asked him to move his family to Japan long-term.
Billy wasn't having a good time coaching the young Japanese guys and complained to Karl Gotch that it seems like their minds are elsewhere. Karl advised Billy to hurt one of them to get them in line. Billy refused and said he was their coach, he wasn't supposed to hurt them. This is wild to hear from Billy, who's entire reputation among the next generation was that he was a bully who liked to hurt people.
A week later Billy got caught in a snowstorm after fighting with his wife, so he was in a bad mood as he walked into the gym to train the young guys. One of them mouthed off so Billy says he lined them all up and wrestled each of them into submission. He calls it an accident, bit says he ended up breaking one of their arms that day and after that all the young guys took everything more seriously and treated Billy with more respect and admiration.
Billy seems to have mixed feelings on his time in Japan since he did well and early on was treated well by promoters. He said in Japan if you have something someone needs, you're a God in their eyes and your treated as such. He says if you need something from someone though, they always make it clear that they are in charge and treat you poorly. He says he and Karl both started to really resent the culture there towards the end of their runs in Japan.
It was after or near the end of his Japan tour that Billy and his wife got divorced. He doesn't expand on it in any way in his book. Barely gets a passing mention.
In the mid-70s Billy was in rough shape, his drinking was out of control and his knee was beyond fucked. Billy started working odd jobs outside the wrestling business, including a security job gig in Las Vegas where he was training other security guards and he managed a gas station in Minnesota. Billy calls this the lowest point of his life and says the gas station job was the most boring thing he ever did in his life.
Antonio Inoki contacted Billy when he was running the gas station and invited him to Japan for a big celebration show where they would have a match. Billy doesn't speak highly of the match and says he just had knee surgery and could barely get in the ring, but if you look up reports on his 1975 match with Inoki, all you see is massive, massive praise and people calling it one of the best matches ever at the time.
Billy calls Inoki the best Japanese wrestler of all time.
Yuko Miyato of The Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFI) contacted Billy and sent him to Nashville to train guys to go to Japan for them and Billy says between himself and Karl Gotch, every wrestler they trained went on to be world champions. Billy lists Shigeo Miyato and Nobuhiko Takada as examples.
Billy says Yuko Miyato "really saved me." Billy says he was drinking excessively and gained a ton of weight after the divorce, and that his knees and hips had to be replaced. Billy says his nervous system was fucked up from all the years of grappling and he couldn't effectively train anymore. He got a 2nd life back in Japan and even became the head coach at his old Snake Pit gym after Riley passed away in 1977. Billy says he ended spending 15 years in Japan training the next generation of catch/mma fighters.
Billy talks about the difference in training Japanese guys compared to others, since Japanese guys are more scientific and teach techniques down to the specificity. Billy didn't teach like that, he taught concepts and ideas that anyone could use on anyone else. He struggled to get some guys over the "belt system" in Japan where a brown belt guy would never challenge a black belt guys. Billy says anyone can beat the best, regardless of their belt.
Near the end of the book, Billy again rants about modern guys and how they know one or two moves and consider themselves catch style wrestlers. Billy also rants again about bullies and how you don't train people by taking advantage of them. (Tell that to Iron Sheik) Billy cites Verne Gagne as an example of a guy who didn't know how to spar or lock in submissions, and would train guys by exhausting them before he jumped on them and shot for a hold. Billy says he and Karl Gotch resented that and made sure their training camps were the opposite of that. It's funny because Billy literally did this stuff with Verne Gagne! Maybe he is implying that he learned then not to that stuff, but he doesn't outright say it. Billy as as guilty of bullying as the Verne imo.
Billy thinks modern MMA is shooting themselves in the foot for not having pinfalls. He says that fighting off your back is exciting and opens the door for more to be done. He says that when a guy is trying not to get pinned, he may leave an opening somewhere for the other guy to take advantage of.
Billy complains how modern boxers are looking for knockouts and training to knock people out. He says that's not how it's done, you fight and wait for the opening, Billy says you wait for the knockout to come to you, you don't go looking for it. He laments the same thing in submissions as well, saying you don't go looking to lock in a submission, you maneuver around and wait for the opening to present itself. You wait for the submission to come to you. He is extremely critical of modern "catch style" wrestlers/ fighters.
Billy is critical of modern wrestling and fighting having such short time limits, saying that short 2 or 3 minute rounds means that it's all about power.
The book ends with Billy ranting about modern fighters and amateur wrestlers and how Catch wrestling was the greatest sport of all time. I hope I love something as much as Billy loved catch-as-catch-can wrestling.

Very, very short book that didn't detail too much, with a large portion being Billy just ranting on the history of wrestling or fighting.
As always, I attempted to keep to chronological order of events, even though Billy didn't tell a lot of this in order, and he never dated any story.
(Note: the number of guys named "Billy" in this post is just unreal and gave me a headache)
Billy describes how his dad, grandfather, uncle, and great-grandfather were all world-class boxers or fighters. He says his father taught him a ton of things to do in a fight and even underhanded tactics, like using a pencil to defend himself. Billy says a 4H pencil had the toughest lead that you could sharpen out and use as a weapon. The best part was that it wasn't classified as a weapon, so you could avoid the jail time that came with having knives.
Billy describes running home from school as 3 boys chased him. When he got home, crying, his dad asked him what was going on. After Billy explained, his dad said, "You can either fight the 3 of them or fight me!" Billy chose the 3 boys, and his dad went with him to make sure the fights were 1 on 1. After Billy beat up the 1st two kids, the third one wanted none of it. Billy says this was the first time he saw his dad was proud of him.
Billy dreamed of being a pro boxer, but one day, as a child, he was struck in the eye by a metal sign that some other kids were playing with and severely tore his retina. He spent 6 weeks in the hospital, and his boxing dreams were over.
Billy's uncle wanted him to try out pro wrestling because it was popular in the 60s, but Billy's dad wanted him to do amature wrestling, though it wasn't as lucrative as pro wrestling. Eventually, Billy was brought to a local YMCA where he started to train amature.
Before long, Billy's dad relented and took him to Billy Riley's gym, the same place that Karl Gotch trained and that Dynamite Kid would go train at as well. Billy even met John Foley there, who would go on to be a feared shooter and manage Dynamite Kid in Stampede Wrestling. Though if that's the only place you know John Foley from, then you won't have a high opinion of him.
John Foley was a legit bad ass shooter for most of his career, who was known to take liberties with guys. By the time he got to Stampede Wrestling, though, he was an old timer who was more known as a drunk who everyone ribbed. One story suggests where he lost his nerve, and that would be the time he was being a little too physical in the ring with Lanny and Randy Poffo, prompting their dad Angelo came to the ring, and all 3 Poffo men beat the living shit out of Foley. Bret Hart says he "never lived it down."
Billy says the best match he ever saw was a "friendly" sparring contest between Jack Dempsey and John Foley that left both men with black eyes, broken noses and blood coming out of their ears and mouths. Billy says they were still close friends after.
Billy calls shoot fighting/grappling "physical chess," and he spent 12 years learning this at Reilly's Gym, also known as the Snake Pit.
Billy learned "catch-as-catch-can" (or Greco-Roman) wrestling in The Snake Pit from Charlie Carrol.
Charlie Carrol was 55 years old and 155 pounds to Billy's 6 foot 2, 190 pound 17 year old, but Charlie hurt Billy every single time they sparred. Billy says that Charlie kept him humble.
Billy puts over modern MMA fighters but says the best modern MMA fighter couldn't hold a candle to a mediocre 1930s catch wrestler.
It's not a long book, but a significant section early on is just Billy going over the history of catch fighting and amateur wrestling all the way back to the 1800s. He complains that modern amateur wrestling is all about power and maneuvering for points and says he doesn't even watch the Olympics anymore. It's actually super fascinating as he details various amature techniques used in different Olympic competitions and where they originated from.
He tells a story of how when he was a teenager, his coach Billy Riley (who was 55 years old) would walk with him down the street and often try to grapple with Billy or show him some maneuver right there and Billy says people would stare at them like they were homosexuals and says it was so embarrassing. At the time, homosexuality was illegal in England.
Billy Robinson is critical of modern coaching, which he says consists of the coach giving a ton of positive feedback. Billy Robinson won multiple amature championship tournaments and bouts but never heard a good word from Billy Riley. When Billy Robinson won his first amature world title, he remembered Riley saying, "That was good." Riley would later explain that it wasn't his job to tell Robinson what was good, but it was his job to tell Robinson what was wrong and where he can correct himself. Interesting take on coaching.
In 1956, Billy placed 3rd at the nationals for amature wrestling. In 1957, he won the nationals tournament! Riley told Billy Robinson, "You've won all the cups and the medals. Why don't you take me out and buy me a steak dinner?" When Billy Robinson said he couldn't afford to, Riley said to him, "It just goes to show you kid, you can't buy steak with medals. It's time you turned pro."
Billy says he regrets not putting pro wrestling off another couple of years. He thinks he should have been amature wrestling in the Olympics. He beat everyone who eventually wrestled on the Brittish team, and he thought he could have won a medal.
Billy turned pro at 19 years old and was asked to help get pro wrestling going in Sweden. The problem was that the Sweden Olympic amature wrestling team wouldn't allow it unless the pros proved they were legit and could beat them in an amateur contest. Billy beat them all, including Alex Gronburg, a 2 time Olympic champion and former world champion, and Gosta Andersson, who quit after a minute, saying, "Hey, it's too dangerous for us."
Billy Robinson asked to go to Spain and wrestle for a new promotion, but as he was getting ready to leave, his coach Billy Riley warned him that if he worked for that company he would be black balled out of most major European wrestling companies. Robinson told Riley that he had given his word, and he said this was the first time he ever went against Riley's suggestion.
It didn't matter because Billy said the Spain promotion fizzled out before he even got there, but no one told him, and he flew to Spain for no reason.
He ended up staying in Spain, living with someone Billy referred to as "the English professor" who introduced him to people like Earnist Hemmingway and Sophia Loren and got Billy work in a movie
One day, the professor told Billy that his name was in the newspaper, and sure enough, Billy was being advertised in a new wrestling promotion. When Billy called them, he was informed that they had a job for him. For 2 years, 1960-1961, Billy wrestled in Spain and made a name for himself.
Billy would wrestle in tournaments and other tours during this time as well, in places like Germany and Belgium.
It was at these tournaments when Billy started noticing guys wanting to train with him and only him. Billy days. "It was odd!"
Billy loved zoos and had opinions on the good ones. He says he could spend all day just watching gorillas
Billy says he didn't like France much, saying that compared to places like Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, France was pretty dirty and gross back then.
Billy seems to have loved Lebanon the most, and being a huge history buff, Billy goes on a tangent about the history of Lebanon.
Billy wrestled in India in 1962, and on the way back, he stopped in Lebabon right before a war broke out, and he had to quickly escape.
Billy says his father told him that he should pretend to not know English and not be identified as an English speaking person. He said this advice helped him his while life while traveling.
The first time Billy got to India, he was shocked at the poverty and state of it. He remembers seeing dead animals all over the place and people sleeping in the streets among rats. Billy also puts over India and a big wrestling country and said he had a good time there.
Billy says he was fortunate to wrestle the original Dara Singh. Dara Singh was a huge name in India, and he eventually went to prison for killing 3 men. He did it because those 3 men killed his brother, so it was a revenge killing. Years later, he would be pardoned and released. This is when Billy beat him in India.
In India, it was legitimately against the law for a Muslim to wrestle against a Hindu, so the Muslim community "adopted" Billy Robinson as their guy to fight the Hundu guys. It's pretty fascinating imo.
After India, Billy wrestled in Napal and said he had a great time, even wrestling private matches for the King of Napal.
While in Napal, Billy was ribbed into approaching a live leopard and says it was the first time in his life that he ever felt fear.
Billy even helped some Americans set up a play for the King of Napal, where Billy was the stage manager and even took a couple of bumps on the hard wood floor. He says the King loved it so much that he called for an encore, so Billy had to do the painful bump again.
Billy recalls one time in Napal, a local accidently hit and killed a cow with his truck. Since cows were sacred, the man was killed right there, and his body hung from a lamppost.
While in Germany wrestling a tournament that was cross promoting with a ten pin bowling competition, Billy met his future wife Ursula. She was working on the bowling side and Billy on the wrestling side. Billy says when their eyes first locked, he was in the ring, and she was in the front row. Billy says, "It was the beginning of the end, for my single days." 18 months later she came to England and they got married.
Billy says he played some charity bowling games against the Beatles in the early 60s.
Dave Ruhl was an extremely popular face in Stampede Wrestling out of Calgary, and through his uncle Ray Steele, Dave got ahold of Billy and invited him to Calgary Billy says Stampede promoter Stu Hart saw Billy wrestle one match and then invite Billy to come to Stampede Wrestling.
While backstage at one of his first Stampede shows, he saw a bunch of big gues in the dressing room talking. Through eavesdropping, he heard them talking about football and asked them if they were wrestlers or football players. They said football players, and so Billy insisted they leave the dressing room. Things got tense and heated, but eventually, Billy made it clear that if they didn't leave, he would remove them. He says they all scurried out of the room and notes that one of them was a young Wayne Coleman, the future "Superstar" Billy Graham.
After reading Billy Graham's book, it's clear that these two fucking hated eachother, with Graham calling Billy a bully who took liberties with less experienced guys in the ring. In Graham's book, he details how poorly Robinson treated him when their paths crossed in Stampede Wrestling. Graham's book made no mention of Billy kicking him out of a locker room nor the supposed contract with Verne that forbade Robinson from hurting Graham.
Down the line when Billy came to Minnesota, Billy Robinson claimes that Billy Graham insisted that Verne write up a contract that prohibited Billy Robinson and Billy Graham from squaring up. I don't know the validity of this claim, but Billy Robinson says Billy Graham was so scared that he only came to Minnesota with the guarantee that Robinson wouldn't hurt him.
This claim about a contract and Graham refusing to work with Robinson, might come from the time in Minnesota when Graham opted out of working with him in favor of Wahoo McDaniel. One time they were matched up and Graham approached Robinson backstage and made a show of wrapping razor blades in his taped up hands, warning Robinson that if he attempted to shoot on him, that Graham would "shred you from your face to the tip of your toes." This is all from Graham's book, with Billy making no mention of it.
In Bruce Hart's book, he tells a story about how they had The Stomper penciled in to challenge NWA World Champion Dory Funk Jr, but they had The Stomper face Billy Robinson 2 weeks prior. The two meshed so poorly that it devolved into an ugly shoot, with the fans chanting boring at them. Eventually The Stomper left and got counted out, before getting to the back and telling Stu he is quitting. They had no choice but to put Robinson in his place, and while the match was amazing and Robinson would be a good face for Stampede at the time, even Bruce calls him a bully and finishes it by saying "here's not to you Mr Robinson, there is no place in Heaven for those who prey."
After Billy wrestled Dory Funk Jr in an 1 hour draw, and after Dory invited Billy to the States to wrestle.
Before heading over to the States full time, Billy did tours in England, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia where he won the World title for a company that Jim Barnett was promoting.
Billy met Jack Brisco in Australia, shortly after winning the world title there. Billy remembers there first match together, saying that Jack was trying to show off a little too much so Billy said he showed him a simple catch hold that put poor Jack in the hospital for a couple days! Billy says the 2 became friends and calls him a good amateur wrestler and great guy.
Jack Brisco was the one who first told Billy about "shoot wrestlers" in the States. Billy never heard the term before but says a shooter is just another word for catch wrestling.
Billy mentions a rib that Jack Brisco and Dick Murdoch played on him during that Australia tour. Dick introduced Billy to chewing tobacco and purposely misinformed Billy on how to enjoy it. Billy swallowed the juice and vomiting all over the place.
Another time, Jack and Billy were up in Billy's hotel room all night, talking holds and even practicing them on one another. It was middle of the night, so Billy was in his underwear when Jack asked him to go get the newspaper from down the hall. The second Billy got in the hallway, Jack locked him out and made Billy sneak back to his room a few floors up in just his boxers. Billy said this was the nicest hotel in Australia, too.
Billy says he got his first taste of American pro wrestling in Hawaii, where he wrestled for several months. Every single guy who writes a wrestling book inevitably ends up doing a tour in Hawaii.
It was in Hawaii where Billy met Verne Gagne, who was "wrestling" a tour there, but really, Verne was on vacation and wrestling as a means to vacation for free. A lot of guys did that with Hawaii back in the day.
Billy and Verne wrestled a tag team match together, and after Verne made sure to watch how Billy was as a singles wrestler. Verne asked Billy to come back to the mainland in 1972.
Verne even asked Billy to train his son Greg, and they ended up inviting several other guys to a small wrestling camp. The group consisted of Verne's son Greg, Ric Flair, Ken Patera, Jim Bunzell (who would later team with Ken in AWA and be one half of the Killer Bee's in the WWE), Bob Bruggers (a former Miami Dophins linebacker), and Hossien Khosrow Vaziri (the future Iron Shiek).
An infamous story happened at this camp, early on, Shiek was the only one of the 6 who had amateur experience, and one day he was boasting to the others about how neither Verne or Billy could get him on his back in an amateur bout. Billy heard about this and challenged him immediately to spar. Shiek was successful in holding his stance on his knees, with Billy unable to turn him. So Billy viciously dropped his knee into Shiek's thigh, fucking him up bad. Then Billy casually rolled Shiek over and said "told you I could flip you."
Billy acknowledges Sheik as a very good amateur but says he has a big head a big mouth. He knew Shiek wasn't familiar with catch-as-catch-can, ankle submissions, neck cranks or double wristlocks and took advantage of him. Billy just casually says "I knelt on his thigh in a way we do. He couldn't walk for two days and couldn't work out at the camp for two weeks."
Billy remembers a match he did early on working for Verne, where a fan in the front row was being obnoxious and screaming at Billy all match. After the bout, Billy went and picked the fan up out of his seat and smacked him a few times and notes how the fan stayed quiet the rest of the show. When he got to the back he was chewed our by Verne who was afraid of a lawsuit. Billy says the fan ended up getting tickets to a future show.
In the middle of the book he goes on a rant about the history of how wrestling started in carnival tents and how champions made money. He calls Gorgeous George a "carnie wrestler" and credits him for accelerating the change in how the general audience looks at pro wrestlers. He resents the sentiment that all wrestlers are showmanship guys and puts over himself and others like Lou Thesz as legit tough guys. Billy is always putting over his skills as catch fighter in the book.
Billy says he and Lou Thesz became pretty good friends.
Billy says Lou Thesz would call Ed "Strangler" Louis as the best wrestler of all time, while Billy says he would call Billy Joyce the best of all time. But he says that Billy Joyce said that George Gregory was the best of all time.
Billy describes one time he wrestled Verne Gagne with Lou Thesz as the special referee. Billy says that he and Verne weren't getting along at this point, so throughout the match, Billy was sorta abusing Verne and taunting him the whole time. Billy says he kept turning to Lou and saying "Look at this Lou!" And "What do you think of this Lou?" As he took advantage of Verne. Eventually Lou piped up and said, "Jesus Billy, take it easy on him, he is the boss."
Ed "Strangler" Louise had an "open" contract, meaning that if you were matched up against him and wanted to shoot, Ed encouraged it. What a badass.
John Pesek was a wrestler with legit Olynpic credentials. John Pesek decided to shoot on Ed Lewis when Ed was very sick and had boils all over. It was a hard fight but Ed won. Lou Thesz resented Pesek for attempting this and even had him black balled by the NWA later in his career. Lou never forgave John for shooting on Ed when Ed was sick and never admitted Pesek was talented in any way. Billy clarifies that John Pesek was legitimate in the ring and tells this story as a way to show Lou Thesz power back in those days.
Ben Assirati was a freakishly strong guy who was known as a legit street fighter. Billy says he was a masochist who not only liked to hurt people in the ring, but also liked to get hurt, himself. Ben Assirati tried to start a rival promotion in England, and was challenged to a legitimate shoot fight by promoters (and world class ass kickers) George Gregory and Billy Joyce, but Ben turned them down. Of course, when Lou Thesz was NWA Champion and touring through England, Ben made a big show of challenging him beforehand and even got the newspapers to print about it. On the night of the show, Lou had police block the entrance and not let Ben in the arena. Billy tells this story as if Lou was turning down Ben's challenge for the way he turned down Gregory and Joyce. But Billy really puts over Ben Assirati as a scary guy in the ring and says that people actually died in the ring with Ben. Wild claim that I couldn't back up online, though there are a ton of stories to speak on Ben's notorioty in the ring.
In Lou Thesz memoir, he stated that he challenged Ben first multiple times and Ben refused all of them
Billy says that when he first got to the States, Lou Thesz and Karl Gotch were close friends who respected one another. But something happened that led to the two refusing to speak to one another.
Billy says a lot of old timers were hot heads, and gives an example of when his son was born. Billy named him Spencer after Winston Churchill, but Karl Gotch got angry at this and said it should have been a powerful name like Thor or something silly. Billy says that he and Karl nearly came to blows in the street over this. So whatever fractured the relationship between Gotch and Thesz, it was probably minor and petty.
When talking about modern wrestlers, Billy always refers to them in quotations. Like in his book he says "pro wrestlers" as if he is air quoting when talking about modern guys.
Billy says a big difference between wrestling in America vs England was how much guys talked in the ring in America (called spots). Billy says this never happens over seas and says he didn't call spots verbally.
Another big difference is how pay structure worked. In America it was all based on the house and what the promoter felt you earned. Over seas, Billy says he and the promoter would sit alone and discuss the pay prior to the match. Ticket sales were irrelevant, you always got paid what you agreed to. He says America is where all the backstabbing and politicking started in wrestling.
Billy says Danny Hodge was probably one of the most dangerous guys from his time wrestling and puts him over as one ofthe greatest American wrestlers ever.
Billy describes an interesting concept for wrestling promoters back in his day. Every promoter had what he called a "policman" wrestler. When a new guy came in and wanted to challenge the top draw, he would face this "policman" wrestler as the top draw or promoter watched closely. For example, if you were looking to challenge Lou Thesz, first you would face Ray Steele as Thesz watched and judged, then after he and Ray would talk about the guy together.
While working for Verne Gagne in the early 70s, Billy was asked to wrestle with a green as grass guy and Verne told Billy to go 10 minutes before he beat him. This baffled Billy and Verne had to explain its a taping and they need to put on a good show. Billy says he shouldn't have done that, especially considering how Verne would go on to screw with Billy's payoffs down the line.
Billy says he took the kid down at the 9 minute mark and stretched him, nearly breaking his elbow as he screamed and cried and tapped out. Billy says the guy gave an interview later and said pro wrestling is the nastiest and most dangerous sport there is. Billy chuckles at this but he took some rookie and killed any interest the kid had in wrestling while abusing him.
Billy tells a wild story about a short real fight he had with Peter Maivia in Japan. Billy, Peter and a few other guys were eating at a restaurant when Peter got upset at how the menu and ordering system worked. Peter got so worked up that Billy yelled at him to calm down. Later as Billy was walking towards his hotel, a drunk Peter Maivia approached Billy looking for a fight. Billy attempted to restrain him, telling Peter as he held him, "Peter stop it. I don't want to hurt you." But Peter in his enraged, drunken state goes to bite Billy in the neck! Billy, having been trained in self defense and combat like this, knew to tuck his chin to save his neck, but Peter still bit down hard and into Billy's face! Billy says he still had scars from this 40 or 50 years later! When blood started pouring down Billy's cheek, he snapped and laid out Peter with an unspecified number of strikes that left Peter with a broken nose and two black eyes. He says the fight lasted all of 15 seconds. Billy says he had to go to the hospital to get stitches and shot for a human bite.
The next morning, Billy nearly kicked Peter's door down and told Peter he is lucky to be alive. Billy points out how biting the neck is an attempt to kill him, so he gives Peter a chance to try again. A very sober Peter backed down immediately
Billy says he saw an interview on Tv where The Rock claimed that Peter Maivia bit Billy's eye out and he needed surgery. Billy refutes this claim and says the only eye surgery he ever had was when he was a kid.
Billy says a lot of guys would spar once or train once with someone and then spend their whole career saying they were trained by that person. He gave an example of one time, Bill Watts called him up asking about Johnny Eagles, who said he trained at Billy's gym. Billy had a good laugh because Eagles stopped by his gym one time to borrow money.
Billy often goes on tangents or rants about bullies and how much he hates them. He calls them cowards who always back down when challenged. I guess that's why he doesn't see himself as a bully, while almost everyone who came up after him clarifies him as the biggest bully they ever met. I've read several, several dozen wrestling book, and only 1 guy didn't have anything bad to say about Billy. That was Dynamite Kid, who didn't have anything nice to say about Billy either. He was just the only guy to bring up Billy Robinson and not rant about how awful of a person he was.
If the only guy to not have a negative story about you in Dynamite Kid, then you may be an asshole imo.
Billy says he was AWA World Heavyweight Champion for 24 hours "until they changed the decision on me." I'm not a big AWA buff so if anyone knows this story I would like to hear it.
Billy briefly mentions the Gagne produced movie in 1974 movie, "The Wrestler" but unfortunately Billy has no tales from the set or stories about it at all. Billy alongside Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch all appeared in the film.
One time while in Alberta wrestling for Stampede, Billy was invited along with a couple other wrestlers to have dinner with the Primier of Alberta (like a State Governor) and at the event Billy was asked to join the premieres wife in the morning. So when the wife reminded Billy about coming by at 8am the next morning, Billy used British slang in response and said "Yes, I'll come knock you up at 8 o'clock tomorrow." Poor Billy had to explain that where he's from, someone waking you up in the morning by knocking on your door is a knocker upper.
Billy calls Canadian wrestler George Gordienko the strongest wrestler he ever got in the ring with. George Gordienko was originally hoping to be a doctor before becoming an exceptionally successful wrestler and someone who Lou Thesz once called one of the best of all time. Gordienko has been lost to time for the most part since he was banned from the United States during the McCarthy era. George married a woman who was the head of a communist party in America and poor George never got to return. He continued to wrestle in the UK until a bad ankle injury forced him to retire. He pivoted again and became a pretty succesful artist. Super fascinating story imo.
Over in Japan, Karl Gotch was working for Giant Baba in the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and their competition, the International Wrestling Enterprise contacted Billy Riley and asked who was the best catch wrestler available to counter Gotch, who was doing big business for JWA. Riley immediately suggested Robinson, who was quickly invited to Japan for the IWE.
Karl and Billy were friends but working for rival promotions in Japan, so they could only meet and get together in secret.
Billy ended up winning the World title for the IWE and they asked him to move his family to Japan long-term.
Billy wasn't having a good time coaching the young Japanese guys and complained to Karl Gotch that it seems like their minds are elsewhere. Karl advised Billy to hurt one of them to get them in line. Billy refused and said he was their coach, he wasn't supposed to hurt them. This is wild to hear from Billy, who's entire reputation among the next generation was that he was a bully who liked to hurt people.
A week later Billy got caught in a snowstorm after fighting with his wife, so he was in a bad mood as he walked into the gym to train the young guys. One of them mouthed off so Billy says he lined them all up and wrestled each of them into submission. He calls it an accident, bit says he ended up breaking one of their arms that day and after that all the young guys took everything more seriously and treated Billy with more respect and admiration.
Billy seems to have mixed feelings on his time in Japan since he did well and early on was treated well by promoters. He said in Japan if you have something someone needs, you're a God in their eyes and your treated as such. He says if you need something from someone though, they always make it clear that they are in charge and treat you poorly. He says he and Karl both started to really resent the culture there towards the end of their runs in Japan.
It was after or near the end of his Japan tour that Billy and his wife got divorced. He doesn't expand on it in any way in his book. Barely gets a passing mention.
In the mid-70s Billy was in rough shape, his drinking was out of control and his knee was beyond fucked. Billy started working odd jobs outside the wrestling business, including a security job gig in Las Vegas where he was training other security guards and he managed a gas station in Minnesota. Billy calls this the lowest point of his life and says the gas station job was the most boring thing he ever did in his life.
Antonio Inoki contacted Billy when he was running the gas station and invited him to Japan for a big celebration show where they would have a match. Billy doesn't speak highly of the match and says he just had knee surgery and could barely get in the ring, but if you look up reports on his 1975 match with Inoki, all you see is massive, massive praise and people calling it one of the best matches ever at the time.
Billy calls Inoki the best Japanese wrestler of all time.
Yuko Miyato of The Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFI) contacted Billy and sent him to Nashville to train guys to go to Japan for them and Billy says between himself and Karl Gotch, every wrestler they trained went on to be world champions. Billy lists Shigeo Miyato and Nobuhiko Takada as examples.
Billy says Yuko Miyato "really saved me." Billy says he was drinking excessively and gained a ton of weight after the divorce, and that his knees and hips had to be replaced. Billy says his nervous system was fucked up from all the years of grappling and he couldn't effectively train anymore. He got a 2nd life back in Japan and even became the head coach at his old Snake Pit gym after Riley passed away in 1977. Billy says he ended spending 15 years in Japan training the next generation of catch/mma fighters.
Billy talks about the difference in training Japanese guys compared to others, since Japanese guys are more scientific and teach techniques down to the specificity. Billy didn't teach like that, he taught concepts and ideas that anyone could use on anyone else. He struggled to get some guys over the "belt system" in Japan where a brown belt guy would never challenge a black belt guys. Billy says anyone can beat the best, regardless of their belt.
Near the end of the book, Billy again rants about modern guys and how they know one or two moves and consider themselves catch style wrestlers. Billy also rants again about bullies and how you don't train people by taking advantage of them. (Tell that to Iron Sheik) Billy cites Verne Gagne as an example of a guy who didn't know how to spar or lock in submissions, and would train guys by exhausting them before he jumped on them and shot for a hold. Billy says he and Karl Gotch resented that and made sure their training camps were the opposite of that. It's funny because Billy literally did this stuff with Verne Gagne! Maybe he is implying that he learned then not to that stuff, but he doesn't outright say it. Billy as as guilty of bullying as the Verne imo.
Billy thinks modern MMA is shooting themselves in the foot for not having pinfalls. He says that fighting off your back is exciting and opens the door for more to be done. He says that when a guy is trying not to get pinned, he may leave an opening somewhere for the other guy to take advantage of.
Billy complains how modern boxers are looking for knockouts and training to knock people out. He says that's not how it's done, you fight and wait for the opening, Billy says you wait for the knockout to come to you, you don't go looking for it. He laments the same thing in submissions as well, saying you don't go looking to lock in a submission, you maneuver around and wait for the opening to present itself. You wait for the submission to come to you. He is extremely critical of modern "catch style" wrestlers/ fighters.
Billy is critical of modern wrestling and fighting having such short time limits, saying that short 2 or 3 minute rounds means that it's all about power.
The book ends with Billy ranting about modern fighters and amateur wrestlers and how Catch wrestling was the greatest sport of all time. I hope I love something as much as Billy loved catch-as-catch-can wrestling.
Billy passed away 1 year after this book came out, and it's said he died peacefully in his sleep.