Category: Of Local (Quad Cities’) Interest Page 7 of 61

The category is self-explanatory, but it would include new or old businesses, political elections, trends, restaurants in town, entertainment in town, etc.

“My Uncle Jens” @SXSW Paints A Portrait of Immigrant Woes

By Connie Wilson

On March 10, 2025

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

Director Brwa Vahabpour. (Photo by Tori Gjendal).

“My Uncle Jens” is a joint Norwegian/Romanian production which marks the feature film debut at SXSW 2025 of Screenwriter/Director Brwa Vahabpour. Uncle Jens might more accurately be dubbed Uncle Khdr, as the main character has come to Oslo from the Iranian part of Kurdistan. He adopts the alias Jens. Brwa Vahabpour is writing about a culture he knows well. He attracted positive attention for his 2020 short film “Silence” that was featured at the Palm Springs International Shorts Fest.

The plot focuses on a young literature teacher in Oslo (Norway) named Akam (Peiman Azizpour), who receives a late-night visit from his estranged Uncle Khdr, his father’s brother. Why is the movie not entitled Uncle Khdr, rather than Uncle Jens? That explanation goes back to the common ploy of trying to “blend in” to a strange land by adopting a more common surname. In Khdr’s case, he begins using the Norwegian first name Jens after a conversation with a friendly cab driver.

Jens (Hamza Agoshi) claims he is in town for a surprise visit.

THE PLOT

Akam (Peiman Azizpour) doesn’t live alone. He has two roommates, a young girl (Theresa Frostad Eggesbo) and a tall, lanky yellow-haired stork-like Norwegian male, Stian (Magnus Lysbakken). Lysbakken as Stian represents the stereotype of “yellow-haired people” that Uncle Jens references when he says, to Akam, “You’re probably busy with those yellow-haired people.”

Uncle Jens immediately begins shaming his nephew into hosting him in his cramped apartment. He uses the term “peshkesh,” meaning “from me to you.” Uncle Jens is loud, he snores, he takes the one single bed (while Akam sleeps on the floor). Jens has many other annoying and obnoxious habits, including smoking in the apartment, which the roommates object to. Jens also constantly leaves water all over the bathroom floor, throws away the community kitchen brush in favor of a sponge, and just generally behaves as though he is moving in for good. When the roommates ask Akam how long Jens is staying, the answer is always “just a couple days.” In reality, Jens shows no signs of ever leaving.

THE PLOT THICKENS

“My Uncle Jens” (Photo by Jorgen Kluver).

It isn’t until Jens and Akam are out together that Akam begins to find out that his uncle has actually been hanging around a local café owned by a man known as Hussein for a couple of months. Akam begins to realize that Uncle Jens’s “surprise visit” may never end, and he finally begins to realize that maybe his uncle is not in the country legally. What, then, does that mean for him?

Akam is advised by a friend to beware of guests who arrive in the middle of the night. The friend directs him to a girl named Elina (Sarah Frances Braenne), who works for the Directorate of Immigration in Norway and knows the country’s immigration rules.

THE RULES

Akam devises a clever ruse to try to find out what rules apply to people visiting Norway from other countries. He pretends to be writing a short story about a Norwegian girl whose aunt arrives unexpectedly to visit. He asks about Norway’s rules for visitors. For openers, says Elena, visitors should have a written invitation from the person in Norway in order to qualify for a visitor’s visa. Also, the visitor has to have state proof that they are able to return to their country of origin (Iran). Elena adds that, if the visitor is up to no good (human trafficking, etc.) that can lead to deportation for them and for those who might be harboring them. She suggests that the visitor has to have proof of employment and other such signs of being an upstanding individual. Meanwhile, Akim and Elena are hitting it off as a couple which will complicate matters.

What is going through Akam’s mind is “Yikes!”

At one point, Akam almost anonymously turns his uncle in, but when they ask what address the suspect is at, he hangs up, realizing that he will be implicating himself, as well.

DENOUEMENT

My Uncle Jens lead, Akam (Peiman Aizpour).

“My Uncle Jens” lead, Akam, portrayed by Peiman Azizpour. (Photo by Jorgen Kluver).

As Akam and the rest of us feared, there is finally a visit from the representatives of the Directorate of Immigration. They are very polite, but they do search the house, looking for Uncle Jens. It is time for Jens to go, but, before he leaves, he has caused the downfall of the Elena/Akam relationship and has told a harrowing tale of his escape from Iran and assuming the alias Sabir Salehi.

A STORY FOR OUR TIMES

Much like the illegals attempting to flee violence and economic insecurity in their homeland, Uncle Jens has been both physically assaulted and threatened to the point that he made the harrowing journey to Turkey (Istanbul) and, by boat, to Greece. He was placed in various holding facilities while he awaited a ruling on his request for asylum. Unfortunately, the authorities rejected his application and he received a deportation notice. Among other things, Jens says, “I have to prove that my life is really in danger.” Ironically, he asks his nephew, “Can’t you see your lies affect all those around you?”

CONCLUSION

It is easy to see the parallels between Uncle Jens and every immigrant on the run. The country may not be Norway, but there are so many countries in turmoil and so many refugees wanting to settle in a country that can offer them a better life. That list would go on for a very long time. Two people on that list would have been my Grandfather (Ole Monson) from Norway and my Grandmother (Rena Stietske Weirda) from the Netherlands.

This film makes a real effort to show us the hurdles that immigrants face on a personal and psychological level. It also underscores the very real dangers that newcomers face and the lengths they will go to to seek a better life for themselves and their families. Can we blame them for these efforts? Recently, it appears that we do, which is sad, and, to me, un-American. “My Uncle Jens” is a tribute to every new citizen to any country. The directorial touches (ringing phone bookending the action; symbolic watch) are nice aspects of a touching movie.

“The Beguiling” Screens at SXSW on March 9, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 9, 2025

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews

A United States Premiere of “The Beguiling,” a 15 and ½ minute short about native American Indians, premieres at SXSW Film and TV Festival Sunday, March 9, at the Rollins Theater at the Long Center. The shorts start at 9:45 and run until 11:30 p.m. A second showing will be held at the Alamo on South Lamar on March 13^th, Alamo Theater #9, 10:15 p.m. until 12:06 a.m. (Midnight Shorts Category).

The film, written and directed by Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, explores the romance between two young native Americans, portrayed by Benairin Kane as Billy and Kim Savarino as Riley. As the plot summary put it, “Deceit turns their romantic evening into a darkly comedic nightmare.”

Reviewer Alex Heeney (“Seventh Row”) said: “This horror-inflected film addresses some hard-to-discuss-without-stepping-in-it issues. Wait for the fantastic needle drop, which offers a lot to unpack..”

Attempting to address some of the plot points, without stepping in it, here is my unpacking.

SYNOPSIS

The plot summary might more accurately have described this short as being an investigation into the phenomenon of “Pretendians” or “self-Indigenizers,” people who are not of Indian ancestry misrepresenting themselves as Indian. If you don’t remember Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims to have some native American ancestry, those remarks caused her to be belittled at Trump’s March 4^th Address to Congress (DJT’s “Pocahontas” jab. (Leave it to Donald J. Trump to attack a respected female United States Senator with what he apparently intended to be a racist jab.) That makes “The Beguiling” an even more timely topic.

PRETENDIANS

A New Yorker article by Jay Caspian Kang laid out the case of a Professor at Berkeley, Elizabeth Hoover, who rose quickly through academia based on her claimed Indian heritage. One observer, who described the woman as showing up at every faculty meeting to spend the entire meeting beading said, “It looked like an entire Etsy store had exploded on her.” So, “Pretendians” or “self-Indigenizers” are a fact of life if you are of native American Indian ancestry.

Hoover (one of many, it should be noted) ultimately released a “Letter of Apology and Accountability” for the “broken trust” that she had caused. She maintained that her deception was in no way intentional. She insisted that posing as native American was simply what she had been told about her heritage as a young child, ancestry which she had accepted without questioning it or investigating it more fully. Hoover’s public apology labeled “Identity Crisis” was released on March 4, 2024.

Therefore, the background for this 15-minute short has its roots in recent history. In the pre-Trump days, when diversity and inclusion mattered, sometimes it was advantageous (especially in academia) if a white person had Indian blood.

DENOUEMENT

“The Beguiling” at SXSW. (Photo by Shaandiin Tome)

In the lead-up to an emerging romantic tryst between Riley (Kim Savarino) and Billy (Benairin Kane) in “The Beguiling,” Riley bites Billy a bit too aggressively in the neck. Billy goes in search of a bandaid. What he finds while searching for a bandaid in Riley’s bathroom medicine drawer and cabinet makes him suspicious about Riley’s authenticity.

Is Riley trying to convince Billy she is “a real Indian” when she’s not? If so, why?

You’ll have to journey to the Midnight Shorts at SXSW for those answers.

COMEDY OR DRAMA?

The young lovers’ romantic tryst veered a bit off the romance trail and into thriller, drama and comic territory, merging all three. For me, with my sympathies heavily on the side of the Anishimabemowin natives, the short was another sobering moment in considering the injustices of early West settlement and colonization in this country. I’ve toured the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois. Nothing funny there on that Museum’s lower level, which is devoted to Indian interment camps in Canada where indigenous Indian youth were imprisoned and mistreated.

The still-emerging details make instances of whites mistreating American (or Canadian) Indians in more modern times a hard sell for humor, for me. Don’t get me started on the rest of history! I used to teach at Black Hawk Junior College. Looking back on our historical treatment of Indian tribes just makes me mad, much like the DJT speech remark on March 4^th, 2025 makes me both mad and sad. In other words, to me, it’s not “funny;” it’s just a continuing injustice that should be stopped and redressed. Historically, I’m with Marlon Brando on this (despite the unfortunate Sacheen Littlefeather Pretender incident at the 1973 Oscars.)

CONCLUSION

Writer/Director Ishkwaahe-shane-mcsauby of “The Beguiling” short at SXSW. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole).

The heavy-duty emphasis on native Indian history on “date night” (Which camp: Carlisle or Haskell? Genocide. Colonization. Wild rice /manoomin) made me wonder about Billy’s taste in women. Flirtation has definitely changed. In today’s America, I’m told, there are Big Discussions about party affiliation before a girl even accepts that date with the cute guy hitting on her. An interesting peek into how divided things have become in the United States of America. And it seems to be getting much, much worse. Hmmmm…I wonder what we can all do about that, as voters?

The synopsis asserted that the piece was “darkly comedic.” For me, the film leaned more heavily to the former (“Dark”) than the latter (“Comedic”). If anyone doubts the timeliness of the underlying debate about authenticity and the issue of dubious claims of native American Indian heritage, we need only direct them to rewatch the supposed Leader of the Free World (is he still?) baiting a female United States Senator Elizabeth Warren on live television (March 4^th, 2025), with a snide remark (“Pocahontas”) during a live Address to Congress. That was just a few short days ago. I’m still upset about it (so was Jimmy Kimmel on his March 5th monologue).

Let’s keep fighting for diversity and inclusion and fair and civilized treatment for all. This short has exposed one small example of exploitation of a minority amidst the cultural mosaic that is the United States of America. Let’s hope that by highlighting such injustices, they can be eradicated. “The Beguiling” calls this particular version of inequality out for what it is: wrong now, then, and forever. A good effort in the fight to restore dignity and equality for everyone by making the public more aware.

“Another Simple Favor” Opens SXSW on March 7, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 8, 2025

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Uncategorized

Paul Feig, Director of SXSW Opening Night film “Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 (Photo by Connie Wilson)

Opening night of SXSW 2025 was a star-studded affair. Paul Feig, Director of “Another Simple Favor” was present with Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick and numerous co-stars in attendance. He was fashionably attired in a very western fringed soft leather look.

Director Paul Feig of “Another Simple Favor.” (Photo by Frank Miceletto)

Suffice it to say that the true fans in the audience seemed happy. Among the celebrities present on the Red Carpet, were Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding, Michele Morrone, Andrew Rannell, Bashir Salahuddin, and Alex Newell. The film picks up directly where the first left off and takes viewers to Capri, Italy.

Since the first film was not on my Must See list, the plot was incomprehensible to a newbie. Writing credit goes to Lada Kalogridis and Jessica Sharzer, who crafted some good zingers. There was the remark to Joshua Satine playing Miles Smothers (Blake Lively’s character’s son), who is launching a drone, “You don’t need a drone to find your Mom. Just follow the trail of destruction.” I snickered at the character who asked for “enough booze to kill a small show pony.”

But, other than the sets and costumes, which were fantastic, I was not the audience for this one. Andrew Rannells said that, of eleven scenes he had that were supposed to be set in Connecticut, all were actually filmed in Rome. The listed Capri settings were J.K. Place Capri for the elegant wedding scenes, as well as Lido Del Faro (a west coast beach club) and Villa Jovis (ancient ruins), but the sign on the back of one hotel door said Grand Hotel Quisisana, which is only 2,750 feet from the beach; the entire area was gorgeous. Costuming of Lively at one point in something that looked like it came right out of “Bride of Frankenstein” was odd, but, again, not an expert on the effect desired.

The new “lead” who portrays Blake Lively’s husband-to-be in the film (Michele Morrone) was a handsome hunk of eye candy. So far, there have been no stories of the two not getting along. There were a few implied jabs at the relationship between Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, but everyone played nice. (No lawsuits, to date.)

Feig directed “Snatched” with Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer, which I liked very much. (Where was Amy Schumer when we needed her?) This film was beautiful, with wonderful sets and costumes. Director Paul Feig told IndieWire that he had never done a sequel and was trying to make his “Godfather 2.” (I’m thinking, “No.”)

Henry Golding (Ex-husband of Blake Lively’s Emily Nelson) in “Another Simple Favor on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Anna Kendrick on the Red Carpet at the Premiere of “Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Blake Lively, up close and personal at the Premiere of “.Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson)

Star Blake Lively of “Another Simple Favor” with co-star Michele Morone who portrays Dante Versano, embracing as they meet outside the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Justin Trudeau Addresses Tariffs on Canada on March 4, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 4, 2025

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Local, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Television

Canadian Primer Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unleashed a historic speech scorching Donald Trump’s idiocy over his disastrous new tariffs: “This is a very dumb thing to do.”

“The United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same time, they’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying murderous dictator,” began Trudeau.

“Make that make sense.”

Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico took effect today and the markets are in free fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has already plummeted 662 points after plunging 650 points on Monday. The S&P 500 lost 1.3% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.9%

The gullible fools who thought that Trump would be “good for the economy” have had the rug pulled out from under them in record time.

“Canadians are reasonable and we are polite,” Trudeau continued. “But we will not back down from a fight, not when our country and the well-being of everyone in it is at stake. At the moment, the U.S. tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning and so did the Canadian response.”

“Canada will be implementing 25% tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in twenty-one days time,” said Trudeau. “Our tariffs will remain in place until the U.S. tariffs are withdrawn and not a moment sooner.”

“And should these tariffs not cease, we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures, measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war,” he threatened.

“Now just like I did a month ago, I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this,” said Trudeau. “We want to work with you as a friend and ally and we don’t want to see you hurt either.”

BEE GONE

“But your government has chosen to do this to you,” he stated bluntly. “As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically all across your country.”

“Your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada or because of consumers in Canada or both,” he went on.

“They’ve chosen to raise costs for American consumers on everyday essential items like groceries and gas, on major purchases like cars and homes, and everything in between,” he continued.

“They’ve chosen to harm American national security, impeding access to the abundant critical minerals, energy, building materials, and fertilizers that we have and that the United States needs to grow and prosper,” he explained.

“They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will first and foremost harm American families. They’ve chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new ‘Golden Age’ for the United States,” said Trudeau, taking a direct shot at MAGA’s latest inane rhetoric.

“And they’ve chosen to undermine the incredible work that we’ve done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the Earth,” he added. “So on that point, let me be crystal clear. There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today.”

Trudeau then shifted gears to go after Donald Trump directly, the clueless mastermind behind this entire disaster—

“Now I want to speak directly to one specific American: Donald. In the over eight years you and I have worked together, we’ve done big things,” said Trudeau, appealing to Trump’s ego.

“We signed a historic deal that has created record jobs and growth in both of our countries. We’ve done big things together on the world stage as Canada and the U.S. have done together for decades, for generations,” he continued. “And now we should be working together to ensure even greater prosperity for North Americans in a very uncertain and challenging world.”

“Now, it’s not in my habit to agree with The Wall Street Journal but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy this is a very dumb thing to do. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see,” said Trudeau.

“And now to my fellow Canadians: I won’t sugarcoat it. This is going to be tough even though we’re all going to pull together because that’s what we do,” he added. “We will use every tool at our disposal so Canadian workers and businesses can weather this storm.”

(*A last-minute exchange on Trump’s Truth Social Network suggests that Trump might now use this 25% tariff, scheduled to go into effect on March 5th, as a bullying tactic against Canada, much as he used the threat of discontinuing Ukrainian military aid to extract a promise from that war-torn country to hand over precious minerals to the U.S.

CNN called Trump’s threats “a game of economic chicken.”

Trump sees everything in terms of money and power and will use any means to seize and hold both, even if it means abandoning moral principles our country has espoused for many

generations, such as USAID. To put it in simpler terms, DJT finds the far-right groups easier to manipulate, since they will blindly follow a figurehead without thinking through that Talking Head’s positions to determine if they are really advantageous to them, personally. DJT and Elon Musk are overthrowing the traditional values of free speech (and, soon, free elections) because a “free” election might throw them out of power. And, as mentioned, DJT is all about seizing and maintaining their power and wealth. There is no morality to thinking this way, but, then, we’re talking about a man not known for his morality or his compassion or his concern for anyone but Donald J. Trump.

We are talking about a man who is squandering our (former) position as the Leader of the Free World. The message to the world is that the U.S. cannot be counted on. This is not about DJT. This is about the American people and DJT is not keeping the American people (and America) safe on any level.)

How’s the Insurrection Coming Along, Then?

By Connie Wilson

On March 3, 2025

In Editorial, Interviews, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics

by Mark Gimein, Managing Editor of “The Week”

BEE GONE

“Am I the sucker? For as long as I can remember I thought that the United States stood for democratic values and individual liberty. These were supposed to be the guiding lights of American foreign policy, even if the principles might not always be absolute or the path to them always direct. Critics of the U.S., both external and internal, insisted that this was a delusion at best, and more likely simply a lie. Yet for most of the post-World War II era these ideas served the U.S. very well. To put it bluntly, Thanks to them, we won the Cold War.

OR SO I THOUGHT.

But obviously President Trump and those who have Trump’s ear think differently. He never had much interest in the “suckers and losers” (his words about the American soldiers who died in France) who bought all that stuff about defending democracy. Trump, like Vice-President J.D. Vance and others in his orbit, prefers a hard-nosed realpolitik. If Ukraine shares its wealth, we might help in its defense. Or we might not.

JUSTIFICATIONS

Trump justifies this by calling Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, a dictator and saying Ukraine started it all anyway—making mincemeat of the truth and decades of U.S. foreign policy goals in a single tweet. The idea that Russia is not to blame for the Ukraine war is not original to Trump. University of Chicago political scientist John J. Mearsheimer has been saying that for over a decade, starting with the paper titled “Why the Ukraine Crisis is the West’s Fault.” The “realists” like Mearsheimer urge us to drop talk of freedom and principles and see the world as just the sum of the great powers’ spheres of influence.

THE GREAT POWERS

This is how Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping see the world. They would like nothing more than to sit down with Trump and carve up the globe—taking a nibble of Latvia, tightening the noose around Taiwan. (*If you were paying attention during the Oscars last night, the Latvian team that collected their Oscar for “Flow” referenced the fighting already going on on one of their borders, which the world does not hear about.)

Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol

Each bargain might make sense to a deal-maker like Trump. But eventually losing our principles will mean losing our influence. And, in the end, it will be the U.S. that looks like the sucker at the table.”

POST SCRIPT

Later, within the magazine he manages, we learn from Charles P. Pierce (“Esquire”) that Trump specifically fired the lawyers charged with resisting illegal presidential orders. Nor was it reassuring when Hegseth explained that the JAGs had been fired to stop them from being “roadblocks to anything that happens.” Paul McLeary in “Politico” said that the former Fox News host promotes a swaggering “warrior ethos” that rejects the Geneva Convention(s).

Trump’s purge, said Tom Nichols in “The Atlantic” is “the next step in his pursuit of total power. After capturing the intelligence services, the Justice Department, and the FBI, the Pentagon is the last piece he needs to establish the foundations for authoritarian control of the U.S. government. With his generals in charge, Trump can start building a military that is loyal to him and not to the Constitution. And the Black general that Trump recently fired, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., was replaced by a man he met while on a trip to Iraq, three-star general Dan “Razin” Caine. a white retired three-star general (retired and has to be brought back from retirement) who met Trump while wearing a red MAGA hat and said, “I think you’re great, Sir. I’ll kill for you, Sir.”

And if he wouldn’t, there are always the recently-released-from-prison Proud Boys.

A.I. Analyzes the 2/28/2025 Meeting Between Trump & Zelenskyy

By Connie Wilson

On March 2, 2025

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics

An intriguing analysis has been circulating online regarding the psychological aspects of Zelensky’s meeting with Trump and Vance, conducted using ChatGPT.

From this analysis, it becomes evident that we have witnessed a true masterclass in gaslighting, manipulation, and coercion on the part of Trump and his entourage.

Let’s break down the key points:

1. Blaming the victim for their own situation

Trump explicitly tells Zelensky: “You have allowed yourself to be in a very bad position.” This is classic abuser rhetoric—blaming the victim for their suffering. The implication is that Ukraine itself is responsible for being occupied by Russia and for the deaths of its people.

2. Pressure and coercion into ‘gratitude’

Vance demands that Zelensky say “thank you.” This is an extremely toxic tactic—forcing the victim to express gratitude for the help they desperately need, only to later accuse them of ingratitude if they attempt to assert their rights. (Zelenskyy had actually expressed gratitude to the U.S. at least 33 times.)

3. Manipulating the concept of ‘peace’

Trump claims that Zelensky is “not ready for peace.” However, what he actually means is Ukraine’s capitulation. This is a classic manipulation technique—substituting the idea of a just peace with the notion of surrender.

4. Refusing to acknowledge the reality of war

Trump repeatedly insists that Zelensky has “no cards to play” and that “without us, you have nothing.” This is yet another abusive tactic—undermining the victim’s efforts by asserting that they are powerless without the mercy of their ‘saviour.’

5. Devaluing the victims of war

“If you get a ceasefire, you must accept it so that bullets stop flying and your people stop dying,” Trump says. Yet, he ignores the fact that a ceasefire without guarantees is merely an opportunity for Russia to regroup and strike again.

6. Dominance tactics

Trump constantly interrupts Zelensky, cutting him off: “No, no, you’ve already said enough,” and “You’re not in a position to dictate to us.” This is deliberate psychological pressure designed to establish a hierarchy in which Zelenskyy is the subordinate.

7. Forcing capitulation under the guise of ‘diplomacy’

Vance asserts that “the path to peace lies through diplomacy.” This is a classic strategy where the aggressor is given the opportunity to continue their aggression unchallenged.

8. Projection and distortion of reality

Trump declares: “You are playing with the lives of millions of people.” Yet, in reality, it is he who is doing exactly that—shifting responsibility onto Zelenskyy.

9. Creating the illusion that Ukraine ‘owes’ the US

Yes, the US is assisting Ukraine, but presenting this aid as “you must obey, or you will receive nothing” is not a partnership—it is financial and military coercion. It was similar coercion during a phone call between the two men (DJT asking Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens) that led to Trump’s first impeachment. A notoriously thin-skinned man, he has not forgotten this snub and the set-up on 2/28 reflected that.

10. Undermining Ukraine’s resistance

Trump states that “if it weren’t for our weapons, this war would have ended in two weeks.” This is an attempt to erase Ukraine’s achievements and portray its efforts as entirely dependent on US support.

Conclusion

Trump and his team employed the full spectrum of abusive tactics: gaslighting, victim-blaming, coercion into gratitude, and manipulation of the concepts of peace and diplomacy. This was not a negotiation—it was an attempt to force Zelenskyy into accepting terms beneficial to Russia but potentially fatal for Ukraine. (Who negotiates peace without inviting both warring parties to the table?) No less a GOP voice than former Security Advisor and Ambassador Susan Rice immediately called out the embarrassing display for what it was: a set-up intended to “get even” with Zelenskyy for not submitting to DJT’s wishes at every turn and a backing of his favorite strongman, Putin.

All of what has been happening makes perfect sense if we remember that Russia has been “stroking” Trump in an attempt to convert him to a Russian asset for years. It seems to have worked better than Vladimir Putin could have imagined. Now the oligarchs will divide up the wealth and go about their business, completely ignoring the average citizen, for whom Trump seems to have absolute contempt, since he lied to all of us repeatedly. (How do you feel about your grocery bills now that eggs and beef are more valuable than some precious gems?)

I have some small hope that all of the destruction we have seen being inflicted on all institutions can be reversed, but it will take years. This is one of the few times that I honestly am grateful that I am not going to be around for decades to see all the hard work that it is going to take to UNdo the damage Trump is doing. I came in on JFK, campaigning for him as a high school girl (not old enough to vote). Now I will probably go out on Trump and his band of corrupt cronies. I’ll be bringing out my hopeful feelings of 2008 (expressed in my 2 volumes “Obama’s Odyssey: The 2008 Race for the White House”) when we elected a decent, intelligent, compassionate man President. And now we have Trump. From the sublime to the ridiculous.

“You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone”

By Connie Wilson

On February 26, 2025

In Editorial, Education, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics

By Susan Caskle

“Bee Gone: A Political Parable”

Big, if true.

Elon Musk claims DOGE is uncovering all kinds of waste and fraud, outrageous scams perpetrated on the American people. These scams are so blatant and obvious that even youngsters untrained in forensic accounting can find them in moments. The implication is that federal workers, who are experts in their fields are either too stupid to have seen them or irredeemably corrupt. Look at the Social Security Administration, for example. Musk posted that his minions had found more than 20 million entries in the database with ages over 100 years old, including millions of people listed as over 150. It’s “the biggest fraud in history,” Musk said.

Except, of course, it’s nothing of the sort.

Because of a coding quirk in the vintage computer program the agency uses, an unknown birth date defaults to 1875, 150 years ago. These people are listed in the system, but they aren’t receiving Social Security checks—as a 2023 inspector general’s report had already concluded. In reality, only some 44,000 centenarians are alive and receiving checks, a figure that jibes with census data. And while there are certainly some fake numbers, even the conservative Cato Institute says those are mostly illegal immigrants who use them to get jobs, which means they pay into the system but get nothing out of it.

What else has DOGE turned up?

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was eager to tell us, saying last week, “I love to bring the receipts!”

But the only examples she offered were a few programs related to equity and inclusion, such as a $3 million Patent and Trademark Office program offering internships to minority inventors, and a $57,000 award for climate mitigation in Sri Lanka. Those may go against current administration protocols but they certainly don’t amount to fraud, since the money for them was duly appropriated by Congress. And cutting them will hardly engender significant savings in a $7 trillion budget.

You know who does know how to find waste and fraud?

The Inspectors Generals in our government agencies.

But Trump fired them all.

*****

Elon Musk.

Elon Musk’s claim to have cut $55 billion is already a fantasy—this week DOGE claimed an $8 billion savings for cutting a contract actually worth only $8 million.

Catherine Rampell (“The Washington Post”): “Trump voters want a shake-up and many cheer the wrecking ball. There are legitimate problems with the status quo, but the fix isn’t to indiscriminately fire air traffic controllers, gut public health agencies, or cut funding for cancer research. Trump is not fixing the problems MAGA voters care about. He’s creating new, much scarier ones.”

Said Martin Wolf in “Financial Times: “It’s a coup that will pave the way for autocracy, plutocracy and dysfunction. You can’t boost efficiency by hacking away at a complex bureaucracy, but you can chase out conscientious workers and replace them with loyalists who’ll do your every bidding. And once Trump and Musk achieve their goal of dismantling the civil service, it won’t be easily rebuilt. “This is destruction, not reform and whatever they have been told, ordinary Americans will not benefit.”

But we know who will.

(The lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” that contain the phrase “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot” are: “They paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got till it’s gone.”)

“BEE GONE,” warning about all the above, can be purchased on Amazon. Read about it here: https://conniecwilson.com/product/bee-gone-a-political-parable/

Trump Data: The Past Is Predictive of the Future

By Connie Wilson

On February 23, 2025

In Books, Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics

A real question from a Trump supporter: ‘Why do many say Trump supporters are stupid?’

(from Adam Troy Castro)

THE SERIOUS ANSWER: Here’s what the majority of anti-Trump voters honestly seem to feel about Trump supporters:

That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought “Fine.” (https://www.usatoday.com/…/trump-university…/502387002/)

That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, “Okay.” (https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hotel-paid-millions…)

That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, “No problem.” (https://abcnews.go.com/…/list-trumps-accusers…/story…)

January 6th: Trump-inspired invasion of the Capitol. All pardoned, with no cogent plan to separate those who had attacked police officers and headed militia organizations.

That when he made up stories about seeing Muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, “Not an issue.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/donald-trumps…/)

That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn’t care, you exclaimed, “He sure knows me.”

(https://www.usatoday.com/…/president-donald…/4073405002/)

That when you heard him relating a story of an elderly guest of his country club, an 80-year old man, who fell off a stage and hit his head, to Trump replied: “‘Oh my God, that’s disgusting,’ and I turned away. I couldn’t—you know, he was right in front of me, and I turned away. I didn’t want to touch him. He was bleeding all over the place. And I felt terrible, because it was a beautiful white marble floor, and now it had changed color. Became very red.” You said, “That’s cool!” (https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-howard-stern-story)

That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw. (https://www.nbcnews.com/…/donald-trump-criticized-after…)

That when you heard him brag that he doesn’t read books, you said, “Well, who has time?” (https://www.theatlantic.com/…/americas-first…/549794/)

That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn’t commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, “That makes sense.” (https://www.usatoday.com/…/what-trump-has…/1501321001/)

That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, “Yes!” (https://www.latimes.com/…/la-na-trump-campaign-protests…)

That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man’s coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, “What a great guy!” (https://www.independent.co.uk/…/donald-trump-orders…)

Liz Cheney amidst backlash over her anti-Trump stance.

That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, “Thumbs up!” (https://www.theatlantic.com/…/why-cant-trump…/567320/)

That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, “That’s the way I want my President to be.” (https://www.huffpost.com/…/trump-insult-foreign…)

That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they’re supposed to be regulating and you have said, “What a genius!” (https://www.politico.com/…/138-trump-policy-changes…)

That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, “That’s smart!” (https://www.usnews.com/…/how-is-donald-trump-profiting…)

That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was in the middle of water and you have said, “That makes sense.” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/the-very-big-ocean…/)

That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, “falling in love” with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, “That’s statesmanship!” (https://www.cnn.com/…/donald-trump-dictators…/index.html)

That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids, has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas – he explains that they’re just “animals” – and you say, “Well, OK then.” (https://www.nbcnews.com/…/more-5-400-children-split…)

That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise. (https://www.americanprogress.org/…/confronting-cost…/)

What you don’t get, Trump supporters, is that our succumbing to frustration and shaking our heads, thinking of you as stupid, may very well be wrong and unhelpful, but it’s also… hear me… charitable.

Because if you’re NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.

– Adam-Troy Castro

And, if I may add a personal note from a recent discussion, an intelligent friend with whom I was speaking wrote a defense of his Trump vote, when I made the comment that, historically, Dems were often “too nice” (as we were in Florida when Gore stepped aside for the good of the country and let “W” be handed the presidency by his brother, Jeb.)

His response? (And, yes, this person is well-educated and intelligent, so the statement that Adam (above) ends his data with does rear its ugly head.) Everything that was mentioned in “BEE GONE” is coming to pass now under Trump 2.0 and our democracy is at stake if we don’t defend it and if the (stacked) courts don’t stand up to this wannabe dictator. The price of eggs and beef has shot through the roof (so much for lowering the price of groceries). Inflation is increasing. Economists warn of a coming recession. We’ve pissed off our two closest allies, who are probably going to be boycotting American goods for a very long time. The bird flu, nuclear weapons arsenal, and people that might protect us from ebola, tuberculosis and measles epidemics are in free fall as the CDC is under attack. The 100,000 or more federal employees who have been summarily fired, without due process and possibly axed by an A.I. robot, are justifiably angry and demoralized. The positions like FBI and FAA that require extensive training, as well as places like the IRS that were already understaffed, are struggling. The United States insulted the leader of Ukraine and voted “No” along with North Korea and Russia to a U.N, resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine without cause. Our President is barely even conducting meetings, preferring to let Elon Musk and a toddler do the honors. Veteran analysts, seeing all of what is happening, have declared that it is their professional opinion that DJT was being groomed as a Russian asset from many years back and that the Manchurian Candidate may have moved from fiction to fact.

Most experts predict a Constitutional crisis, when these many questions of illegality reach the Supreme Court and we find out whether Chief Justice Roberts will stand up to the malignant narcissist who has completely ruined the United States’ reputation on the international front. European (and other) allies no longer believe in the United States as a steady-in-the-traces ally, and NATO—which Trump had attacked verbally as related in John Bolton’s book—-is now not the bulwark against Soviet aggression that it had been since WWII. (Trump, while in Air Force One on his way to a NATO meeting with Bolton, complained about the organization and revealed an almost complete lack of knowledge of its importance.)

Not everything can be judged or weighed in terms of money to be made. Perhaps that is what our current President thinks, but there was real value in being “the shining beacon on the hill” that Reagan eulogized. The dismantling of the USAID, the Department of Education, and too many other organization to mention by name has left us vulnerable to aggression from abroad as well as to plummeting faith in our institutions and the organizations, like FEMA, that serve Americans in crisis. The entire change of personnel is going so poorly that it is a wonder that we are maintaining whatever position we had as a world power, since all of this chaos and these poorly chosen federal employees, have plunged us into becoming a kakistocracy. Yes, it gives late-night comedians material, but at what price glory?

The book (above), BEE GONE, is a classic parable for our times, as it predicted what might happen if a drone in the hive tried to take over from the Queen Bee (*this was 2016’s election). As the book makes clear, “So the hive lost its honey, its Queen and its money. It was really a mess, and that isn’t funny.” The book really nailed some important facets of the fight today in 2025, following the election of 2024. It is available on Amazon. DJT killed it the first time (he was in office).

TRUMP VOTER, to me:, in defense of DJT: (I had said that Al Gore and the Dems were “too nice” in stepping aside for the good of the country in Florida (the “hanging chads”) back in 2000, therefore dooming us to 8 years of “W” when his brother, Jeb, handed him the presidency. This person felt that it was awful that Democrats were saying that Trump’s supporters were Nazis, but what else can be inferred from Elon Musk giving the Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration?

His defense:

“Too nice?”

I see one side calling the other side Nazis and fascists. The other side just wants what we had under 45. The lowest poverty rate in the history of the stat in America and the associated childhood poverty rate. It’s as if childhood poverty doesn’t matter to some people. Also the most impressive increase in household income that we’ve seen in our lifetimes. That’s food on our most at-risk peoples’ tables. I guess I don’t understand the name-calling when it’s clear that empowering people is far better than entitling them.”

First, let me say that the “calling of the other side Nazis” may well have come from the Nazi salute Elon Musk gave at Trump’s inauguration. And were it only true that just ONE side has resorted to name-calling. You must have some pretty selective hearing if you only hear the comments aimed at Trump and his supporters. I not only heard worse things aimed at me (Trump Rally, Davenport Iowa Fairgrounds, 2016) but was physically threatened simply because I was wearing a Press badge. That was the last of my following of the candidates across the country, which I had done in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and part of 2016. You are a very tough MAGA follower if you feel it is appropriate to physically threaten a 5’2″ retired 70-something retired English teacher simply for trying to report on a rally. But it was consistent with what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the MAGA crowd seemed to blame the crowd for the youthful would-be assassin’s shots at DJT. Hostility was aimed at the enclosure that held the Press. Trump is actively banning the AP from press conferences now, because they did not rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Second:

It’s really reaching to pretend that the incumbent really cares about childhood poverty, when Trump has just dismantled the USAID, which is responsible for less than 1% of the U.S. budget.

And we liberals/independents/anti-Trumpites are the bad guys because WE are the ones who don’t care about childhood poverty?

Absolutely incomprehensible that anyone would try to mount a defense using THAT

Writing: The Art of Creative Invention

By Connie Wilson

On February 18, 2025

In Books, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture

Based on a true story – The art of creative invention to tell a complete story

By Lisa Montalto

Titanic

As we all know, an autobiography or memoir is based on a true story, but there are also other forms of writing where the story happened. When a novel is written based on a true story, it can be written in first person by the person who experienced it, but often it’s written by a third party.

When a novel is based on a true story but written by a third party, there is a lot of research involved. And even with the most intense detective work, not all of the story is known. The little nuances and gaps need to be filled in and that’s where the writer uses their imagination to do the filling-in.

Where do you find a writer? Ghostwriters Central, Inc., is one great source. They have many skilled writers under contract, including me, thoroughly vetted, and ready to assist clients worldwide with books, screenplays, speeches, or whatever else they may need. The company was founded in 2002. If you need their help, click the link. Your first consultation is free. What follows are some examples of fiction based on fact.

TITANIC

Let’s begin with the story of the Titanic. There have been several books written and movies made about the days leading up to and the day the Titanic sank. So, what are the facts and what part of the story is fiction?

Fact: The RMS Titanic hit an iceberg off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 14, 1912.

Fact: It sank two hours and forty minutes later.

Fact: 1,510 people lost their lives out of 2,240 souls on board.

Fact: First Officer Murdoch, on the bridge, was alerted the by a man in the crow’s nest at 11:40 pm about the iceberg.

Fact: There wasn’t enough time to avoid the iceberg.

Fact: The ship was sailing at full speed.

Fact: The band continued to play as the ship sank.

That book or movie would be relatively short if not for an author filling in the gaps, creating backstories for passengers who didn’t exist, and adding drama to the plot.

SCHINDLER’S LIST

This is how a book is written when based on a true story. Let’s take the movie Schindler’s List. It was written as a novel called Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally about Oskar Schindler. Its genre is historical fiction because, while the facts surrounding the story are true, the rest are fictionalized.

Oskar Schindler became a hero when he saved 1,200 Polish Jews from the gas chambers. Keneally wrote the story based on factual names and events, but he needed to fill in the gaps about things he couldn’t possibly know, such as private conversations and actions that only the long-deceased Schindler would know.

Novelist Thomas Keneally happened to be in the right place at the right time when he entered Poldek Pfeffferberg’s shop in Beverly Hills, looking for a briefcase. Pfefferberg was a Holocaust survivor who worked for Oskar Schindler. He had been trying to gain the attention of publishers and moviemakers to tell the story of Schindler’s heroic efforts to no avail. When he found out Keneally was an author, he presented his story idea. Pfefferberg had extensive files on Schindler from working with him and it didn’t take long for him to convince the author to write the story.

In the United States, the book and subsequent film became named Schindler’s List, a number-one bestseller and blockbuster movie.

UNITED 93

To be a great non-fiction author you have to be able to fill in the blanks using research to validate what you’re presenting. When writing dialogue, it has to be believable that the real-life figure would say this or that. You must be able to use their voice to speak for them in ways that are most likely to have been true.

In the case of the 9/11 movie, United 93. We couldn’t possibly know everything that was said on that plane. We have a great idea based on phone calls from the plane and can piece it together, but the writer had to do their research. They had to imagine being there and what the passengers and terrorists would say. They had to research the people through interviews with family and friends to hone in on their personalities and how they would react. All of this leads to a more complete and credible story.

Writing fiction and non-fiction requires their own special skill sets. A fiction writer can most likely write non-fiction because they have the skills to embellish and take on the voices of their characters. However, a non-fiction writer might have a hard time with fiction if they’ve only ever written factual-based true stories from interviews with the story’s subject. However, if you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer. If you’re not, contact Ghostwriters Central, Inc., at ghostwords.com.