The Mason Moment March 10, 2025

I speak about trump's tariff troubles with Canada and Mexico, and how they affect America's place in the world.

The John Mason Talk-Walk, February 21, 2025

The Mason Missile, January 26, 2025

Greetings, Americans! No, I did NOT watch the inauguration of whatshisface! I spent the day honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at a luncheon by the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr. Association For Nonviolence. I sat with other people involved in the Labor movement, another great vehicle for positive social change, as we come together to resist the trump agenda, which is pro-corporate, pro-billionaire, and anti-worker. How can we explain this? The fact that he cheated on his businesses, his taxes, his wives, and his golf; that he spired on a howling mob to ransack the Capitol to prevent the Electoral College count; that he FUCKED UP response to the murderous virus killing one and a half Americans; that he deferred to Putin in Helsinki, and refused to acknowledge Russian interference in the 2016 elections; who stole box loads of classified documents and put them in his glorified brothel; who sponsored a huge tax break for corporations and billionaires, which is the REAL driver of the deficit; who called neo-Nazis and white nationalists “good people” during the march in Charlottesville; who bragged that his celebrity status allows his no grab women by their lady parts; who constantly denied he lost the 2020 election fairly, and encouraged distrust in our elections system; who encouraged his followers to beat up his opponents; whose so-in-law and daughter used their White House connections to make an extra fortune from Chinese trademarks and the Saudi government—none of this prevented him from getting elected again to the most powerful office in the planet. Why, Americans, did this happen? I have no answers. We must look to the present, and realize his true agenda for this country, written down in Project 2025, the manifesto from the Heritage Foundation, outlining a reactionary dream list of all the advancements downtrodden people in this country have made to make “All men are created equal” apply to women, people of color, workers, low income people, and LGBTQ+ people—which they plan to destroy. In your “law and order” department, trump, who famously urged police officers (who later endorsed him) to rough-up suspects, has pardoned the maniacs involved in the January 6 riots, who tried to prevent the Electoral vote count certifying Joe Biden as President—you know, what trump calls a “day of love.” Many of those injured and killed were Capitol police officers. Now that these maniacs have been released—members of the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers (like their leader, Steward Rhodes), other white nationalist groups, and the guy with the “Camp Auschwitz” t-shirt—will reorganize and serve as an informal militia for trump, attacking those people trump tells them to hate. One example is Jacob Chansley, the “QAnon shaman,” the guy with the buffalo horns on his head, bragged he was out to “buy some motha f***in’ gun” after his release. (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/aqnon-shaman-jacob-chansley-trump-pardon-b2683533.html) (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/stewart-rhodes-convicted-of-seditious-conspiracy-and-released-by-trump-visits-capitol-hill) (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-issues-sweeping-pardon-of-people-charged-with-crimes-in-jan-6-insurrection) These are trump’s monsters, and he’s releasing them on us. After settling in, trump has put out a flurry of executive orders, thinking he can nullify the Constitution on a whim, like all despots do. One such is the executive order to eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, in violation of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which states, "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." this was passed at the end of the Civil War, guaranteeing citizenship for formerly enslaved people. This order would make the children of undocumented immigrants legal unpersons, with no rights to defend. trumps’ war on immigrants is on, and it’s hitting our communities; in Newark, ICE agents raided the Ocean City Depot, without a warrant, in a “routine operation,” including four women, and four men (One of whom was a citizen, and a veteran) who were employed at the depot. these were not criminals, but men trying to provide for their families. Moreover, the trump regime has given the green light to ICE to raid those facilities labeled “sensitive locations” where they previously would not raid, such as churches giving sanctuary to immigrants fleeing gang violence and political repression in their homelands. (They’re certainly NOT the criminal elements trump and company howl about.) (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/ice-raid-sensitive-schools-churches-daycares/4084960/) (https://abc7ny.com/post/newark-ice-raids-mayor-ras-baraka-says-detainments-carried-city-producing-warrant/15831158/) (https://6abc.com/post/ice-raid-immigration-customs-enforcement-agents-detain-3-workers-ocean-seafood-depot-newark-new-jersey/15832377/) (https://www.fox29.com/news/ice-raid-in-newark-nj-raid-oceans-seafood-depot-new-jersey) (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/24/2298879/-Reign-of-terror-Trump-immigration-raid-blasted-for-targeting-veteran?pm_source=ICYMI&pm_campaign=ICYMI01242025) But take heart; a coalition of state attorneys-general filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the order; and a federal judge in Seattle, John Coughenour, issued a temporary block on its implementation. SO, is the HOPE for Constitutional law in this country? https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-is-birthright-citizenship/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-birthright-citizenship-suit-states/?link_id=2&can_id=c6b214524e142a4cda41a3e4163755a6&source=email-gop-house-speaker-accidentally-gives-up-the-game-on-tv-3&email_referrer=email_2591282&email_subject=trump-smacked-with-massive-lawsuit-on-day-2 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-trumps-order-attempting-to-end-birthright-citizenship It’s only because of racism against non-white and non-European people that trump and his minions are raving about “criminal immigrants” and “secure the border” when talking about immigration; if the aforementioned immigrants were blond-haired, blue-eyed German, would trump scream so loudly? Of course not. Another area trump likes to brag about is how he would bring down, in a flash, the price of consumer goods, such as eggs. With the avian flu hitting many egg-laying chickens, the cost of a dozen eggs has risen, in some areas, to $7.00 a dozen, up from $2.25 a dozen—ever higher in some areas. I have NO confidence in trump doing anything constructive to deal with the avian flu. I remember how he DID NOT handle the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Other food items as beef, milk, and orange juice are expected to see similar spikes. (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/business/egg-shortage-prices.html) (https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/25/business/egg-prices-avian-flu-outbreak/index.html) I’m just scratching the surface of trump’s crimes on the American people so far. They just keep coming and coming. I would LOVE to hear news about resistance to trump’s stroke-of-a-pen assaults on our rights and on supposedly powerless former out groups. I would love to rea about news media that tell the REAL story about trump, and don’t worry about so-called “objectivity” or “both sides.” I would love to read about resistance to trump and all his mini-mes, in Congress, in the news, and in the streets. IF we don’t have such stories, if we DON’T make it impossible for trump to carry out his fascist-racist-plutocratic agenda, we’ll allow future generations to suffer poverty and repression for decades, and do we want THAT on our heads? American history is chock-full of stories of ongoing and fights for freedom, from the nation’s independence through the Labor struggles, the feminist fights, the Civil Rights movement, the LGBTQ+ movement, and struggles for the rights of Hispanic- and Native Americans, and we can’t allow trump’s terror to suppress those stories. Let’s tell those stories, and inspire ourselves to fight—and DEFEAT—Donald dumbfuck. We GOT this, Americans! Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael chai! Fuck Trump! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment, January 13, 2025

I speak about not dealing with trump's inauguration.

The Mason Moment, January 6, 2025

I speak about the history of the January 6 raid on the Capitol, and standing up to trump.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, December 30, 2024

I speak about the legacy of Jimmy Carter, and of the decline of Evangelical Christianity.

The Mason Missile, December 28, 2024

Greetings, Americans! The New Year is soon upon us, and we must resolve to do what we can to resist the upcoming trump administration (I’m nauseated to say that phrase), with its attacks on workers, low income people, women, and people of color. Please don’t be distracted by the right’s artificial hysteria about “boys doing girls’ sports,” and their complaints about books that offer differing viewpoints that their kids might try to comprehend. They might find out that the doctrines of their parents would not work for them, or benefit them—if not harm them, physically or psychologically. These fights against intelligent discussion or study about race and ethnicity (you know, the dreaded “woke”), gender and sexuality, of the REAL history of this country, or class and Labor, are not at all about the kids, or trying to protect them from any “harmful” ideas; it’s about the “adults” trying to suppress these ideas. All this would keep kids in a perpetual state on childhood, if they’re not allowed to think for themselves. That is all part of FASCISM, a word that we thought we have retired forever, but the idea has continued to be at work. An even more dangerous aspect of Fascism is the merging or private-corporate power with state power, combining against the working and lower classes, trying to keep them in submission. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum has a list of signs of Fascism, and trump and his cult check all the boxes. (https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/01/31/the-12-early-warning-signs-of-fascism/) (https://www.britannica.com/topic/fascism/Common-characteristics-of-fascist-movements) The power of corporations within the trump regime is shown by the influence of Elon Musk, and owner of Twitter (which he turned into X-crement), Tesla, and SpaceX—the labor of hundreds of engineers and technicians, and all Musk does is rake in the money from their labor, and due to which, he is recognized as the world’s richest man, according to Forbes magazine (https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#60f05d683d78) . In the most recent struggle to pass an emergency spending bill, to keep the federal government functioning through March 2025, House Speaker (for how long?) Mike Johnson had to deal with Musk, who used X to campaign against it, using lies and misinformation (synonymous terms) about what was in it. Musk wanted to take from the bill funding for programs that benefit working-class Americans, such as funding for research into childhood cancer, Down ’s syndrome, breast and cervical cancer, sickle cell disease, and opioid abuse. Why? Does Musk hate working and low-income people, just as trump has contempt for them? Traditionally, Republicans have howled, ever since Reagan, against the federal budget deficit, during Democratic administrations; but when THEY get into the Presidency, the deficit is no big deal. The original spending bill had a provision to raise the federal debt ceiling, and there have been plans to eliminate Social Security, Medicare, and benefits for veterans; and all the while, the Republicans call for tax cuts on corporations and wealthy individuals, swearing on stacks of bibles that they would invest the money they saved from taxes back into their companies, and the economic growth (supposedly) would offset the money cut from taxes. And, alas, people still keep falling for that line, which have been proven to be untrue; deficits have gone from the billions to the trillions since Reagan. It’s all about attacking working-class and low-income people, to place them under their control and domination. Again, here is another feature of Fascism. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/18/elon-musk-false-claims-cr-00195252 https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/20/2293067/-House-speaker-spoke-with-man-in-charge-and-Trump-ahead-of-spending-bill-vote?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_4&pm_medium=web https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/19/2292861/-Trump-trashes-weak-and-ineffective-GOP-congressman-over-spending-bill?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_recent_news&pm_medium=web https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/20/2293117/-Government-funding-bill-clears-Congress-to-narrowly-avert-shutdown I must say something about the fatal shooting on Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of several health-insurance companies that make their billions out of denying claims for people who are sick and need important medical procedures, and who die because the “health insurance” company denies their claim—more profits to the board of directors. UnitedHealth has been the worst at denying such claims to sick dying people, and the alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, has become a folk hero for this. Is it getting this bad, that people needing help need to go this far? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/nyregion/delay-deny-defend-united-health-care-insurance-claims.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/health-insurance-costs-inflation-denials-luigi-mangione-united-healthcare/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/amyfeldman/2024/12/05/unitedhealthcare-denies-more-claims-than-other-insurers---angering-patients-and-health-systems/ I MUST comment about from the commercial news media has often capitulated to trump: Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC making the pilgrimage to Mar-A-Lago, after years of attacking trump; the editorial boards on the Washington Post (owned by Jeff Bezos) and the Los Angeles Times compiling editorials endorsing Kamala Harris, but their publishers cancelled them; ABC paying trump $15 million for a lawsuit, which they didn’t have to pay—SHAME! That is another sign of Fascism, taking control of the news media. The Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny (https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny) shows us how to deal with an upcoming authoritarian regime, from studying other dictatorial regimes. His very first rule is “Do not obey in advance,” that is, people think if they capitulate to the regime early enough and accommodate it, they would be safe from it. But the regime will attack you no matter what you do to keep your head down and lay low; they would find any excuse to come at you, if it suits them. But independent news outlets, such as Daily Kos and MeidasTouch have been emerging as viable sources of news for the public. https://www.dailykos.com/ https://meidasnews.com/ https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/12/20/2293011/-It-s-a-Christmas-Miracle-Democrats-Punch-Legacy-Media-in-the-Jaw-and-Kick-the-RNC-in-the-Crotch?pm_campaign=trending&pm_source=sidebar&pm_medium=web Another facet of Fascism is rampant nationalism and imperialism, the idea that a nation can impose its will on other, less powerful nations—because it can. You find this in trump’s wisecrack (I think he means it) about annexing Canada as the 51st state, and calling Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau “governor”; his threats to invade Mexico to “eliminate drug cartels;” his desire to retake the Panama canal and seize Greenland, a territory of Denmark. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-mexico-drug-cartels-military-invade-1235183177/ https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-takes-aim-canada-greenland-panama-canal-christmas-day-posts-rcna185416 That’s what we have to deal with, Americans, an ignorant, racist, lying creep making policy decisions—again. Let’s organize ourselves and do our part to resist him and his replicas. That’s the resolution for New Year’s that we need. Stay Safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael Chai! America will be free! And, in spite of everything, Happy New Year! ADVERTISEMENTS