Lucas Brigham 3/16/25 Lucas Brigham 3/16/25

Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown: March 16, 2025 Edition

It’s Sunday again, so you know what that means. It’s time for the Top! Ten! Countdown! In this segment, I count down the top ten most important news stories of the week that every progressive needs to know about. These are the stories I choose, not the corporate media. Indeed, you’ll never see these stories on the mainstream channels. Let’s get started.

*Elon Musk looking upset. Taken from The Independent.*

10: THE GOOD XIT

X, the platform that was formerly known as Twitter (but that I call Xitter), went down a few times the other day. The platform’s owner, President Elon Musk, claimed that this was due to a cyberattack originating from IP addresses in Ukraine. Now, I don’t know definitively what caused the site to go belly-up for a few hours, but I often hold Occam’s razor to heart. The simplest explanation is usually, though not always, the correct one. I think it’s more likely that Musk, who’s focused on robbing the American taxpayers blind and taking all the power for himself, simply got distracted from keeping his platform secure, and it went down. In a perfect world (or at least, a significantly less horrible world), Xitter (pronounced “shitter”) would go down for good. Brazil has already banned it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other civilized nations like Canada do the same. Countdown number nine!

*Map of Israel, the Golan Heights, and Syria. Image taken from Al Jazeera.*

9: THIS IS NOT YOUR WAR

I still remember where I was when news broke of the October 7 attack in Israel. At the time, much of the world was rightfully sympathetic to the Israeli people - civilians should never be massacred for political purposes. But any sympathy I had for the Israeli government is now long gone. They are occupying Syria for an “unlimited time.” I know it’s rich of me to say this, given that I’m from a country about to invade its neighbor and former close ally, but Israel needs to stop meddling in other countries’ affairs. It was not Syria who attacked Israel - it was Hamas. Once Hamas is defeated, then the war should be over. Right? Well, apparently not - Netanyahu invaded Syria because he felt like it. I’ll never understand the “pro-Palestine” people who gave Trump the U.S. election, but that’s another rant entirely. Countdown number eight.

*Aerial view of Washington-Reagan Airport. Image taken from Engineering News-Record.*

8: FLIGHT RISK

It’s been reported by CNN, whom I hate to give clicks, that airline ticket sales have decreased.After the January 29 midair collision at Washington-Reagan in which 67 people were killed, lots of people have been blaming Donald Trump and Elon Musk for making air travel less safe. Amid shake-ups at the FAA, this blame is probably justified. Now, I don’t know definitively whether this particular crash (or the series that have been reported since) are 100% their fault. I am pretty confident, however, that if this were happening under a Democratic President, the GOP would be calling for the pitchforks. Of course, flying is still considerably safer than driving the equivalent distance - nobody talks about the tens of thousands who die in traffic accidents each year in the United States. But even if it’s irrational, I don’t blame people for being afraid to fly given the backdrop of what’s happening at the FAA. Countdown number seven.

7: TRUST FALLS APART

With the “help” of the United States, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire deal with Russia. This would in theory bring an end to the three-year bloody conflict that’s turned entire cities to rubble. Well, guess what? Russia has violated the ceasefire numerous times. It’s pretty clear that Russia won’t stop massacring Ukrainian civilians until they’re forced to. If the trickles of aid that Biden sent were not enough to drive the Russians out of Ukrainian territory, that certainly won’t happen under Trump. Even a ceasefire now would be a temporary truce at best, which would give Russia time to re-arm and invade again. But Russia won’t even agree to that, which Trump knows. Krasnov is a Russian agent through and through, and he will not rest until Ukraine belongs fully to Russia. We had no right to elect him. Countdown number six.

*Anti-Trump protests in Greenland. Image taken from r/Europe.*

6: A NOT-SO-SECRET ANNEX

So Greenland, the least densely populated country in the world, held an election recently. A key issue in that election was Donald Trump’s repeated threats to annex the territory, which currently belongs to the Danish Realm. Now, Greenland might get the short end of the stick with regards to Denmark, but they’d rather not be owned by a country where health care is expensive and kids get gunned down at school. Indeed, a significant percentage of the island’s 56,000 residents are protesting. They do not want to be annexed by the United States, and I don’t blame them. It’s clear to me that even if a Democrat one day is President again, the United States will remain isolated from its former allies. Dubya might have alienated allied countries, but at least he didn’t threaten to invade them. Countdown number five.

High egg prices. Image taken from Silicon Valley.

5: EGGING THEM ON (PART TWO)

So egg prices are still high, as you’d expect when bird flu is wiping out a significant portion of the U.S. chicken flock. All Donald Trump needs to do is handle bird flu like a functioning adult, but after his horrendous COVID response was memory-holed, we all know he won’t. That being said, this story is even dumber than that: Trump has been asking to import eggs from several other countries, including Denmark. Please, understand what I’m saying. Trump wants to import eggs from the same country whose dependency he’s threatening to invade. I’d imagine this went over like a lead balloon, but incredibly, the Danish Egg Association is “looking into it.” I can’t pretend to know much about Danish domestic politics, but if I were them, I would tell Trump to pound sand. Or better yet, tell Trump we’d give them eggs if he stopped threatening Greenland. Man, it’s so embarrassing to live in a country run by this dipshit. Countdown number four.

A recent (probably outdated) map of the measles outbreak in Texas. Image taken from Medical Express.

4: TEXAS MEASLES MASSACRE

Let’s talk about the measles outbreak in Texas, which is still going on. The best solution to the outbreak is of course vaccination, so naturally Trump’s HHS Secretary has spread disinformation about the MMR vaccine. He’s said the vaccine is just as dangerous as the disease, and that the 6-year-old child who died of measles in Texas was not in good enough shape. This man is disgusting, not that anyone who voluntarily works for Donald Trump in any capacity isn’t disgusting. That’s possibly worse than the “thoughts and prayers” response the GOP gives whenever there’s a high-profile school shooting. The outbreak has even spread to neonatal wards at Texas hospitals, where infants as young as three days old (who can’t be vaccinated against measles) have been given immunoglobulin injections after being exposed. About 300 cases have been reported right now, but let’s be honest - it’s probably several times that. If bird flu mutates to spread between humans anytime soon, we’re clucked under our current leadership. Countdown number three.

A map of tornado risk from the Storm Prediction Center.

3: TRUMPNADO

The mainstream media is barely talking about this, but there’s currently a major tornado outbreak in the southeastern United States. Buildings are in ruins, wildfires have been intensified, and as of the time I write this, at least 34 people have perished. Yesterday I posted on BlueSky that my sympathy was very limited for those in the path of these tornadoes who voted for Trump. I want to be clear about one thing: While I don’t wish tornadoes on anyone, voting for Trump is only going to make them more devastating. Not only does Donald Trump deny climate change and work to intensify it, but Project 2025, which he’s been implementing wholesale, calls for the dismantling of the NOAA. The only reason these 9 million people are under tornado warnings at all is because the NOAA works as well as it does. As horrific as the current outbreak may be, it’s going to be so much worse once these people get what they voted for. I just wish the rest of us didn’t have to suffer as well. Countdown number two.

*Never, Chuck, never. Image taken from Xitter on Google Images.*

2: CHUCK THE CUCK

You knew I had to talk about this. Recently there was a Congressional Resolution that the Senate had to vote on. This resolution would have given Donald Trump and Elon Musk even more power to ignore Congress and fund (or, more likely, cut funding) to whatever programs they wanted. It took 60 votes to pass this resolution thanks to the filibuster, meaning that Democrats could easily have blocked it. They didn’t. That’s right. Ten “Democratic” Senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, folded. Now, I’m not normally the sort of person to say that both parties are the same - that’s clearly not true. But it’s things like this that only give ammo to the people who say there’s no point voting for Democrats. Personally, if I wanted Republican policies to pass, I would vote for Republicans. But that’s just me. Even more incredibly, Schumer is going on a book tour soon, and I hope he gets booed to high heaven. Countdown number one.

Pro-Palestine protests. Image taken from NBC News.

1: ANOTHER HOSTAGE SITUATION

Mahmoud Khalil is a pro-Palestine activist who has every legal right to be here. You might disagree with the protests’ strategy, or even their ideology. Whatever the case, he did not deserve to be detained and held in prison. That’s exactly what has happened. As little as this story is being covered by the mainstream media, I think it’s the most important one of the week. The reason? Simply put, if they can do it to Khalil, they can do it to anyone else who opposes the regime. This is how Stalin kept power in the Soviet Union; he “disappeared” people who disagreed with him, and he used the atomization of society as a strategy to carry out his horrendous policies. In terms of atomization, our city design helps. If we do not speak up against the “disappearance” of Mahmoud Khalil, any one of us could be next. I don’t know what it will take to get Trump’s goons to stop abusing people. But we’re in a very dangerous situation right now, and there’s every reason to think it’ll get worse before it gets better.

Lucas Brigham 3/9/25 Lucas Brigham 3/9/25

Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown: March 9, 2025 Edition

It’s that time of the week again: Sunday. That means it’s time for the Top! Ten! Countdown! During this segment, I count down the top ten most important news stories of the week that every progressive needs to know about. It’s always imperative to stay informed, is it not? Here we go. Countdown number ten!

*Exterior view of the hospital at which Pope Francis is being treated. Image taken from the New York Times.*

10: CONCLAVE TIME?

It’s been public knowledge for a while that Pope Francis is in dire straits health-wise. As hard as it may be for many to believe, he has been a relatively progressive Pope by the Catholic Church’s standards. That being said, I’ve been to a lot of r/news threads about the Pope’s health, many of which have ended up getting locked. It’s no secret that Redditors are, by and large, not fans of religion in general, but especially the Catholic Church. And lots of these criticisms, such as the suppression of womens’ rights and the internal sex abuse scandals, are legitimate. I’m not religious myself, nor do I think the Pope is a particularly good person. But I still wouldn’t wish double pneumonia on anyone that age. And I hope he recovers, if only because his replacement might be worse. Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, might recover. But if he doesn’t, then the film Conclave will prove to be very timely indeed. Countdown number nine.

*Rep. Al Green (D-TX) shouting during Trump’s speech. Image taken from People.com.*

9: GREEN MAKES A SCENE

So Trump recently gave his first address to Congress of his second term. For whatever reason, it’s not considered a State of the Union. Of course, I didn’t actually watch it - I didn’t want to give Mango Mussolini any more ratings than necessary. Al Green, a Democratic Congressman from Texas, actually showed a spine for once. He relentlessly called out Trump during his speech, causing a disturbance that was (and is) very important. In practical terms, there’s only so much the Democrats can do to stop Trump’s fascist agenda, but they don’t need to normalize it. Green was even willing to face censure by the House at large. Of course, it’s not like being censured means much on its own, but I still consider Al Green a profile in courage. He took what the base wants to heart and for that I applaud him. The same cannot be said of the people I’ll discuss for countdown number eight.

*Congressional Democrats silently “protesting” Trump’s speech. Image taken from Reuters.*

8: PROFILES IN COWARDICE

Look at that picture. That’s most of the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives. Even if they are powerless legislatively, they can still hold sway in the “court of public opinion”, an opportunity they’ve totally squandered. Instead of making a fuss at Trump’s speech, they held up signs. Someone on BlueSky said it looked like they were bidding on fascism at a silent auction. And honestly, that’s exactly what it looks like. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) gave the official response to the speech, which was equally feckless - she literally praised Ronald Reagan during it. All of the Democratic leadership needs to go, and this party needs to be burned to the ground. Whatever rises from the ashes could not possibly be more incompetent than the party that managed to lose to Donald fucking Trump, TWICE! Slotkin’s pandering to “Reagan Republicans” shows Democrats learned nothing from the 2024 election. If they don’t stop this, they will never win again, and they might not deserve to. Countdown number seven.

*Phil Keoghan, host of “The Amazing Race.” Image taken from IMDB.*

7: BREAD AND CIRCUSES

Here’s a non-political story for you guys. As of March 9, 2025, The Amazing Race 37 has aired one episode. It’s a glorious and perfect episode that greatly excited me. I’m not going to spoil which teams got eliminated - that’s public knowledge anyway. But I maintain that this show is much better than New Era Survivor. The latter show feels the same every season, because it’s now only 26 days, there’s very little conflict between players thanks to the impact of social media, and it’s always on the same beaches in Fiji. Seriously, would it kill them to go somewhere else for a change? Okay, apparently so. The fact remains that The Amazing Race will never get old to me, since every season has different tasks and locations. And I’m really thrilled to see this season through to the end. Countdown number six!

*A picture I took of egg prices at my local Whole Foods in suburban Boston.*

6: EGGING US ON

Remember when Trump promised during the 2024 campaign that egg prices would go down as soon as he got elected? Well, to put it bluntly, they haven’t. I’ve been doing most of the grocery shopping for my family lately, and a dozen eggs at my local store was $12. They’re only letting each customer take three packages at a time, too, which is fair. The reason for this is of course the bird flu, which Trump has done nothing about and will not do anything about. Why not? It’s simple - his second term is dedicated to revenge against the Americans who rejected him in 2020. That’s why it was imperative not to elect him this time. Meanwhile, Canada is laughing at us because they’re safe from these egg prices due to their actual leadership. Now, they’re not JUST laughing at us, but we’ll get to that later. I’m so jealous. Countdown number five.

5: FIVE-THIRTY-GONE

As of a few days ago, Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight, a website dedicated to forecasting elections using polls and fundamentals, is officially no more. It truly is the end of an era. No longer will we be able to access their insight and use their interactive maps to determine what election outcome is most likely in the United States. Now, some people are saying that it’s anticipatory obedience to Donald Trump for publishing polls he doesn’t like. I mean, we all remember when Trump threatened to sue Ann Selzer for putting out a poll showing him losing Iowa by 3 points. Even though he ultimately won Iowa by 13 points, he’s such a sore winner that he couldn’t handle Selzer being wrong. Think about that. But whether this is bowing down to Trump or simply due to economy-related layoffs, it’s a sad day for the polling industry and statisticians everywhere. Countdown number four.

*YouTube Thumbnail for “I Brought You Tariffs” by the Parody Project, a parody of “I Shot The Sheriff” by Bob Marley.*

4: I BROUGHT YOU TARIFFS

The trade war between the United States on one side, and the civilized world on the other, has escalated. As such, many people in the great white north have been proudly buying Canadian, and tensions between the two countries have increased. It’s gotten so intense, in fact, that the Premier of Manitoba will take American alcohol off shelves in his province. Now, I don’t blame him, especially since most Canadians won’t buy it anyway. That being said, I think it’s important to note that this is very one-sided, at least morally speaking. If we hadn’t elected Donald Trump, we would not have started such an unnecessary trade war. It would not have begun without Trump, and it will not end until Trump is out of power. That’s not to say that Canadians will ever trust us again - which I don’t blame them for after Trump’s threatened to annex their country on numerous occasions. Speaking of which…

*“Boo’d Off The Stage”, a Duel minigame from Mario Party 6.*

3: BOO’D OFF THE STAGE

Remember when Trump said that America would be respected again around the world? Well, as with many other things, he was lying. The world is laughing at us sometimes, but they’re mostly mad at us. I still remember that US-Canada hockey game with three brawls in the first ten seconds - it’s my Discord banner in fact. More recently, there was this WWE event in Toronto at which Canadians loudly booed the American national anthem. And again, I do not blame them in the slightest. I normally couldn't care less about who wins at a professional sporting event; it really isn’t my cup of tea. But I still think this event is notable for an exhibit of just how far US-Canada relations have fallen, and I don’t think they’re likely to recover even after Trump is gone. Countdown number two.

*Disgraced former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin being sentenced in 2021 for the murder of George Floyd. Image taken from the New York Times.*

2: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ELON (AGAIN)

The other day, Elon Musk, who is effectively President of the United States at this point, called for a pardon of Derek Chauvin. Chauvin, of course, is the former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd back in May 2020. This pardon (which would not, strictly speaking, result in Chauvin being freed from state prison) would be a disgusting enough act on its own. Trump claims he’s not considering the pardon, but we can’t rule it out, particularly because of the protests it would generate. These protests would be used as a pretext for martial law, which Project 2025 explicitly says he’ll try to do. And again, if you didn’t believe he’d try to implement Project 2025, you are an idiot of the highest order. So he’s going to declare martial law, and the streets will run red. Countdown number one.

*Crocus City Hall in Moscow, Russia, a cautionary tale of what happens when you don’t listen to intelligence. Image taken from Wikipedia.*

1: IN THE DARK

Well, it’s happening. The US’ former allies have decided that they will share less intelligence with America. Again, I don’t blame them - with Russian agent Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence, they have to assume that any intelligence they share with us might end up in Russian hands. If there’s a major terrorist attack on American soil in the next few years, you know exactly who to blame. And, much like the potential pardon of Derek Chauvin, this may well be part of the plan to declare martial law and crack down on protests. Truth be told, I don’t think a 9/11-style attack would unite the country anymore like it did in 2001; instead, half the country will pretend to believe it didn’t happen at all. We’re well and truly fucked, and to the pro-Palestine people who didn’t vote for Harris: I hope it was worth it.

Lucas Brigham 1/26/25 Lucas Brigham 1/26/25

Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown: January 26, 2025 Edition

It’s that time of the week again. It’s time for Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown, in which I break down the top ten most important news stories that every progressive needs to hear about. These are the opinions you won’t hear from the mainstream media now that it’s been captured by corporations and the right wing. Let’s get into it.

*Donald Trump falsifying the path of a 2019 hurricane, creating the controversy later known as “Sharpiegate.” Image taken from Science Magazine.*

10: DON PETTY

This is hardly the most important story on this list, hence why it’s only number ten. However, in one of his first acts as President of the United States this time, Donald Trump signed an executive order to rename Denali to Mount McKinley. This is something he threatened to do in his first term, but eventually backed down from under pressure from Alaska’s U.S. Senators. This name change might be disrespectful to indigenous people, but the other one is worse. The Gulf of Mexico is officially the Gulf of America, which serves as an immense monument to how much of a sore winner Trump is. Even beyond that, with reports that Trump is ordering 10,000 American troops to be sent to the Mexican border, I firmly believe that an invasion is imminent. Given that this story is only listed as number ten, you know it’s been a very fast news week. Countdown number nine.

*An El Al plane. Image taken from the airline’s website.*

9: THE PLANE IS REAL

Well, with the ceasefire agreement now in effect between Israel and Hamas, and the first hostages being returned home, it seems tensions in the Middle East are coming down. At least, for now. I don’t know if this agreement is going to hold in the long term, but the airlines probably know more than I do. Delta Air Lines, one of the three legacy carriers in the United States, has announced that it will resume service from New York-JFK to Tel Aviv starting on April 1. The nearest airport to me, Boston Logan, used to have Delta flights to Tel Aviv as well, though who knows when that’s going to resume. I personally don’t know if I would feel comfortable visiting Israel in the near future. They did elect Benjamin Netanyahu multiple times, but then again, given that America has now made Donald Trump President twice, do I really have any moral superiority? Regardless, it’s good to see a ceasefire in effect, even if I wish it had happened prior to the November 5 U.S. election. Countdown number eight.

*Mark Zuckerberg making a bizarre face at Trump’s inauguration. Image taken from the New York Times.*

8: META’S QUEST

Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow social media billionaires are acting like Donald Trump received 90 percent of the vote rather than 50. Their actions in bowing down to the GOP have been well-documented, and I’m not going to belabor the point here. However, according to this BBC News report , the Meta platform known as Instagram has been hiding search results for “Democrats.” The company claimed it was “urgently trying to fix the problem”, but I don’t think they care. That’s because I don’t think it was a glitch. I think Meta’s platforms are functioning exactly as Zuckerberg wants them to, which is to suck Trump’s you-know-what at every possible opportunity. In my mind, anyone who’s concerned about social media’s increasing slant toward the right has two options: They can either move to BlueSky, which is like Twitter before it was taken over by Elon Musk, or they can disconnect completely. The latter option might not be a bad idea. Countdown number seven.

*Pete Hegseth at his Senate confirmation hearing. Image taken from NPR.*

7: PETER, PETER, DRUNKEN BEATER

Well, they did it. Despite numerous allegations of alcoholism and impropriety, and despite the fact that he was totally unqualified for the position by any objective standard, Pete Hegseth has been confirmed. America’s new Secretary of Defense is a former Fox News host, and in the words of Hayley Williams from Paramore: “How did we get here?” Well, we got here because so many people idiotically believed Trump was the antiwar candidate. This could not be further from the truth. However, possibly the most chilling part of Hegseth’s confirmation hearings was when he was asked if he’d follow orders to have soldiers massacre peaceful protestors. Hegseth refused to answer, which is code for “Yes, but I don’t want to look bad in front of the Senate.” This Slate article by a Marine illustrates just how dangerous Hegseth is. The streets will soon run red with the blood of Trump’s enemies, and you can’t say I didn’t warn you. Countdown number six.

*Emergency services respond to the shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Image taken from Charisma News.*

6: AMERICAN BAD DREAM

America’s favorite pastime has made its return to Nashville, Tennessee, and this time the victim of this fear roulette is Antioch High School. A teenager shot and killed a fellow student, then himself in the school’s cafeteria. Now, one thing that’s been getting a lot of attention is the perpetrator’s manifesto. I’m not going to paraphrase, let alone quote, said manifesto, because I don’t think we should be giving this deranged psycho what he wanted. This is Nashville’s second school shooting in as many years, giving us a reminder that it can happen anywhere in the country. I’m reminded of the young woman who attended an elementary school near Sandy Hook in 2012, and was later a student at Michigan State University in 2023. Some people and communities have lived through two shootings, which is just unacceptable. It’s also worth noting that an AI security system failed to detect the weapon illustrating that artificial intelligence is worse than useless. Nothing will ever be done about gun violence in our schools - it’s been happening since 1764, after all. Countdown number five.

5: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ELON

I’ve already covered this story here , so I’m not going to spend too much time on it. Elon Musk, who is basically the shadow President of the United States at this point, made a Nazi salute on stage at Trump’s inauguration. If you’re not terrified, you’re not paying attention. I’m not going to say for sure that Trump will commit a genocide of his political opponents here - we’re not at step 10 yet. What I am going to say, however, is that we’re maybe at step 7. It started with mass deportations, and it’s going to end with camps if we let it. It can happen here, and it is happening here. Countdown number four.

*CDC headquarters in Atlanta. Image taken from the New Georgia Encyclopedia.*

4: THEY’RE BLINDING US WITHOUT SCIENCE

At a time when we may be on the brink of a global human bird flu pandemic, it would be nice to have a serious leader at the helm. One who will listen to scientific experts and acknowledge when not a scientific expert themselves. Donald Trump, of course, is not that leader, and it speaks to the depravity of the American electorate that we gave him a second chance. He has directed the CDC to pause all public communications until at least February 1 - but let’s be honest, we should assume that these communications will not resume until Trump’s term ends. To illustrate how big a problem is, information about outbreaks related to contaminated food products cannot be published now. Weekly CDC updates on seasonal vaccination statistics have also been disrupted. And if bird flu truly does become a pandemic of COVID proportions (or worse, given its 50% case-fatality rate), we won’t even know it’s happening until people are literally dying in the streets. Countdown number three.

*Donald Trump after signing numerous executive orders. Image taken from NPR.*

3: JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIVE

During his first few days in office, Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders. These included the aforementioned renamings of Denali and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as dozens of others. One executive order will withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accords, which will mean America alone once again. In my mind, this is part of his “shock and awe” strategy. Trump wants to make his opponents feel powerless when he signs dozens of executive orders a day, so he keeps shocking people until they grow numb to everything. Honestly, it’s working, even on me, and that’s the scary part. Even if you follow politics and insist on reading every last thing Trump does, there’s a point where you won’t be alarmed anymore. And that’s to say nothing of those who choose to obey in advance, like the mainstream media. Countdown number two.

*Donald Trump shaking hands with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Image taken from the Financial Times.*

2: I SEE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE

During the transition period, Trump said that he wanted to make Canada the 51st state. For the record, he’s still talking about that, claiming that Canadians would have “much better health coverage” if they were part of the United States. Even as someone who’s never lived in Canada, I beg to differ. Trump is speaking just like Vladimir Putin here. As alarming as his words toward Canada are, he seems even more serious about Greenland. During a phone conversation with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Trump angrily demanded the island. Try as she might to insist that Greenland wasn’t for sale, Frederiksen couldn’t placate Trump. And she won’t be able to, because the felon is deadly serious about it. As scared as I am for my own country, I’m even more terrified for the rest of the world. Just 49.9% of the American electorate may have been enough to start World War III over the island of Greenland - Greenland, with basically no agriculture and that belongs to a NATO ally - and that’s beyond infuriating. Countdown number one.

*Kyle Rittenhouse at a Wisconsin bar in the early days of 2021 wearing a provocative T-shirt and drinking beers with the Proud Boys.*

1: GASLIGHT, OBSTRUCT, PROJECT

He did it. We all warned you he was going to do it, but many of you didn’t listen. Donald Trump has pardoned approximately 1,500 people who were present at the United States Capitol during the coup attempt on January 6, 2021. The rule of law is officially dead in America, and what’s worse is that many of the newly-pardoned January Sixers are reportedly now purchasing firearms. At least one man has now been rearrested on a gun charge. Whether or not this person is pardoned once more, the fact remains that there are going to be a lot more guns floating around, just like there are after every high-profile mass shooting. Even if Pete Hegseth doesn’t order the military to fire on protestors, he doesn’t really need to, because the pardoned January Sixers are going to do it for him. In the words of Kyle Rittenhouse, they are “free as fuck.” The streets will run red, and time will crawl until Canada annexes us.

Lucas Brigham 1/19/25 Lucas Brigham 1/19/25

Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown: January 19, 2025 Edition

It’s that time of the week again: Sunday. And that can only mean one thing. It’s time for Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown, during which I list the most important news stories that every progressive needs to know. Without further ado, let’s go. Countdown number ten!

*Chicago skyline, image taken from TripAdvisor.*

10: RAIDERS OF THE WINDY CITY

According to the Wall Street Journal, President-elect Donald Trump and his goons plans to begin deportation raids immediately after taking office. Their first target will be multiple locations in Chicago. Knowing that immigrant and racial minority communities swung greatly toward Trump in the most recent election (as did most other groups, to be fair), my sympathy is very limited. To those families who will be torn apart through no fault of their own, I hold a great deal of sorrow in my heart. As horrifying as it is that Trump’s going to send his foot soldiers into liberal cities and Democrats are likely only going to obey in advance, I will say this: If you supported this policy through your vote, and your family gets torn apart, I only have so many fucks to give. The leopards are hungry, and they will eat well. Countdown number nine!

*Mark Carney, likely Canada’s next Prime Minister. Image taken from the Associated Press.*

9: O CANADA! CAN I JOIN YOU?

As we covered last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his resignation, and former bank governor Mark Carney is likely to take his place. Now, I don’t know too much about Mark Carney, but he seems to be far more popular than Trudeau. This notion is supported by evidence that polls may be narrowing. It’s long been my belief that the Canadian Conservatives were riding a sugar high and that if and when Trump won in the United States, Pierre Poilievre’s numbers would fall like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. That’s exactly what’s happening now, and since Canada is basically a sane, kind version of America, the voters are going to reject Poilievre’s brand of politics. But even if they don’t, the worst case scenario is that the Conservatives pass some unpopular things and get voted out a few years later. We’re in far more trouble south of the border. Countdown number eight.

*A copy of Project 2025, taken from the NPR website.*

8: THE UNCIVIL SERVICE

Well, to those of you who refused to vote for Harris because “Project 2025 is never going to happen”, I hope you’ve realized just how wrong you were. Before the 2024 election, Trump publicized his plan to replace the civil service, career bureaucrats who are traditionally in their positions regardless of whether the President is a Democrat or a Republican, with loyalists. This is evidenced by this report that Trump’s team has been interrogating civil servants about who they voted for in the most recent election. The dangers of this cannot be overstated - there’s going to be absolutely nothing preventing Trump from having his goons fire on peaceful protestors, for instance. Of course, however, the cruelty is the point, and for those idiots who fell for it and didn’t vote for Harris (or even voted for Trump), then I’m not going to cry when you’re targeted. Because we warned you it was coming, and you didn’t listen. Countdown number seven.

*A September 2024 missile strike on Kyiv, Ukraine. Image taken from BBC News.*

7: THE WAR GOES ON

Now, believe it or not, the war in Ukraine is still going on. In fact, with Trump threatening to withhold military aid from Ukraine (and possibly even aid Russia), there’s every chance the war will escalate to threaten the rest of Europe. Yesterday, Russia attacked the civilian capital of Kyiv , killing several and injuring several more. It sickens me that the world (or at least the United States) seems to have forgotten about the Russian invasion of Ukraine when it’s more brutal and depraved than ever. After targeting civilians so many times, people have just grown numb to it all. Russia must be stopped, but if anything, they’re likely to start World War III, and we’ll have an Axis of Evil with Russia and the United States against our former European allies. This was yet another reason why Trump could not be allowed to return to power, but we let him back in with open arms. Absolutely disgraceful. Countdown number six.

*Outgoing President Joe Biden announcing the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas War, flanked by Kamala Harris and Antony Blinken. Image taken from Maine Public’s website.*

6: TOO FUCKING LATE

The main reason the Russian invasion of Ukraine is hardly in the news anymore is because the conflict between Israel and Hamas (and the genocide in Gaza) has taken its position among the headlines. However, apparently they’ve reached a ceasefire deal to end the fighting for six weeks and release the remaining hostages. Now, it’s good that the fighting will stop, at least temporarily, and it’s good that the hostages are being released. However, this item would be a lot higher on the list if I actually expected the ceasefire to hold. Furthermore, let’s be real: The Israeli genocide in Gaza is one of the most important reasons Trump won the election back in November. Once Trump takes office, he is going to let Netanyahu turn Gaza into a parking lot, and the pro-Palestine protestors who burned the country down to spite Harris are going to be totally silent. I’d bet my life that this ceasefire won’t last very long. Countdown number five.

*A comparison of the 2009 (Obama) and 2017 (Trump) inauguration crowds, taken from PBS New.*

5: ALTERNATIVE FACTS, REDUX

Due to the allegedly severe weather in Washington, DC, it’s been announced that Trump’s second inauguration tomorrow will take place indoors. Now, a little snowstorm didn’t stop William Henry Harrison from giving a really long speech outdoors for his inauguration, even if it did stop his life a few weeks later. But this isn’t really about the weather. It’s about the crowd size. Namely, Trump is worried the crowd size will have suffered some “shrinkage” since 2017. To hold the ceremonies outdoors would require Donald Trump to have some honesty and integrity, and we all know he’s got not a single iota of either in his body. No, this is about his image, plain and simple. I’m sorry, Sean Spicer, but you’re not going to be able to push any alternative facts this time. Countdown number four.

*A meme about bird flu taken from Redbubble.*

4: FOR THE BIRDS

Bird flu hasn’t yet mutated to the point where it can spread easily between humans. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. And while I’m no virologist, it seems like with four years of anti-vaxxers and raw milk lovers Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the country’s public health policy, it’ll get plenty of chances to mutate to such a form. When that happens, we’re all fucked. It seems like many people have forgotten this happened. Clearly they forgot, because otherwise they wouldn’t have voted for Trump again. But Trump suggested injecting bleach and did nothing about the COVID-19 pandemic when he knew he had to get reelected. And if H5N1 becomes a pandemic on anything remotely resembling the scale of COVID, do you seriously expect Trump to do anything productive about the virus? Of course not. His second term is all about revenge, and he’ll ban vaccines even as the general public begs for them. And if you want a vaccine, too bad. The day to request them for the whole country was November 5, 2024. Countdown number three.

*An infamous photo of Donald Trump at a 2018 G7 meeting, taken from BBC News.*

3: AMERICA LAST

America’s traditional allies are expressing deep concern again, and why shouldn’t they be? At a time when the world must confront Vladimir Putin (whom Trump supports and will probably send troops to support in Ukraine), and at a time when the climate crisis is increasingly dire (which Trump doesn’t even believe in), half of America voted to burn the whole world down. Literally. During Trump’s first term, the United States was increasingly a pariah on the world stage, and it’s going to be far worse this time. The voters have proven that their decision to elect a madman was not an aberration. Americans actively love this man. Remember when the rest of the world closed their borders to us during COVID? Well, even if there is no pandemic in the next four years, they have every right to do so again. Trump keeps talking of invading Mexico and making Canada the 51st state. We are a pariah on the scale of North Korea, and unlike North Korean civilians, we freely choose this. Countdown number two.

*Mario and Yoshi duking it out in Tick Tock Hop, a duel minigame from Mario Party 3 (N64). Image taken from Super Mario Wiki.*

2: TICK TOCK HOP

I’m not talking about Mario Party here. I’m talking about the app that got banned this morning for “security reasons” even if the U.S. government does nothing about expensive health care or school shootings. Well, I don’t believe the government cares about national security, even if TikTok is a cancer on society by decimating the average attention span. But wait: The plot thickens! A few hours before I post this article, TikTok’s service has been restored in the United States, and the owners have posted a statement thanking Trump to every user who logs back on. So Donald Trump, who started the effort to ban TikTok in the first place, is now going to get credit for saving it. Make it make sense! Nothing about this country makes sense, but that’s America for you. Trump is going to be far more popular this term than he was the first time, and it’s a damning indictment on the American public. Countdown number one.

*Joe Biden during his infamous June 2024 debate with Donald Trump. Image taken from NBC News.*

1: JOE WAS BIDEN HIS TIME TOO LONG

I’m not going to say that Joe Biden was the second-worst President after Trump, nor do I regret voting for him in 2020. However, it’s clear that Biden was not the right man for the moment. At a time when Trump had to be arrested and imprisoned for inciting an attempted violent coup on January 6, Biden appointed lame-ass Merrick Garland to be his Attorney General. Now, I wish he were on the Supreme Court right now, but Garland did a terrible job as Attorney General, waiting until way too late to hold Trump accountable for his numerous crimes. But Biden himself is hardly blameless, having run for reelection when he knew he was mentally unfit to take on Donald Trump, then dropping out when it was too late to save his party. Joe Biden will leave office tomorrow, and while he did some good things as the 46th President of the United States, his legacy is irrevocably tainted by his failure to prevent Trump’s return. The tragic irony is that he won the 2020 primary largely on presenting himself as the most electable candidate who would deny Trump a second term, and yet he’s now the reason Trump will have a second term. Let’s Go Brandon!

Lucas Brigham 1/12/25 Lucas Brigham 1/12/25

Anti-America’s Top Ten Countdown: January 12, 2025 Edition

Yes, I’m doing this again. I’m going to count down the top ten most important news stories of the past week for progressives. I’m going to choose them, not the obedient idiots at MSNBC or CNN, and certainly not the conservative hacks at Fox News. So let’s get into them, shall we?

*Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces his resignation. Image taken from CNN.*

10: THAT’S TRUE…D’OH!

Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the country’s Liberal party, has announced his resignation. I’m not in Canada, even if I might wish I lived there, but from what I’ve gathered he overstayed his welcome. Additionally, he loosened Canada’s immigration laws, which some blamed for increased housing costs. In my mind, Trudeau gets too much hate, but then again, he looks like an angel compared to the abomination who’s about to be President on the other side of the border. This resignation sets off an election in Canada, and some people are comparing Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party, to Donald Trump. Now, if I lived in Canada, I wouldn’t vote for the Conservatives, but they’re nothing like the Republican Party. They still support universal health insurance and gun control, for instance, and don’t deny climate change. In many ways, they are to the left of the American Democratic Party. Countdown number nine.

*Thumbnail for the Matt Gaetz show on One America News.*

9: SHUT THE GAETZ

So let’s talk about Matt Gaetz for a moment. You might remember him as the former Congressman and sex trafficker from northwest Florida. Trump nominated him to be the U.S. Attorney General, but in the words of Gaetz’s Cameo page, that didn’t work out., that’s putting it pretty mildly, don’t you think? And yes, he’s on Cameo now, just like so many other washed-up conservative figures. He may have evaded any legal consequences for his actions, just like the President-elect, but at least we get to make fun of him. Gaetz now has a show on One America News Network, and he’s got so much Botox it’s ridiculous. But he isn’t going to be Attorney General, even if the actual Attorney General, Pam Bondi, isn’t going to be much better. Even so, the pathetic man who is Matt Gaetz is now on track for a humiliating next chapter in his career, and it couldn’t be more satisfying. Countdown number eight.

*Courtroom sketch of Donald Trump’s hush money sentencing. Image taken from Reuters.*

8: GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER

After the Supreme Court ruled that Trump could in fact be sentenced (on a 5-4 decision, mind you), the President-elect was indeed sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan in the hush money case. His penalty was what’s known as an “unconditional discharge” - in other words, absolutely nothing. Sure, he’s technically still a felon and cannot own a gun (not that people should be able to own guns anyway, though that’s a rant for another day), but he can still be President. Man, I wish Merchan had possessed the spine to put Trump in prison, because such crimes usually do result in prison time if the defendant is convicted. So that begs the question: Why do we even have laws? Like, if Trump the convicted felon can be President, nobody should be in jail. I hope that the first time he travels abroad as President, he gets arrested. What a disgrace. Countdown number seven.

*Mark Zuckerberg announces content moderation policy changes at Meta. Image taken from Tech Policy Press.*

7: FACTS? WHO CARES ABOUT THOSE?

Ah, Mark Zuckerberg. Other than Rudy Giuliani, there is perhaps no public figure who’s experienced more of a fall from grace over the last decade or so. I’m old enough to remember this article from 2017 arguing that Zuckerberg should run for President in 2020. From the vantage point of 2025, it’s downright laughable to think he’d have run against Trump as a Democrat. And yet, somebody actually published it. In any case, Zuckerberg, whose company Meta owns FaceBook and Instagram, has said that Facebook will end fact-checking on its platform. I believe this is an effort to move these platforms in the direction of Elon Musk’s Xitter (pronounced “shitter) in a craven display of anticipatory obedience to the Trump regime. Unlike Elon Musk, who has his devoted followers, nobody likes Zuckerberg anymore, and that’s a stark contrast from when he was a hero of the #Resistance in 2017! Countdown number six!

*Xitter profile picture of Phillip “Catturd” Buchanan.*

6: GET THE LITTER BOX

In the words of The Ring of Fire host Farron Cousins, this is one of the dumbest stories I’ve ever covered. But it’s true. For those of who who have remained blissfully unaware, there’s a right-wing influencer on Xitter who goes by the name of “Catturd”, using toilet humor in order to be a pro-Trump troll. What makes this even more pathetic is that he’s apparently 60 years old according to Wikipedia. Anyway, Phillip “Catturd” Buchanan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) of Christmas card fame. Catturd called Massie a “cringe butthurt DeSimp loser” after Massie jokingly asked the influencer how the kitty litter tasted. I don’t know what all of this means, or if anything will come of it at all. What I do know is that this makes a mockery of the United States…well, more so. We are a global laughing stock. Indeed, we’re worse than a global laughing stock if the top five are anything to go by.

*Barack Obama and Donald Trump talking cordially at Jimmy Carter’s funeral. Image taken from NBC News.*

5: O-BOMBING IT:

So former President Jimmy Carter recently died at the age of 100. It’s quite tragic that he lived just long enough to see his home state, Georgia, vote for Trump again. At Carter’s funeral, Barack Obama and Donald Trump can be seen embracing one another as if they’re longtime friends. Some people might disagree with me on this, but in my mind, Obama is showing his true colors right here. As a former President and still the de facto leader of the Democratic Party, Obama should be a voice for the party fighting against Trump’s attack on democracy. Instead he’s acting buddy-buddy with the evil man whom Obama’s constantly called a threat to democracy. Well, which is it? If you really believe Trump’s so dangerous, why are you publicly acting like he’s your friend? The Democrats are certainly behaving like the controlled opposition right now, and they are a disgrace. Countdown number four.

*Senator John Fetterman (D-PA). Image taken from NBC News.*

4: FETTERMAN IS NOT THE BETTER MAN

Remember when I said that Mark Zuckerberg suffered the biggest fall from grace over the last decade? Well, I lied - that “honor” goes to John Fetterman, the “Democratic” Senator from Pennsylvania. Fetterman, who was elected as a progressive Democrat over Republican quack Mehmet Oz, has shown his true colors as a traitor to the cause. Fetterman has announced he will meet with Trump at Mar-A-Lago. Truth be told, there’s no excuse for this. Literally none. Fetterman ran for office promising to counteract the no votes of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, and now he’s becoming one of them himself. Unlike Manchin or Sinema, however, Fetterman ran as a progressive, which makes me think his 2022 stroke might have broken his brain, literally. Brain damage can turn one into a completely different person, and that’s quite sad really. Countdown number three.

*An image Donald Trump posted on Truth Social implying a desire to invade Canada. Image taken from the Council of Canadians website.*

3: CANADA GOOSE CHASE

I want to make one thing very clear: I oppose the potential invasion of Canada. I hope it doesn’t happen, but Trump, who is about to have near-absolute power over the military, is openly saying that he’ll make Canada the 51st state. He’s been talking about it constantly for the last few weeks, and CNN is disgracefully covering it as a “territorial expansion” rather than the “military invasion” that such a project would entail. But let’s be real: Trump admires Putin and wants to be just like him. I think we should take these threats seriously, which is why it’s beyond infuriating that Democrats don’t seem to be. I emailed my Senators, both Democrats, to ask them to make a statement opposing this invasion, because even those who think the idea is ridiculous don’t seem to understand how horrific it would be. We won’t be a laughing stock anymore - the world will be united against us, and we will be a global pariah. If anything, the American population is worse than the Russian population, because Russian civilians couldn’t vote against Putin. The American people freely chose Trump, and we do not deserve to be forgiven. Countdown number two.

*Firefighters battling the Pacific Palisades wildfire.*

2: THE BLAZE

As I write this, the city of Los Angeles, second-largest in America, is dealing with a series of horrendous wildfires. Possibly the most horrific one is currently taking place in Pacific Palisades, an affluent neighborhood with many famous residents. It’s true that many online are not sympathetic to wealthy celebrities losing their second (or seventh) homes, and I understand why. However, I think it’s worth comparing these fires to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. It’s been said before, but Sandy Hook was the end of the gun control debate; if you were going to write a story about an event that would make Americans support gun control, you couldn’t do much “better” than 20 first-graders gunned down in their classroom right before Christmas. In much the same way, if a beautiful wealthy urban neighborhood was destroyed by a wildfire, and nothing is done about climate change, then nothing will ever be done. If the 2024 election ended the fight against climate change in the United States, the Pacific Palisades wildfire put the final nail in its coffin and buried it six feet under. Countdown number one.

*Outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris shaking hands with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Image taken from ABC News.*

1: AMERICA’S GONE COUP-COUP:

January 6, 2025 was not like January 6, 2021. This time, the certification went on with little fuss, and no Democrats objected to it. This means that the insurrection worked. Donald Trump got away with a literal coup attempt, and now we can say it wasn’t even an attempt. This is America now, where bad behavior gets rewarded. Unarmed black men have to be careful not to be caught slippin’ up, whereas the President of the United States can make his supporters storm the Capitol and get nothing for it. Indeed, he’ll get rewarded for it with the highest office in the land once again. This country is not worth saving - at least Brazil punishes their insurrectionist leaders. That is a sickening end to our countdown, isn’t it?

Lucas Brigham 5/28/19 Lucas Brigham 5/28/19

Blog Post Title One

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Lucas Brigham 5/28/19 Lucas Brigham 5/28/19

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea.

Lucas Brigham 5/28/19 Lucas Brigham 5/28/19

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea.

Lucas Brigham 5/28/19 Lucas Brigham 5/28/19

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea.

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