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Holding Cell

peace

00:00 / 04:23

Witness Stand

Suite No. 9, First Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: MOCK TRIAL

One day, the Fool was arrested during a peaceful protest. As he was languishing in the holding cell, the guard informed him that he was about to be escorted into the courtroom for his hearing. "Give me a moment to freshen up," the Fool requested. "I've always got to look my best, you know. Success depends ninety-nine percent on appearances, as my Daddy used to say."

Soon the guard escorted the Fool to the witness stand. The Fool swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Prosecutor

The prosecutor angrily pointed his finger at the Fool. "We live now in a wonderful time, a wonderful new world order, and under our new laws, you are being tried as a radical left-wing heretic because of your silly blog and your political actions. Do you understand the charges?"

Amused Public

The Fool replied, "Yes, sir, of course. I am currently the leader of a new movement that I have dubbed 'Verminism.' You can call me 'V' for short, or if you prefer 'F' for 'Fool,' though I suppose 'F' could stand for other things."
Some of the people observing from the public benches appeared slightly amused.

Followers of V?

The Fool continued, "I am, of course, the only official member of the movement as far as I know." Several people put on masks--as if they were followers of 'V' but wished to remain anonymous.

Reciting the Lord's Prayer

Suddenly a man in the courtroom started reciting the Lord's Prayer.
"Remove that man from the courtroom immediately," the judge blurted out.
As the man was being dragged from the courtroom, he emphasized the end of the prayer, "For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever." The judge did not look amused.

Tree of Life

"If I may, your honor,” the Fool continued. “That good man has a point. You have labeled me a heretic, but I am a Christian, and Christianity has roots deep in Jewish mysticism. You may recall that Christianity evolved from Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, for God’s sake. The end of the Lord’s Prayer references three Emanations, or Sephiroth, on the Tree of Life, the mystical glyph, or composite symbol, of the Kabbalah. Therefore, as evidenced by the end of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus knew the Kabbalah, which nowadays for many in the West is known as the Qabalah, Q-a-b-a-l-a-h. What many don’t realize, however, is that the Tree of Life continues to evolve like the rest of creation. The modern Qabalah is more inclusive and recognizes that all authentic spiritual traditions throughout history have created Gods and Goddesses that symbolically represent the subtle dimensions of One Universal Consciousness. If you understand that simple concept, you know why this trial is simply a sham, an obvious example of political and spiritual persecution. Those in power now want to control every aspect of our lives--especially the spiritual aspects of our lives, so they call anyone who seems to follow a different belief system a heretic or a potential terrorist.

Three of Pentacles

The prosecutor angrily approached the Fool once again. "Why are you so interested in this heretical 'Qabalah.' You must know that that the king has signed an executive order forbidding this blasphemous nonsense."
"I am interested because I wish to create an inner cathedral through my abilities to see into the spiritual dimensions, my intellectual abilities, and my creative talents so that I can experience and honor all of the dimensions of Universal Consciousness."
"Blasphemy!" the prosecutor shouted.
The Fool made a farting noise. "Amazing! You are a priest as well as a prosecutor!" the Fool exclaimed.

Bailiff

Some people howled with laughter.
The judge brought down his gavel and shouted, "Order, order in the court!" but some people continued snickering. The judge yelled, "Bailiff, clear the courtroom!" The bailiff, who had seemed about to fall asleep, escorted all the members of the public from the courtroom.

Jury

By the time the bailiff finally cleared the courtroom, most of the jury members were taking a nap.

King Rentier

The prosecutor once again approached the witness stand and angrily pointed his finger at the Fool. "You are also accused of being a radical leftwing lunatic!" the prosecutor shouted. "What do you have to say in your defense?"
The Fool smiled and continued, “The super-wealthy rule this realm. And most of the Oligarchs and Corporate CEO’s who own the political system are rentiers. They set up toll booths wherever they can and collect fees and rents and force people deeply into debt. On top of that, they gouge everyone with inflation. They don’t do anything that truly helps the people of this realm. Instead, like vampires, they suck us dry. They rip us off and exhaust workers and resources even as we are all still reeling from a pandemic. Just heartless vampires in a class of their own--but without any real class.”

Hospital Room during Pandemic

The Fool continued, "For instance, some people in the for-profit health care industry made a killing during the pandemic. Instead of testing, contact tracing, and quarantining to contain the pandemic, which health care systems in other countries have done effectively, our government let the pandemic rage, so we all got to watch as over a million people died a horrible death."

Military Firing on Protesters

The Fool couldn’t seem to stop himself. “I may be a radical leftist, as you put it, but I am simply trying to protect people and the natural world because I know the unity within all of creation, thanks to the Qabalah. We are all divine expressions of One Universal Consciousness. Look, our dear leader wants to use the military to deport millions of immigrants and put a stop to all protests. I know many immigrants who are devout Christians. Some are very kind people. We are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants, except for the few Native Americans who somehow managed to survive the genocide that swept across North America for several centuries.”
The judge angrily shook his finger at the Fool. "You are coming dangerously close to contempt of court!" he shouted.

Mother Mary?

"Why are you persecuting Christians?" a woman suddenly blurted out. "Why are you persecuting anyone who worships God in his or her own way? There are as many paths to God as the breaths of men and women!"

Irrate Judge

"How did that woman get in here?" the judge shouted. "Remove that woman immediately!"

Concentration Camp

The next day, the jury found the Fool guilty on all counts. They sent him to a concentration camp where guards starved the prisoners and worked them to death.

Escape to the Tarot Realm

In the middle of the night, before he became too weak, the Fool escaped the camp as guards fired their guns at him, barely missing him. He eventually found a path in the forest and strolled in the moonlight towards the Tarot Realm.

Eaten by the Rich

oceans

00:00 / 03:55

Suite No. 9, Second Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: PROJECT ZOMBIE 2025

Rich Man Dining in Private Cave

When I was exploring a cave one day recently I came upon a man who resembled a zombie. "Are you all right?" I asked.
"I was fine until a couple of days ago," the man replied mournfully. "Some men wearing masks who did not have a warrant or a badge or a name-tag grabbed me. 'What do you think you're doing?' I yelled at them. 'I haven't done anything wrong!'
'You're in our way! You're obviously attempting to obstruct fascism!' they shouted at me. They threw me into this hole, and now rich vampires are eating me piece by piece. They've eaten my nose and my lips and my right cheek. They've eaten one of my lungs and one of my kidneys and part of my brain and one of my testicles and two of my toes. They claim that I am an important part of a 'very special project.' The long and short of it is that this 'project' is turning many people into zombies."
"C'mon, let's get you out of here!" I blurted out.
"Why bother?" he mumbled. "I'm already half-dead. In this society, I wouldn't survive a day."
"But we could show other people what the fascists have done to you!" I blurted out.
"Half of the people in this realm support the sadism of the fascists or agree with their cruel policies, and the other half are too afraid to do anything," he muttered. "I don't want anyone to see me like this. Please just go before they catch you and turn you into a zombie like me!"
When I realized that the poor man wasn't going to let me help him, I found my way out of the cave.

Driven Insane by Inflation

When I got back to my apartment, I noticed that my next-door neighbor's door was wide open. I knocked and asked if she would like me to shut her door. She just stared straight ahead at something and didn't say a word.
Her friend, who was sitting on the couch, suddenly stood up. "She's catatonic. She's maxed out and can't pay her bills or feed her kids. I think she's been driven insane by fascism or inflation or both. That's my theory anyway. Wages have remained stagnant for decades but inflation has just kept rising. It's enough to drive us all crazy. One day we're all going to end up just like her if we're not careful.

Hungry Children

I glanced at the kitchen and noticed my neighbor's children sitting at the table, which was empty. The children looked famished. "Oh, yeah, I remember. Republicans cut the nutritional assistance program so now children are starving. I'll go see if I have some cereal or something else for them to eat," I mumbled.

Homeless Old People

After I fed the kids, I walked out to the street to clear my head and saw homeless old people nearby. I went online to look up some facts. For instance, "cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP will increase poverty and homelessness, which will disproportionately affect older adults. One study indicated that 579 nursing homes nationwide are at high risk of closure due to potential Medicaid cuts, with some experts predicting up to 600 closures or roughly one in four nursing homes in the U.S....60-65% of U.S. nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to cover their long-term care costs, with some sources indicating the number is closer to 63% of the nearly 1.2 million residents. This translates to roughly 700,000 to over 800,000 individuals, making Medicaid a critical funding source for nursing facility care across the country. One study projected that the One Big Beautiful Bill could lead to more than 51,000 preventable deaths annually. The estimate includes the effects of Medicaid cuts along with other changes, such as Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace reforms and rollbacks of nursing home staffing rules." In comparison, I discovered, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a one-time occurance, killed 2,976 people.

Monster Eating a Social Security Building

I also found information online about Social Security: "The administration has implemented large workforce cuts and closed numerous field offices, making it harder for people to access in-person services and forcing longer travel distances for assistance. The combined effect of fewer staff, fewer offices, and a potential shift to online services is expected to lead to longer wait times and reduced access to critical benefits and support....The actions disproportionately affect seniors, people with disabilities, and working families who rely on Social Security for essential income and support." I suddenly had a vision of a monster eating a Social Security building.

Monster Eating a Hospital

I quickly found more information: "Medicaid cuts significantly harm hospitals by increasing uncompensated care (care for which hospitals aren't paid), leading to financial distress, potential service curtailments, and a greater risk of closure, especially for rural hospitals and those serving large Medicaid populations. The cuts can exacerbate already precarious financial situations, forcing difficult choices about staffing, equipment, and which essential services, such as maternity care, to continue providing." I then had a vision of a monster eating a hospital.

Monster Eating the Environmental Protection Agency

More online information: Gutting the EPA "refers to the substantial and potentially devastating cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, staff, and authority that have occurred under the current administration, as well as a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that limited the EPA's power to regulate carbon emissions from power plants. Actions cited as evidence of the EPA being 'gutted' include the elimination of programs and grants, mass staff terminations, and the repeal of key regulations." I had a vision of a monster eating an EPA office.

Monster Eating a Law Firm

Even more online info: "In addition to going after big law firms, the current administration is attempting to weaponize ethics and civil procedure rules to stifle dissent against their disastrous and cruel policies. Last month, the White House issued a memo instructing the Department of Justice to ask federal judges to require groups that sue the federal government to be financially responsible for the federal government’s potential costs and damages if a trial court issues an injunction that is reversed on appeal. Then they instructed the attorney general to seek sanctions against, reassess security clearances of, recommend termination of federal contracts for, and refer for bar discipline 'attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States' now or over the last 8 years." I had a vision of a monster eating a law firm.
The more I searched online the more I found out how the current administration is neutering or gutting essential government agencies that protect people or benefit people in need while at the same time handing huge tax breaks to billionaires.

Military on the Street

I went for a walk again to clear my head and found a military force or a paramilitary force or a militia force (hard to tell the difference). I witnessed our military invading our own nation, turning its weapons on its own citizens, and turning the country into a police state--both illegal and unconstitutional--but the congress and the courts would not stop the fascists.

Family Separation

A paramilitary force was detaining people without probable cause and without showing a warrant or attempting to provide due process--they were just kidnapping people off of the streets and sending them to concentration camps. I remembered what the zombie had told me: "Some men wearing masks who did not have a warrant or a badge or a name-tag grabbed me--and threw me into this hole." In plain view, the paramilitary force was heartlessly and sometimes violently separating families. Many immigrants who were going through the naturalization process (or who were actually citizens) were illegally deported--and the administration just ignored court orders.

Arresting a Protester

The military or the militia or the paramilitary force arrested students who protested against a genocide (supported by the administration)--despite the 1st Amendment right to free speech.

Detaining Jesus

Suddenly I witnessed the paramilitary force arresting a man who looked like Jesus. "Wait!" I yelled. "You know Jesus was a refugee, don't you?"
"Sorry," an officer yelled. "If Jesus is an illegal immigrant, it's our job to detain him. If he resists us in any way, we have to charge him with obstructing fascism--and if you continue to obstruct us, we will detain you too. Better to stay out of our way."

Detainies in a Concentration Camp

I wondered out loud, "If Jesus were living in this society, would he end up in a concentration camp?"

The Don

Then I looked at my phone. I found a video of the king giving a speech: "I hold my machine gun during my speeches so that you all know that I am truly a strong man who means business, but notice that I'm not pointing the gun at the camera. I don't have to threaten people. All I need to do is say that a person I don't like is a 'bad person,' and one or more of my loyal followers will threaten or harm or kill that person without me even asking. And I don't have to extort people either. Some people who are seeking my favor just give me bribes--sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars. I would be foolish not to accept them. Even the Department of Justice raids homes or investigates people I don't like without me even asking them." I quickly scrolled to a different video.

Department of Government Efficiency

I found a video of a member of the DOGE team giving a speech: "We are dismantling the administrative state to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. In the process of saving taxpayers money, we collect as much data as possible. We use the information mainly to identify people who might be violating the law or who might end up becoming a terrorist. We are creating a huge data base to keep all the good citizens in this country safe."

Fascist Salute

I kept scrolling and discovered a video of Republican congressmen dressed in uniforms giving a fascist salute. "That's appropriate," I thought to myself. "They do whatever the super-rich demand, no matter how harmful. They are the handmaidens of oligarchs and kleptocrats and plutocrats and autocrats and Christian Nationlists and white supremacists. They have to do what the wealthy and the powerful want--or they might get 'primaried' and lose their jobs, so they march in lockstep and give the fascist salute. It's out in the open. Everyone can see that they are fascists."

Dictator

Then I scrolled to a video of one of the writers of PROJECT ZOMBIE 2025--who is currently the director of the Office of Management and Budget. He rambled on and on about how they will make the realm great again once they have established an authoritarian regime. "So maybe this guy is the actual dictator behind the scenes," I thought to myself.

Rich Man on a Pile of Money

I kept scrolling and found a picture of a man standing on top of a pile of money. "What a coincidence!" I exclaimed. "Maybe this is who the king and the members of DOGE and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the members of congress and the DOJ are actually working for. Maybe this is the real dictator!"

Hiding in a Box

drumbeat

00:00 / 05:31

Suite No. 9, Third Movement

THE NEW NORMAL: SPEAKING TRUTH TO FASCISTS

Haunted by Skeletons

Once faeries liked and trusted humans. Occasionally faeries even helped humans. One day, a faery named Luna discovered a fool in a cardboard box in the middle of the forest.
"How are you, kind sir? Why are you hiding out here in this box?" Luna asked.
"It's kind of a long story," the fool responded. "I've been blackballed for saying something that the rich and powerful don't like. In other words, I've been blacklisted--unfairly prevented from getting a job. That means that people in power pressured my boss to fire me, and these same powerful people also smeared my name so that I would't get hired by another employer."
"Why did that happen? What did you say that upset them so?" Luna inquired.
"Powerful people wanted to build another dam on one of the most abused rivers in the realm. I protested in an op-ed piece that a new dam would be just another example of socialism for the wealthy. The proposed dam would drown a stunningly beautiful public park under hundreds of feet of water. In other words, taxpayers would end up paying billions of their own taxpayer dollars to destroy their own beloved public land," the fool replied. "Corporations and wealthy landowners want more water to irrigate crops that should never even be grown in a semi-arid region, crops such as almonds and cotton. It takes a gallon of water to produce one almond, for instance. Not long after I made my public statement, I got fired. I had been a teacher for fifteen years and had received ratings of 'excellent' in every category on every evaluation. The rich and powerful wanted to shut me up by reducing me to a state of homeless destitution. In a democratic society, this kind of censorship is one of the first signs of fascism--but nobody else cared. My little faery friend, please don't ever believe that individuals enjoy freedom of speech in this realm. A person can lose a job and become destitute simply for trying to protect the public and the environment. While claiming that we live in a democracy, the rich and powerful in this realm who own the politicians have always had that kind of tyrannical influence in the public sphere. But it's even worse now--a person can get thrown in jail for decades or even murdered by the government without due process for protesting or criticizing powerful people like the King or the super-rich. I'm hiding out here now so that I don't get sent to a concentration camp or obliterated by a drone-strike for being 'anti-capitalist' or 'unpatriotic' or 'extremist' or 'anti-Christian' or whatever 'indicators of left-wing terrorism' that they use these days to label a person as 'antifa,' in other words, 'anti-fascist'--someone who speaks truth to fascists. The realm is now so authoritarian that it blows up and incinerates boats in international waters without providing any evidence that the people in the boats were doing anything criminal. The incinerated people might have just been fishing. If the powerful can get you fired for speaking truth to power, you know that super-rich people won't hesitate to use their power to shut someone up permanently--if they can get away with it, and so far they keep getting away with it. Even the realm's District Attorney has threatened to execute so-called 'antifa terrorists' the same way that they have obliterated the people in the boats--without due process or any evidence of wrong-doing."

Faeries to the Rescue

"That's terrible!" Luna exclaimed.
The fool continued, "In other words, even the people in the Department of Justice believe they have permission to murder people without any evidence or due process. They believe that the king has granted them the right to be 'serial killers' who have total immunity. The king believes he has absolute power now. He has gotten away with it, and anyone who is disloyal to him is now in terrible danger--and that could include someone like me who is just trying to protect the environment for future generations."
"I'm sorry. That sounds like a terrible predicament. I know some faeries who might make you feel better. They make beautiful music together with their hearts. I will send them to you to cheer you up."
"Thank you, kind faery," the fool responded.

Bribery

"But if you don't mind, I'm going to vent a little more," the fool said to the faery. "After the Supreme Court gave the King absolute immunity for 'official acts,' the King, drunk with absolute power, has turned into a greedy megalomaniac. The King is a grifter who has been absolutely corrupted by absolute power. He takes bribes from everyone who wants something from the government. The king will even order the invasion of a sovereign nation without the approval of congress if corporations that want to profit by stealing resources from another nation give him a big enough bribe--you know, like a billion dollars."

Once Mighty River

The fool sighed, "The rich capitalists will always exhaust people and resources if they can get away with it--just as they have destroyed once-mighty rivers to irrigate unsustainable crops. In the process, they have caused many species to become endangered or threatened. But the rich don't care about nature or people--the rich only care about profit."

Global Warming

The fool sighed again, "The rich even continue to cause devastating climate disruption that will, sooner rather than later, cause the end of organized human existence."

Hurricane

The fool sighed again, "Intead of invading another nation to steal its oil, our realm could support renewable energy resources, but no, on behalf of vested interests, corporations and the ruling elite, our government kills and kidnaps people and continues to move humanity and the planet to the brink of disaster."

Pandemic

The fool groaned, "The pandemic has proven that the ruling political and economic elite don't care about anyone but themselves. Instead of investing in health care for all, the government, which could have taken sane measures to contain the virus, allowed over a million people in this realm to die a horrible death. That disaster was preventable to a very large degree. Other nations around the world were able to contain the virus so that only a few people died."

Invading a Sovereign Nation (without Justification)

The fool sighed again, "The government spends trillions of dollars on war instead of on accessible health care or environmental protection. Through war, the rich expand their power and wealth while many people die in this realm and other realms from causes related to poverty and hunger."

Bugged

The fool frowned, "The rich stagnate wages and inflate prices to get richer while everyone else gets seriously 'bugged' by the cost of living."

Jailed

The fool sighed again, "Protesters like me will be sent to concentration camps or executed for being what they define as a 'terrorist.' The government keeps building concentration camps that they call 'detention centers,' and they plan to spend billions of dollars on crematoriums for the concentration camps, which would turn the 'detention centers' into death camps. And I'm pretty sure that the government has enough weaponized drones to wipe out most or all dissent."

Special Concentration Camp (for Artists and Dissidents)

The fool moaned, "I'm sure the government is building very special concentration camps just for dissidents and artists like me who challenge the system. Instead of creating a harmonious and sustainable world that works for everyone, the greedy political and economic elite continue to concentrate power and wealth into their own hands while quickly moving humanity and the natural world to the brink of disaster. The fate of humanity and the planet is in the hands of a few insanely greedy people, which causes me to ask, 'Who are the real terrorists?'"

Baby Blue Eyes

Suddenly Claire and Thomas hovered above the fool in his cardboard box. As they sang a hauntingly magical song, the fool remembered the many baby blue eyes and other species of flowers that he had helped to save by stopping the construction of the dam that would have destroyed the river canyon--and he felt a little better.

Baby Blue Eyes Faery

Then he remembered glimpsing with his third eye a lovely baby blue eye faery while he hiked through the canyon, and that made him feel even better.

River Canyon

Then he remembered a point on the trail where he could view a large stretch of the river canyon, and that made him feel even better. By the time the faeries stopped singing, the fool even felt a little hope.

The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

efmajor

00:00 / 03:57

Suite No. 9, Fourth Movement

THE NEW NORMAL: WHERE THE WILD THINGS HOWL

Surrounded by Wild Things

When I was hiking through the forest, I became exhausted, and I rested my head on a a stone. Before I knew it, wild things were hovering over me, so I crawled into a box. Then many other wild things gathered around me.

Monster Car

Suddenly I was crossing a street, and a monster car tried to run me over. Somehow, the car missed me.

Golden Throne

Then I was standing in front of the King, who was sitting on a golden throne. I didn't know what to say to him. He just stared at me.

Pedo Goat

Suddenly the king turned into a goat-like man. Everyone around him started chanting, "Pedo, Pedo!" The goat-like man got very angry and howled at them.

Troll with Trophies

Then the goat-like man turned into a troll who obviously enjoyed indulging in cruelty and destructiveness. He kept skulls as trophies.

Burners

Then the troll transformed into a fiery demon that was burning everything down to the ground.

Goddess with Rainbow Wings

A Goddess with rainbow wings suddenly appeared in the courtyard of a delapidated apartment complex.
"For wild things, the idea of freedom often causes great tension and conflict. Many wild things want freedom from something while others want the freedom to do something."

Capitol Monster

The Goddess gestured, "Look at the capitol building. Do you see the wild thing at the top? Some wild things want to tear the government down. Others want the realm's riches to benifit the wealthiest wild things instead of benefitting the average wild thing. Some wild things--many of whom have become extremely poor and starve and don't have access to health care--just want to experience the freedom from fear and poverty and illness and the freedom to do what they need to do.

DOGE Hydra

"Some wild things believe that they should have total 'freedom from' government, and they become like hydras that tear the government apart in every way possible. Because of that wild belief, other wild things do not have adequate nutrition or adequate health care."

Upside Down Supreme Court

The Goddess continued, "Some wild things on the supreme court believe that the king should have the 'freedom to' do whatever he wants--with immunity. Consequently the king can kill people or send them to a concentration camp without due process or any evidence that they have done something wrong.

Bugged

"Consequently the vast majority of wild things do not have freedom from fear and poverty and illness. Some become so bugged by the system that they go crazy."

Arrested

The Goddess continued, "Some wild things have even concluded that females should not have the freedom to seek life-saving reproductive health care and should even be punished if they seek necessary medical assistance.

Droned

"Most wild things cannot experience freedom from fear because they know that military drones are designed to carry and deploy missiles to strike ground targets. Most wild things know that the king can target them for assasination--even if they haven't broken any laws."

Invaded

The Goddess continued, "Most wild things are keenly aware that the king can order the military to destroy their home or their town. The king keeps showing that he has total control of the realm, so most wild things realize that they do not have freedom from fear or the freedom to speak the truth--or to live in peace.

Waiting for the End Times

"Some religious people believe that the end times are near, and they believe that the king can trigger Armageddon--they think that they will go to heaven and that the bad wild things and nonbelievers will go to hell," the Goddess stated.

Toxic Waste

"Most wild things nowadays know that they cannot do anything to keep the rich from poisoning the air and water. They know that they cannot protect the earth for future generations," the Goddess stated sadly.

Planet Burning

Then in the distance I saw the entire earth burning. Suddenly I woke up. "Oh, thank God--that was just a bad dream. Boy, I'm so glad that none of that is really happening."

The Lord of Misrule during a Perpetual Christmas

1sweet

00:00 / 04:04

Suite No. 9, Fifth Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: THE LORD OF MISRULE

The Lord of Misrule on His Golden Throne

After I had returned to my homeland, I stepped through a hole in the fabric of reality and discovered that a conventional democratic process could end up having a perfectly medieval outcome. Every four years, the people elected a Lord of Misrule. One popular candidate appealed to the masses by vowing to make the economy so good that every day would seem like Christmas--for all adults and children in the realm.
The candidate claimed that he was extremely wealthy, and he would sit on his golden throne until the wee hours of the morning, cooking up lies and misinformation that agitated his followers and caused division.

Fat and Happy

The candidate knew that he needed to make promises to the rich and powerful. He promised billionaires and corporations that he would cut their taxes and eliminate regulations--if they gave him a billion dollars in campaign contributions. He hinted that he would support the creation of a theocracy in the realm--and his religious base of followers proclaimed that he was an imperfect vessel fulfilling God's perfect plan. He included dog-whistles in his speeches to appeal to racists and fascists.

Shooting a Gun on a Crowded Street

The candidate became so popular and so confident that he boasted that he could shoot someone on a crowded street--and people would still vote for him.

Signing Legislation

Through the support of the rich and powerful and fascists and white supremacists and evangelicals in his realm, the people elected him Lord of Misrule. He had to fulfill a few campaign promises, so he signed legislation that gave a huge tax cut to the oligarchs and kleptocrats, the richest people in the country, and he weakened or eliminated many regulations so that corporations could pollute and degrade the environment much more than usual. He also ended up totally shredding the social safety net, which had provided nutritional assistance progams and affordable health insurance and had enabled many to survive in his realm for many decades--just so that the Lord of Misrule could give a huge tax break to the billionaires.

Throwing Money at the Rich

The Lord of Misrule knew that to remain in power he had to keep throwing money at the super-rich instead of creating a half-decent health-care system or nutritional assistance programs or protecting the environment. He had his minions fire numerous government workers (including many veterans) who provided essential services for the public--which ended up shredding the social safety net. He cut or dismantled many public services so that his billionaire buddies could receive their tax breaks.

Water Levels Rising

Unfortunately sea levels kept rising due to warming caused by climate disruption. Some scientists presented proof that climate change caused by human activities was 100 times more rapid than any other warming event in the history of the planet, but the Lord of Misrule only eliminated more environmental regulations.

Wildfires Raging

The planet was becoming so hot that wildfires raged everywhere, turning huge stretches of forest into deserts of dirt and ash.

The Plague

The Lord of Misrule found out that a plague would soon ravage the realm. He found out the realm would be dealing with an air-borne virus, but he remained silent, and instead of creating an effective program of testing, contact-tracing, and quarantining, as other sane realms were doing, he told people that they had to go back to work to keep the economy strong. Many people who went back to work got sick and died a horrible death. He honored them as "heroic essential workers."

Trophies

The Lord of Misrule proclaimed that people in the realm had to develop herd immunity, which he at first referred to as "herd mentality," and that building a wall to keep immigrants out of the realm should remain the country's top priority because immigrants were actually the cause of all the realm's problems--even though just about everyone in the realm was a descendent of immigrants. He organized a huge military force to kidnap people off the streets and disappear them without due process to concentration camps in his own realm as well as in other realms throughout the world. A rumor started circulating that the Lord of Misrule secretly kept skulls of people who died from the plague or in concentration camps as trophies to remind himself and others of his power. A lot of people, who were suffering from mass psychosis caused by the Lord of Misrule, thought that he was "pretty cool."

The Cure

After a million people died from the plague, the Lord of Misrule proclaimed that the people should have cured themselves of the disease by drinking a toxic cleanser. Some doctors informed him that drinking poison was probably not a good idea, so he found other doctors who supported his theories.

Dropping Bombs on Other Realms

Congress, not the Lord of Misrule, still had the power of the purse--the power to pass legislation and determine how the taxpayer's money would be spent, but the Lord of Misrule totally ignored the Congress. The people began to realize that the Lord of Misrule lied with every breath and didn't care at all about the people or the constitution or the rule of law. He had made numerous promises that he had never attempted to keep. Inflation raged and people found out that the Lord of Misrule had been buddies with a pedophile who had run a sex trafficking ring for years. Many wondered if the Lord of Misrule was also a pedophile who had participated in the sex trafficking ring in some way. The Lord of Misrule ordered the military to drop bombs on other realms to cause wars that would distract the masses from domestic and political problems. His advisors, of course, had informed him that dropping bombs on other sovereign realms without the approval of congress would be a violation of the constitution. He got rid of those advisors and found more loyal advisors who encouraged him to start a war--a conflict that could have potentially ended up as a devastating world war.

Gallows

The Lord of Misrule lost the next election and insisted over and over that the election had been stolen from him--even though no one anywhere could provide any evidence--so he incited an insurrection and tried to spur the mob into hanging the politicians who had refused to do what he had asked them to do.

Not His Type

At one point, the Lord of Misrule claimed that if you are a star, you can grab women anywhere you wanted. Many women came forward to testify that the Lord of Misrule had assaulted them. He claimed that those women were not his type and that he didn't know any of them. All of it was just "fake news." He threatened to deport anyone who told the truth about him to a concentration camp--without due process.

Boxes of Confidential Information

When the Lord of Misrule left office, he took many boxes of secret information with him and showed the secrets to other people. He knew that he could make a lot of money by selling confidential information to powerful people in other realms--which of course was treasonous. He hid the boxes in his mansion and moved them around so that investigators could not find them.

The Swamp

When he was running for the position of the Lord of Misrule, he had promised that he would drain the swamp, but by the time he left office the swamp was much bigger and deeper and more full of alligators than ever before--he had even built a concentration camp in the middle of a swamp. The Lord of Misrule had inherited a booming economy, which soon collapsed under his rule. The media, owned by the oligarchs and plutocrats, blamed all the previous rulers for the problems caused by the Lord of Misrule's incompetence and lunacy and corruption.

The Dictator

He decided to run again for the position of the Lord of Misrule. Rich, powerful people backed him again because they wanted more tax breaks and more deregulation. Fascist think tanks had developed a plan--which he followed--that would enable him to remain a dictator for life. After he was elected again, he neutered the Congress and ignored judicial orders. He broke the law and violated the constitution every day, which didn't matter because the Lord of Misrule and his minions had set up a Supreme Court that had provided full immunity to him so that he would be a king. He quickly removed all people in the government who were not absolutely loyal to him and soon declared a state of emergency (even though no emergency existed) to establish martial law so that the militia and the military could arrest protestors and send them to concentration camps or prisons or shoot them. The military soon quelled all protests throughout the realm.

The Defendant

He soon became an iron-fisted dictator propped up by oligarchs and plutocrats and kleptocrats and fascists. The police and the military and the Congress and the Supreme Court did nothing to stop him. Finally, his lawlessness caught up with him. The people rose up in a civil war against him and his minions and the military and the paramilitary forces, and he was captured and indicted on multiple charges of treason and criminal behavior. He bleated over and over that the trial was rigged. He had many chances to defend himself in court, but he just kept declaring that the people in power had weaponized the Department of Justice against him.

The Prisoner

Finally, he ended up in a dank cell in the bowels of a prison. (Just kidding.) Before he was convicted, he ran in the next election to become the Lord of Misrule again so that he could pardon himself and his minions and remain a dictator for life. The billionaires supported him again because they wanted more tax cuts and more deregulation, and a large brainwashed segment of the populace suffering from mass psychosis again voted him into office. This time the military maintained martial law throughout the realm from the beginning of his term. The Lord of Misrule set up many concentration camps and finally realized his dream of remaining a dictator for life.

He Got the Job!

beat30

00:00 / 04:17

Suite No. 9, Sixth Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: SODISM CELLS

Sod Cell Connected with Office

The Fool finally got a job. "Wow, this is great!" he exclaimed. "I'm so happy to work here!"
"Glad that you've joined our team," his new boss replied. "Let me give you a little tour."
They entered one of the offices in the building. "This is where our team often meets. You might notice a small cell adjoined to the office," the boss stated.
"Yes, I did notice," the Fool replied. "What is that for? If you don't mind me asking."
"Here, let me show you," the boss guided him to the cell.

Pig in a Sod Cell

The Fool peered into the cell. "That pig is kind of cute, but why is grass growing on the floor?" the Fool asked.
"We call this a sod cell," the boss replied. "Congress passed a law to allow corporations to create these kinds of cells in corporate office buildings for disgruntled workers who complain about capitalism or the people in power, and the King signed it into law."
"Are these cells also for farm animals?" the Fool inquired.
"Yes, mainly so we can feed the workers who reside in the sod cells," the boss smiled.

His Very Own Sod Cell

"Here, let me escort you to your own sod cell," the boss gestured. "We've discovered that a small room with grass and flowers is more relaxing than cubicles, and our employees end up being more productive." The Fool sat down in the grass and smiled.

King de Sod

The boss closed the door. "Every now and then, King de Sod or the Marquis de Sod will check up on you while you're working," the boss stated.

Marquis de Sod

While the Fool was working, a man in a fancy suit showed up. "So you are our new employee!" the man exclaimed. "Nice to meet you. I am the Marquis de Sod. I am the manager and the designer of all of these sod cells. I hope you are comfortable. Let me guide you on a tour of other sod cells here in our company."

Retirement Age

"This is a retirement cell," the Marquis de Sade stated. "We developed a new retirement plan for our workers. Since the government cut social security and medicaid and medicare, when an employee has reached retirement age and cannot work any longer, we let the worker retire in one of our retirement sod cells. They usually don't last long, but at least they are comfortable in their remaining days."
"That's very kind of you," the Fool replied.

Too Sick to Work

The Fool and the Marquis continued on the tour, "Since our legislators eliminated access to health care for most workers, we created sod cells for those who get sick. A few of them actually recover from their illness. After all, the ruling political party needed to give the super-rich a huge tax cut so that some of that money would eventually trickle down to us."
"That's nice. Indeed, so much money has trickled down to us in recent years instead of being hoarded or invested in property or stocks or bonds or financial mechanisms or devices," the Fool smiled.

A Knight in Sodism Land

"Unfortunately some people have an overwhelmingly compulsive need to tell the truth and do the right thing. That, as you might imagine, can have an adverse effect on corporate profits. We have special cells where rebels can rest and reflect--and eventually become productive workers once again."
"That's very considerate," the Fool replied.

DEI Sod Cell

"We try to eliminate favoritism here, which is why we have created Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion sod cells. That way no one feels cheated," the Marquis de Sod explained. "We occasionally put someone who looks like they might be a DEI hire in a sod cell."
"It's good to know that you strive to make the average worker feel comfortable," the Fool replied.

Immigrant Sod Cell

"Often the government arrests people who look like immigrants and then sends them without due process to a gulag in some other realm," the Marquis continued. "At this corporation, we have special sod cells for people who look like immigrants so that they don't have to fear being sent to a concentration camp."
"Freedom from fear is extremely important to most workers," the Fool replied.

Reproductive Health Sod Cell

"Sometimes women have serious reproductive health care issues," the Marquis de Sod commented. "We have created reproductive health sod cells so that women don't bleed out in a parking lot while waiting for reproductive health care. Some of them survive, I'm proud to say, survive."
"That's very compassionate of you," the Fool responded.

Child Care and Nutritional Sod Cell

"Sometimes our employees have more than one job but can't afford child care. Sometimes they can't afford to feed their children either. Since the government cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, we have sod cells for the children of our employees, and we occasionally even feed them," the Marquis smiled.
"That's very kind of you!" the Fool exclaimed.

Labor Organizer Sod Cell

"We understand that some workers occasionally have the desire to organize other employees for better wages and working conditions even though the government strives to eliminate that kind of nonsense as much as possible. We have special sod cells just for organizers," the Marquis stated. "That way we can decrease potential conflict between employees and employers as much as possible."
"Decreasing conflict is always a good thing," the Fool mentioned.

Mystic Sod Cell

"Occasionally an employee will have a mystical experience or a spiritual awakening. That unfortunately can decrease productivity, especially if that employee ends up influencing other employees. As you can see, we have special sod cells for mystics."
The Fool gazed at the Marquis de Sod. "Well, that gives the mystics time to meditate at least," the Fool sighed.

Health Care Advocate Sod Cell

The Marquis continued, "Occasionally, a person in this corporation, often a woman, will advocate for better health care coverage. The government, as you know, has eliminated health care coverage as much as possible. We let health care advocates recover from their irrational political impulses in special sod cells such as this one."
"Well, I'm glad that you let them recover," the Fool replied.

Contract Employee Sod Cell

"We primarily have contract employees here. These independent contractors receive no benefits like health care insurance or a pension. Occasionaly one of them will have rebellious impulses or what amounts to a nervous breakdown, so we have special sod cells for them. If I'm not mistaken, you are a contract employee."
"That is correct, but I am hoping to be a full-time employee with full benefits at some point," the Fool politely replied.

Dementia Sod Cell

"Occasionally an older worker will suffer from dementia, and since the government has cut Medicaid, their children can no longer afford nursing home care, so we have special sod cells for the elderly," the Marquis de Sod explained. "They don't last long, unfortunately."
"Well, at least someone is trying to care for the elderly," the Fool grumbled.

King Ollie Gark de Sod

At the end of the tour, the Marquis de Sod introduced the Fool to King Ollie Gark. The king smiled, "I hope you are always able to do excellent work in your own personal sod cell."
"I will always strive to do my best for you and this corporation, sir," the Fool emphatically stated.
"That's the spirit, my boy," the King replied. "That's the spirit."

Finding Project 2025

harpin26

00:00 / 04:09

Suite No. 9, Seventh Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: PROJECT 2025

As the Fool was strolling through the forest on a path to the Tarot Realm, he found what appeared to be a partial booklet or pamphlet that contained a lot of strange illustrations. Since the Fool enjoyed picture books, he decided to read it. "This might be a good story," he muttered out loud.
"We need to take our country back," the booklet said. "This is how we do it." Since the Fool had just escaped from a concentration camp, he became even more curious, so he continued reading.

Inside the Box

The Fool read the first page out loud to himself, "We have reached a crisis point. Because of the political and economic crises, we need to create a fascist regime where the smartest people are in charge--in other words, the billionaires. It might hurt many citizens at first because in order to establish and maintain governmental efficiency, we have to shred the social safety net. Therefore, we must intimidate and frighten the masses so that they obey in advance. We need people to remain atomized so that they don't organize protests against the rulers. We need individuals to feel totally threatened by dark economic and political and military forces so that they never peek out of their little boxes."

Bugged

"Wow, this sounds familiar," the Fool thought to himself. He continued reading out loud, "We need to bug people in every conceivable way. The easiest way to do that is through a four-pronged approach: Make wages stagnate, dramatically increase consumer prices and interest rates, increase job insecurity, and decrease access to health care, especially during epidemics and pandemics. That way, at least half a million people a year will continue to go bankrupt due to health care costs. In addition, we can overwhelm the masses with misinformation and disinformation through all forms of media since the super-wealthy control most media outlets. If we keep individuals in poverty and in debt and in a constant state of uncertainty and fear, we can make the masses feel like they are living in a constant state of emergency and not question the rulers, who will continue to control the system through money in politics."

Crushed by Debt

"That's pretty freaking cold-blooded," the Fool growled, but he kept reading out loud. "We need to crush the masses with debt by increasing rents and the prices of necessary items, like food and clothing and medicine and cars, etc. Once we have significantly increased prices, we can still keep them high but say that inflation is going down because the prices are only increasing a little instead of eight to ten percent."

Barefoot and Pregnant

"Those S.O.B.s," the Fool grunted, but he kept reading out loud, "Also, by eliminating birth control and banning abortion, we can perpetuate the patriarchy by keeping women barefoot and pregrant and working at home."

Indoctrinated

"Holy Mother of God," the Fool exclaimed. He kept reading out loud, "We can eliminate the department of education and find teachers who indoctrinate students into our belief system."

Dead River with Egrets

"What the...!" the Fool yelled. He kept reading out loud though, "We need to overturn environmental regulations so that corporations can pollute whenever necessary and exhaust resources. The masses will believe that nature is ugly and dangerous, and they won't care what happens to the environment. A few endangered animals and people might get sick and die from water or air pollution, but any project to save society inevitably includes some collateral damage."

Burning Down the House

"Yikes!" the Fool howled, but he kept reading out loud, "We need to cause as much divisiveness as possible. We need to get people to burn down the lives of their coworkers and neighbors. Liberals are especially good at lying and backstabbing and cutting throats and destroying careers, so that shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish."

Torture Camp

"Isn't that the truth," the Fool mumbled. He kept reading out loud, "We need to create concentration camps that we call 'detention camps' and round up legal and illegal immigrants. In the process, we can round up dissidents, including political activists and intellectuals and artists. We can either deport them or starve them and torture them and work them to death at the camps."

For-Profit Prison

The fool squinted but kept reading, "Per capita, we already have the largest prison population in the world. We can also throw people who tell the truth or imagine a better world in prison if they cause problems. Most people never go to trial anyway. They usually plead out due to all the charges we bring against them."

Slavery

"Good thing I'm heading back to the Tarot Realm," the Fool muttered. Then he kept reading out loud, "We should also consider eliminating the right of women to vote as well as reinstating the practice of slavery."

Wage Slavery

The Fool, shaking his head, kept reading out loud, "Even if we can't bring slavery back, we can continue the practice of wage slavery so that people remain underpaid and anxious and insecure as circumstances worsen, which is always necessary in capitalism. Besides, men look better in a suit and tie."

Poverty

The Fool kept reading out loud, "We must continue to maintain an underclass of people with job and food insecurity. Wage slaves with insecure jobs, therefore, will be constantly aware that they could end up in a similar state of destitution."

Genocide

The Fool gagged, but kept reading out loud. "If people protest vociferously and society becomes more and more out of our control, we can resort to genocide of vulnerable populations. We succeeded at genocide once before, as you may recall. We could stir up hatred and target people of color or Jews or transgender people or gays, or other marginalized groups. After we send them to concentration camps, we can take all of their assets for ourselves and other people in power."

North America Burning

The Fool vomited. Nevertheless, he kept reading out loud, "Much disruption is likely to occur in the future due to climate change and the concentration of wealth and the overthrow of democracy. Some might even revolt due to one unstable and unsound king who has the power to cause nuclear annihilation. Most people no doubt will simply protest due to the price of eggs and gasoline. We can exploit their dissatisfaction by blaming everything on radical left-wing lunatics in the opposing party."

Dictator

The Fool blinked but kept reading out loud, "We have already established a figure-head who will do the bidding of oligarchs and corporations and plutocrats. We can easily find the right cabinet and military leaders to support our leader. Also, of course, racists and sexists and homophobes and evangelicals are already on our side, and they have enough guns already to kill most, if not all, of the left-wing radicals."

Glutton

The Fool couldn't believe his eyes, but he kept reading out loud nevertheless. "Our main goal is to keep the super-rich elite fat and happy so that they will continue giving our political party hundreds of millions of dollars, perhaps even a billion dollars...." The rest of the booklet was gone, no doubt littering the forest floor somewhere.

Cruise Ship

conf26

00:00 / 06:07

Suite No. 9, Eighth Movement
THE NEW NORMAL: SHIP OF FOOLS

Due to all the tension around him, the fool decided to take a vacation. He chose to go on a cruise ship that resembled a Spanish galleon, mainly because he wanted to feel a sense of adventure as well as the grandeur of establishing an empire in a new world.

Sleeping on the Job

The first day of the cruise, he encountered a man, who resembled the captain, sound asleep or passed out on the deck.

Chief Mate

Then he encountered a man holding a sword. "Nice costume. Are you a pirate?"
"I am the captain's Chief Mate, and his senior advisor," the man sneered.

Liars

Suddenly a man riding a lion blew a trumpet and started spewing lies. The passengers on the deck looked confused, but some started laughing.
"Very entertaining!" a passenger exclaimed. "I'm glad we took this cruise, aren't you?"

Castaways

Then a small boat floated nearby carrying people who seemed dehydrated and starving. The cruise ship didn't stop for them.
Another passenger noted, "In this world, you've got to learn to fend for yourself. You can't expect cruise ships to stop for you, for God's sake," the man muttered as the galleon was leaving the small boat behind.

Minister

Suddenly a minister began to give a sermon on the bow. "The new commandment is for us all to love one another," he preached. "Live with humility, generosity, and charity. Feed and clothe and shelter the poor. Welcome the stranger. Treat others the way you want to be treated, for all people are divine expressions of One Universal Consciousness."

Captain on an Alligator

When the sermon was over, a man riding an alligator came out of the captain's quarters. "I am your captain. This is my ship!" he proclaimed. "And you must follow my rules and my rules only." Then the captain started accusing some people on the ship of being "very bad people" and "perverts" and "vermin" with "bad genes." Then he claimed that some people on board were "radical leftists" who threatened them all as "the enemy from within."

Mutiny?

Soon a fight broke out. "This is a mutiny! Mutiny I say!" the captain shouted. "Chain up the vermin!"

Prisoners

Some of the people who had been fighting were imprisoned in the hold of the ship. They were brought out in the middle of the night to scrub the decks.

The Salacious One

The next day, a man with a lion's head came out of the captain's quarters. "As the captain, I can grab people anywhere and anytime I want," he boasted.

Assault

The salacious one turned into a handsome man and started assaulting a woman. No one on board attempted to stop him. They were all dancing.

Dancing during an Epidemic

Suddenly a large number of people on the ship fell ill. People kept dancing even during the epidemic.

Victims of the Epidemic

The people who died from the disease were thrown overboard in the middle of the night.

Fascists

Unexpectedly, men who resembled fascists took over the ship. They always honored the captain with a strange salute.

Fascists Dancing

The fascists waved weird flags as they danced with the other passengers.

Captain Troll

Eventually a troll appeared on the main deck. "My friends and fellow passengers, I am your real captain. The others were only pretenders. You must listen now only to me. You must believe only me and follow my rules."

Sailing into Rocks

The galleon began heading straight toward huge rocks as the people kept dancing. Someone steered the ship away from the rocks at the last moment.

The Burner

That evening a man began starting small fires all over the ship.

Dancing as the Ship Burns

The passengers kept dancing as the ship burned.

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