What can ordinary Americans do to resist what’s happening in D.C.? Here are some suggestions
Image by Ted Eytan.
The United States appears to be teetering on the brink of authoritarianism, with federal officials, watchdogs and gatekeepers being replaced en masse by Trump loyalists, and Trump himself trying to supersede the Constitution and bypass the checks and balances that have preserved American democracy for hundreds of years.
What can ordinary Americans do to resist this takeover? The internet yields the following suggestions. Feel free to embrace as few or as many as you feel comfortable with. Bear in mind there are risks. The choice is yours.
1. The easiest thing you can do is vote – in every election, not just the majors. In the 2024 presidential election 62 percent of registered voters actually voted. Four years earlier, when American citizens fired Trump from the presidency, 66 percent of voters turned out. Imagine what last November’s outcome might have been had more voters bothered to cast their ballots.
2. Educate yourself about the candidates. It only takes a few minutes to learn how they stand on the issues. Also, make sure you understand the issues themselves. For instance, prior to the 2024 election many Americans were under the impression tariffs were paid for by the nation against which the tariff was imposed. Tariffs are in fact paid for by the businessperson importing the goods, then passed along to consumers. The tariffs imposed on foreign nations by Trump will be paid for by you.
3. Evangelize for your beliefs. If your community has a newspaper, write a letter to the editor or a guest column. Call online or radio talk shows. Use your social media platform to express your viewpoint. The algorithms are not invincible. New eyes may very well see your posts. Before doing any of these things, make sure you know what you’re talking about. Research research research! And please, be respectful.
4. Write to your U.S. representative and your state’s senators to express your displeasure with what is happening within the federal government. Their contact information is easily obtainable online.
5. The American Civil Liberties Union is resisting efforts to subvert the Constitution and federal law. Donate!
6. Support the loyal opposition. Make a donation, again if you can afford it, to your political party, be it the Democrats, Libertarians, Independents or another party. Offer to do volunteer work. They need telephone canvassers, people to help with mail-outs, and door-to-door canvassers.
7. Participate in protests if you’re so inclined. The 50501 movement ( https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ ) is organizing protests around the nation at various times throughout the year. Start with them. Check social media outlets like Facebook or Next Door for other local protests.
8. Years ago U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-NY, recommended the following actions. Many are still relevant:
A. Write letters to media editors every time you see an article or broadcast that utilizes a normalizing tone or doesn’t make note of the extreme nature of Trump, his behavior and rhetoric, or his Administration’s actions.
B. Use the hashtag #resist on your social media platforms.
C. Contact your elected officials via petitions, letters, calls and social media to urge them to resist any action that would normalize the administration and demand that they loudly condemn any Trump actions that are unbefitting our democracy.
D. Reach out to your friends and family and encourage them to do the same.
E. Support rhetorically and financially those organizations that are stepping up to fight normalization.
9. This is from Robert Reich at The Guardian:
“Participate or organize boycotts of companies that are enabling the Trump regime, starting with Elon Musk’s X and Tesla, and any companies that advertise on X or on Fox News. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of consumer boycotts. Corporations invest heavily in their brand names and the goodwill associated with them. Loud, boisterous, attention-getting boycotts can harm brand names and reduce the prices of corporations’ shares of stock.
“To the extent you are able, fund groups that are litigating against Trump. Much of the action over the next months and years will be in the federal courts. The groups initiating legislation that I know and trust include the American Civil Liberties Union, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Defense Fund and Common Cause.
“Spread the truth: Get news through reliable sources, and spread it. If you hear anyone spreading lies and Trump propaganda, including local media, contradict them with facts and their sources. Here are some of the sources I currently rely on for the truth: the Guardian, Democracy Now, Business Insider, the New Yorker, the American Prospect, Americans for Tax Fairness, the Economic Policy Institute, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, ProPublica, Labor Notes, the Lever, Popular Information, Heather Cox Richardson and, of course, my Substack.
“Urge friends, relatives and acquaintances to avoid Trump propaganda outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, X and, increasingly, Facebook and Instagram. They are increasingly filled with hateful bigotry and toxic and dangerous lies. For some people, these propaganda sources can also be addictive; help the people you know wean themselves off them.
“Push for progressive measures in your community and state. Local and state governments have significant power. Join groups that are moving your city or state forward, in contrast to regressive moves at the federal level. Lobby, instigate, organize and fundraise for progressive legislators. Support progressive leaders.
“Keep the faith. Do not give up on America. Remember, Trump won the popular vote by only one and a half points. By any historical measure, this was a squeaker. In the House, the Republicans’ five-seat lead is the smallest since the Great Depression. In the Senate, Republicans lost half of 2024’s competitive Senate races, including in four states Trump won. America has deep problems, to be sure. Which is why we can’t give up on it – or give up the fights for social justice, equal political rights, equal opportunity and the rule of law. The forces of Trumpian repression and neofascism would like nothing better than for us to give up. Then they’d win it all. But we cannot allow them to.”
10. Subscribe to Heather Cox Richardson’s excellent newsletter exposing the criminal activities of Trump and the Republicans. She’s also on Facebook, X, and TikTok. Follow this link to her Substack: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/
11. This was mentioned earlier but it bears repeating: When you see misinformation, dispute it. Don’t just scroll by. Find the facts and link them to the post so that people will at least have an option to educate themselves about the truth.
12. Fact check everything you’ve been told. I use these sites to combat disinformation:
A. Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/
B. FactCheck.org: https://www.factcheck.org/
C. Politifact: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/
D. Full Fact: https://fullfact.org/
13. Communicate to the news media that you are interested in seeing them cover events involving the administration, and particular the opposition to the actions of the administration. People have taken to the streets in protest, yet the media are barely covering that aspect of the takeover.
14. Take out ads, billboards or other forms of advertising to express your outrage.
For a morale booster, read this article: https://otherwords.org/five-popular-checks-on-trumps-agenda/
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
This is a stock photo of Donald J. Trump I found on Pexels. It falls under a Creative Commons usage license.
Yesterday’s news brought me to the end of my patience.
I’m done.
I can’t stand it any more. I’m appealing to the government, the American people, God – anybody who’ll listen – to please, get that monster out of the White House. Get him out. Get him out now.
The government is in chaos. Nothing is getting done, good or bad. Mike Johnson, that spineless, bottom-feeding creature of the deep trenches, has shut down the House to keep lawmakers from passing bills that would require the government to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, allowing the American people to finally know the truth.
Each day brings new and more horrible accusations – vile, horrible accusations. The crime, graft, corruption, lying and cruel assaults on our citizens and our institutions were bad enough, but now … child molestation? Are you fucking kidding me?
And to think, he’s being shielded and protected, not only by his subordinates but the party itself. It’s stomach-turning.
Each new lie, accusation, and revelation cheapens us. Each one dirties us as a people. We’re talking about AWFUL things as if they were everyday, commonplace occurrences. We’re almost treating them as if in any rational context, they could be acceptable. And each time we talk about them, we become more desensitized to his grotesque depravity. Honest to God, I feel like I need to shower 10 times a day.
This is wrong. We weren’t meant to live this way.
To think, Richard Nixon resigned for covering up a break-in at the opposition party’s headquarters. Or that Bill Clinton was impeached over a blowjob.
That monster needs to go. I don’t care if he’s impeached, committed to a memory care unit or shipped to Mars, he needs to go. And take that useless sock puppet J.D. Vance, and that bottom-feeding sea creature Mike Johnson, with him.
He’s a pox on humanity.
Worst president ever.
And just a horrible, horrible human being.
This image was taken by VCU Capital News Service and made available through a Creative Commons license.
I said this once before but I’ll say it again because I keep seeing it happen.
Invariably some MAGAt type will see somebody online criticizing President Pedobear and say something to the effect: “If you don’t like this country, why don’t you leave? Get out.”
To which I would respond, “The president is not the country, and the country is not the president.”
It is perfectly possible to love this country but intensely dislike its leadership. In fact, it’s our duty as Americans to question our leadership, to hold it accountable. That’s our job, because if you’ll recall, the president was elected to serve us. We do not serve him.
Our loyalty is to the principle of democracy as it is embodied in the Constitution. The MAGAts are loyal to a kook.
Our flag features the stars and stripes. The MAGAt’s flag features some dude’s name and a rendering of a bloated, cantaloupe-colored criminal.
We are citizens of what used to be a great nation. MAGAts are members of a cult.
It is not our place to leave this country.
It is their place to check themselves in for deprogramming.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
This photo, taken in 1997 at Mar-a-Lago, shows that Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein had past relationships. Creative Commons license
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has become The Zombie That Would Not Die for President Vibrio vullnificus, and if you’re not familiar with Vibrio vullnificus I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up. Vibrio vullnificus is a flesh-eating bacteria, a name well suited for the current Kleptocrat in Chief.
Wired Magazine is reporting the Department of Justice posted to its website what it purported to be raw, unedited video footage taken from a camera near Jeffrey Epstein’s cell the night before he allegedly took his own life.
When Wired and independent forensic analysts looked at the video metadata they determined that (a) it apparently had been edited by an application similar to Adobe Premiere, (b) that it appeared to be derived from multiple sources, and (c) it had been saved numerous times.
Wired is not saying the footage was falsified in any way and they’re not saying anything was deleted. What they are saying is it’s not the raw, unedited video footage the Department of Justice purported it to be.
Meanwhile, MAGA faithful continue to lose their minds over the Epstein case. Numerous conservative commentators have called for the resignations of that bleached blonde ambulance chaser Pam Bondi, and Kash Patel, who has transformed the FBI into the Federal Bureau of Idiocy. At a Fifa soccer event over the weekend President Vibrio vullnificus was roundly and raucously booed by the crowd.
I find it odd MAGA would choose the Epstein case as its bridge too far. Most of us would agree the sexual trafficking of children is a horrible crime, and we, the people, deserve to know if our government is infested with pedophiles.
But MAGA has either supported or remained silent about other horrible actions taken by this regime such as the brutal cuts to Medicaid enacted by the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” the construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” concentration camp in the Everglades, America’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, the allowance of corporate pillaging of our national parks, handing over our government to incompetent fools, running the economy off a cliff, ICE trampling upon civil liberties, the tawdry lying, cheating and stealing endemic to this regime – the list is depressingly long.
Has MAGA suddenly developed a conscience, or is something else compelling their anger? Could it be they’re less interested in seeing justice for the victims of Epstein’s abusers and more interested in checking his list for the names of prominent Democrats, ones which would validate their hatreds and their conspiracy theories? My guess is the latter is closer to the truth.
Richard Nixon had the decency to resign, but President Vibrio vulnificus? Not a chance.
Somehow, some way, members of the House and Senate must straighten their backs, square their shoulders, take a deep breath and do what’s right for America. They must rid us of this infection, once and for all.
They must impeach.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Lately the government has been going online bragging about all the extra tariffs are bringing in. Incredibly, some consumers are cheering them on. So I thought what I would do today is explain the basics of tariffs and how they work, so these consumers will have a better understanding of where tariff money comes from.
Let’s say you have an American company that wants to spend $100,000 on T-shirts and sell them for $10 apiece, earning itself a tidy profit. It searches the world over for a T-shirt manufacturer and finally locates one in China. The American company sends $100,000 to the Chinese T-shirt manufacturer, and the Chinese T-shirt manufacturer creates $100,000 worth of T-shirts and puts them on a boat bound for the United States.
When those T-shirts arrive at a port in the U.S. the American government steps in and says, “We have placed a 25 percent tariff on all incoming goods from China.” Twenty-five percent of $100,000 is $25,000.
Who pays that $25,000?
Not the Chinese T-shirt manufacturer. Not the Chinese government.
The American company that imported the T-shirts pays the $25,000.
And then what? Does the American company eat the extra cost and continue selling T-shirts for $10 apiece? If the do, bless their hearts. They’re saints.
Most companies will try to recoup that loss by raising their price. In this case, the cost of the T-shirt goes from $10 to $12.50. When YOU, the consumer, come along and pays $12.50 for the T-shirt instead of the usual $10, YOU ARE PAYING THE TARIFF.
Tariffs are really nothing more than a sales tax. The government doesn’t call it a sales tax because they know if they did, you’d go berserk. Instead, they package it as a way of retaliating against other countries engaged in unfair trade practices. But when it’s all said and done, a tariff is a sales tax.
When you go online and cheer the money being raised by tariffs, you’re saying, in effect, “Sales taxes work! Look how much money they took from my pocket! Tax me some more!”
Do you see how foolish that looks?
That’s why economists the world over agree that in most cases, tariffs are a bad idea. They’re bad for trade; they’re bad for consumers.
Do you now see why that’s true?
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
So there is no Epstein list.
Right.
We should believe that.
They lied to us about Jan. 6. They said it wasn’t a violent insurrection; it was a peaceful protest.
They lied to us about the price of groceries and gasoline. They said he’d lower them on Day 1.
They lied to us about the war in Ukraine. They said he’d have it done and over with in his three months in office.
They lied to us about not cutting Medicaid.
They lied to us about arresting only the most dangerous undocumented immigrants. They’re arresting masses of people and sending them to gulags in the Everglades and El Salvador.
They’ve lied to us so many times they’ve trained us to believe the exact opposite of whatever he says.
The MAGAts and liberals might agree on this one issue – release the Epstein list. We know it exists – that bleached blonde ambulance chaser he’s got for an attorney general, Pam Bondi, already told us it exists. She said it was sitting on her desk.
So let’s see it. If it includes prominent Democrats, so be it. We need to know who the scumbags are.
I bet it contains prominent Republicans. Hell, they’re already being arrested right and left. I feature their arrest mugs on my pages – Republicans, MAGAts, so-called “Christians,” conservatives, arrested for committing horrible crimes against children.
I bet he’s on that list, and if he is, we need to know, because a person like that has no place in our society. Certainly not in a position of leadership.
But we’ll never get to see it, because he’s a loathsome, despicable person who’s being protected by loathsome, despicable people.
They may rig the system to keep him from being prosecuted, but something else – God, karma, cosmic justice – will make sure he gets what he deserves.
I can’t wait for that day.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image by Raw Pixel.
My God, I’ve seen this comment more times than I can count.
People will say, “I’m tired of illegal aliens coming into this country and using my tax dollars to get free food, free welfare and free health care.”
So let’s take a look at the realities of this situation.
Do undocumented immigrants receive food stamps from the federal government?
The answer is no, they do not.
Do undocumented immigrants receive welfare benefits from the federal government?
The answer is no, they do not.
Do undocumented immigrants receive free health care from the federal government?
The answer is no, they do not.
Do undocumented immigrants receive any kind of benefits from the federal government?
The answer is no, they do not. They can’t. They aren’t documented. They don’t have Social Security numbers.
Having said that, I hasten to add individual states do have the option of providing meager benefits to this beleaguered population if they want to. The complainers can’t fuss about that.
Remember when the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade? The complainers were quick – and vocal – to support the notion of states rights. They boarded the ship of states rights, and now that ship has sailed. If they live in a state that provides meager benefits to this beleaguered population, they can’t complain because they support states rights.
How many states provide benefits to undocumented immigrants?
Fourteen. Out of 50.
Many of the undocumented immigrants come into this country illegally, I’ll concede that. They do need to go through the process. But they come here and do the jobs Americans refuse to do, pay taxes but don’t get the benefits, and the complainers have a problem with that?
Could it be they don’t like undocumented immigrants because their skin is a different color and they speak a different language?
Is it time for some self-examination?
I think so.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Over the past two days I have seen several people online attempt to establish a link between cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the flooding tragedy that happened in Texas on July the Fourth.
These are the facts surrounding that disaster.
The National Weather Service issued its first flood watch on Thursday, July 3, the day before the disaster.
Then, just after midnight on July 4, the day of the disaster, the weather service issued another flood watch.
An hour later, at about 1 o’clock in the morning, they upgraded that flood watch to a flood warning, which would have triggered alert tones on mobile phones in the forecast area.
Then, at 4 o’clock in the morning, they declared a flood emergency.
The Guadalupe River crested at about 4:30 a.m.
As for the number of forecasters on duty, typically on a weekend like that, two forecasters are working. In this case there were five forecasters working.
So, as you can see, there was no shortage in warnings, and no shortage in forecasting capabilities.
I have heard suggestions that NWS was missing some of the people who typically coordinate with local emergency operations, and I’ve also heard former NOAA higher-ups warned that staffing cuts could lead to dangerous shortfalls in forecasting and information.
I have no doubt both of those statements have merit.
But in this case, where it was being suggested – “accused” is a stronger verb – that there weren’t enough forecasters on the job, or that adequate warning wasn’t give, it doesn’t appear to be true that cuts to NOAA had anything to do with the tragedy.
You guys know what I think about that creature in the White House. But politicizing a natural disaster, and placing blame where it isn’t due, makes us all look bad.
Please stop circulating these rumors.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
So now they’re selling Alligator Alcatraz merchandise.
That’s right. An internment camp in the middle of a swamp in South Florida has its own line of merchandise – T-shirts, ball caps, water bottles … gosh, what’s next? Nipple rings and Fleshlights?
You know, it’s bad enough that they’re making light of human suffering, cracking jokes about possible escapees being devoured by alligators in the Everglades. Laura Looney, that nutcase, suggested there are a potential 65 million alligator meals in this country and that alligator lives matter too. That woman needs to be connected to a permanent morphine drip.
But yeah, they’re monetizing human misery. Says a lot about the character of this regime, doesn’t it?
And by the way, let me insert this thought into my narrative. If you buy any of this “merchandise,” you are human garbage. You really are garbage. I just want you to know that.
I can understand why they might want to make a little bit of extra money, though. Alligator Alcatraz was supposed to be a cooperative venture between the State of Florida and the federal government. But so far, the State of Florida has paid all the costs. FEMA, which is a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security, has allocated $625 million for the construction of that camp, and $450 million to operate it, but so far they haven’t given the State of Florida a plug nickel.
So there was Florida Gov. Ron DeFascist touring that internment camp, along with President 404 and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, aka Gestapo Barbie, and DeFascist was grinning like a gargoyle. But I’ll bet behind the scenes he was sweating bullets because the State of Florida is now on the hook for a billion-dollar outlay that’s nowhere on the budget.
There’s some question as to whether the state will EVER see any of that money. Earlier this year Gestapo Barbie was having her ass chewed out in congressional hearings where it was made known she’d burned through a year’s worth of funding in six months. Critics said she was trying to invent money out of thin air and her department was “out of control.” Homeland Security runs out of money next week.
If they can’t pay a measly $625 million to build a concentration camp, how are they going to pay the billions of dollars required to help the victims of a hurricane if one strikes later this year?
So yeah, President 404 told us he’d hire “only the best people,” but so far it looks like he’s hiring cons. And the cons are conning the cons.
I wonder what’s next? Gator Chow? Something out of that movie “Soylent Green”?
Don’t laugh. At this point I wouldn’t put ANYTHING beneath this regime.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .