Welcome to Banters Issue #1

Let’s get into it and get through it, TOGETHER

Banters is a little different - it’s a collaborative newsletter. The collaborators are Outspoken and Shallow State. We will write together but from time to time, we’ll also comment separately.

When we write together, it will read like other newsletters. When we write separately, engaging with one another, it’ll sort of read like a podcast, except it’s silent, and you can reread any part without hitting “rewind.”

When you see a paragraph that starts with "OS:" it's from Outspoken; when it starts with "SS:" it's from Shallow State.

We don't agree on everything, but we don't disagree on much. To quote Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead song Scarlet Begonias: "I ain't always right but I've never been wrong."

We thought we'd devote this first-ever Banters newsletter to a short discussion of a few things that concern us most, a few things that give us optimism, and some of what we think we all need to look out for, as resistors. Then ... we’ll get personal.

We look forward to getting to know you. And we look forward to sharing ourselves with you, too. Thanks for visiting, and welcome.

There's about 30 days to go …

… before America inaugurates its new and returning Chief Kleptocrat. He’s a narcissist, sociopath, grifter, racist, insurrectionist, adjudicated rapist, convicted felon, and idiot. His cabinet nominees are extremists, many are billionaires, and while they don’t all share his pathological aberrance, almost all of them are subjugated to him and/or imitative of him. SO … given this budding mess, it’s not easy for us to pick only “a few things that concern us most” - but that’s what we said we were going to do, dammit!

OS: I'll jump right in here and start, as that’s kind of how I roll. What concerns me greatly, is that whatever happens after January 20th, there will be 77M Americans living alongside us that voted for this shit show, who are racists, stupid, gaslit, and support it. I literally live next door to a hardcore MAGA.

SS: I understand your point - they do suffer from malignant normality, and don’t see his delusions as delusions. But they're not all stupid and racist. That's too judgmental.

OS: I don’t know about judgmental, but I’m highly opinionated, and you knew I was when we decided to Banter together. And my take is that even if a person that voted for Trump isn't racist in the strictest sense, they are voting for the same party that all white supremacists support, so they're empowering it and you can tiptoe and call that racially insensitive or some other softer term if you want, but I'm fucking calling it racist.

SS: One of the subjects I really look forward to Bantering with you about, is Trumpism, what it is, and why so many are lured to it. Let’s save that for another Banter. The one point I want to make now, is this: Sociology tells us that when you have a group that's very large, it's never homogenous. Trump voters are not all the same. Mathematically, they can’t be. I think the bigger issue than “racism” or even “stupidity,” is ignorance and how, or if, they consume news. You and I are very politically conscious. So is everyone reading this. But not everyone prioritizes politics, or information, or even facts and expertise the same as we do.

OS: I have a lot to say on all of that, but yes, you’re right, let’s devote an entire future newsletter issue to this.

SS: Agreed. So - it's my turn to say what concerns me most. I'm concerned - and pretty fucking angry - that we can't trust our mainstream media - they constantly normalize the guy. When ABC settled the defamation case, they basically caved. It’s really hard for someone who studied abnormal psychology, who understands the pathology of malignant narcissism, which is responsible for so much inhumanity throughout history, to see that particular pathology - which Trump definitely has - sane-washed or ignored by our once-vaunted legacy media and normalized. It's NOT normal!

OS: The media cares about access and shareholder value. And not being called “the enemy of the people.”

SS: And selling advertising.

Since our legacy media has sent Trump an engraved invitation to do as his oversized authoritarian ass wants, what - pray tell - are “a few things that give us cause for optimism?”

One thing is alternative media. It’s growing. It’s growing quickly. Especially the move OFF of Twitter (we fucking hate calling it X [what a stupid name]). We’re optimistic about Bluesky. It's clean - the multiple algorithm thing seems to work, and we now have a town square again - like Twitter used to be. We needed this. Our voices are many, they are strong, but we had to have an anchor platform, and now we do.

Another thing that gives us optimism is that Dems took all those late House races, the GOP majority is paper thin, and they can’t agree among themselves. GOP Rep Spartz said she wouldn’t participate in votes, Speaker Johnson is emasculated, and shadow president Musk is a bully. With that kind of dysfunction, there’s a real likelihood Dems take back the House in 2026.

Here’s some of what we all need to look out for:

We know we’re not alone on this opinion, but we need Dems to get tougher. Dems need to stop bringing plastic knives to a gun fight and no more strongly worded letters. They talk tough, and we've got some good, elected officials that will stand up to Trump, but they can't keep playing by rules that the other side spits on. It was great news to hear that the Ethics Committee was going to release the Gaetz report, but it pisses us off that it wasn’t a no-brainer that happened earlier - fucking leak it, if need be.

The Gaetz report, by all accounts, alleges he did bad things with underage girls. But it’s not only about Gaetz. The report tells the country that its new president wanted a guy who did bad things with underage girls to be our top cop. Dems need to impact narratives. Fuck the GOP. Fuck their threats - they even threaten each other.

OS: What about the DOJ releasing Jack Smith's files and reports with all his evidence?

SS: Yes! We need to see that before the inauguration, too! Moving to something we need to keep our eyes on - especially if we want to stay sane: all their misdirection.

OS: You mean their fucking lying?

SS: Yeah, but it's a particular type of fucking lying - it’s like a diversion. We look at the shiny object that gives us the most angst, and while we do that, they rob us blind. Trump is many things. But first and foremost, he's a conman. A grifter. I think the #1 agenda item for Trump 2.0 is grift. Monetizing a wealthy government like it's never been done before. And here's the thing: When they talk about the deportation of migrants, people's angst WILL go up. And when they talk about retribution, people WILL get downright afraid. They know this. Angst and fear will divert our attention.

OS: Are you saying you don't think they're going to do the deportations and retribution?

SS: No, they’ll do some. What I'm saying is that it's not their big, end goal.

OS: Gotcha. Follow the money.

SS: Always.

OS: Trump’s up to 11 billionaires already. Dr. Oz is only worth $100M, so he has to be the coffee boy.

Thanks for reading Banters! We hope you find our collaboration effective and appealing; we will always strive to deliver information and commentary in an interactive style to help you better understand, participate, cope, and smile, and we hope you’ll be glad you’ve subscribed!

BUT WAIT! There’s more …

BANTERS — Getting Personal

We’ve introduced ourselves a bit on our About Page. Here’s more personal info about us:

OUTSPOKEN is a no-nonsense resistor who fights for America like she fights for herself. She is a straight shooter who has no qualms about using snark or profanity to make her point. She knows about hardship and loss having lost her father to Covid and then her partner a few months afterwards. One of her goals with Banters is to impart her knowledge and experience in coping with loss, anxiety, and grief. She sees beauty in life, manages to find the good because she looks for it, and is grateful. She doesn’t seek confrontation, but she’ll rip a new one to anyone who comes for her. You may have read about her in publications, or seen her targeted by right wing media channels, and if you’re not following her on Twitter and on Bluesky — you damn well should be! She calls herself Outspoken, because she’s been known to rage against injustice, racism, fascism, and Trumpism. She has also worked on complex criminal cases (from both the prosecutorial and defense sides) involving tax evasion, RICO, and organized crime, is an accomplished graphic designer, and a single mom. She became fast friends with Shallow State, online at first, then bantering with him on the phone, and no matter how serious the topic, they both ended up laughing. Laughter is good. It’s going to be needed.

SHALLOW STATE is a businessman and behaviorist who has accomplished many things, doesn’t like to speak about himself, but he’s doing it here because Outspoken told him he had to. He grew up and helped build an integrated marketing company in NY, won a couple of Clio Awards for radio campaigns, then moved to LA where he now resides (even though he still loves NYC), so that he could grow a full vegetable garden instead a single bonsai house plant … barbecue in a yard instead of on a fire escape … and watch football games that start three hours earlier. He’s got multiple graduate degrees, studied marketing, statistics, and abnormal behavior, and was part of the team behind the films #UNFIT and #UNTRUTH. He built the Duty To Warn feed on Twitter to 400K+ as the primary post-er. He then started Our Shallow State on Twitter and now on Bluesky. He’s helped crowdfund 70+ films, most of them documentaries. He’s all in on being a resistor, speaks his mind, doesn’t much care what others think but tries to stay keenly aware of it nonetheless. He doesn’t hate very often, but he hates how our free press has normalized a madman and largely put us into this situation. He loves dogs - with a particular fondness for beagles. And he’s most proud of helping to create a movement that convinced many LA County shelters and rescues not to euthanize dogs and cats.

Barney: 2010-2024 (he passed in September)

IN CLOSING, this collaboration will present a more complete picture of what we’ll face ahead and how we best cope and resist. Outspoken HATES Trump, pure and simple. Shallow State says that what he really hates, is TrumpISM, the apparatus, and the fact that truth is being trampled.

COMING UP in future issues of Banters:

Anxiety is normal, getting addicted to it, isn't

Our most dangerous minority? It’s Billionaires!

The Trump Cult - WTF - maybe we're asking the wrong question

Fear is the point, but the Grift is the goal

What happened to Happiness, and why don’t Americans pursue it anymore?

TIPS on dealing with stress