“I’ve finished my 3 book Spider Series. If you’re into hot sex and heart pounding adventure please check it out. Available on Amazon. Thank you for your interest and support. D. S. Mitchell aka “Calamity” at Calamity News and Politics.
“There is nothing more inspiring than taking action against injustice.” D.S. Mitchell 2025
“If stupidity got us into this mess, why can’t it get us out of it.” Will Rogers
“If you can’t be a poet, be a poem.” David Carradine
“No god would want a child killed in his name.” D.S. Mitchell 2023
“Without music, life would be a mistake.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.” ― George Burns
“A politician thinks of the next election – a statesman of the next generation.” – James Freeman Clarke
“I want to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.” Arthur Ashe
“Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it’s beauty.” ― Albert Einstein
“So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.” ― Kurt Vonnegut
“Let’s just remember that social security is not the government’s money, it belongs to the people who had it taken out of the checks involuntarily their entire working lives.” Mike Huckabee
“I have insecurities of course, but I don’t hang out with anyone who points them out to me.” ADELE
“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” Christian Grey
“My favorite old car had no reverse gear. It taught me I could only go forward.” Flavia
“Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela
“Those who think they can control the mob are fools and are often the victims of their own incitement.” D.S. Mitchell 2021
“A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
“If now isn’t a good time for the truth I don’t see when we’ll get to it.” Nikki Giovanni
“Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the reason is that you are stupid and make bad decisions.” Your mother
“Studying American politics has taught me several disgusting lessons, the first being, money buys friends in Congress. That alone should terrify the American public.” D. S. Mitchell 2021
“My art is my heart.” D. S. Mitchell 2015
“Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back.” Arthur Rubenstein
“Every lie is like stepping in a quicksand pit. Every lie as dangerous, as telling the truth.” D. S. Mitchell 2020
“Sometimes when challenged we find out we are capable of the unthinkable.” D. S. Mitchell 2022
“Surround yourself with those on the same mission as you.” Anonymous
“Dimming the lights will not hide the social injustice in America.” D. S. Mitchell 2017
“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true. So I elect for neither label.” – James Branch Cabell
Smile
"If puppies and kittens don't make you smile, you might consider therapy." D. S. Mitchell 2015.
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
“Every moment is a fresh beginning.” T. S. Eliot
“Voting is like a prayer.” Raphael Warnock 2021
“We are all valuable. The problem is not everyone is smart enough to realize it.” D. S. Mitchell 2021
“I wonder, if you were blind, lost and confused, would you care what color the offered hand?” D. S. Mitchell 2015
“Silence in front of savagery is savagery itself.” Abhijit Naskar
“To be happy and contented, count your blessings, not your cash.” Chinese Proverb
“We can never be too busy to be kind.” D. S. Mitchell 2017
RIP RBG
“The rain falls because the cloud can no longer handle the weight. The tears fall because the heart can no longer handle the pain.” The Wise You
“Let my old days be my best days,” Cousin Lucille
“In no instance have… the churches been guardians of the liberties of the people.” James Madison
“Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.” Charles Dickens
“Thoughtful people are slow to anger, not necessarily less efficient in their killing.” D. S. Mitchell 2019
“Endings are not always bad. Most times they’re just beginnings in disguise.” Kim Harrison
“The United States like so many countries around the world has chosen to give to the few and deny the many.” D.S. Mitchell 2020
“It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. This is true, its called life.” Terry Pratchett
“Trickle down economics is like having three dogs and giving one of them a hot dog, and thinking he’ll share.” Bill Maher
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” John Kenneth Galbraith
“When people start acting as though the past is the same as the present and context doesn’t matter, things start to get dangerous.” Trevor K. McNeil 2020
“Pardoning the Bad, is injuring the Good.” – Benjamin Franklin
“I don’t need to attend every argument I’m invited to.” Unknown
“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret between the shadow and soul.” Pablo Neruda
“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” ― Bruce Lee
“I have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.” Shirley Chisholm 5/21/1969
“The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they pass unobserved.” ― George Washington
“We only fail when we fail to try.” Rosa Parks
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” Thomas Jefferson
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Albert Einstein
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The 7 Social Sins are: Wealth without Work; Pleasure without Conscience; Knowledge without Character; Commerce without Morality; Science without Humanity; Worship without Sacrifice; Politics without Principle.” Frederick Lewis Donaldson
“All evils are equal when they are extreme.”-Pierre Corneille
“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.” John F. Kennedy
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov
“People without vaginas shouldn’t be able to regulate them.” Unknown
“What this country needs is more unemployed politicians.” Edward Langley, artist
“Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” Abraham Lincoln
“When sleeping women wake, mountains move.” Chinese proverb
“If people stopped searching for things that offended them and started looking for things that inspired them; what a wonderful world this would be.” Night Owl
A Poem For Don and Vlad
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T. Washington
“To argue with a person who has given up reason is like administering medicine to the dead.” Thomas Paine
“Imagination is the bridge between the things we know for sure, and the things we need to believe, when our world becomes unbearable.” Staceyann Chin
“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs
“Inspiration descends only in flashes to clothe circumstances; it is not stored up in a barrel, like salt herrings to be doled out.”Patrick White
“I will not allow my life’s light to be determined by the darkness that surrounds me.” Sojourner Truth
“Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.” Doug Larson
“Law without humanity is injustice.” D. S. Mitchell 2020
“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear, is the beginning of wisdom.” Bertrand Russell
“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” Plato
valuable article
When fascism comes to America. . .
“When fascism comes to America. . . it will be painted orange and wearin’ a diaper.”
Life in 1900 America
Life in 1900 America
Life in 1900 America
By D. S. Mitchell
Yesterday, I stumbled across some statistics from 1900. Mind you, just over a 100 years ago things were very different from today. It was a simpler time; no emails to answer, no breaking news, no radio or TV to watch. I thought the information was both amusing, and eye-opening. Check it out. My furthest memories are from the 1950’s and I thought that was a very different time…and it was, but 1900, I was shocked and surprised as to how things have changed in the last 125 years. I don’t know if I could have waited a month to wash my hair, yikes!
Statistics from 1900:
1) Average life expectancy in the USA was 46 years. Compare that to the 79.6 life expectancy for 2025. 2) 14% per cent of American homes had a bathtub and a mere 8% had a telephone. 3) Mississippi, Iowa, Tennessee, and Alabama all had larger populations than California. 4) There were 8,000 cars and only a 144 miles of paved roads. Sounds like a bumpy ride for the few who could afford an automobile. 5) The average hourly wage in USA was 22 cents and the average worker made between $200-$400 a year. 6) The population of Las Vegas was either 25, or 30, depending on your resource. 7) 90% of doctors in the USA never attended college and about the same for lawyers. 8) The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world 9) Sugar cost 4 cents a pound, coffee was 15 cents a pound, and eggs were 14 cents a dozen. 10) There was a total of 230 reported murders in the USA. 11) Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska were not yet states. 12) Only 6% of American adults were high school graduates. 10% of adults were illiterate. 13) Most women washed their hair once a month and used egg yolks or borax for shampoo. 14) 95% of all births took place at home. 15) Leading causes of death in the USA were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, heart disease, diarrhea, and stroke. 16) 18% of American homes had a full-time servant. 17) Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.
*Hope you got a laugh or two. Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line news magazine. This list of what was going on in 1900 came from “Uncle John’s Fast-Acting, Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader by the Bathroom Reader’s Institute, 18th Edition.”
Join the Resistance
Opinion: Ditch Empathy…Ditch Democracy
OPINION: Ditch Empathy–Ditch Democracy
OPINION: Ditch Empathy–Ditch Dem0cracy
By Vajra Ma
Waggy is Adorable
Have you seen the ads for the new toy that looks and acts “just like a real puppy”? Waggy is a curly haired AI puppy who tilts its adorable head just like a real dog. Waggy responds to your child’s voice just like a real dog. Sit! It sits. Come! It comes. It cuddles with your child just like a real dog. But it’s not real and according to the ad that’s the selling point. No expensive vet bills, no food to purchase, no long dog walks. No bothersome biological needs whatsoever. No care required.
No Empathy Required
What does such a realistic-seeming virtual puppy teach your child? It teaches them the puppy has no needs, no desires, no life of its own. It exists only to serve the needs and desires of your child. The only thing that matters is the child, what he feels, what he needs, what he wants. No care or empathy required.
Biological Reality
Waggy weans your child away from biological reality. When biology is canceled, the opportunity to develop empathy for another living being is canceled. We place our child in a subtle training ground for three things: 1) dissociation from the body 2) the atrophy 0f empathy 3) the development of narcissism. The interaction between the child and the AI dog is narcissistic. It is devoid of any feeling or even thought of the needs of another. Interaction with a virtual being is preferable to interaction with a real being.
Conditioning
Is this what you want for your child? Is your convenience as a parent worth this programming of your child? Is this the conditioning you want for the next generation?
Toys Matter
Am I being hyperbolic? overstating the situation? I think not. Not when viewed in the context of three things: rapidly progressing AI, the transhumanist agenda and fascism. (Now she’s really getting hyperbolic!) Bear with me… There are plenty of dots to connect between these three things that could easily fill a whole book, but in the scope of this article I can only point briefly to them. Hopefully this will indicate how subtle and insidious the Waggy programming is, why a little toy like this matters.
Ditch Empathy
Elon Musk has stated “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” Remember him prancing about on the stage with his chainsaw? He wielded the perfect tool to represent the lack of empathy it took to slash through people’s livelihoods in his DOGE purge. Musk justifies such actions as protecting us from “civilizational suicidal empathy.” Should we prefer homicidal empathy?
Peter Thiel
In alignment with Musk, his former PayPal co-founder and kingpin of transhumanism, Peter Thiel, rejects “abstract universalism that treats all individuals as fundamentally equal.” Ditch equality, ditch democracy. Enter fascism. This brings us to the new catch phrase of the Christian Nationalist agenda…
“Toxic Empathy”
Christian author Allie Beth Stuckey, titled her book with this now popular term she coined, Toxic Empathy. In a video interview she tells us how much she likes Steven Miller and his deportations. When the interviewer pushes back about sending deportees to El Salvador (and it’s notoriously brutal CECOT prison) she deflects: (the liberals are) highlighting these stories of supposed cruelty from ICE” and admonishes people to ask “but is this true?” True? Has she seen any of the numerous videos documenting the blatant cruelty? or does she only watch Fox News which deceives largely through omission? (emphasis added) https://www.tiktok.com/@nytopinion/video/7529126187717692703
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, at best, aims to cybor biology, at worst, to eradicate it all together in favor of uploading one’s consciousness into a computer. Either way, AI Waggy aligns and enables this.
Is that what we want for our children? or will we let ourselves see the connections between the dots?
Do we see how subtle conditioning via a cute AI toy disassociates us from biological reality? How it desensitizes us to the living needs of others? How it eradicates empathy? How it paves the way to dehumanizing others? Hitler had the Jews. We have the immigrants.
Waggy, Inside
If that’s what we want for our children, our country and the future of humanity, by all means bring (supposedly) harmless Waggy into the house. Let virtual interaction groom our children for the non-empathic narcissism and de-humanization that fascism requires. Waggy, in his adorable little robot way, helps us get there.
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday can Stump Trump…
By Cate Rees-Hessel & Wes Hessel
Here are a list of Giving Tuesday ideas to support politically progressive, anti-Trump organizations. They have our support – please consider helping their tireless efforts. We must support the arts, theater, dance, music, museums, libraries, and the like. There are liberal religious organizations that can use funding, as well. The list below are a sampling of worthy organizations, but there are many more out there that need our help – please give what you can. Consider a donation to your local library or friends of the library, or local historical society. Universities and colleges can certainly use financial assistance, even if they are not your alma mater. Many of these and other great organizations have matching funds for donations today:
- The ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/now
- PETA: https://www.peta.org/donate/ways-to-support-peta/
- Occupy Democrats: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/occupy-democrats-website
- Obama Foundation: https://www.obama.org/?form=W25XXWFEVR0
- The Trevor Project: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/fundraise/
- The Lincoln Project: https://lincolnproject.us/donate/
- The Christian Left: https://www.thechristianleft.org/online-donation
- NAACP: https://naacp.org/donate
- Black Lives Matter/Southern Poverty Law Center: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gpblm
- NOW: https://secure.now.org/a/gt2025?sourceid=1239805
- Kamala Harris/DNC: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/web-donate
- V-Day Movement: https://www.vday.org/take-action/donate-to-vday/
- Season of Concern: https://seasonofconcern.org/donate/
- The New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/give
- Daily Kos: https://www.dailykos.com/support-our-mission
REMEMBER: Any day is a good day to donate and or volunteer.
And, of course, you can buy our ever active advocate Calamity publisher a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/calamitypolitic. If you can’t contribute financially to a deserving organization, give your time as a volunteer…
I Wrote the Spider Series, Now What?
I Wrote the Spider Series, Now What?
I Wrote the Spider Series, Now What?
By D.S. Mitchell
So I have spent the last three years of my life writing the three book Spider Series. Now that I have accomplished that major feat, I find out according to the experts, I will need to spend another three years marketing my little project. So, folks please suffer through the ads for the next couple months as I try to market my erotic thriller series. Available on Amazon. If you’re interested, what follows is a bit of the back story on the writing book one of the Spider Series.
The Spider Series by D.S. Mitchell
The Spider Series by D.S. Mitchell
The Spider Series by D.S. Mitchell
SEXUALLY EXPLICIT
NOW Available on AMAZON
Happy Thanksgiving, I think
Happy Thanksgiving, I think
Happy Thanksgiving, I think
By David L. Shadrick
It seems that every newspaper headline is bad news and every social post ends in screaming profanity. I’m terrified of what Trump will do next. I feel like I’m being dangled over the fiery medical abyss. I’m 64 years old and my health is mediocre. Trump’s thoughtless and cruel assault on healthcare, thank God so far isn’t effecting me. I got lucky enough to be pretty sick. Sick enough that so far I’ll be able to keep my Medicaid. That doesn’t mean this last 11 months hasn’t been living hell, every day besieged by media reports of the loss of medical coverage for millions of Americans; was I going to lose my needed care givers? What about my 26 medications? Or my hospital coverage? Every day has been an ‘effing nightmare. This is not the way our government, or any government, is supposed to treat its citizens.
Despite the hairpulling bullshit going on in Washington I do have several things I am happy and thankful for this year. I’m glad 7,000,000 plus protesters took to the streets to protest Trump and his policies. I am thankful Donald Trump has cankles. I am thankful Donald Trump and MAGA lost every election in our last election cycle. I’m glad the congress overwhelmingly voted to release the Epstein files. I’m glad that the Trump fever seems to have finally broken and he is showing signs of audience weariness. Holy Moly even MTG is questioning our mango tinted captain of chaos.
So, besides the above mentioned issues I am happy we have the first American pope, and that he’s a baseball fan. I’m happy for my prayer group. I am happy for all the support they provide me. I’m thankful for getting out of the hospital in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite all the chaos there are still good things happening. I just need to look a little harder for them. I know its a good time for me to eat a lot of turkey and then take a long nap.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Worst Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals
Worst Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals
Worst Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals
Well, it looks like there’s going to be a lot of Trump and GOP paraphernalia crowding retailer’s shelves across the country as the MAGA nightmare seems to be doing a nose dive with even the diehards like Marjorie Taylor Greene. Keep an eye open for any of these great deals coming your way Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I guarantee there will be orange everywhere.
By Cate Rees-Hessel
- Trumpopoly – be the first to go bankrupt and steal from the community chest; all the cards you draw are “Get Out of Jail Free.”
- Mar-a-Lago tree ornament, its orange with an iconic mushroom shape.
- Trump lollipops – or should I say suckers, burnt orange flavor.
- Elon Musk Ken doll, watch out for the chainsaw.
- JD Vance Alan doll, oh my, Erika Kirk may want to pick up a couple of these bad boys.
- Melania doll – comes with a mini Hustler magazine and accompanying plastic surgeon doll.
- “I Beg your Pardon, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” dance mix, sung by “The Donald” himself, on DVD.
- Tesla wind chimes made from recycled Tesla parts.
- MAGA cap, scarf, and glove set.
- Trump toupe – you, too, can be an orange haired monster.
- The pet rock returns – ICE are using the little creatures to break car windows.
- Trumpmania game I hear they’ll be going 10 for a dollar.
- “My Ding A Ling” (is now president) party dance show mix “…I want you to play with my ding-a-ling…”
- Tesla ride-on scooter.
- “The Donald” shit show shower head.
- Donald Diapers – he’s a big boy now.
- Worst Little Whorehouse in Washington DVD with special guest appearances by various friends and lovers.
- A giant tub of Republican mixed nuts.
- The barrel of monkeys from the 1960’s has been reinvented – a Barrel of MAGA’s.
- Another retro game, “Blockhead!” is back.
- Big Mac toaster oven, just like the one at the White House.
- Trump golf clubs with knitted orange head covers.
- Melania fashion and decorating tips for the “Karen” coffee table book.
- Melania charm school gift certificate.
- Orange haired big gut balloon bouquet.
What I am Thankful for this Thanksgiving
What I am Thankful for This Thanksgiving
What I am Thankful for This Thanksgiving
By Cate Rees-Hessel
Our nation is in crisis, but I am still thankful to God for the following this day:
- My loved ones: spouse, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and furbabies.
- I am thankful for all the progressives at every level fighting against the dictator who thinks he is a king.
- I am thankful for the fact I never voted for him – I couldn’t live with that on my conscience.
- I am thankful for the arts in every form.
- I am thankful for children’s laughter – may we protect these innocent ones from harm.
- I am thankful that LBGTQ rights are still protected for now, because I love people in that community, including family and close friends.
- I am thankful our right to free speech is still present and we can speak our mind for now.
- I am thankful for the opportunity to make people laugh.
- I am thankful that the government shutdown is over and people can buy food to fill Thanksgiving tables, but my heart breaks that healthcare premiums will pay the price.
- I am thankful we can still worship in the faith we desire, and pray that God’s truth may finally break through the racist hate that is not what Christianity should stand for.
- I am thankful for freedom – the freedom our military has fought for and protects.
- I am thankful for a democracy – may our nation never be robbed of this.
- I am thankful for the 25th Amendment – may it be put to good use very soon.
- I am thankful for the right to vote – may we use this wisely.
- I am thankful for the power of the press, and may I never abuse that privilege.
- I am thankful for the power of words that we must use wisely.
- I am thankful for all those standing against ICE – just like the first Thanksgiving when native Americans and pilgrims shared a meal together in peace.
- I am thankful pumpkin spice season is nearly over.
- I am thankful to not have to eat turkey spam from a can.
- I am thankful for each of you reading this.
