me in DC  performing for the March to Restore Democracy. Picture courtesy Melanie Oringer

We are now in the Trump era. Even if the folks attempting to tip over Trump by begging electors to vote against the state totals, we will never be able as a nation to escape what has been wrought on us by this election. And I suspect all attempts to reboot the election will fail. Possibly they all should–the idiosyncracy of the Electoral College is something that should have been addressed after 2000, when Gore won the election in popular votes but lost Florida to conniving chicanery (The SCOTUS overreach for W should have also been addressed when Obama still had both houses to pass an amendment preventing future involvements).

It occurred to me on November 9 that while the need for a play like HOW TO STOP THE EMPIRE WHILE KEEPING YOUR DAY JOB was great (probably more than it was at the height of Occupy Wall Street), the play I had come up with in 2011 wasn’t going to cover the new challenges of 2017. If more people are interested in following the path of resistance to keep Trump’s troglodyte cabinet from throwing us all under the bus, there are also more complications. I’m working on a blog about the ‘fake news’ conundrum and the Russians-helped-Trump story, but that’s turning into a huge post. Those sorts of distractions are not letting people focus on the reality that Trump will become president on January 20, and people should have a plan to address him and the new things he will bring about. And (to be fair), I had expected similar challenges from a Clinton Presidency. You don’t need to spend much time in my archives to know that I was concerned about Hillary’s own shortcomings. 

So here’s the plan. I’m frantically writing a new version of HOW TO STOP THE EMPIRE (with a new subtitle–After you’ve lost your day job). It will contain ideas about long-term opposition to empire, to fake news, to the destruction of the middle class, and to political oppression that’s sure to ramp up no matter who ends up with the fancy house on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

You’ve seen my old play (or the relevant parts of it anyway). If you haven’t the video is here:

Tell me what is new and different (in the comments below) that needs to be addressed come 2017. I’m already talking about the fakery we’re living with. I plan to talk about the military mess we’re about to make infinitely worse by kicking a beehive with the Russkies. I don’t ask strangers to help rewrite my plays, but this seems an exception. And I’ll let you know what I’m doing come the Inauguration–come by and hand me money! 

Here’s hoping things aren’t as miserable as we all fear they’ll be.

#howtostoptheempire